Volume 05 | Issue 11

Fast track

TECHNOLOGY
YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERYDAY
NoVember 2010

Windows 7
Free With Digit November 2010

InstallatIon
Hardware support
explorIng tHe new desktop
accessIbIlIty and VoIce recognItIon
connectIng to tHe network
backup and restore
system maIntenance and management
customIzIng tHe look and Feel
workIng eFFIcIently
troublesHootIng
VIrtual wIndows xp mode
11 A 9.9 media Publication
 to

Windows 7
Credits
The People Behind This Book

Editorial
Editor Robert Sovereign-Smith
Head-Copy Desk Nash David
Writer Rahil Banthia

Design and Layout

Lead Designer Vijay Padaya
Senior Designer Baiju NV
Cover Design Anil T

© 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd.

Published by 9.9 Mediaworx
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

November 2010
Free with Digit. Not to be sold separately. If you have paid separately for this book,
please email the editor at [email protected] along with details of location of
purchase, for appropriate action.

Fast track - NOVember 2010 2

Contents

1 Introduction to Windows 7 ................................................................................ 07

2 Installation .............................................................................................................20

3 Hardware Support ............................................................................................... 27

4 Exploring the new desktop ...............................................................................31

5 Accessibility and Voice Recognition ............................................................ 47

6 Connecting to the Network ............................................................................. 57

7 Backup and Restore ............................................................................................. 74

8 Customising the Look and Feel .......................................................................84

9 Virtual Windows XP Mode ..................................................................................88

10 System Maintenance and Management ........................................................96

(on the Playware DVD)

11 Working Efficiently ............................................................................................ 124

(on the Playware DVD)

12 Troubleshooting .................................................................................................. 129

(on the Playware DVD)

3 Fast track - NOVember 2010

 Introduction

W
indows 7, which was released to manufacturing on
July 22, 2009, and reached general retail availability
on October 22, 2009, played a major part in driving
revenue up for Microsoft. The company generated
$62.48 billion in revenue over the 2009-2010 fiscal year, a 7 per cent
increase from the year prior, and its highest revenue ever on the
books. To put things into perspective, in the nine months since its
launch, Microsoft has sold 175 million copies of Windows 7 – about
638,600 copies every day – or in even more stark terms, seven copies
every second. Now that’s incredible!
Windows 7 did not introduce a lot of new features and was
intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows
line, with the goal of being compatible with applications and
hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible. But
its reception by the community in general was in stark contrast to
Windows Vista’s. In only eight hours after pre-ordering began on
Amazon, the orders surpassed the demand Windows Vista had
in its first 17 weeks, making it the highest-grossing pre-order in
Amazon's history. It took Windows 7 only two weeks to surpass the
market share of Apple's Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system.
Windows 7 reached a 4 per cent market share in less than three
weeks. In comparison, it took Windows Vista seven months to reach
the same mark.
All the stats and speculation aside, we bring this Fast Track to
Windows 7 to ease you into the operating system, which is most-
likely to be bundled with your present laptop/netbook or the next
one if you plan to buy in the next couple of years. We hope to cover
everything from different ways of installing Windows 7, customising
your system to your liking, maintaining it to troubleshooting
common problems.
If you still haven’t upgraded to Windows 7, the first three chapters
serve as an excellent guide to deciding whether you need this, which

5 Fast track - NOVember 2010

Introduction

version to buy, how to install depending on your system and how to

get all your hardware working with the new OS. You can directly
skip to chapter 4 if you have an installed and working Windows
7 and are looking to explore its new features and improve your
efficiency at getting things done.
Chapter 6 will help you get connected to the internet and other
local networks to best exploit them, set up home groups, or even get
a media server running. The next two chapters are the most essential
when it comes to customising the look and feel in Windows 7 while
making sure you don’t loose any of your precious data. If you're
someone who wants to run legacy software and are concerned about
compatibility Chapter 9 is a good place to start.
Chapters 10 and 11 help you make the most of your time on
Windows 7 and help you understand how to maintain the system.
Last but not the least, you have a chapter that solves a very important
issue - Troubleshooting, which will help you solve the little niggles
that you may experience along the way

Fast track - NOVember 2010 6

 1 Introduction to Windows 7

The all new Windows 7 interface with Flip 3D

All factors considered, Microsoft has the beginnings of a solid, streamlined,

higher performing operating system with Windows 7 receiving a warmer
reception as compared to Vista. When it comes to look and feel, the new UI
of Windows 7 is the biggest step forward since Windows 95. It even makes
the vintage-XP design look downright primitive. Under the hood, Windows
7 is a lot like Vista, sharing the same kernel architecture. Many consider
Windows 7 to be just a cosmetic upgrade, a more polished version of Vista
with little to offer beyond the new wallpaper and improved Aero experience.
They couldn't have been more wrong. Windows 7 brings with it many new
and enhanced features and improvements, which taken together deliver
improved performance and productivity, better troubleshooting, a richer
gaming experience, stronger security, a new approach towards compatibility
with Windows XP mode and a whole lot more.
Windows 7 feels quick and responsive. It’s a solid performer even on
hardware originally designed for Windows XP, and we’ve found that it uses
significantly less memory, disk space, and CPU cycles than Vista. There is
a Resource Monitor, which allows you to perform some serious real-time
sleuthing into running programs, services, and processes to see which ones
are affecting performance or making unexpected network connections.

7 FasT Track - november 2010

 1 Introduction to Windows 7 Windows 7

Windows 7’s Desktop

Windows Vista's most reviled feature, UAC, has been completely overhauled
to be more customisable. Windows 7 also includes integrated support for
multitouch displays.
Microsoft had tried to get its "Castle" networking scheme into Windows
Vista, but the feature finally appears in Windows 7 as HomeGroup. It is a
combination of workgroup networking with easier file and media sharing,
making it easier to create a home network where various computers
scattered around the household share pictures, music, videos, documents,
printers, and other resources with each other. Windows 7 also includes a
new infrastructure for enabling more efficient background tasks.
Windows 7 is the first client version of Windows to include the
Windows PowerShell version 2, a .NET-based scripting environment for
IT professionals, out of the box. It will also include an Integrated Scripting
Environment (ISE) for PowerShell. Virtually all end-user functionality in
Windows have minor tweaks and improvements.
Ironically, Windows 7 offers better driver coverage than Vista, even on
systems that were designed for use with Vista. Missing drivers also typically
showed up via Windows Update. The new Devices and Printers folder offers
a simplified view of user-managed devices. The accompanying Device Stage
interface for managing these devices offers a user-friendly alternative to
geeky dialog boxes and navigating your way around in the Device Manager,
especially for managing MP3 players, mobile phones, photo frames and

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Windows 7 Introduction to Windows 7 1

printers. Windows Vista was

all about improving memory
management, networking,
process management, security,
maintaining the compatibility
with applications, etc. even
though it quite didn't live up
to the promise. Windows 7
builds on that foundation and
delivers a better experience to
users. If you’ve been stuck in a
time loop using Windows XP
or Windows Vista, which is just Improved Taskbar in Windows 7
plain annoying for most people,
you can finally break free. Windows 7 is more than what Vista should have
been - it's where Microsoft needed to go.

1.1 A breakdown of different versions

retail packaging of different variants of Windows 7

1.1.1 Windows 7 comes in six separate variants:

l Starter (OEM only)

l Home Basic

l Home Premium

l Professional

l Enterprise

l Ultimate

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 1 Introduction to Windows 7 Windows 7

1.1.1 User Interface

User Interface features are similar in Home Premium, Professional and
Ultimate. However, Home Basic lacks the Aero UI with Aero Peek, Aero
Shake, and Flip 3D all missing. Live Previews in Windows Explorer is also
not available. The Starter Edition offers a very basic UI and apart from
what's missing in Home Basic, it lacks Live Taskbar previews also.

1.1.2 Performance
Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate support two physical processors,
whereas Home Basic and Starter are limited to single processor support.
Physical processors is not equal to multi-core and all variants offer multi-
core support.
Also, Home Basic and Starter only come in 32-bit versions resulting in
a limitation (below 4 GB) to the maximum RAM supported. 64 bit Home
Premium can however support 16 GB and Professional and Ultimate 64 bit
offers support for up to a whopping 192 GB of RAM.

1.1.3 Reliability
Ultimate variant has BitLocker, and BitLocker To Go encryption technology
which is missing from all others. Also, Professional and Ultimate offer
backing up to a network and encryption of the File system which is not there
in all Home Variants and the Starter Edition.

1.1.4 Bundled Applications

Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate come with its own Snipping
Tool, Sticky notes and Windows Journal. These utilities are missing from
Home Basic and the Starter Edition.

1.1.5 Multimedia
Home Basic and Starter variants do not offer Windows Media Center, DVD
playback, MPEG-2 decoding and Dolby Digital compatibility like Home
Premium, Professional and Ultimate. Home Basic and Starter do not support
TV tuners while the other variants can support up to 4 tuners each of
analogue and digital TV.

1.1.6 Networking
Home Basic and Starter can only join a HomeGroup and not start HomeGroup
sharing whereas other variants can start their own HomeGroup. Starter

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Windows 7 Introduction to Windows 7 1

Edition does not even offer Internet Connection Sharing and bridging of
networks, a feature available in all other variants.
Hosting a Remote Desktop connection is only supported on Professional
and Ultimate, however, all Home variants can connect via Remote Desktop.
Also, Home variants lack the utility to make files available offline.

1.1.7 Mobility
Home Basic and Starter do not offer Tablet-PC functionality and multi-touch
support, something that comes by default in Home Premium, Professional
and Ultimate. Also, Windows Mobility Center in Home variants (Home Basic
and Home Presentation) lacks presentation mode present in Professional
and Ultimate.

1.1.8 Enterprise Features

This is one area where Ultimate scores big
above all other variants. Several features
such as Applocker, Booting from VHD,
DirectAccess, Federated Search, Multilingual
User Interface Language Packs, BranchCache
and a subsystem for UNIX-based applications
are only available for Ultimate and if any of
these are essential to you, Windows Ultimate
is your only choice. Also, Windows XP mode,
Location-Aware Printing and the ability to
join a domain or company networks are only
available in Professional and Ultimate. Home compatible with Windows 7 logo to be put
on devices which have been approved for
variants miss out on almost all enterprise Windows 7
features, but nothing surprising about that.

1.2 Windows 7 vs. Vista vs. XP

Each new software version brings with it a silent promise that it will be better
than the last one and most people switch to it instantly. But Windows Vista
changed all that. For whatever reasons, be it the vast difference between
Vista and XP, popular reluctance to switch or performance issues with
Vista that dragged along, it was very poorly received. As a result, computer
manufacturers were forced to sell new systems with XP or at least offer a
downgrade option. Even as service pack 1 was released adoption was still
less than stellar, especially in enterprises, prompting Microsoft to launch

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 1 Introduction to Windows 7 Windows 7

creative marketing campaigns (And a little Mac-bashing) in an attempt to

sway public opinion, none of which seemed to have an effect, except being a
topic of discussion and mockery on tech forums.
You are probably wondering what type of improvements Windows 7
would offer over Vista or legacy Windows XP. Is Windows 7 just Vista with
a facelift, or has Microsoft learned from its mistakes and delivered a product
that Vista should have been from the start that will restore its battered
reputation and stop its revenues from plummeting further south?

1.2.1 Performance
Windows 7 performs better than Vista and is also faster than XP, although
XP, with its lightweight core remains more capable for devices with limited
memory and outdated graphics. Vista is just outright sluggish. Windows 7
is better optimised for multi-core CPUs and includes a number of tweaks
to make the best of the latest hardware. It delivers excellent results, beating
or coming close to the performance of the lightweight XP in just about
every category. Working on light applications comes at par with XP and
working with processor and memory intensive applications is a breeze when
compared to both Vista and XP.

1.2.2 Memory management and cache usage

With Vista, Microsoft introduced a new technology called SuperFetch for
caching applications and speeding up boot times. This feature preloads
frequently-used applications into RAM, so they can be accessed quicker
when they’re needed.
The SuperFetch feature in Windows 7 differs significantly in approach
and cache memory usage from its counterpart in Vista. Under Vista,
the caching of applications starts immediately at boot-up. In Windows 7,
SuperFetch gets a delayed start and eventually also allocates much lesser
RAM to it. This means Windows 7 uses lesser resources without affecting
performance and launch time of applications. The cache usage is also lower
as compared to Vista.

