Windows 7 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft, released on July 22, 2009.
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Windows 7 and Vista Activation FAQ: How do language, version, 64-bit or 32-bit, and source affect ability to install and transfer Windows licenses?
We get a lot of questions on Super User about Windows activation and licensing. This question is an attempt to answer the most common questions in one place with a canonical answer.
When ...
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3answers
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Where do I download Windows 7 (legally from Microsoft)?
I just bought a serial for Windows 7 on-line from the Microsoft store (the most painful shopping experience EVER!). I selected that I wanted to download my version of Windows 7 after purchase. After ...
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3answers
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How can I reinstall Windows 7 if I lost my installation DVD? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where do I download Windows 7 (legally from Microsoft)?
I have lost my Windows 7 installation DVD, but I do have the license key. How can I get a Windows 7 DVD? Can I ...
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5answers
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Install Windows 7 from USB flash drive
I have an ISO of the Windows 7 installation DVD, but I can't burn it to CD or DVD. I have an empty flash drive with plenty of space; is there anyway I can put the ISO on it and install from it as if ...
16
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0answers
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How do I troubleshoot a Windows 7 freeze or slowness? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are the first steps for diagnosing a slow machine?
I have a new pc with windows 7 which freezes randomly. I hit every single key on the keyboard and it works again. ...
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9answers
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Is there way to enable 4 GB RAM in 32-bit Windows OS?
I upgraded my PC to 4 GB RAM and I get only 3 GB. Windows 7 32-Bit consider that I've 4 GB RAM but didn't use more than 3 GB.
Someone told me that MS Windows 32-bit doesn't support RAM larger than 3 ...
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7answers
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How can I enable PAE on Windows 7 (32-bit) to support more than 3.5 GB of RAM?
I know that Windows XP 32-bit can be configured, through PAE, to support more than 3.5 GB of RAM. Is there a good tutorial to do this with Windows 7 32-bit?
As to why I don't simply use 64-bit ...
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votes
2answers
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4 GB of Ram installed but only 2.97GB usable. What gives? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where did the other .8 GB of RAM go?
I just bought a used Macbook on eBay that came installed with 4 gb of ram. The first thing I did was installed Windows 7 using ...
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5answers
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Lost my Windows 7 admin password, need to change or reset it [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What can I do if I forgot my Windows password?
I forgot the Windows 7 password on my new computer and I can't log into it at all. I was the administrator for the ...
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votes
6answers
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How to enable 4GB in my Windows 7 64 bit?
I have the following machine configuration:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
1 x 2048 MBytes memory chip
2 x 1024 MBytes memory chip
1 x Radeon HD 4870
Motherboard : Gigabyte 945P-S3
Windows 7 RTM 64-bit
In ...
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13answers
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Windows 7 Features Not Found In Previous Versions
What are some things you can in Windows 7 that you couldn't do in previous versions of Windows? Don't limit your answers to a single feature, I want to learn as much as possible.
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7answers
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How do I change the wallpaper of Windows 7 Starter Edition?
Is there a way to change the desktop wallpaper in Windows 7 Starter Edition? I wanted to do that on my new netbook, just to find out that there is no "Customize" option in the control panel. Microsoft ...
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votes
2answers
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Does built in Windows 7 backup perform differential (incremental) backups?
I have win 7 scheduled to backup every Sunday, it's only looking at one of my drives at the moment and is backing up to an external HDD. It's a 1TB drive so should take quite a while to fill but the ...
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votes
6answers
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Software for measuring internet traffic?
I'm interested in finding a free piece of software for Windows XP & 7 that allows us to measure both incoming and outgoing internet traffic, but not traffic between users of the local network.
I ...
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6answers
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Can I install Windows OS (Windows 7) on a removable USB hard drive?
I wanted to take a sneak peak at Windows 7 so I thought of installing it. I have Windows Vista on my laptop which came pre-installed with it. I didnt want to mess with it.
So I created a partition ...
18
votes
5answers
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Selectively disabling UAC for specific programs on Windows 7
I have some programs running on start-up like Everything. UAC prompts every time the Windows starts. How can I set a program to make sure that no intervening prompt would appear during start-up?
