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Tips & Tricks for Windows Operating Systems.
Enable or disable Error Reporting (XP)
Start>Control Panel>System>Advanced>Error Reporting
Enable or disable Task Scheduler at startup (XP)
Start>Run>services.msc>OK.
Double-click Task
Scheduler and select the Startup type you want. If you
also want to prevent Win2000/XP from scanning shared
files for scheduled tasks, read:
Speed up access to network shares.
Remove FindFast (98)
FindFast is a program that indexes MS Office
documents to make them easier to find and open. But
FindFast destroys the efficiency of the rest of the
system. If you just take FindFast out of the Startup
group, Office applications will continue to use the
indices that were created. To correctly disable
FindFast, you must delete the FindFast index files.
1. Start>Settings>Control Panel>FindFast
2.
In the Index for documents in and below list, click the
first item.
3. On the Index menu, click Delete
Index.
4. In the Delete Index dialog box, click
OK.
5. When you are prompted whether to delete
the index, click OK.
6. Repeat above until no
more indices are listed.
7. On the Index Menu,
click Close and Stop. Then, click OK.
8. Do
either of the following:
Remove the FindFast shortcut
from the Startup folder, and uncheck ffast.exe in
start>run>msconfig>startup. Run the Microsoft Office 97
Setup program in maintenance mode, and remove FindFast.
Turn off Window animation (maximize-minimize) to speed up your work
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
Panel\desktop\
WindowMetric
Create the string value
MinAnimate. Set it to 0 (off) or 1 (on)
Set Highlight and shadow of 3D-objects
By default, they are set in dependence of the button
face.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Control Panel\Colors] Edit
the corresponding names to change RGB Data
Restore the ability to display .ico files
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\icofile\
DefaultIcon]: Make sure
the "(Default)" value is set to "%1"
If
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\icofile] or
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\icofile\
DefaultIcon] does not exist,
cut and paste the following into a .reg file and merge
it into your registry:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ico]@="icofile"
"Content
Type"="image/x-icon"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\icofile]@="Icon"
"EditFlags"=hex:00,00,01,00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\
icofile\DefaultIcon]@="%1"
Remove invalid entries in Add/Remove Programs
The entries that show up in Add/Remove Programs are stored under[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\ Uninstall]. Deleting entries will only remove the ability to uninstall items through Add/Remove Programs.
Use Windows Update without being registered
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion] Create the string value RegDone, value = 1
Microsoft spy
To prevent Microsoft
from reading your HWID (Hardware ID) and MSID:
Run (Win98) regsvr32 -u c:\windows\system\regwizc.dll
or (Win XP) regsvr32 -u
c:\windows\system32\regwizc.dll (To go back to the
default setting, do not use
-u)[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion]:
Delete the string value HWID
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion]:
Delete the string value MSID
Change the Blue Screen of Death's colors
In system.ini, add the following two lines under
[386Enh]:
MessageBackColor={color code}
MessageTextColor={color code}
Not tested with Windows XP
Colors | Dark | Light |
---|---|---|
Black | 0 | 8 |
Blue | 1 | 9 |
Green | 2 | A |
Cyan | 3 | B |
Red | 4 | C |
Maganda | 5 | D |
Yellow | 6 | E |
White | 7 | F |
Change registered owner and organization
9x: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion]
XP: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
Value Names: RegisteredOwner,
RegisteredOrganization
Data Type: REG_SZ
Find registered owner and cd key to reinstall windows (98)
There is a system.1st file in the root unless it was
deleted. It's a copy of the registry when Windows was
last successfully installed. Use the Dos Editor to find
Productkey. The registered owner's name is several lines
above and to the right of it. You can make a text
version of the registry by typing the following 2 lines
in DOS mode:
regedit/e c:\hklm.reg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
(Output: c:\hklm.reg)
regedit/e c:\hku.reg hkey users
(Output: c:\hku.reg)
Include manufacturer and support details in the System Properties dialog box
You need to create two files in the Windows system
directory (c:\windows\system, or
c:\windows\system32): oeminfo.ini and oemlogo.bmp.
oeminfo.ini
[General]
Manufacturer=Enter
the Company Name Here
Model=Enter the Computer Model
Name Here
[Support Information]
Line1=first line
of support information
Line2=second line (Create as
many lines as you need by incrementing the line number)
oemlogo.bmp: Up to 180 x 120 pixels
Open System
Properties from the Control Panel, and your logo and
company name will be listed. The details you entered in
the Support Information section will show up when you
click on the Support Information button.
