RSS icon

You are here: Home » Archives for get started

Keep your files safe, secure and protected in Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 12/03/2007 12:21pm

1. Download It

Download It

Head to safety.live.com, click Download the free trial, follow the links and then hit Run to download and install the 90-day trial.

You’ll see it adds a new icon at the bottom right of your screen.

2. Your Status

Your Status

Double-click the icon for a comprehensive health check. “It’s a traffic light system,” explains product manager Jo Wickremasinghe. “Green is good, but if you haven’t run a backup it will be amber.”

3. Keeping Clean

Keeping Clean

The anti-virus scanning updates and runs automatically, but it will also back up your files and tidy up your hard drive. Click Change OneCare Settings to set what time the tune-up should run.

4. Keeping Quiet

Keeping Quiet

The big advantage of OneCare is that it tries to keep out of your way. It automatically allows known programs to access the internet, and only asks you about ones it doesn’t know. To share files on your home network, click Firewall and then Firewall Connection Tool.

5. Getting Help

Getting Help

“Obviously, web and email support is there,” says Jo, “but there’s also freephone support.” Find the number by clicking the Get Help… link. Otherwise, sit back and relax – although don’t let your guard down entirely. “Hackers will try to exploit the user rather than the machine,” says security MVP Chris Boyd, “so caution is always advised.”


Add 

to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


1 Comment | Read more

Transfer your old files and information into Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 08/03/2007 00:00am

Get your old files on to your new PC

Download the original article from Windows Vista: The Official Magazine, Issue 2.
(PDF Format, 2650kb)
Requires Adobe Reader.

Alternatively, buy the issue here.

Although buying a new PC is by far the easiest way to get up and running with Windows Vista, it does leave you with the problem of transferring your files and folders over from your old PC. Handily, this is much simpler than you might expect, thanks to Windows Easy Transfer. This is a program that works with the Belkin Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista to copy your files from your old PC to your new one. Check out the walkthrough below to see how it’s done.

Useful though this is, it only works for files and program settings – not for programs themselves, which will have to be reinstalled. Unfortunately, this can be more complicated; programs written for Windows XP may not work or install correctly on Windows Vista, and anything written for even older versions of Windows can be extremely troublesome.

The best way around this is to use Microsoft Compatibility Wizard to fool an application into thinking it’s running on a previous version of Windows. You’ll find this in Control Panel – click Programs > Use an older program with this version of Windows. Pick out the application you’re having problems with, and choose a compatibility mode. If you’re having problems with the title bar or menu buttons not appearing, tick Disable visual themes or Disable desktop composition to turn off any Aero glass fanciness.

Some older applications, particularly games, will hiccup when they encounter the new security features in Windows Vista, as they can’t get at certain system files. You can fix this by checking Run this program as an administrator in Compatibility Wizard, which gives it the same access as it would have had in Windows XP.

1. Getting Started

Getting Started

You need the correct software on your old PC. Insert the CD and follow the prompts to install Windows Easy Transfer Wizard and the Belkin drivers.

2. Plug In

Plug In

Once installed, plug the Belkin Easy Transfer Cable into a USB socket on your old computer. It will ask what you want to do – choose Transfer files and settings.

3. Link The Cable

Link The Cable

Connect the other end of the Easy Transfer Cable into your new Windows Vista PC, and again you should choose to Transfer files and settings.

4. Wait To Connect

Wait To Connect

Windows should automatically detect the connection; wait for the message “A connection to the other computer has been detected”.

5. Choose Your Files

Check Your Files

Put the kettle on. After that, select what to copy. Clicking Advanced Options will enable you to choose whatever files, settings and accounts you need.

6. Link Accounts

Link Accounts

To match up what should go where, link each old account to any new accounts created. You’ll need the same number of accounts on both systems.

7. Start To Transfer

Start To Transfer

Click Next again to begin the transfer. If you really did put the kettle on in step five, make yourself a cup of tea and sit back; this step may take a while.

8. Get List

Get List

Once the transfer is complete, click Show me everything that was transferred to get a full list of every file, setting and account copied. Click Close to finish.


Add 

to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


0 Comments | Read more

19 essential get-started tips for Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 29/01/2007 15:53pm

From the moment you start using Windows Vista, you’ll find a lot of new things to get used to: new programs, new layout, new ways of doing things. Some are great, some are confusing, some are just very well hidden. These are my picks for the 19 things you should try when you first start using Windows Vista – do you think differently? Let me know in the comments, or drop me a line.

1. Use Flip3D

Using Flip3D

Okay, so it’s hardly essential, but it’s still one of the first things you should try: it’s just a neat way to show off that snazzy new interface. Hold down the Windows key and your keyboard and hit Tab to spool through them.

2. Fix a photo – and automatically back it up

One of the most useful new programs, Photo Gallery enables you to automatically import and organise your photos. Click Fix and you can crop out unsightly backgrounds, remove red-eye and adjust the lighting, too. But the most impressive feature is that it automatically backs up every photo: press CTRL and R and it’ll restore it just as it was when you first imported it.

3. Launch any program instantly

Want to open something even faster? Hold down the Windows key and press a number from 1 to 9, and it’ll open the corresponding entry in the Quick Start menu next to the Start button.

Windows and 1 opens the shortcut next to the button (usually Show Desktop), Windows and 2 opens the second shortcut (usually Flip 3D) and so on. To add or rearrange shortcuts, just click and drag them.

4. Save time browsing your folder

Favourite links

Are you regularly digging through your hard drive to open the same folder? Click and drag it into the Favorite Links pane on the left of every Windows Explorer window to keep it just one click away.

5. Get more from your laptop

If you’re running Windows Vista on a mobile PC, hold down the Windows key and press X to open up the new Mobility Center. It gives instant access to controls for the battery, wireless signal, external displays and more.

6. Add a gadget to your desktop

That new strip on the side of your desktop is more useful thank you might think: click the plus symbol at the top, then click Get more gadgets online to view the 370+ (and counting) free downloads that add instant new features to your desktop – everything from BBC radio to currency conversion. You can drag and drop them on to the desktop, too – the Weather gadget, for example, is actually more useful when used like this because it gives you a three-day forecast.

7. Make search even easier

The built-in search can find things even if you don’t remember what they’re called. Open your Documents window, click Organise > Folder and Search options, select the Search tab and click “use natural language search.” You can now search for things like “photo taken last week” or “email sent from Dave” and it’ll bring back all matching results.

8. Connect to other laptops

If you’ve got a wireless laptop, you can quickly create a network with others by opening up Meeting Space. Create a display name, click Start a new meeting, and see if says Using: Ad Hoc Wireless Network on the bottom right. If not, click Options and tick the appropriate box. Then all you’ve got to do is enter a password and click the green button to create it. Other laptops nearby can join by loading Meeting Space and clicking Join a meeting near me. Once in, click Add a handout to share a file or Share a program or desktop to – wait for it – share a program or your PC’s desktop.

9. Protect your files

Backing up your files is given the importance it deserves in Windows Vista – particularly compared to the crude and mostly-hidden tool in Windows XP – and it’s ever so easy to use. Open Backup and Restore Center from the Start menu, hit Back Up Files and choose if you want to back up photos, email, music and more: they’ll be automatically saved to your choice of backup device. Got Windows XP backups you want to add to your Windows Vista PC? You can import them by using this tool.

10. Get the old power button back

One of the neater new features in Windows Vista is that the Power button on the Start menu doesn’t turn your PC off – it puts it into a new low-power state, so it’s all but deactivated but is much quicker to start up. If you don’t want to use this – or you’ve got an older PC that doesn’t support it properly – you can change it by digging deep in the configuration options. Search for “power” in the Start Menu and clicking Power Options. Click Change plan settings, then Change advanced power settings and expand the entry for Power buttons and lid. Expand Start menu and power button entry and click on Sleep to pick another option from the drop-down menu.

