How to Manage your Documents and Files with Libraries in Windows 7?

With the old editions of Windows like XP and Vista, it can be a tiresome job to manage documents, photos, music etc that are present in different directories on the hard drives. The new feature named Libraries in Windows 7 helps you to organize all your folders from different locations in the hard drives in a single place.

Follow the given steps to use default Libraries in Windows 7:

To access the Libraries in the computer, click on Start.

Click your user name to open your personal folder. 

Click on Libraries in the left pane. You will be able to see the 4 default Libraries: Documents, Videos, Pictures and Music.

Libraries in Windows 7 reveal files stored in different hard drives of the computer. This is what a Music Library looks like.   

You can make your own Library in addition to the ones that already exist.  

How to Make Your Own Libraries in Windows 7: 

Click on the New Libraries button in the left pane.

 A new Library will come up simply like a new folder.

 Label your new Library. 

 

As you go into your new Library, you can add new files, documents, as well as new folders.

In order to add new folder locations to the Library, you just have to click on the hyperlink that displays the present number of locations.

  

Click the Add button to include other locations of your computer.

 

 Right-click on the Library icon.

 Select Properties and add a folder from there.

In addition to this, you can Right-click on a folder and include it in any library as you are navigating the explorer.

All this will make a little change to the user interface. It is very good feature and makes the navigation of folders and files very easy.

 

 

Curious to know when support for your Windows 7, Vista and XP will end?

For those of you trying to stick it out with your Windows XP & Windows Vista, it might be interesting to know when you will lose support for these Windows products. Due to popularity Windows XP support was extended, Vista reportedly from Microsoft was a major flop but is still being used by many users and Windows 7, the current version, is picking up new users everyday, so it might come in use to know how long it will be before your operating system is deemed obsolete.

I happened to be browsing some of the different news sites and came across and interesting article at ZDnet.
Windows XP extended support will end according to Microsoft on 4/8/2014

Windows Vista mainstream support will end according to Microsoft on 4/10/2012 , with extended support for Vista Business and Enterprise ending 4/11/2017 (no information on extended support for Home, Ultimate, SP1 or SP2).

Windows 7 mainstream support will end according to Microsoft on 1/13/2015 , with extended support for Windows 7 Enterprise and Professional ending 1/14/2020 (no information on extended support for Starter, Home and Ultimate).

Though listed by Microsoft dates could change as apparent with the extension of support for the popular Windows XP.

For more information on all of Microsofts Product Lifecycle spans visit the Microsoft Product Lifecycle Homepage.

How to change or edit Windows 7 System Information

Here is another fun-app of-sorts. Called Windows Info Box Editable, this free tool lets you change or edit the System Information easily.

Once you have downloaded this portable app, run its .exe file. To start editing the information, hit Enter.

In the box which opens, type the information you want changed. Click OK to change the next parameter.
This app let you change Windows edition, procesor name, RAM, System Type, Computer name, full computer name, full description and Workgroup.
Need to change some things? Download it from here.

Fix: Unable to or cannot print Web pages in Internet Explorer

There are times when you need to print a web page. But if you find that you are unable to print or print preview web pages, when you are using Internet Explorer 9 or IE8 on your Windows 7 or Vista, this article may interest you.

The reason this occurs is because your C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp\Low folder may have been deleted due to certain reasons. It could be because of some disk cleaning utility which you may be using.

Well, firstly you could restart Internet Explorer and try again and see if it works this time.

If not, the try to re-create this folder manually. To do so, type %Temp% in start search and hit Enter to open the Temp folder. Now in this folder, create a new folder and name it Temp. That’s it!

If you are unable to re-create this folder manually, download and apply this Microsoft Fix it 50676. It will re-create the folder automatically.

Now see if it works.

If it still does not help, KB973479 Windows 7 recommends that you reset low integrity level on the Low folder.

To do so, open command prompt as admin, type ICACLS “%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low” /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low and hit Enter.

Alternatively, you can download and apply Microsoft Fix it 50677 to do so automatically.

Restart the computer.

You will now be able to print or print preview webpages in your Internet Explorer.

How to Schedule a Task in Windows 7

In Windows 7 you can schedule any task to initiate automatically using the Task Scheduler utility. Task Scheduler is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. It allows you to create a task that opens the program for you automatically according to the schedule you choose.

For example, if you use a financial program on a certain day each month, you can schedule a task that opens the program automatically to avoid the risk of forgetting to open it yourself.

To Schedule a Task using Task Scheduler:

1. Go to Control Panel and search for Task Scheduler and open it.
2. Click the Action menu, and then click Create Basic Task. 
3. Type a name for the task and an optional description, and then click Next. 
4. Do one of the following:

• To select a schedule based on the calendar, click Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or One time, click Next; specify the schedule you want to use, and then click Next.
• To select a schedule based on common recurring events, click When the computer starts or When I log on, and then click Next.
• To select a schedule based on specific events, click When a specific event is logged, click Next; specify the event log and other information using the drop-down lists, and then click Next.

5. To schedule a program to start automatically, click Start a program, and then click Next. 
6. Click Browse to find the program you want to start, and then click Next. 
7. Click Finish.

To schedule a task to run automatically when the computer starts:

If you want a task to run when the computer starts, whether a user is logged on or not, follow these steps.
1. Go to Control Panel and search for Task Scheduler and open it.
2. Click the Action menu, and then click Create Basic Task.
3. Type a name for the task and an optional description, and then click Next.
4. Click When the computer starts, and then click Next. 
5. To schedule a program to start automatically, click Start a program, and then click Next.
6. Click Browse to find the program you want to start, and then click Next.
7. Select the Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish check box and click Finish.
8. In the Properties dialog box, select Run whether user is logged on or not, and then click OK.

Shortcuts to kill non-responding programs in Windows 7 instantly

To kill non-responding or hung  or frozen applications, normally one opens the Task Manager, and right clicks on the process and selects End Task.

But you can also create a desktop shortcut to kill such non-responding applications in a click.
To do so, right click on an empty area on your desktop.
Select New>Shortcut.
In the first box of the Create Shortcut Wizard, type :
taskkill.exe /f /fi “status eq not responding”
Click Next.
Name the shortcut : TaskKiller.
Click Finish.

Then select an appropriate icon for it !
The shortcut uses the Taskkill command to identify and terminate application/s that are Not Responding.
Or you could create a .bat file (right click desktop > New > Notepad) with the following matter:
@echo off
taskkill.exe /f /fi “status eq not responding”
exit
Save it as .bat file.
Alternatively, you can also check out freeware Process Assassin.

Process Assassin enables the user to select a Not Responding application and terminate it immediately without calling any other external programs. There are options available too.

Another similar application is Task Killer. It is a neat way to unload frozen applications, processes or services. It shows the tasks, windows and/or services in popup menu.

Help and advice for your Windows 7 PC

Find bottlenecks

From what we've seen so far Windows 7 is already performing better than Vista, but if your PC seems sluggish then it's now much easier to uncover the bottleneck. Click Start, type RESMON and press Enter to launch the Resource Monitor, then click the CPU, Memory, Disk or Network tabs. Windows 7 will immediately show which processes are hogging the most system resources.
The CPU view is particularly useful, and provides something like a more powerful version of Task Manager. If a program has locked up, for example, then right-click its name in the list and select Analyze Process. Windows will then try to tell you why it's hanging - the program might be waiting for another process, perhaps - which could give you the information you need to fix the problem.

FIND BOTTLENECKS: Resource monitor keeps a careful eye on exactly how your PC is being used

