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Windows 7 Annoyances by David A. Karp Copyright © 2010 David A. Karp. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (http://my.safaribookson line.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800-998-9938 or corporate@oreilly.com.
Table of Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi 1. Get Started with Windows 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Why It Takes So Long to Copy Files Slicker Ways to Select Files Take Charge of Drag-Drop Copy or Move to a Specified Path More Ways to Rename Files Delete In-Use Files Zip It Up Customize Drive and Folder Icons Fix Windows Search 91 93 96 99 100 104 107 109 111 3. The Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Turn a USB Webcam into an IP Webcam Use an IP Webcam for Videoconferencing Sound and Music Get Sound Where There Is None Get Windows to Listen Fix Garbled Music Crossfade Your Music Extract Sound from Video Convert Audio Files Fix Music Tags Photos, Pictures, and Images Quickly Sort Photos Choose Where to Store Your Pictures Generate Thumbnails for RAW Photos Tweak the Thumbcache Get Rid of the Windows Photo Gallery Get More Accurate Color Sort Photos Chronologically Media Center Hacks Watch TV on Your TV W
If in Doubt, Throw It Out Optimize Virtual Memory and Cache Settings Choose the Right Filesystem Advanced NTFS Settings Transfer Windows to Another Hard Disk Work with Partitions 309 312 317 320 321 328 6. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Get Bluetooth to Work Troubleshoot Network Connections Test an IP Address Internet Me Share an Internet Connection Test Your Throughput Set Up Virtual Private Networking Control a PC Remotely Manage the Name Server (DNS) Cache Secure Your Networked PC Put Up a Firewall Scan Your System for Open Ports Web and Email Lock Down Internet Explorer Change Internet Shortcut Icons Live with Firefox in an IE World Opt Out of Tabbed Browsing Fix Symbols in Web Pages Fix Broken Pictures in Web Pages Improve Any Website
Customize the Default Profile for New Users Rename Your Profile Folder Share Files and Printers Share a Folder Access a Shared Folder Remotely Force a Login Box for a Remote Folder Turn Off Administrative Shares Hide Your PC from the Network Folder Going Homegroups Share a Printer Connect to a Networked Printer or Print Server 590 590 592 593 597 602 605 608 609 617 619 9. Command Prompt and Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER 1 Get Started with Windows 7 Windows 7 is like a pumpkin: handsome and plump on the outside, but a big mess on the inside. So get out your knife and start carving. Now, there was a lot in 7’s predecessor, Windows Vista, that Microsoft got right, or almost right. But face it: Windows 7 exists because of everything that was wrong with Vista. First and foremost, Windows 7 is faster than Vista, and by some accounts, faster than XP on the same hardware.
Windows 7 doesn’t provide any convenient tools to associate more than one application with a file type or even customize file icons. The backup tool doesn’t let you restore individual files from a complete PC backup, meaning that you have to back up your data twice in order to get complete protection. Sharing files with older PCs, non-Windows machines, and in some cases, even Windows 7 PCs can be needlessly frustrating. And the list goes on and on. Fortunately, Windows 7 is pliable. UAC can be tamed.
Table 1-1. What you get (and what you don’t) with the primary editions of Windows 7 Home Premium Professional Ultimate Aero Glass interface ✓ ✓ ✓ Backup and Restore ✓ ✓ ✓ Backup and Restore – Create a system image ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Backup and Restore – Network storage support Create a Home Group ✓ ✓ Corporate tools (AppLocker, BranchCache, DirectAccess) ✓ Encryption – BitLocker drive encryption ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Group Policy Editor (gpedit.
Got Ultimate Edition Envy? Got the Home Premium or Professional editions of Windows 7, and are considering forking over more cash to Microsoft for a “better” version? Not so fast! Here are most of the goodies included with Ultimate but missing in lesser editions, and how you can get them for free: Back up to a network location See “Preventative Maintenance and Data Recovery” on page 404 for information on using network storage with Windows Backup on the Home Premium edition.
Editions of Windows 7 | 5 Get Started with Windows 7 dows, you can still set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection, as explained in Chapter 7, to do something similar, albeit with more fuss. Group Policy Object Editor Several solutions in this book use the Group Policy Object Editor (gpedit.msc) to change a few esoteric settings, but this tool isn’t included in the Home Premium edition. If the gpedit.
ple’s iPhone. See the section “Control a PC Remotely” on page 488 for details. Subsystem for Unix-based Applications Also known as Interix, this is basically a Unix and POSIX layer that allows you to run Unix software on your Windows 7 PC. Don’t have the Subsystem for Unix-based Applications? Cygwin does more or less the same thing, and is free for all versions of Windows.
