Windows 7 Hack: Playing with "GodMode"

Have you ever wondered what else lies under the hood of that new Windows 7 laptop you got recently? The clever folks at CNET have found a simple hack that will grant access to all of those options in one easy-to-set-up shortcut.

The aptly named GodMode is a built-in, yet unadvertised feature in Windows 7 that gathers all Windows utilities in one spot. To access it, simply create a new folder and name it:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

And that's it! Open it up and you'll find access to display options, backup/recovery, power management and more. This is a useful trick for those of you that easily forget where to access the defragmenter or the device managager. You may even find a useful utility you didn't know existed.

[Important note: Readers have noted that this tip also works on the 32-bit version of Windows Vista. If you are running the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, do not use this hack. It can cause Windows Explorer to crash. If you've experienced this problem, see these instructions to remove the GodMode folder.]

For quite a few years now, Microsoft has tinkered with its Control Panel in order to provide a robust set of options in an elegant and accessible package. GodMode is certainly not the solution to that problem. By throwing all of the settings into one spot, it's more akin to organized confusion than friendly accessibility. GodMode probably won't work too well for Grandma, but for those of you that get giddy at the thought of tweaking your settings, you might want to get this shortcut up on your desktop.