User Interface Tweaks

System Performance Tweaks

Internet Tweaks

Miscellaneous Tweaks

What's the difference between Windows XP Home and Professional editions?

Locate the file or folder for which you want to set permissions.

Right–click the file or folder, click Properties, and then click the Security tab. (If you do not see the Security tab, you may not be joined to a domain. See To display the Security tab below.)

Do one of the following:

To set permissions for a group or user that does not appear in the Group or user names box, click Add. Type the name of the group or user you want to set permissions for and then click OK. (When adding a new user or group, by default, this user or group will have Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, and Read permissions.)

To change or remove permissions from an existing group or user, click the name of the group or user.
Do one of the following:

To allow or deny a permission, in the Permissions for User or Group box, select the Allow or Deny check box.

To remove the group or user from the Group or user names box, click Remove.
If the check boxes under Permissions for user or group are shaded or if the Remove button is unavailable, then the file or folder has inherited permissions from the parent folder.

Until now, that is.

Simply fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key: (regedit from the start\run menu)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders

You'll see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this, all of the Shared Documents folders (which are normally under the group called "Other Files Stored on This Computer") will be gone.

You do not need to reboot your system to see the change.

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Sound, Speech, and Audio Devices.
Under Pick a task, click Change the speaker settings.
In the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box, on the Volume tab, select the Place volume icon in the taskbar check box, and then click OK.
Now, when you want to adjust the volume, click the icon and move the slider.

Click Start, and then click Run.
Type msconfig to open the System Configuration Utility.
Click the Services tab.
Clear the Error Reporting Service check box, and then click OK.
Hit Restart to reboot your system.
Your computer will now start without loading the error reporting service.

To dramatically expand the list of applications you can remove from Windows XP after installation, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open the sysoc.inf file. Under Windows XP Professional Edition, this file will resemble the following by default:

[Version] Signature = "$Windows NT$"
DriverVer=06/26/2001,5.1.2505.0

[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7
smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7
AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7
CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7
MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7
AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7
Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7
MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7
ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7

[Global]
WindowTitle=%WindowTitle%
WindowTitle.StandAlone="*"

The entries that include the text hide or HIDE will not show up in Add/Remove Windows Components by default. To fix this, do a global search and replace for ,hide and change each instance of this to , (a comma). Then, save the file, relaunch Add/Remove Windows Components, and tweak the installed applications to your heart's content.

After you hit ENTER, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify virtually every feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit. Dig around and enjoy!

1) Click Start, Run and enter GPEDIT.MSC
2) Go to Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, Security Options
3) Locate the Network security: Force logoff when logon hours expire
4) Double click this entry and set it to enabled.
5) Open Help and Support and type "logon hours" (without the quotes) in the search box.
6) Go to Full text matches and click on "Net user". See the examples for setting a user's logon hours. Some examples would be:

net user johnsw /time:M-F,08:00-17:00
net user johnsw /time:M-F,8am-5pm
net user marysl /time:M,4am-5pm;T,1pm-3pm;W-F,8:00-17:00
net user johnsw /time:all (this one means this user can always log on)

7) Enter the appropriate "net user" command for the user(s) you wish to restrict access for.

System Performance Tweaks

Below are some Windows XP memory tweaks. They are located in the windows registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEM CurrentControlSetControl Session ManagerMemory Management

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

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.

Full Description of each service - Microsoft.com

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 !

When Windows NT lists a directory (Explorer, DIR command, etc.) on an NTFS volume, it updates the LastAccess time stamp on each directory it detects. If there are a very large number of directories, this could effect performance. A new registry entry allows you to control this behavior.

Download : NTFS Tweak reg file

or/and

Disable Run Commands Specified in the Registry (Windows 98/Me/2000/XP)

This restriction is used to disable the ability to run startup programs specified in the registry when Windows launches.

Open your registry and find the key below. (regedit.exe from the start/run menu)

Create a new DWORD value for each of the optional values below depending on which Run function to stop and set the value to "1" to disable.

Restart Windows for change to take effect.

Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer]
Value Name: DisableLocalMachineRun, DisableLocalMachineRunOnce, DisableCurrentUserRun, DisableCurrentUserRunOnce
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = enable run, 1 = disable run)

Right–click My Computer, and then click Properties.
Click the Advanced tab, and in the Performance area, click Settings.
On the Visual Effects tab, click the Custom radio button, and then select which UI features to disable to improve performance.
Click the Advanced tab, and in the Processor scheduling area, click the Background services radio button. Selecting this option means that background tasks that you want to run while you work, such as backup utilities or print jobs, will share processor time equally with programs.
You may need to be logged on as an Administrator to make these changes. Note that applying these settings may change your current desktop theme.

Internet Tweaks

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

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.

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_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion

explorerRemoteComputerNameSpace{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

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.

How to Enable Internet Connection Firewall
The Internet Connection Firewall is useful when you want to protect a dial–up connection when dialing directly into an Internet service provider (ISP), or to protect a LAN connection that is connected to an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) or cable modem. You can also enable the ICF on the Internet connection of an ICS host computer to provide protection for the ICS host computer.

To enable ICF using the Network Setup Wizard:Run the Network Setup Wizard. To access this wizard, point to Control Panel, double–click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Setup or change your home or small office network.
The ICF is enabled when you choose a configuration in the wizard that indicates that your computer is connected directly to the Internet.

To configure ICF manually for a connection:In Control Panel, double–click Networking and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.
Right–click the connection on which you would like to enable ICF, and then click Properties.
On the Advanced tab, check the option to Protect my computer and network....

If you want to enable the use of some applications and services through the firewall, you need to enable them by clicking the Settings button, and then selecting the programs, protocols, and services to be enabled for the ICF configuration.

When people are having trouble getting to specific programs or services on your Windows XP machine after you enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), you may need to enable the program or service to work through the firewall. To do so, follow these steps:

Click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.
Right-click your Internet connection, and then click Properties.
Click the Advanced tab in the Properties dialog box.
Click Settings, and the Advanced Settings dialog box opens.
From there you can enable most common services just by clicking them, or add your own by clicking the Add button.

another method to Share Files through Windows XP's Internet Connection Firewall:
A firewall is a layer of protection for your Internet connection that permits or denies access based on a pre-determined set of rules. Windows XP comes with a built-in firewall feature called the Internet Connection Firewall. However, the default firewall rules will disable access to shared files from other computers on your local network. If you haven't yet enabled the Internet Connection Firewall, here's how you do it:

Open the Network Connections window (through Control Panel, or right-click on the My Network Places icon and select Properties).
Right-click the icon corresponding your Internet connection, and select Properties.
Choose the Advanced tab, and turn on the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet option, and click OK. (If the option is grayed-out, you've either right-clicked the wrong connection icon, or your Internet connection isn't set up properly.)
The change will take effect immediately.
Now, here's to adjust Windows XP's Internet Connection Firewall so that it permits access to shared files:

First, make sure that the firewall is your problem. With the firewall enabled, try accessing a shared folder from another computer. Then, disable the firewall and try again. If disabling the firewall fixes the problem, then proceed with this solution. Otherwise, the problem is not your firewall.
Open the Network Connections window (through Control Panel, or right-click on the My Network Places icon and select Properties).
Right-click the icon corresponding your Internet connection, and select Properties.
Choose the Advanced tab, and click Settings.
Under the Services tab, click Add.
Type File Sharing for the description, 127.0.0.1 for the IP address, and 445 for both the external and internal port fields. (127.0.0.1 is the loopback address which refers back to the same computer.)

Click Ok when you're done, and then place a checkmark next to the newly added service.
Click Ok two more times to close the remaining windows; the change will take effect immediately.
If it still doesn't work, you'll need to return to the Service Settings window, as described above. Repeat steps 5-7 four times to add four additional services. Instead of 445, however, the services will use ports 135, 136, 137, and 138, respectively.
Once you get it working, you may wish to experiment by removing the new services, one-by-one, until it stops working again. That way, you can eliminate the open ports you don't need.
Notes:

It's important to realize that if you enable firewall access through these ports, you're opening them for anyone and everyone. Unfortunately, Windows XP's Internet Connection Firewall is incapable of allowing access to some computers while restricting access for others (you'd need a third-party firewall program for that).
If you need to enable access to computers in your local network and disable access to computers elsewhere, you'll need two network connections (and two network adapters): one firewalled Internet connection, and one standard LAN connection.

Miscellaneous Tweaks

NetMeeting will launch.

Once it is disabled, Nero will start up much quicker.

WinXP PRO only

Here's how you do it. Open the Start Menu and choose Run, then type gpedit.msc in the text box and hit ENTER. This will load the Local Group Policy Editor (LGPE). Once the LGPE is loaded, expand the following nodes in the left tree view:

Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | Network

Then, select the QoS Packet Scheduler entry and double-click the setting titled limit reservable bandwidth, found on the right side of the window. On the Setting tab of the Limit reservable bandwidth Properties dialog, select the Enabled option. Then enter 0 in the Bandwidth limit (%) combo-box. Click OK, then exit the LGPE. No reboot is required to enable this change.

Note: If you look at the properties dialog for your network connection(s), you should still see the QoS Packet Scheduler listed on the General tab. If this item is not present, QoS is still taking up 20 percent of your bandwith! You need the packet scheduler installed to ensure that no bandwidth is allocated.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay

By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.

If this doesn't work for some reason, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Advanced and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow. You will get much better overall performance.

Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Appearance and Themes.
Click the Display icon, click the Appearance tab, and then click Effects.
Click the Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts check box to select it, and select ClearType from the list.
Click OK, and then click OK again

1. Click Start, Run and enter "control userpasswords2" to open the Windows 2000-style User Accounts application.

2. On the Users tab, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer check box and then click OK.

3. In the Automatically Log On dialog box that appears, type the user name and password for the account you want to be logged on each time you start your computer.

There's an excellent fix, however. When you download the album cover art from the Web, just save the images as folder.jpg each time and place them in the appropriate folder. Then, Windows XP will automatically use that image as the thumbnail for that folder and, best of all, will use that image in Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) if you choose to display album cover art instead of a visualization. And the folder customization is automatic, so it survives an OS reinstallation as well. Your music folders never looked so good!

Album cover art makes music folder thumbnails look better than ever!

UPDATE: In addition to the folder.jpg file mentioned above, you can also optionally create a smaller version of the image called albumartsmall.jpg, if desired. This is the image used to display album art in MPXP when its sized so that the display area is smaller than 200 x 200 pixels, and in the folder thumbnails for folders that contain album folders. If you don't create albumartsmall.jpg, however, Windows XP will automatically scale folder.jpg in these cases

Right–click the executable or the program shortcut to the executable, and then click Properties.
Select the Run this program in compatibility mode check box.
From the list, select an operating system that the program runs in comfortably.
If necessary, also change the display settings and/or resolution, or disable the Windows XP visual themes.
Run the program again when you’re finished changing the settings. Adjust the compatibility settings again if the program is still not running smoothly: a program that’s unhappy on Windows 2000 may flourish on Windows 98.

Windows XP Home Edition:Contains basic support for multiple users, but all users are "Administrators," so there's no way to set up user accounts with limited privileges. Furthermore, there's no way to secure folders or files from other users on the same machine.
Built-in support for peer-to-peer networking.

Windows XP Professional Edition :Includes extended support for multiple users and profiles, as well as security between users. A user can be an "Administrator" (who has full power to make any changes to the system), or a less-privileged user with a customizable level of privileges. For example, one user's folder can be protected from other users on the same system. Also, you can set up a "guest" account, allowing strangers to use a computer while limiting access to configuration tools and private files.
Built-in support for peer-to-peer networking, plus support for joining a "Windows NT domain."
The Professional edition includes the following components not found in the Home edition:

Administrative Tools (in the Start Menu and Control Panel)
Backup (as well as Automated System Recovery; ASR)
Boot Configuration Manager
DriverQuery
Group Policy Refresh Utility
Multi-lingual User Interface (MUI) add-on
NTFS Encryption Utilitiy
Offline Files and Folders
OpenFiles
Performance Log Manager
Remote Desktop
Scheduled Tasks Console
Security Template Utility
Taskkill
Tasklist
Telnet Administrator
Provides support for multi-processor systems (2 or 4 CPUs), Dynamic Disks, Fax.

