Free update antivirus xp has deviated to some extent from the path of antivirus XP to allow, among other things, for increased speed in performance following the advent of the ultra high speed Duo processors. It has many additional facilities and is a heaven for the experienced. However, it may be a little bit problematic for the novice or for those with little experience. This article, the second of two, attempts to make working with Windows Vista as enchanting to the novice as it is to the highly experienced. User Account Control To turn User Account Control ON or OFF: * Click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety. * Click User Accounts > In the right pane: Click the last item which is Turn User Account Control on or off. * Clear the check box beside Use User Account Control (UAC) to turn it off. * Restart your computer for the change to take effect. Tip: User Account Control being ON prevents malware programs from being installed on the computer without your knowledge (silent installation). Windows Features * Click Start > Control Panel > Programs. * Under Programs and Features click: Turn Windows features on or off. * In the Windows Features dialog box: Check (or clear) the check box next to the feature you want on (or off). Some programs and features that are included with Windows, such as Internet Information Services, must be turned on before you can use them. Certain other features are turned on by default, but you can turn them off if you don't want to use them. In earlier versions of Windows, to turn a feature off you had to uninstall it completely from your computer. In Windows Vista, the features remain stored on your hard disk, so that you can turn them back on if you want to; turning off a feature does not uninstall the feature, and it does not increase the amount of hard disk space available for use. Windows Sidebar To make the Windows Sidebar appear: Right-click the sidebar icon in the Notification area (the right part of the Taskbar) > Click: Open. If the Windows Sidebar icon is not in the Notification area: * Click Start > Help and Support. * In the search bar type sidebar. * Click Customize Windows Sidebar. * Click To open Sidebar. NOTEPAD Notepad is a very useful and simple to use text editor. To create a NOTEPAD shortcut icon on the desktop: * Click Start > All Programs > Accessories. * Take care that in the next step you are not going to click but to right-click. * Right-click and drag the NOTEPAD icon to the Desktop and click Copy Here from the open menu. Tip (1): To add the NOTEPAD icon to the Quick Launch toolbar: Click and drag the NOTEPAD icon to the site of the Quick Launch toolbar where you want it positioned. The best position is to the right of both the Show desktop and the Switch between windows icons, where it will always be in view. Tip (2): To save a notepad file in Windows Vista: Click File on the Menu Bar > Click Save as... > If you want to save the file away from the desktop click the button on the lower left side Browse Folders (replaced by Hide Folders if the Folders menu is open) > Choose the folder you want to save the file to. Tip (3): Note that changes to the font style and font size affect ALL the text in the NOTEPAD document and affect ALL such documents on the computer. Animated GIF Windows Vista does not, by default, support viewing animated GIF images. GIF images that are not animated can be viewed by using Microsoft Photo Editor. To view the animation of animated GIF right-click the image. * In the menu that opens point to Open With > Select Choose Default Program... * In the Open With dialog box click the check box next to Always use the selected program to open this kind of file, then click Browse. * In the box that opens for Program Files double-click Internet Explorer. * In the next box that opens double-click iexplore; the dialog box will close. * In the Open With dialog box (which is still open in the background) click OK. You will then view animated GIF images in Internet Explorer. You may also use IrfanView, instead of Internet Explorer, by following the same steps. IrfanView is my personal preference mainly because the size of its window is proportional to the size of the image. Use of Logical Operators in Windows Vista's search bars Windows Vista's search engine bars provide a new feature that enables the user to use the logical operators ("or" & "and") in the search bar. This makes it easier for the user to filter the results and easily find the target item(s). Adding a language support different from that in which Windows Vista was installed * Click Start > Control Panel. * Under Clock, Language, and Region click Change keyboards or other input methods (Note: If you are in the Control Panel "Classic View" double-click on the Regional and Language Options icon). * In Regional and Language Options click the Keyboards and Languages tab then click Change keyboards. * In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box click the General tab. * Under Installed services click Add. * In the Add Input Language dialog box choose the Keyboard of the language you want to add then click OK. (Note: The