Windows Articles
Using Vista Sidebar and Gadgets - ...ct to your desktop, and more. Here’s what you can do with
the Windows gadgets:
➟ Work with words and images. Notes is like a...
Send a Fax from Vista Computer - ...p>
3. When you finish the setup wizard, a new fax cover page
form is displayed.
4. Enter the recipient’s information (th...
Install a Printer in Vista - ...• Insert the disk/c that came with the device and follow
the onscreen instructions.
• Choose Start➪Control PanelϷ...
Set Up a Modem in Vista - ...ollowing
settings on this tab sheet:
• Speaker Volume: Adjust the speaker volume or turn it
off by using the Speaker Volume slide...
Set Up a Sound Card in Vista - ...e Driver tab, make sure the
fourth button down says Disable (meaning the device is
currently enabled). If it says Enable, click on it.
...
Enable the Windows Vista Firewall - ...ng Windows Firewall window, select the On radio button and then
click OK.
4. Click the Close button to close Windows Security Center
...
Performing Modem Diagnostic in Vista - ...appears at this point differs depending on whether
the modem is experiencing a problem. If the modem is
working properly, the response reads Suc...
Start Windows Vista in Safe Mode - ...- and down-arrow keys to select the Windows Vista
operating system. Or, type the number of that choice,
press Enter, and then continue to press ...
Vista Performance Improvements - ...ost meticulously well maintained system will slow down over time. On such systems, the only surefire way to get a big performance boost is to wipe ...
Vista Stability Improvements - ... the number of software permutations and hardware combinations is just too huge to ensure complete system stability in all setups.That does...
How Windows Vista Affects Power Users - ...o in many cases they've slipped in alternative methods to work around the hand-holding.For example, most power users will probably be driven ...
Windows Vista Deployment - ... code. That's not so bad if you don't have to worry about language support, but when you get into international editions, the code chunks prolifer...
Windows Mail in Vista - ...ine job of detecting incoming spam and relegating it to the new Junk Email folder. Search box Like the Vista Start menu and f...
Windows Vista System Requirements - ... why, when the computers we use are becoming increasingly powerful, our day-to-day tasks never really seem all that much faster. The leaps in proc...
How Windows Vista Affects Parents - ...iruses, spyware, Trojan horses, and other malware. Also, Vista's support for ESRB and other game-rating systems will help you make decisions about...
How Windows Vista Affects Gamers - ...game-related metadataincluding the last date you played the game, the game version and release date, and the genre (such as Shooter or Strategy). ...
Media Player in Vista - ...eared only rarely. Grouping and stacking of media The grouping and stacking techniques that I mentioned earlier for folder windows a...
How Windows Vista Affects Developers - ...ime environment handles things such as allocating and reclaiming memory. (In the old Win32 API, programmers had to manage memory themselves.) This...
How Windows Vista Affects Mobile Users - ...such as the display and audio devices.Users who lug their notebooks with them to give presentations will make good use of the Vista Presentation...
Windows Vista Media Center - ...The top-level tasks (TV, Music, and so on) appear more like a list than menu choices, as they do in XP Media Center. When you select a top-level t...
Vista Presentation Foundation - ...s decided to backport WPF for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.Developers will (and, by all accounts, already do) love WPF because it pro...
The Vista Aero Glass Theme - ...thanks to the influence of gaming and media applications. However, the corporate sector has been doing most of the griping, and that's because in ...
Vista Versions - ...ions of the operating system. In fact, XP ended up with six major editions: Starter (for users with low-cost PCs in emerging markets outside North ...
Latest "Windows" Articles
Page# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (last added articles shown first)
Before You Start Installing and Configuring Windows 7 (09/14/2010)
(...) Rolling these updates in at the beginning of the process increases the likelihood that the Windows 7 setup will run correctly. After completing installation, you’ll still need to connect to Windows Update to download critical updates for Windows and the most recent drivers for detected hardware.Know Your HardwareMicrosoft has published minimum hardware requirements for the retail editions of Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate). (...)
How to setup Windows 7 on a single PC (09/14/2010)
(...)
Do you need to adjust the layout of the system disk? The Windows 7 installation program includes disk management tools that you can use to create, delete, format, and extend (but not shrink) partitions on hard disks installed in your computer. Knowing how these tools work can save you a significant amount of time when setting up Windows.
Do you want to install Windows 7 alongside another operating system? If you want to set up a dual-boot (or multiboot) system, you’ll need to understand how different startup files work so that you can manage your startup options effectively. (...)
TROUBLESHOOTING WINDOWS 7 INSTALLATION (09/14/2010)
(...) com).It’s OK to share a partitionThanks to the radically revised setup architecture introduced in Windows Vista and also used in Windows 7, you can safely discard one of the basic tenets that have governed installation decisions since the beginning of the Windows era. You want to point Windows 7 setup to a partition on which another version of Windows is already installed?As long as you have sufficient free disk space and you don’t plan to use the copy of Windows on that volume any more, go right ahead. (...)
Setup and Your Hard Disk for Windows 7 (09/14/2010)
(...) If you ever decide to encrypt your system drive using BitLocker, you won’t have to repartition your system drive (a genuinely tedious process) to make it possible.
If you’re confident you’ll never use BitLocker and prefer to do without the additional complexity of this 100-MB System Reserved partition, your best bet is to make sure it’s never created. For a truly clean installation starting from an unformatted hard drive, you must use an alternative disk-management utility, such as the setup disk available from many hard-disk manufacturers or a startup disk from Windows Vista. (...)
How to change Windows 7 look and feel (09/06/2010)
(...) With Windows 7 running and displayed on your computer, right-click a blank area of the desktop. The desktop context menu is displayed.
2. (...)
Windows 7 icons management (09/06/2010)
(...) For example, you might want icons for Computer and Control Panel. The others you might use less often, and they can be quickly accessed from the Start menu.
4. (...)
Windows 7: Permanently Pin Icons to the Taskbar (09/06/2010)
(...) Instead, you write with a mouse or stylus, or click a keyboard layout on the screen. See the "Changing Taskbar Properties" QuickSteps to see how to turn this on.
You can size the taskbar by dragging the inner edge (top edge when the taskbar is on the bottom) in or out. (...)
Change How Windows 7 Operates (09/06/2010)
(...) You can turn them off if you wish.
Click Turn System Icons On Or Off.
Click the drop-down list opposite an icon name, and click Off to not display it. (...)
How to locate and work with files and folders is Windows 7 (09/06/2010)
(...) Click your personal folder. Explorer will open and display in the subject pane the files and folders that either come standard with Windows 7 or that have been placed there by you or somebody else.
You can:
Click an object in the subject pane to select it and get information about it in the details pane, preview it in the preview pane, or use the toolbar tools with that object. (...)
How to turn on off and control Windows 7 Update (09/06/2010)
(...) Click Change Settings, determine the amount of automation you want, and click one of the following four choices after clicking the Important Updates down arrow:
The first and recommended choice, which is the default, automatically determines if there are updates that are needed, downloads them, and then installs them on a frequency and at a time you specify.
The second choice automatically determines if there are updates that are needed and downloads them; it then asks you whether you want to install them.
The third choice automatically determines if there are updates that are needed, asks you before downloading them, and asks you again before installing them. (...)
How to print Excel pages (09/05/2010)
(...) Click the View tab.
2. Click the Normal or Page Layout View icon in the Workbook Views group. (...)
How to install a printer if you are using Vista (09/02/2010)
(...) With Vista up and running, plug your printer into your PC and turn on the printer. If your printer’s rectangular connector slides into a rectangular hole or port on your PC, you have a USB printer, the type used by most printers today. Vista may send a message saying that your printer is installed successfully, but follow the next two steps to test it. (...)
