vista:ultimate reference

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista

2007-08-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

I thought this article will help people to troubleshoot slowdowns in the windows boot process:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

But it will only help in cases where services of installed programs cause the slowdowns.

You can disable startup apps and see if the slowdown is caused by one of them.

If a driver is slowing down the boot process, you can check if safemode works fine, because Windows will not be loading drivers (except the ones that are really needed to get the system up and running).

How would you change Windows Vista?

2007-08-26T21:16:00.002-07:00

What do you get when you take a product used by hundreds of millions of people every day, add a few new features / polish up the interface, and then try to get everyone to shell out a grip of money for this delay- and bug- plagued upgrade? No, we're not talking about New Coke, although Microsoft probably could have learned a lesson from that failed experiment when it went about developing what would end up being Windows Vista, namely that consumers demand more than some glitz and fancy new packaging if they're to abandon an old, reliable friend. And besides that impressive Aero GUI -- which many PCs can't take advantage of anyway -- what is Vista really offering us that XP didn't? A crash-prone new media player? Exclusive "ultimate extras" that have so far amounted to a lame shareware game? A thousand chances a day to feel important when bequeathing "Administrator privileges" on all those demanding processes?

You can probably tell by now that we're no Vista proponents, and having run the new OS exclusively for almost six months at this point, we're actually about to "make the leap" back to XP. But we're not willing to give up on Redmond just yet, and the beauty of all these service packs and "Patch Tuesdays" is that some of our suggestions could conceivably be incorporated into a product that's already hit the market. So, what does Microsoft need to do to make Vista (and its price points) more palatable (short of re-releasing it based on the WinFS file system)? Loosen up the DRM restrictions? Toss the controversial WGA? Put all possible features in a single SKU like certain other companies? Well come on, we're positive that there's no shortage of suggestions out there, so let's hear 'em!

Optimal Prefetch, Vista

2007-08-26T21:16:00.001-07:00

Well, when you install system the prefetch will be very very full of windows stuff. Like over 50-70 prefetch titles are from vista alone and I doubt anyone uses everything Microsoft design in their systems. So Basically getting this fixed would be easily done by deleting .pf Files (default: C:\Windows\prefetch)after sometime from Windows Vista Installation & usage. Windows will correct this issue when there is upcoming optimizes in Vista as in vista will run after some Idle period this tool rundll32.exe which collect and optimizes entire harddrive accordingly to layout.ini & prefecth (Order: boot files->Application Files-> rest of HDD by date modified).

After that tasks has runned 5 times (manual task launching commandline: rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks ) Vista also does another sort of optimize to system. It compresses almost all the system data you haven't needed so far in vista and eventually system takes less space in your root harddrive.

Now about prefetch.. Superprefetch was as far I know designed for Software you use not for boot files to check why normal prefetch removes some application when it gets full and readds that application in the '\windows\prefetch' folder. This is good if it would actually just work on applications. It is very well functioning system I have no doubt on that, but what if you made normal prefetch only work for boot and leave Superfetch to Applications only. Anyhow tested this here now for a week and system is faster than before alot on booting and on usage.

Original Windows Vista settings by default:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters]
"EnableSuperfetch"=dword:00000003
"EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000003

The way I was talking about [prefetch=boot, Superprefetch=Apps]:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters]
"EnableSuperfetch"=dword:00000002
"EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000001

Anyhow, some high tech can put nail in to head anytime on this one, but just saying this after week of usage. More than 100 Softwares installed.

Adjust taskbar preview size for vista

2007-08-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

Taskbar thumbnail preview in Windows Vista is a great new feature that allows you to quickly see a window without having to fully open it from the taskbar. Instead, you can just hover your mouse over the taskbar item and a small preview window will be displayed.

I have been asked many times if it is possible customize the size of the preview thumbnails. Many have expressed the desire to have larger previews so they can better see the window. Finally, I have found a way.
Using a free utility written by Andreas Verhoeven called Thumbnail Sizer, it is very easy to customize the preview size.

Let’s get started:

1. Visit Ave’s Vista Apps and download a free copy of Thumbnail Sizer.

2. Once you have the software extracted, run AveThumbnailSizer.exe to get started.

3. Move the sliders to adjust the preview window size. The changes are instant. Move your mouse over a minimized window to see the results of your change.

4. Check the box if you want to turn on fade-in animation and adjust the slider.

5. Once you are happy with your changes, click the Start AveVistaThumbnailSizer with Windows if you want the utility to automatically start every time you turn on your

6. Close the Thumbnail Sizer when you are finished.
Now your taskbar previews can be so large that you can easily read text on them!

Setting File and Folder Security in Windows XP

2007-08-26T21:14:00.002-07:00

You cannot password protect individual folders in XP. You restrict access by assigning
permissions to drives, folders and files.

To do this, you must be running NTFS as your file system on the drive in question. If your hard disk/partition is not NTFS you will need to convert it. To do this, open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command:

CONVERT X: /FS:NTFS

Where X: is the drive letter you wish to convert. You may also want to see http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm to ensure that you’re getting the optimal conversion.
After this step is completed and you’ve rebooted the computer, if necessary:

XP PRO: In windows explorer, go to Tools, Folder Options, View and uncheck Use Simple File Sharing. Now, when you right click on a drive, folder or file (on an NTFS partition) and select Properties, you’ll see a security tab. Here you can assign or deny permissions based on user name or user group membership.

XP Home: By default, you can only make files and folders under My Documents “private”. This is done by right clicking a folder or file and selecting Properties, Sharing. To change the
permissions on other folders, you need to boot the computer to Safe Mode and log in on the built in Administrator account. In this mode, you’ll see the Security tab in Properties, and you can assign permissions based on user name or group membership.

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and Folders

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;308419

HOW TO: Disable Simplified Sharing and Password-Protect a Shared Folder in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;307874

ActiveX in IE7 on Top Of Vista

2007-08-26T21:14:00.001-07:00

ActiveX Controls, just like any other example of binary software, tend to evolve. This growth is of course intimately connected with updates introduced to either add new functionality or features, or simply to patch security vulnerabilities. Marc Silbey, IE Program Manager and Steve Herndon, Silverlight Lead Program Manager, have managed to come out with a three step guideline illustrating the best practices associated with ActiveX controls updating. It all starts with making detection logic an integer part of the ActiveX control. Additionally, developers also have to take into account the fact that IE7 in Vista runs by default in Protected Mode, and not automate the update to the point where the user is completely taken out of the equation.
“The best way to distribute an update is to have your ActiveX control download and install it. This update process should be kicked-off by checking the server for updates when your control is loaded in IE,” revealed Silbey and Herndon. “Complete the server check on a worker thread instead of on IE’s main UI thread, where your ActiveX control gets loaded. Following the same design principle, asynchronously check for updates quickly but not immediately. You might also want to check for the latest version only once a day or once a week instead of at every time your control gets loaded in IE.”

IE7 Protect Mode in Windows Vista completely isolates the browser from the majority of locations in the file system and in the registry. Because it runs with the least amount of privileges possible, neither Internet Explorer 7 nor the ActiveX controls will be able to install upgrades. The two Microsoft Program managers stressed the importance of delivering a separate executable that will deal with downloading and installing the update. “It’s a good idea to notify users when updates are available, and let them choose to install them. Notifying users gives them more control over the update experience and also gives them context for the UAC dialog that will follow if they choose to install the update. Following the same principle of giving users control and context, it’s not a good idea to automatically install updates or even give the user this option. Automatically installing updates doesn’t give the user control and doesn’t give them context for the UAC prompt as mentioned above,” Silbey and Herndon added

Manage the priorities of the software in Vista

2007-08-26T21:13:00.001-07:00

Recently, a faithful reader wondered about the possibility to launch software with the highest priority. If you have the same interrogations go directly in paragraph 2. If you do not understand what kind of tip is this stay a little together to formulate some explanations.

Windows Vista likes to arrange its small software as you select the most urgent tasks to make and those which can still wait a few days. This is why Vista allots five levels of priority according to what it considers most important:
Real time
High priority
Normal
To see later
I don't care, I will see that tomorrow.

In spite of this rather pointed management, it happens that you wish to grant more of capacities to software than Windows wants to provide him well. It is the case for example when you use software of video assembly.

To place software in high priority, go in the tack manager while pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete on your keyboard. This combination with the advantage of avoiding the intermediate screen of the choice of the options.

Now click on Processes tab. Choose the software concerned and click right on name. It is enough for you now to define the priority. I advice to you despite everything the option real time which implies to have a very powerful PC.

Note: the priority is valid only the time of the use of the software. With its next opening, it will be again affected at a normal priority.

That brings us to the second easy way: how devil to allot in a systematic way a particular priority. I give it to you into thousand, the solution is right below. It is first of all necessary to create a shortcut towards the software concerned:
Right click on the desktop, choose New > Shortcut
Type: cmd /c start /” the access path to the software “
Validate the creation of the shortcut.

The five levels are as follows (stronger priority with weakest): realtime, high, normal, abovenormal, belownormal. For example if you wish to give a high priority to Adobe First it will be necessary for you to type:

cmd /c start/high ” c:\program files\adobe\premiere.exe

That would be it. Now to each time you launch the software it will have the desired priority. To launch the software to starting, you do not have any more but to slip the shortcut into the tab starting of the menu to start Windows.

How to install Windows Vista on a Fat32 partition

2007-08-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

1.) Install Vista as normal on a lets say 20 GByte NTFS partition.
Dont install anything (driver, programs, updates) on this Vista because Microsoft gives you then Machinekeynumbers, that cant be copied with the Explorer (but with Winhex hihi...).
I use an IDE harddisk.

2.) Boot the same compi up from another XP ( I use an USB XP).
The harddisk with Vista stays connected.

3.) Copy all the files and folders from that Vista installation to a folder called Vista32.
Dont build the Vista32 folder on the partition with Vista, because this partition is deleted later!
Make sure, that in folder options all the system files are set visible.
hiberfil.sys, pagefile.sys, System Volume Information copy not.

4.) When you get a message, that a file cant be copied, use the program Beyond Compare 2 to look,
what has happend. You can do those copyoptions also by hand.
When you found that file or folder (I found 3, for example "Server") that cant be copied,
build this file or folder by hand and let it empty .

5.) Make a backup of your original Vista installation. I use Winhex and copy simple Byte by Byte of the installationsharddisk including the bootsector to a file called vista32.dat.
Remember, that on a Fat32 partition no single file can be larger than 4,1Gbyte.
So, this vista32.dat has to stay on a NTFS partition because it is about 20Gbyte large.
I tested this image and it works.

6.) Before you delete the partition with the original Vista on it with Partition Magic 8,
notice the exact size of this partition. Ok, delete this partition and build a new Fat32 partition at the same place with the same size as before on the same harddisk.
Set it aktiv.

7.) Now copy all the files and folders back from the Vista32 folder to that empty Fat32 partition.
Copy the Boot folder first and the Windows folder last.

8.) Disconnect your USB XP and/or any other harddisk.
Only the harddisk with the new Fat32 partition and the files and folders of Vista on it stays.

9.) When you try to start from that harddisk you get a message like no OS found.

10.) Put the Vista DVD in and hit any key.

11.) Chose install of Vista, but at the next place choose "Systemwiederherstellungsoptionen".
In the english version it must be like "systemrepair".

