Windows XP Tips Collection
Here's how to
check if your copy of XP is Activated
Go to the run box
and type in oobe/msoobe /a
and hit ok
...theirs your answer
Windows Explorer
Tip
When launched in
Windows Millennium/Win2k/WinXP,Explorer by default will open the "My
Documents" folder. Many people prefer the behavior from previous versions
of Windows, where Windows Explorer would open and display "My
Computer" instead of the new way. To revert to the old way [My Computer by
default rather than My Documents as the default], simply edit the shortcut to
Windows Explorer, by right clicking on it, and left clicking
"Properties" and changing the "Target" box to:
"C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e," [adjust the path/drive letter if
needed]. The key is to add the "/n,/e," to the end of the shortcut
(don't type the quotes).
Backup your Fresh
install
After you
complete your clean install and get all your software installed I would
recommend that you use something like Drive Image 3 or 4 to do an image of your
install partition, then burn the image to CD and keep it. XP is a different
creature for some people. If you mess it up when playing around with it, just
bring the image back. You can be up and running again in 20 minutes vs. the two
to three hours it will take to get the whole thing and all your stuff installed
again.
Note the default
install of XP is about 1.5gigs and the DI image may be larger that 700 meg. So
don't install too much on the OS partition. To help downsize the Image I run
the System file checker and reset the cache size to 40 or 50 meg (It's well
over 300 by default).
To run it open
the command prop and type:
SFC /?
SFC /purgecache
SFC /cachesize=50
and finally
rebuild the cache with SFC /scannow (have the CD ready)
I also Delete the
Pagefile.sys and hibernate.sys files before running Drive Image..
Section 2 By
Ankit
1.When setting up
the system with tweaks or making changes to the core OS or hardware always be
logged in as administrator. Seems that while XP does create an account upon
install that has administrator privileges, its not the same as the
administrator account is. Think about it this way - if the account created was
the same then why have an administrator account period?
2.It is always
better to install winXP clean than to do an upgrade.
3. The files and
settings wizard is your friend. However it doesn't save the account passwords
for your e-mail and news groups accounts in OE. Export these accounts manually
from within OE first before hand and save them in a safe place. This way you
will not need to remember what the account info was, just import the account
again.
4. If using a SB
Live sound card and trying to run Unreal (the game) you may have some problems.
This is not the fault of winXP or Unreal. the problem is a bad driver design
from creative and the Devloader portion. There is currently no work around for
this problem.
5. Many - many
games do run in winXP with comparability mode. The easiest way to do this is to
simply create a shortcut on the desktop to the game executable and choose the
compatibility tab of the shortcut and set up for win98.
6. Do not disable
all the services that you find outlined in the win2K tweak guides floating
around. Instead set them to manual instead of disabled. This will allow
something to start up when it is needed and you'll avoid the BSOD thing that
can occur if something gets disabled that wasn't supposed to.
7. The winXP
firewall is actually very good. However it is not very configurable. I would
recommend tiny personal firewall from www.tinysoftware.com.
<http://www.tinysoftware.com.> It free and all you need. It so far is the
most compatible with winXP - why you may ask? - because (little known trivia
fun fact here) this is where the winXP firewall came from. Both the XP built in
firewall and tiny will give complete stealth. However what you can do - which
is kind of cool is divide the work between the two and use both. use tiny to
just filter the ports you want to filter instead of everything and let the built
in XP firewall take care of the rest. The result is a smoother running firewall
system that reacts much more quickly. I've used Nortons , zone alarm (which
contrary to popular belief is not a real firewall and a joke in the IT
community as a whole) and several of the rest, Tiny has been the best so far.
8. After you
complete your clean install and get all your software installed I would
recommend that you use something like drive image 4 to do an image of your
install partition, then burn the image to CD and keep it. XP is a different
creature for some people. If you mess it up when playing around with it, just
bring the image back. You can be up and running again in 20 minutes vs. the two
to three hours it will take to get the whole thing and all your stuff installed
again.
9. choose winXP
pro over the personal version because it has more bells and whistles. However
if the bells and whistles do not appeal to you then the home (personal) version
is the way to go.
10. Avoid
problems with WinXP. Insure that your hardware is on the HCL. Don't be mad
because the latest and greatest doesn't work with your hardware. It is not the
fault of MS , winXP or anything or one else. Not defending them here, just
being practical. Look at it this way - if your dream car costs $100,000 dollars
and you don't have $100,000 is it the car manufactures fault? nope because
thats the free enterprise system and the way it works. Try to upgrade your
hardware if you can. If you can't, wait for drivers from the manufacturer that
support winxp. I would highly recommend before installing winXP that you go out
and get the win2000 drivers for all your hardware. 99% of the win2000 drivers
will work in winXP. This way if winxp doesn't have drivers, you do.
