Replace your name or any text in place of AM and PM beside time
Step-1:- Navigate to -> Start -> Control Pannel -> Regional and Language Option -> Click on Customize -> Go to TIME Tab -> Change AM symbol and PM symbol from AM and PM to your name -> Apply -> Ok ...
Did It change?
If not, follow step-2 below.
Step2:-
Now go to time in taskbar and Double Click it to open "Date and
time property" ..Look place where time changes in digital form
i.e. 02:47:52 AM , click to arrow to cnage the AM or PM by
selecting and press arrow. It will Show ur name or name that was
entered by you, Apply -> OK
Do you want to use your pen drive as RAM? or do you want to increase your RAM using your pendrive?
If yes then here is the solution for you.
Using your pendrive as RAM.
So the basic idea is to use your Pendrive as a virtual memory. After doing this setting if your computer’s internal
RAM is full then your computer will use the memory available in pendrive to store the data as RAM.
So How to do this?
First of all connect your pendrive to your computer.
Now:
1> Right click on your “My Computer” and click on “Properties”.
2> Now click on “Advanced”and then click on “Performance”.
3> Now click on “Advanced” and click on the “Change” button below virtual memory.
4> Now select your Pendrive below and choose the option “Custom size”.
5> As your last step view the memory available in your pendrive and write it down in the “Initial size” and “Maximum size” filed. and click on “OK”.
So now you are done. Now your pendrive will be used as your RAM.
For XP/Vista : Follow these steps :- 1. Insert the Pen Drive (1GB atleast) in the USB port try to prefer 4GB. 2. Let the PC do what it wants to do to detect it.. 3. After it finished his work, you have to act smart, " Here goes the real thing " 4. Right Click on My Computer -> Properties 5. Advanced -> Performance Settings 6. Advanced -> Change 7. Select the Pen Drive 8. Click on Custom Size " Check the value of space available " 9. Enter the same in the Initial and the Max columns " You just used the space of the PenDrive as a Virtual Memory " Restart... "Your PC is fast and furious "
How to break a samsung mobile password code without using any 3rd party Software
The process will allow you to break the password of your samsung mobile without using any 3rd party software.In other word this will hard Reset your mobile.After you complete the process this will delete all the document
stored in your mobile like contacts,message,memo, calender appointment
etc.. and Mobile will come back to its original stage.After completing the process you will find that there is no password stored in your mobile.
Process:-
1. Switch off your Mobile.
2. Remove the battery, Sim card and your Memory Card
3. Insert the battery and switch on your mobile phone.
4. Phone will ask you to start mobile without simcard. You just allow
it.
5. After the phone will on type this code (without quotes)
*2767*2878#
6. it will transform some p2p like that and the phone will be restarted
automatically.
7. After the phone will be restarted insert the simcard and memory
card.
Then you find that there is no password stored in the mobile.
If the above code is not working then try the below code instead
*2767*3855#
The code are tested on samsung mobile SGH-J-150 and SGH-E-490
and hope that it will work on all the samsung mobile.
This will only break the password of the samsung mobile but not the samsung mobile having windows or android or any different operating system.
Note:-
Don't try these on mobiles which are theft from others.
This trick is for help you not to trouble others
Process:-
1. Switch off your Mobile.
2. Remove the battery, Sim card and your Memory Card
3. Insert the battery and switch on your mobile phone.
4. Phone will ask you to start mobile without simcard. You just allow
it.
5. After the phone will on type this code (without quotes)
*2767*2878#
6. it will transform some p2p like that and the phone will be restarted
automatically.
7. After the phone will be restarted insert the simcard and memory
card.
Then you find that there is no password stored in the mobile.
If the above code is not working then try the below code instead
*2767*3855#
The code are tested on samsung mobile SGH-J-150 and SGH-E-490
and hope that it will work on all the samsung mobile.
This will only break the password of the samsung mobile but not the samsung mobile having windows or android or any different operating system.
