Windows Vista Hints, Tips & Tweaks

[muckshifter]

By default, Vista's Start Menu Power Button will put your PC to Sleep, not actually shut it down, especially if you ain't looking in the right place.

The default Power Management has a default settings for a Laptop ... pretty OTT for desktop use ... so, we need to change it.

OK, to save me some time on the first one, take a gander at Modifying the Start Menu Power Button nice, but a bit long winded in getting to the end result.

Try my way ... Click the Start Button, now just type "power options" (without the quotes) into the search bar ... there you go, quick, innit.

In XP, we all went about turning off the "Index Service" especially on the hard drive (un-ticking the box) ... well, Vista's version actually works, and I for one will be keeping it running.

Why? well for one reason I highlighted above for a start, another is ... it works, works in the background, is a Low Priority AND has no adverse affect on normal operation of your PC ... well, it may take longer to "finish" booting to the desktop and for the HD to stop flashing away like mad ... but I truly believe, or I wouldn't be saying so, that the benefits out-way turning it off entirely. You can "configure" how you want it to work.

Just type "indexing options" as we did above in the Start button search bar ... that little search bar is going to become your new friend, so don't go turning Indexing off just yet.


There is a nice "tool" in Vista, especially for anybody needing to take "screen shots" of the desktop or open window ...

May I introduce you to the ... Snipping Tool. You can find the Snipping Tool either via Start / Accessories / Snipping Tool or by simply typing Snip into any Search window.

Click the Start button, and as before, just start typing "Sn..." ... I bet before you finish, you'll see the Snipping Tool program listed right at the top of the list. Click on it ... is that nice ? Now, drag it to your Quick Launch on the taskbar.


Did you know you can remove the text under a desktop icon.

Take the Recycle Bin, we all know what it is for, it's plane for all to see, so why not remove the text ... Right-Click on it and go to Rename, hold down the ALT key & type 255 and press Enter. Done, no text.

Now a word of warning, you can only do that once, it you want to remove the text from other desktop icons you will have to use this method for the next one ... hold the ALT key down again and type 255 255 ... yep, twice ... for the third icon, you'll need three 255 255 255 ... and so on. Me, I only ever have the recycle bin on the desktop anyway. oh, and it works in XP too

You are simply typing in a blank using ALT 255's ACSI code for a blank space.


More to come ...


Enjoy!
mucks

 

[muckshifter]

Sticky Notes
Microsoft Sticky Notes is a simple little program that is opened by going to the Start Menu and typing in "Sticky Note" in the "Start Search" box.


Either hit "Enter" or click on one of the two items in the Result list. (You can then create a shortcut for it and place it wherever you like) It lets you create small notes and place them on your desktop in a stack. You can configure them to open at startup or always to be on top.

A sticky note can contain writing or an audio recording (voice note). To create a voice note, you tap the New Note button at the bottom right of an existing note and then tap Record at the bottom left. Speak into the microphone to record your note (up to a maximum of 30 seconds).

Watch this space folks ...

 

[muckshifter]

Sorry folks, but I will say it again and again ... do not turn off any "unneeded" services, you ain't "improving" anything.

Why am I repeating that message here ... simple.

Someone asked me where the Sticky Notes can be found and was it specific to a particular Vista module. Sticky Notes is enabled in all but Basic Vista AFAIK.

Turning off/disable "Table PC" will cause you to loose the ability to use or find Sticky Notes.


Have fun ...

 

[muckshifter]

Add Copy To / Move To on Vista's right-click menu

There's a registry hack for Windows that will let you add a Copy To Folder or Move To Folder to the right-click menu, which can be very useful when you want to move a file but don't have the other folder open already.

Right-click on a file:

And up pops a nice dialog that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.

Install

Just download, unzip, and double-click on the registry files. You can choose to use the copy to, move to, or both.

Download Copy To / Move To Registry Tweak

 

[muckshifter]

Add Home Directory icon to the desktop ...

One of the new changes in Windows Vista is that each user has a "Home" directory that is actually accessible and meant to be used. In XP and 2k, you had a hidden home directory that you weren't meant to muck around in.

Some of the new features, like the Downloads directory, are only accessible through your Home directory, which is why it makes sense to put an icon for it right on the desktop.

To do this, click the Globe button, and then right click on your User name. Choose the Show on Desktop option.

Now your home directory icon should show up on your desktop ...

Now, if like me you do not like any icons on your desktop, simply drag the icon to your Quick Launch toolbar.

 

[nivrip]

There's a registry hack for Windows that will let you add a Copy To Folder or Move To Folder to the right-click menu, which can be very useful when you want to move a file but don't have the other folder open already.

Great little tweak, Mucks. That was something I really missed on Vista.

 

[muckshifter]

A nice little add-on to Windows Sidebar ...


Windows Sidebar Styler is an application which takes advantage of various technologies introduced in Windows Vista in order to provide extensions to the existing functionality of Windows Sidebar.

http://www.stoyanoff.info/blog/code/styler/v205/

Another benefit to this tool is that you can load more powerful gadgets utilizing WPF (Windows Presentation Framework).

 

[muckshifter]

Quick launch hotkeys

As I have previously stated, I don't have any Icons on my desktop, well I do have the recycle bin ... I use the Quick Launch toolbar.

Windows Vista lets you use hotkeys for the first 10 items in the Quick Launch menu. These hotkeys are assigned automatically, so there's no need to do anything other than understand how they work.



http://For each icon in the Quick launch bar, the hotkey Win + number is assigned. These are assigned from left to right, 1-9 (and 0 for 10).

For instance:

1. Show Desktop
2. Flip3D
3. Windows Media Player
4. Internet Explorer

That would mean the automatic hotkeys are assigned like this:

1. Win + 1 - Show Desktop:
2. Win + 2 - Flip3D:
3. Win + 3 - Windows Media Player
4. Win + 4 - Internet Explorer

Seems kinda a waste to use Show Desktop and Flip3D when you can use Win + Tab and Win + D for those anyway. So why not move them over to the right, yeah, I have more than ten items in my QL toolbar … simply click-n-drag.

 

[nivrip]

May I introduce you to the ... Snipping Tool. You can find the Snipping Tool either via Start / Accessories / Snipping Tool or by simply typing Snip into any Search window.

Click the Start button, and as before, just start typing "Sn..." ... I bet before you finish, you'll see the Snipping Tool program listed right at the top of the list. Click on it ... is that nice ? Now, drag it to your Quick Launch on the taskbar.

Another little beauty, Mucks.

EXCEPT, I can't get it into the Task Bar

Dragging it down does not seem to do it and even having "Display Icon in Quick Launch Toolbar" checked in the Options will not do it either. I've got it on the Start Menu but it would be nice to have it on the Toolbar. Any further ideas?

 

[nivrip]

EXCEPT, I can't get it into the Task Bar

Dragging it down does not seem to do it and even having "Display Icon in Quick Launch Toolbar" checked in the Options will not do it either. I've got it on the Start Menu but it would be nice to have it on the Toolbar. Any further ideas?

Cancel above request. I've now got it on the Taskbar.

 

[muckshifter]

Cancel above request. I've now got it on the Taskbar.

... was just gonna hit the post button.

Well done.

 

[muckshifter]

Partition for free ...

Windows Vista includes a built-in functionality in Disk Management to shrink and expand partitions. No more 3rd party utilities needed!

To get to this utility, open up Control Panel, and type in partition into the search box.. you'll immediately see the link show up:

Shrink a Partition ...

In the Disk Management screen, just right-click on the partition that you want to shrink, and select "Shrink Volume" from the menu.

In the Shrink dialog, you will want to enter the amount you want to shrink by, not the new size. For example, if you want to shrink your 50gb partition by roughly 10gb so that it will now be roughly 40gb, enter 10000 into the box.

Extend a Partition ...

In the Disk Management screen, just right-click on the partition that you want to shrink, and select "Extend Volume" from the menu.

On this screen, you can specify the amount that you want to increase the partition by.

Note that the extend partition feature only works with contiguous space.


Also NOTE: this 'tip' is intended for the more experienced user, if you don't feel confident, then leave well alone. Make sure you have any important data backed up to an external source.


On hard drives of 250Mb or less, I don't use partitions ... I just use folders.

 

[muckshifter]

a ... did you know tip

Lots of people use networks, but most of us don’t have the time or inclination to become networking experts. Instead, we often rely on more knowledgeable people to troubleshoot our network problems. But what if you don’t have someone available to help you? Network Diagnostics in Windows Vista provides a new way to diagnose and repair network problems.

Networks are complex

Networks rely on complex technology, so deciphering the root cause of a network problem can often be difficult.

For example, if you can't access a website, you might see an error message like this: "The page cannot be displayed. The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. The website might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you might need to adjust your browser settings."

Your web browser is giving you the best information that it has, but the message isn’t very helpful since it doesn’t pinpoint the exact problem. The problem could be on your computer, on the web server, or on the network between your computer and the web server.

Introducing Network Diagnostics

When a network problem occurs in Windows Vista, Network Diagnostics helps to diagnose and repair the problem. For example, when you see some error messages such as “Page cannot be displayed” or “Server is not available,” you have the option to use Network Diagnostics to identify the problem. For other types of network problems, you can access Network Diagnostics by right-clicking the network icon

in the notification area of the taskbar, that little space by the clock, and then clicking Diagnose and repair.

The "Diagnose and repair" option


After diagnosing a problem, Network Diagnostics suggests options for fixing it. Sometimes you can fix a problem just by clicking a link. For example, clicking Enable the network adapter in the Network Diagnostics dialog box automatically enables the adapter, potentially fixing a problem.

Network Diagnostics suggests a repair


In the following example, Network Diagnostics has detected that a computer's wireless networking capability was turned off. This is a common problem that might have caused someone to call technical support in the past. But with Network Diagnostics, you can fix this problem yourself.

Network Diagnostics detects that wireless capability is turned off


When a problem can't be diagnosed or no solution is available, Network Diagnostics makes it easy to report the problem to Microsoft through Windows Error Reporting. And if Network Diagnostics says a problem is fixed, but you disagree, you can still report the problem to Microsoft by clicking Send information.

Click "Send information" to report the problem to Microsoft


If more detailed or technical information about the problem and potential solutions is available, it is saved in one or more event log. Network administrators and technical support personnel can use the information in the event logs to analyze connectivity problems or help interpret the conclusions.

Network Diagnostics in Windows Vista helps you avoid the hassle and expense of calling technical support. It’s like having your own personal networking expert at your side.





A little note on "send information" to Microsoft, you probably want to turn that 'feature' off, for some misconception that you think MS are spying on you ... well, I advise leaving the function enabled, and, go ahead and report the problem.

To date I have had 127 error reports, I have sent all to MS, I have actually had 'fixes' issued for some of those problems ... saved me a whole host of Google-ing.

 

[muckshifter]

If you are wondering if I have taken some super pill and have instant knowledge of these tip & tricks, I assure you I ain't that clever.


I'm stealing them off the Internet


... most of 'em I'm getting from, you won't believe this ...

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/default.mspx

 

[muckshifter]

save some time ...

Instead of re-typing long, painful error messages whenever you are trying to Google for a solution, did you know you can simply use Ctrl+C to copy the text of the message to the clipboard?

If you want to test this out for yourself, just open Windows Explorer and type an incorrect drive letter into the address bar, and you'll get an error message immediately.

Just hit Ctrl+C whenever you get an error message prompt, and then you can paste it, Ctrl+V, into notepad (or anywhere you'd like)

Personally I prefer to paste the error messages into a blank notepad window so I can select just a portion of it for pasting into Google. This is also a perfect way to copy your error messages when you are asking for help on the forums.

This should work in Vista, XP or 2003.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Take the Recycle Bin, we all know what it is for, it's plane for all to see, so why not remove the text ... Click on it and go to Rename, hold down the ALT key & type 255 and press Enter. Done, no text.

Not working for me

I'm assuming when you say 'click on it' you mean 'right click on it' which brings up the rename option.

I then do as you say and it stays as Recycle Bin.

I then go to rename, delete Recycle Bin text, hold down the left Alt key, type in 255 and still holding the Alt key, hit enter.

Zilch.

Am I missing something here?

On another note, I've just added all of my 21 Games links to the Quick launch Bar, much neater and easier to use.

 

[muckshifter]

Nope, you were not missing anything ... worked for me.


Type in 255 holding the Alt key, but let the Alt key go before pressing enter.


This is the 'free standing' recycle bin on the desktop and not the one in the Sidebar?

 

[floppybootstomp]

I see. Erm, what you failed to point out Mr Mucks is it's the keys on the numpad that have to be pressed, not the number keys below the F keys.

On such details have many major projects floundered.

And after all that, I don't like the look of it without the text anyway, the icon now has a permanent square round it. So I have renamed it 'Karzi' until I can think of something infinitely more witty

 

[muckshifter]

To deploy the standard icons on your desktop ... right click on the desktop then click personalize.

Once there look to the left pane near the top and click Change Desktop Icons.

This is where you choose which icons you want to appear on your desktop, tick the relevant boxes, close/OK out and you're all done.

Also, if, as many have in the past, accidentally delete your Recycle bin, that is the easy way to get it back.

 

[muckshifter]

I see. Erm, what you failed to point out Mr Mucks is it's the keys on the numpad that have to be pressed, not the number keys below the F keys.

One should always use the num keypad in conjunction with Alt.

On such details have many major projects floundered.

Now resolved ...

And after all that, I don't like the look of it without the text anyway, the icon now has a permanent square round it.

Klick on something, the box will go away.


Hey! at least I like Vista.