11. Zoom in on your desktop

Desktop zoom

Open any Windows Explorer window, select an icon, hold down CTRL and scroll your mouse wheel – and your icons will expand before your eyes. It makes them easier to view, and as nearly every icon is a snapshot of the file itself, you can see what’s inside them as well.

12. Check your PC’s health

Troubleshooting has got a whole lot easier with Windows Vista’s reporting tools. Search for “perf” in the Control Panel, click Performance Information and Tools, and then select Advanced tools from the list on the left. Click the Generate a system health report option at the bottom of the list and it’ll give you a list of any problems with your PC and what you can do to fix them.

13. View files without opening them

Preview pane

In Windows Explorer, click Organise > Layout and select Preview Pane. You’ll get an extra panel on the right of every window that shows you the contents of every file: if it’s a PowerPoint presentation, you can click through the slides too.

14. Try Media Center

If you’ve never used Media Center before, you’re in for a treat. Formerly a separate version of Windows, it’s now supplied as standard in Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate, giving you a new way to enjoy your photos, music and TV. Hook it up to your telly – which you can do with ease by connecting an Xbox 360 to your home network – and you can easily set up recording of TV programmes and pause live TV.

15. Get your old programs working

Most programs work fine with Windows Vista, but older releases can have problems. If you can’t get an older release working properly, search for “compat” in the Control Panel and click on Use an older program with this version of Windows. This will lead you through the required steps – if the program in question worked in Windows XP, check the options for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Run as administrator.

16. Create a search folder

If you’re regularly looking for the same thing, save the search. Click the Save Search button in the Explorer window and it’ll create a Search Folder of all the items that match that search. To make it even easier to find, select the Searches entry in the Favorite links sidebar on the left, and then drag your newly created folder into the Favorite Links list.

17. Get your old menus back

Are you missing File, Edit, View and the other old stagers from Windows Explorer in Windows XP? Just press Alt and they’ll appear.

18. Try tablet input

Another former exclusive now supplied with Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate,
tablet input is a new way to control your PC. Handiest for desktop users is the Snipping Tool; open it and you can drag the mouse to snap a screenshot. If you want to replace the keyboard, search for “tablet” in the Start menu and fire up the Tablet PC Input Panel – you’ll need a stylus to make the most of it, though.

19. Adjust your security settings

Security settings

As you’ll have noticed when using the tips above, the new security features in Windows Vista are very keen, prompting you every time you access a system feature. It’s a very effective way of keeping the bad guys out, and I really recommend leaving it in place – but if you fancy your chances at protecting yourself, you can turn it off by clicking your user icon at the top of the Start menu and choosing Turn User Account Control on or off.


Add 

to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


168 Comments | Read more

Install Windows Vista in 20 minutes!

jjones | Guides | 26/01/2007 15:46pm

Twenty Minute Installation

Download the original article from Windows Vista: The Official Magazine, Issue 1.
(PDF Format, 3606kb)
Requires Adobe Reader.

Alternatively, buy the issue here.

Whether you’re taking advantage of the Express Upgrade option or installing it from scratch, the task of getting Windows Vista up and running on your PC is both quick and simple to follow. It’s not quite so painless that you shouldn’t prepare for it, though.

The time to spot potential problems is before you start installing, and this can be done for you by the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. This will scan your system and let you know what issues may be waiting for you when you come to install your new version of Windows, and can be downloaded from here. It will even make sensible suggestions, whether that’s sourcing an update from the manufacturer or uninstalling the device or program to prevent it causing problems further down the line. Just click the More Details buttons after it has run, and choose Task List to see what you need to do.

Upgrade Advisor

After that, it should be plain sailing. I’ve been consistently impressed with how easy it is to get it installed: you just need to pick a location, tell it what language you need, and it should be done within 20 minutes. The only delays I’ve seen are if you’re installing it from within Windows XP (it can take a while to square the old files away) or if you hit problems with device drivers.

Oh, and one last thing. If you’re running an Express Upgrade, it’s best to remove any system software you have installed (including security programs like Norton or McAfee), even if you’ve made sure it’s a compatible version. You can then reinstall it once you’ve got Windows Vista up and running.

