Top 10 Windows Vista tips of 2007

Tip 1: Work around Windows Vista's slow copying of data across a networkWindows Vista has problems copying large amounts of data to or from a network share. Microsoft has a hotfix for those who really need it, but it's not available for general use. Until then, here's a workaround based on Xcopy or Robocopy.

Tip 2: Vista's Windows kill switch: What to do if RFM kicks inWindows Vista's anti-piracy feature, Reduced Functionality Mode, has been called a Windows kill switch. If RFM kicks in, what should you do?

Tip 3: Remote Desktop Connection tool resolves Vista and XP snafuWhen you attempt to connect to Windows XP via Remote Desktop from a Vista machine, you get a warning message. To address the problem, Microsoft just released Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 client tools for Windows Server 2003 and XP.

Tip 4: How to run existing applications on Microsoft Windows VistaHave you been searching for a way to run your favorite older applications on Microsoft Windows Vista? This tip shows you how.

Tip 5: How Vista can run up to four months without needing activationThough a command run in an administrative prompt, you can extend the grace period for running Windows Vista without needing activation to four months.

Tip 6: Hidden right-click options in the Windows Vista ShellAdd to Quick Launch is one of many buried options available in the Windows Vista Shell. Here you'll learn about five right-click hidden Vista Shell options, how they work and why systems administrators may find them useful.

Tip 7: How the MSCONFIG utility has changed in Windows VistaThe MSCONFIG utility still exists in Windows Vista, but it's slightly different from the XP version. This tip describes the differences in MSCONFIG and how they might affect your use of it.

Tip 8: Resolve VPN connection issues on Windows Vista machinesIf some of your users are having trouble with the VPN connection from a workstation running Microsoft Windows Vista, you may have to manually configure the DNS suffix for TCP/IPv4.

Tip 9: Burning ISO images to disc in Windows Vista requires BurnCDCC toolWindows Vista doesn't seem to have an easy way to burn an ISO image to disc, but there's a freeware tool called Burn CDCC that more than does the job.

Tip 10: In Vista, drive mappings not preserved across admin, regular-user appsAdmins will often create a drive mapping to a deeply-nested directory in current use through the SUBST command. In Vista, when the user tries to elevate privileges on a process and then access the material in the folder through the share, they can't. It's not a bug. Here's why.