Vista Tutorials and Tips

Windows Vista Services Tweak Guide v1.0 This guide is only recommended for power users. Inexperienced Windows users should NOT use this. It's also recommended that you have in-depth knowledge about network security. The guide is meant to be used with Windows Vista RTM build 6000. Beware: Disabling some of the services below may have a negative impact on your system/network security. I take no responsibility what so ever of any negative consequences these tweaks may have on your system, hardware or life. Use on your own risk. Disable the following services to improve performance and decrease RAM usage: Base Filtering Engine Disable if you don't use the Windows Firewall or …

Microsoft, as you probably know, has spent a lot of time and millions of dollars to make Windows Vista more secure and ultimately to protect users from themselves. But you -- you've been using computers for years, right? You don't need any of this hand-holding. You were infested with malware that one time, but that wasn't your fault. And no one has noticed the eight toolbars in your browser whose origin you couldn't explain. Oh, and your significant other was very understanding about Blaster causing you to work 80-hour weeks cleaning up a software wasteland. You and your network are clearly ready for Vista without the locks. Here's how to fly with all the safeties off. -…

We all know about OEM information in system properties under Windows XP. There are OEMLogo.bmp (96x96) for OEMLOGO and OEMInfo.ini for OEM information used to add under windows XP Copy both files under X:\Windows\System32\ But In Windows Vista, there's a new method to add OEM information in the System properties. All work is done now through Windows registry instead of using OEMinfo.ini file. Here is the code you should merge in the registry: (Always back up your registry!!) Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OEMInformation] @="" "Manufacturer"="Hewlett-Packard" "Model"="Compaq Presario SR1610IL" "Logo"="C:…

You have probably run into the situation, where you had to take ownership of the file or folder in Vista, so you can mess with it.. To fasten this process a bit, you can use this script, which will add an option in context menu for the file. Right click on the file --> Send To --> OwnThefile. Here's the code for the script: Dim Act : Set Act = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell") Dim Fso : Set Fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") Dim File, File1, File2 For Each File1 in Wscript.Arguments Act.Run("takeown /f " & File1),0,True Act.Run("icacls " & File1 & " /grant administrators:F"),1,True File2 = Split(File1,".") Set File = Fso.GetFi…

OEMINFO_on_Vista.zip

To add something new to my list of Windows Vista tips: what's up with the abnormally bland boot screen?! I'm all for decreasing clutter and all, but a simple progress bar seems so incomplete (then again, so does the rest of Vista). I read somewhere of a quick trick the other night when I was browsing the net. This trick apparently should only be used on newer / faster machines. You'll need to have administrative privileges to get it working right. Either use the Run command or a CMD prompt to enter: bcdedit /set quietboot 1 Should make your Windows Vista startup animation a bit more animated? I must admit that I've never tried this, so if anyone does try it, please let u…

Credits to the author of this article. So if you run msconfig > boot and enable "no GUI boot" option, you'll see faded aurora instead of lonely green progress bar during boot process. How to substitute this aurora with an image of your own choice is described in the article above. Here's the result of my tricks with ResHacker, imagex, PaintShopProX and mspaint, lol : download link Preview: Just replace windows\system32\en-US\winload.exe.mui and don't forget to save/back-up the original file. My file is taken from RC2 (X86), but i think it'll work on RTM as well, it's only resource file. Don't forget to enable "no GUI boot".

Unlike previous versions of Windows, there are differences in Vista between accounts with "computer administrator" privileges and the Administrator account. For instance, the Administrator account does not have User Account Control enabled. There may also be differences in the ability to remove restrictive file operations and object permissions, but Microsoft is still working out those details and does not expect to reveal them until RC1 and beyond. Finally, by default, the Administrator account is present, but it's hidden and disabled on all clean installs of the operating system. It's even possible to create an "administrator" account, with a lowercase "A." But that won…

I was just viewing all vista dll files in PE Explorer, when I discovered this. First, what u should have. (i) A resource editing tools (like PE Explorer) (ii) Ur favorite picture in the following resolutions: (a)1280 X 960 (b)1024 X 768

To install manually downloaded CABs on Windows Vista, just drop the CAB into a directory (i.e. C:\Temp) and use pkgmgr.exe to install/integrate it. start /w pkgmgr /ip /m:C:\temp\<filename>.cab /s:C:\temp /l:C:\temp\install.log

Enabling ClearType in Vista is easy, you can do it in the GUI, and besides its enabled by default anyway. However, tuning ClearType in Vista is not so easy as there is nothing exposed in the GUI for tuning. ClearType is integrated into Vista. There is , however, a way to adjust ClearType in the registry. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] "FontSmoothing"="2" "FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000002 "FontSmoothingGamma"=dword:000003e8 "FontSmoothingOrientation"=dword:00000001 These settings affect ClearType 'Globally' across the entire operating system. They may not, however, have much effect for HTML as seen in Internet Explorer. Fo…

This is becoming a very common question as people move to Windows Vista. You have an external or extra hard drive formatted under Windows XP. In Windows XP you were running as a member of the Built-in Administrators Group, and you could write to it just fine. In Vista, you are also a member of the Built-in Administrators group, but now you can't write to it. The reason is permissions, but the reason they become a problem is because of User Account Control (UAC). If you run whoami /all /FO list on Vista you get a printout of your token. It will have a few lines that look like this: Group Name: BUILTIN\Administrators Type: Alias SID: Attributes: Group used fo…

Hi, To change the Orbit Glowing Animation & sound at Vista Startup open 'authui.dll' with resource hacker. Goto Image ->17000,..01,..02.... Select one of them (i.e. Image->17000->1033) and goto Action -> Save Resources as binary file. In the save dialog give xyz.png(u can u use any name). Noe do same for all following 5 images. Now see they r just the 5 images of that animation. Edit them , Replace with RH. And lastly replace the file... And u r done. To change the startup sound open imageres.dll and goto wav->5051->1033. To replace the wave goto Action -> Replace other resources. In the dialog open the .wav file & fill up as following Resourc…

Go to: Start > Run = " control userpasswords2 " select administrator account, click reset password (input new pass) / Click Ok Open Registry editor and create this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList Create "DWORD (32bit) Value" Value Name: Administrator Value Data: 1 or -Right Click Computer Icon Select Manage -Expand The Local User And Groups -Rename the administartor account to match the name in the reg file, you can also just leave the name the same for the admin, but the name must match the reg file. This is a easier a way, change the "PLACE_NEW_NAME_OR_ADMINISTARTOR_NAME_HERE" to the name you wa…

So you are using Windows Vista and feel that its slower than Windows XP? Then you have come to the right place. Following tutorial will help you in tweaking your Windows Vista to the max and you'll feel a significant improvement in your system performance. So without wasting any time lets start: 1. Following code contains a few registry modifications, which are completely safe and can increase the performance of Windows Vista. Just paste following code in Notepad, save the file with name "Vishal.reg" (including quotes) and then run it: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To] @="{C2FBB630-2971-11D…

The new search box in Internet Explorer 7 is a very useful new feature. However, it is easy to make it even more useful by adding the ability to search almost any website in it that supports searching. For example, you can add TweakVista.com to the search box so you can search TweakVista.com directly for various tweaks. This is possible with the help of a simple registry tweak: Open up Registry Editor (Start button -> regedit -> Hit Enter) Navigate through HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Internet Explorer and Search Scopes. Create a new key and call it TweakVista Inside the new TweakVista key, create a new string value and call it DisplayN…

One of the most annoying things about Microsoft Windows Vista is User Account Control and all the warnings it pops up to ask if you just did something you really wanted to do. The temptation is strong to turn off UAC warnings by disabling the controls, but that causes more problems, like making it even more difficult to do some things in Vista. Fortunately, there's a better way. The annoyance of UAC pop-ups is unfortunately front-loaded: they happen most often when Vista is new and you're installing new applications and downloading files more often. The temptation is strong to kill them, because it's easy. Just go to Start > Control Panel > Security > Security Ce…

If you've ever deleted the hibernation file in Vista either through a disk cleanup utility or vLite or whatever meathod and you need it back, here's how. Open an elevated command prompt (Start/All Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt and right click it and choose run as Administrator). Now type or paste in powercfg -h on and hit enter. Now all of your hibernation options should have returned. Alternatively if you need to save some space and don't use hibernation, replace "on" with "off".

If you want to remove the search box from Internet Explorer 7, navigate to HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Infodelivery\Restrictions and add a DWORD value of “NoSearchBox” set to 1. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Infodelivery\Restrictions] "NoSearchBox"=dword:00000001 or you can use the file attached.. Remove_IE7_Search_Bar.reg

How to change vsta logon screen and change the word "vista ultimate"(for examples)at the bottom???

The guide! 1.If there is an existing Manufacturer's Information to your Computer or nothing at all, here's a simple guide to add/create your own System Information Logo and Information. a) The Manual Way, Customizing OEM Logo in Windows Vista Using WinBubble, you can add or edit the Logo and Support information easily. Just create a bitmap Logo and input the necessary information. That's it...In just two clicks! "Control Panel\Performance Information and Tools" Window To access: Type "Performance In" to the Start menu Search and press Enter or in the Control Panel\System Window, click the "Windows Experience Index" link. "Control Panel\System" Window To Open: Rig…

One of the most annoying things about Microsoft Windows Vista is User Account Control, and all the warnings it pops up to ask if you just did something you really wanted to do. Like, either (a) it wasn't you who pressed the Enter key, but the ghost of your grandfather standing at your shoulder, or ( you really are too stupid to be trusted to know you want to install a program or open an attachment. The temptation is strong to shut UAC warnings up by disabling the controls, but that causes more problems, like making it even more difficult to do some things in Vista. Fortunately, there's a better way. The annoyance of UAC pop-ups is unfortunately front-loaded: they happen m…

This registry tweak sets the AFD buffer to 1024. Setting this value in the Vista registry increases the number of messages sent before flow control is imposed. This increases throughput speed some (not bandwidth) and helps out with browsing etc.... vista_reg_tweaks.zip

Lots of Vista users are facing a strange problem, where the folder icons in User folder change from special glass icons to simple folder icons. Look at the following screenshot: This is how the icons look in User folder which can be accessed using

Here you can find a list of some useful registry tweaks in Vista..