Many freeware and commercial software programs have a habit of setting themselves up to run automatically upon Windows startup. This can contribute to the gradual decline in startup speed that most Windows XP systems (and windows PCs in general) experience. Also, having programs that you only use selectively, or not at all, load automatically is a waste of system resources that could be better used for other things.
To top it off, many internet nasties such as spyware programs, viruses and Trojan horses will install themselves into one of the automatic start locations on your system in order to make sure that they are run on startup. So the point is, take a look at what is currently running every time you load your PC, and disable what you don't need or can't identify.
To do this: The first place you should go is 'start\programs\startup' which is a directory Windows XP uses to launch application shortcuts on boot-up.
If you remove the shortcuts from this directory, the applications will not load on startup. This directory can also be a repository for various badness such as spyware and virus software, so if there are files here which are not shortcuts and you don't recognize them, you may wish to consider removing them anyways, as Windows will not place critical files in this directory.
The next location for removing unnecessary startup files is the handy MSCONFIG utility that has been resurrected from the graveyard of Windows 9x especially for XP.
Go to 'start\run' and type 'msconfig' to access the utility.
The 'startup' tab in MSCONFIG provides access to several other applications that are started at boot up and are running in the background. By examining their Filenames and directories, you should be able to get a feeling for what is necessary and what is not. Be aware than several viruses and worms have a habit of disguising themselves with authoritative sounding Windows system file names.
The other method for removing these programs is through the programs themselves, as many applications, for example MSN messenger, contain the option to remove the software from startup.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Install XP from DOS
If XP will not install from the CD or if you have a new drive with no operating system on it yet try these:
Install Windows XP from the hard drive with Windows 98 already installed:
Boot Windows 98
Insert the XP CD into your CD reader
Explore Windows XP through My Computer
Copy i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder and double click on winnt32.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive
Install Windows XP from DOS (ie. no OS on a new hard drive):
Boot with a Windows 98 Start Up disk
Insert the Windows 98 CD into the CD reader
Run smartdrv.exe from the Win98 directory on the windows 98 CD (file caching)
Type cd.. to back up to the root directory
Insert Windows XP CD into the CD reader
Copy the i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder on C: and type winnt.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive.
Install Windows XP from the hard drive with Windows 98 already installed:
Boot Windows 98
Insert the XP CD into your CD reader
Explore Windows XP through My Computer
Copy i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder and double click on winnt32.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive
Install Windows XP from DOS (ie. no OS on a new hard drive):
Boot with a Windows 98 Start Up disk
Insert the Windows 98 CD into the CD reader
Run smartdrv.exe from the Win98 directory on the windows 98 CD (file caching)
Type cd.. to back up to the root directory
Insert Windows XP CD into the CD reader
Copy the i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder on C: and type winnt.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive.
Hide Drives and Partitions
Do you have data on a partition or hard drive that you don't want tampered with or easily accessible to other users? Well, you can hide any drive/partition in Windows XP, NT, and 2000. That means that they won't show up in Explorer or My Computer.
If you want access to that drive from your user account you should create a desktop shortcut before proceeding. Once hidden, you can still access by typing the drive letter and a colon in Start/Run for example, "D:" will bring up a folder of the contents on your D drive.
The easiest way with Win XP is to use the TweakUI power toy from Microsoft. Go to Start/Run and type in "tweakui" (without the quotes).
Go to My Computer/Drives and uncheck the drive/partition(s) you want hidden. Click "Apply" or "OK" when finished.
If you have XP but not Tweak UI you can download it here
CODE
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
For Win NT, 2000, and XP you can use the following Registry edit:
*Be sure to back up the Registry before proceeding
Open the Registry Editor by going to Start/Run and typing in "regedit" (without the quotes). Find your way to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies
Click on "Explorer".
Double-click the "NoDrives" key in the right column. If you don't find a "NoDrives" registry key, just right-click in the right pane and choose "New/DWORD Value" then name the key "NoDrives".
You'll see a value like "0000 00 00 00 00". This is where the fun starts. The four sets of double zeros (after the "0000") are where you'll enter the values for the drive/partitions. Now, stay with me on thisâ€â€it's not as complicated as it sounds:
The first column is for drives A-H, the second for I-P, the third for Q-X, and the fourth for Y-Z.
The values for each drive are as follows:
1 - A I Q Y
2 - B J R Z
4 - C K S
8 - D L T
16 - E M U
32 - F N V
64 - G O W
80 - H P X
So, let's say you want to hide drive D. In the first column you would put "08". For drive K you would put "04" in the second column.
But what if you want to hide more than one drive in a column? Simply add the values together: D+E = 8+16 = 24. So in the first column you would put "24".
Still baffled? If you have XP then go get TweakUI and save yourself the math.
Whichever method you use, you can rest easy knowing that the files on that drive or partition are less accessible to other users.
If you want access to that drive from your user account you should create a desktop shortcut before proceeding. Once hidden, you can still access by typing the drive letter and a colon in Start/Run for example, "D:" will bring up a folder of the contents on your D drive.
The easiest way with Win XP is to use the TweakUI power toy from Microsoft. Go to Start/Run and type in "tweakui" (without the quotes).
Go to My Computer/Drives and uncheck the drive/partition(s) you want hidden. Click "Apply" or "OK" when finished.
If you have XP but not Tweak UI you can download it here
CODE
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
For Win NT, 2000, and XP you can use the following Registry edit:
*Be sure to back up the Registry before proceeding
Open the Registry Editor by going to Start/Run and typing in "regedit" (without the quotes). Find your way to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies
Click on "Explorer".
Double-click the "NoDrives" key in the right column. If you don't find a "NoDrives" registry key, just right-click in the right pane and choose "New/DWORD Value" then name the key "NoDrives".
You'll see a value like "0000 00 00 00 00". This is where the fun starts. The four sets of double zeros (after the "0000") are where you'll enter the values for the drive/partitions. Now, stay with me on thisâ€â€it's not as complicated as it sounds:
The first column is for drives A-H, the second for I-P, the third for Q-X, and the fourth for Y-Z.
The values for each drive are as follows:
1 - A I Q Y
2 - B J R Z
4 - C K S
8 - D L T
16 - E M U
32 - F N V
64 - G O W
80 - H P X
So, let's say you want to hide drive D. In the first column you would put "08". For drive K you would put "04" in the second column.
But what if you want to hide more than one drive in a column? Simply add the values together: D+E = 8+16 = 24. So in the first column you would put "24".
Still baffled? If you have XP then go get TweakUI and save yourself the math.
Whichever method you use, you can rest easy knowing that the files on that drive or partition are less accessible to other users.
Faster XP : Increasing System Performance
If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performance
by having the core system kept in memory.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
Set the value to be 1
Reboot the computer
by having the core system kept in memory.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
Set the value to be 1
Reboot the computer
Disable Windows Error Reporting Messages
You must be well aware of Error Messages that come up whenever there is a problem with windows or any other component. Actually this service is by Microsoft that allows you to send a Error report of the problem so that they can fix it in the coming versions. However, sometimes this service can really irritate you.
Well, you don’t need to get angry any more, you can disable it with few clicks. Just follow these steps.
1 Go to My computer –> Properties –> Advanced.
2 In this tab click on Error Reporting button down below.
3 Choose Disable Error reporting from there.
That’s all. You are now free of those error messages
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