UAC - Run As Administrator

Most of the time Windows Vista will prompt you if you need to run as a full Administrator. There will be a few times where you may need to use Administrative privileges from the command prompt.

• Left click on the Start
• Click All Programs, and then click Accessories
• Right click the Command Prompt then click Run as administrator
• If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

Managing User Account Control

User Account Control (or UAC) is a tool to help keep us safe. However many people do not like to be bugged by windows opening asking them if they really want to install a program. Turning off UAC strips away one of Vista's security features. You will not receive warnings of downloads, even secret, malicious ones.

If you must shutdown UAC. There is an alternative solution TweakUAC. This is a free program allows you to put UAC into quiet mode.

Quiet mode keeps User Account Control running, but TweakUAC suppresses the alerts. You won't get them when installing or running software. Plus, you can turn quiet mode on or off without rebooting.

If you keep User Account Control running or use TweakUAC you must remember that User Account Control is tool to keep you and your computer safe.

NOTE: If you want more details about User Account Control check out this weeks podcast on Talkshoe.

Adjusting Graphics 2

If your computer does not support Aero. There are still a few things you can do to get some more speed. You can disable some of the graphics effects that can look nice, but really don’t add much.

• Left click the Orb in the lower left corner of your monitor
• Go to the Control Panel
• Click on Performance and System Tools
• Click Adjust visual effects
• Here you can either choose Adjust for best performance, or you can choose Custom and pick the effects you want to keep

Smooth edges of screen fonts and Use visual styles on windows and buttons are something you will want to keep. Otherwise you will be hating the way programs will look.

The Vista’s sidebar is a cool looking tool. However, it takes away from your processor, RAM and video. It slows down your computer. You can disable it and notice a performance boost. Below is how you can turn it off.

• Right-click on the Sidebar for go to the Control Panel and choose Windows Sidebar Properties
• Uncheck Start Sidebar when Windows starts
• Click OK

If the Sidebar is currently open, right-click on it and choose Close Sidebar.

Adjust Graphics

The rich graphics in daily will slow down your computer. Here are ways to regain some of the computer's power back from the graphics.

• Right-click anywhere on the desktop
  
• Left click on Personalize
• Left click Window Color and Appearance

If your computer supports Aero and it’s turned on, you’ll see a row of boxes showing the different colors you can choose for your windows.

If your computer doesn’t support Aero or it’s not turned on, you’ll see a box labeled Appearance Settings showing some sample windows and listing color schemes. This is very much like what you would see in older versions of Microsoft Windows.

Regardless of popular belief, Aero is actually a good thing in terms of system resources. The older versions of Windows, the more graphics, the slower the computer. So you might think that Windows Classic, which has the fewest bells and whistles, will give you the fastest performance. But that’s not exactly true for Vista.

Windows Aero and Windows Vista Basic use your computer’s graphics card, and not the computer’s processor, to do most of its' work when it comes to the display. Using one of those as opposed to Standard or Classic actually lets your computer work less.

You can switch to Windows Vista Basic for most of Aero’s graphics; that also saves resources. Here’s how:

• Start at Window Color and Appearance box
• Left click on Open classic appearance properties for more color options
• Click on Windows Vista Basic

If you want to keep all of Aero’s bells and whistles, you can still get a performance boost if you’re willing to give up transparency. You can do this by;

• Right clicking on the desktop and choose Personalize
• Click Window Color and Appearance
• Uncheck Enable transparency

NOTE: If you want performance over visual affects, and you have a video card that is powerful enough, here is some rules of thumb.

• Best: Use Windows Vista Basic
• Better: Use Windows Aero with transparency turned off
• Ok: Use Windows Aero
• Worst: Use Windows Standard or Windows Classic

Vista Welcome Center - Lower Section

The second section of Vista's Welcome is a little hard to tell you about. It changes depending upon the manufacture of your computer. I have Compaq, DELL and Acer each have their own set of tools in this section.

What is found in this is found links to

1. Setup security setting to encrypt files and even the whole hard drive.
2. Easy access to the vendors website. This will entice you to buy extra services, or upgrade your version of Vista.
3. Then there is a backup program. I can never emphasis how important it is to back up files or the whole hard drive.
   

NOTE: On a personal side not I recommend that you check you Carbonite as a back up solution. It is remote. It is secure. It has a 15 day free trail period. This would be a great solution especially if you are on the road with your laptop.

Welcome Center - System Information

The Welcome Center in Windows Vista is loaded with information and resources. After it opens you can see a the top some basic information about your computer.

• At the very top of the Welcome Center is an icon (that you can change) and the name of the person that is currently logged in to the computer.
  
• Next to the computer monitor icon you have named the version of Windows Vista that is on your computer.
  
• Below that is the type and the rated speed of your computers processor.
  
• Then below that is the amount of RAM or Memory that is in the computer.
  
• At the bottom of this list is the name of the computer. This name is either given by default or a name you gave the computer when it was first turned on.
• If you want more information then you can left click on a link on the right side of the Welcome Center that reads, more information.
  

Windows Help and How-to

I was looking at Windows Welcome Center. At the bottom of the top section was a link that read, "see other 13". I left clicked on the link. There opened up a lot more icons. Now I can just left click to reach a lot more tools.

I left clicked on the red, blue and green, box icon. That took me to a new level of Windows tutorials. In just a few clicks there were some links to short tutorial videos.

Now I have found some quick easy access tutorials that can help computer users with their learning curve Vista. These are some of the best quick tutorials I have ever seen. Especially from Microsoft.

I have listed the main topics covered in the Windows Help and How-to section below.

• Learn about computers
• Desktop fundamentals
• Programs files and folders
• Internet, email, and networking
• Pictures and games
• Help and support
  

Photo Gallery - Thumbnails

Thumbnails are smaller pictures of a larger picture. They are meant to give you an idea of that picture without having to open that picture. This makes it real nice when you looking through a folder for one specific picture.

Windows Vista's Picture Gallery than this feature one step further. Picture Gallery allows you to hover you cursor over the thumbnail to get a larger view of the picture.

Then there is more! You not only get to see the picture, but you get to some detail of that picture.
At the bottom of the picture you get details like;

• The file name of the picture
• The rating you gave the picture
• The title
• The date and time stamp of that picture
• The file size
  
• The size of the picture in pixels

What more can you ask from an enlarge thumbnail of a picture?

Photo Gallery - Menu Bar

Before I move on to the next topic I want to stay a couple of days on the Photo Gallery. Just because it has some features that I think is really cool.

Today, we will look at the menu bar. The nice thing about Windows Vista is that you can see a programs biggest features just by taking a close look at the menu bar. Photo Gallery is no exception.

Instead of the traditional File, Edit, and View, Vista lets you see the features up front. In the case of Photo Gallery, you can Email, Print and Burn.

Bottomline these are the features at your fingertips.

Picture Gallery - Organize

All of the versions of Vista come with what it titled Picture Gallery. It is a great replacement for the old My Pictures of Windows XP. Until now I would you Google's Picasa to keep my pictures organize.

In Windows XP there was a My Pictures folder. Now in Windows Vista it is named just Pictures. Each user has their own folder. It is located on the main hard drive; C:\Users\username\Pictures.

If you are like me you have hundreds if not thousands of photo. The trick is to keep then and have them organized so a specific photo can be found. Well, in Windows Vista the left menu bar help you do that.

The Vista Picture Gallery allows you to organize your pictures by date, category or rating. Can it get any easier than that. Well it can! In the right preview window, you can left click on a picture, hold the left mouse button down. and drag it to another category or folder.

Search is Good

After you left click on the Windows icon in the lower left of your screen, and the menu pops up, at the bottom is a text box labeled search. This search feature is has a lot more functionality than the previous versions of Windows.

This search feature will not only help you find misplaced files, but it will help you launch programs. I am talking about more than programs that you would find in the Programs section of the Start Menu. I am talking about programs that you would have to start from the Run command window.

