Help and Support For Windows 7 Installation and Upgrade

If you are planning to upgrade from a previous version of Windows to Windows 7 - the new version offered by Windows, it is important to have a closer look at the options.

If you want to go for the upgrade, it is important to check if Windows 7 is compatible. You can use a program called the Windows 7 upgrade advisor, which is released by Microsoft to help you check the compatibility of your system with Windows 7. You simply need to download, install, and run this program on your PC and you will be immediately notified in case it detects any compatibility issues with upgrade option. Once you find that your system is compatible with Windows 7, you can proceed with installation part.

But, Installing Windows 7 can be a difficult task if the steps are not correctly followed. You need to have a basic understanding, before putting the operating system disc into your computer. It's necessary to know the hardware and programs installed in your computer so you can easily carry out the installation process.

Installing new Windows 7 will surely make it perform at its best. This could save you some money by avoiding highly-priced home PC repair, or other software repair utilities. Keep in mind that the procedure for installing Windows 7 operating system is same for both your laptop and desktop computers. Here are the steps for installing Windows 7 on your computer:

1. Before installing, download and run a Windows Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft website. You need to see the results to check if there are any issues that can crop up in the installation of Windows 7.

2. Make a backup of all your important files.

3. Get all the product codes, compact disks, and drivers for the installation. When you install the operating system, you also have to reinstall all the existing hardware drivers, like the printer and network cards.

4. Insert the Windows 7 disc and reboot your computer. While rebooting, a black screen might appear asking if you wish to boot from the compact disc. If this appears, press any key to begin the installation.

5. Accept the License Agreement.

6. Next screen will appear. It will ask you if you want to upgrade. The upgrade only works if you have Windows Vista on your computer. Choose custom if you are going to upgrade from Win XP. Custom choice will delete all programs and files from your drive.

7. Next, choose the partition or drive that will contain the new Windows 7.

8. A series of screens will appear asking you to enter some important information. These are really easy steps, and you just have to press some keys according the given instructions.

9. Windows 7 welcome screen will show up.

10. The final step is to install all the devices and software utilities on your computer. Now your new operating system is ready for use!

Remember that your computer must be compatible with Windows 7. Installing Windows 7 is easy. Just make sure you follow these steps. If you have questions, you can go to the Microsoft website for Windows 7 help or call for experts providing Windows 7 support.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4262608

Features of Windows 7 Help & Support

Aside from the issue of convenience, the Microsoft team has introduced advance features that provide a system of comprehensive support. This feature of support and help that can be found within windows 7 help does not only give general or specific information on how to play with windows. It also gives timely answers and solutions to the specific problems users are facing. The answers are straight from Team Microsoft.

You can open the windows 7 help and support page by clicking on start and then clicking on the "help and support" option

Three links are integrated into the Windows that opens just in case you are not sure of where to begin from.

1. How you can begin using your computer displays a list of topics that varies from installing software to advanced system protection.

2. You can also learn the basics of windows operations and management with the link that talks about this. The topics therein are further categorized into six major groups which are:

How to use your system
The fundamentals of your desktop area
Files, folders and programs
Networking, email and internet
Games and pictures
Support and Help

3. You can peruse topics on help that displays pages that contains links on how to manage your hardware, drivers and devices.

It does not end there since the Windows that displays the help and support is an integral function of a small box labeled "Search." This box can be used for searching for detailed topics within Windows 7 Help.

Users are not limited to that since this Windows allow user to customize their computer. You can select a new image for your desktop, an element of window with an accompany color scheme, newer screen savers and customized sound effects.

If you wish to personalize your computer, all you need to do is use the right mouse button on any part of your desktop. Choose the "personalize" option which is the last on the list that appears. You can now control your screen with the use of just your fingers. Scrolling through pages on the internet and opening applications or programs have been made easy; thanks to this cutting-edge and simple technology. Photos can now be sorted and resized using natural effects and methods. If you want all these, you need to use a monitor with touch-screen capability.

You will discover that Windows 7 comes with bigger icons that can be accessed easily in contrast to the earlier versions of Microsoft operating systems. The start orb, icons in the taskbar and the main explorer clearly stand out and can be tapped with a finger. People who user pointing devices or their fingers for arranging documents and pictures or starting a media application for playing songs will really enjoy this feature.

For instance, you can easily zoom on an image by simply moving two fingers in opposite directions. This causes the image to zoom in. if you want to zoom out, the reverse is carried out - the fingers are moved close together. When you rotate just a finger around another one on an image, the image will rotate on the desktop.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4075723

Microsoft Ends Original Vista Support

Microsoft on Tuesday officially ended support for the first version of its Windows Vista operating system.

