Windows 7 power users guide

First published in 2009 by Mike Halsey ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
www.thelongclimb.com
The author would like to thank the following
Copyright © Mike Halsey 2009 people without whose help and support this
book might not have been possible.
The right of Mike Halsey to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted by him in Duncan Buchanan
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Rich Gilbane
Patents Act 1988. Richard Gough-Thomas
Larry Hall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
James Halsey
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into
Rachel Hymans
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
Phil Smith
by any means, electronic, mechanical,
Jake Webster
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
Rory Webster
the prior written permission of the copyright
holder. And Martin and Everton at Windows 7 News.com

Windows®, Windows XP®, Windows Vista®, Finally a big thank you goes out to my mother,
Windows 7®, Office 2007® and Office 2010® are whose desire to find out more about how
Trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. Windows works was all the prompting I needed
to write this book.

Windows 7 Power Users Guide by Mike Halsey
www.thelongclimb.com 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Starting ....................................................................................... 5
About this book
Installing ..................................................................................... 7
Installing and getting started with Windows 7
Exploring ................................................................................... 19
Finding your way around
Working..................................................................................... 37
Get more done with Windows 7
Searching .................................................................................. 49
Searching for files and data
Connecting ................................................................................ 57
Communicating with our home and the outside world
Securing .................................................................................... 65
Keeping your PC and your files safe
Configuring................................................................................ 75
Get Windows 7 running at its best
Playing ...................................................................................... 91
Games and having fun and Windows 7
Communicating ....................................................................... 101
Connecting with your friends, family, work and home
Guaranteeing ........................................................................... 107
Helping make sure the worst never happens
Maintaining ............................................................................. 115
Keeping Windows 7 running quickly and smoothly
Diagnosing .............................................................................. 119
Problem-solving and fixing problems in Windows 7
Tweaking ................................................................................. 129
Tweaks and tips to get even more out of Windows 7
Upgrading................................................................................ 133
Improving your PC and upgrading Windows 7
Finishing ............................................................................................................... 138
Glossary and appendixes

INTRODUCTION WINDOWS 7
EDITIONS
Microsoft Windows 7 offers a
great many advanced features QUICK TIP
and is highly configurable. As with all editions of
There is a great deal you can Windows, Windows 7 comes
do to customise your system, in different product The benefits of
maintain it, simplify using it versions. The ones you‘ll
encounter will be Starter,
Windows 7
and make it a more
pleasurable experience all Home Premium, the most over XP and
round. common edition and Vista
Professional for advanced
This guide will take you systems and businesses.
Ultimate will contain every I have Windows
through everything you need
to know in easy steps with feature. XP : Windows 7 is
quick tips and step-by-step considerably more
guides. Not all features are
available in every product secure and safer to
edition. In this guide I will use on the internet
WHO IS THIS GUIDE display icons to show what than Windows XP.
versions features are
FOR? available in. For this reason
alone you should
This guide is for non- consider upgrading
technical, casual, users of
to Windows 7. Use
Windows. If you use a PC at
home for sending and the upgrade checker
receiving email, browsing the on the Microsoft
web and maybe odd jobs like website to see if
writing letters and editing WHY SHOULD I
digital photographs then this your PC will run it.
is the book for you. INSTALL WINDOWS 7?
I have Windows
Any features for Windows 7 makes great Vista : Windows 7
advanced users will leaps over previous versions
be highlighted with fixes almost all of
of Windows. It is
this logo. significantly more secure the performance
than Windows XP and issues that caused
Windows Vista. Windows Vista to
WHAT IS WINDOWS 7? run slowly. The
EASE OF ACCESS AND security system,
Windows 7 is the latest in a
long line of different versions User Account
of Microsoft‘s operating DISABILITIES HELP Control (UAC) is also
system. now considerably
Look for this icon
Windows 7 builds on the within this book for less annoying. Any
success of operating systems information on how PC running
such as Windows XP and fixes to use the ease of Windows Vista will
many of the problems access features.
happily run
associated with Windows
Vista. You can find out more These are here to help Windows 7.
at... people who may have
trouble using the Windows
www.windows7.com 7 and software because
they have trouble reading
small text, listening for
prompts or using a
keyboard and mouse.

6 www.thelongclimb.com

INSTALLING
Windows 7 versions ................................................................................9
Will my PC run Windows 7? ......................................................................9
Clean install or Upgrade? .........................................................................9
Upgrading from Windows XP ............................................................9
Upgrading from Windows Vista ....................................................... 10
Upgrading from other versions ....................................................... 10
What is 64 bit Windows? ................................................................ 10
Upgrading from 32 to 64 bit ........................................................... 10
Clean install from upgrade only key ................................................ 10
Plug in and turn on your devices ............................................................. 11
Windows Easy Transfer.......................................................................... 11
Common Windows features by version .................................................... 12
Choosing a web browser (EU only) .......................................................... 13
Help .................................................................................................... 13
Getting Started .................................................................................... 13
Install anti-virus ................................................................................... 13
Step-by-step—Installing Windows 7 ................................................. 14-18

QUICK TIPS

What is the difference between a clean install and an upgrade? ....................9
32 or 64 bit? ........................................................................................ 10
Always backup your files........................................................................ 11
Missing drivers? .................................................................................... 13

WINDOWS VERSIONS CLEAN INSTALL OR
As with all editions of
UPGRADE?
QUICK TIP Windows, Windows 7 comes
in different product When you upgrade your copy
What is the versions. The ones you‘ll of Windows all of your files,
difference encounter will be Starter, data and programs will remain
Home Premium, the most intact. However not every
between a version of Windows 7 will
common edition and
clean install Professional for advanced allow you to upgrade.
and an systems and businesses. You cannot upgrade from
upgrade Ultimate will contain every any copy of Windows XP
feature. and you cannot upgrade from
If you have files on a copy of Windows Vista that
In this guide I will display is a higher product edition to
your computer that
icons for the different the version of Windows 7 you
aren’t backed up features to say in which are installing. For example,
then you should versions of Windows 7 they you cannot upgrade Windows
opt for an upgrade. are available. Vista Ultimate to Windows 7
Home Premium.
This will keep all
your files intact. The best advice is always to
However any make sure all your files and
data are backed up, see the
problems that exist Each version of Windows 7 Guaranteeing chapter of this
on your PC may also contains more features than book for how to do this, and
be there after the editions below it, a su- do a clean install. This will
perset of each one. Home make sure you get the fastest,
installing Windows Basic lacks the glass aero least problematic installation
7. effects and Media Centre possible. Upgrading can
but is fine for low-power cause any problems you
A clean install will computers. Home Premium currently have with your copy
delete all the files will contain all the features of Windows to also exist after
a home user needs. the upgrade to Windows 7.
on your drive and
you will also have to Each version of Windows 7
reinstall all of your contains more features than UPGRADING FROM
the one below it.
programs.
WINDOWS XP
Later in this chapter is a list
Not every edition of the most common fea-
tures in Windows 7, broken Windows 7 will not allow you
of Windows will perform an in-place upgrade
down by each edition of the
allow you to operating system. from any edition of Windows
upgrade, some will XP, trying to do so will give
you an error message.
force you to do a
clean install WILL MY PC RUN On the Windows 7 DVD is a
program called Windows Easy
It is always a good
WINDOWS 7? Transfer that you can run in
idea to back up all Windows XP (and Vista) to
You can find an upgrade back up out files and settings
your files and data checker to find this out from to another location, either an
first. Microsoft for Windows 7 at.. external hard disk or another
partition, that can later be
www.windows7.com restored after performing a
clean installation of Windows
...run this software under 7. Getting Started in the
Windows XP or Windows Start Menu has an option to
Vista. restore this.

9

UPGRADING FROM This is the best way to
ensure that all your
WINDOWS VISTA hardware and programs will
work properly.
You can perform an in-place
QUICK TIP
upgrade from Windows Vista.
The following versions will UPGRADING FROM 32 32 or 64 bit?
allow an upgrade depending
on what editions of Vista and TO 64 BIT
Windows 7 you are upgrading The difference
from and to... Windows won‘t allow you to between 32 and 64
upgrade in-place from a 32 bit software is the
bit version of Windows to a
64 bit version, nor will it size of the numbers
UPGRADING FROM allow you to perform an the PC can do
OTHER VERSIONS upgrade the other way calculations on.
around. To change
between these versions you
Windows 7 will not allow will have to perform a clean 64 bit operating
upgrading from other versions install. systems are slightly
of Windows. This includes all
versions before Windows XP faster because of
(Windows ME, Windows 98 this.
etc.) and all versions of CLEAN INSTALL FROM
Windows Server. Windows 7 also
UPGRADE ONLY
includes additional
PRODUCT KEY security
WHAT IS 64 BIT functionality that
WINDOWS? It is possible to perform a
makes the 64 bit
clean install of Windows 7
with a product key that will version of the
Each edition of Windows 7 only allow you to upgrade operating system
comes in two flavours, 32 bit it.
and 64 bit. The edition you more secure.
have will be printed on your To do this do a clean install
install DVD. Most new PCs Windows once without On the downside
now come with the 64 bit entering a product key, it older hardware and
version of the operating will allow you to do this. software might not
system pre-installed, however Now run the installer again
there can be a downside. and perform an upgrade be supported. For
over the clean install you best results run the
While the 64 bit versions of have just done. Your Windows 7 upgrade
Windows offer better security product key will now be
and stability, there is still accepted as valid for checker and check
hardware and software that installation. with a
won‘t run on it. manufacturer’s
If you have the Windows Vista Windows 7 website for your
choice of which hardware to see if
version to buy then Home Basic Home Basic, Home 64 bit drivers exist.
opt for the 32 bit Premium, Professional,
version. You should Ultimate
only buy the 64 bit
version of Windows 7 Home Premium Home Premium,
at this stage if it has Professional, Ultimate
been pre-installed on
your PC. Business Professional, Ultimate
Ultimate Ultimate


PLUG IN AND TURN The wizard in your ―old PC‖
will guide you through making
ON YOUR DEVICES a backup.

QUICK TIP You will have a much
You can transfer files toy our
new PC through am Easy
happier installation Transfer Cable available from
Always backup experience if all your some PC and electronics
your files hardware is plugged in and stores, across a network or
switched on when you are via an external hard disk or
installing Windows. This USB flash drive.
Remember that all greatly increases the
sorts of things can chance that Windows will Bear in mind that the size of
potentially go install the drivers for all the backup the Windows Easy
your hardware and that it Transfer wizard makes on
wrong when you’re
will all work when the your old operating system
installing a new installation is complete. could be very substantial as
version of Windows all your music, documents,
from a hardware This includes printers, video, pictures and photos will
scanners, mp3 players etc. be copied.
failure to a simple
power cut. All of If you do not have a storage
these can lose your WINDOWS EASY medium onto which you can
valuable make the backup, or cannot
TRANSFER connect the two PCs directly
documents , photos via a cable or across a
and music. Available in every version network, you should back up
of Windows since Windows all your data and settings
Always back up XP, Windows Easy Transfer (see the chapter
is a way to transfer all your Guaranteeing for how to do
your data before this) onto removable media
documents, email, internet
installing Windows
favourites and more to such as CD, DVD or BluRay
7. your new PC. Disc.

For information on
how to do this refer
to chapter
Guaranteeing.

To find out how to
back up your files in
Windows XP or
Vista follow the
links on page 7 of
this guide.

11

COMMON WINDOWS FEATURES BY VERSION

Windows Basic UI Windows Update
Windows Aero Glass UI Windows Firewall
Aero Peek Windows Defender
Aero Snap Windows Backup
Aero Shake Create System Image
Aero Background Advanced Backup
Windows Flip Encrypted File System
Windows Flip 3D Bitlocker Drive Encryption
Live Taskbar Previews Bitlocker To Go
Explorer File Preview Automatic Disk
Defragmenter
Jumplists
Windows ReadyBoost
Windows Search
Previous Versions
Action Centre

Parental Controls

Basic Games Multi-Touch / Tablet PC

Premium Games Sync Centre

Calculator Offline Files

Paint Windows Mobility Centre

Snipping Tool Windows Sideshow

Sticky Notes HomeGroup sharing Join

Windows Journal Location Aware printing

Wordpad
Windows Photo Viewer
Windows Media Player Remote Desktop
Windows Media Centre Remote Desktop Host
DVD Player Join a domain
Windows DVD Maker Connect to a projector

CHOOSING A WEB HELP
BROWSER (EU ONLY)
QUICK TIP If you live in the European
Help is always
available in
Union the Internet
Windows 7 by
Missing drivers? Explorer web browser is
selecting Help
not installed by default in
and Support
If the drivers for any Windows 7. The browser
from the Start
hardware have not ballot screen will let you
Menu.
been installed in choose and install a
Windows it’s easier browser.
that in previous
More information on this
GETTING STARTED
versions of
as and when the EU get
Windows to install You can open Getting Started
their fact together! from the Start Menu. Here
them.
you can personalise Windows,
Find out how to do transfer files from your old
computer or add users to your
this in the chapter PC.
Configuring.

INSTALL ANTI-VIRUS
The new Action Centre in the
system tray will highlight it‘s
warning flag with a red cross
to alert you that you will need
to install anti-virus software.

13

STEP BY STEP—INSTALLING WINDOWS 7
Your experience installing Windows 7 will change slightly depending on whether
you are upgrading or
performing a clean install.
Your install experience
therefore may not include all the steps
shown this guide.

If you are upgrading from within your
existing copy of Windows you will be
asked if you want to ―go online to get the
latest updates‖. Doing this can make for a
smoother installation experience and
ensure more of your hardware works from
the moment Windows is installed.

If you are performing a
clean install you will be
asked what country you
live in and what language you want
Windows 7 installed in.

Choose these and Press Next.

When prompted at the next
screen, press the Install Now
button to begin your
installation.


At the next screen,
depending on whether you
are performing an upgrade
or a clean install, you will be asked
which version of Windows 7 you are
installing. Choose the version for which
you have a valid licence and click Next.

The next step is to accept the
licence agreement. You will
need to pick a tick in
the I agree box and
click Next to proceed.

At this point you must
choose whether you wish to
upgrade your existing copy
of Windows, if you have one
installed, or perform a clean install.
Performing a clean install will give
you a better, faster copy of
Windows but you will need to make
sure you have backed up all of your
files first as it will wipe them.

The next few steps
only apply to
doing a clean
install. First Windows will
ask on which disk or partition you
want to install Windows (see the
glossary for more information
on what these are) [step continues on
next page]

15

You may want to wipe the drive or partition
before installing Windows. This deletes all
files and data on the disk so you can start
with a clean drive. You can click on Drive
options (advanced) to get to this feature
and then choose Format.

Be very careful to only format the drive on
which you want to install Windows 7.

Click Next to start the installation.

Windows will now
begin the installation
process. Your
computer will restart once or
twice during this process but you
will not need to do anything else
until it completes.

This can take 20 to 30 minutes for
a clean install or up to several
hours for an upgrade.

When installation is
complete you will be asked
for your name, this will be
the name for the main
administrator [master] account on
the PC and your name for the PC
itself.

You might like Bob or Mary and Jane
as the account name and the name of
your PC could be Study or Phil’s PC.
You can set these to be anything you
want.

You will then be asked if you
want to set up a
password for this
account. If you do not
want to do this just leave the
boxes blank and press Next.

If you plan on using the parental
controls in Windows 7 to help
determine what games your children
can play and when they can use the
PC, you will need to set a password.


Windows will now ask you to
enter your product key. This is
the 25 character code that
came with your copy of
Windows. You will find it on a sticker
on the case for your PC or inside the box
your Windows 7 install DVD came in.

You can proceed without entering a product
key if, for instance, you are just evaluating
the features in a version of Windows 7
before choosing which one is best for you to
buy.

Windows update is the
system that helps keep
your copy of Windows
secure and up-to-date with
the latest patches. You will be asked
if / how you want Windows to update
itself. I recommend you select use
recommended settings and click Next.

We‘re almost done. The only
steps left are to set a few
settings particular to your
location and preferences.

This screen will ask for your time-zone and
for you to confirm the current time and
date.

If you have a wireless wi-fi
network set up and
Windows has recognised
the drivers, you will be asked what
type of network this is. Select the
option that best describes your wi-fi
network and click Next. Windows will
now set your internet security
accordingly.

17

Windows may now
ask you if you want
to set up a Home
Group. This will enable you
to share files, photos, music and
video with other PCs running
Windows 7 in your home.

You can skip this step by
pressing Cancel as this feature
can be set up later. We will
cover this in the chapter
Connecting.

We‘re finished!
You will now see
the Windows 7
desktop and can get
started using Windows.


EXPLORING
The Windows 7 Desktop ........................................................................ 22
The taskbar ................................................................................. 22
The notification area ..................................................................... 22
The Start Menu .................................................................................... 23
Pinning start menu items ............................................................... 23
Getting started ............................................................................. 23
Using the taskbar ................................................................................. 24
Live thumbnails ............................................................................ 24
Show desktop .............................................................................. 24
Notification area ........................................................................... 24
Taskbar jumplists ......................................................................... 25
Pinning items to jumplists .............................................................. 25
Pinning programs to the taskbar ..................................................... 25
The action centre.......................................................................... 26
Windows Explorer ................................................................................. 27
Navigation Pane ........................................................................... 27
The Breadcrumb Bar ..................................................................... 28
Previous locations ......................................................................... 28
Choosing how to view files ............................................................. 28
Sorting and Grouping Files ............................................................. 29
Previewing Files ............................................................................ 29
Collapsing groups ......................................................................... 29
Working with folders ..................................................................... 29
The details pane ........................................................................... 30
The menu bar .............................................................................. 30
Hiding picture and photo names ............................................................. 31
Switching between windows................................................................... 31
Flip 3D ........................................................................................ 31
Step-by-step—Changing the default view in Windows Explorer ................. 32
Remembering windows sizes .................................................................. 33
Moving your files away from Windows ..................................................... 33
Step-by-step—Moving your files for data security .............................. 34-36
Part 1—Creating a new partition ..................................................... 34
Part 2—Moving your files ............................................................... 36

QUICK TIPS

A call to action ..................................................................................... 22
Jumplists in the Start Menu ................................................................... 23
Pin items to the Start Menu ................................................................... 23
Using thumbnails to organise Windows .................................................... 24
Running two instances of a program from the Taskbar .............................. 25
Where have all the notification area icons gone? ...................................... 26
Customise your favourite links ............................................................... 27
Change the default explorer view ........................................................... 28
Sorting and grouping by more criteria ..................................................... 29
Different Views in different folders .......................................................... 29
Use the details pane ............................................................................. 30
Want more detail on files? ..................................................................... 30
Hide the names of all your pictures ......................................................... 31
Keep your documents safe..................................................................... 33

THE WINDOWS 7 THE NOTIFICATION
DESKTOP AREA
There have been some changes One of the criticisms in
QUICK TIP
made to the desktop with previous versions of
Windows 7. Some of these Windows was how annoying A call to Action
changes may be familiar to the notification area became.
you, especially if you‘ve been This is the area on the right
The new flag in the
using Windows Vista, others side of the taskbar that filled
are completely new. up with icons and alert notification area,
the far right of the
taskbar, is now the
only place you need
to go to , to receive
notifications about
Windows and other
software (including
anti-virus software).

The flag will
highlight with a
cross when there’s a
message for you.

THE TASKBAR balloons, telling you about
things happening on your
Sometimes called the superbar PC.
this is completely redesigned in
Windows 7. You can read more I will talk at more length
about the new taskbar and how about the new notification
it works later in this chapter area later in this chapter.
but it is now a place from
which you can both launch and
manage running and non-
running programs and
applications.
It is
essentially a
merging of
the old
taskbar and
quick launch
area.


THE START MENU
The Start Menu hasn‘t
QUICK TIP changed much since
Windows Vista but now
includes jumplists which
Jumplists in the will pop out when you
Start Menu click the arrow on the
right side of some Start
Some Start Menu Menu items.
items have a small There is also a search
arrow to their right. box you can
Clicking this will use to find
programs and
bring out a list of files.
options or recent
files / disk locations.

This can simplify
access to common
files and features
within programs. PINNING START
MENU ITEMS
You can pin programs
Pin items to to the Start Menu so
the Start Menu they always
appear there.
If you pin a program You can do this by
right clicking with
to the Start Menu it your mouse and
will always appear selecting Pin to
in the Start Menu taskbar. You can
also pin items to
whenever you press the taskbar this
the Windows key. way and unpin
items.
Right click the
program with your
mouse and select GETTING STARTED
pin / unpin to Start
The first item in the
Menu to do this. Start Menu is called
Getting Started.
You can click on
this to open it in
it‘s own window or
open its jumplist.

Here you can
perform post-install
duties such as
personalising your
desktop and adding
more users.

23

USING THE TASKBAR SHOW DESKTOP
The new taskbar is the main
place from which to launch QUICK TIP
programs and manage running
programs.
At the very bottom right of
Using
You can pin programs to the your screen (the far right of thumbnails to
taskbar in the same way as the taskbar) is a small organise
pinning them to the Start button which will show you
Menu (see Pinning Start Menu your desktop. windows
Items) on the previous page.
If you have a lot of
windows open on
your desktop you
can use the live
thumbnails to
organise them.
Hovering over a
thumbnail on the
taskbar will make all
other windows
transparent and
show you the
Rolling your mouse over this selected window,
LIVE THUMBNAILS button will make all the
windows on your desktop go even if that window
transparent. Clicking it will is minimised.
minimise every window. If
you click this button again
every window will be
The live thumbnails have been restored to its full-size.
improved since Windows Vista.
Rolling over an icon on the
taskbar will show you NOTIFICATION AREA
thumbnails of the program. In
the case (above) there are two By default Windows 7 shows
tabs open in Internet Explorer three icons in the
and it will show you both tabs. notification area. The flag is
the new action centre, more
Rolling your mouse over a on that in a bit. Next is
thumbnail will show you the your network connection,
Window full size, making all either wired or wireless.
other windows transparent. The icon for wi-fi
This will also work for connections will show
minimised windows, it will connectivity and signal
restore them for you. strength. The final icon is
for sound. Clicking on it
will bring up the volume
control.


TASKBAR
JUMPLISTS
QUICK TIP The new Taskbar
also has jumplists
Running two for many
instances of a programs. You
program from can access these
either by right
the taskbar clicking on the
icon with your mouse
If a program is open or by left clicking with
your mouse and
clicking it’s taskbar pushing the mouse
icon will only upwards, away from
minimise and the icon.
maximise it. There
These jumplists can show
are two ways to you recent files and disk
open a new locations. They can also
instance of the contain features within a
program you may want to
program (say, two access easily.
explorer windows).

1) right click the icon PINNING ITEMS TO
and click on the
JUMPLISTS
name of the
program to open a You may want to pin
second instance of items to jumplists on
it. the taskbar.

2) click the scroll You can do this by right
clicking on the jumplist
wheel between the item and selecting pin /
buttons on your unpin to this list.
mouse (if you have
This can be used to gain
one) which will also quick access to documents
open a second or disk locations you use
instance of the regularly, such as a home
finance spreadsheet.
program

PINNING PROGRAMS
TO THE TASKBAR
If you want to pin a
program to the new
taskbar you can either
right click on it in the
Start Menu and select
Pin to Taskbar or right
click on it‘s icon when it is
running and do the same.

25

THE ACTION CENTRE The action centre is your
first port of call to diagnose
Clicking on the flag in the notification and fix problems with
area will bring up the action centre. Windows 7.
This is where all the alert messages,
informing you about things There are options here to
happening with your computer are to Troubleshoot problems
be found. with Windows or use QUICK TIP
Recovery tools if Windows
If there is a message this flag with needs repairing. Where have all
change from plain white to a flag the notification
with a red cross on it. Alerts will be colour-coded
red, yellow or green
area icons gone
The first alert you will see after depending how serious
installing Windows 7 is one advising Windows believes they are. Icons that the new
you to install anti-virus notification area
software. You can click on
the message to find out more hides by default can
about it or click on open be displayed by
action centre to see the action clicking a small up
centre full size.
It‘s in the full action centre arrow that appears
that you have control over next to the action
what alerts you choose to centre flag.
see. You can follow step-
though guides to fix common
problems and also view Clicking the
archived messages. customise link in the
window that
appears will allow
you to set
programs, such as
anti-virus software,
to always display in
the notification
area.


WINDOWS EXPLORER NAVIGATION PANE
As with previous versions The new navigation pane on
QUICK TIP of Windows, Windows the left side of explorer
Explorer is the main way windows allows quick access
you access and organise to Libraries, drives and your
your files and folders. It‘s network.
Customise your not changed much since
favourite links Windows Vista, but there Each section is collapsible and
are important changes folds out into a full tree. In
Customising the none the less. addition you can view your
Homegroup
favourite links in the (more on this
Navigation Pane on in the chapter
the left side of Connecting)
There is also a
explorer windows new Favourites
can be a section into
tremendous time which you can
drag and drop
saver. folders, drives
and other
Here you can drag locations for
and drop your quick and
easy access
favourite and most
to them.
commonly accessed
folders and drives, It‘s well
either on your own worth
spending
PC or on a local some time
network. By default now, starting putting your
Windows Explorer will most
It’s well worth show you the new commonly
Libraries. I‘ll write about used places
spending some time into the
these more later in this
setting this up. chapter. The toolbar along Favourites
the top of the screen now section as
has handy text labels that it‘s an
will change depending on enormous
the content you‘re looking time saver.
at. These commands will
allow you to do things from
creating folders to burning
files to CD or DVD.

The Breadcrumb bar also
still sits at the top of
Windows Explorer and I‘ll
talk about this more in a
moment.

The biggest change is the
Navigation pane along the
left side of the window.

27

THE BREADCRUMB BAR CHOOSING HOW TO
As with Windows Vista the
VIEW FILES
breadcrumb bar is your main QUICK TIP
way of navigating Windows The default way of viewing
Explorer through the drives files and folders is by no
and folders on your PC. means the only way of doing
so. Change the
Each section (folder) is default
separated by an arrow. In the top explorer view
Clicking this arrow will display right of
a drop-down menu that will explorer
allow you to instantly move to windows By default,
any other branch in that point are two Windows Explorer
of the tree. icons to will just show you
an alphabetical list
of a folder’s
contents.

It’s worth
customising this
view to another
that is more helpful
and better suits
your personal
For instance, in the image needs.
(above) you can see we‘re on
the Windows 7 (C:) drive, in Follow my step-by-
the Users folder and then in step guide on how
the Mike and Contacts folders,
both sub-folders of that. to do this later in
this chapter.

PREVIOUS LOCATIONS
In the top left of explorer
windows are left and right
arrows to take you to back
and forward between the change the view you can see.
folders and disks you‘ve Clicking the first icon will
looked at. bring up a slider control you
can use to change the
You can also thumbnail and icon size
jump directly for files and folders in
to anywhere that explorer view. You
you‘ve can also select other
recently been views here including List,
by clicking Details and my personal
the down favourites, the very
arrow interesting and helpful
between Tiles and Content.
these buttons
and the
breadcrumb
bar.


SORTING AND COLLAPSING GROUPS
GROUPING FILES When you are viewing files
QUICK TIP and folders organised by
By default the standard groups you can collapse some
view of files and folders in groups to make it easier to
Windows Explorer isn‘t very see and get access to the files
Sorting and helpful, being just a simple you want.
Grouping by alphabetical list. You can
more criteria change this as per previous At the left side of each group
versions of Windows easily is a small arrow you can click
though. to collapse and restore the
There are more group.
than just the Right clicking anywhere in a
standard criteria for blank space in the
explorer window will
sorting and bring up a context
grouping files. menu that will allow
Clicking on More... you to sort and
group files by
Will bring up a long different criteria
list of many such as when they
different criteria were last modified,
how big they are
you can sort files or, my personal
and folders by. favourite, what
type of file they are.
These include Exif
Sorting files by a
data from a digital
criteria will keep them
camera and artist as one large list. Grouping
and composer them will separate them WORKING WITH
details for music into groups determined by
the criteria you have set. FOLDERS
files.
While the Favourites in the
PREVIEWING FILES Navigation Pane and the
Breadcrumb bar make it easy
Different views to navigate through your files
and folders, if you have lots of
in different files sitting together in your
folders documents folder, creating
additional folders you can
The view you set for Just next to the help button move some files into can help
in the top right of explorer make things easier to find and
an individual folder organise.
windows is a button to
will not affect any toggle the preview pane.
others, so you can This will open up at the side The New Folder button on the
of the window and will give explorer toolbar will allow you
set different sets of to do this.
you a large preview of
folders to display many file types when you
files differently. click on
them.

29

THE DETAILS PANE You can change the size of
the details pane by right
clicking in it when
Along the bottom of explorer no file is selected
windows sits the details pane. and choosing how QUICK TIP
Clicking on a file will bring up big you want
information about that file from the size
here. This information could context menu Use the details
include the date the file was that appears. pane
created, it‘s size, tags or The bigger it is
ratings (for information on the more
tags and ratings see the information it will display. The details pane
chapter Searching). along the bottom of
explorer windows is
interactive, you can
use it to add and
update information
about a file, such as
its Tags or Rating
(see the chapter
Searching for ore
information on
these).

Want more
detail on files?

If you want more
details about the
files you click on
displayed in the
details pane you can
This can be especially useful
with digital photographs where
THE MENU BAR right click in the
the details pane can show details pane when
what camera the photo(s) Along the top of every no file is selected
were taken with, the resolution explorer window is the menu and change its size.
of the photograph and bar. The menu items will
additional information. change depending on the The bigger it is, the
content the window is more information it
displaying but can include will display.
options from sharing files to
burning them to disc.


HIDING PICTURE AND FLIP 3D
PHOTO NAMES
QUICK TIP With most photos from
digital cameras named A more attractive way to
Hide the DSC123 we don‘t really switch between windows is to
need to know what the hold down the Windows key
names of all names of the photos are. while also pressing the Tab
your pictures Fortunately we can turn key will bring up Flip 3D. This
this feature off when will show all your windows in
looking at a folder of an attractive three-
You might want to pictures. dimensional way.
hide the names of
all your pictures, Right click
anywhere in
especially if all the a blank
images on your PC space and in
tend to be digital the context
menu that
photographs. appears
select View
To do this right click and then
in any folder Hide file
displaying images names. You
will now only
and select View and see
Hide file names. thumbnails
of the
Then click on the pictures in
that folder.
Organise button in
the top left of the
explorer window
and Folder and
Search options from SWITCHING BETWEEN You can cycle through these
by pressing the Windows key
the menu that WINDOWS + Tab or by using the scroll
appears. wheel on your mouse.
There are two ways to
In the window that switch between open
pops up click on the windows. Hold down the
Alt key on your keyboard
View tab and press while pressing the Tab key
the Apply to folders will bring up each window
button. in a panel of
thumbnails across the
middle of your screen.

31

CHANGING THE DEFAULT VIEW IN WINDOWS EXP LORER

Click on the Change your view
button near the top right of any
explorer window.

Here you can select the view you like. My
preference is Tiles.

Right click anywhere in a
black space in the
explorer window and
select Sort by or Group by and
then select a criteria.

My preference is so group by Type.
This will separate files and folders into
their file type.

Click the Organise button in
the top left of the explorer
window and select Folder and
Search options.

In the window that appears, click on the View
tab and press the button Apple to Folders. All
your documents folders will not take on this
appearance.


REMEMBERING DRIVE LETTERS AND
WINDOWS SIZES FILE EXTENSIONS IN
QUICK TIP By default all Explorer
WINDOWS 7
windows will always open at
the same size, but this size Why do we need to see drive
Keep your may not suit you. The good letters (C:, D: etc) and file
documents safe news is that this is easily extensions (.doc, .pdf) in
changed. Windows? Fortunately they‘re
easily turned off.
By default all your
You can resize the window
documents are by dragging and dropping it
stored in the same from a corner. When you
place as Windows have it the size you want
hold down the ctrl key while
stores all its files. closing it. The next time
This means that if you open that windows it
disaster strikes and will be the size you want.
Windows 7 needs a
clean install, all MOVING YOUR
those documents
will be wiped. DOCUMENTS AWAY
FROM WINDOWS
You can use a
second hard disk or Your hard drive is a big
create a new block of storage space, a
partition on which bit like a garage. In this
space is installed your copy
to keep your files of Windows 7 and also kept
safely. Follow the here are all your
step-by-step guide documents, photographs,
music and video.
later in this chapter
for details on how Windows 7 is extremely
to do this and keep stable but disasters do
your documents, unfortunately happen.
Should your copy of
photographs and Windows 7 become corrupt
videos safe. and need a fresh install,
those files could be wiped.

You can back up your files
and restore them from that
but how recent will your
backup be? Will you still
lose files?
Click the Organise button in
A simpler way is to move the top left of an explorer
your files to another hard window and select Format and
disk or partition. When you search options. Under the
partition your hard drive, view tab you can untick Show
you divide it into several drive letters and toggle Hide
sections using software, extensions for known file
each of which is treated as types, which will be on by
its own drive. So if one of default.
those partitions needs to be
wiped, the others won‘t be.

33

MOVING YOUR FILES FOR DATA SECURITY
Moving your documents away from the drive Windows 7 is installed on can remove any
chance that your files will be lost if there is a serious problem with the operating
system.

If you have two separate hard disks on your PC, or your hard disk is already partitioned
into separate drives you can ignore steps 1 to 9 and go straight to step 10.

Always back up your files before doing
this. If you can move them to an external
disk while you partition your disk you will be
able to shrink your Windows 7 disk more.

PART 1—CREATING A NEW PARTITION
Firstly, make sure all your files are backed up.
Changing anything with the partition structure on
your computer can occasionally result in disaster!

Open the Start Menu and type computer
into the search box there. When
Computer Management appears, click to
run it.

If you already have third-party partitioning tools
you can also use those.

In the window that
appears click on Disk
Management in the left
column.

Next right click on your
Windows 7 drive and in
the context menu that
appears select Shrink Volume.


Windows will then tell you
how much space it can
shrink the drive to. Select
the amount you want.

You should leave your Windows 7 drive
as a minimum of 50Gb ideally, but
make sure you will have plenty of room
left for your files.

The shrinking process might take some
time so be patient. Press Shrink when
you are ready to start.

You will now see some disk
space that is marked as
unallocated. Right click in
this space and select New Simple
Volume.

The New Simple Volume
Wizard will now appear and walk
you through creating a new
partition. It will ask what size you
want it to be, use the maximum space
it offers, and what drive letter you
want to give it.

Finally it will ask if you want to format the
disk. Select NTFS and format it. You will
not be able to write files to the new
partition. [step continued on next page]

35

You now have a fresh partition. The next step
is to move your document folders to it.

PART 2—MOVING YOUR FILES
Open the Start Menu and
click on your name at the
top right to open your
user folder.

Select all the folders in the
user folder (except
Desktop which
doesn‘t like being
moved). You can do this
by holding down the CTRL
key and clicking each folder.

Right Click on one of
them when they are
highlighted and select
Cut.

Use the Navigation
Pane to find the new
empty partition you have
created. In any blank
space right click and select
Paste from the context menu
that appears.

You user folders will now be
moved to the new drive or
partition.


WORKING
Managing windows ............................................................................... 40
Aero Snap ................................................................................... 40
Aero Shake .................................................................................. 40
Turning off Aero Snap and Shake ................................................... 40
Accessibility ......................................................................................... 41
Magnifier ..................................................................................... 41
Ease of Access Centre ................................................................... 41
Scaling your desktop screen........................................................... 42
More on Windows Accessibility ....................................................... 42
Desktop Gadgets .................................................................................. 43
Calculator ............................................................................................ 43
Paint ................................................................................................... 43
Snipping tool ....................................................................................... 43
XPS Viewer .......................................................................................... 43
WordPad ............................................................................................. 44
Sticky notes ......................................................................................... 44
Other tools .......................................................................................... 44
Touch control ....................................................................................... 44
Multi-Touch gestures ..................................................................... 44
Multi-touch software ..................................................................... 45
Tablet PC Input Panel .................................................................... 45
On-Screen Keyboard ..................................................................... 45
Windows Journal .......................................................................... 45
Maths Input Panel ......................................................................... 45
Speech Recognition .............................................................................. 45
Media Player and Photo Viewer ............................................................... 46
Windows Live Essentials ................................................................ 46
Zune Player ................................................................................. 46
Sideshow............................................................................................. 46
Windows Mobility Centre ....................................................................... 47
Using a projector .................................................................................. 47
Multiple displays ................................................................................... 47
Uninstalling and repairing programs ........................................................ 48
Windows components ........................................................................... 48
Compatibility mode ............................................................................... 48

QUICK TIPS

Working on two windows side-by-side ..................................................... 40
Make accessibility easy ......................................................................... 41
Scaling the desktop .............................................................................. 42
The calculator ...................................................................................... 43
Press and tap = Right mouse click .......................................................... 44
Windows touch features availability ........................................................ 45
Parental control and Windows Live Essentials ........................................... 46
Work longer when you‘re mobile ............................................................ 47
Repair your programs ........................................................................... 48

APPENDIXES

Windows keyboard shortcuts...................................................... Appendix B

MANAGING WINDOWS AERO SHAKE
In part 2, Installing, I wrote
about some of the new and QUICK TIP
improved desktop features in
Windows 7. These included the Aero shake is a good way to
new show desktop button and get rid of all the windows on Working on
improved thumbnails on the the screen except the one
taskbar. There are yet more you are working on. two windows
enhancements to the Windows side-by-side
7 desktop to aid productivity. If you grab a window and
shake it with your mouse all
the other open windows on It’s easy to work on
AERO SNAP your screen will be two windows side-
automatically minimised. by-side in Windows
Aero snap is a new way to If you shake the window 7 using Aero Snap.
quickly use and arrange again the windows will be
windows on your screen. Aero restored to the desktop. Just drag one
snap works in two ways. window to the far
If you drag a window to the top left of your screen
of the screen it will maximise TURNING OFF AERO and the other to the
to fill your entire screen. SNAP AND SHAKE far right. They will
Dragging it back from the top
expand to fill
will restore it to its original size
Aero Snap and Aero exactly half of your
Alternatively if you drag a Shake can cause screen on each side
window to one side of the inconvenience for
people with motor so both can be seen
screen it will expand to fill
exactly 50% of your screen, problems. Go to the Ease of at once.
either left or right, depending Access centre in the Start
on what side of the screen you Menu and click on Make the
dragged it to. This can be mouse easier to use you can
extremely useful when working tick Prevent windows from
with, for example, two explorer being automatically
windows to move or compare arranged... to turn it off.
documents.

Dragging a window back from
the side of the screen will
return it to its previous size.


ACCESSIBILITY One especially useful feature
is called Let Windows suggest
Ease of Access Settings.
Over the years
QUICK TIP Microsoft has gone to This is a short questionnaire
great lengths to make that will recommend the
Windows as easy to settings you should change
Make use as possible, and with and take you directly to them,
accessibility Windows 7, things have all on one page for easy
been further improved. The management.
easy Getting Started panel, which
is the first thing to appear in
Open the Start the Start Menu after
Menu and type ease installing Windows 7, gives
you the option to change the
into the search box text size on the screen.
there. The option More about this later.
Let Windows
suggest ease of
access settings will
MAGNIFIER
appear.
Shortly after installing
Windows the
This is a wizard with Magnifier will arrear in
a short the Start Menu. This
questionnaire to is an excellent tool if you are
finding your way around,
help determine and finding access to the
what ease of access Ease of Access Centre
settings will be best difficult. It will increase the
size of everything on the
for you. screen and moves with your
mouse, making it easy to
When the get around the desktop.
questionnaire is
complete the
appropriate settings
will be displayed for
you, so you can The Ease of Access Centre is
switch them on if the control panel for everyone
who might have problems with
you wish. their sight, hearing, motor
control and concentration.

Everything in the Ease of
Access Centre is automatically
read out to you, if you have
speakers connected to your
PC.
EASE OF ACCESS If more than one person uses
CENTRE your PC, clicking Change
Administrative Settings in the
left hand pane will allow you
Opening the Start to also set these settings for
Menu and typing Ease the log-on screen.
into the search box
will bring up results
for the Ease of Access
Centre and associated
features.
41

SCALING YOUR There are two ways to get to
this setting.
DESKTOP SCREEN
In the Start Menu, open the
A new feature with
Getting Started panel and QUICK TIP
click on Change Text Size (in
Windows 7, and by far the Getting Started jumplist)
one of the best is the or Change the size of the Scaling the
ability to scale the text on your screen (in the
desktop by up to 150%. full window).
desktop

Many people can
find text and cons
hard to see on
today’s high
resolution
screens.
Opening the
Display settings
from the control
panel, right
clicking in any
empty desktop
space or from
within the Getting
This increases the size of Alternatively right click in Started window you
everything on the screen blank space on your desktop
without making your picture and select Screen Resolution can select Change
fuzzy. from the menu that appears. the size of text on
In the Window that opens your screen.
Until now the only way to do click the link Make text and
this was to reduce the other items larger or
smaller. This will scale
resolution on your screen.
This doesn‘t work well on flat everything o your
screen monitors as the picture screen by up to
distorts. The new scaling MORE ON WINDOWS 150% without
options get around this and
the effects are very sharp. ACCESSIBILITY blurring it, making
things considerably
You can find out easier to read.
more about the
accessibility
options in
Windows 7, and see
demonstrations at...

www.microsoft.com/enable


DESKTOP GADGETS
Right clicking anywhere in a
QUICK TIP blank space on your
desktop will bring up a
context menu from which
The Calculator you can select Gadgets.
These are the same utilities
The Windows formerly seen in Windows
Vista‘s now defunct Sidebar.
calculator has long You can drag and drop
been a forgotten these gadgets anywhere
feature, but in into your desktop and click
the link Get more gadgets
Windows 7 it has online to download more PAINT
been considerably from the Microsoft website.
improved and now Windows Paint is another
application that
includes conversion
has had a major
utilities, several makeover can
panel layouts and now includes
additional features image cropping
and scaling
such as mileage and features. As a
mortgage basic graphics
calculators. package it‘s now
reasonably
powerful and
features the
useful ribbon
interface first seen in Microsoft
Office 2007.
CALCULATOR
The calculator has been SNIPPING TOOL
significantly improved in
Windows 7. Clicking the
Typing snipping into the
View menu in it now brings
search box in the Start Menu
up a host of new features
will bring up the snipping tool.
including unit (length,
This can be used to capture
weight, volume etc.) and
areas of the screen as graphic
date conversion and
images.
mortgage calculations.

XPS VIEWER
Adobe‘s PDF may still
be the format of
choice for portable
documents but
Microsoft‘s XPS is still
with us. Windows 7
includes a built-in XPS
viewer so you can view
these files.

43

WORDPAD
Wordpad has had a
significant update QUICK TIP
with Windows 7 and
now not only uses the
helpful ribbon
interface first seen in
Press and tap =
Microsoft Office 2007 right mouse
but also will open click
Word 2007 and open
document format
files. There is a
way to
MULTI-TOUCH simulate the
STICKY NOTES right mouse click
GESTURES
with Windows 7
Formerly a Windows Vista multi-touch.
Sidebar gadget (but still There are two types
available to download as a of single finger
desktop gadget if you want), gesture, a tap and a If you press the
Sticky Notes are now an flick. A tap will act as screen with one
application of their own. You a mouse click, so tapping a
button will press the button finger and then tap
can pin these to the desktop
and resize them to the size you and double tapping an icon it with the other,
require. will open it for you. this will bring up
Two finger gestures extend context menus in
to software such as the same way as a
OTHER TOOLS Windows Photo Viewer, right mouse click
Word, Internet Explorer and
would.
Additional tools such as Google Earth.
Notepad, Sound Recorder, Fax
and Scan and DVD Maker are Taking hold of a picture or
all still in Windows 7 and have document and dragging
all been improved with this your fingers apart will zoom
edition. inwards. Conversely,
moving your fingers closer
together will zoom out. You
can also rotate images by
TOUCH CONTROL rotating your fingers on the
screen.

One completely new
feature in Windows 7 is
touch screen and multi-
finger touch screen
support on compatible
hardware you can use touch
and gestures to use Windows.
These gestures are applicable
to both one and two-handed
operation.


MULTI-TOUCH MATH INPUT PANEL
SOFTWARE The new Math Input Panel
QUICK TIP (note the US English spelling if
Multi-touch technology is you‘re searching for it) is a
still very new, but as more useful new tool for using
Windows touch PCs support it, more touch to solve mathematical
software will be released to problems and equations or for
features take advantage of it. writing equations and complex
availability Windows 7 includes some algebra into other documents,
useful touch-based utilities. such as Word.
The new Windows
touch features are TABLET PC INPUT
exciting and will be
of great use to PANEL
some people. Make
Formerly in Windows
sure you buy the Vista but now
correct edition of improved, this will
Windows however. enable you to use
handwriting directly with
Touch and multi- Windows 7 and its
applications.
touch controls are
only available in Typing Handwriting into the
Windows 7 Home search box in the Start
Menu will bring up the
Premium, Windows option to personalise the
7 Professional and handwriting recognition to
Windows 7 teach Windows 7 how you
write and minimise errors.
Ultimate.

ON SCREEN
KEYBOARD
Similar to
the Tablet
PC Input
Panel this
will enable you to
type directly onto the PC‘s
screen with your fingers or
mouse.

WINDOWS JOURNAL SPEECH RECOGNITION
You can also now
Windows Journal is a
dictate text to Windows
new notepad that
7 and it‘s applications
will allow you to
directly and a wizard is
write directly onto it
available to help you train the
using handwriting (either a
software to recognise your
finger or stylus).
voice.

45

MEDIA PLAYER AND SIDESHOW
PHOTO VIEWER Windows sideshow is a
utility that allows QUICK TIP
Windows Media Player and compatible devices to
Windows Photo Viewer are still display interactive content
part of Windows 7, but I won‘t on an external screen (such Parental
go into these in too much as on the lid of a laptop) Controls and
detail because of the even when the PC is
availability of... sleeping. You can access Windows Live
Sideshow gadgets in the Essentials
WINDOWS LIVE Control Panel from the Start
Menu.
Under Windows 7
ESSENTIALS
you will not need to
Several programs download and
such as Windows install Family Safety
Mail and Windows with the Windows
Movie Maker have
Live Essentials suite,
been removed from
Windows 7 and are as Windows 7
now instead part of already has full
the separate parental controls
Windows Live
Essentials. You can built-in to the
download this operating system.
from...

download.live.com

...or by clicking Get
Windows Live
Essentials in the
Getting Started
panel from the Start Menu.

This is an excellent suite of
free software with Mail and
Photo Gallery deserving
particular praise.

ZUNE PLAYER
Microsoft‘s Zune MP3
player, sadly only
available in the US and
Canada (at the time of
Windows 7‘s launch) is
accompanied by an
excellent media player
that you don‘t need to
own a Zune to use. You can
download the Zune media
player from...

download.zune.net


MOBILITY CENTRE USING A PROJECTOR
On laptops and netbooks Windows 7 makes it easy to
QUICK TIP you can access the Mobility use a projector, either
Centre from the Control connected directly to your PC,
Panel or Start Menu. or located through a network.
Work longer With Connect to a projector
This panel provides quick and Connect to a network
when you’re access to the major power- projector in the Start Menu.
mobile saving settings that can

The mobility centre
is a great way to
squeeze more life
out of the battery
on your laptop or
netbook.

It can help you
maximise battery
life bys witching off
features you might
not need such as
sound, and by
reducing the overall
power consumption extend the battery life on
your device when you‘re
of components such out and about.
as your screen.
MULTIPLE DISPLAYS
It also provides access to a
new facility allowing you to The same interface that
connect your PC to a handles attached projectors
remote or network also helps you manage
projector. multiple monitors. Press the
Windows key and P.

47

UNINSTALLING AND COMPATIBILITY
REPAIRING PROGRAMS MODE
Accessed from the Control Some programs won‘t run
QUICK TIP
Panel or a Start Menu search, normally because they were
Programs and Features is your designed for an earlier
central location to remove and version of Windows and are Repair your
repair programs. incompatible with Windows programs
7.

You can run these
If a program is
programs in
compatibility mode misbehaving it may
for an earlier version of have a repair
Windows. option.
Right click on the
program in the Open Programs
Start Menu and and Features from
from the context the Control Panel
menu that
appears select and click on the
Clicking on a program will Properties. offending program.
bring up either just an option A series of options
to Uninstall it in the toolbar, or Under the Compatibility tab
other options such as Change tick Run this program in will appear in the
and Repair. compatibility mode for and blue toolbar above
select from the drop down it. Repair might be
The repair option can be very the version of Windows you
useful if a program is supported by this
require.
misbehaving. program.

WINDOWS
COMPONENTS
Clicking on Turn Windows
features on or off in the left
pane of this window will bring
up a full list of Windows 7‘s
components that can be
switch on or off.

If there are any features
within Windows you don‘t
want, or if there is anything
that is not current available
and you would like to switch
on, you can find it here. You
do not need your Windows
install DVD to perform these
actions.


SEARCHING
Search is everywhere ............................................................................ 51
Searching in context ..................................................................... 51
Start Menu search ........................................................................ 51
Explorer search ............................................................................ 51
Other programs ............................................................................ 51
Indexing.............................................................................................. 52
Saved Searches ................................................................................... 52
Advanced searching .............................................................................. 53
Search filters ....................................................................................... 53
Basic search terms ....................................................................... 53
Libraries .............................................................................................. 54
Organising libraries ....................................................................... 54
Creating a library..................................................................... 54-55
Tags ................................................................................................... 56
Ratings ............................................................................................... 56

QUICK TIPS

Search from the Start Menu ................................................................... 51
Contextualised search ........................................................................... 51
Controlling indexed locations ................................................................. 52
Power searches .................................................................................... 53
Build yourself custom libraries ............................................................... 54
Add more locations to libraries ............................................................... 55
Add Tags and Ratings ........................................................................... 56

APPENDIXES

Advanced search query syntax ................................................... Appendix C

SEARCH IS EXPLORER SEARCH
EVERYWHERE The search box in explorer
QUICK TIP windows is always in the top
Search is built into every right. Searching here will first
aspect of Windows 7, and prioritise the folder you‘re
Search from as we get more and more looking at and then your
the Start Menu files, documents, photos, documents, photos, pictures
music and videos in our and music.
personal libraries it can
Just hitting the Start become harder to find
Button will things, especially if we
instantlybring up a haven‘t looked at them in
a while.
search box.

You won’t then SEARCHING IN
need to click in it.
The ‘focus’ is CONTEXT
automatically taken
OTHER PROGRAMS
Search in Windows 7 works
by the search box so
in a contextual way Search boxes in other
you can start typing depending on what you‘re programs such as Windows
straight away. searching in. For instance, Media Player, Zune player and
search in the Start Menu Internet Explorer will all be
will prioritise Start Menu found in the same place, in
items and programs, search the top right of the window.
in Explorer will prioritise
Contextualised documents and pictures, Searching in these programs
search search in Internet Explorer will prioritise searches too, so
will prioritise Favourite searching in Windows Media
websites and browsing Player will prioritise music.
Depending on history and so on.
where you’re
searching from, the
results you get will START MENU
change. Searching SEARCH
from the Start
Menu will prioritise When you open the
programs and Start Menu you can
start typing in the
control panel items, search box there
from within a without having to
pictures or photos click in it. Anything
you type will
view will prioritise
automatically be
images and so on. there.

Any search results
will appear in the
Start Menu itself.

Searching here will
prioritise Start Menu
items, programs,
Control Panel items
and system settings.
However files and
documents should also
appear. 51

INDEXING
Instant search is
possible in Windows 7
because the operating
system constantly
manages and
maintains an index of QUICK TIP
all the files on your
disk(s).
Controlling
You can access the indexed
controls for this by locations
searching in the Start
Menu for Indexing or
Opening Indexing If you find that
Options in the Control items you would
Panel.
expect to appear in
If you are finding that searches are
some files and folders missing check the
aren‘t displaying in
index.
searches, it may be
because those
locations aren‘t in the This is where all the
index. locations are
included in searches
To add a location in the index, open
Indexing Options and press the are listed. Get to it
Modify button in the window that through Indexing
appears then Show all locations. Options in the
You can now tick and untick locations
you do and don‘t want indexed. control panel.

If a folder is missing
SAVED SEARCHES form the index you
can add it by
When you perform a pressing the Modify
search you have the button then Show
option to save it. When
you save a search it will all Locations.
be automatically saved
to a Searches folder in Finally you just tick
your Documents and untick the
however you have the folder locations you
option to save it
elsewhere if you wish. do and don’t want
included.
Reopening a save
search will automatically
update it with the latest
information, so your
saved searches will
always be up to date.


ADVANCED BASIC SEARCH TERMS
SEARCHING A full list of search syntax is
QUICK TIP available in Appendix C
Alas, gone is the simple however some of the most
search of previous versions common are...
Power searches of Windows to be replaced
by a more text-based Kind: used to search the
search. When you start a properties of a document type
The new search in search a drop down will ask
Windows 7, while if you want to add a search Kind:email
nowhere near as filter. Kind:tasks
There and a great many of Kind:notes
friendly on the these which I shall detail Kind:docs
surface as in but the basic ones Name: Kind:music
previous versions of and Type: for file name and Kind:song
file type respectively would Kind:folders
Windows, is be used in the format... Kind:programs
incredibly powerful.
Type: pdf Datemodified: to search by
The search terms the date a file was modified
...if you were looking for
listed on this page
Adobe Acrobat files. This is Datemodified:22/10/2008
are just a small a way to help narrow down Datemodified:22/10/08
sample of those searches. Datemodified:yesterday
available. Datemodified:lastweek
Datemodified:pastmonth
SEARCH FILTERS Datemodified:27/03/03..1/4/0
For a full list of all
8
the search terms
available in There are, as I have said, a Type: to search by file type
great many search filters.
Windows 7 see The full list from Microsoft Type:image
Appendix C. can be found at... Type:.doc
Type:.pdf
Note: These search http://www.microsoft.com/
terms also apply to windows/products/winfamily/ Name: searching by file name
desktopsearch/ or by a property name for a
Windows Desktop file
search on Windows technicalresources/advquery.mspx
XP and other Name:holiday
...however I have included Name:wedding
products. a full list in Appendix C.
Unfortunately the search
syntax doesn‘t let you double-
up on search terms. For
instance typing
type:.docx,
.pdf won‘t
bring up search
results for all
Word and PDF
files.

53

LIBRARIES ORGANISING
A new feature in Windows is
LIBRARIES
called Libraries and opening an QUICK TIP
explorer window will display In the top right of every
your libraries by default. library is an Arrange by:
option. This will give you Build yourself
Libraries are, in essence, the option to sort the files in
aggregated storage for all your the library by a variety of custom
files, regardless of what folder methods depending on the libraries
or disk drive they are located content.
in. Libraries are an
extremely useful
way of finding files
that are scattered
across your hard
disk.

You can create
custom libraries
that are displayed
exactly how you
want.

For example, the
custom library
shown (left) is
displaying all the
photos on my
computer arranged
by tag.

By default there are four CREATING A LIBRARY This means that, no
libraries set up for Documents, matter where a file
Music, Pictures and Videos. All
You can create additional is, I can instantly
the appropriate documents in
libraries easily, I for instance see all the photos of
your Documents, Music,
have one just for my
Pictures or Videos folders will Dusseldorf or my
photographs. In the main
appear in these libraries as a
libraries view click the New dog Jed.
list of all available files. The
Library button and give it a
folder structure for those files
name.
will be ignored.

Libraries have their limitations,
for instance you can‘t create a
library of all the Excel
spreadsheets on your
computer, but they are still
very powerful.


You will now
be taken into
your new
Library and
invited to add
QUICK TIP folder to it.
The contents
of that folder
Add more can be added
locations to to the Library.
libraries You can add
as many
You can add as folders as you
like to a
many drives and Library or
folders to libraries remove them
as you like, though at any time, and the Library
will be automatically
you cannot add updated.
removable storage
such as USB pen
drives.

Adding and
removing folder
locations in
Libraries is easy, just
click the Includes: 1
location (the
number may be
different) to bring
up a wizard that will
easily help you add
and remove folder
locations.

Clicking the Includes: 1
location link under the
library name in the top left
of the explorer pane that
displays the library contents
will bring up a window
allowing you to do this easily
and quickly.

Note: It can take Windows a
little time after installation to
index your files, libraries
may seem incomplete until
this is done.

55

TAGS The Import Photos and
Videos wizard will also allow
you add tags when you plug
One way to make search easier in your digital camera of
is to add tags to your files. camcorder. QUICK TIP
Tags are words that are
related to the file, a good
example is the information
RATINGS Add tags and
accompanying music files. Ratings
Each music files will contain Many file types, including
the following information, music, photos and video will This can be a chore
Track name, Artist, Supporting allow you to add Ratings. the first time
Artist, Album, Track number, These are star ratings from
around but it’s one
Composer among many others. zero to five stars.
of those jobs that
only ever needs
doing once.

Adding Tags and
In Windows 7 you can add tags Adding ratings to mark your Ratings to your
to every kind of file, from Word favourite files can also make
and Excel documents to documents, music,
searching for files much
pictures, photos and more faster and simpler. photos and video
besides. can make searching
your files
You can add tags
to a file (or considerably faster
multiple files and easier.
together) in
Windows Explorer You can select
by selecting the
file(s). In the multiple files for
Details pane will tagging by selecting
appear them all with your
information about
the file(s) mouse, clicking the
including any first one and
current Tags. holding down the
Clicking next to
SHIFT key while
Tags in the Details
Pane will let you selecting the last
add or update one or by holding
them.
down the CTRL key
You can also use while selecting
software such as multiple files with
Windows Live your mouse.
Photo Gallery to
make adding tags
easy.


CONNECTING
Getting online ...................................................................................... 59
Network and Sharing Centre .................................................................. 59
Sharing files, folders and media ............................................................. 60
Homegroups ........................................................................................ 61
Windows Mobile Device Centre ............................................................... 62
Device Stage ....................................................................................... 62
Location-aware printing......................................................................... 63
Connecting across a network ................................................................. 63
Maintaining network devices .................................................................. 63

QUICK TIPS

Can‘t get online? .................................................................................. 59
Sharing security ................................................................................... 60
Better sharing at home ......................................................................... 60
Consider Wireless N .............................................................................. 61
Device Stage notes ............................................................................... 62
Do you have a work laptop you use at home? .......................................... 63

GETTING ONLINE NETWORK AND
The first things anybody is
SHARING CENTRE
QUICK TIP going to want to do after
installing Windows 7 is get Also from this window or from
online. the Control Panel you can
Can’t get open the Network and Sharing
If your PC is connected Centre. This will show you at
online? directly to your router or a glance the status of your
phone line by a cable you network and internet
Opening the will immediately be online connection, and other devices
unless Windows 7 has failed and computers your PC can
Network and see on the network and it will
to recognise your network
Sharing Centre from hardware (see the chapter allow you to modify and
the system tray or Diagnosing for what to do if troubleshoot problems or set
this happens). up a new connection.
Control Panel can
bring up the If you connect to the
network trouble- internet via a wi-fi
shooter. connection then this is
simpler to use than
previous Windows
First see if your versions.
network is active. If
it is not select In the system tray on the
far right of the taskbar is
Connect to a the new wi-fi icon, a
network or series of rising white
Troubleshoot bars. Click this icon once
and a window will appear
problems.
showing all the available
networks in your area. You
can connect to any with a
single click.

The new Troubleshoot
problems tool automates
many of the steps involved in
finding problems with your
network or internet
connection. This tool will try
and diagnose problems and
automatically implement
solutions for you.

59

SHARING FILES,
FOLDERS AND
MEDIA QUICK TIP
The Network and Sharing
Centre also allows you to Sharing
control what you share
with other computers
security
and how you share it.
If you want to share
You can share you documents, photos,
internet connection,
printer(s) and files. The video and music
settings here allow you within your home
to set what‘s shared and use the Network
who can see it.
and Sharing Centre
You can also share to check your
folders by Right Clicking security settings are
on one or more in Windows
set right.
Explorer and selecting Share
with in the context menu that
appears. The security options
are clear and easy
You can choose from users on to understand with
your PC and network who the
folder is shared with, or you plain English
can share a folder with your descriptions
Homegroup. throughout.

Better home
sharing

Homegroups are an
excellent way to
share documents,
photos, music and
video around your
home, offering
much better
security than simple
file and folder
sharing.


HOMEGROUPS
You if you have more
QUICK TIP than one PC in your
home running
Windows 7 you can
Consider share documents,
pictures, music, videos
wireless N and printers easily by
setting up a
If you use a wi-fi Homegroup.
network in your
When you first install
home and want to Windows 7 at home it
stream and share will ask you if you
video consider want to set one up.
A wizard will ask
upgrading your wi-fi what you want to
router from the share and then in a
802.11b or 802.11g single step will set
up everything for
to 802.11n standard. you and give you a
These codes are password, don‘t lose
clearly labelled on this.
products either at
Any other PC in your
online stores on in home running
the shops. Wireless Windows 7 will be
N offers much able to log into your
Homegroup using
greater bandwidth this password.
than previous
standards. Once the Homegroup
is set up you can
change its settings at
This means that any point, adding or
video can be sent to removing things to
other PCs on your share. You can also
share individual
network without folders (see the
any worries about it guide on the
stuttering during previous page).
playback.
One useful additional
feature is the
ability to stream
media to other
PCs and devices.
This will mean
music and video
content can start
playing on the
other device
without being
copied across to
that device. It
plays on the PC it‘s sat on
and can be seen and heard
on the other.

61

WINDOWS MOBILE
DEVICE CENTRE
Any device running Windows
QUICK TIP
Mobile, which includes many
mobile phones, now has much
better integration with Device Stage
Windows 7. notes

Not every device
you plug into your
PC will be
supported by Device
Stage. It entirely
depends on
Depending on the device whether the
you can use this panel to
buy supplies, get updates, manufacturer of
download manuals and also that device
access all the features and supports it.
The new Windows Mobile functionality of the device.
Device Centre is If they do there are
excellent at all sorts of
automatically detecting
these devices and has additional services
simple and easy to use you can get through
options for synchronising this feature
them with your PC.
including being able
to easily buy
DEVICE STAGE consumables, get
fixes and firmware
A new feature for updates and help
Windows 7, Device and support.
Stage can provide easy access These options are also
to features in, and service and available from a jumplist on
product updates for your third the Taskbar when the
-party hardware. Device Stage for a device is
open.
Accessed through Devices and
Printers in the Start
Menu. Many devices
you can plug into your
computer such as digital
cameras, mobile phones
and MP3 players can, if
the manufacturer
supports it, appear
here. Opening the icon
will open a new window
where you can do more
with your device.


LOCATION-AWARE MAINTAINING
PRINTING NETWORK DEVICES
QUICK TIP The Enterprise and You can also get quick access
Ultimate editions of to the administrative
Do you have a Windows 7 contain a interfaces of hardware such as
feature that‘s very useful routers and network-attached
work laptop for people who use a laptop storage in this view.
you use at both at home and at work.
Right click on the
home? Location-aware printing icon for the device
allows you to set a default will bring up a
If you have a work printer for both locations. context menu
laptop running Windows 7 will determine including options
which printer you want to such as View
Windows 7 print to automatically by device webpage
Enterprise this determining which network which will allow you
version also you are attached to and will quick and easy access to its
change the default printer administrative settings.
features location- for that session accordingly.
aware printing. Another way to access these is
to open the Network and
You can use this CONNECTING ACROSS Sharing Centre and click on
View Full Map. Here again you
feature to make
A NETWORK can right click on a device to
sure that whenever bring up Management URL
you press the print which is quick and easy access
Windows 7 makes it easy to to the device‘s management
button the correct connect with computers interface.
printer will be and network-attached
automatically storage in
your home or
selected for you by work network.
Windows.
Opening
Windows
Explorer you
will see
Network listed
at the bottom
of the
Navigation
Pane.
Clicking on
this will bring
up details of
any other
computer and
device your
computer can
see.

You can open these to view
any files the they are
sharing or drag and drop
them into your Favourites
to provide quick and easy
access in the future.

