Tutorials

How to Change the Windows 7 Startup Sound This will show you how to change the Windows 7 startup sound, not the "Windows Logon" sound, to any WAV file of your choice. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. If you run a sfc /scannow command, then you will lose all changes made to the system file in the tutorial below since it and all other system files will be restored back to default by the command.Making a mistake while modifying system files can render your Windows 7 installation unusable. To be safe, you should create a restore point before doing this tutorial in case you need to do a system restore at boot using the restore point to undo any mistakes that may be made.If you like...

How to Remove Outdated Windows Updates Using Disk Cleanup in Windows 7 Microsoft released an update on October 8, 2013 that allows you to remove outdated Windows Updates using Disk Cleanup in Windows 7. This update adds a new plugin to the Disk Cleanup wizard. After you install this update, you can use the Windows Update Cleanup option to delete Windows updates that you no longer need. Notes The Windows Update Cleanup option is available only when the Disk Cleanup wizard detects Windows updates that you do not need on the computer. To enable you to roll back to previous updates, updates are stored in the WinSxS store even after they are superseded by later updates. Therefore, after you run the Disk Cleanup wizard, you may be...

How to Turn the Cross-site Scripting (XSS) Filter On or Off in IE8 and IE9 Cross-site scripting attacks are a leading online threat. Their aim is to exploit vulnerabilities in the websites you visit. How do they work? By compromising legitimate websites with malicious content that can capture keystrokes and record your login information and password. If your login information and password is captured, your personal data could be compromised. Internet Explorer (IE8 and IE9) has a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Filter feature that can help prevent one website from adding potentially malicious script code to another website. XSS Filter analyzes how websites interact, and when it recognizes a potential attack, it will automatically block...

How to Create a Bootable ISO from Windows 7 Installation Files How to EASILY make a bootable .iso file from Windows 7 or Vista Installation files with the FREE vlite. Vlite can be installed on 32 and 64 bit versions of XP, Vista and Windows 7. Homepage and Information: vLite - Windows Vista configuration tool Create a stream-lined Vista install - Operating Systems - Build - Features - Atomic MPC If you got the student d/l and have 3 files : * Windows 7-HP-Retail-en-us-x64.exe * setup1.box * setup2.box 1. Rt click each file, Properties > Unblock>Apply>OK. NOTE: Make sure read only boxes are clear 2. Rt click and run as admin on the .exe. You will get a folder called expandedSetup on your dektop. If you receive this...

How to Add, Change, or Remove a Drive Letter in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 This will show you how to add, change, or remove a drive letter for any drive installed or connected to the computer in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. You can only assign the letters D to Z to each drive on your computer. The letters A and B are usually reserved for floppy disk drives. If you do not have a floppy disk drive installed, then you could assign A and B to a drive, partition, or volume if you like. However, it's not recommended to assign A and B to anything other than a floppy or floppy substitute. The letter C is reserved for the drive or partition that the operating system (Windows 7 or Vista) is installed on. If you multi boot...

How to Always Send New Email from Default Account in Outlook 2010 Outlook 2010 lacks a true default account when there are multiple accounts delivered to different pst files in the profile. Outlook uses the account assigned to the pst the folder is in for new messages, not the default account assigned in Account Settings. Someone wrote a macro that gets around this (see here: Exchange Messaging Outlook August 19 2010) Problem with this is, if you have both imap and pop3 accounts, Outlook will use the pop3 not the “default” account. This guide will show you how to create a “New Mail” button on Outlook’s Home tab which will always send from your default account. In Outlook press Alt+F11and open ThisOutlookSession and paste in...

Giving away or selling your old PC with OS can be tricky. Should I leave my software, do I lose my licence, can the buyer see my files even if I delete them, is it OK to install some extras for that cousin of mine I'm giving this rig as a Christmas present? This tutorial shows you how to prepare a PC to be given away or sold. My main purpose is to show what to do when selling / giving away a used Windows 7 computer, but you can also use this method if you (like me ;)) got some nice laptops or PC's almost free to be given as presents but they came without OS. Giving away or selling a PC with everything intact is -sorry to say it- dumb. Not only can it bring a lot of problems and annoyances due to wrongly named user profiles and...

