Installation instructions If you have Microsoft Office 2010, 32-Bit Edition, do one of the following:
* Use Microsoft Update (recommended). Microsoft Update consolidates updates provided by Windows Update and Office Update into one location and enables you to choose automatic delivery and installation of high-priority updates.
Install Service Pack for Microsoft Office 2010 (KB2460049) 32-bit Edition. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Download the .exe file by clicking on the Download button at the top of the page, and then save the file to your hard disk drive. 2. It is recommended that you quit any programs you are running. 3. In Windows Explorer, double-click the .exe file that you saved to your hard disk drive, and follow the instructions on the screen.
Installation instructions If you have Microsoft Office 2010, 64-Bit Edition, do one of the following:
* Use Microsoft Update (recommended). Microsoft Update consolidates updates provided by Windows Update and Office Update into one location and enables you to choose automatic delivery and installation of high-priority updates.
* Install Service Pack for Microsoft Office 2010 (KB2460049) 64-bit Edition. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Download the .exe file by clicking on the Download button at the top of the page, and then save the file to your hard disk drive. 2. It is recommended that you quit any programs you are running. 3. In Windows Explorer, double-click the .exe file that you saved to your hard disk drive, and follow the instructions on the screen.
IT professional resources IT professionals working in managed environments can find complete resources for deploying Office updates in an organization on the Office System Suites and Programs TechCenter.
The download for this update is available by clicking on the Download button at the top of the page. You can double-click the executable package to begin installation, or extract the patch files (MSP files) by using a command line. The command line and instructions are included in the Knowledge Base article Command line switches for Microsoft Self-Extractor packages (KB912203).
See the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Description of the Service Pack for Microsoft Office 2010 (KB2460049) 64-bit Edition for further information about this update.
Updated April 30th, 2011: I'm happy to report that in late March a friend received his replacment motherboard from ASUS (with the B3 Stepping). He supplied the parts and I built the computer for him. ASUS P8P67 Deluxe, Intel 2600K processor, two Crucial C300 256GB SSD drives in a RAID 0 configuration, 16GB of Ram, Overclocked to 4.5GHz, dual boot with Windows XP SP3 (Raid drivers slipstreamed) and Windows 7 Utltimate 64-Bit. No glitches, overclocking was easy and reliable. With the SSD RAID configuration transfer rates were around 670GB/s.
The issue is hardware-related and requires a silicon-based fix at the metal layer, which of course means that all of the currently-shipping P67 and H67 based motherboards are affected.
Intel’s Steve Smith, vice president and director of PC client operations and enabling at Intel, says that the specific problem occurs over time, and is affected by temperature and voltage. It’s more likely to manifest in configurations with lots of data being moved across the SATA 3 Gb/s ports, that’s why OEMs are encountering a problem now.
If you’re already a P67/H67 owner, the problem relates to connectivity between the SATA ports and hard drives. That link can degrade over time and, in a worst-case scenario, you’ll boot your machine to find attached storage simply isn’t identified at all. None of your data is at risk—anything on the drive already can’t be affected by the link degrading and ultimately failing, after all.
Speculation:
What this all could translate into if you need your motherboard replaced and if this change/fix to the replacement motherboard is significant enough you may have problems activating an OEM version of Windows when you finally do receive the replacement. This is all speculation at this point and only time will tell.
The Source of Intel's Cougar Point SATA Bug: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4143/the-source-of-intels-cougar-point-sata-bug "The problem in the chipset was traced back to a transistor in the 3Gbps PLL clocking tree. The aforementioned transistor has a very thin gate oxide, which allows you to turn it on with a very low voltage. Unfortunately in this case Intel biased the transistor with too high of a voltage, resulting in higher than expected leakage current. Depending on the physical characteristics of the transistor the leakage current here can increase over time which can ultimately result in this failure on the 3Gbps ports. The fact that the 3Gbps and 6Gbps circuits have their own independent clocking trees is what ensures that this problem is limited to only ports 2 - 5 off the controller."
