Top 5 Most Common Windows 7 Problems and How to Fix Them

Windows 7 is a fairly cool operating system, but like most operating systems it’s not perfect. Some Windows 7 problems are bugs others happen to be features. Either way, they are annoying and all we care for is a quick fix.

Some of the most commonly reported problems with Windows 7 include compatibility with older programs, slow performance on low-end hardware, and trouble with the Aero theme and its features. In this article, I’ll show you how to fix these annoyances. For those that prefer an automatic fix, scroll down to the bottom for suggested software solutions.

1. Windows 7 Seems Slow

Windows 7 is hungry for resources. It features many visual effects that draw heavy on your graphics card and system memory. If your system was slow out of the box, chances are you can easily fix that by turning off superfluous effects.

Go to > Start and type ‘performance‘ in the search field. Select > ‘Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows‘ from the results. The > Performance Options window will open. Under > Visual Effects select > Adjust for best performance. If you would like to retain a nice interface, select > Custom and check > ‘Use visual styles on windows and buttons‘.

2. Windows Aero Not Working

I recently wrote an article on How To Enable & Troubleshoot Aero Effects In Windows 7.

In addition to this article, you should make sure that your graphics card supports Aero and that graphics driver is up to date. However, if your computer came with Windows 7 this should not be an issue.

Finally, Aero could be disabled in your registry. Before I proceed to explain how to check and edit your registry, I must warn you! Editing the registry can cause permanent damage to your Windows installation. Please backup your registry and know what you’re doing.

Go to > Start and type > ‘regedit‘ into the > search option. Launch regedit and browse to >KEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM. The value of the entry > ‘EnableAeroPeek‘ should be set to 1, rather than 0.

3. Older Programs Not Compatible

Before upgrading to Windows 7, it is advisable to check which of your programs will be compatible. The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor checks the most common programs. However, as I have outlined in my article How To Use Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor To Check PC Compatibility, you may have to do a manual check at the Windows 7 Compatibility Center for many other programs. Now, if you have already upgraded and if it turns out that a dear program of yours is not compatible, there is a way out: Windows 7 Compatibility Mode.

To install a program in Compatibility Mode, right-click its > installation file and select >Properties. In its > Properties windows switch to the > Compatibility tab, check > ‘Run this program in compatibility mode for:‘ and from the > pull-down menu choose the latest version of Windows of which you know that the program was running on.

You may have to repeat this step with the program itself once it is installed. Right-click the > program icon, select > Properties, switch to > Compatibility tab, check > ‘Run this program in compatibility mode for:‘, and choose the respective Windows operating system.

Furthermore, you can change the settings for the respective program and you should explore these, depending on the issue you’re facing.

Finally, if you went with Windows 7 Professional or up, you can use Windows 7′s XP Mode. It runs Windows XP as a virtual machine and you can install all programs that worked on Windows XP in this environment. Ars Technica has a very decent article on Windows 7′s XP Mode.

4. DVD Drive Not Found

Windows 7 can not find your optical drive? This is another issue that involves editing the registry. The warning from point 2 applies!

Click > Start, search for > ‘regedit‘ and launch it from the > results. Navigate to > ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class‘. In the > right-hand panel delete > ‘UpperFilters‘ and > ‘LowerFilters‘, restart Windows and see if the problem was resolved.

If not, click > Start, type > Disk Management, and select > ‘Create and format hard disk partitions‘. In the > Disk Management window right-click on the > optical drive icon and select ‘Change Drive Letter and Paths‘. In the > Change Drive Letter and Paths window click the >Change… button and choose a new drive letter. Restart Windows and hope the issue was fixed.

5. New Themes Change Custom Icons

So you switched themes and found that some of your custom icons where changed? That’s quite annoying, but it’s easy to prevent. Right-click > desktop, select > Personalize, in the control panel windows that opens switch to > Change Desktop Icons, and in the > Desktop Icon Settings window uncheck > ‘Allow themes to change desktop icons‘.

Another common issue, which only seems to occur in older laptops, is that Windows 7 falsely reports an empty battery and subsequently shuts down. ITExpertVoice provides a workaround, preventing Windows 7 from shutting down when it thinks the battery is empty. Unfortunately, this may leave you with a sudden laptop death when the battery really runs out.

Finally, many Windows 7 problems can be fixed in an instant using handy tools. MakeUseOf has reviewed FixWin in the article How To Fix Common Windows Problems In A Snap With FixWin. Another option is QuickFix, which contains 21 common Windows 7 fixes. Since it is a portable app, it could one day help you out of a virus attack or restore default Windows 7 behavior.


References: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-commonly-reported-windows-7-problems-fix/

How To Fix A Windows 7 Infinite Reboot Loop

Every morning I get up, switch on my PC and then go and prepare breakfast. By the time I’m done, Windows has booted up and I can start work.

But not today.

Unfortunately something had gone wrong with Windows 7 and the operating system was refusing to boot. Instead, the computer was caught in a reboot loop, unable to load the operating system and constantly restarting.

In previous versions of Windows this might have required a full reinstall or at least some messing around. Fortunately thanks to the way in which Windows 7 was designed it is possible to resolve a reboot loop in a relatively short space of time.

What Is an Infinite Reboot Loop?

Have you ever encountered an infinite reboot loop?

You would probably recall if you have. It is instantly recognisable by the failure of Windows to correctly load up after switching on your PC or laptop. Instead, the computer will reach a certain stage before the logon screen only to then reset back to the boot screen, at which point it will attempt to load Windows again, becoming caught in the loop (although in some cases it might successfully boot) again and again.

The error occurs because of a problem with the Windows 7 system registry. Unfortunately without booting into Windows the registry cannot be fixed, leaving the operating system unreachable.

It’s a Catch 22 situation.

In order to overcome this problem, the tools provided in the Windows 7 System Recovery Options can be used.

Booting Into the System Recovery Options Screen

First you will need to boot your computer into the System Recovery Options screen. This is usually done with the installation DVD, which should be inserted into the optical drive. When the computer boots, Press any key to boot from CD or DVD as requested, select your language preference and then click Repair your computer. A list of installed operating systems should be displayed – select Windows 7 and click Next.

The System Recovery Options screen will appear. Select the first option, Use recovery tools that can help fix problems with Windows, and then select Startup Repair.

(If your computer has a pre-installed recovery partition, the process is a little difference. In this case, boot to the Advanced Boot Options screen, select Repair your computer and tap Enter. Next, select the keyboard language type, then your username and password before selecting Startup Repair in the System Recovery Options screen.)

With Startup Repair selected, Windows will attempt to automate the repair; this might work – otherwise, further action will be required.

Preparing Windows 7 Recovery

If the Startup Repair option fails, you will receive a message reading Windows cannot repair this computer automatically. At the bottom of the message, click View advanced options for system recovery and support to return to System Recovery Options, and instead click Command Prompt.

The black command line interface will open with X:\ selected by default; this is the Windows internal RAM disk that is used by System Repair. You will need to navigate to your Windows system drive, which will by default be on the C: drive.

To open this, type C: and press Enter. Type DIR and press Enter to check that you are in the right drive – the contents listed should include the Program Files, Users and Windows folders.

You will then need to change directory. Enter CD \windows\system32\config and then DIR to check that the correct files and folders are listed:

• RegBack
• DEFAULT
• SAM
• SECURITY
• SOFTWARE
• SYSTEM

With access to the correct directory and the required folders present, enter MD mybackup to create a backup folder. Enter copy *.* mybackup to copy everything to this location, agreeing to the overwrite warnings when they appear.

The RegBack folder stores automatic Windows registry backups. To check if these can be used in restoring your system, enter CD RegBack and then DIR to view the contents. In the folder, you should have the following:

• DEFAULT, SAM and SECURITY files, each around 262,000 bytes
• SOFTWARE file, around 26,000,000 bytes
• SYSTEM file, around 9,900,000 bytes

Note that these figures are approximate, but recognise that if any of these files display a size of zero bytes then you will have to resort to another method of restoring Windows 7.

Running the Windows 7 Recovery

With your RegBack folder containing the data you need to restore Windows 7 and rescue it from the reboot loop, you will be able to copy the contents and use them to get the operating system back up and running again.

Begin by entering copy *.* .. – note the two trailing dots. These indicate that the contents should be pasted to the level above – the Config folder. Agree to all prompts concerning whether you want to overwrite files, and once the process has completed enter exit to close the command prompt.

On the System Recovery Options screen, click Restart to reboot your PC – if everything has gone as it should, Windows 7 should now start correctly!

Conclusion

Reboot loops have long been a problem with Windows. While previous versions offered a couple of ways out in the recovery options, these solutions were far from comprehensive.

The same is true in Windows 7 but there is at least a much better success rate of dealing with infinite reboot loops.

When following the steps outlined here, please take care to follow them precisely. Errors that you make while using the command line interface cannot be undone. Note also that these steps don’t guarantee success – you should be prepared to reinstall Windows in the event that fixing the reboot loop fails.


References: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fix-windows-7-infinite-reboot-loop/

Bitcasa: Gives Infinite Storage Space To Your Folders

Many of us deeply value some of the tools that exist out there which make our lives so much easier. One of the best examples is Dropbox, the application which seamlessly synchronizes our files across all of our devices. Without Dropbox, our workflow would become a lot less efficient, and we’d probably have more gray hair too. The only real downside to Dropbox is the limited amount of storage space we can synchronize.

Bitcasa plans to change that. In short, Bitcasa is a synchronization tool which gives infinite space to whichever folders you’d like. Unlike Dropbox, Bitcasa’s main focus is actually expanding your folder’s available storage space to a virtually unlimited amount rather than synchronization. This is achieved by simply connecting the folder to Bitcasa’s cloud, where you aren’t limited to a quota.

However, the service does come with a good amount of additional features, including synchronization, easy sharing, encrypted storage, and access via their website.

While Android and iOS applications are still in the works, BitCasa is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux to allow true access from any computer.

Features:

• Unlimited storage.
• Synchronization.
• Easy sharing.
• Cross-platform.
• Similar sites: BookMyCloud, CloudExperience, miMedia, Boxnet,ADrive, Boxstr, AllYouCanUpload and FrostBytez.

Check it out @ www.bitcasa.com


References: http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/bitcasa-give-unlimited-capacities-to-your-folders/

Solved Windows 7 Thumbnail Preview (Enable or Disable) and Thumbnail Cache (Clear and Reset)

How to Enable or Disable Thumbnail Previews in Windows 7 Explorer

Information

This will show you how to enable or disable thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer for just your account or all users in Windows 7 Windows Explorer displays thumbnails by default in Windows 7.

Note

Displaying thumbnails in Windows Explorer will require that Windows Photo Viewer is set as the default program with all of it's default associations (except .gif files) set with it as well.

Tip
If there are a lot of thumbnails in a Windows Explorer window, then it can slow down your computer while you wait for the thumbnails to load. If this happens, then disabling thumbnails will speed up how fast a Windows Explorer window will open by displaying only icons instead of thumbnails.

Warning
When thumbnail previews is enabled, you will need to have the icon view size in the Windows Explorer window set to either Medium Icons, Large Icons, or Extra Large Icons to see a thumbnail of the file or folder.

EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE: Thumbnails Enabled in Windows Explorer

EXAMPLE: Thumbnails Disabled in Windows Explorer

OPTION ONE

---

Through Folder Options

NOTE: This option will only enable or disable thumbnails in the current user account. If this option is not available in Folder Options, then you will need to enable either OPTION THREE or OPTION FOUR below to enable for all users.

1. Open Folder Options.

2. Click on the View tab. (See screenshot below) 

 

3. To Turn Off Thumbnails

A) Check Always show icons, never thumbnails, then click on OK. (See screenshot above)

4. To Turn On Thumbnails

A) Uncheck Always show icons, never thumbnails, then click on OK. (See screenshot below step 2)

OPTION TWO

---

Through Visual Effects

NOTE: This option will only enable or disable thumbnails in the current user account.

1. Open Visual Effects settings. (See screensho below) 

 

2. To Turn Off Thumbnails

A) Uncheck Show thumbnails instead of icons, then click on OK. (See screenshot above)

3. To Turn On Thumbnails

A) Check Show thumbnails instead of icons, then click on OK. (See screenshot below step 1)
NOTE: If this option will not stay checked when you reopen this window, then you will need to enable either OPTION THREE or OPTION FOUR below.

OPTION THREE

---

Using a REG File Download

1. To Disable All Users Thumbnails
NOTE: This option will disable thumbnails for all users on the computer and overrides step 3 and 4 below. This is the same as doing OPTION FOUR with Group Policy.

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Disable_Explorer_Thumbnails_All_Users.reg

B) Go to step 5.

2. To Enable All Users Thumbnails 
NOTE: This option will enable thumbnails for all users on the computer and overrides step 3 and 4 below. This is the same as doing OPTION FOUR with Group Policy.

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Enable_Explorer_Thumbnails_All_Users.reg

B) Go to step 5.

3. To Disable Only Current Logged On User Thumbnails
NOTE: This option will disable thumbnails for only the currently logged in user. This is the same as doing OPTION ONE or OPTION TWO above.

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Disable_Explorer_Thumbnails_Current_User.reg

B) Go to step 5.

4. To Enable Only Current Logged On User Thumbnails 
NOTE: This option will enable thumbnails for only the currently logged in user. This is the same as doing OPTION ONE or OPTION TWO above.

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Enable_Explorer_Thumbnails_Current_User.reg

5. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the desktop.

6. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.

7. Click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted.

8. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.

9. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

OPTION FOUR

---

Through the Local Group Policy Editor

1. Open the all users, specific users or groups, or all users except administrators Local Group Policy Editor for how you want this policy applied.

2. In the left pane, click on the arrow to expand User Configuration, Administrative Templates, then click on Start Menu and Taskbar. (See screenshot below) 

 

3. In the right pane, right click on Turn off the display of thumbnails and only display iconsand click on Edit. (See screenshot above)

4. To Enable Thumbnails

A) Select (dot) Not Configured or Disabled. (See screenshot below step 6)

B) Go to step 6.

5. To Disable Thumbnails

A) Select (dot) Enabled. (See screenshot below step 6)

6. Click on OK. (See screenshot below) 

 

7. Close the Local Group Policy Editor. (See screenshot below step 2)

That's it. 

How to Clear and Reset the Thumbnail Cache in Windows

Information
By default, Windows stores the images for thumbnail previews in cache memory so that it can redisplay the images quickly each time you reopen a folder in Windows Explorer (Vista and Windows 7) or File Explorer (Windows 8).

This tutorial will show you how you to clear and reset the thumbnail cache to force Windows to reload the thumbnail picture views into the cache again as needed as you open folders.

Note
The thumbnail cache .db files are located in the hidden system folder location below:

C:\Users\User-Name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

You may want to clear the thumbnail cache if the Windows Explorer thumbnail pictures have become corrupted and not displaying properly, or the thumbnail cache file has become to large and you want to clear some hard disk space.

Here's How:

1. Open Disk Cleanup.

2. Check the Thumbnails box, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below) 

 

3. Click/tap on the Delete Files button. (See screenshot below) 

 

4. Disk Cleanup will now clear the thumbnail cache and close.

That's it.


References: 

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11738-thumbnail-previews-enable-disable.html 

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/10797-thumbnail-cache-clear-reset.html 

How Easy Is It To Crack A Wifi Network?

Whether you’re a computer novice or a pro-level geek, you probably have some idea about Wifi security. You know that you need to have some kind of password – preferably a long password, maybe even with some punctuation; and you also know that there’s a setting on your router to hide the network name so other people can’t see it. You’ve done all that, and now your sitting there safe and sound in the knowledge that your network is on lockdown. Really? You might want to keep reading, as we dispel a few common beliefs about Wifi security.

Hiding your Network SSID

Security through obfuscation is the worst kind; anyone with access to the most basic of wifi hacking tools will see your “hidden” network listed alongside everyone else’s. The only people it is genuinely hidden from are legitimate users; family, friends, or customers trying to connect to an invisible network that they can’t see when they click on the little wifi icon in the corner. The hacker meanwhile, has identified your hidden network and is launching the next app he’ll use to crack your passkey. The clock is ticking.

Advice: Don’t bother hiding your SSID – the only person it’ll cause problems for is yourself.

WEP Passwords

WEP passwords are the old way of securing a network; I showed you a long time ago how they are incredibly easy to crack by simply sniffing out network traffic that’s broadcast around. You can even buy special routers from China that automatically crack any local WEP-secured networks, then re-broadcast the signal as a properly secured Wifi for your own purposes.

Sadly, a lot of older devices are incompatible with WPA. Some game cartridges for the latest Nintendo 3DS won’t work with WPA, even though the console itself is compatible. I know my old iPhone had issues with WPA sometimes, too.

Advice: Never drop down your wifi security to the level of WEP password only – you are asking to have your internet used for all manner of nefarious purposes. If you have a device that’s incompatible, throw it in the trash and buy a real game console or new phone instead. There is absolutely no excuse for using WEP security in this day and age. If you’re out and about, don’t ever connect to one of these either; people can very easily listen in to your web traffic, resulting in stolen passwords, redirected bank logins and all things nasty.

WPA Security

I’m not at risk - you’re thinking - I have a 25 character long password and I use WPA2-PSK – the best security available. Well yes, that may be true; but you’re still not safe. Most routers contain something called WPS technology. WPS was an attempt to simplify connecting devices to the network; you could either use a simple, one-touch button on devices like games consoles and Wifi printers, or you type in an 8-digit number that’s printed on the side of your Wifi router. That 8-digit (numerical) password completely bypasses the need for a lengthy alphanumeric password. But don’t worry, manufacturers realised how silly this sounds and built-in safeguards to prevent brute force hacking of this number – after 3 failed attempts, there is a 60 second cooldown time. To randomly attack an 8-digit password would therefore take 6.3 years; you’d probably notice if someone was parked outside for that long. So we’re cool, right?

No. You see, they made a very slight oversight – they split the passkey number in 2 sets of 4 digits. After guessing the first 4, the router sends a helpful “you got the first half correct” notification, so you can save those for reference. You only need to break 4 numbers, twice. That limits your list of possible combinations to just 10,000 for each set. The 6.3 years required is now cut to less than a day. But it gets worse, as some manufacturers don’t even bother to implement a cool-down period between failed attempts. Yes, this is a momumental failure; with the correct tool (here’s my helpful tutorial), even your WPA2 protected network can be hacked in just a few hours.

Since WPS technology has been a requirement of certification for all wifi routers and enabled by default, it’s almost certain your router is susceptible. What can you do to protect yourself?

• Disable WPS completely – this will vary by router. Be sure to test again after – although my router had this option, there was another internal WPS PIN that was separate from the user displayed one on the side of the router, and disabling just the user one offered no protection at all – the internal PIN could not be deactivated, yet could still be cracked.
• Disable Wifi; this is probably the best option if you’re using something provided by your cable company or ISP; if you absolutely need Wifi, buy another router and put your ISP supplied one into “modem mode”.
• Update the firmware of your router; assuing there is an update available.
• Replace the firmware completely, with Tomato or DD-WRT.

In summary, the chances of your Wifi connection being 100% secure are exceedingly low, regardless of how long your password is, whether or not you obscure the network name – it’s all crackable, and I’ve demonstrated it. If you want to be truly safe, you need to disable any wireless functionality completely, or make absolutely sure that WPS functionality is disabled fully on your router. You can and should run the tools linked above against your own networks to see if you’re vulnerable. So – do you still think you’re secure?


References: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-easy-is-it-to-crack-a-wifi-network-makeuseof-explains/