Maximising Windows Xp Utilisation | All usage tricks

[hamsn]

Opening Ports or Adding Allowed Programs with SP2's Firewall
1.Click on Start / Run
2.Enter in firewall.cpl
3.Click on the Exceptions tab

Adding a Port for Internet Access:
1.Click on the Add Port button
2.Name it whatever you want
3.Enter in the ports you want to open

Adding a Program for Internet Access
1.Click on Add Program... button
2.A list of all installed programs will be displayed
3.Highlight the one you want to include for Internet access
4.Click on the OK button

Autoexec.nt or Config.nt Errors
If you are getting errors similar to:
The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.
Try copying the file from \windows\repair directory to the one that is in the \windows\system32 directory.

Common Control Panel Applets

The follow are some common Control Panel Applets that are located in the \windows\system32 directory.
If you find yourself using any of these frequently, then you can simply make shortcuts to them on your desktop.

appwiz.cpl >>Add/Remove Programs
desk.cpl >> Display Properties
firewall.cpl >> Firewall Settings
inetcpl.cpl >> Internet Options
mmsys.cpl >> Sound and Audio
ncpa.cpl >> Network Connections
nusrmgr.cpl >> User Accounts
powercfg.cpl >> Power Options
sysdm.cpl >>System Properties
wscui.cpl >> Security Center
wuaucpl.cpl >> Automatic Updates Configuration Go to Top


Windows Explorer Opens Search Companion Rather than the Folder
If the Windows Explorer opens up the Search Companion rather than opening up the actual folder, the default setting for opening a folder is changed.
To correct this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell
Edit the default value to be explorer or none


Guest Only Network Access
If you try and connect to an XP computer and are shown a logins screen with only the computername/Guest,
You may need to change one of the Local Security Policies:
Got to Control Panel - Administrative Tools
Go to Local Policies - Security Options
Check teh Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts
Set it to Classic - local users authenticate as themselves

Hiding a XP Computer from Network Neighborhood
If you want to share files from a XP computer,
yet want to remove it from showing up in the Network Neighborhood,
Run net config server /hidden:yes



Easy Way to Share Multiple Folders
If you need to share multiple folders, running the program SHRPUBW.EXE will bring up a simple dialog box to let you:
Browse to the folder you want to share
Enter in a Share name
Ender in a Share description
Set permissions. Several choices are available
Restart the process from within the same program Go to top


Not Viewing Zip Files as Folders
If you want to turn of WindowsXP showing Zip files as folders,
just run:
regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll


Setting Capslock, Numlock, Scroll Lock

If you want to set the startup state for any or all of these keys,
you just need to edit the registry.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Keyboard
Open InitialKeyboardIndicators
Change the value to one of the following numbers
0 - All Keys off
1 - Caps Lock on
2 - Num Lock on
4 - Scroll Lock on
For multiple keys, add their values:
3 - Caps Lock and Num Lock on
5 - Caps Lock and Scroll Lock on
6 - Num Lock and Scroll Lock on
7 - Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock on
Log off and back on again

Restoring Desktop Icon to the Quicklaunch Bar
If you mistakenly deleted the icon for the Desktop on the Quicklaunch toolbar
Go to C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
(where user_name is replaced by your login name)
Create a Text file called ShowDesktop.SCF with the following contents:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop Go to top


Network Access After Norton Anti-Virus Install
Sometimes you can't access a WinXP computer after installing Norton Anti-Virus.
There might be a variety of errors at the other computer depending on the operating system.
On the XP computer, in the Event Viewer / System log, there will be the following error:
The server's configuration parameter "irpstacksize" is too small for the server to use a local device.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\lanmanserver\parameters
Edit the IRPStackSize
Give it a value of 15
Reboot the computer


Cleaning the Prefetch Directory
WindowsXP has a new feature called Prefetch. This keeps a shortcut to recently used programs.
However it can fill up with old and obsolete programs.
To clean this periodically go to:
Star / Run / Prefetch
Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the shorcuts
Delete them Go to top



Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages
To turn these off:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\policies\system
If it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessages
Give it a value of 1


Repair Install
If XP is corrupted to the point where none of the previous solutions get it to boot,
you can do a Repair Install that might work as well as keep the current settings.
Make sure you have your valid WindowsXP key.
The whole process takes about half an hour depending on your computer
If you are being prompted for the administrator's password, you need to choose the 2nd repair option, not the first.
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD
At the second R=Repair option, press the R key
This will start the repair
Press F8 for I Agree at the Licensing Agreement
Press R when the directory where WindowsXP is installed is shown. Typically this is C:\WINDOWS
It will then check the C: drive and start copying files
It will automatically reboot when needed. Keep the CD in the drive.
You will then see the graphic part of the repair that is like during a normal install of XP (Collecting Information, Dynamic Update, Preparing Installation, Installing Windows, Finalizing Installation)
When prompted, click on the Next button
When prompted, enter your XP key
Normally you will want to keep the same Workgroup or Domain name
The computer will reboot
Then you will have the same screens as a normal XP Install
Activate if you want (usually a good idea)
Register if you want (but not necessary)
Finish
At this point you should be able to log in with any existing accounts. Go to top

[hamsn]

NTOSKRNL Missing or Corrupt
If you get an error that NTOSKRNL not found:
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Change to the drive that has the CD ROM.
CD i386
expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe
If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change to C:\Windows
Take out the CD ROM and type exit


HAL.DLL Missing or Corrupt
If you get an error regarding a missing or corrupt hal.dll file, it might simply be the BOOT.INI file on the root of the C: drive that is misconfigured
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Type bootcfg /list to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file
Type bootcfg /rebuild to repair it
Take out the CD ROM and type exit


Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG
If you get the error:
Windows could not start because the following files is missing or corrupt
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Enter in the administrator password when requested
cd \windows\system32\config
Depending on which section was corrupted:
ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad
Depending on which section was corrupted
copy \windows\repair\system
copy \windows\repair\software
Take out the CD ROM and type exit Go to top


NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM Not Found
If you get an error that NTLDR is not found during bootup,
If you have FAT32 partitions, it is much simpler than with NTFS.
Just boot with a Win98 floppy and copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files
from the i386 directory to the root of the C:\ drive.
For NTFS:
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Enter in the administrator password when requested
Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive.
COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\
Take out the CD ROM and type exit


Bringing Up the Shutdown Dialog Box
Create a new txt file somewhere on your system, open it and put in this one line:
(new ActiveXObject("Shell.Application")).ShutdownWindow s();
Save and Close the file. Change the extension to js and your got it.
You can make a shortcut to that file to make it easy to shut down your system.


Hiding the Last User Logged On
If you use the standard NT style of login and want to hide the last user:
Start the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options
Scroll down to Interactive logon: Do not display last user name
Set it to Enable Go to top


Poweroff at Shutdown
If your computer does not turn off the power when doing a shutdown,
you may need to edit the registry. I have all the correct BIOS and Power settings and still needed to do this.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Edit the key PowerOffActive and give it a value of 1
You can do the same in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

Remembering Folder Settings
If XP does not remember your folder settings, delete or rename the following registry keys
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell NoRoam\BagMRU]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell NoRoam\Bags]


Preventing Applications from Stealing the Focus
To prevent applications from stealing the focus from the window you are working
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
Edit the key ForegroundLockTimeout
Give it a value of 00030d40


Disable Explorer Thumbnail View
If you want disable the Explorer's ability to show the Thumbnail View ,
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \
Change ClassicViewState to 1 Go to top


Disable Shared Documents
To disable the Shared Documents folder that shows up on the network
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \
Create a new DWORD Value
Give it the name NoSharedDocuments
Give it a value of 1
Log off or reboot


Enable / Disable the Task Manager
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\System
Create the Dword value DisableTaskMgr
Give it a value of 0 to enable it
Give it a vaule of 1 to disable it Go to top


Clearing the Page File on Shutdown
Another way to set the computer to clear the pagefile without directly editing the registry is:
Click on the Start button
Go to the Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Local Security Policy
Local Policies
Click on Security Options
Right hand menu - right click on "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
Select "Enable"
Reboot

If you want to clear the page file on each shutdown:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Set the value to 1


Using the Classic Search in Explorer
If you prefer to use the classic search style in Explorer,
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\CabinetState
Add a String Key called Use Search Asst
Give it a value of no Go to top


Changing the Registered Owner
Start Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
From there you can edit the name in the Registered Owner key

Decreasing Boot Time
Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXP
The program is called BootVis
Uncompress the file.
Run BOOTVIS.EXE
For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
Then run Trace / Optimize System
Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
Note how much the time has decreased
Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds. Go to top

Hide/Unhide Logon Names
If you want to hide or unhide the names of users that are displayed on the initial logon screen:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
Add a DWORD with the name of the user account you want to hide
Make sure it has a value of 0
If there is an existing account, you can unhide it by giving it a value of 1

WindowsXP Command Line Utilities
While there are a lot of command line utilities in WindowsXP, here are some that I have been using lately.
bootcfg - Configures, queries, or changes Boot.ini file settings.
driverquery - Displays a list of all installed device drivers and their properties.
getmac - Returns the media access control (MAC) address and list of network protocols associated with each address for all network cards in each computer
gpresult - Displays Group Policy settings and Resultant Set of Policy (RSOP) for a user or a computer
netsh - You can use commands in the Netsh Interface IP context to configure the TCP/IP protocol
schtasks - Schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a specific time
systeminfo - Displays detailed configuration information about a computer and its operating system

Creating an Automated Install of WindowsXP
On the WindowsXP CP, in the SUPPORT\TOOLS directory,
there is a file called DEPLOY.CAB.
Extract the programs DEPLOY.CHM (help file) and SETUPMGR.EXE (main program)
Run SETUPMGR and answer the prompts.
This will create both a unattend.bat and unattend.txt file you can use for automated installs.
Note: The batch file might need some minor modification for file locations but it is fairly basic.

Disabling Hibernation
If you don't want to use up the disk space taken by Hibernation, or don't need to use it at all,
you can easily disable it.
Open up the Control Panel / Power Options icon
Click on the Hibernation icon
Uncheck Enable Hibernation Go to top

Increasing System Performance
If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performance
by having the core system kept in memory.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
Set the value to be 1
Reboot the computer

Common Command Console Utilities
WindowsXP comes with quite a few console utilities you can easily run from the command line:
Computer Management - compmgmt.msc
Disk Managment - diskmgmt.msc
Device Manager - devmgmt.msc
Disk Defrag - dfrg.msc
Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc
Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc
Group Policies - gpedit.msc
Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc
Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc
Resultant Set of Policies - rsop.msc
Local Security Settings - secpol.msc
Services - services.msc
Component Services - comexp.msc

Automatically Ending Non-Responsive Tasks
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks
Set the value to be 1
In the same section, change the WaitToKillAppTimeout to the number of milliseconds you want.

[hamsn]

Changing the Internet Explorer Title

Start Regedit

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Window Title

Enter what you want appear in the title bar



Changing Programs That Start Automatically

WindowsXP has a similar program, MSCONFIG, that was available in Windows98.

This allows you to view and change what programs are automatically started each time you log in.

The new version also allows you to view and edit the boot.ini file (as well as check for errors and use several advanced switches)







To remove Windows NT / Windows 2000's / XP ShutDown button from the Start Menu, apply the following registry :



Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER

Key: Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer

Name: NoClose

Type: REG_DWORD

Value: 1



Also if you would like to remove the shutdown button from the login screen:



Hive: HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE

Key: SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ policies\ system

Name: ShutdownWithoutLogon

Type: REG_DWORD

Value: 0







If any of you out there like to use the thumbnail view, especially for browsing through photos and images, it can become a bit of a drain on your system. It is possible to lower the thumbnail size and quality by editing the following registry keys.



