You don’t need to wrestle with BCDEDIT if you want to change how Windows Vista boots, especially on a multiboot system. Use the free VistaBootPRO instead.
As you’ve seen [Hack #10] hacking the way that Windows Vista boots is pretty tough if your only tool is the command-line interface.
There’s a much better solution than going mano [...]

affled by Windows Vista’s BCDEDIT command-line tool for customizing multiboot startups? Who isn’t? Here’s an easy guide to its basics.
If you’re only looking to customize the basics of your Windows Vista multiboot system, there’s no need to download and install VistaBootPRO [Hack #12]. You can, instead, directly hack the BCD store using BCDEDIT.
Before you get [...]

You may be able to find a BIOS upgrade to work around that unhackable, squeaky clean OEM BIOS.
If you want to do hardware and BIOS hacking, you may run into problems because your BIOS may not support a variety of hacks. A “dumbed-down” BIOS setup gives you few options to choose from, while a truly [...]

Some of the stuff your computer does at boot time is of no use. Disable those features to boot faster.
The system BIOS does a lot of work in the P.O.S.T. (Power On Self Test) phase before it gets your system to the point where it reads boot-up information from a disk drive to load an [...]

Increase your PC’s performance and speed up startup times by shutting off applications and services that you don’t need.
One of the best ways to speed up your PC without having to spend money on extra RAM is to stop unnecessary programs and services from running whenever you start your PC. When too many programs and [...]

Tired of seeing the same old Windows Vista logo every time you start Windows Vista? Here’s how you can replace it with any one you want—for free.
Start Windows Vista. Stare at the same boring boot screen you’ve seen approximately 2,984 times. Ho-hum. Another day of computing.
It doesn’t need to be that way. You can create [...]

1. Problem
You want to convert a string to uppercase or lowercase.
2. Solution
Use the ToUpper() and ToLower() methods of the string to convert it to uppercase and lowercase, respectively.
To convert a string to uppercase, use the ToUpper() method:
        PS >”Hello World”.ToUpper()
        HELLO WORLD

To convert a string to lowercase, use the ToLower() method:
        PS >”Hello World”.ToLower()
        [...]

1. Problem
You want to determine if a string contains another string, or want to find the position of a string within another string.
2. Solution
PowerShell provides several options to help you search a string for text.
Use the –like operator to determine whether a string matches a given DOS-like wildcard:
        PS >”Hello World” -like “*llo W*”
        True
[...]

1. Problem
You want to place dynamic information (such as the value of another variable) in a string.
2. Solution
In an expanding string, include the name of a variable in the string to insert the value of that variable.
        PS >$header = “Report for Today”
        PS >$myString = “$header’n—————-”
        PS >$myString
        Report for Today
        —————-

To include [...]

1. Problem
You want to place special characters (such as tab and newline) in a string variable.
2. Solution
In an expanding string, use PowerShell’s escape sequences to include special characters such as tab and newline.
        PS >$myString = “Report for Today’n—————-”
        PS >$myString
        Report for Today
        —————-

3. Discussion
As discussed in Section 5.1, “Create a String,” PowerShell strings [...]