Getting a new computer, even if it's only a new workstation at work, should be a happy experience. A new PC means more power, faster processing, and usually a better display. However, all new PCs could stand some tweaking to make them even better. This download lists 10 tweaks that should be made to every new Windows PC. These tweaks will bring out the best in your new PC and give you a solid foundation for future applications and operating system updates. Some of the suggested tweaks include:

• Prepare the PC for the Internet
• Configuring the file system
• Turn on ClearType and adjust Desktop settings

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10 tweaks

Getting a new PC, whether it is at work or at home, is one of those "makes you smile" moments. Just like the "6 Million Dollar Man" we all want better, stronger, and faster. However, every new PC that crosses your path is in need of a few tweaks. This document lists 10 enhancements you should make to every new PC, no matter whether it is a workstation or the family media computer. These tweaks will bring out the best in your new PC and give you a solid foundation for future applications and operating system updates.

1. Prepare it for the Internet

The first step should always be to implement the necessary security measures required for connecting it to the Internet. For office workstations and PCs installed by network administrators, much of this preliminary work will have already been done, but for home PCs these steps are essential. Connecting a new PC to the Internet before taking the proper security steps outlined in a previous TechRepublic article will be construed by the nefarious citizens of the Internet as an invitation to infect your PC with a virus, worm, or Trojan horse. The scariest part of that scenario: the infection is likely to take place within 12 minutes of connecting to the Internet.

2. Turn on ClearType and adjust Desktop settings

One of the first things I do when I sit down at a new Windows PC for the first time is activate the ClearType effect located on the Display Properties control panel. To get to the right control, open the Control Panel and then open the Display Properties control panel. From there, navigate to the Appearance tab and click the Effects button. (See Figure A)

Display Properties - Effects

Click the second check box for smoothing font edges and choose the ClearType option. Click OK a few times and you should see the fonts displayed much more crisply on the screen. For tired eyes, like mine, this can literally save you a few headaches, especially if you have to stare at a monitor screen all day. Once you install the Microsoft PowerToys (See #9) you can adjust the ClearType settings to achieve a more personalized display. This is also where you would adjust the size of the Windows icons, choose whether to allow the screen contents to show while dragging, specify themes, and designate font style and size.

Those are all personal choices and will vary, but for those of us that look at the screen all day, these setting must be adjusted. One important thing I do is change the background color for text areas in Windows. The default is white, but that is often too bright for me. I change it to off white to reduce the intensity and the eye strain it causes. It is a small change, but I think it makes a big difference.

3. Configure file system

Sometimes large software companies like Microsoft take on a motherly role by configuring their software to protect us from ourselves. This is the case with the default manner in which the file system is displayed in Windows Explorer—system files are hidden, file extensions are hidden, and big icons are displayed instead of a detailed list. Some of these settings may be a matter of personal preference, but if you are going to truly know your PC and the Windows OS up and down, front to back, you will need to see all the information about a file displayed in every listing you see.

To set up the file display to your liking, open Windows Explorer and navigate to Tools | Folder Options on the menu and then to the View tab. Next, you want to look down the list of checkboxes and radio buttons to find the one that says "Show hidden files and folders". (See Figure B) I also recommend you click the checkboxes next to:

.. Display the contents of the system folders
.. Display the full path in the address bar

You should also uncheck the boxes next to:

.. Hide extensions for know file types
.. Hide protected operating system files

Revealing the protected OS system files can be dangerous if you are one who likes to delete files and ask questions later, but as long as you are careful, I think the benefits outweigh the risks. Once you get the folder view the way you want it, you should click the Apply to All Folders button to make the view common to all folders.

Figure B

Folder Options

4. Set screen resolution and Hz and DPI

Once again, this suggestion may stem from my aging eyes, but the general concept is sound for all new PCs. Go to the Control Panel and open the Display Properties. While you may want to change the Appearance or activate a Screen Saver, my concern is with the Settings tab. The resolution determined by the install process (includes any OS) may not be the best resolution for your hardware or for your eyes. For LCD monitors, the resolution settings should match the native resolution of the monitor itself. The native resolution is easy to determine, it the maximum resolution the LCD monitor can actually display.

For CRT monitors, the resolution settings should be set to values that are most comfortable to your eyes. For monitor sizes of 17 inches or more that would most likely mean settings of at least 1024 X 768. However, the actual settings available are determined by your hardware, which includes not only the monitor but also the video card. Perhaps even more important than the resolution are the settings for Dots Per Inch (DPI) and the Screen Refresh Rate.

These controls are under the Advanced button of the Display Properties. (Figure C) The DPI, found under the General tab, determines how large the display fonts will be on a Windows PC. The default is 96 DPI, but at resolutions above 1024 X768 I prefer a DPI of 120. The Screen Refresh control is found under the Monitor tab. (See Figure C) Your monitor will determine what settings are available here, but for CRTs I prefer a relatively high refresh rate of 85 Hz. Although you may not notice it, the monitor screen is constantly flickering. This flicker can give you a headache and make your eyes hurt if it is too slow, especially with CRTs. LCDs are a little different. They are usually limited to 60 Hz, but because they use a different technology, the strain to the eyes is much less pronounced.

Figure C

Advanced Display Properties

5. Activate Windows

At some point during the setup process you will likely be asked to activate Windows. (Linux you would similarly be asked to register your particular distribution.) This is a good time to get that out of the way. Taking this step assures your operating system is legitimate and opens up a new set of support features including community forums and FAQs.

6. Copy over browser shortcuts

For many of us, our list of favorite Web sites is a reflection of our lives. It is more than a mere list of places on the Word Wide Web; it is our connection to a dynamic virtual world. However, once a link is placed into your browser, you don't really have to worry about remembering what can often be a cryptic URL. However, because you don't have to remember, you may actually forget what it is. This is why porting over your browser favorites is so important. It is a two step process. First, export your browser favorites to a file. In both Internet Explorer and Firefox, the Export nd Import features can be found under the File menu. (Figure D) Once you have exported to a file, copy that file to the new PC and then import that file to your browser of choice on the new PC.

