:: Anything Goes Blog ::

Windows Key + Tab: Cycle through the buttons in the Task Bar.
Windows Key + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows Key + E: Launch Windows Explorer
Windows Key + F: Launch Search for Files
Windows Key + Ctrl + F: Launch Search for Computers
Windows Key + F1: Launch the Help and Support Center
Windows Key + R: Launch the Run dialog box
Windows Key + Pause/Break: Launch System Properties dialog box
Windows Key + M: Minimizes all open windows.
Windows Key + Shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows Key + L: Locks the workstation
Windows Key + U: Launch the Utility Manager
Windows Key + Ctrl + Tab: According to Microsoft: Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray. What it does for me in XP: moves through the tabs in your current application (Firefox 2, IE 7, Homesite+ and Paint Shop Pro XI)

If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard with IntelliType software installed you can use the following shortcuts as well.

Windows Key + L: Log off Windows
Windows Key + P: Starts Print Manager
Windows Key + C: Opens Control Panel
Windows Key + V: Starts Clipboard
Windows Key + K: Opens Keyboard Properties dialog box
Windows Key + I: Opens Mouse Properties dialog box
Windows Key + A: Starts Accessibility Options (if installed)
Windows Key + Spacebar: Displays the list of Microsoft IntelliType shortcut keys
Windows Key + S: Toggles CAPS LOCK on and off

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Shared Document are the things where we used to see on My Computer, but its not really a necessity to keep them up as it would slow down and affecting the startup loading speed. So the best way is to remove it.

To disable the Shared Documents folder that shows up on the network

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/ Software/ Microsoft/ Windows /CurrentVersion/ Policies /Explorer
3. Create a new DWORD Value
4. Give it name NoSharedDocuments
5. Give it a value of 1
6. Log off or reboot

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If you ever got MP4 Files, you'll notice that the MP4 file will not displaying thumbnail as AVI and MPG do. Now we can make the thumbnail visible for MP4 files

1. Create a new empty text file.

2. Copy the following into the text file:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.mp4ShellEx{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@="{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}"

3. Rename the file from .txt to .reg

4. Double-click on the .reg file. You will be asked if you want to import it into your registry. Click yes.

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1. Find an MSN messengers contact IP address
This will only works if you sending them a file e.g photo, video, etc and doing a peer-to-peer connection while they are downloading it. While sending them files, ensure you have DOS Prompt opened (start > programs > MS-DOS Prompt) and type in: netstat

You will then see a list of IP in the DOS Prompt of all the connections, one of them must be from your friend which is receiving the files from you.

2. Find an IP though mIRC chat channels
Lots of nickname are in IRC but some people use proxies or shells to protect their real IP address, how to know if the user uses web-shell or a proxy is by using tools such as IRC Scanner v1.0 to scan the IP users in IRC channels.

3. Get your friends IP address by sending them to your page
Make a simple site in geocities or anywhere else , then go to http://www.stats4all.com and create an account , they provides free website statistics , add their code to your site and tell your friend to check out a cool page that you just made, so whenever they are visiting your page, their IP will be recorded in stats4all.com so after your friend visiting your page, check your stats in stats4all.com and you will find the last 5 visitors at the left of the stats page .

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Yahoo Mail
On Yahoo Mail, you just need to click "Full headers" while you read the message.

HotMail
In HotMails, you need to enable show header in mail options.
In Mail Options click on Mail Display Settings
In 'Mail Display Settings' set 'Message Headers' to "Full" or "Advanced"

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If you can see someone else IP address but you absolutely had no idea who and where it was and decide to Look up for their IP Address, then you can perform this trick to see their IP Address

In Windows 2000, go to Start > Run and type in "command" or "cmd" in XP. At the command prompt, enter "nslookup xx.xx.xx.xx" (where the xx stuff is the IP address). The first output would be some info about their ISP, then it will gives you the real IP address and not the internal IP address. This can help you to get some meaning behind those cryptic numbers.

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Before you can change your IP you need some information. This information includes your IP range, subnet mask, default gateway, dhcp server, and dns servers.

I. Getting your IP range - Getting information about your IP range is not difficult, I recommend using Neo Trace on your own IP. But for my test just look at your IP address, say it's 24.193.110.13 you can definitely use the IP's found between 24.193.110.1 < [new IP] <>II. Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DHCP Server - These are very easy to find, just open a dos/command prompt window and type 'ipconfig /all' without the ' '. You should see something like this:
Windows IP Configuration:

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : My Computer Name Here
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . . . . . . .: xxxx.xx.x
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : NETGEAR FA310TX Fast Ethernet Adapter (NGRPCI)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xxx.xxx.xx
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.240.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xxx.xxx.x
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 24.xx.xxx.xx
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.xx.xxx.xxx
24.xx.xxx.xx
24.xx.xxx.xxx
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .:Monday, January 20, 2003 4:44:08 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .:Tuesday, January 21, 2003 3:43:16 AM

This is all the information you will need for now, I suggest you either keep your dos/command prompt window open or copy & paste the information somewhere, to copy right click the window and select text and click once.

III. Changing your IP Address

To change your IP address first pick any IP you like out of your IP range and remember it or write it down. It is usualy a good idea to make sure the IP is dead (except for what we are going to do later on) so just ping it via "ping x.x.x.x" and if it times out then you can use it. Now go to My Computer, then Control Panel. In Control Panel select Network Connections and pick your active connection, probably Local Area Connection or your ISP name. Open that connection by double clicking on the icon in Network Connections, then select Properties under the General Tab. In the new window that pops up select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click properties, it's under the general tab. In this new window select the General tab and choose "Use the following IP address" and for the IP address enter the IP you would like to use (the one you picked from your subnet earlier) and for the Subnet Mask enter the subnet mask you got when your ran ipconfig /all, same goes for the Default Gateway. Now select "Use the following DNS server addresses" and enter the information you got earlier. Now just click OK. Test that it worked, try to refresh a website and if it works you know everything is okay and you are connected. To make sure the change worked type ipconfig again and the IP address should have changed to your new one.

