Web Talk

Don’t get confused by the title. As a matter of fact I am not talking about the Windows MUI (Multilingual User Interface) and I am not referring about the possibility to change your operating system language into something else of your choice (this option is available in Windows Vista Ultimate only). Here, I am talking about the opportunity to enable your keyboard for other languages in order to write in whatever language you want. Here is the trick to follow:

1. Click Start.
2. In the Search Bar, type Regional and hit Enter.
3. Select the Keyboard and Languages tab and click on the Change Keyboard button.
4. On the General tab, click the Add button and select, by ticking the checkboxes, all the languages you wish to add.
5. Click OK.
6. Now select the General tab.
7. Still on the General Tab, under Default Input language, set your default keyboard.
8. Now, let’s configure the Language bar. Select the Language bar tab.
9. Under Language bar, select Floating on Desktop.
10. Tick  the box beside Show additional Language bar icons in the taskbar.
11. Now select the Advanced Key Setting tab.
12. Under To Turn Off caps Lock, check press the SHIFT Key.
13. Under Hot keys for input language, highlight between input Languages. In this way you will be able to switch between keyboards and languages by press the key combination you chose.

While trying to install recommended updates in Windows Vista you might get the following error message: “Some updates were not installed - error(s) code 800B0100″. This error is very frustrating because it appears regardless whatever you do and how many times you try to download and install updates, forcing you to stop the service once for all. The trick in this case is quite simple because the error seems to depend on the Windows Firewall itself. It is just sufficient to disable it not to get it anymore and download all the updates you want. Here is how to disable Windows Firewall:

1. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click Security.
4. Click Turn Windows Firewall on and off.
5. Select Off (not recommended), click Apply and then OK.
6. Now you can  download and install the Windows updates again.

Windows Update is a Windows Vista feature which works in the background downloading the most important hotfixes from Microsoft in order to fix bugs and add services to your operating system. Nothing to say, Windows Update is a very useful application, but what about its annoying dialog pop up which reminds you that Windows can’t update important updates and service while the system is using them? Sometimes I think it has especially designed to bother people while they are working, since it appears when the only thing you need is working without anything or anyone harassing you. Anyway all this is going to change. Here is a little hack to stop it once for all.

1. Click Start.
2. In the Search bar type regedit and press Enter.
3. Look for the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Policies\ Microsoft\ Windows\ WindowsUpdate\AU
4. Right click in the right pane and create a new 32-bit DWORD called NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers
5. Give NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers the following value : 1 to prevent the system from automatic rebooting while users are logged on.
6. Turn your computer off and back on to apply the change.

One of the nastiest surprise in Windows Vista after installing SP1 is the removal of some of the easy ways to get to the Search function. Of course you can still access to it by pressing the F3 key while you have a folder open. Anyway if you are looking for a simpler and faster way to reach the Search window, here is a simple hack which will add the “Search…” item back to the context menu.

1. Click Start.
2. Type regedit in the Search Bar and press Enter.
3. Browse to the following registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ Directory\ shell\ find
4. Locate the LegacyDisable subkey. Rename it to LegacyDisabl.bak
5. That’s it. The hack is over. From now on whenever you will right-click on any folder you will see  the Search… option again.

There are a lot of annoying features in Windows Vista, some of them have to do with all the candy-eye features which slow your computer down, other ones have to do with the security notification and its icon, one of it has to do with the nagging notification balloons which pop-up every now and then reminding and warning you to do things you have decided not to perform long ago. To stop this steady trickle of balloons which make you feel as if you are in a circus, here is a simple hack to apply.

1. Click Start.
2. In the Search bar type: regedit and press Enter.
3. Look for this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ Advanced
4. Right click on the right pane and create a new 32-bit DWORD named EnableBalloonTips
5. Give EnableBalloonTips the value: 0
6. Turn your computer off and on to apply the change.

If you have a laptop or a notebook, you know only too well that, if you close its lid, the system will go on sleep or hibernation mode. This means that the computer is off as well as its screen. To resume what you were doing it is sufficient to lift the lid and wait some seconds for the system to turn on again. If you don’t want to wait because you need to work immediately upon opening the lid, here is a little trick which can help you prevent the system from sleep, stanby or hibernation.

Windows Vista

1. Log on your computer as Administrator. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click System and Maintenance.
4. Click Power Options.
5. Click Change Plan Settings for your current Plan.
6. Click Change advanced power settings.
7. In the Power options menu, look for Power buttons and lid. (scroll the menu down if necessary)
   
8. Expand Lid close action.
9. Set the option Lid close action to Do nothing for On battery and Plugged in.
10. Click OK.
    

Windows XP

1. Log on your computer as Administrator. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click Performance and Maintenance.
4. Click Power Options.
5. Click the Advanced tab.
6. Under Power buttons, for When I close the lid on my portable computer option select Do nothing from drop down menu.
7. Click OK.

In Windows Vista, while using System Restore you might get the following error: “Can’t create system restore point. Shadow Copying the specified volumn is not supported. (0×8004230C) Please try again”. You could face this kind of error even in Windows Server 2003 while using Symantec Backup Exec. In this case the error message could be slightly different from Vista: “OFO: Initialization failure on: “\\server-name\Shadow?Copy?Components”. Advanced Open File Option used: Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).OFO: Snapshot error (0×8004230c): 0×8004230c (2147754764). Unexpected provider error.” This error is the result of the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider service which has stopped working or is just disabled. As a result every service depending on it will stop working as well. To fix this issue it is just sufficient to make sure that Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider Service (SWPRV) and the Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) services are running. Here is the trick to activate them.

1. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click System and Maintenance.
4. Click Administrative Tools.
5. Double click on Services.
6. Look for Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider and Volume Shadow Copy.
7. Double click on these services and set the “Startup type” to Automatic.

If you have your computer on and you go away from it for a while, when you come back you might need to wake it up because its settings put it on sleep, standby or hibernation mode. It is sufficient to click any button on the keyboard to resume what you were doing and turn the screen and the PC on. But at this point, you could face a little issue. In fact the system could prompt you for a password in order to unlock the computer and show  the desktop again. If you don’t want to be bothered by this nagging prompt, here is the trick to disable it.

Windows Vista

1. Log on your computer as Administrator. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click System and Maintenance.
4. Click Power Options.
5. Click Change Plan Settings for your current Plan.
6. Click Change advanced power settings.
7. Click Change settings that are not currently available . Give permission to continue when User Account Control dialog appears.
8. Under Advanced Settings, expand Additional settings.
9. Now expand Request a password on wakeup.
10. Change the value to No for “Request a password on wakeup” by selecting a new option from drop down menu for On battery and Plugged in.
11. Click OK.

Windows XP

1. Log on your computer as Administrator. Click Start.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click Performance and Maintenance.
4. Click Power Options.
5. Click the Advanced tab.
6. Under Option untick Prompt for password when computer resume from standby option.
7. Click OK.