If you've settled into Windows 7 but find the change in the functionality of the backspace key while browsing files to be too much to bear, use this simple hack to turn the backspace key back to its XP state.

For the unfamiliar: in Windows XP pressing the backspace key while browsing files in Windows Explorer would navigate you up one folder level. In Windows Vista and Windows 7 however, the same keystroke doesn't move you up a folder level but back one stop in the history. It's a small thing but if you've coded the backspace into your muscle memory as a quick way to navigate up the folder hierarchy it can be a very annoying small thing to deal with.

Over at How-To Geek they've put together a guide to using AutoHotkey to resolve the backspace issue. You can either add their script to your AutoHotkey installation or download a stand alone executable—both are provided. Throw a link to the application in your Startup folder and you'll never have to deal with the backspace key not navigating the way you want. Check out the link below for full details and the files.

Windows only: Start menu replacement utility Classic Shell adds back some of the missing features in Windows 7 or Vista that used to exist in XP—like the Classic-style Start Menu.

During the installation process, you can choose to install two optional pieces—the first is the Classic Start Menu, which is a full-featured replacement that includes drag and drop, recent documents, and keyboard navigation. The second is Classic Explorer, a plugin for Windows Explorer that adds a toolbar with buttons for Up, Delete, and Copy/Paste, changes the file copying UI to look like XP, and a number of other changes. You can install one or both of these components, so if you want the start menu but don't want the explorer plugin, it won't waste resources on your system.

If this sounds familiar, it's because we've previously mentioned a similar utility, but this one is a superior replacement—with 64-bit support, drag/drop organizing, expanding Control Panel, right-click item management, and if that wasn't enough, it even keeps the native Windows 7 start menu around—just Shift+Click on the start button to access it.

Most readers will probably point out that the newer Windows 7 start menu format is well worth getting used to, but for those of you that just prefer the old way of doing things, the free, open-source Classic Shell is definitely for you.