Top 10 Windows 8 tips and tricks

Customize your tiles

Make the most of your Windows Start screen tiles by adjusting the sizes, where they are located, and what is listed.

• Move any tile by clicking and dragging the tile. While moving a tile, if you need a larger view of the Start screen move the tile towards the top or bottom of the screen to zoom out.
• Use your mouse wheel to scroll left-to-right through your tiles.
• Any Desktop shortcut or program can be pinned to the Start screen by right-clicking the icon and choosing Pin to Start.
• In the bottom right-hand corner of the start screen is a magnifying glass with tiles, click this icon to get a zoomed out view of your Start screen. In this view, if you right-click on a group of tiles you'll be given the option to name group, which can be useful if you have a group of related tiles (e.g. games). In this view, you can also click and drag a group to organize your tile groups.
• Create a new speed bump between tile groups by moving a tile to a speed bump.
• Resize any User tile or Live tile by right-clicking the tile and choosing resize.
• If there is a tile you want on your Taskbar, right-click the tile and choose Pin to taskbar.
• Show admin applications on the Start screen by clicking Settings in Charms, click Settings, and change the Show administrative tools from No to Yes.
• In Internet Explorer 10, you can also pin any of your favorite web pages to your Start Screen.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts

Knowing at least some of the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts will make your Windows 8 experience much more enjoyable. Try to memorize these top Windows 8 shortcut keys.

• Press the Windows key to open the Start screen or switch to the Desktop (if open).
• Press the Windows key + D will open the Windows Desktop.
• Press the Windows key + . to pin and unpin Windows apps on the side of the screen.
• Press the Windows key + X to open the power user menu, which gives you access to many of the features most power users would want (e.g. Device Manager and Command Prompt).
• Press the Windows key + C to open the Charms.
• Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings, which is the same Settings found in Charms.
• Press and hold the Windows key + Tab to show open apps.
• Press the Windows key + Print screen to create a screen shot, which is automatically saved into your My Pictures folder.

See our Windows shortcuts page for a full listing of all Windows shortcuts.

Know your hot corners

The corners on your screen are hot corners and give you access to different Windows features. Below, is a brief explanation of each of these corners.

Bottom Left-hand corner

The bottom left-hand hot corner of the screen will allow you to access the Start screen, if you're in the Start screen and have the Desktop open, this corner will open the Desktop from the Start screen.

Tip: Right-clicking in the left hand corner will open the power user menu.

Top-left corner of the screen

Moving the mouse to the top-left corner and then down will display all the apps running on the computer. Clicking and dragging any of these apps to the left or right-hand side of the screen will snap that app to that side of the screen. Each of these open app icons can also be right-clicked to close or snap.

Right-hand side of the screen

On the full right-hand side of the screen will be given access to the Windows Charms.

Taking advantage of search

The Search in Windows 8 has been significantly improved when compared to all previous versions of Windows. To search for a file or run a program in Windows 8 from the Start screen just start typing what you're trying to find or want to run.

As you begin typing, the results will start appearing on the left-hand side. In addition to being able to search for files and run programs, the Search also supports limiting the search to apps such as Finance, People, Maps, Photos, Mail, Music, Videos, Weather, and much more. If what you are searching for is not a file or program, click on the app you wish to use as the search. For example, if you were searching for "New York" and selected the Weather App you would be shown the weather in New York, NY.

By default, Search organizes the available Apps by how frequently they are used and then in alphabetical order. If you want to keep your favorite app at the top of the Search list, right-click the app and choose Pin. Pinning the app will lock it in place regardless of how often it is used. If there is an app you don't want (e.g. Finance) you can turn on and off any of the search apps through the PC settings, which is found under the Settings in the Charms.

Bonus tip: The Search is also found through Charms and can also be opened by pressing Windows key + F.

Running two apps side by side

Any app can be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen. For example, open the People app and then press the Windows Key + . (period) to move that app to the right-hand side of the screen, pressing the same keys again will move it to the left-hand side, and pressing the same keys again will make it full screen. While an app is pinned, any other app or program can be opened and loaded into the available space on the screen. For example, in the below picture, we've opened a browser window and have the People app running to monitor our social networks.

Any open app can also be pinned using your mouse by clicking at the top of the tile and dragging it to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Bonus tip: The Desktop can also be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Note: In order for snap to work properly your resolution must be at least 1,366 x 768.

Windows 8 Task Manager

The Windows 8 Task Manager has been significantly improved over previous versions of Windows. Some of the new changes include showing a total percent usage at the top of your Processes, which makes it easier to determine total memory and CPU usage, improved Performance graphs, a Startup tab to see startup processes and their impact to system performance, and the App history tab (as shown below) that gives you the total resources an app has used over a period of time. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to start exploring the new Task Manager.

Use a picture password to log into your computer

Windows 8 includes a new feature called Picture password, which allows you to authenticate with the computer using a series of gestures that include circles, straight lines, and taps. Enable this feature if you want a new way to access your computer or have a hard time with passwords.

1. Open the Windows Charms.
2. Click Settings and then More PC settings
3. In the PC settings window click Users and then select Create a picture password

Bonus tip: A four digit pin password can also be created and used to access your computer.

Take advantage of Windows 8 apps

Windows 8 comes included with several apps to help you get the most from your computer. Below are just a few of the included apps.

People

Microsoft touts the People feature in Windows 8 because they understand how many people are using social networks today. In the People feature you'll be able to connect your Windows computer to all the major social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Once connected, you can pin the people app and monitor your social network (as shown below), use People in Search to find people, and get an overview of what is happening in all your social networks.

Reader

The Reader app will give you PDF support right out of the box.

SkyDrive

The SkyDrive app will give you access to the Microsoft cloud service SkyDrive, which allows you to store your photos, documents, and other files in the cloud and access or share those files with any computer with Internet access.

Store

Take advantage of the Windows Store and install one or more of the thousands of available apps designed for Windows 8. The Store is found in the Start screen, or use Search to search the Store app for any apps that you are trying to find.

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5 Android Tricks for a Smarter Smartphone

In some ways, new technology can be a lot like magic. Things that seemed impossible are suddenly happening right before your very eyes, and unless you are versed in programming, you probably can’t explain them. Google, in its Android operating system, loves to emphasize this ability of technology to impress. Take, for instance, the Google Now app: a modern day mind reader that knows where you are going, how to get there, and maybe even where you’ll want to stop on the way.

This tech magic is not just for novelty. It has very practical applications as well. People everywhere are coming to Android for its smart, time-saving, and customizable features, making it the most widely used operating system on smartphones

But if you are new to Android or switching from iOS, you may still be discovering your device’s full potential.  Maybe you’re even scratching your head wondering what gets people so excited about this software. If that’s true for you, read on to discover five of the best Android tricks to get a smarter smartphone experience.

Note: none of these features require access to administrative or “root” privileges on your phone.

1. Home Renovation (customized launcher)

When you swipe to open your Android device and look at your home screen, are you happy with what you see? Are there things you wish you could change about the look and feel? One of Android’s main selling points is customization, but if the device’s style isn’t suiting you, you may think it is pretty limited.

What you may not realize, though, is that the Android home-screen, lock screen, and app drawer can all be replaced easily. The Google Play Store offers a wide-range of alternatives to custom fit your taste and needs.

Nova Launcher, one of the most popular options for tweaking the Android experience, gives you control over virtually every detail. But if you are looking for simplicity and style, you might try Chameleon Launcher, MIHome, or the soon-to-be-released Aviate app.

2. Quick-Draw (smart widgets)

Widgets are a unique feature for Android. These helpful tools deliver information, updates, and app-specific data right to your home-screen in a stylish, interactive display. This way, you can get what you need quickly, without launching a separate app.

Many apps that you download from the Google Play Store come with widgets built in to them. But if you wish you had a widget that doesn’t seem to exist, you can also make it for yourself! User-friendly tools such as UCCW (ultimate custom widget) will allow you to design almost anything you can dream up with just a few steps. You don’t even have to know code!

Some savvy graphic designers even make money selling their own pre-made widgets for the UCCW app. Anyone with good design sensibilities and a publishing account on the Google Play Store can do the same. If this interests you, all you really need is some inspiration and some basic design skills, which you can easily learn in this graphic design course.

3. Presto Change-O (quick navigation)

Early versions of Android were task-management challenged. If you wanted to switch apps, you had to press the home key and navigate all the way through from there. There was no way to switch between apps you already had open.

This has become much easier in Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and later versions. There is now an app switching key built in to most devices.  But if you really want to pick up speed, you can do even better.

