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How-To: Edit RAW Photos on a Budget (or for Free!)

Mark Edward Soper — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0600

Why Shoot in RAW Mode?

RAW mode, a feature of virtually all digital SLR cameras and an increasing number of high-end point-and-shoot cameras, enables your camera to capture all of the image data in your photographs in full quality without distortion caused by JPEG data compression. RAW files enable you to repair white balance and color temperature problems, solve exposure problems, and adjust color intensity and other settings far better than you can with JPEG files. Unfortunately, you must use software that supports RAW files to optimize your picture and export it to a format you can use for other purposes, such as JPEG or TIFF.

Thankfully, you don't need to spend a fortune on software to edit RAW images. In this article, we'll put three popular solutions to the test:

Canon Professional Digital Photo
Google Picasa 3.5
Adobe Photoshop Elements with Adobe Camera Raw

Professional Digital Photo and Google Picasa are free, while Adobe Photoshop Elements v8 runs around $80-100. Can you get by with a freebie, or should you cough up some bucks? To answer this question, we turned all three of our contenders loose on discolored, underexposed and overexposed Canon RAW (.CR2) photos taken with a Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera.

Google Picasa 3.5

Google Picasa is easy to download and uses the same interface for editing RAW images as for editing other supported image types (JPEG, TIFF, and so on). Picasa supports most digital camera RAW codecs (see this reference) and is updated frequently as new digital camera RAW file types are introduced.

Locating RAW Images in Picasa

RAW images are displayed in Picasa's image library window the same way as JPEG images. To determine the image type, click the image, and the file extension, size, and other basic properties are shown in the blue bar between the image browser and the action buttons.

Picasa and Automatic Photo Repairs

As soon as Picasa locates photos, including RAW images, it automatically applies fixes to those photos. This is very handy if you don't want to worry about making a lot of changes yourself, but if you don't agree with Picasa's changes, it can be frustrating, since you can't undo automatic fixes.

Fixing Color and Exposure Problems with Basic Fixes

To make manual changes, double-click the photo in the Picasa image library window. Picasa uses three tabs in its editing space. The Basic Fixes tab opens by default. For a quick automatic repair, click I'm Feeling Lucky. Sometimes you're lucky, but in this example, we've traded dark poor color for lighter poor color. Thankfully, you can undo changes made on this tab by clicking the Undo button

Using the Tuning Menu

For greater control over the image, click the Tuning tab. The Tuning tab enables you to use sliders to adjust Fill Light, Highlights, Shadows, and Color Temperature (the third tab, Effects, provides a dozen special effects). By using the Tuning tab, we achieved better color and exposure.

Once you make changes to a RAW file, the changes are stored in Picasa, but the RAW file itself is not changed.

Applying Changes to Multiple RAW Files

If you have a number of RAW images that have the same color temperature (white balance) or exposure problems, or if you want to apply the same special effects to a group of photos, you may want to make the same edits to each photo. Here's how Picasa does it.

1. Select the fixes desired from the Basic Fixes, Tuning, and Effects tab.

2. Click Edit, Copy All Effects.

3. Click Back to Library.

4. Use Shift-click or Ctrl-Click to select similar photos.

5. Click Edit, Paste All Effects.

Unfortunately, because you pasted the effects to the files, the sliders used to adjust exposure, color temperature, and effects do not show the actual settings on the target files.

Saving a JPEG File in Picasa

To create a JPEG file (which can be used for printing, emailing, websites, and so on) from your edited RAW file, click File, Save As, and select JPEG from the pull-down options. Unfortunately, Picasa does not provide options for file size/quality.

Picasa matches the image quality of the original photo, and uses a quality level of 85% when it cannot determine the quality level.

Saving Other File Types

If you need to convert a RAW file into a file type other than JPEG, current versions of Picasa can't do it (this feature was available in earlier versions).

Picasa 3.5 Summary

Pros: Free, supports most cameras that shoot RAW images, easy to use interface

Cons: Automatically makes changes to photos that can't be undone, more limited controls than others, can only export photos in JPEG, can't control JPEG quality levels.

Our take: Use Picasa 3.5 if it's all you have, but you'll probably be happier with your camera vendor's RAW image editor, or with Adobe Photoshop Elements with Camera RAW.

Canon Digital Photo Professional

Canon actually provides two ways to edit RAW files: ZoomBrowser EX and Digital Photo Professional. ZoomBrowser EX is clumsy, provides very limited editing features of RAW files only through an additional Canon-provided program called RAW Image Task, and is excruciatingly difficult to update. Our advice, after trying both: use Digital Photo Professional instead. You can install it from the CD packaged with your Canon camera, or download it from the Canon website.

Using Digital Photo Professional to Edit RAW Files

Digital Photo Professional (DPP) bears a striking resemblance to Adobe Lightroom. And, you can consider it a sort of "junior Lightroom" for Canon RAW files. Here's how to get started:

1. Open DPP

2. Select a RAW image created by a Canon camera (.CR2 or .CRW).

3. Click Tool to open the Tool palette.

4. From the RAW tab, use sliders to adjust brightness, white balance, picture style, contrast, color tone, saturation, and sharpness.

6. Use the RGB tab to adjust tone curves for RGB or separate channels, brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and sharpness.

7. Use the NR tab to adjust noise reduction.

8. Click Tool to close the Tool palette.

Note: If you prefer to work with full-screen images, double-click the image in Step 2.

Using DPP to Save Changes to a RAW File

1. After editing a RAW file, click File, Save As.

2. Navigate to a different location if desired.

3. If you don't choose a different location and you don't want to overwrite the original file, enter a new name for the file.

4. Click Save.

5. A new RAW file is saved to the specified location.

6. If you have selected multiple files (see "Processing Multiple Files" for details), you will be prompted to save each additional file.

Saving a RAW Image as a Different File Type

1. Click File, Convert and Save.

2. The saved file uses the same name as the original file. Enter a different name if desired.

3. Select the image type (Exif-JPEG is standard; you can also select 8-bit or 16-bit TIFF, with or without JPEG image).

4. If you select an output option that includes JPEG, the image quality defaults to 10 (best). To decrease file size (and reduce quality), use the slider to select a smaller value (1 is smallest/worst quality).

5. Select the desired resolution.

6. Click Save.

7. The file is converted and saved.

Processing Multiple Files with DPP

To work with multiple files in DPP, you can choose from several methods.

Interactive Processing

1. Click each file you want to process to select it.

2. Click a check mark (check 1, check 2, or check 3).

3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until all files you want to process have been marked with the same check mark.

4. Click Edit, Select Check Mark x Images Only (x=1, 2, or 3).

5. Click Tool to open the Tool palette.

6. Make adjustments as needed using the RAW, RGB, and NR tabs.

7. Save or convert each file as desired, using File, Save As or File, Convert and Save.

Create a "Recipe" for File Editing

DPP also enables you to create a "recipe" from an edited file and apply it to other, similar files.

1. Make the changes as desired to the photo.

2. Right-click the photo.

3. Click Save Recipe in File.

4. By default, the name of the photo is used as the name for the recipe (.vrd) file. Enter a different name if desired.

5. Navigate to a different folder if desired (recipes are stored in the same folder as the source photo by default).

6. Click Save to save the recipe.

Applying a Recipe to a Different File

1. Select the file you want to apply a recipe to.

2. Click Edit, Read and Paste Recipe from File.

3. Select the recipe desired.

4. Click Open.

5. The recipe is applied to the selected file.

To apply a recipe to multiple files, select the files first as discussed in "Interactive Processing" earlier in this article.

Digital Photo Professional Summary

Pros: Free, powerful interface, able to save changes to a RAW file, doesn't make any changes for you, enables you to output both JPEG and TIFF files in a single operation, can save recipes to make the same changes to similar files.

Cons: Need to read the manual (available on the Canon camera CD or online) to learn all features; only works with Canon RAW files.

Our take: If you use Canon cameras that work with RAW files, DPP is a bargain – but read the manual to learn everything it can do.

Adobe Photoshop Elements with Camera Raw

Adobe Photoshop Elements can't work with RAW files unless you use Camera Raw to process the files first. However, once you install Photoshop Elements and Camera Raw, you're ready to work with Raw files. Camera Raw is available from the Adobe website at no charge.

For Windows

For MacOS

Cameras supported by latest Camera RAW version

Using Camera Raw to Edit RAW Files

You can open any RAW file recognized by Camera Raw with Photoshop Elements, once you install the appropriate version of Camera Raw. Here's how to get started:

1. Open a RAW image file from File, Open in Photoshop Elements, or drag the file to the Photoshop Elements window.

2. Camera Raw opens.

3. Use the Basic tab to adjust white balance, color temperature, exposure, fill light, contrast, and other settings.

4. Click the Advanced tab if you need to adjust sharpening or noise reduction.

Using Camera Raw to Create a Digital Negative

Adobe's digital negative (DNG) format provides an industry-standard file format that retains all image information, making it a useful replacement for proprietary RAW files. In fact, a few digital cameras store their RAW files as DNG files. Here's how to save a DNG file with Camera RAW.

1. To create a digital negative (DNG) file, click Save Image.

2. Enter the image name and select other options, then click Save.

Saving a RAW Image as a Different File Type with Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop Elements

1. After making changes with Camera Raw, click Open File.

2. The file opens in Photoshop Elements.

3. Use File, Save as to save the file as a JPEG, TIFF, PSD, or other file type.

4. If you select JPEG, you will be prompted to select the desired image quality (1-lowest, 12-highest).

5. Click Save to save changes.

Processing Multiple Files with Adobe Camera Raw

To apply the same changes to multiple files, you should open the files at the same time:

1. Select the files you want to edit with Camera RAW.

2. Drag the files to the open Photoshop Elements window.

3. Click Select All to select all files.

4. Use the Basic and Advanced tabs to make editing adjustments as needed.

Adobe Camera Raw Summary

Pros: Great preview, makes most changes with a single interface, works with both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (which provide the most flexible file output options of any program in this roundup, can make the same changes to multiple files, works with virtually all RAW file types.

Cons: Requires you to buy Photoshop Elements (or Photoshop); if you buy a new camera, you might need to upgrade Photoshop Elements/Photoshop, as the newest Camera Raw versions support only current Photoshop Elements/Photoshop, can't save settings for reuse later.

Our take: If you already use Photoshop Elements (or Photoshop), Camera Raw is a no-brainer; it's also the best of the three solutions if you plan to make a lot of additional changes to your photo afterwards. However, if you are looking only for a RAW converter, your camera vendor's software may be satisfactory – and it's usually free!

Mark Edward Soper is the author of The Shot Doctor: The Amateur's Guide to Taking Great Digital Photos.

