Windows 7 hints and tips

Turn Windows 7 features on or off

It has been posible to turn on or off certain Windows features for a long time and if you don't need a component, then why should you bother loading it every time you start Windows.

An example of this is Windows Tablet PC Options Components. It gets installed on your PC by default, even if you don't have a tablet PC. It seems a pointless exercise for most people. Fortunately, you can remove it.

To add or remove Windows components, go to the Control Panel and open Programs and Features in Vista or Windows 7. Click the link in the panel on the left labelled Turn Windows features on or off. After a few seconds of disk activity you will see a list of Windows components and tick boxes next to them to enable or disable them.

What is interesting is the changes in Windows 7. Of course, a lot of the items are exactly the same, like the unnecessary tablet PC components, but there are some surprising differences. For example, in Windows 7 Internet Explorer 8 is listed as an optional component and you can clear the tick box to remove it.

This is probably the first time we have had a simple way of removing Internet Explorer from Windows. Whether it is completely removed or just hidden is hard to say, but at least the option to remove it is there and it will be welcomed by those people that really don't like Microsoft's web browser.

Other features that can be removed include Media Features. This is a category containing Windows DVD Maker, Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player. Each can be disabled separately.

In the Print and Document Services category you can also enable or disable Scan Management and Windows Fax and Scan.

Windows gadget Platform can be turned on or off too. This is the component that enables you to put gadgets on the desktop. (The Sidebar is required in Vista, but not in Windows 7.)

Windows Search can be turned on or off, plus a few other miscellaneous components.

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