Windows XP Tricks

1.Replace Microsoft Windows XP “Copying…”animation

The Windows file copying animation is located in shell32.dll. This animation can be replaced or deleted with the help of a tool called Resource Hacker Download it From

http://files1.softwarepod.com/33821/reshack.zip

Shell32.dll can be found in \WINDOWS\system32 directory. Back up this DLL, and open a copy in Resource Hacker.

Expand the AVI folder.Then expand the folder named 160, right-click on the resource 1033, click on ‘Replace a resource’ and browse to the location where the new animation is stored.

Then type :

Resource Type: AVI

Resource Name: 160

Resource Language: 1033

You can now see that the animation has changed. Then expand the folder named 161 right click on the resource 1033, click on ‘Replace a resource’ and browse to the location where the animation is stored .

Then type :

Resource Type: AVI

Resource Name: 160

Resource Language: 1033

To save the changes click on ‘Save’ under the File menu. Remember the location where you have

saved the file as you will need it later. Restart your computer in DOS mode and replace the

shell32.dll in C:\WINDOWS\system32 with the edited shell32.dll.

Restart your computer and see the change by copying a file.

2.Startbutton in Windows XP displays the System Time

Download starclock.

This tiny piece of code comes with startclock.ini file for making configuration changes such as 12-hour clock with seconds, 24-hour clock, load program at startup, refresh rate (be careful while changing this setting; smaller the number, more the CPU usage) and hide tray icon. To exit

this program, press “Ctrl+Alt+x”. That’sit, now you can save precious space on the taskbar by replacing the clock from the system tray.

3.Limit Logon Hours For Users

Parents might want to limit their children’s computer usage, so they can set a time limit only between which they will be automatically allowed to log into their Windows account. Limited usage for particular users for certain time periods can be set through commands.The command for doingthis is:

net user /time:.

For example, “net user Anu /time:M- F,08:00-17:00” will only let the user Anu log in between 8 and 5 from Monday to Friday.

4.Shutdown, Restart, And Logoff Icons On The Desktop

You might want to have shortcuts on the Desktop for shutdown, hibernation, etc. Right-click on the Desktop and make a new shortcut by selecting New > Shortcut. Then in the Type the location of the item: box, enter “shutdown.exe -s -t 00”, where “00” is the delay in seconds.

(You can increase it.) You will then be asked to select a name (call it “Shutdown”, for example). After creating the shortcut, you can change the icon assigned to it by right clicking on the shortcut and selecting Properties. The window that comes up next has a “Change Icon” option, which is easy to use. For a Restart shortcut, use “shutdown.exe -r -t 00”. Replacing -r by -l

gives the code for logging off:“shutdown.exe -l -t 00”. Fast user switching is also possible; the code for that is “Rundll32.exe User32.dll, LockWorkStation”. Similarly one can also make a shortcut for Standby/Hibernation.If Hibernation is enabled, the computer will hibernate, else it will go into Standby.

For this, use “%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll,SetSuspendState”.

Registry hacks to Improve performance of Windows XP

1. Load Applications Faster

The Windows prefetcher aims to load applications faster by “pre-fetching” the application and storing it in the pre-fetch cache. You can speed up application loading by changing the default value of one the settings under the relevant key.

Navigate to:

HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters

The default value for the EnablePrefetchersetting is 3.Change this value to 5to make applications load faster. You can experiment with higher values—up to 9—and see if you get a further

improvement.Since this relates to the system, a reboot is required for the change to take effect.

2. Optimisation Of The Boot Files

Normal file fragmentation scatters the pieces of a file all over your hard disk. This invariably also affects the files that load at boot time. You can defragment the files that load at system startup to enable faster loading.

Navigate to:

HLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction

A setting called Enable under this key needs to be set to Y (forYes). This setting defragments the boot files, and it might relocate startup files into contiguous clusters on the volume, reducing the

movement of the disk head when reading the volume.

With the setting at Y, boot file optimisation occurs automatically if the system is idle for 10 minutes. A reboot is required for the change to take effect.

3. Unload Unused DLLs

After an application is closed, XP has the annoying habit of leaving the associated DLL files in memory. This can hog precious resources and memory, and also cause stability problems. Make

the DLLs unload themselves from memory after the program is done running.

