windows 7 bible [electronic resource]

• Set up user accounts, security, parental controls, and printing • Get quick access to your programs with new Jump lists • Explore Windows Live Services such as Desktop Gadgets Gallery

The book you need to succeed!

Get the most out of Windows 7

with this complete guide

Whether you’re new to Windows or moving from XP

or Vista, this comprehensive book from a Microsoft

expert will get you thoroughly up to speed on the

much-anticipated new Windows 7 Covering all three

parts of the new platform—the core OS, Windows Live

Essentials, and Windows Live Services—this

step-by-step guide is packed with practical techniques and tips

Get set up, manage files, blog, add Bluetooth, build a

home network, and more

• Set up user accounts, security, parental controls, and printing

• Get quick access to your programs with new Jump lists

• Explore Windows Live Services such as Desktop Gadgets Gallery and Hotmail

• Make movies, play music, share photos, and more with Windows Live

Essentials

• Manage files, understand metadata, and conduct power searches

• Sync your hardware devices and performance tune everything

• Keep track of your favorite Internet content with Web Slices

• Create a home network or share files with HomeGroup

Jim Boyce

has been a Microsoft MVP, and has authored or coauthored over 50 books and hundreds of articles and white papers on computer topics including Windows, Windows Server, Office applications, and programming He regularly contributes to several online sites and publications.

Manage all hardware

devices with one tool

Easily share media across

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Copyright© 2009 by Jim Boyce

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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operating systems, applications, and programming topics He has been a frequent contributor to

Microsoft.com,techrepublic.com, and other online publications Jim has written for anumber of print publications including Windows IT Pro, WINDOWS Magazine, InfoWorld, andothers, and was a Contributing Editor and columnist for WINDOWS Magazine

Today, Jim is a Sr Practice Manager for ACS, a premier provider of business process outsourcing andinformation technology services, where he leads a collaboration team providing collaboration servicesand development for multiple customers and over 30,000 users

dation was critical.

I’d also like to thank Rob Tidrow, Nathan Kuhn, and Tyler Regas for their help, particularly at the lastminute, in pulling together content for the book so we could complete the project on time

I also want to recognize Carol Long and Carole McClendon for bringing me this opportunity Finally,

I offer my appreciation and thanks to the editorial team for their help in pulling together this project:Kenyon Brown, Todd Meister, Kathleen Wisor, Susan Christophersen, and Kim Cofer It was a greatexperience

