| How to Remove Windows XP's Messenger |
| Theoretically, you can get rid of it (as well as
a few other things). Windows 2000 power users should already be familiar
with this tweak. Fire up the Windows Explorer and navigate your way to the %SYSTEMROOT% \ INF folder. For most people, %SYSTEMROOT% is C:\Windows. For others, it may be E:\WinXP. In the INF folder, open sysoc.inf (but not before making a BACKUP copy first). Before your eyes glaze over, look for the line containing "msmsgs" in it. Near the end of that particular line, you'll notice that the word "hide" is not so hidden. Go ahead and delete "hide" (so that the flanking commas are left sitting next to one another). Save the file and close it. Now, open the Add and Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Click the Add / Remove Windows Components icon. You should see "Windows Messenger" in that list. Remove the checkmark from its box, and you should be set. NOTE: there are other hidden system components in that sysoc.inf file, too. Remove "hide" and the subsequent programs at your own risk. |
| Set the Search Screen to the Classic Look |
| When I first saw the default search pane in
Windows XP, my instinct was to return it to its classic look. Of course, I later discovered that a doggie door is built
into the applet. Click "Change preferences" then "Without an animated
screen character." If you'd rather give it a bare-bones "Windows 2000"
look and feel, fire up your Registry editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ CabinetState. You may need to create a new string value labeled "Use Search Asst" and set it to "no". |
| New Sound Blaster Drivers |
| With the loads of problems reported by users with Soundblaster cards on Windows XP Creative has stepped up and offered drivers for at least some models of their Sound Blaster cards, but check your particular model closely. |
| Upgrading to Windows XP |
| You can upgrade a computer that runs Windows 98,
98SE, or Me to Windows XP Home Edition. Those same versions, along with
Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 2000 Professional, can be
upgraded to Windows XP Professional. 1. To ensure a smooth upgrade and avoid networking problems, follow these tips before starting the upgrade: 2. Install all network cards. XP will detect them and automatically install the right drivers. 3. Have your Internet connection available. The XP setup process will connect to a Microsoft server to download the latest setup files, including changes that have been made since XP was released. Some programs are incompatible with XP and can cause networking problems. Un-install these programs. After the upgrade is complete and the network is working, re-install XP-compatible versions of these programs: Internet Connection Sharing, NAT, Proxy Server Anti-Virus Firewall. |
| How to Upgrade Windows 98 or Windows ME Profiles to Windows XP Domain User Profiles |
| This guide describes how to upgrade a Microsoft
Microsoft Windows 98-based, or Microsoft Windows Millennium
Edition-based client that has user profiles to a Microsoft Windows
XP-based client. The following steps enable the Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) profiles to be retained throughout the process. Your best method to retain the profiles is to join the domain during the upgrade installation process. Otherwise, you must use a workaround method to transfer the profile information over to the Windows XP profile. During the upgrade installation process, at the networking section, the administrator is offered the choice to join a domain or a workgroup. If you join the domain at this juncture, you ensure that all the existing profiles are migrated successfully to the Windows XP-based installation. If you did not join the computer to the domain during the upgrade process, you must use the following workaround method: Join the upgraded computer to the target domain. All applicable users must log on and log off (which generates a profile). Copy the appropriate Application Data folder from the Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me profiles to the newly created user profiles. |
| 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" |
| Speed up your browsing of Windows 2000 & XP machines |
| Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of
Windows XP machines. Its actually a fix to a bug installed as default in
Windows 2000 that scans shared files for Scheduled Tasks. And it turns
out that you can experience a delay as long as 30 seconds when you try
to view shared files across a network because Windows 2000 is using the
extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note
that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected,
Windows 2000 users will experience that the actual browsing speed of
both the Internet & Windows Explorers improve significantly after
applying it since it doesn't search for Scheduled Tasks anymore. Here's
how : Open up the Registry and go to : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace Under that branch, select the key : {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} and delete it. This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks. If you like you may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if necessary. This fix is so effective that it doesn't require a reboot and you can almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing processes. |
| 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. |
| Set Processes Priority |
| Follow this tip to increase the priority of
active processes, this will result in prioritisation of processes using
the CPU. CTRL-SHIFT-ESC 1. Go to the second tab called Processes, right click on one of the active processes, you will see the Set Priority option 2. For example, your Run your CDwriter program , set the priority higher, and guess what, no crashed CD’s |
| 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: •Open Control Panel, click Tools, and then click Folder Options. •Click the View tab, and scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings list. •Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box. •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, Read, 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. |
| Search For Hidden Or System Files In Windows XP |
| The Search companion in Windows XP searches for
hidden and system files differently than in earlier versions of Windows.
This guide describes how to search for hidden or system files in Windows
XP. Search for Hidden or System Files By default, the Search companion does not search for hidden or system files. Because of this, you may be unable to find files, even though they exist on the drive. To search for hidden or system files in Windows XP: Click Start, click Search, click All files and folders, and then click More advanced options. Click to select the Search system folders and Search hidden files and folders check boxes. NOTE: You do not need to configure your computer to show hidden files in the Folder Options dialog box in Windows Explorer to find files with either the hidden or system attributes, but you need to configure your computer not to hide protected operating system files to find files with both the hidden and system attributes. Search Companion shares the Hide protected operating system files option (which hides files with both the system and hidden attributes) with the Folder Options dialog box Windows Explorer. |
| Restricting Logon Access |
| If you work in a multiuser computing environment,
and you have full (administrator level) access to your computer, you
might want to restrict unauthorized access to your "sensitive" files
under Windows 95/98. One way is to disable the Cancel button in the Logon dialog box. Just run Regedit and go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Network/Logon Create the "Logon" subkey if it is not present on your machine: highlight the Network key -> right-click in the left hand Regedit pane => select New => Key => name it "Logon" (no quotes) => press Enter. Then add/modify a DWORD value and call it "MustBeValidated" (don't type the quotes). Double-click it, check the Decimal box and type 1 for value. Now click the Start button => Shut Down (Log off UserName) => Log on as a different user, and you'll notice that the Logon Cancel button has been disabled. |
| Remove the Recycle Bin from the Desktop |
| If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted
files , you can get rid of its desktop icon all together. Run Regedit and go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/explorer/Desktop/NameSpace Click on the "Recycle Bin" string in the right hand pane. Hit Del, click OK. |
| 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). |
| Provide Remote Assistance When Using a NAT Device |
| You can provide Remote Assistance to a friend who
uses a Network Address Translation (NAT) device by modifying the Remote
Assistance invitation using XML. Network Address Translation is used to
allow multiple computers to share the same outbound Internet connection.
To open a Remote Assistance session with a friend who uses a NAT device:
1. Ask your friend to send you a Remote Assistance invitation by e–mail. 2. Save the invitation file to your desktop. 3. Right–click the file, and then click Open With Notepad. You'll see that the file is a simple XML file. 4. Under the RCTICKET attribute is a private IP address, such as 192.168.1.100. 5. Over–write this IP address with your friend's public IP address. Your friend must send you his or her public IP address: they can find out what it is by going to a Web site that will return the public IP address, such as http://www.dslreports.com/ip. 6. Save the file, and then double–click it to open the Remote Assistance session. Now, you'll be able to connect and provide them with the help they need. So that your inbound IP connection is routed to the correct computer, the NAT must be configured to route that inbound traffic. To do so, make sure your friend forwards port 3389 to the computer they want help from. |
| Ports That Are Used by Windows Product Activation |
| Windows Product Activation uses the following
ports: 80 - HTTP 443 - HTTPS |
| NTFS vs. FAT |
| To NTFS or not to NTFS—that is the question. But
unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard
to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious
choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in
the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the
files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially
three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for
File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System. FAT16 The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists. FAT32 The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is. The Advantages of NTFS The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to. The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition. When to Use FAT or FAT32 If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer (see Dual booting in Guides), you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems. |
| Make your Folders Private |
| 1. Open My
Computer 2. Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer). 3. If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive. 4. Double-click the Documents and Settings folder. 5. Double-click your user folder. 6. Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties. 7. On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box. Note: 1. To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer. 2. This option is only available for folders included in your user profile. Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop, Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites. If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses your computer. 3. When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well. For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders unless you make them private. 4. You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For information about converting your drive to NTFS |
| How to use Windows Update Properly |
| If you want to save your files to your hard
drive, so you dont have to download them all again in the event of a
rebuild, here's How: 1. Logon to Windows Update 2. Choose Windows Update Catalogue (left hand pane) 3. Choose Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems (right hand pane) 4. Choose your version and language then Search 5. Choose one the following: 6. Critical Updates and Service Packs 7. Service Packs and Recommended Downloads 8. Multi-Language Features (0) 9. Once chosen simply click on what you want to download and then back at the top click Review Download Basket 10. You are taken to the next page where at the top you can specify where the downloads are to be saved. 11. Click Download now. Each patch will make a directory under the root of the folder you saved them to. Once finished you need to go to where you saved the file (s) to and then simply install all your patches |
| How to remove the Default Picture and Fax Preview Action |
| Go To Start > Run and type `Regedit` and press `ok` Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Classes/CLSID/{e84fda7c-1d6a-45f6-b725-cb260c236066}/shellex Deleted the MayChangeDefaultMenu key. |
| How to Convert FAT to NTFS file system |
| To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the
following steps. Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt. In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK. At the command prompt, type: convert [driveletter]: /fs:ntfs Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS. (If you are trying to convert your system drive, convert will ask you if you want to convert the drive on the next reboot as it cannot perform the conversion on a drive with the OS on it any other way) NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD). |
| How do I enable advanced security settings like found in Windows 2000 |
| Open windows explorer then click on Tools
=>Folder Options Click on the View Tab. Scroll to the bottom and deselect (uncheck) the option that reads 'use simple file sharing' This will allow you to see the security tab when viewing the properties of a file/folder. |
| Hide 'User Accounts' from users |
| Go to Start/Run, and type: GPEDIT.MSC Open the path User Config > Admin Templates > Control Panel Doubleclick "Hide specified Control Panel applets" Put a dot in 'enabled', then click 'Show" Click Add button, Type "nusrmgt.cpl" into the add box |
| Fix your Slow XP and 98 Network |
| You can run wmiprvse.exe as a process for quick
shared network access to Win98/ME machines. Stick it in Startup or make
it a service. On the PC running XP, log in as you normally would, go to users, manage network passwords. Here is where the problem lies. In this dialog box remove any win98 passwords or computer-assigned names for the win98 PCs. This solves the problem for Win98 & XP machines on a LAN; Don't forget to uncheck 'simple file sharing,' turn off your ICS firewall, enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP and install proper protocols, services & permissions. |
| Copy Files and Folders to CD |
| To copy files and folders to a CD 1. Insert a blank, writable CD into the CD recorder. 2. Open My Computer. 3. Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want. Then, under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy this file, Copy this folder, or Copy the selected items. 4. If the files are located in My Pictures, under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD, and then skip to step 5. 5. In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy. 6. In My Computer, double–click the CD recording drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD. 7. Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard. Follow the instructions in the wizard. Notes: > Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CDs hold up to 650 megabytes (MB). High–capacity CDs hold up to 850 MB. > Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space. For a high–capacity CD, Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of the available free space. > After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied. For more information, click Related Topics. To stop the CD recorder from automatically ejecting the CD 1. Open My Computer. 2. Right–click the CD recording drive, and then click Properties. 3. On the Recording tab, clear the Automatically eject the CD after writing check box. |
| Create a Password Reset Disk |
| If you’re running Windows XP Professional as a
local user in a workgroup environment, you can create a password reset
disk to log onto your computer when you forget your password. To create
the disk: 1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts. 2. Click your account name. 3. Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password. 4. Follow the directions in the Forgotten Password Wizard to create a password reset disk. 5. Store the disk in a secure location, because anyone using it can access your local user account. |
| 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.exe user32.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/Control Panel/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/Current Version/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/Control Panel/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 next release of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn, is due out late next year or early 2006 |
| For a Safer, faster XP Close Unwanted Services |
| To disable unneeded startup services for a safer,
faster XP, use the Services Admin Tool (Control Panel =>Administrative
Tools =>Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine,
you can disable the following items, with no ill effect. Please see my Services pages for more detailed information Alerter Clipbook Computer Browser Fast User Switching Human Interface Access Devices Indexing Service (Slows the hard drive down) Messenger Net Logon (unnecessary unless networked on a Domain) Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security) Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security) Remote Procedure Call Locator Remote Registry (disabled for extra security) Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security) SSDP Discovery Service (this is for the Universal P'n'P & leaves TCP Port 5000 wide open) TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Telnet (disabled for extra security) Universal Plug and Play Device Host Upload Manager Windows Time Wireless Zero Configuration (for wireless networks) |
| Using Remote Desktop |
| You must first enable the Remote Desktop feature
on your office computer so that you can control it remotely from another
computer. You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the
Administrators group to enable Remote Desktop on your Windows XP
