Windows 7 - Computer Tips, Guides, and Tricks

Windows 7 Feature - Games Explorer

2011-07-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

Games Explorer

The Games Explorer in Windows 7 was redesigned to satisfy both casual and hard-core gamers alike. You can now elect to get software updates and news feeds for installed titles. The Games Explorer also tracks wins, losses and other fun stats.

And don't miss the great new multiplayer games in Windows 7.

Game on: The improved Games Explorer is your first stop for fun in Windows 7.

Windows 7 Feature - Gadgets

2011-07-15T20:20:00.001-07:00

Gadgets

Gadgets put information and fun—like news, pictures, games, and the phases of the moon—right on your desktop.

In Windows Vista, gadgets were corralled in the Sidebar. Windows 7 sets them free on the screen, where you can move and resize them as you like. Open windows getting in the way of your gadgets? Use Peek to make them instantly reappear.

Visit the Personalization Gallery to download free gadgets for Windows 7—you'll find gadgets for traffic, translation, searching the web, and more.

Windows 7 Feature - Email

2011-07-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

Email

With Windows 7, you've got new choices for how to use email—along with some changes from what you might be used to in Windows Vista or Windows XP.

Looking for Windows Mail or Outlook Express?

Windows Mail and Outlook Express aren't included in Windows 7. To use your email, you'll need to install a new program. You can download Windows Live Mail for free (if it's not already installed on your PC), or you can get a program from another company.

Once your new program is up and running, you'll be able to import your email into it.

If you've just upgraded to Windows 7 and can't find your email, don't worry—it's not lost. How you retrieve it will depend on the type of installation you've done:

If you used the Upgrade option during Windows 7 installation, your email data was kept in place along with your other files. You can use the Import Mail Troubleshooter to import your accounts into Windows Live Mail.
If you used Windows Easy Transfer to migrate your old files and settings, you can also use the import Mail troubleshooter to import your accounts into Windows Live Mail.
If you backed up data on an external storage device without using Windows Easy Transfer, you'll need to restore your email files from a backup on your computer. Then you can import your email, contacts, and calendar into Windows Live Mail.

Windows Live Mail puts all your email in one place.

What is Windows Live Mail?

Windows Live Mail is a desktop program with some great new ways to manage your email. It's part of Windows Live Essentials, a free download that also includes Messenger, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and other software that helps you do more with Windows 7.

With Windows Live Mail, you can read and reply to your email even when you're offline. When you're back online, new email messages will download to your PC, and any messages in your outbox will be sent.

All your accounts in one place

Windows Live Mail puts the email accounts you choose—like Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo! Mail—in one program, so you can get all your email messages in one place on your desktop. And if you're also using the online services of Windows Live, your calendars and contacts will stay in sync between your PC and the web.

Simple to send photos

With Windows Live Mail, you can send lots of photos without clogging up your friends' inboxes. Instead of giant image files, you send thumbnails of photos that are stored online in Windows Live Skydrive. Your friends can then click the thumbnails to get the high-resolution versions.

Windows 7 Feature - DirectX 11

2011-07-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

DirectX 11

Gamers take note: Windows 7 includes a new version of DirectX, the software behind the eye-popping 3-D visuals and immersive sound effects found in many of today's PC games.

DirectX 11 includes numerous improvements. It's designed to be more efficient, leverage the power of today's multi-core processors, and provide support for sophisticated shading and texturing techniques such as tessellation. The result: smoother 3-D animation, and graphics more lifelike and nuanced than ever before.

To learn more, visit the Games for Windows website.

To find out which graphics cards are compatible with DirectX 11, go to the Windows 7 Compatibility Center website.

Windows 7 Feature - Device Management

2011-07-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Device management

In Windows 7, working with printers, cameras, phones, music players, and other devices has never been easier thanks to two new features: Device Stage and the Devices and Printers folder.

Device Stage

Think of Device Stage as a home page for your hardware: When you plug something into your PC, you’ll see a menu of popular tasks for that type of device. A multifunction printer, for example, will show options for printing and scanning. In previous versions of Windows, these were often located in separate menus.

It gets better. Manufacturers can customize Device Stage, so for many devices you'll see status information and menu options tailored to your specific model—right down to a slick photorealistic mug shot.

