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Hi all and welcome to the webdevoman Tech blog…

Here is my take on Microsoft, Windows Vista!

I was very fortunate to purchase an HP Laptop with a free Vista Upgrade. Otherwise I just would not have been able to drop the cash on it especially without knowing much about it. Now that I have it I wish I could afford to purchase it for all of my computers because I absolutely love it! I have the Media Center Home version of Vista and Media Center is really amazing! I was never really into using my computers for anything other than gaming and web design and development. Now I watch TV all the time! I will get to that and more below in the list.

Here are some of the reasons why I love Vista so much and I will be adding on to this list as time goes by. Please feel free to post your comments and add to the list or add your negative experiences if there are any.

By the way- The order of this list changes for me daily!

#1 – Ease Of Navigation! = One of the first things I noticed was the start menu changes. There is a search box right at the bottom of the start menu now and all you have to do is put a couple of the first letters of the program you want and bam, it’s there! Once you get used to this it really does make things much faster and easier. You can type anything into this search including all of your control panel links etc so instead of navigating through all the boxes or what ever just type what you want…

#2 – Windows SideBar – It is similar to the google sidebar but I think it is a tad better looking but that is only my opinion.

Get a Great Deal On Vista Here!

#3 – Networking – Microsoft spent time on trying to make everything easier and more functional. Networking is a breeze now. Currently I have 4 computers on my network and everyone of them has a different operating system. Vista has no problem at all with this.

#4 – Memory Management – Most of the things we are used to tweaking are already tweaked in Vista. I have found no need at all to change the memory settings like I do with other operating systems.

#5 – Internet Connections – This could have gone under networking really but I kept it separate instead. This is another one of those things I always tweaked. I am sure you tweakers know what I mean. I go to dslreports.com and use a variety of programs to tweak my connections. I then test and repeat, test and repeat etc until I have the maximum speed I can get. With Vista there is no need and when you go to dslreports they even tell you that before you run the tests! Being the tweaker nut I am I tried to tweak it anyhow and I could find no way to increase the speed at all. Basically Vista is already tweaked!

#6 – Other Various Features I Like – I really like just about everything but some other things that are just better than everything else are programs like Narrator, Speech Recognition, Ease of Access, Mobility Center, Magnifier, On Screen Keyboard and more…… much more actually. I also almost forgot to add Readyboost as one of my favorite additions! Basically it allows you to use a memory stick as added system memory. It is supposed to increase your speed a bit and it does work.

In my opinion if you have a decent pc with enough memory etc you cannot go wrong with Vista. Do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with it though. I spent a few hours reading everything I could on the internet and in the help file. If you don’t familiarize yourself with Vista you won’t know about all the benefits it offers. The few complaints I have heard about Vista came from people that never spent the time learning about how to use it. To be 100% honest, the first day I began with Vista I could not understand what was so great about it really. By the end of that night though I really started seeing all of the great tools and features and I was sold…

I know I missed tons of features and I will be adding more as time permits. It has been a long time though since Microsoft has made me so happy… I give Vista an 8 out of 10…

The negatives are few really but there are a couple things that could have been done better. I really think the whole back up system and file transfer system could use some decent upgrading. I don’t see why anyone should have to buy separate software to back up there Windows system…..

That is all I have time for right now… If you are considering Vista though I would go for it for sure. It is a stable system with speed and fun features. Go for the media center edition if you really want to have fun! I will go into that more in my next entry!

Thanks all… You can get a great deal on Windows Vista at www.anonlinemall.com

Stay Strong and Live Long…. Keep on tapping those keys!

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Hi Everyone out there in Cyber Land! Here is my take on doing a fresh Windows XP Install!

Sometimes you do a fresh install because you want to and other times you do them because you have no choice. Unfortunately I had no other alternative but to reinstall XP. This blog entry is going to be about some of the details of the install and the steps I took. I am not going to go through every step in the process once you have the disk running. Many of these details are self explanatory and I am sure I don’t have to go through all of these. I am talking about Clock settings, time zones, etc… I think most people can handle that stuff but if anyone has any problems just post here or post at the forum, www.talkandmore.net – I really hope this blog post can help someone but if it doesn’t please feel free to ask for help here.

