Change the Internet Explorer shortcuts

What is your favorite browser? It’s up to you, am not in survey mode J But, I prefer Firefox to IE.

In Microsoft supremacy, they has made every effort to make the IE (Internet Explorer) to appear as contemplation, they want to said that IE is the only choice for browsing the web. Even that it icon are design seemingly impossible to make something as simple as a change icon Shortcut to all Internet Explorer, but I found a way how to do this:

Note: You should have the ability to use windows registry to follow this tips.

• First Run the Windows Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE), from the Windows Start menu click RUN then type REGEDIT
• Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ InternetShortcut (see the pictures below)
• Double-click on the EditFlags value (from the right pane), and change it's value to 00 00 00 00.
• And Next is open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ InternetShortcut\shellex, and delete the IconHandler key (from the left pane).
• Close the windows Registry Editor if you think you're done.
• Now, open Windows Explorer, navigate to Folder Options from the View menu, and choose the File Types tab.
• Now, Find and select Internet Shortcut from the list, click Edit, and then click Change Icon select the icon you wish to use.
• And when you're done select an icon, click Ok in every opened Window.

Now go to your desktop and see the results. This tips should work in all windows version including windows 95, windows 98, windows 2000, windows XP, windows NT server, windows 2003 and also windows Vista. Please note that I do not responsible if your windows registry got crash by applying this tips, those you should at least understand how to use the windows registry.

Another windows Tips and tricks:

• Item check list if the boot process are too slow - Know how to configure your windows if the boot process are too slow
  
• How to bring your computer into Hibernate state? - Hibernate is design to cut shutdown and bootup process, and also save more power.
• Speed up menu display in winodws XP - Windows XP uses too many effect, those effects may caused your system running too slow.

Item check list if the boot process are too slow

On the windows OS (operating system) sometimes we face that boot up process are take too long, I did some test and here is probably the thing that make the boot process takes too long.

Free RAM, should meet the minimum.

If you don’t have enough free RAM, the boot process can take longer. For Windows XP, 256 MB RAM is the minimum, 512 MB or more would be better.

Try to defrag your Hard disk

Adjust the vertical distance between the icons in Windows

Do you feel that your desktop icon arrangements is to crowded? You can arrange them, the vertical space between icons are possible to change.

When you add commands to your computer to launch programs or open folders, your computer could become quickly filled with icons. If you want to fit more icons on the desktop, you can adjust the distance between them so that they sit closer together.

Here is how To adjust the vertical space between icons:

1. From your desktop, Right-click and then click Properties. (see the attached pictures)

2. At the Display Properties dialog box, navigate to Appearance tab. Then, click Advanced.

3. Click the Item list, and then click Icon Spacing (Vertical). (see attached pictures)

4. In the Size box dialog, you can decrease the number to move icons closer together, or increase the number to add space between those icons. (The smaller the number, the less space there will be between the icons. Conversely, the larger the number, the greater the space will be between the icons.)

5. If you done with that configuration click OK

6. To see the result that you have set in the step 4, go to your desktop then right-click, click Arrange Icons By on the shortcut menu, and then click Align to Grid. Did you see something is change now?

Microsoft Windows XP organize your computer using the new icon off you. Repeat steps 6 and 7, to return the settings on your desktop to their original state.

A monitor with 800 × 600 resolution, change the default icon off 43 to 39 squeezes eight icons in each column, created seven original icons.

• Change the Internet Explorer shortcuts - If somehow you would like to change the Internet Explorer's icons, it never been easy, learn how to do this.
  
• Item check list if the boot process are too slow - Know how to configure your windows if the boot process are too slow
  
• How to bring your computer into Hibernate state? - Hibernate is design to cut shutdown and bootup process, and also save more power.

The way to modify windows system properties logo

In this windows tips you can learn how to put your point in the system properties dialog and complete it with your own contact information.

To raise the system properties dialog box, click the Start button, right-click "My Computer" and select "Properties".

This will open its global information system dialog. For example Fujitsu-Siemens Notebooks Pro laptop would be appear here, a Windows XP system houses logo looks like this:



If you want to put their own graphics in there, you can create your image c. Bmp image file. It is also a good idea to create this bitmap image of the same background of Shadow Gray (RGB: 192, 192, 192) used in properties dialog. Otherwise, you risk letting Windows make their own decisions in terms of color and contrast against the background shading.

The next thing is to consider the image size. The system properties dialog only real estate offers sufficient image of about 180 (a) x120 (high) pixels. Make sure you can meet its logo in this area.

After you have created your logo and saved it as. Bmp file, copy it to the system32 subfolder of your Windows system folder. If you do not know where your system folder is:

• Click the Start button and select "Run"
• In the "open" field, enter "cmd" (without the quotes) and click ok
• Windows will open up a dos command window
• In the command window, type "set system" (without the quotes)
• Look for the line that contains "SystemRoot", this is where your system directory is (generally, the Windows XP system folder is c:\windows)

Now, you know where is the folder on your system, copy the logo on the image file of system32 subfolder of your system folder. Then rename its logo image file to oemlogo.bmp

Also, you can create a new file in that folder and name the new file oeminfo.ini

In this file, you can enter your contact information as in the example below:

[General]
Manufacturer=Windows Help Central
Model=ShowCase

[Support Information]
Line1=" "
Line2=" For support, sales, upgrades or questions:"
Line3=""
Line4=" Some text to demonstrate the XP System Properties logo"
Line5=" Windows XP Tips and Tricks "
Line6=" yadayada"
Line7=""
Line8=" +1 (888) 888-888 (voice)"
Line9=" +1 (888) 888-889 (fax)"
Line10=""
Line11=""
Line12=" http://www.windows-help-central.com/"

Save and close the file, and you're done. From now on, if someone opens a dialog properties of the system, its own system Windows XP Property logo is there.

