Configuring my miner

I have read a post describing configuration files for a miner but it fell short of describing the parameters and telling us where to place the configuration file according to your OS. I have two machines I would like to experiment mining with using both Win7 and Wheezy. I have installed the Win7 miner, it has a wallet and it is working but I don't know where to place my configuration file. I am even further back on my Wheezy box. Here, I am uncertain of how to place the files so that I can run them. The ReadMe indicates to place the executables in the /bin directory after installing the support libs but I don't seem to have access to it. I didn't have trouble installing the libs because they were on the servers as .deb files but sourceforge only provides the zip archive for the miner.

My Win7 questions:
1. If I enable my SSE on the configuration file do I count more CPU execution units?
2. If I have a choice of where to place my configuration file, where is the safest directory that won't penalize my performance?
3. Is the mining work activity changed in any way by adding or editing a configuration file?
4. When does the configuration file take effect on the miner?

My Wheezy questions:
1. If I export my wallet from my Win7 miner, will my Wheezy miner use it correctly?
2. Where do I place this exported wallet for it to work properly?
3. Do I need to make my Wheezy miner directory invisible?
4. Do any of the Win7 questions above have different replies using Wheezy?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.