How-To: Turn Your Windows 7 PC into a Wireless Access Point

Mark Edward Soper — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0600

If you've ever been in a situation when you absolutely, positively, need to share a network connection wirelessly, and you have a PC with a wireless adapter that runs Windows 7, Connectify (from wireless mesh networking company Nomadio, Inc.) is the answer. Connectify (currently in beta) turns almost any Windows 7 PC with a working wireless network adapter into a fast and secure wireless access point.

What You Need

A PC running Windows 7*
A working wireless adapter**
Software from the Connectify Me website
About 15 minutes of your time

*Connectify works with Windows 7 final and Windows 7 RC

**Update - some Intel network adapters might not work with Connectify - see Paul Lilly's comment below

Getting Started

Navigate to the Connectify Me website and click either the Download Beta button or Beta Test Now shield.
Enter registration information and click Submit.
Click the Click Here to Download Connectify link to download it immediately (instead of waiting for the promised email link which you might, or might not, receive on a timely basis).
Run the 1.41MB installer, and provide UAC information if prompted.
After you sign off on the license agreement, the installer does its work.
Click Next to continue, and click Finish. By default, Connectify will start, and a readme will open in your browser.

Setting Up Connectify

If you don't see the Connectify icon in the notification area, click the up arrow pointer to display additional icons. Click the Connectify icon.

The first time you start Connectify, you will see an error message. That's because Connectify needs you to provide a passphrase. Click the passphrase field and enter the text you want to use. You must enter at least eight characters (up to 32) for your passphrase text (you can display or hide the text as desired). Connectify uses WPA2 AES encryption for maximum security.

By default, Connectify uses Connectify as its SSID. To change the SSID, enter the name you prefer in the WiFi Name field.

If you have more than one connection you can share, select the connection to share from the Internet pull-down menu. You can use Connectify to share a wired connection (which is what I used for this article), or a wireless connection. You need only one wireless adapter to make sharing work, even if you're sharing a wireless connection wirelessly.

Click the Hotspot Off button to turn on the Connectify access point.

Connecting to a Connectify Access Point

Whether you use Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, MacOS, or Linux, connecting to the Connectify software access point uses the same procedures you use to connect to any secure wireless access point that broadcasts its SSID:

Select the SSID used by the network
Enter the passphrase when prompted
Make the connection
Make any firewall or other configuration changes requested by your wireless network client

Once other PCs have connected to the Connectify software access point, Connectify lists the computer(s) connected to it by their network names and IP addresses.

When you shut down the connection, Connectify "remembers" who was connected to the network, listing them as "disconnected clients."

Conclusion

Connectify works - and works well - because it relies upon new networking features built into Windows 7. Right now, Connectify costs nothing to try – and it provides a solid, secure, and fast connection. Whether you're looking for a quick way to share a wired connection in a hotel room or conference center, add wireless capability with Internet access to a home or office wired network, or set up a quick, easy LAN party without fiddling around with your normal network configuration settings, Connectify looks like a winner. It's one of the coolest reasons to move up to Windows 7.

How To: Properly Clean Your PC

Florence Ion — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Every computer collects dust over time. When the computer is running, it creates a field of static electricity, which in turn attracts clumps of dust and hair. These cluttering particles can easily collect around your processor, power supply, and case fans, and can block airflow and lead to overheating. This is why an important part of taking care of a computer is making sure that it’s clean.

To that end, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to clean your computer hardware and peripherals to make your rig look as good as new. We took a 4-year-old computer and thoroughly cleaned it using a few household supplies. All it took was a little bit of patience and a few hours and we managed to get some impressive results. Follow along below to achieve the same cleanliness Zen with your own machine.

And once you're done, read our guide to giving your PC a professional wiring job!

What you need:

Compressed air
Isopropyl rubbing alcohol
Lint-free or microfiber cloths
Paper towels
Q-tips
Scissors
Swiffer Dry Refill sheet
Masking tape
Vacuum with a removable handle and crevice tool

1. Start with Cord Management

First, let’s start with the external cables. Begin by untangling any that have become entwined. Now, grab a soft, microfiber cloth and dampen it with a bit of isopropyl rubbing alcohol, then run it along the length of all of your cords to remove any dust that may have built up (image A). Then, grab a few zip ties and begin organizing your cables in terms of their location in your machine: For example, the wires connecting peripherals reside toward the top; the DVI connector and power supply cord are toward the bottom, and so on. This will prevent your cables from getting tangled over time. Don’t group any power cables with speaker wire. Make sure to put on the zip ties toward the middle of the cords to give yourself some flexibility when you disconnect or connect devices (image B). Now, unplug your cable bundles so they’re out of the way while we clean the inside of your machine.

(Image A)

(Image B)

2. Cleaning Your Case

Now, make sure the power supply is turned off, lay your case on its side, and remove the side door. First, you want to inspect the internal data and power cables to make sure they’re all connected and well-fastened (image A). If there are any damaged cables, consider replacing them entirely—do not attempt to fix them with electrical tape. Generally, electrical tape is only used for insulation purposes, not to patch-up wires, and this rule is especially crucial when dealing with the inside of a computer.

(Image A)

Next, you want to get rid of the dust bunnies around your motherboard. Grab a can of compressed air and make sure that the straw is securely inserted. Stand the case upright—when you shoot at it, make sure the can of compressed air stays upright as well (image B). Do not tilt the can on its side or shoot at the computer sideways.

