Here are some answers that might help you in your computer problems
You
may email me for additional problems
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Use these techniques at your own RISK, I accept no reponsibility for any damage caused by using any of these.
Enable Clear Type
Microsoft states, "With Windows XP, ClearType delivers improved font display
resolution over traditional anti-aliasing. It improves readability on color
LCD monitors with a digital interface, such as those in laptops and high-quality
flat desktop displays. Readability on CRT screens can also be somewhat improved."
Here is a are the steps to enable Clear Type for Windows XP:
1. Right click on the desktop and select Properties
2. Click on the Appearance tab.
3. Click on the Effects button.
4. Put a check on the Use the following methods to smooth edges of screen fonts.
5. Change the value from standard to Clear Type.
6. Open up IE and you will see a difference.
Shared Documents Folders
Many are finding the links to all of the shared folders on your system to be pretty annoying. This may be the system default setting, but you certainly do not have to live with it. Here is how to remove the Shared Documents Folders from My Computer. " Go to Start > Run and type in: regedit " Hit [Enter] on your keyboard " Navigate through the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders " Click once on DelegateFolders to empty its contents in the right pane. " You will see a sub-key named: {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}Deleting this sub-key will remove all of the Shared Documents Folders. It is not necessary to reboot to see this change.
Local Group Policy Editor [Professional]
A nice feature of the Windows NT, 2000, XP Operating Systems is the "Local Group Policy Editor" This is a flexible Change and Configuration Management tool. This tool includes options for registry-based policy settings, security settings, software installation, scripts, startup, shutdown, logon, logoff, and folder redirection. To invoke the Local Group Policy Editor, select Start and then Run, then type: gpedit.msc Now press ENTER on your keyboard
DirectX Diagnostic Tool
Windows 2000/XP has a handy tool for running diagnostic tests on your DirectX program. Some of what this tool can do includes: " Display detailed information " Diagnostic tests on many components, which include: o Display o Sound o Network o and more... " Check for problems " Save the information to a text file. To start this utility, simply click Start> Run, type in: dxdiag
Secure Attention Sequence Title
To change the title of the Secure Attention Sequence (SAS = Ctrl+Alt+Delete),
perform the following steps:
1. Start the registry editor (regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
3. From the Edit menu, select New> String value.
4. Enter a name of Welcome, and press Enter.
5. Double-click the new value, add the text you want to display after Windows
Security (e.g., for 5 Star Support), and click OK.
6. Close the registry editor.
7. Press the SAS sequence to see the new dialog box title.
Tasklist.exe
Microsoft has replaced tlist.exe with tasklist.exe in XP. Tlist.exe lets you list all the processes running on your machine and the associated task name and memory usage. Tasklist.exe replicates all the functionality of the original utility. For information about tasklist.exe, type the following at the XP command prompt: tasklist /?
System Restore Feature
XP contains a new feature called System Restore that restores the system to
a previous configuration point. Should you restore your system to a point before
you activated XP on your computer, the OS will forget that you activated it
and you'll need to reactivate XP. If the system restore point is past the 30-day
grace period that Microsoft allows for activation, you'll have to activate XP
immediately. The only workaround to reactivating your system is to perform the
following steps:
1. Start your Windows installation in Minimal Safe mode.
2. Move to the \%systemroot%\system32 folder.
3. Rename wpa.dbl to wpa.noact.
4. Rename wpa.bak to wpa.dbl.
5. Reboot your system as normal. Note: The above procedure will work only if
you've made no significant hardware changes.
Enable Boot Defragment
Windows XP includes an option to perform a boot defragment, which places all
files required for booting next to each other on disk to provide a faster boot
time. The OS enables this option by default, but you can check the status and
enable this option by performing the following steps:
1. Start the registry editor (regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction.
3. If Enable isn't set to Y, double-click Enable and set the value to Y.
4. Click OK.
5. Close the registry editor.
6. Reboot the machine. Note: If you want to disable boot defragment, set Enable
to N.
If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performance
by having the core system kept in memory.