XP will ship with
out the Virtual Java Machine.
It will not
appear on windows update either. Some sites will prompt you to install it upon
visit to their sites. However this might change in the near future due to the
problem between SUN and MS so the link you get pointed to might no be there.
You can get the
virtual Java machine now and have it ready to use when you install XP.
go to:
<http://www.microsoft.com/java/>
and download the
VJM for winNT. If you try to d/l the one for win2000 (which is exactly the same
as the one for NT) you will be told to get the service pack. You don't want to
do this for XP.
or download it
from:
<http://download.microsoft.com/download/vm/Install/3802/W9X2KMe/EN-US/msjavx86.exe>
keep it in a safe
place and use it when you install XP.
XP browsing speed
up tweak
when you connect
to a web site your computer sends information back and forth, this is obvious.
Some of this information deals with resolving the site name to an IP address,
the stuff that tcp/ip really deals with, not words. This is DNS information and
is used so that you will not need to ask for the site location each and every
time you visit the site. Although WinXP and win2000 has a pretty efficient DNS
cache, you can increase its overall performance by increasing its size.
You can do this
with the registry entries below:
************begin
copy and paste***********
Windows Registry
Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d
************end
copy and paste***********
make a new text
file and rename it to dnscache.reg. The copy and paste the above into it and
save it. Then merge it into the registry.
Grouping multiple
open windows
WinXP will group
multiple open windows (IE windows for example) into one group on the task bar
to keep the desktop clear. This can be annoying at times - especially when comparing
different web pages because you have to go back to the task bar, click on the
group and then click on the page you want and then you only get one page
because you have to click on each one separately. I think the default for this
is 8 windows - any combination of apps or utilities open.
You can modify
this behavior by adding this reg key at:
Change number of
windows that are open before XP will start
grouping them on
the Taskbar
HKEY_CURRRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\
add reg_Dword
"TaskbarGroupSize"
modify
"TaskbarGroupSize" entry to be the number of windows you want open
before XP starts to group them on the task bar.
A value of 2 will
cause the Taskbar buttons to always group
Another tweak is
to disable or enable recent documents history. This can be done at:
HKEY_CURRRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\
this key should
already be present - if it isn't you'll need to add it:
reg_Binary
"NoRecentDocsHistory"
modify it so that
value reads 01 00 00 00
Wanna network but
don't have all the stuff?
If you want to
network two winXP machines together you don't have to install a full blown
network setup, i.e...switches, hubs, routers, etc...
All you need is
two NIC cards (three if you want to share an Internet connection) and a cross
over cable.
1. Connect one
NIC to your broadband connection device like normal.
2. Install a
second NIC in the machine with the broadband connection.
3. install a NIC
in the second machine.
4. connect the
cross over cable between the second machine NIC and the second NIC in the board
band connection machine.
5. re-boot both.
6. Run the
networking wizard if necessary.
or:
use a direct
connection setup with a parallel port to parallel port connection to the two
machines. You will not be able to share a connection with the direct connect.
Help is just a
directory away! - Tip
In windows XP pro
at C:\Windows\help - you will find many *.chm files. These are the help files.
Just start one up and find what your looking for without going thru the main
help menu. If for example you are interested in command line tools or command
line references start up the ntcmds.chm file. If you use command line a lot for
things just create a shortcut on your desktop to this file and it there when
you need it.
You could go thru
the Help thing to find these but on the home version some are not linked in
some of the help. This is shorter.
Speed things up a
bit tip
this might help
some of you.
1. go to control
panel - system.
2. click on the
advanced tab
3. under
"performance" click on the settings button
4. click on the
Advanced tab
5. click on the
"Background Services" button
6. Click OK
Section 3
Windows XP Tips
'n' Tricks
==========================
Please note that
some of these tips require you to use a Registry Editor (regedit.exe), which
could render your system unusable. Thus, none of these tips are supported in
any way: Use them at your own risk. Also note that most of these tips will
require you to be logged on with Administrative rights.
