70 Fantastic Windows 7 Tips & Tricks For Better Functionality

Windows
7 is currently only a beta version, but it’s much better than the
latest version of Windows Vista and it comes with a lot of new
features. Unfortunately, some of them aren’t so easy to figure out, so I created
a list of the most important tips and tricks and a step-by-step guide
that will help you apply all of these great tips and tricks.

1. PC Safeguard

I rarely let anyone use my PC because I’m afraid he will mess it up, but it
seems Microsoft has been thinking at me and came with a solution. The PC
Safeguard doesn’t let anyone mess your PC settings, because after the user logs
off, the configurations are reset back to normal. Of course it will not restore
the configurations changed by you, but only the ones done by other users you
define.

To use PC Safeguard, go to Control Panel -> User Accounts and
create a new account, then select “Set Up Pc Safeguard” and switch it on. Then
you can stay relaxed when others use your computer, because you won’t find
anything changed, including configurations, downloaded software, installed
programs.

2. Screen Calibration

Fortunately, Windows 7 comes with a display
calibration wizard that lets you set up the screen brightness
properly, so you won’t have any problems viewing photos or text. The
problem was that on one PC a photo could look sharp and bright and on another it
looks awful. Now the problem can be fixed by pressing the Win key and then
typing “DCCW”.

3. AppLocker

If you are usually sharing your computer with someone else, then you might
want to restrict their access to your applications, files or documents.
Using the AppLocker tool, you have a few options to do this
by blocking other users to access Executables, Windows Installers, Scripts,
a specific publisher or path. You can simply do this by pressing the Windows
key then typing Gpedit.msc. Then go to Computer
Navigation -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Application Control
Policies -> AppLocker. Right click on one of the options (
Executables, Installers, or Script ) and create a new rule. That should save
you from a lot of headaches.

4. Burn Images

We all had trouble with image burning in Windows, because
it couldn’t do it itself, a standalone software being needed. With
Windows 7 this will not be a problem anymore. All you have to do is
double-click the ISO image and burn it on the CD or DVD that’s
inserted in the drive.

5. Display Empty Removable Drives

Windows 7 will not show empty drives by default, so if you connect an empty
drive to your PC, don’t worry, just go to Tools -> Folder Options ->
View and uncheck “Hide empty drives in the computer folder”.
This doesn’t seem like a good idea and it should not be default setting,
because it will be hard for inexperienced users to figure it out. I bet a
lot of users will return their newly bought drive thinking it’s broken.

6. Dock The Current Windows To The Left Side Of The Screen

This new feature seems useful because sometimes it’s disturbing that windows
seems to float like crazy on the screen and it’s hard to attach them to one
side of it. Now this can easily be done using a keyboard shortcut. Press the
Windows key + Left key to dock it to the left side of the screen.

6.1 Dock The Current Windows To The Right Side Of The Screen

Press the Windows key + Right key to dock it to the right side of the
screen.

7. Display Or Hide The Explorer Preview Panel

Press ALT + P to hide it then once again to display it.

8. Display Gadgets On Top Of Other Windows

Press ALT + G

9. Background Photo Slideshow

If you are like me, lazy and bored, then you will want to change the
background from time to time, wasting a lot of time. Now you don’t have to
do this anymore, because you can set up a slideshow. Right click on the
desktop then go to Personalize -> Desktop Background and hold the CTRL key
while choosing the images. Then you can choose the time intervals between
images and opt to display them randomly or in a row.

10. Make The Taskbar Smaller

If you feel like the taskbar is using too much of your screen space, you can
choose to make the icons smaller. To do this, right-click on the Start
button, then go to Properties -> Taskbar and set it to “Use small icons”

11. Combine Taskbar Icons

When you have more windows or applications opened, the taskbar’s space might
not be enough for them all, so you need to combine them, just like you would
in Windows XP or Vista. To do this, right-click the Start button, then go to
Properties -> Taskbar and check “Combine when taskbar is full”.

12. Multi-threaded File Copy

If you are a more advanced user, you’ve heard already about Robocopy. Now
it’s included in Windows 7 and lets you perform multi-threaded copies from
the command line. You can choose the number of threads like this “/MT[:n],
which can be from 1 to 128.

13. Maximize Or Restore The Foreground Window

Press Windows Key + Up Key.

