Windows XP Tweaks
www.ntfs.org
Do Not Attempt these tweaks unless you are knowledgable on Windows Files and the registry
User
Interface Tweaks
Show file extensions
In any folder that contains files. Click on the tools menu and select
folder options.
Then click on the view tab.
Locate where it lists Hide extensions of known file types and uncheck
it.
Click OK
Remove Shared Doc's from My Computer
Start regedit
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/
CurrentVersion/Explorer/MyComputer/NameSpace/DelegateFolders.
Locate the key {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}.
Right click on it and select delete.
Reboot !
Turn off autoplay for CDs
Open TweakUI
Click on MyComputer
Autoplay and choose the drive by unticking it
keyboard shortcuts
using the Ctrl and Alt keys: There's Ctrl + c for copying, Ctrl + v for pasting, and Alt + F4 for closing your current application. And of course you can combine them with the Delete key for the infamous Three Finger Salute: Ctrl + Alt + Del. But how about the Windows key, that key with the flag on it, nestled between its buddies, Ctrl and Alt? Most users aren't really familiar with it, so it tends to get no love, but if you're looking to increase your efficiency with Windows, you might want to give some of these shortcuts a try:
E : Open Windows Explorer.
R : Open Run box.
Break : Displays
System properties.
F : Open Search
dialog.
Ctrl + F : Open
Find Computer dialog.
L : Lock the computer
(or shows the Welcome screen, depending on whether or not Fast User Switching
is enabled).
D : Show the desktop
(Repeat to reverse the effect).
F1 : Open Windows
Help.
M : Minimize all
windows (Hold Shift down to reverse the effect).
Same Folder View
Make all your Windows
Explorer folders look the same.
Windows has always allowed you to customize how you view folders. You
can also set one view across every folder on your system. XP features
five view styles: thumbnails, tiles, icons, list, and details. Come learn
how to set folder view styles with Chris on today's episode of "Call
for Help."
If you prefer to view your folders all in the same style, follow these
directions to configure your system:
Open Windows Explorer.
Do this by pressing the Windows button + E on your keyboard. If you don't
have a Windows button, go into Start menu, All Programs, and then single-click
Windows Explorer.
Click View on the file menu and select the option that suits you.
Single-click the Tools menu and select Folder Options.
Click the Views tab.
Click the "apply to all folders"to make every folder on your
system exactly like the one you're currently in.
Show hidden files
In any folder that contains files. Click on the tools menu and select
folder options.
Then click on the view tab.
Locate where it lists Hidden files and folders and select Show hidden
files and folders.
Click OK.
Sort your start menu
Open your main menu
Slect a program
Right Click and choose "Sort by Name"
Dont Cache Folder Thumbnails
To make folders with thumbnail images start up faster
Go to control panel and then folder options
Click on the view tab and Uncheck "Do not cache thumbnails"
.
Speed up the Main Menu
Open Tweak UI for WinXP and select Mouse.
Under Menu Speed move the slider all the way over to fast.
Reboot !.
Quick switch user screen
Press Winkey+Q and hold it for a second.
Repress Q to rotate to other users
Create your own popup menu in the TASK BAR
You can create your own popup window other than START MENU in the taskbar.
Put all the shortcuts to the applications that you want to popup in a
folder .
Then you right click on taskbar -->toolbars -->new toolbar -->
and select the folder
<----->
System Performance Tweaks
Speed up Diskcache
Open Regedit
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/ControlSession/ Manager/MemoryManagement/IoPageLockLimit];
Modify the value in Hex depending on the size of your RAM
RAM: modified value(Hex)
64M: 1000;
128M: 4000;
256M: 10000;
512M or more: 40000.
Reboot.
Disable Programs at Start up
Go to start - run
Type "msconfig" (no quotes)
Go to the tab "Startup"
Untick anything you dont want starting when XP boots up
Reboot
Easily Disable Messenger
Go into C:Program FilesMessenger
rename the Messenger folder to something like "MessengerOFF"
This does not slow down Outlook or hinder system performance
Speed up Network Browsing
Open up regedit
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace
Find a key named {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
Right click on it and delete it
Reboot !
