The start of something wonderful
So you've got your computer, and it's running Windows XP. It probably has been for the last 5 years and I bet it's probably sick of the sight of itself. Never fear, Windows Vista, the named predccessor of Windows XP has been released into the wild.
It'll cost between £100 ($200) and £210 ($420) and even thought it might set you back for the month, it really is worth it. I've been using it gradually building up to the final version for 2 years and I have to say, it's worth every penny of it. Below each week, you'll find featured articles in making Windows Vista really do it's job and for you to make the most out of this wonderful new software.
Why are my window borders so thick by default?
You have three themes in Windows Vista - Classic, Standard Aero and Windows Aero. Standard Aero is the default theme if you do not have a compatible video card to display Windows Aero, and if you do have a compatible graphics card, then Windows Aero will be displayed. Classic theme is when no themes are turned on at all.The reason why the borders are thick on Standard Aero is because it's exactly the same theme as Windows Aero minus the transparency and the Glass refraction effects (the lighter diagonal lines that appear in the title bar and borders when you move the window around.) They are thicker (5 pixels by default) so that the window becomes "elevated" and more obvious, and the borders also display transparency and the glass refraction.
Disable Windows Mail splash screen
1) Go to Start , Run (or just press Windows Key + R) and type in regedit, then hit OK.
2) Navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail.
3) In the right hand pane, right click and select New then DWORD (32-bit).
4) Call this new entry NoSplash and then press Enter.
5) Double click on the new entry and set the value to 1 then hit OK.
2) Navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail.
3) In the right hand pane, right click and select New then DWORD (32-bit).
4) Call this new entry NoSplash and then press Enter.
5) Double click on the new entry and set the value to 1 then hit OK.
Set Tablet PC menus to open beside your hand
1) Go to Start then Control Panel.2) Click Tablet PC Settings (in category view and classic view).
3) In the General tab, select either as appropriate:
Right handed - for right handed people, and menu's will appear to the left of your hand on-screen.
Left handed - for left handed people, and menu's will appear to the right of your hand on-screen.
4) Click Apply, OK and you're all done.
Windows Vista on DVD, but no DVD drive
Don't panic - you don't have to spend a whole load of money you might not have on a DVD drive. It's recommended as most things come on a DVD nowadays and it's a sound investment to have, but Microsoft have made things nice and easy for you.
Before you've bought your copy of Windows Vista
There is a download option, where instead of buying your copy of Windows Vista in an actual shop, you can download it over the Internet and save yourself a bit of money. You need a rather fast Internet connection really and it's recommended you have a 2MB broadband line or higher. It will be saved in your Digital Locker and will enable you to redownload as many times as you want - but try and download during the night as some broadband providers have restrictions and can eat up your monthly allowance, and generally it should be faster to do.
Order your copy of Windows Vista online today
You've bought Windows Vista in the shop but you don't have a DVD drive
On the little leaflet in your boxset will ask you to go to a website which will let you order your CD version of the operating system. You may have to pay for the shipping costs (which should be around £10 or $20) but once it arrives you'll have around 5 or 6 CD's which will work just fine and will install just as well as the DVD copy.
Order your CD version of Windows Vista now
Before you've bought your copy of Windows Vista
There is a download option, where instead of buying your copy of Windows Vista in an actual shop, you can download it over the Internet and save yourself a bit of money. You need a rather fast Internet connection really and it's recommended you have a 2MB broadband line or higher. It will be saved in your Digital Locker and will enable you to redownload as many times as you want - but try and download during the night as some broadband providers have restrictions and can eat up your monthly allowance, and generally it should be faster to do.
Order your copy of Windows Vista online today
You've bought Windows Vista in the shop but you don't have a DVD drive
On the little leaflet in your boxset will ask you to go to a website which will let you order your CD version of the operating system. You may have to pay for the shipping costs (which should be around £10 or $20) but once it arrives you'll have around 5 or 6 CD's which will work just fine and will install just as well as the DVD copy.
Order your CD version of Windows Vista now
Check out the latest Vista specific hardware
Vista being the new operating system wouldn't be complete without certain hardware benefits as well - here you'll be able to see webcams, keyboards and mice, and other technologies and hardware which will be available specifically for Windows Vista.Check out Vista hardware on VistaBase
Adjust the border thickness of all windows
You can alter how thick the borders are in each application or window you open up, and it's really easy to do. Honestly, the default value of 4 looks good as it is, but if you're a die-hard Windows XP fan then you can easily change it to look thinner or thicker if you so choose.1. Right click your desktop and click Personalise.
2. Click on Windows Colour and Appearance, then "Open classic appearance properties for more colour options".
3. Click Advanced at the classic Appearances properties dialog.
4. Under Item, select "Border Padding" then decrease or increase the value as you please.
The default value is 4.
5. Click OK, then Apply and OK, then close the Personalisation window.
Get Flip3D to stay on-screen
Instead of pressing Windows key + Tab to display Flip3D (of which once you let go of the Windows key, it zooms back in), simply press Ctrl + Windows key + Tab and scroll through as and when you feel like it. Simply press Esc to exit.
Launch Flip3D from anywhere
This may well be handy if you're running Vista without a Windows key on your keyboard, such as an IBM ThinkPad. Without a Windows key, you can't use the key combination to run Flip3D, so this might save you guys!1. Right click anywhere, and select New then Shortcut.
2. Type in %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe DwmApi #105 then select Next.
3. Rename the shortcut to Flip3D or something that will remind you of what the shortcut does.
4. Click OK or Finish, and then click and drag the shortcut into your Quick Launch tray in the taskbar.
Switching between Windows Aero and Standard Aero
Windows Aero can sometimes take up a lot of system resources, so if you are running low on memory, turn Windows Aero off for a while and let the system recuperate. However, without Windows Aero you cannot use taskbar thumbnailing (enabling you to hover over a taskbar item and see it's preview in a thumbnail window), you cannot use Flip3D and also Flip gets reduced to the standard Alt+Tab feature.
To change between Windows Aero and Standard Aero, right click the desktop, select Personalisation, then select Theme. From here, you can change from Windows Aero to Standard Aero. Click Apply, then OK.
To change between Windows Aero and Standard Aero, right click the desktop, select Personalisation, then select Theme. From here, you can change from Windows Aero to Standard Aero. Click Apply, then OK.
Slow down animations in Vista
Have you ever seen those presentations that those people at Microsoft show when they are slowing down windows maximising and minimising? Well, the way they got it to do that is with a small registry edit.1. Click on Start, Run and type regedit then hit OK.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
3. In the right hand pane, right click on an empty space and from the context menu that appears choose "New > DWORD (32-bit) Value".
4. Give the new DWORD (32-bit) value a name of AnimationsShiftKey (be careful in spelling this!)
5. Double click on the new DWORD value and give it a value of 1.
6. Close the Registry Editor and log off of Windows and log back in for this to take effect.
Latest articles on VistaBase
Here you can see the latest articles published on the popular Windows Vista knowledge base.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand by
