*~H~* *HAL - Hardware Abstraction Layer * HAL is Microsoft's abbreviation for the Hardware Abstraction Layer, the technology and drivers that let the Windows NT, 2000, and XP operating systems communicate with your PC's hardware. HAL is one of several features--along with the NT file system (NTFS) that replaced the much less secure MS-DOS--that make NT-based operating systems more secure and reliable than Windows 95, 98, and Me. HAL prevents applications from directly accessing your PC's system memory, CPU, or hardware devices (such as video and sound cards)--a method that can prevent many device conflicts and crashes. Unfortunately, HAL sometimes also slows or stops DOS games and programs, which need to load their own memory managers or control hardware directly for better performance. With HAL in the way, developers must rewrite or even abandon their older software in favor of newer, HAL-compatible versions. Microsoft has pressured hardware makers to provide or support technologies such as MMX, DirectX, and 3D graphics language OpenGL, all of which allow fast but indirect access to the advanced high-performance features of video, sound, and CPU hardware. Such access also makes for a better visual experience when using Windows for Web and productivity applications; improved graphics performance is evident all over Windows XP's new user interface. XP also offers some new compatibility-mode features that let you run programs meant to run under earlier operating systems, but, frankly, most DOS-based and even some Windows-based games simply won't work with the new OS. * Tip:* To see which HAL is currently installed, open Device Manager , and expand the Computer branch. The entry that appears in this branch corresponds to the currently installed HAL. Situations in Which Windows May Not Start in Safe Mode How to Troubleshoot Hardware Abstraction Layer Issues How to Move a Windows XP Installation to Different Hardware Setup Error Msg: Cannot find file: \Windows\System32\hal.dll *HAL.DLL is Missing* Boot from your CD and follow the directions below to start Recovery Console. Insert the Setup compact disc (CD) and restart the computer. If prompted, select any options required to boot from the CD. When the text-based part of Setup begins, follow the prompts; choose the repair or recover option by pressing R. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, choose the installation that you need to access from the Recovery Console. When prompted, type the Administrator password. (if you didn't create one try pressing enter). At the system prompt, type Recovery Console commands; type help for a list of commands, or help commandname for help on a specific command. Most likely you will need to expand the file from the CD. The command would be expand d:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32\hal.dll. Substitute d: for the drive letter of your CD. Once you have expanded the file type "exit" to exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer. Error Message: Cannot Find \Windows\System32\hal.dll *Hard Disk - Activity *Run the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab, and turn on the following columns: "I/O Read Bytes" and "I/O Write Bytes." This will give you details as to which process is accessing the disk. Although many processes will be accessing the disk a lot, look for one with a high total or a fast rate of increase, especially when you hear the drive being accessed. Hard Disk Performance Is Slower Than You Expect * * OFFXP: Hard Disk Runs Continuously After You Install Office XP *Hard Disk - Cleaning* Hard disks keep getting bigger and bigger, but somehow we still run out of space. MP3s and other media files are immensely popular–and simply immense. Programs are bigger, and data files are bigger. Windows Explorer isn't much help. It will tell you the size of all selected files in a folder, but nothing about the files in that folder's subfolders. Enter DiskPie2 a utility to identify the biggest consumers of disk space. Pie charts let you see at a glance which folders and file types are taking up the most space. The charts are highly customizable, and can be printed. An Explorer view lets you navigate to the folder you want to chart, and as a bonus displays the number of bytes in and below the selected folder. DiskPie2 also can display and print a report of the largest files in the selected folder. Armed with the information that DiskPie provides, you can decide how best to allocate the space on your disk. *TreeSize*: Every hard disk is too small if you just wait long enough. TreeSize tells you where precious space has gone to. TreeSize can be started from the context menu of a folder or drive and shows you the size of this folder, including its subfolders. You can expand this folder in Explorer-like style and you will see the size of every subfolder. Scanning is done in a thread, so you can already see results while TreeSize is working. The space, which is wasted by the file system can be displayed and the results can be printed in a report. TreeSize is Mailware for Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP. Download . *Hard Disk - Heavy Load* HeavyLoad simulates heavy activity on a PC, it allows you to test if a workstation or server PC is working stable under heavy load. It stresses processor, memory and hard disks, operating system, etc. Download . *Hardware Detection* Troubleshooting Device Manager Issues *Hardware Profiles in Windows XP* *To create a hardware profile* You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure. 1. Open System in Control Panel. 2. On the Hardware tab, click Hardware Profiles. 3. Under Available hardware profiles, click Profile 1 (Current), and then click Copy. 4. Type a name for the new hardware profile , and then click OK. 5. You can customize your new profile by enabling or disabling devices for that profile in Device Manager . Notes * To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System. * The profile named Profile 1 (Current) provides a model for you to create new hardware profiles. It will not appear in the list of available hardware profiles shown during startup. *To specify the default hardware profile for startup* You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure. 1. Open System in Control Panel. 2. On the Hardware tab, click Hardware Profiles. 3. Under Available hardware profiles, use the arrow buttons to move the hardware profile you want to use as the default into the top position in the list. During startup, Windows will load only the device drivers for hardware devices that are enabled in the profile you select. 4. Under Hardware profiles selection, click one of the options that specifies how long Windows waits before automatically loading the default hardware profile. Notes * To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System. * If you want the default hardware profile to load automatically without showing you the list during startup, enter a 0 in seconds under Hardware profiles selection. If you decide later to select a different hardware profile, press the SPACEBAR during startup and choose a profile from the list. *To copy, rename, or delete a hardware profile* You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure. 1. Open System in Control Panel. 2. On the Hardware tab, click Hardware Profiles. 3. Under Available hardware profiles, click the existing hardware profile you want, and do one of the following. Click: * Copy to open the Copy Profile dialog box, and type a new name for the copy. * Rename to open the Rename Profile dialog box, and type a new name for the selected profile. * Delete to remove the selected profile. Note * To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System. *Hardware and Software Detection* The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware. Download here . In the Software Versions section you'll see all of your installed software. At the end of each entry is a clickable asterisk that will take you to the folder the software is installed in. *Hardware Malfunction* - Call your hardware vendor for support - The system has halted Error Message Hardware Malfunction Results in System Error Message *Hayes* Windows XP Drivers & INF Files *HCL - Hardware Compatibility List* Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility List Microsoft Support Policy on Hardware Not On Windows HCL *Help - Annotate* There is a nice feature in most software Help menus that will allow you to add your own notes for reference. Right click on the open topic and choose Annotate if that option is allowed. A box will open and you can type your notes there, then select Save. Thereafter, when you open the topic a paper clip will display in the upper left corner. Clicking there will open your notes and you can delete these any time by selecting the Delete option. *Help - Internet Help Versus Local Help *If the help file has a '?' marking the file's icon, it's on your hard drive. If it's a blue 'e,' then get ready, you're Internet bound! *Help and Support* Repairs Windows® XP Help and Support after running Easy Cleaner Note: If you have used Easy Cleaner, there is a workaround that prevents Help and Support from becoming corrupt: In the options, add Help to the Skip List. http://www.toniarts.com/faq.htm If you want to view only the locally stored Windows XP Help documentation in the Classic View: Go to Start/Run and type in: hh windows.chm Check the default values for these registry keys to make sure that they match. Registry keys and values to fix XP's Help and Support after running Toni Arts EasyCleaner. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CLASSES\TypeLib\{FC7D9E00-3F9E-11D3-93C0-00C04F72DAF7}\1.0\0\win32 Default value: C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe\1 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CLASSES\TypeLib\{FC7D9E00-3F9E-11D3-93C0-00C04F72DAF7}\1.0\HELPDIR Default value: C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CLASSES\TypeLib\{FC7D9000-3F9E-11D3-93C0-00C04F72DAF7}\1.0\0\win32 Default Value: C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe\2 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CLASSES\TypeLib\{FC7D9000-3F9E-11D3-93C0-00C04F72DAF7}\1.0\HELPDIR Default value: C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe\ *Help and Support - Connection* Windows XP Programs Cannot Connect to the Internet Help and Support *HH.Exe* Its possible your CHM file association is corrupt. Click Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\chm.file\shell\open\command The Default value for this entry should be: "C:\WINDOWS\hh.exe" %1 Next, go to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.chm The Default value for this entry should be: chm.file. To modify a value, double click on the Default entry and enter the values as shown. *Hiberfil - Remove Hibernation File* If you do not use hibernation, make sure you do not have it enabled, which reserves disk space equal to your RAM. If you have a hidden file on the root directory of your C-drive called hiberfil.sys, hibernation is enabled. To remove that file, go to Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, Power Options, Hibernate tab, and uncheck the Enable hibernation box. *Hibernate* To hibernate manually, select Start, Turn Off Computer, then click the Hibernate button. To set your system to hibernate after it has been idle for a certain amount of time, select Power Options inside the Control Panel (in Category view, select Performance and Maintenance, then select Power Options). On the Power Schemes tab, choose a time next to "System hibernates," then click OK. *Hibernate - Differences Between Hibernate and Standby* *Hibernation* Hibernation, which reduces the start time, saves the complete state of the computer and turns off the power. When you resume from hibernation the BIOS performs the typical Power On Self Test (POST), and then reads the hibernation file, Hiberfil.sys, to restore the state of the computer. Everything that was running when you put the computer in hibernation is restored. *Standby* In standby, the computer slows down and uses less electrical power. Programs continue to run in the background although the computer may appears to be off. The computer "wakes up" when it detects user input. With some computers, you can press the power button to wake up the computer. *Note:* If your computer experiences a power outage during standby, all work that you have not saved is lost because the computer is still running in the background. *Hibernate Setting Missing* Click on the start button and select turn off computer. Then hold down the shift key and the hibernate button will be shown. Click it and your computer will enter into hibernation. Cannot Shut Down, Restart, Log Off, Stand By, or Hibernate Troubleshooting Hibernate & Standby Issues for Windows XP Computer Does Not Resume When You Press a Key on Your USB Keyboard Returning from Hibernation Sets the Inactivity Timer to Five Minutes *Tip: *When you try to put your computer into Hibernate or Suspend mode while the system is writing data to a compact disc (CD), the computer may not enter Hibernate or Suspend mode. You may receive the following error message (or a similar one):* *The device driver for the '%device name%' device is preventing the machine from entering hibernation/suspend. Please close all applications and try again. If the problem persists, you may need to update this driver. You receive neither an informational message that the system is writing to a CD nor an error message that offers you the choice of stopping the CD write process or waiting until the process is complete. This behavior occurs because you cannot put a computer into Hibernate or Suspend mode while the system is writing to a CD. To work around this behavior, wait until the CD write operation is complete before you try to put the computer into Hibernate or Suspend mode. Because the computer has already started to enter Hibernate or Suspend mode, some devices may already be turned off. For example, a USB mouse or scanner may be offline until you complete the Hibernate or Suspend process.* Hidden Files Message: These files are hidden or system files *Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\WebView\BarricadedFolders Once there locate the folder that you want to turn the protection back on. Right click on them and select Modify Change the value to 1. Reboot your computer. *Hidden Folders* 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.../ *History - Clear* IE/Tools/Internet Options/General Tab/Clear History IE/Tools/Internet Options/Content/AutoComplete Under Use AutoComplete for, click to clear the Web Addresses check box, and then click OK. Click the Advanced tab, click to clear the Use inline AutoComplete check box in the Browsing section (if this check box has been selected). Click OK . Clear Recent Files (Typed URL's, Recent Documents, Common Dialog, Search Assistant and Media Player) How to Prevent the MRU List of File Names from Appearing (Pro Version) *NOTE *: After you complete this procedure, the MRU list does not appear in Windows Explorer-style dialog boxes; however, this list is not removed from the registry. Log on as the user. Click Start, and then click Run. Type gpedit.msc, and then click OK. In the left pane under User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components , expand Windows Explorer, and then click Common Open File Dialog. In the right pane, double-click Hide the dropdown list of recent files. Click Enabled, and then click OK. Click File, and then click Exit. How to Prevent the MRU List of File Names from Appearing (Home Version) Log on as the user. Click Start, and then click Run. Type regedit, and then click OK. Locate and then click the following key in the registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Comdlg32 NOTE : If the Comdlg32 key does not exist, follow these steps: Click the Policies key. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key. Type comdlg32, and then press ENTER. On the Edit menu, point to New , and then click DWORD Value. Type nofilemru, and then press ENTER. On the Edit menu, click Modify. Type 1, and then click OK. On the File menu, click Exit. The MRU lists for Windows Explorer-style dialog boxes are stored by file type for each user in the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU *History - Not Being Saved* McAfee gave this solution to the bug where VirusScan 6 stops your Internet Explorer History file working. Hope it is of some help: Open VirusScan console Select "Pick a task..." Select "Change my VirusScan settings" Select "Configure VShield background scanning" Select "Customise your VShield settings" Select the "Internet Filter" icon from the icons down the left hand side On the "Detection" tab, in the 'Applet filters' section, remove the tick next to "ActiveX Controls". *Home and Pro - Differences* Windows XP Professional include unlike Home Edition the follow features: SMP support, Roaming user profiles, Remote desktop, Access control, Encrypting file system, Offline files and folders, Remote installation service, Windows server domain support, Group policy, Software installation and maintenance, and Multi-lingual user interface support (add-on). Differences Between Home and Pro What is the difference between Home Edition and Professional? *Home Page - Change* If the feature is disabled (greyed out), go to Doug Knox's site and download this script: http://www.dougknox.com/security/scripts_desc/nosethomepage.htm. Usage: Download nosethomepage.vbs and save this file to your hard drive. Navigate to where you saved it and double click the file. The VB Script file will check for the appropriate value and if not found will create it. You will be notified whether the option is enabled or disabled. To manually make the change: Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel\HomePage [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "Start Page" *Home Page Hijacking* Check your settings here: Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel\HomePage HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page IE/Tools/Internet Options/General/Home Page/Address. If the feature is disabled (greyed out), download this script . Lock Home Page: reg file Unlock Home Page: reg file Ever downloaded a 'Free' program only to find out it was Spyware? (Banner Advertiser Supported) Or even worse, many will hide the Spyware functions and not tell you. At the time of this release there were 762 known Spyware programs and Spy Chaser lists them and lets you enter a program name to see if it's on this list. Many of those programs don't uninstall the Spyware even after uninstalling the main program leaving files on your system and entries in the registry you might never get rid of. For the list: http://camtech2000.net/Pages/SpyChaser.html Help to Clean Spyware from your System Lavasoft AD-Aware detects: Adware, Alexa 1.0-5.0, Attune, Aureate v1.0,2.0 + 3.0, Comet Cursor v1.0 and v2.0, Cydoor, Doubleclick, DSSAgent, EverAd, EzUla, Expedioware, Flyswat, Gator, Hotbar 1+2, OnFlow, TimeSink v1.0,v2.0 and v5.0, Web3000, Webhancer, Transponder, Wnad, ZapSpot, SurfPlus, AdvertBar, NetPal, CashBar, BonziBuddy, WurldMedia, Lop.com, TopMoxie, BDE Projector, MessageMates, EWA, CommonNameIEBar and more... (updated regularly). *Cleaning* * Lavasoft AD-aware detects: Adware, Alexa, Aureate v1/2/3, Comet Cursor v1/2, Cydoor, Doubleclick, DSSAgent, Flyswat, Gator, TimeSink v1/2, Web3000 and Webhancer. *Download EXE* *Blocking* * ZoneAlarm A personal dynamic firewall that allows you to block spyware communication. With Stealth mode enabled, the firewall renders your computer invisible to the Internet and to potential intruders. Mind you, we find that ZoneAlarm itself wants to know too many details about its users. 1.5Mb. *Download EXE* StartPage Guard 1.3 http://www.pjwalczak.com/spguard/index.php How to Block Comet Cursor in Internet Explorer 5 and 6 http://tech.tln.lib.mi.us/blockcc.htm Browser Hijacking http://www.spywareinfo.com/hijacked.html Spyware http://www.simplythebest.net/info/spyware.html *Restrict Web Sites from Installing Software * These restrictions allow you to block unwanted web sites from downloading software onto your system. This can be useful in disabling the installation of some common "cursor" programs. Open your registry and find the key below. Start/Run/Regedit Create a new sub-key for each site you want to block, naming it based on the top-level domain for the site. For example to block www.restricted.com you would create a new sub-key called: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings\ZoneMap\Domains\ restricted.com. Under the sub-key create a new DWORD value called "*" and set it to equal "4". HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains Value Name: * Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (4 = restricted) Restart Internet Explorer for the change to take effect. Note: This setting can also be applied on a user-by-user basis by modifing the same key under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive. * Home Page Hijacking - "Has your Browser Been Hijacked?" * *Hot Fixes - View Which Hot Fix Patches Have Been Installed *Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\Hotfix. Periodically Microsoft releases Hot Fix's to patch bugs in Windows and other products, this key contains information about which Hot fix's have been installed. *Hotmail - Create Shortcut* This tweak can be used to create a shortcut directly to your Hotmail e-mail account on your desktop. Right-click on your desktop and create a new shortcut. Set the target to: %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\hmmapi.dll",OpenInboxHandler *Hotmail - Slow after Disabling/Removing Messenger* This will prevent Messenger from loading when you access your account via the Hotmail web page, it will also prevent the delay when Messenger has been removed or disabled. Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Messenger.MsgrObject. Right click on the Messenger.MsgrObject key and select rename. Rename it to Messenger.MsgrObjectold. *How To* How To Articles for Windows XP *HTTP, FTP and Other Web Prefixes* Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\URL\Prefixes In the right pane, you will see values named www, ftp, gopher, mosaic and others. This is where Windows interprets addresses such as www.msn.com , ftp.microsoft.com and adds the appropriate http:// or ftp:// portion of the URL. You can add your own definitions. An example would be your personal web site. Say the URL is http://johnsmith.freewebsites.com. You wouldn't be able to type in johnsmith.freewebsites.com in the address bar of IE, as IE wouldn't know how to translate johnsmith. Add a new String value to the above key, named johnsmith and set the value to http:// Now, IE will be able to translate johnsmith.freewebsites.com and add the http:// portion automatically. Powered by FreeFind /Note: This compilation of information are from various sources. All credit due to its authors. Home Page Win98 - 10/09/2002 11:09 PM - Home Page WinXP © Copyright Kelly Theriot MS-MVP(DTS) 2002 All rights reserved. /