Vista Horizons

Boosting Windows Vista Performance - disable search indexing

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 05:31:00 +0000

Boosting Windows Vista Performance - disable search indexing
By webstuffscan
Once I disabled this, I found that hard disk access reduced substantially and also my Internet connection was running in top speed. You can also explore Google Desktop Search which seems to be gentle when it comes to system performance.

I haven't tried this yet. Might be fun to experiment with. Every extra smidge of performance is worth a tweak. Not sure of the complete ramifications of disabling the native indexing but since I use GDS it might just be extra overhead.

Technorati Tags: gds , indexing , google , desktop

Vista Service Pack 1 Beta Overview Posted

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:08:00 +0000

Microsoft has posted an overview of Service Pack 1 for Vista. You'll find PDF or XPF versions here:

Windows Vista SP1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta Overview

Vista Battery Saver

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 05:09:00 +0000

This tiny program will save up to 70% of your battery by disabling those nice, but greedy Vista features. The program runs in the task bar and enables and disables features when the power sources changes or the battery power falls under certain percent.

I haven't had a chance to try this yet as I am running Vista on a desktop. If you use it please report back in the comments.

Vista Battery Saver on CodePlex

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Battery, Software, Utility

Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:44:00 +0000

Microsoft has a Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool. It is designed to be run on a home network that is behind a NAT router. The Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool runs the following set of tests on your router:

Basic Internet Connectivity Test
Network Address Translator Type
Traffic Congestion Test
TCP High Performance Test
UPnP Support Test
Multiple Simultaneous Connection States Test

You'll get a report at the end. If your router doesn't pass the tests, the site gives you recommendations on other routers that are Certified for Windows Vista.

[via]

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, NAT, router, test, evaluate

Best Practices for Benchmarking on Windows Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:37:00 +0000

Intel has an article covering best practices for benchmarking Windows Vista. It covers prefetch and recommended settings.

Technorati tags: microsoft, windows, vista, intel, benchmark

How to change your password in Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:07:00 +0000

ITsVISTA Tip 51: How to change your password in Vista
Nice how-to with screenshots for when it's time to change that Windos Vista password.

Increase number of simultaneous downloads in Internet Explorer 7

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 06:12:00 +0000

Arsgeek explains how to increase the number of downloads in IE7.

If you want, copy these lines to an empty text file and name it download.reg. Then run it to add the lines to your registry.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings]
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:00000003
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000003

Technorati tags: IE, Internet Explorer, downloads, hack, how-to, registry

You CAN restore in Windows Vista Home Premium

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:40:00 +0000

There is a lot of FUD and confusion going around regarding restoring files in Windows Vista Home Premium.

I have Vista Home Premium and I backup and restore just fine. In fact I can prove it with a flash demo.

Now what Home Premium cannot do is the file shadow copy.

One thing that is a little irritating if true is that, according to this site Vista Home Premium is actually doing the shadow copy but keeping you from doing shadow restores by leaving that bit of the UI out. That I can't really prove with out going to Vista Ultimate which isn't likely because of budget issues.

Update: I've thought some more about this.

Vista does shadow copy in the home versions. That makes sense because that is how it's new back up system works. There is a very technical video on Channel 9 if you want to learn more about it. Non geeks will probably not get much out of that video. Essentially once the initial back up is done then they only worry about the changes. You don't get that info without some kind of shadow copy service running.

Yeah tiered pricing is lame. Not including this UI is like the car that is wired for an iPod or cd changer but doesn't come with one unless you pay for the addon trim package. Not sure that car sales is the best model for software to follow.

Technorati tags: microsoft, windows, vista, backup, restore

Resource Kit now available for Windows Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 18:06:00 +0000

Definitive product information and expert insights straight from the Windows Vista team and Microsoft MVPs -Provides the information that every Windows administrator needs about troubleshooting, security enhancements, group policy, and automating administration -CD includes additional job aids and a fully searchable version of the entire RESOURCE KIT book

Amazon: Windows Vista(TM) Resource Kit (Pro - Resource Kit)

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Resrouce, Kit, Books

Burn ISOs directly in Windows Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 17:56:00 +0000

Neil Monday has some nice instructions on installing and using ISORecorder. ISORecorder is a new power toy for Windows Vista that lets you burn ISO images. This is brilliant. I've been using Nero 7 but sometime there are issues. Plus, Nero used to be great but they have become bloatware if all you need to do is burn the occasional file or ISO.

Windows Vista has a 'Burn' button right in each view. I've used it and it works well. Now with ISORecorder there may be no need for other 3rd party Apps.

Download the ISORecorder Power toy.
Windows Vista 32
Windows Vista 64
Windows XP SP2 and 2003

Technorati tags: Windows, Vista, Powertoy, iso, burn, cd, dvd

Movie Maker for Non Aero Versions of Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 17:44:00 +0000

If you have a video card in your Vista machine that doesn't support Aero you may have noticed that Movie Maker doesn't work. Microsoft has just remedied that situation by posting a new version (2.6) witch is non-aero compatible.

Before you download it, try launching Movie Maker. If it launches, don't download. Otherwise, you can get the new version here.

Yes, there is other great software out there but I believe something that comes with the OS should work and not be crippled because I'm not running the latest whiz-bang UI.

Technorati tags: Windows, Vista, Movie Maker, Aero

Installation Resources for Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit Systems

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:49:00 +0000

If you have questions on the Windows Vista upgrade or installation processes, these KB articles will give your more detail before you proceed.

KB 932616: Installation choices for consumer versions of Windows Vista (32-bit only)

KB 932795: Installation choices for 64-bit consumer versions of Windows Vista

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista

Windows Vista Additional License program

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:47:00 +0000

Microsoft has announced the Windows Vista Additional License program. This program is for customers who acquired a full or upgrade version of Windows Vista from retail or pre-installed.

The deal provides the ability to install the same edition of Windows Vista on any other additional computers you may own. The program allows customers to purchase up to 5 additional licenses for PCs they own at 10% off the suggested retail price.

For more information on the Windows Vista Additional License program, visit this website.

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, licenses

via

Differences between 32-bit and 64 bit Windows

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:34:00 +0000

George Ou has an introduction to the differences between 32-bit and 64 bit Windows.

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, 32-bit, 64-bit

Microsoft allows bypass of Vista activation

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 03:08:00 +0000

Last month I posted about how you could extend Vista activation deadline up to 120 days. The secret was using a little program know as the Software License Manager (SLMGR).

Today, new information has come from Windows Secrets on how to postpone activation for maybe a year or more. The fix is a simple registry change form a 1 to a 0. The article says:

Step 1. While running a copy of Windows Vista that hasn't yet been activated, click the Start button, type regedit into the Search box, then press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
Step 2. Explore down to the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ SL
Step 3. Right-click the Registry key named SkipRearm and click Edit. The default is a Dword (a double word or 4 bytes) with a hex value of 00000000. Change this value to any positive integer, such as 00000001, save the change, and close the Registry Editor.
Step 4. Start a command prompt with administrative rights. The fastest way to do this is to click the Start button, enter cmd in the Search box, then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter. If you're asked for a network username and password, provide the ones that log you into your domain. You may be asked to approve a User Account Control prompt and to provide an administrator password.
Step 5. Type one of the following two commands and press Enter:
slmgr -rearm
or
rundll32 slc.dll,SLReArmWindows
Either command uses Vista's built-in Software Licensing Manager (SLMGR) to push the activation deadline out to 30 days after the command is run. Changing SkipRearm from 0 to 1 allows SLMGR to do this an indefinite number of times. Running either command initializes the value of SkipRearm back to 0.
Step 6. Reboot the PC to make the postponement take effect. (After you log in, if you like, you can open a command prompt and run the command slmgr -xpr to see Vista's new expiration date and time. I explained the slmgr command and its parameters in my Feb. 15 article.)
Step 7. To extend the activation deadline of Vista indefinitely, repeat steps 1 through 6 as necessary.

More info on SLMGR can be found direct from Microsoft:

SkipRearm

KB 929828

How Sysprep Works

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, SLMGR, SkipRearm, kb92828, activation

New iTunes version still not fully Vista-ready

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 01:25:00 +0000

A new version of ITunes was released yesterday. Version 7.1. You can get it from Apple. They have fixed many of the issues that Vista users were experiencing with one kinda scary exception. Ejecting an iPod using the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray could result in a corrupt iPod; Apple recommends that users always eject their iPods within the iTunes software. Apple says they are working with Microsoft on this.

Technorati tags: apple, ipod, itunes, windows, vista, Microsoft

Digital Imaging in Windows Vista Photo Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:35:00 +0000

Windows Photo Gallery supplies all the tools that an amateur digital photographer needs and in an easy to use application. It is seamlessly integrated with other Windows applications to share digital content.

Barb Bowman has a nice article on Digital Imaging in Windows Vista Photo Gallery.

In the article she outlines:

How to get the images from the camera to the computer
How to add images already on your hard drive to Windows Photo Gallery
How to edit and improve your pictures using the Fix menu
How to print your photos, order prints and share edited images with friends and family

Technorati tags: digital, imaging, photography, Windows, Vista, photo, gallery

Caveman Approved

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:58:00 +0000

So Easy, A Caveman Could Do it

Technorati tags: humor, blaugh

Unreleased Vista Wallpapers

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 08:04:00 +0000

These are from a photoshoot back in 2005 and early 2006. Check 'em out!

http://www.joejoe.org/joejoe/wall/Unreleased_Windows_Vista_Wallpapers/

If you want to down load them there is a link on the last page of the comments: link

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Wallpaper, Photography

via

Palm Releases Updated Software for Windows Vista & Outlook 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 07:58:00 +0000

Palm has updated information on their web page: Windows Vista Information for Palm Smartphones and Handhelds

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Palm, Handheld

Vista Photo Gallery Video Screencast

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:24:00 +0000

Jon Udell has created and a 14-minute screencast showing off how tagging works in Windows Vista's Photo Gallery. There is some pretty cool stuff in there.

I'm still a die hard Picassa user but we'll have to see.

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Photo, Photography

New Tool: Windows Vista Hardware Assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:13:00 +0000

Brand new tool announced by Microsoft today. Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool lets you quickly determine the readiness of existing PCs to run Windows Vista and provide guidance on any necessary hardware and device driver updates. Cool thing is that in can be run on a single PC by an IT admin and get an inventory and readiness assessment of all PCs on the network (up to 5,000). Download it here.

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Hardware, Assessment, utility, tool

Windows Vista and Old Network Router Compatibility

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:03:00 +0000

Some old network routers might not be compatible with some of Windows Vista's new networking features. Microsoft has issued knowledge base article kb932134

In short, Vista has a new networking stack that provides for increased traffic and IPv6 technologies that older routers can't handle. If you want to use these features, you may be able to upgrade your router firmware if the router is fairly new or you may just have to get a new router.

The symptoms of incompatibility are:

Page errors occur when you surf the Internet.
Network performance is reduced.
The network router may stop functioning, and you must reset the router.

Updated firmware for popular routers can be found via these links:

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista, Router, Compatibility, d-link, linksys, netgear

[via: Road to Know Where]

Add Clocks to Windows Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:15:00 +0000

You can add up to 2 more clocks on your Windows Vista task tray. Simply right click on the clock at the bottom right of your screen and then click Adjust Date/Time. Then click the middle tab that says Additional Clocks'. Then you can choose the time zones you like and make any label you want.

The beauty of this is that no screen-hogging side bar is needed. Simply hovering your mouse over the clock with pop up the other 2 with their labels as:

If, instead of hovering, you left click the clock you'll get a set of analog clocks and the calendar as:

Technorati tags: microsoft, windows, vista, help, how-to, tip, trick

Vista's secret right click menu

noreply@blogger.com (Scott) — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 08:52:00 +0000

Copy as Path

Even need to send someone a link to a file? This is especially helpful in a work network environment where you have a shared file and maybe someone can't find it. You could send them the path so they know right were it is.

Press the shift key as you right click on your item and you will see Copy as Path. When you click that you'll have the entire path to the item in your clip board that you can then paste in an email or document.

Open Command Prompt

If you are a power user who often goes to the command prompt, this one is really helpful. Shift+Riqht click on a folder and you will have the option of opening a command prompt right there in that folder. This one was available as an add on power toy in XP. Good to see it build in to Vista though it is hidden.

Technorati tags: microsoft, windows, vista, help, tip