Share your Tweaking Tips here

[Raaabo]

Let's see how you guys out there tweak your hardware / software to get the max out of your systems...


Anything goes, from overclocking to even taking the babies way out and installing TweakXP...

Let us know about it...

[ujjwal]

The fun of playing games comes only when you have to tweak them to make them run. Then you can enjoy, even if you lose. ;)

[super_ferrari]

Special thanks to Deejay(news poster--> www.tech-arena.com)

A huge collection of WinXP tweaks. Enjoy!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp.htm

Regards,

[ice]

Yeah...cource..

umm search for this post where ive posted losta tweaks.. it was between me and mariner.

[ice]

http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8525#8525

[Raaabo]

That's it? Nothing special and weird...

[it_waaznt_me]

Hmmm.... I was searching for my Services related post and Ice helped me find it .. This forum's search system sucks ...
Raabo you should convert this forum to vBulletin ..

[Raaabo]

Ok, post what you think is the best way to tweak your computer/internet connection/games and the best tweak gets your name in digit :D

maybe that will bring a better response :)

[blade_runner]

TCP optimizer from www.speedguide.net does the trick for my connection.

For my gaming tweaks i am using Nvhardpage from here (http://www.nvhardpage.com/)

also have overclocked my Geforce 4 MX440 for performance gain !
core @ 250 Mhz overclocked @ 275 Mhz
memory @ 333 Mhz overclocked @ 378 Mhz

Hope this helps !! :D

[it_waaznt_me]

Ok .. Here I go ..

Blocking Unwanted Content From the Net

This can be done by editing a file called Hosts used by MS TCP/Ip for locating IP addresses for typed urls ..
What happens is Windows keeps tracks of IP address of sites visited by you in this file so it wont have to query the DNS service every time you open the website .. When you put an address in the address bar the address is first resolved to an IP address .. So Window keeps this file to list known IP addresses . ..
What we will do is to put a 127.0.0.1 for each site you wanna block .. like common ad servers and spysites .. When request to this site is found Windows will search for their entry in the Hosts file and it will found this (127.0.0.1) address and it will try to connect this site which is your Localhost address .. So it wont find the ad images and ad popups and the like .. Your computer will then give up calling the ad server and no ads will be loaded, nor will any tracking take place. Your choices for blocking sites are not just limited to blocking ad servers. You may block sites that serve advertisements, sites that serve objectionable content, or any other site that you choose to block...

This HOSTS file is located here:

Windows 95/98/Me c:\windows\
Windows XP c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\
Windows NT/2000/ c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\

This Hosts file doesnt have any extension .. You may find Hosts.sam in Win 98 but it is only a dummy file ... You should save the Hosts file corresponding to ur Operating System ...

So a small example Hosts file :



# localhost: Needs to stay like this to work
127.0.0.1 localhost

127.0.0.1 123banners.com
127.0.0.1 ad.adsmart.net
127.0.0.1 ad.ca.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.de.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.es.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.fr.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.free6.com
127.0.0.1 ad.it.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.iwin.com
127.0.0.1 ad.jp.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.kr.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.linkexchange.com
127.0.0.1 ad.linksynergy.com
# and so on ...


The # sign denotes a comment ..

You can find a sample Hosts file here .. (http://it_waaznt_me.webspace4free.biz/Bin/HOSTS.zip)
(The file contains many entries I found at www.mvps.org (http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm))

PS .. When ad image is blocked a red cross box is visible (page not found messages) .. There is a program called eDexter (http://www.pyrenean.com/download.php) availible to replace the error message with transparent image ..

And yes .. I have read that putting 0.0.0.0 instead of 127.0.0.1 also works but it creates problem with proxy servers thats why I am not suggesting it ..

[Raaabo]

Finally some cool tips...

[club_pranay]

Thanx Raaabo for this "sticky"

[gxsaurav]

This might not be a tip, but if U R not connected & not using CD or floppy, disable Antivirus to gain app launching speed

For dial-up users, download Tz Connection booster, best one I have seen

To change the name of Application installed in ADD\remove Applet simply

1) Go to HKEY Local Machine -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Current Version -> Uninstall

2) look at the rite side pane for each key, look for the string, Display Name & change it to whatever U want

2) To change the icon, a 16x16 only, enter the string, Display Icon & enter the path for the icon

These are only aplicable for Windows 2000/XP

[icecoolz]

found this extremely useful as I use the command prompt a lot in Windows:

The following registry entry will add one more menu option when you right click on folder to open up a command prompt :

Put the following in notepad or something:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd]
@="Open Command Window Here"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd\command]
@="cmd.exe /k \"cd %L\""

save it as a .reg file somewhere. Now double click on it and import the contents into the windows registry and voila! Goto windows explorer right click on any folder and u will have "open command window here" in the option!

[ujjwal]

Nice to see this thread revived.

If windows detects 32 MB (?) or more RAM on your system, it automatically enables a feature called browse new process for internet explorer windows, such that each IE window is opened under a seperate process. However, on some systems this may be a slow down particularly with multiple windows as more space in the memory would be occupied by each. It's useful on systems with 64MB or less RAM to disable this. Go to start>run>regedit and browse to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\BrowseNewProcess]
and create a string value (or modify the old one) called BrowseNewProcess and give it a value of Yes or No and restart windows. Note this will mean if one instance of explorer crashes all others are affected.

[ujjwal]

Linux: Enabling DMA with the hdparm utility

Most distro's come with the hdparm util, so you dont need to recompile the kernel to enable DMA. Use this command

hdparm -d1 /dev/hda

where hda is your hard drive

A good idea to check what settings are being used before

type hdparm /dev/hda

And hdparm -Tt /dev/hda to test performance

[prakashaka]

hey nice trics u guis...

is there any trics to boost up dial up modems speed?

pleeeeeez

[ujjwal]

Optimising registry (win9x i think)

Restart in DOS mode and run scanreg /opt

[koolbluez]

X-Setup Pro is a so-called "tweaker" program; it allows you to change settings that are normally hidden deeply in Windows fast and easily.

X-Setup Pro knows more than 1,700 of these settings and displays them in an easy to use interface, grouped by several aspects.

The best thing is that it's free.

Get it @ http://www.x-setup.net/downloads/home.asp?lang=EN

[Ashis]

Small Trick !!! :D

1) U Guys must be using the Up arrow key in the windows explorer ToolBar (To Move to the parient Directory). Now try Clicking It With Ur Ctrl Key Pressed (U get the parient Directory In a new Window)


Wanna More.... Later!
If U Knew it.. Spread It, If U Don't.. nJoy !!!

[suhas_sm]

Xp users simply use tweak xp :P
earlier i used to do all those manually not anymore after using tweak xp pro :)

[[flAsh]]

use coolbits to hack advanced settings of nVidia GFX card and used the nForce3 favour for nVidia cards. Rise in performance till 3% (of course in games)

[anusoni]

]use coolbits to hack advanced settings of nVidia GFX card and used the nForce3 favour for nVidia cards. Rise in performance till 3% (of course in games)
are you talking about the registry tweak ?
Anyway well there is a registry tweak for this ...i read this somewhere ...i did not discover it...:D
anyway
-->
1) goto HKLM(Local Machine)\Software\Nvidia Corporation\Global\NVTweak
2) make a new DWORD value called "Coolbits" and set its value to 3.

And Wallah you have a new tab in your advanced graphics card properties wid clock frequencies and memory frquencies ....overclock all you want :D

Note this worked for me with the latest nvidia's driver ...might not work with other customized drivers..

-->
Okay another Xp/2000 trick...not basically a tweak...if anyone thinks that his/her system files integrity has been compromised, you can run the system file checker utility to check system file integrity and restore any damaged system files...
here is how it goes

Type SFC /scannow at the run prompt(start-> run) or the command prompt. make sure u have the setup disk handy !

-->
okay this one relates to networking and is actually an option in XP but i was not aware of it , until i started preparing to take my MCSE exam...anyway
when we share a folder, we dont have much control over permissions(assuming a workgroup environment in network), to get some more control, in explorer, goto tools, folder options, click the view tab and in the advanced settings box, scroll right to the bottom ...there is an option that says .."use simple file sharing", well it is normally checked, when u disable it, click okays to get out of dialog boxes and check the sharing tab...u'll see manyyy more advanced options including permissions etc etc....try it out if u havent already done so.

-->
I searched a lot for the registry trick for this ..but could not find it, there is a utlity called MPTweak or media player tweak ...a powertoy by ms...well an option which makes the full screen controls only appear when the mouse pointer is at the top or bottom of the screen, not everytime the mouse pointer moves(a big irritant)...also has various options like
1)time out when until controls are hidden
2) time out until mouse pointer is hidden
3) transition style
4) transition speed
its basically a skin in Media player which somehow when changed to displays all these options...
available free from MS get it here
http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/c/8/1c89697d-6354-4813-98da-e0dbb520de2c/WM9Powertoy_TweakMP.EXE
basically for WMP9 but also works with WMP10

[ShekharPalash]

Here's how to launch any program directly from Start>Run

Go here in registry

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\App Paths

Now create a new key of program you want to launch, for example Winamp.exe

Now in its Default String Value paste the path

C:\Program Files\Winamp\Winamp.exe

Done!

Now you can lauch progs like Winamp who's entries are not addred to run directly by Run command during installation...

Most of Windows Installer applications are by default written to launch directly from Run C\command but progs which comes with NSIS, Inno, Old version of WISE... don't write their entries to lauch directly from Run command...

So by the above tewak you can add an entry for your favorite program and launch it directly from Run command...

enjoy.

[s4saurabh]

Check my new site of forums for tweaks
www.s4saurabh.hollosite.com

[cheetah]

Just visit http://www.mdgx.com

Its the biggest tweaks site ever made.

All the tweaks available for download in a single zip.
To download the zip you can visit my site www.cheetahonline.tk

[Gaurav]

thought that this will be help for those using opera 7 ;) :) (found it on the opera's website.
What's this about?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using Opera 7.x one is able to customize the rightclick menus. That in
mind it's possible to add a menu item for "Download using FlashGet".
First you need to know, that every kind of menu entry in Opera is
saved as plaintext in standard_menu.ini in the Opera defaults folder
(normally C:\Program Files\Opera7\defaults). So, we need to modify this
file in order to add our FlashGet menu extension.



Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Opera 7.0 or above
- FlashGet 1.60 or above



Here we go!
~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Get the folder where Opera is installed. See the registry at

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Netscape\Netscape Navigator\5.0, Opera\Main]
"Install Directory"="C:\\Program Files\\Opera7"

From here on I will use %opera% instead of the whole path we got
from the registry since we need to save this info into a variable
to use it in our program.

ATTENTION! Be sure to not use this variable in any files we modify!
Always use the whole path we got from the registry. Otherwise it
will mess up your Opera installation!


2) Goto this folder and copy

%opera%\defaults\standard_menu.ini

to

%opera%\profile\menu\standard_menu.ini


3) Open this file with a text editor and change the following:

- change the name (line 7) into "Opera Standard with FlashGet extension"
- search for the categories

"[Link Popup Menu]" and "[Image Link Popup Menu]"

and add the following line to both categories:

Item, "Download using FlashGet" = Execute program, "C:\Program Files\FlashGet\flashget.exe","%l"

That is a lowercase L after the last %

- save the file and start Opera


4) Goto "File/Preferences/Toolbars and Menus". In newer versions
it's called "Extra's/Preferences/Toolbars and Menus" and highlight
the new entry "Opera Standard with FlashGet extension" in the field
"Menu setup"


5) Press "OK" and that's it! Now you can download link-targets (both
text- AND image-links) by right-clicking on a link and choose
"Download using FlashGet".



Hint:
~~~~~
You can skip 4) and 5) if you add the following line into section [User Prefs]
of the file %opera%\profile\opera6.ini

Menu Configuration=%opera%\profile\menu\standard_menu.i ni

This can easily be done using Nullsoft's NSIS Installer 2.0.
Get it from www.nullsoft.com



Legal
~~~~~
This tutorial has been written by ACiD StOUt from DJS Productions Inc.
Copyright 2004 DJS Productions Inc.
www.acidstout.tk
All rights reserved.

[Thilak]

Hai ,

Do it and save ur time ,

Fast Shutdown and/or Restart From Quick Launch Buttons
------------------------------------------------------------
This tip will enable you to create buttons in your quick launch toolbar to quickly and easily shut down and/or restart your computer.

1. Right click on your desktop, scroll to new..... shortcut
2. In the location line, for shutdown type; shutdown -s -t 0 ie: shutdown(space)-s(space)-t(space)number zero
3. Name the shortcut "Shut Down PC" or whatever u want
4. The new shortcut is now sitting on your desktop, right click on it and go to properties, then click on "change icon". Click OK, then pick a suitable icon, there is a red "off button" icon available, then click apply and ok.
5. Now drag the icon from your desktop into the quick launch toolbar, resize the toolbar so all the buttons are visible, then delete the shortcut from your desktop.

To create a restart button the location line should read shutdown -r -t 0 name it restart pc and give it a suitable icon for restart.

Now you can shut down or restart your pc in 1 mouse click without having to go through the startup menu.
THILAK

[vcrl82]

WINner Tweak SE-2

WINner Tweak is a tools suite for tweaking, optimizing and tuning of Windows 2000/XP. It helps you increase performance and manage your system using various tweaks and utilities for settings including Windows, Hardware, Security, Network and Software. In addition to the tweaks, the program also offers several additional tools (Power Utilities) that include a Disk Cleaner, Registry Cleaner, Shortcut Cleaner, Uninstall manager, File Shredder, Start-up Manager, Popup Blocker, Password Generator, and a Folder Protector to prevent access to selected folders.

[Ashish]

I don't know about hardware but i am using flexy and system mechanic for tweaking hidden features in win98.
They are easy and quite powerful to use.

[alib_i]

To change the 10 second wait before every disk check ( that occurs after imporper shutdown ) in WinXP

in command promt type
chkntfs/t:(time)
replace (time) by watever number of seconds u want it to wait
ie. for 5 sec wait .. type chkntfs/t:5

-----
alibi

[kavin]

to pin the taskmanager to your desktop ,
Double click on the side if window :D

[alib_i]

to pin the taskmanager to your desktop ,
Double click on the side if window :D
ughh what ??

____
alibi

[swatkat]

to pin the taskmanager to your desktop ,
Double click on the side if window :D
whatever it is...i think the bold lettered word above should have been of and not if,a typo error...may be..!!

[theraven]

hehehe this isnt soo much a trick
actually when u open the task manager there is this inner thick border outlining the tasks that u can see
if u double click this ur outer border and the file menu , tabs etc disappear
do this to play a trick on someone :P
the task manager appears empty !!
try it out

[alib_i]

ohh :)
i was able to make out that its a "of" not "if"
but cudnt understand wat is the 'trick' .. LOL

do one thing
1st maximize the task manager
and then dbl click on border ...
the whole screen is occupied by task manager
____
alibi

[it_waaznt_me]

to pin the taskmanager to your desktop ,
Double click on the side of window :D

You know what .. I have actually answered many questions reqarding How to bring back Task Manager to its usual appearance after it becomes so ..

Cant understand its utility though ..

[rajeshadvani]

tweaking?? what's that?

[khattam_]

Disk Defragmentation....................... Yeah!!
It is really troublesome to manage disk defragmentation. Yeah, it is, until you download Perfect Disk from Raxco.com. It will take very long on your first defragmentation, but after files are arranged once, defragmentation becomes real easy. The program is a 30 day trial version until you buy it. If you don't want to buy, warez sites are always there but i don't encourage such activities.
Defragmentor Premium, on the other hand is a file defragmentor, which can defragment your page files and all other system files that can't be done by a regular defragmenter. It does the job in boottime. It is worth trying. Get it from www.defragmentor.com.

[khattam_]

Before Defragmentation, you would like to make sure that your Disk is defragmented so that you get better performance plus your disk does not get fragmented quickly.(for XP Users)

Follow these easy steps to make sure that you get most out of tedious Disk Defragmentation.

>>Clean your disk with 'Windows Disk Cleaner' (Accessories>SystemTools>DiskCleaner) or use program such as DustBuster XP which is a freeware and a 78 K download.

>>Clean all unnecessary System Restore Points. You can do this by going to Accessories>SystemTools>DiskCleaner and under the 'More Options' tab, click on the 'Cleanup Button' below System Restore. This will clean all but the latest restore point.

>>Use Smart Defragmentation softwares such as O&O Defrag , Diskeeper or Perfect Disk. Use perfect disk to make sure that your disk fragments slowly. It may take long the first time you defragment, but later, it will be real easy to defragment and will take a very short time. Perfect Disk (shareware) also provides offline defragmentation which defragments folders, system files and pagefile during boot. Defragmenting system files will really boost your system performance if you have small sized HDD or have lesser space available.

>>You may also use file defragmentation programs such as 'Defragmentor Premium' which is a shareware. It defragments files to make them contigious. This is a very quick method of defragmentation and really helps in boosting performance. Defragmentor Premium also defragments system files and page files. Rapid File Defragmenotr is also a quick file defragmentation program but does not support offline defragmentation.

>>Registry defragmentation programs such as Registry Compactor and Advanced Registry Optimizer also can help.

[techsavvy]

Hai ,

Do it and save ur time ,

Fast Shutdown and/or Restart From Quick Launch Buttons
------------------------------------------------------------
This tip will enable you to create buttons in your quick launch toolbar to quickly and easily shut down and/or restart your computer.

1. Right click on your desktop, scroll to new..... shortcut
2. In the location line, for shutdown type; shutdown -s -t 0 ie: shutdown(space)-s(space)-t(space)number zero
3. Name the shortcut "Shut Down PC" or whatever u want
4. The new shortcut is now sitting on your desktop, right click on it and go to properties, then click on "change icon". Click OK, then pick a suitable icon, there is a red "off button" icon available, then click apply and ok.
5. Now drag the icon from your desktop into the quick launch toolbar, resize the toolbar so all the buttons are visible, then delete the shortcut from your desktop.

To create a restart button the location line should read shutdown -r -t 0 name it restart pc and give it a suitable icon for restart.

Now you can shut down or restart your pc in 1 mouse click without having to go through the startup menu.
THILAK


a nice simple way to shut down ur pc.
u can use tweak xp also 4 the same
but gives u pleasure to do it on ur own

[rajkumar_personal]

Get the latest version of X-Setup pro and U will never ask for MORE !!!

[Delpiero]

INCREASE SPEED OF YOUR PC

CPU PRIORITY
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\VxD\BIOS\
In the right hand pane of Regedit create a new DWORD Value called "CPUPriority" (no
quotes) -> double-click on it -> check the Decimal box -> type 1 -> click OK
to save.
This will speed things up by using the fastest priority to the CPU when
opening any program, and works on 99% of the PCs I've tried it on.
To reset to Windows 9x/ME default type 3 or delete this Value altogether.
To see your system's real time performance type 0 (NOT recommended by
Microsoft!).
In some cases this Registry BIOS key is absent, because enabling the BIOS
power management feature (APM) and the Win9x/ME ACPI BIOS extentions may
disable it!
Make sure there is a Plug and Play BIOS item listed in Control Panel -> System
-> Device Manager -> System devices.
Here are other DWORD Values (Decimal) you can use to tweak your CPU Priority
even further (under the same Registry key above):
- PCIConcur = 1 (enabled)
- FastDRAM = 1 (enabled)
- AGPConcur = 1 (enabled) [if your video controller is AGP based].

PROGRAM END TASK DELAY

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop
Create two new String Values in the right hand pane:
1. Right-click -> select New -> String Value -> call it "HungAppTimeout" (no
quotes). Double-click on "HungAppTimeout" and give it a value of 1000 (default
is 5000 milliseconds = 5 seconds).
This value sets the manual timeout until a program is terminated by using Task
Manager.
2. Right-click -> select New -> String Value -> call it "WaitToKillAppTimeout"
(no quotes). Double-click on "WaitToKillAppTimeout" and give a value of 2000
(default is 20000 milliseconds = 20 seconds).
This value sets the automatic timeout until Windows shuts down/restarts, while
trying to close all open programs.
Restart Windows when done so these changes can take effect.
You can try different values here to find your optimal timeouts. Minimum in
both cases is 1 millisecond (1/1000 of a second), but it's more than likely it
will hang Windows! :)
Use them with CAUTION!

[khattam_]

a nice simple way to shut down ur pc.
u can use tweak xp also 4 the same
but gives u pleasure to do it on ur own
Why shutdown when you can hibernate in XP...........?

[goobimama]

the most simple way of shutting down your pC is by pressing the power button. with the atx cabinet, you have to go the screen saver tab, power options and then just select shut down when I press the power button. works like a breeze

--------------
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Rollaword.com (http://www.rollaword.com)

[techsavvy]

a nice simple way to shut down ur pc.
u can use tweak xp also 4 the same
but gives u pleasure to do it on ur own
Why shutdown when you can hibernate in XP...........?


DO U NEVER SHUT DOWN UR PC?

[khattam_]

a nice simple way to shut down ur pc.
u can use tweak xp also 4 the same
but gives u pleasure to do it on ur own
Why shutdown when you can hibernate in XP...........?


DO U NEVER SHUT DOWN UR PC?

I rarely do!!
I only use the hibernate function. But sometimes when i need to restart due to program installation or uninstallation, i restart.
This really saves a lot of time and my computer need not load all the things each time i like to use my PC. :D

[Thilak]

Hi mate ,

Hibernation wants above 500 mb disk space :shock:

Why are u waste unnecessary ur valuable space ????????????/

Thilak

[khattam_]

Hi mate ,

Hibernation wants above 500 mb disk space :shock:

Why are u waste unnecessary ur valuable space ????????????/

Thilak
What are u gonna do with the space?? If you have 20 or 40 Gb, you can afford that for quick shutdown and restart. And it is not necessarily 500 Mb, it is equal to the amt of RAM u have. I have 128 mB RAM on 40 gb HD. So why shoul i worry about space. And by the way, if i need space in future, i can always disable hibernation.

[hellscream]

yeah i guess so.........

[khattam_]

!******!Quick Scanning!******!
(for XP)

When you are running an antivirus scan, you are probably doing nothing else, waiting for the scan to complete. Same happens for the Ad-Ware scans or Registry Scans. If you don't intend to work on heavy programs in your computer during scans, you can speed up the scan by setting its priority to high. If you intend to scan on background and do something else when the scan is going on, DON'T DO WHAT I'M SAYING!

>> Ok, to speed your scan, start the scan as usual and run the task manager.
>> In task manager, under the applications tab, look for the program that is sacnning the system.
>> Right click the program and select "Go to Process".
>> Now, right click the process and set its priority to "Very High" or "Realtime". Some antivirus do not allow to change their priority,however, but if you can change the priority, you get speed boost and that's for sure. But if other programs are running, then they will respond very slow. Moreover, it may cause a crash, so do this ON YOUR OWN RISK.

How does this work??
>> If you set the programs priority to "realtime", it will get to use the CPU the most and whenever it wants, hence increasing speed.

[vij26]

tweakhound.com has a good guide :!: :D :( :( :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

[rajkumar_personal]

Can any1 post the website where one can find a comprehensive guide for tweaks in Windows XP ?
I know of many such sites but the prob is that u have to click on a large number of links to get all the tweaks that the site has to offer. But i want the site that can give me the whole of it in a single exe / doc / pdf / zip / rar etc.........Do u guys get what i mean ? Please PM me if you u get such a link

[khattam_]

Less RAM no Probs. Performance boost guranteed if you use the following technique......

I have mentioned some of my tweaks so that my computer works fine and healthy and gives a better performance, in spite of less amount of RAM. I have Win XP Pro and Home (Dual-Boot) installed on my computer. I have a P4 with VIA 128 SDRAM RAM. Thank god i have a display card (NIVDIA) or i would have to give RAM to display. I have ZOneAlarm Security Suite installed (which consumes a lot of RAM and system resources). These tweaks can be childish to some geeks but for others it can be quite helpful.
The tweaks are as follows but I'm not responsible for whatever happens to your computer or to you during the use of the following. DO AT YOUR OWN RISK.


1. Cache and Memory management program

I have installed a program called CacheBoost from Systweak. It optimizes the windwos cache and also the RAM. If configured, it also performs tweaks like

a. forcing windows to use large system cache which will prevent hanging and slow response,

b. forcing windows to keep core kernel to RAM and preventing it from being paged to disk so that disk activity is minimized and hence better performance is guranteed

c. allocating more critical threads in the memory so that windows can use it when needed, and it need not be create just when it is needed and hence this will make the performance better.

Thus, this program is highly recommended if you have less RAM. Download it free from www.systweak.com. However, it is a shareware and shall expire after 30 days. But it is of about 800K download and certainly worth a try. If you like the program, you can buy it or if you don't want to buy.................mail me


2. Page file tweak

If you have less RAM, you may want to increase your page file size to the fullest to get better performance. If you have enough disk space, you can give a page file of about 2.5 times (considered ideal, i have 7 times the RAM) the RAM. I have given 900 Mb. I have 128Mb RAM. Actually, i have a separate partition of 1Gb for my Pagefile. You too can create one extra partition of about half a Gb for the pagefile.
You can do this with the help of windows itself if you don't have third party tools to do this. You will need to follow the following steps:
a. Empty a partition other than the system partition (where OS has been installed) or the C:. Let it be D: for an example. Move all the files from D: to another partition, say C:\D-drive folder. b. Once the partition is empty, goto Start| Run and type in 'compmgmt.msc' to bring up Computer Management.
c. Under Storage, click on Disk Management.
d. Now, right click D: (which we have just emptied) and select Delete Partition and/or Unallocate.
e. Now, right click the unallocated part and create new partition of about 1Gb(or how much u desire) for your pagefile. Don't forget to tick quick format while fomatting. This will save your time.
f. Again, create a partition in the remaining disk space in the same manner.
g. Copy the files of c:\D-drive to the new partition.

Creating the partition has been done. Now, you need to put the pagefile into the drive you just created. Follow the following steps.
a. Right click My computer and select Properties.
b. Click on Advanced tab and click on Settings under Performance.
c. Again, click on the advanced tab and click change under Virtual Memory.
d. Now, you should have a 'System Managed Size' of pagefile in C: or wherever your windows is installed. Select Custom Size in C: and give only 2-50 (min=2 max=50) in the C:. DOn't forget to click SET button after giving the size.
e. Now, select the newly created drive and give as much page file as you like. Let it be about 900 Mb, if you have 1 Gb drive. Note that you should keep the max and min values of the pagefile same, to prevent defragmentation of the pagefile and to decrease disk usage. Press SET and close all open dialog boxes. It will tell you to restart, so restart and you should feel a very good difference after the restart.


3. Defragmentation

If you have less RAM, fragmentation of the files can degrade your performance. So defragment your disks regularly. Using intelligent file defragmentors such as Defragmentor Premium and Perfect Disk can help you with the defragmentation but will cost you money. You always have the illegal way but is not recommended. So, you can use a similar program to Defragmentor Premium, called PageDefrag which is a freeware. Search these programs in Google. They can be found easily.

If you have better ideas, do write. Or have any questions or suggestions, do mail me @ khAttAm.khAttAm@gmail.com

[ashu888ashu888]

Since i dont use my Home pc to connect to the internet so i do the following to quickly shutdown or start my PC ---->

I use WIN XP PROFESSIONAL EDITION as my OS.

START>RUN>msconfig(u hv to type in the box )>now go to the startup link and UNCHECK all the programs that u dont wanna startup wen ur system starts.


U can also look under the SERVICES tab and UNCHECK the programs/tools that u dont require during startup of ur PC.

cheers n peace....

[amritpal2489]

These allow you to end tasks faster, shut down faster and speed up the menu display.
-------------------------------------------------------
regedit 5.0
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"ForegroundLockTimeout"=dword:00000000
"HungAppTimeout"="4000"
"MenuShowDelay"="200"
"WaitToKillAppTimeout"="5000"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="5000"
----------------------------------------------------------
Copy this text in notepad and save it with a .reg extension
Double click on it to run

[amritpal2489]

Hi mate ,

Hibernation wants above 500 mb disk space :shock:

Why are u waste unnecessary ur valuable space ????????????/

Thilak


Hibernation does not use 500 mb disk space

It only takes space equal to you RAM

[Thilak]

Hi mate ,

Hibernation wants above 500 mb disk space :shock:

Why are u waste unnecessary ur valuable space ????????????/

Thilak


Hibernation does not use 500 mb disk space

It only takes space equal to you RAM

Go to conntrol panel-power options--hibernate-How many disk space want 4 hibernation------ 224 mb

Thilak

[ujjwal]

Windows tweakers, this file is a mammoth collection of tips & tweaks across all windows versions - http://www.mdgx.com/2

[ashisharya]

Kasperesky Anti-Virus Personal is the best of all other anti-viruses. Its gives best protection from viruses.

[khattam_]

Hey............
I have a tweak to fasten up your computer........
Slightly maybe but............. Still
........
Use only Bitmaps as Desktop wallpapers or don't use them at all.

[aadipa]

Off topic:

Kasperesky Anti-Virus Personal is the best of all other anti-viruses. Its gives best protection from viruses.

KAV is known to eat up system resources.

I prefer NOD32 over KAV

[LayZ]

Well let me just hope some day this rare collection of tweaks is going to come out in a single issue of digit and i'll try them out all one after the other with the mag in hand!

[khattam_]

Off topic:

Kasperesky Anti-Virus Personal is the best of all other anti-viruses. Its gives best protection from viruses.

KAV is known to eat up system resources.

I prefer NOD32 over KAVI'll agree. Nod32 is the best with System Resource Usage.

[technovice]

Well let me just hope some day this rare collection of tweaks is going to come out in a single issue of digit and i'll try them out all one after the other with the mag in hand!

yeah man!
...this is awesome!

i know a tweak that will allow you download more than 2 files simultaneouly in IE...the default is 2

1. Start > Run > type "regedit"
2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software >Microsoft >Windows > CurrentVersion > Internet Settings
3. Double Click MaxConnectionsPerServer and change the value to your choice.

This is by no means my own discovery but im sorry i cant post the source bcoz i dont have it!

[Satissh S]

PLZ tell me a way to activate the DVD features of Windows Media Player 10.

[navjotjsingh]

WINDOWS XP HIDDEN APPLICATIONS:

Microsoft has hidden many small and big utilities deep down in XP. Most people even don’t know that there is a small SFX creating utility in XP. Let’s discover all these utilities.

To run any of these utilities go to Start > Run and type the executable name, for example: charmap

1. Character Map = charmap.exe (very useful for finding unusual characters)
2. Disk Cleanup = cleanmgr.exe
3. Clipboard Viewer = clipbrd.exe (views contents of Windows clipboard)
4. Dr Watson = drwtsn32.exe (Troubleshooting tool)
5. DirectX diagnosis = dxdiag.exe (Diagnose & test DirectX, video & sound cards)
6. Private character editor = eudcedit.exe (allows creation or modification of characters)
7. IExpress Wizard = iexpress.exe (Create self-extracting / self-installing package)
8. Mcft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe (appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented).
9. Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe (Retro version of Media Player, very basic).
10. ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe (something to do with databases)
11. Object Packager = packager.exe (to do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files).
12. System Monitor = perfmon.exe (very useful, highly configurable tool, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about any aspect of PC performance, for uber-geeks only )
13. Program Manager = progman.exe (Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell).
14. Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe (documentation is virtually non-existant).
15. Registry Editor = regedt32.exe [also regedit.exe] (for hacking the Windows Registry).
16. Network shared folder wizard = shrpubw.exe (creates shared folders on network).
17. File siganture verification tool = sigverif.exe
18. Volume Control = sndvol32.exe (I've included this for those people that lose it from the System Notification area).
19. System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe (modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98! ).
20. Syskey = syskey.exe (Secures XP Account database - use with care, it's virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I'm not sure of the full implications).
21. Mcft Telnet Client = telnet.exe
22. Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe (seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented).
23. Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe (appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available).
24. System configuration = msconfig.exe (can use to control starup programs)
25. Group Policy Editor = gpedit.msc used to manage group policies, and permissions.
26. Local Users and Groups = lusrmgr.msc Useful in renaming Administrator.
27. Certificate Manager = certmgr.msc used for encryption and certificate management.
28. Device Manager = devmgmt.msc

[navjotjsingh]

Many times you really get bugged up if you had to reformat your HDD and lose all your updates installed and you have to redownload them and reinstall for which you waste your time and money.
Now I will show you how to save all Windows updates to your HDD.

There are several methods and we will discuss all of them.

1st Method: Easiest and only for Windows XP with SP2.
Firstly you have to configure your Automatic Updates Settings through MyComputer(right click)>>properties>>Automatic Updates.
http://img100.exs.cx/img100/2953/autupdates2do.th.jpg (http://img100.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img100&image=autupdates2do.jpg)
Choose the option shown in the above shot and click ok. Your SP2 Security Center may warn you but ignore or disable it. Now connect to the net and wait for some time. You will get a notification in the system tray that Updates are available for download. Now double click on the System Tray Icon and it opens up a window and now you can see all the updates listed with their KB Article Numbers. Here is a screenshot.
http://img49.echo.cx/img49/7135/autupdates2ta.th.jpg (http://img49.echo.cx/my.php?image=autupdates2ta.jpg)

Now copy all the numbers to your notepad and now use the link
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=XXXXXX or click the link given in the box above.
Here XXXXXX is the 6 digit number you copied earlier. From the support page you will find a link to the patch and now you can download it convieniently.

2nd Method: Work for any Windows - Best Method
You can download all the updates that are available from Automatic Updates by using the Windows Update Catalog. For additional information about how to download updates from the Windows Update Catalog, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
HOW TO: Download Windows Updates and Drivers from the Windows Update Catalog (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;323166)
1. Visit the Windows Update Web site:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
2. Click Personalize Windows Update.
3. Select the Display the link to the Windows Update Catalog under
See Also check box.

4. Click Save Settings.
5. A Windows Update Catalog link appears under See Also.

6. Click the Windows Update Catalog link.
7. Click Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems.
8. Click the appropriate product, and then click Search.
9. Click Critical Updates and Service Packs.
10. Locate the patch you want, and then click Add.
11. Click Go to download basket. In the Type or browse to the download location of your choice box, type the full path for the folder in which you want to save the patch. Or, click Browse to browse to the folder. Click Download Now.

If you don't find the link to Windows Update Catalog (as in SP2) then go to Administrator Options and there is a heading named "Update multiple operating systems"? and under it link to Windows update Catalog is given.
A manual link (no guarantee on link working on diff Windows) to Windows Update Catalog is given below:
http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/catalog/en/default.asp
I used this On WinXP SP2 and it worked and plus you can download updates for any Windows i.e. you can 98 updates while running XP. This works best for Networked PC's.

Source: MS-KB 283147 - Automatic Updates Downloads Cannot Be Installed on Other Computers (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;283147)
3rd Method: Works in any Windows but not always
Another method to save the patch locally is to install the update 'as usual' from the Windows Updates page. Once the copy process is complete and the Install process is about to begin, look for the WUTemp folder in C:\ (or whatever drive you've installed Windows). This is the destination folder used by Windows Updates to save the hotfix. The hotfix will be deleted automatically once installed. Therefore, copy the WUTEMP directory contents to a new folder, while the install process has just started.

For Windows XP SP2, the installer is stored in a sub-folders under %Windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download

Another Note: Sometimes you find a long named file with random characters and without an extension in %Windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download. Try renaming the file by just adding .exe to the end of the filename. Do not modify anything else. Now right click and check its properties. It may turn out to be an update and its KB number is listed in its properties. You can now copy the update to any folder. Don’t move the update, just copy it to any location. This will work any time and even if you are not connected to the net.

Tip: After downloading the updates, save them to a CD if you’re planning to apply across multiple systems or a stand-alone system without internet connection. Before applying the downloaded updates, you can run through Windows Updates scan (don’t download yet) to know the list of Cricital Updates (Q######) pertaining to that particular computer. Note all of them to a piece of paper and install them one by one from the CD. This one works even better when combined with 2nd Method.

[navjotjsingh]

Go to Start Menu > Run and type “control userpasswords2�. Now you can control more logon options and even enable option to press CTRL+ALT+DELETE every time in advanced tab for more security. Uncheck the option of Users must enter and you can Auto logon with different username. For Win2000 type “control userpasswords� and rest remains the same.

[navjotjsingh]

Many programs require you to have Administrative permissions to be able to install them. Here is an easy way to temporarily assign yourself Administrative permissions while you remain logged in as a normal user.
Hold down the Shift key as you right-click on the program's setup file.Click Run as.Type in a user name and password that have Administrative rights.This works also with the Start menu applications.

[navjotjsingh]

Proper Order of Installing Items in XP

This is what I consider the proper order to install XP, its updates/drivers/patches and applications.
1. XP
2. SP2 (If you didn't make a slipstreamed CD)
3. Chipset drivers
4. Video Card Drivers. (run disk cleanup)
5. NIC/Modem Drivers and ISP software
6. Windows Update, High Priority Updates (SP2 if you didn't download ahead of time)
7. Windows Update, Optional hardware updates
8. Windows Update, Optional software updates (don't load unnecessary items)
9. Other Drivers (try to automatically update first) (run disk cleanup)
10. Backup
11. Major applications. Fully update each application before installing the next.
12. The rest of your apps. (run disk cleanup)
13. Anti-Virus software and update it.
14. Configure email, move My Documents to another drive
15. Cleanup System Tray, organize Start Menu, activate XP
18. Safe Mode, disk cleanup (advanced) and defragment.
19. Backup
20. Tweak it!
21. Backup

[navjotjsingh]

How can I uninstall Windows XP and return to my old Windows 98?
If you've upgraded to XP from Windows Me or Windows 98, go to the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel applet and click Uninstall Windows XP.

