Diskpart command explanation.....

Diskpart differs from many command-line utilities because it does not operate in a single-line mode. Instead, after you start the utility, the commands are read from standard input/output (I/O). You can direct these commands to any disk, partition, or volume.

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Comparison with Disk Management

Diskpart enables a superset of the actions that are supported by the Disk Management snap-in. The Disk Management snap-in prohibits you from inadvertently performing actions that may result in data loss. It is recommended that you use the Diskpart utility cautiously because Diskpart enables explicit control of partitions and volumes.

You can use Diskpart to convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk. The basic disk can either be empty or contain either primary partitions or logical drives. The basic disk can be a data disk or system or boot drive. The basic disk cannot have fault-tolerant disk driver (FtDisk) sets such as stripes or mirrors. To convert basic disks that have FtDisk driver sets, use Disk Management on Windows 2000 or convert the disk before you upgrade to Windows XP.

You can use Diskpart to convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk. You must delete any dynamic volumes before the conversion process. It is not recommended that you delete partitions on a dynamic disk except in emergency situations. It is recommended that you delete all volumes on the drive, and then convert the disk to basic. You must delete all dynamic data partitions. Also, never mix the basic primary and dynamic partitions on the same drive. If you do so, the computer may be unable to restart.

You can use Diskpart to create a partition at an explicit disk offset. The Disk Management snap-in places the partition at the end of any occupied area or on the first sufficiently large area. On master boot record (MBR) disks, the partition offset and the size are rounded to preserve the required cylinder alignment. Offsets are rounded to the closest valid value, and the size is always rounded up to the next valid value. Diskpart does not assign a drive letter to a newly created partition. Use the assign command to assign either a mount point or a drive letter.

Diskpart follows the same policy as the snap-in. Dynamic disks can only be created on fixed disks. You cannot convert removable disks, such as 1394 or universal serial bus (USB) drives, to dynamic disks.

Diskpart permits certain partition deletion operations that are blocked by the snap-in. For example, you can use Diskpart to delete MBR OEM partitions. However, these partitions often contain files that are important to the platform operation. Diskpart blocks the deletion of the current system, boot, or paging volumes and partitions. Also, Diskpart blocks deletion of the partitions that underlie dynamic disks.

You cannot use Diskpart to create a partition on removable media. Windows supports at most one MBR partition on removable media. If the media is manufactured with an MBR, that MBR cannot be altered, but the MBR is followed even if multiple partitions or logical drives are configured. If the media is manufactured without an MBR, the media is treated as a "superfloppy" and no partition structure is written to the media.

The drive letter for a removable drive is associated with the drive, and not with the media. You can use Diskpart to change the drive letter.

Diskpart causes disk signatures, GUID partition table (GPT) disk globally unique identifiers (GUIDs), and GPT partition GUIDs to be generated. You cannot explicitly set these items by using Diskpart.

The Diskpart utility (like the snap-in) includes support for the new Itanium disk partition scheme called GPT. You cannot use GPT disks on any x86-based Windows XP-based or Windows 2000-based computers. Diskpart enables the conversion of GPT partitioning to MBR partitioning only for empty disks.

You can use Diskpart to delete missing dynamic disks. Dynamic disks contain a shared database; all of the dynamic disks on a computer have knowledge of all other dynamic disks on that computer. When dynamic disks are moved, the original computer considers theses disks as "missing".

Drive letters are not automatically assigned when you use Diskpart. To ensure that a given partition or volume has a drive letter, you must explicitly assign a drive letter. You can either assign the drive letter or allow the next available drive letter to be allocated.

Setting Focus

Most Diskpart commands operate on a specific target disk, partition, or volume. The targeted object has "focus." Focus simplifies the common configuration task in which you create multiple partitions on the same disk. An object is put into focus by the select command. All Commands except for list, help, rem, exit, or help require focus.

Use the select command to explicitly change the focus. To implicitly change the focus, use a command such as create. You must set the disk focus before you manage a basic disk. On basic disks, the partition focus and volume focus are the same. If you change the focus on one item, you change the focus on the other. On dynamic volumes, only the volume focus is important because the previous partition focus is always lost and the disk focus is only important for simple volumes.

Consider the following examples of a computer that has two disks:

• Each disk contains two primary partitions. The first disk contains the C and D partitions; the second disk contains the E and F partitions. You must set the disk focus to disk 1 before you set the partition focus to either the C or D partitions. You can set the volume focus to either the C, D, E, or F partitions at any time. In this example, if you set the volume focus to the C or D partition, the disk focus does not change; however, if you set the volume focus to the E or F partitions, the disk focus may be moved to the other disk.
• Each disk is dynamic and contains a simple volume and free space. The first disk contains the C partition, and the second disk contains the E partitions. You must set the disk focus before you add a simple volume to the first disk. To extend the C partition, you need to set only the volume focus. Similarly, to add a mirror to the E partition, you need to set only the volume focus to the E partition. If you create a simple volume or extend an existing volume onto the same disk, you do not change the disk focus. If you add a mirror, create a stripe set, or extend an existing volume onto a different disk, you can cause the disk focus to be lost.

Scripting

Diskpart supports scripted operations. To initiate a Diskpart script, use the diskpart /s script.txt command. You can script Diskpart on Windows XP, Windows 2000, Remote Installation Services (RIS) unattended install environments, or on the Windows Preinstall Environment (PE) for OEMs.

By default, Diskpart can quit command processing and return an error code if there is a problem in the script. To continue to run a script in this scenario, include the noerr parameter on the command. This parameter allows you to use a single script to delete all partitions on all data drives, regardless of the total number of drives. However, not all commands support the noerr parameter. Even if you use the noerr parameter, an error is always returned on command syntax errors.

