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Vista Tweaks

MGadAllah

By MGadAllah
in Vista Tutorials and Tips

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MGadAllah Newbie

MGadAllah

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System Related

Logging on as Local Administrator If you are having trouble logging on as the built-in Administrator account under 5308, you will need to make some registry modifications to display the Administrator account.

  1. Log in using the account you created during the Windows Vista setup process.
  2. From the Start menu, click All Programs and then expand Accessories.
  3. Right click on "Command Prompt" and click "Run as Administrator".
  4. Click on "Allow" from the Windows Security dialog.
  5. In the Command Prompt window, type "regedit" (without the quotes) and press Enter.
  6. In the Registry Editor, browse to 
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon


  7. Add a new key called "SpecialAccounts" (without the quotes).
  8. In the "SpecialAccounts" key you just made, create a sub-key called "UserList" (without the quotes)
  9. Make sure you are navigated to 
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList


  10. In the "UserList" key, create a new DWORD (32-bit) item and name it Administrator.
  11. Double click on the new DWORD item and set its value to 1.
  12. Close Registry Editor and the Command Prompt.

Increase Performance

The February CTP is quick right from installation, however there is one bug that causes a slow down with the user interface. This bug involves the sliding buttons on the taskbar; by disabling this, performance increases a bit. It's really up to you, but the bug can be very annoying at times. To disable it, just carry out the following actions:

  1. Press WinKey+R and type in "sysdm.cpl" (without the quotes).
  2. Click the Advanced tab, and then under "Performance" click "Settings".
  3. In the Visual Effects tab, uncheck "Slide taskbar buttons".
  4. Press OK and close the Performance Options dialog.

I have also compiled a registry file that changes a few key settings involving the timings for menus, hover events, etc, which makes the Windows interface more responsive. You can download that here. This was tested and is fully working without any issues, and have also been scanned for viruses.

Also, if you are running this build with an NVIDIA WDDM supported graphics card, you may want to install the latest drivers, this should fix some of the weird issues and lag with the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) and the Aero user interface enabled.

Disable DEP / NoExecute Protection to fix Random Windows Explorer crashes

Due to the way Windows Vista's boot editor has been created, it is now harder to disable DEP / No Execute Protection. However, after some amount of research, it would seem that some of the random Windows Explorer crashes that users are experiencing is caused by this technology. You will need to disable it and reboot, which should cure some of the crashes:

  1. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, right click on "Command Prompt", and click "Run as administrator".
  2. If asked for permission to run Windows Command Processor, click on Allow.
  3. At the command prompt, type in "bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff" (without the quotes).
  4. You should receive a message saying "Operation Completed Successfully".
  5. Restart the computer, DEP / No Execute should now be disabled.

Prevent network flooding and connection drops

The new networking stack contained in Windows Vista February CTP, and as with anything new (and still in beta), it has some issues. This build seems to like dropping connections and in rare cases, blocking all traffic on wireless routers, requiring a restart of the router itself. To fix these problems, complete the following instructions:

WARNING: Please note that this will disable IPv6 connectivity as well as the Windows Firewall security, and is not recommended unless you are experiencing these issues. This will also invalidate any network related bug reports you file against Windows Vista.

  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
  2. LUnder "Network and Internet", click on "View network status and tasks".
  3. In the left hand pane, click on "Open connections".
  4. Right click on your network connection (for example: Local Area Connection 3), and then click "Configure".
  5. If asked for permission to open Network Connections, click on Allow.
  6. Highlight the following items and press the "Uninstall" button:
    • Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver

  • Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder

[*]Uncheck "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)"

[*]Next, click on the "Configure" button under the name of your network adapter.

[*]Click on the Power Management tab.

[*]Disable all power management items listed on the Power Management tab.

[*]Press OK.

