Windows XP - Secrets

Deleting System Softwares:

XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger,
but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text
file /windows/inf/ sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to
the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows
Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

Creating Shutdown Icon or One cl!ck Shutdown:

Navigate to your desktop. On the desktop, right-cl!ck and go to New, then to Shortcut (in
other words, create a new shortcut). You should now see a pop-up window instructing you
to enter a command line path.
Use this path in "Type Location of the Item"
SHUTDOWN -s -t 01
If the C: drive is not your local hard drive, then replace "C" with the correct letter of the
hard drive. cl!ck the "Next" button. Name the shortcut and cl!ck the "Finish" button. Now
whenever you want to shut down, just cl!ck on this shortcut and you're done.

Increasing Band-Width By 20%:

Microsoft reserves 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes like Windows
Updates and interrogating your PC etc

To get it back:
cl!ck Start then Run and type " gpedit.msc" without quotes.This opens the group policy
editor.

Then go to:
Local Computer Policy then Computer Configuration then Administrative Templates then
Network then QOS Packet Scheduler and then to Limit Reservable Bandwidth.
Double cl!ck on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is
under the 'Explain' tab i.e."By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20
percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the
default." So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.It works on Win 2000 as well.

Renaming The Recycle Bin icon:

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, cl!ck Start then goto Run, write
Regedit and press Enter. It opens Registry Editor. Now in Registry Editor go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ ROOT/CLSID/ {645FF040- 5081-101B- 9F08-00AA002F954 E}
and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

Managing Tasks:

You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill
/pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing
'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.

Removing Shared Documents folder From My Computer window:

Open registry editor by going to Start then Run and entering regedit. Once in registry,
navigate to key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \
My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders

You must see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72- 44a7-89c5- 5595fe6b30ee} . If you
delete this key, you have effectively removed the my shared documents folder.

Improving the Slow Boot up time:

There are a variety of reasons why your windows XP system would boot slowly. Most of
the times it this has to do with the startup applications. If you would like to speed up the
bootup sequence, consider removing some of the startup applications that you do not
need. Easiest way to remove startup apps is through System Configuration Utility. Go to
Start then Run and enter MSCONFIG and go to the Startup tab. Deselect/UnCheck
application( s) that you do not want to startup at boot time.

Customize Logon prompt with your Own Words:

Open Registry by going to Start then Run, entering regedit and Navigate to

[HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE \Microsoft\ Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ Winlogon] .
In right pane, look for key by the name "LogonPrompt" . Set its value to whatever text
you want to see displayed at login screen.

IP address of your connection:

Go to Start then Run. Enter 'cmd' and then enter 'ipconfig' .Add the '/all' switch for more
info .

Making Folders Private:

Open My Computer Double-cl!ck the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C,
unless you have more than one drive on your computer). If the contents of the drive are
hidden, under System Tasks, cl!ck Show the contents of this drive.
Double-cl!ck the Documents and Settings folder. Double-cl!ck your user folder. Right-cl!ck
any folder in your user profile, and then cl!ck Properties. On the Sharing tab, select the
Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.

To change Drive Letters:

Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management, Disk
Management, then right-cl!ck the partition whose name you want to change (cl!ck in the
white area just below the word "Volume") and select "change drive letter and paths."
From here you can add, remove or change drive letters and paths to the partition.

Removing the Shortcut arrow from Desktop Icons:

Goto Start then Run and Enter regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ ROOTlnkfile. Delete
the IsShortcut registry value. You may need to restart Windows XP.

Get Drivers for your Devices:

Visit Windows Update (XP Only)
Look at the left hand pane and under Other Options cl!ck Personalize Windows Update.
Now in the right hand pane check the box - Display the link to the Windows Update
Catalog under See Also Below Choose which categories and updates to display on Windows Update - make sureyou check all the boxes you want shown.
cl!ck Save Settings
Now look in the left hand pane under See Also cl!ck Windows Update Catalog and choose
what you're looking for. Choose either MS updates or drivers for hardware devices.
Start the Wizard and off you go.

Customize Internet Explorer's Title Bar:

Open Registry by going to Start then Run and Enter regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_
USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Internet. Explorer\Main. In right hand panel look for string
"Window Title" and change its value to whatever custom text you want to see.

Disabling the use of Win Key:

If your are a gaming freak then you must be sick of the Win key in your keyboard. To
disable use of Win key, open registry by going to Start then Run and entering regedit.
Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSe t\Control\ Keyboard
Layout] . In this look for value of "Scancode Map". Its binary data so be extra careful:
Set its value to "00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 5B E0 00 00 5C E0 00 00 00
00" to disable the win key.

Restarting Windows without Restarting the Computer:

This one is again is. When you cl!ck on the SHUTDOWN button, make sure to
simultaneous press SHIFT Button. If you hold the Shift key down while *** on
SHUTDOWN button, you computer would restart without restarting the Computer. This is
equivalent to term "HOT REBOOT".

Stopping XP from displaying unread messages count on Welcome Screen:

To stop XP from displaying count of unread messages, Open registry and navigate to
[HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentV ersion\UnreadMai l] and
look for the data key "MessageExpiryDays" . If you do not see this key, create one
DWORD key by the name "MessageExpiryDays" . Setting its value to 0 would stop
Windows XP from displaying the count of unread messages.

Modify Color Selection of Default Theme:

Open registry by going to Start then Run. Entering regedit, navigate to [HKEY_USERS\
.DEFAULT\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentV ersion\ThemeMana ger] and locate the key "ColorName". Right cl!ck on it and select modify its value from "NormalColor" to "Metallic" cl!ck Ok, and exit regedit and restart your computer.

Removing the Recycle Bin from the Desktop:

If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files , you can get rid of its desktop icon
all together. Run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/ SOFTWARE/ Microsoft/ Windows/CurrentV ersion/explorer/
Desktop/NameSpace

Send Out Executable Files Via Gmail

As a security measure to prevent the intrusion of potential viruses, Gmail strictly disallows
users to send and receive executable files (files with the extension ".exe", ".dll", ".ocx" or
".bat") in its policy. If you try to send these files, Gmail will send you an error message:
"This is an executable file. For security reasons, Gmail does not allow you to send this type
of file." You might try to zip or compress the files into other formats such as ".zip", ".tar",
".tgz", ".taz", ".z" or ".gz". However, your Gmail account will bounce back your message.
How to send executable files with your Gmail account if you really need to do so?

Of course the easiest way is to use other email services such as Yahoo to send your
important executable files. However, if you are still set on using Gmail to send your
executable files, there are a few ways you can try: -

1. You can rename your executable files from the "exe" extension to other formats such as
"doc", "jpeg", etc. For instance, your file name is happy.exe; just rename your file to
happy.doc and send it over to the receivers. Once the receivers have received the files,
they just need to change the extension back to the original file extension.

2. The other way you can try is upload your executable files to some free file hosting
service such as DivShare or Rapidshare. Copy down the link and send it to the receivers.
It's pretty straightforward.

3. The last option you can try is to compress your executable file by using Winrar. Gmails
doesn't scan files in the RAR format. You can send the file out without a problem.
However, you must make sure your receivers can open the RAR files