12.) Select a keyboard layout.

13.) Hit STRG ALT DEL and then choose no. (Means no restart of Vista)

14.) Hit "next", and then choose Command Prompt.

15.) Type cd and then the way to your DVD drive with the Vista DVD in it,
for me it is E: .

16.) Type there cd E:\boot .

17.) Then type there bootsect /nt60 C:

A message is shown, that a new bootsector for FAT32 is written!

18.) Put the Vista DVD out and shut the compi down.
When you boot up the next time, dont think that nothing happens. The harddisk seems to sleep
about 2 minutes. But then break through the light, voila there is the Vista Desktop with Fat32.
hiberfil.sys, pagefile.sys, System Volume Information have also been build new.

VistaBootPro 3.1 multi boot with Vista

2007-08-26T21:11:00.002-07:00

The operating system Vista does not use traditional Boot.ini of the former versions for the dualboot (or the multiboot). Indeed, Microsoft set up a utility in line of order to modify these parameters; all these parameters of starting of Vista are preserved in a register called “Windows Vista Boot Configuration Dated (BCD)”. You will always have the possibility of doing it manually, for that to modify these parameters in this BCD, you must use the tool of the name of “bcdedit.exe” integrated into Vista and which functions in line of orders, not always obvious to realize. This is why the software “VistaBootPro 3.1” will be to you of a great help and with its interface the possibility will give you of carrying out these changes of BCD simply.
Installation of VistaBootPRO Currently the version of “VistaBootPRO” is that Ci: “VistaBootPRO 3.1 Beta”. Once you went on the official site, after having downloaded the software and having launched achievable “the VistaBootPRO_3.1.0.exe”, this will be obtained:
Click on “Next (According to)” until obtaining this:
Notch the box “Launch VistaBootPRO 3.1 (Lancer VistaBootPRO 3.1)” then click on “Finish (To close)” to finish the installation of “VistaBootPRO”.

To safeguard your data with VistaBootPRO It is advised to carry out a safeguard of the BCD (Boot Configuration Dated), for that before any modification click on the icon of the name of “Backup/Restore Center”

It will then be enough for you to click on “Save” to launch the operation of safeguard of the BCD (Boot Configuration Dated), a window will open and will ask you to record the file of the name of “VBP_Backup.bcd” on your hard disk, click on “Recording”, you will obtain then this message “Successfully backed up BCD to D:\VBP _Backup.bcd” like this:

What means that my safeguard of my file “VBP_Backup.bcd” is on my disc of letter “D: ”. Once our safeguard will be made we will be able to pass at the following stage.
Diagnose with VistaBootPRO

To make a diagnosis of our computer and to thus see the various operating systems installed on our PC, it will be enough for you to click on “Diagnoses (Diagnoses)” then on “Run Diagnostics (Launch the Diagnostic one)” like this:

As soon as you make modifications with the software “VistaBootPRO”, start again the operation in order to avoid errors, and with each time this modification is correct it is advised to you to carry out a safeguard of the BCD (Boot Configuration Dated). Note: Before further going will know that a bad handling will prevent the machine from starting, gifts it is strongly to advise to use it with prudence.
Modification of starting with VistaBootPRO

To modify the mode of starting or the noun of your system on “Manages OS Entries”, you will have to click on next button. You will see that in the zone “OS List (List of the Operating systems OS)”, you have 3 to know: “Earlier Version of Windows”, “Vista Microsoft Windows” and “Vista Microsoft Windows”, see more closely what means the various colors in the list of the operating systems.
The color “Blue” indicates the operating system per defect (The “Blue” colored text specify the “Default OS. ”)
The “black” color indicates a “valid” system in the BCD (Boot Configuration Dated). (The “Black” colored text specify has normal “Valid” entry in the BCD Store.)
The “red” color indicates an “invalid” system in the BCD (Boot Configuration Dated), or containing errors. (The “Red” colored texts specify “Invalid” entries in the BCD Store.)

Once you know the significance of the various colors, it will not any more remain you but to choose if you wish for example to start your computer on your old operating system instead of that of “Vista Microsoft Windows”. For that it will be enough for you to click on “Earlier Version of Windows (black)” then of notching the box “Set have Default (To define by defect)”. And if you find that the name of “Earlier Version of Windows” is not appropriate to you and that you wish to give him another name, for example “Microsoft Windows XP Professional”. It will then be enough for you to also notch the box “Rename selected operating system (To re-elect the operating system selects)”. Then you will have to click on “Apply (To apply)”,

And here during your next restarting of your computer, the operating system per defect will not be any more “Vista Microsoft Windows” but “Microsoft Windows XP Professional”.
Other functionalities of VistaBootPRO

You will have also the possibility of consulting the parameters of your computer while clicking on “View Settings” or the icon of the name of “Advanced Settings (Parameters advances)” which will enable you to regulate certain parameters of “Vista Microsoft Windows” .

Note for all readers : These devices are designed for the advance user and are only recommended for the users who include/understand the implications of the changes which will be made. Here the list proposed: “Boot VGA Enabled (to boot into VGA mode uses), Boot GUI Disabled Mode (the alternate boot screen uses), Allow uses of unsigned drivers (x64 Edition Only), PAE Enabled (Physical Address Extension), EPD One (Execution Prevention Dated), Debug the boot process (yew receiving boot errors Uses), Run Vista in Kernel-Debug Mode (not recommended unless developer), Run in S.O.S Mode (Verbose Boot Mode, unfavorable No effects), Deduct Memory (MB) (Uncheck to reset) etLimit CPU' S (Uncheck to reset)”. And here are we however will not go further in the explanations, except if you make the request of it on our forum.

