Some Shortcut Keys you might enjoy

Windows XP is full of many KEY-Combo Shortcuts to access Feasures quickly. Here

are some of the shortcuts you may find most useful.

WINKEY + E
= Opens explorer windows with the folder sidebar enabled

WINKEY + PAUSE/BREAK
= Opens "system propertieS"

SHIFT + DELETE
= Delete a file without sending to Recycler first (NO RECOVERY!)

F5
= Refresh (Usefull in Internet Explorer)

SHIFT F5
= Reload Webpage from scratch (NO CACHE)

CTRL + SHIFT + END

= Highlight everything down a Text page from current possition (USE HOME for up)

ALT + CTRL + DEL

=Ahh, an old favorite.

If an App. is being rude, use this to bring the the "Task Manager" (and kill it if
you want). There is some other toys here too like, priorities you can set.
Search "Shortcut keys" under "HELP & SUPPORT" for a complete list of Shortcuts,
including these.
Right-click
Lets say you have a bout 4-5 very useful applications which you use always. By
placing them all on the first level menu will eventually crowd your start menu.
Now why not utilize the right-click option instead? The right-click option gives
you the ability to Open, Explore and Find. If you can add a shortcut to your
application to that menu, it would be great.

To do this, crank up your registry editor and go to ::

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell.
Right-click on Shell and create a new key. Type in an appropriate name for the
key. On the right pane, double-click on the Default value, and add a title with a
& character in front of the letter as an accelerator key. Right-click on the key
you just created and create another key under it called command . For the Default
value of command, enter the full path and program you want to execute in the Value
data box.

For example, if you wanted Notepad, you would add that as the first key, the
default in the right panel would be &Notepad so when you right click on the Start
Button, the N would be underlined and you could just press that key. The command
would be something like C:\Windows\notepad.exe. Now when you right click on the
Start Button, your new program will show up.

Changing Start button text in Windows XP

I always wanted to change the text of my Start Button ever since I have been using
the Windows operating System. It has always been the most difficult of tasks to
accomplish with very risky and lengthy activities involving alteration of Windows
registry. In fact I could never find of any way to change the Start button text
without actually altering the registry values. (If you know of one please let me
know so that it can be posted here for others to know, also please let me know if
there is a software that does it automatically)
Well the simplest and the least time consuming way of changing the Start button
text is described below:

Step1:
You would need to download a small freeware utility called Resource Hacker

Click here to download Resource Hacker

Step2:
Open Resource Hacker utility. Click on File ---> Open. Type "explorer.exe" in the
text box.

Step3:Expand String Table ---> 37 from the tree view and click on
1033 ............
Step 4:From the right window next to where start is written in front of 578 edit
the text to what you want on your start button.
Step 5:Click on the "Compile Script" button on top of the right window. Now click
on File ---> Save as ---->PARAS.exe ..................
Step 6: Open registry editor by clicking on Start ---> Run and typing "regedit" at
the text box. Navigate to HKEY_Local_Machine -> Software -> Microsoft -> Windows
NT -> CurrentVersion -> Winlogon.................
From the right pane double click on shell and replace "explorer.exe" with
"PARAS.exe" and then exit registry editor:
Step 7: Restart your computer to see the changes.

Faster and more powerful Internet searching then ever before

1. Get TweakUI for WindowsXP
2. Start -> Programs -> Powertoys for Windows XP -> TweakUI for Windows XP
3. Click the '+' next to 'Internet Explorer'
4. Hightlight 'Search'
5. In the right plane click on the 'Create' button.
6. For the Prefix, type in 'Google' or if you're REALLY lazy (like me) then just
'g'
7. for the URL, enter: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%s&num=100

The 'hl' is language, the 'q' is the query, and the 'num' is the number of results
per page. To search for multiple keywords at a time, use the format 'google
monkey+cars' or just 'g monkey+cars' depending how you chose to set it up.

If you use another search engine, then you must have never tried Google

Here are some reasons to help sway you:

http://www.google.com/technology/whyuse.html

It has no graphics to load, no popups, no graphical ads, and codes your search
terms in bold to prove the pages it lists have all you wanted.
And if that didn't work, try installing a BSD or *nix type OS, and finding
solutions to cryptic error messages using any other search engine.

On request for advanced users only. If you don't want to use TweakUi, use this
registry file or make the according changes manually.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\SearchUrl\g]@="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%s&num=100"
" "="+"
"#"="%23"
"&"="%26"
"?"="%3F"
"+"="%2B"
"="="%3D"

Copy and paste into notepad, save as "search.reg", right click - merge
Better Easy IP Check
Use this if you just want to display your IP address and not the extra information
(default gateway / subnet mask)

Simply copy and paste the following into notepad

@echo.
@ipconfig find "IP Address"
@echo.
@pause

And save as IP.BAT (save to your windows dir if you want to be able to access it
anywhere)

Now when you type IP you will see:

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : x.x.x.x
Press any key to continue . . .---------------------------

(information about the code:

@echo. produces a blank line,
@ipconfig find "IP Address" causes the output of ipconfig to be piped to the find
command, which looks for the line containing "IP Address", find then outputs your
IP address,
@pause causes the terminal to wait for user input before continuing.
The @ before each command tells the terminal not to echo the command being typed.)
Add a Website link to Start menu
This is a simple registry tweak which adds a website link to your Start
Menu.....its very handy for quick access to your favourite website.

To Install : Copy the code below to notepad and save it as link.reg then just
right click on it and choose "merge".

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}]
@="paras9.blogspot.com"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\system32\\shell32.dll,-47"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-
00c04f60b9f0}\Instance\InitPropertyBag]
"CLSID"="{13709620-C279-11CE-A49E-444553540000}"
"method"="ShellExecute"
"Command"="paras9.blogspot.com"
"Param1"=http://www.paras9.blogspot.com
To uninstall : Copy the code below to notepad and save as rem.reg and right click
and choose merge.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}] @=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\DefaultIcon] @=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-
00c04f60b9f0}\Instance\InitPropertyBag]
"CLSID"="{13709620-C279-11CE-A49E-444553540000}"
"method"="ShellExecute"
"command"="" "Param1"=""

Clearing Google Internet Search History

1.Select "Internet Options" from the Internet Explorer "Tools" menu.
2.Select the "Content" tab at the top of the "Internet Options" window.
3.In the "Personal information" section at the bottom, click the "AutoComplete"
button.
4.On the AutoComplete Settings window, click on the "Clear Forms" button.
5.You will get a window asking you to confirm clearing the history.
6.Click "OK", and you're done.

Note: This is confirmed for use with Internet Explorer, but not MSN Explorer
Customize the New menu
The New menu is a handy tool, but it gets even handier if you customize it by
adding your own commands and by remov¬ing existing commands that you don't need.
This is all possible through the Registry

Go to Start >Run> type REGEDIT:

Go to HKEY CLASSES ROOT and then open the .bmp subkey. This subkey includes a
ShellNew subkey. The existence of ShellNew tells Windows to include this file type
on the New menu. How Windows creates the new file is determined by extra settings
(other than Default) in ShellNew. There are four different settings used:
NullFile: When Windows sees this string setting, it cre¬ates an empty document of
the associated file type. This is the method used by the Bitmap Image (.bmp) and
Text Document (.txt) file types.

FileName: The value of this string setting is always a file¬name. When Windows
sees this setting, it looks in the Windows\ShellNew folder for that filename, and
then cre¬ates the new file by making a copy of the file that's in ShellNew. This
method is used by the Wave Sound (.wav) and WordPad Document (.doc) file types.
For the latter, the filename (winword.doc) is defined in the following key:
HKEY CLASSES ROOT\.doc\Wordpad.Document.1\ShellNew
Command: The value of this string setting is a command. When Windows sees this
setting, it creates the new doc¬ument by running the command. This is the method
used by the Shortcut (.lnk) and Briefcase (.bfc) file types.
Data: This setting is set to a binary value. When Windows sees this setting, it
creates a new document of the asso¬ciated file type and copies the binary value
into the docu¬ment.
Given all this, it's relatively easy to add file types to and remove file types
from the New menu:
To add a file type to the New menu: In HKEY-CLASSES-ROOT, find the extension
subkey for the file type and add a new subkey named ShellNew. Within this new
subkey, create a setting using one of the four names discussed above.
To remove a file type from the New menu: In HKEY-CLASSES-ROOT, find the extension
subkey for the file type and delete the subkey named ShellNew
Reinstalling Microsoft Task Manager
To reinstall the Microsoft Task Manager:

NOTE: You must be logged on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators

group in order to perform this procedure

1.Click Start , click Run , and then type the following command:
%systemroot%\inf
NOTE : There are no spaces at all in the preceding command line.
2.Click OK to open the INF folder.
3.Locate the file mstask.inf

Right-click the file, and then click Install . This will reinstall the files that
Search needs to proceed normally.

You will be asked to place your windows XP cd rom in the drive.

Note# I have only tried on XP Pro

Shutdown XP Faster
Start - Run - Regedit
Navigate to the following Registry key:
1)HKEY CURRENT USER\Control Panel\DesktopDouble click on the AutoEndTasks entry
and replace the 0 with a 1 in the Value data text box

For the next two, if the dword value indicated does not exist, create it:

Double click on the WaitToKillAppTimeout entry in the right pane and change the
Value data to 2000

Double click on the HungAppTimeout entry in the right pane and change the Value
data to 1000
Reboot
If still having a problem, make the next change:
2) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ControlRight-click on
WaitToKillServiceTimeout and change it to 2000

NOTE: The lowest value Windows will recognize is 1000 (1 second)

Faster startup of Windows XP
If your computer takes a long time to become useable after starting up or logging
on, or you want a clean boot of Winodws XP try this,
Click Start > Run > Type "msconfig" > On the Startup tab click Disable All and on
the Services tab check the Hide All Microsoft Service box and then click Disable
All. Click Restart and Windows XP will restart with only the system services and
applications running resulting in a vey fast logon / startup.

This tweak will disable all non-system startup sevices and applications so if you
have anything you want to run in the background such as anti virus software do not
disable that item.
Faster Dual Boot Timeout
If you dual boot your PC using Windows XP's dual boot process, you can reduce the
timeout period your PC uses before booting to the default OS. This tweak is useful
if you boot to the default OS most of the time and only boot to the other OS's on
a limited basis.

1)Locate and Open the hidden file "boot.ini" in notepad or your favorite text
editor. This file will likely be in the root directory on the boot partition of
your "master" HD. For example, mine is located in "C:\boot.ini" even though I have
Win98 loaded on this partition and the boot.ini file was generated when I loaded
WinXP on "D:/"

2) Locate the line - timeout=30 (default is 30 seconds). Change this value to any
time desired. I chose 10. Be careful not to choose too low of a setting or you may
not have time to select your other OS's. Also, be careful not to change other
lines as this may prevent your PC from booting at all.

3)Save the file. The next time you boot your PC, the changes will take effect.

Editor's note: You can also adjust this in Control Panel > System > Advanced >
Startup and Recovery > Settings > Time to display list of operating systems
Disable XP Boot Logo
It is possible to disable XP splash screen, which will slightly speed up the
overall boot process. Be aware that removing the splash screen will also cause you
not to see any boot-up messages that might come up (chkdsk, convert ... ), but if
your system runs without any problems then it should not matter.
1. Edit boot.ini
2. Add " /noguiboot" right after "/fastdetect".
(or check the /noguiboot switch in msconfig on the boot.ini tab)Upon restarting,
the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the new switch.

Classic Folder Customizer For XP

This tweak allows you to change the background picture of a folder by using the
older version of the "Customize This Folder Option" used in the Win9X Os's and
NT/2K. You will require the file IEShwiz.exe from an older version of Windows. You
should be able to find it on the internet. If not, there's not much I can do.

To use this tweak you have to copy IEShwiz.exe into your Windows directory and
then edit the registry. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\
. Create a key called Customize This Folder. Then create a subkey called Command.
In Command modify the Default string. Change the line "Value Data" to read IESHWIZ
%1

When you rightclick a folder you will now have the "Customize This Folder" option.
Click it and a wizzard will open. Just follow the instructions. (If you have
Service Pack 1 installed you can only use the folder background and font color
customizations. Applying a custom folder.htt requires additional registry
editing.)
DOWNLOAD IESHWIZ : http://windowsxp.mvps.org/utils/IESHWIZ.zip

Changing the background of your browsing window:

[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-
00c04FD706EC}]iconarea_image=C:\WINDOWS\Web\Wallpaper\Windows XP.jpg
iconarea_text=0x000000

copy above text in notpad & save file as desktop.ini& keep this in ur Drive like
in C:\desktop.ini D:\desktop.ini& enjoy give me ur comments

