An unavoidable side effect of upgrading to a new version of Windows is having to search for all the important programs, tools, and entertainment applications that have moved. So of course, in Windows Vista, many of your favorite programs aren't where you've come to expect them to be. Here are 10 of the most important and interesting programs you're likely to look for and where you can—and occasionally can't—find them in Vista. You might want to have this article handy the first time you boot the new OS.
10. Log off and Shut down—You'll need to find the Log off and Shut down options in Vista early on. In Windows XP, these options are on the Start menu. Log off and Shut down remain part of the Vista Start menu, but they don't appear directly on the menu as they do in XP. Instead, you have to click the arrow icon at the bottom right corner of the Start menu to display these options.
9. Printers and Faxes—Printers and Faxes also appears on the Start menu in XP. To find it in Vista, however, you need to click Start, Control Panel, Hardware and Sounds, Printers.
8. Backup—An essential but often underused utility, XP's Windows Backup is located under Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Perhaps as the result of an effort to make Backup easier to find, Vista puts the tool directly off the Start menu under Backup Status and Configuration.
7. Telnet—The Telnet terminal emulation program is disabled by default in Vista. To enable Telnet, click Start, Control Panel, Programs, Uninstall a program (that's right—Uninstall), Turn Windows features on or off, then select the Telnet Client check box and click OK.
6. Pinball—I have bad news for pinball fans: You won't find Space Cadet Pinball in Vista; Microsoft has removed it from the Vista games list. You can find other Vista games, such as Spider Solitaire and Freecell, under Start, All Programs, Games, Game Explorer.
5. Network Connections—Network Connections is useful for managing your system's NICs. In XP, Network Connections is located under Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications. In Vista, you can find the Network Connections dialog box under Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet, View Network Status and Tasks, Manage Network Connections.
4. Remote Desktop Connection—One of the tools that I most frequently use to manage my servers, Remote Desktop Connection, has been moved from its XP location at Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications. In Vista, you'll find it at Start, Accessories, Remote Desktop Connection.
3. Disk Defragmenter—You used to be able to find the Microsoft Disk Defragmenter in XP by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Manage. In Vista, Disk Defragmenter is located at Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Surprisingly, the Vista Disk Defragmenter doesn't show the graphical disk fragmentation analysis display.
2. Documents and Settings—XP stores all individual user settings in the Documents and Settings folder on the system drive and uses a different folder for each user. In Vista, however, the Documents and Settings folder is replaced by the new Users folder located at C:\Users. As in Documents and Settings, the folders under the Users folder are grouped by user.1. Administrator account—One of the biggest changes in Vista is how the Administrator account is handled. This account is disabled by default in Vista, meaning you can't log on as an Administrator. To enable Vista's Administrator account, open the Start menu, right-click Computer, and select Manage. On the Computer Management dialog box, open the Local Users and Groups node and select Users. Right-click the Administrator account, select Properties, then clear the Account is disabled check box.