Figure D

Export and Import

7. Install needed applications

If your new PC is at work, chances are that all of the "necessary" applications are installed already. But for home PCs, there is still work to do. Everyone's idea of what applications should be installed is going to be a personal choice, but there are likely to be some selections common to us all. Here are some of the applications I have to install with each new PC:

.. Office Suite, including e-mail client
.. Money, QuickBooks or some other money management application
.. RSS Reader
.. iTunes
.. Graphics/Paint program beyond Paint for Windows
.. VPN client (for connecting to the office)
.. CD/DVD burning applications beyond what shipped with the PC
.. HTML Editor
.. Application developer IDE (often two—VS and Eclipse)

I'm sure you can think of some others. Of course there are always the entertainment applications like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Civilization.

8. Set up e-mail and home page

Now that you have your e-mail client and browser installed, it is time to configure them. Specifying the browser home page is an easy thing to do, but it is also quite necessary. The default home page for browsers is not where you want to go every time you fire it up. The e-mail client configuration will be dependent on the client application and the service provider. In Outlook, the configuration is under Tools | E-mail Accounts, which starts a wizard that will walk you through the process.

9. Install PowerToys

One of the more important things you can do to enhance your new PC, especially if it is a Windows PC, is to install the Microsoft Windows XP PowerToys. These free applications can simplify your Windows PC life by making it easier to change default configurations, synchronize across computers, and manipulate files and photographs.

10. Save system and registry, back up

Once you have your new PC setup the way you like it, you take a few moments to backup your hard drive and save the system files and the registry. Taking these steps to establish a restore point now will create a new base configuration for your PC. This is a state you can return to if something goes wrong in the future.

WinXP Tips and Tricks [ Users Quick Reference ]

Opening Ports or Adding Allowed Programs with SP2's Firewall
1.Click on Start / Run
2.Enter in firewall.cpl
3.Click on the Exceptions tab

Adding a Port for Internet Access:
1.Click on the Add Port button
2.Name it whatever you want
3.Enter in the ports you want to open

Adding a Program for Internet Access
1.Click on Add Program... button
2.A list of all installed programs will be displayed
3.Highlight the one you want to include for Internet access
4.Click on the OK button Autoexec.nt or Config.nt Errors
If you are getting errors similar to:
The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.
Try copying the file from \windows\repair directory to the one that is in the \windows\system32 directory.


Common Control Panel Applets
The follow are some common Control Panel Applets that are located in the \windows\system32 directory.
If you find yourself using any of these frequently, then you can simply make shortcuts to them on your desktop.

appwiz.cpl >>Add/Remove Programs
desk.cpl >> Display Properties
firewall.cpl >> Firewall Settings
inetcpl.cpl >> Internet Options
mmsys.cpl >> Sound and Audio
ncpa.cpl >> Network Connections
nusrmgr.cpl >> User Accounts
powercfg.cpl >> Power Options
sysdm.cpl >>System Properties
wscui.cpl >> Security Center
wuaucpl.cpl >> Automatic Updates Configuration


Windows Explorer Opens Search Companion Rather than the Folder
If the Windows Explorer opens up the Search Companion rather than opening up the actual folder, the default setting for opening a folder is changed.
To correct this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell
Edit the default value to be explorer or none


Guest Only Network Access
If you try and connect to an XP computer and are shown a logins screen with only the computername/Guest,
You may need to change one of the Local Security Policies:
Got to Control Panel - Administrative Tools
Go to Local Policies - Security Options
Check teh Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts
Set it to Classic - local users authenticate as themselves


Hiding a XP Computer from Network Neighborhood
If you want to share files from a XP computer,
yet want to remove it from showing up in the Network Neighborhood,
Run net config server /hidden:yes


Easy Way to Share Multiple Folders
If you need to share multiple folders, running the program SHRPUBW.EXE will bring up a simple dialog box to let you:
Browse to the folder you want to share
Enter in a Share name
Ender in a Share description
Set permissions. Several choices are available
Restart the process from within the same program


Not Viewing Zip Files as Folders
If you want to turn of WindowsXP showing Zip files as folders,
just run:
regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll


Setting Capslock, Numlock, Scroll Lock
If you want to set the startup state for any or all of these keys,
you just need to edit the registry.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Keyboard
Open InitialKeyboardIndicators
Change the value to one of the following numbers
0 - All Keys off
1 - Caps Lock on
2 - Num Lock on
4 - Scroll Lock on
For multiple keys, add their values:
3 - Caps Lock and Num Lock on
5 - Caps Lock and Scroll Lock on
6 - Num Lock and Scroll Lock on
7 - Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock on
Log off and back on again


Restoring Desktop Icon to the Quicklaunch Bar
If you mistakenly deleted the icon for the Desktop on the Quicklaunch toolbar
Go to C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
(where user_name is replaced by your login name)
Create a Text file called ShowDesktop.SCF with the following contents:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop


Network Access After Norton Anti-Virus Install
Sometimes you can't access a WinXP computer after installing Norton Anti-Virus.
There might be a variety of errors at the other computer depending on the operating system.
On the XP computer, in the Event Viewer / System log, there will be the following error:
The server's configuration parameter "irpstacksize" is too small for the server to use a local device.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters
Edit the IRPStackSize
Give it a value of 15
Reboot the computer


Configure for Auto-Logon
If you are the only person using the computer and what to have it automatically log you on,
Start / Run / "control userpasswords2" - no quotes
Uncheck User must enter a user name and password to use this computer
Services You Can Disable
There are quite a few services you can disable from starting automatically.
This would be to speed up your boot time and free resources.
They are only suggestions so I suggestion you read the description of each one when you run Services
and that you turn them off one at a time.
Some possibilities are:
Alerter - Sends alert messages to specified users that are connected to the server computer.
Application Management - Allows software to tap directly into the Add/Remove Programs feature via the Windows Installer technology.
Background Intelligent Transfer Service - The Background Intelligent Transfer service is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth.
Clipbook - ClipBook permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the network.
Error Reporting Service - Allows applications to send error reports to Microsoft in the event of an application fault.
Fast User Switching - Windows XP allows users to switch quickly between accounts, without requiring them to log off.
Help and Support - Allows the XP Built-in Help and Support Center to run.
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service - You don't need this if you have other software to create CDs.
Indexing Service - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.
IP SEC - Manages IP security policy and starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) and the IP security driver. If you are not on a domain, you likely don't need this running.
Messenger - Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers. This is how a lot of pop-up windows start appearing on your desktop.
Net Logon - Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain. If you are not on a domain, you don't need this running
Network DDE - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers.
NT LM Security Support Provider - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes.
Performance Logs and Alerts - Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert. If you don't need to monitor your performance logs, then you don't need this service.
Portable Media Serial Number - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer
QOS RSVP - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets.
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you are not using Remote Desktop you don't need this service.
Remote Registry - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer.
Routing & Remote Access - Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments. Allows dial-in access.
Secondary Login - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. This is what allows you to run an application as another user.
Smart Card - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer.
Smart Card Helper - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer.
SSDP Discovery Service - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper - Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution. This should not be needed in today's network environment.
Telnet - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients.
Uninterruptible Power Supply Service - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer.
Universal Plug and Play Device Host - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices
Upload Manager - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network.
Volume Shadow Copy Service - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes.
Web Client - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify non-local files across the Internet.
Wireless Zero Configuration - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters
WMI Performance Adapter - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers.


Cleaning the Prefetch Directory
WindowsXP has a new feature called Prefetch. This keeps a shortcut to recently used programs.
However it can fill up with old and obsolete programs.
To clean this periodically go to:
Star / Run / Prefetch
Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the shorcuts
Delete them


Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages
To turn these off:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system
If it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessages
Give it a value of 1


Repair Install
If XP is corrupted to the point where none of the previous solutions get it to boot,
you can do a Repair Install that might work as well as keep the current settings.
Make sure you have your valid WindowsXP key.
The whole process takes about half an hour depending on your computer
If you are being prompted for the administrator's password, you need to choose the 2nd repair option, not the first.
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD
At the second R=Repair option, press the R key
This will start the repair
Press F8 for I Agree at the Licensing Agreement
Press R when the directory where WindowsXP is installed is shown. Typically this is C:\WINDOWS
It will then check the C: drive and start copying files
It will automatically reboot when needed. Keep the CD in the drive.
You will then see the graphic part of the repair that is like during a normal install of XP (Collecting Information, Dynamic Update, Preparing Installation, Installing Windows, Finalizing Installation)
When prompted, click on the Next button
When prompted, enter your XP key
Normally you will want to keep the same Workgroup or Domain name
The computer will reboot
Then you will have the same screens as a normal XP Install
Activate if you want (usually a good idea)
Register if you want (but not necessary)
Finish
At this point you should be able to log in with any existing accounts.


NTOSKRNL Missing or Corrupt
If you get an error that NTOSKRNL not found:
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Change to the drive that has the CD ROM.
CD i386
expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe
If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change to C:\Windows
Take out the CD ROM and type exit


HAL.DLL Missing or Corrupt
If you get an error regarding a missing or corrupt hal.dll file, it might simply be the BOOT.INI file on the root of the C: drive that is misconfigured
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Type bootcfg /list to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file
Type bootcfg /rebuild to repair it
Take out the CD ROM and type exit


Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG
If you get the error:
Windows could not start because the following files is missing or corrupt
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Enter in the administrator password when requested
cd \windows\system32\config
Depending on which section was corrupted:
ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad
Depending on which section was corrupted
copy \windows\repair\system
copy \windows\repair\software
Take out the CD ROM and type exit


NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM Not Found
If you get an error that NTLDR is not found during bootup,
If you have FAT32 partitions, it is much simpler than with NTFS.
Just boot with a Win98 floppy and copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files
from the i386 directory to the root of the C:\ drive.
For NTFS:
Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Enter in the administrator password when requested
Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive.
COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\
Take out the CD ROM and type exit


Bringing Up the Shutdown Dialog Box
Create a new txt file somewhere on your system, open it and put in this one line:
(new ActiveXObject("Shell.Application")).ShutdownWindows();
Save and Close the file. Change the extension to js and your got it.
You can make a shortcut to that file to make it easy to shut down your system.


Hiding the Last User Logged On
If you use the standard NT style of login and want to hide the last user:
Start the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options
Scroll down to Interactive logon: Do not display last user name
Set it to Enable


Poweroff at Shutdown
If your computer does not turn off the power when doing a shutdown,
you may need to edit the registry. I have all the correct BIOS and Power settings and still needed to do this. Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Edit the key PowerOffActive and give it a value of 1
You can do the same in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop


Remembering Folder Settings
If XP does not remember your folder settings, delete or rename the following registry keys
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags]


Preventing Applications from Stealing the Focus
To prevent applications from stealing the focus from the window you are working
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
Edit the key ForegroundLockTimeout
Give it a value of 00030d40


Disable Explorer Thumbnail View
If you want disable the Explorer's ability to show the Thumbnail View ,
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \
Change ClassicViewState to 1

Disable Shared Documents
To disable the Shared Documents folder that shows up on the network
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \
Create a new DWORD Value
Give it the name NoSharedDocuments
Give it a value of 1
Log off or reboot


Removing Thumbs.db Files
When viewing a folder with the Thumbnail view, WindowsXP creates a thumbs.db file.
This is a cache of the current pictures in that directory.
If you want to turn this feature off and save a little disk space
Start the Windows Explorer
Go to Tools / Folder Options / View
In the first section under Files and Folders, check Do not cache thumbnails
Now you can search for the thumbs.db file on your computer and remove them. No more should be created.



Enable / Disable the Task Manager
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Create the Dword value DisableTaskMgr
Give it a value of 0 to enable it
Give it a vaule of 1 to disable it


Clearing the Page File on Shutdown
Another way to set the computer to clear the pagefile without directly editing the registry is:
Click on the Start button
Go to the Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Local Security Policy
Local Policies
Click on Security Options
Right hand menu - right click on "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
Select "Enable"
Reboot
If you want to clear the page file on each shutdown:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Set the value to 1


No GUI Boot
If you don't need to see the XP boot logo,
Run MSCONFIG
Click on the BOOT.INI tab
Check the box for /NOGUIBOOT


Using the Classic Search in Explorer
If you prefer to use the classic search style in Explorer,
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CabinetState
Add a String Key called Use Search Asst
Give it a value of no


Changing Drive Letters
If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:
Right Click on My Computer
Select Manage
Select Disk Management
For a Fixed Disk:
Select it
Right click
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
For a Removable Disk:
In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM #
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use


Changing the Registered Owner
Start Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
From there you can edit the name in the Registered Owner key

Decreasing Boot Time
Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXP
The program is called BootVis
Uncompress the file.
Run BOOTVIS.EXE
For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
Then run Trace / Optimize System
Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
Note how much the time has decreased
Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.


Hide/Unhide Logon Names
If you want to hide or unhide the names of users that are displayed on the initial logon screen:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
Add a DWORD with the name of the user account you want to hide
Make sure it has a value of 0
If there is an existing account, you can unhide it by giving it a value of 1


WindowsXP Command Line Utilities
While there are a lot of command line utilities in WindowsXP, here are some that I have been using lately.
bootcfg - Configures, queries, or changes Boot.ini file settings.
driverquery - Displays a list of all installed device drivers and their properties.
getmac - Returns the media access control (MAC) address and list of network protocols associated with each address for all network cards in each computer
gpresult - Displays Group Policy settings and Resultant Set of Policy (RSOP) for a user or a computer
netsh - You can use commands in the Netsh Interface IP context to configure the TCP/IP protocol
schtasks - Schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a specific time
systeminfo - Displays detailed configuration information about a computer and its operating system


Disabling Hibernation
If you don't want to use up the disk space taken by Hibernation, or don't need to use it at all,
you can easily disable it.
Open up the Control Panel / Power Options icon
Click on the Hibernation icon
Uncheck Enable Hibernation


Increasing System Performance
If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performance
by having the core system kept in memory.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
Set the value to be 1
Reboot the computer


Common Command Console Utilities
WindowsXP comes with quite a few console utilities you can easily run from the command line:
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



Automatically Ending Non-Responsive Tasks
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks
Set the value to be 1
In the same section, change the WaitToKillAppTimeout to the number of milliseconds you want.


Changing Programs That Start Automatically
WindowsXP has a similar program, MSCONFIG, that was available in Windows98.
This allows you to view and change what programs are automatically started each time you log in.
The new version also allows you to view and edit the boot.ini file (as well as check for errors and use several advanced switches)

Creating an Automated Install of WindowsXP
On the WindowsXP CP, in the SUPPORT\TOOLS directory,
there is a file called DEPLOY.CAB.
Extract the programs DEPLOY.CHM (help file) and SETUPMGR.EXE (main program)
Run SETUPMGR and answer the prompts.
This will create both a unattend.bat and unattend.txt file you can use for automated installs.
Note: The batch file might need some minor modification for file locations but it is fairly basic.

10 things you can do to protect your data

When you think about it, the most valuable thing on your computer or network is the data you create. After all, that data is the reason for having the computer and network in the first place—and it’s the bits and bytes that make up that data that are your first priority when putting protective strategies in place. Operating systems and applications can always be reinstalled, but user-created data is unique and if lost, may be irreplaceable.

 

Some data is also confidential; not only do you not want to lose it, you don’t want others to even view it without authorization. Exposure of your social security number, credit card, and bank account information could subject you to identity theft. Company documents may contain trade secrets, personal information about employees or clients, or the organization’s financial records. Let’s look at some ways to protect your all-important user data from loss and/or unauthorized access.

 

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1. Back up early and often

The single most important step in protecting your data from loss is to back it up regularly. How often should you back up? That depends—how much data can you afford to lose if your system crashes completely? A week’s work? A day’s work? An hour’s work? You can use the backup utility built into Windows (ntbackup.exe) to perform basic backups. You can use Wizard Mode to simplify the process of creating and restoring backups or you can configure the backup settings manually. You can also schedule backup jobs to be performed automatically.

 

There are also numerous third-party backup programs that can offer more sophisticated options. Whatever program you use, it’s important to store a copy of your backup offsite in case of fire, tornado, or other natural disaster that can destroy your backup tapes or discs along with the original data.

 

 

2. Use file-level and share-level security

To keep others out of your data, the first step is to set permissions on the data files and folders. If you have data in network shares, you can set share permissions to control what user accounts can and cannot access the files across the network. With Windows 2000/XP, this is done by clicking the Permissions button on the Sharing tab of the file’s or folder’s properties sheet.

 

However, these share-level permissions won’t apply to someone who is using the local computer on which the data is stored. If you share the computer with someone else, you’ll have to use file-level permissions (also called NTFS permissions, because they’re available only for files/folders stored on NTFS-formatted partitions). File-level permissions are set using the Security tab on the properties sheet and are much more granular than share-level permissions. In both cases, you can set permissions for either user accounts or groups and you can allow or deny various levels of access from read-only to full control.

 

 

3. Password-protect documents

Many productivity applications, such as Microsoft Office applications and Adobe Acrobat, will allow you to set passwords on individual documents. To open the document, you must enter the password. To password-protect a document in Microsoft Word 2003, go to Tools | Options and click the Security tab. You can require a password to open the file and/or to make changes to it. You can also set the type of encryption to be used.

 

Unfortunately, Microsoft’s password protection is relatively easy to crack. There are programs on the market designed to recover Office passwords, such as Elcomsoft's Advanced Office Password Recovery (AOPR). This type of password protection, like a standard (non-deadbolt) lock on a door, will deter casual would-be intruders but can be fairly easily circumvented by a determined intruder with the right tools. You can also use zipping software such as WinZip or PKZip to compress and encrypt documents.

 

 

4. Use EFS encryption

Windows 2000, XP Pro, and Server 2003 support the Encrypting File System (EFS). You can use this built-in certificate-based encryption method to protect individual files and folders stored on NTFS-formatted partitions. Encrypting a file or folder is as easy as selecting a check box; just click the Advanced button on the General tab of its properties sheet. Note that you can’t use EFS encryption and NTFS compression at the same time.

 

EFS uses a combination of asymmetric and symmetric encryption, for both security and performance. To encrypt files with EFS, a user must have an EFS certificate, which can be issued by a Windows certification authority or self-signed if there is no CA on the network. EFS files can be opened by the user whose account encrypted them or by a designated recovery agent. With Windows XP/2003, but not Windows 2000, you can also designate other user accounts that are authorized to access your EFS-encrypted files.

 

Note that EFS is for protecting data on the disk. If you send an EFS file across the network and someone uses a sniffer to capture the data packets, they’ll be able to read the data in the files.

