Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 1 People are eagerly waiting for Windows 7 because Microsoft promises this new OS version will be fast, beautiful and has more attractive features than ever. However, you can also equip Windows XP or Vista with the "top" features available in Windows 7 .

Performance

Unofficial speed tests show that Windows 7 is "faster" than Vista and many users also commented that Windows 7 feels faster in everyday tasks (probably because of the User Account Control feature). Better control over Windows 7 than in Vista and don't bother users too often.) However, you can apply some of the below methods to "Vista", from which the operating system will get a bit more. the power of Windows 7.

Boot faster

Problem : The 2-year-old Acer Aspire One netbook you're using takes almost 2 minutes to boot Vista. Meanwhile, with the same computer, Windows 7 can finish booting in about 43 seconds. What a surprise!

Solution: In fact, you have a lot of methods to make your Vista or XP system boot faster. First, if the computer is equipped with 1GB of memory, it's time to upgrade to at least 2GB. This will help boost both the start-up and operation performance of the entire system. The next step: you use Startup Delayer , a free utility that can delay (at the discretion of the user) launching applications along with the computer startup process. If you set up unimportant applications that start "importing" after the system has started 10 to 15 minutes, Vista (or XP) will complete the boot process faster.

If your computer has been around for a few years, the best way to get your system started faster is to clean the hard disk and reinstall Windows. While this work is basic and time-consuming, it helps to clean up the last bit of data and bring your computer back to the state of the day that has just "crumpled up."

"Control" UAC

Problem : While there are many (if not all) good intentions, the User Account Control feature has quickly become a model for errors in Windows Vista. In Windows 7, UAC tries to avoid disturbing users while still providing security benefits from Vista. You can choose one of four security levels to set how often you receive alert information from Microsoft.

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 2
Norton's Norton User Account Control is smarter than that
Vista's built-in feature

Solution : Most Vista users often feel "stuck" with every feature of UAC 1.0, but you can still disable these annoying features by using a replacement utility from For example, Norton User Account Control (x84 and x64 versions) replaces the existing UAC feature of Windows Vista with a feature that can record your feedback and from there are less disturbing errors. The download utility also gives you the option to ' Don't ask me again ' and useful information about basic security alerts. Another alternative is UAC Snooze (32-bit and 64-bit versions), a utility that appears on the system tray that can bring the UAC feature to 'sleep' mode for a certain amount of time - this is what Useful settings if you intend to tweak the system and don't want to be bothered at every step of the way.

"Loading" activity more

Problem : We know that Windows 7 boots faster than Vista, but does the new OS work faster? Not yet, the test results at PC World show that Windows 7 is only slightly better than Vista. Still, PC World agrees with the first testers who claim that Windows 7 is faster.

Solution : Of course, the truth is still true. With a little tweaking, you can make Vista feel faster. Start by reading the article " Accelerate Vista " to turn off the components that create display effects (such as Aero) and remove unnecessary features (such as tablet support), by This helps to reduce the load and make Vista significantly faster.

Next, launch a system cleaning utility like CCleaner - a popular program. CCleaner has the ability to remove unnecessary temporary files - from Windows and 3rd party software - to clean and clean up all the "stains" that applications leave in the system. In the task, you can re-read the tips in the section 'Remove faster' because they also help improve the overall performance of the system.

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 3
CCleaner helps clean up the Vista system by
remove unnecessary data

Reduce system alerts

Problem : Besides helping you "tame" UAC, Windows also allows you to decide which applications appear "pop-up" alerts on the system tray. Good control of alert information will help you reduce unwanted interruptions while working.

Solution : If you are not afraid to "scrub" the Registry, you can disable Vista's warning system, but it is dangerous to tweak the Registry settings, so before you start, you should Back up the Registry When you are ready, follow these steps:

1. Click Start , type regedit and press.

2. Find and click the item
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced .

3. In the right pane, right-click any blank area and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value . Then, you name this new key EnableBallonTips .

4. Right-click the newly created key, select Modify from the options list and make sure that the ' Value data ' section is set to 0 .

5. Exit the Registry and restart the computer. If you are an XP user, you can control alert pop-ups using Microsoft's TweakUI utility, TeakUI provides a setting called ' Enable balloon tips ' in the ' Taskbar and Start menu ' section. and you simply uncheck this setting to disable the warnings above.

