WinXP Tips and Tricks [ Users Quick Reference ] (hope it fits in one post)

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Opening Ports or Adding Allowed Programs with SP2's Firewall 1.Click on Start / Run 2.Enter in firewall.cpl 3.Click on the Exceptions tab Adding a Port for Internet Access: 1.Click on the Add Port button 2.Name it whatever you want 3.Enter in the ports you want to open Adding a Program for Internet Access 1.Click on Add Program... button 2.A list of all installed programs will be displayed 3.Highlight the one you want to include for Internet access 4.Click on the OK button Autoexec.nt or Config.nt Errors If you are getting errors similar to: The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application. Try copying the file from \windows\repair directory to the one that is in the \windows\system32 directory. Common Control Panel Applets The follow are some common Control Panel Applets that are located in the \windows\system32 directory. If you find yourself using any of these frequently, then you can simply make shortcuts to them on your desktop. appwiz.cpl Add/Remove Programs desk.cpl Display Properties firewall.cpl Firewall Settings inetcpl.cpl Internet Options mmsys.cpl Sound and Audio ncpa.cpl Network Connections nusrmgr.cpl User Accounts powercfg.cpl Power Options sysdm.cpl System Properties wscui.cpl Security Center wuaucpl.cpl Automatic Updates Configuration Windows Explorer Opens Search Companion Rather than the Folder If the Windows Explorer opens up the Search Companion rather than opening up the actual folder, the default setting for opening a folder is changed. To correct this: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell Edit the default value to be explorer or none Guest Only Network Access If you try and connect to an XP computer and are shown a logins screen with only the computername/Guest, You may need to change one of the Local Security Policies: Got to Control Panel - Administrative Tools Go to Local Policies - Security Options Check teh Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts Set it to Classic - local users authenticate as themselves Hiding a XP Computer from Network Neighborhood If you want to share files from a XP computer, yet want to remove it from showing up in the Network Neighborhood, Run net config server /hidden:yes Easy Way to Share Multiple Folders If you need to share multiple folders, running the program SHRPUBW.EXE will bring up a simple dialog box to let you: Browse to the folder you want to share Enter in a Share name Ender in a Share description Set permissions. Several choices are available Restart the process from within the same program Not Viewing Zip Files as Folders If you want to turn of WindowsXP showing Zip files as folders, just run: regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll Setting Capslock, Numlock, Scroll Lock If you want to set the startup state for any or all of these keys, you just need to edit the registry. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Keyboard Open InitialKeyboardIndicators Change the value to one of the following numbers 0 - All Keys off 1 - Caps Lock on 2 - Num Lock on 4 - Scroll Lock on For multiple keys, add their values: 3 - Caps Lock and Num Lock on 5 - Caps Lock and Scroll Lock on 6 - Num Lock and Scroll Lock on 7 - Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock on Log off and back on again Restoring Desktop Icon to the Quicklaunch Bar If you mistakenly deleted the icon for the Desktop on the Quicklaunch toolbar Go to C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch (where user_name is replaced by your login name) Create a Text file called ShowDesktop.SCF with the following contents: [Shell] Command=2 IconFile=explorer.exe,3 [Taskbar] Command=ToggleDesktop Network Access After Norton Anti-Virus Install Sometimes you can't access a WinXP computer after installing Norton Anti-Virus. There might be a variety of errors at the other computer depending on the operating system. On the XP computer, in the Event Viewer / System log, there will be the following error: The server's configuration parameter "irpstacksize" is too small for the server to use a local device. Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters Edit the IRPStackSize Give it a value of 15 Reboot the computer Configure for Auto-Logon If you are the only person using the computer and what to have it automatically log you on, Start / Run / "control userpasswords2" - no quotes Uncheck User must enter a user name and password to use this computer Services You Can Disable There are quite a few services you can disable from starting automatically. This would be to speed up your boot time and free resources. They are only suggestions so I suggestion you read the description of each one when you run Services and that you turn them off one at a time. Some possibilities are: Alerter - Sends alert messages to specified users that are connected to the server computer. Application Management - Allows software to tap directly into the Add/Remove Programs feature via the Windows Installer technology. Background Intelligent Transfer Service - The Background Intelligent Transfer service is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth. Clipbook - ClipBook permits you to cut and paste text and graphics over the network. Error Reporting Service - Allows applications to send error reports to Microsoft in the event of an application fault. Fast User Switching - Windows XP allows users to switch quickly between accounts, without requiring them to log off. Help and Support - Allows the XP Built-in Help and Support Center to run. IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service - You don't need this if you have other software to create CDs. Indexing Service - Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language. IP SEC - Manages IP security policy and starts the ISAKMP/Oakley (IKE) and the IP security driver. If you are not on a domain, you likely don't need this running. Messenger - Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers. This is how a lot of pop-up windows start appearing on your desktop. Net Logon - Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain. If you are not on a domain, you don't need this running Network DDE - Provides network transport and security for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for programs running on the same computer or on different computers. NT LM Security Support Provider - Provides security to remote procedure call (RPC) programs that use transports other than named pipes. Performance Logs and Alerts - Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert. If you don't need to monitor your performance logs, then you don't need this service. Portable Media Serial Number - Retrieves the serial number of any portable music player connected to your computer QOS RSVP - Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you are not using Remote Desktop you don't need this service. Remote Registry - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer. Routing & Remote Access - Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments. Allows dial-in access. Secondary Login - Enables starting processes under alternate credentials. This is what allows you to run an application as another user. Smart Card - Manages access to smart cards read by this computer. Smart Card Helper - Enables support for legacy non-plug and play smart-card readers used by this computer. SSDP Discovery Service - Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper - Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution. This should not be needed in today's network environment. Telnet - Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients. Uninterruptible Power Supply Service - Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer. Universal Plug and Play Device Host - Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices Upload Manager - Manages synchronous and asynchronous file transfers between clients and servers on the network. Volume Shadow Copy Service - Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes. Web Client - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify non-local files across the Internet. Wireless Zero Configuration - Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters WMI Performance Adapter - Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers. Cleaning the Prefetch Directory WindowsXP has a new feature called Prefetch. This keeps a shortcut to recently used programs. However it can fill up with old and obsolete programs. To clean this periodically go to: Star / Run / Prefetch Press Ctrl-A to highlight all the shorcuts Delete them Not Displaying Logon, Logoff, Startup and Shutdown Status Messages To turn these off: Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system If it is not already there, create a DWORD value named DisableStatusMessages Give it a value of 1 Repair Install If XP is corrupted to the point where none of the previous solutions get it to boot, you can do a Repair Install that might work as well as keep the current settings. Make