Making Older Programs Run under Windows XP

Some programs designed for earlier versions of Windows won't run under Windows XP. Until you can get your hands on a program upgrade for Windows XP, you can try running the program in one of Windows XP Compatibility Modes by following these steps:

1. Double-click the desktop shortcut called Run in Compatibility Mode that's automatically installed there when you install Windows XP to open a full-size Help and Support window with instructions and controls for starting an application in Compatibility Mode.

You can also open this window by clicking Start on the Windows taskbar and then clicking Help and Support on the Start menu. Next, click the Find Compatible Hardware and Software for Windows XP link and then click the Program Compatibility Wizard link at the bottom of the window navigation pane.

2. Read the instructions on the Welcome to Programs Compatibility Wizard screen, paying particular attention to the warning about not using Compatibility Mode on programs, such as anti-virus software and backup tools, that specifically prohibit their use on future editions of the operating system before you click the Next button.

3. In the next screen, click the radio button indicating how you want to locate the program you want to run: I Want to Choose from a List of Programs, I Want to Use the Program in the CD-ROM Drive, or I Want to Locate the Program Manually.

4. If you selected the I Want to Choose from a List of Programs radio button, click the name of the program you want to run in the list that appears before you click Next.

If you selected the I Want to Locate the Program Manually radio button, type the path to the program in the text box that appears or click the Browse button and locate it in the Please Select Application dialog box and select the Open button before you click Next.

5. In the next screen, called Select a Compatibility Mode for the Program, click the radio button for the version of Windows under which your program used to run or was designed to run: Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5), Microsoft Windows 98/Windows Me, or Microsoft Windows 2000.

6. In the next screen called Select Display Settings for the Program, click the check box or boxes for the display settings that are recommended for running the program.

These check box options include: 256 Colors, 640 x 480 Screen Resolution, and Disable Visual Themes.

7. Click the Next button to advance to the Test Your Compatibility Settings screen where you can verify your selections for the program.

8. If your settings are correct, click the Next button to run the program in compatibility mode.

If Windows XP can run the program in the selected Compatibility Mode, the program then launches in a separate window. If Windows can't run the application, you receive an alert box indicating that there's a problem. In such a case, you have to contact the software manufacturer and get an upgrade for the application that's specifically designed for the Windows XP operating system. Note that when you exit the program that you're running in compatibility mode, Windows automatically returns you to the Program Compatibility Wizard in the Help and Support window.

Install Windows XP Professional Quick Upgrade

Once you've gathered the information you need, you are ready to install Windows XP Professional.

To perform a quick upgrade

Turn on your computer.
Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD–ROM drive.
After your computer automatically launches the CD, click Install Windows XP.
IMPORTANT
If your computer doesn't automatically launch the CD, start Setup manually:

Click Start and then click Run.
Type the following command, replacing "d" with the letter assigned to your CD-ROM drive:
d:\setup.exe
Press ENTER.

When you're asked to choose the type of installation you want, select Upgrade, and then click Next.

You can upgrade to Windows XP if all of the following are true:

You're already using a previous version of Windows that supports upgrading. These include: Windows 98 (including Second Edition); Windows Millennium (Me); Windows NT® 4.0 (Service Pack 6 or later); Windows 2000 Professional; or Windows XP Home Edition. (Windows 95 and earlier versions do not support upgrade to Windows XP Professional.)

You want to replace your previous operating system with Windows XP Professional.
You want to keep your existing files and personalized settings.

If none—or only some—of these are true for you, perform a new installation. For more information, see New Installation.

Review the license agreement and, if you agree, accept it.

Enter the Product Key from the Windows XP folder.

Review the text for performing Dynamic Update. If you wish to perform Dynamic Update, select Yes, and then click Next.

Windows installation starts.
IMPORTANT
You must have an active Internet connection to perform Dynamic Update.

When the “Welcome to Windows” screen appears, follow the instructions to complete your upgrade.

Go to “Configure Windows XP” for information on setting up user accounts and network connections.

How to Hack into an administrator account on xp

As far as I know, this only works with Windows XP Media Center Edition, but you can try on a normal XP as well..

