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How I modded my Windows 7 installation - How (not) to install Windows 7

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c627627

c(n*199780) Senior Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2002
v1.01 Edit: 2010-02-25: Right click on empty space in Status Bar > Size > Medium [so that all info from mp3 files is displayed correctly.]

v1.02 Edit: 2010-09-21: Boot TAB > Start > Run... > msconfig > Boot TAB > Advanced options... > select number of processors you have > OK > Restart

v1.03 Edit: 2010-11-09: Add "Search..." to the right-click folder menu:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\find
Rename LegacyDisable subkey to LegacyDisable.bak

v1.04 Edit: 2010-11-28: Disable Windows Performance Assessment Tool or it will run every week assessing you computer score, interrupting and disrupting you while you are using your computer:
Start Menu > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools (bottom of the screen) > Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Maintenance > Right click on WinSAT > Disable

v1.05 Edit: 2010-12-25:
ReadyBoot is boot acceleration technology that maintains an in-RAM cache used to service disk reads faster than a slower storage medium such as a mechanical disk drive. If you have an SSD, disable it by going into Windows registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\WMI\Autologger\ReadyBoot
change the value of Start (right pane) from 1 to 0 To disable it:

v1.06 Edit: 2011-03-29:
Sometimes Audio CDs, especially newer CDs have extra video content on them. If people simply wish to see the contents of the optical drive displayed and prevent any program assuming anything and launching programs when you double click on your CD/DVD drive under My Computer, then I found that can be accomplished by deleting these two keys from the registry:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AudioCD\
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DVD

v1.07 Edit: 2011-05-21: Disable hibernate mode from DOS > powercfg -h off


Warning: Due to its content, the following should not be tried by anyone. :D


None of this should be done blindly by anyone who doesn't understand what this is. Most people would just cherry pick from it. It's mostly useful for making your master drive image which you slightly edit every month or so.

Do not try anything that looks remotely confusing or you will mess up your system.

This is for long time experienced users of Windows who like to tweak things. It's like a reminder list for people who do some of this stuff anyway. Or they'll do the same things but with specifics they themselves prefer. It's definitely not "the way to install Windows 7" for most people.


Windows 7 Installation v1.06

Partition your hard drive (one physical drive "divided" into C Drive, D Drive…) so that you can install your operating system on one of the partitions, install your software, set it all up to your liking, then back up the entire partition onto DVD disc(s) (or another partition) for easy restoration in the future without having to go through the entire Windows, drivers and software installation process again. Press SHIFT + F10 to get to a command prompt before installing Windows 7 and type DISKPART to partition the hard drive. Only updated motherboard BIOS can handle 1TB drives and above. Correct partition offset:
DOS:

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
list partition

For better performance, partition offset should be 1024 KB or any number that can be multiplied with a whole number to get 4096.


* Setup BIOS

* To rewrite the Master Boot Record, use startup disc and enter this command from DOS:
FDISK/MBR
(Do not use this command if more than four partitions exist on one hard drive.)
or use FDISK /CMBR 1
to erase info placed by the hard drive retail setup CD.

RESTART THE SYSTEM

* Physically disconnect Internet connection cables

* Always reboot when prompted, try to scan the Windows partition for errors now and later (Computer, Right Click on HD > Properties > Tools TAB > Check Now… button.)

* Windows 7 offers full resolution without video card drivers. Since video card drivers in particular may cause Windows problems, try to install them and any other drivers closer to the end of your installation process if possible, just after making a drive image of the installation work done before that.

* First official release of Windows 7 has an Auto-arrange feature which cannot be turned off. You can move Desktop items on Windows 7 to any other place on Windows 7 Desktop but you cannot do this inside any Windows 7 directory. Dragging files/folders inside any directory was found to crash some system using Windows Vista (and Windows 7 Alpha releases) so Microsoft simply turned this feature off entirely (!) There is no registry (or any other) fix. You can choose how files/folders are Auto-arranged but you cannot arrange them randomly yourself. They will always be displayed Auto-arranged by Name, Type, Size, etc.

To be able to select a drive letter other than C:, set the drive letters in another Operating System then do a full Windows 7 install to that drive letter from another operating system. Windows 7 drive letter cannot be changed if the installation is done by booting from a DVD.

Leave password empty and install Windows 7 without entering a Product key during setup to enter a 30 Day Trial mode.

UNCHECK: Automatically activate Windows when I'm online > Next > Ask me Later >

* Start Menu > Right click on Computer > Properties > System protection > Configure >
Turn off system protection > OK > Yes > OK >

You may enable the hidden actual Administrator Account so that you can have ultimate Administrator privileges that surpass privileges that user accounts 'with Administrator Privileges' have.

Start > All Programs > Accessories > Right click on Command Prompt > Run as administrator > Yes > net user administrator /active:yes

Log off your user account and log into the newly enabled real Administrator account.

