How to Automate Drive Defragging in Windows Vista

Defragging is a must. Vista has an inbuilt scheduling feature that allows you to set when you want your drives to be defragged.

1. Start “Disk Defragmenter“.

2. Click on “Modify Schedule” and select when you want the defragging to take

place.

3. You can set the frequency, the day and time for the defragment process.

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AutoRuns for Windows Version 9.35

This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys.

You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP.

Autoruns‘ Hide Signed Microsoft Entries option helps you to zoom in on third-party auto-starting images that have been added to your system and it has support for looking at the auto-starting images configured for other accounts configured on a system. Also included in the download package is a command-line equivalent that can output in CSV format, Autorunsc.

You’ll probably be surprised at how many executables are launched automatically!

Autoruns works on Windows 2000 SP4 Rollup 1 or above.

Screenshot

Usage

Simply run Autoruns and it shows you the currently configured auto-start applications as well as the full list of Registry and file system locations available for auto-start configuration. Autostart locations displayed by Autoruns include logon entries, Explorer add-ons, Internet Explorer add-ons including Browser Helper Objects (BHOs), Appinit DLLs, image hijacks, boot execute images, Winlogon notification DLLs, Windows Services and Winsock Layered Service Providers. Switch tabs to view autostarts from different categories.

To view the properties of an executable configured to run automatically, select it and use the Properties menu item or toolbar button.Navigate to the Registry or file system location displayed or the configuration of an auto-start item by selecting the item and using the Jump menu item or toolbar button.

To disable an auto-start entry uncheck its check box. To delete an auto-start configuration entry use the Delete menu item or toolbar button.

Select entries in the User menu to view auto-starting images for different user accounts.

More information on display options and additional information is available in the on-line help.

Autorunsc Usage

Autorunsc is the command-line version of Autoruns. Its usage syntax is:

Usage: autorunsc [-a] | [-c] [-b] [-d] [-e] [-g] [-h] [-i] [-l] [-m] [-n] [-p] [-r] [-s] [-v] [-w] [-x] [user]

-a	Show all entries.
-b	Boot execute.
-c	Print output as CSV.
-d	Appinit DLLs.
-e	Explorer addons.
-g	Sidebar gadgets (Vista and higher).
-h	Image hijacks.
-i	Internet Explorer addons.
-l	Logon startups (this is the default).
-m	Hide signed Microsoft entries.
-n	Winsock protocol and network providers.
-p	Printer monitor drivers.
-r	LSA providers.
-s	Autostart services and non-disabled drivers.
-t	Scheduled tasks.
-v	Verify digital signatures.
-w	Winlogon entries.
-x	Print output as XML.
user	Specifies the name of the user account for which autorun items will be shown. Download Autoruns and Autorunsc - 562kb

How to add new search engines in the list of windows vista

You just learnt how to use the Start Menu to search the Net. You can also

change the default search engine Vista uses. To do this,

1. Start “Internet Explorer“.

2. Click on the dropdown in the Search field.

3. Click “Find More Providers“.

4. A page should load with a list of some search engines.

5. Click on the search engine you want to use.

6. A confirmation window will pop up.

7. Click “Add Provider“.

8. If you want to make it your default search engine, check the “Make this my

default search provider” box.

9. Click “OK“.

10. Now all Internet searches done by you will be handled by the new default

search engine.

How to Search The Internet Quickly in Windows Vista

Microsoft has implemented the search bar within the Start Menu in Windows Vista. Its main purpose is to access files and programs quickly but it can be used to search the Internet as well.

1. Click on the “Start” button.

2. Enter the keywords in the search field.

3. Click on Search the Internet to use the default search engine (Live Search).

4. In Windows Explorer, the search field normally searches the local drive. Pressing [Shift] + [Enter] after entering the keyword will open up a new browser window with results of the search in the default search engine.

Accessing The File Menu in Windows Vista

One of the characteristics of Vista is that there might not be any File menu in some of the applications such as Windows Explorer for example.

1. At any time to access this menu, press [Alt].

2. To permanently enable the menus, open “Windows Explorer“.

3. Go to Organize > Folder and Search Options.

4. Click on the “View” tab and check the box for “Always show menus“.

5. Click “OK“.

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