Use Vista without Activation for 120 Days

2007-08-26T21:11:00.001-07:00

Believe or not by default you can install, use and run Windows Vista without any license, products key or r the need of activation for 30 days grace period, for purpose of trial or evaluation. You probably thinking this is something illegal but it's not this is official way and it is legal 100%. Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Vista can be used and run for 120 days or 4 months and extending the activation grace period is not a violation of the Vista End User License Agreement. You can't use this procedure on all Windows Vista versions; exception was made with Vista Enterprise, which supports only a three-day trial. So those who have this Windows Vista version can't use this tip because it will not work.

Now if you want to extend the initial OOB grace period of Windows Vista to another 30 days fallow steps below:
1. Click Start and key in cmd in Start Search box,
2. Next step is to press Ctrl+Shift+Enter on your keyboard to open Command Prompt with administrative Privileges
3. When command promt is open type slmgr -rearm or you can use sysprep /generalize and press Enter on keyboard,
4. Restart your computer

That's it your activation period is extended for 30 days, Enjoy.

Adding fonts to cmd.exe

2007-08-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Be default, the properties on a cmd.exe window allow you to select either Raster Fonts or Lucida Console. You can add other monospace fonts to the list via the registry.

In regedit, navigate to ( Start---> regedit.exe)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ Console\TrueTypeFont

Notice that Lucida Console is already under this key with a name of "0".

Add a new sting value with the name "00" (yep, that's the required name) and set the data to the name of a monospace font already installed in your C:\Windows\Fonts folder. In this example, I added the Consolas font. It seems that additional entries require names "000", "0000", etc. Names like "1" and "2" don't work. For Pete's sake, why?

Open up a new cmd window, right-click on the system menu, select Properties | Font and there is the newly added font.

I did this because I wanted a more readable font for my PowerShell window, since I've been spending some time staring at it

Change your WEI score on Vista, Windows Experience Index guide.

2007-08-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

When you first install and run Windows Vista, it will calculate your Windows Experience Index score to evaluate your computer’s speed and graphics capabilities. Micro$oft defines the Windows Experience Index as the following: “The Windows Experience Index is a new feature built into Windows Vista that is designed to help you better understand how well Windows Vista and other software will perform on your PC. Your computer, running Windows Vista, is assigned a rating number called a “base score” that is achieved by measuring the capability of your computer’s hardware configuration. This base score rating will help you to more confidently buy additional hardware, programs, and software that are matched to your computer’s base score.”

WEI has been a point of contention for many Windows Vista users because the WEI scores tend to be extremely low. Unfortunately, some software requires your WEI score to be above a certain threshold for all the features to work. Fortunately, it is easy to artificially raise your WEI score by modifying the configuration file.

1. The first step is to check your current score. In order to check your WEI score, go to to Start >> Computer >> System Properties >> Performance

2. Click Rate this computer. It will take a few minutes while Windows evaluates your computer.

3. Your baseline WEI score will now be set.

4. In order to raise this score, navigate to the following directory: C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore

Note: You will need to have your UAC temporarily disabled to proceed with the rest of these steps…

5. You will notice one or more XML files. Every time the WEI test is run, it will create a new XML file. Open the most recent file in Wordpad (Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> Wordpad). Lines 14 - 21 have a simple score on each line with XML tags. You can manually change these scores to whatever value you want.

6. Re-save the file with the same name and close Wordpad. If Windows prevents your from saving the file, ensure that you have disabled UAC. When you check your WEI score again, you will now notice a major improvement. Start >> Computer >> System Properties >> Performance

Your new and improved Windows Experience Index will be permanently saved until you rerun the performance test. Any features of software relying on your Windows Experience Score will now be enabled. Don’t worry if you accidentally mess up the file. You can delete the file and rerun the performance test and Windows Vista will recreate the file automatically.

How To Make Vista Start, Run and Shutdown Faster.

2007-08-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

While the discussion pertains to Vista particularly, the same applies to Windows in general too ! For a general user the first three are usually more than sufficient to make your Vista faster. The remaining are some more which a tweak enthusiast may wish to consider. Utilities like WinPatrol or Tune-Up Utilities can help you in most of the cases.

1. Restrict the no. of start-ups. Why have programs starting up when you dont really use them. Even those you use can always be started manually by clicking on the. I personally prefer not to have ANY starups. I click on my Internet Defense Suite manually, before connecting to the Internet. So decide for yourself which one's you really need as start-ups.

2. Disable services which one may not require. For example, if your pc is a stand-alone one, there may be sevral services which you can disable or switch over to manual mode. Auto-starting and closing down of services takes time & resources. These can be saved. BlackViper's Vista Service Configurations Windows Vista Service Configurations by Black Viper is an excellent guide to follow.

3. Reducing visual effects (eye candy). Right-click on “My Computer” > Properties > Advanced > Performance-Settings > Visual Effects > Adjust for best performance > Apply > OK.
To allow the themes and the glass effects, you may have to check on the boxes : enable transperant glass and use visual styles; this way atleast the spirit of Vista will be preserved- else be prepared for a really bland Vista ! Use your discretion. I know disabling all can actually negate the purpose of 'eye-friendly' Vista.

4. Ensure that boot defragmentation is enabled, so that files used during start-up are clubbed together.
Start Regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction . Select Enable from the list on the right.
Right Click on it and select Modify. Change the value to Y to enable and N to disable. Reboot.

5. Disable : "clear page file on shutdown" option. Cleaning the page-file on every shutdown means overwriting the data by zeros, and it takes time.
To clear/not clear page file you can apply this reg tweak. Back up registry before trying this.
Start->run->regedit [enter]
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management
Modify (if not present, rt click in open space and create) the Value Data Type/s and Value Name/s :
Data Type: REG_DWORD [Dword Value]
Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Setting for Value Data: [0 = Clear Page File Disabled / 1 = Clear Page File Enabled]
Exit Registry and Reboot.