Note:-
Don't try these on mobiles which are theft from others.
This trick is for help you not to trouble others
How to test our anti virus that whether it is properly working or not in windows XP, Vista and Seven (w7)
Some times we face a problem like our anti virus is not showing virus during scanning but we face various problem that may be due to present of virus. In that case we should check our Anti-Virus program that whether it is working or not.
Procedure:
1. Open your notepad or word pad or any other text editor what you have.
2. Copy the following text
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
3. Now save the text editor file and give it a .exe extension. (Suppose virus.exe)
4. If your antivirus detect it as a virus then it is properly working.
5. If no then it is not properly working or corrupted or the validity of the antivirus has expired. So better to change the anti virus to keep your system secure from malware or virus.
Procedure:
1. Open your notepad or word pad or any other text editor what you have.
2. Copy the following text
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
3. Now save the text editor file and give it a .exe extension. (Suppose virus.exe)
4. If your antivirus detect it as a virus then it is properly working.
5. If no then it is not properly working or corrupted or the validity of the antivirus has expired. So better to change the anti virus to keep your system secure from malware or virus.
Unblock the websites which are blocked by someone or by the institution
Almost all the educational institution blocked some websites (like social networking, Pornographic content,download music and Movies etc..) on there server.
You can open those websites in very simple process.
There are various websites which uses different proxy to gain you access those websites anonymously.
Just Open these Websites
www.hidemyass.com or kproxy.com or flyproxy.com . You will find a search box on the website. Just write the url of the blocked website which you want to open. That is it.
Installing Window 8 using Bootable USB Drive
Finally we have flavored Window 8 available to taste.If you want to install new flavored Window 8 in your PC using USB drive then this guide will help you. We can listed all the steps that are necessary to install Window 8 using USB.Requirement for Creating Bootable Drive :
- Window 7 USB-DVD Tool (for creating bootable drive)
- We must have minimum 4 GB USB Drive
- Window 8 ISO Image File
How to Create Window 8
- Download Image File for Window 8 From microsoft.com.(Download Size : 2.6GB – 3.3GB )
- Download Microsoft Window 7 USB/DVD Tool [Window 7 USB/DVD tool in your PC/Laptop.
- After Installing , Launch Window 7 USB/DVD Utility and Browse for ISO image that we have downloaded.
- If you want to create bootable Pen-drive or USB then you can select USB as Media Type.
- Select USB drive as media type because we are going to use USB drive to install Window 8. (If you want to create bootable DVD instead then refer this guide)
- Click on Refresh button in order to check available size of Removable disk. It should not be less than 3 GB because our ISO file is of around 3.3 GB.
- Now Select Proper Removable Disk on which we want to mount Window 8 from the drop down menu.
- Wait for some time while the USB tool formats your pen drive, makes it bootable, and copies over all of the Windows 8 files.
Finally we have bootable USB ready for use, we can now install window 8 on any PC having compatible System Configuration.
Windows 8 Developers Preview, Download and Reviews
Windows 8 looks nothing like thewindows you used to! It is just at the skyline. Microsoft is definitely tryingto erase the line between desktop operating system and mobile with Windows 8. Windows8 combines
the attractive Windows Phone like interface that is optimized fortouch
with the versatility of traditional computing. Now recently
developersand of course you will be able to download the developers
preview of theWindows 8 from the Microsoft’s website. However I got an
in-depth look at thelatest operating system from Microsoft’s stable and I
wanted to share myimpressions to you friends.
Here are some new and outstandingfeatures of the windows 8
Windows 8 promises much faster boot up times
n windows 7
when we shut down, theentire user session is shutdown. Unlikely windows
7, windows 8 uses hibernationas best technique doing the same thing to
minimize the time on restarting thecomputer next time.
The dictionary
meaning ohibernation is that it saves the user’s previous session and
opens theapplications and when the session is resumed, no data is lost.
But in windows 8hibernation does not mean that, in windows 8 hibernation
end all theapplication accept the kernel session application and saves
time and in thiscase windows boot
within 8 seconds.Choose your weapon: Touchscreen, mouse, or a pen
We know that Windows 8 interfaceis just like that of Windows phone. In windows 8 the startup button will appearin the bottom left corner instead of the right hand side, and a right clickwill reveal all the tabs and address bar in Internet Explorer 10 instead of aswipe up. Windows 8 also supports input as pen, both for the navigation andalso for pen-enabled apps like Ink Pad.Internet Explorer 10: Totally Chromeless
Picture Password
Now in windows 8 it is easier tolock your pictures with password. You can lock your particular picture with thepassword. You select a photo, and then perform three gestures on the picturethat you can easily remember.
Streamlined Control Panel
Desktop as App, New Explorer and Task Manager
The old look of the
windowsdesktop is not in the windows 8. You will get the new look of the
desktop. FirstI found it looking odd pressing the Start button that
re-launches the startScreen of presenting the usual list of options..
The new OS has not been yet setthe launch date by the Microsoft but it is reported that by 2012 it willrelease the full version.
By the you can download windows 8developers preview version here
Windows 8 Developers Preview Product Key:
6RH4V-HNTWC-JQKG8-RFR3R-36498
Windows Server 8 Developers Product Key:
4Y8N3-H7MMW-C76VJ-YD3XV-MBDKV
Minimum requirement forinstalling windows 8 is:
1 GHz or faster processor (either32 or 64 bit), 1 GB of RAM (2 GB for 64bit), DirectX 9 graphics with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.
Adobe CS5 Photoshop: Tricks and Tips
Content Aware
Fill Probably the most talked about new feature of Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the Content Aware Fill. There are a several examples showing these features, but people are still confused on using them, although there’s nothing really
complicated about it. The Content Aware Fill function works a lot like
the existing clone brush tool, but it is fully automated and a lot
faster. After
Opening the image in Photoshop CS5, select the part you want to remove
using the Lasso tool. Make sure the surrounding area has something in
common. Press [Delete]. The Fill Dialogue box should open up. Select Content Aware Fill and click OK. It’s that simple. The Content Aware Fill can also be used to fi ll empty areas. In the previous versions of Photoshop, the simplest way would be to cut out the exterior excess content. But now you don’t have to
lose any content. Just select the empty area and click Fill from the
Edit Menu, and choose Content Aware Fill. You can see Photoshop do its
Magic. Additional new tools that work in a similar way are the Content
Aware Heal and the Content Aware Scaling.
Puppet Tool
The
new Puppet Tool, which was originally in Adobe After Effects can now be
found in Photoshop CS5. It can be used to create a basic shape form or
create points, and wrap images around it. In the following example we
take the image of a rope and we will be using the Puppet Warp tool to
create our text effect. To use
this technique properly we need to have an image of a decently long
rope. We start by removing the external part of the layer, leaving just
the rope. You can do this with the Magic Wand Tool. Now go to Edit > Puppet Warp with the layer selected and the default mode should show you a mesh over your object; you can hide this by deselecting the Show Mesh option. Now you can start adding points on the rope you will be using as pivots to twist the rope around. Then holding [Alt] and
hovering over the points you can see a little circle which you can use
as a controller to rotate the rope at that particular point. Take some
time and keep doing this at separate points to create the text of your
choice using this rope. Here we just made the single letter d. You could try and do the rest with the characters igit.
