Selectively display the icons in the system tray(for Windows 7)

          Windows 7 hides many of the system tray icons in its standard settings and only displays entries of the default programs. A longer display time would be desirable for specific actions.

          You can modulate the specifications of your requirements accordingly and that too separately for each program. For that, right-click on the task bar and select ‘Properties’. Click ‘Customize’ under ‘Notification area’ in the ‘Task bar’ tab. Search for the desired program in the list. Select the ‘Show icon and notifications’ setting from the drop down menu. Do this for all programs whose symbol should be displayed in case of Windows when in use. You must repeat this procedure once again for the newly added programs. The ‘Hide icon and notifications’ setting is not recommended as many of the important notifications go unnoticed. After clicking on ‘OK’, they are configured on their own. Furthermore, hidden symbols can be seen as before with a click on the arrow which is located to the left of the system tray.
Note: If the need arises, you can quickly delete all the individual settings in this dialogue box using the ‘Restore the default setting for icons’ link. You can even display all the icons by selecting the ‘Always display all the icons and notifications on the task bar’ option. However, in this case the system tray takes up a lot of space. Thus, this setting is useful only in case of very big monitors which work with high resolutions.
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Check for hardware compatibility before installing(for Windows 7)

          You should know before shifting to Windows 7 whether or not your peripherals like printers and scanners, which you have been using till now, are fully compatible with the new operating system.

          Visit ‘www.microsoft.com’. Navigate to ‘Windows’ and select ‘Windows Compatibility Center’. Select the option ‘Hardware’ which is given on the left side and enter the name of your device in the search field, for example ‘Epson Perfection’ for your scanner. Then, click ‘Search’. Your printer should work fi ne if you are able to view the ‘Compatible – Windows 7 Logo’. Now it can be said that the model has passed the Microsoft tests. The entry ‘Compatible’ means that the manufacturer has checked the function. In case it displays ‘Not compatible’ message it is recommended that you stop the upgrading to Windows 7 if possible or purchase a new hardware
Note: The list is too long but still incomplete. The new Windows is compatible even for the devices which are not mentioned in the list.
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Display the context option for the prompt immediately(For windows Vista,7)

            The ‘Open the prompt here’ context command is available in Windows Explorer only if you press [Shift] while right clicking on an icon. Among other devices it is said to be complicated in case of Notebooks as both the hands are required in this process.
           Relocate the context menu in a standard manner in the menu selection bar by entering the Registry. For this, type ‘regedit’ in the search fi eld of the start menu and press the [Enter] key. If necessary, confirm the user account control question with ‘Yes’ and/or ‘Continue’. Navigate your way to the ‘HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\ shell\cmd’ key in the Editor. Click on the ‘Extended’ string which is placed on the right side of the window and delete it. Then navigate your way to the ‘HKEY_ CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd’ key.

         Delete the ‘Extended’ string here. This ensures that the context menu is made available immediately even for drives. The function can be used after you close the registry.
Note: To cancel the changes, fi ll in the ‘Extended’ entry again in each of the Registry keys with the ‘Edit | New | String’ command without defining a specifi c value.
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Display system folders such as the Recycle Bin in Windows Explorer(for Windows 7)

          The new Windows Explorer no longer displays system elements like ‘Recycle bin’ and ‘Control panel’ on the left side of the window. Accessing them was extremely easy that way. 
         System objects can be integrated even in the current Windows version. For that, you just need to change the basic Windows Explorer settings. Open the settings and click on ‘Organize’. Select the ‘Folder and Search Options’ command in the following menu. After this, activate the option ‘Show all folders’ in the ‘Navigation pane’ under the ‘General’ tab. Confirm your changes with ‘OK’.
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Reactivate the inoperative help and support center(for Windows XP)

            The help and support center which could be called up via the ‘Help and support’ option in the Start menu had always proved to be very convenient. And then it suddenly stopped functioning without any apparent reason.
             The function can mostly be resurrected via the command line. Start it with ‘Start | Run’, and followed by the ‘cmd’ call. Type the following command and confirm it with [Enter].
net stop helpsvc
cd /d %windir%\pchealth\helpctr
rd packagestore /s /q
cd binaries
start /w helpsvc /svchost
netsvcs /regserver /install

Open the ‘Task manager’ with the [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] key combination and then select the ‘Processes’ tab, then
right click on each of the following entries and click on the ‘End process’
key:
helpsvc.exe
helphost.exe
helpctr.exe
Then switch to prompt again and enter Net start helpsvc and press [Enter]. This should make the help and the support center function.
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Recreate a classic start menu and also use it(Tips for Windows 7 )

          While the classic start menu is optionally available in Vista, Windows 7 does not have this option at all. It is thus confusing for beginners who have only used XP so far. 

    You can convert a different start menu element to a classic start menu with a trick. Right click on the task bar and select ‘Properties’. Then switch over to the ‘Start menu’ tab and click on ‘Customize’. Now search for the ‘TV recordings’ element under the selection list; it is quite likely that you have not used it till now. 
          Enable the ‘Display as menu’ option in this tab and then close this dialogue box with ‘OK’. Confirm the configuration by clicking on ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’. 
          In order to carry out the further steps, ensure that hidden folders are accessible. First open Windows Explorer and then go to ‘Organize | Folder and Search Options’. Search for the ‘Hidden fi les and folders’ option under ‘Advanced settings’ in the ‘View’ tab. Enable the ‘Show hidden fi les, folders and drives’ option. Confirm the change by clicking on ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’.
          Now open the Start menu and right click on the new ‘TV recordings’ option. Select the context command ‘Properties’. Select the ‘Public TV recordings’ in the ‘Library’ tab and then select ‘Delete’. Now click ‘Add folder’. In the newly opened window, navigate to ‘Program Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start menu\Programs’ folder under ‘Computer’. Here, do not confuse ‘Program Data’ with the ‘Program files’ folder. Then click ‘Include folder’. In the ‘Optimize this library for’ field, change the setting to ‘General items’. Confirm this setting with ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’. 
          Now open the start menu again and right click on the ‘TV recordings’ option. Select the ‘Rename’ context command, change the name to ‘Programs’ and press Enter. From now on, you will see the classic view via ‘Programs’ in the start menu. The only difference being: You have to navigate twice through the ‘Programs’ level. This small bother ensures that future changes are automatically incorporated into the new Start menu. Along with the normal old menu, you can also use the new Start Center offered by Windows 7 without any restrictions.
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Close a group of Explorer windows simultaneously(Tips for Windows XP, Vista, 7 )

           When you open a folder from ‘My Computer’ and then navigate further into the directory structure, Windows opens several windows. It later becomes quite tedious to close every window individually.

             Deeply nested directories that are open in several windows can be quickly closed with a trick  

Activate the Explorer window for the last opened folder in the directory structure. Then, keep the [Shift] key pressed and click the icon with a cross in the title bar of this window. Windows then closes all the windows of the higher-level folders simultaneously.
Note: If you always wish to open a folder in an existing window and not in a new one  select ‘Tools | Folder Options’ in Windows and ‘Organize | Folder and Search Options’ in case of new Windows versions. Enable the option ‘Open each folder in the same window’ in the ‘General’ tab.
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