Navigate to:

HLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AlwaysUnloadDLL

If the DWORD Always UnloadDLL is not present, you will need to create it. Set the Value of the “(Default)” setting to 1. Application-associated DLLs will get unloaded when the application is closed.

4. Disable User Tracking

Useless to most users—except perhaps for system administrators—XP’s inbuilt user tracking system uses up precious resources.The system keeps track of the programs run by a user, the

paths followed, and the documents used. (Did you know your XP was spying on you all this while?) Disable this to free up system resources.

Navigate to:

HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Set the DWORD NoInstrumentationto 1. This will disable most of the user tracking features of XP.

5. Run 16-bit Apps In Their Own Processes

Use this hack if you have more than one 16-bit application left over from the days of your nostalgia. XP runs all 16-bit applications in a single process. Having a separate process for each application can increase their stability and process.

Navigate to:

HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\WOW

Browse to the String DefaultSeparateVDM. If it’s not there, you’ll need to create it. Set its value to Yes.

6. Load Kernel Into RAM

In Windows 98, programs could be loaded and kept in RAM for as long as you wanted. You could even load a video clip into RAMdirectly and have it play from there! XP is much more restrictive,

mostly due to security reasons. But when it comes to the Windows XP kernel, there’s something you can do. By default, XP only loads the required parts of the kernel into RAM at boot time, and calls the other parts as and when needed. Having the entire kernel available in memory speeds up processing.

Navigate to:

HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management

Set the value of the DisablePagingExecutive key to 1. This will make the entire kernel be loaded in memory. A reboot is required for the changes to take effect.

Only use this hack if you have sufficient memory. Recommended: 512 MB or more. Also, this hack may affect some programs that use the Windows swap file directly, such as Adobe Photoshop.

7. Edit The Startup Programs List

Many of the programs that start up at boot time do not figure in the Startup folder. If you want to stop more than one application from loading at bootup, you will normally need to go and turn off the preference in each application one by one. Tedious and time consuming. This hack can help you do this in one go.

Navigate to:

HLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

And to:

HCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

All the programs that load at boot time will be specified under these two keys. Review the applications listed in this list and delete all the entries you don’t want started up at boot time. Next bootup, they’ll be gone.

Be careful not to delete needed programs such as anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. You should be able to identify them by their path if not by the file name.

8. Optimise The System Cache

Desktop systems are normally optimised for applications, and servers for file caching. Depending on how you use your system, you may want to optimise your system for either.

Navigate to:

HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management

Find the setting LargeSystemCache. Set this DWORD value to 1 for server behaviour or to 0 for desktop behaviour.

Some programs such as SQL Server and Exchange Server set this value during installation and override the change.

9. Turn Off Windows Animation

Windows animations—like those that happen when you minimise or maximise windows—look good, but only if you have the processing power and/or RAM. To get the most performance

out of your system turn off this setting. You could do it via a host of settings in the GUI, but this Registry hack does it all in one fell swoop.

Navigate to:

HCU\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

Change the value called MinAnimate to 0 to disable Windows

Animation. A restart is required.

Automate the installation of Windows XP

You can create a CD that can install Windows automatically, putting in all the details and answering all the dialog boxes. The secret behind the unattended nature of the whole thing is the answer file, which tells Windows what to do while it’s installing. The answer file can be created using Windows Setup Manager. Using this tool, you can make the answer file so powerful that you can even tell

Windows to include or exclude individual components, set the display resolution, and

more. Here’s how you do it.

1: To begin with, insert your Windows XP installation CD into the drive and copy the entire contents of the CD to a folder on your hard drive.

2: Navigate to the Support > Tools folder on the CD and double-click the Deploy.cab file. Copy all the files to a folder on your hard disk.

3: The crucial part begins now—creating the answer file. To execute the Windows Setup Manager, double-click the Setupmgr.exe file from the contents of Deploy.cab, which you just copied onto the hard drive. The next step explains the option you need to select from the first few dialog boxes that appear.

4: The first few steps of the wizard are self-explanatory. Select the following options from the successive dialog boxes: Create a new answer file; Windows unattended installation (Select the appropriate Windows version); “Fully automated”; “No, this answer file will be used to install from CD”; and finally, accept the license agreement.

5: Under General Settings, you can customise the installation of Windows by providing the default name and organisation, display settings, time zone and the product key. Fill in the fields using the drop-down lists or by keying in the details. If you don’t select an option from the drop-

down lists, the default values will be used.

