Tool and Tricks

This reg file automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit. 1. Copy the following (everything in the box) into notepad. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001 [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop] "AutoEndTasks"="1" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control] "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000" 2. Save the file as shutdown.reg 3. Double click the file to import into your registry. NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled.

In Windows XP Normally it takes a hell lot of time just Shutting down Windows, you have to move your mouse to the Start Button, click on it, move it again over Shut Down, click, then move it over the necessary option and click, then move the cursor over the OK button and once again (you guessed it) click. This whole process can be shortened by creating shortcuts on the Desktop which will shut down Windows at the click of a button.  Just follow these steps. Create a shortcut for Windows Shut-Down 1. Right click on the Desktop and select New Shortcut. Then in the command line box, type. C:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindowsexec This Shortcut on clicking will restart Windows immediately without any Warning. Now anytime you can shut-down your windows system by double click ing this shortcut. Create a shortcut for Windows Restart To create a Shortcut to Restarting Windows, just navigate to above mentioned step and the type the following in the command Line box : c:\windo...

Many computer users, specially the programmers, need to launch a command prompt window every once in a while to execute some dos/shell commands. The problem is, when a command prompt window launched, the default path is normally the system path or the user profile's path. The users will then have to do all the "cd" commands to change the directories to the path he/she wants. This trick shows you how to add an option called "Command Prompt" when you right-click on a folder in Windows. With this option, a Command Prompt Window will launch and its current directory will be the path to the folder you've selected. Use this trick at your own risk. Here's what you'll get: The Solution You can either edit your registry OR download the registry file and apply it on your computer. Method I. Manually edit the registry: Start > Run Enter "regedit" and hit Enter Expand to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell...

Most of standard keyboards come with a small numeric keypad which identified by the numbers from 0 to 9. However, this numeric keypad is also served for some other functions such as "Page Up", "Page Down", "End", "Home", etc... depending on which mode of the "Num Lock" is being used.  Many Windows users find this numeric keypad useful to type the numbers faster. But oopps... after hitting a several keys on the numeric keypad, you recognize the outcomes are not what you expected. Then you recognize the "Num Lock" mode is "OFF", so you just need to switch it on, and... start over your typing! The bad news is, by default, Windows turns the Num Lock off; however, the good news is, you can configure Windows to turn this Num Lock ON so that whenever you mean "number", you really get a number. Read on, you'll get the details how to set Windows to keep the Num Lock status "ON" as default. In fac...

Follow these steps :- 1. Go to Start menu and select run and type regedit 2. A similar screen would open like this  3. Now go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and open SOFTWARE folder.  4. Now click on MICROSOFT and under this section, click Windows NT .  5. Under this folder open CurrentVersion . 6. Open WPAEvents and under this folder click on OOBETimer . 7. Now a box would appear and changes its 2nd value to FF 8. Again goto Start and open Run and type the following code.               %systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a 9. A blue color screen would appear. 10. Choose the 2nd option Register with telephone . 11. Press Change product key. 12. Enter the following key and you're done.               JG28K-H9Q7X-BH6W4-3PDCQ-6XBFJ

CMD: Step 1: Create a new shortcut Step 2: Add the following to the shortcut: REG add HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System /v DisableCMD /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f Regedit: Step 1: Create shortcut Step 2: Add the following to the shortcut: REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableRegistryTools /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f Back register keys b4 u try this

The Registry is a database used to store settings and options for the 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows 95, 98, ME and NT/2000. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. Whenever a user makes changes to a Control Panel settings, or File Associations, System Policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the Registry. The physical files that make up the registry are stored differently depending on your version of Windows; under Windows 95 & 98 it is contained in two hidden files in your Windows directory, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT, for Windows Me there is an additional CLASSES.DAT file, while under Windows NT/2000 the files are contained seperately in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config directory. You can not edit these files directly, you must use a tool commonly known as a "Registry Editor" to make any changes (using registry editors will be discussed later in t...

Helen Keller said, "Security is mostly a superstition," which might explain why computer security is such a profitable business. Indeed, security has been a major selling point for Windows Vista, despite the fact that some of its best security features are turned off by default.  For example, a password—that teensy group of characters that none of us seems capable of committing to memory—is optional in Vista, yet you can't share files on a network without one. Of course, once you create a password, you're doomed to retype it each time you power on your PC. And thus begin the daily visits to the Welcome/log-in screen. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to tweak this seemingly invariable interface, for convenience and greater system security.  Note that all these hacks require administrator-level privileges. Log In Automatically Vista Log-In  To keep your password intact yet skip the Welcome screen and have Vista log you in automatically each time you start...

