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There’s been a lot of hype leading up to today, which is when Microsoft will release Windows 7 Beta Available to the public for download. Windows 7 will be the the upcoming successor to Windows Vista.
I have started another blog related to Windows 7 news and will be posting Windows 7 tips and tutorials when the new OS comes out. As for Vista Rewired, I am not quite sure what to do with this site afterwards. If you have any suggestions, I will be reading them in the comments. Thanks to all who have supported us since the beginning.
Here are some links to get you started with Windows 7:
First look at Windows 7 Pre-Beta
Downloading Windows 7 Beta
10 things you need to know before installing Windows 7 Beta
Windows 7 FAQ (Scroll down halfway and there will be a list of some of Windows 7’s features)
In Windows Vista, many users have reported the recycle bin as missing in action. When I first heard this problem surfacing among users, I tried to figure out how it could have happened, and ended up in a dilemma of my own. For the first time in the history of windows, it seems the Recycle Bin is actually armed with a delete button – which when clicked, causes the Recycle Bin to actually “disappear” from the system. Some users do this by accident, while meaning to click the empty recycle bin option above it. Others just click delete to see what happens, not expecting that the Recycle Bin could actually be removed. If this has happened to you, no need to fret – recovering the Recycle Bin is only a couple clicks away.
In truth, the Recycle Bin cannot actually be removed from the computer. The icon has been removed from your desktop, and access within Windows Explorer has been stopped. To solve this problem, go to the start menu and click on the control panel. From there, click appearance and personalization, and select the personalization icon. In this window, there should be an option to change desktop icons on the left side. After clicking this option, check the recycle bin and click OK to restore your Recycle Bin. If you view your desktop, the Recycle Bin should have reappeared, and is ready for use.
In earlier versions of Windows, the Event Viewer has been a very simple program which recorded events which took place on your computer. In these versions, only significant occurrences which were determined as important by the computer would even be logged. While this was still useful, many administrators have desired a more detailed system which would allow them to troubleshoot difficult problems and errors. In Windows Vista, the Event Viewer is able to do just that, and a little more.
To start off, let’s figure out just how we can open and access the Vista Event Viewer. First, access the start menu by means of the Windows Vista orb. You must then click on control panel. After the control panel is visible, find and click the administrative tools icon. From here it’s pretty much self explanatory – click Event Viewer.
New features in Vista’s Event Viewer include:
- Ability to view events from multiple logs simultaneously. In the Windows Vista version, administrators have the ability to browse events via filters – which search for similar events across multiple logs. Within this customized view, it becomes much easier to troubleshoot for viruses, and other problems which may occur on your computer. For example, on a multiple user computer, a spyware program may open Internet Explorer at 7 in the morning without being called up by the user. Using Create Custom View…, an administrator can calibrate a filter to view the application, security, and system log during that hour. By seeing this, you could locate a spyware .dll file which was programmed to open IE at 7.
- Set tasks to act in response to certain events. This feature allows an administrator to plug in automated responses to certain events. If, for example, your computer often wakes up during the night to install updates, the Event Viewer could be used to carry out a task which turned the computer off afterwards. This feature must be used in accordance with the Task Scheduler, another one of the Administrative Tools.
- New Log Categories. In the Vista edition, the Event Viewer consists of two new categories: Setup and Forwarded Events. Both of these logs are very functional, allowing for more in-depth analysis when troubleshooting viruses, spyware, and hackers. The setup log is used to record activity which occurs during the setup of new programs and applications. This information could be useful when checking to see if an application was installed by the user, and of It has spyware or other programs attached to it. The forwarded events log records what happens during server activity. This log records the ID of of other computers, and the events which occur on these computers.
All in all, the Windows Vista Event Viewer is a vital container of everything which happens on your computer – the ins and outs. Each individual logfile contains admin, operational, analytic, and debug log sections. Using the features in this program, administrators will find it easier to troubleshoot their computer systems.
I’ve received quite a few requests from some unfortunate users that are stuck with a certain language version of Windows Vista because they bought their computer from a different country, or simply are not English-native and have a very difficult time using the computer. Well, I’ve finally found a solution for you guys!
MUI (Multilingual User Interface) is the name of the technology Microsoft uses to change the interface language of Windows Visat. If you’ve been wanting to change your Windows Vista into a different language, you need to install an “MUI Pack.”
If you have Windows Vista Ultimate, an MUI Pack can easily be downloaded from Windows Update and then installed immediately. If you don’t… then you need to
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1) Make sure you have SP1 installed:
Click here to read on how to check if you already have it installed
If you don’t have it installed then,
Click here to read about how to install it
2) Download an MUI Pack:
Click here to visit the site with all the MUI packs.
