Search Results

Search found 61576 results on 2464 pages for 'windows 7 tips'.

Page 7/2464 | < Previous Page | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14  | Next Page >

  • Add "My Dropbox" to Your Windows 7 Start Menu

    - by The Geek
    Over here at How-To Geek, we’re huge fans of Dropbox, the amazingly fast online file sync utility, but we’d be even happier if we could natively add it to the Windows 7 Start Menu, where it belongs. And today, that’s what we’ll do. Yep, that’s right. You can add it to the Start Menu… using a silly hack to the Libraries feature and renaming the Recorded TV library to a different name. It’s not a perfect solution, but you can access your Dropbox folder this way and it just seems to belong there. First things first, head into the Customize Start Menu panel by right-clicking on the start menu and using Properties, then make sure that Recorded TV is set to “Display as a link”. Next, right-click on Recorded TV, choose Rename, and then change it to something else like My Dropbox.   Now you’ll want to right-click on that button again, and choose Properties, where you’ll see the Library locations in the list… the general idea is that you want to remove Recorded TV, and then add your Dropbox folder. Oh, and you’ll probably want to make sure to set “Optimize this library for” to “General Items”. At this point, you can just click on My Dropbox, and you’ll see, well, Your Dropbox! (no surprise there). Yeah, I know, it’s totally a hack. But it’s a very useful one! Also, if you aren’t already using Dropbox, you should really check it out—2 GB for free, accessible via the web from anywhere, and you can sync to multiple desktops. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Use the Windows Key for the "Start" Menu in Ubuntu LinuxAccess Your Dropbox Files in Google ChromeSpeed up Windows Vista Start Menu Search By Limiting ResultsPin Any Folder to the Vista Start Menu the Easy WayEnable "Pin to Start Menu" for Folders in Windows Vista / XP TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Classic Cinema Online offers 100’s of OnDemand Movies OutSync will Sync Photos of your Friends on Facebook and Outlook Windows 7 Easter Theme YoWindoW, a real time weather screensaver Optimize your computer the Microsoft way Stormpulse provides slick, real time weather data

    Read the article

  • Windows 7 x64 "upgrade" repair fails

    - by Polynomial
    I've been running into issues with Windows Update, which I can't seem to fix. The hotfixes don't work, nor does the Windows update readyness tool, or the manual SP1 upgrade. I get various esoteric errors which nobody seems to have a fix for. Looks like some of the update cache is corrupt and digital signatures seem to be broken on some packages / Windows Update components. Long story short, I have discovered the only option is to do a repair operation on the OS, to repair everything. It's so corrupt that only a complete replacement will fix it. According to various sources (including MSKB) one can perform a repair by running an in-place upgrade. I've got the Windows 7 Ultimate retail disc, which I've inserted into my machine. I ran setup.exe and went through in the following order: Install now Go online to get latest updates (I've also tried not getting updates) Wait for updates to be downloaded Select Windows 7 Ultimate (x64 architecture) and click next Accept the T&Cs, click next Click Upgrade At this point it spends a minute on the "checking compatibility" screen, after which I get the following error: The following issues are preventing Windows from upgrading. Cancel the upgrade, complete each task, and then restart the upgrade to continue. You can’t upgrade 64-bit Windows to a 32-bit version of Windows. To upgrade, obtain a 64-bit version of the installation disc, or go online to see how to install Windows 7 and keep your files and settings. 32-bit Windows cannot be upgraded to a 64-bit version of Windows. To upgrade, obtain a 32-bit version of the Windows installation disc. It also mentions a warning about potential conflicts with a storage driver and VS2010, but that doesn't seem to be the blocking issue. My currently installed version of Windows is Ultimate 64-bit (absolutely sure of this) and the disc is definitely a x86 / x64 combined Ultimate retail disc. There seem to be a few people who have run into this (e.g. this question), but I've not seen any answers. I've checked the event viewer, but can't spot anything in there that's related. Any idea how I can get this working? P.S: Just to pre-empt the inevitable "are you suuuuuuuuuuuuure it's x64 Ultimate?" questions:

    Read the article

  • How to Change and Manually Start and Stop Automatic Maintenance in Windows 8

    - by Lori Kaufman
    Windows 8 has a new feature that allows you to automatically run scheduled daily maintenance on your computer. These maintenance tasks run in the background and include security updating and scanning, Windows software updates, disk defragmentation, system diagnostics, among other tasks. We’ve previously shown you how to automate maintenance in Windows 7, Vista, and XP. Windows 8 maintenance is automatic by default and the performance and energy efficiency has been improved over Windows 7. The program for Windows 8 automatic maintenance is called MSchedExe.exe and it is located in the C:\Windows\System32 directory. We will show you how you can change the automatic maintenance settings in Windows 8 and how you can start and stop the maintenance manually. NOTE: It seems that you cannot turn off the automatic maintenance in Windows 8. You can only change the settings and start and stop it manually. Can Dust Actually Damage My Computer? What To Do If You Get a Virus on Your Computer Why Enabling “Do Not Track” Doesn’t Stop You From Being Tracked

