Overview

The definitive guide to unlocking the hidden potential of the Windows 7 OS Written by bestselling author and the creator of tweaks.com Steve Sinchak, this unique guide provides you with the ultimate collection of hidden gems that will enable you to get the most out of Windows 7. Packed with more than 400 pages of insider tips, the book delves beneath the surface to reveal little-known ways to tweak, modify, and customize Windows 7 so you can get every ounce of performance from your operating system. Regardless of your experience with tweaking your system, you'll find fascinating and fun tips and tricks for getting under the hood of Windows 7 that will allow you to optimize its appearance, speed, usability, and security. Bestselling author and creator of tweaks.com shows you how to tweak, modify, customize, and take complete control of the new Windows 7 operating system Unlocks hidden gems for optimizing the appearance, speed, usability, and security of the Windows 7 OS Shows you how to customize boot and login screens, supercharge your network and online speed, get rid of features that drive you nuts, fine tune your User Account Protection, and more So roll up your sleeves and take off your gloves so you can take total control over your Windows 7 OS!

Full Product Details

Author:   Steve Sinchak
Publisher:   John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint:   John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 18.90cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.30cm
Weight:   0.616kg
ISBN:  

9780470525913

ISBN 10:   0470525916
Pages:   408
Publication Date:   27 November 2009
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Introduction xxiii Part I Getting Started with Windows 7 1 Chapter 1 Selecting the Right Version 3 Version Comparison 3 Windows Anytime Upgrade 7 Summary 8 Chapter 2 Installing Windows 7 9 Install Media 9 32-Bit or 64-Bit? 9 Alternative Install Media 10 Full Install 13 Dual-Boot Windows XP 15 Configuring HDD and Installing XP 17 Installing Windows 7 18 Summary 19 Chapter 3 Safe Tweaking 21 Using System Restore 21 Creating Restore Points 22 Reverting to a Previous State 23 System Recovery Console 23 Accessing the System Recovery Console 24 Using the System Recovery Console Tools 25 Creating a Backup Image 25 Creating the Image 26 Restoring a System Image 27 Summary 28 Part II Customizing Windows 7 29 Chapter 4 Customizing the Startup 31 Customizing the Logon Screen 31 Changing User Pictures 32 Hiding Users on the Logon Screen 33 Clearing the Last User Logon 35 Changing the Logon Screen Screensaver 36 Displaying a Security Message 37 Enabling Num Lock by Default 38 Changing the Logon Screen Background 39 Summary 41 Chapter 5 Customizing User Navigation 43 Customizing the Start Menu 43 Customizing Navigation Shortcuts 44 Customizing the Frequently Run Programs List 46 Customizing the Program List and Search 51 Customizing the Taskbar 53 Pinning Applications 54 Modifying Icon Locations 55 Tweaking Jump Lists 55 Enable Classic Taskbar Look and Behavior 57 Customize Taskbar Icon Sizes 57 Tweaking Taskbar Preview Delay 58 Restore Classic Quick Launch Bar 59 Modifying the Taskbar Location 60 Customizing the Notification Area 60 Using Group Policy Editor to Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar 62 Setting Policies with the Group Policy Editor 63 Start Menu and Taskbar Policies 64 Summary 69 Chapter 6 Personalizing the Desktop 71 Customizing the Desktop Icons 71 Removing All Icons from the Desktop 72 Customizing the Icon Drop Shadow Effect 72 Displaying Windows System and User Icons on the Desktop 73 Adjusting the Size of Desktop Icons 74 Renaming the Recycle Bin 75 Removing the Shortcut Arrow from Icons on the Desktop 76 Customizing the Icons 76 Customizing the Desktop 79 Automatically Rotate Your Wallpaper 79 Using Desktop Gadgets 80 Summary 86 Chapter 7 Customizing the Appearance of the Windows Interface 87 Working with Themes 87 Changing the Current Theme 88 Downloading More Themes 89 Making Your Own Theme 89 Automatic RSS Background Themes 95 Customizing Aero Glass 96 Tweaking the Color of Aero Glass 97 Changing the Aero Glass Borders 98 Disabling Animations 100 Disabling Aero Glass 101 Skinning Windows 7 101 Using Hacked Visual Styles 102 Changing the Look of Windows 7 Via WindowBlinds 103 Adding More Skins for WindowBlinds 104 Summary 105 Chapter 8 Fine-Tuning Windows Explorer 107 Customizing Windows Layout 107 Customizing Panes 108 Tweaking Search 110 Modifying File Associations 114 Changing the Default Launch App 114 Customizing the Context Menu 115 Removing Items from the Context Menu 116 Modifying the Send To Menu 117 Working with Libraries 118 Creating Your Own Libraries 118 Customizing Your Folders 119 Changing a Folder Icon and Picture 119 Changing the Template of a Folder 120 Customizing the Folder View 121 Applying Your Settings to All Folders 124 Working with Hidden Files 125 Showing Hidden Files 125 Revealing the Super Hidden Files 126 Summary 127 Chapter 9 Personalizing Internet Explorer 8 129 Customizing Search 129 Adding Popular Search Engines 130 Managing Your Configured Search Engines 131 Adding Custom Search Entries 131 Creating Registry Files to Import