1.2.3 Networking
Windows Vista had promised optimised TCP/IP, but didn't live up to the
hype. There were new features like option to set up ad hoc Wi-Fi networks
using the Network Setup wizard,WPA2 encryption, remembering settings
for different LAN connections and the Network Map displaying a graphical

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Windows 7 Introduction to Windows 7 1

view of all your network connected devices, but internally it was no major
improvement over XP and file transfer speeds were even lesser than XP
generally. No amount of user-friendliness can mask the difference in speed.
Windows 7 takes Vista's plethora of features and adds HomeGroups.
But that's not it; the performance difference is noticeable. Transferring
large files is significantly faster than even XP. The option of setting up a
HomeGroup, which although limited with other Windows 7 machines, make
networking simpler and managing a home server easier. Troubleshooting
solves most basic problems without requiring any input from your part and
you don't have to call tech support over minor problems like IP conflict and
a disabled DHCP.

1.2.4 Security
There are plenty of reasons to like Windows XP, but security isn't one of
them. Microsoft still releases patches and security updates for XP and
will continue to do it till April 2014, but it sill lacks internal security
developments present in Vista and enhanced in Windows 7.
Agreed, Windows Vista's UAC is annoying and bugs you with too many
notifications, but it ensures that your system is not meddled by third-party
software applications. The utility is improved in Windows 7 and allows you
to customise it with multiple security levels and choice of getting alerts or
disabling them completely.
Windows 7 also comes with BitLocker, an encryption tool which was not
there in any previous version of Windows. Unfortunately, this feature only
comes with Ultimate edition of Windows, and other editions of Windows 7
and Vista users will be in the same position as XP.
In Windows 7 and Vista, system services are more isolated and run
with fewer privileges, reducing the damage that malicious code can do. A
new TCP/IP stack offers improved encryption and authentication options,
and Address Space Layout Randomization loads system files as random
memory addresses, making it far harder for basic malware to exploit key
system functions.
Windows 7 borrows Vista's advances and allows you to customise so it
scores above XP and Vista.
Its Windows 7 > Vista > XP in terms of Security.

1.2.5 Gaming
One of Windows USP is its gaming abilities. Even though Vista came out

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 1 Introduction to Windows 7 Windows 7

long time back, XP remains the choice of platform for most game developers
and almost every major release is made to run on it. Vista can handle almost
all of them with some requiring you to run in Compability mode and some
working better than they do on XP. There is no shortage of compatible
gaming accessories for both XP and Vista alike.
While Vista added support for DirectX 10 gaming, Windows 7 comes
with DirectX 11 - a graphics and sound standard which delivers better image
quality, new effects, 3D and improved performance shour your graphics card
is Dx11 compatible. Windows 7 also does not have any performance issues
like Vista and utilises RAM better both XP and Vista. If you have a mid range
spec-ed computer, Windows 7's gaming performance will impress you with
higher frame rates in general. While it cannot handle older DOS games like
XP, we would still go with Windows 7>XP>Vista for gaming because once
game developers start utilising Dx11, games will come alive in full 3D glory
on your computer.

1.2.6 Startup and shutdown

Startup Time is not really a factor when you judge the performance of an
Operating System because most power users start their computer only once
a day. But its an important cosideration for an average user who uses his
computer for short intervals spread over different times in the day. He will
expect the computer to start as fast as possible. Another consideration is
the fact that Start-up and Shut-down times are the first directly measurable
indication of OS's speed.
We tested all the three Operating systems on a laptop with 2.4 GHz
(P8400) Centrino 2 processor, 4 GB of RAM at 800 MHz FSB and a 7200
RPM hard-disk drive. Windows 7 took 23 seconds to bring the desktop,
whereas XP took 27 seconds and Vista faired a high 34 seconds. Now,
there is a difference betweek appearance of the Desktop and the full start-
up of an Operating system since a lot of services in Windows 7 and Vista
are scheduled to 'delay-start'. To compare that, we started Windows and
measured the time it took to connect to the internet, Open Internet Explorer
and open Google.com Homepage. Windows 7 gets to work quickly and after
the appearance of the desktop it took only a further 3 seconds to display the
Google homepage. Compared to this, Vista took more than 8 seconds and XP
took a competitive 4 seconds. The whole startup process for Windows 7 up
to the appearance of Google took 26 seconds. Vista takes 42 seconds and XP
31 seconds.

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Windows 7 Introduction to Windows 7 1

Windows 7 also shuts down quicker than its two predecessors, taking
just 6 seconds compared with 9 seconds for Vista and just a bit more than
6 seconds for XP.
Overall, the startup and shutdown timings show that Windows 7
performs best in a clean install. XP comes a close second and Vista a distant
third. However, updates, security patches and application installations may
alter those timings.

1.3 Vs Linux?
Linux has never been able to set foot in the desktop arena even though for
years, we have been saying 'This is the year of Linux'. Windows recently has
lost some hold with its share dropping 3% but it still holds its ground at 88%,
and that also goes to OS X’s credit.
Fedora and Debian distros like Ubuntu lately have been making waves and
some computer manufacturers even give you an option to buy a computer
with Linux preinstalled instead of Windows but the major problem with that
is : The price difference between a Windows-bundled CP and one that comes
with Linux is negligible. So, most buyers tend to go with Windows since they
can get a free Linux distro later on and install themselves. This has always
been there in Windows vs Linux debates
But lets look from a feature point of view if Windows 7 can trump Linux.
Windows 7 installs easier although one can argue that recent Linux distros
come with easy to use installers and some even feature a powerful Disk
Manager within. When it comes to easy availability of software (Again
arguable), Gaming (Windows kills Linux in this) and simpler configuration
of user settings (Agreed that it's not as customizable as Linux; but it's
simpler), Windows 7 probably appeals more to an Average Joe. Windows 7
brings in new dimensions to the age old debate. We shall not go more into it.

1.4 32-bit vs 64-bit

32-bit Operating systems can only handle about 3-3.5 GB of RAM because
32
of the 2 = 4 GB limitation. (Unless you are running the specially modded
kernel image with Physical Address Extension –PAE mode enabled which
you can do by adding /PAE switch to your boot config file or by typing
"BCDEdit /set PAE forceenable" in command prompt of Windows 7)
Most recent processors are however 64-bit processors, so it makes more
sense to go for a 64-bit Operating System. That even removes the 4GB
RAM limitation and in general can be more responsive when running

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 1 Introduction to Windows 7 Windows 7

multiple tasks together. Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and

Ultimate variants of Windows 7 all come in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Even with all its advantages, people still prefer 32-bit Operating Systems
because of lack of 64-bit softwares, its inability to run 16-bit programs and
a few misconceptions as well. Lets see if we manage to clear your doubt
regarding this.
Is your computer capable of running a 64-bit version of Windows?
To run a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or any other operating system for
that matter, your computer must have a 64-bit-capable processor. If you are
unsure whether your processor is 64-bit-capable, do the following:
l Open Performance Information and Tools from the Control Panel.

l Click on “View and print detailed performance and system information”.

l In the System section of the window that appears, you can see what type of
operating system you're currently running under System type, and whether
or not you can run a 64-bit version of Windows under 64-bit capable
heading. (If your computer is already running a 64-bit version of Windows,
the 64-bit capable listing might not be available.)

screen showing if your computer has 32-bit or 64-bit operating system

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Windows 7 Introduction to Windows 7 1

Is your computer currently running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of

Windows? To see if your computer is running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, do
the following:
l Open System from the Control Panel

l There, you can view the system type.

Can you upgrade from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit version
of Windows?
No. If you are currently running a 32-bit version of Windows, you can
only upgrade to a 32-bit version of Windows 7. Similarly, if you are running
a 64-bit version of Windows, you can only upgrade to 64-bit version of
Windows 7. If you want to move from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit
version of Windows 7, you'll need to perform a clean installation of the 64-bit
version of Windows.
Can you run 32-bit programs on a 64-bit computer?
Yes. Most programs designed for a computer with 32-bit Windows will
work on 64-bit versions of Windows. However, drivers designed for 32-bit
versions of Windows do not work on computers running a 64-bit version
of Windows. You will have to obtain 64-bit drivers for your devices, but you
need not worry too much since most driver cd’s these days come with both 32
and 64 bit drivers. Its only a matter of concern for older hardware, especially
the ones for which the company has stopped support and updating drivers.
Would you benefit from using a 64-bit computer?
Yes. You will have more RAM available to you and you will finally be able
to utilise your entire 4GB or higher amount of RAM. Apart from that, 64-bit
Operating system is more efficient in handling memory intensive programs
and from our experience softwares like Photoshop, 3D Studio Max and
others which have separate 64-bit versions for 64-bit Operating systems run
smoother than their 32-bit counterparts.

1.5 System requirements

Microsoft lists the minimum system requirements for Windows 7 on its
website as:
l 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor (Windows
XP stated this as 300 MHz; whereas Vista’s bare necessity was the same.)
l 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit) (Windows XP needed
just 128 MB minimum but again, it’s the same as Vista’s)
l 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) ( Windows XP
required just 4.2 GB in contrast whereas Vista for some reason stated 20 GB

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 1 Introduction to Windows 7 Windows 7

for 32 bit and a massive 40 GB for 64-bit variant as its minimum.)

l DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver (Again, it’s
the same as Vista’s. XP with its modest graphics just required a Super VGA
graphics device.)
l Additional requirements to use certain features:

l Internet access

l Depending on resolution, video playback may require additional memory

and advanced graphics hardware
l For some Windows Media Center functionality a TV tuner and additional
hardware may be required
l Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware

l HomeGroup requires a network and PCs running Windows 7

l DVD/CD authoring requires a compatible optical drive

l BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2

l BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive

l Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional

15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware
virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
l Music and sound require audio output
We saw how it compares with Vista and XP and even though its an
upgrade to Vista, system requirements haven’t increased at all. We've even
tested Windows 7 on a machine with 1.6 Ghz Intel Celeron processor and
512 MB RAM with 32 MB shared for Video Memory and it seemed pretty
usable for most basic tasks. Even though almost the entire ram was used all
the time, working on multiple tabs in Firefox, word processing and music
playback simultaneously was not outright painful. While that system
handles Windows XP fairly well, Vista just kills it and renders it unusable
even for internet browsing.
We, however, do not recommend you to install Windows 7 on anything
lesser than 1GB RAM but you can give it a spin if you intend to use your
computer as a netbook and all of your hardware is compatible. You can check
that with a handy utility called the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor which we
shall be talking about next. Its like a ‘First Things First’ before you get down to
installing Windows 7 or even considering it for your computer if your machine
doesn’t boast of the latest hardware and all the RAM you will ever need.

1.6 Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Microsoft provides this really handy tool called "Windows 7 Upgrade

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Windows 7 Introduction to Windows 7 1

Advisor" which scans your PC and lets you

Tip
know if your system is capable of running
Windows 7 and explains any potential connect all the external devices that
compatibility issues. you generally use with your computer
(external hard-drives, printers, scanners,
In general, if your PC/laptop had Windows other input devices, Tv-tuner cards,
Vista, it can run Windows 7 and from our projector etc) while running this utility so
experience, most computers handle Windows that it checks their compatibility as well.
7 better than Vista. But if you were sticking to
Windows XP and don't have one of those "Vista Ready" branded computers,
this utility will come very handy.
Just download, install and launch the application. It will scan your
computer and any external device connected to your computer like printers,
scanners etc. for compatibility with Windows 7 and generate a detailed
report with potential issues and suggestions to resolve them. For example, it
might let you know that you need an updated driver for your Graphics Card
and can direct you as to where to get it.

19 FasT Track - november 2010

 2 Installation

the new setup wallpaper looks pretty good!

Whether you want to set up a dual-boot system, you're ready to migrate all
the way to Windows 7 from XP, or something in between, here's what you
need to know for installing and playing with Windows 7 and fear not, thy
noble purchaser of legal software: its (mostly) painless.
Microsoft offers several paths to install Windows 7. You can upgrade
from Windows XP or Vista, or do a clean install on your computer. The clean
install process took us exactly 18 minutes on a modestly spec-ed machine
and it has been our fastest experience right from Windows 3.1 to a bloated
Windows Vista.
The upgrade procedure is different depending on whether you're
currently running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Windows 7 provides
a direct upgrade path to Windows 7 from Vista. This means that when
you install Windows 7, all you need to do is select the Upgrade option
during Windows 7 installation. Note: Windows 7 requires that you've
installed Vista Service Pack 1 over your base Vista installation in order
to upgrade.

