Optimise Windows Performance+Usability

How To Force The System Into Safe Mode

2012-10-30T11:27:00.004-07:00

This article describes how to get into Safe Mode in Windows Vista, if the F8 key will not work

1. First click the Start Button

2. Then type “msconfig” in the search box

3. A“System Configuration” window will open

4. Then select the “Boot” tab in the Boot Options section.

5. Check the “Safe Boot/Minimal” check box

6. Finally Restart.

This will put you in “Safe Mode” with large icons (ie,lower screen resolution) and “Safe Mode” showing on all four corners of the screen (you may have to enter your password to get in).

Complete whatever your task is (possibly Restart again), then go back to “msconfig”, and uncheck the “Safe Boot” box, and restart. Now it should boot normally.

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How To Use Windows 7 or Vista System Restore

2012-10-30T11:22:00.001-07:00

Windows 7 and Vista has a feature called System Restore that automatically backs up registry and system files whenever you install new software or drivers. This feature is useful when you install evil software that makes your computer run really slow. But don’t worry, System Restore won’t remove Windows Vista.

Using the System Restore in Windows

There are two places that you can use the system restore feature from. From within Windows, you may type restore into the Start menu search box, and you’ll immediately see System Restore at the top of the start menu:

Or type rstrui into the search box and hit enter.

A screen is displayed where you can choose to roll back the system to the last restore point. You can select “Recommended restore”, and click next, or you may choose a different restore point.

If you choose a different restore point, you will see a list of restore points that you can choose from.

Click one of them, and you may confirm and then restart your computer to roll the system back.

Note: For best results, run System Restore from safe mode.

If you receive an error while restoring, then use it from safe mode and it should work fine. To get into Safe mode, reboot and press the F8 key right before Windows starts up.

If the F8 key doesn’t work for you, you can force the system to go into safe mode by following instructions from my post:

How To Force The System Into Safe Mode

And If Your System Doesn't Boot

No need to panic! If you can’t even get into windows, you can boot off the installation dvd, and choose the “Repair your computer” option on the lower left hand side. If you don’t have an installation/repair disc, you can make one with these instructions.

1.Click next on the next screen, and then choose System Restore from the System Recovery dialog. It will take a few seconds to come up, and you will see the same screen that you would see in Windows:

2.Click next, and on the next screen select the drive that your copy of Windows 7 or Vista is installed on.

3.Click Finish, and Windows will roll back to the previous restore point. Really pretty simple stuff.

Final Words

I’d highly recommend keeping the system restore feature always on in Windows 7 or Vista.

How To Make The Windows 7 Taskbar Work More Like Windows XP\Vista

2012-10-30T11:07:00.001-07:00

The most visible change in Windows 7 is the “dock style” taskbar, which shows icons instead of buttons, with all application windows combined within a single button.Now some may ask “How do I turn it off?”, and this article will show you just how to do that.

Changing the Windows 7 Taskbar to XP/Vista Style

To revert back to the older style, you’ll need toright-click on any open area of the taskbar and then choose Properties from the menu.



From the Taskbar buttons drop-down menu, you’ll choose “Never combine”, which will make every window show up as a separate button on the taskbar, or you could choose “Combine when taskbar is full”, which does what it says.

Now you should see the buttons show up with text labels like you are probably used to in the Windows 7 style.

If you chose the “Use small icons” checkbox in the properties screen, the taskbar will shrink to look very very similar to Vista.

The only problem is that the “pinned” icons still sit on the taskbar, which isn’t the same as Vista or XP, but you can easily remove all of them by right-clicking and choosing “Unpin this program from taskbar”.

Now the taskbar looks and works very similar to Windows Vista:

If you wanted to squeeze maximum performance from your PC, you can choose the “Windows Classic” theme under the Desktop \ Personalize section, hence reducing visual effects and eye-candy to the bare minimum.

