Windows 7 - Tips and Tricks

[chip!]

well, i've officially moved over my main computer to a Windows 7 only boot up. finally said goodbye to XP and Vista.. I plan on running those in VM if ever needed in the future, but in any case.. I wanted to start a thread about Windows 7.    i hope to share some more tips and tricks the more I use it.


who else has migrated over??   

[billyfridge]

Not me Chip, I have been advised by Cissie's ex b/f (who is a PC wizard) to hang fire for a while, let others find the faults

[peacefulguy]

Yep I got it duel booting with xp at the moment, until I at least get used to it. I didnt like vista one little bit, it was slow and just a pain lol
What I have seen with Windows 7 so far is similar to Vista but a lot faster, so I look forward to you tips and tricks :-)

[chip!]

Not me Chip, I have been advised by Cissie's ex b/f (who is a PC wizard) to hang fire for a while, let others find the faults

billy... i have to admit,  "fully" adopting Windows 7 was the fastest I've done of any Microsoft operating system.  after using it full time for over a week and learning a few tweaks, there is absolutely no reason I would ever want to use Win XP or Vista. I will NOT be dual booting like I did with Vista when I still was using XP as my main OS.  I finally moved fully to Vista several months later.  So, moving fully to Windows 7 after 1 week is definitely noteworthy. IMHO, Windows 7 makes XP look and feel like an operating system from from the 90s. And, I realize thats just my opinion, but the more I use it, the more I keep saying.. dang.. why didnt we all have this awhile ago, but I'm thankful its finally here.

My Pro's List:    (related to only my experience with my system)

1. very fast and snappy
     a.  faster boot and shutdown time than XP and Vista. also, hibernate & sleep are unbelievably fast (maybe more important).
     b.  moving from application to another, minimizing, etc, is a lot more responsive than Vista and, if not better than XP, than definitely equal. bottom line, its fast, and no complaints.
     c.  looks great and Aero features are much smoother than on Vista, using the same hardware. this is obviously one of the selling points, but I can confirm that its true.

2. entire OS is very stable
     a.  no crashes, no bugs, and I haven't found an application that I use to glitch.
     b.  all of my hardware loaded drivers automatically, no issues (fantastic considering I loaded Windows 7 x64bit)
     c.  microsoft must have done lots of wonderful things under the hood, because i swear my system can handle a lot more than before. in fact, i've yet to see Win 7 slow down even when I have lots of my normal applications opens.

3.  its not perfect, but i like what Microsoft has done, and where they are headed.
     a.  the control panel is a lot easier to use for novice people, but some hidden options can be hard to find.
     b. the taskbar is weird for the first few days/week. this is understandable because its *different*. everyone says this, but that after a few days, the majority of people will start to like it. so instead of immediately using some tweaks to change it back to more XP/Vista style, I left it as the default Win7 taskbar, and decided to see if I liked it. After about 1 week, I can confirm as well... that i am starting to like it alot.

4.  every driver that worked for Windows Vista works for Win 7, and almost every application that worked for Win XP or Vista will work with Win 7.

5.  and last but not least, i think its a Pro that I dont have any significant negatives.


Negatives:

   1. maybe the cost of upgrade, if you are on a tight budget.  BUT the cost of this upgrade on average is way below the previous upgrade costs of previous MS operating systems.

   2. i will TRY to find more negatives soon.. but really, so far, thats all i've got.



so thats my list so far. if i am bias at all, its because I think Win XP is old and Vista is a bit slow, but I'm just trying to be honest and call it like I see it.

Yep I got it duel booting with xp at the moment, until I at least get used to it. I didnt like vista one little bit, it was slow and just a pain lol
What I have seen with Windows 7 so far is similar to Vista but a lot faster, so I look forward to you tips and tricks :-)

peacefulguy,  some fun tips and tricks to follow.. i'm collecting a list of some goodies.. but first I want to encourage you (and others) to play around with it a bit more.

[TheHalf™]

Is Win7 upgrade only? Anyone do a clean install? Are we looking at 32 and/or 64_bit upgrades? What I'd like to do is a clean install and wipe out Vista but keep XPMCE as my master boot.

TheHalf™

[peacefulguy]

I did a clean instal of the 64 bit version, it runs smooth and I have had no problems. I also put it on my laptop, but it would not find my dvd rw after install, that was all the probs I have had with it. I'm now using it more than xp now. 

[WelshY]

I am running win7 right now x64. I did what chip did 1st just to test it out.
Then It was "Good by windows xp Hello windows 7"

If you gonna double boot it I would install xp 1st then windows 7.

Really nice Os.

Unlike Vista 

[peacefulguy]

Its amazing what you find surfing around lol
Although it's name suggests perhaps even grander capabilities, Windows enthusiasts are excited over the discovery of a hidden "GodMode" feature that lets users access all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder.


By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.



The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.


To enter "GodMode," one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:



GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}




Once that is done, the folder's icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options. I'm not sure it's my idea of playing God, but it is a handy way to get to all kinds of controls.


I've asked Microsoft for more details on the feature and how it came to be. But so far, Redmond is silent on the topic.







Source - CNET

[Synbios]

Try these tricks:

- hold the windows key and press left, right, up, or down arrow keys to snap your current window to the left, etc.

- you can also drag the window to the left, right, etc, and it will snap to that side of the screen.

One of the best things about 7 is that it is fully compatible with Vista in terms of drivers. I agree with Chip that this was the fastest adaptation of any Windows OS because of this. I have always gotten the next Windows version as soon as it comes out. When I first go Win2k getting drivers was a nightmare, everything was still 98 SE, when I first got XP and Vista it was the same deal.

Unless you're running an old comp, 7 is really the way to go, it is my favorite windows OS to date. In response to Billy, there's really nothing wrong with 7, because it is a "polished" version of Vista already.