Keyboard shortcuts

Windows 7 supports several useful new keyboard shortcuts.
Alt+P
Display/ hide the Explorer preview pane
Windows Logo+G
Display gadgets in front of other windows
Windows Logo++ (plus key)
Zoom in, where appropriate
Windows Logo+- (minus key)
Zoom out, where appropriate
Windows Logo+Up
Maximise the current window
Windows Logo+Down
Minimise the current window
Windows Logo+Left
Snap to the left hand side of the screen
Windows Logo+Right
Snap to the right hand side of the screen
Windows Logo+Home
Minimise/ restore everything except the current window
Drag and drop to the command line
When working at the command line you'll often need to access files, which usually means typing lengthy paths and hoping you've got them right. But Windows 7 offers an easier way. Simply drag and drop the file onto your command window and the full path will appear, complete with quotes and ready to be used.
This feature isn't entirely new: you could do this in Windows XP, too, but drag and drop support disappeared in Vista. There does seem to be a new Windows 7 complication, though, in that it only seems to work when you open the command prompt as a regular user. Run cmd.exe as an administrator and, while it accepts dropped files, the path doesn't appear.
Customise your jumplists
Right-click an icon on your taskbar, perhaps Notepad, and you'll see a jumplist menu that provides easy access to the documents you've been working on recently. But maybe there's another document that you'd like to be always available? Then drag and drop it onto the taskbar icon, and it'll be pinned to the top of the jumplist for easier access. Click the pin to the right of the file name, or right-click it and select "Unpin from this list" when you need to remove it.
Faster program launches
If you've launched one instance of a program but want to start another, then don't work your way back through the Start menu. It's much quicker to just hold down Shift and click on the program's icon (or middle-click it), and Windows 7 will start a new instance for you.

Speedy video access

Want faster access to your Videos folder? Windows 7 now lets you add it to the Start menu. Just right-click the Start orb, click Properties > Start Menu > Customize, and set the Videos option to "Display as a link". If you've a TV tuner that works with Windows 7 then you'll appreciate the new option to display the Recorded TV folder on the Start menu, too.

Run web searches

The Windows 7 search tool can now be easily extended to search online resources, just as long as someone creates an appropriate search connector. To add Flickr support, say, visit I Started Something, click Download the Connector, choose the Open option and watch as it's downloaded (the file is tiny, it'll only take a moment). A "Flickr Search" option will be added to your Searches folder, and you'll be able to search images from your desktop.
A multitude of other ready-made searches, such as Google and YouTube, can be downloaded from the windowsclub.com website.

Schedule Media Centre downloads

You can now tell Windows Media Centre to download data at a specific time, perhaps overnight, a useful way to prevent it sapping your bandwidth for the rest of the day. Launch Media Centre, go to Tasks > Settings > General > Automatic Download Options, and set the download start and stop times that you'd like it to use.

Multi-threaded Robocopies

Anyone who's ever used the excellent command-line robocopy tool will appreciate the new switches introduced with Windows 7. Our favourite, /MT, can improve speed by carrying out multi-threaded copies with the number of threads you specify (you can have up to 128, though that might be going a little too far). Enter robocopy /? at a command line for the full details.

Load IE faster

Some Internet Explorer add-ons can take a while to start, dragging down the browser's performance, but at least IE8 can now point a finger at the worst resource hogs. Click Tools > Manage Add-ons, check the Load Time in the right-hand column, and you'll immediately see which browser extensions are slowing you down.

An Alt+Tab alternative

You want to access one of the five Explorer windows you have open, but there are so many other programs running that Alt+Tab makes it hard to pick out what you need. The solution? Hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the Explorer icon. Windows 7 will then cycle through the Explorer windows only, a much quicker way to locate the right one. And of course this works with any application that has multiple windows open.

Block annoying alerts

Just like Vista, Windows 7 will display a suitably stern warning if it thinks your antivirus, firewall or other security settings are incorrect.
But unlike Vista, if you disagree then you can now turn off alerts on individual topics. If you no longer want to see warnings just because you've dared to turn off the Windows firewall, say, then click Control Panel > System and Security > Action Centre > Change Action Centre settings, clear the Network Firewall box and click OK.

Parallel defrags

The standard Windows 7 defragger offers a little more control than we saw in Vista, and the command line version also has some interesting new features. The /r switch will defrag multiple drives in parallel, for instance (they'll obviously need to be physically separate drives for this to be useful). The /h switch runs the defrag at a higher than normal priority, and the /u switch provides regular progress reports so you can see exactly what's going on. Enter the command
defrag /c /h /u /r
in a command window to speedily defrag a system with multiple drives, or enter defrag /? to view the new options for yourself.

Fix Explorer

The Windows 7 Explorer has a couple of potential annoyances. Launching Computer will no longer display system folders like Control Panel or Recycle Bin, for instance. And if you're drilling down through a complicated folder structure in the right-hand pane of Explorer, the left-hand tree won't always expand to follow what you're doing, which can make it more difficult to see exactly where you are. Fortunately there's a quick fix: click Organize > Folder and Search Options, check "Show all folders" and "Automatically expand to current folder", and click OK.