Fast track - November 2010 20

Windows 7 Installation 2

Unfortunately, Windows 7 doesn't provide a direct Upgrade path for

Windows XP users, and you have to go through the whole process of backing
up your data, formatting and installing Windows, and then restoring your
files and settings using the 'User State Migration Tool' which moves all
your desktop, application and system settings apart from your files to a new
Windows installation. It is kind of like Microsoft's punishment for skipping
Vista, but Microsoft has made sure not to alienate XP users and they've
provided a series of videos detailing how to migrate from XP to Windows 7
on their website.
Let us get down to installing Windows.

2.1 What are your options?

You've two options from the default installer:
Upgrade to Windows 7 – This option upgrades your current operating
system and keeps your files, settings and programs as they are presently.
Install Windows by performing a custom installation – This option is
used to completely replace your current operating system, or to install

Your options for installing Windows 7

21 Fast track- November 2010

 2 Installation Windows 7

Windows on a separate partition for multi-boot. This is your only choice if

your computer does not have any operating system. This option also gives
you advanced Disk Management features such as Format, Extend partition,
Create or Delete partition if you have booted your computer using the
Windows Installation Disc and not using the setup.exe from your existing
Windows installation
A custom installation does not retain any of your programs or settings.
If you delete or formatted the partition that holds your current Operating
system, all data on that partition, including programs, files and settings
would be permanently deleted once you go with the installation process.
However if you decide not to format or delete the Windows partition
and install Windows 7 on top of it, all your user files will be saved in
a 'Windows.old' folder automatically on the same partition. While this
does not delete your previous files, your encrypted files will be rendered
useless in the new Windows. So, we recommend you to back them up before
performing a Custom Install. You can delete the ‘Windows.old’ folder using
Disk Cleanup Utility on your Windows partition.

2.2 Install Windows by performing a custom installation

You can choose one of the following options:
• If your computer already has some
version of Windows installed and
you want to replace it with Windows
7 without making any changes to
your partitions, boot into it, insert the
Windows 7 installation disc into the
DVD drive or mount its image using
PowerISO or Daemon tools and the
likes. Then open the Autorun File or
Setup.exe.
• If your computer doesn't have an
operating system installed or if you
want to create, extend, delete, or format First screen of Windows 7. It does not show a
partitions, you need to restart your progress bar like vista or XP anymore
computer with the installation disc
inserted in your DVD drive. This causes your computer to start (or "boot")
from the installation DVD. If you are asked to press a key to boot from DVD
or CD, press any key. For this to appear, ensure that your DVD drive is set

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Windows 7 Installation 2

check the I accept box and click Next

as your first boot device in BIOS. Some manufacturers even give the option
of selecting the boot device from a menu without entering BIOS by pressing
some function key. Check the first screen that appears when you start your
comp for that.
• You will see the Install Windows page. Click on Install now.
• On the "Get important updates for installation page", we recommend
getting the latest updates for better driver compatibility and latest security
patches. You will need an Internet connection for this. If you use a proxy
for connecting to the net, enter it in your
IE settings. Note
• Next, check the “I accept the license If you use a fingerprint reader or another
terms” option on the Please read the license biometric device to log on to your
terms page. computer, make sure you write down your
• Click on Custom when you get to the password before upgrading. You can log
on only by typing your user name and
‘Which type of installation do you password the first time you use Windows
want?’ page after upgrading.
• Next you will get the “Where do you want

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 2 Installation Windows 7

to install Windows?” page. Do

one of the following:
• If you don't want to specify
a specific partition to install
Windows on, or create partitions
on your hard disk, click on Next
to begin the installation.
• If you already have another
existing partition with enough
free space and want to have more booting from Windows 7 DvD
than one operating system on the
same computer, you can install
Windows on that partition. This
is called a dual-boot or multiboot
configuration depending on the
number of Operating systems
installed. Make sure to install
Windows on a different partition
from the partition where your
other versions of Windows are
installed. Select the partition you
want to use, and then click on click on Install Now
Next to begin the installation.
• If you want to create, extend, delete, or format a partition, click Drive
options (advanced), click the option you want, and then follow the
instructions. Click on Next to begin the installation. The Drive options
(advanced) option is disabled if you have started the installation from your
previous Windows and not booted from the installation disc.
• Now just follow the instructions and you should be set with a new
Windows 7 in no time.

2.3 Install from a Pendrive

Let's see how you can create a bootable USB disk to install Windows 7 which
is handy when installing Windows on a system that may not have a DVD
drive (or any drive at all).
The method is very simple and you can use it without any hassles or expert
knowledge. Needless to say that your motherboard should support booting
from USB drives for this feature to work. There are a few requirements that

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Windows 7 Installation 2

select your Language and time settings and click on Next

need to be kept in mind.

Requirements:
• USB Flash Drive (4GB. If possible, get a 4GB only and not 8 or 16 GB as
they take an eternity to format.)
• Windows 7 or Vista installation DVD or iso.
• Follow these steps to create bootable Windows 7/Vista USB drive using
which you can install the Operating systems without booting from DVD or
starting the installation from an already installed Windows.
• Open an elevated Command Prompt with admin rights. To do this, type
cmd in Start menu search box and hit [Ctrl]+ [Shift]+ [Enter].
• Go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories, right click on
Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
• Type in the following commands in the command prompt:
DISKPART
• Next type LIST DISK command and note down the Disk number (ex:
Disk 1) of your USB flash drive.
• Assuming your Pendrive is “Disk 1”. Type SELECT DISK 1, then CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

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• SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
FORMAT FS=NTFS
• This process takes quite some time.
ASSIGN
EXIT
• Don’t close the command promp. Just minimise it.
• Insert your Windows7/Vista DVD into the optical drive or mount the ISO
using PowerISO or Daemon Tools or something like that and check the drive
letter of the DVD drive. I am assuming that your DVD drive letter is “F” and
USB drive letter is “I”
• Type ‘F:’ in Command Prompt where F is your DVD drive letter.
• Type CD BOOT
• Type ‘BOOTSECT.EXE/NT60 I:’ where I is your USB drive letter to update
the USB drive with BOOTMGR compatible code and make it bootable.
• Now, back in Windows Explorer, simply drag and drop all the files from
the mounted ISO image or the DVD onto the USB disk creating a copy of the
installation disk.
Your USB drive is now ready to boot and install Windows 7/Vista. Then,
with the USB disk inserted, reboot the machine and change the boot priority
at the BIOS to USB from the HDD or CD ROM drive. The system should now
boot from the USB disk we created and start the installation. The rest of the
setup process should be identical to installing from a DVD disk. That’s all
there is to it!

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 3 Hardware Support
3.1 Windows 7 device Experience
There was a time when people relied on their desktops and laptops for
information, communication and entertainment. But mobiles, PMP's and
other devices have taken over that domain and boast of rich applications,
services and data capabilities of their own while having the ability to connect
to your computer locally or wirelessly and syncing seamlessly.
While Windows XP and Vista provided a component and function-
centric view of devices courtesy the 'Device Manager', Windows 7 takes it
a step further with 'Devices and Printers' and 'Device Stage' which enables
you to use and manage devices in a more enjoyable way. Installation of new
devices such as printers, cameras, phones, music players and access to their
configuration settings, applications and common tasks specific to the device
was never this natural with very little to no learning curve. It even helps the
device makers to integrate their device experience, unique features, services
and branding directly into Windows in a flexible but consistent manner.

3.2 Devices and Printers

The new Devices and Printers folder available from the Start Menu shows

Devices and Printers Folder with all your connected external devices

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 3 Hardware support Windows 7

you all the external devices connected to your PC, mainly the ones users can
touch and feel and not abstract components inside the computer.
It is a handy way to check on portable devices which you carry with
you and occasionally connect to your computer, such as mobile phones,
portable music players, photo frames and digital cameras besides all the
devices connected via USB, or paired via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth wireless
interface including external USB hard drives, flash drives, webcams,
keyboards, and mice.
As the name suggests, it also displays all printers connected to your
computer, whether it is via USB, the network or wirelessly. Some compatible
network-enabled scanners, media extenders and Network Attached storage
devices (NAT) are also supported by this.
A multifunction printer now shows up as a single device in Devices

Device manager showing your hardware details

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Windows 7 Hardware support 3

and Printers, not as a collection of three or four components like it is

displayed in the more conventional Device Manager. However, the Devices
and Printers folder doesn't display the devices installed inside your
computer case, such as internal hard drives, disc drives, sound cards, video
cards (graphics cards), memory (RAM), processors, and other internal
computer components for which you still need to head towards the 'Device
Manager' located in the Control Panel. Certain devices such as speakers
connected to your computer with conventional speaker wires and keyboards
and mice connected through a PS/2 or serial port are also not supported
by this yet.
Device manufacturers do not have to do anything for their devices to
show up in ‘Devices and Printers’. But if they want to, they can customize the
experience the user will have by using a new set of custom XML schemas.
They can also develop custom context menu handlers like a list of tasks
that vary depending on the capability of the device to be shown when the
user right-clicks on the device. For example, you might be able to see what's
printing on a network printer; view files stored on a USB flash drive, or open
a program from the device manufacturer. For mobile phones that support
the new Device Stage feature in Windows, you can also open advanced,
phone-specific features in Windows from the right-click menu, such as the
ability to sync with the phone or change ringtones.
Besides letting you view information about your devices, such as make,
model, and manufacturer, including detailed information about the sync
capabilities of a mobile phone or other mobile device, Devices and Printers
is also an excellent place to check if a specific device is working properly and
then troubleshoot problems
in case they arise.

3.3 Device Stage

Many operating systems
have pre-installed drivers
for printers, scanners and
other products, but Device
Stage takes the concept to a
ridiculously thorough level,
with not just drivers but
specialized icons, pop-up
menus and XML pages full Device stage for a mobile phone with its various options

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of things you can do with your camera, printer, scanner, phone or whatever.
When you plug in a Windows 7 compatible device, you'll see its status and
a list of popular tasks. If the manufacturer has included a XML schema, you
can even see a picture of your device.

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 4 Exploring the new desktop
4.1 New taskbar
The taskbar is the biggest change from all previous versions of Windows
including Vista and its one of the best we've seen from Microsoft. It seems
like the dock of OS X or Rocket Dock on windows at first, but it works
differently and closely integrated with the OS. You can pin any application or
folder on the taskbar and it tracks and groups instances of them irrespective
of the fact whether they are open or closed.

all new taskbar with only icons and no labels

If you multitask a lot, you will be familiar with the problem of too many
open windows getting piled up on the desktop and the taskbar. It becomes
hard to see what else is underneath or remember what you've already opened.
That's where the taskbar comes in handy. Whenever you open a program,
folder, or file, Windows creates a corresponding button on the taskbar
showing just an icon that represents the open program.
With the new Progress Bar integrated into the task bar, you can monitor
ongoing tasks and processes performed by their applications without having
to keep the programs' window visible. The progress of functions including file
copies, CD and DVD burning, downloads
and installs is displayed dynamically
via the Taskbar buttons, through the
Progress Bar.
When you move your mouse pointer to Dynamic icons showing progress in the taskbar
a taskbar button, a small picture appears
that shows you a miniature version of the corresponding window. This along
with Aero Peek, which makes every window on the desktop transparent
except the one you're highlighting at the moment, makes sure that you find
any window nearly instantly, no matter how many windows your desktop
is buried under. To switch to another window, just click on the miniature
version that pops out from its taskbar button. You can even close it by
middle-clicking, a feature which is common to most applications that use
tabbed browsing.

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Preview tabs through the taskbar

4.2 Jump Lists

In applications coded to take advantage of the jump list, when you right-click
an icon, you'll get a pop-up menu which will give you quick access to recently
opened items, frequently opened items, tasks, or websites, in addition to
any favorite items you've decided to pin. In Internet Explorer, it shows your
recent browsing history; in Windows Media Player, it'll let you play recent
videos; and Windows Explorer will give you quick access to frequently
used folders and files. You can also pin favorites to a Jump List, so you can
quickly get to the items that you use frequently. Jump Lists on the taskbar
contain several menu commands that you can use to close an item or unpin
the program from the taskbar. You can even drag an item off of a Jump List
to copy it to another location or folder. For now, lets see what all you can do
with this feature.

