You can prevent an account from appearing on the Welcome screen, thereby creating a "hidden" account. (It's not completely hidden, because the account is visible to administrators in Local Users And Groups and the account's profile in the Documents And Settings folder is visible to all users.) Use Registry Editor to open HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserLis t. Create a new DWORD value, setting its name to the user name of the account you want to hide and leaving its value set to 0.
But be careful with this trick: you won't be able to get to the account with Fast User Switching because the account doesn't appear on the Welcome screen. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete two times at the Welcome screen to display the Log On To Windows dialog box works only when no other users are logged on. Therefore, if you want to use this type of hidden account, you should either disable Fast User Switching or resign yourself to using the account only when no one else is logged on.
Create hidden user accounts
Save Help Topics as Shortcuts
Because the Internet Explorer engine is at the heart of the Help And Support Center, each topic has its own URL. If you know how to manipulate these URLs, you can save a specific Help topic as an external shortcut. Using that shortcut, you can jump directly to a specific topic without having to go through the Help And Support Center first. Unfortunately, Windows XP does not let you create a shortcut to a Help topic directly. To do so, follow the process outlined below:
Open the topic for which you want to create a shortcut, right-click anywhere on the page (except on a link), and choose Properties.
Select the entire URL from the Address field (be sure to scroll down to select the full address).
Press Ctrl+C to copy it to the Clipboard.
Right-click the desktop (or in a folder where you want to save the shortcut) and choose New, Shortcut.
In the Create Shortcut dialog box, type %systemroot%\pchealth\helpctr\ binaries\helpctr /url followed by a space, and then paste the copied URL.
Click Next, give the shortcut a name, and click Finish.
Shortcuts you create in this fashion work with URLs in two common Help formats:
The Help Center Pluggable protocol (with the prefix hcp://) is less common and is typically used for Help topics that link to external applications and locations, such as Remote Assistance or Windows Newsgroups.
HTML Help protocol (with the prefix ms-its://) is used for access to information in Compiled Help (.chm) files. If you just want quick access and don't mind opening this type of URL in the Windows 2000-style HTML Help viewer, you can use the Hh.exe Help engine. Open the Create Shortcut wizard and type hh followed by a space and the Help topic's URL. The resulting shortcut opens the selected topic in a window that lists only topics from the same Help file.
Check your driver versions with these tips
How do you know whether a downloaded version is newer than the currently installed driver on your system? A good Readme file should provide this information and is the preferred option. In the absence of documentation, file dates offer some clues, but are not always reliable. A better indicator is to inspect the properties of the driver files themselves. After unzipping the downloaded driver files to a folder on a local or network drive, right-click any file with a .dll or .sys extension and choose Properties. On the Version tab, you should be able to find details about the specific driver version, which you can compare to the driver details shown in Device Manager.
Get a close-up of CPU usage
Double-clicking anywhere within the Performance tab—on the graphs themselves or the surrounding matter—removes everything but the CPU Usage and CPU Usage History graphs, allowing you to see more detail without expanding the window itself. With the window thus altered, you can resize the display and keep it on top as you work. To move to the Processes or Applications tab, press Ctrl+Tab. To return Windows Task Manager to its normal display, double-click again.
Keep track of your all your XP updates
If you have Windows XP set up to perform automatic updating, you can keep tabs on the changes made to your system by examining the Windows Update.log file, which you’ll find in the %SystemRoot% folder. You can also review your Windows Update changes by going to the Windows Update site (select Start, All Programs, Windows Update) and clicking the View Installation History link.
Controlling StartUp with Boot.ini switches (explained)
The ARC path syntax supports more than 30 different switches that enable you to control various aspects of the Windows XP startup (or another operating system, as long as it’s Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4). You can either enter these switches by hand when editing Boot.ini in Notepad, or use the check boxes on the BOOT.INI tab of the System Configuration Utility. Here’s a summary of the switches that are most useful:
/safeboot:minimal Boots Windows XP in safe mode, which uses only a minimal set of device drivers. Use this switch if Windows XP won’t start, if a device or program is causing Windows XP to crash, or if you can’t uninstall a program while Windows XP is running normally.