Faster file handing

If you hold down Shift while right-clicking a file in Explorer, then you'll find the Send To file now includes all your main user folders: Contacts, Documents, Downloads, Music and more. Choose any of these and your file will be moved there immediately.

Create folder favourites

If you're regularly working on the same folder in Explorer then select it in the right-hand page, right-click Favourites on the left-hand menu, and select Add to Favourites. It'll then appear at the bottom of the favourites list for easy one-click access later.

Disable hibernation

By default Windows 7 will permanently consume a chunk of your hard drive with its hibernation file, but if you never use sleep, and always turn your PC off, then this will never actually be used. To disable hibernation and recover a little hard drive space, launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power, then set both HibernateEnabled and HiberFileSizePerfect to zero.

Create a new folder shortcut

When you need to create a new folder in Windows 7 Explorer, don't reach for the mouse. Just press Ctrl+Shift+N to create the folder in the active Explorer window, then type its name as usual.
81. Open a jumplist
Most people right-click a Windows taskbar icon to view its jumplist. You can also hold the left mouse button over the icon, though, then drag upwards to reveal the jumplist and choose the option you need, a more natural action that should be just a little faster.

Search quickly

If you'd like to search for something in an Explorer window then there's no need to use the mouse. Simply press [F3] to move the focus to the search box, enter your keyword and press [Enter] to run the search.

Search file contents

There's no obvious way in the Windows interface to search the contents of files that haven't been indexed, but all you need to do is start your search with the "content:" search filter. So entering content:Microsoft , for instance, will find all documents (whether they're actually indexed or not) that contain the word Microsoft.

Close in a click

Hover your mouse cursor over a Windows taskbar button will display a preview thumbnail of that application window. You don't need that app any more? Then middle-click the thumbnail to close it down.

Leave the Homegroup

Homegroups are an easy way to network Windows 7 PCs, but if you don't use the feature then turning it off can save you a few system resources.
Click Start, type Homegroup, and click "Choose homegroup and sharing options". Click Leave the Homegroup > Leave the Homegroup > Finish.
Now click Start, type services.msc and press [Enter] to launch the Services Control Panel applet.
Find and double-click both the HomeGroup Listener and HomeGroup Provider service, clicking Stop and setting Startup Type to Disabled in each case, and the services won't be launched when you need reboot.

Pin a drive to the taskbar

The task bar isn't just for apps and documents. With just a few seconds work you can pin drive icons there, too.
Right-click an empty part of the desktop, select New > Text File, and rename the file to drive.exe. Drag and drop this onto your taskbar, then delete the original file.
Right-click your new "drive.exe" taskbar button, then right-click its file name and select Properties. Change the contents of both the Target and Start In boxes to point at the drive or folder of your choice, perhaps click Change Icon to choose an appropriate drive icon, and you're done - that drive or folder is now available at a click.

How to Burn a Data CD or Data DVD in Windows 7 Using Media Player

 

 

You can burn a data CD or data DVD in Windows 7 using Media Player. An audio CD can contain just approximately eight minutes of music. On the other hand, if you burn a data CD or data DVD in Windows 7 using Media Player, it will be able to hold numerous hours of music. Video files and pictures can also be added to the data discs.

Advantages

 When you burn a data CD or data DVD in Windows 7, the Windows Media Player does not transform the selected files to a different format prior to saving them to a blank data disc, so the files stay in the compressed condition. This allows you to put much more items on a single disc.

 As the format of the files is not changed, the quality of the files remains the same. 

You can burn a data CD or data DVD in Windows 7 using Media Player as follows:

•  Click Start.
•  Click All Programs.
•  Select Windows Media Player.
•  Click the Burn tab in the Player Library.
• Click Burn options and select Data DVD or CD.
•  Insert a blank disc into the CD or DVD burner of your computer.
• Close the AutoPlay dialog box if it comes into sight.
•  Some people have more than one CD drive in their computer. If you have multiple CD drives in your computer too, select the one you would like to use in the navigation window.
•  Look for the songs you want to burn.
•  In order to make your burn list, drag the songs from the details pane in the center of the Player Library to the list pane which is on its right side.
•  You can also change the order of the items in the burn list by dragging them upward or downward in the list. 
•  To remove a song from your list, simply right-click on the item and click on Remove from list.
•  After you finish making your list, click upon Start burn.

