The Windows Command Prompt Environment
Despite the ease of use of the Windows graphical user interface, the command-line interface remains a useful way to perform many maintenance, configuration, and diagnostic tasks. Many of the most important diagnostic tools such as ping, tracert, and nslookup are available only from the command line, unless you purchase third-party graphical add-ons to perform these functions.
Adding Images to Windows Deployment Services
When you have completed building a Windows PE image, you can use Windows Deployment Services to deploy it to clients . This allows you to use the PXE boot automation services of Windows Deployment Services to replace portable media as the primary method of initiating Windows 7 installations . To add a Windows PE boot image to Windows Deployment Services, perform the following steps 1. In the Windows Deployment Services administration console, shown here, expand your Windows Deployment Services...
Which Files and Folders Are in the Index
Indexing every 0 and 1 on your hard disk would be an exhausting task and ultimately pointless. When you search for a snippet of text, you're almost always looking for something you wrote, copied, or saved, and you don't want the results to include random program files that happen to have the same snippet embedded in the midst of a blob of code. So the default settings for the indexer make some reasonable inclusions and exclusions. Certain locations are specifically included. These include your...
Windows Search Parameters
You can change which file types and locations are included in the Windows Search index at any time . You can change the search settings in the following places On the Search tab of the Folder Options dialog box You can open the Folder Options dialog box by clicking Organize on the toolbar of any Windows Explorer window and then clicking Folder And Search Options on the Organize menu. On the Search tab of the Folder Options dialog box, you can make simple changes to search settings. You can...
Configuring Offline Files Indexing Using Control Panel
To disable indexing of the Offline Files cache using Indexing Options in Control Panel, follow these steps 1. Click Modify to open the Indexed Locations dialog box. 2. Clear the check box labeled Offline Files . The preceding procedure disables indexing of offline files for the current user. To disable indexing of offline files for a different user of the computer using Indexing Options in Control Panel, follow these steps 1. Click Modify to open the Indexed Locations dialog box. 2. Click Show...
Configuring a Router or Wireless Access Point
You begin setting up your wireless network by configuring the wireless access point or a router that includes a wireless access point , which is the hub of your Wi-Fi network The process is simple if you use a device that supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup WPS most routers sold since 2008 do, although it's not always clear from the product literature. Older routers and other noncompliant devices offer a variety of third-party solutions or ask you to perform configuration manually. If you're not...
Configuring Windows Media Player for the First
With Windows Media Player 12, navigating your media library is easier than ever if you master the subtle changes in the interface. When you first start Windows Media Player by clicking Start'All Programs'Windows Media Player, you'll have to specify how Windows Media Player should be configured. As Figure 8-1 shows, you have two choices. Figure 8-1. Choosing the initial settings for Windows Media Player Configures the default settings you'll want to use most often. If you want to change the...
How to Troubleshoot Problems with Existing Hardware
If a hardware feature that previously worked suddenly fails, follow these troubleshooting steps 1. If Windows will not start, see Chapter 29 . 2. Use Reliability Monitor to determine how long the problem has been occurring and what related symptoms might be occurring. For more information, see the section titled How to Use Reliability Monitor later in this chapter. Then use Event Viewer to find any related events that might provide useful information for diagnosing the problem. For information...
How to Use Chk Dsk
ChkDsk (ChkDsk. exe) is a command-line tool that checks disk volumes for problems and attempts to repair any that it finds . For example, ChkDsk can repair problems related to bad sectors, lost clusters, cross-linked files, and directory errors . Disk errors are a common source of difficult-to-track problems, and ChkDsk should be one of the first tools you use when troubleshooting problems that do not appear to be the result of a recent system change . You must be logged on as an administrator...
Working at the Command Prompt
To get to the command prompt, click Command Prompt on the System Recovery Options menu. Note that this option is available only if you provided credentials for an administrator account when you started the Windows Recovery Environment. Depending on whether you launch the Windows Recovery Environment from Advanced Boot Options or from a Windows DVD, you will land in the Windows System32 or Sources subdirectory folder of a RAM disk identified by the drive letter X. From here, you have access to...
Running Disk Defragmenter from a Command Line
The command-line version of Disk Defragmenter allows you to exercise fine-grained control over the defragmentation process, and it uses the exact same program code as the scheduled version . To use this command for a specific drive, type defrag d in an elevated Command Prompt window, where d is the drive letter or mount point of an existing volume . For an explanation of mount points, see Mapping a Volume to an NTFS Folder on page 913 . To see the full range of the Defrag utility's...
