I got a new laptop BUT

...a couple of things are annoying me, so I thought I'd ask to see how any of you might have handled them.

My husband surprised me with a new laptop this week, so I've been busy transferring files, reinstalling apps, etc...you know the drill. So far, I love everything except 2 really obnoxious differences from my old 'puter.

1- I am absolutely hating the way Vista displays my folders...standing upright with the preview page kind of sticking out. What's up with that? Can it be changed back to the way XP did it...just a straight on view?

2 - resolution. My old laptop was a 1280x800. This one is 1920x1200. Everything is SO tiny. Stuff (like a kit preview or layout for example) that is 600 pixels is just way too small to enjoy on this screen. If I enlarge the page (talking internet browsing here), then it will make it so that I end up having to scroll far left and right to access some of the page features. Annoying! I read up a little bit on just changing the resolution to a lower setting, but things are likely to be blurry and/or distorted. And I'm a bit concerned that it will somehow negatively affect my design work, too. Any workarounds or improvements you guys can suggest?

Of course, the "real" reason my husband got me he new computer was so that I would have the ultimate gaming experience when we play World of Warcraft together since the old one couldn't handle the graphics as well (which affected gameplay). So, from that point of view, I'm in heaven, and he won't hear me complaining.

At first I hated the way vista totally changed windows explorer. But I have to say that now I love it a TON better this way. I find it a lot more easier to navigate. But it took about a month to really get used to it. Now when I go back onto my desktop(which is not too often) I find that I really hate xp's windows explorer in comparison. Not sure that I helped you at all. But I wanted to share my experience with the switchover. I also love how it imports my photos and keeps them organized. I know its kind a beast of an operating system, but after a year on it I do like it a lot better....

Not sure I can help with the resolution. Mine is 1280x800...

I disliked the view at first but now that I am used to it, it doesnt bother me. I jsut make sure the picture I want to view is named folder... just like in XP.

As far as size of things go, you can resize everything in your control panel. I think holding ctrl and using the scroll will resize the screen too.

I like the way it displays stuff in explorer now. hehehe I missed the folder image on top for the first little bit, now it drives me up the wall to use a computer with XP (desktop & work laptop).

as for your desktop resolution ... you can change it to what you are used to, via the desktop personalization. Right click on your desktop and chose Personalization. Once that opens, chose Display Settings (should be at the bottom of the options). Just slide the slider back and forth til you find something you like. hehehe My laptop here is 1440x900 (17" widescreen), my laptop at work is 1680x1050 (running on a 21" widescreen monitor connected to laptop). Really, it's all about personal preference.

And Ctrl + scroll works great for zooming in and zooming out. I just drive myself nuts by not being able to ever get it back where I had it before. lol

Thanks guys.

About the resolution...I tried both those things...changing my resolution via properties seems to affect image quality, and zooming in on a page puts stuff off to the sides and I have to scroll really far (to the right usually) to do stuff. I guess I just have to make do. Thanks for your help!

congrats on the new laptop! I got a new one recently and just love it.

We have xp on the desktops and vista on the laptops...when I have to go do something on the boys' computers (desktops)...I now find myself running back to the laptop as I have come to love Vista's navigation and the way things work!

Not sure about the rest...sorry.

Krystal, check your refresh rate
(same way you go in to change your desktop res - click advanced settings, then a new window opens, click monitor. You may have options for your refresh rate (I have it set to 60 Hertz). That may help with the grainy images at a lower resolution.

You can change the way your folders look by going into control panel, then (under classic view on the left side), go into folder options

I love you!

rachaelsscraps said:

You can change the way your folders look by going into control panel, then (under classic view on the left side), go into folder options

Click to expand...

Ooh...will check this out, too! Thanks!

Krystal, check your refresh rate
(same way you go in to change your desktop res - click advanced settings, then a new window opens, click monitor. You may have options for your refresh rate (I have it set to 60 Hertz). That may help with the grainy images at a lower resolution.

Click to expand...

I just have to pipe in and say that you're a bunch of wierdies for liking Vista. :huh:

Congrats on your new toy and I to hate Vista i'm used to some things but not the preview details or the way it sorts!!! :thumbdown:

How come even when you have the picture you want called "folder" it doesn't show as the actual preview in the folder?? That bugs me. I can't figure it out.

It should--it works on my Vista laptop. After a month I started to like Vista a lot...it was probably right about the time my scrapping program released a Vista compatible edition. I have no desire to return to XP.

mnm_y2 said:

How come even when you have the picture you want called "folder" it doesn't show as the actual preview in the folder?? That bugs me. I can't figure it out.

Click to expand...

If it's doing that, you need to change the type of folder it is. Just right click on the folder and go to Properties. Click the "customize" tab, then change the first option to "Photos and Videos." I do select the "Also apply this template to all subfolders" option, then click apply. That should do the trick. On rare occasion, it just doesn't. I haven't figure out why.