Rhyous

So I opened a command prompt to test that a port is open using the standard practive test:

telnet ipaddress port

For example, I was checking if RDP was open to an address:

However, Windows 7 just complained.

So where is telnet in windows 7? Well, I am first going to check Add / Remove Programs to see if I can add it.

1. Open Add / Remove Programs. Here is how if you don’t know.
   1. Click on Start.
   2. Type in Add / Remove Programs.
   3. Selecte and start Add / Remove Programs.
2. I then clicked on “Turn Windows Features On or Off”.
3. I then found the “Telnet Client” option.
4. I checked the box and clicked OK.And the Telnet client installed.So I have windows 7 ultimate. I understand leaving telnet off Windows 7 home by default, but I don’t understand why to leave it off of Windows 7 Ultimate. Oh, well. I guess we will just have to enable it ever time when we want it.

Ok, so I am using Windows 7 64 bit and while I have overall been pleased with Wndows 7, I must be unbiased and post the problems too, right.

Well, I have a problem that is frustrating.

PROBLEM
Windows 7 hangs when creating a new folder and hangs again when renaming it

How it happens
The problem occurs when I create a New Folder. Explorer hangs for about 45 seconds. I am not sure what the problem is, but there is no excuse for taking 45 seconds to create a new folder.

To make the problem worse, the first thing I do when I make a new folder is I rename it. So if I try to rename the folder, it hangs another 45 seconds.

Cause

Unknown…

Could it be my hardware? Maybe. I have a Lenovo T61p with 4 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive that is just shy of two years old.

Could it be some application? Maybe. But I don’t have any of the most likely culprits such as Antivirus installed. I a a developer, but I don’t have MySQL or SQL Server Express running or anything.

How is my processor and memory utilization when this occurs? Fine.
CPU: I don’t have 100% CPU, and I have almost no CPU usage, under 10% (moving between 3 and 9% and once hit 16%).
RAM: 1.3 GB used, 2.7 available.

So this is a the first big fat negative for windows 7. If you have seen this, then that would confirm that it is a wide spread issue and not just an issue on my single machine.

update: 2/20/2010
The cause is obviously something to do with going to full hibernate mode and returning.

Possible Resolutions

Do a clean reboot.
Or restart Explorer.
Or disable Windows Search??

So Windows 7 has been around in Release To Manufacturer (RTM) for since August 14, 2009.

Many have been using it in production since then. In fact, many have been using in Production since it was still in beta/release candidate form.

I have been using it for 1 month.

Quick Opinion
It is so much better than Vista and XP that it would take a novel to describe all the ways it is better. Most of them are simple things.

Anyway, please post comments on how long you have been using Windows 7 and why you like it.

Ok, so I couldn’t get Cisco’s VPN client to work for Windows 7 64 bit. So I went in search of another VPN solution that would be more compatible.

(UPDATE: I got ShrewSoft’s VPN Client working, so keep reading down below.)

I came across ShrewSoft’s VPN Client a while ago, but it originally blue screened my Windows 7 box, but it was a version that didn’t support Windows 7. However they have a new version that is out that is for Windows 7 64 bit. Actually they now have a release version on their download site but there is a beta of the next version (Update 3/05/2010)2.1.6-beta-6 that your may want to use (or a later version if you are reading this well after I wrote or updated it). See the comments on why.

I installed it and it requested a reboot so I rebooted, and the first good news is that I didn’t blue screen when my workstation booted up. Horray!!!

After installing, I tested undocking my laptop from its docking station and then docking my laptop, and again, no blue screens, so I think it is good to go. Now I just have to figure out how to configure it to connect here at work.

I like the license, they say:

Stay tuned for more testing….

Ok…I am back for more notes.

At work we are using a Cisco VPN solution, so it turns out that when my Cisco VPN would install on a 32 bit machine, it used a .pcf file. Well, guess what is awesome about ShrewSoft’s VPN Client? It can import a .pcf file.

I imported the .pcf file and I appear to connect, then disconnect. Not sure what is going on. I am at work, but I should be able to connect to the VPN while at work, at least that is what my IT staff said.

So hopefully it connects when I am at home.

Here is my log:

I will try to debug later…

All right I am back again and I am trying to debug. I found this post:
http://lists.shrew.net/pipermail/vpn-help/2009-October/002282.html

There is a program under Start | All Programs | Shrew Soft VPN Client called “Trace Utility” that is installed with the Shrew Soft VPN Client can be used for debugging. However, it wouldn’t work for me. The buttons weren’t enabled.

I had to right-click on the “Trace Utility” shortcut and choose “Run as administrator” then I was able to turn on debugging.

Positives for Shrew Soft VPN Client
– It has a debugging utility.
– It supports Windows 7 64 bit
– It imports cisco .pcf files.
– There is a lot of documentation.

Negatives for Shrew Soft VPN Client
– I don’t have it working yet
– There is not really any clear failure reason for a user.

So I will keep at it. I think I am about going to email the developer, but I sure don’t want to bug him.

Hopefully for some of you, it worked first time for you when you imported the .pcf file.

Got it working

Another positive. The developer has a mailing list, as you saw with one of my links above. I found this link:
http://lists.shrew.net/pipermail/vpn-help/2009-October/002275.html

The key piece of information I needed was this:

In the tool, after importing my .pcf file, I only had to make one configuration change. I had to change the PFS setting to “group 2”. See this screen shot.

So I have this working now.

I have to say that I am very impressed with Shrew Soft. It took me some time to figure it out, but it works. Now the only question time will tell is how stable it is. Expect an update in a week or two about whether I think the Shrew Soft VPN Client is stable.

The steps are easy for me to connect to my VPN at work. Now every VPN is different so I am sorry if these steps don’t work for you:

1. Use the correct (and latest) version: 2.1.6-beta-6 or later
2. Install Shrew Soft VPN Client
3. Reboot.
4. Import the .pcf file.
5. Modify the configuration and change the PFS setting to “group 2”.
6. Apply the configuration.
7. Click connect.
8. Enter your domain user and password and you will connect.

Success!!!!

Also, I exported my configuration as a Shrew Soft VPN Client export, which is a .VPN file. When I import it, I don’t have to make a configuration change like I did with the Cisco .pcf file.

Key words: cisco vpn window 7 64 bit

Well, it doesn’t exist because it no longer needs to exist and hasn’t needed to exist for a while.

You can easily add icons to your “Start bar” in two ways:

Method 1. By opening a program, then right-clicking on the icon while it is open and choosing Pin this program to task bar.

Method 2. Right-click on the “Start bar” and choose Toolbars | New toolbar. Then select a folder that contains the icons you want. For example, to get a quick launch toolbar of Office 2007 icons, you would select this folder:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft Office

Check out my “Start bar”. You have to right-click it and choose “View image” to see the whole thing.