Tools, tips and tricks to speed up, optimize, enchance and make better Windows Vista.

Vista vs Vista SP1

2008-05-13T01:36:00.000-07:00

We’ll start with our Futuremark benchmark applications, 3DMark 2006 and PCMark Vantage. 3DMark in spite of being a graphics benchmark is sensitive enough to pick up on any changes in CPU or GPU performance (in this case any optimizations that reduce overhead), while PCMark Vantage is a full suite of benchmarks to measure overall system performance. It’s also one of the few benchmarks that we’re using that has a 64-bit mode.

Starting with 3DMark, the change in performance is effective imperceptible at 0.2%, well within experimental variance. This just goes to show there haven’t been any changes in overhead. PCMark however is far more interesting; here we get a full 7% score increase, indicating that SP1’s effects are felt outside of our earlier benchmarks. Drilling down ino PCMark’s subscores, we found that the higher score is a result of improvements in data compression scores, data encryption scores, and searching in Windows Mail, all of which can be attributed to improvements in file I/O performance. All other subscores are virtually unchanged.

Moving on to our application specific benchmarks, we have our DivX encoding test, our iTunes/LAME MP3 encoding test, and the Retouch Artists speed test for Photoshop. DivX stresses I/O somewhat, while the rest of the tests are largely memory and CPU-bound.

Here we see no notable changes in performance moving to SP1. All of the application tests come back with virtually identical scores.

Finally we have our gaming tests. Games tend to be good a great way to stress all the components in a system, so this should give us a better idea of how far improvements in Vista’s file I/O system stretch. For our games we have the RTSes World in Conflict and Company of Heroes, and the FPSes Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3.

In spite of the more rounded nature of gaming tests compared to our application tests, the results are the same with no perceivable improvement in performance. At this point it’s clear that what performance improvements Vista does offer are limited to a handful of situations where we are specifically file or network I/O bound. What this means for any given application is that it is unlikely to see a performance improvement due to SP1.

We also ran some quick testing with startup and shutdown times to see if Vista improved performance there at all; there were a couple of hotfixes in SP1 that dealt with these matters.

Vista Startup/Shutdown Performance
	Pre-SP1	Post-SP1
Startup Time	33 Seconds	28 Seconds
Shtudown Time	32 Seconds	31 Seconds
.

While shutdown time doesn’t see any real performance improvements, we are surprised to see an improvement in startup time by several seconds. Vista is not notably slow to start up in the first place, so we weren’t expecting much improvement if there was to be any at all. Shaving off 5 seconds for a 14% improvement in startup time (getting startup below 30 seconds altogether) is a pleasant surprise.

Windows Vista SP1 review

2008-05-13T01:31:00.000-07:00

Bug fixes are a big part of any Microsoft service pack, but not just for the bugs being fixed specifically by the service pack. Microsoft has released numerous hotfixes since Vista launched, correcting a number of issues declared significant enough that they need to be fixed before the next service pack, but minor enough that they’re not worth a full deployment and the kind of massive regression testing that entails. The result is that there are a number hotfixes already out that can potentially fix specific issues certain users are having, but because they aren’t well-tested they’re instead well-hidden with only a small number of users with extreme problems usually getting their hands on any given hotfix. Now that a service pack has arrived, Microsoft has rolled up all of these hotfixes into the service pack, in essence approving them for wide release and full support.

Among the 24 pages(!) of hotfixes that have been rolled into Vista SP1 are favorites such as the virtual address space fix and a fix for a conflict with NVIDIA’s USB controller and >2GB of RAM. Other additions include fixes for ejecting iPods, a fix for HybridSLI/HybridCrossfire (which is why the launch of these technologies is tied to SP1), and a fix for AMD Barcelona processors causing system reboots during Windows installations. While we could rattle off the entire 24 page list of hotfixes, the important thing to note here is that there are a number of small issues that have been “fixed” prior to SP1 but are only now being widely corrected. We’re going to spend most of our time going over the biggest and most noticeable fixes in SP1, but please keep in mind there are many more things addressed in this service pack than what we’re looking at today or are listed in Microsoft’s consumer-level product literature.

Among the most significant fixes to Vista in SP1 is Microsoft's work on further refining the User Account Control (UAC) prompts of Vista. Even after already being scaled down between the betas and Vista’s launch, these prompts are still rather prolific at times. An adjustment to the folder creation is the most prominently touted of these fixes, with the number of folder creation prompts (when creating a folder in a protected location) falling from four to one. Microsoft doesn’t list any further reductions in UAC dialogs, but as far as anecdotal evidence is concerned it certainly feels like they’ve done a bit more than that. This won’t change the public perception of UAC (or Apple jokes on the subject), but any reduction is welcome and perhaps will stem the tide of Vista users who are completely turning off this critical system feature.

Among all of the fixes in SP1, the biggest and most widely noticed will be the changes Microsoft has made to how Vista copies and moves files. There’s no two ways about it, Vista is slow at copying files - in fact frequently much slower than XP. Microsoft had a good reason for picking the methods they did for Vista but the payoff clearly hasn’t been worth it, so they’ve gone back to the drawing board and modified their file copy methods slightly to improve performance. Vista still won’t perform as well as XP (and we’ll get to why that is in a second), but with SP1 it’s definitely faster than it was under the original version of Vista.

The story of why Vista’s file copy speeds are slow so is a long and interesting one, with Microsoft’s tech blogging guru Mark Russinovich providing a particularly lengthy and descriptive explanation of the issue. If you’re curious as to what the specific details of the situation are, we encourage you to read the whole blog. For everyone else we’re going to take the liberty of paraphrasing and condensing it a bit, so that we can go over the changes to Vista without talking about things at such a low level.

According to Microsoft, there are three issues with the CopyFileEx method in XP that they wanted to correct with Vista.

XP’s buffered file network operations resulted in the file being cached no fewer than 3 times: twice on a client requesting data and once more at the host sending data. This wasted a lot of memory, particularly on the client.
Copying large files would eat up a great deal of memory when write operations couldn’t keep up with read operations (solid state drives in particular are prone to this) and the read data would be cached until it could finally be written
File copying was a synchronous action that couldn’t be pipelined, resulting in poor performance over high-latency, high-bandwidth links; this is one of the areas Microsoft was working to optimize performance under Vista, which included optimizations at the networking level.

Windows Vista SP1 RELEASED

2008-03-19T03:48:00.000-07:00

Today Microsoft announced releasing Windows Vista Service Pack 1. It's a final release. Final long-awaited update. It is available through Microsoft Download Center. Here is full Vista SP1 for 32-bit windows verions (434.5 MB):

Download Windows Vista SP1

Will our computers run faster? Will large companies switch to Windows Vista or still use Windows XP and wait for xp service pack 3 ? Or is it going to be another Microsoft failure?
We will see in a future, and I will let you know, my blog readers.

