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Windows
XP Pro Tips and Tricks!
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1. Checking
out the Task Scheduler log (WinXP) |
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2. Simplify Video for
Speed |
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3. Get more information from Task Manager |
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4. In
Windows XP, cookies are stored in the C:\Documents |
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5. Video
Preview Failure |
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6. Restoring the Open
Command |
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7. Display the Sharing tab |
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8. Create a Power User in
Windows XP Pro |
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9. Save the baseline system configuration |
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10. Windows XP is telling you
that it is time to renew your password |
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11. Getting an annoying little yellow message when you
click the Start button. |
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12. Maximize Task
Manager's dynamic graphs |
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13. Reinstall XP but be careful what you're saving
before |
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14. Disable
System Restore |
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15. Resetting the numeric value directory list order
in Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later to match Windows 2000 |
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16. Here is how you can
access all of my ATAPI hard disk, which is larger than 137GB |
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17. To change your XP CD-ROM key, perform the
following steps. |
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18. Depersonalize Office
and Windows |
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19. Rebuild the TCP/IP stack |
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20.
Create Restore Points in Windows XP |
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| 1. If you're taking advantage of
XP's Task Scheduler, you most likely take for granted that each task
you've added is being performed. However, if you want some added
reassurance that Task Scheduler is doing its job, all you need to do is to
check out the Task Scheduler Log.
Click the Start button and then choose All Programs | Accessories | System
Tools | Scheduled Tasks. Then choose Advanced | View Log. You'll find a
lengthy text file that details every recent action of the Task Scheduler,
the dates and times the tasks were run, and whether Task Scheduler was
able to complete the actions.
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| 2.
If you're an LCD monitor owner, you can get more speed if you're
willing to settle for a little less resolution and color in your
on-screen graphics. The issue is elementary: The more data you have to
move, the longer it takes. Don't waste time pushing around meaningless
bytes. Although your display system might be capable of 32-bit color or
even just 24-bit color, most LCD monitors can't show all the hues.
Downshift to 16-bit color and your video system can open its throttle,
saving a few microseconds.
The more-for-less technique also works for resolution on both LCDs and
CRTs. Seeing more than 1,024 by 768 pixels on a 17-inch screen takes
sharp eyes, a sharp monitor, and your nose almost touching the screen.
Opting for a higher resolution will only waste micro-time while making
text and graphics displays smaller and harder to read. Go for higher
resolutions only when you need to dump big spreadsheets across your
screen.
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| 3.
Windows XP's Task Manager is a very useful tool when it comes to
troubleshooting problems. Not only does it help you terminate hung
applications, but it also provides you with detailed information about
all the processes currently running on your computer.
When you select the Processes tab, the default detail view displays four
columns of information about each process:
1. Image Name: The name of the process.
2. User Name: The user who started the process.
3. CPU: The percentage of the CPU's capacity that a process is currently
using.
4. Mem Usage: The amount of memory the process requires to perform its
job.
While these four columns provide you with a basic idea of the process
and how it affects the system, you can customize this display with your
choice of 21 other columns to get even more detailed information. Here's
how:
1. Pull down the View menu and choose Select Columns.
2. Select the check boxes adjacent to the columns you'd like to add.
If you're unsure of the type of information that a particular column
displays, access Task Manager Help Topics from the Help menu and search
for the term "Process counter column headings." This will open a page
with detailed descriptions of each column.
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| 4.
In Windows XP, cookies are stored in the C:\Documents And
Settings\<Username>\Cookies folder, where <Username> is the login name
of the user. If you've ever opened the Cookies folder from within
Windows Explorer, you know that this folder contains thousands of files.
While some cookies are useful, others could be considered a violation of
your privacy. Fortunately, Windows XP comes with a privacy feature that
allows you to control the amount and type of cookies that are saved on
your computer. Here's how to use the privacy feature:
1. Open Control Panel, and choose Network And Internet Connection.
2. Click Internet Options, and select the Privacy tab.
3. Use the slider to select a privacy setting.
The default privacy setting is Medium. At the top and bottom of the
scale are Block All Cookies and Accept All Cookies, respectively. As you
move the slider, you'll see an explanation of the level of privacy that
the settings provide.
