Windows 7 Settings

Introduction

Here are some of my Windows 7 settings and preferences. See also: Windows XP Settings, Operating Systems, Programs, BIOS Settings, Device Settings, System Info, Installation Order, My computers.

Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1 Settings

Notes

Do not use Lock Screen, because after 30 minutes the computer shuts down and restarts (Wings desktop PC, April 2012).

Msconfig

Comments

Start Msconfig: Command Prompt: msconfig

Boot

[ ] No GUI boot (enabled: looks grim with a black screen and some blue dots at the top of the screen)

[ ] Boot log

[ ] Base video

[ ] OS boot information

Startup

[ ] Adobe Reader and Acrobat Manager: AdobeARM.exe

[ ] Apple Push: APSDaemon.exe (wirelessly sync devices)

[x] Avira Free Antivirus: avgnt.exe

[x] Catalyst Control Center: CLIStart.exe (ATI)

[ ] cyberlink brs: brs.exe (CyberLink Blu-ray player)

[ ] CyberLink MediaLibray Service: Power2Go: CLMLSvc.exe

[x] Google Talk: googletalk.exe (if disabled Google main page may look strange when logged in, April 2012)

[x] Google Update: GoogleUpdate.exe

[x] HDAudioCPL: VDeck.exe (VIA)

[ ] iTunes: iTunesHelper.exe (monitors for the connection of iPod, etc.)

[x] Java(TM) Platform SE Auto Updater 2 0: jusched.exe (Java Update)

[ ] LG Firmware Autoupdate: fwupdate.exe (annoying)

[ ] MUI StartMenu Application: MediaShow4 (CyberLink Blu-ray player)

[ ] MUI StartMenu Application: Power2Go

[ ] MUI StartMenu Application: PowerProducer

[ ] PowerDVD Language Application: Language.exe (CyberLink)

[ ] PowerDVD RC Service: PDVD8Serv.exe (I don't have a remote control for my PC)

[ ] QuickTime: QTTask.exe (QuickTime tray icon)

[ ] StartMen Application: MUIStartMenu.exe (CyberLink)

[x] USB 3.0 Monitor: nusb3mon.exe (ASUS motherboard)

[x] ZoneAlarm: zatray.exe

[x] ZoneAlarm Browser Security: ForceField.exe (anti-phishing plugin)

[ ] Zune: ZuneLauncher.exe (I don't use Zune)

Start

(Pinned Programs)

Google Chrome

right-click: Pin to Start Menu

LibreOffice

right-click: Pin to Start Menu

Notepad

right-click: Pin to Start Menu

Paint

right-click: Pin to Start Menu

All Programs

Accessories

Command Prompt

Right-click: Send to: Desktop (create shortcut). Then move the new shortcut to Start, All Programs section for faster access.

Notepad

Right-click: Send to: Desktop (create shortcut). Then move the new shortcut to Start, All Programs section for faster access.

Control Panel

Action Center

Change Action Center Settings

Security messages

[x] Windows Update

[x] Internet security settings

[x] Network firewall

[x] Spyware and related protection

[x] User Account Control

[x] Virus protection

Maintenance messages

[ ] Windows Backup

[ ] Windows Troubleshooting

[ ] Check for updates

Change User Account Control settings (no need, I'm using Avira AntiVir)

(*) Never notify me

Administrative Tools

Services

(D means Disabled. M means Manual startup. A means Automatic startup.)

[A] Avira Realtime Protection

[A] Avira Scheduler

[D] Bonjour (enables devices to connect to PC, Apple, iTunes)

[D] Remote Desktop Services (connect to remote computer)

[D] Remote Registry (enables remote users to modify registry settings)

[D] Server (file sharing, etc.)

[D] Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service (share media libraries)

[D] Zune Network Sharing Service (share media libraries)

AutoPlay

[ ] Use AutoPlay for all media and devices

Audio CD: [Play Audio CD using iTunes]

DVD movie: [Play DVD movie using VideoLAN VLC media player]

Blu-ray disc movie: [Play DVD Video using PowerDVD 8]

Display

(General)

Make it easier to read what's on your screen

(*) Smaller - 100% (default)

Adjust resolution: (1) HP ZR24w

Display: HP ZR24w

Resolution: 1920 x 1200

Orientation: Landscape

Adjust resolution: (2) LG 32LT75

Display: LG 32LT75

Resolution: 1600 x 900 (easier to see text)

Change display settings

(See "Adjust resolution", which takes you to the same window.)

