Windows 7 Tips & Tricks

DVD drive not found

In some cases your DVD drive may not be found by Windows 7, even if it’s visible in the BIOS and using the standard driver. The standard solution here is to run REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\, then delete both UpperFilters and LowerFilters in the right-hand pane (UpperFilters.bak and LowerFilters.bak entries can be ignored).

No change? Resetting the drive letter has worked for some. Click Start, type Disk Management and choose the “Create and format hard disk partitions” link. If your optical drive is visible here then right-click it, select Change Drive Letter and Paths, click Change and choose a new letter. If the drive is now visible in Explorer, then repeat
the process to change the drive letter back; if it’s still not visible, reboot and it should appear.

Phone won’t sync in Windows 7

Irritated iPhone users are beginning to report major difficulties in getting their iPhone to sync with Windows 7 systems. Particularly 64-bit Windows 7 systems, based around the P55 chipset. The iPhone is usually (though not always) recognised, but iTunes then complains that it can’t connect to the unit because of an “unknown error”, usually (though again, not always) 0xE8000065.

Disabling USB power management appears to be one solution. Click Start, type DEVMGMT.MSC and press [Enter] to launch Device Manager, then click View > Devices By Type. Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section of the tree, right-click each USB Root Hub entry in turn, select Properties > Power Management, and clear “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”. Reboot your PC after this tweak and try again. This works for some, but if you’re out of luck then check the Apple Discussions thread for other ideas.

Windows 7 themes change your custom icons

Windows 7 has some spectacular new themes – there’s a great selection at the Microsoft site – but installing them can have one annoying side-effect. If you’ve previously changed a system icon like Computer or the Recycle Bin then that could disappear, replaced by the equivalent icon from the theme pack.

To prevent this, right-click an empty part of the desktop, select Personalise > Change Desktop Icons, clear the “Allow themes to change desktop icons” box and click OK. Your icons will now be preserved, and the only way to change them will be manually, from the same Desktop Icons dialogue.

To show Hidden extensions

Explorer’s default settings in Windows 7 hide file extensions, as well as system files and folders. To fix this, launch Explorer and click Tools > Folder Options > View.

Clear the “Hide extensions for known file types” to show file extensions, reducing the likelihood that you’ll accidentally double-click on virus.txt.exe in future.

And as long as there are no novice users on your system who might go poking around in Explorer, we’d also choose to “Show hidden files and folders” as well as clear the “Hide protected operating system files” box. It’s often important to see these files when you’re troubleshooting, or following problem-solving instructions from someone else.

Poor video playback quality

The new Windows 7 power plan settings affect more of your software than ever before. If you notice video playback quality seems poor, for instance, then click Start, type Power Options and click the Power Options link. Click Change Plan Settings for your currently selected plan, click Change Advanced Settings, expand the Multimedia Settings section and make sure “Playing video” is set to “Optimise performance”.

Alternatively, if you often play video on a laptop, then change the new setting to “Optimise performance” and you may see an improvement in battery life.

How to create a system repair disk

Nothing is more frustrating than realising your system has been corrupted, and is no longer operable. One thing that can help you get your system back up and running, is a System Repair Disk, and it’s a very simple process. To create a System Repair Disk:

Click the “Start” button
Select “Maintenance”
Select “Create a System repair Disc”

Windows 7 will then create a System Repair Disc. If your system ever takes a turn for the worse, this disk, and the data it contains.

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c0000034 error after installing Windows 7 SP1

Your computer may freeze or restart to a black screen that has a “0xc0000034” error message after you install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or a Windows Vista service pack.

Steps to resolve the issue for Windows 7 users:

To resolve this issue, use the following methods, starting with Method 1. We recommend that you try Method 2 only if you are an advanced user.

Method 1: Restore your computer to an earlier point in time by using System Restore. System Restore will restore your computer to an earlier point in time before you experienced this issue and then it will restart your computer. To restore your system, follow these steps:

Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. You have to press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you have to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears and then shutting down and restarting your computer.
Note: On a computer that is configured for booting to multiple operating systems, you can press the F8 key when the Boot Menu appears.
Use the arrow keys to select Repair your Computer in the Advanced Boot Options area, and then press Enter.
If you are prompted, select the Windows 7 installation to be repaired, and then click Next.
Select the language and a keyboard input method, and then click Next.
Select a user name, type your password, and then click OK.
Under System Recovery Options, click System Restore.
In the System Restore window, click Next.
Select the restore point for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 if one is available. If one is not available, select a restore point that you estimate was created before the problem started, and then click Next.
Note: If you do not see any restore points, click to select the Show
more restore points check box.
In the Confirm your restore point window, click Finish, and then click Yes when you are prompted.
When you are prompted that System Restore completed successfully, click Restart.
Note: If you see the black screen and the same error message or a similar error message, you may have to repeat these steps and restore your computer to an earlier date.

Method 2: Delete the poqexec entry from the SetupExecute value
(advanced users only)
Note: We recommend that you try Method 2 only if you are an
advanced user.
Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if
a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows. To delete the poqexec entry from the SetupExecute (REG_MULTI_SZ) value, you must clear the value. To do this, follow these steps:

Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. You have to press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you have to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears and then shutting down and restarting your computer.
Note: On a computer that is configured to boot to multiple operating systems, you can press the F8 key when the Boot Menu appears.
Use the arrow keys to select Repair your Computer in the
Advanced Boot Options area, and then press Enter.
If you are prompted, select the Windows 7 installation to be
repaired, and then click Next.
Select the language and a keyboard input method, and then
click Next.
Select a user name, type your password, and then click OK.
Under System Recovery Options, click Command Prompt, and
then press Enter.
At the command prompt, type the following commands.
Press Enter after each command.
Reg load HKLM\BaseSystem C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM
Reg Delete “HKLM\BaseSystem\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager”/v SetupExecute
Reg add “HKLM\BaseSystem\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager” /v SetupExecute /t REG_MULTI_SZ
Reg unload HKLM\BaseSystem
At the command prompt, type exit, and then press Enter.
Restart your computer.

