I’ve been hunting for Vista tools and articles and have plenty of the best to share with you.
Windows Vista Home Page (microsoft.com)
Windows Developer Center (msdn.microsoft.com)
Microsoft TechNet (technet.microsoft.com)
Help
Vista Babble (vistababble.com) – Community-based site with forums such as Tips, Add-ons & Applications, bugs and problems, customizing, etc.
Microsoft Answers Beta (answers.microsoft.com) – Microsoft’s version of Yahoo Answers.
Windows Vista Help and How-to (windowshelp.microsoft.com)
Overview
Windows Vista (wikipedia.org)
Vista Accessibility Features (microsoft.com)
Install
Geek to Live: Windows Vista Upgrade Power Tips (Lifehacker.com)- Tips to install, tweak, customize, etc.
How to Dual-boot Vista with Linux (Vista Installed First) (apcmag.com) – This tutorial walks you through how to dual-boot Ubuntu 8.04 with Vista SP1.
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor (microsoft.com) – Ths site tells you if your computer is capable of upgrading to Vista and guides you through the process.
Tips, Tweaks, How-Tos & Fixes
Windows Vista How-To (howtogeek.com) – Amazing listing of links that show you how to do anything and everything to tweak, optimize and modify Vista to your liking.
TweakGuides – Download free guides to fully tweak and optimize Vista or XP.
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Serve Configurations by Black Viper (blackviper.com) – For Service Pack 1, Black Viper provides settings to better optimize your Vista.
TweakVista – Site dedicated to helping you tweak your settings and improving performance.
Ten Speed Tweaks That Can Make A Huge Difference In Vista Performance (mostlysavingmoney.com) – Simple tips that will improve how quickly Vista works.
How to Make Vista Less Annoying (Lifehacker.com) – Excellent tips on how to fix problems, disable annoying popups, etc.
Top 10 Tweaks, Tips, and Tricks for Windows Vista (chris.pirillo.com) – 10 great tips to make some great tweaks to Vista.
Secure Your Vista PC in 10 Easy Steps (pcworld.com) – Good tips to keep your pc secure.
Windows Vista Tweaks (speedyvista.com) – 29 total tips to tweak Vista’s performance, security, etc.
Vista Made Easy: 50 Tips and Tricks (pcmag.com) – Some pretty solid tips from PC Magazine.
Get Windows 7′s Best Features Right Now (lifehacker.com) – You don’t need to download Windows 7 Beta to add some of its best features to your Vista.
Windows Vista Keyboard Shortcuts (windowshelp.microsoft.com)
Windows Vista RTM Software Compatibility List (iexbeta.com)
How to Clean Up Your Messy Windows Context Menu (howtogeek.com)
Best Alternatives to Windows Start Menu (makeuseof.com)
3 Alternative Ways to Get Windows Updates (downloadsquad.com)
30 Quick Fixes for Windows XP & Vista (pcadvisor.co.uk)
Tools
Vista Tools (download.com) – Some great Vista tools from Download.com.
vLite – Configuration tool for Vista. Hot fixes, unattended setup, component removal, tweaks, etc.
Windows Vista Downloads - This site compiles the best freeware and shareware for Vista.
RocketDock – Free animated application launcher. Drop shortcuts on for easy access and organization.
ISO Recorder v3 – Tool that enables you to burn CD and DVD images, copy disks, make images of the existing data CDs and DVDs and create ISO images from contents of a disk folder.
Ave’s Vista Apps (mpj.tomaat.nl)
Process Library – Look up any process or dll to see whether it’s safe to remove or disable.
Themes, Wallpaper, Icons, Etc
7 Beautiful Themes to Customize Vista (nirmaltv.com)
VistaIcons – Site dedicated to free Vista style icons, wallpaper, icon sets, etc.
WinCustomize – This site provides Vista and XP themes, skins, wallpapers, icons, etc.
ThemeXP - Provides XP and Vista themes, wallpaper and screensavers.
News & Notes
Windows Vista Service Pack Coming in April (blogs.chron.com)
Vista SP2: Six Things You Need to Know (pcworld.com)
Exclusive Interview: Microsoft Admits What Went Wrong with Vista and How They Fixed It (maximumpc.com)
Windows Vista Team Blog (windowsteamblog.com)
Vista Rewired
For many, Windows Vista has been a huge headache. It doesn’t have to be. There is so much help available, but many don’t know where to look. Vista is fully customizable and you can use these resources to customize your operating system to your liking. By using some of these tips and tweaks, your operating system can have a new look and feel. If there are any that I may have missed, please do let me know. My goal is to provide a central source for the best Vista Tips, Tricks, etc to hopefully make your computing life easier and more efficient.




