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  • Turn Off Hard Disk when Idle or Never

    How to Turn Off Hard Disk when Idle or Never
    Information
    This article will show you how to get your hard disks to either turn off after certain minutes you set of being idle, or to never be turned off in Windows 7 and Vista.

    This setting will only affect internal HDD’s and not SSD’s (solid state drives).
    When set to turn off hard disks after idle, you will notice a brief delay of a few seconds when you try to access a turned off hard disk as it spins back up and is turned back on automatically as needed. Having your hard disks to be turned off after being idle can help save energy and extend a laptop’s battery life.
    Note
    If you have the hard disks set to be turned off after X amount of minutes of being inactive, then this behavior can be caused if any disk activity occurs, whether it is caused by user input or system tasks. Disk activity of any type resets the hard disk idle timer, and this can increase the amount of time it takes for your hard disk to turn off.
    Windows is designed to automatically perform maintenance tasks to improve performance and reliability. When your computer is on AC power and is idle, system maintenance tasks may be able to run for a few minutes. These system maintenance tasks include disk-layout optimization to improve performance and preparing automatic system restoration points to increase reliability. Typically, these tasks occur the first time you leave your computer idle after you start it. These tasks ensure that the system maintains its performance and reliability even after long use. Because these tasks involve reading and writing to the hard disk, the hard disk idle time is reset regularly during this maintenance period.
    There are other items that can reset the hard disk idle timer. These items can include:
    ·         Paging operations.
    ·         Windows Update checking the system state.
    ·         Event logging.
    ·         Network detection such as DHCP or Autonet.
    ·         Third-party services such as quota software or an antivirus program.
    ·         Scheduled tasks.
    ·         The loading of services or drivers.
    When these items either read from or write to the hard disk, the hard disk idle timer is reset.
    Here’s How:
    1. Open the advanced power settings for you selected power plan. (see screenshot below)
    2. To Turn Off Hard Disks After Idle
    A) Expand Hard disk and Turn off hard disk after, set how many minutes you want the hard disks to be idle for before being turned off, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    The default setting is with 20 minutes.
    B) Go to step 4.
    3. To Never Turn Off Hard Disks
    A) Expand Hard disk and Turn off hard disk after, set it to Never, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    4. Close the Edit Plan Settings window. (see screenshot below step 1)

  • Add or Remove Ease of Access Center

    How to Add or Remove Ease of Access Center from Windows 7 Log On Screen
    Information
    On the log in screen at the bottom left there is a button called the Ease of Access button, if you do not want this button just follow this tutorial.

    Warning
    If you do not follow this tutorial exactly you will most likely have to do a system restore!!!
    OPTION ONE
    Remove Ease of Access button
    1. Take ownership of the file c:/windows/system32/authui.dll
    2. Open the file c:/windows/system32/authui.dll in Resource Hacker.
    3. In Resource Hacker go to the location: UIFILE/12400/1033:
    4. Copy all of the code from UIFILE/12400/1033 into a blank text file:
    5. Find the following line in your code:
    6. Delete it and everything after it until:
    NOTE: Make sure not to leave a blank line where you deleted the code.
    7. Copy the code from the text document back to Resource Hacker and make sure there is a blank line of code at the very bottom of the code. Then select Compile Script.
    8. Repea the steps 5-8 for location UIFILE/12401/1033 and UIFILE/12402/1033.
    Warning
    DO NOT JUST COPY AND PASTE THE SAME CODE INTO ALL THREE!!
    9. Save the file as authui – new.dll onto your desktop.
    10. Copy the file authui – new.dll to c:/windows/system32
    11. Start the program Task Manager, and Notepad
    12. Using Task Manager end the process explorer.exe:
    13. Using notepad go to file/open:
    14. Browse to c:/windows/system32/ make sure to have All Files selected:
    15. Rename the file authui.dll to authui – backup.dll
    16. Rename the file authui – new.dll to authui.dll
    17. Push the keys: Ctrl+Alt+Del
    18. Select Log off
    19. Select Log on
    20. Done
    OPTION TWO
    Restore Ease of Access button
    1. Start the program Task Manager, and Notepad
    2. Using Task Manager end the process explorer.exe:
    3. Using notepad go to file/open:
    4. Browse to c:/windows/system32/ make sure to have All Files selected:
    5. Rename the file authui.dll to authui – new.dll
    6. Rename the file authui – backup.dll to authui.dll
    7. Push the keys: Ctrl+Alt+Del
    8. Select Log off
    9. Select Log on
    10. Done