Configuration screen

Boot right

You may have to set your PC to boot from the DVD drive. This is done from the BIOS, accessed by pressing F1 or Delete as the PC boots up. Set First Boot Device to be your DVD drive, and save. Then restart with the Windows Vista Install disc in the drive.

Bios Screen

Choose location

All you need to do is choose where you’re going to install to. It’s best to format the drive before you start, but it’s not essential. Any previous Windows installation will be moved to a new folder called Windows.old in your C:\ drive.

Select a drive screen

Keep Windows XP

If you want to keep your Windows XP installation alongside Windows Vista, you’ll need to install Windows Vista on a separate hard drive or partition, set up using software such as Norton PartitionMagic. You’ll need 15GB of space.

Add driver

If you’re told Windows can’t find an installation volume, go to your PC or motherboard maker’s website to find a Windows Vista driver for RAID or SATA. If you don’t know what hardware your PC has, run Upgrade Advisor and click See Details.

Upgrade Advisor report

Load up

You’ll need to have the driver on a USB flash drive or floppy diskette. When you run the Windows Vista install CD, if the drive isn’t on the Where do you want to install Windows screen, click Load Driver and select the one you’ve downloaded.

Load driver screen

Change settings

In computers with Gigabyte motherboards, you may need to go into the BIOS settings after the PC boots and change the SATA setting from IDE to RAID. Ignore the RAID screen and load the drivers. Once installed, return the settings to normal.

BIOS screen

Force restart

If you’re unable to get Windows to start after installing a new driver or program, don’t panic. From the Windows Error Recovery menu that appears, choose Last Known Good Configuration to restore your system to working condition.

Safe Mode menu

Final repair

If all else fails and you can’t start Windows Vista for any reason, you can launch System Restore or ‘fix start-up problems’ by booting from your Windows Vista DVD and selecting Repair your computer from the options that appear.

Windows Vista DVD Repair screen


Add 

to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


0 Comments | Read more

What to do with your 1st hour in Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 24/01/2007 13:47pm

Your first hour with Windows Vista

Download the original article from Windows Vista: The Official Magazine, Issue 1.
(PDF Format, 4516kb)
Requires Adobe Reader.

Alternatively, buy the issue here.

Welcome!

Making Windows Vista look the way you want is easy, thanks to the way its display settings are organised. Click Show all… in the Getting Started section of the Welcome Centre, then select Personalise Windows to begin.

Welcome

The Welcome screen gives you a few pointers to get you started

Change the view

Click Desktop Background to choose a new background from the variety of images on offer. Then follow the Screen Saver link to replace the Windows logo with something more entertaining – or disable it altogether.

Change View

You get a series of tasteful desktop backgrounds, in standard and widescreen sizes

Adjust Your Icons

If the desktop looks a little bare with nothing more than the Recycle Bin, then click Change desktop icons to give it a little company. Here you may choose to add other icons, perhaps to your documents, Control Panel or computer.

Adjust icons

You can garnish your desktop with icons of your own choosing

Connect to the Internet

If you’re connected to the internet through a network or router, you should already have a connection; if not, click Connect to the Internet from the Welcome Center and follow the steps to restore your internet connection.

Adjust icons

It’s easy to set up a new connection to the web

Add some gadgets

Open Windows Sidebar from the Start menu and click the + symbol at the top to see the available gadgets. Drag them on to the sidebar or the desktop – I like to have the Calendar on the Sidebar and Weather on the desktop.

Adjust icons

The weather gadget is great – if you take it off the sidebar.

Go further

Click Get more gadgets online for a wider range; you get everything from news headlines to a voodoo doll. If you want the Sidebar to appear when you start your PC, right-click the + symbol in the bottom right and choose Properties.

Adjust icons

There are new gadgets arriving almost daily.

Add 

to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


1 Comment | Read more

Recover an overwritten or erased in Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 24/01/2007 11:13am

Even if you haven’t backed up your files, you can still bring them back from the dead – provided you’re running Vista Ultimate Edition and you haven’t turned off the System Restore feature in Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System > System Protection (it’s enabled by default). This feature creates “shadow copies”, which enable you to go back in time and restore older versions of files or files you’ve accidentally deleted.

