Unable to downgrade from Win 8 Pro to Win 7 Pro

In order to downgrade from Win 8 Pro to Win 7 Pro we need to  to follow the following steps:

Load the BIOS and disable Secure Boot, this can usually be found under the Security Section of your BIOS.

I suggest you backup your Windows 8 installation before doing the upgrade, just in case you want to go back to Windows 8 in the future.  

In order to back up your Windows 8 installation, follow the steps mentioned  here .

Backup your Windows 8 installation

There is some minor difference in backing up your Windows 7 installation and your Windows 8 installation. In order to backup your Windows 8 installation, perform the steps mentioned below:

1. Press Windows + X  and click on Control Panel.

2. From Control Panel Select Windows 7 File Recovery.

3.Under Control Panel Home Click on Create a System Image.

4. Make sure you have your external storage device plugged in.  Select On a Hard disk and from the dropdown list select your Hard disk/storage device.

5. Click on Start backup and the backup should start and you should see a progress bar.

Unable to Watch Videos on Netflix in Internet Explorer

Unable to Watch Videos on Netflix in Internet Explorer

Watching Netflix streaming media using Internet Explorer requires that you install Microsoft Silverlight. At times you may see issues when watching Netflix streaming media or installing Silverlight. You may experience one or more of the following issues:

·         You may be prompted to install Silverlight even though Silverlight is already installed

·         You may be unable to view streaming media from Netflix 

·         You may be unable to install or uninstall Silverlight

The most common issue is that you’re not running the latest version of Silverlight and you may be using a 64-bit version of Windows or Internet Explorer, or your installation of Silverlight has become corrupt.

First Step:

The very first thing to do is to make sure you’re running the most current version of Silverlight. To do this, follow these steps:

1.       Click Start and type Silverlight in the Search box, and then click Microsoft Silverlight from the list of programs

For Windows XP users, click Start, All Programs, and then click Microsoft Silverlight

2.       On the About tab, see the version number listed beside the Silverlight logo

3.       The version should be 5.0.61118.0 or higher.If the silverlight version you have is an older one, download the latest version here .

4.       Try uninstalling silverlight and re-installing it.

5.       Clean the silverlight installation using Microsoft Fix It. Download the Microsoft Fix It here .

6.        Log on as an Administrator on Windows 7 and Windows Vista

            Logging on as an Administrator can allow Silverlight to function properly. To do this, follow these steps:

•       Close all open Internet Explorer windows including this window

Note: You may want to print the following steps.

•       Click Start, click Programs and right-click Internet Explorer and click Run as Administrator

Note: Do not click Internet Explorer (64-bit).

•       Select Allow if prompted

•       Test Netflix with Silverlight to see if the issue is resolved

7.      Make sure the Time and Date are set correctly

To check the Time and Date, and then adjust if needed, follow these steps:

•       Right-click the clock in the bottom right-hand corner of the task bar

•       Click Change date and time

Note: For Windows XP users, click Adjust Date/Time 

•       Set the correct Time and Date and click OK

Note: For Windows XP, click Apply 

•       Test Netflix with Silverlight to see if the issue is resolved

8.      Turn off InPrivate web browsing

Turn on InPrivate Browsing to see if this resolves the issue. To do this, follow these steps:

•       Click the Safety button, and then click InPrivate Browsing

•       Open a new tab, and then, on the new tab page, click Open an InPrivate Browsing window

•       Press Ctrl+Shift+P

•       Test Netflix with Silverlight to see if the issue is resolved

9.      Add Netflix to your trusted sites in Internet Explorer

Adding Netflix to your trusted sites may resolve the issue. To do this, follow these steps:

•       In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button or click the Tools menu option and click Internet Options

•       Select the Security tab

•       Click Trusted Sites then select the Sites button

•       Uncheck Require server verification

•       Delete anything related to Netflix in the Website field

•       Type *.netflix.com in the Add this website to the zone field

•       Click the Add button and then click Close

•       Test Netflix with Silverlight to see if the issue is resolved

10.  Ensure Application Storage is enabled

•       Ensure that Application Storage is enabled. To do this, follow these steps:

•       Click the Start button and type Silverlight in the Search box

•       Click Microsoft Silverlight from the list of programs

•       Click the Application Storage tab 

•       Make sure Enable Application Storage box is checked

•       Test Netflix with Silverlight to see if the issue is resolved

11.  Clear the Silverlight temporary files (Windows 7 and Windows Vista)

Clear the Silverlight temporary files on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. To do this, follow these steps:

•       Close all open Internet Explorer windows including this window

Note: You may want to print the following steps.
 

