By now, most of us must have switched over to Windows 7 from XP (I don’t expect Apple Fanboys to switch!). Below are some of the tricks that are not mentioned openly (Usually tricks are not 
).
This could be part of a series.. I will surely dig further to enable you to get the most out of Windows 7.
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Copy Windows Error Messages to the Clipboard/Notepad
Tired of re-typing long error messages just to search the solution for it using Google?? Not that Windows 7 has a lot of errors (BUT we all know MS can never eradicate ALL Errors!) This will surely help. Whenever you get some Error just press Ctrl+C to “Copy” the error message to your Clipboard. Now Paste (Ctrl+V) in the Notepad & Voila!! you have the ENTIRE Error Message in Text! Now select the desired error message and then search in Google. Simple!
Sample Error Message
You can try this now. Go to run and type any invalid drive name e.g z: and press enter. You will see some error message on your screen. Now Press Ctrl+C and then open notepad and press Ctrl+V. There you see the whole error message in the notepad. Now copy the error message part and paste it in your search bar.
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“No to All” Option missing
While Copying the Files or Folder in Windows, many-a-times it asks whether you want to “Replace” the existing file or folder.
The OS gives four options: ‘Yes’ ‘Yes to All’ ‘No’ and ‘Cancel’. But what about “No to All”? There is no such option provided. You can perform ‘No to All” by a simple trick.
Keeping the Shift Key Pressed Click No. It will perform No to All operation.
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Speed up windows 7 Boot time
In Windows Vista & Windows 7 while booting it uses only a Single Core of your PC irrespective of multiple cores available. To utilize your processor during boot up follow the steps given below.
1)Go to start->run->msconfig and press enter.
2)Select the boot tab.
3)Click on Advanced Options.
4)Under “Number of Processors” Check the appropriate number of Cores according to your system configuration i.e available Processor.. E.g.: if Dual Core then “2”, If Quad-Core the “4”
5) Click OK –> Apply
This should shave-of a couple of seconds from the Boot Time. This works!! Try it out…
Video Below!
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Use CD/DVD image files(.ISO) without burning…using Microsoft’s OWN App!!
There are many tools like Daemon tools and alcohol for mounting image files, there is one more freeware to add in this list which is provided by Microsoft for windows xp users.Support is not provided for this product by Microsoft.
It is free to use and very small in size.
You can download it from here.
System requirements:
– Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional.
How to use it::
- Extract the .exe file.
- Copy the VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder.
- Run the VCdControlTool.exe.
- Click on ‘Driver Control’.
- Click on install driver.
- Navigate to VCdRom.sys.
- Start the service.
- Click ok.
- Now click on Add drive.
- One drive will be added in list.
- Click on mount. Navigate to the .iso file and mount it.
When you are done you may eject file from it.
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Assign a Permanent Letter to a Pen/Flash USB Drive
If you have multiple Pen/Flash USB drives you might have noticed that every time you put in your drive it will be assigned a Different drive letter.
This can be frustrating when trying to run backups or opening files from software as recent drive letter has changed. Even if you have created playlist of the songs which are in your Pen / Flash drives it won’t work if the drive letter has changed.
There are TWO Methods:
LONG One:
Here are the steps you will have to follow to assign a permanent drive letter:-
1. Go to Start > Run
2. Type mmc in the box and hit enter.
3. Select File > New
4. Now select File > Add/Remove Snap-in.
5. Select “Disk Management” and click “Add”
6. Select “OK“.
7. Select “This computer” and then “Finish”
8. Now press “OK” on the “Add or Remove snap-ins” screen.
9. Now select “Disk Management” from the left menu.
10.You will now see all of your drives/partitions in the right hand side panel.
11.Right click the Flash/Pen USB drive you want to assign a Permanent Letter to and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths…”
12. Click on “Change”
13. Select a Permanent letter (The existing letters are automatically eliminated. Hence do not worry of duplicate/repeat/overlapping drive letter!)
14. Click “OK”
15. It will warn you about making the change – there is little chance programs you use will be affected by this. If they will, you will probably already be aware of this so don’t worry.
16. The final step is to select File > Save and save the file in the default directory. Close the Console and you are done.
SHORT One:
1. Right-Click on “My Computer” –> Select “Manage”
2. Select Disk Management (Under Storage)
3. Right-click the USB drive you want to assign a permanent letter to and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths…”
4. Click on “Change”
5. Select a Permanent Letter
6. Click “OK”
7. It will warn you about making the change. Just Click OK.
Now eject your Pen/Flash USB drive and put it back in and see whether it is showing the assigned letter or not.
Conclusion
These are just some of the Tricks that will make life a lot easier for Everyday Computing. I assure you all, that I will add more as I dig further.
