Fix User Folders Showing Simple Folder Icon

Windows Vista facing a problem . The problem is, the folder icons in User folder change from special glass icons to simple folder icons.

This is how the icons look in User folder which can be accessed using "%userprofile%" command or just select your username in Startmenu.
But sometimes these icons become simple default folder icons. When "Desktop.ini" file becomes corrupted. Actually all these special glass icons are displayed using "desktop.ini" file which is present in each folder (hidden). Sometimes a few software make this file corrupt and these folders start showing simple folder icon.
Solution is simple. Replace "desktop.ini" file present in the corrupt folder with default one. The default "desktop.ini" file for each folder is given below, just download the desired desktop.ini file (Right-click on the file and select "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As...") and paste in the folder which is showing corrupt icon.Windows will ask to overwrite the existing file, select "Copy & Replace".

The Forgotten Password Disk

As described above, Windows contains a handy hint mechanism for helping you recall your password if you've forgotten it.

But what if, having walked into a low-hanging branch, you've completely forgotten both your password and the correct interpretation of your hint? In that disastrous situation, your entire world of work and email would be locked inside the computer forever. (Yes, an administrator could issue you a new passwordbut as noted in the box on the facing page, you'd lose all your secondary passwords in the process.)

Fortunately, Windows offers a clever solution-in-advance: the Password Reset Disk. It's a CD or USB flash drive (not a floppy, as in Windows XP) that you can use like a physical key to unlock your account, in the event of a forgotten password. The catch is, you have to make this disk now, while you still remember your password.

To create this disk, insert a blank CD or a USB flash drive. Open/ the Start menu and click your picture (top right). The "Make changes to your account" window opens

The first link in the task pane says, "Create a password reset disk." Click that to open the Forgotten Password Wizard. Click through it, supplying your current password when you're asked for it. When you click Finish, remove the CD or flash drive. Label it, and don't lose it!

How the Synchronization Works

There are some nice improvements in offline files between XP’s implementation and
Vista’s. First, Vista uses a new and faster algorithm to ascertain which files/directories
are different between the server and client. Second, Vista uses a process called Bitmap
Differential Transfer to sync changes. To understand this and the benefits, you must first
know that in XP the entire file (if changed) was copied back to the server. However,
with Bitmap Differential Transfer only the specific blocks that have been modified while
offline (disconnected from the server) are sent up to the server. This allows for faster
synchronization of only modified data.
Along with performance improvements as a result, Vista can now handle larger files
such as .PST and .MDB files (unlike X P, which could not). In Vista, no file types are excluded.

Keep in mind that Bitmap Differential Transfer works only from the Vista client up to
the server. In synchronizing the other way, from server to client, the entire file is sent.
Among the other great changes is that Vista synchronizes only the current user logged
in (unlike X P, which tried to sync all the users of the machine) and you can also script
your synchronization using WMI.

Windows SideShow

Windows SideShow is one technology to watch for. It has real potential. The concept is
that laptop manufacturers and others can create a secondary or alternative display to
allow users to view critical information without turning on the laptop. It’s literally a
sideshow, in that things like meeting schedules, contact information, map directions,
and email can all be accessed without all the turmoil of turning on the system. The aux-
iliary displays aren ’t all created just yet, but the ideas include keyboards, LCD display
casings (like mini-picture frame displays), remote controls, cell phones, and so forth that
will display information located on your Vista system. Some are even thinking of light
gaming capabilities.
When the host machine is on, it checks in with the SideShow devices and you have
real-time updates. If the host machine shuts down, the information is then cached in
the secondary or alternative system. You can do a quick search online for SideShow
products and you’ll see some of the innovative thoughts being put together.
Once you have a device that works with SideShow, you can go into this applet and con-
figure your gadgets (calendar, email, and so forth) to work with it.

Managing Print Jobs

To see the jobs printing off a printer, you can double-click the printer icon from the
Printers applet. It opens a dialog box that shows you what’s printing. From here you can
select certain jobs and select to Pause them or Cancel them, if necessary. The print
queue window shows you the print job’s document name, status of the printing, owner,
number of pages, size of the job, time and date it was submitted, and port.
In some locations, printers are set up with servers and a special team of administrators
handles them. In smaller environments, printers might be connected to certain users’
machines while others in the office print documents “through” those systems to the
printer.
In those cases, if you are the user who has the printer connected, you might want to be
aware of how to manage these jobs so you can do things like stop one job to make sure
another job prints first, and so forth.

Search

Microsoft wants us to be able to store documents that are similar in folder structures we
are familiar with; however, Microsoft now wants to make those similar documents
available regardless of where they are stored. Microsoft’s solution to this problem is a
new concept called the Search Folder. For this reason, we have the Search tab in the
Folder Options and we can configure our search settings as follows:



What to Search
—Here the default setting is best for performance because, if the
location is indexed (which we will be getting into momentarily), it searches through
filenames and content. If not, then only filenames are searched. Leaving the default
will most likely yield the most useful results quickly if you keep your documents in
indexed areas such as your profile folders . However, if you want to search everything
with filenames and contents (the slower option), you can select that, too.



How to Search
—This offers a variety of logical options, but the Use Natural Language
Search selection is one you really might like to set up for users because, as mentioned
in Chapter 1, this will certainly help users who never got the whole Boolean thing. You
can also tell the system Don’t Use the Index if you are trying to troubleshoot a problem
with the index.

Date and Time

People are really liking the new Date and Time applet, mostly because of its ability to
add two additional times for other time zones (as mentioned in Chapter 1, “General Tips
and Tricks of the Masters”).


There are still the following three tabs:


Date and Time —Enables you to change the date, time, or time zone.


Additional Clocks—Enables you to configure two additional clocks with their own time

zones. When you hover your mouse over the time, you see the time in these other locations.


Internet Time-Enables you to synchronize with systems on the Internet for the proper
time. You can change the time to synchronize or stop this from happening altogether.
You can force it to occur immediately or change the servers it checks the time with.


What everyone seems to love is the new clock graphic that displays when you click the
time, along with the fact that now you can scroll through the calendar and look at other
dates without fear of changing the date. You cannot change the date unless you go into
the settings, so you can scroll through the calendar all you want.