Windows Vista Home Premium is a perfectly serviceable operating system, though, like your prized '57 Buick, a little calibration--a few "tweaks--can get your OS to purr. Once you enable a true Administrator account (not the limited "Administrator" accounts allowed by User Account Control), you have control of the computer. Assuming you're an experienced user with some knowledge of security measures, you should be able to execute these three registry tweaks with confidence.
Instructions
Backing Up the Registry
1. If you like a little danger in your life--and you appreciate prudent safeguards--you will probably enjoy tweaking the registry. The registry is a central, hierarchical database containing settings for software, hardware, system configuration and more. Accidentally deleting a single registry entry could be disastrous, and that's only the beginning of the harm a novice can cause. Therefore, experts and newer users alike should always back up the registry before making any changes. This gives you a "restore point" to which you can recover.
2. To use Vista's System Restore utility, open "Control Panel" and select "System and Maintenance," then "System."
3. In the left-hand pane, click on "System Protection." A dialog box will open. Select the "System Protection" tab.
4. Check off the drives you want to protect. Be sure to include your main hard drive and any partitions.
5. Click on "Apply," then "Create." Type a name for your restore point, and click "Create."
Redundancy
6. For the sake of redundancy, use a registry cleaner to create a second restore point (and to keep your registry streamlined).
7. Before deciding on a registry cleaner, investigate its reputation. Spyware may come packaged as a registry cleaner. Reputable options include Registry Booster and Registry Mechanic.
8. Install the registry cleaner, run it, and create another restore point. You now have two safety measures in place should one of your tweaks go terribly wrong.
Turn Off Balloon Tips
9. If you have made a reasoned decision to turn off User Account Control (UAC), you probably don't want to be bothered with constant popup messages warning you that UAC is turned off. A simple registry fix can shut down these "balloon tips."
10. To open the Registry Editor, click "Start," and in the search box, type "regedit" (no quotes). Press "Enter."
11. The registry is arranged in hierarchal levels similar to drives, folders and files. Navigate through the levels by double clicking on an entry, revealing the sublevels. To navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft, you double-click on "HKEY_CURRENT_USER," locate "Software" in the expanded list, double-click on "Software," then find and double-click on "Microsoft."
12. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Advanced. Then, right-click anywhere on the right-hand pane, select "New," and choose "DWORD (32-bit) Value."
13. Right-click the new entry and rename it "EnableBalloonTips." Double-click the new entry and enter "0" in the Value Data box. Restart the computer for your changes to take effect, and the balloon tips will be gone.
Speed Up Menus
14. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
15. In the right-hand pane, double-click "MenuShowDelay."
16. In the Value Data box, change the default setting to a lower number. For instance, if the value is 150, try lowering it to 50. The lower the number, the faster your menus will open.
17.Restart the computer for the change to take effect.
18. Test your new setting on a few menus. If it's too fast or slow, adjust the value until you find a setting you like.
Increase Your Download Capacity
19. Even with high-speed broadband, Internet Explorer's default setting only allows you to download two files at a time--but you can change that in the Registry.
20. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Internet Settings. Right-click on the right-hand pane and create a new DWORD value.
21. Rename the new value "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server." Double-click on it and set a value of "10" in the Value Data box.
22. In the same registry location, create another DWORD value. This time, name it "MaxConnectionsPerServer." Double-click and set the value at "10."
23. Restart the computer, and you will be able to download up to 10 files simultaneously.
Tags: registry cleaner, restore point, HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software, HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft, Registry Editor, Restart computer