1. Start the computer and press F8 repeatedly while booting.
2. Choose start in safe mode from the menu that appears.
3. Log in as Administator
4. Now you can install programs or even give your own account admin privileges! To do this, go to Control Panel > User accounts > User accounts and click on your icon. Click change the account type and choose Administrator.

If you want to get into a specific account, go back to the User accounts menu and remove the password for the account you want. Just reboot for the changes to take effect.

That’s all there is to it.

I’m in no way responsible for providing you this information. Remember not to misuse it.

How to use Remote Desktop

The Remote Desktop Connection utility is a very useful tool, especially if you need to access your work computer at home, or vice-versa. It lets you create a direct connection between two computers, one able to control the other. Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Setting up the Remote Computer account

Log in as administrator on the computer you want to access over the connection. Go to Control Panel -> User Accounts and decide which user’s desktop you want to connect to. Click the account and choose Create Password. I suggest you make a strong password to keep out unwanted guests. abc123 definitely isn’t a strong password. You need a password on the remote account or the connection won’t work. Go back to Control Panel and choose System -> Remote (Note: If there is no “System” Section in the Control Panel, type Control Panel/system into the address bar.) Make sure the box Allow Users to Remotely Connect to this Computer is checked and press the button Select Remote Users. Click Add and type the account name(s) you want to connect to and press OK.

Step 2: Finding the IP Address of the Remote Computer

Before you move onto the other one, find out the IP address of the remote computer.

To do this, type cmd into the Run box from the Start Menu and press Run.

Type ipconfig into the command prompt to display the IP address properties.

All you need from here right now is the IP address, so write that down. Now you can log off and move onto the local computer that you want to access the remote one with.

Step 3: Connecting to the Remote Computer

Open Start > All Programs > Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection.

Type in the IP address of the remote computer, (the one you copied earlier) and press Connect.

Now you will be asked for the username and password of the remote account. Enter them and continue.

After a few moments, a full screen window should open up and you should be able to control the remote computer.

If the connection is slow, close it, reopen Remote Desktop Connection and Choose Options before you connect. Set the color and quality a little lower and try again.

Use Single-Click Everywhere

With single–click in Windows XP, navigating the files and folders on your hard disk is as easy as navigating the Web. You simple click an icon to open a program or document.

To start using single–click:

1.	In the Tools menu in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options.
2.	In the Click items as follows section, click Single–click to open an item (point to select).

Note To access Windows Explorer, click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Windows Explorer

5 useful Windows XP tricks

By vishwanath

You know that feeling you get when your friends or family see you do something on your computer that they've never seen before?

If you haven't had this opportunity, here's where you start.

If you have, then you know that you're feeling like the world's coolest power-user when this happens. Knowledge is power! Here are five Windows XP tips that will get you/keep you schoolin' your friends and family.

Don't just maximize your windows—go full screen

When you need a really big window, don't just maximize it: go full screen! To view a window full screen, hold down the Ctrl key and double-click the window's title bar—or when the window is active, press the F11 key at the top of your keyboard—to get the biggest window possible.

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Add the Links toolbar to My Computer

You know what would make a great toolbar? One where you could put your favorite applications and documents so that you could open them from any window at any time. Guess what? You can and here's how: click Start, then My Computer. Now right-click the toolbar and then click Links. You now have the Links toolbar on your windows, just like in Internet Explorer. Note: Make sure that Lock the Toolbars is not checked. Click on it to deselect it if it is.

The really cool thing about the Links toolbar is that it's completely customizable. Try this: Navigate to your favorite application and drag and drop its icon to the Links toolbar. You just created a shortcut. Do this again and again for as many applications as you want to appear on the toolbar.

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Arrange windows on your desktop

You can display any two windows side by side on the desktop by first clicking a window's button on the Taskbar. Next, press and hold the Ctrl key and right-click the second window that you want to open, then click Tile Vertically. This works great when you want to view two Microsoft Word or Microsoft Internet Explorer windows at the same time.

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Organize your files into groups

Organize your files by grouping them. Try this: Open a folder containing several different subfolders and file types. Right-click any empty space on the window's contents pane, click Arrange Icons By, and then click Show in Groups. To arrange the window's contents, right-click again in any empty space on the window's contents pane, point to Arrange Icons By, and click Name, Size, Type, or Modified.

