Wednesday, November 28, 2007

WINDOWS TIPS 5

Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages
Added 3/2/30






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To turn these off:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system
If it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessages
Give it a value of 1
Download a reg file


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Accessing Non-Listed Display Configurations
Added 3/2/03

If you want to access display configurations not normally listed (e.g. 256 colors)

In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings tab.
Click the Advanced button.
Click the Adapter tab,
Click the List all modes button.
Select the resolution, color depth, and refresh rate that you want and click OK.

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Repair Install
Added 2/9/03

If XP is corrupted to the point where none of the previous solutions get it to boot,
you can do a Repair Install that might work as well as keep the current settings.
Make sure you have your valid WindowsXP key.
The whole process takes about half an hour depending on your computer
If you are being prompted for the administrator's password, you need to choose the 2nd repair option, not the first.

Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD
At the second R=Repair option, press the R key
This will start the repair
Press F8 for I Agree at the Licensing Agreement
Press R when the directory where WindowsXP is installed is shown. Typically this is C:\WINDOWS
It will then check the C: drive and start copying files
It will automatically reboot when needed. Keep the CD in the drive.
You will then see the graphic part of the repair that is like during a normal install of XP (Collecting Information, Dynamic Update, Preparing Installation, Installing Windows, Finalizing Installation)
When prompted, click on the Next button
When prompted, enter your XP key
Normally you will want to keep the same Workgroup or Domain name
The computer will reboot
Then you will have the same screens as a normal XP Install
Activate if you want (usually a good idea)
Register if you want (but not necessary)
Finish
At this point you should be able to log in with any existing accounts.

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NTOSKRNL Missing or Corrupt
Added 2/9/03

If you get an error that NTOSKRNL not found:

Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Change to the drive that has the CD ROM.
CD i386
expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe
If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change to C:\Windows
Take out the CD ROM and type exit

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HAL.DLL Missing or Corrupt
Added 2/9/03

If you get an error regarding a missing or corrupt hal.dll file, it might simply be the BOOT.INI file on the root of the C: drive that is misconfigured

Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Type bootcfg /list to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file
Type bootcfg /rebuild to repair it
Take out the CD ROM and type exit

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Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG
Added 2/9/03

If you get the error:
Windows could not start because the following files is missing or corrupt
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE

Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Enter in the administrator password when requested
cd \windows\system32\config
Depending on which section was corrupted:
ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad
Depending on which section was corrupted
copy \windows\repair\system
copy \windows\repair\software
Take out the CD ROM and type exit

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NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM Not Found
Added 2/9/03

If you get an error that NTLDR is not found during bootup,

If you have FAT32 partitions, it is much simpler than with NTFS.
Just boot with a Win98 floppy and copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files
from the i386 directory to the root of the C:\ drive.

For NTFS:

Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
At the first R=Repair option, press the R key
Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.
Typically this will be #1
Enter in the administrator password when requested
Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive.
COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:
COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\
Take out the CD ROM and type exit

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Bringing Up the Shutdown Dialog Box
Added 1/31/03

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


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Adding TCP/IP Printers
Added 1/7/02

To create a connection to a printer connected to your network:

Start to add a new printer through the control panel.
Select Local Printer / Next
Instead of a LPT port, check Create a new port at the bottom on the window
Scroll to Standard TCP/IP Port
Keep going and enter the IP address of the printer.

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Increasing the Folder Cache
Added 1/6/02

The default setting for WindowsXP is to cache the Explorer settings for 400 folders.
To increase it:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam
Change the vaule of BagMRU to whatever size you want (hex)
1000 - 3e8
2000 - 7d0
3000 - bb8
4000 - fa0
5000 - 1388

You can Dowload a reg file that will set it for 5000


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Hiding the Last User Logged On
Added 1/4/03

If you use the standard NT style of login and want to hide the last user:

Start the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options
Scroll down to Interactive logon: Do not display last user name
Set it to Enable

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Poweroff at Shutdown
1/4/03

If your computer does not turn off the power when doing a shutdown,
you may need to edit the registry. I have all the correct BIOS and Power settings and still needed to do this.

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Edit the key PowerOffActive and give it a value of 1
You can do the same in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop
Download reg file


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Remembering Folder Settings
Added 12/21/02

If XP does not remember your folder settings, delete or rename the following registry keys

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags]

Download reg file


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Stop Password Expiration
Updated 12/21/02

If you want to do this for all users, enter:

Start / Run / net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited

Added 3/18/02

If you are getting an error message that your password is about to expire:

Right click on the My Computer icon
Select Manage
Go to Local Users and Groups / Users
Right-click on the user you want to change
Select Properties
On the General tab, check Password never expires
Click OK

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