TECH YARD » Windows 7

Mac OS Leopard Theme For Windows 7

Avinash — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:00:46 +0000

Windows 7 has a new refreshing interface and has a few interesting features like Superbar, jumplists etc. but incase you want a desktop and interface like Mac OS that you configured on a Windows XP or Vista using third party tools.I’ve shared quite a few themes and transformation packs to transform a Windows OS interface into a Mac OS user interface.If you customized your old desktop with a Mac OS like interface using tools like

but the problem is that most of the customization might only be partially be applied on Windows 7.If you are a Windows 7 user here’s a simple Mac OS Snow Leopard Theme for Windows 7.

Snow Leopard for Windows 7 theme for Windows 7 is available in Basic, Normal & Glass Style and is compatible with 32 and 64 bit versions of the OS.For using the theme in Windows 7, one needs to use the a universal theme patch to apply third-party Styles in Windows 7.

Download: Universal Theme Patcher

Next Unzip & Copy Snow Leopard to : c:\windows\resources\themes

Next Goto Desktop Personalize & apply Snow Leopard.

To Move the Maximize/Minimize and Close Buttons to the Leftside like in Mac OS,Use the portable app “leftsider”.

Also Check Out -

How To Setup Popular Mac OS Features In Windows OS

Download Mac OS Leopard Theme for Windows 7.

How To Customize and Create Unattended Installer For Windows 7 Using Windows 7 Lite

Avinash — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:17:07 +0000

Windows 7 the latest OS from Microsoft is slowly getting accepted by users and with positive feedback, it is very much possible that many Vista users will slowly move over to Windows 7, and the installation procedure on new systems and Windows 7 Service Pack 1 which is due later this year you can customize your Windows 7 Installer removing unwanted app from the installer and also removing the required input by automating steps and making a unattended installer for Windows 7.

RT Se7en Lite is a free Windows 7 installer customization tool that lets users add/remove applications from the installer.

Also Read -

Check out 4 Ebooks To Get You Started With Windows 7

Here’s what the installer lets you do -

Integration – Integrate service packs, hotfixes, language packs,driver installers etc to Windows installer.
Components removal – Remove unwanted components from installer like drivers, applications etc.
Tweaks – Disable or adjust system services,registry tweaks, power configuration etc.,
Unattended installation – automate common installation steps like Integrate product key, change UI language, setting time zone etc., so that during installation no user interaction is necessary.
Customization – Set your wallpaper, Enable or disable uxtheme patch, change logon music etc.,
It can also create a ISO Image, DVD Disk and Bootable USB Disk with Windows Installation.

Also Read -

Images Source : rt7lite.com

This tool defiantly makes it easier to customize a Windows 7 installer as new updates can be easily added and components can also be added and removed easily and the option to create a bootable usb disk, makes it eliminate the use of DVD’s which cannot be used once finalized, where the USB after installation can be used again.

If your planning to install Windows 7 on multiple systems, try this tool as your work could be simplified with the unattended installer.

Create Context Menu Entries In Windows 7 Easily Using Your Menu Context Menu Editor

Avinash — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:34:51 +0000

Context Menu is handy to open up programs right from the mouse pointer location instead of finding links to apps in start menu, desktop or tray icons.If you are a Windows 7 user you can add applications to your context menu easily using Your Menu.

This app lets users create entries into the Windows 7 context menu without the need of manually editing the Windows Registry.It lets users create two different type of menus ie., Single and Cascading.

Single Menu is the one that’s available on the context menu along with the default entries on Right Click.Cascading Menu lets users create a new Menu with sub-entries.

Select the Menu type you want to create and Enter the Application / Menu name and click “Generate Registry File”.

The application does not edit the Windows Registry directly but it creates a registry file using which user’s can add the entries to the menu. In addition, an undo file is also created so that you can remove any entries that you created with Your Menu.

Note : Your Menu works only with Windows 7.

If your are a Windows XP / Vista user check out

Change Windows Default Ctrl Key Pressed Multi File Selection To Check Boxes In Windows 7

Avinash — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:30:14 +0000

Selecting multiple files or folder in Windows OS requires keeping the “Ctrl Key ” kept pressed and selecting each of the files that need to be selected, which sometimes is difficult if there are many files in the folder, any click on any file without holding the ctrl ends up loosing all the selected files.

If the selection is serial then holding the shift key and pressing the last item gets all the folder between the 1st and last file/folder auto selected.

If you are using Windows 7, then there is an easy way of doing this, here’s how you can do it.

Open up Windows Explorer/any Folder
Click On Organize, Next Click “Folder Options”
Select “View Tab”, Under “Advanced Settings” select “Use Checkboxes to select items”.

I think this should be the default multi selection rather than the ctrl pressed multi selection in Windows.This feature is defiantly a good options to have in other Windows versions as well and other operating systems as well.

Create JumpLists In Windows 7 Easily Using JumpList Launcher

Avinash — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:53:47 +0000

Windows 7 most productive feature on the desktop is the JumpList, that lets users access frequently used applications from the Windows SuperBar.Windows 7 Jumplist launcher lets you create jumplists in Windows 7 easily from a easy to use interface, with customization and reordering of programs/files in the jumplists. It lets you add up to 60 programs or files within self-defined groups inside a jumplist.

Features :

No Installation required (Portable App)
jumplist entries can be grouped
Lets user choose one default-entry which will be opened when clicked on Jumplist-Launchers Superbar-icon.
Entries may contain command-line arguments also
Supports Multiple Jumplist-Launcher-Icons

After creating the jumplist, the Jumplist Creator program need not run in the background.Files can be dragged and dropped into the Jumplist-Launcher from Windows-Explorer and Jumplist-items can be added by dragging single files on Jumplist-Launchers taskbar-icon while holding the shift-key.

Note : The setting Max. Jumplist-Items changes the number of possible entries globally for the whole Windows-environment).

Download Windows 7 JumpList Creator

Transform Windows XP Into Windows 7 Using 7 Mizer

Avinash — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:25:20 +0000

I’ve earlier shared VistaMizer, a transformation pack for transforming Windows XP, MCE or Server 2003 into the look of Windows Vista.From the same developers for users of Windows XP, MCE or Server 2003 comes Seven Mizer, that can transform Windows XP into Windows 7 looks.

Features :

Multilingual
Check the files for compatibility during the installation
Backup from the original system files
Re-modification of the system files after Windows Updates
Rebuilding of the original system files through un-installation

In case of any problems the system can be easily restored to the state before the transformation pack was applied using current data in the backup.

Image Source : Syssel.net

Try more Windows 7 features like Aero Snap and Aero Shake in Windows XP using other tool mentioned in earlier posts.

Download Seven Mizer

VMLite XP Mode – Windows 7 XP Mode Alternative For Systems With No Hardware Assisted Virtualization Support

Avinash — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:30:36 +0000

Microsoft has made it easy for users to use old application in Windows 7, using the Windows XP Mode in Windows 7,but Windows XP Mode will only run on Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate editions and also “requires a CPU with the Intel® Virtualization Technology or AMD-V™ feature.”

VMLite XP Mode is the freeware that offers similar functions as Microsoft XP Mode, but doesn’t require hardware virtualization.

Features :

Provides similar functions as Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode from Microsoft
No requirement for hardware-assisted virtualization, namely, it runs without VT-x or AMD-v
Provides seamless integration with host desktop : Clipboard Sharing, USB Support, XP Mode Snapshot and Recovery,
Host files can be accessed from within the XP Mode virtual machine easily
Support 3rd party virtual machine images
XP Mode boots in 15 seconds
Copy files between Host OS and Virtual Machine.( Control-C/Control-V )
Host drives can be accessed from virtual machine

For example, use H:\c to access your host C: drive.

Real Physical IP address can be assigned from the network settings to the Virtual Machine.By default, NAT is used for the Virtual Machine.

VMLite XP Mode runs on any PC with Windows XP and above as host operating system and requires 256MB of RAM and 2GB of available disk space.

Download VMLite XP Mode ( Requires registration to download ).

Source – TheWindowsClub

PicPick – Swiss Knife Of Portable Capture Tools

Avinash — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I’ve earlier shared 7 Screenshot Capturing Tools for Windows OS that included portable apps and some firefox plugins.Here’s one called PicPick that gets on the list of screen capture tools.

PicPick is a free, portable application that can run of any USB Drive, HDD.It silently sits in the tray and it is a features a screen capture tool (Similar to Snippy) , image editor, color picker (Similar To Color Detector), color palette, pixel ruler ( Similar To Virtual Ruler) , protractor, crosshair, whiteboard and many more which can selected from the tray icon.

Features :

Captures screen shots of

Full Screen (Support for Dual Monitors)
Active Window
Window Control
Region, Fixed Region
FreeHand
Webpages (Scroll the page automatically)
Repeat Last Capture

It also works as

Color Picker
Color Palette
Pixel Ruler
Screen Protractor
Crosshair
Screen Whiteboard

Image Editor for editing screen shots

Provides an effect like selection opacity, blur, sharpen, brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, flip, rotate and etc.

Screenshots can also be sent to be opened directly by external app, this preference can be set under “Auto Save” in the Program Options. The hotkeys and program startup settings can be set from the “Program Options” which can be accessed from.

PicPick works on Windows OS including Windows 7 and is available as a portable app also, making it easy to carry it on usb drive.An installer of the app is available just in case you are looking for one.

IdleBackup – Free, Portable and Automatic Data Backup and Data Restoration Tool

Avinash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:36:56 +0000

Most computer users ignore the importance of Data Backup, which can also be a automated background task using free and portable tools like IdleBackup, which is a portable data backup tool that does not require installation and can take backups on HDD, external HDD, USB drives,network and with zip compression.

Features :

Free and no install data backup tool
Manual or Automatic backup
Easy restore, select directories and/or files to restore
Supports 3 types of backups modes : Mirror backup (Normal Full backup) : This method only backup the changed/new files, making this the fastest backup technique.
Full backup zipped : Everything is packed in a single compressed zip archive.
Sequential backup zipped : This is slowest and takes lots of drive space.It stored data in a time-stamped zip backup.Each backup contains all the files present at a certain point in time.
Backup data to HDD/External HDD/usb-drive or network storage
Synchronize backup, for backing up modified files
Idlebackup can backup data while system is idle.

The tool weighs ~ 1.3 MB, and is a portable app that be downloaded from IdleBackup and supports Windows XP/Vista and Windows 7.

Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7

2 Tools That Let You Set Transparency Levels in Windows With Aero Effects Disabled

Avinash — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:26:40 +0000

Aero Effects in Windows Vista, create a very cool user interface with transparency to windows, context menu and start menu.But if you are using a notebook Aero Effects put your processor on heavier processing making you loose battery life,You can disable aero effects and improve battery life using aerofoil.

You can set transparency levels in Windows OS, with Aero Effects disable using these 2 portable tools.

Tool 1 : TransTaskbar

TransTaskbar is a portable, free application which can make Windows Taskbar and Startmenu and desktop icons transparent.It works with in Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Download and extract the zip file, with 2 files in it ttb.exe and ttb-gui.exe

Taskbar’s translucency from 0 (invisible) to 255 (opaque) can be set and any value < 25 has to be set from the command line using the command by running TTB.exe

Command – TTB < transparency value >

TTB 180

Download TransTaskbar

Tool 2 : Transparent Context Menu

This tool lets the users set the transparency level for the context menus in Windows with Aero Effects disabled.

This app works in Windows XP, Vista and Win7.

Download Transparent Context Menu

Do check out the post on how to enable aero shake and aero snap in Windows XP and Vista.

Extend NoteBook Battery Life In Windows Vista and Windows 7 Efficiently Using AeroFoil

Avinash — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:51:23 +0000

Every notebook user is always conscious about the battery levels and wants to squeeze the last bit of power from the battery, but not every notebook user is aware of what process and applications that run in the background drain the battery out fast.

Especially Windows Vista and Windows 7 being more graphic intensive, than previous Windows OS can drain the battery faster.Aerofoil a power usage optimization tools extends Vista and Windows 7 notebook battery life by disabling some of the graphic intensive processes which create a load on processor eventually draining the battery.

AeroFoil Features :

Disable Aero Glass.

Manages Aero Glass user interface.

Sound muting

Managing your chosen power plans

Manage Windows Sidebar.

Hibernate button to hibernate system instead of power off/on.

Changing icon colour to show your power type

Download AeroFoil

4 Ebooks To Get You Started With Windows 7

Avinash — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:30:40 +0000

Windows 7 is the latest OS from Microsoft, there are many doubt in the minds of the users on how to get started with not many users using the OS currently, getting stated or getting help might not be that easy.You can try starting out using Windows 7, with these free ebooks that deal from issues faced by beginners to experts.

The Windows 7 Product Guide by Microsoft,It provides an overview of the many new features in Windows 7.Its available in 2 formats PDF & XPS.Download Links : Windows 7 Product Guide XPS.xps -30.5 MB – Download
Windows 7 Product Guide.pdf – 62.0 MB – Download
Windows 7 Tips and TricksImprove your productivity by familiarizing yourself with some of the enhancements that are new in Windows 7
Download [PDF]
Windows 7 DeploymentA 332-page downloadable e-book, “Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine.It covers a wide range of topics related to deploying Windows 7, including:
- Deployment Platform
- Planning Deployment
- Testing Application Compatibility
- Migrating User State Data
- Deploying Applications
Download Windows 7 Deployment E-Book
Windows 7 Troubleshooting Tips : A short ebook by Mitch Tulloch titled “What You Can Do Before You Call Tech Support.” It starts off with a para

Your sound card has stopped working, your computer seems sluggish, the network is down, your hard drive is clicking, you can’t view a website, your monitor is hard to read, your new webcam isn’t working, your favorite program won’t run, and a funny burning smell is coming from your computer. What can you do on your own to try to troubleshoot the issue before you pick up the phone to call tech support?

If you’re running Windows 7, quite a lot. Microsoft has included a lot of self-support tools in Windows 7 that you can try using before you seek the help of others,………….

You can download the e-book in XPS format here and in PDF format here.
This is not an Ebook but the Windows 7 Help File, that you can check out troubleshooting steps within the Help File before heading for others help.Download Windows 7 Help File

If you know of any more free ebooks then do share them with us so that we can improve the list.

How To Have Windows 7 AeroShake and AeroSnap Features In Windows XP and Vista

Avinash — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:30:05 +0000

Every new Windows OS has a new user interface for Vista it was the Aero Effects and Transparent Window Borders,now in Windows 7 its Aero Shack and AeroSnap.If you think of having Windows 7 Aero Shack and AeroSnap features in either XP/Vista, you can try out TrueTransparancy.

TrueTransparency is a free application that allows you to replace your window’s borders by skins composed with transparent images bringing Vista transparency to your XP Desktop and it also include support for Windows 7 Aero Shack and AeroSnap features.

Check out this video to see Aero Shack and AeroSnap features using TrueTransparency :

Download TrueTransperancy

Play Any Media File In Windows 7 With Codec Pack For Windows 7

Avinash — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:44:09 +0000

Windows 7 natively supports in Windows Media Player 12 and Media Center, but with various audio/video formats like real audio, real video, mkv, xvid, divx etc.,

Windows 7 Codecs Pack on installation supports the playback of the following file formats in Windows 7.

amr | mpc | ofr | divx | mka | ape | flac | evo | flv | m4b | mkv | ogg | ogv | ogm | rmvb | xvid

The settings of Windows 7 Codec Pack lets configure the settigs for each codec individually, one can choose different splitters and decoders for specific file types.It has 10 different speaker configurations from ‘same as input’ up to full 7.1 channel output.

Filetype Associations can also be made directly from the settings window under the HELP Tab, After doing this you can Enqueue newly associated files to the Windows Media Player Playlist.

Download Windows 7 Codec.

Note : Install this IMPORTANT update before installing app.

Configure Windows OS Prefetch/SuperPrefetch to Improve Boot Time and Faster Application Startup Using TweakPrefetch

Avinash — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:08:59 +0000

I’ve earlier shared a tutorial how you could make your Windows 7 OS Boot Faster, by enabling prefectch for boot only, but it needed to editing the registry for achieving the same if you are not interested in manually editing the registry you can try out TweakPretch.

Prefetch lets you easily customized the prefetch of Windows XP (or) Super PreFetch options of Windows Vista and Windows 7.You can choose from 4 Perfecting settings :

Disabled : completely disables fetching. “Superfetch” service is disabled.
Applications Only : fetching will only be applied to user started applications.
Boot Only : fetching will only be applied to boot files (system files, services and startup programs).
Applications & Boot : fetching will be applied to both applications and boot files (Windows default setting for Prefetch and Superfetch).

TweakPrefetch Features :

Supports Windows 7,Vista and XP
Supports Prefetch and SuperPrefetch
Detects wrong parameters for Prefetch and Superfetch
Clear prefetch in single click
Rebuilds Layout.in

“Clear Prefetch” will empty the Prefetch folder, forcing the operative system to rebuild fetch data.( This is not suggested as this could lead to temporary performance drop in applications startup time.)

You can also “Rebuild Layout.ini” from the “Options” menu” for updating the latest startup configuration.

The tool does not require any installation, just download unzip and use., that’s it.

Download TweakPrefetch

Get Mac OS Stacks Feature In Windows OS Using 7Stacks

Avinash — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:44:44 +0000

I’ve earlier shared a free app that lets you create shortcuts as Stacks similar to Mac OS In Windows, Similar to Stacks in Mac OS you can now have the Mac OS stacks features in Windows including Windows 7.

7stacks is a free app that gets Windows 7 (and Vista and XP) have “stacks” of icons in their Taskbar (in 7) or QuickLaunch Toolbar (in Vista and XP).7Stacks fills what Windows 7 misses out on and what Mac OSX has in the taskbar/dock.

7Stacks has 3 different styles of stacks: Normal, Grid, and Menu

Normal displays a stack of icons vertically.
Grid displays a “square” grid of icons only.
Menu displays a cascading menu of items, with a very small icon and a name next to it.

Features :

Group of related icons into a single icon
Browse and access documents and subfolders from the stacks
Implements MAC OS Stacks feature, in Superbar
Supports AERO in Windows Vista and Windows 7.
3 different styles of stacks: Normal, Grid, and Menu
Pin up to 10 different stacks on the Windows 7 taskbar

How To Use :

In Windows 7, create a new stack by right-clicking on any stack and selecting “Create New Stack” from the JumpList entry.7stacks will place an shortcut icon on your desktop to this new stack, which you can then pin to your Windows 7 taskbar, or Vista or XP QuickLaunch bar.

Download Stacks7

How To Improve Boot Time By Enabling SuperFetch in Windows 7

Avinash — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:30:05 +0000

Windows Vista has a prefetcher feature that allocates resources for a faster launch of applications and boot.Windows 7 the upcoming OS from Microsoft, has better startup timing than Vista, but incase you find it sluggish you can try this registry hack for a faster startup.

This hack makes prefetcher focuses on the booting process instead of both booting and application launch prefetching,allocating more resources for startup prefetching.

Click Start.
Go to the Search programs and files textbox, type regedit.
Click Regedit.exe
If the UAC window appears, click Yes.
In the registry, locate this subkey: HLKM\ SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Control\SessionManager\MemoryManagement\ PrefetchParameters.
In the right pane, double-click EnablePrefetcher.
Change the value to 2 and click OK.
In the right pane, double-click EnableSuperfetch,.
Change the value to 2 and click OK.
Exit the registry and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Note : If you want to change the settings back to their default values, repeat the above steps, but change EnablePrefetcher and EnableSuperfetch to 3.

