Skip to content

Windows Tips

Quickly sort your start menu items – VIDEO TIP

Finding the right program in your Start menu can be difficult if the items are all out of order. Here's how to sort them alphabetically.

1. Click Start -> (All) Programs

2. Right-click on any item in the Programs area

3. Click Sort By Name

If you need any more help with it, just watch this quick little video tip.

512mb is not enough

512mb of RAM is not enough for Windows Vista…any flavor. Vista has been out almost three months now, and I have setup almost a dozen Vista machines. Thankfully, they are rolling out slowly. All the machines I setup, until today, came with 1 GB (1024mb) or 2GB of RAM. And although not blazing, the computer's ran at an acceptable speed.

I just finished spending nearly 2.5 hours setting up a laptop with Vista Basic and only 512mb of RAM. It was painful. Normally, I can clean all unwanted and trial software (crapware) from a new computer, install and update AVG Antivirus, optimize the startup and Internet settings, shut off unnecessary special effects, setup email and test both email and the Internet all in under 1.5 hours. This little laptop required extraordinary wait times to get anything installed or uninstalled. Very frustrating.

Create a docked Quick Launch bar in Windows Vista – Video Tip

One of my favorite tips to teach people is the use of the Quick Launch bar (click here for the tip for all other versions of Windows) for always having your most commonly needed files or programs at your ready. Microsoft made the process harder to accomplish in the new Vista, but it can still be done. Here's how:

  1. RIGHT Click on a blank part of your desktop.
  2. Click New —> Folder
  3. Push Enter on your keyboard.
  4. Carefully drag the new folder to either the top or sides of your screen. Once at the edge, let go of the mouse and your new toolbar will appear.
  5. RIGHT click on the new toolbar
  6. Uncheck the "Show title" option
  7. RIGHT click on the new toolbar
  8. Click Toolbars from the menu
  9. Click Quick Launch
  10. Now you can delete the new folder from your desktop.

Watch the video below to

Alphabetize your Favorites (or Bookmarks)

Sort menus alphabeticallyThis question came up a couple of times on the show on Saturday and numerous times recently via email; How do I alphabetize my favorites or bookmarks?

Internet Explorer

  1. Click Favorites from the menus
  2. RIGHT Click on any item in the favorites list
  3. Click Sort by Name from the menu

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Click Bookmarks from the menus
  2. RIGHT Click on any item in the bookmarks list
  3. Click Sort by Name from the menu

That's it! You can do that as often as you need to keep your lists in order. Incidentally, you can apply this same technique to your programs menu…

Copy Shortcut for a program to other Windows’ Users

Caller, Marvin, needed to have a program he installed in his user account be available to his wife and daughter. Here's the solution:

1. Make sure that when installing a program if the program gives you the option to install to just you or all users, choose All Users.

2.  IF, that doesn't bring up the icon to the other users, RIGHT click and choose Copy on the program's icon, then Click My Computer, double-click "Shared Documents", Click Edit –> Paste. Now you can log into each of the other users, and copy that shortcut to the desktops of the other users who need access to the program. 

Change Windows Vista’s Theme

Windows Vista is here and we can't change that so let's learn how to work with it. Much of the new Windows is visual eye candy. The new visual layout will intimidate many users and certainly get in the way of using the computer as we once did. To get around the initial shock of this different looking Windows, I recommend changing the theme to make it look a little more familiar.

  1. RIGHT Click the Desktop
  2. Click Personalize
  3. Click Themes
  4. Click the theme choices pull down menu and choose "Classic"
  5. Click Apply and OK

To make the Start menu work in Classic mode:

  1. RIGHT Click the Start button
  2. Click Properties
  3. Choose Classic Start menu
  4. Click Apply and OK

To watch these steps, watch the video below. (if the video doesn't start right away, be sure to click "Read More")

Daylight Savings Time

Last week, a caller or emailer asked about our computers and the upcoming change in our Daylight Savings Time procedure. Traditionally, we North Americans set our clocks ahead one hour on the first Sunday of April and then set them back an hour on the last Sunday of October. Computers automatically made these changes while we slept through it or first thing the next morning when we turned on our computer.

Starting this year, that will change in the United States and Canada. We will now "Spring Up" on the second Sunday in March and "Fall Back" on the first Sunday of November. Computer updates are being rolled out as we speak to take care of this for us. You can read more about the roll out on Microsoft's site by clicking here.

Create a new toolbar in Windows – Video Tip

Desktop icons are great to access commonly used programs and files, but I have found an even faster way to access those commonly used programs and keep my desktop a little cleaner at the same time.

After following the outlined steps below, you will have an orderly toolbar that contains easy one-click access to your favorite programs or files:

  1. RIGHT Click on your Taskbar (next to the Start button)

  2. Click Toolbars

  3. Click Quick Launch (or make sure there is already a check mark there)

When do I right click?

Wow, I get that question so many times that I decided we should put up an explanation on the site. All computer mice have at least two buttons. The primary button is usually the left one and does the vast majority of the work. Follow these rules when thinking about your mouse buttons:

Left Mouse Button

  • It is your primary work horse AND the only button used for double-clicking.Left Mouse button
  • Double-clicking is NEVER required…it is always an option.
  • The only places you need to double-click (and I'll show you how to avoid it altogether at the end of this tip) are the Desktop and any Windows Explorer window where you want to open a file.
  • When clicking links and menu options on the Internet, Click just ONE TIME with the left mouse button
  • If you are moving Solitaire cards from one stack to another or files from one folder to another, you click ONE time with the Left mouse button and hold it down while moving the object. When you let go of the button, the item will stay where you put it.
  • This is the only button you will use to make selections from menus.

Right Mouse Button

All Rights Reserved © 2024 Rick Castellini
All Rights Reserved © 2024 Rick Castellini