20 things you didn't know about Windows XP


You've read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it's time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP's secrets.

1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... And type ' gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care – some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).

3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exeuser32.dll, LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just Double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.

4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

5. For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? Will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.

6. XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the Command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.

7. You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.

8. XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you've got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing 'regsvr32 /U zipfldr.dll' at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing 'regsvr32 zipfldr.dll'.

9. XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat.
To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/ControlPanel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.

10. You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who's using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your chum's real IP address -- they can find this out by going to WWW.whatismyip.Com -- and get them to make sure that they've got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.

11. You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... And enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have
Administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.

12. Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might slip the bonds of sanity before that point, run Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.

13. You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run... from the start menu and type 'control userpasswords2', which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.

14. Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options... and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when
Browser is closed.

15. XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can't see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You'll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.

16. The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/ControlPanel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.

17. You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you
Can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In Groups.

18. Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.

19. Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.

20. The new release of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn.

good info. thanks waseem bhae please through some light on registry issues i was searching xp functions and secrects and tell more about it.


thanks


zia

What is the registry?

Simply put, the registry is the warehouse for all of Windows XP's configuration data, and that of most installed programs. All the information the operating system needs to handle data is stored here, from what file types are opened by what programs to what options are available on every single menu and toolbar.

The registry stores the variables that the Windows XP source code needs to 'fill in the blanks.' What font should text be in? What size? How many icons on the desktop? What users should be allowed to login? What's the default web browser? What programs should start when Windows boots? And so on (and on, and on)… As such, the registry is an enormous and confusing structure with many apparent repetitions and obscurities. Several registry settings can be configured in a user-friendly manner using the Windows control panel, but many, many more are out of reach unless you manually edit the registry. Suffice to say that Windows XP has many hidden capabilities that you might not expect.

Viewing the registry with REGEDIT

All versions of Windows include a simple but powerful program called REGEDIT (Microsoft Registry Editor) which allows the viewing and editing of the Windows registry. Be forewarned, incorrectly editing the registry can severely damage your operating system. Always ensure that you have a back up of the registry before making any changes to it. We'll cover how to back up your registry in a moment, but first let's go through the steps to view your PCs registry settings.

To start REGEDIT, go to the start menu, hit 'run' and type 'regedit.'

the picture of registry is attached.



There are few computer topics that are approached with more caution than the Windows registry, and not without good reason. The registry is a huge and complex structure which is absolutely crucial to the correct operation of Windows XP. However, despite its complexity, its main function is to put a somewhat human face on the mass of code that makes up the Windows operating system. All of the entries in the registry are in plain English, even if their meaning and function may not be immediately apparent, and all can be easily changed with software built into Windows XP.

As you can imagine, editing the registry opens up a Pandora's box. On one hand, it gives you almost infinite possibilities for changing the look, feel and operation of your Windows XP system. On the other hand, improper registry edits can cripple your system, and if a malicious program manages to access and install itself in the registry, removing it can be difficult and time consuming.

In this article, we will take a behind the scenes look at the Windows XP registry. The composition of the registry will be examined, as well as how to backup and protect and restore it. Once we have that out of the way, we will examine some of the things you can easily achieve by editing the registry yourself.

Some More Stuff

The most important segment of any Windows system is the registry. It is for all practical purposes heart and soul of any Windows system. Registry works like your Human Mind, it controls the appearance and behavior of the system. The information it contains, thus is very important. Registry needs good care to enhance efficiency of the computer. Almost all Windows users have inevitably experienced deterioration in PC's performance. Technically seen, much of it can be attributed to Windows Registry Errors. When your system becomes slow or unsafe at sometime you need to clean up your registry to free up registry space.

Going through the problem of slow speed or frequent computer crashes or windows error messages of your windows XP or any other system windows. It's time to sit up and do something about it. This is a common problem and all you need to enhance your system's performance and stability is to clean up your Windows XP registry. But it is important to understand the basics of windows registry and its functions before you plan to clean up your windows 2000 registry or XP registry.

Let us understand in detail about Windows Registry

Registry is the most crucial part in windows, if it is damaged the whole system is corrupted and cannot be used. The Windows registry is a central classified database in Windows. It is used to store information necessary to configure the system for one or more users, applications, and hardware devices .The registry contains important information that is constantly referenced during operation, such as profiles for each user, the applications installed on the computer; and the types of documents each can create, property sheet settings for folders and application icons, details of existing hardware in system; and used ports.

The only solution is Windows Registry Cleaners. To protect your computer from getting spoilt; use registry software, that can clean registry. Frequent use of Windows in; installing and uninstalling software can put unnecessary pressure on registry; thus taking up registry's free space. So you need to clean them off our computer and let the PC run in good condition.

Who would not like his system to be stable? By using Free Window Registry Repair regularly and repairing your registry your system should not only be more stable but it will also help Windows run faster. Window Registry Repair is just a few mouse clicks away, grab it and attain maximum optimization of your windows. It will scan your complete registry and fix the registry problems. For your convenience and for ensuring maximum protection Registry Repair has automatic backup for all the repairs made. So, not to worry you can always restore registry of your windows to the original state using restore button.

To sum up the advantages, with the help of registry repair software you can evade identified registry problems. All the problems that are listed and rated by risk level by that software vendor for windows 2000 or 98 can be removed with ease. You have the advantage to choose to have software automatically repair all identified problems, or more selectively decide on which problems to repair immediately. With Free Windows registry cleaners you can also use it to restore feature to create registry backup files, enabling you to safely undo any registry changes. And last but not the least, the best advantage is that Windows Registry Cleaner can be obtained absolutely free of cost.

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