In Windows XP, you can easily rename the series and remember it for what it is!

Click Start, and then click My Pictures or whatever folder in which you've saved the pictures.
Switch the view from the default Filmstrip to Thumbnails by clicking the Views button on the toolbar.
Select all the pictures you want to rename by highlighting the last picture you want, then press and hold the Shift key as you move your mouse over them until you include all to be renamed, ending with the first picture in the list.
Right–click the first picture, and then click Rename.
Rename the first picture (for instance, Grandma90.jpg), then click in the white space next to one of the pictures.
Just like magic, all the pictures will be renamed in sequence, Grandma90.jpg, Grandma90(1).jpg, Grandma90(2).jpg, and so on!

This tip can also be used to rename a batch of any files, not just picture files.

If the original data on your hard disk is accidentally erased or overwritten, or becomes inaccessible because of a hard–disk malfunction, you can easily restore it from the disk or archived copy by using the Restore or Automated System Recovery Wizards.

To start Backup or to access Restore and Automated System Recovery

Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click Backup.

Windows XP Backup, Restore, and Automated System Recovery all function when Windows XP Professional is functioning. If your computer does not start properly, you may need to use Recovery Console. Recovery Console provides a command line during Startup from which you can make system changes when Windows XP Professional doesn’t start.

To learn more about Backup, Restore, and Automated System Recovery, see Help and Support Center.

16)Recovery Console
You can use Recovery Console to perform many tasks without starting Windows XP, including: starting and stopping services, reading and writing information on a local disk drive, and formatting drives. However, you must install Recovery Console while your computer is still functioning. The Recovery Console feature should be used only by advanced users. Before using Recovery Console, it is recommended that you back up your information on a tape drive, because your local hard disks might be reformatted—thus erased—as part of the recovery. You can also run Recovery Console from the Windows XP CD.

To install Recovery Console as a Startup option

Log on to Windows XP Professional as an administrator or as a user with administrator rights.

If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from completing this procedure. Contact your network administrator for assistance.

Insert the Windows XP Professional CD into your CD ROM drive. If you’re prompted to upgrade to Windows XP, click No.

From the command prompt—or from the Run command in the Start menu–type the path to the appropriate Winnt32.exe file (on your Windows XP Professional CD), followed by a space and /cmdcons to reference this switch. For example:

e:\1386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

Follow the instructions that appear
To run Recovery Console on a computer if Windows XP Professional does not start

Restart your computer, and then choose Windows Recovery Console from the list of operating systems.

Follow the instructions that appear.

Recovery Console displays a command prompt.

Make the required changes to your system.

http://<youripaddress>/tsweb you can also use the hostname if one is available for your connection.

Guest machine: You will be presented with a login screen. When asked for the server name, use the IP address or host name.
Check Send Login information
Enter the user name
Domain name (on my setup) is left blank

Click continue

You'll get a new screen, and a login prompt. Enter your password and you're all set to go.

To install Recovery Console as a Startup option

Log on to Windows XP Professional as an administrator or as a user with administrator rights.

If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from completing this procedure. Contact your network administrator for assistance.

Insert the Windows XP Professional CD into your CD ROM drive. If you’re prompted to upgrade to Windows XP, click No.

From the command prompt—or from the Run command in the Start menu–type the path to the appropriate Winnt32.exe file (on your Windows XP Professional CD), followed by a space and /cmdcons to reference this switch. For example:

e:\1386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

Follow the instructions that appear
To run Recovery Console on a computer if Windows XP Professional does not start

Restart your computer, and then choose Windows Recovery Console from the list of operating systems.

Follow the instructions that appear.

Recovery Console displays a command prompt.

Make the required changes to your system.

Open My Computer, right-click the camera icon, and then click Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Events tab.
Click the Save all pictures to this folder radio button, and then specify the folder from the list or click the Browse button.
Note that this doesn’t apply to cameras that are detected as removable media; those use the shell’s AutoPlay stuff, but this technique works great for PTP cameras and cameras with WIA drivers. Also, the Delete pictures from camera after saving them command will not affect cameras that don’t allow the deletion.