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Make your own icons

It's shockingly easy to create your own icons in Windows XP. Let's do it: Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Paint. On the Image menu, click Attributes. Type 32 for both the Width and Height of the document, and make sure that Pixels is selected under Units. Click OK to create a new 32x32-pixel document: the size of an icon.

Now add type, color, or do whatever you'd like to your image. I like to shrink photos (headshots work best) to 32x32 and simply paste them into my Paint document. When you're finished, open the File menu and click Save As. Use the dialog box to choose where you want to save your file, then give it a name followed by ".ico" (without the quotes), and click Save. (The extension ".ico" tells Windows that it's an icon file.) You just created an icon! Now you can change any shortcut or folder to your own icon—just browse to it on your hard drive.

What is the difference between Home and Professional editions

The features of Windows XP Home and Pro are very similar. Most home users have no need to the Professional version. Windows XP Pro has support for multiple processors and an encrypted file system.

Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders

Sharing of files and folders can be managed in two ways. If you chose simplified file sharing, your folders can be shared with everyone on your network or workgroup, or you can make your folders private. (This is how folders are shared in Windows 2000.) However, in Windows XP Professional, you can also set folder permissions for specific users or groups. To do this, you must first change the default setting, which is simple file sharing. To change this setting, follow these steps:

1. Open Control Panel, click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
2. Click the View tab, and scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings list.
3. Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
4. To manage folder permissions, browse to the folder in Windows Explorer, right-click the folder, and then click Properties. Click the Security tab, and assign permissions, such as Full Control, Modify, oRead, and/or Write, to specific users.

You can set file and folder permissions only on drives formatted to use NTFS, and you must be the owner or have been granted permission to do so by the owner.

How Do I Install Net Meeting

Wondering how to install Netmeeting on Windows XP? Well you don't have to install it! Why? It is already pre-installed with Windows XP, but (by design they say) it isn't linked to anywhere on your programs menu. Here is how to load it:

1: Click START then RUN
2: Enter "conf" without the quotes

That's it - now you can Netmeet to your hearts content.

Set up and Use Internet Connection Sharing

With Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) in Windows XP, you can connect one computer to the Internet, then share the Internet service with several computers on your home or small office network. The Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Professional will automatically provide all of the network settings you need to share one Internet connection with all the computers in your network. Each computer can use programs such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express as if they were directly connected to the Internet. You should not use this feature in an existing network with Windows 2000 Server domain controllers, DNS servers, gateways, DHCP servers, or systems configured for static IP addresses.

Enabling ICS

The ICS host computer needs two network connections. The local area network connection, automatically created by installing a network adapter, connects to the computers on your home or small office network. The other connection, using a 56k modem, ISDN, DSL, or cable modem, connects the home or small office network to the Internet. You need to ensure that ICS is enabled on the connection that has the Internet connection. By doing this, the shared connection can connect your home or small office network to the Internet, and users outside your network are not at risk of receiving inappropriate addresses from your network. When you enable ICS, the local area network connection to the home or small office network is given a new static IP address and configuration. Consequently, TCP/IP connections established between any home or small office computer and the ICS host computer at the time of enabling ICS are lost and need to be reestablished. For example, if Internet Explorer is connecting to a Web site when Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, refresh the browser to reestablish the connection. You must configure client machines on your home or small office network so TCP/IP on the local area connection obtains an IP address automatically. Home or small office network users must also configure Internet options for Internet Connection Sharing. To enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Discovery and Control on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, run the Network Setup Wizard from the CD or floppy disk on these computers. For ICS Discovery and Control to work on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later must be installed.

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection

You must be logged on to your computer with an owner account in order to complete this procedure. Open Network Connections. (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double–click Network Connections.) Click the dial–up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection. On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box. If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial–up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box. If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box. Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network. The Home networking connection is only present when two or more network adapters are installed on the computer.

To configure Internet options on your client computers for Internet Connection Sharing

Open Internet Explorer. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Internet Explorer.) On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. On the Connections tab, click Never dial a connection, and then click LAN Settings.

In Automatic configuration, clear the Automatically detect settings and Use automatic configuration script check boxes. In Proxy Server, clear the Use a proxy server check box.

Remove Shared Documents

Open Regedit(Start- Run- Regedit) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer My Computer NameSpace DelegateFolders

There will see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. By Deleting this you can remove the 'Other Files stored on This Computer' group.

