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TIPS & TRICKS
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
+--------------------------+
|Written by: paranoidxe |
|Date: December 17th, 2003 |
|Version: 1.0 RELEASE |
+--------------------------+
Note: this document was made with windows 2000 in mind, this doesn't
mean that these tips won't work for other versions of windows but 2k
is the main focus. This also focuses on some programs bundled with
w2k, but the main focus is the operating system itself and not its
co-ops. Some of these tips are actually based on NT4 instead of 2000,
although there are very few, some may not work with 2000.
[Preface]
In order to edit the registry you must be adminstrator or have at least
power user settings in order to even have access to the registry. To
edit the registry you click start, run.. and type regedit then click ok.
You will be presented with the registry, note that in this document I
use shorthand which will be the following:
HLM - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
HCU - HKEY_CURRENT_USER
HCR _ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Its recommended that you backup your computer before you attempt ANY
of these tweaks as they could screw up your computer to where it is
no longer functional. I recommend a product such as Winrescue to backup
your registry.
= = = = = = = = = = =
C H A P T E R O N E
:: T W E A K S ::
= = = = = = = = = = =
- -
[1. DISABLE PERSONALIZED MENUS]
- -
Personalized Menus is a new feature in Windows 2000 in which the order
of the start menu is set from most frequent accessed programs to least
accessed programs. Which is fine for some, but if you are like me this
feature is useless. To disable it, right-click empty spot on the
taskbar, select properties, under general uncheck "use personalized
menus".
- -
[2. HIDE LOG OFF ON MENU]
- -
To remove Log-off <x> from the Start Menu right-click empty spot on
the taskbar, select properties, go to advanced and uncheck display
logoff.
- -
[3. DISABLE 8.3 FILENAMING]
- -
The purpose of this is to increase performance of windows 2000, by
doing this this will prevent windows from automatically truncanting
longer filenames down to 8.3 file system for 16-bit support. Not
recommended if you plan on using old 16-bit programs.
Open the registry go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
in the right pane create a new DWORD value called
NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation, double-click on it and give it the
value of 1.
- -
[4. REMOVING SERVICES FROM SERVICES]
- -
This simply removes the entry from the Services menu, so it is recommended
you disable or stop the service BEFORE you do this. To remove the service
from the list go to HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services in your registry.
Locate the object you wish to delete in the right pane and delete it.
- -
[5. CHANGE DESKTOP WALLPAPER ON LOG-ON SCREEN]
- -
Say you have a picture of a car on your desktop when you log-on but you
just get that plain desktop when you get to the log-in screen. You can
change this by opening up the registry and going to
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop, in the right pane locate
the value named Wallpaper, double-click on it and point it to the wallpaper
you wish to be viewable.
- -
[6. SPEED UP START MENU]
- -
When you are browsing there is a slight delay in displaying new menus to
rid yourself of this follow these steps:
Go to the registry, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop,
double-click MenuShowDelay (or create it) and set it to 100. Reboot
your machine or press F5 on the desktop.
- -
[7. AUTO SHUTDOWN OF TASKS ON SHUTDOWN]
- -
When you shutdown Windows sometimes it just loves to harrass you and
claim <x> application is not responding and you would normally have
to click end task to stop it. With this method Windows 2000 will
automatically kill the non-responding application. To do this
open the registry go to HKEY_USER\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop
double-click AutoEndTasks and set it to 1.
- -
[8. TURN OFF COMPUTER ON SHUTDOWN]
- -
Generally your computer will not support it anyway if it wasn't put
on by default, but if you have upgraded drivers that do support it
this is how you can turn it on. Even if your computer doesn't
support it this won't hurt anything. Open the registry of course,
go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
in the Right-Pane modify PowerDownAfterShutdown or create it as a
string value. Give it a value of 1 to enable power off or 0 to
disable it.
- -
[9. CHANGE TASKBAR SIZE]
- -
Sometimes you just don't have enough room for all the programs you
have open on your machine. To change this you need to move your
cursor to the edge of the taskbar until it goes to a double-arrow
then click and drag it one or two notches up.
- -
[10. CHANGING SECURITY POLICIES]
- -
These settings will restrict certain functions on Windows 2000 in
the event you don't want something modified or you don't want a
feature available period. Open your registry and go to
HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
in the right pane create or edit the following values, they are
all DWORD values.
NoCommonGroups (value of 1)
Removes the "Programs" Option from the start menu, who would use
this I would not know.
NoDesktop (value of 1)
Hides all Desktop Icons, pretty much renders the desktop useless..
useful for a nice clear view of the desktop wallpaper but thats
about it.
NoFileMenu (value of 1)
Removes File Menu from all Explorer windows
NoFind (value of 1)
Removes Find off the startmenu.
NoNetConnectDisconnect (value of 1)
Removes Map Network Drive from context menu
NoNetHood (value of 1)
Removes Network Neighborhood from Desktop
NoRun (value of 1)
Removes Run from Start Menu, note that it is still possible
to use RUN by pressing WINDOWS KEY + R.
NoSetFolders (value of 1)
hides control panel/printers/my computer in explorer and
on the start menu.
NoSetTaskbar (value of 1)
No right-clicking on the Taskbar
NoClose (value of 1)
Removes the shutdown option
- -
[11. VIEW WINDOWS COMMAND PROMPT IN FULL SCREEN]
- -
If you have a DOS box open you can full screen it by pressing
Alt + Enter.
- -
[12. ENABLE RESTARTING OF SHELL]
- -
Sometimes if the shell crashes you will be left with a blank desktop
and there is nothing you can do but log off and log back on, until
now. Open the registry and go to:
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
in the right pane look for "AutoRestartShell" if you can't find it
create it as a new dword value. Give it the value of 1.
- -
[13. EVEN MORE SECURITY POLICIES]
- -
Go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
in the registry. Enter or modify any of the following DWORD values:
DisableTaskMgr - Disables Task Manager (Alt+Ctrl+Del)
NoDispAppearancePage - Removes Appearance Tab from Display Settings
NoDispBackgroundPage - Removes Background Tab from Display Settings
NoDisCPL - Removes Display Option from control panel
NoDispScrSavPage - Removes Screen Saver Tab from Display Settings
NoDispSettingsPage - Removes Settings Tab from Display Settings
- -
[14. ENABLE X-MOUSE FUNCTIONS]
- -
X-Mouse will make it so when you move your cursor over a window it
will automatically become active, much like X-Windows in Linux. To
do this go to HCU\Control Panel\Mouse\ then double-click on the
ActiveWindowTracking on the right pane and give it the value of 1.
- -
[15. CHANGE OWNERSHIP INFORMATION]
- -
You can change the registered owner/company to the computer by changing
these settings in the registry: first open regedit and go to
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
Change the value RegisteredOrganization to the company name of your
choice, then change the value Registered Owner to the name of your
choice.
- -
[16. DISABLE AUTOMATIC ADMINSTRATIVE SHARES]
- -
If you notice that when you try to disable the sharing of drives on
your Windows 2000 computer it will automatically share it as C$ D$
and so on..but you can get rid of it now.
Open the registry go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\
LanmanServer\Parameters, Create or modify the DWORD value of
AutoShareServer and AutoShareWks and give them a value of 0. No
more worrying about the automatic creation of shares on the
adminstrative account!
- -
[17. LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF USERS ALLOWED TO LOG ON AT ONCE]
- -
Go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
modify the Users value to however many users you want to allow
to be logged on at once.
- -
[18. TURN OFF MIN/MAX ANIMATIONS]
- -
When you normally minimize or restore a window there is a little cute
animation..well that animation gets old lets turn it off shall we? to
remove this cute feature go to HCU\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
in the right-pane create a new STRING value named MinAnimate, give it
a value of 0 to disable the animation, 1 to enable it.
- -
[19. DISABLE LAST TIME ACCESSED STAMP (NTFS PERFORMANCE)]
- -
This will only work if you are running a NTFS volume, otherwise this
is a useless tweak. This tweak will disable Windows from doing Last
Access Stamps on EVERY directory it detects. Open the registry and
go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem. Create DWORD
on the right pane name it NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate and give it
the value of 1.
- -
[20. CHANGE DESKTOP ICON SPACING]
- -
Open the registry go to HCU\Control Panel\Desktop
Edit the IconSpacing String in the right pane, 131 for small icons
and 147 is for large icons change it to whichever you feel is
needed, this is for the horizontal setting.
Edit IconVerticalSpacing in the right pane for the vertical settings
75 is the default for small icons 91 for large.
- -
[21. DISABLE WELCOME TO WINDOWS 2000 MESSAGE]
- -
a) You can rename welcome.exe on your machine to welcome2.exe to
prevent it from running.
b) Alternatively you can go into the registry and go to
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Create a new Key named Tips, create a new DWORD valuve named
DisplayInitialTipWindow and give it the value of 0. Then create another
DWORD value and name it Show, set it to 0 as well.
-
[22. ENABLE MANUAL CRASH]
-
A neat "feature" of windows 2000 is that you can enable the ability to
crash your machine by holding the right ctrl key and pressing Scroll
Lock button twice. Go into the registry go to:
HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters
Add the value CrashOnCtrlScroll as a DWORD, then give it a value of
1 to enable manual crashing, 0 to disable it.