If you want, you can also uninstall XP from the command prompt by performing the following steps:
1. Start the computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt support
(press F8 during start up).
2. Navigate to %systemroot%\system32.
3. Type osuninst.exe and press Enter.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions.

If XP was installed as a dual-boot system along with Win98 or W2K then you can simply format the partition on which it is installed. That is one of the reasons I always recommend to install separate operating systems on separate partitions!

Note: Windows XP Professional provides an uninstall tool when upgrading from Windows 98 on a drive formatted as FAT or FAT32. Therefore, when upgrading this type of drive, you will not have the option to upgrade to NTFS, as this would negate the uninstall option. However, you can convert the drive to NTFS after installation if you choose.

[navjotjsingh]

Auto-insert your Win9x CD-KEY

Pesky serial numbers, you can never find them when you need them. Well, why not have it on your install CD, and have it pre-filled in whenever you run setup? This should work for all versions of Windows 9x (Win95, Win98, and WinMe).

Create a text file named MSBATCH.INF. Use quotes around the name when you save it, else notepad may name it MSBATCH.INF.TXT (so when you Save As, type in "MSBATCH.INF" WITH the quotes). Copy this in the file:

; MSBATCH.INF
;
; Copyright (c) 1995-2000 Microsoft Corporation.
; All rights reserved.
;

[BatchSetup]
Version=3.0 (32-bit)
SaveDate=01/29/00

[Version]
Signature = "$CHICAGO$"

[Setup]
ProductKey="XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX"

Of course, use your own serial number. Now place this file in the setup folder of your Windows CD (named Win98 for Windows 98 and Win9x for WinMe, same directory you can find the setup.exe, format.exe, scandisk.exe, extract.exe, etc. files. You can try it out by starting setup from within Windows and see if the serial number is pre-filled in for you (you can cancel out at that point to keep setup from installing Windows).

[navjotjsingh]

PLZ tell me a way to activate the DVD features of Windows Media Player 10.

You need the codecs from InterVideo WinDVD or SOnic or any other 3rd party software company to enable DVD playback with Windows Media Player.

Go to
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/windowsxp/buypacks.aspx
http://www.intervideo.com/media_pack/jsp/Product_Profile.jsp?p=DVDMP3XPack&AID=10310167&PID=1423151
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/getmore/plugins.aspx#DVDDecoder
All these decoders come paid. None is free.

[navjotjsingh]

Speed up FireFox

1. Type "about:config" in the adress field.
2. Set the value of network.http.pipelining to "true".
3. Set the value of network.http.pipelining.maxrequests to "100".
4. Set the value of network.http.proxy.pipelining to "true"
5. Set the value of nglayout.initialpaint.delay to "0"

Now watch as the loading times that already beat IE's go into overkill mode.

[navjotjsingh]

Unlimited yousendit download trick

Noticed that most people use yousendit to post files and links are always bombarded with leechers and whatever...
copy and paste this:
http://anonym.to/? in front of the yousendit link it self..
so basicallly it will look like this when you are done

http://anonym.to/?http://s8.yousendit.com/...328683E2C345DB9
(Link is fake)

the point of this is just to extend the life of a link way beyond the normal 10 downloads or whatever it gives you. using this trick should make links last 7 days with unlimited or a very high amount of downloads... ive had a link do 100 downloads so far without dying.

so use it... the links will stay up longer and u wont have to re-up them as often

[navjotjsingh]

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

The BIG Windows XP Services Guide v1.4

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

By Alan (DeviantForums / 3DPixel.net)

Edited and Modified by: [deXter]


IMPORTANT NOTE:
***************

* It is recommended that you make a backup of your registry / or use system restore
before you proceed
* Do NOT use "msconfig" to disable services, type "services.msc" in the Run box instead!
* Dont modify all services at one go. Instead, modify in small numbers, like 5 at a time
so that you can reboot and check if everythings working fine
* In case you system doesnt work properly after modifying the services, try booting up
in safe mode to: change the services back to normal, or use system restore
* You can also use the option 'Last known good settings' in the F8 menu to go back to
your original settings incase something goes wrong
* After adjusting your service settings, reboot your computer.



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

Descriptions and Recommendations:

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


Alerter

Microsoft Description - Notifies selected users and computers of administrative alerts. If the service is stopped, programs that use administrative alerts will not receive them. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Good for big brother corporate networks. Home PCs do not need to send/receive administrative alerts.
Doesent Exactly do much for hindering performance, so leave it on Manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Application Layer Gateway Service

Microsoft Description - Provides support for 3rd party protocol plug-ins for Internet Connection Sharing and the Internet Connection Firewall

Human Description - Good if the system is a gateway/client on a NAT LAN, also (attempts to) protect nasty script kiddies from turning you and your friends' computers into their pawns in the quest for world domination.

XP's Firewall is about as useful as a chocolate Teapot. Disable this service unless you are on a home LAN and use Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Application Management

Microsoft Description - Provides software installation services such as Assign, Publish, and Remove.

Human Description - Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Best leaving this on the default setting of Manual. Rarely used but when you need it, it will be activated.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Automatic Updates

Microsoft Description - Enables the download and installation of critical Windows updates. If the service is disabled, the operating system can be manually updated at the Windows Update Web site.

Human Description - Allows Windows XP free reign to contact the Microsoft servers and download a whole host of "critical" updates.

Most likely Windows XP will attempt this every time you are furiously playing Counter-Strike or Q3, then suddenly you wonder why you can't hit a barn-door from 5 paces as your ping rockets to 500ms+. No thanks Bill, think I can connect to WindowsUpdate by myself...

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Background Intelligent Transfer Service

Microsoft Description - Uses idle network bandwidth to transfer data.

Human Description - A sneaky way of doing Automatic Updates - Windows XP will judge whether you are using your bandwidth or just sat there motionless looking at your screen. If not it will happily download away.

If you're sat there idling and your modem is going bonkers downloading a host of information, the scaremongery of today will trigger a switch in your head that convinces yourself that you are being used for above said script kiddies' plans to turn your system into a mindless zealot for world conquest. No thanks, and besides, automatic services will quash those extra 2fps in quake 3.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

ClipBook

Microsoft Description - Enables ClipBook Viewer to store information and share it with remote computers. If the service is stopped, ClipBook Viewer will not be able to share information with remote computers. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Another "exactly what it says on the tin"

Why do you want to share your random cut'n'pastes with your fellow LAN chums? Or someone who is half way around the world? If you feel this is an important contribution to your life leave it on Manual. Otherwise kill that resource eating service!

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

COM+ Event System

Microsoft Description - Supports System Event Notification Service (SENS), which provides automatic distribution of events to subscribing Component Object Model (COM) components. If the service is stopped, SENS will close and will not be able to provide logon and logoff notifications. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Kind of like a communication method between different modules in Windows. Used basically for 16 bit programs that require it.

Best leaving this to its default value of "Manual" as it is needed.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

COM+ System Application

Microsoft Description - Manages the configuration and tracking of Component Object Model (COM)+-based components. If the service is stopped, most COM+-based components will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - If COM+ Event System is the car then this service is the driver

Best leaving this to its default value of "Manual" as it is needed.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Computer Browser

Microsoft Description - Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers. If this service is stopped, this list will not be updated or maintained. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Like it says, needed to keep tracks of computers on your network.

If you're on a LAN, leave it to manual, if you're a standalone system then disable it.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Cryptographic Services

Microsoft Description - Provides three management services: Catalog Database Service, which confirms the signatures of Windows files; Protected Root Service, which adds and removes Trusted Root Certification Authority certificates from this computer; and Key Service, which helps enroll this computer for certificates. If this service is stopped, these management services will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Among other things, this service authenticates WHQL drivers (i.e. for graphics cards)

I would personally set this to manual. If it's then needed, it starts.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

DHCP Client

Microsoft Description - Manages network configuration by registering and updating IP addresses and DNS names.

Human Description - Under Windows managed networks DCHP is useful in assigning IP/DNS addresses.

I would personally set this to manual. If it's then needed, it starts.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

*** NOTE: Some users had problems with connecting to the net, if set to manual. If you are having any such problems,
then please set it to Automatic.

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

Distributed Link Tracking Client

Microsoft Description - Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network domain.

Human Description - Good for (e.g.) databases that rely on networked files for updating.

Do you share files that lots of people work on? Do you even use NTFS as a home user?

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Distributed Transaction Coordinator

Microsoft Description - Coordinates transactions that span multiple resource managers, such as databases, message queues, and file systems. If this service is stopped, these transactions will not occur. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Related to Distributed Link Tracking Client

The service sounds like a job title for a pointless middle manager somewhere. For home users it's the same story for our Distributed Transaction Coordinator; going nowhere fast.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

DNS Client

Microsoft Description - Resolves and caches Domain Name System (DNS) names for this computer. If this service is stopped, this computer will not be able to resolve DNS names and locate Active Directory domain controllers. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description -

Best leave this one automatic *cough*

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

EDIT ** >Actually it can be turned off. It just provides a caching
>DNS server locally to your PC. It can cause problems if you are using
>Dynamic, Round Robin, or any type of load balanced DNS upstream. I
>recommend you turn it off. Your PC will then always go upstream to do
>DNS rather than look in its own cache.***

** NOTE: Again, in case you are having problems connecting to the net, turn this service back to Automatic.

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

Error Reporting Service

Microsoft Description - Allows error reporting for services and applictions running in non-standard environments.

Human Description - When something crashes (quite frequently) and Windows pops up and advises you to tell Microsoft all about it, that is the fruit of this service's loins

One of my pet hates, If something crashes I will scream at the monitor and stamp my feet as I please; I don't need to tell Microsoft that I'm doing it.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Event Log

Microsoft Description - Enables event log messages issued by Windows-based programs and components to be viewed in Event Viewer. This service cannot be stopped.

Human Description - Exactly what it says on the tin

Can't stop it, fair enough, but we can disable it muhahahahaha... unless of course you actually want to read that Internet Explorer caused a fatal exception in blah blah blah...

Recommended for home PC - Disabled
(For Multiple Users - Manual)

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

Fast User Switching Compatibility

Microsoft Description - Provides management for applications that require assistance in a multiple user environment.

Human Description - For home users this functions as "switch user" when the logoff option is used.

If you want it you can have it. I set it to manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual
(For single user setup - Disabled)

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

Help and Support

Microsoft Description - Enables Help and Support Center to run on this computer. If this service is stopped, Help and Support Center will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Description is self-explanitory

I never use this as I suspect 90% of the people reading this don't either.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Human Interface Device Access

Microsoft Description - Enables generic input access to Human Interface Devices (HID), which activates and maintains the use of predefined hot buttons on keyboards, remote controls, and other multimedia devices. If this service is stopped, hot buttons controlled by this service will no longer function. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - If you have one of those fancy keyboards or other peripherals mentioned above then this allows you to use them in Windows.

I dream of fancy keyboards and remote controls, but at least I can disable this service (Obviously don't if you are fancy)

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service

Microsoft Description - Manages CD recording using Image Mastering Applications Programming Interface (IMAPI). If this service is stopped, this computer will be unable to record CDs. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Controls the in-built CD-burning software in XP

If you don't use the in-built software then disable the service. Incidentally disabling this makes NERO Burning ROM open quicker.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Indexing Service

Microsoft Description - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.

Human Description - Works like an advanced search feature. This can search through files and index keywords for rapid searching.

Thanks, but no thanks. If I want to search I will use the "dog feature".

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

Microsoft Description - Provides network address translation, addressing, name resolution and/or intrusion prevention services for a home or small office network.

Human Description - Related to Application Layer Gateway Service

Set this to the same as Application Layer Gateway Service

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

IPSEC Services

Microsoft Description - Manages IP security policy and starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) and the IP security driver.

Human Description - Authenticates hosts before transfer of data, Encryption of IP traffic, Prevention of reply attacks

After testing I would set this to Manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

IPv6 Internet Connection Firewall

Microsoft Description - Provides intrusion prevention service for a home or small office network.

Human Description - Useful in case you have a network and connected to the net, and you dont have any other firewall

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Logical Disk Manager

Microsoft Description - Detects and monitors new hard disk drives and sends disk volume information to Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service for configuration. If this service is stopped, dynamic disk status and configuration information may become out of date. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Updates records to do with hard disk volumes.

Leaving something to download overnight only to return and find you didn't have enough space? I'm sure you will slap your head and think to yourself, "Why did I disable the Logical Disk Manager?".

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service

Microsoft Description - Configures hard disk drives and volumes. The service only runs for configuration processes and then stops.

Human Description - Related to Logical Disk Manager

As it is infrequently used, set to manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Messenger

Microsoft Description - Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers. This service is not related to Windows Messenger. If this service is stopped, Alerter messages will not be transmitted. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Allows network administrators the ability to pop a little prompt on your screen with information.

Although hilarious for the first 25 seconds in forcing your non-computer literate friends to think their machine has been hacked into this service is pretty much pointless.

Incidentally the command to pop-up a prompt on someones screen is "net send [computername] I know where you live" (or some other intimidating message). Enjoy your 25 seconds of fun...

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

MS Software Shadow Copy Provider

Microsoft Description - Manages software-based volume shadow copies taken by the Volume Shadow Copy service. If this service is stopped, software-based volume shadow copies cannot be managed. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Like the man said, it allows shadow copying.

Set to disabled unless you want your shadow copy service to control your life.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Net Logon

Microsoft Description - Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain.

Human Description - Domain Authentication[/b]

If you're a home user you probably won't have a domain. Disable this service and free up that memory.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing

Microsoft Description - Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using NetMeeting over a corporate intranet. If this service is stopped, remote desktop sharing will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description -

Why use the bloated netmeeting when VNC does it about 10 times faster and is free?

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Network Connections

Microsoft Description - Manages objects in the Network and Dial-Up Connections folder, in which you can view both local area network and remote connections.

Human Description - Controls your internet connection details basically.

If you want to use the internet it may be best to leave this setting to its default value of manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Network DDE

Microsoft Description - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers. If this service is stopped, DDE transport and security will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Makes use of programs that have the ability to use DDE.

More than likely you will never make use of this service. DDE functions are usually restricted to business applications.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Network DDE DSDM

Microsoft Description - Manages Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) network shares. If this service is stopped, DDE network shares will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Related to Network DDE

More than likely you will never make use of this service. DDE functions are usually restricted to business applications.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Network Location Awareness (NLA)

Microsoft Description - Collects and stores network configuration and location information, and notifies applications when this information changes.

Human Description -

Perhaps useful (although not critical) if you are on a network as Windows will attempt to update the network lists with events such as logon/logoff. If you are not on a network then disable this service.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

NT LM Security Support Provider

Microsoft Description - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes.

Human Description - Installation of some hardware requires usage of RPC.

Best leaving this setting to the default value of manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

NVIDIA Driver Helper Service

Microsoft Description -

Human Description - Provides help and support for NVIDIA graphics cards.

This is an optional service installed when NVIDIA detonator drivers are installed. Disabling this service seems to significantly reduce the time Windows XP takes to shut down.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Performance Logs and Alerts

Microsoft Description - Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule

Human Description -

Hardly useful for a home PC now is it? Unless they start assigning the equivalent of 3DMarks I doubt anyone is really interested.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Plug and Play

Microsoft Description - Enables a computer to recognize and adapt to hardware changes with little or no user input. Stopping or disabling this service will result in system instability.

Human Description -

Commonly referred to as Plug'n'Pray this service is perhaps one feature of Windows XP worth having.

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Portable Media Serial Number

Microsoft Description - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer

Human Description -

Quite possibly the most pointless and utterly useless service known to human kind. Why memory is allocated to the retrieval of a needless serial number from your MP3 player is beyond me and I'm sure it's a joke.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Print Spooler

Microsoft Description - Loads files to memory for later printing.

Human Description -

With the advent of greater than 500MHz machines I doubt there will be much speed increase seen from loading files into memory for printing.
However after disabling this my printer would not work so thumbs up to MS for the vague description. Didn't say it would stop you printing now did it...?

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Protected Storage

Microsoft Description - Provides protected storage for sensitive data, such as private keys, to prevent access by unauthorized services, processes, or users.

Human Description - Stop those 1337 h4X0)2 skr1p7 |<1dd135 knocking around with your files.

Trouble is, if they are already past your firewall you've had it anyway. Leave on Manual just in case. Its also used by IE to store passwords and Autocomplete. If you dont use IE, disable it.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

QoS RSVP

Microsoft Description - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets.

Human Description - Quality Of Service - quite useful for services that use it

Used for network balancing and other nifty things to make "your internet experience as wonderful as possible". Quite good then that this service eats 25% of your bandwidth doing it and hardly anything actually makes use of it.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Remote Access Auto Connection Manager

Microsoft Description - Creates a connection to a remote network whenever a program references a remote DNS or NetBIOS name or address.

Human Description - Makes use of embedded links in programs such as Office, also is used in autodial functions


Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Remote Access Connection Manager

Microsoft Description - Creates a network connection.

Human Description - Involved in dial-up. (Digital connections aswell)

Leave as Manual. It usually starts anyway.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager

Microsoft Description - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If this service is stopped, Remote Assistance will be unavailable. Before stopping this service, see the Dependencies tab of the Properties dialog box.

Human Description - Allows incoming Remote Desktop connections.

If you don't use this feature of Windows XP (Remote Desktop) then disable this service.

Recommended for home PC - Disable

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

Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Microsoft Description - Provides the endpoint mapper and other miscellaneous RPC services.

Human Description - Needed for some installations

nice vague Microsoft description. Leave as manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator

Microsoft Description - Manages the RPC name service database.

Human Description - Related to Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

nice vague Microsoft description. Leave as manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Remote Registry

Microsoft Description - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer. If this service is stopped, the registry can be modified only by users on this computer. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Allow people to modify local registry settings via remote desktop or similar.

Possibly one of the biggest security holes that I am suprised nobody has yet exploited. Allowing your registry to be edited remotely? Come on....

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Removable Storage

Microsoft Description -

Human Description - Zip Drives, USB pens etc...

May aswell leave to manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Routing and Remote Access

Microsoft Description - Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments.

Human Description - used on business networks

Pointless for home users.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Secondary Logon

Microsoft Description - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. If this service is stopped, this type of logon access will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - allow multiple users on one machine.

Most people I think actually make use of this feature.

Recommended for home PC - Automatic
(Single User Setup - Manual)

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

Security Accounts Manager

Microsoft Description - Stores security information for local user accounts.

Human Description - Related to Secondary Logon

Leave on automatic.

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Server

Microsoft Description - Supports file, print, and named-pipe sharing over the network for this computer. If this service is stopped, these functions will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Supports file sharing and other basic LAN functions.

Used for sharing printers and files across Local Area Networks. If you're not on a network you don't need this.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Shell Hardware Detection

Microsoft Description - None

Human Descripton - Basically related to hardware detection and stuff..

