Yet, Windows comes with about 30 other Windows Key shortcuts, where you hold down the Windows Key and press a single letter or character to complete a task. Learning a few will really speed up your work, especially on laptops with their awkward trackpads.

I use these Windows key shortcuts most often:

Press +E to fetch the handy Computer program, which grants quick access to your drives, libraries, and favorite folders.

To align two windows side-by-side on your Desktop, press and the left arrow within one window; then press and the right arrow within the other window. The windows quickly align themselves side-by-side on your desktop, making for easy cutting and pasting between them.

Launch taskbar programs. The first program listed on my taskbar is Outlook, so pressing +1 launches that program. If it’s already running, +1 brings it to the top of my desktop’s pile o’ windows. Similarly, pressing + 2 fetches the taskbar’s second program, +3 calls up the third, and so on.

When on my laptop, + X brings up the Mobility Center, a subset of the Control Panel that deals exclusively with laptop features like checking the battery, and turning wireless Internet access on or off.

Here’s the full list of Windows Key shortcuts for Windows 7; many work in Windows Vista and Windows XP, as well:

	Open or close the Start menu.
+Pause	Display the System Properties window.
+D	Display the desktop.
+M	Minimize all open windows.
+Shift+M	Restore those minimized windows to the desktop.
+E	Open Computer.
+F	Search for a file or folder.
Ctrl++F	Search for computers (if you’re on a network).
+L	Lock your computer or switch users, handy when leaving the keyboard for a break.
+R	Open the Run dialog box.
+T	Cycle through programs on the taskbar.
+number	Start the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number. (If the program is already running, switch to that program.)
Shift++number	Start a new instance of the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Ctrl++number	Switch to the last active window of the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Alt++number	Open the Jump List for the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
+Tab	Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D.
Ctrl++Tab	Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D.
Ctrl++B	Switch to the program that just displayed a message in the notification area.
+Spacebar	Preview the desktop.
+Up Arrow	Maximize the current window.
+Left Arrow	Maximize the current window to the left side of the screen.
+Right Arrow	Maximize the current window to the right side of the screen.
+Down Arrow	Minimize the current window.
+Home	Minimize all but the current window.
+Shift+Up Arrow	Stretch the window to the top and bottom of the screen.
+Shift+Left Arrow or Right Arrow	Move a window from one monitor to another. (This assumes you’re using a second monitor.)
+P	Choose a presentation display mode if you’re using more than one monitor or a projection screen.
+G	Cycle through your Desktop gadgets.
+U	Open Ease of Access Center.
+X	Open Windows Mobility Center on laptops or netbooks.

Q: The Contacts area is missing from Outlook Express. The Contacts list is so helpful when composing my emails;  I just click the address in the Contacts folder, and it appears in the e-mail’s “To” line. Help!

A: Many Windows programs let you customize their layout, showing only the portions you find useful and hiding the rest. Unfortunately, sometimes a misplaced click will hide a feature you’ve depended upon for years.

In your case, Windows XP’s Outlook Express is now hiding the list of Contacts that usually appears in the program’s lower left corner.

To make the Contacts folder reappear, change Outlook Express’ Layout settings by following these steps:

1. Click the Start button, and open Outlook Express.
2. Click the View menu and choose Layout.
3. When the “Windows Layout Properties” window appears, click to put a checkmark in the Contacts box.
4. Click the Apply button, and the Contacts pane immediately reappears in its rightful spot.
5. Click OK to save your changes.

If you’d like to view other changes offered by the Windows Layout Properties window, spend some time in Step 3 to click the other checkboxes: Folder Bar, Folder List, Outlook Bar, Status Bar, Toolbar and Views Bar, clicking Apply after each one, in turn. If you like the change, keep it; if you don’t, click the checkbox again to return to normal.

For example, I remove the “Folder Bar” from the layout, as it takes up a little too much space on my laptop’s screen.

