How to Run Aero in XP?

Aero is the new feature of Vista that gives the windows in vista a looking through the glass experience. But it is not possible to run Aero in XP, since it require a good video memory card and even if you have one Aero did not support XP.
But we can use a freeware tool called “Glass 2K” which adds transparency features to XP.It is made for window 2000 but also supports XP.The advantage of using Glass 2K is that it requires only 256 MB of RAM. More over we get the nice transparent feel of Vista. After installing Glass2K you can start it from Start>Programs or simply set it to run at start up.

Glass 2K shortcuts:
1. Control + Shift + 9 : Least transparency
2. Control + Shift + 8 : A little more transparency
3. Control + Shift + 2 : Very high transparency
4. Control + Shift + 1 : Maximum transparency
5. Control + Shift + 0 : No transparency or Solid

XPS-The new printing format for Vista.

Another great feature in Vista is the XPS file format which is the default format for printing documents in Vista. XPS stands for XML Paper Specification. Let’s look into some of the featuresof this format.

When we print a document there are many differences between the original document and the printed one. XPS is the file format that helps to print documents as seen on the computer screen. This is because an XPS document is an identical copy of the original document and the printed document is an exact copy of the document displayed on the screen. All the properties of the documents like the resolution,fonts, images, page layout are all retained. What makes this possible is that XPS is a vector-based graphics format. It is a resolution independent format. So you can zoom in or zoom out your images the way you like and the quality of the picture or document is not affected. The advantage is high quality prints, fast printing time; more over the document is an exact copy of the original document or image. Whenever you click on the print command in Microsoft Word or Excel 2007, the document is converted automatically by Vista to XPS format and then only the document is printed. But you need a printer that supports XPS format. So make sure that your printer supports XPSformat if you are planning to buy one.

Upgrading XP to Vista.

We can Upgrade XP to Vista. But it is actually not a good idea. This is because both didn’t have nothing in common. They are two different operating systems with contrasting system requirements and functionality. But we can upgrade our XP installation to Vista.
To Upgrade XP to Vista, we need to create a new partition. This partition is where we are going to install Vista. Vista requires at least 15 GB of free disk space. Then some space should be left for installing apps for Vista. So you can install Vista on a partition of your hard drive. Otherwise we can install Vista on a second hard drive, which I think is the best option and is more practical. But be sure not to install Vista on the same partition where XP is installed.
1. First boot from the Vista installation DVD. Then press the Install Now button to start the installation process.
2. After going through the usual steps like updating the installation, agreeing to the license agreement, you are provided with a window which asks “Which type of installation
do you want?”.In this screen select Upgrade instead of Custom install.
3. The setup will scan your computer for system compatibility and then you are provided with a system computability report which is a detailed report of your system’s maximum disk space, memory, audio, video capacity etc. If you got a nice compatibility report there is no problem installing Vista.

4. Now the setup will continue as a clean install. The difference is that we did not need to setup a user name and password, or configure display properties etc. Vista uses the same settings you have configured in XP. When the installation is complete the system reboots and then you have to configure Automatic Updates and other essential options like date, time etc. Now press the Finish button and your system will reboot again with a nice welcome screen and you can enter the Username and password that you have set in XP to login to your system.

Another option is to dual boot XP with Vista.
1. Follow the steps similar in upgrading XP to Vista, instead of clicking on the Upgrade button press Custom install, when you are asked, “Which type of installation do you want?”.
2. Press the Next button. Here you have to select a partition where you need to install Vista. Choose a partition in your first hard drive or use a second hard drive to install Vista.
3. The setup will continue as usual and you have to follow all the steps as in a clean install.
4. When you reboot to log in to your computer you can see a boot menu where you can choose the OS from which you need to boot from.

The Secret behind Vista booting faster than XP.

Fast Boot is the new feature in Vista. In the previous of Windows the OS takes a long time to boot. We have to wait a long time to see the windows welcome screen and finally the desktop. The problem is that all the devices and processes were loaded into the memory before the Windows interface was displayed. Microsoft has fixed this problem in Vista. Vista uses Fast Boot and Resume feature so that only necessary programs and drivers are loaded in the initial startup and the desktop appears immediately after this. Then, all the low priority processes are loaded in the background so that the user did not have to worry about a slow startup.

Cheating the Performance Index in Vista.

The performance Index is another great feature of Vista. It is annoying too, because many of the soft wares and games are programmed not to get installed when the performance index is below a particular range. Even if you can install software some of the “advanced” features are disabled. If you want to enable these features you have to do a hardware upgrade for your system. Here is how to “simulate” a higher performance Index for Vista so that you can play your favorite games and use applications without a hardware upgrade. You can also use this to enable Aero because Aero did not function if your system has a low Performance Index.
First make sure you have logged in with administrative privileges.
Navigate to: C:/Windows/Perfromance/Winsat/DataStore.
Now select “All Documents” in the combination field for data types. Here you can see a list of XML file reports for every Performance Index test you have conducted so far. Open the most recent one and change the value between the lines 14-21 to a higher value between 4-5.9 and then save the file.
Note: Do not conduct another performance test because this will change the performance index back to the original. But even if you can manipulate the Performance Index you cannot improve the performance of your system. Moreover, your system may be slower that before just because the hardware is not actually compatible. So activating Aero for a system with low Performance Index is not recommended.

Installing Windows Vista.

Windows Vista uses the interactive Setup application which is a full fledged installer for Vista. This application allows the easy, fast , and interactive installation of Vista.

First, to install Windows Vista do the following:

1. Insert the Windows Vista DVD in your CD drive and then reboot. After
BIOS screen flashes by, you may be prompted to press a key to boot from the

CD. Otherwise wait for somtime so that the system will automatically boot from the CD.Now you can see a black screen saying, “windows is loading the files……..”

Vista installation screen

2.It take some time and after that you can see another screen where you have to enter the settings for Language, Time format, Currency format, Keyboard layout etc. Then press “Next”.

3.. This is the step from which the real installation takes place. In this screen you just have to press the “Install now” button.

4. This is a “complex ” step. Here, enter your Windows Vista product key. The product key is a 25 digit alphanumeric key. You can see this key ,a yellow sticker,on the CD. You can also select the Automatic Activation option so that vista will be activated automatically.

5. Now press the Next button and you can see the screen containing the license agreement. Read the agreement carefully and check the accept checkbox to proceed to the next step.
6. Here you have to partition your hard drive. Then decide the partition in which you need to install vista. Click on the “Drive Options” where you can perform things like resizing,formating, deleting, creating new partitions etc.

7.After formatting the drive where you need to install Vista, click on the “Next” button and the installer starts copying new files and installing Vista. This may take some time. After these steps are completed the system will restart.

8.Now, in this step you have to enter a Username and password to set up a user account. Enter a username and a password.

This is the only account having administrative privileges. All other accounts that you create later do not have this privilege.

9.Press the “Next” button and in this screen enter the name of your system and then chose a background image.

10.In the next step you can turn on or turn off automatic updates.

11.Here we can set the Date, Time, and Time zone…

12.Now click the “Next” button and you got a message that ‘You are ready to start’.

Before the desktop appears the OS does a performance test to adjust it’s configurations based on the performance test results. And now you are can use Vista as it is successfully installed in your PC.