Professional-based computer. To setup your office computer to use Remote Desktop: Open the System folder in Control Panel. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the System icon. On the Remote tab, select the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer check box, as shown below. Ensure that you have the proper permissions to connect to your computer remotely, and click OK. Leave your computer running and connected to the company network with Internet access. Lock your computer, and leave your office. The Remote Desktop Connection client software allows a computer running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 to control your Windows XP Professional computer remotely. The client software is available on the installation CD for Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition. The client software is installed by default on computers running Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition. To install Remote Desktop Connection software on a client computer Insert the Windows XP compact disc into your CD-ROM drive. When the Welcome page appears, click Perform additional tasks, and then click Setup Remote Desktop Connection as shown below. When the installation wizard starts, follow the directions that appear on your screen. Once you have enabled your Windows XP Professional computer to allow remote connections, and installed client software on a Windows-based client computer, you are ready to start a Remote Desktop session. To create a new Remote Desktop Connection Open Remote Desktop Connection. (Click Start, point to Programs or All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Remote Desktop Connection.) In Computer, type the computer name for your computer running Windows XP Professional that has Remote Desktop enabled and for which you have Remote Desktop permissions Click Connect. The Log On to Windows dialog box appears. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type your user name, password, and domain (if required), and then click OK. The Remote Desktop window will open and you will see the desktop settings, files, and programs that are on your office computer. Your office computer will remain locked. Nobody will be able to work at your office computer without a password, nor will anyone see the work you are doing on your office computer remotely. Note: To change your connection settings, (such as screen size, automatic logon information, and performance options), click Options before you connect. To open a saved connection In Windows Explorer, open the My DocumentsRemote Desktops folder. Click the .Rdp file for the connection you want to open. Note: A Remote Desktop file (.rdp) file contains all of the information for a connection to a remote computer, including the Options settings that were configured when the file was saved. You can customize any number of .rdp files, including files for connecting to the same computer with different settings. For example, you can save a file that connects to MyComputer in full screen mode and another file that connects to the same computer in 800×600 screen size. By default, .rdp files are saved in the My DocumentsRemote Desktops folder. To edit an .rdp file and change the connections settings it contains, right-click the file and then click Edit. To log off and end the session In the Remote Desktop Connection window, click Start, and then click Shut Down. The Shut Down Windows dialog box appears. In the drop-down menu, select Log Off , and then click OK. |
| Rename a Series of Files |
| When you download photos from your digital
camera, they often have unrecognizable names. You can rename several
similar files at once with the following procedure. This also works for
renaming other types of files. 1. Open the My Pictures folder. (Click Start, and then click My Pictures.) Or open another folder containing files that you want to rename. 2. Select the files you want to rename. If the files you want are not adjacent in the file list, press and hold CTRL, and then click each item to select it. 3. On the File menu, click Rename. 4. Type the new name, and then press ENTER. All of the files in the series will be named in sequence using the new name you type. For example, if you type Birthday, the first will be named Birthday and subsequent files in the series will be named Birthday (1), Birthday (2), and so on. To specify the starting number for the series, type the starting number in parentheses after the new file name. The files in the series will be numbered in sequence starting with the number you type. For example, if you type Birthday (10), the other files will be named Birthday (11), Birthday (12), and so on. |
| Licensing Issues |
| Here you can find a Description of the things
which are done by the Program or you can manually change the following
settings to have the same effect: 1. MediaPlayer: Don't Acquire licenses automatically - Open the MediaPlayer-Extras - Options... Click the tab 'Player', look at the groupbox 'Internetsettings' and uncheck 'Acquire licenses automatically'. 2. MediaPlayer: No identification by internetsites - Open the MediaPlayer-Extras-Options... Click the tab ‘Player’, look at the groupbox 'Internet settings' and uncheck 'Allow identification by internet sites' 3. MediaPlayer: don't download codecs automatically - Open the MediaPlayer-Extras-Options... Click the tab 'Player', look at the groupbox 'Automatic Updates' and uncheck 'Download Codecs Automatically' 4. Error report: Don't report errors - Open the Explorer, right-click on 'My Computer' and select 'Properties', click on the Tab 'Advanced' and click the button 'Errorreports', in the upcoming dialog uncheck all 3 items and select 'Disable Errorreports' |
| To change drive letters |
| To change drive letters (useful if you have two
drives and have partitioned the boot drive, but the secondary drive
shows up as "D") Go to Start =>Control Panel =>Administrative Tools =>Computer Management =>Disk Management, then right-click the partition whose name you want to change (click in the white area just below the word "Volume") and select "change drive letter and paths." From here you can add, remove or change drive letters and paths to the partition. |
| XP to directly access WebDAV 'internet disks' |
| Windows XP can directly access WebDAV "internet
disks" such as Apple's iDisk. In Internet Explorer, use the "Open..." command, type the name of the WebDAV server you want to access (e.g., http://idisk.mac.com/username) and select the "Open as Web Folder" checkbox. Enter the password when prompted and you're in! This trick also works on Windows Me and Windows 2000. Interestingly, Windows XP doesn't seem to support iDisk via the "Add a Network Place" command, possible with these other operating systems. Once set up using the "Open" command, however, the idisk can be accessed by simply double-clicking its icon in the Network Places folder. |
| Never Re-Activate After Installation |
| If you have to reinstall Windows XP you normally will have to reactivate too. Well not anymore. Just copy wpa.dbl after you activated the first time. It is located in the WINDOWS\system32 folder. Now if you reinstall Windows XP just copy the file back and you're up and running again. |
| On Screen Keyboard |
| Do you want to use an on screen keyboard? Well it is this simple - Click on the start button and select run. Then type in osk in the box and click OK. |
| Get rid of Windows Messenger |
| Start =>Run =>gpedit.msc Drill down to: -Computer Configuration -Administrative Templates -Windows Components -Windows Messenger Here you can enable: 'Do not allow Windows Messenger to be run' and 'Do not automatically start Windows Messenger initially' |
| Disable Error Reporting |
| 1. Open
Control Panel 2. Click on Performance and Maintenance. 3. Click on System. 4. Then click on the Advanced tab 5. Click on the error-reporting button on the bottom of the windows. 6. Select Disable error reporting. 7. Click OK 8. Click OK |
| XP file Sharing |
| File sharing Is the sharing of a disk or printer
between computers . If a disk or folder is shared, everyone on the
network can access it. You have the ability to set password and
permissions for the shared disk or folder for security therefore Windows
XP tries to protect you from some potential security risks. Right click the disk or folder that you want to share and select Sharing and Security. NOTE: The first time you do this the Networking wizard will appear ..CLOSE IT..:- The Wizard automatically enables the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) to prevent other Internet users from accessing your shared disks and folders. Enabling ICF is a good idea if you connect directly to the Internet through a dial-up, DSL, or cable modem. But it's a terrible idea if you connect to the Internet through your LAN, using a software router (like Internet Connection Sharing) or a hardware router, since it will block File and Printer Sharing. The disk or folder that you share, along with all of the folders that it contains, will be accessible by other network users. If you're sharing an entire disk, Windows XP gives a warning. The implication of the warning is that it's better to share a specific folder, since only that folder (and its subfolders) will be accessible by others, and the rest of the disk will be inaccessible. Click where indicated if you want to go ahead and share the entire disk. This screen doesn't appear if you're sharing a folder. XP will display a warning. If you want ICF enabled, select Use the wizard to enable file sharing. Otherwise, select Just enable file sharing. Having successfully stopped the Wizard's , you now have to specify a Share name, which users on other networked computers will use to access this disk or folder. For maximum compatibility with all versions of Windows, use 1-12 characters. By default, users on other computers