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With Windows 7 out now, many people are looking for tips and tweaks in order to customize their experience. While unlocking your taskbar might not seem exciting to you, to others, it's a great tip that helps them get more out of their operating system experience. However, these hacks have been detailed with advanced users in mind, so you'll likely find something you'll enjoy.

Unlocking Hidden Themes In Windows 7

The retail version of Windows 7 comes with many different themes by default, but they're locked to the user. There are a few steps you can perform which will unlock these themes for you use, so if you want to use something other than the default Aero theme, you can.

1: Open the Explorer (Windows + E) and go to C:\Windows\winsxs
2: Enter *.theme into the search field. Alternately you can use the * sign on the number block.
3: You'll get the Click me prompt
4: Double-click the themes ZA, US, GB, CA, AU to install them.

Enabling The Quick Launch Bar

Lots of users from previous Windows iterations use the Quick Launch Bar in order to launch their favorite programs. However, in Windows 7, the Quick Launch Bar is no where to be found unless you enable a special hack. Here's how to do so, if you're interested in using the QLB in Windows 7.

1:Right-click on the Taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbar from the menu.
2: Copy and paste the address provided below into the Address bar

%SystemDrive%Users%username%AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInternet Explorer

then click the arrow to the right of the Address bar to navigate to the folder.

3: Select the Quick Launch folder listed and click the Select Folder button

Getting Rid of Internet Explorer Permanently

In previous versions of Windows, Internet Explorer was so integrated into the operating system it was impossible to get rid of it. Now changes have been made in Windows 7 which allow you to completely remove the browser if you no longer wish to use it. Here are the steps you can take to remove Internet Explorer from your Windows 7 install.

1: Click on the Start Menu and move to the Control Panel
2: Select the Programs and Features
3: Click on Turn Windows features on or off link located on the left pane
4: The Turn Windows features on or off window appears. Uncheck the Internet Explorer 8 and click OK
5: After a couple of restarts Internet Explorer should be gone for good