Sunday, February 7, 2010

Prevent your Network Card to wake your Windows Vista/7 up from its sleep
Check your network card properties through the device manager and disable the “Allow this devide to wake the computer” feature.
1) Right click on your “My Computer” then select Properties.
2) Click Device Manager on the left side of the Properties window.
3) Check your Network card on the Network Adapters (Click on the + sign to expand).
4) Right click on your network card and select properties.
5) Go to the Power Management tab and untick the option there to prevent your network card from ever waking up your Windows.
Find out what wakes up your Windows 7/Vista from its sleep
To find out what event/device woke up your Windows from its sleep state, go to command prompt (type cmd on the Run/Search box and press ENTER), then type this:
powercfg – lastwake
To get the most detailed info (and probably easiest) on the device that wakes your Windows up during the sleep, type:powercfg –devicequery wake_armed
There! You’ll find the culprit I clicked my mouse to wake my Windows up intentionally so that’s why you see an HID compliant mouse on the screenshot above. Yours might be different.
Hope this helps!
If it still doesn’t work:
Check out your Power Management Options on your Control Panel (Start, Control Panel, Power Settings, Change plan settings, Change advanced power settings).-> “Multimedia settings” option, “When sharing media.” ->”Allow the computer to sleep.


How to Enable Windows 7 GodMode
Here’s a neat Windows 7 trick that’s been doing the rounds on the Internet. It enables “GodMode,” a term devised by the Microsoft development team, which provides a single place to access all Windows settings without needing to browse options and folders in the Control Panel.
To use it:
Create a new folder.
Rename the folder to
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
(note that you can change the “GodMode” text, but the following period and code number are essential).
The folder icon will change — double click it to show the GodMode window:

The window shows nearly 50 sections with quick links to configuration options. Strictly speaking, it’s not a God Mode since all the options are available elsewhere. It’s more akin to an “all tasks” list — but you may find it easier than stumbling through Windows numerous screens and panels.
***** CAUTION *****
The trick appears to work on both the 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows 7. Vista 32-bit and Windows Server 2008 32-bit should also work. However, it is known to crash 64-bit versions of Vista — and you may need to boot in safe mode or to the command line to delete the folder.

Creating Bootable Vista / Windows 7 USB Flash Drive
Microsoft Provides a tool to do this for you - Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool which is available for download Click On the Link Below http://images2.store.microsoft.com/prod/clustera/framework/w7udt/1.0/en-us/Windows7-USB-DVD-tool.exe
If you need instructions on how to use the tool, see the Microsoft Store Help on the ISO-Tool (http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool).
This will walk through the steps to create a bootable USB flash drive for the purpose of installing a Vista or Windows 7 OS. These instructions assume that you have a computer with Windows Vista installed on it.
Required:
USB Flash Drive (4GB+)
Microsoft OS Disk (Vista / Windows 7)
A computer running Vista / Windows 7
Step 1: Format the DriveThe steps here are to use the command line to format the disk properly using the diskpart utility. [Be warned: this will erase everything on your drive. Be careful.]
Plug in your USB Flash Drive
Open a command prompt as administrator (Right click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”
Find the drive number of your USB Drive by typing the following into the Command Prompt window:diskpartlist diskThe number of your USB drive will listed. You’ll need this for the next step. I’ll assume that the USB flash drive is disk 1.
Format the drive by typing the next instructions into the same window. Replace the number “1” with the number of your disk below.select disk 1cleancreate partition primaryselect partition 1activeformat fs=NTFSassignexitWhen that is done you’ll have a formatted USB flash drive ready to be made bootable.
Step 2: Make the Drive Bootable Next we’ll use the bootsect utility that comes on the Vista or Windows 7 disk to make the flash drive bootable. In the same command window that you were using in Step 1:
Insert your Windows Vista / 7 DVD into your drive.
Change directory to the DVD’s boot directory where bootsect lives:d:cd d:\boot
Use bootsect to set the USB as a bootable NTFS drive prepared for a Vista/7 image. I’m assuming that your USB flash drive has been labeled disk G:\ by the computer:bootsect /nt60 g:
You can now close the command prompt window, we’re done here.
Step 3: Copy the installation DVD to the USB driveThe easiest way is to use Windows explorer to copy all of the files on your DVD on to the formatted flash drive. After you’ve copied all of the files the disk you are ready to go.
Step 4: Set your BIOS to boot from USBThis is where you’re on your own since every computer is different. Most BIOS’s allow you to hit a key at boot and select a boot option.
I used these instructions to get my new Dell Mini 9 laptop loaded with Windows 7 (the PDC bits). HTH
Enable the (Hidden) Administrator Account on Windows 7 or Vista
Many people familiar with prior versions of Windows are curious what happened to the built-in Administrator account that was always created by default. Does this account still exist, and how can you access it?
The account is created in Windows 7 or Vista, but since it’s not enabled you can’t use it. If you are troubleshooting something that needs to run as administrator, you can enable it with a simple command.
Note: You really shouldn’t use this account for anything other than troubleshooting. In fact, you probably shouldn’t use it at all.
Enable Built-in Administrator Account
First you’ll need to open a command prompt in administrator mode by right-clicking and choosing “Run as administrator” (or use the Ctrl+Shift+Enter shortcut from the search box)

Now type the following command:
net user administrator /active:yes

You should see a message that the command completed successfully. Log out, and you’ll now see the Administrator account as a choice.

