Use this Microsoft utility to turn on ClearType and use the tuner to create a slight alteration in font thickness and smoothing.
For running old programs on XP or Vista you may need to try running them in Compatibility Mode. Locate the programs' .exe file and right-click, Properties. Click the Compatibility tab and select Windows 95 from the drop-down list.
You can easily change the look back to the Windows Classic Start menu by following these steps:
The default speed of the Start
Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Start - Run
- type regedit. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay
By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to
speed it up.
If this doesn't work for some reason, then you might try the following:
Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then
Effects and turn off the options Use the following transition effects for menus
and tooltips and Show shadows under menus.
To restore the My Computer, My Documents, My Network Places, or
Internet Explorer icons to your Desktop, right-click anywhere on the Desktop and
select Properties. Click the Customize Desktop button under the Desktop tab.
Place a check mark next to the icons you want to restore.
ClearType (you'll see a difference)
Microsoft ClearType technology can be enabled in Windows XP to
smooth all fonts at all sizes, making the whole system so much easier to read.
To turn on ClearType:
1. Click Start, then Control Panel, and then click Appearance and Themes.
2. Click the Display icon, then the Appearance tab, and then Effects.
3. Click the Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts
check box and select ClearType from the list.
4. Click OK, and then click OK again.
If you don't have the Quicklaunch toolbar on as part of your Taskbar, you can still get to the Desktop easily by right-clicking on the Taskbar and selecting Show The Desktop.
If the Show Desktop icon is deleted from Quick Launch, the
procedure below will recreate the file.
Open Notepad and enter the following text:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop
Save the new file as Show Desktop.scf then drag and drop the icon on the Quick
Launch bar or whatever location you want the shortcut to appear.
Change a favorite bitmap picture into an icon by renaming it with an .ico extension rather than .bmp. Now to apply it to a program, right-click on a program icon and choose Properties, then the shortcut tab. Chick the Change Icon button and browse to locate your newly named ico file. Click to select it, OK and enjoy. This works best with smaller bmps.
DirectX is a set of tools built into Microsoft's operating system that are employed when using audio, video controls. What version do you have? Start - Run, type "dxdiag" How do you get the latest version? Often the programs you install include the newest version. You can update your current version by downloading it from Microsoft at Downloads. The current version as of Jan. 2004 is version 9.0b
When in Thumbnail view Windows XP automatically generates a picture for some folders to make it easier to identify what's in them. Try your hand at doing this yourself. Right-click a folder and choose Properties. Click on the Customize tab at the top. Use the Choose Picture button to browse your computer for any picture you like.
Hold down the Shift key when switching to Thumbnail view to hide the file names.
Need better thumbnails? You may find that the default
thumbnail size and quality in Windows isn’t quite to your liking.
Open the Registry Editor. Start - Run - "regedit." Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION
\EXPLORER. If this is your first time here for this function, you’ll need to
create two new DWORD Values called ThumbnailSize and ThumbnailQuality.
Right-click Explorer and then select New, DWORD value. Give the entry its name,
then right-click it and select Modify. In the Base area, select Decimal and then
enter a value in the Value Data text box. ThumbnailSize can vary from 32 to 256,
while ThumbnailQuality can range from 50 to 100. My preference is 125.
Use the Change Icon button to change the look of the folder icon (little yellow manilla folder) to something different.
Windows XP will try to generate an album cover picture for your music folders but you can do it manually. When you download the album cover art from the Web (cdnow.com or amguide.com), just save the images as folder.jpg each time and place them in the appropriate folder. Then, Windows XP will automatically use that image as the thumbnail for that folder and, best of all, will use that image in Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) if you choose to display album cover art instead of a visualization.
If you have numerous files to rename, select a group of photos, then rename the FIRST one and the rest will follow.
Go to the command prompt, Start - Run - cmd Navigate to the folder you want. Type in:
dir /B >filename.txt
Simply fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
Explorer \ My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders
You'll see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this, all of the Shared Documents folders (which are normally under the group called "Other Files Stored on This Computer") will be gone. You do not need to reboot your system to see the change.
You can rename multiple files all at once. Select a group of files. Right-click on the first file. Type in a name for the first file and the rest will follow. This might be especially handy for picture files imported from a camera.
