Microsoft Windows XP Repair Guide

Repair XP
Repair XP
Following are my experiences with repairing XP. I will not assume any responsibility for problems that may occur to your system from using any of these suggestions. It is always prudent to backup important data before you make any changes to your operating system. Windows Update Site Problems - Jupiter Jones MS MVP How To Access Safe Mode How To Access Last Known Good Config How To Create a Boot Disk to Start Windows XP Cannot Start Windows XP if the System or Software Hive Is Missing or Damaged - From Kelly Theriot Password Problems and Windows XP - From Kelly Theriot How To Fix The Cryptographic Service Error - Fix for "Error:Setup could not verify the integrity of the file Update.inf. Make sure the Cryptographic service is running on this computer" System Cannot Access CD-Rom, CD-Recorder or DVD Devices Error Messages After Removing Easy CD Creator from XP How to log on to Windows XP if you forget your password How To Take Ownership of a File or Folder How To Access Recovery Console How To Create a Set of Emergency Floppies - If your computer can not boot from a CD-Rom create a 6 floppy disk set that corresponds to your version of Windows XP. Click here for Home Edition Click here for Pro Edition How To Repair Boot sector How To Format How To Partition How To Exit the Recovery Console How To Run a Repair Install How To Uncover Windows XP Product Key How To Change The Product ID A better boot diskette for WinNT/2000/XP Has XP Been Activated? NTFS Reader for DOS (freeware) - lets you access an NTFS partition from a floppy and copy files off it Known Issues with Windows XP Service Pack 1
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Repair XP
AIDA32 - AIDA32 is a professional system information, diagnostics and benchmarking program running on Win32 platforms. It extracts details of all components of the PC. You can even uncover your Windows XP and Office 2000/XP Product Keys with this freeware app. READ the FAQ!!! Tweaks&Fixes - From Kelly's Korner this is a fantastic set of registry hacks and fixes. NTBackup Is Missing From My OEM version of XP (download)- Some OEMs don't include NTBackup - Bob Cerelli has it at his site in his Windows XP Tips section Knoppix - Ok this might appear to be blasphemy on a site dedicated to Windows but if your system is really hosed and you are desperate to get data off the drive then give Knoppix a go. The download is a whopping 700MB but you get an ISO that, when burned to CD, creates a version of Linux that runs directly off the CD and doesn't require installation to your Hard Drive. With this CD Operating System you can access your NTFS or FAT partitions and with it's built in CD Burning software copy your important data off the drive . Or if you have a network you can transfer files to another system. This is a must have!
How to access Safe Mode:

Reboot your computer while holding down the F8 Key. At the Advanced Options Menu select the option for Safe Mode and press Enter.
How to access Last Known Good Configuration:

Reboot your computer while holding down the F8 Key. At the Advanced Options Menu select Last Known Good Configuration.
Repair XP
How to access the Recovery Console:

The Recovery Console is a set of tools which run from a Command prompt. If your system is formatted as NTFS then these tools can help you manage the partition. You can learn more about the Recovery Console through Help and Support or Click here for information about the different commands and their functions . The Recovery Console can be run from a Command Prompt by going to Start->Run and enter "CMD" to open a command window. Type HELP for a list of functions. To run the Recovery Console from CD boot with the Windows XP CD (or with the optional 6 floppy disk set) and select "R" at the Welcome Screen.
Repair XP
The screen will switch to black and you will be asked which installation to log on to. If you only have one installation you will press "1". Remember that numlock is off at this time.
Repair XP
Next you'll be prompted to enter your Admin password. By default it is created blank so just press Enter.
Repair XP
At the C:\Windows command prompt type "Help" for a list of commands you can use.
Repair XP
How to Repair the Boot Sector:

If XP won't start it may be due to a damaged boot sector or a missing or corrupt ntldr or ntdetect. com files. To replace damaged ntldr and ntdetect.com you can copy fresh files from the XP CD using the COPY command. Boot with the XP CD and enter the Recovery Console (as above). At the Command Prompt type the following (where "X" is your CD-Rom drive letter) allowing the files to overwrite the old files COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C: COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C: To repair a damaged Boot Sector at the command prompt type FIXBOOT and press Enter. Then answer "Y"
Repair XP
How To Format using the Recovery Console (click for info on How To Access The Recovery
Console) format drive : /Q /FS:file-system
Use the above command (where /Q performs a quick format of the drive, drive is the drive letter of the partition to format /FS:file-system specifies the type of file system to use [FAT, FAT32, or NTFS]) to format the specified drive to the specified file system. For example the following quick formats C partition as NTFS FORMAT C: /Q /FS:NTFS the following will do a full format of C as FAT32 FORMAT C: /FS:FAT32 *** Note: If a file system is not specified, then the existing file system format is retained. Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart your Computer
Repair XP
How Partition using the Recovery Console: (click for info on How To Access The Recovery
Console)
At the command prompt type DISKPART and press Enter.
Repair XP
An interface is displayed which you can move through with the Arrow Keys. Press "C" to create a partition in unused space. Pressing "D" will delete the highlighted partition.
Repair XP
How To Exit the Recovery Console:

You can not use Ctrl+Alt+Del to quit the Recovery Console. Instead type "EXIT" at the command prompt and Windows will be started.
Repair XP
Boot to Windows.
Repair XP
How to Repair Install: (also called "In place reinstall")

Sometimes the only way to repair XP is to reinstall. You do not have to wipe your partition and start over. Just as with previous versions of Windows you can install over top of an existing setup. This has the advantage of retaining your installed applications, data and settings. You will lose previously saved System Restore Points but System Restore will begin creating new restore points again immediately following the Repair Install. You will need to reinstall SP1a and any Critical Updates from the Windows Update Site. Be aware that a Repair Install will leave your system vulnerable to the Blaster and Welchia worms. Do not go on line until you have enabled XP's firewall first. Then visit the Windows Update Site to patch your system It is always prudent to backup important data before you make changes to XP. There are two approaches. The first one should be used if you can still boot to your Windows Desktop. Simply pop the XP CD into the CD-Rom drive and select Install->Upgrade[recommended]. This will install XP overtop of itself in the same way as upgrading from a previous setup. However if your version is an OEM version then you will not have this option. If you do not see the option to Upgrade[recommended] DO NOT choose New Install as that will either overwrite your current setup completely or give you a dual boot setup.
Repair XP
If you cannot boot to the Desktop or you have an OEM version of XP then the following should be used to complete a Repair Install. Boot with the Windows XP CD and at the Setup Screen press the Enter Key
You will be taken to the Windows XP Licensing Agreement. After reading the agreement press F8 to proceed.
Repair XP
The next screen gives you the option to do a fresh (clean) install or to "Repair the selected Windows XP installation." Press "R"
Repair XP
Windows XP will copy the necessary files to your Hard Drive to begin the installation and will then reboot. You will see the message that informs you to "Press any key to boot the CD". Do not press any keys this time just wait a few seconds and the Windows Startup Screen will be displayed. Following this you will be greeted by the Windows XP Setup Screens.
Repair XP
Repair XP
Repair XP
When Setup has completed you should find all of your previously installed apps and settings are intact. How To Determine If XP was Activated? You installed XP and then can't remember if you activated it. Go to Start->Run and enter the following
oobe/msoobe /a View Product Key XP - Visit the Keyfinder Homepage by Aleks Ozolins
If you have more than one system running XP you have obviously purchased more than one copy of the Operating System. However you may have forgotten which Product Key you used for which system. It happens. I have 5 systems and have had all of them running XP at times. XP does not store the Product Key in a recognizable format in the registry. Click this link and select "Open" and your Windows XP Product Key will be displayed Keyfinder is a freeware utility that retrieves your Product Key. has the options to copy the key to clipboard, save it to a text file, or print it for safekeeping. It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, .NET, Office 97, and Office XP. It even has the ability by using Microsoft's own script to change the Windows XP, 98, and ME installation key. See the Microsoft Knowledgebase article here
Repair XP
Q328874 If your version of XP came pre-installed on your computer the revealed Product Key could be that of an image used by the manufacturer. If this is the case you will likely be unable to use it to install another version of Windows XP such as one purchased separately from the computer. Find an alternate location for ViewKeyXP if my link is broken. Known Issues with Windows XP Service Pack 1 Fix Switch Identities in Microsoft Outlook Express After Service Pack 1 HP/Compaq SP1 Notice - The System Restore feature in these computers seriously conflicts with SP1 Cannot Start Windows XP After Installing Service Pack 1 and Then Performing a System Recovery Operation Fix for SP1 Problems and Compaq Pressario 6330 Microsoft Knowledgebase Articles Pertaining to Windows XP SP1 Setup Could Not Verify the Integrity of the File" Error Message Occurs When You Try to Install SP1 'The Password Is Not Valid' Error Message Appears When You Log On to Recovery Console in Windows XP
Windows Update
Windows Update
To protect your computer, you need the proper updates for your operating system. This is Number Two on the list of "Must do" to protect your computer. Microsoft will now send you for FREE a Windows Security Update CD. This CD is only available for Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows 98 Second Edition (SE). This CD does not replace the need for regular updates but it can make the update process easier especially after a reload.
Windows Update Checklist...for some of the most common problems with Windows Update issues A basic checklist of items to check when you are having issues with Windows Update. Most items apply to all versions of Windows, otherwise they are marked for the applicable version. Most Windows Update issues can be solved here. Windows Update Troubleshooter Use Microsoft's Windows Update Troubleshooter if the checklist does not solve your issue. If you are unable to access the Windows Update Troubleshooter, update the MSXML parser in case of a damaged/corrupted installation or a mismatch of . xml files. Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4) Windows Update Fixes for common problems There will be information on updates that have issues as well as the resolution. Look on this list to see if your specific problem is here. Often the resolution for a similar issue will also fix your issue. Any operating system must be kept up to date. Without the updates, your computer will become increasingly more vulnerable to new threats. Some of these threats are made possible by weaknesses discovered in Windows after Windows was released. Other weaknesses became apparent as new technology creates a weakness where there was none before. Windows has made it easy to keep up to date You can perform Windows Update automatically, prompted or
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Windows Update
manually. Windows XP: To set Windows Update on automatic (recommended for most home users) Right click "My Computer" Click "Properties" Click "Automatic Updates" Place check in "Keep my computer up to date" Also place a bullet in "Automatically download the updates" NOTE: Be sure your computer is powered on the day/time you set. To set Windows Update to prompt for the updates choose one of the other two bullets on that page. To manually update: Start/All Programs/Windows Update Follow the prompts. Windows 9X: Start/Settings/Control Panel Double click "Automatic Updates" Put a check mark in the "Automatically download updates and notify me when they are ready to be installed" You should install ALL Critical Updates. Install the Recommended Updates that you have determined apply to you. Get the drivers directly from the manufacturer If you have not updated in a while, you may have a lot of updates. Install Service Packs first and by itself Reboot Install updates no more than four at a time. Reboot Install next four. Don't forget to check for and install updates for other software such as Microsoft Office.
Home | Up | Firewall | Windows Update | Anti Virus | Spyware | More Security This site was last updated Thursday, 19 February 2004
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314079 - How to Use System Files to Create a Boot Disk to Guard Against Being Unable to Start Windows XP
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Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 314079
How to Use System Files to Create a Boot Disk Support Centers Windows to Guard Against Being Unable to Start Windows XP XP
View products that this article applies to. This article was previously published under Q314079 For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 101668.
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SUMMARY
This article describes how to guard against a situation when it is not possible to start Windows or any other operating system on your computer. This situation can occur when Windows is installed on a computer that has an Intel x86-based processor and the boot record for the active partition or files that are required to start Windows becomes corrupted.
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MORE INFORMATION
To guard against this situation, create a Windows boot disk when you first install Windows on the computer. This disk is different from an MS-DOS boot disk. Unlike MS-DOS, the entire Windows operating system cannot fit on one floppy disk. A Windows boot disk contains only the files that are necessary to start the operating system with the remainder of the Windows system files installed on the hard disk drive. Use the following procedure to create this disk: 1. Place a blank floppy disk in drive A, and format the disk by using Windows XP.
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2. From the root folder of the system partition of your hard disk drive (for example, C:\-), copy the following files to the floppy disk: Boot.ini NTLDR Ntdetect.com You may have to remove the hidden, system, and read-only attributes from the files. 3. Restore the hidden, system, and read-only attributes to the files on your hard disk if you removed these attributes. 4. If either the Bootsect.dos or the Ntbootdd.sys file resides in the system partition, also use the procedure that is described in steps 2 through 4 to copy these files to the
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314079 - How to Use System Files to Create a Boot Disk to Guard Against Being Unable to Start Windows XP
boot disk. If you format a floppy disk in Windows XP, the boot record points to the NTLDR file. When NTLDR runs, it loads the available operating system selections from the Boot.ini file. If you select Windows, NTLDR runs Ntdetect.com, and then passes control to Osloader.exe. If you select MS-DOS or OS/2, NTLDR loads Bootsect.dos.
The information in this article applies to:

q q
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Last Reviewed: 11/4/2003 (1.2) Keywords: kbhowto kbenv kbinfo kbsetup kbusage KB314079
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Corrupt Hive
Windows XP From A to Z
Cannot Start Windows XP if the System or Software Hive Is Missing or Damaged (Q303012) SYMPTOMS When you try to start or restart your Windows XP-based computer, you may receive one of the following error messages: Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS \SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS \SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot \System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate CAUSE This issue can occur if the System or Software hive for the Windows XP installation is missing or damaged. RESOLUTION To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods. Use the Recovery Console Tool To restore a damaged registry hive, use the Recovery Console to restore the backup copy of the hive from the Repair folder. The Repair folder contains a copy of the system's registry hives that were created after the first successful startup of Windows XP. WARNING : Although data should not be affected by the following procedure, you may need to restore changes you previously made to programs or system settings since the first time you successfully started Windows XP. To replace the damaged registry hive and restore the backup copy of the hive from the Repair folder: Start your computer to the Recovery Console. Determine if the file that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this article is present, and if it is, rename it: In Recovery Console, change to the c:\Windows folder. Type cd sytem32\config , and then press ENTER. Type dir system , and then press ENTER. If you cannot run the preceding command successfully (because the file is missing), skip to
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Corrupt Hive
step 3. If you can run the preceding command successfully, type ren system system.bak , and then press ENTER. NOTE : If the message that you received referred to the software file, replace "system" with "software" in the preceding command. For example, you would type ren software software. bak (instead of ren system system.bak ), and then press ENTER. Type copy c:\windows\repair\system , and then press ENTER. NOTE : If the message that you received referred to the software file, replace "system" with "software" in the preceding command. For example, you would type copy c:\windows\repair \software (instead of copy c:\windows\repair\system ), and then press ENTER. You should receive a "One file copied" informational message. For additional information about how to use Recovery Console during startup, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q307654 HOW TO: Install and Use the Recovery Console for Windows XP
IMPORTANT : If you encounter problems when you run the preceding commands, you may need to use the Change Directory command ( cd ) one folder at a time before you run the preceding commands. For example, type cd system32 , press ENTER, type cd config , and then press ENTER. Type exit , and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console and restart the computer. You Cannot Start from the Windows XP CD-ROM or Use Recovery Console If you cannot start from the Windows XP CD-ROM or use Recovery Console and you are using the FAT file system (not the NTFS file system): Use a startup disk from one of the following operating systems to start your computer to a command prompt: Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Windows 95 At the command prompt, type c:\windows . Follow the steps in the "Use the Recovery Console Tool" section of this article, beginning with step 2b (type cd sytem32\config , and then press ENTER). IMPORTANT : After you complete the steps in the "Use the Recovery Console Tool" section of this article, remove the startup disk, and then restart the computer. Use System Restore to Revert to the Most-Recent Restore Point You may want to use System Restore to revert to the most-recent restore point if you have
Corrupt Hive
replaced the specific registry hive, but the issue has not been resolved. For additional information about how to use System Restore to revert to the most-recent restore point, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q307545 How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry Run a Repair Installation of Windows XP You may need to run a repair installation. For additional information about how to do so, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q312369 You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP MORE INFORMATION By default, the administrative password for Windows XP Home Edition is blank. For additional information about how to use Recovery Console, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q307654 HOW TO: Access the Recovery Console During Startup Q240831 How to Copy Files from Recovery Console to Removable Media Q229716 Description of the Windows Recovery Console
Home Page Win98 - 02/12/2003 11:44 PM - Home Page WinXP Copyright Kelly Theriot MS-MVP(DTS) 2002 All rights reserved.
Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

How to Hide the Logon Script Dialog Box on a Windows Client
For Detailed Information click here.
Direct Bootup Without Typing Password

1. At a command prompt, type "control userpasswords2" and press Enter to open the Windows 2000-style User Accounts application. 2. On the Users tab, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer check box and then click OK. 3. In the Automatically Log On dialog box that appears, type the user name and password for the account you want to be logged on each time you start your computer.
Remove Login Password

Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Local Security Settings/Minimum Password Length/Reduce it to 0 (No password required). Control Panel/User Account/Your Account/Remove Password.
Cannot Change the Administrator Password in Control Panel

After you log on as an administrator to a computer that is not a member of a domain, when you doubleclick User Accounts in Control Panel to change the password for the built-in Administrator account, the Administrator account may not appear in the list of user accounts. Consequently, you cannot change its password. This behavior can occur because the Administrator account logon option appears only in Safe mode if more than one account is created on the system. The Administrator account is available in Normal mode only if there are no other accounts on the system. To work around this behavior: - If you are running Windows XP Home Edition, restart the computer and then use a power user account to log on to the computer in Safe mode. - If you are running Windows XP Professional, reset the password in the Local Users and Groups snap-in in Microsoft Management Console (MMC): 1. Click Start, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type "mmc" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK to start MMC. 3. Start the Local Users and Groups snap-in. 4. Under Console Root, expand "Local Users and Groups", and then click Users. 5. In the right pane, right-click Administrator, and then click Set Password.
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6. Click Proceed in the message box that appears. 7. Type and confirm the new password in the appropriate boxes, and then click OK.
How to Change User Password at Command Prompt

How to use the net user command to change the user password at a Windows command prompt. Only administrators can change domain passwords at the Windows command prompt. To change a user's password at the command prompt, log on as an administrator and type: "net user <user_name> * / domain" (without the quotation marks) When you are prompted to type a password for the user, type the new password, not the existing password. After you type the new password, the system prompts you to retype the password to confirm. The password is now changed. Alternatively, you can type the following command: net user <user_name> <new_password>. When you do so, the password changes without prompting you again. This command also enables you to change passwords in a batch file. Non-administrators receive a "System error 5 has occurred. Access is denied" error message when they attempt to change the password.
How to Enable Automatic Logon in Windows

If you set a computer for auto logon, anyone who can physically obtain access to the computer can gain access to all of the computer contents, including any network or networks it is connected to. In addition, if you enable autologon, the password is stored in the registry in plaintext. The specific registry key that stores this value is remotely readable by the Authenticated Users group. As a result, this setting is only appropriate for cases where the computer is physically secured, and steps have been taken to ensure that untrusted users cannot remotely access the registry. 1. Start/Run/Regedit, and then locate the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon 2. Using your account name and password, double-click the DefaultUserName entry, type your user name, and then click OK. 3. Double-click the DefaultPassword entry, type your password, and then click OK. NOTE: The DefaultPassword value may not exist. If it does not: a. Click Add Value on the Edit menu. b. In the Value Name box, type DefaultPassword, and then click REG_SZ for the Data Type c. Type your password in the String box, and then save your changes. Also, if no DefaultPassword string is specified, Windows automatically changes the value of the AutoAdminLogon key from 1 (true) to 0 (false), thus disabling the AutoAdminLogon feature.
4. Click Add Value on the Edit menu, enter AutoAdminLogon in the Value Name box, and then click REG_SZ for the Data Type. 5. Type "1" (without the quotation marks) in the String box, and then save your changes. 6. Quit Regedit. 7. Click Start, click Shutdown, and then click OK to turn off your computer. 8. Restart your computer and Windows. You are now able to log on automatically. NOTE: To bypass the AutoAdminLogon process, and to log on as a different user, hold down the SHIFT key after you log off or after Windows restarts. Note that this procedure only applies to the first logon. To enforce this setting for subsequent logoffs, the administrator must set the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon Value: ForceAutoLogon Type: REG_SZ Data: 1
Windows XP Inherits Autologon Setting After Upgrade from Win2000

After you upgrade a Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer, Windows XP Professional may start directly to the desktop without stopping at the Welcome screen or requiring you to type a username and password. If you then create a new user account, you may not receive any option that allows you to log on by using the new account. This behavior can occur if Windows 2000 was configured for automatic logon (Autologon). Windows XP inherits this configuration setting. To resolve this behavior, turn off the automatic logon feature and require a username and password at logon: 1. Click Start on the Windows taskbar, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type control userpasswords2, and then click OK. 3. In the dialog box that appears, click to select the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" check box, and then click OK. To work around this behavior, log off from the Autologon account, and then log on by using the new account.
Not Prompted to Create Password with New XP User Account

