When you press a Windows HotStart button to start a program on a Windows Vista-based computer, the program may not be started as a topmost window. If other windows are open, these windows may remain in the foreground, and the program that is associated with the Windows HotStart button appears in the background.

Note: This behavior does not occur if you start the program by using the Start menu or the Start Search box.

My first tip was how to change the behavior of the power button. The default is to Sleep, but I prefer to actually Shut Down. It’s only seven tips later, and I’ve already got a different way to do this, mostly because it’s a few steps quicker. Keep reading →

Having used Windows XP for some time, I’ve grown used to pressing the power button to turn off my laptop. In Windows Vista, pressing the power button doesn’t shutdown, instead it ’sleeps’. I don’t know about you, but I never had any luck with ’sleep’ or ‘hibernate’ in XP, something always breaks and I end up restarting anyway, and it’ll take some time for me to give it a try in Vista. So, how can you get back the ’shutdown’ behavior you’ve grown accustomed to? Here’s a pictoral step-by-step on how to make the Vista power button shutdown instead of sleep. Keep reading →