http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm#fast_dos_print

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.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Edit the key PowerOffActive and give it a value of 1

You can do the same in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

Configure for Auto-Logon

if you are the only person using the computer and what to have it automatically log you on,

1. Start / Run / "control userpasswords2" - no quotes
2. Uncheck User must enter a user name and password to use this computer

Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages

To turn these off:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system
3. If it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessages
4. Give it a value of 1

Bringing Up the Shutdown Dialog Box

1. Create a new txt file somewhere on your system, open it and put in this one line:
2. (new ActiveXObject("Shell.Application")).ShutdownWindows();
3. Save and Close the file. Change the extension to js and your got it.
4. You can make a shortcut to that file to make it easy to shut down your system.

Hiding the Last User Logged On

if you use the standard NT style of login and want to hide the last user:

1. Start the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
2. Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options
3. Scroll down to Interactive logon: Do not display last user name
4. Set it to Enable

Adding SafeBoot to the Boot Menu

You can add Safeboot as an option to the normal XP boot screen

1. Open a command prompt
2. Copy the current c:\boot.ini to another name (just in case)
3. With your favorite text editor, edit c:\boot.ini
4. Copy then edit the current boot line to another line. For example:
5. multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
6. might copy and then change to:
7. multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safeboot" /fastdetect
8. Start MSCONFIG
9. Click on the BOOT.INI tab
10. Highlight the second line with the additional name of Safeboot
11. Check the /SAFEBOOT box with option you want
12. Minimal - Minimal set of drivers
13. Network - With Network Support
14. Dsrepair - Directory Services Repair
15. Minimal (Alternate Shell) - Standard Explorer Desktop
16. You will now have this option every time you start XP

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.

1. Go to Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services
2. Double-click on IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
3. For the Startup Type, select Disabled
4. Click on the OK button and then close the Services window
5. If you dontYou should notice

No GUI Boot

If you don't need to see the XP boot logo,

1. Run MSCONFIG
2. Click on the BOOT.INI tab
3. Check the box for /NOGUIBOOT

Getting Rid of Unread Email Messages

to remove the Unread Email message by user's login names:

1. Start Regedit
2. For a single user: Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UnreadMail
3. For all users: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UnreadMail
4. Create a DWORD key called MessageExpiryDays
5. Give it a value of 0

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

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

1. Uncompress the file.
2. Run BOOTVIS.EXE
3. For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
4. This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
5. After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
6. Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
7. Then run Trace / Optimize System
8. Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
9. Note how much the time has decreased
10. Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.

Hide/Unhide Logon Names

If you want to hide or unhide the names of users that are displayed on the initial logon screen:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
3. Add a DWORD with the name of the user account you want to hide
4. Make sure it has a value of 0
5. If there is an existing account, you can unhide it by giving it a value of 1

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.

To make a permanent change so the logon screen is always like the traditional NT4/2000 style:

1. Go to the Control Panel
2. Open up User Accounts
3. Click Change the way users log on and off
4. Uncheck Use the Welcome screen
5. Click on Apply Options

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:

1. Right click on an open area of the desktop
2. Select New / Shortcut
3. Enter in "shutdown -s -t 00" - no quotes
4. Press the Next button
5. 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

1. -l - Logs off the current user, this is also the defualt. -m ComputerName takes precedence.
2. -s - Shuts down the local computer.
3. -r - Reboots after shutdown.
4. -a - Aborts shutdown. Ignores other parameters, except -l and ComputerName. You can only use -a during the time-out period.
5. -f - Forces running applications to close.
6. -m [\\ComputerName] - Specifies the computer that you want to shut down.
7. -t xx - Sets the timer for system shutdown in xx seconds. The default is 20 seconds.
8. -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.

Not Viewing Zip Files as Folders

If you want to turn of WindowsXP showing Zip files as folders,

just run:

regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll

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

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]

Disable Explorer Thumbnail View

If you want disable the Explorer's ability to show the Thumbnail View ,

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \

3. Change ClassicViewState to 1

Saving Desktop Settings

if you desktop or folders on your desktop do not retain their settings:

Start Regedit

1. Go go HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Program Manager\Restrictions

2. Create or edit the DWORD value NoSaveSettings

3. 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:

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop

3. Edit or Create the DWORD entry PaintDesktopVersion

4. A value of 0 will hide the version from the desktop

5. Logoff or reboot

Controlling the Desktop Cleanup Wizard

By default, the Desktop Cleanup Wizard will pop up every 60 days to cleanup your desktop.

To stop this:

1. Right click on the desktop.
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Desktop tab
4. Click on the Customize Desktop button
5. Uncheck Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard

Using the Classic Search in Explorer

If you prefer to use the classic search style in Explorer,

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CabinetState
3. Add a String Key called Use Search Asst
4. Give it a value of no

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

1. Log on as an Administrator
2. Click Start
3. Select Run
4. Enter in the command - %systemroot%\inf
5. Right-click the Srchasst.inf file
6. Click Install

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:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell
3. Create a new key called Command
4. Give it the value of the name you want to appear in the Explorer. Something like Open DOS Box
5. Under this create a new key called command
6. Give it a value of cmd.exe /k "cd %L"
7. 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.

