The build-in Windows 7 Start Search is great for quickly finding a program or file, but not perfect. One of the biggest headache is that it cannot index shared folders in my Home network. Ofcourse there are plenty of 3rd party tools that can come to the rescue, one that recently gained my attention is neoSearch.

Why neoSearch? Because it the most simplest lightweight search tool available today. What I like the most is the fast indexing speed and the real-time search results, which according to the developer, are displayed in less than 0.01 seconds after you type a keyword or hit Enter.

I have a Home Server that contains most of the multimedia content(movies, music, etc) and software, so indexing them makes sense. Please note that neoSearch can index both both local and network drives/folder, this post will focus on the latter only.

To index a network location, go to Options and then head over to the Include tab. Hit Browse and select the shared folder on the network that you want to index. Once you have selected the folder, hit Include and it will be added to the list.

Hit Re-Index button to index this new location or you can head over to the Index tab and select when to automatically index the system. You can choose between Daily, Weekly, Fortnight(every two weeks), Monthly, or Manually.

While it is indexing the files, you can close neoSearch and it will sit silently in the system tray. You can see the progress the of the indexing which will be displayed on the lower-right side of the screen.

It takes less than 2MB system memory and can be launched by hitting Win + S hotkey.

Download neoSearch

It works on Windows XP, Windows 2003/2008 Server, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. For more, check out Windows 7 Library Tool if you are looking to index network locations in Windows 7 Libraries.

Source:neoSearch: Index & Search Shared Folders On The Network

We have seen many sort of downloaders, both desktop and as browser extensions that can grab videos from selected sites only. Live Downloader wants to replace them all. It is a desktop tool that can download both streaming video and audio/music regardless of the site they are on.

The way it works in the background makes it one of a must-have tool for users who download a lot of online content. It will sit silently in the background(taking around 5Mb of memory) and notify whenever it detects a streaming content online. You can then download it to any location of your choice.

By default dozen of formats are selected and you will be notified almost on every website. You can control when to be notified by unchecking the formats from the Supported Formats tab.

Once the video or audio is put to be downloaded, it acts like a download manager trying to speed up as much as it can. When compared with other desktop downloaders, Live Downloader is somewhat faster and shows the size more accurately.

There is no build-in option to download HD video, the only way is to enable HD when playing a YouTube video or any other video and then download it(upon detection) using this app. Watch the video below to learn how the app works.

When browsing different video hosting sites, the app had no problem whatsoever in detecting and downloading the videos.

Download Live Downloader

It works on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003/2008 Server, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Source:Live Downloader [Windows]

Do you get Msvcp71.dll and Msvcr71.dll missing error when running a program in Windows 7? Both are Microsoft C Runtime Library files and it seems as if Microsoft forgot to add them to Windows 7. Some programs require you to have both files for it to work successfully.

We have uploaded both dll files for you(grab them from the bottom of this page), but the bigger question is how to install them? Before we begin, have a look at the errors in the screenshot below.

Installation In Windows 7 32-bit OS

If you are using Windows 7 32-bit then you need to put both dll files inside Windows/System32 folder as shown in the screenshot below.

Installation In Windows 7 64-bit OS

If you are using Windows 7 64-bit then you need to put both dll files inside the Windows/SysWOW64 folder as shown in the screenshot below.

We have put both dll files inside one zip archive, simply extract them and follow the above guidelines to install them.

Download Msvcp71.dll And Msvcr71.dll Files

Enjoy!

Source:Fix Msvcp71.dll And Msvcr71.dll Missing Error In Windows 7

What happens when you have multiple codec packages installed? It causes a nightmare making it difficult to pinpoint the exact codec that is causing the problem. Many codecs have compatibility problems with other codec packages.

Installed Codec is a portable tool from Nirsoft that makes finding information of installed audio codecs easier. It will display the name, type, status(enabled or disabled), file description, installation date, version, company and product name, file size, destination, driver key, and other important details.

Not only can it be used to find the problems but also be used to manage all audio codecs. There is a build-in option to enable/disable a selected codec and open them directly in Windows Registry(for advanced users only).

You can also generate a detailed report, use the search feature to find for selected culprit codec. For 64-bit OS users, there is an option called x64 mode, which when enabled will check and display all 64-bit filters/drivers.

Download InstalledCodec

Source:Find Installed Audio Codec Drivers & DirectShow Filters

When Windows Explorer Shell Extensions are ported over from Windows XP to Windows 7 they don’t work with 64-bit version of Windows 7 because the original shell was developed for 32-bit OS only. At AddictiveTips, we occasionally come across such shell extensions that lack 64-bit support.

Even though the shell extension has installed successfully, you won’t find it in the Windows Explorer context menu. There is a small hack that allow users to convert the Windows Explorer from 64-bit(x64) to 32-bit(x86), but it is too risky.

Half Shell is a tool that can open folder in 32-bit inside Windows Explorer so that you can finally use the 32-bit shell extensions. This method is more efficient, safer, and easier than hacking the registry.

We all know that pressing Ctrl+Enter hotkey will open a selected folder in new window. Half Shell adds a new hotkey, which is Shift+Enter. Pressing this hotkey will open the folder in a new window but in x86 mode rather than x64.

Now you can work with all 32-bit shell extensions inside this folder. The app has no interface but sits silently in the system tray which can be closed anytime. It is a portable tool which works on Windows Vista 64-bit and Windows 7 64-bit OS only.

Download Half Shell (Scroll down to find it in the middle of the page)

It will automatically free up all unneeded memory after the folder has opened completely in 32-bit. Thus, it is completely safe to use without worrying about the memory usage.

Source:Open Windows Explorer Folder In 32-Bit Shell When Using Windows 7 64-Bit

iPlayer Downloader is a nifty little app that can download DRM-free video(h.264) and audio(mp3) files from the BBC iPlayer service by pretending to be an iPhone. Downloading video from BBC iPlayer has been the toughest piece to crack and Paul Battley solves the problem by making an app that pretends to be an iPhone, a method that is both witty and clever.

You simply need to enter the Programme ID and choose the location of the output. When all is ready, hit Download. Since BBC iPlayer is available in UK only, this app is suited for viewers living in UK or have UK IP address.

It won’t be able to download every programme on iPlayer website since they are not always available. 3rd party videos embedded and locked content can’t be downloaded. Having said that, you can download almost every other program. Most users who have tried it are having success downloading various programmes in HD video(h.264).

Note: If you get either Msvcp71.dll or Msvcr71.dll missing error, here is the guide to fix it.

Download iPlayer Downloader

It works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It is also available for Mac. For more, also check out iDownload.

Source:BBC iPlayer Downloader

According to some users in various forums, Windows 7 cannot remember the position and size of the window after you reopen it. This is not the case with me(using 64-bit OS) since Windows 7 has always remembered the exact position & size of the window when opening Windows Explorer or any other folder inside it.

To all those who are facing such a problem can try using ShellFolderFix. It basically forces Windows to remember the last position of the open Window of each folder and it’s size. It could be useful if you are using dual-monitor setup but is equally useful for everyone else.

Since I am not having any such problem, personally we cannot validate how good will this app work. According to many users who have tried it, the latest version has fixed the problem and is a life-saver.

Download ShellFolderFix

It is a portable tool that has been developed exclusively for Windows 7(both 32-bit and 64-bit) only.

Source:Make Windows 7 Remember Window Explorer Position & Size

Miroirs is a new tool in town that allow users to clone a complex directory structure without having to copy the files within. It has a minimalist interface but the downside is the lack of portability. You can can consider using this neat little app if you need to copy the directory structures frequently.

It can only copy one directory structure at a time. Additionally there are two option given – “Clear target location before copy” and “Also copy files to target location”. Checking the first option will delete any file inside the target directory while the second option makes sure the files too are cloned along with the directory.

Download Miroirs

It works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Update: If you are a command line geek like Willem(read his comment), then you can try using Xcopy /t /e command as shown in the screenshot below. But this method is for advanced users only, beginners can resort to using Miroirs.

Source:Copy Complex Directory Structures Without Copying The Files Within

GeoSetter allows users to upload photos and then define the location it was taken using the build-in map. Picmeta PhotoTracker on the other hand is a simple tool where you need to upload GOS exchange file(.gpx format) and then select the folder that contains the photos.

It will automatically geotag the photos based on the track data from GPS exchange file. The advantage of using this tool is that it keeps the metadata of the photos completely intact, unlike other tools which corrupt the EXIF, IPTC, etc metadata.

Another huge advantage of this app is that it can tag many image formats, including RAW formats. It writes GPS EXIF data to .jpg, .crw, .dng, .nef, .tif, .orf, .jp2, , and psd formats. For formats such as .cr2, it will create a XMP sidecar files based on Adobe standards. Sound pretty good for users who love to geotag each and every photo they take.

Download Picmeta PhotoTracker

It works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Source:Geotagging Photos With PhotoTracker

Last year we covered a tip which allows Windows user to launch favorite applications in one click. With this method one needs to make a separate batch file for different set of applications. For e.g, you will need to create three different batch files for applications, such as, Downloaders, Instant Messengers, and Web Development.

There are few users who prefer a small tool which can categorize the applications and make it quicker to launch them without having to clutter the desktop. Starter does exactly that. When starting for the first time, enter the categories and type the path of the applications under each category in the Starter.ini file. The rest is handled by the app, when launched.

You can edit the .ini file using notepad. By default, for demonstration purpose there are few pre-defined categories and items in the file.

To Beginners: Don’t freak out yet, editing the .ini file is a piece of cake. Type the number, the category, and then enter the number(to connect with category), name of app, and it’s complete location. It’s that simple. Have a look at the default list to get an idea.

If you want the app to run during Windows startup, then you will need to install the installer version, otherwise the portable version is recommended. You can quickly restore the list and migrate it to other computers by copying the .ini file.

Download Starter

It works on all versions of Windows, including the latest Windows 7.

Source:Starter Is An Easy Way To Categorize And Launch Applications