XP memory tweaks
Below are some Windows XP memory tweaks. They are located in the windows
registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/ SessionManager/MemoryManagement
DisablePagingExecutive - When enabled, this setting will prevent the paging of the Win2k Executive files to the hard drive, causing the OS and most programs to be more responsive. However, it is advised that people should only perform this tweak if they have a significant amount of RAM on their system (more than 128 MB), because this setting does use a substantial portion of your system resources. By default, the value of this key is 0. To enable it, set it to 1.
LargeSystemCache - When enabled (the default on Server versions of Windows 2000), this setting tells the OS to devote all but 4 MB of system memory (which is left for disk caching) to the file system cache. The main effect of this is allowing the computer to cache the OS Kernel to memory, making the OS more responsive. The setting is dynamic and if more than 4 MB is needed from the disk cache for some reason, the space will be released to it. By default, 8MB is earmarked for this purpose. This tweak usually makes the OS more responsive. It is a dynamic setting, and the kernel will give up any space deemed necessary for another application (at a performance hit when such changes are needed). As with the previous key, set the value from 0 to 1 to enable. Note that in doing this, you are consuming more of your system RAM than normal. While LargeSystemCache will cut back usage when other apps need more RAM, this process can impede performance in certain intensive situations. According to Microsoft, the "[0] setting is recommended for servers running applications that do their own memory caching, such as Microsoft SQL Server, and for applications that perform best with ample memory, such as Internet Information Services."
IOPageLockLimit - This tweak is of questionable value
to people that aren't running some kind of server off of their computer,
but we will include it anyway. This tweak boosts the Input/Output performance
of your computer when it is doing a large amount of file transfers and
other similar operations. This tweak won't do much of anything for a system
without a significant amount of RAM (if you don't have more than 128 MB,
don't even bother), but systems with more than 128 MB of RAM will generally
find a performance boost by setting this to between 8 and 16 MB. The default
is 0.5 MB, or 512 KB. This setting requires a value in bytes, so multiply
the desired number of megabytes * 1024 * 1024. That's X * 1048576 (where
X is the number, in megabytes). Test out several settings and keep the
one which seems to work best for your system
Disable unnecessary services to free system resources
Services are programs that run when the computer starts up and continue
to run as they aid the operating system in functionality. There are many
services that load and are not needed which take up memory space and CPU
time. Disabling these services will free up system resources which will
speed up your overall computer experience. I recommend that you sort through
the list and read the descriptions to decide if you need that service
depending on what you want to do with your computer. Remember, you can
always turn the service back on if you find that you need it in the future.
Below is the procedure to turn off a service.
Click the start button.
Select run from the bottom of the right column.
Then type services.msc in the box and click ok.
Once the services window has loaded we are ready to turn off unneeded
services.
For instructional purposes we are going to turn off the Portable Media
Serial Number service.
Find this service in the list and select it with the mouse.
Right click and select Properties.
Once the properties windows has loaded locate the Start up type drop down
box and select disable.
Then just click ok and the next time the computer starts the service will
not be loaded.
Do this with Care
!
<-->
Internet Tweaks
Allow more than 2 simultaneous downloads in IE 6
This is to increase the the number of max downloads to 10.
1. Start Registry Editor
2. Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/InternetSettings
3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value , and then add the following registry values:
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=Dword:0000000a
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=Dword:0000000a
4. Quit Registry Editor.
Reboot
DNS Cache Tweak
This registry patch increases the DNS cache in XP, and will add an improvent
in Internet speed.
Download the registry file -HERE
Enable mIRC identd TOP
Ident needs to use port 113 , if you use "Internet Connection Firewall"
in XP. Here is how to get it working without disabling the entire firewall:
1. Go into Control Panel-> Network Connections
2. Right click "Local Area Network" and select "Properties"
3. Left click the advanced tab
4. Left click the settings button
5. Under services, left click the add button
6. For description type "Ident", for Name of IP put the name
that identifies your system with your ISP OR your IP if it is static.
7. Both external and internal ports are 113 by default and TCP.
8. Click OK all the way out.
Disable Schedule Task in IE
IE 6.0 wants to run a schelduled task everytime it connects to a server.
This results in slower browsing.
To disable this delete the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/
explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace/{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
Get rid of Internet Browsing history
Launch Internet Explorer.
Select the Tools from the menu bar.
Then select Internet Options... from the drop down menu.
Once the internet options has loaded click on the general tab.
Under the history section change the days to keep in history to 0.
I would also click the clear history button to get rid of everything else.
Click OK
Clear temp files on close
The latest versions of internet explorer include some great new security
improvements. For this tweak I will talk about the feature that clear
the temporary internet files each time you close internet explorer.
Launch Internet Explorer.
Select the Tools from the menu bar.
Then select Internet Options... from the drop down menu.
Once the internet options has loaded click on the advanced tab.
Under security find where it says Empty Temporary internet files folder
when browser is closed and check it.
Click OK
Change Web Page Font Size on the Fly
If your mouse contains a wheel for scrolling, you can change font size
on the fly when viewing a Web page. To do so:
Press and hold Ctrl. Scroll down (or towards yourself) to enlarge the
font size. Scroll up (or away from yourself) to reduce the font size.
You might find it useful to reduce font size when printing a Web page, so that you can fit more content on the page.
Disable or Adjust Taskbar Grouping
Right Click on the Taskbar. Choose Properties . Untick Group similar taskbar
buttons
Adding .com easily - Quick URL's TOP
Just type cnn in the address bar
Now press Ctrl + Enter
This adds the http:// and the .com to
<-->
Miscellaneous Tweaks
Clear pagefile on shutdown
For added security you should always clear the page file upon shutting
down your computer. Windows uses this file as extra ram. Lets say that
you are working on a confidential MS Word doc. When you load this document
it is loaded into ram. To save ram windows places certain items in the
page file. The page file can then be opened and the document can be extracted
as well as any other open program or files. However Microsoft has implemented
a feature that will clear the page file but they do not have it enabled
by default. Please note, this will slightly increase the amount of time
it takes to shut down your computer but it is well worth it.
Start Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet >
Control > SessionManager > Memory Management
Select ClearPageFileAtShutdown from the list on the right.
Right on it and select Modify.
Change the value to 1 to enable.
Reboot your computer
Or download the reg file Here
Disable error reporting
One feature that I can do without is error reporting. Every time a program
crashes I do not want to send a report to microsoft. Read below to find
out how to disable this stupid feature.
Open Control Panel
Click on Preformance and Maintenance.
Click on System.
Then click on the Advanced tab
Click on the error reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
Select Disable error reporting.
Click OK
Display message on startup
If you would like to display a legal message or any other message in a
pop-up window when windows starts read below:
Start regedit, if you are unfamiliar with regedit please see our FAQ.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon
Modify the key legalnoticecaption with what you want to name the window.
Modify the key legalnoticetext with what you want the window to say.
Reboot..
Turn off system beeps
If those beeps annoy you there is a way to turn them off
Start Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Control Panel > Sound
Once there, locate Beep on the list on the right.
Right click on it and select Modify
Change the value equal to no
Reboot your computer and the beeps will be gone!
Enable Hibernation
Click on the start button and select turn off computer.
Then hold down the shift key and the hibernate button will be shown.
Click it and your computer will enter into hibernation.
Create a shortcut to lock computer
Right click on desktop and select new -> shortcut.
Then copy and paste this in the program location box "rundll32.exe
user32.dll,LockWorkStation"
Click next and enter a name for you shortcut and then click finish.
Now you can copy and paste that shortcut anywhere you want on your computer.
Use the group policy tool to restrict access
If you would like to play computer god and limit or control just about
every aspect of your computer you can use a great tool called the group
policy editor.
Click Start and select Run
Type gpedit.msc in the text box and click on OK.
The group policy editor will load. Navigate through the folders and you
will discover hundreds of items that you can limit access to and control.
Netmeeting in XP
Click on the Start menu.
Select Run.
Type "conf" in the Command box and hit OK.
NetMeeting will launch.
Regedit stays expanded
Open Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Applets/Regedit
and look for the value LastKey. Double-click it and clear the string.
Then right-click the Regedit key (in the lefthand pane) and select Permissions.
Set Permissions to Deny for any/all users/groups
Speed up Nero in XP
Go to "administrative tools" in the control panel, and in the
"services" list, disable the IMAPI CD-Burning COM service.
(Note: manual setting is not enough it must be disabled) It is the built-in
CD-burning capability for windowsXP (incidentally, written by Roxio).
Once it is disabled, Nero will start up much quicker.
WinXP PRO only