How To Burn ISO or IMG Disk Images in Windows 7

One of the small but great features in Windows 7 is the fact that it allows users to burn disk images on their CDs and DVDs without having to install additional software. To do this, Windows 7 has a small tool called Windows Disc Image Burner which is included in all versions. In this article I will tell you what are disk images, which formats are supported by this tool and how to burn disk images both by using the visual interface of Windows 7 and from the command line.

What Is a Disk Image & Why Is It Useful?

For those of you not familiar with the term, according to Wikipedia, a disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, floppy disk, CD or DVD. Disk images are perfect copies of the source medium and keep the same structure and contents. These disk image files can have many file extensions, the most common being '.IMG' and '.ISO'.
They are useful when you need to backup media such as installation discs, data discs, etc. By making a disc image, you can easily copy it over to another disc which can be used in case the original gets deteriorated. If you want to know which applications can create disk images, consult this page on disk imaging software.

What Kind of Image File Can I Burn?

Currently 'Windows Disc Image Burner' supports only '.IMG' and '.ISO' disk image files.

How to Burn an Image

First, navigate to the '.ISO' or '.IMG' image file you want to burn, right click on it and select the option 'Burn disc image'. If you have third party software installed which has file associations with '.ISO' or '.IMG' files, you will find the 'Burn disc image' option in the Open with menu.

The Windows Disc Image Burner application will now open. You can choose which disk burner to use, if you have more than one. To make sure that the burning process was successful, you can select the option 'Verify disc after burning' . Insert a disc in your DVD or CD burner and click on Burn.

The application will detect the disc type and, if the disc is rewritable and has content on it, it will show you a warning message allowing you to choose between deleting the existing content or not.
Once the burning process starts, there is no percentage progress meter. There's only a green progress bar.
After the burning process finishes, the DVD/CD tray will automatically open and you will see a confirmation message if the burning process was successful.
To exit the application, click on Close.

How to Burn an Image from the Command Line

If you prefer the command line, you can use it to burn an '.ISO' or '.IMG' image file. First, open a command prompt window. To do this, search in the Start Menu search box the term 'cmd' and click on the first result. Alternatively, you can find the Command Prompt in Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt.

You have two options: load a specific image file from the command line and then burn it from the Windows Disc Image Burner application after you've configured additional parameters or you can burn the file directly from the command line.
To load a specific image file in the Windows Disc Image Burner application from the command line, use this command: isoburn.exe "{drive letter}:\{path to image file}".
As an example, the image file that I want to burn is called 'office.iso' and it is located on drive D: in the image test folder. The command that I have to write is:
isoburn.exe "D:\test image\office.iso".

The command is not case sensitive which means that it doesn't matter if the image or folder name has capital letters or not. After you write the command press Enter and the main window of Windows Disc Image Burner will open.
Here you can select the disc burner if you have more than one and you can select the option to 'Verify disc after burning'. Then, insert a blank disc into your DVD burner and click on the Burn button.
If you want to burn an image file directly from the command line, you have to use this command: isoburn.exe /q "{drive letter}:\{path to image file}". The only difference between this command and the previous one is the /q element which tells the application to start burning the image file immediately. Before you type this command make sure that you have a blank DVD in your DVD burner and double check the image file name to make sure that you burn the right one.
Unfortunately, in the Command Prompt, you cannot setup Windows Disc Image Burner to verify the disc after the burning process and you cannot select a DVD burner if you have more than one. Or at least we did not find a way. If you know how to do it, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Conclusion

This tool is perfect for any occasional burning of image files to CD or DVD. One big benefit is that it comes built in Windows 7 and you don't need to install any additional application; plus, it is very easy to use. There are also a few disadvantages, like the limited support for only two image formats and the lack of configuration options. However, the supported formats are very common and the scenarios for needing to burn other image types are rare.
If you have additional tips & tricks about this tool don't hesitate to share them with us using the comments form below.

Windows 7 vs. Windows Vista: the UAC Benchmark

One of the most hated features of Windows Vista is the User Account Control, or UAC in short. Many people found it annoying and chose to disable it right away, even if this meant exposing their system to additional security threats. In Windows 7, Microsoft has seriously changed this feature. Now users have a lot more control over it and how it works and it should provide a better user experience. To see how much improvement this means in numbers, I have run a comparison between the default Windows Vista and Windows 7 UAC levels. Let's see which one wins and why.

Benchmark Description: What I Tested

First, I searched for the list of all tasks which require administrative privileges which can trigger an UAC prompt. I started with this list of items which trigger User Account Control prompts from Ed Bott and customized it a bit to be as relevant as possible for both Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
The list of tests I ran is the following:

• Running an application as an Administrator - I ran random applications as an administrator, by right-clicking on their shortcuts and choosing 'Run as administrator'. This is done when you need to use older applications, compatible only with Windows XP, and which need access to system files and settings.
• Changes to files and folders in the Windows and Program Files folders - I tried to edit random system files found in both Windows and Program Files folders. I also tried to create new folders and then delete them.
• Installing applications -I installed several applications, from CD burners to browser plugins and antivirus software.
• Uninstalling applications - I uninstalled the same list of applications used in the installation exercise.
• Installing & uninstalling device drivers - in order to test this, I installed drivers for all the components in my PC and then I uninstalled them.
• Installing ActiveX controls - for this test I used the ActiveX from Nvidia's driver download page.
• Changing settings for Windows Firewall - with Windows Firewall enabled, I customized some of its settings and rules.
• Changing UAC settings - for this test I turned on and off the User Account Control feature.
• Configuring Windows Update Settings - I changed the Windows Update settings.
• Adding or removing user accounts - I created and deleted multiple user accounts, both as standard users and administrators.
• Changing a user’s account type - this test involved changing the type for one of the test accounts from standard to administrator and vice-versa.
• Configuring Parental Controls - for this test I set different Parental Controls rules for different user accounts.
• Running Task Scheduler - this test is pretty weird. In Windows Vista, if you run the Task Scheduler from Start Menu -> Accessories -> System Tools, no UAC prompts are shown. However, if you run it from Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Administrative Tools, you do get an UAC prompt. Therefore I ran the shortcut from the Control Panel in both Windows Vista and Windows 7.
• Backup & Restore Files and Settings Using Backup & Restore or Windows Easy Transfer - I used both tools to backup and restore user data and settings.
• Viewing or changing another user’s folders and files - this meant browsing through another user's folder, adding and removing files and folders.
• Running Disk Defragmenter - I ran this tool to defragment several drives
• Changes to system-wide settings - I changed different settings in the Control Panel applets, including security policies.

All these tests were run with the default UAC levels. In Windows Vista this means having UAC turned on while in Windows 7, it means having it turned on and set to 'Notify only when programs try to make changes to my computer'.

Test Results

The test results are summarized in the table below.

In Windows Vista, an UAC prompt is triggered in all 17 scenarios. In Windows 7, in only 5.5 of them. The half of point was assigned due to the fact that, when uninstalling some applications, Windows 7 can show an UAC prompt. This happens only when you uninstall applications which modify important system settings. In the tests I ran, only the uninstall of the Microsoft Silverlight plugin triggered an UAC prompt, while all other applications did not. Depending on what type of applications you are working with, you might never encounter an UAC prompt when uninstalling an application.
As you can see in the graph below, in Windows 7 you will not encounter UAC prompts in at least 11 of the scenarios where Windows Vista triggered one.

This means a reduction of approximately 67%, depending on how you use your PC and which are the most common tasks you perform.

Conclusion

When it comes to the UAC Benchmark, Windows 7 wins easily and with a huge difference in its favor. It seems that Microsoft has paid attention to user feedback and has seriously tweaked this feature. UAC is now a lot less annoying than it was in Windows Vista and users will have a better computing experience. The only question that remains: is the new UAC implementation as secure as the previous one? Time will tell if that's the case or not

How To Make Vodafone Mobile Connect & Huawei Modems Work on Windows 7

One of the very few problems I have with Vodafone Romania is the fact that they do not provide proper software and driver support for mobile internet users. I have a Huawei E220 USB modem which doesn't get recognized by Windows 7 and I cannot use it to connect to the Internet. At this moment, Vodafone doesn't seem to have a software & firmware upgrade for it so that it works on Windows 7. After a bit of digging I managed to find a solution which works for Windows 7 and Windows Vista on both 32 and 64-bit versions. If you have the same issues, click on read more to find out how to fix them.
NOTE: Following the procedure below might make your Vodafone warranty void. In case of issues, please consult the links & documentation suggested below. Unfortunately, our team cannot provide tech support on issues with this modem.

Upgrade Your Huawei Firmware

There is a Malaysia mobile phone operator called Maxis which seems to provide great software support for this device. Go to this download page and download the E220 Software Upgrade package. Below it, you will also find a guide on how to install the software upgrade, called PC Software Upgrade Guide. Once you download the software upgrade, follow the instructions from the guide and install it according to the instructions.
To summarize, you need to do the following:

• Do all the installations from a computer with Windows XP installed. I tried to do this from Windows 7 directly and it did not work. Chances are it won't work from Windows Vista either;
• Install first the E220 Firmware from the archive you downloaded;
• Next, install the E220 Dashboard.

If you are unsure on any of the steps or you have issues, don't hesitate to check the PC Software Upgrade Guide and the FAQ page from Maxis.

Upgrade To The Latest Version of Vodafone Mobile Connect

Now you have a modem with proper firmware and drivers installed, which will work on both Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit. The problem is that you also have the software from Maxis which doesn't work with the Vodafone network. In order to connect to the Vodafone network, you need to install the latest version of Vodafone Mobile Connect. This can be found here. From this page, download and install the version available under the 'For the PC (Windows)' section. This installation should be done on the laptop/PC with Windows 7.

How To Use Your Huawei E220 USB Modem

To access the Vodafone network, do the following: plug-in your modem, wait for Windows 7 to detect it and install the appropriate drivers, start the Vodafone Mobile Connect application and connect to the Vodafone network.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, big companies such as Vodafone seem to be a bit slow in providing support for new operating systems such as Windows 7. The procedure above has worked for my modem and now I can connect to the Internet without issues. However, there may be alternative solutions of which I am not aware. If you know other ways to make your Huawei modems work on Windows 7, don't hesitate to leave a comment. I'm sure a lot of people

All You Want to Know About Windows 7 Networking

In the coming weeks we will start writing a long series of articles about networking in Windows 7. We will try to be as complete as possible so that you can use these articles to answer all your questions about this topic. In order to make sure we don't miss out on anything important we would like to get your feedback. Please take a look on the things we plan to talk about and add your opinions and suggestions. Your feedback is highly appreciated.

Windows 7 Networking - Planned Topics

After some initial tests and analysis, we decided that we would like to talk about the following:

• Network and Sharing Center - an overview of all the available options;
• HomeGroups - understand what is a homegroup and how to work with one;
• Sharing files and folders - how to share files, folders, partitions, printers and other devices, how to configure your file sharing settings, offline files, how to enable or disable files sharing, how to share different things over different networks, etc.;
• Troubleshoot network problems - understand what is the status of your network connection and how to fix problems with it using Windows Network Diagnostic and other tools;
• Wireless Networks - how to connect to all types of wireless networks;
• Bluetooth connections - how to connect via Bluetooth to different devices;
• Mapping Network Drives - how to map drives to shared folders from your network;
• Networking Tips - share any interesting tips we discover while writing the series;
• Best Practices - what to do in order to be safe while connecting to different types of networks;
• Windows 7 vs. Windows Vista - a comparison on how networking has improved versus Windows Vista;

The articles will be published in no particular order. We will start with one of these topics, elaborate on it and publish several articles to cover as much as possible from all there is to know about that topic.

