With its own built-in driver database, Windows Vista can automatically recognize some types of hardware like U.S.B. flash drives. The system includes a Device Manager utility that lets you check, configure and change the way Windows deals with your devices.

Vendors are always improving their device drivers and making sure you have the latest one, for ALL your devices is time consuming. If you are technically savy you can use the device driver to manualy check each device driver is up to date.

…or you can manually check vendor webistes for available updates, but ths takes time and can be a very frustrating process. (With so many drivers installed on your system you cannot reasonably keep track of which drivers have been updated.)

The alternative is to use a piece of software to do ALL THE WORK for you!

Software like DriverScanner 2009 will:

# Keep your PCs drivers updated and your system fully functional…
# DriverScanner scans and backs up ALL your EXISTING drivers….
# Looks for recent updates, downloading and installing them all in a few simple clicks…

…Trouble Free driver maintenance!

Click here for free instant scan of your computer and see how many drivers you have that are out of date.

Perhaps it will be your: nvidia geforce card, wireless usb or network adapter ?

Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

Safe Mode loads the minimum set of drivers and components, letting you perform many tasks to restore problems - but at a cost of reduced functionality. Often the best course of action is to perform a system restore.

To boot in to safe mode, press F8 just before the Vista loading screen appears.

(If you are unsure when this is, just keep repeatedly pressing the F8 key after the BIOS screen has disappeared.)

You will then be presented with a black screen with white writing.

You can then select one of the safe mode options with the arrow keys and then press enter:

Safe Mode - this will launch the most basic version of safe mode, which loads only the minimum of services. Use this version UNLESS you need internet access.
 
Safe Mode with Networking - this is the same as above, however network/internet access is included. Only use this if you require this functionality.

Safe Mode with Command Prompt - this adds command prompt access to safe mode. It is unlikely you will need this mode.

Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

Windows 7 will offer improved navigation, a new taskbar and a streamlined User Interface so that common tasks done in Windows are done easier and more quickly.

You will be able to share data to all your PCs and devices in your home network or at work.

Read what IT folks are saying about the preview!

www.instantvista.com/what-is-windows-7.html

Windows 7 Multi Touch Gestures!

Touch is quickly becoming a common way of directly interacting with software and devices. Touch-enabled surfaces are popping up everywhere including laptop touch pads, cell phones, remote controls, GPS devices, and more.

What becomes even more compelling is when this experience is delivered to the PC.

You’re going to love the 3 video demos on this page!

www.instantvista.com/windows-7-gestures.html

Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

The truth is, there is a key element that plays a big part in how people like your video content.

In fact, this is probably the more important element in your video creation process all together!

I’m referring to opening and closing music of course and it’s essential in creating a pro level audio sound for your Movie maker videos.

Music get’s people excited, it makes their blood rush and their hearts pump.

But how can someone like you and I create music to add to our videos?

You may not be a musician and the good news is that you don’t have to be!

You can get your hands on over 350 studio quality music clips that can be used to add power to your videos!

But you have to act today and you have to get over to his webpage right now…

http://www.marctalkstech.com/royalty-free-music-clips.html

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Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

So, what happens when a standard user wants to edit the Registry or make a change that affects the Registry? Windows Vista handles that in several ways:

# When a standard user tries to run the Registry Editor, User Account Control (UAC) springs into action, asking for an administrator password. If one is provided, the Registry Editor can be used and changes made. If none is provided, the Registry Editor will not be allowed to run, and no changes will be made.

# When a standard user installs software, UAC will ask for an administrator password. If the user provides one, the software will make the appropriate changes to the %SystemRoot% and %ProgramFiles% folders and to the Registry.

If a legacy application fails to work correctly with UAC, Vista will use a new feature called file and Registry virtualization. This will create virtual %SystemRoot% and %ProgramFiles% folders, and a virtual HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry entry. These virtual folders and entry are stored with the user’s files. So the Registry itselfas well as the %SystemRoot% and %ProgramFiles% foldersare not altered in any way, so system files and the Registry are protected.

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Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

When a file is deleted from the Recycle Bin, or if the recycle bin is bypassed altogether, the file can no longer be recovered by Windows. The content of the file still remains on the drive, relatively intact, until the section of the drive it occupies is overwritten by another file.

File Recover identifies the contents of such lost files on the hard drive and allows you to recover them. If a file has been partially overwritten, File Recover attempts to reconstruct as much of the file as possible with the remaining contents. This allows you to salvage at least part, if not all, of that recovered file to continue using it as required.

Grab it here while its still free!

http://www.pctools.com/mirror/frinstall.exe

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Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

Each hardware component receives an individual subscore. Your computer’s base score is determined by the lowest subscore. For example, if the lowest subscore of an individual hardware component is 2.6, then the base score is 2.6. The base score is not an average of the combined subscores.

