If your computer is configured with a SATA disk drive you have the ability to tweak the performance of the hard drive.  This can easily be done by enhancing write caching. Of course for stability and to prevent the loss of critical information please note your computer should be connected to a battery backup in case you have a power loss. Of course this is ideal for a laptop configuration since your laptop battery is a form of battery backup.

This option makes Windows Vista bypass the cache which in turn changes the functionality to where the operating system reads and writes directly to your hard drive. This is a buffer to protect your hard drive from sudden losses of power that might corrupt or lose data. This is why it is best to only enable this option for systems with a battery backup.
To perform the following performance enhancement please follow the instructions below:

1. Browse to the Device Manager

2. Select and expand the “Disk Drives”

3. Right click on SATA hard drive and select Properties

4. Choose the “Policies” tab and check “Enable advanced performance”
 
5. Select OK and close Device Manager

I have had many questions dealing with the same issue in office 2007 as of late. The question voiced the most has been “why can I not access the help section of Office 2007?”.

This is typically due to the UNC path of the help file not being defined in the registry. Whether the entry was removed or the registry was damaged there is a simple way to fix the issue.

Note: If your registry is damaged you may need to perform maintenance on it. If the registry is damaged to the point that the entire section is missing you will not be able to follow these directions as described below.

Remember: Editing the registry incorrectly can prevent Windows from operating. Always create a restore point or make a manual back up the registry before performing registry edits.

To repair this issue complete the following instructions:

1. Start Notepad.

2. Copy and then paste the following text into a new file. REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\HTMLHelp]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\HTMLHelp\1.x\HHRestrictions]
“UrlAllowList”=”\UNC_path”

Note:The UNC path is the universal naming convention path. This is the full path to the help files.

3. Name the file 926707.reg, and then save the file to a location of your choice.

4. Use the Office Customization Tool to run the 926707.reg file before the 2007 Office program is installed.

One issue down, many to go.

People are still scrambling some what with software design and implementation for Windows Vista. Even software such as device drivers for hardware can be problematic.

After experiencing some issues with device drivers on my own computer I figured I would try and locate any pertinent information which might help not only me but you as well. My issue started with an Intel driver update in which there was a more recent update than the one I had installed.

I tried installing the latest version and the system did not recognize the new driver after multiple installation attempts. After a few hours of frustration I located an article published by Microsoft which outlines basic driver troubleshooting for Windows Vista.

The article was outlined by Microsoft as follows:

 I just installed a new hardware device, and it is not working correctly.
 There are several things you can try:

• Make sure that the hardware device is compatible with your computer and version of Windows. If the device is not compatible, you will need to find the correct driver. Check the information that came with your device. You can also search for the device on the Windows Vista Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) website. This website contains a comprehensive list of computers and devices that have been tested to work with Windows Vista.
 
• Many devices require special drivers to work properly. Be sure that you have installed any software discs that came with the device.
 
• Restart the computer. Restarting the computer might be necessary if the driver requires it or if the driver did not install correctly.
 
• If the device is a universal serial bus (USB) device, disconnect it and then plug it in to a different USB port. Windows should detect the device and install the drivers. Windows will notify you if the device drivers did not install properly.
 
• Updated drivers might be available through Windows Update. When you check Windows Update, click View available updates to determine if an updated driver is available for your device. For more information, see Install Windows updates.
 
 
 My device used to work, but now it doesn’t.
 There are several things you can try:

• Updated drivers might be available through Windows Update. When you check Windows Update, click View available updates to see if an updated driver is available for your device. For more information, see Install Windows updates.
 
• If you can’t find a new driver through Windows Update or the manufacturer’s website, find the disc that came with the device and place it in the computer’s CD drive. With the disc in the CD drive, update the driver for the device. See Repair or update a driver.
 
 
 I can’t connect to the Internet to update my drivers.
 You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

If you do not have a connection to the Internet, you might need to update your network adapter driver manually. If you have the disc that came with the device, place it in the CD drive and follow the steps to manually update the driver.

If you can’t find the disc, try to connect to the Internet from another computer and download the device driver from the device manufacturer’s website. Once you have the device driver files, copy them to the computer with a problem. Follow these steps to manually update the driver.
 1.  Open Device Manager by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Device Manager.‌  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
 
2.  In Device Manager, locate the device under Network adapters, and then double-click the device name.
 
3.  Click the Driver tab, and then click Update Driver.
 
4.  In the Update Driver Software wizard, click Browse my computer for driver software.
 
5.  Click the Browse button and go to the location on your computer where you saved the new driver files.
 
6.  Click OK, and then click Next to install the driver.
 
 
 
 I get an error message about Internet protocol (IP) bindings.
 IP binding problems are typically caused by an out-of-date network adapter driver. To fix this problem, update the network adapter driver by following these steps:
 1.  Open Device Manager by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Device Manager.‌  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
 
2.  Double-click Network adapters.
 
3.  Right-click the network adapter name, and then click Update Driver Software.
 
 
Hopefully this information will aid you in a resolution without having to spend hours researching and troubleshooting.

I recently read an article which was somewhat hazy. The article related to a possible service pack development and trial for Server 2008 beta.

Understanding that Vista and the sevrer product have many similarities including many kernal similarities it left many to propose these updates would be developed and released for the Vista operating system.

Microsoft has been reluctant to say anything on the subject. Of course this is typical and probably best. Usually when people hear about an update it creates a buzz and uproar in hopes that it will fix problems that users are experiencing.

To be honest…it’s better to wait for a completed update. Once again we are already beta testers; Do we really want to beta testers for patches and updates? Of course not, especially considering that beta testing an operating system from installation is much different from beta testing it once you have the machine operating and holding valuable information.

I’m sure the release of sp1 for Vista will come in due time. Of course if you have ever had a bad experience with a service pack then you probably are not so eager to obtain and install such software.

Windows Vista has the ability built in to check for memory problems. Issues with RAM can cause your system to become unstable, lose data and fail randomly. Checking the memory should be the first step in any diagnostic process.

To access the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool, you can go to desktop search box and type memory. You may also access them by using the Admin Tools area of the control panel or by booting off of the Vista DVD and using the Recovery Environment. 

If using the utility from inside Windows you will be prompted with the option to restart your computer to begin the test or begin the test the next time you boot your PC. When your PC restarts, the diagnostic tool will begin and present you with a few test options: Basic, Standard and Extended. The Standard test is selected by default. Simply designate which option you wish to run.

These tests can take a while to complete so you may want to find something else to do with your time. The computer will report the results the next time you login. If you have a bad memory stick you should replace or remove the faulty module immediately. Memory errors can impact your Windows installation and/or performance.

There seem to be many forums inquiring as to why laptop batteries are not charging. Well there is at least one legit reason for this. Microsoft has designed the power management in Windows Vista to extend battery life.

 The way this is done is through a setting which details when the computer actually starts charging the battery. This is done through the advanced battery settings. You can change when your battery starts charging as well as at what point it stops charging.

Still many users are experiencing legitimate issue with power management in Windows Vista. I myself have had this wonderful experience. The computer manufacturer has replaced the motherboard, battery and even the charger, and the battery still remains at 2%.

I cant say as to what may be the cause, but at this point having replaced every piece of hardware trying to resolve the issue, I know it cannot be due to a hardware failure.

I am still in the process of working with the OEM manufacturer on this issue. As soon as a solution is found I will not the cause and resolution. Not to say that my resolution will fix every instance, at least it may help you in finding a starting point.

Does anyone else find it hard to pick up work after vacationing? Having completed a weeks worth of vacation I am back to the grind….well….sort of.

I am using this day to read up on new stories and technologies for new content on the site. Please bare with me while I compose myself and get my head out of the vacation cloud. Of course this is not easily done…

As you can see from the last post we are now taking posted questions to better serve our users. As well I would like to add if there is a new technology or concern you would like for me to address please post a comment to this blog. I would be happy to research and address topics for our users.

After all….It is you the end user for which we create the content.

The page file is used by the Windows operating system to store random information. This file is used by Windows when there is not enough room in RAM to store this information.

If you use more than one hard drive there is an option you can use to tweak the performance of the page file. This option does not really improve performance in a two partition scenario but must be used with a secondary drive as you can move the paging file to the secondary drive leaving you c: drive free to perform other actions.

First check to make sure you have a secondary drive. You must first log in with an administrator account.

1. Click Start, Run (just Start in Vista)

2. type diskmgmt.msc, and press <Enter> to open the Disk Management utility (click Continue in the User Account Control, if prompted).

The bottom pane shows each disk installed on your system and the corresponding drive letter. When considering which drive to use choose the fastest drive to store the page file on.

Note: Internal drives are faster than an external drive in most cases.

3. Right click “My Computer” and choose properties

4. ON the system properties page choose the “Advanced” tab

5. Under performance choose the settings option and then the advanced tab on the subsequent window

6. Under Virtual Memory click Change. In Vista, deselect Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.

7. In the drive list select a partition on a different drive where you want to add another paging file

8. Select Custom size if you would like to set the size yourself and type in the initial and maximum size (Microsoft says making them the same amount is most efficient configuration)

Note: If the partition you select contains another installation of Windows you will receive an error message warning that the file pagefile.sys already exists. If the two operating systems are not running at the same time through virtualization then it is safe to overwrite pagefile.sys.

You should receive a notification upon completion that the settings will not take effect until you perform a restart.

In order to alleviate hardware issues in Windows Vista, Microsoft has added a few diagnostic utilities to aid in the detection and prevention of such failures.

To aid you in keeping your PC running smoothly without a lot of effort Vista contains several built-in diagnostics. These utilities help resolve external problems that affect the way Vista performs. These utilities provide diagnostic scenarios which include Network Diagnostics and troubleshooting—to help address the most common issues as well as other types of failure detection software.

Built-in diagnostic scenarios in Windows Vista include the following as described by Microsoft:

Disk Diagnostics. The built-in Disk Diagnostics in Windows Vista detects impending disk failures and guides you through data backup, disk replacement, and data restoration procedures. When Windows Vista detects a potential disk failure, it warns you of the problem and guides you through the backup and recovery process to minimize the likelihood of data loss.

Memory Diagnostics. Defective computer memory is difficult to diagnose. It can mimic software or operating system problems. Memory Diagnostics in Windows Vista works with Microsoft Online Crash Analysis to detect crashes that might be caused by failing memory. It provides guided support and prompts you to schedule a memory test the next time you restart the computer.

Network Diagnostics and troubleshooting. The Windows Network Diagnostics tool in Windows Vista helps you identify the top potential issues preventing network connectivity—and it automatically takes appropriate steps toward correcting them.

Resource Exhaustion Prevention. Occasionally when you are running a large number of applications, the computer will simply run out of system resources, leading to hangs, crashes, and data loss. Resource Exhaustion Prevention warns you when critical resources are low—before a hang or crash occurs. It also identifies which processes are consuming the largest amount of a given resource and helps you reclaim that resource, it logs events in the event log that include detailed data useful for subsequent analysis.

Microsoft seems to be understanding the needs of users. These utilities can aid users in resolving issues commonly faced by the end user.

Having problems with Windows Vista?

Windows Vista has a unique feature embedded in the operating system. This feature is the Reliability and Performance monitor. If for any reason you are experiencing difficulties with Vista or a third party program that is installed this utility can be used to help identify the source of the issue.

The Reliability and Performance Monitor is a Microsoft Management Console snap-in that includes tools for analyzing system performance. You can monitor hardware and application performance in real time. Also available is the ability to customize what data you want to collect. You can define custom triggers for alerts, automatic actions, generate reports, and view past performance data.

The Reliability and Performance Monitor combines many functions of previous stand-alone tools such as Performance Logs and Alerts, Server Performance Adviser, and System Monitor. It provides a graphical user interface for the customization of Data Collector Sets and Event Trace Sessions.

Reliability and Performance Monitor contains three monitoring tools to aid you in determining a root cause of performance issues such as Resource View, Performance Monitor, and Reliability Monitor. Data collection and logging is performed using Data Collector Sets which must be defined to capture any required information.

Reliability and Performance monitor will be a useful utility for identify issues that may slow performance or cause instability.

Having acquired years of experience with windows and how well it performs (or not) I can assure you it will be in my arsenal of diagnostic utilities for Vista.