6. Defragment your System Disk & Fine Tune your Registry. If you find the Vista's in-built defragger slow, you can try SysInternals Power Defragmenter Download Power Defragmenter 2.0.125 - Power Defragmenter takes defragmentation process to a whole new level - Softpedia which works on Vista too ! Use the freeware CCleaner to clear up your PC Junk and clean up the Registry. Compacting the Registry occasionally is a good idea too !

7. Generally people also recommend emptying the Prefetch directory once in a while. But Windows uses this directory to speed up launching
applications. It analyzes the files you use during startup and the applications you launch, and it creates an index to where those files and applications are located on your hard disk. Using this index, Windows can launch files and applications faster. Nevertheless clearing the Prefetcher say once a month is what I do !

8. Go to BIOS settings, by pressing del key during boot-up, and disable 'seek floppy drive' option. This saves time for those who do not use floppy drives. There are also some BIOS hacks like Enabling Quick Post, Disabling Boot Daly, etc but best to refrain from these.

9. Change Boot-Order Sequence : Normally, the bios is set to boot from floppy first, then CD and then Hard Disk. Changing the Boot-Order to be: Hard Disk first, then maybe CD/Floppy, could possibly "shave" a second, I guess !

10. Disable windows startup/shutdown/logon/logoff sounds. Go to control panel, sounds & audio devices, sound tab, in program events select 'no sound' for these events.

11. Disable the ScreenSaver if you dont need it. Rt-Click desktop>ScreenSaver>None>OK.

12. Fonts take time to load. Removing some can save on resources. But one must be careful in deciding which fonts to remove. If you delete some system fonts, you may b in for trouble. Tweak VI Pro is a good shareware to manage fonts. It uninstalls fonts without physically removing them. Open its help file. It lists down the system fonts which must not be deleted ! use the list; and then decide what to delete and what to keep.

13. To REALLY reduce your shutdown time.
Start Regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.
Click on the "Control" Folder. Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"
Right click on it and select Modify. the default value is ( i think) 12000.
Setting it to a lower 4 digit value,( say 1000) will make your PC shutdown faster, but you could end up losing data, so use this tweak judiciously.

14. Get rid of all the extra programs Windows Vista installs. You may not be using some like WLM, Calculator, Games, Meeting Space, Fax, etc. Go To Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features > Turn windows On or Off and do the needful.

15. Go To Control Panel\System and Maintenance\Performance Information and Tools. On the LHS you will see options to Adjust Indexing options, visual effexts, power Settings, etc. These all help directly and indirectly.

WinVistaClub : Windows Vista Features, Tips, Security & More !

Do remember that your Vista-based machine will tend to run a little faster, after the first few weeks after it's installed, thanks to its new feature called "SuperFetch" Windows Vista: Features Explained: SuperFetch ; which basically studies the programs that the user frequently runs and loads them into memory automatically.

Raise Your Windows Vista Experience Index ... with a Tweak !!!

2007-08-26T21:05:00.001-07:00

When you first install and run Windows Vista, it will calculate your Windows Experience Index score to evaluate your computer's speed and graphics capabilities.

Rt-click on Computer and click on Properties. Here you will get to see your machines Windows Experience Index ! My hpdv6226us shows ALL OF 2.2 actually !

But you can easily change this figure as follows ! Well, this is more of a gag tweak, actually !

Go to C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore and check for the latest xml file. Open it with Word. navigate to Lines 12-19. They will show scores of your PC on various accounts. You can just change the main one in Line-12 to whatever figue you want. For instance I changed mine to 9.9 !

Save the file with the same name. You may have to disable UAC. Now check your WEI ! It will show you the figure you wrote and your "new" WEI will be permanently saved till you run the performance test again. Features of software relying on your Windows Experience Score will now ALSO get enabled. And if you do mess up the xml file, don't worry, just delete it and rerun the test !

Remove Hibernation in Windows Vista

2007-08-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

Hibernation is not made unavailable when you set the value of the Hibernate after setting to Never by using the Power Options item in Control Panel.

To make hibernation unavailable, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
2. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
3. When you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
4. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off, and then press ENTER.
5. Type exit, and then press ENTER.

To make hibernation available, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
2. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
3. When you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
4. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate on, and then press ENTER.
5. Type exit, and then press ENTER to close the Command Prompt window.

Hack User Account Control for vista

2007-08-26T21:03:00.002-07:00

Windows Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) is the new operating system’s most universally reviled feature. Sure, it helps protect you, but it also annoys you to no end.

If UAC drives you around the bend, you can turn it off. There are several ways to do it. One way is to choose Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts, then click Turn User Account Control on or off.

Alternately, you can run the System Configuration Utility (a.k.a. msconfig) by typing msconfig at the command line or search box. When the tool runs, click the Tools tab and scroll down until you see Disable UAC. Highlight it and click the Launch button, then reboot. To turn it back on again, follow the same steps and choose Enable UAC.

If you’re a fan of the Registry, you can also disable UAC using the registry editor the Registry Editor by typing regedit at the Start Search box or a command prompt and pressing Enter. Go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Policies\System\EnableLUA

and give it a value of 0. You will need to reboot in order for the change to take effect.

UAC is also the culprit for another nagging Windows vista annoyance. When you run some commands from the command prompt, you’re told that you don’t have administrative rights to run them, even if you’re currently logged in as an administrator.
That’s because UAC requires you to run the command prompt as an administrator — what’s called running an elevated command prompt. Simply being logged in as an administrator isn’t good enough; you still have to run an elevated command prompt.

One way to do it is to type cmd into the Search box on the Start menu, right-click the command prompt icon that appears at the top of the Start menu, then select Run as administrator.

