Posts Tagged ‘7’
Windows Automated Installation Kit Error: 0xc1420117 on dism Command
Error: 0xc1420117
The directory could not be completely unmounted. This is usually due to applications that still have files opened within the mount directory. Close these files and unmount again to complete the unmount process.
This error happens when you use another Dism.exe which is located in C:\Windows\System32. The correct application to use is C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64\Servicing\Dism.exe, so you need to direct your command line tool to that location before you run the unmount-command (use cd C:\Path to change directory). Replace amd64 in the path with your architecture or leave it out to go in the Servicing folder inside Tools.
Disabling Aero on Windows 7
The Windows 7 Aero desktop theme can cost you quite a lot of performance, which is why you might consider disabling it. To do so, open the Control Panel and select Appearance and Personalization:
Next go to Change the theme and scroll down to Windows Classic:
Remove Erroneous Firefox Configuration Entry (Windows 7)
If you entered an erroneous entry into the about:config database of Mozilla Firefox, you will have noticed that there is no option in the browser itself that enables you to remove that entry. Instead, find the config file in your desktop explorer:
C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\weirdstring\prefs
YourUsername has to be replaced with the name of the user you’re logged in with and weirdstring is a string consisting to mainly numbers which represents your Firefox profile. Edit the prefs file with notepad, track down the entry you want to delete and erase the full line.
Save Time On Windows Start-up
To boot your Windows machine faster, it is possible to disable the graphical user interface used during system start-up (the Windows logo loading screen). To accomplish that, hit Windows key + R on your desktop to call a Run prompt and enter msconfig. On the appearing window, go to the Boot tab and activate the No GUI boot checkbox. Hit Apply and/or OK and reboot the machine afterwards for the changes to take effect.
Facebook Explorer – Gadget for Windows 7 Sidebar
Facebook has become a popular way for communication, but is still quite unhandy because it requires a full browser window to be properly visible. To circumvent this problem you can install Facebook Explorer into your Windows 7 Sidebar and let the new messages be indicated right on your desktop:
You can download Facebook Explorer here: http://buildagadget.com/wsg-fb-explorer/
Facebook Explorer grants you access to all major and frequently used functions of facebook like messaging,notifications, liking and commenting.
Twitter Gadget for Windows 7 Sidebar
Since there are many people out there who frequently use twitter to stay up to date on news or in touch with people, a lot of gadgets have come up to speed up the use of twitter by sticking it to the desktop. One of those is Sidechirp, which adopts many functions of the actual twitter homepage, like viewing tweets and your personal messages, posting new tweets and following trends:
Download Sidechirp here: http://buildagadget.com/wsg-sidechirp/
System Control Gadget for Window 7 Sidebar
System Control is the right gadget if you are looking for functionality on low space use – it combines buttons for the regular system commands such as shutdown and restart, but also task manager, command-prompt, control panel, screen saver, run and additionally lets you set a timer to execute the available commands at a certain time:
Furthermore, System Control appeals with its high level of customisation. Download on http://buildagadget.com/wsg-system-control/.
Disable Visual Effects While Playing on Windows 7
The visual effects Windows 7 uses may be very pleasing to the eye, however they use up a lot of resources. If you like to play a lot on your computer this is an obstacle you do not need to face since you can disable compositions and visual themes upon starting a program. To do so, right-click the program’s icon and select Properties. Browse the Compatibility tab and have a look at the options it provides:
The most functional options here are Disable visual themes and Disable desktop compositions. If you check their boxes, these two options will be triggered upon starting the program and deactivated again when the program is closed. This way you save a lot of resources which your games or other applications can grab.
Detailed Control Panel Overview (Windows 7)
If you know the feeling of browsing the default Windows Control Panel for half an hour and still not having found the option settings you looked for, there is a solution that might ease your life: There is a hidden option that lets you view all of the Control Panel’s categories and more in a detailed and well structured overview, it’s just not that obvious to access. To do so, open any Windows Explorer window and enter following in the top bar, that usually shows the directory path of your current folder:
shell:::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Upon entering the input will change into All Tasks and you will be shown a huge list of settings:
If you do not want to type in the code again and again to access the list, just drag the icon on the far left of the browser bar and drop it anywhere on the desktop to create a link.
Clean Up Your Windows System (CCleaner)
The common computer user often does not know that a simple uninstall of a software he or she is no longer in need of will not erase the program completely but will leave traces on your hard disk. These may stack up to a fairly high size and can slow your computer down. The same goes for all kind of temporary files your system stores, the most common being temporary internet files. Deleting these files manually can be a hard thing to do, especially if you do not know where to find those and how to recognize them. That is why there are plenty of tools on the internet that allow you to search for and erase them automatically.
One of these helpful tools is CCleaner.
CCleaner is a tool that allows you to clean up your Windows Registry (the key storage that is responsible for every kind of configuration on your system), uninstall software properly without leaving any traces, disable autostart processes, delete all kinds of temporary files and even format your hard drives and overwrite them up to 35 times so that your old files will no longer be accessible by any usual means.
CCleaner for Windows can be downloaded here: http://download.piriform.com/ccsetup311.exe
It is also available for Mac on: http://download.piriform.com/mac/CCMac1.00.077.dmg
CCleaner’s menu is divided into four main options, being Cleaner, Registry, Tools and Options. The Cleaner section is there for deleting temporary files, cookies, recent documents and other stored files of that kind. The Registry section searches the registry for disposable entries such as missing shared DDLs, unused file extensions or obsolete software and gives you the option to delete these entries. In the Tools section you can uninstall software, delete system restore points and wipe your hard drives empty. Options, speaking for itself, lets you configure your settings, mainly to include or exclude data from being deleted.