When you create a new user on a Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition-based computer, you are not prompted to create a password. To create a password for a user account, click the icon for the account,
and then click "Create a Password".
Stored User Names and Passwords Feature Interoperability at a Command Prompt

By default, the Stored User Names and Passwords feature creates a "key" for any connection that you make in the graphical user interface (GUI) that requires alternate credentials. When you make a connection at a command prompt by using the net use command and by passing alternate credentials, a key is not created. For the net use command to save the credentials in Credential Manager, use the /savecred switch. When you use the /savecred switch, any credentials that you are prompted for when you use the net use command are saved as a key. Therefore, if you are prompted for the user name and password (or if you are prompted only for the password) when you use the net use command (but not because you used an asterisk [*] in the net use command for password prompting) and the /savecred switch, the credentials are saved. When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name /savecred command, the user is prompted for a user name, and then the user is prompted for a password. When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name /u: domain_name \ user_name /savecred command, the user is prompted for a password. However, when you type one of the following commands, a key is not created: net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name * /user: domain_name \ user_name /savecred -ornet use * \\ computer_name \ share_name * /savecred /user: domain_name \ user_name If you type net help use at a command prompt, more information is displayed about the net use command.
Password Has Expired Message

Start/Programs/Administrative Tools/Local Security Policy/Account Policies/Password Policy. In the right pane, right click, properties, modify (use accordingly). And Start/Programs/Administrative Tools/ Computer Management/Local Users and Groups/Right Click "User"(intended)/Properties...Or with Admin privileges, at a command prompt type: net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited.
To Create a Password Reset Disk

The Forgotten Password Wizard lets you create a password reset disk that you can use to recover your user account and personalized computer settings if you forget your password. The steps to perform this task differ depending on whether your computer is a member of a network domain or is part of a workgroup (or is a stand-alone computer). My Computer is on a Domain Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open the Windows Security dialog box. Click Change Password.
Click Backup to open the Forgotten Password Wizard. Click Next and then follow the instructions as they appear on the screen. My Computer is not on a Domain The steps to perform this task differ depending on the type of user account you have. If you have a computer administrator account: Open User Accounts in Control Panel. Click your account name. Under Related Tasks located on the left side of the window, click Prevent a forgotten password. In the Forgotten Password Wizard, follow the instructions as they appear on the screen. If you Have a Limited Account Open User Accounts in Control Panel. Under Related Tasks located on the left side of the window, click Prevent a forgotten password. In the Forgotten Password Wizard, follow the instructions as they appear on the screen. Notes: To open User Accounts, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts. Certain Programs Do Not Work Correctly If You Log On Through a Limited User Account. After you log on to a computer by using a Limited User Account, you may observe one or more of the following behaviors when you try to use a program that is not expressly designed for Windows XP. Information here. Password Reset Disk Overview To protect user accounts in the event that the user forgets the password, every local user should make a password reset disk and keep it in a safe place. Then, if the user forgets his or her password, the password can be reset using the password reset disk and the user is able to access the local user account again.
Resetting the Password

After you reset the password of an account on a Windows XP-based computer that is joined to a workgroup, you may lose access to the user's: Web page credentials, File share credentials, EFSencrypted files, Certificates with private keys (SIGNED/ENCRYPTed e-mail). More information in detail here. I assume no responsibility for the purpose to which this information is used. This includes employees attempting to bypass restrictions put into place by System Administrators on corporate machines.
Delete Admin Password

Boot up with DOS and delete the sam.exe and sam.log files from Winnt\system32\config in your hard drive. Now when you boot up in NT the password on your built-in administrator account will be blank (No password). This solution works only if your hard drive is FAT. [Editor's note: Use with caution,
there may be other ramifications from performing this tip.]
Forgot your Admin Password

This is a utility to (re)set the password of any user that has a valid (local) account on your NT system, by modifying the crypted password in the registrys SAM file. You do not need to know the old password to set a new one. It works offline, that is, you have to shutdown your computer and boot off a floppydisk. The bootdisk includes stuff to access NTFS partitions and scripts to glue the whole thing together. Note: It will now also work with SYSKEY, including the option to turn it off! More information here. Download here.
All Passwords-Master Copy

With Darn! Passwords! Just one password opens the safe that holds all those other ones for programs and web sites that require you to log in. Download Here. Just pick the password, and drag it and it's log-in (if there is one) into the program that uses it. No retyping is necessary (even in programs that do not accept the drag, you can just paste the password in). Go to the URL of a password protected site with the click of a button.
Information on System Restore and Password Restoration

Passwords That Are Restored: 1. Program passwords are restored, such as Hotmail Messenger, AOL Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and other Web server-based passwords. This behavior is by design: The programs simply cache these passwords; the actual passwords are stored on a Web server. System Restore does not actually change the password, but it changes the password that is remembered by the program. You can use the current password for the program to log on to the server. 2. Domain and Computer passwords are restored. This behavior is by Design and is a limitation of System Restore. System Restore only rolls back the local machine state. Part of the information about joining domains resides in Active Directory, and Active Directory is not rolled back by System Restore.
Migration Wizard Does Not Migrate Passwords

The Migration Wizard does not migrate passwords. Passwords for Dial-Up Networking connections, Microsoft Outlook Express accounts, Microsoft Internet Explorer saved passwords, mapped drives, and so on will need to be reconfigured once the migration is complete.
Administrator Account Not Used for Logon

The administrator account and password created during Setup are used to log on in Safe Mode only. To create a password for user accounts, double-click Manage Users in Control Panel.
Therefore, if you are prompted for the user name and password (or if you are prompted only for the password) when you use the net use command (but not because you used an asterisk [*] in the net use command for password prompting) and the /savecred switch, the credentials are saved. When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name /savecred command, the user is prompted for a user name, and then the user is prompted for a password. When you type the net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name /u: domain_name \ user_name /savecred command, the user is prompted for a password. However, when you type one of the following commands, a key is not created: net use * \\ computer_name \ share_name * /user: domain_name \ user_name /savecred -ornet use * \\ computer_name \ share_name * /savecred /user: domain_name \ user_name If you type net help use at a command prompt, more information is displayed about the net use command.
Logon Name Not in Task Manager or Under Documents & Settings

When the Welcome screen is appears, the names that are displayed do not match any of the names of users' folders under the Documents and Settings folder or any of the names on the Users tab in Task Manager. This behavior may occur if you have changed the name of the account in the User Accounts tool in Control Panel. By doing so, the new name appears on the Welcome screen, but the actual account name remains the same. The folders under the Documents and Settings folder and the names that are listed in Task Manager show the actual account name. To resolve this behavior, if the display name for a user account has been changed, you can find out which account the new display name belongs to by logging on as that user, starting Task Manager, and then clicking the Users tab. The user account that is marked as active is the one that is currently logged on. Also, you can find out which of the folders under Documents and Settings belongs to the currently logged-on user by rightclicking Start, and then clicking Explore. Windows Explorer will then start in the Start Menu folder of the currently logged-on user's folder.
Administrator Unable to Unlock a "Locked" Computer

This behavior can occur for either of the following reasons: When the default screen saver is set to use a non-existent screen saver program. And/or When you use a corrupted screen saver that is password protected. More Information.
Information About Unlocking a Workstation
The following registry setting is received every time the computer is locked: Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon ForceUnlockLogon REG_DWORD 0 - Do not force authentication inline (default) 1 - Require online authentication to unlock The preceding value controls whether a full logon is performed during the unlock process. This can force a validation at the domain controller for the user attempting the unlock process. NOTE: If the value is not present, it functions as if it had been set to 0 (zero).
Lock Your Computer and Use Other Windows Logo Shortcut Keys
To use the shortcut, press the Windows logo key+L. The following list has different computer lock-up scenarios that are available to you, as well as other ways to lock the computer: Click Here.
Create a Shortcut to Lock Computer

Right click a blank space on the desktop, select new, shortcut. Copy and Paste this line: "rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation" in the program location box. Click next and create a name for your shortcut, click finish.
Lock the Taskbar

This restriction is used to force the locking of the taskbar and restrict users from making any changes to its position. Start/Run/Regedit: Navigate to this key and create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'LockTaskbar' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] Value Name: LockTaskbar Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = Unlocked, 1 = Locked)
Home Page Win98 - 01/01/2004 12:25 AM - Home Page WinXP Copyright Kelly Theriot MS-MVP(DTS) 2004. All rights reserved.
cryptographic service error and how to fix it!
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Cryptographic Service Error!
How To Fix The "Cryptographic Service Error"
Are YOU getting the following error when you try to install Windows XP Service Pack 1? "Service Pack 1 Setup Error: Setup could not verify the integrity of the file Update.inf. Make sure the Cryptographic service is running on this computer"
Or
YOU are trying to a Windows XP security patch and are getting a similar error message? In which case this article is for YOU... However please read these Four side notes Before proceeding...
Side Note 1 NB - When you use the Windows Update Web site to install updates, you may receive a 643 error message... if this is the case please go straight to the end of this article!
http://www.updatexp.com/cryptographic-service.html (1 of 14)21/03/2004 04:39:23 AM
Side Note 2 If You have installed patch KB823980 AND Windows Update keeps prompting you to install it again - this is not really a cryptographic service error. But the good news is that you can update your registry to stop this happening again! More here: windows update keeps prompting
Side Note 3 If You have used Windows Update and keep getting a 0x800B0004 error - this is not really a cryptographic service error. But the good news is that you can stop this happening again! More here: The 0x800B0004 error
Side Note 4 If You have used Windows Update and keep FAILING with this error code 0x800A138F Try this article: More here: The 0x800A138F error
Side Note 5 If You YOUR problem is that the cryptographic service will NOT start and you get error "126 module not found". See the 126 error at the end of this article...
Now lets read on and try to solve YOUR problem...
Why is this Cryptographic Service Error happening?
NB - If you get Error codes 126 or 643 then go to the end of this article for more information relating to these specific code errors.
This cryptographic service error issue occurs for one of TWO reasons: REASON ONE: The Cryptographic Services that should be running on your computer is for some reason set to Disabled for Startup type... REASON TWO: There is log file or database corruption in the Windows\System32\Catroot2 folder If this makes as much sense to you as Sir Isaac Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation Don't' PANIC... ---
You do NOT need to understand what is happening, just follow these remedies:
---
1) Follow this if - You are trying to install Windows XP Service Pack 1
The first thing is to be aware of is that Microsoft themselves are aware of this issue and have released a fix to the database corruption issue... But more of that in a moment... First we must just check the Cryptographic Services is actually running on your machine.
To do this:
Start the Administrative Tools utility in Control Panel. Double-click Services. (this will open the services window) Right-click Cryptographic Services, and then click Properties. Click Automatic for Startup type, and then click Start. You can now try to reinstall Windows XP Service Pack 1 Tip 1: If you CAN NOT start the service try booting your machine in SAFE MODE and then repeating the above.. For SAFE MODE press F8 when your PC starts up but, BEFORE you get the Windows XP screen!
Tip 2:
If you can not start the Cryptographic Service then the likely cause is that the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is not running. To check this go to the "Services" window by running through the steps detailed above... Now right click the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service. If the status shows it is not running then it has been disabled! Since the Cryptographic Service is a dependency of the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - We MUST get this running. Sadly you will not be able to do this from the the "Services" Window... You will see it is "greyed out"! Follow these instructions... You will need to use your XP CD to boot the computer into the Recovery Console, then type the command: Enable RPCSS Service_Auto_Start
Now press the Enter key to submit the command. Now type: exit and press Enter to restart the computer. If you are unfamiliar with the Recovery Console this Microsoft Article may help: 314058 Now try and install again...
If it FAILS again...
Click Start menu, and then click the Run icon. In the small box that Opens, type the three letters: cmd then click the OK button. In the command prompt window that just opened (a black background and white text), type the following commands, pressing the ENTER key on your keyboard after each line: net stop cryptsvc
ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 oldcatroot2 net start cryptsvc Now type exit to close the command prompt window, and then try to install Windows XP Service Pack 1 again. It should now work... You may in some rare instances have to reboot your machine again first, so give this a try if it fails again...
Manually delete the contents of %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 and reboot....
As I said earlier Microsoft are aware of this corruption issue and have made a an update available that can correct this issue. To obtain it visit the Windows Update site and download Q817287: Critical Update (Catalogue Database Corruption in Microsoft Windows), this should correct the corruption problem!
Tip: If you get a reply stating "access denied" try booting your machine in SAFE MODE and then repeating the above.. For SAFE MODE press F8 when your PC starts up but, BEFORE you get the Windows XP screen! If THAT fails... find the folder called "catroot2" and MANUALLY change it to "catroot2old"
---
2) Follow this if - You are trying to install a Windows XP Security Patch

I have been surprised at the amount of emails I continue to received on the subject of cryptographic error messages...! Hopefully this will help you. First we must just check the Cryptographic Services is actually running on your machine. To do this: Start the Administrative Tools utility in Control Panel. Double-click Services. (this will open the services window) Right-click Cryptographic Services, and then click Properties. Click Automatic for Startup type, and then click Start. You can now try to reinstall security patch 823980
If you can not start the Cryptographic Service then the likely cause is that the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is not running. To check this go to the "Services" window by running through the steps detailed above... Now right click the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service. If the status shows it is not running then it has been disabled! Since the Cryptographic Service is a dependency of the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - We MUST get this running. Sadly you will not be able to do this from the the "Services" Window... You will see it is "greyed out"! Follow these instructions... You will need to use your XP CD to boot the computer into the Recovery Console, then type the command: Enable RPCSS Service_Auto_Start
Now press the Enter key to submit the command. Now type: exit and press Enter to restart the computer. If you are unfamiliar with the Recovery Console this Microsoft Article may help: 314058
Now Try again...
If that fails, try this:

Click Start menu, and then click the Run icon. In the small box that Opens, type the three letters: cmd then click the OK button. In the command prompt window that just opened (a black background and white text), type the following commands, pressing the ENTER key on your keyboard after each line: net stop cryptsvc ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 oldcatroot2 net start cryptsvc Now type exit to close the command prompt window, and then try to security patch 823980. It should now work... You may in some rare instances have to reboot your machine again first, so give this a try if it fails again...
Tip: If you get a reply stating "access denied" try booting your machine in SAFE MODE and then repeating the above.. For SAFE MODE press F8 when your PC starts up but, BEFORE you get the Windows XP screen! If THAT fails... find the folder called "catroot2" and MANUALLY change it to "catroot2old"
Manually delete the contents of %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 and reboot....
FAILED again?
Well seems to be happening to a few of you... so lets re-register some DLL files. sounds like fun, eh? Onwards and upwards! Click Start menu, and then click the Run icon. In the small box that Opens, type the three letters: cmd then click the OK button. In the command prompt window that just opened (a black background and white text), type the following commands, pressing the ENTER key on your keyboard after each line: net start cryptsvc regsvr32 softpub.dll regsvr32 wintrust.dll regsvr32 initpki.dll regsvr32 dssenh.dll regsvr32 rsaenh.dll regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll regsvr32 sccbase.dll regsvr32 slbcsp.dll regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll Now type the word: exit and the window will close. Now Reboot and try and reply the Microsoft Patch again... NB - If you just can not face typing all that in the command line, simply download this batch file I have made and run it on your machine... It will do the typing for YOU!
Tip: If you get a reply stating "access denied" try starting your machine in SAFE MODE and then repeating the above.. For SAFE MODE press F8 when your PC starts up but, BEFORE you get the Windows XP screen!
FAILED yet Again?