Open the registry and navigate to :



HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft \ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer



Create a new DWORD value called ThumbnailSize, and set the value between 32 and 256.



And/or create another DWORD value called ThumbnailQuality, and set the value between 50 and 100.



Key Details :



USER Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft \ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer]

Value Name: ThumbnailSize

Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)

Data Value: 32 - 256



USER Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft \ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer]

Value Name: ThumbnailQuality

Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)

Data Value: 50 - 100







Heres a strange hidden tweak i found the other day..



When you are in explorer, change to "Thumbnail" view while holding left shift and all your icon will appear without text!







Another adjustment to Internet Speed involving DNS resolution.



Modify these registry settings:



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Services\Dnscache\Parameters]

"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001

"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180

"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00

"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d



Or down dnsreg.reg to automatically modify.









The Windows XP CD Key is required to reinstall the operating system.

If you have lost it, you can retrieve it from the Windows registry:



1) Open the Registry Editor

2) Navigate to HKEY_LOCALMACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ WindowsNT\ CurrentVersion.

3) Find ProductId. The CD Key is digits 6 thought 15.







To remove the Accessibility options FOREVER!



1. Start button/ Run type in regedit



2. find HKEY_CURRENT_USER/ Control Panel/ Accessibility



3. Rename the Accessibility folder to "*Accessbility"



NOTE- If you feel like there will EVER be a time you will need these features do NOT delete the folder, thats why i have suggested you simply rename it.







Enable/Disable BalloonTip



Open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type "regedit" and click on OK to start the regedit utility.



Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced



Modify or create, "EnableBalloonTips" and set the Value to "0". To restore set the Value to "1".





Do not keep history of recently opened documents



1. Go to Start - Run and then type "gpedit.msc" and click Ok.

2. Go to User Configuration - Administarative Templates - Start Menu and Taskbar

3. Double click "Do not keep history of recently opened documents" and click on "Enabled".







MaxConnectionsPerServer



1. Open 'regedit' [Start Menu -> Run -> regedit

2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ InternetSettings in the Nav. tree.

3. Go to Edit > New > Dword Value

- Name it to: MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server

- Right click it, select modify, Set Value Data to: 0000000a

5. Create a new Dword Value (Edit > New > Dword Value)

- Name it to: MaxConnectionsPerServer

- Right click it, select modify, Set Value Data to: 0000000a

7. Close Regedit, reboot computer.







Tired of waiting for your homepage to load?



This tweak tells Internet Explorer to simply 'run', without loading any webpages. To load IE with 'nothing' instead of blank (Blank still loads a 'blank' webpage') then follow the steps for creating an IE shortcut below.



1. Right-click on any shortcut you have to IE



2. Click Properties



3. Add ' -nohome' (with a space before the dash) after the endquotes in the Target field.



4. Click OK



Open up IE through the shortcut and walla! IE opens straight away!









Make Windows XP Automatically Login (with multiple user profiles enabled).



1. Click Start | Run | and type "control userpasswords2"



2. click OK



3. On the Users tab, clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" check box.



4. A dialog will appear that asks you what user name and password should be used to logon automatically, Choose the account (which the user wants to automatically login) and type the password. Click "OK".







Create a shortcut by right-clicking the desktop. On the pop-up context menu, choose "New", then "Shortcut". Then copy and paste this in the program location box:





rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation



Click "Next",

and enter a name for your new shortcut, such as "QuickLock" or whatever. When you double-click that shortcut, you're logged off the network, and has the same effect as logging off. All running and open programs remain intact upon logging back in.



Normally, when users open My Computer from the desktop, they will see an icon for each drive on the system. With the following Registry change, you can hide these icons, preventing users from finding them and using them.



Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER

Key: Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer

Name: NoDrives

Data Type: REG_DWORD

Value: see below



To calculate the value, add up the following codes for the drives that you want to hide:



A=1

B=2

C=4

D=8

E=16

F=32



For instance to hide the E and F drives, the value would be 48.