14. Minimize The Active Window

Press Windows Key + Down Key

15. Activate The Quick Launch Toolbar

The Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows XP and in Vista seems a
very good idea that you might miss when using Windows 7.
Fortunately though, you can get it back in a quick few steps. Right click
the taskbar, go to Toolbar -> New Toolbar and type
“%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch”
into the folder box, then click Select Folder. To make it look like it would
in Windows Vista, right click the taskbar, uncheck “Lock the Taskbar”, then
right click the divider and uncheck “Show Title” and “Show
Text”. Then right click the taskbar and check “Show Small
Icons” and you should be done.

16. Preview Photos In Windows Explorer

While in Windows Explorer, Press ALT + P and a preview should appear on the
right.

17. Desktop Magnifier

Press the Windows Key and the Plus Key to zoom in or Windows Key and the
Minus Key to zoom out. You can zoom anywhere on the desktop and you can even
configure your magnifier. You can choose to invert colors, follow the mouse
pointer, follow the keyboard focus, or the text insertion point.

18. Minimize Everything Except The Current Window

Press the Windows Key + Home Key.

19. TroubleShoot Power Management

Windows 7 can tell you how much power your system uses or provide detailed
information about the power usage and issues caused by each application and
device. This way you can optimize the way your battery is used, making It
last longer. Press the Windows Key and type “POWERCFG –ENERGY
–OUTPUT ”, and it will create a file
called energy-report.html in the folder specified by you,
after observing your PC for 60 seconds.

20. Web Searches From Your Desktop

Windows 7 lets you search for online resources, by adding a connector that
be downloaded for free. For instance, go to
http://www.bizzntech.com/flickrsearch and download the Flickr
connector. After that, you should see the Flickr Search in
your searches folder and you will be able to do it directly from your
desktop, without needing to visit their website.

21. Add Videos To Your Start Menu

If you were looking for a faster way to access your videos, then Windows 7
has the right answer for you. Right click the Start button, then go to
Properties -> Start Menu -> Customize and set the Videos to “Display as a
link” and you’re done, you will now find them in the Start Menu.

22. Shift The Window From One Monitor To Another

If you are using two or more monitors, then you might want to move the
Windows from one to another. There is a very simple way to do it. All you
have to do is press the Windows Key + Shift Key + Left or Right Key,
depending on what monitor you want to move it to.

23.Custom Power Button

There is an option to replace the “Shut Down” button with another action, if
you rarely shut down the computer, but you more often restart it or put it
on sleep. Right click the Start Button, go to Properties and choose the
‘Power Boot Action” to do whatever you want, from the given options.

24. Easily Add A New Font

Adding a new font it’s now easier than ever. Just download the font you
want, double click it and you should see the install button.

25. Stretch The Window Vertically

You can stretch the active window vertically to the maximum display height
by pressing the Windows + Shift + Up Keys. Press Windows + Down Keys if you
want to restore it.

26. Open Windows Explorer

Press The Windows + E Keys to open a new instance of Windows Explorer.

27. Create A New Instance Of The First Icon In The Taskbar

Press Windows + 1 Keys to open a new instance of the first icon in the
taskbar. This could prove really useful in some circumstances.

28. Windows Action Center

Windows Action Center offers you important information about your PC, like
the Antivirus Status, updates, troubleshooting and provides a backup
scheduling feature. To access it, go to Control Panel -> System And
Security -> Action Center.

29. Windows Troubleshooting Platform

This platform can help you solve a lot of issues you may encounter, like the
internet connection, hardware devices, poor system performance and more. You
can choose what to troubleshoot and it will come with some possible
explanations for the problem that might really help you. There are a lot of
options, guidance and information available there, so give it a try by
typing “troubleshoot” or “fix” after pressing the Windows Key.

30. Turn Off System Notifications

System notifications are usually disturbing and aren’t always useful, so you
might want to turn some of them off and. This can be done in Windows 7 by
double clicking the Notification Area Icons in Control panel. There you can
change notifications and icons for the Action Center, Network, Volume,
Windows Explorer, Media Center Tray Applet, Windows Update Automatic
Updates.

31. Turn Off Security Messages

To turn off security messages you have to go to Control Panel ->
System and Security -> Action Center -> Change Action Center Settings
and you can turn off the following notifications: Windows Update, Internet
Security Settings, Network Firewall, Spyware and related protection, User
Account Control, Virus Protection, Windows Backup, Windows Troubleshooting,
Check for updates.

32. Cycle Through The Open Programs Via The Taskbar’s Peek Menu

This works just like Alt + Tab, but opens the menu just above the sidebar,
doesn’t seem very useful. Give it a try by pressing The Windows Key + T.

33. Run A Program As An Administrator

You can easily run a program as an administrator by pressing Ctrl + Shift
while opening it.




34. Same Program Windows Switching

If you have more instances of a program running, simply hold Ctrl while
clicking on its icon and it will cycle through all the instances.

35. Auto Arrange Desktop Icons

You can now forget about the Right Click -> Auto arrange. All you have to do
is hold F5 pressed for a bit and the icons will auto arrange.

36. Encrypt Removable USB Drives

Encrypting an USB drive has never been easier. Now you can right click on
the removable drive and then on the “Turn on Bitlocker”.

37. Turn Off Smart Window Arrangement

If you don’t like Windows 7’s new features that arrange your windows
intelligently, there’s an easy way to turn it off. Press the Windows Key,
type “regedit”, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
Panel\Desktop and set WindowArrangementActive to
0. After you reboot your system the smart arrangements will
be turned off.

38. Create A System Repair Disc

Windows 7 features a tool that lets you create a bootable System Repair Disc
that includes some system tools and the command prompt. To create it, press
the Windows Key and type “system repair disc”.

39. Hard-Link Migration Store

The Hard-Link Migration store is only available for new computers and can
migrate files, settings, and user accounts. The new Hard-Link Migration
Store uses more less disk spaces and takes less time.

40. Turn Off ‘Send Feedback’

The current Beta version of Windows 7 is all about feedback from its
testers, but if you feel disturbed by it, there is a way to turn it off.
Press the Windows Key and type ‘regedit’, then go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop and set
FeedbackToolEnabled to 0. After you restart the computer, it
shouldn’t be there anymore. Also, if you want to turn it on again, set the
FeedbackToolEnabled to 3.

41. Improved Calculator

Windows 7 features an improved calculator that can do unit
conversion, date calculation, gas mileage, lease, and mortgage.
Also you can choose between Standard, Scientific, Programmer, and
Statistic calculator.

42. Open A Folder In A New Process

Windows 7 opens all folders in the same process in order to save resources,
but this means if one folder crashes, they all crash. So if you feel like
that’s a risk you don’t have to take, then you have to open them all in
their own processes. To do this, hold down Shift, right-click the drive and
“Open in New Process”. Now you will be safe.

43. Problem Step Recorder

The Problem Step Recorder is a great tool that can be used
in more circumstances. You can turn it on by pressing the Windows Key, then
typing “PSR.exe” and click Record. Now it will record all your moves and
save them as a HTML document that you can view or write
descriptions to it. This can help you with troubleshooting or when writing a
guidance or tutorial.

44. Free Codecs Pack

Unfortunately, Windows Media Player still isn’t able to
play many audio and video files, so you will still need some codecs.
But with the free codecs pack you can

download

here you shouldn’t have any problems.

45. Start Windows Explorer From My Computer

Windows Explorer opens in the Libraries directory by
default. Most of us are used to see the My Computer page instead. To change
it to My Computer, press the Windows Key, then type “explorer”,
select Properties and in the Shortcut tab type “%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe
/root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}”. Now you have to
right-click the Explorer icon in the Taskbar and hit “Unpin this
program from the taskbar” and then drag it back from the Start
Menu.

46. Clear The Desktop

If there are too many windows on the desktop, you can clear it by shaking a
window from left to right and all others will minimize. To restore the other
windows you have to shake the active one again.

47. Use Gadgets With UAC Turned Off

Maybe you noticed that once you turn off UAC you can’t use the
gadgets anymore, as a security measure. But if you want to risk
using them, there a simple way to do it, even with UAC turned off.
Press the Windows Key, type ‘regedit’, go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sidebar\Settings
and create a DWORD value named AllowElevatedProcess
and set its value to 1. Now you should be able to use your
gadgets. If not, then reboot your PC and you should be
done.

48. Fix The Media Player & Media Center MP3 Bug

Both Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center come with a bug
that can damage your MP3s by filling missing metadata automatically on
imported MP3 files. This can cut a few seconds from the beginning
of the tracks and can prove really disturbing. This problem was fixed by
Microsoft using the fix that you can

download

here.

