[Retired Sticky] Windows Tweaks

[Shadow ÒÓ]

Retired Sticky

Just a lil project I'll be working on over the next few days. I'll move it to public once it's finished.

A compendium of tips and tricks that I've collected from the net and magazines which may help to get you up and running, or running faster. This is in no way meant to be the final word on any tweak, and most of these will be argued one way or the other. You'll also find a TON of tweaks at www.tweakfiles.com and www.tweak3d.net .

Shift Right click any file in 9x to get the "open with" option.

Shift delete completely removes a file instead of moving it to the recycle bin.

Alt F4 closes annoying pop up banners (of course it will also close any other open window if you hit it too many times)

Ctrl + X will cut text

Ctrl + C will copy text

Ctrl + V will paste text

Have several windows open? Try Alt + Tab to switch between them.

Ctrl + Esc will bring up the start menu

Windows key + E will bring up Explorer

Windows key + D will minimize all windows

windows key + f will bring up the windows search window. (or F3)

shift + right click adds some choices to the menu like run as. (win 2k) (thanks kendan!)

Type overclockers in the address bar of IE then hold down the ctrl key and hit enter. This will enter the www. and the .com. (thanks kendan!)

Ctrl + D will automatically make a page you are viewing your home page for your browser.....as well as dragging the lil blue E in the address to your home button.

To get a screen shot, press the Print Scrn button, then open Paint (or a similiar program), Click edit, then paste. This will take a pic of everything (including tool bar) on your monitor. If you want to take a pic of a specific window, hold down the alt key when you press Print Scrn.

Changing what it says in System Properties (right click my computer...select properties) In NT/2K/XP go to start.....select run and type in Regedit. Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cu rrentVersion and change RegisteredOrganization's value to whatever you like. You can also change RegisteredOwner as well. In 9x go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion and change the same values. Check this (http://www.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6107&perpage=30&pagenumber=1) thread to also learn how to change the pic in that window.

XP moves the most used apps to a faster section of your hard drive. But it only does it about once every 3 days. To move them "on call" to the fastest part, go to run and type Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks.

To speed XP boot times, go to www.microsoft.com/HWDEV/fastboot/ and download bootvis. This will optimize slow loading drivers.

TWEAK UI!!! Can't say enough about how handy this utility is. Down load it from Microsoft here (http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/downloads/powertoys/networking/nttweakui.asp). I also recommend Power Toys and many of the other tweaks found here (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp).

Wanna uninstall Internet Explorer? 98lite.com has your utility. It's called IEradicator.

Why would you want to get rid of Internet Explorer? Well for one it's extremely bulky. Unless you're pushing the heavy horspower of today's modern processors, this may be a major "bog" to your system. All those nifty features and flashy buttons, tend to add up to a lot of extra garbage you'll probably never use. Opera is one alternative that comes to mind which is a rather popular alternative to Internet Explorer. Find out more about Opera here (http://sandy816.hypermart.net/opera.htm).

Think Internet Explorer is heavy? You should see how well Windows runs w/o the bulk of Explorer. Although there are a few alternatives, I've found Lite Step (http://www.litestep.com/) to be a favorite. Let me warn you tho, this is not for the average tweaker. Can take quiet some time to set up.

Got a bad CD/DVD that you can't read? CD/DVD Diagnostic (http://www.arrowkey.com/download.html) may be able to help.

All 9x systems should be set up to run as a network server. I'm not positive why there even is another option, but here's how to check yours. Right click My Computer and select properties. Under the Performance tab click File System. There's a drop down menu by the "Typical role of this computer" which should say Network Server. If it doesn't, change it and be sure to click apply.

Ever End a task and have to wait 30 seconds for an End Now window to appear? Start....Run....type in regedit. Under HKEY_Current User\Control Panel\Desktop highlight desktop in the right window. Now look for HungAppTimeout and double click that. Change the value to 3000 (3 seconds). You'll also need to Right Click the right hand window and Creat a new String Value called WaitToKillAppTimeout (just like I typed it). Double click your new string and set the value to 3000 as well.

Windows has a delay built in to the time it takes the start menu to actually display what you want it to. To get rid of this delay and speed the start menu, go to Start...run...regedit. Under HKEY_CURRENT USER\Control Panel\Desktop, creat a new string called MenuShowDelay. Set the value from 0-999 (milliseconds).

Swap file management. There's a thousand different opinions on what size your swap file should be, but I'll try to get you started with a basic rule of thumb setting. For 9x, right click My Computer and select Properties. Under the Performance tab click Virtual Memory. Choose Let my specify my own virtual memory settings. If you have 128 megs or less, it's a good idea to set the minimum to around 128 megs (or double your memory size) and max to the same number. If you have more than 128 (up to 512) you can probably get away with a swap file the same size as the memory you have, and if you have 512 or more, you may consider running your system with no virtual memory at all. Change the settings and play with your system a bit. This is only a starting point from which to begin tweaking, as everyone's needs are different. You'll have to reboot after each change.

In the bios, disable video shadowing. It's old school. Nuff said. While you're at it, also disable System bios cacheable, Video bios cacheable and video ram cacheable. If your L1 and L2 cache aren't enabled, enable them. If you have ECC enable, disable it. Software is already set up to do it's own error correction, and this is just another (however small) resource hog. This is NOT specific to ECC Memory...that's a whole nother story.

One of the essentials for OC'ing your Vid card.....PowerStrip (http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10106-100-7656924.html?tag=st.dl.10001-103-1.lst-7-1.7656924).

Take controll of the bloated Swap file in 9x by opening your SYSTEM.INI file and under the header [386Enh] add the line ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1. While you're there, go to the [vcache] header and create the line MaxFileCache=8192 and MenuFileCache=8192. These direct windows to only use 8 megs of memory to cache the hard drive.

If you're running a VIA chipset, after a fresh OS install, the first thing you should install are new 4 in 1 drivers. I've seen really crazy problems w/o these drivers, such as hard drives not being recognized or modems causing system reboots. Pick up there drivers here (http://www.viahardware.com).

Want to know if your system will run XP? Get the compatability checker here. (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp)

Not so much a tweak, but finding and removing spyware from your computer can be rather important. Download AdAware. (http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10106-100-7302674.html?tag=st.dl.10001-103-1.lst-7-1.7302674)

Changing Drive letter assignments explained perfectly by Jon here (http://www.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57111)

in WinXP/2k , go start/run and type in "gpedit.msc" to be able to edit a ton of windows options. Most useful for XP but there is still some good stuff there if you have 2000.


Also, if for whatever reason you want pure DOS in windows nt4/2k/xp , goto http://www.winternals.com/ and download NTFSDOS. very useful sometimes. (thanks Emericana!)

Excellent speed testers and tweak sites for high speed access.... www.2wires.com www.speedguide.com www.toast.net

Here is a free image editing program that can resize change format and lots of other good things. IrfanView
Did I mention that it is free. (thanks Kendan!)

Thanks jbell, plague, fearless

[Shadow ÒÓ]

any of you think of something good to add, feel free.

[Emericana]

the most important tool for any hardcore windows editor is resource hacker. It can be gotten from download.com . This tool allows you to view the contents of the .exe files that make up a winnt based os. Through this program, you can make your own logon screen (by editing logonui.exe), your own bootscreen (by editing ntoskrnl.exe), and change the startbutton text (by editing explorer.exe). You can also change EVERYTHING in the windows xp "Luna" theme by editing the .msstyles file (located in c:\windows\resources\themes). Here is some more good stuff:

Making your own windows 2000 bootlogo (it is different and harder than in XP): http://www.littlewhitedog.com/reviews_other_00021.asp

Making your own Win XP bootlogo: http://www.littlewhitedog.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2768&FORUM_ID=16&CAT_ID=5&Topic_Title=XP+Logo+Change%2C+Some+NFO&Forum_Title=Article+Discussions+%2F+Feedback

Making your own win Xp logon screen: http://www.littlewhitedog.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3621&FORUM_ID=6&CAT_ID=4&Topic_Title=HOW+TO%2D%2D%2DHacking+the+Windows+XP+ Logon+screen%2E%2E%2E&Forum_Title=OS+%2D+Microsoft

For windows xp, download styebuilder and stylexp in order to easily make your own themes for XP. it is much less time consuming than manually editing the .msstyles file. : http://www.tgtsoft.com/

If i can remember correctly (i have not used win9x in over a year), if you have windows 98se or greater, then if you goto c:\windows\media and make sure you have viewing hidden files enabled, you can change the clouds bmp on the side of the windows explorer (when viewed as web). also, if you are really daring, try editing folder.htt w/ either res hacker or a html editor.

MICROSOFT SUCKS! Here is why. You thought that all of that porn you look at is completly removed from ie when you clear your history, delete temp files, and remove cookies? Well you are wrong! M$ logs every single site and email you have ever been on or read using ie 5+ or outlook express. Wanna know more?
http://www.****microsoft.com/content/ms-hidden-files.shtml
Replace the stars with the "F word" (f*ckmicrosoft) and the link will work.

That is all i can think of now...

[Yodums]

Go here:

http://www.xp-erience.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=14

For all the Windows XP tweaks you should have.

You can also download application tweaks like bootvis to improve boot times. You should also use a paging file(Also known as a swap file if you are a previous Win9x user) and it should be double the memory. People 512+ ram should be using none as this will accelerated their memory more as they have loads of ram.