IV. DDoS & DoS Protection

If your firewall shows that you are being DDoSed, this is usually when you are constantly getting attempted UDP connections several times a second from either the same IP address or multiple IP addresses (DDoS), you can protect your self by changing your IP address via the method I described above.

V. Web servers & Other Services

If you know someone on your IP range is running a web server and he or she has pissed you off or you just like messing around you can "steal" their IP address so any DNS going to that IP will show your site instead because you would be running a web server yourself.

To "steal" an IP is to basically use the changing IP address method above and picking an IP that someone that is running a web server has in use. Often you will be able to keep that IP at least for some time, other times you wont be able to use it so just keep trying until it works. You your self will need to have a web server on the same port with your message. You can do this with other services too. You can also DoS or DDoS the IP address you are trying to steal to kick him off the net, but I don't recommend as its pretty illegal, an your ISP will get pissed!!

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Tracing an IP

What is an IP address?
An IP address or Internet Protocol is a 32-bit number address, which is assigned to each computer (technically called a host) connected to the Internet. It is the address to which different types of data are sent to your computer. It consists of 4 octets. Each octet equals 8 bits and has a range from 0 to 255. (Every IP address on the Internet is sectioned off into classes from class A to class E, depending on a different range of numbers, but I won?t go into that here.) Well I always believed that sometimes pictures speak louder than words so here is an example of a typical IP address:

209.124.223.67
| | | |
| | | |----> (4th octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)
| | |----------> (3rd octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)
| |----------------> (2nd octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)
|---------------------> (1st octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)

Notice how each octet is separated by a decimal. I said earlier that an IP address is a 32-bit number or address. There are 4 octets, which are each 8-bits. So 8-bits + 8-bits + 8-bits + 8-bits = 32-bits.

What can an IP tell me about a person?
Well an IP address can tell a good bit of information about a person, or should I say the computer the person is at or registered to. In its numerical form, an IP number would be kind of hard, to an average and less geeky person, to look at and automatically see what information you can get from it. Enter the Domain Name System (DNS). The Domain Name System or DNS turns those confusing little numbers into readable hostnames (ex. 209.124.223.67 in its DNS form would look like gnzl-as50-67.eatel.net). Now to convert an IP number address into DNS form you would have to use something called rDNS or reverse Domain Name System. To find rDNS tools online just go to www.samspade.org or search at www.google.com.
Example:

gnzl-as50-67.eatel.net
| | |
| | |----> (domain belongs to a network)
| |---------> (name of the isp or internet service provider)
|-------------------> (the name of the machine which is located in ?gnzl? or gonzales of Louisiana)

Domains could also have suffixes behind them (ex. gnzl-as50-67.eatel.net.uk) indicating that they are from another country. Example:

.jp = Japan
.uk = United Kingdom
.nl = Netherlands
.it = Italy
.ru = Russia
.fr = France
.eg = Egypt

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How do I find my own IP address?

Windows 95/98/ME:
1. Click the Start button then press Run.
2. In the Run dialog box, type in WINIPCFG in the white space and press OK.
3. An IP Configuration box should pop up with the IP displayed.

Windows 2000
1. Click START, go to Programs, then go to Accessories, and select the Command Prompt.
2. The Command Prompt window will open. Type "ipconfig/all" and hit the RETURN key.

Windows NT
1. Click the Start button then press Run.
2. In the Run dialog box, type in IPCONFIG in the white space and press OK.

OR

1. Click Start, go to Programs, and then select Command Prompt or MS-Dos Prompt.
2. When you see that black window pop up type 'ipconfig/all' and press Enter.

How do I get someone's IP when they are chatting on MSN/AIM/Yahoo Messenger?
How many times have you moderates on computer security message boards heard this one? The answer is quite simple really. All you need is a direct connection from you to the person?s computer, and a wonderful little command that comes with all windows systems called netstat. Netstat displays active connections and protocol statistics.

Now to get someone's IP on these messenger you would need a direct connection. I will explain why in a bit. Now to get a direct connection you would need to have some sort of file transferring, voice chat session, or even a web cam session with Windows NetMeeting. Ok say you are sending a file to someone and you want to get his or her IP. First you would need to open up the MS-Dos Prompt or Command Prompt or the little black window thingy to the computer illiterate. Just follow the same format I showed you early on how to find your IP address. You know, Start, Programs, Command Prompt. Ok now you should have the Dos Prompt window up. While you are transferring/recieiving a file, or voice chatting with someone, type in the command 'netstat -n'. You should see something like this:

C:WINDOWS>netstat -n

Active Connections

Proto Local Address Foreign Address State
TCP 211.124.228.98:1138 64.4.13.69:1863 ESTABLISHED
TCP 211.124.228.98:1150 64.4.12.190:1863 ESTABLISHED
TCP 211.124.228.98:6891 12.90.50.93:1978 ESTABLISHED

The above is an example I got from using the netstat -n command on a friend. The two above commands are from the MSN messenger service. There are two because I am chatting to two people at this time. So while I was transferring a file to this person I did the netstat -n command and got their IP number (12.90.50.93).

So you might be asking, "How come I can?t just do a netstat -n while Im chatting with someone??" Well the truth is that you can, but you would only get the IP of the MSN server that you are on. Let me explain it better with a picture?.

YOU------> MSN SERVER------>OTHER PERSON

So that's basically how it looks when you send your messages to your friend or what not. They first have to pass through the MSN server then go to your friend's messenger. So if you were to do a netstat -n you would only get the server?s IP. Now a direct connection would look like?

YOU------>OTHER PERSON

I think it?s pretty self-explanatory. Now netstat -n would work since the transfer is between you and the other person, and not you, then the server, then the other person.

If someone is using a proxy or wingate how can I obtain his or her true IP address?
As for as I know, I don?t think you can. Not easily anyway. You would have to be the administrator of the proxy or wingate server and or get access to the server logs of your entry somehow.