But if you don’t want to go about doing that each time you run a command prompt, there’s a simpler way. You can create a desktop shortcut for an elevated prompt, or pin the elevated prompt to the Start menu.

To create a shortcut on the desktop:

1. Right-click the desktop, and select New > Shortcut.

2. In the text box of the Create Shortcut dialog box that appears, type cmd and then click Next.

3. On the next screen, type a name for the shortcut — for example, Elevated Command Prompt. Then click Finish.

4. Right-click on the shortcut you just created and select Properties.

5. Select the Shortcut tab and click the Advanced button.

6. Check the box titled Run as administrator. Click OK and then OK again.

Now, when you want to run an elevated command prompt, simply double-click the shortcut.

If you’d like the elevated command prompt to appear on the Start menu, drag it from the Desktop to the Start button and place it where you would like it to be.

Theme for Maximum Transparency

2007-08-26T21:03:00.001-07:00

Use this patcher for max transperency. Its a DLL patcher

Download Link
VistaGlazz.exe

What is Vista Glazz ?

With VistaGlazz you can patch your Vista system files and modify your Aero msstyle to be transparent on maximized windows.

This product is for Vista RTM versions only (supporting Aero).
Administrator rights are a must, rights will be elevated in UAC.

Uninstall vista bootloader

2007-08-26T21:02:00.002-07:00

Now this particular problem arises when you have installed Microsoft Windows Vista Beta\RC1 on your existing windows systems in dual-boot mode, while installing windows vista overwrites the system MBR (Master Boot Record) to let you make choice between windows vista and Windows XP Or any other operating systems. But when you uninstall windows vista these settings just remain as it is and hence the dual-boot menu is visible even after uninstallation of windows vista.

Solution 1
The Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is started in Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn” operating systems.These parameters were previously in the Boot.ini file (in BIOS-based operating systems) or in the nonvolatile ram (NVRAM) entries (in Extensible Firmware Interface–based operating systems).

You can use the Bcdedit.exe command-line tool to affect the Windows® code which runs in the pre-operating system environment by adding, deleting, editing, and appending entries in the BCD store. Bcdedit.exe is located in the WindowsSystem32 directory of the Windows Vista partition.

Why was there a change to BCD from Boot.ini?
BCD was created to provide an improved mechanism for describing boot configuration data. With the development of new firmware models (for example, the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)), an extensible and interoperable interface was required to abstract the underlying firmware.

This new design provides the foundation for a variety of new features in Windows Vista (for example, the Startup Repair tool and Multi-User Install shortcuts).
VistaBootPRO is an application used to make changes to the Windows Vista Boot Configuration Data (BCD) registry quickly and easily, in a fraction of the time it takes to use the alternative, which is the command prompt based application bcdedit.exe, located in the Windowssystem32 folder of Windows Vista.

Designed for both beginners and advanced users, VistaBootPRO can be used to make “cosmetic” changes to the Windows Vista boot Menu such as changing the name of the Operating Systems shown in the boot menu and make advanced “functional” changes like adding an Operating System to the boot menu and repairing the Windows Vista boot configuration data.

Advanced settings include backing up and exporting your boot loader configuration and modifying various details for the entries.

For those who have used bcdedit.exe in the past, you will be impressed with the ease of use and functionality that VistaBootPRO provides.

Simply install this software on your Windows XP system and delete the Windows Vista entry. It is advisable to make a backup of existing boot config using VistaBoot Pro incase anything goes bad. Download

Solution 2:
This solution is the second best option for the problem, for this You need a Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional CD.

Just change you BIOS settings to boot from CD\DVD-ROM drive and boot from your Windows XP CD. Now, you would see screen as below, Choose the “Recovery Console” option by presing ‘R’ key.

Now it should display the screen below, if asked enter you Admin password. type FIXMBR and press enter, press ‘Y’ to confirm as shown below
Now, you need to type: FIXBOOT and press enter , press ‘Y’ to confirm

Now, remove the XP CD from drive and restart your computer, This should remove the EXTRA Windows Vista Boot Option.

Top 5 Things About Windows Vista That Still Suck

2007-08-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

Is Vista the operating system love to hate, or the one you hate to love? Those conflicting thoughts surfaced as I followed Ed Bott’s provocative post on whether vista scare stories are distorting user perceptions. My take: Vista wouldn’t be my primary OS if I didn’t really like it, but it’s still got issues. Five in particular stick in my craw.

Application "Not Responding”
When Windows XP doesn’t want to do stuff, it simply locks up in what I call car-crash mode. You know: Those 15 seconds when XP isn’t responding to your mouse click (and 20 re-clicks) seem like a couple of hours. When you get several mini-lockups in a row, you know it’s time to reboot and shake free whatever process (often, rundll32.exe) that has run amuck.

Standard operating procedure in Vista is both better and worse. I call it the “stutter-start” response. When Vista’s flummoxed, it doesn’t outright up and die on you. Instead, you get that little swirling circle and a “Not Responding” message in the title bar of internet explorer, Mail, Search, or whatever window you happen to be in.

My criticism here is not so much about how Vista is notifying the user, or the more gentle lack of response as compared to XP. Both amount to graceful degradation, which is the proper way to design systems software

Rather, my issue is that Vista often goes into “Not Responding” mode when it’s not really locked up, but rather loading an app and launching its executable. I’ve repeatedly observed this with Windows Mail, where the app opens up partially, posts up the “no mas” message, and then finishes loading and begins checking your mail.

Obviously, there was really no problem, so why was I notified that there was? Possibly, it’s a time-constant issue, but I guess if Microsoft lengthened the interval before issuing a warning, we’d be back in XP car-crash territory.

“User Account Control” Messages
Microsoft has made noises about improving the user experience surrounding these intrusive security-warning dialog boxes, which seemingly pop up every time you want to do anything.