You’ll note that there’s no password for this account, so if you want to leave it enabled you should change the password.
Disable Built-in Administrator Account
Make sure you are logged on as your regular user account, and then open an administrator mode command prompt as above. Type the following command:
net user administrator /active:no

The administrator account will now be disabled, and shouldn’t show up on the login screen anymore.

How to Disable Hibernation and Delete hiberfil.sys File in Windows 7
Method :- 1
If you use the power options in Control Panel, you can turn off hibernation. However, the hibernation file remains [It May take a lot of space in your Hard Drive ]. To disable hibernation and delete the hibernation file, you have to use powercfg command line tool. Follow these steps.
1)Using the Command Prompt might be the easiest way to enable or disable Hibernation. Click on Start and type CMD into the search box and it will be listed under programs. Right-click on the icon and select Run as administrator.
2) Type this command.
powercfg -h off
3) Type exit to come out of Command Prompt
That’s it. If you ever want to turn it back on. Just type powercfg -h on

METHOD :- 2 Enable or Disable Hibernate Through Command Prompt
Using the Command Prompt might be the easiest way to enable or disable Hibernation. Click on Start and type CMD into the search box and it will be listed under programs. Right-click on the icon and select Run as administrator.

The Command Prompt opens and you will use the following to enable Hibernation.
powercfg /hibernate on

Type in the following to disable hibernation.
powercfg /hibernate off

METHOD :- 3 Manage Hibernation Through Control Panel
1) Click on Start and open Control Panel then click on Power Options.

2) On the left side click on Change when the computer sleeps.

3) Now click on Change advanced power settings. In the Advanced Power Options window expand the Sleep tree then expand Hibernate after and change the minutes to zero to turn it off. Or you can specify the amount of minutes you want to pass before it goes into hibernation. After you’ve made your selection click Apply and Ok then close out of the remaining screens.

Where is Hibernate?
What if you try the command line option to turn it on and Hibernate mode still isn’t available? Then what you’ll want to do is disable Hybrid Sleep by expanding Allow hybrid sleep and turning it Off.

Now you should have Hibernate and Sleep as part of the power options in the start menu and will also be an option when you hit Ctrl+Alt+Del.

METHOD :- 4 Disable Hibernate Through Regedit
Note: Changing registry values can cause your computer to become unstable or stop functioning and is only recommended for experienced users.
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way…you might want to completely disable Hibernate mode through a registry edit. Open the Registry and browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Power and change both HiberFileSizePercent and HibernateEnabled value data to zero. After you’ve made the changes close out of the Registry Editor and restart the machine.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in Vista or Win 7

To run the Bootrec.exe tool, you must start Windows RE. To do this, follow these steps:
1) Put the Windows Vista or Windows 7 installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.
2) Press a key when you are prompted.
3) Select a language, a time, a currency, a keyboard or an input method, and then click Next.
4) Click Repair your computer.
5) Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
6) In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
7) Type Bootrec.exe, and then press ENTER.

Note To Boot the computer from the Windows Vista or Windows 7 DVD, the computer must be configured to boot from the DVD drive.

Bootrec.exe options
The Bootrec.exe tool supports the following options. Use the option that is appropriate for your situation.

Note If rebuilding the BCD does not resolve the startup issue, you can export and delete the BCD, and then run this option again. By doing this, you make sure that the BCD is completely rebuilt. To do this, type the following commands at the Windows RE command prompt:

bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
c:
cd boot
attrib bcd –s -h -r
ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
bootrec /RebuildBcd


/FixMbr
The /FixMbr option writes a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-compatible MBR to the system partition. This option does not overwrite the existing partition table. Use this option when you must resolve MBR corruption issues, or when you have to remove non-standard code from the MBR. {Bootrec.exe /FixMbr}

/FixBoot {Bootrec.exe /FixBoot}
The /FixBoot option writes a new boot sector to the system partition by using a boot sector that is compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Use this option if one of the following conditions is true:
a) The boot sector has been replaced with a non-standard Windows Vista or Windows 7 boot sector.
b) The boot sector is damaged.
c) An earlier Windows operating system has been installed after Windows Vista or Windows 7 was installed. In this scenario, the computer starts by using Windows NT Loader (NTLDR) instead of Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe).

/ScanOs {Bootrec.exe /ScanOs}
The /ScanOs option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option displays the entries that are currently not in the BCD store. Use this option when there are Windows Vista or Windows 7 installations that the Boot Manager menu does not list.

/RebuildBcd {bootrec /RebuildBcd}
The /RebuildBcd option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option lets you select the installations that you want to add to the BCD store. Use this option when you must completely rebuild the BCD.

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APPLIES TO
Windows Vista Ultimate
Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Enterprise N
Windows 7 Home Basic
Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows 7 Home Premium N
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Professional N
Windows 7 Starter
Windows 7 Starter N
Windows 7 Ultimate
Windows 7 Ultimate N