This is a discussion on Windows Vista Tips & Tricks within the Operating Systems forums, part of the Computer Hardware/Software and Networking category; One of the most frustrating things about troubleshooting random blue screen errors is that the computer reboots before you have ...
| |||||||
| Register | FAQ | Members List | Calendar | Mark Forums Read |
| |||
| One of the most frustrating things about troubleshooting random blue screen errors is that the computer reboots before you have a chance to write down the error messages so you can google them later. I remember watching one of my friends trying to time it so he could snap a picture with his camera before it rebooted… Instead of dealing with all that, we'll just turn off the automatic reboot option and force the blue screen to stay there. Right-click on the Computer icon and choose Properties. Windows Vista users will be taken to the system properties screen, so click on Advanced system settings. ![]() The Advanced tab should already be selected, so you'll want to click the Settings button under "Startup and Recovery". ![]() Here we go… just uncheck the option for Automatically restart under the System failure section. ![]() Next time you get a BSOD you'll be able to see it and able to write down the error message. You'll have to manually reboot the computer if this happens, of course. ![]() This article made me start thinking… are there any horror movies based on the blue screen of death? |
| Sponsored Links |
| |||
| The Desktop Cube effect for Linux is extremely popular because people love eye candy, but the choices for Windows are much less interesting. The latest utility to give this effect for Windows is surprisingly fast, and works on both XP and Vista. Here's the screen in action, which is surprisingly fast on my Vista laptop. ![]() The system icon in the tray conveniently gives you access to everything, and even tells you what the keyboard shortcuts are. ![]() The options page gives you a lot of options, and I'd recommend enabling the misspelled "Blendding" option, because it makes the effect look a lot nicer on a faster machine. ![]() Here's the coolest part, the Screen Manager, where you can move windows around between screens by just dragging and dropping. ![]() You'll need to make sure that your system has drivers that support OpenGL. Download Shock 4Way 3D Desktop Utility Last edited by prasannavigneshr : 09-27-2007 at 11:24 PM. |
| |||
| Geeks everywhere have embraced the lightweight and free Foxit PDF reader instead of using Adobe reader, but did you realize that you can index PDF files without Adobe installed on your computer? You might be thinking… isn't it working already? What you don't realize is that Adobe Reader also installs an IFilter that helps Windows index your documents. Installation Since our goal is to banish Adobe reader from our system, we'll need to fix download the IFilter and install it. Before it will work we'll need to rebuild the index. Type in Indexing into the start menu search box to launch Indexing Options. ![]() Now you'll need to click on the Advanced button. ![]() And hit the Rebuild button on this page. The rebuild is going to take quite a while, so you might want to do it before you go to bed. ![]() Once finished, you should be running on Foxit software instead of Adobe. Download Foxit PDF IFilter |
| |||
| If you've ever wondered how to change the name of the person that Windows is registered to, this is the quick tip for you. It's not all that useful, but it might come in handy if you got a computer from somebody else. Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box, and then locate the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion ![]() Now you can find the RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization keys in the right-hand pane. Change them to whatever values you want. To show off the new changes, just type winver.exe into the start menu search box to see the About Windows box: Kinda useless, but one of those things I have to write about if I want to cover everything |
| |||
| Start a Program
Use the program, and close it when you've finished. Program Purpose Windows Contacts: Stores names, addresses, and other contact information. Calculator: Does arithmetic calculations and complex mathematical calculations. Character Map: Inserts special characters from installed fonts. Calendar: Shows dates and records appointments and tasks. Internet Explorer: Functions as a Web browser and an HTML document viewer. Photo Gallery: Organizes pictures and picture tasks. Notepad: Creates, edits, and displays text documents. Windows Mail: Provides e-mail, newsgroup, and directory services. Paint: Creates and edits bitmap pictures; imports and edits scanned images and digital pictures. Media Player: Plays sounds, music, and videos. Movie Maker: Converts, edits, organizes, and distributes video files. WordPad: Creates, edits, and displays text, Rich Text Format, and Word documents. |
| |||
| Accessing Your Documents in Windows Vista The Documents folder is a personal storage area in which you should store allor at least mostof your documents, unless you're using a network-sharing system such as SharePoint or a document-management program. Open a Document
![]() Last edited by prasannavigneshr : 09-30-2007 at 11:12 PM. |
| |||
| Finding Any File in Windows Vista. You know it's there somewhere, but where? Instead of wasting time digging through all the folders you think might hold that file you need, why not have Windows Vista do the searching for you? With the Search feature, not only can you search for a file name or even part of its name, you can also search for words that are contained in the file. Search for the File
![]() Run an Advanced Search
![]() |
| |||
| Accessing Everything in Windows Vista The Computer folder is the gateway to your computer's contents, and it displays the icons that represent all your local storage areas: removable disk drives, hard disks, CD and DVD drives, and so on, as well as shared network files. From here you can venture as deep into the folder structure of your computer as you dare. Open Any Folder
![]() Explore
![]() |
| |||
| Switching Among Open Windows in VISTA Whatever your working style, it's likely that you'll end up with more than one window open on your computeryour Documents window and the Network window, perhaps, or a couple of program windows. Instead of closing one window to get to another, you can simply switch windows. Select a Window
![]() Switch Windows
![]() |
| |||
| Mouse and Keyboard Maneuvers in Windows Vista Windows lets us work the way we want. We can move around, choose items, and do much of our work using only the mouse, only the keyboard, or a combination of the two. With the mouse, we can jump directly to the point we want, grab and move things, and quickly choose commands. With the keyboard, we can do most things by using keyboard shortcuts or by moving around using the Tab key or the arrow keys. The way we work is up to us, and we might find that a combination of the two methods gets things done quickly, efficiently, and, most important, comfortably for us. Mouse Moves Point: Move the mouse until the mouse pointer (either a small arrow-shaped pointer or a tiny hand) is pointing to the item you want. Hover: Point to an item and keep the mouse stationary. Click: Point to the item you want, and then quickly press down and release the left mouse button. Double-click: Point to the item you want, and then quickly press down and release the left mouse button twice, being careful not to move the mouse between clicks. Right-click: Point to the item you want, and then quickly press down and release the right mouse button. Select: Point to an item, and click to select it. To select an icon when the system is set to open an item with a single click, point to the icon but don't click. A selected item is usually a different color from other similar items or is surrounded by a frame. Multiple-select: To select a list of adjacent or sequential items, click the first item, hold down the Shift key, and click the last item. To select or deselect nonadjacent items, hold down the Ctrl key and click each item you want. (Note that not all windows and dialog boxes permit multiple selection.) Drag: Select the item you want. Keeping the mouse pointer on the selected item, hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse until you've "dragged" the item to the desired location; then release the left mouse button. Keyboard Moves Keyboard shortcuts: Press two or more keys in combination or consecutively. Keys you press in combination are linked with a plus sign, so Ctrl+C means hold down the Ctrl key and press the C key, and then release both keys. Keys you press consecutively are separated by a comma or commas, so Alt, F, X means press and release the Alt key, press and release the F key, and then press and release the X key. Windows key: A special key that displays the Windows logo: Press it by itself to open the Start menu. Many programs have keyboard shortcuts that use the Windows key. Arrow keys: Four keys, each with an arrow pointing in a different direction: Use them to move the highlight, the insertion point, or the selection in the direction of the arrow. Tab key: This key has different functions. In a document, it inserts a tab character or moves you to the next column; in a window or dialog box, it moves you from section to section. To go in the opposite direction, press Shift+Tab. |
| |||
| Managing Windows in VISTA Managing" a window means bossing it around: We can move it, change its size, and open and close it. Most programs are contained in windows. Although these windows might have some different features, most program windows have more similarities than differences. Use the Buttons to Switch Between Sizes
![]() Use the Mouse to Resize a Window
![]() Move a Window
![]() |
| |||
| Using Shortcut Menus for Quick Results in Wondows Vista Windows Vista and the programs that work with it were designed to be intuitive that is, they anticipate what We are likely to want to do when we working on a particular task, and they place the appropriate commands on a shortcut menu that we open by clicking the right mouse button. These shortcut menus are dynamic, which means they change depending on the task in progress. Use a Shortcut Menu Command
![]() |
| |||
| Getting Help in Windows Vista Browse the Help And Support Center
![]() |
| |||
| Composing a Document in Windows Vista WordPad is a powerful little word processor we can use to create documents either in Rich Text Format or as plain Text Documents. In most cases, we'll want to create a document with formatting for a well-designed, professional look. Save the document as we create it, and print it when we've finished.. Create a Document
Format the Document
|
| |||
| Saving, Closing, and Opening a Document in Windows Vista After we've created a document, we'll probably want to save it for later use. When we've finished creating the document, close the program in which we created it so that the program isn't using space or taking power from our computer. When we're ready to work on our document again, we can easily restart the program and open the document directly from the running program. Save a Document
Close a Document
Open a Document
|
| |||
| Copying Material Between Documents in Windows Vista It's easy to copy material from a document that was created in one program to a document that was created in another program. The way we insert the material depends on what it is. If it's similar to and compatible with the receiving document some text that's being copied into a word pad document, for example we can usually insert it as is and can edit it in the receiving document's program. If the item is dissimilar a sound clip, say, inserted into a word pad document either it's encapsulated (isolated) as an object and can be edited in the originating program only, or we simply are not able to paste that item into our document. Copy and Insert Material
![]() |
| |||
| Copying Your Screen Content in Windows Vista We use the Snipping Tool program to capture an image or a snippet of a Web page or just about anything else on our computer screen. We can then e-mail the image, save it, or paste it into a document in another program. When we save or e-mail a snipped image, it's saved as a single-page HTML document. When the image is that of a Web page, the URL (the Web address) is automatically inserted into the document. Snip an Image
![]() |