Save more time with windows task bar

Here is you will learn how to Save time with Windows XP taskbar and able to work more efficient in windows environment :

• Configure the Windows XP taskbar so that work for you
• Able to load faster in web pages
• move the favorite folders on the windows taskbar
• configure and customized follow-up menu for windows taskbar
• and work further efficient in Windows

This Windows XP tips and tricks, is design to help you saving time. When the key is saving time, the tasks is very powerful tool to be configure. It beat everything else hands down. This small bar in windows XP at the bottom of your Windows desktop is the place to be quick and easy access to everything you need.

Continue reading Save more time with windows task bar

Change the default folder opened in Windows Explorer

When you open the windows explorer, it will directly to the specific folder and usually it go to my documents. And if for some reason you would like to change this way, you should follow this tips.

Microsoft Windows Explorer, which is accessible through the Start menu, is a tool you use, to search files and drives on your computer.

When you start Windows Explorer from the Start menu, it opens your My Documents folder by default. However, my Documents contextual already exists in your Start menu. You can put Windows Explorer shortcut to better use by changing it to show all top-level drives and folders on your system. This change will give you a broad, general overview of all the folders and files.

To change how Windows Explorer opens

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, right-click Windows Explorer, and then click Properties.
2. The Target box currently shows %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe
3. At the end of the line, type the characters /n, /e, /select, C:\
4. The line should now read %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, C:\
5. Be sure you insert blank spaces in the correct locations. Then, click OK.

Now, when you open Windows Explorer, it will show all your folders and drives, not only your My Documents folder.

Another related tips and trick:

• Save more time with windows task bar

• The way to modify windows system properties logo

• How to bring your computer into Hibernate state?

How to uninstall Windows Messenger in Windows XP

Have you ever wondered how to uninstall Windows Messenger in Windows XP ? If you don't use instant messaging programs, you might just as well uninstall Windows Messenger so that Windows doesn't have to load it each time you start your computer.

It will speed up Windows XP startup.

Even if you do want to use an instant messaging program, you might want to uninstall Windows Messenger and use MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger instead.

Remove Windows Messenger

You might be disappointed when you look at the "Add or Remove Programs" category in your Control Panel. Not all of the accessories on the Start menu's Accessories submenu appear here. Many of them are actually removable, but by default, Windows hides them from the "Add / Remove Windows Components" dialog.

However, there's a little great tweak that will make Windows Messenger (and many other hidden programs) available for removal. Here's what to do :

• Right-click on your Start button and select "Explore"
• Navigate to your c:\windows\inf directory
• Double-click the file sysoc.inf to open it in your text editor
• In this file, under the "Components" section, there are several lines for different programs that are installed on your computer. Windows Messenger's name is msmsgs, so look for that line :

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

• Edit the line and remove the word "hide" and the comma preceding it. After you edit it, the line might look like this

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,7

• close your text editor and save the changes.

You are now ready to uninstall Windows Messenger in Windows XP.

Click the Start button and select "Control Panel". In Control Panel, Select "Add or Remove Programs".

If your Control Panel rather looks like this :

you might want to switch to "Category View" to make you Control Panel look like the previous image, but you can also select "Add or Remove Programs" from here. If you launch "Add or Remove Programs", Windows will come up with the "Add or Remove Programs" screen.

On the left of that screen, click "Add/Remove Windows Components" and wait while the list is being populated. If you scroll down that list, you will come across Windows Messenger. Uncheck it's box and click next to uninstall Windows Messenger in Windows XP.

Powerful Windows Tips

here are some more powerful windows tips that other readers found to be of particular interest. In order not to clutter our main navigation on the home page of the site, we are grouping them together on this page, which is directly accessible through the home page.

This page is a work in progress, so if you are looking for more helpful windows tips here, please be patient and visit back soon to discover more great windows tips and tweaks that make your life easier.

As a matter of fact, if you want to automatically track new tips as they are added to this page, why don't you subscribe to our RSS feed? Don't know what an RSS feed is ? Look at the orange "RSS / XML" icons in the top right corner of this page and click on the "What's an RSS feed" link just beneath the buttons.

Every journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, so here are the first ones of our "powerful tips" series :

Excel Password Recovery
If you have ever lost time trying to remember your lost password for a protected Excel or Word document, you'll find this little tip super useful.

Change the Windows Explorer start directory
You probably know that you can change the Windows Explorer start directory, but if you're not exactly sure how to do it, this quick tip will come in handy.

Download Windows XP Themes
The internet is crowded with free download site. Learn why some of them are more safe than others and how to make a distinction.

Skype free internet phone calls
There are more than a few people on the internet who have discovered worldwide free calling. Are you one of them? If not, catch up with this tip.

SVCHOST.exe 100% CPU Utilization
Many web pages talk about this problem, a lot of people cry out for help in discussion forums.
Here's how to FIX this problem.

Remote Computer Access Tips
Struggling with remote support? Whether you've never even used remote computer assistance or you are looking for more advanced techniques to remotely access computers behind a firewall, here's where you find out how to do it.

Detect IP Adress
Need to know your internet IP Address? View it HERE.

0xd0000006 error and Windows Update
Having trouble with Windows Update? Errors in the event log? Find out HERE how to nail the problem.

Computer Safety Tips
In this age of file sharing, instant messaging and digital downloads it's a must to be aware of the internet threats that may compromise your computer security.

Keep the Windows Registry Clean
Learn about the Windows Registry and how to keep it clean.

