How to Change the Name of the Start Menu Button
Warning: We shall not be liable for any damages or injuries. Before you start, you should make a backup copy of explorer.exe, and know how to restore it.
1. Windows 9x
The name of the Start Menu button is in explorer.exe. Since Windows won't let you modify the file, you must make a copy of it, modify the copy, then boot into DOS and replace the original file with the modified version. Make sure you back up explorer.exe before you start.
Load the file into an hexadecimal editor, and search for the following hexadecimal bytes:
53 00 74 00 61 00 72 00 74 (= "Start"). You will find these bytes more than once, but you should only have to change the last occurrence.
Replace S, t, a, r, t with whatever you want, but leave the 00's in. If your new string is shorter than "Start", you can either overwrite the extra letters with blanks, or you can change the length byte. Just before the first byte (53) there is a 00 and before it a 05: this is the string's length. If the new string is "New" then this byte should be set to 03 -- this way the Start Menu button will not be longer than the string. The new string must not be longer than the original one, else Windows will not work.
Note: The icon is in user.exe
2. Windows XP
You can use the method described above if you want: In the US version of Windows XP Pro, the string is at 0EE36F (Classic-style button) and 0EE096 (XP-style button). But instead, we are going to use Resource Hacker (542KB).
2.1. Bypassing Windows File Protection
1. In Windows Explorer, click Tools, Folder Options, then View. Uncheck Hide protected operating system files and check Show hidden files and folders.
2. There is a file named filelist.xml in \windows\system32\Restore. Right click the file, then click Properties, and uncheck Read-only. Open filelist.xml in Notepad, and add the line shown in red below, then save the file and close Notepad.
3. In \windows\system32\dllcache, you will find a backup copy of explorer.exe. Rename it to explorer.bak.
2.2. Changing the name of the Start Menu button
1. Run Resource Hacker, and open \windows\explorer.exe
2. Click String Table > 37 > 1033 (XP-style button)
3. Replace "start" with whatever you want ("hello", in the picture above)
4. Click the Compile Script button.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for String table > 38 > 1033 (Classic-style button)
5. Save the file (File>Save). Hit Cancel then Yes when Windows File Protection pops up.
Note: If an error message pops up when saving the file, kill explorer.exe (Clt-Alt-Del > Processes > explorer.exe > End Process > File > New Task), repeat step 5 (save the file in Resource Hacker), and restart explorer.exe (Clt-Alt-Del > Processes > explorer.exe > End Process > File > New Task > explorer > OK).
2.3. Changing the icon of the Start Menu button
1. Click Bitmap > 143 > 1033
2. Click Action > Replace bitmap > Open file with new bitmap (the new picture must be 25x20, and have 16 million colors).
3. Select a picture file, click Replace, then save (File>Save) your work. Hit Cancel then Yes when Windows File Protection pops up.
4. Close Resource Hacker
If you do not want to reboot to see your new button, kill then restart explorer.exe (Clt-Alt-Del > Processes > explorer.exe > End Process > File > New Task > explorer > OK) Read more on this article...
Create hidden drive in Windows
How to create a secure and locked folder in Windows XP. However, hiding a folder is a tricky proposition and usually doesn’t work well unless you use something like Truecrypt.
But there’s yet ANOTHER way you can hide your “private” files using a nifty little registry **** that will completely remove an entire drive from your computer. The drive will not show up in My Computer, will not be accessible from the command prompt, and won’t even show up in Safe Mode!
Ok, so here’s how to implement the ****: first off, back up your registry as this requires adding a key to the registry. Once you’ve backed up your registry, open the registry editor by clicking on Start, Run and typing in regedit.
regedit
Now navigate to the following registry hive shown below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer
Right-click on Explorer and choose New and then DWORD Value.
hide drive
Name the new value NoDrives and then double click on it to open the properties dialog box. Click on Decimal for the Base unit.
hide drives
Type in one of the following values depending on that drive letter you want to hide.
