Microsoft Windows 7 manual

1 1 W elcome to Windows 7[...]

[...]

3 3 Y our PC, simpli ed. Y ou to ld us wh at you wa nt ed . We l is te ne d. This Windows ® 7 P rod uc t Gu id e hi gh li gh ts th e ne w an d im pro ve d fe at ure s th at wi ll he lp d el iv er th e on e th in g yo u sa id y ou wanted the most:[...]

INTRODUCTION T O WINDOWS 7 6 DESIGNING WINDOWS 7 8 Market T rends that Inspir ed Windows 7 9 WINDOWS 7 EDITIONS 10 Windows 7 Star ter 11 Windows 7 Home Basic 11 Windows 7 Home Premium 12 Windows 7 Pro fessional 12 Windows 7 Enterprise / Windows 7 Ultimate 13 Windows Anytime Upgrade 14 Microso ft Desktop Optimization P ack 14 Windows 7 Editions Comp[...]

INTRODUCTION T O WINDOWS 7 6 DESIGNING WINDOWS 7 8 Market T rends that Inspir ed Windows 7 9 WINDOWS 7 EDITIONS 10 Windows 7 Star ter 11 Windows 7 Home Basic 11 Windows 7 Home Premium 12 Windows 7 Pro fessional 12 Windows 7 Enterprise / Windows 7 Ultimate 13 Windows Anytime Upgrade 14 Microso f t Desktop Optimization P ack 14 Windows 7 Editions Com[...]

[...]

7 7 PCs are an integral par t of the daily lives of billions of people around the world. They are used for more functions than anyone could have imagined just a few years ago, and as PCs become more deeply woven into our ever yday lives, our expectations keep increasing. With Windows ® 7, you told us what you expect from a PC. And we listened. In [...]

Designing Windows 7 Mor e than a billion people use Microso f t ® Wi ndo ws e ve r y day . Y ou u se i t in si gni  c ant wa ys , l ike ea rni ng a liv in g. Y ou u se it in pe rs on all y m ea nin gf ul wa ys, su ch a s u sin g a web ca m to vi sit wi th a fa raw ay lov ed one . A nd y ou ex per ie nce it i n sm al l wa ys, lik e p lay ing yo [...]

8 9 Designing Windows 7 Market T rends that Inspired Windows 7 As we planned Windows 7, we took a hard look at how the world of technology is changing and what that means for you. In doing so, we identied some key themes that inuenced our engineering design effor ts and helped us to focus on where we could deliver the highest value to you. ?[...]

Windows 7 Editions Differ ent people expect differ ent things from their PCs, which is why we o ffer multiple editions o f Windows 7. And because your needs can change over time, we have designed Windows 7 so that you can move up to editions with mor e featur es, without giving up the features you alr eady have. Windows ® 7 Enterprise/Windows ® 7[...]

10 11 Windows 7 Editions Windows 7 Star ter Windows 7 Star ter makes small notebook PCs and other PCs with limited hardwar e easier to use because it puts less between you and what you want to do—less waiting, less clicking, and less hassle connecting to networks. Windows 7 Star ter is designed to meet basic needs and combines the latest in relia[...]

Windows 7 Home Premium The best edit ion for cons umers, Wind ows 7 Home Pr emium pr ovi des the best entertain men t exp eri enc e on your PC. Y ou’ll n d eas y way s to conn ect to o ther PCs a nd de vices , a ll in a v isu all y rich envi ron men t t hat m akes ever yday u se sim ple r and m or e e nga ging . Wi th Home Pr emi um you can cr[...]

12 13 Windows 7 Enterprise / Windows 7 Ultimate Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate are the most versatile and powerful editions and ar e designed to address the needs o f both enterprise customers and consumers who want ever y featur e of Windows 7. While the features in these editions are the same, Windows 7 Enterprise includes volume act[...]

Windows Anytime Upgrade Sometimes you want to be able to do more with your PC. That’ s why we’ve made it easier for you to move fr om one edition o f Windows to the next. For example, you may have purchased a small notebook PC with Windows 7 Star ter but decide soon after that you want to customize your desktop or cr eate a homegr oup. With Win[...]

14 15 Key Featur es Star ter Home Premium Pro fessional Enterprise/Ultimate Windows T askbar and Jump Lists ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Internet Explorer 8 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Join a homegroup ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Home media streaming, including Play T o ^ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Aero Glass and impr oved desktop navigation ✓ ✓ ✓ Windows Media Center^ and Internet T V ¹ [...]

Getting Star ted with Windows 7 Whether you’r e buying a new PC or upgrading your curr ent PC to Windows 7, yo u p robab ly wa nt to ge t t hroug h t he se tup proc ess as qu ic kly as po ssi bl e. Win do ws 7 is de sig ned t o g et yo u up and r unn in g f as t. Windows 7 includes a new Getting Star ted experience that points you in the right di[...]

16 17 Getting Started with Windows 7 Migrating from Windows XP Windows 7 is best experienced on a new PC with the latest hardwar e, but if your computer meets the minimum speci cations, you can install Windows 7 on a PC running Windows XP . Windows 7 must be “ custom” installed (also known as a “ clean” installation) over Windows XP . Be[...]

Windows Compatibility Cent er Y ou may want to know if your devices and software will work with your computer , and that you have all the latest updates so your stuff works the way it’ s supposed to. Fir st introduced with Windows Vista, the Windows Compatibility Center is a single location where you can quickly and easily verif y that your exist[...]