Shadow Copies are part of the System Protection feature, which takes a snapshot of your entire system every day and when you’re about to do something serious, such as installing new device drivers. These snapshots mean you can easily travel back in time to get yesterday’s version of a file or folder. Here’s how to do it.

Shadow copies screen

Time Travel

Restoring a file couldn’t be easier. Find the file you want to restore, right-click on it, choose Properties and then click on the Previous Versions tab. A list of previous versions will appear in the list. Click on the version you want (in this case, yesterday’s copy) and click on Restore.

Previous

Undo Delete

You can also use shadow copies to restore deleted files. Simply find the folder that originally contained the file, right-click (making sure you’re not right-clicking on a file), and choose Properties > Previous Versions.

Backing Up

Back Again

Choose the version of the folder you want to restore and then click on the Restore button. Remember that this will replace the entire folder with an earlier version, so while it will bring back deleted files it will also get rid of anything you added afterwards. For example, if you deleted files on Monday, added files on Tuesday and then decided to travel back to Monday’s version of the folder, you’ll get Monday’s files but the ones you added on Tuesday will be gone.

Backing Up

Sort Your System

You can also use System Restore to turn your entire system back in time, but this time your documents and other files will be unaffected: the System Restore feature covers Windows’ own system files rather than your personal ones, and it’s designed to help you recover from problems that may result from installing new drivers or programs. To use the System Restore, go to Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System > System Protection and then click on System Restore.


Add 

to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


0 Comments | Read more

Use Backup and Restore Center in Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 24/01/2007 10:59am

0 Comments | Read more

Using Tags in Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 24/01/2007 10:46am

0 Comments | Read more

Find any file using Windows Vista Search

jjones | Guides | 23/01/2007 18:19pm

We’ve all experienced it: you need to find something in a hurry and while you can remember what it was about, you’ve no idea when you did it, what program you did it in, what you called it or where you put it. A few years ago that wasn’t a big problem, because hard disks were titchy and it didn’t take long to browse their entire contents; however, these days we’ve got our entire lives on our PCs and finding a particular document, video or photo is like looking for a needle the size of an atom in a haystack the size of a galaxy. Windows Vista solves the problem, and it does it in style.

The search engine in Windows Vista is fast, flexible and incredibly effective, and if it can’t find something then it probably doesn’t exist. There are three ways to search: when you’re browsing, you can use the Search box in the top right hand corner of the window; you can use the Search box in the Start Menu; or you can click on Start > Search to open the Search folder to carry out very complex searches. We’ll look at each method in turn.

Windows Vista search

Quick Hits

The fastest way to search is to click on the Start menu and type your search criteria in the search box. There’s no need to hit Enter – the search results will appear as you type. By default Windows Vista searches your various file folders and your browsing history, but you can also use this search box to carry out an Internet search.

Search smarter

When you type text in a search box, Windows Vista looks for any occurrence of that text – so for example if you typed “john” then Vista would look for files called “john”, documents containing the word “john” and files created by a user called John. You can change that by adding prefixes, such as:

  • Name:John This searches only for files whose name includes the word “john”.
  • Modified: 2007 This searches only for files that were changed in 2007.

You can also use search operators such as AND, OR and NOT, as well as the greater than and less than symbols. For example, Summer AND Holiday Vista will show you files containing the word “summer” and “holiday”.

Files containing just one of the words won’t be listed. Summer NOT Holiday; Windows Vista will show you files that include the word “summer” but which don’t include the word “holiday”. Summer OR Holiday; it will show you files that contain either the word “summer” or the word “holiday”. “Summer Holiday” the results will only show you files containing the exact phrase “summer holiday”. date: <01/01/07 will only show you files created before the 1st of January 2007 size: <4MB ; will only show you files bigger than 4MB.

As you can see, you can create very complex searches simply by typing – but wouldn’t it be great if you could use plain English instead? You can. Open Control Panel, click on Appearance and Personalization and then click on Folder Options. Now, click on the Sarch tab and then tick the “Use natural language search” box. Click on OK, and you can now search in plain English – so for example you might search for “documents by bert 2005″.

Searching in English

Speak English

If you enable natural language searching (via Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Folder Options) you can use plain English terms such as “documents by Gary” to search your hard disk.

Using the search box while browsing

Whenever you’re browsing your PC, you’ll see a search box in the top right hand corner of the window. This works in much the same way as the search box on the Start Menu, but there’s one key difference: the search box only looks in the current location, so if you’re browsing the Pictures folder then Windows Vista will only search the contents of the pictures folder. Here’s the search box in action.

Search in browser box

Quick Pics

The folder search box only looks in the current folder, so for example if you search for something when you’re browsing your pictures folder then it won’t look anywhere else on your PC. You’ll also notice that an extra toolbar pops up at the top of the window when you search: this enables you to quickly filter the results. Clicking on Document hides search results that aren’t documents, Picture hides files that aren’t pictures, and so on.

Advanced search

The Big Picture

If your search didn’t find what you were looking for, you can expand its scope by clicking on the Advanced Search link at the bottom of the screen. The advanced options slide into view at the top of the window, enabling you to choose a different location and use more complex search criteria.

Using the Search Folder

The Search folder works in the same way as the Search box, but by default it looks at all your files rather than the current folder. To launch the Search folder, just click on the Start Menu and then on Search.

Search folder

Simple Searching

When you open the Search folder you get the simple screen shown here. You can either type your search terms in the box at the top right hand corner, or you can click the Advanced Search arrow to show additional options.

As you can see, you get the same drop-down menus and fields as when you clicked Advanced Search in a folder – but this time, Search will look at all your files rather than a single folder.

Search results

Search Results

The toolbar immediately above the search results includes some useful features including Burn, which burns the files to CD (or DVD, if you’ve got a DVD burner). You can also save your search criteria to the Searches folder by clicking on Save Search.

What Windows Vista searches – and what it doesn’t

When you search in Windows Vista you’re not actually searching your hard disk. Instead, you’re searching the Index. The Index is a catalogue of the files on your PC, and Windows Vista updates it whenever your machine has spare capacity. The result is a comprehensive catalogue of your files and folders, and whenever you search Windows Vista blasts through the catalogue to find what you’re looking for. It’s much, much faster than looking through your entire hard disk whenever you’re trying to find something.

The Index doesn’t keep track of every single file on your computer, though. That’s because your PC is packed with system files, hidden files and other components that, in most cases, you’ll never look at. Instead, the Index looks at the folders you actually use: your home folder, your pic
tures folder, your documents folder, your browser history and so on. For most of us that’s ideal, and while you can make the Index look at your entire hard disk if you wish that’s usually a bad idea – why waste your PC’s power on scanning for things you’ll never search for?

That doesn’t mean you don’t need to tweak the Index, though. You might not want it to scan your browser history, or you might keep important files in folders that the Index doesn’t scan. In this walkthrough we’ll discover how you can customise the Index to your exact requirements.

You can access the Index in two ways: from the Search folder, or by clicking Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance >Indexing Options. In this tutorial we’ll use the first option, which enables us to carry on from where we left off.

Search options

Expand the Index

If your search hasn’t found what you’re looking for, it’s possible that the file you need is stored in a folder that Windows Vista doesn’t monitor. To expand the index so it includes that location, click on Search Tools and then on Modify Index Locations.

Windows Firewall

Location, Location, Location

The Indexing Options dialog box should appear. To add new locations to the Index, click on Modify, Show All Locations and then browse to the appropriate folder; ticking the check box next to that location will add it to the Index. The reverse also applies: if you uncheck the box next to a folder, the Index will no longer keep an eye on it. Alternatively, you can change the way the Index works by clicking on the Advanced button.

Indexing your drive

Advanced Indexing

The Advanced Options dialog box enables you to rebuild the Index, which is a handy troubleshooting tool if files aren’t turning up in search results when they should. You can also move the Index to a different location, index encrypted files or get the Index to treat similar words with diacritics – accents – as separate words. You can also use this dialog box to add new file types to the Index or to prevent the Index from looking at particular file types.

Advanced Indexing

Find more files

Click on the File Types tab at the top of the dialog box. if you want to add a new file type to the Index, just type the file extension in the box at the bottom of the dialog box and then click Add new extension – although have a look at the list first, because it’s very comprehensive. You can also get the Index to stop indexing certain file types: for example, if you don’t want the Index to look at your MP3 files scroll until you see the listing for mp3 and uncheck the box next to it.


Add &#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


1 Comment | Read more

Tweak Media Center for a great experience in Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 23/01/2007 17:55pm

Once you’ve got your TV channels, Media Center is ready to rock – but there are some other tweaks you can make if you’re determined to get the best possible entertainment experience. If you don’t want to make any more changes just yet, click on I Am Finished and then on Next.

Optional setup

Deja View

We’re back at the setup menu and as you can see, the first option is ticked and greyed out. Now, it’s time to adjust our display settings. Click on that option and then on Next.

Display setup

Quick Click

As the setup screen explains, Media Center will now make the necessary adjustments to suit your display.

There’s also a video you can watch that explains how to adjust your screen for the best picture.

Full screen

Pristine Screen

If you click on the Watch Video link then yes, you get to watch a video. It explains how to adjust your screen brightness and contrast, and it features people in beige trousers and brightly coloured tops. Funky!

Preferred display connected?

Pin-Sharp Wizard

Make sure your PC is connected to the display you’ll actually be using – there’s no point in configuring the display so it looks good on your PC’s screen if you’ll be watching most things on a 50-inch plasma display.

Identify your display type

Select Your Screen

Media Center uses different settings for different kinds of displays, because what looks great on a PC screen may well look rubbish on a projector. Click on the type of display you’re using and then on Next.

Connection type

Choose your cable

Now, you need to tell Media Center what kind of connection you have. For standard PC monitors (and HD televisions) the answer will be DVI, VGA or HDMI.

Display

Born to be wide

One more question: do you have a standard screen or a widescreen? Choose the appropriate option and click Next.

Confirm your display resolution

Where it’s at

Media Center will now give you the option to keep the current display resolution or to change it. Make sure you’re running Media Center in full screen view when you do this – if you run it in a window the text may be less clear than when you’re in full screen mode.

Adjust your display settings

Nearly done

If you wish, Media Center can now help you adjust your monitor’s settings for the best possible picture. We’re happy with what we’ve got, so we’ll click Finish This Wizard and then Next.

Optional setup

Mr Speaker

We’re back at the menu and this time, Media Center’s ready to configure our speakers. To continue, click Next.

Choose number of speakers

Magic Numbers

Before it can adjust your audio settings, Media Center needs to know how many speakers you have. If you’ve got a 2.1 speaker system – that is, two speakers with a subwoofer – go for the “2 speakers” option.

Test your speakers

Ear we go

Media Center will now play a tone through each speaker in turn. If you don’t hear the sound from each individual speaker, Media Center will help identify and fix the problem. We’re fine, though, so we’ll click on Next.

Optional setup

Media Management

That’s our PC tweaked, so there’s just one more step to go: setting up our media libraries for music, video and pictures.

Library setup

Add a folder

By default Media Center looks in your Music, Pictures and Videos folders for your files. If you’ve stored or will store your media files in another location, use the Add Folder option to make sure Media Center keeps its beady eye on that location too.

you are done

The end

And we’re done. Click on Finish and you’ll return to the main Media Center menu, where things get much more entertaining.


Add &#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us | Digg! Digg This Article | Add to Stumbleupon Add to StumbleUpon


0 Comments | Read more

Windows: The Official Magazine Magazine Cover

Want to know how to get started with Windows, organise and share your photos and music, watch TV and movies on your PC, and lots more? Then subscribe to Windows: The Official Magazine.