In a previous tip I showed you how to restore a file, which relies on System Restore. Vista automatically creates a restore point once a day, and also when updates and some software and drivers are installed. If you want to change the once a day to be more or less frequent, it is possible, but will require modifying your registry. I must always mention that incorrectly modifying your registry can cause problems, and could even prevent your machine from functioning all together, so BE CAREFUL! (more…)

The Notification Area is next to the clock in the Taskbar. It’s where you’ll generally find icons for different Vista tools, as well as additional software you may have installed. Some of the icons may not be useful to you, and there is a way to choose which are shown, while having others hidden. Some may not want any icons, and if this is the case, there is a way to simply disable that area. (more…)

When I shutdown my computer, I tend to walk away, so it really doesn’t matter how long it takes. If there is some reason that you hang around and wait for it to shutdown (perhaps waiting to close the lid on a laptop), then you may want the shutdown process to be a little faster. When Vista, like older versions of Windows, is told to shutdown, there is a set amount of time that it waits for things like services to properly shutdown. You can control how long it waits through a simple registry setting. (more…)

So you used one of the previous tips to remove the Recycle Bin from your desktop, but now you want to empty it. Can’t simply right-click on it to do that now. What to do? Here’s how to do it from the command line. (more…)

For those that are big fans of the command prompt, it often saves time to be able to open a command prompt from a folder you are currently browsing. There are a few ways to do this, and as Toby and Martin suggest at the 64 Bit World Forums, both are very easy. (more…)

If you’re not happy with something in Windows Vista, odds are you can change it, either through additional software, or by opening the hood and tweaking it a bit. The ‘Customization’ section of ITsVISTA is where you’ll find tips and tricks related to changing the way Vista works by these alternative or advanced options that can’t be handled through the standard ‘Configuration’ options.