~ Windows XP Tweaks ~
Friday, December 29, 2006
Is your Windows performance is fast enough? Well actually its all depend on your PC spec, but how if we can optimize the speed? Below you'll find 30 ways to tweaking your Windows XP, there are 2 part in total, and the 2nd part is in this page
There are two ways to hibernate windows. One-->Open Task Manager and then click shutdown tab and click hibernate. Second Hidden Method id to Simply click Turn Off From Start Menu and Press Shift when the small box appears. Notice Standby changes to HIBERNATE.
2)Speed Up your performance in Windows XP
Some people find Windows XP slow and some find it good. But the simple way to boost up your XP is simply right click»»my computer »» click properties »» Advanced »» settings in performance »» Adjust for best performance.
Wait and watch. If you common tasks have gone (the boxes in each folder then go again there and check »» USE COMMON TASKS IN FOLDER.
3) Speed up your Booting
Just edit boot.ini and remove the /fastdetect word. Another way id press win+R. Type msconfig click startup tab. End the processes you do not want. Also do the same with services tab. If BITS is started please turn it off.
4) No Messenger
Tired of MSN messenger, even after disabling it, but do not want to remove it. Simply go to C:Program Files and Rename Messenger folder to Died Messenger. And if you use outlook express, It(messenger) will not start untill yo invoke it to stat.
5) Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs
Tired of the 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, then 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.
6) Turn Off Automatic Updating.
Some people might have thought that after using pirated XP copy and Connecting to the INTERNET their copy becomes some slower. So just turn off Live Update.
How to Turn Off Automatic Updates?
Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.
Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually.
7) Using 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. It just like old Poledit.exe.
To start this editor:
Select Start and then Run, then type the following: gpedit.mscAfter you hit Enter, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify almost every feature in Windows XP without having to go to regedit.
8) Login in Administrator
Its very easy to bypass the windows XP Admin logon window. When u started yr computer , u got a message something like this:
Admin or (whatever u make a account!!!)
Password: ..... XXX XXXX.........
some people think that its impossible to break through this, but through this article u can make it easy to break this cripy.
In order to break the Windows XP admin logon , you simply boot yr computer through Windows 2000 CD and boot up a windows XP box and start windows 2000 recivery Console, its a troubleshooting program.
Windows XP then allows us to operate victim's computer as an Administrator without a admin password, even if the Administrator account has a strong password. You can also operate other user accounts that may be present on, even if those accounts have passwords. Finally u can do anything u want on the victim's computer, copy/delete the files whatever u want .
9) Remove program from your desktop
Whenever you have to remove any software/package/program you have to go to control panel then add/remove programe and for that either go to my computer or start menu.
All you have to do is make a new shortcut on ur desktop and set its target to "control.exe appwiz.cpl" there id space between control.exe and appwiz.cpl and write without quotes. this simply would launch Addremove programs wizard.
10) Shutdown Button on Desktop
Right click on ur Desktop and create new Shortcut and type “C:WINDOWSSYSTEM32Shutdown.exe –s” without quotes in the popup box which will appear asking for a path of shortcut . Now when u will double click this shortcut it will give u shutdown message and ur computer will shutdown after some seconds. U can customize ur shutdown button with same icon which original shutdown have Just go to the properties of ur shortcut and click change icon tab select any icon u like and click apply.
Similarly u can also put restart button on ur desktop just replace –s in above line by –r
If u don’t want shutdown button on ur desktop u can the go to start > run and type Shutdown –s or –r they will do the same job. If someone tries to shutdown u remotely on the net then u can stop shutdown process but typing shutdown –a in Run.
Shutdown –s = Shutdown & restart
Shutdown –r = Restart
Shutdown –a = To abort shutdown
11) Remove Hibernation File
If you do not use hibernation, make sure you do not have it enabled, which reserves disk space equal to your RAM. If you have a hidden file on the root directory of your C-drive called hiberfil.sys, hibernation is enabled. To remove that file:
Go to Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, Power Options, Hibernate tab, and uncheck the Enable hibernation box.
12) Free some disk space with XP and some fast.