Useful Windows Commands
By using Windows commands, you can have quick access to tools to configure and fix your computer. They also allow you quick access to Microsoft software embedded within your operating system. Some of these commands can be very useful. Some are not so useful but can be fun to try. Open the Run dialogue, by pressing Ssffl+R Now type in one of the following commands to open a program. (Note Some of these programs may not be available in your Windows 7 editions.) Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting...
Resolving the problem
The following suggestions are specific to Stop 0x7A errors . For additional troubleshooting suggestions that apply to all Stop errors, see the section titled Stop Message Checklist later in this chapter. Stop 0x7A can be caused by bad sectors in the virtual memory paging file, disk controller error, virus infection, or memory hardware problems. In extremely rare cases, depleted nonpaged pool resources can cause this error. If the first and third parameters are zero, the stack signature in the...
How to Enable Bit Locker Encryption on System Volumes
To enable BitLocker on a system volume, follow these steps 1. Perform a full backup of the computer. Then, run a check of the integrity of the BitLocker partition using ChkDsk. For more information about using ChkDsk, read Chapter 30, Troubleshooting Hardware, Driver, and Disk Issues . 2. Open Control Panel. Click System And Security. Under BitLocker Drive Encryption, click Protect Your Computer By Encrypting Data On Your Disk. 3. On the BitLocker Drive Encryption page, click Turn On BitLocker...
Self Healing NTFS
Windows Vista and Windows 7 include self-healing NTFS File System NTFS , which can detect and repair file system corruption while the operating system is running. In most cases, Windows will repair file corruption without disrupting the user. Essentially, self-healing NTFS functions similarly to ChkDsk described in the section titled How to Use ChkDsk later in this chapter , but it works in the background, without locking an entire volume . Specifically, if Windows detects corrupted metadata on...
Chk Dsk Process on NTFS Volumes
When you run ChkDsk on NTFS volumes, the ChkDsk process consists of three major stages and two optional stages . ChkDsk displays its progress for each stage with the following messages Windows is verifying files (stage 1 of 5) File verification completed. CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5) Index verification completed. CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5) Security descriptor verification completed. CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5) CHKDSK is verifying free...
Checking Disks for Errors
Errors in disk media and in the file system can cause a wide range of Windows problems, ranging from an inability to open or save files to blue-screen errors and widespread data corruption . Windows is capable of recovering automatically from many disk errors, especially on drives formatted with NTFS. To perform a thorough inspection for errors, you can manually run the Windows Check Disk utility, Chkdsk. exe. Two versions of this utility are available a graphical version that performs basic...
Restoring Files from a Backup
Backing up is pointless if you never need to restore a file You should be so lucky To restore one or more files, open the Backup And Restore Control Panel If the file was backed up from a location within your user profile or one of your libraries, click Restore My Files . To restore files from another user's account or to select a different backup, you'll need to click one of the other links here and supply an administrator's credentials . You can restore your files that were backed up on...
Industrial Strength File Management with Robocopy and Robocopy GUI
Dragging files between folders with Windows Explorer is fine for some tasks, but when it comes to heavy-duty file management you need a better tool. If you're willing to do a little typing in exchange for power and flexibility you can't get with Windows Explorer, get to know Robocopy. Robocopy the name is short for Robust File Copy was introduced with the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit and is included in all editions of Windows 7 . Its many strengths include the ability to copy all NTFS file...
Working With Files And Folders
All the data for documents and programs on your computer is stored in electronic files. These files are then arranged into a series of folders and subfold-ers just as you'd arrange paper files in a series of file folders in a filing cabinet. In Windows 7, you use Windows Explorer to view and manage the folders and files on your system. You open Windows Explorer by clicking the Windows Explorer button on the Windows taskbar. CHANGING THE WAY FILES ARE DISPLAYED You can choose to view the...
Using Regedit to Repair a System That Wont Start
Another handy Startup Repair feature in Windows 7 is the capability to run the Registry editor Regedit from the Command Prompt window. If you cannot start your system because of driver or service problems or other Registry-related issues, you can use Regedit to work on your system and repair problems. To start Regedit from the Choose a Recovery Tool screen in the System Recovery Options dialog box refer to Figure 25.1 , click Command Prompt. When the command prompt window opens, type regedit...
How to Restore a System Image Backup
Because System Image backups must rewrite the entire contents of the disk, you can restore System Image backups only by booting from the Windows 7 DVD and loading System Recovery tools . Restoring a System Image backup from System Recovery tools allows you to quickly get a computer running after replacing a failed hard disk or when the previous operating system installation has been corrupted for example, by an irreparable malware installation . To restore a System Image backup, follow these...
Using System Restore
The quickest way to get to System Restore is to type rstrui at a command prompt. Here are a few alternatives Open the Start menu, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and click System Restore . On the System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box, click System Restore In the Start menu search box, type restore and then, in the list of search results, click the System Restore shortcut under the Programs heading. Open Control Panel, type system restore in the...