    Read the article

  • Windows Azure End to End Examples

    - by BuckWoody
    I’m fascinated by the way people learn. I’m told there are several methods people use to understand new information, from reading to watching, from experiencing to exploring. Personally, I use multiple methods of learning when I encounter a new topic, usually starting with reading a bit about the concepts. I quickly want to put those into practice, however, especially in the technical realm. I immediately look for examples where I can start trying out the concepts. But I often want a “real” example – not just something that represents the concept, but something that is real-world, showing some feature I could actually use. And it’s no different with the Windows Azure platform – I like finding things I can do now, and actually use. So when I started learning Windows Azure, I of course began with the Windows Azure Training Kit – which has lots of examples and labs, presentations and so on. But from there, I wanted more examples I could learn from, and eventually teach others with. I was asked if I would write a few of those up, so here are the ones I use. CodePlex CodePlex is Microsoft’s version of an “Open Source” repository. Anyone can start a project, add code, documentation and more to it and make it available to the world, free of charge, using various licenses as they wish. Microsoft also uses this location for most of the examples we publish, and sample databases for SQL Server. If you search in CodePlex for “Azure”, you’ll come back with a list of projects that folks have posted, including those of us at Microsoft. The source code and documentation are there, so you can learn using actual examples of code that will do what you need. There’s everything from a simple table query to a full project that is sort of a “Corporate Dropbox” that uses Windows Azure Storage. The advantage is that this code is immediately usable. It’s searchable, and you can often find a complete solution to meet your needs. The disadvantage is that the code is pretty specific – it may not cover a huge project like you’re looking for. Also, depending on the author(s), you might not find the documentation level you want. Link: http://azureexamples.codeplex.com/site/search?query=Azure&ac=8    Tailspin Microsoft Patterns and Practices is a group here that does an amazing job at sharing standard ways of doing IT – from operations to coding. If you’re not familiar with this resource, make sure you read up on it. Long before I joined Microsoft I used their work in my daily job – saved a ton of time. It has resources not only for Windows Azure but other Microsoft software as well. The Patterns and Practices group also publishes full books – you can buy these, but many are also online for free. There’s an end-to-end example for Windows Azure using a company called “Tailspin”, and the work covers not only the code but the design of the full solution. If you really want to understand the thought that goes into a Platform-as-a-Service solution, this is an excellent resource. The advantages are that this is a book, it’s complete, and it includes a discussion of design decisions. The disadvantage is that it’s a little over a year old – and in “Cloud” years that’s a lot. So many things have changed, improved, and have been added that you need to treat this as a resource, but not the only one. Still, highly recommended. Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff728592.aspx Azure Stock Trader Sometimes you need a mix of a CodePlex-style application, and a little more detail on how it was put together. And it would be great if you could actually play with the completed application, to see how it really functions on the actual platform. That’s the Azure Stock Trader application. There’s a place where you can read about the application, and then it’s been published to Windows Azure – the production platform – and you can use it, explore, and see how it performs. I use this application all the time to demonstrate Windows Azure, or a particular part of Windows Azure. The advantage is that this is an end-to-end application, and online as well. The disadvantage is that it takes a bit of self-learning to work through.  Links: Learn it: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/bb499684 Use it: https://azurestocktrader.cloudapp.net/

    Read the article

  • Use Drive Mirroring for Instant Backup in Windows 7

    - by Trevor Bekolay
    Even with the best backup solution, a hard drive crash means you’ll lose a few hours of work. By enabling drive mirroring in Windows 7, you’ll always have an up-to-date copy of your data. Windows 7’s mirroring – which is only available in Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions – is a software implementation of RAID 1, which means that two or more disks are holding the exact same data. The files are constantly kept in sync, so that if one of the disks fails, you won’t lose any data. Note that mirroring is not technically a backup solution, because if you accidentally delete a file, it’s gone from both hard disks (though you may be able to recover the file). As an additional caveat, having mirrored disks requires changing them to “dynamic disks,” which can only be read within modern versions of Windows (you may have problems working with a dynamic disk in other operating systems or in older versions of Windows). See this Wikipedia page for more information. You will need at least one empty disk to set up disk mirroring. We’ll show you how to mirror an existing disk (of equal or lesser size) without losing any data on the mirrored drive, and how to set up two empty disks as mirrored copies from the get-go. Mirroring an Existing Drive Click on the start button and type partitions in the search box. Click on the Create and format hard disk partitions entry that shows up. Alternatively, if you’ve disabled the search box, press Win+R to open the Run window and type in: diskmgmt.msc The Disk Management window will appear. We’ve got a small disk, labeled OldData, that we want to mirror in a second disk of the same size. Note: The disk that you will use to mirror the existing disk must be unallocated. If it is not, then right-click on it and select Delete Volume… to mark it as unallocated. This will destroy any data on that drive. Right-click on the existing disk that you want to mirror. Select Add Mirror…. Select the disk that you want to use to mirror the existing disk’s data and press Add Mirror. You will be warned that this process will change the existing disk from basic to dynamic. Note that this process will not delete any data on the disk! The new disk will be marked as a mirror, and it will starting copying data from the existing drive to the new one. Eventually the drives will be synced up (it can take a while), and any data added to the E: drive will exist on both physical hard drives. Setting Up Two New Drives as Mirrored If you have two new equal-sized drives, you can format them to be mirrored copies of each other from the get-go. Open the Disk Management window as described above. Make sure that the drives are unallocated. If they’re not, and you don’t need the data on either of them, right-click and select Delete volume…. Right-click on one of the unallocated drives and select New Mirrored Volume…. A wizard will pop up. Click Next. Click on the drives you want to hold the mirrored data and click Add. Note that you can add any number of drives. Click Next. Assign it a drive letter that makes sense, and then click Next. You’re limited to using the NTFS file system for mirrored drives, so enter a volume label, enable compression if you want, and then click Next. Click Finish to start formatting the drives. You will be warned that the new drives will be converted to dynamic disks. And that’s it! You now have two mirrored drives. Any files added to E: will reside on both physical disks, in case something happens to one of them. Conclusion While the switch from basic to dynamic disks can be a problem for people who dual-boot into another operating system, setting up drive mirroring is an easy way to make sure that your data can be recovered in case of a hard drive crash. Of course, even with drive mirroring, we advocate regular backups to external drives or online backup services. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Rebit Backup Software [Review]Disabling Instant Search in Outlook 2007Restore Files from Backups on Windows Home ServerSecond Copy 7 [Review]Backup Windows Home Server Folders to an External Hard Drive TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Snagit 10 VMware Workstation 7 Acronis Online Backup Windows Firewall with Advanced Security – How To Guides Sculptris 1.0, 3D Drawing app AceStock, a Tiny Desktop Quote Monitor Gmail Button Addon (Firefox) Hyperwords addon (Firefox) Backup Outlook 2010