(Image B)

Squeeze the trigger to blast air in the direction of the key components in your case: the crevices in between your fans, the drive bays, connection ports, and any other areas that are plagued by dust and tiny hairs. If you find that you have excess grime or stray dust balls rolling around, you can actually use your vacuum cleaner to deal with them, provided that it’s equipped with a removable handle and a crevice tool. Vacuum away from the motherboard and use it only to eliminate giant dust bunnies that fall to the bottom of the case. Additionally, if you have an air filter in your case, remove it and run it under warm water to remove the dust. Be certain it’s completely dry before re-inserting.

3. Wipe Down Fans

With a different piece of lint-free cloth, wipe down your fan blades, then sprinkle the cloth with a few droplets of 90 or 99 percent rubbing alcohol solution and run it along the inside of your case (image A). Use a Q-tip to clean tight spots like your CPU cooler’s fan blades (image B). When you’re finished and everything has dried, feel free to close up the case.

(Image A)

(Image B)

4. Make Your Own Filter

A great way to keep dust from infiltrating your PC is to create your own air filter using a Swiffer Dry Refill sheet. All you need to do is cut the sheet to fit the grill on the outside frame of your case and affix it with a few pieces of masking tape. In this instance, we pasted it between the outside of the case chassis and the front-frame. Be sure to place this filter only where air is being sucked in and remember to replace it every few months (or as it visibly accumulates dust).

5. Clean Your Mouse

Assuming your cords are still unplugged, dampen a lint-free cloth with rubbing alcohol and clean the outside shell of the mouse, paying attention to any residue on the buttons. It’s important that you exercise caution while cleaning peripherals like an optical mouse—cleaning solutions should never come in contact with the optical sensor at the bottom of the mouse—it could ruin it. Also, avoid using paper towels; stick to lint-free materials so that you don’t risk leaving behind any fluff that could stick to the sensor.

6. Clean Your Keyboard

One easy way to clean gunk out of your keyboard is to turn it upside down over a sink and smack the bottom to knock out the colony of crumbs that have undoubtedly settled in. Run through the keyboard’s spaces with a can of compressed air to get loose crumbs and hairs out of the way, and then use rubbing alcohol and Q-tips to clean grease off the surfaces and in between each key.

For a more thorough wipe-down, you could even stick your keyboard in the dishwasher, though we warn you that this is NOT a solution for expensive keyboards with LCD displays and USB slots—there is also a very real chance that it will destroy your keyboard. Before placing it inside the machine, bundle the cord and put a plastic bag over it, making sure it covers the USB/PS2 plug and that it is securely sealed with a rubber band.

Situate the keyboard on the top rack of the dishwasher so that it is facing down—we want the jets to hit up against the keys and wash off the residue. If your dishwasher has a speed dry cycle, turn it off—if you let the inside get too warm it could warp the plastic or crack the circuit board from thermal expansion. For the first run, we suggest omitting soap altogether, but to remove tougher stains, a pea-size amount of soap is also OK, but use at your own risk. After running it through a light cycle, let the keyboard dry for several days or until all the water has dried before reconnecting it.

7. Clean Your Monitor

Grab a microfiber cloth and gently wipe your screen to free it of dust, fingerprints, and any other smudges. You can make your own screen cleaning solution using a half-and-half mix of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol and distilled water, or you can pick up a premixed solution from any computer store or office supply retailer. Under no circumstances should you use Windex or paper towels to clean an LCD screens, especially those with anti-glare surfaces. If you’re using a CRT, use a few dabs of rubbing alcohol to gently wipe away greasy spots from the screen.

Next: Give your PC a professional wiring job!

Have any PC cleaning tips or dusty PC horror stories? Share in the comments section below!

How To: Use Your Windows 7 Upgrade Disk On a Fresh PC

Justin Kerr — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:30:00 -0500

Anyone who tried to install their upgrade version of Windows 7 to a fresh drive was treated to a cruel wake up call. Not when they installed the OS, not even after they installed all their applications, but when the time came to activate. The deal with upgrade media is simple, an existing, and activated copy of Windows must exist on the hard drive prior to installation, or be prepared to start over. To make matters worse, the activation warning doesn't even give you a phone number to call and appeal you're case. The good news is you’re not dead in the water, that is, as long as you're comfortable making a few simple registry edits.

This guide will give you tips on all the upgrading scenarios, and even teach you how to use your upgrade DVD to perform a clean install on a fresh system with no prior OS. We show you how to turn the tables on the dreaded activation error code 0xC004F061: "The Software Licensing Service determined that this specified product key can only be used for upgrade, not for clean installations."

First, lets quickly review what you can do with the upgrade disk, and how you should approach each upgrade scenario.

Vista Specific Upgrades

Scenario 1

You’re doing an in-place upgrade from the same edition of Vista to the same edition of Windows 7. For example, Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate, etc.

Next Steps

Just pop in your upgrade DVD while in Vista and follow the prompts, this one is drop dead simple! Activation should go off without a hitch.

Scenario 2

You're upgrading your copy of Windows Vista to a different edition of Windows 7. For example, Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Home Premium, or Vista Business to Windows 7 Ultimate.

Next Steps

You will need to boot from the CD and perform a clean install. Do not format your drive using any program other than the Windows installer, or you will be forced to perform the registry hack listed below in order to activate.

If you install Windows 7 to the same drive that Vista is currently located on without formatting, the contents will be moved to Windows.old that you can sift through or delete later.

Clean Install / Fresh Install

Scenario 3

You’re doing a clean install of Windows 7, and Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows 2000 is currently installed.

Next Steps

Do not format your drive using anything other than the Windows installer. Simply boot from the CD and either format the drive when given the option, or install to the same drive which will create a Windows.old folder with your previous data.

Scenario 4

You have a freshly built system with a totally blank or formatted hard drive.

Next Steps

You could install a previous version of Windows, activate it, then go ahead and install Windows 7 using one of the scenarios listed above which some call “The Double Install Method”, or you could follow the steps on the next page to trick the activation service into thinking it found a previous version.

Installing to a Fresh Drive

Step 1 - Access & Edit the Registry

A true geek has never been intimidated by the registry, but lets face it, it's a mess in there. To access the registry you will first need to open up the start menu and type "regedit" into the search field, followed by enter. To find the proverbial needle in this haystack, you will need to navigate through the tabs listed on the left in the following order:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/ . If you don't like doing it the hard way just click Edit then Find and type MediaBootInstall into the search field, and press enter.

Once found, double click MediaBootInstall and change the "1" to a "0". Once you have finished this, simply click Ok and close out the Registry Editor.

Step 2 - Re-Arm The Activation

Before we try to activate our copy of Windows, we need to reset or "Re-Arm" the activation sequence. To do this, simply open up the start menu and type cmd but instead of just pressing enter, you need to press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "Enter" to run it as an administrator. You can also accomplish this by clicking the start menu, typing cmd into the search box, then right clicking the command prompt application and selecting Run as administrator.

Once the command prompt appears type slmgr /rearm and press enter. Next simply type Exit and hit enter again, after which it will ask you to restart your machine.

It’s worth mentioning that this tip will allow you to reset the 30-day activation period for new installs. On Vista it worked 3 times before refusing to add any more time, but the RTM of Windows 7 hasn’t been out long enough for us to re-test the feature. I expect it would be much the same and it allows you to make sure your system is 100% stable before using up an activation.

Step 3 - Activate Windows

The final step is to simply bring up the start menu, type "Activate Windows", then follow the prompts to success. This is a known working solution to perform a fresh install using upgrade media, but let me warn you now, it may eventually get patched out. With this in mind, it’s probably best to make sure activating is the first thing you do before you hit up Windows Update if you're trying this on SP1 or SP2.

Conclusion

Its unfortunate that Microsoft didn’t choose to enforce the honor system method when it comes to upgrading, but I suppose you can’t begrudge them their attempts to stem piracy. As for why Microsoft was so tight lipped about the exact upgrade requirements, we’ll probably never know, but it was likely just an attempt to avoid further controversy.

All things considered however, its rather underhanded to allow users to install without a product key, fine tune their systems, then not allow them to activate, with no phone number to call and petition your case. This happened to me simply because the installer failed the first time, and was then faced with a fresh disk when it came time for round 2.

How do you think the upgrade process was handled? Let us know in the comments below.

Additional Resources

If you’re looking for help on how to install Windows 7 as a Dual boot, check our step by step tutorial.

And if you didn’t find the answer to your upgrade question here, that’s probably because it was covered in our past guide.

Windows 7 Upgrade Guide for RC (Release Candidate) Users

Alex Castle — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:30:00 -0500

For a lot of MaximumPC readers, the fuss over Windows 7 launch week might seem a little unwarranted—after all, many of you have been happily running Windows 7 for months now, so what’s so exciting about a retail launch? In fact, if you’re in that boat, the launch poses more of a hassle than anything else, since your free RC version of Windows 7 is closer than ever to shutting down. And when it does, you can't even do an upgrade install of Windows 7, you have to either re-install Windows Vista first, or buy a standalone version of Windows 7.

Or do you? Even though Microsoft’s official stance is that you can’t upgrade from the Release Candidate to the RTM/Retail version of Windows 7, it’s actually possible to do so using a quick, easy hack. This means that you can use the cheaper upgrade version of Windows 7, and do a "Custom Upgrade" to get a clean install. Or, if you don't mind the risk of additional headaches down the line, you can do an in-place upgrade from Windows 7 RC to RTM. Here’s how to do it, in 7 simple steps

Step 1

Insert your Windows 7 retail disc into your DVD drive. Make sure to put the 32-bit installer disc in if you’ll be installing 32-bit Windows and the 64-bit installer disc in if you’re installing 64-bit Windows. If you downloaded an ISO from TechNet, simply proceed to step two.

Step 2

Extract all the files from the DVD (or ISO) into a folder on your desktop.

Step 3

Open the folder you moved the files to, then open the “sources” directory.

Step 4

Using Notepad, open the “cversion.ini” file.

Step 5

This file specifies which versions of Windows are eligible to upgrade. Right now it says the minimum client version able to upgrade is 7233—change this to read 7000 and you’ll be able to upgrade the beta or RC to RTM.

Step 6

Save cversion.ini, overwriting the old file.

Step 7

Install Windows 7 using these modified installation files. The easiest way to do this is by following our boot from USB guide. If you want, it’s also possible to create a new installation disc from these files using the free burner ImgBurn. You can find a guide on how to do this here.

Now, even though Microsoft has intentionally made this possible (and spilled the beans about how to do it in a blog post), they don’t officially support this kind of upgrade, and they warn that it may result in “some oddities,” so proceed at your own risk. Still, we’ve had good results upgrading this way, and it’s a heck of a lot more appealing than paying full-price for a standalone copy of Windows 7.