Windows XP creates a hidden share for every drive on your computer. C$, D$, admin$. These shares are accessible only to user accounts with administrative privileges, meaning any account that you created during the installation of windows XP.



Essentially, this means that anyone with a valid username and password from your system can get access to anything on your drives remotely. While this is the number one reason why you should always use good passwords on your Windows user accounts, this feature can be disabled with a little registry tinkering.



To disable the hidden shares:



Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ lanmanserver\ parameters



Add the Dword value 'AutoShareWks' with a value of '0'









The error is this.



"windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item"



Yes! it seems to be a security & permissions issue.

Its possible that some1 have set the permission in the safe mode. The following applies only for NTFS Home edition:



Use the calcs.exe command line and reset the permissions.



The following comand line paramenter will change the ACLs of all files and directories on drive C to allow full control for the Administrators local group:



cacls c:\ /t /e /g Administrators:f







This tweak will only work if you have the "Use welcome screen" option activated in Control Pannel | Users Accounts | Logon and Logoff Options.



1. Make a backup copy of C:\windows\system32\logonui.exe.

2. Overwrite the file with your new login screen, using the same file name logonui.exe.

3. If you ever want to revert back to the old login screen, just overwrite C:\windows\system32\logonui.exe with your backup copy.







Design an appropriate bitmap and place it in your NT directory as YourLogoName.BMP. Use 8.3 naming convention.



Edit: HKEY_USERS \.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop



Double click or Add Value REG_SZ of Wallpaper and set it to the full path to YourLogoName.BMP.

Double click or Add Value REG_SZ of TileWallpaper. 0 is Don't tile, 1 is tile.

Double click or Add Value REG_SZ of WallpaperStyle. 0 is normal, 2 is stretch to fill the screen (which is mutually exclusive with TileWallpaper = 1).



If you use a normal, not tiled logo, you can position it by adding the following REG_SZ values:

WallpaperOriginX set to the number of pixels from the left hand edge of the screen.

WallpaperOriginY set to the number of pixels from the top of the screen







Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you’re logging off, turn it off completely.

[hamsn]

HideClock





To do this follow the next step:



To open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type "regedit" and click on OK to start the utility.



Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\policies\Explorer.



Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called "HideClock" and set it to the value "1".



The modifications you made will be in effect after you reboot your PC.









If you desktop or folders on your desktop do not retain their settings, follow the next steps:



Open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type "regedit" and click on OK to start the regedit utility.



Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Program Manager\Restrictions



Create or edit the DWORD value "NoSaveSettings" and give it a value of "0".



Reboot, and should work now!









cascading menu of all your system's Control Panels will appear



Right-click on Start and choose Open. Right-click in the Start Menu window, and then select New, Folder. When the new folder appears, give it the following name (exactly as shown here):



Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}



You may then close that window and click on the Start button. Control Panel should be the first item (top of the list). When you move your mouse over the new Control Panel folder, a cascading menu of all your system's Control Panels will appear.









This tweak allows you to alphabetically sort the Start Menu and Favorites Menu.



Open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type "regedit" and click on OK to start the regedit utility.



Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\ Policies\Explorer



To sort the Favorites menu hightlight the "Favorites" sub-key and delete it.



To sort the Start Menu hightlight the "Start Menu2" sub-key and delete it.



Changes will take effect after you restart Windows and Internet Explorer.







RegisteredOwner to RegisteredOrganization



Open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type "regedit" and click on OK to start the regedit utility.



Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows NT\CurrentVersion



Now just change the value for "RegisteredOwner" and "RegisteredOrganization".







If you need to disable to "Right Mouse Click Menu" on the Desktop, modify this registry key to 1. Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called "NoViewContextMenu" and set it according to the value data below.



