Advanced Disk Cleanup
To activate the hidden powers of DiskCleanup you need to use the sageset and sagerun parameters.
Even if you regularly clear your Internet History, Temp files, and cookies to keep ordinary snoops at bay, you're overlooking a very important detail: index.dat files. These hidden files contain information about your IE surfing history and your Outlook activity, Here is a simple way to uncover and clean them out manually.
* C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\History
* C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
Here's a little clean-up tip for you all.
Delete the contents of these this folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp\
This is a hidden temp folder that doesn't get dumped when you go through disk cleanup. This folder contained nothing more than. temps and .baks. These are a collection of those little backup files that appear on your desktop while you are working with some sort of MS Office application. Always thought that those were deleted afterwards, but no, this folder is full of them.
Many of the files may give you the error of "access denied" or ".. is in use". You can use this program to fix that:
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
Open Registry Editor. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace . Create the following key: {D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153} (just copy/paste, including the brackets). Close Registry Editor. There is no need to reboot. Just wait a few seconds and see how the icon appears.
By disabling the load screen you can boost the boot up time by a couple of seconds, if not more. To disable the load screen, open the �msconfig� utility: go to Start>Run, type in �msconfig� without quotes and press Enter. In the subsequent window, select the �boot.ini� tab. Check the /NOGUIBOOT option and press �Apply�. Restart Windows to see the effect.
To Remove Arrow Signs From Desktop Shortcuts:
Open the registry editor by going to Start then Run and entering regedit. Once in registry, navigate to key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\ and rename the string value Is Shortcut to AriochIsShortcut.
Open the registry editor by going to Start then Run and entering regedit. Once in registry, navigate to key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings. Right click @ windows right > New > DWORD. type MaxConnectionsPerServer > You can set value (the more higher the no, the more good speed u get, e.g. : 99). Create another DWORD >type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server. Then put a high value as mentioned above. Restart I.E and you are done.
Win XP comes with many inbuilt performance-monitoring applications that constantly examine various parts of the system. This information can be of real use to a system administrator for collecting performance statistics. However, for a home user, these statistics hold no value and since the monitoring happens all the time, it consumes a good deal of system resources. �Disk monitoring�, for example, happens in the background, and turning it off is advisable if you will not be using the performance monitoring applications. To turn it off, type in �diskperf -N� at a command prompt. To bring up the command prompt: go to Start>Run, type in �cmd� and press [Enter].
The �My Documents� folder invariably ends up as the default repository of files for most Windows applications. Over a period of time, this folder starts bloating, and this; to a certain extend results in performance degradation. It might be a good idea to move the target location of the �My Documents� folder to some other partition on the hard drive, or to a different drive.
To do so, right click on �My Documents�, and on the �Target� tab, click on �Move�. In the subsequent dialog box, browse to the drive where you want to move the folder. Then click �Make New Folder� to create a new folder, and name it appropriately. Click �Apply� and then �Yes�.
If you are getting unwanted multiple boot screen
Then Follow these Steps.
1. Right Click on My Computer
2.. Select Properties
3. Select Advanced Tab
4. Select Settings In the Startup & Recovery Section(3rd grp)
5. Select the operating system which u want.
6. And Click OK.
7. Further again press the setting and click on Edit.
8. It will open boot.ini File.
9. Now u can delete those o/s which you don't want to be displayed.
Note: For deleting operating systems from boot.ini file, keep it mind that you can't
delete that o/s which is selected by default there. Before
making any changes make a copy of boot.ini file.
Open Notepad and paste the below code in it.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"SackOpts"=dword:00000001
"TcpWindowSize"=dword:0005ae4c
"Tcp1323Opts"=dword:00000003
"DefaultTTL"=dword:00000040
"EnablePMTUBHDetect"=dword:00000000
"EnablePMTUDiscovery"=dword:00000001
"GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:0005ae4c
Each time you browse a web site on the internet, the actual site name you type is resolved to an IP address. This translation is effected through what is called the DNS (Domain Name System). This DNS information is stored in your computer so that each time you type a web address , a record of its IP address is stored so that it can be recalled later without having to retrieve it again. One way to speed up your browsing experience is to increase this DNS cache in windows XP. You will need to modify registry for this.
Start notepad & enter the following text into it:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es|Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtILimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtILimit"=dword:0000012d
Save this file, naming it dnscache.reg . Double click on the file in windows explorer & merge it into your registry.
