Over the past few years computers have gotten extremely powerful, which has made things once possible only on large server computers common on desktops and laptops. Virtualization is one such utility which is now available and affordable on most systems.

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization is the ability to run more than one operating system on top of another operating system using virtualization software. Virtualization makes running multiple operating systems convenient and less invasive than older methods, such as setting up partitions and configuring boot options. Virtualization is also a great solution for handling compatibility with older applications.

In this article, we take a look at some of the other virtualization programs out there, and how to install and set them up.

Windows Virtual PC

We took a look at installing and using Windows Virtual PC with Windows XP Mode a couple years ago, so I will not go into too much detail since you can refer to that article for detailed instructions. Windows Virtual PC is provided as a free download to customers running Windows 7. If you are running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or ultimate editions, Windows Virtual PC is included along with Windows XP Mode. This is a preconfigured Windows XP Professional SP3 .VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) file you can use to run your older programs that are not designed for Windows 7. If you are running Windows 7 Home Premium, you can download Windows Virtual PC and use it with your own Windows license if you wish.

Let’s take a look at setting up a Virtual Machine in Windows Virtual PC.

First you need to download Windows Virtual PC:

You need to install Windows 6.1-KB958559-x64 or x86 depending on the architecture of Windows 7 you are running, 32 or 64 bit.

Windows Virtual PC can be downloaded from http://www.windows.com/business/downloads.

For more information on system requirements, go to http://www.microsoft.com/virtual-pc.

Once Windows Virtual PC is installed, click Start > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC > Windows Virtual PC. If it is not listed, try the following:

Click Start, type: turn windows features on or off, then hit Enter on your keyboard.

Make sure that Windows Virtual PC is checked. Click OK, restart your computer if prompted.

If all goes well, launch Windows Virtual PC from Start menu > All Programs.

The Windows Virtual PC interface looks like a typical Windows Explorer. I already have a virtual machine setup, but if I would like to add another one I can do so. Let’s take a look at doing that. On the command bar, click the ‘Create virtual machine’ button.

This will start the Create a virtual machine wizard. In the above wizard page, you can enter details about the Virtual Machine such as its name to help identify it if you have more than one Virtual Machine setup. You can also choose a location where you would like to store this virtual machine. In regards to virtual machine, just go with the defaults. Once you have filled in these details, click Next.

Depending on the version and edition of Windows you would like to run, you might need to allocate more memory than the default 512 MBs of RAM. Versions of Windows such as Windows Vista and Windows 7 will need more. This also means the host system will need to have enough memory to run it and the virtual machine at the same time. When it comes to virtual machines, the more memory the better. Since I am using Windows XP for this article, 512 MBs should be more than enough. But if you plan on running many older programs, consider increasing that to at least 1 GB (1024 MBs).

Another option is Networking, if you plan on keeping the virtual machine maintained and updated, you will need to have an Internet connection for Windows Updates, and obtain any available application updates. This is especially important for protection software such as Antivirus utilities in your Virtual Machine. Once you have made the appropriate adjustments, click Next.

The above screen provides several options for adding a virtual hard disk which will be used to store and access the operating system. I recommend you go with the default since it will be less complicated and easier to manage. You can run into limitations if you create a fixed virtual hard disk and later find out you didn’t create it with enough space. If you already have an existing .VHD file, you can add it and use it. In this particular case, we are creating a new one. After selecting the appropriate options, click Create.

Go back to the Virtual Machines window. There you will see the virtual machine we just created listed. Its status at the moment is powered down. To install Windows, insert your Windows disc in the disc drive. Select the virtual machine and click Open on the command bar.

The virtual machine will boot from the Windows disc and setup will begin loading files. It functions just like you normally would expect on a physical machine. Follow the on screen instructions to install your desired version of Windows.

Installing Windows XP in Windows Virtual PC on Windows 7

Using a virtual machine is just like using a physical PC

The above screenshot shows virtualization software, which is a computer within a computer.

