A secret trick/easter egg both Windows Vista and Windows 7 have built into them is the ability to access virtually every setting and configuration screen in the system… with no additional software required. All you have to do is create a new folder and then rename it to a special title. While you can access all of these configuration options throughout the...

For some reason the hibernate function is not enabled in either Windows Vista or Windows 7 by default (even if your BIOS supports it). On top this, enabling this power saving feature isn’t as simple as marking a check box. If you want to make use of this rather nice function then here is how to do it in Windows Vista and Windows 7. I find this feature...

Windows has always had the native screen capture functionality via the Print Screen button, but this is extremely limited to just capturing the full screen or the active window. Of course, then you had to paste this capture into another program to actually save the image making this a rather cumbersome process. Windows Vista now has a much improved utility for...

One of the biggest changes (for the better) added to Windows Vista is the UAC (User Account Control) security feature. While this is a fantastic security measure, it often gets criticized for being ‘annoying’. This is completely unfair since it addresses one of Windows’ most critical issues: user security. A great article which explains almost...

Up until Windows Vista, the native tool for managing startup program was ‘msconfig’. While there are more powerful utilities available, this is sufficient for most user’s needs. Windows Vista has done away with this tool and instead has replace it’s startup programs manager with a more powerful tool built into Windows Defender. Here is...

Full disclosure: I personally subscribe to the philosophy that “benchmark = lie”, simply because there are so many factors which can influence results and typically the benchmark results have little bearing on actual practical use. That said, I know a lot of readers probably do not share my opinion and enjoy reading about – and performing...

One of the first thing Windows Vista users will probably notice is there is a pretty signficant change to the way navigation works in Windows Explorer. One notable change is how you go ‘up’ a level, that is easily get to the parent folder of the folder you are currently in. There are several ways to do this, such as:In the address navigation bar,...

A very handy trick Windows Vista users can take advantage of is the ability to launch programs via the desktop right-click menu. This article explains exactly how to do it. This tweak is extremely useful for launching your most common applications as it can be much faster than typing items into the Run dialog box, using Quick Launch or tracking down items in...

Windows XP users who have taken advantage of the excellent user interface control tool, Tweak UI are probably well aware of the fine tuning it offers. Now Windows Vista users have a similar tool available at their disposal: Ultimate Windows Tweaker. The author themselves title the tool ‘Tweak UI For Windows Vista’: Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a Tweak...

If you are a Windows Vista user, before you start looking around for an external tool to backup your important data, consider using Windows Vista’s built-in backup tool. Before going any farther I need to point out this feature is only included with Vista Business and Ultimate (much like the way the NTBackup tool was only included with XP Pro and not XP...

In the past, whenever you purchase an upgrade release of a Microsoft OS, you have to provide proof that you own a previous version for the upgrade to continue. Typically, you prove this by either installing on top of an eligible OS or by inserting the older installation media during the installation process. Well, the same is true for Vista upgrades versions,...

One of the biggest criticisms Windows Vista receives is for the User Account Control (UAC) prompts. While this is a security feature by design which is often blown way out of proportion (as you can probably tell, I don’t think they are a big annoyance at all), instead of completely disabling it, try TweakUAC. This free program offers 3 modes:Off –...

If you have multiple boot options (i.e. XP, Linux, etc.) configured on your Windows Vista installation, or you just want to tweak some of the options available, you could use the command line tool BCDEdit or the much more user friendly EasyBCD. From EasyBCD’s web site: EasyBCD is NeoSmart Technologies’ multiple award-winning answer to tweaking the...

Yesterday Chris Flores, a director at Microsoft for the Windows Client Communications Team, wrote at length about what’s going on with Windows 7. A few things were brought to light about how Microsoft does things concerning the Windows operating system, such as: The six dimensions of qualityDevice compatibility Application...

I wrote a week ago about slipstreaming SP3 into a Windows XP install CD, but what if you want to do the same thing for Windows Vista using the recently released SP1? If so, this article walks you through the process. After comparing the two processes, it seems the Vista method is much more complex. Microsoft seems to have concentrated more on making Vista easier...

Every Wednesday night @ 8pm EST when we do the PCMech Live broadcast, one question always comes up, that being: Does the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 really fix anything? The answer is yes, it does. I have to go by reported information because I don’t use Vista, I use Windows XP Professional Edition (with Service Pack 3.) The caveat to using Windows Vista...

Whenever you open or save a file in Windows Vista, you typically get the standard dialog box which has shortcut locations on the left side. You can easily customize these locations to add or remove locations to best suit your needs. Here is how:Open a dialog box (either a Save As or Open dialog will work). Right click on some white space in the locations on...

One thing I have noticed is a lot of people like to treat their Desktop as a “dumping ground” for all their personal files, folders and shortcuts. Yes, it is very convenient, but quickly gets overwhelming and hard to navigate. If you are one of these people, a handy shortcut is to add a menu containing all your desktop items on your taskbar. Here is...

For Windows Vista users wanting to make modifications to some of the user interface and security settings, check out WinBubble. You can think of WinBubble as a TweakUI for Vista which allows you to:Customize OEM information. Customize screensavers. Tweak security settings (disable task manager, control panel, etc.). Activate a hidden Aurora boot screen.This...