1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit okay
4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"
8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until it fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "ok" button here
14. Hit the "ok" button again
15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
18. Hit "ok"
19. Hit "ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address
In case of user password boot the pc in SafeMode by pressing the F8 key and then selecting the Safe Mode option. You can now logon as an administrator and XP wont prompt for the password. Incase of an administrator account try rebooting the pc in DOS. access C:\Windows\system32\config\sam . Rename SAM as SAM.mj
Now XP wont ask for password next time You Login. Also
1. Go to the cmd prompt.
2. Type net user *.
3. It will list all the users.
4. Again type net user "administrator" or the name of the administrator "name" *.
5. e.g.: net user ababab *(where ababab is the name).
6. It will ask for the password.
7. Type the password and there you are done.
Hold the Ctrl-Alt key and press Del twice. This will bring up the normal login and you can log on as Administrator.
To unhide the Administrator account so it does show up:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
3. Unhide the Administrator key by giving it a value of 1
To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor.
My preference is UltraEdit
1. Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
2. With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
3. You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
4. Edit it be any 5 characters or less
5. Save the file
6. Boot to DOS
7. Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
8. Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
9. 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:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
3. Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe
As in XP Tips Part 1WindowsXP has a program called SHUTDOWN.EXE which allows you to easily create icons to shutdown or restart your computer.
To create a shutdown shortcut on the desktop:
1. Right click on an open area of the desktop
2. Select New / Shortcut
3. Enter in "shutdown -s -t 00" - no quotes
4. Press the Next button
5. For the name, enter in anything you like. I just use shutdown. Click on the Finish button.
For a reboot, enter "shutdown -r -t 00"
Shutdown [{-l|-s|-r|-a}] [-f] [-m [\\ComputerName]] [-t xx] [-c "message"] [-d[u][p]:xx:yy]
Parameters:
* -l - Logs off the current user, this is also the defualt. -m ComputerName takes precedence.
* -s - Shuts down the local computer.
* -r - Reboots after shutdown.
* -a - Aborts shutdown. Ignores other parameters, except -l and ComputerName. You can only use -a during the time-out period.
* -f - Forces running applications to close.
* -m [\\ComputerName] - Specifies the computer that you want to shut down.
* -t xx - Sets the timer for system shutdown in xx seconds. The default is 20 seconds.
* -c "message" - Specifies a message to be displayed in the Message area of the System Shutdown window. You can use a maximum of 127 characters. You must enclose the message in quotation marks.
Go to scheduled tasks and start a new schedule, browse shutdown.exe from system32 folder, select time or day to run scheduled task enter administrator password and on next screen check the option for opening advance screen
and then append -s at the end of this line "C:\WINDOWS\system32\shutdown.exe"
Accessing Stored User Names And Passwords:
Access Stored User Names and Passwords with rundll32.exe in Windows XP
1. Click on START - RUN Type rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr
2. Press Enter
These settings will permanently hiding your computer from a workgroup:
1. Open registry, START --> RUN --> Type 'Regedit'
2. Double click on 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE'
3. Double click on 'SYSTEM'
4. Double click on 'CurrentControlSet'
5. Double click on 'Services'
6. Double click on 'LanmanServer'
7. Single click on 'Parameters'
8. On the right panel, Create a new DWORD
value, or modify the existing value, named "Hidden" and set it to "1". (Without Quots)
9. Close the Registry, then restart your
Computer.
Go to Start> RUN and Enter REGEDIT. Browse the following key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Sofware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer
Create a new DWORD (edit; new; dwordvalue ;). With a value=1 ( Right click on the newly created DWORD and click on modify then change its value to 1)
Restart Your Computer and you are done.
Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.
In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS.NTFS.
Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.
NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).
compmgmt.msc - Computer management
devmgmt.msc - Device manager
diskmgmt.msc - Disk management
dfrg.msc - Disk defrag
eventvwr.msc - Event viewer
fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders
gpedit.msc - Group policies
lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups
perfmon.msc - Performance monitor
rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies
secpol.msc - Local security settings
services.msc - Various Services
msconfig - System Configuration Utility
regedit - Registry Editor
msinfo32 - System Information
sysedit - System Edit
win.ini - windows loading information(also system.ini)
winver - Shows current version of windows
mailto: - Opens default email client
command - Opens command prompt
Run Commands to access the control panel:
