Seven Transformation Pack Released, Transform XP Into Windows 7 Now!

When users were struggling to transform their old Windows XP look into Windows Vista, Vista transformation pack came, and it ruled the software download sites for almost three years.

With the unofficial RC of Windows 7 already out (official Windows 7 RC will be released to MSDN & TechNet subscribers on April 30, and public on May 5), the most expected Windows Seven Transformation pack has been released and is available to download.

We all know that how handy a transformation pack is for a novice user to get Windows Seven look in XP. The transformation pack automatically transforms your Windows XP look into Windows 7.

The pack changes most of the system icons, skins and toolbars and also adds new enhancements to your desktop. To transform your Windows Vista into Windows Seven manually, read our Transform Vista into Windows 7 guide.

|Download Seven Transformation Pack|

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How To Create System Restore With “Single-Click”

All Windows users are aware of the fact that how important it is to create a restore point before installing new software or before doing any major changes to Windows.

 

IntoWindows has already posted many guides on Windows system restore feature: How to know amount of disk space used by system restore point in Vista, create manual system restore point, assigning space to system restore service and many more.

Creating a system restore point prior the software installation is essential, but it’s a boring task to do the same thing again and again. So, here is a small tool that allows you create system restore point with a simple click.

Single Click Restore Point (SCRP) is a very small tool for Windows that helps you create a restore point easily. Just double-click on the file to execute and wait for few seconds to see the successful message.

Single-click restore tool automatically assigns a name to the restore point (Ex: Created with SCRP tool) so that you can differentiate between restore points created by single click tool and manual way. SCRP is very small to download (just 377 KB) and it’s a standalone utility (no need to install) too.

|Download SCRP tool|via

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Get Exact Windows 7 Taskbar Look In XP With ViGlance

If you have been trying out various programs and tweaks to get the Windows 7 taskbar functionality and look in Windows XP, here is one excellent freeware that imitates Windows 7 taskbar in XP.

Into Windows posted transform Vista taskbar into Windows 7 taskbar guide just after the release of Windows 7 build 6801, back in October 2008. The guide was simple and it was very effective since there were no Windows 7 themes available for Vista at that point of time (was the first guide available on the web at that time).

Since then, we posted many guides related to Windows 7 taskbar including get Windows 7 taskbar shuffle feature in XP & Vista which helps you add Windows 7’s shuffle taskbar feature to XP & Vista.

ViGlance is an free application for Windows XP (read it as only for XP), which can turn around your Windows XP taskbar into Windows 7 taskbar.

Key features:

* Replace Windows XP button with 7’s start orb.

* Replace old taskbar with superbar

* Adds Windows 7’s grouping feature

* Shows larger taskbar icons

* Adds transition effects

This application doesn’t take much of system resources and it’s also a standalone application that requires no installation.

|Download ViGlance|

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Download Exact Windows 7 Shell32 for XP

The new shell style in the Windows 7 is simply superb. If you are still running Windows XP and want to get Windows 7 look, then here is a shell32 file that will completely transform your XP into Windows 7.

There are quite a few XP to Windows 7 transformation packs are available, but to be frank, those packs will slow down your Windows significantly. If you really want to get Windows 7 look, then download and use the below shell pack and also don’t forget to use Windows 7 theme for XP.

How to install shell32?

To make the new shell style working, you need to replace the default shell32 of XP (%windir%\System32\Shell32.dll) using a free application called Replacer or you can also replace it manually.

Download

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Download Glass Command Prompt For Windows XP

After releasing glass command prompt for Windows Vista and 7, Komolo has released a similar glass command prompt for Windows XP as well.

Using the glass command prompt is pretty simple as it doesn’t replace the default Windows command prompt. To use this utility, download the glass command prompt zip file from the link below, extract the zip file, and then run the .exe file.

This glass concept is pretty cool for customization lovers. A Small AutoIt Script that works in the background and enables aero on the background of any new CMD window.

Download Glass Command Prompt for XP

Download Glass Command Prompt for Vista

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How To Upgrade XP To Windows 7 (Steps With Screenshots)

As you all know Windows 7 RTM has been released to MSDN, & TechNet subscribers few hours back. Many of the Windows 7 RC, Vista, and good old XP users are planning to move to the latest Windows OS.

Although upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 is very simple, the same can’t be said about XP. In fact, there is no working upgrade option available in Windows 7 setup while installing Windows 7 on computer running XP. In other words, Windows XP to Windows 7 in-place upgrade is not supported.

But you need not to worry as there is a simple way to upgrade from XP to Windows 7. Microsft Technet posted this info few months back. In this method, you will be able to migrate all your files and settings from Windows XP to Windows 7 on the same computer. Just follow the given procedure to make it happen:

STEP 1

1. Insert Windows 7 DVD in the DVD drive (close auto play windows if you see) and navigate to the following directory:

DVD Drive:\support\migwiz

2. Double-click on migsetup.exe to begin the Windows Easy Transfer process. Note that you need to have installed Service Pack 3 (SP3) to transfer files and settings using Windows Easy Transfer.

3. Click Next and select the transfer method from the available three options:

       # An Easy Transfer cable

       # A network

       # An external hard disk or USB flash drive

4. As you are on XP computer, select "This is my old computer" in the next screen.

5. Wait for few seconds to minutes as Windows Easy Transfer scans your computer.

6. Again click Next button. Select the files that you want to migrate from XP to Windows

by clicking Customize button.

7. In the next step, you will be asked to enter a password to protest your Easy Transfer file. It’s not necessary, but it’s better to play safe always.

8. Click Save. Browse to your USB flash drive or external hard drive to save Easy Transfer file. Click Next.

9. Windows Easy Transfer will save the file to the location and will display the file name and location info once the process is finished.

STEP 2

1. Go back to the root of Windows 7 DVD, and click on setup.exe to start the Windows 7 installation process.

2. In the following window, select any of the option from the available two options:

# Go online to ge4t the latest updates for installation (recommended)

# Do not get the latest updates for installation

3. Accept the license agreement and click Next.

4. Next select “Custom” installation and select the drive in which you would like to install Windows 7. Since you want to upgrade from XP to Windows 7, select the partition where your current XP installation is located.

5. Finish the simple Windows 7 installation process.

STEP 3

1. In the newly installed Windows 7, go to Start > All programs > Accessories > System Tools > Windows Easy Transfer.

2. Click next and select the external drive or USB drive where you have saved the Windows Easy Transfer file in the above step.

3. Click “This is my new computer” and click “Yes” to open the file.

4. Browse to the Windows Easy Transfer File location where the file was saved in the above step and click Open.

5. Click Transfer to begin transferring all your XP settings and files to Windows 7.

6. Close the Windows Easy Transfer wizard.

Note: During Windows 7 installation process, a Windows.old directory gets created to keep all the XP related files under one directory, which might claim enough amount of disk space. To reclaim the disk space or to delete the Windows.old directory that contains your old XP operating system files just run the Disk Cleanup wizard. Select Previous Windows installation (s) and click ok to delete Windows.old directory.

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How To Get Windows 7 Desktop Properties In XP

Windows 7 sports brand new desktop properties, which is entirely different from the old Windows XP desktop properties.

Users who have been using customization guides like our transform Vista taskbar into Windows 7 taskbar, transform vista into Windows 7, & Windows 7 transformation pack for XP may like to have Windows 7 desktop properties in XP as well.

Getting the new desktop properties in XP is very easy. All you need to do is replace a system file with the help of a free utility. To make the task easier, just follow the instructions given below:

1. Download customized themeui.dll & also replacer utility for XP.

2. Navigate to C:\WINDOWS\system32 (“C” is the XP OS drive).

3. Copy the file named themeui.dll to your desktop or another drive so that you can revert to the default desktop properties style at any time.