language in the General tab chosen under Default input language becomes the default for typing etc). * Close the Text Services and Input Languages box. Also see: Changing the Keyboard language for typing . Changing the Keyboard language for typing (See: Adding a language support different from that in which Windows Vista was installed for the first three steps, then proceed as follows): * In the Text Services and Input Languages dialg box click the Advanced Key Settings tab. * Under Hot keys for input languages select a language then click Change Key Sequence. * In the dialog box check the checkbox next to Enable Key Sequence. It is usual to select Left Alt + Shift with the Key value as 0 for the English language and to select the Key value as 9 for the next language, etc. Click OK. * Close the Text Services and Input Languages box. Customizing the Send To menu * When you right-click an icon, a menu opens. If you point to Send To > the Send To menu opens. To add a folder or printer to the Send To menu: * Access the Run Command by pressing the Windows key on the keyboard and the R key. * Type in the box: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo * Click OK. The Send To folder is now open. * Right-click and drag the icon of the folder or printer you want to add to Send To. * From the opened menu choose Copy Here. * The folder or printer you have added is now present on the Send To menu; if you click the printer it will start printing immediately. Disc Cleanup This is used to free up hard disk space on your computer to make it run faster. It deletes temporary files and a variety of unnecessary system files, and empties the Recycle Bin. To open Disk Cleanup: *Click Start > Help and Support. *In the Help search box type Start Disk Cleanup. *Click Start Disk Cleanup. *Click: Click to open Disk Cleanup. *In the Disk Cleanup Drive Selection dialog box, select the hard disk drive that you want to clean up, and then click OK. *Click the Disk Cleanup tab, and then select the check boxes for the files you want to delete. *Click OK, and then click Delete Files to confirm the procedure. Tip (1): DO NOT select the checkbox next to Hibernation File Cleaner. Removing the hibernation file will disable hibernation of your computer. Therefore only do that if you are desperately in need of the 1.99GB space that this file occupies. Tip (2): If hibernation is disabled you run the risk of losing your unsaved work if the electricity power is cut off accidentally while your computer is in the sleep state. In Windows Vista, if the computer is forced to abandon its sleep state by an electricity power cut-off and then an empty battery, it will automatically go into hibernation moving all unsaved work from memory to the hard disk so that no unsaved work is lost. Tip (3): If you do accidentally delete the hibernation file you will have to use System Restore to restore it back again. Sleep state in Windows Vista; and waking from sleep options In the sleep state minimal power is needed. Putting the computer to sleep is like pausing a DVD player: the computer immediately stops what it is doing and is ready to start again when you want to resume working. Sleep saves all open documents and programs to memory only and therefore, power must not be shut off. It allows the computer to quickly resume full-power operation (typically within several seconds) when you want to start working again. The computer can be made to wake from sleep by simply lifting up its lid (in some computers) or by pressing the power button. Windows Vista is then resumed immediately without the use of a password. Tip: Adding a password to waking from sleep: * Click Start > Control Panel. * Click System and Maintenance > Power Options. * On the Select a power plan page, select a power plan. * In the task pane (left pane) of the same page, click Require a password on wakeup. When should you shut down a computer that has Windows Vista as the Operating System? Shut down your computer only when: (1) Installing or repairing hardware, such as installing a new hard disk or video card. (2) Adding memory (RAM). (3) You don't want it to wake to run a scheduled task. (4) You don't plan to use the computer for several days. When should you restart your computer? You may need to restart your computer after: (1) Installing a program. (2) Installing a program update (eg Antivirus update). (3) Making important alterations to your computer's system (see above: Adjusting Virtual Memory; Updating Windows Defender; User Account Control). Minor alterations do not need restart of your computer; such alterations are immediately implemented by clicking OK in the opened dialog box. Part 1 of this article addresses the following issues: Activating Windows Vista Activating System Restore Adjusting Virtual Memory Completing the Installion Of Internet Explorer Installing a Startup Monitor Updating Windows Defender Adjusting Windows Firewall Adjusting Program Compatibility (Use of the Program Compatibility Wizard) Customizing the Right Pane of the Start Menu *A-Favorites Button *B-Run Command *C-Recent Items (Recently Opened Files Menu) Burning Files to a CD/DVD