Turn your Windows laptop or Android Smartphone into a secure Wi-Fi hotspot

WI-FI HOTSPOT FOR WINDOWS

With Connectify you can share expensive airport Wi-Fi with co-workers, create a wireless hotspot in your ethernet-only hotel or dorm room, even extend the range of your home router. Download Connectify Today from CNET's Download.com!

Overview and Features

Connectify is an easy to use software router for laptops and smart phones. With Connectify, users can wirelessly share any Internet connection: a cable modem, a cellular card, or even another Wi-Fi network. Other Wi-Fi enabled devices can see and join your Connectify hotspot just like any other Wi-Fi access point and are kept safe and secure by password-protected WPA2 Encryption.

• Take any Internet connection and share it wirelessly with no additional hardware, wires, plugs, or chargers
• Easily connect any number of Wi-Fi enabled devices to your network including desktop computers, laptops, phones, gaming systems, and more
• Don't break the bank paying for multiple Wi-Fi connections on the road, Connectify is ad-supported and free to download and use.

All in One Notification Area Tray helps you managing lot of open windows

Even though Windows 7 comes with grouping of open windows there are users who always have a lot of open windows even if it is not by choice. This leads to problem of clarity and ultimately you run out of space on your taskbar.
All in One Tray is a simple utility which solves this problem by acting as a placeholder for any open window ( press Win + Q ) you want to send to background and use it later. This application itself sits in the Tray Bar. Now if you are worried about cluttered Tray Bar, don’t be. Like I said it acts as placeholder meaning it does not send windows to Tray Bar but hides them inside itself which can be accessed when you do a right-click on that icon.

Another feature which makes this app stand out is integration of control menu items

• Admin Controls, Network configuration etc all in categorized.
• System tools such as IP release, Renew IP, Power Options
• and one click access to Built in tools like Problem Step Recorder etc.
• It also lets you add your own set of tools by using the User Custom Path where you can select an exe. However this is limited to four.

Here is a video demo from the developer : ( direct link )

Download All in One Tray

How to Enable or Disable Windows 7 System Restore Configuration

   Information

This will show you how to enable or disable System Restore configuration through System Protection for all users in Windows 7. This is used to configure restore settings, manage disk space, and delete restore points.

When disable, the Configure button is grayed out in the System Protection tab in System Properties. Users will also not be able to change any of the System Restore configuration settings that were set before it was disabled.

EXAMPLE: System Restore Configuration Enabled and Disabled

OPTION ONE

---

Through a REG File Download

1. To Enable System Restore Configuration -

A) Click on the Download button below to download the
Enable_System_Restore_Configuration.reg file below. 

B) Go to step 3.

2. To Disable System Restore Configuration -

A) Click on the Download button below to download the
Disable_System_Restore_Configuration.reg file below.

3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the desktop.

4. Right click the downloaded .reg file on the Desktop and click on Merge.

5. Click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted.

6. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file on the desktop if you like.

OPTION TWO

---

Through the Local Group Policy Editor

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor.

2. In the left pane, click on to expand Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System, and System Restore. (see screenshot below)

3. In the right pane, right click on Turn off configuration and click on Edit. (see screenshot above)

4. To Enable System Restore Configuration -

A) Select (dot) either Not Configured or Disabled. (see screenshot below step 6)

B) Go to step 6.

5. To Disable System Restore Configuration -

A) Select (dot) Enabled. (see screenshot below step 6)

6. Click on OK. (see screenshot below)

7. Close the Local Group Policy Editor window.

That's it,

Windows 7 Install Guide Page 6

26) Finalizing Settings:

Windows 7 is finally... finalizing settings. This should only take a few moments to complete.

27) Welcome:

Not much to say here. Just wait some more.

28) Desktop Setup:

Your initial desktop is setup here. This process will take a few moments, but only happen once.

29) The Desktop:

Windows 7 is now finished being installed and are greeted with the desktop. It is worth noting that you did not need to log in this time, but after rebooting (or logging off), you will see the login screen and you must enter the user name and password created earlier to return to this point.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this Installation guide.

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Windows 7 Install Guide Page 5

21) Product Key:

Windows 7 now asks you to enter the product key that was included with your purchase. This key determines what features and which version will be installed on the system. 32 and 64-bit versions have the same product key.

I highly recommend to uncheck "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online". The reason is that you only have a finite amount of times that you may activate online. After this limit is reached, you will need to call Microsoft directly to have them activate your installation. This can be a big hassle, especially when you are in a hurry to get the computer back up and running. Windows 7 will nag you every so often to activate upon logging in, but this is a minor nuisance compared to the phone call method of activating Windows 7. After verifying that everything works as you intend, you can activate and know that you could have avoided problems later on if you let Windows 7 do it right after logging in for the first time.

30 days is the intended grace period before requiring activation with retail versions, even with this method. However, you can boost that number up to 116 days using the following method:

Open up a command prompt with administrator privileges

Type:

slmgr -rearm

After a reboot, you will have an additional 30 days to ensure everything is running properly. You can perform this action up to 3 times with the current Windows 7 retail release, bringing the required activation time to 116 days, if the Software License Manager is invoked at the end of the required activation period (on the 29th day). I would recommend not waiting until the 30th day to run the command, thus 116 days total and not 120.

