Run Windows XP and Windows Vista

For many users it might be important to keep both Windows XP and Windows Vista running. In our office we have about 4 PCs running both, so lets look at a quick guide to setting up a Windows Vista/Windows XP dual boot. We will assume you already have XP installed and will be installing Vista as the second OS.

For the dual boot setup you will need separate partitions or hard drives. I always recommend separate hard drives as I find it cleaner and easier. Either way, just do not install Vista onto the existing XP partition as that will kill it. If you are going to partition an existing drive, just give it enough space to fit Vista. 20Gb+ will be enough.

Installing Vista

You can start installing Vista either from XP or from bootup. To run from bootup you may need to change the BIOS to boot from the CD drive.

When the installation starts you want to select “Custom”. The upgrade option will upgrade XP. So don’t select that.

The next step requires you to select which drive to install Vista on. Make sure you select your other drive/partition that does not have XP on it. Then let the installation process run its course.

Post Installation

After the installtion is complete and the system reboots you will see the following boot menu. To change this you will need to modify the bootloader in Vista.

To edit the the boot manager in Vista, run the command BCEDIT. Note: BCEDIT is not an easy tool to use and it is completely command line driven. Instead we recommend a tool such as EasyBCD created by NeoSmart.

If you install EasyBCD, then all you need to do is click on the “Configure Boot” button. Here you can change the “Earlier Version of Windows” to Windows XP. Now when you reboot the menu will display correctly.

Have fun!!

Generate a System Health Report in Vista

Here is a cool tool found in Windows Vista that lets you run a quick scan of your computer and checks its overall health. The scan checks the operating system, all hardware and security settings within your PC and offers solutions to any problems found.

The results are shown in an easy to read format with solutions beside each problem, these include;

• Errors
• Informational
• Basic system checks
• Resource overview
• Software configuration
• Hardware configuration
• CPU
• Network
• Disk Memory, and
• Report statistics

These results can essentially solve many problems you have with your PC, the report also takes the guess work and trial and error out of identifying problems. eg: Maybe you think RAM is a problem, but it could just be your CPU consumed by a background process. Run this report before trying any drastic tweaks.

 To run a system health report just follow these steps;

• Open control panel
• Click system and maintenance
• Click performance information and tools
• Click advanced tools
• Click generate a system health report
• It will take a moment to scan and then give you the results

Improve the Speed of Windows Vista

With the ending of an era with Windows XP we are all going to have to get used to Windows Vista. But one main complaint I hear from users and potential users is the worry with the speed of Vista, or the lack of speed by Vista.

Many people want a super fast operating system but unless you have a ultra fast PC then you may experience a slower operating system in Vista than you did in XP. Here are some tips and tweaks you can do to optimize your PC so that it will be much faster using Windows Vista;

RAM

With Windows Vista you need to increase your RAM over what you where using in Windows XP, I would suggest you use at least 2GB of RAM but the more the faster!

Clean Your Registry

Like in Windows XP your Vista registry can become blocked up so quickly that it will dramatically slow down your computer, so run this scan and improve your Vista’s speed – run a free vista registry scan.

ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost is a new but innovative feature on Vista, essentially you can use any data stick to increase your RAM. To run ReadyBoost just insert a flash drive and select ReadyBoost.

Turn Off Aero

If you do not have massive RAM or are running a top quality video card then you should turn off Aero Glass. To turn off Aero read this post – Turn Off Aero

Remove Spyware and Adware

Yes.. Windows Vista can be hit by spyware and adware! Well that isn’t a huge shock but the reality is that although the safety features in Windows Vista have been improved over XP the adware guys have also improved. So get yourself a Spyware and Adware scanner to remove all nasties and to prevent them coming back.

