If you are unable to open any application on Windows 7 the compatibility mode will help to change the compatibility mode and let you set the compatibility for last worked Windows platform. Windows 7 is even smart enough to scan the executable file and advice you which compatibility mode should be used in order to run the application.
You can change the Compatibility mode in file Properties>Compatibility Tab.

Sometimes even the compatibility mode will not work if the file is 16-bit application. The best way to resolve this issue is loading the support files on Windows 7 for older applications. The support files called Libraryfiles and VB5-Runtime needs to be downloaded and installed on your Windows 7 to run such old applications.

By default the instalation will drop the support files under System32 folder, but there is a bit different in Windows 7 64 edition or any other 64-Bit edition of windows because the 64 Bit systems will have a subsystem folder called WOW64 (Under Windows folder). WOW64 will work as an emulator for 32 applications to provide support in 64-bit editions of Windows. If you wish to know more about WOW64 read here.

So while loading the support files in to a 64-bit operating system you will have to change the installation location to C:\Windows\WOW64\ because when you run any 32 bit application in 64-Bit Windows it will look for the emulator files under the WOW64 folder.

Let me know if you have any different way of fixing this issue?

Context: We have around 280 GB of hard drive space and it has a single partition. We will be creating a secondary drive by splitting the C Drive.
1) Go to Disk Management in Windows 7 (Type in Disk Management in the Search box, It will show you “Create and Format hard disk partitions” click on that to open Disk management console)

2) Right click on the C Drive(Primary partition) and then click on “Shrink Volume”

3) In few minutes after calculating the disk size you will see a prompt for setting a size to shrink the C Drive(Depends the disk space you can specify the disk size here as how much size you will require your C Drive)
In my case total size was 270543 MB (Which means 270543/1024=265GB)

4) When you press Shrink it will create a new drive with the remaining space on the hard drive.

5) Right click on the newly created drive (Shown in black color) and click on “New Simple Volume” (complete the “New Simple Volume” creation wizard)

6) That’s it; in few minutes it will format the new drive and make it ready for use.

The theme can be used on all the Windows 7 Editions. Go grab it now.

Now have Autobots on your desktop. Download the Transformers 3 Theme

Troubleshooting Methods

Method 1

Windows 7 is capable of fixing this issue by configuring the compatibility mode.
(a) In order to do this Right click on the application shortcut then click on Properties.
(b) Click on the Compatibility tab on the properties window.
(c) Enable the “Run this program compatibility made for:” and select the appropriate operating system. (You can select the operating system were this tool has successfully worked.)

Method 2

If the above did not solve the problem try it with Program Compatibility Troubleshooter. (a) Click on Start and type in Program Compatibility in search box and that will display “Run programs made for previous version of windows”
(b) Click on it to launch the Compatibility troubleshooter)This will scan the installed application and when you select the application that failed to run, it will scan it and suggest you with a possible settings to run the application.

Method 3

When the application gives any specific error messages. I will give you two error messages as an example which I have experienced recently.
#This program can’t start because MSVBVM50.DLL is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.
#Class not registered. You need the following file to be installed on your machine. MSSTDFMT.DLL

I was using a Windows 7 64-bit and couple of applications were not working on it, I found the problem is due to some runtime files. So I have installed libraryfiles.exe and Visual Basic 5 Runtime files. You will get different version of VB runtimes files from Microsoft

One more thing I want you to note is where to install the Runtime files in Windows 7 64 Bit. Installation folder should be C:\Windows\SysWOW64. SysWOW64 folder is the x86 emulator that enables 32-bit Windows-based applications to run seamlessly on 64-bit Windows systems.

I hope it was helpful! Let me know your feedback.

You might have seen Desktop Sidebar Gadgets if you have worked on Windows vista because Microsoft has officially released desktop sidebar gadgets for Windows Vista. The good feedbacks about this feature helped to stay with the Windows 7 as well. Basically Desktop Gadgets are small independent utilities for single task. It will stay on your desktop to help you to do a task very quickly. Today I am sharing 10 Desktop Sidebar Gadgets for Windows 7. You will find it very useful.

