Beautify Vista's User Account Control Dialog

Here's a tip for you adventurous Windows Vista users out there. This tip helps you tame Vista's User Account Control (UAC). UAC is Microsoft's new malware (malicious software, e.g. virus, worm, Trojan) safeguard. It literally interrupts certain computer activity to ask you to confirm whether to proceed with certain actions such as running a program -- sometimes even when you personally started the program. Many people find UAC annoying but I recommend you leave it on because it does improve security. One thing you can do to get the benefits without it being quite so annoying, is to turn off the visual noise that accompanies a UAC dialog box.

In Vista's default mode, when UAC notices certain activities it: interrupts the activities start-up, flashes your screen, shadows your screen, and presents a yes/no dialog box. All the extra screen activity is very annoying, in my opinion. All I need is the yes/no box.

If you are comfortable working in the registry, including making backups, proceed. Just do so cautiously. Here's how to turn off all the "fireworks"

1. Click the Vista [start] Button
2. Type 'Regedit.exe' in the Start Seach box
3. Press Enter to launch the Registry Editor
4. Click Continue when you get the UAC warning
5. Change HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System
DWORD: PromptOnSecureDesktop Value to 0

The default value is 1. Here's what 0 and 1 mean respectively:
0 = give me UAC check but not the flash, shadowing, etc.
1 = give me UAC check along with all the graphical noise because I need to be "hit on the head" visually or I won't feel the appropriate amount of pain Microsoft intended with UAC -- and I like pain!

Tame Vista's System Beep

I resolved another Windows Vista annoyance today. I don't know if you have noticed or not but during many activities Vista will beep an extremely annoying beep. It doesn't even matter if you have the volume muted -- it beeps anyway when certain system events occur. That is, it beeps until you apply this tip.

The broad steps are:
1) Open the Device Manager;
2) Click View\Show Hidden Devices;
3) Locate "Non Plug and Play Drivers";
4) Locate "Beep";
5) "Stop" the Device;
6) Change Startup Type to "Disabled".

Here it is step-by-step, including pictures:
Shut up the beep