Unlocking WinXP's
setupp.ini
============================
WinXP's
setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. IE is it an OEM version or retail? First,
find your setupp.ini file in the i386 directory on your WinXP CD. Open it up,
it'll look something like this:
ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05
Pid=55034000
The Pid value is
what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There
are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, oem, or volume license
edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits
determines how the CD will behave, ie is it a retail CD that lets you clean
install or upgrade, or an oem CD that only lets you perform a clean install?
The last three digits determines what CD key it will accept. You are able to
mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP CD that acted
like a retail CD, yet accepted OEM keys.
Now, for the
actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangeable, but
usually you'd keep them as a pair:
Retail = 51882
335
Volume License =
51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM
So if you wanted
a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your setupp.ini file would
read:
Pid=51882335
And if you wanted
a retail CD that took OEM keys, you'd use:
Pid=51882OEM
How do I get the
"Administrator" name on Welcome Screen?
=======================================================
To get Admin account
on the "Welcome Screen" as well as the other usernames, make sure
that there are no accounts logged in.
Press
"ctrl-alt-del" twice and you should be able to login as
administrator!
finally worked
for me after I found out that all accounts have to be logged out first
Fix Movie
Interference in AVI files
==================================
If you have any
AVI files that you saved in Windows 9x, which have interference when opened in
Windows XP, there is an easy fix to get rid of the interference:
Open Windows
Movie Maker.
Click View and
then click Options.
Click in the box
to remove the check mark beside Automatically create clips.
Now, import the
movie file that has interference and drag it onto the timeline. Then save the
movie, and during the re rendering, the interference will be removed.
Create a Password
Reset Disk
============================
If you?re running
Windows XP Professional as a local user in a workgroup environment, you can
create a password reset disk to log onto your computer when you forget your
password. To create the disk:
Click Start,
click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
Click your
account name.
Under Related
Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password.
Follow the
directions in the Forgotten Password Wizard to create a password reset disk.
Store the disk in
a secure location, because anyone using it can access your local user account
Change Web Page
Font Size on the Fly
====================================
If your mouse
contains a wheel for scrolling, you can change font size on the fly when
viewing a Web page. To do so:
Press and hold
Ctrl. Scroll down (or towards yourself) to enlarge the font size. Scroll up (or
away from yourself) to reduce the font size.
You might find it
useful to reduce font size when printing a Web page, so that you can fit more
content on the page.
WinXP Clear Page
file on shutdown
=================================
WINXPCPS.REG
(WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown)
This Registration
(.REG) file clears the Page file when you power off the computer.
Restart Windows
for these changes to take effect!
ALWAYS BACKUP
YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!
Browse to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager \
Memory Management
and add the DWORD
variable "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001
You can also do
this without reg hacking.
Go to Control
panel Administrative tools, local security policy. then go to local policies
---> security options.
Then change the
option for "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
Group Policy for
Windows XP
===========================
One of the most
full featured Windows XP configuration tools available is hidden right there in
your system, but most people don't even know it exists. It's called the Local
Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short. To invoke this editor, select Start
and then Run, then type the following:
gpedit.msc
After you hit
ENTER, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify virtually every
feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit. Dig around and
enjoy!
Forgetting What
Your Files Are?
===============================
This procedure
works under NTFS.
As times goes
along you have a lot files on your computer. You are going to forget what they
are. Well here is way to identify them as you scroll through Windows Explorer
in the future.
This procedure
works under NTFS.
1.. Open up a
folder on your system that you want to keep track of the different files you
might one to identify in the future.
2.. Under View
make certain that you set it to the Details.
3.. Highlight the
file you want to keep more information on. Right click the file and you will
get a pop up menu. Click on properties.
4.. Click on the
Summary Tab (make sure it says simple not advanced on the button in the box),
You should now get the following fields,
Title,Subject,
Author, Category, Keywords, Comments
You will see
advanced also if you have changed it to simple, Here will be other fields you
can fill in.
5.. Next you can
fill in what ever field you want.
6.. After you
finished click the apply button then OK.
7.. Next right
click the bar above your files, under the address bar and you should get a drop
down menu. Here you can click the fields you want to display.
8.. You should
now see a list with the new fields and any comments you have done.
9.. Now if you
want to sort these just right click a blank spot and then you sort the
information to your liking.
Temporarily
Assign Yourself Administrative Permissions
======================================================
Many programs
require you to have Administrative permissions to be able to install them. Here
is an easy way to temporarily assign yourself Administrative permissions while
you remain logged in as a normal user.
Hold down the
Shift key as you right-click on the program?s setup file.
Click Run as.
Type in a
username and password that have Administrative permissions.
