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Vista Initial Configuration Changes

The following are some of the configuration changes
I have been putting on new computers with Vista.
They are by no means all of what you may want to do but act as a starting point by noting some of what can be done.

Changing the Desktop Icon Size
1. By default, the icons on the desktop are a little large
2. Right click on an open area of the desktop
3. Select View
4. Select Classic Icons

Adding Run to the Start Menu
1. Right click on the Taskbar
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Start Menu tab
4. Click on the Customize button
5. Scroll down and check Run (it's about 2/3's of the way towards the bottom
6. Other items you might want to display are Favorites, Printers, and System Administrator tools. Since it is easy to unselect items or how they are displayed, there are a lot of options here you might explore.

Windows Explorer Single Click
1. Now that you have Run displayed, select it and enter Explorer
2. By default, the menu no longer shows.
3. Press the Alt key
4. This will not only show the menu but allow you how you want the Explorer to display information in the future.
5. Select Tools
6. Select Folder Options
7. For single click, check that option
Windows Explorer View Options
1. While the Windows Explorer is still open, click on the View tab
2. Depending on the user, options to consider are:
  • Always show menus
  • Show hidden files and folders
  • Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types

Speed up Boot Time
1. By default, Vista waits 30 seconds before it starts to load the operating system.
2. To decrease this time, Right click on My Computer
3. Select Properties
4. Click on Advance System Settings
5. Under Startup and Recovery, click on the Settings button
6. Decrease the time from 30 seconds to something like 5
7. You can also change the settings for what happens in case of a System failure
Adjusting Visual Effects
1. By default, there are a lot of graphic visual effects that you might not need or want.
2. Turning some off can increase your graphics performance
3. Right click on My Computer
4. Select Properties
5. Click on Advance System Settings
6. Under Performanc, click on the Settings button
7. Click Adjust for best performance (this will uncheck everything)
8. Click on Custom
9. Now check only those items you want to display
10. Here is a pretty minimal setting which will still show good effects. You can always make any other changes you like.
11. Click on Apply, OK and OK

Working with the Sidebar
1. By default, Vista displays several items in the Sidebar along with the sidebar itself.
2. It is also difficult to get to any items below the sidebar when  it is showing
3. Generally I like to remove items I don't need, undock the ones I want, and hide the Sidebar
4. Right click on the items you want to remove and select Close Gadget
5. Right click on the clock and select Detach from Sidebar
6. Now you can move the clock where you like on the desktop
7. Right click on the Sidebar itself and select Close Sidebar
8. Now you can access items where the Sidebar was located and still have Gadgets displayed.
9. There will also still be an icon for it in the system tray. If you want to put the Sidebar back on the desktop, right click on the icon and select Open
10. If you loose the sidebar entirely and want to get it back,
  1. Start
  2. Then in the Start Search, type in Sidebar
11 To make changes to the sidebar's properties, right click on the side bar (or icon if it is in the system tray) and select Properties
11. To add gadgets, right click on the side bar (or icon if it is in the system tray) and select Add Gadgets... Then click on the one you want to add
12. To see what a particular gadget does, click on Show details. Then when you click on a particular gadget, you will see a short description.
13. There are many more gadgets available as well. Click on Get more gadgets online.
14. Also for a particular gadget, there can be options you can select. You can also select the Opacity
15. Right click on the gadget and select Options
16. For example with the clock, you can select from 8 different clock faces, timezone and whether you want the second hand displayed
17. Other gadgets with have their unique options as well.

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