Q: You said earlier that there may be trouble when putting a System Image onto a different PC.

I always thought that when my PC finally goes kaput, I could put the old PC’s System Image onto the new one.

That way I’d be right where I started.

What should I do?

A: First, a little background. Windows 7′s System Images contain a copy of your Windows drive, which includes Windows, your programs, and all your data.

When your PC’s hard drive eventually dies, you can replace its dead hard drive with a new drive, reinstall your System Image, and you’ll be back up and running fairly quickly.

PCs almost always outlive their hard drive. It’s easy to replace a PC’s power supply, hard drive, memory, video card, and other parts, keeping your PC running for many years.

But if you do buy a new PC, can you install a System Image created on your old PC? You can try, but it might not work, and here’s why:

When Windows is installed on a PC, it needs drivers to talk to your PC’s particular combination of parts. Each Windows installation customizes itself to work with a particular PC.

If you install one computer’s System Image into a completely different PC, Windows will find itself dealing with a new set of parts. Most of its old drivers and some of its settings won’t work, leading both you and Windows to frustration.

Since so many things can go wrong, Microsoft doesn’t support moving a System Image from one PC to another.

That said, sometimes another computer’s System Image will work on a different computer. When Windows wakes up, it can find some drivers through Windows Update. You’ll probably need to search the Internet for other drivers, and install them manually. And sometimes running a repair installation will fix problems, coaxing Windows to adjust to its new surroundings.

Other times, a System Image simply won’t work on a different PC.

So, to answer your question, yes, you can try to install the old computer’s System Image onto a different computer. But there’s no guarantee it will work. And if you add in the time you’ll spend troubleshooting, it’s often easier to reinstall Windows from scratch.

Or, since new PCs usually come with Windows preinstalled, you should probably just install all your old programs onto your new PC, and then restore your data from a regular backup, instead.

Q: What’s the difference between a System Image backup versus a backup of the registry?

When should we back up the registry?

A: The Windows registry is simply a database: a bunch of text and numbers, as shown to the left.

It’s a mighty powerful database, though, because Windows stores thousands of important settings inside it. It keeps track of its own settings, as well as those involving your computer’s hardware, your programs, and any settings you’ve made.

If something goes wrong in the registry, you’ll have serious problems. Windows may not even start, leaving you with little clue as to what’s wrong. And some viruses head straight for the registry, so they can reinfect your computer whenever it’s turned on.

But even though the registry is essential in keeping Windows running smoothly, you’ll only need to back it up for one reason: When you’re about to fiddle with it, changing some of the entries. Making a simple typo in the registry can disable your computer.

If you’re not planning on editing your registry, either by hand or with a “registry cleaning” program, then there’s little reason to back up the registry. Windows already handles that job, and pretty well. Here’s why:

• Windows automatically backs up your registry every day with System Restore. When you run System Restore, Windows heads for its own backup copy of the registry, and installs that, hoping to repair any damage that’s causing your problem.
• If you’re already creating a System Image (and you should be), you’re backing up everything on your C: drive: Windows, your programs, and your data. And, your System Image contains your registry, as well.

That means your registry is already backed up: once a day by System Restore, and again every time you create a System Image.

If you’ll be editing your registry — which I advise against — then you should make a backup of your registry in Windows Vista or Windows 7 by following these steps:

1. Open the Registry Editor by clicking the Start button, typing regedit into the Search box, and then pressing Enter.‌
2. Click the Computer icon at the top of the registry.
3. Click the File menu, and then click Export.
4. In the Save in box, choose where you want to save the backup copy, and then type a name for the backup file in the File name box.
5. Finally, click Save.

Since a lot of information to be backed up, the process might take a few minutes.

That said, I advise staying away from the registry unless you know exactly what you’re doing.

Q: I have a new tablet PC, but I’ve always used Apple computers until now.

Now I want to transfer a large number of files from my Mac to my tablet PC using a flash drive.

I have several questions, but to let you know the extent of my ‘dummy-ness’, what is a ‘right click’?

My tablet uses a stylus (also a virtual keyboard which I don’t know how to use) and no mouse.

A: First, welcome to the world of Windows tablets. Many more of you will join the party when the tablet-friendly Windows 8 arrives later this year.

As you’ve noticed, Apple computers lack a right-click menu. Their mice only have one button.

Windows mice, by contrast, come with two buttons. Click something with the handy right-mouse button, and a list appears showing everything you can do with that particular item — a handy trick when navigating uncharted seas.

Although tablets traditionally use finger controls, the trusty right-click menu hasn’t disappeared.