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

Go to ontrol Panel > System, > Advanced > Performance area > Settings button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

Change the text in Internet Explorers title bar to anything you want

In regedit navigate to this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain

change the value of the string "Window Title" to whatever you want on the title bar of Internet Explorer - to have no title except the title of the web pages you are browsing do not enter anything for a value.

How To: Make Your XP Look Like Mac OSX In 3 Simple Steps

Alright. After I showed you how to make your XP look like Vista, some people asked me to post a guide to making your XP look like Mac OSX. Leopard, to be precise. There are two ways to accomplish the OSX look: the easy way - with a transformation pack, and the hard way - manually. I will, of course, show you how to do this the easy way, but if it for some reason doesn’t work for you, email me or comment and I’ll teach you to do it all manually. So here’s how it’s done the easy way:

Step 1: Get a transformation pack.

The best Mac OSX transformation pack for Windows XP is probably FlyakiteOSX. The creator’s website itself is worth the visit, but if it doesn’t load in your browser, get Firefox, and here’s a download link.

Step 2: Install

Run the installer and when you get to the following screen, MAKE SURE you check the box Create System Restore Point. The transformation pack will change a lot of system files and settings and although you should be able to uninstall easily later, you might find yourself in a mess if something goes wrong. This way you can always do a System Restore. Check any other options you want and you’re ready!

Step 3: Enjoy!

After the restart, you should be able to convince all, but the most die-hard Mac lovers that you have an OSX. This is what your desktop should look like now: Like other good transformation packs, this also leaves you a nice Mac OSX shutdown screen: …And a Mac OSX logon screen:

I’ll give FlyakiteOSX an excellent 5 stars. Note: The transformation pack might trigger your anti-virus protection as it changes some system files, but this is probably a false positive. Be careful though, and remember to back up!

Create a password reset disk

If you're running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, you can create a password reset disk that—if you ever forget your password—you can use to log on to your computer. If you forget your password but don’t have a password reset disk, you'll have to reinstall Windows XP to use your computer.

To create a password reset disk

1.	Log on to your computer as an administrator.
2.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3.	Under Pick a category, click User Accounts.
4.	In the User Accounts window, click the account name that you want to create a password reset disk for.
5.	Under the Related Tasks section, click Prevent a forgotten password.
6.	On the Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard page, click Next.
7.	Insert a floppy disk into your disk drive. If necessary, select the disk drive you want to use, and then click Next. Note: If your computer doesn’t have a floppy disk drive, you won’t be able to use this wizard. If you cannot install a floppy disk drive on your computer or laptop, you could consider using a USB-connected floppy disk drive.
8.	Type your password, and then click Next.
9.	After the Forgotten Password Wizard creates your password reset disk, click Next.
10.	Click Finish.

Remove your password reset disk and store it in a safe, secure place. Storing your disk in a secure place is very important because anyone who uses the disk can access your computer without knowing your password. If you ever forget your password, you can use this disk to reset and change your password.

How To Make Your XP Look Like Vista

Tired of your XP? Want to buy Vista? Well, don’t. Vista is still full of bugs and not reliable yet. So what’s so good about it? Most people like the new and pretty looks.
It’s a great idea to mix together the good things from both Windows systems: the reliability of XP and looks of Vista. Lets go over this, step-by-step so you can easily follow.

1.Change the theme. This is probably the most important thing when trying to make your XP look like Vista. You will need a good Vista-ish theme, I recommend VistaXP or YAVFC. You should be able to get some good ones from Deviantart.

But before you can install 3rd party themes, you will need to patch up your uxtheme.dll file. This file tries to stop you from using other themes than Microsoft’s own. Here are the patches for service pack 1 and service pack 2. (If you’re not sure which Service Pack you have, or what it even is, make sure you take a look at this post.)

You can replace the file manually, but the easiest way is to use replacer, which also backs up the old file in case anything goes wrong..

To replace, go to C: \WINDOWS\System32 and look for uxtheme.dll, which should be among the bottom half of the files. Drag it into the replacer window. Now drag the patch which you downloaded into the window and confirm.

To install a theme, download and unzip into the C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes folder.

You’ll also need StyleXP to use the themes.

