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  • Windows 7 Tips

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    Remove the Lock Icon from a Folder in Windows 7
    If you’ve been playing around with folder sharing or security options, then you might have ended up with an unsightly lock icon on a folder. We’ll show you how to get rid of that icon without over-sharing it.

    The lock icon in Windows 7 indicates that the file or folder can only be accessed by you, and not any other user on your computer. If this is desired, then the lock icon is a good way to ensure that those settings are in place. If this isn’t your intention, then it’s an eyesore.
    To remove the lock icon, we have to change the security settings on the folder to allow the Users group to, at the very least, read from the folder.
    Right-click on the folder with the lock icon and select Properties. Switch to the Security tab, and then press the Edit button.
    A list of groups and users that have access to the folder appears. Missing from the list will be the “Users” group. Click the Add button.
    The next window is a bit confusing, but all you need to do is enter “Users” into the text field near the bottom of the window. Click the Check Names button.
    “Users” will change to the location of the Users group on your particular computer. In our case, this is PHOENIX\Users (PHOENIX is the name of our test machine). Click OK.
    The Users group should now appear in the list of Groups and Users with access to the folder. You can modify the specific permissions that the Users group has if you’d like – at the minimum, it must have Read access. Click OK.
    Keep clicking OK until you’re back at the Explorer window. You should now see that the lock icon is gone from your folder!

  • Windows 7 Tips

    Restore Previous Versions of Files in Every Edition of Windows 7

    Have you ever accidentally deleted a file, or removed a crucial part of a document only to realize it no longer makes sense?  Windows 7 is smart enough to protect you from yourself, and here we’ll see how you can restore files in any edition of Windows 7.

    How does this work?
    The Previous Versions features is a part of the volume shadow copy service, which creates restore points to help roll back changes to your computer in the event of a problem.  It is also the backend for the surprisingly good image based backup in Windows 7.  By default, shadow copy will save a copy of your files once a day, or when activated explicitly such as when installing an update or new program.
    How do I access Previous Versions?
    It is simple to access previous versions of any file or folder on your Windows 7 computer.  Simply open any Explorer window, right-click on a file or folder you wish to restore, and select “Restore Previous Versions.”  For instance, if you accidentally deleted a file from a folder in My Documents, browse to that folder and open previous versions from it.  Please note that this will only appear on files and folders, not drives or Libraries.
    This dialog shows all the previous copies of this folder that are available.  Here we see that there is a copy of my folder e-books from yesterday, 3 days earlier this week, and some from the week before that.  Click on the time you wish to restore from.
    You can choose to either Open, Copy, or Restore the folder.  If you click Restore, you can restore the full contents of the folder as it appeared at some time in the past.
    Choose copy to copy the entire contents of the folder as it appeared at that time to another location.  For instance, you could copy it to a flash drive for safe keeping.
    Or, choose Open to browse the contents of the folder as it appeared at that time.  You can open, copy, or do anything you choose with the file from here.  For instance, if I deleted the Audio Books folder accidentally today, I could click copy, and then past it into my normal e-books folder in my Documents folder.
    When in this mode, you are directly browsing the shadow copy of your hard drive.  The path to the folder shows the date and time of the copy.
    And, the great thing is, this feature is available in all editions of Windows 7, including the low-cost Starter edition often preinstalled in netbooks.
    Change Shadow Copy Settings
    By default, the shadow copies of your files will use up to 5% of your hard drive space.  You can change this by typing “Shadow Copy” into your Start Menu search.  Click the “Create a restore point” link.
    Here you can restore your system with a restore point, create a new restore point, or configure the settings.  Click Configure to manage Shadow Copy.
    You can choose to save both system settings and previous versions of files, only previous versions of files, or to turn this feature off entirely (which we do not recommend at all).  You can also choose how much space will be dedicated to these files.  The default is 5% of your hard drive, but you can choose more or less if you wish.  Finally, you can also remove all previous restore points, including the previous versions of all your files.

  • Windows 7 Feature – AppLocker

    Restrict Access to Programs with AppLocker in Windows 7
    If you share a computer and don’t want other users accessing certain applications, there is a new feature in Windows 7 that allows you to block them. Today we take a quick look at restricting what programs other users can access using AppLocker.