49. Search Everything In Your Computer

Windows 7 offers the possibility to search all file types, including
unknown ones and this could help you in some cases. Though it is
not recommended, because it’s much slower than normal search, you can give
it a try by doing the following: Launch Windows Explorer, go to
Tools -> Folder Options -> View and check “Try to search
the content of unknown file types”. If you don’t need it anymore,
don’t forget to clear it for an increase in speed.

50. Mouse Gestures

Windows 7 has not only brought gestures for those who use touchscreen
devices, but for mouse users too. So, instead of right-clicking a Taskbar
icon to access the jump list, you can hold left-click and drag upwards to
smoothly call it up. In addition, clicking and dragging down the address bar
in Internet Explorer will open the browsing history. There might be more
gestures yet not discovered.

51. Configure Your Music Favorites

If you’ve already fixed the Windows Media Center, now you might think of
ways to improve your experience with it. The Media Center creates a list of
favorite songs based on how often you play them, your ratings and date
you’ve added them. If you aren’t comfortable with the way they thought it
out, change the way it sorts your favorites by going to Tasks ->
Settings -> Music -> Favorite Music.

52. Turn Off Recent Search Queries Display

Windows 7 holds and displays the recent search queries by default. This can
often prove to be irritating. No need to stress though because it can be
disabled. Press the Windows Key, type gpedit.msc, then go to User
Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows
Explorer and double click on “Turn off display of recent
search entries”.

53. Advanced Disk Defragmentation

Fortunately, Windows 7 offers much better defragmentation than Vista
and also lets you configure it a bit from the command line. To do
it, press the Windows Key and then type CMD.
You can defragment your hard disk from the command line by typing “defrag”
and you have the following options: “/r” will defrag
multiple drives simultaneously, “-a” performs a defrag
analysis, “-v” prints the report, “-r”
treats files with at least 64 Mb of fragments like are not fragmented, “-w”
will defrag everything. An example is “defrag C: -v
-w” to defrag the whole drive C.

54. Make Internet Explorer 8 Load Faster

If you want Internet Explorer 8 to load faster, you need to
disable the add-ons that slow it down, so go to Tools -> Manage
Add-ons and check the load time for each one. You can choose for
yourself the ones you can live without and ones that would increase
the load speed.

55. Media Center Automatic Download

Windows Media Center 12 allows you to schedule data
downloads, so it can be done without disturbing you. To do it, go to
Tasks -> Settings -> General -> Automatic Download Options and you
can configure it to start and stop the download whenever
you want.

56. Remove The Sidebar

Windows 7 doesn’t seem to feature the sidebar anymore, but
it still exists and runs in the background, being launched
automatically at startup. So if you want to get rid of it, there
are two ways. The easier one is to press the Windows Key,
type MSCONFIG.EXE, click the Startup tab
and clear the Sidebar box. The hard way is to press the
Windows key, type “regedit”, find and
delete the registry key at
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
This can save you some RAM consumed with no use.

57. Volume Tweaking

Don’t you like that Windows 7 automatically reduces the volume when it
detects PC calls? You can turn off this feature by right-clicking the
speaker icon in the taskbar, go to Sounds -> Communications
and get rid of it.

58. Run A Program As Another User

Windows 7 comes with the possibility to run a program both
as an administrator or another user, by right clicking on
the executable or shortcut while holding down the Shift key. Then you have
to select “Run as another user”.

59. Use Virtual Hard Disk Files

You can now create and manage virtual hard disks files in Windows 7
as if they were real disks. This can allow you to use a live Windows
installation on the virtual disk without the need to boot the virtual
Computer. To create a virtual disk you have to press the
Windows Key, right-click on Computer, then go to
Manage -> Disk Management -> Action -> Create VHD. There
you can specify the location and size of your virtual hard disk file.


To attach the virtual disk file, press the Windows Key,
right-click Computer, then go to Manage -> Disk Management -> Action
-> Attach VHD and you have to specify the location and if it’s read
only or not.




To initialize a virtual hard disk, press the
Windows Key, right-click on Computer, go to Manage -> Disk
Management -> Action -> Attach VHD, specify the location, click Ok,
then right click on the virtual disk and click on Initialize Disk. Select
the partition style you want to use and then right-click on the unallocated
space and click “New Simple Volume” and follow the
instructions wizard. Now, a new hard drive appears in Windows
Explorer and you can use it as a real partition.