[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer]



Value Name = NoViewContextMenu



Data = (0 = disabled, 1 = enabled)









If you want to have your name and computername instead of the boring 'My Computer',

then modify the registry below.



example 1





You will need to open the RegEditor. Start, Run and type "regedit". Then local the following branch



[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}]



and modify the LocalizedString:

"LocalizedString"=hex(2):25,55,53,45,52,4e,41,4d,4 5,25,27,73,20,43,6f,6d,70,75,74,65,72,00









This tweak will remove the icons, but leave the clock in the corner. Open up the Registry Editor (Start - Run - regedit) and locate the following key. I had to create it "Explorer" key, so you may have too to.



Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Key: Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer

Name: NoTrayItemsDisplay

Type: REG_DWORD

Value: 1 to Hide, 0 to unhide



Also if you want to hide the clock..right click on it, goes to properties, and on the "TaskBar" Tab, deselect "Show the Clock". Or if you would like to do this via the registry..



Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Key: Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer

Name: HideClock

Type: REG_DWORD

Value: 1 to Hide, 0 to unhide







Firstly two things, be very careful, create the backups and to rename the Windows XP start button, you will need a hex editor.



1. Copy the \\windows\\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)

2. Open the file with a hex editor and go to offset 412b6

3. You will see the word start with blanks between each letter. Edit it be any 5 characters or less.

4. Save the file

5. Boot to DOS

6. Copy the existing c:\\windows\\explorer.exe to explorer.org

7. Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe

You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\\windows\\system32\\dllcache file as well with the new one.



Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can\'t access the files from DOS:



1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SOFTWARE \\ Microsoft \\ Windows NT \\ CurrentVersion \\ Winlogon.

3. Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe







This is a very simple little tweak, but its one which i like and always forget where to set it



- Open System Properties

- Click the "Advanced" tab

- Click Settings in the Performance section and turn on the "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop" option

- Click Ok.







How to remove Recycle Bin Icon from your Desktop:



1) Go to START and select Run

2) Type GPEDIT.MSC

3) Navagate to User Configuration | Administrative Templates | Click on Desktop

4) On the right hand search " Remove Recycle Bin icon on the desktop " and double left click on it to ENABLE it.







Have you ever double clicked a folder to open it, and it opened the search window?



First check to see what the default action of the Icon is. Right Click the folder, is "Search" the default action (The one in bold)?



The way to cure this problem is to open up the registry (start - run - regedit) and navigate to..



[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ Directory\ shell]



With "shell" highlighted, change the "default" data to "none" on the right-side.



then go here:-



[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ Drive\ shell]



With "shell" highlighted, change the "default" data to "none" on the right-side.



The folder icons should be back to normal again!











I click shutdown



Navigate to your desktop. On the desktop, right-click and go to New, then to Shortcut (in other words, create a new shortcut). You should now see a pop-up window instructing you to enter a command line path.

Use this path in "Type Location of the Item"

SHUTDOWN -s -t 01

If the C: drive is not your local hard drive, then replace "C" with the correct letter of the hard drive. Click the "Next" button. Name the shortcut and click the "Finish" button. Now whenever you want to shut down, just click on this shortcut and you're done.









Speed Up Ur Shut down !!





Start Regedit.( PRESS WINDOWS BUTTON + R BUTTON AND THEN TYPE REGEDIT )

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.

Click on the "Control" Folder.

Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"

Right click on it and select Modify.

Set it a value lower than 2000 (Mine is set to 200)

[hamsn]

Crack cd protection

In this tutorial, I?m gonna show you, how to crack any type of CD Protection,

using W32Dasm, and HIEW.



OK, let?s start:

First of all, you have to run the game you want to crack, without the CD.

The game, doesn?t work of course, (Please, don?t panic) BUT a window pops up, telling you an error message.

This error message will help you to crack the game so, you?ve got to remember it.

For example: Please insert the - CD, or: You need the CD to play the - . ( -, is the

game you want to crack). Anyway, if you can?t remember it,

write it on a little piece of paper.

Now, run Win32Dasm, and on the toolbar, press the first little button on the left, OR, go to Disassembler ->Open file to Disassemble. A menu will pop up. Select

the exe which you want to crack. The disassembling, will take few minutes so, I suggest you relax. Go fetch that beer you were just now thinking about.



OK, it finished its process.

Now, in your screen, there is a strange text, and we can?t understand anything of course. Don?t worry, the only thing we have to do, ( If you want, you can change the font), is to click on the String Data References, the button next to the print button (Strn.REF).

You can see a window which is called String Data Items. Scroll down, and try to

find the game?s error message. When you?ll find it, double click on it, and then,

close the window, to go back to the Win32Dasm text.

As you can see you are somewhere in the CD check routine. This is the message?s

place. Now comes the interesting and difficult part, so, be careful.

We don?t know what all this **** means, BUT we must know the @ offset of

every call and jump command.

Write down, every call and jump @ offset number. (You have to be sure, that the

OPBAR changes its color to green when your over a call or jump command). You need the number behind the @offset without the h, which is at the very bottom of the W32dasm screen. Let?s go to HIEW, now.



HIEW:

To move up and down, use the cursor keys. Start HIEW. exe.

In the HIEW directory, there is a list of exes and programs. Go to the directory, which you saved the game?s exe, we want to crack, and click on the exe. Click F4,

and then, a menu will pop up, with 3 words. Text, Hex, and Decode. Click on

Decode, and now, we can understand the list of numbers.

Click F5, and you can now enter the number, we wrote down, in Win32Dasm. Type it, and you will be placed at the number?s place. The cursor is placed on a command.



Before I?ll continue, I want to explain you something. For example, if the command where our cursor is placed on, is E92BF9BF74, means that it is 5 bytes.

Every 2 numbers, are one byte: E9-2B-F9-BF-74 = 90-90-90-90-90. 10 letters, mean, 5 bytes.

OK, if you understood it, you can continue.



Press F3, which means edit, and now you can edit these ten numbers.

Type five times, the number 90. For every byte, 90. Now click on F10 to exit.

We cracked the CD protection of the - . Congratulations.









Before you can change your IP you need some information. This information includes your IP range, subnet mask, default gateway, dhcp server, and dns servers.





1. Getting your IP range - Getting information about your IP range is not difficult, I recommend using Neo Trace on your own IP. But for my test just look at your IP address, say it's 24.193.110.13 you can definitely use the IP's found between 24.193.110.1 < [new IP] < 24.193.110.255, don't use x.x.x.1 or x.x.x.255. To find your IP simply open a dos/command prompt window and type ipconfig at the prompt, look for "IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : x.x.x.x".





2. Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DHCP Server - These are very easy to find, just open a dos/command prompt window and type 'ipconfig /all' without the ' '. You should see something like this:



Windows IP Configuration:



Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : My Computer Name Here

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: Unknown

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No



Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:



Connection-specific DNS Suffix . . . . . . .: xxxx.xx.x

Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : NETGEAR FA310TX Fast Ethernet Adapter (NGRPCI)

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . . . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xxx.xxx.xx

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.240.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xxx.xxx.x

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 24.xx.xxx.xx

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xx.xxx.xxx

24.xx.xxx.xx

24.xx.xxx.xxx

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .:Monday, January 20, 2003 4:44:08 PM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .:Tuesday, January 21, 2003 3:43:16 AM





This is all the information you will need for now, I suggest you either keep your dos/command prompt window open or copy & paste the information somewhere, to copy right click the window and select text and click once.







III. Changing your IP Address





To change your IP address first pick any IP you like out of your IP range and remember it or write it down. It is usualy a good idea to make sure the IP is dead (except for what we are going to do later on) so just ping it via "ping x.x.x.x" and if it times out then you can use it. Now go to My Computer, then Control Panel. In Control Panel select Network Connections and pick your active connection, probably Local Area Connection or your ISP name. Open that connection by double clicking on the icon in Network Connections, then select Properties under the General Tab. In the new window that pops up select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click properties, it's under the general tab. In this new window select the General tab and choose "Use the following IP address" and for the IP address enter the IP you would like to use (the one you picked from your subnet earlier) and for the Subnet Mask enter the subnet mask you got when your ran ipconfig /all, same goes for the Default Gateway. Now select "Use the following DNS server addresses" and enter the information you got earlier. Now just click OK. Test that it worked, try to refresh a website and if it works you know everything is okay and you are connected. To make sure the change worked type ipconfig again and the IP address should have changed to your new one.







