Continuing our series of introducing beginners to Windows and Linux, we’ll are going to be talking about Windows Vista in this blog.

As you may already know, Windows Vista was released more than two years ago and is still popular among PC users worldwide. It’s an operating system developed by Microsoft and is known as the replacement for Windows XP, another operating system from Microsoft.

 

There’s a high chance that you won’t be installing a copy of Windows Vista. It probably came pre-installed with your new computer, so we’re not going to show you how to install Windows Vista.

What we’re going to show you is how to install updates, manage user accounts, change the background and theme, and more later.

 

Updating Windows Vista:

The first thing to do when you install or receive a computer with Windows Vista is make sure that it’s updated with the latest security patches.

To update and configure automatic update, click Start –> Control Panel.

 

 

 

Click on the Security category. This category includes everything at your fingertip to configure your system security settings.

 

 

Next select Windows Update and go onto the next screen. Our goal is also to enable automatic update.

 

 

Click Change settings to setup automatic update.

 

Choose the recommended option to install update automatically ever day at 3:00 AM. Also, allow all users to install updates on the computers. Click OK when done.

 

 

Back on the Windows Update screen, click the Install updates button to install available updates for your computer. You may have to restart your computer after the update.

 

 

 

 

Managing User Accounts:

 

Whether Linux or Windows, if you have multiple users logging into your system, you’ll have to manage user accounts. Giving the right permissions is ideal.

To manage user accounts in Windows Vista, click Start –> Control Panel. Then click User Accounts and Family Safety category.

 

 

Click Add or remove user accounts

 

 

Click Create a new account.

 

 

Enter the username for the account, then choose the account profile: Standard user or Administrator and click Create Account button.

 

 

After creating the user, click on the new account to setup password, account picture, and account type.

 

 

 

Configure Vista Background/Theme:

To configure Windows Vista background image and theme, click Start –> Control Panel. Then click the Appearance and Personalization category.

 

 

Click Personalization category.

 

 

Select Desktop Background or Theme to change your current settings.

 

 

Choose the background of your choice and click OK.

 

 

Choose your choice of theme and click OK.

 

 

 

That’s all for this tutorial. More of these are coming in the future.