Here is a BIOS setting that you might want to adjust.
Disabling it, will free up more of your L2 cache, which
will speed up your system, somewhat.

System BIOS Cacheable

This is a legacy setting from when the hardware talked directly to the BIOS.
Modern OSes talk to the hardware using drivers so there is no need to cache
the BIOS in the L2 cache, so disable this setting.
posted by Dave at 10/01/2008 05:02:00 PM

What is Robocopy and how do I use it in Vista?

QUESTION:
I've heard that there is a free Microsoft tool for copying files in Vista that can copy large number of files, start again where it left off if there is a network outage, and automatically retry and more. Where do I get this program and how do I use it in Vista?

ANSWER:
Robocopy is built into Vista. It's a command line copying tool that goes way beyond the capabilities of the standard copy commands. It can mirror an entire directory tree, copy all NTFS attributes and access control lists (ACLs) and run in backup mode (with administrative privileges) to allow backing up of files when you don't have permission to access them.
You can find a list of all the command line parameters here: Robocopy
posted by Dave at 9/18/2008 11:07:00 PM

How to: Using the New Vista Features

How to make window borders slimmer.
The window borders in Vista are pretty and transparent (if you have Aero Glass enabled) but they're also very wide. Want to make them skinnier? You can - and without installing extra software or editing the registry or doing anything scary. Here's how:
Right click an empty spot on the desktop
Select Personalize
Click Window Color and Appearance: Fine tune the color and style of your windows
If Aero is enabled, click Open Classic Appearance Properties for More Color Options at the bottom of the window
Click the Advanced button
In the dropdown box labeled "Item," select Border Padding
Change the default setting (4) to a smaller number (for example, 1 or 2). You could also make the borders even wider, if you like, by changing the setting to a larger number.
Click OK to close each dialog box.
posted by Dave at 8/01/2008 09:29:00 PM

How to make Vista display keyboard shortcuts in menus

Want to learn to use keyboard shortcuts more, but not sure what some of them are?
You can set Vista to show the shortcuts next to the corresponding menu items. Here's how:

Click Start | Control Panel

Click Ease of Access and then Ease of Access Center (or in Classic View, just click Ease of Access Center)
Ignore the annoying text-to-voice; it will go away after reading the first section to you.
Click "Make the keyboard easier to use"
Under the section titled "Make it easier to use keyboard shortcuts,"
put a check mark in the box labeled "Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys

Click Save
posted by Dave at 7/29/2008 04:16:00 PM

How to get the address bar back after SP3 takes it away

One of the optional toolbars that you can enable on Windows XP (and Vista) is the address bar,
which is handy for typing in a URL without first opening up the browser.
You can add it to your taskbar by right clicking and selecting Toolbars | Address.
Or at least, you could - prior to installing the latest service pack. However, if you've installed SP3,
you might notice that you no longer have that option when you right click.
Apparently the EU deems this to be a violation of their antitrust ruling.
Well, I'm not in the EU and I want that option back. Luckily, there's a way to get it,
but you'll need to replace the version of the browserui.dll file installed by SP3 with one from SP2.
Copy it from an XP system that doesn't have SP3 and put it on the c: drive, then do the following:
Restart the SP3 computer in Safe Mode
(press F8 at bootup and select Safe Mode with Command Prompt option.)
At the command prompt, type this:
xcopy c:browserui.dll c:WindowsSystem32
Reboot the computer.
posted by Dave at 5/12/2008 05:58:00 PM