Installing Windows 7 on Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 TH

Following is my computer configuration - 

PCPartPicker

Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 TH ATX LGA1150
G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400
Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" SSD
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower
Corsair 850W ATX12V / EPS12V
LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer
Hannspree HZ281HPB 27.5"
Asus VG278HE 27.0"
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD
Razer DeathStalker
Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical
Creative Labs Creative Fatal1ty
Acer P243WAid 24" 1920 x 1200 Monitor

I attempted to install Windows 7 on this machine. I set the DVD drive as the boot device, and when Windows 7 finished loading files, the installer started, but I couldn't proceed forward because the keyboard and mouse aren't detected by Windows 7. I pluged the devices in different USB slots, but that did not help. 

I did some further research, and I found a setting in the BIOS that needed to be enabled to install Windows 7 successfully. 

Here is a link to the manual - DOWNLOAD MANUAL

Here is the screenshot from the manual that shows the settings - 

Steps

1. Go to the BIOS Features section

2. Enable Fast Boot -> Set it to Enable. This will now display USB Support options

3. Set the USB support to Full Initial

4. Save and Exit. 

This should now allow Windows installation to detect keyboard and mouse during installation. 

How To Make MS Excel 2010 Open Documents In a New Instance

This is a registry tweak to make MS Excel 2010 open documents in new instances when they are opened by double clicking on filename in Windows Explorer (or similar programs).

Step 1 - Backup registry

Step 2 - Make sure the backup can be restored

Step 3 - Changes to the registry

There are three values that need to be changed to make Excel documents in a new instance each time for XLSX extension.

- In the registry editor, Navigate to the following path - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT -> Excel.Sheet.12 -> shell -> Open -> command

- Double click on the (Default) entry

- Now, paste the following at the very end of the value: "%1"

  Be sure to add space after /dde. The value should look something like this: "path" /dde "%1"

- Now, rename the "command" registry entry right below the (Default) entry to "command2"

  Check the screenshot below

- Rename the folder "ddeexec" to "ddeexec2"

  Check the screenshot below

This should allow excel to open files in new instances by default. also disabling DDE in the Excel options does not always work. This fix is for XLSX extension.

For XLS files, make similar changes to Excel.Sheet.8

For XLSM (with macros) files, make similar changes to Excel.SheetMacroEnabled.12

For CSV files, make similar changes to Excel.CSV

NOTE - In order to avoid registry tweaks, excel can be manually opened in a new instance each time, and then the spreadsheet can be opened in that instance. However, that option does not seem to work in Windows 8.1. I went ahead and made registry tweaks in Windows 8.1 and it works fine.