Twenty Useful Tips and Tweaks for your Computer

[The Tech]

1) Cracking Windows XP Login Password

1.1 You can download the nice and easy Nt/2k/xp password cracker from www.astalavista.com.

- or  -

1.2 Other way is if u get acess to the computer then go to Start>Run and type "control userpasswords2" without Quotes and a new pop up windows will open and u will reach to user account properties.

Here u can Reset the Administrator and any Users password so anytime when u Want to use the Computer start it in safemode pressing F8 at Booting get into the xp as u have Administrator password and go to Controlpanel>Useraccounts and make a New Account . Start Computer Normally and get into WinXP with ur newely made account and do ur job.

(Don't forget to Delete ur newely made account Otherwise u will be in trouble) Delete your account again starting the computer in Safemode as Administrator and Delete your Account.


2)Disable XP Boot Logo

It is possible to disable the XP splash screen, which will slightly speed up the overall boot process. Be aware that removing the splash screen will also cause you not to see any boot-up messages that might come up (chkdsk, convert ... ), but if your system runs without any problems then it should not matter.


Edit boot.ini.

Add " /noguiboot" right after "/fastdetect".

Upon restarting, the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the new switch.


3)Turn Off Indexing to Speed Up XP

Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard disk so when you do a search on the hard drive it is faster. There is a downside to this and because the computer has to index all files, it will slow down normal file commands like open, close, etc. If you do not do a whole lot of searches on your hard drive then you may want to turn this feature off:

Open My Computer.

Right-click your hard drive icon and select Properties.

At the bottom of the window you'll see "Allow indexing service to index this disk for faster searches," uncheck this and click ok.

A new window will pop up and select Apply to all folders and subfolders.

It will take a minute or two for the changes to take affect but then you should enjoy slightly faster performance.


4)Clean Your Prefetch to Improve Performance

This is a unique technique for WinXP. We know that it is necessary to scrub registry and TEMP files for Win9X/ME/2000 periodically. Prefetch is a new and very useful technique in Windows XP. However, after using XP some time, the prefetch directory can get full of junk and obsolete links in the Prefetch catalog, which can slow down your computer noticeably.

Open C(system drive):/windows/prefetch, delete those junk and obsolete files, reboot. It is recommended that you do this every month.



5)Performance Increase Through My Computer

Easy enough tweak to usually find out about it on your own, but still, some of us still don't find it right away. So here it is:

Start > right-click on My Computer and select Properties.

Click on the "Advanced" tab.

See the "Performance" section? Click "Settings".

Disable the following:

Fade or slide menus into view
Fade or slide ToolTips into view
Fade out menu items after clicking
Show Shadows under menus
Slide open combo boxes
Slide taskbar buttons
Use a background image for each folder type
Use common tasks in folders

There, now Windows will still look nice and perform faster.


6)Reduce 10 Second Scandisk Wait Time

Start MS Dos Prompt (Start run CMD), and type: CHKNTFS /T:4
where 4 is the amount of wait time.


7)DMA Mode on IDE Devices

Just like Windows 2000, Windows XP still fails to set the DMA mode correctly for the IDE device designated as the slaves on the primary IDE and secondary IDE channels. Most CD-ROMS are capable of supporting DMA mode, but the default in XP is still PIO. Setting it to DMA won't make your CD-ROM faster, but it will consume less CPU cycles. Here's how:

Open the Device Manager. One way to do that is to right-click on "My Computer", select the Hardware tab, and select Device Manager.

Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel".

Under the "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. More than likely, your current transfer mode is set to PIO.

Set it to "DMA if available".

Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if you have devices attached to it. Reboot.


8)Load Internet Explorer the Fastest Way Possible

Edit your link to start Internet Explorer to have -nohome after it. For Example: "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -nohome

This will load internet explorer very fast because it does not load a web page while it is loading. If you want to go to your homepage after it is loaded, just click on the home button.


9)Easy Way to Adjust LargeSystemCache


Normally, the tweak I've seen asks you to go into HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management and change the value to either O or 1 to the adjustment the LargeSystemCache.

However, in Windows XP, all you have to do is:

Right-click My Computer.

Select Properties.

Click Advanced.

Choose Performance.

Click Advanced again.

Select either Programs or System Cache under Memory Usage.

Programs = 0 for the registry tweak equivalent

System Cache = 1 for the registry tweak equivalent


10)Shutdown XP Faster


Like previous versions of windows, it takes long time to restart or shutdown windows XP when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. To solve this problem you must disable this useless sound.

Click Start button.

Go to settings > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio devices > Sounds and Audio Devices > Sounds.

Then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and highlight it. Now from sounds you can select, choose "none" and then click Apply and OK.

Now you should see some improvements when shutting down your system.

[The Tech]

11)Easily Disable Messenger


Go into: C:/Program Files/Messenger. Rename the Messenger folder to "MessengerOFF".

This does not slow down Outlook Express or hinder system performance.


12)Turn Off Autoplay for Program CDs

How can you stop Windows XP from launching program CDs?

Click Start, click Run, type GPEDIT.MSC to open Group Policy in the Microsoft Management Console.

Double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative templates, double-click System, and then click Turn off autoplay.

The instructions on your screen describe how to configure this setting. Click Properties to display the setting dialog.

Click Enabled, and choose CD-ROM drives, then click OK, to stop CD autoplay.

This setting does not prevent Autoplay for music CDs.


13)Synchronize Your Computer Clock with an Internet Time Server


Does your computer have the right time? If your computer is not part of a domain, you can synchronize your computer clock with an Internet time server. To do so:



Double–click the time on your task bar.

Click the Internet Time tab.

Select the time server you want to use and make sure to select the Automatically synchronize with an Internet time

server check box.


14)Win XP Won't Completely Shutdown

Go to Control Panel, then go to Power Options.

Click on the APM tab, then check the "Enable Advanced Power Management support."

Shut down your PC.

It should now successfully complete the Shut Down process.


15)Adjust Various Visual Effects

Open up the Control Panel.

Go under System and click on the Advanced tab.

Click settings under Performance options.

You can now change various graphical effects (mainly animations and shadows).


16)Disable Error Reporting


Open Control Panel.

Click on Performance and Maintenance.

Click on System.

Then click on the Advanced tab.

Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows.

Select Disable error reporting.

Click OK. Click OK.


17)Increase Your Cable Modem or DSL Speed in XP


This tweak is for broad band cable connections on stand alone machines with WinXP professional version - might work on Home version also. It may also work with networked machines as well.


This tweak assumes that you have let WinXP make a connection on install for your cable modem/NIC combination and that your connection has tcp/ip - QoS - file and print sharing - and client for Microsoft networks , only, installed. It also assumes that WinXP will detect your NIC and has in-box drivers for it. If it doesn't do not try this.

In the "My Network Places" properties (right-click on the desktop icon and choose properties), highlight the connection

then at the menu bar choose "Advanced" then "Advanced Settings". Uncheck the two boxes in the lower half for the

bindings for File and Printer sharing and Client for MS networks. Click OK.


18)Stop Jerkey Graphics

If you are connected to a LAN and have problems with jerkey graphics, this might be the solution:

Right-click "MyComputer".

Select "Manage".

Click on "Device Manager".

Double-click on your NIC under "Network Adapters".

In the new window, select the "Advanced" tab.

Select "Connection Type" and manually set the value of your NIC. (Not "Auto Sense" which is default.).

You should reboot.


19)Speeding Up Your Old Pentium by 50%


We all know that you really shouldn't try to run Windows XP on anything less that about a Pentium 3 of some sort if you are out for speedy operations and amazing reaction times, but for those of us with the good old Pentium 2's who want to see just how well we can run XP, we have to tweak as much as we can where-ever we can. A real killer to the system's performance is Windows Media Player. Although it may look desirable and fancy with it's rounded off edges and 3rd-Dimensional appearance, the truth is, it takes up a large amount of that precious processing power.

All of these troubles however, lead to one thing in particular with this 'new-look' over-rated music and video player...the Visualizations. The look-great I'll admit but like a lot of software these days, it has no purpose. If you run the task manager, and click the Performance tab along the top, you'll see that when Windows Media Player is running and nothing else is active, it takes up around 50% of the processors power. Once these visualizations are turned off, it barely takes up 2-3% of the processors power, which leaves much more room for other applications to work efficiently.



Here's how to disable the feature:

Open Media Player.

Make sure the Now Playing tab on the left is selected.

Click the View menu along the top.

Go down to Now Playing Tools



20) Turn Off System Restore to Save Space


By default, Windows XP keeps a backup of system files in the System Volume Information folder. This can eat up valuable space on your hard drive. If you don't want Windows to back up your system files:

Open the Control Panel.

Double-click on System.

Click the System Restore tab.

Check "Turn off System Restore on all drives".

Hit Apply.

You may now delete the System Volume Information folder.

[The Tech]

How to change product key in XP with no re-install.:


If you are like many of the warez community then you probably are having
trouble installing windows SP1 because the cd key that you used is now banned but never fear you can now generate your own working corp key and install the Corp version without a
problem


How to change product key in XP with no re-install.:


1. Run regedit and go to:
HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents,in
the right pane double click on "oobetimer" and change at least one digit of
this value. This will deactivate windows. Exit regedit.


2. Choose run from start menu and type in this command:
'%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a'
or
'oobe/msoobe /a'

to get the activation screen. Then You want to Activate by phone so Click on
Activate by phone. Click Next.

3. In the new screen choose the option to change product key, and type in
the new product key (Corporate one only). You cannot use the FCKGW key. Only
a new one that you have generated then....no need to click next

Do not click Update.

If you do its ok.. but you didnt need to ... you now should reboot and be
done so just close that window, and reboot your system

4. Once rebooted check to make sure that your activated..


5. Enter the command in step 2 again for the second time to verify your
activation , you should see "Windows Is Already Activated".

[The Tech]

How to look at someones desktop in XP !!!


First you have to go to
-start
-run
then type mstcs. (SHOULD be mstsc and no period)


You will see a screen, you can enter a windows XP computer here, you will be
able to run files, and look at the victims desktop when you connect to a pc,
and alot more, just check it out.

1. click on options
2. here you can enter a username and password, there is a way to get arround
this: go to msdos and ping flood the target, untill he gets the blue screen
of death, now enter the pc without a username and password, now that your in
you have to quickly download his password file to ur pc and rip it for the
next time you want to enter, note: you have to be fast when you want to
download the pwl file, or he'll reboot his comp.

I heard there is a way to set up a telnet server with username and password with this trick... Don't ask me, i don't know how :*(***** oyeah, you could also telnet to him on
some port when your connected, just scan him for the open port (above 555)
and when you are connected through telnet, you will end up in a mshearts
game with him, cool huh!?

Hang on, more info..

[The Tech]

MORE TIPS

1) Shutdown Button on Desktop

Right click on ur Desktop and make new Shortcut and type "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Shutdown.exe –s" without quotes in the popup box which will appear asking for a path of shortcut . Now when u will double click this shortcut it will give u shutdown message and ur computer will shutdown after some seconds. U can customize ur shutdown button with same icon which original shutdown have Just go to the properties of ur shortcut and click change icon tab select any icon u like and click apply.

Similarly u can also put restart button on ur desktop just replace –s in above line by –r

If u don't want shutdown button on ur desktop u can the go to start >run and type

Shutdown –s or –r they will do the same job. If someone tries to shutdown u remotely on the net then u can stop shutdown process but typing shutdown –a in Run.

Shutdown –s = Shutdown & restart

Shutdown –r = Restart

Shutdown –a = To abort shutdown



2) Cracking windows xp admin and user passwords.

I hope u guys liked tip given for resetting passwords in first part. If u have guest or limited user account on PC than that control userpasswords2 tip does not help u much. Windows will still ask u admin password for resetting users passwords .

Ok go and Download a tool called CIA COMMANDER this is just what we want. This tool will make a copy protected bootable floppy which will allow u to boot any computer and also help u to get into any NTFS partition .First select floppy as first bootable device from BIOS. CIA shows u every thing to u in GUI.

After booting CIA will allow u to reset any user password even administrator's password. It also includes a file manager, registry editor and a text/hex editor. Present version of CIA does not support FAT partitions but sooner its new version will even support FAT partition based system.

I have read on some tutorials about a tool called NTFS Pro which looks almost like CIA .


3). Correcting System Hang at Startup

If your system hangs about 2 or 3 minutes at startup, where you can't access the Start

button or theTaskbar, it may be due to one specific service (Background Intelligent

Transfer) running in the background. Microsoft put out a patch for this but it didn't

work for me. Here's what you do

Click on Start/Run, type 'msconfig', then click 'OK'.

Go to the 'Services' tab, find the 'Background Intelligent Transfer' service.

Disable it, apply the changes & reboot.




4) Editing explorer in windows xp

Editing explore in windows xp is very easy with available tools its not as difficult like old dos based tedious method here u need just one tool called RESOURCE HACKER

It is a resource viewer it will show u Resources in any 32bit Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 executable files (including exe's, dll's, ocx's and cpl's) . ok go in to ur windows directory and find explorer.exe and make its two copies name them

As explorer_1 and explorer_2 .exe respectively and keep them in windows folder only. We will edit explorer_1 and will keep explorer_2 as backup copy if anything goes wrong. Open explorer_1.exe in resource hacker and go to String table and edit whatever u want to even u can change start button by ur name or anything else

After editing even a single word do not forget to click the COMPILE button. Change icon or u can change animated message such as when u install a new programs so when u go to all programs a animated message comes "New Program Installed" u can change it by ur sentence etc. now we have edited the explore_1 now go To File menu in Resource hacker and save it as explorer_1.exe it will ask u that explorer_1.exe is already present do u want to replace it, click YES. Now we have our edited explorer.

Now restart ur computer in safe mode with command prompt by pressing F8 during booting process . Now we will copy explorer_1.exe on explorer.exe by typing command Copy C:\windows\explorer_1.exe C:\windows\explorer.exe

Now restart ur computer and what u will seeing that u r working with ur edited explorer. If anything goes wrong than just copy explorer_2.exe on explorer.exe by same process.


5) Speed Up Detailed View in Explorer


If you like to view your files in Windows Explorer using the "Details" view here is a tweak to speed up the listing of file attributes:


Viewing files in Windows Explorer using the "Details" mode shows various attributes associated with each file shown. Some of these must be retrieved from the individual files when you click on the directory for viewing. For a directory with numerous and relatively large files (such as a folder in which one stores media, eg: *.mp3's, *.avi's etc.), Windows Explorer lags as it reads through each one. Here's how to disable viewing of unwanted attributes and speed up file browsing:



Open Windows Explorer.

Navigate to the folder which you wish to optimize.

In "Details" mode right-click the bar at the top which displays the names of the attribute columns.

Uncheck any that are unwanted/unneeded.

Explorer will apply your preferences immediately, and longs lists of unnecessary attributes will not be displayed.

Likewise, one may choose to display any information which is regarded as needed, getting more out of Explorer.


6) Remove Hibernation File


If you do not use hibernation, make sure you do not have it enabled, which reserves disk space equal to your RAM. If you have a hidden file on the root directory of your C-drive called hiberfil.sys, hibernation is enabled. To remove that file:



Go to Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, Power Options, Hibernate tab, and uncheck the Enable hibernation box.


7) Change Drive Letters in Windows XP


When you add drives to your computer, such as an extra hard drive, a CD drive, or a storage device that corresponds to a drive, Windows automatically assigns letters to the drives. However, this assignment might not suit your system; for example, you might have mapped a network drive to the same letter that Windows assigns to a new drive. When you want to change drive letters, follow these steps:


Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.

Under Computer Management, click Disk Management. In the right pane, you'll see your drives listed. CD-ROM drives are listed at the bottom of the pane.

Right-click the drive or device you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the drive letter you want to assign, and then click OK.


Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs
Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you're logging off, turn it off completely. To do this:

Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed, and then click Properties.

In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.

Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.

Click OK, and then click OK again.


9) Change the Default Opening Folder in Windows Explorer

By default, Windows Explorer opens showing the My Documents folder. To change the default setting so that all top–level drives and folders are shown, follow these steps:


Click Start > Programs > Accessories, then right–click Windows Explorer, and click Properties.

Under Target field, which reads %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe, add to make the line read:


%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, C:\
Click OK.



10) Identify a 16-bit Program

Use Windows Explorer to open the folder that contains the program's executable (.exe) file.

Right-click the .exe file, and then click Properties.

A 16-bit program does not have a Version tab in this dialog box.


11) Use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XP

To start the Desktop Cleanup Wizard:

Click Start , and then click Control Panel.

In Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes under Pick a category.

Under or pick a Control Panel icon , click Display. The Display Properties dialog box is displayed.

In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click Customize Desktop. The Desktop Items dialog box is displayed.

Under Desktop cleanup , click to clear the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box if you do not want the Desktop Cleanup Wizard to automatically start every 60 days.



Click Clean Desktop Now. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard starts.


12) Remove Unwanted Shortcuts

In the Welcome to the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, click Next.

In the Shortcuts dialog box, a list of shortcuts are displayed in the Shortcut to Clean Up list. The shortcuts that you click are removed from the desktop and placed in the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder on the Windows desktop.

If you do not want a shortcut to be removed from the desktop, click to clear the check box for that shortcut, and then click Next when you are finished.

In the Completing the Desktop Cleanup Wizard dialog box, view the items in the Shortcuts box to confirm that you want them removed from the desktop, and then click Finish.

The Desktop Cleanup Wizard moves the selected shortcuts to the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder and then quits.


13) Restore Shortcuts

If a shortcut that you want is removed, follow these steps to restore the shortcut:

On the Desktop, double-click the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder. The Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box is displayed. Note: If the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box is maximized, click the Restore Down button (appears to the left of the red Close button).

Drag the shortcut that you want to the Windows desktop.

Close the Unused Desktop Shortcuts dialog box.



14) How to Turn On Automatic Updates

Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.

Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click one of the following options:

- Download the updates automatically and notify me when they are ready to be installed. (This is the default setting.)

- Notify me before downloading any updates and notify me again before installing them on my computer.


15) How to Turn Off Automatic Updates



Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.

Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually.


16) How to Update Your Files Manually by Using Windows Update

If you choose not to use automatic updating, you can still install specific updates from the Windows Update Web site. Windows Update is a catalog of items such as drivers, security fixes, critical updates, the latest Help files, and Internet products that you can download to keep your computer up-to-date.

Click Windows Update in Help and Support Center.

On the Windows Update home page, click Scan for updates.

Click Yes when you are prompted to install any required software or device drivers.


17) How to Have Windows Remind You About Pending Updates



Click Remind Me Later in the Automatic Updates dialog box before you download or install the update.

In the Reminder dialog box, you can specify the amount of time Windows should wait before reminding you.

If the reminder is for downloading, Windows reminds you only when you are connected to the Internet.

If the reminder is for installing, Windows reminds you according to the schedule that you specify.


18) How to Download Available Updates

If you configured automatic updating to notify you before downloading any updates, an icon is displayed in the notification area each time new updates are found.

Double-click the icon in the notification area.

Do either of the following steps:

If you want Windows to download an update, make sure that the check box beside it is selected.

-or-

If you do not want Windows to download an update, click to clear the check box beside it.

Your selected updates are downloaded in the background; this behavior allows you to continue working uninterrupted. Downloading does not interfere with or slow down other network activity, such as Internet browsing.

When downloading is finished, the icon is displayed in the notification area to notify you that updates are ready to be installed.


19) How to Pause or Resume Downloading

After the download process has started, you can pause or resume downloading at any time. If you close your Internet connection or restart your computer after pausing a download process, Windows automatically resumes the download process the next time you are connected to the Internet.

During the download process, click the icon that is displayed in the notification area, and then click Pause.

When you are ready for Windows to start downloading again, click the Automatic updating icon, and then click

Resume.

Restore an Update that You Previously Declined

If you decide not to download a specific update, you can prompt Windows Update to offer that update again.


Click Start , click Control Panel, and then double-click System.

Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Restore Declined Updates.


20) Using the Ultimate Configuration Tool (Professional Edition Only)

One of the most full featured Windows XP configuration tools available is hidden right there in your system, but most people don't even know it exists. It's called the Local Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short. It just like old Poledit.exe.

To start this editor:

Select Start and then Run, then type the following:

gpedit.msc

After you hit Enter, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify almost every feature in Windows XP without having to go to regedit.

There you have it.