But whether you change layout items or not, experimenting with the Layout window lets you know exactly where to go if a Layout item suddenly disappears.

A: Holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the letter “s” is one of many Windows shortcut keys. Shortcut keys are time savers, letting you keep your fingers on the keyboard while working, rather than knocking over the coffee while reaching for the mouse.

Pressing Ctrl+S means to “save your current document,” but Ctrl+S does slightly different things depending on what you’re currently doing:

• If you open an existing file, change a few things, and press Ctrl+S, your program saves the new information inside your opened file, keeping the file stored in its original location.
• If you create something new with a program and press Ctrl+S, the program creates a new file, asking you to choose a name and location to store your masterpiece. Most programs even simplify things by suggesting a file name and a location: They usually offer to place your new file inside one of your existing folders, depending on whether you’re working on a document, a music file, a video, or a picture. To retrieve that file later, return to that chosen folder.
• If you press Ctrl+S and you’re not working in a program, Windows does nothing. After all, you haven’t created any work to save.

But, you may ask, how do you find the file’s location if you don’t remember where you originally saved it?

You can find a file’s name and location in any of several ways:

• Click the Start menu and click Recent Items to see a list of the past 15 files you’ve created. Right-click a file’s name and choose “Open File Location” from the pop-up menu; Windows immediately opens the folder containing your long-sought file. (Windows even highlights the errant file’s name for easy clicking retrieval.)
• On the taskbar, right-click the icon of the program that created the file; hover your mouse pointer over the file’s name, and Windows lists the file’s location in a pop-up menu.
• Can’t even remember the file’s name? Click the Start menu and type a few words you remember from inside the document. Windows begins listing files containing those words. When you spot the right file, right-click its name and choose Open File Location.

The “Open File Location” command comes in handy whenever you can spot a file’s name, but want to see the folder where it’s currently living.

Q:

A: When linking several computers to create a home network, it’s important for them all to share the same workgroup name. A workgroup name lets computers know which computers they’re allowed to recognize for exchanging information.

Fortunately, the workgroup name of “WORKGROUP”  has been standard for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Professional. Unfortunately, Microsoft gave Windows XP Home computers the workgroup name of MSHOME, so you should change it to WORKGROUP. If you’re using Windows XP Home — or if you want to change any Windows computer’s workgroup name to WORKGROUP — follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, right-click Computer, and choose Properties to see the System Properties window.
2. Click the Computer Name tab to see your computer’s name and workgroup name.
3. Click the Change button.
4. Delete the old workgroup name and type in WORKGROUP. (The name will automatically appear in capital letters.)
5. Click the OK button to save your changes.

You’ll have to restart your computer before your changes take place.

Windows 7. Follow the same steps, but in Step 2, click Change Settings before clicking the Change button.

Windows Vista. Follow the same steps, but in Step 2, click Change Settings before clicking the Change button. (You may also need to click Continue at Vista’s permission screen.)

Q:

A: Upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows XP isn’t easy. It’s much easier to buy a new PC with Windows 7 pre-installed. Computer prices have not only dropped, but today’s new PCs are much more powerful than those sold with Windows XP.

Once you buy a new Windows 7 PC, hang onto your old Windows XP PC for running any programs Windows 7 refuses to run. Plus, you’ll find it easier to copy your Windows XP PC’s files to a new Windows 7 PC than to upgrade your old Windows XP PC to Windows 7. Plus, if something goes wrong, you’ll have your old PC as a backup.

That said, I wrote a column for Datamation offering tips for people considering an upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Windows 7’s operating system requirements are listed below. (Many older Windows XP PCs won’t make the cut.):

• 1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1GB RAM (32-bit) / 2GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16GB available disk space (for 32-bit) / 20GB (for 64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

The easiest way to see if your PC can handle Windows 7 is to run Microsoft’s free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The program analyzes your PC, its parts, and your software. Then the program points out potential problems you’ll have to deal with if you decide to upgrade. It’s an easy way to prepare for the battle of upgrading Windows XP to Windows 7.