A: 1B: 2C: 4
D: 8
E: 16
F: 32G: 64H: 128
I: 256
J: 512
K: 1024L: 2048M: 4096
N: 8192
O: 16384
P: 32768Q: 65536R: 131072
S: 262144
T: 524288
U: 1048576V: 2097152W: 4194304
X: 8388608
Y: 16777216
Z: 33554432All: 67108863
If you want to hide drive E, just type in the value 16. The really cool thing about this trick is the fact that you can hide multiple drives by adding the numbers of the particular drives together. For example, if you want to hide drive E and drive G, you would type in the number 80, which is 64 + 16.
Restart your computer and your drive will now be hidden! Trying to hide your system drive (C) will not work as Windows has to use this drive to run correctly, so don’t store your secret files there!
When you want to get your drives back, change the value of NoDrives to 0 or simply delete the value altogether. Of course, having to do this everyday can be a pain, so if you’re up for it, you can try and write a registry file that will allow you to insert and delete the value by just double-clicking a file.
This trick also works for mapped drives, so if you want to hide mapped drives, you can do it this way (though it might just be easier to disconnect a mapped drive).
Enjoy!
To Create Folder " CON "
Without using Command Prompt.
Here is a simple method..........
Rename folder from the right click option........
Now press alt and press 255...
press 255 frm the right sideof the key bords i.e., num pad....
where only numbers r given.....
now write con and then press enter.....huh!!
you ll see a con folder in ur pc
and also you can delete it easily.
Clean out the prefetch folder :
Windows XP uses a system called 'prefetch' to organize and preload some of the data necessary for commonly used applications and files. A folder called prefetch is used to store the information the operating system needs to carry out this operation.
After several months of use, the prefetch folder may become quite overloaded with older references to software and files that may no longer be in use.It's a good idea to manually empty the older files out of the prefetch folder every few months or so.
To do this: Navigate to 'c:\windows\prefetch' and delete all .
PF files that are older than a week or two.
Error Reporting in XP
If error reporting in XP is bugging you then turn it off.
When a system error occurs in XP, a little dialog box appears asking if you want to report the error to Microsoft. Click the message box to make it disappear. You don't have to report the error if you don't want to and on today's "Call for Help" Leo shows you how to turn off the feature if you find it distracting.
To disable error reporting, follow these directions:
2. Click the Advanced tab on your System Properties dialog box.
3. Click the Error Reporting button on the Advanced tab.
4. Place a checkmark next to "Disable error reporting."
5. Leave the other radio button unchecked next to the text labeled, "But notify me when critical errors occur."
6. Click OK.
Updated trick for enabling Folder option
Many times Windows users face a common problem. The “Folder Options” in “Tools” menu is not visible. Even It can’t be accessed from Control Panel. Also “Registry Editor” is disabled.
Follow the simple steps mentioned in this tutorial and your problem will be solved:
1. If Folder Options is disabled but Registry Editor is still working in your system, then you can enable Folder Options by editing Windows Registry.
Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter.
it’ll open Registry Editor, now go to following keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\ExplorerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
In right-side pane, check whether a DWORD value named NoFolderOptions exists or not? If it exists, delete it.
2. If you are not familiar with editing the registry, then you can simply download following file, extract it and then run the .REG file:
Folder_option.zip
................................................................................................................
If u cant run regedit ....
Seems like your system is infected with a virus. Pls follow following link:
http://www.askvg.com/is-your-system-infected-with-a-virus-spyware-adware-trojan/
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Some ppl find that "show hidden files and folders" option ll not b enabled..
though enabled they cant c the hidden folders...
for that dont worry
--open RUN
--type regedit
--HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Advanced
And in right-side pane, change value of “Hidden” to 1 and refresh My Computer window and you’ll be able to see hidden files again
Create One-Click Shutdown and Reboot Shortcuts
Create One-Click Shutdown and Reboot Shortcuts:
First, create a shortcut on your desktop by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing New, and then choosing Shortcut. The Create Shortcut Wizard appears. In the box asking for the location of the shortcut, type shutdown. After you create the shortcut, double-clicking on it will shut down your PC.
But you can do much more with a shutdown shortcut than merely shut down your PC. You can add any combination of several switches to do extra duty, like this:
shutdown -r -t 01 -c "Rebooting your PC"
Double-clicking on that shortcut will reboot your PC after a one-second delay and display the message "Rebooting your PC." The shutdown command includes a variety of switches you can use to customize it. Table 1-3 lists all of them and describes their use.