/safeboot:minimal(alternateshell) Boots Windows XP in safe mode but also bypasses the Windows XP GUI and boots to the command prompt instead. Use this switch if the programs you need in order to repair a problem can be run from the command prompt or if you can’t load the Windows XP GUI.
/safeboot:network Boots Windows XP in safe mode but also includes networking drivers. Use this switch if the drivers or programs you need to repair a problem exist on a shared network resource, if you need access to e mail or other network-based communications for technical support, or if your computer is running a shared Windows XP installation.
/safeboot:dsrepair Boots Windows XP in safe mode and also restores a backup of the Active Directory directory service (this option applies only to domain controllers).
/noguiboot Tells Windows XP not to load the display driver that normally is used to display the progress bar during startup. Use this switch if Windows XP hangs while switching video modes for the progress bar, or if the display of the progress bar is garbled.
/bootlog Boots Windows XP and logs the boot process to a text file named Ntbtlog.txt that resides in the %SystemRoot% folder. Open Ntbtlog.txt. in Notepad, move to the end of the file, and you may see a message telling you which device driver failed. You probably need to reinstall or roll back the driver. Use this switch if the Windows XP startup hangs, if you need a detailed record of the startup process, or if you suspect (after using one of the other Startup menu options) that a driver is causing Windows XP startup to fail.
/basevideo Boots Windows XP using the standard VGA mode: 640 × 480 with 256 colors. This is useful for troubleshooting video display driver problems. Use this switch if Windows XP fails to start using any of the safe mode options, if you recently installed a new video card device driver and the screen is garbled or the driver is balking at a resolution or color depth setting that’s too high, or if you can’t load the Windows XP GUI. Once Windows XP loads, you can either reinstall or roll back the driver, or you can adjust the display settings to values that the driver can handle.
/sos Displays the path and location of each device driver (using the ARC path syntax) as it is loaded, as well as the operating system version and build number and the number of processors.
/maxmem=MB Specifies the maximum amount of memory, in megabytes, that Windows XP can use. Use this value when you suspect a faulty memory chip might be causing problems.
/numproc=n In a multiprocessor system, specifies the maximum of processors that Windows XP can use. Use this switch if you suspect that using multiple processors is causing a program to hang.
/pcilock Tells Windows XP not to dynamically assign hardware resources for PCI devices during startup. The resources assigned by the BIOS during the POST are “locked” in place. Use this switch if installing a PCI device causes the system to hang during startup.
/debug Enables remote debugging of the Windows XP kernel. This sends debugging information to a remote computer via one of your computer’s serial ports. You can also add any of the following switches:
/debugport=port Specifies the serial port, where port is one of com1, com2, com3, com4, or 1394. Specifying 1394 will require that you also use the /channel switch.
/baudrate=speed If you use a COM port, use this switch to specify the transmission speed of the debugging information, where speed is one of the following: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, or 115200.
/channel=number If you use an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) connection, use this switch to specify the channel, where number is a value between 1 and 64.
Quick troubleshooting tip using msconfig.exe
The problem doesn’t reoccur. This means that one of the items represented by the cleared check boxes is the culprit. Clear all the check boxes, select the other half of the check boxes, and then reboot.
The problem reoccurs. This means that one of the selected check boxes is the problem. Select only half of those check boxes and reboot.
Keep halving the number of selected check boxes until you isolate the offending item.
Covering your tracks at shutdown
Warning
Deleting reg keys indescriminately can and often leads to an inoperable system. Use with caution
To delete a setting using a .reg file, set its value to a hyphen (-), as in this example:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Test]"BinarySetting"=-
To delete a key, add a hyphen to the start of the key name, as in this example:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Test]
Remember these commands are to be typed in a text file first and then saved as a .reg file.