Common Application Issues

Force PDF’s to open by default in Adobe Acrobat rather than a
browser:

Launch Browser.
Click on Tools menu > Manage Add-ons.
Select “Toolbars and Extensions” under “Add-on Types”.
Select “Run without permission” from the drop-down menu under “Show”.
Select “Adobe PDF Reader”.
Click on the “Disable” button 7. Click on “Close” button to dismiss the “View and Manage your Internet Explorer add-ons”dialog.

Shrink Large Microsoft SQL log files

Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and run a new query with the following commands. The Database and log name may vary.
USE [master]
GO
ALTER DATABASE [GoldVision]
SET RECOVERY SIMPLE WITH NO_WAIT
GO
USE [GoldVision]
GO
DBCC SHRINKFILE (‘ GoldVisionV30_log’,1)
ALTER DATABASE [GoldVision]
SET RECOVERY FULL WITH NO_WAIT
GO

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Steps to resolve the issue for Windows Vista users:

To resolve this issue, use the following methods starting with Method 1. If method 1 does not resolve your issue, go to method 2. We recommend that you try Method 3 only if you are an advanced user.

These methods are intended to help you return your computer to a bootable state without the service pack installed. After you successfully return your computer to a bootable state, you should try again to install the service pack.

Note: The following methods require the Windows Vista DVD. If your computer manufacturer did not supply a Windows Vista DVD, you may be able to start to Repair Tools. To do this, follow these steps:

Restart your computer, and then press F8 during the restart process to open the Advanced Boot Options menu. Or, wait for and select the Advanced Options Menu option.
On the menu, select the option to repair your computer.
Select Administrator, and then press Enter.
Go to step 4 in Method 1 or Method 2.

Method 1: Restore your computer to an earlier point in time by using System Restore.

System Restore will restore your computer to an earlier point in time before you experienced this issue, and then it will restart your computer. To restore your system, follow these steps:

Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the DVD drive, and then restart your computer from the DVD.
Note: When you receive the Press any Key to boot from the CD or DVDprompt, press any key on the keyboard to restart your computer by using the Windows Vista DVD.
Select your language setting, and then click Next.
Select Repair your computer.
Select the Windows Vista installation to be repaired, and then click Next.
Under System Recovery Options, select System Restore, and then press Enter.
Note: If the repair process detects a problem when it starts Windows Vista, it will run Startup Repair to automatically fix the problem. If this occurs, click Cancel, and then click View Advanced Options for system recovery and support.
In the System Restore Wizard, click Next.
Select the restore point that has a date before the date that you received the error message, and then click Next.
Note: In most cases, this is the latest restore point in the list.
Click Next.
Click Finish. System Restore will finish and restart your computer.
Note: If you see the black screen and the same error message or a similar error message, you may have to repeat these steps and restore your computer to an earlier date.

Method 2: Use Startup Repair to try to repair any startup issues with
your computer.

To start Windows from the Windows Vista DVD and use the System
Recovery Options, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the DVD drive, and then restart your computer from the DVD.
Note: When you receive the Press any Key to boot from the CD or DVD prompt, press any key on the keyboard to restart your computer by using the Windows Vista DVD.
Select your language setting, and then click Next.
Select Repair your computer.
Select the Windows Vista installation to be repaired, and then click Next.
Under System Recovery Options, select Startup Repair, and then press Enter.
Note: If the repair process detects a problem when it starts Windows Vista, it will run Startup Repair to automatically fix the problems. If this occurs, click Cancel, and then click View Advanced Options for system recovery and support.
Click Finish when the Startup Repair has finished.
Under System Recovery Options, click Restart.
Note: If you see a black screen that has the same error message, try Method 3.

Method 3: Delete the poqexec entry from the SetupExecute value (advanced users only).

Note: We recommend that you try Method 3 only if you are an advanced user.

Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.

To delete the poqexec entry from the SetupExecute
(REG_MULTI_SZ) value, you must clear the value. To do this, follow these steps:

Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the DVD drive, and then restart your computer from the DVD.
Note: When you receive the Press any Key to boot from the CD or DVD prompt, press any key on the keyboard to restart your computer by using the Windows Vista DVD.
Select your language setting, and then click Next.
Select Repair your computer.
Note: If you are prompted to do a System Restore, select No, and press Enter.
Under System Recovery Options, select Startup Repair, and then press Enter.
Note: If the repair process detects a problem when it starts Windows Vista, it will run Startup Repair to automatically fix the problems. If this occurs, click Cancel, and then click View Advanced Options for system recovery and support.
Under System Recovery Options, click Command Prompt, and then press Enter.
At the command prompt, type the following commands. Press Enter after each command:
Reg load
HKLM\BaseSystem C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM
Reg Delete
“HKLM\BaseSystem\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager” /v SetupExecute
Reg add
“HKLM\BaseSystem\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager” /v SetupExecute /t REG_MULTI_SZ
Reg unload HKLM\BaseSystem
At the command prompt, type exit, and then press Enter.
Restart your computer.