Disable mandatory thumbnail previews

By default, Windows Vista renders nearly every directory in thumbnails, which can be a good thing, but can also be a pain if you've got a lot of files and little memory. If you'd like to go back to the XP-centric explorer where thumbs where an option not a mandate, it's easy enough to do, fortunately.

To disable automatic thumbnail previews:

Go to 'start/computer.'

open the 'organize' menu and choose 'folder and search options.'

Choose the view tab and place a check next to the 'always show icons, never thumbnails' option at the top. Hit 'ok.'