Independent android developers have devised some very clever approaches to quick navigation on your device.Sidebar, Homeflip, Glovebox, and SwipePad all offer unique options for setting up quick navigation that you wouldn’t think was possible on your device. Each of the apps is unique and worth a try. Give them all a spin to find out what works best for you.

4. The Hidden Hand (task automation)

Are there things you want your phone to do automatically? For instance, when you plug in your headphones, do you wish your favorite music app would come up? Do you forget to turn wi-fi on when you get home and wish your device would remember to do it for you?

These are just two examples of many automations you can accomplish using Tasker. A long-time favorite of tech enthusiasts and productivity champs everywhere, the Tasker app lets you make mini-programs that carry out tasks you would otherwise need to do manually. Limited only by the user’s comfort and skill level, Tasker’s ability to “get it done for you” is truly remarkable.

Once you install the app, you can easily find templates online to start making simple tasks.  But if you really find yourself drawn to creating intricate tasks, you may want to learn some programming fundamentals. As an aside: apart from allowing you to save time by building Android automations, the skills you will learn in a basic programming course will help you approach real-life problems methodically and logically.  It has immense general applicability.

5. The Do-It-Yourself (easy app-making)

A great thing about Android is that it is relatively easy to create and publish your own apps on the platform. If you have a great idea for an app and no clue how to make it, here is some good news: some code-free software will let you get it done today! For free! And if you want a jump-start, there is even a course to get you up and running on Android in no time.

If you find you enjoy working with Android, and you do learn a little code, you open up many more possibilities to turn your ideas into apps. There is always something to learn, even for advanced programmers, but getting started may be much easier than you think. You can get there in very little time with the help of a comprehensive online course in Android programming.

Hopefully, these Android tricks will get you on the path to discovering the potential of Android and possibly even building on it. Google and third party developers are always unveiling new ideas and technologies, sometimes with the grandeur of a modern magic trick and sometimes with the simple promise of a few minutes saved. Either way, it is an exciting and promising world, and it is right there at the end of your stylus.

How to Hide and Lock Hard Disk Drives in "My Computer"........

2. 
   1
   Click on the "Start" button. Go to "Run", type "gpedit.msc" and press enter.
3. 
   2
   Wait for the "Group Policy" window to appear. Click on the "+" button beside User Configuration then click on the "+" button beside "Administrative Templates". Then click the "+" button beside "Windows Components" and then click "Windows Explorer".
4. 
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   Search for "Hide these specified drives in My Computer" in the options that appear in the right column of the window. Double click it, enable it and choose the drive(s) you want to hide.
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Windows 7 performance and productivity tips

UPDATED Help and advice for your Windows 7 PC

page 04

67. Search Control Panel

Navigating the Control Panel has never been the easiest of processes, however Windows 7 has tried to improve the situation by equipping the Control Panel window with its own search box. And, just as you might think, if you enter part of an applet name - "Display", say - then matching applets will be listed right away.

You don't have to be quite so specific about what you type, though, because Search generally does a very good job of figuring out what's relevant. Entering "hacker" displays the Firewall applet, for instance, while typing "virus" provides a link to Windows Defender. It's all very helpful, but keep in mind that you don't have to launch Control Panel to get these results: simply type your key words into the Start Menu search box and the same links will appear.

68. Repair libraries

Windows 7's new Libraries are a great way to simplify file management, when they're all working properly. Unfortunately, if their settings become damaged then they might not always display the files you expect, or you might not even be able to access them at all. If the problems survive a reboot then right-click the Libraries folder, select Restore Default Libraries, and your system should be back in full working order. (You'll lose any library customisations you made, though, so try this only as a last resort.)

69. Add network folders to libraries

Windows 7 Libraries are all about making it easy to view content that's scattered across many folders, and even hard drives, but there are limitations. And in particular, Explorer won't enable you to add network folders.

If this is a problem, though, all you have to do is grab a copy of the Win7 Library Tool, a simple free program that enables you to freely add any network location to whatever library you like.

70. Hide unused libraries

If you don't use some Windows 7 libraries then it's generally a good idea to hide them, since this recovers valuable space in the left-hand Explorer navigation pane and cuts down on scrolling. Just right-click an unwanted library and select Don't Show in Navigation Pane to hide it. To bring it back, click Libraries, right-click whatever you need and choose Show in Navigation Pane.