Notable changes in Windows Vista Service Pack 1:

Windows Vista SP1 is an update to Windows Vista that, along with improvements delivered via these other channels, addresses feedback from our customers and partners. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack which is thoroughly tested by Microsoft and by industry partners and customers during the beta cycle, Microsoft provides a single high quality update that minimizes deployment and testing complexity for customers

In addition to all previously released updates, SP1 contains changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista. Service Packs are not intended to be a vehicle for releasing significant new features or functionality; however some existing components do gain slightly enhanced functionality in SP1 to support industry standards and new requirements. Here is a complete document of changes of Windows Vista SP1.

Top 5 Windows Vista Gadgets

2008-03-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

1) Multi Meter (Dual Core) v1.25a

Info shown:- Cpu usage % ( 2 cores )- Ram Usage %- Ram info ( Total, used, left size)- Status bars animated above 90%- 100 Skins + background selection- Help and email support included- Shortcut options

2) Calculator

The first ever Vista calculator gadget released on the Live Gallery.
The Calculator features: Expandable size. Automatic update notification. Scientific notation display. Memory, Trigonometry and Copy/Paste functions. Active operator indicator. Keyboard shortcuts. Help. And many other qualities.

3) Auction Sidebar Tool for eBay

Still the #1 eBay gadget, Auction Sidebar Tool offers an unrivalled set of features to help you stay on top of your eBay activities.

4) Speed Test (Monitor CPU, RAM, Internet, more..)

With Speed Test you can monitor CPU (over 8 cores) and RAM usage by itself and it has the ability to test;. View all data in a graph, seeing the results even after they happened. Imagine something on your computer slowing down and by the time you look at any other utility, the problem has vanished, but not with Speed Test and its graph.
Speed Test also has cross-hairs, put your cursor over the line you are inquiring about and detailed information is shown with the time and value of that point on the graph.

5) WeatherBug

Receive live weather conditions for anywhere in the world on your Sidebar. Get detailed forecasts, radar, weather cameras, and severe weather alerts from any of WeatherBug’s 8,000 Tracking Stations.

Are you tired of Spyware?

2008-03-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

Is your computer acting strange, restarting randomly, opening popups even when you are not even browsing, redirecting sites to spyware sites and is totally under control ?

All those spyware, adware, worms, trojans, viruses and dialers makes us all feel tired and desparate. Recent survey made by Cyber Security found that four of every five PCs are infected with harmful spyware. And it's getting worse...

I suggest you to take a free scan and remove dangerous spyware and adware from your computer. Even if you think your computer is clean, you should scan and you will be surprised.

Adware Alert - Get a free scan and take back control of your computer.

If You Think SP1 Fixed Windows Vista , Think Again

2008-03-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

The same problems that were initially associated with the gold version of Vista have survived and moved on as the legacy of SP1. At the end of its first year of availability on the market, Vista had passed the 100 million sold license milestone, and according to Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, present at MIX08 the past week, the platform is the second most popular Windows operating system in the world, despite its long line of problems.

“I’m not saying that there aren’t things that customers choose to
comment on. Come on, the number one issue we’ve had customers have issues on were application compatibility and driver compatibility. We made a very concrete set of choices in order to enhance the security, Vista is a very secure system. We’ve had very little issue of that kind. It’s the most secure client operating system out there. But we did have it we did make the choice to kind of hurt compatibility and our customers have let us know that that has been very painful,” Ballmer stated.

Still, the promise was that with Windows Vista SP1, Microsoft would soften all the rough edges of the operating system. But just like the gold version of Vista, the RTM build of Vista SP1 experienced integration issues with existent hardware drivers, a detail that led to the postponing of SP1’s general availability until mid-March.

“A couple of things have happened, a lot of the apps have now been upgraded to be compatible, and the drivers have been upgraded. We’ve shipped our first service pack, Service Pack 1, which allows us to factor in a lot of the quality and other suggestions that people have made, and I think we’re starting to see more uptake now in the business market, and Vista continues to sell quite strongly in the consumer market,” Ballmer added.

But not only is Vista SP1 not resolving the driver incompatibility issues of Vista, but it is introducing new ones. Microsoft warned on March 12, that in certain scenarios, following the deployment of Vista SP1, end users might experience sound problems.

The company enumerated the issues starting with the fact that: “no sound is produced when you play audio files or run programs that have an audio component. The speaker symbol next to the clock in the notification area may display the following message: ‘No Audio Output Device is installed.’ The Sound Controller in Device Manager displays a yellow exclamation point.”

The glitch is entirely the fault of Vista SP1. What the service pack does is to update system files upon installation and inbox device drivers are refreshed in an effort to evolve device reliability. This is done via the redeployment of device drivers at the very end of Vista SP1’s installation. But this specific step could fail and result in no new drivers being installed.

Microsoft advices end users to first restart the Windows Vista SP1 machine, then unplug and plug back in the speakers, as well as verifying the default output device. If these steps fail, then users should check to see if the audio device driver exists, and either perform an installation or an update.

Windows Vista speech recognition failure - the whole story

2008-03-15T04:43:00.000-07:00

Here is what microsoft team is saying about this:

This specific problem looks like it was likely caused by a serious audio gain bug in the specific build that Shanen was using for the FAM (Financial Analysts Meeting) demo. I'm actually going to be taking a look at the machine personally this morning to see if that's what it was or if it was something else. No matter what it was, we'll address it before we ship in one way or another.
The results Shanen got during the demo were not at all similar to the results he was getting earlier yesterday morning, so there's certainly something else going on. If it always performed this poorly, we wouldn't ship it! :-)
I consistently get 99% accuracy with the Windows Vista Speech Recognition system, every day. I know a lot of other people here at work that use it regularly get similar results (to mine -- not Shanen's!)

and another one:

Speech demos in front of a large audience are particularly tricky because the acoustics change from when you did your rehearsal (in an empty room) to when it's showtime (lots of people). There are plenty of ways to make up for that, of course and the best way is to have a good close-talk microphone. But even then, sigh, something can happen.

How To Remove Windows Vista And Install Windows XP

2008-03-06T01:21:00.000-08:00

Please make sure you backup your files before you do this.

Services Guide for Windows Vista

2008-03-05T16:15:00.001-08:00

there are some services you just don’t need; running them is a waste of resources. Here’s how to find and reduce them:

Click the Start button, then Run.
Enter services.msc in the box.

The screen that pops up is a bit intimidating at first, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. Services are programs that run in the background, helping your computer work. They do things like make sure you’re connected to the network, allow your mouse to work, and so on.

