Tricks for Windows Vista

Tricks for Windows Vista « Nayanscorpio’s Weblog

Tricks for Windows Vista

1. If you’re annoyed by Internet Explorer’s incessant barking that you’ve lowered your security settings (like, if you’re a non-paranoid expert), launch “gpedit.msc” from either the Run command or Start Search field, navigate through Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Internet Explorer. In the rightmost pane, double-click “Turn off the Security Settings Check feature” and set it to Enabled.
   2. If Internet Explorer’s Information Bar also annoys you, you can turn it off (again) in the Group Policy Object Editor (gpedit.msc) through Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Internet Explorer / Security Features. In the rightmost pane, double-click “Internet Explorer Processes” and set it to Disabled. Hallelujah!
   3. I’ve just mentioned two tweaks that are buried inside the Group Policy Editor. Jim Allchin pointed out that there’s a Group Policy Settings Reference spreadsheet available. Makes for great weekend reading.
   4. Read the Background on Backgrounds if you’re a performance junkie. Don’t set your wallpaper through Internet Explorer ever again! Now that Windows supports JPG wallpapers, there’s absolutely no need (or excuse) for using BMPs anymore.
   5. If you insist on keeping UAC (User Account Control) turned on for yourself, you might care to make the elevation prompts a bit less visually jarring. Brandon told me about this one, even though I have UAC turned off. Launch the Local Security Policy manager (secpol.msc), and navigate through Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options. In the rightmost pane, scroll to the bottom and double-click “User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation.” Disable it, and you can keep UAC turned on without getting turned off by the embarrassingly craptacular Aero Basic theme.
   6. Vista can send you emails! The Computer Management tool can still be accessed by right-clicking “Computer” and selecting “Manage” from the menu. However, now you can attach a task to any event. Try navigating through System Tools / Event Viewer / Windows Logs / Application. Now, go ahead and select an event – then look to the rightmost pane and click “Attach Task to This Event.” Name it whatever, describe it however, click through the next step, then in the Action step, you’ll see the “Send an e-mail” option.
   7. The Windows Task Manager gives you a lot more troubleshooting information in Vista. Flip to the Processes tab, and in the View menu, click “Select Columns” and add Description, Command Line, and Image Path Name. Moreover, when you right-click a process, you can select either “Go to Service(s)” or “Open File Location.” These are all long overdue options.
   8. This one’s interesting. Open up the Date and Time Control Panel applet. Flip to the “Additional Clocks” tab. There, you can configure two more clocks from different time zones. They’ll appear in the tooltip when you hover over the Taskbar clock. No additional software (or silly sidebar widgets) necessary.
   9. Applicable in other versions of Windows, I’m going to throw it in here for good measure. Create a shortcut to RegSvr32.exe in your SendTo folder. To get there quickly, enter “shell:sendto” in the Run command dialog or Start Search field. Now, when you wanna register a DLL or OCX file with the system, you can select it/them and “Send To” the RegSvr32 shortcut.
  10. I figured I’d round out my first set of Windows Vista tips and tricks with a tiny bit of eye candy. It doesn’t beat Picasa, but the Windows Photo Gallery is better than nothing. Once it’s indexed all your photos, click the icon next to the Search field and turn on the “Table of Contents.” That’s kinda nifty.

•  Is Computer Keep Slowing Down read this to speed up your computer

 When a computer comes from the factory with it’s default settings, it has been optimized to run properly, and even with an older processor, it runs reasonably fast. Over time, as you add files and software – and just as importantly, remove files and software – your computer gets farther and farther away from its optimal settings which cause it to slow down.  To put this in perspective, it would be like adding parts to your car, and then removing some other parts and then adding more parts after that. Finally, your car doesn’t run very well anymore.
More specifically, there are several primary areas that cause computer slowness and the good news is that once corrected, will have a dramatic impact on restoring lost performance to your system.

The most common causes of a slow computer are too many programs running in the back ground and a system registry that is out of tune. The registry is a complex set of keys that represent the instructions your windows computer uses to function, and when these get out of alignment or corrupted, your system essentially starts running in circles with its internal processing and eats up a huge amount of processing power.  Signs of a messed up registry include freezing, crashing, and system melt downs. 
Another common problem is that you have too many programs running behind the scenes. In this case, we’re not talking about the programs you are currently using like Word or your internet browser, instead we are talking about programs that have active processes running behind the scense.  There can literally be hundreds of programs of various sizes running in the background – all of which rob your computer of processing power, and can bring your system to a literal stand still.
To determine if your system is in fact running slow because of problems in your registry, you will need to run a self diagnostic program such as Registry Patrol.  This is a free program that will thoroughly deep scan your entire computer for errors and then report back to you any problems it finds at no charge – which means you can figure out what is wrong without having to buy anything in advance or pay a technician to essentially perform the same function. 
Programs such as Registry Patrol work by scanning all of your files and hard drives and then creates a cue report of any problems it determines are causing problems. It’s not uncommon to find out that your computer has literally hundreds of irregular settings and errors – in fact when we did a test of the program on a computer in our office, it found 916 errors on the initial trial scan.   
The main advantage of using a registry repair program is it will instantly fix the majority of the problems that are slowing down your computer quickly and safely – and is a whole lot cheaper than having a technician look at your computer. It also has a feature that allows you to stop programs from loading when you turn on your computer which is often a problem for older systems with too many start up applications trying to get started every time you boot your machine up. In addition, Registry Patrol will also clean what is called your cache files which will dramatically speed up your internet performance.
For those of you running the Windows XP system, you might also want to consider the XP Medic program which offers several more advanced features than the Registry Patrol application, including the ability to completely optimize your entire XP operating system and speed it up significantly.     
Registry Patrol and XP Medic are both free to install and operate and will likely solve many of the slow processing problems your computer may be experiencing.