Windows 7

Microsoft said Friday that its inquiry confirms that a tool aimed to make it easier to load Windows 7 on a Netbook does in fact contain open-source code.

“After looking at the code in question, we are now able to confirm this was indeed the case, although it was not intentional on our part,” Microsoft’s Peter Galli said in a blog posting. “While we had contracted with a third party to create the tool, we share responsibility as we did not catch it as part of our code review process. We have furthermore conducted a review of other code provided through the Microsoft Store and this was the only incident of this sort we could find.

As a result, Microsoft said it will make available next week the source code for the tool as well as the binaries under the terms of the General Public License (GPL v2). Microsoft will also make the tool again available to customers at the Microsoft store. Continue reading »

Microsoft have embraced video like never before with the launch of Windows 7.  One of the most useful of these videos is a quick tutorial on how to upgrade your PC from Windows XP.

Continue reading »

Microsoft have launched the compatibility centre for Windows 7.  A website simply containing a database of software and hardware that is known to work fine with their new operating system. Continue reading »

If you don’t want the same old blue log on screen for your Windows Vista, here’s what you gotta do. Go ahead with the steps below. (An alternative way can be found here: Windows 7 Logon Changer)

• Step 1: Download the file – http://www.mediafire.com/?e9y3j3vme0w
• Step 2: Click on Save and save the .zip file to the desktop
• Step 3: Open the .zip file and extract the .reg file to the desktop
• Step 4: Right click the .reg file (On Desktop) and click on Merge.
• Step 5: Click on Run, and press Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted
• Step 6: Save the custom .jpg image you want to use to the desktop with the name backgroundDefault.jpg
• Step 7: Check to see what your primary display screen resolution is. (You can do it by right clicking on any empty space on your desktop and choose screen resolution and then actuate it with your monitor’s specification.)
• Step 8: Open Paint, and click on the File icon (top left corner), Open, and navigate to and select the .jpg image from step 6. [NOTE: You can open Paint by typing mspaint.exe in the Start menu search line]
• Step 9: In Paint, click on Resize, dot Pixels, uncheck Maintain aspect ratio, then resize the .jpg image to the screen resolution size in step 7 (whatever be yours)
• Step 10:Save the .jpg file to the desktop with the exact file name below with the screen resolution size of the image. When completed, close Paint
• Step 11: In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:Windowssystem32oobeinfobackgrounds
• Step 12: Copy and Paste the .jpg files from step 10, and from step 6 into the C:Windowssystem32oobeinfobackgrounds folder, then close the window
• Step 13: You’re logon screen is now changed. You can press Ctrl+Alt+Del to test it. Click on Cancel to return to the desktop.

[NOTE: You can now delete the .reg and .zip files on the desktop if you like.]

Windows 7 provides the means to change the logon background image without third party hacks or any other kind of system files manipulation as it was required in previous Microsoft Windows operating systems. The process had been primarily designed for the OEM market but the option was available for anyone in the latest builds of Windows 7. It did involve adding or changing a value in the Registry and replacing or adding image files to a specific location on the computer’s hard drive. Continue reading »

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.

• Step 1:Right-click on the Taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbar from the menu.
• Step 2: 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.
• Step 3: Select the Quick Launch folder listed and click the Select Folder button

If you were looking for the best designed and most transparent Microsoft user interface then you can’t escape Windpws 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. Continue reading »

The Windows 7 beta has a pack of hidden and locked themes. To unlock hidden themes do the following:

• Step 1: Open the Explorer (Windows + E) and go to C:Windowswinsxs
• Step 2: Enter *.theme into the search field. Alternately you can use the * sign on the number block.
• Step 3: You’ll get the Click me prompt
• Step 4: Double-click the themes ZA, US, GB, CA, AU to install them.

This may sound silly suggestion to even post on Windows Reference but will help avoid some annoyance with Windows Vista and Windows 7. The host file is the one where one enters hostname and IP Address pair manually as against being served by a Name server (ex: DNS). As always the “host” file is under C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\ or %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\ and hence cannot be edited by normal users.

To edit the host file,

Click Start – search for “Notepad“, right-click and select “Run as Administrator“. This should launch notepad with elevated privileges. Now, open the host file from the File menu, edit and save.

This should help!!!

If you’re holding back from testing your copy of Windows 7 because you’re not sure what to do as far as device drivers are concerned, there is something you ought to know (if for some reason you didn’t until this point). Under the hood, Windows 7 is essentially the same as Windows Vista and as such Vista drivers will work just fine a majority of the time.

So, head to your hardware manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers available for Windows Vista.

After downloading the drivers, run the installation setup and follow the prompts as if you would any other time. If you are presented with any errors due to compatibility, cancel the installation, right click the on the install package’s .exe and choose “Troubleshoot Compatibility”. Continue reading »