Vista Junkiez

If you often use removable USB devices like a flash drive, you are probably already familiar with the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon that sits in the system tray. The problem for many people is that the icon is tiny, and clicking it just right to bring up the menu is a pain. Can’t we just make a shortcut to bring up the dialog?

Of course you can, and it’s really quite easy. Easier than trying to click the tiny icon in the tray, at least…

Create a Shortcut to the Safely Remove Hardware Dialog

Right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose New \ Shortcut:

Then paste in the following into the location box:

RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

Give it a name, and you’ll have a shortcut icon…

…that will pull up the Safely Remove Hardware dialog.

Assign a Shortcut Key

If you want to assign a shortcut key to this dialog, you can right-click the icon and open the properties dialog, then go to the Shortcut tab.

Add in the shortcut key and close the dialog. As long as the shortcut is on your desktop you shouldn’t have to restart anything for the hotkey to work. You can also move the shortcut to another folder, for instance your quick launch bar.

Tip: If you add the shortcut to the Windows Vista quick launch bar, you can use the built-in hotkeys instead of bothering to assign one manually.

If there’s one thing that annoys me in Internet Explorer more than anything else, it’s that there is no way to re-open a tab once you’ve closed it. It’s especially annoying when you’ve done a lot of browsing so you have to sift through your history to find the link for the page you closed.

Thankfully there’s an add-on for IE7 called “IE7 Open Last Closed Tab” which will remember what tabs you’ve recently closed so that you can quickly re-open them.

After installation, you’ll notice that there’s nothing different in the UI whatsoever… but there are two new shortcut keys.

• Alt+X will restore the last closed tab.
• Alt+Q will bring up a screen to let you visually choose from the recently closed tabs:

You’ll notice there’s an Amazon ad at the bottom… you can turn that off by clicking the “Disable Product Bar” button on the toolbar, and then you’ll get this message:

I’m not entirely sure why they chose Amazon ads to integrate… but either way you can get rid of them. If you really like the software you can always donate some money their way.

Download IE7 Open Last Closed Tab from windowsmarketplace.com

The freeware utility from Microsoft to mount ISO Images doesn’t work in Windows Vista. Thankfully there’s another utility that does.

The utility that we will use is called Virtual Clone Drive. This utility will let you mount .ISO, .CCD, .DVD, .IMG, .UDF and .BIN files. Download the utility and start the setup process.

Select Yes or OK at the hardware prompt and continue. You might have to restart your computer. Now you should be able to mount any ISO image by just double-clicking on the file. Note: If you are going to reinstall this utility, make sure you uninstall it first, or you’ll BSOD yourself repeatedly.

This utility does not work on Windows Vista 64 bit edition. I’ll try and find a utility that does work on 64-bit. (On a side note, 64 bit Vista is pointless at this point in history, since half the software doesn’t work on it)

Alternatives

• Virtual CD-ROM (Microsoft) - This utility does not work in Windows Vista
• MagicDisk - This is a nice, free utility, but it isn’t very easy to install in Vista64. (I’m working on an article)
• Alcohol 52% - Free version of Alcohol 120, but it bundles a browser toolbar that they claim isn’t spyware. It’s unacceptable.
• Daemon Tools - Well known tool, but the latest version installs spyware on your computer, and the old version doesn’t work in Vista.

At this point, Virtual CloneDrive is by far my favorite free utility

The freeware utility from Microsoft to mount ISO Images doesn’t work in Windows Vista. Thankfully there’s another utility that does.

The utility that we will use is called Virtual Clone Drive. This utility will let you mount .ISO, .CCD, .DVD, .IMG, .UDF and .BIN files. Download the utility and start the setup process.

Select Yes or OK at the hardware prompt and continue. You might have to restart your computer. Now you should be able to mount any ISO image by just double-clicking on the file. Note: If you are going to reinstall this utility, make sure you uninstall it first, or you’ll BSOD yourself repeatedly.

This utility does not work on Windows Vista 64 bit edition. I’ll try and find a utility that does work on 64-bit. (On a side note, 64 bit Vista is pointless at this point in history, since half the software doesn’t work on it)

Alternatives

• Virtual CD-ROM (Microsoft) - This utility does not work in Windows Vista
• MagicDisk - This is a nice, free utility, but it isn’t very easy to install in Vista64. (I’m working on an article)
• Alcohol 52% - Free version of Alcohol 120, but it bundles a browser toolbar that they claim isn’t spyware. It’s unacceptable.
• Daemon Tools - Well known tool, but the latest version installs spyware on your computer, and the old version doesn’t work in Vista.

At this point, Virtual CloneDrive is by far my favorite free utility

As regular readers know well, I’m a huge fan of using AutoHotkey  to automate my entire computing experience… but in Windows Vista there’s a serious limitation since you can’t run a script as Administrator by default. This means that your hotkeys can’t interact with windows running in Admin mode… so how do we get around this?

There are three solutions to this problem:

• Completely Disable UAC - Not the best solution for security purposes, but it works.
• Compile your script to an executable.
• Hack the registry and add “Run as Administrator” to the context menu.

Compile Script as Executable

All you have to do is right-click on the script, choose “Compile Script”…

And now you can run the executable version as administrator:

This isn’t the perfect solution, however. I edit my script all the time, so having to recompile each time I make an edit… would get annoying.

Manual Registry Hack for AutoHotkey “Run as Administrator”

Open up regedit through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AutoHotkeyScript\Shell

Right-click on “Shell” on the left-hand side and create a new key called “runas”, then create a key called “Command” below it. Then create or set the following two values on the right-hand side, adjusting the path if necessary.

The default key should already be there, just need to set the value.

Now when you right-click on an AutoHotkey script, you’ll see the option to Run as Administrator:

Download Registry Hack

Download, extract, and double-click on the AdminAutoHotkey.reg to enter the information into the registry. There’s also a removal script included.

Note that this registry hack will only work if you installed AutoHotkey into the default location, otherwise you’ll have to modify the paths.

Download AdminAutoHotkey Registry Hack

Application is not windows vista compatible

As you may have noticed, most of the newest applications will work on windows vista, but some of your old software will not. When installing a software, Windows attempts to check if it is windows vista compatible and if it’s not you’ll see some “this applications will not run on windows vista” or “this application is not windows vista compatible” prompts.

In order to bypass the prompts and install the application (despite the fact that windows doesn’t consider it compatible) right click on the setup file, choose Properties and select the Compatibility tab. In the Compatibility mode section check the radio box besides Run this program in compatibility mode for and choose whatever version of windows you wish (in most cases Windows Xp). Press OK and double click on the application. This time you should be able to install it.

Application is not working properly on Windows Vista

The same goes if one of your applications runs and fails for whatever reason: you need to convince the applications that it’s running in the environment for which it was designed. The process is identical to the one above. Right click on the application, select Properties – Compatibility tab – check Run this program in compatibility mode for and choose a windows version.

Program Compatibility Wizard

As an alternative to the above procedures, you can tell an application to run in a certain environment by using the Compatibility Wizard. Click the Start orb and choose Control Panel. Select Programs and click on Use an older program with this version of windows (under Programs and features), and follow the instructions on the screen.

Make your Windows Vista faster by stopping services you dont need with Microsoft Management Console.

Services are special programs that perform different functions and have the purpose to support other programs on your computer. For example, the Fax service allows you to send and receive faxes, using the resources found on your computer (by resources I mean a fax software).

Although a lot of the services you find on your computer are useful, there are some that you may never use and it would be a good idea to turn them off (services run in background and they will keep running for as long as the computer remains turned on).

Disable unused services with Microsoft Management Console

To start the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) press the Start orb, in the search box type services.msc and select Services. In the console that appears you can find all of the services currently running in your computer. As you can see the Service Console offers plenty of information and also allows you to sort the services by Description, Status and Startup Type. Note that if you click on a service, a detailed description of the service appears on the left hand side (make sure you’re in Extended mode).

To stop a service, simply right click on it and select Stop. Before you go ahead and do this, you should carefully read the description of each services you want to disable. Even though most of the services contain a self-explanatory description, you might want to do some extra research just to make sure you are not disabling any important services. I recommend reading Black Viper’s Windows Vista Service Configurations

Black Viper seems to be the

On June 28th, 2007 Joe (not verified) says:

Black Viper seems to be the most common recommendation for listing unneeded services, but he doesn’t explain why you might need or not need a service. What works for one may not work for everyone. I’ve been trying to research the services and give explanations of what a service does, and why you might or might not want to disable it. I’m through over 40 of them so far, you can see them at:
http://itsvista.com/topic/services/

DreamScene is a Windows Ultimate extra that Microsoft has made available for download. With DreamScene loaded on your system, you will have access to background graphics that will bring your Desktop to life. Select from any of the available videos or stationary pictures and change them in the ordinary way you normally change your background. You are not limited to the available pictures or videos that comes with DreamScene, you can download and use any 3rd party product that creates images and videos for DreamScene. You can even use one of your own home-made videos with DreamScene.

If you do not have a graphics card able to view the Aero desktop experience, DreamScene still has benefits for you. If you’ve ever wanted to position a background image on your desktop, you’ll know that it has not been possible. DreamScene gives you this option.

