Multiple Columns For the Start Menu

Multiple Columns For the Start Menu
To make Windows use multiple Start Menu Columns instead of a single scrolling column, like Windows 9x had, Also if you are using Classic Mode in XP

1. Open RegEdit
2. Go to the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ Advanced
3. Create a string value "StartMenuScrollPrograms"
4. Right click the new string value and select modify
5. Set the value to "FALSE

Hidden Programs In Windows XP !

Programs :

1. Private Character Editor :
Used for editing fonts,etc.
** start>>Run
** Now, type eudcedit

2. Dr. Watson :
This an inbuilt windows repairing software !
** start>>Run
** Now, type drwtsn32

3. Media Player 5.1 :
Even if you upgrade your Media Player, you can still access your old player in case the new one fails !!!
** start>>Run
** Now, type mplay32

4. iExpress :
Used to create SetupsYou can create your own installers !
** start>>Run
** Now, type iexpress

Prevent XP users from writing to USB drives

USB drives are extremely handy tools, but in some instances it might not be a good idea to allow users to write onto these devices from their PCs. This is especially true when working with highly confidential data or intellectual property at work. Users of Windows XP with service pack 2 installed can disable writing to USB devices.
To do this:

Open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type "regedit" and click on OK to start the regedit utility.

Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l.

From there right click and create a new key and name it "StorageDevicePolicies". In the window on the right then create a new DWORD value and label it WriteProtect, give it a value of "1" and users can no longer write to USB drives. To re-enable this option change the value to 0 and users are again allowed to write.


The modifications you made will be in effect after you reboot your PC.

Download & Save Flash Animation Files in Firefox or IE

Download and save Shockwave Flash swf files from the web browser to your hard disk using Firefox or Internet Explorer.

There's a good chance that the animation or cartoon game you want to download was created using Flash. Use these tips for downloading Flash files from the Internet to your hard drive. You save all Flash animations from web pages, including Flash websites, Flash game, Flash Animations, Flash Tutorials, Flash Movie Trailers, Flash Advertisements, or what ever Flash files you find in the web.

Shockwave Games, Website elements, Screencasts (software demos) created in Macromedia Flash (swf) always fascinate me. I generally like to save these flash files embedded in webpages to my hard-drive for offline viewing.

But saving flash animations from websites is not so easy. Macromedia Flash player context menu has no option to download or save the Flash movie from the web browser. The right-click context menu of most browsers won't work on Flash objects. So I will share some techniques (work-arounds) to save flash files from Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer (IE), Opera or MyIE2 web browsers.Read on to know more.......

Colored Highlighter Pens for Marking Web Pages in Firefox

Wired Marker is like a collection of highlighter pens for marking web pages inside Firefox



You can use Wired Marker to highlight text, images or any other portion of a web page and the information get saved locally along with the URL of the page.

Here are a few reasons why Wired Marker scores over most other scrapbook extensions:

Hidden Browser in Windows XP<< Efficient way to bypass school filter.

Ever been on PC where Internet Explorer was blocked? One solution would be to use a portable version of Firefox or Internet Explorer on a USB drive, or you can access a hidden browser in Microsoft HTML Help program if removable media is not an option.
This was tested on Windows XP SP2 with Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7.

How To Clear Recent Files In Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player comes bundled with Windows OS. It plays most of the formats, but still it lacks what today?s users wants. If you would like to know about better media players, then head over to the article I wrote about some replacements for Windows Media Player.

Now, moving on back to the topic, in this, I?ll tell you a trick through which you can clear your recent files history in Windows Media Player (WMP). Well, privacy to everyone, right? :twisted: So, if your PC is used by many people and you don?t want anyone checking out what files you open, then continue reading.

- How To Disable Flash Advertisements -

If you're like me and use somewhat old computers, advertisements made in Flash can really get on your nerves. If they are detailed enough, they can even cause your RS game to lag! Well, I have a solution for you guys.

FireFox

Download the Flashblock Extension from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433 and enjoy! It blocks all Flash media and puts placeholders in their stead. You can click these placeholders and select only the ones you want. It works from 1.5 up. However, if you use FireFox 2+, the placeholders won't work. There's a bug that makes FireFox crash. Instead you can use their toolbar button. That may be a possible solution.

Taken from the Flashblock FAQ:

Quote:

You can use the Flashblock toolbar button. Clicking this button will toggle Flashblock on and off. To use this button in Firefox, open the Customize Toolbar window (View -> Toolbars -> Customize...) and drag the Flashblock toolbar button on to a toolbar or menubar.

IE

There are programs out there that can disable and enable Flash for you, but I found a Registry trick on a website that you guys might like more. First you need to make two files in Notepad, "DisableFlash.reg" and "EnableFlash.reg". Put these anywhere you like.

In "DisableFlash.reg" paste this code:

Code:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

In "EnableFlash.reg" paste this code:

Code:

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000}]

Now make a shortcut to these two files in your Favorites menu, and there you have it: in-browser Flash-toggling.

Fun Stuff to do in windows at School

This tutorial is aimed at school servers running Windows underneath (most of them do). It works definitely with Windows 98, 2000, Me, and XP. never tried it with 95, but it should work anyway. However, schools can stop Batch files from working, but it is very uncommon for them to be that switched on.