After you have setup Windows in Windows Virtual PC you can do some additional tasks, like install the integration components which will make the virtual machine perform better and easily switch between the virtual machine and host operating system.

At the top of the Windows Virtual PC window, click the Tools menu and click Install Integration Components.

Click Continue.

This will start the setup wizard in the virtual operating system. Follow the on screen instructions. If you don’t meet the minimum requirements you will need to resolve those issues first before continuing. As you can see, Windows Virtual PC requires that Windows XP has SP3 installed before it can proceed.

When you are finish using the virtual machine, you can shut it down by clicking the close button. You will be prompted for an action, whether you want to put it to sleep, shut it down or turn off the computer. Choose the desired action and click OK.

How to Use Virtualization Software: Virtual PC is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

We recently took a look at how to use input languages in Windows 7. In this follow up, we focus on multi-language support in Windows 7. Unlike Input Language, this allows us to make Windows 7 display and work in a different language apart from the default language. This is great if you are sharing a computer with someone who speaks a different language, such as a co-worker, family member.

There is one caveat though, you need to be running the Ultimate edition of Windows 7 to obtain and install different languages. If you are a volume license customer (large business), you might have access to the business equivalent of Windows 7 Ultimate called Enterprise edition. If don’t have either edition installed, you will need to do a Windows Anytime Upgrade from your current edition of Windows 7 to Windows 7 Ultimate. Click here to learn more about Windows Anytime Upgrade.

Before you can start using a language in Windows 7 Ultimate, you must first download and install it. Microsoft offers up to 35 different multi-lingual user interfaces through its Windows Update service. Lets take a look at how to install and configure one. For the purposes of this review, we are gonna install Spanish.

First, launch Windows Update.

Click Check for updates.

Click the optional updates are available link.

Here you will see a list of available languages for download. Check the desired language you would like to have installed, then click OK.

You will be taken back to the main screen, click Install update.

Wait while the update is downloading.

Installing the Language Pack

After the installation has completed, we will now enable the language pack.

Click Start, then type: language.

Hit Enter on your keyboard.

Click on the Keyboard and Languages tab.

Under Choose a display language, click in the list box and select the language you want to have displayed.

Click Apply and then OK.

You will be prompted to Log off now. Do so then log back in.

That’s it, you are now operating in Windows 7 using a different language.

When you are ready to change back to another language, just reopen the Region and Language dialog and select your default language.

That’s It!

Resources:

How to use Windows Anytime Upgrade
Language Packs in Windows 7
How do I get additional Display Languages

How to Install and Use Languages in Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

One of the major improvements in Windows 7 is how you manage fonts in the system. With Windows 7 an old relic has also been removed, the Install Font Dialog Box:

The Install Font Dialogue Box, circa 1992

Install Font Dialog in Windows Vista, year 2006

Fonts can be installed multiple ways in Windows 7: using a simple drag and drop into the Fonts directory, or double clicking on the Font wherever it is located and clicking Install in the preview window. Apart from these simple improvements, some which already exist in Windows Vista, the Font Control Panel item offers some lovely aesthetic improvements, such as real time previews of your fonts with the ability to quickly delete, show or even hide fonts installed on your computer.

Going back to installing fonts, a Font Settings window features a new way to conserve space on your computer. If you often work with typography, you might end up installing numerous fonts that rarely ever get used. You can now choose to install a shortcut to a font file instead of the file itself. So you can have a collection of your favorite fonts stored on a thumb-drive or external hard disk, and use them when you need to without having to install them to your local disk. Having a lot of fonts can sometimes affect the performance of your PC, so this is a great improvement.

Font Control Panel displaying previews of active and hidden fonts

For added convenience, you can hide fonts that are not designed for your input language settings, so if you don’t use or need Chinese characters in Microsoft Word you can do so. Its very easy to re-enable when you want to.

The Fonts window Details Pane provides quick information about your fonts such as status, style, use, category, designer and edibility.