Microsoft calls this feature Instant Search. I must admit that is what it is. It allows you to type in a command to readily access a program, a file or just information form the helps.

Keyboard Shortcuts (Win + Pause/Break)

There are several quick and easy ways to launch application and tools in Windows. To often a person can get overwhelmed by the the list of these quick and easy tricks.

In this posting I am going to share with you only one simple trick. It is the opening of a window that shows you your computers system information.

From time to time you will need to know what is inside your computer, like processor, RAM, and operating system. This is where you can go to get that information. In Windows Vista, System Information will score your computer as to its level of performance. The higher the number the better you computer can perform.

This keyboard shortcut works both in Windows XP and Vista. Widows XP gives you just system information. Where Windows Vista will give you the overall performance of your computer.

Hold down the Windows key. and then press the Pause/Break key.

If you are not familiar with these two keys the Windows key is in the same row as the space bar between the Crtl and Alt key. There are two sets of these three keys on each side of the space bar. The Pause/Break key is along the top row of a standard keyboard. It is usually three keys to the right of the row of F keys ending with F12.

Burning A CD/DVD

Most new computer that have Windows Vista already installed on it comes with some CD/DVD burning software. However, the individual that just wants to back up some pictures or documents. there is a quick and easy way.

• Create a folder, on your desktop. with photos or whatever you would to back up
• Have that folder open
• In the menu bar left click the Burn button in the task bar.
  
• When prompted, insert a CD

A wizard walks you through the process of creating the CD. It takes several minutes to burn a CD.

If you want to use some third party software. I have list some of the more popular ones below;

• Nero is the most popular. You will have to pay a good price, but it is worth it. The ease of use and the features make it so popular.
• DVD Burning Wizard gets five stars from cNet.com. At the price of $40, I would buy it.
• Roxio has been around for quite some time. There are still going strong.
• Alcohol 120% is my choice. If you are serious into burning any CD or DVD check this software out.
  

Media Center - Intro

Media Center is part of two versions of Windows Vista: Home Premium and Ultimate.

Media Center is designed to make it easier for you to play DVDs, and browse your music, videos and photos. The Media Center lets you burn shows to DVD or CD. It even lets you play and record television. Provided you have a TV tuner in you computer.

To access Windows Media Center

• Left click on Start

• Then All Programs

• Finally Windows Media Center

Then you’ll be greeted by a welcome screen. It will ask you to select a setup type. Or, you can opt to skip the setup process. The program will walk you through the setup process.
Once it is done, you can begin browsing the media on your computer. The program is designed to be used with a remote control or your mouse.

Navigating can be confusing. The functions are listed vertically. Each options for each function are listed horizontally.

I will be covering Media Center in more detail, later in this blog. Stay tuned!

Vista Is Not Always Compatible

Vista compatibility for software and hardware is still an issue. Yesterday, I came across two issues that left the end user in a state of helplessness.

The first one was an elderly lady who bought a new computer with Windows Vista installed on it. She also bought a low end Lexmark printer. On the box it said Vista Compatible. She could not get the printer to work properly. So she took it back to the store where she bought it.

At the store they tried to get printer to work. After an hour and two experienced techs later, it was concluded that the drivers, thus the printer would not work on Windows Vista.

The second incident was about a mid price range game. The manufacture said the game was now Vista Compatible. But when the owner of the game tried to install it on his new Vista computer, he kept getting a message there were a software issues. Bottom-line the game would not play.

Windows Vista is approaching the one year date of being released to the general public. There are still issues. I am not going to sugar coat it. However, there are many people out there using Windows Vista with no more problems than an Windows XP user. The dividing line is what does the computer user does with their computer.

Is it more than reading email, surfing the internet, and writing a document? They will be little or not problems, just a learning curve to find out where everything is at. Listening to music and burning legal CD or DVD's you may have a few problems. Hardcore game player and business will have to do some work arounds. These people should have an experienced tech on call.

