I haven't used Windows since the year 2000, but a new job means this longtime Mac user needs to learn how to. A couple specifics related to image editing and task management software plus general words of wisdom/ encouragement requested within.
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posted by hwickline
on May 20, 2013 -
11 answers
I usually navigate my Windows 7 Explorer windows via keyboard. I type the name of a directory, then hit enter to open it. But when the new directory comes up, typing finds the first filename alphabetically, which would be fine if I had my directories sorted by file name, but I do not - they're sorted by file type instead. Once a file is selected after typing the first letter, Windows's selection continues looking in the display order (first by type then alphabetically) but does not wrap to the beginning of the directory, so if I was trying to select a folder and ended up with a file, then I either have to click in the window or wait a few seconds and hit Home to get to the start of the window. How do I change this so it will initially give preference to file type and not just file names?
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posted by Lakmir
on May 17, 2013 -
5 answers
I'm looking to upgrade our XP PC's to Windows 7. I'm having a hard time finding a legitimate source for non-oem Windows 7 pro upgrade with SP1 already baked in.
Thanks for any help!
posted by colecovizion
on Apr 29, 2013 -
8 answers
My work computer is a laptop running Windows 7. I am working far from my office this week (as I often do) and I connect to my work server through Remote Desktop Connection. Typically this is pretty much problem-free, but for the last two or three days, when I log in to the server, I am seeing the server's desktop not as a full screen, but in a window about 10" wide on my 17.3" laptop screen. As well, while the laptop's screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, the window looks to be 4:3. Attempting to resize the window through the Maximize/Restore Down icon avails me naught: I can mouse over the edges of the window and drag it to a new size, but it maxes out at the size that I mention, which covers maybe 60% of the screen's real estate. Numerous reboots and resets have not rectified it and I am at a loss as to how to proceed.
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posted by ricochet biscuit
on Apr 24, 2013 -
6 answers
The Windows laptop that I have been using for work has slowly been dying 1000 little deaths. They seemed to be all software related, So I decided to do a clean install. The install, from a USB, failed before it even got started. There was a missing DVD driver that could not be located anywhere. I canceled out of the install and try to boot up normally, But that won't work either. I have an error in my BCD file.
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posted by bluejayway
on Mar 24, 2013 -
5 answers
I have a PCI-E SSD as my boot drive, and a win7-created RAID 1 on two 3TB drives. My boot drive has my user folder on it, but my documents, music, pictures, videos, etc folders shortcut to their respectable folders on the RAID. I would like this to be a full redundancy scheme and it is, but I've run into several nags and I would like to know how to fix them and prepare a fix-it plan before any of the drives fails.
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posted by ihavearedcouch
on Mar 19, 2013 -
5 answers
My friend's laptop runs windows 7. After resetting last night she's getting an Operating System Not Found error during boot. Assuming the hard drive hasn't completely failed, what are the best, simplest tools she can use to either fix the problem or at least get her important data off the drive? She has access to another computer with a cd/dvd burner, an 8GB USB flash drive, and blank cds. She doesn't have access to the system restore disc or anything like that. She can get a blank DVD if that's simplest.
I was leaning toward Knoppix as the Linux distribution for a live dvd, but if there's an easier way I'd love to hear it. Thanks.
posted by Green With You
on Mar 16, 2013 -
11 answers
Computer froze up, only letting me access the recovery manager. Burned 6 recovery disks, then reset to original factory settings. Reinstalled the recovery disks, the program said it was successful, but the files are nowhere to be found. What next?
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posted by dorey_oh
on Mar 12, 2013 -
7 answers
After wasting two different off-days trying to get my damnable modem+router working, I want to return them both and get something entirely new. Any good recommendations for a solid, reliable DSL modem and wireless router set-up with decent NAS support?
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posted by Rhaomi
on Mar 3, 2013 -
5 answers
I've been the all-around IT guy for a small office of 30 for a few years now. We've been primarily a Mac shop this whole time, but new business requirements mean that we'll probably be buying more windows machines going forward. I've been tasked with a pilot program to migrate 1/3 of our office over this year, with the assumption we'll bring everyone else over next year. Details inside:
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posted by Oktober
on Feb 25, 2013 -
9 answers
Any ideas on how I could have one PC listen for a specially formatted packet/etc., and when it detects that packet/etc. shut down a program?
