Entries Tagged 'Vista Tips' ↓

Windows Vista Tips
To show Windows Vista “super hidden” files, that is, those files that are normally hidden from the user, you’ll need to accesss the registry editor.

To turn on (or off) super hidden files: (make sure you backup the registry before making changes)

* Click the Start Button, type “regedit” (Registry Editor) in the search box, and press Enter
* Click Continue to get past the User Account Control hurdle
* On the left panel, double-click to navigate to the key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
* On the right panel, double-click on Superhidden
* In the Value Data box, change the value to “1″
* Click OK
* Exit the Registry Editor
* Restart your machine for the changes to take effect

As laptops became more popular, consumers became aware of Win XP’s power settings. Standby left your computer running at low power; hibernate saved all memory to disk and then shut down your system—but often balked at problem programs. With Vista, Microsoft redrew the rules, adding an “away mode” and defaulting to “sleep” rather than off. Sleep mode starts off like standby but saves memory like hibernate. Then after 15 minutes it just shuts off, with no back talk from programs. Nicely done, Microsoft! To shut down completely, skip the Start menu’s orange power button in favor of the right arrow next to it.

Password-protecting your laptop is good overall security, but for added protection, start encrypting. Vista Enterprise and Ultimate editions come with BitLocker Drive Encryption, a tool that relies on a Trusted Platform Module to secure access—check your manual to see if your notebook has one and update your BIOS if needed. To make the magic happen, you’ll need an extra partition on your hard drive that you can create with the Vista partitioning tool on your installation disc or with the BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool, a Vista Ultimate Extra. You’ll create one small partition for essential OS files, and the rest of the drive will hold encrypted files. Format the partition as NTFS, not FAT32.