Microsoft Releases Hotfix to Fix Poor Printing Performance in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2

Problem Symptom: On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the printing performance may be poor compared to the performance on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. Additionally, a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 consumes more CPU resources when you print a document. For example, CPU usage remains at 100 percent for a long time in Task Manager when you print a document on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. Cause:This issue occurs...

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Download FREE CustoPack Tools to Customize Windows XP, Vista and 7

CustoPack Tools is a free software that allows you to easily customize Windows appearance through the installation of packs. It is compatible with Windows XP (32-bit), Windows Vista (32 or 64-bit), and Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit). You can customize your icons, your background, your visual style and many more, all that FOR FREE and in a few clicks thanks...

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AeroTuner: Fine Tune Aero Theme Settings in Windows 7

AeroTuner is another excellent tool created by our friend "Happy Bulldozer aka hb860". It allows you to tweak various Aero theme options which can't be customized by default. With the help of this tool: You can enable/disable transparency in windows. You can customize color balance You can customize after glow color balance You can customize blur balance You...

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Improvement Program” Collecting Information in Windows 7

How to Disallow Secret “Customer ExperienceDid you know Windows 7 contains a hidden secret "Customer Experience Improvement Program" which collects information about your computer hardware and how you use Windows without interrupting you?The program also periodically downloads a file to collect information about problems you might have with Windows. In...

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Stay Away from Fake Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) Software

Microsoft has warned people about a new trojan that is disguising itself as Microsoft’s no-cost antimalware program Microsoft Security Essentials. This imposter is known in the technical world of antimalware combat as "Win32/FakePAV". FakePAV is a rogue that displays messages that imitate Microsoft Security Essentials threat reports in order to entice the user into downloading and paying for a rogue security scanner. The rogue persistently terminates numerous processes such as Windows Registry Editor, Internet Explorer, Windows Restore and...

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Microsoft Releases Update for Windows 7 to Prevent Disk Corruption in Case of Hibernation or Crash

Problem Symptom: Consider the following scenario: You have a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. You attach a hard disk drive that has more than 2 terabytes of disk space to the computer. You configure the operating system to save dump files to a volume of the hard disk drive. Some data of the dump file is offset at a disk offset greater than the 2 terabyte address of the hard disk drive. The operating system crashes, generates a Stop code error message, and saves memory data to a dump file. In this scenario, one...

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DeskIntegrator: Portable Utility to Add Program Shortcuts in Windows Vista and 7 Desktop Context Menu

UPDATE: Version 1.03 released which comes with some bug fixes and enhancements. We have blogged about a detailed tutorial in past which teaches you how to add your favorite program shortcuts in Desktop context menu in Windows Vista and 7: How to Add Program Shortcuts and Other Useful Shortcuts with Icons in Windows 7 Desktop Context Menu? It requires...

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How to Remove Watermark (Build Info) from Desktop in Windows Vista, 7 and Server 2008 (Both 32-bit and 64-bit) Including All Beta Builds and Service Packs

UPDATE: New tool "Remove Watermark" added. Thanks to stavros for mentioning it... When we install a Beta or RC build of Windows Vista, 7 or Server 2008, or when we install a Beta or RC version of a Service Pack e.g. SP1, SP2, etc, a watermark is shown on Desktop which looks similar to following screenshot: "Evaluation Copy", "For testing purpose...

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How to Get “Shared Folder Icon” Back in Windows Explorer in Windows 7

Problem: When you use Windows Explorer to view some shared folders on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the shared type icons for these folders do not appear. Actually shared folders are no longer displayed with a distinctive share overlay icon. All folders are presented with a generic folder icon. Therefore, the...

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How to Always Show “More Details” in File Transfer (Cut, Copy, Delete) Dialog Box in Windows Vista and 7

Finally the wait is over! Almost all Windows Vista and 7 users wanted to achieve it. When you cut, copy or delete a file/folder in Windows Vista and 7, it shows a file transfer dialog box. There is a button "More Details" shown in the dialog box which expands the dialog box upon clicking and shows more details like file name, speed, etc. The problem...

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AutoRun Disabler: Portable Utility to Disable Autorun Functionality in Windows

We have blogged about a detailed tutorial in past which teaches you how to disable Autorun functionality in Windows: How to Disable Autorun Functionality in Windows Using Registry Editor? It requires some registry skills. Once again our regular reader "Masroor Aijaz aka JX Great" has created another excellent tool called "AutoRun Disabler" which...

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Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) RTM Coming in First Quarter of 2011

Microsoft has announced some important information about the general availability of SP1 for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2. At Windows Team Blog, Rich Reynolds posted: Last week, we announced the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Release Candidate availability, with the final version available in first quarter of calendar year...

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Genuine Windows 7 Became Pirated? Make It Original and Activated Again

Its a common problem which lots of Windows 7 users face. We have received many emails about this problem, so today we are sharing a working solution for it. In fact many Windows 7 SP1 RC users are also facing this problem. Problem Symptom:You were using genuine Windows 7 without any problem. It was activated properly. But one day when you logged...

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How to Disable / Remove Annoying Shutdown Event Tracker (Shutdown Reason UI) in Windows Server 2003 / 2008?

UPDATE: Tutorial updated with registry method. If you are using Windows Server 2003 or 2008, you might have noticed that whenever you click on Shutdown button, it shows a dialog box asking you the reason behind shutting down the system. You have to select an option from drop-down box or write into Comment box to be able to shutdown the system. Many...