6: Under Network Settings, configure the computer name, administrator password, networking components and workgroup. If you are specifying the Administrator password, make sure you check the option to encrypt the password in the answer file. If you have a static IP address, you can specify the settings under the Networking Components section.

7 : Use the Advanced Settings section only to configure telephony, browser and shell settings and installation folders. Under Browser and Shell Settings, click the browser settings button to set the home page and add Favorites. If you are on a network, you can also specify the proxy settings.

8 : After you’re done,click Finish and save the answer file as “winnt.sif” when you are prompted. Advanced users can further tweak the answer file by referring to the Help file called Ref.chm in the same folder as the Setup Manager. Finally, copy the answer file to the i386 folder in the Windows XP installation folder you created in the beginning.

9: To burn a bootable installation disc, you need the boot sector of the Windows XP CD. Download it from www.tacktech.com/pub/microsoft/bootfiles/bootfiles.zip, and extract the boot sector file to a folder. This file will be used with Nero Burning ROM to create the bootable disc.

10 : Launch Nero and select CD-ROM(Boot) from the New Compilation dialog bo Under the Boot tab, specify the boot sector file you extracted. Set the emulation as “No emulation”, and keep the boot message blank. Most importantly, remember to set the “Number of loaded sectors” as 4.

11: Under the Burn tab, set the write method to disc at-once. Click the New button to begin adding files and folders to the compilation. Drag all the contents of the Windows XP installation disc that you copied to your hard drive (with the answer file in the i386 folder) into the left pane.

12: Insert a blank CD into the optical drive and hit the Burn button. Wait a few minutes and there you go! Your unattended Windows XP installation disc is ready!!!

Bypass Windows File Protection in Windows XP

There are two different solutions, depending on whether you have SP2 installed or not.

If you don’t have SP2 installed

Locate the file sfc_os.dll, which should be in your System32 folder. Copy it and name it sfc_os.bak. Open this file using a hex editor such as XVI32,which is an excellent freeware. This is an extremely simple edit and does not require an editor with advanced features. All you need to do is change two values. The location of these values will vary depending on whether you’re using Windows XP without a Service Pack or Windows XP with SP1, but the actual hex values to change will be the same.For Windows XP with no Service Pack installed, go to offset 0000E2B8 (E2B8 hex). For Windows XP with SP1, go to offset 0000E3BB (E3BB hex). At those offsets, change the hex values 8BC6 to 9090.Note: Depending on your hex editor, you may see the value separated by a space, as in “8B C6”. If you can’t find the values, do not proceed. It could be that your version of XP is different. The edit as described here only applies to English retail versions of Windows XP.

If you have SP2 installed

Disabling System File Protection in XP prior to SP2 involved editing the sfc_os.dll file, but the version of sfc_os.dll that comes with SP2 is different, and you cannot disable file protection with it. With SP2, you need to use the previous version of the sfc_os.dll file, which is 5.1.2600.1106 (the one with SP2 is5.1.2600.2180). Open sfc_os.dll with a hex editor and go to offset 0xECE9. The values to change are 33 C0 40. Change these to 90 90 90. Save your changes. Rename the file with a .bak extension (sfc_os.bak). The original exists in two locations: the\Windows\System32 folder, and the\Windows\System32\dllcache folder. Place a copy of sfc_oc.bak in both these folders. Then in the dllcache folder, look for cmd.exe, double-click it, and enter this command: copy SFC_OS.BAK SFC_OS.DLL /Y Next, go to your System32 folder and do the same thing. Look for cmd.exe, double- click it, and enter exactly the samecommand.

Points to remember

* If you have a problem overwriting the files, you can do the copying within the Recovery Console, or you can try Safe Mode.

*The dllcache folder is a hidden folder.

*It is important to copy the file to yourdllcache folder first.

*If you’re prompted to pop in your Windows CD, click Cancel.

Once the files have been copied, shut down your computer and restart it. The final step is to disable System File Protection in the Registry. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\

Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. In the right-hand pane, if it doesn’t exist, create a new DWORD value named SFCDisable. Double-click it and ente “FFFFFF9D”. Exit the Registry Editor and reboot. You’re done.

