Girl Geekette

To use a System Repair Disk in Windows:

• Insert the system repair disc into your CD or DVD drive.
• Restart your computer using the computer’s power button.
• If prompted, press any key to start the computer from the system repair disc.
• If your computer isn’t configured to start from a CD or DVD, check the information that came with your computer. You might need to change your computer’s BIOS settings.
• Choose your language settings, and then click Next.
• Select a recovery option, and then click Next.

Tip:
Print these instructions and keep them in a safe location with your system repair disc.

According to Microsoft:

System recovery options can help you repair Windows if a serious error occurs. To use system recovery options, you’ll need a Windows installation disc or access to the recovery options provided by your computer manufacturer. If you don’t have either of those choices, you can create a system repair disc to access system recovery options.

And, it is a very valid point. So many people lose data and things from their computer because they do not have a backup. Wheter your back up is on CD, DVD, Thumbdrive, a Network Drive, or a second or third drive in your computer, make sure you have a backup!

I you have to use a backup, you first might need to make a recovery disk.

Creating The Recovery Disk

Backup and Restore can be found in Control Panel, All control Panel Items, Backup and Restore

In the left pane, click Create a system repair disc, and then follow the steps. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Note:
If you’re prompted to insert a Windows installation disc, it means that the files needed to create the system repair disc can’t be found on your computer. Insert a Windows 7 installation disc.

Use Windows Key +R to get a run box.

Type Regedit in the run box.

Navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

Find the WaitToKillServiceTimeout key on the right

Double-click to edit and change it from the default 12000 (12 seconds) to 2000 (2 seconds) or above.

This setting tells Windows how long to wait before prompting you that a service is not responding to the shut down request. This may help speed up your shutdown if you have any such services running.

The taskbar shows thumbnail previews of opened windows when you hover the mouse over the program icon. By default, it takes a little time for the preview to appear. Make the previews appear faster with this registry tweak:

Use Windows Key  +R to get a run box
Enter regedit and hit your ENTER KEY
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse.

On the right, open the MouseHoverTime key and changes its value from the default 400 to around 150. Decreasing it further may cause problems.

ReadyBoost improves your system performance by using faster USB Flash Drives instead of slower hard disks for system operations. It works best using flash drives with at least 1 GB of storage.

Simply insert your flash drive, and if it meets certain performance benchmarks, Windows 7 will ask you if you want to use it for ReadyBoost and recommend the size to reserve.

You can lock your computer using the Windows Key +L keyboard shortcut.

Here’s another way to do it with a single mouse click. Right-click on your desktop, select New, Shortcut. In Type the location of the item, enter

rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

Click Next, name the shortcut ‘Quick Lock’, and Finish.

If you wish, you can make it look pretty by giving it a lock or keys icon:
Right-click, select Properties, click Change Icon, enter shell32.dll, and select any icon you wish. Drag this shortcut and pin it to the taskbar, after which you can delete the desktop shortcut.