20+ Hidden Windows XP Tips

Useful Windows XP Tips, Tweaks, Walkthroughs and Shortcuts.
1. Total Uptime

It boasts how long it can stay up. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type ’systeminfo’. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type ’systeminfo > info.txt’. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad.
2. Delete Files Immediately

You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run… and type ‘gpedit.msc’; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care — some may stop your computer behaving as you wish.
3. Lock XP

You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter ‘rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation’ in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That’s it — just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that’s not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.
4. Remove System Software

XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can make it show everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word ‘hide’ and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be the software and you can now uninstall it.
5. Interesting New Commands

For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include ‘eventcreate’ and ‘eventtriggers’ for creating and watching system events, ‘typeperf’ for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and ’schtasks’ for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options.
6. IP Version 6 Support

XP has IP version 6 support — the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type ‘ipv6 install’ into Run… (it’s OK, it won’t ruin your existing network setup) and then ‘ipv6 /?’ at the command line to find out more. If you don’t know what IPv6 is, don’t worry.
7. Task Termination

You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using ‘taskkill /pid’ and the task number, or just ‘tskill’ and the process number. Find that out by typing ‘tasklist’, which will also tell you a lot about what’s going on in your system.
8. ZIP Files as Folders

XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you’ve got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files alone by typing ‘regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll’ at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can change things back by typing ‘regsvr32 zipfldr.dll’.
9. XP Has ClearType

XP has ClearType — Microsoft’s anti-aliasing font display technology — but doesn’t have it enabled by default. It’s well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.
10. Remote Assistance:

You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who’s using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your friend’s real IP address — they can find this out by going to www.whatismyip.com — and get them to make sure that they’ve got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.

11. User Task Management

You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As… and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.
12. Disable Default Notifications

Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might go insane before that point, run Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.
13. Faster Startup

You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run… from the start menu and type ‘control userpasswords2′, which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.
14. Delete Temp Internet Files Automatically

Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options… and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.
15. Network Activity Light

XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can’t see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You’ll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.
16. Speed-Up Your Start Menu

The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.
17. Batch Rename Files

You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By… Show In Groups.
18. Album Cover Arts

Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks — if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn’t, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.
19. Handy Shortcut Keys

Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.
20. Windows File Protection

Windows XP secretly knows that the average user has no idea what they are doing. Therefore, it doesn’t let you do really stupid things like deleting the windows directory (at least not without spending several hours convincing it that you really want to do this).

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Lots of Windows XP Tips

Lock XP Workstation (#1) :
You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.
Remove Windows XP system software (#2) :
XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.
New commands (#3) :
For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.
Windows XP supports IPv6 (#4) :
XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.

Kill tasks from the command line (#5) :
You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.
Enable ClearType by default (#6) :
XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology-- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry

HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/ControlPanel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.

Run program as different user (#7) :
You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.
Speed up the Start Menu (#8) :
The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.
Rename multiple files at once (#9) :
You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetized groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In-Groups.
Show covert art in Media Player (#10) :
Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.
Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog (#11) :
For some reason, Hibernate isn't available from the default Shut Down dialog. But you can enable it simply enough, by holding down the SHIFT key while the dialog is visible. Now you see it, now you don't!
Enable ClearType on the Welcome Screen! (#12) :
As laptop users and other LCD owners are quickly realizing, Microsoft's ClearType technology in Windows XP really makes a big difference for readability. But the this feature is enabled on a per-user basis in Windows XP, so you can't see the effect on the Welcome screen; it only appears after you logon.
But you can fix that. Fire up the Registry Editor and look for the following keys:

(default user) HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Control Panel \ Desktop \
FontSmoothing (String Value)
HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Control Panel \ Desktop \
FontSmoothingType (Hexadecimal DWORD Value)

