Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category
Serdar Yegulalp and I have exchanged several e-mails this afternoon discussing how Windows Vista handles the logged-on user’s Temporary files folder. He calls it Vista’s Not-So-Secret Garbage Dump and has instructions on how to empty it.
I remember when Carl and Craig and I wrote the first edition of Windows XP Inside Out we concluded in our early testing that the XP Disk Cleanup tool (Cleanmgr.exe) was broken, because we couldn’t see it actually clearing the contents of the Temp folder. Turns out that’s a deliberate design decision. The Cleanup Manager retains files that have been added to the Temp folder in the past week, which is a small safety net that keeps you from shooting yourself in the foot by mistakenly wiping out files that a program is using as part of a current installation. (We fixed the error in later updates to the book, and the latest version of this text on page 727 of Windows Vista Inside Out is correct, as far as I know.)
If you want to see the contents of the Temp folder, the easiest way is to use its built-in system variable, %temp%, which you can type in the Search box. You can also open the system folder that contains application data for your profile (%LocalAppData%) and see what programs are saving for their own use.
Be aware also that Vista includes an additional Temp folder in the AppData\LocalLow folder, which you can reach with the system variable %LocalLow% and where you’ll find program files kicked off in Protected Mode IE. Adobe’s Acrobat 8 and Reader 8 software both use this folder, which can cause some problems.
Finally, knowing the whereabouts of the Temp folder is useful if you’re having trouble with an installer that unpacks its files and then automatically runs a Setup program. Most such installers delete those temporary files when Setup finishes. If you need to run a subset of the installer files or locate a driver, start the installer and wait until it’s unpacked the files. When you see the Setup dialog box, leave it open and navigate to the Temp folder (usually via %temp% but you might also need to look in %LocalLow%). Find the folder full of unpacked files and copy it to a safe location. Then cancel the installation and allow the Setup program to clean up. You can now go to the folder you copied and use whatever setup files you need. You can also save the extracted files in your Downloaded Programs folder so that next time you want to install or reinstall the same program you can skip the unpacking portion.
Bonus tip: Customize Disk Cleanup tasks. Although the instructions are for XP, the process works more or less the same for Vista.
I’ve posted a couple of new entries in the Vista Hands On series over at ZDNet.
Vista Hands On #9: Use Vista for four months, free
You can install an evaluation copy of any Vista edition and use it for a minimum of 30 days without having to activate it. As several publications have already noted, you can renew this evaluation period a total of three times, extending the evaluation period to roughly 120 days. But this post contains a secret technique that no one has yet published: how to automatically “rearm” the trial period at the end of each 30 day period.
Vista Hands On #8: Delay activation
Microsoft doesn’t get enough credit for one major change in Windows Vista. Using the standard Setup program and installation media, you can install an evaluation copy of any Vista edition and use it for a minimum of 30 days. In essence, this makes Windows Vista the ultimate shareware program. But there’s a gotcha: By default, Windows automatically activates itself after three days. Unless you know how to shut down the timer.
There’s an RSS feed for all my posts at ZDNet, or you can get a custom feed with must the posts in the Hands On series.
My Hands On Vista series continues at ZDNet. Here are the two latest installments:
Vista Hands On #3: Check your disk before upgrading
Before you even think of upgrading to Vista, check the disk you plan to install it on. Here’s why.
Vista Hands On #4: Clean install with an upgrade key
You’ve probably read all about the “Vista upgrade loophole.” Well, it’s not a loophole. It’s a useful and perfectly legal workaround to deal with an amazingly stupid technical restriction that Microsoft built into the Vista setup program. I’ve got the details and step-by-step instructions to work around it.
Microsoft’s official definition of a clean Windows install involves booting from the Windows DVD and pointing Setup at a piece of bare hard disk or a freshly formatted partition.
But that’s not the only way to do a clean install. In fact, thanks to the new Setup architecture in Vista you can now do what you would never have dared to do in earlier Windows versions: install a fresh copy of Windows on the same hard disk as your current copy.
In the second installment of my 30 days of Vista Hands On series at ZDNet, I’ve got details on why this works, how to run Setup (the steps are easy but not necessarily intuitive), and how to clean up the pieces of your old Windows installation afterwards. For details, see:
I’ve just launched a new series of Windows Vista tips over at ZDNet, where I’ll be posting a tip a day for the next 30 days.
Today’s installment covers product keys. When you buy a retail copy of Windows Vista, the most important part of your purchase is the product key that comes with it. That 25-character key determines which Vista edition you’re allowed to install and activate, and it also tells the Setup program whether you’ve purchased a full or upgrade license. I explain how to check your activation status and how to uncover the product key that’s actually in use.
For details, read:
Using IE7? Go here:
Click the Google link.
Click Add Provider. (Click the optional checkbox to set this as your default search page if that’s your pleasure.)
There, you’re done.
I’ve also added Yahoo, Wikipedia, Amazon, and CNET to my list.
Took about 15 seconds, total.
I could add a custom search link to this site, I suppose.