DISABLE THE UNREAD EMAIL NOTIFICATION IN XP WELCOME SCREEN

1. Click on Start button and type “Regedit” in Run option.

2. Here locate to :HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UnreadMail

3. In right side panel, double click on the key MessageExpiryDays and set its value to 0.

4. If MessageExpiryDays key doesn’t exist, then in right side panel, click right to create a key with the nameMessageExpiryDays and then set its value to 0.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Restore Default Desktop Icons

You can restore the all windows default desktop icons, if you accidentally deleted them from your computer desktop. 

List of windows default icons. 

• My Computer
• Internet Explorer
• My Documents
• My Network Places
• Recycle Bin

Fellow the given steps to restore the windows default icons: 

• Go to Start Button and open Run
• Type the given command to open windows Desktop items dialog box.
  Control desk.cpl,,@Web 
• Click OK
• Now Select Items that you want on your Desktop
• Click Ok

Disable and Delete thumbs.db file from Folders

Thumbs.db is is a cache file of the current thumb picture in that directory. To remove it, go for following steps:

1.  Open Any Folder

2. Go to Tools Menu

3. Click On Folder Options

4. Go to “View” tab

5. In the section “Files And Folders” Click on “DO NOT CACHE THUMBNAILS”

Change Windows Default Identity

In windows XP, you can change the windows default identity (Computer Manufacturer Logo and other information’s) and share your own private identity there. First you right click on My Computer then click on Properties, here may be you will see computer manufacture logo or empty area. So add your own logo there to make your computer more private.Follow the given steps to change the system default Properties identity:

First click on Start button and type notepad in Run option then press Enter.Now type the following text in notepad.

[General]
Manufacturer=”Haseeb Haider Memon”
Model=” Computer Tips and Tricks!”
[Support Information]
Line1=”Free Computer Tips And Tricks by HASEEBHM”
Line2=”pctipsntricks.wordpress.com”

There are some standard keywords, for example Manufacturer, Model, Line 1, Line 2; you can not change these keywords. Now save this notepad file in c:/windows/system32 folder with file name, OEMINFO.INI.

Now choose your favorite picture to set as logo, using any picture editor resize the picture size approx. 150X150 pixels then save it in c:/windows/system32 folder with file name OEMLOGO.BMP. 

Now close the all files and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect. To verify these changes, right click on My Computer and open Properties.  

ACCESS DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THROUGH RUN COMMAND

• appwiz.cpl — Used to run Add/Remove wizard
• Calc –Calculator
• Cfgwiz32 –ISDN Configuration Wizard
• Charmap –Character Map
• Chkdisk –Repair damaged files
• Cleanmgr –Cleans up hard drives
• Clipbrd –Windows Clipboard viewer
• Cmd –Opens a new Command Window
• Control mouse –Used to control mouse properties
• Control –Displays Control Panel
• Dcomcnfg –DCOM user security
• Debug –Assembly language programming tool
• Defrag –Defragmentation tool
• Drwatson –Records programs crash & snapshots
• Dxdiag –DirectX Diagnostic Utility
• Explorer –Windows Explorer
• Fontview –Graphical font viewer
• Fsmgmt.msc — Used to open shared folders
• Firewall.cpl  — Used to configure windows firewall
• Ftp -ftp.exe program
• Hostname –Returns Computer’s name
• Hdwwiz.cpl — Used to run Add Hardware wizard
• Ipconfig –Displays IP configuration for all network adapters
• Logoff — Used to logoff the computer
• MMC –Microsoft Management Console
• Msconfig –Configuration to edit startup files
• Mstsc — Used to access remote desktop
• Mrc — Malicious Software Removal Tool
• Msinfo32 –Microsoft System Information Utility
• Nbtstat –Displays stats and current connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP
• Netstat –Displays all active network connections
• Nslookup–Returns your local DNS server
• Osk —Used to access on screen keyboard
• Perfmon.msc — Used to configure the performance of Monitor.
• Ping –Sends data to a specified host/IP
• Powercfg.cpl — Used to configure power option
• Regedit –Registry Editor
• Regwiz — Registration wizard
• Sfc /scannow – System File Checker
• Sndrec32 –Sound Recorder
• Shutdown — Used to shutdown the windows
• Spider — Used to open spider solitaire card game
• Sfc / scannow — Used to run system file checker utility.
• Sndvol32 –Volume control for soundcard
• Sysedit – Edit system startup files
• Taskmgr –Task manager
• Telephon.cpl — Used to configure modem options.
• Telnet –Telnet program
• Tracert –Traces and displays all paths required to reach an internet host
• Winchat — Used to chat with Microsoft
• Wmplayer — Used to run Windows Media player
• Wab — Used to open Windows address Book.
• WinWord — Used to open Microsoft word
• Winipcfg –Displays IP configuration
• Winver — Used to check Windows Version
• Wupdmgr –Takes you to Microsoft Windows Update
• Write — Used to open WordPad

Hide the Text Below Desktop Icons

Works on: All versions of Windows

Some icons you use so regularly that you don’t need that annoying text below the icon. A good example of this is Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. We all know what those icons look like. To remove that text, just follow these instructions.

Right-click on the shortcut icon, and choose Rename. Now hold down the Alt key and type in 255 on the keypad to the right of the keyboard. You can’t use the number keys right above the keyboard. If you have a laptop, you can turn on Numlock and then use the little number keys next to the regular letters.

The way this works is that the Alt+255 character is blank, so the shortcut filename is actually just named with a character that is completely blank. For the first shortcut on the desktop, you would use Alt+255, but for the next shortcut, you’ll have to enter the combination twice (Alt+255, Alt+255). For the third, three times… and so on. This is because you can’t name two different shortcuts or files the same thing. Entering Alt+225 twice would give you two blanks instead of one.

Now we have a beautiful icon, with no text underneath it!

Create a Shortcut to Lock Your Computer

Leaving your computer in a hurry but you don’t want to log off? You can double-click a shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screensaver.

To create a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer:
Right-click the desktop.
Point to New, and then click Shortcut.
The Create Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following:
rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

Click Next.
Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it “Lock Workstation” or choose any name you like.
Click Finish.

You can also change the shortcut’s icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll).
To change the icon:
Right click the shortcut and then select Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button.
In the Look for icons in this file text box, type:
Shell32.dll.
Click OK.
Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK

Note: You can also lock the computer by pressing WinKey + Del

Speed Up Menus

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. Type Regedit in the box, and then click OK.

3. Expand the menu in the left panel and select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder.

4. Scroll down in the right panel and double click on the MenuShowDelay file.

5. In the Value Data box, change to default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1.

6. Click OK.

Caution: Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on your computer.

Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs

Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you’re logging off, turn it off completely.

To do this Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed, and then click Properties.

In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.

Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.

Click OK, and then click OK again.

Now that message won’t be popping up when you least want to see it.

Close All The Open Windows At Once

If you just opened a number of separate, related windows (a folder inside a folder, and so on), there’s an easier way to close them all than one-at-a-time. Hold down the Shift key as you click the X caption button in the upper-right corner of the last window opened. Doing so closes that window and all windows that came before it.

Windows Shortcuts

Windows: Display the Start menu
Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock the workstation
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q: Quick switching of users (Powertoys only)
Windows + Q: Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your PC

Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons

1. Start regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/lnkfile
3. Delete the IsShortcut registry value.

You may need to restart Windows XP.

Adding Programs To Stay On The Start Menu

Right click on any .exe file in Explorer, My Computer, Desktop and select ‘Pin to Start Menu’, the program is then displayed on the start menu, above the separator line. To remove it, click the file on the start menu and select ‘Unpin from Start Menu’. Below you can check the before and after shots.

Disable CD Autorun

1) Click Start, Run and enter GPEDIT.MSC

2) Go to Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System.

3) Locate the entry for Turn autoplay off and modify it as you desire.

Remove Recycle Bin From Desktop

1. Click Start Menu
2. Click on Run
3. Type “Regedit” and click OK
4. Navigate to the following key 
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
   SOFTWARE
   Microsoft
   Windows
   CurrentVersion
   explorer
   Desktop
   NameSpace
5. Click on the “Recycle Bin” string in the right hand pane. Hit Del, click OK.

Rename Recycle Bin

1. Click On Start Menu
2. Click Run
3. Write “Regedit”
4. Click OK
5. Go to “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}”
6. Change the name “Recycle Bin” to whatever you want.

 

How To Make Desktop Icons Transparent

1. Go to ontrol Panel
2. Double Click On “System”
3. Choose Advanced Tab
4. Click “Settings” button under Performance area
5. Choose Visual Effecsts
   
6. Enable “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop” check box.