Updating the Deployment Share
The Windows AIK 2 . 0 comes with Windows PE 3 .0, so no additional files are necessary to create Windows PE boot images for MDT 2010. When you update your deployment share in the Deployment Workbench, MDT 2010 automatically generates the following custom Windows PE images here platform is x86 or x64 Lite Touch Windows PE platform .wim file If you want, you can configure the deployment share to also generate the following Windows PE images Generic Windows PE platform You don't need to manually...
Font and Font Information Sources
The Microsoft Typography website provides a wealth of information about fonts, including tools, utilities, and links. Click the Font Foundry List link (under Resources) to find a list of all commercial, freeware, and shareware type foundries. Some of my favorite commercial font foundries include Adobe Systems low-cost font libraries for educators and the Adobe Font Folio collection of more than 2,200 typefaces. Bitstream (bitstream.com sales at new.myfonts.com) This site also features...
NAT and Internet Connection Sharing
Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing system and the popular devices called residential gateways, connection-sharing routers, or wireless routers use NAT to establish all Internet connections using one public IP address. The computer or device running the NAT service mediates all connections between computers on your LAN and the Internet see Figure 19.2 . NAT works a lot like mail delivery to a large commercial office building, where there's one address for many people. Mail is delivered to...
Power Management Enhancements in Windows
Windows XP delivered improvements in the area of power management, such as support for hibernation and standby and the ability of Windows to automatically power down monitors and hard drives to reduce energy consumption. Windows Vista built upon these advances with a number of improved power management capabilities, including Improved support for ACPI 2 .0. In addition, Windows Vista also provides support for selected features of ACPI 3 . 0 . Standard non-ACPI HALs are no longer supported in...
Windows Live Essentials
Windows Live is the brand name for a set of services and applications offered by Microsoft. Broadly speaking, Windows Live is made of two parts Windows Live Services and Windows Live Essentials. Windows Live Services refers to hosted applications services that you can use over the Web. A good example of a Windows Live Services application is Hotmail another example would be MySpace. Windows Live Essentials, on the other hand, refers to a suite of applications that users can download and install...
Windows Defender for Spyware Protection
Mark Twain famously said, There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. No matter whose statistics you believe, reports and personal experiences indicate that most if not the vast majority of Internet-connected systems have some form of spyware installed. It's a big enough problem that Microsoft has included antispyware capabilities in the box with Windows 7. Windows Defender evolved from Microsoft's 2005 free beta release of Microsoft AntiSpyware and is built with technology gained from...
Windows Search
Using Windows Search, you can find programs, files, messages, and message attachments on your computer almost instantly. You don't need to know the name or location of the file or item you want to find simply type a word or phrase in the Start menu Search box to display a list of matching items, organized by type . To restrict your search to the contents of a specific folder (and its subfolders), display the folder in Windows Explorer and enter your search term in the Search box in the...
Adjusting Presentation Settings
One of Windows Vista's more thoughtful additions was the Presentation Settings feature in Windows Mobility Center, and it's available in Windows 7, too. When you indicate that you are making a presentation, Windows takes steps to keep itself out of your way. It can make the following accommodations Display a screen background chosen to minimize distraction or promote your company logo. Disable the screen saver, so that if you leave the computer alone for a few minutes, your audience isn't...
Synchronize Files Between I Computers continued
When you first set up a sync partnership, Windows 7 performs an initial synchronization between the two computers. If any of the files change, either on your computer or on the other computer, you need to perform a synchronization. It is a good idea to run a synchronization each time you log on and log off the network. You can sync using either the Mobility Center or the Sync Center. Synchronize Files Between Computers continued Note See Display Mobility Settings, earlier in this chapter. 4...
Presentation Settings
An obscure but useful feature, Presentation Settings enables you to temporarily disable your normal power management settings, ensuring that your system stays awake, with no screen dimming, no hard drive disabling, no screen saver activation, and no system notifications to interrupt you. In other words, with just a few clicks of the mouse, you can set up your mobile PC to behave exactly the way you want it to while giving a presentation. To enable Presentation Settings, run Mobility Center as...
Windows Mobility Center
If you have a mobile computer (that is, a notebook, portable, tablet, or laptop computer), you'll find that Windows 7 provides a tool called Windows Mobility Center and a special control panel that desktop computers don't have. To open the Mobility Center, shown in Figure 35.1, click Start, All Programs, Accessories, Windows Mobility Center. Windows Mobility Center is found in the Accessories menu. Windows Mobility Center is found in the Accessories menu. The Mobility Center is designed to...
