Tutorials

How to Unattach and Delete a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 7 A Virtual Hard Disk is a created VHD file on your hard drive that acts as a separate hard drive disk in Computer. This will show you how to unattach, or unattach and delete, the VHD that you have already created and attached in Windows 7. Unattach VHD - This will only remove the VHD from Disk Management and make it unavailable in Computer until the VHD file is attached again. It does not delete the VHD file. Delete VHD - This will remove the VHD from Disk Management and Computer, and also permanently delete the VHD file and all data stored on it. If you disable the Disk Defragmenter service, then you will get the error below when you try to do anything in Disk Management...

How to Enable or Disable the Windows Explorer "Details Pane" in Windows 7 This will show you how to enable or disable the ability to turn on the details pane in Windows Explorer for specific or all users in Vista and Windows 7. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. EXAMPLE: Details Pane enabled and disabled in Windows Explorer To Enable or Disable ability to Turn On "Details Pane" using a REG File 1. Do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do. 2. To Enable Windows Explorer "Details Pane" for All Users NOTE: This is the default setting. A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below. Enable_Details_Pane.reg...

How to Enable or Disable the Windows Explorer "Preview Pane" in Windows 7 This will show you how to enable or disable the ability to turn on the preview pane in Windows Explorer for specific or all users in Vista and Windows 7. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. EXAMPLE: Preview Pane enabled and disabled in Windows Explorer NOTE: When disabled, notice that it also removes the preview pane button towards the upper right corner under the search bar. To Enable or Disable ability to Turn On "Preview Pane" using a REG File 1. Do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do. 2. To Enable Windows Explorer "Preview Pane" for Only Current User NOTE: This is the default setting. A)...

How to Set or Change the Screen Saver Timeout Period in Windows 7 This will show you how to set or change the screen saver timeout period to specify how much user idle time must elapse before the screen saver is launched for you or all users in Windows 7.If you checked the on resume, display logon screen box, it will still resume to the logon screen even if you have selected (None) for your screen saver. EXAMPLE: Screen Saver Timeout Settings NOTE: Wait X minutes is grayed out if you used OPTION TWO or OPTION THREE below to enable a screen saver timeout period for all users. Change or Set Screen Saver Timout for "Current User" Only NOTE: This option will only affect the user that you are currently logged in as. 1. Right click...

How to Create a "Network Map" Shortcut in Windows 7 The network map is a graphical view of the computers and devices on your network that shows how they're connected. This will show you how to create or download a Network Map shortcut to see the full map of your network. This opens the same thing as if you clicked on the See full map link in the Network and Sharing Center. EXAMPLE: Network Map To Download a "Network Map" Shortcut 1. Click on the Download button below to download the Network_Map.zip file. http://www.sevenforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=57012&stc=1&d=1267252275 2. Save the .zip file to the desktop. 3. Open the .zip file and extract the Network Map shortcut to the desktop. 4. Right click on...

How to Change the Height of the Windows 7 Start Menu This will show you how to increase and decrease the height of the Windows 7 Start Menu without displaying Recently Opened Programs and without Displaying Sub-menus.Many users would like to change the height of the Start Menu in Windows 7. There are many reasons for why a user would want this. My personal reason is so that all the programs in the All Programs list of the Start Menu will display without my having to scroll up and down the list. The problem is that the Start Menu is dynamic and, it would seem, cannot be manually sized. Two existing methods of changing the height of the Start Menu are to 1) display recently opened programs; and 2) display the sub-menus that appear on...

How to Add or Remove "Manage" from Computer Context Menu This will show you how to add or remove the Manage item from the Computer context menu in the Start Menu, desktop icon, and Windows Explorer navigation pane in Windows 7 and Vista. When Manage is selected, it runs the C:\Windows\System32\CompMgmtLauncher.exe file to open Computer Management. Removing Manage from the Computer context menu in the Start Menu will not prevent Computer Management from being opened. It only removes it from this context menu. EXAMPLE: Computer Context Menu in Start Menu with Manage Added and Removed EXAMPLE: Computer Context Menu in Navigation Pane with Manage Added and Removed Using a REG File Download 1. To Add Manage to Computer...

How to Open Resource Monitor in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This will show you how to open Resource Monitor to view information about the use of hardware (CPU, memory, disk, and network) and software (file handles and modules) resources from processes and services in real time in Windows 7 and Windows 8. In addition to monitoring resource usage in real time, Resource Monitor can help you analyze unresponsive processes, identify which applications are using files, and control processes and services.Resource Monitor includes the following elements and features below. Tabs Resource Monitor includes five tabs: Overview, CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network. The Overview tab displays basic system resource usage information; the other tabs...

How to Enable the Built-in Administrator Account in Windows XP Mode When you install and launch Windows XP Mode for the first time it has following account related defaults: Default user: XPMUser Integration Features enabled Built-In Administrator account disabled All user accounts must use / have password When Integration Features are enabled on any Microsoft Virtual PC virtual machine you can only use and login to accounts with a password. Only way to use accounts with no password is to disable Integration Features. This is not recommendable as so much of Virtual PC virtual machine's functions need integration to work properly. To be able to run programs as Administrator or login to Administrator account you need to enable the...

How to Receive Internet Explorer Compatibility View Updates This will show you how to receive or not receive Internet Explorer Compatibility View updates through Windows Updates (typically, every 2 months) for a list of web sites that should be displayed in Compatibility View. These list updates are automatically added or removed from the Compatibilty View Settings list of web sites.Sites on this list are based on feedback from other IE customers: specifically, for what high-volume sites did other users click the Compatibility View button on. The data Microsoft collects from IE users is the top level domain of the website and whether the user chose Compatibility View while visiting that site (please see the IE Privacy Policy for more...

