TECH TRICKS….. WINDOWS XP
June 23, 2007♣♣WINDOWS XP TIPS & TRIKS ♣♣
GDHHVMS20244875
WARNING: the tips or tricks here givenis for your information. use it at your own risk.also please pay attention when making changes in regisrty values. be cautious on changes. also backup your registry before attempt
How to Remove Windows XP’s Messenger
Theoretically, you can get rid of it (as well as a few other things). Windows 2000 power users should already be familiar with this tweak.
Fire up the Windows Explorer and navigate your way to the %SYSTEMROOT% \ INF folder. What the heck is that thingy with the percentage signs? It’s a variable. For most people, %SYSTEMROOT% is C:\Windows. For others, it may be E:\WinXP. Get it? Okay, on with the hack! In the INF folder, open sysoc.inf (but not before making a BACKUP copy first). Before your eyes glaze over, look for the line containing “msmsgs” in it. Near the end of that particular line, you’ll notice that the word “hide” is not so hidden. Go ahead and delete “hide” (so that the flanking commas are left sitting next to one another). Save the file and close it. Now, open the Add and Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Click the Add / Remove Windows Components icon. You should see “Windows Messenger” in that list. Remove the checkmark from its box, and you should be set. NOTE: there are other hidden system components in that sysoc.inf file, too. Remove “hide” and the subsequent programs at your own risk.
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How to Rename the Recycle Bin
To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
and change the name “Recycle Bin” to whatever you want (don’t type any quotes).
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Remove the Recycle Bin from the Desktop
If you don’t use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files , you can get rid of its desktop icon all together.
Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion
/explorer/Desktop/NameSpace
Click on the “Recycle Bin” string in the right hand pane. Hit Del, click OK.
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“STOP” ERROR MESSAGES AT SHUTDOWN
Some users have gotten an error message similar to the following when attempting either to shutdown or restart Win XP:
STOP 0000009F, DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE STOP 0×0000001E: KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED STOP 0×000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
TechNet and the Microsoft Knowledge Base have numerous articles discussing this type of error condition; for example, these. As a review of these articles will show, these are commonly device driver problems, but may also be caused by troublesome software (such as the notorious CrashGuard), or a problem in a system service. MSKB article Q262575 discusses a shutdown problem of this type, known to exist in Windows 2000 due to a resource (IRQ) conflict, if you have PACE Interlok anti-piracy software installed. This problem may occur in Windows XP as well. Microsoft advises the following as one approach to these problems: Restart the computer. Press F8 during the restart and select “Last Known Good Configuration.” If you catch the problem when it first occurs (meaning you likely have installed only one or two drivers or new service), this will return you to a previous working condition. (Would System Restore accomplish the same thing? I don’t know, and don’t have a broken system to test it on.)
Microsoft reported similarly that these STOP code error message occur when Windows XP is trying to shut down devices. He says that he has seen this twice: once with Logitech Quickcam installed (with an unsupported driver), and once with a USB DSL modem that would hang if it wasn’t disconnected before shutdown.
SHUTDOWN WORKS, BUT IT’S REAL SLOW.
If it appears that Win XP is not shutting down, give it some time. Some users have reported a minute or longer for shutdown to visibly start. Thus far, it appears that this is a consequence of software that is running when shutdown is attempted, and it also may have something to do with particular hardware. If you are experiencing this problem, be sure to close all running programs before attempting shutdown and see if this solves your problem. If so, then you can determine, by trial and error, which program(s) are involved. One specific solution for this was provided by Microsoft support. ” In Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services. (You can also get this by launching SERVICES.MSC from a Run box. This utility is also built into the Computer Management console.) Stop the Nvidia Driver Helper service. Many other friends quickly confirmed that this solved this “extremely slow shutdown” problem for them.
POWERDOWN ISSUES.
“Powerdown issues” are quite distinctive from “shutdown issues.” I define a shutdown problem as one wherein Windows doesn’t make it at least to the “OK to shut off your computer” screen. If Windows gets that far, or farther, then it has shut down correctly. However, the computer may not powerdown correctly after that. This is a different problem, and I encourage that people reporting these issues to make a very clear distinction in their labeling.
When Windows XP won’t powerdown automatically, the APM/NT Legacy Power Node may not be enabled. To enable this, right-click on the My Computer icon, click Properties | Hardware | Device Manager | View. Check the box labeled “Show Hidden Devices.” If it’s available on your computer, there will be a red X on the APM/NT Legacy Node. Try enabling it and see if this resolves the powerdown problem.
This should resolve the powerdown issue in most cases. However, other factors can sometimes interfere with correct powerdown functioning. In that case, consider the following tips: · If you are changing the default power settings in the BIOS, it can lead to a powerdown problem. Restoring all BIOS power settings to default will likely fix it.
OTHER KNOWN ISSUES & HINTS.
· BIOS UPGRADE. As with every new operating system that comes along - especially one that is as much of a “step up” as Windows XP is from Windows 9x - the recommendation is made to be sure your BIOS is updated. Many people have reported that this has solved their shutdown problems (and had other advantages) with Win XP, just as it has in earlier versions of Windows.
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Keyboard Shortcuts
When speed counts, the keyboard is still king. Almost all the actions and commands you can perform with a mouse you can perform faster using combinations of keys on your keyboard. These simple keyboard shortcuts can get you where you want to go faster than several clicks of a mouse. You’ll work faster on spreadsheets and similar documents, too, because you won’t lose your place switching back and forth between mouse and keys.
Here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts:Copy. CTRL+C Cut. CTRL+X Paste. CTRL+V Undo. CTRL+Z Delete. DELETE
Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETE Copy selected item. CTRL while dragging an item Create shortcut to selected item. CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item Rename selected item. F2 Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. CTRL+LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. CTRL+UP ARROW Highlight a block of text. CTRL+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. SHIFT with any of the arrow keys Select all. CTRL+A Search for a file or folder. F3 View properties for the selected item. ALT+ENTER Close the active item, or quit the active program. ALT+F4 Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. CTRL+F4 Switch between open items. ALT+TAB Cycle through items in the order they were opened. ALT+ESC Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. F6 Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. F4 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. SHIFT+F10 Display the System menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR Display the Start menu. CTRL+ESC Display the corresponding menu. ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name Carry out the corresponding command. Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu Activate the menu bar in the active program. F10 Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. RIGHT ARROW Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. LEFT ARROW Refresh the active window. F5 View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. BACKSPACE Cancel the current task. ESC SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.
Use these keyboard shortcuts for dialog boxes:Move forward through tabs. CTRL+TAB Move backward through tabs. CTRL+SHIFT+TAB Move forward through options. TAB Move backward through options. SHIFT+TAB Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option. ALT+Underlined letter Carry out the command for the active option or button. ENTER Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box. SPACEBAR Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons. Arrow keys Display Help. F1 Display the items in the active list. F4 Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box. BACKSPACE
If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, or any other compatible keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key , you can use these keyboard shortcuts:Display or hide the Start menu. Display the System Properties dialog box. +BREAK Show the desktop. +D Minimize all windows. +M Restores minimized windows. +Shift+M Open My Computer. +E Search for a file or folder. +F Search for computers. CTRL+ +F Display Windows Help. +F1 Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain. + L Open the Run dialog box. +R Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. Open Utility Manager. +U
Helpful accessibility keyboard shortcuts:Switch FilterKeys on and off. Right SHIFT for eight seconds Switch High Contrast on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN Switch MouseKeys on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK Switch StickyKeys on and off. SHIFT five times Switch ToggleKeys on and off. NUM LOCK for five seconds Open Utility Manager. +U
Keyboard shortcuts you can use with Windows Explorer:
Display the bottom of the active window. END Display the top of the active window. HOME Display all subfolders under the selected folder. NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*) Display the contents of the selected folder. NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+) Collapse the selected folder. NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-) Collapse current selection if it’s expanded, or select parent folder. LEFT ARROW Display current selection if it’s collapsed, or select first subfolder. RIGHT ARROW
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Change the text in Internet Explorers title bar to anything you want
In regedit navigate to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain
change the value of the string “Window Title” to whatever you want on the title bar of Internet Explorer - to have no title except the title of the web pages you are browsing do not enter anything for a value.
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Copy Files and Folders to CD
To copy files and folders to a CD
•Insert a blank, writable CD into the CD recorder.
•Open My Computer.
•Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want. Then, under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy this file, Copy this folder, or Copy the selected items.
•If the files are located in My Pictures, under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD, and then skip to step 5.
•In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy.
•In My Computer, double–click the CD recording drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD.
•Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard. Follow the instructions in the wizard.
Notes:
•Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CDs hold up to 650 megabytes (MB). High–capacity CDs hold up to 850 MB.
•Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space. For a high–capacity CD, Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of the available free space.
•After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied. For more information, click Related Topics. To stop the CD recorder from automatically ejecting the CD
•Open My Computer.
•Right–click the CD recording drive, and then click Properties.
•On the Recording tab, clear the Automatically eject the CD after writing check box.
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BIOS
You need to ensure that you have configured your BIOS correctly. The BIOS is software embedded on your motherboard that loads and configures hardware before the operating system. Failure to do so can easily slow down CPU and disk performance. Consult your computer or motherboard’s manual to ensure that all CPU caches are enabled, memory timings are set correctly, and that IDE data transfer modes are set correctly.
You can speed up the boot process by enabling “Rapid Bios Boot” or “Fast/Quick boot”. Also turn off auto detection of IDE devices and detect them manually. Set System and Video BIOS Cacheable to OFF as well as Video RAM cacheable to off, as these are legacy operating system DOS settings.
Test CPU performance with PC Magazine’s benchmarks. Test drive performance with HDtach benchmark.
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Deleting Recycle Bin
If you have XP, you probably knows that the recycle bin can’t be deleted. But a simple registry edit will do it.
1. Click start menu
2. go to run, type in regedit
3. navagate to the follwing: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
delete the file {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
4. Restart and its gone!
NOTE: backup your registry before doing it in case you want to change your mind.
Renaming Recycle Bin
if you want to keep your recycle bin, but want another name for it, here is how (normally windows won’t let you rename)
1. Open up Notepad
2. Copy the following in it.
Windows Registry editor Version 5.00[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder] “Attributes”=hex:50,01,00,20 “CallForAttributes”=dword:000000003. Save the file on your desktop as rename.reg
4. Open the file, click yes, click ok
5. Restart computer, right click on Recycle bin, and there is rename.
NOTE: if you want to disable this option, just copy and execute the following:
WINDOWS REGISTRY Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder] “Attributes”=hex:40,01,00,20 “CallForAttributes”=dword:00000000
Removing Shortcut Arrow on Icons
This is one of my personal favorite. I hate how there is a little arrow on your shortcuts, it looks stupid. here is how you get rid of it.
1. Open of Run on your start menu 2. type in Regedit 3. Click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ 4. Click on Inkfile (or you can press ctrl+find and type in Inkfile) 5. Click on Inkfile once, on the right there should be some files 6. Right click on IsShortcut and click Rename 7. Rename it to AriochIsShortcut
restart and have fun!
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How To Change Text On XP Start Button!
How To Change Text On XP Start Button! By Raymond, WinXpFix.com
There’s been a number of articles on the Web about how to change the text on Windows XP Start button. So I decided to add one here at WinXpFix.com for those of you who support this site by spending your time here. First, most people think there is a limit of five letters that you can use on the Windows XP Start button, I have use more then five letters with no trouble. I’m still test this XP Start button hack and I will post any changes or updated on this page.
Here are the steps you need to edit and change the text on Windows XP Start button, also some links to software that will change XP start button text for you.
NOTE: Change XP text at your own risk. I’m not responsible for any of the damage you may do to your system.
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The Steps!
1. You Need to Modify “Explorer.exe File” To make the changes you need to locate and edit the file “explorer.exe” it’s located at C:Windows. The file “Explorer.exe” is a binary file, so you will need special editor (Resource Hacker) will do. Resource Hacker is a good freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files.
First Backup “explorer.exe” located at C:\Windows\explorer. You can place it in a special folder or save it to disk. You can also copy and change the file name to “explorerB.exe” (the B is for backup), then you can edit “explorer.exe”.
2. Resource Hacker: In Resource Hacker the category will be using is String Table. You need to expand it by clicking on the plus sigh, then navigate down and expand string 37 followed by 1033, (For Classic Layout use number 38). On the right hand pane look for item 578 it show the word “start” this is what we are going to modify.
3. Edit start: To edit the word “start’ you just double click on start so that it’s highlighted, don’t highlight the quotation marks on the sides of start, “start” NOT “start”. The new text go’s in between the quotation marks, like this “new” remember don’t delete the quotation marks. So that it looks like this “new” replace new with your text. This is the old start text “start” delete start text “”, inter your text “new” easy right!
4. Compile Script button: Now that you have changed the start text you need to click on the Compile Script button. After you have clicked on the Compile Script button you need to use the Save As command on the File Menu to save the altered file and give it a name. A good file name “explorernew.exe” or make your own. Don’t use the Save command use the Save As commaned! Save the newly named file to the C:\Windows.
5. Modify the Registry: Now it’s time to modify the registry so that your modified explorer.exe file that you created will be recognized when the user logs on your system. Go to the Start button click on it, then go to Run click on it, type regedit in the Open: field. Now Navigate download the list to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” click on the plus, to SOFTWARE, to Microsoft, to windows NT, to CurrentVersion, to Winlogon. The full string: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon
Look on the right pane for Shell, double click on Shell entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In the Value date: line enter the name that your used to save the modified explorer.exe file. click on OK.
Now close Registry Editor and exit Windows or log off your system, and then log back on. Now if the computer gods are happy and all went as planned you should see the new Start button with your cool text on it. Remember the force is with you!
Note: Ad-aware: Shell modification used to change text on XP Start button maybe picked up by ad-aware, Don’t delete changes in Ad-aware.
XP WALLPAPERS: click to enlarge
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