WindowsXP Commands:
Computer Management - compmgmt.msc
Disk Managment - diskmgmt.msc
Device Manager - devmgmt.msc
Disk Defrag - dfrg.msc
Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc
Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc
Group Policies - gpedit.msc
Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc
Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc
Resultant Set of Policies - rsop.msc
Local Security Settings - secpol.msc
Services - services.msc
Component Services - comexp.msc
Turning Off Indexing Speeds Up Windows XP
As some of you will already know, Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard disk to try and improve searching speed. The only downside to all of this is that your PC will have to be indexing all of the files, so if you don't use search very much you can disable this feature:
By default, WindowsXP does not display all the programs you can add or remove.
To show this list:
Edit the \Windows\Inf\sysoc.inf file
In the Components section, simply remove the word hide.
This will leave two commas together (like on the rest of the items).
Then you can go to the Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs / Add/Remove Windows Components and the new items will be displayed.
[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7
smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7
AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7
CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7
MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7
AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7
Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7
MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7
ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7
Disabling Blue Screen Of Death Auto-Reboot
When you are running Windows XP, you may have noticed that every so often (rarely) that Windows reboots without you asking it to. This tends to be caused by a Blue Screen error. If you want to see what this error is, you will have to check the error log list because Windows reboots too quickly for you to read what happened. Well with this tip you can disable the Auto-Reboot so you can finally read, and see the blue screen error.
Shutdown Windows XP Faster
When you shut down Windows XP, the OS tries its best to make sure that all services (they help run things like graphics, printers etc) are shut down. But there are times when they don't close, thus Windows XP tries to give it the chance to shut down itself. This amount of time that windows waits for the service to close is stored in the system registry. If you modify this setting, then windows will shut down the service earlier. To modify the setting, follow the directions below:
Boot Defragment
A very important new feature in Microsoft Windows XP is the ability to do a boot defragment. This basically means that all boot files are placed next to each other on the disk drive to allow for faster booting. By default this option is enabled but some upgrade users have reported that it isn't on their setup.
• Reboot your computer.
Dual booting XP on 2 hard drives
Thought I'd post this in case someone else is trying to dual boot XP from a main and backup drive. Here's the scenario and what worked for me: When I upgraded my homemade computer a good while back, I installed a larger hard drive and a CD burner. Wanted to keep my existing older drive for backup purposes and the existing CD-ROM drive to save wear and tear on the burner drive. Since I only had 2 IDE drive connections on my mainboard , I installed a Promise Technologies add-in SCSI controller card with 2 more drive connections. Running my newer main hard drive on the first mainboard IDE connection and the CD-ROM drive on the second. Running the backup hard drive on the first SCSI card connection and the CD burner drive on the second one. (Arrived at this after having all kinds of XP boot problems with both hard drives on the mainboard IDE slots and the 2 CD drives on the add-in SCSI card slots.)
I used the hard drive utilities that came with the new drive to mirror copy the XP Home installation and everything else from the newer drive to the older one. Complete bootable backup of my new drive for ultimate crash protection. (Note that I had initially upgraded from Win98 to XP at the same time as adding the new hardware, so for activation puposes it "knew" I wasn't trying to steal it. No major hardware changes detected.) Only dilemma I've had all this time was that if I wanted to test boot from the backup drive, I had to disconnect the spare drive from the SCSI card, disconnect the main drive from my primary IDE connection on the mainboard, and connect the spare directly to the IDE connection.
After revisiting the issue recently, and wading through all the confusing info out there on the XP boot.ini lines, I found the solution . Please keep in mind that this works for MY configuration of drives as listed. In my case, there is only 1 partition on both the main and backup drives, and that is a major deal if you're trying this and have either drive with more than 1 partition.
After much twiddling with the boot.ini lines, and way too many reboots, I ended up with this:
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XP on primary drive" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XP on backup drive" /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
Explanation:
"timeout" is for wait time in seconds during boot screen to select the Windows version to boot to. Make it whatever you want.
"default" line is XP generic boot-to info, and points to my main C: drive installation. Nothing changed from original. LEAVE IT ALONE! (Overlook the fact that the "S" in "WINDOWS" is on a second line. Should not be. Some weird thing to do with this posting that I can't seem to edit differently.)
First line under "operating systems" beginning with "multi" points to the main C: drive XP installation (changed the wording to display on the boot screen to "XP on primary drive" for ease of use). DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS LINE!
Second line under "operating systems" (THAT I HAD TO ADD) beginning with "multi" points to the XP installation on the D: backup drive connected to the SCSI add-in card. Note the "1" instead of "0" for the "rdisk" value. Made the wording for boot screen display "XP on backup drive". (Note that this applies in my case where the Promise Technologies SCSI add-in card has it's own BIOS that displays after the main initial BIOS, and detects the drives connected to it. I've read that if this is not the case, the "multi" might need to read "scsi". You're on your own with that.)
Note that if you have more than 1 partition on either drive in this scenario, you'd have to tell the "partition" value where to look for XP in the appropriate line corresponding to the hard drive.
Note also that the last line under "operating systems" is for the MS Recovery Console normally available for Windows repair when booting from the XP install disk. I have Recovery Console installed on my hard drive so I don't have to use the CD if needed. Link included at the end of this for how to do. Leave it out altogether if you have not done this.
When trying to boot to the backup drive with these boot.ini lines, it wouldn't boot when choosing the backup drive. Having to reboot and choose the primary drive to start. Final step was to change the boot device sequence in the BIOS. Ended up with first device as floppy, second device as IDE0 (main hard drive connected to mainboard), third device as SCSI (spare drive connected to add-in SCSI card). Voila!
Since I had just recently mirror copied the new drive to the old drive, everything on the desktop looked identical. Indications that I had indeed booted to the spare drive was a lack of hard drive indicator light activity on the front of my machine (connected to the mainboard and not to the SCSI card). Another indication was one of the XP services, Generic Host... asking for permission to go out through my firewall, and permission to do so had already been given from the C: drive. It worked! No more fiddling with the drive cables if spare drive booting needed! IMPORTANT: All the desktop and start menu shortcuts still pointed to C: drive, so even though I had booted to and was "running" on the spare D: drive, the programs still referenced and launched from the C: drive. Meaning that if a catastrophic failure of the C: drive, they wouldn't launch. Merely a matter of changing where each shortcut points to by clicking "Properties" for the shortcut and changing the target from C: to D: Cool. For a test I made a Notepad document and made sure I saved it to the D: drive under My Documents, made a desktop shorcut to it and made sure it pointed to it on the D: drive. Now when I boot from the spare drive, I can tell instantly that it's the one I'm running on. Not there when booting to the C: drive. Way cool.
To finish up, I copied the boot.ini lines from the one on the C: drive and replaced the ones in boot.ini for the D: drive. Not sure if this is necessary or not but it works.
Boot.ini file can be easily edited by opening it with Notepad, or through Control Panel, System, Advanced, Startup & Recovery, Settings, Edit. Notepad is easier.
Yes, that can be done. Once the first XP is in place, boot from your XP-CD and install XP again on the second HD. For Microsoft this will look like a re-install (as far as I know), so you won't have any issues with (re-)registering, as it is the same PC.
The second install will insert an extra entry in your boot.ini file on the first HD, thus causing a Start-menu to show up when you switch the PC on. With Notepad you can change the entry-names, such as "Win-XP for Mom" and "Win-XP for Dad".
They will have 30 seconds to make up their mind which XP to start.
The disadvantage of doing this is, that you will have to install all other programs, such as Office, a second time as well. If you don't mind that, they will never be able to mess up the other's XP, once both are installed.
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)
multi(x) = Number of the IDE disk controller or the SCSI adapter with BIOS. (Always 0)
disk(x) = Only for SCSI - ID disk. When using multi - this setup is always 0.
rdisk(x) = Disk number on the IDE EIDE controllers (0 first, 1 second, 2 ....) for SCSI always 0
partition(x) = partition number 1,2,3,4... (primary partitions are always before extended partitions and logical disks)
