There’s a reason this Windows 7 release is a Beta. The versions of Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player that shipped with the OS have a nasty bug that may damage your MP3 files. By default, Windows Media Player 12 enables a feature that auto fills-in missing metadata on your imported music files, which includes large album art. But filling in this metadata on files that already have large headers will permanently cut away a few seconds of audio from the beginning of the track. Microsoft offers a hotfix on this page: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961367 in addition to a workaround if you don’t want to install the fix:
Workarounds for the MP3 file corruption issue
If you do not apply this update, the most effective workaround is to set the properties of all MP3 files to read-only on local hard disks, removable drives, and network shares that can be accessed by Windows 7 Beta computers. To do this, follow these steps:
1. In Windows Explorer, select and right-click your MP3 files, and then click Properties.
2. On the General tab, click to select the Read-only check box.
3. We recommend that you back up all the MP3 files before you use Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center.
A simpler but less complete workaround is to disable metadata automatic updates in Windows Media Player by setting the Windows Media Player options. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Library tab, click to clear the Retrieve additional information from the Internet check box and the Maintain my star ratings as global ratings in files check box.
3. Click OK.
1. In Windows Explorer, select and right-click your MP3 files, and then click Properties.
2. On the General tab, click to select the Read-only check box.
3. We recommend that you back up all the MP3 files before you use Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center.
A simpler but less complete workaround is to disable metadata automatic updates in Windows Media Player by setting the Windows Media Player options. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Library tab, click to clear the Retrieve additional information from the Internet check box and the Maintain my star ratings as global ratings in files check box.
3. Click OK.
A possible solution to the MP3 file corruption issue
If some of your MP3 files have already been affected, you might be able to restore the corrupted MP3 files to their pre-edit status. To do this, follow these steps:
1. In Windows Explorer, right-click a corrupted MP3 file, and then click Properties.
2. On the Previous Version tab, select an earlier version in the File Versions list, and then click Restore. If multiple edits were performed, you may have to revert to the oldest version that is available.
1. In Windows Explorer, right-click a corrupted MP3 file, and then click Properties.
2. On the Previous Version tab, select an earlier version in the File Versions list, and then click Restore. If multiple edits were performed, you may have to revert to the oldest version that is available.
A Welcome Gesture
Windows 7 natively supports touchscreen devices and has incorporated a gesture-based system to navigate the desktop with a stylus. Lucky for you, one of these gestures also works with a mouse. Instead of right-clicking a Taskbar icon to access its Jump List (the new program-specific menu that replaces the right-click context menu), you can hold left-click and drag upwards to smoothly call it up. Clicking and dragging down in the Internet Explorer address bar will also unveil your browser history and related favorites bookmarks. Some of the staff here found this especially useful when running Windows 7 on their Macbook Pros (*cough* Will Smith *cough*).
Ctrl + N is so 1995
We’ve already shown you a new way to open new instances of applications on the Taskbar by using the Windows + [number] keyboard shortcut. There are two additional shortcuts to popping open a new window too. You can click the Taskbar icon with your middle mouse button (which also works to launch the app if it isn’t open already), or hold down Shift while clicking the icon with the left mouse button.
Keep in mind that this only works with programs that allow multiple instances, like web browsers. It won’t work with the default Explorer shortcut, since you can only open another instance of Explorer when diving into a new folder (the Explorer shortcut always points to Libraries).
Pin-Up Your Favorites
Explorer’s Jump List shows your seven most frequently visited folders, but you can manually bookmark some favorites to the top of the list by pinning folder locations. Just hold right-click on any folder, either on your desktop or from an open instance of Explorer, and drag that folder icon to the Explorer shortcut on the Taskbar. You’ll see a message that reads “Pin to Windows Explorer” before you release the mouse button. The folder will appear under a “Pinned” section of the Jump List, and you can remove it by clicking the “Unpin from this list” icon on the right side of the panel.
More Resources
Eager for more Windows 7 tricks? Microsoft offers several resources for Windows 7 Beta support. We recommend browsing through TechNet for essential downloads and troubleshooting tips, as well as the official Windows 7 discussion forums.
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