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Posts Tagged ‘Windows 7’

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media | Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows

November 15th, 2012

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media | Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows.

It was the final unanswered question about Windows 7. But now, thanks to numerous reader reports, my own hands-on experience, and a briefing with the team at Microsoft responsible for this technology, I think we have some answers. Sadly, Microsoft is still making it difficult to clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media, as it did with Windows Vista. But fear not, there is some good news. While you can’t simply use Upgrade media to do a clean install of Windows 7 on a new or previously formatted PC, the workarounds this time are easier than ever. And that’s what this article is all about: Revealing the secrets to clean-installing Windows 7 with Upgrade media.

Remember how this used to work? In older versions of Windows, Microsoft would actually prompt you to insert an install floppy or CD from a previous Windows version, to prove that you qualified for the upgrade version. But beginning with Windows XP, PC makers were able to dramatically change the Windows install disc, so much so that, in some cases, those discs weren’t even identifiable as valid install media to Windows Setup. Clearly a different system was required.

In Windows Vista, Microsoft supported in-place upgrades from Windows XP, but if you wanted to use an Upgrade version of the Windows Vista Setup disc to do a clean install, you had to perform a weird double install trick. (I documented this process in How to Clean Install Windows Vista with Upgrade Media.)

When it comes to performing a clean install of Windows 7 using Upgrade media, there’s no simple answer. For some people, it just works, and I’ll provide information here so you can help ensure it just works for you, every time.

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Posted in Hacks, Internet, Software, Technology, Windows

Tags: full install oem Upgrade Windows Windows 7

Change Your Wi-Fi Router Channel to Optimize Your Wireless Signal – How-To Geek

July 7th, 2010

Change Your Wi-Fi Router Channel to Optimize Your Wireless Signal – How-To Geek.

If you live in an apartment complex you’ve probably noticed more than just the passive-aggressive network IDs that your neighbors use—very likely you’ve had problems with your wireless connections dropping out, or just not being as fast as you’d like. Here’s a quick fix.

Of course, this isn’t the only thing you need to do to make sure your wireless network is running at maximum speed, but for today’s lesson we’ll show you how to pick the right channel to make sure you can stream the new Futurama episode to your laptop without skipping.

Note: if your Wireless network is working fine, please don’t mess with it. Or at least, don’t blame us if you break it.

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Posted in Hardware, Internet, News, Security, Technology

Tags: channels Frequencies other Vista wifi Windows 7 wireless xp

In Test Windows 7 Netbooks Take Battery Life Hit | Maximum PC

November 12th, 2009

In Test Windows 7 Netbooks Take Battery Life Hit | Maximum PC.

A new round of testing by Laptop Magazine indicates that battery life on Windows 7 may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Microsoft claimed that their new OS would result in better battery performance on some netbooks. The testing, however, says otherwise.

Three netbooks were tested: the Toshiba mini NB205, ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, and the HP Mini 311. On average, the computers ran down 47 minutes sooner with Windows 7 than with XP. Still, two of the units were running after nearly five hours, and the Toshiba made it nearly nine hours on Windows 7. It may not be the same as losing nearly an hour on a conventional laptop, but it is something to consider. If you plan to buy a netbook, will you be hunting for one running Windows XP?

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Posted in Announcements, Computers, Hardware, Internet, News, Office, Technology

Tags: battery life lab testing Microsoft netbooks Windows 7

Show File Extensions — MAXIMUMpcguides – Windows 7 tips, tricks, help, and how-to guides

October 29th, 2009

Show File Extensions — MAXIMUMpcguides – Windows 7 tips, tricks, help, and how-to guides.

Show File Extensions

Open the Control Panel from the Start menu.
Open Folder Options in the Control Panel.
Note: If Folder Options is not available, change View by to Large icons at the top right of the Control Panel.
Select the View tab in the Folder Options window.
Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types.
Click OK to save the changes.

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Posted in Internet, Software, Windows

Tags: extensions show all Windows 7

Microsoft Offers Windows 7 on USB Drives for Netbooks

October 25th, 2009

Microsoft Offers Windows 7 on USB Drives for Netbooks.

Microsoft is allowing netbook users to download Windows 7, its new operating system, onto a bootable USB or burn it onto a DVD, in yet another move by Redmond to disseminate the operating system to as many users as possible. Although Microsoft reported yet another quarter of declining revenues, executives remain hopeful that Windows 7, rising PC sales and a sunnier economic outlook will translate into a more profitable 2010.

Microsoft has developed a solution for porting Windows 7 onto netbooks that lack a DVD drive: a USB memory stick. The feature was announced during the Windows 7 launch event in New York City on Oct. 22.

Specifically, netbook users can use Microsoft’s newly revamped online store to download Windows 7 for Netbooks onto a bootable USB, or burn it onto a DVD.

“For netbook users without DVD drives, the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool [WUDT] will take an ISO image and create a bootable USB device that can be used to install Windows 7,” Microsoft spokesperson Brandon LeBlanc wrote in an Oct. 22 entry on The Windows Blog. “The WUDT can also create a Windows 7 installation DVD from the ISO file as well.”