Recomended for home PC - Automatic

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

Smart Card

Microsoft Description - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer. If this service is stopped, this computer will be unable to read smart cards. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Allows reading of smart card media

If you don't use smart media, disable this service.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Smart Card Helper

Microsoft Description - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer. If this service is stopped, this computer will not support legacy reader. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Related to Smart Card

If you don't use smart media, disable this service.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

SSDP Discovery Service

Microsoft Description - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.

Human Description - UPnP = Universal Plug'n'Play

Caters for such things as network printers etc... If you don't have a LAN then disable this service.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

System Event Notification

Microsoft Description - Tracks system events such as Windows logon, network, and power events. Notifies COM+ Event System subscribers of these events.

Human Description - (Example) Can notify programs such as Outlook when an internet connection is established so that it can send its mail.

This service manages a lot of processes. Best to leave as default on automatic.

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

** NOTE: This can be set to Manual too. Just test a little bit.

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

System Restore Service

Microsoft Description - Performs system restore functions. To stop service, turn off System Restore from the System Restore tab in My Computer->Properties

Human Description - Allows "rollback" to previous configurations in order to solve hardware/software problems.

Bit of a sticky one this. I personally disable this sevice as it uses a lot of resources. It all depends on the individual user of course.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Task Scheduler

Microsoft Description - Enables a user to configure and schedule automated tasks on this computer. If this service is stopped, these tasks will not be run at their scheduled times. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description -

Depends again on the individual. Task Scheduler uses a fair amount of resources. In case you want your anti-virus program to update itself and to schedule automatic scans, then leave this on. Also supposedly used for prefetching.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper

Microsoft Description - Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution.

Human Description - Helper for Internet traffic.

Unless your fascinated by the intrinsic features of TCP/IP then use this feature. Or rather, go to a site that can give you more help.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Telephony

Microsoft Description - Provides Telephony API (TAPI) support for programs that control telephony devices and IP based voice connections on the local computer and, through the LAN, on servers that are also running the service.

Human Description -

Best leaving this as manual. Not too sure if this covers modems etc.. aswell but it starts when a connection is made to the internet.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Telnet

Microsoft Description - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients, including UNIX-based and Windows-based computers. If this service is stopped, remote user access to programs might be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description -

Cough*Big Security Hole*Cough - this is well worth disabling to bounce those 13 year old hackers.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Terminal Services

Microsoft Description - Allows multiple users to be connected interactively to a machine as well as the display of desktops and applications to remote computers. The underpinning of Remote Desktop (including RD for Administrators), Fast User Switching, Remote Assistance, and Terminal Server.

Human Description - Remote Desktop features.

If you disabled Remote Desktop earlier then do the same with this.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled
(For MultiUser Setup - Manual )

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

Themes

Microsoft Description - Provides user experience theme management.

Human Description - By default use either classic, Blue, Silver, or (nasty) Green themes in Windows XP

Most people use the themes so leave this automatic.

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Uninterruptible Power Supply

Microsoft Description - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer.

Human Description -

Most home users (unless you live in California) do not have UPS backups.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Universal Plug and Play Device Host

Microsoft Description - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices.

Human Description - DO NOT CONFUSE this with Plug and Play (PnP). This is sort of a link with LANs and UPNP devices. Very few devices are UPNP. UPNP also poses some security risks. I recommend that you disable this service, if you are not a lan and dont have any UPNP devices.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Upload Manager

Microsoft Description - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network. If this service is stopped, synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network will not occur. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - By networks this also refers to the internet.

Unless you want to have problems sending and receiving traffic to and from the internet it may be best to leave this on automatic. Some people say that its used for LANs only. In case you are NOT on a LAN, I recommend that you leave this one to Manual, after testing it ofcourse.

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Volume Shadow Copy

Microsoft Description - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes. If this service is stopped, shadow copies will be unavailable for backup and the backup may fail. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Related to MS Software Shadow Copy Provider

Set the same as MS Software Shadow Copy Provider

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

WebClient

Microsoft Description - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify Internet-based files. If this service is stopped, these functions will not be available. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Fundemental to Windows function

Fundamental aspect of Windows. Can be set to Manual however, if you need those extra bits of ram ;)

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Windows Audio

Microsoft Description - Manages audio devices for Windows-based programs. If this service is stopped, audio devices and effects will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description - Fundemental to Windows function

Fundamental aspect of Windows. Leave automatic. (Unless you don't have sound of course)

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)

Microsoft Description - Provides image acquisition services for scanners and cameras.

Human Description - In-built scanner and camera features.

If you don't have a scanner/camera then disable this service. Also if you use a 3rd party image aquisition program then disable this in any case.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Windows Management Instrumentation

Microsoft Description - Provides a common interface and object model to access management information about operating system, devices, applications and services. If this service is stopped, most Windows-based software will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Human Description -

Obviously leave this to automatic.

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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

Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions

Microsoft Description - Provides systems management information to and from drivers.

Human Description - Provides information to Windows Management Instrumentation

Leave as manual as this is needed for Windows Management Instrumentation.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Windows Time

Microsoft Description - Maintains date and time synchronization on all clients and servers in the network. If this service is stopped, date and time synchronization will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.


Human Description -

Unless you are in dire need to have exactly the same time as the administrator on your network this service can be safely disabled.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Windows Zero Configuration

Microsoft Description - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters


Human Description - Wireless networking auto-configuration

Why this is defaulted to automatic is beyond me. Wireless technology is still relatively new so auto-configuration functions resident in memory is pointless.

Recommended for home PC - Disabled

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

Windows Installer

Microsoft Description - Installs, repairs and removes software according to instructions contained in .MSI files.


Human Description - Does as its said, but not required all the time.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

WMI Performance Adapter

Microsoft Description - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers.


Human Description - Provides information about your system to system components that require it.

Leave as manual.

Recommended for home PC - Manual

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

Workstation

Microsoft Description - Creates and maintains client network connections to remote servers. If this service is stopped, these connections will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.


Human Description -

Leave as automatic. Needed by Windows to provide functionality on the internet. But generally required if you are on a network, also for Cable Net. If you arent on a network, set this to Manual

Recommended for home PC - Automatic

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


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

Approx Speed increases and/or Necessity for Disabling:

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

Help & Support ****
NVIDIA Help and Support *****
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service ***
System Restore Service *****
Event Log **
Automatic Updates ****
Remote Registry ***** (security)
Error Reporting Service ***
Messenger *
Performance Logs and Alerts *
Portable Media Serial Number *
QOS RSVP ***** (I normally disable this in network properties anyway)
Task Scheduler ***
Telnet ***** (Security)
Wireless Zero Config *

[navjotjsingh]

Windows XP Shortcuts to do long jobs

Press Win+L to switch to the Welcome screen.
-----
Press Win+L to lock your workstation.
-----
You can switch users without going through the Welcome screen: From Task Manager, go to the Users tab, right-click a user, and select Connect.
-----
Hold down the shift key in the shutdown dialog to change "Stand By" to "Hibernate". Or just press H to hibernate instantly. You can even use the Power Control Panel to configure your power button to hibernate.
-----
To disable the password when resuming from standby or hibernation, open the Power Control Panel and uncheck "Prompt for password after returning from standby" on the Advanced tab.
-----
You can rename multiple files all at once: Select a group of files, right-click the first file, and select "Rename". Type in a name for the first file, and the rest will follow.
-----
Hold down the shift key when switching to thumbnail view to hide the file names. Do it again to bring them back.
-----
When dragging a file in Explorer, you can control the operation that will be performed when you release the mouse button:

Hold the Control key to force a Copy.

Hold the Shift key to force a Move.

Hold the Alt key to force a Create Shortcut.
-----
If you create a file called Folder.jpg, that image will be used as the thumbnail for the folder. What's more, that image will also be used as the album art in Windows Media Player for all media files in that folder.
-----
From the View Menu, select "Choose Details" to select which file properties should be shown in the Explorer window. To sort by a file property, check its name in the "Choose Details" in order to make that property available in the "Arrange Icons by" menu.
-----
To display the volume control icon in the taskbar, go to the Sounds and Audio Devices Control Panel and select "Place volume icon in the taskbar".
-----
Hold down the shift key when deleting a file to delete it immediately instead of placing it in the Recycle Bin. Files deleted in this way cannot be restored.
-----
If you hold down the shift key while clicking "No" in a Confirm File Operation dialog, the response will be interpreted as "No to All".
-----
To save a document with an extension other than the one a program wants to use, enclose the entire name in quotation marks. For example, if you run Notepad and save a file under the name

Dr.Z

it will actually be saved under the name Dr.Z.txt. But if you type

"Dr.Z"

then the document will be saved under the name Dr.Z. Note that a document so-named cannot be opened via double-clicking since the extension is no longer ".txt".
-----
Put a shortcut to your favorite editor in your Send To folder and it will appear in your "Send To" menu. You can then right-click any file and send it to your editor.
-----
Ctrl+Shift+Escape will launch Task Manager.
-----
To arrange two windows side-by-side, switch to the first window, then hold the Control key while right-clicking the taskbar button of the second window. Select "Tile Vertically".
-----
To close several windows at once, hold down the Control key while clicking on the taskbar buttons of each window. Once you have selected all the windows you want to close, right-click the last button you selected and pick "Close Group".
-----
You can turn a folder into a desktop toolbar by dragging the icon of the desired folder to the edge of the screen. You can then turn it into a floating toolbar by dragging it from the edge of the screen into the middle of the screen. (It helps if you minimize all application windows first.)
-----
You can turn a folder into a taskbar toolbar.

First, unlock your taskbar.

Next, drag the icon of the desired folder to the space between the taskbar buttons and the clock. (Wait for the no-entry cursor to change to an arrow. It's a very tiny space; you will have to hunt for it.)

You can rearrange and resize the taskbar toolbar you just created.

You can even turn the taskbar toolbar into a menu by resizing it until only its name is visible.
-----
In the Address Bar, type "microsoft" and hit Ctrl+Enter. Internet Explorer automatically inserts the "http://www." and ".com" for you.
-----
To remove an AutoComplete entry from a Web form, highlight the item in the AutoComplete dropdown and press the Delete key.

To remove all Web form AutoComplete entries, go to the Internet Explorer Tools menu, select Internet Options, Content, AutoComplete, then press the "Clear Forms" button.
-----
To organize your Favorites in Explorer instead of using the Organize Favorites dialog, hold the shift key while selecting "Organize Favorites" from the Favorites menu of an Explorer window.
-----
You can organize your Favorites by dragging the items around your Favorites menu.

Alternatively, you can open the Favorites pane and hold the Alt key while pressing the up and down arrows to change the order of your Favorites.
-----
To run Internet Explorer fullscreen, press F11. Do it again to return to normal mode.
-----
If your "Printers and Faxes" folder is empty, you can hide the "Printers and Faxes" icon when viewed from other computers by stopping the Print Spooler service.
-----
To add or remove columns from Details mode, select Choose Details from the View menu, or just right-click the column header bar.
-----
In Internet Explorer, hold the Shift key while turning the mouse wheel to go forwards or backwards.
-----
In Internet Explorer, hold the Shift key while clicking on a link to open the Web page in a new window.
-----
In Internet Explorer, type Ctrl+D to add the current page to your Favorites.

This and many more keyboard shortcuts can be found by going to Internet Explorer, clicking the Help menu, then selecting Contents and Index. From the table of contents, open Accessibility and click "Using Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts".
-----
In some applications (such as Internet Explorer), holding the Control key while turning the mouse wheel will change the font size.
-----
To shut down via Remote Desktop, click the Start button, then type Alt+F4.
-----



Trivia

In 1984 Bill Gates said " I think 640KB memory will be enough for anyone in the future."

in 1991 Bill Gates said" I don't think anybody would need Internet . Internet is not for everyone."

Above statements are true to my knowledge.But What next? We don't need Firefox anymore or there is no OS secure than Windows Longhorn(guessed the name of nxt Windows)

[navjotjsingh]

More Tips by me soon. Watch Out............................................... ..................................................
huff..........

6 is my lucky no.
Next lucky no. 9
Tired after too much tip posts.

[chinmay]

hey blade runner...i m in a big prblem n u hv got to help it out...
u mentioned tcp optimizer in 1st page of da thread n i used it
...due to it my speed has degraded drastically ...plz temme what r the default settings of tcp optimizer....if u dont reply immediately i'll have to format my pc.....help me out dude
TCP optimizer from www.speedguide.net does the trick for my connection.

[shwetanshu]

to shutdown faster simply press: winkey-->u-->u
hibernate:winkey-->u-->h
restart: winkey-->u-->r

For me this is the fastest way rather than clicking icons, pressing power button or clicking on start menu. hehehe

[sandeeprao]

i have a P4 and a geforce 4 mx 420 agp card.i have both xp and 98 loaded on my comp.i overclocked my card in xp. i want to know whether the same setting apply for 98 ,also i would like to know upto what safe extent can i overclock my card.

[shwetanshu]

@sandeeprao.... post ur query here (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13761)

[abhinav]

can any one tell me a tweak to speed my broadband internet connection speed.Pllzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[whoopy_whale]

Changing the MaxMTU for faster Downloads

There are four Internet settings that can be configured, you can get greater throughput (faster Internet downloads) by modifying a few settings.
They are the MaxMTU, MaxMSS and DefaultRcvWindow, and DefaultTTL

Windows 98

1.Open RegEdit
2.Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlset\Servic es\Class\net\000x
(where x is your particular network adapter binding.)
3.Right click on the right panel
4.Select New\String Value and create the value name IPMTU
5.Double click on it and enter then the number you want. The usual change is to 576
6.Similarly, you can add IPMSS and give it a value of 536

You can set DefaultRcvWindow, and DefaultTTL by adding these string values to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlset\Servic es\VXD\MSTCP
Set the DefaultRcvWindow to"5840"and the DefaultTTL to "128"

Note: These settings will slow down your network access speed slightly, but you will probably not even see the difference if you are using a network card. If you are using Direct Cable you should see a sight difference.

Source (http://www.easydesksoftware.com/regtrick.htm)

[navjotjsingh]

can any one tell me a tweak to speed my broadband internet connection speed.Pllzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Try tips from to boost internet speeds

http://www.petri.co.il/increase_internet_connection_speed_in_windows_xp.h tm

http://www.petri.co.il/increase_broadband_connection_speed_in_windows_xp_ 2003.htm

http://www.petri.co.il/networking.htm

http://www.petri.co.il/speed_up_network_file_copying_in_windows_xp.htm

Please tell your OS. ALl above tips for XP, 2003, 2000, NT only.

[rajkumar_personal]

can any one tell me a tweak to speed my broadband internet connection speed.Pllzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Try tips from to boost internet speeds

http://www.petri.co.il/increase_internet_connection_speed_in_windows_xp.h tm

http://www.petri.co.il/increase_broadband_connection_speed_in_windows_xp_ 2003.htm

http://www.petri.co.il/networking.htm

http://www.petri.co.il/speed_up_network_file_copying_in_windows_xp.htm

Please tell your OS. ALl above tips for XP, 2003, 2000, NT only.



AWESOME Mate !!!

Was looking for this for a long time !
By the way, using other tools can also increase the speed of any highspeed connection !

I have tested some of them myself and have been rewarded with incredible results !!!!

[Santosh Halemani]

Well this is a tweak i belive.

Most of u guys install softwares in c drive where win is installed. I say make drive softwares only with the folder named program files and install.

then see how ur system stays out of trouble and speeds up.

Aslo no defragment required for c drive.

Tell me was it weird or good. :lol:

[Santosh Halemani]

Actually program files is for ur convinence while instaling softs.

[navjotjsingh]

Not a very good idea because it sometimes create problems in registries.

[Santosh Halemani]

Me never occcured one! Yes, u may be write. Tell me how?

[navjotjsingh]

Me never occcured one! Yes, u may be write. Tell me how?

How? Some programs are written by default to be installed in Root>Program Files or some settings used for this folder only. Also It is better to be on safe side than be on safe partition. Defrag C: regularly and u won't need such tweaks.

Better be 5mins. late in this world than 5mins. early in next. (For traffic rules - applies to above also)

A sitch in time saves nine.

Prevention is better than cure.

[Santosh Halemani]

why expect for something when nothing happened brother and why to maintain c drive when not required. Well someget installed their. I have installed 98% of them and have no problem!

[deathvirus_me]

First up ... if you like to automatically optimize things then i would recommend u to download firetune for tweaking firefox ..... now for the manual part .....u could visit www.tweakguides.com

Also here are few of my own tweaks ...
(I)Boot Optimize : just add this to your registry :
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOpt imizeFunction]
"Enable"="Y"

(II)Diable Welcome Screen : just add this to your registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cu rrentVersion\Winlogon]
"LogonType"=dword:00000000

(III)For tweaking graphics card ... get Rivatuner

(IV)To increase DNS cache : just add this to your registry

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Dnscache\Parameters]
"NetFailureCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NegativeSOACacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NegativeCacheTime"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Dnscache\Parameters]
"MaxCacheTtl"=dword:00003840
"MaxNegativeCacheTtl"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Tcpip\Parameters]
"QueryIpMatching"=dword:00000001

(V)To speed up net browsing : just add this to your registry
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace\{D627 7990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}]
@="Scheduled Tasks"

(VI)To speed up browsing/downloading speed
Start>Run type in gpedit.msc
local computer policy>administrative templates>network
highlight "QoS Packet Scheduler" .. in the right window double click the "limit reservable bandwidth" .... enable it and change "bandwidth limit %" to read 0 ..

[sahil_blues]

]use coolbits to hack advanced settings of nVidia GFX card and used the nForce3 favour for nVidia cards. Rise in performance till 3% (of course in games)

i have got the new tab where you can adjust the clock frequincies...to what value can i overclock my geforce 5200 fx card??....the default values are:-

Core Clock Fraquency: 230 Mhz
Memory Clock Frequency: 400Mhz

Also in the Settings drop down menu in the Clock Frequencies tab itself, the default setting is Standard 2D....however there is also an option for Performance 3D....should i leave it like this or should i change it...please suggest...

are you sure i wont hurt my card in doing this??

[deathvirus_me]

guys try rivatuner .... coolbit is noob in front of it ....

[pq]

If U want speed in ur machine dont use NORTON Antivirus. It slowes up ur machine. Rather u can use Kaspersky, McAfee, Avast & AVG.

[Delpiero]

Attention all firefox users.

This is a tweak that will make your firefox fly. Here it it

1.Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

network.http.pipelining network.http.proxy.pipelining network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.

If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages MUCH faster now!

[saROMan]

This Tutorial = My Past Experience of RnD of XP + Troubleshooting at QnA Section + Knowledge from Internet



Stopping Unneeded Startup Services

Along with the core operating system and programs that Windows XP runs when it starts, there is also a host of services involved. Many of these services are necessary for Windows XP to operate correctly. However, many of them are for features in Windows XP that you may not use at all. You can peruse the services and disable any service that you do not want to run. The fewer services that run, the more quickly Windows XP will boot.


Caution:
Exercise caution when stopping services. If you do not know what a service does or are unsure of the ramifications of stopping the service, leave it alone. Some services are critical to Windows XP's operations, so make sure you understand what the service is before you disable it.


To reduce the number of services that start on bootup, you can access two different areas of Windows XP. The first is the System Configuration Utility. The Services tab shows you the services that start when the computer boots.

You can stop a service from starting by simply clearing the check box next to the service and clicking OK. However, before you do so, there is another way to disable services that you may prefer because the interface gives you more information about the service in question.

Open Control Panel/Administrative ToolsServices or else select Start/Run, type services.msc, and click OK. Either way, you see the Services console.

I prefer to use the Services console instead of the System Configuration Utility because it describes what the service does. Additionally, you can double-click a service and examine its properties.

Notice the Startup Type column in Figure 4-2. This information lists whether the service is automatic or manual. Manual services are only started in Windows XP when you start a process that requires the service. Some other process may require the service that has a "dependency" relationship with it; in this case, the dependency service will start, as well. Because these services do not start automatically when you boot Windows XP, you do not need to do anything with manual services.

However, all services listed as automatic start when Windows XP boots. These are the services that increase boot time. As I have mentioned, many of them are necessary and important, so you should not stop automatic services from booting unless you are sure of the ramifications. You can get this information by looking at the Description column. Here's a quick look at common services you may want to live without:


Automatic Updates: This service enables Windows XP to check the Web automatically for updates. If you don't want to use Automatic Updates, you can disable the service. You can always check for updates manually at the Windows Update Web site.


Computer Browser: If your computer is not on a network, you don't need this service. If you are on a network, leave it alone.


DHCP Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service. If you are on a small workgroup, you can still increase boot time by configuring manual IP addresses (which I explore later in this chapter).


DNS Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service. If you are, leave it alone.


Error Reporting and Event Log: You don't have to use these services but they can be very helpful, so I would leave them configured as automatic.


Fax: If you don't use your computer for fax services, you can disable this one.


Help and Support: If you never use the Windows XP Help and Support Center (found on the Start menu), you can disable this service.


IMAPI CD-Burning COM: This service enables you to burn CDs on your computer. If you never burn CDs, you can disable the service.


Indexing Service: Your computer keeps an index of files but if you rarely search for files, the service is just a resource hog. You can stop it and turn the service to manual.


Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing: If you do not use these features, you can disable them.


Infrared Monitor: If you do not use infrared devices, you can disable this service.


Messenger: This service sends alert messages on a local area network (it is not the same as Windows Messenger). If you are not on a network, you can disable this service.


Print Spooler: If you do not do any printing from the computer, you can disable this service. If you print, make sure you leave it as automatic.


Remote Registry: This service allows remote users to modify the Registry on your computer. If you are not on a network, you can disable this service.


System Restore Service: This service allows you to use System Restore. If you have turned off System Restore anyway, you do not need to turn off the service. If you do, you turn off System Restore.


Themes: If you do not use themes, you can disable this service.


Windows Image Acquisition: If you do not use scanners or digital cameras, you can disable this service.


Wireless Zero Configuration: If do not use wireless networking devices, you can disable this service.


You may have a number of other automatic services, depending on software and other configurations on your computer. So it's a good idea to look through the services and learn more about them. If you double-click a service, a Properties dialog box appears

Notice that on the General tab, you see a Startup Type drop-down menu. If you want to change an automatic service to manual, select Manual here and click OK. As a general rule, don't disable a service unless you are sure you will never use it. However, manual configuration allows the service to be started when you find it necessary, thus speeding up your boot time.

However, before you change a service to manual, look at the Dependencies tab (see Figure 4-4). This tab shows you which other services depend upon the service you are considering changing.

Keep in mind that services are necessary for the vast functionality you get with Windows XP. Change only those services that you understand and do not use. How you use your Windows XP computer should be the best guide in terms of optional startup services.


Tip:


The Indexing service and the System Restore service take up a lot of disk space and system resources across the board. You can live without the Indexing service but I suggest that you keep using System Restore. It works great when you are in a bind and this is one case where the loss of speed may not be worth the ramifications of not using System Restore.



Speed Tips and Tricks for Windows XP Startup

Aside from startup programs, services, and the Prefetch folder, there are a number of other startup procedures and issues you can modify to help Windows XP start faster. The following sections explore those tips and tricks.


Manual IP Addressing on Small Office/Home Networks

Windows XP is configured to help you take care of networking. It uses the TCP/IP protocol for networking in workgroups, or what you might call small office or home networks that do not use a dedicated server.

The problem is that automatic IP addressing can be slow. When your computer boots, it has to query the network to see what IP addresses are already in use and then assign itself one. If you want to speed up the boot time a bit, consider manually assigning IP addresses to all computers on the network. This way, the network computers do not have to worry about locating an automatic IP address. Because one is manually configured, the operating system doesn't have to spend time solving this problem.

This isn't a networking book, however, so I won't delve into the implications of using a manual IP address, but if you are using a computer that functions as a host computer to the Internet (using Internet Connection Sharing [ICS]), you can get into connectivity problems if you change the configuration of the IP address. However, you can still work around this problem by starting with the ICS host computer.

Select Start/Connect To/Show All Connections. Right-click your network adapter card and click Properties. On the General tab, select TCP/IP in the list of services and click the Properties button.

In the TCP/IP properties, you can see if you use an automatic or manual IP address. In the example in Figure 4-5, I have configured a manual IP address of 90.0.0.1 and a default subnet mask. The other computers on my office network each use a different IP address in the same class, such as 90.0.0.2, 90.0.0.3, 90.0.0.4, and so on. This way, each computer has a permanent IP address, which helps increase boot time. Note that if you change the IP addresses of your computers, they must all use the same subnet mask. A default subject mask of 255.255.255.0 will keep you in good shape.

Make sure you understand the implications of changing IP addresses on your network. If you have no networking experience at all, you may be wiser to leave the automatic IP addressing as is and try to gain some speed using the additional suggestions in this chapter.


Disabling Recent Documents History

Windows XP includes a feature that keeps track of all recent documents you have opened or used. The idea is that you can select Start/Recent Documents History and quickly reopen any document you have recently used. I use many documents each day and never use the feature myself. In my opinion, I can keep up with what I want to use without Windows XP doing it for me.

The bad thing about Recent Documents History is that Windows XP has to calculate what should be put there each time you boot Windows, which can slow things down. So, if you never use the Recent Documents History, it's a good idea to disable it. Here's how:

1. Open the Registry Editor (select Start/Run, type regedit, and click OK).
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mcft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
3. Create a NoRecentDocsHistory D_WORD key. Double-click the value to open it once it is created.
4. Set the Data Value to 1 to enable the restriction.
5. Click OK and close the Registry Editor. You'll need to restart the computer for the change to take effect.


Disabling the Boot Logo

You can remove the boot logo that appears when you start Windows XP. This little tweak probably shaves only a few seconds off your boot time but seconds count if you are serious about trying to get Windows XP up and running as quickly as possible. The only negative is that if you remove the boot logo, you will also not see any boot messages, such as check disk. (But if you are not having problems with your computer, this isn't such a big deal.)

To remove the boot logo, follow these steps:
1. Select Start/Run, type msconfig, and click OK.
2. In the System Configuration Utility, click the BOOT.INI tab.
3. On the BOOT.INI tab, click the NOGUIBOOT check box option. Click OK.


Removing Unwanted Fonts

One trick that increases your boot time a bit is to lose any fonts in the Fonts folder in Control Panel that you never use. The more fonts you have, the more processing Windows XP has to do to prep all of those fonts for use. You must be a bit careful here to not remove fonts that you might want, but there is a good chance that you can live without many of them. For instance, you may have foreign language fonts and other symbol fonts (such as Wingdings) that you never use.

To delete unneeded fonts, follow these steps:
1. Open the Fonts folder in Control Panel.
2. Select Edit/Select All and then Edit/Copy.
3. Create a new folder on your desktop, open it, and select Edit/Paste.
4. In this new folder, delete any of the fonts you do not want.
5. Return to the Fonts folder in Control Panel. Right-click the selected fonts and click Delete.
6. Go back to your new desktop folder and click Edit/Select All.
7. Return to your Fonts folder and click Edit/Paste. You now have only the desired fonts in the Fonts folder.



Tip:

You can directly delete fonts from the Fonts folder without creating the secondary folder. However, I recommend the preceding steps to help ensure that you do not make a mistake in the deletion process.



Stopping Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing

In Windows XP Professional, you have two remote networking features called Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing. These remote networking features are very helpful in a variety of situations but if you don't use them, it is good idea to disable them to save boot time. You can always enable them later if you want to use them.

Note:
If you are interested in using Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance, see my book Windows XP for Power Users: Power Pack published by John Wiley & Sons.

1. Open the Start menu, right-click My Computer, and choose Properties.
2. Click the Remote Tab.
3. Clear both check boxes to disable Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop.


Speeding Up the Dual-Boot Timeout

If you dual-boot your computer with Windows XP and another operating system, you see an operating system selection menu on startup. If you typically boot into Windows XP and not the other operating system, you can speed up the dual-boot timeout value so that you do not wait so long for the boot process to select your default operating system and continue with the boot process. The default timeout value is 30 seconds but you can change this setting to 10. This gives you enough time to select the alternate operating system if you want but also speeds up the boot process. You can skip this section if you do not use a dual-boot configuration.

Follow these steps:
1. Locate the boot.ini file on your computer. It is a hidden file by default; mine is located in C:\boot.ini.
2. Open the file with Notepad (which is what opens it by default).
3. Change the Timeout value to 10 (see Figure 4-11).
4. Select File/Save and close Notepad.


Speeding Up Your PPPoE Connection

If you use a Point-to-Point Protocol connection over Ethernet (PPPoE), you may notice a delay in using the PPPoE connection after startup. By default, there is a 120 second delay but you can stop this behavior by manually configuring an IP address for the network adapter card. If you do not use a PPPoE connection, you can skip this section.

1. Select Start/Connect to/Show All Connections.
2. Open the TCP/IP properties for your LAN network interface card.
3. Manually set the IP address on the TCP/IP properties to an appropriate IP address and subnet mask for your network.


Reducing the Wait Time

When you start to shut down Windows XP, it has to quit, or "kill," any live applications or processes that are currently running. So close all applications first. However, some applications and processes are always running in the background. You can reduce the amount of time that Windows XP waits for those applications and processes to close before Windows XP kills them. Edit three different Registry settings to change this:

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Select WaitToKillAppTimeout and set the value to 1000.
3. Select the HungAppTimeout value and set it to 1000 as well.
4. Navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop. Set the WaitToKillAppTimeout and set the value to 1000. Select the HungAppTimeout \newline value and set it to 1000 as well.
5. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l. Select the WaitToKillServiceTimeout value and set it to 1000.
6. Close the Registry Editor.


Automatically Killing Tasks on Shutdown

You know the drill. You start to shut down the computer, you wait a few moments, and then you see a dialog box asking if you want to kill an application or service that is running. Instead of prompting you, you can make Windows XP take care of the kill task automatically. Here's how:

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
3. Highlight the value AutoEndTasks and change the value to 1.
4. Close the Registry Editor.



Well thats about it... when you done all the steps you machine most run faster...without ANY errors!(Hopefully ;))

Please Use this Tips in this Tutorial on your Own Risk ..i Wont take Responsibility of any Kind for Damage or Loss you Sustained because of this Tute .

[Keith Sebastian]

Hi all,

I came across some disk performance tweaks while trying to extract the last drop of performance for my Flight Simulator centric needs.

Not sure if they're posted already, but have a read through Tweak#4 and Tweak#5 -

http://kadaitcha.cx/performance.html


Cheers,
Keith

[vinaypatel]

ya

[expertno.1]

check this dudes !!!!!!!
improve ur game performance !!!!!!!!!
http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22531

[pbtg]

can i change my keyboard or mouse or anything else after installing LINUX & will it support the new hardware & if not what i have to make it work??[/b]

[pbtg]

i want to ask all u out there that can i change the boot screen of XP or (* without help of any software & if yes then how can i do that???

[club_pranay]

make your IDE cables more "air flow" friendly here (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25107)

i am posting it again here, just to make ppl aware of this thing..

[Yathi]

to shutdown faster simply press: winkey-->u-->u
hibernate:winkey-->u-->h
restart: winkey-->u-->r

For me this is the fastest way rather than clicking icons, pressing power button or clicking on start menu. hehehe

It does not work, atleast not in windows XP. Only starts the utility manager.

[Yathi]

If you want to shutdown quickly, make a shortcut. In its location type c:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -s -f -t 00. Then assign it a shortcut key like
ctrl + shift + s. Then whenever you want to shutdown you only have to press 3 keys. For restart give r instead of s.

[alib_i]

to shutdown faster simply press: winkey-->u-->u
hibernate:winkey-->u-->h
restart: winkey-->u-->r

For me this is the fastest way rather than clicking icons, pressing power button or clicking on start menu. hehehe

It does not work, atleast not in windows XP. Only starts the utility manager.

he means ... press winkey ... then release it .. then press "u" .. release it .. then press "u" again
dont press winkey AND u together .. that'll start utility manager .. :)


-----
alibi

[QwertyManiac]

Those r k, but try this SUPERFAST SHUTDOWN
www.xp-smoker.com/freeware.html

[expertno.1]

thast really fast

ut can i shutdown automatically and start compter automatically at a time

[QwertyManiac]

i want to ask all u out there that can i change the boot screen of XP or (* without help of any software & if yes then how can i do that???
Simple indeed, first download the boot screen - should have the file name 'ntoskrnl.exe'
Now, go to System32 in the windows folder and replace the file there with the new one

A word ofWARNING !
Before doin this plz verify for which version of Service Pack the boot screen krnl is made, if u got sp2 then dont paste a non sp2 file and try, coz u will then have to re install os or repair...

@expert no1 - u can use the scheduler softwares for shuttin down ur pc, but bout turnin on, do this- enable wakeup option for ur phone lne port and ask somebody to dial u at a time...
If ur UPS is on but ur PC is off then it will booot up (i tried this once in 1999 in WIN 98)

[QwertyManiac]

to shut down in emergency hanging case in which u can feel that the task manager(ctrl_alt_del) has opened but u cant see it (in some games)
press
ALT+U > U and the comp will shutdown...

[expertno.1]

hey hey what u told

how to boot up automatically

hey hey explain it

[navjotjsingh]

Creating quick notes with WordPad scraps in Windows XP

Do you often use Notepad to create quick notes to yourself and then save the file on your desktop? While the process is quite simple, there is an alternative that you might want to investigate. This alternative takes advantage of the fact that WordPad can generate and the Desktop can host special OLE objects called scraps.

The benefit is that creating scraps is as easy as a quick drag-and-drop operation--and there's no need for all the steps involved in naming and saving the file.

Here's how to create quick notes with WordPad scraps:

1. Launch WordPad.
2. Create your note.
3. Select/highlight the text.
4. Drag the selection and drop it on your desktop.
5. Close WordPad and click No when prompted to save changes.

Once you drop the selection on your desktop, Windows XP recognizes the selection as an OLE object from WordPad and creates a scrap, complete with a special icon with a default title name of Scrap. To make it easier to recognize, you can rename the scrap. When you want to view your note, just double-click it and WordPad will open the scrap.

[navjotjsingh]

Check Windows XP directory size information with Diruse

If the vast amount of available space on your hard disk is dwindling, you're probably wondering where all that space has gone. To figure that out, you may open Windows Explorer and look for the folder or folders that are using up all the hard disk space. Or, you can save some time by right-clicking each folder, selecting Properties, and checking the Size report on the General tab.

However, an even better way to gather the information you want is to use the Windows Support Tools' Diruse command line tool. In its basic syntax, the Diruse command displays the number of files in each folder and the total size of the folder in bytes in a nice tabular format. By using the optional parameters, you can configure the Diruse command to focus on specific folders and report folder size in kilobytes or in megabytes. Other parameters will even allow you to flag folders that exceed a size that you specify.

To use the Diruse command line tool, you'll need to download and install Windows XP Service Pack 2 Support Tools (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=49ae8576-9bb9-4126-9761-ba8011fabf38&DisplayLang=en)(this assumes that you've installed SP2).

[navjotjsingh]

Altering Windows XP Firewall's default settings via an INF file

The Windows Firewall that comes with Windows XP Service Pack 2 is a stateful host firewall. It discards all unsolicited incoming traffic that doesn't correspond to either traffic sent in response to a request by the computer, or unsolicited traffic that has been specified as allowed via Exceptions, thus providing a good level of protection against malicious users or programs. It's also pretty flexible; you can easily configure a number of options via the Windows Firewall interface, which is available in the Control Panel.

Visiting every Windows XP system in order to make changes in this fashion isn't practical. Fortunately, you can make adjustments to the Windows Firewall's default configuration by editing the Windows Firewall INF file, Netfw.inf. Then, you can roll out the changes simply by distributing an edited copy of this file.

[navjotjsingh]

Quickly create multiple folders from the command prompt in Windows XP

It's a snap to create a new folder in Windows Explorer--especially if you use the Make A New Folder command in the File And Folder Tasks section of the Explorer Bar. However, if you need to create multiple folders at one time, such as when you're setting up home directories for new users, this procedure can quickly become very tedious.

Fortunately, the Make Directory command line tool has an undocumented feature that will allow you to create multiple folders in one fell swoop. For example, suppose that you need to create folders called One, Two, and Three. To do so with the Make Directory command line tool, open a Command Prompt in the folder in which you need to create these folders and type the command:

MD One Two Three

[navjotjsingh]

Delete Hiberfil.sys in Windows XP before defragmenting

If you use the Windows XP's Hibernation feature on your laptop, you may want to delete the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk before defragmenting. When you put your computer in hibernation, Windows XP writes all memory content to the Hiberfil.sys file before shutting down the system. Then, when you turn your computer back on, the OS uses the Hiberfil.sys file to put everything back into memory, and the computer resumes where it left off. However, Windows XP leaves the Hiberfil.sys file on the hard disk, even though it's no longer needed.

The Hiberfil.sys file, which can be very large, is a special system file that Disk Defragmenter cannot defragment. Therefore, the presence of the Hiberfil.sys file will prevent Disk Defragmenter from performing a thorough defragmenting operation.

Follow these steps to remove the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk:

1. Access the Control Panel and double-click Power Options.
2. Select the Hibernate tab in the Power Options Properties dialog box.
3. Clear the Enable Hibernation check box and click OK.

As soon as you clear the check box, Windows XP automatically deletes the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk. Once you complete the defrag operation, you can re-enable the Hibernation feature.