Someone told me that websites could get my IP and other information. Is this true?
Yes this is true. Anything u connect to via the Internet can capture your IP and other sorts of information. Go to www.privacy.net then click at the top for a full analysis. That site shows u what information other sites may get off of your computer while you are surfing them. Feeling a little less secure now? Well, I would recommend trying an anonymous browser such as www.anonymizer.com or www.safeweb.com. You can also use proxy?s to spoof (hide your real IP or domain) your connection by using MultiProxy, A4Proxy, or Proxomitron

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For those who love to seeking new stuff on Google, you might like this trick, because i have been using this for a while and it has been proven on giving me the different search result and even the accurates one.

Method 1
put this string in google search:

"parent directory " /appz/ -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums

"parent directory " DVDRip -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums

"parent directory "Xvid -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums

"parent directory " Gamez -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums

"parent directory " MP3 -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums

"parent directory " Name of Singer or album -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums

Notice that i'm only changing the word after the parent directory, you can change it to whatever you want and you will get a lot of stuff.

Method 2
put this string in google search:

'intitle:index.of' mp3

In this case, you'll only need to add the name of the song/artist/singer.
Example: 'intitle:index.of' mp3 jackson

Method 3
put this string in google search:

inurl:microsoft filetype:???

Method 4
put this string in google search:

intitle:index.of.???

Method 5
put this string in google search:

"name of object"download
"name of object download"
free "name of object"download
free "name of object download"

Or just look for the filename(s).
and instead of using the inurl: tags, use site: tags that works too.

Google A Hacker's Best Friend

http://neworder.box.sk/newsread.php?newsid=8203

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Uninstall Windows Messenger

It's installed by default, and it doesn't appear in the Add/Remove Program applet in Control Panel.

1. Edit the SYSOC.INF file (located in C:[your Windows XP directory]INF) in Notepad.
2. Under the "[Components]" heading, you'll see a whole bunch of parameters for various Windows applets. Some of them contain the word "hide". Windows Messenger (msmsgs) is installed on your XP system, but its entry is hidden from and Add/Remove Programs dialog. To remove it, edit the line that reads:msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7so that it looks like this:

   msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,7

3. Save and close the file.
4. Open Add/Remove Programs.
5. Click on the "Windows Components" button and you'll see "Windows Messenger" listed.
6. Now you can remove it from your system.

Incidentally, you can edit everywhere the word "hide" appears in the SYSOC.INF file to reveal other removable Windows XP components: Terminal Server, Pinball, etc.

-OR-
To simply uninstall Windows Messenger without all the hassle above, enter the following on the command line or in a Run prompt:

RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%INFmsmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

-OR-
Simply install Windows Service Pack 1 and the option to remove Windows Messenger will appear in the Add/Remove Programs list.

Enable DMA on ATAPI (CDROM/CDRW/DVD) Drives

Sometimes, ATAPI devices are set to PIO mode - even when the device attached is capable of much more efficient UltraATA (or DMA) mode data transfers. This can hurt the performance of CD reading, CD burning, DVD movie playback, etc. Plus, DMA mode data transfers require much less CPU overhead than PIO-mode transfers.

1. Right-click "My Computer" and select "Properties".
2. Click the "Hardware" tab.
3. Click the "Device Manager" button.
4. Expand the entry for "IDE/ATAPI controllers".
5. Select the primary channel and click on "Properties".
6. Then choose the "Advanced Settings" tab.
7. For each device listed, change the transfer mode to "DMA if possible". Don't worry; devices that aren't capable of DMA mode will still work fine.
8. Repeat the process for the secondary channel.

There are two types of IDE cables ( the cable used to connect CD and harddrives to the motherboard) currently available: 40-wire and 80-wire. 80-wire cables have thinner individual wires and are normally reserved for faster devices like harddrives, while the 40-wire cables are used for the slower CDROM/CDRW/DVD drives. However, they use the same connector, so they are interchangeable. I like to put the 80-pin cables on the CD/DVD drives as well; It can't hurt, but it may help. There really isn't much difference in price between the two. Using 40-wire cable on a harddrive will severely reduce performance for harddrives. Those extra 40 wires are actually ground wires between each of the 40 signal wires. This helps reduce the induced crosstalk between wires from data traveling at high speed.

Remove Shared Folders from "My Computer"

The shared folders are folders which have been shared from other computers on the network. It generally provides quick access to other people's shared files, but may also delay the opening of Explorer since it has to look for these directories. Or, you may simply not want them to show up. However, this does not keep you from browsing to any shared folders by navigating "My Network Places".

1. Open Notepad and copy/paste the following lines:
   
   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

   
   

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerMy ComputerNameSpaceDelegateFolders{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee} "(Default)"=dword:00000

   
   

   
   

   
   

2. Save the file to your desktop as "removeshared.reg".
3. Close Notepad.
4. Double-click the "removeshared.reg" file on your desktop.
5. Click "Yes" to the confirmation box.
6. An alert box should tell you the information was successfully entered into the registry. Click "Ok".
7. You can now delete the "removeshared.reg" file you created earlier.
8. Open "My Computer" and the shared folders should be gone.

Cannot Get Windows Updates from Microsoft's website

I haven't had this happen to me, but this is supposed to work if, for some reason, you are unable to get updates for your system.

1. Go into Internet Explorer and clear out the cache ("Tools" -> "Internet Options" -> press "Delete Files" and "Clear History" buttons). Then exit IE.
2. Open the file C:WINDOWSsystem32driversetchosts in Notepad.
3. Add the following line to the end of the file:207.46.226.17 windowsupdate.microsoft.com(Make sure there's a tab in-between the IP address and the URL or else it won't work.)
4. Save the file and exit Notepad.

Install WindowsXP from DOS

You can follow these steps to install WindowsXP on your computer if the CD itself is unbootable for any reason, or your system is unable to be booted from a CD drive. You can usually make BIOS boot from the CD, it usually is just a matter of changing the boot order.

1. You will need 6 Floppies. Download Microsoft's boot disk creator from here.
2. Run the program and swap floppies when it tells you to.
3. Once created, boot from floppy 1 of the set and follow the directions from there. You will still need the WindowsXP CD.

-OR-

1. Boot with a Windows 98 Start Up floppy disk.
2. Insert the Windows 98 CD into your CDROM.
3. Run smartdrv.exe from the "Win98" directory on the windows98 CD. This enables file caching and is needed.
4. When done, go back up to the CD's root directory.
5. Take out the Windows98 CD and insert the WindowsXP CD into your CDROM drive.
6. Copy the i386 folder on the CD to the C drive: xcopy D:I386 c: /c/h/e/k/r (replace "D" with the letter of your CD drive).
7. Go into "C:i386" folder on the C drive and type "winnt32.exe" to launch the setup program from the hard drive.

If you do not have the windows98 CD, you can create a windows98 startup floppy from a Windows98 machine. Just make sure it also has tools on it like smartdrv.exe, xcopy, etc.

Create a shortcut to lock computer or switch user

The end result is determined by how you have your PC configured:

• If you log onto on a domain, this will simply lock the computer with the Windows2000 style logon box.
• If you log onto a workgroup or are not part of a network and have "User Switching" disabled, this will bring you to the Welcome screen to re-enter your password.
• If you have "User Switching" enabled, this will bring you to the Welcome screen for you to re-enter your password and/or allow someone else to log in too (while keeping everything you had running).

1. Right click on desktop and select "New" and then select "Shortcut".
2. Copy and paste the following line in the program location box:rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
3. Click "Next" and enter a name for your shortcut and then click "Finish".
4. Now you can copy and paste that shortcut anywhere you want on your computer. Good places might be your quick launch bar, Start menu, etc. You can change the icon as well.

Windows resets/locks up for no apparent reason

Check this out if Windows simply resets, "bluescreens", or locks up for no apparent reason.

• First of all, if the computer simply resets, you might want to shut off "automatic restart". This makes the computer reset if it encounters a serious problem. Shutting this off will show you a blue screen that might give you a clue as to what is going on. To shut off "automatic restart":
  1. Right-click "My Computer" and select "Properties"
  2. Click the "Advanced" tab.
  3. Click the "Settings" button in the "Startup and Recovery" section.
  4. Uncheck the "Automatically Restart" option.

  Hopefully, you will be able to glean some sort of information from the blue screen when it happens again.

• Check Windows Event History. I find this to be an invaluable tool in troubleshooting.
  1. Click "Start", then "Control Panel", then "Adminsitrative Tools".
  2. Start "Event History".
  3. On the left are the three groups: System, Security. and Application. Select one of these and on the right will be all the entries for that group. You probably want to pay special attention to the System and Application categories as they will help you the most. Look for red circles with a white X. These are the "bad" errors. Double-click one of them to bring up a description. There might also be a website URL that may give you more information about the error. Some of these descriptions may be quite cryptic, but again, you are looking for obvious issues.
• Many times, a new or corrupted device driver may cause serious errors. If you have recently installed a new device, try reverting back an older version of the driver. If the problem goes away, you've found your problem! When installing drivers, you should always remove the old before installing the new one so there won't be any fragments of the old version littering your system.
• If you have just replaced your motherboard and now Windows gives you a blue screen error; I've got some good news and some bad news.
  • Good News: Chances are there is nothing wrong with the board.... which leads me to the bad news.
  • Bad news: If the motherboard chipset (nVidia, VIA, Intel, AMD, Sis, etc) on your new board is different from the old one, you probably will have to re-install windowsXP from scratch. Sometimes the differences in chipset architecture is simply too different for XP to recover from. Even if you can get it to work, you probably will have all kinds of old drivers and files from the old board, and may adversly affect performance. I've always re-installed WindowsXP using the "wipe-out-the-old-version" method to be sure of a clean install. I always make a harddrive image of my drive to another harddrive before I do this just in case I forgot a file I really need. Obviously, you should make the image before you install the new motherboard in case problems like this arise. ;)
• WindowsXP seems to be quite picky about system memory (RAM). Even though your memory ran flawlessly under Windows98/2000/ME. WindowsXP may simply refuse to accept it. I suggest downloading and running a thorough memory tester. Typically, these types of programs run by creating a bootable floppy and running in "DOS". If you have a bad stick of memory, or certain parts are bad, looks like it's time to break down and buy some new RAM.If you are running a motherboard with dual-channel capability, try re-arranging your memory to run in single-channel mode. If you don't know what "dual/single channel" is, don't worry about it.Try relaxing the timings on your memory through BIOS (CAS, RAS, etc). These settings are generally found in the "Advanced Chipset" section of your BIOS. At least lower the CAS setting to 2.5, and maybe lower your memory clock speed. If you have an OEM computer (Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc) and cannot find these settings, don't worry, these settings are probably not available to you. They are mostly found on aftermarket motherboards like Giga-byte, Asus, MSI, Abit, etc.
• Most people neglect a very (if not the most) important part of any computer: The power supply. If you've upgraded some of your hardware, or added new (or upgraded to newer) hard/CD drives, the power supply may not be able to supply the juice your PC needs. Or, it could just be old and on its way out. Either way, it may be time to get a new one. With today's fast and power hungry video cards, CPU's, and harddrives, it wouldn't hurt to purchase a power supply with a rating of at least 400 watts or higher. You really can't have a power supply that is too big; your system will only draw what it needs. A power supply that is too small will have to work harder to provide the power to your system. This reduces its life and creates more internal heat. Plus, if a power supply "blows", it could take your expensive equipment with it. The moral: don't skimp! A cheap power supply may save you a few bucks now, but might cost you more in the long run in damaged equipment.
• One word: Temperature. Today's processors generate lots of heat. This heat is removed from the CPU via heatsink and fan. Check your fans once in a while to make sure they are clean and running smoothly. Also make sure there is no dust on the heatsink itself, which would reduce its heat dissipating properties. Go to your nearest computer store (some department stores may have a small computer accessories section) and purchase a can of "canned air", which is simply compressed air in a can. Use this to blow the dust out of these components.The best processor heatsink in the world will not do any good if the air inside your computer cannot circulate. This means you should occasionally check any case fans for dust-free and smooth operation. Some less-expensive computers use the fan built into the power supply to remove heat from the computer's case. Use the canned air mentioned above to clean these fans as well.There are programs you can download for free such as Motherboard Monitor (my favorite) that you may (depending on your motherboard model) be able to use to monitor various aspects of your computer, such as CPU temperature, power supply voltages, fan speeds, etc. This is especially important if you like to overclock your system, which is pushing the components beyond their rated specifications for the benefit of added performance. These types of people usually have aftermarket (and sometime exotic) cooling solutions though.

  Other devices you should clean off regularly are video cards, harddrives, and any other surface where you see a heatsink.

Remove Windows ZIP file handling

WindowsXP will treat ZIP files like folders when selected, but this can slow down file browsing since it has to read the ZIP file to display its' contents. You can speed things up, especially on slower machines, by making XP leave zip files alone.

1. Click "Start" and select "Run".
2. Enter this is the command line:regsvr32 /u %windir%system32zipfldr.dll
3. If you change your mind later, you can revert this by typing the following on the command line instead:regsvr32 zipfldr.dll

Volume control shortcut

Most soundcards enable you to add a volume control icon to the system tray. You can follow these instructions if this option is not available.

1. Right-click on the desktop and select "New" and then select "Shortcut".
2. Enter the following as the location:%windir%system32sndvol32.exe /tray
3. Drag the new icon to the quick launch toolbar for best effect.

Better Game Install

I'm not really sure if this works, but if you have trouble with the regular installation, there's nothing to lose by trying this: Run the setup program from the install CD from the "Run" command box using the following format:

X:setup.exe -lgntforce

Where X is the CD drive letter, and setup.exe is the setup file used to install the game.

Create a shutdown shortcut

Use this to create a shortcut to shutdown your PC. You can also create shortcuts to log off or restart by changing a parameter.

1. Right-click on the Desktop and select "New" then "Shortcut".
2. Browse to the file C:WindowsSystem32Shutdown.exe.
3. Click "Next", name the shortcut, and click "Finish".
4. Now right-click on the new shortcut and choose "Properties".
5. In the "Target" field, append the command line switch -l to log off, -s to shut down, or -r to reboot.
6. If you also add the switch -t xx (where xx is a number of seconds), "Shutdown.exe" will display a warning and count down the specified number of seconds before activating. You can specify a comment to be displayed with the warning by adding the switch -c "Your text". The countdown behavior is particularly useful if the shutdown program is launched through the "Scheduled Tasks" applet. For example, a library computer might be scheduled to shut down 10 minutes before closing, with a 60-second warning. Once the countdown has begun, the only way to stop it is to launch the "Shutdown.exe" program again with the -a (for abort) switch on its command line.

Get Rid of LILO

This is used if you are dual-booting with a version of Linux. You may simply not want to use Linux anymore, but the LILO program will still display a list of Operating Systems to boot to. You can remove this so WindowsXP will boot without any prompts. Warning! Unless you have a Linux boot floppy/CDROM, you will no longer be able to boot into Linux after completing these steps.

1. Boot from a Windows98 floppy disk.
2. At the DOS prompt, type A:fdisk /mbr
3. When done, remove the floppy and reboot.

Fix 404 Errors

You can use these tips if all of a sudden, you can no longer access a website that you should be able to. Before you do this, you should make sure the site isn't simply down by trying to navigate to the site from another computer. Also, this is only if a certain site is down; if you cannot access any sites, there is something else wrong (possibly your Internet connection).

1. Check your firewall settings (if you have one).
2. Check your browser security level; medium is usually adequate.
3. Empty "Temporary Internet Files", "Cookies", and "History" caches.
4. Check the file c:windowssystem32driversetchosts and delete any addresses aside from the line: 127.0.0.1 localhost entry. Any other lines may have been added by another program.

These tips and tricks were found on My Fav. Warez Forum W5A!!!

Read More...

Summary only...

Mystery Bar

Procedure:

1. Hold down "Ctrl", then access the toolbar properties in 2 ways:
   • Click "Start".
   • Point to "Settings".
   • Click "Taskbar and Start Menu".

   -OR-

   • While mouse is over the toolbar, right click mouse and select "Properties".
   • There will be another tab along the top of the toolbar properties box.

Usage: If you have the quick launch tool bar visible on your task bar, you can drag it (or any other toolbar) from the taskbar to the right, left, or top side of the screen and have it reside in it’s own toolbar that can be set to autohide just like the taskbar. If you have multiple toolbars present, and then use the above procedure, it will show the tool bars you have created under the mysterious "Deskbar" tab. This only works for "docked" toolbars.

Another Toolbar

Also, you can drag a folder from the desktop to the side(s) of the screen which will create a toolbar showing that folder’s contents.

Windows Easter Eggs

Ever wondered why Microsoft applications seem to become slower and fatter with each new release? Here's how to find these "Easter Eggs".
Procedures:

• 1. Open a blank work sheet.
  2. Press F5 and type X97:L97 in the "Reference" box, then click "OK".
  3. Now hit your tab key once (you should end up in cell M97).
  4. Press "Ctrl" and "Shift" while clicking once on the "chart wizard" icon (the one at the top with the blue-yellow-red bar chart).
  1. Open a new document.
  2. Type the word "BLUE" (in uppercase and without quotes).
  3. Highlight the word.
  4. From the menu, select "Format" and "Font", and change the color to blue.
  5. Make the word bold-faced.
  6. Click at the end of the word "blue", type a space.
  7. Click "Help" from the menu, select "About Microsoft Word".
  8. Click on the Word icon.

MS Flight Simulator in EXCEL 97

After a few moments you should be flying. Steer with the mouse, accelerate and decelerate with the left and right mouse buttons respectively, and look for the monoliths with the programmer’s credits. You can exit the screen by pressing "Ctrl"+"Shift"+"Esc".

MS Pinball in WORD 97

After a few moments, you should see a pinball game on the left with programmer’s names scrolling on the right. Right flipper=M, left flipper=C, exit=ESC.

Various Shortcuts

• 1. Navigate in the Registry to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d}Shell
  2. Right-click and choose "New", "Key".
  3. Type in "open" and hit Enter.
  4. Right-click on "Open", choose "New", "Key".
  5. Type in "command" and hit Enter.
  6. Double-click on "(Default)", type in "explorer /e, c:" and hit Enter.
  1. Open up Notepad and type:

     C:WINDOWSRUNDLL.EXE  user.exe,exitwindows

  2. Save the file as "exit.bat".
  3. Create a shortcut to the file by clicking the right mouse button and selecting "Send to" and "Desktop (Create shortcut)".
  4. Right-click on the shortcut and select Properties.
  5. Click on the Program tab and select the "Close on Exit" box.
  6. Now click on the Advanced button and make sure "MS-DOS mode" is selected.
  7. Make sure "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" is not selected.
  8. Click on the OK button twice.
  9. Give your new shortcut a unique icon and name.
  1. Open Notepad and type:

     @exit

  2. Close the document and give it a name with a .BAT extension.
  3. Now save the file somewhere on your hard disk.
  4. Create a shortcut to the file by clicking the right mouse button and selecting "Send to" and "Desktop (Create shortcut)".
  5. Right-click on the shortcut and select Properties.
  6. Click on the Program tab and select the "Close on Exit" box.
  7. Now click on the Advanced button and make sure "MS-DOS mode" is selected.
  8. Make sure "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" is not selected.
  9. Click on the OK button twice.
  10. Give your new shortcut a unique icon and name.

Explorer Shortcut

Ever notice when you double-click the explorer icon, it brings up a folder showing printers, networking, etc..? Wouldn’t it be nice to have it open something useful like Explorer?
Procedure:

Note: you can put any path after the "c:" as long as it is a valid path.

Windows Shutdown Shortcut

Procedure:

Windows Restart Shortcut

Procedure:

Makes cascading menus of some system folders on the Start up menu.

Procedure:

1. Right-click the "Start" menu, click "Open". A Window will open showing all, if any, shortcuts in Start menu (this folder may be empty).
2. From the toolbar menu, select "File", "New", "Folder".
3. Name the folder with one of the items below. USE THE WHOLE STRING! (Hint: Copy a FULL name below and paste it as the new folder name).
4. Hit Enter and now the Start menu should have a new drop down list.

Below are the names of the folders.

• Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
• Dial-Up Networking.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
• Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
• Inbox.{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
• My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
• Recycle Bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
• Network Neighborhood.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
• Desktop.{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
• Briefcase.{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
• Fonts.{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}

Windows Performance boosts

These tips 'n tricks should help improve Windows performance a little. But, there is only so much you can do to the OS. The best performance boost would be a faster processor, more/faster (if your motherboard supports it) RAM, and maybe an ATA66 EIDE controller card for your compatible hard drive(s). Note: Most newer motherboards have the ATA66 controller built-in.

• 1. Open Notepad and type this line:

     Mystring = Space(80000000)

     .

  2. Now save this file as "MEMORY.VBS". This creates a one-line VBasic program.
  3. Whenever Windows starts to feel sluggish, close all non-used apps and double-click on the file.
  4. Assuming your computer has the runtime files, this should help free "leaky RAM" (RAM used by apps that doesn't get freed on exit).
  1. First, create a permanent swap file on your PC. Go to Control Panel, System. Click the Performance tab, then the virtual memory button.
  2. Select "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings".
  3. I set my system to about 5 times my RAM size (I have 96 Mbytes RAM, so my swap file is about 500 Mbytes). The file needs to be big so Windows never runs out of disk "memory".
  4. Set both minimum and maximum to the same value. This prevents Windows from resizing the swap file when needed, which keeps it from fragmenting.
  5. Accept the changes and reset to allow changes to take effect. Bootup will take a little longer than usual (this time only) due to the changes made.
  6. Now either run Norton's SpeedDisk (if you have it), OR follow the next 3 steps. Either one does the same thing, but Norton's is easier.
     
     1. Reboot to the DOS prompt.
     2. Delete the swap file ( C:Win386.swp ) and reset the PC again.
     3. Don't worry about deleting it; when Windows restarts, it will create a new unfragmented swap file with the size you specified! Again, bootup (this time only) will take longer because it has to erase a big file and then recreate it.
  7. Now Windows won't try to keep resizing the swap file which results in faster performance.
  1. Run Sysedit.
  2. Click on the "system.ini" window.
  3. Scroll down to the [vcache] section.
     If you don't see one, type in [vcache] as a new heading.
  4. If you have 48MB of RAM or less, enter these two lines:

     MinFileCache=0MaxFileCache=4096

  5. If you have more than 48MB of RAM, enter these two lines:

     MinFileCache=0MaxFileCache=8192

  6. Close Sysedit, saving your changes, and restart the computer so changes take effect.
  1. Right-Click "My Computer" and select the Performance tab
  2. Click the "File System" button.
  3. Select the Floppy Disk tab.
  4. Uncheck the option "Search for new floppy disk drives every time your computer starts".
  5. Accept the changes and reset the computer when prompted.
  1. Click the "Start" button and select "Find" and then "Files or Folders".
  2. Enter "msdos.sys" in the Named box and "C:" in the Look In box.
  3. Then click "Find Now".
  4. When the file appears, right-click it and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
  5. Unclick the check marks labeled "Read-Only" and "Hidden", then click "OK".
  6. Right-click msdos.sys and select "Open With" from the pop-up menu.
  7. Select any text editor as the opening program, and then click "OK".
  8. Once the file opens, scroll down to "Options".
  9. Enter "BootDelay=0" on its own line.
  10. Save the changes and close the file.
  11. Return msdos.sys to its hidden, read-only state. (Right-click it, select "Properties" from the pop-up menu, and check the "Read-Only" and "Hidden" check boxes. Then click OK.)
  12. Restart the computer so the changes take effect.
  1. Click "Start" then "Startup" and then right-click on "FindFast" and select "Delete".
     (Note: if you are running Windows95, you'll have to navigate to this menu with explorer, and then delete the FindFast shortcut).
  2. As always, restart the computer so your changes will take effect.
  3. That's it!
  1. Click "Start" then "Run" and then type "MSCONFIG.EXE".
  2. From the program that opens, select the "Startup" tab.
     These are all the other programs that are running when windows starts.
  3. Un-select any program by un-checking the respective box.
     What's cool about this is you can undo whatever you do later on by re-checking the box.
  4. Once you make all your changes, close the program and click "Yes" when it tells you that you need to restart.
  5. Incidentally, you can change other startup options in this program, but you're on your own if you decide to do so!

Free System RAM to the Swap File

Optimize the Swap File

Optimize the Virtual Cache

Ever notice how sometimes the PC will freeze up and the hard drive will thrash? This is sometimes caused by the Windows virtual cache feature, which is designed to reduce disk access, but can adversely effect performance in certain situations.
Procedure:

Stop the Scan for New Floppy Disks at Bootup

When Windows 98 boots up, it looks to see if any other drives have been added since shutdown. This, of course, wastes a few moments. If you are sure you never add drives, you can disable this feature and speed up rebooting a little. Procedure:

Speed Up Reboots

There is a two-second delay in Windows start-up sequence. You can set this delay to 0 and gain an extra 2 seconds. it doesn't sound like much, but every effort to reduce that slow, clunky startup any amount of time is worthwhile! Procedure:

Remove Microsoft FindFast

Do you have Microsoft Office97 installed? If so, you also have FindFast. This program is supposed to make file access faster by building a sort of database which helps Windows find file locations easier. The trouble is, this "indexing" makes the system slow down while it is looking for the files to index. You can adjust the time between its execution, but it always seems to be in a really important part of an intense game or something. The easiest solution: Keep it form running at all!
Procedure (and it is REALLY simple):

Removing startup programs

You probably know that any program in the Startup folder in the Start menu runs on startup, but there are other programs that load up on startup that aren't in this folder.
BE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING BEFORE DOING THE NEXT STEP(S)!!!!
Procedure:

Windows Registry Fixes

Is your registry having problems (meaning the whole or part of the OS isn't working right)? There are a couple of software programs out there that really help things get back under control: MicroSoft's RegClean and Norton's Utilities.

• RegClean is a free utility by MicroSoft. Just go to their website (www.MicroSoft.com) and search for it. Make sure you get the appropriate one though! There are separate versions for Win95 and Win98. This program fixes common registry problems caused primarily by Microsoft's applications.
• Norton's Utilities, on the other hand, is much better I think! It isn't free, but you can get it for about $50 pretty much anywhere. This has several tools to make life easier.
  • Windoctor finds all kinds of common registry problems and lets you decide how to fix them, or the program can find the best solution by itself.
  • SpeedDisk is a disk defragmenter which is faster than the one that comes with Win98. It also lets you optimize the registry (hint: Use the optimization swap file procedure above and then let Norton defrag the swap file). This isn't really a registry tool, but it is nice.
  • Finally, Optimization wizard optimizes the registry by compacting unused portions for faster access.

I use these each time before I back up my system and it has kept my PC running smoothly.

Windows Registry Tweaks

The following tweaks are done using REGEDIT. You must enter EXACTLY the values shown or severe problems may result. BACK UP your Registry in case. I cannot be held responsible for any problems you have from the use of these tweaks. If unsure, DON'T DO IT!!
Note: Some of these settings can be done through TweakUI, a free MicroSoft unsupported program that comes with Win98 (first edition). This is obviously preferable to mucking with the Registry.

• 1. Run Regedit and navigate to:

     [HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop]

  2. Modify the value of 'MenuShowDelay' according to the delay you would like before the menus are shown (the value is time in milliseconds). If the value doesn't already exist, then simply create a new string value (between 0 and 999 only) and name it 'MenuShowDelay'.
  3. Close Regedit and restart the computer for the change to take affect.
  1. Run Regedit and navigate to:

     [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlFileSystem]

  2. Create a new DWORD value named 'ContigFileAllocSize'.
  3. Set the value to equal to '200' (in hex) or '512' (in decimal).
     The entry should now look like this:

     ContigFileAllocSize  0x00000200 (512)

  4. Close Regedit and restart the computer for the change to take affect.
  1. Run Regedit and navigate to:

     HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

  2. Click on the long list.
  3. In the right-hand window, double-click (Default), and change the name from Recycle Bin to whatever you prefer.
  4. Click OK and close Regedit.
  5. Click anywhere on the desktop, then press the F5 key to refresh the screen and show the new name.
  1. Run RegEdit and navigate to:

     HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer

  2. Select Edit/New/Binary Value from the menu bar.
  3. Name the new entry "NoLogOff"
  4. Press Enter and set the value to "01 00 00 00".
  5. Close Regedit, and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.
  1. Run Regedit and navigate to:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion

  2. Double-click the "RegisteredOrganization" and/or "RegisteredOwner" options, and type in a new name.
  3. Close Regedit and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.
  1. Run Regedit and navigate to:

     HKEY_CURRENT_USER, select Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer

  2. Select Edit/New/DWORD value.
  3. Change the default name to "NoFavoritesMenu".
  4. Press Enter and change the contents of the Value Data to 1.
  5. Close Regedit, and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.
  1. Run Regedit and navigate to:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall

  2. Under Uninstall, locate any keys you don't want, and press Delete to remove them one by one.
  3. Close Regedit, and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.
  1. Run Regedit and navigate to:

     HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer

  2. In the right-hand pane, right-click "NoSaveSettings" and select Modify.
  3. Add a 1 to the value to disable Windows' ability to save settings on exit.
  4. Close Regedit, and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.
  1. Run regedit and navigate to:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareCLASSES

  2. highlight the gif, jpg, bmp, or art key.
  3. Either modify or create the key value named "ShellEx" and highlight it.
  4. In the ShellEx key, create another key named:

     {BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C004FC2D6C1}

  5. Now change this key's default value to:

     {737D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC}

  6. Close Regedit, and the change should be immediate. You may have to refresh a folder's view.
  • Scene 1: You uninstalled a program properly; using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs. But, the entry is still there! So you try uninstalling the program again and get an error!
  • Scene 2: You installed a program and don't want anyone uninstalling it. So, you'd like to remove it from the list.