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Posted in Announcements, Computers, Family, Hardware, Internet, News, Technology

Tags: bootable usb iso Windows 7

How to Upgrade the Windows 7 RC to RTM Final Release :: the How-To Geek

October 25th, 2009

How to Upgrade the Windows 7 RC to RTM Final Release :: the

The final version of Windows 7 was released yesterday for MS Technet subscribers, but you can’t upgrade directly from a pre-release version—at least, not without a quick and easy workaround, and we’ve got you covered.

The Problem

Windows 7 checks whether or not the current version you are running is a pre-release copy, and prevents you from upgrading further. For reference purposes, this is the error you’ll see when you try and upgrade.

Windows 7 can't upgrade error

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Posted in Announcements, Hacks, Internet, News, Technology

Tags: Upgrade Windows 7 Windows 7 RC Windows 7 RTM

How To: Enable Hibernate Option In Windows 7

October 14th, 2009

How To: Enable Hibernate Option In Windows 7.

In Windows XP enabling Hibernate option was a very easy task, but we have to follow a different approach to do the same job in Vista and Windows 7.

If you are not aware of Hibernate feature, Hibernation is a power-saving state designed primarily for laptops. While sleep puts your work and settings in memory and draws a small amount of power, hibernation puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk and then turns off your computer. Of all the power-saving states in Windows, hibernation uses the least amount of power. On a laptop, use hibernation when you know that you won’t use your laptop for an extended period and won’t have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time.

So if you are really going to use this feature then you need to enable it by doing a simple procedure as mentioned below:

1. Open Command Prompt with Administrator rights. To open Command Prompt, type CMD in Start menu and then hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the Command Prompt with Admin rights.

2. Next, type the below command and hit enter:

powercfg /hibernate on

3. Type exit and hit enter to close the Command Prompt.

4. If you can’t see the Hibernate option in Start menu then do the following tasks:

A. Type Power Options in Start menu and hit enter.

B. In the left pane, open the link labeled “Change when the computer sleeps” and then open the link “Change advanced power settings”.

C. Under the Advanced Sleep options, expand the Sleep tree and turn off Hybrid Sleep.

D. Now go back to Start menu to see the new Hibernate entry.

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Posted in Internet, News, Software, Windows

Tags: Enable Hibernare Hibernate Windows 7

Michael Dell Talks Up Services, Windows 7 — But Trashes Netbooks

October 14th, 2009

Michael Dell Talks Up Services, Windows 7 — But Trashes Netbooks.

“The technology industry is always going through transition, and there are some big changes going on now,” said Dell Computer founder and CEO Michael Dell in Silicon Valley Tuesday night. He spoke onstage at a Churchill Club dinner event in Santa Clara with Wall Street Journal reporter, Don Clark, after making another appearance in the very rainy Bay Area earlier in the day at Oracle OpenWorld. Dell addressed a range of topics, including shifts going on at his company, the far-reaching impact of virtualization, acquisitions, the upcoming Windows 7 OS, netbooks and smartphones. His comments on netbooks were especially surprising.

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Posted in Announcements, Computers, Family, Hardware, Internet, News, Office, Technology

Tags: Dell Michael Dell netbook Services Smartphones Virtualization Windows 7

How To (Really) Completely Disable UAC on Windows 7 :: the How-To Geek

October 11th, 2009

How To (Really) Completely Disable UAC on Windows 7 :: the How-To Geek.

One of the best feature changes in Windows 7 is the greatly improved User Account Control system, with a slider to easily control how much the security feature annoys you. But what if you want to really disable UAC entirely?

Update: After doing some more testing, I’ve realized that dragging the slider to the bottom will set the same registry key. So while setting the registry key will disable UAC, so will dragging the slider to the bottom. The trick is that you need to reboot afterwards!

Unfortunately, there’s no way to completely disable UAC from the user interface—sure, you can drag the slider all the way down to make sure you never see a notification, but UAC is still running behind the scenes, so you have to continue to “Run as Administrator” for any system tool you use.

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Posted in Announcements, Hacks, Internet, News, Software, Technology, Windows

Tags: Disabling Features and Annoyances Privacy and Security Windows 7

Get Windows 7 Home Premium for $30 With a College Email Address – Deals – Lifehacker

September 17th, 2009

Get Windows 7 Home Premium for $30 With a College Email Address – Deals – Lifehacker.

If you’re a U.S. college student, or at least having a working .edu email address, you don’t have to pay $120 to upgrade Vista to Windows 7. You can get the Home Premium edition for just $30. Updates: See below.

Our blog sibling Gizmodo just noticed a Microsoft promotion at Win741.com, offering U.S. students Windows 7 Home Premium for just $30. That’s a good deal better than the $120 retail price for an upgrade, and, as with the Ultimate Steal Office offering, Microsoft and cohorts aren’t exactly going to ring up your alma mater’s provost to ensure you’re still enrolled there when you hand over your .edu mail address.

Hit the “Buy” link in the middle-left box on the viral-marke-tastic 741 site to sign for the $30 offering.

Update: The information below was the original text of this post involving a $19 Windows 7 Professional offering. We emailed the Association for Computing Machinery and heard back from Lillian Israel, director of membership, who noted that Windows 7 purchases have been pulled from the ACM’s discounted license offerings due to misuse of memberships.