To right-click an item on a Windows 7 or Windows 8 tablet, follow these two simple steps:

1. Touch the item with your finger or stylus, and keep the finger or stylus pressed down gently. In a moment, a circle will appear, shown to the left in the figure above.
2. Lift your finger or stylus, and the right-click menu appears, listing all the things you can do with that item.

In this case, it’s the Recycle Bin, shown to the right in the figure above.

Since you’re copying files from one computer to another, here’s how you’ll copy the items from your flash drive to your Windows tablet:

1. On the tablet, select the files or folders you want copied from the flash drive.
2. Right-click the selected items.
3. Choose Copy from the right-click menu.
4. Right-click inside folder where you want to put the items.
5. Choose Paste from the right-click menu.

I’ve been using a Samsung Series 7 Slate tablet to write Windows 8 For Dummies, and learning the new touch controls takes time.

Luckily, most tablets also support Bluetooth, a way of connecting gadgets without wires. To speed things up, I picked up a cheap Bluetooth keyboard from Amazon. And I love my portable Bluetooth Adesso iMouse S100; like all Windows mice, it sports two mouse buttons, making right-clicking that much easier. (It even has a scroll wheel.)

When you’re at your desk, that extra keyboard and/or mouse will turn your tablet into a full-fledged PC.

One more thing: Check your stylus; some come with a button on their side; pushing the button while pointing at an item will also fetch the right-click menu. That’s the same menu you see when you click a mouse’s right button on a Windows computer.

Q: I often run Windows Media Center on my computer.

When I’m not using it, Windows Media Center’s screensaver begins showing my photos as a screensaver.

I’d like to keep some of those photos private.

How can I choose which photos Windows Media Center displays as its screensaver?

A: Some versions of both Windows Vista and Windows 7 come with Windows Media Center. Like Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center can play music and videos, as well as display photos.

Windows Media Center brings more power to the table, though, in that it can record television shows when connected to a TV tuner.

When you haven’t used Windows Media Center for awhile, the player starts its screensaver mode. Its screensaver’s settings differ from Windows normal screensaver, which offers more control.

Instead, Windows Media Center merely cycles through photos stored in your Pictures Library.

To keep certain photos from appearing in Windows Media Center’s screensaver, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, choose All Programs, and choose Windows Media Center.
2. In the Tasks area, choose Settings.
3. When the Settings area appears, choose Pictures.
4. When the Pictures settings area appears, choose Favorite Pictures.
5. When the Favorite Pictures settings area appears, choose Use Pictures From This Folder.
6. Choose the first option, C:\Users\Public\Pictures.
7. Choose Save.

Those steps tell Windows Media Center to show only pictures inside your Public Pictures folder. (You can choose any folder you wish in Step 6. Here, I’m choosing the Public Pictures folder because it’s designed for holding photos that you want to make public. Any photos stored here are available to people using your computer, as well as your home network.)

Now, go into your Public Pictures folder and remove the photos that shouldn’t appear in Windows Media Center’s screen saver:

1. In Windows 7, open any folder.
2. In the right-pane’s Libraries area, click the little arrow to the left of the word Pictures.
3. When the drop-down menu from the Pictures library appears, choose Public Pictures.
4. Find the photos that you want to remove from the screensaver, and move them into the My Pictures folder.

By storing photos meant for public viewing inside your Public Pictures folder, you’ll avoid problems later.

Q: My husband and I have separate user accounts on the same computer. But we can’t share photos with each other in our Picture libraries.

My husband copied some photos into the Public Pictures folder in his Pictures library, as you recommend in Windows 7 For Dummies.

But for some reason, that Public Pictures folder is missing from my account’s Pictures library. What’s wrong?

A: Windows likes to assign a separate account to each person that uses a PC. Although it’s a drag to type in your password each time, that simple act keeps everything more secure, locking out snooping roommates, children or office workers.

But in a family setting, it can also lock out spouses, as you’ve discovered.

To make sharing files easier, Windows 7 puts two folders in your Libraries, and one folder is named Public. Everything placed inside that Public folder is considered open and shared, making it easy for anybody on that computer to access it.

To see the public folder inside any of your libraries (Documents, Music, Photos, and Videos), click the little arrow next to the library’s name: Pictures, for example, shown above.

There, you’ll see two folders: The My Pictures folder holds your personal stuff; the Public Pictures folder holds the files you want to share with everybody who uses the computer.

But what if your Public folder is missing?

But what if you don’t see the Public folder listed listed in one of your libraries? Without that folder, there’s no easy way to share files with other people on the same computer.

