One of the new features included in Windows 7 is a nifty idea called Theme Packs.
Theme packs are cabinet files with an extension of .themepack, and consist of a .theme as well as any number of image, sound, icon, and mouse cursor files. Windows 7 recognizes this file format and will switch the user’s theme to the theme contained inside when opened. -wikipedia
In other words theme packs are a simple way to share your theme with others. For example, Microsoft has provided a number of free theme packs including a Coca-Cola and Ferrari theme. If you are running Windows 7, you can simply download the theme pack and double-click to install and run the theme.
Now that you know what a theme pack is and how to install it, I have a huge theme pack for you to enjoy. It consists of 218 338 stunning wallpapers that I’ve collected from the various Windows 7 beta builds all the way up to the current released version. It also includes wallpapers from the international versions of Windows 7. Currently the theme is set to automatically change the picture every 1 hour, although this can easy be changed to suit your taste. For example, you could have it change once a day, and you wouldn’t see the same wallpaper twice for 218 338 days. 
So what are you waiting for?
- Size: 230 MB – Last Uploaded: 11/9/2009
If you are a Windows XP or Vista user, click here.
September 11th, 2009
Kirb
One of the awesome time saving features in Windows 7 is the inclusion of the built-in Disc Image or ISO Burner utility. However, I have not been able to get it burn to my stack of Sony CD-R disks that I have. It will give the following error message.
The disc image didn’t burn successfully because an error occurred. The requested operation is only valid with supported media. (Error code: 0xC0AA0402).
If, however, I use one of the Memorex DVD-R disks that I have, it completes successfully. Weird.
Does anyone know what’s going on here?
Update: According to this MSDN Page, that error number equals E_IMAPI_DF2DATA_INVALID_MEDIA_STATE. Of course that doesn’t tell us much.
Just a quick reminder that if you are planning to upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released, make sure you pre-order it while its cheap! This promo only runs for a limited time while supplies last, and Engadget is reporting that it is already sold out in Japan, so get your order in quick. The easiest way to order is to use the amazon.com links provided below.
Amazon.com Windows 7 Homepage
Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade $49.99
Windows 7 Professional Upgrade $99.99
I just noticed that the Senior Lead Program Manager for the Microsoft Store, Trevin Chow, posted the following link which allows you to pre-order Windows 7 right now. I just ordered two copies myself and got the confirmation email! So beat the rush and get it now!
UPDATE: You can also order it from Amazon.com and pay no tax.
http://store.microsoft-ppe.com/microsoft/Windows-Windows-7/category/102?WT.mc_id=trevin_blog
One thing I noticed was that it didn’t accept my Windows Live ID, however I just entered my email address in the create new account box and it went right through.
Starting tomorrow (6/26/09) you will be able to pre-order the upgrade version of Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 7. However, its only while supplies last or until July 11, so you won’t have much time to think about it. Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade will only cost $49.99 while the Professional Upgrade version will cost $99.99 which is significant savings compared to $119 and $199 after the promo ends. It will be available from retail partners like Amazon.com, and also from the Microsoft Store. If you are interesting in upgrading, I would definitely keep an eye on Amazon.com at this page and also this one tomorrow so that you can be sure to get your hands on a copy.
Windows 7 Build 7232 has been leaked and includes a new default desktop background. Its an amazingly detailed background, although I still like the Betta Fish one that was the default in prior builds.
(Right-click image to download or click here to download all the Windows 7 Wallpapers.)
(Thanks to Softpedia for uploading the image so I didn’t have to install the build. 
)
Long Zheng has discovered that Windows 7 includes 10 ringtones in the “%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Ringtones” folder. He also was kind enough to convert them to different file formats so that you can use them on your mobile phone. You can listen to the ringtones below, go to istartedsomething.com to download the individual files, or click here to download a .zip file of Long’s MP3 files.
In related news, Microsoft has released three official Bing ringtones celebrating the launch of its new search engine. You can also listen to those “bingtones” below or visit microsoft.com to download them.
Read more…
I just finished installing the Windows 7 Release Candidate (Build 7100) and it took me just 23 minutes to install it from start to finish. That’s pretty incredible in my opinion. Of course the very first thing I checked is to see if there is any new wallpapers & desktop backgrounds and the unfortunate answer is NO. I have not found any new pictures in the RC build that were not already in the prior builds. 
As you probably are aware, I have been uploading all the Windows 7 wallpapers as I find them. However, there has been no easy way to download all of them at once. Now you can. Simply visit my “Windows 7 Wallpapers” page to download a complete .zip file of all the pictures that I currently have. I’ll be updating the file as I find more. If you know of some photos that I missed, please let me know.
(Sample Photo – Click here to download complete Windows 7 Wallpapers .zip file.)
On one of my customer’s computers I’ve been getting this weird error message after I installed Internet Explorer 8.
A Program on your computer has corrupted your default search setting for Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer has reset this setting to your original search provider.
Internet Explorer will now open Search Settings, where you can change this setting or install more search providers.
The crazy thing I can’t actually make any changes in Search Settings. I can’t set another search engine to be the default. I’ve tried resetting IE 8, deleting some registry keys related to search settings, etc. and I still get this error everytime I start Internet Explorer. Does anyone have a clue why this is happening? Please comment if you have a solution or if you are experiencing the same issue.
Update with possible fix for XP computers: Brad has emailed me with a solution that fixed the problem for him. I’ve not got a chance to try it myself as my computers are working properly. Your results may vary. Please post a comment if this fix worked for you. (Update: Please read the comments for additional help on this issue. Special thanks to some of the very helpful people who left insightful comments!) (Second Update: Due to the amount of comments on this post, I’ve started a
new thread over in the forums to discuss this issue. Please
post your tips and comments there instead. Thanks!)
- Make sure IE 8 is closed then navigate to registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
- Add a new “Expandable String value” inside the above mentioned key with a value name of “AppData” and a value data of “%USERPROFILE%\Application Data”.
- Reopen IE 8 and see if you still get the error message.
Like I mentioned your results may vary, but please let us know if it fixed it for you or if you have found another alternative solution to this frustrating problem. (Thanks again, Brad)
(16 votes, average: 4.31 out of 5)
Loading ...
The 7048 build of Windows 7 included a bunch of new & updated sound schemes. I’ve uploaded the entire folder that includes all the different Windows 7 Sounds as a zip file here.
Two Sample Sounds:
Windows Afternoon Logoff Sound
Windows Afternoon Logon Sound
