Like any program, the Control Panel has a jumplist. On right-clicking the Control Panel icon in the taskbar, its jumplist shows the last used Control Panel components. Would you like to add additional elements to the jumplist and pin them permanently?

Here is how to do this:

1. Click Start, Control Panel to open it.
2. Look for the element that you want to add to the jumplist permanently.
3. Click it and pull it onto the Control Panel icon in the taskbar, until the text “Pin to Control Panel” appears—then release your mouse button.
4. If you now right-click the Control Panel icon in the taskbar, the element will show up permanently in the Pinned section.
5. To remove the added entry, open the jumplist and click the pin on the right side of the element.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1, image by intowindows.com

The first major update for Microsoft’s successful Windows 7 has been released. Besides new features, it contains all previous updates and hotfixes published for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Free download: Windows 7 Service Pack 1

MSDN and TechNet subscribers could download the update since 16 February 2011. Windows 7 SP1 is now available via the Windows Update feature and can be downloaded for free. Some of the new features include these:

• The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack contains an enhanced security management for the Bitlocker and Bitlocker To Go features.
• Service Pack 1 adds support for the upcoming Windows Thin PC platform. Business customers can run older computers with limited resources as thin clients with Windows 7 using Software Assurance.
• More enhancements apply to Windows Server 2008 R2. RemoteFX extends the remote services with hardware acceleration features. This lets you play videos, music and animations from remote like you would sit right in front of the computer.
• Windows Server 2008 R2 now supports Dynamic Memory for Hyper-V. This lets you change how much memory is allocated to virtual machines while they are running.

Free download: Windows 7 Service Pack 1

1. Click Start.
2. Into the search box, enter cmd.
3. At the top of the start menu, the search result cmd.exe appears. Right-click it, then choose Run as administrator.
4. Enter the following command into the appearing elevated command prompt: fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1
5. Press Return to set the setting, then enter exit to close the command prompt.

From your next reboot, Windows will stop recording the regular timestamps.

Here is a quick tip which should improve your internet connection. Let’s start:

1. Open the Run command prompt by pressing Windows + R, then type gpedit.msc.
2. Click OK to confirm (be sure to have Administrator rights).
3. In the new window, click in the left column the folder Administrative Templates.
4. Then in the same column choose che sub-folder Network and then QoS Packet Scheduler (screenshot 1).
5. Now double-click in the right column on the file Limit reservable bandwidth.
6. A new window with properties will appear (screenshot 2).
7. Check the Enabled radio button and set in the Options box below the value Bandwidth limit (%) to 0.
8. Click Apply to confirm your changes.
9. To see benefits you must restart the computer.

Screenshot 1:

Screenshot 2:

The Service Pack 1 update, which will be available in 37 languages, has the build number 7601.17514.101119-1850. For installing SP1, you have to install the preparation update KB976902 first. Although Windows 7 SP1 is not yet available for download from Microsoft servers, you can find the setup files on various websites already.

To enable the hidden telnet command in Windows 7, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, Control Panel.
2. Choose the Programs section.
3. Click the Turn Windows features on or off link.
4. In the appearing window, find the Telnet client item and enable it by ticking the checkbox.
5. Confirm with OK.

Now you can use the telnet command in command prompts, even while using Windows 7.

In Windows 7, “My Documents” have been replaced by “Libraries”.  However, not everybody uses the new folder structure.  Many users still prefer to store their files in their own custom folders, or on network storage.  In these scenarios, the Libraries are unnecessary and you may hide them.

If you want Windows Explorer to stop displaying Libraries, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Right-click the corresponding library, for instance Videos.
3. In the appearing context menu, choose Don’t display in navigation area.
   Woops — the item is hidden.

You need to restore the Library?

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Click Libraries.
3. In the right pane, right-click the Library you want to show again, for instance, Videos.
4. Pick Show in navigation area.

No matter which desktop background you set in Windows 7: while starting, you will always see the blue default background. You want to style this background as well? Here are the necessary steps to customize the Windows logon screen.

You have to make use of a third-party tool to change the blue default screen: the free “Windows 7 Logon Background Changer”. At its first launch, the freeware shows the blue default background. To change it, click “Choose a folder” and select the folder containing the new background. Then confirm with OK.

In the upper window section, all photos in the chosen folder are listed. Click one of the images to preview how your new logon screen will look like. If you like it, click Apply to save the change. At the next boot and while shutting down, Windows will show the new logon screen.