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5answers
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Virtual desktop (alt+ctrl+1,2,3,4,…) like Linux on Windows 7
Is there any utility on Windows 7, which gives me virtual/multiple desktops like on some Linux distributions?
Is there anything better than Sysinternals Desktops?
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2answers
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How to diagnose slow booting or logon in Windows 7?
When I start my PC, it boots into Windows (Windows 7 32-bit) quite happily, I login and the main Windows screen appears. At that point, however, the system is extremely unresponsive for up to 5 ...
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5answers
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What would happen if I take my hard drive out of my current PC and put it in a new PC?
Basically, I want to get a new PC, but I have so many software/games installed on my current hard drive, that I don't want to waste the time to re-install/re-configure. Would it work if I just take ...
14
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9answers
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How to reset shortcuts (.lnk file) in Windows 7?
Somehow I went to open a shortcut and Windows couldn't find the target but instead of pointing the shortcut to the .exe it pointed the .lnk file handler to the .exe, so now all my .lnk files are ...
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6answers
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How to diagnose repeated freezing of windows 7 (comes back alive in few seconds)
I installed Windows 7 in a 3 year old machine, it installed successfully, took all drivers and running great, but what happens is every 5-6 minutes it freezes for few seconds... 30 seconds to 1 minute ...
3
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2answers
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Create firewall “profiles” for Windows 7 [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Limiting network connections to specific sites when travelling / tethered (in windows)
Is there any way to configure a couple of firewall profiles in Windows 7?
As I ...
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10answers
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How to shrink Windows 7 boot partition with unmovable files
I have just bought HP laptop with Windows 7 (64 bit). It has 500 GB HDD with three partitions: small hidden system partition, 12 GiB HP recovery partition, and 450 GiB C: boot partition.
I would like ...
14
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7answers
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Best Partition Manager for Windows [closed]
Which is the best partition manager software for Windows 7. I have been using Partition Magic in Windows XP. Now that it is not supported in Win 7, I'm forced to used gParted from Live Ubuntu CD.
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6answers
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Dual monitors on Windows - How do I set a different DPI or text size on each monitor?
My laptop is a 15" wide screen running at 1600x1050, and in addition to that I connect an external 19" LCD which runs at 1280x1024. The problem with this setup is that if I increase the text size to ...
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6answers
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Imaging new hard drive in Windows 7 laptop?
I'm upgrading my Windows 7 laptop to a new hard drive.
How can I clone or image the old hard drive over to the new hard drive, so that it looks like nothing has changed (other than the new hard ...
8
votes
6answers
9k views
Can't delete folder in Windows 7
I'm trying to delete a folder in Windows 7 and get a perplexing error message: "Could not find this item: This is no longer located in G:\Graphics. Verify the item's location and try again.
I can ...
10
votes
8answers
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Why is all my extra RAM marked as “hardware reserved” in Windows 7?
I have a new HP Z800 Workstation, running Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit. Z800 Specs are here.
The machine has 4GB of RAM -- windows reported 1.99GB available, 2GB was "hardware reserved". I added ...
31
votes
1answer
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Is there any way to hide taskbar labels and not combine taskbar buttons?
There are three options for customizing taskbar buttons in Windows 7:
Always combine, hide labels
Combine when taskbar is full
Never combine
Is there any way to hide labels and not combine taskbar ...
16
votes
4answers
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Can I transfer a Windows 7 license to another computer? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When reinstalling Windows 7, does the language, version, architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) or source (OEM, retail, or MSDN) matter?
I was thinking of buying Windows 7 ...
9
votes
3answers
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How to diagnose Blue Screens in Windows 7 (64bit)
Using programs like WhoCrashed and BlueScreenView you can see the BSOD and the errors but how do you tell exactly what's causing the BSOD?
I'm not sure if it because of bad hardware, bad driver ...
4
votes
2answers
429 views
Partitioning Software for Windows 7
I used to use Patition Magic Pro from Norton to do disk partitioning.
Now that I have Windows 7, I have been warned, by the OS itself and later confirmed on the internet, that Partition Magic Pro has ...
4
votes
2answers
798 views
direct ethernet connection between two wirelessly connected Windows 7 laptops
I've got two systems that are right next to each other, and connected wirelessly to the same router. I want to connect the two of them together with an ethernet cable - both have gig-e and ...