Refine Edges
While editing with real images of people, the toughest job
in post-production is dealing with hair. The new Refi ne Edge feature
in CS5 makes the task easier than ever before. Start by making a rough
selectionwith the Quick Selection Tool keeping the Auto- Enhance option checked. Now go to Select > Refine Edge in the drop-down menu select the On Layers option. You might have to
increase the radius in the Edge Detection section. Use the Shift Edge
slider and try removing the white that will sit around the edge of your
selections, but another effective way for doing this, is by using the
new Decontaminate Colours feature. You can check the Decontaminate
Colours option and adjust the Amount slider.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS5: Tricks and Tips
CSS Enable/Disable
Developers
have always had a problem with overriding CSS rules and rule hierarchy
is always troublesome for inexperienced coders while designing a web
layout. Traditionally you had to comment out or cut and paste existing
CSS rules in the CSS code and re render the page in your browser to
check its effect. This process was very tedious and cumbersome. But
there is a very simple way to do the same thing now with the help of
Adobe Dreamweaver CS5. While using Dreamweaver CS5 to write your CSS
code you can make use of the CSS Styles panel to enable and disable
individual rules separately within the code. All you need to do is
select the particular rule or multiple rules you want to disable and use
the Disable/Enable CSS Property button at the bottom of the panel to
disable it. An icon indicating that the rule has been disabled appears
next to the rule. Now you can make use of the LiveView Option in
Dreamweaver to view the effect of disabling the specifi c rules.
Clicking the button again after selecting the rules similarly enables
the rules. You can also use this technique to test the effect of
multiple rules by writing all of them within the code and quickly
enabling or disabling them to check their effect on the page.
Widget Browser
When
designing and developing a web site, to increase functionality or
interactivity, we often use a lot of widgets. A widget is usually a
combination of HTML, CSS and JavaScript code used to build a complex web
component like accordions, slideshows, tabbed panels, light windows
etc. The code for many widgets is open source and freely available on
the internet. So once you get profi cient in using them, generally you
have to download their ZIP fi les, tweak and confi gure them yourself
and fi t them into your web site. Sometimes this isn’t a very easy task,
because of their external dependencies and need to be confi gured. But
now using the Adobe Dreamweaver Widget Browser in Dreamweaver CS5, the
entire process can be simplifi ed tenfold. It can categorise and display
any widget uploaded to the Adobe Exchange. They can be sorted by name,
author, rating, number of downloads, date posted, etc. Let us illustrate
this by using the jQuery UI Accordion Widget. Start the Widget Browser
and click preview to see a preview of the widget on your page. You can
change and edit the code of the widget manually as well while inserting
it. Before customising and using a widget though you will need to import
it into your My Widgets set. The widget will then be downloaded and
stored locally on your computer. From My Widgets choose the widget and
go through the existing presets which are the customised confi gurations
for the widget. You can confi gure it further by creating your own
preset. The properties can be adjusted in the properties group. Now back
on the My Widgets panel click the Save Widget Files button to create an
HTML fi le with the widget and the selected confi guration along with
all the dependent fi les necessary to run the widget. The Widgets are
available in Dreamweaver only after they have been added to the My
Widgets List from the Adobe Widget Browser. They can then be put into
HTML pages in Dreamweaver by going to the insert panel and selecting
them from the Widgets Category. Dreamweaver will then insert the widget
with the selected preset and copy the dependent files to the local root
folder.
BrowserLab
Browser
Compatibility has always been a very big issue with web design and
development. No matter how robust modern browsers may be, small
differences always crop up in the way a web page is displayed across
browsers. You always have to test your web site across all major
browsers. Now with Dreamweaver CS5 and the Adobe BrowserLab, the process
of testing how your web page is rendered on different browsers is very
easy. You can now get a full view screenshot and differentiate between
how your web site looks in two different browsers online in the
BrowserLab as part of the CS Live online services. Using the option of
the Onion Skin view you can overlap how the webpage is rendered in two
different selected browsers and figure out the discrepancies at a
glance. You can adjust the different opacities. You can preview your web
pages in multiple versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and
Chrome for different platforms (Windows and Mac OS X) as well.
