Moving Back To Windows 7
Since the release of Windows 8 almost a week ago I have been testing out the system and looking to find things I liek and things I don’t like. I have decide to move back to Windows 7 and my main OS because there are still some things I like to do that do not work on Windows 8. The main reason is because my Brother wireless Multi-Function Printer doesn’t work. It can print, but it can do any scanning over the network. I re-installed the drivers and tried to use drivers from the Brother website and no luck. Since I am move all my hard copies of files to the digital realm this makes that process hard to do in Windows 8. Read more
Basic Customization of Windows
Windows 7 has become a bit more customization friendly for users when it was introduced. During the XP lifespan MS offered a few different themes for the OS, now they have well over 100 themes and over 100 wallpapers to choose from for Windows 7. Themes are a nice way to customize the OS with some personal flavor or just to stand out. I didn’t really explore this option until a few weeks ago. For me usually just changing my wallpaper to something from either the Astronomy Picture of the Day website, something off of flicker, or a nice image off of NASA.
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What do you do now?! -The Fake Anti-Virus Edition
I have seen a rash of fake Anti-Virus attacks over the past several months. They take the form of an official looking virus scanner window and security center alert. The main point is for them to “scan” your computer and “find” viruses. When you try to removed the found viruses they present you with a window to purchase the fake product. You should never give billing information to anyone, any application, any website, or any email you don’t know or trust. Read more
Monday Tips – Make Windows Start Faster
Starting up Windows sometimes seems like it takes forever. You might be wondering what it taking so long. You have a decently fast computer and it still takes forever. The reason Windows tarts slow is because there are a bunch of programs that are starting up when Windows does. You can gain a decent amount of performance on start up if you disable these programs from starting up.
The first way is to check the StartUp folder in the Start menu under all programs.
Another way to change start up programs is in the System Configuration window.
To access this window you will need to hold down the “Windows” key and hit the “R” key at the same time. When the Run box appears type in MSCONFIG and hit enter.
Next you will want to go to the Startup tab.
Now you will want to uncheck anything that you don’t need to start up when Windows laucnhes. Some items to uncheck are iTunes, QuickTime, Adobe Reader, ext. Make sure you don’t uncheck anything from your antivirus maker. If you are unsure about something look at the Command column. Each column can be increased to show more of the text hidden.
Now you will have saved a few seconds of boot time and some important system resources.
Snipping tool
When I need to take screen shots for my blog posts I use a combo of the “Print Screen” button and Paint.net to get the job done. In Vista, Microsoft added a new toy to the OS. It’s called Snipping Tool, Microsoft’s attempt to beef up screen captures. It allows you to snip portions of the window or desktop you are working on and save them in an image format. The tool can be found in the Accessories folder under All programs.
Monday tips–Restoring some classic icons
When I reinstall Windows I am usually missing some very import icons on the desktop. I like to have icons for My Computer and My Documents on my desktop, it’s just what looks normal to me. Now we’ll walk you through how to get the icons back to your desktop.
Windows 7:
You will want to right click on your desktop and choose “Personalize”
Next on the left hand side of the screen you want to choose “Change desktop icons”
Now you can decide which icons you want on your desktop and which ones to get rid of by checking or unchecking each box.
