Windows 7/8: If you like the look of OS X but don't want to give up all your games and programs—or if you just don't want to buy a Mac—the Mountain Lion Skin pack will bring all the great looks and great features of OS X to your Windows desktop with one simple installation.

We've featured a few skin packs like this before, but this one is easily the best looking and most comprehensive we've seen. Not only does it change your wallpaper, icons, cursors, screensaver, and sounds, but it even adds popular Mac OS X features like Spaces, Exposé, the Dock, and more. Of course, you can get a lot of these programs separately, but if you really want the closest Mac experience possible, this skin pack will get the job done in just a few clicks. It isn't perfect, and your mileage may vary—everyone's system is different—but if you have any issues, they have a pretty active forum that can help you fix everything up. And, it's easily uninstallable if you don't like it.

The Mountain Lion Skin Pack is a free download for Windows 7 and Windows 8. Just make sure to select "Custom Installation" and uncheck the boxes for the toolbar it wants to add. (Seriously, when will these go away already?)

Update: It looks like Skinpacks.com is down, but you can still grab the skin pack at the links posted here. Thanks, Talverio!

Mountain Lion Skin Pack | Skin Packs via NirmalTV.com

Windows 7's search function kind of sucks. You can only find what you're looking for half the time, and you never know why. Here's how to make Windows search work the way you want it to.

Perform Your Search From the Start Menu

For the longest time, I'd open up Windows Explorer and start typing in the search bar, and I'd rarely find anything. This is because Windows Explorer only searches the folder you're in—not your entire computer. If you have Libraries open in Explorer, it'll only search your libraries (which, to be fair, it says in the search bar—but it's very easy to blow past that). If you aren't sure where the file is that you're looking for, open up the start menu and search from there. It'll search your entire computer for files, folders, and programs matching those terms. If you want more detailed results, you can then click "See More Results" to bring up a detailed search results window. But thinking that you can shortcut your way to the detailed results by opening up Explorer first will get you nowhere.

Search the Contents of Your Files

By default, Windows does search the contents of your files, meaning if your search term shows up inside a document (but not in the file name), it'll show up in search results. However, for some reason, this only works some of the time. I've had certain files come up for one search term and not another even though both terms appeared somewhere in the document. I found the best way to improve content searching is to open up Windows Explorer and head to Organize > Folder and Search Options, then go to the Search tab. From there, check the "Always search file names and contents" radio button.

This feature doesn't seem to do at all what it describes in my tests. When the default option is checked, it can't always find the contents of indexed files. When I check the second option, it seems to find all the contents of any file I search for, which is exactly what I want (and without significant speed decreases, as it claims). Despite references to the contrary, neither option searches unindexed locations. I've tested this on two separate computers and it seems to work fine, despite what the option says it does—so give it a shot and see what happens for you. And if anyone can explain to me what this option is supposed to do—if different than the above—I'm all ears.

Choose Which File Extensions Can Be Searched By Content

Now that you can search by the contents of your files, you've probably found that a few of them still aren't searchable—most notably file types Windows doesn't think you want to search, like .conf or .sh files (if you're a Cygwin user). To search the contents of a file Windows doesn't know, go to the Start Menu and search for "Indexing Options". Choose the top result that comes up and then click the Advanced button. Under the File Types tab, you can add a new extension to the list, or edit any extension on the list to index the contents of the file. You can also uncheck any file extension to stop search from indexing that file type.

Add Folders to Your Index

By default, Windows has a pretty good idea of what locations you want indexed. It searches your Start Menu, your Users folder, and your Offline files. If you have moved any folders in your Users folder, or are storing something useful elsewhere on your drive, you can add that folder to the index in one of two ways. Note that the more folders you add, the slower Windows search becomes, so don't just add your entire C: drive—pick your folders carefully to keep it fast and useful.

The easiest way is to include it in one of your libraries. Windows Explorer automatically indexes all your libraries, so either create a new one or right-click on an applicable library and go to Properties to add a folder to it. That folder will then be added to your index.