63

SECURING
How secure is Windows 7? ..................................................................... 67
Anti-virus software ............................................................................... 67
Windows Firewall .................................................................................. 68
Third-party firewall ....................................................................... 68
Windows Defender ................................................................................ 68
User Account Control ............................................................................ 69
Phishing and Spam ............................................................................... 69
Internet threats ................................................................................... 70
Domain highlighting .............................................................................. 70
In-Private browsing .............................................................................. 70
Credential Manager............................................................................... 71
Windows Update .................................................................................. 71
Security glossary .................................................................................. 71
Advanced Firewall................................................................................. 72
Firewall Exceptions ....................................................................... 72
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security ........................................ 72
Bitlocker .............................................................................................. 73
Bitlocker to go .............................................................................. 73

QUICK TIPS

Worst case scenario .............................................................................. 67
Protect your PC from Spyware ............................................................... 68
Don‘t switch off UAC! ............................................................................ 69
Look for the padlock ............................................................................. 70
Beware the soft squishy thing ................................................................ 71
Get Safe Online .................................................................................... 72
Removing Bitlocker from a drive ............................................................. 73

GLOSSARY

Downloads............................................................................... Appendix E

HOW SECURE IS
WINDOWS 7?
QUICK TIP Microsoft Windows has
come under fire over the
Worst case years for being insecure.
The simple fact is that
scenario Windows is now one of the
most secure operating
Many things can systems you can buy.
happen if you do
For example, if the first
not have up to date year and a half after the
anti-virus software launch of Windows XP
from your files there were six or so major
security flaws highlighted
being deleted and by the world‘s press. In
lost to your PC the same period after
becoming unusable Windows Vista launched,
there was only one,
as chips on your compared to two for Apple
motherboard are Mac OS X in the same
rewritten. period.

In the worst cases, Windows 7 is even more
secure but to guarantee
criminals can gain safety and security it can‘t
access to your bank do it without some help
accounts and steal from you.
your identity,
running up ANTI-VIRUS This screen will take you
thousands of directly to the website for the
pounds of bills in SOFTWARE anti-virus vendor you choose.
My two personal
your name. recommendations are
Widows 7 doesn‘t come
with anit-virus software but Microsoft Security
Do not take risks
for the first time will help Essentials and AVG anti-
with your PC you to get it. When you virus, both of which are free
first install Windows 7 the although AVG also offer a
security.
Action Centre will alert you paid-for security suite that
to download anti-virus has additional functionality.
software and will take you
to a screen where you can The Action Centre will alert
choose one to download you if there are any problems
and install if you do not with your anti-virus software,
have one already. such as it needs updating and
hasn‘t done so automatically.

You should always keep your
anti-virus software up to date
and running properly as it‘s
the most essential line of
defence against attacks from
the outside world.

67

WINDOWS FIREWALL WINDOWS DEFENDER
Built into Windows 7 is the The first line of defence in
firewall. This is much Windows 7 against spyware QUICK TIP
improved from previous and Trojans, though not
versions and, if you‘re careful viruses, is Windows
with your PC security, should Defender. Accessed through Protect your
be adequate for day to day the Start Menu, this
use. program will alert you PC from
through the Action Centre spyware
By default it will be set to when it needs updating or
provide the protection you when a scan should be run.
need. Windows Defender
should not be the
only software pack-
age on your PC pro-
tecting you from
Spyware, Trojans
and other internet
nasties.

In the appendices,
you will find my
recommendations
for the best free
and paid-for inter-
net protection soft-
ware available.

Windows Defender has a
THIRD-PARTY FIREWALL simple interface that allows
novice user to quickly a
simply update it and search
You might additionally want to their computers for
install a third-party firewall Spyware.
from a vendor such as Check
Point or Kaspersky. You can also use third-party
spyware removal tools such
This will not affect the as Spyware Terminator
Windows Firewall and will run without affecting the
happily along-side it. performance of Windows
Defender.
You may also wish to buy a
full security suite such as AVG
Internet Security which will
include anti-virus, firewall and
anti-spam software among
others. These suites are a
very good idea.


USER ACCOUNT It is not recommended that
you change UAC from the
CONTROL default setting as this will
provide you with the best
QUICK TIP UAC is a security feature
protection while not being
anywhere near as annoying as
that was first seen in UAC was in Windows Vista.
Windows Vista to help keep
Don’t switch off your PC secure.
UAC!
This feature takes
your computer
Many people criti- into a protected
mode, darkening
cised User Account the screen and
Control (UAC) when asking you for
it first appeared in permission to
continue,
Windows Vista for
whenever it
being, frankly, an- detects a potential
noying. threat to your
computer.
With Windows 7 it’s
It is possible to
much improved, you change how User
should hardly ever Account Control protects
see prompts. your computer from the
Action Centre. The four
available settings are... PHISHING AND SPAM
You should make
sure though that Never Notify me when: Your web browser isn‘t the
you never switch it programs to try to install only place you can suffer
software or make changes attacks online. They can also
off. It performs an
to my PC, or when I make arrive in your email inbox.
extremely important changes to Widows settings
role on your PC, Spam emails are more
protecting you and Notify me only when nuisance than a worry unless
programs try to make you click on the link contained
your system from all changes to me computer in them.
types of attack. (do not dim my desktop)
and don‘t notify me when I Phishing emails are more
make changes to Windows serious however. These are
settings emails, purporting to be from
your bank, building society or
Default—Notify me only from a reputable website such
when programs try to as PayPal, eBay or Amazon,
make changes to my that ask you to log in to
computer and don‘t notify confirm your account details.
me when I make changes
to Windows settings Note: These companies and
banks will never send you
Always notify me when emails like this. If you
programs try to install receive one then you can
software or make changes guarantee it is a fake.
to my computer or when I
make changes to Windows
settings.

69

INTERNET THREATS DOMAIN
Internet threats come in
HIGHLIGHTING
many forms but modern QUICK TIP
browsers all contain security Another common feature of
features to help defend modern browsers is they
against them. will highlight the main
domain name you are
Look for the
Your web browser will warn visiting in the address bar. padlock
you one of three ways to a As in the example below
possible threat. this makes it easy to see if
the domain you are visiting When you’re shop-
Changing the colour of the matches with what you
think it will be. ping, banking or
address bar, the place you
performing any ac-
tivity online where
your privacy or se-
curity could be com-
promised always
look for the pad-
type web addresses in, will lock.
change to either yellow or red IN-PRIVATE
to warn you of the possible This will appear in
threat. BROWSING
the address bar
A pop-up warning box will Internet Explorer 8 and (left) or, in older
appear in either yellow or red later include a feature browsers, in the
to warn you of a possible called in-private browsing status bar at the
threat. (this will have different
bottom of the win-
names in other browsers).
The entire web page will This feature allow you to dow.
change to a warning in surf the web completely
either yellow or red. anonymously, with no You can click on this
information about to see who owns
the websites you
have visited or any the security certifi-
passwords or cate for this website
usernames you have and judge for your-
typed, stored on
your PC. self if you think it is
valid and whether
you want to trust it.

Phishing sites will
regularly look exact-
ly like their real
counterparts but
will either have no
This may happen
when you visit a security certificate
website or when you or will have a fake
try to download one.
something.


CREDENTIAL Identify Theft—Unlawful
access to your bank account
MANAGER (s), the setting up of credit
card or other accounts or the
QUICK TIP Hidden away in the Control
purchase of goods in your
name.
Panel is the Credential
Beware the soft Manager. This utility stores Keylogger—A program
all the usernames you use to capable of recording what you
squishy thing log into other computers, type on your keyboard,
network locations and some including usernames and
websites. passwords.
There can be no
Not especially
doubting the fact
useful in itself
that the weakest except that it‘s
link in the security possible to create
of any PC is the soft, a backup of these
login details that
organic, squishy you can use on
thing in front of the another Windows
keyboard. 7 PC or to keep if
Windows needs to
be reinstalled.
Always be careful
what you click on,
what information WINDOWS
you give away and
to whom.
UPDATE

If it looks like it’s too I‘ll talk about
Windows Update
good to be true... IT properly in the
IS! chapter Guaranteeing but a
good defence against viruses Phishing—Emails purporting
and Trojans is to make sure to be from a bank or website
Also no reputable asking you to log-in to confirm
your PC is always kept up to
company or bank date with the latest patches your identity.
will EVER ask you to and updates.
Plug-in—A control
confirm your securi- downloaded from a website
ty details, either required to perform an action
through a website SECURITY GLOSSARY like watch video. Some plug-
ins are malicious.
or over the tele-
Botnet—A collection of
phone. compromised PCs acting Spam—Nuisance emails.
together under the control of
criminals to launch attacks Trojan—A program that
on corporate and allows back door access to
governmental computer control a computer.
systems for blackmail or to
compromise them. Virus—A malicious program
intended to cause harm or
Hacker—A person or disruption on a PC or to a
persons who gain unlawful user.
access to another computer
for malicious purposes.

71

ADVANCED FIREWALL WINDOWS FIREWALL
By default the Windows
WITH ADVANCED
Firewall will provide adequate SECURITY QUICK TIP
protection against hackers and
malicious websites. However
there are times when you Typing Firewall Get safe online
require additional control. into the search
box in the Start
For information on
Menu will bring
up the Control the threats when
FIREWALL EXCEPTIONS Panel option you’re online and
Windows how to avoid them
Typing Firewall into the search Firewall with Advanced
box in the Start Menu will Security. This is for the British
bring up the Control Panel advanced users or those government, in
option Allow a program with complex network association with
through Windows Firewall. security requirements.
Here you can control every companies
This is a useful tool if a
program has been blocked aspect of the Windows including Microsoft
accidentally, or if something Firewall, allowing specific have a website you
like a game requires additional ports to be open and for
specific applications, or to can visit at...
internet access permissions to
work smoothly. overcome problems with
network access. getsafeonline.org

This facility allows you to This website
define inbound and includes help,
outbound rules for traffic
and monitor firewall advice and tips for
activity. keeping your
computer free and
This features is for
advanced users only. your identity secret.
The basic firewall
interface, located in the
Control Panel is suitable
for general Windows
users.


BITLOCKER
Available only in the
QUICK TIP Enterprise and
Ultimate versions of
Windows 7, Bitlocker is an
Removing excellent tool for securing
and encrypting full disk
Bitlocker from drives, thus preventing
a drive them from being
read if they are
removed from
You can remove
the computer or
Bitlocker security accessed by an
from a drive by unauthorised
formatting it. You person.
can do this by right- Ideally the
clicking the disk in system works
Windows Explorer with a TMP
(Trusted Platform
or through the Module) chip on
Computer your motherboard that ties
Management that drive and the rest of BITLOCKER TO GO
the computer together. This
console. system can provide Bitlocker To Go can
excellent security for encrypt full volume
workers‘ laptops. removable disks
including USB hard drives and
Pen Drives.

It can be set to automatically
unlock a drive when it‘s used
on specific PC(s).

These drives
will then only
be readable on
other
computers
running
Windows 7 or
Windows Vista
Enterprise or
Ultimate
editions.

73

CONFIGURING
Personalisation ..................................................................................... 78
Themes ............................................................................................... 78
Creating a custom theme ...................................................................... 79
Making things easier to read .................................................................. 79
Adding wallpapers to Windows ............................................................... 80
Displaying hidden themes ...................................................................... 80
Where are the Ultimate Extras ............................................................... 80
Windows 7 optimum configuration .......................................................... 81
Virtual Memory............................................................................. 81
Visual effects ............................................................................... 82
Startup and Recovery ................................................................... 82
Computer name ........................................................................... 82
System protection ........................................................................ 82
Control Panel ....................................................................................... 83
Autoplay ...................................................................................... 83
Date and Time ............................................................................. 83
Default programs.......................................................................... 84
Folder options .............................................................................. 84
Navigation pane ................................................................... 84
Folder views ......................................................................... 84
Search options ..................................................................... 84
Notification area icons ................................................................... 84
Power options .............................................................................. 85
Region and Language options ......................................................... 86
Configuring the Start Menu and Jumplists ................................................ 87
Putting names back on the Taskbar ........................................................ 87
The Recycle Bin .................................................................................... 88
Pinning the Recycle Bin to the Taskbar ............................................ 88
Gadgets .............................................................................................. 89
Installing missing drivers ....................................................................... 89
Step-by-Step—Installing Device Drivers ................................................ 90

QUICK TIPS

Get more Themes for Windows 7 ............................................................ 78
Better access to the Accessibility options ................................................. 79
RSS powered wallpapers ....................................................................... 80
Modify your system properties ............................................................... 81
Switch on System Protection .................................................................. 82
Devices and Printers ............................................................................. 83
File association by drag and drop ........................................................... 84
The phantom sleeper ............................................................................ 85
Modify your time and date settings ......................................................... 86
Display as menu ................................................................................... 87
Pin the Recycle Bin to the Taskbar .......................................................... 88
Sticky Notes ........................................................................................ 89

PERSONALISATION THEMES
Windows 7 supports theme
packs. These will display in QUICK TIP
the main section of the
personalisation screen.
Windows 7 Home Premium and Get more
above let you customise your Some of these have more
desktop display as you would than one wallpaper. themes for
with any version of Windows, Selecting one will Windows 7
note this is not available in automatically change your
Windows 7 Starter.
In the My Themes
Right clicking section of the Per-
on the sonalisation win-
desktop or
selecting dow you will get an
option to Get more
themes online.

This will take you to
a Microsoft website
where you can
download lots more
theme packs for
your computer.

Personalisation from the desktop to that theme. You
Control Panel will bring up can them customise how
your options. you want it displayed by
This screen has been choosing the Desktop
rationalised from previous Background option from the
versions of Windows and is bottom of the
now much easier to use. Personalisation window.
Here you can select what
Along the bottom you have images are displayed as
options to change the wallpaper, how they appear
Desktop Background, on screen and how often
Window Colour, Sounds and the image changes.
Screen Saver. Then in the
left hand pane are additional
options.


CREATE A CUSTOM MAKING TEXT EASIER
THEME TO READ
QUICK TIP You can create your own Windows 7 has great-
themes in Windows 7 to ly improved the ac-
Better access share with friends and fami- cessibility options
ly. Perhaps a ―Malaga pho- available to users. In
to the Accessi- tos‖ theme or one for the Personalisation window
bility options ―Classic cars‖. you will see a display option
near the bottom of the left
This is simple and straight- hand blue pane.
forward. You first select the
All of Win-
picture or pictures you want Clicking this will bring up the
dows 7’s
accessibil-
ity features are
available quickly by
typing access into
the search box in
the Start Menu. as your wallpaper. Opening
Desktop Background from
the Personalisation window
Here there are wiz- will allow you to browse
ards and guides to your computer for images or
help make your select from a series of pre-
defined locations.
experience using
Windows 7 more When you have done this
pleasant and enjoy- you may want to modify
able. your colour, mouse and
sound schemes, again easily
Done from the Personalisa-
options to Make it easier to
read what’s on your screen.

Here you can change the de-
fault size of all text and icons
by up to 150%.

This should be done instead of
reducing the resolution of
your screen. If you are using
a flat-panel monitor reducing
the resolution will make your
screen appear fuzzy and diffi-
tion home screen. cult to read.
Your new theme will show
up in the My Themes section There are additional accessi-
of the personalisation screen bility options here including
as Unsaved Theme. At the tweaking the Clear Type sys-
bottom of the My Themes tem used to make text clear-
section is a link to Save er. This is a simple wizard
theme. This will allow you that presents various texts
to save the currently select- asking you which is clearer
ed theme to your hard drive and easier to read.
for sharing and emailing.

79

Open the
ADDING WALLPAPERS drive that
TO WINDOWS Windows
7 is in-
In the Personalisation window
stalled on QUICK TIP
from
you can add wallpapers from Within
any location on your hard Computer
disk. But you can also make and navigate to the fol-
RSS powered
sure these are always availa- lowing folder Windows > wallpapers
ble to Windows, just in case Winsxs. Once there in
they‘re moved for example. the search box in the top More advanced
right of that window
In Computer, open the disk search for *.theme. users might want a
containing your Windows 7 random wallpaper
Installation. This will probably This will bring up a list of scheme powered
be called ―local disk‖ and can all the available themes,
be identified by the Windows many of which will already by the RSS web
logo on the picture of the hard be installed. However publishing stand-
disk. there will be other geo- ard.
graphical theme packs
Navigate here that you can install
to... This can be quite
simply by double clicking
them. complex but blog-
Windows ger Long Zheng
> Web >
Wallpaper and here you can wrote an excellent
copy images, or folders con- article about how
taining images that will then WHERE ARE THE to get started with
appear by default in the Per- ULTIMATE EXTRAS?
sonalisation view. this feature.

Hamad Darwish was one of You might remember that www.istartedsome
the official photographers for Windows Vista Ultimate thing.com/200901
the Windows Vista wallpapers. came with ultimate extras.
26/rss-powered-
He has some lovely wallpaper This was extra software
collections on his website at... available through Win- windows-7-
dows Update that includes desktop-
www.hamaddarwish.com/ additional games and the slideshows/
Dreamscene feature that
winvista.html
let you have animated and
video wallpapers. There are down-
sides to using this
DISPLAYING HIDDEN Ultimate extras has been system which is
dropped in Windows 7.
THEMES Though Stardock who re- why I’ve not
leased a, frankly, far bet- written about it in
By default Windows 7 will ter version of Dreamscene the main body of
show you a theme based on called Deskscapes may
also release a version for the book, but some
your Geographic location or
country however all the Windows 7. Their website advanced users
world‘s editions of Windows 7 can be found at... and photo enthusi-
come on the same DVD so asts might find it
you can easily unlock the ad- www.stardock.com
interesting.
ditional countries.


WINDOWS 7 When this memory is full your
PC will use a part of your hard
OPTIMUM disk as substitute, or virtual
memory. This is a file on
QUICK TIP CONFIGURATION your hard disk that will obvi-
ously be far slower to read
When you first install and write data than the physi-
Modify your Windows 7 there are some cal memory itself.
System settings you can change in
the operating system to help By default, every version of
Properties it work at its very best. Windows maintains this virtu-
al memory in a very ineffi-
Everything in this Everything in this section is cient way, in that it grows and
access from the System shrinks the size of the file of
section is access your hard disk as required.
properties window. This is
from the System accessed by opening the
properties window. Control Panel and selecting This creates a situation where
System and Security your other files can become
This is accessed by fragmented (split) across the
followed by System and
opening the Control clicking Advanced system hard disk because the swap
Panel and selecting settings in the blue panel on file isn‘t leaving enough space
the left of the Window that for them to be saved whole in
System and Security the place they should be.
appears.
followed by System
and clicking Ad- To fix this, you can change
the virtual memory file to be
vanced system VIRTUAL MEMORY a fixed size. Open the Control
settings in the blue Panel and selecting System
panel on the left of You have two types of and Security followed by Sys-
storage in your computer, tem and clicking Advanced
the Window that
your hard disk which is a system settings in the blue
appears.
physical spinning disk on panel on the left of the Win-
which Windows files and dow that appears.
your documents are stored
and your memory. By default the pop-up window
you now see will have the Ad-
When windows and vanced tab highlighted. In
programs load, they are the Performance section
copied into memory, which click the Settings button then
consists of silicon chips that click the Advanced tab in the
can pass files and next window that appears.
information in and out much
faster than a spinning hard
disk.

The more memory you have
installed in your computer
the more programs it can
have in it and the faster
Windows will run. The
biggest difference will be the
jump from 1Gb of memory
to 2Gb or 3Gb. After this
point, unless you are
working with enormous
photographs or other files,
the difference in speed in
much less pronounced.

81

In the Virtual Memory sec-
tion press the Change button.
COMPUTER NAME
A third window will appear.
You should untick the Auto- If you have only a single PC
matically manage paging in your home then chang- QUICK TIP
file size for all drives and ing its name won‘t benefit
select Custom size. At the you. However if you have
bottom of this window will be several on a home network Switch on
the minimum and recommend- it can help to identify which
ed sizes for your virtual computer, for instance, you system
memory. Type the Recom- are sharing files or a printer protection
mended figure into both the with.
Initial size (MB) and Maximum If you have moved
size (MB) boxes and press the You are asked to name
your documents,
Set button. Making sure both your computer when you
these numbers are the same install Windows 7, but it pictures and music
will maintain a constant size can be checked and away from the hard
for the virtual memory file. changed at any time disk or partition
through the Computer
name tab in the System Windows 7 is stored
VISUAL EFFECTS Properties window. on, you will need to
turn on System
In the same window under the Protection for the
Visual Effects tab you can
SYSTEM PROTECTION new location for
choose some of the custom those files.
effects you see on your Win- Windows 7 includes a clev-
dows desktop. er system that quietly
backs up older copies of This is a facility that
A common one to change, be- your files as you work on can allow you to
cause many people, including them so that if you need recover a previous
myself, think it gives the Win- restore an earlier version of
dows desktop a cleaner look is that file you can. By de- version of a file if
to untick the option to Show fault this feature only pro- you need to.
shadows under windows.
In the Start Menu
There are a great many op- search box type
tions here you can play with
without upsetting Windows. Advanced settings
and open View
advanced system
STARTUP AND settings when it
RECOVERY tects your Windows drive or
appears in the
partition. If you have search results. Click
For people run- moved your files away from on the System
ning Windows 7 in a here (as described in Part Protection tab and
dual-boot configu- 3 : Exploring) you will need
ration, where you to turn the feature on for turn on system
have more than that drive. You can do this protection for the
one operating system installed under the System protec- drive you have
on your PC, you can change tion tab in the System
properties window. stored your files on.
the boot order and boot menu
time in the Startup and Recov-
ery section of the System Set it to only restore previ-
Properties window. ous versions of files. You
can also specify how much
disk space is reserved for
this.