Selecting What Details to Display in the Explorer

To add or remove items to be displayed in the Explorer when using the Details View

1. Start the Explorer
2. Go to View / Choose Details
3. 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

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:

1. Turn off the animated screen character
2. Change files and folders search behavior (setting it to Advanced changes the default search screen to be for simply files)
3. Internet search settings
4. 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

Displaying the QuickLaunch Toolbar

By default, WindowsXP does not show the QuickLaunch toolbar.

To enable it again:

1. Right click on an open area of the toolbar
2. Select Toolbars
3. Select Quick Launch

Displaying and Configuring the Classic Start Menu

If you prefer the original Start Menu, you can easily switch it back.

1. Right click on the Taksbar
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Start Menu tab
4. Select Classic Start Menu
5. 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.

Renaming the Start Button

To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor.

My preference is UltraEdit

1. Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
2. With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
3. You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
4. Edit it be any 5 characters or less
5. Save the file
6. Boot to DOS
7. Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
8. Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
9. You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.

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

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
3. Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe

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:

1. Alerter - Sends alert messages to specified users that are connected to the server computer.
2. Application Management - Allows software to tap directly into the Add/Remove Programs feature via the Windows Installer technology.
3. Background Intelligent Transfer Service - The Background Intelligent Transfer service is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth.
4. Clipbook - ClipBook permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the network.
5. Error Reporting Service - Allows applications to send error reports to Microsoft in the event of an application fault.
6. Fast User Switching - Windows XP allows users to switch quickly between accounts, without requiring them to log off.
7. Help and Support - Allows the XP Built-in Help and Support Center to run.
8. IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service - You don't need this if you have other software to create CDs.
9. Indexing Service - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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
13. Network DDE - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers.
14. NT LM Security Support Provider - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes.
15. 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.
16. Portable Media Serial Number - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer
17. QOS RSVP - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets.
18. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you are not using Remote Desktop you don't need this service.
19. Remote Registry - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer.
20. Routing & Remote Access - Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments. Allows dial-in access.
21. Secondary Login - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. This is what allows you to run an application as another user.
22. Smart Card - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer.
23. Smart Card Helper - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer.
24. SSDP Discovery Service - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.
25. 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.
26. Telnet - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients.
27. Uninterruptible Power Supply Service - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer.
28. Universal Plug and Play Device Host - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices
29. Upload Manager - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network.
30. Volume Shadow Copy Service - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes.
31. Web Client - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify non-local files across the Internet.
32. Wireless Zero Configuration - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters
33. WMI Performance Adapter - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers.

Faster DOS Printing

If you are experiencing slow printing for DOS programs with Windows2000

1. Go Start | Run | Regedit
2. Click Hkey_Local_Machine
3. Click on System
4. Click CurrentControlSet
5. Click Control
6. Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW
7. 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:

1. Star / Run / Prefetch
2. Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the files
3. Delete them

increasing the Folder Cache

The default setting for WindowsXP is to cache the Explorer settings for 400 folders.

To increase it:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam
3. Change the vaule of BagMRU to whatever size you want (hex)

1000 - 3e8

2000 - 7d0

3000 - bb8

4000 - fa0

5000 – 1388

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:

1. Right click on the My Computer icon
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Under Performance, click on the Settings button
5. To turn them all of, select Adjust for best performance
6. My preference is to leave them all off except for Show shadows under mouse pointer and Show window contents while dragging

Disabling Balloon Tips

To turn off balloon tips in applications that support XP Themes:

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\

3. Create a DWORD value of EnableBalloonTips

4. 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.

1. Right click on an open area of the Desktop

2. Select Properties

3. Click on the Appearance tab

4. Click on the Effects button

5. Uncheck Show shadows under menus

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.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
3. Set the value to be 1
4. Reboot the computer

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

1. Start / Run / Verifier
2. Keep the default of Create Standard Settings
3. Select the type of drivers you want to confirm
4. A list of drivers to be verified on the next boot will be shown.
5. Reboot
6. If your computer stops with a blue screen, you should get an error message with the problem driver
7. To turn off the Verifier, run verifier /reset

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

System32 Folder Opens When Logging On

If the System32 folder shows on the desktop, there may be an invalid entry in the Registry

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to both:
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
4. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
5. Double check that the values do not have incorrect, incomplete, or blank entriesDouble check that the values do not have incorrect, incomplete, or blank entries

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.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Keyboard
3. Open InitialKeyboardIndicators
4. 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

5. Log off and back on again

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

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.

1. Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel
2. Click Performance and Maintenance
3. Click Administrative Tools
4. Double click Services
5. Scroll down and highlight "Messenger"
6. Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties
7. Click the STOP button
8. Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar Click OK

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.

1. Click the Advanced button.
2. Click the Adapter tab,
3. Click the List all modes button.
4. Select the resolution, color depth, and refresh rate that you want and click OK.

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:

1. Right click on the My Computer icon
2. Select Manage
3. Go to Local Users and Groups / Users
4. Right-click on the user you want to change
5. Select Properties
6. On the General tab, check Password never expires
7. Click OK

preventing Applications from Stealing the Focus

To prevent applications from stealing the focus from the window you are working

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop

3. Edit the key ForegroundLockTimeout

4. Give it a value of 00030d40

Adding Environment Variables

Since any version of NT does not use an autoexec.bat file,

to add environment variables to WindowsXP:

1. Right click on My Computer

2. Select Properties

3. Click on the Advanced tab

4. Click on the Environment Variables button

5. 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

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ MessengerService

3. Edit the binary key PassportBalloon

4. 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:

1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Control \ Session Manager \ Environment

2. Create a string DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES

3. Give it a value of 1

Spell Check Not Working With Outlook Express and Office97

This is simply due to a missing or corrupted DLL file

1. Go to the i386 directory of your XP source files
2. 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).
3. Copy the file to the Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof directory
4. You can also download the file from my site.

Disable the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon's menu

To Disable the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon's menu:

Start regedit.exe

1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Conferencing\Mcpt
2. Create a new string value (Click on Edit > New > String Value).
3. Name the value Nx
4. Double-click on it and set it's value to 1
5. 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:

1. Click Start, then Run.
2. Type services.msc and then click ok.
3. Scroll down until you find the NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing service
4. Double-click on it.
5. Click on the Log On tab.
6. Uncheck Allow service to interact with desktop
7. Click OK then close the services window.
8. 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

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

1. Start the Windows Explorer

2. Go to Tools / Folder Options / View

3. In the first section under Files and Folders, check Do not cache thumbnails

4. 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

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

3. Create the Dword value DisableTaskMgr

4. Give it a value of 0 to enable it

5. Give it a vaule of 1 to disable it

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.

Clearing the Page File on Shutdown

Another way to set the computer to clear the pagefile without directly editing the registry is:

1. Click on the Start button
2. Go to the Control Panel
3. Administrative Tools
4. Local Security Policy
5. Local Policies
6. Click on Security Options
7. Right hand menu - right click on "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
8. Select "Enable"
9. Reboot

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}

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:

1. Right click on My Computer

2. Click on Properties

3. Click on the Advanced tab

4. Click on the Environment Variables button

5. Click on New button

6. Enter the Variable name: dircmd

7. 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:

1. Start / Run / CMD
2. Net stop w32time
3. w32tm /unregister
4. w32tm /unregister
5. w32tm /register
6. Net start w32time

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:

1. You can use a regular Win98 Boot disk and use that version of FDISK to create the partition (with Large Hard Drive Support)

2. Reboot with the same boot disk and format

3. WindowsXP will then be able to use the partition with no problems

Logging in as Administrator

If you want to log in as Administrator, but it is not show on the Welcome screen,

1. Hold the Ctrl-Alt key and press Del twice.
2. This will bring up the normal login and you can log on as Administrator

To unhide the Administrator account so it does show up:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
3. 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

1. Start Regedit
2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
3. Delete the key GinaDLL

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.

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:

1. Right Click on My Computer
2. Select Manage
3. Select Disk Management

For a Fixed Disk:

1. Select it
2. Right click
3. Select Change Drive Letter and Path
4. Click on the Edit button
5. Enter in the letter you want to use

For a Removable Disk:

1. In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM #
2. Select Change Drive Letter and Path
3. Click on the Edit button
4. Enter in the letter you want to use

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.

1. Open the Windows Explorer
2. Go to Tools / Folder Options / File Types
3. Scroll down to the extension you want to change
4. Click on the Change button
5. Select the program you want to associate with that extension
6. 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.

1. Run Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / SystemFileAssociations / image / ShellEx / ContextMenuHandlers
3. Delete the key ShellImagePreview

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
1. Open up a DOS window
2. Right click on the Title Bar
3. Select Defaults
4. Make any of the changes you like
5. All subsequent DOS windows will assume these defaults

Changing the Registered Owner

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

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:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers
3. 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:

1. Insert a floppy into the A: drive
2. Open the Explorer
3. Right click on the A: Drive
4. Select Format
5. Check Create an MS-DOS startup disk
6. Click on the Start button
7. 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:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HK_USERS / .DEFAULT / Control Panel / Desktop
3. Double click on SCRNSAVE.EXE
4. Enter in the screen saver you want to use

Running NetMeeting

To run NetMeeting:

1. Do a Start / Run
2. Enter conf
3. 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.

1. Run Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion
3. Create a String Value called RegDone
4. Give it a value of 1

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:

1. Run the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
2. Go to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / System Restore
3. Set Turn off System Restore and Turn off Configuration to Disable
4. Right click on My Computer
5. Select Manage
6. Go to Services and Applications / Services
7. Scroll down to System Restore Service
8. Set it for Automatic
9. Click on the Start button to start the service
10. Close down this window
11. Go back to the Group Policy Editor and configure both to Not configured
12. 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.