Change the number of registry backups (98)
Edit Scanreg.ini (But only five choices are given in scanreg/restore)
System file checker
Start > Run, then type SFC, and click OK. You may need your Windows CD.
Windows Xp
Start > Run, then type sfc /scannow and click OK. You
will need the Windows CD unless you copied the I386
folder to C:\ drive during installation. If you didn't
install the I386 folder you can copy it to C:\ drive
from the CD then
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion|
Setup
Now on the right hand side double click SourcePath and
Replace D:| with C:\
Now if you run sfc /scannow you
should not be asked to insert your Windows XP CD.
Try
sfc /scannow again!
Play or do not play your CD's
automatically (AIN, Autorun, AutoPlay)
Windows XP
Auto Insert Notification:
Open the Group
Policy window (Start > Run > GPEDIT.MSC)
Computer
Configuration >Administrative Templates > System
Double-click Turn off Autoplay (Left pane)
Click the
appropriate radio button
Select an option in the
combo box ("Turn off Autoplay on")
Click Apply, and
close the Group Policy window
Autorun:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SYSTEM\
CurrentControlSet\
Services\Cdrom
In the left pane, set Autorun to 0 (Disabled) or 1
(Enabled)
AutoPlay:
Left-click the CD
drive, then click Properties > AutoPlay
Adjust the
settings for the various content types
Windows 2000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\CDRom]
Enable: "Autorun"="1"
Disable: "Autorun"="0"
Windows 98
You must enable both Auto Insert Notification and
Autorun if you want Windows to play automatically your
CD's. Auto Insert Notification: If you disable Auto
Insert Notification, Autorun will be disabled, and My
Computer or Explorer will not be updated when a CD is
inserted or removed. You will have to press F5 to
refresh it yourself.
Control Panel > System > Device
Manager > Right-click the actual CDROM drive >
Properties >
Settings > Check or uncheck Auto Insert
Notification
Autorun:
If you disable
Autorun, commands in the Autorun.inf file will be
ignored.[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer]
Enable: "NoDriveTypeAutoRun" = "95 00 00 00"
Disable: "NoDriveTypeAutoRun" = "BD 00 00 00"
All
You may have to reboot. If you hold down the Shift key when inserting the CD, Auto Insert Notification is temporarily disabled.
Search the content of .cab files
First
Option
Use Windows Search feature to locate *.cab containing <filename.ext>
Second Option (98):If <filename.ext> need to be replaced.
Run sfc
Click Extract one file from installation
disk
Specify the system file you would like to
restore:<filename>
Start Restore From box: <Path to
the Win98 folder on CD>
Save File In box:
<Destination folder>
OK > OK > OK > Yes. Reboot
Number Lock (Numlock)
1. You may either set it in the bios, or (9x) add this line to Config.sys:
NUMLOCK=OFF (Or ON)
2. If it still doesn't work, set InitialKeyboardIndicators to 0 (OFF) or 2 (ON) in the registry:
[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\
Control Panel\Keyboard]
"InitialKeyboardIndicators"="2"
[HKEY_USERS\{Long key
that doesn't end in classes}\Control Panel\Keyboard]
"InitialKeyboardIndicators"="2"
Fix Icons (If Windows shows the wrong
icons)
Windows XP
Go to C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Local
Settings\Application DataDelete IconCache.db
Reboot
Windows 9x
Go to c:\windows
Delete ShellIconCache
Reboot.
If the problem persist, increase the icon cache
size[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer]
MaxCachedIcons=4096
then delete ShellIconCache.
