Computer^News^FAQ: windows 7

Install Windows 7 From a USB Flash Drive

8:21:00 PM

Ok so the first thing you are going to want to do is get the Windows 7 ISO. Microsoft is no longer offering it from their website, but there are sure a lot of other places you can get it at. Also if you have a Windows 7 DVD this guide will work with it as well. After you have the Windows 7 ISO you need to mount either burn it to a DVD or mount it. I had the ISO already so I just decided to mount it using Daemon Tools. Once it is mounted make sure you remember the drive letter.

Next we want to prepare our flash drive. The Windows 7 ISO is about 2.5GB so you will need a flash drive at least 4GB in size for 32 bit / 8GB in size for 64 bit. Once you have your flash drive plug it into your computer and also make sure you remember the drive number. Now open up command prompt and type: diskpart

This will open up a new command window. No if you are like me you have many USB drives and card readers connected so you want to list your drives so you know what drive your connected USB drive is. To do that type: list disk

This will list all of your connected drives or card reader drives. Now identify your flash drive, for us it is drive 13.

Now select the drive by typing: select disk 13 Now run the following commands…

clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format fs=fat32
assign
exit

Now what we did there was create a primary partition on the flash drive, make it the active partition, and format it with the FAT32 file system. Simple enough right?

Now we have to copy the files from the Windows 7 ISO or DVD. So either put the DVD in the drive or mount the image you have. As I said before make sure you know the drive letters of your flash drive and of the DVD drive you are using. Now open command prompt back up and type in this:

xcopy j:*.* /s/e/f r:

Now in this sequence the J: drive is our mounted DVD drive and R: is our flash drive. The drive letters will vary for you of course. One you type the command in and press enter you will see all of the files being copied, just wait till it is completed and you will have a bootable Windows 7 flash drive!

There is one more thing you are going to have to do to get this to work. You are going to need to go into the BIOS of your laptop and make the first bootable device the USB drive

Not only is this method convenient (carrying a flash drive is better than a DVD), it is much, much faster than installing from a DVD. This guide not only works with Windows 7 but will also work for Vista as well. Hope this guide has made installing a new operating system easier, stay tuned for more Windows 7 related articles.

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Using Windows System Restore

6:56:00 PM

   The System Restore feature of Windows is used to return your computer to an earlier saved state without loosing any data files if you have system problems or other failures with your computer. System Restore will take an image of your computer at a given place in time and save it as a restore point.
   System Restore will take these images or snapshots at times before system changes are made to your computer such as program installations and updates. These snapshots are done without user intervention. You can also create a restore point manually if you feel the need.
   In order to get to the System Restore option - Click on the Start Button -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools ->System Restore. You will then see the "Welcome to System Restore" screen with the default option already selected "Restore my computer to an earlier time". Click on the Next button to continue - you will get a screen that looks like the image given below:

   Sometimes, you may not be able to run System Restore because the computer cannot start up in the normal way. You still have a wide range of options. First - get to a screen called Windows Advanced Boot Menu Options" - the easiest way to get there is to restart your computer, count 02 seconds and start tapping on the <F8> key on your keyboard.

   Start up your computer in Safe Mode / Safe Mode with Command Prompt and run System Restore from the Command Prompt by typing:
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe (at the Command Prompt.)
(%systemroot% is the same as C:\Windows - it is the folder where the Windows files are installed.)
   While you are doing this, you may be prompted to select the Operating system in your computer (select Windows XP here) )and also to enter your username and password. You should have Administrator rights in your computer to do this.
   To use System Restore you will need at least 200 MB of free hard drive space on your computer which shouldn’t be a problem with today’s large hard drives. You can increase this limit to stay on the safe side by right clicking My Computer, selecting Properties and then click on the System Restore tab. You can also turn off System Restore from here if you need to.
  To create a manual System Restore point, click on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools then System Restore. Then you would click on Create a restore point and click Next. Next give it a descriptive name. Windows will automatically add the time and date. Finally click on Create.

   To restore from a previous restore point you would click on Restore my computer to an earlier time instead of Create a restore point. Click on Next and you will be presented with a calendar view of your available restore points.

   After you click on Next again you will see a message telling you that Windows will need to shut down your computer and that you should close any open programs. It also tells you that you will not loose any documents you have worked on since the restore date. At this point your computer will shut down and Windows will do its thing. After its complete you can review the stability of your system andif it looks good then you are ready for work. If not you can choose another restore point or undo the restoration.