Also go here:

http://www.xp-erience.org/download.php?op=viewdownload&cid=4

For regfiles and tweak applications(including bootvis) to speed up XP...

Ignoring Microsoft's lack of default drivers that come with it, you should have updated all the drivers in your system, eg: NIC, video cards, chipset, highpoint controllers etc.

If you have the Via chipset get the Via 4 in 1's to fix their chipset fixes.

http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2

If you have an Intel chipset get the lastest chipset software to utilize the chipset at full potential:

http://developer.intel.com/design/software/drivers/platform/4301/inf_utility/infinst_enu.htm

Go to your video card manufacture site, eg: www.ati.com or www.nvidia.com etc. to get the lastest drivers possible and any other cards in your system.

If you have high broadband connection you should go to http://www.speedguide.net and get the lastest patches and tweak for the XP operating system and have some better bandwidth and get what your paying for, also go here: http:/www.dslreports.com/stest to test the bandwidth.





Yodums

[Arkaine23]

It wasn't too clear above, but the more system memory you have, the less virtual memory you need. On greater than 128 but less than 512 (384 or 256), you can probably get away with 200 or 300MB for virtual memory. Above, it was stated as the same amount as your system memory, which is a pretty good guideline, however with 512 or even 384 you shouldn't need more than 100 or 200MB, and with 192 or 256, you'd need at least 300 or more for 192. The reason the min and max values should be set to the same size, is so windows doesn't have to adjust the size of the pagefile constantly, and use resources to do so.

My own personal formula is to shoot for a total of 644MB for system memory + pagefile size.

[JigPu]

Originally posted by Shadow ÒÓ
Ever End a task and have to wait 30 seconds for an End Now window to appear? Start....Run....type in regedit. Under HKEY_Current User\Control Panel\Desktop highlight desktop in the right window. Now look for HungAppTimeout and double click that. Change the value to 3000 (3 seconds). You'll also need to Right Click the right hand window and Creat a new String Value called WaitToKillAppTimeout (just like I typed it). Double click your new string and set the value to 3000 as well.
Shadow... I can't find that the HungAppTimeout key... Is it just an NT thing or should it also be there for 9x? If it is for both, can I add it without killing something?

Uhhhhhhhh.... How about these?
Type in 'MSCONFIG' into the Run menu to edit the startup properties of your computer and disable unused programs.

A fresh install of Windows every once in a while is always good. You'll be amazed at just how slow your computer was before!! Just remeber to back up all your files, and make sure you know where you got all the software you use... It really helps...:).

JigPu

[MadMan007]

Any easy way to look at and edit your autoexec.bat, config.sys, win.ini, system.ini, and protocol.ini all at once is to do "Run..." then type "sysedit" Much easier than opening them in a separate text editor IMO for each, and especially handy if you need to make changes to more than one at the same time.

[Kendan]

There is also dslreports.com for broadband speed testing.

win 2k: type ipconfig in the command prompt will tell you your ip address.

ipconfig
/all displays full configuration information
/release releases the ip address
/renew renews the ip address
/? Shows all the options


xsetup from http://www.xteq.com/ has more tweaks than you can imagine.

[Serrebert]

Originally posted by MadMan007
Any easy way to look at and edit your autoexec.bat, config.sys, win.ini, system.ini, and protocol.ini all at once is to do "Run..." then type "sysedit" Much easier than opening them in a separate text editor IMO for each, and especially handy if you need to make changes to more than one at the same time.

A great "undocumented" proggy M$ made can allow you to control evrything windoze load at startup by just little check to "rem" thing up. Pretty usefull crap i tell ya :)

RUN->MSCONFIG.EXE

Here another one i found really usefull when you got ISP trouble. Release All then Renew All.

RUN->WINIPCFG.EXE

www.analogx.com got nice little free proggy he made, the popupkiller, netstats live and maxmem are already on my comp and they r wurking great.

[Breadfan]

Clean up your taskbar:

in regedit:
[hkey_local_machine][SOFTWARE][Microsoft][Windows][Current Version]

And then go to:
[Run]
[Run Once]
[Run Services]

Find the stuff you don't need and/or want in the taskbar and remove 'em

Restart and enjoy uncluttered taskbar goodness!

Mike

[quegyboe]

In my sig is my website...it has a few performance tweaks for Win9x based OS's

[turd]

very good comprensive securing your system guide(basic)

http://neworder.box.sk/tomread.php?newsid=2870

[SpeedFreak]

Would you like to very easily improve your download speeds? On my last job I did some installations for SpeedChoice (.com) and one of the very easy registry entries that we used to do is;

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\VxD\MSTCP]
"DefaultRCVWindow"="49152"

By defaut the MSTCP Receive socket size is 4K up it to the max of 48K. This means you'll receive 1/10th of the packets. Therefore more of the data contained in the packets is usable and not filled with TCP header and footer information.

This works withThis is tested with Win95/98/Me If you have an NT Kernel I don't know where to enter this.

[portorock]

I tried going to sppedchoice and it kept redirecting me to Sprint for some reason, go figure.

[SpeedFreak]

Sprint "Wireless" Broadband bought SpeedChoice. This was a nice very high speed MicroWave connectivity to the Net. I was giving a MSTCP fix.

[dreamtfk]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Emericana
the most important tool for any hardcore windows editor is resource hacker. It can be gotten from download.com . This tool allows you to view the contents of the .exe files that make up a winnt based os. Through this program, you can make your own logon screen (by editing logonui.exe), your own bootscreen (by editing ntoskrnl.exe), and change the startbutton text (by editing explorer.exe). You can also change EVERYTHING in the windows xp "Luna" theme by editing the .msstyles file (located in c:\windows\resources\themes). Here is some more good stuff[QUOTE]

So could I change my start button on Windows xp with this prog?

[Gonzo]

So could I change my start button on Windows xp with this prog?
I found a guide to changing the text of the start button at winguides. I downloaded a Hex editor and then changed my explorer.exe file and changed the text of the start button.

Just another helpful tip for people who use a partitioned drive and want to move the "My Documents" to another partition. Open window explorer and drag the my documents folder (the actual folder not the shortcut) to wherever you want it. The shortcuts on your desktop and in the save dialogs are automatically updated. I think you can also change this in the registry but I cant remember off hand where exactly that key is.

[dreamtfk]

Yeh thats a great prog thx man

[ToastGodSupreme]

DO NOT QUOTE THIS. IF YOU WANT TO QUOTE A PART, THEN DELETE EVERYTHING ELSE OUT. IT'S JUST RUDE TO MAKE EVERYBODY SCROLL THROUGH THIS AGAIN.

A few things (any tweaks I sugest are 2k/XP related and can be googled for further information):

1. Shadow ÒÓ, I think someone has blatantly plagerized this thread. At least, your post of it. I've seen it on some other site and I can assure you that your name was not given as credit. If I do happen upon it again, I will PM/Email you a link to it.

2. Regarding Win2k (possibly XP too) and the swapfile. I hear that with a smaller swap file (500Mb), the computer will start hitting it sooner than a computer with a larger swap file (1Gb). I have not tested this yet as my monitor on my main rig is fried and I'm waiting for a new one to be shipped. But with how large today's hard drives are, don't you think you could spare 500Mb from your main and second drive each to make for a performance increase? Oh yeah, split the swap file up across the hard drives.

3. Services are a good source of tweakage. Learn what each of them do. Learn how they affect the computer. Even if you don't intend on tweaking them, just know to know. Very useful later on.

4. Turn off disk performance counters.

5. Remove the scheduled tasks entry from the registry. Apparently is speeds up browsing of other computers.

6. In the MemoryManagement key in the registry, turn on ConservativeSwapFile, and also LargeSystemCache (for systems with more than 256Mb of ram. Those with only 256Mb this is not recommended).

7. O&O Defrag. Win2k/XP has stripped down version of it installed by default. I sugest getting a copy and using it. 1% system fragmentation is a beautiful thing.

8. For you NVIDIA kids, jump into the display properties, and into NVIDIA's control panel area. Tweak out your vid card. I used to use NVMAX but lately anything I want it to do I can just as easily do from the NVIDIA control panel.

9. Keep your damn system cool. Cold metal conducts electricity better (until you reach a certain temp of course). Just a general rule when it comes to computers.

10. Microsoft RegClean (for 2k only here), and jv16powertools are wonders.

11. Startup Control Panel. Get it, use it.

12. Download DRTCP (This is the ONLY TCP tweaking program I will ever recommend). Do not set your damn RWIN above 65535 as it only gets scaled down from there. personally, I have mine around the 27000 range (I forget the exact number and I don't sugest using 27000). Visit the www.dslreports.com forums for more info on tweaking your broadband connection. Oh yeah, I get about 40-50ms pings. :)


That's about all I can remember right now. In no way are any of these tweaks originals. I don't remember where I first saw them though. They are just ones I regularly use. Good luck.

[Soren]

tweaks can be found on google like that -- but those were great, thanks.

[Dimorphios]

Didn't write these just collected them all up cuz u can't find em all in one place... since we are tweaking software and all here is the fix up for kazaa....

First lets get rid of those nasty banner adds... this one is easy

go to c:\%windir%\system32 there should be a folder in there called AdCache go into that and delete everything, then get back out and right click on it and go to properties. click the security tab. In the group or username box select your username. In the permissions box deny write access. do this for all users (and administrators) now kazaa can't write to that folder, poof no more adds.

Now lets make it so you can look for audio files at higher bit rates than 128 (which is stupid, I miss napster)

okay open regedit and go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Kazaa

there should be a LimitBitrate value there... change it from 1 to 0


Last but not least lets bump up the max search results

1. Run regedit.
2. Goto: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Kazaa/Advanced
3. Open MaxSearchResult
4. Enter value data as 190

You now have a maximum search result of 400 instead of the usual 100!

Like I said I didn't come up with any of these... but they are nice all the same....


- Dimorphios

[Dimorphios]

you wrote

6. In the MemoryManagement key in the registry, turn on ConservativeSwapFile, and also LargeSystemCache (for systems with more than 256Mb of ram. Those with only 256Mb this is not recommended).

------------------------------

Looks like fun but I couldn't find the key in the reg, is that for win2k only or is it also suppose 2 work for XP???


- Dimorphios

[Dimorphios]

This one takes all the work out of it... its an add-on for MSN messenger, it adds a "Plus!" menu to the messenger window and has all sorts of goodies in there like remove banner ads, log messages, transparency controls and more... check it out....

http://pages.infinit.net/patchou8/msgplus142.zip

- Dimorphios (is just finding all sorts of goodies this morning)

[Dimorphios]

A buddy of mine just told me this one, Its a no brainer, but perhaps useful to some, heck I didn't know it....

How to turn of the Crappy Microsuck Error reporting...

Open system in the control panel, click the advanced tab and select error reporting then click disable error reporting... pretty simple eh?

- Dimorphios

[dreamtfk]

Thanks for that one buddy, I hate those errors reporters with a passion. :mad:

[Dimorphios]

I got tunz more tweakz and stuff 2 pro out windows, but I am actually affraid 2 post them now that I took the time to read the rulez and all... I think I actually overstepped a little with the kazaa and MSN tweaks... If you want more information... feel free to instant msg me on AIM (username dimorphios) and I will hook u up.... To the moderators... sorry if I stepped on any toes with the kazaa and msn tweaks... Should have read the rulez sooner...

- Dimorphios

[so many choices]

I tried going to 98lite.com and a porn site popped up. I think you meant 98lite.net to download IEradicator. Anywaze, thx for the post I'll get to tweakin right away:D

-anyone know how to change or install custom themes for litestep?

[M@€$†®Ö™]

Shutdown Shortcut:

Now its time for the good'ol ever popular shutdown shortcut trick used widely in windows 98.But the same c:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows trick doesn't work in Windows XP anymore. Well everything is same just a little change in file execution and its mode of execution.

Right click on an empty space on the desktop and select New > Shortcut

In the command line box type that following :

[For shutdown]
C:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00

[For restart]
C:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -r -t 00

Its nice to not have to go through the whole start button and all that :) Works like a charm.

Maestro

[M@€$†®Ö™]

Another Tweak

Increasing options in add/remove programs:

Not a fan of MSN Messenger? don't want Windows Media Player on your system? Fair enough, but if you go to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel, by default none of Windows XP's 'built in' programs are visible. it's fairly easy to change, though... just open the file X:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf (where X: is the drive letter where Windows XP is installed) in Notepad. You should see a section of the file something like this:

[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,fp4 0ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
IEAccess=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,ieaccess.inf,,7

This is a list of all components installed at the moment. I've taken the example of MSN Messenger - the program entry called 'msmsgs', third-last line. You can see the word 'hide' highlighted - this is the string which tells Windows not to display the component in the Add/Remove Programs list. Fix this up by simply deleting the word 'hide' like so:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

To this:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7

Now, after restarting, you should be able to see MSN Messenger in the Add/Remove Programs list. If you want to be able to quickly view and remove all components, simply open the sysoc.inf file and do a global find and replace for the word ",hide" and replace it with a single comma ",".


I got MSN Messenger removed this way and was too happy :)

Maestro

[up2Tim]

If you like to tweak your OS this site has a ton of info
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/ .

If you like TweakUI then you will really like Xsetup, which has a lot more stuff. You can find it here at http://www.xteq.com/ .

[drunkmonkey]

The best kept secret in desktop orginization:
1:Make a folder in mydocuments called desktop
2:put that folder on your active desktop
3:Now you have a nice, sortable, scrollable, and customizable window to put those millions of icons in. It's also drag-n-drop.

[SpeedFreak]

I gave your MSMSGS example a try. I unhide it and it shows an un named item in the add/remove programs. It shows an item in the list without a name. How do you get it to show the associated name with the application?

[M@€$†®Ö™]

You must have done something different is my only guess as others have tried it without a problem. I am not sure how to help :( . I would put back what you did and start over. Perhaps you have a variant of that file I am not aware of.

Maestro

[The Coolest]

I'm not sure if has been discussed before, or even if its Windows related. but just wanted to post some info I found regarding RAM drives for those who want to set a RAM drive on boot.

u have to check if you have the file "RAMDRIVE.SYS" (I didn't look for it in Win2k yet, but it works in Win9x mode, if the sysdisk is compatible)

open your Config.sys with notepad or other text editor and just add the next line (better after the HIMEM.SYS load, if using boot disk) devicehigh=%pathforthefile%\RAMDRIVE.SYS /E sizein KBs

example:
Devicehigh=C:\windows\command\ebd\ramdrive.sys /e 10240

this will create a 10MB RAM drive.

1MB = 1024KB = 1048576bytes

[RZA]

Nope, the standard ramdrive.sys doesn't exist (and therefore, doesn't work) in Win2K/XP. You''l have to look for third party ones.

[SpeedFreak]

RAMDisk NT is a great product that allows you to break the 32 MB limit from previous device drivers such as the RAMDRIVE provided from MS. The nice thing is that it allow you to create the drive and format it as NTFS and apply security to the RAM Drive. I have 1.2GB of RAM on my system and when I play a system intense gave I create a 640MB Ramdrive and copy the entire game cd to the RAM Drive and use fask cd drive to opint ot it. There is NO WAIT on ANY GAMES!

Allows up to a 4GB RAM Drive. Also, databases FLY. This is a great all purpose driver/application.

Give it a try it is shareware... and the price is cheap!

http://www.cenatek.com/product_ramdisk.cfm?Page=Download

$25 for 9x and $35 for NT/2k (work fine on XP).

[Grantman]

Here is a good site for XP services:

http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

[Silver]

bump

[G@ZZ@]

Here is an excellant utility for removing all of the spyware that M$ has tucked away in XP

XP AntiSpy (http://www.xpantispy.de/index.html?/news-e.htm)

[G@ZZ@]

Here is one of the largest collections of XP related links I have seen on the net !
Plenty of tips and tweaks and lots of general info

WindowsXP (http://www.windowsxp.nu/)

[plague]

hey shadow, just to let you know, you have a link to speedguide.com, when in fact, the site is www.speedguide.net.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

www.tweakxp.com

A bunch of excellent guides there, like how to get rid of the recycle bin. That guide (http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/display.asp?id=136) works for Win98 as well.

[Dissolved]

Bump! Great Site, i just Tweaked my Services and i cut 2.5mins off Folding ProteinA's!

Originally posted by Grantman
Here is a good site for XP services:

http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

[NewBlood]

So could I change my start button on Windows xp with this prog?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I found a guide to changing the text of the start button at winguides. I downloaded a Hex editor and then changed my explorer.exe file and changed the text of the start button.

Just another helpful tip for people who use a partitioned drive and want to move the "My Documents" to another partition. Open window explorer and drag the my documents folder (the actual folder not the shortcut) to wherever you want it. The shortcuts on your desktop and in the save dialogs are automatically updated. I think you can also change this in the registry but I cant remember off hand where exactly that key is.


__________________




AMD TBird 1000 @ 1245 36*C Idle 41*C load

Abit KT7-RAID

Atlas II PC133 256MB Cas 2 (147 Mhz bus)

Maxtor 40G ATA100

ATI AIW Radeon (4019 3d marks)



Folding@Home 24/7



look for a program on www.moochers.com under desktop for a program called hook99 it lets you change the imagine on the start button and the text, and color.

[krott5333]

Go to www.pcpitstop.com and test your internet speed..then do the autofix feature, and it makes broadband faster by editing something in the registry. Actually works too..later.

[Kendan]

Originally posted by Grantman
Here is a good site for XP services:

http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm


Great source for all who want to pick and choose what services are running! Here is a direct link to his Win2k page! (http://www.blkviper.com/WIN2K/servicecfg.htm)

[Luie]

Is there anyway to get rid of the WindowsXP's startup/loading screen? (it can be done in previous windows version but can't find it in XP...

It saves around 4 sec of bootup time in win 98 with the load up screen is disabled.

[Smizack]

I don't know if anyone posted this before, but you can get a shell replacement for XP at astonshell (http://www.astonshell.com/). They've got some other good stuff also.

[el]

Removing the MSN Messenger

If you want to remove the MSN Messenger from always starting in the system tray, do

Start / Run
Then enter in the following string: RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove


from here http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm#msn_messenger

[el]

Originally posted by Luie
Is there anyway to get rid of the WindowsXP's startup/loading screen? (it can be done in previous windows version but can't find it in XP...

It saves around 4 sec of bootup time in win 98 with the load up screen is disabled.

If you want to have the original NT style windows logon screen with XP,
simply hold the Ctrl-Alt keys and press the delete key twice.

To make a permanent change so the logon screen is always like the traditional NT4/2000 style:

Go to the Control Panel
Open up User Accounts
Click Change the way users log on and off
Uncheck Use the Welcome screen
Click on Apply Options

[el]

more stuff to file your command line needs

WindowsXP Command Line Utilities
Added 1/5/02

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

[el]

and this little guy does everything and answers about a million questions about command line


just make a shortcut to here.

I need to do a file so I don't forget all these guys

hh.exe ms-its:C:\WINDOWS\Help\ntcmds.chm::/ntcmds.htm

[Luie]

Originally posted by el


If you want to have the original NT style windows logon screen with XP,
simply hold the Ctrl-Alt keys and press the delete key twice.

To make a permanent change so the logon screen is always like the traditional NT4/2000 style:

Go to the Control Panel
Open up User Accounts
Click Change the way users log on and off
Uncheck Use the Welcome screen
Click on Apply Options


Wow! Thanks!!! Yes! Woohoo~ :D :D :D

[John Jr]

Lots of good info here thanks everyone.

[el]

more keyboard stuff. tons maybe edit the first post to include some you missed.

http://dave-partridge.com/keyboard.shtml

[colombo3]

Does anyone know of another way to excorsize MSN Messenger besides the way that Maestro listed above? That does not work for me for some reason.

[Evil Empire Inc]

Tweakxp.com is my favorite of all XP tweaking sites. Alot of beginer to advance things to do. I first learned of Mod'n my boot and logon screens here.

Max

[Evil Empire Inc]

Couple quick ways to remove Messenger:

Command Line:
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

Batch File:
1. copy this code into your text document and save it with extension "bat" without quotes

@echo off
echo Removing Microsoft Messenger...
rundll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %WinDir%\inf\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

echo Disabling it from running in the future...
echo REGEDIT4>%temp%\nomsngr.reg
echo
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Mes senger\Client]>>%temp%\no
msngr.reg
echo "PreventRun"=dword:00000001>>%temp%\nomsngr.reg
echo "PreventAutoRun"=dword:00000001>>%temp%\nomsngr.reg
echo "PreventAutoUpdate"=dword:00000001>>%temp%\nomsngr.reg
echo "PreventBackgroundDownload"=dword:00000001>>%temp%\nomsngr.reg
echo "Disabled"=dword:00000001>>%temp%\nomsngr.reg
regedit /s %temp%\nomsngr.reg


2. double click on it and restart computer
3. msn messenger will be uninstalled from you system

and then there is the easy fix:
Go into: C:/Program Files/Messenger. Rename the Messenger folder to "MessengerOFF" This does not slow down Outlook Express or hinder system performance.

All work

Max

[Homer]

i only know of 1 thing and im not sure if it well help. but if anyone running windows 98 (not sure if it works on xp and all) u can restart without seeing all stuff like windows is shutting down and seeing the bios stuff. just hold down the shift key b4 restarting and ull get a black screen saying windows is now restarting. it seems faster for me that way too restart. :rolleyes:

[Taylor]

well shadow yuo're right about Opera, this is bitchin!

[Taylor]

Jigpu asked: Shadow... I can't find that the HungAppTimeout key... Is it just an NT thing or should it also be there for 9x? If it is for both, can I add it without killing something?

If you didn't already try it, don't. I did and there was a problem.

[shadowdr]

tired of reformating and reinstalling windows?when things go bad like missing or corrupted system files.system files over written(wrongly) by other software.better than a system restore because it doesn't use disc space.better than a system repair because it is easier.

use system file checker.fairly well know in 98 invironments it searches all system files and replaces corruted (or over written)files.allthough 98's version would be hard to explain here in detail you can go here (http://helpdesk.wisc.edu/page.php?s=30&id=916) for complete instrutions.

as for the nt environment (win 2000 and xp as far as i know)it exist as a command prompt.this is a part of windows nt that is supposed to be done at system startup,however it uses the windows cache which is allready corrupt at that point and is really useless.i am not sure why but this feature is wrongly documented as being only in win 98 by the link above and as far as i could tell even by ms itself.anyway at command promt type in sfc /scannow,sfc for system file checker /scannow to scan immediatley.to find all the swithches and language,click help,type in system file checker and click on the subject.my mistake after farther research i found this (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;222471) for 2000.and for xp go here (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310747) .

not related but i found this (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;293907) for uninstalling internet explorer 6.

hope this helps someone avoid the dreaded reinstall.

[The VTech]

One thing most overlook but Shadow did include is a reg cleaner for spyware.
All those tweak programs one or teo are bound to have something in to mess things up later.


In addition to Ad-Aware check these out.

Spybot Search and Destroy (http://security.kolla.de/)

And

Swat It (http://lockdowncorp.com/bots/downloadswatit.html)


Both Spybot and SwatIt are free to download and use, however SwatIt also has a purchase option to open up a little more snooping.

[s[H]sIkuA]

How about this

Go to Control Panel - Sounds and Multimedia(or whatever it call in other OS) and select No Sounds from the Scheme drop-down menu

This sounds serves little useful purpose and should be disable :)

Turn of Wallpaper to increase performance

Use a lower resolution and lower the colour depth (16bit)

[Calavera]

If the shortcut arrow in the icons in the desktop bother you, here's a simple solution. I'm sure most of you know this but here goes anyway.

regedit-->HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT--> find "lnkfile" and "piffile" folder. Delete the key that says something along the lines of "shortcut" on each.

Reboot and small arrows are gone. =)

[Amedeo602]

Editing the "Send To" command on the context menu (aka right-click popup menu) in XP (works in other OS's too, but you have to goto a diff folder):

goto your documents and settings folder, then click your username, then open the SendTo folder. In here you can add shortcuts for folders, apps, etc



Adding "Copy to folder..." and "Move to folder..." to the context menu: You can do it yourself thru the registry or copy/paste this text into a *.reg file and merge it (backup registry first...not responsible for accidents!)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemO bjects\shellex]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemO bjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemO bjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemO bjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemO bjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"

(I got this somewhere on a tweak site...I think it was ntfs.org)

[angeltazman]

asside from 49152 value, can i put a different value to make it more faster and what is the value that i can put asside from 49152?..... this tweak is working well for me, it did made my downloading fast, but i was thinking if i increase the value higher would it make it faster?...... i'm using WIN98 SE..... hope to hear from u soon?.......


Originally posted by SpeedFreak
Would you like to very easily improve your download speeds? On my last job I did some installations for SpeedChoice (.com) and one of the very easy registry entries that we used to do is;

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\VxD\MSTCP]
"DefaultRCVWindow"="49152"

By defaut the MSTCP Receive socket size is 4K up it to the max of 48K. This means you'll receive 1/10th of the packets. Therefore more of the data contained in the packets is usable and not filled with TCP header and footer information.

This works withThis is tested with Win95/98/Me If you have an NT Kernel I don't know where to enter this.

[angeltazman]

i'm having problem with my system, i'm using Win98 SE, i just added up a memory, my total memory is 640mb SDRAM PC133, and virtual memory is set to MAX/MIN to 520mb, my computer is freezing or it hangs........ can u give me a hand, should i disable my virtual memory?...... before my total memory is 512mb SDRAM PC133(2 pcs. of 128mb and 1 pc. of 256mb) and now my memory is 640mb SDRAM PC133(2 pcs. of 256mb and 1 pc. 128mb)...... what can i do to resolve this?...... hope to hear from u soon.....





Originally posted by Arkaine23
It wasn't too clear above, but the more system memory you have, the less virtual memory you need. On greater than 128 but less than 512 (384 or 256), you can probably get away with 200 or 300MB for virtual memory. Above, it was stated as the same amount as your system memory, which is a pretty good guideline, however with 512 or even 384 you shouldn't need more than 100 or 200MB, and with 192 or 256, you'd need at least 300 or more for 192. The reason the min and max values should be set to the same size, is so windows doesn't have to adjust the size of the pagefile constantly, and use resources to do so.

My own personal formula is to shoot for a total of 644MB for system memory + pagefile size.

[angeltazman]

i've partioned my 20gig harddisk to 10mb and installed win98 SE to partioned D: and windows XP on partioned c: how come when i boot up on win98 SE i can still see the partioned c: and all windows XP files...... my purpose of Dual OS is because if one of my sis or bro mess up WIN98 SE it would not effect WINDOWS XP coz they cant go to partioned C: and i can boot up and we use WIN98 SE for games..... i've formatted my harddrive 10 times last year and reinstalled win98 SE becuase of accidentally erasing some system's files....... is there a way to resolve this?.....

[White Star]

Windows tweak.

Windows is loud. At MIT whenever the network slows to a crawl, they all start looking for the dumb@$$ who's transfering files via SMB. Windows doesn't have to be that loud. Atleast 2k and XP don't. Here's what we do. The instructions may be a little different from XP. XPs Netsh.exe is distinctly different from 2k, as somethings are added and some removed.

Go into cmd.exe
c:\>netsh dump >>whatever.txt
That'll give you your original pre-tweaked configuration. Always a useful step.
Then
c:\>netsh
netsh>routing
routing>ip
routing ip>dump
And then it will list off a whole bunch of need stuff. If you scroll back towards the top of the dump, you'll notice this little line.
set filter name="Local Area Connection" fragcheck=disable
It's a packet defragger. Why it's disabled by default is beyond me. I haven't done a whole lot of testing with it to see exactly how useful it is, however one thing I did note that it took my computer about 17 packets to re-connect to a couple of network drives. With the frag check enabled, it took about 6 packets. So here's what we do.
routing ip>set filter name="Local Area Connection" fragcheck=enable
And you should be good to go.
I had a paper written about all sorts of different stuff you can do with netsh.exe. Where it went off to I don't know. I tried having someone post it on their web page but the guy said that it was too confusing for his target audience. So I thought I'd just put this little tweak here to see if it interests people. If it does, I'll try to find that paper again, or write it again, and take another crack at getting it out on the internet.

[s[H]sIkuA]

angeltazman , your problem not really on virtual memory
u overclock ?? if yes than maybe ur ram cause instability.
With 3 memory modules , it is a common problem when u overclock

[angeltazman]

yup. my system is overclocked, but i overclocked it just 100mhz from 1.1ghz to 1.2ghz....... the techsupport of my board said its the 512mb windows limit thats causing my system to be unstable........ and i had my 256mb memory replace with a differrent brand and by replacing it, it lessened the problem...... and now i'm just experiencing jolts or it like pausing once in a while........ do u have any idea how i can fix this jolt....... the tech support suggested to just make my memory up to 512mb........ i'm using win98 SE........ and in my bios setting, the memory features are in default......... by the way, thanks for replying......



Originally posted by s[H]sIkuA
angeltazman , your problem not really on virtual memory
u overclock ?? if yes than maybe ur ram cause instability.
With 3 memory modules , it is a common problem when u overclock

[s[H]sIkuA]

well u can ask at general computer forum or maybe memory forum :)

[angeltazman]

k, i'll try that...... thanks again........



Originally posted by s[H]sIkuA
well u can ask at general computer forum or maybe memory forum :)

[Shuruga2]

here is another shutdown command i dug up (for xp) since
C:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00
wasnt working for me.

c:\windows\system32\taskkill /im pq.exe /t /f
kills any running program. /t = thread tree (gets rid of all the child processes as well). /f = forces the closure of the process. /im = specifies the process to kill.
pq.exe (progress quest) is an example of a program that ingores most normal 'kill' commands.

c:\windows\system32\tsshutdn 5 /powerdown
this is great for those whose computer doesnt power down when they use shutdown. the 5 is the delay in seconds (default is 60)

[ssprncvegeta]

yea, i've memorized every one of those and a few more. i never use my mouse for anything other than games.

[mojhÅle]

Shadow,
i read your post... sweet idea compiling all the info for tweaking/customizing. i've been doing a lot of tweaking to 2k pro, and it was really a pain. make sure you mention ResHacker. good utility. i also couldn't find anyone who knew how to change the start button icon. i finally found it in system root/system32/user32.dll. disabling file protection is a pain too. it's not necessary if you change the registry to read new system files. ie: make a copy of explorer.exe and name it explorer1.exe and edit the registry to read explorer1.exe instead. it would probably be a little safer than disabling file protection as well.
keep up the tweaks

mojhÅle

[Fiz]

Originally posted by angeltazman
i'm having problem with my system, i'm using Win98 SE, i just added up a memory, my total memory is 640mb SDRAM PC133, and virtual memory is set to MAX/MIN to 520mb, my computer is freezing or it hangs........ can u give me a hand, should i disable my virtual memory?...... before my total memory is 512mb SDRAM PC133(2 pcs. of 128mb and 1 pc. of 256mb) and now my memory is 640mb SDRAM PC133(2 pcs. of 256mb and 1 pc. 128mb)...... what can i do to resolve this?...... hope to hear from u soon.....


Win 9X can only use 512 megs of ram normally. I think if you run MSCONFIG there is an option in there that will help you. Look for one called "Limit memory to XXX". When you find it, slap your amount of ram in there, you should be all good.

Fiz

[sourskittles]

to change the start button on the lower left corner go to http://www.kibria.de/frhed.html and download frhed. use it to open up explorer.exe found in the windows folder. look on the left and and look for something that starts with "0412ad" It might be a little different but it should start with "0412" after you find it look over to the left on the same row there should be the word start separated by periods so something like this s.t.a.r.t. Change the start to any five letter word you want and then click on file, save as, and save it as explorer1.exe make sure you type in the .exe too otherwise you might screw up ur comp. once it is saved open regedit and look in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, Microsoft, Windows NT, Current Version folders, then go to the winlogon subfolder and a list of values should appear in the right pane. Right click on shell and change Explorer.exe to explorer1.exe save the changes and reboot. This tweak only works with WinXP to my knowledge. And you might want to back up your explorer.exe just in case something goes wrong.

[sangapski]

winguides (http://www.winguides.com/) nice collection of tweaks

for win XP (http://www.winguides.com/windowsxp/)

[nuttah]

question: standard pc, uniprocessor acpi or acpi?

(winxp)

[cozmo_d]

This is an awsome Tweek page that will help you find Identify & disable thos pesky/unwanted apps that are runing in the background of XP also tips for 98/me/2000/NT

best dam link ive found in ages

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

[mayagrafix]

ACHTUNG!!
http://www.eteq.com/
is a broken link

[Mithrandir]

Every time you use IE4 or greater to visit a web site it makes one connection to download the html code and another to download graphics.

Increasing the number of connections can make better use of your bandwidth and significantly boost the speed at which pages appear in your browser. Naturally this tweak won't have any effect if the site you're visiting is designed to block more then 2 connections.

Backup your registry then choose start, run, type in regedit and press <Enter> In the tree pane on the left navigate to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Internet Settings. With Internet Settings selected on the left, look for an icon that's labeled MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server and another labeled MaxConnectionsPerServer. If you don't see them, right-click in the right pane and choose New > DWORD Value. Type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server and press <ENTER>, Right-click a second time and create a DWORD value named MaxConnectionsPerServer. Now double click on MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server . The default value is 4, but since you want to increase this, enter a larger value in the 'Value data' box (use the decimal setting) say 8. (Some web sites recommand a value as high as 20 so feel free to experiment) Now click okay , the double click MaxConnectionsPerServer and change the value to 4 (the default is 2) some people have had it has high as 10.
Click ok and exit the registry. With luck your surfing will be noticeably faster.



Hope this helps

[Mithrandir]

Here's anotherway to remove Windows messenger in Windows XP

Start Run , type regedit click ok, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run. With the run folder (called 'key' in registry-ese) selected on rthe left, choose the MSMSGS icon on the right and press <Delete>. Click Yes to confirm and exit the registry editor.
The icon will disappear from the tray next time you log on.

However there is an easier way to control Windows messenger

Just open outlook express go to options, then general and uncheck log on to windows messenger.

have fun

[Mithrandir]

Quicken your system's shutdown

Backup your registry then choose start, run, type in regedit and press <Enter> In the tree pane on the left navigate to HKEY_CURRENT USER\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP

and double click the AutoEndTasks value. The default chartacter in the Value Data Field is 0. Change it by typing 1 in the field and click OK.

You can futher reduce the amount of time WinXP takes to shut down both active and hung applications by double-clicking the HungAppTimeout value( also at HKEY_CURRENT USER\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP and confirming that the Value Data Field is set to 5000. Exit the Edit String dialog box , double-click the WaitToKillAppTimeout value,set its Value Data field to 4000 and click okay and exit the registry.

Good luck

[Mithrandir]

Keep DLL Files Out of Cache Memory

Even though DLL (dynamic-Lynk library) files are crucial to system operation its not necessary for WinXP to keep them close by in case they're needed. Despite the fact that DLL files consume cache memory that could be spared for more important data WinXP does exactly that.

To change this behavior via the registry, browse to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURR ENTVERSION\EXPLORER

With the Explorer key highlighted, create another key by clicking Edit, New and Key. Type AlwaysUnloadDLL to name the key, press <ENTER>, double-click its default value, type 1 in the Value Data field and click ok.

Close the Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

WinXP should now empty DLL files from Cache memory when it finishes using them.

[tseongsun]

For WinXP:

One thing people haven't mentioned is that when you use the SystemRestore option it really fragments up your hdd. I use Norton Systemworks and it told me that the most fragmented files were all system restore files. The way to fix this is to turn off system restore on your C drive to clear out that folder, then turn it back on and make a new restore point (just in case). My HDD went from 23% fragmented to 2%.

Also, it's pretty much a waste of space to have system restore on any drive other than your system drive.

[diggingforgold]

For those that have a "My Computer" Toolbar on the taskbar, and if you hate those 4 folder (in My Computer, they are under "Files Stored on This Computer"), do the following to tweak that category OUT of My Computer. It makes My Computer look more attractive, and also cleans up your taskbar (if you use toolbars).

This requires regedit tweaking. So like most regedit tweaks, make sure you make a backup in case this screws up something...

[Start] [Run]

TYPE "REGEDIT"

Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\
Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

In the left pane, delete the sub-key {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}

Exit Registry and Reboot

Upon reboot, you should notice that aimless category is removed. Congrats, your finished.

[pik4chu]

Mentioned earlier was the thing about pcpitstop automodifying your registry when you run the "connection enhancer" thing or whatever. What it does (I downloaded and read through the coding) it just changes your recieve buffer; like what drtcp and straight registry tweaks will do.
Its sets it to either 64240, 32120, or 0 depending on what button you press. For those curious. :)

And lots of really cool stuff here.
And reshacker is the ****nit! a must if you want to customize /everytyhing/ *using it right now, changing bitmaps and icons around, hehe)

(and another great reason why I hate XP..look at all the tweaks for removing programs from it HAHAAHAH)

would love to contribute but most of my tweaks aren't really endorsed by most companies :rolleyes:

[m2c4u]

XP moves the most used apps to a faster section of your hard drive. But it only does it about once every 3 days. To move them "on call" to the fastest part, go to run and type Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks


I just ran this and I keep getting WMI error messages. Anyone know how to disable it?

[Afmo]

no idea

[pik4chu]

Originally posted by m2c4u



I just ran this and I keep getting WMI error messages. Anyone know how to disable it?

well asuming you you backed up your comp before performing this tweak (like one always should do). just restore the OS :), if not you might try just clicking on start, then go to those program listed there (the most used one's, ya know?) and removing everything there by right-cicking on each item and selecting "remove from list". otherwise I dunno.

[dvj81]

It seems that most of the tweaks and links listed in this thread are for win XP or 9x. Does somebody have some links for win2k tweaks?

[HvH]

http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm

Great Site......XP is flying:)

Used these for my Game-PC........works great after a clean Install.;)

HvH.

[pr0craztinazn]

Originally posted by dvj81
It seems that most of the tweaks and links listed in this thread are for win XP or 9x. Does somebody have some links for win2k tweaks? same thing popped into my brain, too.

[-Incantation-]

Originally posted by sourskittles
to change the start button on the lower left corner go to http://www.kibria.de/frhed.html and download frhed. use it to open up explorer.exe found in the windows folder. look on the left and and look for something that starts with "0412ad" It might be a little different but it should start with "0412" after you find it look over to the left on the same row there should be the word start separated by periods so something like this s.t.a.r.t. Change the start to any five letter word you want and then click on file, save as, and save it as explorer1.exe make sure you type in the .exe too otherwise you might screw up ur comp. once it is saved open regedit and look in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, Microsoft, Windows NT, Current Version folders, then go to the winlogon subfolder and a list of values should appear in the right pane. Right click on shell and change Explorer.exe to explorer1.exe save the changes and reboot. This tweak only works with WinXP to my knowledge. And you might want to back up your explorer.exe just in case something goes wrong. Just did this one...pretty cool! no probs

[dead_man311]

there some cool tips there thanks

[PatrickBateman]

Here (http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm)'s a good site explaining services and appropriate tweaking thereof.

[HvH]

I mentioned that site already;)

Its great indeed, I do all the tweaks....works great:clap:

HvH;)

[unreal]

its actually mentioned a couple pages earlier lol

nice though

[CrashOveride]

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles.php?dCategory=guides&sortMeth=&sortYear=all

There are some REALY good guides for XP, I go through it every time I re-install.

Also the first linke for Bootvis seems to be bad, I guess Microsoft Removed it... nee ways BootVis (http://www.ntcompatible.com/print22325.html)

[sup3rcarrx8]

Any tweaks for 2k? Or are they both about the same?

[CrashOveride]

Originally posted by sup3rcarrx8
Any tweaks for 2k? Or are they both about the same?

MOST are pretty similary but somtimes the values may be differnt, or it may be in a differnt place you could try most of these (XP ones) and they would probably work if hte key is there.

[sup3rcarrx8]

Cool thanks!:D

[HvH]

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

HvH;)

[CrashOveride]

Originally posted by HvH
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

HvH;)

Wow.. that is the ugliest tweaks website I have ever seen, and I have seen some bad ones.

But all the tweaks are easy to find:D

[HvH]

Originally posted by CrashOveride


Wow.. that is the ugliest tweaks website I have ever seen, and I have seen some bad ones.

But all the tweaks are easy to find:D


I know, it gives you no happy feeling:p

Almost that the tweaks you do on that site..are you last ones,
if you know what I mean:D

HvH.

[sup3rcarrx8]

Whoa nice link to a whole load of tweaks.

[HvH]

Thanks;)

But I think when you do all those tweaks,

Your screen stays.......black after restarting:clap:

hansje;)

Maybe a seperate thread:

What do you think are the best tweaks at that site:p

[sQUiRLy]

Tired of windows cdrom autoplay? Just hold shift after insertion and presto, nothing.

[redduc900]

Granted, it's easy enough to add a link to the Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) directly to your Favorites or Links folders...but if you'd like to add an IE toolbar button which opens a new browser window directly to the MSKB, copy and paste the following into Notepad, and save it with a *.reg extension. You can then merge the saved file into the Registry by right clicking and selecting "Merge", or just by double-clicking it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions\{8b2d996f-b7d1-4961-a929-414d9cf5ba7b}]
"CLSID"="{1FBA04EE-3024-11d2-8F1F-0000F87ABD16}"
"ButtonText"="MS-KB"
"Icon"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\shell32.dll,281"
"HotIcon"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\shell32.dll,281"
"Default Visible"="Yes"
"Exec"="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;EN-US;KBHOWTO"
"MenuText"="MS-KB"

:)

[sangapski]

Originally posted by redduc900
Granted, it's easy enough to add a link to the Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) directly to your Favorites or Links folders...but if you'd like to add an IE toolbar button which opens a new browser window directly to the MSKB, copy and paste the following into Notepad, and save it with a *.reg extension. You can then merge the saved file into the Registry by right clicking and selecting "Merge", or just by double-clicking it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions\{8b2d996f-b7d1-4961-a929-414d9cf5ba7b}]
"CLSID"="{1FBA04EE-3024-11d2-8F1F-0000F87ABD16}"
"ButtonText"="MS-KB"
"Icon"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\shell32.dll,281"
"HotIcon"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\shell32.dll,281"
"Default Visible"="Yes"
"Exec"="http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;EN-US;KBHOWTO"
"MenuText"="MS-KB"

:)
nice :D
i tried it but it does not open a new window :(
just change the current window to MSKB page

[redduc900]

i tried it but it does not open a new window
just change the current window to MSKB page
Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | "Advanced" tab | Check to make sure "Reuse windows for launching shortcuts" is unchecked. :)

[leggysoe]

thanks for info

[sangapski]

Originally posted by redduc900

Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | "Advanced" tab | Check to make sure "Reuse windows for launching shortcuts" is unchecked. :)

thanks!

[leggysoe]

thx for information

[HvH]

Guys, I made a little XP link guide on my new Site.

www.hallo.ismooi.nl

Maybe you want to know...have a nice day:)

hansje;)

[Tnick24]

Shadow ÒÓ thanks so much for the info!! ive been trying to figure out how to take a screenshot for months and its so simple! thanks again!

[tom10167]

Just letting you guys know, BootVIS DOES NOT work for Windows 2000.

:(

[germanjulian]

Configure which files WinXP should preview Post Comment
WinXP is very aggresive about being user friendly, and provides a nice preview feature for showing details and snapshots of pictures and movies. But if the media-file is flawed, then the preview feature starts to scan the entire file (F.ex. with AVI and MPG/MPEG files where the header or the index at the end of the file is broken). This can lead to high CPU usage and the file being locked, so when trying move or delete the file it gives the error:
Cannot delete/move <filename>: It is being used by another proson or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again
Disable preview for AVI files by deleting the (Default) in registry (Make a backup first):
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \SystemFileAssociations \.avi \shellex \PropertyHandler]
(Default) = (Value not set)
Note to disable preview for other file-types just exchange the .avi with the wanted filetype and delete the (Default) for the wanted file-type.

Note if one likes the preview feature but just cannot delete a file then one can try:
Momentarily unregister shmedia.dll (Media File Property Extractor Shell Extension ) to delete the file:
regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll
(delete the file)
regsvr32 shmedia.dll

Rename the file so it no longer has the extension of a media file
Create a new folder and move the file into the new folder and delete the new folder
Close all explorer.exe and use the command-prompt.
Boot in safemode and delete the file, as the preview feature is disabled.

Note if have a directory containing many media files (Like mp3), then the preview feature will cause a slowdown when opening the folder, because it wants to extract information for each file.

Related Change Webview for all folders to stop movie preview

More Info MS KB 822430

Credits TweakXp.com

[SybrCLocK]

i`ve disabled the login screen from start-control panel-users

and now i`m prompted for password. Where can i find the "automaticly log on" option?

p.s: ca movie maker be deleted? or better disabled?

[tom10167]

Ok, I've got a few nobody has mentioned, suprisingly. The first set is for Windows 2000, maybe even XP, older OS's don't have this "feature."

Every time you go in to program files, WINNT, or System 32, you have to click "show files." Apparently Microsoft doesn't trust the average user, well, I don't trust Microsft, so here's how to get rid of that.
First, make sure you can see ALL files. Menubar tools, Folder Options, the view tab, then make sure you have it set to "Show Hidden files" and UNCHECK "Hide protected operating system files." Now go to folder C:\winnt\web and copy the folder.htt file.
Paste and replace in Program Files, Winnt, and System32, and you're all set, had this done for years, working fine.

The next apply to all operating systems, as it's more of a Windows/Winamp tweak.

The beauty of Overlay mode. This one has a lot of small steps that take forever, so I'll break it down quick.

What we're going to do is find the EXACT color of our 3d buttons, and tell Winamp to overlay it with some really cool trippy looking moving graphics(Visualization studio)
In most cases, 3d bars are
(usually a grey, default in XP is a sort of blue, but it fades, so I can't help you there.) To do this push the print screen button, and paste it into MSPaint. Then push the Pick Color button, and select the grey. Now go to colors Menubar, and hit edit colors, and push define custom colors, you will see your grey, and six sets of numbers. Red, green, blue, hue, saturation, and something else.(Luminescence?)

Right those six sets of numbers down, making sure you know what number goes to what property(red number goes to red, etc.)

Now open up Winamp, I'm using 5, I know this worked in 2, and nobody uses three. So they all work.

There are A LOT of ways to do this, and they've changed some stuff between versions, so I'm using the universal, but basically, just open up the Visualization studio

CTRL+SHIFT+K does it.

You should see a little window of crazy-changing colors, if you just see black, don't worry. right click in that pane and select AVS editor. Menubar SETTINGS, and go to display. Now on the upper-right side, you see a sub-pane called Overlay mode. There's a thing that says color, and a button that says default color. Click the COLOR thing, and a window pops up, similar to what we saw in Paint. Punch the numbers in that you wrote down and close it. Now check the overlay mode box. :)


If it was black before, right click again and hit Winamp picks, and just choose one. There's a lot of fun tweaks you can do, so just explore. If you need any help DO NOT hesitate to PM me.

[west1]

great info

[axhed]

you ever notice when spyware and crap install themselves, then you remove them, but the startup item is still there, mocking you? i must have had 25-30 unchecked startup items that just, well, they were THERE. unchecking them is easy enough, but i asked around and nobody seemed to know how to make them disappear. i just found this article in the microsoft knowledge base (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-gb;835638) and here is the important part:
The two main tools used to interact with the Registry are Regedit.exe and Regedt32.exe. The settings that control which utilities always run automatically at startup tend to be stored in four different locations: two under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and another two under HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

In both cases, the most common place to look for startup settings is under the \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ folder (or key), where you’ll find two important folders: Run and RunServices. Both folders will contain values that specify the path to programs or services to be launched automatically, as shown below.

To prevent a program or service from starting automatically, delete the value associated with the offending program. However, be sure to note exactly which programs you need to remove prior to taking this action. You won’t be prompted to save any of your changes, and mistakenly deleting a required application or service may render your system unbootable.


of course, once you get in there, the only entries you will find are the ones that are checked off to be run at startup. so before you go hit the registry, go start > run > "msconfig" > startup tab and make sure everything is checked. then EXIT WITHOUT RESTART to save yourself some headaches, and then start > run > "regedit" will get you into the registry editor.

and always use extreme caution when editing the registry, or you may end up having to do a fresh install of windows.

[tom10167]

Wow, thanks for that. Works on stuff that isn't spyware but loves to start up with Windows anyways!!

[username17]

In response to Win+D to minimize windows is a way to do it, but it's not the best way to do it.
Win+M minimizes all, but the nice thing is that Shift+Win+M restores all the windows that you just minimizes.
I find myself wanting to restore all my windows after I use Win+D, so IMO Win+M is better.

Other than that, good info.
-username17

[Packrat]

Is there a way to banish the XP startup screen and tell it to sue the DOS-type sequence it does (shows what files it's loading) in Safe Mode? It should speed up the boot, and also look better.

[tom10167]

DELETE UNNEEDED PROCESSES!!!!!!!!!


http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181605

8)

[cozmo_d]

If the shortcut arrow in the icons in the desktop bother you, here's a simple solution. I'm sure most of you know this but here goes anyway.

regedit-->HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT--> find "lnkfile" and "piffile" folder. Delete the key that says something along the lines of "shortcut" on each.

Reboot and small arrows are gone. =)

I tryed to do this but do not find this inkfile I found piffile but there is nothing about "shortcut" on each.

Can you please be more specific I have winxp pro

[cozmo_d]

Every time you use IE4 or greater to visit a web site it makes one connection to download the html code and another to download graphics.

Increasing the number of connections can make better use of your bandwidth and significantly boost the speed at which pages appear in your browser. Naturally this tweak won't have any effect if the site you're visiting is designed to block more then 2 connections.


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Internet Settings. With Internet Settings selected on the left, look for an icon that's labeled MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server and another labeled MaxConnectionsPerServer. If you don't see them, right-click in the right

OS winxppro this is already set to 40 & 20 sir.... by default, least for me it was.

[termin@tor]

When you browse a network machine from a Windows 2000 or XP system, extra time is taken to determine if any scheduled tasks or printers are enabled on the destination computer.

Open your registry and find the key below: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/ CurrentVersion/Explorer/Remote Computer/NameSpace"

To disable checking for scheduled tasks delete the

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} sub-key.

To disable checking for printers delete the

{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} sub-key.

The change should take effect immediately.

[termin@tor]

How To Tweak XP For Maximum Performance

These tutorials are available via Tutorial Town (http://www.tutorialtown.co.uk/) and the Tutorial Town Forums (http://tutorialtownforums.ipbhost.com/index.php?act=idx). If you need help with them then post here or in the help section or at TT forums.
The majority of these tips & tweaks were posted by Nikeus & Co at FTC so the credit has to go to them, legends in their own right !
Before we start going through the tips & tweaks I've picked up over time let me warn you that some of them involve modifying the registry. Always backup your registry before modifying it. You can do this by going to Run & typing Regedit. Now go to File -> Export and save it somewhere safe. If you ever want to go back 2 the way it was you can just double click the save file and it will add the original back. An alternative to this is to set a System Restore point so if it goes wrong you can just hop back to the way it was.

To increase system performance
Right click my computer. Click properties.
Click advanced.
Click settings (under performance).
Click Adjust for best performance.
Scroll to the bottom and check the last one “use visual styles on windows and buttons”.

How to disable XP's crap built in CD Burner

Click the start button.
Select Run.
Type services.msc and click ok.
Go to IMAPI CD-Burning Com Services open it and click on start up type, change to "Disabled".


These Settings will fine tune your systems memory

You need at least 256MB of ram to do this:

Go to start\run\regedit -and then to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management

1.DisablePagingExecutive -double click it and in the decimal put a 1 - this allows XP to keep data in memory now instead of paging sections of ram to harddrive yeilds faster performance.

2.LargeSystemCache- double click it and change the decimal to 1 -this allows XP Kernal to Run in memory and improves system performance a lot.

3.Create a new dword and name it IOPageLockLimit - double click it and set the value in hex - 4000 if you have 128MB of ram or set it to 10000 if you have 256MB set it to 40000 if you have more than 512MB of ram -this tweak will speed up your disckcache.

Reboot


Unable to delete from Avi files from HD

XP holds files in it's memory even after you have closed the application using them making it impossible to delete them from your harddrive. To fix this:

Start -> Run -> Regedit
Find the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shel lex\PropertyHandler\ directory and delete the "DEFAULT" key.


Tweak The Swap File

For Users with 256 MB RAM or more this tweak will boost their Windows- and Game-Performance.
What it does: It tells Windows not to use any Swap File until there is really no more free RAM left.

Open the System Configuration Utility by typing msconfig.exe in the RUN command. There in your System.ini you have to add "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" under the 386enh section.

Restart your Windows and enjoy better Game performance

Disable Services

XP Pro runs a lot of services by default that are pointless if your not on a corporate network, the following services are ones that I safely disable thereby freeing up memory but check what each one does first to make sure your not using it for something:

Go to Run and type services.msc, right click on each service, properties and choose disable.

Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service,
Application Management
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinater
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
IMAPI CD-Burning
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Net Logon
Net Meeting
Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Smartcard
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Webclient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adaptor


Speed Up The File System

NTFS is a great file system, but its feature-set comes at a slight cost in performance. You can negate this a little with the following tips:

* By default NTFS will automatically update timestamps whenever a directory is traversed. This isn't a necessary feature, and it slows down large volumes. Disable it by going to Run and type regedit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\FileSystem and set 'DisableNTFSLastAccessUpdate' to 1.

* NTFS uses disparate master file control tables to store filesystem information about your drives. Over time these core MFT files grow and become fragmented, slowing down all accesses to the drive. By setting aside a little space, MFT's can grow without becoming fragmented.

In the same key where you disabled the last access feature creat a new DWORD value called 'NtfsMftZoneReservation' and set it to 2.


Disable DLL Caching

Windows Explorer caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a period of time after the application using them has been closed. This can be an inefficient use of memory.

1. Find the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer].

2. Create a new DWORD sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in memory.

3. Restart Windows for the change to take effect.


Tweak The Prefetch
1. Run "Regedit"
2. Goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher]

3. Set the value to either 0-Disable, 1-App launch prefetch, 2-Boot Prefetch, 3-Both ("3" is recommended).

4. Reboot.

It will decrease the boot time but double and increase the performance of your XP.


SpeedUp Your Connection By 20% (Cable Users Only)

1.Log on as "Administrator".
2. Run - gpedit.msc
3. Expand the "Local Computer Policy" branch.
4. Then expand the "Administrative Templates" branch.
5. Expand the "Network" branch.
6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left pane.
7. In the right window pane double-click the "Limit Reservable Bandwidth" setting.
8. On the settings tab check the "Enabled" item.
9. Change "Bandwidth limit %" to read 0.
10. Then go to your Network connections Start=>Control Panel>Network & Internet connections>Network Connections and right-click on your connection. Then under the General or the Networking tab, (where it lists your protocols) make sure QoS packet scheduler is enabled.

It may take effect immediately on some systems. To be sure, just re-boot.

I don't advise doing these all at once, do 1 then reboot to make sure your cool, I also accept no responsibility for what may happen to your OS. Hope everyone finds these useful.

[EmTSea19]

"If the shortcut arrow in the icons in the desktop bother you, here's a simple solution. I'm sure most of you know this but here goes anyway.

regedit-->HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT--> find "lnkfile" and "piffile" folder. Delete the key that says something along the lines of "shortcut" on each.

Reboot and small arrows are gone. =)"

I tried this, went to Pif first, and deleted the key. I believe it said pif and ink in it. Anyway, it didn't work. I looked for ink separately and all I found was inc, not k. So, I hope that whatever I deleted in my registry from pif is okay...? *lol*

A lot of the other tweaks are working for me though, Thanks everyone.


Edited to Add: In XP, right click on the icon, click on "properties" "shortcut" and choose "change Icon". You'll get a little window that says "choose an icon from the list..." You can choose which icon you want, no little arrows. You can also add your own I think from another file. No registry tweaking needed.

[Kendan]

"If the shortcut arrow in the icons in the desktop bother you, here's a simple solution. I'm sure most of you know this but here goes anyway.

regedit-->HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT--> find "lnkfile" and "piffile" folder. Delete the key that says something along the lines of "shortcut" on each.

Reboot and small arrows are gone. =)"

I tried this, went to Pif first, and deleted the key. I believe it said pif and ink in it. Anyway, it didn't work. I looked for ink separately and all I found was inc, not k. So, I hope that whatever I deleted in my registry from pif is okay...? *lol*

A lot of the other tweaks are working for me though, Thanks everyone.


Edited to Add: In XP, right click on the icon, click on "properties" "shortcut" and choose "change Icon". You'll get a little window that says "choose an icon from the list..." You can choose which icon you want, no little arrows. You can also add your own I think from another file. No registry tweaking needed.


TweakUI has an option for changing the little arrow thing on the shortcut;) Much better than going in and deleting something you are not sure about;)

[EmTSea19]

I know, Kendan, I should not have done it, because I was not sure about it. I did some registry tweaks from Shadow's first post that worked great. I got over confident. Next time I won't do it, when I am not sure.

It does not seem to have affected anything, so that's good.(so far...)

Thanks.

[Kendan]

I am glad. I just have to put in the little warning messing with the registry can destroy your system if you delete the wrong key. When messing with the registry back the reg up first and then be extra carefull what you do:D

[100mbHD]

The link on the main post about how to change the display picture in system properties, does not work anymore. So i thought I'd give a new link on how to change the display image in My Computer > Properties.

http://www.tweakxp.com/tweak1774.aspx

[Ageeb]

Shadow ÒÓ wrote:
If you have more than 128 (up to 512) you can probably get away with a swap file the same size as the memory you have, and if you have 512 or more, you may consider running your system with no virtual memory at all. Change the settings and play with your system a bit.


http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=304626

LxOxSxI

[Chris_F]

Ok, this is how to change the text on the start button.

I have only done this in Windows XP Pro SP1


To change the text of the start button with XP Style start bar:

1. Make a copy of Explorer.exe
2. Open the new Explorer.exe in a hex editor.
3. Goto byte 4208Eh and change "s t a r t" to what ever you want. You have to keep the blanks in between. If the word you want to replace start with is less then 5 characters just fill the remaining characters with spaces.

If you want to make it more then 5 characters look for a byte with a value of 05h directly before the string "s t a r t". Change the values of that byte to the length of the new string. In order to add the string you'll have to add bytes, don't continue to type overtop data after the first 5 bytes in the string start.

To change the text of the start button with Classic start bar:

1. Do the same as above but goto byte 41F03h instead.


Ok, now save the new explorer.exe as something like L337.exe ;)

Place the file in C:\Windows\ and then goto run and open regedit.

Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon and open Shell. Change the value from Explorer.exe to the new file name and your all set.

Sorry if this is kind of confusing. This isn't exactly n00b friendly. Make sure you know what your are doing.

[AnomalyX]

Not sure if this was posted here already, but here goes...

http://www.tweakguides.com

They have the best guides I have ever seen on tweaking Windows XP. :attn:

[sp_100]

Can offer my site ...
Includes:

How to optimize Windows XP, 2000, ME
for the best performance (Step-by-step Visual Guide):
http://www.fixyourwindows.com/optimizewindows.htm

Spyware/Virus Removal and Prevention:
http://www.fixyourwindows.com/windowsxpsolutions.htm
(Links to online virus scans on the same page)

How to successfully install Windows XP Service Pack 2:
http://www.fixyourwindows.com/winxpsp2install.htm

[rcillig]

awsome lists guys ty much

[cozmo_d]

SUPERTWEEK OF THE CENTURY well not realy a tweek but a big timesaver.

If you have to reinstall Windows XP, you normally will have to reactivate too. Well not anymore. Just copy wpa.dbl after you activated the first time. It is located in the WINDOWS\system32 folder. Now if you reinstall Windows XP just copy the file back and you're up and running again. no more stupid phone calls, no more bs.

[Verse914]

The link on the main post about how to change the display picture in system properties, does not work anymore. So i thought I'd give a new link on how to change the display image in My Computer > Properties.

http://www.tweakxp.com/tweak1774.aspx

I couldnt get this to work in XP :bang head It did work in Win2k though. Ill have to do a search on the oemlogo.bmp file on XP and see if I can find the location.

[redduc900]

Start | Run (...or WinKey+R) | Type...

. Opens "C:\Documents and Settings\<Username>"
.. Opens "C:\Documents and Settings"
... Opens "My Computer"

It's also possible to open directly to the top of the directory structure (the root directory), by typing... \ These are just a few examples of commands that can be run from the Run box...there are MANY more.

[kraven]

Wow, my brain is awash in geeky bliss. Very complete. I just wanted to find out how to printscreen and BAM! there I go. Thanks for the list, it's been added to my fave's.

[sevendevilhell]

how to change the text displayed in your "start" logo, how to change windows fonts, and that sort of thing. those are some good tweaks. also maybe how to make bootscreens.

[Autonomous]

I like all these tweaks they are really sweet. I just want to know if there is a way to have a different theme for winxp without having to download and install a program. I've heard that there is a way and someone I know said they did it but I forgot what they said to do. Well I hope that someone can help me with this one.

[cornbread]

I like all these tweaks they are really sweet. I just want to know if there is a way to have a different theme for winxp without having to download and install a program. I've heard that there is a way and someone I know said they did it but I forgot what they said to do. Well I hope that someone can help me with this one.

There used to be a file/program called "Patch Xp", all it did was replace the file (uxtheme.dll) that XP used to show themes. I used it once and had no problems with it.

EDIT...........

Here is a link for you....


Patch XP (http://www.belchfire.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=205)

[Autonomous]

I may try that, but I know there is a way to change the files yourself where you can do a search and then I believe you delete a file and then change a value in the other file that comes up and your themes are good to go.

[Chris_F]

- New Start Button Tutorial -

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/start.jpg
-----------------------------------

Step 1:
-----------------------------------

Get ResHack from here (http://www.users.on.net/johnson/resourcehacker/).

Step 2:
-----------------------------------

Copy explorer.exe (from C:\windows\) to a folder to work in.

Open explorer.exe in ResHack.

Goto [String Table\37\1033\] and locate the string "start".

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image1.jpg

Change this to whatever you want.

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image2.jpg

Then compile the script and save the executable.

[Chris_F]

Step 3:
-----------------------------------

Open Photoshop.

Create a new image and use these settings:

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image5.jpg

Draw or resize an image into the 20x25 image.

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image6.jpg

Then you need to create an Alpha chanel.

Click this button:

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image7.jpg

Then create an alpha chanel like this:

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image8.jpg

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image9.jpg

After that save your image as a 32-bit BMP.

[Chris_F]

Step 4:
-----------------------------------

Open explorer.exe in ResHack again.

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image3.jpg

Goto Actions > Replace Bitmap

Then open your new bitmap and hit Replace.

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image4.jpg

Save your executable.


Step 5:
-----------------------------------

Take your new explorer.exe and rename it to somthing else.

Then take it and place it in C:\Windows

Goto Start > Run and open regedit.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Then find the value named "Shell"

Change this value to the name of your executable.

http://chris-f.no-ip.com/tutorials/xpstart/images/image10.jpg

You're Done
-----------------------------------

Restart your computer and that's it.

[mx101]

very nice thread half of it does not make sense goood job

[mdameron]

Quick question, I saw the 'delete IE' post from the first couple pages and I'm interested in doing this... (i heart firefox)

my question is, does windows update still work? even with firefox as my default browser, when I click windows update, IE opens up... is there a way to fix this without messing with the registry?

[NickTheGreek]

all those tweaks !

[Rockafella134]

great guide

[3DFlyer]

For all the folks who took the time to post good tweaks thank you! They were all good. I didn't do every single one, but I did most of them. They all worked that I did, and it has drastically improved my system performance and surfing experience. Thank you so much! :)