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

1. Right click on My Computer
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Hardware tab
4. Click on the Device Manager button
5. Go to the device you want to reconfigure
6. Click on the Driver tab
7. Click on the Roll Back Drive button

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).

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,

1. Right click on the Taskbar
2. Select Properties
3. Check or Uncheck Group similar taskbar buttons

Turning Off the Guest Account

For security purposes, you might want to turn off the Guest account

1. Open up the Control Panel
2. Click on User Accounts
3. Click on Change an account
4. Click on the Guest account
5. Click Turn off the guest account

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:

1. Open up the Explorer
2. Right click on the drive that is your CD burner
3. Select Properties
4. Click on the Recording tab
5. 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.

1. Right click on the Taskbar
2. Select Properties
3. Check Hide inactive icons
4. Click on the Customize button
5. This will bring up a dialog box that will allow you to select one of three options for your applications:
6. Hide when inactive, Always hide, or always show
7. Highlight current or past applications and make any changes you like.
8. A small arrow will now appear in the System Tray that will allow you to show or hide these icons.

Faster Task Switching

Added 1/6/02

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:

1. Run MSCONFIG
2. Click on the Startup tab
3. Uncheck Taskswitch
4. Click on the OK button
5. If you want to keep working, click on Exit without Restart

To Turn This Off Immediately:

1. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
2. Click on the Processes tab
3. Highlight TaskSwitch.exe
4. Click on the End Process tab
5. 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:

1. Right click on the My Computer icon on the desktop
2. Select Properties / Advanced
3. Click on the Error Reporting tab
4. 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.

Creating an Automated Install of WindowsXP

On the WindowsXP CP, in the SUPPORT\TOOLS directory,

there is a file called DEPLOY.CAB.

1. Extract the programs DEPLOY.CHM (help file) and SETUPMGR.EXE (main program)
2. Run SETUPMGR and answer the prompts.
3. This will create both a unattend.bat and unattend.txt file you can use for automated installs.
4. Note: The batch file might need some minor modification for file locations but it is fairly basic.

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

Added 11/11/01

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.

Creating a Password Recovery Disk

Added 11/5/01

In case you forget your password, you can create a password recovery floppy disk beforehand to help you out of this problem.

1. Single-click Start menu
2. Go to the Control Panel / User Accounts
3. Click the User Account
4. On the left hand side, click on Prevent forgotten password
5. You will need to know your password to create the disk.
6. 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.

Disabling Hibernation

Added 8/20/01

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.

1. Open up the Control Panel / Power Options icon
2. Click on the Hibernation icon
3. Uncheck Enable Hibernation

Locking the Workstation

There are two ways you can lock the workstation.

1. With a Windows key + L
2. 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

1. Go to the Control Panel
2. Select User Accounts
3. Click on the Account to change
4. Click on Change my picture
5. You can then browse to the picture you want to use

Removing the MSN Messenger

If you want to remove the MSN Messenger from always starting in the system tray, do

1. Start / Run
2. 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

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks
3. Set the value to be 1
4. In the same section, change the WaitToKillAppTimeout to the number of milliseconds you want.

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.:

1. Right click on My Computer
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Under Performance, click on the Settings button
5. 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.

1. Go to Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools
2. Run System Restore
3. For each drive or partition, you can click on the Setting button to change how much hard drive space is devoted to each one.
4. There is even the option to turn it off for all drives.

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

Increasing File System Caching

To increase the amount of memory Windows will locked for I/O operations:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
3. 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:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators
3. Change the value from 0 to 2
4. Turn Numlock on manually
5. Log off and back on again.
6. For all users, make the same change to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators

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

1. Start / Run / Verifier
2. Keep the default of Create Standard Settings
3. Select the type of drivers you want to confirm
4. A list of drivers to be verified on the next boot will be shown.
5. Reboot
6. If your computer stops with a blue screen, you should get an error message with the problem driver
7. To turn off the Verifier, run verifier /reset

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:

1. Remove the old registry entries - Download Reg file
2. Import the correct registry entries - Download Reg file
3. Reboot the computer

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.

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:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Drive \ shell]
3. Edit the default value to be explorer or none

Running SFC without a CD ROM

Added 6/9/04

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

Fixing Cryptographic Services Error

Added 12/8/03

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

Added 11/30/03

Sometimes after adding the right click with the Explorer, the default setting for opening a folder is changed.

To correct this:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell
3. Edit the default value to be explorer or none

Repair Install

Added 2/9/03

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.

1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD
2. At the second R=Repair option, press the R key
3. This will start the repair
4. Press F8 for I Agree at the Licensing Agreement
5. Press R when the directory where WindowsXP is installed is shown. Typically this is C:\WINDOWS
6. It will then check the C: drive and start copying files
7. It will automatically reboot when needed. Keep the CD in the drive.
8. 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)
9. When prompted, click on the Next button
10. When prompted, enter your XP key
11. Normally you will want to keep the same Workgroup or Domain name
12. The computer will reboot
13. Then you will have the same screens as a normal XP Install
14. Activate if you want (usually a good idea)
15. Register if you want (but not necessary)
16. Finish
17. At this point you should be able to log in with any existing accounts.

NTOSKRNL Missing or Corrupt

Added 2/9/03

If you get an error that NTOSKRNL not found:

1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
4. Typically this will be #1
5. Change to the drive that has the CD ROM.
6. CD i386
7. expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe
8. If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change to C:\Windows
9. Take out the CD ROM and type exit

HAL.DLL Missing or Corrupt

Added 2/9/03

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

1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
4. Typically this will be #1
5. Type bootcfg /list to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file
6. Type bootcfg /rebuild to repair it
7. Take out the CD ROM and type exit

Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG

Added 2/9/03

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

1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
4. Typically this will be #1
5. Enter in the administrator password when requested
6. cd \windows\system32\config
7. Depending on which section was corrupted:
8. ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad
9. Depending on which section was corrupted
10. copy \windows\repair\system
11. copy \windows\repair\software
12. Take out the CD ROM and type exit

NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM Not Found

Added 2/9/03

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:

1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
4. Typically this will be #1
5. Enter in the administrator password when requested
6. Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive.
7. COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:
8. COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\
9. Take out the CD ROM and type exit

ReInstalling WindowsXP

Added 5/21/02

If you need to reinstall WindowsXP and want to keep all your current installed applications and settings:

1. Start WindowsXP

2. Go to the location of your source files

3. 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.

DOS Tips

Showing Long and Short Filenames

Added 1/8/00

There are two additional switches that can be used when doing a DIR

/B - Shows only the long filename, no details

/Z - Shows the short filename, with details

/B /Z - Shows only short filename, with no details

DOS Command History

Added 12/21/99

If you use DOSKEY in either your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or as part of the properties of your DOS Window,

you can show and recall the history of commands you enter and the DOS prompt.

To recall previous commands, use the up arrow key.

A complete list of previous commands can be shown if you press the F7 key

To use one, press F9 and the number of the command you want to use

To clear the cache, press Alt+F7

Changing a File's Date and Time Stamp

Added 12/21/99

You can change the Date and Time stamp of a file to the current setting.

Type:

COPY filename /B + ,, /Y

Removing the Microsoft Copyright from a DOS Prompt

Added 10/16/98

By default, when you open a DOS window, the Microsoft Copyright notice shows.

To disable it, add the /K switch in the Program tab

For example: C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM /k

Setting the Number of Lines in a DOS Window

Submitted 9/19/98

To set the number of lines displayed when you open up a DOS window:

Create a shortcut for the MS-DOS Prompt

Right click on it

Select Properties

Click on the Program tab

In the Batch file:, line enter mode con: lines=xx (where xx is the number of lines you want displayed)

Valid numbers for xx are 25 or 43

Submitted by John Karwoski

Starting DOS Fast

Want to start DOS fast outside of the START button? Drag it to your desktop.

Want to start it even FASTER without the mouse?

Change the shortcut properties of the DOS icon to something unique, like Ctrl-Alt-Z.

Then to start DOS from within Win95/98?/NT just enter C-A-Z and poof! it's there.

If you toggle away, and hit the shortcut sequence again, you'll get the "old" DOS box, not a new one.

Submitted by Carra Bussa

Long Filenames in a DOS Box

Submitted 4/12/98

More long filenames in DOS paths...

You don't need the close double quote when entering long folder names in DOS.

CD "\program files

works as well as

CD "\program files"

Submitted by Patrick Knoll

Submitted 2/19/96

You can use long file names in a MS DOS Box.

All you have to do is pu the long file name in quotes.

Example: cd "program files"

Submitted by Simon Story

story@interlog.com

Expanding Full Path or File Name

NT 4.0 Only

Submitted 8/30/97

Expand full path/file name with defined char using Command Prompt in Win NT 4.0

You can expand the full name of a file or directory using a character of your choice.