I use this technique to create two shutdown shortcuts on my desktop—one for turning off my PC, and one for rebooting. Here are the ones I use:
shutdown -s -t 03 -c "Bye Bye m8!"
shutdown -r -t 03 -c "Ill be back m8 ;)!"
Switch
What it does
-s
Shuts down the PC.
-l
Logs off the current user.
-t nn
Indicates the duration of delay, in seconds, before performing the action.
-c "messagetext"
Displays a message in the System Shutdown window. A maximum of 127 characters can be used. The message must be enclosed in quotation marks.
-f
Forces any running applications to shut down.
-r
Reboots the PC.
RESTART WINDOWS WITHOUT RESTARTING UR PC.
When you click on the SHUTDOWN button,
make sure to simultaneous press SHIFT Button.
If you hold the Shift key down while clicking on SHUTDOWN button,
you computer would restart without restarting the Computer.
This is equivalent to term "HOT REBOOT".
Different ways to shutdown ur pc
Different ways to shutdown ur pc
There are so many different ways to turn off your Windows XP computer, let's look at some of them:
1. The standard approach - click the Start Button with your mouse, then select the Turn Off menu and finally click the Turn Off icon on the Turn Off computer dialog. blink.gif
2. Press Ctrl+Esc key or the Win key and press u two times - the fastest approach.
3. Get the Shutdown utility from Download.com - it add the shut down shortcuts for you. Else create them yourself using approach 4.
4. Create a shutdown shortcut on your desktop. Right click on the desktop, choose New Shortcut and type shutdown -s -t 00 in the area where you are asked to specify the location of the program file. Now you can just double click this icon to turn off the computer. The best location would be your quick launch bar.
5. Press the Win key + R key to open the run window. Type shutdown -s -t 00. [s means shutdown while t means the duration after which you want to initiate the shutdown process].
If some open processes or application won't let you turn off, append a -f switch to force a shut down by closing all active processes.
6. Win+M to minimize all windows and then Alt+F4 to bring the Turn Off computer dialog.
7. Open Windows Task manager (by right clicking the Windows Task bar or Alt+Ctrl+Del) and choose Shut down from the menu. Useful when the Windows are not responding.
8. open task manager--->click on shutdown--->hold the ctrl key and click on Turn off::::::: pc will be turned off in 3 secs.. fastest method other than hard shutdown
RESTRICT PC SHUTDOWN
Both Vista and Windows XP let you take control of preventing a user not to shutdown the machine by editing the group policy. For example if your friend is using your computer and you went somewhere ( and you have still some unsaved document left) and he shutdowns the pc without saving them…you loose a good amount of data. ( Trust me I have lost one whole blog post and project code at same time ). This is what you can do
Restrict PC Shutdown
* Type gpedit.msc in run dialog box [ WIN KEY + R ]
* This will open Group Policy Editor. Now there are two things in it, Computer Configuration and User Configuration
* Click on User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Task Bar
* Now look for “remove and prevent access to shutdown command”
* Double Click and Enable it.
* Exit the group policy editor.
This setting removes the Shut Down option from the Start menu and disables the Shut Down button on the Windows Security dialog box, which appears when you press CTRL+ALT+DEL. This setting prevents users from using the Windows user interface to shut down the system.
Now if you try to shutdown by clicking on start , the shutdown button must have disappeared. Moreover check the task manager and you will find all shutdown,restart and others disabled except switch user
CHANGE STARTUP & SHUTDOWN SOUNDS IN XP.
Have you ever felt bugged-up with the Start-up and Shutdown jingle of your Windows XP or Vista ? If yes, here is the solution, now you use any of your favorite voice or music or dialogue as your PC’s shutdown and start up.
It’s a simple 4 step process.
Step 1.
Choose the track which you want to play at start-up and shutdown jingles,
Limitations are
* It should be in .WAV format.
* The size of file should not be large, prefer keeping them within in 1 Mb, otherwise your startup will take a bit longer.
