How to Get “Hide Window When Minimized” Option Back in Windows Live Mail in Windows 7

When I installed Windows Live Mail in Windows 7, I found that "Hide window when minimized" option was missing in Windows Live Mail system tray context menu. Its one of the most essential option. It allows you to minimize the Windows Live Mail window to system tray instead of taskbar. But its not shown in Windows 7 because of some compatibility issues.
Here is a step-by-step tutorial to get the "Hide window when minimized" option back in Windows Live Mail:
1. Right-click on the Windows Live Mail shortcut and select Properties. Here the shortcut might be present on Desktop, Programs menu or anywhere else.
2. Go to "Compatibility" tab and enable "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" option.
3. Select "Windows Vista" from the drop-down list and Apply it.

4. That's it. Now start Windows Live Mail and you'll get the option back in its system tray context menu:

Read More

How to Use Windows 7 for Approx. One Year Without Product Key

We all know Microsoft released Windows 7 Beta build to public but their servers were too much busy, only a few people could download and obtain the product key. We posted direct download links to Windows 7:
Windows 7 Public Beta Direct Download Links and Product Keys
You can download the complete ISO file but you can't get the product key.
So here we'll tell you, how you can use Windows 7 beta for approx. one year without entering product key. This method used to work in Windows Vista but it'll also work in Windows 7.
Just follow following tutorials and you can enjoy Windows 7 for one year:
Extend Windows Vista and 7 Trial Period from 30 Days to 120 Days
How to Use Windows Vista and 7 for Approx. One Year Without Activation?

Read More

Are There Only 10 Product Keys for All Windows 7 Beta Users?

People, who were successful to get Windows 7 public beta product key, seem to get same product keys. It seems Microsoft is only providing 10 different keys to all 2.5 million downloaders of Windows 7 public beta. Following are the keys:

7XRCQ-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
RFFTV-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
D9RHV-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
482XP-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
6JKV2-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
TQ32R-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
GG4MQ-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
MXMDP-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
4HJRK-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
QXV7B-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

I think all these 10 keys are capped to 2.5 million users and only first 2.5 million users who activate Windows using these keys will be able to successfully activate.

Read More

Windows 7 Official Website Updated with Download Links

Now Microsoft has finally updated the official Windows 7 website page with download links. Open following link: Download Windows 7 Public Beta
Scroll down to bottom and you'll find drop-down boxes to select your language to download Windows 7 beta.
Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available in 5 languages.
Everything is running fine now and you'll not see any server busy error.
Windows 7 Beta Release Notes
Windows 7 FAQ

Windows 7 Official Homepage
Minimum system requirements to install Windows 7:

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• 16 GB of available disk space
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
• DVD-R/W Drive

The download is available in ISO format, so you'll need to burn the image. You can upgrade to Windows 7 Beta from Vista SP1.
And don't forget to read our review of Windows 7:
Windows 7 Review
Also you can find some interesting tutorials and information about Windows 7 in our special section which is completely dedicated to Windows 7:
Windows 7 Section on AskVG

Read More

How to Get the Old Thin Taskbar Buttons with Text in Windows 7?

Windows 7 contains new iconized taskbar buttons which only show program icons. Its a new feature in Windows 7 and looks nice. But a few people might find it difficult to use.
So here is a simple step-by-step tutorial to enable the old thin taskbar buttons with text in Windows 7:
1. Right-click on Taskbar and select Properties.
2. Now enable "Use small icons" option.
3. You'll also see that "Taskbar buttons" option would be set to "Always combine, hide labels". Change it to either "Combine when taskbar is full" or "Never combine".
"Combine when taskbar is full" option will group same program buttons in taskbar like Windows XP and Vista. "Never combine" option will disable grouping.

4. That's it. Apply the changes and you can enjoy the same old thin taskbar with program text in Windows 7.

Read More

Did You Know You can Move Taskbar Buttons in Windows 7?

If you are using Windows 7 Beta, then here is some interesting info for you. Did you know you can move taskbar buttons in Windows 7? Yes, that's a very cool and useful feature in Windows 7. You can change taskbar buttons locations just like you do with multiple tabs in a web browser.
As you can see in the image, we are moving Internet Explorer taskbar button and placing it before Notepad button.

Read More

Has Microsoft Removed Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 7?

"Quick Launch" toolbar is a very essential feature in Windows and almost all Windows users use it to put their favorite applications shortcuts in taskbar to access them quickly and easily. But people who have started using Windows 7 are wondering where is the "Quick Launch" toolbar in Windows 7? They can't find it in Taskbar context menu:

So has Microsoft removed it in Windows 7? The answer is NO. Microsoft has not removed it but has integrated it tightly in taskbar. In fact they have made it quite easier than before.
Quick Launch toolbar has become Pinned Item in Windows 7. So if you want to add an application or any other thing in taskbar for easier access, then simply right-click on its shortcut and select "Pin to Taskbar":

It'll immediately add its shortcut in taskbar which will work same as quick launch toolbar. You can see in following screenshot, 4 items have been pinned to taskbar which looks like same as quick launch toolbar:

If you want to remove any pinned item from taskbar, simply right-click on it and select "Unpin this program from taskbar":

So Quick Launch toolbar is still there but the name and look has changed which is better and easier IMO.
Also see: How to Get the Good Old "Quick Launch" Toolbar and "Show Desktop" Shortcut Back in Windows 7?

Read More

[Windows 7 Bug] Items Reappear After Deleting From Navigation Pane in Windows Explorer

Here is one interesting bug in Windows 7: 1. Open Windows Explorer and try to delete an item (Libraries or Homegroup) from Navigation pane. Right-click on the item and select "Delete".
2. It'll show a message:

3. Click on "Yes" button and the item will be removed from Navigation pane.
4. Now exit Windows Explorer and re-open it and voilla, the deleted item will reappear in the navigation pane.
So what's the point of deleting an item if it reappear in the list?
BUG:
1. If we delete an item successfully, then why it reappear in the list?
2. Try to delete "Computer" from navigation pane, you'll get the same message but it'll not be removed but if you had Computer icon on Desktop, it'll be removed.
Goof-up:
Why the deletion message says that "Are you sure you want to delete the icon from Desktop?". Are we deleting icon from Desktop? NO, we are deleting from navigation pane.
It seems Navigation pane in Windows Explorer takes the data from Desktop, that's why the message asks to delete the icon from Desktop. Strange..

Read More

Has Microsoft Removed Show Desktop Shortcut in Windows 7?

"Show Desktop" is a shortcut which is present in Quick Launch toolbar in Windows taskbar. Once you click on its icon, it minimizes all running programs to taskbar so that you can view the Desktop. Since Microsoft integrated the Quick Launch toolbar in taskbar in Windows 7, you'll no longer see the old "Show Desktop" icon. But that doesn't mean it has been removed in Windows 7.
Actually the location and look of "Show Desktop" has changed in Windows 7. Now its located at the end of taskbar in form of a small rectangle.

It does 2 jobs now:
1. When you move your mouse cursor over it, it hides all running programs windows and shows only windows outlines so that you can peek behind all open windows . Its called "Aero Peek" feature.
2. When you click on it, it does the same job as the old shortcut used to do. It minimizes all open windows and restores them if you click again.

Read More

How to Show Day and Month Names in System Tray Date in Windows 7

Windows 7 shows both date as well as time in system tray because of the new superbar.
Did you know you can customize it and can show the day and month names as well?
Here is a small tutorial which will tell you how to customize the date shown in system tray in Windows 7:
1. Type intl.cpl in RUN or start menu search box and press Enter. It'll open Regional and Language Options window.
2. Now click on "Addition Settings" button.
3. Go to "Date" tab and you'll see the value of "Short date" will be set to dd-MM-yyyy.
You can customize it to show day and month names. Here:

d stands for day
m stands for month
y stands for year

You can use these 3 alphabets to customize the date. Following are some examples of customized date:

d-m-y will show 10-1-9
dd-mm-yy will show 10-01-09
ddd-mmm-yyy will show Sat-Jan-2009
dddd-mmmm-yyyy will show Saturday-January-2009

I hope you got the idea behind it. You can use any of the above combination to customize the date format. For example you can use:

ddd dd-MMM-yyyy

To show:

Sat 10-Jan-2009

4. You can also change the separator - to some other symbol or can remove it completely like ddd dd MMM yyyy
5. Once you finish customizing the date format, click on Apply button and you have done:

Isn't it cool?
PS: If you want to show only Time and not Date in Windows 7 superbar, then use following value for "Short date":

ddd dd MMMM yyyy

NOTE: If you want to hide Time in system tray, put a blank space in "Long time" text box under "Time" tab.

