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Configuring the Windows 7 Operating System (part 3) - Understanding the System Icon & Using the Registry Editor

7/9/2011 11:52:43 AM

4. Understanding the System Icon

The System icon in Control Panel is a very useful ser of utilities and tasks that can allow you to set Remote Access, System Devices, System Protection, and the computer name, just to name a few.

Let's take a look at the different utilities and tasks that can be configured in Control Panel.

Windows Edition The Windows Edition section shows you which edition of Windows the machine is currently using. The Windows Edition section also shows if service packs are installed.

System The System section shows information about the system hardware. The System sections shows the following information:

  • Rating

  • Processor

  • Installed Memory (RAM)

  • System Type

  • Pen and Touch

Computer Name, Domain, and Workgroup Settings In the Computer Name, Domain, And Workgroup settings section, you can change the name of the computer system and also change the workgroup or domain (see Figure 21).

Figure 21. Change the computer name, domain, or workgroup

Windows Activation The Windows Activation section allows you to activate your Windows 7 operating system. The Windows Activation section also allows you to change your Product key before activating.

Remote Settings In the Remote Settings section, you can set the Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop settings for the Windows 7 system, as shown in Figure 22. Windows Remote Assistance allows an administrator to connect to a machine and control the mouse and keyboard while the user is on with the administrator. This option can be enabled or disabled.

Figure 22. Remote settings screen

Remote Desktop allows you to have your own session on the Windows 7 operating system. While you are logged on to the Windows 7 operating system through Remote Desktop, the user of the machine can't view the session. There are three Remote Desktop options from which you can choose:

Don't allow connections from this machine Choosing this option denies anyone the ability to connect to this machine through Remote Desktop.

Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure) This setting allows any computer running Remote Desktop to connect to this

Windows 7 machine. These machines do not need to use Network Level Authentication, and that's what makes this connection type less secure.

Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (more secure) Network Level Authentication is a new authentication method used for Remote Desktop (Windows Vista and higher). It allows Remote Desktop users to connect to the Windows 7 operating system securely.

You also have the ability in Remote Desktop to specify which users have access to the Windows 7 machine through the use of Remote Desktop.

System Protection The System Protection section is for configuring restore points and recoverability for the Windows 7 operating system (see Figure 23). You can also manage disk space and manage all of your restore points from the System Protection section.

Figure 23. System Protection screen

Advanced System Settings The Advanced System Settings section allows you to set up such items as visual effects, processor scheduling, memory usage, virtual memory, Desktop settings, system startup, and recoverability (see Figure 24).

Figure 24. Advanced System Settings

There are three main sections within the Advanced System Settings section:

Performance The Performance section allows you to configure the visual effects, the virtual memory, processor scheduling, and the Data Execution Prevention for the Windows 7 operating system.

The virtual memory is a section of the hard drive that is used by the system and RAM. Think of RAM as a pitcher of water. As the water fills up the pitcher, the pitcher becomes full. Once it's full, more water would cause it to overflow. The virtual memory is the overflow for RAM. When RAM fills up, the oldest data in RAM gets put into the virtual memory. This way the system does not need to look at an entire hard drive for that data. It finds it in the virtual memory.

The Data Execution Prevention section helps protect against damage from viruses and other security threats.

User Profiles The User Profiles section allows you to copy, delete, or move a user's Desktop profile to another location or user account.

Startup and Recovery The Startup and Recovery section (see Figure 25) allows you to configure which operating system will be booted by default (important for dual-booting machines) and what should happen when the system gets a startup error.

Figure 25. Startup and Recovery

You can also configure the Device Manager from the System icon.

Let's now take a look at how to configure some of the options using the System icon. Complete Exercise 4 to change the computer name.

Exercise 4: Changing the Computer Name

  1. Open the System tool by clicking Start => Control Panel => System.

  2. Under the Computer Name, Domain, And Workgroup settings section, click the Change Settings link.

  3. Click the Change button in the To Rename This Computer section.

  4. In the Computer Name field, rename your computer. Click OK.

  5. A dialog box asking you to reboot the machine will appear. Click the OK button.

  6. Click the Close button. Click the Restart Now button.


Now that you have renamed the computer, let's take a look at how to configure performance options. Complete Exercise 5 to manipulate your system's virtual memory.

Exercise 5: Changing the System's Virtual Memory

  1. Open the System tool by clicking Start => Control Panel => System.

  2. In the left-hand side, click the Advanced System Settings link.

  3. Under the Performance section, click the Settings button.

  4. When the Performance option screen appears, click the Advanced center tab.

  5. In the Virtual Memory section, click the Change button.

  6. Uncheck the check box that states Automatically Manage Paging File Size For All Drives.

  7. Click the Custom Size radio button.

  8. Set the Minimum and Maximum settings to one and a half times RAM. For example, if your RAM is 1,024 MB, set the settings to 1,536 MB.

  9. Click the Set button.

  10. Click OK. Click OK at the Performance Options screen.

  11. Close the System Properties screen.


NOTE

Microsoft Windows 7 handles the virtual memory requirements by default, but I recommend increasing the virtual memory on your machine if hard drive space is available. I use the rule of thumb of one and a half to two times the size of RAM. You want to make sure that the virtual memory is at least the same size as your RAM at a minimum.

Now let's take a look at how to set up some recoverability options for your operating system. Complete Exercise 6 to create a restore point.

Exercise 6: Creating a Restore Point

  1. Open the System tool by clicking Start => Control Panel => System.

  2. In the left side, click the System Protection link.

  3. When the System Protection screen appears, click the Create button in the Create A Restore Point Right Now section.

  4. A dialog box asks you to type in a description to help identify which restore point it is. Type in today's date and click the Create button.

  5. Next, a dialog box stating that the restore was created successfully appears. Click the Close button.

  6. Now click the System Restore button.

  7. At the System Restore box, click Next.

  8. At the "Restore your computer to the state it was in before the selected event" screen, you should see the restore point that you just created.

  9. If the restore that you created is there, click Cancel. If the restore is not there, repeat steps 2 through 5.


Another way to configure options within the Windows 7 operating system is to configure the settings directly in the Registry. To do this, you use a Registry editor. In the next section we will discuss using the Registry editor.

5. Using the Registry Editor

You use the Registry Editor program to edit the Registry. This utility is designed for advanced configuration of the system. Usually, when you make changes to your configuration, you use other utilities, such as Control Panel, which was discussed in the previous section.

Only experienced administrators should use the Registry Editor. It is intended for making configuration changes that can be made only directly through the Registry. For example, you might edit the Registry to specify an alternate location for a print spool folder. Improper changes to the Registry can cause the computer to fail to boot. Use the Registry Editor with extreme caution.


Windows 7 uses the REGEDIT or REGEDT32 programs as the primary utility for Registry editing in Windows 7. These programs support full editing of the Registry. To use REGEDIT, select Start and type REGEDIT in the Search dialog box. To use REGEDT32, type REGEDT32 into the Search dialog box.

The Registry is organized in a hierarchical tree format of keys and subkeys that represent logical areas of computer configuration. By default, when you open the Registry Editor, you see five Registry key listings, as shown in Figure 26 and described in Table 1.

Figure 26. The Registry Editor window

Table 1. Registry Keys
Registry KeyDescription
HKEY_CURRENT_USERConfiguration information for the user who is currently logged on to the computer. This key is a subkey of the HKEYJJSERS key.
HKEY_USERSConfiguration information for all users of the computer.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEComputer hardware configuration information. This computer configuration is used regardless of the user who is logged in.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTConfiguration information used by Windows Explorer to properly associate file types with applications.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIGConfiguration of the hardware profile that is used during system startup.

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