Now that the hardest part is over, take a deep breath and give yourself the good-old pat on the back.

2. Download the Vista cursor pack. Unzip it to your desktop or anywhere where you can find it later. Now, go to Control Panel -> Appearance and Themes -> Mouse Pointers and open the pointers tab. Click a cursor, press Browse and find the corresponding Vista cursor from the pack you downloaded.

Try Yahoo! Widgets or Thoosje for that Vista signature sidebar.

If you want to, you can also get the TRANSPARENT explorer and internet explorer, which are almost as good as the real ones.

3. A transformation pack is also necessary if you want to go all the way. Basically, what this does, is that it replaces the startup, logon and shutdown screens of XP and makes them look like Vista. You will need to sacrifice some startup speed, but that’s the price.

Here’s a good transformation pack by Windows X.

This is what my XP desktop looks like after a little bit of tweaking:

So, congratulations on your new „Vista“ and make sure you show it off to your friends

Defragment your hard drives and speed up your Windows XP

If your Windows XP or Vista is getting slow, a wise thing to do is to defragment your hard drives!defragment

There are many programs but one of the best is Auslogics Disk Defragmenter. Just download the defragmenter, install it and run defragment. It should take approximately 1 hour and it says how much faster your computer went (for example 30%).

When the program has completed defragmenting you should immediately feel the difference (if the percent was over 30). Your computer should now be much faster than it used to be. Programs start up in a glance!

Yes, I know Windows XP also has a built-in defragmenting tool, but it sucks.

Add a picture to a folder

Microsoft Windows XP usually shows icons for folders like My Music and My Pictures. If a folder contains pictures, Windows XP displays random thumbnails from within the folder. You can replace these icons with custom pictures to make browsing your files more fun, and to make it easier for children to find and open files.

Note: Your picture is visible only when you're browsing folders with the Thumbnails view. To access the Thumbnails view, click Thumbnails on the View menu.

To add a picture to a folder

1.	In Windows Explorer (the program that appears when you open folders such as My Computer, My Documents, My Pictures, or My Music), right-click the folder you want to add a picture to, and then click Properties.
2.	In the Properties dialog box, click the Customize tab. If there is no Customize tab, you cannot add a picture to that folder. You can add pictures to other folders, however.
3.	On the Customize tab, click Choose Picture.
4.	In the Browse dialog box, click the picture you want to use, and then click Open.
5.	Click OK.

When you view the folder using Thumbnails view, Windows displays a thumbnail of the picture you selected.

How to Rename the Recycle Bin

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

How to Speed up your wireless internet connection on Windows XP

If you have a slow wireless internet connection that often crashes, then there’s probably something wrong with it. (Duh!) Here are some tips and tricks to fix some of the most common wireless problems on Windows XP. Before you start “fixing” anything, make sure your wireless connection isn’t already at it’s best.

1. Move the wireless router to a better location

The first thing you want to do is to make sure your wireless router is in the best location possible. If you have a laptop that you move around all the time or if you have several computers, the router should be in the centre of your home and office. Don’t hide it into cupboards, or under chairs and tables.

But if you only have one stationary computer, use a cable connection to the router or move the router as close to the computer as possible.

You can check the signal strength from the Wireless connection menu, accessible from Start -> Connect To -> Wireless Connection. You can also access it by clicking the wireless icon at the bottom right corner of the screen if you are connected.

2. Upgrade the wireless router firmware

Sometimes the problem is with the router firmware. Make sure you update your router firmware as often as possible to avoid incompatibility with newer systems. You can update your router firmware from the wireless router control panel. Type your router’s IP address into the browser to access the CP.

The default IP of routers is normally 192.168.1.1 for Linksys, 192.168.0.1 for D-Link and Netgear, some US Robotics routers use 192.168.123.254 and some SMC routers have 192.168.2.1. The router’s default IP address is always in the documentation of the router.

3. Change the wireless broadcast channel

If there are several wireless networks in your area, they can begin to distract each other. Most routers use the wireless channel 6 by default and the channel can slow down if full of signals coming from many routers. You can change the wireless channel from the Wireless Control Panel.

If changing the channel didn’t speed up your wireless connection, change it back to 6. It’s better not to play with them too much because this can distract your firewall.