Managing Files and Folders
File management is organizing and keeping track of files and folders, helping you stay organized, so information is easily located. A folder is a container for storing programs and files, similar to a folder in a file cabinet. As with a file cabinet, working with poorly managed files is like looking for a needle in a haystack it is frustrating and time-consuming to search through irrelevant, misnamed, and out-of-date files to find the one you want. Windows allows you to organize folders and...
Connecting to Projectors
Before you use your laptop or Tablet PC for presentations, you may want to configure the default presentation settings Figure 13-10 . To do this, follow these steps 1. In Windows Mobility Center, click the Presentation icon. 2. In the Presentation Settings dialog box, select Turn off the screen saver to disable the computer's screen saver when you are giving a presentation. 3. To override the output volume when you are giving a presentation, select Set the volume to and then use the related...
Presentations AGoGo
Although not a particularly glamorous lifestyle, many mobile users cart their notebooks around the globe, set them up in an unfamiliar location, and attempt to give a presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint or a similar presentation package. Notebooks are perfect companions for such users because of their portability but until recent versions of Windows, they weren't particularly accommodating if the presentation was conducted on battery power thanks to various power management settings, the...
Click Set the volume to
changes to E and then click and drag the slider to set the presentation volume level. I L. Turn on Presentation Settings I arm currently giving a presentation When giving a presentation, your computer stays awake, system notifications are turned offr and the following settings are applied. Tell me more about presentation settings. I arm currently giving a presentation When giving a presentation, your computer stays awake, system notifications are turned offr and the following settings are...
On the Start menu click Computer The Computer window opens
If the Details pane is open at the bottom of the window, click Organize on the toolbar, click Layout, on the Organize menu, and then in the list, click Details Pane to hide the pane . 3. If the Navigation pane is open on the left side of the window, or the Preview pane is open on the right side of the window, repeat step 2 to close it . Now the only open pane is the Content pane, which you cannot hide. Now the only open pane is the Content pane, which you cannot hide. When you hide the Details...
Displaying Your Desktop on Multiple Screens
A basic computer system includes one monitor that displays your Windows desktop This is sufficient for many computing experiences . However, in some situations, you might find it convenient, or even necessary, to extend your desktop across multiple monitors or duplicate your desktop on a secondary display (such as a monitor or video projector screen). You can easily add one, two, or more monitors or other display devices to your computer system. Extending the desktop increases its width....
Adding a search provider to Internet Explorer
Bing Search isn't the only search provider supported by Internet Explorer 8. If you're more confident using another provider such as Google or Yahoo , you can add it to the Internet Explorer 8 browser and even make it rather than Bing Search the default search engine. Here's how 1. Click the drop-down button to the immediate right of the Search button in the Bing Search text box and then choose Find More Providers from the button's drop-down menu. The program opens the Search Providers Add-Ons...
Downloading Programs
Although the Web is most often thought of as a source of information and entertainment, it is also an excellent and often only place to obtain new software or updates for existing programs. You can find numerous excellent resources for downloading free or trial versions of software. Good sources are www.tucows.com and http download.cnet.com windows . Follow the specific instructions for installation provided by the software publisher (and offered on most download sites), but when you're...
My Computer Windows 7 Sattings Downtown
About the Introducing Windows Windows 7 Minimum System Windows Step-by-Step Sidebar Identifying Genuine Windows Installing Windows Performing a Clean Installation of Windows 7 xviii Sidebar Using Windows Easy Upgrading to Windows Activating Sidebar The Perils of Features and Conventions of This Using the Practice Installing the Practice Locating the Practice Removing and Uninstalling the Practice Information for New Computer Your Your Commands, Buttons, and Keyboard Dialog Boxes and Message...
Creating an Update Process
Deploying updates involves more than just choosing a technology to install the updates. An effective update process involves planning, discussion, and testing. Although you should use your organization's existing change-management process (if one exists), this section will describe the fundamental steps of an update process . The sections that follow describe each of these steps in more detail The security update process starts when Microsoft releases or updates a security bulletin Reissued...
How to Connect to a Domain When X Authentication Is Not Enabled
For networks without 802 1X authentication, follow these steps to join a domain 1. Click Start. Right-click Computer and then click Properties. 2. Under Computer Name, Domain, And Workgroup Settings, click Change Settings . 3. From the System Properties dialog box, click Network ID . 4. The Join A Domain Or Workg roup Wizard appears Select This Computer Is Part Of A Business Network I Use It To Connect To Other Computers At Work. Click Next . 5. On the Is Your Company Network On A Domain page,...
File Folder and Library Management
Files contain all the precious data that you create with those sophisticated Windows-based programs. Files occupy a certain amount of space rated either in kilobytes (KB, or thousands of bytes) or megabytes (MB, or millions of bytes) on a particular disk, be it your hard drive, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or even, in very rare cases, a removable floppy disk. Folders are the data containers in Windows 7. They can contain files, other folders, or a combination of files and folders. Like files, folders...
Setting Up a Newsgroup Account in Windows Live Mail
Before using newsgroups, you have to set up a news account in Windows Live Mail. Windows Live Mail actually comes with a newsgroup already set up, called Microsoft Communities, but it only has groups that pertain to Microsoft products, so you can write in for support on Windows 7, Office, and any other products. For real newsgroup reading, you have to configure a regular newsgroup account. Before you can configure your news account, you need to obtain a news server address, which should look...
Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
Microsoft offers a unique set of tools only to companies that take part in the software giant's Software Assurance (SA) volume licensing program. Dubbed the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, or MDOP, this suite of desktop management tools is a must-have collection of valuable utilities many of which originated as start-ups and were since purchased by Microsoft and it is an obvious and tangible benefit of Microsoft's subscription-based enterprise licensing programs. If your company is in SA...
Windows Phone And Modem
Configuring your location information connection, as seen in Figure 17-4. When prompted, enter your country region, area code, carrier code, and dial-out number as necessary. Click Tone dialing or Pulse dialing to identify your phone type. Windows 7 saves this information into a dialing rule location named My Location for future use. See the next section for more information on Dialing Rules configuration. 12. Click Connect to create the connection. If you don't want to connect via...
Setting Up Dialing Rules
If you need to specify a prefix for an outside line, click the Dialing Rule pull-down menu to the right of the To box refer to Figure H.4 , and select My Location to use the location information you set up when you installed your modem. If you are dialing from a different location, select New Rule. When the Phone and Modem Options dialog is displayed, click New and provide the necessary information. Can Fax at Office or Home but Not from Other Sites If you can fax from your office or home with...
Sending Faxes from Windows Fax and Scan
To send a fax with Windows Fax and Scan, click the New Fax button to open the New Fax dialog box, shown in Figure 11.4. You can send a fax by printing to the Fax printer, but you can also create one from scratch by clicking New Fax. You can send a fax by printing to the Fax printer, but you can also create one from scratch by clicking New Fax. If your fax modem doesn't work, check the following Test the fax modem To make sure your modem is working properly, open Control Panel. In the search...
Installing a Modem for DialUp Service
Installing a modem is a pretty painless process these days. Your modem should come with straightforward installation instructions follow those, and you'll be online in no time. For an internal modem, you'll pop open your PC's case and insert the modem card into a free expansion slot inside the computer. For an external modem, it's a more simple matter of cabling it to a USB or serial port on your PC. (Don't forget to connect the power supply and turn it on ) A PC card modem simply plugs into...
Configuring Additional Controls
In addition to the basic controls, you can install additional controls that restrict the websites a user can access, control who your child can talk to, and generate activity reports. These additional controls are available from some service providers. If you download Windows Live Essentials http download.live.com , one of the available programs is Windows Live Family Safety. After you download and install Windows Live Family Safety, you can run the program Starts-All ProgramssWindows...
Advanced System Settings
Click Advanced System Settings in the System window's Tasks list to open the Advanced tab of the System Properties dialog box. It has four buttons. Three of these buttons, described next, are labeled Settings and are contained within the Performance, User Profiles, and Startup and Recovery sections. The fourth button is Environment Variables, discussed in the upcoming Environment Variables section. The Settings button under the User Profiles heading opens the User Profiles dialog box. This...
Direct From The Source
Samir Jain and Santosh Chandwai, Lead Program Managers Beginning with Windows Vista, many extensions have been made regarding VPN security. First, all the weak crypto algorithms have been removed and new stronger crypto algorithms have been added to VPN tunnels. For PPTP, 40 56-bit RC4 encryption has been removed by default. This means PPTP now supports only 128-bit RC4 encryption by default. So if your VPN server or VPN client doesn't support 128-bit encryption, your calls may fail. You can...
Weak Cryptography Removal from Pptpltp
Support for weak or nonstandard cryptographic algorithms has been removed beginning with Windows Vista. This initiative was based on a desire by Microsoft to move customers toward stronger crypto algorithms to increase VPN security, based on recommendations by the NIST and the Internet Engineering Task Force IETF as well as mandates toward stronger crypto algorithms from different industry standards bodies and regulators. The following crypto algorithms are no longer supported on Windows Vista...
