Before You Upgrade to Vista

Check Your System Specs
Before making the decision to upgrade to Windows Vista, it is important to make sure that your computer has the capacity to run it.  Review the specification of your Windows XP machine, such as CPU speed, amount of memory, and harddrive size.

 

Downloading Vista - Students

Windows Vista Ultimate - Student Download
Current Ball State students can download a copy of the Windows Vista Ultimate operating system free of charge.  The ISO for the software will then have to be burnt to a DVD before it can be installed on a computer. 

 
Getting Started with Vista

Tour the Vista Welcome Center
The Vista Welcome Center is a screen that provides quick links to several common tasks, such as customizing Vista. 

Look Up System Specs
Find general systems information on a Vista machine.  This information can be found on the systems Control Panel.

Accessing the Vista Start Menu
Learn how to access the Start Menu in Vista and then access some of the features available in the Start Menu.

Personalizing Vista

Change the Desktop Background Image
There are three easy ways to change the background image in Vista.

Set a Color Scheme
Change the look of Vista by modifying the color scheme.

Set a Desktop Theme
Customize the look of Vista by setting a desktop theme.

Activate a Screen Saver
Using a screen saver is an important step to protecting your monitor.  Activate a screen saver and set up the appropriate options.

Modify Screen Resolution
There are a couple different ways to access the screen to modify the screen resolution.  Changing screen resolution changes the size of images and text that appear on the screen.

Set the Time Zone, Date, and Time
Learn how to set the time zone, date, and time in Windows Vista.

Enable the Quick Launch Bar
Learn how to turn the Quick Launch bar on and off.  The Quick Launch bar gives you easy access to commonly used applications.

Add and Remove Icons to the Quick Launch Bar
For programs that are used frequently, adding and icon (or shortcut) for them to the Quick Launch Bar makes them easy to access.

Add an Item to the Start Menu
Programs can be added (pinned) to the Start Menu.  This provides easy access to commonly used programs.

Windows Vista Sidebar
The Vista Sidebar displays Vista Gadgets on the desktop.  Learn how to add, customize and remove gadgets.

Switch the Control Panel to Classic View
To make the Windows Vista Control Panel look like the Windows XP Control Panel, you can change the view to the Classic View.

Switch to the Classic Start Menu
Change the Vista Start Menu to look like it did in previous versions of Windows.  You can also customize the Start Menu.

Vista Features

Using the Vista Search
The built-in Vista Search feature allows you to quickly find files on your computer's harddrive.

Accessing the Run Command
Run specific programs or open files without navigating to their location within the file system.

Secure Your Vista Computer using the Lock Feature
The Lock Feature provides a way to protect your computer when you are away from it.  It requires that a password be entered before Windows can be accessed.

Emptying the Recycle Bin
As files are deleted from your computer, they are actually moved to the Recycle Bin.  You will need to empty the Recycle Bin to totally remove these files from your computer.  Learn two ways you can do this.

Restore a File from the Recycle Bin
Files that have been deleted (moved to the Recycle Bin) can be restored as long as the Recycle Bin has not been emptied since they were moved into it. 

Capturing an Entire Screen or an Active Window
Capture an entire screen or only an active window using Print Screen.  Captured images can then be pasted into a program such as Microsoft Word.

Keeping Vista Updated

Schedule Vista to Automatically Install Updates
Vista offers an option to download and automatically install updates. 

Check for Windows Updates
If you don't have Vista set to auto-update, you can access the Security Center and check for Windows updates.