Don't give up Service Pack 1 for Vista is due out shortly. Then we will see what the issues are with Windows Vista.

Networking Discovery

A great majority of computer users have a network of two or more computers in their home. This could be two computers connected to the internet; one computer a laptop the other a desktop. Setting up these computers for a connection to the internet or share files or even sharing the same printer can be a little bit of a struggle.

Windows Vista seamlessly the process of setting up a home network. I like to use the ethernet connection on a Vista computer when I am connecting to the internet. The setup is quite simple. For example, if the Vista machine connects to a router or hub, then the network should appear automatically if the Network Discovery feature is turned to On.

If you plug in your computer into the network and it does not see it or the internet when you open Internet Explorer. Then the first step is to check Network Discovery is turned on.

1. Left click on the Vista icon in the lower left of your monitor

2. Go to the Control Panel and left click on it

3. Select the Network and Sharing Center
   

4. Check to ensure the green light is on for Network Discovery

5. If it is not, turn on Network Discovery

6. Enter the administrator password or click Continue if you are logged in as administrator.

The computer should automatically connect to any Network with the same workgroup name. If an established network is in place at home, then the computer should use the same Workgroup name.

Ready Boost?

The biggest downfall of Windows Vista is how much memory is needed to run Vista, not to include other application. Other than adding more memory (or RAM) there is one other alternative. It is know as Ready Boost.

Ready Boost takes advantage of the fact that flash memory. It is slower than regular memory, but it a good duct tape patch. The flash drive can be used to store virtual memory. Hard drives are faster at reading large amounts of data, whilst a flash drive is faster with smaller amount of data.

What you need is a USB flash drive. Plug it into a USB port of your computer. When the AutoPlay window that pops up, select Speed up my system. Your computer will test the flash drive determine if it meets the requirements. This is because not all of USB flash drives are fast enough to meet the needs that Vista will require.

If the flash drive passes the test, a Properties dialog box will appear. Left click on Use this device. The with the sliding bar adjust to how much of the flash drive you want to use. I would stick to whatever the recommendation is that appears below the sliding bar.

Note: Don't use a flash drive that has important information on it. I have heard of people losing that data when using the very flash drive for Ready Boost.

Not Vista Compatible Software

Have you ever thought if there was a way to run a program, even if it was not Windows Vista compatible. Almost all of the programs that were made since 2007 should work in Windows Vista. However, a lot of the older software will not.

When installing software, Windows attempts to check if it is Windows Vista compatible. If it is not you will see some message like: This applications will not run on windows vista or This application is not windows vista compatible.

Even if you get either of these messages, there is hope! You can try running the program in Compatibility Mode. This is Microsoft's answer to running older applications in Windows Vista. The step by step instruction are below.

1. Right click the executable file
2. Go down to Properties and left click
3. Select the Compatibility tab.
4. Left click in the box in front of Run This Program in Compatibility Mode
5. From the drop-down list, choose the operating system you ran before upgrading to Vista.
6. You may need to select the option to run the program as an administration.
7. Left click OK at the bottom of the window

Note: Windows Compatibility Mode may not work in all cases. But at least is something to try before you go out and buy a new program.

Vista Mobility Center

Do you have a laptop? Is it running Windows Vista? Did you know that you have a window that contains mobile computer specific controls? It is call Windows Mobility Center.

In the Windows Mobility Center, you can optimize your power and configure other mobile settings in one central location. It is in Windows Mobility Center that give you ready access to many mobile device specific features.

• Prolong your laptop's battery life by simply lowing the display brightness, and turning off the wireless connection.
  
• Rotating screen landscape
• Connecting to an external display
  
• Update your backup data to an external hard drive or a desktop computer.
  

The easiest way to access Windows Mobility Center is by holding the Windows key and pressing the X key on your laptop keyboard.

System Health Report

All the versions of Vista, from Basic to Ultimate, come with tools that help you track any errors that may occur. However not many users are aware or use this feature. Mostly because it is so new many computer users don't know it is there.

