vista laptop annoying

[chrissib]

hi this is the first and only laptop I have had with Windows Vista and although most things work ok, there are a few annoying aspects which I cant seem to resolve as I have with other versions of Windows...

1. it doesn't save any login details, even though I check the 'password remember' option every time, and turned off the option to clear recent web page information in IE9.

2. I have recently put a 2TB storage drive on my internal network, which I have mapped and can see and access ok, but although I have checked the option to 'reconnect at login, it doesn't do it, and I have to manually click the drive icon to 'wake it up' so to speak.

3. at the start, I have been plagued with messages which prevent me from altering things, with reminders that I dont have administrive rights to do anything. So I turned off 'User Accounts Control' and now get persistant reminders to turn it back on. There is only 1 profile on the computer, and this is mine, so I should always have the rights.

4. as for Outlook.. I am always prompted for my password, before I can receive new emails. When I put it in, is comes back with 'send and receive' error, but when I click send and receive again, it works fine.

With all these problems, I have always been able to fix until now. I thought the versions of Windows were improving, and although reluctant to go back, I am very tempted to wipe out Vista, and replace it with and old version of XP, if I cant get around these problems.

....and where are the TCP/IP settings in Vista, cant find them anywhere.

Over to you guys, in the hope you can help..

 

[ubuysa]

hi this is the first and only laptop I have had with Windows Vista and although most things work ok, there are a few annoying aspects which I cant seem to resolve as I have with other versions of Windows...

1. it doesn't save any login details, even though I check the 'password remember' option every time, and turned off the option to clear recent web page information in IE9.

Check all of the IE9 Browsing History settings (under the Delete button). If you delete cookies on close you'll have to login to websites again and if you delete passwords you'll have to type them again too.

2. I have recently put a 2TB storage drive on my internal network, which I have mapped and can see and access ok, but although I have checked the option to 'reconnect at login, it doesn't do it, and I have to manually click the drive icon to 'wake it up' so to speak.

You need to store the login credentials for that drive, I've not run Vista for a very long time but I'm pretty sure you'll find user credentials under the User setting in Control Panel. You'll need to enter and save the login credentials for the network drive and Windows should then reconnect you each time.

3. at the start, I have been plagued with messages which prevent me from altering things, with reminders that I dont have administrive rights to do anything. So I turned off 'User Accounts Control' and now get persistant reminders to turn it back on. There is only 1 profile on the computer, and this is mine, so I should always have the rights.

UAC is there to warn you when a program makes changes to the system or settings, it's to give you the opportunity to decide whether you expected (or want) this program to make changes. It's thus a security feature and it's wise to leave it turned on (which is why Windows keeps nagging you). I have a very powerful security system controlling access to my laptop but I still have UAC turned on, it's my last line of defence.

4. as for Outlook.. I am always prompted for my password, before I can receive new emails. When I put it in, is comes back with 'send and receive' error, but when I click send and receive again, it works fine.

I don't use Outlook, I've been using Mozilla Thunderbird for years and find it to be excellent. I have come across your Outlook problem before though so it's not unique to you. I can't help with it though, sorry.

With all these problems, I have always been able to fix until now. I thought the versions of Windows were improving, and although reluctant to go back, I am very tempted to wipe out Vista, and replace it with and old version of XP, if I cant get around these problems.

Going back to XP would be unwise, support for XP ends next April. You'd be better looking at getting a copy of Windows 7, any laptop that can run Vista should be able to run 7, of course you might have to hunt around for Windows 7 drivers though....

....and where are the TCP/IP settings in Vista, cant find them anywhere.

Open a command prompt and type "netsh /?" and you'll see all the subcommands related to TCP/IP (this works in Windows 7 and 8, I'm pretty sure it's in Vista too). You may want to Google the use of the netsh command, you can do a lot of damage with it if you use it unwisely.

 

[chrissib]

ok I did have delete cookies checked, so that may have cured the login details, although I didn't have the password box checked, so passwords should not be deleted (would've thought)..

the network drive only has an option if I want to change login details, which I dont, so I dont have any option to put in login details..

the UAC is switched off because I was not allowed to make any changes. It kept telling me I dont have the rights to change anything, even though my profile is the only one on the pc. Thats why I switched it off. If I could cure the 'administrive rights' problem, I would switch UAC back on.

 

[ubuysa]

<snip>

the network drive only has an option if I want to change login details, which I dont, so I dont have any option to put in login details..

The network drive is presumably attached to a PC on your network? So you need to store the credentials to access that PC, they are exactly the same credentials you used when you added it as a network drive.

the UAC is switched off because I was not allowed to make any changes. It kept telling me I dont have the rights to change anything, even though my profile is the only one on the pc. Thats why I switched it off. If I could cure the 'administrive rights' problem, I would switch UAC back on.

Again, it's been a very long time since I used Vista (years in fact) but you should check under Users in the Control Panel that your account is an Administrator account not a Limited account if that's what you want. Using a Limited account (I think that's what Vista called them, Windows 8 calls them Standard accounts) is a good idea because it prevents unwanted programs installing stuff on your PC (as you've discovered). But you then also need an Administrator account that you can switch to when you need to make those sorts of changes.

 

[chrissib]

the network drive is attached directly to the router, as this is always switched on, but the network pc's are not. It appears on the network and as an icon on my desktop. I can click the icon or open from my computer menu, but the reason I know it is not connecting automatically is, that my screensaver and desktop background uses pictures stored on this harddrive, both of which are blank on pc startup. As soon as I click the icon and open the drive, both desktop and screensaver refresh. There is no option I can see to add logon details.

As there is only 1 account on the pc, this has to be an administrators account, doesn't it?

 

[ubuysa]

the network drive is attached directly to the router, as this is always switched on, but the network pc's are not. It appears on the network and as an icon on my desktop. I can click the icon or open from my computer menu, but the reason I know it is not connecting automatically is, that my screensaver and desktop background uses pictures stored on this harddrive, both of which are blank on pc startup. As soon as I click the icon and open the drive, both desktop and screensaver refresh. There is no option I can see to add logon details.

Ok, now I understand, though I don't have a good solution. Do you have a third party firewall? I suspect that Windows probably tries to open the drive before the (third party) firewall is initialised and that's possibly why it doesn't reconnect on boot but does when you click the icon. Try disabling the firewall temporarily and see whether it reconnects then on boot?

As there is only 1 account on the pc, this has to be an administrators account, doesn't it?

Not necessarily, take a look in User admin (under Control Panel) to find out.

 

[chrissib]

definately administrator

 

[ubuysa]

definately administrator

Hmm, I can't remember now whether a user administrator account in Vista really had fully authority? You could always turn on the hidden Administrator account and use that to do your admin stuff? See http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/enable-the-hidden-administrator-account-on-windows-vista/

 

[chrissib]

ok nothings changed... unchecked delete cookies and passwords... still will not save any login details...
the drive still wont log on automatically... moving it back onto my pc
outlook still wont remember my login password... this Vista is rubbish

 

[ubuysa]

At this stage I'd be tempted to do one of three things:

1. Do a clean reinstall of Vista and the original drivers.

2. Get a copy of Windows 7 and install that instead. You may have to search for suitable Windows 7 drivers for your hardware.

3. Junk the laptop and Vista and buy a more modern laptop from PCS.