The following list describes the error codes for Diskpart:

• 0 - No error occurred. The entire script ran without failure.
• 1 - A fatal exception occurred. There may be a serious problem.
• 2 - The arguments specified on a Diskpart command line were incorrect.
• 3 - Diskpart was unable to open the specified script or output file.
• 4 - One of the services Diskpart uses returned a failure.
• 5 - A command syntax error occurred. The script failed because an object was improperly selected or was invalid for use with that command.

After you run Diskpart, the Diskpart version and current computer name are displayed.

Command Summary

Commands to Set Focus

select

Use the select command to set the focus to the specified target. To obtain a list of focus types, leave the Type field blank. If you do not specify an identification (ID) number, the current focus object is displayed.

select disk[=n]

Use the select disk command to set the focus to the disk that has the specified Windows NT disk number. If you do not specify a disk number, the command displays the current in-focus disk.

select partition[=n/l]

Use the select partition command to set the focus to the specified partition. If you do not specify a partition, the current in-focus partition is displayed.

On basic disks, you can specify the partition by either index, drive letter, or mount point. You can only specify the partition by index on dynamic disks.

select volume[=n/l]

Use the select volume command to set the focus to the specified volume. If you do not specify a volume, the command displays the current in-focus volume.

You can specify the volume by either index, drive letter, or mount point path. On a basic disk, if you select a volume, the corresponding partition is put in focus.

Commands to Display Disk Configuration

Use the list command to display a summary. To display more information, set the focus, and then use the detail command.

detail disk

Use the detail disk command to obtain the detailed information about the current in-focus disk, for example:

Diskpart> select disk 3 
  
Disk 3 is now the selected disk. 
  
Diskpart> detail disk 
  
Maxtor 90432D2
Disk ID: F549D151
Type   : IDE
Bus    : 0
Target : 0
LUN ID : 0 
  
  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type              Size     Status     Info 
  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------------  -------  ---------  -------- 
  Volume 0     F   My RAID Set  NTFS   RAID-5            4096 MB  Healthy 
  Volume 1     G   FATSTRIPE    FAT32  Stripe            6144 MB  Healthy 
  Volume 2     H   My Mirror    NTFS   Mirror            2048 MB  Healthy
  Volume 3     I   My Span      NTFS   Spanned              9 GB  Healthy
				

detail partition

Use the detail partition command to obtain detailed information about the current in-focus partition;

Diskpart> select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

Diskpart> select partition 1

Partition 1 is now the selected partition.

Diskpart> detail partition

Partition 0
Type  : 07
Hidden: No
Active: Yes

  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
* Volume 2    C                 NTFS   Partition   4110 MB  Healthy    System
				

detail volume

Use the detail volume command to obtain the detailed information about the current in-focus volume, for example:

Diskpart> select volume 1 
  
Volume 1 is now the selected volume. 
  
Diskpart> detail volume 
  
  Disk ###  Status      Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt 
  --------  ----------  -------  -------  ---  --- 
  Disk 1    Online         8 GB      0 B   * 
  Disk 2    Online         8 GB      0 B   * 
  Disk 3    Online         8 GB      0 B   *
				

list disk

Use the list disk command to obtain summary information about each disk in the computer. The disk with the asterisk (*) has the current focus. Only fixed disks (for example, integrated device electronics [IDE] or small computer system interface [SCSI]) or removable disk (for example, 1394 or USB) are listed. The removable drives are not displayed.

Diskpart> select disk 3 
  
Disk 3 is now the selected disk. 
  
Diskpart> list disk 
  
  
  Disk ###  Status      Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt 
  --------  ----------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online      4118 MB      0 B
  Disk 1    Online         8 GB  4002 MB   * 
  Disk 2    Online         8 GB      0 B   * 
* Disk 3    Online         8 GB      0 B   * 
  Disk M0   Missing        8 GB      0 B   *
				

list partition

Use the list partition command to obtain information about each partition on the in-focus disk, for example:

Diskpart> select disk 4 
  
Disk 4 is now the selected disk. 
  
Diskpart> list partition 
  
  Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset 
  -------------  ----------------  -------  ------- 
  Partition 1    Primary           4094 MB    31 KB 
  Partition 2    Extended          4581 MB  4094 MB 
  Partition 3    Logical           2047 MB  4094 MB 
  Partition 4    Logical           2533 MB  6142 MB
 
All partitions (regardless of type) are displayed.
				

list volume

Use the list volume command to obtain information about each volume in the computer, for example:

Diskpart> list volume 
  
  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type              Size     Status      Info    
  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------------  -------  ----------  --------
  Volume 0     F   My RAID Set  NTFS   RAID-5            4096 MB  Healthy
  Volume 1     G   FATSTRIPE    FAT32  Stripe            6144 MB  Failed
  Volume 2     H   My Mirror    NTFS   Mirror            2048 MB  Healthy
  Volume 3     I   My Span      NTFS   Spanned              9 GB  Healthy
  Volume 4     D                CDFS   CD-ROM                0 B
  Volume 5     C                NTFS   Partition         2047 MB  Healthy     System
  Volume 6     E                NTFS   Partition         2063 MB  Healthy     Boot
  Volume 7     J   My Primary   NTFS   Partition         4095 MB  Healthy
  Volume 8     K   My Logical   NTFS   Partition         2047 MB  Healthy
  Volume 9     L   My Next Log  NTFS   Partition         2534 MB  Healthy
				

Commands to Manage Basic Disks

This section describes commands that you can use to create and delete partitions and to assign drive letters and mount points. The commands in this section apply only to basic disks. Refer to the following sections for commands that are valid on dynamic disks or for commands that you can use to convert basic disk to dynamic disks.