The Windows Team also added 50 new fonts:

…many of the new fonts are for non-Latin scripts. In fact, Windows 7 will be the first version of Windows to ship with more fonts for non-Latin scripts than for Latin-based scripts. One major area of improvement is for the languages of India. To the nine (9) fonts for Indian languages that shipped in Vista, Windows 7 adds forty (40) more. Windows 7 will now include multiple fonts (often in multiple weights) for each of the official languages of India.

Besides new fonts, we have also improved many of the existing fonts. For example, we have added over two thousand (2,000) glyphs to Consolas, Calibri, Cambria Bold, and Cambria Math. But the most dramatic improvements have been to some of the non-Latin scripts. For example, Windows 7 does a much better job rendering the common Lam-Alef ligature in Arabic (see the illustration below) and in the placement of vowel marks.

Learn more here

Although you might not work with Fonts a lot, when you need to or you are involved with graphic design and typography, Windows 7 adds more convenience to your work flow. Its some of the small improvements like this that make Windows 7 a joy to use.

Resources

Engineering Windows 7 for a Global Market

Engineering Changes to ClearType in Windows 7

How to: Working With Fonts in Windows 7 is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

If you are in a situation where your internet connection is not reliable but you would like to keep your Antivirus utility updated, you may want to manually download your antivirus definitions. As I live in a rural part of the parish of Manchester, Jamaica I get by using a GPRS modem to connect to the Internet, and I know many people also don’t have the fastest connections. Malicious code does not care about the speed of your internet connection. It can download quickly on the slowest connection, as some viruses and worms are just a few kilobytes in size. And if you have a couple other computers at home you probably want to keep them updated too.

What are definitions?

Definitions (or signatures, as they’re correctly known) are used to scan your hard disk for characteristic strings of base code left by known viruses. They also look for suspicious behavior, such as attempts to erase or change areas on your hard disks. Keeping these updated allows your antivirus software to catch the latest viruses and worms.

Lets take a look at obtaining offline signatures with a few of the popular brands:

Symantec Norton

If you are running Norton Antvirus or any of its EndPoint products, you can find the latest definitions by going to the following link. Symantec provides definitions for Norton products as far back as version 2005. The page provides a number of options for downloading definitions. The thing you need to know is your operating system version and architecture:

Once you have identified your version on the list, click the orange link. In my case this would be 20110814-003-v5i32.exe. The date changes as new definitions are released each day. As you can also see, this is for 32 bit versions of Windows. If you need the 64 bit version, you need to scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Save the file either to a thumb drive or portable storage medium. When you are back at the computer that needs updating, simply connect the device. You can launch the executable from the storage medium or copy it to the hard disk locally and launch it there.

Microsoft Security Essentials

MSE has become quite a popular choice among users when it comes to free Antivirus utilities. It is easy to setup and manage, and the features have led to over 30 million downloads so far. It is also robust and focused on keeping you constantly secure and updated.

If you need the latest offline definitions, go to the following link.

Download the Microsoft Security Essentials virus and spyware definition update file that is appropriate for your version of Windows:

    * To download the file for a 32-bit (x86-based) version of Windows, click the following link:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87342

* To download the file for a 64-bit version of Windows, click the following link:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87341

McAfee

If you are running McAfee Antivirus, you can go here for the latest definitions.

Click I Agree to the terms.

Click the latest DAT file for your Platform. In my case its 6438xdat.exe.

Save it and execute it on the target machine.

Trend Micro

Trend Microsoft describes its Antivirus definitions as Pattern Files. You can obtain the latest patter file from the following web page link:

If you are running a Consumer product from Trend Micro, click the Consumer Patter link.

ESET NOD32

Obtaining definitions for NOD32 works a bit differently. You will first need to install the Offline Updater, I notice there is no Windows 7 native version, but the Vista native version should work just fine. Go to this link to obtain the latest updater for your supported version.

