We needed a way to make sure computers that can be used 24 hour a day in our open areas can be updated. We have set up a system where these machines cannot be accessed during certain hours on a rolling scheduled. We found this way from the parental controls added to Windows 7. This is a way to lock the computer from users for certain days and hours of the day at any given time.
There must be account that these user log into these machine straight boot using PowerToy Tweakui. You set this up as the administrator of the machine.
Click the Start button and got to the Control Panel.
When the control panel pops up, choose Set up parental controls for any user.
Click the user account that you want to set time limit.
Click On the enforce current settings button in the next step to turn on Parental Controls for that user.
Now, the Time limits option is visible, click on it to change the setting.
Hold the left-mouse and drag the hours you want the hours you want to block. Click on OK to save settings.
We set theses five machines one each night to be logged off and get windows update, and virus updates at least we know it can happen once a week
In any workforce after a rollout upgrade to an OS there are legacy programs that will not come along. There are then stubborn cheap people who refuse to upgrade the software and demand IT make it work. We ran into this case this week for a computer that serves a dual purpose on to capture data from a old testing device and then report this data in new Office 2010. The reason the data needs to be in Office 2010 is the senior management has 2010 and do not want to wait for a converter. Here is our work around.
The first thing was needed to fin a way to run DOS on top of Windows 7 and we found a website with software that can help. Go to and download DOSbox.com install the program. If you have not seen it before it also works on Vista.
You need to move the DOS data to one folder
Run the program DOSbox
In the command you need type the path of that folder in the command
mount C C:\FolderwhereweputDOS
You can then do a simple DIR command and the list of your files will appear.
Then you only need to find the (.exe) file the runs your program
Type this at the prompt and hit enter.
When you are done you can exit the program as you normally would but DOSBox will stay open.
To exit this just hit the Escape key and type Exit
You return back to the year 2010.
The big advantage to Windows 7 is the homegroup. You can use this to share music, printers, files and folders through all the machined in your house. It is also the way you will be able to seen your screen wireless to the HD television.
Open HomeGroup by clicking the Start button
Clicking Control Panel
Type homegroup in the search box
Click on HomeGroup.
To connect to the network that the homegroup is on follow these steps:
Click the network icon in the notification area of your taskbar.
Click the network you want to connect to, and then click Connect.
After you’ve connected to the network, you can join a homegroup on your network.
Computers must be running Windows 7 to join a homegroup. HomeGroup is available in all editions of Windows 7. In Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic, you can join a homegroup, but you can’t create one.
The network location might not be set to Home. HomeGroup only works on home networks. To change your network location, follow these steps:
Open Network and Sharing Center by clicking the Start button and then click Control Panel. In the search box, type network, and then click Network and Sharing Center.
Click Work network or Public network, and then click Home network.
The other computers in your homegroup might not be in the home, left the homegroup, turned off, sleeping, or hibernating. The computer on which the homegroup was created might have been restarted and no one has logged on to it. Some services that HomeGroup needs don’t start until after logon. Make sure someone logs on to the computer that initially created the homegroup.
From time to time, you either want to turn the Gadgets feature in Windows 7 on or off. The Gadgets are turned on by default in Windows 7. Sometimes for more screen real estate, you can decide to remove the gadgets. Turning this feature off will remove Gadgets from the desktop context menu, and close any open gadgets for all users on the computer.
To turn them on or off follow these steps
Open Windows and Features.
To Turn On the Gadgets Feature
Check the Windows Gadget Platform box, and click on OK. (This is the default setting)
To Turn Off the Gadgets Feature
Uncheck the Windows Gadget Platform box, and click on OK.
Click on the Restart Now to apply
Depending on your choice when you machine restarts, the Gadgets will be displayed or not.
If you are running the 64-bit version of Windows 7 or Vista, you probably already noticed that yout your PDF files do not preview in Windows Explorer as they did in the 32-bit versions. You more than likely have to or have been downloading and opening using Adobe. There is a registry hack allows you to enable the functionality on your 64-bit operating system.
Follow these simple eight steps:
Click the Start Button
Go to the Search programs and files textbox and input the “regedit” command.