If the file you want to make your start-up or shutdown is not in .WAV format, you can easily convert them using Jet Audio 7, or any other converter.
Step 2.
Now rename these files as “Windows XP Startup.WAV” and “Windows XP Shutdown.WAV” respectively.
Step 3.
Now Go to “C:\WINDOWS\MEDIA”, here you will find files “Windows XP Startup.WAV” and “Windows XP Shutdown.WAV”, move them to some other locations, this step is required for, in case you need to revert back these sounds, else you can ignore this step.
Step 4.
Now the files you have chosen and renamed, just copy-paste or cut paste them in “C:\WINDOWS\MEDIA”, here you go, now you can enjoy the new Start-up and shutdown.
FOLDER OPTIONS ARE MISSING
Many times we find that the folder options missing in windows explorer
Here is the solution for that
Open Run and then type "gpedit.msc".
Now goto
User Configuration > Administrative templates > Windows Component > Windows Explorer.
Click on Windows Explorer you will find the 3rd option on the right side of screen
"Removes the Folder Option menu item from the Tools menu"
Just check it,
if it is not configured then change it to enable by double clicking on it and after applying again set it to not configured
it will work...
TO GET IMAGES FROM PDF
HERE IS A SOLUTION FOR THOSE WHO WANTS IMAGES FROM PDF FILES..........
Some PDF image extract is a simple tool that extract image in the pdf file to TIFF, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TGA, PBM, PPM format.
Download Some PDF image extract and install it .Then select pdf file and press 'F5' starting to convert.After finished ,all the converted image will store in a folder.
HOW TO BACKUP UR REGISTRY KEYS
HOW TO BACKUP UR REGISTRY KEYS
VERY USEFULL TRICK
These are the easy steps on how you can export your registry keys
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Export.
In the Save in box, select the box at the bottom the bottom according to weather you want to export all or only selected branches of the registry.
Next select a location in which to save the backup .reg file. In the File name box, type a file name, and then click Save.
Follow these steps to restore your registry to it's previous state
To restore registry keys that you exported, double-click the .reg file that you saved
Making Win Xp 60% Faster..
Whenever you start your computer, you are faced with a few moments of thumb twiddling while Windows XP boots and prompts you to log on. Although you should expect to wait for a few moments, sometimes Windows XP seems to boot rather slowly. In fact, you may notice that over a period of time the PC that used to roar to life seems a bit sluggish instead. Fortunately, you can perform several techniques that help Windows XP get the bootup speed you want. This chapter explores how to put these techniques to work.
Some of the things may already have been discussed in some threads earlier
Stopping Unneeded Startup Services
Along with the core operating system and programs that Windows XP runs when it starts, there is also a host of services involved. Many of these services are necessary for Windows XP to operate correctly. However, many of them are for features in Windows XP that you may not use at all. You can peruse the services and disable any service that you do not want to run. The fewer services that run, the more quickly Windows XP will boot.
Caution: Exercise caution when stopping services. If you do not know what a service does or are unsure of the ramifications of stopping the service, leave it alone. Some services are critical to Windows XP's operations, so make sure you understand what the service is before you disable it.
To reduce the number of services that start on bootup, you can access two different areas of Windows XP. The first is the System Configuration Utility. The Services tab shows you the services that start when the computer boots.
You can stop a service from starting by simply clearing the check box next to the service and clicking OK. However, before you do so, there is another way to disable services that you may prefer because the interface gives you more information about the service in question.
Open Control Panel/Administrative ToolsServices or else select Start/Run, type services.msc, and click OK. Either way, you see the Services console.
I prefer to use the Services console instead of the System Configuration Utility because it describes what the service does. Additionally, you can double-click a service and examine its properties.
Notice the Startup Type column in Figure 4-2. This information lists whether the service is automatic or manual. Manual services are only started in Windows XP when you start a process that requires the service. Some other process may require the service that has a "dependency" relationship with it; in this case, the dependency service will start, as well. Because these services do not start automatically when you boot Windows XP, you do not need to do anything with manual services.