February 3rd 2011: It could be a long cold motherboard Winter! Gigabyte's Response to Sandy Bridge Recall: http://www.clunk.org.uk/news-stories/gigabyte-s-response-to-sandy-bridge-recall.html "Q: When will the replacement be available? A: According to Intel’s production plan, the 6 series B3 stepping chipset will be available by April, 2011. GIGABYTE will produce and ship replacement motherboards according to Intel’s chipset shipping schedule."
Feb 3, 2011 Newegg’s response: Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. Newegg has recently become aware of a design issue that is affecting recent models of Intel Sandy Bridge platform motherboards. We are working with Intel to identify the exact nature of this problem. As always, Newegg remains 100% committed to our customers' total satisfaction. In keeping with our commitment to our customers, we are extending the return period for your motherboard by 90 days or untilreplacements become available from the manufacturer, whichever is greater. Intel expects to have a new revision of the P67 & H67 chipsets out around April, at which point first-run motherboards with this issue will need to be physically replaced in affected systems. From a technical standpoint, the design issue can be bypassed fairly simply by not using the Serial ATA (SATA) ports that are affected. Your motherboard’s manual should identify your SATA ports by number, and at a minimum you should see ports 0-5 (6 ports in total) listed. Ports 0 and 1 are Sata Rev. III (6Gbps), and do not appear to be affected by this problem. Ports 2-5 are SATA Rev. II (3Gbps) and should not be used. For a thorough explanation of this hardware work-around, please refer to our video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJcE2alQPvY If you choose to use the hardware work-around option, there is no need to contact us at this time. We have your information on record and will email you as soon as the replacements become available. If you would like to discuss this with our tech community or read up on the latest updates, please visit our EggXpert forum: http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/682006.aspx If none of the above options are suitable to your needs and you wish to return the board at this time for a full refund, please email us at intelsandybridge@newegg.com and include your sales order number so we can help you out with your return. If you have any concerns, please contact Newegg Customer Service for further information and assistance. Thank you for your support! Sincerely, Your Newegg.com Customer Service Team
ASUS response: Excerpt: Acting on our philosophy and promise of inspiring innovation and persistent perfection, we've created a comprehensive response to this development to safeguard the best interest of ASUS customers around the world. We will provide total warranty services to maximize computing and usability, as each ASUS product is delivered with an uncompromising quality pledge. This includes the hassle-free return and/or replacement of all affected ASUS products. We’re doing all this effective immediately – and as a first step, shipments of current ASUS Sandy Bridge-based products have been halted. The suspension covers all distribution and retail channels — ASUS only sells quality-assured products, at all times and across all product segments. Read the complete details here: http://event.asus.com/2011/SandyBridge/notice/
April 12th, 2011 IE9 only 4 weeks old and already IE10 looms on the horizon!
I strongly suggest you continue to use your current browser and not get carried away with installing a very early release of IE10 unless you are willing to accept the fact that anything from minor to major problems could make your computer less or totally non functional. Leave the testing to those who have a second computer that is not critical or used for there everyday computing needs.
Announcing Availability of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Feb 09 2011 by Brandon LeBlanc
Today we officially handed off the final release (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) to our OEM partners. On February 16th Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will be available for MSDN and TechNet Subscribers as well as Volume License customers. On February 22nd, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will become generally available for folks to download via the Microsoft Download Center and available on Windows Update.
Note: The full build number is 7601.17514.101119-1850
Note: While KB976902 is listed as an "Important" update it remains "unchecked" in the list of updates to be installed. If you do choose to install this update you can not uninstall it via the 'Control Panel' but must instead use System Restore (choosing a restore point date just prior to installing KB976902).
January 12th Microsoft has just made KB976902 (Black Hole Update) available on January 11th, 2011 via Windows Update. As you may or may not know this update is a precursor to installing Service Pack 1 for Windows 7. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976902/en-us
Update information
Updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 installation software are included in this update. The installation software is the component that handles the installation and the removal of software updates, language packs, optional Windows features, and service packs. This update is necessary to successfully install and to remove any service packs to all versions of Windows 7 and on Windows Server 2008 R2.