On all MBR disks, the size or offset parameters are rounded up to cylinder alignment. On GPT disks, the size or offset parameters are rounded to sector alignment. If an offset parameter is not specified, the partition is placed in the first unoccupied contiguous disk extent that is large enough. If a size parameter is not listed, the partition may be extended to occupy the determined disk extent up to the size of the entire disk.

After the new disks are first discovered, they are assumed to be MBR disks. You must explicitly convert a disk to GPT before you attempt to create a GPT partition. It is recommended that you create the MSR as the first partition on every data disk and the second partition (after the ESP) on any system or boot disk. After you convert from MBR to GPT, the MSR partition is automatically created on the disk.

After you create any new partition, the newly created partition gains the partition focus. After you delete any partition, the partition focus is lost. The disk focus remains unchanged in all cases.

active

Use the active command to set the current in-focus partition to "active." This setting informs the firmware that the partition is a valid system partition. Diskpart does not validate the partition contents.

NOTE: If you use this command, the computer may be unable to restart.

assign [[letter=l]/[mount=path]] [noerr]

Use the assign command to assign a letter or mount point to the current in-focus partition. If you do not specify a drive letter, the next available drive letter is assigned. If the letter or mount point is already in use, an error is generated unless you use the noerr parameter.

You can use this command to change the drive letter that is associated with a removable drive.

The drive letter assignment is blocked on the system, boot, or paging volumes. This command cannot be used to assign a drive letter to an OEM partition or any GPT partition, other than the Msdata partition.

create partition primary [size=n] [offset=n] [id=byte/guid] [noerr]

Use the create partition primary command to create a primary partition of length size and a starting address offset on the current drive.

If an ID byte is not specified on an MBR disk, this command creates a partition with type "0x6." You can use the ID parameter to specify the partition type. There is no validity or other checking of the ID byte.

If you do not specify an ID GUID on a GPT disk, this command creates an Msdata partition. You can use the ID parameter to specify any GUID. There is no validity, duplication, or other checking of the GUID. The partition instance GUID is automatically generated.

MBR and GPT partitions are created so that Windows does not automatically allocate drive letters. You must explicitly assign a drive letter.

create partition extended [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]

Use the create partition extended command to create an extended partition of length size and starting address offset on the current drive. The drive must be an MBR disk.

After the partition is created, the new extended partition gains the focus. You can create only one extended partition. You can create logical drives only after you create an extended partition.

create partition logical [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]

Use the create partition logical command to create a logical drive of length size and starting address offset in an existing extended partition on the current disk. The drive must be an MBR disk.

If an offset is not listed, the logical drive is placed in the first unoccupied contiguous disk extent in the extended partition that is large enough. If a size is not listed, the partition may be extended to occupy the entire extended partition.

After you create the partition, the logical drive gains the partition focus.

create partition msr [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]

The create partition msr command is the equivalent of creating the partition with the MSR GUID E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE.

create partition esp [size=n] [offset=n] [noerr]

The create partition esp command is the equivalent of creating the partition with ESP GUID C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B.

delete partition [noerr] [override]

Use the delete partition command to delete the current in-focus partition.

Diskpart blocks the deletion of the current system, boot, or paging volume. To delete either an ESP, MSR, or a known OEM partition, you must specify the override parameter.

extend [size=n][noerr]

Use the extend command to cause the current in-focus volume to be extended into contiguous unallocated space. The unallocated space must follow (it must be of higher sector offset than) the in-focus partition. The intended use of this command is to grow an existing basic data partition into newly created space on an extended hardware Raid logical unit number (LUN).

If the partition had been previously formatted with the NTFS file system, the file system is automatically extended to occupy the larger partition, and data loss does not occur. If the partition had been previously formatted with any file system format other than NTFS, the command is unsuccessful and does not change the partition.

Diskpart blocks the extension of only the current system or boot partition.

remove [[letter=l]/[mount=path]/[all]] [noerr]

Use the remove command to remove a letter or mount point from the current in-focus partition. If you specify the all parameter, all of the current drive letters and mount points are removed. If you do not specify a letter or mount point, the drive letter is removed.

Use this command to change the drive letter that is associated with a removable drive.

The drive letter removal is blocked on the system, boot, or paging volumes. You cannot use this command to remove a drive letter to an OEM partition, any GPT partition with an unrecognized GUID, or any of the special non-data, GPT partitions, such as, the ESP partition.

Commands to Manage Dynamic Disks

You can use the commands that are described in this section to create and delete volumes, repair fault tolerant volumes, and import disks.

The size parameters are always rounded up to MB alignment. You cannot specify an explicit offset. The volume is always placed in the first unoccupied contiguous disk extent that is large enough. If a size is not listed, the largest possible volume is created.

After a volume is created, the volume focus is put on the newly created volume. The current disk focus is lost if the volume spans the disks. The volume focus is lost if a volume is deleted. If there had been a valid disk focus before you deleted the volume, that disk focus remains.

NOTE: Diskpart forces the creation of an MSR partition on any empty disk when that disk is converted to a dynamic or GPT disk.

active

Use the active command to set the current in-focus volume as "active." This setting informs the firmware that the partition is a valid system partition. Diskpart verifies only that the volume is capable of containing an operating system bootable image, but the utility does not validate the partition contents. If you use this command, the computer may not be able to restart.

add disk=n [noerr]

Use the add command to add a mirror to the current in-focus volume on the specified disk. Only two mirror plexes are supported. The current in-focus volume must be a simple volume.

assign [[letter=l]/[mount=path]] [noerr]

Use the assign command to assign a letter or mount point to the current in-focus volume. If you do not specify a drive letter, the next available drive letter is assigned. If the letter or mount point is already in use, an error is generated unless you specify the noerr parameter.

The drive letter assignment is blocked on the system, boot, or paging volumes.

break disk=n [nokeep] [noerr]

Use the break command to break the current in-focus mirror.

By default, the contents of both mirror plexes are retained because both plexes become simple volumes. If you specify the nokeep parameter, only the specified plex is retained, the other plex is removed and converted to free space.

The original volume retains any and all drive letters or mount points. If the plex is not kept, the focus remains on the retained simple volume on the specified disk. Otherwise, the focus is changed to the specified retained plex on the specified disk. The plex becomes a simple volume; however, a drive letter is not assigned to the new volume.

create volume simple [size=n] [disk=n] [noerr]

Use the create volume simple command to create a simple volume of length size on the specified disk.

If you do not specify a size, the new volume can take up the remaining contiguous free space on the disk. If you do not specify a disk, the current in-focus disk is used.

After the volume is created, the disk focus is given to the targeted disk.

create volume stripe [size=n] disk=n[,n[,...]] [noerr]

Use the create volume stripe command to create a stripe set volume on the specified disks. The total size of the stripe volume is the size multiplied by (*) the number of disks.

If you do not specify a size, the largest possible stripe volume is created. The disk with the smallest available contiguous free space is determined. The size of that free space determines the size for the stripe volume. The same size is allocated on each disk.

create volume raid [size=n] disk=n[,n[,...]] [noerr]

Use the create volume raid command to create a Raid-5 set volume on the specified disks. An amount of space that is equal to "size" is allocated on each disk.

If you do not specify a size, the largest possible Raid 5 volume is created. The disk with the smallest available contiguous free space is determined. The size of that free space determines the size for the Raid 5 volume and the same size is allocated from each disk. The actual usable size of the volume is less than the size multiplied by the number of disks, because some of the space is used for the parity.

delete disk [noerr][override]

Use the delete disk command to delete a missing dynamic disk from the disk list.

If you do not specify the override parameter, all of the simple volumes that are contained on the disk are deleted and any mirror plexes are removed. If the disk contributes to a Raid 5 volume, the command is unsuccessful.

delete partition [noerr] [override]

Use the delete partition command to delete the current in-focus partition.

Diskpart blocks the deletion of any partitions that are used to contain existing online dynamic volumes. Those volumes must be deleted and the disk converted to basic. To delete an ESP, MSR, or known OEM partition, specify the override parameter.

You can delete partitions from dynamic disks, but you cannot create them. For example, you can delete an unrecognized GPT partition on a dynamic GPT disk. If you delete a partition, the free space does not become available. You can use this command to reclaim the space on a corrupted offline dynamic disk in an emergency situation in which you cannot use the clean command.

delete volume [noerr]

Use the delete volume command to delete the current in-focus volume. After you use this command, all data is lost.

extend disk=n [size=n] [noerr]

Use the extend command to extend the current simple or the extended volume onto the specified disk. The extend command only works with NTFS volumes.

If you do not specify a size, the volume can occupy all of the free space on the specified disk. Any existing disk focus is lost.

import [noerr]

Use the import command to import all of the disks from a foreign disk group.

If you set the focus on any disk in the foreign disk group, you can import all disks in the group. After you run this command, any existing volume or disk focus is lost.

online [noerr]

Use the online command to bring a disk or volume that had previously been taken offline back online. A change in focus does not occur if you use this command.

remove [[letter=l]/[mount=path]/[all]] [noerr]

Use the remove command to remove a letter or mount point from the current in-focus volume. If you use the all parameter, all of the current drive letters and mount points are removed. If you do not specify a letter or mount point, the path that is encountered first is removed.

The drive letter removal is blocked on the system, boot, or paging volumes.

retain

Use the retain command to prepare a dynamic simple volume to be used as a boot or system volume.

If you use the retain command on an x86-based computer, an MBR partition on the dynamic simple volume is created with focus. To create an MBR partition, the dynamic simple volume must start at a cylinder aligned offset and be an integral number of cylinders in size.

If you use the retain command on an Itanium-based computer, the retain command creates a GPT partition on the dynamic simple volume with focus.

Commands to Convert Disks

convert mbr [noerr]

Use the convert mbr command to set the partitioning style of the current disk to MBR. The disk may be a basic disk or a dynamic disk but the disk must not contain any valid data partitions or volumes.

convert gpt [noerr]

Use the convert gpt command to set the partitioning style of the current disk to GPT. The disk may be a basic or a dynamic disk but it must not contain any valid data partitions or volumes. This command is valid only on Itanium-based computers; it may be unsuccessful on x-86-based computers.

convert dynamic [noerr]

Use the convert dynamic command to change a basic disk into a dynamic disk. The disk may contain valid data partitions.

convert basic [noerr]

Use the convert basic command to change an empty dynamic disk to basic.

Miscellaneous Commands

exit

Use the exit command to stop Diskpart and return control to the operating system.

clean [all]

Use the clean command to remove partition or volume formatting from the current in-focus disk by zeroing sectors. By default, only the MBR or GPT partitioning information and any hidden sector information on MBR disks is overwritten. If you specify the all parameter, each and every sector can be zeroed, and all data that is contained on the drive can be deleted.

rem [...]

The rem command does nothing, and you can use it to comment script files.

rescan

Use the rescan command to rescan all I/O buses and cause any new disks that have been added to the computer to be discovered.

Help Commands

help

Use the help command to display a list of all commands.

How to Access Hidden Themes in Windows 7?

Windows 7 offers a good assortment of themes to customize the feel as well as the look of your computer. Windows 7 features particular themes which are based on the location and the language you select while you install the Windows 7. You can look for the location-specific theme in the Personalize menu. You just have to right-click at any place upon your computer desktop. You will be able to get the couple of themes according to your location.

Other than the location specific themes which you get by default, you can access hidden themes in Windows 7 which are offered to other regions. So the default themes which you get according to your region are not the only themes you can use. It is possible to access hidden themes in Windows 7 very easily in your system. This is what you have to do:
 Click Start.
 In the search box of the Start menu, type C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT.

Your Windows Explorer will show you a window with additional themes. These will be from Great Britain, South Africa, Australia and Canada.

You have the option to select the wallpaper only or you can install the whole theme if you want.

You will be able to install the entire brand-new theme by double clicking on the required file.

The new theme you add will show under “My Themes” within the “Personalization” pane.

You can also download many themes for Windows 7 from different website including the Microsoft official website. But you should first try to customize and access hidden themes in Windows 7 as you might not feel the need to download additional themes from elsewhere after that..

Add Your Own Folders to Favorites in Windows 7

Add Your Own Folders to Favorites in Windows 7

When you open Explorer in Windows 7 you’ll see a list of Favorites in the Navigation Pane. Microsoft has already put some there, but today we show you how to remove them and add your own favorite folders including Search Connectors.

Remove Favorites

By default Microsoft has included some favorite locations for you that you may not want. The default locations are Desktop, Downloads, Recent Places, and Recorded TV if you’ve set up Live TV in Windows Media Center.

To delete the locations from Favorites, simply right-click on the location and select Remove from the context menu.

Add Favorites

Adding you favorite locations that you visit often is easy. While your in the folder you want to add, right-click on Favorites and select Add current location to Favorites.

You can also drag a folder over to Favorites to link it there as well.

In this example we removed all of the default locations and added four locations…a FLAC folder from a home server, My Documents, My Videos, and our Dropbox folder.

If you want to get the default locations back just right-click Favorites and select Restore favorite links. It won’t delete the locations you added, but will just restore the originals.

Search Connectors

You can’t add Internet Explorer Favorites or files to your favorites in Windows Explorer. However, you can add Search Connectors which allow you to search a favorite website and view it in Windows Explorer. 

This should help make navigating through your favorite locations a bit easier and allow you to add Search Connectors as well. Make sure to check out our links below that will help better understand Search Connectors and why they might come in handy.

Setting up security to lock or unlock a WD external drive with WD Smart Ware

Important Notes:

• In order to set up security on a WD SmartWare external drive, you will need to have WD SmartWare installed.
• Passwords have a limit of 25 characters total.

1. Open the WD SmartWare program. It should bring you to the Home tab. Click on the Settings tab.

2. Under Settings, click on Set Up Drive.

3. Under Settings, you should already be showing the Security settings. If not, click on Security. You will need to then type in a password (passwords have a 25 character limitation), and then verify it, by typing it in again. Once you've typed in the password twice, check the I understand box in confirmation that there's no way to retrieve your password if you forget it.

4. Once you click on Update Security Settings, you will be notified that your drive is secure.

5. If you want to change your security settings, just type in your password and choose either Remove Security or Change Password, in order to do either.

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Unlocking a Drive

WD SmartWare can unlock a drive two different ways. The Automatic Unlock pops up if you have SmartWare installed and a locked drive is attached. The other way is by Manual Unlock. To manually unlock the drive you open the Virtual CD and double click on the "Unlock” icon. The manual unlock does not require SmartWare to be installed on the system.

To re-lock the drive, the drive has to lose power to the USB port. You can do this by unplugging the USB cable and then plugged it back in.

Automatic Unlock

When a locked drive is connected to the system it should popup with a box asking for the password. This box may take a few minutes to come up. When the box comes up, type in your password and click on Unlock. Your drive should now be unlocked.

Manually Unlock

1. If your drive is locked and you are not prompted to unlock it when the drive is attached. You can go to My Computer, or Computer, and open the Virtual CD for the drive. Then double-click on the Unlock.exe.

(Windows)	(Mac)

2. The Drive Unlock screen will open. Type in your password and click on Unlock.

3. If the password was correct, the drive should be unlocked. Click on Exit.

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Failed Login

If you enter the wrong password 5 times, you will receive the screen below. In order to try your password 5 more times, you will need to safely eject the drive and unplug both the power and data cable from the unit. Then plug it back it. You will now be given 5 more tries before you get the below screen again.

If you can’t remember your password then you will not be able to access the drive. However, you can reuse the drive after it has been formatted. Reformatting the drive will erase all the data on the unit, as well as remove the password from the drive. If you want to start over, check the I understand that reformatting my drive will delete all of my data and click Format. The drive will be reformatted and unlocked to start over again.

Important: The reformatting option will only work through the Automatic Unlock feature that shows up when you plug the drive in to the computer.

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Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7

Introduction

To upgrade your PC from Windows XP to Windows 7, you'll need to select the Custom option during Windows 7 installation. A custom installation doesn't preserve your programs, files, or settings. It's sometimes called a "clean" installation for that reason.

A custom installation is more complex, and it can sometimes take a couple of hours to complete. We created this five-step tutorial to help guide you through the entire process each step of the way.

What you need

• An external hard disk. You'll need to move your files off of your PC before you install Windows 7. To make this easier, we recommend a free download called Windows Easy Transfer, which will require an external hard disk. They're readily available at electronics and office supply stores, and they provide an easy way to add additional storage space to your computer.
• The original installation discs or setup files for the programs that you want to use with Windows 7. You'll need to reinstall your programs by hand after installing Windows 7. When you run Windows Easy Transfer you will get a report that lists the programs that you are currently using with Windows XP.