NOD32 Offline Update will create the correct folder at the root of your C:\ drive. It will put the latest updated virus definitions and module files in it (and delete previous files if present). All you have to do is click update in your NOD32 product. It is portable, so you can run it from your hard drive, USB stick, DVD, CD, USB Key, SD Card and more…

NOD32 Offline Update 49xx will update the following:
Virus signature database:
Advanced heuristics module:
Anti-Stealth support module:
Archive support module:
Update module:
Cleaner module:
Personal firewall module:
Antispam module:
System status module:
Self-defence support module:
Antivirus and antispyware scanner module

Kaspersky

Another popular commercial choice, the company makes it difficult to find off line updates or how to do it.  Kaspersky Antivirus definitions can be dowloaded using the instructions at this link.

Bit Defender

Instructions for downloading BitDefender Weekly updates can be found here.

AntiVir

If you use Avira AntiVir, you can download the latest offline definitions here.

Click the Download VDF (multiple VDF) link.

AVG Antivirus

You can obtain the latest definitions for AVG here.

Click on the latest Iavi file. In my case, it would Iavi: 3836.

Click Save.

You will notice that the definitions for AVG are distributed as a .bin file. In order to install it, use the following instructions:

1. Open AVG User Interface.
2. Select Tools menu select update from directory, browse to where the virus definitions file is saved and click OK
3. AVG update Manager will run, virus definitions will be updated.

How To Manually Download and Install Antivirus Offline Definitions is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Want to send or mail out a document to a list of different people? Instead of typing out every single one, or copying and pasting information for each individual person you would like to send the document to, you can simplify things by using Mail Merge.

Let’s take a look at creating a Mail Merge document using Microsoft Office Word 2010.

What is Mail Merge?

Mail Merge mass produces letters, mailing labels or other documents. To perform a mail merge you need two types of files: a Data file and a Form file. The Data file, or datasource, contains records. All the variable (changeable) information in the document combines to form a record.

The first step in the creation of the data source is to give each piece of variable information in the document a name. Each piece of variable information is called a field. All the fields combine to form a record.

The Form file contains the portion of the document that remains constant, plus field codes that link to the data source file.

For the purposes of this article, we will be using Mail Merge to send copies of a letter to multiple persons. Start a new blank Word document, click Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Word. You can download a free trial of MS Office, which you can use for 60 days, here, if you don’t have Microsoft Office installed.

Click the Mailings tab. In the Start Mail Merge group click Start Mail Merge button and click Step by step Mail Merge Wizard….

Since we will be writing a letter, select that as the default. Click Next: Starting document.

We are starting a new document, so we will use the current one. Click Next: Select recipients.

This is a new document and we are creating a fresh list for the purposes of this article. You have the option, if your contacts are stored in Outlook, to use that. If you don’t have any contacts you can create new ones from scratch, which is what we will do. Select Type a new list and then click Create.

This will bring up the New Address List window. Microsoft Word will pre-populate the window with common fields for the recipients. To simplify things and avoid confusion, we will customize and create our own columns for the purposes of this article. At the bottom of the window, click Customize Columns….

Here you will see the list of pre-populated fields. Select each one and click Delete until all are removed.

Once you have cleared the fields, enter your own. For the purposes of this article, I will be using the following fields: Name, Addr1, Addr2, Addr3, and Title. Click Add and enter the field name and then click OK. Repeat this step for each field until all are entered.

Once you have all the fields entered, click OK.

Proceed to enter the information for each record. To enter a new record, click New Entry or you can press Tab to go to the next row. When you have completed this step, click OK.

You will be prompted to save your data source. The datasource is saved as a Microsoft Access database. You can give it a logical name such as Contacts or Addresses.

The Mail Merge Recipients window will appear. Here you are given an opportunity to review and edit the recipient information. You can also uncheck any recipients you don’t want to send the letter to. For instance, you might get a last minute response from a recipient telling you they won’t be able to attend. After reviewing and accepting the changes, click OK.