Changing File Type Associations
The second item on the menu shown in Figure 5-10 approaches the matter of file-to-program associations from the perspective of the file type. Figure 5-14 shows a list of file types comparable to what you would see if you clicked this menu item . The file-type list is alphabetized by extension. For each extension, the list shows a description of the file and the program that is currently set as the default application for that file type. So, for example, in Figure 5-14, we see that the extension...
Date and Time
When you click the Date and Time link in the Clock, Language, and Region window, Windows opens the Date and Time Properties dialog box with the Date and Time tab selected, as shown in Figure 5-9. You can use the options on this tab to correct the date or time used by your computer as well as to update your time zone and observance of Daylight Saving Time. Note that Windows uses the date and time information displayed on the tab of this dialog box not only to date-stamp files that you create and...
On the Companion Media
The companion media is a valuable addition to this book and includes the following Windows 7 Resource Kit PowerShell Pack A collection of Windows PowerShell modules you can install on Windows 7 to provide additional functionality for scripting Windows administration tasks using Windows PowerShell. For more information, see the section titled Using the Windows 7 Resource Kit PowerShell Pack later in this introduction. Sample Windows PowerShell scripts Almost two hundred sample Windows PowerShell...
Table of Contents
About This Foolish Why You Need This Conventions Used in This How This Book Is Time to Get Chapter 1 Getting Comfortable with the Windows 7 Get a New Computer with Windows Turn On Your Check Out the Windows 7 Try Out the Go with the Start Get Familiar with the Get Help When You Need Close Windows Chapter 2 Examining the Anatomy of a Window 29 Explore the Parts of a Resize a Arrange Snap Stack Flip between Chapter 3 Creating Your First Documents 45 Start WordPad and Type Some Save a Add, Delete,...
Set Up Speech Recognition
Attach a desktop microphone or headset to your computer and choose Start1 Control PaneK Ease of Access Start Speech Recognition. 2. The Welcome to Speech Recognition message appears click Next to continue. (Note If you've used Speech Recognition before, this message won't appear.) 3. In the resulting Microphone Setup Wizard (as shown in Figure 13-4), select the type of microphone that you're using and then click Next. The next screen tells you how to place and use the microphone for optimum...
Undocumented Method for a Clean Install of Secret Windows with Upgrade Media
VTo perform a clean install of Windows 7 with Upgrade media, you need to install Windows 7 once using the Upgrade Setup disk, but without entering your product key during Setup. Then, once you've loaded the Windows 7 desktop for the first time, you can run Setup again from within Windows 7 and choose Upgrade (even though you'll be upgrading to the exact same version of Windows 7). Allow Setup to complete a second time, and then you're good to go you can enter your product key after the second...
Understanding and Using RSS
Although much of the Web is based on a rather passive system whereby users manually browse to the Web sites they would like to visit, a new type of Web technology, alternately named Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, but usually referred to by the abbreviation RSS regardless, has turned that paradigm on its head and changed the way many people consume Web-based information. In keeping with this sea change, Internet Explorer 8 supports RSS, enabling Windows 7 users to access...
Windows Live Photos
Why you want it This is a free dedicated photo organization and sharing service. Type Online service. Microsoft's original approach to photo sharing was to integrate this functionality into the Windows Live Spaces blogging service (see below), because most people who want to share photos electronically do so via blogs and personal Web sites. However, Windows Live Spaces isn't an ideal photo-sharing solution for a variety of reasons, and many people simply want to share photos and nothing else....
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Subscribing to RSS feeds
Internet Explorer 8 supports RSS feeds (RSS either stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending upon whom you ask). RSS feeds typically provide summaries of particular types of Web content that you're interested in keeping up-to-date on, although they may occasionally include full text and even some multimedia attachments. RSS feeds are commonly used by news Web sites such as Reuters, CNN, NPR, and the BBC to feed their syndicated headlines to the users who subscribe to...
Troubleshooting with the Windows Media Center Setup Menu
Selecting Tasks -Settings -General -Windows Media Center Setup allows you to configure your options as you did during initial installation of the product. This enables you to set up your Internet connection using the same menu as the original installation wizard. Setting up your TV signal brings up the wizard to install the TV tuner card, which you need in order to watch TV and record desired shows. Using the Set Up Your Speakers option allows you to configure the sound within Windows Media...
Staying Secure with Windows Update
The second essential step in keeping your system secure is to be sure that you stay current with updates to Windows 7 . Microsoft issues frequent updates that provide updated device drivers as well as fixes to code that's found to be faulty. Although some updates provide enhanced performance or functionality, many updates patch security holes . Windows 7 includes Windows Update shown below , a program that can perform updates for you automatically or, if you prefer, at your direction . Windows...
