In Windows Vista it is now possible to resize partitions without any data loss in the new Disk Management console.
Resizing Partitions with Windows Vista:
This will allow you to safely resize your partitions without any data loss.
Changing the visual style of Windows is something that has become very popular over the years with Windows XP. In Windows Vista, this is just starting to gain momentum with the release of a few cool hacked visual styles. These alternative visual styles are replacements for the default Aero glass style and offer slight tweaks on the design. Over time there will be more and more higher quality visual styles released for Windows Vista.
If you want to get started, you will need to download the hacked visual style skinning engine files from Rafael Rivera’s site. Rafael has both x86 and x64 versions available. These modified system files remove the requirement for visual style files to be digitally signed by Microsoft. If you need help replacing the system files with the modified files, check out my article on working with system files in Windows Vista.
UPDATE: There is now an automated utility that allows you to patch your visual style skinning engine files with just one click. Click here to check it out.
Make sure you replace all three hacked system files:
After the skinning engine’s files have been replaced and you have rebooted, you are ready to get started installing third-party visual styles.
Check out these sites for Windows Vista Visual Styles:
Make sure that you download visual styles that are for Windows Vista. XP visual styles will not work in Vista!
The transparent glass in Windows Vista computer can look very nice. However, on some computers that have underpowered video adapters will see a performance hit when running the transparent glass effect. One way to speed up Windows Vista and still get the benefits of aero, such as flip 3D and taskbar thumbnails, is to disable glass transparency.
All of the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system products are on the same disc. It is the product key information that activates the Vista product that you have purchased.
If you would like to upgrade to a different Vista operating system, Vista makes changing the product key easy.
Changing your Windows Vista theme doesn't have to be difficult. Just follow these simple steps to set up a new Windows Vista theme, or select the "Classic" Windows theme.
To make the Start menu work in Classic mode:
To change the registered owner information: (make sure you backup the registry before making changes)
Sharing folders in Vista can be difficult. Vista will allow the permissions to be set, even though you have to do it manually by Right Clicking, then hitting "share", and manually setting the permissions to everyone, but then when you try to access the folders from a remote computer, it will say "access is denied".
Here's how to share the root of a drive under Vista: (ie: Drive D: or E: Not Drive c: or the Vista OS drive)
(Note that Vista will not let you change permissions on certain folders.)
This may take time to apply the changes toall the files permissions.
Vista has automated some of its maintenance tasks, such as defragmenting your hard drive and backing up key system files and documents. To keep your hard drive defragged regularly:
You can easily disable the Windows Vista startup sound if you would rather not have it running when you start up your system. To remove the Windows startup sound:
You can change the time format in the taskbar to a military or an international time format in the Regional and Language Options.
