Windows Vista[Update 1. June: Part 2 is now available.]Part 1: In nearly two decades of working with and writing about Windows, one lesson I’ve learned above all others is that the best ways to enhance performance and productivity are usually fairly simple. They don’t require registry edits or custom code; instead, they involve learning how the basic building blocks of Windows work, and then rearranging those components to cut steps out of the tasks you perform most often. Vista changed some of those building blocks, and many people are struggling because they’re trying to use the new tools with the old techniques. In that spirit, I’ve put together this list of my 1. Windows Vista. It covers a lot of ground, so I’ve split it into two parts, each containing five entries. In today’s installment, I explain how to make the list of installed programs easier to work with, how to tweak the taskbar, the Start menu, the Quick Launch toolbar, and Windows Explorer.
And I also cover the most important time- saving technique for any user of any computer: how to create an automatic backup routine that works. Each tweak gets its own page in this post. I’ve also put together a gallery of instructions, each one annotated with step- by- step instructions so you can follow along.
- 10 essential tweaks for Windows Vista RC1. No, this is not just another set of random Windows Vista screenshots. Now that Release Candidate 1 is available to the.
- Soon after Windows Vista came out, many suggestions for tweaking the operating system to improve performance emerged. Unfortunately, most of those tweaks turned out.
Tweaking Windows Vista. A guide to Tweak & Optimize Vista. Version 3.0, last updated June, 2009. Tweaking your computer is about more than just speed tweaks. Learn how to customize the interface, improve performance and enhance security of Microsoft Windows with hundres of tips, tweaks and free utilities.
The two pieces are a matched set for each entry in the list; if you look only at the text or only at the gallery, you’re missing the complete picture. Here’s a quick list of what’s in part 1.
Learn how to speed up Windows Vista, customize the interface and make Vista more secure. Love it or hate it, Windows Vista is here to stay as the default operating system for those buying PC laptops on the market today. We all know Vista requires more. Black Viper’s Top 9 tweaks for a faster (and less annoying) Vista PC. The following is what I do directly after a clean install of Windows Vista. SSD performance tweaks for Vista. SSDs are great, but Windows Vista wasn't designed with them in mind. If you want to get the best from your SSD, you'll.
10 top tweaks for Windows Vista. The best ways to enhance performance and productivity with Windows are usually fairly simple. They don’t require registry edits or.
Get installed programs organized and up- to- date. The default format for the list of installed programs in Control Panel is a dull, gray list that matches its Windows XP predecessor.
But with a few clicks, you can add a wealth of useful information (like current version numbers for every program in the list) and group entries in ways that are more useful. Tweak the taskbar and desktop. The first thing I do with every new Windows system I set up is to make the task bar taller. I also make desktop clutter vanish completely without losing access to files and shortcuts on the desktop.
Here’s how. 3. Set up a smart, automated backup system. How often should you have to reinstall Windows? The correct answer is “Never.” Using built- in backup tools that are included with some Vista editions, you can save a system image that can be restored from disk – complete with drivers and your installed programs - in a fraction of the time it would take to reinstall.
Get fast access to common tasks. I constantly hear that some tasks in Windows Vista take too long, especially those that have to do with networking.
Want one- click access to network settings and other useful tasks, complete with automatic keyboard shortcuts? Follow the step- by- step instructions. Fine- tune Windows Explorer. Vista’s version of Windows Explorer is a radical reworking of the XP- style Explorer you know and probably don’t love.
With three tweaks and a slightly adjusted mindset (hint: think of a modern airline’s hub- and- spoke model), you’ll find most file- management tasks significantly easier. If you have feedback, questions, or suggestions for topics you think I should cover later in this series, please leave them in the Talk. Back section below. Tweak #1: A smart Programs and Features list - -> 1. Get installed programs organized and up- to- date. As I’ve shown before, one of the best ways to make a Windows system work better is to clean unwanted programs off it.
On any platform, your goal should be to uninstall software you don’t want or no longer use and keep programs you regularly use updated. In an era when security exploits commonly target third- party applications, that’s even more essential. The starting point for this essential maintenance task is the Programs and Features window in Control Panel.
Its default list format is similar to the Add or Remove Programs list in Windows XP and isn’t all that helpful. But the Vista version allows some interesting tweaks not possible in XP.
To make the Programs and Features listing more useful, I supplement the four columns in the default display with additional information, including the version number and links to support and update pages. The new, improved format shows more useful information at a glance and also allows a variety of grouping and sorting options. Click image to see full sequence of step- by- step instructions.]To create the revised list format, open Control Panel’s Programs and Features list, right- click any column heading, and click More.
That opens the Choose Details dialog box, which allows you to choose from an additional 1. Many of those additional columns contain little or no information, but a handful are exceptionally useful. On my systems, I like to display the Version column, so I can see at a glance whether a program update applies to my system. I also like to display the Location column, which shows the name of the folder where a program’s files reside. After adding extra columns, I rearrange their order and width to fit the screen, then use the drop- down group and sort menu to rearrange the display on the page. The result? I get a more complete picture of all installed software.
A few annoyances remain: Although the Programs and Features list allows you to display links to update and support sites (as supplied by a program’s publisher), those links aren’t live, and there’s no way to copy them to the Clipboard. There’s also no easy way to save a list of installed programs (complete with version numbers) from the Programs and Features list. You can create a WMI script that retrieves information for most programs installed with Windows Installer, but that list isn’t complete.). Tweak #2: Bigger taskbar, cleaner desktop - -> 2. Tweak the taskbar and desktop.
One of my all- time favorite tweaks works just the same under Windows Vista as it did under Windows XP, so I reprise it here. On a modern desktop display or any notebook except the tiniest ultraportables, you’ll find it easier to work with running programs by increasing the height of the taskbar to two rows. As a side benefit, you get extra information from the system clock and get a more efficient arrangement of icons in the notification area (sometimes referred to as the system tray).
Click image to see full sequence of step- by- step instructions.]By default, the taskbar is locked, to prevent you from accidentally changing its size or dragging it to a different edge of the display. Right- click any empty space on the taskbar and click to clear the Lock The Taskbar option. Then aim the mouse pointer at the top of the taskbar and drag it up until two rows of buttons are visible. After making this tweak, be sure to lock the taskbar again.
The other change I like to make is to hide all icons on the desktop. Right- click any empty space on the desktop, click View, and clear the Show Desktop Icons option (in Windows XP, this option is at the bottom of the Arrange Icons By menu). With desktop icons hidden, how do you get to program shortcuts or files you’ve stored there? You can click Start, click your user name on the Start menu, and then open the Desktop folder from your user profile folder, but I prefer an easier way: add a custom Desktop toolbar to the taskbar. Right- click any empty space on the taskbar; at the top of the shortcut menu is a Toolbars option, which includes the Desktop folder as one of its defaults. When you click that option, the Desktop toolbar appears on the right side of the taskbar, with its contents available as a pop- up menu. Click the arrow to the right of the folder name to show its contents; at the top of the list you’ll find links to all locations in the file system.
You can also add custom folders to the taskbar. From the Toolbars menu, click New Toolbar and choose an existing folder from any location in the file system (hint: shorter names work better). Any shortcut or file you add to that folder is instantly available from the pop- up menu for that folder. I sometimes use this type of custom toolbar when I’m working on a big writing project; I keep Word documents, Excel lists, and shortcuts to FTP and Share. Point sites in a single folder for that project and add that folder as a custom toolbar for quicker access to whatever I’m working on. Tweak #3: A backup strategy that really works - -> 3. Set up a smart, automated backup system.
Every edition of Windows Vista includes a capable file- based backup program. Setting up scheduled backups is possible on every edition except Home Basic, and you can do full image- based backups to an external hard drive or DVD if you have Vista Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise editions. In fact, the Complete PC Backup feature alone is worth the upgrade price to Vista Ultimate edition, in my opinion.
The Vista backup strategy I recommend is twofold. Use Complete PC Backup (or a third- party image backup program) to snap an image of your system with up- to- date drivers, all your favorite software installed, and the system fully activated.
You can save the image to an external hard drive (USB, Fire. Wire, or e. SATA, for example) or to DVD, but not to a network location. In the event of a hard disk crash, you can restore this image in minutes. That’s a big improvement over the alternative: a clean install of Windows, followed by a reinstall of drivers and software.[Click image to see full sequence of step- by- step instructions.]Use the Back Up Files option to automatically back up data files at regular intervals (daily is best, but weekly is acceptable if you’re willing to accept the loss of a few days’ work). You can back up to an external hard drive, to a network storage device, or to a shared folder on another computer.
If you’ve just finished setting up a new PC for the first time, and you haven’t yet added any data files, use the Complete PC Backup option with recordable DVD disks. Thanks to compression, you can typically squeeze an entire Vista system onto two DVDs.