Tom Archer's Blog https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/feed.xml My name is Tom Archer and I'm a Senior MVP Lead. Our team is tasked with recognizes, rewarding and enabling exceptional technical community leaders who foster the free and objective exchange of knowledge by actively sharing their real world Microsoft p Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:33:29 GMT en-US hourly 1 Moving blog homes https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/moving-blog-homes Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:05:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2007/10/25/moving-blog-homes/ Just a quick note that I've moved my blog to WordPress: https://tomarcher.wordpress.com/

]]> Joining the MVP Team! https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/joining-the-mvp-team Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:37:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2007/08/09/joining-the-mvp-team/ On 25 July 2007, I officially started my new job as a Senior MVP Lead!! While I enjoyed my time as a Program Manager on the Windows SDK team (where I was responsible for the .NET Framework and Platform SDK Tools, C++ compilers and reference assemblies), I've always had an affinity for community work - whether it be running Web sites, writing books, or speaking at user-groups. In fact, one of my favorite accomplishments was being awarded as a Visual C++ MVP where my MVP Lead (Eric Sassaman) is now a teammate!

I will have two main responsibilities on the team to start with:

  • MVP Lead for the Windows SDK and the Windows Server Customer Experience. Due to my knowledge of the Windows SDK and my contacts on the team, Eric (the previous MVP Lead) was gracious enough to give this technology over to me. (Thanks Eric!) The Windows Server Customer Experience is made up of a group of MVPs who are mainly focused on user-group activities surrounding IT Pro needs, which segues perfectly into my second main responsibility.
  • Project Manager driving the "Offline MVP Discovery" task. Offline MVPs are those that have a community impact outside of the Internet/Web - such as trainers, authors, public speakers, user-group coordinators, etc. Therefore, my job will be to work with the rest of our MVP Program team to determine the best way to find, reward and enable these MVPs.

In the coming weeks, I look to get back into my blogging and article writing where - among other things - I'll write about the MVP program, my particular responsibilities and whatever cool thing I bump into here at Microsoft that I think others might find interesting.

]]> Windows Vista September CTP and Compatibility Matrix Update https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/windows-vista-september-ctp-and-compatibility-matrix-update Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:22:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/09/22/windows-vista-september-ctp-and-compatibility-matrix-update/ The Windows SDK team has now released their September CTP to match the Windows Vista September CTP. While Windows Vista September CTP is only available to beta and TAP members, you can use the Windows SDK on "downlevel" machines - Windows XP SP1 or Windows Server 2003 (SP1 or R2). You can find all the links you need for the Windows Vista and .NET 3.0 development tools in my Compatibility Matrix blog post.

Speaking of that matrix, I wrote that blog post a couple of months ago (when July CTP released) to try and mitigate the confusion caused by having three concurrent CTPs/Betas of Windows Vista and the various .NET 3.0 development tools. The scenario of having multiple supported CTPs/Betas was an anomoly so I didn't anticipate updating that blog entry. However, the matrix has proven so popular that I've decided to continue updating it through RTM with each of our Windows Vista and .NET 3.0 development tool releases.

Windows Vista, .NET 3.0 and Windows SDK Compatibility Matrix

]]> Microsoft Acquires SysInternals https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/microsoft-acquires-sysinternals Tue, 18 Jul 2006 13:25:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/07/18/microsoft-acquires-sysinternals/ From the standpoint of someone working at Microsoft and responsible for the Windows SDK, this is incredible news. We are basically acquiring some of the best tools for that space (low-level, hard-core devs) as well as the services of two very talented people in Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell. (I actually had the pleasure of meeting Mark some years ago when I ran CodeGuru and on top of being extremely intelligent he's also a very cool person).

I don't know what this will mean to who the Winternal and Sysinternals tools will ship in the future - as part of the Windows SDK?? - but will post here as soon as I know something that I can share.

]]> Windows Vista, .NET 3.0 and Windows SDK Compatibility Matrix https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/windows-vista-net-3-0-and-windows-sdk-compatibility-matrix Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:52:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/07/17/windows-vista-net-3-0-and-windows-sdk-compatibility-matrix/ [28 September 2006 Update] The Windows Vista September CTP has been released to beta members. There is a matching September CTP from the .NET 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK, "Orcas" Tools and Workflow Extensions to Visual Studio 2005.

I originally wrote this blog entry to help folks reconcile the differences between three concurrent releases of Windows Vista - each of which had different release points (public vs. MSDN vs. beta-only) - with the various moving parts that developers needed (.NET 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK and Visual Studio 2005 Extensions). Due to popular demand, I've decided to continue updating it through RTM with each release of the various products.

Note: CTPs are generally removed once superceded by two releases. Therefore, this blog entry will be updated to remove the links to those releases which are no longer available from our servers.

Below, I’ve listed the builds in terms of what works with each operating system and development/runtime environment to help you decide which build you need. Once you know which build you wish to install, you can then use the Download Locations Matrix to locate the download pages/links. The last section then enumerates some key points regarding each build milestone.

Determining the Build that is Right for You

Are you setting up this environment for Windows Vista?
  • Is Windows Vista September CTP the most current build you have access to? (Beta Members and CPP) September CTP
  • Is Windows Vista RC1 the most current build you have access to? (MSDN Subscription, Beta Members and CPP) RC1
  • Is Windows Vista Beta 2 the most current build you have access to? (While the Windows Vista Beta 2 is publicly available to anyone, the June CTP requires a beta membership and July CTP requires either beta membership or an MSDN subscription) Beta 2
  • Do you have access to the Windows Vista June and July CTP builds and want the complete set of matching Windows Vista/.NET 3.0 development bits? June CTP (There is no July CTP build of the “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0)
  • Do you have access to Windows Vista July CTP and want the matching Windows Vista/.NET 3.0 development bits even though they do not contain the “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0? July CTP
Are you setting up this environment for Windows XP SP2 or Windows 2003 Server?
  • Do you want the latest complete set of matching .NET 3.0 development bits? September CTP

Download Locations Matrix

To use this matrix, simply locate the row that matches the operating system and build milestone that you're targeting (shown in the first column of each row). Then from left to right download and install each desired tool on that row with the following considerations:
  • If you want to run (not develop .NET 3.0 applications), you only need the .NET 3.0 Runtime Components for the desired build milestone. (The other downloads are for developing native and .NET 3.0 applications)
  • If you want to develop native-only (non.NET) applications, you only need the Windows SDK for the desired build milestone.
  • "Orcas" Tools for .NET 3.0 Development is only needed if you are writing Windows Presentation Foundation applications and are using a released (non beta) copy of Visual Studio 2005 (including the Express Editions)
  • Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) Extensions to Visual Studio is only needed if you are writing Windows Workflow Foundation applications and are using a released (non beta) copy of Visual Studio 2005 (including the Express Editions)
Note: Since these are all "prerelease bits", it is highly recommended that you install these products/technologies on a non-production, test machine and remove any previous versions before installing.

Operating System .NET 3.0 Runtime Components Windows SDK "Orcas" Tools for .NET 3.0 WF Extensions to Visual Studio
 Vista - September CTP (5728) Sept CTP (4506.03 - installed by O/S) Sept CTP (5728.0.4) Sept CTP Release Candidate 5
 Vista - RC1 (5600) RC1 (4324.17 - installed by O/S) RC1 (5536.0.2) RC1 Release Candidate 5
 Vista - Pre RC1 (5536) RC1 (4324.17 - installed by O/S) None None None
 Vista - July CTP (5472.5) July CTP (4306 - installed by O/S) July CTP (5472.2.1) None Release Candidate 4
 Vista - June CTP (5456) June CTP (4131.06 installed by O/S) June CTP (5456.3) June CTP Release Candidate 2
 Vista - Beta 2 (5384.4) Beta 2 (installed by O/S) Beta 2 (5383.1.1) Beta 2 Beta 2.2
 
 XP (SP2) or Win2K3 Sept CTP (4506.03) Sept CTP (5728.0.4) Sept CTP Release Candidate 5
 XP (SP2) or Win2K3 RC1 (4324.17) RC1 (5536.0.2) RC1 Release Candidate 5
 XP (SP2) or Win2K3 July CTP (4307) July CTP (5472.2.1) None Release Candidate 4
 XP (SP2) or Win2K3 June CTP (4131.06) June CTP (5456.3) June CTP Release Candidate 2
 XP (SP2) or Win2K3 Beta 2 Beta 2 (5383.1.1) Beta 2 Beta 2.2

Build Notes

Here are some key notes for each currently published build milestone for Windows Vista and the .NET 3.0 Framework development tools.