Best strategy for Page File Management
On systems with 512 MB or more of physical memory, the large initial size of the page file can consume excessive amounts of disk space. On a system with 1 GB of RAM, for instance, the starting page file size is 1.5 GB, and under normal circumstances it's likely that this file will never be used. The best strategy for page-file management in this configuration is to set Initial Size to be relatively small—say, 512 MB—while setting a large maximum size so that Windows can increase the page file size if necessary. This setting keeps disk space use in check but prevents the possibility of experiencing out-of-memory errors. If disk space is really tight, set the initial page-file size to its minimum of 2 MB and set the maximum size to a value that is at least as large as the amount of installed memory. Use your computer normally for a few weeks and allow Windows to create a page file of the proper size. Use Task Manager to monitor the size of the page file and make certain that it's below the maximum size you specified.
the open cmd prompt to folder context menu
add the open cmd prompt to folder context menus also drives and My Computer
copy what's in the code area to notepad and save as cmd here.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd]
@="Command Prompt"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd\command]
@="cmd.exe /k \"cd %L\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd]
@="Command Prompt"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd\command]
@="cmd.exe /k \"cd %L\""
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE 0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\cmd]
@="Command Prompt"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE 0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\cmd\command]
@="cmd.exe /k \"cd %L\""
How to hide your drives?
If u r having any important docs and u r afraid abt it . dont wory windows XP provides (not officialy ) a utility by which u can hide urs one or more drives .
1. Go to Start > run > type "diskpart".
a dos window will appear with following discription: DISKPART>
2. then type "list volume" this will look like it
Volume### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
-------------- ---- ------ --- ----- ---- ------- -----
Volume 0 F DC-ROM
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 7000MB Healthy
Volume 2 D soft NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy
Volume 3 E Porn NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy
3.if u wanna hide drive E then type "select volume 3" then a message will appear in same winwods { Volume 3 is the selected volume}
4.now type " remove letter E" . Now a message will come { Diskpart Removed the Drive letter } , sometime it requires the reboot the computer .
Diskpart will remove the letter .Windows XP is not having capabilty to identify the unkown volume.
Don't afraid ur Data will ramin same .
To Come backe the Drive repeat the process . but in 4th step whish is shown in this post replace " remove" to "assign"
i mean type " assign letter E"
Recycle Bin on the Start Menu
Also adds "Show Recycle Bin icon on desktop" to Folder Options, Show/Hide "Recycle Bin" to Start Menu Properties
I got it to work. Heres what I got it to put the Recycle Bin icon on the start menu using the Manufacturer Link in the registry.
Here is end result:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
;"Recycle Bin in Start Menu" RegTweak by Cygnus, Tom, VA(s)T & ricktendo64
;Adds Recycle Bin shortcut to Star Menu
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}]
@="@%SystemRoot%\\system32\\SHELL32.dll,-8964"
"InfoTip"="@%SystemRoot%\\system32\\SHELL32.dll,-22915"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\system32\\shell32.dll,32"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\InProcServer32]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73,00,68,00,\
64,00,6f,00,63,00,76,00,77,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\Instance]
"CLSID"="{3f454f0e-42ae-4d7c-8ea3-328250d6e272}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\Instance\InitPropertyBag]
"CLSID"="{13709620-C279-11CE-A49E-444553540000}"
"method"="ShellExecute"
"Command"="@%SystemRoot%\\system32\\SHELL32.dll,-8964"
"Param1"="::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}]
@=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\shellex\MayChangeDefaultMenu]
@=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}\ShellFolder]
"Attributes"=dword:00000000
;Adds "[ ] Recycle Bin" Check Box to Strat Menu Properties (Show/Hide Start Menu Item)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartMenu\StartPanel\ShowOEMLink]
"Type"="checkbox"
"Text"="@%SystemRoot%\\system32\\SHELL32.dll,-8964"
"HKeyRoot"=dword:80000001
"RegPath"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced"
"ValueName"="Start_ShowOEMLink"
"CheckedValue"=dword:00000001
"UncheckedValue"=dword:00000000
"DefaultValue"=dword:00000001
"NoOEMLinkInstalled"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartMenu\StartPanel\ShowOEMLink\Policy\NoOEMLinkInstalled]
"RegKey"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\StartMenu\\StartPanel\\ShowOEMLink"
;Adds "[ ] Show Recycle Bin icon on desktop" to Folder Options (Show/Hide Recycle Bin)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\RecycleBinOnDesktop]
"RegPath"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\HideDesktopIcons\\NewStartPanel"
"Text"="Show Recycle Bin icon on the desktop"
"Type"="checkbox"
"ValueName"="{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"
"CheckedValue"=dword:00000000
"UncheckedValue"=dword:00000001
"DefaultValue"=dword:00000000
"HKeyRoot"=dword:80000001
Copy and Paste into notepad then save as Recycle.reg
Apply, Reboot and Enjoy
Solve Problem With Internet Navigation
We have seen a large number of computers coming in with problems navigation on the internet. Also unable to go to Windows update and viurs update sites. Here is a quick fix that also seems to speed navigation up some.
