Windows Tools, Help & Guides

When you first set up a Windows 7 machine, there are a few key things you should do. Whether you just installed a clean version of Windows 7 or bought a brand-name PC from the store with Windows 7 preinstalled, this guide will help you configure your PC for optimal use. Please note: even if you don’t have a “fresh” installation of Windows 7, most of these steps will apply.

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The Windows 7 Enterprise is designed specifically for IT Professionals interested in experiencing the Windows 7 Enterprise on behalf of their organization, for both software and hardware testing purposes of the final version of the product. In addition, it provides the opportunity to become more familiar with the key improvements over previous versions of the Windows operating system.

This 90-day trial of Windows 7 Enterprise can be downloaded absolutely free until the end of the year (December 31, 2010). It will not require a product key; it is embedded with the download. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available and five languages are supported: English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. After the 90-day Trial expires, if you wish to continue to use the Windows 7 Enterprise, you will be required to purchase and perform a clean installation of Windows 7, including drivers and applications; Windows 7 Enterprise is not available through retail channels.

Official Guidelines by Microsoft:

Protect your PC by backing up your data first.

Don’t test Windows 7 on your primary home or business PC.

You have 10 days to activate the product. If not activated within 10 days, the system will shut down once every hour until activated.

The 90-day Trial will shut down once every hour when you have reached the end of the 90-day evaluation period.

Minimum System Requirements:

1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

1 GB of RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)

DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

DVD-compatible drive

Internet access

Download here (bottom of the page)

Update: Winners announced.

I recently interviewed Joan Lambert about her recent book Windows 7 Step by Step. Joan has been so kind to give away three (3) signed copies of her book.

How Do I Win a Copy?

1. Register for/log in to Windows Forums.
2. Look for ways to contribute to the community and start posting questions, advice, introductions etc.
3. On 17 April, 2010 @ 9AM ET, the top three (3) posters over the last seven (7) days will win a copy each of Windows 7 Step by Step.

You have 7 days to be one of the three most frequent posters on Windows Forums and claim this book for yourself. Keep an eye on the top posters list on the front page:

Rules

I’m not a fan of rules, but in this competition, I must put forward a few:

1. Absolutely no spamming/pointless posts (I will be keeping an eye out for people whose posts add no value and will, fairly, remove cheaters from the competition.)
2. Forum Administrators and Moderators are not eligible for this competition.
3. Entries, from any where in the world, are welcome.
4. If you want to say “thanks” for a post, please use the Thanks button instead of posting.

Happy posting!

Go to Windows Forums

Windows Guides subscriber, “Engineer”, submitted the following guide ando shows us how to change file associations using the command prompt:

Dear colleagues, many of us get problems when your registry gets corrupted or settings get changed and you have mixed up extensions associated with the wrong programs. Well, don’t panic–everything is easy, we are here to raise and offer up solution to make your life easy. I will explain how to disassociate a file that has been wrongly associated with the wrong program:

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Last week I invited you to share your desktop and have a chance at winning a copy of Start Menu 7 Pro.  Here are the nine contestants. Pick your favorite desktop and vote for whomever you want to win.

You can view the entrants’ submissions and a short description about their desktop setup here.

The voting will close Sunday 11th April 2010, 11:59PM UTC

The winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

Click here to go to the poll and vote for your favourite desktop

Update: You can win one of three signed copies of this book here.

In this article, I interview Joan Lambert, author of Windows 7 Step by Step. At the conclusion of the interview, I share some highlights of her book and invite you to get your own copy.

Interview with Joan

Joan, thank you for taking time to share a little about yourself. Before we talk about your profession and book, I’m sure Windows Guides readers would like to get to know you better; tell us a little about yourself:

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