Windows Vista works in the background to automatically index all the files in the Start Menu, user profile folders and files setup for offline access by default. If you have many files in these locations and the files change often, the indexing service may slow down your system's performance. Unlike Windows XP, Vista now allows you to easily tweak the indexing service following the steps below. It is recommended that you disable indexing for the other locations other than the Start Menu for maximum performance. Bear in mind that while this tweak speeds up your overall system performance, it will also slow you down when searching for files in those locations.

1. Click on the Start Button and enter Indexing Options. Hit Enter and the Indexing Options should load.

2. Click on the Modify button, followed by Show all locations.

3. Scroll through the tree-view and uncheck all options except the Start Menu. Hit OK.

Note: For advanced users, you can also change other indexing options, like the file types to index, by clicking on the Advanced button.

When you perform a search using the search box in the start panel, Windows Vista automatically searches the file index as well. The file index can be quite large because it includes all the files on your hard drive. One way to speed-up searching in your Start Menu applications is to narrow the scope of the search so that it does not include files on the hard drive:

Method 1: Registry Hack
1. Open registry editor using regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer and select Advanced.
3. Find and right-click on Start_SearchFiles and select Modify.
4. Set the Value to 0.
5. Restart the Explorer.exe process or reboot the computer.

Method 2: Start Button
1. Right-click on the Start Button and select Properties.
2. Click on the Customize button.
3. Uncheck Search Communications.
4. Set Search Files to Don't Search for files.
5. Click OK.

You can squeeze a more performance out of your SATA hard disk drive by enabling write caching. The price though, is an increased risk for data loss/corruption should you experienced a power loss - this risk is less in a laptop because of its battery:

1. Click on the Start Button, enter Device Manager and hit Enter.
2. Expand Disk Drives.
3. Right-click on your hard disk drive and select Properties.
4. On the Policies tab, check Enable Advanced Performance.
5. Click OK and close Device Manager.

Windows Vista is a step-up in terms of eye candy but it can slow your system down a bit. There are 2 things you can do to speed-up the Aero interface in Windows Vista:

Method 1: Disable Transparent Glass Effect
1. Click on the Desktop and select Personalize.
2. Select Windows Color And Appearance.
3. Uncheck Enable Transparency.

Method 2: Disable Windows Minimize/Maximize Animation
1. Click on the Start Menu, enter SystemPropertiesPerformance and hit Enter.
2. On the Visual Effects tab, uncheck Animate Windows When Minimizing/Maximizing.
3. Click OK.

Windows Vista has a new performance feature called ReadyBoost. This feature enables the use of a USB storage device instead of the slow paging file on your hard disk when you're low on physical memory (RAM). The logic is simple - the USB storage device is faster than your hard disk drive.

In order for ReadyBoost to work in Windows Vista, your USB storage device must meet the following requirements:
- the device must have at least 64MB storage.
- the device must be USB 2.0 compliant.
- the device must have a minimum read speed of 3.5 MB/s.
- the device must have a minimum write speed of 2.5 MB/s.

Follow these steps to enable ReadyBoost:
1. Plug in USB storage device.
2. Go to Computer, right-click on the removable storage device and select Properties.
3. Click on the ReadyBoost tab.
4. Select Use This Device and set the amount of space to use for the system file.
5. Click OK.

There are 2 ways to stop applications that auto-start when you login to Windows Vista. You can either use the System Configuration Utility or the new Software Explorer in Windows Defender:

Method 1: System Configuration Utility
1. Click on the Start Button, enter msconfig and hit Enter.
2. Click on the Startup tab.
3. Uncheck items that you do want to auto-start and click OK.

Method 2: Windows Defender
1. Click on the Start Button, enter Windows Defender and hit Enter.
2. Click on the Tools from the top menu bar.
3. Click on Software Explorer and select Show for All Users.
4. Select an application to either Remove or Disable.

Traditionally, you are required to have a previous installation of Windows before you can upgrade, e.g. have Windows XP on your system before using Windows Vista Upgrade DVDs. What if you have ALREADY upgraded to Windows Vista but are having system issues that require formating and re-installing Windows? Paul Thurrot proposed this hack that lets you install a Windows Vista Upgrade, without needing to re-install Windows XP first:

1. Boot from the Windows Vista Upgrade DVD and begin the setup program.

2. When prompted to enter your product key, DO NOT enter it. Click "Next" and proceed with setup - this will install Windows Vista as a 30-day trial.

3. When prompted, select the edition of Windows Vista which you have purchased and continue with the setup.

4. Once setup has been completed and you have been brought to the desktop for the first time, run the install program from within Windows Vista.