The System Health Report is one of the many tools that can help diagnose existing or potential problems. As the name implies, the Health Report will generate a report that will indicate what is preventing Windows Vista from running smoothly or safely and will also give you suggestions on how to fix any errors.

To create a System Health Report:

• Left click on the Start button
• Go to the Control Panel and left click on it
• Select System and Maintenance
• Left click on Advance Tools in the left pane
  
• Left click on Generate a System Health Report.
  

You will have to wait a few minutes for your computer to go through the process.

This will created report lists the status of all critical components inside your PC and if a problem is detected, possible solutions are displayed.

NOTE: It is recommended that you disable any antivirus or anti-spyware program. Otherwise it could create false report.

Explorer - Favorites

A neat feature when it comes to looking through files on you computer in Vista is the Favorites. Here you can add or remove links to files and folders you would be using on a regular basis. This will give easy access by just left clicking on the icon.

The Favorites menu is located at the top left side for the Explorer Window.

If you want to add a new link to the links bar, on the left. All you need to do is left click on the icon of the file folder you want to add to Favorites, then drag it over to links bar.

It will show up in the list.

If you want to remove an item from the list, you can do this one of two ways. The first is by right clicking the icon of that folder and left click on Remove Link. The second way is to left click on the folder's icon and press the delete key on your keyboard.

Explorer - Across The Top

Explorer is the window that opens when you are looking at, or moving files. The first thing that people seem to have trouble with is adjusting to is the way some of the options are displayed in Vista.

The first thing I had to adjust to was the way file location were displayed in the Address Bar. Instead of a back slash (\) there is a little black arrow point to the file location.Below the Address Bar is an Action Menu Bar. Here you can Organize your file folders, View them differently, share, burn to CD/DVD or even Encrypt the folder.

To the left of the Address Bar is a Search window. This gives ease at searching through folder for specific files.

Data Transfer

Getting home with a new computer, then one gets a headache when comes time to transfer personal files, e-mail, data files, media, and settings from your old computer to the new one. This process can be so complex, and time-consuming. However using Windows Easy Transfer the job becomes some what easy.

Windows Easy Transfer helps you transfer the data that is important to you, including:

• User accounts
• Files and folders
• Program data files and settings
• E-mail messages, settings, and contacts
• Photos, music, and videos
• Windows settings
• Internet settings

NOTE: Programs, software, applications are not transferred.

You can easily transfer your entire user account or all user accounts on the computer, or you can make custom selections of the data and folders to transfer. Windows Easy Transfer provides a number of ways for you to connect two computers to transfer your data. These include:

• Easy Transfer Cable. This is a special USB cable that is designed to work with Windows Vista and Windows Easy Transfer. An Easy Transfer Cable can easily connect two computers for data transfer. Plugging in the cable launches the wizard and gets the process going. You can purchase this cable from selected computer manufacturers and retailers.
  
• Home or small business network.
  
• Removable hard disk. If you own a removable hard disk, Windows Easy Transfer can copy your data to that disk and then copy data from that disk to your new computer.
• CD and DVD. Windows Easy Transfer can use a computer's CD or DVD burner to transfer user data. This is a great solution if you are moving only a small amount of data that can fit onto one disc.

Windows Easy Transfer enables you to transfer data to Windows Vista-based computers from computers running Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows 2000. Transferring data to Windows Starter Edition 2007 is not supported, but existing users of Windows XP Starter Edition will receive guidance on performing a manual transfer.

To learn more about the details of the Windows Easy Transfer process be sure to read more in Windows Vista Help.

Desktop Sidebar

When Microsoft built Windows Vista there thought it would be a good thing to have a some gadgets on the desktop. Gadgets like a clock, note pad, or even a picture sideshow. These would be nice little things that would be there as little reminders to the computer user.

Vista comes with a few stock gadgets. However you can download more gadgets from Microsoft's Gadgets Gallery.

Below is how you can add and remove gadgets from the sidebar. It is here you can edit the sidebar's properties and options.