December 27th, 2010 Windows 7 Family Pack promotion ends December 31, 2010
November 6th, 2010 Chasing pirates: Inside Microsoft's war room: The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/technology/07piracy.html?_r=1&hp "AS the sun rose over the mountains circling Los Reyes, a town in the Mexican state of Michoacán, one morning in March 2009, a caravan of more than 300 heavily armed law enforcement agents set out on a raid."
October 28th, 2010 Windows 7 - SP1 Release Candidate Now Available
At this time there is not a list of what updates, fixes or new features (if any) that will be added to Windows 7.
Warning: You should not install the SP1 Release Candidate (RC) on a computer that you depend on for everyday use. While the SP1 RC may be more stable than the Beta version it still may contain bugs or cause unexpected issues. Therefore only install the Release Candidate on a PC that you can use for test and evaluation. As always create a System Image backup before you install the service pack.
“Brief Description--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Release Candidate includes previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms.Overview--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Release Candidate helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level, provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback, and is easy for organizations to deploy a single set of updates.”
October 1st, 2010 Microsoft Office 2010 Technology Guarantee is over. The terms in brief: You must Install and activate your qualifying Office 2007 product by September 30, 2010. You must request your Office 2010 upgrade no later than October 31, 2010, and must meet all eligibility requirements. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/tech-guarantee/
What does this mean to you? Well there will be some vendors who must now rid themselves of their existing and obsolete stock of Office 2007 at reduced prices. Why the reduced prices? As it turns out, Office 2007 users can not purchase an upgrade to Office 2010 as Microsoft does not offer a 2010 upgrade, its buy the full product or buy nothing.
September 30th, 2010 Windows Live Essentials 2011 Microsoft has announced that Windows Live Essentials 2011 for Windows 7 and Windows Vista is now available for download! http://explore.live.com/windows-live-essentials?os=winxp
The Windows Blog - Chris Jones: "Windows Live Essentials 2011 was designed and built to connect your PC to the services you use every day. We’re also announcing today that Dell will be the first global PC manufacturer to ship PCs with Windows Live Essentials 2011 and Windows 7 pre-installed, just in time for your holiday purchases. Many other PC manufacturers are also planning to make Windows Live Essentials 2011 available and we’ll continue to keep you updated as they start releasing. (Releasing in 48 languages over the next few hours, so if your language is not yet available, it will be very soon.)" http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_live
September 15th, 2010 IE9 Beta Releases Today: One of the most exciting features of IE9 is the ability to promote your favorite sites and applications to first-class citizens right alongside your native applications on Windows. Pinning and Jump Lists allow the sites and content you love to be integrated into the rest of your Windows experience.
September 1st, 2010 Family Pack Returns in time for the Anniversary of Windows 7 Starting October 3 in the U.S., Windows 7 Family Pack will be available for purchase at participating retailers and online at the Microsoft Store. Purchasing the Windows 7 Family Pack gives you three upgrade licenses of Windows 7 Home Premium for the low price of $149.99. To take advantage of Family Pack, you’ll need a PC running a genuine copy of either Windows Vista or Windows XP that is capable of running Windows 7. The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor can tell you which features and editions of Windows 7 will run on your computer(s).
For those of you who don’t live in the U.S., Family Pack may be coming your way too. It goes on sale in Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia and many other markets on or after Oct. 22 (Windows 7’s 1 year anniversary!)
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 Beta Frequently Asked Questions http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ff384134.aspx Q. Will the beta stop functioning after a certain amount of time? A. Yes. You will be reminded beginning March 30, 2011. The beta will expire on June 30, 2011. You will have to upgrade to a newer build or uninstall and return to the RTM build by that time.
RAMMap http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ff700229.aspx Have you ever wondered exactly how Windows is assigning physical memory, how much file data is cached in RAM, or how much RAM is used by the kernel and device drivers? RAMMap makes answering those questions easy. (Does not work on Windows XP, Requires Windows Vista or Windows 7)
Understanding Downgrade Rights http://oem.microsoft.com/script/contentpage.aspx?pageid=552836 "Downgrade rights for Windows 7 are an end-user right, documented in the Software License Terms that customers accept upon first running Windows software. Note that Windows 7 end user downgrade rights will be available for approximately 18 months after the general availability of Windows 7 (April, 2011) or the release of a Windows 7 Service Pack, whichever is earlier."
