Have you ever needed to change a setting on your Windows 7 laptop/netbook quickly? Maybe adjust the screen brightness or turn on/off your wi-fi? You can do just that and more with Windows Mobility Center inside of Windows 7.

Windows Mobility Center inside of Windows 7

Windows Mobility Center displays the most commonly used laptop/netbook settings, such as brightness, volume, battery status, and wireless network status. Different tiles are displayed depending on your system, and some tiles are added by your laptop/netbook manufacturer.

Here are some of the settings you might find in the Windows Mobility Center. Remember, not all settings are available on all laptops.

• Brightness. Move the slider to temporarily adjust the brightness of your display. To adjust the display brightness settings for your power plan, click the icon to open Power Options.
• Volume. Move the slider to adjust the speaker volume of your laptop, or select the Mute check box.
• Battery Status. View how much charge remains on your battery or select a power plan from the list.
• Wireless Network. View the status of your wireless network connection or turn your wireless network adapter on or off.
• Screen Rotation. Change the orientation of your Tablet PC screen from portrait to landscape or vice versa.
• External Display. Connect an additional monitor to your laptop, or customize the display settings.
• Sync Center. View the status of in-progress file sync, start a new sync, set up a sync partnership, or change your settings in Sync Center.

How to access Windows Mobility Manager on a Windows 7 based laptop or netbook

• Click on the Start button, then All Programs, then Accessories, then Windows Mobility Manager.
Or

• Click Start, and then type mobility center in the Start Search box.

Geek Tips:

• Pin the Windows Mobility Manager to the Taskbar for even quicker access to it.
• Click an icon to open options for that setting quickly. For example, click the Battery Status icon to open Power Options, and from there, select a power plan.

Notes:

If the Turn wireless on button is unavailable, you might need to use the hardware switch on your computer to turn on the wireless network adapter. For more information about turning the adapter on and off, check the documentation that came with your computer.

If a setting doesn't appear, it might be because the required hardware (such as a wireless network adapter) or drivers are missing. For example, if the Turn wireless on button is unavailable, you might need to use your computer's hardware switch to turn on the wireless adapter.

During your computer's regular use, you will accumulate several unnecessary files (temporary setup/internet files, recycle bin, etc.). You can remove these files with the built-in Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) utility inside of Windows 7. And it can be run a couple of different ways and with different options.

Running Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) on demand

There are a couple of different ways to run Disk Cleanup on demand. The following procedure cleans up files associated with your user account. You can also use Disk Cleanup to clean up all the files on your computer.

Windows 7 Disk Cleanup dialog box with standard options

1. Click Start, and then type Disk Cleanup in the Start Search box.
   or
   Click Start, then All Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, then Disk Cleanup
2. In the Drives list, click the hard disk drive that you want to clean up, and then click OK
3. In the Disk Cleanup dialog box, on the Disk Cleanup tab, select the checkboxes for the file types that you want to delete, and then click OK
4. In the message that appears, click Delete files

The More Options tab is available when you choose to clean files from all users on the computer. This tab includes two additional ways to free even more disk space:

Windows 7 Disk Cleanup dialog box with more options

• Programs and Features. This option opens Programs and Features in Control Panel, where you can uninstall programs that you no longer use. The Size column in Programs and Features shows how much disk space each program uses.
• System Restore and Shadow Copies. With this option, you can delete all but the most recent restore point on the disk.
  System Restore uses restore points to return your system files to an earlier point in time. If your computer is running normally, you can save disk space by deleting the earlier restore points.
  In some editions of Windows 7, restore points can include previous versions of files, known as shadow copies, and backup images created with Windows Complete PC Backup. These files and images will also be deleted.

Running Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) as a scheduled task

You can also run Disk Cleanup from a command prompt. This gives you a few more options, like predefined settings for running Disk Cleanup as a scheduled task in Task Scheduler. First, we need to bring up a command prompt.

Windows 7 Disk Cleanup dialog box with sageset options

1. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
2. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
3. If you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.

You can start the Disk Cleanup tool by running cleanmgr.exe. Disk Cleanup supports the following command-line switches:

• cleanmgr /d driveletter: - This switch selects the drive that you want Disk Cleanup to clean. Note that the /d switch is not used with /sagerun:n.
• cleanmgr /sageset:n - This switch displays the Disk Cleanup Settings dialog box and creates a registry key to store the settings you select. The n value is stored in the registry and allows you to specify different tasks for Disk Cleanup to run. The n value can be any integer value from 0 to 65535. To get all the available options when you are using the /sageset switch, you may need to specify the drive letter that contains the Windows installation.
• cleanmgr /sagerun:n - This switch runs the specified tasks that are assigned to the n value by using the /sageset switch. All drives in the computer will be enumerated, and the selected profile will be run against each drive.

How to run Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) on-demand and as a scheduled task inside of Windows 7.

If you're a hardcore computer user like me, your system runs 24/7 with no screen or power saver options (I turn off the monitors when not in use). I like to walk into my office and have it ready to go. So when I noticed that my version of Windows still had the Hiberfil.sys file and I do not use hibernation, it was time to remove this file and regain that drive space back (in my case, 16 GB).

The Hiberfil.sys is a hidden system file located in the drive's root folder where Windows is installed. The Windows Kernel Power Manager creates this file when you install Windows. The computer uses the Hiberfil.sys file to store a copy of the system memory on the drive when hibernation is turned on.

The size of the Hiberfil.sys file is approximately equal to how much Random Access Memory (RAM) is installed on the computer. The computer cannot go into hibernation if this file is not present. And even if you have disabled hibernation, your computer can still go to sleep. Here is the difference between sleep and hibernation:

• Sleep: Windows can turn off the screen(s) and drive(s) while continuing to run in memory. A tap on the keyboard or moving the mouse will turn the screen(s) and drive(s) back on.
• Hibernation: Windows takes the active memory, writes it to the Hiberfil.sys, and then turns the computer off. Pressing the power button will start Windows back up, where it loads the Hiberfil.sys file.

How to turn on or off hibernation in Windows

To disable hibernation, you must open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges. Since this article covers multiple versions of Windows, click on the link below that matches your version of Windows for how to open an Admin Command Prompt. All links open in a new window.

How to open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges in Windows 11

How to open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges in Windows 10

How to open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges in Windows 8

How to open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges in Windows Vista and Windows 7

To delete the Hiberfil.sys file and make hibernation unavailable, follow these steps:

1. Open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges (see instructions above)
2. At the Command Prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off and press ENTER.
   
3. Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.

To recreate the Hiberfil.sys file and make hibernation available, follow these steps:

1. Open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges (see instructions above)
   
2. At the Command Prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate on and press ENTER.
3. Type exit and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.

Have you ever wondered how to create a blog, content management system (CMS), or e-commerce website? You can do just that and more with the Microsoft Web Platform. You can create your own web app using WordPress (blog), DotNetNuke (CMS), or nopCommerce (e-commerce), to name a few. And, best of all, it's all free.

Microsoft Web Platform Installer - Spotlight View

From web server (Internet Information Services), database server (SQL Server Express), programming tools like (Visual Studio Community) and lots of apps to work with, Microsoft Web Platform has it all. And did I mention that they are all free?

Microsoft Web Platform Installer - Products View

You can use Visual Studio Community to customize any free ASP.NET and PHP web apps available in the Windows Web App Gallery. And if your app needs a database, you can install SQL Server Express. There are also tools for Windows Azure.

Microsoft Web Platform Installer - Applications View

All of the programs included in the Microsoft Web Platform are installed on your local system. You build and test your web app on the Internet Information Services (IIS) installed on your local system and then upload it to your remote IIS server when you're finished. If you don't know the platform of your web server, you will need to contact your hosting company to find out. The IIS is more commonly referred to as the Windows platform.

Here's a quote about the Microsoft Web Platform Installer and some of the programs available from the Microsoft site:

The Microsoft Web Platform Installer (Web PI) is a free tool that makes getting the latest components of the Microsoft Web Platform, including Internet Information Services (IIS), SQL Server Express, .NET Framework, and Visual Studio Community easy. The Web PI also makes it easy to install and run the most popular free web applications for blogging, content management, and more with the built-in Windows Web Application Gallery.

Web Server
Install the latest version of IIS, including the latest IIS Web extensions like IIS Media Services.

Framework
Install the latest version of the .NET Framework. This includes everything you need to work with ASP.NET.

Database
Install the latest version of SQL Server Express. This includes both the database engine and tools.

Tools
Install the latest version of Visual Studio Community, Our full-featured free web development tool.

Web Apps
Install free popular ASP.NET and PHP web apps such as Umbraco and WordPress. Browse the Windows Web Application Gallery.

Extras
Web PI also includes the latest community version of PHP for Windows.

For more information on the Microsoft Web Platform Installer, check out the following link:

Microsoft Web Platform Installer

Microsoft recently introduced Office Web Apps, a cloud-based version of their popular productivity suite. Office Web Apps is part of Microsoft 365 and includes versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. You can create, edit, copy, rename and delete files (via OneDrive, see below).

With Office Web Apps and OneDrive, you can also share your files with friends, co-workers, or clients. You can even work simultaneously with others on the same Excel workbook with Office Web Apps. Or you can embed an interactive PowerPoint presentation or Excel spreadsheet into a web page.

View of files inside Microsoft Office Web Apps

Excel Web App running in a browser window

And if you have Microsoft Office installed on your current system, you can open documents directly to that program. If you are using Office 2003 or Office XP, you will need the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. Also, Office Web Apps have limited functionally, and some of the more advanced features of the desktop programs, like Comments in Excel, do not work.

Here's a quote from their website:

INTRODUCING OFFICE WEB APPS.
Work online, anytime, from almost anywhere!

• Office Web Apps are compatible with just about any version of Office.
• Office Web Apps save your formatting - no matter how often you edit online or take it back into Office on your PC or Mac.
• Office Web Apps are ready wherever you are - work from the office, your home, the airport, a coffee shop ... or France.

Microsoft OneDrive

Store, access, and share thousands of documents, photos, and Microsoft Office files on OneDrive. OneDrive password-protects your files, so you control who has access to them.

For more information on Microsoft Office Web Apps or Microsoft OneDrive, follow the links below:

Microsoft Office Web Apps

Microsoft OneDrive

Geek Notes:

• Office Web Apps is integrated into Office 2010
• Office Web Apps is built into Microsoft 365, so you will need a Microsoft account to use them
• OneDrive Basic plan has 5GB of storage space for free and paid plans with up to 1TB of storage