Change Windows 7 Taskbar Thumbnail to List View Threshold 
Microsoft has set the maxium to 16 or less depending on your resolution. This might be to high for many users. To lower it a quick registry edit is in order:
Open regedit and go to key, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband
add new DWORD (32-bit) Value “NumThumbnails” and choose the number you would prefer like 3 or 4.
Now close regedit and click the start button, hold down the ctrl and shift key and right click an empty area to get an exit explorer entry.
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How to clean Install from Windows 7 Upgrade Media
The retail upgrade media is bootable and can perform a clean install but it won’t activate with the
upgrade key unless you perform one of the methods below.
METHOD 1:
Double Install Trick:
1. Boot from the DVD, choose “Custom (Advanced)”, do not enter the key at this time.
2. After it has installed, boot into it, you will have 30 days to activate it will inform you.
3. Place the DVD back in and launch setup again and choose “Upgrade” this time, it will install over itself.
4. After it’s installed for the second time, the upgrade key will now be accepted and will activate.
Tag: Double Install Trick, Upgrade Media, Windows Activation,
METHOD 2:
Use SLMGR Commands to Insert Product Key and Activate:
- Open an elevated command prompt as administrator.
- Use the following command to install product key:
slmgr -ipk <upgrade product key>
- Activate Windows 7 with the following command:
slmgr -ato
To check acti vation status from command line, use slmgr -dlv or slmgr -dli.
METHOD 3:
Clean Install and Activate Windows 7 with MediaBootInstall Registry Hack:
- After booting up, ensure that no Windows Updates pending task which requires a system reboot to finish installing.
- Run Registry Editor (RegEdit).
- Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OOBE
- In the right pane, change the value data for MediaBootInstall from 1 to 0.
- Open an elevated command prompt as administrator.
- Run the command below to reset Windows 7 activation status:
slmgr –rearm
- Reboot the computer.
- Run the Activate Windows utility (type Activate Windows into Start Search), type in the upgrade product key and activate Windows.
Acronis True Image 11 for FREE
If you bought a Western Digital hard drive then you can download Acronis True Image 11 from Western Digital:
http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp
Seagate and Maxtor also have special Acronis editions as well on there sites if you have purchased one their drives. Some features are missing from these editions though like the ability to make incremental or differential backups. So you will need to create a new full backup everytime but it is free.
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Microsoft Outlook 2010 = too much ribbon
After using outlook 2010 for awhile I find myself being more appreciative of Outlook 2007. It’s balance of the toolbar with the ribbon was unique in the Office suite. The Ribbon uses a lot more space then the slim toolbar did. It also forces you to go looking for certain functions that are put on a different tab.