  • Features of Windows 7

    Select a Window Just by Hovering Over it
    Switch the focus from one window to another in Windows 7 just by hovering over it with the mouse pointer.
    To select an application or other window in Windows 7 you must click on the window with the mouse. However, in some computing environments you can select windows just by hovering over them with the mouse pointer. If you find this convenient you can enable this in Windows 7 by doing the following:
    1. Click the “Start” menu, choosing “All Programs“, “Accessories“, “Ease of Access“, “Ease of Access Center“.
    2. When the “Ease of Access Center” window appears, scroll down and click on “Make the mouse easier to use“.
    3. On the following screen, underneath “Make it easier to manage windows“, check “Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse“.

  • Enable or Disable Desktop Composition

    Enable or Disable Desktop Composition in Windows 7
    Information
    The desktop composition feature was introduced in Vista, it fundamentally changed the way applications display pixels on the screen. When desktop composition is enabled, individual windows no longer draw directly to the screen or primary display device as they did in previous versions of Windows. Instead, their drawing is redirected to off-screen surfaces in video memory, which are then rendered into a desktop image and presented on the display.

    Desktop composition is performed by the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (DWM) service. Through desktop composition, DWM enables visual effects on the desktop as well as various Aero features such as thumbnail previews, Aero themes, glass window frames, 3-D window transition animations, Windows Flip and Windows Flip3D, and high resolution support.
    This will show you how to enable or disable Desktop Composition using different options in Windows 7 and Vista.
    Note
    Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic editions do not have the Aero feature included.
    OPTION ONE
    Through Visual Effects Settings
    1. Open the Visual Effects settings window in Performance Options.
    2. To Enable Desktop Composition
    A) Check the Enable desktop composition box, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    This is the default setting.
    3. To Disable Desktop Composition
    A) Uncheck the Enable desktop composition box, and click on OK. (see screenshot above)
    OPTION TWO
    Through Services
    NOTE:
    This option will affect all users on the computer.
    1. Open the Services window, and select the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service. (see screenshot below)
    2. Right click on Desktop Window Manager Session Manager, and click on Properties. (see screenshot above)
    3. To Enable Desktop Composition
    A) Set the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service to Automatic and Start it. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    This is the default setting.
    B) Check to make sure that you also have desktop composition enabled using one of the other options in this tutorial as well. Both are required to be enabled.
    4. To Disable Desktop Composition
    A) Stop and set the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service to Disabled. (see screenshot above)
    OPTION THREE
    Manually Through Registry Editor
    1. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search boxand press Enter.
    2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes (Windows 7) or Continue (Vista).
    3. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
    4. In the right pane, double click on CompositionPolicy. (see screenshot above)
    5. To Enable Desktop Composition
    A) Type in 0, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    This is the default setting.
    B) Go to step 7.
    6. To Disable Desktop Composition
    A) Type in 1, and click on OK. (see screenshot above)
    7. Close regedit.
    8. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.

  • Device Manager – Finding Unknown Devices

    Finding Unrecognized Devices through Device Manager
    Information
    This guide will show you how to locate the unidentified hardware in your device manager by using Hardware Identification. The goal of this tutorial is to help identify an unidentified device.

    Note
    Prerequisite knowledge includes opening windows device manager, surfing the internet, data entry and basic windows navigation skills
    Warning
    Installing the wrong driver can crash your system, this technique revolves around the use of a 3rd party online hardware ID database.
    Some devices (such as legacy devices) may not have hardware ID’s. See the “But what if there’s no Hardware ID in the drop down box?” for tips on finding out what these devices are.
    Here’s how
    1. Open Device Manager and find the device. It most likely has a yellow exclamation mark on it like the one in this screenshot below.
    Tip
    You can open Device Manager quickly by typing devmgmt.msc into RUN or SEARCH and pressing ENTER.
    2. Now that you’ve found your device, right click on it and select properties.
    3. Click on the Details Tab.
    4. Drop the ‘Property’ box until you find ‘Hardware Id’s”.
    This picture shows a webcam, but unknown devices have hardware ID’s too
    5. You’ll find some number-letter combinations, here’s what they mean:
    HID = Hardware ID
    PID = Product ID
    VID = Vendor ID
    6. In my screen print I’ve looked up my Webcam again. My PID=0804, My VID = 046D.
    7. We need to reference these, so open your browser of choice and navigate to the www.pcidatabase.com website.
    8. There are other websites, but I think that the PCIdatabase.com team has put together a great site with a lot of information should you need to know more about devices and drivers.
    9. Type your PID where it says Device Search and press SEARCH (e.g. for my example I type in 0804 and click on the Search button to the right of the Device Search box).
    10. All Devices with that PID show. This is usually enough; but sometimes multiple devices will show.
    11. If you have multiple Devices, then you need your VID, so look back to your details column under Hardware ID’s and reference it against the Vendor ID column with your VID. Mine was 046D and you can see 0x46d in the Vendor column. That’s a match.
    12. You’ve now identified your device and can now search for the correct drivers for it.
    But what if there’s no Hardware ID in the drop down box?
    With older legacy devices, some virtual devices, non-plug and play devices, and some viruses there may not be a hardware ID, however there there are other things you can do to find your unrecognized device.
    Have a look at these entries in the drop down, there are others, but these are the most common that you will find when the Hardware ID is missing.
    DevNode status – This will tell us the current status of the device and differentiate between a driver existing and a driver loading. If the driver exists you can look at it’s *.inf file (the inf file name is in the Inf Name drop down)
    Device Instance path – Often contains Vendor and hardware information, if not than it may contain an ACPI linking it to a processor group.
    Class Long Name – It’s group name (e.g. Processors)
    Class Short Name – It’s short (actual) name (e.g. Processor)
    Class icon path – The path to a dll that houses this devices icons. Although this is likely to be windows generic, it’s worthwhile taking a look at the icons in the *.dll, the easiest way to do this is to change an icon on any shortcut or folder and navigate to that *.dll to browse the icons.
    siblings – Any related siblings
    parent – any related parents
    If you are trying to find a Legacy item, it will likely be at this registry address
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\. It should begin with the LEGACY_ (e.g. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_CPUZ132)
    The Windows Registry Editor can be opened by typing REGEDIT into RUN or SEARCH.
    Some other locations that you may find this information (with thanks to WindowsStar)are:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Enum\Root\
    Warning
    Edit the registry can crash your machine, use this as a research tool only, unless you know what you are doing

  • Taking Ownership of A File

    If you must access a file or a folder that you do not have rights to, you must take ownership of that file or folder. When you do this, you replace the security permissions that were originally created for the file or folder.

    To take ownership of a file, follow these steps:

    1. Right-click the file that you want to take ownership of–> and then click Properties.

    2. Click the Security tab–> and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).

    3. Click Advanced–> and then click the Owner tab.
    4. In the Name list–> click Administrator–> or click the Administrators group–> and then click OK.
    The administrator or the administrators group now owns the file.

  • Disable/Enable Lock Workstation

    Disable/Enable Lock Workstation Functionality (Windows + L)
    Using the Windows+L keys together will lock your workstation running Windows 7, XP or Vista. Did you realize that you can also disable this function?

    Follow the steps below to accomplish the task:
    1. Click Start–> Type REGEDIT in search
    2. In the registry editor navigate to the below key.
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
    3. On the right-hand side, create a new DWORD 32-bit value named DisableLockWorkstation and give it one of these values:
    1 – Disable Lock Workstation
    0 – Enable Lock Workstation

    The changes should be immediate, no need to restart the machine.

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  • Extract Windows 7 System Image Files

    How to Extract Windows 7 System Image Files Using Disk Management
    Information
    When you create a system image, Windows 7 creates a Virtual Hard Disk VHD file that contains all of your files. This will show you how to attach (mount) this VHD file using Disk Management to manually extract and restore specific files of your choice from the system image instead of doing the default full system image recovery.

