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Best Windows 7 Registry Tweaks and Tips-n-Tricks Which Work in Windows 8 and Later

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UPDATE: The tips and tricks mentioned in this tutorial will also work for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

Everyone knows that we here at AskVG love tweaking and customizing Windows OS. We have shared many Registry tweaks, tips-n-tricks and how-to guides for Windows in past which can be found in our exclusive Windows sections:

Windows XP Tips | Windows Vista Tips | Windows 7 Tips | Windows 8 Tips | How-to Guides

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We have posted many tutorials which help you in customizing Windows look-n-feel as well as tweaking Windows functionality. These tutorials also allow you to add new functionality to Windows such as adding new options in context menus, etc.

Almost all these tweaks and tips-n-tricks work in all Windows versions such as Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. Now Microsoft has released a new OS Windows 8 which is actually an improved version of Windows 7. Its based on Windows 7 OS but comes with many new features and a brand new user interface which is known as Metro UI or Modern UI.

Since Windows 8 is based on Windows 7, almost all Windows 7 tricks and guides work fine in Windows 8. That’s why today in this article, we are going to feature some best and most useful Windows 7 tweaks and tips-n-tricks which also work in Windows 8.

If you are using Windows 8, you must check out following tips to improve Windows 8 performance and tweak and customize the OS according to your requirements:

1. Disable Aero Peek, Aero Shake and Aero Snap Features in Windows 8

Similar to Windows 7, Windows 8 also comes with these 3 Aero features: Aero Peek, Aero Shake and Aero Snap. If you don’t like these features and want to turn them off, following tutorials will help you:

2. Remove Network, Homegroup, Libraries, Favorites, etc from Windows 8 Explorer

Windows 8 Explorer is quite similar to Windows 7 except the addition of new Ribbon UI. Windows 8 Explorer comes with same navigation pane which shows various shortcuts such as Computer, Network, Libraries, Homegroup and Favorites.

Microsoft has added a built-in option to remove Favorites from Windows 8 Explorer’s navigation pane. You can read more about it at following link:

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Windows 8 Allows You to Remove “Favorites” from Windows Explorer Navigation Pane

Remove_Favorites_Windows_8_Explorer.png

If you want to remove other icons from navigation pane of Windows 8 Explorer, check out following tutorials:

You can also check following tutorial to rename these shortcuts present in Windows 8 Explorer’s navigation pane:

How to Rename “Favorites”, “Libraries”, “Homegroup”, etc in Windows 8 Explorer’s Navigation Pane?

3. Add New Program Shortcuts in Desktop Context Menu of Windows 8

This is our favorite trick for Windows 7 which still works in Windows 8. This trick allows you to add your desired program shortcuts in Desktop context menu (the menu which appears when you right-click on Desktop). It helps you in accessing your favorite programs easily and quickly.

Customize_Windows_8_Desktop_Context_Menu.png

Check out following tutorial to learn how to add your favorite program shortcuts in Windows 8 Desktop context menu:

How to Add Program Shortcuts and Useful Shortcuts with Icons in Windows 8 Desktop Context Menu?

You can also take help of following tutorial to add your name or any other desired text string in Windows 8 Desktop context menu:

How to Add Your Name in Windows 8 Desktop Context Menu

And if you want to add many program shortcuts in Desktop context menu but don’t want to increase the size of context menu, you can add the shortcuts by dividing them in various sections. It can be done by creating cascading menus as mentioned in following tutorial:

Add Cascading Menus for Favorite Programs in Windows 8 Desktop and My Computer Context Menus

Don’t forget to check our exclusive all-in-one tutorial to tweak and customize Desktop context menu of Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. It’ll help you in adding website links and many new useful shortcuts in Desktop context menu such as option to toggle “Show hidden files and folders” on or off, option to toggle “Show file extensions” on or off, shortcut to direct restart Explorer and many other shortcuts:

[AIO] Ultimate Tutorial to Customize Desktop Context Menu in Windows Vista, 7 and 8

4. Add New Program Shortcuts in My Computer Context Menu of Windows 8

Similar to Desktop context menu, you can also add program shortcuts in My Computer context menu (the menu which appears when you right-click on My Computer icon).

System_Tools_in_Computer_Context_Me.png

Check out following exclusive tutorial to customize My Computer context menu in Windows 8:

[AIO] Ultimate Tutorial to Customize My Computer Context Menu in Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8

5. Pin My Computer, Recycle Bin and Other Useful Shortcuts to Windows 8 Taskbar

Windows 8 comes with same Windows 7 Taskbar aka Superbar which allows you to pin program shortcuts for quick and easy access. But you can’t pin many system shortcuts such as Recycle Bin, Control Panel, etc to Taskbar. Following tutorial will help you in adding any desired shortcut to Windows 8 Taskbar:

Pin_Shortcuts_Windows_8_Taskbar.png

How to Pin My Computer, Recycle Bin & Other Useful Shortcuts to Windows 8 Taskbar

6. Add New Shortcuts in My Computer in Windows 8

By default you can’t add any new shortcut in the main My Computer window which shows hard disk drives and removable drives. But using following tutorials you’ll be able to add your desired shortcuts in My Computer in Windows 8 such as Recycle Bin, Run, Network Connections, etc:

Add_Shortcuts_My_Computer_Windows_8.png

7. Customize Date and Time Appearance in Notification Area of Windows 8 Taskbar

Windows 7 and Windows 8 Taskbar shows current time and date in system tray or notification area but did you know you can customize its appearance to show day name, month name and AM or PM symbols?