How To Add Copy To / Move To on Windows 7 or Vista Right-Click Menu

2012-10-30T10:45:00.001-07:00

Here i shall describe how to add Copy To / Move To on Windows 7 or Vista Right-Click Menu, which can be very much useful when you want to move a file but don’t have the other folder open already.

Right-click on a file:

A dialog pops up that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.

To install this feature , just download, unzip, and double-click on the registry files. You can choose to use the copy to, move to, or both.

Download Copy To / Move To Registry Tweak

How To Access Hidden Regional Themes in Windows 7

2012-10-30T10:22:00.001-07:00

Windows 7 offers you different location specific Aero themes based on the language as well as location you pick during the installation. Here we will take a look at accessing other hidden themes from various other countries.

When you start the Windows 7 installation for the first time the first thing you will have to do is select a language, time and also a currency format. This is where Windows determines what themes you’re to be presented with by default.

Being from the US you will then be presented with location specific themes from the US with desktop backgrounds such as scenery from Idaho, Maine, Oregon etc.

To access the other international themes, just copy and paste the following path into the search box and then hit Enter.

C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT

In the MCT folder you will then find additional themes for Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Great Britain.

You can go in and grab the wallpapers.

Or you may go into the Theme folder double click on the the thumbnail to add it.

Here you can see I added all of them and now they will be available under the My Themes section for when you want to change them around.

This trick will let you customize Windows 7 with hidden themes that already available. If you want to get more themes you may just head over to Microsoft's official site.

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Access Frequently Used Items in Windows 7 using Jump Lists

2012-10-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Using Jump lists

In order to access jump lists Right-click on a program icon on the Taskbar, like,for example ,Internet Explorer. Notice that you can pin those items to the Taskbar if you wish to.

After you have the jump list open click the first letter of an item to jump between them.

Here is a fine example of the Jump List feature in the Start Menu. This makes it relatively easy to access recently opened items as well.

Periodically you may also want to clear out the jump list history; to do this Right-click on Start and then choose Properties.
Now under the Start Menu tab uncheck one or both boxes under Privacy to clear the Taskbar or Start menu item history or both.

This is an awesome new feature in Windows 7 that makes navigating items a lot faster.

How To Turn Windows Firewall On in Windows Vista

2012-10-08T12:48:00.003-07:00

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Turn Windows Firewall On

1. Click the Start button.

2. Then click Control Panel.
3. In the search box, type firewall, and then click Windows Firewall.

Turn Windows Firewall on or off

Click Turn on Windows Firewall under each network location that you want to help protect, and then click OK.

If you want the firewall to prevent all programs from communicating, including programs that you have previously allowed to communicate through the firewall, select the Block all incoming connections, including those in the list of allowed programs check box.

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How to disable Facebook Timeline and get back the old Facebook profile

2012-10-08T12:40:00.006-07:00

Step 1

Head to the Facebook Developers page where you had earlier created an app to enable Facebook Timeline.

Step 2

Click "Edit app."

Step 3

click "Delete app" in the left sidebar.

Your Facebook Timeline will be disabled as soon as you confirm the deletion process.

How To Optimise Your Internet Speed

2012-10-08T12:35:00.002-07:00

Optimisation 1
Delete the browsing history, cookies, and website cacheof your web browser ( in most there is now a "Clear Private Data" button in the main menu). Clearing out any lingering cookies and freeing the memory will speed up and optimise your browser.

Optimisation 2
Increase the cache size which will speed up your back button action and also speeds up repetitive banners and graphics.Installing a web caching service like Squid Proxy or Opera Turbo can greatly optimise your load times by storing commonly accessed parts on websites locally.

Optimisation 3
Use a faster browser,like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox . These are quick-rendering browsers, and will load pages at greater speeds than other browsers,

Optimisation 4
Close all other background applications from the windows task manager. Some of these applications may be using up the internet bandwith without your knowledge.

Optimisation 5
Remove any inessential add-ons, toolbars or extensions that your browser may have. These can not only slow down your web browser, but can sometimes report back to their authors, compromising your online privacy.

