TomsTricks.Com » Vista Tweaks

How To: Restrict Users From Running Specific Windows Programs

Tony — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:53:30 +0000

This tweak is useful for anyone who wants to restrict users from running specific Windows programs on a Windows Vista computer. You can restrict users from running specific programs by either using Group Policy or editing the Windows registry. Method 1: By Using Group Policy To use Group Policy Object Editor to restrict users from running specific Windows programs, use the procedure that is described in the section that is appropriate to your situation. Click Start, and then click Run. In read more

How To: Enable Glass Effect On Unsupported Graphics Cards In Windows Vista

Tony — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:06:33 +0000

Microsoft Windows Vista has a new user interface system codenamed Avalon.This new user interface engine in Windows Vista greatly enhances the look by utilizing several cool looking 3D effects(like Aero Glass,Flip 3D etc).Windows Vista’s new user interface system, Avalon requires high system specifications in order to work, with the minimum requirements of at least 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor,1 GB (gigabyte) of system memory and a DirectX 9 compatible graphics read more

How To: Add Take Ownership Option To Explorer Right Click Context Menu In Windows Vista Or In Windows 7

Tony — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:58:05 +0000

If you hold down Shift key while right clicking on any file in Windows Vista or Windows 7 explorer, you can see few more options in the context menu.You can easily add one more option to the file context menu called “Take Ownership” option which will be very useful to take ownership of any file.As many of you know, we need to take the ownership of system file in Windows Vista or in Windows 7 that you want to alter by any means. You need to have the ownership to do even simple read more

How To: Run VB Scripts As Administrator In Windows Vista

Tony — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:32:58 +0000

If User Account Control (UAC) enabled in Windows Vista, one needs to open an elevated command prompt(command prompt with administrative rights) in order to run scripts like VB scrips and java scripts under administrative privileges.There is no ‘Run as Administrator’ for VB scripts. Use the following trick: Click on Windows Vista “Start” | “Run” | type in “regedit” Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VBSFile\Shell Click in the right pane space and then read more

How To: Restore Deleted Recycle Bin Icon In Windows Vista

Tony — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:44:07 +0000

Did the Recycle Bin icon got deleted by mistake from your desktop in Windows Vista? When you right-click on the Recycle Bin icon in Windows Vista, there is a Delete option and this option is not available in the case of Microsoft’s former operating system Windows XP.Because of this, users may be tempted to click the Delete entry in an attempt to empty the Recycle Bin. That may be why the Recycle Bin icon disappeared in the first place in the case of Windows Vista.You can easily restore read more

How To: Create A Desktop Shortcut To Safely Remove Hardware In Windows Vista

Tony — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:53:36 +0000

You are probably familiar with having to click that annoying little icon to bring up the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box when you need to disconnect a USB device in Windows Vista, but it’s possible to make the disconnect process a little easier. The purpose of “Safely Remove Hardware” in Windows is that you tell Windows operating system that you’re about to remove a USB flash device so that Windows can finish whatever it needs to do with it. In the case of USB flash read more

How To: Enable Displaying Of Super Hidden Files In Windows Vista

Tony — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:16:22 +0000

Even if you turn on show hidden files in Windows Explorer some files will remain hidden in Windows Vista. These files are called super hidden files.This is to prevent those files from being touched or accidentally deleted.But if you are interested to see the super hidden files in Windows Vista, here is a tweak on how to make the super hidden files visible. You can display super hidden files in Windows Vista by a simple registry tweak as described below: Click on the Windows Vista Start read more

How To: Enable Or Disable Secure Logon In Windows Vista

Tony — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:54:16 +0000

To keep your Windows Vista computer as secure as possible, enable Secure Logon so that you are required to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to logon. This ensures that the authentic Windows logon screen appears. When secure logon is enabled in Windows Vista, no other program can intercept your user name and password as you enter it.This prompts the Windows Logon screen serving an additional layer of security.To enable secure logon follow these steps: Click on Windows Vista Start and type read more

How To: Run Programs And Services At Windows Vista Startup Without Using Startup Folder

Tony — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:32:53 +0000

Windows Vista looks at many different locations for information on what programs it should launch when it starts up. Some of that information is stored in the Registry, and some is stored in the WIN.INI file in the Windows folder. (There are other places, too, but we’ll skip that part of the discussion.) You can spot the entries in WIN.INI easily: They’re in RUN= and LOAD= lines. No harm is caused if you leave them there, but the problem with running programs at startup from those read more

How To: Make A Program To Run At Windows Vista Startup Only Once

Tony — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:56:59 +0000

Programs and services that start whenever Windows Vista boots do so in various ways. The simplest way is for the installation routine to create a shortcut to the program within the Windows Vista Startup folder for the current user (or for each user on the machine). To open your own Startup folder, click Start, then Run, and type the following: %userprofile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup The Startup folder common to all users on the machine can be found by opening this read more

