Renaming the Start Button
To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor.My preference is UltraEdit
Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
Edit it be any 5 characters or less
Save the file
Boot to DOS
Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.
Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can't access the files from DOS:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe
Hide/Unhide Logon Names
If you want to hide or unhide the names of users that are displayed on the initial logon screen:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
Add a DWORD with the name of the user account you want to hide
Make sure it has a value of 0
If there is an existing account, you can unhide it by giving it a value of 1
Changing the Login Screen Saver
If you want to change the screen saver that runs at the login prompt:
Start Regedit
Go to HK_USERS / .DEFAULT / Control Panel / Desktop
Double click on SCRNSAVE.EXE
Enter in the screen saver you want to use
Changing the Registered Owner
Start Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
From there you can edit the name in the Registered Owner key
Allowing Network Access with Blank Passwords
Although you can log in locally without a password, by default, WindowsXP Pro does not allow network users to access the computer without a password. Typically you will receive an Unknown error 31 if this is the case.
To change this setting:
Run gpedit.msc
Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options
Double click on Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console login only
Disable this option
Changing Drive Letters
If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:
Right Click on My Computer
Select Manage
Select Disk Management
For a Fixed Disk:
Select it
Right click
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
For a Removable Disk:
In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM #
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
Note: This can only be done for drives that do not have the Operating System Installed or you are booting to.
Hiding the Windows Version on the Desktop
If your version of WindowsXP is displaying on the desktop andyou would like to remove it:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
3. Edit or Create the DWORD entry PaintDesktopVersion
4. A value of 0 will hide the version from the desktop
5. Logoff or reboot
To make this change for all future users, editHKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop in the same manner.
Removing Thumbs.db Files
When viewing a folder with the Thumbnail view, WindowsXP creates a thumbs.db file.This is a cache of the current pictures in that directory.If you want to turn this feature off and save a little disk space
1. Start the Windows Explorer
2. Go to Tools / Folder Options / View
3. In the first section under Files and Folders, check Do not cache thumbnails
4. Now you can search for the thumbs.db file on your computer and remove them. No more should be created.
Poweroff at Shutdown
If your computer does not turn off the power when doing a shutdown,you may need to edit the registry. I have all the correct BIOS and Power settings and still needed to do this.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Edit the key PowerOffActive and give it a value of 1
You can do the same in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop
Remembering Folder Settings
If XP does not remember your folder settings, delete or rename the following registry keys
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU][HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags]
Stop Password Expiration
If you want to do this for all users, enter:
Start / Run / net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited
If you are getting an error message that your password is about to expire:
Right click on the My Computer icon
Select Manage
Go to Local Users and Groups / Users
Right-click on the user you want to change
Select Properties
On the General tab, check Password never expires
Click OK
Monday, May 19, 2008
Command Prompt / DOS mode Tricks
DOS Tips in XP
Windows XP cmd tip (DOS isn’t dead... it just smells funny) Some command-line folder creation examples:
To create multiple folders at once, add them directly to the "md" command:
C:\> md this is a test
To create a folder several folders deep, use:
C:\> md this\is\a\test
Creating a folder with a long name requires the double-quote at the beginning:
C:\> md "this is a test
Bonus tip: Windows XP supports the forward slash "/" as a folder divider. Unix/Linux users: don't let the DOS environment get you down. Use a Unix-style CD command to change your present working directory:
C:\> cd Windows/system32/drivers/etc
Faster DOS Printing
If you are experiencing slow printing for DOS programs with Windows2000
Go Start Run Regedit
Click Hkey_Local_Machine
Click on System
Click CurrentControlSet
Click Control
Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW
Click LPT timeout and change it to a 3
Change Colors Of Command Prompt Window (2k/XP)
I got this tip from Lockergnome Windows Fanatics - October 18, 2005 Newsletter.To customize the colors of the Command Prompt Window Screen Background and Screen Text, first open a Command Prompt Window:Click Start - Run - type "cmd" (without the quotes).
Once the Command Prompt Window opens, Click the Control Box in the top left corner of the Command Prompt Window (the button that looks like a C:\ Prompt).Once the Menu opens, Click Properties - Colors - Screen Background - and change this to whatever color you wish to use. An example will be shown below, in the Selected Screen Colors dialog box, as you make different choices. Do the same for Screen Text.As you can see, there are other options you can change here as well.Once you're finished, Click OK, then type "exit" at the Command Prompt to exit the Command Prompt Window (without the quotes).
Put The Command Prompt Where You Want It -
I got this Registry Tip from the May 2004 edition of CPU Magazine:For those of you using the command prompt frequently, you can add a registry key to enable right-clicking on any folder in Windows and have the command prompt run in a box already changed to that directory.Run Regedit and find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell key and right-click to make a New Key. Name the key cprompt, and in the Value pane set the key's default value to Command Prompt. (You can label this any way you wish. What happens is the context menu will pop-up on a folder with the label "Command Prompt," but you can give it any label you like.)Go back and right-click the cprompt subkey to make another New Key. Name it command.
Set the key's default value to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\cmd.exe /k cd "%1". Close regedit, and the effect should be immediate. Right-click on any folder and you should see Command Prompt in the context menu, and it will call up the command prompt in that subdirectory.
Windows XP cmd tip (DOS isn’t dead... it just smells funny) Some command-line folder creation examples:
To create multiple folders at once, add them directly to the "md" command:
C:\> md this is a test
To create a folder several folders deep, use:
C:\> md this\is\a\test
Creating a folder with a long name requires the double-quote at the beginning:
C:\> md "this is a test
Bonus tip: Windows XP supports the forward slash "/" as a folder divider. Unix/Linux users: don't let the DOS environment get you down. Use a Unix-style CD command to change your present working directory:
C:\> cd Windows/system32/drivers/etc
Faster DOS Printing
If you are experiencing slow printing for DOS programs with Windows2000
Go Start Run Regedit
Click Hkey_Local_Machine
Click on System
Click CurrentControlSet
Click Control
Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW
Click LPT timeout and change it to a 3
Change Colors Of Command Prompt Window (2k/XP)
I got this tip from Lockergnome Windows Fanatics - October 18, 2005 Newsletter.To customize the colors of the Command Prompt Window Screen Background and Screen Text, first open a Command Prompt Window:Click Start - Run - type "cmd" (without the quotes).
Once the Command Prompt Window opens, Click the Control Box in the top left corner of the Command Prompt Window (the button that looks like a C:\ Prompt).Once the Menu opens, Click Properties - Colors - Screen Background - and change this to whatever color you wish to use. An example will be shown below, in the Selected Screen Colors dialog box, as you make different choices. Do the same for Screen Text.As you can see, there are other options you can change here as well.Once you're finished, Click OK, then type "exit" at the Command Prompt to exit the Command Prompt Window (without the quotes).
Put The Command Prompt Where You Want It -
I got this Registry Tip from the May 2004 edition of CPU Magazine:For those of you using the command prompt frequently, you can add a registry key to enable right-clicking on any folder in Windows and have the command prompt run in a box already changed to that directory.Run Regedit and find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell key and right-click to make a New Key. Name the key cprompt, and in the Value pane set the key's default value to Command Prompt. (You can label this any way you wish. What happens is the context menu will pop-up on a folder with the label "Command Prompt," but you can give it any label you like.)Go back and right-click the cprompt subkey to make another New Key. Name it command.
Set the key's default value to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\cmd.exe /k cd "%1". Close regedit, and the effect should be immediate. Right-click on any folder and you should see Command Prompt in the context menu, and it will call up the command prompt in that subdirectory.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
WindowsXp Core System tricks
Determining Which Services are Associated with SVCHOST
Since so many critical services are run with each svchost,You can see which ones are being used by opening a cmd prompt and running:
tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe"
Note: This is available only with XP Pro
Identify Faulty Device Drivers
If you are having problems with lockups, blue screens, or can only get to safe mode,often the problem is due to a faulty device driver.
One way to help identify them is through the use of the Verfier program
Start / Run / Verifier
Keep the default of Create Standard Settings
Select the type of drivers you want to confirm
A list of drivers to be verified on the next boot will be shown.
Reboot
If your computer stops with a blue screen, you should get an error message with the problem driver
To turn off the Verifier, run verifier /reset
Viewing Installed Drivers
If you want to see a list of installed drivers, you can run the driverquery programThere are a lot of available switches to view different types of information.On use can be to export to a CSV file for viewing in ExcelAn example would then be:
Driverquery /v /fo csv > drivers.csv
Operation Was Attempted on Something That Is Not a Socket Error
If you get this error when you try and renew your IP address, Likely the winsock2 registry entries are corrupted.
The basic steps to fix this are:
Remove the old registry entries -
Import the correct registry entries -
Reboot the computer
Opening Ports or Adding Allowed Programs with SP2's Firewall
Click on Start / Run
Enter in firewall.cpl
Click on the Exceptions tab
Adding a Port for Internet Access:
Click on the Add Port button
Name it whatever you want
Enter in the ports you want to open
Adding a Program for Internet Access
Click on Add Program... button
A list of all installed programs will be displayed
Highlight the one you want to include for Internet access
Click on the OK button
Autoexec.nt or Config.nt Errors
If you are getting errors similar to:The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.
Try copying the file from \windows\repair directory to the one that is in the \windows\system32 directory.
Windows Explorer Opens Search Companion Rather than the Folder
If the Windows Explorer opens up the Search Companion rather than opening up the actual folder, the default setting for opening a folder is changed.
To correct this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Drive \ shell]
Edit the default value to be explorer or none
Configuring the Firewall
WindowsXP has firewall capabilities built into the operating system.
For your network connection to the Internet, select Properties
Click on the Advanced tab
Check the Internet Connection Firewall section
Click on the Settings button to change the settings
Rollback a Device Driver
If you install a device drive that does not work correctly, you can restore the previous one fairly easily.
Log in with an administrator account
Right click on My Computer
Select Properties
Click on the Hardware tab
Click on the Device Manager button
Go to the device you want to reconfigure
Click on the Driver tab
Click on the Roll Back Drive button
Decreasing Boot Time
Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXPThe program is called BootVis
Uncompress the file.
Run BOOTVIS.EXE
For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
Then run Trace / Optimize System
Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
Note how much the time has decreased
Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.
WindowsXP will only format a partition greater than 32 GIGs as NTFS. If you want to format it with FAT32:
1. You can use a regular Win98 Boot disk and use that version of FDISK to create the partition (with Large Hard Drive Support)
2. Reboot with the same boot disk and format
3. WindowsXP will then be able to use the partition with no problems
Since so many critical services are run with each svchost,You can see which ones are being used by opening a cmd prompt and running:
tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe"
Note: This is available only with XP Pro
Identify Faulty Device Drivers
If you are having problems with lockups, blue screens, or can only get to safe mode,often the problem is due to a faulty device driver.
One way to help identify them is through the use of the Verfier program
Start / Run / Verifier
Keep the default of Create Standard Settings
Select the type of drivers you want to confirm
A list of drivers to be verified on the next boot will be shown.
Reboot
If your computer stops with a blue screen, you should get an error message with the problem driver
To turn off the Verifier, run verifier /reset
Viewing Installed Drivers
If you want to see a list of installed drivers, you can run the driverquery programThere are a lot of available switches to view different types of information.On use can be to export to a CSV file for viewing in ExcelAn example would then be:
Driverquery /v /fo csv > drivers.csv
Operation Was Attempted on Something That Is Not a Socket Error
If you get this error when you try and renew your IP address, Likely the winsock2 registry entries are corrupted.
The basic steps to fix this are:
Remove the old registry entries -
Import the correct registry entries -
Reboot the computer
Opening Ports or Adding Allowed Programs with SP2's Firewall
Click on Start / Run
Enter in firewall.cpl
Click on the Exceptions tab
Adding a Port for Internet Access:
Click on the Add Port button
Name it whatever you want
Enter in the ports you want to open
Adding a Program for Internet Access
Click on Add Program... button
A list of all installed programs will be displayed
Highlight the one you want to include for Internet access
Click on the OK button
Autoexec.nt or Config.nt Errors
If you are getting errors similar to:The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.
Try copying the file from \windows\repair directory to the one that is in the \windows\system32 directory.
Windows Explorer Opens Search Companion Rather than the Folder
If the Windows Explorer opens up the Search Companion rather than opening up the actual folder, the default setting for opening a folder is changed.
To correct this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Drive \ shell]
Edit the default value to be explorer or none
Configuring the Firewall
WindowsXP has firewall capabilities built into the operating system.
For your network connection to the Internet, select Properties
Click on the Advanced tab
Check the Internet Connection Firewall section
Click on the Settings button to change the settings
Rollback a Device Driver
If you install a device drive that does not work correctly, you can restore the previous one fairly easily.
Log in with an administrator account
Right click on My Computer
Select Properties
Click on the Hardware tab
Click on the Device Manager button
Go to the device you want to reconfigure
Click on the Driver tab
Click on the Roll Back Drive button
Decreasing Boot Time
Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXPThe program is called BootVis
Uncompress the file.
Run BOOTVIS.EXE
For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
Then run Trace / Optimize System
Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
Note how much the time has decreased
Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.
WindowsXP will only format a partition greater than 32 GIGs as NTFS. If you want to format it with FAT32:
1. You can use a regular Win98 Boot disk and use that version of FDISK to create the partition (with Large Hard Drive Support)
2. Reboot with the same boot disk and format
3. WindowsXP will then be able to use the partition with no problems
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