4.2.1 Display More Items on Jump Lists

If you have a high pixel density screen, you probably can afford to increase
the number of items that show up on the list. For this,
• Right click on the Start button and Open properties
• Open the Start Menu tab
• Click on Customize
• At the bottom of the window, there’s an option to put “Number of recent

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Windows 7 exploring the new Desktop 4

items to store in Jump-lists”.

• Set it to whatever value you think
will be sufficient while not intruding too
much on screen real-estate. Experiment to
your liking.

4.2.2 Quick Access to Media

Windows Media player, ITunes 9 and
Zune Player, all let you quickly access your
frequently used media, playlists apart from
letting you quickly pause/play, go to next/
previous song and rate your music from
Jumplists. Its worth checking out. Even change the number of items to be displayed
in jump lists through this window
Winamp boasts of similar functionality with
latest versions.

4.2.3 Open Private Browsing or Bookmarks Easily

Private browsing has been there in IE and
Chrome for quite some time now. But accessing
it takes opening the
program and going
through a couple of
steps, navigating to
the option and then
activating private
browsing mode. But
with Jumplists, it's
just two clicks away
from the desktop.
Quick access to your media through Both of the browsers
Jumplists in Zune
let you quickly open
a private browsing
window by giving an option there itself.

4.2.4 Pin Folders and Searches To the Taskbar

This is by far our favorite feature of JumpLists Quickly start InPrivate browsing through
the Ie Jumplist
and saves a lot of time by giving instant acces
to recently used folders and frequent searches,

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for example the documents modified in

the last hour for finding recently worked
on files. Just open up the Windows 7
search, put in your search criteria, and
then drag the icon from the location bar
down to the Windows Explorer taskbar
button to pin the search there.

4.2.5 Clear Jump-List History

Every good thing brings something bad
along with it. It puts your privacy at risk
especially if you share the computer with
other people as they can very conveniently open recently accessed folders quickly
see your history and what documents you

Uncheck and check those boxes to delete recent history from

quick lists

opened and what videos you watched. So, Jumplist with most frequently accessed files and
you should know how to clear items from pinned tasks
jumped lists.
• Right click on the Start button and Open properties
• Select the Start Menu tab.

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Windows 7 exploring the new Desktop 4

• To prevent recently opened programs from appearing in the Start menu,

just clear the “Store and display recently opened programs in the Start
menu” check box.
• To clear recently opened files in the Jump Lists on the taskbar and Start
menu, just clear the “Store and display recently opened items in the Start
menu and the taskbar” check box, then click on Apply.
• To begin displaying recently opened programs and files again, tick the
check boxes again, and then click on OK.
Windows 7 also remembers your PC search queries, and displays the
most recent examples when searching in Windows Explorer by default. This
can often prove to be irritating for the same aforementioned reason. But you
have an option to disable it.
Run gpedit.msc from the run dialog box, then go to User Configuration
> Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows
Explorer and double click on “Turn off display of recent search entries”.

4.3 Aero Peek

Aero Peek is a big part of what makes the new taskbar so useful. When you
open multiple windows on the desktop, it can sometimes be a challenge to
find and view different windows and switch between them. But you can use
Aero Peek to take a quick look at other open windows without clicking away

Quickly peek at your gadgets by going to the show Desktop button

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 4 exploring the new Desktop Windows 7

from the window you are currently working on. It allows you to preview the
contents of open windows by blacking out everything else so that you can
switch to the one you want.
When you highlight the thumbnail preview of an app window that you
might want open, it makes every other open window transparent, so you get
a clear view of the window you're looking at. Or, if you hover over a small
button on the bottom right corner of the taskbar, all open windows will fade
from view, for a quick peek at your desktop, gadgets, or Windows 7's free-
floating widgets.

4.4 Aero Shake

You can use Aero Shake to quickly minimize every open window except the
one you're shaking. It is a useless-but-neat feature that clears all the clutter
for you without you having to minimize each and every window apart from
the one you want to focus on. It is just a mouse gesture that lets you grab the
title bar of the window you wish to keep open and give it a shake, and enjoy
in a clear desktop area. Of course, you can use Win+ Home key for the same
functionality. It just adds that Zing to the new UI. You can even restore all of
those windows by shaking the open window again.

4.5 Aero Snap

This is probably one of the most under hyped features of Windows 7. It
makes life so much simpler especially if you have a widescreen monitor
or a multi monitor setup. Just grab a window and throw it (not literally) to
the top to maximize it. Pull it down and it will restore to original size again.
Drag it to one side and it will tile to fill half the screen real estate. Dragging
it to another monitor also becomes easy as it does not lose its state. It is very
intuitive and soon becomes second nature when comparing two documents,
copying or moving files between two windows, maximizing the window
you’re currently working on, or expanding long documents so they’re easier
to read and require less scrolling. On tablets, you can just swish your finger
to the top to maximize. Probably not all that usefull but an indication of the
things to come in future UIs.
Just in case you find this feature distracting, remember that it can
be easily disabled. Run REGEDIT from the Run Command dialog
box, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop, set
WindowArrangementActive to 0, and reboot. Now your windows will
behave just as they always did.

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Windows 7 exploring the new Desktop 4

snapping an application to the left

4.6 Other mouse gestures

Windows 7 has not only brought gestures for those who use touchscreen
devices, but for mouse users too. So, instead of right-clicking a Taskbar icon
to access its jump list, you can press and hold left-click and drag upwards
(Outwards from the Start bar) to smoothly call it up. Similarly, clicking and
dragging down the address bar in IE opens the browsing history.

4.7 Desktop Gadgets

Windows Sidebar isn't included in this version of Windows. Instead, you
can have gadgets anywhere on your desktop in Windows 7 and use the Aero
Peek features to temporarily view your desktop gadgets without minimizing
or closing the windows you’re working with. Gadgets are mini-programs,
which offer information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently
used tools. For example, you can use gadgets to display your CPU and RAM
usage, view a picture slide show, view continuously updated headlines
through feeds, or look up contacts. This way, if you want to keep track of
what's happening in the news while you work, you don't have to stop what
you're doing to switch to a news website. If you see a headline that interests
you in the feeds, you can click that headline, and your web browser will open
directly to the story.

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Before a gadget can be added, it must be installed on your computer. To

see which gadgets are installed on your computer, do the following:
• Right-click anywhere on the desktop and click on Gadgets.
• To see more information about a gadget, select it, and then click on
Show details.

adding gadgets to your desktop

• To add a gadget, double-click on a gadget to add it to your desktop

instantly.
When you right-click a gadget, you'll see a list of things you can do with
the gadget, including closing it, keeping it on top of your open windows, and
changing its options. Even if you point to a gadget, a Close button and an
Options button will appear near its upper-right corner. Some gadgets also
have an option of varying their size.

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Windows 7 exploring the new Desktop 4

The Windows 7 website has a good collection of

gadgets for you to download and install. You can
add any gadget that's installed on your computer
to the desktop. If you want, you can even add
multiple instances of a gadget. For example, if you
are constantly on the move between countries and
need to keep track of
time in different time
zones, you can add
multiple instances of
the Clock gadget and
set the time of each of
them accordingly.
To remove a gadget,
right-click the gadget,
and then click Close
Gadget.
You can also drag
Hover over a gadget to see a gadget to a new changing settings for individual Gadgets
options to close and change size
of your gadget
position anywhere on
the desktop.

8. Working with libraries

In all previous versions of Windows, managing your files meant organizing
them in different folders and subfolders. Windows 7 comes with its concept
of libraries, which makes it easier to find, access, work with and organize
files scattered across your computer or even over the network regardless of
where they are stored. From our experience, it’s a huge productivity boost
and you get more work done generally.
In some ways, a library is similar to a folder in concept. It aggregates files
from different locations and displays them as a single collection. However,
unlike a folder, a library gathers files that are stored in several locations
without actually storing your items or moving your files from the original
folder. This is a subtle, but important, difference. Libraries monitor folders
that contain your items, and let you access and arrange the items in different
ways like 'documents by type', 'pictures by date taken' and 'music by genre'.
Say you have three video folders (Movies, TV shows and You-tube rips).
Or you are assembling your music collection with some songs stored on an

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 4 exploring the new Desktop Windows 7

external hard-drive, some stored on your friend's laptop connected over

a network and some in your work computer. With Windows Vista or XP,
hunting down specific songs would have been a tedious chore. But with
libraries, you can merge them into one by telling Windows which far-flung
folders should be included in your new library and have instant access to
all your files at once even though they are still physically stored in different
locations. Public Folders also merge into libraries so your whole network can
have seamless access to your public files. This feature is particularly useful if
you have a home media server because you can now access the media on the
server without navigating to mapped drives.
Here are some things you can do with libraries:

4.8.1 Create a new library.

There are four default libraries (Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos).
Besides them, you can also create new libraries for other collections.
To create a new library
• Click the Start button , click
your user name or any other
Windows Explorer window,
and then, in the left pane, click
Libraries.
• In Libraries, click New
library on the toolbar.
• Enter a name for the library, Your default libraries
and then press Return key.
To copy, move, or save files to a library, you must first include a folder in

add a new library like this

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Windows 7 exploring the new Desktop 4

the library so that the library knows where to store the files. This folder will
automatically become the default save location for the library.

4.8.2 Include folders in a library

You can include upto 50 folders from different locations in the same library,
and then view and arrange the files in those folders as one collection.
To include a folder from your computer in a library
• Open Windows Explorer
• Right-click the folder that you want to include, point to Include in library,
and then click a library.
To include a folder from an external hard drive in a library, make sure the
external hard drive is connected to your computer and that your computer
recognises the device.
• Open Computer from the Start Menu.

Including specific folders in your libraries.

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 4 exploring the new Desktop Windows 7

• Navigate to the folder on your external Notes

hard drive that you want to include. l the content of the folder will only be
• Right-click on the folder, move your mouse available when the device is connected to
pointer to ‘Include in library’, and then select your computer.
l Folders from removable media devices
the desired library. (such as cDs and DvDs and blu-ray discs)
A network folder must be added to the and some pen-drives can't be included
index before it can be included in a library in a library. saved searches and search
if it is on a network device that is not part of connectors can't be included too.
your homegroup.
If the network folder is not indexed, just make the folder available offline.
This will create offline versions of the files in the folder by locally storing
them, and add these files to the index on your computer. Once you make
a folder available offline, it can be included in a library. When you make a
network folder available offline, copies of all
Notes the files in that folder will be stored on your
If you don't see the always available computer's hard disk. If the network folder
offline command, you might be using an contains a large number of files, it is not
edition of Windows 7 that doesn't support advisable to follow this.
offline files.

To make a folder available offline:

• While connected to the network, locate the network folder that you want
to make available offline.

• Right-click on the folder, and then select ‘Always available offline’.

The Always available offline command
To include this in your library
• Open ‘Computer’ from the Start menu..
• In the navigation pane (the left pane), click Network, and then navigate to
the folder on your network that you want to include, or type the path of the
network in the address bar.
• Right-click the folder, move the cursor to Include in library, and then
select your desired library.

4.8.3 Customize a library

You can also customize the general behavior Notes
of a library by changing its default save If you don't see the Include in library
location, or by changing the type of file that a option, it means that the network folder is
not indexed or is not available offline.
library is optimized for.

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To change a library's default save location

A library's default save location determines where an item will be
stored when it's copied, moved, or saved to the library. To change a
library's default save location:
• Open the library you'd like to change.
• Click on ‘x’ locations link next to Includes above the area where files
are displayed.
• In the Library Locations dialog box, right-click a library location
that's not currently the default save location, click Set as default save
location, and then click OK.
To change the type of file a library is optimised for
Each library can be optimized for a certain file type, such as music or
pictures. This changes the options that are available for arranging the
files in that library.
• Right-click the library you'd like to change, and then click on
Properties.
• In the "Optimize this library for" list, click a file type that constitutes
the major part of the library, and then select OK.