They’re supposed to protect users from launching malware or bad executables. However, as I’ve previously written, they pop up so frequently they’re the computer equivalent of the airline ticket agent asking you if anyone has handled your luggage.
I should mention that many software experts have pointed out that things would be worse if there were no warnings at all. Still, the User Account Controls as they currently exist are pretty much Microsoft’s version of a software brain fart. They should be fixed.

Messy Windows Update Installs
My gripe here is not that Microsoft is issuing Windows Updates–patches to fix vulnerabilites in Vista and its associated applications. That’s a good thing.

The problem, most particularly in the early days of Vista, was that updates would be installed automatically when one’s system powered down, and then the next time you booted up, the PC sometimes wouldn’t work properly. There was a particularly nasty glitch, right after Vista was released, where you’d reboot from an update and your PC would ask you to reactivate Vista. (This was quickly fixed.)

Another canonical case, early on, was the situation where a user left a battery-powered la running, the battery ran down, and the system ended up with a messed up, half-installed update.

Possibly Windows Update now runs flawlessly, but I wouldn’t know. I’ve shut off the automatic-install feature, and now manually vet all suggested updates by going to Microsoft’s knowledge base and making sure each item is indeed something I want.

Which leads me to what’s perhaps the more important issue: Microsoft seems to have a particularly aggressive update policy. Sure, I want Microsoft to push down important security updates, as well as patches which fix bugs. However, mixed in with the important stuff are a lot of what I call “gotcha”–things related to DRM, language packs, etc.

True, as a user you don’t “own” Vista, you’ve simply purchased a license to use it, so Microsoft can pretty much update it as it chooses. However, stuff which either impinges upon ones privacy, or tilts the OS towards becoming bloatware, should be off limits, which is why I’m keeping auto updating turned off.

Now we’re back where I began, with Ed Bott’s post relating to Internet Explorer 7. To be fair, there are no showstopper problems which prevent IE7 from doing a fairly decent job as your primary Web browser.

However, if you ask me, “Is IE7 as good as it can possibly be?,” the answer is clearly no. Back that up, you say? Okay:

- Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 928089: The computer may respond very slowly as the Phishing Filter evaluates Web page contents in Internet Explorer 7;

- Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 911860: Internet Explorer no longer works correctly when you use a very long name in the Internet Explorer Favorites folder;

- Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 935855: Error message when you try to start Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista: “You must be an administrator to open Internet Explorer on this desktop.”

True, these have all been fixed, otherwise there wouldn’t be these Knowledge Base articles. It’s also true that firefox has been amply patched itself.

The main problem I have, which I can’t quantify, but I defy you to tell me I’m wrong, is that IE7 simply doesn’t perform as well as either IE6 or Firefox 2.0.0.5. Pages . . . load . . . more. . . slooooowly. (Sometimes, really slowly. Bad browser. Very bad.)

The Need For More Memory
How much memory one actually needs to run Vista adequately is one of the great mysteries of life. The official word from Microsoft is that “Vista Capable” PCs need at least 512 MB or memory and “Vista Premium Ready” PCs need at least 1 GB.

“Capable” is defined by Microsoft as “will be able to run at least the core experiences” of Vista. “Premium Ready” means “including Windows Aero,” which is the translucent, Mac-like user interface presentation. (If you ask me, you pretty much need Aero if you want Vista to be Vista.)

Microsoft’s memory requirements raises two issues. The first is, while Microsoft says “at least,” people pretty much ignore those two words. Thus, there’s the expectation that a PC outfitted with Vista Home Basic and 512-MB of Ram will run just fine. Many bloggers have disputed that, though I should point out that Ed Bott, the respected Windows expert I linked to above, says that 512 MB is needed okay for Vista Home Basic

My experience is with Vista Ultimate, so I’ll stick to that. I can say that 1-GB is adequate, but that anyone who wants a decent experience with Ultimate should really get 2-GB. That’s what I’m currently running, and I’m soon planning to upgrade further.
My suspicion is that Microsoft is underemphasizing the hardware requirements one needs to really enjoy Vista. Along with more than the minimum suggested memory, you’d do well to buy the hottest graphics card you can afford. It’s not necessarily bad that you have to have all this stuff–though the added costs have clearly been an impediment to corporate adoption of Vista–it just is. But Microsoft should be more upfront about it, the better not to disappoint newbies, who will be impressed when they see what Vista can really do when it’s running unfettered. Like I said, Redmond has nothing to apologize for, so why downplay the truth?

Back Up Your File Encryption Key in Windows Vista

2007-08-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

WIndows Vista includes a file encryption technology very similar from a user perspective to the one that existed in Windows XP, but Vista makes it very easy to make a backup of the file encryption key. In XP, your encrypted files would be lost if you changed your password. In Vista, an encryption key is used to sign the encrypted files, which also means it can be backed up.

It’s critically important that you make a backup of your encryption key if you decide to use the encryption features. Thankfully Vista reminds you immediately after the first time you encrypt a file.

To use the Wizard to back up the encryption key, just click on the popup notification when it comes up.

Select “Back up now” from the wizard screen.

Hit next… You may as well select all the possible information to back up, in case you have multiple keys for some reason.

You’ll have to enter a password for the key. This password will be used if you try and restore the encryption key later. Make sure you choose a good password, and make sure that it’s also something you’ll remember. This is where a password safe application might help.

On the next screen, you can enter a filename, or you can click the Browse button and choose a folder location. (It was easier for me to click Browse) Type in the file name that you want here.

Hit next and then finish, and you should see that the export was succesful. Now it’s very important to back that file up to somewhere safe. A spare usb drive wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Note: If you selected “Never Back Up”, or you just don’t see the popup notification, don’t fear, you can still back up the encryption key. Just open up Control Panel, and type in “certificate” (or the first few letters, as you can see below)

Click on “Manage file encryption certificates” and then hit next on the resulting dialog window.