It can take a while to burn a data disc. If your selected items cannot fit in one disc, you also have the choice of burning the rest of the items to a different disc. A data DVD is not the same as a DVD-Video disc e.g. the movie DVD you buy or rent from the store.

How to Use Event Viewer to Find Your PC’s Boot Time

Everybody that’s owned a PC has had to deal with the eventual system boot slowdown. Here’s how to use Event Viewer to track exactly how long your system takes to boot up and shut down.
The Event Viewer in Windows 7 provides us with an easy way to track any error or warning messages. What you may not know is that every event in Windows gets logged in the event viewer. If you know the right place to look you can even find boot and shutdown information.

Finding Your Boot Time

To open the event viewer type “event viewer” into the Windows Start Menu search box and press enter.

After the Event Viewer has opened, you’ll be greeted with an overview of whats going on in your system.

Since we allready know what we looking for you can drill into the Applications and Services logs on the left hand side. Then drill into the Microsoft section, followed by Windows.

Now we are looking for a folder called Diagnostics-Performance, this folder houses a log called Operational. Click on this log to open it.

On the right hand side click the filter option as pictured below.

To make things easier Microsoft gives each event an Event ID, with these you can filter the event logs to get to your information even quicker. You should tick the Warning box and specify an Event ID of 100, it should look exactly like the picture below. Once your screen looks the same, click ok.

The filter will sort through the log and only bring up events which have an Event ID of 100. Click on the header of the Date and Time column to sort the log in ascending order.

To get the latest boot time scroll to the bottom of the list and double click on the Warning message to open it. The boot time will be displayed in milliseconds so to get it in seconds you should divide it by 1000

In the picture above my boot time is 38889 milliseconds, to get that in seconds you have to divide it by 1000, so 38889/1000 = 38.89 seconds.

Finding Your Shutdown Time

To find your shutdown time, all that is required is to, apply a filter with different criteria. Like the startup time, the shutdown event also has an Event ID, to find shutdown events you should specify an Event ID of 200 as well as tick the Warning box.

Click on the header of the Date and Time column to sort the log in ascending order.

To get the latest shutdown time scroll to the bottom of the list and double click on the Warning message to open it. The shutdown time will be displayed in milliseconds so to get it in seconds you should divide it by 1000

In the picture above my boot time is 21374 milliseconds, to get that in seconds you have to divide it by 1000, so 21374/1000 = 21.37 seconds.
**Note that you will only be able to see a benchmark in the event log if you have installed a few programs on your pc.

Add Dropbox to the Send To Menu in Windows 7, XP, and Vista

Add Dropbox to the Send To Menu in Windows 7, XP, and Vista

Dropbox is one of the coolest utilities available today to backup and share files and folders online. If you want easier access to it, you might want to add it to the Send To Menu in the Context Menu.
Add Dropbox to Send To Menu in Vista & Windows 7
First navigate to the following path by copying the following into the Windows Explorer address bar or the Search box in the Start Menu.

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

If you have Dropbox under Favorites right-click on the folder and drag it into the SendTo folder. If it’s not under your Favorites in Explorer, just drag it to the SendTo folder from whatever directory you have it in.

When you release the folder you’ll have the option to move, copy, or create a shortcut…you can certainly move it there if you want, but we’re going to create a shortcut.

Now when you right-click on a file or folder you’ll have the option to send it to your Dropbox folder.

If you have other shared folders in your Dropbox folder you can add them to the SendTo Menu as well using the same method. Like in this example we added a shared Dropbox folder we use for testing geek stuff.

Add Dropbox to Send To Menu in XP
In XP go to Control Panel and Folder Options then select Show hidden files and folders.

Navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\SendTo (where User Name is the name of your computer) and create a shortcut to your Dropbox folder.

Now you have your Dropbox folder added to Send To in the Context Menu…

If you use Send To from the Context Menu in Windows, this is a good way to easily add files and folders to your Dropbox folders.