How to Turn Presentation Settings On or Off in Windows 7 and Windows 8 Presentation settings are options on a laptop or desktop that you can apply when giving a presentation. When presentation settings are turned on, your laptop stays awake and system notifications are turned off. You can also turn off the screen saver, adjust the speaker volume, and change your desktop background image when presentation settings are turned on. This tutorial will show you how to either turn on, change, or turn off presentation settings in Windows 7 and Windows 8. In Windows 7, "Presentation Settings" is only available in the Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows 7 Enterprise editions. In Windows 8, "Presentation Settings" is...

How to Reset Reliability Monitor in Windows 7 and Windows 8 If you have fixed the errors or just want to clear the reported data in Reliabilty Monitor, then this will show you how to reset the Reliability Monitor back to a clean default state in Windows 7 and Windows 8. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial. Reliability Monitor is an advanced tool that measures hardware and software problems and other changes to your computer. It collects 24 hours of data before it displays any results and calculates the stability index that ranges from 1 (the least stable) to 10 (the most stable). You can use the index to help evaluate the reliability of your computer by reviewing the reported application...

How to Unlock a Windows 7 Computer Locked by BitLocker Drive Encryption This will show you how to unlock a computer that the drive Windows 7 is installed on was locked by BitLocker Drive Encryption, and now cannot be accessed. If the drive that Windows is installed on (the operating system drive) is encrypted by BitLocker Drive Encryption, it can become locked by BitLocker and require the use of the recovery key in the following situations: The computer is working, but BitLocker has detected a possible security risk during startup. The computer is working, but you lost the BitLocker startup key (USB flash drive) or PIN, or the startup key is damaged. The computer isn't working (for example, a power supply problem), and you have...

How to See Your Windows 7 Licence Information This is a fool-proof way to check your Windows 7 licence information using the command prompt, especially handy if you're using an evaluation copy of Windows 7Using winver alone doesn't necessarily display the correct expiration date, nor the license status 1. Open a command prompt by pressing the Winkey+R, typing cmd into the address bar and hitting enter. 2. In the command prompt type; slmgr and hit enter. A Windows Script Host will pop up informing you of an invalid combination of command parameters. In the script host you'll be shown Global Options, Advanced options, Volume Licensing: Key Management Service (KMS) Client options, Volume Licensing: Token-based Activation Options &...

Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start These steps will attempt to repair the OS using repairs via System Recovery Options and then everything else possible to get it started. It does not cover hardware problems which might be indicated if these steps fail to run and can be tested using Memtest86+ to Test RAM for 5-6 passes, and HD Maker's HD Diagnostic Extended CD scan followed by Disk Check from System Recovery Options Command Line, after checking that HD is detected in BIOS setup. If you have files that need urgent rescue because they are not backed up then you may wish to start with Step 12 because in rare cases (e.g. on a failing hard drive) they may become inaccessible due to the strain of repairs Please read...

How to Turn the "System Maintenance Troubleshooter" On or Off in Windows 7 The System Maintenance Troubleshooter automatically performs common maintenance tasks below weekly in Windows 7. It either fixes any found problems automatically, or reports the problems through Action Center. What it fixes: Broken shortcuts - Broken shortcuts are invalid references to programs and other resources. For example, a desktop shortcut for a USB device may be regarded as broken if the USB device is not connected when the System Maintenance troubleshooter performs its maintenance. When there are more than 4 broken shortcuts on the desktop, then all broken shortcuts on the desktop are removed. Troubleshooting history is taking up disk space - Frees...

