Windows 7 RC1 on the Y4
Finally had the chance to get RC1 installed on the Panasonic Y4 and see what the differences were. So far, not a huge difference in performance – a little less hard drive thrashing, but boot/shutdown times are still pretty short. Overall – just feels a little more polished, nothing too different from the Beta.
The big difference was the installation process. While it installed more cleanly, I was able to piece together some nuances from Vista that helped legacy hardware drivers play nicely. So let’s get going!
To start, grab the Vista Update files from Panasonic and put them on a USB drive:
Filenames you are looking for are – links below are direct to Panasonic.jp:
viup1_t4w4y4_h070028.exe
viup2_modem_r4y4_d070324.exe
viup3_w4y4.exe
viup_windvd_y4w4y5w5_061246.exe
I would additionally make a copy of the XP drivers that end up in the C:util folder. You will need the sound driver for sure. Do a fresh install of WIndows 7 RC1 (I did a new partition so I could keep my XP install as well) – you should have a usable system but with no WLAN connectivity by following the usual install process. Now expand the files you downloaded above. Next step is the installation of Vista drivers that will provide the major functionality for Windows 7 to not be cranky.
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Install the hotkey driver (Update the driver from Device Manager – should be listed as one of the Unknown Devices). Browse for the driver. If you used the default decompression path, it should be located in C:VistaUpdrivershotkey. Update and reboot.
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Install the touchpad driver. Browse to C:VistaUpdriversmouse. Run setup.exe as Administrator. Install is straightforward, reboot when prompted.
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Install the video driver. Browse to C:VistaUpdriversvideo. Run setup.exe as Administrator.Install is straightforward, reboot when prompted. Upon rebooting, go to Graphics Properties -> Display Settings -> Power Settings. Remove the checkmark for “Intel Display Power Saving Technology” and click OK.
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Install the WLAN driver. Browse to C:VistaUpdriverswlandrivers. Double click the iProFifX.exe file (Run as Administrator). The driver installation should complete and WLAN should function normally.
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Install the Panasonic Misc Driver. Browse to C:VistaUpmiscinst. Run setup.exe as Administrator. Install is straightforward, reboot if prompted.
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Installation of Sigmatel Sound driver. You need to snag the XP driver from Panasonic’s support site, or from your XP install partition. This is a weird one. You have to install the driver’s setup file. Then uninstall the driver via Control Panel. FInally, install the same driver again (Run setup.exe as Administrator). Reboot and sound should be working consistently.
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Install the Hotkey Appendix. Browse to C:VistaUphkeyapp. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
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Install the Hotkey Settings. Browse to C:VistaUphkeyset. Run setup.exe as Administrator.
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If you want the WIreless Switch utility: Browse to C:VistaUpwswitch. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
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If you want the Optical Disc Power Off Utility: Browse to C:VistaUpopdoff. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
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Finally, install WinDVD. Browse to C:VistaUpwindvd. Run setup.exe as Administrator.
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Do a final reboot and confirm that everything is working and enjoy!
UPDATE: Tracked down the final “Unknown Device” in Device Manager. It is the Infineon chipset for TPM. I downloaded the TPM Vista driver for the Y5 (tpm_d080275 – ~93MB) from Panasonic. Expanded it into a driver folder, but then just updated the driver (i.e. I did NOT run setup). Everything was recognized and Device Manager is much happier. Not to mention think this speeded up boot times.
From Cloudy to “Just in Time”
Keir Thomas at PCWorld had a great blog post that I believe lays a great foundation for the next logical step in the information plant.
Conventional thinking and simple economics have resulted in “cloud” computing services – but only via monolithic datacenter footprints. The reasons are valid – limited footprints and capital for expansion make sense – but in order to truly see the benefits of a cloud business model – distributed computing has to come to the forefront as the next step.
Keir’s blog post brought up the concept of “good enough” computing. I think another way to approach that topic is “right sized” computing (I am such a marketing geek). You wouldn’t leverage a beefy server to host a single website – so you virtualize and host multiple instances. I think the introduction of low-power processors (Intel Atom, VIA, etc.) into the mainstream is going to provide a framework for these “right sized”jobs that will not only provide a smaller power footprint, but a more efficient use of computing resources.
To really see these benefits – now we look at the allocation/distribution of these computing resources versus utilizing a more conventional monolithic model. By looking at the tenets of conventional manufacturing and the progress made to just-in-time inventory management and production – moving the processing layer closer to the end user provides the opportunity to increase computing efficiency.
How will these “right sized” technologies migrate into the datacenter? Not sure on that one just yet. This is a unique dilemma since this is a hardware play – and requires a solid knowledge of networking, systems, virtualization and even storage environments. While the prospect of a “wonder” box is nice – pretty realistic to assume that companies are going to have to think outside the box to figure this one out…
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