From the results that display Select regedit.exe.
When and if the UAC prompt appears, click the Yes button.
In the left pane of the Registry Editor scroll to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{DC6EFB56-9CFA-464D-8880-44885D7DC193}
In the right pane, locate AppID
Change AppID value to {534A1E02-D58F-44f0-B58B-36CBED287C7C}
Restart your computer for these changes to take affect.
Search Google for a PDF and it should open in your browser if you did these steps correctly.
Windows 7 has lived up to the reputation but there are a couple of things that we have missed from older versions. We did like the Quick Launch toolbar and that has been removed in Windows 7. If you have used it before you know, it was a way to keep using this form of navigation. There is three quick steps and registry hack away from having it back. The did not remove it totally in Windows 7 you can enable it.
Right-click on the Taskbar.
Mouseover Toolbars and select New toolbar.
In the Folder textbox, input the following:
%SystemDrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
Click on the Select Folder button.
The Quick Launch Bar will appear. Unlock the Taskbar by right-clicking on the taskbar and unchecking Lock Taskbar. Move the Quick Launch Bar to the desired location on the taskbar and then relock the taskbar.
That all there is to it.
This post will show you how to turn Windows 7 Aero Peek, On or Off this will for a short time to make all open windows on the desktop transparent. To achieve this you place the mouse pointer on the button at the far right end of the taskbar. There are few things to keep in mind. Desktop Preview will only work if you have more than one window opened. You need Aero Theme selected and not one of the Basic and High Contrast Themes for Desktop Preview to work.
The best way to turn this feature on or off is through the task bar and start menu properties
Right click on the Start button and click on Properties
Right click on a empty area on the taskbar and click on Properties
Click on the Taskbar tab
To Turn Off Aero Peek -
Uncheck the Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop box
Click on OK
To Turn On Aero Peek - By default, Desktop is turned on in Windows 7
Check the Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop box
Click on OK
To Change the Advanced Appearance Settings -
Colors and sizes selected here only appear if you have selected from the Basic and High Contrast Themes.
Click on the Advanced appearance settings link.
To Change a Window Item Setting :
To Select a Item - Click on the Item drop down menu and select a window item you want to change. You can also click on the different displayed windows at the top of the “Window Color and Appearance” window to select a Item to.
To Change the Item Size - Change the Size number to what you want.
To Change the Item Color - Click on the Color 1 and Color 2 drop down menu and select a color.
To Change the Font Settings for the Selected Item –
To Change the Item Font - Click on the Font drop down menu and select a font.
To Change the Item Font Size - Click on the Size drop down menu and select a number for the size. The higher the number, the larger the size.
To Change the Item Font Color - Click on the Color drop down menu and select a color.
To Have the Item Font in Bold - Click the B button to highlight it. If it is not highlighted, then the font will not be in bold.
To Have the Item Font in Italic - Click on the I button to highlight it. If it is not highlighted, then the font will not be in italic.
Click on OK when done.
This will show you how to change the amount of time it takes for a menu in Windows 7 to pop, fade, or slide open when you run the mouse pointer over it. The Fade or slide menus into view and Fade out menu items after clicking Visual Effects optiond will also affect how fast menus open and close. Unchecking these options will help speed it up in addition to doing the steps in this tutorial below.
This hack is through the registry
Open the Start Menu.
In the search box, type regedit and press Enter.
In regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop
In the right pane, right click on MenuShowDelay and click on Modify.
Type in a number between 50 to 4000 for how many milliseconds you want the Menu to wait before it opens. The lower the number, the faster the response time.
Click on OK to apply.
Close regedit.
Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.
This will show you how to change the sounds applied to events in Windows and Programs as a Sound Theme in Windows 7.
Open the Control Panel (All Items View). And Click on the Sound icon.
Click on the Sounds tab.
To Turn the Windows Startup Sound On or Off Check or uncheck the Play Windows Startup sound box.
To Change an Event Sound Click on a Program Event to select a sound event.
Click on the Browse button. Navigate to the .wav sound file you want for the sound event and click on Open. Choose the file and then Click on Apply.
To Test Play a Sound Click on a Program Event you want to hear the sound for.