Change the My Documents Location
Have an additional hard disk and still running into storage problems? This little tip is so powerful that more people should know about it

Anti Spam Tips
Wondering where all the spam in your inbox is coming from?
Get an insight in how spammers think. Protect your inbox by applying these simple strategies.

How To Download Youtube Videos
Learn how you can easily and safely download videos from Youtube. Free.

Social Bookmarking Tips
Learn how to organize your favorites online and how to use social bookmarking to find interesting stuff on the net

Preparing Network Connections Slow
Is your computer suffering from this syndrome? Is your computer part of a domain? Chances are that this article has the solution you need

Confirm email delivery
See when your recipients receive and read your email messages

An introduction to RSS Feeds
Learn all about RSS Feeds and discover a new way of exploring the web

The benefits of multiple Windows user accounts
Enjoy separate e-mail inboxes, indivudual favorites and desktop preferences for each individual user that shares your computer. Additional benefits include improved security and dealing with corrupt Windows user profiles.

The dreadful Task Manager Disabled by Administrator message
An innocent setting from your network admin? If you are on a home computer, chances are that your computer is infected with a virus or malware.

Need hard disk data recovery services?
Check out these tips and a shocking anecdote if you ever need to call a data recovery expert

A good Windows backup strategy?
Most people don't like backups because they take up time and they are not easy to manage. Discover a few powerful tips and tricks that will make your backup life sooo much easier

What do YOU need to know about the Outlook autocomplete functionality?
If you are moving to another computer this neat little trick will help Outlook remember your contacts in its new name list

What to do if one day you go to your computer and you find your screen rotated sideways?
No need to panic, there's a very simple explanation for this ... and a FIX

Forgot your wireless encryption key and trying to add a computer to your secured wireless network?
Get help and see how to find a wireless key that's hidden in your system.

How to recover a lost xp password

These techniques to recover a lost xp password are among the more advanced Windows XP Tips and Tricks. In some cases, recovering from a lost password can be very easy though.

For completeness' sake we start with the simplest tips that can help you regain access to a locked account. But even if you find yourself in a more complex situation, please read on. You'll find out what to do.

Warning : Be extra careful if you are using Encrypting File System (EFS) in Windows XP Professional. If you don't know what EFS is, you probably shouldn't worry about it. It's a feature in Windows XP Professional that deals with file security on a local level. If you do use it, please always make sure to export your private and public keys before attempting to reset your password.

If you can login with another user account

If you share your computer with other users it's fairly simple to regain access to your account. You could ask one of the other users to log on to Windows with their password and perform the following steps :

• Click the Start button
• Click "Run"
• In the "Open" field, type "control userpasswords2" (without the quotes)
• Click ok

Windows opens a user accounts dialog. Select the user with the lost password and click the "Reset Password" button. Enter a new password (and a second time in the confirmation box) and click ok. Click ok once again and you are ready.

Now you can log on to your account using the new password.

More advanced password recovery

If there are no other users on your machine to unlock your account, you need to reset your password "offline". Offline means that you boot your pc from outside your usual Windows XP environment using a boot disk or a bootable cdrom.

This offline technique to recover a lost xp password isn't for the faint of heart; the procedure isn't presented in a nice graphical interface and there even is a small risk involved ...

Sometimes the password reset fails and as a consequence you cannot log on with the locked user account afterwards. This doesn't happen often though, and if you are reading this because you need to recover a lost xp password ...

you weren't able to log on after all ...

Of course you will need access to another pc to create a boot disk or bootable cd.

Is your boot sequence right ?

Your computer's boot sequence is set in the BIOS and determines if the pc can boot from a floppy or cdrom. To get into the BIOS, you typically need to press a certain key or key combination during startup. Depending on the brand of your computer this can be :

• The F1 key
• The F2 key
• The F10 key
• The del key
• Ctrl+Alt+Enter
• Ctrl+Alt+Esc
• ...

If you have made your way into the BIOS, now would the time to choose either your floppy drive or your cdrom as primary startup device.

Below is a BIOS boot sequence screenshot where the floppy drive has top priority.

Creating the boot disk

You can download an offline password and registry editor to create the bootable disk at http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/ or if this url has become invalid over time, you can request your copy with the small form below. You will receive a mail with a valid download link shortly afterwards.

Don't worry, we will use your email address only to send you the download link, not for anything else. We hate spammers as much as you do.

Yes, please mail me a valid download link for a password reset boot disk Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in. E-mail Address* E-mail Address* Comments

After you have downloaded the Offline Password and Registry editor you have a .zip file on your hard drive that could use some unzipping. Depending on the choice that you have made in your BIOS, you either need to carry out the steps to create a bootable floppy, or the steps to create a bootable cdrom.

Instructions for the boot disk (floppy)

Once unzipped, you'll have 3 files : rawrite2.exe, install.bat and a .bin file. Put a blank, formatted floppy in your floppy drive and launch install.bat. That will create a bootable floppy from which you need to boot your pc (the one with the lost xp password).

The bootable cdrom

The unzipped file delivers a .iso file that you need to burn to a cd with your cd burner software. That creates a bootable cd to boot your pc (again, the one with the lost xp password).

Time to fix that lost xp password

Shortly after you boot your computer from the floppy or cd you'll have an intimidating screen filled with text staring you in the face.

Like this :

There's no need to feel overwhelmed. In order to reset your lost xp password you need to go through some questions in a number of steps. In each step the program offers a default answer. Usually these defaults are ok and you just need to press ENTER.

Step 1 : Select the disk where the Windows XP installation is.

Step 2 : Select PATH and registry files. For most Windows installations you can safely accept the defaults.

