The Best of Windows 7 Secrets E-Book

Paul Thurrott

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 110

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

The Best of Windows 7 Secrets delivers a concise and value-packed punch that includes the most important Windows 7 features that all Windows 7 users need to know. This e-book delivers the most important content on this major Microsoft upgrade to value-minded e-book buyers. Written by well-known Windows experts and excerpted from best-selling Windows 7 Secrets, this book is the go-to guide for every Windows 7 user. The lead author Paul Thurrott runs the SuperSite for Windows (WinSuperSite.com), which has been described by Microsoft as the most influential Windows-oriented Web site in the world. Paul is joined by Rafael Rivera the blogger and programmer behind Within Windows (WithinWindows.com), a blog devoted to the technical internals of Microsoft's Windows operating systems.

Leseprobe

The Best of Windows® 7 Secrets®

Table of Contents

Introduction

Selecting the Right Windows 7 Edition

OEM Versions

Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7

Delaying Product Activation

Hardware and Software Compatibility

Compatibility Mode

What’s New in the Windows 7 User Experience

Customize the new Windows 7 taskbar"

Where’s My Stuff? Finding and Organizing Files

Arranging: The Organizational Advantage of Libraries

Custom Libraries and Saved Searches

Personalizing and Configuring Windows 7

aking It Boot Faster

Windows 7 Security Features

Securing Windows 7 in Just Two Steps

Users, Accounts, and UAC

How UAC Has Changed in Windows 7

Networking and HomeGroup Sharing

HomeGroup Sharing

Complete Your Home Network with Windows Home Server

Document and Media Sharing

Digital Music and Audio

Organizing, Fixing, and Sharing Digital Photos

Playing Photo Slide Shows from the Shell

Digital Videos and DVD Movies

Microsoft Zune: A Digital Media Alternative

Digital Media in the Living Room

Explorer Sports with Windows Media Center

Having Fun: Games and Windows 7

Rating Your System’s Performance

Seven to Go: Windows 7 Mobility Features

Using Windows 7 with a Netbook

Using Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs

Flicks and Gestures

Windows in Your Pocket—Using a Windows Mobile Smartphone

Windows Mobile and Windows 7

Browsing the Web

Toggling Internet Explorer between Full-Screen Mode and Restore

Managing E-mail and Contacts

Using Photo Mail

Managing Your Schedule

Managing Your Schedule with Windows Live Mail

Understanding the Calendar Interface in Windows Live Mail

Understanding Calendar Lingo

Working with Calendars

Understanding Calendar Views and Navigation

Hiding and Viewing Calendars

Your Life in Sync—Windows 7 and Live Services

Beyond Windows Live: The Mesh

Live Mesh Document Sync

Live Mesh Remote Desktop

Keeping Your Data Safe: File and PC Backup

Different Backups, Different Goals

Data Backup

System Image

File Recovery

Troubleshooting and Recovering from Disaster

Getting Help with the Problem Steps Recorder

Using the Windows Recovery Environment

Looking at the Repair Tools

Using Startup Repair to Fix a Non-Booting PC

IT Pro: Windows 7 at Work

BitLocker

BitLocker To Go

The Best of Windows® 7 Secrets®

Paul ThurrottRafael Rivera

Windows® 7 Secrets®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.10475 Crosspoint BoulevardIndianapolis, IN 46256www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-59475-9

Manufactured in the United States of America

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

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About the Authors

The author of over 20 books, Paul Thurrott is a technology analyst for Windows IT Pro and the majordomo of the SuperSite for Windows (http://www.winsupersite.com). He writes a weekly editorial for Windows IT Pro UPDATE (www.windowsitpro.com/email), a daily Windows news and information e-mail newsletter called “WinInfo Daily News” (www.wininformant.com), and a monthly column called “Need to Know” in Windows IT ProMagazine. He also blogs daily via the SuperSite Blog (http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul), posts regularly on Twitter (www.twitter.com/thurrott), and appears weekly in the highly rated and hugely popular Windows Weekly podcast with Leo Laporte (http://www.twit.tv/ww).

Rafael Rivera is a software developer for a VAR 500 company, Telos Corporation, where he works on mission critical systems. He is a Certified Reverse Engineering Analyst (CREA) and takes Windows apart on his blog Within Windows (www.withinwindows.com). He also regularly “tweets” (http://www.twitter.com/withinrafael). Rafael was born on the same day as Windows 1.0—November 20, 1985—which many believe is no coincidence.

Introduction

As a daily user of Amazon's Kindle since the day the first one appeared in late 2007, I'm excited to welcome you to this Kindle-only special edition of Windows 7 Secrets. While it's possible to purchase the standard, 1000-page version of the book in Kindle-compatible eBook format, we thought it might be interesting to provide a more digestible set of excerpts from the book that will get you started with Microsoft's latest operating system. And, if we're doing our jobs correctly, it will provide the incentive to purchase the full book.

One thing I've come to love about my Kindles--and yes, I have more than one--is the instant access to the content I care about most. This, in many ways, was the inspiration behind The Best of Windows 7 Secrets. Here, you'll find some of our favorite insider tips and secrets about Windows 7 and the other Microsoft products and services that make Windows 7 even better. And it's all packaged in a way that is less expensive and easier to cart around than the full book. And heck, if you fall asleep while reading, you won't hurt yourself. Come to think of it, maybe that's what I love most about the Kindle.