    Note: AppLocker is only available in Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 7.
    Using AppLocker
    To access Group Policy Editor and create rules in AppLocker you’ll need to be logged in as Administrator. Click on Start and type gpedit.msc into the search box and hit Enter.
    Under Local Computer Policy go to Computer Configuration \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Application Control Policies \ AppLocker.
    Now you will see the overall controls for the applications.
    Under Configure Rule Enforcement click on the Configure rule enforcement link.
    Now under AppLocker Properties check the boxes next to Configured under Executable rules then click Ok.
    Blocking Apps from Running
    After completing the steps above, under the Overview section click on Executable Rules.
    Since this is your first time accessing AppLocker, there will be no rules listed. Right-click and select Create New Rule
    This opens up the Create Executable Rules wizard and you can select not to show the introduction screen at start up for the next time you access it.
    Select Permissions under Action select Deny.
    Add the user you want to block, in this case it’s Jack.
    After you’ve selected the deny action and selected the user continue to the next step.
    In Conditions you can select from Publisher, Path or File hash. We don’t want Jack to have access to any of the games. so we will select Path.
    Click on Browse Folders and select the Microsoft Games folder.
    In the next screen you could add Exceptions like allowing certain files, but because we are blocking the entire games directory we’ll skip to the next screen.
    Here you can add a description to the rule so you can keep track of them is there are several rules configured. When everything looks right click on Create.
    A message pops up saying default rules haven’t been created yet. It is important to make sure they are created so click Yes to this message.
    Now you will see the default rules and the new one you created showing Jack is denied access to the Microsoft Games directory.
    After creating the rule make sure and go into services and make Application Identification is started and that it’s set to automatically start as well otherwise the rules won’t work. By default this service is not started so you will need to enable it.
    Now, when Jack logs into his user account and tries to access the games he will only see the following message. Only an Administrator can go in and change the rule.

  • Windows 7 Tips

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    Schedule Updates for Windows Media Center
    If you use Windows Media Center in Vista or Windows 7, it can sometimes be annoying when it decides to download updates and waste bandwidth while you’re working on other things. Here we take a look at scheduling the updates for a specific time.

    You may have noticed the icon in your system tray telling you Windows Media Center is updating.
    To schedule the updates for a specific time,
    Open Media Center and go to
    Tasks \ Settings \ General \ Automatic Download Options.
    Then schedule a start and stop time for downloading updates.

  • Windows Explorer Startup Folder

    Set the Windows Explorer Startup Folder in Windows 7
    When you open Windows Explorer from the Taskbar in Windows 7, it defaults to the Libraries view. Today we take a look at changing the target path to allow you to customize which location opens by default.

    When you click on the Windows Explorer icon on the Windows 7 Taskbar, it’s set to open to the Libraries view by default. You might not use the Libraries feature, or want to set it to a different location that is more commonly used.
    Set Windows Explorer Startup Location
    To change the default startup location for the Windows Explorer Taskbar icon, if you have no Explorer screens open, hold down the Shift key, right-click the Explorer icon, and select Properties.
    Or if you have Windows open, right-click on the Explorer icon to bring up the Jumplist, then right-click on Windows Explorer and select Properties.
    Windows Explorer Properties opens up and you’ll want to click on the Shortcut tab so we can change the Target.
    A common place you might want it to default to is your Documents folder. So to do that we need to enter the following into the Target field.
    %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,::{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}
    Now when you open Windows Explorer from the Taskbar it defaults to My Documents
    If you use the Start Menu to access Windows Explorer, open the Start Menu and go to All Programs \ Accessories and right-click on Windows Explorer then select Properties. Change the target path to where you want it to go.
    In this example we want Windows Explorer to open up to My Computer so we entered the following in the Target field.
    %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /E,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
    When click on the Explorer icon in the Start Menu it defaults to My Computer

  • Windows 7 Tips

    Show the Classic “All Programs” Menu in the Start Menu in Windows 7
    There are a lot of new users to Windows 7 who are not happy with the new Start Menu and wish they could revert to the Classic menu. Here is how to at least get back the Classic “All Programs” Menu.

    Remember the Classic Start Menu in XP where you could show the All Programs Menu? Let’s take a look at getting that back in Windows 7.
    Note: This trick uses a Registry hack so you’ll want to make sure you back up the Registry before making any changes.
    Get All Programs Menu Back
    First click on the Start Menu and type regedit into the Search box and hit Enter.
    Now we need to navigate to 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders. 
    Double-click on Favorites on the right side
    Now change the Value data to the following and click OK:
        C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
    Next scroll down a bit further to 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders. 
    Double-click on the Favorites entry.
    Again we need to edit the Value data to:
        C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
    After making the changes close out of the Registry Editor and right-click on the Start Menu and select Properties.
    In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties Window click on the Start Menu tab then click on the Customize button.