Understanding Downgrade Rights http://oem.microsoft.com/script/contentpage.aspx?pageid=552836 "Downgrade rights for Windows 7 are an end-user right, documented in the Software License Terms that customers accept upon first running Windows software.
Note that Windows 7 end user downgrade rights will be available for approximately 18 months after the general availability of Windows 7 (April, 2011) or the release of a Windows 7 Service Pack, whichever is earlier."
February 3rd, 2010 Expiration of the Windows 7 Release Candidate On February 15th, people still running the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) will receive a notification reminding them that starting March 1st, 2010, their PC will begin experiencing bi-hourly shutdowns.
Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a vulnerability in the Windows kernel. We are not aware of attacks that try to use the reported vulnerability or of customer impact at this time. Windows 7 32-Bit and Windows XP SP2 and SP3 are listed as "Affected Software" Windows 7 64-Bit is listed as "Non-Affewcted. December 6th How we designedthe default background in Windows 7 Engineering Windows 7 (This is worth reading as it can provide some insite to some graphics issues during bootup)
November 24th Look for the logo this holiday Look for products that have earned the “Compatible with Windows 7 logo” is the best way to know the product will work as expected.
October 23rd I watched Apple's "Broken Promises" ad on TV. Only have one question Mac: If your so much better, why are you "still" after all these years in second place, far more people choose Windows and not Worms. October 22nd Check out the Windows 7 Themes and Personalization Gallery Themes, Backgrounds, Gadgets, SideShow gadgets Learn how to make your own theme http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/personalize
Windows 7 - Let the party begin October 22nd has finally arrived. You may even find a present on your door step from HP, Dell, Tiger Direct and others. Drop by your favorite store if you are itching to spend a little money.
October 20th, 2009 Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and Windows 7 Compatibility Center now available Read the Windows Team Blog to report: ---->
The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor scans your PC to see if it’s ready for Windows 7. Windows 7 Compatibility helps you easily check the compatibility of thousands of devices and software programs. Direct link to Upgrade and Compatibility Center: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/en-us/default.aspx
October 1st, 2009 Compatibility & Ecosystem Momentum For Windows 7 "While Windows 7 is designed to be compatible with the most popular hardware and software products you use every day. Compatibility is critical and we’ve continued our focus on making sure our hardware and software partners have all the resources they need to test and build on Windows." http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/10/01
Coming Soon – Final Release of Windows XP Mode "Thanks to everyone’s feedback, we’re happy to announce that Windows XP Mode has RTM’d today. We expect to make the final release of Windows XP Mode available via the Microsoft Download Center on October 22nd." blogs/windows7/archive/2009/10/01/coming-soon
The Windows 7 Logo Program "The Compatible With Windows 7 Logo is designed to help customers make better purchase decisions by identifying products that have passed Microsoft designed tests for compatibility and reliability with Windows 7." http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/09.aspx
September 17th, 2009 Student Offer for Windows 7 "For a limited time, we are offering the LOWEST PRICE ($29.99 in the US) for Windows 7 exclusively to college and university students." Read the complete article here: blogs/windows7/archive/2009/09/17/student-offer-for-windows-7.aspx
September 15th, 2009 Windows 7 - How long does it take to upgrade your computer? "The tests were designed to measure total upgrade time simulating different user profiles (with different data set sizes, number of programs installed and settings) against different hardware profiles." Based on the time to upgrade measurements it would not be uncommon for most users to require two to three hours. Read Chris Hernandez's Blog for the full details. chris_hernandez/archive/2009/09/02/windows-7-upgrade-performance.aspx
September 10th, 2009 Windows 7 plus Intel’s new Core i7 and i5 processors
Perfect timing for Intel and could be a perfect match for Windows 7 computers. With lower prices, lower power consumption, a new chipset and performance that nearly equals the older Core i7 9xx series. This combination will leave the older Intel Exxxx Dual Core and Qxxxx Quad Core series processors behind in the dust. Want to learn more, then go to ExtremeTech for the full details. Don’t let the technical details scare you off, just skim over the parts that don’t interest you.