[navjotjsingh]

All Above Tips Taken from techrepublic.com

[raj14]

Clear DNS Cache For Faster Browsing:
Go to Command Prompt Type : ipconfig/flushdns and Press Enter, this will clear the DNS Cache, which gives a minor speed boost :D

Get your Rserved Bandwidth!
Since Most People use Broadband, They should immediatly enable this tweak to get amxium performance out of their connection, Here how it goes: Go to Start>Run> type: gpedit.msc and Press Enter, this will open up The 'Group Policy Editor' a Very handy tool for tweaking Windows,
No go to, Computer Configration>Administrative Templates>Network> QoS Packet Schedular> Limit Reservable Bandwidth. Click enable, and Change the Value from Default 20% to 0% Another Speed Boost!

Make Custom Icons in IE(Tested on IE6)
By Default IE has icons ofr Messneger, Mail, Print etc,
See the Image:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/2408/ieexample6mc.th.jpg (http://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ieexample6mc.jpg)
What if youw ant to add your favorites programs or Links as Icons? Here how you should do it:
Firstly BeFore starting make sure you have two .ico files for each icon you're going to make since it's needed later, now go Start>Run>Type>gpedit.msc and Press Enter, Now go to User Configration> Windows Settings> Internet explorer Maintainence> Browser User Interface> Browser Toolbar Customizations>
click on Add, now enter the Name as you would like to appear, in this case i choose ThinkDigit, now it asks for toolbar action, since we are only making an toolbar to a Website, type ww.anysite.com without the HTTP Prefix, aftre that choose Toolbar Icons, which can be your choice, Some Excellent and Glossy icons can be founded Here (http://interfacelift.com/icons-win/index.php?page=4)
For this step, i've choosen a cool iPod Icon! you can choose bigger icons, but keep in mind, you'd have to sacrifice some toolbars like Mail, or Print to do this, Aftre everything is finshed, Here How it Looks:
http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/1313/icofinal5da.th.jpg (http://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=icofinal5da.jpg)
:D

[who_is_genius]

Thats gr8 navjot!!!

[super_i_man]

Creating quick notes with WordPad scraps in Windows XP

Do you often use Notepad to create quick notes to yourself and then save the file on your desktop? While the process is quite simple, there is an alternative that you might want to investigate. This alternative takes advantage of the fact that WordPad can generate and the Desktop can host special OLE objects called scraps.

The benefit is that creating scraps is as easy as a quick drag-and-drop operation--and there's no need for all the steps involved in naming and saving the file.

Here's how to create quick notes with WordPad scraps:

1. Launch WordPad.
2. Create your note.
3. Select/highlight the text.
4. Drag the selection and drop it on your desktop.
5. Close WordPad and click No when prompted to save changes.

Once you drop the selection on your desktop, Windows XP recognizes the selection as an OLE object from WordPad and creates a scrap, complete with a special icon with a default title name of Scrap. To make it easier to recognize, you can rename the scrap. When you want to view your note, just double-click it and WordPad will open the scrap.

This tip is like a gift from heaven for me, I use note pad like anything for small notes and URLs and files. This also works this is great. Thanks

[cybermanas]

WINDOWS XP TWEAKS - I

#1 - MSCONFIG

Open it by going to Start -> Run..., then type 'msconfig' in the box and press enter. Now, the tab we are interested in here is the 'Startup' tab... simply click on it .
This box displays all of the programs that will be started when Windows boots up. None of these programs are vital for Windows, so don't feel worried about removing some of them in experimentation. You can see from the screenshot that I have disabled both NDetect (ICQ's start-up program) and WinAmpa (WinAmp, obviously). Now, if you've unchecked some boxes, Windows should start up faster and will take less resources by not running these programs in the background.



#2- MORE STARTUP TWEAKAGE

Go to Start -> Run again, and then type 'services.msc'. You should get:
This is a more detailed list of processes that are starting up with Windows. All those items with 'Automatic' listed next to their names are booting with Windows. Click on the items to find out just what they do. If you decide you don't need a certain service, you can simply right-click on it and change it's properties from 'Automatic' to 'Manual'.



#3 - SPEEDING UP INTERNET EXPLORER

This is a handy little trick you can use with Internet Explorer 6 (which ships with XP) to make it boot up extremely fast - instantly, on my system :). This should be familiar to those of you who have created shortcuts for Half-Life modes and the like. For those of you who aren't familiar, simply right-click on a shortcut to Internet Explorer (such as the one in the Quick launch bar) and add the parameter '-no home' to the end of the command line, like so:
Target: Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -no home



#4 - PERFORMANCE INCREASE THROUGH MY COMPUTER

1: Start > Right Click on My Computer and select properties.
2: Click on the "Advanced" tab
3: See the "Performance" section? Click "Settings"
4: Disable the following:

Fade or slide menus into view
Fade or slide ToolTips into view
Fade out menu items after clicking
Show Shadows under menus
Slide open combo boxes
Slide taskbar buttons
Use a background image for each folder type
Use common tasks in folders

Windows will still look nice and perform faster.



#5 - GPEDIT.MSC AND AUTOPLAY

A great tweaking file that comes with XP is gpedit.msc. Go to Start -> Run... and then type in 'gpedit.msc' and press enter. This is effectively the Policies Editor, and it comes in handy often. For example, if you hate CD auto play like I do and want to permanently disable it, you can use this tool to do so. Just run gpedit.msc, and then go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System. In here you can see the value 'Turn Off Auto play'. Right-click on it and then click 'Properties'.
Now you can simply play around with the settings for this and other values in these folders, customizing appearance and performance issues.



#6 - INCREASING OPTIONS IN ADD/REMOVE MENU

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

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 ",".



#7 - GET RID OF IM AND NO SLOW OE STARTUP

If you have OE 6 got to tools > windows messenger > options > preferences and in the general area uncheck "run this program when windows starts" and "allow this program to run in the background." After doing this IM does not load on startup and OE loads as usual.



#8 - EDIT HIDDEN SYSTEM SETTINGS USING GROUP POLICY EDITOR

Windows XP has a great program called Group Policy Editor that allows system administrators to modify the settings to a great number of windows features. TO start the program up follow the directions below.

1. Open the start menu and click Run
2. Type gpedit.msc
3. The Group Policy MMC appears
4. Click through the different nodes of the tree to see all the hidden features of Windows XP that you can edit without touching the registry.

Examples: Changing IE displays, Clearing the pagefile at shutdown, boot-time defrag settings, and many many more

Another tip is to add this to your Administrative Tools by adding the shortcut to gpedit.msc



#9 - MEMORY PERFORMANCE TWEAKS

The next few memory tweaks can be performed with Windows XP - all of them are located in the

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSe ssion ManagerMemory Management
section of the registry.



9A - DISABLE PAGING EXECUTIVE

In normal usage, XP pages sections from RAM memory to the hard drive. We can stop this happening and keep the data in RAM, resulting in improved performance. Note that only users with a large amount of RAM (256MB+) should use this setting. The setting we want to change to disable the 'Paging Executive', as it is called, is called DisablePagingExecutive. Changing the value of this key from 0 to 1 will de-activate memory paging.




9B - SYSTEM CACHE BOOST
Changing the value of the key LargeSystemCache from 0 to 1 will tell Windows XP to allocate all but 4MB of system memory to the file system cache, basically meaning that the XP Kernel can run in memory, greatly improving it's speed. The 4MB of memory left is used for disk caching, but if for any reason more is needed, XP allocates more. Generally, this tweak improves performance by a fair bit but can, in some intensive applications, degrade performance. As with the above tweak, you should have at least 256MB of RAM before attempting to enable LargeSystemCache.




9C - INPUT/OUTPUT PERFORMANCE
This tweak is only really valuable to anyone running a server - it improves performace while a computer is performing large file transfer operations. By default, the value does not appear in the registry, so you will have to create a REG_DWORD value called IOPageLockLimit. The data for this value is in bytes, and defaults to 512KB on machines that have the value. Most people using this tweak have found maximum performance in the 8 to 16 megabyte range, so you will have to play around with the value to find the best performance. Remeber that the value is measured in bytes, so if you want, say, 12MB allocated, it's 12 * 1024 * 1024, or 12582912. As with all these memory tweaks, you should only use this if you have 256MB or more of RAM.



#10 - SPEEDING UP SHARE VIEWING

This is a great tweak. Before I found it, I was always smashing my head against the table waiting to view shares on other computers. Basically, when you connect to another computer with Windows XP, it checks for any Scheduled tasks on that computer - a fairly useless task, but one that can add up to 30 seconds of waiting on the other end - not good! Fortunately, it's fairly easy to disable this process. First, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace in the Registry. Below that, there should be a key called {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}. Just delete this, and after a restart, Windows will no longer check for scheduled tasks - mucho performance improvement!




#11 - PRIORITIZING INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES

This is so simple it's not funny, but it leads into the next tweak... anyway, if you press Control+Alt+Delete, then click on the 'Processes' tab, you should get a dialog like the one above. You can see a list of all the processes running at the time. Now, if you are running a program that you want to dedicate more processing time to - eg, 3D Studio Max, as in my example, you can just right-click on the process, move your cursor down to 'Set Priority >', then select how high you want that program prioritized. While I'm checking my email, I might want a Normal priority for Max, but if I leave my Computer, I can increase it to 'RealTime' to get the most rendering done. Easy!




#12 - PRIORITIZING IRQS

The last tweak for this guide - and a good one. The main components of your computer have an IRQ number assigned to them. With this tweak we can increase the priority given to any IRQ number, thereby improving the performance of that component. The most common component this tweak is used for is the System CMOS/real time clock, which improves performance across the board. First of all, decide which component you want to give a performance boost to. Next, you have to discover which IRQ that piece of hardware is using. To do this, simply go to Control Panel, then open the System panel (You can also press the shortcut of Windows+Break). Click the 'Hardware' tab, then on the 'Device Manager' button.

Now, right click on the component you want to discover the IRQ for and click 'Properties', then click on the 'Resources' tab.

You can plainly see which IRQ this device is using (if there is no IRQ number, select another device). Remember the number and close down all of the dialog boxes you have opened, then start up RegEdit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetControlPr iorityControl in the registry. Now, we have to create a new DWORD value - called IRQ#Priority (where '#̢۪ is the IRQ number), then set the data to 1. For example, the IRQ of my System CMOS is 8, so I would create the key IRQ8Priority.

I would strongly recommend the CMOS, as it improves performance around the board. Also note that you can have multiple IRQ prioritized, but it is fairly inefficient and can cause instability. To remove this tweak, simply delete the value you created.



#13 - SPEED UP DETAILED VIEW IN EXPLORER

If you like to view your files in Windows Explorer using the "Details" view here is a tweak to speed up the listing of file attributes:

Viewing files in Windows Explorer using the "Details" mode shows various attributes associated with each file shown. Some of these must be retrieved from the individual files when you click on the directory for viewing. For a directory with numerous and relatively large files (such as a folder in which one stores media, eg: *.mp3's, *.avi's etc.) Windows Explorer lags as it reads through each one. Here's how to disable viewing of unwanted attributes and speed up file browsing:

1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Navigate to the folder which you wish to optimize.
3. In "Details" mode right click the bar at the top which displays the names of the attribute columns.
4. Uncheck any that are unwanted/unneeded.

Explorer will apply your preferences immediately, and longs lists of unnecessary attributes will not be displayed.
Likewise, one may choose to display any information which is regarded as needed, getting more out of Explorer.




#14 - ACCELERATE YOUR WINXP BY SPEEDING DISKCACHE

Diskcache plays a very important role in WinXP. However, the default I/O pagefile setting of XP is conservative, which limits the performance. Some better values for different RAM are given below.

1. run "regedit";
2. goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\IoPageLockLimit];
3. modify the value in Hex depending on the size of your RAM:
RAM: modified value(Hex)
64M: 1000;
128M: 4000;
256M: 10000;
512M or more: 40000.
4. reboot.

Though some good tools (such as "Cacheman") can do this, it is an interesting experience for you to work it out by yourself and let your XP fly.



#15 - CLEAN YOUR PREFETCH TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

This is an unique technique for WinXP. We know that it is necessary to wash registry and TEMP files for Win9X/ME/2000 periodly. Prefetch is a new and very useful technique in Windows XP. However, after using XP some time, the prefetch directory can get full of junk and obsolete links in the Prefetch catalog, which can slow down your computer notablely. My suggestion is: open C(system drive):/windows/prefetch, delete those junk and obsolete files,reboot. It is recommended that you do this every month.



Give your comments and see my next post in this section for more tweaks.

[Netjunkie]

Whoa man !!!

Did you write all that ?

Its here
http://webgear.datacreek.net/system/xptweaks.html

Anyways, its a handy collection. Combine both the threads so that we can have one big list.

[cybermanas]

No way did I write all this .It's a combination of different tweaks from different sources including yours.

[Retro]

There was actually this big thread that Raabo started for Win XP tweaks. Someone should merge this thread with that, I suppose. Or this post alone.

[shakti]

is there any trics to boost up dial up modems speed?

pleeeeeez

[navjotjsingh]

There was actually this big thread that Raabo started for Win XP tweaks. Someone should merge this thread with that, I suppose. Or this post alone.

This is that thread only.

[The Incredible]

to shutdown faster simply press: winkey-->u-->u
hibernate:winkey-->u-->h
restart: winkey-->u-->r

For me this is the fastest way rather than clicking icons, pressing power button or clicking on start menu. hehehe

Shwetu, I do it more faster.

Just goto ur Power Settings and set buttons Power & Sleep.

I use sleep to hibernate & power to shutdown.

[The Incredible]

Those r k, but try this SUPERFAST SHUTDOWN
www.xp-smoker.com/freeware.html

Munna do u know that its regular usage is hazardous. just visit u mentioned and scroll down

[rollcage]

Have tweaked .. msconfig,
install tweakxp,
Have applied SAFE XP (http://www.theorica.net/safexp.htm)
Also did the registery edit for Timetokillapptimeout to 200milisecs

The Startup is good ..

But my WinXP_sp2 takes ages to shut down ... :(

[config: IBM R51, 1.5centrino, 512mb Ram]

PLZ.... TELL HOW TO SHUTDOWN FASTER GUYS...

[shakti]

Prakashaka Wrote:
hey nice trics u guis...

is there any trics to boost up dial up modems speed?

pleeeeeez

You Need Change The Chipset Of Your Modem

[raghu-RAM]

Hey
there is a method to edit host file and add DNS of the sites so as to bypass the DNS server and increase the net speed..
can anyone tell the location of that file....

[DAVIS]

what's tweaking? i heard many times but i don't know what it means and what's that "H_KEY" (something like that)

-----------------------------------------------------------
guys come here and enjoy with GraphiX!
The Members of this Digit Forum can become the Mods of the Forum led by me - GraphiX!
You will get the link only if you are interested!!!!!!
So contact me at - greenismycolor@gmail.com for the link!

[shwetanshu]

Shwetu, I do it more faster.
Hey how did u come to know my home's nickname??? :shock: :shock: :shock:

[con_tester]

Well Its a trick in XP.
Are you a software developer.
Do you want to creat easy installations.
If you go to
Star-Run and type iexpress.
This is a tool for creating nifty installations.
I tried it only in xp pro but i think it is also available in home edition.

[shwetanshu]

yup its also available in Home Edition too

[deepak.krishnan]

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

It has a large umber of tweaks. Enjoy!!!

[Gurpreet Kaur]

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
3. Add a DWORD and give it a name of NoTrayContextMenu
4. Give it a value of 1
5. Reboot means restart your computer

[godsownman]

Disable all right clicking or what ? Please specofy

[vijay_7287]

this post is supposed is supposed to be here
http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2258&start=120

[QwertyManiac]

@godsownman - Disable Rightclick on the desktop yaar !

[Nemesis]

Thread Merged Here.

[b4u--raj]

Hai every one
I just want to know how to add options for a right click (context menu) or editing the options for right click If any one know this please let me know

[gary4gar]

small trick!!!

U Guys must be using the explore option to browse
in various folders quickly, here the trick press shift+enter=explorer window

to rename files quickly just press f2

If U Knew it.. Spread It, If U Don't.. nJoy !!!

[gary4gar]

if anyone has a intel based shared graphics
here a trick:
press ctrl+alt+down arrow

wow!! screen is upside down and every is upsidedown

to return press CTRL+ALT+UP ARROW

try it on friends n' njoy

[Gurpreet Kaur]

for all the options of right click

[Adhip007]

How can i change the windows xp starting screen?

[ashisharya]

adhip007 wrote-How can i change the windows xp starting screen?

u can change winxp boot screen by installing BootEditor. u can do manually also

[Vishal Gupta]

Guys!

I found following Tips from Tweak UI, which I didnt know before! And I thought of posting these Tips here:

1.) Hold down the shift key when switching to thumbnail view to hide the file names. Do it again to bring them back.

2.) If you create a file called Folder.jpg, that image will be used as the thumbnail for the folder. What's more, that image will also be used as the album art in Windows Media Player for all media files in that folder.

3.) From the View Menu, select "Choose Details" to select which file properties should be shown in the Explorer window. To sort by a file property, check its name in the "Choose Details" in order to make that property available in the "Arrange Icons by" menu.

[phatratt]

ti increase the menu speed goto regedit>HKEY_CURRENT_USER>CONTROL PANEL>DESKTOP

on the right side find the key menushowdelay and set its value to 0 from 400(default)and watch those menus shooting up.

[Adhip007]

ashisharya wrote
u can change winxp boot screen by installing BootEditor. u can do manually also

Could u tell the manual process. I want to change the start up Gui.
Thanx in Advance
Adhip

[Mr.Cool]

ti increase the menu speed goto regedit>HKEY_CURRENT_USER>CONTROL PANEL>DESKTOP

on the right side find the key menushowdelay and set its value to 0 from 400(default)and watch those menus shooting up.

Keeping the value to les than 50 will sky rocket the menu. Better the value is kept more than 50.

And visit this Site for tips and Trix (http://www.jazz-rabbit.co.nr)[/url]

[pauljose]

After you back up your registry, this is how you can change this default location.

1. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion
2. Find ProgramFilesDir whose default should be C:\Program Files.
3. Change this to whatever directory you wish. I changed it to D:\Program Files for example.
3. Leave the program files on C: Drive as it is. and reboot ur computer

Unfortunately i have been posting this question in the forum for 2 weeks and no one was able to answer. I just needed the path and every1 wanted me to install tweak UI which i didn't want to. After long hours of search I found out the path myself. Hope its useful for some1. :idea:

[::vicky::]

fresh ui and x-setup are great best of the best

[heart-breaker]

Edit by Deep: No ripping the stuff without source...please take care from next time to avoid warnings

[QwertyManiac]

Hmmm... I cant seem to find a direct source for your post but for some points, they are a clear copy-paste from several sites according to google so obviously you too have ripped it from somewhere. better mention the source...

[EDIT] - Source for ur ripped post -
http://www.itfreaks.com/articles/windows/hacking_windows_xp_registry/

Remember google is a god for Cyber Crime cell :P kidding
Copyright ©2005 - 2006 ITFreaks.com. All rights reserved.

[Ramakrishnan]

One may tweak anything. But One should understand the consequences of the result of tweaks. Otherwise tweaking be left alone to experts.

[rbhuvaneshbabu]

Hello Friends, i usually download the softwares for Tweaking the System from www.download.com I usually like tweaking the Registry settings of the Windows. For the Past 7 years im using the Tweak System. The OS i tweaked are as follows

1.Win98
2.Win98 SE
3.WinME
4.Win2000
5.WinXP
5.Win2003

Till now im using Tweak Registry.. all are cool

With Regards,
R.Bhuvaneshbabu
09894433127
rbhuvaneshbabu@yahoo.com

[ashisharya]

Open ms-dos
And type:
Color 2

For other colors:
0 = Black
1 = Blue
2 = Green
3 = Aqua
4 = Red
5 = Purple
6 = Yellow
7 = White
8 = Gray

[ashisharya]

here it goes:
Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced" tab, in the "Performance" section select "Settings". uncheck these

Show translucent selection rectangle
Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
Use visual styles on windows and buttons

[ashisharya]

The following is a list of Services that you can Disable on most systems for increased performance:

Alerter
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Help and Support
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Registry Service
Secondary Logon
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet
Upload Manager
Wireless Zero Configuration

[ashisharya]

Finding out the reason of a Windows crash

If you would like to know the reason why there was a sudden crash of Windows, change the DWORD-value ShutdownReasonUI temporarily to 1 in the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Reliability
After a reboot you will find the reason why your Windows shuts down suddenly in the log files (Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Logfiles). If you are finished analyzing, change the value ShutdownReasonUI back to 0.



Windows search optimization

Within Windows XP you are able to search your computer for files (Start, Search), but takes some clicking to get what you want! To optimize the search function, you have to make some registry changes. To make changes, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
where you will find some important DWORD-values. Change these values to optimize your Windows search:
SearchSystemDirs=1
SearchHidden=1
IncludeSubFolders=1
CaseSensitive=0
SearchSlowFiles=1




Finding out the reason of a Windows crash

If you would like to know the reason why there was a sudden crash of Windows, change the DWORD-value ShutdownReasonUI temporarily to 1 in the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Reliability
After a reboot you will find the reason why your Windows shuts down suddenly in the log files (Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Logfiles). If you are finished analyzing, change the value ShutdownReasonUI back to 0.



A faster NTFS file system

You probably use the NTFS file system (see the properties of your C: partition). You can improve performance by making some changes in the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Filesystem
Change the following registry values, as you wish:
DisableNTFSLastAccessUpdate=dword:00000001 (last file access is no longer registered).
NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation=dword:00000001 (no more double filenames: long names and the old 8.3 variant (the 8.3 file notation is used for the older Windows versions).
NtfsMftZoneReservation=dword:00000002 (if there are many files on a partition, the master file table (MFT) can get fragmented, with this tweak there will be no more fragmenting of the file master file table (default value = 1, range 1-4).


Source:Various

[contactpraven2001]

well most of time i use the tips and trics which given in tha digit maz but some time i like to play with regidit also but most of the time i m busy in formeting my pc

[ashisharya]

his tip is only recommended if you have 256MB RAM or higher.

Follow these steps:

Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the Run command.
Expand the system.ini file window.
Scroll down almost to the end of the file till you find a line called [386enh].
Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type
Irq14=4096
Note: This line IS CASE SENSITIVE!!!
Click on the File menu, then choose Save.
Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.
Done. Speed improvement will be noticed after the computer reboots.



Optimize the Page File

"Virtual Memory is the space on the hard disk Windows uses as RAM. The Page File (Pagefile.sys) serves as temporary, virtual memory storage for code and data." -http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/6242.asp

Instructions - Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced" tab, in the "Performance" section select "Settings", "Advanced" tab, in the "Virtual Memory" section select "Change". Change the values to:

- Initial size (MB): 1.5 x the amount of RAM in your system
- Maximum size (MB): 3.0 x the amount of RAM in your system (PF Size Limit = 4095 MB)
Then select "Set" and "OK" and reboot.

[SE><IE]

Reorganizing Control Panel
The Control Panel in Windows XP includes a category view that divides specific tasks and Control Panel icons into different categories. You can include a Control Panel icon in a particular category by adding a REG_DWORD value for it in the key HKLM\ Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\Extended Properties\ {305CA226-D286-468e-B848-2B2E8E697B74} 2. (The 2 is part of the key's name.) Most of the Control Panel icons already have values in this key, so all you have to do is assign a category ID to each one. The following list describes the available category IDs:

0x00000000.
Other Control Panel Options. (Any tool that does not specify a category ID is placed in this category.)

0x00000001.
Appearance and Themes.

0x00000002.
Printers and Other Hardware.

0x00000003.
Network and Internet Connections.

0x00000004.
Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices.

0x00000005.
Performance and Maintenance.

0x00000006.
Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options.

0x00000007.
Accessibility Options.

0xFFFFFFFF.
This indicates not to put the tool in any category, and is for special tools that only start directly, such as Add Or Remove Programs.

For example, to put the System Control Panel tool in the Appearance and Themes category, set %SystemRoot%\System32\sysdm.cpl to 0x01. For Control Panel tools that are implemented as shell namespace extensions (for example, Fonts and Scheduled Tasks), the category ID is specified in the registry under the CLSID entry. For example, the category setting for the Administrative Tools folder is in HKCR\CLSID\{D20EA4E1-3957-11D2-A40B-OC5020524153}. It's the REG_DWORD value {305CA226-D286-468e-B848-2B2E8E697B74} 2, which is set to 0x05 by default.

Note: It is not possible to create new 'sections' though

[speedrider_200]

If looks doesn't a matter for you, then you can make your XP faster upto 40%. The inbuilt Performance option in windows XP will do this all for you without any hassale. Apart from that you can go for some registry editing stuff.

[Ben Jacob]

Hi allll i am a new member to digitForums
Ok i will direct you all to a ultimate Windows Vista tweak Site
ok click (http://www.vistatweaks.tk) here will direct you to there

[SE><IE]

Goto HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse and...


X-Windows effect
Using this trick you can bring the windows to top i.e. make it active by merely moving the mouse pointer over it.
Modify the ActiveWindowTracking key to 1


Swap mouse buttons
Make the mouse left handed the geeky way.
In the same hive look for SwapMouseButtons modify it to 1 for left handed, 0 means right handed.


Modify double click
Sentsitivity: modify DoubleClickHeight and DoubleClickWidth. Default is 4
Speed: modify DoubleClickSpeed to something other than the default 500


Speed
modify MouseSpeed to change the pointer's speed. Default is 1

No. of lines scrolled per wheel roll
Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop and modifyWheelScrollLines to the desired no. Default is 3

[sabret00the]

hey this seems like something useful to me.

[rakeshishere]

WinTricks is one of the largest and most up-to-date programs for Windows
tips, tricks, and secrets available today! WinTricks includes tips/tricks for
all versions of Windows, plus the Registry, Desktop, AOL, Laptop, Internet,
and more. You will find that this program is easy to navigate and it has
complete instructions on all of our Tips, Tricks, and Secrets.

The newest version includes 55 new tips/tricks for categories such as
Windows XP, Windows Me, Desktop, Registry, and more. The new
version also includes one new category for Hardware Tips & Tricks.:)

http://cdn.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/win95/info/wintricks_v4-0f.exe

[topgear]

To access opera web browser's more advanced options in a
web interface:

In a blank page just type "about:config" or "opera:config" without the quotes and voila you are ready to go.

Tested with version: 9.01 build 8518. Don't know if it works with other versions.

[anantkhaitan]

The mode(view) and conditions in which I leave my folder does not remains same
when i visit it again


Eg: closing the folder in "Icons" mode changes to "Tiled" mode after somedays

Give me a solution to eliminate this

[Vishal Gupta]

Open Tools -> Folder Options and in View tab, make sure that "Remember each folder's view settings" option is enabled! :)

[sabret00the]

Not exactly tweaking tips but more or less troubleshooting:

http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37266
http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37264

[ax3]

WOW ! ! ! thats a gooood sticky THREAD ! ! !

Here`s from my side abt DEFRAGMENTING :

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++

The Fast, Simple Way 2 Defragment UR Disks ! ! !


Before you defragment, you should scan your disk for errors.


It's always best to defrag a disk when it's not in use. To set up Windows to defrag a drive automatically at such a time, start by opening Notepad or another text editor, and type defrag.exe followed by a space, the drive letter, and a colon.


UR command line might look like this: defrag.exe c: -f -v >"e:\doc\defrag report.txt" (your path and file name may differ, of course). Press Enter.


If you want to defrag more than one drive, create a command line for each one, changing the drive letter and the file name and path as necessary. When you're done, choose File, Save, and save the file to a convenient location.

Make sure to use the .bat or .cmd file extension.


Now any time you want to defragment the drives, just double-click the .bat or .cmd file you created.


Finally, Windows' Scheduled Tasks utility lets you defragment automatically at the time of your choice. Make the disk defragmenting occur whenever you want.


HAPPY DEFRAGGING # # # # #


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++

[sabret00the]

hey I have started to like this thread.Guys I have a question see if any of u ubergeeks can help me.
__________
http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33575

[arun77574]

An alternative to close any open window. doesn't matter what ever the window has in it. it may be paint, media player, explorer window, any third party software, games........ or what ever it is.

Jus double click at the top left corner of the window and it gets closed.
Try this out guys.

[lokeshakash]

hi guys any one help me how to work on hexeditor

[Vishal Gupta]

^^
4th post of urs with same illegal stuff!

Reporting...

[pritish_kul2]

does anyone know how to put a logo on the login screen of windows XP and how to change the start option to make it a clock?

[Vishal Gupta]

U can put the logo in Login screen using Resource Hacker, for more information pls visit the Resource Hacker tutorial in "Tutorials" section ;)

And to put clock in place of Start button, u can use many 3rd party utilities :) Just google for them!

[ashisharya]

U can put the logo in Login screen using Resource Hacker, for more information pls visit the Resource Hacker tutorial in "Tutorials" section ;)

And to put clock in place of Start button, u can use many 3rd party utilities :) Just google for them!


its gr8 2 use 3rd party s/w but more pleasurable to do it manually

[Amey_Techgeek]

I have posted this before in my first thread,but just in case for somebody who has'nt read it:

How to end Megaupload slot limitations:

For firefox:

Type: about:config in the Firefox address bar
-Search for general.useragent.extra.firefox
-Double click on it
-Change the default text with this: Firefox/2.0 MEGAUPLOAD 1.0
Rapidshare:
If someone already knows this i am sorry but its not what everyone must be knowin. so i m here to share..
rapidleech, is a script which u put in ur webhost(supports php) u load the index.php from the webhost, and it asks for a link for the download, u put in the link e.g. http://rapidshare.com/files/616734/whatever.rar and u click on download, the file will get downloaded to ur host, and then u can download it of ur host with pause enabled, which normal rapidshare users wont be able to do. i hope u understood.. i am using it..

heres the original forum for rapidleech
http://www.rapidleech.com/index.php?http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_17_209.gif

[Siddharth Maheshwari]

does anyone know how to put a logo on the login screen of windows XP and how to change the start option to make it a clock?

Edit logonui.exe in resource hacker
goto bitmap 127->1003
Replace the bitmap there by going on action and replace bitmap.
Choose a bitmap file of ur choice.
Save logonui.exe
and restart ur pc
See the magic

[deshabhishek007]

56K modem Tweaks

One of the most frustrating things to have with a computer is a slow internet connection and 56K is about as slow as it gets these days. I feel the pain that 56K users have and hope that by following this thread they can experience a faster more reliable internet connection. There are a few things that one must understand prior to tweaking their 56K connections. The first is that it is actually a 53.3K connection since that is the speed that the FCC limits you to, on top of that most dialup users actually connect in the 40,000 ? 50,000K range, which is excellent by dialup standards. Being that you actually connect in the 40-50K range you need to understand that your maximum throughput is only going to be around 6 kilobytes per second.

First and most important is for you to download the latest drivers for your modem from the manufacturer?s website.

Make sure you have a ?clean? phone line, no static on your line. If you have static you will have a very low connect speed and no tweak will fix that.

You need to download CableNut, it is the most comprehensive internet connection tweaking app available.

Setting your TCP/IP and AFD registry parameters for optimum performance.

Use the following settings in CableNut:

DefaultReceiveWindow = 8192
DefaultSendWindow = 4096
DisableAddressSharing = 1
InitialLargeBufferCount = 20
InitialMediumBufferCount = 48
InitialSmallBufferCount = 64
LargeBufferSize = 40960
MaxFastTransmit = 6400
MediumBufferSize = 15040
PriorityBoost = 0
SmallBufferSize = 1280
TransmitWorker = 32
FastSendDatagramThreshold = 1024
EnableFastRouteLookup = 1
EnablePMTUDiscovery = 1
IgnorePushBitOnReceives = 0
GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize = 8760
MaxFreeTcbs = 4000
MaxHashTableSize = 8192
MaxNormLookupMemory = 1500000
SackOpts = 1
SynAttackProtect = 1
Tcp1323Opts = 0
TcpLogLevel = 1
MaxDupAcks = 3
TcpMaxHalfOpen = 100
TcpMaxHalfOpenRetried = 80
TcpRecvSegmentSize = 1460
TcpSendSegmentSize = 1460
TcpTimedWaitDelay = 30
TcpUseRFC1122UrgentPointer = 0
TcpWindowSize = 8760
MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server = 8
MaxConnectionsPerServer = 4
DefaultTTL = 128
DisableUserTOSSetting = 0
TcpMaxDataRetransmissions = 6
DefaultTOSValue = 90


Other important tweaks to improve your connection.

Open your control panel and select the phone and modem properties icon ? select the modems tab, under the modems tab highlight your modem and select properties

? General tab:

Set your speaker volume to your preference
Maximum port speed ? 115,200

? Advanced tab:

? Extra Settings ? this is where you put in initialization strings, they can help stabilize your connection. Try the following websites for init strings for your modem.

Spy.net
56K.com
West.net
ModemHelp.org
? Advanced port settings ? check ?use FIFO buffers? then slide both bars to the far right.
? Change default preferences:
Port Speed - 115,200
Data Protocol - Standard EC
Compression - enabled
Flow Control ? hardware

? Advanced:

Data bits ? 8
Parity ? None
Stop Bits - 1
Modulation ? Standard

Now select the Network and Dialup Connections and right click on your ISP?s icon and select properties.

? General tab:

Highlight your modem and select ?configure?, set the maximum speed to 921,600 and under ?hardware features? all the boxes are checked.

? Networking tab:

Uninstall all the protocols you don?t need. If this is a stand alone pc then all you need is Internet Protocol TCP/IP.

Select the settings button and make sure all the boxes are checked.

Setting your COM port speed properly:

Right click on My Computer and select properties ? hardware ? device manager ? select your COM port ? port settings tab ? bits per second 128000 (you may need to set this a few times to make it stick).

Other important registry tweaks:

? Speeding up network browsing.

Open regedit and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Delete the key: {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

? Faster webpage tweak by giving priority to DNS lookup.

Copy and paste the following and make it a .reg file and merge it into your regstry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Tcpip\ServiceProvider]

"DnsPriority"=dword:00000001
"HostsPriority"=dword:00000001
"LocalPriority"=dword:00000001
"NetbtPriority"=dword:00000001

? Forward buffer memory tweak, this controls how much RAM TCP/IP uses for storing packet data in the router packet queue.

Copy and paste the following and make it a .reg file and merge it into your regstry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Tcpip\Parameters]

"ForwardBufferMemory"=dword:00024a00
"NumForwardPackets"=dword:0000024a
"MaxForwardBufferMemory"=dword:00024a00
"MaxNumForwardPackets"=dword:0000024a

? By default Windows 2K & XP cache everything in the DNS cache service, both correct and faulty DNS lookups. To increase performance by eliminating the caching of faulty DNS lookups, copy and paste the following and make it a .reg file and merge it into your regstry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Dnscache\Parameters]

"NegativeCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NetFailureCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NegativeSOACacheTime"=dword:00000000

Internet Explorer important settings:

Open Internet Explorer and select Tools - Internet Options - under the General tab in the Temporary Internet files section select the Settings button.

Select "Every visit to the page" and set the amount of disk space to use: to no more than 80MB. Now select the Connections tab and select LAN Settings make sure EVERYTHING there is unchecked and select OK.

Select the Privacy tab and choose Advanced check the box "Override automatic cookie handling" and for First-party Cookies - Accept, Third-party Cookies - Block and check "Always allow session cookies. Now NO MORE SPYWARE COOKIES.

Open Internet Options and under temp internet files - settings select ? every visit to page.

If you have a dial up connection I HIGHLY recommend using a download manager, it will help maximize your download speed, resume downloads if you are disconnected and you can even schedule downloads for the middle of the night (it will automatically dial up and download the desired file and hang up when done) when you aren't using your pc.

Reply guys
its my first post to think digit.

[Josan]

Good Tweaks

[Josan]

Use This
Desktop Gone Forever
If you can do without the regular NT 4.0 desktop permanently, it's possible to start with just the Task Manager even without Command Prompt. Launch the Registry Editor and locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/ CurrentVersion/WinLogon. Double-click on value named Shell (set by default to Explorer.exe). Enter Taskmgr.exe for the NT Task Manager. For a command prompt, enter Cmd.exe. Close the Registry Editor and log off.

[Goten]

Yeah its all gud to tweak up xp.
Its sux neways.

[vnl5486]

There should be huge pdf file with all the tweaks mentioned...and people....who know..it

[topgear]

Vista Tweaking Tips:

1. For Vista service tweaks visit this website: http://speedyvista.com/index.html

In this website site you will find which vista service should be enabled or which one should
be disabled. Also if you don't want to manually set the service behavior-- their is reg files
and bat files available in four modes 1.Default 2.Safe 3.Tweaked 4.Minimal which will do the
job for you.

2. A freeware utility with no restrictions called "DTweak" --http://www.daoisoft.com/index.html

3. My own hack-- I think the superfetch feature in vista is hogging a large amount of ram.
If you want to disable this just copy the following words to reg file and execute it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters]
"EnableSuperfetch"=dword:00000000
"EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000001

Note: Modifying registry is a risky task. I will not be responsible for any kind of damage for the above procedure.

[topgear]

Some usefull Windows XP run Commands:
shrpubw.exe

Sound recoder:
sndrec32.exe

Volume control:
sndvol32.exe

Secure winxp account database tool
syskey.exe

Telnet:
telnet.exe

Winxp tour:
tourstart.exe

Driver Verifier:
verifier.exe

chat:
winchat.exe

Wordpad:
write.exe

[solomon_paulraj]

add this..
winword - ms word
excel - ms excel
powerpnt - ms powerpoint
msaccess - ms access
pbrush - paintbrush
mspaint - paintbrush
mplayer2 - old media player

most of you already no this.. just added to the list for newbies..

[sabret00the]

add this..
winword - ms word
excel - ms excel
powerpnt - ms powerpoint
msaccess - ms access
pbrush - paintbrush
mspaint - paintbrush
mplayer2 - old media player

most of you already no this.. just added to the list for newbies..

:grin: :grin: :grin:

[prem4u]

i wanna add RUN command in my taskbar same like in linux for winxp..
do u guys have any idea for doing this..

[iceeeeman]

i wanna add RUN command in my taskbar same like in linux for winxp..
do u guys have any idea for doing this..

Heres how to do it dude :-
1.Right click on the taskbar and then go to toolbars
2.A new small window will open ,tick address there .You will get a new small Address tool in the taskbar .
3.Now unlock the taskbar and then adjust the length of the new address toobar .Type all ur commands in the address bar all will open up as it did it run ,Ur r done man..

[xlnt123]

The already tweaked version of winxp is winXP3 I think we had an iso file floating around the net and I installed it and runs fine with me......
I like it.....

[nutpam]

nice

[pravinbv]

http://www.tweakxp.com
all those tweaks you need. tutorials and softwares also

[nikkyan]

To open windows explorer press startkey and E simultaneously.
To open RUN press startkey and R simultaneously.
nikkyan

(http://www.aivsoft.com/downloads)

[trublu]

I got this from techreviewer.com,it has got loads of information oc tweaking ur sytem. So,if u want to decrease ur booting time by a bit,open services.msc and disable the following services:
1. Disabled - Alerter
2. Disabled - Application Layer Gateway Service
3. Manual - Application Management
4. Disabled - Automatic Updates
5. Disabled - Background Intelligent Transfer Service
7. Disabled - Clipbook
8. Manual - COM+ Event System
9. Manual - COM+ System Application
10. Disabled - Computer Browser *1
11. Enabled - Cryptographic Services *1b
12. Disabled - DHCP Client *2
13. Disabled - Distributed Link Tracking Client
14. Disabled - Distributed Transaction Coordinator
15. Automatic - DNS Client
16. Disabled - Error Reporting Service
17. Automatic - Fast User Switching Compatibility *3
18. Disabled - Help and Support *4
19. Manual - Human Interface Device Access
20. Disabled - IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service *5
21. Disabled - Indexing service
22. Disabled - ICF/ICS *6
23. Disabled - IPSEC Service
24. Manual - Logical Disk Manager
25. Manual - Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
26. Disabled - Messanger
27. Disabled - MS Software Shadow Copy Provider
28. Disabled - Net Logon
29. Disabled - NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
30. Manual - Network Connections
31. Disabled - Network DDE
32. Disabled - Network DDE DSDM
33. Disabled - Network Location Awareness
34. Disabled - NT LM Security Support Provider
35. Manual - Performance Logs and Alerts
36. Automatic - Plug and Play
37. Disabled - Portable Media Serial Number
38. Disabled - Print Spooler *7
39. Automatic - Protected Storage
40. Disabled - QoS RSVP
41. Disabled - Remote Access Auto Connection Manager
42. Disabled - Remote Access Connection Manager
43. Disabled - Remote Desktop Help Session
44. Automatic - Remote Procedure Call
45. Manual - Remote Procedure Call Locator
46. Disabled - Remote Registry
47. Disabled - Removable Storage *8
48. Disabled - Routing and Remote Access
49. Disabled - Secondary Logon
50. Automatic - Security Accounts Mangaer
51. Automatic - Server
52. Disabled - Shell Hardware Detection
53. Disabled - Smart Card *9
54. Disabled - Smart Card Helper *9
55. Disabled - SSDP Discovery Service
56. Manual - System Event Notification
57. Disabled - System Restore Service *10
58. Disabled - Tast Scheduler
59. Disabled - TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
60. Manual - Telephony
61. Disabled - Telnet
62. Disabled - Terminal Services *11
63. Disabled - Themes
64. Disabled - Uninterruptible Power Supply *12
65. Disabled - Universal Plug and Play Device Host
66. Disabled - Upload Manager
67. Disabled - Volume Shadow Copy
68. Disabled - WebClient
69. Automatic - Windows Audio
70. Disabled - Windows Image Acquisition *13
71. Manual - Windows Insatller
72. Manual - Windows Management Instrumentation
73. Manual - Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
74. Disabled - Windows Time
75. Disabled - Wireless Zero Configuration
76. Disabled - WMI Performance Adapter
77. Automatic - Workstation




*1 = If you only have one computer in your network you can leave this service disabled. If you have more than one computer in your network, at least ONE of the computers in your network must be running this service in order for computers to show up when you go into My Network Places --> Entire Network --> Microsoft Windows Network --> Name of workgroup.

*1b = Needed for verifying updates downloaded from Microsoft (Windows Update, DirectX, Service Packs, etc...)

*2 = If you're using DHCP in your network, leave this service at Automatic.

*3 = If you have more that one person (e.g. family computer) using the computer you'll be tweaking leave this service on automatic.

*4 = Need lots of help? Leave this service on automatic instead of disabled.

*5 = Leave this service on automatic if you like XP's integrated CD burning feature.

*6 = Leave on automatic if you use ICS to share a connection with other computers on your network

*7 = Have a printer? If you do leave this service on automatic or else you won't be able to use your printer at all.

*8 = If you have a removable device in your computer leave this service on automatic.

*9 = Use Smartcards? If so leave both on automatic?

*10 = The psychotic paranoid type who thinks his/her computer is going to die at any minute people should leave this service on automatic.

*11 = If you use Remote Desktop leave at Automatic.

*12 = Leave at automatic if you use a UPS.

*13 = If you have a scanner attached to the computer and use it, leave at automatic.



At the end,reboot ur system to see the changes.;)

does anyone know how to put a logo on the login screen of windows XP and how to change the start option to make it a clock?
visit www.startclock.osnn.net
download the start clock utility

[topgear]

Nice compilation

[tj007]

1-U can run vista on low end machines using vlite (http://www.vlite.net).First install vlite ,then insert ur vista dvd and extract it to ur harddrive with vlite.U can remove many components of vista you dont need with vlite.If you want to run vista on 256 mb of ram patch the file "winsetup.dll" with this tool (http://w14.easy-share.com/13024761.html).Finally make an iso image with vlite.Burn the iso with your favourite burner.U can install windows vista with this cd/dvd.According to nuhi, creator of vlite u can make a vista install disk as small as 675 mb.

2-you can activate windows aero on older graphics cards if u update to the latest drivers.I am running windows aero/dreamscene in my inbuilt ati x200 chipset with the latest ati vista driver provided with the digit anniversary issue.:razz:

[ravi_9793]

1-U can run vista on low end machines using vlite (http://www.vlite.net).First install vlite ,then insert ur vista dvd and extract it to ur harddrive with vlite.U can remove many components of vista you dont need with vlite.If you want to run vista on 256 mb of ram patch the file "winsetup.dll" with this tool (http://w14.easy-share.com/13024761.html).Finally make an iso image with vlite.Burn the iso with your favourite burner.U can install windows vista with this cd/dvd.According to nuhi, creator of vlite u can make a vista install disk as small as 675 mb.

2-you can activate windows aero on older graphics cards if u update to the latest drivers.I am running windows aero/dreamscene in my inbuilt ati x200 chipset with the latest ati vista driver provided with the digit anniversary issue.:razz:
thats good find.

[redhat]

visit www.startclock.osnn.net
download the start clock utility

Why not do it urself?? Use Resource Hacker, tut given on this forum by Vishal, pls search for it...:)

[Itz_Me!!!]

Increase Your Bandwidth By 20%!!!

A nice little tweak for XP. M*crosoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)

Here's how to get it back:

Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "

This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:

Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth

Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :

"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%.

NOTE : Tested on XP Pro, and 2000
Dont know about other OS.

[nvidia]

^^It was given in some digit issue recently.
Thanks for sharing it anyway.

[sjstays]

Special thanks to Deejay(news poster--> www.tech-arena.com (http://www.tech-arena.com))

A huge collection of WinXP tweaks. Enjoy!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp.htm

Regards,

hey thanks mate, heard about this website befoe but couldnt quite remmember the name.. thanx again u made my day!

Increase Your Bandwidth By 20%!!!

A nice little tweak for XP. M*crosoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)

Here's how to get it back:

Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "

This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:

Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth

Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :

"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%.

NOTE : Tested on XP Pro, and 2000
Dont know about other OS.

this one realy helps.. thanx!

[aneek]

Please See this Tweaks.............I think you all will like it..
Very small rar file.Almost 50kb..So download and see this.
http://ifile.it/esl74ub

If u like this then plz post a reply...

[topgear]

Increase Your Bandwidth By 20%!!!

A nice little tweak for XP. M*crosoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)

Here's how to get it back:

Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "

This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:

Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth

Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :

"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%.

NOTE : Tested on XP Pro, and 2000
Dont know about other OS.

Correction of some incorrect claims about Windows XP QoS support

There have been claims in various published technical articles and newsgroup postings that Windows XP always reserves 20 percent of the available bandwidth for QoS. These claims are incorrect. The information in the "Clarification about QoS in end computers that are Running Windows XP" section correctly describes the behavior of Windows XP systems.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316666

[amitshahc]

some usefull windows run command

appwiz.cpl -- Used to run Add/Remove wizard

Calc --Calculator

Cfgwiz32 --ISDN Configuration Wizard

Charmap --Character Map

Chkdisk --Repair damaged files

Cleanmgr --Cleans up hard drives

Clipbrd --Windows Clipboard viewer

Control --Displays Control Panel

Cmd --Opens a new Command Window

Control mouse --Used to control mouse properties

Dcomcnfg --DCOM user security

Debug --Assembly language programming tool

Defrag --Defragmentation tool

Drwatson --Records programs crash & snapshots

Dxdiag --DirectX Diagnostic Utility

Explorer --Windows Explorer

Fontview --Graphical font viewer

Fsmgmt.msc -- Used to open shared folders

Firewall.cpl -- Used to configure windows firewall

Ftp -ftp.exe program

Hostname --Returns Computer's name

Hdwwiz.cpl -- Used to run Add Hardware wizard

Ipconfig --Displays IP configuration for all network adapters

Logoff -- Used to logoff the computer

MMC --Microsoft Management Console

Msconfig --Configuration to edit startup files

Mstsc -- Used to access remote desktop

Mrc -- Malicious Software Removal Tool

Msinfo32 --Microsoft System Information Utility

Nbtstat --Displays stats and current connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP

Netstat --Displays all active network connections

Nslookup--Returns your local DNS server

Osk ---Used to access on screen keyboard

Perfmon.msc -- Used to configure the performance of Monitor.

Ping --Sends data to a specified host/IP

Powercfg.cpl -- Used to configure power option

Regedit --Registry Editor

Regwiz -- Registration wizard

Sfc /scannow -- System File Checker

Sndrec32 --Sound Recorder

Shutdown -- Used to shutdown the windows

Spider -- Used to open spider solitaire card game

Sfc / scannow -- Used to run system file checker utility.

Sndvol32 --Volume control for soundcard

Sysedit -- Edit system startup files

Taskmgr --Task manager

Telephon.cpl -- Used to configure modem options.

Telnet --Telnet program

Tracert --Traces and displays all paths required to reach an internet host

Winchat -- Used to chat with Microsoft

Wmplayer -- Used to run Windows Media player

Wab -- Used to open Windows address Book.

WinWord -- Used to open Microsoft word

Winipcfg --Displays IP configuration

Winver -- Used to check Windows Version

Wupdmgr --Takes you to Microsoft Windows Update

Write -- Used to open WordPad

source (http://toolnext.com/2008/06/some-useful-window-run-command.html)

[afonofa]

Windows XP: How to run automated checkdisk from a batch file?

If you have a lot of partitions and you want to run checkdisk on all of them, instead of doing it individually for each drive, you can use this batch file.

Copy and paste the following code into a notepad and save the file with a .bat extension.
Eg. "checkdisk.bat"

1. When saving the file, use the quotation marks in the file name so notepad doesn't assign the default .txt extension.
2. Run this batch file(double click it to run) from any drive other than your windows drive.
3. Edit(right click the batch file > edit) the file depending on how many partitions you have.
4. Your windows drive should be the very first.
5. In the below code my windows drive is C: so I started with ECHO Y| chkdsk C: /F
6. Got it? good. If not good luck. :p

@ECHO OFF
TITLE CHECK DISK
COLOR 9F
ECHO ================
ECHO Checking Drive C
ECHO ================
ECHO.
ECHO.
ECHO Y| chkdsk C: /F
ECHO.
ECHO.
ECHO ================
ECHO Checking Drive D
ECHO ================
ECHO.
ECHO.
ECHO N > check.TXT
ECHO Y >> check.TXT
TYPE check.TXT| chkdsk D: /F
ECHO.
ECHO.
ECHO ================
ECHO Checking Drive E
ECHO ================
ECHO.
ECHO.
TYPE check.TXT| chkdsk E: /F
DEL check.TXT
ECHO.
ECHO.
PAUSE
PAUSE

Eg. If you have another drive F then in your batch file,
after this line TYPE check.TXT| chkdsk E: /F and
before this line DEL check.TXT add the following code and so on for as many drives as you have.

ECHO.
ECHO.
ECHO ================
ECHO Checking Drive F
ECHO ================
ECHO.
ECHO.
TYPE check.TXT| chkdsk F: /F


Restart your comp so checkdisk can check the drives that were in use. If you want you can also copy and paste the below given code to the end of your batch file to restart your comp automatically.

cls
shutdown -r -f -t 180 -c "The computer will restart in 3 minutes when the timer counts backwards to zero. Please exit all running programs. To abort this shutdown Go to Start > Run > type cmd > Hit enter > type shutdown -a > hit enter."

1. In shutdown -r -f -t 180 180 means seconds. So it means your comp will restart in 3 minutes. You can change 180 to 0 for an instant restart.
2. Recommend running checkdisk before and after a manual defrag.

[comp@ddict]

Hmmm.... I was searching for my Services related post and Ice helped me find it .. This forum's search system sucks ...
Raabo you should convert this forum to vBulletin ..


Lolz, stole my words, search system needs to be bettered

[mmharshaa]

Enter . (dot) in run and press enter and see the magic
Enter ...(3 dots) in run and press enter and see what happens
Also try:
\
oobe
control
cool na?
Simple!!!

[comp@ddict]

^nice

[KaranTh85]

sometimes u uninstall some apps (3rd party) & after uninstalling when u remove the
traces of dat software (its related folder) then it gives u error msg "cannot delete it is used by the program" something like dat...so u restart ur PC & then delete..hoping dat the app access wiil be released now...but u can
directly delete the file/folder w/o restarting..just
open taskmanager > go 2 processes > delete "explorer.exe"
now again restart the process.. > u'll b able 2 delete the file/folder now...w/o ne
restart :D

the same trick applies 2 installation of new apps /games :rolleyes:

[topgear]

Enter . (dot) in run and press enter and see the magic
Enter ...(3 dots) in run and press enter and see what happens
Also try:
\
oobe
control
cool na?
Simple!!!

Never knew that ( the bold marked ) before. Thanks for sharing.

[uditk]

Use Ccleaner to remove Crap,solve registry issues, and remove unwanted startup programs. Also, one a month, use disk cleanup as it compresses old files.
Use Ashampoo MagicDefrag to keep the HDD defragged at all times.
.................Still Thinking.........

[a stranger]

nice informations....

[biju amatya]

applications tweak ui
tune up ulitities 2007

windows basic tweaking such as disable auto run for removable devices.
inprove mouse senstivity and
basic registary tweaking
advance cleaning improve repair and optmize

[IANMORISON]

Greetings,
I have just adjusted my router settings to use the DNS servers from OpenDns,(http://www.opendns.com), and it seems to be an immediate improvement in speed of loading web pages.Rather than use your Isp DNS, you use theirs, and plus it works as an Internet filter if u want plus more.

Anyone else used it?
Ian

[a stranger]

huw can i install xp and linux ububt. in a systen.


can i use both simultaniously?

[topgear]

Worng place. Ask in QNA Section

[biju amatya]

~snipped~

[topgear]

Are you discussing about pirated materials in the forum. That's Xp Black edition or simillar things are warez release. Discussions like these is not allowed in this forum.
Have not you read the rules of this forum ?
So be careful or you will be banned next time.

[arungn]

classic look, page file moved to another partition or drive, used page defrag, ms bootvis, defrag, disable all those sevices which are for a super computer, read digit, removed the small pin behind sata hdd to chage speed frm 1.5 to 3.0 gb/s, chaged pio/mwdma/dma speeds to the max in the bios, disabled all hardware not needed in the bios itself, change boot order to hdd as 1st and disabld floppy, latest drivers, - all these makes the system cooler easier to work. but overclocking i dont do, i hate to see the temp go more than 55 deg, it is slowly killing the system so im not in. thanx

hey whats a warez? i see this word a lot, is it torent?

[biju amatya]

firefox

[topgear]

What does that mean ?

Man try to add some tweaking tips of that browser not just the name.
I know FDM has plugin for firefox but then again try to put some text with that.

If you post the name only It's kinda spamming.

[DαrєDєvił]

Hai ,

Do it and save ur time ,

Fast Shutdown and/or Restart From Quick Launch Buttons
------------------------------------------------------------
This tip will enable you to create buttons in your quick launch toolbar to quickly and easily shut down and/or restart your computer.

1. Right click on your desktop, scroll to new..... shortcut
2. In the location line, for shutdown type; shutdown -s -t 0 ie: shutdown(space)-s(space)-t(space)number zero
3. Name the shortcut "Shut Down PC" or whatever u want
4. The new shortcut is now sitting on your desktop, right click on it and go to properties, then click on "change icon". Click OK, then pick a suitable icon, there is a red "off button" icon available, then click apply and ok.
5. Now drag the icon from your desktop into the quick launch toolbar, resize the toolbar so all the buttons are visible, then delete the shortcut from your desktop.

To create a restart button the location line should read shutdown -r -t 0 name it restart pc and give it a suitable icon for restart.

Now you can shut down or restart your pc in 1 mouse click without having to go through the startup menu.
THILAK

Nice buddy..:)

[aneek]

Hi guys....
I want some of your tweaking tips....On the following.....
Is it possible to slipstream Office 2003/2007 components with XP installation disc...???
If yes then please provide me the complete guide to do this........:shock::shock::shock::shock:

[infy]

Gtalk trick-How to open Multiple gtalk windows (http://donofcomputer.blogspot.com/2008/09/gtalk-trick-how-to-open-multiple-gtalk.html)

Gtalk trick-How to open Multiple gtalk windows 1. Right-click GTalk shortcut and select Properties. 2. The shortcut properties dialog box as shown below should popup. 3. Just add /nomutex to the existing text Eg: "C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe" /nomutex 4. Now you can launch multiple windows and use different ID's.

[Disc_Junkie]

Sir I want to know how to increase the bandwidth by tweaking. Please post if you know some.

[topgear]

Hi guys....
I want some of your tweaking tips....On the following.....
Is it possible to slipstream Office 2003/2007 components with XP installation disc...???
If yes then please provide me the complete guide to do this........:shock::shock::shock::shock:

Search in the tutorial section of this forum.