Chapter 1: What’s New in Windows 7 3

Chapter 2: Getting Around 17

Chapter 3: Sharing and Securing with User Accounts 57

Chapter 4: Parental Controls and Family Safety 89

Chapter 5: Help, Support, and Troubleshooting 99

Chapter 6: Troubleshooting Startup Problems 111

Part II: Batten Down the Security Hatches 115

Chapter 7: Blocking Hackers with Windows Firewall 117

Chapter 8: Conquering Malicious Software 131

Chapter 9: Automatic Updates as Security 145

Part III: Personalizing Windows 7 153

Chapter 10: Personalizing Your Work Environment 155

Chapter 11: Ease of Access, Speech, and Language 209

Chapter 12: Transferring Files from Another Computer 249

Chapter 13: Customizing Startup Options 261

Chapter 14: Using Windows 7 Programs and Accessories 275

Chapter 15: Troubleshooting Customization Problems 307

Part IV: Using the Internet 315

Chapter 16: Using Internet Explorer 317

Chapter 17: Blogging with Writer 373

Chapter 18: Using Windows Live Mail 399

Chapter 19: Chatting and Texting with Windows Live Messenger 489

Chapter 20: Beyond E-Mail and the Web 501

Chapter 21: Managing Names and Addresses 531

Chapter 22: Troubleshooting Internet Problems 543

Part V: Pictures, Music, and Movies 551

Chapter 23: Working with Pictures 553

Chapter 24: Making Music with Media Player 597

Chapter 25: DVD, Video, and More 647

Chapter 26: Fun with Media Center 661

Chapter 27: Troubleshooting Multimedia 679

Part VI: Managing Files and Folders 683

Chapter 28: Understanding Drives, Folders, and Files 685

Chapter 29: Managing Files and Folders 739

Chapter 30: Searching for Files and Messages on Your Computer 767

Chapter 31: Metadata and Power Searches 783

Chapter 32: Using CDs and DVDs 805

Chapter 33: Protecting Your Files 831

Chapter 34: Troubleshooting Files and Folders 851

Part VII: Printing, Faxing, and Scanning 857

Chapter 35: Installing and Managing Printers 859

Chapter 36: Printing Documents and Screenshots 873

Chapter 37: Managing Print Jobs 881

Chapter 38: Faxing and Scanning 891

Chapter 39: Troubleshooting Printing and Faxing 909

Part VIII: Installing and Removing Programs 915

Chapter 40: Installing and Upgrading Programs 917

Chapter 41: Getting Older Programs to Run 927

Chapter 42: Repairing and Removing Programs 937

Chapter 43: Setting Default Programs 945

Chapter 44: Managing Programs and Processes 957

Chapter 45: Troubleshooting Software Problems 971

Part IX: Hardware and Performance Tuning 983

Chapter 46: Installing and Removing Hardware 985

Chapter 47: Using Wireless Bluetooth Devices 1009

Chapter 48: Syncing Devices 1023

Chapter 49: Performance Tuning Your System 1037

Chapter 50: Troubleshooting Hardware and Performance 1069

Part X: Networking and Sharing 1077

Chapter 51: Creating a Home Network 1079

Chapter 52: Sharing Resources on a Network 1099

Chapter 53: Using Shared Resources 1117

Chapter 54: Troubleshooting Networks 1131

Part XI: Appendixes 1141

Appendix A: Upgrading to Windows 7 1143

Appendix B: Installing Windows 7 on a New System 1147

Appendix C: Universal Shortcut Keys 1151

Index 1161

Chapter 1: What’s New in Windows 7 3

Taskbar and Full-Screen Improvements 3

Jump Lists 5

New Ways to Work in Windows 5

Internet Explorer 8 6

Instant search 6

Web slices 6

Accelerators 6

Better navigation 7

InPrivate browsing 8

Other new IE features 9

Windows Live 9

Better Device Management 10

Homegroup 11

Performance and Battery Life 12

Look and Feel 12

Troubleshooting and Alerts 13

Music and Video Sharing 14

.and More 15

Wrap-Up 15

Chapter 2: Getting Around 17

Terminology for Things You Do 17

Mouse terminology 18

Point 18

Click 18

Double-click 18

Right-click 18

Drag 19

Keyboard terminology 19

Tab, Enter, and Spacebar 19

If in doubt, Escape key out 20

The Help key (F1) 20

The Key 20

Shift, Ctrl, and Alt 20

Shortcut keys 20

Logging In 21

What’s on the Desktop 22

Using the Start Menu 23

The right side of the Start menu 24

The Start menu Search box 26

The Power button 27

Using Jump Lists 29

Using the Windows Desktop 30

About desktop icons 30

Arranging desktop icons 32

Running Programs 33

The active window 35

Switching among open programs 35

Switching with taskbar buttons 35

Switching with the keyboard 35

Switching with Flip 3D 36

Arranging program windows 37

Sizing program windows 39

Maximize a program window 39

Minimize a program window 41

Size at will 41

Moving a program window 44

Moving and sizing from the keyboard 44

Closing a Program 45

Using the Notification Area 46

Showing/hiding notification icons 47

Responding to notification messages 48

Using scroll bars 49

Using Back and Forward buttons 50

The Getting Started Item 52

Quick Help for Getting Started 53

Logging Off, Shutting Down 54

Stuff You Can Do with a Computer 54

Wrap-Up 55

Chapter 3: Sharing and Securing with User Accounts 57

Logging In and Out of User Accounts 57

Where am I now? 58

Logging out of an account 58

Creating Strong Passwords 60

Remembering passwords 61

Devising a password hint 62

Types of User Accounts 62

The built-in Administrator account 62

Administrative user accounts 63

Standard accounts 63

Guest account 63

Creating and Managing User Accounts 64

Creating a user account 65

Changing user accounts 66

Changing a user account type 67

Password-protecting an account 67

Changing the account picture 69

Changing the account name 69

Enabling or disabling the Guest account 70

Navigating through user account pages 70

Creating a Password Reset Disk 71

Using the password reset disk 72

Cracking into standard user accounts 72

Deleting User Accounts 73

Using User Accounts 74

Understanding User Account Control (UAC) 75

Privilege escalation in administrative accounts 77

Turning UAC on and off 78

Running Programs as Administrator 80

Add the Built-in Administrator Account to the Login Screen 81

Stop Entering Password on Lockout 81

Advanced Security Tools 82

About Windows CardSpace 82

Using Credential Manager 83

Managing Profile Properties and Environment Variables 86

Linking Online IDs with Windows Accounts 86

Wrap-Up 88

Chapter 4: Parental Controls and Family Safety 89

Before You Get Started 89

Using the Built-In Parental Controls 90

Getting to the Parental Controls Page 90

Setting time limits 90

Controlling game play 91

Blocking and allowing programs 93

Using Parental Controls from Windows Live 94

Defining Web restrictions 95

Get Web sites working 96

Viewing User Activity Reports 97

Wrap-Up 98

Chapter 5: Help, Support, and Troubleshooting 99

Introducing Help and Support 99

Navigating Help 101

Using the Search box 103

Online Help and Offline Help 103

Help from People 104

Remote assistance 105

Windows communities 105

Microsoft customer support 107

Troubleshooting 108

Wrap-Up 109

Chapter 6: Troubleshooting Startup Problems 111

The Computer Won’t Start 111

Non-System Disk or Disk Error message 111

Computer starts but mouse and keyboard don’t work 112

Computer keeps trying to start but never gets there 112

Screen turns blue during startup and then stops 112

Computer Takes Too Long to Start 112

Restore system files to an earlier time 113

Repair Install Windows 7 113

The instruction manual that came with your computer 113

Resources in this book 113

Resources in Windows Help 114

Online resources 114

Programs Won’t Start 114

Part II: Batten Down the Security Hatches 115 Chapter 7: Blocking Hackers with Windows Firewall 117

How Firewalls Work 117

What a firewall doesn’t protect against 118

Introducing Action Center 119

Turning Windows Firewall on or off 119

Making Exceptions to Firewall Protection 121

Manually configuring firewall exceptions (allowed programs) 121

Adding a program exception 123

Disabling, changing, and deleting exceptions 124

Advanced Firewall Configuration 125

Open the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security icon 125

Changing Firewall Profile Properties 126

Firewall alerts, unicast responses, local administrator control 126

Security Logging 126

Customizing IPsec settings 127

Inbound and Outbound Rules 128

Wrap-Up 129

Chapter 8: Conquering Malicious Software 131

Types of Malware 131

Viruses and worms 131

Spyware and adware 132

Trojan horses and rootkits 132

Conquering Spyware with Windows Defender 132

Opening Windows Defender 133

Removing spyware from your computer 133

Doing a quick scan 135

Doing a custom scan 135

Automatic scanning 135

Preventing spyware 137

Excluding files and folders 138

Advanced and Administrator configuration options 138

Disallowing allowed programs 138

Joining the SpyNet community 139

Windows Defender Web site 139

Using Antivirus Software 140

Virus protection 141

Antivirus and Action Center 142

User Account Control and Malware 143

The Malicious Software Removal Tool 143

Wrap-Up 144

Chapter 9: Automatic Updates as Security 145

Understanding Automatic Updates 145

Updates versus upgrades 146

Why updates are important 146

Enabling Automatic Updates 146

Managing Updates 147

Managing optional updates 147

Change how updates work 149

Reviewing and removing updates 150

Thwarting Exploits with DEP 150

Wrap-Up 152

Part III: Personalizing Windows 7 153 Chapter 10: Personalizing Your Work Environment 155

