29 Essential Windows Tips for XP, Vista, and Win7 Users
Posted 10/22/09 at 01:30:00 PM by The Maximum PC Staff
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Make your OS better with these outstanding tips, tricks, and hacks that improve XP, Vista, and even Windows 7
By now, many of you will have a fresh copy of Windows 7 in your hands, ready to load up onto your PC (we show you the right way to do it). But while that stock Windows install may be OK for your mom, but is it good enough for you? Never! You deserve a Windows that soars above the clouds, swift and strong. That’s why we collected our team of Windows experts and spent countless hours mucking around in the registry, downloading little-known tools, and searching for new keyboard shortcuts to bring you this, our finest Windows tips guide of all time.
Dig it: we give you the definitive list of kick-ass, Maximum PC–approved tips and tweaks for Windows, whether you run XP, Vista, or Windows 7. While some are specific to Microsoft’s latest OS (you’ve upgraded, right?), many will work on XP and Vista, as well. So sit back, relax, and get ready to make Windows better.
Windows 7 Secrets Unveiled! As good as it is, Windows 7 can be made even better with these nifty tricks
Order Windows 7 to Generate an Energy Report
Windows 7 adds functionality to powercfg.exe to help you better analyze power consumption issues on your PC. To create a report, spawn a command-line box with administrator privileges. To do this, press the Windows key, and type cmd in the search box. Right-click on cmd and select Run as Administrator. Now select the box and type powercfg -energy. Powercfg will run for about 60 seconds, then generate a report called energy-report.html in C:\Windows\system32. This report will notify you of anything in your computer that is keeping the CPU turning, which in turn means burning more power and sucking down more battery life.
For example, if you want to save power, don’t run Sidebar gadgets. From the runs we’ve tested, most of the problems are due to USB devices that don’t properly support or shut-off to save power. While you might think the power consumption of a USB doohickey is pretty insignificant, if it prevents the CPU or south bridge from switching off, a trickle of power can add up to a significant hit where it hurts—your battery life. The energy report won’t fix the problem, but it’s a great tool to help you get started.
Supercharge Your PC with HomeGroups
HomeGroups make it really easy to share files and printers between your computers, but unfortunately you can only connect to a HomeGroup if you’re using Windows 7. Set up your HomeGroup in the networking control panel, then your music, photos, video, and documents will all be shared with other machines in the HomeGroup. If you want to share individual files you can by right-clicking them, and choosing the appropriate option from the Share With menu.
Launch Apps By Dragging Files to the Taskbar
We’ve already talked about pinning frequently used files to the Taskbar, but what if you want to open a file in a particular application by drag-and-dropping it in on the Taskbar icon OS X–style? All you need to do is hold down Shift when you drop the file on the Taskbar icon. You can even open files with applications that aren’t associated with that particular file type using this trick!
Using Libraries like a Pro
Libraries are virtual folders that let you collect similar files in one handy location. Windows 7 ships with several default Libraries for music, photos, and documents, but you can supercharge them by adding additional files and directories. For example, we add commonly used network shares to the documents Library. The machine hosting the share will need to have Windows Desktop Search 4.0 or higher running on it, or you’ll need to right-click on the folder you want to add and select Always Available Offline.
Supercharge your windows?
Submitted by knelson276 on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 4:31pm
I was hoping for some tips to actually improve performance. alot of these tips are not necessarly new. i've been using mapped drives to share files (music, video) since win 3.11. keyboard short cuts may give you a slightly quicker axcess to your programs, but you can just as easily creat a shorcut on the quick launch toolbar and never have to take your hand off the mouse. I'm sorry but i have a box of old mags going back to cdrom today and boot, and i remember when ya'll actually gave really usefull tips. this more reads like an add for win 7. with 8 computers in my house most runnign xp i'm not ponying up the cash just so i can keep them all talking to each other. just for a futur reference when you talk about tips to supercharge your pc i expect tims that will reduce the background fat in order to squezz all the power you can out of every cpu cycle. not bog it down with window dressing for purly astetics purposes. You guys have done better and i know you can do better.
Submitted by Metalmorphasis on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 6:33pm
Love those tips! Keep em coming!
By the way, anyone know where I can get that kite?
Submitted by Primus2112 on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 6:28pm
Thanks for going all out with the Win 7 coverage on the website! I subscribe to the magazine but to me its all good to have content on the mag appear a day later online. And not all the content is posted right away anyways. Plus there is also plenty extra content online that never appears on print. You also price the magazine subscription just right compared to a competitor who charges about 30 bucks a year and thats with no Disc's.
The podcast is awesome too! And that is FREE!!!
So coupled with the LOW Magazine sub rate and the TIMELY web content and the PERSONAL and INFORMATIVE podcast I'd say you guys are doing a SUPER job! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the MysticThumbs
Submitted by whitneymr on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 1:08pm
Thanks for the MysticThumbs tip. Was driving me nuts having to use Bridge to scan the folders.
