Windows 7 Support Center

Windows 7 hangs or becoming impassive is a frequent issue Microsoft users have discovered when using this latest operating system. This hanging problem is random. Operating system hangs on the welcome screen just after login. It can also hang during shutdown. The programs you opened can stop responding including your mouse and keyboard. This is somewhat annoying especially if you are working on some important issue. There are in fact various causes responsible for this trouble, and following are the main reasons why Windows 7 hangs along with their related fixes:

Viruses and Spyware: Malicious files may be thrashing your system. These malware alter your files and hamper your computer's performance causing Windows 7 to finally hang. Keep your virus definitions always updated. Always scrutinize your computer to detect these bugs and spyware then remove them.

Too many programs running at once: This will use more virtual RAM (Random Access Memory) than your system can handle. Don't open a lot of applications simultaneously. Reduce the number of software and websites currently running. If you work heavily on various applications, then upgrade your RAM to at least double what you are using now.

Corrupt Windows Registry: The registry contains data and settings Windows 7 references during various operations. This database ultimately becomes chaotic because of redundant and outdated entries leaving it degraded. It is advised to clean your Windows registry to erase those unnecessary entries. To clean the registry manually is not possible though because the registry is considered as the brain of your computer and is complicated to a great extent. A minor alteration or mistake in an entry can cause major harm in your operating system. Diagnosing your system with a registry cleaner is the best solution to solve registry problems.

If you are running Windows 7 and have XP on PC(s) you might want to share files between them. The following are the steps to share files and hardware devices like a printer.

Sharing Files In Windows 7 and XP

Sharing folders between two Windows 7 machines with the new HomeGroup feature is an easy process, but the HomeGroup feature is not compatible with Vista or XP. For this tutorial we are using Windows 7 x64 RC1 and XP Professional SP3 connected through a basic Linksys home wireless router.

First make sure both machines are members of the same Workgroup which by default is named Workgroup.

On the Windows 7 machine go into Control Panel \ All Control Panel Items \ Network and Sharing Center then click on Change advanced sharing settings.

You will want to verify the following settings under Advanced Sharing Settings for the Home or Work and Public profile.

If you want any user to have access the public shares turn off password protection. This is located in Advanced Sharing Settings toward the bottom of the list.

If you want to keep it enabled make sure there is a log in account for the other XP machines and they have a password.

Now if you go into Network in Windows 7 you should see your XP machine and the Windows 7 as well.

To share the printer on the Windows 7 machine go into Devices and Printers from the Start menu and double click on the printer icon.

Next double click on “Customize your printer”.

In the Properties screen click on the Sharing Tab and check the box to share the printer and type in its share name.

If your XP machine is an x86 OS you can install Additional Drivers before setting up the XP machine.

To find the shared folders and devices double click on the Windows 7 machine icon under Network. Here you can see the printer connected to my Windows 7 machine is shared and also the Users Folder.

Continue into the Users folder and Public to see the shared folders, here I also created a folder called XP Share just to keep everything in central location.

Over on your XP machine open up My Network Places to find the Windows 7 shared folder.
Double click on the Share folder to find a list of shared folders in the Public folder on Windows. If you have password protection enabled you will need to type in the username and password of the user account on the Windows 7 machine first.

Setup XP With Shared Printer

To set up the shared printer in XP you will need to go into Printers and Faxes from the Start menu and kick off the Add Printer Wizard.

Now select “A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer” then hit Next.

Next select “Connect to this printer…” and type in the path for the printer connected to the Windows 7 machine and click next.

Now click Yes to the confirmation message.

Then click Finish the printer to install and complete the Wizard.

In some cases you will need to install the x86 XP drivers for the shared printer because the Windows 7 drivers are not compatible with XP. When everything is installed open up Printers and Faxes to find the shared printer.

This should help you get started with sharing your files and other devices with your Windows 7 machine.