Read More

How to Get the Good Old “Quick Launch” Toolbar and “Show Desktop” Shortcut Back in Windows 7?

If you are using Windows 7, you might be wondering where are the good ol' "Show Desktop" shortcut and "Quick Launch" toolbar in Taskbar? Actually "Show Desktop" shortcut has been moved to extreme end of Windows 7 Taskbar in form of a small rectangle and Microsoft has disabled "Quick Launch" toolbar intentionally because the same functionality is provided using the new PIN feature in Windows 7.
But you can enable "Quick Launch" toolbar back in Windows 7 and it'll also contain the good old "Show Desktop" shortcut using following simple steps:

1. Right-click on Taskbar and select "Toolbars -> New toolbar...".

2. It'll open Browse dialog box. Now paste following string in the "Folder:" text box:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Press Enter and click on "Select folder" button.
3. It'll immediately add Quick Launch toolbar to Taskbar.
4. Now right-click on Taskbar and uncheck "Lock the taskbar" option.

5. You'll see a placeholder to drag the Quick Launch toolbar.
6. Right-click on the toolbar placeholder and uncheck "Show Title" and "Show Text" options.

7. If you want to increase the icon size, right-click on the toolbar placeholder and enable "View -> Large Icons" option.

8. Drag-n-drop this toolbar to the left of Taskbar.
9. That's it. Now you have the good ol' "Quick Launch" toolbar and "Show Desktop" shortcut back in Windows 7 Taskbar.

Read More

Ultimate Collection of Registry Tweaks to Speed Up Windows 7

Although Microsoft's new OS "Windows 7" is already very fast and reliable, here is a registry script which can tweak a few internal settings to optimize your system performance and add a few useful extras. You just need to download the ZIP file, extract it and run the file. It'll ask for confirmation, accept it. Restart your system to take affect and you'll definitely experience the tweaking affect.
If you are worried what this registry script is going to do in your system, then here is a description of all the tweaks included in this file:

• Adds "Copy To" and "Move To" options in files and folders context menu, so that you can easily copy and move them to other locations.
• Sets Windows to automatically end task of programs which are either hanged or taking longer time than expected to exit.
• Decreases menus show delay time, it'll show the sub-menus fast when you select their parent menu.
• Disables the low disk space check so that you don't get the annoying low disk space notification in system tray.
• Sets Windows to not waste time in searching for a program which no longer exists in your system when you try to open its shortcut.
• Disables "search on Internet" prompt in "Open with" window so that it directly opens the program list.
• Speeds up the Explorer navigation.
• Adds "Take Ownership" option in files and folders context menu so that you can easily take ownership of files and folders in case you want to replace them for customization purpose.

Now if you are satisfied with the above description, please feel free to apply the script. I assure you it'll not harm your system in any condition and its completely safe to apply.
Download Registry Script For Windows 7
Restore Default Settings
Further Read:
Speed Up Windows 7 - Master Tutorial to Make Windows 7 Super Fast

Read More

Some Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 7

Windows 7 comes with lots of new keyboard shortcuts which are very useful and easy to remember. So here is a complete list: General

Win+Up	Maximize
Win+Down	Restore / Minimize
Win+Left	Snap to left
Win+Right	Snap to right
Win+Shift+Left	Jump to left monitor
Win+Shift+Right	Jump to right monitor
Win+Home	Minimize / Restore all other windows
Win+T	Focus the first taskbar entry Pressing again will cycle through them, you can can arrow around. Win+Shift+T cycles backwards.
Win+Space	Peek at the desktop
Win+G	Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order
Win+P	External display options (mirror, extend desktop, etc)
Win+X	Mobility Center (same as Vista, but still handy!)
Win+# (# = a number key)	Launches a new instance of the application in the Nth slot on the taskbar. Example: Win+1 launches first pinned app, Win+2 launches second, etc.
Win + + Win + - (plus or minus key)	Zoom in or out.

Explorer

Alt+P

Show/hide Preview Pane

Taskbar modifiers

Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance
Middle click on icon	Open a new instance
Ctrl + Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance with Admin privileges
Shift + Right-click on icon	Show window menu (Restore / Minimize / Move / etc) Note: Normally you can just right-click on the window thumbnail to get this menu
Shift + Right-click on grouped icon	Menu with Restore All / Minimize All / Close All, etc.
Ctrl + Click on grouped icon	Cycle between the windows (or tabs) in the group

Thanks to Brandon for sharing them...