Customize_Date_Time_Windows_8_Taskbar.png

Check out following tutorials to customize date and time look in Windows 8 Taskbar:

8. Add OEM Information in Windows 8 System Properties

System Properties in Windows shows various useful information about the OS and computer hardware such as Windows version, processor name, amount of RAM, etc. You can also add your customized text strings such as your company name, website URL, phone number and any desired image/logo in Windows 8 System Properties window. Many computer manufacturer companies use this method to add their company logo and information in System Properties window.

Add_OEM_Info_Windows_Vista_7_System_Properties.png

Check out following tutorial to learn more:

Add Customized Strings (OEM Information) in System Properties Dialog Box of Windows 8

9. Enable or Activate Hidden Super Administrator Account in Windows 8

Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 come with a built-in Administrator account which is disabled by default. Its quite similar to the default root account in Linux OS. You can enable or activate this built-in Administrator account using following tutorial:

How to Enable / Activate Hidden Administrator Account in Windows 8

10. Restrict Users from Accessing or Using Certain Features in Windows 8

Many times we want to restrict other people from using our computer or from accessing certain things in Windows. Following tutorial will help you in restricting users from accessing things like System Properties, Desktop Settings, Control Panel, Taskbar Properties, Folder Options, Task Manager, Registry Editor, etc in Windows 8:

Ultimate List of All Kinds of User Restrictions for Windows

11. Take Ownership of Files, Folders or Registry Keys in Windows 8

If you want to modify or replace a file, folder or a key in Windows Registry, you first need to take ownership. Following articles will help you in taking ownership of files, folders and Registry keys in Windows 8:

Take_Ownership_Context_Menu_Item.png

12. Get Quick Launch Toolbar Back in Windows 8

Microsoft removed the good old “Quick Launch” toolbar from Windows 7 and Windows 8 follows the same. If you want to get Quick Launch toolbar back, you can follow the simple steps given in following tutorial:

Add_Quick_Launch_Toolbar_Windows_8_Taskbar.png

How to Get the Good Old “Quick Launch” Toolbar Back in Windows 8?

13. Get Thin Taskbar Buttons with Text in Windows 8

Similar to Windows 7, Windows 8 shows large iconized program buttons in Taskbar which don’t contain any text. If you want to get thin program buttons with text in Windows 8 Taskbar, check out following tutorial:

Thin_Taskbar_Buttons_Window.png

How to Get the Old Thin Taskbar Buttons with Text in Windows 8?

14. Get Taskbar Toolbar (Taskband) Back in Windows Media Player of Windows 8

Microsoft has removed the good old Taskbar toolbar aka Taskband feature from Windows Media Player 12 (WMP12) version which used to minimize WMP to Taskbar in form of a mini toolbar. You can get this removed feature back using following tutorial:

WMP_Taskbar_Toolbar_Windows_8.png

How to Get Windows Media Player (WMP) 12 Taskbar Toolbar (Taskband) Back in Windows 8?

15. Get Classic Paint and Wordpad Programs without Ribbons in Windows 8

If you don’t like the new Paint and Wordpad programs in Windows 8 which feature new Ribbon UI, you can enjoy classic Paint and Wordpad without Ribbon with the help of following guides:

Classic_Paint_Windows_8.png

That’s all for now. As you can see almost all tips-n-tricks, Registry tweaks and other tutorials which used to work in Windows 7, also work absolutely fine in the new Windows 8 OS. If you are new to Windows 8, check out our exclusive Windows 7 and Windows 8 sections to learn more about the OS. All Windows 7 articles present in Windows 7 section will also work in Windows 8.

Published in: Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

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Comments

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  1. I am using Windows 8 since a few days and your tips will definitely come handy for me. Thanks for all your hard work. 😉

  2. good stuff —thank you. i have a question about windows 8, is there anyway to make windows finish coping
    a file before starting to copy another. when you copy one file to another drive and copy another file to the same drive the transfer speed drops by half. i want to make windows only transfer one file at a time, much like teracopy would do. thank you for any help your loyal reader.

  3. @allsop1
    Not possible. You’ll need to use 3rd party software for this. 🙂

    @All
    Thanks for your comments. 🙂

  4. VG Can Please Tell How To Open My Computer by clicking on library icon pinned to desktop.

  10. Tip: Change the ‘day’ in the short date format to ddd from dddd and your date will be shorter. 🙂

  13. thanks for quick reply

    i’m create

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\gpedit.msc]
    @=”Group Policy”

    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\gpedit.msc\command]
    @=”gpedit.msc”

    NOT working for me

  15. Hi is it possible to remove the volume indicator.
    If the volume is changed by keyboard mediakeys it pop’s up.
    (picture: i.imgur.com/xQqqMyc.jpg)
    Please email me if you know how to do it.

  18. hey! in my dell laptop it was window 8 but one day it was changed suddenly in window 10 without any command? i want my window 8 back now what i do? and also as you told i’m doing but it can’t

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