Step 3 : Password or registry edit. Select "Edit user data and passwords" - the default. After that you need to choose the user account. The program defaults to "Administrator", so you need to type the name of the user with the lost xp password if it's not the administrator account that you're trying to unlock. Once you've made clear which user account's lost xp password you want to reset, you need to supply the new password. To finish it off confirm the password change and type "!" to quit the user selection menu. Now type "q" (for quit) to continue with ...

Step 4 : Writing back changes. This step requires one more confirmation and then wants to know if you want another run. Answer with the defaults, remove the bootable floppy or cdrom and reboot your pc.

You should now be able to log on with your account and the new password.

Windows XP product activation tips Windows XP product activation tips

Windows XP product activation (WPA) is a controversial new feature of Windows XP. Microsoft implemented it to prevent software piracy. A side effect is that it increases annoyance of legitimate software users. Minimize your annoyance by learning the techniques laid out in this article.

If you have been bothered by the activation message in the lower right corner of your desktop, you know how frustrating it can be to be obliged to perform the activation procedure.

Sweet. How does it work ?

It helps if you know that Windows keeps track of your hardware configuration in a file called wpa.dbl in the system32 directory under your system directory (usually c:\windows). If you upgrade your pc or add a new piece of hardware, Windows might think it's a different pc.

Windows then deletes the wpa.dbl file and if you don't (re-)activate Windows it stops working. Game over.

Not if you make a backup copy of the wpa.dbl file.

Say that you have upgraded your cpu or added enough new hardware to make Windows decide that you're trying to run it on a different pc. Windows then deletes the wpa.dbl file and starts nagging you with the activation message.

Now, if you just put your backup copy of the wpa.dbl file back in place, you should be able to continue working without having to contact Microsoft and explain that you are not a criminal.

This technique can also be used if you want to re-install Windows XP on your machine. Typically, when you re-install Windows XP on your computer, you need to go through the activation procedure once again to keep your copy of Windows XP working.

Not if you use a backup copy of the wpa.dbl file.

Some more Windows XP product activation details

WPA ties each copy of Windows XP to a specific computer. Windows identifies a "unique hardware configuration" that represents the hardware of your computer at the time of activation.

Windows XP product activation is a one-time procedure that you need to perform within a certain number of days after installing Windows. If your copy of Windows isn't activated yet, you'll see a message about activation in the lower right corner of your desktop.

If you don't activate Windows, it stops working. You'll be able to boot your computer, but you won't be able to get past the opening screen until you activate.

Activation is fairly convenient and it is anonymous. The Windows Product Activation Privacy Statement reassures that Windows can detect and tolerate certain changes to your computer configuration, and that only a complete overhaul will need reactivation. The magic number of changes you can make to your computer without reactivating seems to be somewhere between two and four, depending on the importance of the modification.

A new motherboard would count more than a USB flash drive.

Exceptions ?

No need to worry if you are a corporate or academic user and purchase volume licenses for Windows XP. Windows XP product activation isn't included in volume license versions of Windows XP.

Also if you purchased your new computer with a pre-loaded version of Windows XP, you should probably never have to worry about activation. Microsoft allows computer manufacturers to pre-activate Windows in the factory. The Windows installation is locked to specific information of the BIOS in the pc. This method is called System Locked Pre-installation or SLP.

SLP uses information in the BIOS to protect the Windows installation. You don't need to talk to Microsoft to activate your copy of Windows XP. At boot, Windows XP compares the BIOS with the SLP information. You don't need to activate as long as they match.

That means that every piece of hardware can be changed on a pc with SLP. Even the motherboard. As long as the new motherboard contains the right BIOS information, no Windows XP product activation is required.

Windows XP event log

Everyone should inspect the event log from time to time. It can reveal amazing possibilities for improvement, you might be surprised. Even on a pc that sings.

There's always room for improvement.

Use the event viewer to inspect the contents of the event log :

• Click the Start button
• Select "Run"
• Type "eventvwr" (without the quotes) in the "open" field
• Click ok

Windows opens up the event viewer.

In the left part of the screen, you will notice (at least) three types of logs that Windows XP maintains :

• The application log : this is where applications / programs log their events. For example, when your virus scanner encounters a problem, it could bring this to your attention through the application log. The developers of the program are responsible for the type of events that are logged here. THAT is where you can often find VERY useful information about things that go wrong behind the curtains. Things that can dramatically slow down your pc.
• The security log : is used to bring valid and invalid logon attempts to your attention. Also file access, creation and deletion of files can be logged here. You need to have an account with administrative privileges to enable, use and specify which events are logged in the security log.
• The system log : where you will find events logged by Windows system components. Can also reveal some VERY interesting troubleshooting information about your system.

Now click the system log in the left part of the screen. On the right side (in the details pane) you will see a list of generated system events, organized in several columns.

You can click on the column headers to sort the columns. Click again on the same column header to sort in the other direction.

You may feel a bit overwhelmed by the overload of information here and by the possible occurrence of yellow question marks (warnings).

Three types of events in the Windows XP event log

There are basically three types of events : information, warning and error.

There's no need to worry about informative events : they just, well, inform you that something has happened, e.g. a driver has loaded or a service has started.

Warnings : not critical. May be an indication of future problems, for instance when disk space is running low.

Errors : you should try to get rid of those. They indicate a significant problem, such as the failure of a critical task. For example when a system service fails to start. These can cause loss of data or functionality.

If you have isolated an error event in the Windows XP event log that you want to address, double-click the event in the details pane of the event viewer. Windows opens up the event properties dialog with detailed information about the event.

It's beyond the scope and possibilities of this article to offer a solution for every possible event in the Windows XP event log. You can note the event ID in the event properties dialog and perform a search for that event ID in Google or your favorite search engine to get started.

