Part 2.~~~More Windows XP- Tips 'n' Tricks

always get latest drivers for video card sound card and motherboard chipset.

also many things can ge controlled from "gpedit.msc" if you type "gpedit.msc" in the START>RUN.

also right click my computer to go to system properties and under the tabs shutoff system recovery,
automatic updates and error reporting oh and remote assitance. also can ajust performance under
"Advanced" tab and click "settings" under the "performance section". Then on the "Visual effects" tab click
"ajust for best performance" then click apply and click ok. not recommended but if you want to have xp fisher
price looking graphics still then right click desktop>properties>appearance tab then change the style under
"Windows and Buttons" section.

Right click the desktop and click properties for the display properties then click the "Appearance" tab
and click on the effects button. shut off all the effects by unchecking them then apply and click ok.


oh remember to turn off the sounds in control panel and set the recyle bin dumpster [color:09bd=#018D25 ! important]sound.

in explorer the "F11" key toggles full screen internet.

1 - To get rid of the "shortcut to" prefix when making a shortcut follow this:
first make a folder on the desktop, then create a shortcut. right click and rename the shortcut by
removing the "shortcut to" prefix. then delete it. Repeat this about 8 times and eventually when you make a
shortcut the prefix will be gone forever!

2 - Get Rid of Unwanted Balloon Tips
click start>run then type regedit then click ok or hit enter
Open up the Registry Editor and expand the tree to display the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Mi*****ft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced

Then, created a new DWORD value named EnableBalloonTips and set it to 0x00000000 then Log off and on again.
this is how:
>go to the key above.
>click edit->new->DWORD
>enter value data of 0 <<<<<thats a number zero.

3 - Turn Off Windows XP hibernation

Control Panel
Screen Saver
Power-Hibernate Tab
uncheck hibernation box-reboot and hiberfil.sys is no more.

4 - Disable auto play for cd's and or all drives!
Open My Computer
Right click on your CD ROM and choose Properties
Click on the Auto Play tab.
In the drop down box you can choose the Action for each choice shown in the drop down box Or
1. Go to Start->Run->gpedit.msc
2. Computer Config -> Administrative Template -> System
3. Double click Turn off Autoplay
4. Enable it. also change cdroms to all drives in the drop down list!

5 - try to stay at 84 fonts or less this will improve boot time and pc access time.

6 - Ajust for performance!

right click my computer and click properties, go to the Advanced tab, and press the Settings button in the
Performance section. On the Visual Effects tab change the setting to "Ajust for Best Performance". Now close
the System Properties. Right click an empty space on the desktop and click properties. Go to the Appearance
tab, then click Effects. For best performance, make sure all the options here are unchecked.
IF YOU STILL WANT THE FISHER PRICE XP GRAPHICS YOU CAN RIGHT CLICK DESKTOP CLICK ON APPEARANCE AND CHANGE THE
WINDOWS BUTTONS TO XP STYLE BUTTONS UNDER THE WINDOWS AND BUTTONS SECTION!

7 - Hide icons on desktop

right click desktop and go to Arrange Icons, and uncheck "Show Desktop Icons".

8 - Torpedo System Tray apps--keep evil apps from eating your resources.

Go to Start, Run, and then type "msconfig.exe". without quotes. Go to the Startup tab. now uncheck all
except for any that have and use the Rundll32 file in it. also leave programs like norton internet security and
programs like window washer and any others you definetly want started on boot. all the rest you can kill.
when done your asked to reboot now you should reboot your pc ok.

9 - Turn off unnecessary serices in windows xp pro.

two ways to get to the services. one is to go to the control panel, then administrative tools, then services.
the other is to right click my computer, then click manage. then in the left list click services.
right click a service you want to disable and select properties. then change the startup type to Disabled or
Manual.
Disable the following:
Clipbook: this service lets you share stuff on your clipboard eith other people across the network. Kill it.
Application Management: Not on a network? Don't ever plan on remotely installing an app? That's what this
service does, so feel free to kill it.
Distributed Link Tracking Client: Another network-based service, this automatically updates your shortcuts to
files on remote volumes if they're moved. If you don't use a file server, kill this one.
Error Reporting: Automatic error reporting can get pretty annoying, especially if you're dealing with a
misbehaving app. You can kill this service to permanently disable the error report.
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper:You only need this serice running if you use NetBIOS over TCP/IP. If you don't, feel free
to kill it.
Messenger: In the last year, spammer scum have realized that they can use Windows' built-in messaging service to
send spam to millions of XP users. Disabling the service kills all the incoming spam, and no one uses
the Messenger service for actual system administration messages anymore.
Remote Registry: The only purpose of this service is to give other users access to your Registry. If no one but
you should have access to your Registry, disable it.
Telnet: If allowing other people to log on to your computer and do whatever they want seems like a good idea,
then by all means go ahead and leave the Telnet service enabled. If you'd rather your PC not be taken
over by Croatian haX0rs, you should disable it now.