Start Menu > Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Manage another account (second from the bottom on the right) > Click on the old account > Delete the account > Choose to Delete Files or Keep Files > Delete Account

* Right click the Start button > Properties > Start Menu TAB > Customize... button (next to the Start Menu selection) > Scroll down under Pictures/Recorded TV and CHECK: Run Command > OK > OK

Disable User Account Control:
Start > Run... > type
msconfig
> OK > Tools TAB > Click on Change UAC Settings > Launch > Slide down to Never notify > OK> Yes > OK

Boot TAB > Advanced options... > select number of processors you have > OK > Restart

* Get rid of "Windows can't verify the publisher of this software" warning when installing drivers: [This unfortunately does not work on Windows 7 final build.]
Start Menu > Run > gpedit.msc > User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Driver Installation > Double click on Code signing for device drivers > Enabled > (below Enabled) click on the down arrow next to 'Warn' and select Ignore.

* Get rid of Popup Balloons from the task bar:
Start Menu > Run > gpedit.msc > User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Double click on Turn off all balloon notifications > Enabled > OK >

[Get rid of Open File - Security Warning]:
Start Menu > Run > gpedit.msc > User Configuration > Administrative Templates >
Windows Components > Attachment Manager >
In the right pane, double click on 'Inclusion list for moderate risk file types' > Enabled > Under 'Inclusion list for moderate risk file types' > *.* > OK
Do the same for 'Inclusion list for low risk file types'

[Get rid of Open File - Security Warning for downloaded files]:
Scroll up and set "Do not preserve zone information in file attachments" to Enabled
[This unfortunately does not work on Windows 7 final build.]

Then also

Start Menu > Control Panel > Network and Internet > Internet Options > Security TAB > Custom Level > scroll down under Miscellaneous > Launching Applications and Unsafe Files (not secure) > Enable (not secure) > OK > Yes > OK

Internet Explorer will then display a huge warning screen: Your security setting level puts your computer at risk. To get rid of it: Start > Run… > gpedit.msc > User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > click on Internet Explorer then in the right pane double click on "Turn Off the Security Settings Check feature" > Enabled > OK


Open File - Security Warning may still appear for files downloaded earlier. Those files need to be stripped of alternate data streams using streams.exe program
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897440.aspx
from DOS: streams.exe -d -s <directory path>


[To disable taskbar thumbnail preview, the following does not work: Double click on Turn off taskbar thumbnails > Enabled > OK ]
So the only workaround is go to registry key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
> Right click on Advanced and select New DWORD and name it
ExtendedUIHoverTime

Double click on it and give it a large value like 99999999
This effectively disables taskbar thumbnail preview because you would have to hover over the task bar for a long time to actually see a thumbnail preview.


* Always log into Windows 7 as an Administrator without password requirements:
Start Menu > Run... > type
control userpasswords2
> OK > Users TAB > UNCHECK: Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer > OK
(A dialog will appear that asks you what user name and password should be used to logon automatically.)
Enter existing password or leave blank if you never entered your password > click on OK
The system should now boot into Desktop automatically without the logon prompt.



* First apply any Service Packs then Start > All Programs > Windows Update > Let me choose my settings (under Turn on automatic updates) > Under Important updates, select: Never check for updates > OK > Check for updates > View available updates and select and apply windows updates in trial mode.
[This is because Microsoft Updates may affect Activation.]


Now Activate Windows 7.


* Enable Quick Launch: Right click on an empty space on the taskbar > Toolbars > New Toolbar > %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
> Select Folder

Right click on an empty space on the taskbar > UNCHECK: Lock the taskbar > Left click on the dotted lines on the left side and hold them, then drag it to the right PAST the Quick Launch toolbar and release to get the Toolbar on the left side.

Right click on the taskbar > UNCHECK: Show Text and show title then above it View > Large Icons

* Task Bar: Toolbars > Quick Launch: Show Desktop, Notepad, F Drive, Email, Firefox
Lock the task bar again.

* Start Menu > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Adjust screen resolution > Set Resolution > OK > YES >

* To have a Take Ownership right click menu option allowing you to delete folders, enter the following into Notepad and save it as a .reg file, then double click on it > Yes

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"


* Start Menu > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools (near bottom) > Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler (Local) (upper left) > Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Customer Experience Improvement Program > Right window: right click on and Disable Consolidator to prevent collection of usage data.

Then

Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Diagnosis >

(right pane) Right click on Scheduled > Disabled
[Or else Windows 7 will keep deleting desktop shortcuts to external drives (CD/DVD drives, card readers, floppy, USB drives), Control Panel items as well as Network links.]

Then

Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Maintenance > Right click on WinSAT > Disable [Or else it will run every week assessing you computer score, interrupting and disrupting you while you are using your computer.]


* Start Menu > Control Panel > System and Security > Action Center > Change Action Center settings (on the left) > UNCHECK everything > OK [so it takes affect, clicking on anything else would bring the checks back.]
> Change Action Center settings (on the left) > click on Problem reporting settings > Never check for solutions > Change report settings for all users > Never check for solutions > OK > OK

* Start Menu > Run… > services.msc > Scroll down to Windows Error Reporting Service and double click on it then (in the middle of the window) where it says "Startup type:" SELECT: Disabled > OK

Scroll down to Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service and double click on it > Stop > then (in the middle of the window) where it says "Startup type:" SELECT: Disabled > OK

Scroll up to Offline Files service and double click on it > Stop > then (in the middle of the window) where it says "Startup type:" SELECT: Disabled > OK

Scroll down to Superfetch and decide if you wish to disable it, most people do not. Disabling it reduces hard drive activity. Enabling it again will result in increase in initial hard drive activity again since it may a while for SuperFetch to figure out your usage patterns.
If you disable Superfetch, you can then delete contents of the Windows\Prefetch\ folder.

