Got this idea from another forum board and thought we could run with it here. If you have any tips or tricks post 'em in here.

Add/Remove Programs

Ever have troubles finding programs in Add/Remove Programs? Go into C:\WINDOWS\inf\sysoc.inf using any text editor and remove all HIDES from in there and those programs will appear in your Add/Remove Programs!

Word of note, the Inf folder under C:\windows by default may not show up when you first look for it. If it doesnt go to windows explorer choose "Tools", "Folder Options", "View" and then scroll down till you see a folder that says " Hidden Files and Folders". Make sure "Show Hidden files and Folders" is checked. This will show you the Inf folder.

Lastly, I would suggest going back and hiding the INF folder after that, in most cases it's best if you forget it's there :)

XP Command line tools:

bootcfg
View your boot loader settings, such as your default OS and selection timeout, as well as your boot entries and load options.

defrag
You probably already guessed that this defrags your hard drive. Type only "defrag" into your command prompt to get a list of possible arguments, such as the drive letter and the type of output.

diskpart
Manages your disk partitions. After you type "diskpart" into your command prompt, your prompt will become "DISKPART." Type a question mark to get a list of possible arguments. Type exit to leave diskpart.

driverquery
Will get you a nice list of your drivers and their properties.

fsutil
This is a handy command. You can do everything from managing your hardlinks to querying the free space in a volume. Type "fsutil" into your command prompt, and you'll see a list of options. I choose "fsinfo" from the list, so I type "fsutil fsinfo" into the prompt. Now I get even more options, but I choose drives by typing "fsutil fsinfo drives." It's fun, it's easy, and you'll get the hang of it. Explore this utility. There are a lot of cool features and hidden twists.

getmac
This gets the MAC (Media Access Control) address.

gpresult
Get the RSoP, user settings, and computer group policy settings.

netsh
A network configuration tool. Type "netsh" to enter the tool, or "netsh /?" to learn more about it. To exit this tool, type "exit" at the "netsh>" prompt.

openfiles
Allows an administrator to display or disconnect open files in XP professional. Type "openfiles /?" for a list of possible parameters.

recover
This command attempts to recover readable information from a damaged disk. Type "recover" to get the syntax.

reg
The console registry tool. Get syntax help when you type "reg" into the prompt. You can export the registry, copy, restore, compare, and more.

schtasks
The administrator can schedule, run, change, or delete tasks on a local or remote machine. Type "schtasks /?" without the quotes for a list of options.

sfc
The system file checker scans protected system files and replaces the ones you (or your applications) hacked beyond repair with the real, official Microsoft versions. Type "sfc" into the command prompt to get a list of options.

shutdown
You can shut down or restart your own computer, or an administrator can shut down or restart a remote computer. Type "shutdown" into your command prompt to see a list of possible arguments.

systeminfo
Basic system configuration information, such as the system type, the processor type, your time zone, your virtual memory settings, and much more.

tasklist
Want to know what's going on behind the scenes? Type "tasklist" into the command prompt, and get a list of current processes.

taskkill
Now that you know what's going on behind the scenes, maybe you want to shut a few of these extraneous tasks down. That's where taskkill comes in. Type "taskkill /?" for a quick lesson in the syntax of the command, then shut down all those random processes. I just killed my MS messenger by typing "taskkill /PID 1680." I got the PID from running tasklist, above.

Internet Explorer Trick

·Set your own Album Art for folder + Media Player. If you don't like the album art or have a folder of downloaded music that you want to add art to, you can simply select any graphic from your browser and save it inside of the folder you want and call it "Folder.jpg". When you now play any music that resides in that folder, the Media Player will automatically pick it up and display it.

Changing Thumbnail Options in XP

You can change the size of the Thumbnails view in My Computer by opening up the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigating to the following location:

Current user only:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer

All users:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer

Add a new DWORD value called ThumbnailSize and give it a hexidecimal value that is between 32 and 256, inclusive (that is, the lowest possible value is 32 and the highest is 256): A value of 32 will give you the smallest possible thumbnails, and 256 will give you the biggest.

Another XP tweak.

Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs

Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you’re logging off, turn it off completely.

To do this Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu

Where your name is displayed, and then click Properties.

In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.

Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.

Click OK, and then click OK again

Making your own "Autostart" CD's

If you look in the root directory of any of the CD's you now have, (that autostart) you'll notice a file called autorun.inf in the root dir of the CD. They all have it. It is this file that makes a CD autostart to a particular program on the CD. If you open this file and have a look at it's contents, you'll see a couple of lines such as the following:

[autorun]
OPEN=someprogram.exe
ICON=someicon.ICO

All you need to do is make a file like this one and put it in the root of the CD you are creating and if you like put an icon (.ico) file in the root as well to have your CD show an icon as well. Just replace the "someprogram.exe" with "yourprogram.exe" or any other file extention type that is associated with a program to open in.
For example:

[autorun]
OPEN=start any.html
This would open IE to the file you called "any.html" in the root of the CD.

[autorun]
OPEN=start \anydir\any.html
This would open IE to the file you called "any.html" in the directory you called "anydir" in the root of the CD

Starting to get it now?

[autorun]
OPEN=start any.txt
This would open notepad to the file you called "any.txt" in the root of the CD.