Free download: http://www.julien-manici.com/windows_7_logon_background_changer

Microsoft has provided the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool for Administrators. With this tool, you can block Windows 7 Service Pack 1 from getting installed automatically through Windows Update.

The blocker tool is targeted primarily at corporate customers who want to wait with installing the Service Pack to avoid potential errors in connection with the applications they use. With the tool, these customers gain more time to run additional tests.

In its current version, the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit supports Windows 7 as well as Windows Server 2008 R2. However, you can only block installing Service Pack via Windows Update for 12 months after the Final SP is released.

The publishing of the Blocker Tool now indicates that Windows 7 Service Pack 1 will get released soon. For Windows Vista, Microsoft had provided a similar tool some four months ahead of its Service Pack’s Final. Provided that the company follows a similar roadmap for Windows 7 SP1, we can thus expect its final around February 2011.

Download: Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit 20101112

You like using your keyboard for managing everything in Windows? In Windows 7, minimizing and maximizing windows got easier.

Instead of accessing the system menu with [Alt] + [Space], then pressing [N], just use the easy (and well to remember!) shortcut [Windows] + [Arrow down] in Windows 7.

Similarly, press [Windows] + [Arrow up] for maximizing a window.

Thanks to George for the tip!

You are using installing updates for Windows 7, and Windows always asks you to reboot your computer afterward? Normally you can only delay the prompt by four hours or shorter. However, you can turn off the repeated reboot prompt.

This way, Windows does not continue to ask when you want to reboot your computer. This is how it works:

1. Press the keyboard shortcut Win+R.
2. Enter the following command: gpedit.msc, and press OK. The editor for local group policies appears.
3. Switch to the folder Local Computer Policy > Computer configuration > Administrative template > Windows components > Windows Update.
4. In the right window, double click Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations, select the Disabled setting, and confirm by clicking OK.
5. Windows will no longer annoy you with repeated reboot prompts after installing Windows updates.

To re-add the fast web search into your start menu, do the following steps:

1. Press the keyboard shortcut [Windows key] + [R] to open the Run dialog box.
2. Enter the regedit command, and confirm with OK.
3. In the Windows registry editor, navigate to the following folder:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Policies/Microsoft

4. Then, right-click the sub-folder Windows and choose the option New > Key. Overwrite the default name New key #1 with the label Explorer.
5. Then, right-click the new sub-folder Explorer and choose the option New > DWORD value. Replace the text New value #1 with the following name:

   AddSearchInternetLinkInStartMenu

6. Confirm your entry with OK.
7. Now, double-click AddSearchInternetLinkInStartMenu, enter the value 1, then confirm with OK.

You’re done. After your next reboot, the new command “Search the Internet” will appear when you enter a search term into your start menu search box.

Canceling a running DOS command however does not work with the ESC key, unlike often supposed.  On the contrary, most DOS commands ignore the ESC key.  For canceling a command running in the Command Prompt, you have to press Ctrl + C.

Some users are probably still using Windows 7 Release Candidate.  In the coming weeks and months though, these preliminary OS versions will stop working, according to a reminder issued by Microsoft TechNet.

Starting from 15 February, you will see a warning message once per day, notifying you that Windows 7 RC will expire soon.  After 4 hours, you get another notification, followed by more notifications once per hour.  The operating system can still be used normally.

From 1 March 2010 onwards, the system will reboot automatically every 2 hours, besides the task bar notification.  However, you can still use the operating system.

Starting from 1 June 2010, Windows 7 Release Candidate expires fully.  The operating system only displays a black desktop.  You will see an activation message telling you that the used system is not genuine.  Windows will reboot every 2 hours.

More information: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971767

The Ukrainian portal IT-Chuiko reports that Microsoft is going to make a Windows 7 Service Pack 1 prerelease available in June 2010, while different rumors talk about the second week of April for a public SP1 Beta.  Its build number is likely to be 6.1.7601.

Service Pack 1 will mostly contain patches and bugfixes that have already been published one by one.  Furthermore, Windows 7 SP1 is going to introduce some newer technologies, like USB 3.0, or an update to the Windows Bluetooth functionality.

With a faster release cycle, Microsoft is primarily aiming to companies, as they often wait with migrating until the first Service Pack has been published.