Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Yesterday, Rich let you know about our new sub-forum; Windows 7 Customization.

Today i want to share with you some of the great content that resides here.

A big thanks go to our forum members that have contributed….keep it up!

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We already know from Deck’s great posts and RSVR85’s Media Center customization guide that Windows Media Center is a robust media hub with a great user interface. The ability to pull in internet TV, act as a DVR for broadcast TV, and serve as a library for music, pictures, and videos has made it my choice in my home entertainment center. However, it does have its shortcomings, one of which is its inability to play some types of video files without third-party software. I’m going to show you how to make this a non-issue by configuring Windows Media Center to utilize non-Windows Media Player programs to play these files.
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This How To guide is going to show you how to customise or completely change the backgrounds in the Windows Card Games (Solitaire, FreeCell, Hearts & Spider Solitaire).

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Although, by today’s standards, Windows XP doesn’t require much in the way of system resources, Windows XP Mode, running in Windows Virtual PC, can feel a little sluggish at times. This is because Windows XP Mode, by default, runs with 512MB RAM. In this guide, I’ll show you how to increase the allotted memory to Windows XP Mode using Windows Virtual PC Settings.

Note: A couple of weeks ago, we asked you if you used Windows XP Mode and many of you responded by saying you didn’t know about it so we wrote this guide: What are Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode and How Do I Use them? This is a good place to start if you’re new to Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode.

If you get to the end of this guide and still have questions about Windows Virtual PC or XP Mode, please ask them in the Windows 7 forum.

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Got a “love-hate” relationship with your TV?  Love the shows, but hate the commercials? Viewing your favorite TV Series on DVD is an excellent way to watch TV.  Dropping those DVD’s down to your hard drive makes the experience close to perfect.

There are several ways to get  TV shows on to your PC – the most popular is probably downloading the shows from a bit.torrent site – another way is to buy the series on DVD and then make a backup copy (where this can be done legally of course) on your hard drive.

Many current TV series are available on iTunes, and even YouTube is getting into the act.  Here in New Zealand our national broadcasting networks (we have two!) started “On Demand” services a year ago and a clever user might find a way record the material fed by their streaming media.

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Back in September of 2009, rsvr85 showed us how to change your logon screen with Logon Screen Rotator and in March 2010, Thomas showed us how to change your logon screen without third-party software. In this guide, I offer a third alternative to use: Tweaks.com Logon Changer for Windows 7. Learn where to get it and how to use it in this guide.

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