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How to start the Windows 7 Recovery Environment
The Windows 7 Recovery Environment is a way to boot your computer into an offline mode where you can run various recovery and diagnostic tools that can be used to try and resolve problems with Windows. This environment is particularly helpful in resolving issues when Windows crashes, does not start, or when you have malware that cannot be removed while Windows is running. Using this environment allows you to gain access to your files and Windows Registry information even when Windows is not started.
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How to remove the Lock option from the Ctrl+Alt+Delete screen in Windows
If you do not want users on a computer to be able to have the Lock option when they enter the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keyboard combination, you can disable it via a policy in the Group Policy Editor or via a Registry key.
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How to lock your screen in Windows
Windows allows you to lock your screen so that others cannot access your computer without entering your password. This is very useful when you need to be away from your computer and do not want other people to use it or access your documents. This tutorial will walk you through locking your screen in all versions of Windows as well as a method of automatically locking your screen when your computer has been idle for a certain amount of time.
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How to log off Windows
To achieve the best performance on your computer, it is suggested that you log off an account instead of switching to another one using Fast User Switching. By logging off an account, all the previous user's programs and files will be closed. This will allow the new account to have access to all of the computer's resources, which will allow it to be faster.
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How to disable Fast User Switching in Windows
Fast User Switching is a useful feature in Windows that allows you to quickly switch between different accounts on your machine. If it's not used properly, though, it can lead to problems as your computer becomes slow due to the amount of programs that are running at the same time. With this said, many people feel its better to disable Fast User Switching altogether and require people to log off of their accounts before another person can log in. This way only the programs currently being used by the logged in user are running and will have more resources available to them.
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How to switch between accounts in Windows
Fast user switching is a feature in Windows that allows you to switch to another user account on the same computer without logging off. This allows multiple users to use the same computer while keeping each account's programs and files open and running in the background. As you can imagine, this can be useful when someone wants to use their computer but another account is logged in with open files and programs. Instead of taking the risk of closing the user's programs and possibly losing data, a user can instead just switch to their account without affecting the other one.
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How to shut down or restart Windows
It is important to know how to properly shut down or restart your computer so that you do not lose data or corrupt important Windows files or Registry locations. Many people think that you shut down your computer simply by pressing the power button. On some configurations, this will work as Windows will recognize that you press the power button and shut it down gracefully. On the other hand, if your computer is not configured to do this, when you press the power button the computer will turn off and any unsaved data in Windows will be lost. Shutting down a computer this way could also cause data corruption on your hard drive or within Windows.
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How to change your account picture in Windows 7
An account picture is the small image that is shown in your Start Menu and in the login screen next to your account name. Windows 7 allows you to select an image from a small set of built-in images or you can add a custom image to it instead. This tutorial will walk you through changing your account picture to a built-in or custom picture.
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How to close a program in Windows
When using Windows there may come a time where you will need to close a program or process that is not responding or that you are concerned is a computer infection. This tutorial will walk you through using the Windows Task Manager to close a program when you cannot close it normally.
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How to use the Windows Task Manager
The Windows Task Manager is a program that comes with Windows and displays information about the processes running and the resources being utilized on your computer. This utility allows you get a good overview of the tasks your computer is performing and the amount of resources each task is utilizing. Using this information you can tune your computer to run optimally and efficiently by disabling programs that may be using too many resources and thus slowing down your computer.
