Vista Tips and Tweaks

[Spooky]

Here is how to get rid of the word 'Shortcut' on shortcuts in Vista. make your own with the below or use the .reg file i've attached to this post:

; get rid of the word 'Shortcut' on shortcuts

; this is the original value

; [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]

; "link"=hex:1e,00,00,00

; this is the changed value to get rid of word 'Shortcut'

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]

"link"=hex:00,00,00,00

Reboot after you do this. It will not get rid of the word 'Shortcut' on the shortcuts created before this reg entry, it will only not put the word 'Shortcut' on those you create after this reg entry is done. I included the original value also in case you want to go back, just comment the changed value and un-comment the original value to and merge it again and reboot.

no_shoct.reg

[Spooky]

Starting with Vista RC 2 there will be certain services that you can not disable. Lets use Task Scheduler as an example; you used to be able to just "Stop using task scheduler" by the setting in the GUI, now the setting is no longer there and you can't turn it off or change its start up status in the services. So what you will need to do is change it in the registry. Still using Task Scheduler as an example, start up reg edit and go to:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Schedule]

"Start"=dword:00000002

You can change the startup status for a service not changeable in any other way by changing the value of the "Start" key. Its simple, just choose one of these values and change the key value;

1 = system start

2 = automatic

3 = manual

4 = disabled

You don't even need to re-boot (although i'd recommend it just to be sure), simply change the reg key.

I do not recommend you set any service to disabled if its not necessary to do so. Setting them to manual allows them to start in case they are needed instead of receiving an error about a service not starting.

BTW: I found 4 different instances of Task Scheduler running in taskman. All the things (24 of them) it was scheduling should be things starting up with Vista, why 'schedule' them? Anyway, after i set Task Scheduler to manual i noticed a little bit, slight, responsiveness in the OS at log on.

Edited October 10, 2006 by Spooky

[Spooky]

Some times in Vista you need to change the permissions of a folder but it just will not let you change any permissions. This is more than likely because the system owns the folder. Yes thats right, even logged in as the admin you may not have complete rights over certain things because the system owns them. There is a way around this that allows you to take ownership, after you take ownership you will then be able to change permissions.

You can take ownership of a folder with "takeown" command line tool. Use takeown /? in an admin CMD prompt to see full help. You will then be able to change the permissions.

Edited October 28, 2006 by Spooky

[Spooky]

You can turn Vista User Account Control (UAC) on and off by using the msconfig utility, but if you just want to do it without the start-run-msconfig - click on the tab - scroll down...yada yada yada stuff, you can use the reg entries below, or use the attached .reg files, to turn it on and off. You will need to reboot for any change to become active. These can also be used if your setting up an un-attended install and want to have UAC set on or off when the un-attend install completes.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;Disable UAC
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"EnableLUA"=dword:00000000

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;Enable UAC
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"EnableLUA"=dword:00000001

disableuac.reg

enableuac.reg

[ElAguila]

Another way to turn off the User Account Control is:

Control Panel>User Accounts>Turn User Account Control on or Off(found on at the bottom of the window listed under Make Changes to your User Account)

[Spooky]

I don't know about you, but I used the heck out of the old "Explore From Here" right click context menu item in Windows Explorer in Win XP and Win2000. Its like anything else, once you get used to it and its no longer there you feel sort of lost in the way you operate. I'm the same way with handy menu items. You may have noticed that just like its ancestors Vista also has explorer but also like its ancestors it falls a little short when it comes to the right click menu on folders and files in explorer. You can add "Explore From Here" to the right click context menu in Vista explorer. Start up regedit and add the below registry entries or just use the reg file attached to this post.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\Explore From Here]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\Explore From Here\command]
@="explorer.exe /e,/root,\"%1\""

explorefromhere.reg

Edited November 1, 2006 by Spooky

[Spooky]

Its always irritated the heck out of me that Windows explorer by default always opened at 'My Documents', which is now just 'Documents' in Vista. You can make Explorer open at the root of any drive or at any folder if you wish instead of at the default Documents folder, heres how to do it by applying an old windows trick that still works in Vista;

1. Create a shortcut to explorer.exe on your desktop or anywhere else you choose.

2. Right click on the shortcut and choose 'Properties' then click on the 'Shortcut' tab.

3. You will see the default '%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe' in the 'Target:' field. This is what your going to change.