Alternatively, you can go back to Indexing Options (by searching for it in the Start Menu) and clicking the Modify button to add a new folder to the index. This is useful if you want to index a folder but don't want it to appear in any of your Windows 7 libraries.

Manually Type In Your Search Filters

If you want to search within a specific folder, you might find that searching from Windows Explorer's search box offers you a number of search modifiers to refine your terms, like "Date Modified", "Kind", "Type", and more. What you may not realize is that these filters change depending on what folder you're in. Usually it's helpful, changing them to Artist/Album/Title in the Music folder, or "Date Taken" and "Tags" in the pictures folder. If you ever want a filter that isn't shown, however, you can always just type it in yourself (e.g. datemodified:last week invoice1). In fact, it isn't unlike searching Google in this way—you can also use AND and OR operators too, plus quotes if you're looking for a specific phrase. You can also change what type of file a certain folder is optimized for, which will change the search filters available to you in that folder. For more examples of advanced filters and operators, check out Microsoft's page on the subject.

These tips are simple, and some of them may seem obvious to veteran Windows user, but I've been frustrated with Search for months and these tips have made it a million times more useful. Of course, if you really want speedy and powerful searches, you could try a program like previously mentioned Everything, too. Got any of your own tips for improving Windows' search feature? Sound off in the comments below.

Windows is a great operating system, but PC laptops often leave a lot to be desired. If you're a Mac owner (or you're just in love with Mac hardware), you can install Windows natively on your computer in just a few steps. Here's how.

Why Install Windows?

It's no secret I'm a big Windows fan, but I've always been disappointed with PC hardware that I didn't build myself. When it comes to laptops, everything seems to have something wrong with it. The trackpad is a pain to use, the keyboard feels cheap, or the things are just too darn big (though the ultrabook movement is starting to solve the size problem). So, after selling my old MacBook Pro, I ended up buying a MacBook Air, running Windows on it 99% of the time, and I've never been happier.

Obviously, everyone's needs are different. Maybe you still need a few Windows programs, or maybe you just aren't a huge fan of OS X (but you love Mac hardware). Whatever your needs, installing Windows on a Mac is dead simple, even if you don't have a CD drive. All you need is a copy of Windows and the Boot Camp program that comes preinstalled on OS X.

Note: If you hate Apple and feel like ranting to me about the so-called "Apple Tax" (why are you even reading this?), please do it somewhere else. Believe it or not, some of us don't love OS X but find Apple's hardware phenomenal, and are willing to pay a bit extra for it, especially considering you'll be using this computer regularly for a few years. Plus, if you buy refurbished—which you always should from Apple—you can probably get a pretty good deal. So please don't rant about this in the comments. Please keep the discussion focused on Boot Camp.

Step One: Create Your Bootable Windows Thumb Drive (Optional)

If you have a Windows disc and a computer with a CD drive, you can skip this step. If you have a MacBook Air (or you bought Windows as a digital download), you'll need to put the installer on a thumb drive before you can continue. Luckily, Boot Camp has this feature built-in in OS X Lion. To do this:

1. Insert your flash drive into your computer and find your Windows ISO image. If you don't have a Windows ISO (i.e. if you have Windows on a physical CD), this would be a good time to create an ISO with Disk Utility—though you'll need a Mac with a CD drive to do so. Also note that you'll need a flash drive with at least 8GB of space—even if your ISO is only 3GB in size (probably because it doesn't take into account discs that are only upgrades).
2. Run the Boot Camp Assistant (from /Applications/Utilities) and click continue.
3. Check the "Create a Windows 7 Install Disk" and "Download the Latest Windows Support Software from Apple" boxes and click continue. This will create a Windows installation thumb drive, along with all the drivers you'll need for your Mac's hardware.
4. On the next screen, choose your Windows ISO image from your computer and click continue. It will download and copy the necessary files. This step can take awhile, and the progress bar can seem like it's stopped moving. Just leave it alone for awhile and let it do it's thing—it'll get there eventually.
5. When it's done, it will prompt you. Close the Boot Camp Assistant when you're done.

Step Two: Partition Your Hard Drive and Install Windows

Before installing Windows, you'll need to split your hard drive into two parts—one that houses OS X, and one that houses Windows. This is called partitioning, and won't delete any of your OS X data (though I'd back it up before continuing, just to be safe). The Boot Camp Assistant can make this process simple, so we'll use it to perform the required tasks. To do this, just:

1. Open up Boot Camp Assistant (from /Applications/Utilities), check the "Install Windows 7" box, and click Continue.
2. Next, choose how big you want your Windows partition to be. For Windows 7, Boot Camp requires at least 20GB, though if you plan on using Windows a lot, I'd make it much bigger (I chose to divide them equally). You won't be able to resize this later, so make sure you pick the right size now.
3. With your Windows 7 thumb drive still in the computer, click the Install button. Boot camp will partition your disk, then reboot your computer. It might reboot a few times, but soon, you'll be greeted with the Windows 7 installation screen.
4. Go through the installation as you normally would. When it asks you to choose a drive, choose the drive labeled BOOTCAMP, as this is the Windows partition we created in step two. Let Windows install, and when it's done (again, after rebooting a few times), you'll see the familiar Windows 7 desktop.

Step Three: Install Apple's Drivers

The last thing you need to do is install Apple's driver software to make sure your trackpad, keyboard, volume buttons, and more work as they should (since by default, they won't). To do this:

1. Open up Windows Explorer and head to your Windows thumb drive. Open up the WindowsSupport folder and double-click on Setup.exe.
2. The setup should take you through the process of installing all the drivers. It'll also ask you whether you want OS X or Windows to be your default operating system, so you can choose that here. If you ever want to boot into the other OS, just hold the Option key when you boot up your Mac—it'll give you the choice of booting into OS X or Windows.

That's all there is to it. You can now install all your favorite Windows programs, share your data between the two partitions, and even get your favorite Mac features in Windows. Enjoy!

Emailable Tech Support is a series of easy-to-share guides for the less tech savvy people in your life. Got a beginner tech support question you constantly answer? Let us know at tips@lifehacker.com. Remember, when you're just starting out computing, there's very little that's too basic to learn.

Windows has a ton of great utilities, and while we can't live without some of them, there's a special place in our heart for programs that merely improve Windows, rather than adding new software. Here are our top 10 apps that take Windows' built-in tools and make them better.

10. MenuUninstaller

Unless you make regular trips through Add/Remove Programs uninstalling programs by the bunch, chances are you run into unwanted programs when you're browsing the Start Menu, or sifting through your Program Files. Instead of going all the way to Add/Remove programs to uninstall something, MenuUninstaller puts an Uninstall option right in your context menu. Just right-click on a shortcut or app, hit Uninstall, and it'll uninstall it for you. It usually works pretty well. However, if you want something a little more powerful, you can always go with another app uninstaller altogether—like Revo Uninstaller, which can uninstall every trace of a program just by clicking on its window.

9. MiniBin

If you like to keep a clean desktop—and who doesn't—that Recycle Bin icon might drive you mad, sitting in the corner. Even if it doesn't, you might not like how it handles deletions, and MiniBin can fix that. MiniBin moves your Recycle Bin to your system tray, and tweak how the Recycle Bin works. You can double-click on the system tray icon to empty the bin, and even get rid of the prompt or system progress display that comes with that operation, not to mention turn off the sounds. It even has a CPU optimization option for older computers.

8. XnView Shell Extension

If Windows Explorer's preview pane isn't your cup of tea, you can still get quick previews of images with something like the XnView Shell Extension. Not only will it show you a thumbnail of an image when you right-click on it in Windows Explorer, it'll also add context menu options for converting the image, setting it as your wallpaper, and more. If that clutters up your context menu a bit too much, you could also try FastPreview, which only adds the thumbnail feature.

7. OpenWith Enhanced

When Windows doesn't know how to open a certain file type, it does its best to offer you possible programs that will—but it can't recommend you anything beyond the programs you already have. OpenWith Enhanced adds a few extra features to Windows' Open With menu, like the ability to recommend other programs from the net. It'll also tell you which programs are more likely to open that file than others, so you can make a more informed decision, and even head to their download page right from the Open With menu. You can also clean up the "Open With" portion of the context menu for any file type, which is handy.