Make sure you download the correct language packs. There are specific language packs for those who have SP1, and for those who don’t.
3) Create a System Restore Point
Please refer to this post for info on how to work with System Restore points.
4) Download the Windows Vista MUI User Interface Hacker v3
Click here to Download the Software
So that’s what the program looks like. You should use Method 1 to install your language pack. The Wizard is very straight-forward, but should you run into any problems, just click on Help at the top, and it will walk you through the entire process.
Please only use this workaround if you are stuck with a version of Windows that you do not understand. If you need to switch display language MUIs for any other purposes, it is recommended that you purchase a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate =)
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.1 or MSBA 2.1 is a must-have utility for those concerned with the safety of their computer. It’s a great tool for those with networks or small businesses, because it also allows you to scan for vulnerabilities across the computers on your network. Basically what it does is detect common security misconfigurations, missing security updates, and any options that have been set that may be of interest, which I will explain later on.
Once you download the program, it is actually really straight-forward and easy to use
But if you would like to learn about how to scan other computers in your network or how to access the security report generated, feel free to continue reading!
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Evaluating a Security Report:
The Security Report is very detailed and effective in presenting information. Let’s take a look at how to use the information to imrpove your computer’s security. The program even tells you how to fix the problems so it shouldn’t be very difficult. Below I will just list my interpretation of the issues listed:
User Accounts (Admin / Guest):
Do not overlook this detail, and make sure you are aware of the number of Admin accounts on your computer. If there are more than you know about, this may suggest somebody is accessing your computer without you knowing it. As for the Guest account, you may disable it if you are the only one using the computer. I leave it enabled so my family members can use my computer when I’m not there without accessing my files.
Automatic Updates:
If you want to be protected from the latest risks, this should be enabled. However, I do not have this enabled because I have had issues with my Sound Card and Video Card when installing the drivers recommended through Windows Update. Also, Vista insists their drivers are newer even though I am using beta video card drivers. To prevent them from automatically installing their drivers over mine, I leave automatic installation disabled and just respond immediately when I see the bubble in the right corner alerting me to update. I don’t suggest enabling auto-install if you’ve had driver issues with your hardware.
Windows Firewall:
If Windows Firewall is not enabled on all connections, click on “How to Correct This.” If the problem still persists, go to your Firewall settings, click on the Advanced Tab, and ensure all connections are checked.
As for the other categories, they are pretty straight forward. If you have any questions feel free to ask me in the forum.
How to Scan a Network of Computers:
First you need to determine the “Domain Name” or the IP Range you want to scan. If you’re a network administrator, you should already know the this type of information or have your own method of doing this, so you won’t need to read the rest of the guide.
If you do know the “Domain Name” that’s great! But if you don’t know, I’m only going to explain how to find the IP range because I’ve had a lot of problems with Windows Vista and Network Domain Names.
What’s an IP address?
In case you don’t know what an IP is, it’s an address assigned to every computer so that it can be identified.
Moving on…
First ensure that all computers are on, and logged onto their administrator account. Now before we do anything drastic, your list of IPs probably start at 192.168.1.100 and end at 192.168.1.126
First, put that in and see if it works. If it works, then you’re good to go!
If it doesn’t, you’re going to have to actually log into your router and find out.
First, open the Start Menu, type cmd in the Search bar, and press Enter. Once Command Prompt is open, type
ipconfig
Look for default gateway and write it down. Then open your internet browser, and type it in. This will take you to your router settings.
The router I’m using is a Linksys WRT54G v8. You might have a different kind of router or firmware, but the steps should be very similar.
First, look for a Status button or tab. Next, you want to click on LAN or DHCP Clients, or a button that will display all the computers connected to the network.
You should get something that looks like this:
Now you know what the IP range is. Simply take the lowest numbered IP and the largest one, and input it into the IP range boxes and you should be good to go.
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There are some programs that need to be run in Administrator Mode in order to function properly. Here are just some examples of the types of programs that would need to do this:
- Programs that access protected areas of your computer such as the System and Windows folders, and even the C Drive
- Any Spyware / Adware / Malware / Virus removal programs
- Any Disk or Performance Utilities
Aside from typing the program in the Windows Start Menu Search bar and pressing Ctrl+Shift+Enter, you can have a program always run in Administrator Mode.
To do this, right click the program and choose properties. Click on the Compatibility tab near the top.
Select “Run this program as Administrator” and click Apply.
That’s it! You never have to go through the hassle of right clicking and choosing Run as Administrator each time. This is very useful if you use a program launcher such as Launchy, and are unable to right click the program icon.
What if I can’t find the Compatibility Tab?
No worries. The icon you have selected is probably a shortcut, so you would have to find the original .exe file. It shows up for most shortcuts, but sometimes it doesn’t and I have no idea why.
