Ten tips and tricks every Vista user should know
Whether you’re a new owner of a copy of Windows Vista or have been using Vista since it was released, these 10 articles are a must-read for any Vista user. Together, I have compiled the some of the best featured articles on Vista Rewired as well as a couple of great ones from other websites. I am sure you will find these extremely informative and helpful.
1. Delay Vista activation for at least a year
Let’s not mistaken this as another crack. This time, Microsoft has made life easy for pirates by allowing them to modify the Skiprearm registry entry. And you thought 120 days without activating was good…we’ve just tripled that.
2. What to do when Windows defragment tool hangs or takes forever
Everybody wants to defrag their PC, and this problem is becoming more and more popular. Instead of using the Windows Defrag tool, you could use Contig and PowerGUI together to speed the process up to 10X faster. You can view the tutorial here.
3. Get video wallpapers (Dreamscene Effect) without getting Vista Ultimate
Groaning because your friends with Vista Ultimate are bragging about their video wallpapers? Don’t worry. With VLC, you too can get the exact same effect.
4. Create icons without text
Create icons without text nor the shortcut arrow to get that same feel as the icons on the Mac OS X dock.
5. Disable useless services from a list of every Vista service that ever existed
SpeedyVista has put together a very organized chart of all the Vista services that exist and has sorted them in an organized manner so you know which ones are safe to disable.
We also have a list of our own that orders the services in a different manner.
6. How to build a powerful and cheap Vista PC (around $500)
I’ve tried building a PC cheaper than this at Newegg and other stores but nothing can beat what this guy pulled together for $538.01.
7. How to triple boot (XP, Vista, Ubuntu)
Ilya Hevnikov makes a very informative blog post on how to triple boot these three. Be sure to backup before following the guide. You might also want to read some of the comments since this guide has not worked for everyone. I personally have not tried this.
8. Resize your Windows partition for free
Windows Vista comes with a built-in partition tool for you to resize or create new partitions. No need for any third-party software.
9. Perform a clean install with a Vista Upgrade disk
Why spend the extra money on a clean install disk, when you can do the same with a cheaper upgrade disk?
10. Convert web widgets, videos, and games into Sidebar gadgets
You can easily convert many different items into Sidebar gadgets with this guide.
- Honourable Mentions:
Why 4GB of RAM won’t work with Vista (32-bit users)
Find out why you should hold back your wallet before going out to buy 4GBs of RAM.Use your iPod as a password key
Depending on how you use the password reset feature, you can use your iPod (or a USB device) as a password (reset) key. How cool is that?
Why Vista uses all your memory
Ever wondered why most of your RAM is always in use? The answer lies here.
Control the volume of your applications individually
In Vista, you can easily control the volume of one application separately from another application from your system tray. If you are not sure on how to get to that mixer, you can read the quick tutorial here.
If you know of an article that deserves a placing here, please feel free to comment.
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March 20th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
VistaRewired Bookmarked…
Edit Note : When I originally drafted this post, I debated whether I wanted to include a link with instructions…
March 25th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Ten Tips And Tricks Every Vista User Should Know…
Today’s tip was sent in by Al from VistaRewired. Al has put together a list of Ten Tips And Tricks Every Vista user Should Know. Although some of these aren’t strictly ‘tips’ they do provide interesting information. For instan…
May 31st, 2007 at 5:39 am
i have a problem with vista. i cant install the program sonicstage, because it says i need to be administrator, while i am! i had successfully installed this program at windows xp.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
must download newest version from sony.com (forgot exact link)
version 4.3 works with vista
suggest setting up playlists then transfering the playlist to the mp3 player
in transfer settings set to convert to atrac3 66kb/s to get most songs on
August 11th, 2007 at 10:47 am
I am one of those cranky individuals who balks at microsoft taking control of my computer, so when I get a message telling me I don’t have permission to do something, or I can’t turn off something, I find a way to get around it.
Actually I like vista, it is a very visual OS but it can be very annoying.
I have figured out how to own everything, or at least everything I’ve claimed up to date, on my computer. Vista is very obnoxius about file ownership, uncle Bill actually owns most of your computer, what he’ll let you play with can be found in your personal folders.
But if you will click on the properties tab at the bottom of the right click menu you will see a security tab on the screen that appears. That tab opens several windows that allow you to retake control of the files on your computer. Ownership, permissions and inherited permissions are the keys.
I also found out how to disable indexing, there’s a nice little sleeper on your computer. Imagine having one place where everything on your computer can be accessed, security? I think microsoft has sold out to the CIA. Vista surrendered with a little box that said “search index has been shut down until a solution can be found.
So far I have experienced no ill effects from my experiments, but I’m careful to let the system co-own what it needs. I’m going after that ridiculous explorer tree that xp and vista have developed, there is so much redundancy in it that you can no longer find anything easily.
Maybe I should start a blog on computer anarchy.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:44 am
why pls. help me….
January 11th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
very useful tips
–
Kevin
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