Top 10 Vista Hacks

6. Speed up or turn off Windows Aero

Windows Aero may add pizzazz to the interface, but depending on your hardware, it may also slow down your system. You can speed up your PC by turning it off altogether, or by turning off some Aero features but leaving others on.

To turn off Aero:

1. Right-click the Windows desktop and select Personalize > Window Color and Appearance.

2. Click Open classic appearance properties for more color options.

3. In the Color scheme drop-down box, choose Windows Vista Basic or Windows Vista Standard, and click OK. Aero will now be turned off.

What if there are some things you like about Aero, such as window animations, but others you don't like, such as transparent windows? You can turn off some Aero features to speed up your PC but leave on others that you like using.

To do it, select Start > Computer > System Properties. Click Advanced system settings, then, in the Performance section, click the Settings button. A screen like the one shown below appears. Select Custom, uncheck those features that you want to turn off, then click OK.

Choosing which Windows Aero features you want to use. (Click image to see larger view.)

7. Bypass the Windows Vista log-on screen on multiaccount PCs

When you have more than one user account on a Windows Vista PC, every time you restart your PC you'll see a welcome screen listing all the accounts on the machine. You'll have to click one and then type in your log-on information in order to start using Windows Vista.

But what if, like many people, you use one primary account nearly all the time and use others only on occasion? You'd like to bypass the welcome screen listing all the user accounts and automatically log in whenever you start Windows Vista -- but Vista can't seem to accomplish this simple task.

Actually, you can do it, as you'll see in this hack. Follow it, and you'll automatically log in on your primary account and then be able to switch to any other account when you wish:

1. At the Search box or a command prompt, type control userpasswords2 and press Enter. The User Accounts screen appears.

The User Accounts screen lists all your user accounts and lets you customize them. (Click image to see larger view.)

3. The Automatically Log On dialog box appears. Type in the password for the account that you want to log on automatically. (If the account shown isn't the one that you want to log on automatically, type in the username and password for the correct account. Click OK.)

4. From now on, you'll automatically log in using that account. When you're logged in, if you want to switch to another account, use Fast User Switching: Click the Start button, click the arrow in the lower-right corner of the Start menu, and select Switch User. You'll come to a screen listing all users on your PC, where you can log in as any other user.

8. Hack Vista's blinking cursor

Windows Vista's blinking cursor is razor thin, and sometimes it can be very hard to find, especially if you're using a laptop. But it's easy to make the cursor thicker -- pretty much as thick as you want. Select Control Panel > Ease of Access > Optimize visual display. Scroll toward the bottom of the screen, until you come to Make things on the screen easier to see, as shown below.

Making Vista's cursor easier to see. (Click image to see larger view.)

From here, you can fatten up Windows Vista's cursor. In the drop-down menu next to Set the thickness of the blinking cursor, select a number. The larger the number, the fatter the cursor. You'll see a preview of the cursor in the Preview box next to the drop-down menu. Click Save. The cursor throughout Windows Vista will now be fatter and easier to see.

Top 10 Vista Hacks   1. Hack User Account Control   2. Unlock the supersecret Administrator account   3. Tweak Aero's glass borders   4. Protect your privacy by removing Windows Vista metadata   5. Power up Windows Vista's context menu   6. Speed up or turn off Windows Aero   7. Bypass the Windows Vista log-on screen on multiaccount PCs   8. Hack Vista's blinking cursor   9. Hack Vista's screensavers 10. Make Windows animation go slo-mo