zambak_IT_windows7
.pdf
WINDOWS 7
Fig 1.5 When the new user account is created you will be returned to the Manage Accounts window where you will see the new user account displayed. Windows 7 gives the new user account a random picture for its icon, but you can change the picture later.
CHANGE THE PICTURE
In the User Accounts window (Fig 2.0 below) click on the CHANGE YOUR PICTURE link to bring up the Change Your Picture window (Fig 2.1). Select (click on) a predefined Windows 7 picture and then apply it to the user account by clicking on the CHANGE PICTURE button. This will automatically exit the Change Your Picture window and return you to the User Accounts window (Fig 2.2)
Fig 2.0 Click on the CHANGE YOUR PICTURE link to continue
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Fig 2.1. Select (click on) a predefined Windows 7 picture and then click on the CHANGE PICTURE button to continue
Fig 2.2 The picture has been applied to the user account
In the above example I clicked on the Sun Flower picture before clicking on the CHANGE PICTURE button to apply it. With method two it is just as easy to apply your own picture to the user account.
CREATE A PASSWORD
With the new user account created you can give it a Password for added security. Assuming you have created a Standard user account and logged-on to it, you need to go to the User Accounts window again and from there click on the CREATE A PASSWORD FOR YOUR ACCOUNT link. This will take you to the Create Your Password window (Fig 3.1 below).
Fig 3.0 Click on the CREATE A PASSWORD FOR YOUR ACCOUNT link to continue
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Fig 3.1 Fill in your password information and then click on the CREATE PASSWORD button to continue
The Create Your Password window requires password and a confirmation of that password. Begin by typing a password into the first edit box (the PASSWORD Edit Box) and then type it again into the second edit box (the PASSWORD CONFIRMATION Edit Box). As you type, your characters will be displayed as dots for added protection.
The second typing of the password is needed so that Windows 7 can compare the two passwords and establish if you have made a typing error. For example. You may have thought you typed JIM as your password into the password edit box when in fact you typed JIN, because your finger caught the N key instead of the M key. So when you type JIM, correctly, into the password confirmation edit box Windows 7 is able to see the mistake and inform you of it. If Windows 7 only asked you for one password and you typed JIN instead of JIM by mistake you would find yourself locked out of your user account the next time you logged-on to it because you would not know the now correct password of JIN.
The last edit box is the PASSWORD HINT Edit Box. You can type an optional Password Hint into it that serves as a clue to what your password is, without actually revealing your password. This is good if you tend to forget passwords in general. In the example the password hint is Flower, to remind that the password is the name of a flower. The password hint is available at log-on time just in case you need to use it. When you have entered your password information click on the CREATE PASSWORD button to create the password (Fig 3.1 above). This will bring you back to the User Accounts window with your password enabled (Fig 3.2 below). However. The password will not work until you restart the computer, or switch between user accounts, and then log-on to the Standard user account again (Fig 3.3 below).
Fig 3.2 The password has been created for the user account
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CHAPTER 9
System Tools
Using System Restore and Restore Points
Ever get the feeling that things were going right? Moments later, did you get the feeling that something must be wrong because things are going right? Now you understand the gestalt behind System Restore. If you take a snapshot of your PC’s settings from time to time, when things are going right, it’s relatively easy to go back to that “right” time when the wolves come howling at the, uh, Gates. Windows 7 automatically takes System Restore snapshots — called restore points (or, confusingly, checkpoints) — once a day. It also automatically saves a restore point every time you successfully start Windows. A restore point contains Registry entries and copies of certain critical programs including, notably, drivers and key system files
— a “snapshot” of crucial system settings and programs. When you roll back (or, simply, restore) to a restore point, you replace the current settings and programs with the older versions. When Windows 7 can tell that you’re going to try to do something complicated, such as install a new network card, it sets a restore point. Unfortunately, Windows can’t always tell when you’re going to do something drastic — perhaps you have a new CD player and the instructions tell you to turn off your PC and install the player before you run the setup program. So it doesn’t hurt one little bit to run System Restore from time to time, and set a restore point, all by yourself.