How To: Setup Hard Disk Drive Space Quota In Windows Vista

Tony — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:05:46 +0000

You can easily setup a Hard Disk Drive Space Quota in Windows Vista to set maximum space usage limits for user accounts with a warning or deny message when the user reaches the usage limits you set.This Disk Quota Management feature in Windows Vista is particularly useful if you have many users accessing the same computer and you would like to restrict the hard disk space for users. Each drive in Windows Vista has separate quota settings, and the actions you take on one volume do not affect read more

How To: Keep Users From Clearing Private Data In Internet Explorer 7(IE7)

Tony — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:21:30 +0000

Microsoft Windows Vista includes Internet Explorer 7, lets you clear all of your personal data (cookies, site browsing history, download history, etc). This is great feature if you are the one browsing where you shouldn’t be and you don’t want to get caught. But what if you are on the other end of the situation, for example a parent who wants to make sure their child is not getting into trouble on the web? In Windows Vista, you can set up the security settings so that users can read more

How To: Disable Background Programs or Services in Windows Vista

Tony — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:55:38 +0000

A Windows service is a executable program that runs in the background of the Microsoft Windows operating systems.Windows service performs specific functions and is designed not to require any user intervention to run.Windows services usually are configured to start when Windows is started and run in the background all the time. Although they can be started manually if needed. An example of a windows service is your anti-virus program or another security program that is used for real-time read more

How To: Make Your Windows Vista’s Admin Account Acts Like in XP, Always in Full Control

Tony — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:10:43 +0000

We know UAC(User Account Control) feature in Windows Vista, and we all know how to disable UAC and this is not the purpose of this article, because even after you Disable UAC in Windows Vista, you’ll have other prompts about folder/file permissions errors sometimes (It occurs in strange, unexpected occasions, like deleting an empty folder for a program left by the uninstaller), or you’ll need to right click and select “Run as Administrator” for most applications to read more

How To: Add “Open with Notepad” Option to Windows Vista Right-Click Context Menu

Tony — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:15:41 +0000

Do you use Notepad editor very frequently in Windows Vista to open all types of text files? There are situations where you need to open plain-text files (where the file type is not registered in your system, or the file has NO extension at all) using Notepad or any other text editor. Usually, you use the Open With dialog and select Notepad from the list. If Notepad is not available in the list, you browse to Notepad.exe in the Windows folder and add it to the dialog. This quick Windows Vista read more

How To: Rebuild The Search Index In Windows Vista To Improve Instant Search

Tony — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:29:05 +0000

Windows Vista maintains an index of your computer’s files in order to make searches faster.It is quite possible that your Windows Vista search index may become corrupt or unusable.If you are encountering problems with the searching engine built into Windows Vista, your best bet is to tell the indexing service to completely rebuild the index.The steps below explain how to rebuild your search index in Windows Vista. Follow these steps to rebuild the Windows Vista Search Index: Click the read more

How To: Tweak User Account Control (UAC) Options in Windows Vista Ulimate and Business Editions

Tony — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:34:55 +0000

User Account Control (UAC) is a new security component in Microsoft Windows Vista. UAC enables users to perform common tasks as non-administrators, called standard users in Windows Vista, and as administrators without having to switch users, log off, or use Run As. A standard user account is synonymous with a user account in Windows XP. User accounts that are members of the local Administrators group will run most applications as a standard user. By separating user and administrator functions read more

How To: Tweak User Account Control (UAC) Options In Windows Vista Home Basic And In Home Premium Editions

Tony — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:59:58 +0000

If you are a Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium user and want to Tweak UAC (User Account Control) settings using the Local Policy Editor secpol.msc, then you’ll be out of luck cause secpol.msc is a part of Group Policy Editor and its not included in Vista Home editions. But don’t worry, the same settings can be applied using Windows Registry Editor, so you can also enjoy the UAC Tweaks in Windows Vista Home editions using registry editor. Open the Registry Editor in Windows read more

How To: Disable User Account Control(UAC) For Certain Applications In Windows Vista

Tony — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:13:13 +0000

It is possible to disable user account control ( UAC ) for certain Vista application on Windows Vista to overcome disable fully user account control ( UAC ) functionality on your Windows Vista.As User Account Contorl ( UAC ) is a pretty good protection for Windows Vista user. But the problem about UAC are user friendliness and annoying windows pop ups only when any changes on Windows Vista occur. If there are a lot of application and software running on your windows vista machine then you read more

How To: Recover from Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM) In Windows Vista

Tony — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:03:14 +0000

Microsoft allows you to install and use Windows Vista for evaluation without license or product key for up to 30 days. Within these 30 days, you must activate the Windows Vista system with a valid product key. Else, if you forget to activate your Windows Vista computer, or you’re using illegal and pirated product key, Windows Vista will go into Reduced Functionality Mode (RFM), where you basically can no longer use the system for productivity works until you successfully activate Windows read more