To improve your understanding of the event log, richt-click on "Application", "System" or "Security" in the event viewer and select "Properties". Windows opens this properties dialog :

Here you can track down the system file that holds the event log info. This dialog also allows you to manage the maximum size of the event log and the action that you want Windows to take when the event log is full. The default setting is that events older than 7 days get overwritten.

Disable autocomplete in Internet Explorer

You may want to disable autocomplete in Internet Explorer for security reasons. Maybe you have noticed that Internet Explorer stores your previous entries in the web address bar, or in web forms where you enter personal information or user names to log on.

If you share your computer with other people and you don't want them to see your previous entries, you can simply disable autocomplete in IE.

• In Internet Explorer, click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options
• Select the Content tab
• Under "Personal Information", click on the "AutoComplete" button

Internet Explorer offers different levels of privacy :

The web addresses check box specifies if you want Internet Explorer to automatically list previously entered internet addresses as you type them in the address bar. Deselect this check box if you don't want IE to list these entries.

The forms check box specifies if you want IE to list entries you've used before when filling in your name and address information in a web form. Deselect the check box to disable this option.

The user names and passwords check box makes IE automatically fill in the username and password information when you are visiting web pages that you have visited before.

Click the "Clear forms" and "Clear passwords" buttons to remove the information that Internet Explorer had previously stored for you.

The text below these buttons indicate that you cannot remove stored web address entries from this dialog. Instead, click the ok button in this "Autocomplete Settings" dialog, then click the "General" tab and click the "Clear History" button. This clears the entire history, you cannot clear individual entries from the history list.

If you want to completely disable autocomplete, click the "Advanced" tab in the Internet Options dialog, scroll down to "Use Inline Autocomplete" and deselect the check box.

Modify the Windows XP System Properties logo

In this tip you can learn how you can insert your own logo in the system properties dialog and complete it with your own contact information.

To invoke the system properties dialog, click the Start button, right-click "My Computer" and select "Properties".

This will open up your general system information dialog. On our Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pro laptop, the Windows XP System Properties logo looks like this :

If you want to put your own graphic in there, you should create your image in a .bmp graphic file. It's also a good idea to create this bitmap image with the same background shade of gray (RGB: 192, 192, 192) used in the Properties dialog. Otherwise, you risk letting Windows make its own judgments regarding color contrast and background shading.

The next thing to consider is the image size. The system properties dialog only offers enough real estate for an image of about 180 (wide) x120 (high) pixels. Make sure that you can fit your logo in this area.

Once you have created your logo and saved it as a .bmp file, copy it over to the system32 subfolder of your Windows system folder. If you don't know where your system folder is :

• Click the Start button and select "Run"
• In the "open" field, enter "cmd" (without the quotes) and click ok
• Windows will open up a dos command window
• In the command window, type "set system" (without the quotes)
• Look for the line that contains "SystemRoot", this is where your system directory is (generally, the Windows XP system folder is c:\windows)

Now that you know where your system folder is, copy your logo image file over to the system32 subfolder of your system folder. Then rename your logo image file to oemlogo.bmp

Additionally you can create a new file in this same folder and name the new file oeminfo.ini

In this file you can enter your contact information like in the example below :

[General]
Manufacturer=Windows Help Central
Model=ShowCase

[Support Information]
Line1=" "
Line2=" For support, sales, upgrades or questions:"
Line3=""
Line4=" Some text to demonstrate the XP System Properties logo"
Line5=" Windows XP Tips and Tricks "
Line6=" yadayada"
Line7=""
Line8=" +1 (888) 888-888 (voice)"
Line9=" +1 (888) 888-889 (fax)"
Line10=""
Line11=""
Line12=" http://www.windows-help-central.com/"

Save and close the file and you are ready. From now on, if someone opens up the system properties dialog, your own Windows XP System Properties logo is in there.

And if someone clicks the "Support Information" button :

Performance tips for Windows XP

Everybody and their dog will tell you they know some great performance tips for Windows XP. The internet is overcrowded with them. How to tell which ones work and which are to be avoided ?

And why on earth is this yet another Windows XP tips and tricks page about performance tips for Windows XP ?

It's because there are some simple techniques that really work without compromising your system stability. And they are simple to implement, so let's get started.

1. Optimize your paging file

Windows XP uses a paging file on your hard disk to store information when the amount of available RAM memory isn't sufficient to hold all the data that is being processed. For instance, when you are working on a very large Word document that is too big to fit in your computer's RAM, Windows XP starts swapping part of it's data in and out the paging file on your hard disk.

Hard disk access is typically a lot slower than RAM access, that's why you should optimize your paging file.

• Click the Start button, right click "My Computer" and select "Properties"
• Select the "advanced" tab
• Under "Performance" click on the "Settings" button
• Again, select the "advanced" tab
• Under "Virtual Memory" click on the "Change" button

Windows will then show the available hard drives in your computer and the paging file settings for each drive. If you have more than one hard disk, you should place your paging file on another disk than the system disk (where Windows is installed).

That is to avoid contention on the disk controller when Windows is working with system files and the paging file simultaneously.

Usually the system disk is C:, so select any other disk if you have one and then check the "Custom size" radio button. Type in the same value for "Initial size" and "Maximum size", so that Windows doesn't need time to resize the paging file while you are working with your computer. Microsoft recommends about 1.5 times the amount of RAM in your computer. Click the "Set" button to commit the changes you have made.

It is possible to have multiple paging files on multiple disks, but try to avoid having a paging file on your system disk. Just select that disk and select the "No paging file" radio button.

