Windows 7 RTM Is Here! With your feedback and partnership throughout our Windows 7 planning and development process, we have reached a critical milestone: RTM! Building on the substantial investments in Windows Vista to improve PC performance and security, Windows 7 is faster, more secure, and more reliable. We are pleased to make these RTM releases available for your product and compatibility testing, and your ongoing efforts to make the most of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 capabilities.
Get the RTM Builds You can download the RTM versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 from the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) or from TechNet.
Windows 7 is available starting August 6, 2009. Windows Server 2008 R2 is available starting August 14, 2009.
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MSDN:
Log on or
subscribe to MSDN to access the RTM builds through your MSDN Subscriber Downloads. After you log on to MSDN, go to
Subscriber Downloads and look under
Operating Systems for
Windows 7 and
Windows Server 2008 R2.
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TechNet: You can also visit the
TechNet Web site to log on or subscribe and get the RTM builds.
Test and Verify Windows 7 Compatibility Test your applications and device drivers to verify that they function properly on Windows 7 and, if necessary, update your code to help ensure that customers have a great experience with your product and Windows 7.
New white papers and Help files on the
WDK Developer Tools site help you start testing for Windows 7 and include
Driver Verifier in Windows 7. Take advantage of the latest
Windows Driver Kit and the
Windows Logo Kit (WLK) 1.4 release. (Find out more about the Windows Logo Program in the next section of this newsletter.)
After component-level testing, measure and analyze system performance of your products by using the
Windows Performance Toolkit v.4.1.1. This kit helps to ensure that your device, driver, and applications are resource-efficient and responsive with minimal effect on overall system performance.
Obtain a Windows Logo The Windows Logo Program offers tools and resources to help you identify and resolve potential compatibility issues with Windows 7. You can use these tools and resources to help your product obtain the "Compatible with Windows 7" or "Certified for Windows Server 2008 R2" logo:
- Test, Qualify, and Maintain:
Get Started with the Windows Logo Program - Opt in to Receive Logo Program News:
Windows Logo Program Newsletter - Learn about Logo Program Value:
Windows 7 Logo Program Showcase Video If your product is already verified compatible with Windows 7 but you don't yet have a Windows 7 Logo, we encourage you to maximize the value of your investment by obtaining the Windows 7 Logo. To do so, you must demonstrate that your product passes Microsoft-endorsed standards for compatibility and reliability on computers running Windows 7.
Announce That Your Product Is Ready Ensure that your organization is ready to promote your product's compatibility with Windows 7. Here are four activities that your business can undertake to take advantage of your compatibility:
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Promote Your Compatibility: Display your Compatibility Status on your Web site and system specs. It's important to let your customers know that you are ready by updating your product and support Web pages and your packaging and marketing collateral to list your 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 support status.
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Get Listed: Get listed in the Windows 7 Compatibility Center and reach millions of customers. We are adding products daily to prepare for the launch of Windows 7 Compatibility Center. Make sure your products get listed by submitting compatibility status or pledging your support on the
Product Submission Page.
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Display Your Windows Logo: Display the "Compatible with Windows 7" logo on product packaging. Distinguish your product through the logo and the power of a recognized Microsoft brand. Customers will look for the logo to identify products that are compatible and reliable on Windows 7. Make sure you communicate your commitment to compatibility and reliability by displaying the Logo. To qualify to display the Logo, you must first pass the Windows 7 Logo Program requirements. For hardware program details, see the
Windows Logo Program Overview page on WHDC.
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Prepare to Sell: Get ready to sell your product with Windows 7. Learn about the overarching vision, new key features, and benefits of Windows 7 and Windows Internet Explorer 8 with
The Business Value of Selling and implementing Windows 7 and IE8 (enrollment required). Use the
Windows Demo Toolkit to build and develop a Windows demo PC. Take advantage of Windows demo scripts to sell your product with Windows 7 to your customers. Visit the
Online Readiness Toolkit for more great resources.
Continue to Build on Windows 7 Capabilities Microsoft's investment in key areas of Windows 7 continues to offer opportunities for hardware partners after RTM and GA. To get an idea of what is possible, view a
video overview of new capabilities for devices in Windows 7. You can also learn more about taking advantage of Windows 7 advances in the following areas:
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Develop Rich Device Applications. Device-specific applications are a way to extend your product's brand and services. Take advantage of opportunities in Windows 7 by evaluating the
Windows 7 Developer Guide.
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Capitalize on Natural User Interaction. Windows Touch enables new input capabilities, including ink and gesture support, plus handwriting recognition.
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Support Enhanced Graphics. Support for the
new display and graphics technologies in Windows 7 allows users to experience high quality graphics and media. Learn how you can support Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) version 1.1; DirectX technologies, including Direct3D 11, Direct3D 10, and the new Direct2D API; enhanced video playback; simplified connecting and configuring displays; improved color management; high dots per inch (DPI) and increased readability; multi-GPU systems; and linked display adapters, also called co-rendering.
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Create Better Device Experiences. Device makers can unlock new value with a collection of features introduced in Windows 7 that improves how users discover and interact with devices connected to their PCs. The new
Windows Device Experience Platform enables you to extend your brand and services to your customers every time they connect one of your devices to their PC.
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Enable Simple Device Connectivity. Seamless user experiences begin with the ability to connect devices easily. With
Windows Rally Technologies, Windows 7 shows users all wireless devices available for them to install and use-they simply pick a device, confirm the connection, and start using it.
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Provide More Media on More Devices. Windows 7 makes it easy to use your home audio-video system and other
networked media devices to play music, watch videos, and display photos that reside on your computer.
Windows Driver Kit 7.0.0 Is Available Windows Driver Kit (WDK) 7.0.0 contains the latest release of files, tools, and documentation used to develop drivers for Windows. This release applies to Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003.
Updates to WDK 7.0.0 include the following:
- Debugging Tools for Windows
- Latest header files
- 1,400 new API reference topics
- 826 new Driver Design Guide topics
- 1,100 documentation bugs and work items completed
Get the WDK:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/DevTools/WDK/WDKpkg.mspx.
Get the WDK documentation only:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa972908.aspx.
For more details on WDK 7.0.0, see the online version of the WDK Release Notes (
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=155362&clcid=0x409).
Running the Enhanced Power Management AQ Test Systems that qualify for the Windows Server 2008 R2 logo are eligible for the Enhanced Power Management additional qualification (AQ). The test for this AQ verifies that the system meets two requirements:
- The system must support p-states and must expose at least one p-state to the operating system.
- The system firmware must expose at least one
Win32_PowerMeter object whose
CurrentReading and
ConfiguredBudget properties are both within the range 25W - 5000W.
If a system meets both requirements, the Enhanced Power Management AQ test passes. All test cases return PASS or FAIL. Review the test results in the log file for specific details about failures.
Note: Before running the test, you should ensure that the system has at least one Power Meter device with a Hardware Limit (also called Configured Budget) value between 25W and 5000W. If this value is unspecified, the Power Meter will output 0 for the Hardware Limit, which will cause the system to fail the test.
For more information about power management in Windows, see:
- Recommendations for Power Budgeting with Windows Server (
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/powermgmt/Svr_PowerBudget.mspx)
- The
Plug and Play, Power Management tab on the Windows Hardware Developer Central (WHDC) Web site (
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/).