Devices and Printers

The new Devices and Printers folder shows you the installed devices that are connected to your PC, making it a handy way to check on a printer, music player, camera, mouse, or digital picture frame (just to name a few).

It's also the place to add a new networked or wireless device and troubleshoot problems with a device or printer.

Windows 7 Feature - Desktop

2011-07-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

With Windows 7, we’ve made it easier to get more done on the desktop.

New ways to juggle windows

Overwhelmed by open windows? Windows 7 comes with three simple yet powerful new features called Shake, Peek, and Snap to help you instantly clear through desktop clutter.

Peek-a-boo: Peek turns open windows translucent so you can see what's on your desktop.

Shake

Ever need to cut through a cluttered desktop and quickly focus on a single window? Just click the top of a pane and give your mouse a shake. Voila! Every open window except that one instantly disappears. Jiggle again—and your windows are back. (Who says the old mouse can’t learn a new trick?)

Shake, part of the Aero desktop experience, is included in the Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows 7.

Peek

Peek gives you the power of X-ray vision, so you can peer past all your open windows straight to the Windows 7 desktop. Simply point to the end of the taskbar and watch open windows instantly turn transparent, revealing all your hidden icons and gadgets.

To quickly reveal a buried window, point to its taskbar thumbnail. Now only that window shows on the desktop.

Peek, part of the Aero desktop experience, is included in the Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows 7.

Snap

Snap is a quick (and fun) new way to resize open windows, simply by dragging them to the edges of your screen.

Depending on where you drag a window, you can make it expand vertically, take up the entire screen, or appear side-by-side with another window. Snap makes reading, organizing, and comparing windows a...well, you get the picture.

Spectacular new wallpapers

We spend a lot of time staring at our PCs. Aesthetics shouldn't just be an afterthought. That's why Windows 7 includes a slew of new desktop backgrounds—wallpapers—that range from sublime to silly. Or try the new desktop slide show, which displays a rotating series of pictures (ours or yours). Your desktop will never be dull again.

Windows 7 makes it easy to express your personality with creative new themes and other custom touches.

Retooled taskbar

Since Windows 95, the taskbar has served as the go-to spot for launching programs and switching windows. Times and PC habits have changed. So in Windows 7, the taskbar has been completely redesigned to help you work smarter, cut clutter, and get more done.

Improvements to the new Windows 7 taskbar include thumbnail previews of webpages, documents—even running video.

Improved gadgets

Gadgets, the popular mini-programs introduced in Windows Vista, are now more flexible and fun. Based on your feedback, we've done away with the Sidebar, so you can stick your gadgets anywhere on the desktop.

Favorite gadgets can go anywhere on your Windows 7 desktop.

Note: Not all features mentioned above are available in all editions of Windows 7.

Windows 7 Feature - Calculator

2011-06-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Calculator

We gave Calculator a fresh look and new features, including new Programmer and Statistics modes. Unit conversion translates Celsius to Fahrenheit, ounces to grams, and joules to BTUs. Handy calculation templates can help you compute stuff like fuel economy and auto lease payments.

Calculation history displays what you’ve done, and if you've got a touchscreen PC, you'll be able to tap out calculations right on the screen.

Using Calculator in Windows 7

You can use Calculator to perform simple calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Calculator also offers the advanced capabilities of a programming, scientific, and statistical calculator.

You can perform calculations by clicking the calculator buttons, or you can type calculations by using your keyboard. You can also use the numeric keypad to type numbers and operators by pressing Num Lock.

Calculator window

Open Calculator by clicking the Start button . In the search box, type Calculator, and then, in the list of results, click Calculator.
Click the View menu, and then click the mode that you want.
When you switch modes, the current calculation is cleared. Calculation history and numbers stored by the memory keys are retained.
Click the calculator keys to perform the calculation you want.

USING SCIENTIFIC MODE

Click the View menu, and then click Scientific.
Click the calculator keys to perform the calculation you want.
To access inverse functions, click the Inv key.

Notes

In Scientific mode, Calculator is precise to 32 significant digits.
Calculator honors operator precedence when calculating in Scientific mode.

USING PROGRAMMER MODE

Click the View menu, and then click Programmer.
Click the calculator keys to perform the calculation you want.

Notes

In Programmer mode, Calculator is precise up to 64 bits, depending on the word size that you've selected.
Calculator honors operator precedence when calculating in Programmer mode.
Programmer mode is an integer only mode. Decimal portions are discarded.

USING CALCULATION HISTORY

Calculation history keeps track of all the calculations that Calculator performs in a session and is available in Standard and Scientific modes. You can change the values in the calculations in your history. While you're editing the calculation history, the result of the selected calculation is displayed in the result area.

Click the View menu, and then click History.
Double-click the calculation that you want to edit.
Enter the new values that you want to calculate, and then press Enter.

Note

Calculation history is kept separately for Standard and Scientific modes. The history that's displayed depends on the mode that you're using.

CONVERT VALUES FROM ONE UNIT OF MEASUREMENT TO ANOTHER

You can use Calculator to perform conversions for different units of measure.

Click the View menu, and then click Unit conversion.
Under Select the type of unit you want to convert, click the three lists to select the types of units you want to convert, and then, in the From box, enter the value that you want to convert.

USING STATISTICS MODE

When you use Statistics mode, you can enter the data that you want to calculate statistics for and then perform the calculations. When you enter the data, it's displayed in the history area and the number of values you have entered is displayed in the calculation area.

Click the View menu, and then click Statistics.
Type or click your first piece of data, and then click Add to add the data to the dataset.

Click the button for the statistical calculation you want to perform:

Button	Function
	Average of the values
	Average of the square of the values
	Sum of the values
	Sum of the square of the values
	Standard deviation
	Standard deviation of population

Windows 7 Feature - BitLocker Drive Encryption

2011-06-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

How can you help protect your data from loss, theft, or hackers? The answer: BitLocker.

Improved for Windows 7 and available in the Ultimate and Enterprise editions, BitLocker helps keep everything from documents to passwords safer by encrypting the entire drive that Windows and your data reside on. Once BitLocker is turned on, any file you save on that drive is encrypted automatically.

BitLocker To Go—a new feature of Windows 7—gives the lockdown treatment to easily-misplaced portable storage devices like USB flash drives and external hard drives.

Set up your hard disk for BitLocker Drive Encryption

To encrypt the drive that Windows is installed on, your computer must have two partitions: a system partition (which contains the files needed to start your computer) and an operating system partition (which contains Windows). The operating system partition will be encrypted and the system partition will remain unencrypted so your computer can start.

In previous versions of Windows, you might have had to manually create these partitions. In this version of Windows, these partitions are created automatically. If your computer does not have a system partition, the BitLocker wizard will create one for you using 200 MB of available disk space. The system partition will not be assigned a drive letter and will not show up in the Computer folder.

What is encryption?

Encryption is a way to enhance the security of a message or file by scrambling the contents so that it can be read only by someone who has the right encryption key to unscramble it. For example, if you purchase something from a website, the information for the transaction (such as your address, phone number, and credit card number) is usually encrypted to help keep it safe. Use encryption when you want a strong level of protection for your information.

Windows 7 Feature - Backup and Restore

2011-06-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

Backup and Restore

Backup and Restore—improved for Windows 7—creates safety copies of your most important personal files, so you're always prepared for the worst.

Let Windows choose what to back up, or pick individual folders, libraries, and drives yourself. Windows can back up files on whatever schedule you choose—just set it and forget it.

You can back up to another drive or a DVD. And if you're using the Professional or Ultimate editions of Windows 7, you'll also have the option of backing up your files to a network.

To back up your files

Open Backup and Restore by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Backup and Restore.
Do one of the following:
- If you've never used Windows Backup before, click Set up backup, and then follow the steps in the wizard. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
- If you've created a backup before, you can wait for your regularly scheduled backup to occur, or you can manually create a new backup by clicking Back up now. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Notes

We recommend that you don't back up your files to the same hard disk that Windows is installed on.
Always store media used for backups (external hard disks, DVDs, or CDs) in a secure place to prevent unauthorized people from having access to your files—we recommend a fireproof location separate from your computer. You might also consider encrypting the data on your backup.

To create a new, full backup

After you create your first backup, Windows Backup will add new or changed information to your subsequent backups. If you're saving your backups on a hard drive or network location, Windows Backup will create a new, full backup for you automatically when needed. If you're saving your backups on CDs or DVDs and can't find an existing backup disc, or if you want to create a new backup of all of the files on your computer, you can create a full backup. Here's how to create a full backup:

Open Backup and Restore by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Backup and Restore.
In the left pane, click Create new, full backup.
Note
You will only see this option if your backup is being saved on CDs or DVDs.

To set up a backup after upgrading from a previous version of Windows

After you upgrade Windows, you will need to set up Windows Backup, even if you had a scheduled backup in the previous version of Windows. This is because there are several changes to the backup program. Instead of selecting file types to back up, you can have Windows back up data files saved in libraries, on the desktop, and in default Windows folders, or you can choose specific libraries and folders to be backed up. You can also create a system image of your computer.

To set up your backup, follow these steps:

Open Backup and Restore by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Backup and Restore.
Click Set up backup, and then follow the steps in the wizard. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Windows 7 Feature - Audio and Video Improvements

2011-06-27T21:22:00.001-07:00

Audio

Windows 7 is smarter about sound thanks to Automatic Stream Management, a new feature designed to route audio to the right place. Playing a CD? The sound emerges from your speakers. Making an Internet call? You'll hear it on your headset.

Windows 7 also lets you connect a portable music player to your PC and play it through your computer speakers. And it supports HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cables, so you can send multi-channel digital audio and high-definition video to a stereo or TV from your PC.

Fine-tune your sound settings in Control Panel.

Video

Windows 7 has new features to make images and text look better, especially on LCD monitors.

Are roses red and violets blue on your computer screen? If not, Display Color Calibration can help make sure colors are represented accurately. The new ClearType Tuner can make text look crisper.

Finally, Windows 7 makes it easier to connect laptops to external projectors, handy for giving presentations or watching movies. Just press the Windows logo key+P to toggle between your laptop screen and an external display.

Display Color Calibration makes your monitor look its best.

Windows 7 Feature - Aero

2011-06-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

AERO

The Aero desktop experience, available in the Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows 7, mixes cool graphics with useful new ways to manage your desktop.

Aero visual hallmarks include subtle animations and translucent glass windows, which you can personalize. Pick from the included color palette, or create your own custom tints with the color mixer.

There's more to Aero than style. Point to a taskbar button, and you’ll see a thumbnail-sized preview—even for live video. Then point to the thumbnail, and it morphs into a full-screen preview. Shake and Peek cut through desktop clutter by quickly minimizing open windows or turning them invisible.

What is the Aero desktop experience?

The Aero desktop experience features a translucent glass design with subtle window animations and new window colors.

The Aero desktop experience features glass-like windows for an open look

It includes distinctive visual styles that combine the appearance of lightweight, translucent windows with powerful graphic advances. You can enjoy visually appealing effects and appearance and also benefit from better access to your programs.

Glass effects

Translucent glass windows create depth on the desktop

One of the more visually obvious features is glass window borders, which let you focus on the contents of your open windows. Window behavior has also been redesigned, with subtle animations accompanying the minimizing, maximizing, and repositioning of windows to appear more smooth and effortless.

Tint your windows using the provided colors, or mix your own custom color

You can even fine-tune the color and appearance of windows, the Start menu, and the taskbar by tinting your translucent windows. Select one of the provided colors, or create your own custom color using the color mixer.

Switching between programs

Pointing to a window's taskbar button displays a preview of the window

The Aero desktop experience also includes taskbar previews for your open windows. When you point to a taskbar button, you'll see a thumbnail-sized preview of the window, whether the content of the window is a document, a photo, or even a running video.

Switching windows with Alt+Tab

When you press Alt+Tab to switch between windows, you can see live previews of the windows for each open program.

How do I get the Aero desktop experience?

The following editions of Windows 7 include Aero:

Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Ultimate

Aero is not included in Windows 7 Home Basic or Windows 7 Starter. You can find out which edition of Windows 7 you have on your computer by opening System in Control Panel.

Open System by clicking the Start button , right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.

The edition of Windows 7 you're running is displayed under Windows edition near the top of the window.

You also need to use a Windows theme to display Aero graphics. If you are using an Ease of Access theme, some elements such as transparency and thumbnail previews will not appear. To view which theme you are using, open Personalization in Control Panel.

Open Theme Settings by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, clicking Personalization, and then clicking Theme.

Windows 7 Feature - Action Center

2011-06-27T17:11:00.001-07:00

ACTION CENTER

Want more control over pop-up messages? Action Center lets you decide which Windows 7 alerts you see and which you don’t.

Action Center consolidates alerts from key Windows maintenance and security features, including Windows Error Reporting, Windows Defender, and User Account Control. If Windows requires your attention, the Action Center icon appears in the taskbar. Click it and you’ll see alerts and suggested fixes for any problems. You can fine-tune your choices in Control Panel.

What is Action Center?

Action Center is a central place to view alerts and take actions that can help keep Windows running smoothly.

Action Center notifies you when items need your attention.

Action Center lists important messages about security and maintenance settings that need your attention. Red items in Action Center are labeled Important, and indicate significant issues that should be addressed soon, such as an outdated antivirus program that needs updating. Yellow items are suggested tasks that you should consider addressing, like recommended maintenance tasks.

Open Action Center by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under System and Security, clicking Review your computer's status.

To view details about either the Security or Maintenance section, click the heading or the arrow next to the heading to expand or collapse the section. If you don’t want to see certain types of messages, you can choose to hide them from view.

Get a quick summary of your computer's status.

You can quickly see whether there are any new messages in Action Center by placing your mouse over the Action Center icon in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar. Click the icon to view more detail, and click a message to address the issue. Or, open Action Center to view the message in its entirety.

If you’re having a problem with your computer, check Action Center to see if the issue has been identified. If it hasn’t, you can also find helpful links to troubleshooters and other tools that can help fix problems.

Windows 7 Feature - 64-bit Support

2011-06-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

64-BIT SUPPORT

If you’ve gone PC shopping lately, you’ve probably noticed more computers with 64-bit processors, and you may have wondered what advantages they offer.

Put simply, a 64-bit PC can handle larger amounts of information than a 32-bit system. Since it can use more RAM—4 GB and up—a 64-bit computer can be more responsive when you're running lots of programs at once.

Whichever system you choose, Windows 7 is ready. All packaged retail editions of Windows 7 (except for Home Basic) include both 32- and 64-bit software.

Wondering whether a program or device works with your 64-bit PC? Look for products that carry the "Compatible with Windows 7" logo, which means they were tested on both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7. Or visit the Windows 7 Compatibility Center to search a regularly updated list of programs and devices.

Check Control Panel to see whether your PC is capable of running the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

Windows 7 Feature - Accessibility

2011-06-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 has given users more ways to use and interact with their computer's. With great strides in speech recognition and touch technology, Windows 7 has added some new user-friendly features.

SPEECH

Microsoft has greatly improved Speech Recognition. Speech Recognition now works even better, and can be used with more programs, so instead of using a keyboard, you can just tell your computer what to do. You can start an email by telling your computer the recipients name, surf the web without a keyboard, or dictate your documents.

Windows Speech Recognition responds to your voice.

MAGNIFIER

Magnifier is a helpful tool for people with low vision, but everyone can take advantage of it to see the small hard-to-see text and pictures. Full-Screen mode allows you to magnify the whole screen on your desktop, and lens mode zooms in on one particular area. Inside the magnifier window. you can click buttons and input text as you normally would.

Magnifier zooms in on your desktop.

ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD

On-Screen Keyboard lets you "keyboard without a keyboard," with a choice of several different input methods: clicking mode, hovering mode, and scanning mode. With Windows Touch and the right hardware, you can also input text by tapping directly on the screen. And word prediction speeds things up: type the first few letters of a word, and Windows will finish it for you.

On-Screen Keyboard has a variety of text input choices.

NARRATOR AND VISUAL NOTIFICATIONS

Windows 7 can read on-screen text aloud and describe some events (like error messages), helping you use your computer without the display. With Audio Description, you can hear a narration of what's happening in a video. Windows can also replace sound alerts with visual cues like a screen flash, so system alerts are noticeable even when they're not heard.

Narrator helps you use your computer without the display.