71. Find bottlenecks

From what we've seen so far Windows 7 is already performing better than Vista, but if your PC seems sluggish then it's now much easier to uncover the bottleneck. Click Start, type RESMON and press Enter to launch the Resource Monitor, then click the CPU, Memory, Disk or Network tabs. Windows 7 will immediately show which processes are hogging the most system resources.

The CPU view is particularly useful, and provides something like a more powerful version of Task Manager. If a program has locked up, for example, then right-click its name in the list and select Analyze Process. Windows will then try to tell you why it's hanging - the program might be waiting for another process, perhaps - which could give you the information you need to fix the problem.

Resource monitor keeps a careful eye on exactly how your PC is being used

72. Keyboard shortcuts

Windows 7 supports several useful new keyboard shortcuts.

Alt+P
Display/ hide the Explorer preview pane

Windows Logo+G
Display gadgets in front of other windows

Windows Logo++ (plus key)
Zoom in, where appropriate

Windows Logo+- (minus key)
Zoom out, where appropriate

Windows Logo+Up
Maximise the current window

Windows Logo+Down
Minimise the current window

Windows Logo+Left
Snap to the left hand side of the screen

Windows Logo+Right
Snap to the right hand side of the screen

Windows Logo+Home
Minimise/ restore everything except the current window

73. Drag and drop to the command line

When working at the command line you'll often need to access files, which usually means typing lengthy paths and hoping you've got them right. But Windows 7 offers an easier way. Simply drag and drop the file onto your command window and the full path will appear, complete with quotes and ready to be used.

This feature isn't entirely new: you could do this in Windows XP, too, but drag and drop support disappeared in Vista. There does seem to be a new Windows 7 complication, though, in that it only seems to work when you open the command prompt as a regular user. Run cmd.exe as an administrator and, while it accepts dropped files, the path doesn't appear.

74. Customise your jumplists

Right-click an icon on your taskbar, perhaps Notepad, and you'll see a jumplist menu that provides easy access to the documents you've been working on recently. But maybe there's another document that you'd like to be always available? Then drag and drop it onto the taskbar icon, and it'll be pinned to the top of the jumplist for easier access. Click the pin to the right of the file name, or right-click it and select Unpin From This List when you need to remove it.

75. Faster program launches

If you've launched one instance of a program but want to start another, then don't work your way back through the Start menu. It's much quicker to just hold down Shift and click on the program's icon (or middle-click it), and Windows 7 will start a new instance for you.

76. Speedy video access

Want faster access to your Videos folder? Windows 7 now lets you add it to the Start menu. Just right-click the Start orb, click Properties > Start Menu > Customize, and set the Videos option to Display As a Link. If you've a TV tuner that works with Windows 7 then you'll appreciate the new option to display the Recorded TV folder on the Start menu, too.

77. Mount ISO images

Windows 7 introduced the ability to burn an ISO image to disc, but it doesn't provide any way to browse that image beforehand - which is why you need a copy of WinCDEmu. This simple tool mounts ISO and other image files as virtual drives, enabling you to access them in Explorer just as though they were physical discs.

Once you've set up WinCDEmu, it will instantly mount any image file with a double-click

78. Run web searches

The Windows 7 search tool can now be easily extended to search online resources, just as long as someone creates an appropriate search connector. To add Flickr support, say, visit I Started Something, click Download the Connector, choose the Open option and watch as it's downloaded (the file is tiny, it'll only take a moment). A Flickr Search option will be added to your Searches folder, and you'll be able to search images from your desktop.

A multitude of other ready-made searches, such as Google and YouTube, can be downloaded from the windowsclub.com website.

79. Schedule Media Centre downloads

You can now tell Windows Media Centre to download data at a specific time, perhaps overnight, a useful way to prevent it sapping your bandwidth for the rest of the day. Launch Media Centre, go to Tasks > Settings > General > Automatic Download Options, and set the download start and stop times that you'd like it to use.

80. Multi-threaded Robocopies

Anyone who's ever used the excellent command-line robocopy tool will appreciate the new switches introduced with Windows 7. Our favourite, /MT, can improve speed by carrying out multi-threaded copies with the number of threads you specify (you can have up to 128, though that might be going a little too far). Enter robocopy /? at a command line for the full details.

81. Load IE faster

Some Internet Explorer add-ons can take a while to start, dragging down the browser's performance, but at least IE8 can now point a finger at the worst resource hogs. Click Tools > Manage Add-ons, check the Load Time in the right-hand column, and you'll immediately see which browser extensions are slowing you down.

