Some essential tips for Windows 7 / Vista

[Blín D'ñero]

DriverStore

DriverStore is a new and a central location in Windows Vista and Windows 7 where all the driver files will be stored., before they are copied to their final destination during the device driver installation.

The location of the driver store is – C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore

Read more: https://www.msigeek.com/322/driver-stor ... -and-vista

---

Q: How to get an Inventory of all the Installed Device Drivers in a Machine?
A: Start a command prompt (with admin rights) and type
driverquery
then hit Enter

---

Output to an Excel spreadsheet:
C:\Windows\System32\Driverquery /v /fo csv > C:\Driverslist.csv

Source msigeek.com

[Blín D'ñero]

How to delete the "open with" association" you want to get rid of, for instance because you chose a wrong one.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\[the extension you're looking for] -----> under OpenWithList, delete the "a" value (and if they're there, b, c values)

---

Windows 7 - SP1 errors 800F081F & 800F0A13 sevenforums

---

Annoyed by the accelerators? Even though you have set them to disabled, the icon keeps popping up everytime you select text.
So, how to disable the accelerators feature in IE 9:

1. Start Internet Explorer 9.
2. Click Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced
3. In the list (in the section Browsing) uncheck the box for "Display Accelerator button on selection"
4. Click Apply and OK.
5. Close and then restart Internet Explorer 9.

---

Terminate Sticky Keys:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Accessibility\\StickyKeys] -> "Flags"="0"

---

Interesting the part about HPET: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showt ... p=19335129

Check out the following, (quoted from https://forum.notebookreview.com/7364805-post14.html), and download and run the tool.

The problem you guys are running into is a new Windows 7 "feature".

To accurately measure time in a Windows PC, software uses the QueryPerformanceCounter function. Many applications, especially games, depend on this Windows function to accurately calculate FPS as well as for many other timing purposes in game including sound.

The problem is that for many computers, this function in Windows 7 is now based on the clock speed of the processor. If you overclock in the bios and then boot up, this timer is calibrated and will work 100% correctly. If you use SetFSB or a similar program and you change the bus speed from within Windows, you have now just screwed up this very important timing mechanism. The number of applications that can choke after you do this is surprising, especially games.

I wrote a program called WinTimerTester to test for this problem.

WinTimerTester 1.1
https://www.mediafire.com/?xzo9n84d8lze9nb
https://www.sendspace.com/file/xadvhe

What it does is it runs two different clocks in your CPU at the same time and compares them to make sure they are both running at the same speed. It compares the Windows GetTickCount function to the QueryPerformanceCounter function and within approximately 60 to 100 seconds, these two timers should be running at a perfect 1.0000 : 1 ratio.

If you overclock your CPU with SetFSB and WinTimerTester reports that these timers are not running at a 1.0000 : 1 ratio, that shows that you have this bug and you have also overclocked this important timer within your computer which can screw up a variety of programs in a variety of ways.

Luckily there is a solution to this Windows bug. Microsoft actually considers this a feature but for anyone that uses SetFSB on a regular basis, it's a big bug.

To fix this problem, open up a command window and type in this:

bcdedit /set useplatformclock true

You will have to exit the command window and reboot before this setting can take affect. What this does is it changes Windows so the QueryPerformanceCounter function will be based on a fixed counter that is not influenced by SetFSB. That one line of code should correct this problem and your games will run fine when using SetFSB.

If you ever want to go back to the original buggered up timer that Windows uses then open up a command window and type in this.

bcdedit /deletevalue useplatformclock

Once again, reboot and things will be back to the default Windows 7 timer. These two images should show you when your internal timers are broken and what WinTimerTester will report when your internal timer is fixed. This only applies to Windows 7. There is a similar fix for Windows XP so PM me if you need it.

Some tips here might be useful (most aren't): https://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=327922

[Blín D'ñero]

Create shortcut on desktop to your Microsoft Security Essentials:
see tutorial @ sevenforums.com

---

How To Change A Windows Account Name And User Profile Folder Name
How To Change A Windows Account Name And User Profile Folder Name (ghacks.net)

---

Backup Internet Explorer restricted sites list:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains

[Blín D'ñero]

A fix for the multifile-selection glitch in Windows 7 and 8

In earlier versions of Windows, you could select multiple files in an Explorer window and change the sort-by option without losing your selection. Tweak the Registry to return the capability to Explorer in Windows 7 and 8.

A fix for the multifile-selection glitch in Windows 7 and 8 (howto.cnet.com)

---

Proper way to REALLY prevent Windows installing generic video drivers on startup (not recommendable, only useful in emergency situations)

This method:
'Right-click My Computer -> Properties -> Advanced system settings -> Hardware -> Device installation settings -> ....... choose no and never install drivers'
does not seem to work at all.
So, what do?

• In the Search field (above the Start Orb) type in:
  gpedit.msc
• click the shortcut that appears. That brings you to the Local Group Policy Editor
• Navigate: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Device Installation.
• Select the subfolder Device Installation in the left pane. In the right pane you see the available restrictions.
• In the right pane, double-click on "Prevent Installation of Devices not described by other policy settings" and select the radiobutton "Enabled".
• Reboot PC.

This is generally not recommendable though. But sometimes you might just need it.

---

Edit FileZilla’s Quickconnect List
For instance to remove a single line that is no longer valid.
Navigate to:
C:\Users\*you*\AppData\Roaming\FileZilla
Open recentservers.xml
edit it with your favourite xml editor (i use Dreamweaver, or Notepad++)

[Blín D'ñero]

How To Restart Windows Explorer Manually to Avoid a System Restart guidingtech.com

---

Disable spell-checker in Internet Explorer (10 / 11)

1. Go to Tools in the upper right corner, or just hit Alt+X
2. Select Manage Add-ons
   • In the list on the left side, select (highlight) Spelling Correction
   • check off enable spelling correction

---

Don't forget:
Internet Properties: General > Browsing History > Settings > Disk Space to use: 1024 MB.

[Blín D'ñero]

Create a shortcut to Power Options

I use it often to change the monitor sleep timer.

Right-click on desktop -> create new shortcut.
Type in
control powercfg.cpl
click Next
type a better name, like
Power Options

Done!

[Blín D'ñero]

Configure Internet Explorer to download more than 6 files at one time.

To increase the number of files that you can download at one time to 10, follow these steps:

1. Start Registry Editor.
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, and then add the following registry values:
   Value name: MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server
   Value data: 10
   Base: Decimal
   
   Value Name: MaxConnectionsPerServer
   Value data: 10
   Base: Decimal
4. Exit Registry Editor.

Internet Explorer 8; 9; 10; 11

How to configure the connection limit by modifying a registry key

1. Start Registry Editor.
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\FeatureControl\FEATURE_MAXCONNECTIONSPERSERVER
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, and then add the following registry values:
   Value name: iexplore.exe
   Value data: 10
   Base: Decimal
   
   Note
   set this value to the connection limit that you want for HTTP 1.1 connections. By setting the value to 10, you increase the connection limit to 10.
4. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\FeatureControl\FEATURE_MAXCONNECTIONSPER1_0SERVER
5. On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, and then add the following registry values:
   Value name: iexplore.exe
   Value data: 10
   Base: Decimal
   
   Note
   set this value to the connection limit that you want for HTTP 1.1 connections. By setting the value to 10, you increase the connection limit to 10.
   6.Exit Registry Editor.

How to configure the connection limit by using Group Policy

1. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
2. Expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components, expand Internet Explorer, expand Security Features, and then expand AJAX.
3. Set the Maximum number of connections per server (HTTP 1.0) and Maximum number of connections per server (HTTP 1.1) options to the settings that you want. You must update policies or restart the computer to apply these changes.

To be sure, i have done all three steps.
Source: https://support2.microsoft.com/kb/282402/en-us

If you don't want to restart computer, force update policies:

1. In the search bar (above the Windows Vista / 7 Start orb) type:
   cmd
2. On the cmd.exe shortcut that appears, right-click -> "Run as administrator"
3. type in (or copy this then right-click-paste into the cmd prompt window):
   gpupdate /force
4. then hit Enter
5. Wait for it to complete successfully. Then close the cmd window.

[Blín D'ñero]

View or manage your certificates

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

You can use Certificate Manager to see details about your certificates, modify them, delete them, or request new ones.

• Open Certificate Manager by clicking the Start button, typing certmgr.msc into the Search box, and then pressing ENTER.‌ If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Tips for working in Certificate Manager

•Certificates are stored in the folders under Certificates - Current User. You might have to search through the folders to find the certificate you're looking for.

•When you open a certificates folder, the certificates are displayed, along with some details about them, in the right pane. The Intended Purposes column tells you what each certificate is used for.

•You can request a new certificate with the same key or a different key, and you can also export or import a certificate. To do any of these things, click the certificate, click the Action menu, point to All Tasks, and then click the command that corresponds to what you want to do.

Source (microsoft.com)

---

Fix Microsoft Windows Update Issues
Try this tool at microsoft.com

[Blín D'ñero]

Using Tracking Protection. https://www.iegallery.com/nl-nl/trackingprotectionlists
(here is the us version: https://www.iegallery.com/en-us/PinnedSites)

Once installed, it is located here:
C:\Users\*Me*\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Tracking Protection

I create a shortcut to it on Desktop. On some websites i want it disabled, so i temporarily rename the folder.

I also create a shortcut to cookies.
C:\Users\*Me*\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies

Because: when my computer is on for five days with tracking protection enabled, at some point news sites i visit don't show their live shows anymore... i know it is due to a cookie problem.
I then open cookies folder, select "Date Modified" and delete them from last 5 days. Resulting in those news sites working again.

---

https://superuser.com/questions/322487/ ... logging-in

They give complicated answers, but by experimenting i found out it is very easy to fix. When i find the time to write it out i will.

[Blín D'ñero]

Windows Update trouble in Windows 7 x64, like stuck in "checking for updates..."

Make sure the update service is not running before you try to install.

Type "cmd" and open it as an administrator,
then type

net stop wuauserv

In the end it will say it successfully stopped the service.

Then
Download and install KB3050265
Reboot
Download and install KB3102810
Reboot and check for updates again.