ALSO are you annoyed by pc speaker beeps, shut off BEEP. go to:
>right click my computer->manage->device manager-> then click view at the top->show hidden devices
>now under non-plug and play drivers tree, right click BEEP and go to properties and stop and disable it.

10 - Force Alphabetic Sorting Of The Program Menu

you can click "sort by name" on the programs menu on the start menu but to do it automatically do the following:
>go to Start, Run, type "regedit" no quotes. go to the key:
HKEY_Current User\Softeware\Mi*****ft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ex plorer\Menu Order
>On the Edit menu, select Permissions.
>In the "Permissions for MenuOrder" dialog box, click Advanced.
>In the "Advanced Security Settings for MenuOrder" dialog box, clear the "Inherit From Parent" check box.
>In the security dialog box that appears, click Copy.
>Click OK to return to the "Permissions for MenuOrder" dialog box, and then clear the "Full Control Access"
entry for your own account and for any security groups that you're a member of, leaving the
"Read Access Control" entry in place.

11 - Group Your taskbar more effectively (I don't use this one)
Windows XP automatically groups application together when the taskbar fills up, but you can make it group items
whenever you'd like.
>Open the Start Menu, select Run and type "regedit"/
>Go to HKEY_Current_User\Software\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
>Click Edit, select Newm and then DWORD value.
>Name this new value: TaskbarGroupSize
>Once named, right-click it and select Modify.
>Type in the number of windows that appear before Windowsstarts fouping them. We like the number five, but
use a smaller number if you want an uncluttered taskber, or a higher number if you like to see each open window.

12 - Get rid of your ebooks once an for all
It happens to us all: You deleted your My eBooks, My Videos, and My Music only to open up the same folder a
few minutes later and find they had in fact not been deleted after all. It's time to get rid of them for good!
>Go to Start, then Run.
>Type: Regsvr32 /u mydocs.dll and hit enter.
>Go into My Documents and delete any of those "My" folders you want--they're not coming back!

13 - old school media player with better options in my opinion
>go to C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player
>open the "mplayer2.exe".
>click view then click compact
>click view again then click always on top
>click view again then click options
>under playback tab click repeat forever
>under player tab click open a new plaer for each media file played
>under formats tab and uncheck all formats. and for now on when you open a video right click it and click
open with>choose program. browse for "mplayer2.exe" and make sure the check box for
"always use the selected program to open this kind of file". now when you open a video it should use the
"mplayer2.exe" instead which in my opinion is a great player and I think its better than these new windows meda
players.

14 - Add Your Own User Account Pictures
XP's default account icons are kind of lame. Here's how to add your own images:
>Resize your .bmp images to 48x48 pixels. (I used bigger sizes and they worked and they were also 32bit)
>Copy your images to
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Mi*****ft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures
(Application Data is a hidden folder). You can also delete any picture you don't want.
>Click the Start button, then click over the account image. This will take you to a new window that tells you
to choose another pic for your account.
>Or you can go to control panel user accounts and in the settings change it right there.

15 - change the logon background color
Open regedit and navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_users\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Colors. On the
right-side details panel, double-click Background String Value. Change this number to a three-digit RGB value,
then click OK.

16 - Learn windows keyboard shorcuts
some time saving shortcuts:
>Alt + Shift + Tab: goes through your apps in reverse order.
>ALT + d: moves the cursor in IE to the address bar.
>Shift + insert a CD: temporarily disables Autoplay.
>Windows key + Pause/Break: opens system properties
>Windows key + f: Opens the search window
>Windows key + e: opens windows explorer.
>Windows key + d: minimizes all windows.
>Windows key + L: LOCKS WINDOWS

17 - Monitor Your CPU Usage At All Times
>Go to C:\Windows\System 32 and find Taskmgr.exe. Right-click it and select "Send to->Desktop (create shortcut".
Go to that new shortcut and right-click it, then select Properties.
>Under the Run command select "Minimized" and click OK.
>Rename the shortcut "CPU Meter" or something similar, and cut it from your desktop using CTRL + X.
>Right-click the Start menu, select "Explore All Users", then click on the Programs folder, and the Startup
folder. Paste the CPU Meter into the Startup folder.
>You should see it pop up in your System Tray. If not, open the Task Manager and under Options make sure
"Minimize on Use" and "Hide when Minimized" are selected.
NOTE: if dir "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup" don't work then use this dir:
C:\Documents and Settings\(YOUR USER NAME)\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

18 - Shutdown Your PC Faster
If your're sick of performing multiple clicks to shut down you PC, listen up.
>Right-click your desktop and create a new shorcut.
>In the location line, type: shutdown -s -t 0 <yes thats a zero not the letter O
>Name it and click OK. You might want to give it a different icon, such as the red shut-down icon.
>Drag this icon onto your quicklaunch tasbar or leave it on the desktop. Either way, clicking it once will now
completely shut down you PC.
To make a similar restart shortcut, the location line needs to read : shutdown -r -t 0 .

19 - Turn off anoying windows audio
>go to control panel>sounds and audio devices
>on the sounds tab change the sounds scheme to no sounds. also add one of my new recylce bin sounds and my
email sounds to the mix in the list ight! :>

20 - Uninstall the built in Mi*****ft messenger.
yeah its that ugly icon by the clock I don't use it and if you don't then do this:
>go to Start, Run and type this into Run:
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
>then hit enter or click OK.

21 - copy entire screen
>hit the Print screen key on the keyboard.
>open up paint or similar image picture program and paste.

22 - copy active window only.
>lets say you have a bunch of windows open, click on a window.
>Hold the ALT key and hit Print screen key. ALT + Print Screen
>>open up paint or similar image picture program and paste.

23 - Enable Windows To Automatically Remove Unnecessary DLL files From Cache Memory (I don't use this one)
Sometimes XP keeps DLL's in cache memory even when the program that required them is no longer running;
this can cut down on the memory available to other applications, particularly with low memory systems. This
simple Registry hack allows XP to automatically remove these DLL's from cache memory.
>Run the Registry Editor and go to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer.
>Create a new DWORD value named: "AlwaysUnloadDll", and give it a data value of "1".
>Exit the Registry and reboot for the new setting to take effect. Note that this setting may cause problems
with some programs. Some Windows programs--especially older and 16-bit programs--may issue error messages with
this setting in effect; so if that happens, delete the new key or give it a value of "0"

24 - Increase The Max Number OF Downloads In IE (internet explorer)
Frustrated by IE downloadingrestrictions and slowness? This will increase the max number of simultaneous
downloads you can perform in Internet Explorer to 10.
>Start Registry Editor
>Locate the following key in the Registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Internet Settings
>On the Edit menu, click Add Value and then add the following Registry values:
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=Dword: 0000000a
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=Dword: 0000000a

other DWORD value settings:
for 20 downloads 00000014
for 170 downloads: 000000aa
almost INFINITE: ffffffff

25 - Change Icons in the my computer window hard drives, cd rom discs, removable flash memory ext

Using a text editor (such as Notepad), type the following:


[autorun]
icon=filename, number


where filename is the name of the file containing the icon (either an ICO, DLL, or EXE file), and number is
the index of the icon to use (leave this blank to use the first icon in the file).
Save the file as AUTORUN.INF in the root directory of the hard disk you wish to change.

Note: This will work even if you've turned off CD-ROM Autorun.

Note: This will work for removable drives, but since Windows 98 isn't able to determine when you insert
removable media (like it is for CD-ROMs), you need to manually refresh the My Computer or Explorer window
by pressing F5.

Note: its easier to put the icon filename.ico on the hard drive and hide it also hide the
AUTORUN.INF file.

26 - Collapse the entire REGISTRY keys in one shot.
>open lots of registry keys.
>go to the end of a tree and HOLD<Shift>+<Left Arrow>. OR just Left Arrow!

27 - make sure you have less or no icons on desktop this helps pc boot and performance speeds.

28 - KEYBOARD HOT KEY SHORTCUTS

>make a shortcut to a any program shortcut has to be on desktop!
>right click it and go to properties
>under shortcut key section click it to make it active
>hit a key on your keyboard. combinations or single keys work
>click apply
>click ok.
>now test with your new key or keys you used.
>if all is good and should be now right click your desktop shortcut hotkey. and click properties
and click to make it read only and hidden. now the icon is gone and the shortcut works.

29 - Best way to Hide the Recycle Bin from the Desktop
>open regedit

>if you are using the XP style start menu
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel\
>if working with the classic menu:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMe nu\

Inside, Make new DWORD-Value with the name "{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}" & 'Modify' Value "1"

That will just hide the Recycle bin icon,
If a Dock is installed, by this procedure the 'Recycle bin' Docklet won't be anyhow affected as by some other
Tweaks.

To restore the desktop icon again, just 'Modify' the same DWORD-Value to "0"

30 - CHANGE THE FONT SIZE IN INTERNET EXPLORER QUICKLY!
>Open a web page in internet explorer
>hold CTRL and wheel your wheel mouse up or down. You need a wheel mouse for this!


31 - REMOVE ITEMS FROM THE ADD/REMOVE LIST IN THE CONTROL PANEL (good for programs that don't fully uninstall)
>open registry by clicking start>run> then type regedit then hit enter or click ok
go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Unistall\
>then delete shit from the list but be warned not to delete the wrong thing! Just delete the program you
need to delete!

32 - REMOVE "MSCONFIG" STARTUP LIST HISTORY
>GO to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run-. Note the hyphen (-) at the end of the
address (believe me, you do not want to go to a?|CurrentVersion\Run). Once there, you can delete any listing
in the right pane.

You may be able to identify several other unchecked start-up items in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunServices-
Once again, note that final hyphen.

If you're using Windows XP, there's one more place that you can look. Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mi*****ft\Shared Tools\MSConfig\startupfolder
This time, however, don't bother with the right pane. Instead, look for keys
(the Registry term for folders) below startupfolder in the left pane.

33 - MAKE "cmd" PROGRAM FULLSCREEN!
IN windows there is a program called "CMD.EXE".
you can run it from a shortcut or from the START>RUN command line, by typing cmd and hitting enter or
clicking OK. Its basically a DOS in windows program.

To make it fullscreen do the following:
>when the CMD program is running and the window is active.
(if not active, do so by clicking on the CMD window)
>Simply hold ALT and hit Enter to toggle fullscreen. (ALT + ENTER)

34 - CLEAR THE GOOGLE TOOLBAR SEARCH HISTORY DROPDOWN LIST.
The Google Toolbar is an add-on search tool for Mi*****ft Internet Explorer (IE).
To clear the toolbar's search history, perform the following steps:
>Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
>go to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\NavClient\1.1
registry subkey (yes, the registry subkey is 1.1, even though you might have installed version 2.0
of the toolbar).

>Select the History subkey, click the Del key on your keyboard, then click Yes to the confirmation.
Close the registry editor.

You will need to log off and log on to clear the cache of previous searches within IE.
TIP: if you want you can make plugins with window washer program. Go to window washer plugin wizard.
browse to the key and add it to window washer plugins to clean it up at startup!
example: add: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\NavClient\1.1\H istory- Key"

35 - FIX IDE CHANNEL TO DMA FOR CD/DVD/HD DRIVES. (only do this if DMA stopped working or won't enable!)
Re-enable DMA using the Registry Editor
>>>>>>>>>>>
Run REGEDIT. Go to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

It has subkeys like 0000, 0001, 0002, etc. Normally 0001 is the primary IDE channel, 0002 the secondary, but
other numbers can occur under certain circumstances. Check the DriverDesc value to see which one it is.

Delete MasterIdDataChecksum or SlaveIdDataChecksum, depending on whether the device in question is attached
as master or slave, but it can't actually hurt to delete both. Reboot. The drive DMA capabilities will be
redetected.

Open Device Manager again and check whether the device is now actually using DMA mode. If so, congratulations,
you've made it (at least until the next time Windows disables DMA).

Alternative Method—Uninstalling the Port
1. Uninstall the secondary IDE port
To do that, open Device Manager as follows. Right-click on My Computer, select Properties, click on the Hardware
tag, click on the Device Manager button, click on the plus sign to the left of IDA ATA/ATAPI Controller,
right-click on Secondary IDE Channel, click on Uninstall. Deactivating is not enough.

Reboot to make the changes active and permanent.

After this first reboot Windows will automatically reinstall the IDE channel and the DVD (or CD) drive. This
Plug-n-Play process can take a little while, so give it a minute after the boot process finishes.

2. Reactivate DMA
But this is not enough, because unfortunately Windows does not automatically activate DMA on a DVD or CD drive.
You have to tell Windows to try to use DMA first.

For that, go to Device Manager again. Right-click on My Computer, select Properties, click on the Hardware tag,
click on the Device Manager button, click on the plus sign to the left of IDA ATA/ATAPI Controller, double-click
on the secondary IDE channel, click on Extended Settings and change the relevant setting from PIO only to DMA
when available.

Now you have to reboot a second time, then you can go to the same place in Device Manager and check whether the
device is now actually using DMA mode. If so, all is well.

Desensitize Your Computer's IDE Channels
There's a bit more to it. The following article offers a way to reduce the incidence of this problem, although
it still doesn't solve it altogether.

IDE ATA and ATAPI Disks Use PIO Mode After Multiple Time-Out or CRC Errors Occur
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]*****ft.com/?id=817472

Do read this article because it contains a useful long-term workaround. But you have to go through the procedure
described here to re-enable DMA first. Assuming you've done that, insert the ResetErrorCountersOnSuccess
registry values mentioned in this article into both the primary and the secondary IDE port registry keys as
described.

Unfortunately this is only a half solution, because when you enter an unreadable CD, you will get 6 errors in a
row, and the IDE channel will revert to PIO mode, but at least when you pull out the CD in time and then insert
a good one, the error counter will be reset and it will at least be a bit more difficult for Windows to hobble
your IDE drive.

If anybody knows a way to re-enable DMA without having to uninstall the entire IDE channel, please let me know.
Perhaps it can be done directly in the registry, then it could even be automated.


36 - SPEED UP XP'S START MENU navigation

The default speed of the Start Menu is slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key.
Start->Run type: "regedit" and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \
go to key: "MenuShowDelay" on the right side panel.

By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.


37 - SHOW FILE TYPE EXTENSIONS

Stop getting tricked into running viruses because you don’t see the file extension of an attachment.

Click Start, click My Computer, and on the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
Clear the Hide file extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
Now when you receive a file called something.jpg.vbs, you’ll see the .vbs extension and know that it is not
an ordinary .jpg file.


38 - TURN ON XP'S FIREWALL

Go to:
Control Panel,Network Connections, (local area connection) right click and Properties. Then go to the
Advanced tab and enable the internet Connection Firewall.

39 - ENABLE SERVICE TO WORK THROUGH INTERNET CONNECTION FIREWALL

When people are having trouble getting to specific programs or services on your Windows XP machine after you
enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), you may need to enable the program or service to work through the
firewall. To do so, follow these steps:

Click Control Panel, then click Network Connections.
Right-click your Internet connection, (local area connection) and then click Properties.
Click the Advanced tab in the Properties dialog box.
Click Settings, and the Advanced Settings dialog box opens.
From there you can enable most common services just by clicking them,
or add your own by clicking the Add button.

40 - USE THE ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD

An on–screen keyboard is built into Windows XP. It can be useful if you have mobility impairments, i
f you are using a tablet PC, or if your keyboard goes down.

To access the keyboard, go to Start, then click Run, and type osk. Now the keyboard opens on your computer
screen, featuring three typing modes you can use to type data:

Clicking mode, you click the on–screen keys
Scanning mode, you press a hot key or use a switch–input device to type highlighted characters
Hovering mode, you use a mouse or joystick to point to a key, which is then typed
To make a shortcut icon on your desktop to the on–screen keyboard:

Right–click the desktop.
Point to New, and then click Shortcut.
Type osk, click Next.
Type a name for the shortcut, and then click Finish.
That's it! When you need it, the shortcut to the on–screen keyboard utility is right on your desktop.

-TIP: IF YOUR KEYBOARD GOES DOWN OF COURSE YOU CAN'T TYPE SO BROWSE INTERNET FOR THE LETTERS OSK
OR JUST COPY THEM RIGHT FROM HERE AND PASTE THEM INTO THE RUN COMMAND LINE.

41 - TURN OFF ALL STICKYKEYS AND MAKE BLINKING CURSOR BIGGER

Go To:
Control Panel and click Accessibility Options
Under the keyboard tab there is 3 settings buttons
under all 3 make sure the use shortcut box is unchecked
and under the tab make sure use stickykeys, use filter keys and use togglekeys checkbox's are all unchecked

42 - DISABLE ACTIVE DESKTOP (good-possibly help stop games from crashing)
This tweak will disable the use of the Active Desktop feature.

>click start>run and type regedit to start the registry

go to the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Mi*****ft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Policies\Explorer


under both add the key:

Create a new DWORD value named "NoActiveDesktop", and set the new value to equal "1" to enable the restriction
or "0" to disable the restriction.

This restriction can be used either on a user by user basis by adding it to HKEY_CURRENT_USER or on a computer
wide basis by adding it to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

43 - DISABLE PAGING EXECUTIVE (Only use if system has alot of RAM)

On systems with large amount of RAM this tweak can be enabled to force the core Windows system to be kept in
memory and not paged to disk.

Option affects the whole PC. Reboot your PC to activate or deactivate this option.
Open the registry "regedit" and go to the following key:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contr ol\Session Manager\Memory Management"
look for the value "DisablePagingExecutive" open it and set value data section to "1".