Read More

List of Windows Vista BUGs Which Have Been Fixed in Windows 7

Here is another interesting reason why Windows 7 is better than Vista. Do you remember we found lots of bugs in Windows Vista and also reported them to Microsoft? We also asked Microsoft to release SP2 to fix all those bugs:
SP1 Failed to Fix Several Windows Vista Bugs, Do We Need SP2?
And today we are very pleased to say that Microsoft listened to us and fixed almost all the reported bugs in Windows 7.
Following are the bugs which have been fixed in Windows 7 but are still there in Windows Vista SP2:

• [BUG] New Windows Vista Bug Found in Desktop Icon Settings Window
• [BUG] New Windows Vista Bug Found in Creating New Shortcut
• New File Renaming Bug Found in Windows Vista, Server 2008
• [BUG] Windows Vista MMC Customize Dialog Box Close Button Bug
  (They have disabled the Close button permanently)
• [BUG] Windows Vista Explorer Statusbar Doesnt Show File Size Information in Drives Root
  (Now Statusbar no longer shows the file size)
• Control Panel -> Programs and Features Task Band Goof-up in Windows Vista
  (I'm very happy to see it fixed in 7)
• Taskbar Bug in Windows Vista
• IE7 Goof-up in More/Less Information Button
• Folder List and Favorite Links in Navigation Pane Bug in Windows Vista
• Classic Startmenu Log Off Command Confirmation Bug in Windows Vista
  (Classic startmenu has been removed)
• Folder and Search Options Bug in Windows Vista
• Statusbar Bug in Windows Vista Explorer
  
• Interesting Facts, Bugs and Goof-ups in Windows Vista
  (Look at Point 7 in Bugs & Goof-ups, its fixed now)

Read More

List of Windows Vista BUGs Which Have Been Fixed in Windows 7

Here is another interesting reason why Windows 7 is better than Vista. Do you remember we found lots of bugs in Windows Vista and also reported them to Microsoft? We also asked Microsoft to release SP2 to fix all those bugs:
SP1 Failed to Fix Several Windows Vista Bugs, Do We Need SP2?
And today we are very pleased to say that Microsoft listened to us and fixed almost all the reported bugs in Windows 7.
Following are the bugs which have been fixed in Windows 7 but are still there in Windows Vista SP2:

• [BUG] New Windows Vista Bug Found in Desktop Icon Settings Window
• [BUG] New Windows Vista Bug Found in Creating New Shortcut
• New File Renaming Bug Found in Windows Vista, Server 2008
• [BUG] Windows Vista MMC Customize Dialog Box Close Button Bug
  (They have disabled the Close button permanently)
• [BUG] Windows Vista Explorer Statusbar Doesnt Show File Size Information in Drives Root
  (Now Statusbar no longer shows the file size)
• Control Panel -> Programs and Features Task Band Goof-up in Windows Vista
  (I'm very happy to see it fixed in 7)
• Taskbar Bug in Windows Vista
• IE7 Goof-up in More/Less Information Button
• Folder List and Favorite Links in Navigation Pane Bug in Windows Vista
• Classic Startmenu Log Off Command Confirmation Bug in Windows Vista
  (Classic startmenu has been removed)
• Folder and Search Options Bug in Windows Vista
• Statusbar Bug in Windows Vista Explorer
  
• Interesting Facts, Bugs and Goof-ups in Windows Vista
  (Look at Point 7 in Bugs & Goof-ups, its fixed now)

Read More

How to Customize Power Button Action in Windows 7 Start Menu?

Windows 7 Start menu looks very similar to Windows Vista but its customization is much easier than Vista. In Windows Vista, you need to go through various steps to change Power button action in start menu: How to Change Power Button in Windows Vista?
But Windows 7 no longer requires to go through so many steps, you can change the power button action from Taskbar settings. This tutorial will help you in customizing the power button in Windows 7.
Before:

After:

Simply follow these simple steps:
1. Right click on Taskbar and select Properties.
2. Go to "Start Menu" tab and select the desired action from drop-down list in "Power button action" section:

3. That's it. Apply the changes and now you'll get the desired button in Start menu.

Read More

[Windows 7 Bug] User Picture Disappears from Start Menu

Another funny bug in Windows 7: 1. Click on Start ORB (Start button) and make sure that startmenu contains at least one program shortcut in left side pane which is expandable (look at the small black arrow).
2. Now expand the program shortcut by clicking on the arrow or by hovering the mouse cursor over it.
3. Once the Tasks list is shown, hover your mouse cursor on any other program shortcut so that the Tasks list gets disappeared:

4. Now the bug will appear. As you can see in the screenshot, the user picture will disappear from the top of start menu. Even you hover your cursor over any item present in right-side pane, the user pic will not appear.
If you exit from start menu and re-open it, the user pic will appear again.
Also check:

• Windows 7 Classic Theme Bug
• [Windows 7 Bug] User Picture Disappears from Start Menu After Resizing Taskbar
• [Windows 7 Bug] Items Reappear After Deleting From Navigation Pane in Windows Explorer

Read More

[FIX] WinRAR Causes Wide Context Menu Bug in Windows Vista, Server 2008 and 7

Its a known issue in Windows Vista, Server 2008 and Seven. I received lots of mails about this problem. Sometimes people called it a bug in Windows and sometimes a virus problem. But the truth is, its a compatibility issue between WinRAR and Windows. Recently a visitor "Blu" contacted me about the same issue. He is using Windows 7. Whenever he right-clicks on a file/folder in Explorer, he gets a very wide context menu as shown in following screenshot:

If you are also facing this problem, follow these simple steps to fix the problem:
1. Open WinRAR and go to "Options -> Settings...".
2. Now click on "Integration" tab.
3. In "Shell integration" section, try following things to fix the problem:

• Disable "Icons in context menu" option and click on OK button.
• If the above trick doesn't work, then enable "Cascaded context menus" option.
• If none of the above 2 options works, then remove the context menu entry by disabling "Integrate WinRAR into shell" option.

4. After following 3rd step, your problem will be solved.

Read More

Microsoft Announced Windows 7 SKU Details

Here is an exclusive information which we got from Microsoft. Microsoft is going to announce Windows 7 SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) details today and there would be 5 versions of Windows 7:

• Windows 7 Starter
  
• Windows 7 Home Basic
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Windows 7 Professional
• Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate

Windows 7 Starter: For price-sensitive customers with small notebook PCs.
Windows 7 Home Basic and Home Premium: For customers in emerging markets.
Windows 7 Professional: For small businesses and customers who want additional features and functionality.
Windows 7 Enterprise: For mid and large-sized businesses that have a Software Assurance Agreement with Microsoft.

Each SKU is a superset of the previous SKU. This means that each higher edition SKU will have every feature lower edition SKUs have.
Also Microsoft will be  focusing on two primary editions of Windows 7:  Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional.

Read More

Windows 7 Services Configuration: Turn Off / Disable Unnecessary Services to Optimize Performance

We have posted service guides for Windows XP and Vista in past and now its turn of Windows 7. In this tutorial we'll learn about the services which are not essential and can be safely set to MANUAL to speed up your system: 1. Right-click on Computer icon on desktop and select Manage, it'll open a new window. Now go to Services & Applications -> Services. You can also open the same from Administrative Tools -> Computer Management. Or you can directly open "Services" list by providing services.msc command in RUN or Startmenu search box.

2. Now you can set the unnecessary services to DISABLED or MANUAL. Just double-click on any service and select the desired option in Startup type list box.

NOTE: Always set the service to MANUAL, never disable it, so that whenever Windows needs to start a service it can easily start and use it. If you set any service to DISABLED, Windows will not be able to start it and will give some error messages.

Here is a list of services that can be safely set to MANUAL:

• Application Experience
• Computer Browser (If your computer is not connected to any network)
• Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (If you don't use Aero theme)
• Diagnostic Policy Service
• Distributed Link Tracking Client
• IP Helper
  
• Offline Files
• Portable Device Enumerator Service
• Print Spooler (If you don't have Printer)
• Protected Storage
• Remote Registry (Always disable it for Security purposes)
• Secondary Logon
• Security Center
• Server (If your computer is not connected to any network)
• Tablet PC Input Service
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
  
• Themes ( If you use Windows Classic theme)
• Windows Error Reporting Service
• Windows Media Center Service Launcher
• Windows Search (If you don't use Windows Search feature frequently)
• Windows Time (If you don't want to update system tray clock time using Internet)

PS: You can see the details of each service to determine whether you should disable it or not.
Further read:
Speed Up Windows 7 – Master Tutorial to Make Windows 7 Super Fast

Read More

Speed Up Windows 7 – Master Tutorial to Make Windows 7 Super Fast

This is the 3rd tutorial of our "Master Tutorial" series. We have already posted 2 other tutorials for Windows XP and Windows Vista in past and now its turn of Windows 7. Although Windows 7 is already very fast and reliable but this tutorial will help you in getting the max performance out of your system.
So without wasting any time, here we start our tutorial:
1. Registry Tweaks:
Following topic contains a few registry tweaks to optimize your system performance and add a few useful extras:
Ultimate Collection of Registry Tweaks to Speed Up Windows 7
You just need to download the ZIP file, extract it and run the file. It'll ask for confirmation, accept it. Restart your system to take affect.
2. Right-click on Computer icon on Desktop and select Properties (or press WIN + Pause/Break keys). Now click on Advanced system settings link in left side pane (You can open it directly by giving sysdm.cpl command in RUN or start menu search box). Now click on Settings button in Performance section:

It'll open another window. Disable all unnecessary options in Visual Effects tab, you can leave following options enabled according to your requirements:

• Enable Aero Peek (If you want to use Aero Peek feature)
• Enable desktop composition (If you want to use Windows Aero theme)
• Enable transparent glass (If you want to use transparency in Windows)
• Show thumbnails instead of icons (If you want to show thumbnails in Explorer)
• Show window contents while dragging (If you want windows to show contents while moving them)

Read More

Organize Your Windows Desktop Icons in a New Way Using Stardock Fences

Do you have lots of unused icons on your Desktop but can't get sufficient time to organize them? Do you want to make your Desktop clutter-free? If your answer is YES, here is a new great tool for you to make your task easier. "Stardock Fences" is a new free utility from Stardock which allows you to draw labeled shaded areas on your desktop, which become movable & resizable containers for your desktop icons. These groups can help bring organization and consistency to your computer's desktop, solving the "constant mess" problem that has plagued the desktop since its inception.
Fences also helps you finally appreciate the wallpaper you have hiding behind all that clutter. In addition to its organizing features, Fences offers a novel quick-hide feature (in-patenting-process). Double click your desktop, and all your icons will fade out. Double click again, and they'll return.

This tool is available for Windows XP, Vista and 7. You can download it using following link:
Download Stardock Fences
Homepage
If you like this, you might also like other similar articles in following section: Software, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.

Read More

How to Get Windows Media Player (WMP) 12 Taskbar Toolbar (Taskband) Back in Windows 7 by Downgrading to Version 11

As we all know "Windows 7" comes with Windows Media Player 12 version which contains lots of new features and also the interface is a bit different from previous versions. But tbh I don't like WMP12. Its a bit buggy and the most annoying thing is it doesn't provide the taskbar toolbar aka mini toolbar which was one of the best thing in Windows Media Player.
If you also don't like WMP12 and want to get the good ol' mini toolbar back in Windows 7, then this tutorial will help you.
In this tutorial, we'll downgrade the WMP version in Windows 7. We'll install WMP11 and it'll bring the taskbar toolbar back as shown in following screenshots:
WMP11 Running in Windows 7:

WMP Taskbar Toolbar in Windows 7:

So here are the required steps:
1. Right-click on Computer icon on desktop and select Manage, it'll open a new window. Now go to Services & Applications -> Services. You can also open the same from Administrative Tools -> Computer Management. Or you can directly open "Services" list by providing services.msc command in RUN or Startmenu search box.
Now right-click on "Windows Media Player Network Sharing" service and select "Stop". It'll stop the service.
2. Now you'll need to take ownership of following files/folders:

• "Windows Media Player" folder in "Program Files" folder
• All files starting with wmp in "Windows\System32" folder
• wmploc.dll.mui file in "Windows\System32\en-US" folder

How will you take the ownership? Just follow the steps given in following tutorial:
Add Take Ownership Option in File / Folder Context Menu in Windows Vista and 7
PS: Make sure to take the backup of all above mentioned files/folders, so that you can restore them if something goes wrong.
3. Now download following ZIP file, extract it and run the extracted EXE file:
Download ZIP File
This installer will install WMP11 and will ask to restart your system. Select the second option to not restart the system and finish the installation.
4. Now type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. Now delete Installed Versions key under following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Setup

5. That's it. Now restart your system and get ready to enjoy the WMP 11 version and WMP taskbar toolbar in Windows 7.
Thanks to Lord Devrexster from WinMatrix for this information...

Read More