Optimisation 6
Download the free tool TCP Optimiser. TCP Optimizer is regarded as the top tool for this specific job of Internet connection tweaking and has a massive feature list. It is easy to use,and WILL greatly optimise your internet connection speeds. Adjust the settings automatically,or manually using this wonderful tool.

Despite of trying out all these steps, if your connection fails to provide you the speeds mentioned in your data plan, submit a complaint to your ISP.

Windows 7 vs. Windows 8:Which is Better?

2012-10-06T08:51:00.002-07:00

Windows 8

Windows 8 may prove to be Microsoft's most secure Operating System to date. The company began repairing its dismal reputation for security with Windows 7; the latest version takes many significant steps to provide a more secure operating environment for PCs.

The final, Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 8 is now available to developers, IT professionals and businesses with volume licences.Now that Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system has hit the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) stage, it's time to see how it stacked up against the incumbent Windows 7.

Windows 8

Windows 8 Desktop
Beautiful,isn't it?

Windows 8 Desktop with Superbar

Here are some Benchmarks that i gathered from the internet.

The hardware

The following purpose-built hardware platform was used for benchmarking the two operating systems:

Intel Core i7-3960X processor

16GB of DDR3-1866 memory

GeForce GTX 670 graphics card

Asrock X79 Extreme11 motherboard

Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB (primary drive)

Kingston SSDNow V+ 200 256GB SSD (Windows Explorer Test)

Operating Systems Used:Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit and Windows 8 Pro (64-bit)

So here is how Windows 8 pitted against Windows 7:

Benchmarks: Boot Up, PCMark, Browser, Encoding

Clearly Windows 8 is Faster!!

Windows 8 wins in this category

Windows 8 wins this category

Windows 7 wins here!

Winner here is Windows 8

Benchmarks: File Copy, Gaming

It's often been the case with new Windows OS releases that it takes some time before performance is up to par or above the level of its predecessor. The best example was the move from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

But in this case,from a performance standpoint Windows 8 appears to offer a solid foundation from the get-go. Although there are only a few select areas where it is faster than Windows 7, it is pleasing to know that it's able to match it everywhere else.

Also, Windows 8 appears more polished than Windows 7.

So what would you prefer to use:Windows 7 or Windows 8?
It seems that Windows 8 is more optimised for the user than Windows 7.

How To Change Your Computer Name in Windows 7/Vista

2012-10-06T07:32:00.002-07:00

To change your computer name,you need to open up System Properties, which can be done in following three ways:

Type sysdm.cpl into the start menu search box (quickest)
Right-click on the Computer option on the start menu.
Open Control Panel, and go to System and Maintenance, and then System.

If you chose one of the last two options, then you’ll need to click on Advanced System Settings on the left menu:

A new screen that says System Properties will be displayed.

Click on the “Change” button to rename the computer, which will pop up this dialog box:

Here you can change the name of the computer,or also change the name of the workgroup to something more descriptive. Reboot after this for the changes to take effect.

How To Clear Your Web History in Google Chrome,Firefox and Internet Explorer 9

2012-10-06T07:25:00.001-07:00

For Google Chrome

Click on the wrench icon, select tools and then choose the Clear browsing data option–alternatively you could hit the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard combination.

A new dialog box appears;now uncheck all the options besides Clear browsing history and Clear download history, you will also need to change the the option to obliterate the data from the beginning of time as shown below.

For Mozilla Firefox

Click on the Firefox button, expand the History section and select the Clear recent history option, alternatively you could go for the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard combination.

Change the time range to Everything and then expand Details.

Uncheck everything except the Browsing & Download History and then click the Clear Now button.

For Internet Explorer 9

Click on the settings button, navigate to safety and choose the Delete browsing history option again you have the option of pressing the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard combination.

Uncheck all the options except for History and then click the delete button.

Hence,in this way every bit of "History" can be erased from your machine!

