Windows 7 Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Solutions [Paperback]

David A. Karp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2010

Windows 7 may be faster and more stable than Vista, but it's a far cry from problem-free. David A. Karp comes to the rescue with the latest in his popular Windows Annoyances series. This thorough guide gives you the tools you need to fix the troublesome parts of this operating system, plus the solutions, hacks, and timesaving tips to make the most of your PC.

• Streamline Windows Explorer, improve the Search tool, eliminate the Green Ribbon of Death, and tame User Account Control prompts
• Explore powerful Registry tips and tools, and use them to customize every aspect of Windows and solve its shortcomings
• Squeeze more performance from your hardware with solutions for your hard disk, laptop battery, CPU, printers, and more
• Stop crashes, deal with stubborn hardware and drivers, fix video playback issues, and troubleshoot Windows when it won't start
• Protect your stuff with permissions, encryption, and shadow copies
• Secure and speed up your wireless network, fix networking woes, make Bluetooth functional, and improve your Web experience
• Get nearly all of the goodies in 7 Ultimate, no matter which edition you have

"Blunt, honest, and awesome."

--Aaron Junod, Manager, Integration Systems at Evolution Benefits

"This could be the best [money] you've ever spent."

--Jon Jacobi, PC World

"To use Windows is to be annoyed -- and this book is the best way to solve any annoyance you come across. It's the most comprehensive and entertaining guide you can get for turning Windows into an operating system that's a pleasure to use."

--Preston Gralla, author of Windows Vista in a Nutshell, and Computerworld contributing editor

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David A. Karp is the author of twelve power-user books, including the bestselling Windows Annoyances series of books and O'Reilly's eBay Hacks. David's books are available in ten languages, and can be found under the short legs of tables around the world.

David is the founder of Annoyances.org, one of the most respected and popular computer help sites on the Interwebs. He writes for PC Magazine, but they're curiously reluctant to publish photos of his bicycle. Notable recognition has come from PC Computing, Windows Magazine, the San Francisco Examiner, and the New York Times.

He scored 30.96647% on the Geek Test (http://www.innergeek.us/), earning a rating of "Total Geek." He hopes future revisions of the test reward publishing his score in the backs of computer books. David spends nearly every spare moment with his son.

Product Details

• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (May 11, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596157622
• ISBN-13: 978-0596157623
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > Windows OS

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe Windows 7 isn't as annoying as earlier versions..., May 11, 2010

By 

35-year Technology Consumer "8-tracks to 802.11" (Mid Atlantic, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Windows 7 Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Solutions (Paperback)

...or maybe after a generation of Windows operating systems, we're simply immune to assaults by Windows products on the sensibilities of computer users (especially users more interested in doing things with their data files than tweaking their operating systems).

In either case, "Windows 7 Annoyances" is less a catalog of serious Windows 7 annoyances, and more a compendium of advanced Windows 7 features, trips and tricks.

The features and solutions it offers are thorough, and described in superb technical detail. The target audience for this book is clearly power users confident in the deep (and sometimes scary) areas of Windows 7. Proof of this is found in Chapter 3, 72 pages devoted exclusively to the Windows registry. David Karp offers exhaustive descriptions and prescriptions of the Windows 7 registry. He does this very well, but in giving registry tweaks this much emphasis he is speaking to advanced power users of computers. Most Windows users are probably better served by avoiding working in the registry except for last-ditch efforts to correct their worst problems. Registry modifications bring with them the true potential to inflict serious unintended consequences to your computer, and I suggest that the book's biggest shortcoming is in not giving this potential risk enough emphasis.

Similarly, Chapter 9 is focused entirely on use of text-based command prompts. These are arguably tools of the power user looking to work faster (or deeper) than a GUI permits.

Otherwise, the book is a delightful guide to things about Windows 7 that Microsoft forgot to tell us. It describes the different versions of Windows 7, gives sound advice on making files and folders behave consistently, provides a tutorials on media files, offers troubleshooting and diagnostic tools, and walks you patiently through networking/Internet concepts and security issues.

Two appendices provide overviews of the BIOS (the basic input output system, which allows a personal computer to boot into ANY operating system), and TCP/IP, the standards that allow data to flow over the Internet regardless of the hardware and software packages that are sending and receiving them.

If you're not *seriously* annoyed by Windows 7, then this book may be more than you need, and you might want to consider Windows 7: The Missing Manual instead.

But if you're a power user and want to increase your control over Windows 7 (or if you are the go-to person for fixing the computer problems of family and friends), then this book will be a good addition to your troubleshooting toolkit.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For People Who Like to Remain in Control, May 20, 2010

By 

Brett Merkey (Palm Harbor, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Windows 7 Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Solutions (Paperback)

§
Anyone who has been burned by Microsoft Windows' ability to "help" you at just the wrong time in just the wrong way, will have developed a cautious attitude to any new Microsoft offering. This finely organized and clearly written book will help you stay in control.

You might even save some money as well as time. Right up front in the early pages, the author shows you the scoop on the "Ultimate" version features and how to get them for free.

After the requisite "getting started," the book has the following sections:
- Shell tweaks
- Registry secrets and hacks
- Controlling video, audio and other media
- Performance tuning
- Troubleshooting
- Networking and internet
- Managing users and security
- Command prompt and automation (including PowerShell)

I liked Karp's clear use of language. He will not subject you to the puns, gags and cloying humor inflicted by so many books on computer tech. The illustrations in this 700 page book are simple, perhaps a bit small, but they quite adequately communicate the point being discussed. You will have to do without color. Those famous Windows blue and green screens of death are grayscale screens of death here!

§

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Advanced Hints On Tuning & Customizing Windows 7 Performance, May 27, 2010

By 

Ira Laefsky "Ira Laefsky" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Windows 7 Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Solutions (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for a user who is somewhat familiar with the nature of an Operating System on tuning and customizing important aspects of the Windows 7 Operating System. It will be a valuable resource for advanced users of Microsoft's Windows 7 Operating System
in addressing performance barriers and mismatches between their preferred way of managing and using a computer and the default way Windows 7 "acts" with a given hardware configuration. I love the book--but have some concerns that naive users of "WINDOWS" may find
themselves out of their depth in attempting to adjust such features as Registry Manipulations, User Account Control's, and Disk and Network Configuration. The book is exceptionally clear, but not chatty, and inexperienced users trying to modify the Registry may become
flustered if a screen prompt or message occurs that is not explicitly illustrated in the text.

Experienced users of "Real Operating Systems" will find everything they need, clearly explained on issues of Installation and Disk Configuration, Registry, User Account Controls, Networking, Troubleshooting the Operating System, and automating tasks from the Command Prompt. This is a superb book for the experienced computer user in making Windows 7 perform as s/he would like. It is not a book for the Newbie to consult when "Something just happened when I hit the "Any Key".

--Ira Laefsky
MSE/MBA IT Consultant and Former Senior Staff Member of Arthur D. Little, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation