Advanced system settings

Win7HPx64 laptop.

Don't you just love "Advanced system settings"? It's the Win7 dumping
ground for anything Microsoft couldn't be bothered to put in a sensible
place.

A few days ago I was in process of deleting several files from the
desktop by using CTRL-click to highlight several files before pressing
"Del". Unfortunately, I didn't move my finger away fast enough from the
CTRL button before using the Trackpad, and scrolled to the next file -
or so I thought. The desktop icons changed size, and the file type
icons were replaced by small thumbnails of the files' contents. And to
allow for the icon size change, the desktop rearranged itself.

After nearly an hour of fiddling around I got it back - more or less -
to where it had been previously. It took a lot of digging to work out
what had gone on. A small tip right at the end of Win7's Help on "Show,
hide, or resize desktop icons" noted that CTRL-scroll changed the icons
size, but I could find nothing about the thumbnails appearing on the
desktop (quite a bit of info about thumbnails on the Taskbar).

Google was my friend - eventually. It appears that in Control panel |
System | Advanced system settings | Advanced | Settings | Visual effects
| Show thumbnails instead of icons, the box was checked.

It isn't now... > : [

--

Jeff

On 03/11/2011 15:05, Jeff Layman wrote:
> Win7HPx64 laptop.
>
> Don't you just love "Advanced system settings"? It's the Win7 dumping
> ground for anything Microsoft couldn't be bothered to put in a sensible
> place.
>
> A few days ago I was in process of deleting several files from the
> desktop by using CTRL-click to highlight several files before pressing
> "Del". Unfortunately, I didn't move my finger away fast enough from the
> CTRL button before using the Trackpad, and scrolled to the next file -
> or so I thought. The desktop icons changed size, and the file type icons
> were replaced by small thumbnails of the files' contents. And to allow
> for the icon size change, the desktop rearranged itself.
>
> After nearly an hour of fiddling around I got it back - more or less -
> to where it had been previously. It took a lot of digging to work out
> what had gone on. A small tip right at the end of Win7's Help on "Show,
> hide, or resize desktop icons" noted that CTRL-scroll changed the icons
> size, but I could find nothing about the thumbnails appearing on the
> desktop (quite a bit of info about thumbnails on the Taskbar).
>
> Google was my friend - eventually. It appears that in Control panel |
> System | Advanced system settings | Advanced | Settings | Visual effects
> | Show thumbnails instead of icons, the box was checked.
>
> It isn't now... > : [
>

Google's your friend but a lot of people don't know how to use it properly.
You think PC-wise and so you can easily settle on good search
terminology specific to the particular problem you've got. Many don't.
You can see it in the way they choose subjects when posting a problem.
The worst type are "Win7 problem - please help!" or "Computer doesn't work".

Googling is an art in itself. I should think that quite a few university
computer depts. have people doing PhDs on subsections of the art.

Ed

On Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:05:52 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:

> Win7HPx64 laptop.
>
> Don't you just love "Advanced system settings"? It's the Win7 dumping
> ground for anything Microsoft couldn't be bothered to put in a sensible
> place.
>
> A few days ago I was in process of deleting several files from the
> desktop by using CTRL-click to highlight several files before pressing
> "Del". Unfortunately, I didn't move my finger away fast enough from the
> CTRL button before using the Trackpad, and scrolled to the next file -
> or so I thought. The desktop icons changed size, and the file type
> icons were replaced by small thumbnails of the files' contents. And to
> allow for the icon size change, the desktop rearranged itself.
>
> After nearly an hour of fiddling around I got it back - more or less -
> to where it had been previously. It took a lot of digging to work out
> what had gone on. A small tip right at the end of Win7's Help on "Show,
> hide, or resize desktop icons" noted that CTRL-scroll changed the icons
> size, but I could find nothing about the thumbnails appearing on the
> desktop (quite a bit of info about thumbnails on the Taskbar).
>
> Google was my friend - eventually. It appears that in Control panel |
> System | Advanced system settings | Advanced | Settings | Visual effects
>| Show thumbnails instead of icons, the box was checked.
>
> It isn't now... > : [

Was it at least pretty?

To get serious for a minute, I use the free version of Fences,
http://www.stardock.com/products/fences, mostly to organize my desktop.

But - my desktop stays arranged the way I like it after any
disturbances, such as booting in Safe Mode or changing the screen
resolution.

I'm not sure if that would have helped in the above situation, since I'm
not sure I got the right picture...

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:52:32 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote:

> Googling is an art in itself. I should think that quite a few university
> computer depts. have people doing PhDs on subsections of the art.

My suspicion: Google also has a lot of people doing intensive research
on that subject :-)

For one thing, I get much better search results these days, and I really
don't think *I* have gotten smarter...