- -
[23. ENABLE TCP/IP FORWARDING]
- -
By default TCP/IP Forwarding is disabled, this may be needed in some
network situations. To enable this open the registry and go to
HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters, edit
IPEnableRouter value in the right pane, give it a value of 1, if the
value doesn't exist create it.
- -
[24. REMOVING HOTFIX UNINSTALL FILES]
- -
Note: this will make it so the entries in Add/Remove Programs do not work
to uninstall the hotfixes, please get a program like Add/Remove Pro to
remove the invalid entries that this process will leave behind.
This will save a good amount of space if you need it, first off you need
to set your view so you can see hidden system files. Then browse to your
Windows 2K Directory (C:\WINNT) you will see hidden files labeled like
so "$NtUninstallKB329115$" you can delete all folders that are labeled
similiar to this. You can gain upwards to 70Megs back by following these
simple steps.
- -
[25. Restrict Windows Installer Setups from Installing on Removable Media]
- -
This will remove the ability to run Windows Installer programs off of
removable media, why you would do this I don't know. Anyway here it is.
Open your registry, go to HCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer
make a new DWORD value called DisableMedia, give the value of 1.
- -
[26. Disable Windows Installer Rollback]
- -
This will disable the ability to rollback after an installation of
a product. To do this open the registry and go to
HCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer
make a new DWORD value and call it "DisableRollback" give it the
value of 1.
- -
[27. Register at Windows Update]
- -
Although obsolete, Windows Update didn't work unless you registered your
windows...for old times sake I have it here. Open the registry and head
to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion, create a new string
value and give it the name of RegDone, give it a value of 1.
-
[28. Common Dialog Customization]
-
This is the windows you get when you open/save a document in Windows 2000
you can get rid of the placesbar as well as other things. Open your
registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
create a new key called Comdlg32, open it. On the right pane create the
following DWORD values:
NoBackButton (value: 1) - removes back button in the dialogs
NoPlacesBar (value: 1) - removes icons on the left of the save/open dialog
NoFileMRU (value: 1) - removes Most Recently Used Docs
- -
[29. Disable Smooth Scrolling]
- -
Smooth scrolling is common in almost every scrolling aspect in Windows
2000, it make look neat and make things more easily visable, but it
takes a few CPU cycles to do it. To disable this feature open your
registry and go to HCU\Control Panel\Desktop create a new DWORD
value called SmoothScroll and give it the value of 0.
- -
[30. DISPLAY FULL ICON WHEN DRAGGING]
- -
When you drag a file or folder normally the outline is all you can
see, this way you can see the entire folder or icon. To do this
open your registry and go to HCU\Control Panel\Desktop create a
new string value and call it DragFullWindows, value it at 1 to
enable.
- -
[31. GET 24-BIT ICONS IN 2000]
- -
This will give you the ability to show 16.7 million colored icons, to
do this open the registry editor and go to HCU\Control Panel\Desktop\
WindowMetric, modify the string value Shell Icon BPP and modify it
accordingly:
4 - 16 color icons
8 - 256 color icons (95 w/o Plus Default)
16 - 65536 color icons (98/ME/2K Default)
24 - 16.7 million colors
- -
[32. CLASSIC WINDOWS MODE]
- -
For most of us this will be too classic, this mode will remove Active
Desktop, Quicklaunch bar, Web View, Thumbnail views. Open Registry
and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer create a new DWORD value called ClassicShell, give it a
value of 1.
- -
[33. REMOVE MY DOCUMENTS ICON]
- -
This will remove the "My Documents" Icon off the desktop. Open the
registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\CLSID\{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}\ShellFolder
Modify the Attributes and change it to 0x0f0500174 to hide, change
to 0xf0400174 to restore it.
- -
[34. SCROLL STYLE START MENU]
- -
This will make your start menu become one long column with arrows to
scroll down with. In order to do this you need to open the registry
and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced, create a new string and call it StartMenuScrollPrograms and
give it the value of Yes, No to revert to classic style.
- -
[35. CASCADE VARIOUS MENUS]
- -
Normally for example, Control Panel would require a click to open it, but
if it is cascaded it will be another menu. To cascade various options in
Windows 2000 right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and select properties,
click the advanced tab. All Expand options are menus in which you can cascade
on the start menu, enjoy.
- -
[36. CREATE A SHORTCUT TO MY COMPUTER]
- -
This will allow you to access My Computer through a shortcut. You need to
first make a new shortcut and make it point to:
%windir%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
You can now remove My Computer from the desktop if you need to or want
to.
- -
[37. SHOW LOG OFF OPTION ON START MENU]
- -
Right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and select properties, under
Advanced check Show Logoff on the scroll list.
- -
[38. CLEAR PAGE FILE ON SHUTDOWN]
- -
Clearing the page file is both a security benefit and a performance
benefit..well sorta. Enabling this will improve Windows 2000 tasks
but it will slowdown your shutdown time quite a bit. Its your
call. Open the registry, go to
HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
Create or modify the DWORD value called ClearPageFileAtShutdown, give
it the value of 1.
- -
[39. REMOVE SPLASH SCREEN IN OUTLOOK EXPRESS]
- -
Annoyed by the splash screen that Outlook Express gives you everytime
it launches? Well this is how we get rid of that annoyance. Open the
registry and go to HCU\Identities\{GUID}\Software\Microsoft\
Outlook Express\<Outlook Express version number>, add a new DWORD
value called NoSplash and give it a value of 1.
- -
[40. IGNORE BOOT ERROR MESSAGES]
- -
Sometimes there may be a minor error that you don't care to be
reminded about everyday when you boot up your machine. This will
remove this annoyance.
Enter the registry and go to the following key:
HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows, now create a new
DWORD value in the right pane and name it NoPopUpsOnBoot, click
ok and give it a decimal value of 1. To re-enable either give
NoPopUpsOnBoot a value of 0 or delete the key entirely.
- -
[41. CONTROL NUMLOCK KEY]
- -
This will control weither or not Numlock is automatically enabled
when you boot up the computer or not. To keep the Numlock key OFF
when you boot into windows go to HU\.Default\Control Panel\Keyboard in
your registry, create or modify the string value called
InitialKeyboardIndicators, give it the value of 0. To re-enable the
automatic enabling of Numlock give it a value of 2.
- -
[42. AUTOMATICALLY REBOOT ON ERRORS]
- -
Windows 2000 is definitely more stable than predecessors however it isn't
perfect. Since it does crash normally what happens is you get the error
message and what caused the crash, the problem is that it will not
automatically reboot you have to reboot manually by pressing the button
on your computer. This can become a nuisance. To change this you can
do one of the following:
a) Right-click on My Computer select properties, Click advanced tab,
click Startup and Recovery.., check Automatically Reboot, then click
OK twice.
b) Alternatively you can access the registry and go to the following key
HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl, create a new DWORD
value and name it AutoReboot, give it a value of 1. Give it a value of
0 to disable automatic reboot.
- -
[43. ENABLING UDMA/66 ]
- -
UDMA/66 will increase your hard drive performance considerably over
previous technologies. Unfortunately on Intel Motherboards UDMA/66 is
not enabled by default and cannot be enabled unless some registry
modifcations are at hand. So lets get started:
Open the registry and go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\
{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\000x (where x is the device
number) in the right pane(s) create the dword value EnableUDMA66 and
give it a value of 1. Continue this with any other device listed
(i.e. 0001 and 0003).
Now you need to enable Logical Block Addressing, go to HLM\System\
CurrentControlSet\Services\Atapi\Parameters, create a new DWORD
value called EnableBigLba, and give it a value of 1.
- -
[44. AUTOMATIC LOG-ON ]
- -
Tired of the annoying log-on screen in Windows 2000 and prefer to go
back to Windows 98/ME style of logging in? Just follow these steps:
Open the registry and go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\
CurrentVersion\Winlogon. In the right pane create these new strings:
AutoAdminLogon - give the value of 1
DefaultUserName - Give it the name of the logon you wish to auto
log-on to.
DefaultPassword - Give it the password of the logon you wish to
auto log-on to.
DefaultDomainName - Enter the name of your domain if it is a NT
domain.
- -
[45. REMOVE HELP FROM THE START MENU]
- -
To remove the Help option off the start menu follow these directions:
open the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value called
NoSMHelp and give it a value of 1.
- -
[46. DISABLE DRAGGING ON START MENU]
- -
This will disable the ability to drag items into the start menu,
open the registry and go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value and
call it NoChangeStartMenu, give it a value of 1.
- -
[47. DISABLE LOCK WORKSTATION BUTTON]
- -
This will remove the Lock Workstation button when you press Alt +
Ctrl + Del. To apply this open the registry and go to HCU\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System, create a new
DWORD value and name it DisableLockWorkstation and give it a value
of 1.
- -
[48. QUICK REBOOT FUNCTION]
- -
This will enable the ability to restart Windows by pressing
Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Del. To enable this enter the registry and go
to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon, create
a new string value EnableQuickReboot, give it the value of 1.
- -
[49. HIDE ADMINSTRATIVE TOOLS]
- -
Enter the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Advanced, create a new string value StartMenuAdminTools and give
it the value of 1. This will hide the Adminstrative Tools.
- -
[50. REMOVE LOGGING OF SYSTEM CRASHES]
- -
This will prevent Windows from making logs of system crashes to do this open
the registry and go to HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl, create
a new DWORD value called LogEvent, give it a value of 0.
