To remove or change settings on a troublesome program, follow these steps:

1. Choose the Control Panel from the Start menu and choose Programs and Features from the Programs area. The Uninstall or Change a Program window appears.

Click the unloved program and then click its Uninstall, Change, or Repair button. The Uninstall button always appears on the menu bar. Other buttons, called Change, and Repair appear only for some programs. If you spot the Repair or Change button, click it: Vista tries to repair the program or change some of its components. It sometimes fixes malfunctioning programs, but you often need its original CD handy.

3. When Windows asks whether you’re sure, click Yes. Windows Vista summons the program’s built-in uninstall program — if it has one — or simply yanks the program off your computer’s hard drive, sometimes rebooting your PC in the process. Be careful, though. After you delete a program, it’s gone for good unless you kept its installation CD. Unlike other deleted items, deleted programs don’t linger inside your Recycle Bin.

When a program doesn’t have an installation program . . . Sometimes programs — especially small ones downloaded from the Internet — don’t come with an installation program. If you’ve downloaded one of these low-budget creations to your computer, create a new folder for it and move the downloaded file inside. (Be sure to scan any downloaded file with your antivirus program.) Then try double-clicking the program’s file. (It’s usually the file with the fanciest icon.) One of two things may happen:

- The program may simply start running. That means you’re done — the program doesn’t need to be installed. (Drag and drop its program icon to your Start button to add it to the Start button.) If you need to uninstall the program, just right-click it and choose Delete. These types of programs rarely appear on your Change or Remove a Program list.

- The program may start installing itself. That means you’re also done. The program’s installation program takes over, sparing you any more trouble. To uninstall the program, use the Control Panel’s Uninstall a Program option. But if the program comes in a zipped folder — the folder icon bears a little zipper — you have an extra step. Right-click the zipped folder, choose Extract All, and then click Extract. Windows automatically unzips the folder’s contents and places them into a new folder, usually named after the program. From there, you can either run the program directly or, if it has an installation program, run the installation program. I describe zipped folders in Article 4. Always use the Control Panel’s Uninstall or Change a Program window to uninstall unwanted programs. Simply deleting their folders won’t do the trick. In fact, doing so often confuses your computer into sending bothersome error messages. Adding new programs Chances are, you’ll never have to use this option. Today, most programs install themselves automatically as soon as you slide their CD into the drive. If you’re not sure whether a program has installed, click the Start button and poke around in your All Programs menu. If it’s listed there, the program has installed. But if a program doesn’t automatically leap into your computer, here are some tips that can help:

- You need an Administrator account to install programs. (Most computer owners automatically have an Administrator account.) That keeps the kids, with their Limited or Guest accounts, from installing programs and messing up the computer.

- Downloaded a program? Vista usually saves them in your Downloads folder, accessible by clicking your username on the Start menu. Doubleclick the downloaded program’s name to install it.

- Many eager, newly installed programs want to add a desktop shortcut, Start menu shortcut, and a Quick Launch toolbar shortcut. Say “no” to all but the Start menu. All those extra shortcuts clutter your computer, making programs difficult to find. You can safely delete these shortcuts if any program adds them by right-clicking the shortcut and choosing Delete.

- It’s always a good idea to create a restore point before installing a new program. If your newly installed program goes haywire, use System Restore to return your computer to the peaceful state of mind it enjoyed before you installed the troublemaker. Add/remove parts of Windows Vista Just as you can install and uninstall programs, you can remove parts of Windows Vista that you don’t need. You can remove the games, for example, to keep employees from playing them at the office. To see what parts of itself Windows Vista has left off your computer or to remove unwanted components that Windows Vista has installed, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start menu, choose Control Panel, and click the Programs icon.

2. In the Programs and Features area, choose Turn Windows Features On or Off and click Continue (if prompted). Windows brings up a window listing all its features. The features with check marks by their names are already installed. No check mark? Then that feature’s not installed. If you see a box that’s filled — neither empty nor checked — then double-click the component to see what’s installed and what’s left out.

3. To add a component, click in its empty check box. To remove an installed component like Windows’ Games, click its check box to uncheck its box.

4. Click the OK button. Windows Vista adds or removes the program. (You may need to insert your Windows Vista DVD during the process.) Modifying Vista for the Physically Challenged Nearly everybody finds Windows Vista to be challenging, but some people face special physical challenges, as well. To assist them, the Control Panel’s Ease of Access area makes Windows easier to use for people with a wide variety of physical limitations.

Choosing the default program Microsoft lets computer vendors replace Internet Explorer, Media Player, Outlook Express, and Windows Messenger with different programs from other companies. Your new computer may come with the Firefox Web browser, for example, instead of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Some PCs may come with both browsers installed. When more than one program can handle a task — opening a Web link, for example — Vista needs to know which program it should summon. That’s where Vista’s program defaults area comes in. To choose your default programs, choose Control Panel from the Start button, choose Programs, select Default Programs, and choose Set Your Default Programs. The Set Your Default Programs window lists programs along the right edge. Click the program you use the most and then choose Set This Program As Default. Repeat for any other listed programs that you prefer over Vista’s bundled programs and then click OK. Follow these steps to modify Vista’s settings:

1. Choose Control Panel from the Start menu, choose Ease of Access, and choose Ease of Access Center. Vista’s ethereal voice kicks in, explaining how to change Vista’s programs.

2. Choose Get Recommendations to Make Your Computer Easier to Use. Look for the task called,

Get Recommendations to Make Your Computer Easier to Use. That makes Vista give you a quick interview so that it can gauge what adjustments you may need. When it’s through, Vista automatically makes its changes, and you’re done. If you’re not happy with Vista’s changes, move to Step 3.

3. Make your changes manually. The Ease of Access Center window offers these toggle switches to make the keyboard, sound, display, and mouse easier to control:

• Start Magnifier: Designed for the visiually impaired, this option magnifies the mouse pointer’s exact location. • Start Narrator: Vista’s awful built-in narrator reads on-screen text for people who can’t view it clearly.

• Start On-Screen Keyboard: This setting places a clickable keyboard along the screen’s bottom, letting you type by pointing and clicking.

• Set up High Contrast: This setting eliminates most screen colors, but helps vision-impaired people view the screen and cursor more clearly. Choose any of these options to turn on the feature immediately. Close the feature’s window if the feature makes matters worse. If you’re still not happy, proceed to Step 4.

4. Choose a specific setting in the Explore All Available Settings area. Here’s where Vista gets down to the nitty gritty, letting you optimize Vista specifically for the following things: • Blindness or impaired vision • Using an alternative input device rather than a mouse or keyboard

• Adjusting the keyboard and mouse sensitivity to compensate for limited movements.

• Turning on visual alerts instead of Vista’s sound notifications

• Making it easier to focus on reading and typing tasks Some centers that assist physically challenged people may offer software or assistance for helping you make these changes. Options for Laptops (Mobile PC) The Mobile PC area, shown only on laptops, lets you adjust the things dear to the heart of laptop owners: adjusting the screen’s brightness, changing the sound volume, saving battery power, checking wireless network signals, and setting up external displays or projectors.

Additional Options Vista normally leaves this catch-all area empty, but you may find controls for other programs and hardware you add to your PC.