At Cloud Connect 2011 in Silicon Valley, TechWeb's David Berlind gets a demonstration of CA's recently acquired 3Tera AppLogic graphical private cloud deployment tool.

Going forward, Vista users who are still running the so-called RTM (released-to-manufacturing) version of Vista must upgrade to a version that includes either Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 if they wish to continue receiving full support from Microsoft.

However, customers who don't upgrade will still receive limited help under a new Microsoft support policy.

"The revised policy allows Microsoft support professionals to make the best effort to provide limited break/fix troubleshooting to customers on unsupported service packs, even without custom support contracts, and help them migrate to a supported service pack," a Microsoft spokesman said, in an e-mail.

"Microsoft requires customers to transition to supported service packs to receive hotfixes, security updates, time zone updates, or access to sustained engineering," the spokesman added.

Windows Vista debuted in January of 2007, but the operating system was largely deemed a flop by industry watchers.

Consumers complained about its intrusive security measures, while businesses shunned it en masse due to concerns about horsepower and memory requirements, and compatibility problems with their existing applications.

Microsoft in October released Windows 7 with the hope of erasing memories of Vista.

Windows 7 carries a lighter footprint than Vista and ditches the obnoxious security alerts that interrupted users even when they were performing routine functions like moving a file from one folder to another.

Despite the release of Windows 7 and relatively favorable reviews, Windows XP remains Microsoft's most widely used operating system. XP, first released in 2001, holds 64% of the installed base for PC operating systems.

Vista holds 16%, while Windows 7 holds a 10% share that's steadily increasing, according to statistics from market watcher Net Applications.

Source:-http://bit.ly/iKqhSF

Fix Windows Vista Blue Screen With Registry Cleaner

If you are computer buff, and have been working on the computers for some time, you will be familiar with the computer freezing, crashing occasionally and giving you poor performance. If you encounter such situations, you cannot neglect them, as they can cause serious damage to the computer.

Usually the problems in the registry alone make a computer to perform badly or freeze while working. You should be careful while installing or uninstalling some software programs, since not all the files in that software are deleted, even as some files might get stored in the registry of computer, and the junk data will go on accumulating over a period of time. It is these junks which makes the computer freeze or crash, or render poor service. You should therefore repair, but how to repair the windows vista blue screen is the big question!

Top get rid of these problems, you must take help from a registry cleaner, which can efficiently cure the woes of windows vista blue screen. With the use of cleaning software, you will be able to free the registry of the computer of all kinds of errors which are causing the computer to perform in a poor manner, or causing it to crash. The registry cleaner scans the entire registry to find out and match files with applications which use them, and prompt you when it finds a damaged or missing file.

It is easy to find out registry errors using a good software cleaning device, and resolve all these problems by yourself. With this you will be able to ensure top performance from the compute. To repair the windows vista blue screen it is necessary that you run your cleaner software, in the minimum once in a week, so that the computer works at peak performance levels without facing any kind of problems.

If you use an effective cleaner you can get matchless PC functioning, especially with the help of an advanced error-detection technology which can find out the problem entries in the computer's registry easily. They can find out registry errors, repair the windows vista blue screen and also give you updated details of the errors, and also list of repairs done to get rid of these errors. You will also be given an option for manual or automatic repair of such errors.

If you put the cleaner software to function automatically even if you forget, it will detect and repair the errors all by itself, but you would like to have control in your hands, you can opt for the manual mode of cleaning and operating the registry cleaner software. With this you can defragment the system with this cleaner software, so that there is no crashing of the system.

Article Source: http://goo.gl/uw7PV

Repair Windows Vista Fast

Windows Vista, compared to versions before it, has more tools to repair itself. This is probably the reason why many computer users shifted to this version. For wise users, when they look for a computer version, they often consider the diagnostics and tools that can instantly trouble shoot their problems. One of the considered powerful tools to repair Win Vista is the Startup Repair Tool. If you are a Windows Vista user, it is very important that you know all about this, particularly the advantages if you have the software ready to clear up what can be bothersome in your computer as the months of using your computer goes by.

