Customize Windows 7 Start Menu !!

Download Windows 7 Backgrounds/Themes/Desktop Gadgets/Sideshow Gadgets !!

Go To http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/Windows7/Personalize

and  Download themes/backgrounds/gadgets You like & install them.

Step1

Desktop Themes: Go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=132490 . Click On ''Themes'' Tab
You can customize your own themes or download one that is ready to go!
Microsoft has a lot of cool looking themes, I download and installed a theme and it was as simple as one click of the mouse and there it was on my desktop. Super easy and foolproof installation process.

Step2

Desktop backgrounds: Go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=132490 . Click On ''Desktop Backrouunds'' tab
Again super easy one click installation, find the one you like. Click and it's installed! You can also right click on your background and change the settings to point to one of your own pictures.


Step3

Desktop gadgets:Go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=132492 . Click On ''Desktop Gadgets''
Got a little bit of everything here, in fact the Vista Gadgets work and I'll provide a link in resources. There was 3002 results under desktop gadgets, should be something for everyone!


Step4

Sideshow gadgets:Sideshow gadgets are small programs that run on a Windows SideShow-compatible device and update the device with information from your computer. More are available at the same page of Microsoft website.

Windows 7 Secrets/Tweaks/Tips !!

Windows 7 is fast, stable and far more reliable as expected.And while it doesn't include major new features in its first beta, take the time to explore and you'll find lots of useful changes that will make a real difference in how you use your PC.Like any version of Windows there are various tips, tweaks and hacks you can perform to get your PC working the way you want it.Here's the first guide on how to get the most from your Windows 7 installation.1. Protect your MP3 filesAlong with many good new features, the Windows 7 beta also includes a nasty bug. Its version of Windows Media Player 12 will automatically add missing metadata, including album art, and this can overwrite the first few seconds of the file. Oops. Installing an update may fix this (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961367) but it would be a very good idea to back up your MP3 files, too.2. Right-click everythingAt first glance Windows 7 bears a striking resemblance to Vista, but there's an easy way to begin spotting the differences - just right-click things.Right-click an empty part of the desktop, for instance, and you'll find a menu entry to set your screen resolution. No need to go browsing through the display settings any more.Right-click the Explorer icon on the taskbar for speedy access to common system folders: Documents, Pictures, the Windows folder, and more.And if you don't plan on using Internet Explorer then you probably won't want its icon permanently displayed on the taskbar. Right-click the icon, select "Unpin this program from the taskbar", then go install Firefox, instead.3. Fix the taskbarThe new Windows 7 taskbar acts as one big quick launch toolbar that can hold whatever program shortcuts you like (just right-click one and select Pin To Taskbar). And that's fine, except it does consume a little more screen real estate than we'd like. Shrink it to a more manageable size by right-clicking the Start orb, then Properties > Taskbar > Use small icons.If you've no problem with the taskbar size, but find the way it combines icons to be confusing, then right-click the Start orb, click Properties > Taskbar and set "Taskbar buttons" to "Combine when taskbar is full" for a more familiar XP and Vista-style look.4. Keyboard shortcutsWindows 7 supports several useful new keyboard shortcuts.Alt+PDisplay/ hide the Explorer preview paneWindows Logo+GDisplay gadgets in front of other windowsWindows Logo++ (plus key)Zoom in, where appropriateWindows Logo+- (minus key)Zoom out, where appropriateWindows Logo+UpMaximise the current windowWindows Logo+DownMinimise the current windowWindows Logo+LeftSnap to the left hand side of the screenWindows Logo+RightSnap to the right hand side of the screenWindows Logo+HomeMinimise/ restore everything except the current window5. Customise UACWindows Vista's User Account Control was a good idea in practice, but poor implementation put many people off - it raised far too many alerts. Fortunately Windows 7 displays less warnings by default, and lets you further fine-tune UAC to suit your preferred balance between security and a pop-up free life (Start > Control Panel > Change User Account Control Settings).6. Display your drivesClick Computer in Windows 7 and you might see a strange lack of drives, but don't panic, it's just Microsoft trying to be helpful: drives like memory card readers are no longer displayed if they're empty. We think it's an improvement, but if you disagree then launch Explorer, click Tools > Folder Options > View and clear "Hide empty drives in the computer folder" to get your empty drives back.7. Burn imagesWindows 7 finally introduces a feature that other operating systems have had for years - the ability to burn ISO images to CDs or DVDs. And it couldn't be much easier to use. Just double-click the ISO image, choose the drive with the blank disc, click Burn and watch as your disc is created.8. Speedy video accessWant faster access to your Videos folder? Windows 7 now lets you add it to the Start menu. Just right-click the Start orb, click Properties > Start Menu > Customize, and set the Videos option to "Display as a link". If you've a TV tuner that works with Windows 7 then you'll appreciate the new option to display the Recorded TV folder on the Start menu, too.9. Run web searchesThe Windows 7 search tool can now be easily extended to search online resources, just as long as someone creates an appropriate search connector. To add Flickr support, say, visit I Started Something [http://www.istartedsomething.com/flickrsearch], click Download the Connector, choose the Open option and watch as it's downloaded (the file is tiny, it'll only take a moment). A "Flickr Search" option will be added to your Searches folder, and you'll be able to search images from your desktop.10. Explore everywhereLaunch Paint or Wordpad and you'll immediately spot the new Office-style ribbon interface, a real improvement in what were very dated applets. But other improvements are a little less obvious. At first glance the Windows calculator looks much the same, for instance, but the Mode menu leads to powerful new Statistics and Programmer views. And if you're clueless about bitwise manipulation, then try the Options menu instead. This offers many different unit conversions (length, weight, volume and more), date calculations (how many days between two dates?), and spreadsheet-type templates to help you calculate vehicle mileage, mortgage rates and more. Be sure to explore every menu option in Calculator and all the other Windows applets to ensure you don't miss anything important.