How to get it all moving

An MS-DOS prompt is the best way to do stuff, because most admins don't think its possible to get them and, if they do, they just can't do anything much about it.

Command Lines for WinXP

Trick your webpage

A simple text file edit makes sites redirect to another. When you type address in address bar in any browser and enter it then it will display another web page, for example:- when you type Google.com you will be redirected to yahoo.com

Instructions to do:

- Getting rid of unwanted items in "open with..." shell extension -

Getting rid of unwanted items in "open with..." shell extension

When rightclicking any file you?re likely to see an option called "open with", which lists any available program on you computer to open the file with. To simply clear up this list of unwanted items, or to remove useless associations, like opening an mp3 file with a paint program, follow these steps:

- Display legal notice on startup -

Wanna tell your friends about the do's and dont's in your computer when they login in your absence. Well you can do it pretty easily by displaying a legal notice at system start up.
REGEDIT
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\policies\system]
"legalnoticecaption"="enter your notice caption"
"legalnoticetext"="enter your legal notice text"

- Create Your own Logon message -

1 Click start, click run, type regedit, then click ok!
2 In The registry editor, drill down to the following key:
hklm\software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current version\Winlogon

3 Right click LegalNoticeCaption, click modify, Type: My windows XP Machine,
and then click ok!

4 Right click legalNoticeText, click modify, and then Close your message!
5 The message will appear every time you logon!

- No Shutdown -

Wanna play with your friends by removing the shutdown option from start menu in their computer.
Just hack it down !!!
Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer
"NoClose"="DWORD:1"

- Automatically Kill Programs At Shutdown -

Don't you hate it when, while trying to shut down, you get message boxes telling you that a program is still running? Making it so that Windows automatically kills applications running is a snap. Simply navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop directory in the Registry, then alter the key AutoEndTasks to the value 1.

- Create a Shortcut to Lock Your Computer -

Leaving your computer in a hurry but you don?t want to log off? You can double-click a shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screen saver. To create a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer: Right-click the desktop. Point to New, and then click Shortcut. The Create Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following: rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation Click Next. Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it "Lock Workstation" or choose any name you like. Click Finish. You can also change the shortcut's icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll). To change the icon: Right click the shortcut and then select Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button. In the Look for icons in this file text box, type: Shell32.dll. Click OK. Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK You could also give it a shortcut keystroke such CTRL+ALT+L. This would save you only one keystroke from the normal command, but it could be more convenient.

- Renaming the "Turn Off Computer" text -

Hi all,
To start off, I am very new to all this, so take this list of instructions and follow them at your own risk. I have practiced what I am about to preach, by the way, and it worked on mine, so there is no reason to suggest it won't work on yours. I am using windows XP home edition. First of all, if you haven't got "Resource Hacker", get it - it's free for a lifetime, none of this "register in 30 days rubbish", install it and open it.

Have you suddenly seen pop-up's in Windows XP about porn and/or other forms of advertising? Well this is a new Security issue. There is a couple ways to stop these from popping up. The first way is a bit advanced if you don't know what your doing. But you can block TCP/UDP port 135. Which is the port the Microsoft Messenger services works on. The simpler thing to do is to disable the Messenger service.

Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
Double-click the Administrative Tools icon.
Double-click the Services icon.
Scroll to Messenger.
Double-click the Messenger service.
Click the Stop button.
Select Disabled from the Startup Type: drop-down menu.
Click the OK button.
Close the Administrative Tools window.
Close the Control Panel window.

- Process to Get The Any Drivers For Your Pc -

- Visit Windows Update (XP Only)
- Look at the left hand pane and under Other Options click Personalize Windows Update.
- Now in the right hand pane check the box - Display the link to the Windows Update Catalog under See Also
- Below Choose which categories and updates to display on Windows Update - make sure you check all the boxes you want shown.
- Click Save Settings
- Now look in the left hand pane under See Also click Windows Update Catalog and choose what you're looking for. Choose either MS updates or drivers for hardware devices.
- Start the Wizard and off you go.

There are a TON of drivers there. I highly recommend you take a look at this page prior to downloading something from the web.

Save Your New Downloads

Since some people are still using modems and since MS is issuing patches right and left for XP wouldn't it be nice if after you downloaded all the updates you could save them? Well, you can and MS has provided a way for you to do it.
Here's How:
- Logon to Windows Update
- Choose Windows Update Catalogue (left hand pane)
- Choose Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems (right hand pane)
- Choose your version and language then Search
- Choose one the following:
- Critical Updates and Service Packs
- Service Packs and Recommended Downloads
- Multi-Language Features (0)
- Once chosen simply click on what you want to download and then back at the top click Review Download Basket
- You are taken to the next page where at the top you can specify where the downloads are to be saved.
- Click Download now.

Each patch will make a directory under the root of the folder you saved them to. Once finished you need to go to where you saved the file (s) to and then simply install all your patches.
Read-me's are available in each patch section so you know which one you are installing.

- Make Your Icons Transperant -

Go to Control Panel > System, > Advanced > Performance area > Settings button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

Have Fun..!!