101 Tech Tips and Tweaks for Windows XP

Beginners Guides: 101 Tech Tips and Tweaks for Windows

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From performance to security and privacy tips; from essential advice for beginners to registry tweaks, PCSTATS 101 Tech Tips will help you get the most out of your PC! - Version 1.2.5

PCSTATS has a little present for you this week - a massive Tech Tip guide for Windows; 101 useful and sometimes spicy Tweaks and Tips that you can use to improve your clunkly PC! Some you might know, some you might not, but guaranteeded there is a lot of interesting advice in this guide.

From Beginner's Tech Tips to registry tweaks, it's all present and accounted for. This list is presented in two sections. The first is composed of tweaks and tips you can implement using options already present in the Windows XP interface.

The second is composed of Registry tips which require the use of the REGEDIT program. Instructions are included, so read on, and enjoy!.

Now before we get started, click on this link to bookmark the guide. There are so many useful tips and tweaks listed here that I'm sure at some time in the near future you'll need to reference a tip here and may not be able to remember the exact URL.

Performance Tech Tips (1-12)

Essential advice for Beginners (59-80)

Turn off or reduce system restore to save hard drive space Altering page files Clean out prefetch folder Set priority for individual programs Cleaning up unwanted startup programs Defrag your hard drive Disable unnecessary services Disable the Disk performance counter(s) Turn Off Windows Indexing service Increasing desktop Graphics Performance Check and set the DMA mode on your drives Smooth out your mouse movement Useful Tech Tips for Windows (13-30) Resize screen fonts on the fly in Internet Explorer Mouse Sonar Quick back and forward commands in Internet explorer Mount a new hard drive as a folder in your C: drive Enable clear type Create a keyboard shortcut to a folder or program Use remote desktop to connect to your PC from anywhere (XP Pro only) XP Powertoys Backing up or transferring your email manually with outlook express Running legacy software in Windows XP Compressing files and folders to save space Open explorer window from current command prompt directory Using Quick Edit in the Command Prompt Select 'No to all' when copying files in XP Bypass the recycle bin when deleting a file Create a link to shutdown your PC Hosting online games through the Windows XP firewall Rename multiple files simultaneously Security, privacy and recovery tips (31-44) Use the Windows 2000-style secure logon screen Hiding shared folders with $ Using advanced file security settings in Windows XP Home Create a password reset disk Applying a password to the 'administrator' account in XP Home 'Rolling back' a faulty device driver Disable simple file sharing (XP Professional only) Using the Windows XP firewall Turn autocomplete off in IE Using the Windows XP repair installation process Add, Clear or remove the 'my recent documents' menu Creating a desktop shortcut for locking your computer Giving a password to the 'Guest' user account Use system restore when you cannot boot your system normally Customizing Windows XP (45-58) Stop Windows messenger from running Run command prompt utilities successfully from shortcuts Remove the XP desktop theme Change start menu style Add my computer and other missing icons to your desktop Change the picture in the welcome screen Add items to the 'Send To' right click option Automatically run programs when starting Windows XP Create a screensaver from your pictures Modify autoplay for different types of CD Different folder types with XP Using 'my computer' as a toolbar Enlarge and resize the quicklaunch bar Disable desktop cleanup wizard

Stopping desktop ad popups Displaying hidden files and folders Convert Your drives to the NTFS file system Formatting a hard drive partition larger than 32 Gigs with FAT32 Finding your IP address and other information with IPCONFIG Update your machine automatically Logging in as the 'Administrator' account Update your drivers Check your PC for spyware and other nasties Show the quicklaunch bar Locking the desktop Using the Windows Scientific calculator feature Accessibility tools Set a new home page in explorer Remove the annoying dog from the search screen Change the look of your mouse pointer. Email attachments are the most common vector for viruses. Keyboard shortcuts Set monitor refresh rate Set power options Creating shortcuts Create passwords for all your user accounts! Registry tweaks For performance (81-93) Backing up and restoring the windows registry How to edit the windows registry (before other reg tips) Keep Windows operating data in main memory Disable the DOS 8.3 naming convention to save system resources Stop the 'last access update' from taking up system resources Clear the Page File (virtual memory) when shutting down XP Get Rid of XP's annoying balloon tips Adding additional Icons to 'my computer' Speed up the Start Menu Display message on startup Set the default download directory for Internet Explorer Change the size of thumbnail pictures Opening a Command Prompt to a Particular Directory from Explorer Miscellaneous registry tweaks (94-101) Disable error reporting on program crash Automatically close non-responsive programs Permanently bypass the recycle bin when deleting files Show administrator account on welcome screen Enable/Disable Active Window Tracking to Mouse Movements Launch Programs at Login Without Using the Startup Folder Force windows XP to reboot upon crashing Disable admin shares Source: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1494