Simply press Shift+Print Scrn. Press Alt+Print Scrn to get just a shot of the window you have open.
Then paste that image into some other program, like Word or Paint or whatever you need to use it in.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Desktop Tips
Restoring a Lost Desktop
If you ever lose the Desktop but Explorer is still running with the Start Button,
you can do this to bring back your Desktop in a Windows box.
Click Start
Click Run
Type a period " . "
Then press Enter
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Creating a New E-Mail Shortcut
To create a shortcut that will open your default e-mail program starting a new e-mail,
Right click on an open area of the desktop
Select New / Shortcut
For the Command Line, enter mailto:
For the title enter something like New E-Mail
When you click on this your default e-mail program should start with a new e-mail form.
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Creating 3D Window Effect
You can create a nice 3D effect for your windows
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Colors
Make sure the following setting are there:
ButtonHilight=128 128 128
ButtonShadow=255 255 255
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Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff Icons
To create the icons, create a shortcut on the desktop.
For Shutdown, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindows
For Restart, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindowsexec
For Logoff, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 0
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Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort Alphabetically
If your Start Menu Program or Favorites are not sorting alphabetically, it is easy to fix this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/MenuOrder
Under here is are Favorites and Start Menu folders
In each there is a value called Order
Simply delete (or rename this) and restart Winodws
Your Favorites or Start Menus should now sort alphabetically
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Increasing the Icon Cache
Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer
Create a new string called Max Cached Icons
Give it a value of 10000
This will increase response time in windows and give the Shellicon cache file more elbow room.
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Open the Registry
Hit Ctrl+F
Type Shell Icon BPP
When found, right click the Shell Icon BPP icon
Click Modify
Change the value from 4 to 16
Click Ok
Close the registry
Restart your computer
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Removing Shortcut Arrows
An easy way to remove those irritating arrows from your desktop shortcut icons and not change their properties
Right click the Desktop / Properties / Appearance tab
Select Item
Scroll for Icon
The default size is 32
Change this to 30
Clicking Apply
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Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu
Open up the Explorer
Go to \WINDOWS\Start Menu
Right click in the right-hand panel
Add a new folder
Name it Control Panel.{21ec2020-3aea-1069-a2dd-08002b30309d}
This makes getting to the Control Panel items a little easier
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Making Desktop Changes Permanent
To make changes to the Desktop like window size, positon after rebooting:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Create a New Binary Value
Name it NoSaveSettings
Give it a value of 01 00 00 00
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Easy Shortcuts on the Desktop
Here is an easy way to put shortcuts on the Desktop where they can easily be moved to other group icons.
Using the Explorer, create a SHORTCUT to the \Windows\Desktop directory in your \Windows\SEND TO directory.
Now whenever you want to make a shortcut and move it to the desktop:
Just make the shortcut you want using Explorer
Right click on that shortcut
In the pop up menu select the Send To and Desktop shortcut.
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Changing a Folder's Icon
To change the icon of a Folder on desktop:
Using the Explorer, move the folder from the Desktop directory to another directory on the hard drive
Right click on the new folder and select "Create Shortcut"
Move the shortcut to the Desktop
Right click and select a new icon
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Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! )
Start Regedit
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER /ControlPanel /Desktop /DragFullWindows
On "DragFullWindows" properties change 0 to 1
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Getting Screen Shots
If you need to get a screen shot, and you do not have a screen capture program, try this:
Hit the Print Screen key. This copies a bitmap of the full screen into the Windows clipboard. Start up a graphics editor and paste it in.
Alt + Print Screen will capture only the active window.
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Increasing the Size of the Scroll Bar
How to adjust the width of the scroll bar:
Select Properties
Select the Appearance tab
Go to the item list and find scrollbar.
Increasing the value in the Size field will increase the scrollbar width.
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Removing the InBox from the Desktop
A faster way to remove "Inbox" from the Deskop is to
Right mouse click on "Inbox"
Select delete
It will then tell you "you cannot store the inbox in the recycle bin. . .etc"
Click "Yes"
Wait 2 secs and it's gone.
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Removing the Recycle Bin
To remove Recycle Bin from the desktop:
Run REGEDIT.
Find NAMESPACE key in left pane (HKEY_Local_Macine \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current Version \ Explorer \ Desktop \ Namespace)
Expand NAMESPACE (click '+' box)
Delete the value RECYCLE BIN in right pane
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Adding Send To the Recycle Bin
Add a SHORTCUT TO THE RECYCLE BIN in your SEND TO folder.
That way you can just right click on a file you want to delete, and send it to the recycle bin without having to confirm each time.
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Having Icons with No Name
Normally you have to have a name for an icon, just spaces are not allowed.
To create an icon with no name attached:
Make sure NumLock is on
Highlight the Icon you want to change
Right-Mouse click and select Rename
While holding down the Alt key, type 0160
Now the icon will have no name below it.
To Create Multiple Icons with No Name - From John R.
Follow directions detailed above
With the second icon simply add one space-bar character AFTER the 0160 number.