Scroll down to Windows Defender and double click on it > Stop > then (in the middle of the window) where it says "Startup type:" SELECT: Disabled > OK

* Right click on Start Menu > Properties > Start Menu TAB >
Customize… button > CHECK: - Favorites menu
- Recent Items
- System administrative tools (All Programs and Start menu)
UNCHECK/Don't Display: -Default Programs
-Devices and Printers
-Documents
-Help
-Music
-Pictures

> OK > UNCHECK: Store and display recently opened programs in the Start menu.

Taskbar TAB > Taskbar buttons (in the middle): Never combine > (Notification Area) Customize… button > Click on items you choose to Always hide (Action Center, Volume, Windows Update) > OK > OK > Reboot

* Right click on Desktop > Personalize > Display (lower left) > Medium – 120% > OK > Apply > Log off now > Log back in


* Create a new folder and name it AllTasks.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
[This will create a folder with shortcuts to many Administrative functions in Windows 7]


* Start Menu > Control Panel > System and Security > System > Remote settings >
UNCHECK: Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer

Advanced TAB > (Under Performance) Settings… button >
UNCHECK everything that starts with "Fade" or "Slide" > OK

Advanced TAB > (Under Startup and Recovery) Settings…button >
UNCHECK: Automatically Restart > OK > OK

* Computer > Organize > Layout > Menu bar to add the old File Edit View Tools Help displayed, click on View > Status Bar then on View > Sort By > More… > CHECK: Type (to have it as an option for later) > OK

Right click on empty space in Status Bar > Size > Medium [so that all info from mp3 files is displayed correctly.]

* Computer > Organize > Layout > Navigation Pane to get rid of shared folders being displayed when you click on Computer

Double click on any folder > Change your view icon (upper right) > Medium Icons
Right click on empty space > Group By > More… > UNCHECK: Date Modified.

Organize > Folder and Search Options > View TAB >
CHECK: - Display the full path in the title bar (Classic folders only)
- Show hidden files and folders

UNCHECK: - Hide extensions for known file types

> Apply > Apply to Folders button > Yes > OK >



* Right click on Desktop > Personalize > Display (lower left) > Personalization > Windows Color > Advanced appearance settings… > Icon font Size 11 Bold [icon font can be changed here, but not the icon size] ; [Default font Segoe UI allows more letters to be displayed for icon names without using three dots at the end…] > Menu > Segoe UI Semibold Size 16. Set arrow size.

Under Item: Select Window > then under Color 1: Select Other…
Adjust word processor background color:
28 255
240 243
221 215
Add to Custom Colors > select the newly added Custom Color > OK > OK > OK

* Right click on Recycle Bin > Properties > UNCHECK: Display delete confirmation dialog > OK

Set Recycle Bin default view to Details.

* Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad: Format > CHECK: Word Wrap
then Format > Font… > Verdana 14 Regular > OK


* Get rid of "-shortcut" text when creating shortcuts:
Start Menu > Run... > regedit > go to registry key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
Click on Explorer then in the right pane, double click on link > change its value to 00 00 00 00
[This will take effect after rebooting.]

* Get rid of a warning after unchecking 'Hide Protected Operating System Files' option:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\SuperHidden\
Delete WarningIfNotDefault

* ReadyBoot is boot acceleration technology that maintains an in-RAM cache used to service disk reads faster than a slower storage medium such as a mechanical disk drive. If you have an SSD, disable it:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\WMI\Autologger\ReadyBoot
Change the value of Start in the right pane from 1 to 0

* When Windows is not shutdown correctly it may perform an AutoCheck using CHKDSK on the next restart, the amount of time Windows waits before running Autochk.exe can be modified:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager >
Right click on Session Manager > New > DWORD Value > name it
AutoChkTimeOut
Double click on it and give it a value of 5 in seconds, 0 disables the wait (default is 10)

By the way: CHKDSK can only be temporarily disabled (these values will be reset):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager
Double click on BootExecute on the right side of the screen
change the value from default
autocheck autochk *
to:
autocheck autochk /k:cdefghijklmnopqstuwxyz*

* To insert right click > Notepad option:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\Shell\
[ If it's not there, create it: Right click on * > New > Key > Shell ]
Right click on Shell > New > Key > Notepad > Double click on (Default) in the right window and enter value
&Notepad

then right click on Notepad > New > Key > command > Double click on (Default) in the right window and enter value
Notepad.exe %1

* Add "Search..." to the right-click folder menu:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\find
Rename LegacyDisable subkey to LegacyDisable.bak

* Remove Right Click > New > Briefcase
Start Menu > Run... > regedit > go to registry key
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Briefcase > Delete ShellNew under Briefcase

* Remove Right Click > Gadgets > [Right click > Export to back it up first]
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\Gadgets
Right click on command under Gadgets > Permissions > Advanced > Owner > Select your user name > Permissions TAB > Double click on your name > CHECK Allow Full Control > OK > OK > OK
Now delete command and do the same to enable control of Gadgets Key and then delete it.