(The following is ONLY XP Professional - NOT XP Home Edition) Well, this is going to happen only to a handful of you... I hope! Without getting too "techie" on you, there is an issue for some Windows XP Professional users where the computers Software Restriction Policy for the Local Computer only allows "Local computer administrators" to select "trusted publishers". This is causing the failure.... This occurs whether the user installing the security patch is an Administrator or not! This may mean nothing to you and it does not have too. Here is the work around: Click Start menu, and then click the Run icon. In the small box that Opens, type: gpedit.msc then click the OK button. In the new windows that opens you will see a menu on the left hand side. Under Computer Configuration you will see a folder called Windows Settings - double click it. The new options that appear directly below include Security Settings - double click it. The new options that appear directly below include Software Restriction Policies - double click it. Now on the right hand side of the window you will see an object called Trusted Publishers double click it and a new window appears. In this window change the setting under Allow the following users to select trusted publishers to the default which should be End Users.
FAILED yet Again?
You're kidding me? Well, this is the LAST one "up my sleeve" for you... Thanks to Bill Prentice a Network Administrator from the US for this tip... It seems that in some patches can be installed with this workaround: When a patch installs itself it will "unpack" all the files in too a temporary folder on your PC. If the install fails you might just be able to grab the file you need and move it to the folder Windows XP should have put it in... Here is an example of what I mean. First look for the following file on your computer: dberr.txt Open it and look for the entry that matches the patch number you just tried to install. In this example it is the security patch KB823980
CatalogDB: 10:09:37 AM 8/19/2003: Adding Catalog File: _000000_.cat CatalogDB: 10:09:37 AM 8/19/2003: DONE Adding Catalog File: _000000_.cat CatalogDB: 10:09:37 AM 8/19/2003: File #2 at line #2701 encountered error 0x00000002 CatalogDB: 10:09:37 AM 8/19/2003: The following file was not found - C:\WINDOWS \System32\CatRoot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE}\KB823980.cat CatalogDB: 10:09:37 AM 8/19/2003: File #2 at line #2595 encountered error 0x00000002 CatalogDB: 10:09:37 AM 8/19/2003: File #2 at line #935 encountered error 0x00000002
We can clearly see that the security patch KB823980 failed to install because Windows XP claims it could NOT find it... So we are going to give it a helping hand... We will do this by copying the KB823980.cat file from the temporary unpack folder at the root of C: AND placing this copy in the C:\WINDOWS\System32\CatRoot folder... PLEASE do not put the copied file in the CatRoot2 folder by mistake! (If you can not find the KB823980.cat file in this example, you could use the search facility on the start menu..) Now run the patch again and it should install for you... :-) --------------Well that is all the "fix's" I have at the moment - but I do update this page when I hear of ANY more! This just in:
27/08/2003 - I received an email from the Head of IT at a Swiss Bank! Some of you might find this helpful..... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi Marc First of all: congratulations to your web site - even Microsoft Support Services are referencing it when using phone support options! Here another source for possible errors when installing Hot fixes/using Windows Update with Windows XP (SP1):
We had cloned notebook images (syspreped) where we couldn't install any hot fix because of "cryptographic services" issues. We opened a MS Support Case because no hint (including your website) led to the resolution of the problem. After some in depth debugging we found the following error:
On those Notebooks we have predefined group policy settings (for local computer) which were part of the image itself. One of the settings was: Group Policy -> User Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Internet Explorer Maintenance -> Security -> Authenticode Settings -> Enable Trusted Publisher Lockdown Where the box has been checked. Disabling the checked box made the bug disappearing (i.e. all hot fix installation & windows update site worked correctly after this). We were further investigating this behaviour and found the following: On a newly installed Windows XP (SP1) machine (or a cloned, syspreped one) when a user logs in locally for the first time and the mentioned group policy setting is not active he can't use any active x controls (e.g. windows update site) and can't install any signed (Microsoft) hot fixes. Disabling this group policy setting re-enables the user for mentioned tasks. On an already installed Windows XP (SP1) machine where trusted publisher elections (e.g. for windows update active x controls or hot fix installations) already have been made (once) the group policy settings has no effect (resp. only disables further trusted publisher elections for other active x codes / hot fixes from other trusted publishers). Please let me know whether you have any questions and whether you could reproduce the settings -> I think publishing this hint to your website would be very helpful for the desperate ones who still can't update/patch their windows machines. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Read: To stop future cryptographic service corruption issues, make sure you have installed Windows XP Service Pack 1. Then install the specific patch for this issue: 817287: Critical Update (Catalogue Database Corruption in Microsoft Windows)... (please note you MUST have Windows XP SP1 installed!)
ERROR 643
When you use the Windows Update Web site to install updates, you may receive a 643 error message. If this is the case then we need to delete the database catalogue and let Windows XP rebuild it automatically: Click Start menu, and then click the Run icon. In the small box that Opens, type the three letters: cmd then click the OK button. In the command prompt window that just opened (a black background and white text), type the following command, pressing the ENTER key on your keyboard afterwards: del /q "%SystemRoot%\System32\Catroot2\Edb.log Now type exit to close the command prompt window, and then try to install the patch again... This is also worth doing if you find your Windows Media Player is slow to respond...
ERROR 126
Some folks get the message: Error 126: The specified module could not be found This is a very "general" error code, however in this instance the following may help: a) Delete the contents of the "Windows\System32\catroot2" folder and see if that helps resolve the issue. b) If that fails, then check all the root directories and see if any are set as "Read Only"... this is a common symptom of an incomplete SP1 install. If they are then uncheck them! and try again... C) Make sure cryptui.dll is in system32 folder and is NOT corrupt! d) Make sure certcli.dll is in system32 folder and is NOT corrupt! Use the sfc /scannow utility to check for file corruption in c) and d) http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html e) Re-register DLL Files That Are Associated With the Cryptographic Service To register .dll files that are associated with Cryptographic Services, follow these steps: (NB - you may have used the batch file in the article above... however this may not have worked so we need to manually un-register then register them...) Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK. At the command prompt, type the following commands, pressing
ENTER after each line: Note Click OK if you are prompted to do so. regsvr32 softpub.dll regsvr32 /u wintrust.dll regsvr32 /u initpki.dll regsvr32 /u dssenh.dll regsvr32 /u rsaenh.dll regsvr32 /u gpkcsp.dll regsvr32 /u sccbase.dll regsvr32 /u slbcsp.dll regsvr32 /u cryptdlg.dll regsvr32 /u softpub.dll exit Restart your computer. Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER after each command): Note Click OK if you are prompted to do so. regsvr32 softpub.dll regsvr32 wintrust.dll regsvr32 initpki.dll regsvr32 dssenh.dll regsvr32 rsaenh.dll regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll regsvr32 sccbase.dll regsvr32 slbcsp.dll regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll regsvr32 softpub.dll exit Now check to see if the service will now start.
Print this Page Now?
I hope this cryptographic service article helps YOU! Don't forget to sign up for my Windows XP newsletter below! NOW sit down and have a cup of your favourite beverage (or something stronger) YOU deserve it! Regards Marc Liron Microsoft MVP - Digital Media Contact Page
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Scannow sfc New! Learn how to use this useful troubleshooting tool in Windows XP - sfc /scannow
Codec For Windows Media Player 9 Windows Media Player 9 is a GREAT media player for video and music - However it only ships with a limited number of codec's. Find out why you are having trouble playing ALL your files...
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This article is on the cryptographic service error in Windows
Tips and Fixes
Tips and Fixes
Uncover Windows XP Product Key - If you have more than one system running XP you have obviously purchased more than one copy of the Operating System. However you may have forgotten which Product Key you used for which system. It happens. I have 5 systems and have had all three running XP at times. As you know XP does not store the Product Key in a recognizable format in the registry as Windows 9x/Me does. The app ViewKeyXP is your salvation. System Cannot Access CD-Rom, CD-Recorder or DVD Devices If you uninstalled and reinstalled Nero in XP, or did an upgrade from a previous OS to XP without uninstalling Nero first, this is a known error (for both Adaptec and Nero). There is a problem caused by an association created in the system registry between some Adaptec driver files and the CD file system drivers for Windows 2000/XP. If the Adaptec driver files are renamed or removed, then the system will loose access to any CD drive (CD ROM, CD recorder, or DVD) Check here before trying the fix below IMPORTANT: The following contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. If Windows XP won't start you can restore the registry by rebooting while pressing the F8 Key. Select "Last Known Good Configuration". Or you can use "System Restore" from Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools. 1. Uninstall all CD Burning software from the system. 2. Go to the RUN line and type in Regedt32 and press Enter. 3. Go to the following registry locations and delete the key values for UPPERFILTERS and LOWERFILTERS (Do NOT delete the entire 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BBFC1-08002BE10318 key just right click the individual keys and select Delete) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CEBBFC1-08002BE10318} HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CEBBFC1-08002BE10318} HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CEBFC1-08002BE10318}
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/tips_fixes.htm (1 of 2)21/03/2004 04:39:36 AM
Tips and Fixes
4. Close out of Regedt32.exe and reboot the computer. 5. You should have access to your CDROM drives after reboot. Make sure you create a System Restore Point before you make changes to the registry.
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/tips_fixes.htm (2 of 2)21/03/2004 04:39:36 AM
270008 - Cannot Access CD-ROM and "Code 31" Error Message in Devi...nager After You Remove Adaptec Easy CD Creator from Your Computer
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Cannot Access CD-ROM and "Code 31" Error Message in Device Manager After You Remove Adaptec Easy CD Creator from Your Computer
View products that this article applies to. This article was previously published under Q270008
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For a Microsoft Windows XP version of this article, see 314060. This article also applies to Adaptec Easy Creator 5.01. IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry
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SYMPTOMS
After you remove Adaptec Easy CD Creator versions 5.01 and earlier or DirectCD version 3.01 or 3.01c from your computer, your computer may experience the following behavior:
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You are cannot access your CD-ROMs in My Computer. In Device Manager, the following error message occurs with all CD-ROM devices connected to your system:
The device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31).
Send Print
The Device Manager displays the following error code message:

A driver for this device was not required, and has been turned off (Code 32 or Code 31).
NOTE: You may also receive an error code 39 message that indicates that the driver is corrupted.
q
The Device Manager displays the following error code message:

Your registry might be corrupted. (Code 19)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q270008&ID=KB;EN-US;Q270008 (1 of 3)21/03/2004 04:40:39 AM
This code means that the registry returned an unknown result.
RESOLUTION
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. There are two supported methods to resolve this issue.
Method One
1. Remove the Upperfilters and Lowerfilters values completely from the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class \{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} NOTE: If you are getting a code 39 message, it may be that additional third-party filter drivers were added to UpperFilters and LowerFilters values in addition to Adaptec filter drivers. In that case, you may try to remove the non-Adaptec filter drivers first, leaving the Easy Creator filters in place to see if the Code 39 goes away. If you still receive an error code 39, 32, or 31 message, remove the Upperfilters and Lowerfilters values completely in the preceding key. 2. Restart your computer.
Method Two
If the above method does not resolve the code 31 error message and restore access to your CDROMs, if you also have Media Player version 7.0 installed, you can uninstall Media player version 7.0 and download and install the latest release posted at the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia
STATUS
This is a known issue with Easy CD Creator versions 5.01 and earlier, and DirectCD versions 3.01c and earlier.
MORE INFORMATION
This issue may also occur with the latest versions of Easy CD Creator 5.01 and DirectCD 3.01d or later. The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products. NOTE: There may be other third party CD-Writing Software that exhibit similar behavior. Some or all of these troubleshooting steps can apply to them if they also add entries under the UpperFilters or LowerFilters registry values by either adding their filter drivers or by removing the registry keys and values outlined in this article that start with: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
WARNING: Ensure you perform a backup of your registry before you make any changes.

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Last Reviewed: 9/19/2003 (4.0) Keywords: kb3rdparty kberrmsg kbHardware kbprb KB270008
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314060 - CD-ROM Access Is Missing and Messages Cite Error Code 31, ... Code 19, or Code 39 After You Remove Easy CD Creator in Windows XP
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CD-ROM Access Is Missing and Messages Cite Error Code 31, Code 32, Code 19, or Code 39 After You Remove Easy CD Creator in Windows XP
View products that this article applies to. This article was previously published under Q314060 IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 270008.
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SYMPTOMS
After you remove either compact disc (CD) recording software or other software from your computer, your computer may exhibit the following behavior:
q q
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In My Computer, there is no access to your CD-ROMs. In Device Manager, the following error message appears in connection with any CD-ROM device that is part of your computer system:
The device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31).
q
Device Manager displays the following error message:

A driver for this device was not required, and has been disabled (Code 32 or Code 31).
You may also receive an error Code 39 message that indicates that the driver is corrupted.
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Device Manager displays the following error Code 19 message, which means that the registry returned some unknown result:
Your registry might be corrupted. (Code 19)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];q314060 (1 of 3)21/03/2004 04:41:10 AM
You may also receive the following error message:

Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device. (Code 41)
RESOLUTION
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. To resolve this behavior, follow these steps: 1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe). 2. Locate the UpperFilters value under the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class \{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} 3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK. 4. Locate the LowerFilters value under the same key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class \{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} 5. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK. 6. Quit Registry Editor.NOTE: After you remove the Upperfilters value and the Lowerfilters value, if you notice lost functionality in a particular program, such as CD recording software, you may need to reinstall that software. If the problem recurs, consult with the software vendor for assistance. 7. Restart your computer.
STATUS
This is a known issue that can occur when you remove Easy CD Creator version 5.01 or earlier or DirectCD version 3.01c or earlier. This issue may also occur with Easy CD Creator version 5.01 and with DirectCD 3.01d or later.
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There may be other third-party CD-writing software products that exhibit similar behavior. Some or all of the troubleshooting steps in this article might apply if such a product also adds entries under the UpperFilters or LowerFilters value in the registry, either by adding its own filter drivers or by removing the registry keys and values outlined in this article that begin with: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} WARNING: Make sure that you perform a backup of your registry before making any changes. The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
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321305 - How to Log On to Windows XP If You Forget Your Password or Your Password Expires
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This article describes how to log on to Windows XP if you forget your password, or if your password expires and you cannot create a new one. NOTE: If you have not created a password reset disk and you have also forgotten the password for all user accounts, you cannot log on to your existing Windows installation for security reasons. This information applies to starting Windows XP typically, to Safe mode, and to Recovery Console. In this case, you must perform a "clean" installation of Windows XP, re-create all user accounts, and reinstall all of your programs.
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To log on to Windows XP, use any of the following methods:
Method 1: Use a Password Reset Disk

If you created a password reset disk for Windows XP, reset your password by using the password reset disk. For additional information about how to use a password reset disk, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 305478 HOW TO: Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer That Is Not a Domain Member in Windows XP
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306214 HOW TO: Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer in a Domain in Windows XP
Method 2: Log On as an Administrator and Reset the Password

If you cannot log on to Windows by using a particular user account (including the Administrator or Computer Administrator accounts), but you can log on to another account with administrative priveliges (including the Administrator or Computer Administrator accounts), follow these steps:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;enus;321305 (1 of 3)21/03/2004 04:41:37 AM
1. Log on to Windows by using the administrator account that has a password that you remember. Note You cannot log on as usual by using the Administrator or Computer Administrator account to a Windows XP Home Edition-based computer or a Windows XP Professional-based computer in a workgroup. To log on as the Administrator or Computer Administrator, you must start Windows XP in Safe Mode. For additional information, see the "Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional in a Workgroup" section of this article. 2. Click Start, and then click Run. 3. In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK: control userpasswords2 4. Click the user account that you forgot the password for, and then then click Reset Password. 5. Type a new password in both the New password and the Confirm new password boxes, and then click OK.
WARNING: If you reset the password for a user account in this manner in Windows XP Professional, the following types of information for that user will be no longer available:
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E-mail messages that are encrypted with the user's public key Internet passwords that are saved on, or remembered by, the computer Any files that the user has encrypted
You should now be able to log on to Windows with the user account and the new password. The following sections provide step-by-step instructions to reset the password for a normal user account in Safe Mode by using the Administrator (or Computer Administrator account. Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional in a Workgroup To log on as Administrator and reset the password: 1. Restart the computer. After the Power On Self Test (POST), press the F8 key. 2. On the Windows Advanced Options menu, use the ARROW keys to select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER. 3. When you are prompted to select the operating system to start, select Microsoft Windows XP edition (where edition is the edition of Windows XP that is installed), and then press ENTER. 4. On the To begin, click your user name screen, click Administrator. 5. Type the administrator password, and then press ENTER. NOTE: In some cases, the Administrator password may be set to a blank password. In this case, do not type a password before you press ENTER. 6. Click Yes to acknowledge that Windows is running in Safe mode. 7. Click Start, and then click Control Panel (or point to Settings, and then click Control Panel). 8. Click User Accounts.
9. Click the user account whose password you want to change. 10. Click Change the Password if you want to keep a password, or click Remove password if you do not want to use a password. If you remove the password, skip the next step. 11. Type the new password for the user, and then click Change Password. 12. Quit the User Accounts tool, and then restart the computer. Windows XP Professional in a Domain To log on as Administrator and reset the password: 1. In the Welcome to Windows dialog box, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. 2. Type the logon information for the Administrator account, including the password, and then click OK. NOTE: In some cases, the Administrator password may be set to a blank password. In this case, do not type a password before you click OK. 3. Click Start, click Run, type compmgmt.msc, and then click OK. 4. In the Computer Management (Local) box, expand Local Users and Groups. 5. Click the Users folder. 6. In the right pane of the Computer Management window, right-click the user account whose password you want to reset, and then click Set Password. 7. Click Proceed. 8. In the New password box, type the new password for the user account. 9. Type the same password in the Confirm password box, and then click OK. 10. Click OK to acknowledge that the new password has been set. 11. Quit the Computer Management snap-in, and then restart the computer.

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305478 - HOW TO: Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer That Is Not a Domain Member in Windows XP
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How to Log on to the Computer By Using a Password Reset Disk Troubleshooting
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This article describes how to create and use a password reset disk for a computer that is part of a workgroup, or that is not connected to a network. You can use a password reset disk to gain access to your Microsoft Windows XP-based computer if you forget your password. For additional information about how to create a password reset disk for a computer that is a member of a domain, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
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306214 How to Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer in a Domain back to the top

Note that the following procedure requires one blank, formatted floppy disk. To create a password reset disk for your local user account, use one of the following methods. back to the top
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;305478 (1 of 4)21/03/2004 04:42:26 AM
Use a Computer Administrator Account If you are logged on to the computer by using an administrator account, use the following steps to create a password reset disk for a user account: 1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. 2. In Control Panel, click User Accounts. 3. In the User Accounts pane, click the account that you want to work with. 4. Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password to start the Forgotten Password Wizard, and then click Next. 5. Insert a blank, formatted disk into drive A, and then click Next. 6. In the Current user account password box, type the password for the user account that you chose in step 3, and then click Next. NOTE: If the user account does not have a password, do not type a password into the Current user account password box. The Forgotten Password Wizard creates the disk. 7. When the Progress bar reaches 100% complete, click Next, and then click Finish. 8. Remove, and then label the password reset disk. Store the disk in a safe place. back to the top Use a Limited Account If you are logged on to the computer by using a limited account, use the following steps to create a password reset disk for your user account: 1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. 2. Under Pick a category, click User Accounts. 3. Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password to start the Forgotten Password Wizard. 4. Click Next. 5. Insert a blank, formatted disk into drive A, and then click Next. 6. In the Current user account password box, type your password, and then click Next. NOTE: If your user account does not have a password, do not type a password into the Current user account password box. The Forgotten Password Wizard creates the disk. 7. When the Progress bar reaches 100% complete, click Next, and then click Finish. 8. Remove, and then label the password reset disk. Store the disk in a safe place. back to the top
How to Log on to the Computer By Using a Password Reset Disk

If you forget your password, you can log on to the computer with a new password that you create by using the Password Reset Wizard and your password reset disk:
1. At the Windows XP logon screen, click the user name that you want to use. The Type your password box appears. Press ENTER, or click the right-arrow button. The following error message appears:
Did you forget your password? You can click the "?" button to see your password hint. Or you can use your password reset disk. Please type your password again. Be sure to use the correct uppercase and lowercase letters.
2. Click use your password reset disk. The Password Reset Wizard starts. The Password Reset Wizard enables you to create a new password for your user account. 3. Click Next. 4. Insert the password reset disk into drive A, and then click Next. 5. Type a new password in the Type a new password box. 6. Type the same password in the Type the password again to confirm box. 7. In the Type a new password hint box, type a hint to remind you of your password if you forget the new password. NOTE: This hint is visible to anyone who attempts to log on to the computer by using your user account. 8. Click Next, and then click Finish. The Password Reset Wizard quits, and you return to the Windows XP logon screen. NOTE: The password reset disk is automatically updated with the new password information. You do not have to create a new password reset disk. 9. Type your new password into the Type your password box, and then click the rightarrow button to log on to the computer. back to the top
Troubleshooting
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The password reset disk cannot be used to reset the password on another computer. The password reset disk that you create can only be used with the computer on which it was created. For example, if you have two Windows XP-based computers with the same user names and passwords, a password reset disk that you create on the first computer cannot be used to reset the password on the second computer.
The password reset disk contains sensitive information. The password reset disk may be used by others to gain access to your computer. For this reason, it is important to store this disk in a safe and secure location.
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306214 - HOW TO: Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer in a Domain in Windows XP
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This article describes how to create and use a password reset disk for a computer that is a member of a domain. You can use a password reset disk to gain access to your Windows XP Professionalbased computer if you forget your password. For additional information about creating a password reset disk for a computer in a workgroup, or a computer that is not networked, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 305478 HOW TO: Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer That Is Not a Domain Member back to the top
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Note that this procedure requires one blank, formatted floppy disk. To create a password reset disk for your local user account: 1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. The Windows Security dialog box appears. 2. Click Change Password. The Change Password dialog box appears. 3. In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer (this computer).
4. Click Backup. The Forgotten Password Wizard starts. 5. On the Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard page, click Next. 6. Insert a blank, formatted disk in drive A, and then click Next. 7. In the Current user account password box, type your password, and then click Next. The Forgotten Password Wizard creates the disk. 8. When the progress bar reaches 100 percent complete, click Next, and then click Finish. The Forgotten Password Wizard quits and you return to the Change Password dialog box. 9. Remove, and then label the password reset disk. Store the disk in a safe place. 10. In the Change Password dialog box, click Cancel. 11. In the Windows Security dialog box, click Cancel. back to the top
How to Use a Password Reset Disk

If you forget your password, you can log on to the computer with a new password that you create by using the Password Reset Wizard and your password reset disk. To gain access to your local user account on a computer that is a member of a domain, or has been disconnected from a domain: 1. In the Welcome to Windows dialog box, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. 2. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type an incorrect password in the Password box, and then click OK. 3. In the Logon Failed dialog box that appears, click Reset. The Password Reset Wizard starts. The Password Reset Wizard lets you create a new password for your local user account. 4. On the "Welcome to the Password Reset Wizard" page, click Next. 5. Insert the password reset disk in drive A, and then click Next. 6. On the Reset the User Account Password page, type a new password in the Type a new password box. 7. Type the same password in the Type the password again to confirm box. 8. In the Type a new password hint box, type a hint that will help you remember the password if you forget it. NOTE: This hint is visible to anyone who attempts to log on to the computer by using your user account. 9. Click Next, and then click Finish. The Password Reset Wizard quits and you return to the Log On to Windows dialog box. The password reset disk is automatically updated with the new password information. You do not have to create a new password reset disk. 10. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type your new password in the Password box. 11. In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer (this computer), and then click OK. You are logged on to the local computer with your local account information. back to the top
Troubleshooting
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You cannot use the password reset disk to reset the password on another computer. You can use the password reset disk that you create with only the computer on which it was created. For example, if you have two Windows XP-based computers with the same user names and passwords, you cannot use a password reset disk that you create on the first computer to reset the password on the second computer.
You cannot use the password reset disk to reset your domain account password. You can use the password reset disk only to reset the local computer account password. If you forget your domain account password, contact your system administrator.
The password reset disk contains sensitive information. Others may use the password reset disk to gain access to your computer. It is important to store this disk in a safe location.
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308421 - HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
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HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP

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This article describes how to take ownership of a file or folder to which you have been denied access. If you require access to a file or folder to which you do not have access (permission), you must take ownership of that file or folder, where you replace the security permissions to allow yourself access. back to the top
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How to Take Ownership of a Folder
Print NOTE: You must be logged on to the computer using an account that has administrative privileges. If you are running Windows XP Home Edition, in order to have access to the Security tab, you must first start in Safe Mode and log on with an account that has Administrative rights.
If you are using Windows XP Professional, you must disable Simple File Sharing. By default, Windows XP Professional uses Simple File sharing when not joined to a domain. For additional information about how to do this, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 307874 How to disable simplified sharing and set permissions on a shared folder in Windows XP To take ownership of a folder:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421 (1 of 3)21/03/2004 04:44:05 AM
1. Right-click the folder you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties. 2. Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears). 3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab. 4. In the Name list, click your user name, Administrator if you are logged in as Administrator, or click the Administrators group. If you want to take ownership of the contents of that folder, click to select the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects check box. 5. Click OK. The following message appears, where folder name is the name of the folder that you want to take ownership of: You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control? All permissions will be replaced if you press Yes. Click Yes. 6. Click OK, and then reapply the permissions and security settings that you want for the folder and its contents. back to the top
How to Take Ownership of a File

