Installing Windows 7 and WinTPC… Continued

 

 

Step 3: Select Language, Time and Currency, and Input Method

 

Step 4: Read and Accept the License agreement        

 

Step 5: Delete existing partitions                                                       see note below

a. Select the partition and then select Drive options (advanced)

b. Click on Delete

c. Repeat process for any partitions that contain the same disk number as the drive you desire to install Windows on until you get one partition for that drive number that states Unallocated Space.

d. Select the desired drive with the unallocated space and press next

note: For stability reasons I suggest always formatting the hard drive before installing windows. This of course will delete all data on the selected drive. If you do not wish to perform a format, and instead perform an upgrade installation, in some cases you can, but this guide will not direct you how to do so.

Installing Windows 7 and WinTPC

        Windows 7 was released to manufactures July 22, 2009 as the successor to Windows Vista. Possibly one of the most stable and secure operating systems, Windows 7 is Microsoft’s fastest selling operating system. Windows 7 requires a 1 GHz processor (single or multi-core), 1 GB of ram and 16 GB of hard drive space for 32 bit systems, 2 GB of ram and 32 GB of hard drive space for 64 bit systems. It is recommended that computer has more than the required hardware specs installed, and if Windows Aero (the transparency affects) are to be used a video card utilizing Direct X 9 and WDDM need to be installed on the computer.

Windows Thin PC (WinTPC) is based off the same technology of Windows 7. It is designed to be a lightweight operating system, and has many features found in Windows 7 stripped out of it. It does add embedded features, these features enhance stateless or semi-stateless environments (kind of like what you would find at a kiosk station). Officially, Microsoft has issued the same requirements for Windows Thin PC as Windows 7, but WinTPC has a smaller footprint, which enables it to run much better than Windows 7 on less resources. Still wise to have at least those requirements though.

This guide is intended as a reference only, to help install Windows 7 and WinTPC onto your computer. Screenshots are provided to enhance and simplify the guide. Your installation experience may very depending on the state of your computer and its hardware. Refer to your computers owner’s manual and Windows 7’s homepage for any advanced installation steps.

Step 1: Preparation

Be sure that you and your computer are ready for the installation of the new operating system. Back up files to a secure and safe location. Ensure you have all resources needed for the installation, like your license key and any drivers needed to be installed after OS installation. Make sure you have enough time to install the operating system. (You may need up to two hours for the operating system alone. Not a quick task by any means.)

Step 2: Boot to Installation Media

Refer to your computer’s owners manual to boot your computer to CD, and do so with the Windows installation disc inserted to your computer’s cd drive. Follow any onscreen instructions to boot to the CD/DVD.

 

Next

*Click Next to view the next  steps of the guide

Windows Phone 7 Wallpaper

These Wallpaper images are designed for Windows Phone 7. When you swipe to unlock your phone, notice the transparent affect that these wallpapers show.

1. Click the Preview Image of the wallpaper you wish to download.

2.Email the photo to yourself and open with your phone.

3. Apply and enjoy

note: Images while shown in the web browser will appear to lack any black. This is normal, and when you apply the image as your background, all will appear correctly.

Boy, how time has past

 

     Well, it sure has been a while since I updated anything on the blog. Hopefully that wont be to much of an issue with summer brake coming. So what has happened during this tie of silence? Well here is the summary.

     With the release of Windows Phone 7, development for Windows Mobile 6.5 by me has been slowed, if not stopped. A whole new market has opened up, one that is inviting and shows promise for Windows users everywhere. I must say at first I was skeptical about the release, but upon booting it up for the first time on my HD2, I just couldn’t go back. Sorry Windows Mobile fans, but Winod0ws Phone 7 was just to much to pass up.

    I stated before that I was going to post some tutorials on Photoshop. I still plan on doing this. Photoshop is widely used by the developments community, and if used properly can increase productivity and appearance greatly. My plan is to start simple, by introducing the Fundamentals of Photoshop, and then move on to the more complex stuff.

   In other news, AndroidLock is still a very popular and strong application. Recently it was accepted by FamousWhy.com to receive the Famous Software Award. Though not extremely prestigious, it was nice to be recognized by a company who reviews and rates applications. I am still very amazed with how well this tiny application has done, and I must say that it is difficult to give up on Windows Mobile 6.5, especially with how AndroidLock has performed. For possible the last official progress report on AndroidLock, as of today the number of downloads of the application hit over 27,000. Thanks to all who made that possible.

    With that, I plan to move into development for Windows Phone 7 and Android. For now I am getting familiar with the tools and applications that I will be using to build those application, and no official plans for an app have been made. When there are plans for applications, you will be the first to know.

    Until then, keep a look out for the Photoshop tutorials.

AndroidLock Update

AndroidLock has been updated to version 1.4. This update includes touch ups on the slider to improve its appearance. Another improvement to the lock screen is the appearance of notification details. The update provides a more refined and optimized way to view the notifications, offering the ability to show more notifications on the lock screen at once. Check out the App thread here.

With this update I released a new skin for the AndroidLock. The new skin is designed after the popular GTX theme available for the HD2, and several other devices. This theme is released to thank you all for you support for AndroidLock. Check out the Skin thread here.

The Future of the Application

It is my hope to eventually create a release of the app that is ready for the Windows Market. Your support and comments have helped me come closer to this reality. Though the release on the market will most likely not be freeware, I hope that you look for it and support it there on the marketplace.

Featured on XDA

 

   Today AndroidLock was featured on XDA-Developers.com. For those that do not know, XDA-Developers is one of first websites to feature hacks and modifications for smartphones. With over three million registered users, and thousands of visits every day, AndroidLock is being broadcasted to the world at a speed I could have never predicted.

   In the first week, I thought it was great that a few hundred people had downloaded AndroidLock. The count is now over 10,000 downloads, and with the recent exposer on XDA, the downloads are accelerating. To celebrate the success of AndroidLock I will be releasing a new skin, designed after the popular GTX theme that many at XDA are familiar with. Soon to come will be an update to fix a few bugs and performance issues. There are still many things that I have planned for AndroidLock, I want to thank everybody who has provided incite and encouragement during its development. None of this would have been possible without you.

To view the post of AndroidLock from XDA-Developers click here.

AndroidLock Addons

Here is a list of the Addons made by Drake Arts for AndroidLock.

Click on images to download.

Download CristalSlide skin

Download GTX Theme

If you install an addon, and decide to uninstall after, you must reinstall AndroidLock.

AndroidLock

AndroidLock is an application that replaces the default Windows Mobile 6.5 lockscreen, with a lockscreen that looks similar to the Android OS Vannilla Lock. It features a new way to display time and date, ensuring the user can see clearly what day and time it is. The lock slider is fingure friendly and beautiful, providing ease of use and eye friendly looks. Download AdroidLock today for your Windows Mobile 6.5 device. (Currently only supports WVGA resolutions.)

Preview of the LockScreen

The making of AndroidLock from Drake Arts

In aspect, the making of AndroidLock was not all that difficult. All the tools needed for the making of it were provided with the Operating system, it was modifying those files and adjusting them that proved to painstaking.

The first task was to adjust the Slider, so that it could act and move as I needed it to. This required some trial and error, as the output doesn’t always act as you expect it to.

The next step was finalizing the images that would be used for the slider. This was the easy part to do, as I had images of the Android OS’s lock screen handy. These images would replace the rough draft images that I made and used to tweak the slider position.

Rough Draft vs the Final Draft

After I was satisfied with that, I moved onto the notification icons. The Idea for those Icons are that they can be used as a gradient/color wheel when placed side by side. This I hoped would limit clashing of colors and contrast between the notifications and the lock slider.

Most of the work done on the notification arrows were done tweaking the position of them. Sounds easy enough, right?… Wrong! The positioning of these arrows proved just as painstaking as the slider. You tell the arrow to be positioned 30 pixels to the right, and it moves only 5 pixels  instead, or so it appeared that way. But eventually that all got worked out.

The Font chosen for the time and date, was done so because that font is easy to read, easy to manage, and doesn’t clash with any of the other system fonts.

The last step I took was bringing back the notifications counter, and making some final tweaks and optimizations. Then it was off to packing the app into a cab and posting it first on XDA-Developers. After seeing the success there it was time to post the application on software distribution sites. Within 24 hours of release the Application had over 1,400 downloads.

Thanks for all your support, and though the summary of developemnet may be short, the time that went into the app wasn’t. For those that feel they can, please donate using the button on the contact page.