25 Ways to Truly Customize the Windows 7 Interface

Your fresh installation of Windows 7 gives a 'one size fits all' configuration, but there are countless ways in which you can tweak the standard operating system to make it better suit your particular needs.

Built-in customisation options include the usual controls over the interface theme and the way in which Windows alerts you to important events.

There are also a bevy of free add-ons, which provide an even wider choice of customisation options – from ways to change parts of the OS that Microsoft doesn't cater for, to adding clever new features that make Windows 7 even more capable.

Here are 25 of our favourite tweaks.

1. Change the colour of the Aero UI

Windows 7's sleek Aero theme is a definite improvement on Windows XP's ugly Luna, but you may not like its default colours.

Right-click the desktop, choose 'Personalize', then 'Window Color', and you'll be able to tweak the colours to your heart's content.

Shades of red work particularly well for distinguishing between active and inactive windows – unlike the default blue tones. You can turn off transparency here too, should you wish to.

2. Change the Windows theme

Customising the colour scheme of Windows 7 is one thing, but how about more drastic changes? Right-click the desktop, then choose 'Personalize', and you can change the entire interface theme – the desktop wallpaper, colour scheme, system sounds and mouse pointers.

A handful of themes are installed by default, but click the 'Get more themes online' link and you can download others for free.

3. Change your user account picture

Customising your user account image is a great way to differentiate quickly between multiple accounts on a single PC. Windows 7 comes with a selection of images to choose from – just go to 'Start | Control Panel | User accounts and family safety | Change your account picture'.

The 'Browse for more pictures' link at the bottom of this window also enables you to choose one of your own images and Windows will automatically resize it to suit.

4. Switch system sounds

Windows has long been able to make noises to reflect just about anything it does, but not everyone wants to hear a ding, beep, buzz or click for every system event.

Go to 'Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Change sound effects', and you can selectively change or disable the sounds that Windows 7 assigns to each system event.

You can also select from a range of other novel sound schemes, or opt for 'No Sounds' if you prefer to work uninterrupted.

5. Add a taskbar toolbar

Windows 7's ability to pin programs to the taskbar has eliminated the need for the Quick launch Toolbar, but you can still add other types of toolbar for quick access to certain tasks.

Right-click on an empty part of the taskbar, then select 'Toolbars' and you can an address box for quick-launching URLs, or a desktop button for ready access to desktop shortcuts when your screen is full of windows.

Touch-screen PC users can also add a tablet PC input panel for quick onetap access to the on-screen handwriting input.

6. Customise the Start menu

Microsoft has removed the 'Classic Start menu' option from Windows 7, but you can still alter its look and feel to make it better suited to the way you work.

Right-click the 'Start' button, choose 'Properties' and a dialog box will open with some basic privacy settings. Click the 'Customise' button and you can then make more drastic changes to the Start menu's appearance.

7. Change what the Start menu 'power' button does

Thankfully, the excessively complex shutdown option on Windows Vista's Start menu has been streamlined in Windows 7, but Microsoft has also changed the default power button behaviour from 'Sleep' to a full shutdown.

If you want to change it back, right-click the Start button, choose 'Properties' and select your preferred option from the 'Power button action' dropdown list.

8. Calm down UAC

Microsoft wisely opted to reduce the constant pestering of Windows Vista's User Access Control with the release of Service Pack 2, but Windows 7 brings more granular control over when you're asked to confirm certain system-level actions.

Go to 'Start | Control Panel | User Accounts and Family Safety | User Accounts | Change User Account Control Settings' and you'll see a slider. The bottom position disables UAC completely, but the next notch up is the best (and least annoying) option for safe computing.

9. Turn off Notification Area alerts

Windows 7 likes to keep you informed about the state of your security settings, but you might not want to know about every single thing that crops up.

Go to the Action Center, accessed via 'Start | Control Panel | System and Security' and you can alter what Windows badgers you about – including the fact that UAC is disabled.

Just don't think that turning off warnings about inadequate antivirus protection is a good idea…

10. Move the taskbar

Don't like the Windows 7 taskbar at the bottom of the screen? Then why not drag and drop it to one of the desktop's three other sides?

You might need to unlock it first, though – just right-click on an empty area of the taskbar and deselect the appropriate option. You can also click and drag the edge to the taskbar to make it wider, which is ideal if you've pinned lots of applications to it.

11. Go Gadget crazy

Windows Gadgets enable you to add at-a-glance information to the Sidebar at the right of the screen to save you looking it up in the web browser.

Right-click the desktop, choose 'Gadgets' and you'll see a list of available tools, with a link to download more at the bottom of the window. To enable a Gadget, right-click it and select 'Add'.

Most Gadgets have individual settings – hover the mouse pointer over an active one to show its 'spanner' icon.

12. Stop the screensaver interrupting video playback

Disabling the Windows screensaver and setting your monitor to turn off after several minutes' inactivity is a great energy saver, but it's a pain if it kicks in when you're watching an online video.

The solution is Mouse Jiggler – a free download fromhttp://mousejiggler.codeplex.com.

Run the tiny program and it will make Windows 7 think the mouse is moving imperceptibly, even when you're nowhere near it, thereby preventing power-saving options from activating when you don't want them to.

13. Change the login screen

There are various clumsy hacks that enable you to change the Windows 7 user login screen, but the free Logon Changer utility from www.tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon does all the hard work for you without fuss.

Just point the program at the picture you want to use and it will resize it accordingly, back up the original and then make the change. Simple!

14. Do more with dual monitors

If you use two or more monitors with Windows, but want a taskbar on more than just the main display, Ultramon is the software for you.

As well as making windows on each monitor easier to manage, Ultramon enables you to assign different wallpapers to each desktop, and enables you move to windows around each display with a mouse click.

You can download a 30-day demo fromwww.realtimesoft.com/ultramon – the full program is available for £25.

15. Makes Windows easier to see

Ultra high-resolution monitors can make certain parts of the Windows interface tricky to see, particularly if your eyesight is far from perfect. Switching a TFT display to a lower, non-native resolution will only make things worse, but Windows 7 offers a better option.

Go to 'Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Display | Make text and other items larger and smaller', and you'll see two options for making everything in Windows, from on-screen text to the taskbar, look bigger.

16. Customise the Start button

If you don't like the look of the round Windows 7 Start button, you can change it with Start Orb Changer. You can download the program for free from here and switch to one of 10 ready made Start button images, or use one of your own.

17. Get Rainmeter

Rainmeter takes the Windows 7 Sidebar Gadgets idea and extends it to the whole desktop.

A free download from www.rainmeter.net, it enables you to integrate all kinds of useful system information, along with RSS feeds and Twitter updates.

18. Add backgrounds to windows

If you like your desktop to be busy, Windows 7 Folder Background Changer will probably appeal. It's free from here.

After downloading, there's no installation – just run it, select a folder, pick an image and re-open the Explorer window.

19. Make Explorer windows more XP friendly

To make Windows 7 more familiar, enable the menu bar from 'Organize | Layout | Menu bar', then turn off the bottom 'Details' pane.

Go to 'Tools | Folder Options', then enable 'Show all folders' and 'Automatically expand to current folder'.

20. Control window sizes with the keyboard

If Windows 7's Aero Snap doesn't offer enough control, try Window Manager. This free download from here enables you to set window sizes and positions for applications, then activate them with keyboard shortcuts.

21. Turn off combined taskbar buttons

You can disable Windows 7's combined buttons. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar and choose 'Properties'. Use the 'Taskbar buttons' dropdown to disable button-combining, or use it only when the taskbar is full.

22. Customise the Notification Area

Windows 7 tries to manage the contents of the Notification area at the right of the taskbar, but you may need to lend a hand. Right-click the taskbar, choose 'Properties' and then click the 'Customize' button on the General tab to see options for each Notification area icon.

23. Turbo-charge file transfers

TeraCopy, a free download fromwww.codesector.com/teracopy.php, supplants the Explorer copy function with its own buffered copy.

This can be far quicker and enables you to preview file operations before committing to them, and to pause transfers.

24. Change desktop icons

Right-click the desktop and choose 'Personalize', then click 'Change desktop icons' and select the icon you want to change. Click 'Change Icon' to see a list of other icons you can use, or hit 'Browse' to use your own – www.iconfactory.comhas a good, free selection.

25. Make Windows look like Mac OS

A simple way to make your PC ape Mac OS X is with the free Snow Transformation Pack fromwww.winxsoft.com/stp/download.html.

Source

Read More

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SYSTEM FREEZES

Like all modern technology, laptops are great when they work, but lousy when they don't. The frustration of a frozen laptop is one of those headache-inducing, teeth-gnashing, pulling-out-your-own-hair sort of things that we have to deal with from time to time. But what causes a laptop to freeze, and what do you do when it happens? More importantly, what steps can be taken to prevent freezing in the future? Sit back, relax, and let us explain how get through it.

What Causes the Common Freeze?
While there are numerous potential issues that can cause your laptop to freeze, there are three that are both most common, and also account for the vast majority of stalls and stutters. The good news is that these are also the easiest for the average user to address.

The first cause is physical—laptops will often (somewhat paradoxically) freeze when overheated. Whether it's dust built up in the chassis and vents or a blanket preventing airflow, rising temperatures can put the kibosh on your late night project or marathon Netflix session faster than you can say toasted leg syndrome.

The second frequent freezer is insufficient memory. A laptop's RAM is much like the working memory of the brain, used to hold data short term while it's accessed for a variety of programs and functions. Run out of RAM and you'll find yourself running into issues, including slowdowns in performance, stuttering during processor-intensive tasks, and even full blown lockups and blue screens.

The third and final cause of laptop catatonia can be loosely labelled "software problems." This is a big umbrella that encompasses everything from BIOS changes to software bugs to malware and viruses.

Immediate Actions
Whatever the root cause may be, when you're staring down a paralytic PC, the initial steps to take are the same. First, try to close the offending program. If only one program is having issues, closing it will often temporarily solve the problem. But closing the program may be more difficult than just clicking the X in the corner.

