Do you have a directory on file server or a shared folder on another computer that you want to add to a Windows 7 Library?  I did, and I was annoyed at Windows’ inability to add a network path to a Library. 

Libraries require folders to be indexed (or at least capable of being indexed) before they can be added.  I didn’t want to make the entire contents of the folder available offline (indiscriminately making network folders available offline is a good way to eat up hard drive space on your Windows partition).  I’m also using Debian GNU/Linux for my file server, so any features that a Windows server may offer are useless to me.

The trick to making this work hinges on something that the majority of Linux users — and the minority of Windows users –  are familiar with:  symbolic links.  Libraries can be tricked into using symbolic links to network locations that they otherwise wouldn’t use.  To take advantage of this, follow the steps below in order. If done out of order, you may find yourself back at square one.

First, create a new directory.  This is the directory that you would like to trick your Windows Library into thinking is on a local hard drive as opposed to a network share. For example, you may want to create a directory called “Share” on your C: drive (ie. C:\Share).

Next, add this new, empty folder to your Library.  Once that’s been done, go and delete the newly created folder.

Now here’s the trick.  You’ll have to open an “elevated command prompt” – that is, open “cmd” as administrator – like so:

You’ll have to confirm this action if you have a user account with administrative privileges, or supply a password if not.  Once confirmed, you can create your symbolic link by typing the following:

mklink /d c:\Share \\server\Share

“mklink” is the command, “/d” is the parameter that tells it that the link to be made is a symbolic link to a directory.  Of course you’ll substitute “c:\Share” and “\\server\Share” for the path to the folder on your own system and network share, respectively.

That’s it!  You should even be able to search within the directory, as per a typical Windows 7 Library folder.

It seems that in the Linux and Mac communities, Windows is often being bashed for what it doesn’t do while being criticized for having too much bloat.  While I won’t get into the latter claim, I will address the first.  There are, unfortunately, numerous areas where Windows is lacking.  Out of the box, at least.  KDE’s Dolphin file manager allows Linux users to enjoy a tabbed browsing experience within the filesystem for example, and Windows Explorer is lacking that feature.  The old Alt-Tab application switcher does not measure up to OS X’s Exposé, and Flip-3D isn’t much better.  Windows for some reason doesn’t support multiple/virtual desktops (AKA “workspaces”).

Fortunately, there are some quality third-party applications to fill those gaps (and some others) in the Windows user interface.  Best of all, they’re free.  No trials, no ads for “Pro” versions.  Free.

Application Switcher: Switcher

Tired of having to keep holding that Alt key while you tap on Tab until you find your application?  Flip-3D is nicer, but it’s form over function, let’s be honest.  It’s nothing more than a glorified Alt-Tab.  Plenty of eye-candy, and one new functional feature:  the ability to select a window by clicking it.  Wow.

Switcher assigns a number to each open window and allows the user to view windows contents (something Flip-3D attempts), but instead of having to cycle through or use the mouse to select a window, all the user needs to do is type the number of the desired window, and Switcher will bring it to the front.  Of course, one can cycle through if they so desire, but the added functions and hotkeys make it unnecessary more often than not.

Yesterday I attended the “The New Efficiency” launch event for Windows 7 in Burbank. At the end of the event, Microsoft was generous enough to give away a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate to all of the registered attendees. Of course, even when something’s free, some people will find something to complain about. In this case it was the fact that the Windows installation media (read: DVDs) only contained the 32-bit version of the OS. This is actually a non-issue, likely something they did just to cut costs. I’ll explain why.

Here are some clues that should tell you that the CD Key provided with the 32-bit disc will work with any 64-bit retail DVD (or, if you unpack an ISO for installation from a USB drive)…

…and here’s some proof that it will, in fact, work:

It’s already been confirmed, on this board and elsewhere, that the key provided with the launch event media is usable for either 32-bit or 64-bit installations, just like any other Windows 7 install key.

The remaining question is whether or not a retail disk will be compatible with your install key. I don’t have the launch event media available to me here to verify, but I’m guessing that it’s actually a ‘retail’ disk image with a ‘limited run’ special disk label printed on it. Checking and comparing the ei’cfgfile contents will verify the truth or otherwise of that assumption, because that file is the only thing which will differ within the disk contents.