Close all Command Prompts

Start the Registry Editor

Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor

If not present, add Key: CompletionChar

If you like to use TAB-Key for expand: set value (REG_SZ): "9"

You can test it:

Open up a DOS window

Type: CD (followed by TAB)

The first available directory will appear

Press TAB again, the next one will appear

The same can be done with the DIR command

Submitted by Uwe Beierlein

Adding DOSKEY to your DOS Window

Added 4/6/97

One way to have DOSKEY available when you open a DOS window would be to have it in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

This takes away conventional memory, even when you don't have a DOS window open.

To only use DOSKEY when you open a DOS window:

Right click on your DOS shortcut

Select Properties

Click on the Program tab

Add DOSKEY > NUL to the Batch File field

You can also add /INSERT if you prefer

Showing DOS Error Codes

Added 4/6/97

If you want to see what error codes are being generated by DOS programs,

start your DOS session with the addition of a /Z parameter to the COMMAND.COM program.

Changing Directories in DOS

Added 1/26/97

Normally, you can move up one directory level by typing CD ..

The DOS with Windows95 allows you to continue moving up beyond the first directory by simply adding more periods

For example, to move up two levels, type CD ...

Entering Long Paths in a DOS Window

Added 1/26/97

If you have to enter a long path and program name in a DOS window,

Open up the Explorer

Go to the folder you want

Drag it to the DOS window

The path will be inserted into the window

This can come is useful with the long path names and all the ~'s you would normally need to type.

If you need to change directories, type in the CD before you drag the directory.

Having DOS Programs Prompt for Input

Added 1/26/97

When you normally create a shortcut for a DOS program, it does not prompt you for any input and just runs the program

To change that, simply add a ? after the program name in the CMD field.

For example:

C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\EDIT.COM ?

will start the DOS editor and prompt you for a file name to edit.

Verbose Directory Listing

Submitted 10/24/96

To see your free memory and other useful info in detail:

Open a DOS box

Go to the directory that you want to get specific info about, or if you just want to see memory info go to any directory (I use the root).

Type DIR /V

The /v argument stands for "verbose".

All sorts of good information comes up.

Submitted by Brian Cohen

bcohen@interserv.com

Easy way to open up DOS prompt in a specific directory

Added 6/20/96

With the advent of long directory names, it can be difficult to open up a DOS box and CD to the directory you want

particularly if it is several layers of long names deep.

An easy way is to:

Open up Explorer and highlight the directory you want to be in

Select Run / Command from the Start Menu

Your DOS prompt will now be in the directory you highlighted in Explorer

Preventing Changes to File Associations

Submitted 9/18/02

You can prevent users from changing associations via Windows Explorer's Tools / Folder Options / File Types tab.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explore
3. Create REG_DWORD data type NoFileAssociate
4. Give it a value of 1

Locking File Associations

If you have your file associations the way you want for a particular file type, you can remove it from the list that gets displayed in the Folder Options / File Types screen

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
3. Scroll to the file association you want to lock.
4. In the right panel, create a new Binary value
5. Call it EditFlags
6. Give it a value of 01 00 00 00
7. Now when you go to the Folder Options / File Types screen, you won't see that file type listed.

Turning off System Beeps

Added 9/10/01

If you want to turn off all system beeps (like the ones that go through your computers' internal speaker):

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound
3. Edit the key Beep and give it a value of No

Changing the Location Of Special Folders

You can modify the registry to change the location of special folders like:

• My Documents
• Favorites
• My Pictures
• Personal
• Start Regedit

1. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
2. Double click on any locations you want to change and alter the path
3. Logoff or restart for the changes to go into effect

Deleting Specific Registry Value

Submitted 12/22/01

In a previous tip, Automatically Deleting a Registry Key, it was mentioned how to remove an entire registry key.

If you want to simply remove a specific value within a key, use the syntax below:

[Registry Key]

"value"=-

For example:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

"MSConfig"=-

would delete the value MSCONFIG.

Setting the Recycle Bin to Always Delete

You can set the recycle bin to always delete items (like holding down the shift key when dragging files to the recycle bin)

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ BitBucket
3. Set the key NukeOnDelete to 1

Setting the Internet Explorer Home Page

Submitted 9/4/01

If you want to set the home page used by Internet Explorer through the registry

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Main
3. Give the Start Page key the string value you wish set as homepage

preparing to Move Hard Drive to Another Computer

To remove the devices from device manager when taking a HD from one computer to another,

simply:

1. Run Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ and delete the Enum section
3. This removes all of the hardware specific settings

Comparing Registries

Added 2/21/00

While working with changes to your system, you might want to see what is changing in your Registry.

Since you can export it to a text file, the steps are fairly easy

Start Regedit

1. With the very top level select - My Computer, on the Toolbar select Registry / Export Registry File
2. I usually save it to the root of the C: drive with the name before (you don't need to add an extension)
3. Make the change to your system
4. Go back to Regedit
5. Press F5 to update it
6. Export the Registry like step 2
7. Name the file after and have it go in the same directory
8. Open up a DOS window
9. Go to the directory where the two exported files are
10. Enter FC before.reg after.reg > diff.txt
11. Then you can edit diff.txt with your favorite text editor.