13 Great Android Widgets to Try
Takeaway: One of the biggest advantages of Android over iPhone is
widgets. Android has them, iPhone does not. Widgets are valuable because
they can provide an at-a-glance look at lots of different kinds of
information and quick access to valuable apps and configuration settings
Note: A couple things to keep in mind with widgets: 1.) They can sometimes hog resources, bandwidth, and battery life so you should make sure you’re using a task killer to regularly refresh
your open apps; 2.) widgets can take up a lot of screen real estate and
so you may need to use an alternate home screen launcher, such as
Launcher Pro, to give yourself some extra space.
1. Analytics widget: If you use Google Analytics to track Web site traffic,
this little widget makes it easy to get quick glance at your traffic
metrics. It takes up the same amount of space as an app icon and you can
set up multiple widgets to track multiple metrics.
2. Last call:
These widgets provide a glance at your last call, which makes it easy
to redial or to call back a missed call. You can also click on the
widget to go to your full Call Log.
3. FlightView: For travellers, the flightView widget is very handy. Rather than digging through apps or Web pages to get a flight status update, you can enter your airline and flight number into this app and it will track it for you.
4. Scoreboard:
This is a Google widget that lets you keep track of scores from your
favorite sports teams. It shows the last game and the next game (or
current game).
5. 3G Watchdog: As most people are aware, “Unlimited Bandwidth” data plans are not unlimited. Most of them are capped at 2G. That means people are going to need to be more conscious of the bandwidth usage. The 3G Watchdog is a widget that can track it for you.
6. System info: This widget provides a great little system monitoring function for battery life, over-heating, memory, and storage.
7. Pure calendar: There’s a built-in widget that can provide a quick glance at your calendar but Pure Calendar is far more detailed and customizable.
8. Pure Messenger: The cousin of Pure Calendar
is Pure Messenger, which can provide a quick glance at your inbox. It
can eve integrate SMS message, Twitter DMs, and Facebook mail.
9. Extended controls:
Android comes with a “Power Control” widget (bottom) that lets you
quickly toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Brightness, and more. The “Extended
Controls” widgets, allow you to create a customized version of Power
Control with a lot more toggle options.
10. Battery Watcher: This widget visually indicates battery percentage.
11. Picture Dial: This is a smartphone speed dial app that allows you to set up your most important and most frequently-dialed people or number based on photos.
You can see the two sizes of the widget, one with two numbers and one
with four. You can also stack multiple widgets on the same page. The
default configuration is that you select a contact and then assign
phone, text, or email to the speed dial button.
12. Buzzbox:
Buzzbox offers a no-frills widget for quickly glancing at the news.
There are a bunch of pre-configured RSS sources (including some good
ones for tech) and you can easily add your own.
13. SMS Unread Count:
The basic premise here is that this widget replaces your Messaging
(SMS) icon with a widget that looks like an icon but includes a little
red circle in the upper right corner with the number of unread messages
you have (mirroring the iPhone UI). The app can also do this for Gmail
and Phone (missed calls).
Windows 7-The complete guide
Microsoft has been working on the much anticipated Windows 7 and the RC (Release Candidate) build is finally out. The initial reaction from online communities so far has been a lot better than it was for Vista. This OS is superior to XP and Vista in many ways. Vista wasn’t popular mainly because of the high system requirements. Windows 7 feels like a more optimized version of Vista and it has many well thought of features. It’s so light that you can just about manage to run it with 512 or 768 MB of RAM with some of the visual effects turned off.In this section, we’ll be going through some of the major changes and additions that have been put in Windows 7. We’ll also give you tips on using these features on the way.
Moving order of applications in the taskbar
There are more changes done to the taskbar in Windows 7
than just the thickness. It lets you change the sequence of
applications running in the taskbar. Changing the orderis as simple as
moving tabs in browsers such as Firefox and Opera. Simply left-click and
drag the icon in the taskbar, and watch it slide into place. Another
interesting feature is when you try moving the icon upwards, it opens
the rightclick menu.
Grouping of active Applications
Vista already had this feature — multiple instances of applications were grouped into a single icon to save taskbar space. In Windows 7,
the icons are more distinguishable. You no longer have to click; you
can simply move your mouse over the icon and a real-time preview of each
of the instances will appear. The window can be closed by
middle-clicking on the preview. If you like to havethe application name
appearalong with the icon, right-click on the taskbar and click on
Properties. Choose the Never combine option from the menu.
Shortcuts for window Operations
Managing windows is also much simpler with Windows 7. You no longer have to use the window controls such as minimizeor maximize on the top right. Windows can be minimized using the Windows key + Down arrow and maximized by pressing Windows key + Up arrow. Windows
key + left/right arrow keys fit the expanded window to the left or
right side of the screen. This is particularly useful for widescreen
users. It lets you fit two windows side by side accurately without having to use the Tile
horizontally features from the taskbar. If you try resizing a window
using the corner right up to the bottom of the screen, Window 7 lets you
scale it vertically by drawing a faint outline. Dragging the window by
the title bar and moving it towards either end of the screen will
automatically resize to take up half the screen and leave the other half
for another application.
Adding additional sources into Documents, Music, etc.
Initially, Windows
only allowed a single My Documents folder, so users would have to move
all of their music and pictures into the specified folders. The other
way was to move the target destination of the specific folder to the location on your hard drive. Windows 7
lets you add as many paths as you want for either of the predefined
folders. Simply click on the Start button and right-click on one of the
folders — Documents, Pictures, Music and then clickon Properties. Click
on the Include a folder button and add the paths you want and remove
the ones you don’t by clicking Remove.
Pinning applications to the taskbar
The Windows 7 taskbar hasbecome a very powerful part of the OS. You can now pin applications to the taskbar just like you
could to the Start menu. Even after applications are closed, the icon
still remains. It’s an easy way to quickly access applications as well
as run multiple instances of it. Many pinned applications also act like a
Quick launch menu. Active applications are displayed in this same menu,
but differently.
Changing the power button’s default function
Every time you click on the Start button and then head to shutting down the computer, there’s always a single button there. Windows 7 now lets you choose the default action for that particular button. Right click on the Start button on the bottom left of
the screen, and click on Properties. Click on the dropdown for Power
button action and choose the action. Click OK to save the setting.Quick access to frequently used folders Windows 7 monitors the folders that you frequently access. This list can be accessed by right-clicking on the Windows
Explorer icon in the taskbar. If you want a specific folder to be
placed permanently in this list, you can do this by moving the mouse
pointer to the right end of the location till a Pin to this list icon appears.
Constantly changing Wallpapers
We
love collecting wallpapers. There are so many of them online, but none
of us use every single wallpaper that we download. Some of the other
operating systems have an option that changes the wallpaper randomly for you. Windows 7 now has this feature too. Right-click on the desktop and click on Personalize. Click on Desktop Background at the bottom of the screen. Click on the Browse button next tothe Pick location drop down menu to choose the location of your wallpapers. Click on Browse again
to add more locations to the same list. Next, check the boxes of all
the wallpapers you want to cycle through. Choose a frequency for the
wallpaper change by clicking the dropdown menu below. Click Save Change.
Quick preview mode in Windows Explorer
Quick preview is a feature found only in few file managers. Windows 7 has incorporated a similar feature that lets Windows Explorer to display a preview of a file on the side. The shortcut to enable the quick preview pane is [Alt]+[P]. Press this key combination again to disable it. This feature only works with the formats supported by Windows 7.
Sticky Notes in Windows 7
The
Sticky notes feature helps the user keep track of tasks that he needs
to do. The Sticky Notes application is hidden away under the Accessories
sub-menu. Notes are left on your desktop. Notes are added by clicking
the + icon on the top left of the stick note window and closed using the close icon.