The Services list shows every one that’s on your machine and tells you whether it starts automatically or manually, among other things. Some of the services that start automatically are unnecessary, so we’ll stop them. Here’s how:

Click the Extended tab on the bottom, which will create a space that will give you a description of each service.
Click on the words “Startup Type” at the top of that column, which will sort the services. The ones that say “Automatic” are, obviously, the ones that start when Windows does. They’re the only ones you care about.

Alert:
Some services are critical for your computer to run. So don’t disable anything that’s not on the list below unless you’re absolutely sure that it’s an expendable item.

You can choose to disable the following non-critical items without encountering problems. The find out what each does before disabling, click on them. Some of these items are specific to Vista, while others are also found in Windows XP.

COM+ Event System
Cryptographic Services
DFS Replication
Computer Browser
Distributed Link Tracking Client
IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
IP Helper
IPsec Policy Agent
KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Offline Files
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
SSDP Discovery
Tablet PC Input Service (Unless you have a Tablet PC
Terminal Services
UPnP Device Host
Windows Error Reporting Service (no more asking you to notify Microsoft when there’s a crash!)

One at a time, find each one on the list and double-click it. A dialog box will appear. In it will be a drop-down menu next to “Startup type” that is probably set to Automatic.

Change it to Manual and click OK. This way the service will start only if it’s needed, not all the time.

Then under Service status, click Stop.

Click OK and go to the next service on the list.

Windows Vista registry clean up

2008-03-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

The Registry is essentially a huge database of thousands of settings for Windows itself and most of your software. When you install or even use a program, it makes changes to the Registry, but when you uninstall something it often leaves junk behind, filling the Registry with garbage.
Luckily, there are a bunch of good Registry cleaners out there that will seek and let you destroy useless stuff. Here is some Vista registry tips and tricks:

We recommend the following Vista-compatible system utilities, available at Download.com

A good one to try is ToniArts EasyCleaner 2.0.6.380. It’s both free and easy to use.

Here’s what you do:

Download and install a registry cleaner for Vista. When that’s done, start the program to get a grid of 16 things to choose from.
Click the Registry button.
Click the Find button on the bottom. EasyCleaner will search your Registry for the leftovers of old programs and other detritus. This could take several minutes.
When it’s done, the Delete All button will become clickable. Click it.
Click Yes to say you really want to delete the bad entries.
That’s it! Click Close and let’s move on.

Search Indexing

You might notice that your computer’s hard drive is busy a lot, even when you’re not doing anything. That could be because Vista is busy indexing all the contents of your drive in case you need to search for something.

The good thing about Vista’s indexing system is that it lets you find things on your computer very quickly when you need to. The downside is that if you don’t search a lot, your computer’s time and resources are wasted doing that.

If you only search your drive occasionally, here’s a good way to speed things up:

From your Control Panel choose “Indexing Options.”

Hit the Modify button. A dialog box with two boxes inside it will appear.
In the bottom of those two boxes will be a list of locations on your hard drive that Vista is indexing. One at a time, click each one of those “Included Locations” except Start Menu.
As you click each one, it will appear in the top box with a check mark next to it. Uncheck it. You should end up with only Start Menu listed as an indexed location.
Click OK, then close the Indexing Options box.

Feel like diving into the Registry for a quick change that might make a noticeable difference? Try this to speed up how quickly some program menus appear when you click on them:

Click your Start orb, then click Run.
Enter regedit to start the Registry Editor.

You’re now going to make your way through several levels of the Registry.

Click anywhere in the left-hand pane, then click Ctrl-Home to make sure you’re at the very top.
There will be five sections under “Computer,” all beginning with “HKEY_.”
Click on the little arrow next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
Click on the little arrow next to Control Panel.
Click the word “Desktop.”
On the right side, double-click “MenuShowDelay.”
In the box that appears, enter 0 (that’s a zero) in the box labeled “Value data.”
Click OK, then close the Registry Editor.

Aero tweaks, even if you don't use Aero.

2008-03-05T16:08:00.000-08:00

Whether or not you use 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. Here’s how:

Open Control Panel.
Choose “Performance and System Tools.”
Click “Adjust visual effects.”
You can now either choose “Adjust for best performance,” or you can choose Custom and pick the effects you want to keep.

Suggestion: Keep “Smooth edges of screen fonts” and “Use visual styles on windows and buttons” or the result might look awful. Everything else is up to you.

Finally, while Vista’s sidebar can be a cool thing — let’s face it, that clock is kind of nice — it’s also a resource hog. It slows your computer. Disable it.

Right-click on the Sidebar (or, if it’s not visible, choose “Windows Sidebar Properties” from the Control Panel).
Uncheck “Start Sidebar when Windows starts.”
Click OK.
If the Sidebar is currently open, right-click on it and choose Close Sidebar.

Speed up windows vista startup time

2008-03-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

By default, some of the software installed on your computer are set up to load when windows loads. You may want to change your Vista startup order. One of the ways to make your windows boot faster is to prevent the software that you don't need to load when windows starts.

There is 2 ways to accomplish this:

Disable the software from the System Configuration.
Disable the software from Windows Defender. Note that in order to disable the software from startup with Windows Defender, Defender has to be turned on. Also, once you disable a program, you cannot enable it.

NEC Software Tool Downgrades Vista PCs To Windows XP

2008-02-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

In the latest sign that Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s Windows Vista operating system has failed to catch on with businesses, Japanese computer maker NEC has released a software tool that helps IT managers downgrade Vista-based PCs to the older Windows XP OS.

NEC's FlexLoad "enables you to make a fast and easy downgrade" from the Business edition of Windows Vista to Windows XP Professional, NEC said in a statement. The software works with NEC's PowerMate PCs and Versa laptops.

NEC is including FlexLoad with all Versa systems shipped after February, and it's making it available as an option on PowerMate computers. FlexLoad also gives users the ability to restore their computers to Windows Vista at a later time.

"The solution is based on the legal downgrade policy of Microsoft," NEC said in a statement. That means users who downgrade from Vista to XP need pay for just one operating system license.

NEC is the latest PC maker to offer business customers a path back to Windows XP. Others, including Dell (Dell) and Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HP), recently re-introduced XP as an on option on certain commercial system.

The problem: Many businesses are balking at Vista's resource requirements and compatibility problems with existing software.

There's also evidence that Windows XP outperforms Vista. Researchers at Devil Mountain Software, a Florida-based developer of performance management tools, have posted data from their most recent Windows performance tests -- and Vista, even after it's been upgraded to the new Service Pack 1, is shown to be a laggard.

