The Virtual Server team has just released an update for Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. (Link) This update brings in many bug fixes along with support for new Host and Guest operating systems including Windows XP SP3, Vista SP1, and Server 2008!
Along with the new Guest and Host operating systems, bug fixes have also been included to allow proper unplugging of a VHD in Windows XP. With this fix, Shiv’s previous article on how to Deloy an XPe Image directly into a VHD will now work properly in Windows XP.
Follow the installation instructions that are mentioned in Shiv’s Article, and then install the update from here.
Enjoy!
- Parag
Technorati Tags: XPe, Componentization
Virtual PC provides an amazing way to test XPe runtimes. We use it quite often to debug , test and demonstrate. However, deploying a runtime into a VHD is not that straight forward; you need either an Operating System in another partition of the VM or to boot to WinPE and copy it over the network. Wouldn’t it be cool, if we a can treat the VHD file as a drive or folder and copy the XPe builds directly to it. VHDMount, a tool available with Microsoft Virtual Server R2 can help us with just that. There is a short time hit to set it up initially , but deploying runtimes becomes a breeze later.
1. Download Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. (It is a free download!). You will not need the full installation just the VHDMount utility.
a. Launch the Setup and Click on Install Microsoft Virtual Server
b. Accept EULA and press next
c. Click on the Custom Install option
d. Disable every feature except VHD Mount. This requires about 5Mb of disk space.
e. Complete the Installation
VHDMount should be installed in %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Virtual Server\VHDMount
2. If you have an existing VHD which has already been formatted just mount it as described in Step 3 and skip to Step 7, else create a new VHD file using the Virtual Hard Disk wizard in Virtual PC. For this exercise, let us assume the VHD file path is C:\VHDs\XPe.vhd
3. Mount the VHD using the VHDMount. Open up a command prompt and navigate to %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Virtual Server\VHDMount.
Note:You need to open Admin Console in Vista
Type the following to mount the VHD
> vhdmount /m /f C:\VHDs\XPe.vhd
4. If you created a new VHD file you might not see the Drive yet, as the disk has not been initialized. You could use Windows Disk Manager to do this, but as geeks let us stick to the command prompt.
5. Type diskpart on the prompt
C:\> DISKPART
Microsoft DiskPart version 6.0.6001
Copyright (C) 1999-2007 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: WORK
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ---------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 233 GB 0 B
Disk 1 Online 300 MB 297 MB
DISKPART> select disk 1
Disk 1 is now the selected disk.
DISKPART> create partition primary
DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition.
DISKPART> assign
DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART> format fs=ntfs label="XPe"
100 percent completed
DiskPart successfully formatted the volume.
DISKPART> exit
Leaving DiskPart...
6. Now you will see the VHD loaded as a drive in you computer. Just copy the XPe build bits to this drive.
7. To Un-mount the drive, type
> vhdmount /u C:\VHDs\XPe.vhd
After un-mounting the VHD, just add it to a Virtual Machine(if not already), start it and you should see FBA launching. From the next time you just need to mount it, copy the build and unmount it. Happy Debugging!
For additional kicks, you can add a shell plugin to mount a VHD file using VHDMount by double clicking on it. Check this post from the Virtual PC Guy.
Note: The method I described above only works on Vista and Server 2003. XP has some issue around un-mounting VHD files. I will try to find a solution/work around for this issue and post the result soon.
- Shiv
Make sure to mark your calendars and register now for the launch of Windows® Embedded Standard on June 3rd, 2008!
WINDOWS EMBEDDED STANDARD VIRTUAL LAUNCH EVENT
![clip_image001[4]](http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/embedded/WindowsLiveWriter/RegisterfortheLaunchEventWinanXbox_EB78/clip_image001%5B4%5D_1.gif)
This is a virtual event, so you’ll be among the first in the world to get up to speed on Windows Embedded Standard. Kevin Dallas, the General Manager for Windows Embedded Business, will be there to discuss the new technologies and how they further enable next-generation enterprise device scenarios. Plus, you can join from the comforts of your own home – no travel required, and you can even wear your pajamas if you want – what could be better than that?
Do you like to play Xbox? If you register for the launch webcast and download the Community Technology Preview starting June 2nd then you will be entered to win one of ten Xbox 360 Elites! For more information and official rules, click here.
