There are basically two ways to recover a damaged Windows Vista system: the installation DVD or the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

All you have to do is locate your installation DVD and use it to boot up your damaged system. This launches the Windows Vista installation. (Don’t worry, you’re not going to reinstall Vista. All you want is to get to the “Install now” screen.)

The process begins by launching the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE), a simplified version of Windows that runs in memory only and is designed to replace DOS. Then it presents a screen which asks for three things:

1. Language to install
2. Time and currency format
3. Keyboard or input method

Making a selection and clicking Next will bring you to the “Install now” screen.  What you’re looking for is the two options in the lower left corner of the screen:

• What to know before installing Windows
• Repair your computer

Clicking “Repair your computer” will move you to another screen that lets you choose your existing system partition. When you click Next, you’ll get a series of choices for system repair. From there on, just follow the prompts. Use the WinRE console to diagnose and repair the problem.

The problem with using the installation DVD is that you might not always have the disk on hand. If you want to make sure your system is always running, but don’t want to depend on the installation media, then you can use WinRE. The WinRE console is new to Windows Vista and is specifically designed to support the recovery or repair of a system.

It is based on WinPE  and offers features such as automatic diagnosis and repair of boot problems with the Startup Repair tool and a centralised platform for advanced recovery tools. You can even use WinRE to reinstall Windows without damaging your data, since the image-based setup Vista uses protects data during an upgrade process.

The ideal way to install WinRE is to create two disk partitions as you install Vista on your system: one for Vista and one for WinRE. This way, WinRE will be accessible if you run into system disk problems and Vista won’t start. The WinRE partition only requires 1GB of space, since WinRE is a very small system. Both partitions must be primary and active.

To install WinRE, you have to create a system image that you can install on your system. For this, you’ll need the Windows Automated Installation Kit, which kit gives you the tools you need to customise a WinPE image and turn it into a WinRE image.

Once the image is ready, you simply apply it to your WinRE partition. Full instructions for this operation are located in this step by step. Once you’re done, you’ll never be caught off guard if things go wrong on your Vista PC.

Source: ITNews

Shadow Copy, also known as Previous Versions, is a technology which enables you to look back over the history of a file. Say you’re working on an important Word document called statistics.docx and you’ve just accidentally deleted everything in the file, saved it and the whole thing crashes. Don’t panic!

With Shadow Copy, it keeps track of what’s changed throughout your document’s history and lets you retrieve any copy of the file that’s been saved previously. Simply right click a file, and select Restore previous versions and select the copy of the file you want to restore - it’s as simple as that.

XPS is the Microsoft equivilant to the PDF, one of the world’s most recognised file formats and web document standards. You can create picture and pixel perfect documents preserving every detail ina  secure and simple. However creating an XPS document in Windows Vista is far easier than most people think.

Simply open up your document, whether it be in Notepad, Wordpad, Microsoft Office 2003/2007 or any other software, select Print then print to the Microsoft XPS Document Writer. Save it to your location, then open it back up and it’ll load in Windows Internet Explorer 7 perfectly.

This page will determine whether you have the .NET Framework 3.0 components installed or not. The .NET Framework 3.0 comprises of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF, previously codenamed “Avalon”) and the Windows Communications Foundation (WCF, previously codenamed “Indigo”). If you do not have the .NET Framework 3.0components, below are links to assist you in getting them.

If you have installed some components of the WinFX Runtime but want to install the new ones, you must uninstall the old ones first. Do this simply by downloading the Previous WinFX Uninstall Tool from the Microsoft website. Once you’ve uninstalled everything, download the .NET Framework 3.0 Components here but be warned that you need a genuine copy of Windows otherwise you cannot download it.

Windows Vista users - go to Start , Control Panel, Programs and Features, Turn Windows features on or off, scroll down and ensure there is a tick box in “Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0″ then press OK. If it asks to restart, save your work then restart your computer - the effects will take place on the next logon.

 Start the test (Internet Explorer only)

“Metro” was the codename for a file format called XPS (XML Paper Specification). XPS is the Microsoft version of the PDF file which is one of the most common document file types in the world. With PDF’s, they are light and portable but can contain rich images and text, but you need to download the Adobe Reader to view them. Most machines have them, but it’s still a pain having to download and install it.

XPS is very similar, except you don’t need (or appear) to have to download or install anything. All you really need is the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 and you’re sorted. It’s already been available through Automatic Updates so the chances are you already have it (test to see if you have it here). Windows Vista users will have it already. But the beauty of it, is that any XPS file will open in Internet Explorer 6.0 and above nicely!

Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) is also useful for both automatic and manual system troubleshooting. For example, if Vista fails to start because of a corrupted system file, WinPE can automatically start and launch the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). You can also manually start WinPE to use built-in or custom troubleshooting and diagnostic tools.

For general troubleshooting, WinPE replaces MS-DOS boot disks when Vista cannot start properly. In fact, WinPE will automatically load and launch the WinRE Console if Windows Vista fails to start. IT departments can use WinPE for manual troubleshooting, too, and can leverage either the built-in tools or add tools to the WinPE image.

The WinRE and Setup Repair Wizard is a wizard that provides an user interface that allows end users to fix over 80 percent of the known causes for unbootable systems. A part of the recovery environment provides users with instructions to recover data that is locked by the Secure Startup feature. It can be customised to provide specific instructions based on an enterprise’s recovery key management policy.

Previously codenamed “Monad”, the PowerShell is a command line application and scripting shell which enables administrators to provide automated system tasks with scripts. It allows them also to provide numerous administration utilities and better navigation of the Registry or Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). The PowerShell also comes with a new language enabling easier scripting. Although it will not be part of Windows Vista or Windows Server “Longhorn”, however it will be available for download later on between September and December 2006.

For more information about scripting, about the PowerShell, and discuss with other people, please check the further links below, otherwise download the Windows PowerShell client now!

PowerShell Blogs and further reading:
Windows PowerShell Team Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell
Arul Kumaravel’s Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/arulk
Keith Hill’s Blog: http://spaces.msn.com/keithhill
Lee Holmes’ Blog: http://www.leeholmes.com/blog
Marc van Orsouw’s Blog: http://mow001.blogspot.com/
Thomas Lee’s Blog: http://tfl09.blogspot.com/

Formerly codenamed “EMD”, this technology uses external memory devices such as USB flash memory, removable storage on SD cards etc. to boost system performance by adding a separate pagefile (a file which the computer uses as if it was RAM, sometimes called “virtual memory”) to that device. Essentially, plug in an external memory device and your computer may run much faster.

RAM is essential in a computer - overall it’s the main thing which improves system performance as it enables you to have more applications open at once. Vista introduces a new technology which USB flash memory drives can be used as virtual memory. Because a flash disk has non-volatile memory, it generally means that when it’s connected to a USB 2.0 port, the computer can read it from the flash disk faster than the hard drive itself.

ReadyBoost is secure and reliable, and you can still unplug your USB drives or external memory devices at any time without losing work or noticing any significant drop in memory or overall performance. Also, the issue of wear on the flash memory has also been addressed as every time it writes data to the disk, it uses a unique pattern so that it becomes evenly spread out.

 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

We’ve got some finalised names in for some “performance enhancing” technologies in Vista. Already I’ve written articles on the Superfetch feature, but I’ve been holding off writing this until the real named of codenamed “END” and “Piton” were announced.

These are designed to help improve performance, whether you have the hardware requirements or not, you can still use these features regardless. It’s to help make applications load faster, enable Windows to load almost instantly, and rely on Windows to maintain performance and to keep at a stable state over time. Just a quick overview - click a topic to go to that relevant page.

 Windows SuperFetch
The SuperFetch was unofficially found in XP but actually did very little really. It’s a memory management technology which tracks and monitors which applications and files you use on a regular basis, and then pre-empts what you need before you actually load them up, therefore the computer being one step ahead of itself. It then loads into the background a common file which you use so that it’s faster loading when you go to use it. The SuperFetch can be turned off if you don’t want it running (because on slower computers with 512MB RAM can make your system perform slower as it runs as a system service), and SuperFetch is very secure so it won’t compromise your security in any way.

 Windows ReadyBoost (codenamed “EMD”)
This technology uses external memory devices such as USB flash memory, removable storage on SD cards etc. to boost system performance by adding a separate pagefile (a file which the computer uses as if it was RAM, sometimes called “virtual memory”) to that device. Essentially, plug in an external memory device and your computer may run much faster.
Note: only 256MB and above flash drives work. 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB and 128MB sized drives aren’t supported.

 Windows ReadyDrive (codenamed “Piton”)
This new technology enables new Vista ready computers which have a special hard drive fitted (a mix of standard hard drive with a bit of stable flash memory sector) which enables better management of battery power for notebook computers, and also that hibernation is much faster. This essentially means that you can resume your computer from hibernation almost instantaneously.

Yes, Microsoft have released a preliminary draft of their new great idea, to change the language of Windows Vista to actually adjust better to the user. New users to Windows sometimes get scared by messages like “Unable to delete. Access is denied” which doesn’t have to be that “directly rude”, so they have adjusted things under the new Windows Vista UX (user experience) Guidelines of which guides developers into fitting into the style of Vista. Basically now, they will change some of the messages to “This file has been protected and cannot be deleted without specific permission”.

UX Guidelines implemented in a Network Error in Vista to the left… and standard XP “abuse” on the right

The sidebar has made a few appearances during the beta program. It was first originally put into Windows Longhorn (when it was still in beta and wasn’t called Vista then) but then removed because it wasn’t useful anymore and it was too difficult to cope with. The computer world stopped… we were all horrified. It made its return however in one of the recent builds released to testers of Windows Vista.

The sidebar is an “extended taskbar” of which sits docked at the side of the screen with “gadgets” in. Gadgets are small bits of code, usually written in XML or a simple language of which you can customise your sidebar with many things. The default sidebar has a 3D analogue clock, an RSS feeds aggregator, it also has a search field for searching the web, and it also has a slide-show function. The sidebar also has transparency along with the rest of the desktop, and is smart in the fact that it doesn’t block windows when they are opened; it sits in the background waiting to be used.

 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

WinFS used to stand for Windows Future Storage, but now is called Windows File System. It is a “true file system” with a compatibility edge that can run on top of the NTFS file system of which Windows Vista needs to have to run. WinFS is similar to “indexing” of which notes down the exact location of every file on the system and makes it easier to search, however WinFS groups different types of files together such as e-mail contacts, Word documents, every type imaginable, then indexes that with keywords.

Update for 24th June 2006
WinFS has been officially decommissioned. There will never be a final WinFS product that will be available for download, instead the product teams are going to salvage what they have and push them into other products instead.

What a topic. WinFX is made up of Avalon and Indigo as well as other bits and bobs, and Avalon and Indigo are in tern both codenames for a new product that is being built. Avalon is the Windows Presentation Foundation and Indigo is the Windows Communication Foundation. Awfully confusing, even for Microsoft folk as I know of a certain individual on the team who refuses to call them anything other than Avalon and Indigo still.

 .NET Framework 3.0 (previously codenamed WinFX) is the main Application Programming Interface (API) in Windows Vista. WinFX is designed to give a new effect in Vista, as well as to give developers better and easier access to the previous and older Windows API. The WinFX Components as it is also known will contain the new .NET Framework 2.0, Windows Presentation Foundation (codename Avalon), Windows Communication Foundation (codename Indigo) as well as the Windows Workflow Foundation.

Update for 24th June 2006
WinFX has now been renamed to .NET Framework 3.0. Although a lot of people will still refer to it as WinFX, the new name will be shortly rolled out to the rest of the site.

 .NET Framework 2.0 is quite a wonderful technology for us developers. It’s a software development platform of which specialises in writing applications faster because you write less code as well as platform independence. .NET is a load of technologies, not just the Framework that are designed to help in fast development of Internet and intranet applications. In effect, it makes a developers life a lot easier because it reduces our code amongst other things.

 Avalon (Windows Presentation Foundation) is the integrated structural design for presenting user interface, documents and media in Windows Vista. It is the engine that powers the new Windows Aero effects, such as the transparency, the window effects and other cool visual features.

 Indigo (Windows Communication Foundation) is a group of .NET based technologies of which builds and maintains computer networks. It provides a whole new wave of infrastructure between computers; clients and servers as well as clients and clients working over the network better and more efficiently. The more advanced Web services support means much more secure, much more reliable networks and systems.

 Windows Workflow Foundation (WinWF, not WWF because that’s for cute little endangered animals like panda’s) is an extensive set of programming tools for building solutions on Windows Vista. Quite hard to explain, and to be honest, I’ve copied it off the first page of the website, but there’s plenty more to learn there if you want to check it out.

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF, formerly codename Avalon) is the new graphics engine which is in Vista. It comes at present as part of WinFX as an add-on to Windows XP and will be part of Windows Vista when it ships. The WPF enables 3D graphics, transparency and some really cool effects of which are unbelievable to watch.

To turn the WPF engine on, go to Start , Run and type in services.msc and hit OK. Scroll down to User Experience Session Management Services, double click on it and set it to Automatic in the Startup type, and also make sure if it hasn’t already started, start the service by clicking on the Start button in the dialog box.

However, some hardware still doesn’t support the new WPF engine, and if Vista detects a wrong hardware type, it will just up-front not let you see the new graphics. There is a way round it…

1. Open up Registry Editor (Start , Run and type in regedit then hit OK)
2. Scroll down, and find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft.
3. Right click on the Microsoft folder, and click on New Key and rename it DWM.
4. Click on the new DWM key and right click in the right hand side pane, and create a DWORD called EnableMachineCheck.
5. Double click on the new DWORD and set the value to 0 so it doesn’t check the hardware.

You may have to restart your computer, and this isn’t guaranteed to work still. If you do not have the relevant WDDM/LDDM drivers, then it will run really sluggishly and will be hardly be worth it.

Updated for Vista 5308 and above
This may have been removed for the final version of Windows. This tweak is only generally used for demonstration purposes, however it may well be editable in future builds still. There can be no harm from trying!

There are so many tools and software development kits for Windows Vista at the moment, however some of them are on the beta-tester only pages, and cannot publish them on here as I’m not allowed to. However here is a guide to some of the links which are available.

Windows Vista Developer Center - Tools and Code Samples (the text below sourced from the link)

• Access WinFX code samples from the WinFX SDK.
• Find a collection of Windows Vista-related user code samples on GotDotNet.com.
• Submit Windows Vista-related user code samples to GotDotNet.com.
• The WinFX SDK Beta contains the tools, documentation and sample code for building WinFX based applications. You will also need to download and install the WinFX Runtime Components Beta 1 prior to installation.
• Microsoft has provided a version of the WinFX Runtime Components Beta 1 (which includes the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code name “Avalon”) and the Windows Communication Foundation (formerly code name “Indigo”)) for the general public. Please be sure to read the Release Notes.
• Learn about the Microsoft build engine (MSBuild) and how to write your own project file, and how it integrates with Visual Studio 2005.
• In Part 1 of a three-part series of articles about MSBuild, Christophe Nasarre presents the new Microsoft build engine (MSBuild), shows you how to write your own project file, and digs into how it integrates with Visual Studio 2005.
• The MSBuild team was kind enough to provide several tutorials on MSBuild, each of which includes sample projects and documentation. If you’re looking to get up-to-speed on MSBuild, the next generation .NET build engine, there’s no better way.
• If you’re spelunking .NET, there’s no better tool than Lutz Roeder’s Reflector tool. Reflector is a class browser for .NET components that supports assembly and namespace views, type and member search, the C# XML documentation viewer, call and callee graphs, IL disassembler, Visual Basic and C# decompilers, dependency trees, and base type and derived type hierarchies and resource viewers, plus it’s just been updated to support the .NET Framework 2.0 and Windows Vista (formerly code name “Longhorn”).
• Understand the tools provided in the WinFX SDK.

The Windows Vista and WinFX Beta Pages (the text below is sourced from the link to the left)

• WinFX redistributables (runtime binaries) for running WinFX applications.
• Includes the header files, libraries and help documentation for developing the next generation of Windows applications. Note that this release (and all future releases of the Windows SDK includes the WinFX SDK).
• Visual Studio Codename “Orcas” CTP WinFX Development Tools provides developers with support for building WinFX applications using the final released version of Visual Studio 2005. This support includes XAML Intellisense support through schema extensions for the editor, project templates for the Windows Presentation Foundation and the Windows Communication Foundation, and WinFX SDK documentation integration.
• Compatibility and Version Issues

Microsoft Windows Vista Developer Center

•   Windows Vista Documentation
•   Windows Vista User Experience (guidelines on how to make your applications look seamless and professional)
•   Windows Presentation Foundation (Avalon)
•   RSS in Windows Vista (formerly code name “Longhorn”)
•   InfoCard (.NET Framework 3.0, formerly WinFX, that provides consistent user experiences throughout)
•   Building Drivers
•   Windows Vista Advances for Developers
•   Top 10 Ways to Light Up Your Windows Vista Applications
•   Create the Experience (using the UX Guidelines that show you how to build graphically rich applications)
•   Secure It (how to make your applications secure)
•   Make It Reliable (stop crashing applications and error trapping)
•   Get Connected (using the Windows Communications Foundation, formerly codenamed “Indigo”)
•   Integrate Data
•   Be Discoverable
•   Make It Deployable
•   Go Mobile

Vista has increased support for mobile PC’s and Tablet PC’s, and this new technology called Windows HotStart will enable you to click a hotkey button on your mobile PC and whether you computer is on or off, it’ll immediately load a program that you associated with the hotkey.

Whether your computer is turned off, on hibernate or standby, within a few moments you computer will be booted up and your application will be running. According to the Windows Vista Product Guide, this is especially useful if you want to watch a DVD or a video from your hard drive and play automatically. You can close the application at any time and resume your desktop session.

You can also customise the HotStart commands so that you can have Windows Internet Explorer 7 or a game keyed to a button on your device. This is highly useful if you have your computer off and want to quickly check the latest news - simply press the button on your device which commands IE7 to open and there you have it.