82. An Alt+Tab alternative

You want to access one of the five Explorer windows you have open, but there are so many other programs running that Alt+Tab makes it hard to pick out what you need. The solution? Hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the Explorer icon. Windows 7 will then cycle through the Explorer windows only, a much quicker way to locate the right one. And of course this works with any application that has multiple windows open.

83. Block annoying alerts

Just like Vista, Windows 7 will display a suitably stern warning if it thinks your antivirus, firewall or other security settings are incorrect.

But unlike Vista, if you disagree then you can now turn off alerts on individual topics. If you no longer want to see warnings just because you've dared to turn off the Windows firewall, say, then click Control Panel > System and Security > Action Centre > Change Action Centre settings, clear the Network Firewall box and click OK.

84. Parallel defrags

The standard Windows 7 defragger offers a little more control than we saw in Vista, and the command line version also has some interesting new features. The /r switch will defrag multiple drives in parallel, for instance (they'll obviously need to be physically separate drives for this to be useful). The /h switch runs the defrag at a higher than normal priority, and the /u switch provides regular progress reports so you can see exactly what's going on. Enter the command

defrag /c /h /u /r

in a command window to speedily defrag a system with multiple drives, or enter defrag /? to view the new options for yourself.

85. Fix Explorer

The Windows 7 Explorer has a couple of potential annoyances. Launching Computer will no longer display system folders like Control Panel or Recycle Bin, for instance. And if you're drilling down through a complicated folder structure in the right-hand pane of Explorer, the left-hand tree won't always expand to follow what you're doing, which can make it more difficult to see exactly where you are. Fortunately there's a quick fix: click Organize > Folder and Search Options, check Show All Folders and Automatically Expand To Current Folder, and click OK.

86. Faster file handing

If you hold down Shift while right-clicking a file in Explorer, then you'll find the Send To file now includes all your main user folders: Contacts, Documents, Downloads, Music and more. Choose any of these and your file will be moved there immediately.

87. Create folder favourites

If you're regularly working on the same folder in Explorer then select it in the right-hand page, right-click Favourites on the left-hand menu, and select Add to Favourites. It'll then appear at the bottom of the favourites list for easy one-click access later.

88. Disable hibernation

By default Windows 7 will permanently consume a chunk of your hard drive with its hibernation file, but if you never use sleep, and always turn your PC off, then this will never actually be used. To disable hibernation and recover a little hard drive space, launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power, then set both HibernateEnabled and HiberFileSizePerfect to zero.

89. Create a new folder shortcut

When you need to create a new folder in Windows 7 Explorer, don't reach for the mouse. Just press Ctrl+Shift+N to create the folder in the active Explorer window, then type its name as usual.

90. Open a jumplist

Most people right-click a Windows taskbar icon to view its jumplist. You can also hold the left mouse button over the icon, though, then drag upwards to reveal the jumplist and choose the option you need, a more natural action that should be just a little faster.

91. Search quickly

If you'd like to search for something in an Explorer window then there's no need to use the mouse. Simply press [F3] to move the focus to the search box, enter your keyword and press [Enter] to run the search.

92. Search file contents

There's no obvious way in the Windows interface to search the contents of files that haven't been indexed, but all you need to do is start your search with the "content:" search filter. So entering "content:Microsoft", for instance, will find all documents (whether they're actually indexed or not) that contain the word Microsoft.

93. Close in a click

Hover your mouse cursor over a Windows taskbar button will display a preview thumbnail of that application window. You don't need that app any more? Then middle-click the thumbnail to close it down.

94. Leave the Homegroup

Homegroups are an easy way to network Windows 7 PCs, but if you don't use the feature then turning it off can save you a few system resources.

Click Start, type Homegroup, and click Choose Homegroup and Sharing Options. Click Leave the Homegroup > Leave the Homegroup > Finish.

Now click Start, type services.msc and press [Enter] to launch the Services Control Panel applet.

Find and double-click both the HomeGroup Listener and HomeGroup Provider service, clicking Stop and setting Startup Type to Disabled in each case, and the services won't be launched when you need reboot.

