coyotewrw

I used Paint Shop Pro to make the individual frames, in PNG format based on RAD.E8's folder icons, then imported them into Animation Shop to build the AVI's. I'll be releasing these as part of my "VistosX rad.e8.ed" shellpack in the near future... cheers!

@dsp.deepak: Cool, thanks. Hopefully you'll have some of the wavs I'm still missing. I'll also send you what I already have. I just pm'ed you my email...

Lol, I actually *do* use those sounds to tell me how far along Windows is during a reboot, while I'm doing other stuff. But I also make my own sounds, usually from movie soundtracks or other ambient sources, cuz I agree that the default sounds are annoying. I also set all the error and notification sounds to a quiet little "beep", so I don't p*ss myself every time Windows wants my attention. Here's a couple from I made from The Bourne Supremecy, if anyone wants 'em. sounds_bourne_supremecy.rar

Try changing the Recycle Bin icon in explorer.exe, that might work. BTW, if you've changed your "closed" and "open" folder icons in shell32.dll, be sure to also change the "closed" folder icon in explorer.exe, otherwise you'll keep seeing the default yellow folders in dialogs, etc. I've also often wondered about why the same icons are scattered throughout the system files, especially after modding close to a hundred of them. I suspect the MS engineers would say it's a programming thing. I think those same engineers would strongly advise against removing duplicate icons, bitmaps, etc. Good or bad, they probably put them there for a reason.

Sorry, Zxian. So, someone please bottom-line this for me: Is there any real benefit to setting some services from automatic to manual? My impression so far is that you should just disable what you don't need and leave the rest at their automatic or manual default settings...

Albator, hahaha, when someone like Andro makes countless posts praising themself for how much of an expert/professional they are, that is not modesty. That's arrogance. Modesty is when someone has superior knowledge and/or experience in something and doesn't feel comfortable admitting to their own prowess. Someone such as myself. I don't call myself an expert, I just say I know a good deal of what I say... most of the time... no one is perfect. As a God of Computing (which I am) who freely dispenses advice to all lesser beings, whether they want it or not (which I do)... just kidding I've been an instructor and consultant for ten+ years, and the first thing I tell beginning-level students is "Don't try to know everything." Unless you're one of those rare people who have a photographic memory (I've met one or two), you simply cannot do it. You'll always be dead ignorant in some aspects of computing, because it's a very large beast. It's much more effective to become expert at knowing where to go for help when in need, like using the provided documentation, searching with Google and last but certainly not least, using forums like MSFN. BTW, did anyone else catch the error in the math? 30% to 60% is an increase of 100%? I *did* the math and that's an increase of 30%, dude. In future just say you've doubled the performance, so some wise-*ss customer doesn't call you an id*ot. You have to know these things when you're a God of Computing!

I definitely will try it.

Thanks for the useful info mgadallah, remember what I told you about some tweaking sites having bad or out-of-date info? The "empty your Prefetch" so-called tweak that Zxian is debunking is an excellent example. He's right, Prefetch should be left alone to do its job. Always double-check before following any site's advice, especially if it hasn't been updated in a couple of years (you'd be surprised how many are out there). And BACKUP. @gamehead200:: Not to spam ya, but have you seen my sig? There *are* free alternatives where you can actually talk to the person who wrote the program if you need help, and that same person actually *listens* to their users' suggestions. Just a suggestion...

Keep this discussion going! It's one of the best I've read in a LONG time. Although I suspect computerMan is currently under his desk in the fetal position from all the info-overload

Andromeda43: Could you post some specifics, maybe as an attachment? It sounds like you have a "general template" of performance tweaks; I'd like to read it. Jeremy: I agree with everything you've said, with two caveats: That shouldn't be a "set in stone" tweak. I've noticed in the past that changing Windows' default methodology for memory management can cause stability problems; "memory defraggers" are especially prone to cause this. I've had good and bad results from manually setting the cache, depending on what programs and hardware are installed. Some can take the change better than others, so if you try this tweak, watch your system closely or a few days to see if stability problems occur. Play some games and use some memory-intensive apps like Photoshop, Sound Forge, video converters, etc. to see how it goes. In addition to that and defragging, keep all drives at least 20% empty to decrease the workload on each particular drive. Also keep your personal data (music, videos, docs) on a separate DRIVE (not partition on the same drive) to decrease the workload on your system drive. (Also safer in the event of a hd crash.) I don't have any facts or figures to back this up. It's just been my personal experience from working with hundreds of different compters over ten+ years. Your results, of course, may vary. It's also VERY important to realize that "faster" doesn't always translate to "better". You need to strike a balance between speed and overall stability. That's my personal definition of "good performance".

@ Zxian, albator, TheTOM_SK : I'm really glad to see you guys are keeping this debate on a friendly level. It's rare behavior on forums and I'm learning a lot from all of you. I hope you'll keep discussing this, because you're all making very good points from different perspectives. albator, it's only slightly apparent English isn't your first language; you're still doing better than most of us Americans!

Very cool, thanks for posting that.

Thanks, mod-wannabe.

Yeah, I was also wondering why the Aug finalists haven't been posted yet...

Sweet

@faf4life: LOL! I never noticed that! I need to check the script, see if its rounding down.

Actually, I *did* search, but apparently in the wrong section. I looked in the customizing sections. Anyway, a buddy has already sent them to me, so f*ck you very much for your rude-*ss suggestion. Sheesh, what's up with some of you Vista guys and your snarky posts? You guys REALLY need to tone down the high-and-mighty crap. Need a reality check? Go to a bar and try telling some hot betty about how you're on the bleeding edge of computing, see how far you get before she loses interest. @ BizTalk, Skyfrog, Renegade_Member : The ones I received sound similar to the current XP sounds, just a little nicer. I suspect MS just put them in the betas/RC1 to have something there while Fripp completes the real set. If the final product is anything like his past work, should be pretty kick*ss. BTW, thanks for not being total dicks like ZileXa and LLXX. This issue is closed as far as I'm concerned. My apologies to the other board members for flaming, but it needed to be said.

They hired guitarist Robert Fripp, one of the founders of King Crimson and considered by many musicians to be a pioneer of modern guitar sound. Check out his Wikipedia entry if you want more info, and here's a cool video of the recording sessions.

Here's my Rainmeter config, which I can toggle via its systray icon: click to enlarge

Weird. I've always found F-Secure to be very easy on my resources, on three diferent computers so far. It also has been very good about staying out of the way until an *actual* problem (trojan downloaders, etc.). Maybe there were other factors involved? Could you provide some links to decent documentation to do this? Most of what I've seen out there is sh*te, so I'd very much appreciate some good guides. Thanks!

Whatever. I never said the sounds were the *only* thing I want from Vista. Where you pulled that from I'll never know. Anyone have a useful response?

Hi all, I read that Robert Fripp is still working on the complete set of system sounds for Vista. Can anyone provide what's been released so far in the betas and RC1? PM me and I'll give you my email. Thanks Fripp! I'm dying for a preview!

Nice!

I don't want to install an entire shellpack just to change three icons.

Hi all, I've already reshacked all the setupapi.dll icons, but there are some other icons in Device Manager that I can't locate. Anyone know where they're located? Thanks! EDIT: I've located the PRESARIO icon at the top, it's in devmgr.dll. Still looking for the other three...