Windows Vista Pre RC1

  • Windows Vista Build 5536 was a prerelease for RC1 directed at end-users (non developers).
  • There were no released matching developer bits (Windows SDK, Visual Studio 2005 Extensions, etc.)
July 2006 CTP
  • Windows Vista July CTP (5472.5) is only available for MSDN subscribers and beta members
  • The July CTP includes builds of the .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components and Windows SDK for use with Windows Vista July CTP (5472.5), Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server
  • There is no July CTP build of the “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0
  • The July CTP builds of .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components and Windows SDK are not supported for .NET 3.0 development on Windows Vista Beta 2 or Windows Vista June CTP
June 2006 CTP
  • Windows Vista June CTP (5456) is only available to beta members
  • There are public downloads for June CTP builds of .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK and “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0 for use with Windows Vista June CTP (5456), Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server
  • The June CTP builds of .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK and “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0 are not supported for .NET Framework 3.0 development on Windows Vista Beta 2
Beta 2
  • Windows Vista Beta 2 (Build 5384) is the most current public build of the Vista operating system that is available to anyone.
  • There are matching bits for the .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components, Windows SDK, “Orcas” Development Tools for the .NET Framework 3.0 and the Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation bits that are also publicly available.
  • If this is the most current version of Windows Vista that you can access (the June CTP requires beta membership and the July CTP requires beta membership or an MSDN subscription), then you should only use the matching Beta 2 bits for the aforementioned runtime components and development tools.

 

]]> June 2006 CTP Windows SDK and .NET Framework 3.0 Released https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/june-2006-ctp-windows-sdk-and-net-framework-3-0-released Thu, 29 Jun 2006 12:55:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/06/29/june-2006-ctp-windows-sdk-and-net-framework-3-0-released/ June 2006 CTP for the Windows SDK. Note that this build of the Windows SDK is to be used with the following:

Important Notes

While we all like to play with the latest and greatest, there are quite a few moving parts to the whole Windows Vista/Windows SDK/.NET Framework 3.0 combination. Therefore, please read the following to ensure that you take everything into account before downloading and installing the latest SDK - and as always with beta and CTP software, we highly recommended only installing on a non-production, clean machine.
  • As noted, this CTP is intended for users of Windows Vista build 5456 and the .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime June CTP. This CTP contains updates for native Win32 developers, including improvements to documentation and samples.
  • This build is not supported for users running the Windows Vista Beta 2 for .NET Framework 3.0 development, but it will work for native Win32 applications on Windows Vista Beta 2.
  • If you are using Windows Vista Beta 2 for .NET Framework 3.0 development, we recommend that you do not install this version of the SDK and instead use the Windows SDK Beta 2 release. The .NET Framework 3.0 June CTP runtime is a later version than the one that ships with Windows Vista Beta 2, and code that uses the .NET Framework 3.0 will not work with this CTP.
  • Finally, refer to the ReadMe file for more information on known issues.

Additional Information

For information on what to install for different scenarios (e.g., "I'm looking to develop native-only apps for Windows Vista", etc.), please refer to the Get the Beta page.]]> Windows Vista Beta 2 Now Available to the Public!! https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/windows-vista-beta-2-now-available-to-the-public Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:48:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/06/08/windows-vista-beta-2-now-available-to-the-public/ "YAY!!!"

You can finally download the Vista Beta 2 bits by enrolling in the Customer Preview Program. Note that the WinFX Runtime Components (needed to run WinFX apps) are automatically installed in this Windows Vista build. Therefore, if you're looking to just run WinFX applications on Windows Vista, installing Vista is all you need to do.

I would strongly suggest using the Get the Beta page to determine what to download and in what order as it covers the different scenarios - such as "I want to develop WinFX apps" , "I want to develop only native (non .NET) apps", etc.

Also note that the links on the Get the Beta page are to the bits that are in alignment with Vista Beta 2.

Enjoy!
Tom

]]> ReadyBoost Q&A https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/readyboost-qa Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:06:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/06/02/readyboost-qa/ ReadyBoost feature - the Windows Vista feature that allows you to use a USB key as virtual memory in order to enhance performance. While I originally intended the post to be an overview of ReadyBoost, it proved quite popular and garnered quite a few questions seeking more detail. I apologize that it's taken this long, but I've finally tracked down "the man" who could provide the answers - Matt Ayers, who is the Program Manager in the Microsoft Windows Client Performance group and basically owns the ReadyBoost feature.