Q:

Instead, I see a message that I need to download a license to play them. But when I click on the Download License link, a message says the license has been downloaded ten times and can’t be downloaded again.

I converted these files to WMAs from my own CDs using Windows Media Player, and the CDs weren’t copy protected. What’s wrong?

A: Microsoft turned on copy-protection by default on the version of Windows Media Player that shipped with the original version of Windows XP. Unless you manually turned off the copy-protection, every WMA files you created during that time will have same copy protection problems you’re now experiencing.

With copy-protection turned on, Microsoft keeps track of how many times the file is copied. When it reaches the limit of ten, Microsoft sends this message:

A license is required to play this file

The file you are trying to play was ripped (copied) from an audio CD.

During the ripping process, the file was “protected.” This limits the number of computers on which the file can be played.

To play the file on this computer, you must download a license (a process known as “license migration”). A license acts an electronic key that allows you to “unlock” a protected file and play it.

To download a license for this file, click Download License .

You’re now feeling the effects of the copy-protection that Media Player snuck into your files many years ago.

At this point, your only solution is to delete those old copy-protected files, and then rip your CDs again. But this time, create MP3 files, by following these steps:

1. Click Tools on the menu bar, and choose Options from the drop-down menu. (Press Alt to bring the menu bar into view, if necessary.)
2. Click the Rip music tab.
3. Choose MP3 from the Format menu, and click OK.

MP3 files lack copy protection, so they’re less likely to cause problems in the future. But if you must stick with the WMA format, make sure the copy protection is turned off by following these steps:

1. Click Tools on the menu bar, and choose Options from the drop-down menu.
2. Click the Rip music tab.
3. Click to remove any checkmark from the “Copy protect music” check box, and click OK.

Tip: Be sure to delete your copy-protected files from both your hard drive and Media Player’s library before re-ripping your CDs. Otherwise, you’ll see several versions of your songs in Media Player’s library, and you won’t know which songs are copy-protected.

And when the programs do work, they often slow down your PC by overloading it with an overblown security “suite,” which duplicates Windows’ built-in firewall and Microsoft’s free anti-spyware program (Windows Defender).

To help out those who dislike or can’t afford an antivirus program, Microsoft’s shaking up the big players with Microsoft Security Essentials, a slim ‘n’ trim program that checks for incoming viruses, removes spyware, and scans your PC for viruses every week.

It’s fast, unobtrusive, and it works. Plus, it’s free to owners of legitimate copies of Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. (The program doesn’t work on Windows Me, 98, or other Windows versions.) I’ve been using it for the past few months without problem.

To download and install Microsoft’s Security Essentials program, follow these steps:

Warning: Don’t run more than one antivirus program at a time, as they cause conflicts. Be sure to turn off any other antivirus program before running Microsoft Security Essentials.

1. Download the program by visiting the Microsoft Security Essentials Web site and clicking the Download Now button.

Choose your Windows version, if asked: Windows XP, Windows Vista (32-bit or 64-bit) or Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit).

(To find out your version of Windows, click the Start button, right-click Computer or My Computer, and choose Properties.)

2. Click Save to save the program’s installation file to your PC.

Download it to a place where you can find it easily, like on your Desktop, or in either your My Documents or your Downloads folder.

3. Start the Installation program by double-clicking the downloaded file, then click Next when the installation program appears onscreen.

4. Read the licensing terms, agree to their conditions, and click Validate to make sure your Windows copy is legitimate.

Here’s the only catch: Microsoft Security Essentials only installs on PCs running authentic, activated copies of Windows. PCs bought with Windows pre-installed will pass this test, as well people who’ve installed Windows themselves and gone through the activation process. But if you’re running a bootleg copy of Windows, the install won’t work.

5. When the PC passes the validation test, click Install.

The program takes a few minutes to install itself and download the latest virus definitions from the Internet.