2. Optimize display settings

A lot of performance tips for Windows XP talk about the overall sexy-ness of Windows XP and the performance price you have to pay for it. If you are working on an older computer and you care more about speed than graphical coolness of the Windows XP interface, you might want to consider toning down the graphics a bit.

• Click the Start button, right click "My Computer" and select "Properties"
• Select the "advanced" tab
• Under "Performance" click on the "Settings" button
• Click the "Visual Effects" tab
• Select the "Adjust for best performance" radio button and click ok

If this change is too radical for you, you can try experimenting with the different individual settings as well.

3. Indexing service

The indexing service is a program that indexes files on your computer to speed up search results when you perform a search. It usually wakes up and starts doing it's job when your computer is idle. That's the reason why some pc's hard disks often start making a lot of noise when nobody's working on them.

The indexing service is also mentioned in a lot of performance tips for Windows XP, because it can interfere with your work. If you don't perform a lot of file searches on your pc, you might want to disable the indexing service.

• Click on the Start button, right click "My Computer" and select "Manage"
• In the navigation tree at the left, go to the bottom and click the little "+" sign next to "services and applications"
• Select "Services"
• In the right Windows pane, scroll to "Indexing service", right click it and select "Properties"
• Make sure that "Manual" is selected from the drop-down list under "Startup type"

4. Use the NTFS file system

Performance tips for Windows XP often mention the use of the NTFS file system because it works slightly faster than the FAT32 file system. Besides the performance benefit, you will also enjoy improved stability and security in comparison with the FAT32 file system.

You can convert an existing FAT32 file system to NTFS without data loss, but always remember that older operating systems like Windows 98 cannot work with NTFS.

Proceed with care if you have more than one operating system on your pc.

• Click on the Start button, right-click "My Computer" and select "Manage"
• In the navigation pane on the left, expand "storage" and choose "Disk Management"
• The details on the right will reveal the file system details for each of your drives. Also make a note of the drive's volume name.

To convert a drive's file system :

• Click the Start button and select "Run"
• Type "convert d: /fs:ntfs" (without the quotes - replace d: with the drive letter that you want to convert) and click ok
• A dos box will open and ask for the drive's volume name
• Enter the volume name and hit the ENTER key

Windows will start the conversion to NTFS and notifies you when it is finished.

Windows XP auto logon

You might want to enforce Windows XP auto logon when you are the only person that uses your Windows XP computer.

If you use this little trick, you won't have to enter your username / password combination each time you power-on your computer. It's a huge time-saver.

The Windows XP Welcome Screen

The Windows XP welcome screen is what you will most probably see when you power-up your Windows XP computer.

Windows XP Welcome Screen

If your Windows XP welcome screen won't come up when you start your computer, your Windows is probably set to show the "logon screen" at startup.

Windows XP logon screen

You can easily switch between the welcome screen and the "logon screen" :

* Click the Start button
* Select "control panel"
* Select "user accounts"
* Select "Change the way users log on or off"
* (Un)check the "Welcome Screen" option
* Click "Apply options"

The next time you log on to your computer, you will logon through the welcome screen.

Note : if your computer is a member of a domain, you won't be able to use the welcome screen option.

Want to synchronize computer time with internet ?

With Windows XP you can easily synchronize computer time with internet. If your computer is a member of a domain, you shouldn't have to worry about time synchronization. Probably it synchronizes with a network time server.

If you use your computer at home, there is a good chance that it isn't member of a domain. Even for home and entertainment use, your computer clock should be running accurately. You can set it up so that it always shows the right time.

It's easy.

There are internet time servers that you can use on the internet. If you set up your computer to synchronize with one of those, your computer clock should be fairly accurate.

Double-click the clock in the right-hand corner at the bottom of your screen.

Windows shows the date and time properties dialog

Date and time properties

Click the "Internet Time" tab (this tab isn't available if your computer is a member of a domain)

Date and Time properties

Check the "Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server" checkbox
To test if the connection with the time server, click the "Update Now" button

If the synchronization works, you should see a message that the time synchronization was successful.

If the synchronization doesn't work, you can try the server drop-down list to select another time server.

Date and Time properties

You will also see the date and time of next synchronization in this dialog. Normally your computer synchronizes with the time server once a week. It's really that simple to synchronize computer time with internet.

If synchronization with the time server fails, it could be for one of the following reasons :

* You don't have an active internet connection. Time synchronization only works if your computer is connected to the internet
* Some firewalls block time synchronization. Your firewall must not block network time protocol (NTP)
* The time server is overloaded. If it is too busy, it may not respond in a timely manner. If this is the case, you could try to select another time server
* The date on your computer is incorrect. Your computer doesn't synchronize its clock if the date is incorrect. Try setting the date correctly.

Windows XP System Restore

Windows XP System Restore is a very powerful feature that can save you lots of time and frustration.

* Create a restore point before you install new software
* Flashback your computer directly to a restore point
* Use your computer's last known good configuration

Windows XP chkdsk

Windows XP chkdsk is a tool available for you in Windows. Everyone should run it from time to time because it can prevent your computer from becoming unstable.

There are different reasons why the data on your hard disk can become corrupt. Windows keeps "meta-data" about each file and every directory on your hard drive in a Master File Table (MFT).

Is your "Show Desktop icon" in XP missing ?

The "Show Desktop icon" in XP missing, a lot of people seem to be confronted with this phenomenon.

Show Desktop icon

This small icon on the Quick Launch bar is very handy when you need to access a program or document on your desktop. No need to close or minimize all your windows first, just click this little fellow and voila, your desktop shows up.

Sometimes people loose this icon. It can accidentally be deleted or you may loose it for some other reason, but the bottom line is : only few people know how to restore it.

That's because it is not an ordinary shortcut.

To recreate it :

* Click Start->Run
* In the "open" box, type "notepad" (without the quotes)
* Click ok
* Copy the following lines in your new notepad window :

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

* Click "File" in the notepad menu and select "Save As"
* Save the file to your desktop as Show Desktop.scf
* Drag the new icon from your desktop to your Quick Launch toobar and select "Move here"

If you can't move the new Desktop icon to your Quick Launch toolbar for whatever reason, you can also try the following technique :

* Right-click the new show desktop icon on your desktop and select copy
* Open Windows Explorer and navigate to
C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch (replacing with the username for which you want to restore the show desktop icon)
* In the right pane of the explorer window, right-click an empty spot and select "paste"

Maybe you don't see the Application Data folder in your Explorer. To see it, you must enable visibility for hidden folders :

* In Windows Explorer, click the menu "Tools" and select "Folder Options..."
* Click the "View" tab
* Under "Advanced Settings", select "Show hidden files and folders"
* Click ok

Create a desktop icon with attitude

Want to create a desktop icon on steroids ? The Windows XP Desktop offers some powerful customization possibilities that can highly automate your everyday tasks.

Here is a nice tip to create a desktop icon that writes an entire email message with one single click.

Note : This Windows XP tips and tricks technique has its limitations because the command line length cannot be longer than 255 characters, but nevertheless it can be a huge time-saver.

* Right-click an empty space on your desktop
* Select the option "new" and then "shortcut"
* In the "Create Shortcut" dialog, type mailto:someone@someisp.com?subject=Todays_Report

Of course you should change the email address and the subject into something more useful. Please note, however that the "create new shortcut wizard" is not smart enough to handle spaces. This is no problem, because you can edit the properties after the shortcut is created and then it's ok to use spaces. We'll get to that in a minute, but let's finish this step first :

* Click next
* Enter a descriptive name for the shortcut
* Click finish

The new shortcut will show up on your desktop. Double-click it to try. Windows fires up your email program with the addressee and subject already filled in. Of course you can complete the message before you hit "send".
Automatic email with message body pre-written ?

It's easy to create a desktop icon that pre-writes some generic text in the message body.

* Right-click the icon you created in the previous step
* Select properties
* In the input field enter mailto:someone@someisp.com?subject=Todays Report&cc=someoneelse@someisp.com&body=Hi Mike, here is today's report. (without the quotes and it's ok to use spaces this time)

This is a powerful technique to create pre-written email message icons. You can create complete pre-written email messages with one single click.

Meaning of the special characters in the shortcut command line :

* ; is used to separate multiple email addresses
* ? is used to separate the email address field from other fields like "cc" and "subject"
* & marks the end of a field and the beginning of a new field

Create a desktop icon to open multiple documents with a single click

Maybe you have several documents that you always use together. It can be very convenient to pop them up with one single click. Here's how to create a desktop icon for that :

* Minimize all running programs so that your desktop is visible
* Click the start button
* In "all programs", navigate to the program of your choice (Let's say Word), right-click it and drag it to your desktop
* Select "copy here"

Word's shortcut is now on your desktop. Time to add your documents to your desktop :

* In Explorer, navigate to the documents that you want to open together
* Right-click the first document that you want to add and select send to -> desktop (shortcut)
* Repeat for every document you want to add

Ok, now that you have the necessary icons on your desktop :

* Step 1 : Right-click Word's icon and select properties. Leave this window open as you continue with the next step
* Step 2: right-click the icon of one of the documents that you want to open in group and select properties
* Step 3: The content of the "target" field is already selected in the properties dialog, all you need to do now is press Ctrl+C to copy the content to the clipboard
* Step 4: Click cancel and go back to the properties dialog for Word
* Step 5: In this dialog, click somewhere in the "target" field, hit the "end" button on your keyboard and then hit the space bar
* Step 6: Now press Ctrl+V to paste the document name behind the program
* Step 7: Repeat steps 2 through 6 for every document that you want to add
* Step 8: Windows always puts the complete path to the documents in the target field. If you notice that the total length for all the document paths is too much to fit in the Word "target" field, you can put the path in the "start in" field and leave it out from the "target" field.
* Step 9: When you are ready, click ok
* Step 10: Double-click the Word shortcut on your desktop to see if it works.

The Windows XP start menu

The Windows XP start menu is one of the most important menus in Windows. But is seems to have a mind of its own.

Don't you agree that YOU should decide what goes on this menu ?
The Most Frequently Used (MFU) list

Did you notice that it has a "most frequently used" list ? This list keeps track of how often programs are used. It is the portion of the start menu between "All Programs" and the horizontal line under the "pinned" items.

The population of your MFU list may seem strange at times. Maybe you see programs that you haven't used in ages. Maybe you don't see programs that you'd expect to see. And even if the content seems logical, the list "lives", so you can never count on a program to be there.

To make the content of the start menu more reliable, it may be a good idea to decrease the size of the MFU list a bit and make more room for the "pinned" list.

The programs, documents, web sites, ... that you put on the pinned list are there to stay. Once you put them there, you can count on them to be there. Your default web browser and e-mail program are on the pinned list by default, but you can remove them if you want.
How to put a program on the pinned list ?

Click on the start button and navigate to the program that you want on the pinned list
Right-click this program and select "Pin to Start menu"

Voila.
A document that you use often on the pinned list ?

Open Windows Explorer, navigate to that document, right-click and drag that document to the Start button and release the right mouse button when your mouse pointer is on the Start button.
An often visited web site on the pinned list ?

* Fire up your web browser and make sure that it's not maximized so that you can also see some of your desktop
* Go to the web page that you want to pin to the start menu
* click and hold the pictogram next to the url in the address bar and drag the icon to your desktop

Address bar

The icon that you need to drag to your desktop

Windows puts a shortcut on your desktop. Click this shortcut and drag it to your start button. The shortcut is now on your pinned list and you can safely remove it from your desktop to tidy up.
More room for the pinned list

If you put too many icons on your Windows XP Start menu pinned list, Windows may start to worry about the start menu real estate and bug you with messages. By decreasing the number of items on the "most frequently used" list, you make more room available for the pinned list.

* Right-click the start button
* Select properties
* Click the tab "Start Menu"
* Click the button "Customize"
* In the "Programs" section, decrease the "Number of programs on Start menu"
* You might also want to select the radio button "Small icons" in this dialog to have more space on the Start menu
* Click ok
* Click ok once more

Windows XP Quick Launch Toolbar

Save time with the Quick Launch toolbar (QLT) :

* make the QLT work for you
* learn how to customize the QLT
* improve the quality of the icons
* learn how to open documents fast

Windows XP shutdown

Windows XP shutdown can be slow from time to time. Windows XP contains all kinds of internal mechanisms that sometimes deliberately slow down your machine. The functions Shutdown, Restart and Switch User illustrate this clearly.

Windows XP taskbar

Save time with the Windows XP taskbar and work more efficiently with Windows :

* make the Windows XP taskbar work for you
* load important web pages fast
* put your favorite folders on the taskbar
* make a customized follow-up menu for the taskbar
* work more efficiently with Windows

How to Convert FAT to NTFS file system

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.

Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.

In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK.

At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.

Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).

IP address of your connection

Go to start/run type 'cmd'

then type 'ipconfig'

Add the '/all' switch for more info.

NTFS vs. FAT

To NTFS or not to NTFS—that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.

FAT16
The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.

FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.

The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.

The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.

When to Use FAT or FAT32
If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer (see Dual booting in Guides), you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.

Ports That Are Used by Windows Product Activation

Windows Product Activation uses the following ports:

80 - HTTP
443 - HTTPS

Provide Remote Assistance When Using a NAT Device

You can provide Remote Assistance to a friend who uses a Network Address Translation (NAT) device by modifying the Remote Assistance invitation using XML. Network Address Translation is used to allow multiple computers to share the same outbound Internet connection. To open a Remote Assistance session with a friend who uses a NAT device:

1. Ask your friend to send you a Remote Assistance invitation by e–mail.

2. Save the invitation file to your desktop.
3. Right–click the file, and then click Open With Notepad. You'll see that the file is a simple XML file.
4.Under the RCTICKET attribute is a private IP address, such as 192.168.1.100.
5. Over–write this IP address with your friend's public IP address. Your friend must send you his or her public IP address: they can find out what it is by going to a Web site that will return the public IP address, such as http://www.dslreports.com/ip.
6. Save the file, and then double–click it to open the Remote Assistance session.

Now, you'll be able to connect and provide them with the help they need. So that your inbound IP connection is routed to the correct computer, the NAT must be configured to route that inbound traffic. To do so, make sure your friend forwards port 3389 to the computer they want help from.

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).

Remove the Bin from the Desktop

If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files , you can get rid of its desktop icon all together.

Run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/explorer/Desktop/NameSpace

Click on the "Recycle Bin" string in the right hand pane. Hit Del, click OK.

Restricting Logon Access

If you work in a multiuser computing environment, and you have full (administrator level) access to your computer, you might want to restrict unauthorized access to your "sensitive" files under Windows 95/98.
One way is to disable the Cancel button in the Logon dialog box.
Just run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Network/Logon

Create the "Logon" subkey if it is not present on your machine: highlight the Network key -> right-click in the left hand Regedit pane -> select New -> Key -> name it "Logon" (no quotes) -> press Enter. Then add/modify a DWORD value and call it "MustBeValidated" (don't type the quotes). Double-click it, check the Decimal box and type 1 for value.
Now click the Start button -> Shut Down (Log off UserName) -> Log on as a different user, and you'll notice that the Logon Cancel button has been disabled.

Search For Hidden Or System Files In Windows XP

The Search companion in Windows XP searches for hidden and system files differently than in earlier versions of Windows. This guide describes how to search for hidden or system files in Windows XP.

Search for Hidden or System Files By default, the Search companion does not search for hidden or system files. Because of this, you may be unable to find files, even though they exist on the drive.

To search for hidden or system files in Windows XP:
Click Start, click Search, click All files and folders, and then click More advanced options.

Click to select the Search system folders and Search hidden files and folders check boxes.

NOTE: You do not need to configure your computer to show hidden files in the Folder Options dialog box in Windows Explorer to find files with either the hidden or system attributes, but you need to configure your computer not to hide protected operating system files to find files with both the hidden and system attributes. Search Companion shares the Hide protected operating system files option (which hides files with both the system and hidden attributes) with the Folder Options dialog box Windows Explorer.

Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders

Sharing of files and folders can be managed in two ways. If you chose simplified file sharing, your folders can be shared with everyone on your network or workgroup, or you can make your folders private. (This is how folders are shared in Windows 2000.) However, in Windows XP Professional, you can also set folder permissions for specific users or groups. To do this, you must first change the default setting, which is simple file sharing. To change this setting, follow these steps:
•Open Control Panel, click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
•Click the View tab, and scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings list.
•Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
•To manage folder permissions, browse to the folder in Windows Explorer, right–click the folder, and then click Properties. Click the Security tab, and assign permissions, such as Full Control, Modify, Read, and/or Write, to specific users.

You can set file and folder permissions only on drives formatted to use NTFS, and you must be the owner or have been granted permission to do so by the owner.