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Crash course on authoring Windows 7 Troubleshooting Packs

Jan. 12, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Rafael posts an interesting how-to on publishing Windows 7 Troubleshooting Packs, a new feature of the next Windows:

New to Windows 7 is the Windows Troubleshooting platform. This platform allows software developers to develop Troubleshooting Packs that automate the troubleshooting and resolution of problems without having to resort to painful technical support queues or documentation runs. In a nut shell, a software developer writes a bunch of PowerShell scripts to identify and resolve problems then packages them up and distributes the pack to end-users.

At the end of this step-driven course, you will have used the Microsoft Troubleshooting Pack Builder (TSPBuilder), written some PowerShell scripts, and learned of a way to distribute your compiled pack (hopefully).

The Troubleshooting stuff in Windows 7 is hugely impressive, and a big improvement on the so-called self help stuff from previous Windows versions. I'll be doing a Feature Focus on this soon.

Discuss this Article 79

shark47
on Jan 12, 2009
Can someone tell me how to report bugs in Windows 7?
Dipsh t Admin
on Jan 12, 2009
Click the Send Feedback link you see nearly everywhere.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"Can someone tell me how to report bugs in Windows 7?" On almost every window is a "Send Feedback" link.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
If you're a Connect user, you can file feedback on that website, or through the forums.
shark47
on Jan 12, 2009
Thanks! I didn't know if the "Send Feedback" link was only for general feedback or for bugs. I am a Connect user too, although I've never reported bugs.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
I filed an entry about the VHD support, and how Windows Setup incorrectly reports that Windows can't be installed to a mounted VHD, even if the host drive is set as a System drive. System drives contain the bootloader and swap file, which are the two requirements for VHD boot access. A Windows 7 attached VHD file only needs to have the Windows files in it. Once the bootloader on the host drive mounts the VHD (VHD's can have an entry in the BCD), the files in the Windows folder take over from that point forward, and Windows will proceed to boot from a virtualized file system. I tried extracting the VHD from an installation and running it directly in Virtual PC, and as I thought, it doesn't work for the reasons explained above (no bootloader code). I'm still in the process of testing out whether or not a standard install in Virtual PC (in a VHD) can be imported and mounted as a VHD in a physical installation. Some sites seem to say that you can't because of the Pentium 3 HAL, but they never mentioned about using SysPrep with the Generalize option, which is what I'm going to try. SysPrep resets the HAL and other drivers that are required for bootup, so I'm thinking that you could potentially test out installations in Virtual PC, and then just attach the VHD's into a physical installation without hardly any effort. I'm just not sure if having a bootloader in the VHD already will confuse Windows 7's host-drive bootloader.... This stuff brings the testing phase of deployment into a whole new level of integration with current deployment practises, as well as providing a very easy method of portability for hard drive images. WIM's already offer a slight level of portability, but they don't contain detailed information of multiple hard drive partitions, as well as their partition types. They only hold the logical volume file information. VHD's can contain exact physical drive layouts, while still providing the option to compact them down to the actual size of data without needing to store the free space. I just wish they would make a new file format for Windows 8 that combines the features of both formats so that deployment and virtualization are interchangeable. When we get to that point, the tools should be made to be dead-simple, as in operating system deployment, from testing to production deployment, as a drag-and-drop operation with a single file.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
The "Send Feedback" link is for general users for the public beta, or just to say "I like this" or "I hate this", etc. If you're an IT guy and want to provide more technical information about a bug, then the beta group areas like Connect/MSDN/Technet are the channels to use. The forums are a good way to find out if others have the same problem too, and gives you a personalized, 2-way mode of communication. To each his own.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
O/T: Looking back: http://www.linux.com/articles/30873 It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling all over. ;)
subzerohitman721
on Jan 12, 2009
Windows 7 has actually improve the connection of my main computer to the wireless N network I'm running in the house. The speeds are noticeably faster. I.E. 8 is incredibly intuitive. So far, I'm on day 3 running the beta and except for one issue with Flash, everything has been smooth. The troubleshooting and reporting to Microsoft has been seemless. I've been using Windows 7 before I head to bed or before the hours before head to work. On startup I've noticed that Windows 7 boots up on my machine 18 seconds faster than Vista. Shutdown is around 8 to 10 seconds. From password to desktop is a full 15 seconds faster in Windows 7 than Vista. I have more to check out and download. The haters definitely got it wrong. This is a damn good experience thus far.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
I tried the IE8 beta briefly in Win7. What's funny is that the MSN Canada page (which has content from Sympatico because of the exclusive partnership - the page is http://sympatico.msn.ca ) isn't laid out correctly.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
Just out of curiosity.... Will Microsoft be giving out free licenses to Connect users that report bugs in Lucky 7, as they have with other products?