Dual Boot Windows 7 !!

Windows 7 Shortcuts !!

General

Win+Up---- Maximize
Win+Down- Restore / Minimize
Win+Left---Snap to left
Win+Right--Snap to right
Win+Shift+Left-Jump to left monitor
Win+Shift+Right - Jump to right monitor
Win+Home- Minimize / Restore all other windows
Win+T----- Focus the first taskbar entry
Pressing again will cycle through them, you can can arrow around.
Win+Shift+T cycles backwards.

Win+Space-Peek at the desktop
Win+G----- Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order
Win+P----- External display options (mirror, extend desktop, etc)
Win+X----- Mobility Center (same as Vista, but still handy!)

Win+#
(# = a number key)--Launches a new instance of the application in the Nth slot on the taskbar.
Example: Win+1 launches first pinned app, Win+2 launches second, etc.

Win + +
Win + -
(plus or minus key) ---->Zoom in or out.

Explorer;
Alt+P Show/hide Preview Pane


Taskbar modifiers

Shift + Click on icon--- ------------Open a new instance
Middle click on icon---- ------------Open a new instance
Ctrl + Shift + Click on icon-------- Open a new instance with Admin privileges
Shift + Right-click on icon----------Show window menu (Restore / Minimize / Move / etc)
Note: Normally you can just right-click on the window thumbnail to get this menu

Shift + Right-click on grouped icon- Menu with Restore All / Minimize All / Close All, etc.
Ctrl + Click on grouped icon--------Cycle between the windows (or tabs) in the group

Speed Up Windows 7 By These Tips !!

Disable indexing
Description: Indexing creates and maintains a database of file attributes. This can lead to multiple small writes when creating/deleting/modifying files. Searching for files will still work.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Services and Applications -> Services - > Right-Click Windows Search -> Startup type: Disabled -> OK


Disable defragmentation
Description: Defragmenting a hard disk's used space is only useful on mechanical disks with multi-millisecond latencies. Free-space defragmentation may be useful to SSDs, but this feature is not available in the default Windows Defragmenter.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Services and Applications -> Services - > Right-Click Disk Defragmenter -> Startup type: Disabled -> OK


Disable Write Caching
Description: There is no cache on the SSD, so there are no benefits to write caching. There are conflicting reports on whether this gains speed or not.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager -> Disk drives -> Right-Click STEC PATA -> Properties -> Policies Tab -> Uncheck Enable write caching -> OK


Configure Superfetch
Description: Frees up RAM by not preloading program files.
Instructions: On second glance, I would recommend leaving this one alone. However, there are some customizations that you can follow in the post below.


Disable the Page File
Description: Eliminate writing memory to the SSD, free over 2GB of disk space. Warning - If you run out of memory the program you're using will crash.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Settings (Performance) -> Advanced Tab -> Change -> Uncheck Automatically manage -> No paging file -> Set -> OK -> Restart your computer
Alternatively, if you want to play it safer, you can set a custom size of 200MB min and max.


Disable System Restore
Description: Don't write backup copies of files when installing new programs or making system changes. Can free up between a few hundred MB to a couple GB. Warning - Although unlikely, if a driver installation corrupts your system, there won't be an automatic way to recover.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> System Protection Tab -> Configure -> Turn off system protection -> Delete -> OK


Disable Hibernation
Description: You may free up 1GB of space on the SSD if you have 1GB of memory, 2GB of space if you have 2GB memory. You will lose the hibernation feature which allows the equivalent of quick boots and shutdowns.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Type cmd -> Right-Click the cmd Icon -> Run as Administrator -> Type powercfg -h off -> Type exit

Get Windows 7 !!

Microsoft has allowed Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) to be downloaded by the public. 

There is no limit on the product keys and you can test it for a year, after which you can choose to revert back to your old OS without any issues what so ever. 

Windows 7 is available in 32-bit & 64-bit in a variety of different languages.

Click here to go to Microsofts Page To Download Windows 7 Off them.

Thats It !! And follow the instructions up in there