Edit hosts file in Windows 7 & Windows Vista

This may sound silly suggestion to even post on Windows Reference but will help avoid some annoyance with Windows Vista and Windows 7. The host file is the one where one enters hostname and IP Address pair manually as against being served by a Name server (ex: DNS). As always the “host” file is under C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\ or %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\ and hence cannot be edited by normal users.

To edit the host file,

Click Start – search for “Notepad“, right-click and select “Run as Administrator“. This should launch notepad with elevated privileges. Now, open the host file from the File menu, edit and save.

How to Restore the Missing Show Desktop icon on the Quick Launch toolbar

The Show Desktop Icon is not a standard program shortcut but a Windows explorer command file written in plain text.

If you have accidently deleted the Show Desktop Icons, here're the steps involved to recreate it:

Step 1: Open a new notepad file and type the following text:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Step 2: Save this file as "Show Desktop.scf" - remember to use the quotes else notepad may save it with a .txt extension.

Step 3: Use the mouse to drag the Show Desktop.scf icon to the Quick Launch toolbar or another location where you want the shortcut to appear.

Alternatively, you can press the Win+D shortcut key for Show Desktop. It's much the same as Win+M which will minimize all the open windows to the task bar.

Windows that don't have a minimize button are minimized using Win+D but not with Win+M.