Ease of Access Center

Quick access common tools

[ ] Always read this section aloud

[ ] Always scan this section

Make the mouse easier to use

Make it easier to manage windows

[x] Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen (keywords: snap, drag, sticky)

Make the keyboard easier to use

Make it easier to type

[ ] Turn on Sticky Keys

[ ] Turn on Toggle Keys

[ ] Turn on Filter Keys

Make it easier to use keyboard shortcuts

[x] Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys

Folder Options

General

(*) Open each folder in the same window

(*) Double-click to open an item

View

[x] Always show icons, never thumbnails

[ ] Display file size information in folder tips

[ ] Hide extensions for known file types

[x] Launch folder windows in a separate process

[x] Show drive letters

[ ] Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items

HomeGroup

(See Network and Sharing Center: Advanced sharing settings.)

Java

(See Program Settings page.)

Keyboard

Speed

Character repeat

Repeat delay: approximately 75 %

Repeat rate: 100 %

Cursor blink rate: 8/12

Mouse

Buttons

Button configuration

[ ] Switch primary and secondary buttons

Double-click speed

Speed: 7/11

ClickLock

[ ] Turn on ClickLock

Pointers

Scheme

None (hourglass for "Busy" and "Working")

Windows Aero (system scheme) (blue circle for "Busy" and "Working")

[x] Enable pointer shadow

[x] Allow themes to change mouse pointers

Pointer Options

Motion

Select a pointer speed: 6/11

[x] Enhance pointer precision

Snap To

[ ] Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box

Visibility

[ ] Display pointer trails

[x] Hide pointer while typing

[ ] Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key (maybe when making net videos)

Wheel

Vertical Scrolling

Roll the wheel one notch to scroll

(*) The following number of lines at a time: 3

Horizontal Scrolling

Tilt the wheel to scroll the following number of characters at a time: 3

Hardware

Devices

HID-compliant mouse (no Windows 7 driver for Logitech Mini Mouse Optical M-UV55A)

Network and Sharing Center

Advanced sharing settings (should be turned off by default by Windows)

Home or Work

Network discovery

(*) Turn off network discovery (This is like UPnP in Windows XP. Seems to turn back on automatically after turning off. See your UPnP settings in your modem/router.)

File and printer sharing

(*) Turn off file and printer sharing

Public folder sharing

(*) Turn off Public folder sharing

File sharing connections

(*) Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections

Password protected sharing

(*) Turn on password protected sharing

Public

Network discovery

(*) Turn off network discovery (This is like UPnP in Windows XP. Seems to turn back on automatically after turning off. See your UPnP settings in your modem/router.)

File and printer sharing

(*) Turn off file and printer sharing

Public folder sharing

(*) Turn off Public folder sharing

File sharing connections

(*) Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections

Password protected sharing

(*) Turn on password protected sharing

Notification Area Icons

Icons

Action Center: [Only show notifications]

fwupdate.exe: [Hide icon and notifications] (Unnecessary notifications.)

Google Talk: [Show icon and notifications] (I can see when I receive email.)

Network: [Show icon and notifications] (When network is down I can easily click the icon.)

VLC Media Player: [Show icon and notifications]

Volume: [Show icon and notifications] (Easy to adjust volume.)

Windows Task Manager: [Show icon and notifications] (I can see CPU usage graph on taskbar.)

[ ] Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar (enabled only when Windows has been installed and I'm making initial updates)

Performance Information and Tools

"The Windows Experience Index assesses key system components on a scale of 1.0 to 7.9."