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| 5.
Video Preview Failure
Creation of the video preview failed.
Please check the device connection and make sure that the device is
not being used by another application or user.
This is a known problem that can occur if you unplug and reconnect an
imaging device without closing My Computer. To resolve this problem,
close and reopen My Computer.
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| 6.
Normally, the default action for any file type is Open, unless
another action is specified. In some Windows XP and Windows 2000
installations, this is apparently not the case. If you add a new action
and it unexpectedly becomes the default, you can usually repair the
problem by explicitly setting the default on the File Types tab of
Explorer's Folder Options dialog.
This particular case is more difficult, because a folder on disk gets
its context-menu commands from two file types, Folder and File Folder.
The Open action resides under the Folder file type, and that's why you
don't see it under File Folder. You can fix the problem with a Registry
tweak. Launch REGEDIT and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell.
Double-click on the (Default) value in the right-hand pane and set its
data to open.
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| 7. If you've upgraded to Windows
XP from Windows 2000, you may be confused when you expect to see the
Sharing tab in a folder's Properties dialog box and the tab is nowhere to
be found. In Windows XP, this feature is missing by default, but you can
make your OS display the Sharing tab if desired.
Simply open My Computer and then choose Tools | Folder Options. Select the
View tab. In the Advanced Settings section, scroll down to the bottom and
deselect the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended), and then click OK. You
can now share your folders on your local area network just as you would in
Windows 2000.
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| 8. You can't create Power Users
in XP Home, but if you're using Pro, this isn't a problem. A Power User
has more rights than a Limited user, but not as much power as an
Administrator. Here's how to create a Power User account.
1. Go to the Control Panel, User Accounts, and click Create New Account.
2. When you pick an Account Type, choose Limited.
3. Right-click My Computer and choose Manage.
4. Cascade out the Local Users & Groups folder, Users folder, and open
your new account.
5. In the Member tab, add the user to the Power Users group by typing
"Power User" (without quotation marks) in the Group Name field.
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| 9.
When you want to learn more about a specific system, you can launch
the System Information utility and find an abundance of configuration
details. This information is helpful in many situations, such as
troubleshooting problems.
However, if the source of the problem is a configuration error, you
won't easily track down the problem in System Information unless you
know specifically what you're looking for. The chances of tracking down
the problem increase when you have information to compare to the current
System Information view.
As such, it's a good idea to save a copy of the system configuration
information when the computer is working properly. This will serve as a
good baseline configuration. You can then open multiple instances of
System Information--with the current configuration displayed in one
window and the baseline configuration in another--to compare and locate
the configuration problem.
To save the baseline system configuration information from the System
Information utility, click File | Save. In the Save As dialog box, type
an appropriate name in the File Name text box and leave the file type
set to the standard System Information File format .nfo. You can view
this file at any time by going to File | Open and locating the desired .nfo
file.
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| 10.
You must have Administrator privileges to do this:
1. Right click "My Computer."
2. From the popup menu, select "Manage."
3. Click the + next to "Local Users and Groups" (left side of "Computer
Management" window).
4. Under that, open the "Users" folder (you should now see a list of
users in the right-hand side).
5. Right-click "Administrator" and select "Properties."
6. Under the "General" tab, check the box next to "Password never
expires."
7. Click OK or Apply your changes, and close the Management window."
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| 11. Right-click on the taskbar,
choose Properties, and click on the Start Menu tab. Make sure that Start
menu is selected rather than Classic Start menu; click on the Customize
button next to Start menu. Click on the Advanced tab, locate the box near
the top titled Highlight newly installed programs, and uncheck it. Click
on OK to accept the change.
For those who like to know such things, this feature is controlled by a
value in the Registry, specifically the DWORD value Start_ NotifyNewApps
in the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
If it's set to 1 (the default), new applications will be highlighted in
the Programs menu and the message balloon will appear. If it's set to 0,
neither will happen.
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| 12.
The Performance and Networking tabs in Windows Task Manager offer
dynamic graphs, such as CPU usage and network usage, respectively. Not
only do they display usage information, but they also provide CPU
history and the amount of network traffic.
While these graphs are relatively simple in nature, they're extremely
useful when gathering information during a troubleshooting expedition.
However, the actual graphs are so small that it's difficult to analyze
information over time.
Fortunately, Windows XP allows you to enlarge the graphs. When you
double-click in the middle of a graph, it expands to fill the entire
Task Manager dialog box. (Keep in mind that no matter where you
double-click on the Performance tab, the only graph you'll see is the
CPU usage.)
If you want an even larger graph, maximize the Task Manager dialog box
before you double-click the graph. To return the graph to normal size,
double-click it again.
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| 13.
When you back up your data, be careful what you're saving. Make sure
you aren't backing up the virus and putting it back on your newly
formatted drive.
You can't reformat the drive while you're running XP. The easiest thing
to do is to put in the Windows XP install disk and start the install
process. It will say that it sees you already have Windows installed and
give you several options. Choose to install a new version. Choose your
drive, erase the partition, reformat the drive, and reinstall Windows.
If you want to make an XP boot disk, place a floppy in your drive,
right-click the drive icon, choose Format, and make a startup disk.
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| 14.
While this feature can assist you in troubleshooting your system,
the restore points it creates can occupy valuable hard drive
space on your system. If you'd rather have this space for other
purposes, you can easily disable the feature.
Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Select the
System Restore tab, and then select the Turn Off System Restore
check box. Then, click OK. Disabling System Restore will save
hard disk space as well as increase Windows XP's overall
performance.
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| 15.
XP modifies the sorting algorithm that the OS uses to list files
with numeric characters as a numeric value instead of a string value.
For example, the following table displays the listing-order difference
between XP and Win2K:
Win2K Listing XP Listing
-------------------- ------------------
1.txt
1.txt
110.txt
2.txt
12.txt
8.txt
2.txt
12.txt
23.txt
23.txt
8.txt
110.txt
To force XP to use the old sorting method for the current user, you
must install XP SP1 or later on the user's machine and perform the
following steps:
1. Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
registry subkey.
3. From the Edit menu, select New, DWORD Value.
4. Enter the name NoStrCmpLogical, then press Enter.
5. Double-click the new value, set it to 1, then click OK.
6. Close the registry editor.
7. Restart the machine for the change to take effect.
To make the change take effect for all users, navigate to the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
registry subkey instead of the subkey listed in Step 2.
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| 16.
Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows 2000 SP3 add support
for 48-bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA), which lets you access hard
disks larger than 137GB. To enable 48-bit LBA, perform the following
steps:
1. Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters
registry subkey.
3. From the Edit menu, select New, DWORD Value.
4. Enter the name EnableBigLba, then press Enter.
5. Double-click the new value, set it to 1, then click OK.
6. Close the registry editor.
7. Restart the machine for the change to take effect.
Be aware that if you multiboot your system with OSs that don't support
48-bit LBA, editing this registry setting might cause data corruption.
If you still can't access hard disk space beyond the 137GB limit after
you restart your system, your system BIOS might not be 48-bit LBA
compatible, in which case you need to talk to your computer
manufacturer.
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| 17.
1. Create a system restore checkpoint, in case you encounter a
problem.
2. Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
3. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents registry subkey.
4. Edit the OOBETimer value, modify any one character, then click OK.
5. Start the CD-ROM key Activation Wizard--click Start, Run and
type
\%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
6. Select the "Activate by Phone" option.
7. At the product key screen, enter your new key, then click Update.
8. If the wizard returns you to the previous window, click "Remind me
later," then restart the machine.
