Vista Tips 101 #1

1. Administrator Account in Vista

There are differences in Vista between accounts with "computer administrator" privileges and the Administrator account...... Accounts with "computer administrator" privileges are ones added to the Administrators local group..... The Administrator account, also a member of the local Administrators group, is a separate account that has higher privileges than other users in the local Administrators group. This is very different from previous versions of Windows.

1. To login with the true Administrator account, the account first has to be enabled. By default, the Administrator account is disabled.

2. You can enable the Administrator account with one line from an elevated command line :
net user administrator somecomplexp@ssword /active:yes

3. One More Step: Note: I have not noticed this to be true, but I am passing it on in case:
I have also read that there is one more important thing that needs to be done in Vista to enable the Administrator account. Not only do you have to enable the Administrator account, you also have to disable all other accounts with computer administrator privileges - before the Administrator account can be used as the "Superuser" Administrator. This is unusual, but not surprising considering Microsoft's phobia about security. After you enable the Administrator account, just right click each account in the local Administrators group and disable them. Then reboot the PC and login as Administrator.


2. Add an elevated command line

1. Click Start and type command in the search box... it will then display a number of item.... right-click the shortcut to Command Prompt and click Pin to Start Menu

2. Right-click the shortcut to Command Prompt in the start menu list and click Properties.

3. Click the Advance button and select Run as Administrator . Click Ok to save your settings.


3. Turning off UAC (User Account Control)

1. You can also turn off UAC in Control Panel, User Accounts. Click the link there that reads Change security settings, then, Turn User Account Control Off.

OR

2.Press the Windows + R keys to bring up the RUN window.... type msconfig and then press ENTER... open the Tools pane and then scroll down to Disable UAC and click once on that line. Click the Launch button.


4. Personalizing Your Own Shortcut Keys


The quick launch bar has been there since ages, but it is a little more useful in Vista...

1. Drag a program or a file into the quick launch toolbar.
2. Press the Windows key button on the keyboard plus the number 1 to launch or switch to the first item on the Quick Launch bar.
3. Press Windows key + 2 for the second, and so on.
4. For shortcut number 10, use Windows key + 0.


5. Resize Partitions with Vista Disk Management

Previously, in Windows XP, it was not possible to resize the partition without any data lost... the most common way was to delete the partition and then shrink it or expand it.. Now in Windows Vista it is now possible to resize partitions without any data loss in the new Disk Management console.


1. Click on the Start Button and right click on Computer and select Manage.
2. Expand the Storage section and select Disk Management.
3. Then just right click on any partition and select either Expand or Shrink to change the size of the partition.

This will allow you to safely resize your partitions without any data loss.