Windows 7 Tips

Windows XP mode?

There is a lot of confusion about running older programs under Windows 7.

Windows Compatibility Mode

The first thing to try is to "Windows Compatibility Mode".... you are still running Windows 7, but in a mode that allows better compatibility with older programs. Go to the shortcut or icon for the program you want to run and right click and go to properties. Select the "Compatibility" tab. You will see a box to check, and you can select various windows operating systems "modes" to try.

This mode is helpful some times, but programs that work closely with the hardware, and/or graphics will often not run.

Windows XP Mode

This is completely different from the above method. This runs a "virtual machine", and basically you are running the "real" operating system. This mode uses "Windows Virtual PC" as a foundation to create a"virtual PC", which means an environment that looks like a piece of hardware. When you run Windows XP Mode, you are (supposedly) running a real copy of Windows XP in the virtual machine. This is a lot closer to a computer really running XP. The virtual machine does a good job, but still cannot "virtualize" all the hardware, especially graphics cards.

So, you get a window that looks like XP, because it is XP running. You install programs, do updates, etc.

You can also load Windows Virtual PC and install other operating systems. As a virtual machine, Windows Virtual PC is not as good as the virtual machine from VMware, but it's easy to set up.

An important thing to remember is that probably 99% of the people out there do not know the difference between these two methods, and probably are using the wrong words to describe what they are doing when they use one or the other.

Adding / customizing control panel tasks

There is a way to create/show some hidden control panels.

There is a list following of GID's (numbers in curly braces).

Go to an open spot on the desktop, create a new folder, and make the folder name the name you want, followed by a period, and the GID (including the curly braces)

 14 For Windows 7

Action Center
{BB64F8A7-BEE7-4E1A-AB8D-7D8273F7FDB6}

Backup and Restore
{B98A2BEA-7D42-4558-8BD1-832F41BAC6FD}

Biometric Devices
{0142e4d0-fb7a-11dc-ba4a-000ffe7ab428}

Credential Manager
{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70}

Default Location
{00C6D95F-329C-409a-81D7-C46C66EA7F33}

Devices and Printers
{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}

Display
{C555438B-3C23-4769-A71F-B6D3D9B6053A}

HomeGroup
{67CA7650-96E6-4FDD-BB43-A8E774F73A57}

Location and Other Sensors
{E9950154-C418-419e-A90A-20C5287AE24B}

Notification Area Icons
{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}

Recovery
{9FE63AFD-59CF-4419-9775-ABCC3849F861}

RemoteApp and Desktop Connections
{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}

Speech Recognition
{58E3C745-D971-4081-9034-86E34B30836A}

Troubleshooting
{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651}