5. This time, type in your product key when prompted.

6. When asked whether to perform an Upgrade or Custom (advanced) install, choose Custom (advanced) to perform a clean install of Windows Vista.
(Yes! This means that you will have to install Windows Vista for a second time)

7. Once setup has completed for the second time, you should be able to activate Windows Vista normally. You can also delete the Windows.old directory which contains information from the first Windows Vista installation.

This means that all Windows Vista upgrade DVDs can be used as full retail DVDs. However, this is an illegal approach and you are going against Windows Vista's Eula should you install an upgrade without owning a previous version of Windows as specified by Microsoft.

Every single Windows Vista presentation and demo I have seen has always included the new Flip 3D, alt+tab replacement. This is a cool feature that really helps you switch between windows when you have a lot open but for some, it can be a choppy experience.  If you have a low end graphics card you may experience dropped frames resulting in a choppy animation experience while flipping through your windows.  One easy way to make Flip 3D perform much better is to limit the number of windows it draws on your screen. 

Follow the steps below to speed up Flip 3D on your computer:

1. Click on the Start Button, key in regedit and hit Enter.
2. Navigate through HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Windows and DWM.
3. Create a new DWORD and call it Max3DWindows.
4. Set the value of this to something between 4 and 9 depending on the performance of your card. Experiment with the values to find the best value for your hardware.
5. Restart the DWM interface by running net stop uxsms and net start uxsms at a administrative level command prompt.  Alternatively, you can just reboot your computer.

Do you use notepad very frequently to open all types of text files? This quick tweak will add "Open with Notepad" to all of your file context menus. Whenever you right click on a file, you will have the option to open it in Notepad.

Copy and paste the code below into Notepad.  Then save it as a .reg file and import it by clicking on it.

There is finally an easy way (easier than before) to change your Windows Vista boot screen and use any high resolution photo as your boot screen.  Using a great tool written by Dan Smith it is now possible to automatically generate the replacement language MUI file that contains your boot image files. All you need is two photos at 800x600 and 1024x768 saved as 24-bit windows bitmaps. Then follow these steps:

1. Download Dan Smith's Vista Boot Logo Generator.
2. Install and then run from the link in the Start Menu.
3. Hit Browse for image and select both the 800x600 and 1024x768 resolution bitmap files for your boot screen.
4. Click on File and select Save Boot Screen File as and save your file.
5. Next, you will need to replace the winload.exe.mui file in c:WindowsSystem32en-us with the one you just created.  Before you copy in your new file, make a backup of the original. You will need to take ownership of all files in en-us as well as give your account file permissions to replace the file as well in order to copy the new winload.exe.mui file in. 
6. The last step is to enable the alternative boot screen setting as shown in this tweak.

The next time you reboot you should see your new boot screen. If you have problems with Windows not booting properly, boot up with the Windows Vista install CD and replace the winload.exe.mui file with your backup.

Microsoft has removed the classic Windows NT style logon screen in Windows Vista. You can no longer hit CTRL+ALT+Delete to get to a logon box where you can type in the username and password. Instead you have to enable the alternative logon screen to restore this capability.

1. Click on the Start Button, key in secpol.msc and hit Enter.
2. Navigate through Local Policies and Security Options.
3. Locate and right click on "Interactive logon: Do not display last user name" and select Properties.
4. Select Enable and hit OK.
5. close Local Security Policy editor.

Log off and you will see the new logon screen.

Tip: If you need to log into a domain sign in with "domainusername". If you want to log into a local computer account, sign in with ".local_username".

Tired of the pathetic boot screen in Windows Vista? There is a cool trick that will allow you to see what may have been a new boot screen for Windows Vista. 

Enable New Boot Screen:

1. Click on the start orb and type in "MSCONFIG" in the textbox.

2. Once the System Configuration tool loads, click on the Boot tab.

3. Under Boot Options check "No GUI Boot".

4. Hit OK and reboot to see the new screen.

Enjoy!

Removing the text below an icon on your desktop has been a classic Windows tweak for years.  In Windows Vista, the same old tweak works. 

1. Right click on the icon and select Rename.
2. Then hold down the ALT key and type in 255 on your right keypad. If you are on a laptop turn on numlock and use the K and I keys to enter in 255. This is the code for a space.
3. Hit Enter when you are done.

If you want to remove the text from multiple icons then make sure that you do ALT + 255 a different number of times for each icon.

Windows Vista includes a new method to select files when using explorer. Instead of holding down CTRL and then clicking on all the files you want to select, Vista includes the option to check boxes to select items instead.  This new feature can be a little hard to get used to at first, but after you use it for a little while, it will be helpful if you were a big user of the CTRL method.

This feature has helped me in situations where I had to select dozens of files or folders and would accidentally click in the wrong area and then I would loose all of my selections, forcing me to start over selecting folders. With the check box feature enabled, accidental clicks that lead to mass de-selection are no longer possible.

Enabling the new feature is very easy, just about anyone could do it. To get started, follow the steps below:

1. In order to begin, you will need to use the Tools menu. In Windows Vista the menu-bar is hidden by default in most windows. Just hit ALT on your keyboard to bring it back. Now that you can see it again, click on Tools and then select Folder Options.
2. Once the Folder Options dialog is displayed, click on the View tab.
3. Under Advanced Settings, scroll down to the bottom of the list and check Use check boxes to select items.
4. Next, click OK and you are finished.

In order to see the new changes you may have to close and reopen all open windows.

When I am working in command prompt the majority of the things I do require an administrative level command prompt.  I normally have to right click on my command prompt shortcut and then select Run As Administrator. However, there is an easy way to modify the shortcut so that you no longer have to right click on it and select Run As all the time.

1. Right click on your command prompt shortcut and select Properties.
2. On the shortcut tab hit Advanced.
3. Check the Run As Administrator box and hit OK.
4. Hit OK once more to close the properties window.

You now have an administrative level shortcut without the right click.

There was a lot of controversy of the new Windows Start sound in Windows Vista. Originally, Microsoft was planning on making this a mandatory sound that users would not be able to disable.  This sounds like a great idea from a Marketing perspective since all Windows users world-wide would hear the same notes when their computer starts up.  However from a user perspective this could be a nightmare.  Thankfully Microsoft responded to the vocal Microsoft community and gave users the option to disable this sound. 

Follow these steps to disable your Windows startup sound:

1. Click on the Start Button and type in Sound.  Select Sound from the list.
2. Click on the Sounds tab.
3. Remove the check from Play Windows Startup sound.
4. Hit OK.

Enjoy.

Hold Shift the next time you right click on any item in Windows Vista to see all menu options. If you right click on a shortcut and hold shift you will have the option to copy as path.

Would you like to use your computer with just your mouse and now keyboard? You can with the on-screen keyboard.

1. Click on the start button.
2. Key in osk and hit Enter.

I have found my first bug in the final code of Windows Vista. A few weeks ago after my hard drive was getting low on space I ran disk cleanup to try to delete some unneeded files. Since I needed a lot of space fast I also checked the option to clear my hibernation file. It turns out that was a big mistake.

After clearing my hibernation file my laptops ability to hibernate was destroyed. It was so badly damaged that I could not get to the control panel hibernation settings to turn it back on. Thanks Disk Cleanup!

The fix is actually very easy to do.. Since the control panel settings were gone, I simply used the the command prompt to turn it back on. If you have a similar problem, run the follow command at an administrative level command prompt to turn hibernation back on:

Powercfg /hibernate on

After a reboot the ability to hibernate is restored.

Update: Microsoft now has a KB article on the bug as well.

Users that have the Microsoft Wireless Laser Keyboard 6000 and/or the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 have been experiencing issues for the past few months with their screen saver failing to turn on as well as any power saving features.  The problem was linked to the new 3.0 version receiver shipping with the new 6000 series mouse and keyboards and the media center components. 

Microsoft has finally released an update for these users so that they can use screensavers once again in Windows Vista.  Follow theses steps to get the update for your computer:

1. Click on the Start Button and type in Windows Update.
2. Click Check for updates.
3. Locate the optional "Other hardware - HID - Non-User Input Data Filter" update and install it.
4. After the update is installed your screensaver and power saving functions will be fixed.

Windows Vista has loads of new backup features such as previous versions of your documents and system state points that are part of System Restore.  All of these features are turned on by default and offer you a great deal of backup protection. However, you pay a big price in disk space.  Every once in a while when your system is stable and you need to free up some disk space, it is a good idea to clear all of these previous versions of your files and System Restore points from your computer. This is a very easy way to free up a few gigabytes of space across all of your hard drives.

To get started, just follow these steps:

1. Click on the Start Button and key in disk cleanup and hit Enter.
2. Select Files from all users on this computer.
3. Select the drive you want to clean.
4. On the More Options tab, click on Clean Up under System Restore and Shadow Copies.
5. Hit Delete on the confirmation screen.

