Windows XP Tips
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Be sure to visit the XP tutorials at TechTutorials.com, a directory of free Windows XP and computer tutorials and whitepapers. The directory currently contains 1867 free tutorials, awesome reading.
My Favorite Tips for Windows XP SP2
Jan 01 2005-Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a big deal. It provides immediate benefits, but it also comes with some potential pitfalls. Before you do a mass rollout of XP SP2, arm yourself with my favorite tips and tricks for deploying SP2 and dealing with some difficulties you'll likely run into after you deploy it.Click here for more.
Windows XP Technical Overview
Windows XP is the next version of Microsoft Windows beyond Windows 2000 and Windows Millennium. Windows XP brings the convergence of Windows operating systems by integrating the strengths of Windows 2000—standards-based security, manageability and reliability with the best features of Windows 98 and Windows Me—Plug and Play, easy-to-use user interface, and innovative support services to create the best Windows yet.This article provides a broad technical overview of what’s new in Windows XP. It shows how new technologies and features make it easier to get work done, share information, manage your desktop, stay productive while traveling with a mobile computer, obtain help and support, and perform many other computing tasks.
Windows XP is built on an enhanced Windows 2000 code base, with different versions aimed at home users and business users: Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. Unless otherwise noted, this article addresses technologies and features common to both versions of the operating system.
Click here for more.
Windows XP and .NET: An Overview
The release of Windows XP comes at a time of transition and growing maturity of the Internet.The Web has grown to include many millions of sites on almost every conceivable topic. Although more information is available than ever before, the opportunities to fully manage and customize it have remained limited. Until now.
The Microsoft .NET initiative aims to change this through a framework built around XML-based Web services that interoperate via existing open Internet protocols such as TCP/IP and HTTP.
And at the heart of the .NET platform for knowledge workers, business users, and consumers lies the new client operating system, Windows XP.
Click here for more.
XP bandwidth brouhaha
The newness of Windows XP -- with its sometimes addled approach to licence restrictions, copy protection and security -- lends itself to confusion. Reader Tom Gleason sent me an example, quoting websites that claimed XP needlessly consumes 20% of your PC's network bandwidth.Like a lot of online talk, this is misinformed. Windows 2000 introduced QoS (quality of service) features using an admission control service and the Internet Engineering Task Force's RSVP signalling. XP doesn't support these two protocols but provides its own QoS components. The QoS packet scheduler dialogue box in XP Professional shows a default "bandwidth limit" of 20%. This created a buzz on the web to the effect that XP artificially withheld a fifth of your bandwidth, even if its packet scheduler was turned off.
Not to worry. There's no restriction unless your network specifically supports XP-style QoS and it's requested by an application, such as a streaming media player. Even then, by default only 20% is set aside. (See Tech TV's website).
Click here for the article.
Microsoft KB article on removing messenger
January 30th 2002-Microsft has releases a knowledge base article(Q302089) on preveting MSN messenegr from running on a windows XP machine. This article describes how to prevent Windows Messenger from running. By default, Windows Messenger is installed by Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition, and the user interface does not provide a way to remove or to uninstall Windows Messenger.The information in this article applies to Microsoft Windows Messenger 4.0, Microsoft Windows Messenger 4.5, and Microsoft Windows Messenger 4.6 running on Windows XP Professional and Windows XP home edition based computers.
Click here for the article.
How to Install the Netbeui Protocol on a Windows XP-Based Computer
This article describes how to install the NetBEUI protocol on a Windows XP-based computer. This may be useful because the NetBEUI protocol is not included in the list of installable protocols in Windows XP even though the files that are needed to install the protocol are included with the installation CD-ROM. It is important to note that the NetBEUI protocol is not supported on Windows XP.The Netnbf.inf and Nbf.sys files are the files that are needed to install the NetBEUI protocol. To install the NetBEUI protocol:
- Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.
- Right-click the adapter you want to add NetBEUI to, and then click Properties.
- On the General tab, click Install.
- Click Protocol, and then click Add.
- Click Have Disk, insert your Windows XP CD-ROM, open the Valueadd\msft\net\netbeui folder, click the Netnbf.inf file, and then click Open.
- Click OK, and then click OK to complete the installation.
Visit the Gateway Windows XP Info Center
If you have recently installed Windows XP or are thinking about upgrading to Windows XP, check out Gateway's Info Center for Windows XP today.Most folks know Gateway only as a maker of personal computers, but the company also offers learning tools to help you use Windows XP, accessories, and -- for owners of Gateway machines -- great technical support. The Windows XP Info Center will help you figure out just what sort of tools you need to start ruling the digital universe, whether you do so from a desktop PC or a notebook.
Click here to visit Gateway's Windows XP Tips and Info Center.
Change Out Your Pointer Scheme
Tired of seeing your pointer as an arrow or an hourglass all the time? Windows XP offers a number of alternative pointer schemes, such as Dinosaur, Ocean and Sports.Open the Control Panel, double-click Mouse, and select the Pointers tab. (If you start in Category view, select Appearance and Themes, then click Mouse Pointers under "See Also.") Next to Schemes, click the down arrow and select a scheme to preview its pointers. Click OK to apply the scheme to your desktop. Simple as that.
Check Out the Read1st File First
When you’re ready to install Windows XP, what are the first two things you should do? First, place the installation CD into your CD drive, but do not start Setup. Instead, click Browse this CD, open the file named READ1ST.txt, and then go read it. This file contains a variety of useful information including:- Last minute information that did not make it into other documentation.
- Selected pre-installation information.
- A roadmap that will help you find other useful text files.
Use the ultimate configuration tool (Professional Edition only)
One of the most full featured Windows XP configuration tools available is hidden right there in your system, but most people don't even know it exists. It's called the Local Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short. To invoke this editor, select Start and then Run, then type the following:gpedit.msc
After you hit ENTER, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify virtually every feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit.
Want to remove MSN Messenger?
A lot of people want to know how to remove the MSN Messenger service from XP... here's how:Locate SYSOC.INF in the \Windows\INF folder (hidden file and folder), Open it in Notepad and locate the line: msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
Remove the word "hide" from the line and save the file. You will now have an entry in add/remove programs. Do what you will :)
OR (XP Pro Only) leave it installed, but tell Windows to never let it run. If you're running XP Professional, you can use GPEDIT.MSC to prevent Messenger from loading. Otherwise, even disabling it in startup won't cause it to "always" not run. NOTE: Outlook, Outlook Express and some Microsoft web pages can still make it load.
Know your rights
Windows XP comes bundled with Windows Media Player 8.0. While Media Player plays just about any digital media file format--it supports 35, including MP3, it records music only in the Windows Media Audio, or WMA, format. The reason? Content protection.When recording, or ripping, music from CDs, Media Player allows you to make protected recordings so that no one will be able to copy the recording from one computer to another. You can turn copy protection on or off on the Copy Music tab by checking or unchecking the box that says Protect Content.
Protect your identity
Like many other audio players, Windows Media Player rushes out to the Internet to find information for you when you play a CD. Some of this information, such as song titles and album art, is useful, but Media Player also identifies your copy of Media Player to the site where it's getting data. Why? According to the help file, "The server uses this unique identifier to monitor your connection. By monitoring your connection, the server can make adjustments to increase the playback quality and to alert you about events that occur when receiving streams over the Internet."If you're disturbed by this exchange of information, here's how to stop it. In Windows Media Player, click Tools > Options and go to the Player tab. Notice the option that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" Turn it off.
Group and Ungroup Similar Taskbar Items
Just open three or four Internet Explorer windows and you won't see them all in a row on your Taskbar, as you did in previous versions of Windows. By default, Windows XP groups similar items on one button. For example, if you have 3 Internet Explorer windows open, you'll see an Explorer item with the number 3 on it. Click it to see a pop-up list of those windows, then select the one you want.If you would like, Windows XP will display all open windows separately on the Taskbar. Right click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Properties. Under Taskbar Properties, deselect Group Similar Taskbar Buttons, then click OK.
Turn back the clock
Gray is definitely out. The folks at Microsoft bathed Windows XP in color. Don't like XP's look? To switch back to the Classic look that resembles Windows 2000, right-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Themes tab, and choose Windows Classic from the drop-down list. Voilà! You're back to comfy shades of blue and gray--not to mention having all those familiar icons.Click "Switch to Classic view" in the upper-left corner of the Properties dialog to bring back the familiar Control Panel icons of earlier versions of Windows. To get back to a Start menu that looks more like Windows 2000's, right-click in an empty portion of the Start menu's left-hand column, select Properties, and go to the Start Menu tab. Select Classic Start Menu. To bring the new look back, just reverse these steps.
Customize the Start menu
The Start menu gets more real estate in XP than in previous versions, and it's more customizable. To make the Start menu display only the applications you want, rather than the default determined by Microsoft, right-click in an empty section of the Start menu's left column, and select Properties > Start Menu > Customize. Here you'll find a list of your most frequently used programs. (XP keeps track of what you use and what you don't, then updates this list dynamically.) Don't want your boss to know that Pinball, Solitaire, and Quake all make your list? Go to the General tab, click Clear List, and set the counter to zero.Swap out the defaults
In XP, your favorite programs are displayed in the top left column of the Start menu. Microsoft starts you off with Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.Want to display a different set of applications in this spot? Right-click an empty portion of the Start menu's left column and select Properties > Start Menu > Customize. At the bottom, deselect the program you no longer want displayed in the "Show on the Start menu" dialog, and, using Windows Explorer or My Computer, navigate to the program you want instead. Right-click the program and select "Pin to Start menu." To rename the new shortcut, right-click it and select Rename. Note: You can't pin files, just programs.
Organize your desktop
The only default icon on XP's desktop is the Recycle Bin, but we think it's a good idea to add a shortcut to Computer Management, a quick and dirty way to get to such important tools as the Event Viewer, Local Users and Groups, Shared Folders, the Device Manager, and Disk Management. To surface this handy management dialog, click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools. Right-click the Computer Management shortcut. Select Copy from the dialog menu. Right-click an empty portion of the desktop and select Paste Shortcut. Use this procedure to add shortcuts to anything else; use Windows Explorer or My Computer to find your targetTurn on your firewall
Microsoft included a firewall in Windows XP to keep you safe from hackers while you cruise the Internet. How do you know that the Internet Connection Firewall is on? Go to the Control Panel and double-click the Network Connections icon. In the dial-up, DSL, or cable connection dialog that appears, check the Status column. If your firewall is on, it should say Firewalled. You can turn the firewall off with the check box, but unless you are going to add a third-party firewall for heightened security, it's best to leave it on.Now that you know that your firewall is on, how do you know that it's doing its job? Test it with ShieldsUp, the free testing service sponsored by Gibson Research. According to our tests, XP's Internet Connection Firewall kept the computer in full stealth mode. Hackers could not break in and couldn't even see the computer online.
But, given the latest security problems with USB 2.0, etc, you should always go to Windows Update to make sure you have the latest patches, no matter what operating system you use.
Microsoft Narrator
Want to hear your computer talk? Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Narrator. Or press the Windows key plus the letter "U" to open the Utility Manager. Microsoft Narrator, an accessibility option designed to assist readers who are blind or have impaired vision, starts automatically.Once you've read through the intro screen (or let the Narrator do it), click OK and you'll see a dialog box of Narrator options. Assuming you want to leave Narrator running, select the desired options, then minimize its dialog box. And if you've opened the Utility Manager, feel free to close it.
To turn Narrator off, click the Exit button or right-click its taskbar item and select Close.
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Internet Connection Sharing
To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection:- Open Network Connections.
- Click the dial-up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.
- On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.
- If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box.
- If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.
- Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network.
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Watch your cookies
In XP, the Documents And Settings folder holds all user information, including configuration settings, favorites, and cookies. The Documents And Settings\Username\Cookies folder is where XP stashes cookies. How do you control the number of cookies you allow on your system? Click Start > Control Panel > Network And Internet Connections > Internet Options. Click the Privacy tab, then use the slider bar to modify your cookie settings. For instance, you can block cookies from sites that use personal identification without your consent. To increase your security, try out the other privacy settings in this dialog. The lowest level is Accept All Cookies while the highest is Block All Cookies, with low, medium, medium-high, and high settings in between. (An explanation of each appears as you move between settings.) Keep in mind that rejecting cookies may limit your actions on some Web sites, and some sites use cookies to track how many times you see a popup, for example, on this website, if you blocked cookies, you would see a popup on every page.The omnipotent Administrator
When you use Windows XP, you belong to one of two groups: Administrators or Users. Administrators are all-powerful: if you have a so-called Admin account, you can make systemwide changes and change other users' accounts. While this power is a boon to the ego, it's also dangerous. If, for example, you encounter a virus, a Trojan horse, or a worm while you're logged on as Administrator, you could wreck all the accounts on your entire system. Log in as User, on the other hand, and any damage you cause will be less extensive, because ordinary users are prevented from making systemwide changes. A word to the wise: Do your everyday computing as a regular user and log on as Administrator only when it's absolutely necessary, such as when adding a new user or changing security settings. To sign on as User, use the Run As command: just right-click a shortcut and select Run As. As long as you know the username and password, you can sign on as another user.Reduce Temporary Internet File Space
The temporary internet files clutter your hard drive with copies of each page visited. These can build up over time and take up disk space. Even more bothersome is that instead of getting new pages each time IE often takes the page out the temp internet files. This can be a problem if you are viewing a website that is updated all the time. If you are on a slow connection such as a 56K or lower then this can be good but if you are on a fast broadband connection, like me, then you can get away with decreasing the size of your temp internet files to just one meg without any performance decrease.Launch Internet Explorer.
Select the Tools from the menu bar. Then select Internet Options... from the drop down menu. Once the internet options has loaded click on the general tab. Under the temporary internet files section click the settings button. A settings window will load. Slide the slider all the way to the left so the size indicated in the text box on the right is one. Click OK Click OkTurn Off System Recovery
Right click on My Computer and choose Properties. Click on the System Restore tab and check the box Turn off System Restore. (This will increase Windows performance & save disk space)Enable / Disable Firewall
Open Control Panel and double click on Network Connections. In the new box that appears right click on the Connection and click on the Advanced tab. Check or uncheck the box according to your desire.Win XP Won’t Completely Shutdown
- Goto Control Panel, then goto Power Options.
- Click on the APM Tab, then check the "Enable Advanced Power Management support."
- Shut down your PC. It should now successfully complete the Shut Down process.
WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown
Go to Control panel Administrative tools, local security policy. then goto local policies ---> security options. Then change the option for "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"Turn off hibernation
Control Panel-Screen Saver Power-Hibernate Tab-uncheck hibernation box-reboot and hiberfil.sys is no more.Adjust various visual effects
- Open up the control panel
- Go under system and click on the advanced tab
- Click settings under Performance options
- You can now change various graphical effects (mainly animations and shadows)
Disable error reporting
- Open Control Panel
- Click on Performance and Maintenance.
- Click on System.
- Then click on the Advanced tab
- Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
- Select Disable error reporting.
- Click OK
- Click OK
Close Multiple Windows : Note works in all versions of Windows
If you just opened a number of separate, related windows (a folder inside a folder, and so on), there's an easier way to close them all than one-at-a-time. Hold down the Shift key as you click the X caption button in the upper-right corner of the last window opened. Doing so closes that window and all windows that came before it.Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons
Here's how you can remove those shortcut arrows from your desktop icons in Windows XP.- Start regedit.
- Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile
- Delete the IsShortcut registry value.
Remove Shared Documents
Open Regedit(Start- Run- Regedit) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer My Computer NameSpace DelegateFolders There will see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. By Deleting this you can remove the 'Other Files stored on This Computer' group.Change the text in Internet Explorers title bar to anything you want
In regedit navigate to this key:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain
change the value of the string "Window Title" to whatever you want on the title bar of Internet Explorer - to have no title except the title of the web pages you are browsing do not enter anything for a value.
Easy sendto menu modification
first open - X:Documents and SettingsusernameSendTo (it is hidden) where X is your drive letter and username is your username make and delete shortcuts to folders at willEnable Clear Type
Easy way- Click on or cut and paste link below: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/cleartypeactivate.htm?fname=%20&fsize= or- Right click on a blank area of the Desktop and choose Properties
- Click on the Appearance Tab; Click effects
- Check the box: Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts
- In the drop down box select: Clear Type
Turn of CD Auto Play
- Open My Computer
- Right click on your CD ROM and choose Properties
- Click on the Auto Play tab
- In the drop down box you can choose the Action for each choice shown in the drop down box
- Go to Start->Run->gpedit.msc
- Computer Config -> Administrative Template -> System
- Double click Turn off Autoplay
- Enable it.
Getting MP3 ripping to work in Windows Media Player 8 in XP
Enter the following in the registry : [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftMediaPlayerSettingsMP3Encoding] "LowRate"=dword:0000dac0 "MediumRate"=dword:0000fa00 "MediumHighRate"=dword:0001f400 "HighRate"=dword:0002ee00 This corresponds to 56, 64, 128 and 192 Kbps. You can change this to your liking using the following dword hex values : 320 Kbps = dword:0004e200 256 Kbps = dword:0003e800 224 Kbps = dword:00036b00 192 Kbps = dword:0002ee00 160 Kbps = dword:00027100 128 Kbps = dword:0001f400 112 Kbps = dword:0001b580 64 Kbps = dword:0000fa00 56 Kbps = dword:0000dac0
Increase BROADBAND
This is for broad band connections. I didn’t try it on dial up but might work for dial up.- make sure your logged on as actually "Administrator". do not log on with any account that just has administrator privileges.
- start - run - type gpedit.msc
- expand the "local computer policy" branch
- expand the "administrative templates" branch
- expand the "network branch"
- Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left window
- in right window double click the "limit reservable bandwidth" setting
- on setting tab check the "enabled" item
- where it says "Bandwidth limit %" change it to read 0
Increase your cable modem or DSL speed in XP
This tweak is for broad band cable connections on stand alone machines with winXP professional version - might work on Home version also. It will probably work with networked machines as well but I haven't tried it in that configuration. This is for windows XP only, it does not work on win2000.I use 3 Com cards so I don't know how it works on others at this point. It does not involve editing the registry. This tweak assumes that you have let winXP create a connection on install for your cable modem/NIC combination and that your connection has tcp/ip - QoS - file and print sharing - and client for microsoft networks , only, installed. It also assumes that winxp will detect your NIC and has in-box drivers for it. If it doesn't do not try this.
In the "My Network Places" properties (right click on the desktop icon and choose properties), highlight the connection then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half for the bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK
- From the windows XP cd in the support directory from the support cab, extract the file netcap.exe and place it in a directory on your hard drive or even in the root of your C:\ drive.
- next, open up a command prompt window and change directories to where you put netcap.exe. then type "netcap/?". It will list some commands that are available for netcap and a netmon driver will be installed. At the bottom you will see your adapters. You should see two of them if using a 3Com card. One will be for LAN and the other will be for WAN something or other.
- Next type "netcap/Remove". This will remove the netmon driver.
- Open up control panel / system / dev man and look at your network adapters. You should now see two of them and one will have a yellow ! on it. Right click on the one without the yellow ! and choose uninstall. YES! you are uninstalling your network adapter, continue with the uninstall. Do not restart yet.
- Check your connection properties to make sure that no connection exists. If you get a wizard just cancel out of it.
- Now re-start the machine.
- After re-start go to your connection properties again and you should have a new connection called "Local area connection 2". highlight the connection then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half for the bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK.
- Choose connection properties and uncheck the "QOS" box
- Re-start the machine
- after restart enjoy the increased responsivness of IE, faster page loading, and a connection speed boost.
Use a Shortcut to Local Area Network Connection Information
Something new in Windows XP, instead of using the command line program and typing ipconfig to find local area network information, you can use the following shortcut:- Click Start, point to Connect to, and then click Show All Connections.
- Right–click the connection you want information about, and then click Status.
- In the connection Properties dialog box, click the Support tab.
- For even more information, click the Advanced tab.
Change the Start Menu Style
Does the new Windows XP Start menu take up too much space on your desktop? You can easily change the look back to the Windows Classic Start menu by following these steps:- Right–click the Start button, and then click Properties.
- Click Classic Start menu.
- Click the Customize button to select items to display on the Start menu.