Sites to Search 132 Tweaking the Tabs 133 Tab Keyboard Shortcuts 133 Multitab Home Pages 134 Customizing Tabs 135 Fun with RSS 137 Subscribing to Feeds 137 Viewing Your IE-Subscribed RSS Feeds on Your Desktop 138 Customizing Feed Settings 139 Using Add-ons in Internet Explorer 140 Using ieSpell 140 Using RoboForm 141 Advanced Internet Explorer 8 Features 141 Using Accelerators 141 Using Web Slices 143 Summary 144 Chapter 10 Customizing Windows Media 145 Adjusting Your Audio Experience 145 Bass Boost 147 Virtual Surround 147 Room Correction 147 Loudness Equalization 149 Headphone Virtualization 149 Customizing Windows Media Player 12 149 Tweaking the UI 149 Sharing Your Library 151 Sharing Your Library over the Internet 153 Using Audio Effects 154 Customizing Media Center 157 Turning Your PC into a DVR 157 Summary 164 Part III Increasing Your System?s Performance 165 Chapter 11 Analyzing Your System 167 Monitoring Your System Hardware 167 Using the Resource Monitor 168 Using Performance Monitor to Get More System Stats 173 Using the Reliability Monitor 179 Using Event Viewer 180 Using Task Manager 183 Other Performance Monitoring Utilities 186 Benchmarking Your System 186 Windows Experience Index 187 Benchmarking with PCMark Vantage 189 Summary 191 Chapter 12 Speeding Up the System Boot 193 Working with the BIOS 193 Changing the Boot Order of Your Drives 194 Using Quick Boot Feature of the BIOS 196 Modifying the Operating System Boot 197 Windows Boot Manager 198 Disabling the System Boot Screen 200 Disabling Unneeded Hardware Devices 202 Removing Extra Fonts for Speed 204 Disabling Unneeded Services 207 Optimizing the Location of the Boot Files 222 Summary 226 Chapter 13 Making Your Computer Log On Faster 227 Speeding Up the Logon 228 Enabling Automatic Logon 228 Adjust the Startup Programs 229 Customizing Auto-Start Programs for Other Users 238 Other Time-Saving Tips 239 Assigning Alternative IP Addresses 239 Turning Off the Logon Sound 241 Summary 242 Chapter 14 Speeding Up Windows Explorer 243 Speeding Up File Browsing and Access 243 Disabling Legacy Filename Creation 244 Disabling the File Access Timestamp 247 Adjusting NTFS Memory Allocation 248 Speeding Up the User Interface 250 Fine-Tuning Performance Options 251 Adjusting Animations 251 Disabling Aero Glass for Faster Performance 255 Windows Classic Look for Maximum Performance 257 Adjusting Explorer?s Search 258 Adjusting Search Scope 258 Adjusting Windows Indexing Service 259 Using Windows Search without an Index 261 Summary 261 Chapter 15 Optimizing Core Windows Components 263 Windows Loves RAM 264 Adding RAM to Your Computer 264 Using a USB Storage Device to Add Memory 266 Tweaking the Paging File 268 Disabling the Paging File 269 Adjusting the Size of the Paging File 271 Changing the Location of the Paging File 273 Defragmenting Your Hard Drive 274 Using the Windows Defrag Utility 275 Using Third-Party Defrag Utilities 275 Adjusting Your Application Priorities 277 Using Task Manager to Adjust Priorities 278 Starting Applications with a User Set Priority 279 Summary 280 Chapter 16 Optimizing Your Network 281 Optimizing Your Web Browser 281 Speeding Up Internet Explorer 282 Speeding Up Firefox 283 Accelerating Your Downloads 285 Speeding Up Your Network Connection 288 Tweaking Auto Tuning 289 Disabling Unneeded Protocols 289 Summary 292 Part IV Securing Windows 293 Chapter 17 Windows Security 295 Actively Protecting Your Computer 296 Staying Up-to-Date 296 Updating Windows 7 297 Active Security Tips 299 Controlling Your Computer Accounts 301 Managing User Accounts 301 Tweaking User Account Control 307 Controlling User Account Control 307 Using File Encryption 312 Encrypting Your Files 312 Using BitLocker Drive Encryption 315 Summary 318 Chapter 18 Internet Security 319 Analyzing Your Security 319 Testing Internet Security 320 Watch the Action Center 321 Using a Firewall 323 Using the Windows 7 Firewall 323 Web Browser Security 327 Internet Explorer 8 327 Defending against Spyware and Malware 330 Using Windows Defender 331 Using Antivirus Software 333 Using avast! Antivirus Software 333 Summary 335 Chapter 19 Protecting Your Privacy 337 Internet Explorer Privacy 337 Removing Address Bar Suggestions 338 Clearing Temporary Internet Files, History, and Cookies 339 Adjusting Your Cookie Security Policy 341 Protecting Sensitive Online Data 343 Disabling AutoComplete 344 Clearing Temporary Internet Files Automatically 344 Running Internet Explorer 8 in Super Privacy Mode 345 Windows Interface Privacy 346 Clearing Frequently Run and Opened Files Lists Including Jump Lists 347 Removing Specific Entries from Taskbar Jump Lists 348 Removing Temporary Files from Your Hard Drive 349 Removing Saved Passwords with Credential Manager 350 Setting File and Folder Permissions 352 Summary 354 Index 355

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Steve Sinchak has repeatedly been honored with Microsoft's MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He manages several Web sites geared toward computer enthusiasts, most notably tweaks.com and wingeek.com. Steve is the author of Hacking Windows Vista and Hacking Windows XP, both from Wiley.

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