How to put a fresh driver behind the wheel (09/02/2010)
(...) They both go a long way to keep your computer running safely and securely. Creating a Restore Point When your computer’s ailing, System Restore provides a magical way to go back in time to when your computer was feeling better. Although System Restore creates restore points automatically, feel free to create your own. (...)
Removing or changing programs in Windows Vista (09/02/2010)
(...) When Windows asks whether you’re sure, click Yes. Windows Vista summons the program’s built-in uninstall program if it has one or simply yanks the program off your computer’s hard drive, sometimes rebooting your PC in the process. Be careful, though. (...)
Speeding up your PC by toning down the visual effects (09/02/2010)
(...) The Backup program in Windows Vista Basic version can’t run automatically. If you own the Basic version, it’s up to you to remember to run the Backup program at least once a week.
- For your computer to back up automatically each night, you must leave it turned on during the scheduled backup time. (...)
Restoring Windows with System Restore (09/02/2010)
(...) But with Vista, even Administrator accounts get the nag screens, and often for the most innocuous actions. Vista's more secure than Windows XP, so you'll constantly brush up against Vista's barbed wire fence. As you work with your PC, Vista pokes you with a message. (...)
The main benefits of using Windows Vista instead of XP (09/01/2010)
(...) ” In fact, XP and its new Web browser, Internet Explorer 6., were full of maddening security holes that previous operating systems didn’t suffer from. ActiveX exploits, drive-by downloads, and many other kinds of weaknesses were quickly exploited by black-hat hackers. (...)
Vistas gadget sidebar reviewed (09/01/2010)
(...)
Internet Explorer 7. Catches Up in Windows Vista
IE 7 won’t win any awards for innovation, having not quite caught up with features its free competitor, the Mozilla Firefox browser, came out with two years ago. But the improved security of IE 7, plus the addition of long-requested features such as tabbed browser windows, make Microsoft’s new browser a solid component of the OS rather than the backward stepchild that IE 6 became. (...)
Windows Vista RSS and BitLocker related isssues (09/01/2010)
(...) But digging in RSS support in IE is certain to make this form of communications popular with a much larger chunk of Internet users than had discovered news feeds prior to Vista.
There’s No Support in IE 7 for Secure RSS - Windows Vista
Unfortunately, IE 7. shipped without built-in handling for secure news feeds. (...)
Windows Media Center in Windows Vista (09/01/2010)
(...) Just in case you decide to reverse the process, and burn your digital files to CDs, WMP 11 has added new forms of support here, too. A disk-spanning feature calculates the number of CDs needed if your collection exceeds the capacity of a single CD and automatically burns your playlist over multiple discs.
URGE, Brought to you by MTV in Windows Vista
Microsoft may never have the ability to match the experience that millions of iPod buyers have had downloading music from Apple’s iTunes Store. (...)
Find out how much RAM needs a clean version of Windows Vista (09/01/2010)
(...)
- 64-bit Vista versions have dramatically different limitations in the various editions:
• Home Basic is limited to 8 GB or RAM.
• Home Premium is limited to 16 GB of RAM.
• Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate can access over 128 GB of RAM. (...)
Avoid Installing Vista over Another Version of Windows (09/01/2010)
(...) Microsoft also changed Windows Vista to a file-based disk imaging model.
Previously, Windows Setup would spend considerable time copying thousands of files from the Windows install media (typically a CD) or a network-based file share (when installed by corporations). These file operations were time consuming because each file needed to be expanded and copied to a particular directory structure on the fly. (...)
Is The Vista Upgrade Advisor really working (09/01/2010)
(...)
Headphones and ear buds (they may require audio drivers that won’t be tested unless the devices are jacked in to an audio port) When you’ve checked for all the preceding and you feel that you’ve plugged in and turned on everything you might like to test, click the Start System Scan button in the advisor.
Can Your PC Run the Core Experiences of Windows Vista?
The Upgrade Advisor first tests a PC’s hardware, looking for signs that the system has all the chops it has to handle essential disk, memory, and CPU functions. As you can tell in, the Advisor will explain whether these hardware features are up to the task of running Vista’s core experiences, which are basic features. (...)