Add a Map Drive Button to the Toolbar
Do you want to quickly map a drive, but can’t find the toolbar button? If you map drives often, use one of these options to add a Map Drive button to the folder toolbar.- Option One (Long Term Fix)
- Click Start, click My Computer, right-click the toolbar, then unlock the toolbars, if necessary.
- Right-click the toolbar again, and then click Customize.
- Under Available toolbar buttons, locate Map Drive, and drag it into the position you want on the right under Current toolbar buttons.
- Click Close, click OK, and then click OK again.
- Option Two (Quick Fix)
- Click Start, and right-click My Computer.
- Click Map Network Drive.
Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs
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.- To do this Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed, 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.
Speed up the Start Menu
You can use this tip to speed up the Start Menu in Windows XP release candidate 1. You can customize the speed of the Start Menu by editing a Registry Key.- Click Start, and then click Run.
- Type Regedit in the box, and then click OK.
- Expand the menu in the left panel and select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder.
- Scroll down in the right panel and double click on the MenuShowDelay file.
- In the Value Data box, change to default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1.
- Click OK.
Use the Windows Classic Look
More comfortable performing a task with the familiar Windows Classic user interface? You can quickly switch the user interface to the familiar Windows Classic appearance on your computer if it helps you remember a task in your operating system or program. You can go back to the original Windows look with a couple clicks.- Right-click on your desktop, and then click Properties.
- Click the Appearance tab.
- On the Windows and Buttons menu, select Windows Classic. Click OK.
Add Familiar Icons back to your desktop
It’s the case of the missing icons. Many of you may be wondering where all the icons from your desktop are in Windows XP? Well if you're like me, you like to have at least My Computer, My Network Places, and My Documents on the desktop.To do this:
- Right-click on the desktop, and then click Properties.
- Click the Desktop tab and then click on Customize Desktop.
- Put a check mark in the box next to My Document, My Computer, My Network Places, or Internet Explorer, to add those familiar icons to your desktop.
Unlock Toolbars to Customize Them
Windows XP now features locking toolbars, and you can adjust them. You can customize a lot of the Windows XP features such as the Taskbar, Start Menu, and even toolbar icons in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. Remember your right-click:- Right-click on a toolbar, and then click Lock the Toolbars to remove the check mark.
- Right-click on the toolbar again, and then click Customize.
- You can add and remove toolbar buttons, change text options and icon options. When you've got the toolbar customized, click Close.
- Now right-click on the toolbar and then click Lock the Toolbars to lock them in place.
Display Your Quick Launch Toolbar
Is your Quick Launch toolbar missing from the taskbar? To display your familiar Quick Launch toolbar:- Right-click an empty area on the taskbar, click Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch.
- Easy as that your Quick Launch bar appears. To add items to your Quick Launch toolbar, click the icon for the program you want to add, and drag it to the Quick Launch portion of the taskbar.
Keep Your Favorite Programs Near the Top of the Start Menu
Do you have a favorite program that you frequently use? Elevate its priority on the Start menu by putting it at the top of the list. This ensures that the program will remain on the Start menu and cannot be bumped by other programs, even if you use the others more frequently. Right-click the link to your favorite program on the Start menu and select Pin to Start Menu. Your program will be moved permanently to the top part of the list, just below your browser and e-mail programs.Use the Address Bar to Launch Programs or Web Pages
Windows XP Professional enhanced the functionality of the Address bar to make it easier to launch your favorite programs. You can add the Address bar to the taskbar on the bottom of your desktop. Then you can launch programs simply by entering their names in the Address bar. For example, to launch Calculator, simply enter calc in the Address bar. Anything you would normally enter in the Run box on the Start menu can be entered in the Address bar. The Address bar also lets you quickly go to any Web page you specify.To add the Address bar to the taskbar:
- Right-click an empty area on the taskbar.
- Point to Toolbars, and then click Address.
- Open the Address bar by double-clicking it.
Stop Password Expiration
After you have run Windows XP for a while, you may receive this message when you log on: "Your password will expire in 14 days.....".By default, Windows XP is set up with passwords which will expire after 42 days. 14 days in advance, Windows will start warning you of this fact. If you do not want your passwords to expire:
- Go to Start > Run and in the Open: box type control userpasswords2
- Select the Advanced tab in the User Accounts window
- Press the Advanced button below the Advanced user management header
- Select Users in the Local Users and Groups
- In the right pane, right-click the user name for which you want to change the setting, and select Properties
- On the General tab, check Password never expires
- Click Apply and OK (all the way out)
Safely Remove Hardware Icon?
If you have an USB device attached to your system, you will notice an icon in the Notification area, which - when clicked - will give you the option to Stop your hardware, before you unplug it.It is possible that you never unplug this hardware. So how do you get rid of the icon? As far as I know the only way is to right-click the notification area, and selecting Properties. Under the Notification area heading, click Customize. Find the Safely Remove Hardware icon and select Always hide in the Behavior column next to it (press OK and Apply to back out).
Multiuser features
Like Windows 2000, but unlike Windows 95, 98, and Me, the ability to log in multiple users simultaneously plays a big role in Windows XP. There is a default Administrator account set up when Windows XP is first installed, but you can create as many accounts as you need later, depending on how many people will be using the machine. Each user, once he or she has an account, can customize XP to his or her liking. Individual users get their own subfolders in the Documents And Settings folder; this folder serves as a centralized location for most personalized information, such as the Start Menu, Favorites, and Documents settings.Missing Administrator account
Once you have created regular user accounts, the default Administrator account vanishes from the Welcome screen, which you see when the computer starts up. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice at the Welcome screen to retrieve the standard logon dialog. You can log on as Administrator from here. To switch among accounts, just click the Log Off button on the Start menu. You'll then see the Log Off Windows dialog box. Click the Switch User button, and you'll be taken to the Welcome screen where you can select and log on to other accounts.Show yourself
Only the Administrator can set up new user accounts (go to Control Panel > User Accounts > Create A New Account). You can select a picture to identify the account. When you're logged on to the system under your username, this picture, along with your username, peeks out at you from the top of the Start menu. There are a slew of 48x48-pixel bitmap images to choose from within XP. They're housed in D:\Documents And Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures. But why limit yourself? You can also copy any graphic you want into this folder or browse for another from your hard drive. Usable file types are BMP, GIF, JPEG, or PNG. However, always use a square picture, to limit the white space on the side. Your image can be any size but will be displayed as 48x48-pixel image, so a close-up works best.Hide yourself
Once you've created a user account, password-protect it to keep other users from viewing your files, Favorites, and cookies. Why? You may not want your child to see the note that you're sending to his or her teacher, or you may be planning someone's surprise party. (Note: Anyone with an Administrator account can still see them.)Worried about remembering your password? Create a hint to help you when you initially create it by following the prompts during setup. XP stores the password hints in the Registry at Hkey_local_machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Hints.
What if the hint doesn't help? Any user or Administrator can create a password reset disk, which you can use to log on and create a new password. Go to Control Panel > User Accounts and select "Prevent a forgotten password" in the Related Tasks box on the left. Follow the wizard's instructions. After creating the disk, find a safe place for it. Don't forget the password or where you put the disk. Someone else could use it to change your password without you knowing it.
Not A Tweak, But A Double XP Surprise!
Neither Win2K nor WinME has the ability to create a simple, basic, DOS- based boot floppy (a "startup disk") unless you jump through hoops or do things in nonstandard ways. Because XP is the fusion of Win2K and Win9x/ME, I assumed it would follow the same "no boot floppy" tack. But instead, I was surprised to poke around in XP and see that the format option there does indeed offer a "Create MS-DOS Startup Disk."As an experiment, I created a startup disk, and all went smoothly. I was able to use the disk to boot my PC without any problems. But when it started up, I got the second surprise. The DOS boot message showed "Microsoft Windows Millennium." To confirm this, I typed "Ver" to see what version of DOS was running, and the screen showed: Windows Millennium [Version 4.90.300]
Although it's very strange to see the WinME startup message on an XP-created floppy, all this means is that Microsoft cribbed a few essential DOS boot files from WinME, and made it so XP can drop them onto a freshly- formatted floppy for you. I'm glad they did: It's a very good thing that Microsoft restored the ability to make a simple boot disk.
Fast Boot /Fast Resume Design
Customer research shows a frequently requested feature that users want from their PCs is fast system startup, whether from cold boot or when resuming from standby or hibernation. The Windows development team at Microsoft has taken bold steps in making fast startup PCs a reality with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.The design goals for Windows XP on a typical consumer PC are:
- Boot to a useable state in a total of 30 seconds
- Resume from Hibernate (S4) in a total of 20 seconds
- Resume from Standby (S3) in a total of 5 seconds
Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
For some reason, Hibernate isn't available from the default Shut Down dialog. But you can enable it simply enough, by holding down the SHIFT key while the dialog is visible. Now you see it, now you don't!Speed up the Start Menu
The default speed of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay
By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.
If this doesn't work for some reason, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Advanced and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow. You will get much better overall performance.
Automatically defrag drives with a new context menu item
Create a new Registry import file named context_defrag.inf in Notepad (be sure to save with it with the Save as type set to All Files and not Text Documents) and place the following text inside:; context_defrag.INF
; Adds Defrag to the right click context menu in Windows XP
[version]
signature="$CHICAGO$"
[DefaultInstall]
AddReg=AddMe
[AddMe]
HKCR,"Drive\Shell\Defrag\command",,,"DEFRAG.EXE %1"
Then, right-click and choose Install. This will add a context menu to XP that allows you to automatically defrag drives, using the command line version of the built-in defragmentation utility. To use it, navigate to a drive in My Computer, right-click, and choose Defrag. A command line window will appear, and that drive will be defragged. When it's complete, the window just disappears.