    Note
    System images are saved in this format:
    (selected backup location’s drive letter)\WindowsImageBackup\(your computer name)\Backup (year-month-day) (time)
    For example, if your computer name is Windows7-PC, your backup image location is on hard disk or partition (network or local) D: , and you backed up on September 14th 2008 at 4:39:45 AM (it uses 24 hour time), then that system image VHD file will be located in the D:\WindowsImageBackup\Windows7-PC\Backup 2009-09-14 043945 folder.
    OPTION ONE
    To Attach the VHD to Extract Files from System Image
    1. Open the Control Panel (All Items View).
    A) Click on the Administrative Tools icon, and click on Computer Management.
    B) Go to step 3.
    OR
    2. Open the Start Menu.
    A) In the Search box, type compmgmt.msc and press Enter.
    3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
    4. In the left pane, right click on Disk Management, and click on Attach VHD.  
    NOTE: You can also click on Disk Management, Action on the menu bar, and Attach VHD.
    5. Click on the Browse button.  
    6. Navigate to the drive or partition that you selected to save the created system image to, then select a listed VHD file for the disk that you want to extract files from.  
    NOTE: See the NOTE box at the top of the tutorial to see where to find your system image VHD file at.
    Note
    There will be a VHD file for each hard disk that was included in the system image backup when it was created.
    You will not be able to open the VHD for the 100 MB System Reserved partition if you had one created during the installation of your Windows 7.
    7. Click on OK.  
    NOTE:
    Be sure to leave the Read only box unchecked.
    8. You will now notice that the VHD file has been attached (mounted) as a separate virtual disk with it’s own drive letter (ex: F: ) in Disk Management. Close Disk Management.
    9. You may also get a AutoPlay pop-up window. Double click on the Open folder to view files option.  
    NOTE: If you did not get a AutoPlay pop-up, then you can open the new attached VHD virtual disk (ex: F) from the Computer window like any other hard drive or partition.
    10. You can now copy any files that you want from the attached system image VHD disk (ex: F: ) to restore back to your Windows 7 C: drive.  
    OPTION TWO
    To Detach the VHD in Disk Management
    NOTE: This will show you to detach the VHD file in Disk Management from OPTION ONE above without affecting the system image.
    1. Open the Control Panel (All Items View).
    A) Click on the Administrative Tools icon, and click on Computer Management.
    B) Go to step 3.
    OR
    2. Open the Start Menu.
    A) In the Search box, type compmgmt.msc and press Enter.
    3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
    4. In the middle pane, right click on the Disk # of the attached VHD (ex: F: ), and click on Detach VHD.  
    5. Click on OK.  
    WARNING:
    DO NOT CHECK the Delete the virtual hard disk file after removing the disk box. If you do, you will destroy the created system image. Leaving this box unchecked will leave your created system image intact an unharmed so you can still be able to use it to do a full system image recovery.
    6. You will now notice that the VHD (ex: F: ) has been detached in Disk Management.  
    7. Close Disk Management.

  • Reduce recent items in Windows 7

           Recent Items is a list of your recently used files on the right side of the Start Menu, Taskbar Windows Explorer icon link, in the Navigation Pane Recent Places, and in Jump Lists in Windows 7. If you’ve ever wondered how to configure the number of documents shown on the Recent Items menu, you’ve found the right article for Windows 7. The default value is set to show 10 documents, but you can increase that with a registry tweak.

    What we are changing here is the amount of documents shown in this menu.

    Manual Registry Tweak
    Open up “regedit.exe” through the start menu search box, and then navigate down to the following key, creating it if it doesn’t exist.
        HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    Add a new DWORD 32-bit value named MaxRecentDocs into the right-hand pane, and then double-click to open it up.
    To set the value, you’ll first need to change Base to Decimal, and then you can enter any value you want. For instance, if you want to set it to 50, enter that into the Value data field.

     Note: Before making any changes to registry values please take a backup of registry in portable drive. Making incorrect changes to registry may lead to Non function of Operating system.