THE CONTROL PANEL AUTOPLAY

The Control panel, as with If you are annoyed by the au-
QUICK TIP previous versions of windows toplay window that appears
is your centralised place for when you put a CD, DVD or
all your system settings. USB memory stick into your
Devices and PC. Here is where you can
By default you will see the change the options for what
Printers category view where every- happens by default. You can
thing is organised into help- turn these prompts off by se-
ful groups. In the top right lecting Take no action.
In addition to the of the control panel is a View
Device Manager in
the Control Panel
the Start Menu
now contains an
item called Devices
and Printers which
is an easier way to
see the status or
devices and modify
their settings.

by option that you can also DATE AND TIME
change to large or small
icons. This will allow you to
easily view all the Control When you click on the clock in
panel items should you wish the bottom right of the taskbar
to. a full size clock and calendar
will appear. The Date and
The Control Panel search box Time controls in the Control
is also much smarter than in panel allow you to add a se-
Windows Vista. A search for cond clock to this window and
Disk for instance will imme- change how and when your PC
diately bring up a variety of synchronises its clock with the
options including Create a internet.
password reset disk,
defragment your hard drive This is also where you would
and free up disk space by change the time and date on
deleting unnecessary files. your PC if they are incorrect.

In this section I‘ll talk you
through some useful chang-
es you can make to Control
panel items.

83

DEFAULT PROGRAMS HIDE DRIVE LETTERS
This Control panel item does In the Advanced settings un-
much more than its name sug- der the View menu you can QUICK TIP
gests. Here you can choose also untick Show drive let-
the default programs for cer- ters.
tain actions, such as playing a File association
DVD, but you can change the There is no real reason why
file association options. This we still need to be looking at by drag and
means you can select what drives with the C: or D: drop
files are opened by what pro- moniker attached to them.
grams. For instance you can This can make navigating
change all your music and vid- through your drives look If you have a
eo files to open with the Zune cleaner. program open or
Player (if you have installed it) pinned to the
instead of Windows media You can right click on any
taskbar you can
Player.
drag and drop any
file onto the icon to
FOLDER OPTIONS associate that file
type with that
The Folder options section in disk and select program.
the Control panel has several Rename if it is
options that you might find just called Local
From then on, any
helpful. disk.
files of that type will
open with the
NAVIGATION PANE SEARCH OPTIONS program you’ve
selected.
If you are missing the old tree- In the Search panel there
folder view from previous ver- are options such as use nat-
sions of Windows fear not, you ural language search that
can restore it here. This re- you can switch on.
stores this functionality to the
Navigation pane in Explorer
windows. NOTIFICATION AREA
ICONS
ADVANCED FOLDER
Also available by pressing
VIEWS customise when opening the
hidden icons on the taskbar
There are some options under you can change what icons
the View tab you might like to will notify you of events and
change. what can
appear
 Hide empty drives on all the
your computer time. It
 Hide extensions for can be
known file types useful to
 Show encrypted or com- set your
pressed files in colour anti-virus
software
to always
appear.


POWER OPTIONS
Especially useful if you are
QUICK TIP running Windows 7 on a lap-
top, the power options have
been simplified and rational-
The Phantom ised. There are now two
standard power plans for
Sleeper Windows, Balanced and
Power Saver. Both plans
In rare instances, can be modified by clicking
the Change Plan Settings
some self-build PCs
link to their right.
can automatically
send themselves to In the left hand pane of
sleep after only a this window is a link to
create your own power
second or two of plan. This includes, as
inactivity. with customising the oth-
ers, choosing when to turn
If this happens to off the display and when
the computer sleeps.
your PC keep
moving the mouse Also in this pane is an op-
and pressing the tion to choose what the
power buttons do. Here
CTRL or ALT key on you can redefine the ac-
your keyboard until tions of the power and
you can get into the sleep buttons, and change
whether Windows takes
Power Options from
you to the log-in screen or
the Control Panel. straight to the desktop
when it resumes from sleep
Change the When I or hibernation.
press the Sleep
Clicking on
button action to Do Choose when
nothing. From the to turn off the
moment you press display or
Change when
the Apply button the computer sleeps and
the problem will then, in when the dis-
vanish. play changes, clicking
Choose advanced power
settings will open a win-
dow where you have
control over every as-
pect of the power man-
agement in Windows.
This is an incredibly
powerful feature and
can be used to great
effect to minimise power
consumption, especially
on a laptop. I would
recommend this feature
is used by experienced users
only.

85

REGION AND
LANGUAGE OPTIONS
This control panel applet
QUICK TIP
gives you control over
your location in the world, Modify your
your display formats for
times, dates and numbers time and date
and your keyboard lay- settings
out.

By default, Windows 7 Modifying the time
doesn‘t have the best set- and date settings by
tings for the display of opening the Control
time and date. Clicking
the Additional settings Panel, clicking on
button in the bottom right Clock, Language
of the Format tab in this and Region and
Window will allow you to
then Change the
change these.
date, time or
For instance, you can number format can
change your default cur- make Windows
rency symbol, how thou-
sands are separated and much easier to
how negative numbers understand.
are displayed.
See the information
Under the Time tab I tend
to change Long Time to (left) on the formats
h:mm:ss tt to show hours I recommend.
where there‘s just a single
digit if it‘s less than 10
and show the seconds. I
also change the AM and
PM symbols to lower
case.

I also find under the Date
tab it‘s useful to change
the Long date format to
dddd dd MMMM yyyy
which will include the day
name (Monday etc.) when
it‘s displayed.

Under the Location tab
you can change where
you are in the world if you
are working away and un-
der the Administrative tab
you can automatically
copy your custom settings
to any new user accounts
you create on your PC.


CONFIGURING THE PUTTING NAMES BACK
START MENU AND ON THE TASKBAR
QUICK TIP JUMPLISTS By default, the new Taskbar
only shows you icons for pro-
Right clicking on the Win- grams, the names from previ-
Display as dows [Start] Button and se- ous versions of Windows hav-
Menu lecting Properties will bring ing been removed. You can
up the options to customise restore these names however
It can be a time the Start Menu and Taskbar easily.
Jumplists.
saver changing Right click anywhere
some Start Menu Under the Start Menu tab, in a blank space on
items such as pressing the Customise but- the Taskbar and se-
ton will bring up a series of lect Properties from
Control Panel from options allowing you to de- the menu.
Display as link to fine exactly what appears in
Display as menu. your Start Menu. In the options panel
that appears the
This means all the
Taskbar buttons section has
Control Panel items a drop down menu of sever-
will pop out from al options. Always Combine,
hide labels which is the de-
the side of the Start
fault, Combine when
Menu when you Taskbar is full and Never
click on Control Combine.
Panel. This can also
These latter two options will
be done with other restore the text for all run-
items. ning programs.

To access There are also other options
in this window such as mov-
this, Right ing the taskbar around your
click on screen.
the
Windows
orb *Start
button+
and select
Properties from the
menu that appears. At the bottom of this
window are the options
Then under the for choosing the num-
Start Menu tab click ber of recent programs
the Customise that will appear in the
Start Menu, and also
button.
the number of recent
items that will appear
un Jumplists.

87

THE RECYCLE BIN %userprofile%
AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInte
By default the only icon on the rnet Explorer
Windows 7 desktop is the QUICK TIP
recycle bin. It‘s helpfully …if it doesn‘t automatically
labelled Recycle go there. Select your
Bin which you don‘t System Launch folder and Pin the Recycle
need. You can press the Select Folder
remove this name button. Bin to the
by right clicking on Taskbar
it and selecting Once this new toolbar
Rename. You can appears you can unlock the
just put a single Full instructions can
taskbar and drag it to
[space] instead of a where you want and drag be found (left) but
name and you will now only and drop any icons you pinning the recycle
see the icon. want in it. You can also bin to the Taskbar
right click in it and untick
the options Show Text and cleans up your
PINNING THE RECYCLE Show Title and change the desktop and makes
icon size from small to it easy to access the
BIN TO THE TASKBAR large. Note these options
won‘t appear if the taskbar Recycle Bin at all
times.
It is possible to pin
the Recycle Bin to the
Taskbar, which This is a little
Windows 7 won‘t technical but any
allow you to do. user, no matter how
Open an explorer window and inexperienced, can
in the navigation pane type… do this. It’s a real
is locked. time-saver.
%userprofile%
AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInterne You will also now
t Explorer need to remove
the Recycle bin
icon from the
Note the Space between
desktop. Right
Internet and Explorer. You‘ll
click anywhere in
probably need to change the
blank desktop
view options so if you do, in
space and select
the same explorer
Personalise from the menu.
window press the Alt button on
In the top right of the
your keyboard and in the View
window that appears click
menu temporarily change the
Change desktop icons.
settings for Show hidden files…
Here you can untick the
and Hide Protected Operating
Recycle Bin, preventing it
System files.

In this folder create yourself a
new folder that I‘ve called
System Launch.

Now click anywhere in a blank
space on the taskbar
and select Toolbars
and New Toolbar. In
the window that
appears navigate to…


GADGETS INSTALLING MISSING
The Sidebar from Windows
DRIVERS
QUICK TIP Vista has been dropped but
he gadgets remain. It‘s rare that Windows will
install drivers for every single
Sticky Notes Right clicking piece of hardware on your
anywhere in a machine when you install it
blank space on without missing one or two.
The sticky notes your desktop and
have been removed selecting Gadgets You can install missing drivers
from the menu by accessing Device Manager
from the Gadgets
that appears, or from the Control Panel. Here
panel from selecting Desktop you will see any hardware the
Windows Vista but Gadgets from the drivers has not been installed
they’re still there. Start Menu will bring up the listed under Other devices.

They now exist as a
program in the Start
Menu, but if you
still want them as
gadgets, and
without having an
icon permanently
on your Taskbar,
you can re-
download the
gadget by clicking
Get more gadgets
online in the
Gadgets window You can right click on
gadgets panel. Windows 7 any of these and get
and search for comes pre-loaded with a Windows 7 to
Sticky notes. series of gadgets but a great automatically find
many more are available the correct driver, or
online. To get more gadgets point it manually to
click on the Get more the location of the
gadgets online link in the correct driver for
bottom right of this window. your hardware.

Gadgets can be placed
anywhere on your desktop
and can be viewed at any
time using Aero Peek, rolling
your mouse over the button
on the far right of the
Taskbar.
For more information see the
Step-by-Step guide on the
next page.

89

INSTALLING DEVICE DRIVERS
From the Control
Panel open
Hardware and
Sound then in the
Devices and Printers section
open Device Manager if you are looking at
the standard ‗category view‘ control panel.
If you are looking at all Control Panel items
you will see Device Manager in the list.

Any unidentified devices will be
displayed under Other Devices with a
small yellow icon.

Right click on the
item you want to
install the driver
for and select
Update driver software.

You can choose whether
to get Windows to search
for compatible drivers
online, or to install from
the driver disk that came with your
hardware.

If Windows did not find the driver
when it was installing, the second
option might be better.

Point Windows at the
next screen to the
location of your drivers
on your CD, DVD, SUB
pen drive or hard disk.

Windows 7 is extremely good at
installing drivers form this point.
If the drivers are incompatible
Windows will inform you and ask
for another driver location.


PLAYING
Games ................................................................................................ 93
My game won‘t run ............................................................................... 93
Gaming mode? ..................................................................................... 94
Share music and video .......................................................................... 94
Windows Experience Index .................................................................... 95
Windows Media Centre .......................................................................... 95
Step-by-Step—Setting up a Homegroup ................................................ 96
Step-by-Step—Connecting to a Homegroup ........................................... 96
Parental controls .................................................................................. 97
Live Family Safety ................................................................................ 97
Step-by-Step—Setting up parental controls ...................................... 98-99
Video, DVD and Blu-Ray support .......................................................... 100
Burning discs ..................................................................................... 100

QUICK TIPS
Hiding games ....................................................................................... 93
Boost performance for games ................................................................ 94
Your PC as a TV ................................................................................... 95
Keep yourself and your family safe ......................................................... 97
Movies on the move ............................................................................ 100

GAMES MY GAME WON’T RUN
First introduced with Some games are blocked by a
QUICK TIP Windows Vista, Windows 7 feature called Data Execution
has a Games panel Prevention. This is designed
available form the Start to stop viruses and trojans but
Hiding games Menu. can also affect some games.

The first time you
Not everybody will open this Windows
want to see all the will ask if you want
games available in it to manage
updates and saved
Windows. game information.

You can hide any
game in Windows
7’s Games Explorer
window by right-
clicking on it and
selecting Hide this
game.

This is useful because
games carrying the Games In the Control Panel open
for Windows logo and System, then Advanced
many others can now have system settings. In the
updates and patches options window that appears
delivered directly to your click on the Settings button in
PC, and automatically the Performance section of the
installed, through this Advanced tab.
system. This takes a lot of
the worry out of gaming, In the window that appears
particularly with some of click on the Data Execution
the more complex games Prevention tab. Here you can
today. add you game to the
exceptions list by pressing the
The number of games Add button and navigating to,
available to you varies and selecting the game on
depending on your version your hard disk.
of Windows.

Clicking on a game will
bring up information about
it‘s rating and suitability for
younger players.

93

GAMING MODE? SHARE MUSIC AND
One of the biggest criticisms
VIDEO
levelled against Windows Vista QUICK TIP
was that there was so much Available in the Network
running in the background and Sharing Centre from
that doing anything felt the Control Panel and also Boost
sluggish, this was doubly so from Windows Media Player
for intensive processes like are the media streaming performance
gaming. options. for games
Windows still doesn‘t have a
Some third-party
‗gaming mode‘ however
Windows 7 is much fitter and programs exist for
considerably faster than Vista. boosting game
performance
during gaming.

One such example
is Game Booster
from iobit
software. You can
Owners of ATI graphics cards
These allow you to share download it from...
can download a utility from
their website called AMD music and video wirelessly,
Fusion. if you have a wireless home www.iobit.com/
network, with other gamebooster.html
AMD describe the utility as ―It computers and devices in
works by temporarily shutting your home, such as some
down background processes internet radios.
and intensifying processor
performance with AMD Boost.
That means you can keep all
the features of Microsoft
Windows ready for when you
need them, but turn them off
when you are ready to get
down to serious business –
gaming―

The software will provide There is also an option to
better results on a PC that securely share your music
also has an AMD processor. with other PCs over the
internet, so you can have
Several people have access to your music when
also written scripts in away from home.
the new PowerShell
scripting language. These shares show up as
You can search for Media Devices in the
these on-line but Network section of Explorer
these should only be used by windows.
technical Windows users.


WINDOWS
EXPERIENCE INDEX
QUICK TIP Your Windows Experience
Index, accessed through
Performance Information
Your PC as a and Tools form the Control When you first start Windows
TV Panel, is a score from 1.0 to Media Centre you will be
7.9 that some games use to asked to set up your libraries
show the minimum (where your music, video and
As PC screens specification needed for it to pictures are stored) and to set
become bigger, run. up your TV signal if your PC
and more all-in- has a TV tuner card installed.
one machines are
sold, it’s now
possible to use
Windows Media
Centre as a viable
alternative to
having a separate
TV in your living
room or bedroom.

You can buy Media
Centre remote
controls from your
local electronics or
PC store.

Your score is determined by Windows Media Centre has
it‘s lowest component, in been improved since Windows
the example here this being Vista and is now more sensi-
the graphics card. bly laid out and easier to use.

WINDOWS MEDIA If you are using Windows Me-
dia Centre as your main en-
CENTRE tertainment centre on your
TV, you might want to go into
Tasks, then Settings, General,
Startup and Window Behav-
iour and tick Start Media Cen-
In every edition of Windows tre when Windows Starts to
7 except Starter is Windows get it to start up automatical-
Media Centre, Microsoft‘s ly.
entertainment centre
designed to be used on TV
screens via a remote
control.

95

SETTING UP A HOMEGROUP
Homegroups are new to Windows 7 and they‘re an excellent way to share
Music, Pictures, Photos, Videos and Printers with other PCs running Windows 7
on your home network. This feature, as of the time of writing, will only work
on PCs running Windows 7, though Microsoft may decide to back port it to
Windows Vista and Windows XP later via a service pack.

To create a Homegroup open
Network and Internet from the
Control Panel and then click on
Homegroup.

Alternatively you can type Homegroup into
the search box in the Start Menu.

Select the file types you want shared from
the current computer with the Homegroup
and press Next.

Your Homegroup will be
automatically created and
you will be given a password
to type into computers that
want to join the Homegroup.

You can change your Homegroup
settings at any time by selecting
Homegroup from the Control Panel
or by searching for it in the Start
menu search box.

CONNECTING TO A HOMEGROUP
On another PC you want to connect to
the Homegroup open Homegroup in the
ways described above. The system will
show all available Homegroups
(remember the host PC must be switched on).
You will be asked for the password and then
what files and documents you want shared
from the new PC.


PARENTAL CONTROLS LIVE FAMILY SAFETY
Windows 7 has in-built Part of the Windows Live Suite
QUICK TIP parental controls that are available to download at...
really quite powerful and
useful. There‘s no real Download.live.com
Keep yourself need any more to buy a
third-party application for Is Family Safety, this is the
and your this as the only missing final piece of the puzzle in
family safe component is available as a Windows 7‘s parental controls.
free download from the
Microsoft website. Family safety allows you to
Parental controls filter and monitor the websites
Full instructions on how to children are visiting through
themselves aren’t set up the parental controls whitelists and blacklists that
enough to keep you are on the Step-by-Step are automatically maintained
guide on next page, but it‘s and updated by Microsoft.
and your PC safe.
very easy to do.
You have the option of
Check out the latest You can select the allowing of blocking specific
safety advice from maximum game rating websites yourself if you want
your internet children are allowed to play, as well.
and you can select from a
service provider or large number of rating The system requires users to
from a website like systems. If a game has no log-in using a Microsoft Live
the excellent official rating, you also have ID [formerly known as a
the option to block it Microsoft Passport] which, if
automatically. you have a Hotmail or MSN
www.getsafeonline.
org

email account, you will already
Usefully, you can also set have. Another piece of
the times during which software in the Live suite
people are allowed to log-in however will allow for
and use the PC. automatic log-in.

97

SETTING UP PARENTAL CONTROLS

The first step is to create an
account for the child / person
you want to limit access to.

Click your logon picture at the top right of
the Start Menu and in the window that
appears click the Manage another account
link.

You will need to have a password on your
[Administrator] account to set these up.

You now need to create a new
user account for the person if
you have not done so already.
This will need repeating for each person
you want set up in parental controls.

Make sure you set them as Standard Users
and NOT Administrators.

If you have already set up accounts, skip to
Step 3.

If you have already set up an
account, or after you have done
so, click on the relevant account
and then click the link Set up
Parental Controls.

Windows will now ask for what
user you want to set up Parental
Controls. Select the appropriate
user.


SETTING UP PARENTAL CONTROLS
You will now find yourself in the
main controls window. Here you
can select what controls you want
to set up or modify.

In the time restrictions options,
you can click and drag blocks to
select when the user will be
allowed to use the PC.

The parental controls will not let them log-
in or use it outside of these times and will
warn them when the end time is close.

You can also choose if the user
is allowed to play games and
even, if you want, block specific
games from being played.

The final screen allows you
to choose a ratings system
you want to use. Here, as
this PC was set up in the UK,
Windows has automatically chosen
the BBFC rating system.

If you are unsure which to use, have a
look at a box for one of your child‘s
games.

You can select the maximum age they
are allowed to play to. This integrates
with the Games Explorer from the Start
Menu.

99

VIDEO, DVD AND BURNING DISCS
BLU-RAY SUPPORT Windows 7 has native
support for burning data QUICK TIP
CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray
discs.
Movies on the
Right clicking on a file, or a
Windows 7 comes pre-
selection of several files will move
configured with a wide range
give you an option to Send
of popular video codecs. This
to... And your optical drive Windows 7 will
means the videos you‘ve
will appear in the list.
recorded from your camcorder natively play both
in DivX or XviD formats will DVD and Blu-ray
play straight away without
movies, making it a
any hassle. This is a huge
improvement over previous viable option for
versions of Windows where watching movies
finding the right codec on the move and
pack could be fiddly.
while travelling.
Windows 7 will also
natively play DVDs and Check your power-
Blu-Ray movies so if usage settings in
your PC or laptop comes
fitted by a Blu-Ray the Control Panel
player, you can watch to get the best out
high definition movies at of your battery as
home or on the go.
the constant spin-
Because the support for this is Windows 7 also now ning and reading of
built into Windows itself, any natively supports burning the movie disc
media player that uses this ISO disc images, should
you have any. Right could drain your
support can play your movies.
This includes Windows Media clicking on an image will power before the
Player and Windows Media bring up a Burn disc image credits roll.
Centre. The latter is designed option.
to be used from
a distance by
remote control
and, if your PC
came with a
remote control
and has a big
enough screen,
this is certainly
the way to
watch movies
full-screen.

For any codecs
that are missing
you can find my

This will also appear as an
recommendation for an option in the Explorer
excellent codec pack in toolbar when you click on
Appendix E. an image file.