Using the Personalization Page 155

Choosing a theme 156

Personalizing your desktop background 159

Personalizing your color scheme 161

Making text sharper with ClearType 163

Changing individual screen elements 164

Personalizing sound effects 164

Personalizing your screen saver 166

Personalizing desktop icons 169

Creating your own desktop icons 169

Sizing, arranging, showing, and hiding desktop icons 170

Customizing icons 171

Choosing a screen resolution 172

Understanding aspect ratio 172

Using multiple monitors 174

Reducing monitor flicker 176

Adjusting the font size (DPI) 176

Personalizing your mouse 178

Mice for lefties 179

Adjusting the double-click speed 179

Using ClickLock 180

Speed up or slow down the mouse pointer 181

Making the mouse pointer more visible 182

Changing mouse wheel behavior 182

Personalizing the Keyboard 182

Personalizing the Start Menu 183

Opening taskbar and Start menu properties 184

Personalize the right side of the Start menu 185

Start menu folders 185

Start menu places 187

Start menu searching 188

Start menu behavior 188

Customizing the left side of the Start menu 189

Reorganizing the All Programs menu 190

Creating Custom Shortcut Keys 191

Customizing the Taskbar 193

Locking and unlocking the taskbar 194

Moving and sizing the taskbar 195

Showing toolbars on the taskbar 196

Sizing and positioning taskbar toolbars 198

Using the Links toolbar (Favorites Bar) 198

Customizing the Notification Area 200

Getting rid of Notification Area icons 201

Tweaking the clock 203

Using Gadgets 205

Adding and removing gadgets 206

Using and manipulating gadgets 206

Using Windows SideShow 206

Wrap-Up 207

Chapter 11: Ease of Access, Speech, and Language 209

Introducing Ease of Access Center 209

Help for visual impairments 212

Using Magnifier 212

Using Microsoft Narrator 214

Using High Contrast 215

Using the computer without a display 215

Optimize visual display 216

Help for motor impairments 218

Using the On-Screen Keyboard 218

Using Mouse Keys 219

Using Sticky Keys 223

Using Toggle Keys 224

Using Filter Keys 224

Help for hearing impairments 226

Make it easier to focus on tasks 226

Ease of Access administrative settings 227

Accessibility keyboard shortcuts 227

Using Speech Recognition 228

Getting started with speech recognition 229

Control speech recognition by voice 231

Commanding Windows by voice 231

Work anywhere by voice 231

Dictating text 233

Making dictation better 235

Correct that 235

Improve voice recognition 237

Add words to the speech dictionary 237

Advanced speech recognition configuration 238

More speech recognition help 239

Regional and Language Settings 239

Change how numbers, dates, and times look 239

Let them know your correct location 240

Working with multiple languages 241

Using input languages 241

Switching languages and keyboards 244

Removing input languages 246

Installing user interface languages 246

Wrap-Up 247

Chapter 12: Transferring Files from Another Computer 249

What You Can Transfer 249

What you can’t transfer 250

Getting programs onto the new computer 250

What not to install 251

Choosing a Transfer Method 251

Using a USB Easy Transfer cable 252

Using a home network 252

Using external drives or discs 252

Using a flash drive or external hard drive 252

Using CDs or DVDs 252

Doing the Transfer 253

When the Transfer Is Finished 255

Transferring without Windows Easy Transfer 256

Manually transfer Internet Explorer Favorites 257

Manually transfer contacts 257

Manually transfer Outlook Express e-mail messages 258

Transferring fonts 258

Wrap-Up 259

Chapter 13: Customizing Startup Options 261

First Things First 261

Starting Application Programs Automatically 263

Bypassing all Startup folder programs 264

Stopping auto-start applications 265

Using the System Configuration Tool to Control Startup 266

Controlling Services with the Services Snap-In 268

Bypassing the Login Page 271

Troubleshooting Startup 272

Get rid of disabled devices 272

When Windows won’t start at all 273

Wrap-Up 274

Chapter 14: Using Windows 7 Programs and Accessories 275

Important Stuff About Programs 275

Using Windows Calculator 277

Typing with WordPad 278

Typing and navigating text 279

Basic text editing 280

Selecting text 281

Formatting text 283

Deleting and replacing chunks of text 284

Using copy and paste and cut and paste 284

Moving text within a document 286

Copy and paste a picture 287

Saving a WordPad document 287

Opening a WordPad document 289

Typing Special Characters with Character Map 291

Working with Fonts 292

Using Notepad 293

Zipping and Unzipping Files 293

Zipping files 294

Unzipping files 295

Annotating Screenshots with Snipping Tool 297

Saving a snip 300

Copy and paste a snip 300

E-mail a snip 300

Change Snipping Tool options 300

Screenshots the old-fashioned way 301

Using Paint 301

Using Sound Recorder 303

Wrap-Up 305

Chapter 15: Troubleshooting Customization Problems 307

Desktop Problems 307

My screen is too large/small; my screen colors look awful 307

When I right-click the desktop, I don’t get a Personalize option 308

Parts of my screen are cut off or blank 308

My desktop picture doesn’t fit right 308

Everything is huge; I can’t see all of dialog boxes 310

Icon names are too big or too small 310

I don’t have any desktop icons (or don’t like their size) 311

I can’t put my desktop icons where I want them 311

My screen saver never kicks in 311

Missing Aero Flip 3D, or Switch between Windows button 311

Start Menu Problems 312

Some Start items can’t be displayed 312

The right side of my Start menu is missing some options 312

Taskbar Problems 312

My taskbar is missing 313

My taskbar is too tall (or messed up) 313

I don’t have a Quick Launch toolbar 313

Updating Your Display Driver 313

Part IV: Using the Internet 315 Chapter 16: Using Internet Explorer 317

Understanding How the Web Works 317

Using Internet Explorer 320

Browsing to a Web site 321

Using AutoComplete 322

Using hyperlinks 323

Using Back, Forward, and History buttons 323

Magnifying a page 324

Panes and toolbars 325

Full-screen viewing 326

Change your default home page 326

Using Tabs 326

Using Quick Tabs 328

Creating multiple home page tabs 329

Rearranging and removing home page tabs 330

Personalizing tabbed browsing 330

Shortcut keys for tabs 333

Using Web Slices 333

Using Accelerators 334

Using Visual Search 334

Using RSS Feeds 334

Optional settings for RSS feeds 337

Using the RSS Feed Headlines gadget 338

Managing Favorite Sites 339

Adding tab groups to Favorites 339

Organizing Favorites 341

Importing and exporting Favorites 342

Blocking Pop-Ups 343

Using the Information bar 344

When pop-ups still get through 345

Using the SmartScreen Filter 345

How the SmartScreen Filter works 347

Getting the most from the SmartScreen Filter 347

How do I protect myself in the future? 348

Deleting the Browser History 348

Clearing AutoComplete entries 348

Configuring AutoComplete 349

Understanding cookies 349

Deleting cookies 350

Adjusting cookie privacy settings 350

Looking at cookies and privacy policies 351

Understanding temporary Internet files 352

Clearing temporary Internet files 353

Temporary Internet files settings 353

A note on certificates 355

Using Internet Security Zones 357

Printing Web Pages 359

Using Print Preview 360

Important printing tip 362

Saving Web Pages 362

Copying content from Web pages 364

Downloading pictures and videos 365

Making Internet Explorer Your Default Browser 366

Searching the Web 366

Choosing search providers 366

Choosing a default provider 367

Searching from the Search box 368

Searching from the address bar 368

Searching the Current Page 368

Getting More with Add-ons 369

Shopping for add-ons 369

Managing add-ons 370

Internet Explorer Help and Troubleshooting 371

Wrap-Up 371

Chapter 17: Blogging with Writer 373

What Is Blogging? 373

Adding Windows Live Writer to Windows 374

Setting Up Your Blog Account 376

Adding a blog account 376

Setting your URL 377

Editing your profile 379

Creating and Publishing Blog Posts 380

Creating a blog post 381

Saving a draft 381

Opening an existing blog post 382

Preview your blog post 382

Viewing and editing source code 382

Publishing your blog post 384

Working with Photos 385

Adding a photo 385

Adding a photo album 387

Uploading Pictures with FTP 389

Working with Videos 390

Using Tables 391

Using Tags 393

Inserting Maps 395

Using Plug-Ins 396

Setting Writer Options 397

Wrap-Up 398

Chapter 18: Using Windows Live Mail 399

How E-Mail Works 399Introducing Windows Live Mail 400What you need to know to get started 403Setting up your e-mail account 404Writing E-Mail with Windows Live Mail 407Typing and editing tips 408Check your spelling 409Add a background color 410Setting message priority 410Requesting a read receipt 410Getting Your E-Mail 411Replying to a message 411Forwarding a message 411Other things you can do with a message 412Magnifying e-mail text 413Sorting messages by message headers 413Sizing and positioning columns 414Sizing the reading pane 415Using E-Mail Attachments 415Attaching a file to a message 415E-mailing documents from folders 416E-mailing pictures from Windows Live Photo Gallery 418Opening received attachments 419Saving attachments as files 421Saving embedded pictures as files 423Converting e-mail messages to files 423Composing Rich-Text Messages with HTML 424HTML, default font, and stationery 424Using fonts, sizes, boldface, underline, italics, colors 425Typing a list 426Indenting and aligning text 427Inserting inline pictures 427Inserting a line 429Adding hyperlinks to e-mail messages 429Type a link 429Copy and paste a link 430Custom links 430Adding a signature automatically 431Creating Photo E-Mails 432Dealing with Spam (Junk E-Mail) 434Identifying safe senders 435Blocking specific senders 436

Blocking by country and language 437Blocking phishing scams 437Managing junk mail and good mail 438Phishing scam e-mails 439Managing Mail Folders and Messages 441Choosing columns for the Message list 442Flagging messages that need more attention 444Grouping conversation messages 444Filtering messages 444Create your own mail folders 446Moving, renaming, and deleting mail folders 447Showing/hiding mail folders 448Managing messages 449Selecting multiple e-mail messages 449Moving messages to a folder 450Deleting messages 451Permanently deleting messages 451Auto-organizing messages through rules 451Auto-responding to messages 453Searching for Messages 455Advanced Search 456Searching from the Start menu 457Personalizing Windows Live Mail 458General options 458Read options 459

Mark message read after displaying for x seconds 460Automatically expand grouped messages 460Automatically download message when viewing in the Preview Pane 460Read all messages in plain text 461Show ToolTips in the message list for clipped items 461Highlight watched messages 461News settings 461Fonts settings 461Receipt options 461Send options 462Compose options 463Compose font 463Stationery 464Business cards 464Signature options 466Spelling options 466Connection options 467Advanced options 467

IMAP 468Message threads 468Reply/forward 468Restore defaults 468Maintenance and troubleshooting 468E-mail security options 470Virus protection 470Download images 471Secure mail 472Working with Contacts 472Sending e-mail to contacts 473Printing contacts 474Using the Calendar 475Adding an event 476Creating a new calendar 476Working with your Windows Live Calendar 477Managing E-Mail Accounts 478General 478Servers 479Connection 479Security 479Advanced 479Customizing the Toolbar 480Securing E-Mail with Digital IDs 481Getting a digital ID 481Using your digital ID 483Importing Messages from Other Programs 484Exporting Messages to Other Programs 485Where and How Messages Are Stored 485More on Windows Live Mail 486Wrap-Up 486

Chapter 19: Chatting and Texting with Windows Live Messenger 489

Overview 489Adding Messenger to Windows 490Setting Up Your Account 491Adding contacts 493Adding and using groups 494Chatting Online 495Changing the font 496Using ink 496Sending Text Messages 497Sharing Photos 497Audio, Video, and More 498Wrap-Up 499

Chapter 20: Beyond E-Mail and the Web 501

About Newsgroups 501Creating a newsgroup account 502Downloading newsgroup names 504Subscribing to newsgroups 505Viewing newsgroup messages 506Posting a newsgroup message 508Replying to newsgroup messages 510Getting the latest messages 510Searching newsgroup messages 512Quick Searches from the Search box 512Searching from the Start menu 512Hiding irrelevant messages 513Creating newsgroup message rules 513Unscrambling messages 514Unsubscribing from a group 515Personalizing newsgroups 515Using FTP 515Anonymous FTP versus FTP accounts 515Using Internet Explorer as an FTP client 516Using Remote Assistance 517Setting up Remote Assistance 518Requesting Remote Assistance 519Using Remote Desktop 520Display 521Local resources 522Programs 522Experience 523Advanced 523Allowing remote connections on a home network 524Connecting from a remote home network PC 525Access multiple computers behind a home firewall 526Wrap-Up 529

Chapter 21: Managing Names and Addresses 531

Opening Contacts 531Changing how you view contacts 532Making shortcuts to contacts 532Creating a contact 533Opening and editing contacts 534Create a ‘‘me’’ contact 535Creating Contact Groups 535Printing Contacts 537Importing and Exporting Contacts 538Importing people to your Contacts folder 538

Exporting contacts to vCards 539Exporting to a CSV file 540Searching for Contacts 540Sharing Contacts on a Network 540Wrap-Up 540

Chapter 22: Troubleshooting Internet Problems 543

Troubleshooting Internet Explorer 543Clicking a hyperlink has no effect 543Can’t download program or ActiveX control 543Security alert about leaving a secure Internet connection 544Error message: ‘‘This page cannot be displayed’’ 545Can’t change the default home page 545Saved pictures stored as bitmaps (.bmp files) 546All other Internet Explorer problems/features 546Troubleshooting Windows Live Mail 546

Error message: ‘‘The host name could not be found ’’ 547Some of my mail is not showing up in my Inbox 548Pictures are missing from e-mail messages 548Can’t open or save e-mail attachment 548Error Message: ‘‘Your current security settings prohibit running ActiveX

controls ’’ 549All other Windows Live Mail problems/features 549More Internet Troubleshooting 550

Part V: Pictures, Music, and Movies 551

Chapter 23: Working with Pictures 553

Getting Pictures into Your Computer 553Getting pictures from a digital camera 553Getting pictures from a memory card 555Getting pictures from a CD or DVD 556Getting pictures from a scanner 557Using pictures you get by e-mail 558Copying pictures from Web sites 559Copy-and-paste pictures 560Taking screenshots 560Using the Print Screen key 560Using Your Pictures Folder 561Pictures folder quick tips 564Why some pictures show icons 567Videos in your Pictures folder 568Renaming pictures and videos 569Using Windows Live Photo Gallery 570

Choosing what to view and how 570Photo Gallery quick tips 571Selecting thumbnails in the gallery 572Dating, rating, tagging, and captioning 572Filtering pictures 574Changing tags 575Use a picture as your desktop background 575Adding pictures to Photo Gallery 575Use your Photo Gallery as a screen saver 576Fixing photos 576Auto Adjust 577Adjust Exposure 578Adjust Color 578Straighten Photo 578Crop Photo 578Fix Red Eye 579Black and White Effects 580Saving Fix pane changes 580Using people tags 581Other new features 581Choosing Photo Gallery options 582Making movies from Photo Gallery 584Printing Pictures 584Printing from Windows Live Photo Gallery 585Printing pictures from a folder 586Using the Slide Show Gadget 586Pixels and Megapixels 588File extension, size, and dimensions 590TIFF pictures 591JPEG pictures 591GIF pictures 591PNG pictures 591BMP pictures 591Changing a picture type or size 591Pictures, Tags, and Virtual Folders 594Wrap-Up 595

Chapter 24: Making Music with Media Player 597

Controlling Sound Volume 597Starting Windows Media Player 599Media Player program window 599The toolbar 600Media Player menus 601Play controls 601Closing/minimizing Windows Media Player 603

Listening to a CD 604Now Playing, Visualizations, and Enhancements 605Using the playlist in Now Playing view 606Using Enhancements 607Stopping a CD 607Play CDs automatically with Media Player 607Ripping (Copying) Music CDs 608Options for ripping CDs 608Choosing where to put songs 609Choosing how to name files 610Choosing a file format and quality 610Copy protect music 612Rip CD automatically 612Eject CD after ripping 612Still more rip options 612Copying songs 613Getting Music Online 614Using the Media Player Library 614Navigating the library 615Choosing columns for Media Library 619Sizing columns 619Moving columns 620Sorting songs 620Getting missing media information automatically 620Choosing what files to include in your library 621Sharing (streaming) your media library 622Allowing Internet streaming 623Using a remote stream 624Allow remote control 625Pushing media to another computer 625Automatically renaming songs 626Selecting in Media Library 626Changing a song title 628Changing genre, artist, and such 628Changing incorrect media information 628Rating songs 628Making Custom Playlists 629Managing songs in a playlist 631Saving a playlist 632Viewing, playing, and changing playlists 632Using and creating Auto Playlists 633Creating Your Own Music CDs 634Types of music CDs 634Choosing music disk options 635

Choosing songs to put on the CD 637Creating the disk 638Saving a Burn list 638Copying Music to Portable Devices 638Manual syncing 639Managing songs on a device 640Auto-syncing devices 640Choose between manual and auto sync 642Setting player options 642Fun with Skins 642Extending Media Player with Plug-ins 643Converting File Types 643Music, Metadata, and Searches 644Wrap-Up 645

Chapter 25: DVD, Video, and More 647

Watching DVD, VCD, and Such 647Setting defaults for DVDs 648Playing a DVD or VCD 648Choosing the screen size 650Preventing screen savers during playback 651Setting parental controls and language defaults 651Playing Video Files 651Using your Videos Library 651Recorded TV 652Making Media Player the default video player 653Adding videos to your media library 653Playing videos from your library 653Managing Photos with Media Player 654More on Playlists 654Limiting playlist size 656Limiting playlists to favorite items 657Skipping playlist items 657Prompt Me To Remove Upon Save 658Wrap-Up 659

Chapter 26: Fun with Media Center 661

Starting Media Center 661Working Media Center with a mouse 662Working Media Center with a keyboard 663Using a Media Center remote control 663Moving and Sizing Media Center 663Media Center Playback Controls 663Things You Can Do without TV 663Playing music in Media Center 665

Viewing pictures and videos in Media Center 665Movies and TV in Media Center 665Extras 665Sports 666Watching and Recording TV 666Recording TV 668Watching recorded TV 669Recorded TV files 669Personalizing Media Center 670General Settings 670Startup and window behavior 671Visual and sound effects 672Windows Media Center setup 672Parental controls 672Automatic download options 673Optimization 673Privacy 673

TV settings 673Pictures settings 674Music settings 675DVD settings 675Start Menu and Extras 676Extender settings 676Media libraries 676Burning CDs and DVDs from Media Center 676Syncing, shutting down, and extenders 677Wrap-Up 677

Chapter 27: Troubleshooting Multimedia 679

Troubleshooting Pictures and Photos 679

No Copy option when right-clicking a picture in a Web page 679Cannot copy thumbnail from my Pictures folder to open document 679Troubleshooting Windows Media Player 680Error Message: ‘‘Invalid Function when trying to burn a CD’’ 680Some other program opens when you open an icon or insert a CD 680I’m unable to locate the menus within Media Player 681Cannot see captions when playing a CD or DVD 681Media Player can’t find my MP3 player 682Song titles don’t appear after inserting a CD 682Error message appears with 0xC00 or other number 682All other Windows Media Player issues 682

Error Message: ‘‘Your system is currently set to 800 x 600 ’’ 682More Troubleshooting Resources 682

Part VI: Managing Files and Folders 683

Chapter 28: Understanding Drives, Folders, and Files 685

Understanding Disks and Drives 685Your computer’s hard disk 685Removable media 686Floppies and Zip disks 686CDs and DVDs 686Portable devices 688Flash cards and memory sticks 688Flash drives 688Viewing your computer’s drives 689Sizes and capacities 690How much room is there? 692Viewing disk contents 693Formatting disks 693About Folders 693Viewing the contents of a folder 694Folders in folders (subfolders) 695Parent folders 695About Files 696Opening and closing files 697Showing/hiding filename extensions 698Choosing a program to open a file 698Changing the default program 698Windows cannot open this file 700File paths 701Using Windows Explorer 702Opening Windows Explorer 703Windows Explorer components 703Show or hide optional panes 704Navigating with the Address bar 705Navigating with the Navigation pane 706Adding places to Favorites 707Managing Favorites 708Navigating from the contents pane 708Navigating to a disk drive 709Choosing an icon view 709Using columns in the Details view 710Sorting icons 711Filtering a folder 712Using the Preview pane 714Using the Details pane 715

To Click or Double-Click? 716

Personalizing folder behavior 717Options on the View tab 718Always show icons, never thumbnails 719Always show menus 719Display file icon on thumbnails 719Display file size information in folder tips 719Display the full path in the title bar (Classic theme only) 719Show hidden files and folders 720Hide empty drives in the Computer folder 720Hide extensions for known file types 720Hide protected operating system files (recommended) 721Launch folder windows in a separate process 722Show drive letters 722Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color 722Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items 722Show preview handlers in Preview pane 722Use check boxes to select items 722Use Sharing Wizard (recommended) 723When typing into list view 723Restore defaults 723Saving Things in Folders 724What folder should I use? 725How to save in folders 725Saving in Windows 7-style dialog boxes 725Naming the file 728Choosing a Save As type 728Click Save 728Opening the saved file 729Creating Your Own Folders 729Creating folders on the fly while saving 730Personalizing your folder 731Specify a folder type 731Folder pictures 732Changing a folder’s icon 733Read-Only, Hidden, and Advanced attributes 734Compress contents to save disk space 735Encrypt contents to secure data 736Wrap-Up 737

Chapter 29: Managing Files and Folders 739

How to Select Icons 739Select one icon 740Selecting all icons 741Select a range of icons 741Selecting and unselecting one at a time 742

Selecting with the keyboard 742Select by filtering 743Selecting by lassoing 744Select most icons in a folder 745Selecting from multiple folders 745Unselecting all icons 745Moving and Copying Files 745Moving files to a subfolder 746Copying to/from external disks 747Moving and copying by dragging 747Move or copy using two open folders 748Using cut-and-paste to move or copy files 749Making a copy in the same folder 750Undoing a move or copy 751

This location already contains . 751Renaming Files 753Undoing a rename 753Renaming multiple files 754Deleting Files 755Using the Recycle Bin 757Recovering accidentally deleted files 757Permanently deleting Recycle Bin files 757Creating and Deleting Shortcuts 758Managing Files with DOS Commands 760Getting to a command prompt 760Using the command prompt 761Copy and paste in the command prompt window 762Navigating from the command prompt 762Using wildcards 763Printing a list of filenames 763Wrap-Up 764

Chapter 30: Searching for Files and Messages on Your Computer 767

Basics of Searching 767You’re not asking it questions 767

Be specific 768Spelling counts 769Where you start the search matters 769How Searching Works 769Quickie Start Menu Searches 770Customizing Start menu searches 771Extending a Start menu search 772Searching Folders and Views 773Specifying search criteria 775Search by Date 776

Search by Size 777Search by Filename or Subject 777Search by Kind 778Search by Tags, Authors, Title, and others 778Saving a search 778Using saved searches 779Wrap-Up 780

Chapter 31: Metadata and Power Searches 783

Working with File Properties 783Viewing properties sheets 784Viewing properties in columns 785Editing properties 786Setting Properties When You Save 788Personalizing Searches 789Managing the Search Index 791Adding and removing indexed locations 792Remove a location from the index 794Choosing file types to index 794More advanced options 795Rebuilding the index 796Power Searches 797Searching specific properties 798Greater than and less than 798AND, OR, and NOT searches 798Date and number searches 800Searching for phrases 802Message searching 802Natural language queries 802Wrap-Up 804

Chapter 32: Using CDs and DVDs 805

Understanding CDs and DVDs 805CD-ROM and DVD-ROM 806CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R 806CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW 806Data CD versus audio CD 806DVD- versus DVD+ 806What Kind of Drive Do I Have? 807Using Disks that Already Contain Data 808What kind of disk is this? 809Viewing a disk’s contents 810Copying files from a CD or DVD 810Changing what happens when you insert a CD or DVD 811

Copying Files to Blank CDs and DVDs 813Burning a Mastered (ISO) disk 816Closing a Live File System (UDF) 817Adding more files later 817Erasing Disks 817Formatting CDs and DVDs 818Burn as You Go in Explorer 820Using Windows DVD Maker 821Opening Windows DVD Maker 821Adding photos and videos 821Choosing DVD options 822Designing the menus 824Customize menu text 824Customize the menus 825Customize the slide show 826Make the DVD 826Opening a saved DVD project 827DVD Maker help and troubleshooting 828Wrap-Up 829

Chapter 33: Protecting Your Files 831

Simple File Backups 831Using Backup and Restore 834Starting Backup and Restore 834Backing up files and settings 834Restoring files from a backup 838Backing up the entire PC with an image 838Restoring from an image to a new hard drive 839Restore an image to a partially damaged disk 840Create a System Repair Disk 840Using System Protection 840Turning System Protection on or off 841Creating a restore point 842Returning to a previous restore point 843Undoing a System Restore 843Using previous versions (shadow copies) 844Returning to a previous version of a file or folder 844Restoring deleted files from previous versions 846Using BitLocker Drive Encryption 846BitLocker hardware requirements 847Encrypting the volume 848When the computer won’t start 848Turning off BitLocker 848More info on BitLocker 848Wrap-Up 849

Chapter 34: Troubleshooting Files and Folders 851

Troubleshooting Folders, Files, and Shortcuts 851The Menu bar is missing from Explorer 851Where is the Up button to navigate to the parent folder? 851What happened to the Folders list? 851Slide Show is not available as an option in the Explorer toolbar 852

I don’t see the file extensions on files 852When I try to select by dragging, the icons move, and nothing is selected 852Error message: ‘‘Application is using this file You must close the file before

proceeding’’ 852Error message: ‘‘If you change a file name extension, the file may become

unusable’’ 853Error message: ‘‘This location already contains a file with the same name’’ 853

‘‘Problem with Shortcut’’ dialog box opens 853Deleting a shortcut from my desktop deletes it from all users’ desktops 853Troubleshooting Documents 854You cannot save in the folder specified 854Error message: ‘‘The file name is invalid’’ 854

My document isn’t in the Open dialog box 854Troubleshooting CDs and DVDs 854Error message: ‘‘Invalid function when attempting to write files to a CD’’ 854I’m unable to read recorded CDs and DVDs on other computers 855Troubleshooting Searches 855Search didn’t find my file 855More Troubleshooting Resources 855

Part VII: Printing, Faxing, and Scanning 857

Chapter 35: Installing and Managing Printers 859

Printer Properties versus Printing Properties 859Opening the Devices and Printers Folder 860Setting the default printer 860Testing a printer 860Installing a New Printer 862Installing printers with parallel and serial port connections 862Installing printers with USB and infrared connections 862Installing a network, wireless, or Bluetooth printer 863Managing Printer Drivers 864Setting Default Printing Properties 864Making pages print in the right order 865Portrait versus landscape printing 866Saving time and money 866

Setting Printer Properties 866Configuring printer ports 867Setting up printer pooling 868Configuring printer availability 870Setting other advanced options 871Wrap-Up 871

Chapter 36: Printing Documents and Screenshots 873

Printing a Document 873Common printing options 874Choosing a print quality and other options 875Still more print options 877Printing the Screen 878Using Print Preview 879Wrap-Up 880

Chapter 37: Managing Print Jobs 881

How Printing Works 881Managing Print Jobs 883Managing a single document 883Managing several documents 883Managing all documents 884Changing print queue order 884Solving Common Printer Problems 885Printing Offline 886Creating XPS Documents 888Wrap-Up 890

Chapter 38: Faxing and Scanning 891

What You Need for Fax 891Opening Windows Fax and Scan 892Creating a fax account 892Configuring fax modem options 893Defining Dialing Rules 894Setting Up Your Cover Sheets 896Sending Faxes 899Faxing from Windows Fax and Scan 899Sending faxes from programs 901Receiving Faxes 901Working with Faxes 903Scanning Documents 903Scanning with Windows Fax and Scan 904Using scanned documents 906Forwarding scanned documents automatically 907Wrap-Up 907

Chapter 39: Troubleshooting Printing and Faxing 909

Troubleshooting Printing 909First aid for printing problems 909Document appears to print, but nothing comes out of the printer 909Problem with a network printer 910Printer prints garbage 910Advanced printing features are disabled 911Printed colors don’t match screen colors 911Error message: ‘‘Problem communicating with printer’’ 912Updating your printer driver 912Troubleshooting Faxing 912First aid for faxing problems 912Printing and Faxing Troubleshooting Resources 913

Part VIII: Installing and Removing Programs 915

Chapter 40: Installing and Upgrading Programs 917

Playing It Safe with Program Installations 917Updates versus Upgrades 918Installing and Upgrading from a Disk 918Common Installation Prompts 919The initial CD or DVD prompt 919Enter an administrator password 919The product key or serial number 920Compliance check 920User information prompt 921The End User License Agreement (EULA) 921Type of installation 922Installation summary 923Setup completed 923Using the installed program 925Wrap-Up 925

Chapter 41: Getting Older Programs to Run 927

Understanding Program Types 927DOS programs 928Old programs to avoid altogether 928Installing Incompatible Programs 929Using the Program Compatibility Wizard 930Quick-and-Dirty Program Compatibility 932Using Windows XP Mode 932Using DOS Commands in Windows 7 934Wrap-Up 936

Chapter 42: Repairing and Removing Programs 937

Changing and Repairing Programs 937Removing (Uninstalling) Programs 939Uninstalling from the All Programs menu 940Dealing with stuck programs 941Returning to a Previous Version 941Turning Windows Features On and Off 942Wrap-Up 943

Chapter 43: Setting Default Programs 945

Setting Default Programs for Files 945Using the Default Programs Page 948Set your default programs 949Associate a file type or protocol with a specific program 951Change AutoPlay settings 951Set program access and computer defaults 953Wrap-Up 955

Chapter 44: Managing Programs and Processes 957

Getting to Know Task Manager 957Choosing Task Manager Views 959Not Responding? Task Manager to the Rescue 960Closing frozen programs 960Switching and starting tasks 961Restarting a hung computer 962Peeking at Resource Usage 963Managing Processes with Task Manager 964Hidden processes 965Common processes 966Choosing columns in processes 966Monitoring Performance with Task Manager 968Networking and Users Tabs 969Wrap-Up 970

Chapter 45: Troubleshooting Software Problems 971

Troubleshooting Installation 971Troubleshooting Programs 971Researching Application Errors 972Editing the Registry 973How registry data is organized 973Hives, keys, and subkeys 974Key values 975Backing up the registry 978Making the registry change 979

Troubleshooting Tips 980Help with Troubleshooting Software 981

Part IX: Hardware and Performance Tuning 983

Chapter 46: Installing and Removing Hardware 985

Hardware, Firmware, and Software Demystified 985

A Few Words about Device Drivers 986Using Hot-Pluggable Devices 986Connecting USB devices 986Connecting IEEE 1394 devices 988

PC Cards 989Using memory cards 989Memory cards and USB mass storage 990Disconnecting hot-pluggable devices 990Not-So-Hot-Pluggable Devices 991Installing expansion cards 992Installing more memory (RAM) 994Installing a second hard drive 996Primary and extended partitions 997Partitioning and formatting the disk 998Other hard drive operations 1001Converting a FAT disk to NTFS 1001Shrinking and extending partitions 1003Changing a volume label 1003Changing a drive letter 1003The exFAT file system 1004Removing Hardware 1006Updating Drivers 1007Dealing with Devices that Prevent Windows 7 from Starting 1007Wrap-Up 1008

Chapter 47: Using Wireless Bluetooth Devices 1009

The World of Bluetooth 1009Configuring Your Bluetooth Adapter 1011Adding Bluetooth-Enabled Devices 1012

Installing a Bluetooth printer 1013Install a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse 1013Install a Bluetooth mobile phone 1014Connect a Bluetooth BlackBerry 1015Connect a Bluetooth Windows Mobile device 1015Install a Bluetooth Palm PC 1015Joining a Bluetooth personal area network 1016Troubleshooting a Bluetooth network connection 1017