- -
[51. REDEFINE AUTOCHECK TIMEOUT]
- -
If Windows is shutdown wrong then Windows 2000 will automatically run a disk
check on the next boot giving you a countdown, this controls that countdown.
Go to the registry and go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\ create a new DWORD or modify the existing value named AutoChkTimeOut,
give it a value of 0 to disable or Time of Seconds you would like it to wait
before it begins the disk check.
- -
[52. DISABLE CREATION OF LAST KNOWN GOOD CONFIG.]
- -
Under Windows 2000, Windows 2000 will create a backup everytime your computer
is booted up correctly. This can be good, but if you have a 3rd party
application that can do this or do better, Then its pretty useless. To disable
it then open your registry and go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\
CurrentVersion\Winlogon, create a new String value called ReportBootOK and
give it a value of 0.
- -
[53. DISABLE SHORTCUT LINK TRACKING]
- -
Relatively pointless feature that only wastes time, Link Tracking is a NTFS
only feature so disabling this won't yield any benefit if you are running
on a FAT32 partition. What happens when Windows 2000 cannot find the path
associated with a shortcut it will search all paths associated, and if it
still can't find it it will search the entire partition, this disables the
feature. Open the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value call it
NoResolveTrack and give it a value of 1.
- -
[54. ENABLE LARGE SYSTEM CACHE]
- -
Recommended for 512MB+ RAM systems, this will put more core files into RAM
instead of the hard drive, this allows for quicker access to system files.
To enable this open the registry and go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\
Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ create a new string value and
call it LargeSystemCache, give it a value of 1.
- -
[55. CONTIGUOUS FILE ALLOCATION SIZE]
- -
This will improve performance especially disk intensive applications like
Adobe Premiere or Photoshop. To enable this go into the registry of course
and go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management, create a new DWORD value and name it ContigFileAllocSize, and
give it a value of 1.
- -
[56. DISABLE WINDOWS 2000 SCHEME SOUNDS]
- -
If you can live without Windows 2000 startup noises and shutdown noises
then disable them. You can do this by clicking start, settings, control
panel, double-click Sounds and Multimedia. Under Schemes Select No Sounds
click OK.
- -
[57. TURN OFF DISK PERFORMANCE LOGGER]
- -
Windows 2000 can log physical conditions of the disk, this is quite a
useless feature if you are a home user or don't need a disk to be in
top shape on a server. Either way to turn this off go to start, run..
type in cmd, click ok. On command prompt type diskperf -n to disable
it.
- -
[58. TURN OFF INDEXING SERVICE]
- -
This is a performance drag, Indexing Service makes a index of all files
and directories on your drive for increased speed in searches, any modern
computer should be able to search reasonably fast WITHOUT this feature
being enabled. To turn it off, double-click on My Computer, right-click on
one hard drive, on the bottom uncheck Allow Indexing Service, then check
Apply changes to <x>:\, subfolders and files, then click ok. Repeat for
every hard drive on your computer. Note, it may take a minute for Windows
to remove this feature from the drives.
- -
[59. STOP PRINTER LOGGING]
- -
By default Windows 2000 will log all printer activity which is useful for
data collecting this can become a nuisance to those who could careless. To
disable the logging open the registry, go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\
Control\Print\Providers, modify the DWORD value Eventlog, give it the value
of 0.
- -
[60. PREVENT LAST USERNAME FROM DISPLAYING ON LOG-ON]
- -
This will prevent Windows 2000 from remembering the last user that logged
onto the computer. To do this open the registry, go to the key
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon, create a new
string value called DontDisplayLastUserName, give it the value of 1.
- -
[61. SPEED UP TELNET]
- -
This setting will allow for more concurrent connections as well as giving
it more threads allowing it to run faster.
To change the concurrent Connections, open the registry and go to
HLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\TelnetServer\1.0\ Create a new DWORD value or
modify the existing value called MaxConnections, give it the value of
however many connections you want to allow at once.
To increase the thread performance open the registry and go to
HLM\Software\Microsoft\TelnetServer\1.0\Performance, modify the value
called NumThreadsPerProcessor, change it to what you wish. 16 and 32
are preferred values.
- -
[62. WINDOWS 2000 UPGRADE PATHS]
- -
These are the available upgrade paths for Windows 2000:
Windows 95/98 -> Windows 2000 Professional (FULL)
Windows 2000 Professional (UPG.)
Windows NT 3.51/4 -> Windows 2000 Professional (FULL)
Windows 2000 Professional (UPG.)
Windows NT 3.51/4 Server -> Windows 2000 Server (UPG.)
Windows 2000 Server (FULL)
Windows 2000 Adv. Server (FULL)
- -
[63. DISABLE PROPERTIES MENU ON MY COMPUTER]
- -
This will disable the ability to right click on my computer and select
properties from the menu. To do this, open the registry and go to
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer, create
the new DWORD value called NoPropertiesMyComputer, and give it the value
of 1.
- -
[64. DISABLE AUTOMATIC UPDATING]
- -
You can actually disable automatic updating through the control panel, but
if for whatever reason you feel like doing it through the registry then
follow these instructions; open the registry, go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update, create a new DWORD value
and name it AUOptioms, give it the value of 1. Then create another DWORD
value called AUState and give it the value of 7.
- -
[65. REMOVING SP4 AFTER INSTALLING IE6 SP1]
- -
When installing Internet Explorer 6 SP1 the uninstall for Service Pack 4
will dissappear from the Add/Remove Program List. This doesn't mean you
can't uninstall Service Pack 4, you just need to uninstall IE 6 SP1 first
then the Service Pack 4 uninstall will reappear, then use the uninstall
to remove Service Pack 4.
- -
[66. DISABLING WINDOWS 2000 BALLOON TIPS ]
- -
Baloon Tips are the little indicators you get when you put your mouse over
a certain object. To disable these open the registry and go to
HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\, create a
new String Value called EnableBalloonTips, double-click it and put in
NO and then click OK.
- -
[67. DISABLE OUTLOOK EXPRESS SCRIPTING]
- -
In Outlook Express when you preview email scripting is automatically run,
this is a potential security hazard with viruses. To disable this follow
these steps; Open Outlook Express, click options > tools, click the
security tab, select Restricted Sites Zone, click OK. Now open up
Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options, click security tab,
Select Restricted Sites, press Custom Level, Scroll to Scripting Options
and check Disable under Active Scripting.
- -
[68. CANNON PRINTER SOFTWARE DEGRADES PERFORMANCE]
- -
You'll notice with Cannon Software installed the Cannon Service will consume
much of your processors time. This can be a serious problem. To remove this
you will need to boot your computer into safe mode (F8 on boot, Safe Mode
from the menu), when you are up and running in safe mode go to Add/Remove
Programs and remove the cannon software from your computer.
- -
[69. RUNNING A DISK CHECK IN WINDOWS 2000]
- -
In Windows 2000 there is two different ways to check your hard drives for
errors, although its really not needed since Windows 2000 is quite good at
maintaining file integrity but just in case you'd like to check your disks
here are the methods:
a) click start, run, type cmd, click ok. Type in chkdsk <drive letter> and
press enter to scan the disk.
b) Open My Computer and right-click on the drive you wish to scan and
select properties. Click Tools tab, click Check Now.. underneath
Error-correcting, click Start.
- -
[70. CHANGE MOUSE REFRESH RATE]
- -
In Windows 9x you had to download a 3rd party software product to change the
mouse refresh rate. To do it in Windows 2000, click start go to control panel
and select system. Click hardware tab, click Device Manager. Click the + sign
next to Mice and other pointing devices, right-click on your mouse and select
properties. Click the advanced settings tab, you can now change the sample
rate click ok when done.
- -
[71. STOP LISTING OF OPERATING SYSTEMS]
- -
To stop the listing of operating systems from showing up everytime you boot
your computer right-click on My Computer and select properties, click the
advanced tab, click startup and recovery.., uncheck "Display list of
operating systems.." make sure under Default operating system that the
operating system you want to boot with is selected, click ok.
- -
[72. DISABLE COMMAND EXTENSIONS]
- -
To disable command extensions, open the registry and go to HLM\Software\
Microsoft\Command Processor, create/modify the dword value EnableExtensions
and give it the value of 0.
- -
[73. REMOVE SERVICE PACK UNINSTALL]
- -
For most people when installing a Service Pack you are presented with the
option to save the previous data so you can uninstall Service Pack <x>
later if you wish. This is a good feature, however if the new service
pack works to your liking you are stuck with some hard disk space being
takin up by the uninstall files. You can regain some 60 - 80megs of space
by doing this; Go to your Windows directory (i.e. C:\WINNT) make sure that
all files and folders are viewable, delete the folder
"$NtServicePackUninstall$". Now that you have regained some space its time
to get rid of the bogus entry left in add/remove programs, to do this
open the registry and go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Uninstall\Windows 2000 Service Pack x (where x is the old service pack),
delete the entire key.
- -
[74. DISABLE RECORDING OF LAST OPENED FILES]
- -
Previously I told you about hiding My Documents Menu and other stuff, this
will only mask it and a determined person could still find out what you have
recently opened. This will disable it completely. To do this click start >
run.. - type gpedit, click ok. Go to User Configuration, go to Adminstrative
Templates, click Start Menu & Template, double-click
"Do not keep history of recently opened documents", then click Disable and
click ok.
- -
[75. DISABLE WINDOWS 2000 USER TRACKING]
- -
For personalized reasons, Windows 2000 will track a users activity on their
computer to setup custom features such as the personalized menu. This can
become a security hazard seeing as windows also tracks every thing the user
does such as application launches, etc. To disable this feature;
open the registry and visit HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value named NoInstrumentation, then
give it the value of 1.
- -
[76. REMOVE "ADD A PROGRAM FROM FLOPPY/CD" IN ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS]
- -
This feature is in your Add/Remove Programs on the Control Panel, this is
so that users can install programs off of a floppy/cd easily. To disable this
feature you need to open your registry, go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall, create a new DWORD value called
NoAddFromCDorFloppy, and give it a value of 1.
- -
[77. CHANGING A USERS PASSWORD]
- -
To change a users password; click start, settings, control panel, click
Adminstrative Tools, then double-click computer management. Highlight
Local Users and groups, double-click users from the right and then right
click the user you wish to choose, select set password.
- -
[78. ADD RENAMING/DELETING ABILITY TO RECYCLING BIN]
- -
This will add the ability to delete OR rename the recycling bin, in order
to achieve this you must open the registry of course, and go to the
following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder
double-click the binary value "Attributes", change the value from
50 01 00 20 to 70 01 00 20. Press F5 on the desktop, then you can now
right-click on the Recycling Bin and do as you please with it.
- -
[79. REMOVE MOUSE SHADOW]
- -
In Windows 2000 your mouse carries a shadow under it by default. You
can change this in one of two ways:
a) Open the registry and head to HU\.Default\Control Panel\Desktop,
double-click the UserPreferenceMask Binary Value in the right pane,
make the value read 30 10 00 80, then click ok.
b) Click Start, settings, control panel, double-click mouse. Click
pointers, uncheck "enable pointer shadow" click ok.
- -
[80. REMOVING FIND ITEMS]
- -
You can remove various find items by following these directions;
open the registry and go to
HLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FindExtensions\Static
Now delete any/all of the sub keys to get rid of the corresponding entry:
InetFind - will remove "Find On The Internet"
WabFind - will remove "Find: People"
MediaFolderFind - will remove "In Corel Media Folder.."
WebSearch - will remove "On The Internet.."
- -
[81. SPONTANEOUS REBOOT FIX]
- -
In Windows 2000 there may be a issue with drivers installed for your
hardware. You need to first disable the automatic rebooting on errors, if
you still get random reboots then the chances are it is your drivers.
The most common culprit is usually your video card or your modem, you need
to visit the manufacturer of your cards and get the latest drivers that
are windows 2000 compatible.
- -
[82. REMOVE IE UNINSTALL INFORMATION]
- -
This won't save too much space (9MB approx.) but if you are certain that
your internet explorer version is the right one for you and you want to
get rid of the uninstall information to take you back to a previous version
then follow these directions; click start, then go to run.. and type in the
following; C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Msinfo\Msinfo32.exe
then click tools, internet explorer repair tool, click the advanced button,
finally click remove previous versions of internet explorer, click ok.
- -
[83. STOP BLINKING CURSOR]
- -
In Windows 2000 by default your cursor will blink about twice every second,
in order to change this you will need to modify the registry; open the
registry and go to HU\.Default\Control Panel\Desktop, Double-click the
CursorBlinkRate, and give it a value of 999999. This will only setup the
logon screen blinking rate. To change the users blinking rate you will
need to logon to the user, and go to HCU\Control Panel\Desktop and change
the value of CursorBlinkRate to 999999 as well.
- -
[84. SHOW HIDDEN SYSTEM FILES]
- -
By enabling Show All Files in Folder Options, your vital system files are
still hidden, in order for these to become visable you need to do a little
registry editing. Open the registry and go to the following key
HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, in
the right pane double-click ShowSuperHidden, give it the value of 1, reboot
your computer and all files should now be displayed.
- -
[85. STOP MSN MESSENGER FROM LOADING ON CERTAIN PAGES]
- -
Besides the fact msn messenger is an annoyance in itself and uninstalling
it, you can play with the registry to prevent it from loading when you visit
oh say hotmail. Open the registry and go to the following key:
HCR\CLSID\{F3A614DC-ABE0-11d2-A441-00C04F795683}\LocalServer32
then double-click the (Default) string and delete the path to MSMSGS.EXE,
click ok. This will stop Messenger from launching when visiting certain
pages.
- -
[86. STOP OE DELAY WHEN MSN MESSENGER IS DISABLED]
- -
If you followed the previous steps in the last tip then you will realize
that Outlook Express will take a long ass delay in loading. So in order to
remove this delay you have to go to the messenger directory
(C:\Program Files\Messenger) and rename the messenger folder to messengerd,
this will prevent the delay in OE6.
- -
[87. IMPROVE BROWSING TIME]
- -
Use this tip ONLY if you do not have any scheduled tasks on your computer,
this will prevent windows from needlessly searching for scheduled tasks on
a remote computer to disable this behavior; open the registry, go to
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\
NameSpace\, now delete the key that is named
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}, Windows will no longer waste your
time by searching for scheduled tasks on other computers.
- -
[88. RESET WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER VIDEO CACHE]
- -
Sometime you may download a video and in the middle of downloading the video
you decide to play it to see if its worth downloading...well during the
playing WMP stores information about the video you have played..so say only
2 minutes of the video is downloaded yet the complete video is 7 minutes
long. So once the download is complete and you launch the video it may
only read 2 minutes because WMP still uses its Video Cache instead of the
new full featured video.
In order to clear WMP video cache you need to open the following folder
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Index,
now delete the file called wmplibrary_v_0_12.db. This will reset the cache
and hopefully make it so you can play your video completely.
- -
[89. MSCONFIG ALTERNATIVES]
- -
You'll notice in Windows 2000 that there is no msconfig like there was in
windows 98/ME. You can download and install Startup instead by visiting the
website at http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml. The program is much more
robust than msconfig. You can alternatively copy msconfig.exe from windows xp
if you'd like to use it in Windows 2000.
- -
[90. ENABLE AUTO LOGON]
- -
This can be a good feature to have if you are too lazy to sign in your own
username and password, however it can also be a security problem seeing as
anyone that turns on the computer can automatically log in to the specified
account. If you wish to do this still follow these steps; open the registry
and head to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon, now
in the right pane create the new string values:
DefaultUserName - enter the value of the username who is to auto logon.
DefaultPassword - value of the password who is to auto logon.
DefaultDomain - value of domain that the user is to logon, if any.
Now create or edit the string value named AutoAdminLogon and give it a value
of 1. Reboot your machine and you should now automatically logon everytime
you boot your computer.
- -
[91. REMOVING PROGRAMS FROM ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS]
- -
Sometimes a program bug will list a uninstall entry on add/remove programs
that simply doesn't work, or perhaps you deleted the files off the hard
drive instead so the entry doesn't point to anything. In order to remove
these entries you need to open the registry and go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, here you will see a list of programs that
correspond to the installed programs, delete whichever are invalid.
- -
[92. CREATE SHORTCUT TO WINDOWS DOS]
- -
Right-click on the start menu and select explore. Right-click in the right
pane and select New > Shortcut. When asked for the location of the file just
type command, click next, click finish.
- -
[93. CREATE SHORTCUT TO DEVICE MANAGER]
- -
This is a useful shortcut, you might not want the hassle of going through
system entry in control panel. You can create a new shortcut straight to
it on the desktop. Right-click on the desktop and select new > Shortcut..
have the shortcut point to
c:\winnt\system32\mmc.exe c:\winnt\system32\devmgmt.msc, then name it
whatever you wish and click finish. DONE.
- -
[94. CREATE A SHORTCUT TO LOCKDOWN WORKSTATION]
- -
Create a new shortcut that points to:
%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Name it to what you wish, now when you launch the shortcut your computer
will automatically be locked.
- -
[95. USE CLASSIC SHELL]
- -
Windows 98 (or 95 with IE4 Active Desktop Update) introduced the windows
shell that looks similiar to internet explorer, as well as it introduced
the quick launch bar, a new explorer browsing look, and active desktop.
While these are neat to some people, others might find it a nuissance.
To use the classic shell open the registry, and then go to the following
key HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer,
create a new DWORD value named ClassicShell or modify the existing one
and give it a value of 1.
- -
[96. ACCESS WINDOWS UPDATE W/O REGISTERING]
- -
This is here pretty much for historic reasons. This is pointless now since
you don't really need to register to use Windows Update anymore. So anyway
if you want to do this open the registry, go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\, create a new String Value called RegDone and give
it the value of 1.
- -
[97. DISABLE ALT + TAB APPLICATION SWITCHING]
- -
Known as cool switching, Alt + Tab is a quick way to switch between apps.
if you find this feature useless or you just don't want it you can disable
it by opening the registry, go to the key HCU\Control Panel\Desktop, modify
or create the string CoolSwitch and give it a value of 0.
- -
[98. REMOVING WINDOWS COMPONENTS]
- -
Use your search function and search for the file called sysoc.inf (note you
may need to have all files visable for this to work), then double-click on
the file. Now you will be presented with a bunch of entries under
[Components]. You can add more options to Windows Component Removal by removing
"Hide" entries.
Fax - This is the Fax utlity installed in Windows 2000
Imagevue - Gives options to remove imaging components
AutoUpdate - Gives the ability to remove Windows Auto Update component
There may be more listed in your setup, but these are the ones that I could
change when I removed "HIDE" from their entries. AutoUpdate will NOT be listed
unless SP3 or higher is installed.