    Scroll down and click the box next to Favorites menu, click OK, and reboot your system.
    When you come back from the Restart you will see Programs on the right side of the Start Menu and have a list of All Programs similar to that of XP.

  • Volume Mixer – Windows 7 Tips

    Windows 7 Volume Mixer Enables Quick Access to Sound Settings
    Windows 7 does more than just add big, shiny new features—it also has loads of little tiny tweaks that just add a really nice touch to the overall usability of the operating system. Let’s take a quick look at one of those tweaks in the volume mixer.

    We should start off by pointing out that you can right-click the sound icon in the tray, and get a quick menu that gives you access to Sounds, Mixer, etc.
    If you single-click on the volume icon, it’ll pop up the slider that we’re all familiar with—but you can also click the Speaker icon to open up the Speaker Properties dialog.
    Not surprisingly, you can change your speaker settings in here.
    If you open up the full mixer panel, you can also click on the System Sounds icon
    Which, naturally, pops up the Sounds panel where you can disable particular sounds, or all of them.
    It’s nothing revolutionary, but Windows 7 is full of these little tiny tweaks that just make things easier to use.

  • Change password time limit – Windows 7 Tips

    Change the Length of Time When Users Need to Change their Login Password

    If you’re the administrator of a shared computer or a few in the office, you probably want to have the users change their password periodically for enhanced security. Here’s how to do it in Windows 7

    Note: This uses Local Security Policy which is not available in Home versions of Windows. 
    These are local settings on machines not on a domain. Domain settings will take precedence over local settings.
    Changing Password Age in Windows 7
    • Log in as Administrator and type Secpol.msc into the Search box of the Start Menu and hit Enter.
    • Local Security Policy opens. Navigate to Account Policies \ Password Policy and double-click on Maximum password age.
    • Here you can change the Maximum password age to what you want. By default it is 42 days, but you can change it from 1-999 days. When you’re finished, click OK and close out  of Local Security Policy Editor.

    • If you set it to zero, the password would never expire.

  • Local user and groups – Windows 7 Tips

    Using Local Users and Groups to Manage User Passwords in Windows 7
    If you have multiple user on your local machine or manage workstations in an office, you might want to enable or disable their password protection for added security. Today we take a look at how to do it in Windows 7.

    Note: Unfortunately this method does not work in Home versions of Windows. Also, these are stand alone machines and not part of a domain.
    Manage Passwords in Vista & Windows 7
    Here we will start with basic password management. Right-click on Computer in the Start Menu or from the Desktop icon and select Manage.
    Navigate to Local Users and Groups \ Users and double-click on the user account where you want to manage password expiration.
    In this example we used User_geek and we can select if they need to change the password on next login, disable them changing it, or password never expires. The process is essentially the same in Vista as well.
    For User_geek we set their account to change the password on the next logon. So when they logon they’ll see the following message.
    Since this is the first time they have logged on, there was no Password yet, but they will need to create one.
    Password was successfully created

  • $INPLACE.~TR and $WINDOWS.~Q – Windows 7 Tips

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    What Are the $INPLACE.~TR and $WINDOWS.~Q Folders?
    So you’ve upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 and you’re wondering what those new hidden folders are doing in the root of your system drive, wasting 1+ GB of space. They are system protected, so should you really delete them?


    So What Are They?
    These two folders are leftover folders created by Windows during the upgrade process, but unfortunately they don’t get deleted at the end of the setup process. You’ll only see them if you’ve got the option to show hidden files enabled under Organize –> Folder and Search Options.
    The good news is that you can definitely get rid of them.
    Use Disk Cleanup
    The easiest way to remove them is to just run Disk Cleanup (type it into the start menu search box), and then click the button to “Clean up system files”, which will re-launch Disk Cleanup as administrator.
    Now that you’ve done that, find the option for “Files discarded by Windows upgrade” and make sure it’s checked, then click the OK button. We’d recommend using Disk Cleanup on a regular basis, of course, and checking most of the rest of the boxes.
    Once you’re done, it’ll clean up the files.