Page 2: Features

Function

Vista has received completely deserving criticisms because the OS offers few new features that are worth compared to what promised when Windows XP came back, whereas Windows 7 offers more new features to users are satisfied with "research". Luckily, you can add many features available on Windows 7 to XP or Vista using download utilities and online service pages.

Multimedia broadcast

Problem : Windows Vista already has live streaming (also known as streaming) music, movies and other digital entertainment content between home and office networked computers, but Windows 7 even goes further when allowing users to share multimedia content over the Internet. By exploiting this option, you can watch recorded TV shows from your friends' homes, or stream your favorite digital music library stored on your home desktop to your currently used netbook. use.

Solution: Windows 7's multimedia content sharing has a drawback, which requires users to use Windows 7 on two computers simultaneously. Meanwhile, third-party digital content support applications often have no trouble sharing multimedia content on different Windows versions - or even with other platforms like Mac. and Linux. For example, Simplify Media can stream music files stored in a variety of formats from a digital music library on a personal computer (or from a friend's computer that you invite to share) to any computer. Any other. In addition, the Simplify Music 2.0 application allows users to use the streaming feature anytime, anywhere on the iPhone. The above services and applications are free.

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 4
ISO Recorder, a freeware utility, is comparable to the disc burning tool
integration of Windows 7.

Another option is Orb , which can transmit previously recorded music, movies, photos, and live TV programs (if the computer is equipped with a TV signal receiver card). Orb can even help you share documents with many other users.

Create disk image

Problem : Disk image (ISO) is a single file containing the aggregated content of a CD or DVD. Windows 7 lets you burn ISO files to an optical disc, so you can create your own bootable CD / DVD. (Microsoft provides Windows 7 Release Candidate in the form of an ISO file, and users have to burn the disk image file to DVD for later installation onto the computer. Meanwhile, XP and Vista users must use it conveniently. third-party utility to do this work.)

Solution : Some free utilities can burn disk images from computers running Windows XP or Vista (and even more options and features than Windows 7). You can choose the ISO Recorder utility, Active ISO Burner or ISOBuster .

Improving "Paint brush" Paint

Problem : The free-to-use Paint utility finally got the "bold" makeup in Windows 7 with the all-new Ribbon-style interface (similar to the Office 2007 office suite) and added selection of drawing tools and shapes as well as other small but useful changes.

Solution : Although you can't install Windows 7's Paint utility on XP or Vista, some similar utilities are compatible with XP and Vista even better. Many users often use the GIMP open source utility and shareware utility called Paint.net . These two photo editing utilities are as big as Photoshop 'embraces' many features of Paint in Windows 7. In addition, you can also try out 2 free web-based utilities, Pixlr and Sumo Paint .

Calculator

Problem : If Paint had to undergo a major operation in Windows 7, the Calculator utility was completely rebuilt. The new pocket calculator utility looks smoother, providing additional computing modes such as Programmer, Statistic and Scientific and many other useful computing templates.

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 5
The pretty new Calculator Calculator gadget of Windows 7 on the web,
offers many new features.

Solution : Previously, interested users had "poked" the current source code of Windows 7 Calculator (available here ) from an early development version of Windows 7.

Search for Windows

Problem : Vista users have enjoyed the benefits of Windows' built-in search engine, making it easy for users to find applications, documents and emails. Windows 7 promises to make search results more coherent and integrate them with libraries (Libraries) for better management.

Solution: Windows Search is one of the main reasons many users don't want to "forget" Windows XP, so how do XP users can use a similar feature? set up the Copernic Desktop Search utility, which is capable of indexing all email, documents and multimedia content on the hard disk to allow for a faster search.In fact, Vista and Windows users 7 can still use Copernic Desktop Search because this utility supports more file formats (total of about 150 types) compared to Windows Search.

Windows XP mode

Problem : When Vista launched in 2007, the unexpected occurrence of incompatibility in numerous applications panicked many users. To ease the fear of Windows 7 compatibility with older applications, Microsoft recently announced Windows XP Mode - an add-on that can run older applications in an XP environment. ' Virtual "- to ensure compatibility for new operating systems.

Solution : You obviously don't need this feature. XP Mode is designed to target business users, because the incompatibility of applications can be a serious problem for them. So XP Mode is only available on Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise versions. If you are using Windows Vista and have problems with application compatibility, try Microsoft Virtual PC . This free download utility provides the same capabilities as Windows XP Mode (supposedly a special version of Virtual PC). Note, Microsoft confirms that Virtual PC may not work on netbooks and recent desktop generations.

IE 8 browser

The problem : Firefox is popular with many users because of its small size, simplicity and equally important ability to surf the web quickly. However, Internet Explorer 8 is also faster and safer than previous versions of IE, and offers unique features like Web Slices (reminiscent of RSS news reader features - designed to help you follow.) Watch changes in frequently updated news sites) and InPrivate Browsing (remove traces when surfing the web).

Solution : The anti-malware (malware) and detection of IE 8's scam sites are worthwhile. The browser works well on Vista and XP, and users can download it here . Some Vista users will receive this browser automatically via the Windows Update feature.

Page 3: Interface

Display

The excitement and talk about Windows 7 is largely related to user interface improvements. With the tools below, you can equip these attractive features for your existing OS.

Flexible with Aero Snap

Problem : When you drag a window to the left or right edge of the screen, Windows 7's Aero Snap automatically adjusts the window size so that it displays in the half-screen. To "free" a window, simply click and drag that window off the edge of the screen, which is especially convenient when you use a widescreen monitor - allowing users to set up 2 screens. side by side after only 2 simple clicks.

Solution : The free AeroSnap download utility provides the ability to automatically "anchor" and adjust the size of windows in Vista and XP, and it also "competes" with Windows 7 with one feature. Other features: if you drag and drop a window to the top edge of the screen, this window will be opened with a maximum size.

"Hide" window

Problem : You want to "freeze" the desktop so you won't be peeking while you're exchanging work? Click Vista's Show Desktop button, which will minimize the size of all windows. is open, but Windows 7 can even make these windows temporarily transparent, all you have to do is hover over the Show Desktop button in the lower left corner of the screen, and click. fast: your window will become "invisible" and only the borders remain. Move the mouse pointer away, immediately the windows will reappear.

Solution : The free AeroPeek utility for XP and Vista works a bit differently than the Windows 7 hidden window feature - you have to click to activate and click again to turn off - but the results are It is almost the same. Your open windows will become transparent, allowing you to see the desktop behind them. Of course, you can press the - D key combination to minimize the size of all open windows (and press this key combination again to restore them).

"Shake" window

Problem : You need to minimize the size of every window but a group of windows stays on the Windows desktop? In Windows 7, you can achieve this skill by clicking and holding the title bar of any open window, then shaking the mouse back and forth several times. All other open windows will quickly "shrink" to the taskbar, rattling the mouse on this "single" window again, the copies will reappear.

Workaround : The free AeroShake utility brings the "shaking" capability of Windows 7 to Vista and XP, although it's not "smooth" with the integrated version of Windows 7, it is still quite a useful and completely free tool. .

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 6
AeroSnap allows you to fix all windows on half the screen
by dragging that window to the left or right edge of the screen.

Customizable taskbar

Problem : The most noticeable change in Windows 7 is the taskbar that is completely overhauled, by arranging the "oversized" icons of the applications and allowing you to manually "pin" them there. favorite applications and documents (When you attach a document to the taskbar, this document will link to the corresponding Jump List of the application, a context menu of commonly used document shortcuts or tasks ). If you like this idea, you can set up the same taskbar in Vista, simply by making a few minor modifications.

Solution : If your computer does not yet have a series of application icons located to the right of Vista's Start button, right-click the taskbar and choose Toolbars.Quick Launch. Next, unlock the taskbar by right-clicking it again and unchecking the Lock the taskbar item. This adds a hook (looks like 3 columns of small dots) to the left of the Quick Launch toolbar.

Drag and drop the hook to the left to create a larger space for the icons.

Finally, to make the icons bigger and closer to the standard of Windows 7, right-click the taskbar again (ie the third time) and select View.Large Icon. Besides adding new icons to applications, you can attach icons of folders and even documents to the newly improved taskbar. You just need to drag and drop the icon to the right position. If more space is needed, you can always drag the edge of the toolbar to the left.

Taskbar "pure" icon

Problem : The Windows 7 taskbar contains 'exclusive' icons, even those of running applications, that are significant changes from old-style application icons, but free lots of space in the taskbar

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 7
To get a taskbar like in Windows 7,
You can remove the text of the icons
The application is running by changing the Registry.

Solution : XP and Vista's "Training" taskbar only displays icons, which requires the user to edit the Registry. Below are the steps to take:

1. Click Start , type regedit and press.

2. Find and click on the item
HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktopWindowsMetrics .

3. In the left pane, right-click a space and select New > String Value .

4. Name this new variable MinWidth , and set the value to -255 .

5. Exit Registry Editor and restart the system.

From now on, only new icons will be displayed in the taskbar. If you don't like the new interface later, you can go back to the Registry and delete the newly created variable. If you don't care about whiskers around the Registry, follow the next trick.

Preview thumbnail

Problem : When you hover your mouse over an icon in the Windows 7 taskbar, a preview thumbnail of the corresponding application will pop up (if the feature is enabled). If you happen to run multiple windows of an application (like Internet Explorer), you will see many thumbnails.

Solution : To get the same effect in Vista (not in XP), install EnhancedMyVista . This free utility is easy to use, just start, click Customize.Taskbar and activate the Iconize your Taskbar.

Windows 7 interface

Problem : The interface of Windows 7 emphasizes efficiency rather than clichés. Key improvements include a Windows Taskbar that has been remodeled with icons, the ability to 'touch' one task to one specific application and other practical enhancements.

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 8
Windows XP on a netbook installed with Seven Transformation Pack,
The interface looks like Windows 7

Because Windows Vista is more or less the core of Windows 7, the Vista interface looks a lot like Windows 7. However, Windows XP users also have a few options to upgrade the sleek interface like Vista and Windows 7 (though few than). In response to this demand, 3rd developer Windows X Live created Seven Transformation Pack, a collection of tips to tweak the interface - menus, icons, typefaces, buttons, etc. - redesigned to make XP look like Windows 7.

Solution : Before downloading this attractive free utility, you need to make sure that the system has been installed with XP Service Pack 3 update. In addition, you should also create a system backup column ( restore point with the System Restore tool before installing the utility, because Seven Transformation Pack creates high-level changes in the system. When the installation is complete, restart your computer and prepare to welcome a miracle capable of turning Windows XP into Windows 7.

Page 4: 5 Features cannot be equipped for Vista or XP

5 Features cannot be equipped for Vista or XP

Besides guiding how to "recreate" Windows 7 features on a computer running XP or Vista, this article also offers many suggestions from which you can think there is no compelling reason. Which to upgrade to Windows 7. If so, you should think again. Although Vista and XP users can enjoy some new features from Windows 7, there are many other advanced features that can only work on the new OS platform.

1. Device Stage : While Vista seems to merely identify the presence of digital cameras, dialers, mobile phones, printers and peripheral devices, the Device Stage feature of Windows 7 welcome new equipment very warmly. The operating system gives each device a window, where you can easily browse files, manage content and perform other related tasks.

Bring the best of Windows 7 to XP & Vista Picture 9 In Windows 7, Wi-Fi networking is quite simple with just a click.

2. HomeGroup : For a long time, Microsoft has promised to eliminate the nuisance and difficulty of setting up home networks for users using its operating system. With Windows 7, you just need to create a HomeGroup, and then just add computers and other devices - you don't need to set up file sharing, printers and more.

3. JumpList : Like the Recent Documents, JumpList menu provides quick access to documents or tasks related to a specific application. For example, you can right-click the IE icon in the taskbar and select a list of frequently accessed websites or from a list of possible tasks (such as New Tab and InPrivate features).

4. Libraries : Most of us have scattered documents, music, movies and photos in multiple folders on multiple computers. Libraries are special folders in Windows 7 that can categorize the above data under a single 'roof', no matter where you store them on your computer hard disk. Moreover, Library is easy to share with HomeGroup users.

5. One-click WiFi : Unlike Vista, Windows 7 makes wireless networking simple and convenient: Right-click the system tray icon, select a wireless access point to join.