Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Tips

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Service pack 1 (SP1) for Windows 7 has been out for a bit now and perhaps you have installed it. If you are happy with it, I have a tip for you. But then again maybe you are not so happy with it.  In that case, I also have a tip for you.

Free up some space by removing Windows 7 SP1 backup files

When you install Windows 7 SP1, backup files are created to be used in case you have problems with the update and want to get rid of it. These files may take up as much as several GB of space and eventually you may want to delete them. It may not make much difference if you have a terabyte drive but these days many operating system volumes are fairly small. If you have been using SP1 for a while and everything seems to be working properly, here is how to remove the backup files.

Note that once these files are removed, you won’t be able to uninstall SP1. As a matter of good practice, make an image of your system before installing service packs so that you can have an alternate way to return to your original setup.

Use the system tool Disk Cleanup to remove backups

One way to remove the backup files is to use the Windows Disk Cleanup accessory. There are various ways to open Disk Cleanup in Windows 7 but an easy path is to enter “clean” (without quotes) in the Start menu Search bar and select “Disk Cleanup” from the list. You’ll have to go through several steps (see this link for pictures).

1. Open Disk Cleanup
2. Click the Button “Clean up system files”
3. If necessary, select the drive or volume where your operating system is located (normally C:)
4. In the dialog box, click the tab “Disk Cleanup”
5. In the list that opens, find “Service pack backup files’ and put a check by it
6. Click “OK”
7. Click “Delete files”

Use the command line to remove the backups

If you are a command-line aficionado, there is a quicker way to delete the backup files. Open a command prompt with administrator privileges and enter

   DISM /online /cleanup-Image /spsuperseded

How to uninstall Windows 7 service pack 1 from the Control Panel

If SP1 makes you unhappy for one reason or the other, you can uninstall it (assuming you didn’t apply the tip above first).

1. Go to Control Panel-Programs-Programs and Features. The easy way to get there is to enter “uninstall” in theStart- Search bar and choose ”Uninstall a program” from the Control Panel list
2. Click “View installed updates”
3. Click "Service Pack for Microsoft Windows (KB 976932)"
4. Click “Uninstall”

How to uninstall Windows 7 SP1 from the command line

Open a command prompt with administrator privileges and enter

   wusa /uninstall /kb:976932

Don’t you just love how simple the command line makes things?

Source: http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/windows-7-service-pack-1-tips.htm

How to Attach Sticky-Note Reminders to Windows and Applications

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Some applications come with a boatload of keyboard shortcuts; these can make you very fast, but can be difficult to remember, especially if you customized some of them. What if you could have your own little cheat sheet that would pop up next to the application every time your ran it? Read on to see how you can make one.

We’re going to be using an excellent (and free) application called Stickies. If you don’t have it yet, go to the Stickies homepage, download it, and install it.

Creating Your First Cheat Sheet

The first thing we’re going to do is create the sticky note containing whatever info you want to have on hand. With Stickies running, hit Win+S. You should see a blank sticky note, much like the one below.

Yours may not have the current date and time in the caption – that’s a setting you can toggle, but we don’t need it for now.

Next, set the title for your sticky by clicking it and pressing Ctrl+Shift+T. You can also right-click the caption and select Set Title from the context menu.

Now that you’ve set the title (say, Total Commander Tips), fill in the text with whatever you’d like to remember. Use Ctrl + and Ctrl – to increase or decrease the font size, Ctrl+B for bold, Ctrl+I for italics. You can also select just a portion of the text to make it larger (think subheadings).

With your sticky note all ready, it’s now time to attach it to the window. Make sure the “target application” is running, so we’d have a window to attach the note to. Then, right-click the note’s caption and select Attach.

In the Attach Sticky window, locate your application in the list and click it. You can also toggle the box that says “Only if visible” to have the note visible only when the application window isn’t minimized.

The sticky note you created will now appear whenever you run your application, and disappear when you close the app. If you’d like to make the note always on top, click it and hit Ctrl+T. This way no other windows would cover it. That’s it – you now have a handy application-specific cheat-sheet.

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/45189/how-to-attach-sticky-note-reminders-to-windows-and-applications/

Five Tips to Clean Up and Organize Your PC

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Tomorrow is National Organize Your Home Office Day for 2011. While many will be focused on finally filing that growing pile of documents and receipts on their desk, actually implementing a filing system that has some logic behind it, or tweaking the feng shui of the physical office environment in some way, it is just as important to take some time out to clean up your digital office--the PC.

The PC is the centerpiece of office productivity. It is the heart and soul of the office, and when it is in cluttered disarray everything else suffers. With some help from iolo--makers of System Mechanic, here are five tips to help you clean and organize your PC.

1. Uninstall. Uninstall programs that you no longer need or use. They take up space on your hard drive, may be loading in memory and wasting system resources, and represent a possible security risk since you are unlikely to patch or update software you aren't even using. Some software applications include an uninstall option in the Start Menu folder. The best place to start, though, is the Programs and Features option in the Windows Control Panel.

2. Delete. Delete unused, old or duplicate files, e-mails, e-mail addresses, bookmarks and favorites. The average American adult has more than 1,800 digital files, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. That number goes up dramatically, once you factor in all the duplicate, unused or old files that unnecessarily take up your hard drive's space and make searching for the files you need more time-consuming, and grinding on your processor and hard drive. The Disk Cleanup utility in Windows is one good way to identify and remove unnecessary bits from your hard drive.

3. Clean. Once you've uninstalled unused programs, make sure to clean out your registry as well. Invalid or out-of-date registry settings can slow down your computer's boot time and cause weird hesitations and freezes during its operation. Messing with the Windows registry can have catastrophic consequences if done wrong and identifying and removing unnecessary registry entries is easier said than done. This is one area where using a third-party tool like System Mechanic makes sense.

4. Organize. Organize your files. Once unneeded programs are uninstalled, unused or duplicate files deleted and registry cleaned out, make sure the rest of your files are well-organized. Use a logical file naming system and put files into folders that make sense and are easy to remember and access. You can group files chronologically, or by customer, or by project--it is up to you to determine a system that makes the most sense for you and keeping your digital office functional and tidy.

5. Personalize. Personalize your computer. More personalizing helps you remember things and be better organized. Moreover, with a computer that's configured to suit your needs, you are more likely to remain better organized following Organize Your Home Office Day and throughout the year. Explore things and do not hesitate to right click on different tools. The Control Panel is the best place to begin.

Follow these five tips to declutter and organize your PC. It can be tough, tedious work depending on the state of your PC, but the effort will be worth it when you are able to work more efficiently and more effectively.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/221477/five_tips_to_clean_up_and_organize_your_pc.html#tk.hp_new