What does the Windows Vista User Experience mean (09/01/2010)
(...) And Windows XP began a trend toward taskoriented user interfaces, with folder views that changed based on the content you were viewing or selected. In Windows Vista, the Windows user interface, or as Microsoft likes to call it, the Windows user experience, has evolved yet again.
Assuming you are running the proper Vista product edition (Windows Vista Home Basic and Starter editions need not apply) and also have the appropriate display hardware, you’ll be presented with a translucent, glass-like interface that takes the Windows user interface metaphor to its logical conclusion. (...)
Everything you need to know about Windows Vistas Aero Requirements (09/01/2010)
(...)
Configuring Windows Vista Aero
If you’re not a big fan of the translucent glass effects provided by Windows Vista Aero but would still like to take advantage of the other unique features and reliability offered by this user experience, take heart. Microsoft has nicely provided a handy configuration utility to Aero that allows you to fine-tune how it looks. This functionality is available via the Personalization section of the Control Panel. (...)
How the Registry Knows It All (08/31/2010)
(...) The options inform Windows how you can handle files, and they control basic interface options, for example double-clicking and context menus.
HKEY _CURRENT_USER (HKCU)
These control the settings from the individual currently logged into Windows. They manage the current user's Desktop, as well as Vista's or XP's appearance and behavior They manage network connections, connections to products such as printers, and display individual preferences. (...)
The first Windows version appeared in 1985 (08/31/2010)
(...)
What an operating system required more than bells and whistles-what it had to have-was the capability to run the thousands of programs that experienced already been developed under DOS. Software developers were loath to jump any bandwagon unless they were sure the public would follow. Microsoft had the only working bandwagon in town. (...)
How to fax using your laptop (08/20/2010)
(...)
The process is relatively straightforward, although the details of using various fax software programs differ from one machine to another; read the instructions displayed onscreen for details. The biggest downside: You'll be using a dial- up connection at dial- up speeds. For those who are employed to working with high- speed broadband Internet connections, this is an unpleasant or at least annoying reminder of Ye Olden Days of Computing. (...)
Keeping a laptop hard drive alive (08/20/2010)
(...) And the fact that some makers also add specialized protective mechanisms that are intended to automatically shut down the hard drive if an accelerometer detects it falling to the floor. Other designs promise to park the read/write heads in a safe location anytime they aren't actively working. These safeguards are all very well and good. (...)
Where is heading the computer designing process (08/19/2010)
(...) Among the highest- tech features: a built- in sensor that detects an impending (or actual) tumble and retracts the read- write heads and shuts off the vulnerable hard drive before impact.
Evolution
The first personal computers (like the original IBM PC that I still have stuffed deep in a closet of my office) were the size of a suitcase and not the kind that could fit in an airplane's overhead bin. The motherboard, which held the computer's microprocessor brain, its random access memory (RAM), and other supporting chips, was more than a foot square and even at that size it was not large enough to hold all of the computer's electronics. (...)
Laptops and Indicator lights (08/19/2010)
(...) On my most modern Toshiba machine, the respective colors for these three conditions are soothing green, anxious amber, and urgent flashing red... (...)
What OS would you choose for your PC (08/19/2010)
(...)
As this article goes to press, the most current version of Microsoft's operating system is Windows 7 in its various versions (the commonest being Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate). Windows 7 arrived near the last year as the replacement for Windows Vista.
Before Windows 7 arrived, industry analysts pegged Microsoft's share of the operating system market at just under 90 percent. (...)
The dark days of DOS (08/19/2010)
(...) Under DOS, if you wanted to know what data or programs were stored on the A disk, all you had to do was type:
A: DIR
and press the Enter key. The floppy disk drive spun for a few moments; the monitor displayed a list of files on the top level of the disk, and also told you the names of any subdirectories placed at a lower logical level. Say you'd created a subdirectory called rabbits. (...)
Enter page# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (last added articles shown first)