* (Defragment)

* Suggested BACKUP point.


* Start Menu > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > AutoPlay > UNCHECK: Use AutoPlay for all media and devices > Save (bottom right)

* Change Drive Letters: Right click on Computer > Manage > Storage > Disk Management > Right-click on drives > Change Drive Letter and Paths > File > Exit


* Make ALL of the bandwidth available to you
Start Menu > Run... > gpedit.msc > OK
1. Expand "Computer Configuration" > "Administrative Templates" > "Network"
2. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in the LEFT window
3. In the right window double click on "limit reservable bandwidth"
4. Under the Setting TAB SELECT: "Enabled"
5. Where it says "Bandwidth limit (%)" change it to 0 and Click on OK > File > Exit
6. Reboot the system.

* Configure Mouse
Defaults + Wheel Button: Enter
Small Thumb Button: Keystroke [F11] (if there is an extra button: Copy)
See Cursors

REBOOT


* Right click on desktop > Personalize > Desktop Background, Change your account picture, Change desktop icons, Screen Saver


Screen Saver [lower right] > set preferences > Change power settings > Change plan settings > Turn off the display: 3 hours > Put the computer to sleep: Never >

Change advanced power settings >
Balanced > Require a password on wakeup > No
Hard disk > Turn off hard disk after > Setting: Never

Sounds > Sounds TAB > UNCHECK: Play Windows Startup sound >

Under Windows: scroll down and click on Asterisk >
Under Sounds: scroll up and SELECT (None) >
then turn off all other sounds from the list that may annoy you.
> Apply, then (above) Save As… to save your sound settings to be able to restore them in case they get reset when other Themes are applied.

Recording TAB > Raise recording levels

Playback TAB > Raise playback levels > OK

REBOOT

* Place folder shortcuts in
C:\Users\[user name]\My Documents\
C:\Users\[user name]\Pictures

* Start Internet Explorer: Do not turn on Suggested Sites, Choose custom settings, etc.

Right click on empty space next to IE tabs > CHECK:
- Menu Bar
- Status Bar
- Use Large Icons

then > Customize Command Bar > CHECK: Show All Text Labels, Show Stop and Refresh Buttons before Address Bar
then > Add or Remove Commands (below Show All Text Labels) >

COPY
Separator
PASTE
Separator
CUT
Separator
PRINT
Separator
TEXT SIZE
Separator
FULL SCREEN
Separator
TOOLS

* View > Toolbars > CHECK: Lock the Toolbars
* CTRL+H > Down arrow on History button > By Order Visited Today

* Internet Explorer > Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility button (on the bottom right) >
CHECK: Ignore font sizes specified on Web Pages > OK
[Now you can change the size by going to View > Text size]
then
Advanced TAB > under Browsing,
CHECK: Disable script debugging (internet Explorer) AND (Other)

UNCHECK: - Enable page transitions
- Notify when downloads complete
- Reuse windows for launching shortcuts

then go down under Multimedia and
UNCHECK: Enable Automatic Image Resizing

then go down under Search from the Address bar and
SELECT: Do not search from the Address bar

then go down under Security and
CHECK: Allow software to run or install even if the signature is invalid
UNCHECK: Check for signatures on downloaded programs

Programs TAB > UNCHECK: Tell me if internet Explorer is not the default web browser
Content TAB > Auto Complete Settings button > UNCHECK everything > OK
Privacy TAB > UNCHECK: Turn on Pop-up Blocker (if using Internet Explorer for testing purposes and not as a default browser) > OK

* Start Menu > Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region > Date and Time > UNCHECK: Notify me when the clock changes > Internet Time TAB > Change settings… > Server: time.nist.gov > OK > OK > Region and Language > see Formats

* Start Menu > Search > Indexing Options >
Indexing Options > Modify > Only the Start Menu should be CHECKED > OK > Close

* Start Menu > Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall, disable it (along with Defender which was disabled earlier) if you're going to use third party software, since these Microsoft programs intercept incoming traffic but do not offer an option to intercept personal data being sent *out* from your PC.

Windows Firewall > Turn Windows Firewall on or off > Turn off Windows Firewall for both options > OK > Advanced Settings > Windows Firewall Properties > Firewall state: Off > OK

* Start Menu > Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off (second from top) > Scroll down to
Print and Document Services, click on + and UNCHECK: Internet Printing Client
scroll down and UNCHECK: Remote Differential Compression > OK > Reboot when asked

* Computer > Right click on drive where Windows 7 was installed > Properties > Tools > Defragment Now > wait a little bit to be able to click on Configure schedule… UNCHECK: Run on a schedule > OK > Close > OK

[For faster searching]:
* Computer > Right click on every drive > Properties > General TAB > UNCHECK: Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed… > OK > OK > Continue > [Ignore All, if prompted] > OK
[If the drives have too many files on them, simply starting then Canceling this process and Canceling the procedure would UNCHECK the indexing option.]

* Disable hibernate mode from DOS > powercfg -h off


* Right click on Desktop > Personalize > Save theme (upper right side) > Save As…

* Defragment + Suggested BACKUP point.

REMOVE START-UP ITEMS AND SHELL EXTENSIONS as you go
+ START APPLICATIONS TO SET UP OPTIONS + Place Shortcuts on Desktop

* Other Applications

* Start Widows Media Player 12 > Custom settings > UNCHECK everything > Next > Choose the file types that Windows Media Player will play > Finish >

Delete displayed albums

Right click on Windows Media Player top bar > Show menu bar

Tools > Options > Player TAB > UNCHECK: Add local media files to library when played
Privacy TAB > UNCHECK everything
Set personal preferences in all other TABs.

Now Playing > Visualization > set preference

View > Video Size > only CHECK: Fit Video to Player on Resize and Fit Player to Video > SELECT: 100%

Start a video file.
ALT+1 or ALT+2 or ALT+3 sets the default video size.
CTRL+1 or CTRL+2 or CTRL+3 sets the default play mode.

Choose ALT+2 and CTRL+2.

Disable Media Player automatically checking for updates:
Start Menu > Run... > regedit >
Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \
Right click on Microsoft > New > Key
name it
WindowsMediaPlayer
Right click on WindowsMediaPlayer > New > DWORD Value > Name it
DisableAutoUpdate

Double click on it and enter the value of 1


* Suggested BACKUP point.


* WordPerfect Office + Service Pack

Tools > Settings… > Files >
Document TAB: set Default document folder, Backup Folder, Timed Document backup
Template TAB: set Template folders
Merge/Macro TAB: set Macro folder
OK
Set zoom to 125%

Default font: Format > Font > select font and size then click on Settings (lower right) >
Set face and point size as default for all documents

Tools > QuickCorrect > SmartQuotes TAB >
UNCHECK: Use double quotation marks as you type
UNCHECK: Use single quotation marks as you type
to change the way single ' / double " quotes look.

* Microsoft Office:

• For Office 2003 and earlier file Normal.dot and Excel11.xlb contain most of menu settings. In MS Word > Tools > Options > File Locations TAB > User Templates > Modify…> browse to where a backed up version of Normal.dot is located to transfer previous settings. Restart Word.

* How to disable Microsoft Office Online featured links in Office 2003:
1. On the Help menu, click Microsoft Program Name Help to display the Program Name Help task pane.
2. Under See also, click Online Content Settings.
3. Online Content > UNCHECK everything then set Customer Feedback and Shared Workspace options.

* Tools > Customize > Options TAB > CHECK: Always Show Full Menu >
(while the Customize window is still opened) right click in the upper right corner where it says "Type a question for help" and UNCHECK: Show Ask a Question Box > Close

* Tools > Options > View TAB > UNCHECK: - Startup Task Pane
- Screen Tips
then,
> General TAB > 9 entries
then
> Edit TAB > UNCHECK: Show Paste Options Buttons (In the middle of the window)
then
> Save TAB > 2 minutes.
then
> File Locations TAB > set Documents, User Templates (where Normal.dot is located), AutoRecover folders
then
> Spelling & Grammar TAB > Custom Dictionaries… button (In the middle of the window) >
[Word Dictionary.dic file may be replaced with an empty file SO BACK IT UP, THEN COPY IT BACK AFTER NEW OFFICE INSTALLATION]
> Add… button (to set the file) > Change default button > OK > OK

* Tools > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat As You Type TAB >
UNCHECK: Automatic Bulleted Lists
UNCHECK: "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes"
then
> AutoFormat TAB > UNCHECK: "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes"
> Smart Tags TAB > UNCHECK all

Edit > Office Clipboard > Options

* Set the zoom to 130%


• For New installations of Excel, create a new toolbar first:
Tools > Customize > Toolbars TAB > New... > OK > Close > Exit Excel
This will create file Excel11.xlb, which can then be replaced from an older installation. Its original location is
C:\Users\[name of your account]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\

Excel > Tools > Options
> View TAB > UNCHECK: Startup Task Pane
> Edit TAB > UNCHECK: Show Insert Options buttons >
> Error Checking TAB > UNCHECK: Number stored as text
> Calculation TAB > CHECK: Iteration > OK

* Tools > Customize > (while the Customize window is still opened) right click in the upper right corner where it says "Type a question for help" and UNCHECK: Show Ask a Question Box > Close

Code:
• For Word 2007, to import a Ribbon consisting of a template from the previous version of Word, simply take the Normal.dot file from the old version of Word and place it in folder
C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP\


[Previous versions of Word Normal.dot location:
MS Word > Tools > Options > File Locations TAB > User Templates...]


This will result in Add-Ins ribbon loading at startup. However, it may contain unwanted Menu and Toolbar items as well. To make a custom Normal.dot file with just the templates in previous version of Word:

1. Start an older version of Word > Tools > Customize... > Toolbars TAB > New > Make toolbar available: Document1 > OK > Place items inside the newly created toolbar.

2. Save the file as a .doc file (in case it's also needed later) but then File > Save As... > Save As Type: Document Template (*.dot) > Save

3. Copy the .dot file to C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP\

4. You may have to re-create in Word 2007 any macros you saved, but Classic Template shortcuts for them should then work.


• For Excel 2007, to import a Ribbon consisting of a template from the previous version of Excel, convert the old templates into an *.xla Add-In using a previous version of Excel: Tools > Customize... > Toolbars TAB > Attach... > Select and Copy custom toolbars > OK > Close
File > Save As ... > Save as type: Microsoft Office Excel Add-In (*.xla) > Save the file then copy it to
C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART\

Start Excel 2007 which would then show the custom toolbars under the Add-Ins Ribbon. Excel12.xlb containing the Add-In information will also be created in C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\


Install Classic Menus in Office 2007

• Freeware portion of RibbonCustomizer software [url]http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribboncustomizer[/url] can be used to get the classic menus installed.
After installing RibbonCustomizer, go to the View Ribbon >
Customize Ribbon (click on its drop down menu, not on its icon) > Customization Schemes >
to get the Classic User Interface enabled

[Classic UI feature can be used indefinitely, without selecting to try the shareware portion of the program so you don't have to select 'Evaluate RibbonCustomizer Professional'. Note that RibbonCustomizer may delay Word Startup Time a little.]


Version 1.2 of RibbonCustomizer lets you use your own custom images as icons on the Ribbon BUT ONLY for your own macro buttons. You cannot assign custom images to regular office commands. Also, files generated with version 1.2 cannot be read by older releases.


• Office 2007 stores customized templates (customized icons in the top bar above ribbons) in the following files:

Word 2007 Word.qat
Excel 2007 Excel.qat
PowerPoint 2007 PowerPoint.qat
Access 2007 Access.qat

Outlook 2007:
Contacts Olkaddritem.qat
Calendar Olkapptitem.qat
Distribution list Olkdistitem.qat
Journal entry Olklogitem.qat
Mail Olkmailitem.qat
Post in folder Olkpostitem.qat
Tasks Olktaskitem.qat

.QAT files are created after one customized change is made.
Location for Windows Vista: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office
Location for Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Office

Default .qat file locations cannot be changed like their equivalents could in previous versions of Office.

* To disable Right Click Menu option "Open as Notebook in OneNote" delete: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\OneNote.Open
* Other large Applications

* Suggested Defragment/BACKUP point.


* To change (removable) drive icons: Start Menu > Run... > regedit > Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Explorer
Right click on Explorer > New > Key > DriveIcons
Right click on DriveIcons > New > Key > the name should be the drive letter, for example C >
Right click on C > New > Key > DefaultIcon
Double click on (Default) in the right pane and set the path to the icon file. If the path is to an icon library, then add the number of the icon inside the library to set the drive icon to, for example c:\windows\system32/shell32.dll,74

* Start Menu > Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program > Scroll down to extensions of choice such as MP3, WAV, CDA

If using a third party picture viewer, associate the following file types with it:
.BMP .GIF .GIFF .JPE .JPEG .JPG .PBM .PNG .TIF .TIFF

If it's not there, change the extension of a new Notepad text file to a new extension, double click on it > Select a program from a list of installed programs. Remember to type in the description for it.

RDF (WordPad)
WRI (WordPad)


* How to change the icon for an extension in Windows 7, for example .mp3
Start Menu > Run... > regedit

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp3 then in the right windows look at the value for Default
for the example of .mp3, it's WMP11.AssocFile.MP3

That means, go to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WMP11.AssocFile.MP3\DefaultIcon
to set the icon for the .mp3 extension

However, if you changed the program that opens the .mp3 extension, then go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.mp3\UserChoice
and there double click on Progid which reveals the XXX.AssocFile.mp3File

Now you'll be able to change the DefaultIcon found under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\XXX.AssocFile.mp3File\DefaultIcon

* Examples:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CMS5.AssocFile.mp3File\DefaultIcon
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CMS5.AssocFile.wavFile\DefaultIcon
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WP14Doc\DefaultIcon
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\WP.EXE\DefaultIcon
(Has to be newly created.)

[Reboot is *required* for icon change to take effect.]

[Some file types (like .pdf) use thumbnail previews to show the contents of its files. This means that any static icon you choose may never actually show up in Explorer.]

* Copy custom icons to Windows\ DefaultIcon folder
%SystemRoot%\DefaultIcon\MP3.ico
%SystemRoot%\DefaultIcon\WAV.ico
%SystemRoot%\DefaultIcon\WP.ico

[In case of problems with .mp3 & .wav icons, try setting default icons for WMP11.AssocFile.MP3 and it's WMP11.AssocFile.WAV then
Control Panel > Set Default Programs > Windows Media Player > Choose defaults for this program > CHECK .mp3 and .wav > Save >
Now use Default Programs again to set your custom application as the default program for .mp3 & .wav files.]

* To prevent Windows Media Player from automatically launching if an Audio CD is inside the optical drive when you double click on it, go to Start Menu > Run… HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AudioCD\shell\play\command

in the right pane, double click on Default to see
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe" /prefetch:3 /device:AudioCD "%L"

Replacing the path to wmplayer.exe would launch another program. Deleting the entire AudioCD key would display the contents of the Audio CD [recommended since sometimes there is extra content on it.]

The same applies to DVDs. Delete this key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DVD to always access contents of a DVD without an external program launching to play the content when you double click on your DVD drive shortcut.

