Add-ons:

Add-ons can cause slow loading pages.

Open IE8/Tools/Manage Add-ons/scroll right in the list view o see which add-on is taking the most time to load.


Quick Launch is missing:

Right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars / New Toolbar.

In the folder selection dialog, enter the following string and hit OK:

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Turn off the lock the taskbar setting, and right-click on the divider. Make sure that Show text and Show title are disabled and the view is set to small icons.

Use the dividers to rearrange the toolbar ordering to choice, and then lock the taskbar again.


Vista looking Task Bar:

Right-click on the taskbar and choose the properties dialog. Select the small icons checkbox and under the taskbar buttons setting, choose combine when taskbar is full.


ISO burner:

Double-click on any DVD or CD .ISO image and a little box popsup.You can now burn an ISO.


Windows 7 install from USB pen drive:

Take a 4GB USB 2.0 thumbdrive, reformat it as FAT32, and simply copy the contents of the Windows 7 Beta ISO image to the memory stick using xcopy e:\ f:\ /e /f (where e: was the DVD drive and f: was the removable drive location).


Nic Fillinghams Top 15 Apps and Codecs Pack downloads:

01. Windows Live Essentials suite - FREE
Includes Windows Live Messenger, Photo Gallery, Writer & Mail. Also includes Silverlight

02. Live Mesh - FREE
All my files are synced across my various machines with Live Mesh. I also take full advantage of the 5GB of cloud storage

03. WinRAR - Shareware (US$29)
My favorite compression and archiving tool. Supports basically any archive format you throw at it including ISO and Linux archives

04. AVG Free Anti-Virus - FREE
Light weight, free anti-virus protection. Does require updates to be manually installed though

05. Firefox (plus Flash & DownThemAll) - FREE
IE8 is my default browser however it is still in beta and there are a few web sites out there that render better in Firefox. DownThemAll is an amazing download utility that dramatically speeds up download times

06. VLC Media Player - FREE
Basically a Quicktime replacement as VLC can playback most *.MOV files

07. Xvid Codec - FREE
*Update* Windows Media Player 12 (found in the Windows 7 beta) natively supports Xvid, Divx and MP4 codecs however if (like me) you have a couple of videos in your collection that don't play correctly try installing the Xvid codec.
For decoding Xvid, Divx and MP4 video files in Windows Media Player

08. AC3 Filter - FREE
*Update* As above - you may not need this codec but if you find you're not getting any sound when plating back a video file it might an AC3/DTS issue.
Audio filter that enables Windows Media Player to playback movies with AC3 and DTS audio tracks

09. ImgBurn - FREE
*Update* Windows 7 burns ISO images natively so this tool is mainly used for creating ISO images.
Great CD/DVD burning and ISO creation utility

10. Easy CD-DA Extractor - 30 Day Free Trial (US$37)
*Update* I primarily use Easy CD-DA Extractor for converting from one file format to the other ie. lossless to MP3 and for the odd CD that WMP12 is unable to rip for me.
"The Swiss Army Knife of Digital Audio" pretty much sums up Easy CD-DA Extractor. I still buy physical CD's from real music stores,... how crazy is that!! Easy CD-DA Extractor allows me to back-up my discs and convert to MP3 for storage on my Windows Home Server

11. Paint.NET - FREE
*Update* The new Paint application in Windows 7 is a great update but if you need to work with some basic layers or some more advanced features then Paint.NET is a great tool.
Simple yet powerful free Photoshop alternative. Not quite as comprehensive as GIMP but does the basics and does them well

12. SharePod - FREE
iTunes alternative for transferring tracks on (and off) ipods

13. Skype (version 4.0 Beta 3) - FREE
I think we all know what Skype is

14. FileZilla - FREE
Light weight, free FTP Utility. Supports file resume

15. Microsoft Office 2007 - 60 Day Free Trial (from US$80)
Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint are my essentials although Windows Live Mail is a great alternative if you don't need the complexity of Outlook

Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts:

Win+Up Maximise

Win+Down Restore/Maximise

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 Minimise/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.



Windows 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

Reverting back to Vista:

If you used the upgrade to Windows 7 then you decide ewwwww I do not like that?

If you find issues trying to uninstall the upgrade or revert back to Vista and find it impossible.

Or you find it impossible to reinstall Vista.

Pop in the Vista disk and run a repair.

This will get you back up and running with Vista.

However you may find Vista a little buggy,if you do then I am afraid it is reinstall Vista.

Shake Windows off your Desktop:

To clear the desktop:

Left click and hold on the Title Bar of the window you only want to show on the desktop.

Shake the window a bit by quickly dragging it left and right.

When the desktop clears, drop.

To restore the desktop:

Left click and hold on the Title Bar of the same window.

Shake the window a bit by quickly dragging it left and right.

When the minimized windows return to the desktop, drop (release the left click) the window.


Windows 7 secrets:

To open command prompt:

Just hold down the Shift Key and right click on the desktop.

And then you can choose Open Command Window Here from the menu.

But then again just right click on a folder and choose Open command prompt window here.


Try this Secret:

When you right click on a file/icon you see the usal items in the list,Open/Send to and so on.

Hold down the Shift key while right-clicking on the icon, and then try the Send To menu.

Wow loads of things in the list of send to.

If you want any of those to show up normally without holding down the Shift key, you can create shortcuts in the Send To folder. Just type the following into the location bar:

shell:sendto

And then drag shortcuts to your preferred folders into this folder.


Uncover the jumplists:

One of the best new features of the new UI is the jumplists. Right click on a Taskbar icon and you’ll be presented with a series of shortcut options for that application – selecting a recently-played album in Windows Media Player, for example. You’ll also find jumplists sprouting from application listings on the Start menu.


Unpin the default apps:

Microsoft has cheekily pinned Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and Windows Explorer to the Taskbar, ensuring they remain a constant presence on your desktop. If you want to get shot of them, right click on the app’s Taskbar icon and select Unpin This Program From Taskbar. If you want to replace them with your favourite software, open the application of your choice, right click on its Taskbar icon and select Pin This Program To Taskbar.


Silence User Account Controls:

To stop UAC interrupting your working day every two-and-a-half-minutes with another inane request, type UAC into the new Windows Start menu search bar, select the Change User Account Control Settings option and drag the slider right down to Never Notify. Just take a little extra care with your day-to-day computing, as you’ll almost certainly be running without security software.


Sort out the System Tray:

The System Tray now has an overspill area, allowing you to relegate attention-hungry applications to a hidden sin bin. Click on the little up arrow on the left-hand side of the System Tray and click Customize to pick and choose which System Tray icons you want to see, and how much you want them to bother you with alerts.


Boost the text size:

The huge screens and high resolutions of today’s flat panel monitors can make it difficult to read on-screen text, particularly if you use your PC as a Media Center on the main living room television. Windows 7 allows you to boost the size of text on screen to up to 150% of its normal size to make it more readable. Right click on the desktop, choose Screen Resolution and select the Make Text And Other Items Larger or Smaller.


Stretch out on extra displays:

It’s now far easier to extend the Windows desktop on to secondary displays. Simply press Windows +P and you’ll be presented with options to extend, duplicate or show your desktop only on the secondary display.

I don't know if you got this, I didn't see it, but
Win + Tab
Arranges your windows so that you can scroll through them. Pretty cool

Some good Windows 7 tips can be found also on 7 Tutorials. Some of the best from the site are:
How to Troubleshoot Network & Internet Problems
How to Improve Windows Explorer Using Folder Options
How to Upgrade Your Windows 7 Test Version to the Final Release
How to Connect to Hidden Wireless Networks

Windows 7 Tips offers simple, step-by-step instructions to enhance the performance of your Windows 7 PC making your migration to the operating software smooth and interesting.
Go to this link for learning tips and tactics step by step with ease: Insight Series – Windows 7 Tips | Windows 7| Windows Xp 7 | Microsoft Operating Systems | Microsoft Windows 7