This will also
work on applications in the Start menu.
Create a Shortcut
to Lock Your Computer
=======================================
Leaving your
computer in a hurry but you don?t want to log off? You can double-click a
shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using
CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screen saver.
To create a
shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer:
Right-click the
desktop.
Point to New, and
then click Shortcut.
The Create
Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following:
rundll32.exe
user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Click Next.
Enter a name for
the shortcut. You can call it "Lock Workstation" or choose any name
you like.
Click Finish.
You can also
change the shortcut's icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in
shell32.dll).
To change the
icon:
Right click the
shortcut and then select Properties.
Click the
Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button.
In the Look for
icons in this file text box, type:
Shell32.dll.
Click OK.
Select one of the
icons from the list and then click OK
You could also
give it a shortcut keystroke such CTRL+ALT+L. This would save you only one
keystroke from the normal command, but it could be more convenient.
Create a Shortcut
to Start Remote Desktop
=========================================
Tip: You can add
a shortcut to the desktop of your home computer to quickly start Remote Desktop
and connect to your office computer.
To create a
shortcut icon to start Remote Desktop
Click Start,
point to More Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then
click on Remote Desktop Connection.
Click Options.
Configure
settings for the connection to your office computer.
Click Save As,
and enter a name, such as Office Computer. Click Save.
Open the Remote
Desktops folder.
Right-click on
the file named Office Computer, and then click Create Shortcut.
Drag the shortcut
onto the desktop of your home computer.
To start Remote
Desktop and connect to your office computer, double-click on the shortcut
Instantly
Activate a Screen saver
================================
Turn on a screen
saver without having to wait by adding a shortcut to your desktop:
Click the Start
button, and then click Search.
In the Search
Companion window, click All file types.
In the file name
box, type *.scr
In the Look in
box, choose Local Hard Drives (C or the drive where you have system files
stored on your computer.
Click Search.
You will see a
list of screen savers in the results. Pick a screen saver you want. You can
preview it by double-clicking it.
Right click on
the file, choose Send To, and then click Desktop (create shortcut).
To activate the
screen saver, double-click the icon on your desktop
Add a Map Drive
Button to the Toolbar
=====================================
Do you want to
quickly map a drive, but can?t find the toolbar button? If you map drives
often, use one of these options to add a Map Drive button to the folder toolbar.
Option One (Long
Term Fix)
Click Start,
click My Computer, right-click the toolbar, then unlock the toolbars, if
necessary.
Right-click the
toolbar again, and then click Customize.
Under Available
toolbar buttons, locate Map Drive, and drag it into the position you want on
the right under Current toolbar buttons.
Click Close,
click OK, and then click OK again.
You now have
drive mapping buttons on your toolbar, so you can map drives from any folder
window. To unmap drives, follow the above procedure, selecting Disconnect under
Available toolbar buttons. To quickly map a drive, try this option.
Option Two (Quick
Fix)
Click Start, and
right-click My Computer.
Click Map Network
Drive.
If you place your
My Computer icon directly on the desktop, you can make this move in only two
clicks!
Software not
installing?
========================
If you have a
piece of software that refuses to install because it says that you are not
running Windows 2000 (such as the Win2K drivers for a Mustek scanner!!) you can
simply edit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows
NT/CurrentVersion/ProductName to say Microsoft Windows 2000 instead of XP and
it will install. You may also have to edit the version number or build number,
depending on how hard the program tries to verify that you are installing on
the correct OS. I had to do this for my Mustek 600 CP scanner (compatibility
mode didn't' help!!!) and it worked great, so I now have my scanner working
with XP (and a tech at Mustek can now eat his words).
BTW, don't'
forget to restore any changes you make after you get your software installed
You do this at
your own risk.
Use your Windows
Key
====================
The Windows logo
key, located in the bottom row of most computer keyboards is a little-used
treasure. Don't' ignore it. It is the shortcut anchor for the following
commands:
Windows: Display
the Start menu
Windows + D:
Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E:
Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F:
Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl +
F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1:
Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R:
Display Run dialog box
Windows + break:
Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift +
M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock
the workstation
Windows + U: Open
Utility Manager
Windows + Q:
Quick switching of users (Powertoys only)
Windows + Q: Hold
Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your PC
Change your CD
key
==================
You don't need to
re-install if you want to try the key out ... just do this:
1. Go to Activate
Windows
2. Select the
Telephone option
3. Click
"Change Product Key"
4. Enter
RK7J8-2PGYQ-P47VV-V6PMB-F6XPQ
5. Click
"Update"
Now log off and
log back in again. It should now show 60 days left, minus the number of days it
had already counted down.