Display the Sharing Tab in Folder Properties
In Windows 2000, getting to the Sharing options for a folder was simple: Just right-click, choose Properties, and you'd see a Sharing tab. In Windows XP, this feature is missing by default, but you can make the system display the Sharing tab if desired. Simply open up Folder Options (My Computer, then Tools, Folder Options) and navigate to the View tab. In the Advanced Settings section, scroll down to the bottom and uncheck Use simple file sharing (Recommended), a Mickey Mouse feature if there ever was one. Now share your folders on the LAN as you would in Windows 2000.My Computer Won't Shut Down Itself After Installing XP
There are a number of users who have been complaining that their PC will no longer automatically power down/shut off without pressing the power off button on the computers unlike in Windows Me/95/2000. There could be a number of reasons for this - but the main one seems to be that ACPI is not enabled on the computer or in Windows XP. Here is how to enable it:- Click - Start - Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance - Power Options Tab
- Then click APM - Enable Advanced Power Management Support
Create a Password Reset Disk
Microsoft has enhanced security features in XP including the the ability to create a floppy diskette to recover your password incase it is forgotten.- Click Start
- Click Control Panel
- Click User Accounts
- Click on the account which you want to create a password disk
- Click Prevent a forgotten password which starts the Forgotten Password Wizard . This is found under Related Tasks
- Insert a blank, formatted disk into drive A, and click Next
- Enter the password in the Current user account password box
- Click the user name whose password is on the recovery disk
- Click the question mark button
- This causes the Did you forget your password message to appear.
- Click use your password reset disk
- This will start the Password Reset Wizard.
How to Create a Password Reset Disk for computers that are part of a domain
Note that this procedure requires one blank, formatted floppy disk.To create a password reset disk for your local user account:
- Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. The Windows Security dialog box appears.
- Click Change Password . The Change Password dialog box appears.
- In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer (this computer) .
- Click Backup . The Forgotten Password Wizard starts.
- On the "Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard" page, click Next .
- Insert a blank, formatted disk in drive A, and then click Next .
- In the Current user account password box, type your password, and then click Next . The Forgotten Password Wizard creates the disk.
- When the progress bar reaches 100 percent complete, click Next , and then click Finish . The Forgotten Password Wizard quits and you return to the Change Password dialog box.
- Remove, and then label the password reset disk. Store the disk in a safe place.
- In the Change Password dialog box, click Cancel .
- In the Windows Security dialog box, click Cancel.
To gain access to your local user account on a computer that is a member of a domain, or has been disconnected from a domain:
- In the Welcome to Windows dialog box, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
- In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type an incorrect password in the Password box, and then click OK .
- In the Logon Failed dialog box that appears, click Reset . The Password Reset Wizard starts. The Password Reset Wizard lets you create a new password for your local user account.
- On the "Welcome to the Password Reset Wizard" page, click Next .
- Insert the password reset disk in drive A, and then click Next .
- On the "Reset the User Account Password" page, type a new password in the Type a new password box.
- Type the same password in the Type the password again to confirm box.
- In the Type a new password hint box, type a hint that will help you remember the password if you forget it. NOTE : This hint is visible to anyone who attempts to log on to the computer by using your user account.
- Click Next , and then click Finish . The Password Reset Wizard quits and you return to the Log On to Windows dialog box. The password reset disk is automatically updated with the new password information. You do not have to create a new password reset disk.
- In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type your new password in the Password box.
- In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer (this computer) , and then click OK . You are logged on to the local computer with your local account information.
Disable Automatic Windows Update
Windows XP is configured out of the box to routinely scan for and download updates to Windows XP automatically. While this can be somewhat convenient for those with very fast Internet connections and those who would otherwise forget to check for updates, it can be a nuisance for the rest of us, who are still using 56k or, even worse 33k modem connections.To control or disable automatic updating, open the System icon in Control Panel (or right-click My Computer and select Properties), and choose the Automatic Updating tab.
To check for updates manually, open Internet Explorer and select Windows Update from the Tools menu.
Try automatic camera recognition in windows xp
If you have a digital camera, try this trick for downloading pictures to your machine. Don't load any of the drivers or software that comes with your digital camera. Instead--if your camera supports USB--connect your camera via a USB port. There's a good chance that Windows XP will recognize the digicam. After a few moments, the Scanner And Camera Wizard should start up and walk you through the steps involved in copying your pictures from the camera to a folder of your choice on your computer--much faster than doing it manually. You may still need to install your camera's software if it provides configuration controls you can't access in any other way, such as those for changing the picture resolution on your camera or the software's special editing functions.HOW TO: Use Automatic Completion with a Command Prompt in Windows XP
To Activate Automatic CompletionFor example, to change to the Program Files folder, you can type cd \pro control_character. Or, to display the contents of the Myfile.txt file, you can type type myf control_character. If there are multiple folders or files that match the characters you type, typing the control character again displays the next matching instance. When the correct folder or file is displayed, press ENTER to complete the command. If no folder of file matches the characters that you type, you hear a beep. You can activate or deactivate this feature for a computer, for a user, or for only the current command session.
Click here for the article from Microsoft.
Easy CD Creator 5.0 Does Not Function In Windows XP
When you try to use Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.0, any of the following symptoms may occur:Your computer may stop responding (hang) or may stop functioning correctly.
You may receive an error message on a blue screen. The error message may be similar to:
Stop 0x00000050: PrtSeqRd deferencing null device object
After you receive this error message, your computer restarts.
You may receive an error message that is similar to:
Createcd50.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Click here for the article from Microsoft.
Damaged Registry Repair and Recovery in Windows XP
When a registry hive becomes damaged, your computer may become unbootable, and you may receive one of the following Stop error messages on a blue screen:Unexpected Shutdown
Stop:0xc0000135
Registry damage often occurs when programs with access to the registry do not cleanly remove temporary items that they store in the registry. This problem may also be caused if a program is terminated or experiences a user-mode fault.
Click here for the article from Microsoft.
Be sure to return to Windows XP Tips soon, we are constantly finding and adding tips to our website, and hope to be adding direct downloads for drivers and other free downloads of windows xp software.
IPCONFIG Error
When you run IPCONFIG and get an error:
An internal error occured: The request is not supported.
Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services for further help.
Additional information: Unable to query routing information
You need to copy a clean TCPIP.SYS file to the \windows\system32\drivers directory and reboot.
You can download TCPIP.SYS from my site
Browse Master Monitor
If you have trouble browsing the network with only a few computers, you might check to see what Browse Master they are using.
There is a utility from Microsoft that will let you see what each computer is using for a browse master called Browsemon.
Taking Ownership Of a Folder
Sometimes when you reinstall WindowsXP, you can receive an Access Denied error when trying to open a previous user's directory.
To take ownership of that folder again:
- Log on with an account that has administrator rights
- Right click on the folder
- Select Properties
- Click on the Security tab
- Click on the Advanced button
- Click on the Owner tab
- In the list of Names, click on your name
- To take ownership, click on Replace owner on subcontainers and objects
- Click OK and Yes
Repairing Damaged Winsock2
The symptoms when Winsock2 is damaged shows when you try to release and renew the IP address using IPCONFIG.
And you get the following error message:
An error occurred while renewing interface 'Internet': An operation was attempted on something that is not a socket.
Also Internet Explorer may give the following error message:
The page cannot be displayed Additionally, you may have no IP address or no Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, and you may be receiving IP packets but not sending them.
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If you have WindowsXP with Service Pack 2, there is a one line command you can run to reset the winsock2 registry entries
netsh winsock reset catalog
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There are two easy ways to determine if Winsock2 is damaged:
From the XP source files, go to the Support / Tools directory
Winsock Test Method 1
Run netdiag /test:winsock
The end should say Winsock test ..... passed
Winsock Test Method 2
- Run Msinfo32
- Click on the + by Components
- Click on the by Network
- Click on Protocol
- There should be 10 sections if the Winsock2 key is ok
MSAFD Tcpip [TCP/IP]
MSAFD Tcpip [UDP/IP]
RSVP UDP Service Provider
RSVP TCP Service Provider
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
If the names are anything different from those in this list, then likely Winsock2 is corrupted and needs to be repaired.
If you have any 3rd party software installed, the name MSAFD may be changed.
There should be no fewer than 10 sections.
To repair Winsock2
- Run Regedit
- Delete the following two registry keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2Download Reg file to delete these entries
- Restart the computer
- Go to Network Connections
- Right click and select Properties
- Click on the Install button
- Select Protocol
- Click on the Add button
- Click on the Have Disk button
- Browse to the \Windows\inf directory
- Click on the Open button
- Click on the OK button
- Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
- Click on the OK button
- Reboot
Or Download Reg file to add the correct registries back in. Then reboot the computer
Task Manager is Menu Bar is Missing
If you start the Task Manager and menu bar and tabs are missing,
the Task Manager is running in Tiny Footprint mode.
To fix this, simply double click on an empty space in the top border
Network Connection Always Shows Access Denied
If you are always getting Access Denied errors when trying to connect to a XP computer,
and you know you have the correct user names and passwords on the computer,
the solution may be a simple registry edit.
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Control / Lsa
- Change the value of a key called "restrictanonymous" to 0 instead of 1
- Don't change "restrictanonymoussam" value.
- Reboot
Hiding Manage My Computer
If you want to remove Manage My Computer from My Computer
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
- Create a DWORD value called NoManageMyComputerVerb
- Set the value to 1
- Reboot
Finding Your XP Product ID
There is a great little utility available to help you find your currently installed product ID
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml
It also works for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Office 97, and Office XP
Forgotten Admin or User's Password
You do not need to reinstall if you forgot the admin password.
There is a boot disk you can download at:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/
that will let you reset the password of any account on NT4, Windows2000 or XP.
Just follow all the default settings which are for the admin account. Used it many
times with great success.
They also have a bootable CD image you can download.
Showing Common Tasks in Window
When you open a window from My Computer or the Control Panel, and you don't see the blue bar with additional options on the left side, you may simply need to turn on Common Tasks
- From that same windows, go to Tools / Folder Options
- Check Show common tasks in folders
Renaming Multiple Files in a Directory
If you want to rename multiple files in the same directory:
- Using the Windows Explorer, select all the files you want to rename
- Press F2 or right click and select Rename
- Enter the prefix for the name you want (e.g. Newname)
- This will automatically rename the rest of the files Newname (1).jpg, Newname (2).jpg etc.
- Make sure you include the extension if you have the Explorer configured to show them.
Disable Windows Tour
If you want to disable the Take Tour of Windows XP that comes up after you install WindowsXP:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Tour
- Create a new DWORD key called RunCount
- Give it a value of 0
Windows Help and Support Error
If you get an error Windows cannot find HELPCTR.EXE, it may be that a registry entry has gotten corrupted.
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\HELPCTR.EXE
- If the key isn't there, right click and create a new key HELPCTR.EXE
- It should have a value of C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe
- Reboot
Speeding Up Network Browsing
There are a lot of things which can negatively impact how fast XP will browse network shares.
One has been previously covered regarding browsing to Win9x computers.
Other things you can try, especially when there is slow browsing to network shares with a lot of files:
1. Remove current shortcuts in My Network Places
2. Change the registry so shared folders on remote computers are not automatically added to My Network Places when you even open a document from that shared folder
- Start Regedit
- Create a DWORD value:
- HKEY_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \ NoRecentDocsNetHood to 1.
- I have also seen setting the following help as well.
HKEY_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \ UseDesktopIniCache to 1.
Download Reg file to do both
3. Increase the amount of data is buffered at one time to send to a client. On the computer with the shared directory:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
- Create a DWORD Key called SizReqBuf
- Give it a value of Hex FFFF
Editing the Boot.ini file
The boot.ini file is a simple text file that is on the root of the boot drive.
You can edit this with any plain text editor like Notepad (may need to unhide the file first)
- Right click on My Computer
- Select Properties
- Click on the Advanced tab
- Under Startup and Recovery, click on the Settings button
- Click on the Edit button
Running CHKDSK
One way to run a chkdsk (this is like Scandisk that was with Win9X), is to
- Double click on My Computer
- Right click on the drive you want to check
- Select Properties
- Click on the Tools tab
- Click on the Check Now button
- Check to Automatically fix file system errors - This is the same as running chkdsk /f
- If you want to Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, check that box - This is the same as running chkdsk /R. It can also add a lot of time to the scan
- Reboot if necessary
You can also run chkdsk from the command line with will give you more options.
The following switches are available:
/F - fix any errors
/R - identifies bad sectors
/V - with FAT32, displays a verbose output
With NTFS Volumes:
/I - Performs simpler check (stage 2)
/C - Skips the checking of cycles within folder structures
/X - Forces the volume to dismount if necessary. Intended for server administrators and should be avoided for normal use
Opening Shared Folders Snap-In
To manage all your shared folders, you can run the snap-in directly
Start / Run / fsmgmt.msc
This will show you all your shared folders in a single window
You can also see what other computers are connected and what files they have open
Additional Utilities
On the XP CD in the \Support\Tools directory, there are a lot of additional support and troubleshooting utilities.
You can run SETUP from that directory to install them.
Just a few are:
| diruse | Shows Disk Usage |
| dupfinder | Finds Duplicate files |
| getmac | Get's MAC address of the network card |
| hostname | Shows the host name of the computer |
| netdiag | Diagnoses a variety of network components |
| pviewer | Show a list of process and allows you to get a memory detail or kill any process |
| windiff | Compare files and directories |
Viewing Your IP Address Information
There are several ways you can determine your IP address information:
IPCONFIG
- Start / Run / cmd
- IPCONFIG /ALL
This opens a command window. One advantage is that you can send the information to a text file (IPCONFIG /ALL > c:\ip.txt)
But sometimes the window shows show much information you need to scroll around to fine it.
VIEW STATUS
- Control Panel / Network Connections / Double click the icons for your network (If the network has an icon in the system tray you can also just double click on that icon)
- Click on the Support tab
- Click on the Details button
Make Pictures Smaller Unavailable
When you try and send pictures through e-mail, you should normally be given the option to make them smaller.
If this option is not available, a DLL file may need to be registered.
- Start
- Run
- regsvr32 shimgvw.dll
Creating a Suspend Shortcut
If you would like to create an icon to suspend your computer,
- Right click on the Desktop
- New / Shortcut
- Enter in rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState
- Give it whatever name you want
- Now when you click on that shortcut, your computer will shutdown and suspend
Changing the User Type
Normally in XP Pro, through the Control Panel / User Accounts icon, you are only allowed to create administrators or limited users.
If you want to create
- Right click on My Computer
- Manage
- Local Users and Groups
- Users
- Right click on the user you want to change
- Properties
- Member of tab
- Add button
- Advanced button
- Find Now button
- From here you see the full list of possibilities (e.g. Power User, Backup Operator etc.)
Determining Which Services are Associated with SVCHOST
Since so many critical services are run with each svchost,
You can see which ones are being used by opening a cmd prompt and running:
tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe"
Note: This is available only with XP Pro
Identify Faulty Device Drivers
If you are having problems with lockups, blue screens, or can only get to safe mode,
often the problem is due to a faulty device driver.
One way to help identify them is through the use of the Verfier program
- Start / Run / Verifier
- Keep the default of Create Standard Settings
- Select the type of drivers you want to confirm
- A list of drivers to be verified on the next boot will be shown.
- Reboot
- If your computer stops with a blue screen, you should get an error message with the problem driver
- To turn off the Verifier, run verifier /reset
Viewing Installed Drivers
If you want to see a list of installed drivers, you can run the driverquery program
There are a lot of available switches to view different types of information.
On use can be to export to a CSV file for viewing in Excel
An example would then be:
Driverquery /v /fo csv > drivers.csv
Operation Was Attempted on Something That Is Not a Socket Error
If you get this error when you try and renew your IP address,
Likely the winsock2 registry entries are corrupted.
The basic steps to fix this are:
- Remove the old registry entries - Download Reg file
- Import the correct registry entries - Download Reg file
- Reboot the computer
Opening Ports or Adding Allowed Programs with SP2's Firewall
- Click on Start / Run
- Enter in firewall.cpl
- Click on the Exceptions tab
Adding a Port for Internet Access:
- Click on the Add Port button
- Name it whatever you want
- Enter in the ports you want to open
Adding a Program for Internet Access
- Click on Add Program... button
- A list of all installed programs will be displayed
- Highlight the one you want to include for Internet access
- 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 |
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 and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Drive \ shell]
- Edit the default value to be explorer or none
Running SFC without a CD ROM
If you run sfc /scannow and get prompted to insert a CD,
there are a couple of changes you might need to make.
Slipstream your copy of WindowsXP with the latest service pack you have applied.
For detailed unstructions on how to do this see:
SlipStreaming a Service Pack into Windows XP
Once these files are on your hard drive, you can simply make a few registry changes to point to those locations.
Start Regedit
Go to the follow locations and change the path to wherever you copied the source files.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\ServicePackSourcePath
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\SourcePath
the last one might not be necessary
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SourcePath
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
Not Displaying Previous Network Share Shortcuts
By default, when you go to Network Places, it will scan and show shortcuts to previous network shares.
To turn this off and remove any current shortcuts
- Open up the Windows Explorer
- Go to Tools / Folder Options / View
- The top section should be Files and Folders
- Uncheck Automatically search for network folders and printers
- Then go into Network Neighborhood Select all the previous netowork connections Delete them
- Next time you look at the Network Neighborhood, they should not repopulate
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
System32 Folder Opens When Logging On
If the System32 folder shows on the desktop, there may be an invalid entry in the Registry
- Start Regedit
- Go to both:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- Double check that the values do not have incorrect, incomplete, or blank entries
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
Running Network Diagnostics
Network Diagnostics scans your system to gather information about your hardware, software, and network connections.
Start / Run / NETSH DIAG GUI
The following is the type of information that can be displayed:
- Ping
- Connect
- Show
- Verbose
- Save to Desktop
- Mail Service
- News Service
- Internet Proxy Server
- Computer Information
- Operating System
- Windows Version
- Modems
- Network Clients
- Network Adapters
- Domain Name System (DNS)
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
- Default Gateways
- Internet Protocol Address
- Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)
DOS Tips in XP
Windows XP cmd tip (DOS isn’t dead... it just smells funny) Some command-line folder creation examples:
To create multiple folders at once, add them directly to the "md" command:
C:\> md this is a test
To create a folder several folders deep, use:
C:\> md this\is\a\test
Creating a folder with a long name requires the double-quote at the beginning:
C:\> md "this is a test
Bonus tip: Windows XP supports the forward slash "/" as a folder divider. Unix/Linux users: don't let the DOS environment get you down. Use a Unix-style CD command to change your present working directory:
C:\> cd Windows/system32/drivers/etc
Submitted by Bob and Tina
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
You can also DOWNLOAD a file, uncompress it, and copy to the toolbar or wherever you would like.
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\Services\lanmanserver\parameters
- Edit the IRPStackSize
- Give it a value of 15
- Reboot the computer
Fixing Cryptographic Services Error
If you get an error about the Cryptographic services when trying to apply the Security Updates or Service Pack 1,
run the following from Start / Run - note, you might want to just cut and paste the text.
net stop cryptsvc
ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 oldcatroot2
net start cryptsvc
regsvr32 softpub.dll
regsvr32 wintrust.dll
regsvr32 initpki.dll
regsvr32 dssenh.dll
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32 sccbase.dll
regsvr32 slbcsp.dll
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll
Fixing Explorer Searching Rather Than Opening Directories
Sometimes after adding the right click with the Explorer, 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
Configure for Auto-Logon
Added 11/28/03
If you are the only person using the computer and what to have it automatically log you on,
- Start / Run / "control userpasswords2" - no quotes
- Uncheck User must enter a user name and password to use this computer
Services You Can Disable
There are quite a few services you can disable from starting automatically.
This would be to speed up your boot time and free resources.
They are only suggestions so I suggestion you read the description of each one when you run Services
and that you turn them off one at a time.
Some possibilities are:
- Alerter - Sends alert messages to specified users that are connected to the server computer.
- Application Management - Allows software to tap directly into the Add/Remove Programs feature via the Windows Installer technology.
- Background Intelligent Transfer Service - The Background Intelligent Transfer service is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth.
- Clipbook - ClipBook permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the network.
- Error Reporting Service - Allows applications to send error reports to Microsoft in the event of an application fault.
- Fast User Switching - Windows XP allows users to switch quickly between accounts, without requiring them to log off.
- Help and Support - Allows the XP Built-in Help and Support Center to run.
- IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service - You don't need this if you have other software to create CDs.
- Indexing Service - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.
- IP SEC - Manages IP security policy and starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) and the IP security driver. If you are not on a domain, you likely don't need this running.
- Messenger - Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers. This is how a lot of pop-up windows start appearing on your desktop.
- Net Logon - Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain. If you are not on a domain, you don't need this running
- Network DDE - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers.
- NT LM Security Support Provider - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes.
- Performance Logs and Alerts - Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert. If you don't need to monitor your performance logs, then you don't need this service.
- Portable Media Serial Number - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer
- QOS RSVP - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets.
- Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you are not using Remote Desktop you don't need this service.
- Remote Registry - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer.
- Routing & Remote Access - Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments. Allows dial-in access.
- Secondary Login - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. This is what allows you to run an application as another user.
- Smart Card - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer.
- Smart Card Helper - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer.
- SSDP Discovery Service - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.
- TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper - Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution. This should not be needed in today's network environment.
- Telnet - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients.
- Uninterruptible Power Supply Service - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer.
- Universal Plug and Play Device Host - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices
- Upload Manager - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network.
- Volume Shadow Copy Service - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes.
- Web Client - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify non-local files across the Internet.
- Wireless Zero Configuration - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters
- WMI Performance Adapter - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers.
Stopping the Messenger Service
To remove the ability for anyone in the world to pop up messages on your computer,
you can disable the Messenger service.
- Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel
- Click Performance and Maintenance
- Click Administrative Tools
- Double click Services
- Scroll down and highlight "Messenger"
- Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties
- Click the STOP button
- Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar Click OK
Faster DOS Printing
If you are experiencing slow printing for DOS programs with Windows2000
- Go Start | Run | Regedit
- Click Hkey_Local_Machine
- Click on System
- Click CurrentControlSet
- Click Control
- Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW
- Click LPT timeout and change it to a 3
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 files
- Delete them
Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages
To turn these off:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system
- If it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessages
- Give it a value of 1
Accessing Non-Listed Display Configurations
If you want to access display configurations not normally listed (e.g. 256 colors)
- In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings tab.
- Click the Advanced button.
- Click the Adapter tab,
- Click the List all modes button.
- Select the resolution, color depth, and refresh rate that you want and click OK.
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.
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
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")).ShutdownWindows(); - 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.
Adding TCP/IP Printers
To create a connection to a printer connected to your network:
- Start to add a new printer through the control panel.
- Select Local Printer / Next
- Instead of a LPT port, check Create a new port at the bottom on the window
- Scroll to Standard TCP/IP Port
- Keep going and enter the IP address of the printer.
Increasing the Folder Cache
The default setting for WindowsXP is to cache the Explorer settings for 400 folders.
To increase it:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam
- Change the vaule of BagMRU to whatever size you want (hex)
1000 - 3e8
2000 - 7d0
3000 - bb8
4000 - fa0
5000 - 1388
You can Dowload a reg file that will set it for 5000
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
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\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags]
Stop Password Expiration
If you want to do this for all users, enter:
Start / Run / net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited
If you are getting an error message that your password is about to expire:
- Right click on the My Computer icon
- Select Manage
- Go to Local Users and Groups / Users
- Right-click on the user you want to change
- Select Properties
- On the General tab, check Password never expires
- Click OK
Installing Java Virtual Machine
If you are getting errors when browsing the web to install Java Virtual Machine,
You can still download it from Microsoft (version 3810)
If this link is removed by MS or is too slow you can download it here
If you need a previous version, you can download 3805
It is now included in Service Pack1
You can also download Sun's version
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
Adding Environment Variables
Since any version of NT does not use an autoexec.bat file,
to add environment variables to WindowsXP:
-
Right click on My Computer
-
Select Properties
-
Click on the Advanced tab
-
Click on the Environment Variables button
-
From here you can change it for the system or just the current user.
Disable Passport Pop-Up
Normally, WindowsXP will prompt you 10 times that You Need a Passport to use WindowsXP Internet communication features...
To disable this
-
Start Regedit
-
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ MessengerService
-
Edit the binary key PassportBalloon
-
Give it a value of 0A (0A 00 00 00)
Show Hidden Devices
You can show hidden devices in the Device Manager. One way is by making a simple registry change. The other is through a batch file.
Registry Change:
-
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Control \ Session Manager \ Environment
-
Create a string DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES
-
Give it a value of 1
Download reg file
Batch File
@Echo Off
Prompt $p$g
set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
start devmgmt.msc
exit
Spell Check Not Working With Outlook Express and Office97
This is simply due to a missing or corrupted DLL file
- Go to the i386 directory of your XP source files
- Run Expand csapi3t1.dl_ csapi3t1.dll (Note: If your source files are on a CD, you will need to put a path before the csapi3t1.dll since you can't write to the CD).
- Copy the file to the Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof directory
- You can also download the file from my site.
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
Disable the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon's menu
To Disable the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon's menu:
- Start regedit.exe
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Conferencing\Mcpt
- Create a new string value (Click on Edit > New > String Value).
- Name the value Nx
- Double-click on it and set it's value to 1
- Close the registry
Now the menu options will be grayed out.
Prevent the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon from appearing in the notification tray
To Prevent the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon from appearing in the notification tray:
- Click Start, then Run.
- Type services.msc and then click ok.
- Scroll down until you find the NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing service
- Double-click on it.
- Click on the Log On tab.
- Uncheck Allow service to interact with desktop
- Click OK then close the services window.
- Reboot (You must reboot).
There you go. When you return, RDS will work, but there will be no icon in the notification area.
Printing a Directory
WindowsXP does not allow you to use previously describe methods for printing the contents of a directory.
To do this requires the creation of a small batch file which is then added to your right-click options.
Batch File
On the root of the C: drive, create a batch file called print_directory.bat with the following lines:
@echo off
dir %1 /o:g > c:\directory.txt
start /w notepad /p c:\directory.txt
del c:\directory.txt
exit
Note: dir %1 /o:g will print with any directories listed first. You can add whatever other switches you like
Adding to the Explorer Right Click
-
Start the Explorer
-
Go to Tools / Folder Options
-
On the File Types tab, click File Folder.
-
Click Advanced button and then click New.
-
In the Action box, type Print Directory (or whatever text you want to appear).
-
In the Application used to perform action box, type C:\print_directory.bat, and then click OK.
-
Click OK, click OK, and then click Close
Fixing the Registry
Sometimes after adding the right click with the Explorer, 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
Removing Thumbs.db Files
When viewing a folder with the Thumbnail view, WindowsXP creates a thumbs.db file.
This is a cache of the current pictures in that directory.
If you want to turn this feature off and save a little disk space
-
Start the Windows Explorer
-
Go to Tools / Folder Options / View
-
In the first section under Files and Folders, check Do not cache thumbnails
-
Now you can search for the thumbs.db file on your computer and remove them. No more should be created.
Enable / Disable the Task Manager
-
Start Regedit
-
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\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
Saving Desktop Settings
If you desktop or folders on your desktop do not retain their settings:
Start Regedit
-
Go go HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Program Manager\Restrictions
-
Create or edit the DWORD value NoSaveSettings
-
Give it a value of 0
Hiding the Windows Version on the Desktop
If your version of WindowsXP is displaying on the desktop and
you would like to remove it:
-
Start Regedit
-
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
-
Edit or Create the DWORD entry PaintDesktopVersion
-
A value of 0 will hide the version from the desktop
-
Logoff or reboot
To make this change for all future users, edit
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop in the same manner.
Using Media Player 6.4
If you want to use the older version of Microsoft Media Player 6.4, it is still on your computer.
Make a shortcut on your desktop to the:
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\mplayer2.exe file
You can also change the file associations from this program to set it as the default for all media types.
Controlling the Desktop Cleanup Wizard
By default, the Desktop Cleanup Wizard will pop up every 60 days to cleanup your desktop.
To stop this:
- Right click on the desktop.
- Select Properties
- Click on the Desktop tab
- Click on the Customize Desktop button
- Uncheck Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard
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\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown
- Set the value to 1
Restoring Access to CD ROMs
If after you remove CD Burning software, you can no longer access your CD ROM's,
the following registry keys need to be deleted:
Locate and delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters values under the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
ReInstalling WindowsXP
If you need to reinstall WindowsXP and want to keep all your current installed applications and settings:
-
Start WindowsXP
-
Go to the location of your source files
-
Run WINNT32 /unattend
I've often need to do this to repair something that had gotten corrupted and didn't want to do a clean install.
Setting the Dir Command to Display Filenames on the Left
Previous versions of Windows displayed the filenames on the left hand side when you run the dir command.
WindowsXP changes this and the default it to put it on the right.
To change this back:
-
Right click on My Computer
-
Click on Properties
-
Click on the Advanced tab
-
Click on the Environment Variables button
-
Click on New button
-
Enter the Variable name: dircmd
-
Enter the Variable value: /-n
Dell Computer Not Keeping Correct Time
If your Dell computer is loosing time while the computer is turned on,
You can run the following commands:
- Start / Run / CMD
- Net stop w32time
- w32tm /unregister
- w32tm /unregister
- w32tm /register
- Net start w32time
You can also download a Dell Patch to do the same process automatically
Fix Browsing Delay to Win98/ME Computers
If you experience a 30 second or so delay when browsing to Windows98 or WindowsME computers,
delete the following registry key on the Windows2000 or WindowsXP computer.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Explorer / RemoteComputer / NameSpace {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
Formatting a Partition Greater than 32 GIGs with FAT32
WindowsXP will only format a partition greater than 32 GIGs as NTFS.
If you want to format it with FAT32:
-
You can use a regular Win98 Boot disk and use that version of FDISK to create the partition (with Large Hard Drive Support)
-
Reboot with the same boot disk and format
-
WindowsXP will then be able to use the partition with no problems
Adding SafeBoot to the Boot Menu
You can add Safeboot as an option to the normal XP boot screen
- Open a command prompt
- Copy the current c:\boot.ini to another name (just in case)
- With your favorite text editor, edit c:\boot.ini
- Copy then edit the current boot line to another line. For example:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
might copy and then change to:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safeboot" /fastdetect - Start MSCONFIG
- Click on the BOOT.INI tab
- Highlight the second line with the additional name of Safeboot
- Check the /SAFEBOOT box with option you want
Minimal - Minimal set of drivers
Network - With Network Support
Dsrepair - Directory Services Repair
Minimal (Alternate Shell) - Standard Explorer Desktop - You will now have this option every time you start XP
No GUI Boot
If you don't need to see the XP boot logo,
- Run MSCONFIG
- Click on the BOOT.INI tab
- Check the box for /NOGUIBOOT
Speeding the Startup of Some CD Burner Programs
If you use program other than the native WindowsXP CD Burner software,
you might be able to increase the speed that it loads.
- Go to Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services
- Double-click on IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
- For the Startup Type, select Disabled
- Click on the OK button and then close the Services window
- If you dontYou should notice
Getting Rid of Unread Email Messages
To remove the Unread Email message by user's login names:
- Start Regedit
- For a single user: Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UnreadMail
- For all users: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UnreadMail
- Create a DWORD key called MessageExpiryDays
- Give it a value of 0
Using the Internet Explorer Classic Search
If you want to use the classic search engine in the Internet Explorer
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
- If it is not there, create a String Value of Use Search Asst
- Give it a value of no
Logging in as Administrator
If you want to log in as Administrator, but it is not show on the Welcome screen,
- Hold the Ctrl-Alt key and press Del twice.
- This will bring up the normal login and you can log on as Administrator
To unhide the Administrator account so it does show up:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
- Unhide the Administrator key by giving it a value of 1
Correcting Fast User Switching Error
If you are getting an error that:
A recently installed program has disabled the Welcome screen and Fast User Switching
with a reference to CSGina.DLL
- Start Regedit
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- Delete the key GinaDLL
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\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CabinetState
- Add a String Key called Use Search Asst
- Give it a value of no
No To All When Overwriting Files
When overwriting files in the Windows Explorer, there is an option for Yes To All.
This would overwrite any files you would normally be prompted for.
To have No To All, simply hold down the Shift key while you click on the No option.
Re-Installing User Login Pictures
Normally WindowsXP shows assigned pictures for each user on the system.
If you have deleted your user pictures, want to know the location, or need to reinstall them,
they are stored in the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures
directory.
If you need to reinstall them, they can be expanded from the source CD. The actual files are:
airplane.bmp
astronaut.bmp
ball.bmp
butterfly.bmp
cat.bmp
fish.bmp
pink flower.bmp
guitar.bmp
snowflake.bmp
beach.bmp
car.bmp
chess.bmp
dirt bike.bmp
dog.bmp
drip.bmp
duck.bmp
frog.bmp
horses.bmp
kick.bmp
lift-off.bmp
palm tree.bmp
red flower.bmp
skater.bmp
WINIPCFG for XP
If you like the graphic IP configuration program that comes with Windows98,
you can download a similar one for WindowsXP or Windows2000 from Microsoft at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/wntipcfg-o.asp
The actual file is at:
WntIpcfg_setup.exe
Search Companion Error
When doing a file search, if you get the error A File That Is Required to Run Search Companion Cannot Be Found
- Log on as an Administrator
- Click Start
- Select Run
- Enter in the command - %systemroot%\inf
- Right-click the Srchasst.inf file
- Click Install
Installing the Backup Program on the Home Version
By default, the NTBACKUP program is not installed on the home version.
You can find it on the CD in the \VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP directory
Since not all vendors include the actual source code for XP,
you can download a copy
Changing Drive Letters
If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:
- Right Click on My Computer
- Select Manage
- Select Disk Management
For a Fixed Disk:
- Select it
- Right click
- Select Change Drive Letter and Path
- Click on the Edit button
- Enter in the letter you want to use
For a Removable Disk:
- In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM #
- Select Change Drive Letter and Path
- Click on the Edit button
- Enter in the letter you want to use
Note: This can only be done for drives that do not have the Operating System Installed or you are booting to.
Turn off the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as the Default Image Viewer
You can also change the file associations for the specific file types you want.
- Open the Windows Explorer
- Go to Tools / Folder Options / File Types
- Scroll down to the extension you want to change
- Click on the Change button
- Select the program you want to associate with that extension
- Click on the OK button
If the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is set as the default for many of your graphic file types,
you can remove it so other graphics programs can be used.
- Run Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / SystemFileAssociations / image / ShellEx / ContextMenuHandlers
- Delete the key ShellImagePreview
Allowing Network Access with Blank Passwords
Although you can log in locally without a password, by default, WindowsXP Pro does not allow network users to access the computer without a password. Typically you will receive an Unknown error 31 if this is the case.
To change this setting:
- Run gpedit.msc
- Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options
- Double click on Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console login only
- Disable this option
Changing the Default DOS Window Properties
If you want to change the default DOS windows properties like:
- Size
- Color
- Font
- Buffer Size
- Window / Full Screen
- Open up a DOS window
- Right click on the Title Bar
- Select Defaults
- Make any of the changes you like
- All subsequent DOS windows will assume these defaults
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
Opening a Command Prompt to a Particular Directory from Explorer
If you want to open a command prompt to a directory that is selected in the Explorer:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell
- Create a new key called Command
- Give it the value of the name you want to appear in the Explorer. Something like Open DOS Box
- Under this create a new key called command
- Give it a value of cmd.exe /k "cd %L"
- Now when you are in the Explorer, right click on a folder, select Open DOS Box, and a command prompt will open to the selected directory.
Adding Time Servers
With WindowsXP, you can double-click on the time in the System Tray and connect to Time Servers on the Internet to synchronize with.
To add to the list of available servers:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers
- Add new string keys named 2, 3, etc. with a value of the time server you want to use.
Creating a Boot Floppy
To create a bootable floppy from within WindowsXP:
- Insert a floppy into the A: drive
- Open the Explorer
- Right click on the A: Drive
- Select Format
- Check Create an MS-DOS startup disk
- Click on the Start button
- This will create a Millennium boot disk
Changing the Login Screen Saver
If you want to change the screen saver that runs at the login prompt:
Start Regedit
- Go to HK_USERS / .DEFAULT / Control Panel / Desktop
- Double click on SCRNSAVE.EXE
- Enter in the screen saver you want to use
Running NetMeeting
To run NetMeeting:
- Do a Start / Run
- Enter conf
- Answer the prompts along the way for name, e-mail etc.
Set the Online Registration as Being Completed
You can set WindowsXP to assume the online registration has been completed.
- Run Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion
- Create a String Value called RegDone
- Give it a value of 1
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.
Re-Enabling System Restore
If you previously disabled system restore through the Group Policy Editor,
the option to start it again does not show in the System Properties.
You can re-enable it again by:
- Run the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
- Go to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / System Restore
- Set Turn off System Restore and Turn off Configuration to Disable
- Right click on My Computer
- Select Manage
- Go to Services and Applications / Services
- Scroll down to System Restore Service
- Set it for Automatic
- Click on the Start button to start the service
- Close down this window
- Go back to the Group Policy Editor and configure both to Not configured
- Now when you right click on My Computer, there should be a tab for System Restore and you can configure how much space will be used.
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
Reinstalling the TCP/IP Protocol
If you've worked on previous versions of Windows,
there are times when you need to completely reinstall the TCP/IP protocol stack.
This is typically due to corrupted files.
To do this with XP,
you need to run a small script:
netsh int ip reset [ log_file_name ]
the log_file_name needs to be specified.
e.g.
netsh int ip reset ip_reset.txt
Renaming the Start Button
To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor.
My preference is UltraEdit
- Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
- With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
- You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
- Edit it be any 5 characters or less
- Save the file
- Boot to DOS
- Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
- 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:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
- Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe
Rollback a Device Driver
If you install a device drive that does not work correctly,
you can restore the previous one fairly easily.
- Log in with an administrator account
- Right click on My Computer
- Select Properties
- Click on the Hardware tab
- Click on the Device Manager button
- Go to the device you want to reconfigure
- Click on the Driver tab
- Click on the Roll Back Drive button
Selecting What Details to Display in the Explorer
To add or remove items to be displayed in the Explorer when using the Details View
- Start the Explorer
- Go to View / Choose Details
- Right click on the columns by Name and check or uncheck any item you want displayed
Available options are:
- Owner
- Name
- Size
- Type
- Date Modified
- Status
- Attributes
- Author
- Title
- Subject
- Category
- Pages
- Comments
- Copyright
- Date Created
- Date Accessed
- Attributes
- Artist
- Album Title
- Year
- Track Number
- Genre
- Duration
- Bit Rate
- Protected
- Camera Model
- Date Picture Taken
- Dimensions
- Company
- Description
- File Version
- Product Name
- Product Version
Closing Multiple Taskbar Items
If you hold down the Control Key when you click on the taskbar icons,
it selects multiple tasks. Then you can simply right-click on the selected items and choose close group.
This tip works with all windows, not just one applications. If you have the cal, ie, notepad and solitaire open, it will close them all, unlike the group similar items command that only lets you close all of one type (ex: all IE or all notepads).
Remembering Outlook / Outlook Express Password
On systems, Outlook or Outlook Express will not remember the e-mail password,
which would then need to be entered in each time.
To solve the problem:
- Open Registry Editor
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft
- Right Click Protected Storage System Provider
- Choose the Permissions option
- Click the Advanced box near the bottom right hand corner. This should open another box, Towards the bottom of this box there should be two tick boxes, make sure that both of them are ticked. Click Apply, another box will open Click Yes, then Click OK and OK again.
- Left Click the + next to Protected Storage System Provider and Delete any sub folder in this tree. (Right clicking and choose the delete option or press the delete key and choosing yes to delete)
- Shutdown and Restart Computer.
Turning Off the Firewall
If you want to turn off the firewall for your computer:
- Go to Start / Settings / Network Connections
- Right click on the network connection you want to change
- Select Properties
- Click on the Advanced tab
- Uncheck the box in Internet Connection Firewall
Grouping Similar Taskbar Buttons
When you open more than one document in the same program and then minimize each document,
rather that showing separate icons on the taskbar for each document, WindowsXP groups them under a single icon for that application.
If you want to group, or ungroup, similar taskbar buttons,
- Right click on the Taskbar
- Select Properties
- Check or Uncheck Group similar taskbar buttons
Turning Off the Guest Account
For security purposes, you might want to turn off the Guest account
- Open up the Control Panel
- Click on User Accounts
- Click on Change an account
- Click on the Guest account
- Click Turn off the guest account
Original NT Style Logon Screen
If you want to have the original NT style windows logon screen with XP,
simply hold the Ctrl-Alt keys and press the delete key twice.