After this information is entered, select the Next button.

22) Use Recommended Settings:

This is where Automatic Updates and problems and reports solutions are offered as an option. I recommend to most users to "Use Recommended Settings" here. These options can always be changed later.

Make your selection to continue to the next screen.

23) Time and Date:

Ensure that your time zone is entered correctly and make adjustments as necessary. Also ensure the proper time is set. This information is extracted from the BIOS settings, so if the time was set correctly in a previous installation of Windows (or most any other OS), it should still be correct here.

After this information is verified, select the Next button.

24) Network Profile:

Here, you can select the "general" security measures put in place for your particular network. Most people will want to use "Home network" for desktop installations or "Public network" for a portable system, like a laptop.

Make your selection to continue to the next screen.

25) Network Connecting:

Windows 7 is now connecting to the network. This is where your initial IP address is acquired and internet connectivity is verified.

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Windows 7 Install Guide Page 4

16) Starting Windows:

This is the screen you will be greeted with upon each boot. Windows 7 is starting up!

17) First Use:

Setup is now preparing the system for initial booting. Unlike the previous screen capture, you will not see this on each boot.

18) Video Test:

Here is where Windows 7 tests the systems video performance to see if Aero will be enabled or not. This test will only last a few minutes.

19) Account Creation:

Here is where the initial account creation happens. This user will have full administrator privileges and automatically be logged in after setup is completed.

Enter in your user name and computer name as you would like it to be identified on the network and then select the Next button.

20) User Password:

This screen prompts you to enter a password for the account that you just created. I highly recommend that you password your account. Enter it twice, then include a "password hint" to help remind you of what it is if you misplace or forget it. You, of course, should not enter in your actual password in this field, but a subtle reminder to jog your memory.

After this information is entered, select the Next button.

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Windows 7 Install Guide Page 3

10) Installing:

Here is where Windows 7 installs major components of the OS. This process can take 10 to 60 minutes depending on the system.

11) Reboot: 

Here we see the system needing to reboot to continue installation tasks.

You can hit the Restart Now button or just allow the reboot to happen automatically after several seconds.

12) Setup Registry Entries:

Here we see progress as Windows 7 updates the registry settings. This process may take several minutes before going to the next screen.

13) Starting Services:

Windows 7 starts up required services at this point in the setup process.

14) Installation Continues:

Windows 7 continues to install at this screen.

15) Another Reboot:

After initial setup is complete, another reboot is required with no user input.

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Windows 7 Install Guide Page 2

6) License Agreement:

Here we see the License Agreement you must accept before continuing.

After reading the agreement, check the box next to "I accept the license terms" and select Nextbutton.

7) Option Selections: 

Here we would be able to choose an "Upgrade" install (if running setup from a previous version of Windows, such as Vista) or a "Custom" (clean) install.

Select the whole box containing "Custom (advanced)" to continue to the next screen.

8) Hard Drives:

This is where you can select which hard drive/partition to install Windows 7 on. Since this system only has one hard drive, only one place Windows 7can go. Advanced options are shown in the next screen shot.

This is also where you would install drivers for your ACPI/RAID/SATA controller by using the "Load Driver" option. After the installation of the ACPI/RAID/SATA drivers, your hard drives should appear as shown on the right.

If no additional drivers are needed, select the Next button.

9) Advanced Options:

The advanced options allow creation of multiple partitions and the option of formatting existing partitions.

After finishing your particular partition configuration that you desire, select the Next button.

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Windows 7 Install Guide Page 1

Introduction

After many requests for this information posted on various forums, I have drafted this general guide to help.

Take note: Regardless of flavor of Windows 7 or if it is 32/64-bit that you will be installing, the steps listed here are the same. The only difference would be which product key is entered to determine which flavor of 7 is installed.

Important Information

This guide assumes a "clean" installation and not an "upgrade" from a previous OS. Ensure that you backup all of your important files (documents, music, etc) to CD/DVD/another hard drive before following these steps.

If you are using Hard Disks in a ACPI or RAID setup, you will first need to download the latest Windows 7 compatible (32-bit or 64-bit) for your particular hardware before installing clean. Check with your chipset/hard drive controllers manufactures web site for the latest drivers/information before starting.

This guide is for OEM (purchased separately from the computer) and retail versions of Windows 7. Installation instructions specific to computers with "recovery partitions" or recovery DVD's are very different. Consult your manufactures instructions for details.

1) Shall we begin?

After configuring the system for booting from a DVD, the Windows Setup screen appears.

At this point, Setup is loading the driver files it needs to continue with installation.

2) Progress Bar:

The next screen is a more graphical progress bar indicating Windows 7 is still working in the background.

3) Option Selections:

The first options you will come across are selections for Language, Time and currency format, and Keyboard layout.

Make your selections by using the pull down menus and press the Next button.

4) Install Now:

Here we have the option of repairing a previous installation or "Install Now." Since this is a clean installation of Windows 7 and not a repair, Install Now is the proper choice.

Highlight the "Install Now" button to continue to the next screen.

5) Please Wait:

Windows 7 is working in the background. This may take several minutes depending on the system.

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