Unable to Open Certain Web Sites? Try

These StepsFrom the IE window,
go to Tools>Internet Options>Advanced and uncheck theoption Enable third party
browsing extensions.
Now restart IE.
Go to Start [Run] and type regsvr32 actxprxy.dll (follow next bullet point too)
Go to Start[Run ]and type regsvr32 shdocvw.dll and reboot
Open Tools[Internet Options][Privacy tab] and put one of these web sites in the
listwhich can be located by clicking the Sites button.
Try putting the web site in the "Trusted Zone" and if this fixes the problem, you
canbegin to diagnose cookie/script problems with that site and your Internet zone
settings.
If you are a dial-up user and your ISP have more than one local number for
dialup,remove the primary number that is dialing up first and use the secondary
dialupnumber. Clear the checkbox for Negotiate multilink for single link
connectionsunder the PPP settings
A file in your Windows folder called 'hosts' (no extension) may have an incorrect
IPaddress for the page. To find out, open Windows Explorer, select your
C:\Windowsfolder, and look in the right pane for a hosts file.
If you can't find it in your Windowsfolder, this isn't your problem.
If you do find a hosts file, open it in Notepad and lookfor a line referring to
the page that's giving you trouble. If it's there, enter # at thebeginning of the
line.
Save and exit the file
Go to Tools>Internet Options>Connections>Lan Settings.
Uncheck Use a proxyserver. Now restart IE.These steps will definitely solve the
issues
Remove “Log Off” from the Start Menu
To remove the Log Off line on your Start menu do the following registry hack.
Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ExplorerCreat
e a new DWORD value and name it NoLogOff.
Now add the value 1 to the key.
You need to logoff or reboot for the settings to take effect

Turn off Welcome screen

Click on start>setting>control panel.Open User Accounts in Control Panel.Click
Change the way users log on or off

To change drive letters

To change drive letters (useful if you have two drives and have partitioned the
boot drive, but the secondary drive shows up as "D")Go to Start > Control Panel >
Administrative Tools > Computer Management, Disk Management, then right-click the
partition whose name you want to change(click in the white area just below the
word "Volume") and select "change drive letter and paths."
From here you can add, remove or change drive letters and paths to the partition.
How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent?
Go to ontrol Panel > System, > Advanced > Performance area > Settings button
Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"
Remove the Recycle Bin from the Desktop
If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files , you can get rid of its
desktop icon all together
Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/explorer/Desktop/Name
SpaceClick on the "Recycle Bin" string in the right hand pane.
Hit Del, click OK.
How to Rename the Recycle Bin
To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).
Speed up your browsing of Windows 2000 & XP machines
Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of Windows XP machines. Its actually
a fix to a bug installed as default in Windows 2000 that scans shared files for
Scheduled Tasks. And it turns out that you can experience a delay as long as 30
seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows 2000 is
using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note
that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected, Windows 2000
users will experience that the actual browsing speed of both the Internet &
Windows Explorers improve significantly after applying it since it doesn't search
for Scheduled Tasks anymore. Here's how
Open up the Registry and goto :
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RemoteComput
er/NameSpace
Under that branch, select the key :
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
and delete it.
This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks. If you like you
may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if
necessary.This fix is so effective that it doesn't require a reboot and you can
almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing
processes.
Make your Folders Private
Open My Computer
•Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you
have more than one drive on your computer).
•If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the
contents of this drive.•Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.
•Double-click your user folder.
•Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.
•On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have
access to it check box

Note:
•To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
•This option is only available for folders included in your user profile.
Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop,
Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites.
If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses
your computer.
•When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well.
For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My
Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders
unless you make them private.
•You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For
information about converting your drive to NTFS
Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons
Here's how you can remove those shortcut arrows from your desktop icons in Windows
XP
1. Start regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile
3. Delete the Is Shortcut registry value.You may need to restart Windows XP.
How To Enable Hibernation
Under Windows 98, Me, or 2000 there was an option in the shutdown dialog box to
enter the computer into hibernation (where all the content of the RAM is copied to
the hard disk).The shutdown dialog box of Windows XP doesn't offer any longer the
hibernation button.Some users may get confused about how to enable the hibernation
mode.If this mode is supported by your motherboard (ACPI) you have to do the
following:
1.Click Start and Shut Down,
2.Point the standby button and maintain the shift key pushed,
3.A new hibernation button appears: click it while still holding the shift key:
voila your PC will hibernate