[autorun]
OPEN=start \anydir\any.bmp
This would open MSPAINT to the file you called"any.bmp" in the directory you called "anydir" in the root of the CD. (or it would open in your associated graphic editor, like Photoshop etc.)

Now for the ICON
[autorun]
ICON=any.ICO
Just put any .ico file in the root of the CD and you'll see this icon as the icon for the CD Drive when you insert the CD.

To make a file called autorun.inf, just right click the desktop, select "new", then select "text document" and name the file autorun.inf. Then open it and add the lines:
[autorun]
OPEN=someprogram.exe
ICON=someicon.ICO
Using the files of your own name of course, and save the file.
When creating the CD, just put this file in the root of the CD and it will autostart to the program or file you asked it to.
Any questions, feel free to ask, that's what I posted this for

Remember if you want to open any file other than a .bat, .com, or .exe you must use the word start and leave a space. eg:

[autorun]
OPEN=start any.doc
ICON=someicon.ICO

.bat, .com, and .exe files do not need the start command.

XP is different
Do some testing, and see if XP can handle it without the 'start' command.

Change the ?Start? text on Start button:

To do this restart your computer in MS-Dos and go to C:\Windows>
and type the following command.
?edit /70 explorer.exe? (without quotes). The /70 option helps you
to see only 70 columns on the screen. It is in the line 2390 of
the editor window, there is a text ?S t a r t?. Now you can
replace the text on start button with any word of 5 characters.
Simply replace the letters in ?S t a r t? with any the required
letters with null characters (remember not spaces) in between
them.
Example: Replace the ?S t a r t? with ?R o o d y?.

If by mistake you typed a space between the letters, copy a null
character from the remaining document and paste it over the
typed space.

Note for editing explorer.exe:

Definitely make a backup and don't try this if you're using any other language than english(nobody here i doubt) because windows natively uses UNICODE and you wont see the characters. Because characters are 2 bytes(i.e. 2 letters in edit.exe) in UNICODE.

Wanna change the title of Internet Explorer (i.e. Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by XXX company)?

Goto : HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\InternetExplo rer\Main

and enter a new(or edit if it already exists) a string value name "Window_Title" and enter the new title.

Running a multi boot system? Hate the windows xp boot loader?

Try using XOSLoader(xtended operating system loader). It can load pretty much any os(even linux & BEOS) and includes an actual GUI so "Little Jane" can easily decide. And its even more sutomizable than the XP boot loader.


Tired of crap starting up with your computer?

got to Start\Run and type msconfig and deselect any thing you don't want loaded. If you don't know what something is, disable one thing at atime. Restart. If you have any problems go into safe mode and re-enable it.

Having problems with a piece of hardware?

Open MSInfo32 the same way as msconfig and Look unde hardware resources\Conflicts-sharing and make sure its not sharingf an IRQ. Also some sound cards will ONLY work on IRQ 5.

Well i'm spent for now. I have more but i'm pretty drunk right now and can't seem to recall any more.

i got a great trick

trick to turn on computer:

press the button that has green light in or near it

:ar15firin gunfire2 :asleep1bl

http://www.b0g.org/wsnm/uploads/bush1.jpg

roody you should move this to the humor forum

otherwise its funny

here is a good guide to windows security (http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/windows_security/index.shtml)

enjoy!

heres a all purpose windows dictionary

Windows Dictioanry (http://www.computertips.com/glossarywin.htm)

http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/wolfenstein/rtcw-2.shtml
The above address is a tech review of all the command lines in your wolfconfig_mp found in your Rtcw folder inside the Main directory. It aids you in understanding what makes the game tick and how you can speed up your own play. I highly suggest making a copy of the original config file and keeping outside of the RTCW folder. If you have any particual questions, about this matter, or your nerve to mess with it on your own, I would be more then happy to help anyone that needs help. I have found the tech tricks to work out great. No problems only speeds up game play!!!
-Drunk iN Public

for a good beach tip just read my post in the Gangreen Public Forum
its titled a beach tip
it works everytime

this lets you record streaming video amongst other things. check it out here (http://www.hoonnet.com/)

Windows XP A-Z (http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm)


a huge amount of information

Windows Error messages (http://www.aumha.org/kberrmsg.htm)


Known file extensions (http://www.icdatamaster.com/a.html)

Windows NT/2000/XP/.NET Tips and Tricks (http://www.jsiinc.com/reghack.htm)

Hex editor's (http://www.bpsoft.com/hexworks/)

Windows registry guide (http://www.winguides.com/registry/)

Resource hacker (http://www.users.on.net/johnson/resourcehacker/)

CPU Usage in 2K (http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/qslice-o.asp)

w3schools.com (http://www.w3schools.com)
lots of wonderful tutorials for html, java, asp, etc.

Renaming Recycle Bin in 2K/XP

Go to Registry:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\
(Standard) [String] = "Recycle bin" [default]
InfoTip [String] = "Stores deleted objects..."
LocalizedString [String] = stores path to shell32.dll
SortOrderIndex [DWord] = "0x00000060" List

Subfolder ShellFolder contains value:
Attributes [binary] = 40 01 00 20 [default]

Change to:
50 01 00 20 (Renaming allowed and context menu contains 'Rename')
70 01 00 20 (Renaming allowed)


This may work in other OS' also. Not sure.