Tip 12: Install Windows 7 Alongside Windows Vista for a Dual Boot System
It’s always a bit tricky to beta test a new operating system. Most of us don’t have an abundance of extra hardware just sitting around, and it can be both time consuming and risky to rebuild your production machine with a pre-release version of the next OS.
But with Windows 7, it’s pretty easy to beta test on the machine you’ve already got. Hard drives have gotten much larger and much less expensive, and if you’re running Windows …

Tip 11: Turn Off Security Messages and Other System Notifications in Windows 7
Windows Vista is constantly giving me security alerts that I don’t want to see. For instance, I intentionally have Automatic Updates and the Windows Firewall disabled on one of my systems, and every day Windows Vista finds it necessary to bring this to my attention. Fortunately, Windows 7 gives you more control over the Security Messages and other Notifications that you may or may not want to receive.
For starters, you can configure how notifications are handled …

Tip 10: Use Windows 7 to Manage Windows Server 2008 R2 Servers
You can easily manage your Windows 2008 R2 servers from a PC running Windows 7 beta 1. But first you’ll need to download the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 7, which you can get here.
Here’s an overview of the tools you’ll get in this download:
Server Administration Tools

Server Manager

Role Administration Tools

Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Tools
Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools
DHCP Server Tools
DNS Server …

Tip 9: Encrypt Removable USB Drives with BitLocker To Go on Windows 7
Windows 7 BitLocker has been enhanced to provide a better experience for end users. Without having to navigate the Control Panel or configure any difficult settings, users can easily protect USB removable storage devices.
The option is available by simply right-clicking on a drive in Windows Explorer to enable BitLocker protection. With BitLocker To Go, you can encrypt removable storage devices, such USB flash drives. All you need to do is right-click on the drive you want to …

Tip 8: Prepare and Service Windows Images Using the New DISM Tool
Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM.exe) is a new command line tool that you can use to service a Windows image or prepare a Windows PE image. The DISM tool replaces the Package Manager (pkgmgr.exe), PEimg, and Intlcfg tools used with Windows Vista. DISM consolidates the functionality found in those three tools, as well as delivers new functionality to improve the experience of offline servicing.
DISM can be used to service Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1) and …

Tip 7: New User State Migration Toolkit (USMT) Features for Windows 7
Hard-Link Migration Store: The new hard-link migration store is for use in computer-refresh scenarios only. Hard-link migration stores are stored locally on the computer that is being refreshed and can migrate user accounts, files, and settings in less time using megabytes of disk space instead of gigabytes.
Running ScanState on Offline Windows Images: You can run the ScanState command in Microsoft Windows PE. In addition, USMT now supports migration from previous installations of Windows contained in Windows.old directories. The …

Tip 6: Shrink and Simplify OS Images with Dynamic Driver Provisioning
With Dynamic Driver Provisioning in Windows 7, IT professionals can reduce the size of their images and reduce the number of images they maintain. And IT pros don’t need to update images when they introduce new hardware into their environment. By storing drivers centrally on deployment servers, separate from images, IT professional can install drivers dynamically or assign sets of drivers based on information contained in the BIOS.
If they choose to install drivers dynamically, Windows 7 enumerates Plug and …

Tip 5: Easier Troubleshooting Support with Problem Step Recorder
Troubleshooting errors for a remote user can be very difficult since you can’t actually see what’s happening on the remote system. Often it comes down to a user saying he didn’t click a button, open a program, close a program, or so on. The new Problem Steps Recorder (PSR.exe) allows you to see exactly what’s going on, documenting every action that takes place on the system experiencing problems.
The Problem Steps Recorder tool is a simple screen capture utility that grabs screenshots …

Tip 4: Shake Windows of Your Desktop
This is a simple, but cool new feature. If you have too much clutter on your desktop and want to minimize everything but the application you’re working in, you can “shake” all the other Windows off your desktop. Shake simply minimizes all the windows leaving only the top window available.
To clear the desktop: 1. Left click and hold on the Title Bar of the window you only want to show on the desktop. 2. Shake the …

Tip 3: Pin Files, Folders, and Favourites to the Taskbar in Windows 7 beta 1
If you often open particular files, Web pages, or folder locations, you can give yourself easier access to these commonly used resources by “pinning” them to the Taskbar. Applications can be pinned to the Taskbar, similar to how you could place your favourite applications on the Quick Launch toolbar.
With Windows 7 beta 1, when you drag a file onto the Taskbar, you are given the option to pin the file to its associated application. So …