You will notice that groups previously grayed out in the Mailings tab, such as Write & Insert Fields, are now active. This means we are ready to type our letter and enter our Mail Merge fields.

Below is a sample letter I will be using for my mail merge letter.

—————————————————————————————————-

Andre Brown <——————Field1—–Name
Cross Keys P.O. <————– Field2 —–Addr1
Manchester <——————–Field3—–Addr2
Jamaica W.I. <—————— Field4—–Addr3

Dear Mr. Brown <—————Field5——Title

We will be keeping our annual Youth Group fund raising event next week at the Cross Keys Social Center. Our Youth Group would like to invite you to this special event and hope you will be able to invite your friends and family members as well. Please make every effort to be in attendance on June 20, 2011 at 8:00 PM in the main hall.

See you there.

Yours,
Sarah Smith

————————————————————————————-

Since the letter starts out with the address, we can begin inserting the Merge Fields. To do that, click on Insert Merge Field, located in the Write & Insert Fields group.

Repeat this step until all the appropriate Merge fields are inserted, see below:

The next step is to start writing the body of the letter.

Merging the Files

Once you have completed all the necessary steps, you need to merge the letter with the appropriate addresses. To do that, on the Mailings tab in the Finish group click Finish & Merge and then click Edit Individual Documents.

Select All then click OK. Microsoft Word will now work its magic.

All recipients addresses have been merged producing four unique letters to different persons and addresses. Your options include printing and saving these documents.

How to Create a Mail Merge Document Using Microsoft Word is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Windows 7 is built on the reliability of the Windows NT code base, which has strong lineage dating back to the early 90’s. With recent releases of Windows such as Vista and Windows 7, the platform is even more robust. However, Windows is still susceptible to instability. But are the root causes of this always Windows?

The Windows Memory Dump Screen

The appropriate name for this screen is ‘Memory Dump.’ It is rare on Windows these days, but it does happen occasionally. The common trigger for it is when an application or driver try to access a location in memory they do not have permission to access. This usually happens due to a poorly written device driver or application.

Common culprits:

• Video Card
• Network Adapter
• Faulty Memory Modules
• Faulty/Failing Hard disk
• Antivirus utility
• Attached devices (external USB hard disk)
• Antivirus or any application or utility that needs low level access in the operating system such as the kernel (the heart of Windows).

Diagnosing the problem.

Restart: By default, Windows 7 should automatically restart when a BSOD occurs. If it restarts and boots up normally then, you can check the Event Viewer and Action Center (see below) to see what might have caused the problem.

The Memory Dump screen will usually provide solutions you can attempt to resolve the problem with, while also providing information about what might have caused the problem. In the screen shot near the start of the article, you will see suggestions for what might be causing the problem and a recommendation to update the driver or disable it. The Memory Dump provided some technical information as to what system file is associated with this problem. In my case, its luafv.sys. Of course this is cryptic, but you might be able to resolve it, although you might not get far since it would make more sense to a software engineer. The first thing I will do is a web search to find out what luafv.sys is.

Here is what the web search results found:

luafv.sys (LUA File Virtualization Filter Driver) file, which is part of User Account Control.

Resolution:
Search your computer for luafv.sys, and make sure, it’s located in C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder.
You need to enable view of hidden, AND system files before you start search. If you have User Account Control turned on, try to turn it off, and see, if it helps with crashes.

Of course, not all Memory Dump issues are that easily resolvable. Others might be hardware related. Here are some things you can try:

If you continually experience a Blue Screen, it could be hardware added to the system recently, such as a USB printer. Remove it to see if the error reoccurs. The SCSI card in your System Unit many not have a compatible driver. If you have recently upgraded your graphics card, try reinstalling the old card and see if it resolves the problem. If the computer repeatedly displays the Blue Screen and you have tried everything, such as removing any external hardware devices with exception to the keyboard, mouse and monitor – try removing PCI cards. You should run hardware diagnostics supplied by the system manufacturer. For details on these procedures, see the owner’s manual for your computer.