4. Update your computer’s wireless network drivers

You can search for driver updates from the Windows Update site or your manufacturers website.

If none of the above tips helped, contact your wireless router manufacturer or just go back to a wired internet connection.

Tired of chasing your mouse? Use keyboard shortcuts

The mouse, one of the greatest advances in computing history, provides you with an intuitive point-and-click method for using your computer. Depending on the type of work you're doing, however, sometimes using a mouse actually slows you down. If you are a good typist, taking your hands away from the keyboard to move the mouse can use up a few seconds. Over the course of a full day, you could save several minutes by using keyboard shortcuts instead of the mouse.

You can use your keyboard instead of your mouse to do these three tasks:
•

Start a program
•

Navigate menus
•

Minimize, maximize, and close windows
Start a program using a keyboard shortcut

The Start menu is great for finding programs, but its multiple levels of folders can be time consuming to navigate. If there is a program you start frequently, you should set a keyboard shortcut for it so that you can start the program without taking your hands off the keyboard.

To set a keyboard shortcut to start a program

1.


Click the Start menu, and then click All Programs. Right-click the program that you want to start with a keyboard shortcut, and then click Properties.

Shortcut menu for a program with Properties selected

2.


Click in the Shortcut key box. Now press the letter on your keyboard that you want to use to start the program. Make it easy to remember—for example, press I for Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Note: You can use either uppercase or lowercase letters when creating your keyboard shortcuts—and when accessing them later. In the Shortcut key box, Microsoft Windows XP automatically adds Ctrl + Alt + before the key you pressed. When you want to start the program, hold down both the CTRL and ALT keys simultaneously, while also pressing the letter you chose. This way, your program won't start every time you type that letter.

Properties window for specified program with Shortcut tab displayed and Shortcut key box indicated

3.


Click OK.

Properties window for specified program with Shortcut tab displayed and OK button selected

4.


Now test your shortcut. Hold down the CTRL and ALT keys, and then press the letter you chose. If you find it difficult to hold down two keys at once, read Turn on the Sticky Keys feature. Your program should start.

Pressing shortcut keys

When your friends see you start up programs without touching your mouse, they just might think you have a psychic connection with your computer!
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Navigate menus using the keyboard

You can speed up tasks in almost any program by choosing menu items using your keyboard instead of your mouse. This operation is particularly handy when you're performing repetitive tasks.

To control menus using your keyboard

1.


With your program open, press the ALT key. Notice that one letter on each menu name is now underlined. To open the menu, press the underlined key. For example, in Internet Explorer, the View menu name shows the V underlined after you press the ALT key. To open the View menu, press the ALT key, and then press V.

Menu bar with the V highlighted and underlined on View menu name

2.


Now, each menu item will show one letter underlined. To access or activate the menu item you want, simply press the underlined key. For example, in Internet Explorer, after you open the View menu, the Privacy Report menu item shows the V underlined. Instead of clicking Privacy Report with your mouse, you can just press the V key.

View menu with the v in Privacy Report menu item highlighted and underlined

3.


You can also choose menu commands by pressing key sequences quickly, without waiting for the menus to open. For example, to quickly view a Web page's privacy report in Internet Explorer, press ALT, V, V. Similarly, to save a Web page in Internet Explorer, you would normally click the File menu, and then click Save As. To choose the same commands using your keyboard, press ALT, F, A.
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Control windows using your keyboard

If you like to keep four or five windows open while you work (or play) on your computer, you'll appreciate knowing these keyboard shortcuts. You can quickly switch between your Web browser, e-mail, instant message windows, and other programs without taking your hands off the keyboard.
Action Shortcut

Minimize a window to your taskbar


ALT, SPACEBAR, N

Maximize a window so it takes up your whole desktop


ALT, SPACEBAR, X

Restore a window so it's visible but doesn't take up your whole desktop


ALT, SPACEBAR, R

Close a window


ALT+F4

Switch to the last window you had open


ALT+TAB

Switch to any window


Hold down the ALT key, and press TAB until the window you want is active

Programs often start up in a "restored" state, where the window takes up only part of the screen. To maximize the window so that it takes up the entire screen, press the ALT key, press the SPACEBAR, and then press X. This will feel natural after you do it a few times, and you will feel much more efficient while using your computer.

