*~W,X,Y & Z~* *Wallpaper (Folder) Background* Background for folders: To create a template folder with a background image, create a new folder and customize it to create a hidden desktop.ini file inside. Edit the desktop.ini in the folder and add two lines: [{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}] IconArea_Image=Background.bmp Then create a hidden image file in the folder and name it "Background.bmp". This image can be .bmp, .jpg, or .gif, but you will need to edit the image file extension in your desktop.ini file to match the image file name. *Wallpaper - Desktop - Disable Changing* Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop. NoChangingWallPaper DWord value: 1 prevents changing wallpaper, 0 allows changes. The same value can be created in the following Registry branch, to make the restriction machine wide. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop *Watermark* How to Create a Fixed, Centered Watermark Using Cascading Style Sheets *WAV Files* Personalized email with a voice message: You can do these tasks using the Windows Sound Recorder that's located in Start/Programs/Accessories/Entertainment and finally, Sound Recorder. Use the buttons just like you would a tape recorder and save the file to wherever you want, and then attach it to an email. *Web-Bugs *A Web bug is a graphic on a Web page or in an e-mail message designed to monitor who is reading the page or message. Web bugs are often invisible because they are typically only 1-by-1 pixels in size. In many cases, Web bugs are placed on Web pages by third parties interested in collecting data about visitors to those pages. More information here . *Web Page - Update in IE* Would you like to know when a specific Web page was last updated? If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can easily determine when a page was updated last. Navigate to the page you want to check and type into the Address Bar: javascript:alert(document.lastModified) and press Enter. A dialog box will open display the date and time of the last update. Note that you must enter the line exactly as shown here. *Web - Shortcuts* Do you like to visit specific Web sites on a regular basis? To simplify your life, you can either create Favorites within Explorer, or you can actually create a shortcut on your desktop that, when clicked, takes you directly to the Web page you want to view. Here's how: Open Explorer. Then open the Web page. Place the mouse in an area of the Web page with no links or banners. Right-click that area and select Create Shortcut. Now, when you're connected to the Web, simply click the new desktop icon, and it will bring up Explorer and take you to your fave Web site! *Web Sites *Troubleshooting Problems Communicating on the Internet Unable to Log on to Web Site or Gain Access to Some Web Sites Windows XP Internet Programs Cannot Connect to the Internet Through Broadband Connection *Web Sites - 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. 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 modifying the same key under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive. *Web Sites - Who is linking to yours?* Google and AltaVista: type 'link:www.yourwebsite.com AOL, HotBot, iWon and MSN: type 'linkdomain:www.yourwebsite.com' AllTheWeb: type 'link.all:www.yourwebsite.com' *Web Surfing *Tools for Power Searching - Search Bootmarklets *Welcome Screen - Enable* Control Panel/Users/Change the Way Users Logon/Welcome Screen or... Start/Run/Regedit Key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\Winlogon] Value Name: LogonType Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = Classic Mode, 1 = Welcome Screen) Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'LogonType' and edit the value according to the settings below. Reboot. More information and options here: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_wel_screen.htm http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_logon.htm *Welcome Screen - Hide* This setting hides the welcome screen that is normally displayed each time the user logs on to Windows XP Professional. Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'NoWelcomeScreen' and edit the value according to the settings (0 = default, 1 = hide). Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. / *Note:* Users can still display the welcome screen by selecting it on the Start menu or by typing "Welcome" in the Run dialog box. / *Welcome Screen - Select theme and color scheme for Welcome Screen* With this tweak you will be able to modify which color selection of the default theme is shown when the computer start up screen is displayed. Currently since there is only one theme you can only change the color scheme for the theme but in the future when more themes are available for XP you will be able to change which theme is used in the same place in the windows registry. Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ThemeManager Locate the key NormalColor. Right Click on it and select modify. Change where it says "NormalColor" to "Metallic" Click Ok, and exit regedit. Restart *Note: *To go back to the old color scheme during startup just change "Metallic" back to "NormalColor" Once more themes are released you will be able to modify the DllName key to select different themes. *Wheel Mouse - Navigating Internet Explorer With A Wheel Mouse * If you hold down the Shift key while you move the wheel on your super new wheel mouse, Internet Explorer will navigate backward and forward through visited pages. Just like clicking the Back and Forward buttons, or holding down the Alt key while you click the left or right keypad arrows. *Win32.DlDer* D1Der.exe was installed in November and December 2001 as an added component called "ClickTillUWin" with LimeWire, KaZaa, Grokster, Net2Phone, BonziBUDDY, and some other person-to-person file-sharing software programs. The trojan program was installed even if you selected not to install any additional components from those packages during setup. Most software packages no longer contain DlDer. Description of the Win32.DlDer Spyware Trojan Program *Winamp3* Winamp3 May Cause an Error Message in Windows XP *Window Refresh - Automatically* Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Update. Value Name: UpdateMode, Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value), Value Data: default = 1. Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, named "UpdateMode" and set it to equal "0" for faster updates. Restart Windows for the change to take effect. *Windows for Dummies* Windows XP Resource Center for Dummies *Windows Explorer* Windows Explorer May Stop Responding When You Close a Window *Windows File Protection* About Windows File Protection *Windows Installer *(Reference: computers.DouglasThrift.net |Windows XP FAQ ) Error Message: The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance. 1. Save WI.zip to a folder on your computer. 2. Go to the folder where you saved it and open it, then double click WI.reg. 3. Restart your computer and hold down F8 until a menu appears, choose Safe Mode and press Enter. 4. In the Start Menu select Run, type /cmd/, and then at the prompt type /msiexec /regserver/. 5. Reboot your computer normally. The Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed" Error Message When You Add or Remove Program *Windows Installer - Remote Administration *Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer] Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called "EnableAdminTSRemote" and set it according to the value data below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. / *Note:* This setting affects system administrators only. Other users cannot install programs remotely / *Windows Installer - Disable* Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer] Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called "DisableMSI" and set it according to (0 = default, 1 = admin only, 2 = disabled). Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. *Windows Installer Logging* Windows Installer can use logging to help assist in troubleshooting issues with installing software packages. You can enable verbose logging with this setting. Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer] Create a new string value called "Logging" and set it to a combination of the letters below to enable the logging options. A value of "voicewarmup" will enable all the logging options. Letter Option v Verbose output o Out-of-disk-space messages i Status messages c Initial UI parameters e All error messages w Non-fatal warnings a Start up of actions r Action-specific records m Out-of-memory or fatal exit information u User requests p Terminal properties + Append to existing file ! Flush each line to the log The next time Windows Installer is used a log will be created. // /*Note:* Windows Installer will store the logs in the TEMP directory. The filename is random, but begins with the letters "Msi" and end with a .log extension. / *Windows Key - Commands* Windows: Display the Start menu Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer Windows + F: Display Search for files Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center Windows + R: Display Run dialog box Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows Windows + L: Lock the workstation Windows + U: Open Utility Manager *Windows Key - Disable the Windows Key * Start/Run/Regedit Create a new Binary value, or modify the existing value, called 'Scancode Map' and edit the value according to the settings below. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ Keyboard Layout. Value Name: Scancode Map, Data Type: REG_BINARY (Binary Value), Value Data: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 5B E0 00 00 5C E0 00 00 00 00 A REG (Registry) file that will make this change for you can be downloaded here . Save the file to your hard drive and double click it. Answer yes to the import prompt. REG files can be viewed in Notepad by right clicking the file and selecting Edit. *Windows Logo Key - Disable* Go to: Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout Create a new Binary value, or modify the existing value, called 'Scancode Map' and edit the value according to Value Data: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 5B E0 00 00 5C E0 00 00 00 00 To disable or re-enable the Windows Key * Windows Logon and Security Dialog Title* Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\Winlogon. Create a new String value, or modify the existing value, called 'Welcome' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. *Windows Media Player - Digital Playback* Your digital playback setting in Windows XP Device Manager is inconsistent with Windows Media Player? Windows Media Player in Windows XP sets the CD audio properties for digital playback as the default. Device Manager indicates that digital playback is NOT enabled on your CD-ROM? The Windows Media Player settings override the Device Manager settings. To enable or disable digital playback in Windows Media Player: 1. Press Options on the Tools menu. 2. Select the Devices tab. 3. Select your CD-ROM drive and press Properties. 4. Make the selections you want for playback. 5. Press OK and OK. Troubleshooting Playback in Media Player for Windows XP MS-KB Article Troubleshooting with Windows Media Player Error Code Page http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_resources.htm Windows Media Player for Windows XP KB Articles http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_specific.htm#xp_video * Checkpoint:* Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options/File Types/Audio CD/Advanced/Edit/Application used: "C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe" /prefetch:3 /device:AudioCD "%L" *Windows Media Player - Change/Remove 3rd Party Branding* Close Media Player. Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsMediaPlayer Right click in the right pane and select New, String value. Name the value TitleBar. Double click the value you just created and enter the text you want to appear on the Title Bar. Value Name: TitleBar, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value). Create a new string value called "TitleBar" and set it to the text you would like display in the title. Restart Media Player for the change the take effect. If you want to get rid of the branding entirely, right click on the TitleBar value and select Delete. *Windows Media Player - Clear Recent Files List* To clear the Recent Files list in Windows Media Player, close Media Player and click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\RecentFileList Right click on the RecentFileList sub-key and select Delete. A small VB Script which will do this for you is available here . Download the VBS file and save it. Double click the file you just saved. This Registry key will be recreated the next time you open a file in Media Player. *Windows Media Player - Disable Recent File List* The Recent Files list in Windows Media Player 8 can be disabled. Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences Right click in the right pane and select New, Binary value and add a new value called AddToMRU. Double click the entry you just created and set the value to 00. For your convenience, you can download a REG file or a VB Script file that will make this change for you. Download the REG or VBS file and double click it. For REG files, answer yes to the import prompt. Either file can be viewed in Notepad by right clicking on the file and selecting Edit. *Windows Media Player - Disable Update Message* Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\PlayerUpgrade. Value Name: AskMeAgain, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: "yes" or "no". Create a new String value, or modify the existing value, called 'AskMeAgain' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect. Error Message: Windows Media Player Is Not Configured for the Internet When you first run Windows Media Player and use the Media Guide feature, you may receive the following error message: Windows Media Player is not configured for the Internet. Before you can use the Media Guide or Radio Tuner features, you must be connected to the internet. To connect to the Internet, run the Internet Connection Wizard and try again. This may occur even if your computer is connected to, or is preconfigured to connect to the Internet. To resolve this behavior, quit Windows Media Player and then run the Internet Connection Wizard. *Windows Messenger* Messenger: Disable, Remove and Troubleshooting *Windows XP Pro - Install* Troubleshooting the Install of Windows Pro Setup and Conflict Issues http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_conflicts.htm *Windows Product Activation - Troubleshooting* Blank Activate Windows Page in the WPA Wizard *Windows Product Activation - Explained* Windows XP will typically remind you to activate the product (most users will have 30 days to activate XP after installation). To activate XP manually, you can use the Start menu shortcut in the System Tools Accessories folder. At the command prompt, type: oobe/msoobe /a or Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Activate Windows. *Tip:* msoobe stands for "Microsoft Out of Box Experience." *Windows Product Activation Explained *- by MVP Alex Nichol *Windows Update* *Access Denied: Error Message * Network policy settings prevent you from using Windows Update to download and install updates on your computer. If you believe you have received this message in error, please check with your system administrator. *For Windows XP Pro:* Start/Run/gpedit.msc. User Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update. In the right pane, double click, Remove access to all Windows Update Features and set it to disabled. *For Windows XP Home Edition:* Start/Run/Regedit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\WindowsUpdate Locate the value in the right pane called DisableWindowsUpdateAccess. Double click this entry and change the value to 0 (zero) or right click it and select Delete. If editing the Registry manually isn't to your liking click here for a small Visual Basic Script that will make the change for you. * Access Denied: Error Message* Network policy settings prevent you from using Windows Update to download and install updates on your computer. If you believe you have received this message in error, please check with your system administrator. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer Dword value: NoWindowsUpdate Gives the same error as HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\WindowsUpdate\ DisableWindowsUpdateAccess Double click this entry and change the value to 0 (zero) or right click it and select Delete. If editing the Registry manually isn't to your liking click here for a small Visual Basic Script that will make the change for you. *Windows Update - Administrators Only* Administrators Only (-2146828218) To install items from Windows Update, you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure. "Administrators Only" Error Message When You Attempt to Use the Windows Update Site (Q316524) *Windows Update - Issues* There are various solutions being put forth for the failed update result. Option 1) Click Start, Run and enter SERVICES.MSC Go to Cryptographic Services and double click it. It should be set to Automatic and should be Started. If you were required to change this, try the Windows Update site again. Option 2) Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\CurrentVersion\Policies\WindowsUpdate If the key WindowsUpdate does not exist, create it by right clicking on the Policies sub-key and selecting New, Key and giving the new key the name WindowsUpdate. Within this key, you may see one or both of the following DWORD entries: NoWindowsUpdate