The Windows SP1 Convenience Rollup (WSCR) updates a clean copy of Windows SP1 from  Feb 2011 to May 2016. Further updates are then installed as normal

Steps

1. Install a clean copy of Windows 7 SP1
2. Install April 2015 Servicing Stack Update from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3020369 and click the appropriate “Download the package now” link
3. Go to http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=KB3125574  and click the Install button at the bottom of the page; click Yes and click the Add button for your version of Windows from the 3 choices shown.

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The examples given change the user’s home folder from Michael to John.

In case of mistakes and recover data you may have missed make an image backup. Additionally create a restore point to backup the registry.

Method 1 – create new user and delete the old one

The recommended approach. It’s a bit sledge-hammer but is reliable and has the benefit of cleaning up the user profile.

1. Create a new account called John using Control Panel or Windows 10 PC Settings >

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Sometimes, your computer is noticeably slower or programs “hang” when you access certain files or upgrades fail or programs just won’t run. This odd behaviour might occur because there is corruption of within the files system on your hard disk drive.

You can troubleshoot the problem by using the Windows Disk Check tool called CHKDSK.  Check Disk can identify and automatically correct file system errors and make sure that you can continue to load and write data from the hard disk. You can use Check Disk in all versions of Windows not only for local hard drives,

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FreeFileSynch (FFS) can be directly downloaded and installed from the author’s site:  http://www.freefilesync.org/. FFS is a free Open Source application for backing up and restoring user files and folders on Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems. One of the major benefits is that once the first backup has been completed only changes are backed up making subsequent backups faster. Also it supports USB backup drive names, e.g. [My Passport] as targets rather than relying on a drive letter which can change depending on which port the USB cable is plugged into,

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Using the Avast User Interface (Avast UI) you can disable options such as: insert note into out going mail; audio notices; social networking; pop-ups and others.

Open the Avast UI

Navigate to the Avast icon  in the Windows notification area. This is to the right of the Taskbar at the bottom right of the screen. If not visible click on the arrow head to the left of the notification area to reveal hidden icons. Right-click on the Avast icon  and select Open Avast UI.

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To have a Windows 7 desktop like the one above on your Windows 8/8.1 desktop or laptop follow the steps below:

Install Classic Shell and Windows 7 Desktop data Files

1. Download Classic Shell 4.1.0 or later from http://www.classicshell.net/ and install with the default settings.
2. Download [filedownload file=”downloads/Classic_Shell.zip” style=”color:#0000EE;”]Classic Shell.zip[/filedownload] This contains Windows 7 desktop background; Start Button images and Classic Shell “Menu Settings.xml” file with the following custom settings:
   • Enable Category View for Control Panel
   • Disabled all Active Corners
   • Replace Start Button using Windows 7 Start button
   • Skip Metro desktop on boot or login
   • Metro Apps.

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