October 19, 2010
Welcome to the Windows 7 Key.com Blog
Welcome to the Windows7Key.com blog. Here you will find FAQs for the Windows 7 Keyfinder and other Keyfinders, as well as useful articles pertaining to Windows 7. Help is just a search away.
Our Microsoft Certified Professionals also post articles under the category Tips and Tricks. As part of our mission, we research computing topics such as security, software trends, encryption, and Windows tweaks. We are happy to provide this information as a service to you.
January 31, 2011
November 10, 2010
Windows 7 UAC
Window 7 comes with a security feature known as User Account Control. It aims to improve the security of Microsoft Windows by limiting application software to standard user privileges until an administrator authorizes an increase or elevation. In this way, only applications trusted by the user may receive administrative privileges, and malware should be kept from compromising the operating system. In other words, a user account may have administrator privileges assigned to it, but applications that the user runs do not inherit those privileges unless they are approved beforehand or the user explicitly authorizes it.
To disable User Account Control in Windows 7, simply type “UAC” in the Search box from the Start Menu or in the Control Panel window. This opens the User Account Control settings. Drag the slider up or down to vary the amount you are alerted about applications trying to use elevated privileges.
November 8, 2010
Windows Key Shortcuts
The windows key (not to be confused with the Windows product key) is a key on your keyboard that is usually located on the lower left, between the CTRL key and the ALT key. Microsoft built several useful keyboard shortcuts into the Windows 7 operating system, allowing you to perform common tasks in an efficient manner. Use the Windows Key and a hotkey together to do things quickly, such as opening Windows Explorer or showing the Start Menu. The following list describes twelve of the most common Windows 7 shortcuts, using the Windows key:
- Windows Key + E – opens Windows explorer
- Windows Key – displays the Start menu
- Windows Key + D – shows your desktop and minimizes all open windows
- Windows Key + F – shows the search results dialog.
- Windows Key + L – lock your computer
- Windows Key + M – minimizes all open windows
- Windows Key + SHIFT + M - restores the windows to where they were before minimizing
- Windows Key + R – shows the Run dialog box, used for running applications
- Windows Key + F1 – shows the Windows help center
- Windows Key + Pause/Break – shows the System Information in the Control Panel
- Windows Key + Tab – cycles through running applications
- Windows Key + U – shows the Ease of Access center
November 3, 2010
Windows 7 PC Safeguard
Have you ever let a friend or neighbor use your computer, then come back to it and found that he has changed your desktop wallpaper, the way your icons are sorted, or shown the hidden files on your system? We don’t want to be rude and tell them never to change anything again. And, by the same token, we don’t want to keep our friends from borrowing our computer when they’re at the house.
Windows 7 has come up with a solution for this problem called PC Safeguard. It’s a feature that restores your Windows settings when you log off and log back in. To activate it, follow these steps:
- Click the Windows button and select the Control Panel
- Select User Accounts
- Create a new account and select Set Up PC Safeguard
Now, you can rest at ease when company comes over and wants to borrow your PC.
November 1, 2010
Windows 7 Hidden Themes and Wallpapers
Did you know that Windows 7 has many more hidden themes and wallpapers than meets the eye? The reason why is that Windows displays only those themes that it deems relevant to your country or territory. If you live in the United States for example, Windows 7 will allow you to access, by default, only those themes and wallpapers that it deems relevant to your country or territory.
But, wouldn’t it be great to access a wallpaper from say, Australia, and be able to view an elephant charging through the outback on your desktop? Well, now you can. Simply follow these instructions to access Windows 7 Hidden Themes and wallpapers:
- In the search box in the Start menu, type
C:\Windows\Globalization\MCTand press Enter. - Windows Explorer will open and show you a list of subfolders under
C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT: MCT-AU, MCT-CA, MCT-GB, MCT-US, and MCT-ZA. Each subfolder has wallpapers for a specific country: AU for Australia, CA for Canada, GB for Great Britain, US for the United States, and so forth. - Double click the theme you want to use. This will add a shortcut to the Personalization section of the Control Panel, under themese and wallpapers.
- To use the wallpaper, right-click your desktop and choose Personalize.
October 28, 2010
New Youtube Channel
MyWindows7Key.com is now on Youtube. Please visit and subscribe to our channel called MyWindows7Key at
http://www.youtube.com/mywindows7key and stay tuned for videos on how to find, save, and print your Microsoft product keys. We also plan to publish videos that provide Windows 7 Tips and Tricks in the areas of configuration, maintenance, networking, security, and installation.
Out latest video is called How To Find Your Windows 7 Key. Click here to view it. “How to Find Your Windows 7 Key” guides you through downloading, installing, and running Product Keyfinder 2011, the utility that scans your Windows registry for Microsoft, Adobe, Cyberlink and many more products. If you need assistance downloading and installing Keyfinder 2011, then this video will be worth watching.
We hope you enjoy our Youtube channel. Please be sure to visit and subscribe.
October 27, 2010
Microsoft Office 2010 Key
If you have ever need to install, reinstall, or activate a copy of Microsoft Office 2010. then you know that the software requires a product key in order to function. But, what if you can no longer locate the product key? You may have experienced, at some point in your life as a computer user, the frustration of searching the house for the CD case that came with your copy of Office 2010 — because that is where the yellow sticker is with the product key. But, if for some reason you cannot locate the product key, you lose a valuable software license. You may also lose a great deal of time trying to hunt the key down, or searching various computer forums for a solution. You may be tempted to by another copy of Office 2010, or using a pirated version, which as we know is illegal.
The good news is that the Office 2010 key may actually be located on your computer. If you have already installed and activated Microsoft Office 2010, then, during the installation process, the setup program prompts you for your product key. Once the key is verified, Office 2010 stores the product key in your
Windows registry, albeit in an encrypted form called the DigitalProductID. The DigitalProductID is located in the under Hklm\Microsoft\Software\Office\14.0\Registration. The DigitalProductID uniquely identifies your installation of Office, and, under the hood, is a setting that tells the system that your copy of Office is fully activated and installed.
Now that you know that your product key is encrypted on your computer, you simply need to know how to decrypt it, or how to get a replacement product key. The method you choose depends on your situation. Using a utility to decrypt it is generally the fastest and easiest way, as you can instantly download and install a Keyfinder utility in seconds. However, if you have an original CD from Microsoft, you may find it better to contact Microsoft directly.
Using a Utility to Find Your Office 2010 Key
The advantage of using a software utility to locate your Microsoft Office 2010 key is that it can be done quickly and easily. Usually, the utilities are small in size and can be downloaded and installed in seconds. You won’t have to wait, or pay for, customer support at Microsoft, and you can even save the utility and keep it for future use. Most keyfinder utilities also come with a function that allows you to save your Office 2010 to a file, so that you can keep it in a safe place and never lose it again.
- Download a Keyfinder utility. These can be found by doing a Google search for “product key” or you can download Keyfinder 2011 here.
- Run the utility. If you are prompted to run the utility as an administrator of your computer, choose “Yes,” as the utility must be able to access your system registry
- The utility scans your system and displays the product key
Windows Preview Pane
Have you ever been looking for a particular document and found yourself staring at a long list of file names in Windows Explorer, not knowing which is the right one to open? The Windows Preview Pane is an often ignored feature of Windows 7 that allows you to preview documents, pictures, and other files without having to open the application needed to view the file.
By default, the Windows Preview Pane is turned off. To turn it on, follow these steps:
- Click Start –> Computer to open Windows Explorer
- Double-click the C:\ drive to open the contents of your hard drive.
- Click Organize –> Layout –> Preview Pane in order to enable the Windows preview pane. The pane will appear to the right of the file listing.
Now, you should be able to click on any file in order to view its contents at a glance.
Some file types do not allow you to view the preview without having the correct application installed. For example, you may not be able to preview Word documents unless Microsoft Word is installed on your computer. Of course, it’s not very likely that you will want to preview Word docs unless you have Word installed, so this proves to be a minor problem.
