The PC Informant » Vista

Windows Vista/7 power management bug

Vic Laurie — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:18:04 +0000

I personally ran into the following on a Vista laptop. I turned off the system in the usual way, putting the PC into the hybrid sleep mode. I then closed the lid. I could have just closed the lid and that would also have put the system to sleep. By both turning off the PC and closing the lid I ran into the bug described in this Microsoft post:

Consider the following scenario. You have a portable computer that runs Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2008. You put the computer to sleep (S3) while the computer’s lid is open. Then, you close the lid while the computer is asleep. Later, you open the lid to wake up the computer.

In this scenario, the computer starts resuming. However, you only see a blank screen and a mouse pointer until you provide some user input. For example, this situation lasts until you press a key or click the mouse.

At first, I thought there was something wrong with my graphics card but then I remembered reading about this bug somewhere. So, if you run into this, it’s the OS and not your hardware. It seems to occur only on certain systems and not all the time. Microsoft has a hotfix for the problem but, since just hitting a key brings everything up, I wouldn’t bother with it.

Restore missing or disappearing tray icons in Windows Vista

Vic Laurie — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:22:01 +0000

Here’s an annoying Vista problem. Periodically, I would find my network connection and some other tray icons disappearing. A little research revealed that it is a Vista bug caused by some Registry entries filling up. Sometimes rebooting brings the vanishing icons back but not always. You may have to resort to editing the Registry. (Back it up first.)

The Registry key that is involved is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify

There are two values in this key called “IconStreams” and “PastIconsStream” (graphic below).

Delete these two values (after you make a backup). Now you have to log off for the change to take effect. Your missing icons should be restored. Unfortunately, this is not a permanent fix since in time the two Registry ~~keys~~ values will fill up again. The most common problem in the tray is missing network connection and sound icons but I have had other application icons disappear as well.

I don’t know if it’s a coincidence and I don’t have quantitative measurements but my computer boots up faster after cleaning up the tray icon Registry entries.

Quick keyboard launch of applications

Vic Laurie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:21:20 +0000

The Quick Launch toolbar has provided a way to easily open favorite applications with a mouse click ever since Windows 98. In Windows Vista, a hotkey function using the Windows key was introduced and then continued in Windows 7. Each icon in the Quick Launch Bar is assigned a number 1-9 from left to right. Number 10 is assigned “0″. (Eleven and up are out of luck.) Then the combination of the Windows key and a single digit will open the designated application or folder.

For example, if the icon is placed fourth from the left in the Quick Launch Bar, the keyboard combination “Windows key + 4″ will open it. By itself, this keyboard shortcut may not be faster than a click on the icon with the mouse but if your hands are already on the keyboard, it saves time.

Install, reinstall, or uninstall Windows

Vic Laurie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:32:29 +0000

Sometimes you have to reinstall Windows to repair corrupted files or a malware infection. Or you may want a clean, new installation to improve performance. Maybe you just got a copy of Windows 7 and want to install it or even dual-boot with it. For all these scenarios and more Microsoft has a useful site with instructions for Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

Disk defragmenters

Vic Laurie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:41:37 +0000

Defragmenting your hard drives is one of those computer maintenance chores that has to be done now and then. In Windows Vista and 7, defragging is pretty much automatic with a default setting that runs the built-in Windows utility once a week in the background. Thus, most home PC users with Vista/7 no longer need to concern themselves with this task.

However, in Windows XP defragging has to be run by the PC user. A schedule can be set up but it requires a script and only power users are likely to do things that way. Defragging doesn’t have to be done all that often by the average PC user but the Windows native defragger is slow and some may wish for a faster and better utility. There are both commercial and free applications available. TechSupportAlert has a list of “Gizmo” Richards’ selection of the best free defraggers. His pick is MyDefrag and this application is also the favorite of others. Also often mentioned by on the Web are Defraggler and Auslogics.

The built-in Windows defragger is sufficient for many but it is very slow and doesn’t defrag everything. If you want something faster and more thorough, any of the freeware mentioned should do a good job. How often you should defrag is a function of your particular system and usage pattern.

I discuss the details of defragging in Windows XP at this link. There is also a Flash tutorial here.

Windows Start-up & Shutdown Sounds from Windows 3.1 on up

Vic Laurie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:41:49 +0000

It seems that people will collect almost anything. Vince Bognot has put together Windows Start-up and Shutdown Sounds from Windows 3.1 to Windows 7. I am not sure who cares but here is his collection:

Via the Windows Club

Scrap files scrapped

Vic Laurie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:59:22 +0000

Windows is a complicated operating system and has many properties and features that most PC users are unaware of. One of the odder and lesser known features in Windows 98/XP was something called a scrap file. I wrote about scrap files some years ago in connection with their use by virus writers. I visit the subject again to note that, beginning with Vista, Windows no longer supports scrap files.

What were scrap files supposed to do? They were intended as a kind of handy way to copy a small part of a document onto the desktop where it could be kept and then used in another file. Only a few applications, mostly Microsoft Office, supported this function, however, and very few PC users even knew about it.

To see how a scrap file works in Windows XP, open a Word document. Then highlight some text and use the mouse to drag the highlighted material onto the desktop. A new file will appear. Double-click the file and a Word document containing the text will open. Or drag the scrap file and drop it into an open Word document and the text will appear in the Word document. With a slightly different procedure, images can also be manipulated. In that case, however, you need to use a right-click drag and make a selection from the context menu.

Because of backward compatibility considerations, Microsoft doesn’t often drop a Windows feature. But scrap files were little known or used and had some security issues so this feature was omitted from Vista and 7.

Fixing Windows update problems

Vic Laurie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:11:23 +0000

For one reason or the other, it sometimes happens that a file or a Registry entry gets corrupted in one of the never-ending Windows updates. In that case, it often becomes impossible to carry out updates without getting error messages. The problems are common enough that Microsoft has come up with a tool to fix them. Go to this Microsoft link to get instructions and to download the fix.

Customize your icons

Vic Laurie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:11:34 +0000

Many Windows users are unaware that they are not stuck with the default set of icons that comes with their setup. In fact, it is quite easy to edit or replace the existing icons. Some years ago I wrote an article on how to customize your icons. Why should all your folder icons be the same bland vanilla symbol? Add color and design to your desktop. In fact, Windows comes with a selection of icons. You can also download libraries of icons or create your own.

My original article discusses how to change icons for Windows XP and where to get some extensive selections of new icons as well as free software for editing or even creating icons. Windows Vista/7 have similar procedures.

For folder icons, right-click a folder and choose “Properties”. Then click the “Customize” tab. The dialog box (shown below) will contain a button “Change Icon”. Click this and the procedure is then similar to what is outlined in the XP article.

Shortcut icons are also easily changed in Windows Vista/7 by a procedure very similar to that given for Windows XP. Right-click, open the properties dialog, and click the button “Change Icon”.

Here are some places where you can download icons:

Microsoft patches patched

Vic Laurie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:11:45 +0000

Some of the Microsoft security patches from the October patch Tuesday were buggy. Microsoft issued some fixes yesterday. So you may need to check Microsoft Update. Details at InfoWorld.