The Online Tech Tips blog delves into a little-discussed feature of Windows Vista that can turn your spare blank discs into drag-and-drop bins for extra files. The Live File System mounts writable CDs and DVDs as pseudo-flash drives, letting you add files to them on a continual basis rather than having to initiate one big burn session. You can’t recover space from added files, but if you’ve got blank discs to spare, Live File System can be a handy write-as-you-go backup method. Turn your CDs into flash drives using Vista’s Live File System [Online Tech Tips]
Windows Vista only: By default, Windows Vista doesn’t allow you to install custom colour and window decoration themes, unless they’ve been specifically reviewed by Microsoft. With a set of Uxtheme Patches, and a willingness to roll up your sleeves and patch your system, you can enable custom themes and tweak your colours, windows, and other desktop parts to your heart’s content. The How-To Geek has a step-by-step guide to installing, patching, and enabling custom themes, and it’s highly recommend that anyone trying it out back up their files and create a restore point before pressing on. Having said that, there are some pretty slick themes out there, at deviantART and elsewhere. Uxtheme Patches are free downloads for Windows Vista (standard and SP1) only. Image from NEXTLevel theme by patrickgs.
When icons start disappearing from Windows Vista’s system tray—like the networking, volume control, or time display—and you can’t restore them from the standard options menus, the itch to re-install can be strong indeed. The How-To Geek, however, finds the balm for disappearing Vista icons in the registry, where a few key options need to be deleted to restore your system tray to functionality. Hit the link for instructions on how to kill out the options yourself, or download a registry hack that does it for you. Fix for When Clock, Volume, Power or Network Icons are Missing and Grayed Out in Windows Vista [The How-To Geek]
Amit at the Digital Inspiration blog has written up a how-to on launching web sites directly from Windows Vista’s Start Search box (and therefore at the tap of a “Windows” key), using Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” function to quickly bring up the first result of a search using your entry. The hack involves using the Group Policy editor (gpedit.msc), which is unfortunately available only in the Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions—unless, of course, one of our intrepid readers can point us toward enabling or unlocking that feature in the Home and Basic versions. Hit the link below for yet another way to make your Windows key into a full-fledged quick-launcher. Open Your Favourite Website Directly from Windows Vista Start Menu [Digital Inspiration]
Windows Vista includes a feature, “Receive Window Auto-Tuning,” that you’ve likely never seen mentioned on your desktop, but which can cause noticeable drag and even crashing when browsing certain web sites or using some routers or other network hardware. If you’re noticing browsing glitches that only occur in Vista, the Wise Bread blog has a tip, pulled from PC Magazine’s recent issue, that explains how to turn off auto-tuning and skip the spinning blue circle of death.
Windows Vista tip: Web site OCModShop details how to speed up your hard drive performance in Vista by tweaking an advanced setting to enable write caching and advanced performance on your SATA hard drive. The net effect of this tweak should certainly bring improved disk performance, but there is a catch: If you’re not using a backup power supply—either a battery on your laptop or an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) on your desktop—enabling these features increases the likelihood of data loss in the event of a power outage. Either way, this tweak is worth a look if you’re looking to beef up your disk performance, and besides—you should already be using a UPS anyway. How to: Speed Up SATA Drives in Vista [OCModShop]
Windows Vista has a habit of making files unavailable for backup programs or just copying into new locations, claiming files you haven’t touched are “In use,” or sometimes just generically “Locked.” The How-To Geek shows us a command-line utility, Hobocopy, that can find its way past the walls thrown up by the operating system’s shadowy functions. You’ll also learn how you can use Hobocopy as an incremental backup solution, like a less syntax-heavy version of cross-platform solution rsync. Hit the link to find Hobocopy and get step-by-step instructions. Backup/Copy Files that are “In Use” or “Locked” in Windows [The How-To Geek]
You know you put that phone number in some file on Monday, but you’re drawing a blank as you gaze at your Vista desktop. The How-To Geek offers a solution for those who haven’t explored Windows Vista enough to learn the syntax of the Start menu’s search box. The syntax for finding an Excel spreadsheet, for example, within a range of dates is: name:xls modified:2/1/2008..2/20/2008
The Geek has, as always, way more information on this technique and a mouse-powered one as well, including the syntax for finding files based on date created or just “date.” Got any more Vista-specific search tips for your fellow Lifehacker readers? Feel free to drop them off in the comments. Find Files Within a Date Range with Windows Vista Search [The How-To Geek]
Windows Vista only: Shadow Copies, an automated file version saver built into all copies of Windows Vista (and enabled by default), isn’t a complete backup solution, but it could be a life-saver in certain situations. As The How-To Geek blog points out, however, it’s pretty hard to find, let alone extract files from. Luckily, a forum member at the Geek’s site has posted a complete tutorial on accessing and recovering previous file versions using the free utility ShadowExplorer. Using ShadowExplorer requires a good deal more clicking and searching than Apple’s Time Machine, but it’s a good solution for those “Oops, I forgot to back up …” moments. Hit the link below for instructions and screenshots. Recover Files with Shadow Copies on Any Version of Windows Vista [The How-To Geek]
We’ve shown you how to disable Windows Vista’s secure-but-really-annoying User Account Controls feature (a.k.a. the “A program needs your permission …” pop-up) using Vista’s settings and tweaking apps, but reader Kel points us to a way of disabling that prompt for specific applications. The trick involves downloading a Microsoft utility and clicking through about a dozen prompts, but it really does work, and you can keep your security settings just where they are while removing a major annoyance. Here’s hoping Microsoft includes this kind of app-by-app disabling in their upcoming Service Pack 1. Disable UAC for Certain Applications in Vista [dailyApps]