Changing the Menu Show Delay

This one changes the delay from when you highlight a menu to when it actually appears. I changed my delay to 0 and the menus move much faster. You can experiment with different values and see which one suits you.

Configure the Contiguous File Allocation Size. Don't know what it is, but it works.

I'm not sure what this actually does, but I quote:
"This setting optimizes the contiguous file allocation size for the file system. This is especially useful for disk intensive applications."
Sounds good, doesn't it?

Rename the Recycle Bin

You can rename almost every desktop item by either right-clicking on it and selecting rename or slowly double-clicking on the item. You can't do that with the Recycle Bin however; you have to do it in the Registry.

Remove "Log-Off" From the Start Menu

If you aren't on a network or using the Microsoft Family Logon feature, this Start Menu entry only takes up space.

Change the Registered Name

Removing Favorites Menu from the Start Menu

Note: Even though the Favorites Menu is gone form the Start Menu, you can still access this folder in Explorer or in IE.

Remove Items From the Add/Remove List

Typical Story:

This provides a way to solve both these problems.
Note: Once removed, the uninstall option will forever be gone for that specific program...unless it has its own uninstall program. So, make sure before you do this!

Lock the Desktop Settings

This adjustment will prevent Windows from saving the way the desktop looks when shutting down.
The desktop will revert to its default state when the computer is rebooted.

Troubleshooting Thumbnail View for Images

Do you like to use thumbnail view for viewing a folder's contents?
Do some images display as thumbnails OK while others don't? Occasionally, after installing and removing various graphic programs, file associations can get muddled. This can lead to the accidental removal of the thumbnail view functionality for certain file types. To fix this, do the following procedure for each image file type that doesn't display properly.

Other Stuff

Below are a few odd items of interest. Nothing spectacular, just stuff I thought noteworthy.

• 1. Right-click on the folder whose contents you wish to view as thumbnails, not on a shortcut to a folder, and select "Properties".
  2. Check the box next to "Enable Thumbnail View".
  3. Now, open the folder and select "Thumbnails" from the View menu.
     Note: If the "Thumbnails" option doesn't appear like it should, simply click on another folder and then back to the other one again.
  4. It may take a few moments for Win98 to draw the thumbnails.
  1. Open an explorer window.
  2. Select "View", then "Folder Options", then "View".
  3. Check the box marked "show all files".
  4. Click "OK" and hit the F5 key to refresh your system.
  5. Now in the Windows directory look for a file called "folder.htt" and delete it. The warning is now gone!
  1. Click on the Start menu and select "Find", then select "Find files and folders".
  2. Type *.pwl in the "Named:" box and hit Enter.
  3. When the PC is done searching, delete all the files ending with pwl.
  4. Close the Find box.
  5. Now, open the Control Panel and click on "Network".
     (Click "Yes" if a dialog box pops up saying "The Network is not complete. Do you want to continue?".)
  6. Delete "Windows Logon" and/or "Microsoft Family Logon".
  7. Close the Network Panel and Control Panel and restart the computer.
  8. The login prompt should be gone!
  1. Before you begin, you may want to find all three of the files listed above and copy them to another folder in case you want them back.
  2. The finished image HAS to be 320 pixels wide by 400 pixels high. Simply find an image that's 640 by 480, crop the bottom or top until it's 400 pixels high, then resize the width to 320 pixels. Note: in whatever graphics program you use, you cannot maintain the aspect ratio, otherwise both length and width will be resized. You don't want that.
     The resized image WILL look horizontally squashed...this is what it is SUPPOSED to look like, really!
  3. Now you need to save the file as a BMP file with ONLY 256 colors or less.
  4. Then, rename the BMP file to the appropriate SYS file and put in the appropriate directory for that file.

Enable Thumbnail View

This is an easy way to display a folder's contents without having to open each file. It displays a little thumbnail view for each image and HTML files.
To enable this function, follow the steps below:

Remove the View Windows Folder Warning

Are you tired of seeing the Windows Warning Message (the one that says "Modifying the contents of this folder can be dangerous....") every time you hit the Windows folder in Explorer?
The file you need to modify is a system file and needs to be "unhidden".

Remove the Windows Login Prompt

Do you get that annoying prompt that asks you to enter your username and password to use Windows? You sorta need this if you ARE on a network; but, if not, why not get rid of it? Once you do the following steps, you'll be able to start Windows without signing on.

Changing Windows98 (or 95) Startup/Shutdown Logo Screens

Yes, it CAN be done, and you DONT have to be a rocket scientist to do it! There are actually three files (which are actually BMP files renamed to SYS files):

C:logo.sys          (the one you see at startup)

C:windowslogow.sys (the one you see while your PC is shutting down)

C:windowslogos.sys (the one that says it is OK to turn the PC off)

You may not see C:logo.sys on your system. If it doesn't exist, the computer extracts the necessary image from a system file. So, if it isn't there, make one! All you have to do is create your own pictures (or download them) and do a few minor adjustments to change the Windows default.

Animated startup screens: These are too complex for me to go into here. There IS a site, however, that explains it in detail: Animated Logos.
There are also many pre-made logos waiting to be downloaded at various sites as well as some programs that organize logo screen collections

These tips and tricks were found on My Fav. Warez Forum W5A!!!

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