Added 3/18/02
With WindowsXP, you can double-click on the time in the System Tray and connect to Time Servers on the Internet to synchronize with.
To add to the list of available servers:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers
Add new string keys named 2, 3, etc. with a value of the time server you want to use.
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Creating a Boot Floppy
Added 3/14/02
To create a bootable floppy from within WindowsXP:
Insert a floppy into the A: drive
Open the Explorer
Right click on the A: Drive
Select Format
Check Create an MS-DOS startup disk
Click on the Start button
This will create a Millennium boot disk
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Changing the Login Screen Saver
Added 3/8/02
If you want to change the screen saver that runs at the login prompt:
Start Regedit
Go to HK_USERS / .DEFAULT / Control Panel / Desktop
Double click on SCRNSAVE.EXE
Enter in the screen saver you want to use
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Running NetMeeting
Added 3/8/02
To run NetMeeting:
Do a Start / Run
Enter conf
Answer the prompts along the way for name, e-mail etc.
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Set the Online Registration as Being Completed
Added 3/4/02
You can set WindowsXP to assume the online registration has been completed.
Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion
Create a String Value called RegDone
Give it a value of 1
Download reg file
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Decreasing Boot Time
Added 3/4/02
Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXP
The program is called BootVis
Uncompress the file.
Run BOOTVIS.EXE
For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays
This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark
After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup.
Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line)
Then run Trace / Optimize System
Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
Note how much the time has decreased
Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.
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Re-Enabling System Restore
Added 3/3/02
If you previously disabled system restore through the Group Policy Editor,
the option to start it again does not show in the System Properties.
You can re-enable it again by:
Run the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
Go to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / System Restore
Set Turn off System Restore and Turn off Configuration to Disable
Right click on My Computer
Select Manage
Go to Services and Applications / Services
Scroll down to System Restore Service
Set it for Automatic
Click on the Start button to start the service
Close down this window
Go back to the Group Policy Editor and configure both to Not configured
Now when you right click on My Computer, there should be a tab for System Restore and you can configure how much space will be used.
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Hide/Unhide Logon Names
Added 3/3/02
If you want to hide or unhide the names of users that are displayed on the initial logon screen:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
Add a DWORD with the name of the user account you want to hide
Make sure it has a value of 0
If there is an existing account, you can unhide it by giving it a value of 1
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Reinstalling the TCP/IP Protocol
Added 3/2/02
If you've worked on previous versions of Windows,
there are times when you need to completely reinstall the TCP/IP protocol stack.
This is typically due to corrupted files.
To do this with XP,
you need to run a small script:
netsh int ip reset [ log_file_name ]
the log_file_name needs to be specified.
e.g.
netsh int ip reset ip_reset.txt
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Renaming the Start Button
Added 2/25/02
To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor.
My preference is UltraEdit
Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
Edit it be any 5 characters or less
Save the file
Boot to DOS
Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.
Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can't access the files from DOS:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe
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Rollback a Device Driver
Added 2/18/02
If you install a device drive that does not work correctly,
you can restore the previous one fairly easily.
Log in with an administrator account
Right click on My Computer
Select Properties
Click on the Hardware tab
Click on the Device Manager button
Go to the device you want to reconfigure
Click on the Driver tab
Click on the Roll Back Drive button
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Selecting What Details to Display in the Explorer
Added 2/3/02
To add or remove items to be displayed in the Explorer when using the Details View
Start the Explorer
Go to View / Choose Details
Right click on the columns by Name and check or uncheck any item you want displayed
Available options are:
Owner
Name
Size
Type
Date Modified
Status
Attributes
Author
Title
Subject
Category
Pages
Comments
Copyright
Date Created
Date Accessed
Attributes
Artist
Album Title
Year
Track Number
Genre
Duration
Bit Rate
Protected
Camera Model
Date Picture Taken
Dimensions
Company
Description
File Version
Product Name
Product Version
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Closing Multiple Taskbar Items
Submitted 2/3/02
If you hold down the Control Key when you click on the taskbar icons,
it selects multiple tasks. Then you can simply right-click on the selected items and choose close group.
This tip works with all windows, not just one applications. If you have the cal, ie, notepad and solitaire open, it will close them all, unlike the group similar items command that only lets you close all of one type (ex: all IE or all notepads).
Submitted by Terry Cadieux
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Remembering Outlook / Outlook Express Password
Submitted 1/26/02
On systems, Outlook or Outlook Express will not remember the e-mail password,
which would then need to be entered in each time.
To solve the problem:
Open Registry Editor
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft
Right Click Protected Storage System Provider
Choose the Permissions option
Click the Advanced box near the bottom right hand corner. This should open another box, Towards the bottom of this box there should be two tick boxes, make sure that both of them are ticked. Click Apply, another box will open Click Yes, then Click OK and OK again.
Left Click the + next to Protected Storage System Provider and Delete any sub folder in this tree. (Right clicking and choose the delete option or press the delete key and choosing yes to delete)
Shutdown and Restart Computer.
Submitted by Naste
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Turning Off the Firewall
Added 1/26/02
If you want to turn off the firewall for your computer:
Go to Start / Settings / Network Connections
Right click on the network connection you want to change
Select Properties
Click on the Advanced tab
Uncheck the box in Internet Connection Firewall
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Grouping Similar Taskbar Buttons
Added 1/26/02
When you open more than one document in the same program and then minimize each document,
rather that showing separate icons on the taskbar for each document, WindowsXP groups them under a single icon for that application.
If you want to group, or ungroup, similar taskbar buttons,
Right click on the Taskbar
Select Properties
Check or Uncheck Group similar taskbar buttons
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Turning Off the Guest Account
Added 1/22/02
For security purposes, you might want to turn off the Guest account
Open up the Control Panel
Click on User Accounts
Click on Change an account
Click on the Guest account
Click Turn off the guest account
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Original NT Style Logon Screen
Updated 1/19/02
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.
The following Update Submitted by:
Steven Pennypacker
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
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Turning Off the Built-In CD Burner
Added 1/15/02
If you want to turn off the ability to using the built-in CD burner software that comes with WindowsXP:
Open up the Explorer
Right click on the drive that is your CD burner
Select Properties
Click on the Recording tab
Uncheck Enable CD recording on this drive
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