Each successive icon gets an additional space-bar character at the end (to prevent a duplicate naming error).
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Moving the Start Button
How to move or close the start button!
Click on the Start button
Press the Esc key
Press the Alt and the - keys together
This will give you a menu, you can move or close
But if you move it you need to use the arrow keys and not the mouse.
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Repositioning a Background Bitmap
Normally, you only options for displaying a background bitmap are tiled, centered, or stretch to fit (with the Plus Pack).
You can edit the registry and have a third option which is to place the bitmap anywhere on your screen by specifying the X and Y coordinates.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
Create new Strings called WallpaperOriginX and WallpaperOriginY
Give them values to position them around your desktop
The bitmap must be smaller than your desktop size
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Changing Drive Icons
To change a drive's icon when you open My Computer
Create a file called AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive
Enter the lines
[autorun]
ICON=Name of the ICON file
For the name of the icon file you can either specify the path and name (e.g. ICON=C:\WINDOWS\ICONS\MY_ICON.ICO) or
a specific icon in a library (e.g. ICON=ICONFILE.DLL,2)
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Adding Shortcuts to Desktop Without "Shortcut To" text
Start Regedit
Go to:HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
Add binary value to Explorer:link="00,00,00,00"
Now You can make Shortcuts to desktop without Shortcut To" text.
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Easier User Interface
Add a menu item named "Open THIS folder!" to each of your cascading menus off of the Start menu.
This makes it easier to put items wherever you want them!
Go to Windows \ Start Menu \ Programs \ (etc.) in the Explorer
Start right click/dragging folders to the desktop, one by one.
Rename them and left click/drag them back to the same folder.
It takes a little while, but when you are finished you have a much easier interface to work with.
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Removing the Start Button
Click on the start menu button twice, so there is a dashed line around the button
Press Alt and the minus sign
Choose Close to make the start button disappear, or move to move it to the right!
Note from Bob: - You have to re-boot to get it back again, or:
Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
Highlight Explorer
Click on the End Task button
Select No to doing a full shutdown
Wait a few seconds and the click on the End Task button
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removing the InBox and Recycle Bin Icons from the Desktop
To remove the InBox from your desktop, without needing to run the Policy Editor:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Desktop \ NameSpace
Below that should be a few keys
Rename the key {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}. I usually put another character before or after the curly braces.
Restart Windows and the InBox icon should be gone
You can do the same for any other items you don't to show such as the Recycle Bin or The Internet icons
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Changing or Removing the Start Menu Icons
Download Microangelo and install it.
Create a blank.ico file.
Put it in a directory (C:\Windows. Then double click on the Microangelo Engineer to run it.
When you get it up on the screen click on the "start" tab. You will see a list of all the icons in the start menu.
Highlight the first one (programs) and select "Change". It will bring up a dialog box - select "browse".
Go to the directory that contains the blank icon and select it. Hit OK until you get back to the main
Engineer window and do all the rest exactly the same way.
When you have finished changing them all to the blank icon, Hit "Apply".
Hit your start button and look to see if all the icons are invisible. (They should be.)
Close out Micro Engineer and you're finished.
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Adding Drive to the SendTo List
I have recently found that if you want to send something from A: drive or from any where to any drive, you can just make a short cut of that drive in subdirectory SENDTO.
For example I have two hard drives, a Floppy Drive, and a CDROM
After I have make a copy of each of my drive I will be able to send a whole directory of E:\XXX from the CDROM drive to A: drive or any other drive that i have had made the short c t in the SENDTO subdir of WINDOWS.
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Adding a Protected Briefcase
You can make your briefcase a shortcut on the on desktop so if you have multiple users on your PC and you don't want to have a password for your briefcase, you can at least protect it from inadvertent deletion by just making the briefcase a hidden file or in a different location other than \Windows\Desktop\My Briefcase, then send a copy or shortcut to the desktop.
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Adding the Device Manager to your Desktop
This allows you to quickly see all the devices attached to your computer.
I use it a lot to select Refresh when I add new external SCSI devices that were not
powered up at startup. This way you do not need to restart the computer. To add the Device Manager Icon:
Right click on an open area of your desktop
Select New / Shortcut
Type in C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL SYSDM.CPL, SYSTEM, 1
Replace C:\WINDOWS with whatever directory you installed Windows95
Click on the Next box
At the next dialog box type in Device Manager
Click on the Finish when you are done
Note: Replacing the 1 with a 3 will bring up the Performance Status
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Adding Options to the Right-Click of the Start Menu
To add an option to the Right-Click of the Start button:
Go to Control Panel, View, Options
Click on the File Types Tab
Scroll down until you see File Folder
Click on Edit
Click on New
Type in the Name you want to in the Action box
Type in the Application you want to use
A good option to add is an MS-DOS Prompt:
Try this c:\command.com /k cd %1
It also puts the shortcut on a regular folder.
This command will open a DOS window with that folder as the current directory.
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How to make the task bar autohide
Click the right button on a blank area of the task bar
Select Properties
Select Autohide
Click OK
This will make the task bar slide off the screen when the cursor moves away from it,
and it will slide back on when the cursor is moved near it again.