18 19 Getting Started with Windows 7 Windows Easy T ransfer Windows Easy T ransfer helps you move  les, folder s, program settings, and system settings from your old PC to your new one. With the newest version of Windows Easy T ransfer , you can leave the transfer unattended. If Windows encounters a  le or setting that it can’t transfer , i[...]

What’ s New in Windows 7 T op Features for Y ou W e’ve designed Windows 7 to be the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version o f Windows yet. We focused on helping your PC per form the way you want it to—quickly , easily , and with less effor t. Although many of the new improvements are under the cover s, Windows 7 also includes many more [...]

20 21 What’ s New in Windows 7 Key Featur e What Y ou Can Do Internet and Digital T V W atch Internet T V content and turn your PC into a digital video recor der by using the suppor t in Windows Media Center for many new broadcast TV tuners.* Internet Explorer 8: Visual Sear ch See rich, relevant, visual suggestions as you type sear ch terms. Int[...]

T op Features for IT Pro fessionals From networking to security and search to user management, Windows 7 offers IT pro fessionals a wide range o f new and improved featur es. These include the following: Key Featur e What Y ou Can Do AppLocker Control which applications ar e allowed to run on user PCs. BranchCache Improve application r esponsivenes[...]

22 23 Application and Device Compatibility W e recognize that your PC experience involves pr ograms and devices from many differ ent providers, so we’ve made a signicant effor t to ensure that the applications and devices you use and love are compat - ible with Windows 7 and work the way you’ d expect them to. Windows 7 helps address applica[...]

[...]

25 25 Windows 7 for Y ou Win dow s 7 i s mo re th an ju st e ngi nee rin g an d in nov ati on— it’ s the pro duc t t hat yo u a ske d f or . Y ou’ ve to ld us yo u wa nt ev er yth ing yo u do on you r P C to be fast er and easi er . Y ou’v e s aid t hat yo u’ d li ke it i f t he tec hno log y a nd dev ice s in yo ur hom e w ork ed b ett e[...]

Windows 7 for Y ou[...]

Simplies Ever yday T asks Win dow s 7 st rea mli nes and s imp li es t he t asks you do m ost o f ten . It s enh anced Start men u and Windo ws T askba r put t he les and pr ogram s yo u use most w ith in easy rea ch, s o the y don ’t clutt er your desk top . A nd the desktop ’ s new streamlined interface puts you in control so you can[...]

Windows 7 for Y ou: Simpli es Ever yday T asks In W in dow s 7 , w e se t o ut to s trea mli ne a nd s im pli f y th e th in gs y ou d o ever y day—and you’ll  nd you can get more done with a lot less effor t. The user inter face is nimbler and more responsive, with navigation that gets you wher e you want to go—fast. Connecting PCs and[...]

28 29 Windows 7 for Y ou: Simpli es Ever yday T asks Simple to Navigate Windows T askbar The taskbar is one of the most familiar aspects of Windows. When you open  les and programs, their icons show up on the taskbar so you can switch between them. Previous versions of Windows, however , automatically decide wher e on the taskbar to place eac[...]

When you have a large number o f windows open for a program, the open windows for that pr ogram ar e displayed as a list. W e’ve enhanced this list view by adding the ability to peek at a highlighted window or even close a window directly fr om the list. Programs use the new taskbar to provide more infor - mation in more intuitive ways. For examp[...]

30 31 Windows 7 for Y ou: Simpli es Ever yday T asks Simple to Navigate Jump Lists provide quick access to common tasks. Jump Lists Do you keep a lot o f documents on the Windows desktop or in your Documents folder? If so, you know how hard it can be to  nd that one  le you need. Jump Lists can help. These dynamic lists automati- cally sho[...]

Desktop Enhancements One of the many bene ts o f Windows is the ability to work with large number s of documents and programs at the same time. But have you ever had to wade thr ough a dozen open windows to get to the right document? Or had to minimize a number o f windows to view a gadget on your desktop? Or do you o f ten line up two windows s[...]

32 33 Snap allows for easy resizing o f windows. W ant to get all but one window out of the way ? T r y Aero Shake. Grab the top o f that window and shake it, and all the other windows on your scr een will minimize to the taskbar . Shake the window again to restor e the windows to their original sizes. Y ou can also snap open windows to scr een bor[...]

Windows Explorer As you use your PC more and more, you may  nd the number of  les you have to manage getting larger . Windows Explorer in Windows 7 give you a central place to view and organize all the  les on your PC. The new layout of Windows Explor er r educes clutter and makes better use of space, while an improved navigation pane help[...]

34 35 Libraries If you store a large number o f  les in differ ent  le folders or on several PCs or devices, you might  nd it hard to  nd the exact  le you’r e looking for or manage all your  les ef ciently . Libraries can help. At their most fundamental level, Libraries ar e a way to view  les with common characteristics?[...]

Y ou can even arrange and view the  les in your Libraries by some of its metadata. For example the “Month” and “Day” views in the Pictur es Librar y group together the photos taken on the same date. And the Videos Librar y features a way to arrange the  les by length so you can separate the shor ter clips fr om the longer movies. Lib [...]

36 37 Improved Sear ch Relevance When sear ching for something, you probably want to  nd it quickly without spending a lot o f effor t wading thr ough extraneous items. Windows 7 makes sear ch r esults mor e r elevant and easier to under - stand. The search engine uses an improved algorithm to determine relevance and rank results. Within your se[...]

Easy to Br owse the W eb As people spend mor e time online, their demands on the browser have increased. Since Microso f t delivered Internet Explorer 7, millions o f people around the world have taken advantage o f its tabbed browsing, the built -in search box, and other features to impr ove their W eb br owsing experience. Internet Explorer 8 tak[...]

38 39 W eb Slices E-mail, weather , spor ts scor es, stock quotes, or auction item status—there ar e W eb sites we visit multiple times during the day to get updates. W eb Slices in Internet Explorer 8 make it simple to access this information without having to navigate to the W eb site again and again. W eb site owners can now mark par ts o f th[...]

Smar t Address Bar If you use Internet Explorer 7, you know that the Address Bar presents matching Web addresses from your histor y as you type. However , you have to type the same beginning of the Web address to display the same results—and there’ s no way to delete an entr y if you’ve mistyped it. In Internet Explorer 8, the Smar t Address [...]

40 41 Easy to Connect PCs and Manage Devices Mor e tha n half o f all U.S. hous eho lds hav e mo r e th an one PC. If you liv e in one o f thos e hous eho lds, you may hav e ex per ien ced tr ouble set tin g up a ne two rk o r fou nd tha t th e PC s in you r hom e don’ t wo rk together as well as they could. Even when your PCs are successfully ne[...]

Af ter you’ve created your homegroup, accessing and sharing  les among the various PCs—or other devices—in your home is like having all your data on a single hard disk drive. For example, you might have digital photos stored on a PC in your den. With HomeGroup, you can easily access those photos from a laptop or any other PC in the home- g[...]

42 43 Windows Connect Now The  rst step in sharing information between PCs is to connect them to a network. Windows Connect Now is a feature o f Windows 7 that makes it fast and easy to set up your home or of ce network and connect additional PCs. In the past, it’ s been dif cult to get a new network up and running. Now , all you have to[...]

Devices and Printers provides a consolidated view of all your devices. The Add a Device wizard helps you easily add networked and wireless devices. The Devices and Printers Folder The Devices and Printers folder is a single location where you can access and interact with all your devices. When Windows 7 detects a device it automatically downloads a[...]

44 45 Device Stage Do you have a lot of digital devices like phones, music players, or digital cameras? Device Stage helps you manage all o f your devices more ef ciently by showing you the status of each and displaying the common things you can do with them in a single familiar window . When you connect por table devices such as digital cameras[...]

Improv ed Suppor t for External Displays If you have a laptop, you may want to connect it to an external display to watch a movie at home or give a pr esentation at work. Windows 7 makes it easier to connect to external displays because all o f the common display-related features are gather ed in one place, under Display in Control P anel. Y ou can[...]

46 47 Windows Live Mail Easy to Communicate and Shar e With Windows 7 and Windows Live Essentials, your PC will help you stay connected to the people and things you car e about and do it safely . Windows Live Essentials is a free suite o f programs for e-mail, photos, instant messaging, and more. It can be downloaded fr om the W eb and, for some ne[...]

Windows Live Messenger Windows Live Messenger makes it effor tless to connect to your favorite people or groups, chat via IM, video or voice, play games, share photos and monitor what’ s new with your circle of friends. The latest release o f Messenger doesn’t just feature a brand new look and feel—it’ s also designed so that you can person[...]

48 49 Windows Live Photo Galler y Af ter you impor t photos to your PC running Windows 7, use Windows Live Photo Galler y to edit, organize, and publish them to the Web. Y ou can even tag photos in Photo Galler y so that you can easily  nd them later . Windows Live Photo Galler y not only incorporates a r evolutionar y face-detection technology [...]

Windows 7 for Y ou: W orks the W ay Y ou W ant Mo re t han a ny thi ng el se , you ’v e tol d us t hat y ou c are abo ut th e ba sic s. No one has the time to deal with PCs that ar en’t snappy and responsive or f al l sh or t of ex pe cte d pe r f orm anc e— lik e ta ki ng t oo l ong to w ake up fr om sleep. And we’ d all like to feel more [...]

50 51 Star t, Shutdown, and Resume Windows 7 is ready when you ar e. It’ s designed to star t, hibernate, and shut down faster than Windows Vista. W e also focused on ways to resume from sleep more quickly and reliably . And because resuming from sleep is much faster than rebooting your PC, you can use sleep when you really need your PC to come t[...]

Windows Experience Index The Windows Experience Index measures the capabilities o f your PC’ s hardwar e and so f tware, and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score. A higher base score generally means that your computer will per form better and faster than a computer with a lower base scor e. In Windows 7, the Windows Experien[...]

52 53 Windows 7 for Y ou: Works the W ay Y ou W ant Speed, Reliability , and Responsiveness P ower -Saving DVD Playback With Windows 7, your PC will use less power when playing a DVD . Windows 7 r equires less processing power than previous versions o f Windows and is more ef cient when it spins discs. W ak e on Wireless L AN Having your PC go i[...]

64-Bit Computing Suppor t If you’ve gone PC shopping lately , you’ve probably noticed more computers with 64-bit processors and wondered what advantages they o ffer . Put simply , a 64-bit PC can handle larger amounts of information than traditional 32-bit systems. Because it can use mor e RAM (4 GB and up) a 64-bit PC can be faster and mor e r[...]

