In Tip 53 I pointed out how to change the border padding for windows in Vista Aero. The same can be done if you are running Vista’s Basic interface (such as you would if running Vista Home Basic, or if you have a video card that isn’t Aero capable). The reasons are the same, the steps are just slightly different. Keep reading →

In my article “Dynamic Disc: Microsoft’s Bastard Child?” I noted how you might upgrade a computer from Windows XP to Vista, only to then find that you cannot access a dynamic disc. This is most likely due to your version of Vista not supporting dynamic disk, which would require upgrading, probably to Ultimate, to be able to read the disc. If you’re not prepared to do that, but still want to be able to use the disk, you can convert it back to a basic disk. The draw back is that you will loose all of your data, since the process is to first delete the volume, then recreate it from scratch. The next tip will include instructions on how to hack your dynamic disc back to a basic disk, which may save your data, but only if your dynamic disk doesn’t span multiple disks. Keep reading →

Microsoft is nearly ready to unleash Vista to the mainstream world. They’ve created a number of releases to try and cover as many price points as possible (justified by various levels of functionality). There are nine available (more if you count upgrades), but most of us will only have access to four (five if you’re willing to spend a little extra for an autograph). Which one do you choose? Here’s how they break down: Keep reading →