 

 

5. Use disk encryption

There are many third-party products available that will allow you to encrypt an entire disk. Whole disk encryption locks down the entire contents of a disk drive/partition and is transparent to the user. Data is automatically encrypted when it's written to the hard disk and automatically decrypted before being loaded into memory. Some of these programs can create invisible containers inside a partition that act like a hidden disk within a disk. Other users see only the data in the "outer" disk.

 

Disk encryption products can be used to encrypt removable USB drives, flash drives, etc. Some allow creation of a master password along with secondary passwords with lower rights you can give to other users. Examples include PGP Whole Disk Encryption and DriveCrypt, among many others.

 

 

6. Make use of a public key infrastructure

A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a system for managing public/private key pairs and digital certificates. Because keys and certificates are issued by a trusted third party (a certification authority, either an internal one installed on a certificate server on your network or a public one, such as Verisign), certificate-based security is stronger.

 

You can protect data you want to share with someone else by encrypting it with the public key of its intended recipient, which is available to anyone. The only person who will be able to decrypt it is the holder of the private key that corresponds to that public key.

 

7. Hide data with steganography

 

You can use a steganography program to hide data inside other data. For example, you could hide a text message within a .JPG graphics file or an MP3 music file, or even inside another text file (although the latter is difficult because text files don’t contain much redundant data that can be replaced with the hidden message). Steganography does not encrypt the message, so it’s often used in conjunction with encryption software. The data is encrypted first and then hidden inside another file with the steganography software.

 

Some steganographic techniques require the exchange of a secret key and others use public/private key cryptography. A popular example of steganography software is StegoMagic, a freeware download that will encrypt messages and hide them in .TXT, .WAV, or .BMP files.

 

 

8. Protect data in transit with IP security

Your data can be captured while it’s traveling over the network by a hacker with sniffer software (also called network monitoring or protocol analysis software). To protect your data when it’s in transit, you can use Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)—but both the sending and receiving systems have to support it. Windows 2000 and later Microsoft operating systems have built-in support for IPsec. Applications don’t have to be aware of IPsec because it operates at a lower level of the networking model.

 

Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) is the protocol IPsec uses to encrypt data for confidentiality. It can operate in tunnel mode, for gateway-to-gateway protection, or in transport mode, for end-to-end protection. To use IPsec in Windows, you have to create an IPsec policy and choose the authentication method and IP filters it will use. IPsec settings are configured through the properties sheet for the TCP/IP protocol, on the Options tab of Advanced TCP/IP Settings.

 

9. Secure wireless transmissions

Data that you send over a wireless network is even more subject to interception than that sent over an Ethernet network. Hackers don’t need physical access to the network or its devices; anyone with a wireless-enabled portable computer and a high gain antenna can capture data and/or get into the network and access data stored there if the wireless access point isn’t configured securely. You should send or store data only on wireless networks that use encryption, preferably Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), which is stronger than Wired Equivalent Protocol (WEP).

 

 

10. Use rights management to retain control

If you need to send data to others but are worried about protecting it once it leaves your own system, you can use Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) to control what the recipients are able to do with it. For instance, you can set rights so that the recipient can read the Word document you sent but can’t change, copy, or save it. You can prevent recipients from forwarding e-mail messages you send them and you can even set documents or messages to expire on a certain date/time so that the recipient can no longer access them after that time.

 

To use RMS, you need a Windows Server 2003 server configured as an RMS server. Users need client software or an Internet Explorer add-in to access the RMS-protected documents. Users who are assigned rights also need to download a certificate from the RMS server.

capture an image from a movie

  How do I capture an image from a movie in Microsoft Windows Media Player? Often a user may attempt to capture an image from a video in Microsoft Windows Media Player using the print screen button. Unfortunately when pasting the image into an image editor the capture will be a blank or black image.

Answer:
There are several different answers that can apply to this question. Depending on the type of movie that is being played and what codec it is using may change what will work and what will not work. We suggest going through each of the below recommendations, if a solution does not work continue down the list.

First Option:

While in Microsoft Windows Media Player press "CTRL + I", if the video you are watching is using a Microsoft supported movie file you should receive a "Save Captured Image" window, allowing you to save the image as "capture" or any other name.

Although this solution is a quick and easy solution, you may not get the results you want as the image will often be smaller and lesser quality then what you see when you press the keys. If you wish to capture better images at any size, even full screen try the second solution.

Second Option: This solution should only be used to capture images from any video, once done it should be changed back as it may cause other issues. However, this should work with all types of video files.

1. Open Microsoft Windows Media Player.
2. Click Tools and then Options.
3. Within the Options window click the Performance tab.
4. Within Performance click the Advanced button.
5. In Video Acceleration Settings uncheck "Use Overlays"
6. Click Ok.
7. Finally, click Apply and then Ok in the Options window.

Final Option:
Use a third-party capturing program..

Code:

http://www.fox-magic.com/mc_gb/capture_media_player_screen.html http://www.atlantsoft.com/utils/ssm.htm http://www.screen-capture.net/ http://www.screenshot-utility.com/

Speed Up Your Windows PC

Lesson 1: The basics

In this lesson we’ll look at a couple of simple and relatively quick things you can do to speed up your computer.
In this course, we’ll zero in on some key ways you can make your PC run faster. Really.
When you first take a new PC out of the box, Windows comes with many “default settings” that can significantly slow down your system. Fortunately there are many ways you can adjust those settings to get more performance out of your machine. Sometimes you’ll have to strike a balance between speed and looks, but in most cases there’s no tradeoff — you simply need to change the way Windows works with your hardware and software.
Of course, making adjustments in Windows can be intimidating. But that’s why you’re here. We’ll try to make this a simple, step-by-step process that anyone can do.

ALERT:
This course only offers recommendations for speeding up the performance of your Windows XP PC. Before you do any troubleshooting or changing to your PC settings, we recommend that you do a full back-up of all your files.

Memory boost

To start off, the single most important thing you can do to increase your computer’s speed is to add RAM--random access memory. It’s also the one thing in this course that will cost you money (but it’s worth it).
Think of your hard drive as a big box full of puzzles and games, and your RAM is like a table where you can assemble puzzles and play games. The bigger the table, the more puzzles and games you can play with at once. Conversely, when you have a small table (limited memory), your hard disk is forced to serve as an “artificial table” (or virtual memory). This fake memory trick works fine, but it causes the computer to slow way down. So it’s far better to have enough RAM so that your PC isn’t forced to use its hard drive for virtual memory.
The price of memory has dropped dramatically in the last few years, making an upgrade an inexpensive way to get a big boost in performance.
Adding or replacing RAM is relatively simple to do: You simply plug some chips into sockets on your computer’s motherboard.
The challenge, however, is getting the correct memory module for your PC. Just about every computer is different. Some are already equipped with plenty of memory, while others have very little. And there are a lot of different types of memory, so you need to be sure to get the exact right module for your system.