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Top reasons why Linux is better than Microsoft Windows

1:03:00 AM

Why-LINUX

Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Developed under the GNU General Public License , the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone. Click on the link below to find out more about the operating system that is causing a revolution in the world of computer.

Tha best thing is that linux allows you to use nearly any computer. A typical web server or file server can be a low-end Pentium class PC. Many graphical applications run with acceptible performance on 150 MHz Pentium class machines. Linux runs on just about any hardware you can name, from mobile phones to supercomputers. The open source nature of the kernel and software means it can be ported to another architecture by a third party if the existing developers see no need.

If you are not a hardcore - gamer you cand use a linux distro(Ubuntu) to equip your pc, linux is very reliable The Blue Screen of Death doesn't exist in the Linux world. Linux systems, just like Unix and NetWare, can run for years without failure.The virus problem is also history Linux hardly has any viruses . Last year, 49,000 new virus signatures were documented for Windows, compared to 42 for Linux.

Linux uses smart authorization management. In Windows you (and any program you install) usually have the right to do pretty much anything to the system. If you feel like punishing your PC because it just let your precious work disappear, you can go inside the system folder and delete whatever you want: Windows won't complain. Of course, the next time you reboot, trouble begins. But imagine that if you can delete this system stuff, other programs can, too, or just mess it up. Linux doesn't allow that.

Software is not a problem with most linux distros, everything is much simpler. Linux has what is called a "package manager": each piece of software is contained in its own "package". If you need some new software, just open the package manager, type a few keywords, choose which software you want to install and press "Apply" or "OK". Or you can just browse existing software (that's a lot of choice!) in categories.

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Drivers are history Linux doesn't need separate drivers. All the drivers are already included in the Linux kernel, the core of the system, and that comes with every single Linux installation. This means:

A very fast and standalone installation process. Once you're done, you have everything you need to start working including the software you'll be using.

Out-of-the-box ready peripherals.

Linux Doesn’t need defragging: The Linux file systems work very efficiently such that it arranges data in a way that it doesn’t require defragging. to know more, read earlie.

Easy to use - This point may seem ironic but is true to a lot of extent. Linux Ubuntu is one of the most user-friendly and easy to use Linux distribution which even beats Windows XP and 7 in usability and ease of use.

Easy to dual boot: Linux makes it easy for it to exist with any other operating system. If you install Linux on a system which already has Windows, Linux will not mess your Windows.

The Cost - Linux is free, and that includes all the apps. Microsoft is greedy. Windows 7 Home Premium and Ultimate cost hundreds of dollars, even when upgrading from Windows XP. Moving up to Office 2007 and 2010 involves handing over another bundle of dollars.Ubuntu Linux for example ,comes with OpenOffice preinstalled. (Saved ~ $200-$300).Every application and software on Linux is free and open source. You dont need to worry about licenses anymore and you can always find a better and free Linux alternative to a Windows application.

You can have multiple workspaces, its like having multiple desktops. Instead of having all your applications on one desktop, you can have them sorted on multiple desktop workspaces and easily switch between them.

If you are wandering what do we do in case of …. My “Windows” programs ? well....... for that we have WINE : Wine lets you run Windows software on other operating systems( LINUX,Solaris,BSD and Mac OS X.) With Wine, you can install and run these applications just like you would in Windows.

Both Linux and Windows has shell environment Windows (know as command prompt). The shell environments in Linux (such as bash) are more powerful and you can write entire programs using the scripting language. This is extremely useful to automate repetitive tasks such as backup.

So my promise to you is that you will not be disapointed with any Linux distro you choose,but i recommend Ubuntu for the first experience of linux.

Ubuntu linux is very friendly to use and quite easy to install, ubuntu has all the programs you will need out of the box to surf the web,create professional documents and presentations, watch movies,pictures,email and chat,

Ubuntu's new Me Menu lets you access your Facebook and Twitter accounts straight from the desktop. You can connect to all your favourite chat channels and make updates through a single window. Being connected for work or fun has never been so easy.

So with ubuntu you get free apps, safe and fast web browsing, a dedicated music store and much more. Ubuntu brings the very best technologies straight to your desktop.