Launch "Run" in Vista?
 

I bought a new dive computer. The SW and driver won't load. Here's the e-mail I got make from the manufacture...

Which would be easy if I had an older version of windows. Since I don't... How the heck to I run launch in Vista?

Click on the little Windows logo where it used to say Start. Right above the power off button in the right column it should say run.

Not in Vista, it doesn't.

Vista's Run menu item has been rolled into the search. In the Start menu, select Start Search, and simply type in your command there.

I just checked, I have my start menu options set to show the run command. But I tried Martian's method and it worked.

Windows Key + R still works for me.

Geeks. Umm I mean thanks guys. it works now but what does it mean when the UAC is turned off?

I'm the only one using this computer, if that matters.

Short version is UAC gives administrators more control over what programs can be run by regular users. For a single-user PC it's completely meaningless. I'd just leave it off.

Actually for a single user computer it is a complete pain in the ass. Stupidest security measure ever introduced.

this is the first time ive messed with the run menu in vista.

i just typed "winipcfg" to no avail. why couldnt they just keep the commands the same?

Winipcfg was from Windows 98(although you download it from MS for other versions, it was not there by default). In all the NT versions (NT, 2000, XP, etc) it is 'ipconfig' from the command prompt (Start>Run>'cmd').

No, that would be MS Bob's password recovery feature, which was to assume that a user entering the wrong password 3 times has forgotten the password, and to then prompt the user for a new one.

D'oh

UAC is shit. Turn it off if you are any sort of computer user.

Thanks guys. It's off I'll leave it off. I do have a little red "shield" with an "x" in it now in the lower right. Plus I get a notice every time I boot that it's off.

There should be a way to turn those notifications off. You can in XP anyway. Go to control panel, security center or something like that, and try to find the settings that asks about notifications and uncheck all of them.

User rights management is a long-standing and entirely valid security concept. The problem here is not with the concept itself, but with the implementation. Unfortunately one of the major flaws of Windows is that it doesn't do a very good job of differentiating user levels. Combine that with the amount of software (almost all of it) that abuses this fact, and a late-game lame attempt to introduce it is bound to break more than it fixes.

I have to give Microsoft credit for at least trying to implement basic security measures. And hey, maybe one day they'll get it close to something approximating right.