How to Delete a User Account in Windows 7

2012-10-06T07:14:00.005-07:00

Delete a User

To delete a user, type "user accounts" without quotes into the Start search bar and hit Enter.

After this, click on Manage another account.

Select the user account you want to delete.

Click on Delete the account.

You are then given the option to keep the user files. You may want to do this if they need them for another machine or you want to store them if needed later.

If you choose to keep the files, they will be saved in a folder on the desktop.

Now delete the account.

This should delete the user accounts you no longer need on your computer, and save their files if necessary.

How To Add "My Computer" Icon to Windows 7 or Vista taskbar

2012-10-06T07:07:00.002-07:00

To add a folder to the taskbar, right-click on the taskbar and choose the Toolbars menu, and then click on New Toolbar.

Find the folder that is needed… for example.I shall select the "Computer" icon and then click on Select Folder.

Now you can see the Computer folder on the taskbar. If you click the little arrows it will pop up and let you browse through all your drives.

I always add the Desktop to the toolbar as well.

For Windows 7,use the exact same procedure.

Forcing Start Menu to Use Small Icons in Windows 7 and Windows Vista

2012-10-06T07:01:00.002-07:00

Changing Icons in Windows 7

Right-click on the start menu orb button, choose Properties, then check the box for Use Small Icons on the Taskbar tab:

Changing Icons in Windows Vista

Right click on the start button, and select Properties:

Click the Customize button:

Scroll down all the way to the bottom. Uncheck check-box "Use large icons":

The Final Look!!

How To Password Protect folders in Windows

2012-10-06T06:51:00.001-07:00

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Most of us have private data. Not all of us have a private computer to keep that data. So, we just end up with other people viewing that data. Although password protecting software do work, it is almost useless to hide private data with these software.

Hiding folders does not work as they can be easily searched by anyone through the Windows Search. So, we need an alternative way to create hidden password protected folders which only we can access.

To create a secure password protected folder in Windows which no one except you can access, follow the instructions given below:-

1. Open Notepad.
2. Copy and paste the exact code given below:-

cls
@ECHO OFF
title www.windowsoptimise.blogspot.in
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST MyFolder goto MDMyFolder
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure to lock this folder? (Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren MyFolder "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to Unlock Your Secure Folder
set/p "pass=>"
if NOT %pass%== www.windowsoptimise.blogspot.in goto FAIL
attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" MyFolder
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDMyFolder
md MyFolder
echo MyFolder created successfully
goto End
:End

3. Click on the File Menu. Click on Save As.
4. Select All Types in the Save As Type dropdown menu. Save the file as *.bat or Locker.bat.

After creating the file, double click on the Saved file. A new folder will be created. Enter your data in the folder. Again, double click on the batch file. Type Y and press Enter. The folder will be hidden from view.

To re-view your folder, double click on the saved batch file. Enter password as "www.windowsoptimise.blogspot.in" without quotes and press Enter key. This is also the default password. Your folder will be visible again.

To change the default password, edit the part of the code given in blue and enter your own password.

The overall usability of this trick can be improved by deleting the batch file after hiding your folder and re-creating it when you wish to access your folder again.

Note: This method has been tested again and again and works on Windows 7, Windows XP and Vista.

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How To Make Facebook Photos & Posts Private

2012-10-06T06:41:00.001-07:00

Do you have private pictures of yourself or your family on Facebook which you don't want the entire world to see? I will help you change your Facebook privacy settings to only allow your friends or people you know to see your Facebook photos (and everything else you do).So all you privacy-seeking facebook users gotta know that they have come to the RIGHT PLACE!!

There are three ways in which you can do this.

1: Choosing an individual post's or photo's privacy settings

While posting your photo or post, click on the down arrow left to the post button. Select Custom from the drop-down menu. Using the pop-up, select who you wish to make a post visible to. You can select if you wish to show a post to friends, friends of friends or specific people or a specific list of people.