and/or DisableWindowsUpdateAccess If either of these entries appear, change their values to zero by double clicking on them and setting the value to 0 (zero). If they do not appear, add them as DWORD entries with their values at zero. To create a new value, right click in the right pane and select New, DWord value and name it as indicated. Next, go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer you may see the entry NoWindowsUpdate. If it exists, it may be set to 1. To change this, double click the NoWindowsUpdate value and set it to 0 (zero). If it does not exist, right click in the right pane and select New, DWord value. Give it the name NoWindowsUpdate and leave the value at 0. Next, go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \WindowsUpdate Right-click on the WindowsUpdate folder, click on Permissions. Give Admin (and/or System) Full Control and Read permissions by checking the allow boxes. Close Regedit and reboot. Try the Windows Update site again. *Windows Update - Run Windows Update Manually * Select Start, All Programs, Windows Update and if you aren't online already, you'll be prompted to make a connection. At the Welcome to Windows Update screen, click Scan for Updates. When the scan is finished, available updates appear by category on the left side of the screen. One at a time, select a category and click the Add or Remove button next to each update, depending on whether you want to add it to the list of updates to be installed. When you're finished, click Review and install updates, then click the Install Now button. *Winipconfig - What happened to WINIPCFG.EXE? * WINIPCFG.EXE is a GUI application in Windows 9x/Me that lets you check the status of your network connections. Because Windows XP was designed for networking from the ground up, however, and supports far more network connections, something a little more elegant was required. So Windows XP has two replacements for WINIPCFG.EXE. The first is ipconfig.exe, a command line application that supplies the same information, via text interface. The second is a much more elegant (GUI) interface that is individual to each network connection: Just right-click (or double-click) each network connectoid to make configuration changes and check their status. For XP: Open a Command Prompt window and enter IPCONFIG /ALL The Windows 2000 version of WINIPCFG (WNTIPCFG.EXE) can be downloaded here . Or... *Lists the IP Address(es) for your computer* This VB Script will determine the IP Address(es) available on your computer and display them, along with the hostname associated with that IP Address. Download the Find IP.vbs file and save it to your hard drive (you may want to right click and use Save Target As). Double-click the Find IP.vbs file. A dialog will open listing the available IP Address(es) and the corresponding hostname. http://www.dougknox.com/dbknox/utility/scripts_desc/find_ip.vbs *Word 2000-2002* MouseTrax File Cataloger v1.0 [156k] http://www.mousetrax.com/Downloads.html *Wordpad as HTML Editor* Add a new action via the Windows Explorer View menu's Folder Options. This puts an Edit with WordPad option on the Context menu for any .htm (or .html) file. Start/Run/Regedit and go to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.htm\OpenWithList\NOTEPAD.EXE Rename the NOTEPAD.EXE subkey as WORDPAD.EXE. Or if you want to retain the Notepad option, add a new WORDPAD.EXE subkey beneath the OpenWithList key. Check for the following key structure and add it as shown if it does not already exist: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\WORDPAD.EXE\shell\edit\command (Default) "C:\Program Files\Accessories\WORDPAD.EXE" "%1" On the IE Tools menu, select Internet Options, click on the Programs tab and then on the down-arrow in the HTML editor box. Select WordPad, click on the OK button. The browser's Edit button should now launch WordPad as your default HTML editor, with other edit options available via its own down-arrow. *Wordpad - As New Document* Create a blank document in Wordpad and Save it. Run TweakUI for XP and go to the Templates tab. Select Create. Point the file dialog to the file you just saved. Click Apply. It will be listed as Rich Text Format in the Templates list. To change the item Rich Text Format in the Templates list, open Regedit and go to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.RTF.8. Change the default value to Wordpad Document (default is Rich Text Format). A REG (Registry) file that will make this change for you can be downloaded here . Save the file to your hard drive, then double click the file. Answer yes to the import prompt. REG files can be viewed in Notepad by right clicking on them and selecting Edit. *Write Cache Disabled - Possible Causes of the Error Message *Intel Application Accelerator Zip Drive Controller Cards Check your settings here: Right click your C drive: Properties/Hardware/Properties/Policies- "write cache enabled" Also in the BIOS. *XP Tech Downloads* NT/2000/XP Tech Downloads *Yahoo!* OLEXP: How to Configure Outlook Express for Use with a Yahoo! POP3 Account *Zip Folders - To disable ZIP files being shown as folders* Click Start/Run, enter the string below, and click OK: regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll You should receive a dialog that says "DllUnregisterServer in zipfldr.dll succeeded." To restore the default behavior, simply do the same with this string: regsvr32 zipfldr.dll *Tip:* Stop Search from Scanning ZIP files: Un-register the zip and cab file dlls, then reregister them after that. Before Search: regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll regsvr32 /u cabview.dll After Search: regsvr32 cabview.dll regsvr32 zipfldr.dll Powered by FreeFind /Note: This compilation of information are from various sources. All credit due to its authors. Home Page Win98 - 10/09/2002 10:31 PM - Home Page WinXP © Copyright Kelly Theriot MS-MVP(DTS) 2002 All rights reserved. /