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I use a Dell XPS 1330 with Windows Vista Ultimate OS installed. Seeing the same Aero theme bored me and in the process of using configuring to use different themes, installed programs  that are not supported for patching Vista styles like Style XP, Starkdock Theme Manager with XP styles.

Even thought, it gave me an error saying this is not supported on Vista, I forced it to apply the theme and it messed up the all the icons for files and folders. They all look like the screenshot here. All the below attempts to repair the icons didn’t work.

• I have uninstall Style XP etc to repair the icons.
• Tried Vista Repair Options through DVD.
• Tried to restore system files using sfc /scannow
• There is no proper System Restore point.

Solution : Enter ‘regedit’ in Search box and Open Registry Editor; Navigate and delete the entry HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Shell Icons 
Exit Registry Editor, Logoff and login to see the icons restored. The software uninstaller blanks out the values, rather than deleting them.

Microsoft released Vista SP1 in March, As of December 4, anyone can download the latest test versions of SP2 for Windows Vista. This works for both Vista and Windows server 2008.

• 32-bit SP2 Beta 2 for Vista and Windows Server 2008
• 64-bit SP2 Beta 2 for Vista and Windows Server 2008

SP1 is a prerequisite for the Beta 2 versions of SP2. The final versions of Vista/Windows Server 2008 SP2 is expected in the first half of next year.

Windows Vista SP2 will include security and performance updates. Among other things, Vista SP2 will add support for the latest Bluetooth specification and Blu-ray high-definition media encoding. It also adds Microsoft’s Windows Connect Now Wi-Fi configuration tool.

My Dell XPS1330 laptop had been turned on and running since 8 days. Yes, It is running Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit , it is definitely stable then XP. I use a Vista Enterprise desktop at work and it has been up since a month. Use below simple steps to know the uptime.

• Right-click on the Taskbar, and click Task Manager. You can also click CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to get to the Task Manager.
• In Task Manager, select the Performance tab.
• The current system uptime is shown under System.

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Windows Vista features Shadow Copy ( Previous Version), a useful innovation to help protect your data.This feature automatically creates point-in-time copies of files as you work, so you can quickly and easily retrieve versions of a document you may have accidentally deleted. Shadow copy is automatically turned on in Windows Vista and creates copies on a scheduled basis of files that have changed. Since only incremental changes are saved, minimal disk space is used for shadow copies.

Restore Previous Version feature is only available in the Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions of Windows Vista. This can be easily accessed by right-clicking a file or folder and selecting “Restore previous versions.” The problem is that the home versions of Vista don’t give you an interface to access them, even though it’s enabled by default!

Shadow Explorer is a software for Windows Vista that makes it possible to restore files using the Volume Shadow Copy Service on all versions of Windows Vista including Home and Premium editions.

* Show available point-in-time copies
* Browse through Shadow Copies
* Retrieve versions of files and folders

Download ShadowExplorer 0.4

Windows Vista’s UAC (User Account Control) is very annoying and pain to use. Many must have already Disabled it turning it off in Control Panel > User Accounts.

UAC is very good security feature that can help a user account with administrator privileges assigned to explicitly authorize actions that require administrative rights. This helps to control changes to windows system directory and registry and can prevent malwares.

Norton UAC Tool beta is a replacement to the Vista UAC prompts that you normally see. It offers two usability-related features

• “Don’t ask me again” feature for certain actions.
• More information about triggered UAC prompt like if app is digitally signed etc.

Remember it a beta product and Norton Labs UAC Replacement sends meta information each time it prompts about what caused, and why, to their servers. This data will be used to help Norton Labs build a white list that can be shipped with the UAC replacement final.

Download UAC beta from Norton Labs