    Read the article

  • Will an app made for windows store support WindowsRT, windows8 and windows 8 mobile?

    - by AnhSirk Dasarp
    I am very much confused about these. I would like to develop app for windows 8 , Windows RT , and windows mobile. I have windows 8 OS installed in my laptop. As far as I know, Windows RT is for ARM based devices. HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS: I develop an app, and put in windows store. Will that can be downloaded from a ARM based device ,which runs on Windows RT, AND from a windows 8 laptop , and same from a Windows 8 mobile? OR should it be different apps ?

    Read the article

  • Windows Azure End to End Examples

    - by BuckWoody
    I’m fascinated by the way people learn. I’m told there are several methods people use to understand new information, from reading to watching, from experiencing to exploring. Personally, I use multiple methods of learning when I encounter a new topic, usually starting with reading a bit about the concepts. I quickly want to put those into practice, however, especially in the technical realm. I immediately look for examples where I can start trying out the concepts. But I often want a “real” example – not just something that represents the concept, but something that is real-world, showing some feature I could actually use. And it’s no different with the Windows Azure platform – I like finding things I can do now, and actually use. So when I started learning Windows Azure, I of course began with the Windows Azure Training Kit – which has lots of examples and labs, presentations and so on. But from there, I wanted more examples I could learn from, and eventually teach others with. I was asked if I would write a few of those up, so here are the ones I use. CodePlex CodePlex is Microsoft’s version of an “Open Source” repository. Anyone can start a project, add code, documentation and more to it and make it available to the world, free of charge, using various licenses as they wish. Microsoft also uses this location for most of the examples we publish, and sample databases for SQL Server. If you search in CodePlex for “Azure”, you’ll come back with a list of projects that folks have posted, including those of us at Microsoft. The source code and documentation are there, so you can learn using actual examples of code that will do what you need. There’s everything from a simple table query to a full project that is sort of a “Corporate Dropbox” that uses Windows Azure Storage. The advantage is that this code is immediately usable. It’s searchable, and you can often find a complete solution to meet your needs. The disadvantage is that the code is pretty specific – it may not cover a huge project like you’re looking for. Also, depending on the author(s), you might not find the documentation level you want. Link: http://azureexamples.codeplex.com/site/search?query=Azure&ac=8    Tailspin Microsoft Patterns and Practices is a group here that does an amazing job at sharing standard ways of doing IT – from operations to coding. If you’re not familiar with this resource, make sure you read up on it. Long before I joined Microsoft I used their work in my daily job – saved a ton of time. It has resources not only for Windows Azure but other Microsoft software as well. The Patterns and Practices group also publishes full books – you can buy these, but many are also online for free. There’s an end-to-end example for Windows Azure using a company called “Tailspin”, and the work covers not only the code but the design of the full solution. If you really want to understand the thought that goes into a Platform-as-a-Service solution, this is an excellent resource. The advantages are that this is a book, it’s complete, and it includes a discussion of design decisions. The disadvantage is that it’s a little over a year old – and in “Cloud” years that’s a lot. So many things have changed, improved, and have been added that you need to treat this as a resource, but not the only one. Still, highly recommended. Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff728592.aspx Azure Stock Trader Sometimes you need a mix of a CodePlex-style application, and a little more detail on how it was put together. And it would be great if you could actually play with the completed application, to see how it really functions on the actual platform. That’s the Azure Stock Trader application. There’s a place where you can read about the application, and then it’s been published to Windows Azure – the production platform – and you can use it, explore, and see how it performs. I use this application all the time to demonstrate Windows Azure, or a particular part of Windows Azure. The advantage is that this is an end-to-end application, and online as well. The disadvantage is that it takes a bit of self-learning to work through.  Links: Learn it: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/bb499684 Use it: https://azurestocktrader.cloudapp.net/

    Read the article

  • Windows 8 permissions vs Windows 7 [closed]

    - by Saturn2888
    Possible Duplicate: How do I disable administrator prompt in Windows 8? When I upgraded from Windows 7 Pro 64-bit to Windows 8 Pro 64-bit, I noticed some permissions issues extremely problematic to my using the OS. When running Windows 7 or Vista with UAC off, I was able to navigate around the filesystem as if I was on Windows XP and prior such that I didn't have to run as administrator and could copy and edit files wherever I wanted. In Windows 8, turning off UAC no longer does this. Does anyone know how to get Windows 8's permissions to act like Windows 7 and Vista when UAC is disabled? NOTE: I did a clean install on my laptop with Windows 8, and it has the same issues.

