Snipping Tool


There are tons of simple screenshot tools out there, but did you know there’s a rather good one built into Windows? Simply start typing the word “snipping”  in the Windows search to find the snipping tool. With it, you can take 4 kinds of screenshots – full-screen, window, rectangular or free-form.

The snipping tool comes complete with a simple image editor where you can highlight things, mark things with different color pens and e-mail your screenshot to friends.

Sticky Notes



Another hidden Windows surprise – built-in sticky notes. To access this (very) basic feature, start typing “sticky notes” in the Windows search.

It might not be a full-featured and sophisticated solution like Stickies (which is my sticky note app of choice), but it sure provides the necessary basics. You can create multiple sticky notes in different colors and use almost any keyboard shortcut you’d use in Word, including CTRL+ALT+L for lists, CTRL+1,2,5 for line spacing, and more.

Magnifier





This is a very useful tool for those who find common font sizes too small to comfortably read. One solution is to increase resolution, which makes everything look bad, and the other is to use Magnifier. Start typing “Magnifier” in Windows search to find this tool. Using it, you will be able to choose between magnifying your whole screen, using a lens for specific areas or using the docked version in which the top part of your screen becomes the magnified portion of the bottom part.

You can choose the amount of magnification you get and how it changes when you click + or –. You can also use Magnifier to invert all your monitor colors, for a relaxed white-on-black experience.

Sound Recorder

There are many tools our there that can record, edit and convert audio to multiple formats. Sound Recorder is not one of them. Start typing “record” in Windows search to find this tool, which you can use to record simple WMA files, and that’s it.

If you have nothing installed and you just need to make a simple recording, you can launch this tiny tool and be done within seconds. Click “Start Recording” and record your sound. When you click “Stop Recording”, it will automatically open a saving dialogue and allow you to save your creation as WMA. If you wish, you can later convert this file to other formats using a different program.

Remote Assistance


There are some very popular programs that do this, and do it well, but there is also a built-in remote assistance solution in Windows 7. Start typing “remote” in Windows search and launch “Windows Remote Assistance”. You will be prompted to choose whether you’re giving or receiving help.

 If you require assistance, you’ll be able to choose between creating an invitation file which you can send to your helper along with a password, or using Easy Connect, which is just exchanging passwords but it doesn’t always work.

 You can also chat with your helper/helpee, and configure how much bandwidth the program will use, among other things.


Problem Steps Recorder
If remote assistance is not enough, you can use Windows’ problem steps recorder. This tool records everything you do, and creates an MHT file complete with screenshots (even of multiple monitors) and a description of every step you made. You can also add comments to every step. To run it, type “psr” in Windows search.

When you’re done recording the steps, the program will automatically save the output as a ZIP file containing an MHT file.

Malicious Software Removal Tool

This one is somewhat more known, and is a good tool to use in addition to other anti-virus programs. If your regular program doesn’t detect something, or if you happen to have nothing else installed, Windows provides its own malicious software removal tool. Type “mrt” in Windows search to find it.

You can choose between a quick scan, a full scan and a customized scan, and MRT will scan your computer and give you a report on its findings.



The tool only scans for a somewhat limited list of malicious software, so it cannot replace an anti-virus, but you can use it for extra security, and it also provides links to further reading on each malware on the list.

Disc Image Burner




This is more of a bonus than a hidden tool, but it can still be pretty useful. If you have ISO files you need to burn, and you don’t happen to have any other burning software installed, double clicking it will open the Windows Disc Image Burner.

You can use this simple tool to burn the disc image, and that’s pretty much it. If you’ve associated ISO files with another program, you can access the disc image burning by right-clicking the file, choosing “Open with…” and clicking on Windows Disc Image Burner.

Windows Memory Diagnostic



Windows includes a Memory Diagnostic tool that can restart your computer and test your memory for defects, like the popular MemTest86 application. If you want to check your computer’s memory for errors, you don’t need a third-party tool — just open the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool.

Resource Monitor



The Resource Monitor application offers a detailed look at your computer’s resource usage. You can view computer-wide CPU, disk, network, and memory graphics, or drill down and view per-process statistics for each type of resource.
This means that you can see which processes are using your disk or network heavily, view which processes are communicating with which Internet addresses, and more. The Resource Monitor provides much more detailed resource statistics than the Task Manager does.
You can launch the Resource Monitor by opening the Task Manager, clicking the Performance tab, and selecting Resource Monitor. It can also be accessed by searching for Resource Monitor 

Performance Monitor



The Performance Monitor application allows you to collect performance reports and view them. It can be used to log performance data over time, including determining how system changes affect performance, or to monitor the performance of a remote computer in real-time.at the Start menu or Start screen.

Computer Management and Administrative Tools




The Performance Monitor is actually one of many Microsoft Management Console (MMC) tools. Many of these can be found in the Administrative Tools folder, but they can be opened in a single window by opening the Computer Management application. Among other things, this window contains the following tools:
  • Task Scheduler: A tool that allows you to view and customize the scheduled tasks on your computer, in addition to creating your own custom scheduled tasks.
  • Event Viewer: A log viewer that allows you to view and filter system events — everything from software installation to application crashes and blue screens of death.
  • Shared Folders: An interface that displays the folders shared over the network on your computer, useful for viewing what folders are being shared at a glance.
  • Device Manager: The classic Windows Device Manager that allows you to view the devices connected to your computer, disable them, and configure their drivers.
  • Disk Management: A built-in partition manager you can use without downloading any third-party tools.
  • Services: An interface that allows you to view and control the background services running in Windows.

The Administrative Tools folder also contains other useful utilities, such as the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security application that allows you to create advanced firewall rules.

Advanced User Accounts Tool

Windows contains a hidden User Accounts utility that provides some options not present in the standard interface. To open it, press WinKey+R to open the Run dialog, type either netplwiz orcontrol userpasswords2, and press Enter.
This window also contains a shortcut to launch the Local Users and Groups tool, which offers 


Disk Cleanup



Windows’ Disk Cleanup utility isn’t quite as hidden as some of the other utilities here, but not enough people know about it. It will scan your computer for files that can be deleted, from temporary files and memory dumps to old system restore points and leftover files from Windows upgrades. It does the same job a PC cleaning utility does, but it’s free and doesn’t try to extract any money from you. Advanced users may prefer CCleaner, but Disk Cleanup does a decent job.
Access it by searching for Disk Cleanup at your Start screen or Start menu.

Group Policy Editor



The Group Policy Editor is only available on Professional or Ultimate editions of Windows, not the standard or Home editions. It provides a wide variety of settings that are designed for use by system administrators to customize and lock down PCs on their networks, but the local group policy editor also contains some settings that average users might be interested in. For example, on Windows 8, the group policy editor can be used to disable the lock screen and skip directly to the log-in screen.
To open it, type gpedit.msc at the Start menu or Start screen and press Enter.

Registry Editor

Sure, everyone knows about the registry editor — but it’s still hidden, with Microsoft not even providing a Start menu shortcut to it. It must be launched by typing regedit into the Start menu or Start screen and pressing Enter.
Many tweaks that can be made in the Group Policy Editor have equivalent tweaks that can be made in the registry editor. For example, on Windows 8, users with the standard edition of Windows 8 can’t disable the lock screen via the Group Policy Editor — but they can disable the lock screen with a registry hack.

MSConfig

The System Configuration window is another classic tool that many people know about. Prior to Windows 8, which features a startup-program manager built into its Task Manager, this tool was the only included way of controlling startup programs on Windows. It also allows you to customize your boot loader, which is particularly useful if you have multiple versions of Windows installed.
Launch it by typing msconfig into the Start menu or Start screen and pressing Enter.


System Information



The System Information utility allows you to view information about the current computer — everything from the model number of its CD-ROM drive to its attached peripherals, configured environment variables, and startup programs. It doesn’t provide the slickest interface, nor does it provide all the information a third-party system information tool like Speccy does, but it will display a lot of system information without forcing you to install another program.
Open it by searching for System Information at your Start menu or Start screen.

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