Select the Custom Privacy Options

You can even hide a photo from specific people or a list of people. This will be especially useful in situations where you don't want your colleagues to see a certain picture that makes fun of them or something similar. Normally, when someone is tagged in a photo, every friend of that Facebook user gets to know about it. So, if you chose to make a photo visible to friends and someone is tagged in that picture, all their friends will see that image. To prevent this, uncheck the Friends of those tagged the check mark.

2: Limiting the Audience for an entire album

This is much similar to setting the audience for an individual picture. Just go to your albums, click on the down arrow on the bottom right of the album whose privacy settings you wish to customize. Then select custom the from the drop down menu. The options Facebook offers are almost the same as those for an individual photo, however there is one difference.

All those people who are tagged and their friends would still be able to see the photos in your album. To prevent this, you will have to change the privacy settings of each individual photo.

3: Making all your Photos and Posts Private

This is the permanent solution against worrying about your Facebook content. However, it doesn't offer much customization options and should only be used if you are sure how you will use Facebook. This is a 2 step process and involves customizing the audience for your past posts as well as those you will make in future.

Step 1: Limiting Past Posts & Photos
Go to your Privacy Settings, and go to "Manage Past Post Visibility". In the pop-up, click Limit Old posts. This is a permanent change and cannot be undone. However, all those tagged and their friends would still be able to see your posts. To prevent this, you will have to change each post's individual settings.

Step 2: Limiting Future Posts and Photos

While in the privacy center, encircle custom under "Control Your Default Privacy". This will open a pop-up. In the pop-up, make sure to select friends if you only wish to share content with your friends. You can however, change this according to your needs but for most people, friends would be the best option. Also, uncheck the Friends of those tagged if you wish to further enhance your Facebook privacy. This will customize your Facebook settings to show your Facebook activity only to your friends and those tagged.

You can also select who gets tagged in your content to further prevent your content from unwanted eyes. To do this, go to your Privacy Settings from the down arrow located at the top right of the blue Facebook bar. Then, click Edit Settings located next to "How Tags Works". In the pop-up, select 'On' for 'Tag Reviews of tags that friends add to your posts'.

It will take some for the Facebook's privacy settings to take effect,but once you are done, you will never have to worry about your content ending up in front of unwanted users.

How to Enable Windows Registry Editor

2012-10-06T05:28:00.001-07:00

Windows Registry Editor

In such situations ,when you try to open the Registry Editor in one such computer, you are likely to receive the“Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator” error . However, there are some techniques you can use to re-enable task manager and close those harmful programs manually.

This article suggests some workarounds for re-enabling Registry editing in a computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003/ 2008 or Windows 7.

Enable Registry Editor Using Group Policy Editor

Click on Start. Go to Run. Users running Windows 7 or Vista, go to Search.
Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
Navigate to User Configuration/ Administrative Templates / System.
In the work area, double click on "Prevent Access to registry editing tools".
In the popup window, encircle Disable and click on OK.
Normally, Registry Editor will be immediately accessible. If it is not, restart your PC.

Getting access to Registry Editing

Enable Regedit by simply running a CMD Command

Click on Start. Go to Run. Users running Windows 7 or Vista, go to Search.
Copy the code given below and press Enter.

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /t Reg_dword /v DisableRegistryTools /f /d 0

And The Simplest Way is use Re-Enable Software

Re-Enable is a free portable tool for Windows developed by Tangomouse that enables Task Manager, Registry(Regedit), Run Command, CMD Dialog, Folder Options, and System Restore Configuration when disabled by a virus.

When you remove the virus, the changes remain intact which means that if it has disabled any option then you will have to manually enable it back by following complicated procedures. Most procedures require changes in the registry, but what if the registry has been disabled by the virus itself?

With Re-Enable, it is very easy to enable back the options, simply select the options that you want to re-enable and hit Enable button. That’s all.

Download Re-Enable

It has been tested on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It requires .NET framework to run.

Many other softwares too can help you with this task,but Re-Enable is what i recommend.

Any more ways to re-enable the registry editor, or any questions regarding the topic? Please post them in the comments area.

How to Enable Windows Task Manager

2012-10-06T05:11:00.002-07:00

You may all be knowing about viruses disabling critical Windows functions,like the Task Manager. Once the virus disables any of the feature, common users have no choice but to reinstall the Windows or perform complicated registry changes.

In such situations, running the Task Manager will give the "Task Manager has been disabled by Administrator" error. However, there are some techniques you can use to re-enable task manager and close those harmful programs manually.

Enable Task Manager from Registry in Windows 7, XP or Vista

A simple registry modification can be used to bypass the Task Manager block. To do so:-

Click on Start. Go to Run. If you use Windows 7 or Windows Vista, go to Search.
Type regedit and press Enter. Registry Editor will start. If Registry Editor is also disabled, you will first need to enable registry editing .
Through the left hand navigation pane, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\ Current Version\Policies\System.
In the work area, double click on "Disable TaskMgr". A window will pop up.
Enter its value data as 0 and press OK.

Close Registry Editor. If Task Manager is still disabled, restart your computer.

Enable Task Manager from Group Policy Editor (Gpedit.msc)

Group Policy Editor is a feature in Windows which is used to edit local policy settings. It can also be used to enable Task Manager. To do so :-

Open Star Menu. Windows XP users click on Run. Windows 7 and Vista users, click on Search.
Type gpedit.msc and press Enter. Group Policy Editor Window will show up.
From the navigational pane at the left hand side, go to: User Configuration>Administrative Templates>System>Ctrl+Alt+Del Options.
In the work area, double click on "Remove Task Manager" and set its value to Disabled or Not Configured.
Restart your Computer or Log Off and Log back On to apply the changes.

Enable Task Manager by Running a CMD Command

Command Prompt can also be used to directly enable Task Manager.

Just open Run command by pressing Window Key+R or through clicking on Start Menu and opening Run.
Copy the code given below and paste it in the text form of the Run Command.

REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d /0 /f

Press Enter. A command prompt window will flash for a second and then disappear indicating successful execution. After running the command, you will be able to again use Task Manager. If Task Manager is still not available, restart your computer.

Create a Registry(.reg) file for enabling Task Manager

You can create a Registry file which will automatically modify the Registry Key to re-enable Task Managing. To create one such file:-

Open Notepad or any other text editor.
Copy the code given below and paste it as it is in it.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\System] “DisableTaskMgr” =dword:00000000

Save the file as Enable Task Manager.reg or *.reg.
Open the file by double clicking on it.
Registry Editor will ask you for confirmation. In the confirmation Window, click Yes.
Task Manager would immediately be accessible. If not, restart your computer.

These techniques work on Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

And The Simplest Way is use Re-Enable Software

Re-Enable is a free portable tool for Windows developed by Tangomouse that enables Task Manager, Registry(Regedit), Run Command, CMD Dialog, Folder Options, and System Restore Configuration when disabled by a virus.

With Re-Enable, it is very easy to enable back the options, simply select the options that you want to re-enable and hit Enable button. That’s all.

Download Re-Enable

It has been tested on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It requires .NET framework to run.

Any more ways to re-enable the task manager, or any questions regarding the topic? Please post them in the comments area.

How To Disable Windows User Account Control (UAC)

2012-10-06T04:56:00.001-07:00

How To Disable Windows User Account Control

User Account Control (UAC) is a technology and security infrastructure introduced with Microsoft's Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating systems, with a more relaxed version also present in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. It aims to improve the security of Microsoft Windows by limiting application software to standard user privileges until an administrator authorizes an increase or elevation.

In this way, only applications trusted by the user may receive administrative privileges, and malware should be kept from compromising the operating system.

Disable UAC on Windows 7

Type UAC into the start menu or Control Panel search box.

Drag the slider up or down, depending on how often you want to be alerted.

Drag it all the way down to the bottom, you’ll have disabled it entirely.