    Read the article

  • Windows 8 Upgrade : From Windows 7 Trial

    - by Golmaal
    This is a bit complicated it seems. I own Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit (Retail). It was okay, but around a couple of weeks ago I had some system crash and at that time I decided that I will install Windows 8 as soon as it comes out. However, because of some problems in Vista, at the time of crash, I installed Windows 7 trial. I had some urgent work to do which I accomplished and then I switched the PC off. Now I have purchased Windows 8 Pro Upgrade ($40 version). If I go for a clean install, will it be able to install Windows 8 on not-activated Windows 7? During activation, if it asks for Vista serial number, I can provide it. Or will I first have to install Vista and then only it will allow me to install Windows 8? Also, I used the Upgrade Assistant to download Windows 8 on my laptop (Windows 7 OEM). Will it work on my above mentioned desktop?

    Read the article

  • How to make a folder (D:\xyz) accessible to only me in Windows-XP?

    - by claws
    Hello, I'm using Windows XP on my lab computer. There is a global folder (d:\xyz). This is my folder and I want this folder to be accessible to only me. It should be invisible even if it is visible they shouldn't be able to open this folder. For now my account has administrative privilages. After few days, I don't know if the Admin lets me have these privilages or not. I heard that soon our XP machines will be upgraded to either vista or windows 7. Will the method of making folder in accessible change for other Windows OSes? How to accomplish this?

    Read the article

  • Grub2 -- Dualboot Ubuntu LTS 12.04 and Windows 7 -- Detects two Windows 7 (loader) entries

    - by DarkIron112
    this is the first question I have ever asked the Ubuntu Community. :D I'm fairly new to Ubuntu, but I understand the basics and know how to navigate the Terminal. I also know how to ask for/research my problems before asking for/ help. I have scoured the internet high and low and learned much of how Grub2 works. But nothing has helped me to solve my problem. My problem is this: I have a computer that has three hard drives. It previously had Windows XP, but I upgraded to Windows 7. I also installed Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin). During my installation of Windows 7, there was a failure and I had to restart the installation. Afterwards, I installed Ubuntu. After some trouble removing all traces of the XP OS (Ubuntu auto-detected it, but not Windows 7) I got the two OSes working flawlessly. Or, almost. When booting up, Grub2 used to display Ubuntu, Ubuntu Recovery Mode, Other Versions of Linux, memtest, followed by "Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sda1" and "Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sdb1". I eventually removed Recovery Mode, Other Versions, and Memtest. Now, when I run: sudo update-grub I get this print-out: Generating grub.cfg ... Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-26-generic Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.2.0-26-generic Found Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sda1 Found Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sdb1 I would like to remove "Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sda1", as it is a broken entry that shouldn't exist, and must have been installed during my first Windows 7 attempt. I cannot find a Windows 7 entry in /etc/grub.d... And I don't know where to look. Here is a layout of my hard drives: /dev/sda1/ (1.82 TiB), NTFS ("Media") /dev/sdb1/ (100 Mib), NTFS ("System Reserved") /dev/sdb2/ (149 GiB), NTFS ("Windows 7") /dev/sdb3/ (149 GiB), Extended (" ") /dev/sdb4/ (145 GiB), ext4 (" ") /dev/sdb5/ (4 GiB), linux-swap (" ") /dev/sdc1/ (488.28 GiB), NTFS ("Downloads") /dev/sdc2/ (488.28 GiB), NTFS ("AltMedia") /dev/sdc3/ (886.45 GiB), NTFS ("Personal") unallocated (2.09 MiB), unallocated What I think has happened: Windows 7 installed first and badly. I installed it again. First, there was Windows XP to guide where the bootloader went to so it was put on /dev/sdb1/. But, the second time no such guide existed so the machine put another bootloader on /dev/sda1/. sda1, by the way, is the only partition on a 2TB drive. No boot record partition appears to exist according to gedit. I'm not sure where Grub2 is getting this information from. But, there it is. Is there anything somebody can do to help me? Or, is there any more information I should add? Thank you, community!

    Read the article

  • Triple boot WIndows 7, Windows 8, and Mountain Lion on Macbook Pro

    - by Nathan
    Ok, So I have a bit of a unique situation here I could use some help on. I've modded my summer 2011 MBPro to have 2 harddrives by replacing the optical drive. OSX Mountain Lion is installed on a single partition of a 120GB SSD. The second drive is 750GB, partitioned as 550GB, 150GB, and ~50GB. I've set the 550GB to act as my OSX homefolder, but I'd like to install windows 7 and Windows 8 on the remaining partitions. It Took a while, but by following this guide, I eventually found a way to install Windows without a CD/DVD drive by following this http://huguesval.com/blog/2012/02/installing-windows-7-on-a-mac-without-superdrive-with-virtualbox/ It worked flawlessly for creating both windows 7 and windows 8 images that I could clone onto FAT32 partitions. However, I have encountered a problem when trying to triple boot. After I put Windows 8 onto the ~50GB partition and tried to boot into windows 7 I get an error that says something like: error: 0x0000000e The Boot selection failed because the required device is inaccessible. If I re-clone the windows 7 image onto the drive and select the option to "replace BCD" file for the drive, windows 7 will boot but windows 8 now gives me the same exact error. I realize this is a pretty extensive setup, but if anyone has some insight I'd love to hear it.

    Read the article

  • Error codes 80070490 and 8024200D in Windows Update

    - by Sammy
    How do get past these stupid errors? The way I have set things up is that Windows Update tells me when there are new updates available and then I review them before installing them. Yesterday it told me that there were 11 new updates. So I reviewed them and I saw that about half of them were security updates for Vista x64 and .NET Framework 2.0 SP2, and half of them were just regular updates for Vista x64. I checked them all and hit the Install button. It seemed to work at first, updates were being downloaded and installed, but then at update 11 of 11 total it got stuck and gave me the two error codes you see in the title. Here are some screenshots to give you an idea of what it looks like. This is what it looks like when it presents the updates to me. This is how it looks like when the installation fails. I'm not sure if you're gonna see this very well but these are the updates it's trying to install. Update: This is on Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit with integrated SP2, installed only two weeks ago on 2012-10-02. Aside from this, the install is working flawlessly. I have not done any major changes to the system like installing new devices or drivers. What I have tried so far: - I tried installing the System Update Readiness Tool (the correct one for Vista x64) from Microsoft. This did not solve the issue. Microsoft resource links: Solutions to 80070490 Windows Update error 80070490 System Update Readiness Tool fixes Windows Update errors in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 Solutions to 8024200D: Windows Update error 8024200d Essentially both solutions tell you to install the System Update Readiness Tool for your system. As I have done so and it didn't solve the problem the next step would be to try to repair Windows. Before I do that, is there anything else I can try? Microsoft automatic troubleshooter If I click the automatic troubleshooter link available on the solution web page above it directs me to download a file called windowsupdate.diagcab. But after download this file is not associated to any Windows program. Is this the so called Microsoft Fix It program? It doesn't have its icon, it's just blank file. Does it need to be associated? And to what Windows program?

    Read the article

  • How to boot windows 8 in a dual boot along with windows 7?

    - by GoldDove
    I have installed a WIndows 8 evaluation about a week ago. Usually, it asks me every time I turn on my computer whether to boot into windows 8 or windows 7. The default was windows 8 after 30 seconds. I changed that just yesterday to be default windows 7 after 5 seconds. And after I changed the setting, I went ahead and went into windows 8 and did my work. Today, when I turned on my computer, it is failing to ask me which one to boot it in. It simply boots directly into Windows 7. Is there any reason for this? Can I no longer boot into Windows 8?

    Read the article

  • Transferring a Windows 8 license and proper un- and reinstallation

    - by Kiwi
    Long story short I have two computers: a laptop and a desktop computer. Both have Windows 7 on them. I buy the Windows 8 Pro upgrade. To see if it screws up anything, I install it on my laptop as a guinea pig. I intend to use Windows 8 for my main computer, my desktop, but I want to test it on the laptop, so I know I don’t risk losing access to my desktop and the data on it. I never use my laptop, and only used it, because it already has a Windows 7 installation on it. The problem At some point, I must have entered the license key on my laptop, because when I go to the activation screen on my desktop, I get this: Uh-oh. I can’t use the key on my desktop. Now how the hell do I transfer the key from my laptop to my desktop computer? Answers and suggestions so far Let’s just say that I tried everything possible to get some answers on this matter. The best response I got from Microsoft is this: To install Windows 8 on your desktop, do the following: Uninstall Windows 8 on your laptop Afterwards, install Windows 8 on your desktop If it won’t activate, call product activation at (...) I am not a fan of that last point. The error message does allude to such a solution, however: If you’ve reinstalled Windows or made changes to your hardware recently, you may be able to use your current key. The question My main question is this: has anyone been in a similar situation, and if so, what did you do to resolve this? Failing that, what is the proper way to uninstall the Windows 8 installation on my laptop, and reinstall the Windows 8 installation on my desktop? Ad 1 I have already tried using the “reset” feature on my laptop, but that only resulted in a new Windows 8 installation that was already activated. But which is the right way to uninstall the installation in a way that allows me to use the license key on the desktop computer? Ad 2 Which is the proper way to reinstall the Windows 8 installation on my desktop computer? Why do I even have to reinstall it in the first place? I won’t get around to do this, until my USB key with 3.0 support arrives in the mail, but it is going to be a while, until I find a assuaging response to the best way to go about this anyway.

    Read the article

  • Which Windows 8 edition should I update to from Windows 7 Home Premium?

    - by Max
    I have Windows 7 Home Premium on my laptop, need to upgrade to Windows 8. If there were a Windows 8 Home Premium midway between those two I would've chosen that... but there are only two Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro, so I'm a bit confused, as I don't want the former to be like Windows 7 Basic. My usage is mostly coding, game development, mid-performance gaming and some benchmarking and video editing. Your recommendations please?

    Read the article

  • How to boot windows 8 in a dual boot along with windows 7? [migrated]

    - by GoldDove
    I have installed a WIndows 8 evaluation about a week ago. Usually, it asks me every time I turn on my computer whether to boot into windows 8 or windows 7. The default was windows 8 after 30 seconds. I changed that just yesterday to be default windows 7 after 5 seconds. And after I changed the setting, I went ahead and went into windows 8 and did my work. Today, when I turned on my computer, it is failing to ask me which one to boot it in. It simply boots directly into Windows 7. Is there any reason for this? Can I no longer boot into Windows 8?

    Read the article

  • Update Metadata and Cover Art in Windows Media Player 12

    - by DigitalGeekery
    If you use Windows Media Player 12 in Windows 7, you may notice some of your media is missing information when displayed in the library. Today we look at how to edit and update metadata and cover art in WMP 12. By default, Windows Media Player will pull metadata, such as the title, artist, album, and cover art from the Internet. If you did not accept that default option during setup, we’ll need to turn the feature on first. Select Tools > Options from the top Menu bar. On the Library tab, ensure that Retrieve additional information form the Internet is checked. Click OK. Editing Metadata Now we’re ready to update some files. Find a media file with incorrect details or cover art. Right-click on the title and select Find album info. This will bring up the Find album information window. Here you’ll see the existing information that Windows Media Player interpreted as correct on the left side. The results of  WMP’s search for the media information are on the right. Click on Artists,  Albums , or Tracks to scroll through the search results and try to find a match. You can also type in new keywords in the Search box and hit enter (or click the Search button) to perform a new search.   If you find a correct match for your media file, click to select it and click Next. You’ll be prompted to confirm your selection, then click Finish. You should now see your media file displayed properly in Windows Media Player. Manually Entering Metadata If your search for the correct media information comes up empty, you can always manually enter the information yourself. On the Find album information window, click Edit under Existing Information. You can edit the existing information in the text boxes or the Genre dropdown box. There are a couple hidden text boxes below. Click next to Contributing Artist or Composer to enter that information.   Choosing Your Own Cover Art If your media file doesn’t pull the proper cover art, or if you simply wish to find a different image, you can add your own. Search online for a suitable image. An ideal size would be around 300 x 300 pixels, give or take. Right-click on the image copy the image. You’ll need to switch to Expanded title (if you haven’t already) to paste the image.   Paste your new image by right-clicking on the current image and select Paste album art. Note: If the image is not suitable size or type, the Paste album art option will not be available. Your new cover art will appear in Windows Media Player.   Even though it is pulled from the Internet, cover art is cached on your computer and will still be available when you are disconnected from the Internet. Are you new to Windows Media Player? If so, check out our article on how to Manage your music with Windows Media Player. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Make VLC Player Look like Windows Media Player 11Fixing When Windows Media Player Library Won’t Let You Add FilesMake VLC Player Look like Windows Media Player 10Add Images and Metadata to Windows 7 Media Center Movie LibraryMake VLC Player Look like Winamp 5 (Kinda) TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Awe inspiring, inter-galactic theme (Win 7) Case Study – How to Optimize Popular Wordpress Sites Restore Hidden Updates in Windows 7 & Vista Iceland an Insurance Job? Find Downloads and Add-ins for Outlook Recycle !

    Read the article

  • Create Music Playlists in Windows 7 Media Center

    - by DigitalGeekery
    One of the new features in Windows 7 Media Center is the ability to easily create music playlists without using Media Player. Today we’ll take a closer look at how to create them directly in Media Center. Create Manual Playlists Open Windows Media Center and select the Music Library. From within the Music Library, choose playlists from the top menu.   Then select Create Playlist. Give your new playlist a name, and select Next. Choose Music Library and select Next.    Select “songs” from the top menu, choose the songs for your playlist from your library, and select Next when finished. You can also click Select All to add all songs to your playlist, or clear all to remove them. Note: you can also sort by artist, album, genre, etc. from the top menu.   Now you can review and edit your playlist. Click the up and down pointers to move songs up and down in the playlist, or “X” to remove them. You can also go back and add additional songs by selecting Add More. Click Create when you are finished.   Auto Playlists Windows Media Center also allows you to create six different auto playlists. These are dynamic playlists based on pre-defined criteria. Auto Playlists include All Music, Music added in the last month, Music auto rated at 5 stars, Music played in the last month, Music played the most, and Music rated 4 or 5 stars. These Auto Playlists will change dynamically as your library and listening habits change. Your new music playlists can be found under playlists in the music library. Select play playlist to start the music. Now kick back and enjoy the music from your playlist. Conclusion While earlier versions of WMC allowed you to create playlists, you had to do it through Windows Media Player. This is a nice new feature for music lovers who use WMC and prefer to do everything with a remote. Do you already have playlists that you’ve created in Windows Media Player? Windows Media Center can play those too. If your playlists are in the default Music folder, Media Center will detect them automatically and add them to your Music Library. Plus, any playlists you create in Media Center are also available for Media Player. For more on creating Playlists in Media Player, check out our previous articles on how to create a custom playlist in Windows Media Player 12, and how to create auto playlists in WMP 12. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips How To Rip a Music CD in Windows 7 Media CenterCreate Custom Playlists in Windows Media Player 12Using Netflix Watchnow in Windows Vista Media Center (Gmedia)How to Create Auto Playlists in Windows Media Player 12Fixing When Windows Media Player Library Won’t Let You Add Files TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Xobni Plus for Outlook All My Movies 5.9 CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Snagit 10 How to Forecast Weather, without Gadgets Outlook Tools, one stop tweaking for any Outlook version Zoofs, find the most popular tweeted YouTube videos Video preview of new Windows Live Essentials 21 Cursor Packs for XP, Vista & 7 Map the Stars with Stellarium

    Read the article

  • Make Text and Images Easier to Read with the Windows 7 Magnifier

    - by DigitalGeekery
    Do you have impaired vision or find it difficult to read small print on your computer screen? Today, we’ll take a closer look at how to magnify that hard to read content with the Magnifier in Windows 7. Magnifier was available in previous versions of Windows, but the Windows 7 version comes with some notable improvements. There are now three screen modes in Magnifier. Full Screen and Lens mode, however, require Windows Aero to be enabled. If your computer doesn’t support Aero, or if you’re not using am Aero theme, Magnifier will only work in Docked mode. Using Magnifier in Windows 7 You can find the Magnifier by going to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Ease of Access > Magnifier.   Alternately, you can type magnifier into the Search box in the Start Menu and hit Enter. On the Magnifier toolbar, choose your View mode by clicking Views and choosing from the available options. Clicking the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons will zoom in or zoom out. You can change the zoom in/out percentage by adjusting the slider bar. You can also enable color inversion and select tracking options. Click OK when finished to save your settings.   After a brief period, the Magnifier Toolbar will switch to a magnifying glass icon. Simply click the magnifying glass to display the Magnifier Toolbar again.   Docked Mode In Docked mode, a portion of the screen is magnified and docked at the top of the screen. The rest of your desktop will remain in it’s normal state. You can then control which area of the screen is magnified by moving your mouse.   Full Screen Mode This magnifies your entire screen and follows your mouse as you move it around. If you loose track of where you are on the screen, use the Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar shortcut to preview where your mouse pointer is on the screen.   Lens Mode The Lens screen mode is similar to holding a magnifying glass up to your screen. Full screen mode magnifies the area around the mouse. The magnified area moves around the screen with your mouse.    Shortcut Keys Windows key + (+) to zoom in Windows key + (-) to zoom out Windows key + ESC to exit Ctrl + Alt + F – Full screen mode Ctrl + Alt + L – Lens mode Ctrl + Alt + D – Dock mode Ctrl + Alt + R – Resize the lens Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar – Preview full screen Conclusion Windows Magnifier is a nice little tool if you have impaired vision or just need to make items on the screen easier to read. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips New Features in WordPad and Paint in Windows 7How-To Geek on Lifehacker: How to Make Windows Vista Less AnnoyingUsing Comments in Word 2007 DocumentsMake Your PC Look Like Windows Phone 7Use Image Placeholders to Display Documents Faster in Word TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips HippoRemote Pro 2.2 Xobni Plus for Outlook All My Movies 5.9 CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Windows Media Player Plus! – Cool WMP Enhancer Get Your Team’s World Cup Schedule In Google Calendar Backup Drivers With Driver Magician TubeSort: YouTube Playlist Organizer XPS file format & XPS Viewer Explained Microsoft Office Web Apps Guide

    Read the article

  • How To Disable Control Panel in Windows 7

    - by Mysticgeek
    If you have a shared computer that your family and friends can access, you might not want them to mess around in the Control Panel, and luckily with a simple tweak you can disable it. Disable Control Panel with Group Policy Note: This process uses Local Group Policy Editor which is not available in Home versions of Windows 7. Skip down below for the registry hack version that works on Home editions as well. First type gpedit.msc into the Search box in the Start menu and hit Enter. When Local Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to User Configuration \ Administrative Templates then select Control Panel in the left Column. In the right column double-click on Prohibit access to the Control Panel. In the next window, select Enable, click OK, then close out of Local Group Policy Editor. After the Control Panel is disabled, you’ll notice it’s no longer listed in the Start Menu. If the user tries to type Control Panel into the Search box in the Start menu, they will get the following message indicating it’s restricted. Disable Control Panel with a Registry Tweak You can also tweak the Registry to disable Control Panel. This will work with all versions of Windows 7, Vista, and XP. Making changes in the Registry is not recommended for beginners and you should create a Restore Point, or backup the Registry before making any changes. Type regedit into the Search box in the Start menu and hit Enter. In Registry Editor navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer. Then right-click in the right pane and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the value NoControlPanel. Then right-click on the new Value and click Modify…   In the Value data field change the value to “1” then click OK. Close out of Registry Editor and restart the machine to complete the process. When you get back from reboot, you’ll notice Control Panel is no longer listed in the Start menu. If a user tries to access it by typing Control Panel into the Search box in the Start menu… They will get the following message indicating it is restricted, just like if you were to disable it via Group Policy. If you want to re-enable the Control Panel, go back into the Registry and change the NoControlPanel value back to “0” then reboot the computer. This comes in handy if you have inexperienced users working on your machine and don’t want them messing with Control Panel settings. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Disable User Account Control (UAC) the Easy Way on Win 7 or VistaStill Useful in Vista: Startup Control PanelRestore Missing Items in Windows Vista Control PanelHow To Manage Action Center in Windows 7New Vista Syntax for Opening Control Panel Items from the Command-line TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Home Networks – How do they look like & the problems they cause Check Your IMAP Mail Offline In Thunderbird Follow Finder Finds You Twitter Users To Follow Combine MP3 Files Easily QuicklyCode Provides Cheatsheets & Other Programming Stuff Download Free MP3s from Amazon

    Read the article

  • 7 Ways Modern Windows 8 Apps Are Different From Windows Desktop Apps

    - by Chris Hoffman
    Windows 8 apps – originally known as Metro-style apps and now known as Windows 8 style, Modern UI style, or Windows Store style apps, depending on which Microsoft employee you ask — are very different from traditional desktop apps. The Modern interface isn’t just a fresh coat of paint. The new Windows Runtime, or WinRT, application architecture (not to be confused with Windows RT) is very different from the Windows desktop we’re used to. How To Delete, Move, or Rename Locked Files in Windows HTG Explains: Why Screen Savers Are No Longer Necessary 6 Ways Windows 8 Is More Secure Than Windows 7

    Read the article

  • Stop Your Mouse from Waking Up Your Windows 7 Computer

    - by The Geek
    If you use Sleep Mode on your PC, have you ever noticed that moving your mouse will wake the computer from sleep mode? If you would prefer to only have the PC wake up when you hit a key instead, there’s a simple tweak. Just type Mouse into the start menu search box, or the Control Panel search box, and then open up the Mouse Properties panel. Find the Hardware tab, select your mouse in the list, and then click the Properties button. You’ll have to click the “Change settings” button before you can see the Power Management tab… And now, you can uncheck the box from “Allow this device to wake the computer”. That’s all there is to it. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Stop the Mouse From Waking Up Your Computer from Sleep ModeFix "Sleep Mode Randomly Waking Up" Issue in Windows VistaTemporarily Disable Windows Update’s Automatic Reboot in Win7 or VistaDisable Aero Snap (the Mouse Drag Window Arranging Feature in Windows 7)New Year’s Resolutions: Use Your Computer as an Alarm Clock the Easy Way TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Office 2010 Product Guides Google Maps Place marks – Pizza, Guns or Strip Clubs Monitor Applications With Kiwi LocPDF is a Visual PDF Search Tool Download Free iPad Wallpapers at iPad Decor Get Your Delicious Bookmarks In Firefox’s Awesome Bar

    Read the article

  • Create Windows Bootloader/Boot into Windows from Ubuntu

    - by Kincaid
    I have computer that dual-boots (or tri-boots) Windows 8 Release Preview, Windows 7, and Ubuntu 12.04. Grub boots between Windows 8 and Ubuntu; for which I use primarily. Recently, I have decided I wanted to remove Ubuntu, as I hardly used it. As a stupid mistake, I deleted the Ubuntu partition before changing the bootloader to replace Grub. Whenever I know boot the machine, it gives me the "grub-rescue" prompt -- I am unable to boot into either Windows (8 nor 7), nor Ubuntu (except via USB, of course). I do not have any Windows 7/8 recovery media, so that isn't an option. Please note that after I deleted the Ubuntu partition, I put the PC into hibernate, and then turned it on. This means the C:\ [Windows 8] drive cannot be mounted. I don't know if that is bad, but it definitely doesn't make things better. I am currently booting Ubuntu via USB, in an effort to restore the Windows bootloader solutions. I have looked into using boot-repair to solve the problem using the instructions here, although after attempting to apply the changes, it gave the error: "Please install the [mbr] packages. Then try again." I don't know why I'm getting this error; is there a way to install the 'mbr packages?' I honestly don't know what exactly they are, nor how to install them. Is there any options I have not yet exhausted to be able to boot back into Windows, in the case that there is a better way? In the end, I want to set the bootloader to boot into Windows 8, but booting into either Windows 7 or 8 is fine -- I can use EasyBCD from there. Is there a simple solution to this? I've checked BIOS, and I haven't been able to find a way to boot into Windows. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Read the article

  • Reinstall Acer OEM Windows 8, Windows 8 Recovery for Acer Aspire V5 122p

    - by stwindr
    My Acer Aspire V5-122P-61456G50NSS, model - MS2377, has crashed all together. It came preloaded with Windows 8 and I upgraded to windows 8.1 3-4 days before crash. Unfortunately I did not make any recovery media before the crash. While accessing the eRecovery on Acer store with my PC's serial no. it says nor RCD available for this. I tried recovery by loading recovery manager (Left Alt + F10) Various other advanced startup options (like holding shift key while turning on or pressing F8 key) returns nothing but no luck. However I am able to enter BIOS. After doing research on above condition on various PC forums, now my questions: I read that a 'Windows Recovery Drive' can be made on any PC running Windows 8 and could be used to repair another PC. Does anybody in SuperUser community have that (or a link to download the same from somewhere? as I'm unable to find anybody running windows 8 among my friends). I downloaded a window 8 Pro ISO and made a bootable USB. I was able to go to 'Repair Your Computer' option and after going to 'Reset your PC' option found that my recovery partition has gone/missing. I tried all options available but no luck. Then I tried to install with that Windows 8 Pro ISO but got message: "The product key entered does not match any of the Windows images available for installation. Enter a different product key". before this message I did not got any form to fill product key! Does this mean that the installer was picking up the key from BIOS (OEM Key)? and may be the installation did not succeeded because OEM Windows version was Window 8 and I was trying to install Windows 8 Pro. If that is the case then, could somebody please send me link to download an Windows 8 ISO? I am helpless and couldn't find anywhere on internet (without having to pay for a new key, but I should not pay as the installer will use OEM key).

    Read the article

< Previous Page | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14  | Next Page >