• Left click on the Vista start button
  
• Move your cursor over and open the All Programs.
• Select Accessories,
  
• Then drag your mouse to Windows Sidebar and left click.

Another place you can go to edit Vista's Sidebar is by doing the following.

• Left click on Vista's start button.
• Go to Control Panel
  
• Left click on Appearance and Personalization.
  
• Click on Windows Sidebar Properties.
• Configure your sidebar settings and then click "OK."

What Is Aero?

AERO stands for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. It is to give a crisp new look to Windows Vista. The AERO only is available on Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Vista. The only benefit of AERO is the glass like look.
If you want to turn on and off AERO or change the setting:

• Right-click a blank area on the Vista Desktop
• Click on Personalize.
• Click on the link: Windows Color and Appearance
• Examine the Color Scheme
• 'Windows Aero' is the best choice.

Flip 3D

One of the cool features that is new to Vista is what is titled 3D Flip. This feature is available in all the versions of Windows Vista except for Home Basic. This is Microsoft's way of giving you a reason to upgrade beyond Basic.

If you are like me that has several programs open at the same time. Old Windows XP users remember holding down the Alt key and then press the Tab key on your keyboard. This brings up an window that allows you switch between open programs.

Now with Vista, you hold down the Windows key and then press the Tab key. This gives you a cool way to see small pictures of what programs that are open, and flip between them.

UAC or User Account Control

User Account Control or UAC is a new security feature in Windows Vista. If have changed setting or install any software you have ran gotten alerts asking you if you really wanted to perform tha action. Only permits authorized users to install software, or any hardware. The reason for UAC is to stop malicious programs before they do any harm to your computer.

UAC is controlled by left clicking on the Windows icon in the lower left of your screen. Then going to Control Panel. Left click on User Accounts. When in User Accounts uncheck User Account Control.

Setting Time Limits

To often I get asked by parents about special software to limit their child's activities on the computer. Windows Vista includes a good set of parental controls. The time limit settings are very accessible.
First login to the administrator account. Give the child a separate login. You can give them their own password or not. I did for your daughter. This helped feel important.

To get to Parental Control;

• Click Start button then go to the Control Panel
• Click User Accounts then Family Safety
• Click Parental Controls
• Click Continue in the User Account Control window
• Select the User Account from the Parental Controls window

It is from this window that you can limit time spent on the computer, to monitoring their internet activity.

Not All Program Work On Vista

The second most frustration with people changing over to Window's Vista has been that not all older software/programs will work. Many people have had to either get new software or trade their Vista computer in for one that is running Window's XP. Some people in anger at Microsoft have made the conversion to Linux or Apple.

Before spending a lot of unexpected money, it would be good to check out a compatibility list of software that will work on Vista. You can find a list at iexbeta.com. Still I would check the software manufacture website for the Vista ready logo. There is a more official detail list at Appreadiness.com. After checking all three sources you can be assured that you software will work on Vista.

Bottom line, I would recommend that you check you each of these websites before upgrading to Vista or going out any new software.

Different Vista's

Windows XP had two version; Home and Profession. Microsoft has four basic versions of Window's Vista. Each is designed for a little different computer users in mind.

The different versions vary in price and features. If you want to know all the individual features of each version, go to Microsoft.com. If you want a bare bones idea which version you should have. Well. I have listed the versions below and my recommendation to what would be best suited to what needs.

• Home Basic - If all your are going to be doing on your computer is email, browsing the web and pictures, this is all you need. (Retails for $199.00)
• Home Premium - DVD playing, burning CD's and DVD's well you should step up to Home Premium (Retails for $239.00)
  
• Business - If the computer is in a work enviroment, where several people will be using that computer; Vista Business is what you need. (Retails for $299.00)
• Ultimate - This version is for those who do a little bit of everything from spreadsheets to watching DVD's. (Retails for $399.00)
• Enterprise - Large companies with 100's to 1000's are the only people on a computer will use this version.