•       Click Start then select Computer

•       Open the C: drive (it may also say Local Disk (C:)), open the Users Folder

•       Open the folder that matches your username (this will not be "Administrator" or "Default User")

•       Open the AppData folder

•       Open the LocalLow folder

Note: If you do not see the AppData folder, you need to enable hidden files and folders. To do this, follow these steps:

Click the Organize menu at the top of the window, select Folder and Search Options, click View tab, select the option to Show Hidden Files and Folders, and then click OK.

Note: If you enable Show Hidden Files and Folders, make sure to change back to Do Not Show Hidden Files and Folders.

•       Open the Microsoft folder.

•       Open the Silverlight folder.

•       Right Click on the is folder and select Delete.

•       Test Netflix with Silverlight to see if the issue is resolved 

12.   Clear the Silverlight temporary files (Windows XP only)

Clear the Silverlight temporary files on Windows XP. To do this, follow these steps:

•       Close all open Internet Explorer windows including this window

Note: You may want to print the following steps.

•       Press and hold the Windows key and tap the letter R on the keyboard at the same time. This displays the Run window

•       Type %userprofile% and select OK

•       Open the Local Settings folder

Note: If you do not see the Local Settings folder, you may need to enable hidden files and folders: To do this, follow these steps:

Click Tools, click Folder Options, click the View tab, select the option to Show Hidden Files and Folders, and then clickOK and open the Local Settings folder.

Note: If you enable Show Hidden Files and Folders, make sure to change back to Do Not Show Hidden Files and Folders.

•       Open the Application Data folder

•       Open the Microsoft folder

•       Open the Silverlight folder

•       Right-click on the is folder and choose Delete

•       Test Netflix with Silverlight to see if the issue is resolved.

How to Customise the log on screen of Windows 7

Ever wanted a custom log on screen of your own?

Changing the Windows log-on screen used to involve some complicated and potentially dangerous hacks, but not any more - Windows 7 makes it easy.

First, browse to     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background in REGEDIT, double-click the DWORD key called OEMBackground (not there? Create it) and set its value to 1.

Now find a background image you'd like to use. Make sure it's less than 256KB in size, and matches the aspect ratio of your screen as it'll be stretched to fit.

Next, copy that image into the %windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds folder (create the info\backgrounds folders if they don't exist). Rename the image to backgroundDefault.jpg, reboot, and you should now have a custom log-on image.

Alternatively, use a free tweaking tool to handle everything for you. Logon Changer displays a preview so you can see how the log-on screen will look without rebooting, while the Logon Screen Rotator accepts multiple images and will display a different one every time you log on.

Explore "God Mode" in Windows 7

Windows 7 has an altogether different way of grouping its control panel. Ever confused by the way everything looks in the Windows Control Panel?? Here's how you can organize all the controls, applets into one folder using God Mode:

God Mode, however, while not being particularly godlike, does offer an easier way to access everything you could want from a single folder.

To try this out, create a new folder and rename it to:

The first part, "Everything" will be the folder name, and can be whatever you want: "Super Control Panel", "Advanced", "God Mode" if you prefer.

The extension, ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C, must be entered exactly as it is here, though, including the curly brackets. When you press [Enter] this part of the name will disappear, and double-clicking the new folder will display shortcuts to functions in the Action Centre, the Network and Sharing Centre, Power options, troubleshooting tools, user accounts and others - more than 260 options in total.

Problem with windows updates

Problems With Windows Updates

Have you ever faced a problem while updating your Microsoft Windows Operating System? Were you unable to install any of your software due to pending windows updates? 

If yes, here is a step by step troubleshooting guide to fix your windows update problems:

1. Use the Microsoft Fix It from Microsoft . You can download it here . Once you have installed the fix it, try updating your Windows again.

In most cases, Windows update issues are caused by third party softwares installed in your computer.  Third party programs can affect the Windows Update service. If you are running any third party applications such as Spyblocker, Internet or web accelerators (programs designed to boost the speed of the Internet connection), security or anti-virus programs (Norton, McAfee, etc.), I recommend we temporarily disable or shut them down and then try accessing Windows Update later. Please understand that we are disabling these programs only for the purpose of troubleshooting and we can re-enable these programs after we finish troubleshooting.

2. Disable any such third-party application/anti-virus/firewalls by following the steps below:

      i) Click on Start à Type “msconfig” without the quotes on search à Go to Services tab à  

          Uncheck the service relevant to the software you want to disable. Once done re-start your     

          Windows and try to install Windows Updates again.

     Note: You can re-enable the applications by following the same steps mentioned in step 2(i).    

         You need to check the box  in order to re-enable the applications.

3.    Verify the relevant Windows Update services are working:

·         Click the "Start" Button, in "Start Search" box, type: "services.msc" (without quotes) and press Enter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

·         Double click the service "Windows Update".

·         Click on the "General" tab; make sure the "Startup Type" is "Automatic" or "Manual". Then please click the "Start" button under "Service Status" to start the service.

·         Please repeat the above steps with the "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" service.

·         You can also temporarily stop these services, restart the computer, and then start these services again. If any service is missing or cannot be stopped or restarted, please let me know.

4. Check for error code . Are you getting any error codes while updating your windows. If yes,

 Check for a solution here

5. Try to update Windows in a Clean boot environment. In order to clean boot your Windows, follow the steps mentioned here

6. Run the system file checker to check for any corruption in your windows operating system. In order to do so follow the steps mentioned here .

How to run SFC ( System File Checker )

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator, often referred to as an "elevated" Command Prompt.
   Important: For the sfc /scannow command to work properly, it must be executed from an elevated Command Prompt window in Windows 8, Windows 7and Windows Vista. This is not required in previous versions of Windows.
2. Once Command Prompt is open, type the following command and then press Enter.

   sfc /scannow
   

   Note: There's a space between sfc and /scannow.
   Important: If you're trying to use System File Checker from the Command Prompt available from Advanced Startup Options or System Recovery Options, see Tip #1 at the bottom of the page for some changes in how you execute sfc /scannow.
3. System File Checker will now verify the integrity of every protected operating system file on your computer.
   Note: In some situations, especially in Windows XP and Windows 2000, you may also need access to your original Windows installation CD or DVD.
4. Restart your computer if sfc /scannow did actually repair any files.
   Note: System File Checker may or may not prompt you to restart but even if it doesn't, you should restart anyway.
5. Repeat whatever process caused your original problem to see if sfc /scannow corrected 

Clean Boot your Windows

Clean Boot your Windows

Although Microsoft is diligent in making sure Windows 7 works well, not all hardware manufacturers and software publishers have the resources or motivation to provide products that operate flawlessly.

If the hardware and software in your PC are not working correctly, you need a way to boot up Windows 7 so you can find out which component is causing the problem. Learn how to perform a clean boot in Windows 7 to troubleshoot malfunctioning hardware and software.

Safe Mode vs. Clean Boot

A popular method of troubleshooting and diagnosing a PC is to boot into Safe Mode. Safe Mode loads Windows with a minimal set of drivers. For example, when you boot up into Safe Mode, Windows loads only a standard VGA video driver. This is why your PC is set to a very low resolution when you boot into Safe Mode.

A Clean Boot is a bit different from Safe Mode. With a Clean Boot, Windows 7 starts up in normal mode but without any non-Microsoft background applications and services. These background applications and services are what make Windows 7 behave the way it does. Most people are unaware that these elements of Windows are even running.

Starting Windows 7 with a Clean Boot is easy. You simply temporarily turn off all non-Microsoft services and restart your PC. When it boots up, only Microsoft services will be running, allowing you to step through turning on different services until you find the problem.

Performing a Windows 7 Clean Boot

Log in to Windows 7 using an account that has administrative privileges Click on Start>Run. If you don’t have the Runcommand on your Start menu, you can alternatively hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press the R key. With the Run dialogue window open, type in msconfig and click the OK button.

You should now be looking at the System Configuration window. Click on the Services tab.

On the Services tab, you’ll notice a long list of services available on your PC. Some have checks next to them and some don’t. Those that do are scheduled to load automatically the next time Windows 7 boots up. This next step is extremely important so don’t skip it.

First, check the box labeled Hide All Microsoft Services. As its name implies, this will hide all Microsoft services on the list. Most if not all of these services are required for Windows 7 to function properly.

Next, click the Disable All button. By performing these two steps, you have effectively turned off all services from third-party software developers. All Microsoft services remain intact and ready to load when you reboot Windows.

Finally, click the OK button and reboot Windows 7. When you reboot, you may get messages that certain hardware and software are not unavailable. This is normal. In fact, by disabling these components in your PC, you can go back to theServices tab on the System Configuration window and turn on only those services known to be functioning properly. The rest you can turn on one at a time to troubleshoot the errors you were getting in Windows 7.

Different from Safe Mode, a Clean Boot lets you disable all non-Microsoft background applications and services to troubleshoot a PC running Windows 7. Once disabled, you can begin turning third-party services back on to diagnose your computer.

Just be sure to hide all Microsoft services before you use the Disable All button. Otherwise, you may encounter boot up errors when you reboot your PC.