Microsoft's
Virtual PC creates its virtual machine hard drives in VHD files, and
Windows 7 can now mount these directly so you can access them in the
host system. Click Start, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter, then click
Action > Attach VHD and choose the file you'd like to mount. It will
then appear as a virtual drive in Explorer and can be accessed, copied
or written just like any other drive. Click Action > Create VHD
and you can now create a new virtual drive of your own (right-click it,
select Initialise Disk, and after it's set up right-click the
unallocated space and select New Simple Volume to set this up). Again,
you'll be left with a virtual drive that behaves just like any other,
where you can drag and drop files, install programs, test partitioning
software or do whatever you like. But it's actually just this VHD file
on your real hard drive which you can easily back up or share with
others. Right-click the disk (that's the left-hand label that says "Disk
2" or whatever) and select Detach VHD to remove it. The command
line DISKPART utility has also been upgraded with tools to detach a VHD
file, and an EXPAND command to increase a virtual disk's maximum size.
Don't play around with this unless you know what you're doing, though -
it's all too easy to trash your system.
2. Calculate more
At first glance the Windows 7
calculator looks just like Vista's version, but explore the Mode menu
and you'll see powerful new Statistics and Programmer views. And if
you're clueless about bitwise manipulation, then try the Options menu
instead. This offers many different unit conversions (length, weight,
volume and more), date calculations (how many days between two dates?),
and spreadsheet-type templates to help you calculate vehicle mileage,
mortgage rates and more. Don't take any Windows 7 applet at face
value, then - there are some very powerful new features hidden in the
background. Be sure to explore every option in all Windows applets to
ensure you don't miss anything important.
CALCULATE MORE:The new Calculator is packed with useful features and functionality
3. Activate XP mode
If you've old but important software that no longer runs under Windows 7, then you could try using XP Mode,
a virtual copy of XP that runs in a window on your Windows 7 desktop.
But there's a big potential problem, as XP Mode only works with systems
that have hardware visualization (AMD-V or Intel VT) built-in and
turned on. If you've a compatible CPU then this may just be a matter of
enabling the option in your BIOS set-up program, however some high
profile brands, including Sony Vaio, disable the setting for "security
reasons". And that blocks XP Mode from working, too. One solution
has emerged, but it's a little risky, as essentially you'll have to
alter a byte in your laptop firmware and hope this doesn't have any
unexpected side-effects. Gulp. If you're feeling brave then take a look
at the Feature Enable Blog for the details, but don't blame us if it goes wrong. A safer approach might be to use VirtualBox,
a virtualisation tool that doesn't insist on hardware support, but then
you will need to find a licensed copy of XP (or whatever other Windows
version your software requires) for its virtual machine.
4. Enable virtual Wi-Fi
Windows 7 includes a
little-known new feature called Virtual Wi-Fi, which effectively turns
your PC or laptop into a software-based router. Any other Wi-Fi-enabled
devices within range - a desktop, laptop, an iPod perhaps - will "see"
you as a new network and, once logged on, immediately be able to share
your internet connection. This will only work if your wireless
adapter driver supports it, though, and not all do. Check with your
adapter manufacturer and make sure you've installed the very latest
drivers to give you the best chance. Once you have driver support then the easiest approach is to get a network tool that can set up virtual Wi-Fi for you. Virtual Router (below) is free, easy to use and should have you sharing your internet connection very quickly.
If
you don't mind working with the command line, though, maybe setting up
some batch files or scripts, then it's not that difficult to set this up
manually. See Turn your Windows 7 laptop into a wireless hotspot for more.
5. Customise the log-on screen
Changing the
Windows log-on screen used to involve some complicated and potentially
dangerous hacks, but not any more - Windows 7 makes it easy. First,
browse to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background
in REGEDIT, double-click the DWORD key called OEMBackground (not there?
Create it) and set its value to 1. Now find a background image
you'd like to use. Make sure it's less than 256KB in size, and matches
the aspect ratio of your screen as it'll be stretched to fit. Next,
copy that image into the %windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds folder
(create the info\backgrounds folders if they don't exist). Rename the
image to backgroundDefault.jpg, reboot, and you should now have a custom
log-on image. Alternatively, use a free tweaking tool to handle everything for you. Logon Changer displays a preview so you can see how the log-on screen will look without rebooting, while the Logon Screen Rotator accepts multiple images and will display a different one every time you log on.
6. Drag and drop to the command line
When
working at the command line you'll often need to access files, which
usually means typing lengthy paths and hoping you've got them right. But
Windows 7 offers an easier way. Simply drag and drop the file onto your
command window and the full path will appear, complete with quotes and
ready to be used. This feature isn't entirely new: you could do
this in Windows XP, too, but drag and drop support disappeared in Vista.
There does seem to be a new Windows 7 complication, though, in that it
only seems to work when you open the command prompt as a regular user.