Note: I do the last steps so often I have a simple batch file already set up.

Setting Excel 2000 High-Contrast Cell Selection

Added 2/2/00

If you want to increase the contrast in selected cells:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Excel \ Options
3. Add a DWORD value call Options6
4. Give it a value of 16
5. Now when you select cells, they will be white on black.

Changing Common Icons

You can change many of the common Windows icons.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons
3. The default icons are numbered in the right panel from 0-40
4. Double click on the number of the particular icon you want to change. See the chart below.
5. Enter the name of the icon file you want to use followed by the number of the icon in that file.
6. Note: The numbering starts with zero.
7. If you use a single .ICO file, it should be followed by a 0.
8. e.g. - filename.dll,4 - This would actually be the 5th icon since it starts with 0.
9. Make sure you delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE

0-13 Are the Drive and Application Icons

0 - To change the Unknown Application Icon

2 - To change the Default Application Icon

3 - To change the Closed Folder Icon

4 - To change the Open Folder Icon

5 - To change the 5 1/4" Floppy Icon

6 - To change the 3 1/2" Floppy Icon

7 - To change the Removable Disk Icon

8 - To change the Hard Drive Icon

9 - To change the Network Drive Online Icon

10 - To change the Network Drive Offline Icon

11 - To change the CD Drive Icon

12 - To change the Ramdrive Icon

13 - To change the Entire Network Icon

19-27 Are the Start Menu Icons

19 - To change the Programs Icon

20 - To change the Documents Icon

21 - To change the Settings Icon

22 - To change the Find Icon

23 - To change the Help Icon

24 - To change the Run Icon

27 - To change the Shutdown Icon

Other Icons

33 - To change the DUN Folder Icon

34 - To change the Desktop Icon

35 - To change the Control Panel Icon

37 - To change the Printer Folder Icon

40 - To change the Audio CD Icon

43 - To change the Favorites Icon

44 - To change the Logoff Icon

Prevent Changes to the Start Menu

To prevent any changes to the Start Menu, even a right click:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
3. Add a DWORD called NoChangeStartMenu
4. Give it a value of 1

DOS Restrictions

Updated 1/31/00

There are restrictions you can make to the ability to execute DOS programs

Start Regedit

1. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
2. Create a new key under Policies called WinOldApp
3. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
4. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
• Disabled - Disable MS-DOS Prompt
• NoRealMode - Disables Single-Mode MS-DOS

Networking Restrictions

Updated 1/31/00

There are general restrictions you can make in Networking

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
3. Create a new key under Policies called Network
4. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
5. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
• DisablePwdCaching = Password Caching
• HideSharePwds [hex] =Shared Passwords
• NoEntireNetwork =Entire Network
• NoNetSetup =Network applet
• NoNetSetupIDPage =Network Identification tab
• NoNetSetupSecurityPage =Network Access tab
• NoFileSharing =Network File Sharing button
• MinPwdLen = set Minimum Password Length (integer number: 0 - 99)
• NoPrintSharing =Network Print Sharing button
• NoWorkgroupContents =Network Workgroup

Control Panel Restrictions

There are many general restrictions you can make to the Control Panel

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
3. Create a new keys under Policies called System
4. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
5. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
• NoDispCPL - Disable Display Control Panel
• NoDispBackgroundPage - Hide Background Page
• NoDispScrSavPage - Hide Screen Saver Page
• NoDispAppearancePage - Hide Appearance Page
• NoDispSettingsPage - Hide Settings Page
• NoSecCPL - Disable Password Control Panel
• NoPwdPage - Hide Password Change Page
• NoAdminPage - Hide Remote Administration Page
• NoProfilePage - Hide User Profiles Page
• NoDevMgrPage - Hide Device Manager Page
• NoConfigPage - Hide Hardware Profiles Page
• NoFileSysPage - Hide File System Button
• NoVirtMemPage - Hide Virtual Memory Button

Restricting the Start Menu, Explorer and the Desktop

Updated 1/30/00

1. There are many general restrictions you can make to the Start Menu, the Explorer and to the Desktop itself.
2. Start Regedit
3. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
4. There should already be at least a Explorer section there already
5. Additional keys that can be created under Policies are WinOldApp
6. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
7. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
• ClearRecentDocsOnExit = Clear of Recent Documents on Exit
• NoAddPrinter = Adding new printers
• NoClose = Computer Shutdown
• NoDeletePrinter = Delete Installed Printers
• NoDesktop = Doesn't show Desktop items as well as and Desktop right-click menu
• NoDevMgrUpdate = Windows 98/ME web Update Manager
• NoDrives [hex] = Hides Drives in my computer
• NoFind = Find command
• NoInternetIcon = Internet Icon on Desktop
• NoNetHood = Network Neighborhood
• NoRecentDocsHistory = Recent Documents in Start Menu
• NoRun = Run command
• NoSaveSettings = Save Settings on exit
• NoSetFolders = Folders in Start Menu -> Settings
• NoSetTaskbar = Taskbar in Start Menu -> Settings
• NoSMMyDocs = My Documents folder in Start Menu
• NoSMMyPictures = My Pictures folder in Start Menu
• NoWindowsUpdate = Windows web Update

Changing Office 2000's Excel Undo History

By default, Excel has only approximately 16 undo's you can perform.

To increase that number:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Excel \ Options
3. Add a dword called UndoHistory
4. Give it the value you want for the amount you want.

Changing the Title on Windows Media Player

You can change the title bar for the Windows Media Player

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_USERS \ .DEFAULT \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ WindowsMediaPlayer
3. Create a string value of TitleBar
4. Give it a value of whatever you want to appear in the title bar

Eliminating the Right Click on the Taskbar

To eliminate the right click on the taskbar:

1. Start Regedit
2. Start Regedit
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
4. Add a DWORD and give it a name of NoTrayContextMenu
5. Give it a value of 1
6. Reboot

Eliminating the Right Click on the Desktop

To eliminate the right click on the desktop:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
3. Add a DWORD and give it a name of NoViewContextMenu
4. Give it a value of 1
5. Reboot

Turning Off the Help on Min, Max, Close Icons

Added 1/8/00

When the mouse goes over the minimize, maximize and close icons on the upper right hand side of a window, you normally get a display telling you want those are for.

To disable that display:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
3. Create a String Value called MinMaxClose
4. Give it a value of 1
5. Reboot

Adding Open With to the Right Click in the Explorer

Added 12/28/99

To add the option Open With when you right click on a file in the Explorer:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ CLASSES \* \ shell \ openas \ command
3. If this key isn't there then just create it
4. Give it the value of C:\WINDOWS\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1

Automatically Deleting a Registry Key

Added 12/20/99

Normally you cannot automatically delete registry keys from reg file. But there is a way...

Simply include a minus sign inside the left bracket before the main key.

For example.

If you want to delete the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 8.0 \ Common \ Assistants, your regfile would simply look like:

REGEDIT4

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\Assistants]

This would delete that key and any below it.

Fixing no AutoRun for CDs

Added 11/9/99

If your CDs have stop starting automatically, and you have checked everything else:

Go to HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

The value for NoDriveTypeAutoRun should be set to 95 00 00 00

Renaming the File System Profiles

Added 4/20/99

In the Control Panel / System / Performance / File System, you can select either Desktop Computer, Mobile or docking system, or Network Server.

You can change these labels to something more descriptive:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / Microsoft / Windows / Current Version / FS Templates
3. You can change the text that appears under each key

Sticky Menus

Normally when you move the mouse over the Start Menu / Programs, it will automatically cascade and show the submenus.

If you want them to open only when you actually click on them:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
3. If if it not already there, create a string called MenuShowDelay
4. Give it a value of 65534Added 4/20/99

5. Normally when you move the mouse over the Start Menu / Programs, it will automatically cascade and show the submenus.
6. If you want them to open only when you actually click on them:
7. Start Regedit
8. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
9. If if it not already there, create a string called MenuShowDelay
10. Give it a value of 65534

Automatic Shutdown with Windows NT

Submitted 3/28/99

Most laptops allow the operating system to turn off the hardware after shutdown, instead of displaying the message telling you it's now safe to turn off your system.

You can take advantage of this capability by enabling the Power Down After Shutdown feature.

To enable this feature, simply add a REG_SZ value named HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\PowerdownAfterShutDown and set it to 1.

Next, tell NT to shut down and see if the machine turns itself off after shutting down. If it doesn't, change the value back to 0 to restore normal operation.

Kill Hung Processes When Logging Off in Windows NT

Submitted 3/28/99

When you tell NT to shut down, it first sends shutdown requests to any running processes.

Most 32-bit applications honor these requests and shut down, but older 16-bit apps running in the Virtual DOS Machine often won't.

When this occurs, the operating system prompts you with a dialog box asking if you want to kill the task, wait for the task to die on its own, or cancel the shutdown.

By modifying the Registry, you can automate this process.

You can force NT to kill all running processes on shutdown by adding a REG_SZ value named HKEY_USER\\ControlPanel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks and set the value to 1. You can also add this value to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT so that all new accounts will shut down the same way.

nT Crash Log File

Submitted 3/28/99

In addition to the crash log file, you can also enable two other methods of crash notification and logging.

You can enable an administrative alert by changing the value of

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl\SendAlert to 1. The next time the system crashes, an administrative alert will be sent that may provide the first sign of the crash.

You can also make NT log the crash in the event log by changing the value of

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\CrashControl\LogEvent to 1 instead of its default 0. Now, the exact time of the crash will be permanently recorded.