have full access: they can read, write, and delete shared files. If you only want them to be able to read files, un-check Allow network users to change my files. Warning: If a user has full access, deleting a file doesn't put it in the Recycle Bin. Once it's deleted, it's gone for good. Hiding a Shared Disk or Folder What if you don't want everyone on the network to be able to access a shared disk or folder? The answer is to create a hidden share by adding a dollar sign ('$') to the end of the share name. A hidden share doesn't appear in My Network Places or Network Neighborhood on any of the networked computers. Only people who know the share name can access it. To create a hidden share, right click the disk or folder and select Sharing and Security. Specify a share name that ends with a dollar sign. Once again, use 1-12 characters (1-11 before the dollar sign). If the people on your network are clever enough to guess a name like myfiles$, use a more secure name, like a combination of letters and numbers. Just make sure that you can remember it. Mapping Hidden Drives Accessing a Hidden Share: A hidden share doesn't appear on any of the networked computers, so how can someone on another computer access it? The answer is to map it as a network drive, which assigns a drive letter to the hidden share. Once it has a drive letter, you access it just like a disk on the same computer. To map a network drive, open My Computer, click Tools, and select Map Network Drive. Specify an unused drive letter and enter the network path for the hidden share, being sure to include the dollar sign. If you check Reconnect at logon, the mapping will happen automatically every time you start your computer. Otherwise, you'll have to map it manually every time. |
| XP Network Protocols |
| The three protocols discussed here are: TCP/IP,
IPX/SPX and NETBEUI TCP/IP: Is automatically installed, can't be un-installed, and is used by default for all networking functions.Windows XP provides one other supported protocol -- IPX/SPX -- and one unsupported protocol, NetBEUI. By default, XP configures TCP/IP to obtain an IP address automatically. If there's a DHCP server on the network, it will assign the IP address and other TCP/IP settings to the connection. Otherwise, Windows XP will use Automatic Private IP Addressing to assign an IP address to the connection. By default, XP configures TCP/IP to obtain an IP address automatically. If there's a DHCP server on the network, it will assign the IP address and other TCP/IP settings to the connection. Otherwise, Windows XP will use Automatic Private IP Addressing to assign an IP address to the connection. This default configuration should work, unchanged, to connect a Windows XP computer to a network that uses TCP/IP for File and Printer Sharing in these common configurations: Using an Internet sharing program or a hardware router protects the local area network from access by other Internet users, so it's safe to use TCP/IP for File and Printer Sharing on the LAN. The computers have private IP addresses that aren't accessible from the Internet. No other protocol is needed. If your network uses static IP addresses, click Use the following IP address -- 192.168.0.3 and enter the configuration information. For example, here are settings for a network that uses a proxy server at IP address 192.168.0.1 for Internet access. IPX/SPX/NetBIOS: If the existing network uses IPX/SPX for File and Printer Sharing, you can add that protocol to the Windows XP computer. IPX/SPX is fully supported in XP. In the connection's Properties, click the Install button to add a network component. XP will ask what type of network component to install. Click Protocol and Add. Click NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol and click OK. Two NWLink items are added to the connection's Properties Have your winXP CD handy. NetBEUI: NetBEUI was the default protocol in Windows 95, but Microsoft has been moving away from NetBEUI ever since. Starting with Windows 98, TCP/IP has been the default protocol, and NetBEUI has been available for installation as a supported protocol. Starting with Windows XP, NetBEUI is unsupported. This doesn't mean that NetBEUI won't work! It means that: Microsoft recommends against using it. It doesn't appear in the list of protocols that can be installed. Microsoft's technical support staff won't answer questions about NetBEUI or help solve problems with it. Because it's been around for so long, some people think that NetBEUI is required, and they install it on all Windows networks. Actually, nothing in Windows networking has ever required NetBEUI. You can even un-install NetBEUI in Windows 95 and use a different protocol. If your existing network uses NetBEUI for File and Printer Sharing, consider changing to a different protocol. Most networks can safely use TCP/IP. The main exceptions to this rule are when: All of the networked computers are connected directly to a cable or DSL modem and receive public IP addresses from an Internet service provider. You've separated your LAN from the Internet, but you've opened ports or have placed a computer outside the firewall to use certain applications or services. If, after considering all the options, you decide to install NetBEUI on Windows XP, you can do it using files on the Windows XP CD-ROM. Follow the instructions in the article HOW TO: Install NetBEUI on Windows XP in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. These tips will help with the installation process: If the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen appears when you insert the CD-ROM, click Perform additional tasks followed by Browse this CD. Where the article refers to %SYSTEMROOT%, substitute the name of the Windows XP installation folder, which is typically C:Windows. To see the hidden INF directory, go to My Computer | Tools | Folder Options | View. Scroll down the list of Advanced settings, and un-check Hide protected operating system files. If you have a new computer that didn't come with a Windows XP CD-ROM, see if the computer manufacturer will send you the CD-ROM or the necessary NetBEUI files. If that isn't possible, you'll have to use a different protocol on your network. |
| Speed up your Windows 2000/XP system and save resources at the same time |
| You can improve performance of your Windows
2000/XP and reclaim memory by simply disabling the services that is also
known as "System Services" you don't need which Windows 2000 or XP
automatically provide by default. What Are System Services in the 1st place? System services are actually small helper programs that provide support for other larger programs in Windows 2000. Many of the services are set up to run automatically each time you start Windows 2000. However, if you're not using the larger programs that these services are designed to support, these services are simply wasting RAM that could be put to better use by your applications. While the word "Disable" is used here to describe the idea that you'll remove these services from memory, what you'll really be doing is changing the startup setting from Automatic to Manual. When you do, the services won't automatically start each time you launch Windows 2000 Professional. However, Windows 2000 will be able to manually start the services if they're needed. That way you won't be unnecessarily wasting RAM, but you won't be crippling your system either. Note: If you're running Windows 2000 Professional on a corporate network, you may not be able to adjust system services. Regardless of whether you can or not, you should check with your system administrator before attempting the make these changes. Changing the startup type of a service from Automatic to Manual is a relatively simple operation. To begin, open the Control Panel, open the Administrative Tools folder, and then double click the Services tool. When you see the Services window, set the View to Detail if it isn't already. Then click the Startup Type column header to sort the services by Startup Type. When you do, all the Services that start automatically will appear at the top of the list. As you scan through the list of services on your system whose Startup Type setting is set to Automatic, look for the services in listed in the Table below. These are some of the services are good candidates to be set to a Manual Startup Type. Please see my Services pages for more detailed information Examples of services that can be safely changed to Manual: DHCP Client -- You're not connecting to a specific DHCP server on your local network Distributed Link Tracking Client -- You're not connected to a Windows 2000 domain DNS Client -- You're not connecting to a specific DNS server on your local network FTP Publishing Service -- You don't need your system to act as an FTP server IIS Admin Service -- You don't need your system to act as an WWW server IPSEC Policy Agent -- You're not connected to a Windows 2000 domain Messenger -- You're not connected to a Windows 2000 domain Remote Registry Service -- You don't remotely access the Registry of other systems on your local network RIP Service -- You don't need your system to act as a router Run As Service -- You don't use any applications that run as an alias World Wide Web Publishing Service You don't need your system to act as an WWW server If you find a match and think that your system doesn't need that particular service, right-click on the service and choose the Properties command from the shortcut menu. When you see the Properties dialog box for that service, click the Startup Type drop down list and select Manual. Then click OK. As you change the Startup Type for any service, take note of the service's name. That way you'll have a record of which services you changed and can change them back if you need to, as I'll explain in a moment. Using the Windows Task Manager Trick : To determine the amount of RAM you'll regain by disabling unnecessary system services, use the Windows Task Manager. Here's how: Before you disable any system services, reboot your system and don't launch any applications. If you have applications that automatically load when you start Windows, hold down the [Shift] key to bypass the Startup folder. Then, right click on the task bar and select Task Manager from the shortcut menu. When you see the Windows Task Manager dialog box, select the Performance tab. Now take note of the Available value in the Physical Memory panel. After you disable those system services you deem unnecessary, reboot your system in the same manner and compare the Available value in the Physical Memory panel to the one that you noted earlier. Final thoughts Keep in mind that you may not find all the services listed in the Table set to Automatic on your system. In fact, you might not even see some of the services listed present on your system. If that's the case, don't worry about it. Each Windows 2000/XP installation is unique depending on the system and installed software, and different sets of services may be installed and set to start automatically. On the other hand, you may find services other than those listed in Table set to Automatic that you may think are unnecessary. If so, you can find out what each service does by hovering your mouse pointer over the service's description. When you do, a tool tip window will pop up and display the entire description of the service. You can then better determine if the service is unnecessary. Remember, by changing the Startup Type to Manual, Windows 2000 can still start the service if it's needed. If you decide to experiment with changing the Startup Types of certain services, you can monitor the services over time by launching the Services utility and checking the list of running services. If you consistently find one of the services you set to Manual running, you may decide to change the Startup Type back to Automatic. |
| Windows XP and Symmetric Multiprocessing |
| Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) is a technology
that allows a computer to use more than one processor. The most common
configuration of an SMP computer is one that uses two processors. The
two processors are used to complete your computing tasks faster than a
single processor. (Two processors aren't necessarily twice as fast as a
single processor, though.) In order for a computer to take advantage of a multiprocessor setup, the software must be written for use with an SMP system. If a program isn't written for SMP, it won't take advantage of SMP. Not every program is written for SMP; SMP applications, such as image-editing programs, video-editing suites, and databases, tend to be processor intensive. SMP in Windows XP Operating systems also need to be written for SMP in order to use multiple processors. In the Windows XP family, only XP Professional supports SMP; XP Home does not. If you're a consumer with a dual-processor PC at home, you have to buy XP Professional. Windows XP Advanced Server also supports SMP. In Microsoft's grand scheme, XP Professional is meant to replace Windows 2000, which supports SMP. In fact, XP Professional uses the same kernel as Windows 2000. XP Home is designed to replace Windows Me as the consumer OS, and Windows Me does not support SMP. The difference between XP Professional and XP Home is more than just $100 and SMP support. XP Professional has plenty of other features not found in XP Home; some you'll use, others you won't care about. Get more information on the differences by reading this article. |
| Classic Look Make XP look just like older versions of Windows |
| After installing XP you may notice the revamped
interface looks nothing like the old one. I was completely thrown back
when I tried using it for the first time, but I suspect that over time
the new interface will begin to grow on you as it has with me. Therefore, to ease your transition to the new OS, make a simple adjustment to XP to give it that classic look. Here's how to do it: 1. Right-click your Desktop and select Properties. 2. On the Desktop Display properties, click the Appearance tab. 3. Under the Windows and buttons pull-down menu, select Windows Classic. 4. Click Apply to see your new look. 5. Click OK to close the Desktop Display properties. |
| Compatibility Mode Make older programs run in Windows XP |
| If you're having trouble running older programs
originally developed for previous versions of Windows, you're not out of
luck. Luckily for consumers, Microsoft built Compatibility Mode into XP.
Compatibility Mode allows you to run a program using the shell of the
original program it was developed for. Here's how to access a program's Compatibility Mode in XP: Find the executable or program shortcut icon you'd like to run. Right-click the icon and select Properties. Click the Compatibility tab and place a checkmark next to the text labeled "Run this program in compatibility mode." Select the operating system that the program was originally intended to run on. You may need to fine-tune the three fields under "Display Settings" if an older program requires 640x480 resolution or 256 colors. Click Apply. Try starting the program after making these changes. If it still gives you trouble, try a different operating system. If the program was written for Win95 and worked fine in Win98, there's nothing that says it still won't work fine with Win98. |
| Windows XP Mini FAQ |
| Does the Home or Pro version include IIS? Only the Pro version has it. I installed the Pro version but I can't find IIS. The Pro installation doesn't install IIS by default. Go to Start->Control Panels->Add/Remove Programs, and click on "Add Windows Components". IIS will be listed in there. How many computers can I install XP on? Microsoft allows you to install XP on only one computer. Technically, it's been like this all along except there's been no way to enforce it. Microsoft's new Authentication System forces XP installations to link the PC, the CD Key, and an ID number that identifies your computer's components together, which means that you can't install XP from the same CD on another PC. You can read more about Windows XP Activation if you click here. Will my programs work under Windows XP? That's a complicated issue. Most modern programs have been written to work on Windows 95 and above, all the way to Windows XP using an API called Win32. By using this API, it guarantees that the application will work on any Win32 supported platform, so long as the application was properly written to Microsoft's guidelines. If an application wasn't written properly, it has the potential to break under not only XP, but any future OS. Now, programs that ran under DOS might not work at all due to a whole slew of reasons. Any popular DOS applications and games are sure to have a support forum, so check them out if you can. Just in case your application doesn't work properly under Windows XP, there's a "Compatability Mode" in which your application will run in an environment similar to a previous operating system. Currently, the operating system choices are: Windows 95 Windows 98/ME Windows NT (Service Pack 5) Windows 2000 So if you're having trouble with a particular application or game under XP, right click on the application's icon and click on the "Compatability" tab. You can also set a forced resolution of 640x480, force 256 (8-bit) color, and force the system to disable themes. If I upgrade from Windows 98 or ME to Windows XP, can I revert back? Yes, but I haven't done it myself so I don't know what the consequences are from upgrading, and then downgrading again. If you upgraded, there should be an item in "Add/Remove Programs" that allows you to uninstall XP. Note: if you upgraded to XP, and then changed your file system to NTFS, you cannot go back to 98 or ME since those operating systems don't understand how NTFS works. Will my games work under Windows XP? This is even more complicated than the application issue. Games are supposed to be written to not only the Win32 API, but any one of many different graphics APIs such as Direct 3D or OpenGL. Sometimes games take a "short cut" to gain better performance. Since Windows XP is built on a different core than Windows 95, 98, and ME, it's possible that some games won't work. You can read more about games under XP by clicking here. Can I watch DVDs on Windows XP? Not "out of the box", unfortunately. Microsoft is forcing consumers to buy a "DVD Decoder Pack" to allow playback of DVDs. You can read more about that by clicking here. Can I listen to MP3s with Windows XP? Yes. Windows Media Player will playback MP3s. If you're Yes. Windows Media Player will playback MP3s. If you're having trouble playing MP3s with Windows Media Player, make sure you have the latest update. Can I rip MP3s with Windows XP? Just like the DVD issue, you cannot rip MP3s with XP "out of the box". You'll have to buy the "MP3 Pack" which allows you to add MP3 ripping capabilities to Windows Media Player. However, you can use Music Match Jukebox and other third-party rippers as you have before, so long as they work under XP (chances are they do, but check the web pages of the applications to be sure). You can read more about music under XP by clicking here. Can I have multiple operating systems installed on the same computer alongside Windows XP? Yes. There's a procedure that's involved in order to do it properly. If you're installing Windows XP on a machine that already has another Windows OS, you have to make sure that you can install XP on a seperate partition, or a seperate hard drive. You cannot install XP on the same hard drive or partition that already has another operating system on it, meaning two OS's can't share the same space at the same time. The key is to install Windows XP last, this way the NT boot loader, which allows you to choose which OS to load at boot time, is installed by the XP installer. Microsoft has an article about multibooting. What are the requirements for running Windows XP? The minimum requirements can be found by clicking here. If I'm buying the XP upgrade version, do I have to install over my old OS, or can I install fresh? You can most certainly install fresh. When installing XP, you'll be prompted for your previous OS's CD. Once XP sees that it's a valid CD, you switch CDs again and the XP installer continues on its merry way. What are the upgrade paths for Windows XP? Do I need to buy the full version? All the valid upgrade paths for the Home and Pro versions can be found by clicking here. I got a PC from with a restore CD instead of an actual Windows installer CD, is it considered valid for an upgrade? This is tricky. Some PC manufacturers give the user a "Restore CD" which, although has a version of Windows on it, is nothing more than a "snapshot" of the hard drive when the user opened the box for the first time. Chances are, when the XP upgrade asks for the previous Windows OS CD, it will reject the Restore CD since it wasn't made by Microsoft. Your best bet would be to check with the manufacturer of your PC and see if you have an upgrade option. I'm still looking on Microsoft's site for a definitive answer on this. Will Windows 2000 drivers run under XP? I heard that XP is just Windows 2000 with a new face. There's no guarantee that Win2k drivers will work under XP. I wouldn't suggest even trying since it might make your system unstable. The best you can do is to check with your device's manufacturer first and see if they already have XP drivers ready for you to download from their web site. I see there are two versions of XP - Home and Professional. Which one should I get? Microsoft did a very good job of splitting the two versions, and making sure that one group doesn't need the features of the other flavor of XP. The only issue I can see i Microsoft did a very good job of splitting the two versions, and making sure that one group doesn't need the features of the other flavor of XP. The only issue I can see is the multi-processor support you get from the Pro version, and if it will affect gaming. Click here to read Microsoft's comparison of the two. |
| Microsoft Product Activation |
| Microsoft Product Activation which will only
allow you to install Windows XP on one system at a time. Under this new
policy, you must use the CD Key code that comes with the software to
install the operating system. You'll then have 30 days in which to
contact Microsoft, either via the Internet or by telephone, and activate
the software. When you do, you won't have to give Microsoft any personal information, just your CD Key code. Microsoft will assign you an activation code, which you'll then enter in the appropriate text box in the Microsoft Product Activation wizard. If you don't activate the software within the 30-day period, you won't be able to boot Windows XP past a dialog box that prompts you to enter activation code. When you enter the activation code, it supposedly analyzes your system's specific hardware configuration, generates some hardware ID code based on this information, and then associates the activation code with this hardware ID code. If for some reason you have to reinstall Windows XP on the same system, you'll be able to use the same activation code. If you purchase an additional computers and you want to install Windows XP on your new system instead, you'll need to reactivate the software. While Microsoft says it's possible to install it on another machine, it's unclear how exactly this will work under its license agreement. Consumers should refer to the terms of their license agreement to determine whether or not it is legal to transfer a license to another computer. But in those cases where it is allowed, the product must first be removed from the previous computer. Users may be required to complete the activation on the new computer by placing a call to the Microsoft Activation Center. The details are still a bit hazy, but you can be sure that Microsoft will figure them out before the release. If you only have one PC and rarely reinstall the operating system, this really won't be a problem. but, if you have multiple PCs in your home, you won't be able to buy one copy of Windows XP and install it on all the PCs in your home. Instead, you'll need to buy one copy for each system. This may sound harsh, it's actually been a part of the Microsoft End-User License Agreement for years. The only difference is that now Microsoft has developed a physical way to enforce what the paper license has said all along. |
| Add/Remove Optional Windows Components |
| For some reason, Microsoft has removed the
ability to specify which Windows components you want to install during
interactive Setup, and when you go into Add/Remove Windows Components in
the Control Panel, you still don't have the full list of applications
and applets you can add and remove. Thankfully, this is easy to fix. To dramatically expand the list of applications you can remove from Windows XP after installation, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open the sysoc.inf file. Under Windows XP Professional Edition RC1, this file will resemble the following by default: [Version] Signature = "$Windows NT$" DriverVer=06/26/2001,5.1.2505.0 [Components] NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4 WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7 Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7 Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7 NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7 iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7 com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7 dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7 IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7 TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2 msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6 ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7 fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7 AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7 msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7 msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7 smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7 RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7 Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7 AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7 CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7 MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7 AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7 Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7 MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7 ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7 [Global] WindowTitle=%WindowTitle% WindowTitle.StandAlone="*" The entries that include the text hide or HIDE will not show up in Add/Remove Windows Components by default. To fix this, do a global search and replace for ,hide and change each instance of this to , (a comma). Then, save the file, relaunch Add/Remove Windows Components, and tweak the installed applications to your heart's content. |
| How to Use Qfixapp.exe In Windows XP |
| This tip describes the Quick Fix utility (Qfixapp.exe) that is
included with the Application Compatibility Toolkit for Windows XP and
Windows .NET. Qfixapp.exe is a tool that includes pre-packaged fixes
that provide an easy way to fix a program. Use Qfixapp.exe To Apply Program Fixes You can use Qfixapp.exe to quickly apply various program fixes (AppFixes, also known as "shims") to a program to determine their effectiveness. Qfixapp.exe reads the %SystemRoot%\windows\apppatch\sysmain.sdb database to produce a list of available fixes. When you select an AppFix, you can start the program executable (.exe) file, and the AppFix will be applied. If a suitable AppFix is found, the tool eventually helps you to generate and test matching file information. When you run Qfixapp.exe, you see the following items: The The application for which to apply the fix(es) check box. This setting disables existing fixes in the database. The Layer tab with the Choose one of the existing layers to apply to your app box that contains the following entries: 256 Color 640X480 Disable Themes Internaltional LUA(Limited User Account) LUACleanUp NT4SP5 ProfilesSetup Win2000 Win95 Win98 The Fixes tab. On this tab you can select the individual fixes that you want to apply. Example of How to Use Qfixapp.exe 1. Start Notepad, and then click About Notepad on the Help menu. Note that the version is 5.1. 2. Start Qfixapp.exe, click Win95, click Browse, and then open the Windows folder. Note that the Windows\System32 folder is protected by Windows File Protection, so it is not able to use the layers. 3. Click Notepad.exe, click Open, and then click Run. 4. Start Notepad, and then click About Notepad on the Help menu. Note that the version is now 4.0. If you click ViewLog, you could see what AppFix(es) are being used. If you click Advanced, you could see information about the .exe file. You can click Add Matching Info, and then select files that are related to the .exe file to identify that particular program. After you finish that step, you could click Create Fix Support to add the layers with the Matching Information (GRABMI) and create an XML-based database that is named YourAppName.sdb. Note that in the preceding example it is named Notepad.sdb, and is in the AppPatch folder. |
| Troubleshooting and Driver Issues |
| With Windows XP, installation and hardware
configuration has never been easier. The installation of new hardware
and the recognition of hardware devices during the installation process
has never been so easy and reliable. The Windows 2000 Factor What do you do if XP is unable to find a driver for your device? Windows XP is based on an enhanced Windows 2000 kernel, so 2000 drivers should work in XP, but this is not always the case. I loaded one system that had a Wacom board with a 2000 driver, and no matter what I tried, I was unable to find a suitable driver for this component. I disconnected the unit and am waiting for an XP driver update. The .vxd drivers used in Windows 98 are not supported at all by Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Using these drivers could create more issues in Windows XP, and you should stay away from them. Check your device manager, and disable those devices that have yellow cautionary flags if you are unable to locate an appropriate driver. Now that XP has been officially released on the market, manufacturers of those components that are lacking compatible drivers should be issuing those drivers in the near future. Keep checking those manufacturers' websites. When the driver become available, enable those devices, and update the drivers. |
| Mega Shutdown and Restart Troubleshooting Guide |
| Thus far, Windows XP shutdown issues most
resemble those of Windows Millennium Edition. That is, most of them
center around a very few issues, especially driver version and other
legacy hardware and software compatibility issues. These are detailed
below. The driver and software issues are expected to resolve
substantially as hardware and software manufacturers release updated
versions, now that Win XP has been officially launched. Reboot Instead of Shutdown The majority of shutdown problems reported with Windows XP thus far have been that it reboots when shutdown is attempted. This may be a global symptom emerging from several distinct causes, because XP executes an automatic restart in the event of a system failure. I'm guessing that this means that more or less anything compromising the operating system during the shutdown process could force this reboot. If this is true, then our job will be to prepare a series of steps suitable to isolate the most likely cause. Disabling the "restart on system failure" feature may permit the exact cause to be isolated: Right-click on My Computer and select Properties. Click the Advanced tab. Under 'Startup & Recovery,' click Settings. Under 'System Failure,' uncheck the box in front of 'System reboot.' Some things that have produced this reboot-instead-of-shutdown symptom are: " By now, Roxio's Easy CD / Direct CD software is well documented as being a major cause - possibly the major cause - of this undesirable shutdown behavior. On November 1, Roxio released new drivers to solve this problem in Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum in its Windows XP updater for the Platinum product. A fix for Easy CD Creator 5 Basic is in the works. In the first few hours of its release, several peple have written me saying that this fix has resolved their Windows XP shutdown problem. I suspect that < least>of the Windows XP shutdown problems will go away with Roxio's release of this patch for Platinum and the pending patch for Basic. This has been the single most common cause of Win XP shutdown problems thus far. One person after another has written to me with the simple message that this reboot behavior went away as soon as they uninstalled Easy CD. HINT No. 1: PCBUILD subscribers, by trial and error, identified the file CDRALW2K.SYS (version 1.0.0.1048) as the Roxio file that was causing his shutdown problems and error conditions. When he deleted this one file, his problems went away. HINT No.2: The Mystic Overclocker and others have reported that installing Easy CD 5.0 does not cause the shutdown problem, provided they do not install the Direct CD component. Though this isn't universally true, enough people have mentioned it by now for me to suggest it as a work-around. Unassigned Device Drivers PCBUILD subscribers have found that Windows XP won't shutdown properly if unsigned device drivers are used. Since all necessary device drivers have not yet been created for Win XP, this will be a problem for the next few months. It resembles the pattern for Win ME shutdown problems, because even today, many hardware manufacturers have not prepared suitable drivers for use with ME. SBLive: DEVLDR32.EXE PROBLEMS In the early days of Win ME, one of the biggest culprits for shutdown issue was the Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live. History repeated itself in the early stages of Win XP. This now has been fixed for some users (but not for all) by the release of new drivers. Here's the commonly reported scenario: On attempting shutdown, nothing at all appears to happen for a prolonged period of time. Eventually, an "End Task" window appears wanting to terminate DEVLDR32.EXE. No matter what one does, one ultimately is locked out of shutting down other than by a power switch shutoff. (This problem exists with the SBLive in Windows 2000 also.) In mid-July, Microsoft posted new Win XP drivers for the SBLive on the Windows Update site. According to PCBUILD subscribers, these drivers solve the shutdown problem the SBLive was causing. I recommend you go to Windows Update and download the new driver if you have an SBLive card. However, some users are reporting that the DEVLDR problem continues to plague them even with the new drivers: " In the event installing the new drivers does not solve your shutdown problem, try some of the solutions people have been using prior to the release of these new drivers. PCBUILD subscribers have written that they solved the well-documented SBLive/DEVLDR32 problem by downloading and installing the LiveService software. (We caution that one should disable all antivirus software while executing this program. I do recommend that you at least virus-check anything you download first!) " PCBUILD subscribers" gave another solution to this problem: Uninstall the LiveWare software pack (of which DEVLDR is part). Uninstall the SBLive card. Restart Windows, let it detect the new hardware, and use the Windows XP driver. However, other users have reported that this isn't satisfactory because the XP native driver gives very poor sound quality. If the new drivers work for you, they are definitely the preferred option. 3D PROPHET 4500 VIDEO CARD Other video cards that have created problems are those based on the Kyro II video chip, such as the Hercules Prophet 4500. PCBUILD subscribers have reported that until they removed the Kyro II / Prophet 4500, they could shutdown, hibernate, or go to stand by just fine, but Restart wouldn't work - it would shutdown Windows instead. Others with this video card have reported this strange behavior on both restart and shutdown. Apparently, this problem is now solved. Microsoft reports that new drivers for this card, specific to Windows XP, are now available from Hercules. At present, they remain uncertified (PowerVR, who makes the Kyro II chip, is working on that), but they reportedly work just fine. Download the Kyro II drivers here. SHUTDOWN HANGS ON "SAVING YOUR SETTINGS" During shutdown or reboot, Win XP may hang (stop responding) at the "saving your settings" screen. During such a hang, there is no response to Ctrl+Alt+Del; the mouse may or may not work. (The problem may be intermittent.) This is a known bug in Windows XP, for which Microsoft has a supported fix. Because this patch is scheduled for further quality assurance testing in the future, Microsoft only recommends that you install it if you have a serious problem; otherwise, they recommend waiting for Service Pack 1, which will include the more permanent version of the fix. To learn how to get this patch, see Windows XP Stops Responding (Hangs) During Windows Shutdown. As a workaround, we resolved this problem by dismantling the Windows XP logon Welcome screen. In the Control Panel, click User Accounts, then click "Change the way users log on or off." Uncheck the box that says "Use the Welcome screen." This removes the initial logon screen with individual icons for each user and, instead, pops up the classic logon prompt that requires each user to type a user name and password. "ShutMeDown" REGISTRY PATCH Download the "ShutMeDown" Registry patch. Please follow sensible Registry editing protocol. Backup your Registry before the change (or run System Restore to create a restore point). This is not the appropriate fix for most machines, but does help a significant number. After installing, test Windows shutdown. If the fix does not work for you, remove it by restoring the Registry to its prior state. For those who want a little more background information, the fix provided by this patch is based on a Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q155117 for Windows NT 4.0. It apparently still works in NT 5.1; that is, in Windows XP. Stop Erros messages at shutdown Some users have gotten an error message similar to the following when attempting either to shutdown or restart Win XP: STOP 0000009F, DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE STOP 0x0000001E: KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED STOP 0x000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL TechNet and the Microsoft Knowledge Base have numerous articles discussing this type of error condition; for example, these. As a review of these articles will show, these are commonly device driver problems, but may also be caused by troublesome software (such as the notorious CrashGuard), or a problem in a system service. MSKB article Q262575 discusses a shutdown problem of this type, known to exist in Windows 2000 due to a resource (IRQ) conflict, if you have PACE Interlok anti-piracy software installed. This problem may occur in Windows XP as well. Try the following as one approach to these problems: Restart the computer. Press F8 during the restart and select "Last Known Good Configuration." If you catch the problem when it first occurs (meaning you likely have installed only one or two drivers or new service), this will return you to a previous working condition. It has been reported by a PCBUILD Subscriber that these STOP code error message occur when Windows XP is trying to shut down devices. He says that he has seen this twice: once with Logitech Quickcam installed (with an unsupported driver), and once with a USB DSL modem that would hang if it wasn't disconnected before shutdown. Shutdown Works but its real slow If it appears that Win XP is not shutting down, give it some time. Some users have reported a minute or longer for shutdown to visibly start. Thus far, it appears that this is a consequence of software that is running when shutdown is attempted, and it also may have something to do with particular hardware. If you are experiencing this problem, be sure to close all running programs before attempting shutdown and see if this solves your problem. If so, then you can determine, by trial and error, which program(s) are involved. One specific solution for this can be found: In Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services. (You can also get this by launching SERVICES.MSC from a Run box. This utility is also built into the Computer Management console.) Stop the Nvidia Driver Helper service. Many other newsgroup participants quickly confirmed that this solved this "extremely slow shutdown" problem for them. Powerdown Issues "Powerdown issues" are quite distinctive from "shutdown issues." I define a shutdown problem as one wherein Windows doesn't make it at least to the "OK to shut off your computer" screen. If Windows gets that far, or farther, then it has shut down correctly. However, the computer may not powerdown correctly after that. This is a different problem, and I encourage people reporting these issues to make a clear distinction in their labeling. When Windows XP won't powerdown automatically, the APM/NT Legacy Power Node may not be enabled. To enable this, right-click on the My Computer icon, click Properties | Hardware | Device Manager | View. Check the box labeled "Show Hidden Devices." If it's available on your computer, there will be a red X on the APM/NT Legacy Node. Try enabling it and see if this resolves the powerdown problem. (Tip from Terri Stratton.) This should resolve the powerdown issue in most cases. However, other factors can sometimes interfere with correct powerdown functioning. In that case, consider the following tips: " If you changing the default power settings in the BIOS, it can lead to a powerdown problem. Restoring all BIOS power settings to default will likely fix it. PCBUILD subscribers reported that, when the above didn't work , they restored powerdown functioning by disabling his CD-ROM's AutoRun feature. The fastest way to do this is with the "Disable AutoRun" Registry patch which you can download here. Other Known Issues and Hints " BIOS UPGRADE. As with every new operating system that comes along - especially one that is as much of a "step up" as Windows XP is from Windows 9x - the recommendation is made to be sure your BIOS is updated. Many people have reported that this has solved their shutdown problems (and had other advantages) with Win XP, just as it has in earlier versions of Windows. Quick Switching user Accounts One reported quirk affecting shutdown is the three-account shuffle. Windows XP gives the ability to rapidly bounce between user accounts, with Win+L. If at least three user accounts exist, and you quick-switch through all three, and then log off all three in reverse order - "backing out" in an orderly way - then the machine may hang on shutdown. There may be other variations of account shuffling that cause this, but this one, clear example was provided by newsgroup correspondent John Ward. So far, I have no concrete clue on what may be occurring here. |
| Step-by-Step Guide to Migrating Files and Settings |
| This guide walks you through the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard,
which eases the process of copying files and settings from your old
computer to a new computer. It is intended for home users, small office
users, or users in a "lightly managed" corporate environment. Introduction Getting a new computer often requires repeating much of the same setup configuration you originally did with your old computer. And even after all the reconfiguration, you still don't have your data from the old computer. Locating this data and figuring our how to move it can be a significant challenge. The Windows® XP operating system streamlines this process with the new Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. By providing clear instructions at each step, the wizard walks you through the process of automatically gathering your files and settings from your old computer and transferring them to your new computer. The wizard is designed for users in a home or small office environment. The wizard is also useful in a corporate network environment for employees who get a new computer and need to migrate their own files and settings without the support of an IT department or Helpdesk. The wizard provides a rich set of options that walk you through the process of migrating to a new computer. You can: " Choose how to store files and settings that are migrated. The wizard supports copying old files and settings via: " 3.5 inch disks or other removable media. " A direct cable connection from your old computer to your new computer. " A drive on a home network. " Customize which files and settings get migrated. If you already know exactly which files and settings you want to migrate, you can add or remove files directly in the wizard. Copying files to a home network drive is the fastest method. If you don't have a home network, try using a direct cable connection between your computers. Because the wizard uses auto detection to configure ports for the cable, you don't need to go through any complicated setup procedures. Finally, using 3.5-inch disks takes the most time as you will usually need one-two disks to migrate settings and five-ten disks to migrate files and settings. The wizard prompts you for each disk as it collects and saves your files and settings on your old computer. When you run the wizard on your new computer, the wizard prompts you to insert the disks in order. Despite the extra time involved, floppy disks remain a viable, low-tech solution that you may wish to use. This guide walks you through this process using the following scenarios: " Migrating to a new computer. " Migrating to a new computer on your home network. " Migrating to a new computer using a direct cable connection. " Migrating to a clean installation of Windows XP. When migrating files and settings for multiple computers in a corporate environment, administrators should use the User State Migration Tool, a command line tool. For more information, see the white paper, "User State Migration in Windows XP." What Gets Migrated? This section summarizes the types of files and settings that are migrated. Migrated Settings The settings fall into four major groups: " Appearance. This includes items such as wallpaper, colors, sounds, and the location of the taskbar. " Action. This includes items such as the key repeat rate, whether double-clicking a folder opens it in a new window or the same window, and whether you need to double-click or single-click an item to open it. " Internet. These are the settings that let you connect to the Internet and control how your browser operates. This includes items such as your home page URL, favorites or bookmarks, cookies, security settings, dial-up connections, and proxy settings. " Mail. This includes the information you need to connect to your mail server, your signature file, views, mail rules, local mail, and contacts. The mail clients supported are Outlook® and Outlook Express. Application settings The wizard currently supports migrating specific application settings including Microsoft Office (Access, Excel, Outlook®, PowerPoint®, and Word). Support for migrating additional applications will be included when Windows XP is released. Note that only applications settings are migrated; actual applications are not migrated. You will need to re-install applications on your new computer. Summary of migrated settings Migrated setting groups include: " Internet Explorer settings " Outlook Express settings and store " Outlook settings and store " Dial-Up connections " Phone and modem options " Accessibility " Screen saver selection " Fonts " Folder options " Taskbar settings " Mouse and keyboard settings " Sounds settings " Regional options " Office settings " Network drives and printers " Desktop folder " My Documents folder " My Pictures folder " Favorites folder " Cookies folder " Common Office file types Migrated Files Files are migrated by file type (.DOC), folder (C:\My Documents), or specific name (C:\Important\money.mny). The wizard moves many of the common file types and folders by default and gives you the option of adding or removing folders, file types, or specific files. Migrating to a New Computer In this scenario, you migrate files from an old computer to a new computer. The old computer contains your current settings that you would like to have on your new computer. Starting the wizard on your new computer 1. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. When the Welcome to the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard page appears, click Next. 2. Ensure New Computer is selected and click Next. 3. When the Do you have a Windows XP CD page appears, select I want to create a Wizard Disk in the following drive: and click Next. 4. Insert a blank and formatted 3.5 inch floppy disk into your new computer's floppy drive. The wizard creates the disk and prompts you to go to your old computer. If your browser does not support inline frames, click here to view on a separate page. Starting the wizard on your old computer |