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votes
6answers
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Using Windows 7, how can you use multiple mice (to get multiple cursors)?
Is it somehow possible to use two mice in Windows 7? I think this could be useful; like using two fingers on a multi touch display...
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votes
3answers
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Any way to “ungroup” taskbar items in Windows 7?
I mostly like the improvements in Windows 7, but am pretty annoyed with the new Taskbar... particularly its habit of always keeping items grouped.
Is there any way to ungroup the taskbar items in ...
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votes
6answers
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How can I read my hard drive's SMART status in Windows 7?
Is there a tool, application, gadget or similar which lets me read the S.M.A.R.T. state of my HDDs while using Windows 7?
Ideally, it should be something that can monitor my HDD temperature ...
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3answers
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Confirming that Windows 7 is using SSD optimizations
Took the plunge and installed Windows 7 on my computer. Even better, I installed it on my new Intel x25m (got to love that SSD goodness.)
Vista was known to thrash, throttle, and otherwise wear out ...
17
votes
5answers
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Why 64 bit OS can't run a 16 bit application?
Why is it that a 32 bit OS that is installed on a 64 bit CPU can run old DOS 16 bit applications, but if you install a 64 bit OS it can't run those applications directly and need some sort of ...
35
votes
6answers
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How can I install Windows 8 on my HDD without the use of a USB or DVD?
I decided to install Windows 8 on my home machine this weekend. I've already downloaded the Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation iso, however we just got done moving and somewhere in the chaos I've ...
8
votes
4answers
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What is the best multiple monitors app for Windows 7? [closed]
What is the best app for supporting multiple monitors in Windows 7? Ultra mon was perfect in Vista and XP but I don't think it works with Windows 7 yet. The main features I'm looking for are:
...
29
votes
7answers
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How does Windows 7 licensing work for running the OS as Virtual Machines?
I plan on buying Windows 7 Ultimate Edition to run on an old Pentium 4. I also want to run Windows 7 virtual machines inside Windows 7. My question is two fold:
Do I need a license for each Virtual ...
22
votes
1answer
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How to change location of hibernation file in Windows 7?
I can't enable hibernation in Windows 7 because there is not enough room on my C: drive to create the hibernation file. How can I make Windows put the file somewhere else?
10
votes
1answer
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Some taskbar pinned icons are duplicated when an instance of the application is running
For some applications that I pin to the taskbar, the icon gets duplicated when an instance of the application is running. For example, in the screen shot below you see there are two icons for VMWare ...
10
votes
4answers
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How to revert to Windows 7 after installing Windows 8?
I was a little gung-ho with my installation of W8 and installed it on my main PC. How do I revert to W7, keeping programs etc?
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7answers
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Is there any benefit from installing Windows 7 64-bit when you have less than 4GB or RAM?
I've recently purchased Windows 7 Ultimate. I have an AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ with 2GB DDR2 RAM. I know RAM has gotten much cheaper, I know, I know, but I am not going to be able to upgrade my RAM for ...
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votes
3answers
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Turn off display in Windows 7 without additional software
Is there a way to turn off display in Windows 7 without using additional software?
Powershell script works fine, but leaves command-line window after turning on the display.
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vote
2answers
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Everything running super slow in Windows 7 on my Dell Laptop
Recently my laptop has become really sluggish. I have Windows 7 and Windows Explorer often freezes or the hour glass comes up and never goes away. I often can't close windows, and when I do, again the ...
29
votes
5answers
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How do I manage multiple audio playback devices on Windows Vista/7?
I've got speakers (audio in) and headphones (USB headset with it's own soundcard) connected to my desktop computer. Under Windows 7, I can right-click the Audio Mixer and select Playback Devices and ...
29
votes
4answers
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How do I troubleshoot when I have no clue where to start?
I am looking for hints, tips and answers on how to get started on troubleshooting when:
The problem is intermittent
The problem could lie literally anywhere - operating system; free source software; ...
13
votes
6answers
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Play audio over network with Windows 7?
I have seen software for Linux systems that allows me to send the audio from one system to another over the network, is there such a software (a driver likely) for Windows, specificly XP but Vista and ...