Make sure both of these values are set to 2 and you'll have ClearType enabled on the Welcome screen and on each new user by default.
Change User Picture (#13) :
Click on the Icon at the top of the start menu. Select desired picture from resulting screen Windows 2000 style logon. To revert back to the Win2k style logon so you can log on as the administrator and other options, press ctrl+alt+delete twice at the logon screen. Change the location of the My Music or My Pictures folders:
In Windows 2000, Microsoft added the ability to right-click the My Documents folder and choose a new location for that folder in the shell. With Windows XP, Microsoft has elevated the My Music and My Pictures folders to the same "special shell folder" status of My Documents, but they never added a similar (and simple) method for changing those folder's locations. However, it is actually pretty easy to change the location of these folders, using the following method.
Open a My Computer window and navigate to the location where you'd like My Music (or My Pictures) to reside. Then, open the My Documents folder in a different window. Drag the My Music (or My Pictures) folder to the other window, and Windows XP will update all of the references to that folder to the new location, including the Start menu.
Protect Your Files From Unauthorized Users (#14) :
Other users with permission to delete a file (users with Modify or Full Control permission) can't use your encrypted files-but they can make them difficult for you to use. Any such user can rename your files, which can make them difficult to find, and can also delete your files. (Even if the user merely deletes them to the Recycle Bin and doesn't remove them altogether, the deleted files are unavailable to you because you don't have access to any other user's Recycle Bin.) Therefore, if you're concerned about protecting your files from other authorized users as well as from a thief who steals your computer, you should modify the NTFS permissions to prevent any type of modification by other users.
Shutdown Your System in a Hurry (#15) :
If you need to shut down in a hurry-or if a frozen application prevents you from shutting down in the normal ways-you can use the following procedure. Be aware, however, that you won't get an opportunity to save open documents. To perform an emergency shutdown, press Ctrl+Alt+Del to display Task Manager. Open the Shut down menu and hold down the Ctrl key as you click the Turn Off command. Poof! If your computer is part of a domain, the procedure is similar. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and then hold down Ctrl when you click Shut Down. In this situation, you'll get a warning message pointing out-quite correctly-that this should be used only as a last resort.
Provide Personal Support (#16) :
It never fails: when friends, co-workers, or family members discover that you're a Windows expert, you get pressed into service as an unpaid support technician. If the party asking for help is running any edition of Windows XP and has an active Internet connection, your job is much easier. Have the other person send you a Remote Assistance request; when you accept the request, you connect directly to their computer and can edit Registry settings, fix file associations, set System options, and perform just about any other troubleshooting or repair task, just as if you were sitting at the other person's desk.
Quickly Fix Connectivity Problems (#17) :
Are you having trouble connecting to other computers on your local area network? If your network uses a hardware firewall that assigns IP addresses to each machine and you're certain you've configured all other components correctly, check to see whether the Internet Connection Firewall is enabled. That component can effectively block communication between PCs on the network.
Hack IE Title Bar (#18) :
This can be an impressive bit of personalization. Use your name or moniker to brand Internet Explorer. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ and left-click on Main to change the string "Window Title" to whatever you wish.
Unload DLLs (#19) :
To prevent Windows from caching DLLs after the program using them has closed, follow this procedure: Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ then left-click on Explorer. Right-click (as above) and create the DWORD
AlwaysUnloadDLL with a value of 1. This requires a reboot to take effect. This will allow memory to be used more efficiently.
Registry Hacks (#20) :
Editing the Windows Registry, while much more common now than in years past, is still not to be entered into lightly. You can break Windows, cause boot failure. I know you're gonna do it anyway; why else would you be reading this. Just be careful, OK?
These are few because, for the most part WinXP can be customized through the interlace or with third-party freeware (as above).
All of the tips below require running regedit. To do so, hit 'Start/Run' then type 'regedit' and follow the instructions.
Naturally, I take no responsibility for any damage or loss of data incurred in the remote possibility that something goes terribly wrong.
The Ultimate Appearance Tweak (#21) :
Microsoft said: "You can connect up to 10 monitors to your Windows XP-based computer and display numerous programs or windows at one time. You can use your mouse to move items from one monitor to another. You can open a different file on each monitor. Or several. Or you can stretch one item across several monitors; so for example, you can see more columns in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, or the entire layout of a Web page, without scrolling." Consider it. Monitors and PCI video cards are pretty cheap now. Windows recognizes the addition & allows easy adjustments on the 'Display Properties/Settings' menu.
Save Streaming Media (#22) :
It's cool to listen to MP3s (or watch movies) over the Internet. Often, saving this media, however, seems impossible. Hey, if it plays on your computer, it's on your hard drive. Once the file is fully loaded and with folder view set to show hidden and systems folders, searches for the media (.mp3 or .mpg). There it is!
Securing the Paging File (#23) :
If you're truly concerned about the possibility of your computer falling into the wrong hands, you should be sure that you don't leave any tracks in the paging file. By default, when you shut down your system, the paging file remains intact. People who've access to your computer could conceivably look through the unencrypted paging file to find information they shouldn't have.
Assign a Keyboard Shortcut (#24) :
Click in the Shortcut Key field and press a keyboard combination that you want to use for launching or switching to this program. The shortcut key you assign must consist of one character key (a letter, number, or symbol) plus at least two of the following three keys: Ctrl, Alt, and Shift. (If you press a character key only, Windows automatically adds Ctrl+Alt.)
Shortcut keys work only when assigned to a program shortcut on the Start menu, the Programs menu, or the Desktop. The shortcuts you define will not work if it conflicts with a combination used in the program whose window has the focus.

