Windows Vista :: Differences among Administrator, Standard, and Guest users ::
An Administrator user can customize Windows freely; a Standard user can customize their own user account; and the Guest user can perform almost no customization. Logging on and logging off To use Windows at all, log on using your user account. Click your username on the Welcome screen and then, if you have a password, type it and press Enter. At the end of your Windows session, log off by clicking the Start button, clicking the right-arrow button to the right of the Lock icon, and then choosing Log Off from the pop-up menu. Using the Desktop and the Start menu The Desktop contains icons that you can doubleclick to open Windows items such as the Recycle Bin, programs, or documents. The Start menu contains links to almost all the programs and features you’ve installed. Click the Start button or press the Windows Key on the keyboard to display the Start menu. Choose one of the items that appears on the Start menu, or click the All Programs button to display a menu containing further items. Switching to another user without closing your programs To stop using Windows so that someone else can log on, but leave your programs running and your documents open, switch user rather than logging off. Click the Start button, click the right-arrow button to the right of the Lock icon, and then choose Switch User from the pop-up menu. Windows then displays the Welcome screen. Locking the computer To “lock” your computer, leaving your open programs running, press Windows Key+L or click the Start button, and then click the Lock button. Windows displays a version of the Welcome screen that shows your username, the word “Locked,” and a Switch User button for switching to another user. Checking which user is currently active To see which user account is active, press the Windows Key or click the Start button, and look at the username at the top of the Start menu, under the picture. Seeing who else is logged on to the computer To see who else is logged on to the computer, switch user to the Welcome screen and look to see which accounts are marked as “Logged on.” Alternatively, open Task Manager, click the Users tab, and then see which users are listed on the Users page. Seeing which programs the other users are running To see which programs the other users are running, open Task Manager, click the Show Processes from All Users button on the Pro- cesses page, authenticate yourself to User Account Control, and then see which processes are listed. Some process names are easily identifiable, but you may need to look up others on the Web to identify the programs they represent. Logging off another user When necessary, you can log off another user. To do so, open Task Manager, and then click the Users tab. Click the user you want to log off, click the Logoff button, and then click the Log Off User button in the confirmation dialog box that Windows displays. Sending a message to another user You can send a message to another user who is currently logged on but disconnected. The user sees this message the next time they log on. Open Task Manager, and then click the Users tab. Right-click the user, choose Send Message from the short- cut menu, type the message in the resulting dialog box, and then click the OK button. Using the Windows Key Windows Vista offers various shortcuts using the Windows Key. For example, press Windows Key+D to display the Desktop or press Windows Key+L to lock Windows. Putting your computer to sleep To put your computer to sleep, so that you can resume your Windows session later without having to reopen programs and documents, click the Start button, and then click the Power button on the Start menu. Press the power button on your computer to wake Windows again. Shutting down Windows To shut down Windows and your computer, click the Start button, click the right-arrow button to the right of the Lock icon, and then choose Shut Down from the menu. |
legal disclaimer
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Web-articles is a free articles resource.
Suggestion: If you need fresh, daily updated content for your website, feel free to use our service. Click here for more information.
related articles
The Value of Vista We waited more than five years for Vista. As you may recall, Windows XP was released with much fanfare in October 2001. But instead of the next Windows version shipping in just a couple of years, as originally expected, Microsoft lost its way in the development process. Vista didn’t make it to consumers until early 2007. Was it worth the wait? The short answer is, “Yes.” We believe Vista is a major advance on Microsoft’s previous operating s...
Apple users have long been able to take advantage of the Mac OS X Dashboard, and Windows users have been able to download Yahoo Widgets (formerly Konfabulator Widgets). Those things are still available, but now Vista has its own little tools, known as gadgets. Vista gadgets live in the new Windows Sidebar which you can move to the left or right side of the screen by right-clicking it and selecting Properties. Or you can put Gadgets on your Desktop by dragging the little context menu that appears when you hover ...
3. Support for RSS News Feeds in Windows Vista
IE 7.0 includes an easy way to subscribe to news feeds, regularly updated information that sites publish in the format known as Really Simple Syndication (RSS). When a surfer visits a site that publishes one or more news feeds, a square broadcast icon on IE 7’s toolbar changes from grey to orange. Clicking the icon takes you to a page that explains the content of a feed and provides a clickable link that subscribes you. This is a big improvement over previous news feed buttons in other browsers, which formerly ...
4. Thinking of Cheating at Solitaire in Windows Vista
Unfortunately, Vista new Solitaire code seems to have broken one way that neerdowells have cheated at the game for years. This scandalous behavior was first revealed in Windows 3 s all the way back in 1991. As that article explained it, you could click Game - Undo when playing a Draw Three game, and the last three cards you turned over from the deck would go back on the pile. If you then held down the Shift key while clicking the deck, only one card at a time would turn over, allowing you to ...
5. A Quick Overview of All the Versions of Windows Vista
It seems like Windows Vista has a lot more versions than Microsoft has ever offered before. But that isn’t quite true. The Redmond company years ago split Windows XP into almost as many versions as we have today with Vista. You may occasionally hear Vista’s versions referred to as SKUs. This term stands for Stock Keeping Unit. We’ll use the more common terms version and product version throughout this article instead. Here’s a review of the major Windows XP versions (rough...
6. Taking Advantage of Your Ability to Upgrade to Windows Vista
Windows Anytime Upgrade Unlike previous versions of Windows, Vista installs itself with the capability to upgrade from a weaker version to a more-capable version at any time. You simply run the Anytime Upgrade applet, select a source to purchase an upgrade license from, and your PC is quickly enhanced with the more powerful version you’ve selected. _ Vista Home Basic can be upgraded in this way to Home Premium or Ultimate. _ Vista Home Premium and ...
7. Deploying Windows Vista: A Power User`s Toolkit
If you’re an enterprise administrator faced with the prospect of rolling out Windows Vista to hundreds or thousands of desktops around the world, take heart: Microsoft has finally upgraded its deployment tools in dramatic fashion, taking advantage of the componentized architecture of Windows Vista. But these deployment tools aren’t just advantageous to the world’s biggest corporations. If you’re a power user, a tinkerer, or someone who ends up having to reinstall Windows fairly regularly, you mi...
8. What`s New in the Windows Vista User Interface
Gazing upon Windows Vista for the first time, you will immediately be struck by how different everything looks when compared to older Windows versions such as Windows XP and Windows 2000. Now, windows are translucent and glass-like, with subtle animations and visual cues. This new interface leaves no doubt: Windows Vista is a major new Windows version, with much to learn and explore. In this article, we’ll examine the new Windows Vista user interface, called Aero, and explain what you need to ...