The same can be done for the MS Office task bar. The "sliding" effect is nice, and can free up some desktop space.
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More Removing Shortcut Arrows
'lnkfile', 'piffle' and 'internetshortcut' are the three places
that I have seen the isshortcut arrow.
The best way to deal with this is to rename the 'isshortcut' to
'isshortcutbak' by right clicking on the 'isshortcut' then
select rename and add 'bak' to the end.
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Closing Nested Folders
If you have several nested folders (folders within folders) and want to close them all,
simply, hold the Shift key while closing the last folder
This will close all previous ones as well.
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Changing Application Icons
To have a wider choice of application icons:
Right click on the icon shortcut
Chose Properties
Click on the Program tab
Chose Change icon
Click on Browse
Select Files of type All Files
Browse to the directory where your icon files are kept
You can even use some bitmap files for you icons
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Moving and Resizing the Taskbar
You can move the taskbar by pointing on a corner panel and dragging it
It is easier to move if you close all your windows first
You can also resize it by moving the mouse to the edge and dragging it larger or smaller.
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Correcting Corrupted Fonts
If you have a problem with your non-true type fonts, here's what you do:
Open the Control Panel
Double click on Fonts
Search for the "Monotype Sorts" font
Delete this Font
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Updating the Desktop
If you want to update the desktop, for example after you've been changing the registry.
Right-Click anywhere on the desktop
Press F
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Adding the Desktop to your Start Menu
Create a shortcut to the Explorer on your Desktop
Right click on the Start button
Choose Open
Go into the Programs Folder
Drag the Windows Explorer Icon on your Desktop using the RIGHT Mouse button
Choose copy here
Change the command line switch
Right click on the Shortcut you created
Choose Properties
Choose Shortcut
Type in following command line as target:
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n, /root,
The last "," is vital!
If you want the two pane Explorer view ad the switch ,/e
Then rename the Shortcut to "Desktop" or whatever you choose and drag the icon onto the start button.
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Removing shortcut arrows
One problem when removing shortcut arrows is that
if you delete a desktop item, it will remove it.
If it is a shortcut it will just remove the icon.
If it is not a shortcut, then it will remove the program.
Having the little icon arrow is one way to tell the difference
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Getting rid of Click Here to Continue
Start the Registry Editor
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
Create a binary value and call it NoStartBanner
Double-click on it and give it a value of 01 00 00 00
You will need to repeat the same steps for HKEY_USERS / .Default / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
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Changing the Desktop and Explorer Folder Icons
The following steps will change the icon that is displayed as the default Folder icon.
Start the Registry Editor.
Search for "Shell Icons".
This will bring you to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / explorer / Shell Icons.
Double-click on the one has the value name of "3" in the right pane.
Type in the new icon you want to use.
If you have a DLL file specified, you need to count for the location of the particular icon you want to use, starting at 0.
To reset the icon cache, use a program such as Tweak with comes with the PowerToys from Microsoft.
Note: I haven't experimented with too many of the other icon changes possible.
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Adding Control Panel Icons to the Desktop
Simply open up the Control Panel.
Right Click and Drag the icon you want to your desktop or folder.
This will create a shortcut for that icon.
It could come in handy if there are always certain items you need to get to quickly.
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Create a Control Panel menu directly below the Start Button
Click the Start Button once with your right mouse button. You should see a right-button menu (called a context menu because it offers different choices in different contexts).
You should see the items Open, Explore, and Find on the context menu. Click Explore with your left mouse button.
An Explorer file management window should open. A directory tree should appear in the left pane, with the right pane displaying the contents of the Start Menu folder.
Right-click any empty space within the right pane. A context menu should appear. Click New and then Folder.
The Explorer will create a highlighted icon called New Folder. Type in the following string, all on one line, replacing the words New Folder with this new line. You must type the period, the curly braces, all four hyphens, and the hexadecimal numbers exactly as shown. After the closing curly brace, press Enter.
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Other Folders can be added following the same instructions.
Dial-Up Networking.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Inbox.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Recycle Bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Network Neighborhood.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Desktop.{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Briefcase.{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
Fonts.{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimizing All Windows
To minimize all windows:
Press Ctrl-ESC ESC to bring up the Task Bar
Right Mouse Click on an open area of the Task Bar
Select Minimize all Windows
This makes it a lot easier to minimize windows when all your open applications are full screen.
With the Microsoft Keyboard, you can accomplish the same thing by pressing the Window-M key.
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Turning on AutoArrange for Folders
To make all folders keep AutoArrange turned on:
Open up an existing folder
Select View / Arrange
Arrange the Icons the way you would like, (e.g. Name, Size,etc.)
Select View / Arrange again
Select AutoArrange
Press the Ctrl-key while you close the window.
This folder should now have AutoArrange always selected.
This should allow you to create new folders that have AutoArrange selected by default.
You only need to specify by Name, Size, etc. if you want to change it from the default you set above.
Note: I have only tested this on a few computers. Please give me feedback regarding any problems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creating Document Scraps
If you are using Microsoft Word 7.0,
you can highlight a section of the document then drag and drop the highlighted area to
your desktop. Windows will create a file for you with a name something like
"Document Scrap From..." followed by the first few words you selected
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Quick Access to Your Desktop
How do you access your darn desktop when you have a ton of applications open?
Well you could right click on the taskbar and do a minimize all, but that can be slow.
Instead:
Open a browser window (double-click on "My Computer")
If there is no toolbar, select View from the menu and select Toolbar.
Then from the dropdown list-box in the toolbar select desktop.
Now minimize it and forget about it.
The next time you want to access your desktop just click the desktop window on the taskbar.
As long as you don't close the window when you shutdown, it will reopen when you start windows again.
Additional Note from Bob: You can also drag the Desktop folder to the start menu.
Then you just press Ctrl-ESC and click on Desktop
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Restoring Corrupted Icons
If you use a graphic Card and you change the resolution, sometimes the icons are bad.
End Win95 and restart. When you see the starting message press F8 then type standard.
After this start of Win95 exit and restart.
Change back to your Resolution and restart.
The icons should be corrected.
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Turn Off Window Animation
You can shut off the animation displayed when you minimize and maximize windows.
This tip makes navigating Windows 95 a lot faster especially for those that don't have
super fast video cards.
Open Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Control panel
Desktop
WindowMetrics
Right Mouse Click an empty space in the right pane.
Select new/string value.
Name the new value MinAnimate.
Doubleclick on the new string value (MinAnimate) and click on "Modify"
Enter a value of 0 for Off or 1 for On then hit
Close Regedit and all programs then reboot.
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Turning off Desktop Icons
If you want to turn off all the icons on your desktop:
Start the System Policy Editor
Select File / Open Registry
Select Local User
Select Shell / Restrictions
Select Hide all items on Desktop
All Icons will now be hidden.
Note: One side effect is the your CD will no longer automatically play when it is inserted.
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Adding in Old Windows Groups
If you are setup to dual boot between your old Win 3.x and want to add in the old groups, just click on the *.GRP file in your old windows directory. The programs will be added to your list under Programs in the task bar.
Note: Any DLL's the programs require will need to be copied.
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To speed up the Start Menu
Start the REGEDIT program
Search for the word desktop
This should be in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / CLSID / {00021400...
Right Click on the right panel
Pick NEW / String Value.
Name it MenuShowDelay, all one word.
Select a value from 1-10, 1 being the fastest.
Exit REGEDIT
Restart Windows
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To change the My Computer or Recycle Bin icon
Open Regedit
Find My Computer or Recycle Bin
Tab to the left panel
Double click on the highlighted line
Double click on DefaultIcon in the left panel
Double click on DefaultIcon right panel
Type in the value for the new icon
Note: DLL files can be used. Specify the location of the new icon with the filename,#
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Remove the tildes in short filenames
Open Regedit
Go to Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Right Click on the Right pane
Select New / Hex
Add the value NameNumericTail= 0
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To remove the Network Neighborhood Icon
Start POLEDIT. It is on the CD in \Admin\Apptools\Poledit
Open Registry
Select LocalUser
Select Shell
Select Restrictions
Select Hide Network Neighborhood
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To change the Startup and Logoff screens
Startup Screen
Create a 320x400 bitmap in the root directory and name it LOGO.SYS
You can use LOGOW.SYS file in the Windows directory as a starter
Logoff Screens
There are several files called LOGOX.SYS
They are actually bitmaps 320x400 that just have a different extension
The hidden one in the root directory LOGO.SYS is the startup logo.
There are two files in the Windows directory.
LOGOW.SYS is the Wait while Shutting down ... screen
LOGOS.SYS is the You may now shut-off or Reboot screen
To edit them, rename them with a BMP extension and use your favorite graphic editor
You can edit these files or create you own
They just need to be the same size
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you ever lose the Desktop but Explorer is still running with the Start Button,
you can do this to bring back your Desktop in a Windows box.
Click Start
Click Run
Type a period " . "
Then press Enter
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Creating a New E-Mail Shortcut
To create a shortcut that will open your default e-mail program starting a new e-mail,
Right click on an open area of the desktop
Select New / Shortcut
For the Command Line, enter mailto:
For the title enter something like New E-Mail
When you click on this your default e-mail program should start with a new e-mail form.
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Creating 3D Window Effect
You can create a nice 3D effect for your windows
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Colors
Make sure the following setting are there:
ButtonHilight=128 128 128
ButtonShadow=255 255 255
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Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff Icons
To create the icons, create a shortcut on the desktop.
For Shutdown, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindows
For Restart, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindowsexec
For Logoff, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 0
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Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort Alphabetically
If your Start Menu Program or Favorites are not sorting alphabetically, it is easy to fix this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/MenuOrder
Under here is are Favorites and Start Menu folders
In each there is a value called Order
Simply delete (or rename this) and restart Winodws
Your Favorites or Start Menus should now sort alphabetically
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Increasing the Icon Cache
Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer
Create a new string called Max Cached Icons
Give it a value of 10000
This will increase response time in windows and give the Shellicon cache file more elbow room.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open the Registry
Hit Ctrl+F
Type Shell Icon BPP
When found, right click the Shell Icon BPP icon
Click Modify
Change the value from 4 to 16
Click Ok
Close the registry
Restart your computer
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Removing Shortcut Arrows
An easy way to remove those irritating arrows from your desktop shortcut icons and not change their properties
Right click the Desktop / Properties / Appearance tab
Select Item
Scroll for Icon
The default size is 32
Change this to 30
Clicking Apply
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Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu
Open up the Explorer
Go to \WINDOWS\Start Menu
Right click in the right-hand panel
Add a new folder
Name it Control Panel.{21ec2020-3aea-1069-a2dd-08002b30309d}
This makes getting to the Control Panel items a little easier
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Making Desktop Changes Permanent
To make changes to the Desktop like window size, positon after rebooting:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Create a New Binary Value
Name it NoSaveSettings
Give it a value of 01 00 00 00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Easy Shortcuts on the Desktop
Here is an easy way to put shortcuts on the Desktop where they can easily be moved to other group icons.
Using the Explorer, create a SHORTCUT to the \Windows\Desktop directory in your \Windows\SEND TO directory.
Now whenever you want to make a shortcut and move it to the desktop:
Just make the shortcut you want using Explorer
Right click on that shortcut
In the pop up menu select the Send To and Desktop shortcut.
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Changing a Folder's Icon
To change the icon of a Folder on desktop:
Using the Explorer, move the folder from the Desktop directory to another directory on the hard drive
Right click on the new folder and select "Create Shortcut"
Move the shortcut to the Desktop
Right click and select a new icon
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Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! )
Start Regedit
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER /ControlPanel /Desktop /DragFullWindows
On "DragFullWindows" properties change 0 to 1
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Getting Screen Shots
If you need to get a screen shot, and you do not have a screen capture program, try this:
Hit the Print Screen key. This copies a bitmap of the full screen into the Windows clipboard. Start up a graphics editor and paste it in.
Alt + Print Screen will capture only the active window.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increasing the Size of the Scroll Bar
How to adjust the width of the scroll bar:
Select Properties
Select the Appearance tab
Go to the item list and find scrollbar.
Increasing the value in the Size field will increase the scrollbar width.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removing the InBox from the Desktop
A faster way to remove "Inbox" from the Deskop is to
Right mouse click on "Inbox"
Select delete
It will then tell you "you cannot store the inbox in the recycle bin. . .etc"
Click "Yes"
Wait 2 secs and it's gone.
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Removing the Recycle Bin
To remove Recycle Bin from the desktop:
Run REGEDIT.
Find NAMESPACE key in left pane (HKEY_Local_Macine \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current Version \ Explorer \ Desktop \ Namespace)
Expand NAMESPACE (click '+' box)
Delete the value RECYCLE BIN in right pane
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Adding Send To the Recycle Bin
Add a SHORTCUT TO THE RECYCLE BIN in your SEND TO folder.
That way you can just right click on a file you want to delete, and send it to the recycle bin without having to confirm each time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having Icons with No Name
Normally you have to have a name for an icon, just spaces are not allowed.
To create an icon with no name attached:
Make sure NumLock is on
Highlight the Icon you want to change
Right-Mouse click and select Rename
While holding down the Alt key, type 0160
Now the icon will have no name below it.
To Create Multiple Icons with No Name - From John R.
Follow directions detailed above
With the second icon simply add one space-bar character AFTER the 0160 number.
Each successive icon gets an additional space-bar character at the end (to prevent a duplicate naming error).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving the Start Button
How to move or close the start button!
Click on the Start button
Press the Esc key
Press the Alt and the - keys together
This will give you a menu, you can move or close
But if you move it you need to use the arrow keys and not the mouse.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Repositioning a Background Bitmap
Normally, you only options for displaying a background bitmap are tiled, centered, or stretch to fit (with the Plus Pack).
You can edit the registry and have a third option which is to place the bitmap anywhere on your screen by specifying the X and Y coordinates.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
Create new Strings called WallpaperOriginX and WallpaperOriginY
Give them values to position them around your desktop
The bitmap must be smaller than your desktop size
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changing Drive Icons
To change a drive's icon when you open My Computer
Create a file called AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive
Enter the lines
[autorun]
ICON=Name of the ICON file
For the name of the icon file you can either specify the path and name (e.g. ICON=C:\WINDOWS\ICONS\MY_ICON.ICO) or
a specific icon in a library (e.g. ICON=ICONFILE.DLL,2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding Shortcuts to Desktop Without "Shortcut To" text
Start Regedit
Go to:HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
Add binary value to Explorer:link="00,00,00,00"
Now You can make Shortcuts to desktop without Shortcut To" text.
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Easier User Interface
Add a menu item named "Open THIS folder!" to each of your cascading menus off of the Start menu.
This makes it easier to put items wherever you want them!
Go to Windows \ Start Menu \ Programs \ (etc.) in the Explorer
Start right click/dragging folders to the desktop, one by one.
Rename them and left click/drag them back to the same folder.
It takes a little while, but when you are finished you have a much easier interface to work with.
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Removing the Start Button
Click on the start menu button twice, so there is a dashed line around the button
Press Alt and the minus sign
Choose Close to make the start button disappear, or move to move it to the right!
Note from Bob: - You have to re-boot to get it back again, or:
Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
Highlight Explorer
Click on the End Task button
Select No to doing a full shutdown
Wait a few seconds and the click on the End Task button
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removing the InBox and Recycle Bin Icons from the Desktop
To remove the InBox from your desktop, without needing to run the Policy Editor:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Desktop \ NameSpace
Below that should be a few keys
Rename the key {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}. I usually put another character before or after the curly braces.
Restart Windows and the InBox icon should be gone
You can do the same for any other items you don't to show such as the Recycle Bin or The Internet icons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changing or Removing the Start Menu Icons
Download Microangelo and install it.
Create a blank.ico file.
Put it in a directory (C:\Windows. Then double click on the Microangelo Engineer to run it.
When you get it up on the screen click on the "start" tab. You will see a list of all the icons in the start menu.
Highlight the first one (programs) and select "Change". It will bring up a dialog box - select "browse".
Go to the directory that contains the blank icon and select it. Hit OK until you get back to the main
Engineer window and do all the rest exactly the same way.
When you have finished changing them all to the blank icon, Hit "Apply".
Hit your start button and look to see if all the icons are invisible. (They should be.)
Close out Micro Engineer and you're finished.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding Drive to the SendTo List
I have recently found that if you want to send something from A: drive or from any where to any drive, you can just make a short cut of that drive in subdirectory SENDTO.
For example I have two hard drives, a Floppy Drive, and a CDROM
After I have make a copy of each of my drive I will be able to send a whole directory of E:\XXX from the CDROM drive to A: drive or any other drive that i have had made the short c t in the SENDTO subdir of WINDOWS.
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Adding a Protected Briefcase
You can make your briefcase a shortcut on the on desktop so if you have multiple users on your PC and you don't want to have a password for your briefcase, you can at least protect it from inadvertent deletion by just making the briefcase a hidden file or in a different location other than \Windows\Desktop\My Briefcase, then send a copy or shortcut to the desktop.
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Adding the Device Manager to your Desktop
This allows you to quickly see all the devices attached to your computer.
I use it a lot to select Refresh when I add new external SCSI devices that were not
powered up at startup. This way you do not need to restart the computer. To add the Device Manager Icon:
Right click on an open area of your desktop
Select New / Shortcut
Type in C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL SYSDM.CPL, SYSTEM, 1
Replace C:\WINDOWS with whatever directory you installed Windows95
Click on the Next box
At the next dialog box type in Device Manager
Click on the Finish when you are done
Note: Replacing the 1 with a 3 will bring up the Performance Status
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Adding Options to the Right-Click of the Start Menu
To add an option to the Right-Click of the Start button:
Go to Control Panel, View, Options
Click on the File Types Tab
Scroll down until you see File Folder
Click on Edit
Click on New
Type in the Name you want to in the Action box
Type in the Application you want to use
A good option to add is an MS-DOS Prompt:
Try this c:\command.com /k cd %1
It also puts the shortcut on a regular folder.
This command will open a DOS window with that folder as the current directory.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to make the task bar autohide
Click the right button on a blank area of the task bar
Select Properties
Select Autohide
Click OK
This will make the task bar slide off the screen when the cursor moves away from it,
and it will slide back on when the cursor is moved near it again.
The same can be done for the MS Office task bar. The "sliding" effect is nice, and can free up some desktop space.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Removing Shortcut Arrows
'lnkfile', 'piffle' and 'internetshortcut' are the three places
that I have seen the isshortcut arrow.
The best way to deal with this is to rename the 'isshortcut' to
'isshortcutbak' by right clicking on the 'isshortcut' then
select rename and add 'bak' to the end.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Closing Nested Folders
If you have several nested folders (folders within folders) and want to close them all,
simply, hold the Shift key while closing the last folder
This will close all previous ones as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changing Application Icons
To have a wider choice of application icons:
Right click on the icon shortcut
Chose Properties
Click on the Program tab
Chose Change icon
Click on Browse
Select Files of type All Files
Browse to the directory where your icon files are kept
You can even use some bitmap files for you icons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving and Resizing the Taskbar
You can move the taskbar by pointing on a corner panel and dragging it
It is easier to move if you close all your windows first
You can also resize it by moving the mouse to the edge and dragging it larger or smaller.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Correcting Corrupted Fonts
If you have a problem with your non-true type fonts, here's what you do:
Open the Control Panel
Double click on Fonts
Search for the "Monotype Sorts" font
Delete this Font
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Updating the Desktop
If you want to update the desktop, for example after you've been changing the registry.
Right-Click anywhere on the desktop
Press F
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding the Desktop to your Start Menu
Create a shortcut to the Explorer on your Desktop
Right click on the Start button
Choose Open
Go into the Programs Folder
Drag the Windows Explorer Icon on your Desktop using the RIGHT Mouse button
Choose copy here
Change the command line switch
Right click on the Shortcut you created
Choose Properties
Choose Shortcut
Type in following command line as target:
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n, /root,
The last "," is vital!
If you want the two pane Explorer view ad the switch ,/e
Then rename the Shortcut to "Desktop" or whatever you choose and drag the icon onto the start button.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removing shortcut arrows
One problem when removing shortcut arrows is that
if you delete a desktop item, it will remove it.
If it is a shortcut it will just remove the icon.
If it is not a shortcut, then it will remove the program.
Having the little icon arrow is one way to tell the difference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting rid of Click Here to Continue
Start the Registry Editor
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
Create a binary value and call it NoStartBanner
Double-click on it and give it a value of 01 00 00 00
You will need to repeat the same steps for HKEY_USERS / .Default / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changing the Desktop and Explorer Folder Icons
The following steps will change the icon that is displayed as the default Folder icon.
Start the Registry Editor.
Search for "Shell Icons".
This will bring you to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / explorer / Shell Icons.
Double-click on the one has the value name of "3" in the right pane.
Type in the new icon you want to use.
If you have a DLL file specified, you need to count for the location of the particular icon you want to use, starting at 0.
To reset the icon cache, use a program such as Tweak with comes with the PowerToys from Microsoft.
Note: I haven't experimented with too many of the other icon changes possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding Control Panel Icons to the Desktop
Simply open up the Control Panel.
Right Click and Drag the icon you want to your desktop or folder.
This will create a shortcut for that icon.
It could come in handy if there are always certain items you need to get to quickly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Create a Control Panel menu directly below the Start Button
Click the Start Button once with your right mouse button. You should see a right-button menu (called a context menu because it offers different choices in different contexts).
You should see the items Open, Explore, and Find on the context menu. Click Explore with your left mouse button.
An Explorer file management window should open. A directory tree should appear in the left pane, with the right pane displaying the contents of the Start Menu folder.
Right-click any empty space within the right pane. A context menu should appear. Click New and then Folder.
The Explorer will create a highlighted icon called New Folder. Type in the following string, all on one line, replacing the words New Folder with this new line. You must type the period, the curly braces, all four hyphens, and the hexadecimal numbers exactly as shown. After the closing curly brace, press Enter.
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Other Folders can be added following the same instructions.
Dial-Up Networking.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Inbox.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Recycle Bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Network Neighborhood.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Desktop.{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Briefcase.{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
Fonts.{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minimizing All Windows
To minimize all windows:
Press Ctrl-ESC ESC to bring up the Task Bar
Right Mouse Click on an open area of the Task Bar
Select Minimize all Windows
This makes it a lot easier to minimize windows when all your open applications are full screen.
With the Microsoft Keyboard, you can accomplish the same thing by pressing the Window-M key.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turning on AutoArrange for Folders
To make all folders keep AutoArrange turned on:
Open up an existing folder
Select View / Arrange
Arrange the Icons the way you would like, (e.g. Name, Size,etc.)
Select View / Arrange again
Select AutoArrange
Press the Ctrl-key while you close the window.
This folder should now have AutoArrange always selected.
This should allow you to create new folders that have AutoArrange selected by default.
You only need to specify by Name, Size, etc. if you want to change it from the default you set above.
Note: I have only tested this on a few computers. Please give me feedback regarding any problems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creating Document Scraps
If you are using Microsoft Word 7.0,
you can highlight a section of the document then drag and drop the highlighted area to
your desktop. Windows will create a file for you with a name something like
"Document Scrap From..." followed by the first few words you selected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick Access to Your Desktop
How do you access your darn desktop when you have a ton of applications open?
Well you could right click on the taskbar and do a minimize all, but that can be slow.
Instead:
Open a browser window (double-click on "My Computer")
If there is no toolbar, select View from the menu and select Toolbar.
Then from the dropdown list-box in the toolbar select desktop.
Now minimize it and forget about it.
The next time you want to access your desktop just click the desktop window on the taskbar.
As long as you don't close the window when you shutdown, it will reopen when you start windows again.
Additional Note from Bob: You can also drag the Desktop folder to the start menu.
Then you just press Ctrl-ESC and click on Desktop
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Restoring Corrupted Icons
If you use a graphic Card and you change the resolution, sometimes the icons are bad.
End Win95 and restart. When you see the starting message press F8 then type standard.
After this start of Win95 exit and restart.
Change back to your Resolution and restart.
The icons should be corrected.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turn Off Window Animation
You can shut off the animation displayed when you minimize and maximize windows.
This tip makes navigating Windows 95 a lot faster especially for those that don't have
super fast video cards.
Open Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Control panel
Desktop
WindowMetrics
Right Mouse Click an empty space in the right pane.
Select new/string value.