Please remember, we cannot accept responsibility with what you decide to do with these tips. These tips act as a guide to tweaking and changing Windows XP from the default settings. If you are unsure about how to make these changes then don't meddle !

15 Top Windows XP secrets

1. Useful key shortcuts available:
   • Windows key + D - shows the desktop.
   • Windows key + M - minimizes all open windows.
   • Windows key + Shift + M - maximizes all open windows.
   • Windows key + E - Runs Windows Explorer.
   • Windows key + R - shows the RUN dialog.
   • Windows key + F - shows Search window.
   • Windows key + Break - shows System Properties box.
   • Windows key + TAB - Go through taskbar applications.
   • Windows key + PAUSE Display the System Properties dialog box.
   • Windows key + U Open Utility Manager.
   • ALT + TAB - Cycle through opened applications.
   • Hold down CTRL while dragging an item to Copy it.
   • CTRL + ESC Display the Start menu.
   • ALT + ENTER View the properties for the selected item.
   • F4 key Display the Address bar list in My Computer or
   • NUM LOCK + Asterisk (*) Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder.
2. Lock Windows to protect computer :
   You can lock Windows to protect the computer when leaving the station easily by creating a shortcut with the path rundll32.exeuser32.dll, LockWorkStation. The Windows key + L is also a shortcut to this feature.
3. Edit sysoc.inf to list all software :
   To show all software that can be removed from your computer (including protected Windows services), you can manually edit (using notepad for example) the sysoc.inf file located in Windows\inf\. Just remove the word hide next to the software pack.
   Note - use this at your own risk. Removing critical components of the system will make Windows instable.