NOTE: You must be logged on to the computer using an account that has administrative privileges. To take ownership of a file, follow these steps: 1. Right-click the file you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties. 2. Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears). 3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab. 4. In the Name list click Administrator, or click the Administrators group, and then click OK. The Administrator or Administrators group now owns the file. To change the permissions on the files and folders under this folder, continue to step 5. 5. Click Add. 6. In the Enter the object names to select (examples) list, type the user or group account to which you want to give access to the file. For example, Administrator. 7. Click OK. 8. In the Group or user names list, click the account that you want (for example, Administrator), and then click to select the check boxes of the permissions that you want to assign that user. For example, Full Control [Allow]. When you are finished assigning permissions, click OK. back to the top
REFERENCES
For additional information about file and folder permissions, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
161275 Interaction of File and Folder Security on NTFS Volumes
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Download details: Windows XP Home Edition Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install
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Windows XP Home Edition Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install
The Windows XP startup disk allows computers without a bootable CD-ROM to perform a new installation of the operating system. The Windows XP startup disk will automatically load the correct drivers to gain access to the CD-ROM drive and start a new installation of Setup.
Quick Info File Name: Download Size: Date Published: Version: WinXP_EN_HOM_BF.EXE 4284 KB 10/24/2001 310994
Windows XP Home Edition Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install English
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Overview
The Windows XP startup disk allows computers without a bootable CD-ROM to perform a new installation of the operating system. The Windows XP startup disk will automatically load the correct drivers to gain access to the CD-ROM drive and start a new installation of Setup. You cannot upgrade from a Windows XP startup disk. Windows XP Home Edition startup disks will not work for Windows XP Professional installations and vice-versa. Windows XP Setup boot disks are available only by download from Microsoft. The Setup boot disks are available so that you can run Setup on computers that do not support a bootable CD-ROM. If your computer does support booting from a CD-ROM, or if network-based installation is available, Microsoft recommends that you use those installations methods instead. Future products will no longer support installation via the setup boot disks. Installation of future Microsoft Operating Systems will require the ability to boot from the CD or PXE boot from Network. Setup boot disks that are provided for Windows XP are provided and supported on an as is basis.
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Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows XP Any x86 compatible system that meets the requirements for installing Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
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Download details: Windows XP Home Edition Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install
Instructions
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Click the Download link to start the download, or choose a different language from the drop-down list and click Go. Do one of the following:
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To start the installation immediately, click Open or Run this program from its current location. To copy the download to your computer for installation at a later time, click Save or Save this program to disk.
Additional Information
There are six Windows XP Setup boot floppy disks. These disks contain the files and drivers that are required to access the CD-ROM drive and begin the Setup process. Creating the Setup Disks When you download the Setup disks, the download contains only one large program file. When you run the downloaded file, it extracts the files. You receive the following prompt: This program creates the Setup boot disks for Microsoft Windows XP. To create these disks, you need to provide 6 blank, formatted, high-density disks. Specify the Floppy Drive to Copy the Images To Type the drive letter for the floppy disk drive (this is typically drive A). After you type the floppy disk drive letter, you see the following prompt: Insert one of these disks into drive drive letter :. This disk will become the Windows XP Setup Boot Disk. Press any key when you are ready. When you press a key, the downloaded file starts extracting and copying the files. Continue inserting the blank disks as you are prompted to do so until all six disks are created. If the process is interrupted you must run the downloaded program file again to create all six disks. Make sure to label each disk appropriately with the number that is specified by the program. You will have to use the disks in the correct order during the Setup process. Using the Setup Disks After you create all six disks, insert the first disk in the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer. Note that the computer must be configured to boot from the floppy disk drive. In some cases, you may need to modify your computer's BIOS settings to do this. The Setup process starts. Insert the other floppy disks as you are prompted to do so. Note that you will need to use the Windows XP CD-ROM to finish Setup.
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Download details: Windows XP Professional Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install
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Windows XP Professional Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install

The Windows XP startup disk allows computers without a bootable CD-ROM to perform a new installation of the operating system. The Windows XP startup disk will automatically load the correct drivers to gain access to the CD-ROM drive and start a new installation of Setup.
Quick Info File Name: Download Size: Date Published: Version: WinXP_EN_PRO_BF.EXE 4287 KB 10/24/2001 310994
Windows XP Professional Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install English
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Overview
The Windows XP startup disk allows computers without a bootable CD-ROM to perform a new installation of the operating system. The Windows XP startup disk will automatically load the correct drivers to gain access to the CD-ROM drive and start a new installation of Setup. You cannot upgrade from a Windows XP startup disk. Windows XP Home Edition startup disks will not work for Windows XP Professional installations and vice-versa.
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Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows XP Any x86 compatible system that meets the requirements for installing Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Instructions
1. 2.
Click the Download link to start the download, or choose a different language from the drop-down list and click Go. Do one of the following:
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To start the installation immediately, click Open or Run this program from its current location. To copy the download to your computer for installation at a later time, click Save or Save this program to disk.
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Download details: Windows XP Professional Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install
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328874 - HOW TO: Change the Volume Licensing Product Key on a Windows XP SP1-Based Computer
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HOW TO: Change the Volume Licensing Product Key on a Windows XP SP1Based Computer
View products that this article applies to. This article was previously published under Q328874 IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry
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This article describes how to change the Windows XP product key in a Volume Licensing installation. Because of changes in Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows XP-based computers that use a leaked product key that is known to be available to the general public may not be able to install SP1 or automatically obtain updates from the Windows Update Web site. For example, you may experience the symptoms that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article when you install SP1: 326904 Error Message: The Product Key Used to Install Windows Is Invalid
There are two methods that you can use to change the product key with volume licensing media after installation. You can use either the Windows Activation Wizard graphical user interface (GUI) or a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) script. The easier method to use is the Use the Activation Wizard method. Use this method when you only have a few computers on which to change the product key. The Use a Script method is best when you have a number of computers on which you have to change the product key. back to the top
Use the Activation Wizard

If you have only a few volume licensing product keys to change, you can use the Activation Wizard. NOTE: Microsoft recommends that you run System Restore to create a new restore point before you complete the following steps. For information about how to create a restore point by using System Restore, see the "To Create a Restore Point" help topic in Help and Support. WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. 1. Click Start, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK. 3. In the left pane, locate and then click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents 4. In the right pane, right-click OOBETimer, and then click Modify. 5. Change at least one digit of this value to deactivate Windows.
6. Click Start, and then click Run. 7. In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK. %systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a 8. Click Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows, and then click Next. 9. Click Change Product key. 10. Type the new product key in the New key boxes, and then click Update. If you are returned to the previous window, click Remind me later, and then restart the computer. 11. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to verify that Windows is activated. You receive the following message: Windows is already activated. Click OK to exit. 12. Click OK. 13. Install SP1 for Windows XP. If you cannot restart Windows after you install SP1, press F8 when you restart the computer, select Last Known Good Configuration, and then repeat this procedure. back to the top
Use a Script
You can create a WMI script that changes the volume licensing product key, and then deploy this script in a startup script. The sample ChangeVLKey2600.vbs script and the sample ChangeVLKeySP1 script that are described in this section use the new volume licensing key that you want to enter, in its five-part alphanumeric form, as a single argument. Microsoft recommends that you use the ChangeVLKey2600.vbs script on Windows XP-based computers that are not running SP1 and that you use the ChangeVLKeySP1.vbs script on Windows XP-based computers that are running SP1. These scripts perform the following functions:
q q q
They remove the hyphen characters (-) from the five-part alphanumeric product key. They create an instance of the win32_WindowsProductActivation class. They call the SetProductKey method with the new volume licensing product key.
You can create a batch file or a cmd file that uses either of the following sample scripts, together with the new product key as an argument, and either deploy it as part of a startup script or run it from the command line to change the product key on a single computer. back to the top ChangeVLKeySP1.vbs
' ' WMI Script - ChangeVLKey.vbs ' ' This script changes the product key on the computer ' '*************************************************************************** ON ERROR RESUME NEXT
if Wscript.arguments.count<1 then Wscript.echo "Script can't run without VolumeProductKey argument" Wscript.echo "Correct usage: Cscript ChangeVLKey.vbs ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO-PRSTU-WYQZX" Wscript.quit end if Dim VOL_PROD_KEY VOL_PROD_KEY = Wscript.arguments.Item(0) VOL_PROD_KEY = Replace(VOL_PROD_KEY,"-","") 'remove hyphens if any for each Obj in GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}").InstancesOf ("win32_WindowsProductActivation") result = Obj.SetProductKey (VOL_PROD_KEY) if err <> 0 then WScript.Echo Err.Description, "0x" & Hex(Err.Number) Err.Clear end if Next
back to the top
ChangeVLKey2600.vbs
' ' WMI Script - ChangeVLKey.vbs ' ' This script changes the product key on the computer ' '*************************************************************************** ON ERROR RESUME NEXT if Wscript.arguments.count<1 then Wscript.echo "Script can't run without VolumeProductKey argument" Wscript.echo "Correct usage: Cscript ChangeVLKey.vbs ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO-PRSTU-WYQZX" Wscript.quit end if Dim VOL_PROD_KEY VOL_PROD_KEY = Wscript.arguments.Item(0) VOL_PROD_KEY = Replace(VOL_PROD_KEY,"-","") 'remove hyphens if any Dim WshShell Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") WshShell.RegDelete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents\OOBETimer" 'delete OOBETimer registry value for each Obj in GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}").InstancesOf ("win32_WindowsProductActivation") result = Obj.SetProductKey (VOL_PROD_KEY) if err <> 0 then WScript.Echo Err.Description, "0x" & Hex(Err.Number) Err.Clear end if Next
back to the top Example The following example describes how to use the ChangeVLKeySP1.vbs script from a command line: 1. Click Start, and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type the following command, where AB123-123AB-AB123-123AB-AB123 is the new product key that you want to use, and then click OK: c:\changevlkeysp1.vbs ab123-123ab-ab123-123ab-ab123 back to the top