4. Now, launch replacer utility and the replace the old themeui.dll file with the newly downloaded themeui.dll file.

5. Reboot your XP to see the new desktop properties box.

Note that this guide was tested on Windows XP SP3 only, but should work fine on SP2 as well. If you haven’t upgraded to XP SP3 yet, you can do it now by downloading SP3 from Microsoft download center.

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Get Windows 7’s Task Switching Hotkeys In Vista & XP

As you may know, there are several new hotkeys available in Windows 7 to improve your productivity. In Windows 7, you can simply open or switch between any opened applications using Windows + 1-9 hotkeys.

For example, Windows + 1 hotkey switchs to the fist window on the taskbar and Windows + 2 opens the second window on the taskbar. As this feature can improve your productivity dramatically, we have a small application that enables you get this feature in Windows XP and Vista too.

Activatebynum is a small utility for Windows XP and Vista that allows you switch between two windows easily using Windows + 1-9 keys.

For a collapsed group of window buttons, repeatedly pressing the same Windows key + N combination (where “N” is the position of the group on the taskbar) will cycle through each window in the group. Windows key +- shows button numbers (>= 5) as tooltips.

Note that you will not be able to use Windows + 1-9 hotkeys to launch Quick Launch applications while Activatebynum is running.

Download Activatebynum

Download Activatebynum (via Softpedia)

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IA PrintScreen Allows You Enhance Windows PrintScreen Function

Most of the Windows users still use the good old Print Screen function to take a quick snapshot without using third-party tools. If you are not aware of Print Screen button, it allows you take a snapshot of your screen quickly. You can then paste it into Paint program to edit the snapshot.

Although Microsoft introduced Snipping tool with Vista, most of the users are happy with Print Screen function. If you use Print Screen, here is small utility that enhances PrintScreen function.

Once you download and install IA PrintScreen utility, the program will run in system tray. When you press Print Screen keyboard button, a small dialog box will appear, which then allows you email the snapshot, open or preview snapshot and also allows you open snapshots folder.

Overall a great utility to enhance the good old Print Screen function. If you are running XP, this is a must install utility to step up your productivity!

Download IA PrintScreen

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Repair Windows XP, Vista & Windows 7 Without Installation CD/DVD

Unlike Windows 7, its prior versions Vista and XP don’t allow you create a system repair disc. Many of us don’t have an installation disc to repair our Vista or XP installations. If you are a Windows Vista user, you can always download the Vista Repair Disc for free to repair Vista boot and other problems.

But there are no such options available for XP as you have to use the default Repair option present in the installation disc. As novice users always find it difficult to fix Windows XP boot problems or installation problems with or without the installation CD, here we have a cool solution to repair Windows XP boot problems without the installation CD.

Note that you can also use this guide to repair Windows Vista and Windows 7 as well. In this guide, we use a simple free tool called “Paragon Rescue Kit” that helps you repair most of Windows boot problems.

The beauty of this free program is that it offers you a simple step-by-step graphical user interface to repair Windows issues. Follow the procedure given below to repair Windows without the installation disc.

1. First you need to download Paragon Rescue Kit software. The setup file is 45 MB and is available to download for free at cnet download center.

2. Kick start the setup to see Unpack and Burn Wizard. As the title suggests, it allows you burn the Rescue Kit image to the CD/DVD. You need to register this program to receive the free product key and serial number. Simply click the given link and enter your name and email ID to receive registration key and number.

3. Once the rescue kit is ready to use, you can use the rescue CD/DVD on any PC.

4. Insert the previously burnt ISO-image of the bootable CD into the drive and then reboot your machine. Wait for a few seconds to see the first screen of the Rescue Kit program (see the screenshot below). If you are not able to boot into the Rescue Kit program, please make sure that you have set the default boot priority to CD/DVD drive in the BIOS.

5. Select normal mode to enter into the main menu.

6. In the main menu, you will see the following options:

# File transfer wizard

# Boot Corrector

# Undelete Partition

# Log Saver

# Reboot the computer

# Power off

7. As we need to repair boot problem (s), select Boot Corrector option to see the boot repair options:

# Search of valid Windows installations

# Correction of the Master Boot Record

# Correction of partition boot records

# Modification of partition parameters

# Correction of boot parameters (boot.ini, BCD)

As we are here to repair Windows boot related problem, select "Correct the Master Boot Record" option first and then follow the onscreen procedure to repair the Master Boot Record. And if you have been getting boot.ini missing or BCD related errors select the last option (Correct boot parameters).

You can always click the Help button to find more information about the options available in the program.

8. Once you are done, click Finish button to revert to the main menu.

9. Click Reboot the computer option to eject CD and then to reboot the machine.

10. Good luck!

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Download Updated Windows Live Family Safety Now

Barely a day after the official release of Windows Live Movie Maker 14, Microsoft has updated Windows Live Family Safety, part of Windows Live Essentials, and is ready to download.

Brandon LeBlanc writes that the updated version of Windows Live Family Safety also offers deeper integration with Windows resulting in fewer log-in prompts and faster web surfing compared to previous versions of Family Safety while it’s running on the PC.

Windows Live Family Safety is designed to help parents keep their children safer online. It offers parents the ability to manage which websites their kids can visit, as well as the list of contacts they can communicate with when using the Windows Live services such as Windows Live Spaces, Hotmail and Messenger.

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Windows Live Movie Maker (WLMM) Tutorials

Windows Live Movie Maker (WLMM) final has been packed with over 60 transitions, 18 pans and zoom options, and 20 visual effects that you can apply to photos or videos, plus video trim, split, and fade capabilities.

The all new Live Movie Maker not supports HD, publishing to YouTube and many more new features that can only be experienced by installing the WLMM. If you have already installed the new WLMM and would like to know the new features, here are some videos from WLMM team that explain all the new features in WLMM 14.

1. Windows Live Movie Maker Walkthrough video:

2. Getting started with Live Movie Maker:

3. Using AutoMovie feature:

4. Sharing video:

5. Adding transitions, pan & zoom effects:

6. Adding and editing music:

7. Adding title & caption:

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Messenger Plus! Live Add-On Pack Adds Cool Features & Extras To Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger is one of the best messengers available today. Most of the Windows users are running the Windows Live Messenger to chat with their family and friends. If you are using Windows Live Messenger on XP, Vista, or Windows 7, then here is cool download for you.

Messenger Plus! Live is an excellent extension (add-on) for Windows Live Messenger 8.0 or above that adds loads of cool features to the WLM.

This add-on adds tons of easy-to-install skins, tabbed chatting feature, custom sounds during a conversation, your own color for messages, text, & background, event viewer & logging, messenger lock feature and more.

To install and run this add-on pack you need to have installed XP, Vista, or Windows 7 along with Windows Live Messenger 8.0 or above. Messenger plus also available in number of languages including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Thai, & Turkish.

Messenger Plus! Live Key Features:

# Over 100 easy-to-install skins

# Chat logging

# Event Viewer

# Tabbed chats

# Emotion sounds

# Automatically accept request feature

# Messenger lock

# Events Notification displays a popup or plays a sound for any kind of contact event

# Create personalized status

# Place your contacts on desktop

# Lets you check external email accounts

# Improve look and feel of texts with colors, gradient effects and various other text attributes

# Set custom transparency level

# Encrypt chat logs

# Set-up messages for quick sending or automatic text replacement.

The Messenger Plus! Live has been downloaded more than 500 million times since 2001, which clearly indicates how worth the Messenger Plus! Live pack is.

Download Messenger Plus! Live

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Download Windows 7 Theme (Skin) For Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger is one the first software to install immediately after installing Windows 7. As many of you have already installed Windows 7 and Windows Live Messenger, here is a beautiful skin that give Windows 7 touch to the WLM.

How to install:

1. First you need to install Messenger Plus Live. Download and install Messenger Plus Live (know more about Messenger Plus Live).

2. Download Windows 7 theme for Windows Live Messenger from here.

3. Right-click on the downloaded theme and select Open to launch Import skin dialog-box.

4. Click on the Import button (make sure that Enable this skin after import option is enabled) and then click OK to restart Messenger with a new skin.

5. Enjoy.

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Download Windows Live Movie Maker Beta Guide

Windows Live Movie Maker is one of the best free video editing tools available for Windows. The upcoming Windows Live Movie Maker comes with tons of features that help you edit videos quickly and easily.
The new Movie Maker comes with six new automovie themes, hardware accelerated decoding, network file support, automovie feature in photo gallery slide show, speed up/show down video editing, automatic save movie option, Windows Phone & Zune output options, full-screen preview, animation in the storyboard and full screen support.

You can find more details about the above mentioned features by downloading Meet the new Movie Maker guide from Microsoft.
Download Meet the new Movie Maker

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Download Windows Live Movie Maker Beta Guide

Windows Live Movie Maker is one of the best free video editing tools available for Windows. The upcoming Windows Live Movie Maker comes with tons of features that help you edit videos quickly and easily.
The new Movie Maker comes with six new automovie themes, hardware accelerated decoding, network file support, automovie feature in photo gallery slide show, speed up/show down video editing, automatic save movie option, Windows Phone & Zune output options, full-screen preview, animation in the storyboard and full screen support.

You can find more details about the above mentioned features by downloading Meet the new Movie Maker guide from Microsoft.
Download Meet the new Movie Maker

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Windows Live Essentials 2011 Beta 2 Full Offline Installer Download

The second beta version of Windows Live Essentials 2011 has been released and ready to download.

This version of Windows Live Essentials comes with comes with new features, icons, performance improvements and several bug fixes. The first beta WLE 2011 was released on June 24.

The Windows Live Essentials beta which includes Live Photo Gallery, Live Sync, Live Messenger, Live Writer, Live Movie Maker, Live Mail, Bing Bar, Live Family Safety and Messenger Companion.

Download Windows Live Essentials 2011 Beta 2 (web)

Download Windows Live Essentials 2011 Beta 2 (offline installer)

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How To Upgrade Windows 7 Home Premium To Professional Or Ultimate Edition

Windows XP Mode are some of the features that differentiate Professional edition from the Home Premium edition. Many Home Premium edition users are upgrading to the Professional edition to get some of the advanced features available in Windows 7 Pro edition.

Users who would like to upgrade their Home Premium edition to Professional can use the Windows Anytime Upgrade feature. Using this feature, you can easily upgrade to a higher edition without loosing your data and installed programs.

In this guide, we will show you how to upgrade your Windows 7 Home Premium edition to Professional.

Note: You can also use this procedure to upgrade from Home Premium to Ultimate edition.

Procedure:

1. Open System Properties by right-clicking on Computer icon and then selecting Properties option. You can also launch System Properties by pressing Windows + Pause/Break hotkey.

2. In the System Properties, click on the option named Get more features with a new edition of Windows 7 to launch Windows Anytime Upgrade wizard.

 

3. In the window, you will have two options:

 # Go online to choose the edition of Windows that’s best for you
 

 # Enter an upgrade key

The first option displays the upgrade price for Professional and Ultimate editions with their features. You can also purchase the upgrade license here. Use the second option if you own an upgrade license for Professional or Ultimate edition.

In this guide, we choose the second option (Enter an upgrade key) as we have an upgrade key for Windows 7 Professional edition. If you have Ultimate edition upgrade license, simply enter the key to upgrade to Ultimate edition.

Please note that Windows Anytime Upgrade key is different from product key.
 

4. Click Next button to allow Windows Anytime Upgrade to verify the entered key. Verification should be done within a few seconds.

5. If the key is genuine, you will be asked to accept the license agreement. Click on I accept button and then Upgrade button to continue. If you have any running applications you will be asked to save your work and close all running programs.

6. Wait for a while and let the Windows complete the upgrade process. You are done! You have just upgraded Windows 7 Home Premium edition to Professional.

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