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

"Gene E. Bloch" <not-> wrote in message news:3kupx7d8l7l3$....
> On Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:52:32 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote:
>
>> Googling is an art in itself. I should think that quite a few university
>> computer depts. have people doing PhDs on subsections of the art.
>
> My suspicion: Google also has a lot of people doing intensive research
> on that subject :-)
>
> For one thing, I get much better search results these days, and I really
> don't think *I* have gotten smarter...
>

Maybe not smarter, but certainly more proficient. Or at least, that's the way I feel. I think after using something for
years (I had to tell one of my work buddies NOT to let his 10YO daughter search for "a girl and her horse" by herself
when doing a book report), one gets a feel for what to put in the search field to get the best results in the fewest
number of hits.
--
SC Tom

In message <j8uaki$usj$>, Jeff Layman
<> writes:
>Win7HPx64 laptop.
>
>Don't you just love "Advanced system settings"? It's the Win7 dumping
>ground for anything Microsoft couldn't be bothered to put in a sensible
>place.
>
>A few days ago I was in process of deleting several files from the
>desktop by using CTRL-click to highlight several files before pressing
>"Del". Unfortunately, I didn't move my finger away fast enough from
>the CTRL button before using the Trackpad, and scrolled to the next
>file - or so I thought. The desktop icons changed size, and the file
>type icons were replaced by small thumbnails of the files' contents.
>And to allow for the icon size change, the desktop rearranged itself.
>
>After nearly an hour of fiddling around I got it back - more or less -
>to where it had been previously. It took a lot of digging to work out
>what had gone on. A small tip right at the end of Win7's Help on
>"Show, hide, or resize desktop icons" noted that CTRL-scroll changed
>the icons size, but I could find nothing about the thumbnails appearing
>on the desktop (quite a bit of info about thumbnails on the Taskbar).

Having done this sort of thing once too often even under XP, I've
disabled the scroll wheel part of my trackpad; I've never really got
much into using a real scroll wheel, and the one at the side of the
trackpad which is too easy to slip onto by mistake is just too
troublesome. Others' MMV, or course.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone have your way.

On 03/11/2011 18:38, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
> On Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:52:32 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote:
>
>> Googling is an art in itself. I should think that quite a few university
>> computer depts. have people doing PhDs on subsections of the art.
>
> My suspicion: Google also has a lot of people doing intensive research
> on that subject :-)
>
> For one thing, I get much better search results these days, and I really
> don't think *I* have gotten smarter...
>

It's the speed with which Google indexes stuff that baffles me. They do
it almost before the bytes hit the Web.
I'll try an experiment with a posting in this group; and then google for it.

Ed

On 11/3/2011 10:05 AM, Jeff Layman wrote:
> Win7HPx64 laptop.
>
> Don't you just love "Advanced system settings"? It's the Win7
> dumping ground for anything Microsoft couldn't be bothered to put in
> a sensible place.
>
> A few days ago I was in process of deleting several files from the
> desktop by using CTRL-click to highlight several files before
> pressing "Del". Unfortunately, I didn't move my finger away fast
> enough from the CTRL button before using the Trackpad, and scrolled
> to the next file - or so I thought. The desktop icons changed size,
> and the file type icons were replaced by small thumbnails of the
> files' contents. And to allow for the icon size change, the desktop
> rearranged itself.
>
> After nearly an hour of fiddling around I got it back - more or less
> - to where it had been previously. It took a lot of digging to work
> out what had gone on. A small tip right at the end of Win7's Help on
> "Show, hide, or resize desktop icons" noted that CTRL-scroll changed
> the icons size, but I could find nothing about the thumbnails
> appearing on the desktop (quite a bit of info about thumbnails on
> the Taskbar).
>
> Google was my friend - eventually. It appears that in Control panel
> | System | Advanced system settings | Advanced | Settings | Visual
> effects | Show thumbnails instead of icons, the box was checked.
>
> It isn't now... > : [
>

I hoard links to freeware and remembered this one I came across
recently. I personally haven't tried it as I don't have any icons on
any of my physical machine's desktops. I did download the setup file
and it scanned clean with both MS Security Essentials and
Malwarebytes free version (both updated); I plan on trying it in one
of my VMs (someday!).

IconRestorer - Standard version
http://freesoftland.sytes.net/iconrestorer.html

From the description it sounds as it may prevent you further grief.
System requirements:
Windows Vista and Windows 7 compatible
Works on 64-bit systems (XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and Windows 7)

hth

--
Chet <>
To reply remove SPAM NOT

On 03/11/2011 22:52, Chet wrote:
> On 11/3/2011 10:05 AM, Jeff Layman wrote:
>> Win7HPx64 laptop.
>>
>> Don't you just love "Advanced system settings"? It's the Win7
>> dumping ground for anything Microsoft couldn't be bothered to put in
>> a sensible place.
>>
>> A few days ago I was in process of deleting several files from the
>> desktop by using CTRL-click to highlight several files before
>> pressing "Del". Unfortunately, I didn't move my finger away fast
>> enough from the CTRL button before using the Trackpad, and scrolled
>> to the next file - or so I thought. The desktop icons changed size,
>> and the file type icons were replaced by small thumbnails of the
>> files' contents. And to allow for the icon size change, the desktop
>> rearranged itself.
>>
>> After nearly an hour of fiddling around I got it back - more or less
>> - to where it had been previously. It took a lot of digging to work
>> out what had gone on. A small tip right at the end of Win7's Help on
>> "Show, hide, or resize desktop icons" noted that CTRL-scroll changed
>> the icons size, but I could find nothing about the thumbnails
>> appearing on the desktop (quite a bit of info about thumbnails on
>> the Taskbar).
>>
>> Google was my friend - eventually. It appears that in Control panel
>> | System | Advanced system settings | Advanced | Settings | Visual
>> effects | Show thumbnails instead of icons, the box was checked.
>>
>> It isn't now...> : [
>>
>
> I hoard links to freeware and remembered this one I came across
> recently. I personally haven't tried it as I don't have any icons on
> any of my physical machine's desktops. I did download the setup file
> and it scanned clean with both MS Security Essentials and
> Malwarebytes free version (both updated); I plan on trying it in one
> of my VMs (someday!).
>
> IconRestorer - Standard version
> http://freesoftland.sytes.net/iconrestorer.html
>
> From the description it sounds as it may prevent you further grief.
> System requirements:
> Windows Vista and Windows 7 compatible
> Works on 64-bit systems (XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and Windows 7)
>
> hth
>

Interesting, but it appears to have problems with Win7x64:
http://freesoftland.sytes.net/forum/...start=15#p1278

--

Jeff

On 03/11/2011 18:29, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
> On Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:05:52 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:
>
>> Win7HPx64 laptop.
>>
>> Don't you just love "Advanced system settings"? It's the Win7 dumping
>> ground for anything Microsoft couldn't be bothered to put in a sensible
>> place.
>>
>> A few days ago I was in process of deleting several files from the
>> desktop by using CTRL-click to highlight several files before pressing
>> "Del". Unfortunately, I didn't move my finger away fast enough from the
>> CTRL button before using the Trackpad, and scrolled to the next file -
>> or so I thought. The desktop icons changed size, and the file type
>> icons were replaced by small thumbnails of the files' contents. And to
>> allow for the icon size change, the desktop rearranged itself.
>>
>> After nearly an hour of fiddling around I got it back - more or less -
>> to where it had been previously. It took a lot of digging to work out
>> what had gone on. A small tip right at the end of Win7's Help on "Show,
>> hide, or resize desktop icons" noted that CTRL-scroll changed the icons
>> size, but I could find nothing about the thumbnails appearing on the
>> desktop (quite a bit of info about thumbnails on the Taskbar).
>>
>> Google was my friend - eventually. It appears that in Control panel |
>> System | Advanced system settings | Advanced | Settings | Visual effects
>> | Show thumbnails instead of icons, the box was checked.
>>
>> It isn't now...> : [
>
> Was it at least pretty?
>
> To get serious for a minute, I use the free version of Fences,
> http://www.stardock.com/products/fences, mostly to organize my desktop.
>
> But - my desktop stays arranged the way I like it after any
> disturbances, such as booting in Safe Mode or changing the screen
> resolution.
>
> I'm not sure if that would have helped in the above situation, since I'm
> not sure I got the right picture...
>

That looks interesting, Gene. I've heard about Fences, but at the time
did not consider it necessary. I'll have a look.

The real picture in this case is one where there are at least two
causes. Firstly, "fat fingers", if you see what I mean! The second
results from Microsoft's desire to make something available which you
probably never need (CTRL-Scroll to quickly change icon size on the
desktop), and link that with thumbnails appearing in place of the
file-type icon. And then, in the usual MS way, hide that option so deep
in the OS setup that it is almost impossible to find.

I'm not sure why MS thought that a thumbnail icon of a file's content
would be more useful that the file type icon itself. For example, the
icons for Notepad, Word, Acrobat, and IrfanView are all quite distinct.
But if I had files on the desktop opened by each of those
applications, and which happened to have a page of text as the first (or
only) page, all of the thumbnail icons would appear more-or-less identical.

--

Jeff