Vista is driving me mad. It keeps changing the folder settings on its own, no matter how many times I tell it not to do so.

This is a common complaint by many. In fact I remember my own aunt cursing the PC loudly for doing that. It was funny but at the same time, I could feel the pain.

The problem occurs due to the fact that Windows tries to "Auto-Detect" the type of folder that you are viewing. This is a great feature for most of us, where Windows tries to optimize the viewing of the folder automatically by setting to the optimum folder view. This is where the trouble starts as optimization is quite subjective and therefore you will notice Windows deciding a music folder setting in spite of their being a presence of only one or two music files among several documents.

You can never expect a machine to identify how a particular folder ought to view or is the best for you to view; this is something only you as a user can decide. Also added to the fact that artificial intelligence is still under a nascent stage and that we are dealing with Microsoft just kidding!

Getting down to the problem, it's quite an easy fix. In case, Windows still refuses to learn, jump to the software solution part at the end.

Simple method

1. To customize the particular folder in question, first choose the way you would like to view the folder such as Listing or Details views.

2. If you like to have icons also rearrange in a particular fashion such as sort by name, type, etc, now is the time to set that too.

3. On any empty white space in the folder right-click and select Customize This Folder.

4. Under the Use this folder type as template is a drop down menu where you need to select All items.

5. If you have other folders within this folder and would like those folders to follow the same settings, just remember to tick Also apply this template to all subfolders.

That's it now click OK. Now close the folder and open it again, the view settings that you want should now be remembered.

http://www.techtree.com/India/Guides/Troubleshooting_Windows_Vista/551-89019-584.html

What's wrong with Vista? Whenever I start my laptop from sleep/hibernation, I can't hear any sounds on the computer. I have to restart the computer, which really defeats the purpose of putting the computer in sleep/hibernation mode.

This is a known issue with Windows Vista and luckily, Microsoft does have a fix available on their site, which was released in 2007. Regular updating of Windows Updates fixes this. I recommend you run Windows Update. http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

The problem is that Windows Vista cannot start an HDA device (high definition audio or a modem (in some cases) when it wakes up from sleep or hibernation.

Microsoft had released a previous fix, which apparently did not fix the problem, and so they have released another updated fix "to fix the fix"!

You can access the fix here on this page, under the article number 937077. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937077 Download the first listing for regular 32-bit Windows Vista, for those who have Windows Vista x64, the patch below that is for you. If you have no idea what your Vista version is, don't worry; just download the first one.

I listen to a lot of music and listen to it loud on my Vista machine. Sometimes when I'm playing music loud, suddenly Vista prompts for something with a loud sound, not only is it scary when listening to soft music but also irritating. Is there some way to make Vista stop that when playing music?
Yes and no. No because there is no way to tell Vista to turn off Windows sounds or stop prompting when a particular program such as a music player is playing. Yes because it can be done it very easily.

In Vista especially, Microsoft has included a unique way to reduce/turn OFF the Windows default sounds or any other specific program's sounds if the need be.

1. Just right-click the speaker icon, select Open Volume Mixer.

2. Here you may notice at least two volume controls; one is the master volume for overall Windows Volume, the other Windows Sounds.
3. Here you can mute the Windows Sounds by clicking the speaker icon. Now no Windows sounds should ever dare to bother you again when listening to music. About the prompts, they cannot be helped unless you are multi-tasking a lot. Just don't do anything else like downloading, surfing, copying, etc. when listening to music to tame the prompts.

For those that want to do the same on Windows XP here is the way. Vista users can do the same. Instead of cutting off the volume, why not just disable those silly Windows default sounds altogether!

1. Go to the Control Panel Start | Control Panel .

2. Now open Sound. Click on Classic View if you cannot see it.

3. Under the Sounds tab, select the scheme as No Sounds, in Windows XP, you will be prompted to save a scheme for Windows Sounds in case you want it back or you can simply just click No. If you are saving the scheme, give it any name. Click OK.

That's it for now but do check this space next week as there's more to follow.

I don't believe it -- my Windows Vista doesn't show up SATA drives at all. They work fine in Windows XP; what's wrong?

The disappearance of SATA drives is not a VISTA-specific issue per se but a BIOS setting. This problem occurs if the computer uses an Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) chipset; not if you've AHCI chipset that uses Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) emulation mode. So if your BIOS allows that, your drives will immediately show up. Since you haven't mentioned your BIOS details, check your manual on how to do this.

If in case you still have the same problem, I recommend you go to the Microsoft site to procure a hot fix specifically for this here. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928253. It may take a while to procure the hot fix as it is not readily downloadable; you have to contact Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain it... bummer!