1. Windows XP comes with IPv4 and IPv6 :
   Windows XP comes both IPv4 and IPv6 support. To enable IPv6, you can install the protocols needed with the command "ipv6 install" in the command-prompt. Then type ipv6 /? to see the options. The installation will not remove the IPv4 protocols so your current configuration will still work.
2. Access Task Manager with shortcut :
   To access the Task Manager easier, you can make a shortcut that points to %windir%\system32\taskmgr.exe.
3. Stop treating ZIP files like Folders :
   If you don't want your Windows XP to treat ZIP files like folders, you can disable this component by running regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll at the command prompt or Run dialog. If you start missing it, you can enable it by typing regsvr32 zipfldr.dll.
4. Run program as diffrent user :
   You can run a program as a different user. Right click an application and select Run As command.
5. Switch users leaving applications opened :
   You can switch users leaving the applications opened too (*NOTE* use this only when needed since it could lead to system instability).
   Go to Task Manager - processes and end the process explorer.exe. This will end only your session and not all applications. Then go to Applications tab, click New task and type runas /user:domainname\username explorer.exe. A password prompt will appear to login to the desired username. The user's session will start, with all your previously applications running.
   I recommend to open first a command-line prompt and type runas /? to see all the options available.
6. Rename multiple files in Windows at once :
   Rename multiple files in Windows at once. Select them all, right click and select Rename. Enter the desired name. They will be renamed using what you specified, with a number in brackets to distinguish them.
7. Task kill feature in Windows :
   Windows has a task kill feature similar to Linux. Go to a command prompt and run the command tasklist to see running processes with PID numbers. Then type tskill to end the specific task. This forces an instant closing of the task.
8. Edit features with GPEDIT.MSC :
   You can edit many features by running gpedit.msc. You can add log on/log off scripts here and many features.
9. Edit accounts in the command prompt :
   You can edit accounts by running "control userpasswords2" at the command prompt.
10. Use systeminfo.exe to see System Information :
    You can use the systeminfo.exe command in the command prompt to see System Information, including all Windows updates and hotfixes.
11. Disable system services for maximum performance :
    There are system services that you can disable to free up the system's load. To access the interface that permits you to make changes to system's services, type services.msc and the command prompt.
    This is a list of services that are *usually* useless and can be safely disabled.
    • Alerter
    • Application Layer Gateway Service,
    • Application Management
    • Automatic Updates
    • Background Intelligent Transfer
    • Clipbook
    • Distributed Link Tracking Client
    • Distributed Transaction Coordinater
    • Error Reporting Service
    • Fast User Switching Compatibility
    • IMAPI CD-Burning
    • Indexing Service
    • IPSEC Services
    • Messenger
    • Net Logon
    • Net Meeting
    • Remote Desktop Sharing
    • Network DDE
    • Network DDE DSDM
    • Portable Media Serial Number
    • Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
    • Remote Registry
    • Secondary Logon
    • Smartcard
    • SSDP Discovery Service
    • Uninterruptible Power Supply
    • Universal Plug and Play Device Host
    • Upload Manager
    • Webclient
    • Wireless Zero Configuration
    • WMI Performance Adaptor
    NOTE: Make sure you don't need them since some applications you're using could depend on them. If you make any application to fail by disabling any of the services, go back and enable it again.
    
12. Repair Windows XP by using the XP installation CD:
    If your system failes to start due to an error related to missing HAL.DLL, invalid Boot.ini or any other critical system boot files you can repair this by using the XP installation CD. Simply boot from your XP Setup CD and enter the Recovery Console. Then run "attrib -H -R -S" on the C:\Boot.ini file and delete it. Run "Bootcfg /Rebuild" and then FixbooT

XP: Biggest threat to Vista?

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp's operating systems run most personal computers around the globe and are a cash cow for the world's largest software maker. But you'd never confuse a Windows user with the passionate fans of Mac OS X or even the free Linux operating system.

Unless it's someone running Windows XP, a version Microsoft wants to retire. Fans of the six-year-old operating system set to be pulled off store shelves in June have papered the Internet with blog posts, cartoons and petitions recently. They trumpet its superiority to Windows Vista,Microsoft's latest PC operating system, whose consumer launch last January was greeted with lukewarm reviews.

No matter how hard Microsoft works to persuade people to embrace Vista, some just can't be wowed. They complain about Vista's hefty hardware requirements, its less-than-peppy performance, occasional incompatibility with other programmes and devices and frequent, irritating security pop-up windows.

For them, the impending disappearance of XP computers from retailers, and the phased withdrawal of technical support in coming years, is causing a minor panic.

Take, for instance, Galen Gruman. A longtime technology journalist, Gruman is more accustomed to writing about trends than starting them.

But after talking to Windows users for months, he realized his distaste for Vista and strong attachment to XP were widespread.

"It sort of hit us that, wait a minute, XP will be gone as of June 30. What are we going to do?" he said. "If no one does something, it's going to be gone."

