Demo: Super-fast searching in Windows Vista

Watch this demo to learn how to find files quickly using the search tools in the Windows Vista Start menu, Control panel, and folders.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/E9C85CF8-9AC3-4324-A3A2-8942E958D1071033.mspx

Install an Ancient Printer in Vista

Q: I have a well-loved NEC SuperScript 1450 printer that worked perfectly well under Windows 2000 Professional. Recently, I built a modified "Bang for the Buck" box, with Vista Home Premium as the OS. When I tried to install my printer, I received a message that Vista had found driver software, but that the PCL6 driver was not compatible with a policy enabled on my computer that blocks NT 4.0 drivers. I've been all over my Vista settings in vain looking for the place to change that setting. Can you help me?—Craig McKay

A: Okay, since a policy is giving you trouble, let's just change the policy. Click Start and enter gpedit.msc to launch the Group Policy Object Editor. Under Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative Templates and select Printers. In the right-hand pane, find the policy named Disallow installation of printers using kernel-mode drivers and double-click it. Set its status to Disabled. By disabling the disallow policy, you enable the use of kernel-mode drivers—twisted! Click OK, close Group Policy Editor, and reboot. The downside of this setting is that a badly written kernel-mode driver can crash your system; that's what the policy was meant to prevent.

PC Magezine

UiTM Microsoft Future camp 2008

Tenaga Pengajar Mr, Harshad Rai (Vista deployment),En. Saiful (Microsoft Office 2007)
Urusetia En.Osman Mat Sam
Peserta
Afifuddin Fadil,Amdan Mamat,Aminurashid Hasan,Amir Hamzah Rosezalee,Asyadee Saleh,Azri Hashim,Basarolhisham Bahari,Fredly Masri,Mohammad Ashraf Abu Bakar,Mohd Azhar Abd Rahim,Mohd Rafhan Jaafar,Mohd Tumijan Rasikin,Muhamad Khairul Abdul Hadi,Muhammad Bukhairi Bin Mohd Noh,Nazrol Hisham Ghazali,Noor Muliyati Khalid,Nuraini Muhamad Ali,Roslan Mamat,Saenah Hasim,Samsiah Jusoh,Shahizan Said,Shuhairul Faridah Sarip,Siti Fatimah Hasan,Siti Marina Sulaiman,Umar Mohamad Zin,Wan Natrah Yunus,Mohd Azlan Ibrahim,Sabri Ahmad.

(KE RUANGAN FORUM)

Horribly Slow Browsing in Vista

What could be tripping up Web browsing in a seemigly Vista-capable PC?

by Neil J. Rubenking

Q. I have a Windows Vista Home Premium machine with 2GB of memory. My Web browsing is unbelievably slow. When I click on most Web pages I watch the little circle on the tab go round and round as it sometimes takes more than a minute to load a page. At first I thought it was a problem with IE7, but I have the same problem with Firefox . I know it's not a problem with my connection because this happens at home with my cable modem and at work with a very fast connection. Also, if I use my Windows XP system, I don't have the problem. Is there a Vista setting that I messed up?—James Malone

A. You may have a problem with Vista's "Auto-Tuning," which is not compatible with certain routers and other network devices. If you like, you can run the Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool found at www.microsoft.com/windows/using/tools/igd. Note that you'll have to use Internet Explorer and install an ActiveX control. Pay special attention to the TCP High Performance test. But it may be easier just to turn off Auto-Tuning and see if that helps.

To check, do this: At the Start menu type command, but don't immediately launch the command prompt. Instead, right-click it and choose Run as Administrator. Type this command:

netsh interface tcp show global

If the line Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level does not say "disabled," enter this command:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=restricted

Better? If no change, repeat the above process but use the command

netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=disabled

If this didn't help, you might as well put things back to normal by repeating the above but finishing with the command

netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=normal

FROM PCMAG

Use a Vista Restore Point to Log On to a System

If you've recently set a new password and forgotten it, this is a quick way around the problem. The only caveats are that you must have had System Restore enabled and that you need to remember your previous password. If this applies, then drop your Vista installation DVD into your drive and reboot. Start the installation process and designate the system language, the time, and your keyboard format.
At this point the option Repair your PC will pop up, so select that and click Next. Now select the System Restore option and again click Next. Select the restore point you'd like to use, confirm your selection, and click Finish, then Yes when it's time to restart. Once the system restarts, close the System Restore process and log on using your older credentials. You may have lost a little bit of data, but if your backup process runs often enough you should be able to restore that from your NAS or server.

PCMAG

Running older software applications in Vista

One concern for Windows XP users is if their favorite software applications will run once they upgrade to Vista.
Luckily, Windows Vista uses a feature called Compatibility Mode which tells the software application that Vista is actually an older OS, specifically Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, or XP.
Here's how it works:
If your software application won't install, open or work properly, right click on the application's .exe file. Select Properties and then click the Compatibility tab. From there, pick the previous Windows operating system you were on (most likely Windows XP). If you're a system operator, you can set this up as an administrator to make it easier for your staff


Information in this tip courtesy of McGraw-Hill

Keep Vista's User Account Control on guard duty

Well, Microsoft has finally come clean about the real motivation behind Vista's User Account Control feature. As Tom Espiner's reports from the recent RSA Conference in San Francisco, Microsoft UAC Program Manager David Cross admits that UAC was designed to annoy users.

Espiner quotes Cross telling the security-conference audience that negative user reaction was the only way to coax independent software vendors to update their applications for Vista. As fewer programs violated Vista's rules, users would have to click through fewer UAC prompts.

I'd feel worse about being manipulated by the biggest corporation in the world if UAC weren't such a good idea, though less-than-perfectly implemented. It's true that disabling the feature may allow a balky application or process to work, but too many important Vista features rely on UAC.

To change your UAC setting, press the Windows key, type user accounts, and press Enter. Click "Turn User Account Control on or off," and check or uncheck Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer."




Alter Vista's User Account Control setting via the User Accounts Control Panel applet.
(Credit: Microsoft)
You get more granular control over UAC's behavior via the Local Security Settings. To access these options, you must be logged in as an administrator, and the PC must not be on a domain. Press the Windows key, type secpol.msc, and press Enter. (Note that the Local Security Settings aren't available on all Vista PCs.)

The eight UAC settings are found under Local Policies > Security Options. You can find more about these settings on Microsoft's Windows Vista TechCenter, but I'll save you the time and trouble: you're better off leaving the settings as they are. UAC is far from perfect, but it's better than computing with no UAC at all.

If you're experiencing a UAC-related problem, Microsoft offers a list of potential solutions on its Help and Support site. For everyday computing, you're better off with UAC than without it.