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As soon as you have Windows 7 installed, you can view Start (button) => Getting started, which provides the following videos that cover using the new features:
Windows 7 can play Blu-ray data discs, but, unfortunately, it cannot play Blu-ray movies, because it lacks the appropriate codecs. These codecs are not available for free, so you need third-party software such as Cyberlink's PowerDVD. If you are upgrading a computer from Windows Vista, it will probably have come with an installation file for some third-party DVD-playing software, which you should save to a CD/DVD before you perform a clean installation. If you perform an in-place upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7, your files should be left intact in their folders, but just in case something goes wrong, you should back them up to discs or an external hard disk drive. If you are upgrading from Windows XP, you have to perform a clean installation, because there is no in-place upgrade path to Windows 7 from Windows XP. Detailed information on upgrading and installing Windows 7 is provided further down in this article.
Windows Explorer - the mode that gives to access to the folders and files in Windows - can still be opened by right-clicking on the Start button and then clicking on Open Windows Explorer in the menu that opens. You can also find it by clicking Start => All Programs => Accessories =>Windows Explorer. But, remember that in Windows 7 the easiest way to find or open a feature is to enter its name (e.g., windows explorer) in the Start => Search programs and files box.
You will probably find it frustrating using the new layout that is divided into categories instead of a left window pane containing the folders and a right window pane containing the files of a selected folder as in Windows XP/Vista. You can still click on the individual drives under Computer in the bottom of the left-hand window pane to bring up the same view of folders and files as in Start => Computer.
This can leave you unable to view the full folder structure in either window pane without expanding it manually. It beats me why Microsoft did this, but, fortunately both problems are easily solved. Just click on Organize (in the top left corner of the Windows Explorer window), click on Folder and Search Options, and place check marks in both the Show all folders and the Automatically expand to current folder boxes and click OK.
By default Windows 7 hides drives that are empty, including CD/DVD and floppy disk drives and memory card, so a drive's position in the list cannot tell what it is. However, You can disable this feature by clicking Tools => Folder Options => View and clearing the check mark in the Hide empty drives in the Computer folder box with the mouse pointer. If you prefer not to display empty drives, note that the setting is overridden by the Show all folders option mentioned above.
If you work on a folder regularly, you should select it in the right-hand window pane, right click on Favorites (in the top of the left pane with a yellow star beside it) and select Add current location to Favourites. The folder then appears at the bottom of the current list, making it easy to access.
How to add items to Favorites Windows 7 Explorer folder -
http://www.webtlk.com/2009/02/23/...
You can also replace Windows Explorer with a third-party version such as the free Xplorer2 lite (a paid-for professional version with more features is available). The free version looks similar to older versions of Windows Explorer but it provides many more features, a full list of which can be found on the download page: http://www.zabkat.com/x2lite.htm.
If you want to change settings such as making Windows show hidden files, folders and drives, show the full path to files in Windows Explorer, etc., you open Appearance and Personalization in the Control Panel and then open Folder Options and look for the setting under the View tab of the window that comes up. If you have chosen to use the View by: Large icons or Small icons option in the Control Panel, its items are listed instead of categorised. Folder Options is one of the listed options.
Remember, that you can use the Start => Search programs and files box to locate anything in Windows 7. Entering Folder Options provides you with a link that, when clicked on, opens appropriate window.
The Sidebar that was installed by default in Windows Vista is no longer available in Windows 7. If you want to use the gadgets and features that are made available by default in the Sidebar in Windows Vista plus some new gadgets, just right-click an empty space on the Windows Desktop and you should see Gadgets in the drop-down menu. Alternatively, access them via the Control Panel.
One of these gadgets is the Windows Media Center that, among other things, allows you to watch TV on your computer or via a TV connected to your computer. There is more information on the Media Center further down in this article.
You can obtain more gadgets online by opening the Control Panel, opening Appearance and Personalization, clicking on Desktop Gadgets and then clicking on Get more gadgets online.
If you have a desktop PC monitor or a laptop PC the screen of which supports touch-screen control, Windows comes with Touch Screen Controls that allow you to operate the computer by touching the screen. The best way to learn how to use them is to watch a video such as the one on this webpage:
Windows 7 Video Guide: Touch Screen Controls -
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/video/8338/technology/Windows-7-first-look/...
Windows 7 comes with a very useful screen-capture tool called the Snipping Tool. You can use it to capture anything on the screen. To run it just enter the words snipping tool in the Start => Search programs and files box and click the link that is presented, which brings the tool up. It can be pinned to the taskbar by right-clicking its icon on the taskbar. To capture an image on the screen or just part of the screen, click on New and then use the mouse pointer to draw around the area that you want to capture, then use File => Save as... to save the image in the JPG, GIF or PNG image formats.
Windows 7 has a new feature called Magnifier that allows you to zoom in or out of the whole screen. You can tie the magnification to the activity of the mouse or keyboard and you can just magnify a selected area of the screen, leaving the rest of the screen unmagnified. You can also choose to pin the Magnifier permanently to the bottom taskbar so that you just have to click on its icon to be able to use it. For that matter, you can choose to pin any program that you use to the taskbar. Just right-click on the program's temporary icon on the taskbar and choose the option to pin it there. It will remain there - even after a restart.
Zoom In and Out Your Desktop with Windows 7 Magnifier -
http://www.windows7hacker.com/index.php/2009/07/...
One of the most useful new features is the replacement of the Quick Launch toolbar with the ability to pin any programs that you use to the taskbar. Then you just have to hold the mouse over the program's icon on the taskbar to see mini versions of all of that program's opened windows/pages, which will then enlarge if you hold the mouse within them. The icons on the taskbar can all be unpinned - even the default ones - by right-clicking the mouse with its pointer on them. The icons themselves are large by default. If you want to use small icons, right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. One of the options provided is to use small icons.
Alternatively, right-click on a blank space on the taskbar, choose Properties and choose Combine When Taskbar Is Full from the Taskbar Buttons drop-down menu. You will then have large taskbar icons and each window will have its own icon and small text labels. On a screen with a 1280x800 resolution (that most 15.6" widescreen laptops have), there is enough space to accommodate six or seven icons - enough for most users.
Some features and programs that were a part of Windows Vista are no longer present in Windows 7 or have been changed. Some relatively well-known features and components in Windows Vista have been replaced or are absent in Windows 7, including Windows Ultimate Extras - the additional programs and features that were promised for the Vista Ultimate Edition, but which turned out to be pretty feeble - and InkBall. Four applications that were p;art of Windows Vista — Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Calendar and Windows Mail — are not included with Windows 7, but are available for free in a separate package called Windows Live Essentials.
Other notable changes are:
1. - There is no Classic View of anything (Control Panel, Classic Start menu, etc.) available as are available in Windows XP and Windows Vista; third-party software is required to introduce them.
2. - The Quick Launch toolbar (available in Windows XP by default) is still available, but it's hidden by default. This is the path to it: C:\ Users \ username \ AppData \ Roaming \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Quick Launch. All oyu have to do to enable it is create a new toolbar by right-clicking with the mouse pointer on an empty space on the taskbar, choose Toobars => New toolbar... and point to this location. You'll have to enable 'Show hidden files' to find it.
If you want to change settings such as making Windows show hidden files, folders and drives, show the full path to files in Windows Explorer, etc., you open Appearance and Personalization in the Control Panel and then open Folder Options and look for the setting under the View tab of the window that comes up. If you have chosen to use the View by: Large icons or Small icons option in the Control Panel, its items are listed instead of categorised. Folder Options is one of the listed options.
However, there is no need to reveal the 'hidden' Quick Launch toolbar in Windows 7, because you can right-click any program's icon in the taskbar and select Pin to Taskbar. This will create a permanent icon for that program and place it on the left side of the taskbar. If the program has several pages opened, placing the mouse pointer over the program's icon will reveal small versions of those pages. If you place the mouse pointer over one of those small versions, the large version appears and will remain as the main active page if you click on its small version.
3. - There is no way to copy User Profiles other than the Default User profile, but you can build up the Default User profile, which can be copied. Read how to do that in MS Knowledge Base article 973289: How to customize default user profiles in Windows 7.
4. - The WPA2-Personal wireless security key can be seen in clear text by anyone after it has been typed in, which, in my opinion, isn't very serious because most people use a home network not a public network.
During the installation of Windows 7, the option to activate it automatically when online is presented as the default setting. You just have to remove the check mark in the box beside that option so that you can choose when to activate. You have 30 days before you have to enter an activation key, but this can be extended to 120 days. The following article provides the information on how that can be done.
To find out how many days you have left, click Start => right-click Computer, and choose Properties. At the bottom of the window that comes up, you should see this heading: Windows Activation. It will say "Windows is activated" and provide the Product ID or provide the number of days remaining of a trial period.
Use any version of Windows 7 free for 120 days -
http://windowssecrets.com/2009/08/20/...
Otherwise, Product Activation (click that link to go to the information on it on this website) is much the same as it is for Windows XP and Windows Vista.
Windows 7 analyses the system it is installed on and creates the Windows Experience Index Score. To obtain it, enter the word experience in the Start => Search programs and files box. Click on the link called Check the Windows Experience Index. The window that presents itself provides the computer’s performance rating, measured on a scale between 1 and 7.9. You can experiment with the options made available from that window to improve performance. Most users won't have to do anything because their computer performs as well as they want it to while using all of the appearance-enhancing features provided by Win7. Most desktop and laptop PCs average between 3.0 to 5.9. Scores for newer computers with 4GB or more of RAM memory and a separate graphics card (or cards) instead of the graphics being integrated into the PC's motherboard or provided by the processor, usually score between 6.0 and 7.0. The score range is scalable to accommodate new technology, making it possible for later computers to score 8.0 and higher.
A desktop PC I have dating from 2005 with its graphics provided from a chip on the motherboard and running an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core processor with 1GB of DDR memory runs Windows 7 beautifully using the performance setting Let Windows choose what's best for my computer, which uses most of the appearance-enhancing features, but only scored 2.3, so there is no need to despair if your computer produces a score of that kind. It can do all the most popular activities, such as using office and other popular software, accessing the web, playing video, DVD movies, etc., very well.
The web has many sites that provide PC optimisation information, or that provide or run optimisation programs from their websites. However, you may want to read the information on the following webpages before induging in any performance-tweaking yourself.
Four free programs to help control Windows 7 -
With regard to the startup/boot time, the free Soluto (dealt with in the article) compares what the user loads with its database, allowing even beginners to make intelligent decisions about which programs to have as startup programs. -
http://windowssecrets.com/2011/01/06/...
What is the Windows 7 Experience Index? -
"The Windows Experience Index measures the capability of your computer's hardware and software configuration and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score. A higher base score generally means that your computer will perform better and faster than a computer with a lower base score, especially when performing more advanced and resource-intensive tasks." -
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/What-is-the-Windows-Experience-Index
Windows tweaking and optimization: myths and reality -
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/2010/08/...
Tweaking Windows for performance [forum thread] -
http://lounge.windowssecrets.com/index.php?showtopic=777499
But if you want to try tweaking your computer for performance, you can make use of a search engine to locate system-tweaking websites. If you are running Windows 7, you could use a search term such as: tweaking windows 7. Here are a few relevant websites that I found:
TweakWin7 [Windows 7] - http://www.tweakwin7.com/
Windows 7 tricks: 20 top tips and tweaks -
"Getting to know Windows 7? Here are 20 ways to get around the interface and make it act the way you want." - http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140414/...
Here is an optimisation/optimization website with a good reputation:
PC Pitstop Optimize -
"Run our free Optimize scan and identify many common problems that plague most computers. Find out what it takes to get a better performing computer without the expense or difficulty of adding new hardware." -
http://www.pcpitstop.com/store/optimize.asp
Windows 7 provides new disc-burning features. Windows 7 supports Blu-ray discs and ISO image files and direct disc-burning that uses an optical disc in the same way as a USB flash drive (files can be added to and deleted from the disc).
Click here! to open a page on this website containing information on how to use the new features.
HomeGroups is a new way of setting up sharing resources, such as files and printers in a home network.
Click here! to open a page on this website containing information on how to set up and use HomeGroups.
By improving how Windows Vista and Windows 7 interacts with Media Center and improving the video and sound quality by the addition of third party software you can enhance the experience of using Media Center considerably and make it play video formats other than videos in the WMV format.