Click on the Test button.
To Change a Sound Scheme Click on the Sound Scheme: drop down arrow menu.
Choose and Click on the Sound Scheme you want.
Click on Apply.
When finished click on OK to close the Sound window.
Close the Personalization window.
This will show you how to turn Aero Snap and Aero Shake feature on or off in Windows 7. Dragging a window by the title bar to the left and right edge of the screen will fill that half the screen with that window when the mouse pointer reaches the edge of the screen. Dragging the window down a bit will restore the window back to how it was before. Placing the mouse pointer on the top or bottom border of a window until the mouse pointer turns into an up-down double arrow and left click and hold, then drag the top or bottom window border to the top or bottom edge of the screen. This will fill the top and bottom of the screen within the left and right borders of the window. Dragging the window down a bit, or double clicking in the window’s title bar, will restore the window back to how it was before. Dragging a window by the title bar to the top edge of the screen will maximize the window to fill the desktop when the mouse pointer reaches the top edge of the screen. Dragging the window down a bit, or double clicking in the window’s title bar, will restore the window back to how it was before.
Open the Control Panel (All Items view), and click on the Ease of Access Center icon.
Click on either the Make the mouse easier to use, Make the Keyboard Easier To Use, or Make it easier to focus on tasks link.
To Turn On Aero Snap and Aero Shake Uncheck the Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edged of the screen box.
To Turn Off Aero Snap and Aero Shake Check the Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edged of the screen box.
Click OK
Close the Ease of Access Center window.
To turn these on you need to reverse the above process.
When Microsoft releases a new software you are faced with dreaded UAC. We have listed below a way to show you how to change the User Account Control (UAC) for when to be notified about changes to your computer. User Account Control helps prevent potentially harmful programs from making changes to your computer in Windows 7 by notifying and asking you for permission before letting the program run or install. This is new a meter you can adjust which is a nice addition in Windows 7.
When you are on the desktop of your Windows 7 system
Open the Control Panel in the All Items View
Click on the User Accounts icon.
Click on the Change User Account Control settings link.
If prompted by UAC, click on Yes to approve. This could be the second to last time if you choose.
Adjust the slider to the level of protection of how much you want to be notified from UAC.
Click on OK when done.
If prompted by UAC, click on Yes to approve. This should be last time if you choose.
If you have just turned UAC off, then you will need to click on restart the computer to apply the changes.
The Gadget Platform for Windows 7 is an evolution of the Gadget Platform from the Windows Vista Sidebar, the differences between the two platforms, and what you need to know when you transition Sidebar gadgets to the new Windows Gadget Platform. The Windows Sidebar, introduced as a gadget presentation and development platform in Windows Vista, ships in Windows 7 as the Windows Gadget Platform. Gadgets are mini-applications that are based on a platform of XML, HTML, CSS, and script, that exposes functionality and information derived from local applications or Web services. The design goals for the Gadget Platform in Windows 7 emphasize backward compatibility with Vista Sidebar gadgets, tighter integration with the Windows desktop, and reduction of visual clutter through a refined and unified UI. To meet these goals, the Windows desktop replaces the Sidebar as the gadget container and management layer. Gadgets were never physically constrained to the Sidebar, so removing this middle layer visually streamlines the platform and maintains the full functionality of Sidebar gadgets. The Windows 7 Gadget Platform provides several improvements for gadget developers. Gone is the concept of the Sidebar as a container. Instead, gadgets are now hosted and displayed on the Windows 7 desktop. A Gadgets item on the Desktop context menu provides access to the Gadgets Gallery so that you can choose, install, and use gadgets. This change simplifies gadget management, streamlines and unifies the overall desktop UI, and eliminates the need for special Sidebar settings. Note that all gadgets are still owned by the sidebar.exe process. A new desktop option to hide or show all gadgets by stopping and starting the sidebar.exe process is now available. On the Desktop context menu, click the View command, and then uncheck the Show Desktop Gadgets option. By turning off the Show Desktop Gadgets option, you can achieve power-saving benefits on your laptop computer, and privacy concerns for people who use their computers for presentations are addressed.