You can use the base score to confidently buy programs and other software that are matched to your computer’s base score. For example, if your computer has a base score of 3.3, then you can confidently purchase any software designed for this version of Windows that requires a computer with a base score of 3 or lower.

The base scores currently range from 1 to 5.9. The Windows Experience Index is designed to accommodate advances in computer technology. As hardware speed and performance improves, higher base scores will be introduced. However, the standards for each level of the index stay the same. For example, a computer scored as a 2.8 will remain a 2.8 unless you decide to upgrade the computer’s hardware.

To view your computer’s base score:

1. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.

2. View the Windows Experience Index base score and subscores for your computer. If you have recently upgraded your hardware and want to find out if your score has changed, click Update my score. If you don’t see subscores and a base score, click Score this computer.

Here are general descriptions of the kind of experience you can expect from a computer that receives the following base scores:

# A computer with a base score of 1 or 2 usually has sufficient performance to do most general computing tasks, such as run office productivity applications and search the Internet. However, a computer with this base score is generally not powerful enough to run Windows Aero, or the advanced multimedia experiences that are available with Windows Vista.

# A computer with a base score of 3 is able to run Windows Aero and many new features of Windows Vista at a basic level. Some of the new Windows Vista advanced features might not have all of their functionality available. For example, a machine with a base score of 3 can display the Windows Vista theme at a resolution of 1280 × 1024, but might struggle to run the theme on multiple monitors. Or, it can play digital TV content but might struggle to play High Definition Television (HDTV) content.

# A computer with a base score of 4 or 5 is able to run all new features of Windows Vista with full functionality, and it is able to support high-end, graphics-intensive experiences, such as multiplayer and 3?D gaming and recording and playback of HDTV content. Computers with a base score of 5 were the highest performing computers available when Windows Vista was released.

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Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

1. Open Disk Defragmenter by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools, and then clicking Disk Defragmenter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

2. Click Defragment Now.

Disk Defragmenter might take from several minutes to a few hours to finish, depending on the size and degree of fragmentation of your hard disk. You can still use your computer during the defragmentation process.

So What Are The Alternatives?

Keep it nice and simple…

Consider purchasing a third-party defragmenter!

They’re inexpensive, immeasurably better than the freebie version supplied with Windows Vista and can work in the background without slowing down system performance.

Infact software like TuneUp Utilities 2008 can really improve YOUR PC performance by:

# Intelligently defragment your hard drive on demand

# Optionally, and automatically, defragment your hard drive in the background

# Shorten the start-up time of Windows Vista

# Defragment and repair the Windows Vista registry

…not to mention all the other performance tools!

…FREE 30 Trial Download - http://www.updatexp.com/TuneUp2008  

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Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

1. Open Disk Cleanup by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools, and then clicking Disk Cleanup.

2. In the Disk Cleanup Options dialog box, choose whether you want to clean up your own files only or all of the files on the computer. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3. If the Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection dialog box appears, select the hard disk drive that you want to clean up, and then click OK.

4. Click the Disk Cleanup tab, and then select the check boxes for the files you want to delete.

5. When you finish selecting the files you want to delete, click OK, and then click Delete files to confirm the operation. Disk Cleanup proceeds to remove all unnecessary files from your computer.

The More Options tab is available when you choose to clean files from all users on the computer. This tab includes two additional ways to free even more disk space:

# Programs and Features. Opens Programs and Features in Control Panel, where you can uninstall programs that you no longer use. The Size column in Programs and Features shows how much disk space each program uses.

# System Restore and Shadow Copies. Prompts you to delete all but the most recent restore point on the disk.

System Restore uses restore points to return your system files to an earlier point in time. If your computer is running normally, you can save disk space by deleting the earlier restore points.

In some editions of Windows Vista, restore points can include previous versions of files, known as shadow copies, and backup images created with Windows Complete PC Backup. This information will also be deleted.

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Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP

Another major change to the Start menu in Windows Vista is that it no longer presents the All programs menu as a horizontally expanding cascading list which utilizes the entire screen space, but instead as a nested folder view with a fixed size. The list of submenus and single items appears over the left column contents with a Back button below it. Subfolders expand and collapse vertically within the list when single-clicked, in a tree-like fashion similar to Windows Explorer. Single items appear at the top and folders appear at the bottom.

A dynamically changing icon showing the user’s display picture by default is present at the top of the right column. It changes as users hover over any other item to reflect that item’s icon. The Power button’s action is configurable through Power options in the Control Panel. Users can quickly lock their user account by pressing the Lock button. Additional power and account related actions are listed in a sub-menu which appears when the small arrow next to the Lock button is clicked.

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Regards

Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP