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Create a Windows 7 Live CD [How To]

Posted by Thomas On March - 12 - 2011

About a year ago I set out to create me a Windows 7 live CD. Finally, I am able to present you with the How-To. But before we get into that, let’s review what a LIVE CD is.

A Live CD is an actual Windows Installation that you carry with you on a USB Flash Drive or CD/DVD. The Windows Installation is portable, meaning that you can have your own windows running on any PC you encounter. The Live CDs are most commonly used to repair computers that have crashed or to rescue data from a hard drive before doing a fresh installation. The great thing about a Live CD is that it does not alter anything on the computer you use (almost like a sandbox). You boot the computer as if it is your own (from the CD/DVD or USB). You can pre-install all the software you like, making it available no matter where you are. Sort of a Laptop, but without the hardware.

In the Linux World it has been around for years ( and as Windows XP). But Windows 7, well it’s been a longer road. You have of course been able to download illegal Windows Live Copies on the net for a while – but now at last I am able to show you have to create your own legal copy (for your personal use), provided you own a Windows Setup Disk and license.

Enough chit chat, let’s get on with it…

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Do You Run Virtual Machines? Which Ones? [Poll]

Posted by Rich On January - 31 - 2011

Virtual Windows XP Logo What are Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode and How Do I Use them?Update: The results are in.

Previously, we showed you what Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode are, how to create any virtual machine with Windows Virtual PC, and how to create a virtual PC with Virtual Box.

I use virtual machines frequently (mostly to write guides for this site when I need to test a tweak in different versions of Windows) and sometimes just to learn how to use another operating system like Linux Mint or Free BSD for example.

Here at Windows Guides, we love your feedback and have a quick poll for you to share your feedback with us:
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Delete Empty Directories and Subdirectories [How To]

Posted by Rich On January - 10 - 2011

Recently, I asked iTunes to organize my music directory (getting music from different sources other than just the iTunes store left it a little messy and I decided I’d let iTunes do its thing) and it did a great job; however, it left a bunch of empty directories. Although these empty directories didn’t pose any performance impact, they just looked… messy and I decided I’d delete them. I started doing this one by one and soon realized I had over 50 empty directories and sub directories. Being lazy, I decided to run a command to remove these directories. I’ve done this a lot in Linux so I figured it was easy; well, not quite, but it’s also not that hard. In this guide, I’ll show you what I did and hope you can find this useful in some way.

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Computer Drivers The Basics

Posted by Guest Post On January - 5 - 2011

In this guest post, James Ricketts explores the basics of computer drivers. Find out more about James at the end of this post.

Device Drivers – An Introduction

Computer operating systems, such as Windows, Linux and Mac, and hardware components, such as sound cards, memory cards, and video cards do not speak the same language. To communicate effectively, hardware devices and operating systems require an interface. This interface is provided by device drivers. These drivers enable the computer operating system and installed software to communicate with the hardware devices.

In this article, you will learn:

  • Why it is necessary to use only the latest drivers
  • Which is better – manual driver updation process or automatic driver updation process
  • What is Driver Finder?

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So the other day I was working on my desktop computer while having my laptop next to it. Whenever I wanted to use something that was on the laptop I found myself  use my desktops mouse and keyboard. Naturally this didn’t work very well. I then remembered reading something (in the forums here) about a tool that would allow me to control any computer connected to my LAN using the same keyboard and mouse. Doing some research I discovered two freeware solutions: Synergy and InputDirector.

Input Director vs Synergy

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Best Remote Access Applications

Posted by Rich On November - 1 - 2010

We are now in an age where we can realistically expect to have access to every: photo we’ve ever taken, song we’ve ever purchased, document we’ve written, and anything else stored on our computer. Many of us have a computer at home (usually an older computer) that we refer to as our server. On or attached to this server is all the media we have to our name. In this guide, we explore top five remote access applications available to help you get to this, and other, information. These applications can be used to:

  • Have a multi-PC meeting.
  • Have access to your own PCs wherever you are.
  • Help a friend with their PC.
  • Have desktop access to your PCs on your home network.

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