4.8.4 What happens when you delete a library or the items in a library?
If you delete a library, the library itself is moved to the Recycle Bin. However,
the files and folders that were accessible in this library are stored elsewhere
and therefore aren't deleted.
But if you delete individual files or folders Notes
from within a library, they are also deleted You can restore the default libraries
from their original location. If you want to (Documents, music, Pictures, or videos) to
remove an item from a library but not delete its original state in the navigation pane by
right-clicking Libraries and then clicking
it from the location it's stored in, you should restore default libraries in case you
remove the folder containing the item. accidentally delete one of them.
To remove a folder from a library,
• Open Computer from the Start Menu.
• In the navigation pane (the left pane), select the library that you want to
remove folders from.
• Click on “<x> locations” link next to ‘Includes’ above the area where files
are displayed.
• In the subsequent dialog box, select the folder you want to remove, click
Remove, and then press OK.

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4.9 DirectX 11
Windows 7 comes with a new version of DirectX, a graphics and sound
standard which delivers better image quality, eye-popping 3D visuals,
immersive sound effects and improved performance vital to many of today's
PC games.
This version of DirectX is refined to leverage the power of multi-core
processors to deliver sophisticated shading and texturing techniques such
as tessellation, more efficient Anti-Aliasing and Vsync, smoother 3D lifelike
graphics and nuanced sound.
You can check the version of DirectX on your system by Opening the
DirectX Diagnostic Tool. Just Open the Run Command Dialog box by
pressing Win+R and entering dxDiag.
In it, check the System Information in System tab for the DirectX
version number.

4.10 Improved Search

Windows 7's native search feature has been improved. Files added to the
hard drive get indexed instantly and we could see them in less than 10
seconds.
Just start typing the name of a
file, a folder, a program, or even text
you know appears within a file—
pretty much anything in the Start
Menu and search results will start
showing up, organised by category.
When you see what you're looking
for in the list of search results, left
click on it to open. Or, if you don't
see what you're looking for in the
visible list, click on a category. You
can also click on ‘See more results’
to view the complete list of search
results in Windows Explorer.
Search result also has snippets
which are longer than what was
available in Vista and highlights
relevant items in your files and
documents, revealing important searching from the start-menu

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Windows 7 exploring the new Desktop 4

Highlighted search snippets from files that don't have your search term in the file name.

data even if it's not in the file name. This should appeal specifically to
people who handle lots of documents and eBooks, but it's a useful feature
for anybody who wants to find stuff faster. The search field is available by
default in the Start menu and in Windows Explorer, apart from the option of
pinning them on Jumplists.

4.11 Windows Experience Index

The Windows Experience Index
is a hardware rating system,
first introduced in Windows
Vista. It measures the capability
of your computer's hardware
and software configuration and
expresses this measurement as
a number called a base score
ranging from 1.0 to 7.9.
The score is calculated after
the utility performs various
tests benchmarking the CPU,
Memory, Graphics and Hard- Windows experience Window showing various sub-scores

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 4 exploring the new Desktop Windows 7

disk etc. Each of the components receive an individual subscore. Your

computer's base score is determined by the least of the subscores. For
example, if the lowest subscore of an individual hardware component is 4.9,
then the base score is 4.9.
To view the Windows
Experience Index, Right
click on Computer button
in the Start Menu and open
Properties from the menu
that appears. In this System
Properties dialog box you
calculating your Windows experience Index can see your computers base
score.
Windows Experience Index may not be available as soon as you install
the OS. To activate:
l Click on the “System rating is not available” link to start the tests in the
Performance Information and Tools dialog box.
l Click on the “Rate this computer” button to start the performance
evaluation tests. It may take a few minutes depending on your computer’s
hardware.
You may use the Re-run the assessment link to recalculate the score
at any time. Once you change any of the critical hardware in your computer,
you have to be refresh or Re-run the assessment. To view more detailed
information about the hardware on your computer, click on ‘View and
print details’.

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 5 Accessibility and Voice Recognition
Windows 7 gives you more ways to interact with your PC by taking
advantage of new strides in speech recognition and touch technology.

5.1 On-Screen Keyboard

touch optimised on-screen keyboard.

On-Screen Keyboard lets you type without using the keyboard and Windows
7’s on-screen keyboard is touch optimised for Tablets. There are several
different input methods: clicking mode, hovering mode, and scanning mode.
With Windows Touch and the right touch-enabled hardware, you can also
input text by tapping directly on the screen. It even incorporates iPhone
esque word prediction which speeds things up: type the first few letters of a
word, and Windows will finish it for you.

5.2 Narrator and visual notifications

Windows 7 can read aloud on-screen text,
events and error messages, helping you use
your computer with voice assist. With Audio
Description, you can hear a narration of
what's happening in a video. Windows 7 can
also replace sound alerts with visual cues
like a screen flash and pop-up messages
so system alerts are noticeable even when
they're not heard. Preferences of narrator to select what you
want it to do.
Windows Narrator, reads text on the
screen aloud and describes some events (such as an error message appearing)
that happen while you're using the computer.

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Open Narrator by clicking on the Start button, clicking All Programs,

clicking Accessories, clicking Ease of Access, and then clicking Narrator.
Use the keyboard shortcuts in the following table to specify which text
you want Narrator to read:

Use this keyboard shortcut To do this

ctrl+shift+spacebar read the entire selected window
ctrl+alt+spacebar read the items that are selected in the current window
ctrl stop narrator from reading text
select all of the text that has the same formatting as the
Insert+F2
character at the cursor
Insert+F3 read the current character
Insert+F4 read the current word
Insert+F5 read the current line
Insert+F6 read the current paragraph
Insert+F7 read the current page
Insert+F8 read the current document

To choose which text Narrator reads aloud

Under Main Narrator Settings, select one or more of the following:
• Select the Echo User's Keystrokes check box to hear what you type.
• Select the Announce System Messages check box to hear background
events, such as notifications.
• Select the Announce Scroll Notifications check box to hear an
announcement when the screen scrolls.
To change the Narrator voice:
• Open Narrator
• Click Voice Settings, and
then make any of the necessary
adjustments.
To select a different voice, click

Note
the Insert key is used for narrator commands, so
when you press Insert while narrator is running,
you won't be able to insert characters. to use the
Insert key to insert characters while narrator is
running, press Insert+I and then the characters
you want to add.
change advanced narrator settings from this menu

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Windows 7 accessibility and voice recognition 5

the voice you want to use in the Select

Voice box.
• For a faster voice, select a number in
the Set Speed list.
• For a louder voice, select a number in
the Set Volume list.
• For a higher-pitched voice, select a
number in the Set Pitch list.

5.3 Windows Speech Recognition

Input devices to you mean a keyboard
to type out text, enter commands etc
and the mouse to navigate and launch this menu shows the various installed voices and
files. But Windows 7 comes with WSR other settings to control narration.
(Windows Speech Recognition) that
gives you a new dimension of interface control; your voice to control,
command and dictate text to your computer. While Vista users will be
familiar with WSR, it is a new feature to most XP users who never used
any Voice Recognition software like 'Dragon Naturally Speaking'. Windows
Speech Recognition has fairly high recognition accuracy for something that
comes bundled free with an Operating System and has an extensive list of
commands to control your computer. The text dictation feature, although not
very good with the Indian accent works fairly well for small jobs. Instead of

speech recognition window in the control Panel

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using the keyboard, you can just sit back and command your computer to
start an email by recipient's name, surf a webpage, pause/play a song or just
dictate out an occasional mail.

5.3.1 What exactly can you do with Speech Recognition?

Enough of talking vaguely. Lets get down to what exactly can you do with
Speech Recognition?

Control your Computer

Speech Recognition recognizes standard commands like Click File, Right
Click Computer, Copy that, Paste, Minimize, Play, Show Desktop, etc and
responds to spoken commands and performs the specific task if the program
supports that command. You can use WSR to run programs and interact
with Windows in a natural way. Even with applications that don't support
'commands', you can work your way around with what is known as geography
control. You can ask Windows to overlay numbers on top of the elements in
the program interface and then subsequently activate that function speaking
out the number on top of it. Even if this doesn't work, there's the option of
Mouse grid for programs
that need mouse clicks in
arbitrary locations. This
option presents you with
Windows speech recognition in Listening mode. a grid with nine zones
with numbers inside each.
When you speak a number, that zone gets selected, the mouse moves to that
zone and another nine zone grid is created inside that zone. This process
keeps on repeating until you place the mouse cursor in the exact place where
you want to click.

Dictate and edit text

You can use Speech Recognition to dictate words into word-processing
programs, to fill out online forms in a web browser, or to type an email in
Outlook/ThunderBird. You can also use Speech Recognition to edit text
on your computer. As we mentioned, it is by defaul tailored to suite an
American accent, but with training, you can make it fairly accurate. It will
not become a replacement for your secretary but will surely help you reply
to your mails at the end of a hectic day.
But, before you get really excited about WSR and think of firing your

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Windows 7 accessibility and voice recognition 5

PA in the recession-hit
economy, remember that it
works well only when used
with a good microphone.
We gave it a spin using
the standard microphone
that comes bundled with
laptops and found ourselves
shouting out loud and still
getting weird responses.
When we tried speaking
softly, WSR replied “Did
you say something?” “Please
speak in English.” “Are you
Human?”. Ok. Not the last
one.
However performance
with microphones was
acceptable and when tried
with a Bluetooth headset
advanced speech recognition Properties (The one that came free with
your new mobile phone in
some festive offer), it seemed to work fine almost all of the time including
dictation, albeit after a little training. Avoid cheaper microphones since they
tend to pick up a lot of background noise and hissing.

5.3.2 Set up Speech Recognition

Before you get started using
Speech Recognition, you'll
need to set up your computer
for Windows Speech
Recognition. There are three
steps to setting up Speech
Recognition: Set up your
microphone, Learn how to talk
to your computer, and Train
your computer to understand
your speech. menu to set up your microphone and get started with Wsr

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Before you get started, make sure that your microphone is connected to
your computer.

Set up your microphone

Open Windows Speech Recognition by typing it in the Start Menu search
box. Click Set up microphone and then ffollow the instructions on the screen.

set up your microphone to ensure Wsr doesn't pick up Window that comes to guide you through the 'set up
background noise microphone'

reading out sentences to calibrate your microphone

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Teach yourself how to talk to your computer

Windows comes with a speech training tutorial to help teach you the
commands used with Speech Recognition. The tutorial takes about 45
minutes to complete. Follow the steps after clicking on Take Speech Tutorial
in the Windows Speech Recognition window.

train your computer to recognise your better using voice training.

Train your computer to recognize your speech

Speech Recognition associates a unique voice
profile to your User Account to recognise
your voice and spoken commands. As you
use Speech Recognition, your voice profile
gets more detailed, which should improve
your computer's ability to understand you.
Open Speech Recognition and Click
on Train your computer to better
understand you. It will ask you to speak default text to calibrate
itself to your voice.

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5.3.3 Frequently used commands

The following table shows some of the most commonly used commands in
Speech Recognition.

To do this Say this

click any item by its name click File; Insert; view
click any item click recycle bin; click Libraries; click file name
Double-click recycle bin; Double-click Libraries; Double-
Double-click any item
click file name
switch to notepad; switch to WordPad; switch to
switch to an open program
program name; switch application
scroll in one direction scroll up; scroll down; scroll left; scroll right
show a list of applicable commands What can I say?
make the computer listen to you start listening
make the computer stop listening stop listening
ask for help How do I do something?

For example, say “How do I install a scanner?” and a list of help topics
is returned.

Dictation
These are commands for working with text. The following table shows
commands for using Speech Recognition to work with text.
To do this Say this
Insert a new line in the document new line
Insert a new paragraph in the document new paragraph
Insert a tab tab
Put the cursor before a specific word Go to word
Put the cursor after a specific word Go after word
Go to the start of the document Go to start of document
Go to the end of the current document Go to end of document
select the word in the current document select word
select the word range in the current document select word range; select word through word
select all text in the current document select all
select the last text you dictated select that
clear the selection on the screen clear selection
Delete the previous sentence Delete previous sentence
Delete the next sentence Delete next sentence
Delete the selected or last dictated text Delete that

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Keyboard keys
Commands for keyboard keys
The following table shows commands for using Speech Recognition to press
keyboard keys

To do this Say this

Press keyboard key; Press a; Press capital b; Press shift plus
Press any key on the keyboard
a; Press ctrl plus a
Press certain keyboard keys without
Delete; backspace; enter; Page Up; Page down; Home; end; tab
saying "press" first

Controls
Commands for using common controls
The following table shows commands for using Speech Recognition to
perform tasks in Windows.

To do this Say this

right-click computer; right-click recycle bin; right-
right-click any item
click file name
minimize all windows to show your desktop show desktop
show numbers (numbers will appear on the screen
click something you don't know the name of for every item in the active window. say an item's
corresponding number to click it.)
click a numbered item 15 ok; 7 ok
Double-click a numbered item Double-click 15; Double-click 4
right-click a numbered item right-click 2; right-click 3

Windows
Commands for working with windows
The following table shows commands for using Speech Recognition to
work with windows and programs.

To do this Say this

open a program open Paint; open notePad; open program name
switch to Paint; switch to WordPad; switch to program name;
switch to an open program
switch application
close a program close that; close notePad; close Documents
minimize minimize that; minimize WordPad; minimize Documents
maximize maximize that; maximize notepad; maximize computer
restore restore that; restore Paint; restore Documents

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cut cut that; cut
copy copy that; copy
Paste Paste
Delete Delete that; Delete
Undo Undo that; scratch that; Undo
scroll an exact distance in pages scroll down 2 pages; scroll up 10 pages
Go to a field in a form or a program Go to field name; Go to subject; Go to address; Go to cc

Click anywhere on the screen

Commands for clicking anywhere on the screen
The following table shows commands for using Speech Recognition to
click anywhere on the screen.

To do this Say this

show the mousegrid mousegrid
move the mouse pointer to the center of any
number or numbers of the square; 1; 3; 5; 1, 5, 5
mousegrid square
click any mousegrid square click number of the square

Select an item to drag with the mousegrid Number or numbers of the

square where the item appears; 2, 5, 7 (followed by) mark
Select an area where you want to drag the item with the mousegrid
Number—or numbers—of the square where you want to drag; 2,3, 9 (followed
by) click

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 6 Connecting to the Network
6.1 View Available Networks
Windows 7 makes it a very simple to view and connect to networks on
your laptop. Just click on the network icon in the taskbar. View Available
Networks displays all your wireless and wired networking options including
Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, dial-
up, LAN or corporate VPN. One
more click on any of them, and
you're connected. It is an awesome
feature for netbooks as the number
of steps required to get connected
to internet is reduced and you
can instantly get going with your
web-browsing.

6.2 Domain Join

A domain is a type of computer
network commonly found in the
workplace. (In geek-speak, it's
a collection of computers that's
centrally administered and
operates under common rules.) view available networks window to quickly get connected
Windows 7 Professional and
Ultimate come with a handy utility that lets you join domains quickly and
securely. Just follow the easy-to-use wizard, which prompts you to enter
your network credentials. You will be in business in no time.

6.3 Windows Connect Now

Windows Connect Now makes it easier to set up a wireless network at
home or work. Just buy a Wi-Fi router with a "Compatible with Windows 7"
logo. The first time you connect, Windows will walk you through all the
necessary setup steps—including naming your network and turning on the
router's security features. After that, you need not remember your network
credentials when you connect new computers. Just push the Wi-Fi Protected
Setup button on your router and it will automatically send the network
settings to your computer.

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6.4 Home sweet homegroup

Homegroup is a new concept introduced in Windows 7 that makes sharing
music, photos, videos, files and printers with other people on your home
network easy and intuitive. You can now create a password protected home
network in very few clicks without going through the hassle of setting up a
network and fiddling with network configuration. You can even make your
files ‘read only’ so that other people can access your content, but not change
it. It's only available in Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate variants
of Windows 7.
If you remember what a headache it was to set up file and printer
sharing in earlier versions of Windows, you’ll be amazed at the difference a
homegroup makes. During the process of setting up or joining a homegroup,
you can choose the libraries and printers you want to share, and you are
done. Even creating a homegroup is as easy as running a wizard.

6.4.1 Creating and joining a homegroup

To create a homegroup, open HomeGroup in Control Panel and then click on
Create a homegroup. Your current network location must be set to “Home
network.” That’s because HomeGroup only works on networks having
the Home network
location. If you need
to change the network
location to Home
from Work or Public,
just click the current
setting, and then pick it.
Computers must be
running Windows 7 as
a rule to be part of a
homegroup (Windows
7 Starter and Windows
7 Home Basic only
allows you to join a
homegroup, but does
not let you create one). setting your connection to Home for HomeGroups to work.
If you’re installing
Windows 7 and you were already on a home network, a homegroup will
be set up and joined automatically. You can join a homegroup by opening

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setting up your HomeGroup

HomeGroup in Control Panel and clicking Join now. (You can also get to
these options by going to ‘Network and Sharing Center’ and clicking on
‘Choose homegroup and sharing options’)

6.4.2 Accessing files and printers

on the Homegroup
To access files and printers
shared by other homegroup
PCs , open the libraries folder
by clicking on your User
Name in the Start Menu. Here,
under Homegroup in the left
pane, click the PC you want
to access and then click the
library you want.
To easily change home-
group settings such as the select the libraries you want to share with your HomeGroup
libraries you want to share,
select the check box for each library you want to share, and then click
Save changes. This option is found under Share libraries and printers in
HomeGroup (Control Panel)

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l To share other libraries that you've created, follow these steps:

l Click the Start button, and then click your user name.
l Select the library you want to share, and then click on ‘Share with’ in
the toolbar.

sharing your libraries with other users on your homegroup

l Select the people you

want to share with
For printer sharing,
and Media streaming,
see the corresponding
sections in this Fast
Track.

6.4.3 Security
As we mentioned, a
homegroup is protected
by a password. The
HomeGroup feature
initially provides a
password, but you can advanced sharing settings that Windows 7 provides making your
change it later if you life troublefree.

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Windows 7 connecting to the network 6

even more settings. You never have to bother with command line to configure your Home network.

want to. People who belong to a home network will not automatically belong
to a homegroup and be able to connect to it. They will need a password which
appears while you are setting up a HomeGroup before they can join the
homegroup or see and access files and printers.

6.5 Location Aware Printing

Do you have a habit of routinely connecting printers at different places, say,
Home, Work, your Friend's place, to your laptop? Windows 7 has a handy
utility, called 'Location-aware printing' to automatically switch your laptop's
default printer when it detects that you have moved from one network to
another and eliminates the need to manually switch printers. Whenever you
connect to a printer and print something, Windows 7 associates that printer
to the network you were connected to at that time. Next time you connect to
that network, Windows 7 automatically switches the default printer to the
one it associated with the network. If you have used more than one printer
on the same network, then it associates the printer which you set as your

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setting default printers for various networks to automate switching.

default. You can also manually pair printers Note

and networks if you wish to. this feature is only available in
• Open Devices and Printers from the Start Professional and Ultimate editions
Menu. of Windows 7. also, it only works on
• Left Click on a printer, and then click laptops and netbooks. but then again,
how often do you plan to move your
on Manage default printers on the toolbar at desktop around anyways?
the top.
• Select “Change my default printer when I
change networks”.
• In the Select network dop-down list, click on a network.
• In the Select printer list, click on the corresponding default printer.
• Click Add.
• Repeat previous 3 steps as needed. When you're finished, click on OK.

6.6 Internet Explorer 8 Compatibility Mode

If your company's websites is old and hasn't been updated in quite some

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viewing web-pages in compatibility mode.

time, chances are that it won’t

render correctly because of the
new rendering engine in IE8.
You then need to enable Internet
Explorer 8 display them in
compatibility view. Now you
can do it on the fly but if you
visit such sites frequently, then
you need to have an alternative
to make it the default. Just open
Internet Explorer, go to Tools
> Compatibility View
Settings and check “Display all
websites in compatibility view”,
then click Ok.
adding sites to be automatically opened in compatibility mode.

6.7 Install a printer on a home network

There are two basic ways to make a printer available to the PCs on your
home network:

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• Attach it directly to one computer and share it with all the others on
a network.
• Connect the printer as a stand-alone device on the network itself using a
network cable.

6.7.1 Setting up a shared printer

Traditionally, the most common way to make a printer available to a home
network has been to connect it to one of the PCs and then tell Windows to
share it. It will be called a shared printer.
The advantage of sharing a printer is that it works with any USB
connected printer. The downside? The host PC always has to be powered up,
otherwise the rest of the network won't be able to access the shared printer.
In previous versions of Windows, setting up a shared printer was tricky.
But HomeGroup has greatly simplified the whole process.
When a network is set up as a homegroup, printers and media libraries
are automatically shared. If you've already set up a homegroup and want to
access a shared printer from another homegroup PC, just follow these steps.

connect to Wizard for connecting to network devices such as a projector connected to your network.

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To manually connect to a homegroup printer:

• On the computer the printer is physically connected to, click the Start
button, click Control Panel, type homegroup in the search box, and then click
HomeGroup.
• Make sure the Printers check box is ticked. (If not, select it, and then click
on Save changes.)
• Next go to the computer you intend to print from.
• Open HomeGroup.
• Click on ‘Install printer’.
• If you don't already have a driver installed for the printer on that

click on 'turn on file and printer sharing' to share your printer over the network.

computer, click on Install driver in the dialog Note

box that appears after the previous step. after the printer is installed, you can
access it through the Print dialog box
6.7.2 Setting up a network printer in any program, just like a printer
Network printers—devices designed to connect that's directly connected to your
computer. the computer that the
directly to a computer network as a stand- printer is connected to must be turned
alone device—were once found only in large on for you to use the printer.
corporations. No more.
Printer makers are increasingly offering
inexpensive inkjet and laser printers that are designed to serve as network
printers on home networks. Network printers have one obvious advantage
over shared printers: they're always available.
There are two common types of network printers: wired and wireless.
• Wired printers have an Ethernet port. You can connect it to your router or
hub using an Ethernet cable.
• Wireless printers typically connect to your home network using Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth.
To install a network, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth printer:
• Open Devices and Printers.
• Click on ‘Add a printer’.

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advanced network sharing properties that Windows 7 provides you with.

• In the Add Printer wizard that pops up, click on ‘Add a network, wireless
or Bluetooth printer’.
• A list of available printers comes; select the one you want to use, and then
click on Next.
• Complete the subsequent steps in the wizard, and then click on Finish.

6.8 Setting up an ad-hoc Network

So, you have multiple laptops, PMP’s and smartphones with Wi-Fi but only
one internet connection on your computer? Windows Vista introduced this
feature and Windows 7 takes it forward by letting you host an ad-hoc Wi-Fi
network in a couple of steps without any difficulty and having to deal with
advanced settings.
Before we begin, you should make sure that your wireless card isn’t
currently connected and even if your laptop is connected to the wired
network, your wireless card should be free, so that you can use it to
allow access to the internet by bridging it to the LAN or through internet

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connection sharing. To set up, follow these steps:

• Go to Network and Sharing Center present in the Control Panel (You can
quickly access it by right-clicking on the network icon in the system tray and
clicking on ‘Open Network and Sharing Center’.
• Next Click on ‘Set up a new connection or network’ in the right pane.
You'll be prompted with a wizard that allows you to connect to VPNs, dial-
up, or create a new ad hoc wireless network, which is what you are here to

click on set up a new connection or network to get started.

the connection setup wizard

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do. You can use this ad hoc network to share files back and forth between two
computers, and share the internet connection.
• Select ‘Set up a wireless ad-hoc (computer to computer) network’ and click
on next twice.
• Here you can enter your network name and chose security options for
your Network. WEP is extremely easy to crack and some Linux distributions
like BackTrack even come with an in built utility to crack WEP encryption.
So we recommend you to use WPA2 encryption with a good key. If you want
this ad-hoc connection to become permanent, check the ‘Save this Network’
box. However, if you are just creating this network for one instance and don’t
plan to use it again, leave it unchecked.
• Now your ad hoc network should be up and running and ready to start
connecting your devices.

screen showing your configured network settings.

• Click on ‘Turn on Internet Connection Sharing’ if you want to provide

internet access to other devices that you intend to connect using this network.
You'll notice that the ad hoc networks that you create get added to the
View Available Networks list. When you disconnect from your ad hoc

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select WPa2 encryption for a secure network.

network, it's the same as stopping it. Connecting to the network is the same
as setting and starting it back up; this way you can quickly switch back and
forth between connection.
If you are connected to the internet using Local Area Network, then
remember to enable Internet connection sharing for your LAN adapter also
by going to Network and Sharing Center and clickin on ‘Change adapter
settings’ in the left pane. Then right click on whatever adapter is connected
to the internet and enable
internet connection sharing
for it

6.9 Stream your Media

Windows 7, makes it easy
to play music and video on
other networked PCs, TVs, or
stereos around the house.
If you have a home network,
you can use Windows Media Windows media Player in Library mode showing streaming options.

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Player to stream media to computers and media devices spread across your
home. Media streaming was called media sharing in earlier versions of
Windows Media Player.
The following procedure explains how to get started.

6.9.1 Connect your device or another computer to your network

Before you can stream media, you'll need to connect your digital media
devices or other computers to your home network. Just connect an Ethernet
cable from your device or other computer to your wired network, or set up
your device or computer to join your wireless network.

click on turn on media streaming to get started

6.9.2 Turn on home media streaming Notes

If media sharing isn't already turned on, l If your computer is on a public
follow these steps: network, you will be prompted to
l Open Windows Media Player. change the network location to a
Home network before you can stream
l Switch to Library mode
media.
l Click on Stream, and then click on Turn on l If you have set up a homegroup,
home media streaming available on the Media you will be prompted to share
streaming options page. your media libraries with your
homegroup(If you haven’t already
l This option won't be available on the Stream
done it) before you can stream media.
menu if streaming is already turned on.
l Click on OK.

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6.9.3 Set up basic streaming preferences

After you turn on media streaming, Windows Media Player will automatically
detect any computers and devices on your network that can receive media
streams. You can either stream media to all computers and devices on your
network, or allow access to your media on a case-by-case basis. To choose
which devices will receive your media streams, follow these steps:

media sharing options to configure whom to share your media with

after you have turned on media streaming, you get a few more options.

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• Open Windows Media Player and Switch to Library mode

• Click on Stream, and then open More Streaming Options.
• More streaming options won't appear on the Stream menu if you haven’t
turned on home media streaming.
• On the Media streaming options page, choose one of the following:
• If you want to stream media to all computers and devices on your
network, click Allow All.
• If you don't want to stream media to any computers or devices on your
network, click Block All.
• If you want to stream media to some computers and devices, click either
Allowed or Blocked on the menu next to each item in the list of computers
and devices.
• Press OK and you’re done.

media streaming advanced settings

6.9.4 Receive a media stream from another computer or device on your network
You can use Windows Media Player to receive a media stream from another
computer or media device on your network so that you can play it on your
computer. Just follow these steps:
• Open Windows Media Player and Switch to Library Mode
• Click on another computer's Player Library on your network listed under
Other Libraries in the navigation pane on the left.

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Windows 7 connecting to the network 6

If you don't see Other Libraries in the navigation pane, then do

the following:
• Click on Organize, and then click on Customize Navigation Pane.
• At the top of the Customize Navigation Pane dialog box, click on the name
of the Library in the drop-down list, and then click on Other Libraries.
• Select the Show Other Libraries check box, and then press OK.
• Find an item you want to play in the details pane, and double-click it.

6.9.5 Stream media to another computer or device using Play To

You can use Windows Media Player to stream media, or play to, another
computer or media device on your network. The only requirement is that
your device should support the industry standard DLNA (Digital Living
Network Alliance) 1.5 digital media renderer (It also works with other
Windows 7 PCs). To play to another computer or device, follow these steps:
• Open Windows Media Player and Switch to Library Mode
• If the list pane is closed or if the Burn or Sync tabs are exposed, click on
the Play tab.
• Find the items that you want to play in the Windows Media Player
Library, and then drag those items from the details pane into the list pane.
• Click on the Play to button Picture of the Play to button at the top of the
list pane
• Click on the device on your network that will receive the media.
• In the Play To dialog box, use the playback controls to play, pause, go to
next/previous or to stop the media stream.
When you stream music to a digital media receiver, you will not be able
to switch tracks using controls on the device itself or the remote control that
came with the device unless it complies to DLNA 1.5 completely.

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 7 Backup and Restore

Backup and Restore window in Windows 7

7.1 Backup
The data stored on your computer's hard-disk is valuable and perhaps
irreplaceable. If you have lost files on your computer and you are not
familiar with data backup or you just chose not to backup because its too
much trouble, this chapter is for you.
If you are one of those lucky people who have never lost a file on your
computer: congratulations! However it is still vital for you to understand
that encountering problems sometimes is inevitable. It can result from your
fault while making a change or a virus or just some power surge leading
to hardware failure. That’s why you should regularly backup your files,
preferably to an external hard-disk to be prepared for the worst. Windows
7 comes with its own Backup utility, that’s designed to read your data,
compress it and store it on the external medium automatically and you can
even set a predefined schedule for it.

7.1.1 How is it different from Copy Pasting Data?

Backup and Restore feature has several advantages over simply copying files
to a removable disk. This utility compresses your data as its being copied
on the fly so that more of it fits into the medium. It even allows you to split
large files across multiple disks and in emergency, it offers several data-
recovery aids for you to recover files quickly. If you're using the Professional,
Enterprise or Ultimate editions of Windows 7, you'll also have the option

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Windows 7 Backup and Restore 7

of backing up your files to a network. In all, its more flexible and easier
to manage.

7.1.2 How to use Backup in Windows 7?

Open Backup and Restore by going to Control Panel and selecting "view
Small/Large Icons" at the top right corner or from the "System and Security"
link in the standard menu. The left pane of Backup and Restore utility
has two links to "Create an image backup" and "Create a System Recovery
Disc" while the right pane will display different options regarding backup
and restoring.

Backup and Restore Window

choosing what you want to backup

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select all the folders that you want to include in the backup

the summary window after we clicked on 'Backup now', backup is in progress.

To back up choose one of the following:

l If you have never used Windows Backup before, click Set up backup, and
then follow the steps in the wizard. You basically have to choose what to

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Windows 7 Backup and Restore 7

the progress window

backup and where to do it. You can also backup on a location on the network
by clicking on the Add Network Location. At last, you have to click on the
Save settings and run backup button to start the backup
l If you have created a backup before, you can wait for your regularly

the wizard to set up your backup location. there's even a 'save on a network' option in Ultimate variant which we
are using.

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scheduled backup to occur, or you can manually create a new backup by

clicking Back up now. We recommend that you don't backup your files to the
same hard disk that Windows is installed on.

7.2 Restore files from a backup

You can restore backed-up versions of files that are lost, damaged, or
changed accidentally. You can also restore individual files and folders that
you have backed up.
• Open Backup and Restore.
• To restore your files, click Restore my files.

• To restore the files of all users, click Restore all users' files.

click on Restore options to recover your files from the backup

• To browse the contents of the backup, click Browse for files or Browse
for folders. To view individual files, use the Browse for files option because
when you are browsing for folders, you won't be able to see the individual
files in a folder.
• To search the contents of the backup, click Tip
Search, type all or part of a file name, and then You can use wild card characters such
click Search. as *.mp3 to search for all the music
files that were backed up.
To restore a backup made on another
computer
You can restore files from a backup that was created on another computer
running Windows Vista or Windows 7.
• Open Backup and Restore.
• Select the ‘Select another backup to restore files from’ link, and then
follow the steps in the wizard that follows.

7.3 Startup repair

If you've downloaded Windows 7, it's a good idea to create a system repair

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disc straight away in case you run into problems booting the OS later on.
Open Control Panel -> Backup and Restore -> Create a System Repair Disc,
and let Windows 7 build a bootable emergency disc. If the worst does happen
for whatever reasons, then it could be the only way to get your PC running
again. Startup Repair essentially just scans your computer for the problem
and then tries to fix it so your computer can start correctly. Though it can’t
fix hardware failures, such as a failing hard disk or incompatible memory,
Startup Repair does a good job at fixing certain problems, such as missing or
damaged system files.

7.4 System Image Backup

Windows Backup provides you
with the ability to create a system
image, which is an exact copy of a
drive. By default, a system image
includes Windows, drivers required
for Windows to run and your system
settings, programs, and files. You can
use a system image to restore the OS Left pane of Backup and Restore showing the options
and data of your computer if your hard to create system Image and system Repair disc.
drive or computer ever stops working.
You must however remember that it will be a complete restoration; you can't
choose individual items to restore, and all of your current programs, system
settings, and files are replaced. You can manually create a system image
if you want to include
additional data
partitions or drives.
• Click on Create an
image backup in the
left pane of the Backup
and Restore window.
• Select the location
you want to store the
system image. It can
be another partition,
a network location or
an external disc. Click
create a system Image wizard on Next.

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select your dvd drive to start creation of system Repair Disc

options to manage Windows Backup

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Windows 7 Backup and Restore 7

• Now click on the Start backup button to start the process of creating a
system image.

7.5 Recover lost or deleted files

If you can't find a file on your computer or you accidently modified or deleted
a file, you can restore it from your backup (if you are using Windows backup)
or you can try to restore it from a previous version. Previous versions are
copies of your files and folders that Windows 7 automatically saves as part of
a restore point. They are sometimes referred to as shadow copies.

7.5.1 To restore a deleted file or folder

• Boot up your Computer.
• Navigate to the folder that used to contain the file or folder, right-click it,
and then select ‘Restore previous versions’. If the folder was at the top level
of a partition, for example C:\, right-click the
partition in ‘Computer’ and then click Restore Note
previous versions. You'll see a list of all available to restore a previous version of a file
previous versions of the file or folder. It will also or folder that's included in a library,
include files saved on a backup (if you are using right-click the file or folder in the
location where it's saved, rather than
Windows Backup to back up your files) as well in the library. For example, to restore
as restore points. a previous version of a picture that's
• Double-click the previous version of the included in the Pictures library but is
folder that contains the file or folder you want stored in the my Pictures folder, right-
click the my Pictures folder, and then
to restore. (For example, if a file/folder was click Restore previous versions.
deleted today, choose a version of the folder from
yesterday. It should contain the file.)
• Click and drag the file or folder that you want to restore to another location
on your computer, such as your desktop or another folder. The version of the
file or folder will be saved to the location that you selected.

7.5.2 To restore a file or folder to a previous state

• Right-click the file or folder, and then click
Restore previous versions. Note
• Before restoring a previous version of a file You can't open or copy previous
or folder, select the previous version, and then versions of files that were created by
click Open to view it to make sure it's the version Windows Backup, but you can restore
them.
you want.

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• To restore a previous version, select Note

the previous version, and then click If the Restore button is unavailable, you can't
on Restore. restore a previous version of the file or folder to
Warning: The file or folder replaces its original location. But you still might be able
to open it or save it to a different location. try
the current version on your computer, your luck.
and the replacement can't be undone.

7.6 Restore your computer from a system image backup

7.6.1 To restore using the Recovery Control Panel (recommended)
If your computer is still working and you can access Control Panel, or if you
want to restore your system image backup onto a different computer, follow
these steps:
• Open Recovery by typing it out in the Start Menu.
• Click on ‘Advanced recovery methods’.
• Click on ‘Use a system image you created earlier to recover your computer’,
and then follow the steps in the wizard.

7.6.2 To restore using pre-installed recovery options

If you can't access Control Panel and you don't have a Windows installation
disc or a system repair disc, use this method to restore your computer.
• Start your computer
• Do one of the following:
• If your computer has only one operating system installed, hold down the
F8 key as your computer restarts.
• If your computer has more than one operating system installed, use the
arrow keys to highlight the operating system that you want to start, and then
press F8.
• When the Advanced Boot Options screen appears, use the arrow keys to
select Repair your computer, and then press Enter.
• Select the keyboard layout you use, and then click on Next.
• Select a user name, type the password for it, and then click on OK.
• In the System Recovery Options menu, click on System Image Recovery,
and then follow the instructions in the wizard that follows.

7.6.3 To restore using a Windows installation disc or a system repair disc

If you can't access Control Panel, you can restore your computer using a
Windows installation disc or a system repair disc.
• Insert the installation disc or system repair disc whatever you may have.

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• Restart your computer using the computer's power button.

• You will be prompted with a message saying press any key to start
the computer from the installation disc or system repair disc. Just press
anything on your keyboard.
If your computer is not configured to start from a CD or DVD, change your
computer's BIOS settings.
• Choose your language settings (which is English-India for most of us),
and then click on Next.
• Click on ‘Repair your computer’.
This step is only necessary if you are using a Windows installation disc.
• Select a recovery option in the list that comes, and then click on Next.

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 8 Customising the Look and Feel
8.1 Calibrate your Display

Display Calibration Wizard asking you to calibrate your display

If you have recently bought a LED-backlit display laptop or if you are using
an old CRT, chances are that the default Windows colour, brightness and
contrast settings are not accurate and make your favorite photographs and
movies look different and most times, just plain bad. The colours you see
on your screen varies widely depending on your monitor, graphics cards
settings, lighting and more, yet most people use the same default Windows
colour profile.
Fortunately Windows 7 provides a Display Colour Calibration Wizard
that helps you ensure that colours are represented accurately on your screen
and everything looks crisp and sharp.
Click Start (Press Win Key) and type dccw in the "Search programs and
files" box to start the Display Colour Calibration Wizard. Alternatively you

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can go to Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Display
and click on "Calibrate Colour" from the left pane of the window.

8.2 Display Empty Removable Drives

Windows 7 does not show empty drives by default. Click Computer in
Windows 7 and you might see a strange lack of drives, but don't panic,
and don't go returning your newly bought drive thinking its broke. It's
just Microsoft trying to be helpful: drives like memory card readers are no
longer displayed if they're empty. This does seem like an improvement but
it should not be a default setting as it makes things harder to figure out for
inexperienced users who are used to see everything right there. To get them
back, just Launch explorer. Go to Tools > Folder Options > View and
uncheck “Hide empty drives in the computer folder”.

8.3 Recover screen space

The new Windows 7 taskbar takes up a lot of screen real estate with its big
icons, which isn't a concern but if you are running it on a smallish screen like
those of net-books, you can do with recovering some space for applications.
Shrink it to a more manageable size by right-clicking the Start button,
then go to Properties > Taskbar > Use small icons > OK.

8.4 Restore the Quick Launch Toolbar

A lot of Windows Vista and XP users will find the absence of a Quick Launch
toolbar in Windows 7 annoying because you sort of get used to it. It is
disabled by default but it only takes a moment to restore it back.
• Open the "Run" dialog box by pressing [Win] + [R] and type gpedit.msc
• On the left hand pane, Navigate to User Configuration, Administrative
Templates, and Start Menu and Taskbar
• Double-click on the "Show QuickLaunch on Taskbar" in the right pane.
Select Enable, Click on Apply and then press Ok.
• Right click on Taskbar select Toolbar > New toolbar
• Navigate to C:\Users\(user name)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\
Internet Explorer
• Select the Folder "Quick Launch" and click on "Select Folder".
Now You should see Quick Launch Toolbar on Taskbar. To make it look
like it would in Windows Vista, right click the taskbar, uncheck “Lock the
Taskbar”, and you should see the Quick Launch toolbar, probably to the
right. Right-click its divider, clear Show Text and Show Title to minimize the

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enabling Quick Launch from the Group Policy editor

select the Quick Launch Folder to restore Quick Launch in your taskbar

XP style quick launch in Windows 7

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space it takes up. For the true retro look, you can also right-click the bar and
select View > Small Icons.

8.5 Desktop slideshow

selecting multiple backgrounds in Windows 7

Windows 7 lets you set up a slideshow of multiple images as the

desktop wallpaper by default without you grappling with other Desktop
Enhancement tools. Some Windows themes include a slide show, or you can
create your own slide show from your personal collection of pictures. Right-
click an empty part of the desktop, select Personalize > Desktop Background,
then hold down Ctrl as you click on the images you like. Choose how often
you'd like the images to be changed from the drop down box (anything from
daily to once every 10 seconds). You can also select Shuffle if you'd like the
backgrounds to appear in a random order. Click on Save Changes and you
shall be able to enjoy the show on your desktop.

8.6 Auto arrange your desktop

If the icons on your Windows 7 desktop are scattered everywhere then you
could right-click anywhere and select View > Auto arrange, just as in
Vista. But a simpler solution is just to press and hold down F5 for a little
longer, and Windows will automatically arrange its icons for you.

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 9 Virtual Windows XP Mode
If you need to access programs designed for Windows XP that have not been
upgraded to Windows Vista or 7, XP Mode creates a virtual environment
within Windows 7. It is similar to MED-V, Microsoft’s virtualization
technology aimed at large corporations.. It consists of Windows Virtual PC
7.0, a new version of Microsoft's client-based virtualization product line, and
a fully licensed install of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3) and using
it couldn’t be simpler. You can use Windows XP mode to access a virtualized
instance of Windows XP that can be customized with your own applications.
You can also use Windows XP mode with Windows 7 to run applications
seamlessly in Windows 7 when the applications are actually installed in
Windows XP. It also includes support for USB devices and is based on a
new core that includes multi-threading support. However, Windows XP
mode is available free only for the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7
Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, and Windows 7 Ultimate and not
Home variants.

9.1 Before you begin

To install Windows XP you first
need to download and install an
update from the Windows XP Mode
website or the Virtual PC website
which contains the Microsoft Virtual
PC application. Also, you need to
ensure that your computer either
runs the Windows 7 Professional
or Ultimate as Windows XP mode
is not supported on Home variants. JumpList for virtual Windows XP lets you do certain tasks
Hardware wise, you must have from there itself.
virtualization enabled (Intel VT or
AMD-V technologies must be available for your processor and enabled from
the BIOS.)

9.2 Set up Windows XP mode

This section describes how to install Windows Virtual PC and set up the
Windows XP mode.

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9.2.1 Install Windows Virtual PC

To install Windows Virtual PC follow these steps:
Install the update package:
1. Open Windows6.1-KBxxxxxx-plaftform.msu, where platform is either x86
or x64 and xxxxxx depends on whether you are installing XP mode beta or
RC or the final release. (This file is available from http://www.microsoft.com/
windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx )
2. Review its end-user license agreement and accept it to install the update.
3. To complete the installation, you will have to restart the computer.
4. After it is finished, Windows Virtual PC is available in the Start menu.
After you install Windows Virtual PC, you need to set up Virtual
Windows XP.

9.2.2 Set up Windows XP mode

If you want to use Windows XP as a guest operating system, you will have
to use the Virtual Windows XP downloadable package available from the
same website. When you use this package with Windows Virtual PC, it
automatically creates a virtual machine for it with a version of Windows XP
installed on the virtual hard disk.
To set up Windows XP mode:
1. Double-click VirtualWindowsXP.msi
2. The Virtual Windows XP wizard will open. Proceed through the steps
of the wizard to complete the installation.
3. When the virtual machine is booted up or started for the first time, the
Virtual Windows XP license agreement appears. To use Virtual Windows
XP, you must obviously accept it. Then click on Next to continue.
4. Set up a password for the “User” account. This is the account with
administrator privileges that the wizard creates automatically. It is also
the default account used to run Windows XP mode. Make sure you check
“Remember credentials” if you don’t want to enter the password each time
you start Windows XP mode.
5. After Windows
Virtual PC configures
Virtual Windows XP,
the virtual machine
will be ready to be
used. progress bar showing your virtual machine is being started

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9.2.3 About integration components

Integration components make it easier to use a virtual machine by

virtual Pc window with your Windows XP virtual machine installed

enter a password during first logon and it becomes your default password.

improving the interaction between

physical resources and a virtual
machine environment. These are
installed automatically when you
set up Windows XP mode on your
computer. Integration components
provide access to the following
resources:
• Clipboard. You can cut, copy, and
paste data between the host operating
system and Virtual Windows XP. For Windows XP working in Windows 7.

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Updating Windows XP for better integration

example, you can copy a URL from the browser in a XP, and paste it to a
browser in Windows 7.
• Hard drives. This feature makes all the drive partitions on the host
available to the virtual machine. You can easily access all host data from
within the virtual machine.
• Printers. This feature makes it possible for
you to use the same printer in a virtual machine Note
that you can use on the host. Host hard drives are listed in the guest
• USB devices. Printers and storage devices by using the computer name of the
are automatically shared with virtual machines. host operating system. For example,
on a host computer named huh, the
Other types of supported USB devices can c drive would be listed in the guest
be shared by redirecting them to the virtual operating system as ‘c on huh’.
machine.
Integration components also allows you to
move the mouse seamlessly between the desktops of the host operating
system and the guest operating system.

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9.2.4 Closing a virtual machine

When you close a virtual
machine, it can be hibernated,
shut down, or turned off. When
a virtual machine is started
from hibernation, it does not
go through the boot sequence,
so it is available for use faster
than if it was turned off or
shut down. closing your virtual machine

change virtual machine settings

By default, clicking the Close button (the ‘x’) on Note

the virtual machine window hibernates a virtual When you open a virtual machine,
machine. You can also change this behavior by Windows virtual Pc provides it with
modifying the virtual machine settings. memory and processor resources. the
length of time it takes to open a virtual
To change the default close option, choose machine also depends on the amount
one one of the following: of memory assigned to the virtual
• In the Virtual Machines folder, right-click machine which you can change by
the name of the virtual machine, and then opening settings in Windows virtual Pc
for your XP when it is not powered on.
click Settings.

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• In the virtual
machine window, click
the Tools menu, and
then click Settings.
• In left pane of the
Settings window, click
on Close.
• In right pane, either
select the option you
want to configure to
under ‘Automatically
close with the following’ Increase the ram allocated to your virtual machine from settings to make it
option, or select ‘Prompt more responsive
for action’ to be able to
choose the action each time the virtual machine Note
is closed. If you want to use an application
• Click on OK to save the changes. installed in a virtual machine from the
desktop of the host operating system,
To shut down a virtual machine
the virtual machine must be closed.
• From the virtual machine window,
click Ctrl+Alt+Del. Or, you can press the
CTRL+ALT+END key sequence.
• In the window that appears in the virtual OS, click on Shut down.
• The operating system will go through its entire shutdown sequence, and
all the resources will be released from the virtual machine.

9.3 Use a virtual machine application on Windows 7

You can access an application directly from the desktop of the host operating
system when the application is installed in the virtual machine. So now
you can use Windows XP applications while avoiding problems that occur
because they are not compatible with your Windows 7.
However, Windows Virtual PC does not support applications that require
bidirectional sound or 3D graphics, which means that games cannot be
played in Windows XP mode.
To share a virtual machine application with Windows 7
1.Open the virtual machine, if it is not already running by going to the
Virtual Machine folder and right-clicking on the name of the virtual machine
and selecting Open.
2.Install the application.

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error message saying you need to close your virtual machine

to start any virtual application in Windows 7

3.After the installation completes,

log off from the guest OS and close the
virtual machine.
4.Open the application from the
host OS by going to Windows 7 Start
Windows XP mode applications can be accessed menu, clicking on All Programs, then
as standalone applications in Windows 7 from the
start menu
on Windows Virtual PC and finally
clicking on the name of the application,
below the name of the virtual machine.
5.After a few seconds, the application will open. Note
If you minimize the application, it will appear on some applications do not install
the task bar of the host operating system as a a short cut to the start menu. In this
case, you can add the short
minimized virtual machine.
cut manually. In the guest os,
6.You can use the application just as if it were drag and drop the shortcut from
installed directly on Windows 7. the folder where the executable
is stored to the “all users” start
9.4 Use a USB device in a virtual machine menu folder. For example, in
Windows XP, copy the shortcut to
Windows Virtual PC supports the use of USB %systemdrive%\Documents and
2.0 devices, either by sharing the device or by settings\all Users\start menu\
redirecting the device to the virtual machine. The Programs.
method you use will depend on which type of
USB device you intend to use. When integration components are installed
in the Virtual Windows XP, storage devices are automatically shared with
virtual machines on a physical computer. For other types of devices like
WebCams, Wireless network adapters, PDA’s and mp3 players, you can
use redirection.
To redirect a USB device to a virtual machine:
• Attach the device to the computer and turn on the device.

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sharing Usb devices with your virtual machine

• From the virtual machine window, click on USB and then click on Attach
‘<device name>’.
• After the device driver is installed, you can use the USB device from
within the virtual machine the same way as you would on a physical
computer. However, USB devices that are connected using these steps cannot
be shared, so they must be released from one operating system to be available
for use on the other operating system.
• To make the USB device available back on your host Windows 7
installation, release it from the virtual machine. From the virtual machine
window, click on USB and then click on ‘Release <device name>’.

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Notes Windows 7