* Use third party software ShellExView to disable right click menu items such as
QuickFinder shell entries

* Third party software (like shareware Creative Element Power Tools File Type Doctor or freeware Types http://types.sourceforge.net/) can be used to insert commands into the Right Click Menu

* Place folder shortcuts in Send to Menu:
C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo\

* Change location of Windows Shell folders to folders of choice, for easy backup / restore:
[Desktop, Favorites, Documents, Programs, SendTo, Start Menu, Startup]
Start Menu > Run... > regedit > go to registry key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders

* Favorites Menu Order
[Saved previously from HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ MenuOrder \ Favorites Click once on Favorites and then (on the menu) click on Registry > Export Registry File... to save this file.]


* Set Google as default search engine. Enter the following into Notepad and save it as a .reg file, then double click on it > Yes

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Use Search Asst"="no"
"Search Page"="http://www.google.com"
"Search Bar"="http://www.google.com/ie"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL]
""="http://www.google.com/keyword/%s"
"provider"="gogl"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search]
"SearchAssistant"="http://www.google.com/ie"

* Enable copy-pasting into FTP sites from Internet Explorer. Enter the following into Notepad and save it as a .reg file, then double click on it > Yes

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_INTERNET_SHELL_FOLDERS]
"iexplore.exe"=dword:00000001

* Start Internet Explorer > Click on the down arrow next to the search box and remove Bing.


* Right click on Start button > Properties > Taskbar TAB > Customize… button to set preferences

* Start Menu > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Again check both Playback and Recording properties (Raise Volume Bars) for audio devices and check system sounds > OK

* See C:\Users and delete unnecessary items from Desktop and Start Menu and Favorites

* Delete unnecessary sample files (from places like Documents…)

* If in the future Service Packs are installed, go to Start Menu > Run... > compcln.exe
to remove Service Pack backup/installation files.

* TweakUI > Templates [to remove items from the Right click > New menu.]

* Save current Display settings to a file:
Right click on Desktop > Personalize > Save theme (upper right side) > Save As…

* Go to a folder where only music files are and adjust view to List. Then go to Tools > Folder Options > View TAB Apply to Folders > Yes > OK [This sets the default view for all folders containing music, not other types of folders]

Do the same for a folder with pictures, using a view of your choice such as Large Icons.

Make this file so it can rebuild your Windows 7 icon cache when you double click on it. Enter the following into Notepad and save it, then change the extension of the saved file to .bat

taskkill /im explorer.exe /f
CD %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local
attrib -h iconcache.db
del iconcache.db
explorer.exe

* Start Menu > Games > Options >
[No, I want to customize my settings]
Never check online for updates or news; I'll do this manually > UNCHECK everything > Clear information > OK

* Suggested Backup point [just before potentially unstable video card and other drivers are installed.]

* Video Card Drivers + any video card software (uninstall any previous version of video card drivers.)
* Drivers for other cards.
* Update all drivers, Install Scanner Software

* Make an Image and make sure to Verify Image after transferring it to its backup location.
 
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Ummmmm, you have screenshots? That could be sweet. Just running mine stock, waiting for it to be released. Hoping I can buy a copy through my workplace for bugger all..... Maybe there's educational copies available.....
 
c627627 - this is an amazing post. I registered to the forum just to tell you this.
It will be put to a good use pretty soon. Thanks.
 
i saw that you did a few things with the "Windows Features" window and I just wanted to add that I absolutely hate windows media player, so the ability to disable it using the "windows features" is great. It would be better if it was completely deleted but it doesn't sound like that is the case (just disabled). I'd disable IE also, but there's always that one website that refuses to load in any other browser.

and a link http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/20...anges-turning-windows-features-on-or-off.aspx
 
splat, do you know how to turn this off: when you doble click on your CD/DVD drive link, if a music CD is in there, Windows Media Player will open and start playing it even if Auto-Play is disabled (which just means it doesn't start playing immediately upon insert) and even though WMP is not the default player for .cda (music CD) files.

In other words, if you doble click on the .cda music CD file, it'll start playing in whatever your custom player is but if you double click on the CD/DVD under (My) Computer, WMP auto opens. I would very much like to disable that.


Welcome to the forums new guy ninveh. This is a thread about what not to do :p, the rest of the forums offer much better info - it is in fact the best computer forum on the internet.


So splat, the WMP features I figure the user will take care of through selecting the default prog for them other than WMP, but WMP settings are dangerous to play with, I lost a *huge* amount of time to finally discover that disabling WMP media sharing actually disables *any* file sharing b/w computers.


EDIT: Interestingly, even uninstalling (disabling really) Windows Media Player like you mentioned splat, double clicking on the optical drive will start playing the music CD in it using yet a third application, and not the one which actually plays the CD music files if you click on them individually. Where's the default setting that controls that located.... that's the question I have.
 
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I know that most programs, like foobar2k, have a "set as default audio cd player" option. on foobar2k, its on the File Types option window. .cda is not the same as "default audio cd player".
 
With audio CD inside your CD/DVD drive, go to (My) Computer and double click on the CD/DVD drive. What happens?

My Win7 launches WMP. How do you custom set which app launches? If you just want that app to launch when you do that specifically, try to double click on your optical drive with an audio CD in it.
 
so you are saying you went in to your favorite app of choice, selected "make default audio cd player" and you are still getting WMP popping up?
 
