
Tip #3761 - Two New Vista Tips
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Two
New Vista Tips
I thought I'd give you a double
dose of Windows Vista tips today. I hope you don't mind too much. Keep
reading for all the Vista action fun!
1.) Using
Smaller Start Menu Icons
The new operating
system of Windows Vista uses large icons by default in the Start menu.
But what if you don't like them that way? Is there a way to change them
to a smaller size? Of course there is! And even though Vista does a good
job of hiding the setting for this pretty well, we can still locate it!
Right click on the
Start button and select Properties.

Then click the Customize
button.

Now, scroll down all the way to the bottom. You should see a checkbox
for Use Large Icons. Go ahead and uncheck that.

Ah, that's much better, don't you think?!

If you thought that
Vista tip was great, make sure you keep reading for the next one. Here
we go!
2.) Vista
Power Buttons
The default action
for the power button on the Start menu in Windows Vista is actually set
to Sleep. Now, this isn’t necessarily useful for
everybody. You can configure this setting easily by using the advanced
power settings panel, but it's a little tricky to get to. So, what will
we do? Well, we'll take a shortcut, of course!
Open a command prompt
(type "cmd" into the search bar under the Start
menu) and then type in the following information, exactly as you see it:
powercfg.cpl,1
Now, you could also
take the long route (Control Panel, Power Options,
Change Plan Settings, Change Advanced Power Settings),
but that's up to you.
Once you get to this
dialogue box, navigate down, as shown to “Power buttons
and lid.”

From here, you can
change the options:
- Power button
action - Changes the hardware power button action.
- Start
menu power button
- Changes the power button on the Start menu.
You can change the
power button to either Sleep, Hibernate or
Shut Down (or even nothing at all). It's your choice!
Hope you enjoyed these
quick little tips that will help optimize your Vista computer to be its
best!
~ Ramachandran Kumaraswami
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