Military Time
Windows XP:
Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Customize > Time In Time format, replace h by H
Windows 98:
Control Panel > Regional Settings > Time In Time Style, replace h by H
Msdos.sys (9x)
Keywords | Default | What It Does |
---|---|---|
AutoScan | 2 | When a shutdown error is found, Scandisk will not run (0), will prompt you (1), or will run automatically (2). |
BootKeys | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) the use of boot-option function keys while starting Windows. When Bootkeys is disabled, BootDelay, BootMenu, BootMenuDefault, BootMenuDelay, and BootMulti are ignored. |
BootDelay | 2 | Number of seconds the Starting Windows message is displayed to give you enough time to press F8. W95 only. |
BootMenu | 0 | Disables (0) or enables (1) the display of the start-up menu. |
BootMenuDefault | 1 | Menu item that will be selected if you
don't select one before the time specified by the
BootMenuDelay setting expires. 1: Normal 2: Logged (c:\bootlog.txt) 3: Safe-Mode default (no networking components) 4: Safe-Mode default (networked computer) |
BootMenuDelay | 30 | Number of seconds to display the Windows Startup menu before running the default menu item. |
DisableLog | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) the creation of a bootlog.txt. |
DoubleBuffer | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) loading of a double-buffering driver for a SCSI controller. |
BootGUI | 1 | Command line (0), or graphical interface (1). |
BootMulti | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) dual-boot capabilities. |
BootSafe | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) the Safe Mode warning. |
BootWarn | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) the Safe Mode startup warning. |
BootWin | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) Windows as the default operating system. To be used with DOS 5 or 6.x. |
DblSpace | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) loading of dblspace.bin. |
DrvSpace | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) loading of drvspace.bin. |
LoadTop | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) loading of command.com or drvspace.bin at the top of 640K memory. |
Logo | 1 | Disables (0) or enables (1) the display of the animated logo when Windows processes config.sys and autoexec.bat. |
Uninstall Additional Windows Components
To add additional components to the Add/Remove
Programs list (Windows Components): Start Windows
Explorer, and navigate to the inf folder in your Windows
folder. Windows Explorer must be set to Show hidden
files and folders. You can adjust this from the Tools
menu, Folder Options, View tab (and while you are there,
un-check Hide extensions for known file types too). Now
find the file Sysoc.inf, and Open it (double-click) You
will find several lines that include the word hide:
xxxx=xxxx.dll,xxxx,xxxx.inf,hide,7 Remove the word hide,
so that the line now reads:
xxxx=xxxx.dll,xxxx,xxxx.inf,,7 Save the file, and close
it Select Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel and
click on Add/Remove Windows Components.Several
additional Windows components will now be listed, and
you will be able to remove them. Here's a list what some
of the listings mean:
WBEM - Windows Management
Instrumentation
com - COM+ (Provides support for
developing and deploying distributed, component-based
applications) dtc - Distributed Transaction Coordinator
(Coordinates distributed transactions between multiple
clients, servers, and resource managers)
AutoUpdate -
Windows Automatic Updates
msmsgs - Windows Messenger
CommApps - Communications
MultiM - Multimedia
AccessOpt - Accessibility Wizard
Pinball - Yep, the
game
MSWordPad - WordPad
Be careful about uninstalling certain parts (WEBM, com, dtc, and maybe even CommApps and MultiM), as it might break some functions in Windows!
Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Users
Here is how to navigate Windows if your mouse has stopped working or if you want to save time by not moving your hand back and forth. When Windows first starts up and your desktop is displayed, an icon is already highlighted in order to select other icons, use your arrow keys to move among the icons. Once they are highlighted, you can hit your enter key instead of double-clicking them with your mouse. To access the start menu, most keyboards have a window key that you can use to open the start menu. If your keyboard doesn't have a windows key, you can hit ctrl and esc to open it. Once the start menu is open, you can use your arrow keys to move among the items and use your enter key to open the items. When you are at a dialog window you can move through all the option areas by hitting tab. Once you are at the area that you want to be in, use your arrow keys and your enter key to open the item. If you want to check or uncheck a box with your keyboard, get to that area by using tab and then click your spacebar to check or uncheck.
Here are more keyboard commands:
CTRL+ TAB - Move forward through tabs.
CTRL+ SHIFT
+ TAB - Move backward through tabs.
TAB - Move
forward through options.
SHIFT+ TAB - Move backward
through options.
ALT+ Underlined letter - Carry out
the corresponding command or select the corresponding
option.
ENTER - Carry out the command for the active
option or button.
SPACEBAR - Select or clear the
check box if the active option is a check box.
Arrow
keys - Select a button if the active option is a group
of option buttons.
F1 - Display help.
F4 - Display
the items in the active list.
BACKSPACE - Open a
folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save
As or Open dialog box.
CTRL + C - Copy
CTRL+ X -
Cut
CTRL+ V - Paste
CTRL+ Z - Undo
DELETE -
Delete
SHIFT+ DELETE - Delete selected item
permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin
CTRL while dragging an item - Copy selected item.
CTRL+ SHIFT while dragging an item - Create shortcut to
selected item.
F2 - Rename selected item.
CTRL+
RIGHT ARROW - Move the insertion point to the beginning
of the next word.
CTRL+ LEFT ARROW - Move the
insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.
CTRL+ DOWN ARROW - Move the insertion point to the
beginning of the next paragraph.
CTRL+ UP ARROW -
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the
previous paragraph.
CTRL+ SHIFT with any of the arrow
keys - Highlight a block of text.
SHIFT with any of
the arrow keys - Select more than one item in a window
or on the desktop,or select text within a document.
CTRL+ A - Select all.
F3 - Search for a file or
folder.
ALT+ ENTER - View properties for the selected
item.
ALT+F4 - Close the active item, or quit the
active program.
ALT+ Enter - Displays the properties
of the selected object.
ALT+ SPACEBAR - Opens the
shortcut menu for the active window.
CTRL+F4 - close
the active document in programs that allow you to have
multiple documents open simultaneously.
ALT+ TAB -
Switch between open items.
ALT+ ESC - Cycle through
items in the order they were opened.
F6 - Cycle
through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.
F4 - Display the Address bar list in My Computer or
Windows Explorer.
SHIFT+F10 - Display the shortcut
menu for the selected item.
ALT+ SPACEBAR - Display
the System menu for the active window.
CTRL+ ESC -
Display the Start menu.
ALT+ Underlined letter in a
menu name - Display the corresponding menu Underlined
letter in a command name on an open menu - Carry out the
corresponding demand.
F10 - Activate the menu bar in
the active program.
RIGHT ARROW - Open the next menu
to the right, or open a submenu.
LEFT ARROW - Open
the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.
F5 -
Refresh the active window.
BACKSPACE - View the
folder one level up in My computer or Windows Explorer.
ESC - Cancel the current task.
SHIFT when you insert
a CD into the CD-Rom drive - Prevent the CD from
automatically playing.
Windows Key - Display or hide
the Start menu.
Windows Key+ BREAK - Display the
System Properties dialog box.
Windows Key+ D - Show
the desktop.
Windows Key+ M - Minimize all windows.
Windows Key+ Shift+ M - Restores minimized windows.
Windows Key+ E - Open My Computer.
Windows Key+ F -
Search for a file or folder.
CTRL+ Windows Key+ F -
Search for computers.
Windows Key+F1 - Display
Windows Help.
Windows Key+ L - Lock your computer if
you are connected to a network domain, or switch users
if you are not connected to a network domain.
Windows
Key+ R - Open the Run dialog box.
Windows Key+ U -
Open Utility Manager.
Remember that some of these commands will only work in some versions of Windows (i.e. 95, 98, ME, XP, 2000).
Windows XP clear Page File on Shutdown
Go to Control panel Administrative tools, local
security policy. then goto local policies >
securityoptions. Then change
the option for
"Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
Enable or 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.
Turn off Indexing to speed up XP
Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard
disk so when you do a search on the hard drive it is
faster. There is a downside to this and because the
computer has to index all files, it will slow down
normal file commands like open, close, etc. If you do
not do a whole lot of searches on your hard drive then I
suggest turning this feature off:
Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Services
Disable Indexing
Services
Delete Prefetch files in XP Automatically
Here's an easy way to delete your Prefetch:
Go
into My Computer and go into your hard drive.
Right-click anywhere that a file is not and select the
'New' submenu and click 'Text Document'
Name it
"deleteprefetch"
Double-click on the text file you
just created.
Type "del C:\Windows\Prefetch\*.* /Q"
(without the quotes).
Go to File > Save As... and
choose "All Files" from the "Save as Type" box and save
it as " deleteprefetch.bat"
You just created a batch
file that will automatically delete all the files in
your Prefetch folder by double clicking on it.
Congrats, you just emptied the Prefetch folder
Automatically!
Click
HERE to download one already made! Just save it
to your C:\ drive.
Make icons in windows appear quicker (XP)
In Windows XP every time you open My Computer to
browse folders XP automatically searches for network
files and printers. This causes a delay in displaying
your icons. You probably see the " default" windows icon
and as you scroll it changes to the correct icon. This
is how to stop that...