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How To Add Quick Launch Bar to the Taskbar in Windows 7

2012-10-06T04:43:00.003-07:00

How To Add Quick Launch Bar to the Taskbar in Windows 7

By default Quick Launch is disabled in Windows 7.

You should note that the new Windows 7 taskbar allows you to dock items to the taskbar, combining the features of both the normal taskbar as well as the Quick Launch.

The above screenshot is the Windows 7 taskbar after changing back to XP/Vista mode, and adding the quick launch bar back.

Adding the Quick Launch Bar Back to Windows 7

To add the toolbar back, right-click on an open area of the taskbar, and choose Toolbars \ New Toolbar from the menu. Also unlock the taskbar at this point.

paste the following path into the location bar:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Make sure that the location bar shows the full path, like the next screenshot, before you choose the “Select Folder” button.

You will notice the Quick Launch toolbar on the taskbar, but it’s all the way over on the right, so you’ll want to click on the dotted lines and then drag the toolbar all the way to the left (which is slightly tricky sometimes). Note that you’ll need to right-click and unlock the taskbar before you can move the toolbar.

Now it’s over on the left. Adjust the regular taskbar toolbar to be closer to the left; use the dotted lines to drag it over as well.

Right-click on the dotted lines and uncheck “Show Text” as well as “Show Title” from the menu.

Check the “Lock the taskbar” again.

So there you have the Quick Launch Bar.

How To Use Backup and Restore in Windows 7

2012-10-06T04:31:00.002-07:00

How To Use Backup and Restore in Windows 7

Set the Backup

To set up a backup in Windows 7 open up Computer right-click on your local drive and select Properties. Then click on the Tools tab and click the Back up now button.

In the Back up or restore your files window, click the link to set up a backup.

Windows will search for a suitable drive to store the backup or you can also choose a location on your network. If you backup to a network location you might need the password to the share.

You can have Windows choose what to backup or you can choose the files and directories.

Note: If you let Windows choose it will not backup Program Files, anything formatted with the FAT file system, files in the Recycle Bin, or any temp files that are 1GB or more.

Select the files and folder to include in the backup. Also notice you can select the option to create an image of your local drive.

Now review the backup job and make sure everything looks correct.

Here you can also schedule the days and times the backup occurs.

Save the backup settings and start the backup process and while it runs you can monitor the progress.

Click the View Details button to see exactly what is being backup during the process.

When the backup is complete you will see the two backup files and image folder if you created one.

Restore Files from Backup

If you need to go back and restore a file from a backup click on Restore my files in the Backup and Restore Center.

Now you can browse or search the most recent backup for a file or folder your missing.

Next you can restore them back to the original location or choose a different spot then click Restore.

Progress of the restoration will vary depending on the size of the data and location it’s restoring from.

Manage Backup Size

Sometimes you may need to recover some disk space and Windows 7 allows you to manage the size of your backups. In the Backup and Restore section click on the Manage Space link.

Your given a summary of the backup location and what is taking up space from the backup.

Click on the View backups button to check the different dated backups where you can delete older ones if needed.

You can also change how windows retains older system images.

Backing up data is one of the most important but overlooked tasks for a computer user. There are many softwares that can do this task even better,but then,Windows 7 backup and restore utility is more than sufficient.

Any questions,feel free to ask in the Comments area.

Change the Windows 7 Default Control Panel View

2012-10-06T04:16:00.002-07:00

How to Change the Windows 7 Default Control Panel View

OPTION ONE

Through the Control Panel

1. Open the Start Menu.

2. Click on the Control Panel button on the right. (see screenshot below)

3. To Have the Control Panel with the Category View

A) Click on the View by drop down menu arrow, and select (dot) Category. (see screenshot above)

4. For All Control Panel Items with Large Icons View

A) Click on the View by drop down menu arrow, and select (dot) Large items. (see screenshot above)

5. For All Control Panel Items with Small Icons View

A) Click on the View by drop down menu arrow, and select (dot) Small items. (see screenshot above)

6. Close the Control Panel when done.
NOTE: When you close the Control Panel, whatever view you have selected will automatically be the same view the next time you open the Control Panel.

OPTION TWO

Through the Local Group Policy Editor

1. Open the all users, specific users or groups, or all users except administrators Local Group Policy Editor for how you want this policy applied.

2. In the left pane, click on User Configuration, Administrative Templates, and Control Panel.

3. In the right pane, right click on Always open All Control Panel Items when opening the Control Panel and click on Properties. (see screenshot above)

4. To Force Icons as the Default Control Panel View

A) Select (dot) Enabled. (see screenshot below step 7)

B) Go to step 7.

5. To Force Category as the Default Control Panel View

A) Select (dot) Disabled. (see screenshot below step 7)

B) Go to step 7.

6. To Unforce All Views as the Default Control Panel View
NOTE: This is the default setting.

A) Select (dot) Not Configured. (see screenshot below step 7)

7. Click on OK. (see screenshot below)

8. Close the Local Group Policy Editor window.

9. If open, close and reopen Control Panel to see changes.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments area.

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How to RESET your forgotten Windows Password

2012-10-06T03:51:00.001-07:00

How to RESET your forgotten Windows Password

Forgetting your password is never any fun, but luckily there’s a really easy way to reset the password. All you need is a copy of the Windows installation disk and one simple command line trick.

Resetting Your Forgotten Windows Password

Boot off the Windows disk and select the “Repair your computer” option from the lower left-hand corner.

Follow through until you get to the option to open the Command Prompt, which you’ll want to select.

First you’ll want to type in the following command to backup the original sticky keys file:

copy c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe c:\

Then you’ll copy the command prompt executable (cmd.exe) over top of the sticky keys executable:

copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe

Reboot the PC.

Resetting the Password

Once you get to the login screen, hit the Shift key 5 times, and you’ll see an administrator mode command prompt.

Now to reset the password—just type the following command, replacing the username and password with the combination you want:

net user geek MyNewPassword

That’s all there is to it. Now you can login.

You’ll probably want to put the original sethc.exe file back, which you can do by rebooting into the installation CD, opening the command prompt, and copying the c:\sethc.exe file back to c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe.

PS: Never let people sit at your computer un-attended with a windows disk at hand…as after reading this article,you know how exactly he/she can reset your password and cause chaos!!!!

Password protect your bios and disable boot from cd.

Any questions? Please feel free to ask in the Comments Section.

Installing Windows 7 from a USB

2012-10-06T03:06:00.001-07:00

Installing Windows 7 from a USB

A USB storage device needs to be 4 GB or larger if you want to use it as a Windows 7 installation source. This is because the x64 installation files are approximately 3.2 GB in size and the x86 installation files are approximately 2.5 GB in size. You use one architecture’s installation files only when preparing a deployment from a USB storage device. The USB storage device should use the FAT32 file system.

To prepare a USB storage device as an installation source for Windows 7, perform the following steps:

1. Connect the USB storage device to a computer running Windows 7 or Windows Vista. Ensure that the storage device has no data stored on it that you want to keep (or that you have moved such data to another storage device) because this procedure removes all existing data.

2. Open an elevated command prompt and type diskpart.

3. At the DISKPART> prompt, type list disk. Identify which disk connected to the computer represents the USB storage device.

4. At the DISKPART> prompt, type select disk X where X is the number of the disk that you have identified as the USB storage device.

5. At the DISKPART> prompt, type clean. When the disk is clean, type create partition primary.

6. At the DISKPART> prompt, type format fs=fat32 quick. When the format is completed type active and then exit.

7. After you have completed these steps, copy all the files located on the Windows 7 installation DVD to the USB storage device.

8. Configure the BIOS computer on which you want to install Windows 7 to boot from the USB storage device. Attach the USB storage device and then reboot the computer to start installation.