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posted by Bugbread
on Feb 25, 2013 -
11 answers
Previously we used a Photoshop cs5 Action to save images that were already on our Windows file server to another folder on the server. We got a new server. The Action now longer works, seemingly because the path is different, though the drive letter is the same. I've attempted to record a new Action, following the steps in the old Action, but there's a problem. The new action records the name of the file, so all new files saves with that Action are saves names of the file used to record the action. The original action did not save the name of the file used when recording the action. We would like the new action to do what the old Action did
How can I get Photoshop to record this action and not save the name of the file, so it can be used by multiple people on different Windows 7 machines?
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posted by Brandon Blatcher
on Feb 20, 2013 -
1 answer
My father-in-law needs help connecting his Windows 7 laptop to a WiFi network; he is apparently dealing with an interference issue that stops him from connecting while at home. This is complicated by the fact that I am 1500 miles away and will not be able to help in person. He is not tech savvy. Suggestions?
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posted by caution live frogs
on Feb 19, 2013 -
3 answers
I've been blessed with the task of finding out why my father's windows 7 laptop can't connect to his new Virgin Media Broadband router. The laptop can't find the router, and I can't find a fix...
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posted by Inner Universe
on Feb 16, 2013 -
4 answers
I have a new Dell XPS computer that has a partitioned hard drive. Apparently, (pre-installed, no disc) Windows 7 is running on the 256 GB portion, not the 2TB partition, which is much too small for all of my documents and music. I've copied some files on to the partition and, not surprisingly, Windows 7 does not see them via My Documents, My Music. How can I make this work as it should? Or is it possible?
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posted by kthanksbai
on Feb 13, 2013 -
7 answers
Trying to set up a new wireless network and running into all kinds of strange problems. Connections dropped every few hours! Some machines work, some don't! Can connect to internet,
can't connect to
router! DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER
(literally). Please help.
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posted by Rhaomi
on Feb 7, 2013 -
10 answers
I need to copy text between a commercial text editor (TextPad 6.1.3 by Helios) and a home brew program used by my company. When I try to do this now, the highlighted text is moved/cut rather than copied. Is there a Windows 7 or TextPad setting I can use to force the behavior to copy rather than cut the text?
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posted by moxiequz
on Feb 7, 2013 -
5 answers
Can anyone help me with a malware problem in system 7, possibly related to a recent ransomware attack?
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posted by Huplescat
on Jan 30, 2013 -
16 answers
I have two laptops, an old XP machine with a dying power supply, and a new Windows 7 machine that could easily store the old XP harddrive. Can I clone the XP drive and make a dual boot system on the Windows 7 machine?
posted by filthy light thief
on Jan 26, 2013 -
4 answers
I'm reformatting the hard drive of my parent's Windows 7 PC to give to somebody. That's all well and good--software is reinstalled, drivers are updated, Windows Update looks happy. When I started the machine for the first time after Windows 7 installation was complete, it did it's standard thing where it asked what the user name was, what the PC name was, basic settings, etc. Is there any way to redo that setup for the new owner when they turn it on for the first time?
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posted by jroybal
on Jan 10, 2013 -
5 answers
I moved an SSD to a new system. Now I can't access files on the old hdd that were created during the time the SSD was a part of that old system. Can they be brought back to life?
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posted by peacay
on Jan 9, 2013 -
15 answers
I have a Dell laptop with Windows 7 32-bit on it and I'm having the weirdest issue with it. The "Devices and Printers" control panel window hangs every time I open it. It gets to about 90% of the way, according to the progress bar, and then stops. I can manage my printers using the Admin tools but everything else is unreachable. Is there any way to fix this short of a Windows re-install? This is a work laptop and I'd rather not have to go through our IT service department since they'll nuke everything on it that wasn't there when I got it.
posted by tommasz
on Jan 4, 2013 -
8 answers
Getting the dreaded "Required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing" during Windows 7 install, but no drivers are working!
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posted by lattiboy
on Jan 2, 2013 -
7 answers
How can I tweak the Windows 7 search index so that I can find all files on both the SSD and the hdd?
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posted by peacay
on Jan 1, 2013 -
6 answers
Win7/ Thinkpad X1 problem driving me crazy - at some random time in sleep mode, my Thinkpad will reboot and give a "Windows has recovered from an unexpected shutdown" message when it's back up. The Reliability Monitor returns that this has happened 7 times so far this month. I'd be grateful for any assistance in troubleshooting - a few additional details inside.
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posted by forallmankind
on Dec 24, 2012 -
11 answers
I have a phantom file on my desktop that I cannot delete. It's there and yet it does not exist. Help me get rid of it.
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posted by dephlogisticated
on Dec 1, 2012 -
12 answers
How can I get Windows 7 64bit to recognize my 3 TB SATA hard drive? BIOS sees it, it works fine under Ubuntu, but it doesn't show up in Win 7's disk manager / storage tool.