Control Panel - Add or Remove "System Configuration" (msconfig) How to Add or Remove "System Configuration" (msconfig) from Control Panel in Windows System Configuration (msconfig) is a tool that can help identify problems that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. This tutorial will show you how to add System Configuration (msconfig) to the Control Panel for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. EXAMPLE: "System Configuration" (msconfig) added to Control Panel NOTE: This is the Control Panel icons and category view. EXAMPLE: System Configuration Here's How: 1. To Remove "System Configuration" from Control Panel NOTE: This is the default setting. A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download...

How to Change "Logging off..." Text Message at Shut Down in Vista and Windows 7 This will show you how to change the Logging off... text message you get after clicking on Log off or Shut Down in Windows 7 and Vista to any text message that you want it to say instead. You can only do this tutorial while logged on as an administrator. 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. For Windows 7 Only: This tutorial works with UAC turned on or off. This tutorial works in all 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 SP1 editions. Download details: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service...

How to Clear Your Windows 7 Problem Report History Problem reports help Windows 7 to identify problems and to notify you about solutions. If a solution is not available, the details in a problem report can help Microsoft create a solution. If you already solved the items in the report history, then you may want to clear the report history to start fresh again. This will show you how to clear all of the problem reports and solutions history details from your Windows 7 computer.Once you clear the problem report history from your computer, you will not have access to any of the past problems or solutions in Action Center, Problem History, or Message Archive. Once you clear the problem report history, you can't undo this action, and you...

How to Change the Listed OS Arrangement Order in Windows Boot Manager Screen If you have more than one OS installed on your computer, then this will show you how to change the order of the listed operating systems in the Windows Boot Manager screen to be arranged in any listed order that you would like them to be. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. This does not change what OS will run at startup by default, only the order in which the operating systems are listed. EXAMPLE: Listed Operating Systems in "Windows Boot Manager" Screen Here's How: 1. If you have not already, download and install the free version of the EasyBCD program, then run it. NOTE: The free version download is...

How to Add or Remove "Screen resolution" from Desktop Context Menu in Windows This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Screen resolution from the desktop context menu for all users in Windows 7 and Windows 8. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. EXAMPLE: "Screen resolution" in Desktop Context Menu NOTE: This is when you right click or press and hold on a empty area of the desktop. To Remove "Screen resolution" from Desktop Context Menu 1. Press the Windows+R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit and click/tap on OK. If you have already previously done steps 1-4, then you can just skip them and only have to do step 5 below instead. 2. If prompted by UAC, then click on...

How to Add or Remove "Send to" from Context Menu This will show you how to add or remove "Send to" from the context menu of all users in Windows 7 and Windows 8. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. EXAMPLE: "Send to" Context Menu Here's How: 1. To Add "Send to" to Context Menu NOTE: This is the default setting. A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below. Add_Send-To_to_Context_Menu.reg http://www.sevenforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=216464&stc=1&d=1339654643 B) Go to step 3. 2. To Remove "Send to" from Context Menu A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below. Remove_Send-To_from_Context_Menu.reg...

How to Add or Remove Catalyst Control Center Desktop Context Menu in Windows If you have AMD video drivers with CCC installed, then this will show you how to add or remove the "Catalyst Control Center" (CCC) desktop context menu for all users in Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. EXAMPLE: Desktop Context Menu Here's How: 1. To Add "Catalyst Control Center" to Desktop Context Menu NOTE: This is the default setting. A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below. Add_CCC_to_Desktop_Context_Menu.reg...

How to Report an Unsafe Website with SmartScreen Filter in Internet Explorer This will show you how to either report a website as unsafe or report a website flagged as unsafe as safe with SmartScreen Filter in IE8, IE9, or IE10. To Report Unsafe Website with SmartScreen Filter 1. In IE8, IE9, IE10, open the website in a tab that you want to report as being unsafe, and do step 2 or 3 below. NOTE: In Windows 8, this would only apply to the IE10 desktop version, and not the IE10 Metro (Windows UI) version. 2. Click/tap on Tools on the Menu bar, SmartScreen Filter, and Report unsafe website, then go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below) 3. Click/tap on the gear icon at the top right, click/tap on Safety, and Check this website...

How to Force Group Policy Updates to be Applied Instantly in Windows After you make changes to group policies, you may want the changes to be applied immediately, without waiting for the default update interval (90 minutes on domain members and 5 minutes on domain controllers) or without restarting the computer. Normally, User Group Policy is refreshed at logon and Computer Group Policy is refreshed at machine reboot. This tutorial will show you how to use the gpupdate command to force an update and refresh of either or both the Computer or User Group Policy settings to be applied instantly in XP, Vista, and Windows 7, and Windows 8. You can also force a remote Group Policy refresh (GPUpdate) using a Remote Desktop Connection...

How to Quickly View Enabled Group Policies in Windows By default, all group policies are set to a Not configured stateuntil changed by an administrator. This tutorial will show you how to quickly see which Computer Configuration and User Configuration policies have been enabled in the Local Group Policy Editor of Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. The Local Group Policy Editor feature is only available in these editions of Windows below. Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterpise Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise Windows 8 Professional and Enterprise Here's How: 1. Open either the all users, specific users or groups, or all...