6. Jumplist Extender

Jumplists are still one of Windows 7's best underhyped features, and if you work them into your routine, they can be quite the productivity booster. However, you're pretty much stuck with whatever options the jumplists give you. Jumplist Extender lets you create new jumplist item for any program. You can tell the new item to make a keystroke, run a command from the command line, or even run an AutoHotkey command (so, basically, you can tell it to do anything). It makes jumplists even more useful, and lets you tweak them to fit how you use them in your workflow.

5. Process Manager

While Process Manager aims to be an easy way to kill programs from the right-click menu, it can do so much more than that. Process Manager adds more options to the system menu of any given application, letting you kill it, hide it, minimize it to the system tray, make it transparent, and more. You can even kill all y our running apps or hide all your running apps, if the boss is walking by and you need to get rid of all those Reddit tabs. It's just a few more ways to manage the mass of windows that build up during the day. Of course, if you need something a little beefier for managing tasks, you can always turn to a 3rd-party task manager, too.

4. QTTabBar (and Other Explorer Add-Ons)

Windows Explorer leaves a lot to be desired, and while you could always install a completely new file browser, there are also a few great Explorer add-ons out there that beef up your existing tools. QTTabBar is one of the best, adding tabs to the top of the window, in addition to other useful options like copying the path of a folder, custom keyboard shortcuts, and more. If that isn't your thing, you can try Better Explorer, which adds a ribbon-like interface to Explorer in an effort to emulate Windows 8's upcoming version of Explorer. And, if all you want is a few small tweaks, CustomExplorerToolbar adds and removes buttons from Windows Explorer's toolbar for you.

3. Bins

Mac OS X's "Stacks" feature is still one of our favorite features of the OS X dock, and Bins brings this functionality to Windows 7, letting you pin nearly anything to the taskbar. Pinning a bin means that clicking that icon opens up a "stack" of other icons, which is great for keeping your taskbar organized. It also lets you pin files and folders to your taskbar, which is a feature annoyingly missing from Windows. If you don't like Bins, 7stacks and StandaloneStack are both great alternatives for getting a stacks feature in Windows, and Taskbar Items Pinner will give you the pin-documents-to-the-taskbar feature.

2. Fences

If you use the desktop to hold files but need a bit more organization than it offers, Fences is for you. Fences lets you sort different types of icons into different boxes on your desktop, toggle visibility of all your icons, or even auto-detect which kinds of icons should go where. It's one of the best ways to design and create an organized desktop, and is one of the first installations I make on any Windows PC.

1. Teracopy

You may not realize it, but Windows' default method for copying files is pretty slow, not to mention kind of unreliable. It doesn't tell you what was successfully copied and what wasn't, it doesn't let you pause and resume transfers, and it doesn't optimize the process to make it go as fast as possible—all of which Teracopy does beautifully. It's the best way to transfer files on a Windows machine, and best of all, it plugs itself right into Windows Explorer. All you need to do is install it, and all future file copies will go through Teracopy's speedier, more advanced copying process. Install it, forget it, make your life simpler.

Bonus Item: ShellExView

After installing your favorite tweaks from this list, it's likely that your context menu has grown to a monstrous size. That's fine if you use a lot of the options within, but if you don't use a lot of the context menu's features, you can trim it down with something like ShellExView. We thought it irresponsible to not at least give it a mention considering we talk about so many context menu additions in this post, so here it is as a bonus tool. We also recommend checking out this guide to cleaning up your Windows context menu from our friends over at the How-To Geek, which details lots of ways—from ShellExView to tweaking the registry itself—to trim down the context menu to your liking.

As we said, great utilities abound on Windows, but there's something about a program that enhances Windows' existing features that's particularly enticing. Obviously, there are a ton of other great ones out there—from the somewhat niche like MediaTab to completely separate programs like 7-Zip. If you have a favorite Windows enhancer we didn't mention, be sure to share it with us in the comments.