Creating A Windows XP SP2 Bootable CD

1. First, create a folder on your hard drive e.g. D:\XPCD. Now, copy the entire contents of existing Windows XP CD to this folder. The Windows XP SP2 executable file is an archive of the Service Pack 2 files, so you can use WinZip and extract SP2 files to another folder say D:\SP2. Now, locate update.exe under D:\SP2. This can be found inside the sub-folder named ‘update’. Go to the DOS command prompt and change your directory to this ‘update’ folder. Run the commandcommand “update where/integrate:"(dir)" “(dir)” is the directory you saved the Windows XP CD files to, ( “D:\XPCD” in ourcase). This will start integrating SP2 into the Windows XP Installation files saved at D:\XPCD. You should get message box confirmation that integration was successful.Now the D:\XPCD folder contains Windows XP installation files with SP2 integrated.

2. Extracting the boot image from the existing Windows XP bootable CD is easy. You need to use software that can do this. Bart’s Boot Image Extractor (BBIE) is a simple but useful utility and isavailable for download from http://nu2.abwehr.net/bbie10.zip. Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD drive, and go to the command prompt and change directory to the folder where BBIE is located. Run “bbie -v (CD drive letter)” e.g. “bbie -v F:”. You should now find a file named

‘image1.bin’ being created in the same folder from where bbie.exe was run. This file is the

Windows XP Boot image.

3. Insert a blank CD-R media into your CD Writer. Use burning software such as Nero to create your boot CD. Go to File >> New, select ‘Boot CD’ and select the boot image file that you created in Step 2. Make sure that emulation is set to ‘No emulation’. The boot segment is automatically filled in by Nero—all you need to do is set the number of loaded sectors to 4. Select Mode1 and ISO Level 2, from under the ISO tab. Enable all options under ‘Relax ISO Restrictions’, and use the ISO 9660 Character set. Under the Label tab, enter the same label name as that of theoriginal CD. To find this, just insert the Windows XP Installation CD into your CD- ROM drive and open Windows Explorer to see the name displayed against your CD drive. Click ‘New’ to open the File Explorer browser. In the file browser, select all the XP Installation files with SP2 integrated (from D:\XPCD in our example) for writing to a new CD. Finally open the CD Write dialog box, and under the ‘Burn’ tab, enable the Finalize CD option. Now, write the compilation to the blank CD-R. You have successfully created a bootable Windows XP installation CD with SP2.

Windows XP Hidden Applications

Go to Start > Run and type the executable name (eg: charmap) to run these applications.

1) Character Map = charmap.exe

2) Disk Cleanup = cleanmgr.exe

3) Clipboard Viewer = clipbrd.exe

4) Dr Watson = drwtsn32.exe

5) DirectX diagnosis = dxdiag.exe

6) Private character editor = eudcedit.exe

7) IExpress Wizard = iexpress.exe

8) Microsoft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe

9) Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe

10) ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe

11) Object Packager = packager.exe

12) System Monitor = perfmon.exe

13) Program Manager = progman.exe

14) Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe

15) Registry Editor = regedt32.exe [also regedit.exe] .

16) Network shared folder wizard = shrpubw.exe

17) File siganture verification tool = sigverif.exe

18) Volume Contro = sndvol32.exe

19) System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe

20) Syskey = syskey.exe

21) Microsoft Telnet Client = telnet.exe

22) Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe

23) Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe

24) System configuration = msconfig.exe

25) gpedit.msc used to manage group policies, and permissions

Create A Bootable XP CD That Pre-installs Additional Programs

To create a bootable XP CD that pre-installs additional programs, first install Windows Unattended CD Creator (WUCC). You need to have Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 or higher installed.Windows Unattended CD Creator is a very small application that will help you create an user-customized Windows bootable CD. You can choose which drivers, components or hotfixes to be installed and you can even set your network settings. All you need to do in a normal Windows installation is taken cared of by this little application, so you can install your operating system in the fastest way possible.

Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/3808480/WUCDCreatorSetup-1.0.2-Beta-10.exe.html

When you open WUCC, you will be asked for the Windows CD or the directory of the Windows install files (the CD must be bootable). To add these files, click Select. Afteradding the install files, select a targetdirectory for the new Windows CD (or you can modify the source directory provided it is not read-only). If you going to “Select target directory”, then it is better to use a new directory rather than an existing one. The target directory will be a temporary location the software will use to create your disc image.After you create your disc, you candelete this

directory.