32-bit or 64-bit: Which version of Windows 7 to install?

Both 32-bit and 64-bit installation discs are included in the Windows 7 package. 64-bit operating systems can handle large amounts of memory—typically 4 gigabytes (GB) of random access memory (RAM) or more—more efficiently than 32-bit operating systems. However, not all computers are 64-bit capable. For more information, see 32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7.

You'll probably need the 32-bit version, but to make sure, click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.

• If you don't see "x64 Edition" listed, then you're running the 32-bit version of Windows XP. Step 1 of this tutorial will show you how to run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, which can let you know if your computer is capable of running the 64-bit version of Windows 7.
• If "x64 Edition" is listed under System, you're running the 64-bit version of Windows XP and can run the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

Next: Download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

Step 1: Make sure that your programs and devices will work with Windows 7

To help find potential compatibility problems with your computer's hardware, devices, or programs that might affect installing Windows 7, download and run the free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. It provides a report listing any issues that it finds and gives recommendations on what to do before you upgrade to improve your PC's compatibility with Windows 7.

A report lists any actions needed to prepare your computer for Windows 7.

Download and install Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Follow the steps below to download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

1. Go to the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor webpage.
2. Click Download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.
3. Click Download, and then save the installation file to your PC.
4. Double-click the installation file saved to your PC.

   If you're asked to install .NET 2.0

5. If you agree to the license terms, click Install.
6. Click Close.
   If you see a preselected check box, clicking Close will run Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

Run Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

1. If Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor isn't already running, double-click the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor shortcut on your PC's desktop.
2. In the security warning dialog box, click Yes.
3. Click Start check. The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor will scan your PC's hardware, devices, and installed software. This might take a few minutes. When finished, it will provide you with a compatibility report that you can print or save for your reference.
4. Read the report carefully, and make note of any issues that the Upgrade Advisor finds and what the recommended steps are to fix these issues.
5. If you want to save the report and print or refer to it later, click Save Report, type a name in the File Name box, and then click Save.
6. Click Close.

You can scan your PC more than once. We recommend running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor again after taking any of the recommended steps or making any changes to your PC's hardware, devices, or installed software before upgrading to Windows 7. Be sure to save your updated report.

Next: Use Windows Easy Transfer to save your files and settings.

Step 2: Moving files and settings, and gathering your program discs

We recommend using Windows Easy Transfer, a free download, to help you move your files and settings to another location before you install Windows 7. Then, you can use Windows Easy Transfer again to move your files and settings back to your PC after Windows installation is completed.

If you don't use Windows Easy Transfer, you'll need to copy your files manually to an external location, such as CDs, DVDs, an external hard disk, or a USB flash drive before installing Windows 7, and then move them back after Windows installation is completed.

Windows Easy Transfer helps simplify moving your files and settings.

Windows Easy Transfer creates a single file containing your files and settings. The file could be quite large depending on the amount of data you have, which is why we recommend using an external hard disk.

As you prepare to move your files off of your computer to an external storage device, remember the following:

• Windows Easy Transfer doesn't move your programs, only your files and settings. You'll need to reinstall your programs by hand after Windows 7 installation is complete. Windows Easy Transfer will provide you with a list of programs that you are currently using with Windows XP.
• Don't use the File and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP to move your files. It isn't compatible with Windows 7, and if you use it, you won't be able to restore your files in Windows 7. Use Windows Easy Transfer instead.
• Windows Easy Transfer can't transfer files from a 64-bit version of Windows to a 32-bit version of Windows. If you're running a 64-bit version of Windows XP, but you plan to install a 32-bit version of Windows 7, you'll need to copy your files manually to an external location before installing Windows 7, and then move them back after Windows installation is completed.
• Windows Easy Transfer moves your music and video files, but doesn't migrate the licenses for content protected by digital rights management (DRM). This means that you'll need to re-obtain rights to DRM‑protected files from the online store that provided them after you finish installing Windows 7 and restoring these files to your computer. For more information, see Step 4: Moving your files and settings back to your computer.

Warning

Some online stores don't restore rights to their DRM‑protected files. For details about store policies, refer to your store's customer support or Help information. If your music or video was obtained from a store that's no longer in business, you won't be able to restore your rights to that content.

You'll also need Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher. If you're not sure of what you have, click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. Under System, if you see "Service Pack 2" or "Service Pack 3," you can use Windows Easy Transfer. If you're not running Service Pack 2 or 3, go to the Service Pack Center to update your PC.

Download and install Windows Easy Transfer

1. Download Windows Easy Transfer from the Windows website. If you're running a 32-bit version of Windows XP, under For Windows XP, click Download 32-bit. If you're running a 64-bit version of Windows XP, click Download 64-bit.
2. On the Microsoft Download Center webpage, click Download, and then click Run.
3. In the Security Warning dialog box, click Run.
4. In the Software Update Installation Wizard, click Next.
5. If you agree to the license terms, select I Agree, and then click Next.
6. After installation is complete, click Finish.

Open and run Windows Easy Transfer to save your files and settings

1. Make sure your external hard disk or other storage device is connected to your computer.
2. Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Windows Easy Transfer for Windows 7.
3. Click Next.
4. Select An external hard disk or USB flash drive.
5. Click This is my old computer, and then wait while Windows Easy Transfer scans the computer.
6. Clear the check boxes next to any user accounts that you don't want to transfer data from, and then click Next.
7. Enter and retype a password, and then write it down and keep it in a safe place; or leave the boxes blank, and then click Save.
8. Browse to the external hard disk or other storage device where you want to save your Easy Transfer file, and then click Save.
   Warning

   You must save the Easy Transfer file to your external hard disk or other storage device, and not to the default location My Computer. If you don't save the Easy Transfer file to your external hard disk, the file you just created will be deleted during the custom installation of Windows 7.
9. Windows Easy Transfer will begin saving your files and settings. Do not use your computer during this time.
10. When you see the message These files and settings have been saved for your transfer, click Next.
    Windows Easy Transfer displays the file name and location of the Easy Transfer file you just created. Write down the file name and location so you can easily find it when you're ready to transfer files to Windows 7.
11. Click Next, and then click Close.
12. Ensure that the file is saved to your external hard disk or storage device, and then disconnect the device from your computer.

Gather your program discs and setup files

It's important to remember that the Custom installation option doesn't preserve any of your programs, so you'll need to reinstall the programs that you want to use in Windows 7.

• Make sure you have the installation discs for the programs you want to keep using in Windows 7.
• You might have downloaded some programs from the Internet. If you still have the installation files on your computer (often called setup.exe, install.exe, or similar), copy those setup files to your external hard disk as well. If you don't have the installation files, you'll need to download them again after Windows 7 installation is complete.
• If you're running a 64-bit version of Windows and plan to install a 32-bit version of Windows 7, programs that were designed to run only on a 64-bit operating system might not work. Check the software manufacturer's website for more information, or go to the Windows 7 Compatibility Center on the Microsoft website. You can search the Compatibility Center for product names or browse many different categories of hardware and software tested to be compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7.

Next: Install Windows 7 using the Custom option.

Step 3: Installing Windows 7

When you choose the Custom option during installation, you install a new copy of Windows on your PC.

The options for Windows 7 installation

Note

Formatting your hard disk during Windows 7 installation isn't necessary. If you want to format your hard disk, and you're using an upgrade version of Windows 7, don't use a program from another software manufacturer to reformat your hard disk prior to installing Windows 7. Instead, start your PC using the Windows 7 upgrade installation disc or a USB flash drive, click Custom (advanced), and then click Drive options (advanced).

Before you begin

• Connect your PC to the Internet so you can get installation updates during the installation process. (If you don't have an Internet connection, you can still install Windows 7.)
• Update your antivirus program, run it, and then turn it off. After you install Windows 7, remember to turn the antivirus program back on, or install new antivirus software that works with Windows 7.
• If you have a Windows 7 installation package, choose either the 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7 installation disc, depending on whether you want to install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7.
• If you want to install a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on a PC running a 32-bit version of Windows XP, follow the instructions in "To install a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on a computer running a 32-bit version of Windows XP" at the bottom of the page. For more information, see 32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions.
• Find your 25-character Windows product key. You can find it on the installation disc holder inside the Windows package—or in a confirmation e‑mail if you purchased and downloaded Windows 7 online.

Perform a Custom installation of Windows 7

1. With your computer on and Windows XP running, do one of the following:
   • If you've downloaded Windows 7, browse to the installation file you downloaded, and then double-click it (often identified as an Application file under the Type column).
   • If you have a Windows 7 installation disc, insert the disc into your computer. Setup should start automatically. If it doesn't, click Start, click My Computer, open the Windows 7 installation disc on your DVD drive, and then double-click setup.exe.
   • If you've downloaded Windows 7 installation files onto a USB flash drive, insert the drive into your computer. Setup should start automatically. If it doesn't, click the Start button, click Computer, double-click the drive, and then double-click setup.exe.
2. On the Install Windows page, click Install now.
3. On the Get important updates for installation page, we recommend getting the latest updates to help ensure a successful installation, and to help protect your computer against security threats. Your computer will need to be connected to the Internet during Windows 7 installation to get these updates.
4. On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms, and then click Next.
5. On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom.
6. Choose the partition containing Windows XP (this is often the computer's C: drive), and then click Next. (Do not select your external USB hard drive.)
7. In the Windows.old dialog box, click OK.
8. Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows 7, which include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account. You can use the same names that you used in Windows XP, or choose new ones.

To install a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on a computer running a 32-bit version of Windows XP

Next: Move your files and settings back to your computer.

Step 4: Moving your files and settings back to your computer

After you've installed Windows 7, now you're ready to run Windows Easy Transfer again and move your files and settings back to your computer.

Be sure you run Windows Easy Transfer before you reinstall your programs. That's because Windows Easy Transfer moves your files back to where your old programs will expect them to be when you reinstall them.

User accounts from Windows XP are moved to Windows 7.

Move files and settings back using Windows Easy Transfer

1. Make sure your external hard disk or other storage device that contains your Windows Easy Transfer migration file is connected to your computer.
2. Click the Start button , click Computer, and under Hard Disk Drives, double-click your storage device.
3. Browse to the location where you saved the Easy Transfer file, called Windows Easy Transfer – Items from old computer, and double click the file.
   If you gave the file a different name when you originally created it, browse to that file and double-click it.
4. If you entered a password when creating the Easy Transfer file, type the password, and then click Next.
   Note:If you receive an error that you don't have enough free disk space to migrate your files back to your computer using Windows Easy Transfer, you can use Disk Cleanup to delete temporary files left over from your Windows 7 installation and free up additional disk space. To learn how to do this, read the "Post-install clean up (optional)" section at the end of Step 5: Reinstall your programs and update drivers.
5. On the Choose what to transfer to this computer page, you can decide how the user accounts from Windows XP are transferred to Windows 7.
   • To accept the current account mapping, click Transfer.
   • To change how the Windows XP accounts are mapped in Windows 7, click Advanced Options.
6. On the Your transfer is complete page, click See what was transferred to view a list of the user accounts and files that were moved from Windows XP to Windows 7. Click See a list of programs you might want to install on your new computer to view what was previously installed on Windows XP.
7. Click Close. If you are prompted to restart your computer, click Restart now.

If you transferred more than one user account, you might be prompted to change the password the next time you log on. If you're prompted to do so, click OK, and in the dialog box that appears, do one of the following:

• If you want to give the user account a password (recommended), type a new password, retype it, and then press Enter. There's no need to type the old password from Windows XP.
• If you don't want to give the user account a password, leave the boxes empty, and then press Enter.

Moving DRM‑protected content

Next: Reinstall your programs and update drivers. 

 

Step 5: Reinstall your programs and update drivers

After you've run Windows Easy Transfer and your files and settings are back on your computer, you can reinstall your programs and check for new or updated drivers.

Windows Easy Transfer provides a report detailing the programs you used in Windows XP that you might want to reinstall. To reinstall your programs, you'll need to use the installation discs or setup files that you gathered earlier.

A report lists programs that you might want to reinstall.

If your computer came with several programs pre-installed, you might see programs listed in the report that you've never used before or rarely used. When you begin reinstalling programs, start with the ones that you know and use regularly, especially new antivirus software for your computer. If you don't have new antivirus software for your PC running Windows 7, you can look for new programs at the Windows 7 Compatibility Center.

If you have a program that you used in Windows XP that isn't compatible with Windows 7, try using the Program Compatibility troubleshooter. For more information, see Open the Program Compatibility troubleshooter.

If the troubleshooter can't fix the problem, you might be able to run the program using Windows XP Mode in Windows 7. For more information, see Windows XP Mode.

Note

Some programs such as Windows Mail and Outlook Express are no longer included in Windows 7. If you used Windows Mail or Outlook Express as your e‑mail program, you'll need to install a new e‑mail program to read your messages or to send and receive e‑mail. For more information about Windows Live Mail and instructions for importing your e‑mail, contacts, and calendar, see Importing your e‑mail, messages, contacts, and calendar into Windows Live Mail.

Update drivers

A driver is software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware or devices. Without drivers, the hardware you connect to your computer—for example, a video card or a printer—won't work properly.

In most cases, drivers come with Windows, or you can find them by using Windows Update and checking for updates. To do so, click the Start button, click All Programs, and then click Windows Update.

If Windows Update doesn't have the driver you need, check out the Windows 7 Compatibility Center, which has direct links to driver downloads and manufacturer support pages. For more information, see Update a driver for hardware that isn't working properly.

Netbooks and drivers

Some netbooks and laptops that were running Windows XP might not have specific Windows 7 drivers for features such as function buttons. If Windows Update doesn't find a driver, visit your computer manufacturer's website and search for a download or support page where you can search for drivers for your PC.

You can try to install a driver made for Windows XP onto your PC running Windows 7. If the Windows XP driver won't install, you can run the Program Compatibility troubleshooter to try and fix the problem.

1. Download or copy the driver installation file to your computer.
2. Right-click the file, and then click Troubleshoot compatibility.
3. Follow the steps in the Program Compatibility troubleshooter to change the compatibility settings for the driver.

Post-install clean-up (optional)

During Windows 7 installation, if you don't format the partition, files that were used in Windows XP are stored in the Windows.old folder. The type of files in this folder depends on your computer.

After you've used Windows 7 for a while, for example one or two weeks, and you're confident that your files and settings are back to where you want them to be, you can safely reclaim disk space and use Disk Cleanup to delete the Windows.old folder.

You can also delete the Windows.old folder if you receive an error during Step 4: Moving your files and settings back to your computer of this tutorial that indicates that you don't have enough free disk space to transfer your files and settings back to your computer.

Warning

Before you use Disk Cleanup, make sure that all of your files and settings moved correctly to Windows 7 where you expected them to be. Deleting the Windows.old folder can't be undone.

1. Click the Start button, and in the search box, type Disk Cleanup. In the list of results, click Disk Cleanup.
   If you're prompted to choose a drive, choose the drive you just installed Windows 7 on, and then click OK.
2. Click Clean up system files. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
   If you're prompted again to choose a drive, choose the drive you just installed Windows 7 on, and then click OK.
3. Select Previous Windows installation(s) and any other categories of files you want to delete.
4. Click OK, and then click Delete Files.

How To Auto-Hide Or Completely Remove Windows 7 Explorer Command Bar (Toolbar)

The command bar (toolbar) in Windows 7 explorer is useful for novice users to quickly access various file and folder options with a click. However, there are some users who never use the command bar as most of the options in the command bar can also be accessed with keyboard shortcuts.

 

A few days ago, we showed you how to personalize the Windows 7 explorer command bar (toolbar) by adding and removing useful options to the command bar. This time around, we have an advanced tool to auto-hide or completely remove the explorer toolbar with a mouse click.

Windows 7 Command Bar Tweaker is a portable software to auto-hide the command bar or to permanently remove the command bar from Windows 7 explorer.

How to use Command Bar Tweaker to disable the explorer Command Bar:

Step 1: Download the Command Bar Tweaker file from here and extract the RAR file to get Command Bar Tweaker.exe file.

Step 2: As we have mentioned earlier, this is a portable tool, which requires no installation. So, run the Command Bar Tweaker, click Auto Hide Command Bar button to temporarily hide the toolbar. When this option is enabled, you will need to move the mouse cursor to the default Command Bar position to view the command bar.

To remove the command bar permanently, click on Permanently Hide Command Bar button.

Step 3: Next step is to restart the explorer.exe process to apply the changes. Log off and then log on to see the changes. You can also restart the explorer process using the Task Manager.

Windows 7 Command Bar Tweaker is a freeware and is compatible with both x86 and x64