In this course, we'll cover some advanced techniques for making your Microsoft® Windows Vista computer run better, faster, and more to your liking. You'll learn some valuable ways to customize Windows Vista so it better suits your needs.

This course is for experienced and adventurous Windows Vista users only. Coming into this course, you should already know how to do the following:

• Run applications and manage files in Windows Vista.
• Run all the standard disk utilities, such as Disk Defragmenter, Check Disk, and System Restore.
• Get system information with System Information.
• Check your hardware with Device Manager.
• Shut down an unresponsive program with Task Manager.
• Back up and restore your important files.

You'll be diving headfirst into tweaks and hacks that possibly can disable your system if you do them incorrectly. You'll learn how to disable services, stop running processes, edit the registry, and even hack some binaries.

If that sounds scary, or you aren't sure you have the prerequisite knowledge, it's not too late to back out and decide to try one of the more basic Windows Vista courses first.

How this course works

This course consists of six lessons; each with an assignment and a quiz. Read a lesson, complete its assignment (if you want to -- they aren't graded), and then test your knowledge by taking the quiz.

Here's how the lessons break down:

• Lesson 1 - Windows Vista Services and Startup: Shows you how to determine which Windows Vista services and processes load automatically at startup, as well as how to control them.
• Lesson 2 - Windows Vista Tweaks That Don't Require Registry Edits: Teaches you some great Microsoft Windows® customization and optimization techniques that bypass registry editing entirely.
• Lesson 3 - Accessing the Windows Vista Registry: Explains how to access the Windows Vista registry and keep registry editing risks to a minimum. It also covers Windows Vista registry repair in case you run into trouble.
• Lesson 4 - Editing the Windows Vista Registry: Basic Skills: Explores the registry's inner workings, such as keys, strings, and values, and you'll make a few simple, useful edits. In addition, you'll learn how to streamline the Control Panel.
• Lesson 5 - Adjusting Windows Vista for Better Performance: Explores some useful registry edits and Microsoft Windows options so you can adjust Windows Vista for better performance.
• Lesson 6 - Performing Advanced Windows Vista Customization: Covers some of the most interesting tweaks you can perform on a Windows Vista system, including working with User Account Control, Group Policy Editor, and speeding up the Start menu search.

Throughout this course, we provide Flash examples. To view these examples, you need the Adobe Flash Player. Keep an eye out for notes with links that say "See how to ____" or something similar. Some of these files are very large (2 MB or so) and may take a while to appear or download if you have a slow connection.

If you're ready, fasten your seatbelt -- you're going to have some fun.