Now,you can add Windows hot-fixes like those to Internet Explorer, WMP, DirectX, etc. Find

these in the Hotfixes tab. Click the Select button to import the .exe files. When you select one, it will ask for a short name in 8.3 format, like “Explorer.exe”. After confirming the name, click Add.Change to the Software tab. Here you add the software you want to install along with the Windows installation. Provide a name for the software in the Software Description box.Then “Select” the software type (Files Only or Directory). You’ll see that the files are being added to the program list. Click a program from the list and then click Select to enter the program’s start parameters (basically, the path from where it will be installed). Repeat this for every program in the program list.

The start parameter is like

“%CDROM%\Software\...”If you don’t want to copy the programs to the Windows CD, click

the checkbox titled “Install directly from…”, but when you repeat the step where you provide the start parameters, you must type a valid source path. Change the default “%CDROM%\Software\...”to the actual path, say: “C:\My Software\...\...”

When all your programs have been provided with their start parameters, switch to the Done tab. Here you’ll see the list of directories that will be included in the Windows CD. If the size of the disc you’ve made is larger than the disc size (usually 700 MB), you can delete unnecessary directories, or you can split the files according to the disc size. You can also use a DVD.

Finally, click “Create ISO-image” to create the image for the new Windows bootable CD. Write this image onto a disc. You can now delete the temporary folder (the target directory in the “Source-CD” tab) you created.

Create A Special Folder In Windows Explorer

We can create a folder like My Documents one that will appear as a system folder in XP by doing the following steps...

1.In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID. Create a new1 key with a Globally Unique Identifier(GUID). The GUID is a 128-bit identifier that is usually generated by Windows. This can be a random number that is used touniquely identify COM objects. Create a key using this random GUID:{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}

2.Set the value of the “(Default)” setting for this key to the name of the folder, say “My Personal Data”. Create a new sub-key under the main key and call it “DefaultIcon”. That is, create a key called:HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCFABCD1DE12345}\

DefaultIcon

Set the value of “(DefaultIcon)”to the filename and path of the icon file you want to use for the folder, for example,“C:\Topsec.ico”, without the quotes. If you don’t specify a path to an iconfile, Windows will use its default folder icon instead.

3 .Create another sub-key under the main key called “InprocServer32”, that is, create the

key called HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}\

InprocServer32

Set the“(default)” setting here to“shell32.dll”.Create another string value called ThreadingModel and set its value to “Apartment”. There’s one more: create another sub-key called

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}\Shell\

Open MyFolder\Command

Set the “(Default)” value here to the command that should be executed when the folder is clicked. In this case, it would be “explorer /root,c:\My Personal Data”.

4.There’s more keys to be created:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}\ShellEx\

PropertySheetHandlers\{FD4DF9EO-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345} and

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}\

ShellFolder. Under this key, create a new binary value called“Attributes” with the value

“00 00 00 00”.

5.To place the folder in My Computer, add the original key to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\

MyComputer\Namespace\

So the key value will be

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\

MyComputer\Namespace\{FD4DF9E0-E3DE-11CE-BFCF-ABCD1DE12345}

Now go to My Computer, and you’ll see a new custom folder!

Automate the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP

Cleanmgr.exe is designed to clear unnecessary files from your computer's hard disk. You can use command-line options to specify that Cleanmgr.exe cleans up certain files. You can then schedule the task to run at a specific time by using the Scheduled Tasks tool.

To start the Disk Cleanup tool, either run the Cleanmgr.exe command, or click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.

Disk Cleanup supports the following command-line options:

> /d driveletter: - This option specifies the drive that you want Disk Cleanup to clean.

Note: The /d option is not utilized with /sagerun: n.

> /sageset: n - This option displays the Disk Cleanup Settings dialog box and also creates a registry key to store the settings that you select. The n value, which is stored in the registry, allows you to specify tasks for Disk Cleanup to run. The n value can be any integer value from 0 to 65535. To have all of the options available when you use the

> /sageset option, you might need to specify the drive where Windows is installed.

> /sagerun: n - This option runs the specified tasks that are assigned to the n value if you use the \sageset option. All drives on the computer are enumerated and the selected profile runs against each drive.

For example, in Scheduled Tasks, you could run the following command after you run the

cleanmgr /sageset:11 command:

cleanmgr /sagerun:11

This command runs Disk Cleanup and includes the options that you specified with the cleanmgr /sageset:11 command.