Run a Spyware and Adware Scan

Upgrade Your Drivers

If you upgraded your computer from XP to Vista then you will need to also update all your drivers. Just run this scan and it can update all your Vista drivers for you – Update Your Drivers

Speed Up Windows Vista Tweaks

Recently we have been getting alot of emails regarding Windows Vista and its slow performance. While Vista can be a resource hog, you can still get some excellent performance out of it, even on low end hardware.

If you are finding Vista really slow, then we recommend you start tuning the performance by running a few tweaks at a time and see if you notice any improvement. If things are still slow, then you can start turning off features such as Aero. But make sure to check out your hardware specs as you really shouldn’t try running Vista below their recommended specs.

OK, here are some quick Vista tweaks that should get performance moving. Firstly, turn off services that hog alot of resources and aren’t really all that useful anyway.

Turn Off Resource Intensive Services

1) Turn off Remote Differential Compression (RDC)

Remote Differential Compression (RDC) allows applications to synchronize data between two computers in an efficient manner. The synchronization efficiency is made possible by using compression techniques to minimize the amount of data sent across the network.

To switch it off:

- Control Panel -> Programs and Features
- On the left menu click on “Turn Windows features on and off”
- Uncheck Remote Differential Compression

2) Turn off Windows Search Indexing

In order to make searching faster, Windows Vista keeps an up-to-date index of files and folders. This index is updated on a regular basis and can slow your computer considerably. If you don’t do alot of searching, it is worth turning this off.

- Click Start -> Computer
- Right click on c:
- Select the “General” tab -> uncheck Index this drive for faster searching

3) Turn off hibernation

Hibernation is a useful feature, but its another one that uses alot of resources and should be switched off if not used regularly. We recommend that you try disabling it to see what kind of performance gains you get.

- Control Panel -> Power Options
- Click Change Plan Settings
- Click Change Advanced Power Settings
- Go to Sleep -> Hibernate After
- Move the selector to 0
- Click Apply

Hopefully those tweaks will help improve your Windows Vista performance. The effects can vary depending on hardware, but many users have reported a pretty decent improvement.

Don’t forget to try our free scan for Windows Vista. You can fix errors and increase speed in just 3 minutes.  Free Download Click Here

Editing Mouse Pointers in Vista

Here is a little trick you can do that will change the look of your mouse pointer. It’s not just changing the look of the basic arrow pointer, but everything from the text select mouse pointer to the move things pointer (you know what I mean!).

To change the look of individual mouse pointers in Windows Vista follow these points;

• Right click on your desktop and select personalize
• Click mouse pointers
• Click on the pointers tab
• Here you can select the pointer you want to edit
• Click the pointer and select browse
• Select the new pointer you want and click open
• Click apply and OK

Just play around with the new pointers and you can make you mouse a little different. If you want to find new pointers there are quite a few around the web, just watch out cause there are a lot of dodgy places offering mouse pointers when they just install malware.

Vista Photos

Windows Vista has got a pretty cool wallpaper collection. So if you are still using the default wallpaper, check out some of the others that are available. To select a new desktop wallpaper:

right click on your desktop -> personalize, then click “Desktop Background”. You can then choose a new wallpaper.

Below is a link to some more awesome wallpapers that were taken during the Windows Vista photoshoot back in 2005. The guy that did these photos has 2 of them included in the default Vista installation, so he obviously knows what he is doing. You can also download his Vista wallpaper pack, which is about 30mb. You will never have a boring desktop again!

Vista Wallpaper Photo Shoot

Sticky Keys

Do you find it very annoying on your keyboard when trying to do shortcuts, but one of your hands are on the mouse. Let me explain – you are surfing with your mouse and want to bring up your task manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del), you have to take your hand off your mouse and type the key combos. You can get around this by enabling sticky keys.