IV. DDoS & DoS Protection





If your firewall shows that you are being DDoSed, this is usually when you are constantly getting attempted UDP connections several times a second from either the same IP address or multiple IP addresses (DDoS), you can protect your self by changing your IP address via the method I described above.







V. Web servers & Other Services





If you know someone on your IP range is running a web server and he or she has pissed you off or you just like messing around you can "steal" their IP address so any DNS going to that IP will show your site instead because you would be running a web server yourself.



To "steal" an IP is to basically use the changing IP address method above and picking an IP that someone that is running a web server has in use. Often you will be able to keep that IP at least for some time, other times you wont be able to use it so just keep trying until it works. You your self will need to have a web server on the same port with your message. You can do this with other services too. You can also DoS or DDoS the IP address you are trying to steal to kick him off the net, but I don't recommend as its pretty illegal, an your ISP will get pissed




- Right click on the start menu and then click Properties.



- In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.



- Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.


- Click OK, and then click OK again.

[Zippoh]

Woah. This was a lot. Could have been slightly better organized, otherwise it's nice.

[TechAsh]

A very long list.

There are probably some useful tips in there somewhere, just need to find them lol.

[LHVWB]

The tips look nice, but if possible could you please post the link/links to their location/s?

I found the first few, tips from this website: http://simon.maniez.org/archives/50.

This looks like a cut and paste job to me...

[atomman]

some comments and further resources...

first of all, check out nLite - awsome util to remove various windows components before you install (it can build an installation from source), including such things as IE components, OE, WMP, MSN Messenger, services, etc., etc., etc.. Many other qualities to this free app though, including the ability to apply lots of tweaks. Great for unattended installations and network admins as well as the casual desktoper. Many of the tweaks listed by the OP are covered by nLite.

comments on the OP's post...

Speed Up Ur Shut down !!

Start Regedit.( PRESS WINDOWS BUTTON + R BUTTON AND THEN TYPE REGEDIT )

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.

Click on the "Control" Folder.

Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"

Right click on it and select Modify.

Set it a value lower than 2000 (Mine is set to 200)

careful with the above as this can be dangerous. Some apps really need the extra time to quit. If you really want to speed up shutdown, disable uneeded networking services.

Do not keep history of recently opened documents

1. Go to Start - Run and then type "gpedit.msc" and click Ok.

2. Go to User Configuration - Administarative Templates - Start Menu and Taskbar

3. Double click "Do not keep history of recently opened documents" and click on "Enabled".

the above will cause certin apps that depend on MRU lists to have problems. Unless you have a privacy issue, i suggest not applying this.

Cleaning the Prefetch Directory
WindowsXP has a new feature called Prefetch. This keeps a shortcut to recently used programs.
However it can fill up with old and obsolete programs.
To clean this periodically go to:
Star / Run / Prefetch
Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the shorcuts
Delete them Go to top

many seemingly knowledgable people (including some from Microsoft) will tell you this is a really bad idea, as well as a very commen myth. Prefetch cleans itself out (if i remember correctly) and cleaning everything out manually only results in slower preformance.

for serious preformance, stability and better security, check out nLite. I wouldn't be running Windows without it. The truth is, the NT OS's are really good. The problem (IMO) lies in the what M$ has done to make them usable by the average joe. XP, out of the box, is a joke and a security nightmare, but with a thourgh beating it can be a pretty sweet platform that preforms better and is far more secure. I can't speak for any other flavors of NT. nLite is only part of the answer though -- the rest is getting an education.

if you check out nLite, also see RyanVM. And send the guys a donation if you like their stuff! These people have worked hard for a long time and they deserve it.

[kkenny]

Very good list. Helped speed up my XP a little bit.