Useful Windows 7 enhancements

UPDATED Help and advice for your Windows 7 PC

page 03

Useful Windows 7 enhancements

44. Play To

Windows Media Player is great for accessing local music and videos, but that's just the start. You can also browse the media libraries on other PCs across your network, and the Play To feature means it's now even possible to 'push' media from one system, and have it automatically begin playing on another.

To set this up, first launch Media Player, click Stream > Turn on media streaming, then click Turn On Media Streaming in the Options dialog.

Click Stream, select Allow remote control of my player > Allow remote control on this network, then click Stream > Automatically allow devices to play my media.

Repeat this on any network PC which you'd like to include, then right-click any file within Media Player, and select the Play To menu. Choose a remote computer from the list, and the media file will be pushed across the network, automatically playing on the other system.

45. Customise UAC

Windows Vista's User Account Control was a good idea in practice, but poor implementation put many people off - it raised far too many alerts. Fortunately Windows 7 displays less warnings by default, and lets you further fine-tune UAC to suit your preferred balance between security and a pop-up free life (Start > Control Panel > Change User Account Control Settings).

46. Use Sticky Notes

The Sticky Notes app is both simpler and more useful in Windows 7. Launch StikyNot.exe and you can type notes at the keyboard; right-click a note to change its colour; click the + sign on the note title bar to add another note; and click a note and press Alt + 4 to close the note windows (your notes are automatically saved).

47. Open folder in new process

By default Windows 7 opens folders in the same process. This saves system resources, but means one folder crash can bring down the entire shell. If your system seems unstable, or you're doing something in Explorer that regularly seems to causes crashes, then open Computer, hold down Shift, right-click on your drive and select Open in New Process. The folder will now be launched in a separate process, and so a crash is less likely to affect anything else.

48. Watch more videos

Windows Media Player is a powerful program, but it still won't play all the audio and video files you'll find online. Fortunately Windows 7 codecs packsupports just about every file and compression type there is, and installing it should get your troublesome multimedia files playing again.

49. Preview fonts

Open the Fonts window in Windows XP and Vista and you'll see the font names, probably with icons to tell you whether they're TrueType or OpenType, but that's about it. Windows 7 sees some useful font-related improvements.

Open the new fonts window and you'll find a little preview for every font, giving you a quick idea of how they're going to look.

The tedium of scrolling through multiple entries for each family, like Times New Roman, Times New Roman Bold, Times New Roman Bold Italic and so on, has finally ended. There's now just a single entry for each font (though you can still see all other members of the family).

And there's a new OpenType font, Gabriola, added to the mix. It's an attractive script font, well worth a try the next time you need a stylish document that stands out from the crowd.

50. New WordPad formats

By default WordPad will save documents in Rich Text Format, just as before. But browse the Save As Format list and you'll see you can also save (or open, actually) files in the Office 2007 .docx or OpenDocument .odt formats.

51. Protect your data

USB flash drives are convenient, portable, and very easy to lose. Which is a problem, especially if they're carrying sensitive data. Fortunately Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise have the solution: encrypt your documents with an extension of Microsoft's BitLocker technology, and only someone with the password will be able to access it. Right-click your USB flash drive, select Turn on BitLocker and follow the instructions to protect your private files.

Your USB flash drives can easily be encrypted with BitLocker

52. Minimise quickly with shake

If you have multiple windows open on your desktop and things are getting too cluttered, it used to be a time-consuming process to close them all down. In Windows 7 you can use the Aero Shake feature to minimise everything in seconds, using a cool mouse gesture. Grab the title bar of the window you wish to keep open and give it a shake, and rejoice in a clear desktop area.

53. Configure your favourite music

The Windows 7 Media Centre now comes with an option to play your favourite music, which by default creates a changing list of songs based on your ratings, how often you play them, and when they were added (it's assumed you'll prefer songs you've added in the last 30 days). If this doesn't work then you can tweak how Media Centre decides what a favourite tune is- click Tasks > Settings > Music > Favourite Music and configure the program to suit your needs.

54. Customise System Restore

There was very little you could do to configure System Restore in Vista, but Windows 7 improves the situation with a couple of useful setup options.

Click the Start orb, right-click Computer and select Properties > System Protection > Configure, and set the Max Usage value to a size that suits your needs (larger to hold more restore points, smaller to save disk space).

And if you don't need System Restore to save Windows settings then choose the option to Only Restore Previous Versions of Files. Windows 7 won't back up your Registry, which means you'll squeeze more restore points and file backups into the available disk space. System Restore is much less likely to get an unbootable PC working again, though, so use this trick at your own risk.

55. Run As

Hold down Shift, right-click any program shortcut, and you'll see an option to run the program as a different user, handy if you're logged in to the kids' limited account and need to run something with higher privileges. This isn't really a new feature - Windows XP had a Run As option that did the same thing - but Microsoft stripped it out of Vista, so it's good to see it's had a change of heart.

56. Search privacy

By default Windows 7 will remember your PC search queries, and display the most recent examples when searching in Windows Explorer. If you're sharing a PC and don't want everyone to see your searches, then launch REGEDIT and browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer. Right-click in the right-hand pane, create a new DWORD value called DisableSearchBoxSuggestions, set it to 1, and this will take effect after you next reboot.

57. Tweak PC volume

By default Windows 7 will now automatically reduce the volume of your PC's sounds whenever it detects you're making or receiving PC-based phone calls. If this proves annoying (or maybe you'd like it to turn off other sounds altogether) then you can easily change the settings accordingly. Just right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar, select Sounds > Communications, and tell Windows what you'd like it to do.

58. Rearrange the system tray

With Windows 7 we finally see system tray icons behave in a similar way to everything else on the taskbar. So if you want to rearrange them, then go right ahead, just drag and drop them into the order you like. You can even move important icons outside of the tray, drop them onto the desktop, then put them back when you no longer need to keep an eye on them.

59. Extend your battery life

Windows 7 includes new power options that will help to improve your notebook's battery life. To see them, click Start, type Power Options and click the Power Options link, then click Change Plan Settings for your current plan and select Change Advanced Settings. Expand Multimedia Settings, for instance, and you'll see a new Playing Video setting that can be set to optimise power savings rather than performance. Browse through the other settings and ensure they're set up to suit your needs.

60. Write crash dump files

Windows 7 won't create memory.dmp crash files if you've less than 25GB of free hard drive space, annoying if you've installed the Windows debugging tools and want to diagnose your crashes. You can turn this feature off, though: browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl, create a new DWORD value called AlwaysKeepMemoryDump, set it to 1, and the crash dump file will now always be saved.

61. Protect your data

If you have confidential files in a particular folder or two, and would like to keep them away from other network users, then right-click the folder, select Share With > Nobody, and they'll be made private, for your eyes only (or your user account, anyway).

62. Reorganise the taskbar

Windows 7 taskbar buttons are now movable - feel free to drag, drop and otherwise reorganise them to suit your needs. And then remember that each button can be launched by holding with the Windows key and pressing 1 to activate the first, 2 the second and so on, up to 0 for the tenth.

63. Repair your PC

If Windows 7 won't start, you may not need an installation or repair disc any more, as the repair environment is now usually installed on your hard drive. Press [F8] as your PC starts, and if you see a Repair Your Computer option, choose that to see the full range of Windows 7 recovery tools.

64. Reset and repair

Troubleshooting Windows problems can be complicated, since there are so many settings and options to consider. Windows 8 has simplified this with its own Repair and Refresh tool, but if you're not in the mood to upgrade just yet, there's always Tweaking.com's Windows Repair.

This compact program is able to resolve Registry and file permission problems, fix IE and the Windows firewall, repair icons, get Windows Update working again and a whole lot more. And in theory it's quite simple, too - just select the area you want to repair and it'll be fixed in a click or two.

Windows Repair has worked well for us in the past, but needs to be treated with care. Applying fixes you don't need can cause more problems than you solve. Select only options you're sure are appropriate, and don't run the program at all unless your PC has a full system backup available.

A helpful wizard walks you through every step of the repair process

65. ReadyBoost revamped

If you were unimpressed by ReadyBoost in Vista, it may be worth trying the technology again under Windows 7. The operating system now allows you to combine multiple USB drives, each with larger caches, to deliver an extra speed boost.

66. Fixing Windows 7 N

If you have Windows 7 N then this means you'll be missing key multimedia applications, like Media Player, Media Centre, DVD Maker and more. But that's not all. You also won't have some of the subsystems required by third-party apps like Nero MultiMedia Suite, which means that even if they install, you could have problems getting them to work correctly.

Fortunately there's an easy fix, though, as the missing components are available in the form of Microsoft's Windows Media Pack. If you're currently having media-related issues on a Windows 7 N installation, grab your copy from support.microsoft.com/kb/968211.