Note: If your
crack de-activated REGWIZC.DLL and LICDLL.DLL, you are going to have to
re-register them.
Remove the Shared
Documents folders from My Computer
====================================================
One of the most
annoying things about the new Windows XP user interface is that Microsoft saw
fit to provide links to all of the Shared Documents folders on your system,
right at the top of the My Computer window. I can't imagine why this would be
the default, even in a shared PC environment at home, but what's even more
annoying is that you cannot change this behavior through the sh*ll
: Those icons are
stuck there and you have to live with it.
Until now, that
is.
Simply fire up
the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ My Computer \
NameSpace \ DelegateFolders
You'll see a
sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this, all
of the Shared Documents folders (which are normally under the group called
"Other Files Stored on This Computer" will be gone.
You do not need
to reboot your system to see the change.
Before: A
cluttered mess with icons no one will ever use (especially that orphaned one).
After: Simplicity itself, and the way it should be by default.
This tip For
older XP builds
===================
Edit or remove
the "Comments" link in window title bars
During the
Windows XP beta, Microsoft has added a "Comments?" hyperlink to the
title bar of each window in the system so that beta testers can more easily
send in a problem report about the user interface. But for most of us, this
isn't an issue, and the Comments link is simply a visual distraction. And for
many programs that alter the title bar, the Comments link renders the Minimize,
Maximize, and Close window buttons unusable, so it's actually a problem.
Let's get rid of
it. Or, if you're into this kind of thing, you can edit it too.
Open the Registry
Editor and navigate to the following keys:
My Computer \
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ LameButtonEnabled
My Computer \
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ LameButtonText
The first key
determines whether the link appears at all; change its value to 0 to turn it
off. The second key lets you have a little fun with the hyperlink; you can
change the text to anything you'd like, such as "Paul Thurrott" or
whatever.
Editing either
value requires a restart before the changes take effect.
Before: An
unnecessary hyperlink. Have some fun with it! Or just remove it entirely. It's
up to you.
Rip high-quality
MP3s in Windows Media Player 8
================================================
The relationship
between Windows Media Player 8 and the MP3 audio format is widely
misunderstood. Basically, WMP8 will be able to playback MP3 files, but encoding
(or "ripping" CD audio into MP3 format will require an MP3 plug-in.
So during the Windows XP beta, Microsoft is supplying a sample MP3 plug-in for
testing purposes, but it's limited to 56 Kbps rips, which is pretty useless.
However, if you have an externally installed MP3 codec, you can use WMP8 to rip
at higher bit rates. But you'll have to edit the Registry to make this work.
Fire up the
Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ MediaPlayer \ Settings \ MP3Encoding
Here, you'll see
sub-keys for LowRate and LowRateSample, which of course equates to the single
56 Kbps sample rate you see in WMP8. To get better sampling rates, try adding
the following keys (Using New then DWORD value):
"LowRate"
= DWORD value of 0000dac0
"MediumRate"
= DWORD value of 0000fa00
"MediumHighRate"
= DWORD value of 0001f400
"HighRate"
= DWORD value of 0002ee00
Now, when you
launch WMP8 and go into Tools, then Options, then Copy Music, you will have
four encoding choices for MP3: 56 Kbps, 64 Kbps, 128 Kbps, and 192 Kbps. Note
that you will not get higher bit rate encoding unless you have installed an MP3
codec separately; the version in Windows Media Player 8 is limited to 56 Kbps
only.
Find the
appropriate location in the Registry... ...add a few DWORD values... ...And
then you'll be ripping CDs in higher-quality MP3 format!
Speed up the
Start Menu
=======================
The default speed
of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry
Key. Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay
By default, the
value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.
Speed up the
Start Menu (Part two)
==================================
If your
confounded by the slow speed of the Start Menu, even after using the tip above,
then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then
Appearance then Advanced and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow . You
will get much better overall performance.
Speed up Internet
Explorer 6 Favorites
======================================
For some reason,
the Favorites menu in IE 6 seems to slow down dramatically sometimes--I've
noticed this happens when you install Tweak UI 1.33, for example, and when you
use the preview tip to speed up the Start menu. But here's a fix for the
problem that does work, though it's unclear why:
Just open a
command line window (Start button -> Run -> cmd) and type sfc, then hit
ENTER. This command line runs the System File Checker, which performs a number
of services, all of which are completely unrelated to IE 6. But there you go:
It works.
