Show Control Panel in My Computer for Windows 7
Control Panel is the most important area for Windows because that is where you can access all the shortcuts for Windows configurations. Although not really all of the system settings because some are undocumented hidden settings but most of the main configurations. One easy way to make sure that novice Windows users are able to access Control Panel is by placing a shortcut in My Computer. In Windows XP, showing Control Panel in My Computer is as easy as checking a box in Folder Options. However when it comes to Windows 7, it is no longer found in Folder Options.
1. Click the Windows 7 Start Menu orb button and type regedit in the Search programs and files bar.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace
3. Right click on the NameSpace folder at the left pane, select New > Key
4. You can use either of the names below as the key name for the newly created key. In Windows 7, there are 2 types of view for Control Panel
Icon View: {21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Category View: {26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}
Try opening My Computer and you will see an additional Other category with Control Panel shortcut. This registry tweak takes effect instantly without rebooting Windows 7.
Switch Edition for Windows 7 ISO Image
Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 is no longer “One Disc To Rule Them All”, which presents challenges to people who are downloading multiple editions from their MSDN or TechNet subscriptions, and for people who want to backup and archive their ISOs, because instead of just two disc images–one each for 32-bit and
64-bit–there are now eight different images. This creates an unnecessary strain on bandwidth when downloading, wastes space when archiving, and wastes time in general.
Fortunately, the images are all extremely similar, differing only in a handful of bytes, so it is possible to create a binary patch that converts an image of one type into an image of another type. With Windows 7 ISO Image Edition Switcher, we can easily switch between Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Starter and Ultimate edition for 32bit of Windows 7 and Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate for 64-bit.
Simply run binpatcher.exe file, select the patch file for the target edition that you want and finally select the ISO disc image that you want to convert. The final patched file should be exactly identical to what you would have gotten had you downloaded the file directly from Microsoft, and you should verify that the hashes for the patched files match those posted on Microsoft’s website. For your convenience, a copy of the official hashes, in the standard sha1sum format, has been included.
Download Windows 7 ISO Image Edition Switcher
Remove EI.CFG File to Create Windows 7 Universal Installation DVD
If you are a TechNet or MSDN subscriber, you would have noticed that there are different ISO for each edition of Windows 7. If you want to test them out, you will have to download each ISO and the size of every ISO is bigger than 2GB. There is a better way by making the Windows 7 ISO image to become a universal installation DVD. It is similar like Vista installation DVD where it allows you to select the edition that you would like to install.
1. Run eicfg_remover.exe
2. Browse the Windows 7 ISO image file and hit Enter
3. Wait for a few seconds until you get a confirmation window saying ei.cfg removed.
Now you can burn the modified Windows 7 ISO image to a DVD and start up the computer with it. During the early stages of Windows 7 installation, you will get a window option that allows you to select which edition of Windows 7 you would like to install. You can choose Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. You can easily restore back the ei.cfg into the Windows 7 ISO by running eicfg_remover.exe, select the file and it will automatically restore it back if it didn’t find any ei.cfg file.
This removal and restoration of ei.cfg in Windows ISO is done without physically deleting the file from the ISO which saves time and resources. It simply toggles the deletion bit in the UDF file table which instructs the operating system to ignore the ei.cfg file and treat it as if it does not exist.
Download ei.cfg Removal Utility
Enable XP Network Connections in Windows 7 Control Panel
In Windows 7, you cannot find the good old classic Network Connections in Control Panel anymore. Basically the XP Network Connections lists all the network adapter you have on your computer and you can easily configure them by right clicking on the items and select Properties. When it comes to Windows 7, it has been replaced with Network and Sharing Center. Although Windows 7 is developed with a mindset of making everything easier but in fact the enhanced Network Connections seemed to be more confusing.
Fortunately Microsoft did not really remove the Network Connections from Windows 7 but merely just hid it from being displayed. One easy way you can open Network Connections in Windows 7 is by pressing WIN+R to bring up the Run window, type ncpa.cpl and hit enter which will instantly open the Network Connections just like what you get in Windows XP.
If you find it troublesome to manually type it or even remembering the weird file name, you can show the Network Connections icon in Windows 7 control panel by following the steps below:
1. Type regedit in Search Programs and Files bar at the Start Menu and hit enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\don’t load
3. At the left pane, right click on don’t load folder and select Permissions
4. Click Advanced button, go to Owner tab, select the current logged in user and click OK.
5. At the Security tab, click on the username that is logged on and then check the Full Control at the Allow column and click OK.
6. At the right pane of don’t load, right click at ncpa.cpl and select Rename. Add a .bak at the end of the filename which makes it ncpa.cpl.bak
Now go to Control Panel and you should be able to see the Network Connections icon.
Mouse Configuration in Windows 7 for Left Handed Users
By default, Windows assume that you are a right hand user because the forefinger or index finger is used for left clicking and middle finger for right clicking. Moreover the mouse cursor is pointed to the left. There are left handed mouse which gives a more ergonomic feel to let the user enjoy the comfort and control of a mouse without compromising their natural work style. However there are some changes that needs to be made in order to fully be compatible with left handed users.
First of all, you should make the most basic change which is switching the primary and secondary buttons. Go to Control Panel and select Mouse to open the properties window. At the button configuration, click on the checkbox for “Switch primary and secondary buttons” to enable the option. Now left handed users are able to use their index finger to left click and middle finger to right click like the right handed users.
The mouse cursor will still point to the left. To change the cursor for left handed users which points to the right, you can download the mouse cursor and animation file from MSDN. There is an instruction file that has step-by-step information on how to use the MSDN left-handed mouse pointers.
Download Left-Handed Mouse Pointers
Download Windows 7 Installation Setup DVD ISO Original and Untouched
Most if not all software are being sold online where the user can pay using their credit card or paypal and when the transaction is completed, they will be able to download the full version or being provided with the license key to convert the trial into an activated full version. As for Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft doesn’t sell it online and the only reason why there are original and official Windows 7 installation ISO that can be downloaded on the Internet is because of some web-based online storefronts and retailers such as Digital River sell Windows 7 licenses.
Here is a compiled list of Windows 7 direct download links which are in ISO format that can be either extracted, burned to a DVD or loaded into a virtual machine. Do note that you will need a genuine product key to activate Windows 7 or else it will run in a time limited trial.
Windows 7 Professional x64 (64-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65805/X15-65805.iso
German: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65813/X15-65813.iso
French: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65811/X15-65811.iso
Spanish: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65843/X15-65843.iso
Windows 7 Professional x86 (32-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65804/X15-65804.iso
German: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65812/X15-65812.iso
French: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65810/X15-65810.iso
Spanish: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65842/X15-65842.iso
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 (64-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65733/X15-65733.iso
German: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65741/X15-65741.iso
French: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65738/X15-65739.iso
Spanish: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65771/X15-65771.iso
Windows 7 Home Premium x86 (32-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65732/X15-65732.iso
German: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65740/X15-65740.iso
French: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65738/X15-65738.iso
Spanish: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65770/X15-65770.iso
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (64-bit)
English: http://91.121.99.184/paolo/win7-64bit.iso
Windows 7 Ultimate x86 (32-bit)
English: http://91.121.99.184/paolo/win7.iso
Windows 7 Home Premium N x86 (32-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X16-13457/X16-13457.iso
Windows 7 Home Premium N x64 (64-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X16-13459/X16-13459.iso
Windows 7 Professional N x86 (32-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X16-13548/X16-13548.iso
Windows 7 Professional N x64 (64-bit)
English: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X16-13550/X16-13550.iso
The Digital River’s file servers are really fast and should easily maxed out your download speed.
How to Pin Folder or Directory to Start Menu in Windows 7
By default Windows 7 allows you to pin shortcuts and programs to start menu and taskbar. We have previously shared with you a tip on how to trick Windows allowing you to pin a folder to taskbar. The same thing goes for pinning in start menu where you can simply right click on any shortcut or the program itself and you will see “Pin to Start Menu”. Fortunately if you want to pin a folder to Start Menu, it is way easier than pinning to taskbar because all you need to do is drag the folder to the Windows 7 orb button and it will be pinned.
There is a registry hack where it enables the right click “Pin to Start Menu” option to any files or folders. The right click will have to be combined with a SHIFT button which will force the Pin to Start Menu to appear on restricted files or folders to pin on start menu. The registry changes is as follow:
1. Click the Windows 7 orb button and type regedit at the Search proigrams and files bar and hit enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers\
3. On the left pane, right click on the ContextMenuHandlers folder and select New > Key
4. Name the key as {a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}
5. Now press and hold the SHIFT key while you right click on a folder. You will notice the “Pin to Start Menu” option is available in the right click context menu.
To unpin a folder or item from the Start Menu, right click on it and select “Remove from this list”. If you press SHIFT key while right click, you will get to select “Unpin from Start Menu”.