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  • Run Commands for Windows 7

     

    A List of Run Commands for Windows 7

    Here’s a list of Run commands which will make your life easier:
    Windows logo key + R
    Add/Remove Programs = appwiz.cpl
    Administrative Tools = control admintools
    Authorization Manager= azman.msc “New”
    Calculator = calc
    Certificate Manager = certmgr.msc
    Character Map = charmap
    Check Disk Utility = chkdsk
    Control Panel = control “New”
    Command Prompt = cmd.exe
    Component Services = dcomcnfg
    Computer Management = compmgmt.msc = CompMgmtLauncher “New”
    Date and Time Properties = timedate.cpl
    Downloads = Downloads “New”
    Device Manager = devmgmt.msc
    Direct X Troubleshooter = dxdiag
    Disk Cleanup Utility = cleanmgr
    Defragment User Interface = dfrgui “New”
    Ditilizer Calibration Tool = tabcal “New”
    Disk Management = diskmgmt.msc
    Disk Parmelonion Manager = diskpart
    Display Properties = control desktop or desk.cpl
    DPI Scaling = dpiscaling “New”
    Driver Package Installer = dpinst “New”
    Driver Verifier Utility = verifier or /reset
    DVD Player = dvdplay “New”
    Encryption File System = rekeywiz “New”
    Event Viewer = eventvwr.msc
    Fax Cover Sheet Editor = fxscover “New”
    File Signature Verification Tool = sigverif
    Folders Properties = control folders
    Fonts = control fonts
    Free Cell Card Game = freecell
    Group Policy Editor = gpedit.msc
    Internet Explorer = iexplore
    Iexpress Wizard = iexpress
    Internet Properties = inetcpl.cpl
    IP Configuration = ipconfig.exe
    iSCSI Initiator = iscsicpl “New”
    Keyboard Properties = control keyboard
    Libraries = explorer or Windows key + E
    Local Security Settings = secpol.msc
    Local Users and Groups = lusrmgr.msc
    Logs You Out Of Windows = logoff
    Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool = msdt “New”
    Microsoft Paint = mspaint.exe
    Mouse Properties = control mouse
    Mouse Properties = main.cpl
    Mobility Center (only on mobile) = mblctr or Windows key + X
    Network Connections = control netconnections
    Network Connections = ncpa.cpl
    Notepad = notepad
    ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32 “New”
    Optional Features Manager = optionalfeatures “New”
    On Screen Keyboard = osk or Windows key + U
    Performance Monitor = perfmon.msc
    Phone and Modem Options = telephon.cpl
    Power Configuration = powercfg.cpl
    Printers and Faxes = control printers
    Printer Migration = PrintBrmUi “New”
    Private Character Editor = eudcedit
    Regional Settings = intl.cpl
    Registry Editor = regedit.exe
    Remote Assistance = msra “New”
    Remote Desktop = mstsc
    Resultant Set of Policy = rsop.msc
    Scheduled Tasks = control schedtasks
    Security Center = wscui.cpl
    Services = services.msc
    Shared Folders/MMC = fsmgmt.msc
    Shuts Down Windows = shutdown
    Snipping Tool = snippingtool “New”
    Sounds and Audio = mmsys.cpl
    Sound Recorder = soundrecorder “New”
    Sound Volume = sndvol “New”
    Spider Solitare Card Game = spider
    SQL Client Configuration = cliconfg
    Stored User Names and Passwords = credwiz “New”
    Sticky Note = StikyNot “New”
    System Configuration Editor = sysedit
    System Configuration Utility = msconfig
    System File Checker Utility = sfc
    System Information = msinfo32
    System Properties = sysdm.cpl or Windows key + Pause/Break
    Task Manager = taskmgr
    Trusted Platform Module = TpmInit “New”
    Utility Manager = utilman
    User Accounts = netplwiz or control userpasswords2
    Windows Activation = slui “New”
    Windows Backup Utility = sdclt “New”
    Windows Fax and Scan = wfs “New”
    Windows Firewall = firewall.cpl
    Windows Firewall with Advanced Security = wf.msc “New”
    Windows Image Acquisition = wiaacmgr “New”
    Windows Media Player = wmplayer
    Windows Magnifier = magnify
    Windows Management Infrastructure = wmimgmt.msc
    Windows Update App Manager = wuapp “New”
    Windows Standalong Update Manager = wusa “New’
    Windows System Security Tool = syskey
    Windows Share Creation Wizard = shrpubw “New”
    Wordpad = write