If a program is unresponsive, try closing it through the Task Manager. You probably already know that you can access this tool by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del, but for a quicker route, you can also use Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

If your laptop won't even let you do that, then it's time for a hard reset. On most laptops, you can do this by pressing and holding the power button for a few seconds longer than usual—just hold the button until the device powers off. If this doesn't work, you may need to do it the hard way—by disconnecting the AC connection and removing the battery.

The next thing to do is check is the temperature of the laptop. While most people don't have a Fluke IR thermometer handy, the touch test is usually sufficient. Feel the laptop chassis, but be careful, because it may be hot to the touch or even hot enough to burn. Hotspots are common around the vents and hinge, and on the underside of the system. Also do a visual inspection of the vents. If there is anything obstructing airflow, the heat buildup may be causing the 

Fixing and Avoiding Problems
Heat problems can often be addressed simply by cleaning out any dust with a can of compressed air and keeping the vents unobstructed. In other instances, however, you may have a bigger problem, such as a broken cooling fan, or a heat sink that needs re-seating. These fixes can sometimes be tackled at home with the right tools and some Googling for tutorials, but if you don't know what you're doing, you might want to take your PC to a professional before trying to open up the chassis yourself.

To ferret out memory problems, start by finding out where memory is being used. In the task manager, select the "Processes" tab. You'll then see a list of all the various processes running on the machine at any given moment. Without opening any programs, take a look at the percentage of physical memory being used. If a large percentage is already in use with no programs running, you've likely found your problem. If your physical memory is mostly free, try opening the last program used, and then open one program at a time to see if any of your frequently used apps are hogging all the memory.

You can also run a memory test using the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool, found by opening the Start Menu and searching "memory." Run the diagnostic, which will involve an automatic reboot.

If your memory is mostly full, you'll want to free up some space. While freeing up RAM could easily be its own series of articles, the essence of it is this: Unnecessary files, programs, and background processes will eat up your available RAM, leaving you prone to slowdowns and freezes. To fix this, shift files to the hard drive, uninstall programs that aren't needed or used, and turn off any programs running in the background. Unsure of how to do this? Take a look at our guide, How to Remove Bloatware. To prevent future problems, make the most of your memory by cleaning up and defragging your hard drive, and consider upgrading with more RAM.

If the problem has its roots in software, be it a malicious program, a buggy software update, or corrupted driver, there are two simple steps to take. First, revert your PC to a previous state using System Restore, also found in the System Tools folder. If you can pinpoint the date that your performance issues began, you can simply roll back your system to a prior date.

Once you've reverted to a more stable version of your system, head off future problems by updating your drivers and running a virus scan.

If these simple steps aren't enough to alleviate your frozen laptop woes, you have two options. Often solutions to specific problems can be found with a bit of Google-Fu—you can diagnose a lot of problems just by knowing the symptoms and the make and model of your laptop. Don't hesitate to contact the manufacturer's tech support, either. Many problems will pop up due to system specific issues, such as a known software bug or flawed component, and they will be able to not only help you determine what the problem is, they will also be equipped to help you fix it (assuming of course that the laptop is still under warranty).

The second option is to approach a local repair shop or technician. There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of potential freeze-inducing problems that can arise in one laptop, and a bit of knowledge will go a long way toward figuring out what that problem is and how to fix it.

Source: Pcmag.com

Read More

Windows 8.1′s Start Button Isn’t A Start Button

The headlines are loud and clear today. Microsoft brings back the Start Button in Windows 8! Huzzah! ZONG! But don’t believe the hype. We’ve been duped.

Windows 8.1′s Start Button isn’t the Start Button of old. The classic multi-step application launcher is still missing. Windows 8.1′s Start Button is more of a shortcut to the Start Menu — you know, the screen with the little colorful icons.

A right-click on the so-called Start Button pulls up a quick launch menu of shorts. The menu displays a list of administrative tools like Power Options, Event View, Disk Management and Windows Shells. It’s not customizable.

Microsoft essentially installed a shortcut to the Start Menu and called it a button. This does nothing to fix the core issue of Windows 8.

With Windows 8, Microsoft dramatically changed how the user interacts with the computer. The Start Menu replaced the Start Button — a full screen menu replaced the task of a tiny application launcher. It is a step backwards for productivity. To open a new application, the user has to completely leave the workspace. It’s horrible on a laptop.

It’s clear that Microsoft switched the paradigm to address multitasking on a tablet, and it works well on a tablet, especially so when all the applications are Metro based.

But for those of us that greatly prefer the classic Desktop — mostly because of the lack of mainstream applications — having to switch back to the Start Menu to load a new app is a waste of time. A shortcut to this screen doesn’t change that fact.

I’ve been looking forward to the return to the good ol’ days ever since the news broke that Microsoft was bringing back the Start Button in Windows 8.1. Windows 8 runs like a champ — noticeable better than Windows 7. But even after 6 months of using it, I still try my hardest to stay within Desktop, mostly the browser, and shake my head ever time I have to see the Start Screen.

Also, startup idea: Customize people’s Windows 8′s start screen for them. Or better yet, develop a little plug in that does it automagically. I tried to do it once, but quickly discovered it’s a horrible chore.

Source...

.

Read More