Do an unattended
installation
=============================
The Windows XP
Setup routine is much nicer than that in Windows 2000 or Windows Me, but it's
still an hour-long process that forces you to sit in front of your computer for
an hour, answering dialog boxes and typing in product keys. But Windows XP
picks up one of the more useful features from Windows 2000, the ability to do
an unattended installation, so you can simply prepare a script that will answer
all those dialogs for you and let you spend some quality time with your family.
I've written
about Windows 2000 unattended installations and the process is pretty much
identical on Windows XP, so please read that article carefully before
proceeding. And you need to be aware that this feature is designed for a
standalone Windows XP system: If you want to dual-boot Windows XP with another
OS, you're going to have to go through the interactive Setup just like everyone
else: An unattended install will wipe out your hard drive and install only
Windows XP, usually.
To perform an
unattended installation, you just need to work with the Setup Manager, which is
located on the Windows XP CD-ROM in D:\SupportTools\DEPLOY.CAB by default:
Extract the contents of this file and you'll find a number of useful tools and
help files; the one we're interested in is named setupmgr.exe. This is a very
simple wizard application that will walk you through the process of creating an
answer file called winnt.sif that can be used to guide Windows XP Setup through
the unattended installation.
One final tip:
There's one thing that Setup Manager doesn't add: Your product key. However,
you can add this to the unattend.txt file manually. Simply open the file in
Notepad and add the following line under the [UserData] section:
ProductID=RK7J8-2PGYQ-P47VV-V6PMB-F6XPQ
(This is a 60 day
CD key)
Then, just copy
winnt.sif to a floppy, put your Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD drive, and reboot:
When the CD auto-boots, it will look for the unattend.txt file in A:
automatically, and use it to answer the Setup questions if it's there.
Finally, please
remember that this will wipe out your system! Back up first, and spend some
time with the help files in DEPLOY.CAB before proceeding.
For Older builds
or not using setupreg.hiv file
===============================================
Remove the
Desktop version text
During the
Windows XP beta, you will see text in the lower right corner of the screen that
says Windows XP Professional, Evaluation Copy. Build 2462 or similar. A lot of
people would like to remove this text for some reason, and while it's possible
to do so, the cure is more damaging than the problem, in my opinion. So the
following step will remove this text, but you'll lose a lot of the nice
graphical effects that come in Windows XP, such as the see-through icon text.
To remove the
desktop version text, open Display Properties (right-click the desktop, then
choose Properties) and navigate to the Desktop page. Click Customize Desktop
and then choose the Web page in the resulting dialog. On this page, check the
option titled Lock desktop items. Click OK to close the dialog, and then OK to
close Display Properties. The text disappears. But now the rest of your system
is really ugly. You can reverse the process by unchecking Lock desktop items.
There's also a
shortcut for this process: Just right-click the desktop and choose Arrange by
then Lock Web Icons on the Desktop.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enable ClearType
on the Welcome Screen!
=======================================
As laptop users
and other LCD owners are quickly realizing, Microsoft's ClearType technology in
Windows XP really makes a big difference for readability. But the this feature
is enabled on a per-user basis in Windows XP, so you can't see the effect on
the Welcome screen; it only appears after you logon.
But you can fix
that. Fire up the Registry Editor and look for the following keys:
(default user)
HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ FontSmoothing (String Value)
HKEY_USERS \
.Default \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ FontSmoothingType (Hexadecimal DWORD
Value)
Make sure both of
these values are set to 2 and you'll have ClearType enabled on the Welcome
screen and on each new user by default.
Stop Windows
Messenger from Auto-Starting
=========================================
If you're not a
big fan of Windows Messenger simply delete the following Registry Key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\MSMSGS
Display Hibernate
Option on the Shut Down dialog
================================================
For some reason,
Hibernate may not be available from the default Shut Down dialog. But you can
enable it simply enough, by holding down the SHIFT key while the dialog is
visible. Now you see it, now you don't!
Add album art to
any music folder
=================================
One of the
coolest new features in Windows XP is its album thumbnail generator, which
automatically places the appropriate album cover art on the folder to which you
are copying music (generally in WMA format). But what about those people that
have already copied their CDs to the hard drive using MP3 format? You can
download album cover art from sites such as cdnow.com or amguide.com, and then
use the new Windows XP folder customize feature to display the proper image for
each folder. But this takes time--you have to manually edit the folder
properties for every single folder--and you will lose customizations if you
have to reinstall the OS. There's an excellent fix, however.