Instead of updating the original post, I created this new post entry that will be the home of the Q&A I receive. That way, people won't have to wade through opinions and comments and can come to this post to see only Q&A. 

Note: Matt will be speaking at Tech*Ed where he will present a session on on Vista Perf Improvements (ReadyBoost, ReadyDrive and SuperFetch – CLI312)

From Matt Ayers:

"I'm the Program Manager in the Microsoft Windows Client Performance group and own the ReadyBoost feature. I wanted to give some offical answers based on the excellent questions and discussions that I've seen in this blog, to date. Also, I'll be using this as a starting point for the official ReadyBoost FAQ.

Overall, as many posters have pointed out, the feature is designed to improve small random I/O for people who lack the expansion slots, money, and or technical expertise to add additional RAM. As y’all know, adding RAM is still the best way to relieve memory pressure.

Thanks, again, for your interest, questions and ideas."

 

Q: What perf do you need on your device?
A: 2.5MB/sec throughput for 4K random reads and 1.75MB/sec throughput for 512K random writes

Q: My device says 12MB/sec (or 133x or something else) on the package but windows says that it isn't fast enough to use as a ReadyBoost device... why?
A: Two possible reasons:
  1. The numbers measure sequential performance and we measure random. We've seen devices that have great sequential perf, but horrible random
  2. The performance isn't consistantly fast across the entire device. Some devices have 128M of lightning fast flash and the rest of the device is really slow. This is fine for some applications but not ReadyBoost.


Q: What's the largest amount of flash that I can use for ReadyBoost?
A: You can use up to 4GB of flash for ReadyBoost (which turns out to be 8GB of cache w/ the compression)

Q: Why can't I use more than 4GB of flash?
A: The FAT32 filesystem limits our ReadyBoost.sfcache file to 4GB

Q: What's the smallest ReadyBoost cache that I can use
A: The smallest cache is 256MB (well, 250 after formatting). Post beta2, we may drop it another 10 MB or so.

Q: Ok... 256M-4GB is a pretty big range... any recommendations?
A: Yes. We recommend a 1:1 ratio of flash to system memory at the low end and as high as 2.5:1 flash to system memory. Higher than that and you won't see much benefit.

Q: Isn't this just putting the paging file onto a flash disk?
A: Not really - the file is still backed on disk. This is a cache - if the data is not found in the ReadyBoost cache, we fall back to the HDD.

Q: Aren't Hard Disks faster than flash? My HDD has 80MB/sec throughput.
A: Hard drives are great for large sequential I/O. For those situations, ReadyBoost gets out of the way. We concentrate on improving the performance of small, random I/Os, like paging to and from disk.

Q: What happens when you remove the drive?
A: When a surprise remove event occurs and we can't find the drive, we fall back to disk. Again, all pages on the device are backed by a page on disk. No exceptions. This isn't a separate page file store, but rather a cache to speed up access to frequently used data.

Q: Isn't user data on a removable device a security risk?
A: This was one of our first concerns and to mitigate this risk, we use AES-128 to encrypt everything that we write to the device.

Q: Won't this wear out the drive?
A: Nope. We're aware of the lifecycle issues with flash drives and are smart about how and when we do our writes to the device. Our research shows that we will get at least 10+ years out of flash devices that we support.

Q: Can use use multiple devices for EMDs?
A: Nope. We've limited Vista to one ReadyBoost per machine

Q: Why just one device?
A: Time and quality. Since this is the first revision of the feature, we decided to focus on making the single device exceptional, without the difficulties of managing multiple caches. We like the idea, though, and it's under consideration for future versions.

Q: Do you support SD/CF/memory stick/MMC/etc.?
A: Mostly. In beta2, we added support for a small number of SD/CF cards on internal USB2 & PCIe busses. RC1 has a much broader support range.

Q: Why don't you support SD on my USB2.0 external card reader?
A: We unfortunately don't support external card readers - there were some technical hurdles that we didn't have time to address. In general, if a card reader shows a drive without media in it (like a floppy drive or CD ROM does), we can't use it for ReadyBoost.

Q: Will it support all USB drives, regardless of how they are ID'd to the OS ("hard disk drive" or "Device with Removable Storage")?
A: We have no way to tell what is on the other end of a USB cable so we do some basic size checks (since no one has a 200GB flash device ;-) ) and then perform our speed tests. HDD will not, however, pass our speed tests, and there is no benefit to using a USB HDD for ReadyBoost.

Q: Can you use an mp3 player to speed up your system?
A: Not currently. MP3 players use the 'plays for sure' interfaces to expose themselves to Windows. We require that the device appear as a disk volume. These aren't currently compatible.

Q: How much of a speed increase are we talking about?
A: Well, that depends. On average, a RANDOM 4K read from flash is about 10x faster than from HDD. Now, how does that translate to end-user perf? Under memory pressure and heavy disk activity, the system is much more responsive; on a 4GB machine with few applications running, the ReadyBoost effect is much less noticable.

Q: I can't get my device to work with ReadyBoost... can I lower the perf requirements?
A: Unfortunately, no. We've set the perf requirements to the lowest possible throughput that still makes your system faster. If we lowered the perf requirements, then there wouldn't be a noticeable benefit to using ReadyBoost. Remember, we're not adding memory, we're improving disk access.

Q: Which manufacturers support ReadyBoost?
A: Well, I hope that all of them do, eventually. Right now, we're working with manufacturers to create a program that will allow them to identify ReadyBoost capable devices on their packaging.

]]> Great Resource Site for Preparing Your Applications for Windows Vista https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/great-resource-site-for-preparing-your-applications-for-windows-vista Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:09:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/06/02/great-resource-site-for-preparing-your-applications-for-windows-vista/ https://www.devReadiness.org - contains lots of great technical articles and interviews aimed at helping you get your applications ready for Windows Vista today.

Some examples of the content they have are:

  • IE 7 Compatibility Overview video that covers the basics of II7 compatibility issues
     
  • Update Advisor application that runs on an XP system and tells you if your hardware will allow you to run Windows Vista
     
  • Application Verifier that you can run to determine if your existing Windows application(s) will run on Windows Vista
     
  • Article on how UAC (User Access Control) will impact your application(s)
     
  • Hands-On Labs that walk you through the sorts of changes some application developers will need to make to ensure that their applications run on Windows Vista
     
  • ...much more...

If you're looking to start supporting your applications on Windows Vista, you'll definitely want to check out this site to stay ahead of the building customer demand for the next generation of Windows systems.

]]> New Windows Vista and WinFX Sites Launched https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/tomarcher/new-windows-vista-and-winfx-sites-launched Tue, 23 May 2006 14:33:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tomarcher/2006/05/23/new-windows-vista-and-winfx-sites-launched/ public Windows Vista Beta since last year's PDC, we have also published a complete redesign of the MSDN Windows Vista and WinFX developer centers in order to create a seamless, unified experience for users moving from one site to another. The sites also reflect the look and feel of the Windows Vista UI, and the Windows Vista site on www.microsoft.com.

There were many goals associated with this project, including

  • Ensuring that key technical information is more discoverable with redesigned site navigation
  • Coordination with other site teams to launch a set of sites that are visually connected, similar in messaging, but audience-appropriate
  • Creating a seamless, unified experience for users moving from one site to another – whether that be from Vista to WinFX or among the various audience-specific Vista sites (MSDN, TechNet and Microsoft.com)
  • Supporting a newer, cleaner "look and feel"

While the look and feel you see today is a huge step in the right direction – especially in terms of helping developers find the information they need more quickly – we're definitely not finished. Over the next couple of weeks, stay tuned for the following additions/modifications to the Vista and WinFX Developer Centers.

  • Learning - The Learning section will be updated to better offer guidance and help to people new to Windows Vista development. This includes overview pages of various technologies with links to articles and hands-on labs for further discovery as well as links to training as that becomes available from the Microsoft Learning Product Group.
  • Community - As many have seen with our "CodeZone" initiative, we as a company are focusing more and more on the aggregation of various information sources to enable developers to find the help they need. In addition, product teams are more committed than ever to answering your questions on the various MSDN Forums. To that end, we're almost complete with a new Community page that will enable developers to locate all of these resources from a single page.
  • Support - Another page we've redesigned that is close to publication is the Support page that enable developers to quickly find the level of support they need from a single page

At the end of the day, our job performance is measured by whether or not we've been able to provide to you, the developer, the information you need in an easily accessible manner. Therefore, as always please feel free to email me regarding any improvements that you would like to see regarding your experience with the Windows Vista and WinFX Developer Centers.

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