Live Mail are visible and accessible via the RSS functionality in Internet Explorers Favorites Center as well Thats
Manually subscribing to RSS feeds isn't particularly enticing, but the real reason you should be interested in this window is that it provides a way to customize how often feeds are updated. The default is daily, which is fine for some feeds, but woefully inadequate for feeds from news sites, blogs, stock updates, and other sources that will update frequently throughout the day. If you're going to use RSS feeds at all, we recommend upping the frequency of feed updates Set it to update every 15...
Networking Your Home
Windows 7 makes networking your home easier than ever before. In this chapter, you'll learn how to connect your computer to wired and wireless networks, how to share folders and printers, how to use the new HomeGroup feature, and how to use Windows Easy Transfer to move files from your old computer to your new computer via the network. In this chapter, we assume that your computer has wired (Ethernet) or wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi) adapters installed in your computer. Windows Firewall setup for...
Customizing Libraries
By opening the properties sheet for a library, the following library attributes can be modified Type of file content for which the library is optimized Visibility of the library in navigation pane Whether the library is shared (only in HomeGroup scenarios) Libraries can be customized further by editing their Library Description files, which are Extensible Markup Language (XML) files with the file extension .library-ms that are stored in the Appdata Microsoft Windows Libraries folder. MORE INFO...
Things You Should Know About Windows
Between Twitter, e-mail, blogs and elsewhere, I've been inundated with questions about Windows 7. Lots of people are asking me, What do I need to know about Windows 7 People are eager for the operating system's release and yet anxious at the same time. What they want to know is this So what do I really need to know as an IT professional, and what changes do I really need to look out for As someone who's worked in IT for more than 20 years, I can understand both the excitement and the concern....
Enjoying Photos in Windows
A lF indows 7 makes enjoying digital photos ww easy. You can pick and choose photos to look at or display a group of photos in a slide show. Make a favorite photo your desktop background so you see it every time you start Windows 7. In this chapter, you do all these things using the photos Windows 7 includes as samples. The Paint accessory enables you to resize a photo for e-mail or inclusion in a document. Use Paint to crop a photo to remove unwanted parts of the photo and draw attention to...
Creating and Managing GPOs Using Windows Power Shell
Beginning with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, you can also use 25 new Windows PowerShell cmdlets to create and manage GPOs from the PowerShell command line or by using PowerShell scripts . This new capability builds upon the earlier Component Object Model COM -based Group Policy scripting capabilities found in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. This feature enables administrators to manage the full life cycle of GPOs, including creating, deleting, copying, configuring, linking,...
How To Solve Protected Mode Incompatibilities
Some applications that were designed to work with Internet Explorer 6 might not work with Internet Explorer 7 or later versions on Windows Vista and later operating systems because of restrictions imposed by Protected Mode . Applications that are failing because of Protected Mode have the following characteristics Applications that use Iexplore. exe cannot write directly to disk while in the Internet zone Applications might not know how to handle new Internet Explorer 7 or later versions or...
Protected Mode
Beginning with Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7 and later versions run in Protected Mode, which helps protect users from attacks by running the Internet Explorer process with greatly restricted privileges . Protected Mode significantly reduces the ability of an attacker to write, alter, or destroy data on the user's computer or to install malicious code. Protected Mode is not available when Internet Explorer 7 and later versions are installed on Windows XP because it requires several security...
Why Applications Fail
The following list describes common compatibility issues for Windows 7, particularly when using an application originally designed for Windows XP User Account Control In Windows 7, by default, all interactive users, including members of the Administrators group, run as standard users. User Account Control (UAC) is the mechanism through which users can elevate applications to full administrator privileges . Because of UAC, applications that require administrator rights or check for administrator...
Application Data
The hidden AppData folder, introduced in Windows Vista, is used extensively by programs as a way to store user data and settings in a place where they'll be protected from accidental change or deletion . This folder (which performs the same function as the Application Data folder in Windows XP) contains application-specific data customized dictionaries and templates for a word processor, junk sender lists for an e-mail client, custom toolbar settings, and so on . It's organized into three...
Task Manager
Task Manager (Taskmgr. exe) is a GUI tool that you can use to view or end a process or an unresponsive application . You can also use Task Manager to gather other information, such as CPU statistics. To start Task Manager, click Start, type Taskmgr, and then press Enter. Alternatively, you can right-click the taskbar and then click Task Manager. The Windows Task Manager window contains six tabs Applications, Processes, Services, Performance, Networking, and Users . The Applications and...
BITS Group Policy Settings
You can use Group Policy settings from the Bits . admx administrative template to configure several aspects of BITS and control how much bandwidth BITS uses . These policies are located in the Computer Configuration Administrative Templates Network Background Intelligent Transfer Service node of the Group Policy Object Editor. For information about BranchCache-related policies, refer to Chapter 25 . Do Not Allow The Computer To Act As A BITS Peercaching Client When this setting and the Allow...