4. Delete the '%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe' in the 'Target:' field and paste in the below:

C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe /n, /e, c:\

5. If you want explorer to open at the root of a different drive change the 'c:' of the above to the drive you want e.g... 'd:'

6. if you want to open at a different folder change the 'c:\' (or what ever drive your using) to read 'c:\your folder here' (use what ever drive you need for the 'c:' part)

7. After you have made your changes click Apply then OK.

Heres an example that opens at 'C:\Program Files': C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe /n, /e, c:\Program Files

Edited November 2, 2006 by Spooky

[Spooky]

When you use hibernate in Vista (just like in XP) it creates a file called hiberfil.sys. This file can grow rather large, you may have noticed that its also enabled by default when you install Vista (as it was in XP). Anyway, if you don't use hibernate and turn it off this file is still left behind, and sometimes its large enough to impact the amount of drive space you have available, and guess what - you may not be able to just delete it like in winXP.

While there may be different other ways one simple and straight forward way to get rid of it is log on as the Administrator and open up a Command Prompt then type "powercfg -h off" (without the quotes), hit enter...and voila! no more hyberfil.sys.

[Spooky]

Are you having trouble installing Vista on a Toshiba (Vista ready) notebook? One possible solution might be this. Attach a CRT monitor to the notebook and use Fn+F5 to select CRT display only, then proceed with the install. May work for other notebooks/laptops also.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Spooky

[Spooky]

Windows Internet Computer Name (WICN), This is really neat

Have you ever wanted to be able to find and connect to your computer across the Internet, but did not want the complexity and cost of buying a domain name and using dynamic DNS? With Windows Vista, you can using the Windows Internet Computer Naming.

Enabling the Service

This service can be used with two types of names, secured or unsecured. The difference is that unsecured names are simple to type, such as JohnDoe.pnrp.net, but can be spoofed, such that the computer you connect to using this name is not guaranteed to really be your computer (that is, you might not be the only JohnDoe who used that name). Secured names are more complex as shown in the following example:

p.p4562b4628ac54782dda52789038476237e7c7263.pnrp.net

To Setup an Unsecured Windows Internet Computer Name

Choose a name you would like to use. For simplicity, it should be only lowercase characters, with no special symbols. We recommend your e-mail address without the @ or '.'. For example, johndoe@microsoft.com would become 'johndoemicrosoftcom.' This name will be referred to as (peername) in the following instructions.

On the Start menu, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and right-click Command Prompt, selecting Run as Administrator from the menu This will cause a UAC prompt which you should accept, and then you will be presented with a command window. In this application, type the following commands and press ENTER after each one.

1. Netsh

2. p2p

3. pnrp

4. peer

5. set machinename name="(peername)" publish=start autopublish="enable"

The command window should report back "Ok"

To setup a Secured Windows Internet Computer Name

On the Start menu, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and right-click Command Prompt, selecting Run as Administrator from the menu This will cause a UAC prompt which you should accept, and then you will be presented with a command window. In this application, type the following commands and press ENTER after each one.

1. Netsh

2. p2p

3. pnrp

4. peer

5. set machinename publish=start autopublish="enable"

The command window should report back "Ok"

Getting a machine's Windows Internet Computer Name

To get the Windows Internet Computer Name of a machine after you have set up the service, follow these instructions:

On the Start menu, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and right-click Command Prompt, selecting Run as Administrator from the menu This will cause a UAC prompt which you should accept, and then you will be presented with a command window. In this application, type the following commands and press ENTER after each one.

1. Netsh

2. p2p

3. pnrp

4. peer

5. show machinename

Machine Name: b304d5a80b1ae3a5d2d4eee783e57ed8084f1fcb

Use this format DNS name in other applications to refer to this machine p.b304d5a80b1ae3a5d2d4eee783e57ed8084f1fcb.pnrp.net

The machine name is being published.

The machine name is configured to be published automatically.

The Windows Internet Computer Name from above is:

p.b304d5a80b1ae3a5d2d4eee783e57ed8084f1fcb.pnrp.net.

Using the Windows Internet Computer Name

Windows Internet Computer Names can be used virtually anywhere in Windows that accepts an IP address. Some examples are:

Ping

At a command prompt (on either the computer with the name published or another computer) run the ping command. This ping should succeed, the same way it would if you used an IP address or a DNS name.

Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop can work with Internet Names as well. Enable Remote Desktop via the following (skip if Remote Desktop is already enabled):

Start

1. Right-click Computer and select Properties

2. Click Remote settings

3. Accept the UAC prompt

4. In the new window, click the radio button next to Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop and then click OK.