If your library’s Public folder is missing, follow these steps to put it back into place:

1. Open any folder, right-click Pictures from the Library area, and choose Properties.

The Properties window will appear, listing the folders included in your Pictures Library. If your User Account name is Jane, you’ll probably see “My Pictures (C:\Users\Jane).”
And, you probably won’t see the Public Pictures folder listed on that page. To add it, move to the next step.

2. Click the button called, “Include a folder.” The “Include Folders in Pictures” window appears.
3. Navigate to this folder: C:\Users\Public\Pictures. Or, if you’re having trouble finding that folder, then just type these exact words into the “Folder” area at the bottom of the Include Folders in Pictures window:

C:\Users\Public\Pictures

Make sure you type the slashes correctly. You want slashes that look like \ rather than /.

4. Click the Include Folder button.

That adds the Public Pictures folder to your Pictures Library, letting you see all the photos your husband puts in his Public Pictures folder.

Follow these these steps if your Public folder is missing from any of your libraries: Documents, Pictures, Music, or Video. Just right-click on the Library’s name, and you’ll see all the folders that library contains.

Q: When I leave my laptop’s mouse pointer hovering over certain places on the screen, it opens and closes items by itself.

This happens throughout Windows 7, even when I inadvertently leave the pointer resting over something.

Is there any way I can make Windows only open things when I click them?

A: Laptops and their trackpads can be notoriously uncooperative. A tap in the wrong spot, or the inadvertent touch of a shirtsleeve, can send the pointer scurrying.

In your case, your thoughtful trackpad notices that you’ve left the pointer hovering over a menu option or icon. So, after waiting a few seconds, your trackpad tries to help you out by automatically choosing that item for you.

It’s easy enough to tell it to stop being so helpful, though, by following these steps:

1. Right-click the Start button and choose “Properties.”  The “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” window appears.
2. Click the “Start Menu” tab, if necessary.
3. Click the “Customize” button near the top; the “Customize Start Menu” dialog box appears.
4. Scroll down and uncheck the box called, “Open submenus when I pause on them with the mouse pointer.”
5. Click “OK” on the dialog boxes to close them.

That brings the touchpad back under your own control, rather than subject to your computer’s assumptions.

Personally, I loathe touchpads. Instead, I carry around a small wireless Adesso mouse that’s easy to slip into the bag with my laptop or tablet. You’ll find many other portable wireless mice on Amazon, and they’re much more intuitive than trackpads.

Q: I am trying use Windows DVD maker to make a photo slide show.

After I load the pictures and click the next icon, I receive this error message:

“Error synchronizing project – The temporary directory is not accessible.”

Why do I receive this message, and how do I make it work?

A: Windows does many things very well, but communicating its problems isn’t a strong point.

In this case, it’s giving you technospeak as to the exact cause of the problem. But it’s not smart enough to tell you how to fix things.

Translated into real words, the problem boils down to this: Windows DVD Maker needs a spot on your hard drive to store your slideshow before copying it to the DVD. And, for some reason, the program can’t find a spot it likes.

You can fix the problem and remove the error message by following these steps:

1. Open Windows DVD Maker.
2. In the bottom, right corner, click the blue word “Options.”
3. When the DVD Options window appears, find the Temporary File Location box.
4. Delete whatever appears in that box, then type this into the box and click the OK button:

C:\Windows\Temp

Tip: Make sure you’ve typed the two slashes correctly (you need a “\” slash, not a “/” slash), before clicking the OK button.

That tells the program to stash its trash into the same temporary folder used by nearly every other Windows program. (That trash will be dutifully taken out when you run Disk Cleanup, one of Windows’ many maintenance programs.)

Q: I just noticed that some of my file names have changed to a bluish color in Windows Explorer.

They still seem to work okay, but the names are in blue letters. I’ve seen this before, but it was always just one file.

This time all the files in one of my folders have changed to blue. What happened?

A: Windows normally displays your file and folder names in black letters. When they turn a different color, though, Windows is trying to tell you something. (Earlier, I explained why the names turn green and how to fix the problem.)

In your case, Windows shows the names in blue to tell you that the files are compressed: compacted to save space. Windows decompresses them automatically when you open them, so you probably won’t even notice the slight delay.

Why bother with compression?

Microsoft added automatic compression to Windows more than a decade ago. Back then, when large hard drives were expensive, compression made sense. By compressing everything on your drive, you could cram more files onto it.

