Does browsing the network for shares take forever? There is a setting that disables checking for scheduled tasks when browsing the network. This can speed up things considerably if you’re on a larger network. This hack works on Windows 2000/2003/XP and Vista.
As with any registry edits, you might want to back it up before making any changes.
Perform the following steps:
1. Click Start > Run, type regedit and click OK.
Click the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
then SOFTWARE
then Microsoft
then Windows
then CurrentVersion
then Explorer
then RemoteComputer
then NameSpace
Right-click on {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} and select Delete.
Click Yes to confirm deletion.
After you restart the computer, network browsing should be faster.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows Vista Tips, Windows XP Tips |
How to create custom shortcuts to launch applications in Windows XP and Vista.
1. Right-click on the icon for the application and select Properties.
2. Click once in the Shortcut key field and then you can press the keys on your keybord that you would like to use to launch that application. In the example below I used Ctrl + Alt + N to launch Firefox.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows Tips, Windows XP Tips |
You get an error message when trying to install Windows Updates on your Windows XP or Windows 2000 computer.
Problem: A problem on your computer is preventing updates from being downloaded or installed.
Here’s how to solve the problem:
1. Click Start > Run and type regsvr32 wuapi.dll
2. When you receive the message that the DLL has been registered, click OK and perform the same steps for each of the following commands under Start > Run:
regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32 wuaueng.dll
regsvr32 wucltui.dll
regsvr32 wups2.dll
regsvr32 wups.dll
regsvr32 wuweb.dll
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows XP Tips |
Disable the feature that highlights programs that have just been installed.
1. Right-click on Start and select Properties.
2. Click the upper Customize button next to Start menu.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Check or uncheck the box for Highlight Newly Installed Program and click OK then OK again.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows Vista Tips, Windows XP Tips |
What to do if you get an error message when trying to play a game:
Game requires Administrative rights to play
Windows XP
1. Right-click the shortcut for the game.
2. Click Advanced, click Run with different credentials, and click OK.
3. Start the game.
4. When prompted, type username and password that has administrator rights.
Windows Vista
1. Right-click the shortcut for the game, and then click Run as administrator.
2. If prompted, type username and password that has administrator rights or click Allow.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows XP Tips |
A common virus disables the Show hidden files and folders function in Windows XP. Here is how to enable it again.
The symptom of this problem is every time you select the Show hidden files and folders options under Folder Options, the screen just flashes when you click OK and the hidden files and folders are not unhidden. You can fix this problem with a registry hack:
1. Click Start > Run and type REGEDIT
2. Click the plus sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER
then SOFTWARE
then Microsoft
then Windows
then CurrentVersion
then Explorer
then Advanced
On the right side, double click the hidden value and give it a value of 1.
You should now be able to enable hidden files and folders.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows Vista Tips, Windows XP Tips |
Make services shut down faster in Windows XP and Windows Vista.
1. Click Start (Then Run in Windows XP) and type REGEDIT.
2. Click the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
then SYSTEM
then CurrentControlSet
then Control
3. Double click the WaitToKillServiceTimeout key. The default value is 20000 which is 20 seconds. You can change this to 8000 or 8 seconds.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows Tips |
How to prevent the Automatic Desktop Cleanup Wizard from Running.
1. Right-click the Desktop and select Properties.
2. Select the Desktop tab.
3. Click the Customize Desktop button.
4. Uncheck the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days box on the General tab.
5. Press OK, and OK again.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Windows XP Tips |
NET SEND commands don’t usually work once Windows XP SP2 has been installed because SP2 disabled the Messenger Service. This service needs to be re-enabled on the sending and receiving computers in order to use it. You might get the error:
An error occurred while sending a message to Computer Name/Username.
The message alias could not be found on the network.
More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 2273.
1. Right-click My Computer, and click Manage.
2. Click the plus sign next to Services and Applications, and then click Services.
3. double-click Messenger.
4. Click the General tab and select Automatic from the Startup type list, and then click Apply.
5. Under Service status, click Start, and click OK.
6. Click OK, then OK again.
Be sure to perform these steps on both the sending computer and the receiving computer.
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Windows XP Tips |
Windows setup freezes or restarts the computer at the point when it is “Installing Devices”.
This usually happens when there is a problem with one or more drivers already installed on the previous XP installation. The solution is to rename the drivers folder.
1. Use a boot disk to boot into DOS. If you don’t have one, you can get one from Bootdisk.com.
2. Rename the Drivers folder at %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers
3. Restart the computer and continue installing Windows.
When you try to use Internet Explorer under Windows XP you get the error:
The page cannot be displayed. Additionally, you may have no IP address or no Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, and you may be receiving IP packets but not sending them.
Fixing Winsock 2 may fix this problem.
1. Click on START>RUN
2. Type the following command:
netsh winsock reset catalog
This should reset Winsock 2 registry entries. See if you have the same problem.
Read more… »
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Windows XP Tips |
When you run Windows Automatic Updates under Windows XP you get the error:
The instruction at “0×745f2780″ reference memory at “0×00000000″. The memory could not be ‘read’.
You may also have an event in the Event Log that says the following:
Faulting application svchost.exe, version 5.1.2600.2180, faulting module msi.dll, version 3.1.4000.2435, fault address 0×00012780.
Read more… »
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Windows Vista Tips, Windows XP Tips |
Many people don’t know that they cannot upgrade their existing Windows XP Professional installation to Windows Vista Home.
I find it shocking that I would’ve been better off purchasing Windows XP Home when it comes to upgrading to Windows Vista. I purchased Windows Vista Home and found that I had to start with a clean install because you cannot upgrade an XP Pro box to Vista Home according to this page. I thought it would be a no-brainer that Microsoft would allow any Windows XP user to upgrade to any version of Vista. I mean after all, it is supposed to be an “upgrade” no matter what, right?
I also found that I’m not the only one that is shocked by this. Everybody I work with was planning to get the Home version of Vista because they don’t feel the need to have all the other features that are sold with the Ultimate and Business versions, but the only choices for us are the Vista Business or Vista Ultimate editions.
Add the option to Open with Notepad to the right-click menu.
Right click here and save the file. Then run it. It will import the following information into your system registry.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open with Notepad]
@=”"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Open with Notepad\command]
@=”notepad.exe %1″
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Windows Tips, Windows XP Tips |
You get an error when accessing Network Properties:
You do not have sufficient privileges for accessing connection properties
This can happen in Windows XP and Windows 2003 if the Default Impersonation Level setting is set to Anonymous.
To fix this problem…
1. Click Start–>Run, type dcomcnfg, and click OK.
2. Expand Component Services, expand Computers, right-click the computer that you want to configure, and click Properties.
3.Click the Default Properties tab, and then click to select the Enable Distributed COM on this computer check box, if it is not already selected.
4. In the Default Impersonation Level box, click Identify, and click OK.
5. Restart the computer.
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Windows Vista Tips, Windows XP Tips |
et CPU priority for each of your applications or processes that are running. This is very handy for handling applications that take most of your resources. It works in Windows Vista and Windows XP.
1. Right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager.
2. Right-click the Process you wish to change.
3. Select Set Priority.
4. Now select the priority you wish to assign to this process.
5. Click Yes to the Task Manager Warning.
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Windows XP Tips |
Why do Files and Folder names show up in blue instead of black in Windows XP?
If file names or folder names show up in blue, it is because file compression is enabled on that file or folder. This can cause some applications to not function properly when enabled.
The option is located when following these steps.
1. Right-click the file or folder and click PROPERTIES
2. Click ADVANCED
3. There is a check box for Compress contents to save disk space
How to fix the problem when your Administrative Tools folder is empty and contains no icons to click on.
1. Click START–>RUN and type REGEDIT. Click OK.
2. Click the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
then SOFTWARE
then Microsoft
then Windows
then CurrentVersion
then Explorer
then User Shell Folders
3. Delete the value named Common Administrative Tools
4. Open Shell Folders under the Explorer tree. Delete the value named Common Administrative Tools there also.
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Registry Hacks |
Disable the message from appearing warning you that “The Publisher Could Not Be Verified” when you run certain files.
1. Click Start–>Run and type gpedit.msc. Click OK
2. Go to User Configuration–>Administrative Templates–>Windows Components–>Attachment Manager
3. Add “*.exe” to the “Inclusion list for moderate risk file types” setting. You can also add other file types.
This should disable the “Publisher Could Not Be Verified” messages from appearing for that file type in the future.
This tip was based on tips from the link below:
http://blog.davestechshop.net/archive/2006/10/30/IE7PublisherCouldNotBeVerified.aspx
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Registry Hacks |
Enable or disable the warning message that says the following:
You are running out of disk space on [drive]. To free space on this drive by deleting old or unnecessary files, click here.
1. Click START–>RUN and type REGEDIT. Click OK.
2. Click the plus sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER
then SOFTWARE
then Microsoft
then Windows
then CurrentVersion
then Policies
then Explorer
Read more… »
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