Tutorials

A few days ago I faced a question http://www.sevenforums.com/customization/72719-how-do-i-change-icons-using-restorator.html . I provided the suggestion there; latter thought if there is a tutorial, it may help many guys asking the question.Tools required : 1. Resource Hacker : Now supports 64 bit system and .png files. Download it from : Download New Updated “Resource Hacker 3.5.2 Beta” with 64-bit and PNG File Support - Tweaking with Vishal 2. IcoFX : A free application that can be used to get a ready reference of the system icons. Download it from IcoFX - The Free Icon Editor - Download Download and install the above mentioned programs. Now it starts : Suppose we are changing the default games icon with this one Though...

How to Unlock a Data or Removable Drive Locked by BitLocker Drive Encryption This will show you how to unlock a internal data drive or a removable drive (ex: USB flash drive or external) that was locked by BitLocker Drive Encryption in Windows 7, and now cannot be accessed. These drives normally would be locked after you have either logged off or restarted the computer. If you forgot or lost the password for the data or removable drive, then you must have it's BitLocker recovery key to be able to unlock and gain access to the drive again. You should have a copy of the BitLocker recovery key if you did what was recommended in step 6 or 11 of OPTION ONE in the tutorial below to either Save the recovery key to file, save and...

How to Delete an "Undeletable" File This tutorial shows you how to delete undeletable files and folders. There are times when explorer.exe somehow locks files into place and won't allow them to be deleted. In order to delete them you must close explorer.exe and use a command prompt to delete the file. Be very careful when deleting files through command prompt, it's possible you could accidently delete the wrong file. 1. - Open an elevated command prompt Start > Search "cmd" > Right Click cmd.exe > Run as Administrator 2. - Leave Command prompt open; Open task manager 3. - End process "explorer.exe" 4. - Switch back to command prompt 5A. - FILE - Change to the directory of your file and delete it. First run this line: cd...

How to Send Local Messages to Computers on LAN in Windows 7 and Vista This short, two-step tutorial shows you how easy it is to send messages to other computers on your LAN. This method can also be used to send messages to multiple computers on the LAN at once with just a little bit of modification. STEP 1 - PICKING A DESTINATION: To send a popup message to a computer on your local area network, first identify the computers name you want to send the message to by logging into your router and checking the device list or wherever the computers on your network are listed within your routers configuration pages. Pick one or more computer(s) from the list to send the message to. STEP 2 - SENDING THE MESSAGE: Both...

How to Make a Icon with a Image IconViewer Download IconViewer Is very handy for looking at icons in .dll, .exe, etc. You will need to download IcoX portable it is portable no need for installation IcoFX Portable | PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB, portable and cloud drives Gimp needs installed GIMP - Windows installers The icon I am going to make has 13 layers those layers are 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16, 256 x 256, 48 x 48, 32 x 32, 24 x 24, 16 x 16, The biggest image is 256 x 256 so that will be the size of the starting image. I am working with a 256x256 pixel image in .png format. OK lets make a eye.icon :D #1 Open IcoFX Either drag your image to the workspace or...

How to Clear Event Viewer with One Click in Windows This will show you how to create a command line shortcut that will clear all of the Event Viewer logs in one click. Here is a batch file that can help you clear the event viewer in one click. http://www.sevenforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51536&stc=1&d=1265072864 Download this file above.. Unzip on your desktop. You can use the task scheduler to give it a high priority so you won't get a UAC prompt See Brink's Tip HERE Or, just copy this script and paste in notepad and save as Clean Viewer.BAT Right click, and click on Run as administrator to run the file @echo off FOR /F "tokens=1,2*" %%V IN ('bcdedit') DO SET adminTest=%%V IF (%adminTest%)==(Access) goto...

Bootmgr - Copy to C:\ with EasyBCD Copying the bootmgr from the 100MB active partition or the recovery partition to C:\ is extremely simple with EasyBCD. You can download a free EasyBCD from this website. The bootmgr will not be moved from the original location - it will only be copied to the C:\ partition. The C:\ partition will be activated and the 100MB partition will be deactivated. NOTE: The free version download of EasyBCD is at the bottom under "Download free for limited, non-commercial use". Registration is not required to download. The steps to take are very simple and explained in the 2 pictures. The first screen you get after starting EasyBCD and the second screen after step3 of the first screen. That is really...

How to Set the "Default Save Location" Folder for a Library in Windows 7 This will show you how to set an included folder in a Windows 7 library as the default save location folder to save everything new, that is copied or moved into that library, to that folder location. By default, everything in a library is saved into a Personal user folder. Libraries let you access and arrange items from one or more folders quickly without moving them from their original location. Libraries themselves don't store your files or folders. Instead, they point to different locations on a hard disk or external drive attached to your computer. This gives you easy access to a category of files no matter where they are stored. For instance, if you have...

How to Apply Local Group Policies to All Users Except Administrators This tutorial will show you how to apply Local Group Policies to all users except administrators in Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial. The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in: Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions. Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions Windows 8/8.1 Pro and Enterprise editions. Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions. Here's How: 1. Open the Start Menu, type mmc.exe in the search box, and press Enter. NOTE: In Windows 8, you could press Windows+R keys to open the Run dialog, then type mmc.exe, and click/tap on...

How to Run the Windows Photo Viewer "Slide show" on a Secondary Monitor With the re-introduction of the Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 7 the default behavior of the slide show still has the same problems that existed in XP, but 7's new Windows Key shortcuts provide a workaround for this. By default when you start the slide show it will run on your primary display and blackout your secondary display. This tutorial will show you a workaround for running the Windows Photo Viewer slide show on a secondary monitor while using your primary display. Here's How: 1. In Windows Photo Viewer, start the slide show by pressing the Play button or F11. 2. Press the Windows Key + Shift + Right Arrow (or left arrow if your secondary...