Processor: 7,4

Memory (RAM): 7,5

Graphics: 7,2

Gaming graphics: 7,2 (Club 3D is not meant for gaming, but this is Windows 7 information)

Primary hard disk: 5,9 (HDD is not SSD)

Base score (determined by lowest subscore): 5,9

Personalization

Aero Themes

Windows 7

Basic and High Contrast Themes

Windows 7 Basic

Desktop Background

Harmony

Window Color

Change the color of your window borders, Start menu, and taskbar

Current color: Twilight (dark blue)

[ ] Enable transparency

Color intensity: approximately 85/100

Screen Saver

Screen saver: 3D Text

Settings

Text

(*) Time

Choose Font

Font: Microsoft Sans Serif

Font Style: Regular

Resolution: 10/10

Size: 1/10

Motion

Rotation Type: None

Rotation Speed: 1/20

Surface Style

(*) Solid Color

[ ] Show Specular Highlights

[x] Custom Color: Gray

Power Options

Comment: when PC was locked in High Performance PC rebooted while I was away for about 30 minutes, so no shutdown setting in any mode. Check all the advanced settings for all power modes also.

( ) Balanced

Turn off the display: [30 minutes]

Put the computer to sleep: [Never]

Advanced settings

Balanced

Require a password on wakeup: [Yes]

Hard disk

Turn off hard disk after: [Never] (I may be using USB HDD/stick with open files)

Desktop background settings

Slide show: [Available]

Wireless Adapter Settings

Power Saving Mode: [Maximum Performance]

Sleep

Sleep after: [Never]

Allow hybrid sleep: [Off]

Hibernate after: [Never]

Allow wake timers: [Disable]

USB settings

USB selective suspend setting: [Disabled]

Power buttons and lid

Power button action: [Do nothing]

Sleep button action: [Do nothing]

PCI Express

Link State Power Management: [Off]

Processor power management

Minimum processor state: [5%]

System cooling policy: [Active]

Maximum processor state: [100%]

Display

Turn off display after: [30] Minutes

Multimedia settings

When sharing media: [Prevent idling to sleep]

When playing video: [Optimize video quality]

Internet Explorer

JavaScript Timer Frequency: [Maximum Performance]

(*) High Performance

Turn off the display: [Never]

Put the computer to sleep: [Never]

Advanced settings

High Performance

Require a password on wakeup: [Yes]

Hard disk

Turn off hard disk after: [Never] (I may be using USB HDD/stick with open files)

Desktop background settings

Slide show: [Available]

Wireless Adapter Settings

Power Saving Mode: [Maximum Performance]

Sleep

Sleep after: [Never]

Allow hybrid sleep: [Off]

Hibernate after: [Never]

Allow wake timers: [Disable]

USB settings

USB selective suspend setting: [Disabled]

Power buttons and lid

Power button action: [Do nothing]

Sleep button action: [Do nothing]

PCI Express

Link State Power Management: [Off]

Processor power management

Minimum processor state: [100%]

System cooling policy: [Active]

Maximum processor state: [100%]

Display

Turn off display after: [Never]

Multimedia settings

When sharing media: [Prevent idling to sleep]

When playing video: [Optimize video quality]

Internet Explorer

JavaScript Timer Frequency: [Maximum Performance]

( ) Power saver

Turn off the display: [20] Minutes

Put the computer to sleep: [Never]

Advanced settings

High Performance

Require a password on wakeup: [Yes]

Hard disk

Turn off hard disk after: [Never] (I may be using USB HDD/stick with open files)

Desktop background settings

Slide show: [Available]

Wireless Adapter Settings

Power Saving Mode: [Maximum Performance]

Sleep

Sleep after: [Never]

Allow hybrid sleep: [Off]

Hibernate after: [Never]

Allow wake timers: [Disable]

USB settings

USB selective suspend setting: [Disabled]

Power buttons and lid

Power button action: [Do nothing]

Sleep button action: [Do nothing]

PCI Express

Link State Power Management: [Off]

Processor power management

Minimum processor state: [5%]

System cooling policy: [Active]

Maximum processor state: [100%]

Display

Turn off display after: [20] Minutes

Multimedia settings

When sharing media: [Prevent idling to sleep]

When playing video: [Optimize video quality]

Internet Explorer

JavaScript Timer Frequency: [Maximum Performance]

Programs and Features

Adobe AIR

Adobe Flash Player 11 ActiveX 64-bit

Adobe Reader X (10.1.3)

Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6

Apple Application Support

Apple Mobile Device Support

Apple Software Update

ATI Catalyst Install Manager

Avira Free Antivirus

Bonjour

Chinese Traditional Fonts Support For Adobe Reader X (used by some ZyXEL documents)

CyberLink BD Advisor 2.0 (Blu-ray disc player)

CyberLink Blu-ray Disc Suite

CyberLink MediaShow

CyberLink Power2Go

CyberLink PowerDVD 8

CyberLink PowerProducer

DGE-528T Ethernet Controller Driver For Windows 7

Google Chrome

Google Talk

Google Talk Plugin

Huawei modem (Saunalahti Mobiililaajakaista: Huawei E1820)

IrfanView

iTunes

Java(TM) 6 Update 31

LG Tool Kit

LibreOffice 3.5

Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile

Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable

Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]

Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable x64 9.0.30729.4148

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable x64 9.0.30729.6161

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable x86 9.0.30729.17

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable x86 9.0.30729.6161

Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable - 10.0.40219

Mobiililaajakaista (Saunalahti Mobiililaajakaista: Huawei E1820)

Mozilla Firefox 11.0 (x86 en-US)

NEC Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller Driver

Opera 11.62

Picasa 3

QuickTime

Safari

SeaMonkey (2.8)

VIA Ohjelmistoalustan laitehallinta

Windows Ident Server

Windows Live Essentials 2011

VLC Media Player 2.0.1

ZoneAlarm Free

Zune

Sound

Playback

Speakers: VIA High Definition Audio

Recording

Microphone

Sounds

Sound Scheme: [No Sounds]

[ ] Play Windows Startup sound

System

Advanced system settings

Advanced

Performance

Settings

Visual Effects

(*) Let Windows choose what's best for my computer

Advanced

Adjust for best performance of: (*) Programs

Data Execution Prevention

(*) Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only

Remote

Remote Assistance

[ ] Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer (check this option after Service Pack update)

Advanced

[ ] Allow this computer to be controlled remotely

Remote Desktop

(*) Don't allow connections to this computer

Taskbar and Start Menu

Taskbar

[x] Lock the taskbar

[ ] Auto-hide the taskbar

[ ] Use small icons

Taskbar location on screen: [Top] (I can keep laptop near desktop monitor)

Taskbar buttons: [Never combine]

Preview desktop with Aero Peek

[ ] Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop (if I need the desktop, I simply click the button)

Start Menu

Customize

Computer

(*) Don't display this item

[ ] Connect To

Control Panel

(*) Display as a link

[ ] Default Programs

[ ] Devices and Printers (only needed when having problems with printing)

Documents

(*) Don't display this item

Downloads

(*) Don't display this item

[x] Enable context menus and dragging and dropping

[ ] Favorites menu

Games

(*) Don't display this item

[ ] Help

[ ] Highlight newly installed programs

[ ] Homegroup

Music

(*) Don't display this item

[ ] Network

[x] Open submenus when I pause on them with the mouse pointer

Personal folder

(*) Don't display this item

Pictures

(*) Don't display this item

[x] Recent Items

[x] Run command

[x] Search programs and Control Panel

[ ] Sort All Programs menu by name

Start menu size

Number of recent programs to display: 0 (this way I see a clean menu)

Number of recent items to display in Jump Lists: 5

User Accounts

Change your picture

Browse for more pictures

tomihasa.jpg

Windows Defender (no need, I'm using Avira AntiVir)

Note: change the settings for Windows Defender, as this program messes up with other programs.

Tools

Options

Automatic scanning

[ ] Automatically scan my computer

Real-time protection

[ ] Use real-time protection

Windows Firewall (I'm using third party firewall)

(*) Turn off Windows Firewall

Computer

(Selected folders)

Properties

General

[x] Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties (I had this disabled previously, but the HDD seems to make less annoying read/write sounds when this is enabled)

Device Manager

Network Adapters

D-Link DGE-528T Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Power Management

[ ] Allow this device to wake the computer (warning: disabling this setting may cause a problem where Windows will not start anymore!)

Last modified: January 1st, 2015

Author: Tomi Häsä (tomi.hasa@gmail.com)

URL: http://sites.google.com/site/tomihasa/windows-7-settings