Tool and Tricks

This type of defrag pushes all commonly used programs and boot files to the edge of the hard drive for faster access. Windows XP normally schedules this every three days when it is idle, however you can force it to do this by useing the b switch anytime i.e defrag c: -b

We boot our computer with the help of Bootable OS CD/DVD.But sometime the CD/DVD is not available with us but we have the ISO image of the file. So instead of burn that ISO image to a CD/DVD you can use your PenDrive/USB Drive as a bootable Device and boot your OS from that bootable USB Drive. Question is how we make our PenDrive/USB Drive bootable.So here is a very Simple Solution. For This You have to Download a software called "ULTRAISO" You can Download it from links below.. link1                         link2 Click here than wait for few seconds and than click on skip add... Click on the SKIP AD> and proceed to Download... After You Downloaded The file Install it to Your Computer. Now carefully Follow The following Steps to Make Your USB/PENDDRIVE Bootable. 1.If You are using Vista/Windows 7 than Run UltraIso using the Administrator Privillage.Or s...

Internet is a Sea of all Computer materials. You download some thing(any type of Data). At some time you don’t know that you are downloading a Virus infected file, and this Virus crash your Windows XP after some time or corrupt some files. DLL file is a type of XP system files and when any DLL file is missed, regularly you see some error with Windows File Protection msgbox. If you regularly encounter errors (such as warnings of missing DLL files or programs do not load) and you think that some part of Windows XP, you can check your system files to ensure that they are in good condition. Recover missing DLL file in XP. 1.  First insert your Windows XP Professional CD-ROM in your pc’s CD/DVD Drive. 2.  Then click on Start button. 3.  Click on Run. 4.  Then type this command in Run textbox: sfc /scannow 5. Click on OK button. You can see that Windows File Protection will be displayed. Wait until the process is complete. Warning : Don’t click on Cancel...

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

The Files are Seperated in to 3 Parts, each part isnt not linked so you can download part 1 and you wont need the others to extract the first part.  Part 1 Contains:  > Minesweeper fix  > Minesweeper  > Freecell  > Hearts  > Inkball  > Vista.Emulation.dll  Part 2 Contains:  > Shanghi  > Solitaire  > Spider Solitaire  Part 2 Contains:  > Purble Place  :: INSTRUCTIONS ::  Just click on the games to play, they will automatically create “Microsoft Games” in your PROGRAM FILES, and will add a shortcut to your start menu under Vista_Games so when you want to play them again you don’t have to keep running them where you saved them. Make sure you have Vista.Emulation.DLL in the c:\windows\system32 folder other wise these will not work  To make Minesweeper work:  Extract minesweeper.bat in the directory containing minesweeper.exe  create a shortcut to desktop or something like...

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.

Disclaimer : Use this article for eductational purpose ONLY.  Follow these steps:  1. Open command prompt (Start->Run->cmd),  2. Enter the following command, then press ENTER  3. Enter the followin command, then press ENTER:  compmgmt.msc  This should open the computer management console.  4. Go to local users & groups->users. Right click on any user and select "set password".  If you get a "access denied" do the following:  start>run>cmd  then use following commands  1) net user test /add (this command will make test named user)  2) net localgroup administrators test /add (this command will make test user as administrators rights)  and use net user command to reset your admin. password

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.

It is possible to disable the XP splash screen, which will slightly speed up the overall boot process. Be aware that removing the splash screen will also cause you not to see any boot-up messages that might come up (chkdsk, convert … ), but if your system runs without any problems then it should not matter. Edit boot.ini. Add ” /noguiboot” right after “/fastdetect”. Upon restarting, the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the new switch.

You can change the Start menu delay in displaying sub-menus. Run Regedit adn navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Control Panel\Desktop. Change the value for MenuShowDelay to any number between 0 (fastest) and 4000 (slowest). If the above does not exist, add a string value with this name. Launch Faster You can change the default boot delay of 30 seconds. Open Control Panel > System > Startup/Shutdown. Under the Show List For, change the settings to the desired boot delay value. To bypass the boot menu altogether, set the delay to 0. Note: If you dual boot between the Operating Systems using the NT boot loader, do not set the boot delay value to 0. he Bin is Full To change the icons used for the Recycle bin, run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\ {645F040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon. Edit the value labeled Full and type the path to the icon file. Similarly, edit the value labeled Empty Empty to specify the icon for the empty re...