Unlock Hidden Windows 7 Themes

There are a number of regional themes with multiple unique background images hidden from Windows 7 users.  On a Windows 7 install with United States regional settings only the United States theme is shown but there are actually four more themes hidden from view.  Below are all the regional themes included in Windows 7:

          

     

Accessing all the themes is easy to do once you know where to find them.  The trick is to navigate to the C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT directory.  The MCT directory within the Globalization directory is super hidden so it will not display even if show hidden files and folders is enabled.  Just click on the address bar of any folder and manually type in or copy and paste in C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT and hit Enter.

Once you have reached the MCT folder you will see five directories as listed below:

    - MCT-AU

    - MCT-CA

    - MCT-GB

    - MCT-US

    - MCT-ZA

To view and use the theme for each region just navigate into each MCT-Region directory, enter the Theme sub-directory and double click the theme file.

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Start Explorer In Drive View

Many users like to start explorer in drive view to directly access their data instead of the document folders. This tweak will show you how to modify the Windows Explorer shortcuts to launch directly in drive view.

Update the Start Menu Shortcut

    1. Click on the Start Button and type in Windows Explorer.

    2. Right click on the shortcut when it appears in the search results and select Properties.

    3. On the Shortcut tab, change the target to:

        %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

    4. Click Ok to save the changes.

Update the TaskBar Shortcut

    1. Right click on the Windows Explorer TaskBar icon.

    2. Then Right click on the Windows Explorer shortcut in the Jump List and select Properties.

    3. On the Shortcut tab, change the target to:

        %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

    4. Click Ok to save the changes.

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Restore Start Menu Internet Search

In Windows 7 the ability to search the Internet from the Start Menu was removed by default.  I'm sure that Microsoft has usage data to support their decision to remove the feature but as usual power users are disappointed. If you were a user of Internet search from the Start Menu then follow these steps to restore the feature:

    1. Click on the Start Button, type in gpedit.msc and hit Enter.

    2. One the Local Group Policy Editor has loaded navigate through User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Start Menu and Taskbar, and locate Add Search Internet link to Start Menu near the top.

    3. Right click on Add Search Internet link to Start Menu and select Edit.

    4. On the edit screen select Enabled and click OK.

    5. Close the Local Group Policy Editor.  You should now see the link restored on the Start Menu.

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Pin Recycle Bin On The Taskbar

The new taskbar in Windows 7 does not allow you to pin anything directly on the taskbar by default. If you tried to pin Recycle Bin already you would have noticed that it is pinned under the Windows Explorer program instead of a separate icon. In order to pin it directly on the taskbar you have to know a few tricks. In the end, your will have a dedicated Recycle Bin shortcut pinned directly on the taskbar as shown below.

The secret is creating a special shortcut that you can pin to the taskbar that points to the recycle bin:

    1. Right click anywhere on your desktop and select New and then shortcut.

    2. In the location of the item box type in:

        %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder

    3. Click Next.

    4. For the name type in Recycle Bin.

    5. Then click Finish.

    6. Now your shortcut will be created but it will not have the right icon. Right click on the shortcut, select Properties.  Then, click Change Icon as shown below.

    7. Change the icon file to:

        %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll

        Hit Enter and select the Recycle Bin Icon and click OK.

    8. Finally, drag the new shortcut onto the taskbar and it will be pinned directly.  Once the shortcut is pinned, you can delete the original on the desktop.

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Open Command Prompt From Any Folder

Here is a quick time saver that I use all the time: Hold down the Shift key and right click on any folder in Windows 7 and select Open command window here. A command prompt will open with the current directory set automatically.

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Hide Background Windows With Aero Shake

Aero Shake is one of the lesser known features included in Windows 7.  It offers a unique way to minimize all the open windows on your screen while leaving one up that you want to work with.  I like to use Aero Shake to concentrate on just one open application without the clutter of other windows in the background.



All you need to do is shake a window with your mouse.  Just like you are trying to move it but only shake it.

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Hidden Send To Menu In Windows 7

When you right click on an file or folder in Windows Explorer the default Send To menu contains only a few locations:

What many users do not know is that it is possible to expand the Windows 7 Send To menu by pressing Shift before right-clicking on a file or folder. Pressing the Shift key before right-clicking will expand the Send To menu with more than ten new entries like My Documents folders, Downloads or Contacts.

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Fix Aero Glass In Windows 7

If you want the full Windows 7 experience the Aero glass interface is a must.  Without the slick glass interface a number of key features will be disabled such as taskbar thumbnails and Aero Peek. According to Microsoft the bare minimum requirements for Aero is a graphics card that supports DirectX 9.0 or newer and a native WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) driver. In most cases when you install Windows 7 Aero will be enabled but on some configurations various issues prevent the feature from starting.