However, all services listed as automatic start when Windows XP boots. These are the services that increase boot time. As I have mentioned, many of them are necessary and important, so you should not stop automatic services from booting unless you are sure of the ramifications. You can get this information by looking at the Description column. Here's a quick look at common services you may want to live without:
Automatic Updates: This service enables Windows XP to check the Web automatically for updates. If you don't want to use
Automatic Updates, you can disable the service. You can always check for updates manually at the Windows Update Web site.
Computer Browser: If your computer is not on a network, you don't need this service. If you are on a network, leave it alone.
DHCP Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service. If you are on a small workgroup, you can still increase boot time by configuring manual IP addresses (which I explore later in this chapter).
DNS Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service. If you are, leave it alone.
Error Reporting and Event Log: You don't have to use these services but they can be very helpful, so I would leave them configured as automatic.
Fax: If you don't use your computer for fax services, you can disable this one. Help and Support: If you never use the Windows XP
Help and Support Center (found on the Start menu), you can disable this service.
IMAPI CD-Burning COM: This service enables you to burn CDs on your computer. If you never burn CDs, you can disable the service.
Indexing Service: Your computer keeps an index of files but if you rarely search for files, the service is just a resource hog. You can stop it and turn the service to manual.
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing: If you do not use these features, you can disable them.
Infrared Monitor: If you do not use infrared devices, you can disable this service.
Messenger: This service sends alert messages on a local area network (it is not the same as Windows Messenger). If you are not on a network, you can disable this service.
Print Spooler: If you do not do any printing from the computer, you can disable this service. If you print, make sure you leave it as automatic.
Remote Registry: This service allows remote users to modify the Registry on your computer. If you are not on a network, you can disable this service.
System Restore Service: This service allows you to use System Restore. If you have turned off System Restore anyway, you do not need to turn off the service. If you do, you turn off System Restore.
Themes: If you do not use themes, you can disable this service.
Windows Image Acquisition: If you do not use scanners or digital cameras, you can disable this service.
Wireless Zero Configuration: If do not use wireless networking devices, you can disable this service.
You may have a number of other automatic services, depending on software and other configurations on your computer. So it's a good idea to look through the services and learn more about them. If you double-click a service, a Properties dialog box appears
Notice that on the General tab, you see a Startup Type drop-down menu. If you want to change an automatic service to manual, select Manual here and click OK. As a general rule, don't disable a service unless you are sure you will never use it.
However, manual configuration allows the service to be started when you find it necessary, thus speeding up your boot time. However, before you change a service to manual, look at the Dependencies tab (see Figure 4-4). This tab shows you which other services depend upon the service you are considering changing.
Keep in mind that services are necessary for the vast functionality you get with Windows XP. Change only those services that you understand and do not use. How you use your Windows XP computer should be the best guide in terms of optional startup services.
Tip:
The Indexing service and the System Restore service take up a lot of disk space and system resources across the board.
You can live without the Indexing service but I suggest that you keep using System Restore. It works great when you are in a bind and this is one case where the loss of speed may not be worth the ramifications of not using System Restore. Speed Tips and Tricks for Windows XP Startup Aside from startup programs, services, and the Prefetch folder, there are a number of other startup procedures and issues you can modify to help Windows XP start faster. The following sections explore those tips and tricks. Manual IP Addressing on Small Office/Home Networks Windows XP is configured to help you take care of networking. It uses the TCP/IP protocol for networking in workgroups, or what you might call small office or home networks that do not use a dedicated server. The problem is that automatic IP addressing can be slow. When your computer boots, it has to query the network to see what IP addresses are already in use and then assign itself one. If you want to speed up the boot time a bit, consider manually assigning IP addresses to all computers on the network. This way, the network computers do not have to worry about locating an automatic IP address. Because one is manually configured, the operating system doesn't have to spend time solving this problem. This isn't a networking book, however, so I won't delve into the implications of using a manual IP address, but if you are using a computer that functions as a host computer to the Internet (using Internet Connection Sharing [ICS]), you can get into connectivity problems if you change the configuration of the IP address. However, you can still work around this problem by starting with the ICS host computer. Select Start/Connect To/Show All Connections. Right-click your network adapter card and click Properties. On the General tab, select TCP/IP in the list of services and click the Properties button. In the TCP/IP properties, you can see if you use an automatic or manual IP address. In the example in Figure 4-5, I have configured a manual IP address of 90.0.0.1 and a default subnet mask. The other computers on my office network each use a different IP address in the same class, such as 90.0.0.2, 90.0.0.3, 90.0.0.4, and so on. This way, each computer has a permanent IP address, which helps increase boot time. Note that if you change the IP addresses of your computers, they must all use the same subnet mask. A default subject mask of 255.255.255.0 will keep you in good shape. Make sure you understand the implications of changing IP addresses on your network. If you have no networking experience at all, you may be wiser to leave the automatic IP addressing as is and try to gain some speed using the additional suggestions in this chapter. Disabling Recent Documents History Windows XP includes a feature that keeps track of all recent documents you have opened or used. The idea is that you can select Start/Recent Documents History and quickly reopen any document you have recently used. I use many documents each day and never use the feature myself. In my opinion, I can keep up with what I want to use without Windows XP doing it for me. The bad thing about Recent Documents History is that Windows XP has to calculate what should be put there each time you boot Windows, which can slow things down. So, if you never use the Recent Documents History, it's a good idea to disable it.