Either way, please enjoy The Best of Windows 7 Secrets. And let us know what you think. I have no doubt that the Kindle is the future of publishing, and I'm happy to take this first step with you.

Paul Thurrott

[email protected]

September 2009

Selecting the Right Windows 7 Edition

Users with multiple PCs who are interested in Windows 7 Home Premium might also consider the specially priced Windows 7 Family Pack. Available for $149.99 in the United States --though prices could vary wildly at retail—the Family Pack provides three Windows 7 Home Premium product keys, allowing you to install the OS on, yup, you guessed it, three different PCs, and at bargain pricing.

OEM Versions

One of the biggest secrets in the software world is that Microsoft’s operating systems are available from online retailers in so-called OEM (“original equipment manufacturer”) versions (which come in just the Full SKU) that are aimed at the PC builder market. These are the small “mom and pop”-type PC makers who build hand-crafted machines for local markets. OEM packaging is bare-bones and does not come with a retail box. Instead, you get the disc, a Product Key, and a slip of paper describing the product.

OEM versions of Windows 7 differ from retail versions in some important ways:

They are dramatically cheaper than retail versions. As shown in Table 1-14, the OEM versions of Windows 7 are dramatically cheaper than comparable retail versions. Note, however, that OEM pricing fluctuates somewhat, so the prices you see online could be a bit different. Shop around for the best prices.

They do not come with any support from Microsoft. Because PC makers support the products they sell directly, Microsoft doesn’t offer any support for OEM versions of Windows 7. This explains the cost differential, by the way.

You are not really supposed to buy them unless you’re building PCs that you will sell to others. Technically speaking, OEM versions of Windows 7 are available only to those who intend to build PCs to sell to others. Furthermore, online retailers who sell OEM versions of Windows 7 are supposed to verify that you’re a PC builder and/or sell the products with some kind of hardware. For this reason, you’ll sometimes be asked to purchase a hardware tchotsky like a USB cable when you purchase OEM software.

There’s no box. This shouldn’t matter too much, but you don’t get the cool Windows 7 retail packaging when you buy OEM. Instead, you pretty much get an install disc shrink-wrapped to a piece of cardboard and a product key.

Depending on which version you’re looking at, the savings are usually substantial. All of the OEM products (which are “Full” versions) are less expensive than the Upgrade retail versions of Windows 7. That said, OEM products cannot be used to upgrade an existing PC: they’re for new installs only.

As with the retail versions, you also have to choose between both 32-bit and 64-bit OEM versions of Windows 7 online. However, you can’t purchase Upgrade OEM software because OEM versions are only aimed at new PC installs.

OEM versions of Windows 7 are sometimes sold in multi-OS packs. So, for example, you can purchase a three-pack of Windows 7 Ultimate if you’d like. You know, because you’re a PC maker.

Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7

Delaying Product Activation

Retail versions of Windows 7 must be activated within 30 days. Otherwise, the system slips into an annoying state in which it notifies you, every 60 minutes, that the system must be activated. Still, the 30-day grace period is useful, especially if you’re just testing some things and want to ensure that your new install is working properly before you lock things down and tie your one product key to this particular PC.

That said, sometimes 30 days isn’t enough, and if you want to extend this grace period, we’ve got some good news: thanks to a barely documented feature aimed at Microsoft’s corporate customers, it’s actually possible to extend the activation grace period up to a total of 150 days. You just have to be a bit vigilant.

The key to extending the grace period is a command-line program in Windows 7 called Software Licensing Manager (SLMGR), which is actually a VBScript script named slmgr.vbs. (It can be found in c:\windows\system32 by default.) Using this script with the -rearm parameter, you can reset (or, in Software Licensing Manager lingo, “re-arm”) Windows 7’s 30-day activation grace period. This effectively resets the clock on the activation grace period back to a full 30 days whenever you run it.

Unfortunately, you can run this script successfully only four times, so it’s theoretically possible to re-arm the product activation grace period to a total of 150 days (30 days of initial grace period plus four additional 30-day grace periods). That said, even the most careful of users will likely want to re-arm the grace period with a few days remaining each time, but you’re still looking at over 100 days of non-activated Windows 7 usage.

You can view your current grace period in the System window. To do so, open the Start menu, right-click the Computer icon, and choose Properties. The bottom section of this window, Windows activation, displays how many days you have until the grace period ends, and provides a link to activate Windows immediately.

Time to activate…or re-arm the grace period.

Here’s how to re-arm the Windows 7 product-activation grace period:

1. Open the Start menu, select Search, and type cmd.

2. Right-click the cmd shortcut that appears and choose Run as Administrator from the pop-up menu that appears. Windows 7’s command-line window appears.

3. Type the following text in the command-line window and press Enter when complete: slmgr.vbs -rearm.

When the command is run successfully, the Windows Script Host window appears, noting “Command completed successfully. Please restart the system for the changes to take effect.”

Happiness is a full 30-day grace period.

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