When you already experience difficulty in booting your Win Vista, you should be aware by now that there is a problem within the system of your computer. Repair Windows Vista Fast! The common causes of these problems are:

* Corrupt boot configuration settings
* Corrupted master boot record, partition table or boot sector
* Corrupted or missing system files
* Drivers that are either missing, corrupted or incompatible and
* Improper installation of your Windows Vista

But as mentioned earlier, to repair Wind Vista is not really much of a hassle due to the software that can ease the problem in your computer. Startup Repair Tool is a recovery tool that can fix problems such as damaged system files. System files that are not working well hamper the Windows from starting properly. What the repair Windows Vista tool can do is scan the contents of your computer, locate the problematic files, analyze it and does a series of diagnostic tests to find which among them caused the start-up problems. After which, this tool will fix the problem instantly. When it is done and successful, it will inform you the repairs it accomplished and gives a list of the changes that has taken place. This will let you know the result of the recovery and repair process. Another good thing about the repair Windows Vista tool is that if it can't fix your problem, it will also tell you what could have happened and gives you several possibilities or options that you can do next to solve the problem.

Article Source: http://goo.gl/2veEY

Top Ten New Features in Windows Vista

Windows Vista, scheduled for release on January 30th, 2007 has something for everyone, from tight security and stunning new graphics to some new bundled applications. In fact, there is much that this new operating system has to offer, that it will be a real test for the hardware configuration of your PC. With its sleek new look and eye-catching interface, actually it's what's under the hood that impresses the most. Microsoft's done a great job of improving security across the board as this was their priority when they were developing Vista in the first place. Features like Windows and spyware library updates are streamlined, and I definitely appreciate the more robust Backup software.

Internet Explorer is the new web browser that comes with Windows Vista, but as we all know you can download it for XP as well, so this article won't focus on it. Windows Media Player 11 can also be installed to the XP system. A really intriguing stuff is the Windows Sidebar, which puts real-time weather info, stock quotes, system status, RSS feeds, and other information on the display.

This article puts the focus on the top new features in Window Vista, things that can't find in the XP. Apart from this article, another really great site about Windows Vista full of information about the new features is vista-hq.com.

New User Experience, including Windows Aero

Windows Vista features four different levels of user experience--Basic, Windows Classic, Standard, and Windows Aero(TM). All controls are totally redesigned in Windows Vista and look even better now. The Aero user interface is the top of the line and takes advantage of the latest advances in computer hardware. On computers equipped with graphics hardware that supports the new Windows Driver Display Model (WDDM), the Aero provides more stability and smoother window handling. The main element of this interface is the transparent glass design, with subtle effects such as dynamic reflections and smooth animations. To checkout some screenshots, go to vista-hq.com/interface.html.

Windows Sidebar

The Windows Sidebar can be positioned on the right or on the left side of your screen and its associated with mini-applications called gadgets, that provide specific information. Like for example, the gadgets can give you info on the weather, show you the calendar, games, a calculator or all types of other tools. The Sidebar fits perfectly especially on widescreen monitors. It can be easily customized and you can add different types of gadgets. Gadgets are a new concept introduced in Windows Vista. They can connect to web services to deliver business data, weather information, news updates, traffic maps, Internet radio streams, and even slide shows of online photo albums. By default, the OS comes with a set number of gadgets to get you started, but you can always download more from an online gadget gallery.

Article Source: http://goo.gl/77Qxr

Windows Support Tools for Vista

Tools for Windows Vista can help administrators and IT professionals improve the functionality and usability of this operating system. These tools can be used to find and resolve computer issues, to access network components and to improve the security of Vista programs. While most of these tools should already be installed on Vista, some tools may have to be downloaded if a user cannot find them on their computer.

Program Compatibility Wizard


If you have an older piece of software installed on your computer, then you may have experienced some issues when you upgraded to Vista. The Program Compatibility Wizard allows users to efficiently run the new program on their Vista Operating System, but only if the program worked on past version of Windows. The application can be accessed from the Start menu, and users will have to type hcp://system/compatctr/compatmode.htm in the Run menu. Then, users will have to follow the instructions to fix the issue. Users can manipulate a variety of settings from the wizard, including administrator rights and display settings. Users may experience an issue running the wizard if the person is not the administrator or if the program is on a shared drive.

Network and Sharing Center


This tool allows people to gain access to the Windows Operating System networking components, and these can be used to diagnose, view or manipulate the settings on the user's wireless and standard network access. Here, users can see all the information about their network and see summaries of all the information on their networks. Further, users can figure out whether or not they can successfully access the Internet from their system.

Computer Management

This tool can be accessed from the Start Menu and used to see event logs, system information and the Device Manager. Plus, it can be used to manage disk volumes either on local or remote networks, and users can even run the defragment tool from the Computer Management, which is used to consolidate space and free up memory.


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