Here's how:
1. Open the Registry Editor (select Start/Run, type regedit, and click OK).
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mcft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
3. Create a NoRecentDocsHistory D_WORD key. Double-click the value to open it once it is created.
4. Set the Data Value to 1 to enable the restriction.
5. Click OK and close the Registry Editor. You'll need to restart the computer for the change to take effect. Disabling the Boot Logo You can remove the boot logo that appears when you start Windows XP. This little tweak probably shaves only a few seconds off your boot time but seconds count if you are serious about trying to get Windows XP up and running as quickly as possible. The only negative is that if you remove the boot logo, you will also not see any boot messages, such as check disk. (But if you are not having problems with your computer, this isn't such a big deal.)
To remove the boot logo, follow these steps:
1. Select Start/Run, type msconfig, and click OK.
2. In the System Configuration Utility, click the BOOT.INI tab.
3. On the BOOT.INI tab, click the NOGUIBOOT check box option. Click OK. Removing Unwanted Fonts One trick that increases your boot time a bit is to lose any fonts in the Fonts folder in Control Panel that you never use. The more fonts you have, the more processing Windows XP has to do to prep all of those fonts for use. You must be a bit careful here to not remove fonts that you might want, but there is a good chance that you can live without many of them. For instance, you may have foreign language fonts and other symbol fonts (such as Wingdings) that you never use. To delete unneeded fonts, follow these steps:
1. Open the Fonts folder in Control Panel.
2. Select Edit/Select All and then Edit/Copy.
3. Create a new folder on your desktop, open it, and select Edit/Paste.
4. In this new folder, delete any of the fonts you do not want.
5. Return to the Fonts folder in Control Panel. Right-click the selected fonts and click Delete.
6. Go back to your new desktop folder and click Edit/Select All.
7. Return to your Fonts folder and click Edit/Paste. You now have only the desired fonts in the Fonts folder. Tip: You can directly delete fonts from the Fonts folder without creating the secondary folder. However, I recommend the preceding steps to help ensure that you do not make a mistake in the deletion process. Stopping Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing In Windows XP Professional, you have two remote networking features called Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing. These remote networking features are very helpful in a variety of situations but if you don't use them, it is good idea to disable them to save boot time. You can always enable them later if you want to use them. Note: If you are interested in using Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance, see my book Windows XP for Power Users: Power Pack published by John Wiley & Sons.
1. Open the Start menu, right-click My Computer, and choose Properties.
2. Click the Remote Tab.
3. Clear both check boxes to disable Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop. Speeding Up the Dual-Boot Timeout If you dual-boot your computer with Windows XP and another operating system, you see an operating system selection menu on startup. If you typically boot into Windows XP and not the other operating system, you can speed up the dual-boot timeout value so that you do not wait so long for the boot process to select your default operating system and continue with the boot process. The default timeout value is 30 seconds but you can change this setting to 10. This gives you enough time to select the alternate operating system if you want but also speeds up the boot process. You can skip this section if you do not use a dual-boot configuration.