q
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP1
Last Reviewed: 11/4/2003 (1.2) Keywords: kbenv kbhowto KB328874
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AIDA32 - Worldwide Sysinfo Tool
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AIDA32 - Features (Szolgltatsok) AIDA32 is a professional system information, diagnostics and benchmarking program running on Win32 platforms. It extracts details of all components of the PC. It can display information on the screen, print it, or save it to file in various formats like HTML, CSV or XML. For corporate users, AIDA32 offers commandline switches, network audit and audit statistics, remote system information and network management. Starting with version 3.00, AIDA32 is released in 3 different variants. Please read the product matrix below to find out what are the advantages of each variants. Features: full hardware & software information on 85 pages built-in hardware database: detailed information about 28000 components physical information for CPU, motherboard, hard disk, optical drive motherboard chipset, buses, sensor information installed programs, event logs list Az AIDA32 egy Win32 platformokon fut professzionlis rendszerteszt, diagnosztikai s sebessgmr program, mely a gp minden apr porcikjrl kpes mlyrehat informcikat gyjteni, s azt a kpernyn megjelenteni, kinyomtatni, vagy tbbfle formtumban (pl. HTML, CSV, XML) fjlba menteni. Vllalati felhasznlk szmra az AIDA32 parancssori kapcsolkat, hlzati leltrt s leltr statisztikt, tvoli rendszer informcit s hlzati menedzselst is knl. A 3.00 verzival kezdden, az AIDA32 hrom klnbz vltozatban jelenik meg. A vltozatok kztti eltrsekrl a lap aljn tallhat termktblzat tjkoztat. Szolgltatsok: teljes hardver s szoftver informci 85 oldalon beptett hardver adatbzis: rszletes informci 28000 alkatrszrl CPU, alaplap, merevlemez, optikai meghajt fizikai informci alaplapi lapkakszlet, busz, szenzor informci lista a teleptett programokrl, esemnynaplkrl
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-features.php?bit=32 (1 of 4)21/03/2004 04:48:36 AM
diagnostics module to reveal possible problems memory benchmark automatic audit via command-line switches SQL database support (ADO/ ODBC) remote control through TCP/ IP network 32-bit low-level hardware detection multi-threaded program model full Windows XP compatibility full Windows Server 2003 compatibility Iomega Active Disk support English, Albanian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Gallegan, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian language module Requirements: 32-bit or 64-bit Windows operating system 80386 or later x86 or IA-64 processor 16 MB system memory 5 MB disk space Supported operating systems:
diagnosztikai modul az esetleges problmk feltrsra memriasebessg mrse automatikus leltr kszts parancssori kapcsolkkal SQL adatbzis kezels (ADO/ ODBC) tvoli vezrls TCP/IP hlzaton keresztl 32 bites alacsonyszint hardver felismers tbbszl program modell teljes Windows XP kompatibilits teljes Windows Server 2003 kompatibilits Iomega Active Disk tmogats magyar, angol, albn, bolgr, cseh, dn, finn, francia, galego, grg, holland, horvt, japn, kataln, knai, koreai, lengyel, lett, litvn, macedn, nmet, norvg, olasz, orosz, portugl, romn, spanyol, svd, szerb, szlovk, szlovn, trk, ukrn nyelvi modul
Kvetelmnyek: 32 vagy 64 bites Windows opercis rendszer 80386 vagy jabb x86 vagy IA64 processzor 16 MB rendszermemria 5 MB lemezterlet Tmogatott opercis rendszerek:
Microsoft Windows 95 Microsoft Windows 95 OSR2 Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Windows 98 SE Microsoft Windows Me Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Microsoft Windows 2000 Microsoft Windows XP Microsoft Windows XP 64Bit Edition (AMD64, IA-64) Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (x86, AMD64, IA-64) Microsoft Windows Longhorn
Feature Szolgltats
Microsoft Windows 95 Microsoft Windows 95 OSR2 Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Windows 98 SE Microsoft Windows Me Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Microsoft Windows 2000 Microsoft Windows XP Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (AMD64, IA-64) Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (x86, AMD64, IA-64) Microsoft Windows Longhorn
AIDA32 AIDA32 AIDA32 Enterprise Edition Personal Edition Network Edition
Full hardware information Teljes hardver informci Full software information Teljes szoftver informci DirectX information DirectX informci Diagnostics module Diagnosztikai modul Benchmarks Sebessgmrs Web links Webes linkek Built-in hardware database Beptett hardver adatbzis Full Windows XP compatibility Teljes Windows XP kompatibilits Automatic update from LAN or Internet Automatikus frissts helyi hlzatrl vagy internetrl 32-bit Windows XP icons 32 bites Windows XP ikonok Network audit & audit statistics Hlzati leltr s leltr statisztika
ADO/ODBC database support ADO/ODBC adatbzis kezels Remote control through TCP/IP network Tvoli vezrls TCP/IP hlzaton keresztl TXT, HTML, MHTML reports TXT, HTML, MHTML riportok XML, CSV, MIF, INI reports XML, CSV, MIF, INI riportok AIDA32 plugins support AIDA32 plugin tmogats License Licenc Freeware Freeware Freeware
Copyright 2002, 2003 Tamas Miklos. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
A better boot diskette for WinNT/2000/XP
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XXCOPY TECHNICAL BULLETIN #33
From: Kan Yabumoto tech@xxcopy.com To: XXCOPY user Subject: A better boot diskette for WinNT/2000/XP Date: 2003-03-05 (revised) ==================================================================== Introduction: The previous article, XXTB #32 shows a technique to create a quick boot disk which is convenient to start up a Win9x/ME system when it fails to enter the Windows environment because any of the master boot record (MBR), the boot sector, or the essential files in the root directory is missing or damaged. This article presents a similar technique for a Windows NT/2000/XP system which fails to boot up into the Windows environment. Again, the cause of the problem is typically in the MBR, the boot sector and/or a few key files in the root directory. When you install a Win9x/ME system on a Windows NT/2000/XP system, the capability of dual-boot is sometimes lost. The standard procedure for such an occasion is to use the Emergency Repair Disk (ERD). But it requires an in-depth understanding of the operating system environment. It is not for everybody. Besides, it is just too slow.
Enter the Quick Boot Diskette: Here's a simple procedure to create a Quick Boot diskette for WinNT/2000/XP. It allows you to start up the Windows NT/2000/XP system with a minimum hassle in case of bootup trouble. Assume that you are running a healthy WinNT/2000/XP system.
http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy33.htm (1 of 7)21/03/2004 04:53:33 AM
Here's how to create the "Windows Quick Boot" diskette: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open a DOS Box (Start > Run... > cmd). FORMAT A: XXCOPY16 C:\NTLDR A:\ /H XXCOPY16 C:\NTDETECT.COM A:\ /H XXCOPY16 C:\BOOT.INI A:\
Note: if you don't have XXCOPY16, use the standard ATTRIB and COPY command to copy the hidden files. XXCOPY16 is a 16-bit version of the XXCOPY freeware utility that is available at http://www.xxcopy.com. The three files listed above (NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM, and BOOT.INI) are all essential. Optionally, you may copy the following files if they are present in the root directory (needed only when you need to boot into Win9x/ME as a dual-boot system) 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. XXCOPY16 XXCOPY16 XXCOPY16 XXCOPY16 XXCOPY16 C:\BOOTSECT.DOS C:\IO.SYS C:\MSDOS.SYS C:\CONFIG.SYS C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT A:\ A:\ A:\ A:\ A:\ /H /H /H /H /H
If you have a Recovery Console entry in the menu, add the following two files. 11. XXCOPY16 12. XXCOPY16 C:\CMDCONS\NTDETECT.COM C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT A:\CMDCONS\ A:\CMDCONS\ /H /H
If you use a SCSI disk, you also need the SCSI driver 13. XXCOPY16 C:\NTBOOTDD.SYS A:\ /H
That is it!!! If you are not familiar with XXCOPY16, it is available in the XXCOPY Freeware package. The diskette is a bootable diskette which does not rely on any file in the root directory of the C: drive. --------------------------------------------------------------Caution: The FORMAT command in the Windows NT/2000/XP looks deceptively similar to the one which comes
with a DOS/Win9x/ME system. But, the boot sectors of the two types of diskette are different each other. The boot code of a DOS/Win9x/ME diskette loads and executes the IO.SYS file whereas that of a WinNT/2000/XP diskette is tied to the NTLDR file. If you use a pre-formatted diskette, you must initialize the diskette using the FORMAT command run in the NT/2000/XP environment as described above (don't have the absense of the /S switch in the FORMAT command fool you). You must not skip the FORMAT step in this procedure. ---------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------Note: The BOOTSECT.DOS and \CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT are specific to the particlar hard disk's drive dimension and cannot be shared with other drive. This dependency makes the WinXP Quick Boot Diskette specific to the drive. If you have nearly identical disk drives on a different machine, you may use one Win9X Quick Boot Diskette on multiple machines as long as the BOOT.INI configurations are made sharable. ---------------------------------------------------------------
Customization: The initial bootup menu reflects the contents of the BOOT.INI file which you can edit by NotePad. The following pages in Microsoft's web sites explains technical details of BOOT.INI.
Contents of the boot.ini file Parameters for the boot.ini file
will show you how to edit the file in order to customize the boot up procedure which is different from the disk-based bootup configuration.
The version differentiation: If you have studied my previous article, XXTB #32, you will find many parallels in the DOS family (DOS/Win9x/ME) boot procedure and the NT family (WinNT/2000/XP) boot procedure. Unfortunately, this scheme does not work with XP. The MBR is universal whether it is for DOS, Win9x, WinNT, or even for Linux. On the other hand, once the boot up partition is selected the corresponding boot sector (the first sector of the partition) supplies a specific boot code which is either for the DOS family (DOS/Win9x/ME) or the NT family. In the DOS family, the first file loaded will be C:\IO.SYS which is Windows-version specific. That is, when a particular IO.SYS is loaded, it accepts only the proper version of Windows and fails to boot up with any other version. The next file looked at is C:\MSDOS.SYS which supplies the location of the Windows system directory. So, once the IO.SYS is loaded, you cannot choose Windows versions --- this is why it is difficult to have multiple-versions of DOS family OS to be loaded. On the other hand, in the NT family, the first file loaded will be NTLDR which is not version-specific. Therefore, you may select which version within the NT family to load (WinNT4 or Win2000). But if you mix NT versions, make sure that you use the NTLDR module which came from the newer version. That is, Win2000's NTLDR is good for NT4 but NT4's NTLDR cannot load Win2000.
About the Recovery Console: The bare DOS environment is often useful in accessing files in partitions formatted in FAT. On the other hand, files in an NTFS partition cannot be accessed from DOS. When you have problem in an NTFS volume, the standard method to repair the disk is to load the Recovery Console. Even if you have a FAT-based system disk for an NT/2000/XP system, fixing the MBR and the boot sector needs the Recovery Console. After all, the Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) is useful only when you establish the Recovery Console (or the Emergency Repair Session). It is strongly advised that you should go through the Recovery Console at least once while your WinNT/2000/XP system is in good health. There are three ways to enter the Recovery Console:
1. Use the set of Setup Diskettes (4 floppies). This method is painfully slow. But, simplest to operate.
2. Use the original install CD-ROM and run /I386/WINNT.EXE (from DOS), or /I386/WINNT32.EXE (from Windows). If the Install CD is a bootable CD and your BIOS supports booting from the CD, this is faster. Even if your system cannot boot from the CD, if you have a Win9x Emergency Disk, it lets you configure a DOS environment with CD access so that you can launch the WINNT.EXE or WINNT32.EXE. Note, entering the Recovery Console uses the same setup procedure which is also used for a fresh WinNT/2000/XP install. Be assured that you will be given a menu to enter the Recovery Console instead of re-installing the whole OS from scratch. 3. Use the files in the C:\CMDCONS (hidden) directory which can be set up on your hard disk (while you have a healthy Win2000). As one of the boot options in the menu which are shown from entries in BOOT.INI, you can simply select the Recovery Console option at the boot up time. This is the quickest method of all. (We have tested this technique only with Win2000 --- but not with NT4.) We recommend the 3rd option as the most convenient method. Basically, all of the three alternatives use exactly the same set of files --- the difference is where these files are loaded from. In the third case, it consumes about 7 MB of disk space which is not much, today. Even in rare instances where your system fails to go far enough to show you the boot menu, you can use the Quick Boot Diskette to load the files in the C:\CMDCONS directory. Here's how to set up the C:\CMDCONS files. 1. Inside Windows 2000, run the following console command from the Install CD (assume it is accessed at D:) D:\I386\WINNT32.EXE /cmdcons This will create the C:\CMDCONS (hidden) directory and saves all the files which are neccessary for the Recovery Console. It also modifies the BOOT.INI file with an appropriate entry for the Recovery Console option.
2. Edit the BOOT.INI file in your Quick Boot Diskette by looking at the newly modified C:\BOOT.INI file on your hard disk. The line should look like the following: C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="MS Win2000 Recovery Console" / cmdcons Note: In the above discussion, the system volume was assumed to be C:\ which can be another drive letter. Once you are in the Recovery Console, it is like the DOS world (many familiar commands such as DIR, MKDIR, CHDIR, COPY, are there). The long filename is also supported. You can even invoke a batch file (using a different syntax).
Troubleshooting: If your system cannot boot up using the Quick Boot Diskette made by this technique, you still need to run the Emergency Repair Disk which is outside the scope of this article. The following Microsoft article may be a good starting point: "Description of the Windows 2000 Recovery Console".
Let me know if you encounter problems with the techniques described in this article. Kan Yabumoto
Copyright 2003 Pixelab, Inc. All rights reserved. [ XXCOPY Home ] [ Table of Contents ] [ << ] [ >> ] [ Feedback ] [ DATMAN Home ]
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http://download.com.com/3000-2094-10126096.html21/03/2004 04:54:28 AM
Troubleshooting Windows XP, Tweaks and Fixes for Windows XP
View by Category by choosing one the groups below or scroll down to View by List
To use the Regedits: Save the REG File to your hard disk. Double click it and answer yes to the import prompt. REG files can be viewed in Notepad by right clicking on the file and selecting Edit. To use the VBS Files: Download .vbs file and save it to your hard drive (you may want to right click and use Save Target As). Double click the vbs file. You will be prompted when the script is done. NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled. These scripts are not malicious, but they do make changes to the System Registry. Disclaimer: These registry edits and script files are presented "as is". Every effort has been made to ensure the files work as stated. I assume no responsibility for your use of these files.
Registry Edits for Windows XP "Tweaks and Tips"
1. Add XP TweakUI Icon to the Control Panel 2. Increase Folder View Size Limit to 8000 4. Repairs the Icon View 5. Background Switcher PowerToy
Add ControlUserPasswords2 To Control Panel Add Folder to Start Menu - Replace MP or MM Set Numlock State On or Off at Startup Enable/Disable Administrator on Welcome Screen Fix the Ding.Wav File Change Registered Owner and Organization Remove Internet Explorer Branding Restore OE to the E-mail List in Internet Options Disable Media Player Update Message Disable Media Players Play List Link File Fix for Windows XP
3. Restore Missing Toolbars EXE or VBS Disable CD AutoRun for Home or Pro
6. Restore System Default Sounds 7. Increase Balloon Tip Display Time 8. Ports Lock 9. Disable the Windows Logo Keys 10. Enable CD AutoPlay for Pro 11. Disable Balloon Tips or Disable All 12. EXE Fix for Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm (1 of 21)21/03/2004 04:55:38 AM
13. Disable "No Computers Near Me" 14. Uninstall/Reinstall NetMeeting 15. Remove Common Tasks from the Desktop
Restore IE AutoComplete Password Prompt Remove/Disable CD Burning Capability Disable Search Assistant - Undo
16. Active Desktop - Enable or Disable 17. Restore AutoPlay Icon 18. Add Google as Primary Search 19. Add Outlook Express as Default Client 20. Restore IE Desktop Shortcut Icon Functions
Add Recent Documents to the Classic Menu Restore Thumbnail Views in XP Search Opens When Double Clicking A Folder Correct the Sort Order in Windows XP Disable the File Menu in Windows Explorer Add Empty Recycle Bin to the Right Click Disable the Security Tab - Hardware Tab
21. Disable System Beeps 22. Hide Users on Welcome Screen Unhide
23. Run Startup Programs from the CMD Allow or Disable CD Burn Options Prompt 24. Add Move To and Send To to the Right Click 25. Prompt for Password on Resume Undo Clear Search History under Search Open With Notepad for Files with No Extension Disable Internet Search for File Extensions Remove Set Program Access & Defaults Undo
26. Add Command Line to the Right Click 27. Secure Desktop - Undo
28. Control Panel Icons are Missing
Windows Update Restriction Error (Network)
29. Run Command - Reinstalling Internet Disable Getting Started Welcome Screen - Logon Explorer 30. Windows XP Doesn't Save User Settings 31. Windows XP Startup - Boot Performance 32. KeepRas Connection (FUS) Exe or Reg Change Associations from the Run Command Disable Changes Made to the Start Menu - Undo Remove the Search Button
33. Remove Toolbars from Taskbar Right Remove Users Folder From the Start Click Menu 34. Restore Fast User Switching 35. Do Not Request Alternate Creditials Super Fast Switcher PowerToy (Winkey + Q) Drive Rescue - Undelete and Data Recovery Tool Enable Clear Type also on the Welcome Screen AutoComplete Mode Enabled or Disabled Remove Added Links from the Tool Menu Delete an Undeletable File in Windows XP XP Info - Verifies Activation Components
36. Recover and Restore Deleted Files 37. Clear Form Fields in AutoComplete 38. Set Auto Disconnect Back to Default 39. AutoRuns - All Programs Running Boot/Login 40. Enhance CMD Quick Edit Options 41. Disable the Indexing Service (cisvc. exe) 42. Hide the Common Dialog Places Bar 43. Hide the Display List of Recent Files
Clear Recent File Lists Remove CD Burning Features - Undo Hide the Common Dialog Back Button
44. Add Switch User to the Start Button & RC
Remove Access to all Windows Update Features
45. Add Copy To/Move To (Right Click) Restore the Welcome Screen - Gina.Dll Error - Undo 46. Content Advisor On (Place in Startup Content Advisor Off (Place in Startup Folder) Folder) 47. Regedit - Save to Favorites 48. Disable Windows Installer Rollback 49. Old Style Search Engine On or Off 50. Clear History of Typed URL's Regedit - Clear Last State Disk Cleanup-Compress Old Files Freezes-Undo Add Toolbar to Outlook Express (OETool) Prevent My Documents and Recent Documents Enable the Task Manager - Disable Task Manager Add a Website Link to the Start Menu
51. ScreenSaver Disable , Enable or Tab Missing 52. Shutdown.Exe - Andrej Budja
53. Remove Past Items From Notification Hide or Show Inactive Icons Area Notification Area 54. Restore Admin Tools (.msc) 55. Restore Recent Documents, My Documents 56. Remove Files Stored on this Computer Undo 57. Restore winhlp32.exe for XP or XPSP1 58. Recovery Console Fix for XP SP1 59. Disable Messenger in Outlook Express Save Settings on Exit - Don't Save Settings Increase Internet Explorer Downloads to 10 Enable or Disable Right Click Context Menu Restore the Run Command Restore User Default Pictures Remove "For Testing Purposes Only" Desktop
60. Email Page - IE (right click) w/ Clickable Link
Correct IE Window Placement (Reg or VBS) Restore/Add Show Desktop to Quick Launch Bar Separate Process for the Desktop and Explorer Replace/Repair the Recycle Bin in Windows XP Search Google Address Bar, Q#'s, MSKB, TN Prevent Programs from Stealing Focus Undo Enable Show Status Bar Page Cannot be Found and/or DNS/ Server Error Startup/Shutdown/Logon/Logoff Status Messages
61. Change Provided By in IE 62. Disable the Desktop Cleanup Wizard - Undo 64. Reset OE for Send To , Mail To , Send Mail 65. Disable Low Disk Space Message
63. Home Page Lock for Internet Explorer Home Page Unlock for Internet Explorer
66. Error 1606 ... Access Network Location 67. Run Scheduled Tasks w/o PW Home - Undo 68. Set Menu Delay to 400 69. Reuse Same Window Internet Explorer-Undo
70. Search is Missing from the Start Menu Clear Recent Documents 71. Speed up Moving or Copying Zip Files 72. Enable/Disable Desktop Icons 73. Enable or Disable Personalized Menus - Start 74. AVI Search Remove - Restore
WinFile.Exe SendTo Any Folder and SendTo Clipboard Enable or Disable Personalized Menus Favorites Network Places Missing from the Start Menu
75. Search Shows Yellow Triangle with ! MS Windows File Extension Identifier
76. Power Off or Reboot After Shutdown 77. Disable "Log on using dial-up connection" 78. Common Tasks View - Disable or Enable 79. Speedup Browsing (Explorer and IE) Undo 80. Disable or Restore Picture and Fax Viewer
Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown Uninstall NetMeeting Enable or Disable Winkeys Speedup Network Logon/Boot Enable the Welcome Screen
81. Increase Slide Show Timeout 82. Disable or Enable Check Disk Upon Boot 83. Change File Time Created/Modified/ Accessed 84. Restore Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr)
Disable Pop-Up Error Messages Upon Boot Change Program File Directory Properties Missing From My Computer Windows Installer Logging or Cleanup Utility
85. Set Detail View for all Folders Open/ Restore Compressed Zipped Folders Save As Association 86. Taskbar Grouping by # or Least , Most Used 87. Dial-up Modem or PPPoE is Unavailable
Shortcut to Search Check E-Mail from Anywhere
88. Set Default Web Browser in Windows Hide Inactive Icons and More 89. Easy Log Off, Shutdown and Restart 90. Expand ReadMe.Txt Zip Files w/o Opening Find File Information (Name, Version and Path) Read Reg, VBS Edits w/o Opening (also File info)
91. Disable or Enable AutoDial 92. Show Full URL Path links in IE Status Bar 93. Logon Using a Dial-Up Connection Prompt 94. Windows Installer Fix 95. Disable Messenger Service (Pop-up Spam)
Customize Folder Shell Extensions Change Online Support Link under IE/ Help Remove Links folder from IE/Favorites Undo Enable Notepad Status Bar with Word Wrap Change the Warning Message in Messenger Add SpellChecker & Button to Internet Explorer
96. Disable Control/Alt/Delete
97. Decrease the Size of Taskbar Buttons Increase the Size of Taskbar Buttons Undo - Undo 98. Enable/Disable LogOff - Classic or New 99. Restore the Task Bar to Default Settings 100. Disable Unread Mail on the Welcome Screen Create Start Up List or Start Up Log Security Hotfix Checker Tool Check and Open Desktop Paths or MP or MM
101. Prevent IE History Being Removed Disable Show My Pictures Toolbar in IE Undo 102. Hide System Desktop Icons 103. Enable Mouse Snap To Option/ Function 104. Remote Task Manager 105. Disable Remote Dial-Up Connections Hide IE Icon from the Desktop Toolbar Save As - Disable: Back, MRU and Places Bar Active Registry Monitor Disable "Save As" File History
106. Lock Default Browser
Restore Hide Underlined Letters Keyboard Nav
107. Change the Sort Order back to PreXP 109. Change Computer Name 110. Add Message above User Name & Password 111. Restore Run As - Which user account issue 112. Add "Log Folder Contents" to SendTo Menu
Restore the Device Manager
108. FavesToGo - Save Favorites Quickly FavOrg - Restore and Save Favorite Icons Empty Temporary Internet Files on Exit Add Dialog Box/Message to Logon and Shutdown
Change the Name of the Start Button Show File Information
113. Enable the Task Manager - Disable - BootVis - Performance Trace Visualization Tool Repair 114. Redirect Help and Support to a link of choice 115. Rename/Remove the Recycle Bin 116. Prevent Spyware from Being Installed 117. Restore Taskbar and Start Menu 118. Change Notification Error Wave File 119. Change the Hard Drive Icon 120. Mouse/Left Hand Users - Welcome Screen Enable Reinstallation of Internet Explorer or OE Read/Find your Product ID Number Show All Hidden Devices in the Device Manager Add Trillian to the Tools Menu and Toolbar in IE Add Folders to the "Save As" Dialog (Places Bar) Change the Folder Icon &/or Opened Folder Icon List My Computer or My Documents First
121. Increase Icon Cache 122. Show All Bitmap Views
Change Icon Wrap to One Line on the Desktop IE/Windows Update - Change Text or Remove
123. Add Notepad as a Right Click Item 124. Add Explore CD-Rom to Start Button (R/C) 125. List Page File Location, Min and Max 126. Show Boot Configuration(s) 127. Disable Windows File Protection 128. Task Bar Lock - Task Bar Unlock 129. Restore Folder Options Under Tools 130. Add a Folder to My Computer and Desktop
Disable Changes to File Associations Undo Add a Folder to the Start Button - Right Click System Up Time
View Log Events by Code or List or Clear Show Super Hidden File Extensions Undo Restore Desktop and Screensaver Tabs Control the F Lock Key Functionality State/Status Add Clipboard to the Control Panel
131. Disable the Shutdown Command 132. Change and/or Add an HTML Editor 133. Restore Most Frequently Used Undo 134. Hide All Notification Area Icons Undo 135. Clear Read-Only Attributes
Change My Computer Name to User Name-Undo Disable Searched Word Being Highlighted in Blue Replace AM & PM (Clock) with word of Choice Hide the Clock in the Notification Area Undo Restore Accessibility Options to Default Settings Show IP Address on the Desktop, plus more. Disable Stand-by: Per User or Per System
136. Search for All File Types 137. Remove "Open With" from Context Menu
138. New Folder Hotkey - SM, Desktop, Specify 139. Restore Zip Folders to Default in XP 140. Rename Files and Folders En Masse
Google Search from IE's Right-Click Menu Add to or Modify the "New" Menu Listings Show Slide Show of Attached Pictures in OE Add a Custom Splash Screen for User Logon's Allow Wallpaper/Background Changes Disable
141. Help, CHM, HH Checker/Fixer 142. Disable the Script Debugger in IE
143. Enable or Disable the Splash Screen Enable or Disable the Splash Screen for IE for OE 144. Clear Wallpaper Most Frequently Used List 145. Control Panel - Classic or Category View 146. Retrieve the Class Name for a File Extension 147. Add Internet E-mail Message to New Menu 148. Set All Search Options to Active Undo 149. Clear Cache on Reboot 150. Add Open New Window to the Right Click Add (OE) Send E-Mail to the Right Click Clear NetMeeting Call History
Add or Remove Programs Restriction Undo Restore or Place Briefcase to the Desktop Clear Disabled Items from Msconfig Startup Add Taskbar Grouping Options to the Start Menu Clear Last User on W2K Style Boot Screen in XP
151. Rename "Search" on the Start Menu Set "Search" Advanced Options as Default - Undo 152. Rename "Run" on the Start Menu Undo Rename "Help and Support" on Start Menu-Undo
153. Restore Missing "New" and Text Doc 154. Disable Shut Down Per User 155. Enable/Disable Show Hidden Files/ Folders 156. Disable SSPD and UPNP Services Undo 157. Prevent Automatic Folder and Icon Refresh 158. Change the Recycle Bin Icon - Undo 159. Minimize Any Program to System Tray
Change Size of Desktop Wallpaper to Suit - Undo Remove "All Programs" from Start Menu - Undo Repair Loss of Internet Access/Certain Web Sites
Clear the Run Command MRU List Prevent Delay Opening My Computer/ Explorer Remove Throbber from IE & Explorer Undo Add "Show Related Links" to Internet Explorer
160. Enable Monitor Power-off on Logon Disable or Enable Pin to Start Menu Screen Right Click Restore: On Resume, Display Welcome Screen
161. Hide Start Menu Subfolders - Undo
162. Restore HTML, HTM, URL Thumb Restore XML Thumbnail View View 163. Restore Terminal Services 164. Restore Taskbar to Default Functionality 165. Disable/Enable Start Menu Subfolders 166. Restore/Place Search on the Start Menu 167. Force Classic Start Menu Disable/Enable Caps Lock or the Insert Key Disable or Enable Always Ask Before Opening... Disable/Enable Run Keys Per User or Per System Add Icon Cache Size to Folder Options/ View Remove Send Feedback Menu Option
168. Clipboard Reader 169. Shutdown Shortcut
Read Host Files in Notepad Enable or Disable Pinned Items on the Start Menu
170. Add Windows Explorer to the Right Expand "System" in the Start Menu/ Control Panel Click 171. Enable or Disable Active Window Tracking 172. Msinfo32 Batch File - To Gain Access 173. Repair the Registry Editor 174. Remove Added IE Toolbar Entries 175. Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle Bin 176. Add XP Google Group Search to IE Toolbar 177. Restore the Web Tab - Display Properties 178. Restore the Go Button Office XP Error 1706 - ProPlus.Msi Fix O2K Add System Information to the Right Click Stops the Selective Startup Screen Restore Media Files Restore Right Click .inf/Install
Add MS Knowledge Base to the IE Toolbar Restrict Changes from Being Made in OE - Undo Disable Open in a New Window
179. Shell Icon Changer - Or Set Back to Windows Update Greyed Out - Restore Default 180. Add a Folder Under the Run Command 181. Account SID Association (run w/ cscript) 182. User Account Information (run w/ cscript) 183. View Source - Restore Notepad as Default Add Attributes/InfoTips to Files and Folders
Network Login Profile (run with cscript) Listing Local User Account Information (SID) View Source - Add or Change Editor (Also for 6)
184. Disable Thumbnail Cache 185. Remove Desktop Version from Desktop 186. Restore Run As to the Right Click Undo 187. Restore Themes Functionality 188. Add or Remove - Administrator Error 189. Correct DirectX 9 "Logo Error" 190. Hide Selected/Specific File Extension Paths 191. Change CD/RW, DVD Name in Explorer 192. Change .bmp Default to Paint 193. Remove Hotfixes from Add or Remove 194. Disable Highlight New Programs Undo 195. Remove Hotbar 196. Sort All by Alphabet - Start Menu and Fav's 198. Add Open Target Folder to Context Menu
Restore Jdbgmgr.Exe (3805) For Build 3810 Remove Icon Shortcut Symbols - Restore
Show File and Folder Names Using Correct Case Restore Luna Theme - Restore Classic Theme Add Save & Restore Desktop Layout to Menu Correct Windows Media Player 9 "Logo Error" Customize Auto Hide Taskbar Settings
Restore Paint Restore the Toolbars From Being Greyed Out Disable Messenger from Outlook Language Bar Remove - Restore Restore Desktop Icons and Taskbar
Top 10 XP Most Frequently Asked Q & A
197. Display Simple Folder View - Undo Remove Shared Documents - Undo Enable or Disable Ctrl/Alt/Delete
199. Enable Folder and Icon Refresh 200. Disable Save This Program to Disk Option
Hide Recycle Bin on Desktop - Not from Explorer Change Thumbnail View to 96 or 32
201. Restore marscore.dll 202. Disable Notepad being listed under FUP 203. Restore Display Icon in Control Panel 204. Force Auto Refresh 205. Backup DUN Settings
Disable IE HTML Source Editor Check Undo Set Magnify Options Back to Default Restore Right Click Properties Restore Power Schemes/Configurations Disable the Auto Logon Shift Override Feature Remove Hand Icon for Shared Resources - Undo Restore Properties - My Computer & Documents Remove Add or Remove Restrictions Undo Open Each Folder in New or Same Window Change the Number of Recent Documents to 25 Disable Sticky Keys or Delete Sticky Keys Disable .Net Passport Balloon Pop-up Restore Display Mouse Pointer Trails - Undo
206. Hotbar - Explorer/New Freezes 207. Hide User Name in Start Menu Undo 208. Disable Update Device Driver Wizard Undo 209. Remove "Shortcut to..." Prefix on Shortcuts 210. Allow Folder Names in Uppercase
211. Restore Startup and Shutdown Sounds 212. Disable - Use the Web Service to find ... 213. Disable or Enable Registry Editing Tools
214. Windows/Buttons Greyed Out Appearance 215. Advanced Tab Missing in IE Restore 216. Set Toolbar Backgrounds back to Default 217. Set Stretch as Default Desktop Undo 218. Disable Save As MRU
Windows XP Style Changes to Windows Classic Set Folder Default to Open & Use Same Window Remove My Computer from Desktop/ Start Menu Highlight Text Blue - Set own Customized Color Restore Taskbar Grouping
219. Re-Run Missed Tasks Notification - Remove the Display Icon from the Control Panel Undo 220. Restore Open With on the Right Click 221. Set SnapTo and Mouse Trails as Default 223. Align Drop Down Menu's to the Right 224. Show Control Panel on the Start Menu 225. Restore Folder Options/Internet Options Remove Overture Search Branding in IE
Restore System Information (Msinfo32)
222. Restore Address Bar Search - Google Restore Save As Web Page Complete Disable Storage of .Net Passwords Restore Disk Management Snap-In Extension Change the Logon Screen Saver Automatically Remove the White Space from Add or Remove Restore/Enable Screensaver Tab Settings/ Display Stop My Documents from Opening Upon Boot Open TIF Images within Internet Explorer
226. Remove the Taskbar 227. Set IE Text Font to Smaller or Larger 228. Use Small Icons for Start Menu Programs 229. Set IE Search to Default
230. Restore Group Policy Snap-in
Wait is Greyed Out under Screen Saver Tab Set Internet Explorer to Full Screen Undo Change Screen Saver Automatically
231. Show Favorites Expanded 232. Lift Screen Saver Restrictions Admin 234. Automatically Resize Image in IE Window 235. Restore Help and Support Service
233. Enable Single Click to Open an Item Enable Drag and Drop AutoPlay Repair Tool Set Splash Screen to None - Remove OEM Enable or Disable Clear Type under Effects
236. Appearance/Effects - Restore Smooth Edges 238. Disable Update Checks for Internet Explorer
237. Change Hard Drive Icon in Explorer Alt-Tab Replacement PowerToy Remove Keylogger Reg Files
239. Disable Local Stylesheets in Internet Close Command Greyed Out in IE and Explorer WE 240. Programs Aren't Minimized in the Taskbar 241. Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools 242. Set the "Save Attachments" Default in OE 243. Allow Changes Being Made to Taskbar 244. Disable File Deleted Confirmation Undo Restore My Music Folder on the Start Menu
Restore Choose Program - Open With Disable Background Notice Balloon in Messenger Taskbar Toolbar Menu is Greyed Out Restore Remove Restriction on Recycle Bin Size Limit
245. Remove the ">" from OE Forwarded Set the Address Bar to IE/XP Default E-Mail 246. Restore Show Desktop Icons Context Menu 248. Enable or Disable Scroll Programs 249. Set Default XP Font Back to Tahoma 250. List Loaded and Installed Device Drivers TweakUI with XP SP1 - TweakUI without SP1 Clear Page File on Exit - Undo Restore My Network Places to the Desktop Restore Hotmail, Outlook and OE under Programs Specify Exe Files to be Lauched by Winlogon Restore Remote Access Connection Manager Disable or Enable Downloads per User in IE My Documents Folder Opens Upon Boot (for C:\) Effects Options are Greyed Out Appearance
247. Set IE to Check for Default Browser Enable the Favorites Wizard Restriction
251. Remove NetMeeting Call History 252. Download OE Quote Fix
253. Lan Settings- Proxy Server - Disable PSP Thumbnail Handler - Paint Shop Pro 254. Remove JRE - Sun TreatAs Entry 255. Restore Group Policy Snap-In
256. Restore the Control Panel - Disable
257. Remote Procedure Call Worm A-E - Win XP Security Patch: Buffer Overrun Edit In RPC e 258. Remove the W32.Randex.E Worm 259. Online Virus Scanner: Trend Symantec Disable Send To from the Context Menu - Undo Kaspersky Labs Anti-Virus Software
260. Open New IE Window is Blank - Fix System32 Folder Opens Upon Boot
261. List of Startup Programs Running at Restrict Desktop Theme Controls Login 262. Remove W32. Sobig.F Worm 263. Disable Default Save As to My Pictures 264. Restore Missing Tabs to Task Manager 265. Default XP Calculator Enlarged 266. Prevent Prompting for Hotfix KB828026 Prevent Manipulations of the Taskbar iLookup Spyware Uninstaller Access Denied - CD Rom, Floppy, Removable Restore Search to the Context Menu Lock Internet Explorer Toolbar Options in Place
267. Restore "Turn Off Computer" - Start Restart the Shell Automatically Menu 268. Restore All Tabs under Internet Options 269. Disable or Enable Resize Graphic Send To 270. Connect To - Restore Options Restore RasMan Service to Automatic Hide Start Up Scripts Restrict Changes Made to Connections Undo Notepad with Spell Check and More Prevent Prompting for Hotfix Q811493 Restore Offline Files Tab - Folder Options Add Open New Browser Window to IE Toolbar Search for Network Folders and Printers Undo Enable/Disable Taskbar Grouping Restore Show Net Connections - Connect To
271. Stuck in Classic View? Undo Now 272. Remove Network Places - Undo 273. Outlook Mail Counter on Welcome Screen 274. Repair the Office XP Shortcut Bar/ Buttons 275. Lift Restrictions - TM, Regedit and CMD 276. Enable/Disable My Computer Icon 277. Enable or Disable Thumbnail View
278. Restore/Enable System Restore 279. Clear File Name MRU 280. Restore Defrag.Exe
Disable Start Menu Pin To List - Enable Change/Customize Branding in Outlook Express W32.Swen.A@mm Removal Tool OETune Sets Individual Sounds To Mail Folders
281. Disable the Floppy Drive - Enable
282. Enable the Appearance Tab - Display Disable All Internet Explorer Toolbars 283. Restore Content Advisor to Default Settings 284. Restore or Remove Manage Context Menu Add the Outlook 2003 Icon to the Desktop Reveal Hidden Dll Files/Icons - Undo
285. Restore/Replace the Manage CLSID Restore All Display Tabs Default 286. Restore the "New" Context Menu to Search asks for Office CD Default 287. Restore Download to Directory Setting 288. Restore Cryptographic Service CryptSvc 289. Start Menu - Enable 290. Hide Inactive Icons - Greyed Out Restore Search - Indexing Service Add Run in Separate Memory - 16 bit Restore System Restore Service Open My Computer - Double Pane or Single Pane Restore My Computer Manage View All Running Processes QHosts Removal Tool Hide or Show Notification Area Icons
291. Restore Defrag Snap-In 292. Update Rollup 1for XP 293. Remove Media Player from Toolbars - Undo 294. Prevent Check Disk Upon Boot Undo
295. Lift Active Desktop Restrictions
Suppress Online Media Content via the Media Bar
296. Lift MMC/GPEDIT Snap-In Restrictions 297. Disable the Taskbar Context Menus 298. Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
Microsoft Security Bulletin Service Remove Taskbar/ Start Menu from Control Panel Hide System Clock - Undo
299. List Administrative Tools in Control Microsoft Glossary and Acronyms Panel 300. Restore the Machine Debug Manager Enable or Disable the Outlook Express Toolbar
301. Lock XP with Fast User Switching Enabled 302. Disable CMD
Restore .ico File Associations Require Alphanumeric Windows Password
303. Hide Share Passwords with Asterisks Disable the Windows XP Tour 304. Cardfile Replacement of MS cardfile. Show Window Contents While Dragging exe - Undo 305. Set .vbs Files to Open as Default 306. Decryption of XP Files 307. Disable Monitor Power-off on Logon Screen 308. Clear Run Commands Selectively 309. Restore Accessories - Start Menu/ All Prog 310. Restore Services to Default 311. Doug's Windows XP Security Console Set Txtfile to Default to Notepad Clear Recent Media Player List - Undo Save Attachments OE - Greyed Out Restore Wordpad.Exe Outlook - Minimize To System Tray Messenger Service Add NCS Account View/Account Management
312. Save User Name and Password Greyed Out 313. CWShredder version 1.52.2 314. File Associations are Greyed Out
.
Restrict Author Mode in MMC IE Crashes - Browse in New Process
List All Links On This Page
Note: The majority of these tweaks and fixes are my own work. Others are collaborative efforts with MVP's Doug Knox, Bill James and David Candy. Any others, remain the property of their original authors. Special thanks to Doug Knox, Bill James and David Candy.
Tweak Downloads Troubleshooting Windows XP Utilities for XP
Windows XP From A to Z Registry Edits
Home Page Win98 - 03/19/2004 - Home Page WinXP Copyright Kelly Theriot MS-MVP(DTS) 2004. All rights reserved.
WindowsXP Tips
WindowsXP Tips
Performance
Services You Can Disable - Updated 10/30/03 Faster DOS Printing - Added 6/21/03 Cleaning the Prefetch Directory - Added 3/2/03 Increasing the Folder Cache - Added 1/6/03 Increasing Graphics Performance - Added 11/27/01 Disabling Balloon Tips - Added 11/9/01 Speeding Up the Display of Start Menu Items - 11/8/01 Increasing System Performance - Added 8/16/01
Networking / Internet
Running Network Diagnostics - Added 3/4/04 Network Access After Norton Anti-Virus Install - Added 12/9/03 Adding TCP/IP Printers - Added 1/7/03 Installing Java Virtual Machine - Updated 12/21/02 Disable Shared Documents - Added 11/23/02 Fix Browsing Delay to Win98/ME Computers - Added 5/4/02 Using the Internet Explorer Classic Search - Added 4/20/02 WINIPCFG for XP - Added 4/1/02 Allowing Network Access with Blank Passwords - Added 3/23/02
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm (1 of 58)21/03/2004 04:58:29 AM
WindowsXP Tips
Reinstalling the TCP/IP Protocol - Added 3/2/02 Remembering Outlook / Outlook Express Password - Submitted 1/26/02 Turning Off the Firewall - Added 1/26/02 Installing the NetBEUI Protocol - Added 11/7/01 Setting System Time Over the Internet - Added 11/5/01 Configuring the Firewall - Added 8/16/01 Changing the Internet Explorer Title - Added 8/16/01
Repairing
Fixing Cryptographic Services Error - Added 12/8/03 Fixing Explorer Searching Rather Than Opening Directories - Added 11/30/03 Repair Install - Added 2/9/03 Missing or Corrupt NTOSKRNL - Added 2/9/03 Missing or Corrupt HAL.DLL - Added 2/9/03 Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG - Added 2/9/03 NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM Not Found - Added 2/9/03 ReInstalling WindowsXP - Added 5/21/02
Startup/Shutdown
Configure for Auto-Logon - Added 11/28/03 Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages - Added 3/2/03 Bringing Up the Shutdown Dialog Box - Added 1/31/03 Hiding the Last User Logged On - Added 1/4/03 Poweroff at Shutdown - Added 1/4/03 Adding SafeBoot to the Boot Menu - Added 4/23/02 Speeding the Startup of Some CD Burner Programs - Added 4/23/02 No GUI Boot - Added 4/23/02 Getting Rid of Unread Email Messages- Updated 4/20/02 Re-Installing User Login Pictures - Added 4/5/02 Decreasing Boot Time - Added 3/4/02 Hide/Unhide Logon Names - Added 3/3/02 Original NT Style Logon Screen - Updated 1/19/02 Creating a Shutdown/Reboot Icon - Added 11/11/01
Desktop / Toolbar / Explorer

