All PC Tips

Is the Sleep button on your Windows XP machine in an inconvenient location for regular use? If so, follow these simple steps to create your own. Many computers or keyboards have a Sleep button, which when pressed puts the computer into either Stand By or Hibernate mode depending on how Windows XP's Power Options are configured. However, the Sleep button might not be in convenient location for regular use. For example, it might be on the front of a mid-tower case that's under your desk. You could activate Stand By or Hibernate mode from the Shut Down Windows dialog box. An alternative to this method is to create your own Sleep button by creating a shortcut on your desktop. Here's how. 1. Right-click on the desktop. 2. Select New | Shortcut. 3. Type rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState in the text box. 4. Click Next. 5. Type Sleep in the text box and click Finish. Now when you click the Sleep icon, Windows XP will put the computer into either Stand By or ...

To insert a custom message when you or someone on your network logs onto your computer, follow these steps: 1. Click on the Start button then select Run. 2. Type in 'regedit' and press OK 2. Look for the follow key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon 3. Right-click on 'LegalNoticeCaption', select 'Modify' and type in the Caption you'd like to appear 4. Right-click on 'LegalNoticeText', select 'Modify' and type in the message you want to appear 5. Close regedit and reboot your computer Your new message will appear at every logon (if you're on a domain) or right before the Welcome screen (for stand-alone computers).

When you modify any element of a theme, It is recommended that you always save your changes with a new theme name. If you select a different theme before you save your changes, the changes that you made to the theme are lost. To create your own desktop theme, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click Display. Or, right-click an empty area of the desktop, and then click Properties. 2. Click the Themes tab, and then, in the Theme list, click the theme that you want to modify. 3. Make your intended changes to the elements of the theme that you want to modify. The following list shows individual desktop theme elements and their locations on the Display Properties dialog box tab or in Control Panel: - To change the background design, the color, or the position of the background design on your screen, click the Desktop tab in the Display Properties dialog box. - To change the icons on your desktop, click the Desktop ta...

To have the Administrator account display in the Welcome Screen, try the following: Using TweakUI Power Toy for Windows XP! Download TweakUI from here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/ powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx Open TweakUI and click "Logon" option in the left pane. Put a checkmark against the option "Show Administrator on Welcome Screen". Click OK to close TweakUI. Logoff and see if Welcome Screen lists Administrator login. Changes are immediate and you can use the Winkey + L to switch back to Welcome Screen to see Administrator account is listed. Use this procedure to hide/unhide any user account from the Welcome Screen. Please remember, you can still login to a hidden account using CTRL+ALT+DEL classic logon method, but cannot Fast User Switch to a hidden user account.

Many people like to do their editing using the Context menus that appear when you right-click on an item. (In Word terminology, Context menus are also referred to as Shortcut menus.) If you find yourself changing the fonts of your text quite a bit, you can add your favorite typefaces to the Context menu that pops up when you right-click on text. This can save you a bit of mouse movement or a trip through the Font dialog box. To add your fonts to the text Context menu, follow these steps: Choose Customize from the Tools menu. Word displays the Customize dialog box. Make sure the Toolbars tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.) Scroll through the list of toolbars, and select the Shortcut Menus item. A floating Shortcut Menus toolbar appears. The toolbar has three items on it. These items represent the three categories of Shortcut menus used by Word. Click on Text, then choose Text from the drop-down list. This displays the actual Shortcut menu that appears when ...

Add My Pictures folder to the Send To contextual menu in Windows XP. 1. Go into My Computer. 2. Double-click your C: drive. 3. Click Documents and Settings for Users. 4. Go into your user folder. 5. If you haven't already, reveal your hidden folders. 6. Click Tools and choose Options. 7. Go to the View tab and select "Show hidden files and folders." 8. Click Apply. 9. Click OK. You'll see a hidden folder called Send To. Open it. Drag and drop the My Pictures shortcut on your desktop into the folder. If you don't already have a shortcut to My Pictures, right-click its entry and choose Create Shortcut.

Assign A Drive Letter To A Network Computer Or Folder 1. Open My Computer. 2. On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive. 3. In Drive, select a drive letter. 4. In Folder, type the server and share name of the computer or folder you want. Example: \servernamesharename. -or- Click Browse to find the computer or folder. Side Notes: - To open My Computer, double-click the My Computer icon on the desktop. - To reconnect to the mapped drive every time you log on, select the Reconnect at logon check box. - Mapped drives are available only when the host computer is available. - Network drives are assigned letters from Z to A, and local drives (your hard drive and removable storage devices) are assigned letters from A to Z. - You can assign a computer or shared folder to a different drive letter by disconnecting from the drive and then reassigning it to a new drive letter.

Can't find the destination you want, such as a network drive or a commonly-used folder? Fortunately, this list is customizable. Open My Computer and navigate your way to the C:Documents and Settings[username]SendTo folder, where C is the drive on which Windows is installed. Inside the SendTo folder, select File, New, Shortcut and follow along with the wizard: Click Browse, select the shortcut you want to add, click OK, click Next, type a name for the shortcut then click Finish. Alternatively, you could copy and paste (or drag and drop) the desired shortcut into the Send To window. Either way, the next time you select the Send To command, this new destination appears in the list.

You can add the 'Open New Folder' option, when browsing from folder to folder, to the right-click menu by going to the Regsitry and looking for this string: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Default Icon\Shell\Shellex Right-click on the 'Shell' string and select 'New->String Key' and name it 'opennew'. Right-click on the new string and change the value to read 'Open New & Window'. Right click on the 'opennew' string and select 'New->String Key' and name it 'Command'. Right-click on it and change the value to read %1.

Do you often look for a particular type of file on your hard drive, such as MP3's? You can save the parameters of that search and add it to your Quick Launch toolbar. Open the Search window and type in what you're looking for then launch the search. When it is done searching, choose 'File->Save Search'. In the 'Save in' field at the top, select 'Desktop'. The file will be named x.fnd (where x stands for what you searched for). Right-click on the new icon on the desktop and drag it onto the Quick Launch toolbar. Release the mouse and select 'Create Shortcut(s) Here'. If you don't want the shortcut to be called 'Shortcut to Files named x.fnd', right-click the new icon, select 'Rename', and type in a new name.

Tired of looking at the same old folder icons? Give your folders some style! Follow these steps to change the picture that identifies a folder, but note that if your folder doesn't contain an image file, Windows won't generate a folder picture. And you can only see a picture on a folder when it's in Thumbnails view within another folder. To switch to Thumbnails view, on the View menu of the open folder, click Thumbnails. 1. Right-click a folder, and then click Properties. 2. Click the Customize tab, and then click Choose Picture. 3. Select any image on your computer, click Open, and then click OK. Your folder will have a whole new look. Place it inside another folder that uses Thumbnails view to see the display. Use pictures to remind you of the contents of folders.

The Shutdown.exe command can shut down or restart your computer, optionally forcing it to shut down even if some programs attempt to prevent it. But it does not include an option to to hibernate. To create a shortcut, right-click on an empty space on the Desktop and select 'New->Shortcut'. In the 'Type the location of the item' box copy this text: rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll SetSuspendState Click on the Next button. In the 'Type a name for this shortcut' box type 'Hibernate' then click on the Finish button. If the shortcut does not work, then you will probably need to configure your computer to enable hibernation. Click on the Start button and select 'Settings'. click on 'Control Panel' then double-click on the 'Power Options' icon. Click on the 'Hibernate' tab and make sure the 'Enable Hibnernate' checkbox is checked.

If you want to keep casual observers from seeing what you are working on when you step away from your computer, or you just want to enjoy your favourite screen savers without the wait, you can create a screen saver shortcut that allows you to activate a screen saver instantly. Here's how to create a screensaver shortcut. Part 1: Locate Screen Saver Files Click "Start" and then click "Search" to open the "Search" window. In the "Search Companion" area, click "All Files and folders". Click the "More advanced options" arrow. Ensure that there are ticks in the "Search system folders" and the "Search sub-folders" check boxes. In the field labelled "All or part of the file name:" enter *.scr In the drop-down list labelled "Look in:", choose the drive where system folders are likely to be stored (probably the "C" drive"). Your search should look like the ...

If the past instructions for configuring your system to boot from CD or you have acquired the necessary boot floppy/floppies; you can now boot the computer and follow the on screen prompts. Have your Product Key available, typical install is around 30 minutes. If setup seems to hang, wait at least 10 minutes + before restarting system. You should experience momentary screen blackouts. 1. Power on the computer. Press the Pause/Break key as soon as you see text on the screen. [If you currently are running in an OS of any flavor, insert XP CD and restart computer. Skip to #3 if system is configured to boot from CD.] 2. Insert XP CD into CD drive. Press ENTER to resume booting from the XP CD. (BIOS must support booting from CD and boot order must be set so CD boots before hard drive. If computer does not support booting from CD go to 2a for floppy install). 2a. Floppy install: Boot from Win98/Me/Special XP install floppy disk with smartdrv.exe added to the boot disk; or the Win XP ...

Do you often look for a particular type of file on your hard drive, such as MP3's? You can save the parameters of that search and add it to your Quick Launch toolbar. Open the Search window and type in what you're looking for then launch the search. When it is done searching, choose 'File->Save Search'. In the 'Save in' field at the top, select 'Desktop'. The file will be named x.fnd (where x stands for what you searched for). Right-click on the new icon on the desktop and drag it onto the Quick Launch toolbar. Release the mouse and select 'Create Shortcut(s) Here'. If you don't want the shortcut to be called 'Shortcut to Files named x.fnd', right-click the new icon, select 'Rename', and type in a new name.

Can't find the destination you want, such as a network drive or a commonly-used folder? Fortunately, this list is customizable. Open My Computer and navigate your way to the C:Documents and Settings[username]SendTo folder, where C is the drive on which Windows is installed. Inside the SendTo folder, select File, New, Shortcut and follow along with the wizard: Click Browse, select the shortcut you want to add, click OK, click Next, type a name for the shortcut then click Finish. Alternatively, you could copy and paste (or drag and drop) the desired shortcut into the Send To window. Either way, the next time you select the Send To command, this new destination appears in the list.

The Shutdown.exe command can shut down or restart your computer, optionally forcing it to shut down even if some programs attempt to prevent it. But it does not include an option to to hibernate. To create a shortcut, right-click on an empty space on the Desktop and select 'New->Shortcut'. In the 'Type the location of the item' box copy this text: rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll SetSuspendState Click on the Next button. In the 'Type a name for this shortcut' box type 'Hibernate' then click on the Finish button. If the shortcut does not work, then you will probably need to configure your computer to enable hibernation. Click on the Start button and select 'Settings'. click on 'Control Panel' then double-click on the 'Power Options' icon. Click on the 'Hibernate' tab and make sure the 'Enable Hibnernate' checkbox is checked.

Parents might want to limit their children’s computer usage or u want limit  your employees 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 doing this is: net user accountname /time: For example, “ net user ALLPCTIPS /time:M-F, 08:00-17:00 ” will only let the user ALLPCTIPS  log in between 8 and 5 from Monday to Friday. or " net user ALLPCTIPS/times:M-F,8am-3pm;Sa,8am-1pm;Su,8am-10am" For specific days use this (M,T,W,Th,F,Sa,Su). The value in case of time: all = a user can login always and null = a user can never login. Separate day and time with commas, and units of day and time with semicolons as above.Do not use spaces between time. To turn off limitation use the following. "net user accountname/times:all" replace accountname with the ...

Windows lets you synchronise your system clock with a server on the Internet. If you didn’t know about it, double-click on the time and click on the Internet time tab. Check “Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server” to enable it. At times, the servers may be down. To add servers, in the Registry Editor, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers. Here, create new String Values with names like 3 , 4, and so on. Double-click on them to enter the Value(s), and enter the server address(es).

When programs lock up or stop responding, you are forced to [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Delete] > End Process. This tweak lets Windows automatically shut down hung programs. In the Registry Editor, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. You will find a String Value called AutoEndTasks. Double-click on it and change the value to “1”. You can also set the timeout value by doubleclicking on the WaitToKillAppTimeout String Value and changing its value to the time in milliseconds before Windows kills the task.

Few people know that the Volume Control has a hidden, compact-looking profile. You can create a shortcut with the command as “sndvol32 /s” or by pressing [Ctrl] + [S] with the Windows Volume Control running. Press [Ctrl] + [S] again to revert to the original size. To open a minimal volume control with only the single slider, you can create a shortcut by first right-clicking at the location you want to add the shortcut, then click New > Shortcut, and type in “sndvol32 /t”.

At times you might need to switch to Safe Mode to fix a problem such as a virus infection or uninstalling drivers. You can add an entry to the boot list. To do this, go to Control Panel > System (or simply press [Windows] + [Pause/Break]). Click on the Advanced tab. Then, click on the Settings button under the Startup and Recovery section. Click on Edit under System Startup to indirectly edit the boot.ini file. Add the following entry: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WIN DOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP - Safe Mode” /fastdetect /safeboot:minimal /sos /bootlog . You can add more entries if needed to boot any Windows installations on other disks or partitions.

Windows XP comes built in with a compression tool that reads ZIP files as folders. When you install Windows, you can open ZIP files using that tool. Then, say you install WinZip or WinRAR, and then uninstall it. You’ll then need to reenable the inbuilt ZIP file reader. To enable Windows ZIP files as a folder feature again, you can use a simple command. At a command prompt,enter “regsvr32 %windir%\ system32\zipfldr.dll”. Press [Enter].

Almost all keyboards, cheap or costly, come with special keys including an Internet key. You can choose to make that key load another application instead of the browser. (The keyboard drivers often provide this capability, but sometimes they don’t.) To change this, in the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Appkey\7. Create a new String Value by right-clicking in the right pane and selecting New > String Value. Enter the name as “ShellExecute”. Double-click on the newly-created String Value and enter the Value as the path of the file you want to run when you press the Internet Key. Click OK.

As it stands, it is only possible to pin programs or shortcuts to the Start Menu, but no folders. To add this, in the Registry Editor, browse to HKEY_ CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\Contex tMenuHandlers. Create a new key by right-clicking in the right pane and selecting New > Key. Enter “{a2a9545da0c2- 42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}” as the key name. Now that that’s done, rightclick on any folder in Windows Explorer, and you will see a “Pin to Start menu” option.

Windows XP Professional’s password expires after 42 days. You can disable expiring of Windows passwords if this is a bother. In the Control Panel, double-click on Administrative Tools, then Computer Management. Expand Local Users and Groups. Under Users, right-click on the account of your choice and click Properties. Check the box for “Password never expires”.