Name the new value MinAnimate.
Doubleclick on the new string value (MinAnimate) and click on "Modify"
Enter a value of 0 for Off or 1 for On then hit
Close Regedit and all programs then reboot.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turning off Desktop Icons
If you want to turn off all the icons on your desktop:
Start the System Policy Editor
Select File / Open Registry
Select Local User
Select Shell / Restrictions
Select Hide all items on Desktop
All Icons will now be hidden.
Note: One side effect is the your CD will no longer automatically play when it is inserted.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding in Old Windows Groups
If you are setup to dual boot between your old Win 3.x and want to add in the old groups, just click on the *.GRP file in your old windows directory. The programs will be added to your list under Programs in the task bar.
Note: Any DLL's the programs require will need to be copied.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To speed up the Start Menu
Start the REGEDIT program
Search for the word desktop
This should be in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / CLSID / {00021400...
Right Click on the right panel
Pick NEW / String Value.
Name it MenuShowDelay, all one word.
Select a value from 1-10, 1 being the fastest.
Exit REGEDIT
Restart Windows
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To change the My Computer or Recycle Bin icon
Open Regedit
Find My Computer or Recycle Bin
Tab to the left panel
Double click on the highlighted line
Double click on DefaultIcon in the left panel
Double click on DefaultIcon right panel
Type in the value for the new icon
Note: DLL files can be used. Specify the location of the new icon with the filename,#
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remove the tildes in short filenames
Open Regedit
Go to Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Right Click on the Right pane
Select New / Hex
Add the value NameNumericTail= 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To remove the Network Neighborhood Icon
Start POLEDIT. It is on the CD in \Admin\Apptools\Poledit
Open Registry
Select LocalUser
Select Shell
Select Restrictions
Select Hide Network Neighborhood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To change the Startup and Logoff screens
Startup Screen
Create a 320x400 bitmap in the root directory and name it LOGO.SYS
You can use LOGOW.SYS file in the Windows directory as a starter
Logoff Screens
There are several files called LOGOX.SYS
They are actually bitmaps 320x400 that just have a different extension
The hidden one in the root directory LOGO.SYS is the startup logo.
There are two files in the Windows directory.
LOGOW.SYS is the Wait while Shutting down ... screen
LOGOS.SYS is the You may now shut-off or Reboot screen
To edit them, rename them with a BMP extension and use your favorite graphic editor
You can edit these files or create you own
They just need to be the same size
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
problems in pc
Why pc always restarts
CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast.
Cleans the following
Internet Explorer
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Auto complete form history, index.dat.
Firefox
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.
Opera
Temporary files, URL history, cookies.
Windows
Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.
Registry cleaner
Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs,
Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... also comes with a comprehensive backup feature.
Third-party applications
Removes temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many apps including Firefox, Opera, Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, Office XP, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and more...
100% Spyware FREE
This software does NOT contain any Spyware, Adware or Viruses.
ccleaner is a good general purpose windows crap-cleaning software. It is a combination of different windows tools such as disk cleanup, msconfig, add/remove programs accessible from single interface with added functionalities such as registry cleaning and secure delete. It's main menu has four options. Cleaner, Issues, Tools and Option
laptop
things need to connect laptop to the internet
The things you will need to connect you laptop to the internet...
1) Wireless Router
2) Laptop
After you have those things you need to setup your router and then once you have the router up and going you can connect to it and then you should be on the internet.....
Hard disk
Re-format Hard disk Procedures
Formatting a disk involves two quite different processes known as low-level and high-level formatting. The former deals with the formatting of disk surfaces and installing characteristics like sector numbers that are visible to, and used by, the disk controller hardware, while the latter deals with file system specific information written by the operating system.
Disk formatting is the process of preparing a hard disk or other storage medium for use, including setting up an empty file system. A variety of utilities and programs exist for this task; pictured to the right is the iconic FORMAT.COM of MS-DOS and PC-DOS.
Large disks can be partitioned, divided into logical sections that are formatted with their own file systems. This is normally only done on hard disks because of the small sizes of other disk types, as well as compatibility issues.
A corrupted operating system can be reverted to a clean state by formatting the disk and reinstalling the OS, as a drastic way of combating a software problem or malware infection. Obviously, important files Formatting a disk involves two quite different processes known as low-level and high-level formatting. The former deals with the formatting of disk surfaces and installing characteristics like sector numbers that are visible to, and used by, the disk controller hardware, while the latter deals with file system specific information written by the operating system.
Disk formatting is the process of preparing a hard disk or other storage medium for use, including setting up an empty file system. A variety of utilities and programs exist for this task; pictured to the right is the iconic FORMAT.COM of MS-DOS and PC-DOS.
Large disks can be partitioned, divided into logical sections that are formatted with their own file systems. This is normally only done on hard disks because of the small sizes of other disk types, as well as compatibility issues.
A corrupted operating system can be reverted to a clean state by formatting the disk and reinstalling the OS, as a drastic way of combating a software problem or malware infection. Obviously, important files
should be backed up beforehand.
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