Here’s how to create a restore point:
1. Wait until your PC is running smoothly.
No sense in having a restore point that propels you out of the frying panand into the fire, eh?
2.Make sure that you’re using an administrator.
3.Choose Start, right-click Computer, and choose Properties. On the left, click the System Protection link.
4.In the lower-right corner, click the Create button.
Windows 7 asks you to fill in a description for this manually generated restore point (see Figure 3-13). Type something that describes the reason for creating a restore point.
5. Type a good description, and then click Create.
Windows advises that it’s creating a restore point. When it’s done, it shows a message that says The restore point was created successfully
Figure 2:
The recommended restore
point isn’t always the
best restore point.
6. Click Close on the message, and then click the X button to close the System Properties dialog box.
Your new restore point is ready for action. If you ever want to manually restore your computer to a previous state, follow these steps:
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1.Save your work and then close all running programs. System Restore doesn’t muck with any data files, documents, pictures, or anything like that. It only works on system files. Your data is safe. But it can mess up settings, so if you recently installed a new program, for example, you may have to install it again.
2.Choose Start All Programs Accessories System Tools System Restore. Windows 7 recommends that you restore to a recent system-generated restore point.
3.If you’re willing to accept System Restore’s recommendation, click next. But if you want to take a look around and see what options are available, select choose a Different Restore Point and click next. System Restore presents a list of recent available restore points,
Figure 3:
Pick a restore point — and see which programs
will be affected.
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4.Before you roll your PC back to a restore point, click it once and then click the Scan for Affected Programs button. System Restore tells you which programs and drivers have system entries (typically in the Registry) that will be altered and which programs will be deleted if you select that specific restore point.
5.If you don’t see any major problems with the restore point — it doesn’t wipe out something you need — click next. System Restore asks you to confirm your restore point.
You’re also warned that rolling back to a restore point requires a restart of the computer, and that you should close all open programs before continuing.
6.Click Finish.
True to its word, System Restore reverts to the selected restore point and restarts your computer. System Restore is a nifty feature that works very well
Defragmenting a drive
Once upon a time, defragmenting your hard drive — instructing Windows to rearrange files on a hard drive so that the various parts of a file all sit next to one another — rated as a Real
Big Deal. Windows didn’t help automate running defrags, so few people bothered. As a result, drives started to look like patchwork quilts with pieces of files stored higgledypiggledy. On the rare occasion that a Windows user ran the defragmenter, bringing all the pieces together could take hours — and the resulting system speed-up rarely raised any eyebrows, much less rocketed Windows fans into hyper threaded bliss. Windows 7 changes that by simply and quietly scheduling a disk defragmentation to run every week. You don’t need to touch a thing. Windows 7 doesn’t run automatic defrags on solid state drives — which is to say, flash memory drives that don’t have any moving parts. (You probably don’t have one yet, but they’re becoming more common every year.) Solid-state drives don’t need defragmentation. They also have a finite lifespan, so there’s no need to overwork the drives with a senseless exercise in futility. If you’re curious about how your computer’s doing in the defrag department, choose Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Disk Defragmenter. Disk Defragmenter gives you a full report allowing you to make scheduling changes if you so desire. You can also choose which drives you want to defrag.
Figure 4:Windows 7 automatically defragments once a week
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Scheduling the Task Scheduler
Windows 7 has a built-in scheduler that runs just about any program according to any schedule you specify — daily, weekly, monthly, middle of the night, or on alternate blue moons.
The scheduler comes in handy in three very different situations, when you want to
always do something at the same time of day every day, week, or month: Perhaps you always want to start Outlook at 6:15 every morning so that your machine is connected and your mail’s ready by the time you drag your sorry tail into your desk chair. Or maybe you want to run a PowerPoint presentation every morning at 7:30 so that your boss hears the telltale sounds as she walks by your cubicle. (And who said Dummies aren’t devious?)
Make sure that the computer performs some mundane maintenance job when it won’t interfere with your work time: Thus, you may schedule disk cleanups every weekday at 2:00 in the afternoon because you know you’ll always be propped up in the mop closet, taking a snooze.
Do something every time you log on or when your computer starts: You can even have the Task Scheduler send an e-mail message to your boss every time you log on. Interesting possibilities there.
Any discussion of scheduled tasks immediately conjures up the old question “Should I leave my computer running all night, or should I turn it off?” The fact is that nobody knows which is better. You can find plenty of arguments on both sides of the fence, although Microsoft’s progress with Sleep mode
Has taken some wind out of the sails of those who insist that PCs need to be turned off. Suffice it to say that your computer has to be on (or sleeping) for a scheduled task to run, so you may have to leave your computer on at least one night a week (or a month) to get the maintenance work done.
Scheduling a task
With Disk Cleanup configured properly, you can set it to run every night, by following these steps:
1.Choose Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Task Scheduler. The Task Scheduler appears, as shown in Figure 3-17.
Figure 5:
Give the scheduled task a descriptive name.
2. On the right, select the Create Basic Task option. The Create Basic Task Wizard appears
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Figure 6:
In spite of its intimidating appearance, the Task Scheduler can
help you schedule almost any repetitive task.
Type a name for the task, and then click the Next button. The wizard asks for a trigger geekspeak for “Under what circumstances do you want the scheduled task to run?”
3.Choose daily if you want the cleanup to run every day, and then click the Next button.
4.Set the time of day that you want the cleanup to run, and click next.
5.Choose an action. In this case, select the Start a Program option, and then click next. The Task Scheduler asks you for the program you want to run, cleanmgr. Exe.
6.To run Windows 7 Disk Cleanup, click the Browse button, navigate to\Windows\System32\cleanmgr.exe, click the program once, and click the Open button. You can similarly run any other program with the Task Scheduler by clicking the Browse button, navigating to the program, and clicking Open.
7.In the Add Arguments (Optional) box, type /sagerun: 9. as you probably guessed, this step tells Windows 7 Disk Cleanup to use the “number 9”parameters.
8.Click next, select the Open the Properties Dialog for This Task When I Click Finish check box, and then click the Finish button. The Task Scheduler Wizard adds your cleanup run to its list of active tasks. You can verify it by clicking the Refresh button at the bottom of the Task Scheduler window and then scrolling through the active tasks.
9.In the Task Properties box, select the Run Whether User Is Logged On or not option, and then click OK. If prompted for a password, type it and click OK. You have to complete this final step in the Task Properties dialog box so that the cleanup can run whether you’re logged on or not.
How to Manage Windows 7 Power Settings
There's some stuff to like in Windows 7 if you're a green geek. Take, for starters, the fact that power management options are enabled by default in the beta (read this article on installing the Windows 7 beta if you want to try it out). There's also a plethora of power options available for the obsessive tweaker and eco-techie (sometimes one and the same). First, it helps to get acquainted with Windows 7 Power settings. It's easy to reach the Power Options
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control panel, just hit the Start Button and select Control Panel in the second, shaded column
on the right. Now select All Control Panel Items...
...and make your way down to Power Options and click. (Alternately, select System and Security, then Power Options.)
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Indulge me in a little rant before we proceed.
Given these eco-conscious times we live in, Microsoft had an opportunity to put power management front and center by placing the Power Options widget on the first control panel screen along with System and Security, Network and Internet and so forth. On the flip side, its current placement might discourage casual users from disabling it completely, so there's some merit to that way of thinking. Plus it would deviate from Microsoft's desire to group like functionality, so there seems to be some UI/design considerations.
Rant over, onward!
After clicking on the Power Options icon, you're asked to select a Power Plan.
There are two options that are immediately available: Balanced (the default) and Power saver. Balanced turns off the display after 10 minutes of inactivity and puts your computer into sleep mode after 30 minutes. Power saver halves those times to 5 minutes and 15 minutes respectively.
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