What Would You Like Us To Investigate For You?

We want your to comments on this series. Do share with us: things we did not cover in our plan, cool ideas for an article, common networking problems you are aware of, etc. We will be reading all of your comments and all cool ideas & suggestions will be taken into consideration when writing this series. Type your comments!

How to Connect to Wireless Networks - Windows 7

A growing number of people use laptops, notebooks and netbooks instead of desktop computers. As a result of this trend plus the growing number of devices such as smartphones, lots of wireless networks appear every day and more people use them on a regular basis.
Windows 7 offers all you need to connect to wireless networks effortlessly. In this section we will show how to detect wireless networks in Windows 7 and how to connect to them. As you will see, the procedure is very simple and requires very few steps.
On the right side of the taskbar, you will see a wireless network icon like the one below. Click on it.

A window with available network connections will open. As you can see from the screenshot below, the list is split by the type of available network connections. At the top you have dial-up and virtual private network (VPN) connections, while at the bottom you have a list with all the wireless network which Windows 7 has detected. To refresh the list of available networks, click on the button highlighted in the screenshot below.


You can scroll down through the list of available networks. If you leave your mouse cursor over a network for a second, you will see more details about it. Windows 7 will show the following: network name, signal strength, the type of wireless security used (if any) and its Service Set identifier (SSID).

Once you decided on which network to connect to, click on it. If you plan to use that network in the future, make sure you check the box that says 'Connect automatically'. This way, when you start your laptop next time, in the same area, it will automatically connect to this wireless network without requesting any manual intervention. Next, click on the Connect button.
NOTE: be cautious with wireless networks which have no security enabled. They can be used to steal personal data. If you connect to such networks make sure your security solutions are turned on.

After a few seconds, you will be asked to enter the security key. Ask the administrator of the network for the wireless security key or, if you are in your own home network, take it from the control panel of your router. If you are in a public place, it is best to check the 'Hide characters' box so that other people don't see what you are typing. Then type the security key and click on OK.

If you typed an incorrect password, Windows 7 will request you to type it again and again until it matches the password of the network you are connecting to. If everything is OK, Windows 7 will connect to the network you selected using the given security key. When the connection is successful, the wireless icon from your taskbar changes as shown below.

NOTE: this procedure works only if your wireless adapter is enabled. If it is not enabled, you won't see any wireless networks being available. The procedure of enabling the wireless adapter is different for each model of laptop. In one of our future articles we will publish a guide on how to troubleshoot problems with your network connections, so don't hesitate to come back.
Troubleshooting: If you cannot connect to a wireless network from your Windows 7 PC and all your other computers with older operating systems can connect, chances are you need to upgrade the firmware on your wireless router. Please consult the internet page of your router's model and see if there are any upgrades available. If there are, download and install the latest version of firmware

Windows XP Mode - Prerequisites & Installation Guide

Windows XP Mode or XPM is a very useful feature which allows Windows 7 users to run a pre-configured virtual machine with a licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3. This allows users to run old applications in Windows XP mode directly from Windows 7 therefore eliminating the need to have both operating systems installed. This feature helps eliminate many issues, especially in corporate networks which use a lot of old software. In this article I will show the following: when is Windows XP Mode useful, which are the prerequisites for installing it, how to install it and how to configure its installation.

Do I Need Windows XP Mode?

Windows XP Mode was developed mainly for businesses which use old applications that are not compatible with Windows 7. This tool will help them install and run these applications directly from Windows 7. For home users this feature will be necessary only if you have really old software which runs only on old versions of Windows.
Another possible use is to run very old games in Windows XP Mode, games which don't need full hardware acceleration. A good example of this are many old DOS games. Newer ones which make use of more advance hardware acceleration features will not function in Windows XP Mode.

What Do I Need to Install Windows XP Mode?