5. Close all windows opened in this process.

Now you can use Remote Desktop to connect from another computer.

Start->All Programs->Accessories->Remote Desktop Connection

1. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, type in your Internet Name for your other computer (from above) into the Computer field and click Connect.

2. Log on with your normal credentials.

Note that the above will now work from any Vista computer on the Internet that has IPv6 connectivity (this generally means any computer not in a corporate network).

Other Applications

Again, this name will work with virtually any part of Windows. If you run Internet Information Services (IIS) on your home computer, you can use an Internet Name to access a Web site on your home computer, or an FTP site. You can set up an RSS subscription to a feed from your home computer. If you have a multiplayer game where you normally type in IP addresses or DNS names, try a Windows Internet Computer Name.

To learn more about WICN, the peer name resolution protocol (PNRP) and other peer-to-peer technologies in Windows Vista, visit the Microsoft Peer-to-Peer Networking website at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutio...2p/default.mspx.

[Spooky]

In winXP we got rid of the Outlook Express splash screen by using the reg tweak:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{** Identity ID **}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook 
Express\5.0]
 change or add the NoSplash as a Reg_Dword and change it to a 1

With Vista its no longer called Outlook Express - its now called Windows Mail in Vista. It looks basically still the same as Outlook Express did but its improved.

With Vista the 'NoSplash' tweak still works but its eaisier to use now because you don't need the identity anymore so it lends its self a little more handy for use in un-attended installs. To get rid of the Windows Mail spash screen use the below reg entry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;lets get rid of the Windows Mail splash screen
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail]
"NoSplash"=dword:00000001

Or you can use the .reg file I attached to this post.

nowmsplash.reg

Edited November 6, 2006 by Spooky

[Spooky]

Vista is normally fast to shutdown, takes maybe 3 seconds on my beta machine. Some configurations however may lend their selves to a longer shutdown period, some of the time the longer shutdown is due to waiting for Vista to kill some services. If your affected by this the following might help.

Start up Regedit and navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]

On the right pane look for the "WaitToKillServiceTimeout" string and change its value to 1000 by right clicking the string and selecting Modify. However, to make sure its going to work OK for you modify the value to WaitToKillServiceTimeout=5000 first and try it out.

Modified value WaitToKillServiceTimeout=1000 (1000 is a bit much for this one so be careful)

3000 seems to work just about right but try the 5000 first.

(The default value for WaitToKillServiceTimeout=20000 in case you need to change it back)

[Spooky]

To optimize the performance of your hard drive(s);

1. Go to the Disk Drives section in Device Manager (Control Panel - System - Device Manager) and expand it.

2. Right-click on each hard drive, select Properties, and under the Policies tab make sure "Optimize for Performance" is selected. If its available, also tick the "Enable Write Caching on the disk" and "Enable Advanced Performance"options.

This allows hard drives to use a cache (a small area of memory set aside for the hard drive) to speed up reading and writing to the drive.

[Spooky]

If you want to keep User Account Control (UAC) on, for example to keep Protected Mode in IE running, but don't like the constant prompting from UAC (really annoying) you can keep it turned on and supress the prompts using the reg entries below:

; Switch UAC to quiet mode - keeps it on but supresses prompts for admin
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin"=dword:00000000
"EnableLUA"=dword:00000001

; Switch UAC to quiet mode - keeps it on but supresses prompts for user
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"ConsentPromptBehaviorUser"=dword:00000000
"EnableLUA"=dword:00000001

[Spooky]

OK, this one belongs in the 'Tip' category rather than a tweak, maybe aimed at developers and the sort. Some people think Telnet has been removed from Vista, it hasn't. Its just one of those many things in Vista that is not really visible until you do a couple of things. So if you use Telnet;

1. Go to Start - Control Panel - Programs and Features

2. Turn Windows Features On or Off (on the left)

3. Scroll down, and check the box next to "Telnet Client"

Now while I like using putty also I just can't do away with the handy telnet client.

Telnet is handy for lots of things: telnetting to port 110 to delete 'bad' messages from your POP3 server that Outlook can't cope with; telnet to port 80/119 to check HTTP/NNTP servers are working; telnet to port 25 to send an email from a system without setting up an email client; telneting to an HTTP server you're developing to check if the headers are being sent without any problems; test Exchange servers to make sure they are not relaying; very handy to test remote connectivity to a specific port, for example: "telnet <host> 1723" to see if the PPTP server is listening ... the list goes on and on...