Microsoft has released an update with a number of fixes and security updates to increase the stability and reliability of both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 ahead of releasing Service Pack 1 (SP1)

The update is outlined in knowledge base article 980408 and can be downloaded from the Microsoft Website.

The article reads: “This update resolves issues that affect some computers that are running Windows 7 or that are running Windows Server 2008 R2. These issues are reported by customers who use the Error Reporting service or who use Microsoft Customer Support Services.”

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Microsoft is testing a new free “Fix it Center” – designed to prevent, or detect and repair, basic PC problems. The Fix It Center is an online and PC-based tool which could help Windows users prolong the life of their system.

A fair amount of diagnostics are already built into Windows 7, the free Fix it Center aims to expand on these and also bring similar capabilities to earlier versions of Windows, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista. The service, currently in beta consists of both a Windows download and an online service

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Microsoft has now made available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM, this follows the release for download earlier this month of Windows 7 RTM

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Microsoft earlier this week launched a new range of server systems aimed at the growing small business market, unlike Windows Small Business Server (SBS), which includes a mail server, web server and SharePoint services, Windows Server 2008 Foundation is simply a low-cost version of Windows Server 2008, limited to single-socket server boxes and a maximum of 15 users.

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A number of you have recently asked me about the Microsoft exam 70-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory and the newer Exam 83-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory.

Exam 83-640 was released by Microsoft back in November 2008 and is a lab-based exam which will gradually replace the current version of the Exam 70-640, the study content and objectives are the same for both exams. 70-640 & 83-640

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Microsoft yesterday announced on the Windows Team Blog that the Release Candidate (RC) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is now available for download to TechNet and MSDN subscribers to test prior to final release. The public should be able to download this via TechNet later next week

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The Microsoft Second Shot offer has now been updated, as well as offering you a free second chance to pass your IT professional, developer, or Microsoft Dynamics exams, Microsoft are now rewarding you when you pass the exam between 15 October and 31 December 2008 with a 25 percent off discount voucher for your next exam, to register visit Microsoft Learning

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Microsoft warned yesterday of another upgrade to Windows Update (WU) the service most users rely on to download patches and other fixes for the second time in three months.

In a post on the Windows Update team blog stated: “Over the next couple of months, we’ll be rolling out another infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client code) …. This update makes it possible for users to install more than 80 updates at the same time.”

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