So Gruman started a Save XP Web petition, gathering since January more than 100,000 signatures and thousands of comments, mostly from die-hard XP users who wantMicrosoft to keep selling it until the next version of Windows is released, currently targeted for 2010.

On the petition site's comments section, some users proclaimed they will downgrade from Vista to XP — an option available in the past to businesses, but now open for the first time to consumers who buy Vista Ultimate or Business editions — if they need to buy a new computer after XP goes off the market.

Others used the comments section to rail against the very idea that Microsoft has the power to enforce the phase-out from a stable, decent product to one that many consider worse, while profiting from the move. Many threatened to leave Windows for Apple or Linux machines.

Microsoft already extended the XP deadline once, but it shows no signs it will do so again. The company has declined to meet with Gruman to consider the petition.Microsoft is aware of the petition, it said in a statement to The Associated Press, and "will continue to be guided by feedback we hear from partners and customers about what makes sense based on their needs." Gruman said he'd keep pressing for a meeting.

"They really believe if they just close their eyes, people will have no choice," he said. In fact, most people who get a new computer will end up with Vista. In 2008, 94 percent of new Windows machines for consumers worldwide will run Vista, forecasts industry research group IDC. For businesses, about 75 percent of new PCs will have Vista. (That figure takes into account companies that choose to downgrade to XP.)

Although Microsoft may not budge on selling new copies of XP, it may have to extend support for it. Al Gillen, an IDC analyst, estimated that at the end of 2008 nearly 60 per cent of consumer PCs and almost 70 per cent of business PCs worldwide will still run XP.Microsoft plans to end full support — including warranty claims and free help with problems — in April 2009. The company will continue providing a more limited level of service until April 2014.

Gillen said efforts like Gruman's grass-roots petition may not influence the software maker, but business customers' demands should carry more clout.

"You really can't make 69 percent of your installed base unhappy with you," he said. Some companies — such as Wells Manufacturing Co in Woodstock, Ill. — are crossing their fingers that he's right. The company, which melts scrap steel and casts iron bars, has 200 PCs that run Windows 2000 or XP. (Windows 2000 is no longer sold on PCs. Mainstream support has ended, but limited support is available through the middle of 2010.)

Wells usually replaces 50 of its PCs every 18 months. In the most recent round of purchases, Chief Information Officer Lou Peterhans said, the company stuck with XP because several of its applications don't run well on Vista.

"There is no strong reason to go to Vista, other than eventually losing support for XP," he said. Peterhans added that the company isn't planning to bring in Vista computers for 18 months to two years. If Microsoft keeps to its current timetable, its next operating system, code-named Windows 7, will be on the market by then

A glimpse into Windows future

There have been rumours floating about what all Microsoft's next operating system will have.

However, most of these have been mere speculations. For the first time this week Microsoft publicly demoed Windows 7 at D: All Things Digital conference in California. The high point of the new OS, called Windows 7 presently, is the "multi-touch" interface.

Other than, the touchy feely look, the demo also showed a user manipulating photos, browsing a map and playing an onscreen piano with simple one and two-finger taps and gestures.

Windows 7 is likely to hit the market in late 2009 or early 2010. Here's looking into all the new additions that are likely to form part of Windows 7.

Windows 7 will be made for iPhone-like touch-screen applications, an alternative to the computer mouse. This means that users will be able to control the next version of Microsoft Windows with touch controls.

Microsoft showed a new application called "Touchable Paint" that lets a user paint with their fingers, as well as software to organise photos or navigate maps by touch.

Company Chairman Bill Gates framed the new feature as an evolution away from the mouse. The ability to use touch to give users fingertip control of their screens could help revolutionise how computer desktops and mobile phones are controlled and would be an alternative to existing mice, keyboard and pen-based user controls.

Microsoft is seeking to one-up Apple, which made touch-screen software central to the success of its iPhone mobile device, which combines computer, phone and Web features and has sold around 6 million units in its first 11 months.

