Windows Vista Task manager for troubleshooting

The Windows Task Manager gives you a lot more troubleshooting information in Vista. Click ctr+alt+del, Flip to the Processes tab, and in the View menu, click “Select Columns” and add Description, Command Line, and Image Path Name. Moreover, when you right-click a process, you can select either “Go to Service(s)” or “Open File Location.” These are all long overdue options.

Adjust Vista Glass Window Border

• Right click on your desktop and select Personalize.
• Click -> Windows Color and Appearance.
• Click -> Open Classic Appearance Properties.
• Click -> Advanced. - Select -> Border Padding in the Items drop down box.
• Increase or decrease your border size.
• Hit OK.

Beautify Your Boot

The boot screen built into Windows is functionally useless. Why not make it look prettier? Microsoft designed a built-in boot screen that replaces the animated start-up bar (you'll see it if you awaken your PC from hibernation); it provides just as little information, but it looks a whole lot better. To enable it, run MSConfig from the Start menu, and under the Boot tab, select No GUI Boot.

The Run Command is Gone

Microsoft removed the Run option from the Start menu, largely because the new Start Menu Search feature can do much of what Run could. However, some of you old-school admin-types (you know who you are) will want things just the way they were. Good news: You can get it back. Right-click the Start button (or "Start Orb" as its sometimes annoyingly called now) and choose Properties. Then, choose Customize from the Start Menu tab: You'll seen an option to enable Run.

Bonus tip: You don't actually have to enable the Run option in the Start Menu to use it. Instead, just type WINKEY + R at any time to bring up the Run dialog. Thanks to Jon Sweeny for the tip.

Get the Path

Vista's spiffy new Explorer windows hide the current path using the useful new breadcrumb functionality in the Address Bar, you can still get to the path if you want, so you can copy and paste it and perform other operations. To do so, simply open virtually any Explorer windows and click inside the Address Bar to the right of the rightmost breadcrumb entry. The path will appear, and be selected.

Note that this tip won't work for certain special shell locations like Computer and Network.

Force Vista to Remember Window Sizes

While Windows XP was a real step back from its predecessors when it came to windows remembering their size and screen position, Windows Vista improves things somewhat. That said, Vista still loses window settings occasionally.

Solution: Size and position the window as you want it, and then hold down the CTRL key when you click its Close window button. It should reappear next time correctly.

Copy Files More Efficiently

Remember when the old File Manager application in Windows 3.x would let you split the view in half so you could more easily copy files and folders from one location to another? No? Well, maybe I'm just getting old, but ever since Microsoft replaced File Manager with Explorer, I've missed that functionality.

In previous versions of Windows, you could sort of emulate File Manager using various window positioning shortcuts, and in Vista they're even better. The best way to experience this is to open two Explorer windows, CTRL+click each in the taskbar, and then right-click one of the buttons and choose Show Windows Side By Side (or Show Windows Stacked). Now you can drag and drop files and folders to your heart's content, and while it's no File Manager, it's not too shabby.

Start Menu Search is Magic

I can't stress this enough. As a power user, you will love the new Start Menu Search feature. You can find applications, of course: Just type in "note" (no quotes), click Enter, and Notepad is up and running. But it's not just about applications. From the Start Menu, you now quickly launch network shares; (type \\machine-name and you'll see a list of shares in the search results), documents, Internet sites, and,, Windows features that were previously hard to find.

For example, if you want to get to Device Manager the quickest way possible, just open the Start menu and type "dev" (no quotes). Need to get to your network connections, which are oh-so-hidden in Vista? Just type "network," which brings up the Network and Sharing Center. Then click the link for Manage network connections.

Pump up the Volume

If your PC is built using an Intel motherboard with High Definition Audio support, you can take advantage of some new enhancements. Open the Sound option in Control Panel, select the Speakers icon on the Playback tab, and click the Properties button. The Enhancements tab includes a set of options you can use to control bass levels, create virtual surround sound on a two-speaker system, correct for crummy room acoustics, and change loudness settings.

1. Right-click on "shell" folder and choose to create a new key, calling it "Open with Notepad". Create a new key below that one called "command". Double-click on the (Default) value in the right-hand pane and enter in the following: notepad.exe %1
2. The change should take effect immediately.
3. Right-click on any file and you'll see the next menu entry.