The researchers compared patched and unpatched versions of Vista and XP running Microsoft Office on a dual-core Dell notebook. The results revealed the time taken to complete Office productivity tasks such as the creation of a compound document and presentation materials.

Windows XP trounced Windows Vista in all tests -- regardless of the versions used or the amount of memory running on the computer. In fact, XP proved to be roughly twice as fast as Vista in most of the tests.

As a result, many businesses are sticking with Windows XP for as long as possible. And some may bypass Vista altogether and wait to upgrade their PCs to Windows 7, a Vista successor that's due out in 2010.

An InformationWeek survey last year found that 30% of businesses have no plans to upgrade their computers to Vista.

How Many Versions of Vista?

2008-02-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

Microsoft says the reason it's ending the "Anytime Upgrade" digital key downloads for Windows Vista upgrades based on feedback from customers. I can believe customers were confused, but I can't believe that's the real reason for the change. I think it's a step Microsoft had to take to clear the decks for reducing the number of versions of Vista.

For sure, the "Anytime Upgrade" program wasn't been easy to understand. The pitch was that all the versions of Vista would install from a single DVD, so that you could easily upgrade from one to another just by putting your Vista disk in your PCs drive. Of course, it was a little more complicated than that: The upgrade wasn't (and still won't be) free, and you paid for it by going to the Microsoft Web site and buying a small piece of software, a digital "product key." Then you hunted up the Vista disk that came with your PC and fed it the key.

But what if you couldn't find your Vista disk? Would the key work with another one? Or what if you lost or screwed up the digital key? Could you get it replaced? Or what if the installation failed? Would the key allow you to rerun it? Many questions – enough, in fact, to make AnyTime Upgrading look like a risky business to the very people it was intended to attract – home users who aren't IT professionals. (The same home users, to be sure, who were being threatened by Microsoft that if their Vista installation was one bit less than perfect it might be disabled when it failed validation, or was rejected by Windows Genuine Advantage.)

The result could certainly have been that Anytime Upgrade had the opposite effect from what Microsoft intended – rather than bringing in a pot of upgrade money, it inhibited upgrades by scaring off potential upgraders.

But I don't think that's the real reason why Microsoft will stop selling digital keys on Feb. 20 and start selling boxed upgrades that contain a DVD and a standard product key. I think that when those boxes finally hit the shelves, we'll find that they don't line up with the current Vista versions.

Six versions of Vista have been too many. (Yes, six – Home Basic, which is basically Windows XP with new screensavers; Home Premium; Business; Enterprise, which is the volume-licensing version and doesn't come in a box; Ultimate; and were you forgetting Vista Starter, available only in countries redlined by Microsoft?)

When Vista was launched a year ago, the number of versions, combined with the "Wow" ad campaign that pushed benefits that might or might not be in particular versions, created some confusion in the marketplace -- which versions include Windows Media Player but not Windows Media Center? Which include BitLocker? Which don't install Aero?

The "Wow" campaign went away pretty quickly. Now it's past time for Microsoft to actively try to sell Vista again, and a realignment of the product line seems to be a prerequisite.

Microsoft has already started to simplify the story it has to tell. Vista Service Pack 1 will remove the kill switch in Microsoft Genuine Advantage to reduce it from a sales-prevention initiative to a nag screen. Recent license changes will decriminalize virtualization of the least expensive versions of Vista -- Home and Home Premium. But Anytime Upgrades locks in the versions of Vista on customers' DVDs. Solution: drop Anytime Upgrades and instead, sell people a new DVD that can have whatever version of Vista on it Microsoft wants to sell that week.

I disclaim any hard information on what changes will be made in the version lineup. (The only thing I know for sure is that we'll hear the phrase "user experience" repeated ad nauseum by Microsoft marketing types.) But I would like to make one suggestion. How about a "Windows Vista Compatibility Edition" that would work exactly like XP Pro, right down to the Teletubbies field-of-grass desktop background?

Are You Ready for Windows Vista?

2008-01-08T03:45:00.000-08:00

Add Copy To / Move To on Windows Vista Right-Click Menu

2008-01-07T12:52:00.001-08:00

There's a registry hack for Windows that will let you add a Copy To Folder or Move To Folder to the right-click menu, which can be very useful when you want to move a file but don't have the other folder open already.

Right-click on a file:

And up pops a nice dialog that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.

Hidden Vista Trick: Launching your favorite applications with the [Windows] key

2008-01-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

To take advantage of this hidden trick, all you have to do is add the shortcuts to your favorite applications to the Quick Launch toolbar, which you can do with a simple drag and drop operation. You can have up to 10 shortcuts on the Quick Launch toolbar to use with the [Windows] key. By default, the Show Desktop and the Switch Between Windows/Flip 3D shortcuts are already on the Quick Launch toolbar, so with the idea that you’d leave them there, you can add up to 8 additional shortcuts.

Moving left to right, the first shortcut on the Quick Launch toolbar is automatically assigned to [Windows]+1, the second shortcut to [Windows]+2 and so on. The tenth shortcut on the Quick Launch toolbar is automatically assigned to [Windows]+0. By unlocking the Taskbar (via a simple right-click on the Taskbar and clicking Lock the Taskbar) and expanding the Quick Launch toolbar, as shown in Figure A, you can use drag and drop to arrange the shortcuts in any order that you want.

Figure A

In this Quick Launch toolbar arrangement, [Windows]+6 launches Notepad while [Windows]+0 launches the new Windows Vista Snipping Tool.

Once you memorize which numeric [Windows] keys are assigned to which application shortcuts; you can resize the Quick Launch toolbar to its default size and relock the Taskbar, as shown in Figure B. This lets you use the all the space on the Taskbar as you normally would and still be able to launch any of your applications with a simple [Windows] keystroke.

Figure B

You can resize the Quick Launch toolbar so that it doesn’t take space away from the Taskbar, yet still access the shortcuts via the [Windows] key combinations.

Other Win Key combinations

Here are a couple of other handy [Windows] key shortcuts:

[Windows]+T: Cycles through programs using the Live Taskbar feature.

[Windows]+[Spacebar]: Brings the Windows Sidebar to the foreground.

Windows Vista: Some Tips and Tricks to Make Work Easy with Vista

2008-01-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista is a newly launched operating system by Microsoft. Hence, there are many underlying areas which people are yet unaware of. There are many people who are interested in learning more about this operating system and exploring the same. This is an interesting read for such people:

File Menu Access: You might not find the File menu Tab in many applications in Vista. To temporarily enable this application, press the alt+F key. To give a permanent affect to this, use the Organize option on windows explorer screen. Go to the Folder and Search Options and from there click on view tab. Click on the box of show menus. This will help you see the menu tabs on your explorer screen
Expanding options with Right Click: You can use the shift key along with the right click key to get more details and see the hidden options. This will also increase the speed of your work
Monitoring: Any parent can control the usage of PC by the children. To do so, they can go to the start menu and click on the control panel option. To apply settings, they should click on the User Accounts and Family Safety options. After that click on the Parental Controls tab and thus you can edit the account of your children or create a new one. You can monitor the time spent on internet, games, other programs etc.