54 55 Mor e Secur e Whether your har d disk drive contains irreplaceable family photos or the  nancial data critical to your business, th e inf orma tio n on you r PC is val ua bl e. Vi ruse s, spy wa r e an d oth er unwa nte d so f t war e, ro ot kits , an d ph is hi ng sc am s po se a con st ant risk to da y . In Win dow s Vi sta, we cr eat ed[...]

P arental Controls If you’re a parent, Windows 7 P arental Contr ols can give you greater peace of mind and con dence in your ability to manage what your kids can do on the PC. Y ou can specif y which PC games your children can play and which pr ograms they can use. Y ou can even specif y the times when your child is allowed to use the PC. Win[...]

56 57 Internet Explorer Security The W eb can be a dangerous place, with sites that attempt to download malicious code, trick you into divulging personal information, or track your actions without your knowledge or consent. Internet Explorer 8 improves your defense against security and privacy thr eats, and includes the ability to help identify mal[...]

Cross-Sit e Scripting Filter Y ou could do ever ything right with r espect to security—such as always installing the latest security updates—yet still remain vulnerable to some types o f security threats. For example, cross-site scripting attacks are a leading threat against Web sites and can be used to steal cookies or other data, deface pages[...]

58 59 InPrivat e Filtering Y ou probably know that the W eb sites you visit can track your activity , but you may not be fully awar e of the degree to which additional W eb sites and content providers can track you as well. Most Web sites today are mosaics o f content that come from many differ ent sites. As a r esult, the sites you visit o f ten p[...]

Windows Filtering Platform The Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) ar chitecture in Windows 7 helps software companies create  rewalls, antiviru s software, and other types of applications and ser vices that work with Windows. For example, third-party developer s can use the WFP to cr eate a product that selectively turns par ts of the Windows Fir [...]

60 61 Backup and restore Backup and Restore Even the most r eliable PC can be subject to a hardwar e failur e, and even the most careful person can delete a  le by mistake. When these things happen, it’ s impor tant to have a recent backup of impor - tant data—yet many people forget to back up their PCs regularly . Windows 7 helps streamline[...]

Compatible With Y ou A clutte r ed Windo ws deskt op is like a clu tter ed desk— it can mak e it har der to focus on the ta sk at han d. Whe n you start usi ng Wind ows 7, you ’ll imm edi atel y noti ce its cle an and unc lut ter ed appea ran ce. For exa mple , t he Noti  c atio n A r ea in the low er -rig ht cor ner displa ys onl y four ico[...]

62 63 Desktop samples Place gadgets where you want them. Ever wanted to turn your desktop background into a photo slideshow? Then you’ll love Aero Background, the new featur e in Windows 7 that lets you choose photos fr om your PC and display them as your desk - top background. Windows 7 for Y ou: Works the W ay Y ou W ant Compatible With Y ou Ga[...]

Windows XP Mode Do you want all the bene ts o f the latest PCs but still need to run older business and productivity programs? Windows 7 will run many Windows XP programs with no problem. But for those programs that requir e a PC running Windows XP , small and medium-sized business customers can use Windows XP Mode.* Windows XP Mode is a vir tua[...]

64 65 Loading an application from a USB device in Windows XP Mode. Access Y our Windows 7-based PC’ s Network Connections Y ou can still access the Internet when you’r e working in Windows XP Mode because the network connec- tions o f your Windows 7-based PC are always accessible. In addition, you can also connect your vir tual machine to your [...]

Better T r oubleshooting and Pr oblem Solving W e created Windows 7 to help give you a trouble-fr ee computing experience. But if problems do arise, Windows 7 noti es you in more intelligent ways and makes resolution easier and faster . When something in Windows 7 needs your attention, you’ll have one place to go, with tr oubleshooters that he[...]

66 67 Windows T roubleshooting Windows T roubleshooting W ouldn’t it be nice if your PC could r ecognize and solve many common pr oblems, so that you could stay productive rather than calling for help? Windows T roubleshooting—new in Windows 7—diagnoses and resolves common operating system and hardwar e issues by using built -in troubleshoote[...]

Built -in T roubleshooters in Windows 7 T roubleshooter Description Aero T roubleshoot pr oblems that prevent you fr om experiencing Aero animations and effects. Browse the W eb T roubleshoot pr oblems that prevent you fr om browsing the W eb with Internet Explorer . Connection to a Shared Folder Access shared  les and folders on other PCs. Conn[...]

68 69 Star tup Repair Star tup problems can be dif cult to troubleshoot, because if you can’t star t the operating system you can’t use the built -in troubleshooting tools. In the past, you or your suppor t pro fessionals may have found it easier to reinstall your operating system than troubleshoot, even though the solution may be as simple [...]

Windows 7 for Y ou: Makes New Things P ossible As ne w t ech no log ie s e merge , w e’ re bu sy tr ans la tin g t he m i nto e xci tin g new experiences that are sophisticated, yet fun and easy to use. W e’re prov idi ng ne w wa ys fo r yo u to v iew T V , li st en to a nd sh are mu si c, an d br ing you r PC to life wit h mul ti -to uc h tec [...]

70 71 Windows 7 for Y ou: Makes New Things P ossible Media the W ay Y ou Want It Windows Media Center With a streamlined user inter face and suppor t for new content types and digital T V , Windows Media Center in Windows 7 makes viewing T V , movies, and other media content on your PC easier than ever . The new Electr onic Program Guide (EP G) in [...]

Sharing T V around the Home If you have multiple PCs running Windows Media Center in your homegr oup, you can access recorded T V Libraries—in addition to your music, photos, and videos—on those different PCs. Y ou can also copy a T V show to your laptop to enjoy on the go. Windows Media Center in Windows 7 makes sure that all unprotected Windo[...]

72 73 Windows Media Player Windows Media Player in Windows 7 plays more media and delivers a richer media experience than earlier versions. Whether you want to listen to your favorite songs while you’r e working or watch a DVD in full-scr een mode, playback star ts quickly and remains consistent. Windows 7 can also play more types of media than e[...]

Improv ed Content Filtering In Windows 7, content that cannot be played, such as Apple’ s Lossless .M4A or H.263 MPEG-4 content, will no longer appear in the music or video librar y view so you don’t get distracted by  les that won’t work. But if you need to get them for some reason, these  les will still be listed in the Other Media li[...]

74 75 Media Streaming As you acquire more PCs and devices, you’ll have more physical places to store your music, photos, and video. But what if all your music is on a laptop, yet you want to play it on your main PC with the great speakers? Now , with Media Streaming, you can. When you join a homegroup or set up media str eaming fr om within Windo[...]

For example, say you’re sitting on your couch, using your laptop to read e-mail or sur f the Web, and you’ d like to listen to some music, but your laptop speakers don’t sound good enough. With Windows 7, you can open Windows Media Player , right -click the song, album, or playlist you’ d like to hear , select Play T o, and you’ll see a l[...]

76 77 R emote Media S treaming If you’re like most people, your home PC is the central place where you store and enjoy your photo, music, and video collections. But you probably also often take your laptop to other locations such as hotels, airpor ts, or coffee shops. Windows 7 offers Remote Media Streaming, which allows you to access your home-b[...]

Outstanding Sound Whether you’re playing music, watching a video, or listening to voicemail through your PC, you want a high-quality sound experience. With improved sound management features in Windows 7, you’ll get great sound for both enter tainment and communications. For instance, Windows 7 automatically routes sounds—such as music, calls[...]

78 79 Games Explorer Games Explorer is the center for gaming on Windows 7. Just type games in the Wi ndo ws Se arc h bo x, and you ’ll see al l you r game s org aniz ed in one centr al loca tio n. Gam es Expl or er pr ovi des infor matio n abo ut games, such as game play statistics, ratings, and r equ ir ement s. In addit ion , you can  nd new[...]

A noti cation appears any time an update is available. 64-bit Gaming If you’re a gamer , you know how graphics, sound, and interaction capabilities are becoming richer . Y ou probably also know that the hardware limitations of 32-bit PCs can limit your gaming experience. As more people start using 64-bit PCs, mor e games will be available to t[...]

80 81 W ork Anywher e W e live in a mobile world, taking our laptops and devices with us as we move between home, work, and other places. With Windows 7, you can easily get online and stay online as you move from place to place. Whether you’r e switching fr om one network to another , attempting to access the Internet fr om a device, or taking ad[...]

DirectAccess With Windows 7, working from locations other than your of ce becomes even simpler . With DirectAc- cess, you can more securely connect to your corporate network over any Internet connection—without having to use VPN technology . It’ s easy to connect to corporate r esources whenever you have an Inter - net connection and, in mos[...]

82 83 XPS Documents XML P a per S pec i catio n (XP S) d ocum ent s are  xed- form at d ocum ent s th at yo u ca n sh are and archi ve in a high -qua lity , e f cient form at. X PS do cume nts can be open ed wi tho ut ha ving the o rigi nal p rogram in which the document was created, so you can easily share your work. Y ou can preview XPS [...]

New W ays to Engage As new technologies emer ge, Microsoft is working to translate them into exciting new experiences. Windows 7 builds on the work we’ve done in next -generation user inter faces, moving beyond the mouse and keyboard so that you can interact with your PC with multitouch gestures, handwriting, or voice. In addition, Microso f t co[...]

84 85 Windows 7 is touch-friendly throughout. For instance, the Star t menu, Windows T askbar , and Windows Explorer all have bigger icons that are easier to select with your  nger . Y ou can use your  nger to arrange the pictures in a photo album or scr oll through and select recor ded T V in Windows Media Center . Y ou can also contr ol wha[...]

T ablet PC Enhancements Win dow s 7 im pr oves the T ablet PC with gr eater ac cur acy an d speed for han dwr itin g r eco gni tio n, supp or t for handwritten math expressions, personalized custom dictionaries for handwriting r ecognition, and more. Improv ed Handwriting R ecognition The T ablet PC writing sur face has been completely re-designed [...]

86 87 Accessibility Windows 7 enhances the accessibility options that are so impor tant to people with special needs. From more personalized speech recognition to a new on-screen layout, Windows 7 is more accessible to ever yone. Speech In Windows 7, we’ve improved the accuracy o f Windows Speech Recognition so that you can dictate to your PC in [...]

[...]

89 89 Windows 7 for IT Pr os As people become increasingly computer -savvy , they expect more from the technology they use at work. They expect to be able to work from home, from branch of ces, and on the road, all without a decrease in productivity . As their needs have grown, so have the demands placed on IT pro fessionals, who are being asked[...]

Windows 7 for IT Pr os[...]

Make P eople Pr oductive Anywher e Windows 7 helps your people be productive no matter where they are or where the data they need resides. They won’t have to look in multiple places to  nd information because a single sear ch can examine a Microso f t Shar eP oint ® team ser vices site on a company intranet in addition to  les on their PCs[...]

With Windows 7, you can r espond to the need to make your workers prod uct iv e on a ra nge o f a ppl ic ati on s, l oc ati ons , a nd d ev ice s. T he y ca n ac ces s in fo rma tio n m ore ea sil y w het he r th ey’ re on t he road o r in br anc h of ce s, an d th ey can se arch in m ore pl ace s, in cl udi ng r e mo te data s ource s an d lo[...]

92 93 Search and Federated Sear ch In Windows 7, search is better integrated with enterprise infrastructures to help people more easily  nd the information they need. They can search in more places more easily—including remote data sources and within encr ypted  les—and IT pro fessionals can publish impor tant search locations through Gro[...]

Enterprise Search Scopes Making it easy to discover and sear ch intranet sites can help or ganizations maximize their r eturn on these investments. With Windows 7, you can deploy up to  ve pre-de ned links or search scopes through Group P olicy on worker PCs to dir ect them to the right data sour ces and help them more easily  nd what they[...]

94 95 Access Information fr om Anywher e Whe ther tr avel ing for bus ine ss, taki ng work hom e a t ni ght, or sim ply bri ngin g a por tab le c omp uter to a m eeti ng i n the c onf erence roo m dow n th e hal l, m obil ity i s es sent ial to a w ork er ’ s c ompu tin g exp erie nce . As a resu lt, more orga niz atio ns a re hel ping the ir p e[...]

By default, Windows 7 does not deploy DirectAccess automatically . If you choose to enable DirectAccess, you will need to deploy Windows 7 Enterprise Edition or Windows 7 Ultimate Edition on worker PCs. Y ou will also need to deploy Windows Ser ver 2008 R2 DirectAccess Ser ver on the edge o f your network. Note: For more information on this feature[...]

96 97 Folder Redirection and Ofine Files Using Folder Redir ection and Ofine Files is a convenient way for people not connected to the corporate network to access les stored on a central ser ver . Windows 7 r educes initial wait times and impr oves branch ofce and remote access scenarios by operating in a Usually Ofine mode when user[...]

BranchCache For branch of ces, network bandwidth limitations and latency in application r esponse times can nega- tively affect productivity . We introduced Background Intelligent T ransfer Ser vice in Windows XP and the Distributed File System Replication ser vice in Windows Ser ver 2008 to help r esolve these issues. Branch- Cache in Windows 7[...]

98 99 BranchCache suppor ts the same network protocols that are commonly used in enterprises—HT TP(S) and SMB—so that any applications based on these network pr otocols will automatically benet fr om the technology . Examples o f these applications include Micr oso f t Ofce ShareP oint 2007, Internet Explorer , CopyFile, and other s. For [...]

As we become more connected and our IT infrastructures become more complex, the risks to systems and data continue to increase. Windows 7 bu ild s o n th e s ec uri ty we d eve lo ped in W ind ows V ist a, reta ini ng th e m ul tip le layers of defense that made Windows Vista the most secure version of th e Wi nd ows cl ie nt t o d at e. We to ok i[...]

100 101 Easier Deployment and Management o f BitLocker In Windows 7, we enhanced core BitLocker functionality in many ways. One improvement is the ability to right -click a drive to enable BitLocker pr otection. With Windows Vista, if you deploy BitLocker after the operating system is installed, you may have to repar tition the har d disk drive on [...]

Pr otect W orker s and Infrastructur e P eople who run unauthorized so f twar e often experience a higher incidence o f malware infections and generate more help desk calls. W e understand how dif cult it can be for IT depar tments to make sure that user PCs are running only appr oved, licensed so f twar e. With Windows 7, you’ll get even grea[...]

102 103 Builds on Windows Vista Security Foundation Windows 7 builds on the proven security lineage o f Windows Vista, r etaining the multiple layers o f defense that have made it the most secure ver sion of the Windows client to date. Windows 7 is suppor ted by Windows Update, Automatic Updates, Microso f t Updates, and a Software Update V alidati[...]

Improved Smart Card Suppor t Although password-based authentication has well-understood security limitations, deploying strong authentication technologies remains a challenge for many organizations. Building on the smar t card infrastructure advances made in Windows Vista, Windows 7 eases smar t car d deployment through the suppor t of Plug and Pla[...]

104 105 Windows 7 for IT Pros: Manage Risk Through Enhanced Security and Control Builds on Windows Vista Security Foundation[...]

The PC life cycle has a direct impact on costs, ser vice levels, user pr oductivity , and the ability to deliver business value. Organizations are co nst an tly str ugg lin g to stream li ne al l st age s of the PC lif e cyc le , inc lu din g operating system and application deployment, ongoing management, and tr oubleshooting. In Windows 7, we’v[...]

106 107 Deployment Image Ser vicing and Management The Deployment Image Ser vicing and Management (DISM) tool in Windows 7 provides a central place for you to build and ser vice Windows images o fine. DISM is a scriptable command-line tool that combines the functionality o f several o fine image management utilities provided with Windows Vist[...]

User State Migration T ool The User State Migration T ool (USMT) is a command-line tool you can use to migrate user pro les, les, and system and application settings fr om one operating system installation to another . For Windows 7, USMT adds a Hardlink Migration feature that migrates les fr om one operating system to another on the same [...]

108 109 Flexible Deployment of Inter net Explorer 8 With Internet Explorer 8, or ganizations will get the exibility they need to deploy Internet Explor er 8 in ways that make sense for their par ticular needs. For instance, you can deploy it on its own by using the publicly available download or creating a custom installation package, and then u[...]

K eep PCs Running Smoothly One of the best ways to minimize desktop suppor t costs is to maintain a stable, secure desktop con guration, but this can be a challenge. Windows 7 builds on enhancements in Windows Vista to help IT organizations more effectively manage desktop and mobile PCs. Featur es such as Windows P owerShell 2.0, enhanced Group [...]

110 111 • P owerShell R emoting. Windows P owerShell uses the standard management pr otocol WS Management (WS-MAN) to invoke cmdlets on client PCs. It suppor ts two types of r emoting: fan-out remoting, which pr ovides one-to-many remoting capabilities so you can run manage- ment scripts across multiple PCs fr om a single console, and one-to-one [...]

Group P olicy Preferences Group P olicy Preferences extend the reach of what Group P olicy can manage and how settings are applied. With Group P olicy Preferences, system administrator s can manage Windows components that are not Group P olicy-aware, such as mapped network drives and desktop shor tcuts. Windows 7 contains new Group P olicy Pr efere[...]

112 113 T roubleshooting and Suppor t Windows 7 provides richer built -in troubleshooting capabilities so consumers can r esolve more technical issues on their own. If a call to the help desk is unavoidable, Windows 7 gives you the tools you need to resolve the issue quickly . Problem S teps R ecorder The Problem Steps Recorder can aid you in troub[...]

Windows T roubleshooting Platform Windows 7 delivers a comprehensive, extensible troubleshooting platform that uses a mechanism based on Windows P owerShell to troubleshoot problems. Key components o f the Windows T roubleshooting Platform are as follows: • Windows T roubleshooting P acks. Windows troubleshooting packs ar e collections of Windows[...]

114 115 Better Suppor t for Client Vir tualization With VDI, you can run user desktops running in vir tual machines on centralized ser ver s. VDI provides an alternative to traditional desktop environments for nonmobile worker s, with benets that include exibility (including user access from multiple locations) and increased business continui[...]

I n a d d i ti o n t o p ro v id i n g ne w e n te r p r is e b en e  ts i n ea c h re le a s e of W in d o ws , M i cro s of t re g ul a r l y d e l iv e r s n ew e n te r p r is e t ec h n o lo g i es t hro u g h t h e M ic ro s of t D e sk t o p O p t i mi z a ti o n P a c k ( M D O P) f o r S of t wa re A ss u r an c e . W i t h t hi s o p t[...]

116 117 Microso f t Application Vir tualization Application vir tualization turns programs based on Windows into centrally managed vir tual ser vices that can be delivered to any physical or vir tual desktop or por table computer worldwide. With application vir tualization, you can deploy new applications in days instead of months, without worr yin[...]

Microso f t Asset Inventor y Ser vice T o remain compliant and optimize IT budgets, organizations must effectively manage their software- asset inventor y , and the  r st step towar d upgrading to a new version of Windows is to get an accurate inventor y of all their applications. The Microso f t Asset Inventor y Ser vice provides advanced softw[...]

118 119 Microso f t Advanced Group P olicy Management With Microsoft Advanced Group P olicy Management (A GPM), IT pro fessionals can take control of user PCs thr ough effective change management, versioning, and rollbacks—all based on Group P olicy Objects (GPOs) and a r obust, r ole-based administration and delegation model. Not only can Advanc[...]

Microso f t Diagnostics and Recover y T oolset The Diagnostics and Recover y T oolset aids IT pro fessionals in quickly diagnosing critical infrastructure problems so you can reduce suppor t costs and keep people productive. It pr ovides advanced diagnos- tic tools that can restor e unbootable PCs, clean computers infected with malicious software, [...]

120 121 Microso f t Enterprise Desktop Vir tualization Microso f t Enterprise Desktop Vir tualization (MED-V), enables deployment and management o f Micr osoft vir tual PC Windows desktops to address key enterprise scenarios. Primarily , MED-V helps enterprises upgrade to the latest ver sion o f Windows even when some applications are not yet funct[...]

Windows 7 Har dwar e and So f twar e Logo Pr ogram With millions of choices in PCs, so f tware, and devices, it can sometimes be time-consuming to  nd high quality products that are easy to use. The Windows 7 logo program helps you make better purchase decisions by identif ying products that have passed Microso f t designed tests for compatibili[...]

122 123 Windows 7 Logo for PCs PCs with the Windows 7 Logo are tested to run and ship with Windows 7. If you see this logo, you’ll know that the PC meets the logo certi cation process, it has passed our comprehensive logo tests, and it can be upgraded to any edition of Windows 7. The Windows 7 Logo is your assurance that the PC meets or exceed[...]

Recommended System Requir ements Microso f t recommends the following minimum system requir ements to make sure you get all the bene ts o f Windows 7. Windows 7 System Requirements • 1 gigaher tz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor • 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit) • 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) /[...]

124 125 Recommended System Requirements • Music and sound requir e audio output • Windows XP Mode requir es the following: • Additional 1 GB of RAM • Additional 15 GB of available har d disk space • Processor capable o f hardware virtualization, with Intel-V T or AMD-V turned on Product functionality and graphics may var y based on your s[...]

How to Find Mor e Information Although this guide provides a summar y of the new and impr oved featur es in Windows 7, we realize that some o f you might want to delve deeper into cer tain areas. A number of great resources are available to you to fur ther your knowledge of these subjects. Resources for Ever yone Whether you want to learn more abou[...]

126 127 Resources for IT Pr os The Springboar d Series on T echNet is the r esource for Windows desktop IT pr ofessionals, o ffering dynamic content and monthly features about structured guidance and resour ces to ease your imple- mentation experience wher ever you are in the Windows Client adoption and management life cycle. Visit http://www .micr[...]

Key Featur es Star ter Home Premium Pro fessional Enterprise/Ultimate Windows T askbar and Jump Lists ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Windows Search ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Join a homegroup ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Windows Media Player ^ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Backup and Restore ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Enhanced media playback ^ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Action Center ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Device Stage™ ✓ ?[...]

Appendix Key Featur es Star ter Home Premium Pro fessional Enterprise/Ultimate Switch between users without having to log on and o ff ✓ ✓ ✓ Connect to other PCs in your vicinity without a network access device ✓ ✓ ✓ Location and Other Sensors ✓ ✓ ✓ Multiple monitor suppor t ✓ ✓ ✓ Windows Mobility Center ( witho ut presentati[...]

^These features are not available in box for “N” or “KN” edition versions. * Windows Mobility Center is visible only on small notebook PCs. ** Windows 7 Ultimate is not licensed for VDI scenarios, but these features may be used to create a richer remote desktop experience when connecting to a PC running Windows 7 Ultimate. Note: Windows Hom[...]

130 131 Appendix The following table compares featur es of Windows 7 with those in Windows Vista with SP1 and Windows XP with SP3. Appendix B Featur e Comparison Char t Bene t Featur e Windows XP SP3 Windows Vista SP1 Windows 7 Windows 7 for Y ou: Simpli es Ever yday T asks Get Star ted Quickly Windows Easy T ransfer no yes improved Windows A[...]

Bene t Featur e Windows XP SP3 Windows Vista SP1 Windows 7 Speed, Reliability , and Responsivenes W ake on Wireless L AN no no yes Smar t Network P ower no no yes P ower Ef ciency Diagnostics no no yes More Secur e User Account Control no yes improved P arental Contr ols no yes yes Windows Filtering Platform yes yes impr oved BitLocker no yes[...]

132 133 Appendix Bene t Featur e Windows XP SP3 Windows Vista SP1 Windows 7 Access Information from Anywher e RemoteApp and Desktop Connections yes yes improved Folder Redirection and Of ine Files yes yes improved Roaming User Pro  les yes yes improved BranchCache no no new T ransparent Caching no no new Windows 7 for IT Pro fessionals: Ma[...]

Appendix C New K eyboar d Shor tcuts Windows T askbar + T Brings focus to the  r st item in the taskbar . Press again to cycle through each item. + 1–9 If a program in the 1–9 slot is running, the keystr oke will launch it. If it is running with one window , the same keystroke will switch to that window . If it is running with multiple windo[...]

134 135 Appendix Upgrade Custom Upgrade Upgrade Custom Custom Upgrade Custom Custom Windows XP/Windows Vista ® Star ter/32-bit to 64-bit Custom Custom Installation A custom installation enables dual boot or gives the option to replace your exist - ing operating system with Windows 7. Y our programs, settings, and data will be r emo ved . B ack up [...]

Index 64-Bit 9, 16, 54, 80, 122, 123, 124 64-bit Gaming 80 Accelerators 9, 39, 112 Access Information from Anywhere 95, 132 Accessibility 87, 126, 133, 134 Action Center 66, 67, 128, 132 Adaptive Display Brightness 52, 131 Additional Resources 126 Aero Background 62, 63, 129, 132 Aero Themes 20, 62, 132 AppLocker 13, 22, 91, 102, 111, 130, 133 Audi[...]

136 137 Index Libraries 21, 35, 36, 37, 72, 74, 77,131 Location Aware Printing 12, 81, 129, 132 Magnier 87, 133 Manage Devices 41, 131 MDOP 91, 100, 106, 116 Media Streaming 12, 15, 20, 21, 75, 128, 129 Microsoft Advanced Group P olicy Management 119 Microsoft Application Virtualization 14, 117 Microsoft Asset Inventory Ser vice 14, 118 Microsof[...]

Windows 7 Logo Program 122 Windows 7 Professional 10, 12 Windows 7 Starter 10, 11, 14, 123 Windows 7 Ultimate 10, 13, 96, 130 Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor 16, 17, 124 Windows Anytime Upgrade 14, 123, 131 Windows Compatibility Center 18, 23 Windows Connect Now 43, 131 Windows Easy T ransfer 16, 19, 131 Windows Experience Index 51, 52 Windows Explorer 2[...]

138 139 DISCLAIMER The information contained in this document represents the current view o f Microsoft Corp. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microso f t must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of [...]

Part No. 098-115613[...]