How To Master New Windows 7 Beta 1 ?

[TechyGuy]

You are tens of thousands of users in INDIA (and millions around the world) to have downloaded and installed the Beta 1 of Windows 7. If you feel the testing and you have not yet proceeded to download, hurry up: the links will be closed on January 24! Once the system is installed, the following tips are essential to know to master beta 1 ...


Step 1: A UAC less invasive

Microsoft had promised to do something for the UAC alerts less invasive than in Vista. Promise Kept! Not only the actions that generate security alerts are fewer, but the user can adjust the level of security it wants to adjust and leisure (the increase when it takes risks, lower in normal use).

• Open the Start menu (by pressing the [Windows] key).
  
• Enter directly UAC (the cursor is located by default in the search field).
  
• Select Change User Account Control Settings
  
• Place the cursor on the position 2 from the bottom (Notify me only when programs ...)

Moreover, as with Vista, there is more than the total administrator modes by default. Some special programs should be launched by clicking the right mouse button and selecting "Run as Administrator". If you put the programs in the taskbar to run faster, you can run in "Administrator" by simply clicking on it while holding down [Ctrl] and [Shift] key.


Step 2: An improved window management

It could not escape: Windows 7 incorporates a feature called Aero Snap. If you move a window on one edge of the screen, it is magnetized to the board and automatically resized to take half of the screen (left or right) or the screen (on top).

In reality, these functions Aero Snap are more practical when used with the keyboard:

• [Windows] + [Cursor Right]: loving the right window and resizes half display
  
• [Windows] + [Cursor Left]: loving the active window on the left and the scales at mid-screen
  
• [Windows] + [Cursor Up]: place the window so that it covers the entire area of the screen
  
• [Windows] + [Cursor Down]: iconifie the active window
  
• [Windows] + [Home]: iconifie all the windows except the active window

Windows 7 also introduces the Aero Peek. When the mouse moves over a thumbnail view of the taskbar, only the window is displayed, all others become transparent. This lets you easily locate a window precisely when it has a range that straddles the screen.

Another variation of Aero Peek: when the mouse leads to the right of the taskbar, all the windows become transparent to briefly display the desktop. An effect that can also be obtained by using the shortcut [Windows] + [Space]

Last is Aero Shake. Click on the top bar of a window, and while holding the mouse button down, shake it. Automatically, all other windows are iconified. The trick has been especially designed for touch screens, but is also good practice on Ultraportables with Touchpad.

[TechyGuy]

Step 3: An improved multi-screen

Microsoft has improved the functioning of Windows in "dual screen". For example, the remote desktop now supports multiple screens. But Microsoft has especially improved ergonomics Windows when two or more screens are connected:

• The key combination [Windows] + [P] displays a menu that allows you to choose between different modes: The screen shows only 1, copy 1 screen on the screen 2, extend the office on 2nd screen, the screen shows only 2. Note that the second screen can also be a projector, which makes the menu even more useful.
  
• Combinations of buttons to switch the active window from one screen to another:
  
  [Windows] + [Shift] + [Cursor Right] moves the active window on the right screen.
  
  [Windows] + [Shift] + [Cursor Left] moves the active window on the left screen.

Step 4: A management panel simplified preview

Windows Vista provides a useful enhancement to Windows Explorer. You could actually ask to display a preview pane so you can view the contents of files directly from the browser, without launching the application that was generated. Except that, to display and hide the file, it should be lost in the tree menu of the explorer ...

Now, a single click (or touch) is enough to show/hide the preview pane:

• A mouse click on the new icon "Show the Preview Panel"
  
• At the keyboard, simply use the shortcut [Alt] + [P]

Step 5: Place the Taskbar where you want!

It has always been possible to move the taskbar. But it works once gave the impression of being a last-minute trick ...

With Windows 7, the taskbar has been specially designed to be positioned as far below the top or sides. So look and adjust its operation to the desired position by the user. Thus, placing the bar on the sides is especially useful on the screens UltraWide, including the Netbooks of 1024x600 screens when it takes up too much space down and limits the view Web pages.

To move the taskbar:

• Right-click on a blank area of the taskbar
  
• Select Properties
  
• Make sure the Taskbar tab is open
  
• Locate the menu pop-up "Taskbar location on screen" and select:
  
  • Right: Bar positioned on the right of the screen
  • Left: Bar located on the left
  • Top: Bar at the top of the screen
  • Bottom: Bar at the bottom of the screen (default)

[TechyGuy]

Step 6: Pins applications, files and folders!

You know all necessarily, the taskbar has been redesigned to incorporate into a single concept the principle of the Quick Launch toolbar and the principle of management applications launched.

We can now directly place a program that often called the taskbar. This can be done is to drag its icon, or simply click the right button on its icon (in the All Programs menu) and select Pin to Taskbar.

But you can also pick folders. The concept works a little differently from what you can expect:

• Imagine that you use frequently a folder (for example, the file "bills").
• Open the file explorer (by clicking on Computer in "Start").
• Navigate to the folder in question famous (in our example, Invoices).
• Click and drag its icon to the taskbar.
• Note that the mouse shows Pin to Windows Explorer.
• Release the button. File does not appear directly in the taskbar, this is normal.
• Now click the right button on the Explorer icon to activate the Jump List
• Note that the file is now pinned to the top of the Jump List! Practice, right?

This feature is useful for pin locations and network accessed very often.

Note: you can not pin a file directly in the taskbar. However, you can pick a file which is accessed every day in the Start menu. To do this, select the file, then click the right button while holding [Shift] key. Select Pin to Start Menu.

Step 7: Go to the taskbar by keyboard

Those who use their PCs mainly for office work makes extensive use of keyboard and know how binding it can be to have to move together to take up the mouse just to launch an application or call a function. That's why Windows has keyboard shortcuts for almost all operations.

Windows 7 introduces many new shortcuts. One of them is particularly useful now that the taskbar includes many new features ...

The combination [Windows] + [T] automatically gives a hand to the taskbar. You can then use the Cursor keys to navigate between applications and the thumbnails. To give a hand to the current application, simply leave the taskbar by pressing [Esc].


Step 8: Rearrange the order of applications

We saw the new Taskbar meets roles Quick Launch bar and management applications. Something you could not do before, now you can rearrange the icons on the taskbar, and thus to rearrange her will open applications. Simply drag the icons in the taskbar.

The reorganization provides additional interest: you can access the first 9 icons on the taskbar by a keyboard shortcut (hence the importance of being able to rearrange the icons to first in the nine place most important to you).

• Press [Windows] + [1] to start the application in first position
• Press [Windows] + [2] to start the second application
• Press [Windows] + [3] to start the implementation in third position
  ... and so on until
• Press [Windows] + [9] to start the ninth.

NOTE: Note that the [1] to [9] used here are not those of the numeric keypad, but those located on the top row of the main QWERTY keyboard.

[TechyGuy]

Step 9: Readers no longer empty

XP and Vista, each card reader is visible on the screen, even if there is no memory card inserted.

With Windows 7, only the players who are currently active appear. Those who have no storage media remain hidden until they can be used (that is, until you insert a memory card for example).

However, it is possible to specify if the browser should behave intelligently (mode Windows 7) or a basic (mode XP / Vista).

• Open the Start menu (reminder: just press the button [Windows])
  
• Enter Folder Options and click OK
  
• Go to the View tab
  
• Check the box "Hide empty drives in the Computer folder" if you do not want to see players inactive
  
• Uncheck the box "Hide empty drives in the Computer folder" if you want to show all drives, including those who have no storage or inactive.

Step 10: Remind gadgets

Vista has now more or less disappeared ... but not its gadgets! In fact, the gadgets are now positioned necessarily directly on the desktop. Provides a shortcut to switch background in the foreground (they are displayed on top of all applications).

To call a gadget to the front, press the combination [Windows] + [G].

Pressing once on this combination, you switch to another gadget. There is thus a gadget to another ...


Step 11: Switching applications and windows

Everyone knows the famous combination [Alt] + [Tab], which allows easy switching from one application to another.