Looks like you put in a tremendous amount of effort into this. :) A few questions:

- Why do all of this? I've not had a single problem with my installation to necessitate elaborate tinkering?

-What are the benefits of what you did (in terms of speed)?

It seems like a customization manual based on personal preference (which is cool in itself!) or is there more to it? A few benchmarks would be nice. :)
 
Looks like you put in a tremendous amount of effort into this. :) A few questions:

- Why do all of this? I've not had a single problem with my installation to necessitate elaborate tinkering?

-What are the benefits of what you did (in terms of speed)?

It seems like a customization manual based on personal preference (which is cool in itself!) or is there more to it? A few benchmarks would be nice. :)

I agree, c627627 could you shed some light on this. I personally would appreciate if you put comments throughout your step by step guide (maybe in a different color) saying the purpose of each customization. I always like to understand things to pick and choose my own setup.

Very detailed post, looks like you put a lot of thought into it.
 
Er, people who care about security at all might want to skip the whole 'run everything as administrator' bit :beer:
 
All right, before every South Park episode there is a disclaimer saying how Due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone. I added that to the original post. There's maybe one or two things that almost everyone may find useful for their personal use out of this. I had one of these for Windows 98 and for every Windows release since so this thing was edited over 10 years+ :D.


If you don't know what one of these does, you can post a question. None of this should be done blindly by anyone who doesn't understand what this is. Most people would just cherry pick from it. It's mostly useful for making your master drive image which you slightly edit every month or so.



 
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So what do you guys want :santa::

ratbuddy: damn straight that shouldn't be done for security reasons. That's what Vista nags were all about, to protect us. Most people turn off the nags anyway, they know why, I have everything backed up and nuke my operating system partition all-the-time. So my reason is speed.

DaveHCYJ
, ask away, and if I have time, I'll walk you through the why for anything you're interested in. This thing is personal and I posted it for the few that understand what every line does, implement much of the stuff themselves and just need something on paper to guide them so that they don't forget something before they make their own master drive image. See post number 4 of this thread. It brought us a new member who appears to know exactly what this is about.

chawks2: My C drive partition was empty because I installed XP on D drive and Vista on V drive, leaving C Drive empty on purpose to wait for Win7. I imaged my old C drive so that I can restore the boot thing. But then I installed EasyBCD freeware http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1 to manage that. I think it can be used to back it up to.


Super Nade?
1. Believe it or not, there's quite a few people people out there deeply unhappy with Microsoft's choices for default settings. That's why all of this.
2. Speed yes because it saves you the extra clicks for things you do most often, not so you can click on something and measure the speed from start to finish.

Even so there are measurable speed increases: Just 1 example: Hard Drive is turned off by default every little bit. You then have to wait for it to start spinning, no problem for some, but a few seconds of :bang head for others, including myself. There are a couple of more things in there which help with every installation.

splat: The only thing I can do is to set a specific program as default for ALL programs it can open. I don't want to do that. I just don't want Windows Media Player automatically opening whenever I double click on a CD/DVD drive with a music CD in it. This has nothing to do with turning Auto-play off because all that does is prevent something starting as soon as it's read by the optical drive. I switched Auto-play off but just don't want the damn WMP opening up *every time* I try to open a CD drive with music CD in it.
 
I completely agree. Back in the days of Windows 9x, people used to free up (then) limited hard drive space by deleting weird strange files from their C drive. And they deleted them since they weren't "hidden" or "system" files back then. Since those were boot files, they rendered their computers useless. So then Microsoft started hiding those files with good reason, and they also hid file extensions. The last thing you want is to modify some of this stuff on average Joe's computer.



Find below my reaction to UAC. Luckily I found a way to disable it immediately thereafter. :santa:














 

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Exccellent job! I, like others, would like a bit more info as to the reason and result be it performance or functionality change. Keep up the good work!
 
OK I've activated the super admin account (after the fact) and I'm making it my own account in name too. I did this in my Server 2008 installation as that is the only account you get after you've installed the OS. I just changed the name to my own preferred name and it took. All my stuff is still under 'Adminstrator user folder but my name always shows up as audioaficionado on the winver and login screens. I'll have to find the easy way to copy or clone all my stuff to this new administrator account. Manually copying everything is a PITA :rolleyes:
 
Sonny, I found out the hard way to only use 2009 updated new partition software. I wrote this in my notes about Partition Magic for example:


This program may not work with 1TB+ hard drives / newer chipsets / Windows Vista partitions. Partition table errors may result even if this program gets around Error 4444 on NTFS and Windows Vista partitions which can be done by scanning the Vista partition using chkdsk FROM Windows XP. [NTFS has a hidden file called $UPCASE which maps lowercase and uppercase Unicode characters. When you run Windows XP's version of chkdsk, it corrects the $UPCASE table on the Vista partition (makes it the same as XP's). The change doesn't affect Vista's operation but it allows DriveImage and PartitionMagic to work. However, unexpected partition table errors still appear later.]

Use of this program is recommended with Windows XP (and earlier versions of Windows) ONLY and hard drives smaller than 1TB.

So basically nothing free will work for now? This is a little bit annoying. If only that damn JMicron JMB368 driver would work on Se7en during the install & I can install on a PATA drive,format a SATA drive then install on that.
 
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