Not Viewing Zip Files as Folders - Added 3/4/04 Restoring Desktop Icon to the Quicklaunch Bar - Added 12/26/03
WindowsXP Tips
Remembering Folder Settings - Added 12/21/02 Disable Explorer Thumbnail View - Added 12/4/02 Saving Desktop Settings - Added 9/11/02 Hiding the Windows Version on the Desktop - Added 9/10/02 Controlling the Desktop Cleanup Wizard - Added 7/24/02 Using the Classic Search in Explorer - Added 4/11/02 Search Companion Error - Added 4/1/02 Opening a Command Prompt to a Particular Directory from Explorer - Added 3/18/02 Selecting What Details to Display in the Explorer - Added 2/3/02 Changing the Default Search Settings - Added 11/5/01 Opening an Explorer Window to the Directory You Want - Added 9/4/01 Displaying the QuickLaunch Toolbar - Added 8/16/01 Displaying and Configuring the Classic Start Menu - Added 8/16/01
Misc
Setting Capslock, Numlock, Scroll Lock - Added 3/4/04 DOS Tips in XP - Submitted 3/4/04 Stopping the Messenger Service - Added 6/21/03 Accessing Non-Listed Display Configurations - Added 3/2/03 Stop Password Expiration - Updated 12/21/02 Preventing Applications from Stealing the Focus - Added 12/4/02 Adding Environment Variables - Added 12/4/02 Disable Passport Pop-Up - Added 11/26/02 Show Hidden Devices - Submitted 11/26/02 Spell Check Not Working With Outlook Express and Office97 - Added 11/23/02 Disable the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon's menu - Submitted 11/23/02 Prevent the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon from appearing in the notification tray - Submitted 11/23/02 Printing a Directory - Added 11/12/02 Removing Thumbs.db Files - Added 11/12/02 Enable / Disable the Task Manager - Added 10/17/02 Using Media Player 6.4 - Added 9/10/02 Clearing the Page File on Shutdown - Updated 7/24/02 Restoring Access to CD ROMs - Added 5/22/02 Setting the Dir Command to Display Filenames on the Left - Added 5/10/02 Dell Computer Not Keeping Correct Time - Added 5/5/02 Formatting a Partition Greater than 32 GIG with FAT32 - Added 4/27/02 Logging in as Administrator - Added 4/11/02 Correcting Fast User Switching Error - Added 4/11/02 No To All When Overwriting Files - Added 4/5/02
WindowsXP Tips
Installing the Backup Program on the Home Version - Added 4/1/02 Changing Drive Letters - Added 3/30/02 Turn off the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as the Default Image Viewer - Updated 3/29/02 Changing the Default DOS Window Properties - Added 3/22/02 Changing the Registered Owner - Added 3/20/02 Adding Time Servers - Added 3/18/02 Creating a Boot Floppy - Added 3/14/02 Changing the Login Screen Saver - Added 3/8/02 Running NetMeeting - Added 3/8/02 Set the Online Registration as Being Completed - Added 3/4/02 Re-Enabling System Restore - Added 3/3/02 Renaming the Start Button - Added 2/25/02 Rollback a Device Driver - Added 2/18/02 Closing Multiple Taskbar Items - Submitted 2/3/02 Grouping Similar Taskbar Buttons - Added 1/26/02 Turning Off the Guest Account - Added 1/22/02 Turning Off the Built-In CD Burner - Added 1/15/02 Hiding System Tray Icons - Added 1/10/02 Faster Task Switching - Added 1/6/02 WindowsXP Command Line Utilities - Added 2/5/02 Disabling Error Reporting - Added 12/5/01 Adding a Title for the Command Prompt Title Bar - Added 11/27/01 Creating an Automated Install of WindowsXP - Added 11/12/01 Command Line Help Reference - Added 11/11/01 Using the System File Checker - Added 11/11/01 Creating a Password Recovery Disk - Added 11/5/01 Disabling Hibernation - Added 8/20/01 Locking the Workstation - Added 8/19/01 Changing the Picture Displayed for a User - Added 8/19/01 Removing the MSN Messenger - Added 8/16/01 Common Command Console Utilities - Added 8/16/01 Automatically Ending Non-Responsive Tasks - Added 8/16/01 Changing Visual Effects - Added 8/16/01 Changing System Restore Settings - Added 8/16/01 Changing Programs That Start Automatically - Added 8/16/01 Adding / Removing Additional Programs - Added 8/16/01 Increasing File System Caching - Added 8/16/01 Enabling NumLock on by Default - Added 8/16/01
WindowsXP Tips
Not Viewing Zip Files as Folders

Added 3/4/04 If you want to turn of WindowsXP showing Zip files as folders, just run: regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll
Setting Capslock, Numlock, Scroll Lock

Added 3/4/04 If you want to set the startup state for any or all of these keys, you just need to edit the registry. 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Keyboard Open InitialKeyboardIndicators Change the value to one of the following numbers 0 - All Keys off 1 - Caps Lock on 2 - Num Lock on 4 - Scroll Lock on For multiple keys, add their values: 3 - Caps Lock and Num Lock on 5 - Caps Lock and Scroll Lock on 6 - Num Lock and Scroll Lock on 7 - Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock on 5. Log off and back on again
Running Network Diagnostics

Added 3/4/04 Network Diagnostics scans your system to gather information about your hardware, software, and network connections. Start / Run / NETSH DIAG GUI
WindowsXP Tips
The following is the type of information that can be displayed:

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Ping Connect Show Verbose Save to Desktop Mail Service News Service Internet Proxy Server Computer Information Operating System Windows Version Modems Network Clients Network Adapters Domain Name System (DNS) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Default Gateways Internet Protocol Address Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)
DOS Tips in XP
Submitted 3/4/04 Windows XP cmd tip (DOS isnt dead... it just smells funny) Some command-line folder creation examples: To create multiple folders at once, add them directly to the "md" command: C:\> md this is a test To create a folder several folders deep, use: C:\> md this\is\a\test Creating a folder with a long name requires the double-quote at the beginning: C:\> md "this is a test Bonus tip: Windows XP supports the forward slash "/" as a folder divider. Unix/Linux users: don't let
WindowsXP Tips
the DOS environment get you down. Use a Unix-style CD command to change your present working directory: C:\> cd Windows/system32/drivers/etc Submitted by Bob and Tina
Restoring Desktop Icon to the Quicklaunch Bar

Added 12/26/03 If you mistakenly deleted the icon for the Desktop on the Quicklaunch toolbar Go to C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch (where user_name is replaced by your login name) Create a Text file called ShowDesktop.SCF with the following contents: [Shell] Command=2 IconFile=explorer.exe,3 [Taskbar] Command=ToggleDesktop
Network Access After Norton Anti-Virus Install

Added 12/9/03 Sometimes you can't access a WinXP computer after installing Norton Anti-Virus. There might be a variety of errors at the other computer depending on the operating system. On the XP computer, in the Event Viewer / System log, there will be the following error: The server's configuration parameter "irpstacksize" is too small for the server to use a local device. 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver \parameters 3. Edit the IRPStackSize 4. Give it a value of 15 5. Reboot the computer
WindowsXP Tips
Fixing Cryptographic Services Error

Added 12/8/03 If you get an error about the Cryptographic services when trying to apply the Security Updates or Service Pack 1, run the following from Start / Run - note, you might want to just cut and paste the text. net stop cryptsvc ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 oldcatroot2 net start cryptsvc regsvr32 softpub.dll regsvr32 wintrust.dll regsvr32 initpki.dll regsvr32 dssenh.dll regsvr32 rsaenh.dll regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll regsvr32 sccbase.dll regsvr32 slbcsp.dll regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll
Fixing Explorer Searching Rather Than Opening Directories

Added 11/30/03 Sometimes after adding the right click with the Explorer, the default setting for opening a folder is changed. To correct this: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell 3. Edit the default value to be explorer or none Download reg file
Configure for Auto-Logon
WindowsXP Tips
Added 11/28/03 If you are the only person using the computer and what to have it automatically log you on, 1. Start / Run / "control userpasswords2" - no quotes 2. Uncheck User must enter a user name and password to use this computer
Services You Can Disable

Updated 10/30/03 There are quite a few services you can disable from starting automatically. This would be to speed up your boot time and free resources. They are only suggestions so I suggestion you read the description of each one when you run Services and that you turn them off one at a time. Some possibilities are:
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Alerter - Sends alert messages to specified users that are connected to the server computer. Application Management - Allows software to tap directly into the Add/Remove Programs feature via the Windows Installer technology. Background Intelligent Transfer Service - The Background Intelligent Transfer service is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth. Clipbook - ClipBook permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the network. Error Reporting Service - Allows applications to send error reports to Microsoft in the event of an application fault. Fast User Switching - Windows XP allows users to switch quickly between accounts, without requiring them to log off. Help and Support - Allows the XP Built-in Help and Support Center to run. IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service - You don't need this if you have other software to create CDs. Indexing Service - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language. IP SEC - Manages IP security policy and starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) and the IP security driver. If you are not on a domain, you likely don't need this running. Messenger - Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers. This is how a lot of pop-up windows start appearing on your desktop. Net Logon - Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain. If you are not on a domain, you don't need this running Network DDE - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers. NT LM Security Support Provider - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes.
WindowsXP Tips
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Performance Logs and Alerts - Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert. If you don't need to monitor your performance logs, then you don't need this service. Portable Media Serial Number - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer QOS RSVP - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoSaware programs and control applets. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you are not using Remote Desktop you don't need this service. Remote Registry - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer. Routing & Remote Access - Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments. Allows dial-in access. Secondary Login - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. This is what allows you to run an application as another user. Smart Card - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer. Smart Card Helper - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer. SSDP Discovery Service - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper - Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution. This should not be needed in today's network environment. Telnet - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients. Uninterruptible Power Supply Service - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer. Universal Plug and Play Device Host - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices Upload Manager - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network. Volume Shadow Copy Service - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes. Web Client - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify non-local files across the Internet. Wireless Zero Configuration - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters WMI Performance Adapter - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers.
Stopping the Messenger Service

Added 6/21/03 To remove the ability for anyone in the world to pop up messages on your computer, you can disable the Messenger service.
WindowsXP Tips
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel Click Performance and Maintenance Click Administrative Tools Double click Services Scroll down and highlight "Messenger" Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties Click the STOP button Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar Click OK
Submitted by Thomas Bitner Olson
Faster DOS Printing

Submitted 6/21/03 If you are experiencing slow printing for DOS programs with Windows2000 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Go Start | Run | Regedit Click Hkey_Local_Machine Click on System Click CurrentControlSet Click Control Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW Click LPT timeout and change it to a 3
Submitted by Steve Cohen
Cleaning the Prefetch Directory

Added 3/2/03 WindowsXP has a new feature called Prefetch. This keeps a shortcut to recently used programs. However it can fill up with old and obsolete programs. To clean this periodically go to: 1. Star / Run / Prefetch 2. Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the shorcuts 3. Delete them
WindowsXP Tips
Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages

Added 3/2/30 To turn these off: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies \system 3. If it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessages 4. Give it a value of 1 Download a reg file
Accessing Non-Listed Display Configurations

Added 3/2/03 If you want to access display configurations not normally listed (e.g. 256 colors) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings tab. Click the Advanced button. Click the Adapter tab, Click the List all modes button. Select the resolution, color depth, and refresh rate that you want and click OK.
Repair Install
Added 2/9/03 If XP is corrupted to the point where none of the previous solutions get it to boot, you can do a Repair Install that might work as well as keep the current settings. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Make sure you have your valid WindowsXP key Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD At the second R=Repair option, press the R key This will start the repair Eventually you will be prompted for your XP key
WindowsXP Tips
NTOSKRNL Missing or Corrupt

Added 2/9/03 If you get an error that NTOSKRNL not found: 1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD. 2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key 3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1 4. Change to the drive that has the CD ROM. 5. CD i386 6. expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe 7. If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change to C: \Windows 8. Take out the CD ROM and type exit
HAL.DLL Missing or Corrupt

Added 2/9/03 If you get an error regarding a missing or corrupt hal.dll file, it might simply be the BOOT.INI file on the root of the C: drive that is misconfigured 1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD. 2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key 3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1 4. Type bootcfg /list to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file 5. Type bootcfg /rebuild to repair it 6. Take out the CD ROM and type exit
Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG

Added 2/9/03
WindowsXP Tips
If you get the error: Windows could not start because the following files is missing or corrupt \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE 1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD. 2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key 3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1 4. Enter in the administrator password when requested 5. cd \windows\system32\config 6. Depending on which section was corrupted: ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad 7. Depending on which section was corrupted copy \windows\repair\system copy \windows\repair\software 8. Take out the CD ROM and type exit
NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM Not Found

Added 2/9/03 If you get an error that NTLDR is not found during bootup, If you have FAT32 partitions, it is much simpler than with NTFS. Just boot with a Win98 floppy and copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files from the i386 directory to the root of the C:\ drive. For NTFS: 1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD. 2. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key 3. Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1 4. Enter in the administrator password when requested 5. Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive. COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\: COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\ 6. Take out the CD ROM and type exit
WindowsXP Tips
Bringing Up the Shutdown Dialog Box

Added 1/31/03 1. Create a new txt file somewhere on your system, open it and put in this one line: (new ActiveXObject("Shell.Application")).ShutdownWindows(); 2. Save and Close the file. Change the extension to js and your got it. 3. You can make a shortcut to that file to make it easy to shut down your system. Submitted by DJ Speed Racer
Adding TCP/IP Printers

Added 1/7/02 To create a connection to a printer connected to your network: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Start to add a new printer through the control panel. Select Local Printer / Next Instead of a LPT port, check Create a new port at the bottom on the window Scroll to Standard TCP/IP Port Keep going and enter the IP address of the printer.
Increasing the Folder Cache

Added 1/6/02 The default setting for WindowsXP is to cache the Explorer settings for 400 folders. To increase it: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam 3. Change the vaule of BagMRU to whatever size you want (hex) 1000 - 3e8 2000 - 7d0 3000 - bb8 4000 - fa0
WindowsXP Tips
5000 - 1388 You can Dowload a reg file that will set it for 5000
Hiding the Last User Logged On

Added 1/4/03 If you use the standard NT style of login and want to hide the last user: 1. Start the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) 2. Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options 3. Scroll down to Interactive logon: Do not display last user name 4. Set it to Enable
Poweroff at Shutdown
1/4/03 If your computer does not turn off the power when doing a shutdown, you may need to edit the registry. I have all the correct BIOS and Power settings and still needed to do this. 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop Edit the key PowerOffActive and give it a value of 1 You can do the same in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop
Download reg file
Remembering Folder Settings

Added 12/21/02 If XP does not remember your folder settings, delete or rename the following registry keys
WindowsXP Tips
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU] [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags] Download reg file
Stop Password Expiration

Updated 12/21/02 If you want to do this for all users, enter: Start / Run / net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited Added 3/18/02 If you are getting an error message that your password is about to expire: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Right click on the My Computer icon Select Manage Go to Local Users and Groups / Users Right-click on the user you want to change Select Properties On the General tab, check Password never expires Click OK
Installing Java Virtual Machine

Updated 12/21/02 If you are getting errors when browsing the web to install Java Virtual Machine, You can still download it from Microsoft (version 3810) If this link is removed by MS or is too slow you can download it here If you need a previous version, you can download 3805 It is now included in Service Pack1 You can also download Sun's version
WindowsXP Tips
Preventing Applications from Stealing the Focus

Added 12/14/02 To prevent applications from stealing the focus from the window you are working 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop Edit the key ForegroundLockTimeout Give it a value of 00030d40
Download reg file
Disable Explorer Thumbnail View

Added 12/4/02 If you want disable the Explorer's ability to show the Thumbnail View , 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ 3. Change ClassicViewState to 1 Download reg file
Adding Environment Variables

Added 12/04/02 Since any version of NT does not use an autoexec.bat file, to add environment variables to WindowsXP: 1. 2. 3. 4. Right click on My Computer Select Properties Click on the Advanced tab Click on the Environment Variables button
WindowsXP Tips
5. From here you can change it for the system or just the current user.
Disable Passport Pop-Up

Added 11/26/02 Normally, WindowsXP will prompt you 10 times that You Need a Passport to use WindowsXP Internet communication features... To disable this 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ MessengerService Edit the binary key PassportBalloon Give it a value of 0A (0A 00 00 00)
Show Hidden Devices

Submitted 11/26/02 You can show hidden devices in the Device Manager. One way is by making a simple registry change. The other is through a batch file. Registry Change: 1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Control \ Session Manager \ Environment 2. Create a string DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES 3. Give it a value of 1 Download reg file Batch File @Echo Off Prompt $p$g set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1 start devmgmt.msc
WindowsXP Tips
exit Submitted by Michael Kinsel
Spell Check Not Working With Outlook Express and Office97

Added 11/23/02 This is simply due to a missing or corrupted DLL file 1. Go to the i386 directory of your XP source files 2. Run Expand csapi3t1.dl_ csapi3t1.dll (Note: If your source files are on a CD, you will need to put a path before the csapi3t1.dll since you can't write to the CD). 3. Copy the file to the Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof directory 4. You can also download the file from my site.
Disable Shared Documents

Added 11/23/02 To disable the Shared Documents folder that shows up on the network 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer \ 3. Create a new DWORD Value 4. Give it the name NoSharedDocuments 5. Give it a value of 1 6. Log off or reboot
Disable the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon's menu

Submitted 11/23/02 To Disable the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon's menu: 1. Start regedit.exe
WindowsXP Tips
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Conferencing\Mcpt Create a new string value (Click on Edit > New > String Value). Name the value Nx Double-click on it and set it's value to 1 Close the registry
Now the menu options will be grayed out. Submitted by Justin Herron
Prevent the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon from appearing in the notification tray
Submitted 11/23/02 To Prevent the Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) icon from appearing in the notification tray: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Click Start, then Run. Type services.msc and then click ok. Scroll down until you find the NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing service Double-click on it. Click on the Log On tab. Uncheck Allow service to interact with desktop Click OK then close the services window. Reboot (You must reboot).
There you go. When you return, RDS will work, but there will be no icon in the notification area. Submitted by Justin Herron
Printing a Directory
Added 11/12/02 WindowsXP does not allow you to use previously describe methods for printing the contents of a directory. To do this requires the creation of a small batch file which is then added to your right-click options. Batch File
WindowsXP Tips
On the root of the C: drive, create a batch file called print_directory.bat with the following lines: @echo off dir %1 /o:g > c:\directory.txt start /w notepad /p c:\directory.txt del c:\directory.txt exit Note: dir %1 /o:g will print with any directories listed first. You can add whatever other switches you like Adding to the Explorer Right Click 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Start the Explorer Go to Tools / Folder Options On the File Types tab, click File Folder. Click Advanced button and then click New. In the Action box, type Print Directory (or whatever text you want to appear). In the Application used to perform action box, type C:\print_directory.bat, and then click OK. Click OK, click OK, and then click Close
Fixing the Registry Sometimes after adding the right click with the Explorer, the default setting for opening a folder is changed. To correct this: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell 3. Edit the default value to be explorer or none Download reg file
Removing Thumbs.db Files

Added 11/12/02 When viewing a folder with the Thumbnail view, WindowsXP creates a thumbs.db file. This is a cache of the current pictures in that directory. If you want to turn this feature off and save a little disk space 1. Start the Windows Explorer
WindowsXP Tips
2. Go to Tools / Folder Options / View 3. In the first section under Files and Folders, check Do not cache thumbnails 4. Now you can search for the thumbs.db file on your computer and remove them. No more should be created.
Enable / Disable the Task Manager

Added 10/17/02 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies \System 3. Create the Dword value DisableTaskMgr 4. Give it a value of 0 to enable it 5. Give it a vaule of 1 to disable it Download Reg File
Saving Desktop Settings

Added 9/11/02 If you desktop or folders on your desktop do not retain their settings: Start Regedit 1. Go go HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Program Manager\Restrictions 2. Create or edit the DWORD value NoSaveSettings 3. Give it a value of 0 Download reg file
Hiding the Windows Version on the Desktop

Added 9/10/02
WindowsXP Tips
If your version of WindowsXP is displaying on the desktop and you would like to remove it: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop Edit or Create the DWORD entry PaintDesktopVersion A value of 0 will hide the version from the desktop Logoff or reboot
Download reg file To make this change for all future users, edit HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop in the same manner.
Using Media Player 6.4

Added 9/10/02 If you want to use the older version of Microsoft Media Player 6.4, it is still on your computer. Make a shortcut on your desktop to the: C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\mplayer2.exe file You can also change the file associations from this program to set it as the default for all media types.
Controlling the Desktop Cleanup Wizard

Added 7/24/02 By default, the Desktop Cleanup Wizard will pop up every 60 days to cleanup your desktop. To stop this: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Right click on the desktop. Select Properties Click on the Desktop tab Click on the Customize Desktop button Uncheck Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard
WindowsXP Tips
Clearing the Page File on Shutdown

Updated 7/24/02 Another way to set the computer to clear the pagefile without directly editing the registry is: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Click on the Start button Go to the Control Panel Administrative Tools Local Security Policy Local Policies Click on Security Options Right hand menu - right click on "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile" Select "Enable" Reboot
Submitted by Arthur Pounder Added 8/16/01 If you want to clear the page file on each shutdown: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager \Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown 3. Set the value to 1 Download reg file
Restoring Access to CD ROMs

Added 5/22/02 If after you remove CD Burning software, you can no longer access your CD ROM's, the following registry keys need to be deleted: Locate and delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters values under the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CEBFC1-08002BE10318} Download Reg File
WindowsXP Tips
ReInstalling WindowsXP
Added 5/21/02 If you need to reinstall WindowsXP and want to keep all your current installed applications and settings: 1. Start WindowsXP 2. Go to the location of your source files 3. Run WINNT32 /unattend I've often need to do this to repair something that had gotten corrupted and didn't want to do a clean install.
Setting the Dir Command to Display Filenames on the Left

Added 5/10/02 Previous versions of Windows displayed the filenames on the left hand side when you run the dir command. WindowsXP changes this and the default it to put it on the right. To change this back: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Right click on My Computer Click on Properties Click on the Advanced tab Click on the Environment Variables button Click on New button Enter the Variable name: dircmd Enter the Variable value: /-n
Dell Computer Not Keeping Correct Time

Added 5/5/02 If your Dell computer is loosing time while the computer is turned on,
WindowsXP Tips
You can run the following commands: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Start / Run / CMD Net stop w32time w32tm /unregister w32tm /unregister w32tm /register Net start w32time
You can also download a Dell Patch to do the same process automatically
Fix Browsing Delay to Win98/ME Computers

Added 5/18/01 If you experience a 30 second or so delay when browsing to Windows98 or WindowsME computers, delete the following registry key on the Windows2000 or WindowsXP computer. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Explorer / RemoteComputer / NameSpace {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} Download reg file
Formatting a Partition Greater than 32 GIGs with FAT32

Added 4/27/02 WindowsXP will only format a partition greater than 32 GIGs as NTFS. If you want to format it with FAT32: 1. You can use a regular Win98 Boot disk and use that version of FDISK to create the partition (with Large Hard Drive Support) 2. Reboot with the same boot disk and format 3. WindowsXP will then be able to use the partition with no problems
Adding SafeBoot to the Boot Menu
WindowsXP Tips
Added 4/23/02 You can add Safeboot as an option to the normal XP boot screen 1. 2. 3. 4. Open a command prompt Copy the current c:\boot.ini to another name (just in case) With your favorite text editor, edit c:\boot.ini Copy then edit the current boot line to another line. For example: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" / fastdetect might copy and then change to: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional Safeboot" /fastdetect Start MSCONFIG Click on the BOOT.INI tab Highlight the second line with the additional name of Safeboot Check the /SAFEBOOT box with option you want Minimal - Minimal set of drivers Network - With Network Support Dsrepair - Directory Services Repair Minimal (Alternate Shell) - Standard Explorer Desktop You will now have this option every time you start XP
5. 6. 7. 8.
9.
No GUI Boot
Added 4/23/02 If you don't need to see the XP boot logo, 1. Run MSCONFIG 2. Click on the BOOT.INI tab 3. Check the box for /NOGUIBOOT
Speeding the Startup of Some CD Burner Programs

Added 4/23/02 If you use program other than the native WindowsXP CD Burner software, you might be able to increase the speed that it loads.
WindowsXP Tips
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Go to Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services Double-click on IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service For the Startup Type, select Disabled Click on the OK button and then close the Services window If you dontYou should notice
Getting Rid of Unread Email Messages

Updated 4/20/02 To remove the Unread Email message by user's login names: 1. Start Regedit 2. For a single user: Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\UnreadMail 3. For all users: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\UnreadMail 4. Create a DWORD key called MessageExpiryDays 5. Give it a value of 0 Download reg file
Using the Internet Explorer Classic Search

Added 4/20/02 If you want to use the classic search engine in the Internet Explorer 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main If it is not there, create a String Value of Use Search Asst Give it a value of no
Download reg file
Logging in as Administrator
Added 4/11/02
WindowsXP Tips
If you want to log in as Administrator, but it is not show on the Welcome screen, 1. Hold the Ctrl-Alt key and press Del twice. 2. This will bring up the normal login and you can log on as Administrator To unhide the Administrator account so it does show up: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList 3. Unhide the Administrator key by giving it a value of 1 Download reg file
Correcting Fast User Switching Error

Added 4/11/02 If you are getting an error that: A recently installed program has disabled the Welcome screen and Fast User Switching with a reference to CSGina.DLL 1. Start Regedit 2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon 3. Delete the key GinaDLL Download reg file
Using the Classic Search in Explorer

Added 4/11/02 If you prefer to use the classic search style in Explorer, 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer \CabinetState 3. Add a String Key called Use Search Asst
WindowsXP Tips
4. Give it a value of no Download reg file
No To All When Overwriting Files

Added 4/5/02 When overwriting files in the Windows Explorer, there is an option for Yes To All. This would overwrite any files you would normally be prompted for. To have No To All, simply hold down the Shift key while you click on the No option.
Re-Installing User Login Pictures

Added 4/5/02 Normally WindowsXP shows assigned pictures for each user on the system. If you have deleted your user pictures, want to know the location, or need to reinstall them, they are stored in the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures directory. If you need to reinstall them, they can be expanded from the source CD. The actual files are: airplane.bmp astronaut.bmp ball.bmp butterfly.bmp cat.bmp fish.bmp pink flower.bmp guitar.bmp snowflake.bmp beach.bmp car.bmp chess.bmp dirt bike.bmp dog.bmp drip.bmp duck.bmp
WindowsXP Tips
frog.bmp horses.bmp kick.bmp lift-off.bmp palm tree.bmp red flower.bmp skater.bmp
WINIPCFG for XP
Added 4/1/02 If you like the graphic IP configuration program that comes with Windows98, you can download a similar one for WindowsXP or Windows2000 from Microsoft at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/wntipcfg-o.asp The actual file is at: WntIpcfg_setup.exe
Search Companion Error

Added 4/1/02 When doing a file search, if you get the error A File That Is Required to Run Search Companion Cannot Be Found 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Log on as an Administrator Click Start Select Run Enter in the command - %systemroot%\inf Right-click the Srchasst.inf file Click Install
Installing the Backup Program on the Home Version

Added 4/1/02
WindowsXP Tips
By default, the NTBACKUP program is not installed on the home version. You can find it on the CD in the \VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP directory Since not all vendors include the actual source code for XP, you can download a copy
Changing Drive Letters

Added 3/30/02 If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives: 1. Right Click on My Computer 2. Select Manage 3. Select Disk Management For a Fixed Disk: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select it Right click Select Change Drive Letter and Path Click on the Edit button Enter in the letter you want to use
For a Removable Disk: 1. 2. 3. 4. In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM # Select Change Drive Letter and Path Click on the Edit button Enter in the letter you want to use
Turn off the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as the Default Image Viewer
Updated 3/29/02 You can also change the file associations for the specific file types you want. 1. Open the Windows Explorer 2. Go to Tools / Folder Options / File Types
WindowsXP Tips
3. 4. 5. 6.
Scroll down to the extension you want to change Click on the Change button Select the program you want to associate with that extension Click on the OK button
Added 3/4/02 If the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is set as the default for many of your graphic file types, you can remove it so other graphics programs can be used. 1. Run Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / SystemFileAssociations / image / ShellEx / ContextMenuHandlers 3. Delete the key ShellImagePreview Download reg file
Allowing Network Access with Blank Passwords

Added 3/23/02 Although you can log in locally without a password, by default, WindowsXP Pro does not allow network users to access the computer without a password. Typically you will receive an Unknown error 31 if this is the case. To change this setting: 1. Run gpedit.msc 2. Go to Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options 3. Double click on Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console login only 4. Disable this option
Changing the Default DOS Window Properties

Added 3/22/02 If you want to change the default DOS windows properties like:
q
Size
WindowsXP Tips
q q q q
Color Font Buffer Size Window / Full Screen Open up a DOS window Right click on the Title Bar Select Defaults Make any of the changes you like All subsequent DOS windows will assume these defaults
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Changing the Registered Owner

Added 3/20/02 1. Start Regedit 2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion 3. From there you can edit the name in the Registered Owner key
Opening a Command Prompt to a Particular Directory from Explorer

Added 3/18/02 If you want to open a command prompt to a directory that is selected in the Explorer: 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell Create a new key called Command Give it the value of the name you want to appear in the Explorer. Something like Open DOS Box 5. Under this create a new key called command 6. Give it a value of cmd.exe /k "cd %L" 7. Now when you are in the Explorer, right click on a folder, select Open DOS Box, and a command prompt will open to the selected directory. Download reg file
Adding Time Servers

WindowsXP Tips
Added 3/18/02 With WindowsXP, you can double-click on the time in the System Tray and connect to Time Servers on the Internet to synchronize with. To add to the list of available servers: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \DateTime\Servers 3. Add new string keys named 2, 3, etc. with a value of the time server you want to use.
Creating a Boot Floppy

Added 3/14/02 To create a bootable floppy from within WindowsXP: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Insert a floppy into the A: drive Open the Explorer Right click on the A: Drive Select Format Check Create an MS-DOS startup disk Click on the Start button This will create a Millennium boot disk
Changing the Login Screen Saver

Added 3/8/02 If you want to change the screen saver that runs at the login prompt: Start Regedit 1. Go to HK_USERS / .DEFAULT / Control Panel / Desktop 2. Double click on SCRNSAVE.EXE 3. Enter in the screen saver you want to use
WindowsXP Tips
Running NetMeeting
Added 3/8/02 To run NetMeeting: 1. Do a Start / Run 2. Enter conf 3. Answer the prompts along the way for name, e-mail etc.
Set the Online Registration as Being Completed

Added 3/4/02 You can set WindowsXP to assume the online registration has been completed. 1. Run Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion 3. Create a String Value called RegDone 4. Give it a value of 1 Download reg file
Decreasing Boot Time

Added 3/4/02 Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXP The program is called BootVis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Uncompress the file. Run BOOTVIS.EXE For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup. Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line) Then run Trace / Optimize System Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays
WindowsXP Tips
9. Note how much the time has decreased 10. Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.
Re-Enabling System Restore

Added 3/3/02 If you previously disabled system restore through the Group Policy Editor, the option to start it again does not show in the System Properties. You can re-enable it again by: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Run the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) Go to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / System Restore Set Turn off System Restore and Turn off Configuration to Disable Right click on My Computer Select Manage Go to Services and Applications / Services Scroll down to System Restore Service Set it for Automatic Click on the Start button to start the service Close down this window Go back to the Group Policy Editor and configure both to Not configured Now when you right click on My Computer, there should be a tab for System Restore and you can configure how much space will be used.
Hide/Unhide Logon Names

Added 3/3/02 If you want to hide or unhide the names of users that are displayed on the initial logon screen: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList 3. Add a DWORD with the name of the user account you want to hide 4. Make sure it has a value of 0 5. If there is an existing account, you can unhide it by giving it a value of 1
WindowsXP Tips
Reinstalling the TCP/IP Protocol

Added 3/2/02 If you've worked on previous versions of Windows, there are times when you need to completely reinstall the TCP/IP protocol stack. This is typically due to corrupted files. To do this with XP, you need to run a small script: netsh int ip reset [ log_file_name ] the log_file_name needs to be specified. e.g. netsh int ip reset ip_reset.txt
Renaming the Start Button

Added 2/25/02 To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor. My preference is UltraEdit 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe) With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6 You will see the word start with blanks between each letter Edit it be any 5 characters or less Save the file Boot to DOS Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.
Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can't access the files from DOS: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon. 3. Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe
WindowsXP Tips
Rollback a Device Driver

Added 2/18/02 If you install a device drive that does not work correctly, you can restore the previous one fairly easily. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Log in with an administrator account Right click on My Computer Select Properties Click on the Hardware tab Click on the Device Manager button Go to the device you want to reconfigure Click on the Driver tab Click on the Roll Back Drive button
Selecting What Details to Display in the Explorer

Added 2/3/02 To add or remove items to be displayed in the Explorer when using the Details View 1. Start the Explorer 2. Go to View / Choose Details 3. Right click on the columns by Name and check or uncheck any item you want displayed Available options are:
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Owner Name Size Type Date Modified Status Attributes Author Title Subject Category Pages
WindowsXP Tips
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Comments Copyright Date Created Date Accessed Attributes Artist Album Title Year Track Number Genre Duration Bit Rate Protected Camera Model Date Picture Taken Dimensions Company Description File Version Product Name Product Version
Closing Multiple Taskbar Items

Submitted 2/3/02 If you hold down the Control Key when you click on the taskbar icons, it selects multiple tasks. Then you can simply right-click on the selected items and choose close group. This tip works with all windows, not just one applications. If you have the cal, ie, notepad and solitaire open, it will close them all, unlike the group similar items command that only lets you close all of one type (ex: all IE or all notepads). Submitted by Terry Cadieux
Remembering Outlook / Outlook Express Password

Submitted 1/26/02
WindowsXP Tips
On systems, Outlook or Outlook Express will not remember the e-mail password, which would then need to be entered in each time. To solve the problem: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open Registry Editor Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft Right Click Protected Storage System Provider Choose the Permissions option Click the Advanced box near the bottom right hand corner. This should open another box, Towards the bottom of this box there should be two tick boxes, make sure that both of them are ticked. Click Apply, another box will open Click Yes, then Click OK and OK again. 6. Left Click the + next to Protected Storage System Provider and Delete any sub folder in this tree. (Right clicking and choose the delete option or press the delete key and choosing yes to delete) 7. Shutdown and Restart Computer. Submitted by Naste
Turning Off the Firewall

Added 1/26/02 If you want to turn off the firewall for your computer: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go to Start / Settings / Network Connections Right click on the network connection you want to change Select Properties Click on the Advanced tab Uncheck the box in Internet Connection Firewall
Grouping Similar Taskbar Buttons

Added 1/26/02 When you open more than one document in the same program and then minimize each document, rather that showing separate icons on the taskbar for each document, WindowsXP groups them under a single icon for that application. If you want to group, or ungroup, similar taskbar buttons,
WindowsXP Tips
1. Right click on the Taskbar 2. Select Properties 3. Check or Uncheck Group similar taskbar buttons
Turning Off the Guest Account

Added 1/22/02 For security purposes, you might want to turn off the Guest account 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open up the Control Panel Click on User Accounts Click on Change an account Click on the Guest account Click Turn off the guest account
Original NT Style Logon Screen

Updated 1/19/02 If you want to have the original NT style windows logon screen with XP, simply hold the Ctrl-Alt keys and press the delete key twice. The following Update Submitted by: Steven Pennypacker To make a permanent change so the logon screen is always like the traditional NT4/2000 style: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go to the Control Panel Open up User Accounts Click Change the way users log on and off Uncheck Use the Welcome screen Click on Apply Options
Turning Off the Built-In CD Burner

Added 1/15/02
WindowsXP Tips
If you want to turn off the ability to using the built-in CD burner software that comes with WindowsXP: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open up the Explorer Right click on the drive that is your CD burner Select Properties Click on the Recording tab Uncheck Enable CD recording on this drive
Hiding System Tray Icons

Added 1/10/02 With WindowsXP, you can manually select how you want individual icons in the System Tray to be displayed. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Right click on the Taskbar Select Properties Check Hide inactive icons Click on the Customize button This will bring up a dialog box that will allow you to select one of three options for your applications: Hide when inactive, Always hide, or always show 6. Highlight current or past applications and make any changes you like. 7. A small arrow will now appear in the System Tray that will allow you to show or hide these icons.
Faster Task Switching

Added 1/6/02 If you installed WindowsXP Power Tools from Microsoft, when you press Alt-Tab to switch between running applications, you get a screen that shows a small graphic of the window that is of that application along with its icon. This also takes a long time to display. (Or at least longer than I'm comfortable with) You can speed this up and revert back to previous ways task switching is displayed.
WindowsXP Tips
To Turn This Off After Your Reboot: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Run MSCONFIG Click on the Startup tab Uncheck Taskswitch Click on the OK button If you want to keep working, click on Exit without Restart
To Turn This Off Immediately: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete Click on the Processes tab Highlight TaskSwitch.exe Click on the End Process tab Click on the Yes button
WindowsXP Command Line Utilities

Added 1/5/02 While there are a lot of command line utilities in WindowsXP, here are some that I have been using lately. bootcfg - Configures, queries, or changes Boot.ini file settings. driverquery - Displays a list of all installed device drivers and their properties. getmac - Returns the media access control (MAC) address and list of network protocols associated with each address for all network cards in each computer gpresult - Displays Group Policy settings and Resultant Set of Policy (RSOP) for a user or a computer netsh - You can use commands in the Netsh Interface IP context to configure the TCP/IP protocol schtasks - Schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a specific time systeminfo - Displays detailed configuration information about a computer and its operating system
Disabling Error Reporting

WindowsXP Tips
Added 12/5/01 By default, WindowsXP will request to report application errors to Microsoft. To turn this off: 1. 2. 3. 4. Right click on the My Computer icon on the desktop Select Properties / Advanced Click on the Error Reporting tab Check Disable error reporting
Adding a Title for the Command Prompt Title Bar

Added 11/27/01 If you create a batch file that might take a while to run, you can add a title to the command prompt title bar it by simply adding the line: title YOUR TEXT where YOUR TEXT would be replaced by whatever text you want to show.
Increasing Graphics Performance

Added 11/27/01 By default, WindowsXP turns on a lot of shadows, fades, slides etc to menu items. Most simply slow down their display. To turn these off selectively: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Right click on the My Computer icon Select Properties Click on the Advanced tab Under Performance, click on the Settings button To turn them all of, select Adjust for best performance My preference is to leave them all off except for Show shadows under mouse pointer and Show window contents while dragging
WindowsXP Tips
Creating an Automated Install of WindowsXP

Added 11/12/01 On the WindowsXP CP, in the SUPPORT\TOOLS directory, there is a file called DEPLOY.CAB. 1. 2. 3. 4. Extract the programs DEPLOY.CHM (help file) and SETUPMGR.EXE (main program) Run SETUPMGR and answer the prompts. This will create both a unattend.bat and unattend.txt file you can use for automated installs. Note: The batch file might need some minor modification for file locations but it is fairly basic.
Creating a Shutdown/Reboot Icon

Added 11/11/01 WindowsXP has a program called SHUTDOWN.EXE which allows you to easily create icons to shutdown or restart your computer. To create a shutdown shortcut on the desktop: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Right click on an open area of the desktop Select New / Shortcut Enter in "shutdown -s -t 00" - no quotes Press the Next button For the name, enter in anything you like. I just use shutdown. Click on the Finish button.
For a reboot, enter "shutdown -r -t 00" Shutdown [{-l|-s|-r|-a}] [-f] [-m [\\ComputerName]] [-t xx] [-c "message"] [-d[u][p]:xx:yy] Parameters
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-l - Logs off the current user, this is also the defualt. -m ComputerName takes precedence. -s - Shuts down the local computer. -r - Reboots after shutdown. -a - Aborts shutdown. Ignores other parameters, except -l and ComputerName. You can only use -a during the time-out period. -f - Forces running applications to close. -m [\\ComputerName] - Specifies the computer that you want to shut down. -t xx - Sets the timer for system shutdown in xx seconds. The default is 20 seconds.
WindowsXP Tips
q
-c "message" - Specifies a message to be displayed in the Message area of the System Shutdown window. You can use a maximum of 127 characters. You must enclose the message in quotation marks.
Command Line Help Reference

Added 11/11/01 To get a quick help for all the commands you can enter from WindowsXP, simply create a shortcut: hh.exe ms-its:C:\WINDOWS\Help\ntcmds.chm::/ntcmds.htm
Using the System File Checker

Added 11/11/01 You can run the System File Checker to verify protected system files. Command line switches are: sfc [/scannow] [/scanonce] [/scanboot] [/revert] [/purgecache] [/cachesize=x]
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/scannow - Scans all protected system files immediately. /scanonce - Scans all protected system files once. /scanboot - Scans all protected system files every time the computer is restarted. /revert - Returns the scan to its default operation. /purgecache - Purges the Windows File Protection file cache and scans all protected system files immediately. /cachesize=x - Sets the size, in MB, of the Windows File Protection file cache.
Disabling Balloon Tips

Added 11/9/01 To turn off balloon tips in applications that support XP Themes: 1. Start Regedit
WindowsXP Tips
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer \Advanced\ 3. Create a DWORD value of EnableBalloonTips 4. Give it a value of 0 Download reg file
Speeding Up the Display of Start Menu Items

Added 11/8/01 An easy way to speed up the display of the Start Menu Items is to turn off the menu shadow. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Right click on an open area of the Desktop Select Properties Click on the Appearance tab Click on the Effects button Uncheck Show shadows under menus
Installing the NetBEUI Protocol

Added 11/7/01 Microsoft no longer supports the NetBEUI protocol as part of WindowsXP. You can add it as a installable protocol by going to the VALUEADD \ MSFT \ NET \ NETBEUI directory on the CD ROM. Note: %SYSTEMROOT% refers to the drive and directory where you installed WindowsXP. Typically this is in the C:\WINDOWS directory 1. Copy the nbf.sys into the %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ directory 2. Copy netnbf.inf into the %SYSTEMROOT%\INF\ directory 3. Open the Network connection properties for your local area network and use "Install..." button to add NetBEUI protocol I included a zipped file with the above files and a simple batch file to copy both to the appropriate directories This is only if you absolutely need NetBEUI. It is not at all a necessary requirement for most
WindowsXP Tips
networks.
Setting System Time Over the Internet

Added 11/5/01 You can set your system clock to a time server on the Internet. 1. 2. 3. 4. Double-click the time on your taskbar Click the Internet Time tab Check Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server Click on the Update Now button
Creating a Password Recovery Disk

Added 11/5/01 In case you forget your password, you can create a password recovery floppy disk beforehand to help you out of this problem. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Single-click Start menu Go to the Control Panel / User Accounts Click the User Account On the left hand side, click on Prevent forgotten password You will need to know your password to create the disk. If you don't remember your password sometime in the future, click on the green arrow like normal at the login and you will be prompted to insert the password recover disk.
Changing the Default Search Settings

Added 11/5/01 By default, when you start a search, you are prompted for what you want to search for. (e.g. Pictures, Documents, Files, Computers) To change the preferences, simply click on Change preferences
WindowsXP Tips
From here you can: 1. Turn off the animated screen character 2. Change files and folders search behavior (setting it to Advanced changes the default search screen to be for simply files) 3. Internet search settings 4. Turn off balloon tips
Opening an Explorer Window to the Directory You Want

Added 9/4/01 If you want to create a shortcut for the Explorer to a specific directory, include the directory you want in the Target. For example: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, d:\internet would open the Explorer to the D:\INTERNET directory
Disabling Hibernation
Added 8/20/01 If you don't want to use up the disk space taken by Hibernation, or don't need to use it at all, you can easily disable it. 1. Open up the Control Panel / Power Options icon 2. Click on the Hibernation icon 3. Uncheck Enable Hibernation
Locking the Workstation

Added 8/19/01 There are two ways you can lock the workstation.
WindowsXP Tips
1. With a Windows key + L 2. Create an shortcut rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Changing the Picture Displayed for a User

Added 8/19/01 You can change the picture that gets displayed for a particular user 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go to the Control Panel Select User Accounts Click on the Account to change Click on Change my picture You can then browse to the picture you want to use
Displaying the QuickLaunch Toolbar

Added 8/16/01 By default, WindowsXP does not show the QuickLaunch toolbar. To enable it again: 1. Right click on an open area of the toolbar 2. Select Toolbars 3. Select Quick Launch Now you can add programs like with Win98
Increasing System Performance

Added 8/16/01 If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performance by having the core system kept in memory. 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager \Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
WindowsXP Tips
3. Set the value to be 1 4. Reboot the computer Download reg file
Removing the MSN Messenger

Added 8/16/01 If you want to remove the MSN Messenger from always starting in the system tray, do 1. Start / Run 2. Then enter in the following string: RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF \msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove To remove it completely, see the section Adding / Removing Additional Programs Remove the hide from the line: msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
Common Command Console Utilities

Added 8/16/01 WindowsXP comes with quite a few console utilities you can easily run from the command line: Computer Management - compmgmt.msc Disk Managment - diskmgmt.msc Device Manager - devmgmt.msc Disk Defrag - dfrg.msc Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc Group Policies - gpedit.msc Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc Resultant Set of Policies - rsop.msc Local Security Settings - secpol.msc Services - services.msc Component Services - comexp.msc
WindowsXP Tips
Automatically Ending Non-Responsive Tasks

Added 8/16/01 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks Set the value to be 1 In the same section, change the WaitToKillAppTimeout to the number of milliseconds you want.
Download reg file
Changing the Internet Explorer Title

Added 8/16/01 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Window Title 3. Enter what you want appear in the title bar
Changing Visual Effects

Added 8/16/01 To change visual effects such as fade menus, mouse shadow, visual styles on buttons, drop shadows for icons, slide open boxes and buttons etc.: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Right click on My Computer Select Properties Click on the Advanced tab Under Performance, click on the Settings button From here you have a list of items you can select
Changing System Restore Settings

Added 8/16/01
WindowsXP Tips
By default, WindowsXP uses a large amount of hard drive space for storing system restore points. If this is not necessary, you can change the settings. 1. Go to Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools 2. Run System Restore 3. For each drive or partition, you can click on the Setting button to change how much hard drive space is devoted to each one. 4. There is even the option to turn it off for all drives.
Configuring the Firewall

Added 8/16/01 WindowsXP has firewall capabilities built into the operating system. 1. 2. 3. 4. For your network connection to the Internet, select Properties Click on the Advanced tab Check the Internet Connection Firewall section Click on the Settings button to change the settings
Changing Programs That Start Automatically

Added 8/16/01 WindowsXP has a similar program, MSCONFIG, that was available in Windows98. This allows you to view and change what programs are automatically started each time you log in. The new version also allows you to view and edit the boot.ini file (as well as check for errors and use several advanced switches)
Adding / Removing Additional Programs

Added 8/16/01 By default, WindowsXP does not display all the programs you can add or remove. To show this list:
WindowsXP Tips
Edit the \Windows\Inf\sysoc.inf file In the Components section, simply remove the word hide. This will leave two commas together (like on the rest of the items). Then you can go to the Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs / Add/Remove Windows Components and the new items will be displayed. [Components] NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4 WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7 Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7 Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7 NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7 iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7 com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7 dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7 IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7 TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2 msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6 ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7 fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7 AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7 msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7 msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7 smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7 RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7 Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7 AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7 CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7 MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7 AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7 Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7 MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7 ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7
Displaying and Configuring the Classic Start Menu

Added 8/16/01 If you prefer the original Start Menu, you can easily switch it back.
WindowsXP Tips
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Right click on the Taksbar Select Properties Click on the Start Menu tab Select Classic Start Menu If you click on the Customize button you can choose to display Administrative Tools, Favorites, Run, and expanding many of the sub-menus like the Control Panel.
Increasing File System Caching

Added 8/16/01 To increase the amount of memory Windows will locked for I/O operations: 1. Start Regedit 2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager \Memory Management 3. Edit the key IoPageLockLimit 4096 - 32megs of memory or less 8192 - 32+ megs of memory 16384 - 64+ megs of memory 32768 - 128+ megs of memory 65536 - 256+ megs of memory
Enabling NumLock on by Default

Added 8/16/01 To have numlock turned on for each user: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators Change the value from 0 to 2 Turn Numlock on manually Log off and back on again. For all users, make the same change to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard \InitialKeyboardIndicators
Download reg file
WindowsXP Tips
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Microsoft Windows XP Repair Guide

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Microsoft Windows XP Repair Guide

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Repair XP

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm (1 of 20)21/03/2004 04:35:27 AM

How to access Safe Mode:

How to access Last Known Good Configuration:

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How to access the Recovery Console:

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How to Repair the Boot Sector:

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At the command prompt type DISKPART and press Enter.

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How To Exit the Recovery Console:

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How to Repair Install: (also called "In place reinstall")

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Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 314079

Other Support Options

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional

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Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

Direct Bootup Without Typing Password

Remove Login Password

Cannot Change the Administrator Password in Control Panel

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

How to Change User Password at Command Prompt

How to Enable Automatic Logon in Windows

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_passwords.htm (2 of 9)21/03/2004 04:38:12 AM

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

Windows XP Inherits Autologon Setting After Upgrade from Win2000

Not Prompted to Create Password with New XP User Account

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

and then click "Create a Password".

Stored User Names and Passwords Feature Interoperability at a Command Prompt

Password Has Expired Message

To Create a Password Reset Disk

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

Resetting the Password

Delete Admin Password

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP

there may be other ramifications from performing this tip.]

Forgot your Admin Password

All Passwords-Master Copy

Information on System Restore and Password Restoration

Migration Wizard Does Not Migrate Passwords

Administrator Account Not Used for Logon

Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP