Thursday, January 07, 2010

Windows 7 God Mode - Um, yeah....not really

Over the last week or so, I have been seeing a number of posts (Twitter, Facebook, blogs) talking about gaining access to hidden features in Windows 7 that has been termed "God Mode".  Some have even called it "Super Admin" mode.  After seeing all of these posts and realizing that many have moved directly into Windows 7 or migrated from Windows XP, they do not realize that this "feature" was available in Windows Vista as well.

Let's first show how we gain access to it then we will kill the rumor and lay it out for what this "God Mode" really is.

In order to get access to this you simply do the following:

  • Open C:
  • Create a new Folder
  • Rename the folder name to GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
  • Browse all the wonderful things Windows 7 can do for you

Ok, as far as the folder name, you could name it FooBar. or David. or whatever.  The piece that makes this work is the {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}.  What exactly is this?  You may say it looks like a GUID used in Windows and found in the registry.  Yup. That is exactly what it is.

So, what exactly is this telling us? The folder name we used is basically a reference to the GUID listed in the registry.  The System.AppUserModel.ID is pointing to ControlPanel. When we open the new folder, it is simply opening a link to Control Panel and displaying the items in a list view.

Here is a listing of what the new "God Mode" displays.

In the end, there is no "God Mode" or "Super Admin" mode, only a different view to your Control Panel.  Oh, this was also available in Windows Vista, so it is not even a new thing.  It just goes to show how popular Windows 7 is turning out to be.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

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harold flamming said...

I am impressed with all this useful information. Was WAY more than I expected. I just cannot keep up with your posts. So much information to read about.

Rosena Skora said...

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