- -
[99. SHOW ALL DEVICES IN DEVICE MANAGER]
- -
In device manager generally the devices only hooked up to your computer at the
time will be shown. With this tweak you will be able to make it so device
manager shows all devices listed. Open the registry and go to HLM\System\
CurrentControlSet\Session Manager\Environment, create a new string value named
DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES, give it the value of 1.
- -
[100. DISABLE TASK MANAGER]
- -
This does not prevent the pressing of Alt + Ctrl + Del, but disables the
ability of a user to use the task manager to shutdown tasks running on the
computer. To do this open the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System, create a new DWORD value named
DisableTaskMgr, give it the value of 1.
- -
[101. REMOVE MIN/MAX/CLOSE TOOLTIPS]
- -
By default when you put your cursor over one of the min/max/close buttons
it will generate a tip telling you its function. To disable this open the
registry and go to HCU\Control Panel\Desktop, create a new string value
called MinMaxClose, give it the value of 1.
- -
[102. SELECT FIRST DESKTOP ICON]
- -
You can change weither My Documents or My Computer is the first folder on
your desktop by following these directions:
open your registry, go to HCR\CLSID\{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103},
now create a new DWORD value called SortOrderIndex, modify it to read 48
for My Documents, or 54 for My Computer.
- -
[103. SHOW FILES/FOLDERS IN PROPER CASING]
- -
Windows by default has a tendency to pretty things up the way you don't
want it to..for example if you created the file OpEnMe Windows will name
it Openme instead. To disable the automatic recapping of your files do
this:
open the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Advanced, modify the DWORD value DontPrettyPath, give it the value
of 1.
- -
[104. CHANGE I/O CACHING MEMORY]
- -
Windows 2000 will limit the amount of memory used for file operations, to
override the default follow these steps:
open the registry and go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\
Session Manager\Memory Management, create a new DWORD value called
IoPageLockLimit. Now depending on how much of your RAM you want used
follow these values:
4MB 4096 (dec) 1000 (hex)
16MB 16384 (dec) 4000 (hex)
32MB 32768 (dec) 8000 (hex)
64MB 65536 (dec) 10000 (hex)
- -
[105. DISABLING ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM]
- -
The encrypting file system is used to secure files on a NTFS file system,
but in the event you want to disable it here's how:
Open the registry, go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\
EFS, create a new dword value called EfsConfiguration, give it a value
of 1 to disable EFS.
- -
[106. DISABLE AUTO LOGON SHIFT OVERRIDE]
- -
Under normal circumstances its possible to disable automatic logon when
holding the shift button when logging onto windows 2000, this will disable
the shift button feature. Open the registry, go to
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\
create a new string value named IgnoreShiftOverride, and give it the value
of 1.
- -
[107. ENABLE QUICK REBOOT FUNCTION]
- -
This will allow you to press Shift + Ctrl + Delete to quickly reboot
your computer, in order to do this open the registry and head to the
key HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\, create
a new string value called EnableQuickReboot, give it the value of 1.
Reboot your machine for it to work.
- -
[108. DISABLE AUTO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS ADJUSTMENTS]
- -
You can do this one of two ways:
a) easy way: double-click on the clock, click time zone, uncheck the
"automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes"
b) harder way: open the registry, head to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\
Control\TimeZoneInformation\, create or modify the dword value
DisableAutoDaylightTimeSet, and give it the value of 1.
- -
[109. WINDOWS 2000 INSTALLATION CHECK LIST]
- -
This is a general overview of what you should check before installing
Windows 2000:
- Check to ensure you meet system requirements
- Check Hardware Compatibility
- Make sure your current software is up-to-date and is 2K compatible
- Get latest drivers for your hardware
- Do a clean install if possible
- Uninstall any Antivirus software if upgrading
- Decide if you are going to Dual Boot, if so FAT32 will be the better
file system, if not stick with NTFS.
- Windows 95/98/ME must be installed BEFORE 2000 if you plan on dual
booting
- -
[110. CREATING 2000 SETUP BOOT FLOPPIES]
- -
First insert your Windows 2000 Setup CD, click start - run..,
type <x>:\bootdisk\makeboot a: (where <x:> is your cdrom drive letter) then
click ok, Windows 2000 disk will make 4 setup disks for Windows 2000.
- -
[111. FAST REPAIR VS MANUAL REPAIR IN W2K]
- -
If your system ever becomes unstable booting from a Windows 2000 CD will
allow you to choose between a FAST repair or a Manual Repair. The difference
between the two are that FAST repair will check the registry for corruption,
as well as do all the functions of manual repair.
- -
[112. CREATING A EMERGENCY REPAIR DISK]
- -
In order to have some restore functionality it is absolutely essential
to create a ERD (emergency repair disk). In order to do this you need
to click start > programs > accessories > system tools > backup, now
click Emergency Repair Disk, insert a formatted 1.44MB floppy disk.
- -
[113. UPGRADE EDITION AS A FULL INSTALL]
- -
The upgrade editions of Windows 2000 will work as a full installation to
a lost windows 2000 installation without any cd verification. However when
used on a drive carrying no previous version of windows, you will need to
have a previous versions disk handy so when you run setup you can get past
the cd verification step. So, yes the upgrade edition can do full installs
but you need a previous versions disk first.
- -
[114. TASK MANAGER AS A BOOTABLE TRAY ICON]
- -
You can make a icon shortcut in your systray if you wish, this makes it
easier to launch the Task Manager. To do this open the registry and head
to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run..create a new string
named Taskmanager, and have the value read
"c:\winnt\system32\cmd.exe" /c "start" /min c:\winnt\system32\taskmgr.exe
- -
[115. WINDOWS 9X UPGRADE PRECAUTIONS]
- -
Windows 2000 is based on NT, Windows 9x is based on the 9x kernel..there
are significant differences between the two so therefore conflicts may
arrise. Here are some precautions:
- some 9x products (Antiviruses and disk utilities mainly) will NOT work
in windows 2000 unless upgraded.
- 9x drivers will NOT work under 2000 unless upgraded.
- 2K will carry all users on 9x into the administrative class giving
everyone the ability to modify everything.
- Old DLLs will probably be left over from 9x after a 2K upgrade
Its HIGHLY recommended you do a clean install over a upgrade install
especially from 9x to 2K.
- -
[116. USE SYSTEM FILE CHECKER TO VERIFY FILES]
- -
System File Checker is used to replace corrupted System Files as well
as create new backups for recovery purposes later. To reset the files
click start - run.. - type cmd, click ok. Then type sfc /purgecache,
this will remove the dllcache and then start a fresh scan on wfp files
so that the library is completely up to date.
- -
[117. ENABLE UDMA/66 SUPPORT ON INTEL PLATFORMS]
- -
By default ATA/66 is disabled, don't know why but to re-enable it you
need to access your registry, go to the following key:
HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\
{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000, create a new DWORD value
called EnableUDMA66 and give it the value of 1.
- -
[118. USING THEMES IN WINDOWS 2000]
- -
Ironically I didn't even think this utility existed, in order to run it
you need to click start, run.., type themes, click ok. This tool should
have just as much functionality as 98's edition.
- -
[119. TURNING OFF MODEM NOISE]
- -
To turn off annoying dial-up modem noise follow these steps. Click start,
settings, control panel, double-click Phone and Modem Options. Click Modems
Tab, highlight the modem you use and select properties, click the advanced
tab. In extra initialization commands, add "M0" (zero) click OK twice.
- -
[120. STOP VOLUME CONTROL (Y. SPEAKER) FROM STARTING]
- -
When you boot your computer normally there will be a little Yellow Speaker
icon by your system tray. Click Start, Settings, Double-click Sound and
Multimedia, then uncheck "Show volume control on the taskbar", click OK.
The Volume Control will no longer launch on boot.
- -
[121. DISABLE PROPERTIES ON RECYCLE BIN]
- -
To make it so properties is not a option on the recycling bin menu, then
do this; open the registry and head to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a new dword value called
NoPropertiesRecycleBin, give it the value of 1.
- -
[122. MAKE COPY/MOVE TO CONTEXT MENUS]
- -
To do this open the registry, go to the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
create the new key Copy To Folder, then open the Default Value and
enter {C2FBB630-2971-11d1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}. Now create another key
Move To Folder, modify Default value and enter the following..
{C2FBB631-2971-11d1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}
- -
[123. DISK CLEAN-UP HANG-UP FIX]
- -
Often times disk clean-up may hang up on you and not want to function.
To fix this it is recommended that you clean out your temp folder. To
do this you need to click start, run.. type in %temp%... A folder will
appear, click edit - select all, then press delete on your keyboard.
Open internet explorer, click tools, internet options.. under
temporary internet files click delete files.., check delete all offline
content, click ok, click ok again. Now try to run clean disk again.
- -
[124. FILE SYSTEM INFORMATION]
- -
FAT12 - Commonly used file system for floppy disks.
FAT16 - Windows 95/95a file system, the max. file system size for FAT16
is 2GB per partition and is relatively ineffecient in space
management.
FAT32 - Common file system in Windows 95b/95c/98 and ME. Better at space
management allowing for 2TB per partition. FAT32 saves about
15% to 20% over FAT16 equiv. partitions but doesn't feature the
security features of NTFS.
NTFS - File system introduced in NT, 2000 carries NTFS 5.0 a newer
version that allows for quotas and other security enhancing
features.
- -
[125. HIDE ACTIVE DIRECTORY UNDER MY NETWORK]
- -
This will hide the active directory folder as seen in My Network Places
in Windows 2000. To do this you need to access the registry and head to
HCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\, create a new key called
Directory UI, then inside that key create a new DWORD named
HideDirectoryFolder, set the value to 1.
- -
[126. ALPHABETIZE YOUR START MENU]
- -
To make it so your start menu is in alphabetical order simply click start,
programs, right-click on the programs list and select sort by name. There
is no perm. solution to where Windows will automatically set your menu
to alphabetical order on every boot. Alternatively, you can right-click
on the taskbar, select properties, click advanced, then click Re-sort.
- -
[127. RECREATE MY DOCUMENTS FOLDER]
- -
If you deleted the my documents folder from the desktop and you want it back
you can get it back by following these steps; open my computer, click tools,
folder options.., click View Tab, check Show My Documents on the Desktop,
click OK.
- -
[128. ADD ENCRYPT/DECRYPT CONTEXT MENUS]
- -
You can easily encode and decode files or folders with this. To enable it
open the registry and go to HLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Advanced, now create a new DWORD named EncryptionContextMenu, then
give it the value of 1. Reboot your computer.
- -
[129. REMOVE MY NETWORK PLACES]
- -
Open the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value named NoNetHood and give it
a value of 1, click ok.
- -
[130. DISABLE CONTEXT MENU]
- -
This will disable the use of right-clicking, to do this open the registry
and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
create a new DWORD value named NoViewContextMenu, give it a value of 1.
- -
[131. REMOVE SHORTCUT ARROW]
- -
To remove shortcut arrows go to the registry, go to HCR\lnkfile, delete
the value named IsShortcut, close regedit and reboot your machine for
changes to take effect.
- -
[132. REMOVE MANAGE FROM MY COMPUTER]
- -
Normally if you right-click on my computer you get the manage option which
takes you to the computer management menu, to remove this you need to access
the registry. Inside the registry go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value named
NoManageMyComputerVerb, give it a value of 1. Reboot the computer.
- -
[133. REMOVE CLOCK FROM SYSTEM TRAY]
- -
To remove the clock from the system tray then right-click on the taskbar,
select properties. Uncheck Show Clock, click OK.
- -
[134. DISABLE USE OF WINDOWS UPDATE]
- -
To disable the use of Windows Update, open the registry and head to
HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create
a new DWORD value named NoWindowsUpdate, give it the value of 1.
- -
[135. DISABLE NTFS SHORTCUT TRACKING]
- -
Under a normal circumstances a system running Windows 2000 with NTFS the
file system will automatically search for the missing link if a shortcut
is invalid. To prevent this behavior access your registry and go to HCU\
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a
new DWORD value named NoResolveTrack, give it a value of 1.
- -
[136. DISABLE LOCK WORKSTATION BUTTON (SP4+ ONLY)]
- -
This requires Service Pack 4 to be installed in order for it to work. Open
your registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\System, create a new DWORD value named DisableLockWorkstation,
give it the value of 1. Click ok.
- -
[137. DISABLE DR. WATSON]
- -
Everytime your computer crashes dr. watson creates a log of it, this can
be useful but only if you understand error messages. To disable this feature
open the registry, head to HLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\
Delete the key AeDeBug, close regedit and reboot your computer.
- -
[138. REMOVE NETWORK ICON FROM SYSTEM TRAY]
- -
When you get a network connection going generally a computer icon will appear
with flashing lights, to remove this follow these steps. Click Control Panel,
Network and Internet Connections, right-click on the connection you wish to
prevent the showing of the connection icon, select properties. Now uncheck
"Show icon in taskbar when connected.", click ok.
- -
[139. ENABLE COMPATIBILITY MODE]
- -
This will enable the ability to run programs as if they were running on
a 9x machine or NT4 machine. To enable this you need to click start, run..
type regsvr32 %systemroot%\apppatch\slayerui.dll, click ok. Now right-click
the shortcut you wish to put into compatibility mode, and select properties.
Click the Compatibility Tab and decide which mode you want. The options
listed should be Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT4 SP5.
- -
[140. DISABLE GRATUITOUS ARP FUNCTION]
- -
By default Windows 2000 will automatically send a packet containing the
computer's IP address to prevent the duplication of the TCP/IP Address.
Open your registry, go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcipip\
Parameters, Modify or create a new ArpRetryCount value, give it a value
of 1.
- -
[141. CHANGE 2ND LEVEL CACHE]
- -
With chips carrying more than 256K L2 Cache, You may like to take advantage
of your 512K L2 Cache instead of Windows 2000 default optimization for 256.
Go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
create a new DWORD value named SecondLevelDataCache, double-click it, click
Decimal button and put in the amount of cache your CPU has. NOTE: this will
yeild no benefits to chips with on-die L2 Caches.
- -
[142. DISABLE WINDOWS KEY]
- -
To disable the use of the windows key follow these steps; open the registry
and head to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout\, create a
new BINARY value named Scancode Map, give it the value of
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 5B E0 00 00 5C E0 00 00 00 00
The windows key will now cease to function.
- -
[143. DISABLE CONTROL PANEL]
- -
To disable access to the control panel, access your registry and go to
HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create
a new DWORD value named NoControlPanel, give it a value of 1.
- -
[144. DISABLE RUNNING OF CERTAIN APPS.]
- -
To disable specific files users can run through the run command, open
the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer\, create a new DWORD value named DisallowRun give it
the value of 1. Now create a new key named DisallowRun. Create new
string values labeled 1 to however many applications you wish to not
run. For example to stop the running of regedit I'd create a new string
value named 1, then give it the value of regedit.exe or whatever the
applications name is.
- -
[145. BLOCK MESSENGER BASED SPAM]
- -
Normally messenger is used to send messages back and forth between servers
and clients, but recently it has been used to send spam messages on the
internet. Use the registry and go to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\
Messenger, create a new DWORD value named Start, and give it the value of
4.
- -
[146. ENABLE CTRL + ALT + DEL TO LOG-IN]
- -
By default Windows 2000 doesn't require the use of CAD to log-in. To
re-enable this feature and increase security, go to the registry and
go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon,
create a new DWORD named DisableCAD, give it the value of 0 to enable
CAD on log-on, give it the value of 1 to disable it.
- -
[147. CHANGE MAXIMUM REGISTRY SIZE]
- -
Eventually the default settings for the registry will not be big enough
for your system to keep creating new registry data. To change this you
need to right-click on My Computer, select properties, click Advanced
Tab, click Performance Options, Click Change under Virtual Memory, Under
registry size change the Maximum Registry Size to the value of your
choice. Click ok twice when done.
- -
[148. ALTERNATIVE SHELL]
- -
To load an alternative shell other than explorer, then follow these steps;
open the registry and head to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Winows NT\
CurrentVersion\Winlogon, create a new string value named Shell, then
change the value to the name of the new shell, i.e. progman.exe
- -
[149. REMOVE EJECT OPTION FROM START MENU]
- -
To remove the eject option from the start menu, open the registry and
head to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\IDConfigDB\CurrentDockInfo\,
create or modify the DWORD value EjectableDocks, give it a value of 0 to
remove Eject from the start menu.
- -
[150. DISABLE CHANGE PASSWORD BUTTON]
- -
This will disable Change Password button on the security box, to do this
enter the registry, go to the following key:
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System, create
a new DWORD value named DisableChange Password, give it the value of 1 to
disable the button.
- -
[151. INCREASE MOUSE BOFFER SIZE]
- -
If you ever get a buffer overflow with your mouse this is the setting for
you. Enter the registry and head to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\
Mouclass\Parameters, create or modify a new DWORD value named
MouseDataQueueSize, give it the value of 100 in decimal format.
- -
[152. DISABLE THE ABILITY TO BYPASS STARTUP PROGRAMS]
- -
This will disable the ability to bypass startup files by holding shift on
a system boot. To do this open the registry, head to
HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon, create a new
DWORD value named IgnoreShiftOverride, give it a value of 1.
- -
[153. DISABLE LOGGING OF SYSTEM CRASHES]
- -
Open the registry, see key HLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
CrashControl, create new DWORD value named LogEvent, give it the
value of 0 to disable logging.
- -
[154. DISABLE SAVE PASSWORD IN DUN]
- -
To disable save password option on dial-up connections, do this; open the
registry and head to HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\RasMan\Parameters,
create a new DWORD value named DisableSavePassword, give a value of 1.
- -
[155. CASCADE MY DOCUMENTS FOLDER]
- -
Open the registry, head to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Advanced, create a new String Value named CascadeMyDocuments, give
it the value of Yes.
- -
[156. CHANGE SYSTEM FILE PROTECTION DLL STORAGE LOCATION]
- -
This will change the location at which Windows 2000 will store the protected
system files. To change it open the registry, go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\, create a expanded string value, name
it SFCDllCacheDir, enter the directory you wish for SFP to store protected
dlls. (Note:Requires Regedt32 instead of regedit to work)
- -
[157. DISABLE DRIVER UPDATE WIZARD]
- -
This prevents a user from going online to retrieve new drivers, to do this
open the registry and go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value NoDevMgrUpdate, give it the
value of 1.
- -
[158. HIDE SET PROGRAM ACCESS IN ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS]
- -
This will hide the "Set Program Access & Defaults" in Add/Remove Programs
screen. To do this open the registry, go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall, create a new DWORD value named
NoChooseProgramsPage, give it the value of 1. Note you may have to create a
new key named "uninstall" if not already created.
- -
[159. DOWNLOADING DRIVER UPDATES]
- -
There are a couple of methods you can use to update your drivers.
a) Use Windows Update, click Windows Update Catalog from the left
menu. Click Find driver updates for hardware devices, now select
the type of device it is. Now you must use what you know brand,
and model enter accordingly and download the drivers from
microsoft.
b) Use the manufacturer of your hardware's website and download the
drivers from there.
c) Use the manufacturer of your computer's website (i.e. gateway) and
use their driver section for a all-in-one driver download spot.
Generally the best method is to go directly to the hardware manufacturer
website, they are the most up-to-date, but the other options are easier.
- -
[160. WIN2K SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS]
- -
2K PROFESSIONAL > 133Mhz Processor or Higher
64MB RAM
2GB Hard Drive Space
Single/Dual Processing Environment
VGA or higher resolution monitor
Keyboard, CD-ROM/DVD Drive
2K SERVER > 133Mhz Processor (Up to 4 Processors)
128MB RAM
2GB Hard Drive/1GB Available
CDROM/DVD Drive
VGA or higher resolution monitor
Keyboard & Mouse
2K ADV. SERVER > Same Requirements as Server, but supports 6 processors
instead of 4 like server.
2K DATACENTER > 8-way compable or higher server
Pentium 3 Xeon or higher processor
256MB RAM
2GB HD/1GB HD Space Free
CDROM/DVD Drive
VGA or higher resolution
Keyboard required
- -
[161. DEFAULT TEMP DIRECTORIES]
- -
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp
%SystemRoot%\Temp
- -
[162. SHOW PROGRAM FILES/WINNT FOLDERS AUTOMATICALLY]
- -
By default when opening PROGRAM FILES/WINNT folder you have to click
Show files to display everytime. To get rid of this you need to disable
Web Content in folders, but you will also lose thumbnail section. As
a Secondary option, rename folder.htt in both Program Files and Winnt
Folders.
- -
[163. CHANGE WINDOWS 2000 SOURCE PATH (NO CD PROMPTS)]
- -
While windows 2000 doesn't have as bad of a habit of asking everytime
you remove/add a windows component to prompt for the 2K CD, it will
prompt when you use system file protection. I recommend you copy
Windows 2000 CD's i386 folder to C:\i386, then open the registry and
head to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion, modify the
string value named SourcePath, to read C:\i386\, click ok..Reboot
your machine. You will no longer be prompt to insert your cd during
the use of system file checker.
- -
[164. USING NETMEETING IN 2K]
- -
To run Netmeeting in windows 2000, simply click start > run.. type in
conf.exe, click ok. Netmeeting will immediately launch.
- -
[165. CONVERT FILE SYSTEM TO NTFS]
- -
If you're running FAT32 on Windows 2000 and decide to run NTFS, you can
convert it by following these steps. click start, run, type in convert
<x>: /fs:ntfs (where <x> is the drive letter to convert), click OK.
- -
[166. GET WINDOWS 2000 VERSION INFO]
- -
In order to get a full version information check, open your registry and
go to HLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion, look at the
following values for version numbers:
CSDVersion = Service Pack
CurrentBuildNumber = Build Number
CurrentVersion = Version Number
Product Name = Windows Name
- -
[167. INSTALLING FONTS IN 2K]
- -
To install fonts you need to move the fonts into the folder, C:\WINNT\Fonts,
or you can open control panel, fonts, click file, install new font.., go
to the folder where the fonts are located and install them. If you use the
1st method then you must open the Fonts entry in Control Panel to activate
the fonts.
- -
[168. ENABLE MEDIA PLAYER DVD PLAYBACK]
- -
Open the registry, navigate to HCU\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\
Settings, create a new string value named EnableDVDUI, double-click it and
put Yes in the box, click ok.
- -
[169. DISABLING AUTORUN OF CDs]
- -
To stop the automatic loading of CD Content in Windows, follow these steps;
open the registry and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD value named
NoDriveAutoRun, give it the value of 1 to disable autorun, 0 to re-enable
it.
- -
[170. LIMIT ROAMING PROFILE SIZE]
- -
User on your machine taking up too much space for his own good? To limit
the profile size you must use gpedit.msc. Click start - run.. - gpedit.msc
click ok. Go to Adminstrative Tools, System, Logon/Logoff, Now double-click
Limit Profile Size in the right pane, click Enable..put your preferences in
and close it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
C H A P T E R 1 - I N D E X
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
[1. DISABLE PERSONALIZED MENUS]
[2. HIDE LOG OFF ON MENU]
[3. DISABLE 8.3 FILENAMING]
[4. REMOVING SERVICES FROM SERVICES]
[5. CHANGE DESKTOP WALLPAPER ON LOG-ON SCREEN]
[6. SPEED UP START MENU]
[7. AUTO SHUTDOWN OF TASKS ON SHUTDOWN]
[8. TURN OFF COMPUTER ON SHUTDOWN]
[9. CHANGE TASKBAR SIZE]
[10. CHANGING SECURITY POLICIES]
[11. VIEW WINDOWS COMMAND PROMPT IN FULL SCREEN]
[12. ENABLE RESTARTING OF SHELL]
[13. EVEN MORE SECURITY POLICIES]
[14. ENABLE X-MOUSE FUNCTIONS]
[15. CHANGE OWNERSHIP INFORMATION]
[16. DISABLE AUTOMATIC ADMINSTRATIVE SHARES]
[17. LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF USERS ALLOWED TO LOG ON AT ONCE]
[18. TURN OFF MIN/MAX ANIMATIONS]
[19. DISABLE LAST TIME ACCESSED STAMP (NTFS PERFORMANCE)]
[20. CHANGE DESKTOP ICON SPACING]
[21. DISABLE WELCOME TO WINDOWS 2000 MESSAGE]
[22. ENABLE MANUAL CRASH]
[23. ENABLE TCP/IP FORWARDING]
[24. REMOVING HOTFIX UNINSTALL FILES]
[25. RESTRICT WINDOWS INSTALLER SETUPS FROM INSTALLING]
[26. DISABLE WINDOWS INSTALLER ROLLBACK]
[27. REGISTER AT WINDOWS UPDATE]
[28. COMMON DIALOG CUSTOMIZATION]
[29. DISABLE SMOOTH SCROLLING FUNCTION]
[30. DISPLAY FULL ICON WHEN DRAGGING]
[31. GET 24-BIT ICONS IN 2000]
[32. CLASSIC WINDOWS MODE]
[33. REMOVE MY DOCUMENTS ICON]
[34. SCROLL STYLE START MENU]
[35. CASCADE VARIOUS MENUS]
[36. CREATE A SHORTCUT TO MY COMPUTER]
[37. SHOW LOG OFF FUNCTION ON START MENU]
[38. CLEAR PAGE FILE ON SHUTDOWN]
[39. REMOVE OE SPLASH SCREEN]
[40. IGNORE BOOT ERROR MESSAGES]
[41. CONTROL NUMLOCK KEY]
[42. AUTO REBOOT ON ERRORS]
[43. ENABLE UDMA/66]
[44. AUTO LOG-ON]
[45. REMOVE HELP ON START MENU]
[46. DISABLE DRAGING ON START MENU]
[47. DISABLE LOCK WORKSTATION BUTTON]
[48. QUICK REBOOT FUNCTION]
[49. HIDE ADMINSTRATIVE TOOLS]
[50. REMOVE LOGGING OF SYSTEM CRASHES]
[51. REDEFINE AUTOCHK TIMEOUTS]
[52. DISABLE CREATION OF LAST KNOWN GOOD CONFIGURATION]
[53. Disable Shortcut Link Tracking]
[54. ENABLE LARGE SYSTEM CACHE]
[55. CONTIGUOUS ALLOCATION SIZE]
[56. DISABLE WINDOWS 2000 SOUNDS]
[57. TURN OFF DISK PERFORMANCE LOGGERS]
[58. TURN OFF INDEXING SERVICE]
[59. STOP PRINTER LOGGING]
[60. PREVENT LAST USERNAME FROM SHOWING ON LOG-ON]
[61. SPEED UP TELNET]
[62. WINDOWS 2000 UPGRADE PATHS]
[63. DISABLE PROPERTIES ON MY COMPUTER]
[64. DISABLE AUTO UPDATING]
[65. REMOVE SP4 AFTER IE 6 SP1 INSTALL]
[66. DISABLE WINDOWS 2000 BALLOON TIPS]
[67. DISABLE OUTLOOK EXPRESS SCRIPTING]
[68. CANNON SOFTWARE DEGRADE PERFORMANCE]
[69. RUNNING DISK CHECKS IN WINDOWS 2000]
[70. CHANGE MOUSE REFRESH RATE]
[71. STOP BOOT LISTING OF OPERATING SYSTEMS]
[72. DISABLE COMMAND LINE EXTENSIONS]
[73. REMOVE SERVICE PACK UNINSTALL FILES]
[74. DISABLE RECORDING OF LAST OPENED FILES]
[75. Disable Windows 2000 User Tracking]
[76. Remove "Add a Program from Floppy/CD" in Add/Remove Programs]
[77. Changing a Users Password]
[78. Add Renaming/Deleting Ability to Recycling Bin]
[79. REMOVE MOUSE SHADOW]
[80. Removing Find Items]
[81. SPONTANEOUS REBOOT FIX]
[82. REMOVE IE UNINSTALL INFORMATION]
[83. STOP BLINKING CURSOR]
[84. SHOW HIDDEN SYSTEM FILES]
[85. STOP MSN MESSENGER FROM LOADING ON CERTAIN PAGES]
[86. STOP OE DELAY WHEN MSN MESSENGER IS DISABLED]
[87. IMPROVE BROWSING TIME]
[88. RESET WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER VIDEO CACHE]
[89. MSCONFIG ALTERNATIVES]
[90. ENABLE AUTO LOGON]
[91. REMOVING PROGRAMS FROM ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS]
[92. CREATE SHORTCUT TO WINDOWS DOS]
[93. CREATE SHORTCUT TO DEVICE MANAGER]
[94. CREATE A SHORTCUT TO LOCKDOWN WORKSTATION]
[95. USE CLASSIC SHELL]
[96. ACCESS WINDOWS UPDATE W/O REGISTERING]
[97. DISABLE ALT + TAB APPLICATION SWITCHING]
[98. REMOVING WINDOWS COMPONENTS]
[99. SHOW ALL DEVICES IN DEVICE MANAGER]
[100. DISABLE TASK MANAGER]
[101. REMOVE MIN/MAX/CLOSE TOOLTIPS]
[102. SELECT FIRST DESKTOP ICON]
[103. SHOW FILES/FOLDERS IN PROPER CASING]
[104. CHANGE I/O CACHING MEMORY]
[105. DISABLING ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM]
[106. DISABLE AUTO LOGON SHIFT OVERRIDE]
[107. ENABLE QUICK REBOOT FUNCTION]
[108. DISABLE AUTO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS ADJUSTMENTS]
[109. WINDOWS 2000 INSTALLATION CHECK LIST]
[110. CREATING 2000 SETUP BOOT FLOPPIES]
[111. FAST REPAIR VS MANUAL REPAIR IN W2K]
[112. CREATING A EMERGENCY REPAIR DISK]
[113. UPGRADE EDITION AS A FULL INSTALL]
[114. TASK MANAGER AS A BOOTABLE TRAY ICON]
[115. WINDOWS 9X UPGRADE PRECAUTIONS]
[116. USE SYSTEM FILE CHECKER TO VERIFY FILES]
[117. ENABLE UDMA/66 SUPPORT ON INTEL PLATFORMS]
[118. USING THEMES IN WINDOWS 2000]
[119. TURNING OFF MODEM NOISE]
[120. STOP VOLUME CONTROL (Y. SPEAKER) FROM STARTING]
[121. DISABLE PROPERTIES ON RECYCLE BIN]
[122. MAKE COPY/MOVE TO CONTEXT MENUS]
[123. DISK CLEAN-UP HANG-UP FIX]
[124. FILE SYSTEM INFORMATION]
[125. HIDE ACTIVE DIRECTORY UNDER MY NETWORK]
[126. ALPHABETIZE YOUR START MENU]
[127. RECREATE MY DOCUMENTS FOLDER]
[128. ADD ENCRYPT/DECRYPT CONTEXT MENUS]
[129. REMOVE MY NETWORK PLACES]
[130. DISABLE CONTEXT MENU]
[131. REMOVE SHORTCUT ARROW]
[132. REMOVE MANAGE FROM MY COMPUTER]
[133. REMOVE CLOCK FROM SYSTEM TRAY]
[134. DISABLE USE OF WINDOWS UPDATE]
[135. DISABLE NTFS SHORTCUT TRACKING]
[136. DISABLE LOCK WORKSTATION BUTTON (SP4+ ONLY)]
[137. DISABLE DR. WATSON]
[138. REMOVE NETWORK ICON FROM SYSTEM TRAY]
[139. ENABLE COMPATIBILITY MODE]
[140. DISABLE GRATUITOUS ARP FUNCTION]
[141. CHANGE 2ND LEVEL CACHE]
[142. DISABLE WINDOWS KEY]
[143. DISABLE CONTROL PANEL]
[144. DISABLE RUNNING OF CERTAIN APPS.]
[145. BLOCK MESSENGER BASED SPAM]
[146. ENABLE CTRL + ALT + DEL TO LOG-IN]
[147. CHANGE MAXIMUM REGISTRY SIZE]
[148. ALTERNATIVE SHELL]
[149. REMOVE EJECT OPTION FROM START MENU]
[150. DISABLE CHANGE PASSWORD BUTTON]
[151. INCREASE MOUSE BOFFER SIZE]
[152. DISABLE THE ABILITY TO BYPASS STARTUP PROGRAMS]
[153. DISABLE LOGGING OF SYSTEM CRASHES]
[154. DISABLE SAVE PASSWORD IN DUN]
[155. CASCADE MY DOCUMENTS FOLDER]
[156. CHANGE SYSTEM FILE PROTECTION DLL STORAGE LOCATION]
[157. DISABLE DRIVER UPDATE WIZARD]
[158. HIDE SET PROGRAM ACCESS IN ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS]
[159. DOWNLOADING DRIVER UPDATES]
[160. WIN2K SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS]
[161. DEFAULT TEMP DIRECTORIES]
[162. SHOW PROGRAM FILES/WINNT FOLDERS AUTOMATICALLY]
[163. CHANGE WINDOWS 2000 SOURCE PATH (NO CD PROMPTS)]
[164. USING NETMEETING IN 2K]
[165. CONVERT FILE SYSTEM TO NTFS]
[166. GET WINDOWS 2000 VERSION INFO]
[167. INSTALLING FONTS IN 2K]
[168. ENABLE MEDIA PLAYER DVD PLAYBACK]
[169. DISABLING AUTORUN OF CDs]
[170. LIMIT ROAMING PROFILE SIZE]
= = = = = = = = = = =
C H A P T E R T W O
:: T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G ::
= = = = = = = = = = =
[1. FILES DONT SHOW IN THE RECYCLING BIN WHEN DELETED]
Someone may have accidently changed the recycling bin settings, to
change them back right-click on the bin select properties, uncheck
"Do not move files to the Recycle Bin."
If this solution doesn't work its also possible that someone has set the
security settings on the Recycling bin to be too restrictive. Log on using
the Adminstrative account, locate C:\Recycled, right-click and select
properties, click Security Tab, allow full control, click ok.
[2. INTERNET EXPLORER 6 DOESNT SHOW GIF FILES]
There has been no official fix for this issue but here are some of the
suggested steps.
- Clear all history and temp. internet files
- Change encoding to Western European, Turn off any proxy server
- Under Tools > Internet Options.. > Advanced, make sure the following
are checked: Play Animation in web pages, Enable third-party browser
extensions, Show Pictures.
- Run these commands, regsvr32.exe /i shdocvw.dll
regsvr32.exe /i shdoc401.dll
- Try internet explorer repair (add/remove programs, internet explorer,
repair internet explorer)
[3. STOP 0x0000007B: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE]
This error normally occurs if a motherboard is swapped and uses a different
set of drivers than the previous motherboard. To fix this boot with the
Windows 2000 Setup Disk, Continue into setup until you get the option to
repair your current installation of Windows 2000. After the repair Windows
2000 should operate normally.
[4. WINDOWS 2000 DOESNT START WITH PCANYWHERE 9 INSTALLED]
If Pcanywhere 9.0 is installed on Windows 2000 booting will generate a
winlogon.exe crash. To fix this you need to first uninstall PCANYWHERE
by booting your machine up in safe mode (F8 on boot, Safe Mode) using
Add/Remove programs to remove it, reboot the machine in normal mode.
Go to http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/files/pca/pca9-9598nt.html,
download the patch, install Pcanywhere 9.0 again and then apply the
patch.
[5. MISSING DESKTOP AFTER EXPLORER CRASH]
Instead of rebooting your computer, simply press Alt + Ctrl + Del,
click Task Manager, click file - new task.., type in explorer.exe,
click ok. Windows 2000 should reload your desktop.
[6. WINDOWS 2000 WONT REMEMBER FOLDER VIEW SETTINGS]
Sometimes after so many different view settings on so many different folders
Windows 2000 will forget its settings. There are numerous solutions to try
they are as follows:
- under tools - folder options - view tab, see if "remember folder's view
settings" is checked under advanced.
- Under HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer in
regedit, make sure there is no DWORD value named NoSaveSettings with a
value of 1. If there is, delete it or give it the value of 0.
- Finally if neither of the previous solutions work you will have to increase
Windows 2000's quota for remembering folder settings. Go to HCU\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\Shell, create a new DWORD value in the right pane named
BagMRU Size, give it the value of 2000 in decimal. Go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\ShellNoRoam, create the same DWORD value as previously mentioned.
Reboot your machine.
[7. FILES SORTED WRONG IN EXPLORER]
In Windows 2000 sometimes My Computer can view icons in the order you do not
want it to be in, and no matter what you do it seems to revert to what it was
previously. To fix this
- Right-click start, select explorer, select C: Drive
- Click View, click details
- click the Name Column, Hold Ctrl, close explorer by clicking the X
- release Ctrl, reboot your computer
[8.