Hello Guys ,these are some tips for Windows 7 users ..
Windows
7 may be Microsoft’s most anticipated product ever. It builds on
Windows Vista’s positives, and eliminates many of that OS’s negatives.
It adds new functionality, too—all in a package that is less
resource-hungry than its predecessor. And
whether or not you're upgrading from Vista or skipping it altogether
and moving up from Windows XP, you'll need to know how to make the most
of it in your environment. Here are 77 tips and tricks to get you there. 1. Pick Your Edition. Most
business users do not need the more expensive Ultimate Edition; stick
with Professional unless you specifically need BitLocker. 2. Upgrading? Go 64-bit. As
the second major Windows release to fully support 64-bit, the x64
architecture has definitely arrived on the desktop. Don't buy new
32-bit hardware unless it's a netbook. 3. Use Windows XP Mode. Yes,
it's only an embedded Virtual PC with a full copy of WinXP—but it's an
embedded Virtual PC with a full copy of Windows XP! This is the first
profoundly intelligent use of desktop virtualization we've seen—and a
great way to move to Windows 7 without giving up full Windows XP
compatibility. 4. Use Windows PowerShell v2. More
than just a shell, this is the administration tool you've always
wanted: Parallel, distributed processing for administrative tasks!
Manage 100 machines literally as easily as you manage one with the new
Remoting feature. Windows PowerShell v2 ships for the first time in
Windows 7, and within six months will be available for older versions
of Windows. 5. Use AppLocker. We've
been fans of Software Restriction Policies since Windows XP, and
AppLocker finally makes application whitelisting possible. Use it to
enhance or even replace your anti-virus software, ensuring that only
the software you want to run will run. 6. Shift to and from Explorer and CommandPrompt. The
classic Windows power toy Open Command Prompt Here is now an integral
part of Windows 7 Explorer. Hold down the shift key then right-click a
folder to add this option to the property menu. While you're in a
command prompt, if you want to open an Explorer window with the focus
of the window on the current directory, enter start. 7. Record Problems. The Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) is a great new feature that helps in troubleshooting a system (see Figure 1).
At times, Remote Assistance may not be possible. However, if a person
types psr in their Instant Search, it will launch the recorder. Now
they can perform the actions needed to recreate the problem and each
click will record the screen and the step. They can even add comments.
Once complete, the PSR compiles the whole thing into an MHTML file and
zips it up so that it can be e-mailed for analysis to the network admin
(or family problem solver, depending on how it's being used). 
Figure 1 The Problem Steps Recorder dramatically speeds up troubleshooting. (Click the image for a larger view) 8. Make Training Videos. Use
a tool like Camtasia to record short, two to three minute video
tutorials to help your users find relocated features, operate the new
Taskbar and so forth. Get them excited about Windows 7—and prepared for
it. 9. Start Thinking About Windows Server 2008 R2. Some
of Windows 7's more compelling features, like BranchCache, work in
conjunction with the new server OS. The R2 upgrade path is pretty
straightforward, so there's little reason not to take advantage of the
synergies if you can afford upgrade licenses. 10. Prepare Those XP Machines. There's
no in-place upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, so start planning to
migrate user data now, in advance of a Windows 7 upgrade deployment. 11. Consider Clean Installs. Even
when upgrading Windows Vista machines, consider a clean install rather
than an in-place upgrade. Yes, it's more hassle, but it'll produce a
more trouble-free computer in the long run. 12. Consider Upgrade Assurance. Even
if you've never bought it before, consider it for your new Windows 7
licenses. Access to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP),
which includes App-V, MED-V and other cool technologies, is worth the
premium. 13. Find New Tools. Within
Control Panel is a single Troubleshooting link that leads you to all of
your diagnostic tools on the system. There are additional tools,
however, not installed by default. Selecting the "View all" link in the
top left-hand corner will help you to see which troubleshooting packs
are local and which ones are online. If you find a tool that you don't
have, you can grab it from here. 14. Understand Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Windows
7 plays an important role in Microsoft's VDI strategy, where
virtualized Windows 7 machines are hosted on a central virtualization
server using a special blanket "Enterprise Centralized Desktop"
license. Read up and figure out if you can take advantage of this new
strategy. 15. Prepare for DirectAccess. DirectAccess
makes it easier for users to remotely access their office-based
resources, without a VPN. DirectAccess also opens up remote computers
more fully to Group Policy—but it requires Windows 7 and Windows 2008
R2. 16. Employ Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM). If
you quickly want to list or manage Windows packages, features or
drivers, use the command-line utility DISM. The "image" in the name may
fool you into thinking that this is solely a deployment tool. An online
command-line switch lets you manage the features in the currently
loaded OS. To get a list of the loaded Windows features, enter dism
/online /get-features /format:table. To enable a feature, enter dism
/online /enable-feature /featurename:. 17. Embrace Troubleshooting Packs. Designed
to help users troubleshoot and solve problems on their own, you need to
update your support procedures to acknowledge these Packs. For example,
don't force users to repeat steps the Pack already walked them through,
and consider developing your own Packs (in Windows PowerShell) to
support in-house systems. 18. Check Reliability. The
Reliability Monitor was introduced in Windows Vista as 'The Reliability
and Performance Monitor." In Windows 7 it has been separated from
Performance Monitor and moved to a new location under the Action
Center. You open the Action Center in Control Panel and then look under
the Maintenance options for the "View reliability history" link. You
can also just type in Reliability Monitor from the Instant Search (see Figure 2). 
