Old .hlp Files Don’t Work With Windows 7; Workaround

Old .hlp (Windows help) files cannot be natively opened in Windows 7. Although Microsoft offers winhlp32.exe for the Windows 7, it generally displays the following message when attempting to open .hlp files:

“The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn’t included in this version of Windows. [...]

Windows 7 Start Menu Empty: Fix

Some users have reported an issue in which the Windows 7 Start Menu or “All Programs” listing is suddenly blank, displaying no icons, nor the names of any programs, shortcuts, etc.
It appears that this problem is due to Windows 7’s inability to handle a large number of listings, in some cases.
Fix
Greg Duncan has posted [...]

Windows 7 Beta Testers Must Uninstall RC for Final Upgrade

It appears that Windows 7 beta testers who are using the publicly available release candidate of the new OS will need to uninstall the pre-release software and re-install their valid Windows XP or Windows Vista edition before applying the final Windows 7 upgrade.
Microsoft states:
“When you install the final version of Windows 7, you’ll need [...]

How to Check If Your System Can Run Windows 7 64-Bit

Windows 7 is available in two flavors: 32-bit and 64-bit. The differences between these two editions boil down to one primary subject: memory. 64-bit systems can address more than 4GB of RAM, while 32-bit systems are generally limited to using roughly 3.2GB of RAM. In other words, if your system can run Windows 7 64-bit, [...]

Bi-Hourly Shutdowns of Windows 7 Beta to Begin

Neowin reports that Windows 7 beta users who are still on build 7000 will start to experience bi-hourly shutdowns on July 1, 2009. The shutdowns are Microsoft’s mechanism to remind users to upgrade to build 7100. On August 1st, all betas will expire, and begin to show the “Windows not Genuine” message.
You can avoid this [...]

Windows Explorer Crashes: Fixes

Under various versions of Windows, Windows Explorer may repeatedly crash either when certain actions are taken (e.g. right-clicking an item), after several minutes of use, or immediately after the system starts up. In some cases, the following error messages are displayed:

“Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close”

The first thing you need to [...]

Vista SP2: “Windows Explorer Has Stopped Working” Fix

[We have already published two other fixes for this issue: turning off thumbnails and looking for a recently created or saved file that might be causing the problem. If they fail, try the following]
After upgrading to Windows Vista SP2, you may experience an issue in which you receive the error message “Windows Explorer Has Stopped [...]

Speeding Up Windows 7 with Process Explorer

Here’s a free, easy and quick method for routinely eliminating performance bottlenecks in Windows 7.
Download and install Process Explorer, which is part of the Microsoft SysInternals package. Launch the program, and you’ll be presented a beautiful display of all processes currently running on your system, along with a bevy of information about each process, including [...]

Vista SP2: USB Devices Don’t Work After Sleep

A number of users have experienced an issue in which various USB devices do not work properly or at all after systems that have been upgraded to Windows Vista SP2 wake up from sleep or hibernation. In some cases, USB devices do not respond for 30 seconds or more after the system has awoken; in [...]

No Internet After Vista SP2 Upgrade; Gateway Missing; Fix

Several users have reported an issue in which the computer’s gateway is missing after the update to Windows Vista SP2. This issue generally results in an inability to connect to the Internet, although connections to LANs may still work.
Fix
The solution for this problem, as discovered by Ilja Herlein of the NetSetMan forums, is as [...]