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Direct Download Link] Official Links to Download Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7

Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC, available on Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, allow you to run multiple Windows environments, such as Windows XP Mode, from your Windows 7 desktop. Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes it easy to install and run many Windows XP productivity applications directly from your Windows 7-based PC....

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Windows Media Player 12: Bug or Feature?

Something interesting found in Windows Media Player 12: 1. Play a music file in WMP 12. It may be single file or group of files and you can play any format. 2. Now either move the Seek slider (progress bar) or click on "Next" button. 3. As soon as you move the slider or click on Next button, immediately click anywhere inside WMP window and hold it....

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How to Show Large Icons in Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows Taskbar?

That's one of the frequently asked questions on this website. Many people who download "SevenVG RTM" theme, always ask how to show large icons in Quick launch toolbar to mimic Windows 7's Superbar. Actually its a very simple task which requires a few easy steps but most of the people are not aware of it. So today in this tutorial, we'll tell you how...

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[Manual Method] Get “Classic Start Menu” Back in Windows 7 Without Using 3rd Party Software

We all know that Microsoft has removed good old Classic Start menu from Windows 7. There are lots of free utilities mentioned here which can bring it back. We have also posted a tutorial in past which can be used to get a similar XP styled start menu in Windows Vista and 7: Get Windows XP Styled Classic All Programs List in Windows Vista and 7 Today...

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Setup from USB: Yet Another Utility to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows Vista and 7

We have covered several free utilities in past like A Bootable USB, WinToFlash and Microsoft's official USB Download Tool which allow you to create bootable USB drive to install Windows. Today we are sharing another freeware which helps you in creating bootable USB drive for Windows Vista and 7. "Setup from USB" is a free tool created by AskVG reader...

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Microsoft Releases Fix for Random Incorrect Icon Change Problem in Windows XP, Vista and 7

Microsoft has confirmed an issue in Windows XP, Vista and 7 which causes random incorrect icon change problem due to icon cache not updating correctly. Problem Symptom:Some icons in the following locations are randomly changed to other icons on a computer that is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7: My Computer Windows Explorer Desktop Quick Launch bar Problem Cause:This issue occurs because the icon cache is not updated correctly. Solution:To fix this problem, follow these steps: 1. Close all open windows if a Close Open Programs...

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List of Environment Variables in Windows XP, Vista and 7

Environment variables work like placeholder or alias for drives, file/folder names and various paths. We here at AskVG frequently use environment variables reference in our tutorials like %windir%\Resources, %programfiles%\Internet Explorer, etc. Many people don't know about them and get confused how to access the mentioned path. So today we are going to list some important and frequently used system-defined environment variables in this article which will help you in better understanding them. Most of these environment variables are same...

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A Look at History of Microsoft Windows

Microsoft has put a new article on Windows online website covering the whole history of Windows operating system: 1975–1981: Microsoft boots upIt’s the 1970s. At work, we rely on typewriters. If we need to copy a document, we likely use a mimeograph or carbon paper. Few have heard of microcomputers, but two young computer enthusiasts, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, see that personal computing is a path to the future. In 1975, Gates and Allen form a partnership called Microsoft. Like most start-ups, Microsoft begins small, but has a huge vision—a...

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Microsoft Releases System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Server 2008

Microsoft has released the System Update Readiness Tool to resolve certain conditions that could cause installing updates, service packs and other software not to work. This tool checks your computer for such inconsistencies and tries to resolve issues if found. After you download the System Update Readiness Tool, it runs a onetime scan for inconsistencies that might prevent future servicing operations. This scan typically takes less than 15 minutes to run. However, the tool might take significantly longer on some computers. The Windows Update...

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How to Always Show “User Home Folder”, “Control Panel” and “Recycle Bin” Items in Windows Explorer’s Navigation Pane in Windows 7

Windows 7 comes with an advanced and re-designed Windows Explorer. Although it is easy to use but its not very customizable. You can't customize command bar, you can't remove items from navigation pane. Although these things are possible by using registry tricks and 3rd party apps which we have mentioned in past. One similar issue is that "User Home"...

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How to Customize Windows Explorer Command Bar (aka Folder Band or Toolbar) in Windows Vista and 7 – Add Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Rename, Undo and Many Other Useful Buttons

NOTE: This tutorial has been featured by Microsoft. AskVG.com was the first website posting this unique trick. NOTE: After following this tutorial, you'll be able to add Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Rename, Select all, Undo, Redo, Properties, Menu bar, Details pane, Preview pane, Navigation pane and Close buttons in Windows Explorer's Command bar aka...

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[Ready-Made Registry Script] Add Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Rename, Undo and Many Other Useful Buttons in Windows Explorer Command Bar (aka Folder Band or Toolbar) in Windows Vista and 7

Recently we posted a detailed tutorial about customizing Command Bar in Windows Vista and 7 Explorer: How to Customize Windows Explorer Command Bar in Windows Vista and 7 The above tutorial allows you to add various useful buttons like Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Undo, Redo, etc in Command Bar in Windows Explorer. But some inexperienced Windows users...

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How to Customize “Organize” and “Layout” Menus in Command Bar in Windows Vista and 7 Explorer

Recently we posted a detailed tutorial about customizing Command Bar in Windows Vista and 7 Explorer: How to Customize Windows Explorer Command Bar in Windows Vista and 7 Using the same method, in this tutorial we'll tell you how to customize "Organize" and "Layout" menus present in the Command Bar: 1. Type regedit in RUN or Start menu search box...

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