60. Remove The Windows Live Messenger Tab In The Taskbar

To get rid of the Windows Live Messenger Tab and put it
back in the system tray, where it belongs, go to C:\Program
Files\Windows Live\Messenger, right-click msnmsdgr.exe
and set its compatibility mode to Windows Vista.

61. Lock The Screen

There is no Lock Screen button in the Start Menu anymore,
so you have to press the Windows Key + L to lock it, now.
It seems easier, in case you don’t forget the shortkey.

62. Create A Screen Lock Shortcut

In case you don’t like shortkeys or you keep forgetting them, there’s
another option for screen lock. Simply create a new shortcut to
C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,
LockWorkStation and place it wherever you want.

63. Enable Run Command In Start Menu

If you miss the old Run Command button in XP, then there’s
an option to get it back in Windows 7. Right-click an open
area in Start Menu, go to Properties -> Start Menu -> Customize
and check “Run Command“. Now you should be done.

64. Improve Desktop Window Manager For Nvidia Graphics

Sometimes the animations for Desktop Window Manager don’t
look very well and aren’t smooth enough and this is cause because Desktop
Window Manager renders effects with no transparency and blurring, but you
can turn off animations for more pleasant graphics. Press the Windows Key,
right-click on Computer, go to Properties -> Advanced System
Settings -> Performance -> Settings and clear “Animate
windows when minimizing and maximizing”. Click OK to finnish.

65. Change Default Save Location For Files

Windows 7 is a bit different from Vista, because it saves Documents,
Pictures, Videos and Music under the Public folder inside C:\Users.
You might not want to save your documents, pictures, videos or music to this
location, but create your own locations and you can do it
quite easy. Press the Windows Key, Click your username and double-click on
the folder you wish to change. Then you will see Includes: 2 library
locations. Click on that text, right-click on the folder you wish to set
like default and click “Set as default file location”, then
click Ok.

66. Make 64bit Windows Media Player Default ( only for X64 users )

Windows comes with the 32bit version of Media Player by default. If you are
a x64 user, you can keep the system cleaner by only
installing one set of codecs. To do this, press the Windows
Key, type “command”, right-click on Command Prompt
and hit “Run as administrator”, then type “unregmp2.exe
/SwapTo:64?. After that, press the Windows Key, type “regedit”,
go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App
Paths\wmplayer.exe\, double click on value and change “%ProgramFiles(x86)”
to “%ProgramFiles%”. Now you should be using the
64bit Windows Media Player.

67. Open Multiple Instances Of Windows Explorer Via The Taskbar

If you want to run more instances of the Windows Explorer just by hitting
the startbar, you can do it by following these steps: Unpin Windows
Explorer from the Taskbar, then press the Windows Key,
go to Accessories, right-click Windows Explorer,
go to Properties and change the shortcut path to
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
( if you want it to default to My Computer ) or
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}
( if you want it to default to Libraries ). Now repin Windows
Explorer to your Taskbar and you’re done. All that is required for
opening more instances of it is just a click of the middle mouse
button. If you aren’t pleased with what you’ve done, change
the shortcut path back to %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe.

68. Make The System Tray Clock Show The AM / PM Symbols

By default Windows 7 does show the time in 24 hour format, so if you want to
get the AM / PM symbols, press the Windows Key, type “intl.cpl”
to open Regional and Language Options, go to Addition Settings ->
Time where Long Time is set to HH:mm
and change it to HH:mm tt, for example, where tt is the AM
or PM symbol ( 21:12 PM ). To change it to the 12
hour format, you need to type it like this hh::mm tt ( 9:12 PM ).

69. Internet Explorer 8 Compatibility Mode

If your websites don’t render correctly, you might need to enable
Internet Explorer 8 display them in compatibility view. This issue
is because of the updated rendering engine, which causes a lot of trouble.
To do it, open Internet Explorer, go to Tools -> Compatibility View
Settings and check “Display all websites in compatibility
view”, then click Ok.

That’s it! There you go -
70 very useful tips and tricks for Microsoft Windows 7.
Maybe you knew some of these but I’m sure there are some that you did not
heard of. They can prove very useful and can save you a lot of time while
using Windows 7. Enjoy!




I’m sure you’re asking yourself where’s the tip number 70? Ok, the tip or
advice that will help you work faster and more efficiently is:




70. Don’t use Windows Vista