You've undoubtedly heard it a million times (probably some 900,000 of which came from us): Back up your data! And that's advice you should absolutely follow. But simple backups aren't always enough for a Windows 7 system. You might be hit with a catastrophic virus attack, accidentally delete a critical system file, or mess with the wrong hard drive partition and find that your PC will no longer boot. At that point, no number of external hard drives loaded with copies of your photo and MP3 collections will get you up and running again.

That's why, in addition to backing up individual files and folders of particular value, you should also stock your arsenal with more powerful system recovery weapons. You can buy software that will take care of this for you—Norton Ghost is a classic, powerful product—but Windows 7 has some built-in utilities that will provide an additional layer of security and not cost you one penny more.

PC Mag has the "How-To" HERE!

Setting up and maintaining your home PC network is easier than ever before with Windows 7--but that's not saying much. Many networking issues still aren't easily fixed from Windows 7's control panels. That's why we've compiled a list of common networking problems and their quick fixes.

Reset Your IP Address

If your system's connection to a network is unreliable, or you're getting IP address conflict error messages, try renewing your IP address. First, click on the Start button, navigate to the Command Prompt (Start Menu, Applications, Accessories, Command Prompt), right-click it, and select Run as Administrator from the menu. Then type ipconfig /renew, and press Enter. That should do it.

Flush Your DNS Cache

Whenever you type a URL into a Web browser, your PC asks your domain name service server (DNS server) to translate that URL into an IP address, and caches that information. That cache can occasionally become outdated or corrupt, which can cause Internet connection problems. To clear your DNS cache, open the Command Prompt with Run as Administrator, type ipconfig /flushdns, and press Enter.

Read all of the fixes HERE!

Every operating system needs an occasional repair job, and Windows 7 is no exception. Whether the source of the problem is corrupt data, a particularly brutal piece of malware, or some other serious issue, you'll occasionally have to reinstall your copy of Windows.

Wiping your hard drive and performing a fresh installation can be a huge headache; but fortunately there's a way to repair a corrupt Windows 7 installation while keeping all your programs, personal data, and user accounts intact. With Windows 7 you can perform an in-place upgrade installation to repair a flaky existing install. Though technically designed to upgrade older Windows operating systems like Vista, the in-place upgrade installation option can also be used to repair an existing installation of Windows 7.

Note that you must perform the in-place upgrade process from within Windows; if your PC can't fully boot to the Windows desktop, this repair guide is not for you. A few other limitations come up later in the article, so be sure to read the entire guide thoroughly before attempting to repair your corrupt copy of Windows 7. Performing a repair installation should be your last resort, and you should consider it only if you have already removed spyware from your PC, reinstalled your drivers, and unsuccessfully tried to restore from an earlier (working) version of Windows 7 using System Restore.

PC World has the "How-To" HERE!

Every operating system needs an occasional repair job, and Windows 7 is no exception. Whether the source of the problem is corrupt data, a particularly brutal piece of malware, or some other serious issue, you'll occasionally have to reinstall your copy of Windows.

Wiping your hard drive and performing a fresh installation can be a huge headache; but fortunately there's a way to repair a corrupt Windows 7 installation while keeping all your programs, personal data, and user accounts intact. With Windows 7 you can perform an in-place upgrade installation to repair a flaky existing install. Though technically designed to upgrade older Windows operating systems like Vista, the in-place upgrade installation option can also be used to repair an existing installation of Windows 7.

Note that you must perform the in-place upgrade process from within Windows; if your PC can't fully boot to the Windows desktop, this repair guide is not for you. A few other limitations come up later in the article, so be sure to read the entire guide thoroughly before attempting to repair your corrupt copy of Windows 7. Performing a repair installation should be your last resort, and you should consider it only if you have already removed spyware from your PC, reinstalled your drivers, and unsuccessfully tried to restore from an earlier (working) version of Windows 7 using System Restore.

PC World has the "How-To" HERE!