9. Repeat Step 5. XP will display the message "Windows is already
activated. Click OK to exit."
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| 18.
The personalized-menu feature is controlled in a number of different
locations. In Microsoft Word, select Customize from the Tools menu and
click on the Options tab. Check the box titled Always show full menus.
Do the same for Excel and Outlook. To turn off personalized menus in
Internet Explorer 6's Favorites menu, select Internet Options from IE
6's Tools menu, click on the Advanced tab, remove the check next to
Enable Personalized Favorites Menu, and click on OK. You will have to
restart IE for this to take effect.
In Windows 2000 and XP, the personalized-menu feature is an option in
the Start menu as well, and it is enabled by default. To turn it off,
right-click on the taskbar, choose Properties, remove the check next to
Use Personalized Menus, and click on OK.
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| 19.
There are times when a network snafu completely or partially corrupts
your IP installation, which causes your TCP/IP network connection to
fail or behave erratically. When this happens, the best solution is to
rebuild the TCP/IP protocol stack.
In previous versions of Windows, rebuilding the TCP/IP protocol stack
was a simple operation--you just removed and reinstalled TCP/IP. In
Windows XP, you can't remove TCP/IP because it's considered an integral
part of the operating system.
However, XP does come with a command-line utility--called NetShell--that
allows you to reset all TCP/IP-related registry settings to their
default values. The end result is essentially the same as installing a
brand-new TCP/IP configuration.
To reset all TCP/IP-related registry settings, open a command prompt and
type the following command:
netsh int ip reset <filename>
You must specify a log file in the <filename> placeholder for this
command to work. Details about which registry keys were modified will
appear in the log file.
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| 20.
Use this tip to get back to work quickly if something goes wrong in
XP.
XP has a feature called System Restore that hasn't been offered in any
other version of Windows. If you're familiar with GoBack, you might
already have a good idea of what this new feature is all about.
Basically, every time you start your computer XP will automatically
create restore points along the way. A restore point is nothing more
than a snapshot of your entire system's settings. In the event that
something goes wrong with your machine after a botched installation, you
have a way out instead of having to call for help or format your hard
drive and start over.
You have the option to create these manually if you'd like. It's not a
bad idea to get in the habit before you begin loading software that's
not officially specified by Microsoft to be compatible with XP.
System Restore doesn't affect personal files like Word documents,
browser favorites, or pictures. So, you won't be losing anything of
value should you find yourself having to choose a point in time to
restore.
Create a restore point
To manually set system restore points, follow these directions:
1. Single-click Start and point to All Programs.
2. Mouse over Accessories, then System Tools, and select System Restore.
3. In the System Restore wizard, select the box next the text labeled
"Create a restore point" and click the Next button.
4. Type a description for your new restore point. Something like "Before
I installed some program that may cause my system major grief" would do
just fine, but you don't have to be that descriptive.
5.0Click Create.
Access restore points
During the boot process you just need to boot into safe mode by pressing
F8 during the post screen. Just select the option labeled "Last known
good configuration (your most recent settings that worked)" and press
Enter. The one drawback to using this method is you won't have the
option to select which restore point you'd like to restore.
The other method is to boot into basic safe mode and access the System
Restore wizard located in the system tools again. This will let you
restore your computer based on a calendar of when actual restore points
were created. This may give you more flexibility in the long run.
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Over 250 windows XP Users Tips in the five PDF documents That I have ready to Download
Now!! Click here To View The Index! 
Teachers and Instructors!! Please feel free to
use my Documents In The Class Room!!
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>>Click Here<<
For More Information!
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New To Windows XP?
Read The First Time Users PDF File!
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Read The First Time Users Zipped File!
General XP Home And Work Users PDF File!
General XP Home And Work Users Zipped File!
Advanced XP Administrators and Users! PDF File!
Advanced XP Administrators and Users! Zipped File!
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