In many of the tweaks on this site I have directed you to delete or replace a system file. In Windows Vista this is not always as easy as it sounds since the system files are protected better by the file system than in XP. There are two steps that you need to do in order to be able to replace or delete a system file:

1. First you need to take ownership of the file. Run takeown /f  "path and file name" to take ownership from a command prompt.
   
2. Next, you need to give your account full control permissions on the file. Run cacls "path and file name" /G <your username>:F to get full control from a command prompt.
   

Don't feel like typing in your product key before installing Windows Vista? It is now possible to install any version of Windows Vista and use it for 14 days before having to enter a product key and activating it.

While on the product key screen during install, just hit the Next button.  You will be presented with a new screen that allows you to select the version of Windows Vista you would like to install.

Back in Windows XP if you were not on a domain CTRL + ALT +DEL would open up Task Manager. In Windows Vista that key combination opens the secure desktop that allows you to do many more thing. To directly to Task Manager, hit CTRL + SHIFT + ESC.

One of the main concepts of Windows Vista is to make things more simple, basically take some of the complexity out of Windows.The decision was made to do away with the old menu bar in many of the windows of Windows Vista because they simply looked too busy and offered the user too many, often confusing, choices.

This all sounds great but we are power users and most of us like complexity because it gives us more control. Thankfully, Microsoft didn't really do away with it completely, they just hid it. The next time you are using Windows Vista and wish that old menu bar was still around, just hit ALT on your keyboard and it magically appear!

If you are like me and use the search box in the new Start Menu in Windows Vista as a run box, you can run any command you type in as an administrator by holding down CTRL + Shift and then pressing Enter.

Say you want to start command prompt as administrator:

1. Click start button
2. Key in cmd
3. Press and hold down CTRL and Shift and then hit Enter
4. Command prompt now be run as administrator

Check out the new System Configuration Utility in Windows Vista that now includes new troubleshooting tools. Just click on the start button and key in msconfig and hit Enter.

Click on the Startup tab and uncheck any application you do not want to automatically start.

Every time you use the scroll wheel on your mouse you scroll 4 lines at a time in Windows Vista.  This is adequate for most users but did you know that it is possible to tweak this setting to make your scroll wheel more or less sensitive? It is possible with a quick little reg hack.

1. Click on the Start Button and key in regedit and hit Enter.
2. Navigate through HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop.
3. Scroll to the bottom and edit WheelScrollLines. Set this to a lower value for a more sensitive scroll wheel. larger for less sensitive.
4. Reboot.

When you are in explorer and are manually typing in a long folder path or at a command prompt navigating through many directories, below are two cool tips that will help you save time.

The first is one that I have been using for years.  When working at a command prompt, instead to typing in the full text of an item, just hit the tab key to bring up full items. For example, say I want to change the directory to the Windows folder. At a command prompt I would type in CD wind and then hit the tab key and "Windows" will automatically show up.  Think of the tab key as a kind of auto complete for DOS.  This same technique also works in Windows Explorer.

Another tip was sent in by Robert Warriner also has a similar effect. Instead of hitting the tab key to bring up alternatives, you can use the * wildcard. For example, the command CD wind**32dri* will change your directory to c:windowssystem32drivers. The * wildcard will also work in Windows Explorer.

Unlike previous version of Windows, you can no longer wipe out your existing Windows installation and install a fresh install of Vista with the upgrade DVD.  Instead, your upgrade version on top of the previous version of Windows you have.

This change will help cut down on the number of people buying the wrong version of Windows Vista but creates a huge annoyance for any power user that wants to start fresh with a new Windows operating system.
Users that already wiped their previous Windows installation with the Windows Vista install disk while installing the upgrade version are in for a surprise when they try to active Windows. It won’t activate! Why? Windows is looking for a full version product key because the user did not install the upgrade version of Windows Vista from within a previous version of Windows.

Users that want to perform a fresh Windows Vista install the traditional method are not going to be able to active their upgrade copy.  If you still want to do a clean install with Windows Vista so that your XP settings and junk does not get ported over, there is a new method that will allow you to do a clean install and activate your upgrade version.

Fresh Windows install with the upgrade version of Windows Vista

1. Use your Windows Vista DVD to wipe out your previous Windows installation and install Vista without a product key as shown here.
2. After you have Vista installed, use your Windows Vista DVD again and perform an upgrade using your upgrade product key.  Yes, upgrading Windows Vista to Vista works.
3. Your upgrade key will now activate Windows and you will have a clean install of Windows Vista.

When looking for a wireless network to connect to there is no refresh button on the screen that displays found wireless networks. Hit F5 to easily refresh this list.