If you don’t see the Sidebar you can always enable it by going to c:\program files\Window Sidebar and look for Sidebar.exe and then run it. That will pop up the Sidebar on the right side of your desktop.

Now let’s check it out the Gadgets

(1) Hulu Tracker
Hulu Tracker is based on the Hulu.com service. Hulu is actually an online TV shows and movie streaming service. Hulu streams from major American TV channels. This tracker will let you search for latest shows and straightaway you can watch the shows from this Widget.

(2) File Shredder Utility
I would say best gadget in this collection. It facilitates permanent deletion of files or folder from your computer. The deletion of files will DoD 5220.22-M (E) technology and that will make the software or hardware mode of data recovery impossible. Simple drag and drop of file to this gadget will delete the data permanently. This gadget will help who is working on important and sensitive data.

(3) Password Vault
Password Vault uses a 128 Bit AES encryption for storing your password. So there is no fear of someone tries to hack this gadget and get your password. Root password configuration and auto locking gadget are advanced features available on this.

(4) Wikipedia English
This is a desktop based wiki search gadget for windows 7. No need to open the Wikipedia website to find something on Wikipedia.

(5) Monitor Off
It is simple utility and a power saver. It will turn off your monitor on a mouse click and saves the energy.

(6) Shutdown Scheduler
It gives easy to use icons on your desktop to quickly perform Shutdown, Restart, Lock and Logoff functions. Apart from that its main use is for scheduling a shutdown. It does very well its job.

(7) Gmail Reader
It uses Gmail Api to fetch your new emails from your inbox. It will display the recent 20 emails and notifies whenever you receive a new email. You no longer need to login to your webmail since this gadget will alert you with sound.

(8) File Extension Lookup
This simple gadget will tell you about an unknown file extension. You just have to simply drag and drop the unknown file to this gadget or else you can type the file extension to get the information about it.

Do you have a favorite gadget? If so let us know it!

]]> http://www.hackstacks.com/some-useful-windows-7-desktop-sidebar-gadgets/3615/feed 0 http://www.hackstacks.com/a-guide-to-printer-management-in-windows-7/3582 http://www.hackstacks.com/a-guide-to-printer-management-in-windows-7/3582#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 15:48:58 +0000 Renjith http://www.hackstacks.com/?p=3582 more »]]>

Managing printers were quite easy task in Windows XP but when moved to Windows 7 everything had changed and as part of the operating system enhancement the features has become more advanced and kind of complicated. Printer management feature is one of a kind feature in Windows 7. Printer Management in Windows 7 has every feature that required for a Printer Server. In Windows XP server properties on the Printers and Faxes was everything to configure the printers. You will not find that option in Windows 7 but instead of that you will see Print management under the Administrative Tools>Print Management. If you expand the Print Server and then the Local computer name you will find complete features for printer management. The print manager classified the printer components in to Driver, Forms, Port and Printers.

Under Drivers heading you will find the relevant printer drivers for the installed printers.
Under Forms heading you can add/delete printer forms as per your requirement.
Under Ports heading you will find the already added printer port’s information. Also you can manage the existing printer ports and add new ports as well.
Under Printer heading you can find the printers available on the local pc. You will see the name of the printer, driver version, printer status etc. Adding/Deleting of printers is possible here.

One added feature in Printer Management is the ability to create custom filters rules for printer activity. By default you will find 4 custom filters like filters for to show the Not Ready printers and the busy printer etc. If you left click on the Custom Filters heading you will find options for creating a New Printer Filter or New Driver Filter.

These filters are pretty intelligent and can be configured to trigger a mail notification up on any printer breakdown or any other major failures such as paper jam. It can also be configured to run certain scripts to fix the problem or gather certain information.

So when you plan to set up a print server next time don’t forget to explore Windows 7’s print management capability.

You can configure print management feature under Control Panel>Administrative Tools> Print Management
Or else you can easily navigate to Print Management by typing in Print on the search box on the start menu. It will show the Print Management icon on the first place.

Was it helpful? let us know!