Vista introduced a variant called "Aero 3DFlip" enabled by the combination [Windows] + [Tab].

Windows 7 introduces another method of switching the intra-switching application. Maintaining the [Ctrl] key, repeatedly click on the icon of an open application (in taskbar) to switch between the windows of this application only! This is very useful for applications like Internet Explorer or Windows Explorer, which was often more than one window open.


Step 12: Calibrate your screen

Adjusting the screen for brightness, contrast and color as natural as possible has always been a sensitive, if not impossible without the help of appropriate equipment.

Now Windows 7 incorporates an adjustment wizard as effective as simple to use.

Open the Start menu, CALIB key and select Calibrate your Display Color. There are no more than, follow the wizard step by step!

[TechyGuy]

Step 13: Burn the ISO directly

Now that you no longer need to install a tool like "ISO Recorder" or a real burning software to produce a CD or DVD from an ISO image.

Indeed, Windows Explorer 7 runs directly burning ISO:

• Open Windows Explorer
  
• Navigate to the ISO file to a CD or DVD
  
• Insert a blank CD/DVD in the recorder
  
• Click the right button on the ISO file
  
• Select Burn Disc Image from the contextual menu

Step 14: Zoom into a key

Windows 7 incorporates a feature extremely convenient and efficient.

To activate the zoom, just press the key combination [Windows] + [+] (you must actually use the [=], because Windows considers the [+] the top row of the primary keyboard).


Step 15: Create a CD repair

A hardware problem or a system failure (let's not forget that this is only a Beta 1) can lead to a system unable to restart.

Fortunately, Windows 7 has the functions of repair capabilities. You can use the installation DVD to access it, or better yet, enjoy the moment your machine works to create a real DVD repair.

• Insert a blank CD into the drive
  
• Open the Start menu (by pressing button [Windows] for example)
  
• Enter repair and select Create a Disc Repair System.
  
• Click on Create Disc.

[TechyGuy]

For all users who have retained their installation on Windows 7, here are five new advanced tricks to discover the new Windows in a more technical perspective.


Step 16: A new System Restore

System Restore is the famous feature (created with Windows Me and XP) that allows you to go back in time and restore the system as it was a few days, weeks or months before.

In Windows Vista, System Restore can also activate the "previous versions" that allows to store multiple versions of a document in the same time on the editions of "Professional" and "Ultimate" of Vista. Unfortunately, under Vista, if it decides to move from the recovery system, it must also do without the "Previous Versions".

With Windows 7, the two features are somewhat decoupled. It could indeed turn off System Restore while maintaining the mechanism of conservation of previous versions of documents and user files. This is especially useful if you pay attention to use the system on a dedicated partition (eg partition C: ) and you put all your personal data on a different partition (eg partition D: ). Not only is this principle allows to reinstall Windows without worrying about data and personal files, but it also allows to fully exploit the potential of the new System Restore!

- Open the Start menu and right click on Computer and select Properties

- Click in the left pane of System Protection

- Click on the C: drive and then click Configure. Make sure "Restore system settings and previous versions of files" is selected (after all, System Restore is still a good practice). Validate by OK.

- Click on the D: drive and then click Configure. Check the option "Only restore previous versions of files". Depending on your free disk space, adjust the slider to High Usage retain more versions of files. Validate by OK.

[TechyGuy]

Step 17: Supervision of the Advanced Memory

Vista has, in his time, introduces a powerful tool for monitoring system called perfomances PerfMon.

With Windows 7, Microsoft has separated the functions of analyzing the performance of the functions of monitoring resources. Thus, the former "Perfmon/res" is a command to a full Windows 7: RESMON.

ResMon is quite similar to the tool for resource monitoring of Vista, but the information delivered is even more complete and are presented graphically. This is particularly true of any memory management.

- Open the Start menu (key [Windows])

- Enter RESMON in the search box and validate by [Enter]

- The Overview tab is very similar to the display of Vista PerfMon.

- The CPU tab to monitor the total occupation of CPU, the occupation of the CPU by all services, and check graphically what part of a program or set of programs in the consumption CPU. This is very useful, particularly for control by example the occupation of a suite of security usually consists of several programs and services.

- The Disk and Network tabs speak for themselves and differed little from the Vista version. Note however that the network analysis of the "Network" is quite complete, with a complete analysis of the activity, details of the use of TCP connections and the list of ports enabled.

- The Memory tab is the most innovative. It indicates the amount of memory reserved by the hardware, the amount of memory used, the amount of memory frequently modified, the memory setting "Standby" in the system and left open.

[TechyGuy]

Step 18: Create and mount a VHD file

The VHD format is a virtual disk format defined by Microsoft and incorporated by all players in the market for virtualization. In particular, it is supported by Virtual PC, Hyper V, VMware and VirtualBox.

With Windows 7, we can directly create a new virtual disk (which is in the form of a file to the host system) and can also mount it in order to read and write it as if it 's a normal disc. This simplifies the interaction between host systems and virtualized systems. But with Windows 7, it can also restart the PC rather than a physical disk but on a virtual disk, which will simplify some multiboot scenarios.

To create a virtual disk

- Open the Start menu
- Right click on Computer and select Manage
- Click on Disk Management
- In the Action menu, click Create VHD
- Define a location for the virtual disk file, size and type (Dynamic/Fixed)
- Select the disk mounted automatically in error in the list below
- Click the right button on it and select Initialize
- Click on the space adjacent the right button and select New Simple Volume
- Proceed with formatting.

To mount a virtual disk

- Open the Start menu
- Right click on Computer and select Manage
- Click on Disk Management
- In the Action menu, click Attach VHD
- Specify the location of the VHD file on your hard
- Note that you can mount a VHD disc read-only!

To boot from a ramdisk

- You can not boot a VHD virtual disk if it contains a Windows 7 or Windows Server R2, the system booted to natively support the VHD disk attachment.
- There are several ways to boot a VHD, but the easiest is to start the command line interface and then enter the command:

bcdedit /export c:\sauvebcd
bcdedit /copy {default} /d "Windows 7 on VHD"

the command returns a GUID to use in the 2 following commands:

bcdedit /set {GUID} device vhd=[E:]\demowin7.vhd
bcdedit /set {GUID} osdevice vhd=[E:]\demowin7.vhd
Exit

Now run "msconfig" from the Start menu to see that the setup has been validated and identify possible VHD as the default boot!

[TechyGuy]

Step 19: Discover the new Media Center

The new Media Center essentially of ergonomic and functional differences very subtle with that of Vista.

It is connected to a very practical gadget automatically added to the desktop when you first make a TV recording.

This gadget not only launches Media Center, but mostly displays the list of recent recordings and makes it faster.

- Connect a TV tuner card or TNT card
- Set Media Center using the wizard
- Make a program through the guide and a manual
- If no gadget ERM appears on the desktop, right click on it and select Gadgets, then drop the Media Center gadget on the desktop.


Another new outstanding display during playback of music draws heavily on the findings of ergonomic software ZUNE PLAYER.

- Open Windows Media Center
- Go to the Music
- Select an album and press
- Select Play Album, and admire the collections of albums present and display the effects that vary over time
- Select Play Pictures: Media Center displays thumbnails of your photos all over the screen and then starts to zoom alternately one or the other with effects fade in color very successful. It is beautiful and at the same time high class ... A feast for the eyes!

[TechyGuy]

Step 20: Remove Link Send Feedback

By default, the version of Windows 7 Beta systematically on each window provides Send Feedback link that allows any time to beta testers to report bugs or suggest improvements to Microsoft. But if you use Windows 7 Beta now on a daily basis, this link is disturbing because it often triggers the feature by mistake trying to catch the window to move it. In addition, a link to the night screenshots.

Here's how to avoid the display (since reporting to Microsoft still available from the icon "Send Feedback" from the office):

- Open the Start menu (by pressing [Windows] button)

- Type regedit in the search box and validate by [Enter]

- Deploy the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

- Create a "DWORD" named FeedbackToolEnabled if it does not exist

- Change this value by double-clicking on it to place its data to 0.

- Close your session and reopen it to complete the change.