Currently, DreamScene comes with 5 high-definition video backgrounds if you have download the preview release. The 5 videos are:

1. Basic Windows Vista default animated video.
2. A field of thistle, with a bee hard at work gathering pollen.
3. A forest stream rushing through your desktop.
4. A street light reflecting in a puddle of water on a rainy night.
5. Orange wisps flowing in this computer animated scene.

Note: The first video (default) comes with the preview release. The other four are made available through Windows Update.

If you are worried about the potential power drain of these videos, it really isn’t much of a factor because DreamScene pauses the video to conserve battery power.

For more information visit this link

Unlike previous versions of Windows, the Vista Instant Search feature located in the Start menu is much more powerful and useful. When you enter in a search term for Vista to search, it will not only search for files and folders with that title, but it will search the content within the files and folders for relevance. Basically, you have a very powerful search engine designed specifically for the content on your hard drive.

When you install any version of Windows Vista on your computer, Vista will automatically gather ALL of the information that is on your hard drive and place it in a special file called the “index” file. This is how Vista can produce immediate results as you start typing in the Search box.

What Instant Search does not index are system files or application files. This would only prove helpful to a person who wrote the program. It also will not index other computer’s information on the same network. It would be the responsibility of that separate computers Operating System to index this data.

To use the Instant Search feature at the Start Menu:

Click the Start button. You will see the Search box at the bottom of the Start menu. You can now immediately start using the search feature. Unlike a typical search, this search will start searching as you type. The more you type the more relevant the results. Because Vista will search as you type, there is no need to press Enter to display results. Your results will be shown in ‘real’ time.

Once your have typed in your search term, you can activate the program, file or folder you were looking for by double clicking it or use your up or down arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll the search list. Once you have the item highlighted in your list, simply press Enter on your keyboard to activate it.

Instant Search boxes show up in many different area’s in Windows Vista. Such as (but not limited to the following):

Internet Explorer

Photo Gallery

Control Panel

Windows Mail

Windows Media Player

Once you are familiar with this Search feature, it will become a valuable time saver for you. What I like best is; most things on my computer are only a couple of clicks away…and once you get good at it, only seconds away

When searching for drivers for Windows Vista. It is best to try Windows Update for the latest releases. With over 31,000 drivers already at their disposal, it is more than likely you will find what you are looking for. Actually, for the best results, set up Windows Update to automatically search for the latest updates for your Windows Installation. Here’s how to set this up:

Click the Windows button>> All Programs>> Windows Update

Select Change settings from the left pane.

Select the option that you would like to perform.

Select Include recommended updates when downloading, installing, or notifying me about updates checkbox under the Recommended updates category.

Click OK.

Note: You may receive a prompt for an administrator password.

When searching for specific drivers in Windows Update, some of them may be marked as “Optional”. Because of this Optional setting, they will not automatically download or install automatically. So, periodic checks are recommended.

To install “Optional” updates:

Click the Windows button>> All Programs>> Windows Update.

Select “Check for updates” from the left pane. Windows will now search for the most current updates for your Windows installation.

If no current updates are found, you can click “View available updates”.

Select any of the optional updates listed and click “Install”.

Note: You may receive a prompt for an administrator password.

It is important to note that in some cases, an updated driver may not be available yet at Windows Update. In these cases, you are dependent on the hardware manufacturer for current drivers. At most manufactures web sites, the updated drivers will be located in the “Support” section and are usually listed my the product model. Once you’ve found the driver that you need, you’ll need to download it to your computer. Here’s how:

Be sure that you are logged in as Administrator, then click the Windows button>> Control Panel>> System and Maintenance>> Device Manager.

With Device Manager open, locate the device that you would like to update.

Double click the device.

Click the “Driver” tab.

Click “Update Driver”.

If, as an example, you are updating a driver to receive better performance but upon installation of the new driver the device fails to function. It is possible to revert back to the old driver. Here’s how:

Be sure that you are logged in as Administrator. Then, click the Windows button>> Control Panel>> System and Maintenance>> Device Manager.

With the Device Manager open, locate the device that has the driver you would like to revert back to.

Double click the device.

Select the “Driver tab.

Select “Roll Back Driver”.

Note: If there is no driver available to revert back to, the roll back option will not be available.

When should you update a driver manually?

If you’ve visited a manufactures web site and you notice a driver available for a certain device installed on your system. In some cases installing the driver update can have ill effects on the device. So, a good rule of thumb is to update the driver only if you are having trouble with the device. However, this is only a recommendation.

Worried about installing Windows Vista because of driver fears?

Many people are worried that if they install Windows Vista, some of their devices will not work. This is a valid concern, so Microsoft has made available a tool that will scan all of the components of your Operating System to determine if there are drivers available. Visit the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx