Common Control Panel Applets

The following are some common Control Panel Applets that are located in the \windows\system32 directory. If you find yourself using any of these frequently, then you can simply make shortcuts to them on your desktop.

appwiz.cpl ---> Add/Remove Programs 
desk.cpl ---> Display Properties
firewall.cpl ---> Firewall Settings
inetcpl.cpl ---> Internet Options
mmsys.cpl ---> Sound and Audio
ncpa.cpl ---> Network Connections
nusrmgr.cpl ---> User Accounts
powercfg.cpl ---> Power Options
sysdm.cpl ---> System Properties
wscui.cpl ---> Security Center
wuaucpl.cpl ---> Automatic Updates Configuration

Identify Faulty Device Drivers

If you are having problems with lockups, blue screens, or can only get to safe mode, often the problem is due to a faulty device driver. One way to help identify them is through the use of the Verfier program

1. Start / Run / Verifier
2. Keep the default of Create Standard Settings
3. Select the type of drivers you want to confirm
4. A list of drivers to be verified on the next boot will be shown
5. Reboot
6. If your computer stops with a blue screen, you should get an error message with the problem driver
7. To turn off the Verifier, run verifier /reset
   

Changing the User Type

Normally in XP Pro, through the Control Panel / User Accounts icon, you are only allowed to create administrators or limited users. If you want to create more types of accounts

1. Right click on My Computer
2. Manage
3. Local Users and Groups
4. Users
5. Right click on the user you want to change
6. Properties
7. Member of tab
8. Add button
9. Advanced button
10. Find Now button
    

From here you see the full list of possibilities (e.g. Power User, Backup Operator etc.)

Additional Utilities

On the XP CD in the \Support\Tools directory, there are a lot of additional support and troubleshooting utilities. You can run SETUP from that directory to install them.

Just a few are:

diruse ---> Shows Disk Usage
dupfinder ---> Finds Duplicate files
getmac ---> Get's MAC address of the network card
hostname ---> Shows the host name of the computer
netdiag ---> Diagnoses a variety of network components
pviewer ---> Show a list of process & allows you to get a memory detail or kill any process
windiff ---> Compare files and directories

Formatting a Partition Greater than 32 GIGs with FAT32

WindowsXP will only format a partition greater than 32 GIGs as NTFS. If you want to format it with FAT32, you can use a regular Win98 Boot disk and use that version of FDISK to create the partition (with Large Hard Drive Support)

Reboot with the same boot disk and format

WindowsXP will then be able to use the partition with no problems

No To All When Overwriting Files

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.

Hiding System Tray Icons

With WindowsXP, you can manually select how you want individual icons in the System Tray to be displayed.

1. Right click on the Taskbar
2. Select Properties
3. Check Hide inactive icons
4. Click on the Customize button
5. 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
   

Renaming the Start Button

To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor. My preference is UltraEdit

1. Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
2. With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
3. You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
4. Edit it be any 5 characters or less
5. Save the file
6. Boot to DOS
7. Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
8. Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
9. 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
   

Disabling Error Reporting

By default, WindowsXP will request to report application errors to Microsoft. To turn this off:

1. Right click on the My Computer icon on the desktop
2. Select Properties / Advanced
3. Click on the Error Reporting tab
4. Check Disable error reporting
   

Changing System Restore Settings

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.
   

There is even the option to turn it off for all drives.

Enabling NumLock on by Default

To have numlock turned on for each user:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators
3. Change the value from 0 to 2
4. Turn Numlock on manually
5. Log off and back on again.

For all users, make the same change to

1. HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators
   

NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM Not Found

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.
4. Typically this will be #1
5. Enter in the administrator password when requested
6. 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:\

    7.  Take out the CD ROM and type exit

Automatically Ending Non-Responsive Tasks

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks
3. Set the value to be 1
4. In the same section, change the WaitToKillAppTimeout to the number of milliseconds you want.
   

Taking Ownership Of a Folder

Sometimes when you reinstall WindowsXP, you can receive an Access Denied error when trying to open a previous user's directory. To take ownership of that folder again:

1. Log on with an account that has administrator rights
2. Right click on the folder
3. Select Properties
4. Click on the Security tab
5. Click on the Advanced button
6. Click on the Owner tab
7. In the list of Names, click on your name
8. To take ownership, click on Replace owner on subcontainers and objects
9. Click OK and Yes
   

Speeding Up the Display of Start Menu Items

An easy way to speed up the display of the Start Menu Items is to turn off the menu shadow.

1. Right click on an open area of the Desktop
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Appearance tab
4. Click on the Effects button
5. Uncheck Show shadows under menus
   

Disabling Balloon Tips

1. To turn off balloon tips in applications that support XP Themes:
   
   Start Regedit.
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 (zero)
   

Repair XP Install

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. Make sure you have your valid WindowsXP key. The whole process takes about half an hour depending on your computer. If you are being prompted for the administrator's password, you need to choose the 2nd repair option, not the first. 

1. Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD.
2. At the second R=Repair option, press the R key.
3. This will start the repair.
4. Press F8 for I Agree at the Licensing Agreement.
5. Press R when the directory where WindowsXP is installed is shown. Typically this is C:\WINDOWS.
6. It will then check the C: drive and start copying files.
7. It will automatically reboot when needed. Keep the CD in the drive.
8. You will then see the graphic part of the repair that is like during a normal install of XP (Collecting Information, Dynamic Update, Preparing Installation, Installing Windows, Finalizing Installation).
9. When prompted, click on the Next button.
10. When prompted, enter your XP key.
11. Normally you will want to keep the same Workgroup or Domain name.
12. The computer will reboot.
13. Then you will have the same screens as a normal XP Install.
14. Activate if you want (usually a good idea).
15. Register if you want (but not necessary).
16. Finish.
17. At this point you should be able to log in with any existing accounts.
    

Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages

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
   

Cleaning the Prefetch Directory

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. Start > Run > Prefetch.
2. Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the files.
3. Delete them.
   

Increasing Graphics Performance

By default, XP turns on a lot of shadows, fades, slides etc to menu items. which will slow down your PC.

To turn these off selectively:

1. Right click on the My Computer icon
2. Select Properties
3. Click on the Advanced tab
   
4. Under Performance, click on the Settings button
5. 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

Services You Can Disable

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:

1. 
   Alerter - Sends alert messages to specified users that are connected to the server computer.
2. Application Management - Allows software to tap directly into the Add/Remove Programs feature via the Windows Installer technology.
3. Background Intelligent Transfer Service - The Background Intelligent Transfer service is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth.
4. Clipbook - ClipBook permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the network.
5. Error Reporting Service - Allows applications to send error reports to Microsoft in the event of an application fault.
6. Fast User Switching - Windows XP allows users to switch quickly between accounts, without requiring them to log off.
7. 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.
8. Indexing Service - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Network DDE - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers.
13. NT LM Security Support Provider - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes.
14. 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.
15. Portable Media Serial Number - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer.
16. QOS RSVP - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets.
17. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you are not using Remote Desktop you don't need this service.
18. 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.
19. Secondary Login - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. This is what allows you to run an application as another user.
20. Smart Card - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer.
21. Smart Card Helper - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer.
22. SSDP Discovery Service - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.
23. 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.
24. Telnet - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients.
25. Uninterruptible Power Supply Service - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer.
26. Universal Plug and Play Device Host - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices.
27. Upload Manager - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network.
28. Volume Shadow Copy Service - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes.
29. Web Client - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify non-local files across the Internet.
30. Wireless Zero Configuration - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters
31. WMI Performance Adapter - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers.
    

System Restore Turned Of By Group Policy

1. Click Start, Run and type regedit.exe and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\SystemRestore
3. In the right-pane:·    Delete the value DisableConfig·    Delete the value DisableSR.
4. Exit the Registry Editor.

In XP Professional, you can accomplish the above using Group Policy Editor as well.

1. Click Start, Run and type GPEDIT.MSC.
2. Navigate to this path:-> Computer Configuration--> Administrative Templates---> System----> System Restore
3. Set Turn off System Restore to Not Configured.
4. Set Turn off Configuration to Not Configured

Disable The Low Disk Space Warning

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
3. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type NoLowDiskSpaceChecks, and then press ENTER.
6. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
7. Type 1, and then click OK. 

Turn Off Autoplay

1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type gpedit.msc and then click OK.
3. From the Group Policy window, go to Administrative Templates.
4. Go to System.
5. Turn off autoplay = enable on all drives 

System Restore Turned Of By Group Policy

1. Click Start, Run and type regedit.exe and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\SystemRestore.
3. In the right-pane: 
   Delete the value DisableConfig
   Delete the value DisableSR.
   Exit the Registry Editor
   
   

In XP Professional, you can accomplish the above using Group Policy Editor as well.

1. Click Start, Run and type GPEDIT.MSC
2. Navigate to this path: 
   

• -> Computer Configuration
• --> Administrative Templates
• ---> System
• ----> System Restore

1. Set Turn off System Restore to Not Configured.
2. Set Turn off Configuration to Not Configured.

Disable The Low Disk Space Warning

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry.
3. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type NoLowDiskSpaceChecks, and then press ENTER.
6. On the Edit menu, click Modify. 7.    Type 1, and then click OK. 

Turn Of Security Center From Taskbar

1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type "services.msc" and then click OK.
3. Find "Security Center" in the list, double click on it, set "Startup type" to Disabled.

Disable Security Center Alerts

1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Security Center.
3. In the Security Center, under Resources, click Change the way Security Center alerts me.
4. In the Alert Settings dialog box, clear the Firewall, Automatic Updates, or Virus Protection check boxes, and then click OK.

When you use this procedure, the Security Center still displays your status, but does not send you alerts. If your computer is part of a domain (a group of computers on a network), your security settings are typically managed by your network administrator. In this case, the Security Center does not display your security status or send alerts.

Turn On Automatic Logon

How to turn on automatic logon in XP

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type control userpasswords2, and then click OK.
3. Clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" check box, and then click Apply
4. In the Automatically Log On window, type the password in the Password box, and then retype the password in the Confirm Password box.
5. Click OK to close the Automatically Log On  and then click OK to close the User Accounts window.