Just for safety create a copy of the file before making changes.
goto
- C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\ (Windows XP)
- C:\I386 (Windows 2000)
- Open the host with notepad.
- remove all entries bellow
- 127.0.0.1 localhost
- then save and close
Speed up menu display
When using the start menu the you will notice a delay between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. For the fastest computer experience possible I recommend changing this value to zero. This will allow the different tiers to appear instantly.
- Start Regedit. If you are unfamiliar with regedit please refer to our FAQ on how to get started.
- Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
- Select MenuShowDelay from the list on the right.
- Right on it and select Modify.
- Change the value to 0
- Reboot your computer
Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer
If you've ever asked for help with your Windows computer that won't boot anymore, you've probably been told to "Backup all your data and then reinstall"… but if you can't boot, how can you get to your data? That's the question we'll be answering today.
One of the easiest methods to access your data is to simply boot off an Ubuntu Live CD… and it's completely free (except for the cost of a blank cd).
Burn an Ubuntu Live CD
If you have another computer, you can download and burn the Ubuntu Live CD using a very simple application called ImgBurn. Otherwise, you can bug one of your friends to help you burn a copy.
Just open up ImgBurn, and click the icon to "Write image file to disc"
Then click on the icon next to "Source", pick the downloaded ISO file, stick a recordable CD into the drive, and click burn.
Now that you have the boot cd (which you should keep in a safe place, as it's very useful), just stick it in the drive of the computer and boot from it. You should see an option to "Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer".
Once the system has started up, the first thing you want to do is choose Places \ Computer from the menu.
This should show you all the drives available in the system, including your Windows drive. In my case, that is the 52.4 GB volume.
You can try and double-click on the drive to open it… and if it immediately works then lucky you! Most of the time it's going to give you an error saying "Unable to mount the volume", because Windows didn't shut it down cleanly.
Click the Details link so that you can see the full message, and leave this window open. You'll see a "Choice 2″ in the message, which includes the commands to force Ubuntu to use that drive even though there's something wrong.
What you'll want to do is open a new Terminal from Applications \ Accessories \ Terminal on the top menu. Once you've done that, then you'll want to type in a bunch of commands, which I'll walk you through.
First, we'll want to switch to "administrator" mode, which in Linux terms is known as "root". The simplest way to do it is with this command:
sudo /bin/bash
Now we'll need to create a directory that we'll mount the drive on. The full explanation of mounting drives is a little complex, so just run this command:
mkdir /media/disk
Now comes the tricky part. You'll need to type out a command very similar to this one, but you'll need to replace /dev/sda1 with what you see in that message box we showed you above. This command tells Ubuntu to use the ntfs-3g driver, and force mount even if there is a problem.
mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /media/disk -o force
If your drive is FAT32 instead of NTFS, then you can use the following command instead:
mount -t vfat -o umask=000 /dev/sda1 /media/disk
If you are having problems figuring out whether you have NTFS or FAT32, and you can't figure out which /dev/whatever to use, then type in the following command at your prompt (make sure you already ran the command to run things as root)
fdisk -l
In the output you should see a lot more information about the available drives… you can see in this example that the filesystem type is NTFS and the device name is /dev/sda1.
At this point, you should be able to access your hard drive through the icon in Computer.
Note: If you have more than one drive in the computer, or more than one partition, they should show up separately in Computer. You should perform the same steps as above to open those drives up as well.
Backing Up to External USB
The absolute simplest thing to do at this point is to plug in an external USB drive, which should place an icon on the Ubuntu desktop, and most likely immediately pop up a nautilus window showing the contents of the drive.
Note: I plugged in a USB Flash drive for illustration… it would be better to plug in a full external USB drive so you'll have more space for backups.
What Should I Backup?
If you aren't extremely technical, you might be wondering what on earth you should be backing up… and that's a very good question.
1) Best Method
If you have loads of empty space on your external drive or network share, you should simply backup the entire contents of the drive, and sort through it later. It'll take a little longer, but at least that way you can be sure everything has been backed up.
2) Still Good
You should try and backup your entire user folder… on XP you'll go to "Documents and Settings", and on Vista you'll go to "Users", and you should see your username in the list:
You can simply copy this entire folder to your backup drive, which should contain your music, documents, bookmarks, and most of your important files.
Important Note: This will not backup your application files, and you should look around your drive and see if you've saved anything important somewhere else. This is especially true if you have more than one drive. Again, your best bet is to simply backup everything.
Backing Up to Network Share
If you would rather backup your drive to a network share on another computer, you can use the Places \ Connect to Server item on the menu.
Change the Service type menu to "Windows share"…
And then enter in the details for your network drive, with these being the required fields:
Server: Computer Name
Share: Shared Folder Name
User Name: your username
Once you click the Connect button, you'll be prompted to enter in your password. Typically you can leave Domain set to the default, but if you have a custom workgroup name you should enter that instead. I also chose the "Remember password until you logout" button just so I won't have to enter the password again.
Once you click the Connect button you should have an icon on the desktop for your network share.
Now you can open up the network share, and if everything is setup correctly on the shared folder side of things, you can copy all of your files across the network using the instructions above on which files to choose.
At this point you should have a backup of your data. If you backed up to an external hard drive, you might want to consider also copying those files to another computer just in case, and if you copied across the network you could consider backing that up elsewhere as well.
Now you can proceed with reinstalling or whatever else you'd like to do.
What Really Happens When a Computer Starts
So you want to know what really goes on when you turn on your computer.
Your computer follows a boot process that loads Windows XP, called the boot or startup sequence. This process loads all of the operating system files so you can actually use Windows XP. Here’s what happens:
1. When you first turn on your computer, a power-on self test (POST) process occurs. Your computer checks its hardware and memory and then begins to load your operating system.
2. Windows XP has a database of information called the Registry where information about your computer is kept. The Registry is loaded first so it can be read in order to boot Windows XP.
3. Next, Windows loads a file called System.ini. The System.ini file is used to load older system configuration information.
4. Next, Kernel32.dll is loaded. Kernel32.dll is the main operating system code used by Windows XP.
5. After Kernel32.dll is loaded, Gdi.exe and Gdi32.exe are loaded. These files give you the graphical Windows user interface.
6. Next, User.exe and User32.exe are loaded. These files provide code necessary to manage the user interface, including your windows.
7. Resources and Fonts load next.
8. Then, Win.ini is loaded, which provides older system programs and user support.
9. Next, the Windows shell loads, which is your basic graphical interface settings, and policies for your computer are loaded as well.
10. The desktop components are loaded next.
11. Next, a logon dialog box appears. Once you provide a valid username and password, the logon process begins. If you are connected to a network, any appropriate network policies are loaded.
12. Finally, all of the final information from any policies are loaded, and you see your desktop. The boot process is fast and efficient, and is more stable than ever before in Windows XP.
Using the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
Not able to remove or uninstall an application in Windows XP using either the Uninstall option or the Add/Remove Programs tool? Try using the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. As long as you installed the application using the Windows Installer, this utility will remove all the folders, files, registry keys, and entries from your system and allow you to start over with a clean slate.
Here's how:
1. Download the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility from the Microsoft Download Center.
2. Locate and run msicuu2.exe to install the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility.
3. Locate and launch the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility on the Start menu.
4. From the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility window, locate the application in the list and click the Remove button.
5. Once the application has been removed, click the Exit button to close the utility. You can now reinstall the application.
Removing unused device drivers from Windows XP machines
When you install a device driver on a Windows XP machine, the operating system loads that driver each time the computer boots regardless of whether the device is present—unless you specifically uninstall the driver. This means that drivers from devices that you have long since removed from your system may be wasting valuable system resources.
Follow these steps to view and remove these unnecessary device drivers:
1. Press Windows + Break to bring up the System Properties dialog box.
2. Select the Advanced tab and click the Environment Variables button.
3. Click the New button below the System Variables panel.
4. In the New System Variable dialog box, type devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices in the Variable Name
text box and 1 in the Variable Value text box.
5. Click OK to return to the System Properties dialog box and then click OK again.
6. Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.
7. In Device Manager, go to View | Show Hidden Devices.
8. Expand the various branches in the device tree and look for the washed out icons, which indicate unused device drivers.
9. To remove an unused device driver, right-click the icon and select Uninstall.
Taking a fresh look at the Windows XP Task pane
This tip applies to Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional.
If you’re like most Windows XP aficionados, chances are good that you prefer the Folders pane in Windows
Explorer to the Task pane that displays by default in My Computer. As a result, you probably avoid My Computer or simply click the Folders button on the toolbar each time you open My Computer. If this is the case, you’ve probably never spent much time looking at the commands on the Task pane and may be missing many handy command shortcuts.
For example, how many times have you dug into the Control Panel to access Add/Remove Programs? If you use the Task pane in My Computer, you can simply click Add Or Remove Programs in the System Tasks section. And if you open a drive from My Computer, you will find another command that you frequently use in the Files And Folders section of the Task pane: the Make A New folder command.
When you select a folder, you can copy and move folders anywhere on your hard disk easily by selecting the
Copy This Folder or Move This Folder command. When you do, a Browse dialog box will appear. This essentially serves as an alternate version of the Folders pane in Windows Explorer.
When you select a file, you can choose either the Copy This File or Move This File command and get the same Browse dialog box with a Folders pane.
Create an old-time monochrome command prompt in Windows XP
This tip applies to both Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional.
In what some may call the olden days, before there were fancy graphical user interfaces and RGB monitors, early computer monitors were monochrome, meaning that they displayed only one color on a black background.
Monochrome monitors were available in three colors: green, amber, and white.
When you open up a Command prompt in its default configuration, it comes up in a white monochrome
configuration with white text on a black background. If you’re like most command line users, you’ve changed the color scheme from the Color tab on the Command Prompt Properties dialog box to make the screen more appealing.
However, if you’re ever feeling nostalgic when working from a Command Prompt, you can change the settings on the Color tab to emulate the old green monochrome or amber monochrome monitors. Here’s how:
1. Open a Command Prompt window.
2. Right the title bar and select the Properties command.
3. Select the Colors tab.
4. Select the Screen Background button and select the black box in the color palette.
5. Select the Screen Text button.
6. To emulate an old green monochrome monitor, select the green box in the color palette, and then in the Selected Color Values panel use the spin button for the Green setting to move the number up to 255.
Make sure that the settings for the Red and Blue remain at 0.
7. To emulate an old amber monochrome monitor, select the green box in the color palette, and then in the Selected Color Values panel use the spin button for the Red setting to move the number up to 185. Make sure that the settings for the Green remains at 128 and Blue remains at 0.