Tricks & Tips


THE FOLLOWING TIPS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES ON THE INTERNET. IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, SHALL I ACCEPT ANY RESPONISBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS THAT MAY OCCUR FROM ANY IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID TIPS!

Windows XP SP1 Allows You to Whack Windows Messenger (and Windows Media Player) for Good!

We spent a lot of effort figuring out ways to whack the Windows Messenger from your computer. If you install Windows XP SP1 you'll be able to remove the Windows Messenger easily! Check it out:
1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.
2. If you're in Category View, click the Switch to Classic View link on the left side of the Control Panel window.
3. Open the Add/Remove Programs applet.
4. Click on the Add/Remove Windows Components button on the left side of the Add or Remove Programs window. Scroll down to the bottom of the list. You'll see the deadly duo right next to each other! Remove the checkmarks from the Windows Media Player (WMP) and Windows Messenger. The Messenger is merely irritating, but the future of the Media Player is to bring "big brother" in to your computer. I don't want that and you don't either. Remove the Media Player and use WinAmp (http://www.winamp.com) or some other media player instead.
5. Click Next on the Windows Components page. You'll see the Configuring Components page and a "gas gauge" shows the progress of the uninstall. When the uninstall is done, click Finish on the Completing the Windows Components Wizard page.

Now sit back and breathe a sigh of relief. You've removed the dreaded WMP and its spyware from your computer. Note that while you can also remove Internet Explorer, you don't want to do that! IE is the best browser you can get. You want to whack slimeware and scumware, you don't want to get rid of the good stuff.

Quick Reminder: Be Sure to Disable Automatic Updates

If you install Windows XP SP1, you've given Microsoft permission to do whatever they want to your computer. Hey, they have the right, since you just have a license to use the program, you didn't buy it! However, you should be able to slow them down by disabling automatic updates. We've gone through the procedure before, but it's more important now than ever before that you prevent them from doing stuff behind your back, you need to whack the auto-update feature:
1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.
2. If you're in Category View click the Switch to Classic View link on the left side of the Control Panel window.
3. Open the System applet.
4. Click on the Automatic Updates tab. Remove the checkmark from the Keep my computer up to date checkbox.
5. Click Apply and then click OK. Restart your computer just to make sure the change "takes".

Speed Up Windows XP Shutdown

Want to speed up shutdown in Windows XP? If so, one thing you can do is allow the shutdown routine to force shutdown of applications. Some applications will prompt you to save data before shutting down. If you want to shutdown, and shutdown fast, try this out:

1. Click Start and click the Run command. Type Regedit in the Open text box and click OK.
2. Navigate to the following Registry key: HKEY CURRENT USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Double click on the AutoEndTasks entry and replace the 0 with a 1 in the Value data text box. Click OK in the Edit String text box.
4. Double click on the WaitToKillAppTimeout entry in the right pane and change the Value data to 3500. Click OK .
5. Click Start and then click Turn off the Computer.

Click the Turn Off button and watch how fast the computer shuts down!

Open Up Internet Explorer Superfast!

Want Internet Explorer to open up superfast? Then try out this quick tip. You need the Quick Launch Bar running to make the most out of this.

1. Right click on the Internet Explorer link in the Quick Launch bar and click Properties.
2. In the Target text box, at -nohome at the end of the line. Mine looks like this: "F:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.E X E" -nohome
3. Click Apply and then click OK.

Now click on the Internet Explorer link on the Quick Launch Bar. POW! IE flies open. No default Web page shows, but you can type in where you want to go.

Change Title Bar Info in Internet Explorer 5.x

If you upgraded your copy of IE by installing from a CD from AOL, MSN, etc., then you have probably noticed that the title bar now says "Internet Explorer provided by [Company Name]". To change this information, run Regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main. In this folder you'll see the key "Window Title" with the value of the text currently being displayed in your browser's title bar. Change it as you see fit. Also located in this folder are two other keys called "SmallBitmap" and "BigBitmap". These are the logos that are displayed on the browser's frame (e.g. the morphing AOL logo). The value of these keys will tell you where on your drive the bitmap files are stored. You then can modify them, create new bitmaps, or change the location to a bitmap file of your choice.

Hidden IP Utility

You can use a little-known utility called WinIPConfig to see information about your TCP/IP network settings. From the Start Menu, select Run, type WINIPCFG, and click OK.

Sending Files

If you would like to send a file to the floppy drive, desktop or email recipient, right click on a file you would like to send, choose Send To, and select the destination from the expanded menu.

Viewing and Choosing Startup Items

If you've ever wanted to stop certain programs from starting up or to see exactly what programs are running each time you turn on your computer, a special utility from Microsoft does both. To get the full list of everything that loads at startup, click Start, then Run, and type msconfig. This is a powerful utility that allows you to customize which files load at startup.

Hidden Icons

When changing a shortcut's icon, you can find hidden icons at C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PIFMGR.DLL.

Avoid the Startup Programs

In order to keep items in the Startup folder from launching, hold down the CTRL key while entering Windows.

Fast System Properties

If you like to dabble with individual device managers and hardware profiles and have a keyboard with the Win key on it, here is a poorly documented shortcut to the System Properties dialog box: hold down the Win key and press Pause/Break. This is much faster than going to My Computer, Control Panel, System, etc.

Adding Icons to the Start Button

To add an icon to the Start Menu in Windows 95, 98, 2000, or NT, simply click and drag any object from the desktop and drop it on the Start button.

Easy Icons

To create an icon in Windows, simply select a bitmap file that you would like to use and rename its extension from .BMP to .ICO -- that's all there is to it.

Faster ScanDisk

When running ScanDisk, close all open windows first. Then, click Options > System Area Only. Now you can do the same job in half the time!

Changing the Registered Username and Company

Click Start and then Run, type in REGEDIT, and press enter. Then, double click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, MICROSOFT, then WINDOWS. Double-click the REGISTERED OWNER or REGISTERED ORGINIZATION key and type in a new name. Click OK and check by double-clicking system in the control panel.

Watch Your Defragmentation Tools

Avoid using a defragmentation program that isn't aware of long filenames. You can not only destroy your long filename space, but you might also end up corrupting the drive's data as well, especially on volumes that are less than 2GB in size.

Moving a Window

If you have ever accidently moved a window outside the screen and unreachable by the mouse, you can always use the following keyboard shortcut to move it back: First, select the window, either by clicking on it (if visible) or by using Alt+Tab. Once selected, press Alt+Space+M and then an arrow key. You can now move the window with your mouse, no clicking required.