Windows Tools, Help & Guides

• Download this 4-part series as a PDF (Parts 1-4 +Extras)
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

10.  Speed Up Media Browser Using USB Flash Drive

I have quite a large movie collection, and find that MB can take a while to load all of the DVD covers & backdrops for the entire library.

Using a USB Flash Drive should eliminate this problem as they’re generally a lot quicker than your hard drive, anything that’s good enough for ‘ReadyBoost’ should suffice for this.  You should see a big improvement immediately.

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Previously, we’ve covered how to add custom Libraries and assign a icon to them in Windows 7.

People seem to have mixed opinions about the new library feature and in this guide, i’ll show you how to open up Explorer in the ‘Computer’ view instead of opening into ‘Libraries’
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• Download this 4-part series as a PDF (Parts 1-4 +Extras)
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

7.  Change The W7MC Background.

One of the most obvious changes you’ll notice through this series is the changes in the background W7MC displays.

Rich has made a huge collection of wallpapers.  Have a browse through them and pick a new wallpaper for your media center.
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• Download this 4-part series as a PDF (Parts 1-4 +Extras)
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Let’s dive straight in and carry on from where we left off.

4a. Change The Genre Icon In MB

This will show you how to add an icon to the genres you see in MB.

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Windows 7 comes with plenty of new features.  Notably, Libraries.

In Windows 7, the Libraries are not individual folders by themselves. Each library folder is an aggregate of various different folders and each library view is tailored to specific content.

By default , MS have provided us with four libraries.  Documents, Music, Pictures & Videos.

What if you want to add a custom Library and assign a specific icon to it?

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HomeGroup is a great new feature in Windows 7.  Unless you have multiple Windows 7 computers on your network however, HomeGroup is pretty useless.

Disabling it will remove the HomeGroup link in the left hand pane of any Explorer window and stop the HomeGroup services.

If you’re not part of a HomeGroup already, skip to Step 2.

Step 1.

Start by clicking the Start Orb and hitting Control Panel

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