tayme
on Jan 12, 2009
@sub - "The haters definitely got it wrong. " That is the role that they are expected to play...on both sides. The Apple haters will be just as bad with the beta of iWork.com. It is to be expected and many of them on both sides seem to congregate on Paul's site. If only there was an ignore feature here... --tayme
Ocean
on Jan 12, 2009
What did the haters say?
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"What did the haters say?" Just read InfoWorld.
Ocean
on Jan 12, 2009
Oh...they aren't haters. They troll for eyeballs. Robertsjoe is a hater. In the last thread someone asked if Win7 could win back cobverts to Mac OS X. Do you think MS might try to do something in the PC arena like what its doing to Windows Mobile, where it is hyper-focused on the PC 'experience'? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/09/AR200901...
lotsamystuff
on Jan 12, 2009
"O/T: Looking back: www.linux.com/.../30873 It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling all over. ;)" You just gave up any residual legitimacy you might have had left when you complain about "robertsjoe" or "ocean" doing the same thing you just did.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"Oh...they aren't haters." Randy Kennedy is. Microsoft booted him from the press room at PDC after all. They don't count him as a "journalist". Who really does?
shark47
on Jan 12, 2009
Slightly OT: What do you guys think of the new taskbar? Is it as confusing as Paul made it out to be in his series of "Simple v. Easy" posts? In my opinion, the new taskbar is a step in the right direction and might resolve consistency issues regarding clicking the "X" to close versus clicking it to minimize to tray and might also improve handling of multiple instance programs. It will probably take years to achieve that kind of consistency, but I still think this is a step in the right direction and actually like the new taskbar. It's not as radical a change as the "Ribbon" interface, but it might confuse some people.
Ocean
on Jan 12, 2009
>>Who really does?<< Robertsjoe
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
@Ocean: It's likely they'll focus their efforts on Windows Mobile to key licensees, such as HTC. They'll probably require that handset makers make fewer models of phones at a time, and drop some of the low-key players. It's unknown whether or not they'll let handset makers bundle custom front-ends for Windows Mobile though. If they release something new at the mobile conference, it might spell the beginning of the end of OEM and/or carrier customizations so that only form factor and design changes will differentiate handsets - not the software that runs on it. As far as how this relates to Windows on the PC, they're already doing that. Have you seen how lean and modular Windows 7 is? I noticed that there doesn't seem to be any OPK-style options that allow for front-end customizations by the OEM during the OOBE. I do think they need to clean up the OOBE dialog boxes though. They're a bit spartan looking, what with no graphics, and only a white background.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
@sharky: They should add Shift+Left Click to open new instances of a program. I've gotten really used to using that with IE when clicking on hyperlinks, and it's more intuitive than clicking Right Click, and choosing the option to open a new instance from a Jump List.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"You just gave up any residual legitimacy you might have had left when you complain about "robertsjoe" or "ocean" doing the same thing you just did." Ditto. Only difference is, you never had any legitimate reason for being here in the first place.
shark47
on Jan 12, 2009
Wae, I agree. The process of opening new instances of a program is not intuitive at the moment. There are some applications like Windows Explorer, which are supposedly multiple instance programs, where it doesn't even work.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
@sharky: "Send Feedback"!! Don't forget to mention my idea too. Shift+Left Click seems very logical for anyone that's ever used IE.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
A tip for anyone using VHD mount options in Windows 7: Make sure you leave enough room on the host drive for a swap file. Don't just fill it all with the VHD[s] that you create. I'm not sure if you can move the swap file into a VHD after Windows is set up, but it's created by default on the host drive (only if you set it as Active first though, but then you wouldn't be able to install Windows 7 in a VHD without doing tha first anyway).
gorath
on Jan 12, 2009
@shark What is the problem you're having with explorer? I can certainly open up more than one instance using the right-click menu. However, this only works if you have navigated away from the default location, otherwise it just pops up the as yet unused explorer window. I believe this is by design, and has been the way explorer has functioned for quite some time. However, I do think right clicking to open a new instance is a little "undiscoverable". The example (or at least the ideal) of the mac in that everything should be do-able with one button to maximise this discoverability should be a good one to adhere to.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
Just to let anyone know, installation of Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit in a Vanilla install on a SysPrepped VHD takes about 6.7GB. It's interesting that Windows 7 doesn't take 16GB of hard drive space during the install though. The VHD that I have for Windows 7 in Virtual PC was a dynamically-sized one, and it only reached a maximum of 6.8GB.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
Hmm.... something interesting I found. There's an inclusion of options mentioning Hypervisor settings in the Windows 7 config tools for the WinPE phase of setup.
DRWAM
on Jan 12, 2009
Like the task bar. Start menu has more function, but seems changed only a little from Vista. I would bet that you will see netbooks all over campuses, running 7. What student wants to carry a heavy laptop, or can afford an ultralight one? A half decent GPU would make it a killer for students. Throw in skype and campus life is complete [battery charger is also a keg cooler].