Windows XP Welcome Screen

The Windows XP welcome screen is what you will most probably see when you power-up your Windows XP computer.

If your Windows XP welcome screen won't come up when you start your computer, your Windows is probably set to show the "logon screen" at startup.

You can easily switch between the welcome screen and the "logon screen" :

• Click the Start button
• Select "control panel"
• Select "user accounts"
• Select "Change the way users log on or off"
• (Un)check the "Welcome Screen" option
• Click "Apply options"

The next time you log on to your computer, you will logon through the welcome screen.

Note : if your computer is a member of a domain, you won't be able to use the welcome screen option.

The Windows XP Welcome screen vs logon screen :

Windows XP welcome screen

• When you hit ctrl-alt-delete, you invoke the Windows XP Task Manager
• Windows shows "turn off computer" on the Windows XP start menu
  
• You can not use "hidden" user accounts to log on

Windows XP logon screen

• The ctrl-alt-delete keyboard combination brings you to the Windows security dialog box
• Windows shows "shut down" on the Windows XP start menu
  
• You can enter ANY user/password combination in the logon screen, including hidden user accounts
• You can customize the Windows XP logon screen

Customize the logon screen ?

Yes, when you have your Windows set up to use the logon screen, you can customize the background color. Or you can personalize some more by giving it your favorite image or picture as background image.

To change the background color :

• Right-click an empty spot on your desktop
• Select "properties"
• Click the "appearance" tab
• Click the "advanced" button
• Click on the "color1" drop-down list and select "other"
• Pick the color of your choice and make a note of the red, green and blue values in the lower-right corner of the color dialog box (for instance 128 64 64)
• Click "cancel"
• In the "advanced appearance" dialog, also click cancel
• In the "display properties" dialog, click cancel once more
• Then, click the Start button and select "Run"
• In the "open" field, type regedit and click ok
• In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\CONTROL PANEL\COLORS and double-click the "background" string. The default value should be 0 78 152, but you can now change it to the values for red, green and blue that you wrote down previously (e.g. 128 64 64). Enter the values in the correct red-green-blue order, separated with a space.
• Close the registry editor

The changes take place when you log off.

To put your favorite image or picture in the background of the logon screen :

• Click the Start button and select "Run"
• In the "open" field, type regedit and click ok
• In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP and double-click the string "wallpaper"
• Enter the full path and filename of the .bmp image that you want to use as background (the image must be in .bmp format)
• Click "ok" and close the registry editor

The changes take effect as soon as you log off and on again.

A customized Windows XP logon screen

If you change the string HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\CONTROL PANEL\DESKTOP\TILEWALLPAPER to 1 instead of 0, you will get a tiled effect with the bitmap :

Windows XP shutdown icon on your desktop

* Right-click an empty space on your desktop
* Select the option "new shortcut"
* Type "shutdown -s -t 0" (Exactly as shown here, but without the quotes. The last character in the command is a zero.)
* Click next
* Type a name for the shortcut (e.g. Fast shutdown) and click finish

Now you have a new icon on your desktop. Let's customize it some more.

* Right-click the new icon and select properties.
* In the dialog box that opens up, click change icon.
* You may see a warning message that shutdown.exe contains no icons, just click ok if you see this
* Choose a new icon

You are now ready to test your new Windows XP shutdown button. Make sure to close all applications and double-click your new icon to shutdown your computer.

Once the shutdown mechanism is started, there is only one way to stop your machine from going down. That's what the next part is all about.
An icon to stop the shutdown mechanism

Suppose that you double-click the power Windows XP shutdown icon and just a split second later you realize that there was one more thing you wanted to do before shutting down.

To create an anti-shutdown icon :

* Right-click an empty space on your desktop
* Select the option "new shortcut"
* Type "shutdown -a" (Exactly as shown here, but without the quotes.)
* Click next
* Type a name for the shortcut (e.g. Anti shutdown) and click finish

You know now how to choose a better looking icon.
An icon to restart your computer fast

Create a new icon like the previous ones, but type "shutdown -r -t 0" in the "location of the item" box.
An icon to switch user fast

If you have enabled the Windows XP feature "Fast User Switching", you can create an additional icon to switch user FAST.