Open registry editor by going to Start then Run and entering regedit. Once in registry, navigate to key  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders  You must see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this key, you have effectively removed the my shared documents folder.

Logon wallpaper is the wallpaper or image that windows xp shows on screen when windows logs on (before it asks for username & password) . It’s usually set to the image-logo of the brand(manufacturer) of our computer (e.g. in compaq laptops). Now we can set it to our own image or any other image(any bmp file) by following trick.  Open Startmenu->Run type regedit and press ok to open registry editor.(shows a tree like structure of directories at left)  In that hierarchical structure in left, navigate to registry entry  HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop  In right side pane see a number of values placed in a table format. choose the value named Wallpaper from there and double click it. Now you see a box with value name as Wallpaper and value data as Path to the image file .There give the full path of the image(bmp file) which you want to set as logon wallpaper by deleting previous path and writing path to your bmp file e.g. C:\WINDOWS\lon.BMP (to set imag...

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.  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

This is a great trick you can play on your friends. To disable the display of local or networked drives when you click My Computer.  1.Go to start->run.Type regedit.Now go to:  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer  Now in the right pane create a new DWORD item and name it NoDrives(it is case sensitive). Now modify it's value and set it to 3FFFFFF (Hexadecimal) .Now restart your computer. So, now when you click on My Computer, no drives will be shown(all gone...). To enable display of drives in My Computer, simply delete this DWORD item that you created.Again restart your computer.You can now see all the drives again. Magic........lol..

Go to Start then Run  Type 'Regedit' then click 'Ok'  Find "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\"  Select "MenuShowDelay"  Right click and select "Modify'  Reduce the number to around "100"  This is the delay time before a menu is opened. You can set it to "0" but it can make windows really hard to use as menus will open if you just look at them - well move your mouse over them anyway. I tend to go for anywhere between 50-150 depending on my mood.

Go to  Control Panel >  System, >  Advanced >  Performance area >  Settings button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

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 ...

Change Text and Baloon Tip Associated With All Desktop Icons You need to know the object's class ID (CLSID), which uniquely identifies each system object. The following table lists the CLSIDs for common desktop objects. CLSIDs for desktop objects Desktop object CLSID My Computer {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} Recycle Bin {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} Microsoft Outlook {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} Internet Explorer {FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8} The Internet {3DC7A020-0ACD-11CF-A9BB-00AA004AE837} My Network Places {208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D} Briefcase {85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D} Dial-Up Networking {992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48} Run the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID, a key that lets you change characteristics of system objects, and highlight the CLSID whose name or balloon text you want to change. For example, to change My Computer, highlight the subkey HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-10...

When I first saw the default search pane in Windows XP, my instinct was to return it to its classic look; that puppy had to go. Of course, I later discovered that a doggie door is built into the applet. Click "Change preferences" then "Without an animated screen character." If you'd rather give it a bare-bones "Windows 2000" look and feel, fire up your Registry editor and navigate to:  HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ CabinetState.  You may need to create a new string value labeled "Use Search Asst" and set it to "no".

Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of Windows XP machines. Its actually a fix to a bug installed as default in Windows 2000 that scans shared files for Scheduled Tasks. And it turns out that you can experience a delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows 2000 is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected, Windows 2000 users will experience that the actual browsing speed of both the Internet & Windows Explorers improve significantly after applying it since it doesn't search for Scheduled Tasks anymore. Here's how :  Open up the Registry and go to :  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace  Under that branch, select the key :  {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}  and delete it.  This is key that instructs Windows to search for Sched...

You can start or stop programs from executing at bootup by adding or deleting them to/from the run Keys in the Registry. Windows loads programs to start in the following order; Program listed in the Local Machine hive, then the Current User hive, then theWin.ini Run= and Load = lines and then finally programs in your Start Up folder. To add or remove programs in the Registry. Open RegEdit. .Go to the desired Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Micrsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices Add a new String Value and name it anything you like. For the value data, enter the path and executable for the program you want to run. By adding the value to the KEY_CURRENT_USER hive instead allows the program to start only when that user is logged on. If you add the value to the RunOnce key the pro...

Change Icons of your Desktop Objects(MyComputer, Recycle bin..) Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID, and look for the CLSID subkey from the table above for the object whose icon you want to change. Open the subkey and then the DefaultIcon subkey under that. To change the icon for My Computer, open the subkey HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\DefaultIcon. Change the Default value to the path of the icon that you want displayed. Follow the same for changing the icons of ther items as well. Exit the Registry. You might have to reboot for the new settings to take effect. If you aren't able to change your icons still, then try editing the following: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft \Windows\CurrentVersion \ Explorer\ CLSID\, and you will be in.