Open My Computer
Click on
the Tools menu and select Folder Options...
Under
Folder Options select the view tab.
Uncheck the very
first box that reads "Automatically search for network
folders and printers".
Click "Apply" or "OK"
You
should see a dramatic increase in speed when Windows
displays your icons.
How to remove An Invalid Boot Path From The Boot Ini File
Click the Start button.
On the Start Menu click
Run.
In the Run dialog box type: msconfig.
The
System configuration utility window will now open.
Click the Boot ini Tab.
In the boot ini tab click the
button marked Check all boot paths.
The system will
check the boot paths and remove any invalid ones.
Finally Close the System configuration utility.
You
will need to restart your pc for the changes to take
effect.
How to Delete An Undeletable File
Click the Start Button.
Click All Programs
followed by Accessories.
In the Accessories drop down
menu click Command Prompt.
The Command Prompt window
will now open.
Close all other programs that are
running with the exception of the Command Prompt.
Now
click Start and then Run.
In the Run dialog box type:
taskmgr.exe.
In the Task Manager window click on the
Processes tab.
From the processes list highlight
Explorer.exe and then click the End Process button.
Don't close the Task Manager window, leave it open. You
should have the Command Prompt and the Task Manager
window open.
Now return to the Command Prompt window
and change the directory to the directory that contains
the file(s) you wish to delete.
At the Command Prompt
type: del (filename) (where the (filename) is the name
of the file you want to delete).
Press Enter to
delete the file.
Now go back to the Task Manager
window.
Click File>New Task.
In the New task
dialog box type: explorer.exe.
The Explorer User
Interface (GUI) should now start.
Finally close the
Task Manager Window and the Command Prompt Window.
No Items Appear in the Device Manager List When You Open It
SYMPTOMS
When you open Device Manager, no devices
appear in the list. Instead, a blank window appears.
CAUSE
This behavior occurs if the Plug and Play
service is turned off (disabled).
RESOLUTION
To
resolve this behavior, set the startup type for Plug and
Play to Automatic. To do so, follow these steps:
Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then
click OK.
Double-click Plug and Play.
If you
receive a Configuration Manager message, click OK.
In
the Startup Type list, click Automatic, and then click
OK.
Close Services.
Restart the computer.
ALSO,
Take a look at these site's for Blank Device Manager
caused by Spyware:
http://www.dslreports.com/
forum/remark,14679793
http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/ (AproposFix)
Create your own Self-extracting/Self-installing Package with the XP Wizard
The following will show you how to use the
Iexpress2.0 tool.
The tool allows you to make a self
extracting file and much more
To play with this
hidden feature of XP :
Navigate to :
Windows\system32\ look for a file called iexpress.exe.
Double left click on it and follow the wizard.
Get System Uptime Only - Windows XP Pro
In XP Pro, in order to get your uptime you must
execute the SYSTEMINFO command at the CMD terminal. As
you
know, this produces other system information
output, and you have to scroll up to see your uptime. If
you wish to
receive ONLY your uptime information,
simply copy and paste the following into notepad
@echo.
@systeminfo | @find
"System Up Time:"
@echo
And save as
UPTIME.BAT (save to your windows dir if you want to be
able to access it anywhere) Now when you type UPTIME you
will see just:
---------------------------
System
Up Time: 5 Days, 20 Hours, 13 Minutes, 46 Seconds
---------------------------
Also, if you wish to
create a shortcut to IP.BAT, or run it via the Run
command, it may close before you can view the result To
stop this, add @pause after the last @echo. command,
this will cause the terminal to wait for your response
before closing. Example:
@echo.
@systeminfo | @find "System Up Time:"
@echo.
@pause
will result
---------------------------
System
Up Time: 5 Days, 20 Hours, 13 Minutes, 46 Seconds
Press any key to continue . . .
---------------------------
(information about the code: @echo. produces a blank line, @systeminfo | @find "System Up Time:" causes the output of systeminfo to be piped to the find command, which looks for the line containing "System Up Time:", find then outputs your system uptime, the optional @pause causes the terminal to wait for user input before continuing. The @ before each command tells the terminal not to echo the command being typed.)
Click HERE to download one already made! Just save it to your C:\ drive.