Turn Off Aero using a Keyboard Shortcut

I received a warm reception after releasing the article on how to turn on and turn off Windows Aero using Desktop Window Manager commands, Almost all comments expressed their thanks, such as "Thanks, Now I can use my laptop battery longer than usual..."

Here's an update...I put the shortcuts on the 10th icon of the Quick Launch toolbar and used the automatically assigned Keyboard Shortcuts... Now, if I want to play games and turn the Aero Off, I press Win+"0".

If you haven't yet read the previous article, here's a guide.

1. iUnlockThis! Create an Aero On Off and Flip3D Shortcut

2. Drag the icon to the Quick Launch Bar.

3. To use the Shortcut keys, Press Win + position of the icon

Win+1...Win+9 and Win+0

Note: Don't forget, Shortcut keys are limited.

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Speeding Up! Using Quick Launch Toolbar's Keyboard shortcut

If you don't like the Blog I published yesterday (Using Large Icons in the Taskbar's Quick Launch Toolbar), because the size of the icons are enough already and using large icons makes your desktop looks bulky.

 

Use the Keyboard Shortcut instead!

Windows Vista automatically assigns keyboard shortcuts to icons on your Quick Launch Toolbar. Just use the Win key + position of the icon.

Example: Win + "1", for Internet Explorer and Win + "2", for Firefox

Enjoy!

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Customizing Windows Vista: Using Large Icons in the Taskbar's Quick Launch Toolbar

Putting my frequently used programs and using large Icons in my Taskbar's Quick Launch toolbar is one of the useful things that I did in my desktop. Before I gave little attention to my toolbar because the icons are very small. Having a resolution of 1280x800 pixels and 14.1 inch laptop screen makes it difficult to use.

  Scale: 1:1

Using Large Icons

Confronted with that dilemma, I now use the Quick Launch toolbar everyday. It speeds up my work especially in coding and writing blogs. It has a limitation in space, so I recommend, only put the frequently used program icons and PIN the others to Start Menu.

How?

1. Unlock the Taskbar: Right-Click your taskbar and Uncheck "Lock the Taskbar" option

2. Go to a vacant space in your Quick Launch toolbar, Right-Click and View->choose "Large Icons".

3. Lock the Taskbar: Right-Click your taskbar and choose "Lock the Taskbar" option.

Enjoy!

 

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Customizing OEM Logo in Windows Vista

If you bought your computer from famous laptop/PC manufacturers like Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, Sony and others, you might have noticed that when you Right-Click->select Properties for "My Computer" a logo and some information will be displayed.

You can customize it!

1. Create a Square logo that is almost the same size as the Windows Vista Logo. You can use  Windows Photo Gallery in cropping the picture. The exact size is 120x120. But if it is a little bit bigger, no problem, as long as it is a square.

2. Save it as a bitmap (.bmp)

3. Open the registry by typing "regedit" in the Start menu search and Navigate to the following registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OEMInformation

4. Double Click the Value Name "Logo" and input the path where the logo is being saved.

5. You can change other information's such as SupportURL, Manufacturer and Model.

That's it! Enjoy!

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Pinning All Shortcuts to Start Menu

I Unlock This First: I noticed that some shortcuts cannot be pinned to start menu such as Internet Explorer, My Computer and many more.

To solve this problem, create a shortcut and add another key to this registry path.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

1. Go to the path above

2. Right-Click the ContextMenuHandlers->New->Key

3. and paste these {a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}

I'm happy to discover this registry hack because I cannot find this Tip to other Windows Vista tips and tweaking guides. Only here at UnlockForUs.Blogspot.com!

Note: To pin folders to start menu, find the folder you want, hold down the Shift key, and then right-click on the folder. Same procedure in pinning some items like My Computer shortcut.

To all: If you used this in your websites/blogsites or used this as an answer to a question, Please give credits to us.

"Source: UnlockForUs.Blogspot.com" or "thanks to UnlockForUs"

Thank you very much!

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Enable the Two Hidden Aurora's in Windows Vista

Microsoft loves Aurora's in Windows Vista. They hide an amazing boot screen that can easily be enabled. And they provide a tool for 3D benchmarks that uses aurora animation.

Windows Aurora? Enjoy!

1. 3D benchmarks
a. In the start menu search box, type "winsat aurora"

2. Hidden Aurora Boot Screen 

a. Type msconfig into the start menu search box, and press enter.

b. Go to the Boot Tab and check the "No GUI boot" checkbox option.

Choose OK and reboot your computer. Now, you will see the Aurora boot screen while starting.

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Unlock Me! Pinning your icons in the start menu

Do you use the start menu frequently? If all the time, this is a great Windows Vista Tip for you.

Pin your favorite program icons to start menu.

How?

Enable "Pin to Start Menu" (Windows Vista/XP)

Press windows key->Run, to open the run window. type "Regedit".

1. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\

2. Right-Click the ContextMenuHandlers->New->Key

3. and paste these {a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}

That's it!

To Add and Pin shortcuts to start menu, just right-click and Choose "Pin to Start Menu".

iUnlockThisFirst: I noticed that some shortcuts cannot be pinned to start menu such as Internet Explorer and many more, to solve this problem, add another key to this registry path using the same procedure.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

I'm happy to discover this registry hack because I cannot find this Tip to other Windows Vista tips and tweaking guides. Only here at UnlockForUs.Blogspot.com!

Note: To pin folders to start menu, find the folder you want, hold down the Shift key, and then right-click on the folder.

Remove the "Pin to Start Menu"

1. Delete the created key

2. If it doesn't work, open the registry and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\ and delete {a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8} key.

Enjoy!

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