What Can You Do With Windows Vista?

You can also customize you desktop icons by right clicking on the desktop and then choosing the personalize option
You can customize the start menu. To do so, right click on the taskbar and then go to the properties tab. From there, you can customize the start menu and the items appearing there in by just checking on the “Don’t Display” option.
You can make internet search from start menu itself

So get going and have a happy vista period!

Auto SysTools Vista

2008-01-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

Download Auto SysTools Vista

Speed your computer, clean your system, protect your privacy now!
Is your windows getting slower and slower? Can't live with it?

Is the capacity of your hard disk getting smaller and smaller? Are the
garbage files in the system getting worse and worse? Want to clear them but no good methods?

Are you troubled by others' using your personal computer? Because your private information such as websites' URL, passwords, recently opened files and films and so on are often spied on by them?
Are you troubled by non-thoroughly deleted files? Because there is always someone recovering them secretly to spy?

If you have these troubles above, don't be worried! Auto SysTools can solve all the problems mentioned thoroughly!

Features of Auto SysTools Vista V4:

* Press F8, it can clean up your computer and protect your privacy automaticlly!
* Scan the hard disk at a high speed and list the useless files for your OneClick Cleanup.
* Optimize the computer memory for a faster running
* Organize StartUp program.
* Clean up all the tracks of your using the computer to protect your privacy
* Crush the secret files thoroughly, which cannot be recovered even by Hackers.
* LiveUpdate: It can update to the latest version automatically once connected to the Internet.

Download Auto SysTools Vista

Windows Vista vs Windows 7

2008-01-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

Even as Microsoft released their latest operating system, Windows Vista, rumors were already flying about the next client version of Windows dubbed: "Windows 7", which is due in 2010. It is leaving many windows users in a quandary, as they debate whether to skip Windows Vista and wait on Windows 7 - which is not due out for another 3 years, or upgrade from the popular Windows XP to Windows Vista in the interim.

Windows Vista is rightly touted as a huge upgrade from Windows XP, as it includes several additional features not offered in Windows XP. In fact, it has been dubbed as the "largest upgrade since Windows 95." However, most IT managers and other Windows users have been markedly slow to upgrade to this latest operating system. Many seem determined to cling to XP for just about as long as they can. A key reason for this is that XP is a pretty good operating system.

Windows 7, codename Vienna, is the future version of Microsoft's line of operating systems known as Windows. The planned development phase is three years, pegging its release in 2010. Microsoft is keeping much of Windows 7 a secret since they want to concentrate on promoting the new Windows Vista. They do reveal, though that they plan to make Windows 7 will be focused on making it easier for users to find and use information.

Should you skip Windows Vista? Well, there is always the danger of a delay: What happens if Windows 7 is late? Though it is slated to ship in the next 3 years, many businesses will still have to wait another 12 months or more to get their hands on it. In the meantime, they will have to keep hanging on to Windows XP

You should also keep in mind that as software developers begin to create software for Windows Vista, its issues of software compatibility will be a thing of the past, and the two operating systems will be on par. Several new computer technologies are also becoming exclusive to Windows Vista. The awesome graphical abilities of Vista's DirectX 10 are one such innovation. This may well chip at the XP's current popularity, as Vista gains ground among the mainstream public. You may get left behind.

If you have the financial resources, an Upgrade to Windows Vista may well be worth the money, even with the impending release of the new Windows 7 operating system. Even though it may seem like a waste of money to buy Windows Vista when Windows 7 may be right around the corner, nobody is sure how long it will take for Microsoft to actually release Windows 7. It is even possible that Windows 7 may not be worth the wait, if it fails to live up to all the hype.

Vista Desktop Tricks

2007-12-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

If you right click in the main expanse of the Vista desktop, then up comes the Personalize menu. 'Personalize appearance and sounds' replaces the five tabs under XP's properties with a list of seven categories that you can configure:

Windows Color and Appearance
Desktop Background
Screen Saver
Sounds
Mouse Pointers
Theme
Display Settings

In many ways I should have started with this section, however the configuration is particularly easy and intuitive therefore you won't need much instruction to find the settings. The time to remember 'Personalize appearance and sounds' is when something strange happens, for example you lose the Aero Graphics, or you get a black background.

ClearType Font Technology

You may have read about Vista's new ClearType font. As the name implies it makes text easier to read on screen. I like this setting for laptop and flat-panel monitors, however, for older monitors you may find that disabling ClearType produces crisper fonts.

To see the difference and control ClearType:

Right click the Vista Desktop, Personalize.
Select: Windows Color and Appearance
Effects... and experiment with 'Standard'

Microsoft even have a ClearType tuner. This is a free download PowerToy!

Vista Web Browsing Speed Up

2007-12-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

Using the following tweaks, you can make your web browser work faster than ever before. How is this possible? Both Internet Explorer and Firefox have to adhere to web standards that specify how many connections a browser can make to a web server. By default in both Internet Explorer and Firefox, that amount is two at a time. The following tweaks will show you how you can dramatically increase that number to speed up and increase the parallel downloading of files your web browser needs to display a web page.

Speeding up Internet Explorer Microsoft has made sure that Internet Explorer follows Internet standards by allowing you and your browser to download only two files at a time from any server. If you visit a web page with a lot of images and required files, such as CSS styles and JavaScript, you can easily end up with a scenario where your web browser has to make more than 40 requests to the web server to download all the files and then assemble the web page. Requesting only two of these 40 files at a time is going to be a lot slower than downloading, say, 10 of them at a time.

By tweaking hidden registry values, you can direct Internet Explorer to break Internet standards and download more than just two files at a time. Modifying this setting is simple to do, but be careful; the standards police will be after you. Follow these steps to speed up IE:

Click the Start button, type regedit in the Search box, and then press Enter.
After Registry Editor loads, navigate through HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings.
Right-click in an open space and create a new DWORD key, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Type MaxConnectionsPerServer as the name of the new DWORD key.

Right-click this key and select Modify.

Set the base to Decimal and enter a value greater than 2, as shown in Figure 2. I like to use 15 as my value here. Press OK when you are done.

Figure 2

Create a new DWORD key and type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server as the name.
Right-click this key and select Modify.
Set the base to Decimal and enter the new value. Use the same value as used in step 6. Click OK when you are finished.
Exit Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

After your computer has rebooted, your new Internet Explorer settings are active.

2008 Summer Olympic Games Say No to Windows Vista

2007-12-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a twist of fate for you. While the news is getting bombarded with stories of poisoned this and poisoned that coming out of China, the Olympic organizing committee in that country has decided to cast aside what they consider to be unsafe too. According to Lenovo, the 2008 Olympic Games official computer supplier and sponsor, Windows Vista is "too risky" to implement at the games.

According to Lenovo chairman Yang Yuanqing, they're not going to load up their ThinkPads with Vista because the new and "like unstable" operating system "could have some problems." And we all know how important reliability is when it comes to a world event like the Olympics. Instead of Vista, Lenovo is going to provide Windows XP to the 12,000 critical systems at the Games.

That's not to say that there will be no Vista in Beijing. Microsoft's new crowning jewel will be allowed on shared terminals for athletes. On a side note, they're not going to support WiFi networks either (for security reasons).

Technorati Tags: vista, windows+vista, messenger+vista, microsoft+vista, vista+performance, vista+reviews, vista+aero, vista+tweaks

Enchance Vista Performance

2007-12-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants to get the most performance out of the operating system installed on their computers. However, the default configuration of an operating system does not always optimize performance. This means you may have to make a few configuration changes to speed things up.

When you install Windows Vista, there are some small configuration changes that you can make to enchance performance.

1. Click Start, right click on the Computer option, and click Properties.
2. Click on the Advanced tab.
3. Under Performance, click Settings.
4. Uncheck the following options:
* Fade or slide menus into view
* Fade or slide tooltips into view
* Fade out menu items after clicking
* Show shadows under menus
* Slide open combo boxes
* Slide taskbar buttons
* Use a background image for each folder type

Convert Web Widgets into Vista Sidebar Gadgets

2007-11-22T03:33:00.000-08:00

There aren’t that many useful Vista sidebar gadgets available at the windows marketplace at the moment. I never quite understood why someone would want to add another clock for instance to the sidebar, does not make that much sense to me. One way to change the relative uselessness of the Windows Vista sidebar is to use the Amnesty Generator to convert web widgets to sidebar gadgets.

We all know that many widget databases exist that allow you to add widgets to your website. All you need is the final html code that would be used to display the widget on your website. Instead of doing that you would simply paste the code into the generator and watch how a new Vista gadget gets created.

Technorati Tags: vista, microsoft, windows, sidebar, gadget, widget, software, news

An Introduction To Microsoft Vista Business

2007-11-21T10:48:00.001-08:00

As I'm sure you already know, Microsoft Vista is on the way! Microsoft projects that all five versions of Vista will be available by mid-2006, and if that holds this will be the longest time period ever between versions of Windows.Yes, that's right - I said "all five versions". Microsoft says that past versions of their OS, such as Windows XP, were based more on hardware type than how people actually used their PCs. MS says that this will not be the case with Vista, and to that end they're going to offer two separate versions of Vista to businesses and two to home PC users. In this article, we'll take a quick overview of Microsoft Vista Business features.Windows Vista Business is offered as a solution for all companies, regardless of size. In answer to security concerns about past Microsoft products, Vista Business will offer built-in solutions against malware. And for those of you (okay, us) who never quite have all the information on their PCs backed up properly, Vista will not only help you to resolve catastrophic failures before they occur, but new features Windows Backup and Volume Shadow Copy will help to ensure that you never have to pray for a hard drive to come back to life because you're behind on your backups!Windows Vista Enterprise will bring these features and more to enterprise-level networks. One of these is Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption, designed to encrypt an entire hard drive. BitLocker will help prevent the loss of your organization's intellectual property even if the PC it's on is stolen.To start learning more about Vista, visit www.microsoft.com/windowsvista. Regardless of whether your company has any plans to move to Vista, you owe it to yourself and your career to keep up with the latest technologies- and that includes Microsoft!Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of over 100 free certification exam tutorials, including Cisco CCNA certification test prep articles. His exclusive Cisco CCNA study guide and Cisco CCNA training is also available!Visit his blog and sign up for Cisco Certification Central, a daily newsletter packed with CCNA, Network+, Security+, A+, and CCNP certification exam practice questions! A free 7-part course, "How To Pass The CCNA", is also available, and you can attend an in-person or online CCNA boot camp with The Bryant Advantage!Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Bryant

Boost Your Computer Performance With Vista Registry Repair

2007-11-20T11:08:00.003-08:00

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Vista registry repair helps in keeping your Windows Vista safe and free from various types of vulnerabilities that are caused by erroneous Windows Registry. But, the very first question, in this regard may come to your mind is why you need of Vista registry repair, as Vista, like the previous versions of Windows, offers an efficient Windows Registry storage and maintenance. Vista stores and maintains the registry information whenever there is installation or uninstallation in your system or there are some changes in the system settings or the different hardware or software configurations in the system. However, errors began to flood your system registry after you use your Vista for a considerable period of time. The main reason behind this can be identified as the overflow of registry entries in your system, and this is generally caused by continuous use of Windows Registry, incomplete installation and uninstallation processes and various spyware keys. These problems gradually affect the performance of your system and soon your system starts responding very slowly.To overcome such a situation, you need to repair your Vista registry and for this registry cleaner for Vista is a must. The registry cleaner enables you to remove the various inconsistencies in the Windows Registry which helps in enhancing the performance your system. The primary function of the registry cleaner is to scan your Windows Vista efficiently and effectively, and delete the various unnecessary entries in the Windows Registry. A good registry cleaner always offers registry backups before deleting the unused registry entries so that whenever you need any particular registry entry in the near future, you can restore immediately. It also deletes the registry entries made by spyware and adware programs to provide network security to some extent. So, by performing Vista registry repair, you can keep your Windows registry up-to-date and also schedule, backup and restore the registry according to your convenience. In other words, Vista registry repair offers you to extract the maximum efficiency from your system and keeps your system safe from various adware and spyware.A Singh is admin and technical expert associated with development of Vista Registry Cleaner. With the release of the new operating system by Microsoft, Author has also upgraded its Registry Cleaner to support the versions of Windows Vista.You can visit the PCMantra.com Home Page to read and download free trial of a range of security and performance enhancing software like Windows Registry Cleaner Anti Spyware and Anti Adware Windows and Internet Cleaner Anti Spam Filter for MS Outlook Anti Spam Filter for Outlook ExpressVisit PCMantra informative Resource Center to read more about the products and their usage.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A_Singh

