Windows Vista Annoyances

to Listen
... Fix Garbled Music
... Crossfade Your Music
... Extract Sound from Video
... Convert Audio Files
... Fix Music Tags
- Photos, Pictures, Images
... Choose a New Pictures Folder
... Get Thumbnails for RAW Photos
... Get Rid of the Windows Photo Gallery
... Get Accurate Color Output
... Sort Photos Chronologically
- Media Center Annoyances
... Watch TV on Your TV
... Fix Broken TV Listings
- CD and DVD Drives
... Troubleshoot CD and DVD Playback Problems
5. Performance
- Trim the Fat
... Tame Mindless Animation and Display Effects
... Make Menus More Mindful
... Start Windows in Less Time
... Start Windows Instantly (Almost)
... Shut Down Windows Quickly
... Start Applications Faster
- Make Your Hardware Perform
... Get Glass
... Maximize the Windows Performance Rating
... Improve Battery Life
... Manage IRQ Priority
... Overclock Your Processor
- Hard Disk
... A Defragmentation Crash Course
... If in Doubt, Throw It Out
... Optimize Virtual Memory and Cache Settings
... Choose the Right Filesystem
... Advanced NTFS Settings
... Transfer Windows to Another Hard Disk
... Work with
Partitions
6. Troubleshooting
- Crashes and Error Messages
... Viruses, Malware, and Spyware
... What to Do When Windows Won't Start
... Manage Startup Programs
... Check Your Drive for Errors with Chkdsk
... What to Do When a Program Crashes
... What to Do When a Program Won't Start
... Green Ribbon of Death
... Blue Screen of Death
- Dealing with Drivers and Other Tales of Hardware Troubleshooting
... How to Add Hardware
... Interpret Device Manager Errors
... Go Back in Time with Restore Points and Shadow Copies
... Test for Bad Memory (RAM)
... Don't Overlook the Power Supply
... Fix USB Power Management Issues
... Fix Printer Problems
- Preventive Maintenance and Data Recovery
... Patch Windows with Windows Update
... Quick, On-the-Fly Backups
... Back Up Your Entire System
... Recover Your System After a Crash
7. Networking and Internet
- Build Your Network
... Terminology Primer
... To Wire or Not to Wire
... Set Up a Wireless Router
... Sniff Out WiFi Hotspots
... Troubleshoot Wireless Networks
... Lock Out Unauthorized PCs
... Connect to a Public Wireless Network
... Add Wireless Support to Any Device
... Get Bluetooth to Work
... Troubleshoot Network Connections
... Test an IP Address
- Internet Me
... Share an Internet Connection
... Test Your Throughput
... Do Download Accelerators Really Work?
... Set Up Virtual Private Networking
... Control Your PC Remotely
... Manage the Nameserver (DNS) Cache
- Secure Your Networked PC
... Close Vista's Backdoors
... The Security Center and the Firewall
... Set Up the Windows Firewall
... Scan Your System for Open Ports
- Web and Email
... Lock Down Internet Explorer
... Change Internet Shortcut Icons
... Live with Firefox in an IE World
... Fix Symbols in Web Pages
... Fix Broken Pictures in Web Pages
... Improve Any Web Site
... Put an End to Pop Ups
... Solve the Blank Form Mystery
... Stop Annoying Animations
... Opt Out of Tabbed Browsing
... Surf Anonymously
... Change the Default Email Reader
... Stop Spam
... Send Large Files
... Email Long URLs
8. Users and Security
- Manage User Accounts
- Permissions and Security
... Set Permissions for a File or Folder
... Protect Your Files with Encryption
... Control User Account Control
- Logon and Profile Options
... Hide the List of User Accounts
... Log In Automatically
... Reset a Forgotten Administrator Password
... Prevent Users from Shutting Down
... Log In As the Administrator
... Customize the Welcome Screen Background
... Customize the Default Profile for New Users
... Rename Your Profile Folder
... Change the Locations of Personal Folders
- Share Files and Printers
... Share a Folder
... Access a Shared Folder Remotely
... Turn Off Administrative Shares
... Share a Printer
... Use a Print Server Without Software
... Stop Sharing Scheduled Tasks
9. Scripting and Automation
- Windows Script Host
- Build a VBScript Script
... Use Variables to Store and Manipulate Information
... Give Your Scripts an Interface with the InputBox and MsgBox Commands
... Creating Interactive Scripts with Conditional Statements
... Using Loops, Using Loops, Using Loops
... Make Building Blocks with Subroutines and Functions
- Object References
... How to Run Applications
... How to Access the Registry
... How to Manipulate Files
... How to Create Windows Shortcuts and Internet Shortcuts
... How to Use the Network
... How to Control Internet Explorer
... How to Use Command-Line Parameters
... How to Manage Windows Services
... How to Write CGI Scripts for Web Servers
... Decipher Script Errors
... Find a Better Editor
... Further Study
... Make a Startup Script
- Wacky Script Ideas
... Quick and Dirty Backup Tool
... Internet Fishtank
... Quick SendTo Shortcut Creator
... Rename Files with Search and Replace
- Command Prompt Scripting
... DOS Commands
... Batch Files
... Variables and the Environment
... Flow Control
... Command-Line Parameters
... Conditional Statements
... Loops
... Simulating Subroutines
... Get to the Command Prompt Quickly
- Windows PowerShell
... CmdLets and Aliases
... Pipelines
... PowerShell Variables
... PowerShell Scripts
... Automate Scripts with the Task Scheduler
A. BIOS Settings
B. TCP/IP Ports
Index