Ten XP Features that Are Lost, or Deprecated in Vista (Actually I now have over 30 items!)
I call them XP features that are lost in Vista. However, Microsoft
refer to many of these XP items as 'deprecated' in Vista. The term
deprecated carries with it the nuance that the old feature has been superseded
by a newer feature. For example, there is an element of truth that the job
of the old XP 'Run Command' has been incorporated in Vista's Start
Search.
Ten XP Features which can legitimately be called 'Deprecated' in Vista
Run Box / Command
- Solution either use Start Search, or Windows Key +r.
Documents and Settings - C:\users.
Standby - Gone replaced by a better 'Sleep'. Also hibernate.
Properties, replaced by Personalize. For example, in Vista if you right-click the Desktop you see 'Personalize' and not properties.
Log Off Confirmation. Vista no longer asks for confirmation when you select 'Log Off', or even 'Shutdown' if you configure it. The assumption is that we all know what we are
doing and therefore don't need another dialog box.
Explorer Menu (File....Edit....Tools) - Just press the Alt key.
Vista does not remember Explorer setting - View Menu ---> Apply to all folders.
Add or Remove Programs - Control Panel --> Programs 'Turn Windows features on
or off'.
Ctrl Windows Key +f does not launch the
regular Search, but Active Directory's 'Find'.
Boot.ini replaced by bcdedit. (Boot Configuration Data)
Encouraging computers to sleep when not in use is a great idea -
until you are away from your desk and need a file on that remote sleeping machine!
Wake-On-LAN really will save you that long walk to awaken a hibernating
machine; however my reason for encouraging you to download this utility is
just because it's so much fun sending those 'Magic Packets'. As Wake-On-LAN (WOL) is free, see
if I am right, and you get a kick from arousing those sleeping machines.
WOL also has business uses for example, wakening machines so that they can have
their patches applied.
Ten XP Items that truly seem lost, replaced,
or no longer available in Vista
Hardware Profiles. System Icon no longer has
a Hardware Profiles button.
Windows Key +u = shutdown. Plain does not work anymore.
Drag and drop to the Taskbar*. Try this: open Word or Notepad then
minimize. Next open IE, Excel (or virtually any app). Crucial
point, try and drag text from IE or Excel, then drop it into the Word
document, which is minimized in the taskbar. All you get in Vista is
the no entry sign. Repeat the above in XP and this type of Drag and
Drop works.
Vista can no longer
install on FAT. The file system for install has to be NTFS, however, Vista can create FAT partitions once you have installed it.
Options for 'Open With'. Try SendTo instead. Add items with Shell:sendto.
Backup in Windows Vista does not allow you the flexibility of choosing which files to backup. In addition there is no 'Exclude' setting. Your
options are Backup files on entire computer, or Backup Computer (Complete backup to restore in the event of hardware failure).
Lost network capabilities, while numerous are
generally trivial and apply to little used features, no support for these protocols: Gopher, IPX or BAP (Bandwidth Allocation).
DOS full screen - Get emulation program if you must run a DOS toy. No support for 16-bit programs. No NTVDM.
Vista does not support: Game Ports, EISA buses, game ports or MPU-401 (MIDI Processing Unit)
Windows Vista does not include SerialKeys. This means that alternative input devices, such as augmentative communication devices will not work. If you need SerialKeys, Microsoft recommend: AAC
Keys and SKEYS from Eyegaze.
*Drag and drop example kindly sent in by V.W. Downing
♦
10+ More XP features no longer available in Vista.
I leave you to decide if they are 'Lost' or 'Deprecated'
®
My Documents - (Plain: 'Documents').
The Explorer toolbar does not have an up arrow, however you can still use the Alt key + Up Arrow.
Acrobat 7? --> Upgrade to Acrobat 8.
Help files for old programs. - Download WinHlp32.exe from Microsoft's site.
Vista requires motherboard support for ACPI. Therefore old motherboards which support only
Advanced Power Management will not work with Vista.
Cannot get Num Lock to always be 'On' when you start. Maybe user error, maybe only some laptops.
You cannot edit file types capabilities, e.g.
change icons or change secondary actions.
Guy Recommends: A Free Trial of the Network Performance Monitor
(NPM)
Solarwinds'
Orion performance monitor
will help you discover what's happening on your network. This
utility will also guide you through troubleshooting; the dashboard will
indicate whether the root cause is a broken link, faulty equipment or
resource overload.
Perhaps the NPM's best feature is the way it suggests solutions to network
problems. Its
second best feature is the ability to monitor the health of individual VMWare
virtual machines. If you are interested in troubleshooting, and creating
network maps, then I recommend that you take advantage of Solarwinds' offer.
This ebook will explain the workings of the registry. I thoroughly enjoy tweaking the registry, and I want to distill the best of my experiences and pass them on to you.
Each registry tweak has two aims; to solve a specific problem, and to provide general learning points, which help you to master regedit.