How to Search in Windows 7 This will show you how to do a Search and Advanced Search for files and folders in Windows 7 through the Start Menu and Windows Explorer. Before doing a search in Windows 7, you should make sure that you have set your Search Options for the What to search, How to search, and When searching non-indexed locations settings. If you have the index enabled (it is by default), then you should also have any locations and file types added to be indexed so they will be included in the search results when doing a search. If the files have been recently changed, then the index may not have finshed updating yet and you will need to manually rebuild the index to force it to update now. To be able to search in...

How to Read the Wake Source Log in Event Viewer for Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 This will show you how to read the wake source log in the Event Viewer to see what device, task, or etc... has woke up your computer from sleep or hibernation at listed dates and times. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. Here's How: 1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type eventvwr.msc, and press enter. 2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes (Windows 7/8) or Continue (Vista). 3. In the left pane of Event Viewer, double click on Windows Logs to expand it, click on System to select it, then right click on System and click on Filter Current Log. (see screenshot below)...

How to Set and Unset Read-only Attribute of a File or Folder in Windows This tutorial will show you how to set or unset files or all files in folders to be read-only or not in Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. In Windows, folders cannot be set as read-only. Only the files in the folders can be. If You cannot view or change the Read-only or the System attributes of folders in Windows Server 2003, in Windows XP, in Windows Vista or in Windows 7 Read-only box = (Windows 8) Default neutral setting for a folder that is always displayed. Read-only box = (Vista and Windows 7) Default neutral setting that is always displayed. File is not read-only. For a folder, it means all files in the folder not to be set as read-only...

How to Change the Size of the Details Pane in Windows 7 This will show you how to change the size of the Windows Explorer Details pane and it's preview image in Windows 7 and Vista. The size you set for the details pane will be applied to all Windows Explorer windows until changed. To Drag the Details Pane to Size 1. Open Windows Explorer, and select any file or folder. NOTE: In Windows 7 libraries, you must select a file or folder in the library folder and not the library folder itself. 2. Move the mouse pointer over the top border line of the details pane until it turns into a double arrow. (see screenshot below step 3) 3. Left click and hold, then drag the top border line up and down until you have the details pane the size...

How to Delete Shadow Copies in Vista and Windows 7 Shadow Copies (Previous versions) are copies of files and folders created by Windows Backup when you back up your files, and copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore point. When system protection is turned on, Windows will only automatically create previous versions of files and folders that have been modified since the last restore point was made. This will show you how to delete shadow copies in Vista Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions, and all editions of Windows 7. Deleting a shadow copy will also delete the restore point it was part of. To View Volume Shadow Copies Details NOTE: You will need to do this first to know what...

How to Create a Backup Script using ROBOCOPY Command There are many paid and free software solutions available to backup critical data and files on a computer system. Many users, however, are unaware of an inbuilt Windows 7 command called ROBOCOPY (Robust File Copy) that allows users to create simple or highly advanced backup strategies. In its simplist form, ROBOCOPY can be likened to an extension of XCOPY on steroids. Some of the more important features that make ROBOCOPY an attractive backup alternative are: multi-threaded copying mirroring or synchronisation mode between the destination and source automatic retry and copy resumption The examples shown below are primarily geared towards less experienced users, especially...

How to Change the Default Program a File Type Opens With in Windows 7 A default program is the program that Windows 7 uses when you open a particular type of file extension. This will show you how to change a file type to open with a different default program for just this one time or always using the context menu in Windows 7. These Default Programs association settings are a per user setting and not applied to all users. Here's How: 1. Right click on the file type (ex: .txt file) that you want to change the default program for, then click on Open with. (see screenshot below) If you do not have Open with in the context menu, then this means this file does not have a program associated to open it with. Instead, click on...

How to Reset and Clear All Items in Windows 7 Jump Lists This will show you how to completely reset and clear specific or all items in the Start Menu and Taskbar jump lists in Windows 7 to start fresh again. This will only affect your currently logged in user account and no other users on the computer. On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the Jump List of an application may disappear permanently when you use the application to open or save a new item. This issue occurs when there are 999 items in the Jump List already. EXAMPLE: Start Menu Jump Lists Before and Reset NOTE: You will need to click or hover on the arrow (if available) to the far right to see the Start Menu Recent or Pinned program's...

Process Explorer by Sysinternals(Microsoft) is a more advanced alternative to Windows Task Manager VirusTotal.com is a multi-engined scanner service from Google with more than 50 different anti-virus products including: AVG, Avast, Avira, BitDefender, ESET, F-Secure, GData, Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, Microsoft, Norman, Panda, SUPERAntiSpyware, Sophos, Symantec, TrendMicro and many more. The VirusTotal integration in Process Explorer is very fast because it only sends file hashes, a unique content identifier, and not the files itself. It's dependent of previous scans on VirusTotal for every specific file and version, but because VirusTotal is a heavily used worldwide service you often get fresh results for most files. 1. Download...

How to Install Windows 7 FAST without a DVD or USB Device So far we've seen tutorials for installing Windows 7 in quite a few different ways. All of them require boot media like a DVD or USB key. All of them use the Windows 7 installer. All of them require you to upgrade or replace your existing Windows 7 installation. All of them are relatively slow. All of them are using technology designed by Microsoft for clueless end-users. This method uses technology designed for advanced users; OEMs like Dell, big IT departments and experts like us. It doesn't require extra bootable media and it leaves your existing Windows install intact. It's fast, it's flexible and it's all command line suitable for scripting. Let's start with the...