Running applications with troubleshooting mode
Every
time a new OS is developed, there is a good chance that some of the
applications that ran fine on previous versions might not work on the
new one. This might be the case with Windows 7. There is a way around this. Right-click on the application that you are facing problems with, and click on Troubleshoot compatibility. Windows 7
will detect the problems if any and then run the application in a
compatibility mode. If the application works, you can save the settings
for that application so that it will be run using the same settings the
next time.
Spawning a command prompt in a folder
Opening a command prompt
in home folder for your account and then navigating using DOS commands
to the exact location you want to be in has been always an annoying
thing. Windows 7 can open a command prompt right where you need. Open Windows Explorer and browse to the location you want to open the command prompt. Click on the File menu while holding the [Shift] key down and click on Open command window here. If the menu isn’t visible, you’ll need to press the [Alt] key first.
Running applications using a different user account
If you need to run an application with rights of a different user, you can do this easily in Windows 7.
This may come handy when you need administrator rights to run a
particular application. Instead of logging out and logging back into the
administrator account, you can now hold down the [Shift] key while right-clicking on an application and then click on Run as administrator. If you want to run the application as any other user, click on Run as other different user. You’ll need to enter the username and password for that account.
Getting back the Vista style taskbar
While the taskbar in Windows 7
has undergone a major change, not everyone is happy with the large
size. For some, it might seem like a waste of vertical desktop space.
The older and more compact taskbar from Vista can be enabled in a few
clicks. Right click on the taskbar and click Properties. Deselect the Use small icons checkbox to get a more compact taskbar. Click OK. Capturing
Screenshots in Windows 7
Windows
7 has a dedicated tool for capturing screenshots called the Snipping
Tool. It can be found in the Accessories menu and it lets you capture
aparticular area of the desktop.Run the application and drag a box
around the area you want to capture. After the capture is complete, you
can use a pen or a highlighter to mark important areas on the screen.
This is much quicker way of doing things than the traditional way which
included capturing a window and then cropping out the area in an image
editor.
Show the desktop Feature
For those who still haven’t got used to the Windows key +[D] shortcut
used to hide the desktop momentarily, there has been a Show desktop
icon the Quicklaunch bar. With Windows 7 and the Quick launch not
visible anymore, the show desktop function is available as a small bar
on the extreme bottom right corner of the screen.
Toning down the UAC
The
UAC on Vista was one of the most annoying features that would popup
every now and then while certain operations were being executed. Users
fed up with it turned it off. Windows 7 still has a UAC for security
reasons, but it can be reduced to only warn you of absolutely vital
operations and for every silly action. The UAC level can be changed by
going to going to System and Security under the Control Panel. Look for
the Change User Accounts Controls settings link and make the change by
moving the sliding down.
Shake the rest away!
If
you have many windows open and for some reason, you want them all
minimized except for the one you are currently using, you can do this by
clicking on the title bar of the application and moving it around
quickly. All the other windows immediately minimize.
Checking for memory Problems
No
longer do you have to download a third-party application and create a
bootable disk to check for memory problems. Windows 7 comes with an
inbuilt tool that just needs a reboot to work. It’s called Windows
MemoryDiagnostic and can be foundunder the Administrative tools section
in the Control Panel. Run it and it will prompt you. You can reboot
immediately or the scan can be set run on the next reboot. The scan
takes a while. Press [Esc] at
any moment to stop the scan and continue booting into Windows. If there
are any errors, you know there are issues with your memory. This is a
great tool run if your Windows has been facing random crashes and blue
screens.
Built-in cleartype Tuner
Windows
has built-in cleartype fonts which make text look more rounded. It’s
visually more appealing than standard fonts and is highly recommended
for LCD users. Not everyone likes the default look of cleartype fonts
and some amount of tweaking is required. The cleartype tuner was
available only through Microsoft’s site on a web browser. Windows 7 has
this utility built into the OS. You can find it under Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization. Click on checkbox to turn on Cleartypeand follow the steps to complete the tuning.