With Windows 7, Microsoft hopes to create a more life-like photo experience. As per the demo, new photo applications developed for Windows 7 will allow users to arrange and examine photos as they would on a table.

It will also allow users to write, rotate or zoom them. There also seems option of 3D slideshow, grid and scatter views

---

Another feature is the mapping app that seems to have modified from the Microsoft's Surface, a device for interacting with large tabletop computer displays, team's own Concierge application.

Like Concierge, it calls up data from Windows Live Local and Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Sessions of Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference, scheduled for October, also throws some light on the new operating system.

As per the session details, Windows 7 will enable users to advance the graphics capabilities of their applications while carrying forward existing investments in their Win32 codebase, including GDI and GDI+.

New enhancements to DirectX will help Win32 applications harness the latest innovations in GPUs and LCD displays, including support for scalable, high-performance, 2D and 3D graphics, text, and images.

In a blog post earlier this week, Microsoft's Chris Flores said that Windows 7 will be an evolution of the Vista kernel and one of our design goals for Windows 7 is that it will run on the recommended hardware we specified for Windows Vista and that theapplications and devices that work with Windows Vista will be compatible with Windows 7 .

According to another session at the conference, a single application will help reduce mobile battery life (presumably in laptops and other mobile devices) by up to 30 per cent.

Windows 7 will provide advances for building energy-efficient applications.

The session write-up says: "In this session we will discuss how to leverage new Windows infrastructure to reduce application power consumption and efficiently schedule background tasks and services."

According to a session on Web services, Windows 7 will introduce a new networking API to support building SOAP based Web services in native code. It's likely to have native support for running virtual hard disks, specifically disk images in Microsoft’s own VHD format.

Courtesy: Indiatimes News Nework

Windows Tips and tricks

Using your windows key

Most of you must have this windows key on your computer . On a windows computer this is a very important shortcut key. In combination with other keys this key forms a very important shortcut which can be used to performe some important tasks shown below:

Windows key combination	Command / Acction
+ E	Open windows explorer
+ R	Opens Run Dialog box
+ L	Locks your computer/workstation
+ D	Shows Desktop (it works like minimize all. If you press + D again it will restore back all the windows) this is quiet a useful key.
+ M	Select application starting with M on your desktop. (Generally My Computer)
+ U	Shows windows utility manager. (Not so useful command)
+ F	Opens Find window
+ H	Opens drawing pad
+ V	Speech recognition software
+ Tab	Cycle throught Applications on your taskbar
+Shift+ Tab	Reverse Cycle throught Applications on your taskbar
+ break	Show system property dialog box

Thanks Nilashis for liking my post. But i could really do with some more replies. It motivates me to write more... newayz.. here is more coming..

Most of the times when we are typing some stuff we hate to have to use mouse. it is really good if we had some keyboard shortcuts to do the work we want .. well, in fact we do have many shortcuts. I will start with how we can start may applications just by bringing up the run dialog box. Below i have listed some applications and their commands...





Pressing “ + R” will bring the run window. Type in the following commands and hit enter to bring the respective application.

The commands mentioned here are generic commands and should work for windows 98 and above although I have only tested them on Windows XP.

Command to type	Application that will open
notepad	Notepad
winword	Microsoft word document
excel	Microsoft excel document
msaccess	Microsoft Access
powerpnt	Microsoft Power Point
mspaint	Paint
iexplore	Internet Explorer
firefox	Fire Fox
calc	Calculator
outlook	Microsoft Outlook
control	Control panel
desktop	Opens your desktop as a folder
explorer	Opens windows explorer
cmd	Command prompt

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Commands mentioned below are some advanced commands which open up utilities to configure windows.

Command to type	Application that will open
services.msc	Microsoft Service Console
msconfig	System configuration utility
regedit	Registry Editor
certmgr.msc	Certificate Manager
mmc	Microsoft Management console

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The applications mentioned below opens for office 2003.

Command to type	Application that will open
infopath	Microsoft Office Infopath 2003
mspub	Microsoft Publisher 2003
ois        Â	Microsoft Office Picture Manager

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Now some interesting stuff......

Command to type	Application that will open
. (Single Dot)	Your user folder.
.. (Two Dots)	A level higher than your user folder (generally Document and setting folder)
…(Three Dots )	Two level higher than your user folder (generally My computer)

Some tips to make your computer faster

1)
Probably most of us are using windows XP as operating system on our computers. XP is know for its better graphics display over its predecessors. But this graphics display comes at a cost of CPU performance. So if you are not so awed by the looks of XP or want a change it for whatsoever reason here is what you can do:

 i) On "My Computer" icon right click and go to "Properties".
ii)Â In the "Sysetm Properties" dialog click on Advance tab.
iii) In the "Advance" tab, inside the performance section there is a "Settings" button. Click it.
iv) In the "Visual Effects" tab, there are various radio buttons. Click on "Adjust for best performance" radio button.
v) Click on "Apply".

Doing this will give your desktop a more traditional look and feel but you will observe some increase in your PC's performance. Personally i love this look and feel more than the XP default look and feel.




2)
Most of us have multiple partition hard disk. When partitioning a hard disk do we ever think the amount we assign to each partition? Well I am not about to go into the details of partitioning but whenever you partition a hard disk remember to give at least 20 GB of space to your system drive (Drive where your OS is installed, typically C:). Keep as much free space on your system drive as possible.

Windows uses a process called as "paging" to allocate runtime memory (also called as virtual memory) to programs. This happens because our RAMs are not always sufficient to handle all theapplication process. Due to this a filled called "pagefile.sys" is created on your system drive. So keep as much space on your system drive as possible. Also regularly defragment your system drive. this will improve the access to the sytsem files by the OS improving the performance of your computer.




3)
Improving your startup.

Whenever you start your windows, many programs are scheduled to start with it automatically. There are many ways to do this, E.g. put the program shortcut manually in Start --> Programs --> Start up or put the program entry in Autoexe.bat file or create a registry entry in the startup section. Well, even though these can be scheduled to start differently, there is a single way to view them: "msconfig" the configuration utility.

Click on Start --> Run.
In the Run dialog type "msconfig" and hit enter.
System Configuration utility dialog box comes up.

The last tab in this dialog box is a startup tab will all the programs schedule to startup start when windows start. Most of these utilities are not requied in our day to day work. Some of them are even viruses or worms or trogans. So remove the programs that you think are not required during startup. To do this uncheck the box against the startup item and click apply.

Now probably the question in your mind is how to decide which items to uncheck and which items to keep untouched??? We have an excellent guide for this. http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php . Here you will find most of the startup program and what to do with them.

Unwanted startup programs not only slows your startup but also runs as a background process clogging your valuable CPU resource time.

Using your windows key

Most of you must have this windows key on your computer . On a windows computer this is a very important shortcut key. In combination with other keys this key forms a very important shortcut which can be used to performe some important tasks shown below:

Windows key combination	Command / Acction
+ E	Open windows explorer
+ R	Opens Run Dialog box
+ L	Locks your computer/workstation
+ D	Shows Desktop (it works like minimize all. If you press + D again it will restore back all the windows) this is quiet a useful key.
+ M	Select application starting with M on your desktop. (Generally My Computer)
+ U	Shows windows utility manager. (Not so useful command)
+ F	Opens Find window
+ H	Opens drawing pad
+ V	Speech recognition software
+ Tab	Cycle throught Applications on your taskbar
+Shift+ Tab	Reverse Cycle throught Applications on your taskbar
+ break	Show system property dialog box

Hidden Blue tooth software in Windows XP and Vista

This Bluetooth trick is an old one but just publishing for people who still don't know.

Most of you people are searching for software for your Bluetooth Dongles or Bluetooth devices over Internet. Don't worry there is a hidden blue tooth software in Windows XP and Vista.

Follow the below mentioned method for this Blue tooth trick .

1. Open the run command.

2. Now type fsquirt without quotes. This will open a window with text Welcome to Bluetooth File Transfer

3. Now just select whether you want to send or receive any file and you are done. Wizard.

How To Clear The ARP Cache In Windows 2000/XP And Vista

The Address Resolution Protocol is designed to ease communication in TCP/IP networks through accelerated methods of finding host hardware addresses when the network layer is known. When a network layer has been resolved to a data link layer address, the link between the two is put in a table called an ARP cache where matched sets of Hardware and Internet Protocol are kept.

The ARP Cache therefore hastens what could otherwise be a time-wasteful process. The ARP cache may however, encounter some problems. The cache table must be maintained in an orderly manner.

There is also the possibility that the cache entries might become stale with time, and more cache entries might be added without the expired ones being removed from the cache. The initial signs that the cache needs to be cleared is when the pages just won't load and also when you might be unable to ping certain IP addresses. It is suggested that before doing anything, you might try and first check whether the routing and remote services have been disabled (no need to do that if you are using Windows XP Home Edition).

To clear the ARP cache in Windows 2000/XP and Vista, take the following steps:

- Proceed to the "Start" button, click on "Run" button.
- Type the following command in the "Run" textbox. "netsh interface ip delete arpcache".
- Click on "Ok".


Clearing the dynamic ARP cache entries takes between 2 and 20 minutes, depending on the system. But there are alternative ways of clearing the cache if the initial method did not work: Go to the "Start" button, and then go to the "Control Panel".

- Jump to "Performance and Maintenance", although this step is not necessary if you are in the Classic View.
- Now go to "Administrative tools" and then go to "Computer Management" and click the "Services and Applications" button on your right-hand column.
- Scroll down the window that opens up to the point until you find "Routing and Remote Services". Click on that tab. A window will then open. Now go to the drop-down menu and select "Disabled".
- From there, click "Ok" to the necessary dialogue and save the settings.


Still having problems with the cache? There are still other methods you could use, like the following that is designed to clear the cache every five minutes for those using Windows XP Home edition. If you are on Windows XP Pro and you still want to use this method, change the "C:WINNTsystem32" part of the command to reflect "C:windowssystem32".

- Install the Window on the default drive(C), and if it's not, you will need to replace the letter "C" with the letter representing the drive in which the Windows has been installed.
- Go to "Start" button and then click on the "Run" buttons. Type "cmd" in the textbox and then click "Ok". After that, copy and paste this link on the blinking cursor after (>) sign; "SCHTASKS /CREATE /SC MINUTE /MO 5 /TN ARPFLUSH /TR C:WINNTsystem32netshinterfaceipdeletearpcache"
- Type "enter", and then you will be required to type in your username and password, and then press "enter" once more. That should do the trick.

improve Windows XP performance

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/ Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer' s Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.


Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive


sum very nice tips... nice find roshni k added
also wrong section posted...

while this is true, the sector size increases (a sector has a length of 512 bytes called cluster size) as per the partition size... so when u have no partitions in a say, 500 GB HDD, the file cluster size is stored as per multiples of 512 bytes (ie 2^9) and would be in (Cluster*2) bytes * Sector size = x bytes... which would mean each file would be a minimum of x bytes even if the file just contains data whose size is less than x bytes...
it would be a waste of precious HDD space to not use partitions... even if they do not provide any additional security...

refer the below for more details on NTFS partitioning, the type windows OS now uses...

The default cluster size for a NTFS partition is as follows ,

Partition size Sectors per cluster Cluster size
<512MB 1 512 bytes
<1024MB 2 1K
<2048MB 4 2K
<4096MB 8 4K
<8192MB 16 8K
<16384MB 32 16K
<32768MB 64 32K
>32768MB 128 64K

this means 64 Kb would be the minimum size for a HDD partition >32768MB (32 GB) which all HDD's are now... so even for a tiny text file of 50 bytes, the HDD will store it using 64Kb*1024=65536 bytes which means a wastage of 65536-50= 65486 bytes... if u have a 100 files of less than 1 KB the HDD wastage can be huge