If you have NTFS partistions then you should stop the indexing service. This service slows your navigation of files. Whenever you click the file the XP adds that to its database for quick search. To turn it off select your all hard disks. Then right click and go to properties. And uncheck "Allow indexing service check Box".
13) Turn Off AND On System Restore.
The system Restore option is useful for some people but for most people its a sheer wastage of RAM and HDD. So according to me it should be turned off. To Change system restore settings Press Win Key + Pause/Break Key (near num lock). Go to System Restore. and change your settings.
14) Prevent XP from Unauthorised Access
This is the best way to prevent un authorised access while connected to the internet. Go to my computer properties, and select Remote tab. Uncheck Both the Check Boxes. This help you to prevent your computer from unauthorized access, while connected to the net.
15) 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.
16) Run safely any of downloaded EXE's.
When ever you download or copy any EXE, do not execute it straight first scan it, and then right click that exe and select Run as and then Select the current user option alongwith, protection option. This is usefull in some cases.
17) 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:
Click OK.
18) Identify a 16-bit Program
Use Windows Explorer to open the folder that contains the program's executable (.exe) file. Right-click the .exe file, and then click Properties. A 16-bit program does not have a Version tab in this dialog box. {Extracts by Mr.xp}
19) Use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XP
To start the Desktop Cleanup Wizard:
Click Start , and then click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes under Pick a category.
Under or pick a Control Panel icon , click Display. The Display Properties dialog box is displayed.In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click Customize Desktop. The Desktop Items dialog box is displayed.
Under Desktop cleanup , click to clear the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box if you do not want the Desktop Cleanup Wizard to automatically start every 60 days.
Click Clean Desktop Now. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard starts.
20) Remove Unwanted Shortcuts
In the Welcome to the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, click Next. In the Shortcuts dialog box, a list of shortcuts are displayed in the Shortcut to Clean Up list. The shortcuts that you click are removed from the desktop and placed in the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder on the Windows desktop.
If you do not want a shortcut to be removed from the desktop, click to clear the check box for that shortcut, and then click Next when you are finished.In the Completing the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, view the items in the Shortcuts box to confirm that you want them removed from the desktop, and then click Finish. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard moves the selected shortcuts to the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder and then quits.
21) How to Pause or Resume Downloading (BUILT IN DAP)
After the download process has started, you can pause or resume downloading at any time. If you close your Internet connection or restart your computer after pausing a download process, Windows automatically resumes the download process the next time you are connected to the Internet. During the download process, click the icon that is displayed in the notification area, and then click Pause.
When you are ready for Windows to start downloading again, click the Automatic updating icon, and then click Resume. Restore an Update that You Previously Declined. If you decide not to download a specific update, you can prompt Windows Update to offer that update again.
Click Start , click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Restore Declined Updates.
22) Editing explorer in windows xp
Editing explore in windows xp is very easy with available tools its not as difficult like old dos based tedious method here u need just one tool called RESOURCE HACKER.
It is a resource viewer it will show u Resources in any 32bit Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 executable files (including exe’s, dll’s, ocx’s and cpl’s) . ok go in to ur windows directory and find explorer.exe and make its two copies name them As explorer_1 and explorer_2 .exe respectively and keep them in windows folder only. We will edit explorer_1 and will keep explorer_2 as backup copy if anything goes wrong.
Open explorer_1.exe in resource hacker and go to String table and edit whatever u want to even u can change start button by ur name or anything else. After editing even a single word do not forget to click the COMPILE button.
Change icon or u can change animated message such as when u install a new programs so when u go to all programs a animated message comes “New Program Installed” u can change it by ur sentence etc. now we have edited the explore_1 now go To File menu in Resource hacker and save it as explorer_1.exe it will ask u that explorer_1.exe is already present do u want to replace it, click YES.
Now we have our edited explorer. Restart ur computer in safe mode with command prompt by pressing F8 during booting process . We will have to copy the explorer_1.exe on explorer.exe by typing command Copy C:\windowsexplorer_1.exe C:\windowsexplorer.exe.
Now restart ur computer and what u will seeing that u r working with ur edited explorer. If anything goes wrong then just copy explorer_2.exe on explorer.exe with the same process.
23) Customize Windows Media Player Title Bar
Change the title bar to read Windows Media Player provided by , so if I had entered text ‘Abhishek Bhuyan’,
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Software | Policies | Microsoft
Create the Key [WindowsMediaPlayer]
Create String value named [TitleBar]
Data Type: REG_SZ // Value Name: TitleBar
Double click TitleBar and Enter the text to be displayed in the title bar.
Exit Registry / Reboot.
24) Increase Menu Display Speed
When you click on the Start Menu there is some delay to display the contents , just for no reason.
Effects are pretty though. The default speed can be adjusted with a quick registry entry.
The default value is 400. Set it to 0 and the delay is gone. If you are not able to adjust then pick a number that suits your style and make the change.
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Control Panel | Desktop
Modify/Create String value of Data type REG_SZ Named [MenuShowDelay]
Value Data: [Default = 400 / Adjust to Preference]
Exit Registry / Reboot
25) Increase Internet Download Connections
Increase Simultaneous Internet Download Connections. Increases the number of allowed simultaneous connections to ten (10).
Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Software | Microsoft | Windows | CurrentVersion | Internet | Settings
Modify/Create DWORD Value of Data type REG_DWORD Named [MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server]
Setting for Value Data: [0000000a]Modify/Create DWORD Value of Data type REG_DWORD Named [MaxConnectionsPerServer]
Setting for Value Data: [0000000a]
Exit Registry / Reboot
26) Create Legal Notice Logon Dialog Box
In situations where you need users to read a legal notice before logging on, this tweak will create the caption for the notice.
Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE | SOFTWARE | Microsoft | Windows NT | CurrentVersion | Winlogon
Modify/Create String Value of Data type REG_SZ Named [LegalNoticeCaption]
Value Data for LegalNoticeCaption: [Type the Caption for the Dialog Box]Modify/Create String Value of Data type REG_SZ Named [LegalNoticeText]
Value Data for LegalNoticeText: [Type the Data for the Legal Notice]
Exit Registry / Reboot
27) Disable Error reporting in XP
Sometimes errors, make us very annoyed in XP so its better to disable them. Just Right click the my computer icon, click properties, go to [advance] and then [error reporting] @ the bottom, click disable error reporting, and check the check box below it.
28) Rename multiple files.
A new, small, neat feature for Windows XP deals with renaming files. I personally have always wanted the OS to include a way to do a mass file renaming on a bunch of files. You can now rename multiple files at once .Its really simple:
Select several files in Explorer, press F2 and rename one of those files to something else. All the selected files get renamed to the new file name (plus a number added to the end).
29) Disable Baloon tips.
To disable Ballon tips in Windows XP do this registry tweak
Go to : HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Software | Microsoft | Windows | CurrentVersion | Explorer | Advanced
Create a new DWORD value, name it EnableBalloonTips, and set it equal to 0. If EnableBalloonTips is already there and equal to 1, set it equal to 0. Quit the registry editor, log off, and log back on. Voila! Your computer will stop talking down to you.
30) Sort menus alphabetically
When you install a new program for a user, it doesn’t find its place in the alphabetical Start menu hierarchy right away; it hangs out at the bottom for a little while. If your users employ the Classic Start menu, they can re-alphabetize it manually by right-clicking the taskbar and choosing Properties, clicking the Customize button next to the Classic Start Menu, and clicking the Sort button.
With the Windows XP style of Start menu, however, you don’t have an equivalent button. To make Windows always alphabetize the list, remove the permissions from the Registry key that controls the sort order for the Start menu.
To do so, go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Software | Microsoft | Windows | CurrentVersion | Explorer | MenuOrder
Choose Edit | Permissions and click the Advanced button. Deselect the Inherit From Parent The Permission Entries That Apply To Child Objects check box and then click Copy when the Security dialog box pops up. Click OK and clear the Full Control entry for your account and all security groups you are a member of. Leave only Read permission.
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All of the above tips and tweaks have no responsibility at all. Apply at your own risk.
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See also part 2
Windows XP Tweaks part 2