Xp Tip And Tricks

How to Rename the Recycle Bin

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).


How to Remove Windows XP's Messenger


Theoretically, you can get rid of it (as well as a few other things). Windows 2000 power users should already be familiar with this tweak.

Fire up the Windows Explorer and navigate your way to the %SYSTEMROOT% \ INF folder. What the heck is that thingy with the percentage signs? It's a variable. For most people, %SYSTEMROOT% is CWindows. For others, it may be EWinXP. Get it? Okay, on with the hack! In the INF folder, open sysoc.inf (but not before making a BACKUP copy first). Before your eyes glaze over, look for the line containing "msmsgs" in it. Near the end of that particular line, you'll notice that the word "hide" is not so hidden. Go ahead and delete "hide" (so that the flanking commas are left sitting next to one another). save the file and close it. Now, open the Add and Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Click the Add / Remove Windows Components icon. You should see "Windows Messenger" in that list. Remove the checkmark from its box, and you should be set. NOTE: there are other hidden system components in that sysoc.inf file, too. Remove "hide" and the subsequent programs at your own risk. READ CAREFULLY


Speed up viewing shared files across a network

Windows 2000 & XP machines delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Here's how to prevent this remote search for Scheduled Tasks:
Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Curr entVersion/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key :

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

and delete it.


Speed Up Browsing

When you connect to a web site your computer sends information back and forth. Some of this information deals with resolving the site name to an IP address, the stuff that TCP/IP really deals with, not words. This is DNS information and is used so that you will not need to ask for the site location each and every time you visit the site. Although Windows XP and Windows XP have a pretty efficient DNS cache, you can increase its overall performance by increasing its size. You can do this with the registry entries below:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

Make a new text file and rename it to dnscache.reg. Then copy and paste the above into it and save it. Merge it into the registry.

Custom User Icons



Here's how you can customize your user account icon.

Single-click the start menu and choose Control Panel.
Single-click the User Accounts icon.
Find the user account you'd like to change the icon for and click on it.
Click the text that says "Change My Picture."
You'll have the option to either pick one of the predefined icons or choose your own.
If you like one of the predefined icons, just highlight the one you like and click the button labeled "Change Picture."
If you'd like to use your own picture, just click the magnifying glass or the text labeled "Browse for more pictures." This will launch a dialog box directing you to navigate to where your new picture is stored. After you find it, just click Open to save your new changes.

Speed up your browsing of Windows 2000 & XP machines

Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Curr ent Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key :

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

and delete it.

This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks. If you like you may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if necessary.

This fix is so effective that it doesn't require a reboot and you can almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing processes.

IP address of your connection

Go to start/run type 'cmd'

then type 'ipconfig'

Add the '/all' switch for more info.

Make your Folders Private

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


Note

?To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
?This option is only available for folders included in your user profile. Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop, Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites. If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses your computer.
?When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well. For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders unless you make them private.
?You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS
For information about converting your drive to NTFS


AVI File Fix in Windows XP

First Open Windows Movie Maker. Click View and then click Options. Click in the box to remove the check mark beside Automatically create clips. Now, import the movie file that has interference and drag it onto the timeline. Then save the movie, and during the re-rendering, the interference will be removed.

Hide 'User Accounts' from users

Go to Start/Run, and type:

GPEDIT.MSC

Open the path

User Config > Admin Templates > Control Panel

doubleclick "Hide specified Control Panel applets"

put a dot in 'enabled', then click 'Show"

click Add button,

type "nusrmgt.cpl" into the add box

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

Go to ontrol Panel > System, > Advanced > Performance area > Settings button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop" .smallersig { height:170px; width:100%; overflow:hidden; }
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