Click here! to read an article on this website called How to improve the Windows Media Center in Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Windows 7 comes with some handy built-in troublesooting tools. To learn more about them, visit these webpages:
Troubleshooting Windows 7 With Microsoft's Built-In Tools : It All Began With Firefox 3.5
"The good news: Windows 7 gives you a robust set of tools to track down problems you encounter. We’ll take a look at a number of those tools, and how they can help you in your problem solving." -
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/windows-7-troubleshooting,review-31786.html
Troubleshooting Windows 7 With Microsoft's Built-In Tools -
"Windows 7 is more stable and responsive than Vista, but no operating system is perfect (the same goes for the drivers and apps running on it). We show you a suite of tools built into Microsoft’s shiny new OS to help you troubleshoot your Windows 7 issues." -
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-7-troubleshooting,2504.html
Detailed information on how to backup, recover, repair and restore Windows 7 is provided further down in this article.
Windows 7 Feature Walkthroughs -
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/dd320282.aspx
Windows 7 comes with a novel way of recording a problem so that screenshots can be assembled into a zip file and sent to someone who knows how to deal with it. The feature is called the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR). In short, you create your own tutorial to explain your problem and it only takes minutes.
Enter the words problem steps in the Search box in Start => Help and Support. This is how the information there begins:
"How do I use Problem Steps Recorder? - You can use Problem Steps Recorder to automatically capture the steps you take on a computer, including a text description of where you clicked and a picture of the screen during each click (called a screen shot). Once you capture these steps, you can save them to a file that can be used by a support professional or someone else helping you with a computer problem."
To bring the recorder up, enter problem steps in the Start => Search programs and files box. The following walk-through of the new feature is provided on Microsoft's website:
Windows 7 Walkthrough: Problem Steps Recorder -
"Brief Description: Explore the Problem Steps Recorder in the Windows 7 operating system." -
http://www.microsoft.com/DownLoads/...
Obscure Win7 tools [including the PSR] can save you time and trouble -
"Some of Windows 7's best new features aren't so easy to find." -
http://www.windowssecrets.com/2009/12/17/...
There are plenty of webpages and videos on the web on this feature. To find them, enter windows 7 problem steps recorder as the search query in a search engine.
Note that there is a version of Win7 called Anytime Upgrade that allows a user to unlock features that are provided by higher versions (Professional and Ultimate versions) instead of having to buy and install those higher versions in order to obtain their features. All of the versions have all of the available features; the features that are not available just have to unlocked. Home Premium can be upgraded to Professional or Ultimate and Professional can be upgraded to Ultimate.
Note that if you have a 32-bit installation you cannot use an Anytime Upgrade to upgrade to a 64-bit version. The only way to move from 32-bit to 64-bit Windows is to clean install.
Note that most programs designed for the 32-bit version of Windows will work on the 64-bit version of Windows. Notable exceptions are many antivirus programs. -
32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions -
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/...
To buy a new licence and unlock the version that you want, just click on the Start button and type Upgrade in the Search programs and files box. Select "Windows Anytime Upgrade" from the search results, then select "Go online to choose the edition of Windows 7 that's best for you" to buy a new product key online. Selecting "Enter an upgrade key" allows you to enter the new product key that starts the upgrade process that only takes a few minutes.
Windows Anytime Upgrade: frequently asked questions -
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/...
Upgrade to another edition of Windows 7 by using Windows Anytime Upgrade -
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/...
Windows 7 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7
Windows 7 home -
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home?os=winxp
Windows 7 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7
Windows 7 features -
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features
Windows 7: How low can you go? -
"Rejuvenating your 7-year-old PC with Windows, not Linux, can now make technical and fiscal sense." - http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136192/...
Windows 7: The complete guide -
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/262021/windows-7-the-complete-guide.html
How To Install Microsoft Windows 7 -
"Say goodbye to Vista and XP, and let us walk you through the installation of your new operating system, step-by-step." -
http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/desktop/...
FAQ: How to upgrade XP to Windows 7 -
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135440/...
Tips, tricks and hacks to make Windows 7 more awesome -
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/...
Troubleshooting Windows 7 With Microsoft's Built-In Tools -
"Windows 7 is more stable and responsive than Vista, but no operating system is perfect (the same goes for the drivers and apps running on it). We show you a suite of tools built into Microsoft’s shiny new OS to help you troubleshoot your Windows 7 issues." -
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-7-troubleshooting,2504.html
You can find additional information on any of the programs, utilities or features mentioned above, or in the rest of this article, by making use of the web search engine of your choice.
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