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"Throw in skype and campus life is complete" Not many people around here use Skype. More people use Windows Live Messenger. Bell Canada recently added Windows Live Call support to the new version of WL Messenger now though.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
Ok so I just discovered that Virtual PC images of Windows 7 WILL NOT work as a mounted VHD in a Windows 7 filesystem. Part of this has to do with the fact that a standard Windows 7 install moves the bootloader to that extra 200MB hidden partition. A Virtual PC VHD will have that included. Mounting that under an existing bootloader partition will cause conflicts immediately at boot (text-mode boot error). Deleting the VM bootloader partition doesn't work to fix that either - it's just a different error code, which also references winload.exe. Unless there is some way to install Windows 7 so that it doesn't create a separate bootloader partition, I don't see any way of getting bootable VHD's to be interoperable with Windows 7's bootloader, which is quite a shame. VHD's can't be created on a volume level either, so that only leaves WIM's as a possible recourse. The problem is, there are no options anywhere to boot WIM's, even though the bootloader and/or Windows has the fallback code to boot WinRE when WIndows fails to boot. WinRE is contained within \Windows\System32\Recovery\WinRE.WIM. Data partitions won't be affected by this though, and I haven't tried attaching a Vista VHD [yet]. It's possible that Windows Vista's bootloader will be overridden by Windows 7's, especially if Windows 7 is running on a host drive, and Vista is just a VHD. Things to test....
shark47
on Jan 12, 2009
gorath, you're right. It does work when I navigate away from the default folder. In XP at least, you can open multiple instances of Windows Explorer using the "Win key + E" shortcut. In 7, you cannot. I haven't seen how it works in Vista. It's funny that you can close an instance of a program with one click (navigate to the instance in the taskbar preview) but you cannot open a new instance without right clicking. Maybe there should be a better way of handling MIPs and a better way of differentiating SIPs from MIPs. :) Wae, I will send the feedback.
gorath
on Jan 12, 2009
Wae, this is interesting and all, but you're spamming a bit now aren't you?
gorath
on Jan 12, 2009
Shark, I thought that's how explorer worked in XP as well? I'll check tomorrow. There is a setting for XP "open new explorer windows in seperate process" which may alter that behaviour.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"Wae, this is interesting and all, but you're spamming a bit now aren't you?" It's Windows 7, and it's troubleshooting. How is that O/T or spam?
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
Vista works the same as XP BTW: WinKey+E opens new windows on each key press.
WebGuy3000
on Jan 12, 2009
"Not many people around here use Skype." Everybody I know uses Skype. Which just goes to show that for every anecdote there's an equal but opposite anecdote.
gorath
on Jan 12, 2009
"how is that O/T or spam? because out of 36 posts, you're responsible for 20 of them. And you're not authoring a troubleshooting pack, are you?
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"And you're not authoring a troubleshooting pack, are you?" Is anybody else here?
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"Which just goes to show that for every anecdote there's an equal but opposite anecdote." Last time I checked, SkypeIn and SkypeOut weren't available in Canada, so that's my reasoning. Mac's also aren't nearly as popular here as they are in the US either, so the needs for a cross-platform IM client are slim.
DRWAM
on Jan 12, 2009
You tell 'em Wae, because I like Canadian ham and used to watch Dudley Do-Right too.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
@sharky: The Shift+Left Click works in Windows 7, but only if you navigate away from the default folder (the default folder link is Libraries). That's pretty acceptable though, considering you'd probably want to navigate to another folder anyway if you're planning on having multiple windows open.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"I like Canadian ham" I think it's bacon you're talking about. It's back bacon, or "peameal bacon" in most grocery stores, although it's actually cornmeal that they put on it. "Regular" bacon is side bacon, and it's not nearly as lean. There is no visible fat in back bacon, and it's not greasy when it cooks. It's good with eggs. ....and beer. Beer, eggs, and back bacon. YUM-meee! :P Montreal smoked meat is also good too.... Next time you visit, get a fresh baked Montreal bagel and a half pound of smoked meat slathered on with some nice melted Oka.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
@Doc: I like this pic (for reasons that should be obvious): http://img2.tfd.com/wiki/0/03/Canadian_Bacon.jpg losta hates it though.
lotsamystuff
on Jan 12, 2009
"Canadian Bacon" was also a crap movie made by Canadian-wannabe Michael Moore and starring Canadian John Candy in a role that perfectly represented that fine country.
lotsamystuff
on Jan 12, 2009
You beat me to it, "waethorn". Obviously, you hold that movie in high regard. As I suspected.
Waethorn
on Jan 12, 2009
"Obviously, you hold that movie in high regard. As I suspected." You suspected wrong. I never saw it. I just like the poster. :P
Ocean
on Jan 12, 2009
Just saw this on MSnbc: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28619965/
gorath
on Jan 12, 2009
mm, I like Canadian beer. and Canadian mountain bikes. And, generally, Canadians. Every single one I've met has been very pleasant company.
DRWAM
on Jan 12, 2009
I could use a beer tight now, Just waxed the wife's car. How about this, Netbook running Windows 7 and Magicjack VoIP on campus, eh?

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