Figure 2 The Reliability Monitor has been broken out separately from Performance Monitor. (Click the image for a larger view) 19. Accept Diversity. Not
every organization will be ready to move entirely to Windows 7 right
away. That's fine—but that shouldn't mean the entire organization stays
on Windows XP, either. The myths of the cost savings of having only one
OS have been largely disproven or downplayed, so use Windows 7 where it
makes sense to do so. 20. Get Snippy. The
snipping tool has also been around in various incarnations but it's
even easier to use in Windows 7. Launch the tool, then drag and drop
any part of your screen. The tool will snip the selection. You can save
it as a graphic file or annotate with basic drawing tools. Teach your
end users how to use this tool so they can grab the snapshots of their
problems and send them to the help desk. Or create your own library of
visual notes. 21. Presentation Nirvana. Press
Windows+P to access the new Presentation mode, and easily turn on your
projector and laptop screen at the same time. No more messing with
vendor-specific utilities and arcane keystrokes. (Windows+X accesses
the Mobility Center, with additional presentation options.) 22. Cut the Clutter. Press
Windows+Home to minimize all but the current window, removing
background clutter and letting you focus on that report your boss has
been bugging you about. 23. Be a Mouse-Click Administrator. Windows
7 makes it easy to gain admin rights with a keyboard shortcut. Click on
Ctrl+Shift on a taskbar-locked icon, and voila! You've launched it with
appropriate admin rights. 24. Faster Installations. If
your computer is capable of booting from USB, try this: XCopy the
Windows 7 installation DVD to a sufficiently large USB drive, boot from
that drive, and install Windows from there. It's faster than a spinning
platter. 25. Burn Discs with a Click. Or two; double-click an ISO file to burn it to your CD or DVD writer. 26. Restore Point Previews Many
of us used to shut off System Restore because we were terrified to
actually use it; under Windows 7, we can be much calmer. After
selecting a Restore Point, Windows will now offer to show you which
files and folders will be affected by restoring to that point. 27. Sync Time Zones. If
you work with offices in different time zones and frequently find
yourself missing meeting times because you are not in sync with their
time zone, try the "Additional Clocks" feature that was first
introduced in Vista. Within your Date and Time settings is a tab called
Additional Clocks, where you can add two or more clocks to your taskbar
time, and set them to provide different time zones from your current
time zone. 28. Configure User Account Control (UAC). Even
if you're a UAC hater, give it another try. Go to the Control Panel to
configure its behavior to something slightly less obnoxious than what
Windows Vista had, and see if you can't live with the extra protection
it offers (see Figure 3). 
Figure 3 User Account Control, the bane of administrators, has been revamped and improved. (Click the image for a larger view) 29. RoboCopyCopyCopy. The
always-useful Robocopy.exe can now run multi-threaded; run Robocopy /?
to review its new parameters (like /MT for multithreading) and make
your copies go faster. 30. Remote Desktop Console. Windows
7 Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) does not include a
console-based remote desktop utility. And even if it did, the standard
remote desktop console has some nagging limitations: It can't move
connections around in the list; it can't sort by folders and so forth.
If you manage lots of servers from your Windows 7 workstation, try
downloading a copy of mRemote from mremote.org. This donation-requested
utility allows you to mix together a variety of remote control
applications, including Citrix Independent Computing Architecture
(ICA), Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Virtual Network
Computing (VNC), Secure Shell (SSH) and rlogin. All host names are
displayed in a standard tree control that can be divided into folders,
sorted alphabetically, and allow you to assign different logon accounts
and secure passwords to each connection. 31. Multiple Monitors. Windows
7 makes working with multiple monitors intuitive and flexible. There
are a variety of shortcuts and mouse motions that flick windows from
monitor to monitor. To make the most of this, you need lots and lots of
screen real estate. Try one of the new QWXGA monitors from Samsung
(tinyurl.com/qwxgasamsung) or Dell (tinyurl.com/qwxgadell). These
23-inch monitors have a 2048x1152 resolution, making it possible to put
two full-sized pages on the same monitor. Pair them together and you'll
get enough space to have all your admin tools open along with Office,
Visio, your intranet sites and a little note to your mom in Live Mail.
Move your taskbar to the left or right side of the window instead of
along the bottom to free up even more real estate. 32. Windows PowerShell Scripting. If you want to make the most of Windows PowerShell on Windows 7, you'll need a quick way to build and debug scripts. Windows 7 comes with an interactive editor that allows you to try out cmdlets and test functions on the fly.
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