6. Click Finish to complete the installation and scan your PC for any existing viruses.

The program will scan your PC for viruses during the next few minutes, but you can minimize the program while it works in the background.

That’s it.

The program scans your entire PC on Sundays at 2 am. To change the scanning time, click the Settings tab, click Scheduled Scan from the left pane, and choose a different day or time from the drop-down menus on the right. Click the Save Changes button to save your updated scanning schedule.

When you’re through, click the minimize button and let the program live in your Taskbar’s notifications area, in the lower right. The program will start automatically when you log onto your user account, and notify you if it detects any incoming viruses.

With Windows Security Essentials and Windows built-in Firewall, your computer will be much more secure than most computers on the Internet.

Update: Windows Security Essentials duplicates the services of Microsoft’s anti-spyware program, Windows Defender, rendering the program unnecessary. In fact, running both programs simultaneously can slow down your computer. Microsoft Security Essentials disables Windows Defender when installed on Windows 7 or Windows Vista; when installed on Windows XP, Microsoft Security Essentials uninstalls the program. (Thanks, Greg!)

Q:

A: Internet radio stations can broadcast (commonly known as “stream”) at any rate or file format they perfer. But many choose 128 Kbps because it strikes a good balance between sound quality and bandwidth. Plus, MP3 is so popular, nearly ever media player can handle it without problem. Still, some Internet radio stations also broadcast in formats other than MP3. One of my favorite Internet radio stations, SomaFM, for example, broadcasts in MP3, aacPlus (mostly for Mac owners), and WMA (for Windows Media Player).

If you’re interested in the technicalities of Internet broadcasting, check out the Setting Up Your Own Internet Radio Station page from SHOUTcast. SHOUTcast offers hundreds of Internet radio stations to choose from, in a wide variety of streams. You can even download programs that let you broadcast your own station. (Your ISP probably doesn’t give you enough bandwidth to do this, though.)

Recording Internet radio stations can be difficult, as many Internet radio stations don’t want you to record them. And Windows doesn’t come with a built-in method of capturing Internet radio. If you don’t mind downloading third-party programs, this article explains how to record some Internet radio stations.

The solution? It’s much better etiquette to place the recipients’ addresses in your e-mail program’s Bcc: field, not the To: field or the Cc. “Bcc” stands for “Blind Carbon Copy”. Everybody listed in the Bcc: box still receives the message, just as if they had been listed in the To: or Cc: boxes. However, the message’s recipients won’t be able to see the e-mail addresses of all the other recipients. Most e-mail programs list an option for Bcc: near or below the Cc: area.

Unfortunately, Windows XP’s Outlook Express doesn’t usually show the Bcc: box as an option when sending mail. To turn on the Bcc line in Outlook Express, try this:

1. Open any message stored in your Inbox.
2. Choose All Headers from that message’s View menu.
3. Close the message.

That’s it. You probably won’t see anything exciting happen.

But the next time you try to send or forward a message, you should be able to see the Bcc spot, ready for use. The Bcc area should then be available for use on all your future messages.

If, by some twist of Computer Fate, the Bcc: area suddenly disappears, repeat the three steps listed above to put it back in place.

There’s another perk to using the Bcc feature when sending messages: Should the recipients decide to forward that message to their own friends, the previous recipients’ addresses won’t be listed along with the message, preserving their privacy and giving the forwarded message a cleaner look.

Q:

A: You can still buy a Windows XP Home upgrade CD through Amazon. If you don’t plan to play computer games or do much video work on your PC, you can still get by with Windows XP. But if you want a PC that will last longer and do more, it’s probably time to invest in a new PC.

As for Internet Explorer, nobody’s really happy about Internet Explorer 6 still being around. You can still use Internet Explorer 6 to run searches through Google, but Google’s Gmail program doesn’t work well with that antiquated browser. Your quick ‘n’ easy solution is to upgrade to Firefox, a free alternative browser that’s light years ahead of Internet Explorer 6.