Slow Shutdown
Some people have noticed that they are experiencing a really slow shutdown after
installing Windows XP Home or Professional. Although this can be caused a number
of ways, the most clear cut one so far is happening on systems with an NVidia card
installed with the latest set of drivers. A service called NVIDIA Driver Helper
Service is loading up on start up and for whatever reason doesn't shut itself down
properly. The service isn't needed and can also increase the amount of memory
available to your system. Here is how to disable it
1: Go into your Control Panel
2: Select Administrative Tools and then click on Services
3: Right click on the file "NVIDIA Driver Helper Service" and then select STOP.
4: To stop this loading up every time you boot up your PC Right click it again and
select properties - then where the option "Startup Type" is shown - make sure it
is set at Manual

Clean Prefetch Data

The prefetch directory can get full of junk and obsolete links which can slow down
yourcomputer noticeably.
I would suggest that you do this once a month or so to improve thespeed.
Do not follow this on a daily basis as prefetching of most commonly used programs
will speed up the execution of those programs.
To perform this trick go to:C(SystemDrive):/windows/prefetch, and delete
everything and reboot
Change the Default Search Engine from
Microsoft has set the default search engine in Internet explorer as MSN. But here
is yourchance to set the default according to your wish.
The tip is from MS-KB. First close theInternet Explorer and open the registry
editor (Start[1]Run[1]Regedit).
Then navigate to thefollowing registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl. Change thevalue
of the string key named default to any one of the following values:
• To specify Metacrawler as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://www.metacrawler.com/crawler?general=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify AltaVista as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?q=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify HotBot as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://hotbot.com/?MT=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify Google as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://www.google.com/keyword/%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify Infoseek as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://www.infoseek.com/Titles?qt=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify Excite as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://search.excite.com/search.gw?search=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify Lycos as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://www.lycos.com/cgi-bin/pursuit?query=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify Magellan as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://www.mckinley.com/searcher.cgi?query=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify Ask Jeeves as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://askjeeves.com/AskJeeves.asp=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify Yahoo! as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=%s" (without quotation marks).
• To specify GOTO.Com as the default search page, change the default value
to"http://www.goto.com/d/search/?type=topbar&Keywords=%s" (without quotation
marks)
Quit Registry Editor, and then start Internet Explorer
Alignment of Start Menu panel
Start menu has all the entries aligned to left by default. But if you insist on
aligning it to the right, then here is the way to achieve it. The objective can be
met by a registry tweak. Open the registry editor and navigate to the following
key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktopand look for key MenuDropAlignment.Set its
value to 1 to align the menu entry to right. If you have any regrets in future,
turn the value back to 0
Type URL without a Mouse Click
In IE you can use Alt + D key combination to highlight the address bar. This
allows you to enter a URL without the mouse click. This will be helpful for the
laptop users who find it uneasy to use their touchpad every time they want to type
a URL
Customize Your Login prompt
So let us get into some serious business.
We shall start with a tip to customize your log in prompt.
Open Registry editor by going to Start[1]Run[1]Regedit and Navigate to the
key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Micrsft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
In right pane, do a right click to create a new string value and give its name
LogonPrompt.Set its value to whatever text you want to see displayed at login
screen.
Reboot the machine and see the log-in prompt for the change. You can see the text
you entered above the text fields that ask for username and password.
Removing the Recovery Console
Restart your computer, click Start, click My Computer, and then double-click the
hard disk on which you installed the Recovery Console.
On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.Click Show
hidden files and folders, click to clear the Hide protected operating system files
check box, and then click OK.At the root folder, delete the Cmdcons folder and the
Cmldr file.At the root folder, right-click the Boot.ini file, and then click
Properties.
Click to clear the Read-only check box, and then click OK.WARNING: Modifying the
Boot.ini file incorrectly may prevent your computer from restarting.
Be sure to delete only the entry for the Recovery Console. Also, it is recommended
that you change the attribute for the Boot.ini file back to a read-only state
after you complete this procedure. Open the Boot.ini file in Microsoft Windows
Notepad, and remove the entry for the Recovery Console. It looks similar to
this:C:\cmdcons\bootsect.dat="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons Save
the file and close it.

How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting
click on the link........
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545
Display The Quick Launch Toolbar
If the Quick Launch Toolbar is missing from the taskbar:Right-click an empty area
on the taskbar, click Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch.Add items to the Quick
Launch toolbar by clicking the icon for the program you want to add, and dragging
it to the Quick Launch portion of the taskbar

How to set, view, change, or remove file and folder permissions in Windows XP
Click on the link ......
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q308418
Microsoft Narrator, Magnifier, On-Screen Keyboard
Two of the Accessibility features of XP are Narrator and Magnifier.
To access the features individually:Select [Start] [All Programs] [Accessories]
[Accessibility] followed by the feature you want to invoke.
The [Windows Key] + [U] opens the Utility ManagerOther way is open command
prompttype osk

Launch Programs at Login Without Using the Startup Folder

This tweak allows a program to be launched when the user logs onto the computer.
It can be set to run minimized and there is no trace of the executable in the
Startup folder on the Start Menu nor in the Documents and Settings folder
accessible via Windows Explorer.
Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunModify/Create the
Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.Data Type: REG_SZ [String
Value] // Value Name: [Enter the Name of Program Executable]Value Data: [Enter the
Path to the Program Executable]Exit Registry and Reboot
Administrator Vs User Logon
Power up, a few simple keystrokes and Viola ! - you’re an Administrator in Windows
XP. That’s heady stuff. You have the power to make changes to other users’
accounts and can alter any setting in XP that strikes your fancy. The head rush
can be so strong that some never want to be just a ‘User’ once they’ve sampled the
Administrator strata.However, is always being logged in as Administrator a wise
choice? Quite honestly it’s a very foolish choice. If anything goes wrong while
you are logged in as Administrator, the same power that you have to make system
wide changes can also wreak system wide havoc.
Log in as a User and the potential for damage is reduced. The bottom line; for
everyday use, log in as a User and reserve the Administrator account for tasks
which require its unique abilities

Create A XP Boot Disk from System Files

As a hedge against being unable to start XP, you can create a boot disk
specifically for Windows XP that may allow you to boot the operating system. This
can occur when the active partition boot record or other required files become
corrupted.
Using Windows XP, place a blank floppy in drive A and format the disk. Navigate to
the root folder of the system (in most cases this will be C:\) and copy the
following files to the floppy disk
Boot.ini
NTLDR
Ntdetect.com
If you can't see the files, click [Tools] and [Folder Options...] in the Menu Bar
of Windows Explorer. Click the [View] tab and click the radio button next to [Show
Hidden Files and Folders]. Remove the check mark next to [Hide Protected Operating
System Files (Recommended)] then click [Apply] and [OK]. The files should now be
visible in Windows Explorer. If the files still cannot be copied, right click each
file, click [Properties] and remove the checkmark from the Read-Only attributes.
Reset whatever attributes were unchecked after the copy procedure is completed
In addition to the files listed above, check the same directory for bootsect.dos
and ntbootdd.sys files. If they are present on your system, copy them to the same
floppy diskette
The disk is used as any other boot disk, inserting it into the floppy drive (A:\)
and initiating a cold boot. Make sure the BIOS is set so that the A:\ drive is
first in the boot sequence

Create A MS-DOS Startup Disk

Since XP was released there has been a lot of confusion about startup disks, boot
disks, and also MS-DOS startup disks.A MS-DOS startup disk is not a substitute for
the boot disks that you might be familiar with from Windows 95/98/Me.It performs
one function and one function only. It gets you to the A:\ prompt from a cold
boot. The following list of files is placed on the MS-DOS startup disk when the
procedure listed below is performed
Directory of A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
COMMAND.COM
KEYB.COM
MODE.COM
EGA.CPI
EGA2.CPIE
GA3.CPI
CONFIG.SYS
DISPLAY.SYS
IO.SYS
KEYBOARD.SYS
KEYBRD2.SYS
KEYBRD3.SYS
KEYBRD4.SYS
MSDOS.SYS
Insert a 3.5 floppy in the floppy drive.Click [Start] [My Computer] then highlight
the A:\ drive and right click.Click [Format] to open the window below
Check [Create an MS-DOS Startup Disk] [Start] and follow the prompts.
Note: The MS-DOS startup disk only allows the system to boot into an MS-DOS
prompt. The disk contains no additional tools and is not a substitute for Windows
XP Setup Boot Disks

Create Legal Notice Logon Dialog Box

In situations where you need users to review a legal notice before logging on,
this tweak will create the caption for the notice and the notice itself which you
type directly into the string values
[Start] [Run] [Regedit]Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonModify/Create the Value Name [LegalNoticeCaption]
according to the Value Data listed below.Data Type: REG_SZ [String Value] // Value
Name: LegalNoticeCaptionValue Data for LegalNoticeCaption: [Type the Caption for
the Dialog Box]Modify/Create the Value Name [LegalNoticeText] according to the
Value Data listed below.Data Type: REG_SZ [String Value] // Value Name:
LegalNoticeTextValue Data for LegalNoticeText: [Type the Data for the Legal
Notice]Exit Registry and Reboot

Use the Address Bar to Launch Programs or Web Pages from the Taskbar
The majority of the time the taskbar is underutilized, simply displaying the names
of open programs. Windows XP Professional provides enhanced functionality by
allowing you to add the Address Bar to the Taskbar at the bottom of your
desktop.Anything that can be launched by the [Start] [Run] command sequence can be
done using the Address Bar.Web content can also be launched just as it would be
from the Address Bar inside Internet Explorer
To add the Address bar to the taskbar:
Right-click an empty area on the taskbar.Point to Toolbars, and then click
Address.Open and close the Address Bar by double-clicking it
Add Your Photo to the Start Menu
At the top of the Start Menu there is a graphic depicting the user signed onto the
computer. The pictures are 48 x 48 bitmap images. Create any BMP, GIF, JPG or PNG
image and add it to the folder located at:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account
Pictures\Default PicturesBest results are obtained by using a square image
Add Safe Mode Startup to the Boot Menu
It's fairly common knowledge that if you want to start your computer in Safe Mode
you can hit the F8 key during the boot process and it will bring up an alternate
list of boot options. The trick is finding just the right place to whap the hell
out of the F8 key to make sure the regular boot sequence doesn't initiate. It's
much easier to get into Safe Mode if you add it to the boot menu as one of the
options on the boot loader menu. Here's how:Make a backup of the current boot.ini
file
Note: The boot.ini file shown below is for illustration purposes only. Your actual
boot.ini may vary from this example

[boot
loader]timeout=30default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS[operating
systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetectUsing Notepad, edit the original boot.ini (shown above)
so it appears as shown below.[boot
loader]timeout=30default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS[operating
systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetectmulti(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft
Windows XP Professional Safe" /fastdetect

The line shown above in red is the line you add.I used the word "Safe" but this
can be any word you choose.
Close Notepad and save changes when prompted.Start the System Configuration
Utility by clicking [Start] [Run] and typing msconfig, then click [OK].
Click the BOOT.INI tab.Highlight the boot line you added with the word "Safe" or
whatever word you chose to add above.
Check the /SAFEBOOT option in the Boot Options box and use the radio buttons to
add whatever options you prefer. I'd suggest the MINIMAL option.Click [Apply] and
[OK] and Restart when prompted.The option to boot into safe mode will now appear
on the boot loader menu
Add Computer Management to the XP Desktop
Unlike previous Windows versions, XP takes a minimalist approach to icons on the
desktop.The single, default icon a new installation places is Recycle Bin.I
certainly don’t like a cluttered desktop so that suits me fine, but one icon I do
find indispensable is Computer Management
[Start] [Control Panel] [Performance and Maintenance] [Administrative Tools]
Right-Click [Computer Management] then drag and release it over an empty part of
the desktop, selecting [Create Shortcut Here] in the context menu that
opens.Alternatively, you can use the [Copy] and [Paste] commands rather than
dragging and dropping to create the shortcut.
Either method can be used to create shortcuts virtually anywhere once you locate
the target file for the desired shortcut
How to Choose Hibernate on the Shutdown Dialog
If hibernate isn't available from the default Shut Down dialog. It can be enabled
by holding down the SHIFT key while the dialog is visible
Turn Off HibernationAccess settings via [Control Panel] [Power Options]
[Hibernate] tab.Check or uncheck the box to set activation property

Multiple Users and Fast User Switching

A highly touted feature of XP is the ability to have multiple users logged on to
one machine and switch quickly between them. Like Windows 2000, this is certainly
possible, but is it really a very worthwhile feature? The theory behind it is if
you step away from the computer and somebody else wants to use it in your absence,
they can sign in to their own settings without closing the programs you are
running. The usefulness of Fast User Switching really depends on the type of work
you do, how long each session lasts and how many users access each machine. Bear
in mind that each additional user logged in is going to eat away at overall
performance, especially if resource intensive programs are being run by multiple
users.
To activate Fast User Switching:
Log in as Administrator[Start] [Control Panel] [User Accounts][Change the Way
Users Log On and Off]Click [Use Fast User Switching]then click [Apply Options]Fast
User Switching is now enabled.
To change users, click [Start] [Log Off] and [Switch User] when the [Log Off
Windows] selection box appears.To log yourself off and leave the computer
available for another user to log on, click the [Log Off] button. The Log On
screen with the available users will be displayed.

Fast Boot /Fast Resume Design

Customer research shows a frequently requested feature that users want from their
PCs is fast system startup, whether from cold boot or when resuming from standby
or hibernation. The Windows development team at Microsoft has taken bold steps in
making fast startup PCs a reality with the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating
system. The design goals for Windows XP on a typical consumer PC are:
1. Boot to a useable state in a total of 30 seconds
2. Resume from Hibernate (S4) in a total of 20 seconds
3. Resume from Standby (S3) in a total of 5 seconds
Boot and resume times are measured from the time the power switch is pressed to
being able to start a program from a desktop shortcut.Note: The link above
provides access to the BootVis.exe Tool, a performance trace visualization tool
for use with Windows XP systems. Highly recommended to help in understanding the
boot process of the XP box

Create Icons for Shutdown and Reboot

If you find it annoying to access the Start Menu for shutting down or rebooting
the computer, create a shutdown and reboot icon for the desktop.
Desktop Shutdown IconRight click on the desktop:
Click [New] [Shortcut] to open the Create Shortcut WizardType [shutdown -s -t 00]
without the brackets.
Click [Next] and type a descriptive name of your choosing for the shortcut
Click [Finish]Add a bit of class to the shortcut by assigning it a custom
icon.Right click the shortcut, click [Properties] and select the [Shortcut]
tab.Click [Change Icon] and select from the icons that are displayed.
Desktop Reboot IconRight click on the desktopClick [New] [Shortcut] to open the
Create Shortcut WizardType [shutdown -r -t 00] without the brackets.
Click [Next] and type a descriptive name of your choosing for the shortcutClick
[Finish]Add a bit of class to the shortcut by assigning it a custom icon.
Right click the shortcut, click [Properties] and select the [Shortcut] tab.
Click [Change Icon] and select from the icons that are displayed.A Final Note:If
you happen to be as fanatical as I am about having nothing on the desktop, drag
the new icons into the Quick Launch area of the Taskbar

Auto Disconnect for Internet Explorer

Use this edit to automatically disconnect from Internet Explorer after a specified
length of time has elapsed.
[Start] [Run] [Regedit]Registry Key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\ParametersModify
/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.Data Type:
REG_DWORD [Dword Value] // Value Name: AutodisconnectValue Data: [Enter a new
disconnect time. Use Hexadecimal if you are unfamiliar with Binary]
Exit Registry and Reboot

Create Password Reset Disks

The Forgotten Password Wizard allows you to create a password reset disk that can
be used to recover user account and personalized computer settings if the password
is forgotten.
The steps to perform this task differ for domain and workgroup scenarios.
Domain Password Reset DiskPress CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open the Windows Security
dialog box.
Click Change Password.Click Backup to open the Forgotten Password Wizard.
Click Next and then follow the instructions as they appear on the screen.Non-
Domain Password Reset DisksThe procedure for creating non-domain reset disks
varies depending on whether you have an administrator account or a limited
account.
Administrator Password Reset Disk[Start] [Control Panel] [User Accounts]Select the
account name.Click [Prevent A Forgotten Password] under Related Tasks on left of
screen.Follow the instructions in Forgotten Password Wizard.Limited Account
Password Reset Disk[Start] [Control Panel] [User Accounts]Click [Prevent A
Forgotten Password] under Realted Tasks on left of screen.Follow the instructions
in Forgotten Password Wizard.

change fat ---> ntfs

To change ur File system from command prompt type: convert c:/fs:ntfs
(ex:'c' is the drive letter)

Turn Off Autoplay for Program CDs

How can you stop Windows XP from launching program CDs?•
Click Start, click Run, type GPEDIT.MSC to open Group Policy in the
MicrosoftManagement Console.
Double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative templates,double-
click System, and then click Turn off autoplay.
The instructions on your screen describe how to configure this setting.
ClickProperties to display the setting dialog.•Click Enabled, and choose CD-ROM
drives, then click OK, to stop CD autoplay.
This setting does not prevent Autoplay for music CDs
Make your folders invicible
1)Right Click on the desktop.Make a new folder
2)Now rename the folder with a space(U have to hold ALT key and type 0160).
3)Now u have a folder with out a name.
4)Right click on the folder>properties>customize. Click on change icon.
5)Scroll a bit, You should find some empty spaces, Click on any one of them.click
ok