WARNING about Win7 ISO Burning Utility. Avoid .exe!
Submitted by JohnP on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 12:43pm
Under NO circumstances try to burn a .exe file! Or any other extension that may ever want to use again! Unfortunately, I once tried to burn an .exe file to a CD and from then on ALL .exe files that I tried to run would open the Win7 ISO burner! Change the association, you say? Can't, its an executable! Regedit? Executable. Finally had to boot into command line safe mode and make a registry change. WAS NOT PRETTY! I just use imgburn instead of Win 7 for burning.
Whoa!
Submitted by 1337Goose on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 12:24pm
Guys! It's October 22nd! Do you know what this means in the world of operating systems?
Ubuntu 9.10 comes out in 7 days!
Just kidding, good work Microsoft...
~Goose
Submitted by Deanjo on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 4:23pm
Even better, wait 20 days and grab openSUSE 11.2
Submitted by kingfisher429@g... on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 12:10pm
MitPaterson - IMHO think MaxPC is doing it the right way. I dropped PCMag when they went all digital. There is nothing like being able to turn pages in a printed magazine.
K, let me try to explain it.
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 9:00am
K, let me try to explain it. From what I've read, it costs more to make the magazine than what they charge. The point of having the magazine is to have a portable version of it for when you're taking a shit or have a PC problem and can't see the content online. Don't like it? Now you know not to get it again! Problem solved.
Also, You seem to have had this problem a while back too. An excerpt:
"Really guys, Why give the interwebs the full story before PAYING
Subscribers even have their issue, i have had mine for only 2 days
now." Glad I can solve your 2 month old question too!By the way it's only $14.95, not sure how much hard earned cash you've wasted but that's a reasonable price considering shipping.
- Aside from that, great info! I'm gonna try that search the net from the Start menu, I'm assuming it saves time.
-Santos
Why did you make your own post in stead of replying to mine
Submitted by mitpatterson on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 5:24pm
The issue isn't so much cost, more so the principal, but it also kinda sucks throwing money at them too but i don't know if i'm the only person to think your kinda creapy stalker ish to be able to even find my old comment, and why would you anyways. and i nkow i'm the only person who thinks they need to stop doing this, look at the replies to my thread
mitpatterson
Submitted by arkweld on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 8:09pm
The cost of a magazine itself is largely irrelevant to subscribers. Magazines throw away subs at dirt cheap prices to raise their circulation rate. That in turn increases the amount they can charge advertisers for slots.
More subscribers = higher ad rates, regardless of how much each subscriber pays for it. It's a guarantee of audience reach and the total "reader" numbers are more valuable than how much they pay per issue. The sub price doesn't finance the magazine. Your eyes do.
Submitted by mitpatterson on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 8:39am
What the Fuck, i just got my magazine yesterday, and this was the fucking cover page, Why should i subscribe again?????? why do i pay my hard earned money for this mag when they give stuff away for free the day after i get the fucking mag
mitpatterson
Submitted by 1337Goose on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 5:07pm
I'd have to agree, I was a little surprised.
Anyone care to shed light on this decision?
~Goose
Yeah, horrible isn't it?
Submitted by jcollins on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 10:18am
Yeah, horrible isn't it? Psst. They also stick the whole magazine on the site in PDF form a few months later too. It's in the PDF Archive section.
It's called marketing and getting yourself out there. I'm sure the magazine guys have gone through it multiple times already. Sticking articles on the front page? You're going out there and essentially saying "Hey, if you like this info, check out our magazine". For the old issues in PDF on the site. Once the issues out of print, you aren't getting any payments from anyone, and you might get more eyes returning if you have the info up and available.
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 8:55am
See my post above.
-Santos
Submitted by captrespect on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 9:39am
Wait wait, are you guys really complaining about them posting an article online that's also in the mag?
Isn't it nice to be able to see the content on your computer and the magazine? I don't get it.
Submitted by arkweld on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 7:58pm
You don't get it?
You pay for a magazine and then the same content is given away free three days later. It's not that hard to comprehend. Why pay for something that is given away free?
Because it's on paper? You can print this site and you can have the same thing.
People don't care that an article is posted when an issue is taken off newstands but when the same content is sent to you a day before and then it goes live, the magazine content isn't even worth the paper it's printed on.
This point has been brought up numerous times and the answer given is always the same. It's to keep the articles relevant because otherwise they would be out of date by the time they hit the site. Which is ironic considering most of the news posted has already been around the internet 8 or 9 times before it gets picked up to run here.
The question that needs to be asked is "Is glossy paper worth $6 an issue or a $20 subscription?" because right now that's the only difference between the site and the magazine.
I only paid $7 for my sub and I don't even bother to read it now. I'm in front of a computer most of the day, so clicking on a link during downtime is easier than finding the magazine to read the exact same content.
Submitted by MvanA on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 6:07am
The first thing I do everytime I finish installing Windows is assign CTRL+ALT+N to Notepad.
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