The following Update Submitted by:
Steven Pennypacker
To make a permanent change so the logon screen is always like the traditional NT4/2000 style:
- Go to the Control Panel
- Open up User Accounts
- Click Change the way users log on and off
- Uncheck Use the Welcome screen
- Click on Apply Options
Turning Off the Built-In CD Burner
If you want to turn off the ability to using the built-in CD burner software that comes with WindowsXP:
- Open up the Explorer
- Right click on the drive that is your CD burner
- Select Properties
- Click on the Recording tab
- Uncheck Enable CD recording on this drive
Hiding System Tray Icons
With WindowsXP, you can manually select how you want individual icons in the System Tray to be displayed.
- Right click on the Taskbar
- Select Properties
- Check Hide inactive icons
- Click on the Customize button
- This will bring up a dialog box that will allow you to select one of three options for your applications:
Hide when inactive, Always hide, or always show - Highlight current or past applications and make any changes you like.
- A small arrow will now appear in the System Tray that will allow you to show or hide these icons.
Faster Task Switching
If you installed WindowsXP Power Tools from Microsoft, when you press Alt-Tab to switch between running applications,
you get a screen that shows a small graphic of the window that is of that application along with its icon.
This also takes a long time to display. (Or at least longer than I'm comfortable with)
You can speed this up and revert back to previous ways task switching is displayed.
To Turn This Off After Your Reboot:
- Run MSCONFIG
- Click on the Startup tab
- Uncheck Taskswitch
- Click on the OK button
- If you want to keep working, click on Exit without Restart
To Turn This Off Immediately:
- Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
- Click on the Processes tab
- Highlight TaskSwitch.exe
- Click on the End Process tab
- Click on the Yes button
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
Disabling Error Reporting
By default, WindowsXP will request to report application errors to Microsoft.
To turn this off:
- Right click on the My Computer icon on the desktop
- Select Properties / Advanced
- Click on the Error Reporting tab
- Check Disable error reporting
Adding a Title for the Command Prompt Title Bar
If you create a batch file that might take a while to run,
you can add a title to the command prompt title bar it by simply adding the line:
title YOUR TEXT
where YOUR TEXT would be replaced by whatever text you want to show.
Increasing Graphics Performance
By default, WindowsXP turns on a lot of shadows, fades, slides etc to menu items.
Most simply slow down their display.
To turn these off selectively:
- Right click on the My Computer icon
- Select Properties
- Click on the Advanced tab
- Under Performance, click on the Settings button
- To turn them all of, select Adjust for best performance
- My preference is to leave them all off except for Show shadows under mouse pointer and Show window contents while dragging
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.
Creating a Shutdown/Reboot Icon
WindowsXP has a program called SHUTDOWN.EXE which allows you to easily create icons to shutdown or restart your computer.
To create a shutdown shortcut on the desktop:
- Right click on an open area of the desktop
- Select New / Shortcut
- Enter in "shutdown -s -t 00" - no quotes
- Press the Next button
- For the name, enter in anything you like. I just use shutdown. Click on the Finish button.
For a reboot, enter "shutdown -r -t 00"
Shutdown [{-l|-s|-r|-a}] [-f] [-m [\\ComputerName]] [-t xx] [-c "message"] [-d[u][p]:xx:yy]
Parameters
- -l - Logs off the current user, this is also the defualt. -m ComputerName takes precedence.
- -s - Shuts down the local computer.
- -r - Reboots after shutdown.
- -a - Aborts shutdown. Ignores other parameters, except -l and ComputerName. You can only use -a during the time-out period.
- -f - Forces running applications to close.
- -m [\\ComputerName] - Specifies the computer that you want to shut down.
- -t xx - Sets the timer for system shutdown in xx seconds. The default is 20 seconds.
- -c "message" - Specifies a message to be displayed in the Message area of the System Shutdown window. You can use a maximum of 127 characters. You must enclose the message in quotation marks.
Command Line Help Reference
To get a quick help for all the commands you can enter from WindowsXP,
simply create a shortcut:
hh.exe ms-its:C:\WINDOWS\Help\ntcmds.chm::/ntcmds.htm
Using the System File Checker
You can run the System File Checker to verify protected system files.
Command line switches are:
sfc [/scannow] [/scanonce] [/scanboot] [/revert] [/purgecache] [/cachesize=x]
- /scannow - Scans all protected system files immediately.
- /scanonce - Scans all protected system files once.
- /scanboot - Scans all protected system files every time the computer is restarted.
- /revert - Returns the scan to its default operation.
- /purgecache - Purges the Windows File Protection file cache and scans all protected system files immediately.
- /cachesize=x - Sets the size, in MB, of the Windows File Protection file cache.
Disabling Balloon Tips
To turn off balloon tips in applications that support XP Themes:
-
Start Regedit
-
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\
-
Create a DWORD value of EnableBalloonTips
-
Give it a value of 0
Speeding Up the Display of Start Menu Items
An easy way to speed up the display of the Start Menu Items is to turn off the menu shadow.
-
Right click on an open area of the Desktop
-
Select Properties
-
Click on the Appearance tab
-
Click on the Effects button
-
Uncheck Show shadows under menus
Installing the NetBEUI Protocol
Microsoft no longer supports the NetBEUI protocol as part of WindowsXP.
You can add it as a installable protocol by going to the VALUEADD \ MSFT \ NET \ NETBEUI
directory on the CD ROM.
Note: %SYSTEMROOT% refers to the drive and directory where you installed WindowsXP.
Typically this is in the C:\WINDOWS directory
- Copy the nbf.sys into the %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ directory
- Copy netnbf.inf into the %SYSTEMROOT%\INF\ directory
- Open the Network connection properties for your local area network and use "Install..." button to add NetBEUI protocol
I included a zipped file with the above files and a simple batch file to copy both to the appropriate directories
This is only if you absolutely need NetBEUI. It is not at all a necessary requirement for most networks.
Setting System Time Over the Internet
You can set your system clock to a time server on the Internet.
- Double-click the time on your taskbar
- Click the Internet Time tab
- Check Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server
- Click on the Update Now button
Creating a Password Recovery Disk
In case you forget your password, you can create a password recovery floppy disk beforehand to help you out of this problem.
- Single-click Start menu
- Go to the Control Panel / User Accounts
- Click the User Account
- On the left hand side, click on Prevent forgotten password
- You will need to know your password to create the disk.
- If you don't remember your password sometime in the future, click on the green arrow like normal at the login and you will be prompted to insert the password recover disk.
Changing the Default Search Settings
By default, when you start a search,
you are prompted for what you want to search for.
(e.g. Pictures, Documents, Files, Computers)
To change the preferences, simply click on Change preferences
From here you can:
- Turn off the animated screen character
- Change files and folders search behavior (setting it to Advanced changes the default search screen to be for simply files)
- Internet search settings
- Turn off balloon tips
Opening an Explorer Window to the Directory You Want
If you want to create a shortcut for the Explorer to a specific directory,
include the directory you want in the Target.
For example:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, d:\internet
would open the Explorer to the D:\INTERNET directory
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
Locking the Workstation
There are two ways you can lock the workstation.
- With a Windows key + L
- Create an shortcut rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Changing the Picture Displayed for a User
You can change the picture that gets displayed for a particular user
- Go to the Control Panel
- Select User Accounts
- Click on the Account to change
- Click on Change my picture
- You can then browse to the picture you want to use
Displaying the QuickLaunch Toolbar
By default, WindowsXP does not show the QuickLaunch toolbar.
To enable it again:
- Right click on an open area of the toolbar
- Select Toolbars
- Select Quick Launch
Now you can add programs like with Win98
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\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
- Set the value to be 1
- Reboot the computer
Removing the MSN Messenger
If you want to remove the MSN Messenger from always starting in the system tray, do
- Start / Run
- Then enter in the following string: RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
To remove it completely, see the section Adding / Removing Additional Programs
Remove the hide from the line:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
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.
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 Visual Effects
To change visual effects such as fade menus, mouse shadow, visual styles on buttons, drop shadows for icons, slide open boxes and buttons etc.:
- Right click on My Computer
- Select Properties
- Click on the Advanced tab
- Under Performance, click on the Settings button
- From here you have a list of items you can select
Changing System Restore Settings
By default, WindowsXP uses a large amount of hard drive space for storing system restore points.
If this is not necessary, you can change the settings.
- Go to Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools
- Run System Restore
- For each drive or partition, you can click on the Setting button to change how much hard drive space is devoted to each one.
- There is even the option to turn it off for all drives.
Configuring the Firewall
WindowsXP has firewall capabilities built into the operating system.
- For your network connection to the Internet, select Properties
- Click on the Advanced tab
- Check the Internet Connection Firewall section
- Click on the Settings button to change the settings
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)
Adding / Removing Additional Programs
By default, WindowsXP does not display all the programs you can add or remove.
To show this list:
Edit the \Windows\Inf\sysoc.inf file
In the Components section, simply remove the word hide.
This will leave two commas together (like on the rest of the items).
Then you can go to the Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs / Add/Remove Windows Components and the new items will be displayed.
[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7
smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7
AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7
CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7
MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7
AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7
Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7
MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7
ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7
Displaying and Configuring the Classic Start Menu
If you prefer the original Start Menu, you can easily switch it back.
- Right click on the Taksbar
- Select Properties
- Click on the Start Menu tab
- Select Classic Start Menu
- If you click on the Customize button you can choose to display Administrative Tools, Favorites, Run, and expanding many of the sub-menus like the Control Panel.
Increasing File System Caching
To increase the amount of memory Windows will locked for I/O operations:
- Start Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
- Edit the key IoPageLockLimit
4096 - 32megs of memory or less
8192 - 32+ megs of memory
16384 - 64+ megs of memory
32768 - 128+ megs of memory
65536 - 256+ megs of memory
Enabling NumLock on by Default
To have numlock turned on for each user:
- Start Regeditz
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators
- Change the value from 0 to 2
- Turn Numlock on manually
- Log off and back on again.
- For all users, make the same change to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators
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