Snowball - The Blog

In Windows XP, a powertoy existed to add a "Open command window here" to the shell of the explorer. This way, you could easily open a command window on any location.
In Vista, this option is appearantly available right out-of-the-box! By SHIFT-rightclicking on a directory, 2 extra options are added to the menu: "Open command window here" and "Copy path".

Handy, isn't it?!

I'm personally not a fan to put a password on my home PCs. I'm the only one that accesses them, so always typing in a password is a waste of time.

I use my LAN often to copy files from one PC to another. In Windows XP, this had never been a problem. However, Windows Vista's security is much more strict, users without a password are not allowed to access shared files on a different PC.

So, when trying to connect from PC 1 to PC 2, I got an error: Vista logon failure - user account restriction.

To solve this, and thus keep on using an account without a password, go to the Network And Sharing Center in every PC. On that window, turn off Password Protected Sharing, and you're good to go!

Did you know that is possible in Windows Vista to add checkboxes to each item in your Windows Explorer? No? I thought so!

Well, actually, it's there, but it's disabled by default. Let me show you how you can enable it again.

In the explorer, go to "Organize", then select "Folder and Search Options" as shown in the screenshot below.

 

In the "View" tab of the "Folder Options" dialog box that now opens, scroll all the way down. You'll see the option: "Use checkboxes to select items".
Simply enable this, and you'll have no more need to CTRL-click anymore! 

It's hard to believe that this is not enabled by default!

I was just installing SQL Server 2005 in my Windows Vista, and then applied SP2 (november 2006 CTP) to get things running smoothly.

However, when trying to run Management Studio for the first time, I couldn't log on using the Windows (built-in) account... I got "Error: 18456, Severity: 14, State: 11." in the SQL Server Error Log.

After some searching, I found that when using Vista and SP2, you are not automatically added to the sysadmin role in SQL Server. Therefore, you have to be able to add yourself.

This can be done using the Surface Area Configuration Tool, by clicking the link, as shown below.

Running apps elevated is sometimes (at the moment for some) necessary. Using ctrl+shift+enter, you can run app in the launch text field elevated (as admin)!
This can be handy to run Visual Studio 2005 in elevated mode, which is needed for some features!

Being a shortcut freak, I always use keyboard shortcuts to get things done.
Microsoft published an entire list of useful shortcuts in Windows Vista here.
Here you can find more for Internet Explorer, and here for Windows Mail (the new Outlook Express, that is!)

I probably shouldn't be writing this one... However, here it is anyhow... The fastest way to disable UAC in Vista.

1. Open the Start Menu and click on your user icon at the top.
2. Click on "Turn User Account Control on or Off".
3. Deselect "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer"
4. Click on OK and restart your computer.

Remember, only do this when you REALLY know what you're doing. You're actually exposing yourself to threats, so, if not really necessary, you should not be turning it off!
You get used to it, and, compared to the beta's, there are far less warnings!

In Vista, there appears to be no more bootscreen. This makes the boot times shorter, according to Microsoft. I must admin, my new PC is very fast at booting, much faster than the XP.
Should you however want to enable the bootscreen anyhow, here's how...

1. Press Win+R, type msconfig and press Enter. 
2. In the "System Configuration" window, click on the Boot tab. 
3. Select your Windows Vista installation and under "Boot options", check "No GUI boot". Now click OK
4. Now, a dialog will appear. Check "Don’t show this message again", and then click on Restart. 
5. Your computer will now reboot, and you will see the Aurora boot screen with text that says "Starting Windows Vista".
Tada!

Starting today, I'm starting with tips and tricks on Windows Vista.

Up first, changing the sleep button in the start menu into the standard shutdown button. Personally, I always unplug my PC when not home, so setting the PC to sleep is of no help at all. On the other hand, Sleep has become the default button in favor of the shutodwn button. I've now changed that, and here's how...

1. Open the Control Panel and click the "Power Options" icon.
2. here you can select the Power Plan that you want to use. Click on "Change plan settings".
3. Click on Change advanced power settings, then double click on "Power buttons and lid".
4. Double click on "Start menu power button", change the Setting to Shutdown.