Tutorials

How to Add or Remove "Hard disk burst ignore time" in Power Options This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the "Hard disk burst ignore time" setting under Hard disk in the advanced power settings of all power plans for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial. Although the disk idle time‑out alone can be configured with the "Turn off hard disk after" setting to favor power savings or performance, some Windows systems might exhibit very small amounts (bursts) of disk activity separated by relatively long amounts of disk idle time. This pattern of disk activity impacts system power savings because the disk is powered up periodically. The disk...

View Reliability and Problem History with Reliability Monitor in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This tutorial will show you how to open and use Reliability Monitor to review reliability and problem history to help resolve issues in Windows 7 and Windows 8. 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 failures, Windows 7 failures, Miscellaneous failures, Warnings, and Information. Any change you make to...

Task Management This tutorial will show you how to quickly and easily kill wayward programs and processes that have stopped working or not functioning as expected. The command line will be used throughout this tutorial. Sometimes it is necessary to close programs and tasks by brute-force as they have stopped responding or not functioning as expected. In these cases the usual methods of closing a program wont work. Often the programs start sucking resources from the OS and thereby become unresponsive. For these occasions this method is a handy quick way to get the program resolved. 1. Start the command prompt by typing cmd in the start menu search bar and press enter 2. With cmd running you can get a list of running...

How to Enable or Disable Balloon Notifications in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 The notification area is located at the far right side of the taskbar. A notification informs users of events that are unrelated to the current user activity, by briefly displaying a balloon from an icon in the notification area. The notification could result from a user action or significant system event, or could offer potentially useful information from Windows or an application. For more information about balloon notifications, see: Notifications This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable displaying all balloon notifications in the taskbar notification area for all or specific users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. This can be...

How to Set Time Limits in Windows 7 Parental Controls Using Parental Controls, you can set time limits to control when standard user accounts are allowed to log on to the computer. Time limits prevent them from logging on during specified hours for every day of the week. If they're logged on when their allotted time ends, they'll be automatically logged off. Here's How: 1. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on Parental Controls. 2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes. 3. Select and click on the listed standard user account that you want to use Parental Controls to set time limits on. (see screenshot below) 4. Turn on Parental Controls for this standard user account if it is not already turned on for it. 5...

How to Change Default Control Panel Icons in Windows 7 This will show you how to change the default icons in the All Control Panel Items small and large icons view to any custom icon that you want instead in Windows 7.You should use a 256x256 pixel .ico (icon) files to have the best support for all icon view sizes.This can only be done in an administrator account. EXAMPLE: All Control Panel Items with Small and Large Icons View Change Control Panel Icons1. If open, close the Control Panel. 2. Open the Start Menu, and type regedit in the search line and press enter. 3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes. 4. In regedit, navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID and continue to the location of the Control Panel icon in the table...

How to Turn Toggle Keys Tone On or Off in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off the tone you hear when the CAPS LOCK, NUM LOCK, or SCROLL LOCK toggle keys are pressed in Windows 7 and Windows 8. You may also have a setting for this in your keyboard properties when you open the Control Panel (icons view) and click/tap on the Keyboard icon. This will vary depending on what the drivers for that brand of keyboard has included with it though. Turn On or Off Toggle Keys Tone in Control Panel 1. Open the Control Panel (icons view) in Windows 7 and Windows 8, and click/tap on the Ease of Access Center icon. 2. Click on either the Make the Keyboard Easier To Use or Make it easier to focus on tasks link...

Set Recycle Bin to Permanently Delete Items Immediately in Windows The Recycle Bin provides a safety net when deleting files or folders. When you delete any of these items from your hard disk, Windows places it in the Recycle Bin and the Recycle Bin icon changes from empty to full. This tutorial will show you how to set the Recycle Bin to permanently delete files automatically instead for selected drives in Windows. Removable drives do not use or have a Recycyle Bin. Files deleted from removable drives are permanently deleted instead. You could also right click on a file, press and hold Shift, and click on Delete to permanently delete the file. If you set this option for bypassing sending files to the recycle bin, you will...

How to Import "Windows Mail" Messages into Windows Live Mail This will show you how to export your Windows Mail messages from Vista and then import them into Windows Live Mail inside Windows 7.You can get information on how to download the latest version of Windows Live Mail here. Here's How: 1. Export your Windows Mail messages from inside Vista into a empty new folder (ex: Messages) on your Vista Desktop. 2. Save and copy the new Messages folder to your desktop in Windows 7. NOTE: For example, I exported my Vista Windows Mails messages to the new Messages folder from the link in step 1, so I would save the Messages folder to my Windows 7 desktop. 3. In Windows 7, open Windows Live Mail. 4. In Windows Live Mail, click on...

How to Turn Auto-hide Taskbar On or Off in Windows 7 This tutorial will show you how to turn auto-hide on or off to either hide or show the taskbar from view on your desktop until you hover the pointer over it in Windows 7. You could hide the taskbar to create more space on your desktop. When auto-hide is turned on to hide the taskbar, it will remain hidden until you move the mouse pointer over the hidden taskbar location to have it temporarily pop-up until you move the mouse point away from the taskbar location. It will then be hidden again. Microsoft has made available a hotfix that will resolve a problem where the taskbar customizations are lost and reset to defaults when automatic logon is enabled in Windows 7 and Windows...

How to Create a Custom Start Orb Before I begin, keep in mind this is my first tutorial ever published to SevenForums, I hope it meets the requirements and all that jazz, and that somebody finds it at least mildly helpful. Requirements and Tools To begin with, you must have an image editing application, PhotoShop is one of the most powerful and widely known, but any application that works with bitmaps (BMP) and supports alpha trasparency layers will do just fine. Be sure to check your DPI settings before you continue; DPI settings (Dots Per Inch) in Windows determine the size that everything on your desktop displays, making text and buttons larger without changing the screen resolution. You can generally see what DPI you're using...

How to Hide or Show the Ribbon in Windows Live Mail This tutorial will show you how to expand (show) or minimize (hide) the ribbon in Windows Live Mail. EXAMPLE: Windows Live Mail Ribbon Expanded and Minimized Here's How: 1. While in Windows Live Mail, do step 2, 3, or 4 below for the method you would like to use. 2. Press the CTRL + F1 to toggle to expand or minimize the ribbon. OR 3. Right click anywhere on the top tab bar, and click on Minimize the Ribbon or Minimize the Ribbon. OR 4. Click/tap on the arrow at the far right of the tab bar to toggle to expand or minimize the ribbon. That's it, Shawn How to Setup and Use Windows Live Mail as Email Client for your Messages How to See Messages in...

How to Set the Number of Processors or Cores to be Used by Windows 7 If you have a multiple core processor (CPU) or multiple processors, then this will show you how to limit the number of processors to be used by Windows 7, or to make sure that you are using all processors. This can be handy for troubleshooting and debugging purposes to be able to determine if there is a problem with a single processor/core, or for a programmer to test their code against a single core while still running on their multi-processor/core system. Windows 7 uses all of your processors or processor cores by default.You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this. Here's How: 1. Open the Start Menu, then type msconfig and press enter. 2...

How to Turn Search On or Off in Windows 7 This will show you how to turn Windows Search on or off to add or remove the search box in the Start Menu and Windows Explorer in Windows 7. Windows Search is turned on by default in Windows 7. You should only turn off Windows Search if you don’t use it.Turning off Windows Search removes it from Windows 7, but doesn't reduce the amount of hard disk space used by Windows 7. Windows Search will remain stored on your hard disk, so you can turn it back on if you want to.If you turn off Windows Search: See also: What happens if I turn off Windows Search? All the search boxes in Windows 7 will disappear, including the search boxes in Windows Explorer, Start menu, Control Panel, and Libraries...

How to Create a "Local Area Network Connection Status" Shortcut in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This will show you how to create a Local Area Network Connection Status shortcut to view status information, such as connection duration, speed, and amounts of data transmitted and received; and use any diagnostic tools available for a particular network connection in Windows 7 and Windows 8. EXAMPLE: Local Area Connection Status Here's How: 1. Right click on the Network icon in the Notification area, and click on Open Network and Sharing Center. (see screenshot below) A) Go to step 3. OR 2. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on the Network and Sharing Center icon. 3. Click on the Change adapter settings link in the...

How to Create a "Date and Time" Shortcut in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 This tutorial will show you how to download or create a Date and Time shortcut in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. EXAMPLE: Date and Time To Download a "Date and Time" Shortcut 1. Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below Date_and_Time.zip http://www.sevenforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=129490&stc=1&d=1294288920 2. Save the .zip file to your desktop. 3. Open the .zip file and extract the Date and Time shortcut to the desktop. 4. Unblock the Date and Time shortcut. 5. In Vista and Windows 7, you can now Pin to Taskbar (Windows 7 only) or Pin to Start Menu, add to Quick Launch, assign a keyboard shortcut to it, or move...

Test your CPU Stability with IntelBurnTest Stress-testing is an important step when adding new hardware to a system, or over-clocking individual components of a system over-and-above their stock settings. In particular, components that generate significant heat within the system require careful attention, and the prime suspect in the heat department is the CPU. IntelBurnTest by AgentGod is a graphical implementation of the Intel LINPACK libraries, which allow you to test the stability of your CPU by means of running several thousand computations. The CPU test of the OCCT stress testing software also makes use of LINPACK. Despite the name of the application, IntelBurnTest can be used on both Intel and AMD processors. LINPACK is a...

Auditing access to your shared folders makes it possible to keep track of what's happening; who visits your shared folders, when, doing what. It might not be needed on a "Me and my laptop" networks, although in my opinion it adds a bit to general security to your system and network. When needed, the information is there. Auditing logs are very small files, taking almost no space on hard disk. Auditing does not "eat" the resources of your computer, does not make it slower. Auditing options can be edited using Windows 7 built-in Group Policy Editor, included in Seven Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise editions. There are also several third party alternatives, for instance ShareAlarmPro. This tutorial is however about how to do it...

How to Customize Sticky Notes in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This will show you how to Customize the default look of Sticky Notes in Windows 7 and Windows 8. The text color is controled by the theme you are using default aero is blackCopy the StikyNot.exe to your desktop to edit Default Custom Get a copy of StikyNot.exe from C:\Windows\System32 and put it on your desktop. Open it in Resource Hacker, on the left side expand UIFILE > 1001 > 1033 highlighted in yellow. On the right side under <style resid="Yellow"> change the rgb values highlighted in yellow. After you have changed the rgb values highlighted in yellow Click on Compile Script button. I have changed the values shown below in the Screenshot to show where...

How to Add or Remove Properties from Computer Context Menu This will show you how to add or remove Properties from the Computer context menu in the Start Menu and desktop icon, and prevent opening any "System" Control Panel settings for all or specific users in Vista and Windows 7. When Properties is selected, it opens the System (Control Panel) window. Affected "System" Settings: System Properties window Computer Name C:\Windows\System32\SystemPropertiesComputerName.exe Hardware from System Properties only C:\Windows\System32\SystemPropertiesHardware.exe Remote settings (Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop) C:\Windows\System32\SystemPropertiesRemote.exe System Protection (System Restore)...