Including new folder into libraries
Windows
7’s set of pre-defined folders for Documents, Pictures, Music are
called libraries. These folders automatically show up in every dialog
box when you try to open or save a file. We talked about adding new
folders to each of these separate library folders. It’s also possible to
add new sections into these libraries. This is a particularly useful
feature as it reduces the time and steps it would normally take to
access a particular folder. To include a new folder in the library,
right-click on the folder in Windows Explorer.Next, click on Include in library > Create new library.
Gadget placement in Windows 7
One
of the new features that Vista brought was the sidebar which was used
to house gadgets. There is a huge gallery of such gadgets on Microsoft’s
web site. The sidebar application by itself consumed resources as well
as desktop space. Windows 7 now lets you place gadgets anywhere on the
desktop. Right-click on the desktop and click on Gadgets. Drag and drop
the gadget you want to anywhere on the desktop.
Enabling Windows XP virtualization mode
Windows
7 has support for a Windows XP virtual machine which basically means
you can run Windows XP within Windows 7. You will need a processor that
supports virtualization though. If you have one, boot into the BIOS and
turn on the feature for your processor. You should also have sufficient
memory on your system for it to work well. Once you’ve made the change
in the BIOS, boot into Windows and download the Windows XP virtual
machine add on from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ virtual-pc/download.aspx.
This mode lets you run Windows XP applications on Windows 7 and also a
copy of Windows XP within it. For most practical purposes, it’s better
than running a dual-boot setup.
Windows 7’s resource Monitor
The
Windows 7 resource monitor is a powerful tool that gives detailed
information on every single process and application running on the
computer. Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Resource monitor to
access it.There are tabs for statistics and details on CPU, memory,
disk and network. The network tab is particularly useful. It gives a
detail list of connections being made by every application and the
bandwidth being used.If it all seems too confusingto keep track of,
click on the checkbox next to the application to filter it out.
Switching back to the bare XP theme
Although
Windows 7 has been optimized a lot, the default Aero theme slow down
older systems. Using a basic theme like the one on Windows XP is a good
idea. It helps bring down memory consumption by a lot. Some even claim
that the memory consumption can be brought down to around 300 MB with no
applications running. Change the mode by right clicking on the desktop
and then on Personalize. Choose the Windows Classic Theme. To optimize
things a little more, you can also turn off all the unnecessary visual
effects. To do this, press the Windows key + [Pause].
Then, click on Advanced system settings. Now, click on the Setting
button under Performance and click the checkbox for Adjust for best
performance.
Setting up backups
Many
laptop and desktop manufacturers have a separate partition in their PCs
and laptops that is used to store a copy of the Windows OS. This comes
in handy if your PC is infected by a virus or your OS crashes. This
backup lets you quickly get your PC up and running. Windows 7 has a
built-in backup utility that stores an image on a backup partition, an
external hard drive or even on a network share. To create a disk backup,
click on Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Back up your computer. Click on Create a system image from the left panel. Choose where you want to save the backup and then click on Next.
Just make sure that the drive has enough space to store the data.
Choose the partitions you want to backup in the next step. If you want
to select folders to backup instead of an entire partition, click on Set up backup instead.
Select thelocation where you want to backup the data, then click the
radio button that lets you choose the folders you want to backup. Select
the folders and finally proceed to the final steps. You can even
schedule automatic backups at a fixed time.
Quick sharing of Resources
Security
being one of the biggest concerns, Microsoft has implemented strict
security features and in the process, had made sharing folders
complicated. The home group feature of Windows 7 makes sharing files in a
small home network much easier than before. The feature is only
available when you set your network setup as a Home network. Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet >Homegroup.
Join a homegroup if there’s one that exists already. You’ll be asked to
enter a password. Once you’re connected to a homegroup, you’ll be able
to see other PCs on the homegroup in Windows Explorer. By default,
Windows 7 shares the library folders for music, videos, etc. For home
groups to work, PCs need to be running Windows 7 with IPv6 support
enabled in their network settings
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