To stop Windows Vista from flooding your network with traffic:

  1. Press WinKey+R.
  2. Type "services.msc" (without the quotes)
  3. If asked for permission to open "Microsoft Management Console", click Allow.
  4. Double click on each one of the following services and change its startup type to "Disabled".
    • Base Filtering Engine

  • IKE and AuthIP Keying Modules

  • IP Helper Service

  • IPSec

  • Windows Firewall

Close the Services window and restart Windows.

Disable System Restore

In Build 5308, the System Restore service is one cause of performance issues. For some people, it doesn't even work. So to remedy this, we will need to shut down System Restore and stop it from running:

  1. Click on the "Start" button.
  2. Hover over "Computer", right click on it and then click "Properties".
  3. On the left hand side, click "Advanced Settings".
  4. If asked to permit the action, click on "Allow".
  5. Click on the "System Protection" tab.
  6. Uncheck any checkboxes listed for your hard drives.
  7. Press OK.

Forcing Glass on Non-WDDM Compatible Cards

WARNING: This tweak may cause a blue screen loop or constant flicker depending on your video card. Use with extreme caution, this tweak is really only here for documentary purposes only.

  1. From the Start menu, click All Programs and then expand Accessories.
  2. Right click on "Command Prompt" and click "Run as Administrator".
  3. Click on "Allow" from the Windows Security dialog.
  4. In the Command Prompt window, type "regedit" (without the quotes) and press Enter.
  5. Navigate to 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

    (if this key doesn't exist, create it)

  6. Create a new DWORD (32-bit value) of UseMachineCheck, and set its value to 0.

Disable User Account Protection (UAP)

Once you have installed the February CTP and set up an every day user account, one of the first things you will notice is that you have almost no rights to do anything administrator related on your system. Disabling this is purely up to you but if you find UAP is getting in your way, or some applications refuse to run because of it, you may want to take a look at this. Here are the instructions:

NOTE: You should be logged in as Administrator to do this, or you could run the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) elevated.

  1. Press WinKey (the flag key on your keyboard) + R and type "secpol.msc". (Without the quotes). If asked to permit Microsoft Management Console to run, allow it.
  2. In the Local Security Settings window, in the left hand pane, navigate to "Security Settings, Local Policies, Security Options".
  3. In the pane to the right, scroll all the way to the bottom.
  4. Set the first two User Account Protection items to "No Prompt", and "Disabled" on the remaining three items.
  5. Close the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), and if you are asked to save the settings for "Console1", press "No".
  6. Reboot or log off and log back in to enforce the new settings; or alternatively open an elevated Command Prompt and type "gpupdate /force" (without the quotes), and then press Enter.

Alternatively, you can also do this to disable UAP:

  1. Press WinKey+R on your keyboard.
  2. Paste the following into the Run box, including the quotation marks: 
    "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v  EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f"


  3. Press Enter. If asked for permission to perform this action, click "Allow".
  4. Reboot the system.

To renable UAP after applying this method:

  1. Press WinKey+R on your keyboard.
  2. Paste the following into the Run box, including the quotation marks: 
    "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD

    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v  EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f"


  3. Press Enter.
  4. Reboot the system.

Shell Related

Turn on the sidebar

The long awaited Windows Sidebar, which first debuted back in the Longhorn alpha builds but was removed and remade into a seperate project has finally made its way back into Windows Vista. However, it is tucked away in 5308. To start it:

  1. Click Start, and hover over All Programs.
  2. Navigate to the Accessories folder.
  3. Click "Sidebar".

Bring back "Run" on the Start menu

One of the most favorite functions in Windows, the "Run" function, has been moved off of the Start menu by default in Windows Vista. To access it, you could press WinKey+R on your keyboard to bring it up. Or you can use the Search functionality built into the Start menu, it also works as the run command. Or, last but not least, you could just put the Run command back on the Start menu where it has lived for years:

  1. Right click on the Start button, and click "Properties".
  2. In the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" dialog, click "Customize".
  3. Scroll down and in the list you shall find "Run command". Check the box next to it.
  4. Close any open dialogs by pressing OK.

Toggle DWM

If you find the Aero Glass user interface annoying, or if it is slow on your computer configuration, simply press Ctrl+Shift+F9 to turn it off. Press this key combination again to re-enable it.