- Shayna
If things have gotten a bit stale in your day to day life, then you’ll be happy to know that in the first week of June we’ll have a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of our next product release ready for you to download and try out – Windows® Embedded Standard! I’m sure it’ll liven things up a bit!
What is Windows® Embedded Standard? As noted in my previous blog, it is the next generation of Windows XP Embedded. It delivers the power, familiarity, and reliability of the Windows operating system to help you rapidly configure devices that easily connect to many common industry standards and Microsoft technologies.
Our team has been working hard on getting this CTP ready and we’re looking forward to your feedback (the good, the bad and the ugly). If you’ve participated in past CTPs, then you know the drill. We’ll be sending out a mail to everyone that is registered on the Connect site as soon as the download is available. If you haven’t participated in a CTP before and are wondering what it even is, I can tell you that it’s basically a beta program. We post a download on the Connect site, and you get to install it, play around with it, try to break it, and send us your feedback. You submit bugs and suggestions through the Connect site, and it goes directly into our Product Studio database for direct review by the product team. Visit our Connect site now to register: http://connect.microsoft.com/windowsembedded.
We have a fairly short window of time for folks to give us feedback on this release, so we’d like to ask that you please allocate time in your schedule to download, try out, and give us your feedback as soon as it is available. In order to allow us enough time to review and possibly incorporate feedback into the final product, feedback should be submitted through the Connect site before July 7th, 2008.
Please stay tuned for more information! In the meantime, if you have any questions about this CTP please send mail to ewtap@microsoft.com.
- Shayna
A big thanks to everyone who joined us for our last chat session on April 24th! If you weren’t able to make it, you can now read the full transcript of the chat on the MSDN site here. The chat was focused on general XP Embedded questions. Let us know what you thought of this chat and if the format was useful to you. We’d also love to hear any ideas you have for future topics or concentration areas – send them to us at ewcrt@microsoft.com.
We’ll be scheduling our next chat in the coming weeks, so look for an announcement soon!
- Lynda
Technorati tags - XPe
The evening of April 29 2008 Seattle Time, or the morning of April 30 in China, while most of the team had gone home, I hid myself in the office and delivered my first webcast to MSDN China customers on XPe Componentization through my little laptop. The webcast was done via Live Meeting. There were about 24 attendees. Because of a glitch of the Live Meeting server when the attendees were asked to fill out the feedback survey at the end, only 9 of them submitted the feedback. The results looked good. I also noticed the variety of the attendees in terms of cities they are from and companies they work for.
In the webcast presentation, I quickly mentioned the new naming of our Windows Embedded product family and encouraged everyone to sign up for the launch event webcast of our next product release in June. Then I talked about the basics of componentization, ran the demos of using different tools such as Process Monitor to componentize an application, and at the end quickly covered some tips and tricks. A classic intro on componentization, thanks to the original presentation and demo authors Andy, Lynda and Shiv on the team.
I have presented to live audience in TechEd China and MED China in the past. Still, going through this webcast was quite a lot fun (and challenging of course), from the weekend I began translating the original English version of the PowerPoint presentation to Chinese, to the moment today when I was able to review the webcast online myself for the 1st time. “Not too bad”, I took a deep breath, “Let’s do it again!”
Yes, indeed, I have just sent emails to other people on the team who also speak Mandarin. Hopefully I can recruit more speakers and topics for our Chinese customers. In fact given we have team members from all around the world, e.g., Germany, Korea, Italy, and more, we may very well run webcasts in other languages in the future. Stay tuned for that. Let us know your thoughts too.
You can view the webcast online here. For all webcasts on MSDN China, visit here.
Weijuan
Last week at the Embedded Systems Conference Microsoft unveiled a road map that outlines new names for the Windows Embedded Business products and announced plans for new solutions in key device categories. Our General Manager, Kevin Dallas, stated that the goal is “to present the evolving Windows Embedded product family in an intuitive fashion, making it easier for our customers to choose the right platforms and tools for their needs.”
So what does this actually mean? Well, you’ll be seeing new names for all products in the Windows Embedded Family. The new naming won’t take effect immediately; instead it will be phased in with new releases of each product line. And just to ease your mind, this name change does not affect the current products availability. All current Windows Embedded products will remain available for purchase in line with the standard Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy.
Windows Embedded CE -> Windows Embedded Compact
Windows XP Embedded -> Windows Embedded Standard
Windows for Embedded Systems -> Windows Embedded Enterprise
A new connected device category was announced that will ship as preconfigured toolkits with additional category specific functionality and integration. These solutions will be offered under the Windows Embedded “Ready” moniker and will include the next generation of Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS) à Windows Embedded POSReady.
The first release with the new name structure will be Windows Embedded Standard, the next generation of Windows XP Embedded, and will launched simultaneously at Microsoft’s TechEd North American conference and through a Global Webcast on June 3rd. You can register for the webcast here.
For full details of the announcement you can read the PressPass article.
- Shayna
Do your part for environment and a better internet ecosystem!
To commemorate Earth Day, April 22nd, Internet Explorer has launched an environmentally themed campaign called Carbon Grove.
Windows Internet Explorer has partnered with a carbon reduction reminder service to help increase awareness around one of Earth’s most precious resources. You can reduce your carbon footprint and have fun growing your own virtual forest at the same time! Browse three endangered forests while learning how to become a better steward of the environment.
The Carbon Grove campaign highlights what each of us can do to help improve our Earth’s ecosystem and via IE7/8 browser requirement, fosters a safer internet ecosystem. The more people upgrading to Internet Explorer 7 and eventually IE8, the safer our overall internet ecosystem. The campaign launches in US today and will extend into Germany, Poland and France on May 22nd.
Highlighting IE and Silverlight
Built on Windows technology and Silverlight, www.carbongrove.com is a way to reduce your carbon footprint and help move the web forward. The site will only work with Internet Explorer 7 or IE8 Beta. IE6 or alternative browser users will be prompted to download Internet Explorer 7. In addition, the site also showcases IE8’s WebSlice feature and Silverlight technology when planting virtual trees and displaying endangered forests.
How it Works
By answering a short set of questions about your impact on the environment and committing to change one or two behaviors, you earn the right to plant a “seed” in your choice of three endangered virtual forests. Over time, as you confirm via a weekly reminder email that you are working to change your behaviors, your tree will grow and even become shelter for animals native to your forest environment. You can embed your virtual tree in your blog or website, sharing this site with others, and for those running IE8 Beta 1, watch your tree grow in a WebSlice no matter where you happen to be browsing.
Call to Action:
· Visit www.carbongrove.com take the quiz on reducing your carbon footprint
· Plant your tree and explore the 3 endangered forests
· Download IE8 Beta 1 and add the virtual tree WebSlice
· Share the site with others so that together we can impact the earth positively.
· Do your part for the environment and watch your tree grow!
- Andy
I didn’t know yesterday, April 22, was the Earth Day of 2008 until I received the April Newsletter from Imagine Cup late last night. But I did turn off the light as usual when I left the office. That newsletter also brought me to the lively Microsoft Environment Web Site. I recall I ran into an internal blog from Microsoft's new Chief Environment Strategist Rob Bernard the other day. He was talking about the experience of his first 120 days on the job, explaining what his role entails and Microsoft’s vision on environment, etc. I remember I said to myself “huh, that’s exciting”. I know there is an internal employee group called “MS Green” who advocates environment friendly actions inside Microsoft. This official environment business unit will sure go above and beyond. I am happy to see that.
Now that we have this whole new crispy clear public Microsoft environment site (definitely powered by Silverlight), I somehow feel the sky in Seattle is even brighter, the air is even fresherJ. So I am onto thinking how we can use XPe to make the earth better. Yes, “Innovating to Improve the Planet”. Wish me luck!
Weijuan
Please join our product team for a discussion tomorrow where we’ll cover some key hot topics from the XPe forums and newsgroups. This chat will take place from 10am-11am (PST).
We will of course still welcome ANY question related to XP Embedded during the chat as we will have lots of the product team on board to help answer all questions and respond to comments.
You can join the chat at http://www.microsoft.com/communities/chats/default.mspx.
Please come and get your comments and questions heard and help us improve our products!
The Embedded team has been working hard on some exciting development projects. We gave consideration to the optional updates we might provide, and found there weren’t many candidates for consideration at this time, and the value-add of those candidates didn’t stack up against keeping our resources on our current efforts. Please watch this space for more information on these projects in the coming weeks, we’re excited to share what we’ve been working on!
- Gina
The April 2008 Windows XP Embedded Security Updates are now available on the Mobile & Embedded Communications Extranet (ECE) for Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded Service Pack 2, Feature Pack 2007, and Update Rollup 1.0.
April 2008 Windows XP Embedded Security Updates
The April 2008 Windows XP Embedded Security Updates are cumulative and include updates for the Windows Component Database and the Desktop QFE Installer (DQI) Tool.
The following updates are included in this release – please see the ECE for more details:
For Windows XP Embedded with SP2, Feature Pack 2007, and/or Update Rollup 1.0:
· KB 943055 Vulnerability in OLE Automation Could Allow Remote Code Execution.
· KB 945553 Vulnerability in DNS Client Could Allow Spoofing.
· KB 948590 Vulnerabilities in GDI Could Allow Remote Code Execution.
· KB 948881 Security Update of ActiveX Kill Bits.
· KB 947864 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer.
· KB 941693 Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege.
For Windows XP Embedded with SP2 or Feature Pack 2007 without Update Rollup 1.0:
· KB 944338 Vulnerability in VBScript and JScript Scripting Engines Could Allow Remote Code Execution.
The April 2008 Windows XP Embedded Security Updates are available at the following link on the ECE:
https://ece.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/ece/ProductSupplements/DownloadCenter/Embedded/XPE/XPEMonthlyUpdates/DistOEM-Apr08WinXPEScrtyUpdts.htm
-Charles
Spring is the perfect season for chatting! Please join our product team for a discussion where we’ll cover some key hot topics from the XPe forums and newsgroups. This chat will take place on Thursday, April 24th from 10am-11am (PST).
We will of course still welcome ANY question related to XP Embedded during the chat as we will have lots of the product team on board to help answer all questions and respond to comments.
You can join the chat at http://www.microsoft.com/communities/chats/default.mspx.
Please come and get your comments and questions heard and help us improve our products!
Well, I suppose it is really day 1/2, as today's sessions were mostly pre-conference sessions for most participants. However, the Windows Embedded team started our regular conference series of breakout sessions and things seem to be going smoothly.
Mike Hall started off the day with his usual cheer - quite a feat at 8-30am <grin>. He showed everyone "How to Become a Windows Embedded CE developer in 60 minutes"- although we are still wondering why his session lasted 90 minutes. Tom Xanthos delivered his first-ever Embedded presentation on "Introduction to Windows XP Embedded", and he was very polished and prepared. There were about 40-50 attendees at his session, which gradually whittled down to around 20 or so for my session, "Creating Custom Components for XP Embedded"- the last of the day, starting at 3pm. And somehow someone stole 1/2 hour from my session- I was only allocated 1 hour, while everyone else got 90 minutes. Maybe there are big plans for tonight that I don't know about, and everyone had to leave at 4pm...
Between Tom's and my session Dion Hutchings gave his session on "Choosing the right API for your Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Application". Right next door to the breakout sessions there are the Hand-On Labs. It seems things were slow to get started but by mid-afternoon there were about 40 people putting into practice some of the stuff they had learned earlier in the day in the various breakout sessions. For a detailed list of all the Hand-on Lab sessions available see this link.
For a detailed list of the rest of the week's session relating to Windows Embedded view this link.
If you are at the conference swing by to chat with the product team members who are staffing the booth or proctoring the Hands-on labs. We would love to hear about your devices, your feature requests or anything else Embedded-related! We are in the Almaden ballrooms at the Hilton, right next to the McEnery Conference Center.
- Lynda
Technorati Tags:
XPe,
Componentization
One of XP Embedded's partners, Ampro, achieved Silver Level status recently. Windows Embedded partners are ranked as either Partners, Silver Level Partners or Gold Level Partners.
Ampro is a leading supplier of board-level embedded computers. They chose Windows XP Embedded and Windows CE for their boards because these products "reduce development costs and speed time-to-revenue for OEMs creating standards-based embedded systems" according to Ampro's Chief Technology Officer Rick Lehrbaum.
In today's press release, Ampro also announced plans to shortly integrate Microsoft's Windows Embedded CE and Windows XP Embedded evaluation kits into the Quick Start Kits (QSKs). For the full press release from Ampro see this article.
For more information about how to become an Embedded partner see this page.
Congratulations!
- Lynda