The options for the files that you can specify for Disk Cleanup by using /sageset and /sagerun include:

-- Temporary Setup Files - These are files that were created by a Setup program that is no longer running.

-- Downloaded Program Files - Downloaded program files are ActiveX controls and Java programs that are downloaded automatically from the Internet when you view certain pages. These files are temporarily stored in the Downloaded Program Files folder on the hard disk. This option includes a View Files button so that you can see the files before Disk Cleanup removes them. The button opens the C:\Winnt\Downloaded Program Files folder.

-- Temporary Internet Files - The Temporary Internet Files folder contains Web pages that are stored on your hard disk for quick viewing. Disk Cleanup removes these page but leaves your personalized settings for Web pages intact. This option also includes a View Files button, which opens the C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local

Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 folder.

-- Old Chkdsk Files - When Chkdsk checks a disk for errors, Chkdsk might save lost file fragments as files in the root folder on the disk. These files are unnecessary.

-- Recycle Bin - The Recycle Bin contains files that you have deleted from the computer. These files are not permanently removed until you empty the Recycle Bin. This option includes a View Files button that opens the Recycle Bin.

-- Temporary Files - Programs sometimes store temporary information in a Temp folder. Before a program quits, the program usually deletes this information. You can safely delete temporary files that have not been modified within the last week.

-- Temporary Offline Files - Temporary offline files are local copies of recently used network files. These files are automatically cached so that you can use them after you disconnect from the network. A View Files button opens the Offline Files folder.

-- Offline Files - Offline files are local copies of network files that you specifically want to have available offline so that you can use them after you disconnect from the network. A View Files button opens the Offline Files folder.

-- Compress Old Files - Windows can compress files that you have not used recently. Compressing files saves disk space, but you can still use the files. No files are deleted. Because files are compressed at different rates, the displayed amount of disk space that you will gain is approximate. An Options button permits you to specify the number of days to wait before Disk Cleanup compresses an unused file.

-- Catalog Files for the Content Indexer - The Indexing service speeds up and improves file searches by maintaining an index of the files that are on the disk. These Catalog files remain from a previous indexing operation and can be deleted safely.

If you specify cleaning up the drive that contains the Windows installation, all of these options are available on the Disk Cleanup tab. If you specify any other drive, only the Recycle Bin and the Catalog files for content index options are available on the Disk Cleanup tab.

The More Options tab contains options for cleaning up Windows components or installed programs.

> The Windows Components option creates free space by removing optional Windows components that you do not use. Clicking Clean Up starts the Windows Components Wizard.

> The Installed Programs option frees more disk space by removing programs that you do not use. Clicking Clean Up starts the Change or Remove Programs option in the Add/Remove Programs tool.

How to BackUp the registry in Windows XP

Guided Help is available to export registry keys and to back up the registry. Guided Help can automatically perform the steps for you.

The actions that this Guided Help performs cannot be undone after Guided Help is finished.

Requirements to install and to use this Guided Help

1. You must be logged on to Windows by using a computer administrator account to install and to use this Guided Help.

2. You must be running an English version of Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Media Center Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition to install and to use this Guided Help.

You must first download Guided Help. To start, click the following link:

Guided Help

How To Increase Shutdown Time

When Windows shuts down, each running process is given 20 seconds to perform cleanup work by default. If a process does not respond within this time-out period, Windows displays the "Wait, End Task, or Cancel" dialog box for the process, which prompts you to wait for another 20 seconds, stop the process, or cancel the shutdown process.

Prolonging the Time-Out Period

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article:

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To prolong this time-out period, you can modify a registry value. The default time-out value (20 seconds) is stored in the WaitToKillAppTimeout value in the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

This value is expressed in milliseconds. You can use Registry Editor to modify this value and then restart the computer for the change to take effect.

how to Increase or Decrease the shut down time of Operating System XP or Vista

1. Go to regedit

2. Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

3. Find SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control

4. Then change the WaitToKillServiceTimeout value

5. Default value is 20,000 milli seconds if you decrease means shut down time will reduce vise versa

6. minimum time should be 3000 donot give below 3000

Warning :

Donot play in regedit it will affect your Operating System

NOTE: In general, it is best to refrain from increasing the shutdown time. For example, if your computer loses power, your uninterruptible power supply (UPS) may not be able to provide backup power for the computer long enough to allow all the processes, as well as the operating system, to shut down properly.

How To Increase Computer Speed And Performance? - Great Tips & Tricks

Many computer users are worried about their computer's performance. After spending lot of bucks, still they cannot have that charm of using PC as they had expected. Here I am going to explain some major tricks which are used by many computer users which help them to take efficient use of their CPU.

These tips could be of little importance for people who are already using processors with speed more than 2400 MHz but people using computer with less speed and little older mother boards and processors will enjoy these tips. They will realize significant increase in their computer's performance.

Here are these tips:

1. Operating system choice:

You will be amazed to know that your choice of choosing right windows or operating system could play a significant role on your CPU's performance. For example if you are given 5 bricks to carry them to next apartment and then 10 bricks to do same. Think how would be your performance if compared with both situations. Obviously you would perform well when carrying only 5 bricks.

Same is the case with Microsoft windows. The lighter the windows you have, higher the performance will be shown. Now this does not mean that you should install Windows 95. Here is the order of Windows weight: Windows XP (any addition) > Windows 2000 > Windows Me > Windows 98 (the lightest one). So if you have Pentium 4 with good ram then I would recommend you to use Microsoft Windows XP. People using Pentium 3 computers could use windows 2000 or if they have ram more than 256 MB then they can use windows XP too. All other lower speed users should use windows ME or 98.

You would have to compromise between speed and quality. You can decide now which operating system you should use now.

2. Partitions:

Before starting this topic I would like to give you a simple example. Suppose in one case if 100 items are placed in a house having only 2 rooms and you are required to find item no. 89, from second room. You will have to scroll through 50 items in room two to find item 89. In other case if same 100 items are placed in house having 4 rooms and you are required to find item 89 from room 2 then you would have to scroll through only 25 items present in that room and you would spend less time.

Same is the case here for partitions. If you are having more number of partitions, it would help your windows more to find required data easily from your hard disk, when you run any file or program. I would advice you to have more partitions each having at least 5 GB memory and maximum 20 GB.

You should be very careful while partitioning your hard drive and believe me many people make mistakes when they partition hard disk and lose all of their important data. Here is a free resource Windows Setup Guide that can help you to learn about partitioning, formatting hard disks and installing windows.

3. Defragment Your Hard disks:

Your partitions become more fragmented when you create or delete folders, save new files, delete or move them and they become scattered on you hard drive and as time passes, windows become slower and slower due to time needed by the system to find required file on hard disk. You can learn more about why volumes become fragmented by using "Disk Defragmenter" Help.

My main point is that your computer becomes lazy with time. I am sure many of you have observed that after installing windows, computer become slower gradually with time. So I would strongly recommend you that you use Disk Defragmenter regularly, at least a week. I know it is quite boring process but while taking bath, lunch start it. Believe me you will feel the difference later.

4. Frequency of Changing Windows:

I would like you to compare the difference between speeds of your computer when you freshly installed windows and now. I know your answer! Obviously now you will be feeling your PC lazier than before.

This is all due to many factors such as file fragmentation; increasing of windows registry size, increase in number of files and folders in your primary partition and also because of some viruses and spy wares.

I would strongly suggest you that you should reinstall windows after formatting your primary partition at least every 3 months. That will keep your computer always efficient. Many people think that formatting hard drive is not good. That is almost a wrong illusion. Formatting your partition every 3 months and installing fresh copy of windows will considerably increase your computer's performance. Same website Windows Setup Guide could help you regarding this matter.

5. My last tip:

Finally do not save junk, programs, movies, games and almost anything you can on your windows partition that is usually C: and believe me your computer would show optimal performance for longer time and provide fewer errors.

It is better you make your "My Documents" folder in other drive than C: as well as make also Program Files folder so install everything like Microsoft office e.t.c there not in windows installation drive. Do it and feel the difference.

Always check for your programs which automatically run at startup and use your computer's significant resources. Try to disable them carefully and feel the change in performance. Here is a way to check which programs and processes start automatically when windows starts.

Go to START->Run then type "MSCONFIG" then you can see which your memory consuming programs are.

If you do not want to do anything above and want shorter way with shorter improvements then create new user account and delete previous one. You will observer a slighter change and this also removes many errors if present in windows.

If you cannot even do this then why you wasted your time by reading this article and do something else ;)

I have tried my best to show all possible ways that could help you all to improve your computer performance.