When Vista first hit store shelves in 2007, x64 computing was a hobbyist niche, barely registering on any radar. By the middle of 2008, Microsoft reported that 20% of new PCs connecting to Windows Update—mind you, that’s new PCs, not total PCs—were using 64-bit Windows. Many of those machines were likely sold with 4 GB of RAM or more, necessitating Windows x64 to be preinstalled.
uct that won’t work on 64-bit Windows, there’s no reason to stick with a 32bit OS. All editions of Windows 7 (except Starter) are available in both the 32-bit or 64-bit varieties; the retail Ultimate edition even includes both 32-bit and 64bit DVDs right in the box. If you have a 32-bit edition (other than Ultimate), you can get the 64-bit version of your edition (in the US, call 1-800-360-7561), and assuming your license key checks out, you only pay shipping.
Whether you’re allowed to install Windows 7 over an older version or you’re forced to perform a “clean install” is unrelated to the special pricing or licensing you may’ve gotten when you purchased Windows 7. In other words, just because you got an “upgrade” version of Windows 7 doesn’t mean you can do an in-place upgrade over Windows XP. So, can you do an in-place upgrade? If you have Windows Vista or a lesser edition of Windows 7 (e.g., Home Premium to Ultimate), see Table 1-2 to find out.
Install Windows on an Empty Hard Disk Use this method to set up Windows on a brand-new, empty hard disk; if your PC already has a Windows installation, even if it doesn’t support an in-place upgrade, skip to the section “Upgrade from a Previous Version of Windows” on page 18. The Windows 7 installation disc is bootable, which means that you can pop it in your drive, turn on the computer, and the installation process will start automatically.
Get Started with Windows 7 Figure 1-1. From this page, click Install now to begin setup, or Repair your computer to use the repair tools explained in Chapter 6 If you complete setup without typing your key, make sure you choose the edition of Windows 7 for which you actually own a license. If you choose the wrong edition, you won’t be able to change it later without reinstalling from scratch. When Windows boots, it’ll operate in a fully functional “evaluation mode” you can use normally for 30 days.
So click Custom (advanced) to advance to the “Where do you want to install Windows?” page, and then click the Drive options link to reveal the partition editor shown in Figure 1-2. See Chapter 5 for more information on partitions and the tools included with Windows to manage them. If the hard disk is clean and you want to use the entire hard disk for your installation, just click Next to proceed.
So you thought you’d save a little money by purchasing the “upgrade” version of Windows, but now you find yourself in a bit of a jam. Your hard disk crashed, and without a full backup (see Chapter 6), you need to rebuild your system. Or perhaps you’ve decided against an in-place Vista upgrade to avoid passing on two years of accumulated junk to your new operating system.
6. Type exit or close the Command Prompt window when you’re done. Using a process known as rearming, you can extend the evaluation period up to two or three times, for a total of 120 days. Just execute the slmgr.vbs script with the -rearm parameter. It will take 15–30 seconds to make the change, at which point you’ll need to restart Windows.
See Chapter 5 if you’ve already installed Windows and you wish to remove this partition. Boot Without a Boot Disc I still have a box of floppy disks in my closet, most of which are boot disks for old operating systems (Windows Me, Windows 95, DOS 6.2, DOS 4.0, etc.). Not a single one of my PCs still has a floppy drive, but each was such a hassle to create or obtain, I can’t bear to part with them lest someone knock on my door one day with a 25-year-old IBM XT that won’t start up.
To get started, you’ll need a working PC with an Internet connection. Install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK), available for free at http:// go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136976. Open the Windows PE Tools Command Prompt from the Start menu, and if you’re installing the 32-bit edition of Windows 7, type: copype.cmd x86 c:\output or if you’re installing the 64-bit (x64) edition, type: copype.cmd amd64 c:\output and press Enter. The batch file will create the c:\output folder automatically.
Now that the PXE server is set up, you need to enable PXE Network boot in your new PC’s BIOS setup screen, as explained in Appendix A. You’ll need the host name or IP address of the PC acting as the PXE server; see Chapter 7 for more on IP addresses, general networking tips, and troubleshooting. Create a bootable CD There are many ways to make a bootable CD, but to make a bootable Windows 7 CD, follow these steps. 1. First, install the WAIK, as described in the previous section.
You’ll be wiping the flash drive clean, so back up any data on the drive before you continue. With the flash drive inserted into a USB port, and your Windows setup disc in your DVD drive, make note of each of these drive letters. You’ll need a flash drive of at least 4 GB, and one that plugs directly into a USB port. (In most cases, flash cards used for cameras are not suitable.
Reinstall Windows 7 You may find yourself in a position where you’ll need to reinstall Windows 7, usually in an effort to solve a nasty problem or to repair a damaged installation. The procedure you choose depends on the state of your computer. If Windows won’t start, see the section “What to Do When Windows Won’t Start” on page 355. In most cases, you’ll need your original Windows setup disc, but you won’t need to reinstall.
need to be updated anyway to work with Windows 7—and you won’t have to do any real prep work, but what you’ll end up with may be slower and more buggy than it needs to be, all because of the junk left behind by the old installation. Now’s your chance to start over with a clean slate—take it! Figure 1-3.
When you’re done choosing files, Windows Easy Transfer compresses your files into a single .mig file, which you can save anywhere you like, presumably on a removable or network drive. Figure 1-4. Microsoft suggests using the Windows Easy Transfer tool to save your personal files before wiping your hard disk clean in preparation for Windows 7 Once your data is safe, go ahead and install Windows 7, following the instructions in the previous section.
So what’s wrong with the WET approach? For one, it doesn’t save all your files, only those in standard locations (like the Documents, Music, and Pictures folders) plus the ones you explicitly check off. Miss something and you might lose it. WET also doesn’t save registry settings for your installed applications (e.g., settings, toolbars) or any of your custom file types (see Chapter 3). Don’t be surprised if you lose your file encryption (Chapter 8) and shadow copies (Chapter 6).
When you perform a Custom installation on, say, Windows XP, setup moves your old Windows, Program Files, and Documents and Settings folders into a new folder called Windows.old so it can install Windows 7 on the drive unhindered. Other folders (e.g., c:\Dave’s Personal Stash) are left alone. None of your data is deleted, and provided you have enough free disk space (at least 11 GB), setup performs what’s called a “parallel installation,” where Windows 7 is placed alongside your old operating system.
5. Accept the license terms and click Next. You’re not going to read all that, are you? 6. When setup asks “Which type of installation do you want?” (Figure 1-3), choose Custom (advanced). 7. On the “Where do you want to install Windows?” page (Figure 1-2), click the drive with the previous version (usually drive C:) and click Next. Don’t delete or reformat any partitions here, or you’ll lose data with no hope of recovery. 8.
Another use for the DRY method is to repair a seriously munged Windows 7 installation. If Windows 7 won’t boot, you can perform a parallel installation to place a new copy of Windows 7 on your PC without harming the existing data on your hard disk. One downside to the DRY method—apart from the need to do some manual shuffling of files—is that your hard disk never gets formatted. If it’s an old drive with a long history of upgrades, a clean format may improve reliability.
Installing on a desktop PC and suspect your video adapter is sabotaging your installation? If your motherboard has builtin video that you’re currently not using because of an add-on card, just re-enable the on-board video through the system BIOS (if necessary), and then remove the troublesome card. Or if the on-board video is to blame, try assigning it more video memory (again, see Appendix A) or replacing it with an addon video card.
To set up a dual-boot system, you’ll need at least two partitions or two physical drives: one for each operating system. Install the first OS on any drive you like. Then, during Windows 7 setup, when you see the “Where do you want to install Windows?” page (Figure 1-2, shown earlier), just select the empty drive, and setup will do the rest. See Chapter 5 for more information on partitions, including a way to divide your current single-partition drive into two partitions without having to reformat.
(in administrator mode, as described in Chapter 8), type bcdedit and press Enter, and you’ll see output that looks something like this: Windows Boot Manager -------------------identifier {bootmgr} device partition=C: description Windows Boot Manager locale en-US inherit {globalsettings} default {default} displayorder {ntldr} {default} toolsdisplayorder {memdiag} timeout 3 Windows Legacy OS Loader -----------------------identifier {ntldr} device partition=C: path \ntldr description Earlier version of Windows
Get Started with Windows 7 Figure 1-5. The Boot tab of the System Configuration tool provides most of the features of BCDEdit in a much more pleasant interface Here, the easy options are truly self-evident, and the advanced options are at least available. On the right, you can adjust the Timeout from its default of 30 seconds; type 5 here, and you’ll instantly shave off 25 seconds from your unattended boot time.
account on your PC. If, for instance, you create a file in XP and then attempt to modify it in Windows 7, you may be denied permission until you “take ownership,” as explained in the section “Protect Your Files with Encryption” on page 558. And in regards to protecting your data, encryption is also effective at preventing an intruder from reading your files by installing a second operating system on your PC.
The process itself is quite easy. All you need is virtualization software (see Table 1-3) and an original installation disc for the operating system you wish to install in a window. Table 1-3. Virtualization software comparison chart Microsoft Virtual PC 6.0 Windows 7 as host OS Windows Virtual PC 6.1 VMware Workstation 6.
In order to run a 64-bit operating system in a window, the host PC must also be running a 64-bit operating system. And 64bit Windows requires a 64-bit processor, as described in“64Bit Windows” on page 6. At the time of this writing, running a 64-bit guest OS is only supported in VMware and VirtualBox. Setting up a new virtual machine is a snap.
From this point, install Windows 7 as described earlier in this chapter. Windows XP Mode One of Vista’s biggest failings was its incompatibility—or rather, its perceived incompatibility—with a broad range of applications and devices during its early days. Microsoft was so concerned that the same thing might happen with Vista’s successor that the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 include a free licensed copy of Windows XP for use with the Windows Virtual PC software.
Virtual Machine Additions is a sort of link between the guest and host sessions; it makes the guest OS aware that it’s running in a virtualized environment. First and foremost, VMA lets you move your mouse in and out of the Virtual PC window freely; otherwise it’ll get stuck whenever you click in the window. (Without VMA, press the right Alt key to release the mouse pointer.
Next, from the Tools drop-down, select Settings, and then highlight DVD Drive in the list on the left. Select Access a physical drive and choose the drive letter where your Windows setup disc can be found. (Or, if you’re installing from an ISO disc image, select Open an ISO image and click Browse to locate it.) Click OK when you’re done, and then click the Ctrl+Alt +Del button on the Virtual PC toolbar to restart the virtual machine and boot off the CD.
Virtual Time Machine One of the advantages of virtualization is that it lets you test applications (and in some cases, hardware devices) in an isolated environment. But once you soil that environment with software or drivers, it’s no longer the “clean room” it once was. Rather than delete the virtual machine and start over, there are ways to revert back to earlier stages—an undo, if you will—to save you time and trouble.
When asked to allocate memory, you’ll need to specify at least 2048 MB (2 GB); more is better, if you can spare it. (Whatever you allocate for the virtual machine will be sucked out of your host PC’s memory, so don’t give it everything you’ve got.) On the Network Type page, select Use bridged networking and then click Next. What follows is the selection of a SCSI adapter, which doesn’t matter. (In fact, for some other operating systems, you’ll need to disable the SCSI support altogether.
Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (assuming your host OS is either Windows 7 or Vista) or Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (for XP and earlier). When you’re done, minimize the Virtual PC session. Then on the host OS, start Remote Desktop (see Chapter 7) by typing mstsc into the Start menu Search box and pressing Enter.
What follows is a brief roadmap and some tips to help you get up to speed with Windows 7 quickly. Coming from Windows XP? Disorientation is probably the prevailing sensation among those users coming to Window 7 from XP or earlier versions of Windows. Here’s where you can find some of the more elusive entities you may have grown accustomed to: Add or Remove Programs This is still in Control Panel, but now it’s called Programs and Features.
Network Connections As explained in Chapter 7, the Network Connections window has been subjugated and buried in Windows 7. In Control Panel, open the Network and Sharing Center page. On the left side, click Change adapter settings. Start Menu→Run You can use the Search box at the bottom of the Start menu to run any program; just type the filename (e.g., control.exe) and press Enter.
Migration to Windows 7 | 41 Get Started with Windows 7 Libraries & improved search At first glance, Libraries aren’t much different than the specialized folders found in earlier versions of Windows: Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. (Although the cutesy “My” prefix is absent here, it’s still used for the folder names, like My Pictures.) But these folders are now accompanied by a background database that improves searches and connects to the Homegroups feature for improved media sharing.
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