*The reason I needed to do this fresh install in the first place was because of a power outage that caused some problems with my boot sector etc…I tried everything including even a repair install and bootcgf /rebuild etc. . Believe me when I tell you I tried everything before doing this. Because a Power Outage caused my dilemma I think now would be a good time to remind everyone that a decent Uninterrupted Power Supply would be worth every penny and there are many reasons in addition to saving your ass during an outage. Smooth and clean power flow is another good reason to get one if you don’t already have one. If mine UPS was working I would not be writing this blog entry…

The first thing I did was a parallel install. If you are going to format your drive you can use the parallel install method to grab your data. it is very easy to accomplish this and I am not going to spend too much time at all on explaining it. All you have to do is perform the install method described below but when you get to the step in the windows cd where it asks you to choose a folder just create a new one. This will leave your damaged system in tact and when you log in to this install you can locate your previous copy by looking for the previous windows directory. Make sure when doing the parallel install you do not format the drive otherwise you will erase all data.

Now let us assume you already have your data backed up etc…* Here is the basic procedure for a windows xp install.

1. *While booting your system press the delete key(most systems). This should get you into your bios.* This can vary a great deal so you will have to figure this out depending on your bios.* You have to change your boot settings so that your system will use the cd drive to boot from because you will have to boot from your windows cd.
2. Insert your windows disk and start your system.* If you configured your drive properly you should come to a screen that asks you to press a key to boot from the cd.* Do this.
3. Make sure you take your time and read everything thoroughly. Choose the setting for a new install and not a repair. As for the install steps using the cd I am only going to cover a couple things and the rest is self explanatory.*
4. The next step you have to take some concern with is the partitioning.* I have a particular way of doing this that I believe works best but it is up to you.* What I choose to do for partitioning is simple. I use 3 partitions. One for the operating system, one for the swap file and another for programs.

I create the initial partition for the operating system at 15gig but you may be safer using 20 or 25gig. I only use this partition though for the operating system and if you do use only 15 you have to install all programs to the other drive. I choose this method because the next time I have to reinstall I can reinstall and just overwrite this one partition and everything else will stay in tact.

Now you have one partition for the operating system. I create another that I use only for my memory swap file and I make this 5 or 6 gigs. I use this for memory.*The third partition I use for the rest of the space and I use it for my programs. I have additional drives on my pc for data but the partitions depend on your preference.

Make sure you format all your partitions using ntsf.

Run through the rest of the install following the instructions etc… Once you finish make sure to set your swap file so it will use the new partition. When you start installing your programs just make sure you install everything to the Programs partition and not the c drive.

I find this method increases performance and makes backing up a snap and also makes future installs easy too. If you have any questions please reply here.

Here are some links to some great deals..

You can get amazing deals on UPS here..

Microsoft Windows XP Home EditionProduct Description

Windows XP Home makes it easy to use your Computer for those Personal projects you enjoy. Service Packs round up the bug fixes and product updates you need for operating more smoothly. This Service Pack bridges the gaps between the original software and user requests more fully, responding to customer wishes — and making XP even better. Share your home computing resources with simple-to-use Networking tools Service Pack features – Security Center offers a central control system for your Windows XP security — work with the firewalls, auto updates and antivirus tools Great news for people sick of pop-up ads – The built-in pop-up blocker controls them, with a new submenu and status bar icons New Add-Ons manager gives you instant access to all the Browser Helper Objects and extensions, enabling and disabling them easily Firewall now has its own control panel Enhancements to the Windows Update service make installing new updates easy Wireless Networking – Multiple wireless connections to choose fromAmazon Product Description
With Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2, you get safer browsing and communication, powerful security tools, and improved experiences. Packed with multimedia features, Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 aims to unlock the full potential of your personal computer. It also looks great, with rounded window corners, larger and more detailed icons, and a clean-look desktop.Microsoft Windows Pro Edition Product Description
Windows XP Pro is the ideal new solution for your business and advanced home computing needs. Service Packs round up the bug fixes and product updates you need for operating more smoothly. This Service Pack bridges the gaps between the original software and user requests more fully, responding to customer wishes — and making XP even better. Security Center offers a central control system for your Windows XP security — work with the firewalls, auto updates and antivirus tools Great news for people sick of pop-up ads – The built-in pop-up blocker controls them, with a new submenu and status bar icons New Add-Ons manager gives you instant access to all the Browser Helper Objects and extensions, enabling and disabling them easily Firewall now has its own control panel, for customizing firewall setting to suit any connection Enhancements to the Windows Update service make installing new updates easy — you can even choose which ones to install Wireless Networking – Multiple wireless connections to choose from!

Thanks for reading! Stay Strong and Live long! See you at the forums!

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