Windows XP Mode is only available for Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate users. Windows XP mode is basically an image of Windows XP Service Pack 3 pre-configured to work in Windows Virtual PC.

How to Install Windows XP Mode

The first step is to go to the Windows XP Mode download page. Scroll down until you see 'Step 3 - Select your edition of Windows 7 and desired language for installation'. Select from the drop-down menus the Windows 7 version that you have installed on your system and the language that you prefer.

Then click on the 'Download Windows XP Mode' button.


The setup file of Windows XP Mode will pop-up. Depending on the browser you use, click on the Save File or Save button to download the file. The file has approximately 480 MB and, depending on your internet connection, it will take a while for you to download it.

After the download finishes, double click on the file. Click on the Run button if a Security Warning window pops-up.

Now the setup will extract the files needed for the installation of Windows XP Mode.

Now you will have to download and install Windows Virtual PC.
Click on the Download Windows Virtual PC button.

You will download a file called Windows6.1.-KB958559. When done, double click on it, then click on Yes when you are asked if you want to install the update.

Now read the license terms and click on 'I Accept'.

The installation will begin and it will require a restart when finished. Close all your open applications and documents and click on the 'Restart Now' button.

You can also restart later by clicking on Close.
After the restart, open the Start Menu, click on All Programs, scroll down until you see the Windows Virtual PC folder, click on it and then on Windows XP Mode to begin the configuration of Windows XP Mode.

How to Configure the Windows XP Mode Setup

When you launch it for the first time, you have to wait for the Window XP virtual operating system to configure itself for a few minutes. The first window that will open is the 'License Agreement'. Read it, check the 'I accept the license terms' box and then click on Next.

Click on Browse to install Windows XP Mode in a different place than the default one, then type and confirm a password, check the 'Remember credentials' option so that you won't have to type in the password each time you open Windows XP Mode and click on Next.

Next you will have to decide if you want Automatic Updates ON or OFF and then launch the setup by clicking the 'Start Setup' button.

Now wait a few minutes until Windows XP is being setup. When done, Windows XP will pop-up in a new window.

That's it, now you have Windows XP Mode installed. You can find it in Start Menu - All Programs - Windows Virtual PC - Windows XP Mode or you can search for 'xp mode' in the Start Menu's search box.

Conclusion

As you can see, the installation and setup of Windows XP Mode is not very complicated. Once configured, your settings will be automatically applied every time you run it. The great thing about Windows XP Mode is how fast it runs. On any modern PC it will run almost as fast as a normal installation of Windows XP.

What is the Network and Sharing Center ??

In all our tutorials about Windows 7 networking you will see that we mention the Network and Sharing Center. This panel is the entrance point to any networking task. Therefore, in this article I will show you what is the Network and Sharing Center, how to launch it and which are the main tasks you can do starting from here.

What is the Networking and Sharing Center?

Simply put, the Network and Sharing Center is the control panel from where all networking settings and tasks can be launched in Windows 7.

How to Start the Networking and Sharing Center?

The Network and Sharing Center can be launched using several methods. The 'shortest' way is to launch the Run window by pressing the Windows key + R, type control.exe /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter and click OK.


A second alternative is to click on the network icon from the right side of the taskbar and then on 'Open Network and Sharing Center'.

The third way is to go to 'Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center'.

Tasks which are Launched from Networking and Sharing Center

The Network and Sharing Center window is split in two. On the left side there is a column with shortcuts to tasks such as: managing your wireless networks, changing settings for all network adapters and changing network sharing settings. On the bottom left side there are shortcuts to the HomeGroup settings panel, to the Internet Options panel and to the Windows Firewall control panel.

On the right there is a big white area split in two sections. The upper-side shows you basic information about your current network connection: the name of the active network, access type and the HomeGroup to which your computer belongs. The lower-side contains links towards wizards which help you do the following: setup a new connection or network, connect to another network, change the HomeGroup, change sharing settings or troubleshoot problems