In Windows 7, the preview pane can be accessed quickly via a small button on the upper right corner of Windows Explorer. This button looks like a tiny open window. If you hover over it, you will notice a tooltip which indicates that you can activate the preview pane by clicking on it.
Notice that if you preview a large document, such as a software user manual in PDF format, the preview pane features left and right buttons that allow you to navigate through the document preview. A status label tells you the number of pages in the document, as well as the number of the current page you are previewing. An icon that looks like a tiny page in the preview pane, allows you to view the entire page onscreen.
October 20, 2010
Problem Steps Recorder
Problem Steps Recorder is a new utility in Microsoft Windows 7 that allows you to record problems that you may be experiencing with a software application. Problem Steps Recorder has the ability to capture screen shots of a user’s interactions with an application, record the mouse clicks or keyboard strokes associated with the captured screen, and then package the entire experience in a .zip file. The .zip file will contain a .mht file, which is an Internet Explorer archive containing textual descriptions and images of the running application. Problem Steps recorder allows you the option to disable screenshots or increase the number of screenshots taken (the default is 25)
If you have ever worked in tech support, you will easily see just how useful Problem Steps Recorder is. As a tech support professional, you may receive an email or phone call from a user about a problem application but sometimes cannot understand without having a visual aid to show you what exactly the user is doing. On the flip side, if you are the software user, you have undoubtedly experienced times when you have tried to communicate an issue to tech support but have not been able to express the problem to their satisfaction. This is where the Problem Steps Recorder saves time for everyone involved and is indeed a miracle tool.
To use the Problem Steps Recorder in Windows 7, follow these steps:
- Click Start
- Type “PSR,” without quotes and hit enter. This launches the Problem Step Recorder
- Click the Start Record button.
- Begin using the application for which you are recording a problem. Make sure to go through each of the steps that lead up to the problem.
- If you want to insert a comment at any point during the recording, you can do so by clicking the Add Comment button.
- Once you are done, click Stop Recording. This opens a “Save As” File dialog. Input a name for the file and save it to a location where you can find it easily, such as on your desktop.
- Next, send the saved file to the tech support professional who is troubleshooting the application
To change any of the default settings in the Problem Step Recorder, click the arrow next to the Help icon and choose “Settings.” You can change the default save location, whether or not screen captures are performed, and the number of screen captures to store. Chaning the number of screen captures is a particularly useful setting if you are working with a large or complicated application that requires a large number of steps to be taken.
Burning iso in Windows 7
Did you know that Windows 7 has a new feature which allows you to burn a disc image from an .iso file. Burning an iso in Windows 7 couldn’t be any more straightforward.
Computer pros have long used .iso files as an easy packaging to save and transport images of CDs and DVDs. For example, let’s say that you have a memory testing CD that helps your fellow Windows 7 users scan their computer’s memory when it is suspected to have a hardware problem with the physical memory itself. As the local PC guru, you will probably want to back up the boot CD to your hard drive, just in case anything happens to the CD. For example, you may accidently leave the CD at a friend’s house or drop it and scratch it.
If you are really serious about backing up your CDs and DVDs, it is, in fact, a great idea to back them up as an .iso file. The utility in Windows 7 makes burning iso file types easy. However, there is no way to create the .iso file from the DVD. However, the reverse is true. In Windows 7, you simple right-click a .iso file and select “Burn Disc Image” from the shortcut menu. This lanuches the Windows Disc Image Burner.
A check box in the utility prompts you to “Verify disc after burning.” While this is recommended to ensure that the data was transferred to the disc successfully, it does take a really long time to verify some data, so use it only when completely necessary.
One common feature that Windows 7 users want is the ability to mount a .iso file as another drive letter. This would be especially helpful to netbook users who do not have a CD or DVD drive in their computer and would like to be able to install software from a .ISO image.
Another desirable feature, besides burning iso in Windows 7, would be the ability to explore the .iso file, in the same way that you can use Windows Explorer to explore a .zip file. This would allow you to open the contents of the .iso in Windows Explorer, change a config file or some other file on the disc image, and then repackage the .iso. This would be helpful for scenarios such as when you need a custom installation of Microsoft Office and want to include administrative configuration file.