Use the Search box in Windows Explorer to filter a file view

Did you know you can easily filter the list of documents and folders in a folder using the Search field in Windows Explorer? For instance if you have a folder containing a lot of folders and documents and you are specifically looking for "Vista", all you need to do is type "Vista", or even just part of the word, such as "Vis" to limit the list of files shown.

Use Flip3D

In build 5270, Microsoft had added a quick launch button to run "Flip3D", the cool new task switching mode in Windows Vista. In the February CTP however, this quick launch item has been removed. If you've forgotten the key combination to run Flip3D, it is currently WinKey+Tab. If you want to run Flip3D without it closing when you let go of the key combination, press Ctrl+WinKey+Tab.

Limit the number of windows shown in Flip3D

If Flip3D is too slow for you or if you have too many windows open, you can easily limit the number of windows displayed in Flip3D. As you tab or scroll through them, other windows will appear.

  1. Press WinKey+R on your keyboard.
  2. Type "regedit.exe" without the quotes.
  3. If asked for permission to launch the Registry Editor, click Allow.
  4. Navigate to 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM


  5. Right click on the right hand side of the registry editor, and under New, click on "DWORD (32-bit)".
  6. Name the new DWORD value "Max3DWindows" (without the quotes)
  7. Double click on the DWORD value and set it to the maximum number of windows you want displayed in Flip3D. A good number is 5 for low-end cards and 10 for other cards.
  8. Click OK and exit the Registry Editor.
  9. Press Ctrl+Shift+F9 to shut down DWM, and then press the key combination again to restart it.
  10. Press WinKey+Tab to display Flip3D.

Workaround for the dissapearing start button after using Flip3D

If you use the Flip3D function in Windows Vista February CTP, you may notice that when you return from the Flip3D display screen that the blue start button in the left hand corner is missing. To fix this, simply restart DWM by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F9 twice.

Add another time zone to your clock

One nice addition to Windows Vista is the ability to display the time in other time zones.

  1. Click on the clock.
  2. Click "Date and Time Settings".
  3. Click on the "Additional Clocks" tab.
  4. Check the box labelled "Additional Clock #1″, and from the drop down menu choose a time zone.
  5. Give the clock a name, such as "Microsoft" or "Texas".
  6. Press OK.

You can repeat this for the second additional clock as well.

Windows Explorer

To prevent the Search box from searching sub-folders:

In the February CTP, the Search functionality has changed yet again. This time, when you type something into the search box, it will also search all sub-folders of the current folder. To disable this:

  1. Press WinKey+R on your keyboard.
  2. Type "control folders", and press OK.
  3. When asked for permission to run "Run a DLL as an App", press Allow.
  4. Click the "View" tab.
  5. Uncheck "Search subfolders when typing in the Search box".
  6. Press OK.

To add a location to the Places bar (left hand pane in Windows Explorer)

In Windows Vista, there is a new pane on the left hand side of Windows Explorer which contains links to items you wish to access quickly. It works a bit like the left hand pane in the Mac OS X 10.3+ Finder. In previous builds, you could not really customize the Places bar but now you can! Simply drag and drop a folder onto the plane, and voila!

Display Windows Explorer Classic Menus

If you are a frequent user of the menu in Windows Explorer, you may have a bit of a hard time adjusting to Windows Vista's new Windows Explorer window style, which doesn't include the menu.

There are two ways to bring it back, one is temporary and the other is more permenant:

If you want to view the menu but not have it always displayed, simply press the Alt key. The menu will fade into view.

If you want the menu to always be turned on, click the first button on Layout configuration button (first button on the top most bar in Windows Explorer). From the drop down list, check "Classic Menus".

Folders List Returns!

If you want to view a tree-view of your hard drive and navigational path, simply click on the arrow next to the "Folders" bar in Windows Explorer, located on the Places bar.

Windows Mail

Disable the Windows Mail Splash Screen

Using Windows Mail? If the splash screen is displayed too long for your liking or if you just want to get rid of it, this is the trick for you.

  1. Press WinKey+R.
  2. Type "regedit.exe" without the quotes.
  3. If you are asked for permission to run the Registry Editor, click on Allow.
  4. Navigate to 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail


  5. Create a new DWORD (32-bit) value called "NoSplash".
  6. Double click on the "NoSplash" DWORD you just created and set its value to 1.
  7. Press OK and close the registry editor.

Bring back the Outlook Bar in Windows Mail

If you are an avid fan of the Outlook Bar in Microsoft Outlook and the previous Outlook Express, then this tweak is definately for you!

  1. Press WinKey+R.
  2. Type "regedit.exe" without the quotes.
  3. If you are asked for permission to run the Registry Editor, click on Allow.
  4. Navigate to 
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail


  5. Look for the DWORD (32-bit) item with the name of "Show Legacy Outlook Bar", if it doesn't exist, create it.
  6. Double click on this value and set the value to 1.
  7. Press OK and close the registry editor.

Start Windows Mail. You should now see the Outlook Bar on the left-hand side.

<a name="ie7">Internet Explorer 7

User Agent String

If you are having issues with certain websites (especially banking and other secure websites), you might want to try this out. It fools the websites into thinking you are running Internet Explorer 6.0.

Copy and paste the following code into Notepad, and save it to your desktop as IE7UserAgent.REG.

Double-click the file to merge it into the Windows Registry, and then restart Internet Explorer for the change to take effect. If UAP is turned on, permit the operation to take place.

If you are having issues with certain websites (especially banking and other secure websites), you might want to try this out. It fools the websites into thinking you are running Internet Explorer 6.0.Copy and paste the following code into Notepad, and save it to your desktop as IE7UserAgent.REG.Double-click the file to merge it into the Windows Registry, and then restart Internet Explorer for the change to take effect. If UAP is turned on, permit the operation to take place.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent]
  "Version"="MSIE 6.0"
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform]
  "SV1″=-

You can easily undo this change by copying and pasting the following code into Notepad, and then saving it as IE7Undo.reg and merge it into the Windows Registry. If UAP is turned on, permit the operation to take place.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent]
  "Version"=-
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform]
  "SV1″=""

You can test these changes using a simple page that checks the User Agent. We recommend: http://www.fiddlertool.com/useragent.aspx.

The Favorites Center

In Internet Explorer 7, the older style Explorer bars have been replaced and the menus have been hidden by default. "What happened to my favorites, then?" you may wonder. Simple. You will notice a round orange circle with a white star in the center of it. Click on it, and all of your favorites will appear. You will also find your subscribed feeds and history are available from the Favorites Center as well. To close the Favorites Center quickly just press Esc on your keyboard.

Zoom

In previous versions of Internet Explorer, you could use Ctrl+-, Ctrl++, or Ctrl+Scroll Wheel to change the zoom and text size of a page. In Internet Explorer 7, there is a new zoom function which not only allows you to zoom text, it also zooms everything else on the page; making pages, images, and items larger for those with sight problems. To use this feature, locate the little magnifying glass in the bottom right hand corner of the Internet Explorer status bar. Click on it, and select a zoom percentage.

Quick Tabs

Internet Explorer comes with a new feature known as Tabs. Other browsers have had this for a while, such as Mozilla Firefox, and now it is time for Internet Explorer to catch up. When you have multiple tabs open, instead of clicking through each tab to see what it contains, you can use Quick Tabs. To do this, you can either press the Quick Tabs button next to the Favorites Center & Add Favorite buttons, or you can press Ctrl+Q.

Printing from a USB Printer

In this build, there is a known issue that causes printing with Internet Explorer to fail when attempting to use a USB Printer. To resolve this, click Start, All Programs, right click on Internet Explorer, and then click "Run as administrator". When asked for permission to run Internet Explorer, click on Allow. Then print as you normally would.

Edited by MGadAllah
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