August 24th, 2009 Windows 7 European "E" versions discontinued. Family Pack Update.
"Under this new proposal, customers in Europe who buy a new Windows PC with Internet Explorer set as their default browser would be shown a “ballot screen.” Through this ballot screen, people can easily download and install the browser of their choice from the web." "As the result of our new proposal, as announced on July 31, we will no longer offer E versions of Windows 7 in retail, OEM or other channels. European Economic Community countries will have the same version of Windows 7 as the rest of the world." Read the full blog: blogs/windows7/archive/2009/08/24/update-on-windows-7-in-europe.aspx
Coming Soon – Final Release of Windows XP Mode "Thanks to everyone’s feedback, we’re happy to announce that Windows XP Mode has RTM’d today. We expect to make the final release of Windows XP Mode available via the Microsoft Download Center on October 22nd." blogs/windows7/archive/2009/10/01/coming-soon
The Windows 7 Logo Program "The Compatible With Windows 7 Logo is designed to help customers make better purchase decisions by identifying products that have passed Microsoft designed tests for compatibility and reliability with Windows 7."http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/09.aspx
Student Offer for Windows 7 "For a limited time, we are offering the LOWEST PRICE ($29.99 in the US) for Windows 7 exclusively to college and university students." Read the complete article here: blogs/windows7/archive/2009/09/17/student-offer-for-windows-7.aspx Windows 7 - How long does it take to upgrade your computer? "The tests were designed to measure total upgrade time simulating different user profiles (with different data set sizes, number of programs installed and settings) against different hardware profiles." Based on the time to upgrade measurements it would not be uncommon for most users to require two to three hours. Read Chris Hernandez's Blog for the full details. .chris_hernandez/archive/2009/09/02/windows-7-upgrade-performance.aspx
August 24th, 2009 Windows 7 European "E" versions discontinued.
Family Pack Update.
"Under this new proposal, customers in Europe who buy a new Windows PC with Internet Explorer set as their default browser would be shown a “ballot screen.” Through this ballot screen, people can easily download and install the browser of their choice from the web." "As the result of our new proposal, as announced on July 31, we will no longer offer E versions of Windows 7 in retail, OEM or other channels. European Economic Community countries will have the same version of Windows 7 as the rest of the world." Read the full blog: blogs/windows7/archive/2009/08/24/update-on-windows-7-in-europe.aspx
Windows 7 Family Pack: (Original Family Pack offer in early 2010, new offer for Oct. 2010) Install Windows 7 Home Premium on up to 3 PCs Pricing will be $149.99 for 3 Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows XP Mode RC Now Available According to Brandon LeBlanc of the Windows 7 Blog Team "The newly updated Windows XP Mode now works with the RC and RTM versions of the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise SKUs." This anouncement comes just 2 days before the RTM is made available to Microsoft's TechNet Plus subscribers.
New Features in Windows XP Mode RC Based on feedback from the Windows XP Mode beta, we’ve made several improvements to the usability of Windows XP Mode for small and medium-sized business users.
* You can now attach USB devices to Windows XP Mode applications directly from the Windows 7 task-bar. This means your USB devices, such as printers and flash drives, are available to applications running in Windows XP Mode, without the need to go into full screen mode. * You can now access Windows XP Mode applications with a “jump-list”. Right click on the Windows XP Mode applications from the Windows 7 task bar to select and open most recently used files. * You now have the flexibility of customizing where Windows XP Mode differencing disk files are stored. * You can now disable drive sharing between Windows XP Mode and Windows 7 if you do not need that feature. * The initial setup now includes a new user tutorial about how to use Windows XP Mode.
July 31st, 2009 Windows 7 Anytime Upgade Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc reveals price structure 1) Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium: $79.99 2) Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional: $89.99 3) Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate: $139.99 Most likely the best and more popular option will be the Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional upgrade, which includes Windows XP Mode. The extra $50.00 for Windows 7 Ultimate only gives you two additional features, bitlocker (for increased security) and the ability to switch between any of 35 languages.