You should see a very simple screen that makes it easy to back up the encryption key in a single step. Honestly, I think this route is faster than using the other wizard, and it bugs me that they made two different screens to accomplish the same thing.

Same as before, select a filename and password (Use the browse button to select the filename more easily)

Check the box for “I’ll update my encrypted files later”, because you aren’t actually changing the certificate at this point, just backing it up.

…make sure that you back up the key file safely.

Using Windows Mobility Center in Vista

2007-08-26T21:00:00.001-07:00

Windows Vista includes an extremely useful utility called Mobility Center, designed forlaptop users to give you lightning quick access to all functions that a mobile user would need.

Open Mobility Center

Use the hotkey Win+X to quickly launch mobility center. You could also find it in the Start menu.

Windows Mobility Center Features

Mobility Center gives you access to features relevant to laptop users. This is a quick overview.

Display Brightness By default Windows Vista dims the screen when on battery mode. You can easily adjust the brightness here.
Volume You can easily change the volume or mute it entirely.
Battery Change the current power management scheme.
Network Center Quickly turn wireless networks on/off.
External Display Change your external display settings. Just click the Connect display button to choose how you want the display.
Screen Rotation If you have a Tablet PC, you can change the rotation of the screen quickly.
Sync settings Sync offline folders or devices quickly.
Presentation Settings Connect to a projector easily.

Tips

You can use the tab key to navigate through the items, or use the quick access hotkeys. For instance:

Mute Volume Win+X then Alt+M
Change Volume Win+X then 4 Tabs then right/left arrow keys
Change Brightness Win+X then Tab then right/left arrow keys

Enjoy your mobile computing experience!

Setting Up A Dual-Boot Linux And Vista PC

2007-08-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

After covering setting up dual-boot Dos/Linux and Vista/Linux systems (where Windows was installed first), I decided it was time to take a look at how easy it is to install Vista onto a PC where a Linux distro was already installed. Turns out it’s not all that difficult, but it’s easier if Windows is installed first.

Now, I think it’s realistic to say that there’s going to be more people who want to install linux onto a Windows PC than Windows onto a Linux system, but since a number of people contacted me privately by email asking for pointers, I still think that there’s an audience for this kind of information (most seem to want to set up Windows on a Linux PC so that they can play games on the system).

Installing vista onto a system that already has a Linux distro installed (say, for example, Ubuntu) isn’t difficult as such, but it certainly is more complicated than adding a Linux partition to a drive with Windows on it.
What you need:
OK, apart from a PC with Linux installed on it, you’ll need a disc and a GParted Live CD, or you can use the GNOME Partition Editor system application already installed with the Linux distro. For clarity and simplicity, I’ll use a GParted Live CD I have in at the PC Doc HQ. You can download the latest GParted Live CD from SourceForge (current version is 0.3.4-8).
You will also need a copy of EastBCD 1.6 in order to be able to tweak the Vista boot loader (basically it’s a GUI front end for the BCEDIT boot loader editor in Vista). This will need to be installed into Windows Vista.

The process:
OK, here’s how you set up a Linux/Vista dual-boot system where Linux is installed first:
Boot the Linux PC using the GParted Live CD. During boot up select the auto-configuration boot option.
Work your way through the keyboard and language settings of GParted and then once the GUI is loaded right-click on the main partition (the partition onto which Linux is currently installed, probably /dev/sda1) and choose Resize/Move.
Next simply use the slider to allocate enough space for Windows Vista (allow at least 8GB). Once you are happy with the settings, click Resize/Move.
Nothing has changed yet - to commit the changes to the partition click Apply.
Once the changes have been made right-click on the partition that is just been resized and select Manage Flags. Remove the boot flag by unchecking boot and click Close (this is necessary to allow the installation of Vista because it wont install where there a bootable non-Windows partition on the drive).
Close GParted and shut down the system.
Remove the GParted Live CD and boot up off a Windows Vista Installation CD
Install Vista normally. However, remember to install it onto the disk space you just freed up using GParted (it’ll show up as unallocated space, more than likely on Disk 0).
Windows Vista will, during installation, overwrite the disk is MBR and this will mean that the GRUB boot loader will be lost. This means that once the system boots up into Windows you wont be able to find Linux anywhere. Dont panic! It is still there! What you need to do is modify the Vista boot loader to boot up Linux. On the face of it this might sound complicated, but dont worry, it is not! Start off by shutting down Windows and booting the system off a Linux Live CD corresponding to the distro you have installed (in my case, Ubuntu).
Once the Live CD is loaded fire up a Terminal window (Applications Accessories Terminal).
In the Terminal window type the following (which will set the user to superuser mode and launch GRUB):
sudo grub
Next find the partition where the GRUB files are located:
find /boot/grub/stage1
You will now see a reply such as (hd0,0). Set this location as root by typing the following:
root (hd0,0)
Next type the following to reinstall the GRUB boot loader:
setup (hd0,0)
Finally, exit Terminal by typing:
quit
Make a note of the location you installed GRUB to ; you will need it when we come to use EasyBCD in a moment.
OK, now you need to go back into Windows Vista and launch EasyBCD.
Click on Add/Remove Entries followed by the Linux/BSD tab.
From the Type dropdown box choose Grub. Change the default name from NeoSmart Linux to the name of the Linux distro and from the Drive dropdown box choose the partition onto which you installed GRUB earlier (more than likely it willl be Drive 0, Partition 0). When you are done click on Add Entry followed by Save.
Restart the PC.
The Windows boot manager will now show you two options - Windows Vista and the Linux distro.