Follow these steps:
1. Locate the boot.ini file on your computer. It is a hidden file by default; mine is located in C:\boot.ini.
2. Open the file with Notepad (which is what opens it by default).
3. Change the Timeout value to 10 (see Figure 4-11).
4. Select File/Save and close Notepad. Speeding Up Your PPPoE Connection If you use a Point-to-Point Protocol connection over Ethernet (PPPoE), you may notice a delay in using the PPPoE connection after startup. By default, there is a 120 second delay but you can stop this behavior by manually configuring an IP address for the network adapter card. If you do not use a PPPoE connection, you can skip this section.
1. Select Start/Connect to/Show All Connections.
2. Open the TCP/IP properties for your LAN network interface card.
3. Manually set the IP address on the TCP/IP properties to an appropriate IP address and subnet mask for your network. Reducing the Wait Time When you start to shut down Windows XP, it has to quit, or "kill," any live applications or processes that are currently running. So close all applications first. However, some applications and processes are always running in the background. You can reduce the amount of time that Windows XP waits for those applications and processes to close before Windows XP kills them. Edit three different Registry settings to change this:
1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Select WaitToKillAppTimeout and set the value to 1000.
3. Select the HungAppTimeout value and set it to 1000 as well. 4
. Navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop. Set the WaitToKillAppTimeout and set the value to 1000. Select the HungAppTimeout \newline value and set it to 1000 as well.
5. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l. Select the WaitToKillServiceTimeout value and set it to 1000.
6. Close the Registry Editor. Automatically Killing Tasks on Shutdown You know the drill. You start to shut down the computer, you wait a few moments, and then you see a dialog box asking if you want to kill an application or service that is running. Instead of prompting you, you can make Windows XP take care of the kill task automatically. Here's how:
1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
3. Highlight the value AutoEndTasks and change the value to 1.
4. Close the Registry Editor.
CHANGE THE DEFAULT LOCATION FOR INSTALLING APPS
As the size of hardrives increase, more people are using partitions to seperate and store groups of files.
XP uses the C:\Program Files directory as the default base directory into which new programs are installed. However, you can change the default installation drive and/ or directory by using a Registry hack.
Run the Registry Editor (regedit)and go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
Look for the value named ProgramFilesDir. by default,this value will be C:\Program Files. Edit the value to any valid drive or folder and XP will use that new location as the default installation directory for new programs
CREATE A HIDDEN USER ACCOUNT
Create A Hidden User Account
This tweak allows an account that is normally displayed on the Welcome screen to be hidden from view. To log on using the account it's necessary to use the Log On To Windows dialog box similar to the one in Windows 2000. #[Start] [Run] [Regedit]#Registry Key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList#Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.#Data Type: REG_DWORD [Dword Value] // Value Name: Type Name of Account to be Hidden#Setting for Value Data: [0 = Account is Hidden / 1 = Enabled]#Exit Registry and Reboot...
While the account is hidden on the Welcome screen, note that the account profile will be visible in C:\Documents and Settings or wherever user profiles are stored as well as in Local Users and Groups
TRICK TO ADD UR FAVOURITE WEBSITE IN START MENU
this is a simple trick to add ur favourite web site link in START MENU
After Windows Explorer opens, in the right window pane, right click and select New / Shortcut
In the "Type the location of the item" enter the Web Site URL you want to create. FOR EXAMPLE http://eziway.blogspot.com
Click Next
In the "Type a name for this shortcut:" enter a name for the link that you want to display in the Start menu. eg : PC TRICKS
Click Finish
Now click on the Start menu and you will see the new link you just created. Click on it and it will open THAT website
PLZ LEAVE UR COMMENTS....................
DOS event monitoring...
For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands.
These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events,
'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options --
LOCK UR DESKTOP
this trick will lock ur desktop
TRICK 1: First create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click
and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Name the shortcut what ever u want to like abc. Then just double click on it and your computer will be instantly locked
TRICK 2: The Windows key + L also does the same thing
AND THEN TO UNLOCK CLICK ON UR ACCOUNT NAME
You Are Traced As
