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These release notes address critical late-breaking issues and information about this beta release of the Windows® 7 operating system. For less serious issues, refer to Things to Know About This Beta Release of Windows 7 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=139394). Unless otherwise specified, these notes apply to all editions of Windows 7 that support the features mentioned in each note. AccessibilityMicrosoft® Narrator does not read information from the command line properly. This issue may also affect non-Microsoft screen reader applications. To correct this, always run the command prompt with administrator privileges. Apple iTunesThis issue only applies to 64-bit editions of Windows 7. If you attempt to download and install Apple iTunes, the 32-bit version will be installed instead of the 64-bit version. This will prevent syncing with iPhone. To avoid this, install the 64-bit version from the following location: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=139389. Backup
BitLocker Drive EncryptionBitLocker Drive Encryption is not supported on drives that use the extended file allocation table (exFAT) file system. Use BitLocker Drive Encryption with drives formatted with FAT or FAT32 instead. DirectAccessIn certain editions of Windows 7, configuring the Name Resolution Policy Table for DirectAccess can cause the computer to stop responding and repeatedly restart. If this occurs, the user can recover by restarting the computer in Safe Mode without Networking, and then using Regedit.exe to delete the Name Resolution Policy table in the following registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DNSClient\DnsPolicyConfig The system administrators should then delete the affected computer from the Group Policy object the provides the Name Resolution Policy table to prevent the settings from interfering with the workaround the user has just performed. Internet Explorer 8
Language packsIn some editions of this beta release, Windows Update will not show any language packs as available for this beta release. If your edition is affected by this issue, there is no workaround at this time. Mobile broadband softwareSome mobile broadband software does not install correctly and some devices are not detected or cannot connect to the Internet. For a current list of devices known to connect to the Internet with this beta release, as well as simple workarounds for other devices and software, please refer to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=139390. MP3 filesWhen MP3 files are added (either manually or automatically) to either the Windows Media Player or the Windows Media Center library, or if the file metadata is edited with Windows Explorer, several seconds of audio data may be permanently removed from the start of the file. This issue occurs when files contain thumbnails or other metadata of significant size before importing or editing them. To avoid this, take the following steps:
If you do not want to install the update, you can avoid this issue by setting all MP3 files that might be accessed to the computer to read-only as in Step 2. Power OptionsIn some editions, the computer is not configured by default to require a password upon resuming from the sleep state. To correct this, use the Power Options control panel to enable the Prompt for Password on Resume setting. Routing and remote access
StorageIf you upgrade to this beta release, any favorite iSCSI target connections are not retained and the configuration information is lost, so that disks connected with the iSCSI initiator are no longer accessible. To avoid this, note the configuration of your iSCSI-connected disks prior to upgrading to this beta release, and then add the connections back to the iSCSI initiator once the upgrade is complete. If you use advanced connections with Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) security, you should also note advanced setting information, including the CHAP secret. If this has already occurred, reconnect to the iSCSI targets and mark them as favorite connections. System partitionThe system will not prevent you from formatting the System partition. You will receive an error stating that the system partition cannot be formatted, but the operation will proceed anyway, with resulting data loss and the inability to boot the computer. As you work with your system, ensure that you do not format the System partition. If this has already occurred, use the Windows Recovery Environment. Video driversSystems which use XDDM drivers may completely stop responding in certain scenarios. The computer will not respond to CTRL+ALT+DELETE and you will have to cycle the power to restart the computer, with the attendant risk of loss of unsaved data. Some activities which have been demonstrated to trigger this issue include, but are not limited to:
To avoid this, do not use XDDM drivers, but find an appropriate WDDM driver instead. If your video chipset does not have a WDDM driver (such as the Intel 915), use a VGA driver or an GPU that supports WDDM drivers. If this issue occurs at setup, either avoid unattended setup or uninstall the XDDM driver and use a VGA driver until setup is complete. Windows Media Center
Windows Media Services 2008Streaming Media Services technologies are not available in this beta release. This includes the Remote Server Administration tools for Windows Media Services. You should not upgrade the operating system on a Windows Vista computer that is a critical component of your streaming network infrastructure Windows Search indexingIf you use a computer that has Windows Search enabled (Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP with Windows Search installed) and have chosen a custom index location that has a path name longer than 128 characters, the indexer will not start after you have upgraded the computer to this beta release. Search functionality and some library views are affected. To avoid this, move the index to a different location that has a path name less than 128 characters long before you install this beta release as an upgrade. If this has already occurred, use the Restore Defaults button on the Advanced Options pane of the Indexing Options control panel to reset the indexer. Wireless networkingIn certain wireless adapter and platform combinations, the wireless adapter may become disabled and no wireless network will be visible in the following scenarios:
If your computer has Microsoft Virtual PC installed, you may be able to avoid this issue by uninstalling it. In all cases, if this occurs, restart the computer. CopyrightThis document supports a preliminary release of a software product that may be changed substantially prior to final commercial release, and is the confidential and proprietary information of Microsoft Corporation. It is disclosed pursuant to a non-disclosure agreement between the recipient and Microsoft. This document is provided for informational purposes only and Microsoft makes no warranties, either express or implied, in this document. Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice. The entire risk of the use or the results from the use of this document remains with the user. Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious, and no association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property. © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, Windows Vista, Active Directory, Windows PowerShell, Windows Media, and Internet Explorer are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. 1.0 |