Cut the graphics

Whether or not you choose to add memory, another easy way to speed up Windows XP is to change your graphics settings. The more gratuitous effects you use, the slower your computer will work. So let’s reduce or eliminate them.
If you’ve used other versions of Windows, you know that XP has a very different look. Unfortunately, that look comes at the expense of some speed because it uses more graphics. So if you don’t mind a simpler, no-nonsense interface, dump it and reclaim the power. Here’s how:

• Go to Control Panel and choose Display (you may have to click Appearance and Themes first).
• On the Themes tab, change your current theme to Windows Classic, which uses fewer resources than the new look does. You can then click the Appearance tab and change that look to suit yourself.

We’re not finished. Windows also uses its graphics power to provide all sorts of special effects--menus that fade, shadows under the mouse cursor, and so on. All of these effects sap performance. So…

• Go into Control Panel and choose System (you may have to click Performance and Maintenance first).
• Click the Advanced tab.
• In the Performance box, click Settings.
• You can now select Adjust for best performance, or you can choose Custom and play around with the settings. The more you uncheck, the less work your computer will have to do.

Browse files faster

Finally, a useful change to speed up your file browsing. When you open a folder or run Windows Explorer, Windows will automatically search your network for folders and printers you might want to access. That takes time, and is especially annoying if you don’t need to access one at the time.
So let’s tell Windows not to search for them unless you ask it to. Here’s how:

• Open My Computer.
• Click the Tools menu.
• Choose Folder Options.
• Click the View tab.
• Uncheck “Automatically search for network folders and printers.”
• Click OK.

The next time you reboot your computer, browsing your folders should be a little faster.
We’ll make them faster still in the next lesson, when we do some spring cleaning of your hard drive.

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Lesson 2: Clean your drive

In this lesson you’ll learn how to clean up the data on your hard drive to make accessing files faster.
Hard disks run faster and more consistently when not completely filled. Having a large block of unused disk space is essential for both speed and stability. So it’s useful to look through your hard disk and remove files that you no longer need (and you’ll probably be surprised how many there are!).
Before you begin, check how much space you currently have on your hard drive. To do this, open up My Computer, right-click on your hard disk’s icon, choose Properties, and then make a note of how many gigabytes or megabytes of free space you have.
Now go through your My Documents folder. Delete what you don’t need, or if there’s stuff you want “just in case,” consider storing it on a CD, DVD, or second hard drive so your main drive doesn’t have to wade through it.

Eliminate extra software

That done, continue your cleanup by getting rid of any software you don’t use. Go to your Control Panel and select “Add or Remove Programs.”
A list of your installed software will appear. Scroll through it and remove anything you don’t use anymore. (Some programs might have been preinstalled on your computer when you bought it.)

ALERT:
Once you remove a program, the change is permanent--so if you’re not sure about whether you’ll need a particular program, do not remove it!

Next, click the big button on the left labeled “Add/Remove Windows Components.” This lists XP components that were automatically installed with Windows. Remove whatever components you don’t need.

Eliminate fonts

If you’re feeling up to it, clean out your fonts. Create a folder (maybe within My Documents) called “Unused Fonts.” Then use Windows Explorer to go to your C:\WINDOWS\FONTS folder, and drag any fonts you never use into that Unused Fonts folder. (You can double-click a font to see what it looks like.) Just moving those fonts will speed up some applications.

Clean your disk

Finally, let Windows find some more unused gunk.

• From My Computer, right-click on your hard drive.
• Choose Properties.
• Click “Disk Cleanup.”

It will take a few moments to scan your disk for files you can delete. When it’s done, click OK and then Yes (you do want to perform those actions).
Even though you may have uninstalled some programs, many of them leave “residue” in the Windows Registry, which Windows uses to store just about everything about your system. We’ll work with that in a future lesson.

Clean the Registry

For now, let’s just clean out anything that doesn’t belong. There are a lot of Registry cleaners out there, and my favorite--because it’s (a) easy to use and (b) free--is EasyCleaner.

• Download and install it. When you start the program, you’ll get a grid of 16 things from which to choose.
• Click the Registry button.
• Click the Find button on the bottom. EasyCleaner will search your Registry for the leftovers of old programs and other detritus. This could take several minutes.
• When it’s done, click the Delete All button. (You can’t click it till it’s finished.)
• Click Yes to confirm you really want to delete the bad entries.

That’s it! Click Close and let’s move on.

Time to defrag

With all that cleaned out, it’s time to defragment your hard drive.
When your computer stores files on your drive, it puts files in whatever empty space is available. The result is that over time individual files are actually split up and stored in several places on the drive. (Imagine a library where the different chapters of a book are on different shelves.)
Defragmenting--often referred to as simply “defragging”--puts those pieces together so your computer spends less time accessing files.
The procedure is simple:

• First, shut down any running programs. Then disable your screen saver through your Control Panel by choosing Display (you may have to click Appearance and Themes first).
• That done, go to My Computer and right-click on your hard drive.
• Choose Properties, then click the Tools tab.
• There you’ll see “Defragment Now.” Click on it and then let the computer complete the process without any disturbance. This can take anywhere from minutes to hours, depending on the size of your drive and the level of fragmentation.

ALERT:
During the defragging process, the PC cannot be used for anything else, and you should be especially careful not to accidentally turn it off. It’s essential that this procedure run its course without interference, or data loss could occur.

When you’re all done, check to see how much free space your drive now has (go to My Computer, right-click on the drive, and choose Properties). Hopefully you’ll see a difference.

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Lesson 3: Get more out of your hardware

In this lesson you’ll get into some of the deeper parts of your computer to change the way Windows works with your hard drive.
One of the slowest things about your machine is your hard drive. It takes a computer forever (comparatively) to read the disk and write things to it. So it makes sense that anything you can do to speed up your drive will also speed up your computer.
In this lesson, we’ll cover two permanent changes you can make that affect how Windows works with your hard drive. The first upgrades your file system--the way Windows stores information on your drive. The second speeds up how Windows moves that information from place to place.
It’s possible your computer is already set the right way. Let’s find out.
The file system is how Windows stores your files on your hard drive, and it’s akin to the way a library arranges books on a shelf. Older versions of Windows used a file system called FAT32 (File Allocation Table, if you must know). Newer versions use one called NTFS (New Technology File System).
NTFS has several benefits. Most importantly, files don’t get fragmented as much, so you won’t have to defrag as often (see Lesson 2 for instructions on how to defrag).
You can’t tell which way your drive is set up just by using it. But to get the most out of your machine, you’ll want to make sure that you’re using NTFS.

Losing FAT

First, check to see if you’re already using it. Go to My Computer, then right-click on your hard drive and choose Properties. On the window that appears, you’ll see either “File system: FAT32″ or “File system: NTFS.”
If it’s FAT32, you should convert it. Here’s how:

• Shut down any running programs.
• Click Start, then choose Run.
• In the box, enter cmd, which will bring up a black command-line window. You’ll see a prompt that says something like “C:\WINDOWS” with a blinking cursor. (If you’ve ever used DOS, you’ll recognize this.)
• Enter the following: convert c: /fs:ntfs (If your hard drive isn’t drive C:, substitute the correct letter, and don’t forget the space between the colon and the slash.)
• When you press Enter, you’ll probably see a message saying the conversion will take place next time you start Windows. So click Start, choose Shut Down, and choose Restart. Windows will convert your drive--and it will also reboot your computer twice.

Hook into DMA

Next, let’s make sure your computer is transferring data efficiently by using a technology called DMA (direct memory access).

• Go to your Control Panel and double-click System, then choose the Hardware tab. Click Device Manager. This will bring up a list of every type of hardware your computer has, from “Computer” to “Disk Drives” to “Monitors,” and more.
• Click the plus sign next to “IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.”
• Double-click “Primary IDE Channel.” (If you have two of them, don’t worry. Just repeat this procedure.)
• Click the Advanced Settings tab. You’ll probably see two devices listed (0 and 1).
• For each one, click the drop-down arrow next to Transfer Mode and choose “DMA if available.” Then click OK. (If you have another Primary IDE Channel, repeat this procedure.)
• Close Device Manager and reboot your computer.

Congratulations! You’ve just made two simple changes that most people have never heard of, that will add a bit more speed and stability to your system.

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Lesson 4: Reduce start-up programs

In this lesson, you’ll prevent Windows from automatically running programs you don’t need.
You may be working in a program and wondering why it runs so slow--especially if you don’t have any other programs open. The problem is that when Windows boots up, a lot of programs are automatically loaded to run “in the background” where you can’t see. Of course, some of these are quite valuable (virus protection for instance), but many are useless and simply eating up your system resources for no reason.

Seek and destroy

Here’s how to get rid of these unnecessary start-up programs:
The first and easiest way to seek and destroy unnecessary start-up programs is to look in your Startup folder.

• Click Start, then choose All Programs or Programs (depending on your setup).
• Find the Startup folder on the list and hover your mouse over it.
• The list of programs that automatically start will appear. Check this list, and if you see something you don’t want or need to start automatically--such as some Microsoft Office task--right-click it and choose Delete.

Repeat as necessary.

Stop automatic starts

Now let’s go a little deeper. Remember EasyCleaner from Lesson 2 ? It has another useful function besides cleaning the Registry: It can tell you what programs start automatically and let you stop them. Here’s how:

• Start the program and click the Startup button.
• You’ll see a list of all the programs that start automatically with Windows. Most of these should start: your anti-virus program, a Windows program called HDAShCut, maybe a driver or two. But some things just waste resources.
• Most notorious for loading themselves are media players such as Quicktime and RealPlayer. There’s no need for them to be loaded until you need them. If you see things like that which don’t belong, select them and click the Delete button. When you’re done, click Close and close EasyCleaner.

Deep cleaning

That done, let’s go even deeper. Besides programs that run automatically when you start up, Windows also launches services --internal software that does important things, such as making your network run, managing users, and a host of other things.
But there are some services you just don’t need; running them is a waste of resources.

• To get to the list of services, click Start, then Run.
• Enter services.msc in the box. The screen that pops up is a bit intimidating at first, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. It lists every service on your machine and tells you whether it starts automatically or manually, among other things.
• Click the Extended tab on the bottom, which will create a space that will give you a description of each service.
• Now click on the words “Startup Type” at the top of that column, which will sort the services. The ones that say “Automatic” are--obviously--the ones that start when Windows does. They’re the only ones you care about.

ALERT:
Some services are critical for your computer to run. So don’t disable anything that’s not on the list below unless you’re absolutely sure that it’s an expendable item.

The following lists services you can probably do without. Of course, if you recognize one that you use such as Windows Messenger or Telnet, don’t turn it off.
Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Error Reporting Service (if you don’t want to be asked to send error reports to Microsoft anymore)
Fast User Switching
Human Interface Access Devices
IPSEC Services
Messenger
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry
Routing & Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Server
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Upload Manager
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Workstation
Pick one from the list and double-click it. You’ll see a drop-down menu next to “Startup type” that is currently set to Automatic.
Change it to Manual and click OK. This way the service will start only if it’s needed, not all the time.

Special services

Two services deserve special mention: the indexing service and Windows themes.
The indexing service’s job is to keep track of every file on your computer, so if you use Windows’ search function you’ll be able to find things faster. But if you don’t use search that often, the indexing service is a waste of resources and will slow you down.
That’s why disabling the indexing service is high on the list of many speed tweakers. To do that, go back to your list of services (Start, Run, enter services.msc -- see above), scroll down to Indexing Service, and set the Startup type to “Disabled.”
Finally, if you’re using the Windows Classic theme (we suggested switching to it in Lesson 1 ), you can free up some memory. Scroll down the list of services to Themes and set it to “Disabled.”

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Lesson 5: Tweaking the Registry and more

In this lesson you’ll get into the nitty-gritty with the Windows Registry–the heart of the operating system, and a place full of ways to squeeze some more speed from your computer.

The Registry stores all sorts of information about your system in what are called “keys.” A key might describe how Windows handles a particular type of file, or how it manages memory, and many other things.

You get into the Registry by clicking Start, choosing Run, and entering regedit in the box that appears. Then welcome to the Registry, perhaps the most intimidating part of Windows. Here you can make all sorts of internal changes to the way Windows operates.

Note:
Changes made to the Registry will not take effect until you restart Windows.

ALERT:
Be very cautious editing the Windows Registry. Changes made here can completely disable your computer if they’re done incorrectly. We recommend that you follow the instructions below very carefully, and encourage you to back up your data files before proceeding.

Saving your configuration

Before you do anything else, set up a System Restore Point. That tells Windows to save everything about your current configuration, so if something goes awry you can tell it to revert back to that point—kind of like a big “undo” button.

To set a Restore Point:

• Click Start and choose either Programs or All Programs.
• Go to Accessories, then System Tools, and choose System Restore.
• On the welcome screen, you’ll be asked whether you want to restore or create a restore point. Choose Create a Restore Point.
• Name it something you’ll remember, such as “Before CNET Changes.”
• Click Create.
• Now if something doesn’t work, you can repeat these steps and choose “Restore” instead, to return to the status you just saved.

That done, let’s tweak.
The first things you’ll see are the five main sections of the Registry’s entries. They have cryptic names: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, and so on.
Next to each of those five sections is a small plus sign. Click that to view that section’s subsections. Note that you can end up going several levels deep before getting to the key you want to change.
The standard way to point to a key is to list the various levels separated by slashes. For example, if you see:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
it means you should click the plus sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, then the plus sign next to Control Panel, then look for Desktop.
Make your menus load faster
For your first trip to the Registry, we’ll do something simple: Make your menus work faster.

• Start regedit (see above).
• Navigate to the following key by clicking the plus signs next to the name of each level:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel
  • Click “Desktop.” A list of entries will appear on the right side.
  • Double-click “MenuShowDelay” and change the Value data to 0.
  • Click OK.

Free up memory from closed programs
When you shut down a program, Windows will often keep part of it in memory even if it’s not being used. Called dynamic link libraries (DLLs), they take up memory and sometimes cause other problems.
You can change a Registry key to prevent Windows from doing this.

• Start regedit, following the instructions in this lesson.
• Navigate to the following key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion
• Under CurrentVersion, right-click on Explorer, then choose New->Key.
• In the box that appears (”New Key #1″), change the name to AlwaysUnloadDLL.
• Hit Enter. On the right side, double-click the word (Default).
• For the value data, enter 1.
• Click OK.
• Close regedit (unless you want to tweak some more).

Speed program startup
Windows can be set to load information about some applications to make them start up faster by changing how much work a program called the Prefetcher does.

• Using regedit (instructions above), navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Control / Session Manager / Memory Management / PrefetchParameters
  
• When you click PrefetchParameters, the right side of the editor will display a list of entries.
• Double-click “Enable Prefetcher” and change the value data to 5 (in decimal, not hexadecimal).
• Click OK.
• Close regedit.

Reduce Windows’ workload
If you have many folders and subfolders, every time you access one, Windows will spend a lot of time updating the “last accessed” time for that folder and all its sub-folders. Stopping that process will buy you some time.

• Using regedit (see instructions above), navigate to the following key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Control
• Under Control, right-click on FileSystem, then choose New, then DWORD Value.
• Replace “New Value #1″ with NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate and hit Enter.
• Double-click NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate and change the Value data to 1.
• Click OK.

Improve Swapfile performance
Many programs use a lot of memory, and if you run more than one or two at once, Windows might run out of RAM. In that case, it will start using a section of your hard disk called the “swapfile” to store information. It’s a lot slower than RAM, but it beats not being able to run a program.
But sometimes Windows uses the swapfile before it has to. This tweak will tell it to wait ‘till the last moment before doing that.

• Click Start, then Run.
• Enter msconfig in the box.
• Click on the System.ini tab.
• Click the plus sign next to 386enh.
• Click New, then type “ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1″ in the box that appears.
• Click OK.

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Lesson 6: Improve your Internet browsing

In this lesson you’ll learn a couple of tricks to make your broadband connection work more efficiently with Windows.
First, you might want to test your current connection speed. A good tool to do this is the CNET Bandwidth Meter speed test. Run the test a few times to get a better idea of your average bandwidth speed, then check again after you’ve made these changes to see whether your connection speed improves.

Stop QoS

First, let’s get rid of a system that’s supposed to make sure your network is working, but in reality isn’t helpful and can eat up to 20 percent of your bandwidth. It’s called QoS, for Quality of Service, and here’s how you stop it.

• Click Start, then Run.
• Enter gpedit.msc in the box.
• Under “Local Computer Policy,” click the plus sign next to “Computer Configuration,” then the one next to “Administrative Templates.”
• Click the plus sign next to “Network” and select “QoS Packet Scheduler.”
• In the right-hand box, double-click on “Limit Reservable Bandwidth.”
• On the Settings tab, choose Enabled.
• In the “Bandwidth Limit %” box, set it to 0%. (Do not leave it blank.)
• Click OK.

Network settings

Now let’s change some other networking settings.
Out of the box, Windows networking comes configured for a generic user with a generic connection. It has no idea what kind of Internet connection you have--whether you’re using dialup or DSL or a cable modem. Because of that, its network settings are also generic.
It’s helpful to tailor these settings to your connection. The easiest way to do this is to use a (free) software program that will do it for you.
There are several programs that will let you manage those changes. Some require you to enter values in boxes; they then edit the Registry for you. But a much easier-to-use one is TCP Optimizer from Speed Guide, a Web site dedicated to broadband issues.
The nice thing about TCP Optimizer is that you only have to use a slider to indicate your connection speed, tell it how you connect, and click on the Optimize button. When you reboot, your connection should be noticeably faster (and you can always go back to Speakeasy.net to check it).
The measures we’ve covered in this course will help speed your computer, but they’re only the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of small tweaks you can make, and the only limitation is how deep you’re willing to delve into your system.
A number of Web sites are dedicated to helping people squeeze every last drop of speed from their machines. Searching for “speed up Windows XP” or “Windows XP speed tweaks” will help you find some.
In particular, check out the System Performance section of TweakXP.com , and the Broadband/Registry Tweaks section of Speed Guide --both have some excellent suggestions with detailed instructions, along with a community of people you can ask for help.