Anyways, if you can’t find the Compatibility tab at the top, select the Shortcut tab anyway.
Select everything except the quotation marks in the “Start in” box and copy it.
Then open your Start Menu, click on Computer, paste the information in the address bar and press Enter.
Once you are at the directory, look for the .exe file. Right click it and choose properties, and the compatibility tab should be there.
Let’s spice things up this week by changing our boring old Windows Vista boot screen to a custom one.
I can assure you that this method will work with all versions of Vista, whether you have SP1 installed or not.
If you’ve customized your Vista boot screen or logo before, you’ll remember how much of a hassle it was. This time, we will use the Vista Visual Master utility to change our boot screen. Click here to download it.
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Once you have finished installing the program, make sure you Run as Administrator. (Right click Vista Visual Master and select the appropriate option.)
The program is very straight forward. Select Boot Screen in the navigation bar on the left.
Click on Browse and select for the photo you want to replace the bootscreen with. Windows will attempt to stretch your photo to fit the entire screen, so it is best to make sure that you have a photo with a resolution of at least 1024*768. If you’re looking for some good wallpaper, there are some great ones at Socwall and Deviantart.
Once you are done browsing, your picture will show up in the box. Click on generate and VVM will generate an MUI file. Click on Apply to finsh. The program will automatically make a backup of the default MUI in the following directory:
C:\Windows\System32\en-US
The en-US part may vary depending on your language and version of Windows Vista.
For future reference, the file used to display the boot screen is called winload.exe.mui
And the backup is called winload.exe.bak.vistamaster
If you want to uninstall the program after you change the boot screen, I recommend you make a copy of the backup and put it somewhere that you can remember.
And that’s it! You should see your new boot screen the next time you start your computer. I also recommend you to explore the other features of Vista Visual Master, as it has other great customization features that allow you to declutter your Windows Vista workspace.
Using the task scheduler to wake up your computer
For various reasons, it could be quite practical to incorporate an automatic startup into your computer’s daily routine. My old Pentium IV takes about 2 minutes just to boot up and load everything altogether for the computer to become usable. (You should be using the hibernate feature anyway.) Especially since Vista is more demanding, it probably takes quite a while for those old computer to startup. It could be quite troublesome when you have to use your computer for an emergency, only to realize that it takes your computer too long to load… Even more, the setup process is simple and straightforward, involving only a few steps. Before we continue any further, this feature requires you to have a login password to your account. This is a security measure to prevent your computer from being exploited when it is turned off.
What is the Task Scheduler?
If you have worked with Windows at any level, you are most probably aware of the Task Scheduler function. Most often, Windows users fail to make use of this utility because it’s functionality is often underestimated. In the Vista and XP version, this preinstalled utility is able to regulate and initiate all tasks which run on your system. I In Vista, this program is even more advanced because it can respond to other detailed triggering actions which occur on your system. The Vista Task Scheduler can even respond to actions which occur on other computers among your network. If you have time, I recommend playing around with it.
Opening the Task Scheduler
Opening the Task Scheduler can be done in multiple ways, but the easiest way would probably be to type Task Scheduler into the start menu search bar and pressing enter.
Scheduling the Vista Start Up
To start off, you need to open the New Task window. Click on Actions at the top and then click on Create Task from the dropdown menu. Now that you have opened the window, type a name and description for your startup task. Then near the bottom, make sure Run whether user is logged on or not is selected.
In the Triggers tab, you must now choose the time at which the computer will startup. Click on the New… button, and be sure that On a schedule is selected in the dropdown. Choose the time at which you wish for startup to begin. Next, choose the frequency which will be used, whether it be daily, weekly monthly, or on one single occasion.
In the actions pane, you must choose an action which will occur at startup. This can be an opening of a file/program, or a simple welcome message display. If no particular program/file need be opened, choose the message option and specify the welcome message which should be utilized. (For GTD adapters, you can have it open your web browser so you can view your Google Calendar right away.) In the conditions tab, make sure that wake this computer to run this task is checked. If no additional settings are necessary, click OK and proceed to the main window. If you ever need to edit this task, you can view it the Active Tasks portion of the Task Scheduler.
I’ll be talking a bit more about different task scheduler tweaks you can use this month.
It’s been a year since Vista Rewired was born and it’s about time we have our own forums, seeing that some posts have over 220 comments! Click here to visit the forums.
I’ve been overloaded with questions lately, and can no longer keep up with the demand. I would suggest you to direct all your questions to the forums because you’d get a better chance of getting your question answered since I’m not the only one answering, and it’s less load on my inboxes =)
To post a message or topic, simply register, verify the registration by going to your inbox, and you’re done.
