Add search providers to Internet Explorer 7

The new search box in Internet Explorer 7 is a very useful new feature. However, it is easy to make it even more useful by adding the ability to search almost any website in it that supports searching. For example, you can add TweakVista.com to the search box so you can search TweakVista.com directly for various tweaks. This is possible with the help of a simple registry tweak:

  1. Open up Registry Editor (Start button -> regedit -> Hit Enter)
  2. Navigate through HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Internet Explorer and Search Scopes.
  3. Create a new key and call it TweakVista
  4. Inside the new TweakVista key, create a new string value and call it DisplayName. Set that new string value to "TweakVista.com"
  5. Create another string value and name it URL. Set the value of that key to "http://www.tweakvista.com/SearchResults.aspx?q={SearchTerms}". The {SearchTerms} portion of the text will insert what was typed into the IE search box.
  6. Exit and restart IE.

Now that you know the basics of how to add TweakVista.com to the Internet Explorer 7 search box, you can easily apply other websites and create more search providers. They key is discovering the search URL and then applying the {SearchTerms} wild card to the right part of the URL.




Enable Vista Glass look on Unsupported Video Cards

Microsoft Windows Vista, formally Codename longhorn has a new user interface system codenamed Avalon. This new user interface engine greatly enhances the look by utilizing several cool looking 3D effects. Of course, to be able to fully utilize the new engine you need a good 3D video card on top of special drivers, WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model).

To turn on this effect just execute c:\Windows\System32\UXSS.exe or enable and start the User Experience Session Management Service.

1. Open up Regedit.
2. Navigate through HKEY_local_machine, Software, and Microsoft.
3. Create a new KEY called DWM.
4. In the new DWM key you created, create a DWORD called EnableMachineCheck.
5. Make sure this value is set to 0 and hardware checking is now disabled.

Quick Note: Although you can get it to run on older hardware, with the lack of WDDM drivers available, it is going to run very slowly if at all.



Enable New Boot screen in Vista Beta 2
Tired of the pathetic boot screen in current Vista builds? There is a new trick that will allow you to see what may be the new boot screen for Windows Vista. This new boot screen is still not what we have been expecting but is a move in the right direction compared to the white progress bar screen currently used.

Enable New Boot Screen:

1. Click on the start orb and type in "MSCONFIG" in the textbox.

2. Once the System Configuration tool loads, click on the Boot tab.

3. Under Boot Options check "No GUI Boot".

4. Hit OK and reboot to see the new screen.

Enjoy!



Force Vista Glass on Compatible Hardware
If you have a video card that is using WDDM drivers and supports DirectX 9c but is not allowing you to use vista glass, there is a cool trick that you can use to force Aero to run. Follow the steps below:

  1. Click on the start button and key in regedit and hit Enter.
  2. Navigate through, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Windows and DWM.
  3. Set Composition to 1 and CompositionPolicy to 2.
  4. Restart the DWM by restarting the Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager service. This can be done in services.msc or by typing net stop uxsms and net start uxsms at command prompt.
Once the service restarts you will have glass!

Kill Security Center Notifications
The new Windows Security Center in Windows Vista can be just as annoying as the security centers in previous versions of Windows. I am an advanced of a computer user to know that I do not have anti-virus software installed. I don't need the Windows Security Center to remind me that all the time.

Thankfully there is a new easy way to disable the security center messages.

  1. Click on the Security Center/Windows Security Alerts logo in the system tray.
  2. Click Change the way Security Center alerts me.
  3. Select I do not want notification messages from Security Center.
It is now that easy.

Show Run Command on Start Menu
Windows Vista has a new search bar located on the Start Panel. You can use the new search box to find items in the various folders of your Start Menu as well as run any application from it. Just type in the name of the executable and it will search your hard drive for it and run it. This is a great feature but if you have a lot of files on your computer, then be prepared for a short delay since it may have to search for a while.

If you do not want to wait that long, there is a quick way to get the old Run command back on your Start Panel.

1. Right click on your taskbar and select Properties.

2. Click on the Start Menu Tab and then select Customize.

3. Scroll through the list and check the Run Command check box.

4. Hit OK a few times and it is back.


Slow Motion Aero Animations on Demand
For those of you have have the aero glass interface working on your computer, it is possible to hold down the shift key while closing, opening, and minimizing a windows to see the animation in slow motion. If you would like to test this out, just follow the steps below:

1. Open up Regedit.
2. Navigate thru HKEY_local_machine, Software, and Microsoft.
3. Create a new KEY called DWM if it is not aleady there.
4. Create a new DWORD called AnimationsShiftKey inside the DWM folder.
5. Set the new DWORD that you just created to a value of 1.
6. Restart your computer for the effect to activate.

Once you have restarted, just hold down the shift key to see any of the window animations in slow motion.