The most common issue I have seen is a lack of compatible WDDM drivers.  When Windows 7 was installed compatible drivers were not found on the installation media.  In this scenario Windows will search on Windows Update for compatible drivers once an internet connection is established. To make Windows search for new drivers manually just click on the Start Button and type in Windows Update. Then, click Check for updates.

If no WDDM compatible drivers are found for your video adapter on Windows update try looking on the manufacturers Web site.

After you have, or your system has automatically updated your video adpater drivers to compatible WDDM drivers it is best to refresh the Windows Experience Index. This will run the Windows Experience performance tool to benchmark your computer and identify what features should be turned on and off. Click on the Start Button and type in check the windows experience index and hit Enter.  Next, click Refresh Now.

If you still have problems try running the Aero Troubleshooting utility by clicking on the Start Button and typing in Find and fix problems with transparency and then hit Enter.

As a last resort you can try the old Windows Vista registry hack to enable Aero glass on low end systems. Let me know if this helps you in the comments below.

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Enable Vista Glass On Compatible Hardware

If you have a video card that is using WDDM drivers and supports DirectX 9c but is not allowing you to use vista glass, there is a cool trick that you can use to force Aero to run. Follow the steps below:

    1. Click on the start button and key in regedit and hit Enter.

    2. Navigate through, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Windows and DWM.

    3. Set Composition to 1 and CompositionPolicy to 2.

    4. Restart the DWM by restarting the Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager service. This can be done in services.msc or by typing net stop uxsms and net start uxsms at command prompt.

Once the service restarts you will have glass!

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Fine Tune ClearType Font Smoothing

Everyone has a different idea of good font smoothing. What is nice and smooth to you may be blurry to someone else. That is why Microsoft included the ClearType Text Tuner in Windows 7.

Start the ClearType Text Tuner by clicking on the Start Button and typing in cttune and then hit Enter.

Then just follow the wizard and select the options that look best to you on your LCD monitor.

Click Finish to save your changes.

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Enable RAW Image Support In Windows Explorer And Photo Viewer

The Microsoft Camera Codec Pack enables viewing RAW image files taken by more than 150 cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax, Leica, Minolta, Epson and Panasonic. The codec pack enables viewing of the files in any image viewer that is based in Windows Imaging Codecs (WIC) such as Windows Explorer, Photo Viewer and Windows Live Photo Gallery.

The Microsoft Camera Codec Pack is compatible with Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Simply download and install the software from the Microsoft Download Center. No reboot is required.

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Enable Aero Glass In Windows Virtual PC

Tired of the Aero Basic non-glass look of Windows 7 virtual machines? With a few steps you can extend the glass experience to all your Win7 virtual machines running on Windows Virtual PC.

First, after you have installed Windows 7 in your virtual machine you need to install the integration components. Click on Tools and then Install Integration Components.

Click through the installation on your virtual machine. After the virtual machine reboots, the final step involves enabling the integration components. Click on the Tools again and select Enable Integration Features.

After you type in the user name and password for the virtual machine you should see the Aero Glass interface. If for some reason you do not simply select an Aero Glass theme by right clicking on the desktop and selecting Personalize.

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Create A Flip3D Taskbar Icon In Windows 7

Flip3D was a fun and cool looking feature in Windows Vista that can be very useful for switching between windows. With the improved Windows 7 taskbar, Flip3D was replaced with improved thumbnails and Aero Peek. Those are both good alternatives but I like the speed of viewing all my open windows at once and switching with just two clicks.

This article will show you how to create a Flip3D icon on the Windows 7 taskbar:

1. Right click on the Desktop and select New and then Shortcut.

2. Type in RunDll32 DwmApi #105 in the location box and click Next.

3. Type in Flip3D as the Name and click Finish.

4. You will now have an shortcut on the desktop that will launch Flip3D but it has the wrong icon. Right click on the Flip3D shortcut and select Properties.

5. On the Shortcut tab click the Change Icon button.

6. Change the Look for icons in this file text box to C:\windows\explorer.exe and it Enter.  The Flip3D icon will now be available. Select it and click OK.

7. Click OK to close out the shortcut properties window.

8. Finally, just drag and drop the new shortcut on the Windows 7 taskbar to pin it.

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Calibrate Your Display

Windows 7 includes a new tool to help you calibrate the correct gamma, contrast, brightness and color settings for your specific display.

Just click on the Start Button and type in dccw and hit Enter.



Then follow the on screen directions and adjust the sliders so that the test picture look like the “Good” sample picture.

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