Monitoring the Index and Tuning Indexer Performance
The status message at the top of the Indexing Options dialog box offers real-time updates on what the indexer is doing at the moment. Indexing complete means there are no pending tasks . The text lists the number of items (files, folders, e-mail messages, and so on) that are currently in the index Indexing paused means the service has temporarily stopped all indexing tasks you'll see this message if you check the indexer status shortly after you start the computer, as the default setting for...
Rebuilding The Index
Rebuilding the index can also be forced on demand, but doing so can take a long time . To force a catalog rebuild, follow these steps 1. Open Indexing Options in Control Panel. 2. Click Advanced and then respond to the UAC prompt to open the Advanced Options properties dialog box 3. Click Rebuild and then click OK . NOTE You should rebuild the index only if your searches are producing inconsistent results or your search results are often out of date. Rebuilding the index can take a long time on...
Delete Your Browsing History
To ensure that other people who have access to your computer cannot view information from sites you have visited, you can delete your browsing history. See the tip on the next page to learn more about browsing history. 2 Click Delete Browsing History. Note You can also press I in 1 Hinil The Delete Browsing History dialog box appears. 3 To keep the browsing history associated with sites on your Favorites list, click Preserve Favorites website data 4 To delete saved Web page files, click...
Blocking Installation of Removable Devices
Policy settings for blocking device installation are found under the following node in the Group Policy Object Editor Computer Configuration Policies Administrative Templates System Device Installation Device Installation Restrictions Policies for blocking device installation, described in Table 17-2, are per-computer policies only. All but one of these policies apply to Windows Vista or later versions (the policy setting marked with an asterisk applies only to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008...
Uninstalling Programs
To remove an installed Windows program, open Control Panel and click Uninstall A Program you'll find that under the Programs heading The list of uninstallable programs that appears does not include usage information, but it does list the size of each program . Click the program you want to remove, or select it and click Uninstall Change . Here are some basic facts you should know about uninstalling programs Windows 7 warns you if you attempt to remove a program while other users are logged on ....
Using the Windows Events Command Line Utility for Event Monitoring
The Windows Events Command-Line Utility Wevtutil. exe lets you manage event logs on a computer from the command line by performing tasks such as Retrieving information about event logs and publishers. Installing and uninstalling event manifests . Executing queries for specific event . Exporting, archiving, and clearing event logs. Wevtutil should be run from an elevated command prompt. The general syntax for Wevtutil is as follows . wevtutil command argument argument option value option value...
Take Advantage of Program Jump Lists
You can use the new jump list feature in Windows 7 to open files or run program tasks. A jump list is a list associated with each program that supports this feature. Most jump lists consist of items you most recently used in the program, but some jump lists also include common program tasks. The recent items you see on a program's jump list are called destinations, and they can be files, folders, Web sites, or whatever type of data the program supports. Take Advantage of Program Jump Lists 1...
Adjusting Ease of Access Options
The Windows family has had a longstanding commitment to making computing accessible and easier to use for persons with vision, hearing, or mobility impairments. Windows 7 groups these options into the Ease Of Access Center, which you can find in Control Panel or by using its keyboard shortcut, Windows logo key U . The Ease Of Access Center provides a prominent link to each of the following tools, which can be used alone or in combination Magnifier This tool enlarges part of the screen, making...
Removing Hardware
Before unplugging a USB, FireWire, or PCMCIA (PC Card) device, tell Windows 7 to stop using it. This prevents data loss caused by unplugging the device before Windows 7 has finished saving all its data. To stop these devices, click the Safely Remove Hardware icon (it's one of the hidden icons available through the up arrow in the notification area). Unplug the device or card only after Windows informs you it is safe to do so. For the most part, you can remove other hardware simply by shutting...
UAC for Standard Users
Microsoft made many changes to the operating system so that standard users could perform almost any day-to-day task. Tasks that standard users can do without receiving a UAC prompt that requires administrative privileges in Windows XP include Viewing the system clock and calendar Connecting to wired or wireless networks Connecting to virtual private networks VPNs Changing display settings and the desktop background Changing their own passwords Installing critical Windows updates Installing...
Decoding Hardware Errors
When Windows encounters a problem with a device or its driver, it changes the icon in Device Manager and displays an error code on the General tab of the device's properties dialog box. Each code is identified by a number and a brief text description . Table 24-1 contains a partial list of error codes and suggested actions you should take to try to resolve them Table 24-1 Common Device Manager Error Codes This device is not configured correctly. Code 1 After downloading a compatible driver for...