NTFS vs. FAT
To NTFS or not to NTFS—that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.
Change the shut down button in the start menu
Windows 7 displays a shut down button by default in the start menu which will shut down the computer when it is activated. Some users might prefer a different default action. This can be configured by right-clicking the shutdown button and selecting properties from the menu.
This opens the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties with an option to change the Power button action from Shut down to all other available actions that become available when clicking on the down arrow next to the shut down button. This includes switching users, restarting the system or entering sleep mode.
Windows 7 Tricks and Keyboard Shortcuts
I’ve been running Windows 7 RC for a little over a week now and can’t imagine going back to Vista at this point. I decided to start with a fresh install of Windows 7, so I’ve been in the process of reinstalling all of my applications and cleaning up my disk drives.
In the process, I went searching to see if there are any interesting Windows 7 power toys or tricks available. While I didn’t find any power toys, I did discover that all of the Windows Vista tricks are still available on Windows 7.
Window Management
- Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow: Dock a window to the left or right half of the screen.
- Win+Shift+Left Arrow and Win+Shift+Right Arrow: Move a window from one monitor to another, keeping them in the same relative location to the monitor’s top-left origin.
- Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow: Maximizes and restores/minimizes a window.
- Win+Shift+Up Arrow and Win+Shift+Down Arrow: Maximizes and restores the vertical size of a window.
- Win+Home: Minimize all the non-active background windows, keeping the window you’re using in its current position. (Press Win+Home again to restore the windows to their original locations.)
- Win+(plus key) and Win+(minus key): Zoom in or out using Windows Magnifer.
- Win+E: Opens Windows Explorer.
- Win+U: Opens the Ease of Access Center.
- Win+D: Show/hide the desktop.
- Win+F: Opens the Search Results window.
- Win+L: Locks the computer.
- Win+B: Sets focus to the “Show hidden icons” button on the task bar.
- Win+M: Minimizes all windows.
- Win+Ctrl+F: Opens the Active Directory Find Computers dialog.
Taskbar
- Win+Space: Use “Aero Peek” to see any gadgets or icons you’ve got on your desktop.
- Win+R: Opens the Run dialog.
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