You can easily make any photo or image the background wallpaper on your desktop with these steps.
Hint: If you have the My Pictures folder set for Thumbnail view, you can bypass Previewing the picture and click Set as Wallpaper directly.
For a great way to put your digital photos to work, try creating a slide show presentation for use as a screen saver. Here's how:
1. Right-click an empty spot on your desktop and then click Properties.
2. Click the Screen Saver tab.
3. In the Screen saver list, click My Pictures Slideshow.
4. Click Settings to make any adjustments, such as how often the pictures should
change, what size they should be, and whether you'll use transition effects
between pictures, and then click OK.
Now your screen saver is a random display of the pictures taken from your My
Pictures folder.
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Start Menu | |
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E | Explorer |
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F | Find |
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M | Minimize |
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D | Desktop |
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R | Run |
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L | Logoff |
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System Properties |
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X | Close related windows |
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O | Open |
An on-screen keyboard is built into Windows XP. It can be useful
if you have mobility impairments, if you are using a tablet PC, or if your
keyboard breaks down unexpectedly. To access the on-screen keyboard, go to
Start, then click Run, and then type osk. Now the keyboard opens on your
computer screen, featuring three typing modes you can use to type data:
- Clicking mode, where you click the on-screen keys.
- Scanning mode, where you press a hot key or use a switch-input device to type
highlighted characters.
- Hovering mode, where you use a mouse or joystick to point to a key, which is
then typed.
XP places the Scandisk utility (Error-Checking) and the Defrag in the properties dialog box of your harddrive. Go to My Computer and right-click on your harddrive and choose Properties. Select the Tools tab at the top.
Want to make a shortcut?
Trying to delete a file with no success? If your system is FAT then go to Folder Options in the Control Panel and click on the View tab. Uncheck the Hide/protect operating systems files.
If your system is NTFS then right-click on the System Volume Information folder and choose Properties then Security and then add your user name to the list of users that are allowed access.
Disable Messenger Service
· Click Start > Run and type "services.msc" (no quotes) in the Open: line and click OK
· In the right pane, scroll down to Messenger.
· Double click Messenger and click the General tab.
· Under Service Status: click the Stop button.
· In the Startup Type: drop down box, select Disable.
· Click Apply and OK.
Start-Run-"regedit"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft
Create a new key by selecting Edit from the main menu. Now select New, then Key. Name this new key: Messenger
Select the newly created Messenger Key and create another new Key; this time name it Client
Right-click the new Client Key, select New, then DWORD
Name the DWORD PreventRun and give it a date value of 1
Restart Windows
Double-click on the titlebar (top) of a Window to maximize or restore it quickly.
Tired of typing in long file/directory paths on a command line? Simply mouse click (either button) and drag the file or directory name from Windows Explorer to the command line. The entire path from the root to the file/directory you selected will be pasted on the command line.
Want to shutdown with just one click. Create an icon just for that purpose. In Win9x/Me, right-click the desktop, choose New, Shortcut. In the Item location box, type:
C:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows
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For Windows XP users: Right-click the desktop, New, Shortcut Target %windir%\system32\shutdown.exe -s -t 5 Next and give the shortcut a descriptive name such as Shutdown and click Finish. To add a nice touch, after you create you shortcut- Right-click on it and choose Properties. You'll want to change the icon. |
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Windows Sound Scheme
Windows XP ships with a really nice new sound scheme, but it's not loaded by
default for some reason. One of the first things you might want to do is get
that new sound scheme loaded. Open up Control Panel and choose Sounds and Audio
Devices. Use the drop down arrow to select the Windows Sound Scheme. If
you have your own ideas, click on a Program Event listed, then choose the sound
you want to use by clicking the browse button. You may want to just use
the drop-down arrow and choose None if your machine is making you nuts with
sounds.
Need to convert your MP3's into Windows Media Audio (WMA)? You need Microsoft Plus! MP3 Audio Converter automatically scans for MP3 files on your computer and converts them with a click of a button.
In Windows Media Player, click Tools > Options and go to the Player tab. Notice the option that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" Turn it off.
The relationship between Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) and the MP3 audio format is widely misunderstood. Basically, MPXP is able to playback MP3 files out of the box, but encoding (or "ripping") CD audio into MP3 format will require an MP3 plug-in. During the Windows XP beta, Microsoft supplied a sample MP3 plug-in for testing purposes, but it was limited to 56 Kbps rips, which is pretty useless, leading some to report that Microsoft was purposefully hobbling MP3 to make its Windows Media Audio (WMA) format look better. This is not the case.
To enable MP3 encoding in Windows XP, you'll need to to purchase one of three MP3 Creation Add-on packs for Windows XP. For more information, please visit the Microsoft Web site.
The My Music folder offers a couple of unique tasks, including the option to buy music off the INternet and to play all the songs in the folder. Choose Play All.
You want your songs in the Media Library to burn a CD. Your songs must be in MP3, WAV or WMA format. Create a playlist, Media Library, File - New - Playlist and give it a name. Find the songs you want to record and right-click on them to Add To Playlist. After you've added all of the tracks, click Copy To CD or Device and use the drop-down menu to select the playlist your created. Make sure you have a blank CD inserted and click Copy Music.
Rip a song from a CD - Insert the CD and choose Copy From CD and put checks in the checkboxes to select the tracks you want to copy. Click the Copy Music button to add the tracks to the Media Library in compressed WMA format. To change the settings choose Tools, Options and choose the Copy Music tab.
If safe mode and other startup options do not work, you can
consider using the Recovery Console. This method is recommended only if you are
an advanced user who can use basic commands to identify and locate problem
drivers and files.
Insert you're XP CD in the drive. Start - RUN - type in the following where X is the letter of your CD ROM drive.
X:\i386\winnt32 /cmdcons
The Recovery Console will now appear on your boot menu selection screen at startup.
Hidden folders must be displayed. (Folder Options in the Control Panel).
Now you can delete the Cmdcons folder and the Cmldr file which were created when
Recovery Console was installed. Now you must modify the boot.ini file by
right-clicking on it and choosing properties. Remove the Read only property.
Then right-click and Open with Notepad. 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.
In Windows 2000, getting to the Sharing options for a folder was simple: Just right-click, choose Properties, and you'd see a Sharing tab. In Windows XP, this feature is missing by default, but you can make the system display the Sharing tab if desired. Simply open up Folder Options (My Computer, then Tools, Folder Options) and navigate to the View tab. In the Advanced Settings section, scroll down to the bottom and uncheck Use simple file sharing (Recommended), a Mickey Mouse feature if there ever was one. Now share your folders on the LAN as you would in Windows 2000.
Skip the Welcome Screen
If you have been updating your computer with Microsoft Windows Update an account called ASP.NET Machine Account may have been added. This account has limited permissions which is why it helps keep your machine secure when .net commands are run. Rather than delete it in an effort to avoid the Welcome Screen, try this.
Start - Run - control userpasswords2
When the user accounts window opens, uncheck the box Users must enter a username and password to use this computer and apply the setting. Notice carefully the name of the user you want to be automatically logged on and when prompted for that information type it in exactly the same.
Messenger won't go away!
If you're not a big fan of Windows Messenger, you can use the
"Add/Remove optional features of Windows XP" above to remove it, or
simply delete the following Registry Key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
Once you have created regular user accounts, the default Administrator account vanishes from the Welcome screen, which you see when the computer starts up. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice at the Welcome screen to retrieve the standard logon dialog. You can log on as Administrator from here. To switch among accounts, just click the Log Off button on the Start menu. You'll then see the Log Off Windows dialog box. Click the Switch User button, and you'll be taken to the Welcome screen where you can select and log on to other accounts.
Services are programs that run when the
Start - Run - services.msc
Right-click and properties Startup Type Disabled
Open the Registry and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Find the folder for the application you want to remove from the list and delete
it.
One of the most full featured Windows XP configuration tools
available is hidden right there in your system, but most people don't even know
it exists. It's called the Local Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short. To
invoke this editor, select Start and then Run, then type the following:
gpedit.msc
After you hit ENTER, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify
virtually every feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit.
Convert from FAT to NTFS using a command line. To access the command line, click Start, Run, type command. Type convert x: /fs:ntfs (where x is the proper drive letter). Note that once you convert to NTFS, you cannot return to FAT without reformatting your hard
Windows XP now features locking a locking taskbar and toolbars. Right-click. Remove the checkmark in front of Lock that Taskbar. Now you can right-click and choose Properties to make changes and customizations. When your done, right-click and lock to maintain your choices.
Create a file in Notepad name "Show Desktop.scf". Include the quotes so
that Notepad will not affix the .txt on the file. Save it in the
Windows\System folder. The following is the text that you put in the file:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop
Create a shortcut to the file in C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Application
Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch. Rename it Desktop.
By default, Windows XP displays the last five programs you used on the Start menu. To make the Start menu display only the applications you want, rather than the default determined by Microsoft, right-click the Start button and select Properties. Use the Customize button. Here you'll find a list of your most frequently used programs. (XP keeps track of what you use and what you don't, then updates this list dynamically.) Don't want your boss to know that Pinball, Solitaire, and Quake all make your list? Click Clear List, and set the counter to zero.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay
By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.
If this doesn't work for some reason, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Effects and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow. You will get much better overall performance.
This tip only works if you are using the default Start menu rather than the Classic (Right-click Start - Properties). Locate any shortcut, icon or exe file and right-click on it. Choose "Pin to Start Menu. I wanted to move an entire folder to the Start Menu and found that I could just drag it there.
Start - Run - Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft
Windows
Current Version
Explorer
Advanced
Right-click the open space in the right side of the Registry
Editor window, New, DWORD
Name it EnableBalloonTips and press Enter. Done
If you want to keep your system clock current, you can configure WinXP to synchronize its time with an Internet time server. To configure an Internet time server, double-click the clock on the Taskbar (you’ll need to be logged into an administrator account for this) and click the Internet Time tab. Make sure Automatically Synchronize With An Internet Time Server is checked and select a time server from the drop-down menu. You can update the time by clicking the Update Now button
WinXP provides a couple of ways to quickly gain administrator
permissions without closing applications and logging out of your current user
account. The Fast User Switching feature lets you log on as a different user
without logging out of limited accounts, and the Run As option lets you run a
program using the permissions for a different user.
To enable Fast User Switching, open User Accounts from the Control Panel and
click Change The Way Users Log On Or Off. Be sure to select Use The Welcome
Screen along with Use Fast User Switching.
To perform a fast switch, click Start and click Log Off. Click the green Switch
User button to return to the Welcome screen and choose the account you want to
use.
To run an application with administrator permissions, right-click its icon and
select Run As. Select The Following User, choose the name of the administrator
account you wish to use, and enter the password (to use this option, the
administrator account must have a password). Some items, such as Control Panel
items, hide the Run As option unless you press SHIFT as you right-click them.
Once you have created regular user accounts, the default Administrator account vanishes from the Welcome screen, which you see when the computer starts up. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice at the Welcome screen to retrieve the standard logon dialog.
By default, the Administrator account is not displayed on the Welcome Screen. To log in to the Administrator account, press Ctrl+Alt+Del, release the Del key, and press it again, while still holding down the Ctrl+Alt keys. This will change the Welcome Screen login to the Windows 2000 style log in, where you can now type Administrator and the password for the Admin account.
You could also add the Administrator to the Welcome Screen:
Select a Picture for Your Account
You can select a picture to identify your account which peeks out at you from the top of the Start menu. There are a slew of 48x48-pixel bitmap images to choose from within XP. They're housed in C:\Documents And Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures. But why limit yourself? You can also copy any graphic you want into this folder or browse for another from your hard drive. Usable file types are BMP, GIF, JPEG, or PNG. However, always use a square picture, to limit the white space on the side. Your image can be any size but will be displayed as 48x48-pixel image, so a close-up works best.
Head to the Control Panel then User Accounts. Choose Change and Account. Click on your user account. Click Change My Picture.
Configure the system so that you do not need to press CTRL+ALT+DEL at all during logon (assuming you're not using the Welcome screen, in which case this key combo is not required). Here's how:
- Open Control Panel then User Accounts.
- Navigate to the Advanced tab.
- Uncheck the Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete checkbox under Secure
Logon.
Navigate to H_KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWSNT\CURRENTVERSION\WINLOGON.
In the key LegalNoticeCaption enter the Title you want to give the window.
In the key LegalNoticeText enter whatever message you want to display at logon.
Close regedit. Reboot