Tag: Vista

Where, Oh Where, Has My Icon Gone?

Posted on by Julie

How heavily I rely
on that one small icon
minimise/maximise
minimise/maximise

Through the ebb and flow of my day
I pay no heed
give no thought
to that little icon

But today I realise,
today I know
it keeps my day moving
it takes me there
(where? Here, there, everywhere)
where I want to be

To re-create the Show desktop icon, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type notepad in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. Carefully copy and then paste the following text into the Notepad window:
    [Shell]
    Command=2
    IconFile=explorer.exe,3
    [Taskbar]
    Command=ToggleDesktop
  3. On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the file to your desktop as “Show desktop.scf”. The Show desktop icon is created on your desktop.
  4. Click and then drag the Show desktop icon to your Quick Launch toolbar.

for more info see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/190355

Right Tools for the Job

Posted on by Julie

This week I was introduced to a Vista tool that rates and improves your computer.

  • Click Start Button – Windows Symbol in the bottom left hand corner of the screen
  • Right Click on Computer
  • Select Properties
  • You should now see basic information about your computer
  • Under the System Section you will see an item for Rating with a number next to it in a blue box (rated) or a grey box (unrated).
  • Click on the Windows Experience Index text next to the number.
  • This brings up the Rate and improve your computer’s performance
  • Click on the Update my score link
  • This then starts a series of tests which determines you PC’s score. A low score will indicate may be the laptop is not suited to Vista.

Another way to improve performance is to turn off the Aero interface. To do this:

  • Right click on the desktop and select Personalise
  • Click on Windows Color and Appearance
  • Uncheck – Enable Transparency.
  • Click Ok

Other than changing my colour scheme I couldn’t see much difference but I do perceive an increase in speed, until it crashes of course!