How to Create a "Screen Saver Settings" Shortcut in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 This tutorial will show you how to create or download a Screen Saver Settings shortcut for Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. EXAMPLE: Screen Saver Settings To Download a "Screen Saver Settings" Shortcut 1. Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below. Screen_Saver_Settings.zip http://www.sevenforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48783&stc=1&d=1263981984 2. Save the .zip file to your desktop. 3. Open the .zip file and extract the Screen Saver Settings shortcut to the desktop. 4. Right click on the Screen Saver Settings shortcut, and click/tap on Properties, General tab, and on the Unblock button. (See screenshot below)...

ShadowExplorer is a tool to recover any file or folder from system restore points without the need to restore a whole partition. It obviously does not help if a whole partition, including the restore points, disappears. In that case, only imaging can help. It is, however, very handy if you erroneously deleted something and flushed the recycle bin or if you have a file that was somehow corrupted. For seperate data partitions, I always recommend to enable system recovery too. Note that this works only with disk partitions where you have restore points. Files from USB sticks or SD cards you cannot recover with Shadow Explorer. With those you can try Recuva.. This video tutorial is for Shadow Explorer 0.8. Shadow Explorer is free...

How to Use Safely Remove Hardware to Eject a Device in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This tutorial will show you how to use Safely Remove Hardware in Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows RT to safely shutdown and eject a storage device before just unplugging or disconnecting it to help prevent accidental data loss if data were still being copied or saved to or from the device. For example, if you have write caching enable on the device. To have access to an external drive (ex: USB key) again after you have already ejected it using Safely Remove Hardware, you will just need to unplug it and plug it back in, or restart the PC. Available Hotfix: USB Port Remains Active for Disabled or Safely Removed USB Device It is not recommended to...

How to Move Offscreen Window Back to Desktop in Windows 7 and Windows 8 If you have a opened window that is offscreen from your main display, then this will show you how to move the offscreen window back on your desktop in Windows 7 and Windows 8. This would be a opened window that you accidentally moved off the screen to far to get to it with the mouse pointer, or if a laptop or desktop computer is plugged up to a temporary secondary monitor display and then disconnected without remembering to move the open window(s) back to the primary desktop display. Here's How: 1. Hover the mouse pointer over the offscreen open window icon on the taskbar until you see it's taskbar thumbnail preview display. (see screenshot below) 2...

How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP This will show you how to install Windows 7 and XP to dual boot with when you already have either Windows 7 or XP installed first.With a dual boot installaton, you will have two operating systems (OS) installed. When you start the computer, you will have the choice to choose which OS you would like to start up to. This method is the easiest way of doing a dual boot with these two operating systems.When dual booting with another OS (ex: Vista or XP), you may not always have that OS partition show up in Computer with a driver letter in Windows 7. If this happens, then you will just need to add a drive letter to the OS (ex: Vista or XP) partition in Windows 7 Disk Management...

How to Back Up and Restore Jump Lists in Windows 7 Jump Lists in the Start Menu and on the taskbar are lists of recent items, such as files, folders, or websites, organized by the program that you use to open them. In addition to being able to open recent and frequent items using a Jump List, you can also pin favorites to a Jump List, so you can quickly get to the items that you use every day. This tutorial will show you how to back up and restore Jump Lists for your user account in Windows 7. This will also include the pinned items in your Jump Lists as well. By default, your Jump Lists and pinned items in Jump Lists are saved in the folder locations below. You could copy the shell command below into the Start Menu search box to...

A List of Run Commands for Windows 7 I'm posting a list of Run Commands every PowerUser or Administrator should know in bold below. So if you know anymore new ones, Please Post them here hope this helps! :geek:Windows logo key + R Administrative Tools Administrative Tools = control admintools Authorization Manager = azman.msc Component Services = dcomcnfg Certificate Manager = certmgr.msc Direct X Troubleshooter = dxdiag Display Languages = lpksetup ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32 File Signature Verification Tool = sigverif Group Policy Editor = gpedit.msc Add Hardware Wizard = hdwwiz.cpl iSCSI Initiator = iscsicpl Iexpress Wizard = iexpress Local Security Settings = secpol.msc Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool = msdt...