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Widows Vista
Learn PowerShell Scripting FAST
By Brian Nelson ⋅ May 9, 2012 ⋅ One comment
Once you’ve introduced yourself to Windows PowerShell and how get information about cmdlets, you’re ready to dig into scripting. This guide shows you how to start scripting fast with PowerShell commands and the features that will save you loads of time, and impress your fellow admins 
Vista 70-620 MCTS Exam Prep: Installation
By Jason Zandri ⋅ July 27, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
Are you preparing for your 70-620 MCTS: Configuring Microsoft Windows Vista Client certification exam? Great! Today we’ll get our hands dirty with an actual Vista installation — which means that I want you to install Vista to get some practice. I’ll review the high level details of performing a clean installation of Vista on a [...]
How to Share Files between Mac and PC — Leopard and Vista
By Eric English ⋅ May 12, 2009 ⋅ 49 comments
Macs are becoming more and more prevalent, and there can be times when you need to be able to share files between your Mac and your PC. As a follow up to my articles on setting up a small home network, let’s talk about sharing files between Leopard and Vista. Today we’ll discuss accessing shared [...]
Performance Shootout: Microsoft’s XP, Vista, and Windows 7
By Lisa Szpunar ⋅ March 18, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes at ZDNet did a performance test pitting the different Microsoft operating system against each other. He wanted to see how the different Windows 7 builds would compare to Vista and XP. This unofficial performance competition was done knowing that Microsoft’s latest OS is still in beta, but the author thought it would be [...]
Vista and Server 2008 Service Pack 2 RC Available Now
By Brian Nelson ⋅ March 12, 2009 ⋅ One comment
Vista SP2 and Windows Server SP2 — So Happy Together Much of the hubbub about Windows Vista has quieted down since Microsoft largely abandoned the product to refocus the court of public opinion on its re-branded Windows 7 OS instead. But, what many users, and unbiased commentators, have been noticing is that SP1 for Vista [...]
How to Backup Vista with the New Backup Utility
By Eric English ⋅ March 4, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments
Remember the old days of using NTBackup to backup your computer? It had its pros and cons, but nonetheless it got the job done. Ever wish it had a way to backup your whole computer instead of just individual files? With Vista’s new Backup Utility you can make a complete PC backup, and/or backup individual [...]
7 Tips and Tricks to Make Your Vista Machine Run Faster
By Eric English ⋅ February 18, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments
The performance of Vista compared to XP is slow, but you can improve Vista’s performance with a few proven tips and tricks. Here are 7 easy ways to make your Vista machine run faster and improve overall performance.
Microsoft’s Windows Vista Mojave Experiment’s Real Result
By Brian Nelson ⋅ February 5, 2009 ⋅ 19 comments
When Microsoft released the Windows Vista operating system to retail customers in January 2007, it was met by a wave of ambivalence and doubt. However, Vista was not unique in this regard. Business Week’s October 25, 2001 “Special Report” on Windows XP was titled “Not-So-Great XPectations”. But, unlike XP’s eventual march onto the computers of [...]
Windows Vista Small Business Assurance
By Brian Nelson ⋅ January 20, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
Microsoft has maintained since the launch of Vista that the operating system is a robust and stable platform for most users and that the issues with it have been over-hyped by the media and the Web 2.0 universe. We discussed the main reasons people hate Windows Vista earlier and it is true that many of [...]
Master the New and Improved MSConfig in Vista
By Eric English ⋅ January 12, 2009 ⋅ One comment
The System Configuration Utility – MSConfig – is a favorite of most pc users for a number of reasons. You can disable startup items and services, change boot options, and launch troubleshooting and configuration tools. Microsoft didn’t disappoint us with the newest version of MSConfig in Vista. They have made it simpler and more concise, [...]
Top 10 Reasons People Hate Windows Vista
By Brian Nelson ⋅ January 6, 2009 ⋅ 44 comments
Recently, I wrote an article regarding the idea of Skipping Windows Vista. Since then, what was once one of many possible ideas has built momentum toward becoming the plan dictated by conventional wisdom. While this bandwagon may have already gained too many passengers and too much speed to stop now, one can’t help but wonder [...]
A Free and Easy Way To Improve Your Vista's Performance
By Eric English ⋅ December 23, 2008 ⋅ 8 comments
Did you recently upgrade your desktop or laptop to Vista and you aren’t getting the performance you expected? Or maybe you just bought a new computer and it’s just not as fast as you thought it would be. Want to help boost your performance without purchasing any extra hardware? Don’t worry, there is still hope! [...]
Disable UAC (User Account Control) on Vista and Server 2008
By Dave Lawlor ⋅ December 18, 2008 ⋅ 6 comments
Learn how to disable UAC in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. We’ll cover UAC settings, managing User Account Control and the steps to disable UAC in Vista and Server 2008.
Skipping Vista: What’s the Best Strategy for IT Pros?
By Brian Nelson ⋅ November 17, 2008 ⋅ 8 comments
Recently, Microsoft released its quarterly earnings reporting, detailing a continuing problem with the adoption of Windows Vista. The new operating system has not been adopted as quickly or as wide-spread as previous OS upgrades from Microsoft. Now, with the financial problems of 2008 in full swing, Microsoft said to analysts that they expect corporate IT [...]
Viewing Windows Event Viewer in Vista
By Dave Lawlor ⋅ May 30, 2008 ⋅ One comment
If you have been working Wintel computers for any amount of time, you have eventually found yourself staring at the console of the Event Viewer at one time or another. If you were smart it was before a disaster, if not so smart, it was after. But in the end you were at the Event [...]
Vista is for Suckers and Mac Users are Better Than You
By Zach Monroe ⋅ May 19, 2008 ⋅ 87 comments
The title of this article seems to be the underlying theme in every “Mac vs. PC” commercial. The ones that have drawn my attention recently are the commercials targeting Vista. You’ve seen those commercials haven’t you? Most of them go something like this: Mac: “Hello I’m a super hip, fun, exciting Mac for young people [...]
Has Microsoft Taken the Work Out of Hacking Vista?
By Zach Monroe ⋅ April 11, 2008 ⋅ 5 comments
It’s time to purchase a new PC and you want to add the most up-to-date Operating System available. Microsoft Windows Vista is your choice, but you want to install it yourself so that the computer manufacturer doesn’t add free trials of AOL and other wonderful extras, or as I like to call it — annoying [...]
Installing RSAT: Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista
By Dave Lawlor ⋅ April 3, 2008 ⋅ 4 comments
Remote Server Administration Tools was released by Microsoft for Windows Vista SP1 users to be able to manage both Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 Servers. If you had upgraded to Vista in the past and wanted to manage Windows servers with your Vista client, you were able to with some hacks. But all in all [...]
Robocopy: No, It’s Not a Giant Robot!
By Ben Culbertson ⋅ October 10, 2007 ⋅ 2 comments
Robocopy is a nifty little tool that’s been around for a while under the Windows Resource Kit, but Uncle Bill and the gang over at Microsoft have decided that its time has come. Robocopy makes its desktop debut in Vista! So many of us admins love to pick up another scripting option, and Robocopy is [...]
9 Ways Vista MMC Gives You More Control
By David Davis ⋅ September 27, 2007 ⋅ One comment
As a Windows system administrator, I am sure you have used the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) before. However, like me, you may have just gone in, performed your task, and closed it out. In this article, we will learn about the new Windows Vista snap-ins for the MMC and how you can create your own [...]