Update BIOS:

Your computer just might need a special kind of update to work reliably with Windows 7. BIOS updates, although recommended as a last resort, can improve compatibility with installed or upgraded devices such as a video card or externally attached peripherals. BIOS updates are normally available from the manufacturer’s website. If you built your system yourself, the first place to check is the motherboard manufacturer’s website and search for the model number.

The Windows Event Viewer can help find what might have caused the problem, if you are able to successfully boot to the Windows desktop. Click Start, type: event viewer, then hit Enter on your keyboard. Expand Windows Logs and look through the log for the most recent error, this will compose information in the General pane indicating what might have caused the error.

Use the Windows Action Center:

Using the Windows Action Center can also provide information about an application or hardware device that might be causing system instability along with a solution.

To resolve a faulty system service problem as indicated by the action center: Disable the service and confirm that this resolves the error. If so, contact the manufacturer of the system service about a possible update.

If the error occurs during system startup, restart your computer and press F8 when you see a character-mode menu that displays the operating system choices. At the resulting Windows Advanced Options menu, choose the Last Known Good Configuration option. This option is most effective when only one driver or service is added at a time.

Resolving an antivirus software problem:

Disable the antivirus program, restart, and confirm that this resolves the error. If it does, contact the manufacturer of the program about a possible update.

Check your hard disk for errors:

Run Chkdsk /f /r to detect and repair disk errors. You must restart the system before the disk scan begins on a system partition. If the hard disk is SCSI, check for problems between the SCSI controller and the disk. You can learn more about how to run Check Disk here.

Faulty Memory

If you have recently upgraded the memory modules it’s a possibility that either the memory modules faulty or loose and need to be fitted properly. It’s useful, then, to check your memory modules for errors.

To access the System Recovery Environment in Windows 7, simply boot your PC, and just before the system loads the Windows operating system; hit the F8 key on your keyboard. This will launch the Advanced Boot Options menu. There you will see a new option for Repair Your Computer. Select this option and hit Enter on your keyboard.

On the system recovery screen, click Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool. Your computer will be restarted and the test will be run. If you are unable to boot into Advanced Boot Options, try booting from the Windows 7 installation DVD.

If an issue is discovered, it is possible that one of the memory modules is faulty. If you have recently installed new memory modules, check to make sure they are matching pairs and they are running at the same speed. One of the memory modules could be defective, so try booting with a single module at a time to see which one it could be.

Software:

If you have recently installed any programs since you started experiencing Blue Screens, try uninstalling the programs to see if it resolves the problem. If you are unable to boot into Normal Mode, try booting in Safe Mode, then remove the program.

Another thing to do in Safe Mode is disable Start Up items to see if any of them make a difference.

Reinstall Windows 7:

This is a tough one and the last recommendation when you have exhausted all other options. To avoid deleting your data, try doing a custom install over the current installation, that way, you can recover your data from the Windows.old folder. To do that:

• Boot from the Windows 7 DVD
• Click Install Now
• Accept the License Agreement
• When the option is displayed to select an installation type, click (Custom Advanced)
• Select the disk partition where you would like to install Windows 7 and click Next.

You will receive the following warning:

The partition you selected might contain files from a previous Windows Installation. If it does, these files and folders will be moved to a folder named Windows.old. You will be able to access the information in Windows.old, but you will be able to use your previous version of Windows.

At this point do NOT click anything named Format or Delete or Partition. This way even doing a custom install, your personal files are still preserved. Click OK.

Setup will now start the installation. During the installation, your machine will be restarted several times.

When the installation is complete, you will complete the Out of Box experience of having a new system, such as selecting your machine name, creating a username, password, and setting up your time zone. You can then proceed to download the latest updates for Windows and reinstall your applications and drivers.

You can then recover your personal files from the Windows.old folder and reinstall all your applications and drivers as detailed here.