Sticky keys enable you to press shortcut buttons one at a time instead of all at once, so you no longer have to have both hands to use shortcuts. To enable sticky keys just;

Windows XP

• Click start then Control Panel
• Click Accessibility Options
• Now open up the Keyboard tab
• Check on Use Sticky Keys (check the help area for more on the settings)\
• Click OK and you are done

Windows Vista

• Click start then Control Panel
• Open Ease of Access Center
• Click on make the keyboard easier to use
• Check turn on sticky keys (click on setup sticky keys to play with settings)
• Click apply and you are done

Vista Transformation Pack

Have you ever wanted to make your Windows XP look and feel just like Windows Vista, without paying for OS upgrades and new hardware?

Well this can be achieved quite easily and for FREE – thanks to the Vista Transformation Pack.

We were extremely impressed with this product as it does a fantastic job of pretty much turning XP into Vista. You get all the nice visuals as well as some of the cool new features like the Vista sidebar gadgets.

OK, installing the Vista Transformation Pack is very simple.

1) First download the FREE Vista Transformation Pack. You can get it from the link below. Don’t worry, it is safe (spyware and adware free)

Download Vista Transformation Pack

2) Run the program

3) During the installation you will get various options. An important one is whether or not to install the transformation pack into the OS or as an integrated install. The integrated option offers more features but will be more difficult to uninstall.

4) Select whether or not you want third party apps. Make sure you select this option if you want to have cool features such as the sidebar.

5) After finishing the installation wizard, the files will take a minute or two to install and you will then need to reboot.

6) Here are some screenshots of our Windows XP machine after it had the transformation pack installed.

Here is the Vista sidebar in XP

OK, now go and install it!!

Automated Backups in Windows Vista

We talked recently about automated backups in Windows XP, but I had a few emails regarding automated backups in Windows Vista. Doing these backups in Vista is very easy with the new feature, the Windows Backup and Restore Center.

To access the Windows Backup and Restore Center you simply click start – control panel, then click on the Backup and Restore Center icon.

In the Windows Backup and Restore Center you can backup your data in two ways, an Automatic Backup and a Complete PC Backup.

Automatic Backup

An Automatic Backup lets you set the feature to automatically backup your data at a stage you select. So it can backup your data daily, weekly or monthly. To set this feature you must;

• Click on the Back up files button in the Windows Backup and Restore Center
• Here you can select where you want to save your backups to, your hard disk, a DVD or CD.

• Now you have to select which disks you wanted included in the backup

• Then you select what file types you wanted in your backup

• In this next stage you can select how often you want the automated backups to run. If it is your first backup the computer will do a full backup first, then do the automated backups at your selected time.

You now simply click the Save settings and start backup button and your computer will either start the full backup or run the Automated backup on your selected date.

We recommend you set your computer to run backups at least weekly, but if you do have plenty of data being added daily you might want to consider running the automated backups daily.

Complete PC Backup

Doing a Complete PC Backup is easy but you may need a decent amount of space to completely backup your whole disk, so we recommend you use a decent external hard drive for this process.

To get started you must;

• Click on Back up computer in the Windows Backup and Restore Center
• Here you will come to a page asking where you want to save the backup, just connect your external hard drive and select it from the drop down (as you see from the image I really need an external)

• Click next, then all you have to do is click start backup.
• Then just sit back and wait for the full backup to take place

We recommend that you do a complete backup every 6 months, or even do it more often if you add plenty of data on your computer often. One thing I can’t stand is loosing data, so make sure you backup your stuff guys!

Changing the Look of Your Icons in Windows Vista

In the post the other day I talked about cleaning up your desktop in Windows XP, so today I thought I’d mention a little tool for Windows Vista that can ’spice’ up your desktop. It’s not a desktop cleaner, rather it lets you change the look of certain icons on your desktop.

This feature is a new tool to Vista and it comes in the new area of Personalize in Vista. Simply follow these points to get started on changing your icons;

• Right click on your desktop, click Personalize
• In the left hand column click Change Desktop Icons

• Now click on the icon you want to change
• Click Change Icon

• Here you can select whatever look you want for that icon
• Click OK then Apply
• It’s a simple but fun tool you can play around with and redesign your Vista desktop