Windows 7

Cool Tools in Windows 7Posted by: Hemang : Category: Windows 7-->
Posted by: Hemang : Category: Windows 7
Windows 7 has received plenty of attention from the tech press, but much of the focus has been on interface changes, such as the redesigned taskbar, and new file management features, such as libraries. Some improvements are less obvious — like the new or enhanced tools that are included with the OS. Here we discuss 10 of these cool tools that make the computing experience easier.


1: Action Center
Centralized management is the name of the game today, and Windows 7 gives you a one-stop shopping location where you can go to deal with security issues, troubleshooting, and recovery, instead of searching out separate applets for each. It’s all combined in an easy-to-use Control Panel applet, where you get maintenance and security messages and can view performance information, change UAC settings, and more, as shown below.

The Windows 7 Action Center provides a centralized location for dealing with security and system problems.

This is an outgrowth of the Security Center in Windows Vista. It made sense to combine security settings and actions with system maintenance and recovery issues. The Action Center also shows up as an icon in the system tray, which displays a red X if there are problems you need to address, as shown below

A nice touch is that Microsoft makes it easy for you to turn the various types of notifications on or off, as shown below. Thus, if you have an antivirus program installed that Windows doesn’t recognize, you don’t have to deal with constant messages urging you to install one — just turn off virus protection messages.

You can turn the various types of notifications on or off as you wish.

2: Problem Steps Recorder
One of the coolest new tools in Windows 7 is the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) — especially for those of us who provide tech support to Windows users. No matter how hard they try, users often have problems accurately describing the problem they’re experiencing or the steps they took before or after experiencing it. Sure, Remote Assistance can be a godsend in those situations. But you can’t always connect to the user’s computer in real time. That’s when the PSR comes in handy.
It’s really a type of screen capture software that records all actions — keystrokes, mouse clicks, etc. — and saves the sequence of events in an MHTML page that documents every step the user took, along with screenshots. You start the PSR by entering psr.exe in the Start menu Search box or at the command prompt. The interface is shown below

The Problem Steps Recorder provides an accurate record of a user’s actions, along with screenshots.
You can view the recorded steps in IE by double-clicking the saved zipped MHTML file, as shown below

You can view the recorded steps in Internet Explorer.

3: ISO burner
An ISO image is a type of archive file that is often used to distribute software. In Windows 7, Microsoft addressed something that’s been on the wish list of many users for a long time: Now you don’t have to download and install a third-party program to burn an ISO file to disc.
It’s a simple process: After you download an .ISO to your hard drive, just double-click it and Windows 7 will open the Burn Disc Image dialog box, shown below

4: Biometric device management
In earlier versions of Windows, biometric authentication and management of biometric devices (fingerprint sensors) required third-party software that might or might not integrate well with the OS. Now it’s built in. Windows 7 includes the Windows Biometric Framework, which gives developers an API they can use to build biometrics into applications. Makers of fingerprint sensor hardware, such as UPEK and AuthenTec, worked with Microsoft on the development of the Framework. Biometric devices are managed through a Control Panel applet, shown below.

5: Credential Manager
The Credential Manager is another new feature in Windows 7. It is similar in some ways to the password management feature in Vista ’s User Accounts applet but is more sophisticated. You can manage Windows credentials for various computers that you sign onto, certificate-based credentials, and other generic credentials (for e-mail accounts, Web accounts, etc.). These are all stored, by default, in the Windows Vault.
1 comment - Latest by:
Jheelu
Quite informative from technical aspect. But I am facing aproblem in windows 7. after updating windows 7, my system shuts down after 2 hrs. automatically. I have checked all the settings of sleep mode & hibernation - everything seems to be fine. Any clue??
Comment (1) : Add Comment
May 11, 2009
Restore missing IE Icon back in Windows XP SP3Posted by: Hemang : Category: Windows XP-->
Posted by: Hemang : Category: Windows XP
After installing Windows XP SP3 there are many registry changes that happens and due to that reason some time things disappear also like you may find the Internet explorer icon on your desktop missing earlier if this use to happen you would had to go to Control Panel -> Display -> Desktop -> Customize Desktop, and enable or disable Internet Explorer under Desktop Items section, or right click on Desktop, and then go to Properties -> Desktop -> Customize Desktop, and tick Internet Explorer in Desktop Items section. But in Windows XP SP3 this may not work as it has been removed so if you want the IE icon back you need to just do the below mentions steps and the icon will be back
1. Click Start, Run.2. Type regedit.exe.3. Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel
Note: If HideDesktopIcons and NewStartPanel do not exist, create new registry keys for them.4. In the right hand pane, double-click {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D} key.
If the registry value name does not exist, create a new DWORD value and name it as {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}
5. Enter dword value data as 0 to enable the Internet Explorer icon on the Desktop.
For user who’re using Classic Start Menu, replace NewStartPanel with ClassicStartMenu instead so that the registry key location is as follow:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu
Note: If HideDesktopIcons and ClassicStartMenu do not exist, create new registry keys for them.4. In the right hand pane, double-click {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D} key.
If the registry value name does not exist, create a new DWORD value and name it as {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}
5. Enter dword value data as 0 to enable the Internet Explorer icon on the Desktop.
After completing the above step close the registry editor and refresh the desktop you will see the IE icon back.Cool Tools in Windows 7Posted by: Hemang : Category: Windows 7Windows 7 has received plenty of attention from the tech press, but much of the focus has been on interface changes, such as the redesigned taskbar, and new file management features, such as libraries. Some improvements are less obvious — like the new or enhanced tools that are included with the OS. Here we discuss 10 of these cool tools that make the computing experience easier.





1: Action Center
Centralized management is the name of the game today, and Windows 7 gives you a one-stop shopping location where you can go to deal with security issues, troubleshooting, and recovery, instead of searching out separate applets for each. It’s all combined in an easy-to-use Control Panel applet, where you get maintenance and security messages and can view performance information, change UAC settings, and more, as shown below.


The Windows 7 Action Center provides a centralized location for dealing with security and system problems.



This is an outgrowth of the Security Center in Windows Vista. It made sense to combine security settings and actions with system maintenance and recovery issues. The Action Center also shows up as an icon in the system tray, which displays a red X if there are problems you need to address, as shown below





A nice touch is that Microsoft makes it easy for you to turn the various types of notifications on or off, as shown below. Thus, if you have an antivirus program installed that Windows doesn’t recognize, you don’t have to deal with constant messages urging you to install one — just turn off virus protection messages.


You can turn the various types of notifications on or off as you wish.



2: Problem Steps Recorder
One of the coolest new tools in Windows 7 is the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) — especially for those of us who provide tech support to Windows users. No matter how hard they try, users often have problems accurately describing the problem they’re experiencing or the steps they took before or after experiencing it. Sure, Remote Assistance can be a godsend in those situations. But you can’t always connect to the user’s computer in real time. That’s when the PSR comes in handy.

It’s really a type of screen capture software that records all actions — keystrokes, mouse clicks, etc. — and saves the sequence of events in an MHTML page that documents every step the user took, along with screenshots. You start the PSR by entering psr.exe in the Start menu Search box or at the command prompt. The interface is shown below


The Problem Steps Recorder provides an accurate record of a user’s actions, along with screenshots.

You can view the recorded steps in IE by double-clicking the saved zipped MHTML file, as shown below


You can view the recorded steps in Internet Explorer.



3: ISO burner
An ISO image is a type of archive file that is often used to distribute software. In Windows 7, Microsoft addressed something that’s been on the wish list of many users for a long time: Now you don’t have to download and install a third-party program to burn an ISO file to disc.

It’s a simple process: After you download an .ISO to your hard drive, just double-click it and Windows 7 will open the Burn Disc Image dialog box, shown below





4: Biometric device management
In earlier versions of Windows, biometric authentication and management of biometric devices (fingerprint sensors) required third-party software that might or might not integrate well with the OS. Now it’s built in. Windows 7 includes the Windows Biometric Framework, which gives developers an API they can use to build biometrics into applications. Makers of fingerprint sensor hardware, such as UPEK and AuthenTec, worked with Microsoft on the development of the Framework. Biometric devices are managed through a Control Panel applet, shown below.



5: Credential Manager
The Credential Manager is another new feature in Windows 7. It is similar in some ways to the password management feature in Vista ’s User Accounts applet but is more sophisticated. You can manage Windows credentials for various computers that you sign onto, certificate-based credentials, and other generic credentials (for e-mail accounts, Web accounts, etc.). These are all stored, by default, in the Windows Vault.
1 comment - Latest by:
Jheelu

Quite informative from technical aspect. But I am facing aproblem in windows 7. after updating windows 7, my system shuts down after 2 hrs. automatically. I have checked all the settings of sleep mode & hibernation - everything seems to be fine. Any clue??

Comment (1) : Add Comment May 11, 2009Restore missing IE Icon back in Windows XP SP3Posted by: Hemang : Category: Windows XPAfter installing Windows XP SP3 there are many registry changes that happens and due to that reason some time things disappear also like you may find the Internet explorer icon on your desktop missing earlier if this use to happen you would had to go to Control Panel -> Display -> Desktop -> Customize Desktop, and enable or disable Internet Explorer under Desktop Items section, or right click on Desktop, and then go to Properties -> Desktop -> Customize Desktop, and tick Internet Explorer in Desktop Items section. But in Windows XP SP3 this may not work as it has been removed so if you want the IE icon back you need to just do the below mentions steps and the icon will be back

1. Click Start, Run.
2. Type regedit.exe.
3. Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel

Note: If HideDesktopIcons and NewStartPanel do not exist, create new registry keys for them.
4. In the right hand pane, double-click {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D} key.

If the registry value name does not exist, create a new DWORD value and name it as {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}

5. Enter dword value data as 0 to enable the Internet Explorer icon on the Desktop.

For user who’re using Classic Start Menu, replace NewStartPanel with ClassicStartMenu instead so that the registry key location is as follow:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu

Note: If HideDesktopIcons and ClassicStartMenu do not exist, create new registry keys for them.
4. In the right hand pane, double-click {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D} key.

If the registry value name does not exist, create a new DWORD value and name it as {871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}

5. Enter dword value data as 0 to enable the Internet Explorer icon on the Desktop.

After completing the above step close the registry editor and refresh the desktop you will see the IE icon back.