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posted by lord_yo
on Nov 27, 2012 -
4 answers
My Windows 7 computer no longer turns off properly. If I shut the screen, it no longer sleeps or hibernates, it just freezes. If I go through the start menu to hibernate, it will do so, but the computer is still on -- the power and the wifi lights stay on, it's still running and using battery. This also happens if I go through the start menu to turn off the computer. If I hold on the power key, it will then turn off and restart or resume from hibernation normally when I turn it back on.
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posted by jeather
on Nov 27, 2012 -
11 answers
How can I easily and reliably play Blu-Ray discs now and in the future? I have a HTPC, but the software bundled with the blu-ray drive is old, and a new version is around the sales price ofr a decent-looking stand-alone blu-ray player.
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posted by filthy light thief
on Nov 16, 2012 -
8 answers
So... I have this dark and fuzzy cheapo camera video of 15 minutes of myself doing yoga. And I'd like to chop it up into one of those funky arty music videos. If you were me, and you'd never ever done anything like that before, where would you start?
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posted by acridrabbit
on Nov 9, 2012 -
4 answers
I bought a new laptop that has 2 hard drive bays. It came with a hard drive with Windows 7 preinstalled. I bought an SSD, installed Windows and Linux fresh onto it, wiped the old hard drive and used it as a data disk, but something is slightly out-of-whack in the boot sequence (and a partition is marked "System" when it really isn't). Is it worth fixing?
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posted by jozxyqk
on Oct 24, 2012 -
15 answers
After restarting Windows 7 (SP 1) today, my chosen Small text setting (100% at 100 dpi on a 1920 x 1200 resolution) had been replaced by Medium (125%). Text everywhere looked huge. I switched back to Small, but now a lot of my system text (like
title bar text and
context menu text ) is extremely small, much smaller than before, and some other text, like the listing of subject headings in my Thunderbird email client and the tab text in Firefox, is also incredibly small. How to get back to my original Small appearance?
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posted by maudlin
on Oct 23, 2012 -
4 answers
I have a genuine copy of Windows 7 Ultimate which i have previously installed and activated through Microsoft. I wanted to reinstall Windows today but I've found the DVD has somehow been scratched and my DVD drive refuses to read the disc. If i download a copy of Windows 7 from BitTorrent and install it using my genuine CD key, will I get into any trouble? Will it even work? If not, what are my options?
posted by Effigy2000
on Oct 16, 2012 -
9 answers
How can I set up a Windows 7 PC to be clean and stay clean? I don't want file bits and temporary files to clog it up, I don't want a million image files the size of a dot. I don't want this computer to run like molasses after a few years of web browsing and use. What is the best way to do that?
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posted by cashman
on Oct 12, 2012 -
20 answers
I'm looking for software for a high school math teacher: first, a better/newer test generator, and second, in-classroom programs, bonus points for apps for an Apple laptop and/or an iPod touch. Details inside.
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posted by filthy light thief
on Aug 28, 2012 -
2 answers
What are the best backup solutions for Windows 7 these days? Looking at all types of backups - whole system restores including installed programs, manually/automatically copying data to a second hard drive/flash drive/SD card, and cloud storage.
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posted by danceswithlight
on Aug 23, 2012 -
6 answers
Powerpoint Windows 7 -- I'd like the slide show to be a separate tab on the task bar the way that it used to be in xp.
posted by notned
on Aug 21, 2012 -
1 answer
Should Windows 7 be automatically restarting *while* configuring updates during startup?
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posted by jozxyqk
on Aug 15, 2012 -
6 answers
In Windows 7, I have several examples of identically-named files in the same folder. As far as I know, this shouldn't be possible. Any ideas about why this would have happened and how to fix it?
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posted by FreelanceBureaucrat
on Aug 12, 2012 -
13 answers
I'd like to select which network interface is used for Internet access on a per-application basis. How do I do this on 64bit Windows 7?
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posted by ODiV
on Aug 8, 2012 -
10 answers
How can I assign a command to a mouse button so that a .jpg will open in MSPaint?
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posted by peacay
on Aug 4, 2012 -
9 answers
What's the best way to go about installing a solid state drive in a new laptop? (And is this even a good idea?)
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posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 30, 2012 -
12 answers
Where can I download lots of win7, laptop compatible arcade-ish games for non computer savvy, non English speakers with no internet. Can't you buy a bundle of like 400+ classic arcade games from somewhere?
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posted by DetonatedManiac
on Jul 5, 2012 -
9 answers
