Windows Vista Tips and Tricks
One of the first tips and tricks that I would like to discuss as far as Microsoft Windows Vista is enabling the wireless adapter that is built in to many laptop systems. I recently had the pleasure of assisting a family member in setting up their wireless network and learned a little something new. I found that the technician of the high-speed internet service did not leave a wireless adapter for the laptop that would be configured in the network.
Once I researched the devices on the laptop in the device manager, I found that the particular laptop that I was working on had a built in wireless adapter. I walked through setting up the network and ended up with a screen that stated something to the effect that the wireless connection capability was not turned on. It continued to say that this could be enabled by a switch somewhere on the computer, or by a keyboard shortcut. I had to call the original equipment manufacturer and was informed of the keyboard shortcut. If you wish to enable the wireless adapter so that it can connect on Windows Vista, simply look for your "alt " key and next to it should be a button that read "fn". Hold down the "fn" button and the "F2" button and you will enable the adapter.
One of the most common issues that people have expressed frustration over when it comes to Microsoft Windows Vista is the fact that there is a new shutdown menu. Many people just are not used to the new shutdown menu and prefer to have the older version. Once I researched this issue a little bit, I have found that it is quite possible to get the older version of the shutdown menu to come up. You can access the older shutdown menu by pressing "alt" and the "F4" button.
I know that sometimes I have a hard time seeing things on my screen. I actually went out and bought a 19-inch widescreen monitor to fix this issue. With Windows Vista, I have discovered a neat little trick to make the various little desktop icons a little bigger without having to mess around with the settings and all that. All you have to do is point your mouse to any desktop icon and click on it. Once you click on the icon, find the "ctrl" button on your keyboard and hold it down. At the same time that you are holding this down, move the wheel on your mouse and/or move your mouse. Once you do this, you will see that you can get that desktop icon almost as large as anyone could possibly want! This is great stuff here!
While these little tips and tricks for Windows Vista may not interest everyone, these are just a few that I have enjoyed discovering myself. I hope to find more in the future that I may share. If you have any, as stated previously, email me and/or leave them in the comment box below.
Published by Angie Shiflett
This author enjoys creating articles on various content. View profile
-
Tips and Tricks to Speed Up Your Windows XP
Are you looking to squeeze some extra horsepower out of your XP machine? These simple tips and tricks can raise the top speed of your Windows XP computer considerably.
- Book Review: Windows Vista Annoyances by David A. Karp Windows Vista Annoyances: Tips, Secrets and Solutions is the fantastic collection of the subtitle; tips, secrets and solutions to all those annoying problems we encounter in our daily use of Windows Vista.
- Speed Up Windows Vista at Almost No Cost! Learn how to change, cleanup, and perform maintenance on your Vista Computer to increase performance.
- The New Features of Windows Vista As someone who doesn't do well with change, at first I didn't like Windows Vista. I was surprised it had so many differences and new features.
- Speed Up Your Computer: Hardware If you've read a previous post of mine on tips and tricks for speeding up your computer by tweaking your software and computer settings, great ! But that doesn't have to be the end of it.
- How to Speed Up Windows Vista
- Tips and Tricks to Speed Up Windows Vista
- My Initial Impressions of Windows Vista
- The Six Editions of Windows Vista - Which One is Right for You?
- Duel for Your Desktop: Windows XP Versus Windows Vista
- Top 5 Tips and Tricks for Windows 7
- Free Windows Vista Classes!
|
|
10 Comments
Post a CommentGreat article, Vista is great but it does take some getting used to!
Great article, But I am still waiting for the Guru's at work to tell me all the bugs have been worked out before i make the purchase!
Great tips! We just got a new computer and it has Windows Vista on it...it has been a bit of an adjustment. I had no idea about the Alt-F4 or point-control features! Do you have any tips for the new version of Microsoft Word now? :)
Your article is very good, but I'm still reluctant to make the switch from XP Pro to Vista... Maybe I'll wait until the Vista Ultimate price comes down considerably, or it comes pre-installed on my next computer with a good enough processor so I dont notice the drop in performance. Vista, by design, eats system resources
Thanks for the tips.I tried out Vista but I'm waiting a little while before I make the switch.
Going to have to deal with Vista on my next laptop purchase...will keep these tips handy. Thanks :-)
I was just playing around with ALT+F4 and found it doesn't always work. It actually only works if you don't have other windows open. Their's a keyboard way around it, so I'm publishing a tip tomorrow morning with details (and of course giving you credit for pointing me in the right direction). See http://itsvista.com/2007/03/itsvista-tip-48-restart-or-shutdown-vista-from-the-keyboard/ tomorrow for details. Thanks again!
I didn't know the ALT+F4 trick, very nice! For your icon sizing, you don't have to actually click an icon, just anywhere on the desktop as you hold down the CTRL key. I've got details here: http://itsvista.com/2006/12/itsvista-tip-6-resize-your-vista-desktop-icons/
@Mark: Hold down the windows key and the tab key
@Veronika: If you're getting a new computer I'd go with Vista, but if you're hardware is older, Vista probably won't work well. Also, you may have to pay to upgrade some of your software to work best on Vista, so it can be an expensive proposition.
I haven't had the opportunity to check Vista out..the bf wants it bad- is it worth it?
There is this trick that lets you line up your windows in a 3-D way. Does anyone know the keys?