Run cmd.exe as an administrator and, while it accepts dropped files, the
path doesn't appear.
7. Faster program launches
If you've launched
one instance of a program but want to start another, then don't work
your way back through the Start menu. It's much quicker to just hold
down Shift and click on the program's icon (or middle-click it), and
Windows 7 will start a new instance for you.
8. Block annoying alerts
Just like Vista,
Windows 7 will display a suitably stern warning if it thinks your
antivirus, firewall or other security settings are incorrect. But
unlike Vista, if you disagree then you can now turn off alerts on
individual topics. If you no longer want to see warnings just because
you've dared to turn off the Windows firewall, say, then click Control
Panel > System and Security > Action Centre > Change Action
Centre settings, clear the Network Firewall box and click OK.
9. Disable hibernation
By default Windows 7
will permanently consume a chunk of your hard drive with its hibernation
file, but if you never use sleep, and always turn your PC off, then
this will never actually be used. To disable hibernation and recover a
little hard drive space, launch REGEDIT, browse to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power, then set both
HibernateEnabled and HiberFileSizePerfect to zero.
10. An Alt+Tab alternative
You want to access
one of the five Explorer windows you have open, but there are so many
other programs running that Alt+Tab makes it hard to pick out what you
need. The solution? Hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the
Explorer icon. Windows 7 will then cycle through the Explorer windows
only, a much quicker way to locate the right one. And of course this
works with any application that has multiple windows open.
11. Keyboard shortcuts
Windows 7 supports several useful new keyboard shortcuts. Alt+P Display/ hide the Explorer preview pane Windows Logo+G Display gadgets in front of other windows Windows Logo++ (plus key) Zoom in, where appropriate Windows Logo+- (minus key) Zoom out, where appropriate Windows Logo+Up Maximise the current window Windows Logo+Down Minimise the current window Windows Logo+Left Snap to the left hand side of the screen Windows Logo+Right Snap to the right hand side of the screen Windows Logo+Home Minimise/ restore everything except the current window.
12. Find bottlenecks
From what we've seen so
far Windows 7 is already performing better than Vista, but if your PC
seems sluggish then it's now much easier to uncover the bottleneck.
Click Start, type RESMON and press Enter to launch the Resource Monitor,
then click the CPU, Memory, Disk or Network tabs. Windows 7 will
immediately show which processes are hogging the most system resources. The
CPU view is particularly useful, and provides something like a more
powerful version of Task Manager. If a program has locked up, for
example, then right-click its name in the list and select Analyze
Process. Windows will then try to tell you why it's hanging - the
program might be waiting for another process, perhaps - which could give
you the information you need to fix the problem.
FIND BOTTLENECKS:Resource monitor keeps a careful eye on exactly how your PC is being used
13. Minimise quickly with shake If you
have multiple windows open on your desktop and things are getting too
cluttered, it used to be a time-consuming process to close them all
down. In Windows 7 you can use the Aero Shake feature to minimise
everything in seconds, using a cool mouse gesture. Grab the title bar of
the window you wish to keep open and give it a shake, and rejoice in a
clear desktop area.
14. Protect your data USB flash drives are
convenient, portable, and very easy to lose. Which is a problem,
especially if they're carrying sensitive data. Fortunately Windows 7 has
the solution: encrypt your documents with an extension of Microsoft's
BitLocker technology, and only someone with the password will be able to
access it. Right-click your USB flash drive, select Turn on BitLocker
and follow the instructions to protect your private files.
PROTECT YOUR DATA:Your USB flash drives can easily be encrypted with BitLocker
15. Explore God Mode Windows 7 has changed
Control Panel a little, but it's still too difficult to locate all the
applets and options that you might need. God Mode, however, while not
being particularly godlike, does offer an easier way to access
everything you could want from a single folder. To try this out, create a new folder and rename it to:
The
first part, "Everything" will be the folder name, and can be whatever
you want: "Super Control Panel", "Advanced", "God Mode" if you prefer. The
extension, ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C, must be entered
exactly as it is here, though, including the curly brackets. When you
press [Enter] this part of the name will disappear, and double-clicking
the new folder will display shortcuts to functions in the Action Centre,
the Network and Sharing Centre, Power options, troubleshooting tools,
user accounts and others - more than 260 options in total.
16. Rename multiples files
To rename multiple files in Windows, highlight the files you want to rename, then hit the F2 key. Rename the first file, then hit Enter.
All your files will be renamed and a number in parenthesis will be
added to the end of the name. If you change your mind, you can hit Ctrl+Z to undo the rename.
Original file names to rename.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Ed Rhee)
New file names.
17. Bypass the Windows splash screen
Disabling the Windows splash screen can shave a couple seconds from your total boot time. Launch the Windows Run command (Windows Logo+R), then type msconfig. Under the Boot tab, check the box next to "No GUI boot." Hit the OK or Apply button to save the changes.
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