When you download
the album cover art from the Web, just save the images as folder.jpg each time
and place them in the appropriate folder. Then, Windows XP will automatically
use that image as the thumbnail for that folder and, best of all, will use that
image in Windows Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) if you choose to display
album cover art instead of a visualization. And the folder customization is
automatic, so it survives an OS reinstallation as well. Your music folders
never looked so good!
Album cover art
makes music folder thumbnails look better than ever!
Change the
location of the My Music or My Pictures folders
======================================================
In Windows 2000,
Microsoft added the ability to right-click the My Documents folder and choose a
new location for that folder in the shell
. With Windows
XP, Microsoft has elevated the My Music and My Pictures folders to the same
"special shell folder" status of My Documents, but they never added a
similar (and simple) method for changing those folder's locations. However, it
is actually pretty easy to change the location of these folders, using the
following method.
Open a My
Computer window and navigate to the location where you'd like My Music (or My
Pictures) to reside. Then, open the My Documents folder in a different window.
Drag the My Music (or My Pictures) folder to the other window, and Windows XP
will update all of the references to that folder to the new location, including
the Start menu.
Or use Tweak UI
Add/Remove
optional features of Windows XP
==========================================
To dramatically
expand the list of applications you can remove from Windows XP after
installation, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter
for your version of Windows) and open the sysoc.inf file. Under Windows XP
Professional Edition RC1, this file will resemble the following by default:
[Version]
Signature = "$Windows NT$"
DriverVer=06/26/2001,5.1.2505.0
[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
[Global]
WindowTitle=%WindowTitle%
WindowTitle.StandAlone="*"
The entries that
include the text hide or HIDE will not show up in Add/Remove Windows Components
by default. To fix this, do a global search and replace for ,hide and change
each instance of this to , (a comma). Then, save the file, relaunch Add/Remove
Windows Components, and tweak the installed applications to your heart's content.
Cool, eh? There
are even more new options now under "Accessories and Utilities" too.
Remove Windows
Messenger
========================
It seems that a
lot of people are interested in removing Windows Messenger for some reason,
though I strongly recommend against this: In Windows XP, Windows Messenger will
be the hub of your connection to the .NET world, and now that this feature is
part of Windows, I think we're going to see a lot of .NET Passport-enabled Web
sites appearing as well. But if you can't stand the little app, there are a
couple of ways to get rid of it, and ensure that it doesn't pop up every time
you boot into XP. The best way simply utilizes the previous tip:
If you'd like
Windows Messenger to show up in the list of programs you can add and remove
from Windows, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter
for your version of Windows) and open sysoc.inf (see the previous tip for more
information about this file). You'll see a line that reads:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
Change this to
the following and Windows Messenger will appear in Add or Remove Programs, then
Add/Remove Windows Components, then , and you can remove it for good:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,7
Autolog On tip
for XP
real easy and
straight forward.
1. click on
"Start" - then click on "Run" - type "control
userpasswords2"
2. click OK
3. On the Users
tab, clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to
use this
computer" check box.
4. A dialog will
appear that asks you what user name and password should be used to logon
automatically.
Your all set.
Aspi
WinXP does not
come with an Aspi layer. So far almost 90% of the problems with winXP and CD
burning software are Aspi layer problems. After installing winXP, before
installing any CD burning software do a few things first:
1. Open up
"My computer" and right click on the CD Recorder. If your CD recorder
was detected as a CD recorder there will be a tab called "Recording".
On this tab uncheck ALL of the boxes. apply or OK out of it and close my
computer.
2. Next install
the standard Aspi layer for NT. Reboot when asked.
Thats is. after
the reboot you can install any of the currently working CD recording
applications with no problems. If using CD Creator do not install direct CD or
Take two as they are currently incompatible but Roxio has promised a fix as
soon as XP is released.
Print Dir
XP alas does not
include a way to print a directory listing aside from using the command prompt.
I talking about a right click on the directory and print the files names on the
printer type of Dir print. So I guess we will need to add one - start up
regedit and add the following
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\print\command]
@="command.com
/c dir %1 > PRN"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\print\command]
@="command.com
/c dir %1 > dirprnt.txt"
Right click on a
folder in windows explorer and choose "print". The contents of the
folder will appear in a file called dirprnt.txt in the folder. open the file
and print it out. If you want to print directly to the printer remove the
second line containing "dirprnt.txt"
Rename Multiple
files
A new, small,
neat feature for winXP deals with renaming files. I personally have always
wanted the OS to include a way to do a mass file renaming on a bunch of files.
You can now rename multiple files at once in WinXP. Its real simple:
1. Select several
files in Explorer, press F2 and rename one of those files to
something else.
All the selected files get renamed to the new file name (plus a number added to
the end).
2. thats it.
Simple huh.
I would recommend
that you only have the files you want to rename in the directory your working
in. I would also recommend that until you get used to this neat little trick
that you save copies of the files in a safe location while your getting the
hang of it.
Handy for
renaming those mass amounts of porn pics you d/l from the web
Use Window Blinds
XP to add themes
Windows Blinds XP
has been integrated into the Windows XP operating system. Microsoft and
Stardock have entered into a partnership in which Microsoft will use their
technology in the Windows XP operating system. With Windows Blinds XP installed
you have additional styles to choose from in display properties.
And the best part
is you can download over 1000 different styles and even make your own very
easily with the SDK.
To get started
you need to download the Windows Blinds XP extension:
www.stardock.com/files/wbxp-b5_private.exe to download the latest beta
Note: You must
register at http://scripting.stardock.com/customer/wbxp_beta.asp to be able to
legally download the Windows Blinds XP beta. Once you register they will even
e-mail you when new builds are available for download.
Once downloaded,
install the program and you will notice the extra styles in the display
properties when you run the program.
To download more
styles www.wincustomize.com/index.asp and select windows blinds on the menu on
the left.
Show file
extensions
Ever wonder where
you file extensions went? Working with files when you can not tell what the
file extension can be a huge pain in the butt. Thankfully, MS has made it
possible for all file names with the extensions to be shown.
In any folder
that contains files. Click on the tools menu and select folder options.
Then click on the
view tab.
Locate where it
lists Hide extensions of known file types and uncheck it.
Click OK.
XP memory tweaks
Below are some
Windows XP memory tweaks. They are located in the windows registry at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management
DisablePagingExecutive
- When enabled, this setting will prevent the paging of the Win2k Executive
files to the hard drive, causing the OS and most programs to be more
responsive. However, it is advised that people should only perform this tweak
if they have a significant amount of RAM on their system (more than 128 MB),
because this setting does use a substantial portion of your system resources.
By default, the value of this key is 0. To enable it, set it to 1.
LargeSystemCache
- When enabled (the default on Server versions of Windows 2000), this setting
tells the OS to devote all but 4 MB of system memory (which is left for disk
caching) to the file system cache. The main effect of this is allowing the
computer to cache the OS Kernel to memory, making the OS more responsive. The
setting is dynamic and if more than 4 MB is needed from the disk cache for some
reason, the space will be released to it. By default, 8MB is earmarked for this
purpose. This tweak usually makes the OS more responsive. It is a dynamic
setting, and the kernel will give up any space deemed necessary for another
application (at a performance hit when such changes are needed). As with the
previous key, set the value from 0 to 1 to enable. Note that in doing this, you
are consuming more of your system RAM than normal. While LargeSystemCache will
cut back usage when other apps need more RAM, this process can impede
performance in certain intensive situations. According to Microsoft, the
"[0] setting is recommended for servers running applications that do their
own memory caching, such as Microsoft SQL Server, and for applications that
perform best with ample memory, such as Internet Information Services."
IOPageLockLimit -
This tweak is of questionable value to people that aren't running some kind of
server off of their computer, but we will include it anyway. This tweak boosts
the Input/Output performance of your computer when it is doing a large amount
of file transfers and other similar operations. This tweak won't do much of
anything for a system without a significant amount of RAM (if you don't have
more than 128 MB, don't even bother), but systems with more than 128 MB of RAM
will generally find a performance boost by setting this to between 8 and 16 MB.
The default is 0.5 MB, or 512 KB. This setting requires a value in bytes, so
multiply the desired number of megabytes * 1024 * 1024. That's X * 1048576
(where X is the number, in megabytes). Test out several settings and keep the
one which seems to work best for your system.
Finished on
Saturday,
September 08, 2001
Special thanks to
Links
CODE
http://www.tweakxp.com/default.asp
http://www.wxperience.com/
http://www.xs4all.nl/~binkbv/windowsxp/
http://users.aol.com/axcel216/
http://scripts.wincustomize.com/skins.asp
http://thor.prohosting.com/~1cls/
BY:MISBAKH AHMED
0 comments: