*~F~* *F6* Limited OEM Driver Support Is Available with F6 During Windows XP Setup *FAQ's *To read the FAQ go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/faq/default.asp For general help with WindowsXP, try the Expert Zone Other Microsoft product FAQ's hosted on microsoft.com: Frequently Asked Questions About Microsoft Internet Explorer Frequently Asked Questions About Office XP Frequently Asked Questions About Visual Studio .NET Frequently Asked Questions About Microsoft Product Activation Frequently Asked Questions About Microsoft Volume Licensing Frequently Asked Questions About Windows XP from Microsoft Product Support Remote Assistance FAQ for General Users Windows Messenger FAQ UPnP NAT Traversal FAQ Frequently Asked Questions about Microsoft DirectX Frequently Asked Questions About the IPv6 Protocol for Windows XP *Fast Boot /Fast Resume Design * Bootvis is a Boot performance trace visualization tool for use with Windows XP systems. It gives a graphical view of what processes are doing what and when during boot and allow you to optimise your boot up. A very handy tool. Download Bootvis: http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot/default.asp http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/BTV/1.0/WXP/EN-US/bootVis-tool.exe This is a self extracting ZIP file. Double click the file you just downloaded and unzip it to the folder of your choice. Locate Bootvis.exe click on it. You will now see the GUI of bootvis. Now go to File/New and choose "Next boot trace" or "Next boot and drivers chase". Leave everything else as is and get ready for a reboot in 15 seconds. Then click on the Bootvis.exe, it will now output the results, once it has finished generating the report, you will see graphs 5 or 6 graphs. They look a bit confusing at this stage. From the main menu .. Click on Trace >> optimize system, then reboot. You will see a message box "Please wait for bootvis to load" ... about 20 seconds later another message box will appear "Optimizing system for boot performance" basically bootvis is rearranging the boot files for a faster startup *Fast Logon* Description of Windows XP Professional Fast Logon Optimization *Fast User Switching - Modem Disconnects* In the Network Connections Folder right click the Connection Icon/Properties/Advanced/Sharing/Allow others to connect. * Tip: Allow Fast User Switching* Fast user switching allows you to quickly switch to another user account without having to close any programs. This setting controls whether fast user switching is available. Open your registry and find the key below. You may need to create the key if it does not already exist. Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'AllowMultipleTSSessions' and edit the value according to the settings below. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon Value Name: AllowMultipleTSSessions Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = Disable Fast User Switching, 1= Enable) Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. *Fast User Switching and Internet Connection* The following entry will stop the prompt to shut down the connection when changing users under Windows XP. This enables a permanent internet connection with multiple users on your PC under Windows XP. Go to: Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon Right click in the right pane, select New/String Value. Name the value KeepRasConnections and set it to 1. Reboot. If working in the registry is not to your liking, you can use this Regedit , VB Script or my KeepRas Utility to do it for you. *Note: * To use the Regedit: Save the REG File to your hard disk. Double click it and answer yes to the import prompt. REG files can be viewed in Notepad by right clicking on the file and selecting Edit. To use the VBS Files: Download .vbs file and save it to your hard drive (you may want to right click and use Save Target As). Double-click the vbs file. You will be prompted when the script is done. *Windows has the option to automatically dial your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to establish an Internet connection. This option can be controlled using this tweak. * HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings Value Name: EnableAutodial Data Type: REG_BINARY (Binary Value) Value Data: (00 00 00 00 = disabled, 01 00 00 00 = enabled) Create a new binary value named "EnableAutodial", and set the new value to equal "01 00 00 00" to enable autodial or "00 00 00 00" to disable it. Note: This restriction can be used either on a user by user basis by adding it to HKEY_CURRENT_USER or on a computer wide basis by adding it to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Difference Between Log Off and Switch User Commands Programs Do Not Create Shortcuts for Fast User Switching Users Windows XP Slows If Users Are Logged On with Fast User Switching More information here: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_modem.htm *Favorites* Favorites Folder Location and Saving Tips http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_favorites.htm *Favorites - Prioritize* Elevate its priority on the Start menu by putting it at the top of the list. This ensures the program will remain on the Start menu and cannot be bumped by other programs, even if you use the others more frequently. Right-click the link to your favorite program on the Start menu and select Pin to Start Menu. Your program will be moved permanently to the top part of the list, just below your browser and e-mail programs. Start Menu and Favorites Menu Not Listed in Alphabetical Order * Tip:* Follow by example: http://username:password@www.whateversite.com/restricted/ Type in the URL. Add your User ID followed by a colon and then your password followed by an at sign (@) in front of your the URL and after the http:// Example: http://username:password@www.microsoft.com *Tip: *Clean you favorites by scanning for dead links but can also finds and restore the Favicon icons of your bookmarked sites (those custom icons some web sites have- they are lost when you clean your cache). FavOrg can fix links by resetting them to the root of the domain and create reports of the scan results. http://www.webattack.com/get/favorg.shtml *FAX* Fax provides you with complete fax facilities from your computer. You can configure fax settings, send and receive faxes, track and monitor fax activity, and access archived faxes. Using Fax, you can choose to send and receive faxes with a local fax device attached to your computer, or with a remote fax device connected to fax resources located on a network. Fax is not installed by default during Windows Setup. To install the Fax component: Open Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. Click Add/Remove Windows Components. In the Windows Components Wizard, select the Fax Services check box, and then follow the instructions on your screen. To open Fax after installation, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Fax Console. For more information on using Fax, click Help in Fax Console. Troubleshooting FAX Problems in Windows XP Windows XP KB Articles About Printing and Fax Troubleshooting Enabling and Configuring the Fax Service Dialing Rules May Not Be Applied to Tools Such as Fax *Features - Set by Default in Home and Pro (How to enable/disable)* http://www.pcworld.com/features/article/0,aid,81996,pg,7,00.asp *File and Settings Transfer Wizard* Files and Settings Are Lost When You Use the Transfer Wizard List of Programs Whose Settings Are Migrated When You Use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard How to Troubleshoot Issues with the User State Migration Tool and the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard HOW TO: Use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard with a Wizard Disk HOW TO: Use the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard By Using the Win XP CD http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm HOW TO: Back Up Information to a CD Recorded CD-ROM Is Missing Files or Folders, or Is Unreadable *File Associations* Fix file associations from the Command Line: Did you leave the Always Use This Program To Open This File option turned on? Do you want to change it back so it prompts you to specify a program each time? To delete the association with that file type, at the command prompt enter the command ASSOC.EXT= [where .EXT specifies the extension of the file type whose association you want to delete (e.g., .WAV for wave files)]. Now whenever you double-click on the file of that type, the system will ask you what program you want to use to open the file. For more information: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_easy_file.htm. HOW TO: Change File Associations in Windows XP File Association Fixes - Various File Association fixes can be found here. *File Extensions* * "Every File Format in the World" * This is a list of file name extension or suffixes that indicate the format or usage of a file and a brief description of that format. We don't really show the file format itself here. In fact, many formats are proprietary and we couldn't show them to you. In some cases, we link to a definition of the file format or to related information. In general, if you have the program that uses the file format, that program can be used to open or otherwise use the file. Some file formats (for example, the GIF file format used for Web page images) are standard formats that can be opened by any program that supports that standard format. * File Formats and Extensions * While downloading files from the Web, you will undoubtedly encounter many different types of electronic files formats. The way to identify the file type is by looking at its extension, typically expressed as a dot followed by 2 to 4 letters (.xxx). Why should you care? You need to identify the file type to know whether it will work on your computer, and whether you will need a particular type of software to decompress, play, or view it. Various File Formats and How to Deal With Them This search engine lets you search for the meaning of 2,368 file extensions. Click here . *Filename Extensions - Tech Dictionary * *File Extensions * *File Extensions - Unrecognized Extension - Disable* Start/Run/Regedit Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System Right click in the right pane and select New, DWord value. Name it NoInternetOpenWith Double click the new value and set it to 1. You'll go straight to the Programs listing. For a single user, while logged on to their desktop, go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. Right click in the right pane and select New, DWord value, name it InternetOpenWith and leave the value set to 0. *File List* FileList is a command line utility that produces a list of files of the given path in the CSV format, which can be imported in a spreadsheet or database. The list includes the file name, the size, the path, the last access and change date. Under Windows NT/2000/XP it also includes the owner of the file. Screenshot . Download . *File Missing - Cannot find a device file...* You may receive an error message if a file is missing, for example: Cannot find a device file that may be needed to run Windows or a Windows application. The Windows registry or SYSTEM.INI file refers to this device file, but the device file no longer exists. Note that the file name may or may not be included in the error message. How to Determine the Source to a File * * *Files - Permission Denied When Trying to Delete Folders/Files *Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options/View/Unmark "Use Simple File Sharing". Right click the folder/file in question/Properties/Security/Advanced/Owner/Set Permissions. * *HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions More information here: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_mydocs.htm *File Protection - Disable (Reference )* Windows 2000 and XP include a feature called Windows File Protection (WFP), part of the System File Checker, which is intended to avoid some of the common DLL consistency issues. This feature may also block valid attempts to change system files and it can therefore be disabled using this tweak. Open your registry (Start/Run/Regedit) and find the key below. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] Value Name: SFCDisable Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: 0 = enabled (default), ffffff9d = disabled Change the value of "SFCDisable" to equal "ffffff9d" to disable WFS or "0" to enable it. The other valid hexadecimal values are: # *1* - disabled, prompt at boot to re-enable # *2* - disabled at next boot only, no prompt to re-enable # *4* - enabled, with popups disabled # *ffffff9d* - for completely disabled Restart Windows for the change to take effect. *Additional Steps for Windows XP* This setting is disabled in Windows XP, and needs to re-enabled using a hex editor and changing SFC.DLL (or SFC_OS.DLL for Windows XP) following these instructions: 1. Make a backup the SFC_OS.DLL in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory. 2. Make an additional copy of SFC_OS.DLL called SFC_OS1.DLL and open it in a hex editor. 3. At offset 0000E2B8 (0E2B8h) you should find the values "8B" and "C6". Do not continue if you are unable to find these values. 4. Change the values "8B C6" to read "90 90" and save the changes. 5. Run these commands to update the system files: copy c:\windows\system32\sfc_os1.dll c:\windows\system32\sfc_os.dll /y copy c:\windows\system32\sfc_os1.dll c:\windows\system32\dllcache\sfc_os.dll /y 6. If you are prompted to insert the Windows CD, click Cancel. 7. Restart Windows for the change to take effect. Once these files have been updated apply the registry setting above. *Files - Recovery* Find any lost and deleted data on your drive (e.g. hard disk) even if the partition table is lost or the drive has been quick-formatted Lost Data, that is the result of a system crash can also be recovered. More information here . *Files - Remove/Delete *Close all open apps. Open a command prompt and navigate to the directory with the offending files. Then open the Task Manager and click on the Processes tab. select "Explorer.Exe" under Image Name. Click "End Process". Now you will only have the command prompt and the task manager. In the Command Prompt, DEL the offending files (DEL *.mpg, DEL mus*.avi, DEL test.wmv, etc.) The files should now delete without a problem. Now go back to the task manager and click on the Applications tab. Click the "New Task..." button. in the dialog, type Explorer.Exe and click OK. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded. Use the search function to find every handle that Explorer.Exe has open and close them (right-click on the file and choose 'close handle'). Then delete the file(s) in question. How do I delete an "undeletable" file? *Files - Rename* How to Rename Multiple Files with Windows Explorer. Start Windows Explorer. To do so, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer. Select multiple files in a folder. To do so, press and hold down the CTRL key while you are clicking files. After you select the files, press F2. Type the new name, and then press ENTER. *NOTE:* When you complete the preceding steps, the highlighted state of all files except one disappears, so it may appear as if you are only renaming one file. However, after you press ENTER, all of the files are renamed. When you rename multiple files, all of the renamed files have the same name with a number in parentheses appended to the name to make the new file name unique. For example, if you type BUDGET as the new name, the first file is named BUDGET. All of the remaining selected files are named BUDGET( x ), where x is a unique number, starting with (1). *File Sharing* Windows XP Simple File Sharing Windows XP Professional File Sharing Description of File Sharing and Permissions in Windows XP (Q304040) *File Types - Specify Unknown File Type Options* These settings allow you to specify a description and the application to launch to view files with an unknown extension. Open your registry (Start/Run/Regedit) and find the key below. Set the "(Default)" value to equal the description you want to use for unknown file types. System Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown] Value Name: (Default) Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value) Create a new sub-key called [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown\shell\Open\Command] and set the "(Default)" value to equal the command used to view unknown file types. Substitute the symbol "%1" to represent the filename in the command (e.g. "notepad.exe %1"). Restart Windows for the change to take effect. * Firewall Reporter * Now users of Windows XP can easily analyze and monitor the log files created by XP Personal Firewall. Using XP Firewall Reporter makes it easy to report hackers and script kiddies to their ISPs for abuse policy infractions and allows you to readily understand where your Internet security needs to be fortified. *Floppy Drive - Is Active* 1. Check your recent documents that point to the A: drive. And/or try clearing My Recent Documents. 2. Do a search for *.lnk, then delete any references to A: that are not "Send To" or similar "shortcuts". 3. Right click the My Computer icon/Manage. Services and Applications/Services/Shell Hardware Detection and set it to Automatic. Or Programs/Administrative Tools/Services/In the right pane set "Shell Hardware Detection" service to automatic. 4. Start/Run/gpedit.msc/User Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Explorer. In the right pane double click Hide these specific drives from my computer. Enable then use the drop box. 5. Do a Start/Run/CMD then type in the path command. Is a: listed in the search path? 6. Some AV software will automatically scan the floppy drive at both startup and shutdown.* *7.* *This may be a reappearance of the NTFS bug on showing color. Explorer, Tools, Folder Options, View uncheck "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS folders in color" 8. In the BIOS set the PC to boot first to drive C, not the A. And also, go into the boot section in the bios and and turn off floppy drive seek at boot. 9. Task Scheduler can cause floppy seeking on startup. Even is you choose to *Stop using Task Scheduler* (but do not Disable the service) in the Scheduled Tasks>Advanced Options, you will still get the thrashing - you have to *disable* the service altogether to get rid of the thrashing. 10. Log off then log back on *Floppy Drive - Please insert disk *This behavior can occur if a folder that includes a .pif file that references a program file on a floppy disk drive is opened. For example, if you have a .pif file with a command line "a:\edit.com" in the Windows\Temp folder, your floppy disk drive may be active when you start your computer. To resolve this issue, change the command line reference in the Properties of the shortcut, or delete the shortcut: For example, if the command line reads a:\edit.com, change the line to read edit.com. This issue most often occurs after the contents of a floppy disk are copied to a folder on your hard disk. This can also occur if a shortcut on your hard disk references a program that is on a floppy disk. Note that this can also occur on other removable media. Check your settings here: Programs/Administrative Tools/Services. In the right pane set "Shell Hardware Detection" service to automatic. "Please Insert Disk into Drive A:" Appears Repeatedly at Startup *Folder* How to Designate the Original Folder Name for a Reinstallation of Windows XP *Folder Backgrounds - Customizing* Select the folder you want to use for your background wallpaper. You MUST convert the folder you want to use to a SYSTEM folder. At the command prompt screen (Start/Run/CMD) which looks something like this: c:\> type this command: attrib +s c:\myfolder and then hit the return key. Copy and paste the script below into Notepad and change the line that says IconArea_Image to point to the directory and the file that you want to use for the background image. [ExtShellFolderViews] {BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}={BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC} [{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}] Attributes=1 IconArea_Image=C:\YOUR LOCATION\OF\ANY\IMAGE.JPG IconArea_Text=0x00000000 The last line in the script tells Windows what color the font will be when you read the files in that folder. For instance: 0x00000000 = black 0x00FF0000 = blue 0x0000FF00 = green 0x000000FF = red 0x00C000C0 = purple Now save the file you just created as desktop.ini and place it into the directory you just converted into a system folder. Now close that folder and then reopen. (From a Newsgroup post made by Alberich) *Tip: *If a folder uses the wrong background picture and you can't change it: Start/Run/Regedit and remove this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags. *Folder Guard - FAT32 Systems* When you use FAT32 for your file system, you do not have access to the security features of NTFS. You can use this program to hide your private files and folders from other users. Restrict access to important system files and be in full control of the way your files and programs are used by other users of your computer with Folder Guard: http://www.winability.com/folderguard *Folders - Add Fields to the Details View of Folders *You can add other columns to the Details view of the files contained in Windows XP folders, such as Comments, Description, Category, and many others. To add new columns: Right–click the column header of the files list, and then click one of the fields listed, or click More. In the Choose Details dialog box, you can reorganize the order of column headers, specify column widths, and add columns to display details for the files in that folder. When you click the new column header, the width of the selected column is displayed in pixels in the Choose Details dialog box. *Folders - Add Folder To Taskbar *Right-click a blank area of the taskbar and select Toolbars, New Toolbar. Navigate your way to the folder you have in mind, then click OK. The folder's name will appear on the taskbar, to the left of the notification area. To access a file inside, click the double-arrow at the right edge of the new toolbar, select any subfolder(s), if necessary, then select the file you're after. To open the entire folder window, right-click the toolbar and select Open Folder. *Folders - Add Picture to Front* Stick pictures on individual folders to remind you of what's inside. (Note: Don't change the default folder icon, or you won't see the picture.) Right-click a folder, select Properties and click the Customize tab. Click Choose Picture, navigate your way to the desired picture, then click OK. And remember, you'll only see the picture in Thumbnails view. (To switch to Thumbnails view, open a folder and select View, Thumbnails.) *Folders - Copy Files and Folders to a CD* •Insert a blank, writable CD into the CD recorder. •Open My Computer. •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. •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. •In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy. •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. •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. To stop the CD recorder from automatically ejecting the CD •Open My Computer. •Right–click the CD recording drive, and then click Properties. •On the Recording tab, clear the Automatically eject the CD after writing check box. *Folders - Expand All in Windows Explorer* Press the '*' key on the numeric keypad while in Explorer to immediately expand all folders and subfolders on that drive. Be careful of what you choose to expand, however; if it's a giant Network drive, you could be sitting idle for a minute or two. *Folders - Move* How to Move Shell Folders and Contents Registry Settings for Folder Redirection in Windows *Folder Opens Search Window* Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell Set the Default value to "none" without the quotes. To do this, double click where it says Default. You may also need to check: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell The default value for this entry should be "none", as well. If editing the Registry manually is not to your liking, visit this web site, www.dougknox.com and go to the Win XP Fixes section. Follow the link for "Search opens when double clicking a folder". This script resets both of the above values to "none". *Folder Options* When you try to use options in Windows Explorer to apply the view setting of the current (selected) folder to all of the folders that are on your computer, Windows XP may not apply the setting to another folder that is open. This behavior can occur if more than one instance (copy) of Windows Explorer is running on your computer. To work around this behavior, follow these steps: Quit all instances of Windows Explorer, and then restart Windows Explorer so that only one instance of Windows Explorer is running. Make the necessary changes to the view setting. Click Folder Options on the Tools menu, and then click Like Current Folder on the View tab. Quit Windows Explorer, and then start Windows Explorer again. The View Setting of the Current Selected Folder Is Not Applied to Another Open Folder *Folder Options - Restricted* When you try to access Folder Options from within Windows Explorer, or Internet Options from within Internet Explorer, you receive the following error message: "Restrictions - This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact you system administrator." The Folder Options and Internet Options may still be available from the Start Menu, Settings, and the Internet Options Control Panel applet. A NoBrowserOptions setting in the Registry causes both Folder Options from within Windows Explorer and Internet Options from within Internet Explorer to be 'restricted'. Why Folder Options is affected, is not known at this time. Click the link below and download the nobrowseroptions.inf file. Save the file to your hard drive. Locate the file and right click it, select Install. This will clear the Registry entry. You may need to log off/log on for the change to take effect. nobrowseroptions.inf *Folder Permissions - Automate* How To Automate Folder Permissions (Q180464) *Folder Type as Template* Every Windows XP folder provides a list of hyperlinked tasks appropriate to that type of folder next to the folder contents. For example, the Pictures folder type contains task links for ordering prints online and for printing pictures. If you want to use a folder type as a template for a selected folder, follow these steps: Right–click a newly created folder, and then click Properties. Click the Customize tab. In the Use this folder type as a template list, click the template type you want to apply, and then click OK. Now, when you open the new folder, it will contain a hyperlinked task list common to the type of folder you selected as the template. *Folder Views* HOW TO: Arrange Files Using Folder Views HOW TO: Customize the Windows Explorer Views HOW TO: View Previously-Opened Folders When You Log On to Windows XP *Folder Views - Change Window To Double-Paned View *Want to switch a folder window from single to a double-paned view (as if you opened the folder inside Windows Explorer)? All it takes is one click. Open any folder window and look for the Folders icon on the Standard Buttons toolbar. Click it once to jump to a double-paned window. Click it again, and you're back to a single pane. *Folder Views - Keep Settings (Pete)* Go to - Start/Run/Regedit and Delete these two keys, reboot then re-set your folder options. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags If you prefer not to deal with the registry, you can use the edit from here: Restore Folder Views http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm or here . Windows remembers 400 folders. When that number is reached things start to go wrong. You can up this to 1000 by adding this to the registry. All tested and working. Things will last a little longer. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell] "BagMRU Size"=dword:000003e8 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam] "BagMRU Size"=dword:000003e8 If you prefer not to deal with the registry, you can use the edit from here: Increase Folder View Options Limit: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm or here . *Folders - Special* *Question:* One of my special folders (e.g. My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, Shared Documents, etc) has lost its name, lost its icon, or has the wrong Task Pane template, how can I get it back? *Answer:* This problem can occur if the hidden /desktop.ini/ file in the special folder is corrupt or missing. Here are the steps to fix this problem: Illustrated, detailed instructions here: http://computers.douglasthrift.net/winxpfaq.html#faq3 *Folders - To Set the My Documents Folder to Private * On the Start menu, right-click My Documents, and then click Properties. Click the Sharing tab, and then click to select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box. Click Apply, and then click OK . Note: You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS. Home Edition: Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders. Boot into safe mode and logon to the 'Administrator' account. Right click the folder in question/Sharing and Security/Make Folder Private. To view the Security tab for a file or folder in XP, hold down the Ctrl key while right-clicking the file or folder, and select Properties. If you are in a domain instead of a workgroup, this approach is unnecessary. You Cannot Select the "Make This Folder Private" Option *Tip: * Hide Files and Folders inside of Windows XP Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options/View/Show Hidden Files and Folders. Right click the folder to be hidden/Sharing and Security/General Tab/Hidden/Apply Changes to.../ Hide your private files and folders from other users. Restrict access to important system files and be in full control of the way your files and programs are used by other users of your computer. http://www.winability.com/folderguard *Fonts - Replace All* A font may seem to be installed correctly but does not appear in the Fonts folder because the Fonts key in the registry is missing or damaged. Move the contents of the Fonts folder to an empty folder. By opening the Fonts folder, select all the fonts, copy them, and paste them to a new folder. Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts. Highlight the key and press DELETE. Once the key has been deleted create a new key to replace it, by selecting Edit/New/Key and name the new key [Fonts]. Restart the computer, then re-install the fonts by opening the Control Panel, double-click on 'Fonts'. And from the File menu select 'Install New Fonts...' adding the fonts that were previously copied to the temporary directory. Fonts Supplied with Windows XP *Format* How to Format Windows XP - MVP Michael Stevens If you want to format for a clean install, simply boot from the XP CD (you will need to set the bios order to boot from the CD) and when it finishes it's scan for previous Windows installations choose the XP partition you want to format and setup will delete, format and do a clean install. If you want the remove XP to reinstall a previous OS, you can use a Windows 98/Me startup disk to format the partition if it is Fat 32, or use fdisk to delete the non-dos partition if it is NTFS. Note that you can only use fdisk to delete primary NTFS partitions. Obtain a Win 98/Me startup disk here. http://www.bootdisk.com. There is also special XP system startup disk. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. http://www.drd.dyndns.org/disks.html. If you cannot boot from the CD and need to delete an extended NTFS partition, you can download the image file to create a 6 floppy disk start up set that will allow you to run Recovery Console. There are Home and Pro specific versions. Home: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=33290 Pro: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=33291 If you want to format a NTFS or Fat32 partition that is not the system partition, you can do this with XP's Disk Manager. Format and Recovery of Windows XP *Framedyn.dll * "Application Has Failed to Start Because Framedyn.dll Was Not Found" Error Message When You Open the System Properties Dialog Box *Frequently Used Programs* If FUP are not being listed: Check the number of programs to be listed: Right click the Start button/Properties/Customize/Number of Programs... The number is also listed here: Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. In the right pane, check the Value Data under Start_MinMFU. *Tip:* To prevent a program from being displayed in the Most Frequently Used Programs list: 1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). 2. Add an empty string value named NoStartPage to the following registry key, where is the name of the executable file that is used to start the program: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\ 3. Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer. This setting allows you to decide which programs may be shown in the most frequently used programs list on the Windows Start menu. Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications To stop a specific application appearing on the MFU program list open its sub-key and create a new empty string value called "NoStartPage". To allow an application to be shown in the list delete the "NoStartPage" value. Restart Windows for the change to take effect. Frequently Used Programs Not Automatically Added to Start Menu Policy:Disable user tracking Description:Prevents the system from remembering the programs run, paths followed, and documents used. Registry Value:"NoInstrumentation" Policy:Remove frequent programs list from the Start Menu Description:Removes the frequently-used programs list from the Start menu. Registry Value:"NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList" Policy Settings for the Start Menu in Windows XP *Front Page* How to get the best answer to your questions in the Microsoft® FrontPage® Newsgroups Front Page Express doesn't come with XP or Windows 2000. You can download it from here . In the downloaded folder 'Software' search for Software\en\W98IE5\FPESETUP_259 (where the \en is only for the english version and execute the FPESETUP_wu.exe). You can start Frontpage Express then from Start/Programs/Accessories/Internet Tools/Front Page Express. * Tip: Help Files - *Start/Run/Regedit:* *HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\HTML Help. Right click on the folder HTML Help/New/String Value. Rename ' New Value #1 ' with fxpress.chm. Double click on this entry and then write the path to the local directory, where the help file is saved. Then you can use the help from inside Frontpage Express. FP2002: "HTTP/1.1 404 Object Not Found" Error Message Occurs When a User of Your Web Page Performs a Search Powered by FreeFind /Note: This compilation of information are from various sources. All credit due to its authors. Home Page Win98 - 09/30/2002 09:58 PM - Home Page WinXP © Copyright Kelly Theriot MS-MVP(DTS) 2002 All rights reserved. /