Windows Vista Features and Improvements

2007-11-20T11:08:00.001-08:00

The new Windows Vista operating system was made to be the most reliable Windows yet. Your will enjoy faster boot times and with the built in diagnostics and repair features you will be able to correct issues on the spot instead of calling a repair technician.Improvements in Windows Vista are as follows:1. Faster Boot and Resume: You will notice your system will be able to boot faster because of the way Windows Vista handle the scripts and application loading in the background.2. New technology in Windows Vista can detect poor performance and tune up your system automatically.3. Built-in Diagnostics: This nice feature will help find errors on your system and repair the problem for you or in the case of finding eminent disk failure will guide you through a backup process.4. Increased Reliability: Windows Vista is a step up from XP. It is more reliable at reducing user disruptions and includes features to help manage crashes and computer hang ups.5. Automatic Recovery: Windows Vista automatically diagnoses and recovers an unbootable system to a usable state with the help of the Startup Repair Tool (SRT) a step-by-step, diagnostics-based troubleshooter that provides users with a guided recovery experience for no-boot situations.As with every new operating system Windows Vista is not without its flaws. Most errors and issues out there have a work around. With the release of Service pack 1 scheduled for the summer of 2007 many of these issue will be patched. With time Vista will replace XP and users are sure to embrace many of the new Vista features.If your looking for free computer repair help or just want some free computer advice then check us out as windowvistarepair.com. We also feature links to many free computer repair tools like computer tuneup software and free antivirus softwareArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacob_Erdei

Vista - Is It For You?

2007-11-19T11:08:00.003-08:00

As most of you know, Windows Vista new operating system was released in January. If you're planning to use Vista, you should check it out first. It is a very new program and like most programs may need to have the kinks worked out. But if you are one that get new technology as soon as it appears than this is for you. Most computer manufacturers are seeing that people are wanting to purchase new computers to get Vista, so Vista is what will typically come installed with any computer you purchase today.If you choose not to have vista and would like to stay with windows XP then you might have to have it built to suite you.

Also, it is worth knowing that only newer model printers will be coming out with Vista drivers, so if you have an older model you might have to purchase a new one or come up with an alternate solution. You should still be able to use the XP drivers on any Vista computer.What ever printer or camera you select to use with this software, be sure to check with the manufacturer for Windows Vista compatibility before purchasing a new computer with Windows Vista installed.If you have an computer with windows XP installed and want Vista, then you will need to purchase the disk and install it yourself. If this is the case I would sugguest that you back up all of you files, photos and any other documents that you want to keep. Then call your technical support and have them walk though it with you. This will save you time and stress.

If you really want to take the work out of looking for that right Spyware Protection from a Spybot go to the Internet and get a Free Spybot Download or a Spybot Search and Destroy Download to prevent your vital information from being ripped from your computer.

Speed Up Windows Vista

2007-11-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista features what some of us think is the prettiest GUI in the OS industry. Its stylish transparencies and nifty animations—driven by Direct3D and your graphics card—give it a polished look that's a pleasure to use.

Unfortunately, that shiny, new interface, called Aero, is also a resource hog. If you're running Vista on a PC that's near or just above the system requirements, you might want to shut off some or all of those features.

Here are some actions you might want to take to tweak interface niceties:

Lose the transparency. Right-click the desktop, click Personalize, and click Windows Color and Appearance. Uncheck Enable Transparency. Click OK.
Get rid of the Sidebar. It's cool, but some of those gadgets chow down on memory. Right-click the Sidebar, click Properties, and uncheck Start Sidebar When Windows Starts. Click OK. Then, right-click the Sidebar and click Close Sidebar. If you ever want it back, you can simply click the Start button and key in "sidebar" and hit Enter.
Get rid of some of the visual effects. Open Control Panel, click Performance and System Tools, and click Adjust Visual Effects. In the resulting window, you can uncheck line items for animations, fades, and other effects; or simply click Adjust For Best Performance.
Go with a non-Aero theme. To get rid of Aero entirely, use the Windows Classic, Windows Vista Basic, or Windows Standard theme. Right-click the desktop, click Personalize, and click Windows Color and Appearance. Click Open Classic Appearance Properties... and choose a theme in the Color Scheme list box. Click OK.

Shut off some visuals to speed up the interface.

Use a non-Aero theme to cut down on the GUI's use of resources.

When you perform such tweaks, Windows Vista won't look as pretty. It will, however, respond much faster.

Get cool gadgets on your Vista screen

2007-11-19T10:09:00.001-08:00

In this tip you’ll learn how to add and configure gadgets using the Windows Vista Sidebar. The Sidebar occupies the right or left end of your screen and serves up a clock, calendar, newsreader, weather gauge, and other useful items called “gadgets." You can add, remove, and reorganize these mini-applications or gadgets as you please to create exactly the Sidebar you want. Here’s how.

First, decide if you want the Sidebar to be a permanent fixture on the desktop or something that stays hidden until you mouse over to the side of your screen. Right-click an unoccupied area of the Sidebar, choose Properties, and then check or uncheck “Sidebar is always on top of other windows.” (This is also where you decide if the Sidebar should occupy the right or left side of the screen.)

The Windows Vista Sidebar, displayed on the right side of the desktop.

To remove any of the existing gadgets from the Sidebar, mouse over it, then click the little close-application x in the corner. To change the settings for a gadget, click the little wrench instead. You can also drag and drop a gadget to a different location on the Sidebar, or drag it off the Sidebar altogether and position it somewhere else on your desktop.

To add gadgets to the Sidebar, click the plus sign at the top of it. You’ll see a dozen or so choices; drag any of them to the Sidebar. However, there are hundreds more available online. Here’s a partial list:

Live Clock

Amazon Search

iTunes Songs

Pong

WeatherBug

Hangman

Video Player for YouTube

Bible verse of the day

Google Searcher

HTML Sandbox

Click the “Get more gadgets online” link to see a complete list. There are literally hundreds of gadgets from categories including fun and games, search tools, security, and more. These aren’t drag-and-drop additions, however; you’ll have to download and install them first. Fortunately, most gadgets cost nothing.

Speed up the Vista Interface

2007-11-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Sure, the new vista theme is pretty to look at, but it really puts a hurting on your system, and changing it to look like the older versions of windows can make a very noticeable effect on your systems performance. Here are some easy ways to do this:

Right-click the desktop, click Personalize, and click Windows Color and Appearance. Uncheck Enable Transparency. Click OK.
The sidebar is a real hog, so Right-click the Sidebar, click Properties, and uncheck Start Sidebar When Windows Starts.
The visual effects probably have the biggest impact, changing these can help you DRASTICALLY by just disabling some of the “neat” stuff in vista. Open Control Panel, click Performance and System Tools, and click Adjust Visual Effects. I suggest taking off any animations, shadows, etc. You really cant tell a difference anyways.