If you continue to experience Blue Screens, this could be a serious sign of hardware failure, such as your hard disk or motherboard going bad. Take your computer to a reputable PC Repair Shop for further analysis and diagnosis. Write a note detailing all the steps you have already taken and make sure you have copies of your recovery software for the PC Repair Technician along with any documentation that came with your computer.

The Technician might also need access to your user account to make changes. I suggest you setup an account with Administrator privileges so they can effectively carry out their task.

How To Diagnose and Resolve Blue Screens of Death (BSODs) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Over the weekend, customers who purchased Windows 7 licenses from Microsoft’s Online Store were reporting issues either activating their licenses or genuine licenses purchased years ago from the Microsoft Store suddenly reporting as non-genuine.

There seems to be some problems with the Microsoft Activation Center at this time.

If you happen to be experiencing this problem yourself, call the Microsoft Genuine Advantage Department at 1-866-530-6364, they will verify that your license has been blocked and issue you a new one.

You might have to call on Tuesday since Microsoft support may be closed for Labor Day.

If you continue to experience any problems and your license was purchased at the Microsoft Online Store, contact the Microsoft store, they should be aware of this problem and will be able to assist you.

Microsoft Windows 7 Activation Assistance

• US Customer Service - 1-877-696-7786
• Canada Customer Service
• Additional phone numbers for Microsoft Activation Centers Worldwide
• Direct Activation number: 1-888-725-1047
• Microsoft Support Contact Information
• General Microsoft Customer Support - 1-800-642-7676 (1-800-MICROSOFT)

These Microsoft support centers should be able to help you activate your copy of Windows 7 over the phone fairly quickly, but you may need to wait longer to speak to a representative thanks to a higher than normal call volume.

How To Get Support for Windows 7 Activation Issues is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

If you need to work in a different language in Windows Live Hotmail, you can change the default language used by the web mail service. Lets take a look at how to do that:

Click Options, then click More options…

Under Customizing Hotmail, click Language.

Choose one of the available languages.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save.

How to change languages in Windows Live Hotmail (Quick Tip) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Microsoft Office 2010 includes some advanced tools that let you easily edit your photos without the need to turn to a third party program, such as Microsoft Paint or Adobe Photoshop.

With Remove Background you can easily remove the background in a photo. So, if you just want to have a foreground object such as a plant or person, you can do that. Lets take a look at how to do that using the following example:

First make sure your photo has been inserted. (Insert > Picture).

Select your photo then click on the Picture Tools (Format) tab.

In the Adjust tab, click Remove Background button.

An anchor box will appear over the photo, resize it until the entire area of the part of the photo you would like to keep is selected.

Microsoft Word will automatically analyze the photo and accurately identify what you want to keep. You can see this in the preview above.

Once you are satisfied with the preview, click on Keep Changes.

Here is another example:

Say we want to remove the background in the photo above. Simply select the photo

Click on the Mark Areas to Remove button in the Refine group, then use the pencil pointer to make marks on the areas of the photo you would like to have removed.

Click Keep Changes.

There you have it. You can even do some cool effects like the following:

Remove A Photo’s Background Using Office 2010 is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Ever send out an important email message and spent time after wondering if the recipient read it? Well you can confirm it from now on using Read Receipts. With Read Receipts you can verify when a message you send has been read by the recipient.

Let’s take a look at how to set it up in two popular email clients from Microsoft:

Windows Live Mail

In Windows Live Mail, click File > Options then click Mail.

Go to the Receipts tab.

Under Requesting Read Receipts, check the box that says Request a read receipt for all sent messages. Click Apply and OK to confirm changes.

In Microsoft Outlook

Click File > Options.

Click Mail then scroll down to Tracking. Then check Read receipt confirming the recipient viewed the message.

Click OK.

That’s it! From now on, you will know when important email messages have been received and read.

How to enable Read Receipts in Windows Live Mail or Microsoft Outlook (Quick Tip) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.