* Right-click an empty space on your desktop
* Select the option "new shortcut"
* Type "rundll32.exe user32.dll LockWorkStation" (Exactly as shown here, but without the quotes. LockWorkStation is case-sensitive.)
* Click next
* Type a name for the shortcut (e.g. Switch User Fast) and click finish

This icon is so fast and handy and completely safe that I would recommend dragging it to your Quick Launch bar.

Click here if you don't know how to work with the Quick Launch toolbar. (opens a new window)
Experiment

If you feel confident enough to try other possibilities of the shutdown command, try this :

Click your start button, then click "run", type "cmd" (without the quotes) and click ok
In the command window, type shutdown /help and hit the enter key

Amongst the list of shutdown options, you will even find shutdown parameters to shutdown or restart remote computers. Neat.

Windows XP taskbar

Save time with the Windows XP taskbar and work more efficiently with Windows :

• make the Windows XP taskbar work for you
• load important web pages fast
• put your favorite folders on the taskbar
• make a customized follow-up menu for the taskbar
• work more efficiently with Windows

Windows XP tips and tricks are often about saving time. When it comes to saving time, the taskbar is a very powerful tool. It beats everything else hands down. That small bar at the bottom of your Windows desktop is the place to be for quick and easy access to everything you need.

Image 1: The well-known taskbar in Windows XP

Microsoft knows that the taskbar is very important and that's why Windows offers a ton of possibilities to customize it.

Customize the Windows XP taskbar :

If you want to customize the taskbar, you need to unlock it. When the taskbar is unlocked, it shows a pattern of dots just next to the start button.

If you don't see these dots, your taskbar is locked. To unlock it, right-click on an empty spot on the taskbar and remove the checkmark on "Lock the Taskbar" by clicking that option.

When you move your mouse pointer over the upper edge of the taskbar it changes into a double arrow. Now you can drag the upper edge upwards to make the taskbar broader. When the taskbar is two or more lines broad, Windows shows the day of the week and the date in addition to the time (see image 1)

The address bar on the taskbar

If you like to work faster in Windows, you can put a full-blown Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer address bar on your taskbar. This is also visible in image 1 at the top of this page. You can use this address bar to enter :

• web addresses
• a command that you would ordinarily type in the "run" box from the start menu (e.g. regedit, ping, cmd, ...)
• the name of a folder
• the name of a document
• a search term that you want to look up on the internet in your favorite search engine

Right-click an empty area on the taskbar and choose "toolbars" and then "address". On the right, next to the system tray, you will see the word "address". You can drag the address bar handle (the dot pattern at the left of the word "address") over to the left. The input field becomes visible now.

If you feel that the "Go" button at the right of the address field takes up too much space, go via control panel to "internet options", click the "advanced" tab and scroll down to "show go button in address bar" and unselect it. You can even right-click the word address on the address bar and deselect "show title" to clean up even more.

Navigate from the Windows XP taskbar

If you want to add a favorite folder on your Windows XP taskbar, right-click an empty space on the taskbar and select "toolbars". Then choose "new toolbar" and navigate to the folder you want on your taskbar. Once selected, you will need to use the handle of this new toolbar to position it properly on the taskbar. To remove this toolbar, simply right-click the taskbar, select "toolbars" and deselect the name of the folder you just added.

Add a picture to a folder

Microsoft Windows XP usually shows icons for folders like My Music and My Pictures. If a folder contains pictures, Windows XP displays random thumbnails from within the folder. You can replace these icons with custom pictures to make browsing your files more fun, and to make it easier for children to find and open files.

Note: Your picture is visible only when you're browsing folders with the Thumbnails view. To access the Thumbnails view, click Thumbnails on the View menu.

To add a picture to a folder

1.	In Windows Explorer (the program that appears when you open folders such as My Computer, My Documents, My Pictures, or My Music), right-click the folder you want to add a picture to, and then click Properties.
2.	In the Properties dialog box, click the Customize tab. If there is no Customize tab, you cannot add a picture to that folder. You can add pictures to other folders, however.
3.	On the Customize tab, click Choose Picture.
4.	In the Browse dialog box, click the picture you want to use, and then click Open.
5.	Click OK.

When you view the folder using Thumbnails view, Windows displays a thumbnail of the picture you selected.