[Via - WebTlk]

Change Windows 7 Theme To Windows XP Luna Theme

Avinash — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:02:54 +0000

Windows XP has been the most popular of Windows OS in the recent past, With Windows 7 around the corner launching on October 22nd 2009, and you don’t want to miss the default Windows XP UI., ie., theme in Windows 7 as well then you can try out the Windows XP Luna Theme ported for Windows 7 by Satukoro from DeviantArt.

Here’s a screenshot of the ported Luna theme on Windows 7.

Downloaded Luna Theme for Windows 7. [Via]

How To Create Bootable USB Drive For Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 2008

Avinash — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:29:12 +0000

Notebooks getting smaller and smaller in size, it getting tough for Notebook manufactures to accommodate an optical drive into them in view for making the laptop smaller in size and weight, so in such a scenario where you don’t have an optical drive in your notebook pc you can try installing an Windows OS, ie., using a USB Thumb Drive via USB Ports.

I’ve shared how you can create your own Bootable Windows 7 USB Drive, but that had lot of steps involved and also involved the command prompt which many might not be comfortable with, so for all those users who found that tutorial difficult, Here’s a portable tool called “A Bootable USB” from AskVG which makes creating a bootable Windows 7 USB Drive easier.It’s portable application and also supports 64 bit.

Requirements :

USB Pen Drive (minimum 4GB )
Windows Vista, Server 2008 or 7 ISO image or DVD
Host OS: Windows Vista (SP1 or SP2), Server 2008 or 7 (Note : Windows XP Not Supported.)

The application can create a bootable USB drive to install Windows Vista, Server 2008 or 7

How To Create Bootable USB Installation Drive :

Download, Unzip and Launch App using “A Bootable USB.exe”.
Plugin in your USB Drive
Click Check USB drive (To check whether your USB drive is attached or not)
Format USB drive
Choose DVD or ISO image
Start the process, to create the bootable USB drive with OS Installation files.

Download Links :

Download Link (Rapidshare)

Download Link (Mediafire)

Download Link (Skydrive)

Backup Data Faster And Easier With FBackup

Avinash — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:45:26 +0000

FBackup is a free data backup utility which helps make backups of your data very easily.It can create automated backups, and password-protected and compressed automatically either to same disk or any other device like an external device or across the network.The restore function is also very simple simply browse and select your backup file and everything is restored.

This backup tool is the best any home user can use,with its simple interface and its plugins supports makes it a must have on any home user.

The easy to use interface makes it easy to backup with simple questions to answer like

Where do you want to store the backup (the destination).
What do you want to backup (the sources).
How do you want to run the backup (using full backup that zips the files, or mirror backup that doesn’t zip them).
When do you want to run the backup (you can schedule it to run automatically or run it manually).

Features :

Automatic backups
Backup with standard zip compression using ZIP64 which can create backups over 2GB.
Create exact copies of files making “mirror” copy of the original files.
Multiple backup destinations like external USB/Firewire drive, or on a mapped network drive.
Backup open files
Backup Plugins for backing up commonly used programs like internet browser data, game data etc.

The FBackup Plugins lets you back up commonly used program data across like iTunes, Instant Messengers ( Yahoo Messenger, MSN, Pidgin, Trillian, Skype, Mozilla Suite, ICQ ) and Thunderbird and Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Picasa, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, Avast Antivirus, Spybot Search and Destroy, AVG Antivirus and also backup your Windows Registry and more applications are supported.

To Add plugins to FBackup, Download the plugin(s) of your choice and then Open FBackUp and navigate to Tools->Plugins and Click Add to browse and select the downloaded plugin.

Supports Windows 7 (RC), Vista, XP, 2008/2003/2000 Server (32 and 64-bit)

Download FBackUp