How-To: Install Windows 7 the Right Way

Alex Castle — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0500

How to get Microsoft's new OS up and running on your rig

Got your hands on Windows 7? Excellent. It's time to install this bad boy. But you want to make sure you're installing it right. Our no-nonsense install guide shows you the right way to install Windows 7 and tells you exactly what you should do the moment your install completes.

1. Back Up Your PC

Before beginning a new OS installation, it’s crucial that you back up your documents and media—after all, we recommend a clean install to minimize cruft and maximize performance. The safest, easiest way to do this is to buy a new hard disk and replace your old one. With speedy 1TB drives around $100, it’s never a bad time to upgrade your storage, and using a clean drive to install your OS means all your files are already backed up; just connect your old hard drive when you’re done and transfer over what you need.

If you’ve updated recently, or don’t want to spend the cash, you’ll want to make sure to back up the files you need to a different partition or physical drive. The most important place to look for files is in your user profile directory, which contains your Documents, Desktop, Pictures, and Application Data folders. We generally recommend backing up the entire C:/Users/<your user name> path. Remember to grab any needed program data or game saves from your Program Files folder, and also make sure to grab any other important directories you’ve created on the disk that are outside these standard paths, such as C:/Download.

2. Start the Installer

Note: If you want to install Windows 7 from a USB key, read our instructions here.

Microsoft has made installing Windows 7 simpler than with any previous version of Windows. You just drop the DVD in the tray, and restart your system. At some point during the boot, you’ll be given the option to “Press any key to boot from CD/DVD,” or something along those lines—do so. (If you don’t get this option, go into the BIOS and move the DVD drive ahead of the hard drive in the boot order). Windows will load files from the disk for a moment, then the installer will launch. Select your language preferences, then click Install Now.

Accept the Windows license agreement and choose to do a Custom install. Now, select the system partition you want to install to. (If you’re installing onto a new drive, you may need to create a partition by pressing the New button). If you’re installing over an old partition, it’s a good idea to format it to remove the remnants of the old OS before you install Win7. WARNING: Formatting removes all data from a drive, so make sure you’ve backed up everything. This is the point of no return. That’s all Windows 7 needs to know, so go make yourself a sandwich while your new OS is installed.

3. Finish the Install

Once the install is complete, you’ll be asked for a user name and computer name. We generally recommend using a more creative name than “PC” or “Laptop” for your computer name, to make networking easier. You’ll be given the option to create a password for your account, but you can skip this if you want to. You’ll then be asked for your activation key, although you can skip this step as well—Windows 7 will run for 30 days without a key or activation. Next, you’ll be prompted to choose Windows update settings; we recommend “Use recommended settings.” Set the clock and choose your time zone, and you’re ready to start using your new system.

Next, what to do immediately after the install.

Post-Install Guide

It's time to get your new OS in order

1. Install Drivers

Windows Update does a pretty good job of automatically downloading and installing the drivers your system needs, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never need to manually download a driver again. We recommend that you start (as always) by installing your motherboard’s chipset/NIC drivers. It’s also worth it to manually install the latest drivers for your videocard. Even though Windows update will most likely find drivers for your GPU, it probably won’t be the most up-to-date version available. Use Windows 7 drivers whenever they’re available, but if they aren’t, we’ve had good luck using Vista drivers on Windows 7.

2. Configure User Account Control Settings

In Vista, one of the first things you had to do with any install was disable UAC to prevent those incessant “Do you really want to install this?” prompts. Fortunately, Microsoft has tweaked the default UAC setting in Windows 7. Now, it strikes an excellent balance of keeping you safe with minimal annoyance, popping up alerts only when programs attempt to install software or alter your settings. If you want a higher level of security, you can open the UAC manager (in the control panel under Security) and raise the UAC to the maximum level, which is similar to Vista mode and will trigger an alert for pretty much anything. Alternately, you can disable notifications entirely by setting UAC to its lowest setting.

3. Restore Your Data

If you took our advice and started with a fresh hard drive, all you’ll have to do to restore your old data is connect your old HDD to a secondary SATA port and transfer over all your old files. Copy over all the important data we mentioned earlier, but be sure not to simply copy your old user profile directory over to your new one. Instead, fish out all the documents and media you need, remembering to collect important files from the hidden AppData folder, which usually includes your browser profiles and Outlook data.

How To: Install Windows 7 from a USB Key!

Norman Chan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0500

So after reading our review of Windows 7, you’re ready to take the plunge and upgrade to Microsoft's new OS. You’ve read our upgrade guide, decided whether you want 32- or 64-bit Windows 7, and bought your retail box. But what if you want to install Windows 7 on a netbook or other computer without an optical drive? Fortunately, you’re not out of luck, because Windows 7 (and Vista, for that matter) can be installed from a USB storage key. Not only does installing from a USB key remove the need for a DVD drive, the install time is also greatly reduced – we shaved off minutes from the total install time. Our step-by-step guide will have you rocking the new version of Windows in no time!

Time = 1 hour

What you need:

4GB USB key
$10, www.newegg.com
WinRAR
Free Evaluation Copy, www.rarlab.com
Windows 7
$99 (OEM)

Note: This guide will only work within Windows Vista or 7.

1. Format Your USB Key

Plug in your USB key and back up any existing data stored on it. You’ll need to format the key before you can make it a bootable device.

Open up a Command Prompt as an Administrator. You can do this by finding the cmd.exe in yoru Windows/System32 folder, right-clicking the executable, and selecting “Run as Administrator”. Alternatively, type CMD in the Start Menu search field and activate the Command Prompt using Ctrl + Shift + Enter.

You should be under c:\Windows\system32 (assuming your Windows partition is the C drive). Type “diskpart” in the command line to enter the Disk Partition command line tool, which lets you format and create partitions on active disks.

Type “list disk” to reveal a list of all your active disks, each of which is associated with a number. Make a note of which one is your USB key, based on the capacity. In our screenshot below, our USB drive is Disk 6 (8GB).

Next, type the following commands, one at a time:

Select Disk # (Where # is the number of your USB disk. We typed “Select Disk 6”)

Clean (removes any existing partitions from the USB disk, including any hidden sectors)

Create Partition Primary (Creates a new primary partition with default parameters)

Select Partition 1 (Focus on the newly created partition)

Active (Sets the in-focus partition to active, informing the disk firmware that this is a valid system partition)

Format FS=NTFS (Formats the partition with the NTFS file system. This may take several minutes to complete, depending on the size of your USB key.)

Assign (Gives the USB drive a Windows volume and next available drive letter, which you should write down. In our case, drive “L” was assigned.)

Exit (Quits the DiskPart tool)

2. Turn the USB Key into a Bootable Device

Insert the Windows 7 install DVD into your drive, and view the files that it contains. Copy all of the files here to a folder on your Desktop. We put the disc contents in a folder named “Windows 7”

Go back to your command prompt, running it as an Administrator. Using the “CD” command, find your way to the folder where you extracted the ISO files. Your command line path should look something like “C:\Users\USERNAMEHERE\Desktop\Windows 7\”.

Type the following commands:

CD Boot (This gets you into the “boot” directory)

Bootsect.exe /nt60 L: (where ‘L’ is the drive letter assigned to your USB key from the previous step)

Bootsect infuses boot manager compatible code into your USB key to make it a bootable device.

IMPORTANT: If you’re currently running 32-bit Windows Vista or 7, Bootsect will only work if you use the files from the 32-bit Windows 7 install disc. The Bootsect executable from the 64-bit version will not run in 32-bit Vista.

3. Load the USB Key Up with the Install Files

Copy all of the extracted ISO files into the USB drive. You don’t need to do this from the command prompt. Just drag and drop the files from the “Windows 7” folder into the drive using Windows Explorer.

Your USB key is now all ready to go! Plug it into your target system and make sure you enter the BIOS (typically with F2 or F12) to temporarily change the boot order to allow booting from the USB key before your primary hard drive or optical drive. On the next restart, your system should automatically begin speedily loading setup files off of the USB key and entering Windows 7 installation.

[Editor's Note: This article was originally posted as "How To: Install Windows 7 Beta from a USB Key!" It has been updated and reposted for the official launch of Windows 7 on Thursday.]

How-To: Configure and Schedule Automated Backups in Linux

Will Kraft — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Regardless of the operating system you are using, data loss is inevitable. Sooner or later, it will happen to you—the only question is how much data you will lose. Although RAID can act as an insurance policy for hardware failures, it was never designed to serve as a backup and will not perform this task well at all. Human error is always the greatest concern since important files can be accidentally overwritten or deleted at careless moments. It is easy to fall behind on your backups or get complacent; without recent backups you have no recovery strategy. This guide will help you automate your backups on your Linux rig so you will always have your files up to date.

Step 1: Get the Requisite Tools

Before you can backup your data, you need an acceptable storage location to copy it to. Optical media like CD-R/RW or DVD-R/RW discs were once a popular (but not necessarily the best) medium to back up to since they held a lot of data for the time and were fairly cheap. Cheap optical media is suitable for short-term storage, but should not be relied upon for the long-term because of the possibility of scratches, oxidation, or organic dye breakdown. (CD rot) Optical media is now even less practical than it used to be since most personal data greatly exceeds what most disc formats can hold. It would take many discs (or one or more discs in a still-expensive format like Blu-ray) to conduct a single backup session. It used to be common practice to include multiple redundant copies of a file on a disc or spread across several discs to improve the chances of recovery in case of damage, and this would inflate the disc count even more. Ultimately, it just isn't worth using optical discs for backup anymore.

Today, the only practical means for backup is either an external hard drive (or several of them, if you want maximum protection) or an external server. It is best to rely on a combination of these methods instead of just one to increase redundancy. In any case, the hard drive(s) should be large enough to accommodate both your current existing data in addition to any foreseeable growth. In the case of servers, you should definitely use a remote server if you have access to one (if you buy web hosting and have plenty of space left on your account, that would be ideal for backups) Regardless of the storage mechanisms you use, the actual file transfer operations should be done with a program called Rsync.

Step 2: Set Up Rsync

Rsync is a program that copies data from one location to another. Although another program, cp, exists for this purpose, Rsync is far more advanced and efficient; while cp can only copy entire files from one location to another on a local system, Rsync compares the source file to the destination file (if it exists) and only copies the newer parts of the source file to the destination. In this way, Rsync can synchronize data between two locations much like the Windows briefcase tool does. This saves an immense amount of time and bandwidth on backup procedures.

In addition to that, Rsync can sync files on both local and remote systems whereas cp can only work with local systems. (there is a remote version of cp called scp, but even it can only work with whole files) Rsync will be as slow as cp the first time you use it since the destination files must be copied in full to the new backup location, but subsequent sessions will be much faster. You should know that it may take anywhere from several hours to several days to complete the first Rsync session with a remote server, depending on the speed of your connection and the amount of bulk data you need to transfer. Furthermore, Rsync (via SSH) encrypts remote file transfer sessions to keep your data from being sniffed in transit.

Rsync is fairly straightforward. The basic syntax is as follows: “rsync -a [source dir] [destination dir]”. (the -a switch tells rsync to work in “archive” mode, which is ideal for backup functions) Although the basic command listed above will work once you specify the source and destination locations, there are many other options available to tweak Rsync. These can be discovered by reading the Rsync manual page (run “man rsync”).

Although the command line implementation of Rsync allows for easier automation, (more on that next) using Rsync in this way can be difficult for new users who are not used to the command line. In such cases there is a graphical frontend called Grsync that can vastly simplify the backup process. Grsync redefines the various switches as easy-to-understand checkboxes that can be set to the desired combination.

Grsync does have a degree of automation by allowing you to define and automatically run a session (grsync -e [session_name]) but standard Rsync is still much more versatile since you can specify commands directly instead of having to rely on predefined sessions.

Step 3: Cron

Once you have configured Rsync to backup your files, you are only halfway to having a viable backup plan. A decent backup solution must run regularly instead of intermittently, and all by itself Rsync will not update your files unless you manually invoke it. While you can remember to manually run Rsync every day, there is a far easier way to do it.

Linux and similar systems have a utility called Cron, which is essentially a scheduling tool for running other programs. Each user has a crontab file, which is a list of instructions for Cron to execute and the times each instruction should run. In this way, everyone (not just root) can use Cron. Cron works with the system clock; when the correct time for a planned event rolls around, Cron will automatically execute the command.

There are several ways to edit your crontab. The easiest way for new users to configure Cron is to use a frontend like gcrontab or kcron. More advanced users can edit the crontab manually in a text editor like Vim or Kate. To edit the crontab manually, open a terminal and type “crontab -e”. After that, you should check your system process list for a “cron” or “crond” process (root should own it) to make sure that the Cron daemon is running. After editing your crontab, you must restart the cron process ( run “sudo /etc/init.d/cron restart”) before your new changes will work.

Manual crontab editing looks daunting at first but is simple once you get the hang of it. Each row in the crontab list is treated as a separate command. Each row has several columns that must be specified: minute, (abbreviated “m”) hour, (abbreviated “h”) day of month, (abbreviated “dom”) month, (abbreviated “mon”) day of week, (abbreviated “dow”) and the command. Each column is delimited by a single space with no other marks, and it doesn't matter if each row lines up perfectly with the others or not. You can add times/dates as both real numbers (Cron uses a strange 24-hour clock, so noon is 12:00 and midnight is 00:00), abbreviated days of the week (Sun, Thu, etc.), and wild characters. (*) Anything defined with a wild character is interpreted by Cron as “all”, meaning that if the hour on a command is set to “*”, Cron will execute the command every hour. To configure something to run repeatedly at a certain interval, you can use a “split” wild character. (e.g. setting */2 in the hour field will cause the command to run once every two hours on the days you define.)

Cron is quite flexible; Ranges affecting everything between two values are defined by short dashes (-) while multiple nonconsecutive occasions are delimited by commas. For instance, if you wanted to run a command every day from the first of the month to the 10th, you would specify “1-10” in the “dom” field. Likewise, if you wanted a command to run every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you should declare “Mon,Wed,Fri” in the “dow” field.

Step 4: Put them Together

Now that you know about Rsync and Cron, you can probably already see how they can be used together to automate backup processes. Since decent backup procedure recommends backing up to multiple sources, you would have to create multiple crontabs each with a different rsync command. Fortunately, there is a far better way that can be handled with a single Cron job.

The various command shells on Linux (like Bash) have excellent support for scripting. Shell scripts are the Linux equivalent of Windows batch files and offer a way to quickly run multiple commands in a specific pre-defined order and with a preset configuration. If you have much experience at all on the command line, you should not find basic scripting very difficult (there are plenty of online guides to help you write scripts for bash and other shells if you run into trouble). Creating a shell script to hold the necessary Rsync commands is trivial; from that point, you can invoke the shell script in your crontab and each Rsync command will run at the appointed time you set in Cron just as though they were being invoked directly. It helps to specify the full pathname of the shell “/bin/bash $scriptname” in the crontab instead of the shortcut “./$scriptname” to make sure that Cron executes the job successfully. If you have sensitive data, you should definitely consider encrypting it before you place it on a shared server (like a web host). Encryption can be done with GPG in the shell script prior to transmission.

The only foreseeable problem with automated backup is that system configurations tend to change over time. Mount points and IP addresses can be reassigned without notice, and your script will not automatically update itself to include these changes. As long as your Rsync commands are out of date, your files will not be backed up properly and you will have no idea of the problem until it is too late. Therefore, it pays to manually run your backup commands often to check for problems and update your script as necessary.

Although Rsync can sync between locations on the local system without user input, it usually requires a password before it can sync to a remote system (it uses part of SSH's functionality for this). Since automated Cron jobs prevent user input, there is no way to provide the password when it is needed. Because of this, the default SSH behavior will not work for automated backups. You can get around this by setting up public/private key authentication for SSH; as long as the keys match, no password is required. Be forewarned that the automated key authentication will be broken if the IP address of the remote host changes (this is a deliberate feature to help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks) and that security is compromised slightly. Ultimately, it comes down to a trade-off between security and convenience, so choose wisely based on your situation and needs.