There are 3 entries in that file. Most of the discussion to date has revolved around changing the image to a different ‘version’. That’s the first entry in the file. The second entry is “Channel” and if the launch event media differs from retail media that’s where the difference would be, I’m sure. (The third entry is simply a flag to indicate whether or not it is volume licensing media.)

As said, I suspect it’s a ‘retail’ disk you have, so the alternate install retail media should work fine.

Source

Since I do have a disc to confirm, here are the contents of the file in question:

It confirms that the DVDs distributed at the launch event are the retail discs.

QED.

I’ve noticed that in a few recent posts I’ve taken shots at Microsoft, though they were all in good fun. I do use Windows as my primary OS on my main PC though, so I figured I’d add a few Windows tips here and there. This will be the first.

This guide will cover how to relocate your Windows users’ personal files to an already existing non-system partition or hard drive. Any directories or folders created manually by a user won’t be covered for two reasons: 1) It’s impossible to predict every possible configuration, 2) if you created a file or directory, you should know where it is to cut and paste it onto the new drive, and 3) I can’t guarantee that applications won’t have to be reconfigured to find any files that they may rely upon.

First things first: what’s a partition and why would you want to store your data on a partition separate from your operating system (OS)?

A short answer to the first question would be to say that to partition a hard drive is to use software to divide it into various sections that an operating system will use as if they were all unique hard drives. See the below image as an example of what a partitioned hard drive might look like in Windows Explorer:

Now to answer the second question; it is useful because various data can be kept in separate locations on the computer. In the case of this article, we are looking to keep personal data separate from the OS drive. The main reason for doing this is to avoid the headache of losing all of one’s data when Windows decides, for whatever reason, that it doesn’t want to work anymore. Having to temporarily backup and restore files even when the Windows installation is voluntary is also a chore (never mind the fact that it’s easy to forget a directory or two when everything’s being done at once).

As a user that’s always tweaking, breaking and repairing — not to mention dual- or even multi-booting and upgrading — his system, I’ve done a lot of Windows installs, and with each installation, all of my programs need to be (re)configured, documents and other data need to be backed-up and restored to their original location… it’s a hassle.

Obviously it’s in my best interests to store my data on a designated partition. Here’s how I do it (the steps below are for Windows Vista or Windows 7. For XP, a similar end result can be obtained by using a program called TweakUI to change the system’s “Special Folders.”).

Moving your personal folders to another partition

First, create a new partition (or connect your new hard drive) if you haven’t already. This article will assume a partition already exists, I will a post on partitioning in the near future. What I will say on the subject partitioning now is that one must always back up any important data before starting. There is always a chance that something may go wrong, resulting in a loss of data.

Next, navigate to your home folder. Depending on how you’ve configured your menu, you may be able to just click on your username, or you may need to right-click and choose “Open” if you have set it to display as a menu like I have.

Once opened, you should be greeted with a number of familiar-looking directories.

Notice that there are separate folders for many of the most common file categories for the typical user. They’re all stored in C:\Users\<username> by default. Did you notice the “C:?” That’s the default drive letter for the Windows system directory. That means the files are stored on the same partition as the OS. Exactly what we don’t want. Okay, so how do we fix this while keeping this home directory useful to applications that use it as a default path for storing or accessing files?

Right-click on a directory that you would like to be relocated. I would suggest at least relocating the “Documents,” “Videos,” “Music” and “Pictures” folders. Internet Explorer users will want to include “Favorites” to keep their bookmarks safe, while Firefox, Safari and Chrome users can use Xmarks to sync their bookmarks online.

Here is a feature first introduced in Windows Vista. On the “Properties” Window for these special folders in the user’s home directory there is a “Location” tab. Click it and you have the ability to painlessly relocate the folders to another directory on your system while preserving the directory structure as far as your applications and Start Menu are concerned. It’s very similar to symbolic links in Unix-like systems.

Use either the “Move” button to navigate to the folder you’d like to use, or just type the location in the provided area. When prompted, select “Yes,” you do want to move all of the files to the new location. It will keep things neater.

That’s it! Your data is now residing happily on a folder separate from your Windows installation. So next time you have to reformat your system drive, reinstall or upgrade Windows for whatever reason, just follow the above steps to relocate the folders from your home directory to the appropriate locations on your non-system partition and everything will be back where you left it in seconds.