[Zardon]

Everyone can share their experiences and findings in this thread, hopefully in a month or so we can have a good little "database" in here for user tips and tricks. Here are a few of the many I have.

1: Don't like the extreme antialiasing on fonts in vista? but like cleartype? Don't fret you won't need to turn cleartype off, but this registry entry will help. install here

2: Still want to use Windows XP on another partition and dual boot with vista? Then make sure you install vistabootpro to help set up your boot menus. http://www.vistabootpro.org/

3: Installed Vista on a secondary drive, but having problems and want to erase it while keeping Windows XP on a main drive?
Go into windows XP, format the vista drive, if it says its protected, go into start/run/diskmgmt.msc - find the hard drive, format it (quick). if you STILL find its saying its protected, delete the partition first by clicking on it and erasing. then make a primary partition.
Run Vistabootpro http://www.vistabootpro.org/ (needs .net framework v2+ and runs in both XP and vista - vista incidentally has net framework built in), make windows XP the only boot option (Vista will have taken over your boot menu) and wipe vista from the boot sectors. reboot. reinstall vista to the wiped drive. Nothing in XP will be touched or removed.

4: Want to use Windows XP fonts? use the reg hack above, then right click on "my computer", key in CLEARTYPE into the search then go into "how to use cleartype to sharpen the screen text" - click that. on newly popped up menu on right, "click to open appearance settings" (other ways to get to this, easiest for a new user). go into advanced. on popup menu to left, find ICON, change from "Seagoe UI" to tahoma - experiment with size 8 or 9 to suit. Other instances of Seagoe UI in those options, change if desired.

5: fed up with popup security warnings, turn off account protection in control panels.

6. cant find add remove programs? right click on my computer, key in "remove programs" menu will appear under this.


Working apps, tested (most apps do work, except those that make specific API calls, however here is a list i have tried extensively and do work):

Photoshop CS2 - forces aero off temporarily
Flash 8 - works fine
Dreamweaver - works fine.
Nero 6 Ultra Edition - works fine (although I recommend you ONLY install the main application), ignore warnings (if you have problems with your specific version, right click on installer files and run in windows XP SP2 compatiblity mode), version 7 doesnt work (if you attempt it, the installer crashes leaving you with a messed up install which is hard to remove, use Nero's own uninstaller applications available from their site (General-CleanTool works well) to remove it totally otherwise you cant install V6).
Filezilla - works. if you have settings on your windows XP partition, simply copy folders over. all FTP logins will be there. (new version 3 beta out also)
Divx 6.4 - fine
Avast Antivirus - best client for vista atm, new beta version available from their home page, free and pro (pro isnt free but has a 2 month trial period).
Powerdvd 7 - fine.
Trillian - fine.
Eudora 7.1 beta - fine
Mailwasher pro - fine
Adobe Acrobat 3d- fine
Office 2003 - fine
VLC Media player - newest beta fine.
Newsleecher - newest beta - fine
Quickpar - fine
Winrar - newest GUI version - fine

[Dyre Straits]

Very good startup database and info! Thanks!

I was having problems with the Sidebar flashing through my game. I'd recommend turning it off before gaming sessions.

[Tipstaff]

ixbeta.com updated their site for RC2. As before they have 2 seperate pages: one for software and one for hardware that is compatible with Vista RC2. The hardware page is tiny so far... very tiny, however the software page is pretty big. The software page includes 3 sections: works, has problems, doesn't work. It should be noted that it is an ever growing site, so be sure to check back there often, and if you find software that fits into any of those catagories you can update the site yourself.

Windows Vista RC2 Software Compatibility List

Windows Vista RC2 Hardware Compatibility List

Oh, and something very interesting that is posted on the Hardware page:

"WINDOWS UPDATE REGISTRY HACK: Hardware drivers can be updated and installed from Windows Update, but many of them are hidden. By using the next registry hack, you can gain availability to hidden device drivers for many devices (including Windows Mobile Device Center): In Regedit, add the key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WHOS

and recheck for updates in Windows Update. You will now see the hidden driver updates, however, note that these are BETA drivers and are not supported by neither MS nor hardware vendors!"

You can just cut and paste the below into a txt file, rename it with a reg extention, and merge it to make life easier:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WHOS]

[PangingJr]

Windows Vista and Windows PowerShell
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/wi...owershell.aspx

quoted message below is the comment that informed us about the possible release date on Windows PowerShell that will work with Windows Vista RTM.

Sorry about the confusion over Windows PowerShell RTM availability for Vista RTM. We will be releasing a version for Windows Vista RTM by the end Jan. Currently we only have PowerShell RC2 available for Windows Vista RC1 (5600). Final PowerShell testing on Vista could not start until Nov 8th until we had Vista RTM code . So the team is aggressively testing it now but this requires us to take a lot of time to ensure that it has the same quality as RTM for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. We will have by January 31st, 2007, at the latest, but we are working very hard to deliver it sooner. To download Windows PowerShell, go to www.microsoft.com/powershell/download.

2 extra context menu's - "Open Command Window Here" and "Copy As Path"

Windows Vista Secret #1: Open Command Prompt Here - http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2...ompt-here.aspx

Here's a trick that I don't think many people are aware of. Right-click on any folder on your Windows Vista machine while holding down the shift key. You'll see an extra context-sensitive menu item there: Open Command Prompt here. Just click on this menu and a command window will open with the current working directory set to the folder's actual location.

In the past there was a Windows XP powertoy that did this; now it's built into the operating system (albeit hidden away to protect the unwary from themselves). What's really cool about this is that if the target folder is a network location, Windows Vista silently maps a network drive to that location before opening the folder (so that your command prompt has a valid path containing a drive letter) and then deletes the network drive once the command prompt is closed.


Windows Vista Secret #2: Copy as Path - http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2...y-as-path.aspx

Ever wanted to copy a link from a network file share into an email, and wound up having to traverse the path, click on the address bar, copy the details out, paste it in and then type the filename itself (with the appropriate quotation marks?

With Windows Vista, there's an easier way. In the same hidden context-sensitive menu I mentioned in the first secret, there's another helpful shortcut: Copy as Path. Unlike the command prompt trick, this menu item appears both for files and folders, so you can use this anywhere you want to quickly grab a shortcut to send someone else.

Enter Vista command shell window during setup.

RTM of Vista keeps the useful trick of hitting SHIFT-F10 during Setup - http://geekswithblogs.net/lorint/arc.../22/97794.aspx

Here's an interesting trick you can do with any Vista DVD. A limited version of this was actually possible back with Win2000 and WinXP. But back then it wasn't really that handy. With the RTM of Vista though it's insanely useful, to the point that I think that every systems guy that's worth his salt should be familiar with this. It allows you to do some excellent troubleshooting with only a Windows Vista DVD. And not just on a Vista machine. You can use this to troubleshoot a copy of XP, Win2K3 Server, Win2K, or even NT.

First some background. When you boot into Vista Setup, the system extracts the contents of the 116 meg file \sources\boot.wim into a RAM drive and assigns it the drive letter X:. There's some pretty handy stuff that's a part of this virtual disk as we'll see. This drive contains a scaled-down copy of Vista, version 6.0.6000. It is then virtually "booted", freeing up the DVD drive so you can change out the media with something else if you need. The bulk of Setup then runs from this scaled-down copy of Vista sitting in RAM, a mode known as the "Windows Preinstallation Environment for Vista" or "Windows PE 2.0". It first presents the nice splash screen asking about language and keyboard layout, and then after clicking "Next" it asks you for your product key. It is at this point that you can access a truly excellent feature of setup, obviously intended to troubleshoot a failed installation, but also VERY handy to administer a system that is on the fritz. By pressing SHIFT-F10, Setup runs "cmd", and drops you to a command prompt that is running with SYSTEM privileges. Again, this was possible with Windows 2000 and Windows XP during the "GUI" part of install, but the major drawback there was that to get to that part of install you had to go through the first part of installation, partitioning the disk, copying files, and otherwise modifying your hard drive. Not too useful. The only thing I ever used it for was to start a game of Solitaire to pass the time while everything installed. Not all that handy. But with Vista you get to drop to a command prompt without ever modifying the hard drive! This opens up enormous possiblities.

Windows Vista Command Line List and Reference

Commands in Windows Vista - http://commandwindows.com/vista-commands.htm

Several commands are now in the standard list that were formerly available only in Support Tools or the Server 2003 Tools. For example, Robocopy from Server 2003 is now included.

Links to useful informations, tips and Vista new features.

Part 1: Dr. Unattend or How I Learned to Love Installing Windows Vista on three PCs Every Day!
http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shell...Day_2100_.aspx

Part 2 Dr. Unattend: Windows System Image Manager or how I learned to create unattend answer files that always work
http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shell...ways-work.aspx

Part 3 Dr. Unattend: Sysprep and ImageX or how to capture an image by its toe
http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shell...y-its-toe.aspx

Part 4 Dr. Unattend: Programmatically manipulating unattend answer files
http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shell...wer-files.aspx

Read the full articles by using the above links.

Welcome to the Upgrade: A Sneak Peek into Windows Vista's Upgrade Architecture - http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shell...hitecture.aspx

A long, long time ago, before Windows Vista, techies preferred clean installing the latest release of Windows to upgrading. They knew that there was a lingering problem specific to upgrades that never really went away, long after application compatibility and driver issues had been resolved. This frustrating problem was simple: upgrades left behind tracks of the old OS. After upgrading, you would see binaries from the old operating system left around in the Windows installation directory and the registry was tatooed with keys that would never be used again. Some friends of mine just did a clean install even though they had to back up and restore files and reinstall applications because their PCs performed better this way.

This has all changed with Windows Vista. To borrow from Zune, "Welcome to the Upgrade" Or, in the words of Paul Thurrott , "the results surprised me"! Smile

The behavior of reduced functionality mode in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9255...=11732&sid=312

INTRODUCTION
This article discusses the behavior of reduced functionality mode in Windows Vista. Windows Vista may enter reduced functionality mode if one of the following conditions is true:
• You do not activate Windows Vista within the specified activation period.
• You modify the computer hardware so that Windows Vista determines that it is running on a different computer. Also, you do not activate Windows Vista within the grace period for reactivation. For retail Windows Vista products or for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Windows Vista products, this reactivation grace period is three days. For volume licensed Windows Vista products, this reactivation grace period is 30 days.

Note This situation is known as "out of tolerance."
•You are running a version of Windows Vista that the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) service detects as a "non-genuine" version of Windows Vista.

• Description of Windows Easy Transfer for Windows Vista
Describes the Windows Easy Transfer program that can be used to transfer files and settings from a Microsoft Windows-based computer to a Windows Vista-based computer. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9286...=11732&sid=312

• How to customize the Favorites Links list in common file dialog boxes in Windows Explorer in Windows Vista
Discusses how you can customize the Favorite Links list by changing the Windows Shortcut files in the Links folder. The Favorite Links list resembles the places bar in Windows XP, but cannot be customized using Group Policy policies. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9261...=11732&sid=167

• How to make hibernation unavailable on a computer that is running Windows Vista
Explains how to turn off the hibernation feature in Windows Vista. Be aware that you may lose data if you make hibernation unavailable when the hybrid sleep setting on the computer is turned on, and a power loss occurs. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9207...=11732&sid=312

• How to disable the backup-related scheduled tasks in Windows Vista
Describes how to disable the scheduled tasks for automatic file backup, for backup reminders, and for backup error notifications. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9270...=11732&sid=182

• You may experience connectivity issues or performance issues when you connect a mobile PC that is running Windows Vista to a wireless access point
Describes an issue that occurs if the wireless access point does not support 802.11 power save mode. To work around this issue, modify the Windows Vista power saving settings for the wireless network adapter. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9281...=11732&sid=312

[PangingJr]

Troubleshooting - Setup

• Error message when you try to install an additional operating system on a computer that is running Windows Vista:
"A disk read error has occurred. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart."
Describes a problem that occurs because the additional operating system tries to overwrite the boot sector on the Windows Vista partition. To work around this problem, install the versions of Windows in the order of release. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9231...=11732&sid=312

• Error message after you cannot select the Upgrade option when you try to install Windows Vista:
"Your upgrade partition has multiple operating systems"
Describes a problem where you receive a "Your upgrade partition has multiple operating systems" error message and you cannot select the Upgrade option when you try to install Windows Vista. Resolution provided. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9272...=11732&sid=312

• Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that has uninitialized hard disks:
"This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk"
Resolves a problem that occurs when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that has two or more uninitialized hard disks. A resolution is provided. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9254...=11732&sid=312

• Error message after you cannot select the Upgrade option when you try to install Windows Vista:
"You must rename or remove <FolderName> before upgrade can continue"
Describes a problem where you receive a "You must rename or remove <FolderName> before upgrade can continue" -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9272...=11732&sid=312

• Error message when you try to install Windows Vista:
"Windows could not load device compatibility data. Error code: 0x00000002"
Describes an issue that may occur if you use the NET USE command to map a drive directly to the Sources folder. Provides a method to resolve the issue. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9264...=11732&sid=312

• Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a particular hard disk partition: "Error: uncaught exception"
Describes a problem that occurs if the hard disk has multiple partition entries that point to the same byte offset. To resolve this problem, use the DiskPart tool to "clean" the hard disk. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9282...=11732&sid=312

• Error message when you try to upgrade a computer to Windows Vista:
"This computer does not have enough space for temporary files. Error code 0x80070103"
Describes a problem that occurs when you try to upgrade a computer to Windows Vista. This problem occurs if the active partition for the earlier operating system is a hidden partition. A resolution is provided. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9282...=11732&sid=312

• Error message when you try to install Windows Vista:
"Setup cannot locate a valid hard drive"
Describes a problem that occurs if you try to install Windows Vista to a formatted partition that does not have a drive letter assigned to it. This problem may also occur if Setup tries to write temporary files to such a partition. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9254...=11732&sid=312

• Error message when you log on to Windows Vista after you upgrade from Windows XP:
"FolderShare could not monitor the folder 'C:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\My Documents' for changes"
Describes a problem that may occur if you upgrade a Windows XP-based computer that is running FolderShare. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9266...=11732&sid=312

• In a dual-boot configuration, Windows XP does not start if you subsequently format or delete the partition on which Windows Vista is installed
Describes an issue that occurs if you format the active partition when Windows XP is installed in a dual-boot configuration. Specifically, Windows XP no longer starts in this scenario. A workaround is provided. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9228...=11732&sid=312

• Issues that may occur when you try to install Windows Vista from a CD or a DVD installation disc
Describes the steps that you can take to troubleshoot the issue that may prevent Windows Vista from installing from a CD or a DVD installation disc. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9286...=11732&sid=312

• The destination hard disk does not appear in the "Where do you want to install Windows?" disk configuration window when you try to install Windows Vista
Describes a problem that occurs if the hard disk partition contains an invalid byte offset value. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9282...=11732&sid=312

• You cannot start Windows XP after you install Windows Vista in a dual-boot configuration together with Windows XP
Describes a problem that occurs if the disk layout changes during the installation of Windows Vista. To resolve this problem, modify the Windows XP Boot.ini file to point to the correct partition. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9278...=11732&sid=312

• You cannot select the Upgrade option when you try to install Windows Vista, and you receive the following message:
“Windows cannot determine if another operating system exists on your computer”
Describes a problem where you cannot select the Upgrade option when you try to install Windows Vista, and you receive the following message: “Windows cannot determine if another operating system exists on your computer”. Resolution provided. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9272...=11732&sid=312

• You cannot select or format a hard disk partition when you try to install Windows Vista
Describes a problem that may occur when you try to install Windows Vista. You may receive a "Windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria for installation" error message. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9275...=11732&sid=312

• You receive an "Upgrade has been disabled" message when you try to install Windows Vista
Describes a problem in which the Upgrade option is disabled in Windows Vista Setup. This issue occurs because Windows Vista requires that the hard disk partition is formatted by using the NTFS file system. Explains how to resolve the problem. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9260...=11732&sid=312

• A Windows XP-based computer does not start after you unsuccessfully try to upgrade to Windows Vista
Describes an issue that occurs if you use a third-party boot manager program. To resolve this issue, use the Windows XP Recovery Console to write a new boot sector to the system partition. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9278...=11732&sid=253

• Error message when you start a Windows Vista-based computer after you change the SATA mode of the boot drive:
"STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE"
Describes an issue where you receive a "STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE" error message when you start Microsoft Windows Vista after you change the SATA mode of the boot controller. A resolution is provided. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9229...=11732&sid=253

• You cannot install a device driver by using its installation program in Windows Vista
Describes a problem that may occur if a device driver uses an executable file-based installation program, and the installation program was not designed for Windows Vista. Provides three methods to resolve the problem. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/9275...=11732&sid=253

[PangingJr]

Windows Vista Product Guide

A comprehensive feature-by-feature guide to Windows Vista.
Download the product guide. The product guide is available a s a Microsoft Office Word 2007 document (65MB) or XPS (25MB). In order to view the XPS doument, you will need to install the reader (included in Windows Vista).
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...inityDownloads

Windows Vista Disk Imaging with ImageX and Windows Imaging Format (WIM) - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../aa905070.aspx

File-based disk imaging is a core capability of Windows Vista
By Jerry Honeycutt

I'm a BDD (business desktop deployment) kind of guy, so Microsoft doesn't often give me cool new presents to unwrap. The company has certainly provided me with the tools necessary to do my job, but I haven't had that rip-open-a-wrapped-box feeling in a while. Windows Vista promises to give me that buzz, though. Windows Vista deployment is based on disk imaging, and the operating system will come with a built-in disk-imaging tool: ImageX.

[germanjulian]

[COLOR="Black"]Uninstall Vista from a Dual boot setup[/COLOR]

from this article here:
http://www.istartedsomething.com/200...-boot-with-xp/

[COLOR="Black"]Uninstall[/COLOR]

After playing around with Vista for a few days, you may want to remove it from your system, and reclaim the hard drive space. Microsoft has made this step very simple as well.

1. Boot your computer in to Windows XP.
2. Ensure you have the Vista DVD image emulated or in the DVD drive.
3. Go to “Start” and “Run”. Type in “e:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force” (without quotes, and replacing e: with the drive letter of your Vista DVD).
4. Restart the computer, and you will notice the boot selection menu is gone.

rest is not really needed.
5. Format the partition/drive where you had Vista installed.
6. Remove two files (Boot.BAK & Bootsect.BAK) on your XP drive’s root folder (C, these were backup files of your previous bootloader, now no longer useful.
7. Optional: Restart to ensure it still works.
8. Use your partition software to merge your partitions together.

And now you have returned your computer to its previous state, without Vista and without the new bootloader. If anyone has any issues, please post it in comments and I’ll try to resolve it.


Can not sign into messenger

Seems to be a problem with Vista and some routers out there. Yahoo messenger and MSN live messenger are affected. Try try logging in but then an error occurs.

Final solution:
After some more searching online, I found this recent post by David McGown:

“- Click start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd.exe when it appears under Applications
- Click Run As Administrator
- Type the following: netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
- Press enter
- Restart your computer (I tried not necessary)"

This should not be necessary if your router supports the new TCP/IP stack. But there some to be problems still sometimes. Search MS and you will find plenty of information.

[PangingJr]

HOWTO: Install Windows Vista from a high speed USB 2.0 Flash Drive
http://kurtsh.spaces.live.com/blog/c...38D!1665.entry

[Ferret_Style]

Just FYI something i found today:

If you are in RFM (reduced functionality mode) due to not having activated but want to use the reset to the activation timer.

The issue is RFM drops your ability to open anything but IE. If you type C:\ in the address field it will open up the expolorer. Navigate to c:\windows\system32 Right click on CMD and select run as administrator.

From here you can do anything needed including reset the timer.

[germanjulian]

If you are tired of the Message box asking you to allow Admin privileges, there is a small registery tweak to skip this Message Box without disable UAC (User Access Control).

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Policies\System]
"ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin"=dword:00000000

Warning: Microsoft do not recommend or support applying this tweak or disabling UAC.

i dont do this but I thought some people might like this. just think how often this pop up comes up (hardly ever) and if you really wanna disable it.

[germanjulian]

Originally Posted by Ferret_Style

Just FYI something i found today:

If you are in RFM (reduced functionality mode) due to not having activated but want to use the reset to the activation timer.

The issue is RFM drops your ability to open anything but IE. If you type C:\ in the address field it will open up the expolorer. Navigate to c:\windows\system32 Right click on CMD and select run as administrator.

From here you can do anything needed including reset the timer.

that is such an obvious hack I am suprised it works in Vista! bloody hell M$ what are you doing?

[Ferret_Style]

Not really a hack as MS put the command up on their own site!

[germanjulian]

Windows Firwall.

if you go to control panel -> administrative Tools -> Windows FW with Advanced settings

you can back up your policy (such as forwarding specific ports etc) and restore it if you ever reinstall your PC.

Windows FW seems to me just as powerfull as zonealarm nowadays.

[Necrosis]

Cannot start Virtual Disk Service (VDS) on PC. VDS supports Windows 2003, IA64 XP or later. Use Terminal Service for non-VDS machine. Unable to connect to Virtual Disk Service.

If you receive this error message while trying to open "Disk Management" you only have two options:

1. Reload windows
2. Do an in-place upgrade

[Necrosis]

If you have done step 2 above you maybe receiving this error. Thus your search indexing has become corrpted.

Delete everything at these two locations w/ the search service turned off.

\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Wi ndows

\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Temp

Now reboot, and put the service back to "Auto".

[docwan]

Hi,
I'm new to this board, so I'm not sure how to post yet.
QUESTION: To Whomever: Is anyone going to create TUNEXP for Vista ?

Regards,
Don

[Necrosis]

Welcome to DH, and I summarize that would be a no but I could be wrong.

[mike2h]

z, the link to your font fix appears to be broken, can u repost?