Part 10

Communicating

COMMUNICATING
Windows Live ..................................................................................... 103
Photo Viewer ..................................................................................... 103
Widows DVD Maker ............................................................................ 103
Contacts ............................................................................................ 104
Moving to Windows Live Mail ................................................................ 104
Importing your calendar into Windows Live Mail ..................................... 105
XPS documents .................................................................................. 105
Sideshow........................................................................................... 105

QUICK TIPS
Microsoft Powertoys ............................................................................ 103
Backup your email before installing Windows 7 ...................................... 104
XPS vs PDF ........................................................................................ 105

WINDOWS LIVE PHOTO VIEWER
Many of the programs we Windows Photo Viewer is one
QUICK TIP used in previous versions of of only two applications to
Windows, like Mail, remain in Windows 7, the
Calendar and Movie Maker other being Windows DVD
Microsoft have been removed in Maker. It is a stripped down
Windows 7 and ported to version of Windows Live
Powertoys the separate Windows Live Photo Gallery and, frankly, I‘d
Essentials Suite. recommend installing that
version from the Windows
Microsoft have This makes a lot of sense Live Essentials Suite and
released powertoys because it means they will using that instead.
be updated more regularly,
for previous and the features in them
versions and will be much better than if WINDOWS DVD MAKER
additional software they were bundles with
Windows itself.
including the Windows DVD maker is a
excellent SyncToy You can download Windows useful tool for creating DVDs
backup program Live Essentials Suite from... on your PC from photo
libraries or home videos.
and a utility to allow
download.live.com
you to view and edit It is entirely wizard driven
all the additional The suite also includes and extremely easy to use.
tags added by Messenger, the Live
Internet Explorer Toolbar
digital cameras to
and the useful Family
give extra Safety software, which
information about provides internet content
your photos. filtering for the Windows 7
Parental Controls.
It’s worth visiting
the Microsoft
website occasionally
to look for anything
new.

You can choose
which programs you
want installed when
download the main
installer.

103

CONTACTS On your Windows 7 PC, you
will need to import mail and
contacts separately. The
The old Windows Address procedure is the same for
Book is alive and kicking both. QUICK TIP
though it‘s no longer a very
good option because nothing Press the Alt key on your
seems to use it. Windows keyboard to bring up the Back up your
Live, Gmail and Yahoo! mail menu and select Import
all use their own address email before
from the File menu. Here
books and the Windows Live you can point Windows Live installing
Essentials Suite also has it‘s Mail at your mail and con- Windows 7
own contacts file. tacts backup and import
them.
You can open these contact
by clicking on your name in If you store your
If you are using a Hotmail
the top right of the Start account there will be no email in a program
Menu. need to do this as your like Outlook Express
email and contacts will be in XP or Windows
automatically downloaded
MOVING TO WINDOWS and synchronised with your Mail in Vista you
webmail when you set up should use that
LIVE MAIL your email account in Win- program to back up
dows Live Mail.
your email to
If you are moving from
storage such as an
Windows Mail on Windows
Vista or Outlook Express 6 on external hard disk
Windows XP it‘s simple to before installing
import your contacts and Windows 7.
email into Windows Live Mail.

In Windows Mail or Outlook Windows Easy
Express go to the File menu Transfer will not
[in Windows Vista, press the copy those emails
Alt key on your keyboard to
bring up the menu] across, even if you
and select the have already
Export option. Here installed Windows
you can export your
mail and contacts. Live Mail.


IMPORTING YOUR XPS DOCUMENTS
CALENDAR INTO The XPS document format
QUICK TIP WINDOWS LIVE MAIL was introduced by Microsoft a
few years ago as a potential
rival to Adobe‘s popular PDF,
Sadly, Windows Live Mail portable document format.
XPS vs PDF does not, at least at the
time of writing, have the While not as popular it‘s still
ability to import calendars. sometimes very useful.
If you want a Windows 7 has the ability to
If you are using Windows view and create XPS files
portable document
Calendar on Windows Vista natively. This can be useful
format to use for and have a Hotmail, Live or for keeping electronic copies
sending files to MSN email address you will of, say a sales receipt
friends and be able to retrieve your displayed in a web browser.
calendar by following the
colleagues you instructions below. If you The XPS write shows up as a
currently have use another email provider printer so to create an XPS
choice between and are using Windows file, print the document and
Calendar in Vista you will select the Microsoft XPS
XPS and Adobe’s sadly be unable to import Document Writer.
PDF format. your calendar items unless
your email provider
I can only really provides a similar facility
and Windows Live Mail is SIDESHOW
recommend PDF able to synchronise with it.
here if you have First introduced with Windows
Office 2007 or In Windows Calendar, press Vista, Sideshow allows
the Alt button on your computers with compatible
Office 2010
keyboard to bring up the hardware to continue to be
installed. XPS files menu. From the File menu used even when in sleep
can only be natively select Export and export mode.
read by Windows 7 your calendar as an ICS file
to a USB pen drive, Sideshow allows applications
and Vista unless external hard disk or to a to communicate with you via
you download a file on your hard disk you and external display, say on
plug-in. Office can burn to a CD or DVD. the lid of a laptop. You can
view photos, play music and a
2007 can write PDF Next you will need to variety of other tasks.
files with a plug-in access your Live account
and Office 2010 can through a web browser. Sideshow has been side-lined
in Windows 7 but it is still
do so natively. 1. Log into your account supported. It won‘t appear
at calendar.live.com by default in the Control
While PDF files also 2. Press Subscribe Panel but will appear there if
require a plug-in, 3. Select Import from an you connect a compatible
ICS file. Sideshow device to your PC
this is much more
4. Browse for the [either built-in or by
common. calendar you want to Bluetooth].
import
5. Click Import Many people have reported
Calendar. problems with Sideshow
devices in Windows 7 and if
you experience difficulties you
should visit the support
website for your Sideshow
hardware.

105

Part 11

Guaranteeing

GUARANTEEING
Previous Versions ............................................................................... 109
System Restore .................................................................................. 109
Windows Backup ................................................................................ 110
Backing up files and documents.................................................... 110
Create a system image................................................................ 110
System rescue disc ..................................................................... 111
Restoring files from a backup ....................................................... 111
Restoring Windows from a system image ....................................... 111
Step-by-Step—Backing up files and documents .................................... 112
Step-by-Step—Creating a system image backup ................................... 113
Windows Startup repair ....................................................................... 114
Recovery ........................................................................................... 114

QUICK TIPS
Previous Versions vs Backup ................................................................ 109
System Images .................................................................................. 110
Restoring Windows ............................................................................. 111
Recovery Options ............................................................................... 114

PREVIOUS VERSIONS or a new piece of software is
installed. You can manually
create a restore point however
Windows 7 includes a by typing create a restore
QUICK TIP feature called Previous point into the Start Menu
Versions that can keep search box.
copies of your documents as
Previous they change, enabling you
to revert to a previous copy
Versions vs if you make a change you
Backup later want to undo.

Previous versions This feature needs to be
can be a useful way enabled. If you have moved
your documents away form
of reverting to an the hard disk or partition on
older version of a which Windows 7 is installed
file. However it see System Protection in the
Configuring chapter for
doesn’t always instructions.
index every file and
won’t work if the Right clicking on a file will
bring up a menu from which You can access System
file has been
you can select Restore Restore through opening
deleted. previous versions. If any Backup and Restore from the
previous copies of the file Control Panel and clicking on
You should still exist, they will show up in the link Recover system
make regular the window that appears. settings or your computer
Selecting one will allow you from the window that appears
backups of your to restore it.
software using
Windows Backup or NOTE: Previous
Versions should
a third-party backup not be relied
solution. upon as an
alternative to
backing up
your files, as
there is no
guarantee
Windows will
have an older
copy of your
files. It will
also not allow
you to recover
deleted files.
or by typing System Restore
into the Start Menu search
SYSTEM RESTORE box.

As with previous versions of
Windows, System Restore is
a good way to recover your
PC if something goes wrong.
Restore points are created
automatically when a major
change is made to your
computer, such as a driver

109

WINDOWS BACKUP CREATE A SYSTEM
Backup has been streamlined
IMAGE
and simplified in Windows 7. QUICK TIP
It is now available in the Windows Vista included the
Control Panel or the Start ability to create a full
Menu as Backup and Restore. system-image of your System Images
Windows installation, so
that if something went
wrong you could restore it When you have
BACKING UP FILES AND and within 15 or 20 minutes installed Windows
DOCUMENTS you‘d have a fully working
7, configured it how
copy of Windows again.
This invaluable inclusion you want and
You can easily back up your was dampened by only installed all your
files, documents, music, being available in Vista
photos, pictures and video software you
Business and Vista
with the wizard-based backup Ultimate. should create a
system. Click Set up Backup backup image.
in the Backup and Restore The good news is that this
Centre to start this process. feature is now available in This is a snapshot
every single edition of
You can set automatic backs Windows 7. There is a of your PC, the
to another hard disk or Step-by-Step guide later drive or partition
partition in your computer. in this chapter on how to containing
There is a Step-by-Step use this facility but I do
guide in this chapter on how to thoroughly recommend Windows 7 anyway,
do this in detail. that, after you have at that moment in
installed Windows and your time.

You can use this to
restore Windows to
a fully working
copy in just ten
minutes or so if
something goes
wrong or Windows
starts to
misbehave.

You can save your backups to
another hard disk or partition programs, and configured
in side your machine, an everything the way you
external hard disk, DVD or Blu want it, that you create a
-Ray disc or onto a home system image.
network device.


You can save your backups
to another hard disk or RESTORING FILES FROM
partition in side your
machine, an external hard A BACKUP
disk, DVD or Blu-Ray disc
QUICK TIP or onto a home network
To restore files you have
device.
previously backed up open the
Backup and Restore centre
Restoring and in the Restore section
Windows SYSTEM REPAIR DISC should be details of your most
recent backup. You can click
You can create a To restore a system image on this to run the restore
system repair disc backup you need to boot wizard.
your PC from either your
by typing repair Windows 7 installation DVD If your backup doesn‘t show
into the search box or a system repair disc. up here, for instance it is
in the Start Menu stored on a network location
If you want to keep your you are temporarily
and selecting disconnected from, click the
Windows 7 install DVD safe
Create a System then creating a system link Select another backup to
Repair Disc. rescue disc is an excellent restore files from and search
option. for your backup file.
This disc can be
You can create this on a
used to restore blank CD or DVD and it will RESTORING WINDOWS
Windows 7 in the contain tools for repairing
event that you Windows 7 in the event of a FROM A SYSTEM IMAGE
problem and restoring from
cannot get it to your system image backup
If you need to restore
boot. as well.
Windows from a system
Click on Create a system image, boot your PC from the
You can also start Windows 7 install DVD or your
repair disc in the Backup
your PC from your
and Restore centre to bring System repair disc and, when
Windows 7 install up the wizard which will prompted, click the Repair
walk you through this your computer link.
DVD to achieve this
process.
as well. This will find your backup
image, unless it
is stored
remotely in
which case you
can search for it,
and restore you
to a fully-
working copy of
Windows in
between 10 and
20 minutes.

111

BACKING UP FILES AND DOCUMENTS
Open the Backup and Restore
centre from the Start Menu or the
Control Panel and click the link Set
up Backup.

You will be asked where you want to store your
backup. This can be on a local hard disk or
partition, an external hard disk, a set of DVDs
or Blu-Ray discs or on a home network.

Next you will be asked if you
want Windows to select the
best files to be backed up or
if you want to choose the
files and folders yourself.

By default, Windows will want to include
a system image which will make your
backup very large and slow the backup
down. Any problems that appear in your
computer over time could also be backed
up into future images. I suggest you
create a system image separately.

If you want to choose what files
and folders are backed up you
can do so on the next screen.
You will also be prompted at the bottom of this
screen to create a system image. As before, I
recommend you do this separately.

The next screen will show you
what files ND folders are to be
backed up and it will give you
the option to set an automatic
backup schedule.

Click in the Change schedule link to set the
schedule you want your backup to run.
Daily, weekly or monthly and at
what times of what days.

When you are ready to
start your first backup
press the Save settings
and run backup button.


CREATING A SYSTEM IMAGE BACKUP
Open the Backup and Restore
centre from the Start Menu or
the Control Panel and click
the link Create a system
image in the left hand pane.

Select the location on which you want
your system image to be stored. This
can be a hard disk or partition in your
PC, an external hard disk, a series of
DVDs or Blue-Ray disc or a network
location.

NOTE : If you connect your PC to your
network via Wi-Fi I do not recommend
storing your system image on a
network.

The next step is to
decide what hard disks
or partitions will be
included in your backup. I
suggest only including the drive on
which Windows is installed.

NOTE : If you include a hard disk
containing your files, those files will
also be restored to earlier versions
when you restore the image and any
files created after the image was
made will be deleted.

At the next screen the wizard
will show you the backup
settings you have chosen.
Press Start backup to create the system
image.

NOTE : I suggest that you close all your
running programs and that you do not
use Windows while the image is created
to prevent any problems occurring.

113

WINDOWS STARTUP RECOVERY
REPAIR In the Control Panel is an
item called Recovery. Here QUICK TIP
If disaster strikes and are links to help you use
Windows 7 won‘t start then it System Restore or to restore
has a clever trick up its your files form a backup.
sleeve. Startup Repair will
Recovery
detect that you can‘t get Clicking Advanced Recovery Options
Windows to work and it will Methods will help you restore
automatically kick in to try your PC from a System Im-
and solve the problem. age or, if required, reinstall Opening the
Windows 7 from scratch us- Control Panel and
This is a series of programs on ing your original installation
your hard disk that are DVD. selecting Recovery
automatically run at start-up if gives you a great
Windows cannot start.
many ways to
In the unlikely event that even recover a faulty
Startup repair won‘t start, it‘s Windows 7
also contained on your installation or lost
Windows 7
install DVD documents.
and on any
System repair This should be your
discs that you first port of call if
create.
Popping one something is
of these into wrong with your
your DVD copy of Windows 7.
drive and
booting from
You can start with
it will have
the same running System
effect. Restore to try and
restore your copy
It is a very
efficient and of Windows 7 to a
helpful way to time before the
fix Windows. error or problem
If Startup
repair can‘t occurred.
fix the
problem then
only restoring
from a
System image
or reinstalling
Windows from
scratch will
get you
working
again.


Part 12

Maintaining

MAINTAINING
Cleaning Windows .............................................................................. 117
Disk Clean-up .................................................................................... 117
Disk Defragmenter ............................................................................. 117
Windows Update ................................................................................ 118
Windows Defender .............................................................................. 118

QUICK TIPS
Third-party cleaning tools .................................................................... 117
Keep Windows up-to-date ................................................................... 118

CLEANING WINDOWS DISK DEFRAGMENTER
It‘s the case with every Also located in the Start Menu
QUICK TIP operating system that over by searching for clean or in
a period of time it will get Accessories and then System
clogged up with temporarily Tools is the Disk
Third-party files and other stuff that will Defragmenter.
ultimately slow it down.
cleaning tools Keeping Windows
lean is relatively
simple and should be
Appendix E done every month or
two to keep Windows
contains my
7 running smoothly
recommendations and efficiently.
for third-party
software. This
includes tools for DISK CLEAN-UP
cleaning and
Located in the Start
maintaining
Menu by searching
Windows 7. for clean or in
Accessories and then
Cleaning out System Tools is the
Disk Clean-up tool.
temporary files and Over time, as your hard disk
This wizard will walk you
cleaning the or partition fills up with
through removing any old,
temporary files, documents,
registry can have a temporary and unwanted
music, photos and other files
files on your PC.
tremendous effect you save can become
on keeping fragmented. This means there
There are better third-party
isn‘t enough space for
Windows 7 running tools on the market, see
Windows to store the file
smoothly. Appendix E, but this is a
where it wants to so, instead,
good, useful tool.
it breaks the file into smaller
chunks and scatters it around.

This can make accessing your
files very slow. The
Defragmenter shuffles all
these pieces of files around so
that the files are complete as
they ought to be.

You can, and should, set the
defragmenter to run on an
automatic schedule. This will
happen quietly in the
background, you will never
know it‘s happening, but it will
help keep Windows 7 feeling
quick.

NOTE : You should not
defragment too many drives or
partitions at once as this can
be slow and put a lot of
physical pressure on the disks.

117

WINDOWS UPDATE WINDOWS DEFENDER
Windows Update is the system Windows Defender is the
intended to keep your copy of anti-spyware software that QUICK TIP
Windows up to date with the comes with Windows 7.
latest updates and patches. You can set it to run on a
You should have it switched schedule you specify but Keep Windows
on and can set it to download should also use other anti-
and install new updates at a spyware software as well. up-to-date
schedule to suit you.

You should make
sure that Windows
Update is left
switched on to
download
recommended
updates.

This will make sure
your PC is always
patched with the
latest and most up-
to-date fixes for
both it and any
other Microsoft
software.

You can access
Windows Update
through the Start
Menu or the Control
Panel.

When you first use
Windows Update in
Windows 7 you will see a box
in the middle of the window
saying ―Find out more about
free software from Microsoft
Update. Click Here for
details.‖ This is a useful
feature to switch on as you
will then also receive updates
for Microsoft Office and other
software you have installed.

In the main Windows Update
window you will see a colour-
coded box, Red, Amber or
Green , letting you know the
current status of your PC
regards updates. If it is green
your PC is fully up to date.


DIAGNOSING
Action Centre ..................................................................................... 121
Performance Information and Tools ...................................................... 121
Event Log .................................................................................. 121
Performance Monitor ................................................................... 122
Resource Monitor ........................................................................ 122
Task manager ............................................................................ 122
System Information .................................................................... 123
System Health Report ................................................................. 123
Step-by-Step—Installing a Device Driver ............................................. 124
Step-by-Step—Removing and Reinstalling Drivers ................................ 125
Step-by-Step—Rolling back a driver .................................................... 125
Step-by-Step—Seeking Remote Assistance .......................................... 126
System Restore .................................................................................. 127
The System File Checker ..................................................................... 127
Startup Repair ................................................................................... 127
Program compatibility ......................................................................... 128
XP Mode ............................................................................................ 128

QUICK TIPS
Keep and eye on the flag ..................................................................... 121
Use the Task Manager ......................................................................... 122
Health Reports ................................................................................... 123
System File Checker ........................................................................... 127
Program Compatibility Trouble-shooter ................................................. 128

ACTION CENTRE
The first place to check for
QUICK TIP solutions to problems your
computer might be having
is the Action Centre,
Keep and eye accessed from the flag on
the Taskbar or through the
on the flag Control Panel.

As Windows encounters For instance, let‘s say that
The flag icon at the problems it reports many Windows is crashing or blue-
of them directly back to screening.
bottom right of
Microsoft. Occasionally
your Taskbar will you will find a solution
notify you by high- fed back directly to your
lighting itself with a PC. The Action Centre
will notify you when a
red warning cross problem solution is
when something in available.
Windows needs
your attention.
PERFORMANCE
Clicking on Windows Logs and
This is your prompt INFORMATION AND then System in the left-hand
that you will need pane will bring up a list of
to act to fix a po- TOOLS things that have happened
with the operating system.
tentially harmful
Available through
problem on your the ‗all icons‘ view
pc, such as your of the Control Panel
anti-virus software or from the Start
Menu is
being out of date. Performance
Information and
Tools.

Clicking the
Advanced link in
the left-hand pane
will bring up
options you can use
to help diagnose
and fix problems with your
PC. You may see some
critical errors.
Clicking on the
error will bring up more
EVENT LOG information in the pane below
about the error. You may see
There is a great a clue, such as details of a
deal of technical piece of hardware or a driver
information stored name that will tell you if, for
by Windows in the instance you have an unstable
Event Log. This driver for your graphics card
can be extremely useful or if a .dll file is
when tracking down a malfunctioning. See the
problem. section Fixing Problems later.

121

PERFORMANCE
MONITOR
For
QUICK TIP
experienced
technical
users and Use the Task
system Manager

administrators only, the
Availa-
Performance Monitor
can give you detailed ble by
real-time status information right
for a great deal of hardware click-
and software components
inside your PC. ing on
your
Taskbar and se-
RESOURCE lecting Start Task
MONITOR Manager, this help-
ful utility will let
The Resource Monitor you see if any pro-
can be useful for seeing grams on your PC
problems with disk or
aren’t responding.
network throughput if
you think you may be
having problems, say You can right click
with your internet on these programs
connection. It will give and select End Task
you real-time displays
of most things happening with to shut them down.
your PC.

TASK MANAGER
Also available by
right clicking on the
Taskbar, the Task
Manager is your
main view into the
world of your PC.
It will tell you
what‘s running, how much
processor time and memory
programs are taking up and
this is where you can shut-
down hung programs.

Under the Applications and
Processes tabs you can right-
click on programs and select
End Task to shut them down
if they have crashed.


SYSTEM
INFORMATION
QUICK TIP The system information
screen can be very
Health Reports useful if you need to
give anybody detailed
information about your
PC and the version of
If you are asking a Windows and the
friend to help diag- software running on it.
nose problems with
This screen can also
your PC it can be prove useful when you want
useful to first gener- to upgrade your PC and
ate a System Health need to find new,
compatible, hardware.
Report, see right for
details of how to do
this. SYSTEM HEALTH
You can save this REPORT
report and email it
or give it to your Generating a
System Health
friend. Report can
provide all
System Health Re- sorts of useful
ports contain a information when
diagnosing problems
wealth of extremely
with your PC. It can
useful information inform you of faulty
when diagnosing Windows files or drivers
problems with your and much more.
PC.

123

INSTALLING A DEVICE DRIVER
Windows 7 is excellent at
finding drivers for hardware
but occasionally, as new
hardware is released after
your Windows DVD was created, or after
a fresh install, it may file to find installers
for new hardware.

To manually install drivers, open
the Device Manager from the
Control Panel or by searching for
it in the Start Menu.

Any hardware for which drivers are
not installed will show up with a
yellow triangle next to them.

Right-click on the
hardware and from the
context menu that
appears click Update Driver
Software.

Select if you
want Windows
to search for
the driver, which won‘t be
worth it if Windows has
failed previously, for
instance when it was
installed or if it‘s the
network hardware you
need to get online so
Windows can search
Windows Update, or if you
want to browse for the
driver on your hard disk
or an a supplied DVD.

If you find the right folder
on the disc, Windows
should have no problems installing the driver.


REMOVING AND REINSTLLING DRIVERS
If you need to remove or
reinstall a device driver, go
into Device Manager from the
Control Panel and find the
component you want to uninstall /
reinstall.

Right-click on it and from the
context menu that appears select
Uninstall.

You may be given an option to
Delete the driver software for
this device. This can be useful
if you are installing a different
driver version.

You can now reinstall the driver using the
steps described on the previous page.

ROLLING BACK A DRIVER
Sometimes it can be useful to go back to a previous driver if you have
upgraded a driver and it becomes faulty.

Go into Device Manager
from the Control Panel and
find the component you
want to roll back the driver for.

Right-click on it and select
Properties from the menu that
appears.

In the window that pops up, under the
driver tab, select Roll Back driver. If there
is a previous version of the driver stored
that Windows can restore, it will be done
now. You may need to reboot your PC when this is
complete.

125

SEEKING REMOTE ASSISTANCE
Windows 7 offers you the ability to let a friend or technical support person
(make sure you know they‘re trustworthy) to take remote control of your PC
over the internet.

Type assist in the Start Menu search box and run Windows Remote
Assistance.

In the window that
appears tell Windows that
you want to invite someone
you trust to help you.

The system
will ask how
you want to
send the invitation.
Choose the option that‘s
best for you and press
Next.

Once the
invitation
is sent a
window
will pop up and you
should wait for your
friend to connect to
your PC.

You will be prompted to give them full control and it can be useful to tick the
box that allows them to deal with any UAC User Account Control prompts too.


SYSTEM RESTORE To use this useful utility, type
command into the Start Menu
search box and when
As with previous versions Command Prompt appears,
QUICK TIP of Windows, System right click on it and select Run
Restore is a good way to as Administrator. You will now
recover your PC if need your Windows 7 install
System File something goes wrong. DVD in your main DVD or Blu-
Restore points are created Ray drive, but don‘t run the
Checker automatically when a installer.
major change is made to
your computer, such as a In the command window that
The System File driver or a new piece of appears on your screen type
Checker is an excel- software is installed. You SFC /SCANNOW and press
lent utility for re- the Enter key.
storing parts of Win- The System File Checker will
dows that have be- check every Windows file
come corrupt from against the version on the
DVD, and if it finds any files
the original install that have become corrupt, it
DVD, without having will replace them with the
to reinstall all of original copy.
Windows 7 itself. NOTE: if you have a Windows
can manually create a 7 Service Pack installed you
Instructions for how
restore point however by may need an install DVD with
to use this excellent typing create a restore that same service pack on it.
point into the Start Menu Check with a Windows
utility can be found
search box. technician or on-line forums
on the right.
You can access System for how to create a
Restore through opening slipstreamed Windows DVD.
Note if you have Backup and Restore from
installed a service the Control Panel and
pack into Windows clicking on the link Recover STARTUP REPAIR
system settings or your
7, you may also need computer from the window Windows 7 is quite clever in
an install DVD con- that appears or by typing that if it detects a problem
taining that service System Restore into the that‘s preventing it from
Start Menu search box. starting, a diagnostic utility,
pack.
called Startup Repair will run
You can find out SYSTEM FILE to try and fix the problem.
online how to slip- CHECKER If you
stream a service are
pack into a Win- If Windows is getting
faulty then it past the
dows DVD. BIOS
can sometimes
be quickly and screen,
easily repaired (black
using the screen
System File with
Checker. white text) but Windows is not
starting, this utility is also
available by booting from your
install DVD.

127

PROGRAM
COMPATIBILITY
Windows 7 is far
QUICK TIP
better able to run
older software than Program
Windows Vista was.
In addition to this Compatibility
there are some Trouble-
useful tools built into
the operating
shooter
system.

The Program Program
Compatibility compatibility is
Assistant is able to
excellent in
tell you if a
program, when you Windows 7 but just
are installing it, has in case typing
any known program
compatibility issues
with Windows. It compatibility into
will give you an the Start Menu
option if it does to search box will
check for solutions
to help you run the bring up the
software. Program
Compatibility
Also if an
installation does not work Trouble-shooter.
correctly, Windows 7 will
XP MODE
automatically adjust itself to This is an wizard-
accommodate the installation, based system that
and will prompt you to
will search your
reinstall it again Using [these]
Recommended Settings. Windows 7 Professional software for
and Ultimate feature an incompatibility
Finally, right- optional plug-in called XP
issues and
clicking on a Mode. This will allow still
program in the incompatible software to automatically apply
Start Menu, run in a Virtual Machine fixes to help you get
selecting Properties (see appendix F) on your the software
from the menu that desktop and it includes a
appears and full licenced copy of working again.
navigating to the Windows XP Professional.
Compatibility tab will allow
you to set the program to run In order to be able to use
in a special compatibility XP Mode your motherboard
mode for a previous version of and processor will need to
Windows. support Hardware
Virtualisation. You can find
out about this in the
manuals for your
hardware.


TWEAKING
MSConfig ........................................................................................... 131
Services ............................................................................................ 131
Third-party tweaking software ............................................................. 132
Readyboost ....................................................................................... 132

QUICK TIPS
MSConfig ........................................................................................... 131
Be careful of tweaking software ............................................................ 132

MSCONFIG This operating system runs
far fewer services than
previous editions of Windows.
Search in the It was the number of running
QUICK TIP Start Menu for services that was largely
MSConfig and this responsible for Windows Vista
useful little utility being very slow.
MSConfig will appear.

It‘s most useful feature the
Startup tab in which you
MSConfig, accessed can see, and deactivate,
by typing its name
into the search box
in the Start Menu, is By default only the
services Windows 7
an excellent utility needs are running. You
for disabling can look down the list
annoying start-up though to view all
running services and
programs. shut down any that you
feel you don‘t need.
For more advanced
users it is also very
powerful for other
tasks. every program that‘s
set to start when
Windows boots.
MSConfig should
not be used for Many pieces of
disabling Windows software such as
toolbars, utilities for
services though, this disc burning software
should always be and updaters for
done through the software are often
set to run at start
main Services up.
control panel. For
Deactivating unnecessary Significant performance
instructions on how boosts can be gained by doing
and unwanted software can
to access this see
speed up Startup and this, but be careful as
the text on the shutdown times, and speed shutting down the wrong
Windows 7 in general use. service can cause Windows to
right.
crash, unable to restart.

SERVICES
Typing
services
into the
Start Menu
search box
will find this utility
with its cogs icon
that enables you to
start, stop and
switch off services
that are running in
Windows 7.

131

THIRD-PARTY The only one I can
recommend at this time is
TWEAKING SOFTWARE Windows 7 Manager from
Yamicsoft
With every version
QUICK TIP
www.yamicsoft.com/
of Windows there
are always a great windows7manager
Be careful of
number of
third-party tweaking
tools that will software
enable you to tweak the
settings in Windows to
help you get the best
Third-party
from it.
tweaking software
Using third-party can be an excellent
tweaking software does tool to help you get
include risks that
changing some Windows the best out of
settings could cause Windows 7.
Windows 7 to become
unstable or even unable Sometimes
to boot, so caution
should always be exercised I have used Yamicsoft however, a badly
when using these tools. tweaking utilities myself written or
before and found them to incompatible tool
Just some of the Windows 7 be very professionally
tweaking utilities available written, sensibly laid out can render your
include... and stable. copy of Windows
unusable.
EnhanceMySe7en
READYBOOST You should always
www.seriousbit.com/
make sure you have
tweak_windows_7 If you have a spare USB a backup of your
pen drive, you can use this
Ultimate Windows Tweaker to speed up your system. Windows 7
installation you can
www.winvistaclub.com/ Plug the drive in and when reinstall if there is a
Ultimate_Windows_Tweaker.html the autoplay window
appears select Speed up problem.
my system to use the pen
XdN Tweaker drive as additional memory.

It does this by using space
xenomorph.net/?page_id=336
on the pen drive to cache
programs for faster loading.
TweakNow PowerPack

www.tweaknow.com/powerPack.html

Windows 7 Little Tweaker

windows7news.com/2009/05/27/
customise-windows-7-with-windows-
7-little-tweaker


UPGRADING
Windows Anytime Upgrade .................................................................. 135
Upgrading to Windows 8...................................................................... 135
Adding memory .................................................................................. 136
Upgrading your Graphics card .............................................................. 136
Adding a hard disk.............................................................................. 137
Tips for upgrading your PC .................................................................. 137

QUICK TIPS

Cheap copies of Windows 7 ................................................................. 135
The 32 bit barrier ............................................................................... 136
What else can you upgrade? ................................................................ 137

WINDOWS
ANYTIME
QUICK TIP UPGRADE
Owners of Windows 7
Cheap copies Starter, Home Premium
of windows 7 or Professional can
upgrade their copy of
Windows 7 in-place to a
Normally from better version using
about three months Windows Anytime
after launch, which Upgrade. You can use this program to
Accessed through the Start transfer all your documents,
would put it at from Menu this is a quick and email and settings to Windows
February 2010, far simple way to buy a new 8 when it becomes available.
cheaper copies of product key and upgrade
windows in as little as 10 Bear in mind however that this
Windows are minutes.
available from backup will be extremely big if
you have a lot of documents,
computer fairs and There‘s no need to reinstall photos and music. If you
Windows, everything is done have an external hard disk
on the internet.
within your current you can back up to this is the
installation. best option.
Major companies
such as Amazon,
Dabs and e-Buyer UPGRADING TO
regularly sell full
WINDOWS 8
copies of windows
for about £80 (UK). When Windows 8 launches
(it‘s due around 2012), it
It can be worth will have a Windows Easy
waiting to upgrade Transfer utility on the disc,
similar to the one bundled
to Windows 7 to
with Windows 7. This will
take advantage of make it easy to transfer
the cheaper pricing. your files and documents
across.
Prices correct as of October 2009 US UK EU

Starter to Home Premium $79.99 £69.99 €74.99

Starter to Professional $114.99 £119.99 €184.99

Starter to Ultimate $164.99 £139.99 €204.99

Home Premium to $89.99 £119.99 €179.99
Professional
Home Premium to Ultimate $139.99 £124.99 €189.99

Professional to Ultimate $129.99 £84.99 €134.99

135

UPGRADING YOUR UPGRADING YOUR
MEMORY GRAPHICS CARD
The easiest and quickest way The other common way to
QUICK TIP
to upgrade your PC and upgrade a PC is to change
improve performance is to the graphics card to enable The 32 bit
install extra memory (RAM). you to play the latest
Windows 7 and your programs games. barrier
run from memory so the more
you have the more your PC There are two types of 32 bit operating
can do. If your PC runs out of interface, AGP and PCI-
systems cannot
memory it uses space on the Express. In the image
hard disk as virtual memory below the AGP socket is ‘see’ a total amount
instead, which is much slower. yellow on the left and the of memory over
long orange socket is on the 4Gb.
Memory cards sit behind your right.
DVD/Blu-Ray drives in your
computer and poke out This includes the
vertically from the memory on your
motherboard. graphics card which
is typically between
256Mb and 1Gb.

To take advantage
of more than 4Gb of
memory you will
need to be running
the 64 bit version of
Windows 7.

If you do not
already have this
version running it
They should have a label on will require a
them telling you what type of
memory they are. They will Any complete reinstall
usually be DDR, DDR2 or compatible as upgrading is not
DDR3 and this will be followed graphics possible.
by a speed. The label above card should
says DDR PC2700 which you work in
your PC, You should be able
can match up with an online
shop. It will also tell you how though some may require to get a 64 bit install
big the card is, in this case additional power so you DVD from your PC
1Gb. should check the power
supply in your PC has a supplier.
If you do not have this spare power cable, usually a
information, look for a model small white one.
number you can search online
for. Again, always make sure
you have discharged any
Always make sure the PC is static electricity from
switched off and you replace yourself and replace any
memory carefully, having parts in your computer
discharged any static- carefully.
electricity from yourself first.


ADDING A HARD DISK TIPS FOR UPGRADING
If you want more storage in
YOUR PC
QUICK TIP your PC you can add an
extra hard disk drive. Always be careful when
working inside your PC. Many
What else can Modern drives will connect of the components are very
to your PC by a SATA cable. fragile and susceptible to very
you upgrade? The ports on your minor changes in electric
motherboard will look the charge.
The next things you same as in the image below.
First check that you have a You should always earth
can upgrade in your yourself. You can do this by
free connector.
PC is the processor. leaving your PC connected to
the main via a cable and, after
Check the manual removing the side panel,
that came with your touching your fingers to
unpainted metal on the power
motherboard to see supply (the box the mains
what socket the cable plugs into) and then
motherboard has, with your other hand
unplugging the power cable
the maximum speed from the back of the PC.
the motherboard
can operate at and Also be careful when handling
new components as a static
what processors are electric shock could short out
supported by it.

You may also need
to buy a new heat
sink for the new The back of the
hard disk drive
processor, though will have sockets
many come with for the power and
one anyway. data cables. The
small plug is for
You will finally need data, this
connects to your
silicon thermal motherboard, the
paste to go larger is for
between the two to power.
If your power
stop the processor supply does not have a fragile parts like memory and
from cracking. SATA power connector the processors.
hard disk should have a
large Molex power socket Never do PC maintenance on a
you can use instead that is carpet or another surface
normally a white plug. where static electricity can be
generated. Always use a flat
table-top or similar surface.

137

APPENDICES
Appendix A : Glossary ......................................................................... 140
Appendix B : Keyboard shortcuts .......................................................... 146
Appendix C : Advanced searching ......................................................... 148
Appendix D : Windows features by edition ............................................. 155
Appendix E : Downloads ...................................................................... 160
Appendix F : Virtual Hard Disks ............................................................ 167
Appendix G : Office 2010 Quick guide ................................................... 169
Appendix H : About the author ............................................................. 172

Appendix A

Glossary

32 BIT BOOTING
An older type of computer processor Starting up your computer to use
capable of processing up to 32 bits of Windows.
binary data (0 or 1) at a time. They can
handle up to 4Gb of installed memory.
DEFRAGMENT
64 BIT Files on your hard drive can become
fragmented over time. This means that
Much newer processor designs capable Windows looks for the next best place to
of handling 64 binary bits at a time and save your file. However as you delete
memory in excess of 4Gb. They offer files this space might not be big enough
significant stability and security benefits for it. So it splits the file over the
over 32 bit processors. available free space.

Over time this can slow your PC down
ADMINISTRATOR and cause your files to become corrupt.

Defragmenting your drive brings all the
The user mode in which software has pieces of your files back together again.
full access to change / delete anything
on your computer. Windows Vista by
default runs in a Standard User mode Fragmented files
to improve security.
F i F l i 2 l e e 1
Defragmented files
ADSL F i l e 1 F i l e 2

The most common type of broadband
internet access. Asynchronous Digital
Subscriber Line is the access provided DEP
by British Telecom and all other non-
cable or satellite internet access Data Execution Prevention, a feature
providers. introduced in Windows XP Service Pack
2 to stop viruses. It can also prevent
some games from running.
AGP
An interface for graphics cards on a PC, DRIVE LETTERS
has since been replaced by PCI-Express
(PCI-E). Typically C: or A:, these are traditional
ways to refer to the hard drives and
removable storage in your PC.


DRIVER HARD DRIVE / HARD DISK
Software that tells Windows how to A physical disk that sits inside your PC
communicate with installed hardware. on which you store files and data in a
non-volatile way (see Memory). Hard
disks are measured in Gb units.
DUAL BOOTING The disk operates with a series of
spinning discs on platters read by a
Running more than one operating on moving arm.
your PC. For instance having both
Windows XP and Windows Vista installed
and choosing when you switch the
computer on, which one to boot into. HOMEGROUP
A feature in Windows 7 that allows the
DUAL CORE sharing of documents, photos, pictures,
music, video and printers between PCs
running Windows 7 on a network.
A processor that has two physical cores
(processors) on the one chip. This
enables faster operation in modern PCs
and is the most common form of ICAL
processor found in desktop machines.
See WebDav, also the calendar program
for Apple computers.
DX11
DirectX 11 is the new 3D graphics MB
engine for Windows Vista, it enables
new effects in PC games. Megabyte, A unit of measure. 1Mb is
approximately the amount of storage
you can fit on a floppy disk. To
GB compare, a CD will store approximately
650Mb and a DVD will store 4.5Gb.

Gigabyte, A unit of measure. 1Gb =
1000Mb. 1Gb is typically enough space
on a hard disk to store 200 MP3s or MEMORY (RAM)
enough memory to allow Windows Vista
to run properly. Temporary (volatile) storage for files
and programmes while your computer is
running. The more memory your
computer has, typically between 512Mb
and 2Gb, the faster it can run because
the less reading of the hard disk is
required. Reading and writing to
memory is faster than to a hard disk.
Memory is measured in either Mb or Gb
units.

The common types of memory are DDR2
and DDR3 which is newer and faster.


OPERATING SYSTEM PHISHING
Aka: Windows 7. The software that acts Emails that purport to be from Banks or
as an interface for your computer and websites such as Amazon or eBay that
that allows you to run software. try and trick you into logging in to what
you think is a genuine site to get your
passwords and other details.
NETWORK
A collection of PCs at home or at work PROCESSOR
that can share files and data with each
other. The silicon chip at the heart of your PC
that does all the computational work.

NETWORKING
QUAD CORE
Connecting your computer to a network
of others, either in your home or A processor that has four physical cores
onwards to the internet. on a single chip. Thus it can operate
far faster than a single or dual core
machine. These are commonly used for
PARTITION high-end tasks such as gaming, graphics
intensive work, mathematical
calculations and running a different
Your hard drive can be split into operating system on each core (see
separate partitions. Each of these Virtual Machine)
becomes its own hard drive in the
available space. For instance a 400Gb
hard drive can be split into a 100Gb
partition followed by two 250Gb READYBOOST
partitions. This is useful for keeping
your data and files away from your A way of increasing the amount of
Windows installation. memory in Windows Vista by plugging in
a compatible USB pen drive.

PCI-E
REMOTE ASSISTANCE
PCI Express, the new format for
graphics cards on a PC, replacing the A feature in Windows that allows remote
older AGP standard. control of your PC over the internet
when you give permission, so that
someone not in front of your PC can
solve problems on it.
PDF
Adobe‘s Portable Document Format is an
excellent way to transfer documents
between people, being operating system
independent.


REMOTE DESKTOP SSD
Remote control of other PCs on your Solid-state disk. A hard drive with no
home or office network. moving parts where all the storage is
silicon chip based. SSDs are far more
robust and much faster than their
SAVED SEARCHES mechanical alternatives.

A search that you can save as a folder SWAP FILE
and that can be treated in the same
way, but that holds no actual files and If you do not have much memory,
dynamically updates whenever it‘s Windows creates a virtual memory file,
opened. called a swap file, that acts as memory
but sits on the hard drive. Reading and
writing to a hard disk is slower than
SHADOW COPIES / PREVIOUS reading and writing to memory.

VERSIONS
SYSTEM RESTORE
Automatic backup of previous versions of
files performed by Windows Vista. A feature that takes a snapshot of your
These previous copies of files can be PC‘s operating system at certain periods
restored by right clicking on the file and so you can restore the system to that
selecting its properties point in the event of a problem.

SPAM TAGS
Unwanted, unsolicited email. Named Key words to describe the contents of
after a pre-cooked tinned meat your files, music or photographs.
commonly eaten in the UK during the
Second World War, and usually despised
by all who ate it. TASKBAR
The bar that typically runs along the
SPYWARE bottom of your screen containing the
Windows Orb Button, icons and the
Unwanted files that collect on your PC as clock.
you browse the internet. Many are
innocuous but some can have malicious
purposes. They are removed by UAC
software such as Windows Defender.
User Account Control (UAC) is the
security system in Windows Vista to
guard against virus and other attack.


UI WI-FI

User Interface, a term to describe the Wireless internet access, also called
look and feel of an application or 802.11. There are four speeds a, b, g
Operating System. and n with a being the slowest, n being
the fastest and g currently being the
most common.
USERS FOLDER
WINDOWS KEY
The location where your Documents and
other personal files are stored. This can The key between CTRL and ALT at the
be moved away from the drive or bottom left of your keyboard, also
partition on which you have installed known as the Windows Orb (formerly
Windows Vista. the Start Button) on the taskbar.

VIRTUAL MACHINE WIMAX
A copy of an operating system running The next generation wi-fi with a much
within another operating system in a broader range and greatly increased
protected / separated environment. speed and capacity.
Commonly found in testing situations or
with company servers.
WINDOWS UPDATE /
VIRTUAL MEMORY MICROSOFT UPDATE
Additional memory kept as a hidden file A utility built into all versions of
on your hard drive for when you run out Windows to help keep the operating
of physical memory. This is much system up to date and free from
slower than physical memory. security holes.

WEBDAV XPS
A way to store calendars online so that Microsoft‘s answer to Adobe‘s PDF
they can be shared with other people. format, the Cross Platform Support
document format offers the same
advantages that PDFs offer but is
WEP relatively new.

The typical format for the security key
used to protect access to wi-fi (wireless)
networks.


Appendix B

Keyboard Shortcuts

WINDOWS KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
It‘s also possible to control many aspects of Windows 7 using just the keyboard. Below
is a complete list of Keyboard controls, most of which will involve pressing the Windows
key (start button on the keyboard).

*windows key+ and *M+ ................................................................... Minimise all open windows
*windows key+ and *Shift+ and *M+ ............................................ Undo all window minimisation
*windows key+ and *D+ ................................................................... Toggle showing the desktop
*windows key+ and *Up cursor key+ .................................................. Maximise current window
*windows key+ and *Down cursor key+ ......................................... Minimise windows / Restore
*windows key+ and *Left cursor key+ ................................ Dock current window to the left side
*windows key+ and *Right cursor key+ ........................... Dock current window to the right side
*windows key+ and *Shift and Up cursor key+ ........................ Maximize vertical size of window
*windows key+ and *Shift and Down cursor key+ ........................................ Restore vertical size
*windows key+ and *Shift and Left cursor key+............................. Move window to left monitor
*windows key+ and *Shift and Right cursor key+ ....................... Move window to right monitor
*windows key+ and *Spacebar+ ..................................................................... Aero desktop peek
*windows key+ and *Home+ ....................................... Minimise/maximise all inactive windows
*Alt+ and *F4+ ....................................................................................... Close the active window
*Alt+ and *Tab+ ....................................................................... Switch to previous active window
*Alt+ and *Esc+ .......................................................................... Cycle through all open windows
*windows key+ and *Tab+.................................................................................................. Flip 3D
*Ctrl+ and *windows key+ and *Tab+ ................................................................ Persistent Flip 3D
*windows key+ and *T+ ........................................................ Cycle through programs on taskbar
*windows key+ and *Shift+ and *T+............................................... As above, but in reverse order
*windows key+ and *R+ ............................................................................. Opens Run dialog box
*windows key+ and *P+ ............................................. Show projector / multiple screen options
*windows key+ and *G+ ............................................................................ Show desktop gadgets
*windows key+ and *L+......................................................................................... Lock computer
*windows key+ and *X+ ....................................................................................... Mobility Centre
*windows key+ and *++ ................................................................................................... Zoom in
*windows key+ and *-+ ..................................................................................................Zoom out
*windows key+ and *=+ .................................................................................................Magnifier
*Alt+ and *P+ ........................................................................................ Show/hide Preview Pane
*Alt+ and *Up+ ..................................................................................................... Go up one level
*Alt+ and *Left/Right cursor keys+.......................................................................... Back/forward

Additionally you can use the following keyboard and mouse combinations.

*Win+ and *Any number (1, 2, .., 0)+ ............. Open the corresponding taskbar pinned program
*Ctrl+ and *Click a pinned taskbar icon+ ................ Cycle through the program’s open windows
*Shift+ and *Click a pinned taskbar icon+ ............................. Run a new instance of the program
*Ctrl+ and *Shift+ and *Click a pinned taskbar icon+............... New instance as an administrator
*Shift+ and *Right-click on icon+ ................................................................. Show window menu
*Shift+ and *Right-click on grouped icon+ ................................................... Show window menu

Appendix C

Advanced Search

ADVANCED SEARCH QUERY SYNTAX

Author:name Author:mike Finds documents written and / or
created by Mike

Author:(mike halsey) Find items containing the string Mike
Halsey

Author(mike or jed) Finds items written / created by mike
or jed

Author:mike jed Finds items written / created by mike
and with jed anywhere in the
document
From:name From:mike Finds items sent by mike
Before:date Before:22/10/2009 Finds items created before 22/10/2009
After:date After:22/10/2009 Finds items created after 22/10/2009
Has:attachment Guide has:attachment Finds items containing the word guide
that have attachments

Is:attachment Guide is:attachment Finds attachments containing with
word guide

When typing dates you can use several methods. The one above is an example but to
search between a range of dates you can use from:mike
sent:27/03/08..22/10/09 as Windows search will recognise all relevant date
formats.

In addition you can use the following terms...

Relative dates: today, tomorrow, yesterday

Multi-word relative dates: week, next month, last week, past month, coming year,
or contracted as thisweek, nextmonth, lastweek, pastmonth and comingyear

Days: Sunday, Monday ... Sunday

Months: January, February ... December

Size:>50KB <70KB Searches for files with a file size between 50Kb and
70Kb
Size:>=50KB <=70KB Searches for files with a size between 50Kb and
70Kb including the end values
Size:50KB..70KB The same as size:>=50KB <=70KB

Date:>27/3/08<22/10/09 Searches for dates between 27/3/08 and 22/10/09

Date:>=27/3/08<=22/10/0 Searches for dates between 27/3/08 and 22/10/09
9 including the end values
Date:27/3/08..22/10/09 The same as Date:>=27/3/08<=22/10/09

Searching by file type

To search for Use Example
Communications Communications Kind:communications
Contacts Contact Kind:contacts
Person Kind:person
Email Email Kind:email
Instant messenger Im Kind:im
conversations
Meetings Meetings Kind:meetings
Tasks Tasks Kind:tasks
Notes Notes Kind:notes
Documents Docs Kind:docs
Music Music Kind:music
Song Kind:song
Pictures Pics Kind:pics
Pictures Kind:pictures
Videos Videos Kind:videos
Folders Folders Kind:folders
Folder name Fordername Foldername:windows7
Programs Programs Kind:programs
Recorded TV Tv Kind:tv
Link Link Kind:link
Journal Entry journal Kind:journal

To search by file store

Store Use Example Store Use Example
Files File Store:file Outlook Mapi Store:mapi
Offline csc Store:csc Outlook outlookexpress Store:outlookexpress
files Express

Video Calendar

Property Use Example Property Use Example

Name Name Name:paris Recurring Isrecurrin Isrecurring:true
Subject Subject:holiday g Recurring:false
Extension Ext Ext:mp3 recurring
filext Filext:wmv Organiser Organizer, Organizer:mike
by, from

Location location Location:sheffield

Searching by file type

Property Use Example

Title Title, subject, about Title:consultant
Status Status Status:active
Date Date Date:lastweek
Date modified Datemodified, modified Modified:yesterday
Importance Importance, priority Importance:high
Size Size Size:>50MB
Deleted Deleted, isdeleted Isdeleted:true
Is attachment Isattachment Isattachment:false
To To, toname To:johnsmith
Cc Cc, ccname Cc:david
Company Company Company:inspirare
Category Category Category:business
Keywords Keywords Keywords:sports
Album Album Album:greatest
File name Filename, file Filename:2009hits
Genre Genre Genre:jazz
Author Author, by Author:mike
Folder Folder, under, path Folder:windows7
Ext Ext, fileext Ext:.pdf
Tags Tag, keyword Tag:personal
Type Type Type:image

Properties for Documents

Comments Comments Comments:excellent
Last saved by Last saved by Lastsavedby:mike
Document manager Documentmanager Documentmanager:mike
Revision number Revisionnumber Revisionnumber:5a
Date last printed Datelastprinted Datelastprinted:yesterday
Slide count slides Slides:>20

Properties for Music


Bit rate Bitrate Bitrate:>150kbps
Artist Artist, by Artist:pink
Year Year Year:1977..1987
Year:>1980<1990
Album Album Album:‖greatest hits‖
Genre Genre Genre:rock
Lyrics Lyrics Lyrics:‖I can make you
happy‖
Track #, track Track:14

Properties for Pictures


Camera make Cameramake Cameramake:nikon
Camera model Cameramodel Cameramodel:D20
Dimensions Dimensions Dimensions:8x10
Orientation Orientation Orientation:landscape
Date taken Taken Taken:last
Datetaken Datetaken:22/10/2008
Width Width Width:33
Height Height Height:66
Flash mode Flashmode Flashmode: no flash

Properties for Recorded TV


Broadcast date Broadcastdate Broadcastdate:2007
Channel number Channel Channel:13
Closed captioning Closedcaptioning Closedcaptioning:true
Date released Datereleased Datereleased:2008
Episode name episodename Episodename:‖best of‖


Properties for Contacts


Job title Jobtitle Jobtitle:manager
IM address Imaddress Imaddress:sparky@inspirare.net
Assistant’s phone Assistansphone Assistantsphone:01141234567
Assistant name Assistantname Assistantname:paula
Profession Profession Profession:banker
Nickname Nickname Nickname:bono
Spouse Spouse Spouse:louise
Business city Businesscity Businesscity:redmond
Business postal code Businesspostalcode Businesspostalcode:98052
Business home page Businesshomepage Businesshomepage:www.inspirare.net
Callback phone number Callbacknumber Callbacknumber:882-8080
Car phone Carphone Carphone:555-1212
Children Children Children:paul
First name Firstname Firstname:mike
Last name Lastname Lastname:halsey
Home fax Homefax Homefax:555-1212
Manager’s name Manager Manager:steve
Pager Pager Pager:882-8080
Business phone Businessphone Businessphone:555-1212
Home phone Homephone Homephone:01141234567
Mobile phone Mobilephone Mobilephone:077712345678
Office Officelocation Officelocation:red/101
Anniversary Anniversary Anniversary:yesterday
Birthday Birthday Birthday:nextweek


Properties for Communications


From From, organizer From:mike
Received Received, sent Sent:yesterday
Subject Subject, title Subject:book
Has attachment has attachment, hasattachments hasattachment:true
Attachments Attachment, attachments Attachment:win7power.pdf
Bcc Bcc, bccname Bcc:margaret
Bcc address Bcc, bccaddress Bccaddress:mike@inspirare.net
Cc address Cc, ccaddress Ccaddress:mike@inspirare.net
Follow-up flag Flagstatus Flagstatus:unflagged
Flagststus:followup Flagstatus:completed

To address Toaddress, to Toaddress:mike@inspirare.net
Date due Duedate, due Due:22/10/2009
Read Read, isread Isread:true
Is completed Iscompleted Iscompleted:false
Incomplete Iscomplete Incomplete:false
Has flag Hasflag, isflagged Hasflag:true
Duration Duration Duration:>120


Appendix D

Windows Features
By version

USER INTERFACE

Windows Basic
Windows Standard
Windows Aero
Aero Peek
Aero Snap
Aero Shake
Windows Flip
Windows Flip 3D
Live Taskbar Preview
Jumplists
Windows Search

BUNDLED APPLICATIONS

Internet Explorer 8 *
Windows Desktop gadgets
Basic Games
Premium Games
Calculator
Paint
Snipping Tool
Sticky Notes
Windows Journal
Windows Fax and Scan
Windows PowerShell
WordPad
XPS Viewer

*pre-installed in some versions of Windows 7 and available via-download in others,
dependant on whether your copy of Windows 7 came with a new PC or was purchased
separately.

DIGITAL MEDIA

Windows Photo Viewer
Windows Media Player 12
Windows Media Player Remote Media Experience
Windows Media Centre
Windows DVD Maker
Device Stage
Sync Centre
MPEG-2 Decoding
Dolby Digital Playback
AAC and H.264 Decoding
DVD Playback
TV Tuners Supported 4 4 4

SECURITY

Action Centre
Windows Defender
Windows Firewall
IE 8 Protected Mode and DEP Support
User Account Control
Windows Update
Fast User Switching
Parental Controls


MOBILITY

Windows Mobility Centre *
Windows Sideshow
Sync Centre
Tablet PC
Multi-Touch Support

*No presentation mode

PERFORMANCE

Windows ReadyDrive
Windows ReadyBoost
SuperFetch
64-bit Processor Support
Physical Processors Supported 1 2 2 2
Processor Core Support Unlimited
Maximum RAM (32-bit) 4Gb* 4Gb* 4Gb* 4Gb*
Maximum RAM (64-bit) 16Gb 192Gb 192Gb

*This includes memory on any installed AGP or PCI-Express Graphics card(s).

RELIABILITY

Windows Backup
System Image
Backup to Network
Encrypting File System
Bitlocker
Bitlocker to Go
Automatic Hard Disk Defragmenting
Previous Versions (Shadow Copies)
Create and Attach Virtual Hard Disks

NETWORKING

Network and Sharing Centre
Homegroup Join
Improved Power Management
Connect to a Projector
Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop Host
IIS Web Server
RSS Support
Internet Connection Sharing
Network Bridge
Offline Files

ENTERPRISE AND BUSINESS FEATURES

Join a domain
XP Mode (via download)
Applocker
Boot from Virtual Hard Disk
BranchCache
DirectAccess
Federated Search
Multi-lingual User Interface Language Packs
Location-Aware Printing
Subsystem for UNIX Applications


Appendix E

Downloads

ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
My choices for the best anti-virus downloads are.

MICROSOFT SECURITY
ESSENTIALS
A free basic anti-virus solution that has
advantages over the competition
including only scanning your PC when
you‘re not using it.

It uses Microsoft‘s award-winning
corporate anti-virus engine.

www.microsoft.com/security_essential

AVG ANTI-VIRUS
For years the anti-virus of choice for
internet professionals.

AVG comes in both a free version and a
full security suite including firewall and
spam protection

www.avg.com

KASPERSKY AVIRA
One of the longest-standing anti-virus A relative newcomer to anti-virus but the
vendors. Avira security suite is an excellent all-
rounder with a
Kaspersky is fantastic
either a paid for record.
anti-virus or a
security suite. www.avira.com

www.kaspersky.com

FIREWALLS
My choices for the best firewall downloads are.

ZONEALARM
Available as both a free basic firewall and
a full security suite, ZoneAlarm is one of
the best and longest-standing firewalls.

www.zonealarm.com

AVG SECURITY SUITE
AVG provides an excellent firewall as part
of its paid for security suite.

www.avg.com

COMODO AVIRA
Comodo offers an excellent free firewall A relative newcomer but the Avira security
as well as an upgraded paid-for edition. suite is an excellent all-rounder with a
fantastic record.
www.comodo.com
www.avira.com

ANTI-SPYWARE SOFTWARE
My choices for the best anti-spyware downloads are.

SPYWARE TERMINATOR
Completely free but a little complex in
parts. Should be installed by an
experienced user but fire-and-forget after
that time. Spyware Terminator provides
excellent spyware and trojan protection.

www.spywareterminator.com

AVG SECURITY SUITE
AVG provides an excellent anti-spyware
package as part of its paid for security
suite.

www.avg.com

KASPERSKY AVIRA
Kaspersky offers an excellent anti- A relative newcomer but the Avira security
spyware package as part of it‘s paid for suite is an excellent all-rounder with a
security suite. fantastic record.

www.kaspersky.com www.avira.com

PC MAINTENANCE SOFTWARE
My choices for the best PC maintenance downloads are.

GLARY UTILITIES
One of the best and simplest to use
Windows optimisations tools available,
and even better it‘s completely free.

www.glarysoft.com

ASHAMPOO WINOPTIMISER
A paid for package but well worth the
small price. An excellent Windows
optimisation tool.

www.ashampoo.com

CCLEANER
Another free Windows optimisation utility
and an excellent one at that, but only
recommended for more advanced users.

www.ccleaner.com


OTHER ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE
My choices for the best software you can‘t do without are.

WINDOWS LIVE SUITE
Many of the programs we were used to
with previous versions of Windows were
removed in Windows 7 and clearly for the
better. Now integrated into Windows
Live Suite, Mail, Photo Gallery and much
more are the first thing I install in
Windows 7.

download.live.com

ZUNE PLAYER
Far superior to any other media player on
the market today, and you don‘t have to
own a Microsoft Zune MP3 player to use
the software.

www.zune.net/software

SHARK007 CODECS
A complete codec package for Windows
7, ensuring you can listen to and view
the widest range of music and video files.

www.shark007.net

ESSENTIAL WEBSITES
My choices for the best websites to bookmark are.

MICROSOFT FIX IT
A new service from Microsoft, helping you
diagnose and fix common Windows
problems, with downloadable fixes and
patches. This is an essential bookmark for
any Windows user.

support.microsoft.com/fixit

GIBSON RESEARCH
The website of one of the internet‘s foremost
security experts. A goldmine of free tools
and utilities for finding and fixing security
problems on your PC.

www.grc.com

THE LONG CLIMB
My own website with a comprehensive PC
support section along with lots more.

www.thelongclimb.com


Appendix F

Virtual Hard Disks

WHAT IS A dialog will pop up in
which you should specify
VIRTUALISATION? where on your computer
you want this stored and
Virtualisation is the ability run
what size it should be. QUICK TIP
create and run a virtual disk, You will need to initialise
an entire hard disk contained
within the file, similar to the
this disk which you can do What is
by right-clicking on it.
way files can be stored within Virtualisation?
a ZIP file for emailing.

A copy of Windows can be When you have a
installed inside this virtual
ZIP file on your PC
hard disk, protecting it from
the outside world and making and open it, it
it easy to restore from a appears to be a
backup if something goes
folder containing
wrong with it.
other files. IT is
though just a file
You can also attach a virtual containing those
hard disk *.VHD file created other files in a
previously or on another
copy of Windows 7 from the compressed form.
Action menu in the
Computer Management A virtual hard disk is
console. the same thing, a
file on your PC
CREATING A containing other
BOOTABLE VIRTUAL files. The difference
CREATING A VIRTUAL is that, rather than
WINDOWS
appear as a folder, a
HARD DISK Virtual Hard Disk
You can install a bootable
copy of Windows 7 into this appears as an extra
Windows 7 allows you to partition. This can be hard disk on your
create a virtual hard disk and useful in certain
mount it as though it were circumstances, for instance
computer.
another drive on your PC. if you want a safe copy of
Open Computer Management Windows to use as a test This means you can
from the Start Menu and from environment. install an operating
the Action menu select Create
VHD. system and
The full instruction for this
are out of the scope for this programs on it as
book, however there is an well as store files
excellent guide online from and documents on
Microsoft on how to set this
feature up. it.

http://blogs.msdn.com/
cesardelatorre/
archive/2009/01/11/windows-7-
natively-booting-from-a-vhd-
virtual-pc-image-file.aspx


Appendix G

Office 2010
Quick Guide

THE RIBBON BACKSTAGE
Microsoft Office 2007 caused Clicking the new coloured
some considerable debate Office tab will bring up a QUICK TIP
because of the inclusion of the new feature called
new ribbon interface. This was backstage. From here you
introduced because the can open and save files, Customise the
standard menu system had print and print-preview
become unwieldy, and unable them and perform Ribbon
to cope with the sheer number additional actions such as
of features within the Office changing the default
programs. options. Many people find
the Ribbon in
Office confusing.

Office 2010 allows
you to customise
With Office 2010, the ribbon
has been extended to all of the the ribbon, see left
Office suite and has changed
CUSTOMISE THE for instructions on
slightly from it‘s previous RIBBON how to do this.
version.

The oft-confusing Office Orb Click the coloured Office You can add your
has been removed and button and then the own tabs and add
replaced by a more prominent options link on the left side
or remove features
coloured Office tab at the far of the backstage window
left of the ribbon. Also at the and you will see in the from the existing
far right, next to the help options controls for ones.
button is a quick button that customising the ribbon,
will minimise and maximise including creating custom You can create
the ribbon for you. tabs for yourself.
your own tabs with
the Office features
you use most
regularly.


QUICK ACCESS FILE FORMATS
TOOLBAR
By default, Microsoft Office
QUICK TIP 2010 wants to save your files
At the very top left of the in the *.docx, *.xlsx format.
window is the quick access This format cannot be read on
toolbar. This section Office 2003 and earlier
Office Online contains common functions without the Office 2007 File
you can access with a single Format Compatibility Pack
which is available as a
Anyone familiar free download from the
with Google Docs Microsoft website.
will know what to
You also have the choice
expect with Office of saving documents in
Online immediately. the more compatible
*.doc and *.xls formats
It is a cut down and also the *.odf open
document format.
version of the main
office programs,
Word, Excel and OFFICE ONLINE
PowerPoint that you
can access and use Microsoft Office Online is
within a web a new Service to allow
you to create, work on
browser without
and store Office
having to have a documents in the cloud
copy of Microsoft click. You can add new that you can work on in a web
Office installed. items to this toolbar by browser. You do not need to
clicking the down arrow to own or have installed a copy
the right it and selecting of Microsoft Office to use this
This can make it items from the drop down service, just a live internet
very accessible list that appears. connection.
when you’re away
from your PC.
LANGUAGES
You can also store
your files on the Office 2010 does a better
job than ever before of
Office Online service recognising your language
meaning you will be and only installing the
able to access them dictionary for that.
wherever you are,
You can access Languages
whenever you need from Options in the
to. Backstage screen if you
need to change this
however.

171

Appendix H

The Author

ABOUT MIKE HALSEY
Mike Halsey grew up in Camberley, Surrey
(UK). He is currently based in Sheffield.

Mike has been working in IT Support for
years. He began supporting individuals in
their homes and micro-businesses and
moved on to blue-chip clients including
major UK banks NatWest and Royal Bank of
Scotland and the supermarket chain Tesco.

He has been a beta-tester for Microsoft since
the launch of Windows XP.

Before that Mike spent several years‘ self-
employed providing websites, adverts and
other promotional materials for micro-
business and SMEs in the UK and as far
afield as Amsterdam and China.

He also spent some years touring the UK as
a singer.

He is now working as a teacher for a South
Yorkshire training company teaching English
and Mathematics as well as maintaining their
e-learning system.

He is a keen photographer with a particular
interest in modern architecture. His
photographic, PC support site and blog is at

www.TheLongClimb.com

He was one of only a very few photographers
ever allowed into the Millennium Dome in
London, and maintains the only full photo
library of the empty dome on the internet.

He is an editor for windows7news.com and
windows8news.com for whom he has been
writing since May 2009.

Mike is the author of the Windows Vista
Power Users Guide, that he initially wrote
to stop his mother and friends asking him
dumb questions when he was down the pub.

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