Today, compression no longer makes much sense for several reasons:

• Hard drives cost much less, and they’re enormous compared to the tiny drives of yesteryear.
• Your largest files today — the ones holding digital music, photos, and movies — come packaged in a format that’s already compressed. Telling Windows to compress them again won’t save much space, if any.
• Compressing files make them more difficult to retrieve should your hard drive crash.

That said, you can return that unsettling blue color back to black in either of two ways:

Turn off compression

If your hard drive already has plenty of space, just turn off compression (and the blue letters) by following these steps:

1. Find the folder containing your blue-lettered files or folders. (Or, if all of your file names and folders have blue letters, find that drive’s icon in the Start menu’s Computer program.)
2. Right-click the folder (or your drive’s icon) containing the blue files and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
3. Click to remove the checkmark in the checkbox called, “Compress drive to save disk space.” (If you’re turning off compression for a folder or file, click the Advanced button to reveal that “Compress contents to save disk space” checkbox.)
4. After unchecking the compression checkbox (shown below), click the OK button.

After a moment (or a long time, if you’re decompressing your entire drive), Windows will finish decompressing the files, and the blue letters will return to their normal black.

Keep compression, but turn off the blue color

If you want to keep compression, but also want your black letters back, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button and open Computer.
2. Click the Organize button, choose Folder and Search Options from the drop-down menu, and click the View tab.
3. Click to remove the checkmark from the box named, “Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color.”
4. After unchecking the checkbox (shown below), click the OK button.

Whether you turn off compression entirely or simply turn off the blue names, your file names will return to normal color.

Q: My friend sent me a folder with zipped files.

When I opened it on my computer, Windows showed the files’ names in green letters, rather than the normal black.

And when I tried to copy the zipped folder, Windows sent me this error message:

“Confirm Encryption Loss. Do you want to copy this folder without encryption? A problem is preventing this folder from being encrypted.”

What am I doing wrong?

A: Displaying file names in green letters, as shown above, is Windows’ way of telling you that those files are encrypted: They’re encoded to keep out snoops.

When Windows thinks a file is encrypted, it sometimes sends out odd error messages like the one below:

But the confusion can be cured quite easily. Turn the names back to black and avoid that error message by following these steps:

1. Right-click the green-lettered file or folder and choose Properties.
2. When the Properties window appears, click the Advanced button.
3. Click to remove the checkmark from the box called, “Encrypt Contents To Secure Data,” shown below, and click the OK button.

The letters return to their normal black, and you can share them with others without problem.

Why did this even happen?

This didn’t happen because of a virus, so no worries there. No, this annoying problem usually pops up when dealing with a file that’s been zipped on an Apple computer, then opened with a Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer.

You can tell the zipped file came from an Apple computer if you spot a folder named __MACOSX inside the zipped folder. (That folder can be safely deleted on a Windows PC.)

The same green letters also appear if you try to copy files from a Windows drive that’s been encrypted with BitLocker, the encryption method built into some versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.

But no matter why the letters are green, the fix is the same: Uncheck the box called “Encrypt Contents to Secure Data” box. It’s an easy fix to a vexing problem.

Q: I can’t find the arrow next to the Home page button mentioned on page 150 of Windows 7 For Dummies.

I want to use several Home pages, each opened with its tab along the page’s top.

What do I do?

A: Microsoft released a new version of Internet Explorer through Windows Update, which replaced Internet Explorer 8 described in Windows 7 For Dummies.

Some people love the new browser; if you don’t care for it, it’s easy enough to return to Internet Explorer 8.

But love it or hate it, Internet Explorer 9 offers a slightly different way to change your Home page — the page that first appears when you load Internet Explorer.

In fact, Internet Explorer offers tabbed browsing, shown in the figure above, which lets you keep several websites open simultaneously. You can jump between the sites by clicking the tabs along their top.

By adding your favorite websites as your Home pages, they’ll all be waiting for you whenever you open your browser.

To add your favorite websites as Home pages, follow these steps:

1. Click the “Gear” icon in Internet Explorer’s top right corner. (Shown below, it’s just beneath the red “X” icon for closing the page.)



2. From the drop-down menu, choose Internet Options.
3. In the Home Page section, type the addresses of your desired Home pages, each one on its own line.

For example, you could fill that section with these three sites:

http://www.google.com
http://www.andyrathbone.com
http://www.facebook.com

Finished? Click OK to save your Home page choices, and you’re done. Add as many as you want, although your computer may slow down if you add more than a dozen.

When you close Internet Explorer and reopen it, your new Home page selections will each open in their own tabs.

Tip: Add your fastest-loading site on the first line. That gives you something to read while you wait for the other sites to load in the background.