Windows 7 Tricks You May Not Know

1.  How to Get  Windows Vista-Style Task-bar in Windows 7

It's hard to deny that Windows Vista scores high on appearance. Here's your chance to give the Windows 7 a Vista look. Just follow the steps mentioned below :

  

• Right-click on the task bar and choose the properties dialog. Select the small icons check box.

• Under the taskbar buttons setting, choose combine when taskbar is full. Although it’s not pixel-perfect in accuracy, but, it’s close from a functionality point..

2. How to Unlock Windows 7 Hidden Themes

 The Windows 7 beta has a pack of hidden and locked themes. Let's see how you can unlock the hidden themes.

•  Open the Explorer (Windows + E) and go to C:\Windows\winsxs

• Enter *.theme into the search field. Alternately you can use the * sign on the number block.
  You'll get the Click me prompt

• Double-click the themes ZA, US, GB, CA, AU to install them.

3. How to Enable the Windows Aero in Windows 7

If you were looking for the best designed and most transparent Microsoft user interface then you can't escape Windows Aero. Here's a hack to enable Windows Aero in Windows 7. But before you proceed with the steps keep a backup of your registry.

• Click on the Start Menu and type “regedit” into the search box. When the program appears click to open the regedit.exe icon.

• Locate the Key HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsDWM 

• Look to the pane on the right of the key hierarchy. Right click on the white area and select New > DWORD (32 bit) Value.

• As the value appears name it UseMachineCheck.

• Repeat and create 2 more DWORD Values, Blur and Animations.

• First double-click the value just created with the UseMachineCheck and enter 0 in the Value Data box. Do the same for Values Blur and Animations. Then click OK.

•  Now close the Registry Editor.

• Open the Start Menu and type “cmd” into the search box, right-click on cmd.exe when the program appears in the search results. Now, select Run as Administrator from the drop-down.

As the Command Prompt opens type the commands below

i) Net Stop uxsms – this command will stop the Desktop Windows Manager Session

ii) Net Start uxsms– this command will restart it.

• Once you close the Command Prompt. Right click on the desktop and click on Personalize from the menu.

• Click on the Window Color and Appearance in the Personalization Windows Aero the Color Scheme menu. 

4. How to Enable the Quick Launch Bar in Windows 7

It is a surprising to see that the Quick Launch Bar has not been enlisted in the easy to enable list. Here's what you gotta to do to enable the Quick Launch Bar. 

• Right-click on the Taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbar from the menu.

• Copy and paste the address provided below into the Address bar%SystemDrive%Users%username%AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInternet Explorer then click the arrow to the right of the Address bar to navigate to the folder. 

• Select the Quick Launch folder listed and click the Select Folder button.

5. How to Remove Send Feedback link in Windows 7

The bug that troubles the window in Windows 7 is the send feedback link. This is a simple fix to get rid of this pique. Make sure you have a backup of the registry before you proceed.

• Click on the Start Menu and type “regedit” into the search box, click to open the regedit.exe icon when the program appears.

•  Look for the following Key HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop

• Right-click on the white space in the In the pane to the right of the key hierarchy and select New > DWORD (32 bit) Value.

• Now as the value appears name it FeedbackToolEnabled 

• Double-click the value that was created with Feedback Tool Enabled and enter 0 in the Value Data box, and then click OK.

• To effect the changes Log off the computer and log on to the system.

6. How to Start Windows Explorer from ‘My Computer’

For those who are in the habit of customizing the Windows for convenience and fun can try this out on Windows 7. With this hack you can set the indows Explorer to start from My Computer instead. This will help you to access the different hard disk drives or removable disks easily. Let's go through the steps

• Navigate to Windows Explorer in the Start Menu (it’s in the Accessories folder). Then edit the properties and change the target to read : %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}. This will make the explorer open folders/drives in new Windows. To fix this see the next step.

• Set the target to : %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,::{20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d}

7. Remove Watermark from Windows 7 beta 1 Desktop

Windows 7 is in its beta version and you can realize it well with the lapses in the operating system. One such annoying feature with the OS is the water mark embedded in the desktop. To remove the watermark you can follow the steps below. Before beginning with the steps you need to ensure that the User Account Control is disabled.

• Click on the Start Menu> Control PanelClick on User Accounts.

• Change User Account Control Settings and adjust the slider so that it is at the bottom of the screen (Never Notify).

•  After the rebooting browse to the following directory : C:WindowsSystem32en-US

• Once you’re in the directory locate and right-click the following file user32.dll.mui

• From the drop down menu select the properties. Click on the Security tab and click on the Advanced button at the bottom.

• In the Advanced Security Settings window click on the Owner tab  and click Edit

• Click OK to effect the changes and return to the original file Properties window. 

•  Under the security tab, Click Edit. 

• Select Users and do check all the checkboxes to give you full control of the file. 

• Rename user32.dll.mui to user32-backup.dll.mui

• Download the patched versions of the files - 32 bit Download or 64 bit Download 

• After the files have been downloaded extract it from the original directory C:WindowsSystem32en-US

• Restart the computer 

8. How to Uninstall Internet Explorer

This is for those users who never need to use the Internet Explorer. Just follow the steps below to uninstall IE

• Click on the Start Menu and move to the Control Panel

• Select the Programs and Features

• Click on Turn Windows features on or off link located on the left pane

• The Turn Windows features on or off window appears. Uncheck the Internet Explorer 8 and click OK

•  After a couple of restarts Internet Explorer should be gone for good

9. How to lock and encrypt any drive in Windows 7

Windows 7 offers you an extra, superb way to protect your sensitive and private data by letting you lock and encrypt any drive on your computer. Thanks this trick you will be able to keep out unauthorized, nosy people and hackers from getting important information about you. Let’s see below how to achieve this result thanks to a small embeeded utility called BitLocker Encryption.

• Click Start.

• Click and open Control Panel.

• Click the BitLocker Encryption link.

• Select the drive to protect, lock and encrypt.

• Tick the option : Use a password to unlock the drive.

• Now, select where to save the recovery key.

• Done!

Thank You..