QuickBooks and Vista - Not All Versions Of QuickBooks Are Compatible With Vista

2007-11-18T11:07:00.001-08:00

QuickBooks users need to understand Vista's compatibility with QuickBooks, because not all versions of QuickBooks are compatible with Vista.Only QuickBooks 2007, and newer versions, are compatible with Vista. Intuit announced on October 16, 2007, that it is investigating third-party workarounds for QuickBooks users who are using older versions of QuickBooks. However, no other details were given.This means that any version of QuickBooks prior to 2007 will not be compatible with Vista. This has to do with the new Vista security features.Be Careful About Upgrading to VistaFor those wishing to upgrade to Vista, they will be forced to upgrade to QuickBooks 2007 (or later versions). For those running versions of QuickBooks older than 2007, they should not upgrade to Vista if they don't want to also upgrade to QuickBooks 2007. Users of QuickBooks 2007 have a choice: they may upgrade to Vista, or they may stay with their current operating system, as QuickBooks 2007 is compatible with both.At some point, QuickBooks users will need to be aware when purchasing any new software for their computers. If a product is for Vista only, this forces the user to make a decision: keep the product, and upgrade to Vista and to QuickBooks 2007 (and possibly upgrade other software products as well), or don't keep the product and don't upgrade.The Vista operating system is an overhaul of previous Microsoft operating systems. It's a completely new system, and not an upgrade to Windows XP.Vista TidbitsVista sports a brand new graphical interface Vista users must verify if their software is genuine within 30 days of activating it, or else key features will be stopped. Vista will have a new email client: Windows Mail. This will replace Outlook Express. Vista is more energy efficient than previous Microsoft operating systems Vista is more secure than previous Microsoft operating systemsAbout the Author: Jennifer A. Thieme is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who loves to help people with QuickBooks. She brings unique insight, clear instructions, and over ten years of experience to all of her QuickBooks articles. Owner of Solid Rock Accounting Services, Jennifer's clients enjoy these same benefits on a personal and regular basis. You can too - visit http://www.jenniferthieme.com and contact Jennifer today.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_A._Thieme

Auto SysTools Vista

2007-11-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

Speed your computer, clean your system, protect your privacy now!
Is your windows getting slower and slower? Can't live with it?

Is the capacity of your hard disk getting smaller and smaller? Are the
garbage files in the system getting worse and worse? Want to clear them but no good methods?

Are you troubled by others' using your personal computer? Because your private information such as websites' URL, passwords, recently opened files and films and so on are often spied on by them?
Are you troubled by non-thoroughly deleted files? Because there is always someone recovering them secretly to spy?

If you have these troubles above, don't be worried! Auto SysTools can solve all the problems mentioned thoroughly!

Features of Auto SysTools Vista V4:

* Press F8, it can clean up your computer and protect your privacy automaticlly!
* Scan the hard disk at a high speed and list the useless files for your OneClick Cleanup.
* Optimize the computer memory for a faster running
* Organize StartUp program.
* Clean up all the tracks of your using the computer to protect your privacy
* Crush the secret files thoroughly, which cannot be recovered even by Hackers.
* LiveUpdate: It can update to the latest version automatically once connected to the Internet.

AntiSpyware 2007 Certified For Windows Vista!

2007-11-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

AntiSpyware 2007 is a cutting-edge anti-spyware solution. Our revolutionary Antispyware Free Scan was created by the industry's top spyware experts in order to protect your computer and your privacy, while ensuring optimal system performance. With the ability to locate, eliminate and prevent the widest range of spyware threats, AntiSpyware® 2007 is able to offer its users a safe, spyware-free computing experience; and with it's convenient automatic update feature, AntiSpyware® 2007 ensures continuous up-to-date protection.

5 Useful Windows Vista Gadgets

2007-11-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista gadgets can do more than show the weather and news. The Windows Vista Sidebar can also be used to install gadgets that are useful as system utilities that keep track of the resources Windows Vista is using.

Sidebar gadgets have been created that can keep track of how Windows Vista is using your CPU, memory, hard drive and network resources.

Below are some of the best Windows Vista Sidebar gadgets available that can be used to help keep track of system resources:

1. CPU Meter Gadget

The CPU Meter Windows Vista Sidebar gadget displays two dials - one that tracks your system's CPU usage and another that tracks physical memory usage, both in percentage format. This is a pretty basic Windows Vista gadget in that there are no fancy options, but it does what it does well.

The CPU Meter gadget is included with Windows Vista. Just open the Gadgets window from your Windows Sidebar and double-click on CPU Meter. It will instantly be added to your Windows Sidebar.

If you like to keep track of how much memory and CPU is being used at any given time, give the CPU Meter gadget a try.

2. DriveInfo Gadget

View Full-Size

The DriveInfo Windows Vista Sidebar gadget monitors the free space available on one or more of your PC's hard drives. It displays the free space in both GB and percentage. The DriveInfo gadget is very easy to configure and is an especially attractive addition to your other Vista Sidebar gadgets.

The DriveInfo gadget is available as a free download from the Windows Live Gallery. Just click Download to Sidebar and follow the instructions to add the gadget to your Windows Sidebar.

If you frequently check the free space available on your hard drives, the DriveInfo gadget will definitely save you some time.

Download the DriveInfo Gadget

3. Wireless Network Gadget

The Wireless Network Windows Vista Sidebar gadget is a very useful gadget if you connect to the world via a wireless network. It monitors both your wireless network's strength and security. The Wireless Network gadget is well designed and will fit well on your Sidebar with your other attractive gadgets.

The Wireless Network gadget is freely available from the Windows Live Gallery. As with the other gadgets available at the Windows Live Gallery, just click Download to Sidebar and follow the instructions to add the gadget to your Windows Sidebar.

Download the Wireless Network Gadget

4. Memory Meter Gadget

The Memory Meter Windows Vista Sidebar gadget monitors everything about your system memory. It displays the the total amount of memory, amount of memory remaining, and the amount and percentage of memory currently being used by Windows Vista.

The Memory Meter gadget is also freely available from the Windows Live Gallery. As with some of the other gadgets mentioned in this list, just click Download to Sidebar and follow the instructions to add the gadget to your Windows Sidebar.

If your memory usage is something you need (or like) to watch, the Memory Meter Vista Sidebar gadget will really come in handy.

Download the Memory Meter Gadget

5. Uptime Gadget

The Uptime Windows Vista Sidebar gadget keeps track of how long your Windows Vista system has been powered on. That's all it does. It resets every time the system is restarted.

The Uptime gadget is also available as a free download from the Windows Live Gallery.

System uptime trackers are useful to show how stable (or unstable) an operating system is since an unstable or error-prone system will usually need restarted on a regular basis.

Download the Uptime Gadget