Breaking The XP Password:

In case of user password boot the pc in safemode by pressing the F8 key and then selecting the Safe Mode option. You can now logon as an administrator and XP wont prompt for the password. Incase of an administrator account try rebooting the pc in DOS. access C:\Windows\system32\config\sam . Rename SAM as SAM.mj
Now XP wont ask for password next time You Login. Also

Go to the cmd prompt .
Type net user *.
It will list all the users.
Again type net user "administrator" or the name of the administrator "name" *.
e.g.: net user aaaaaa *(where aaaaaa is the name).
It will ask for the password.
Type the password and there you are done.
Logging In As Administrator:

Hold the Ctrl-Alt key and press Del twice. This will bring up the normal login and you can log on as Administrator.

To unhide the Administrator account so it does show up:

Start Regedit

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList

Unhide the Administrator key by giving it a value of 1

Disabling Unnecessary Programs At Startup:

Many programs add portions of themselves starting automatically on every login.This can be either in the Startup Folder or the Registry. One easy way to tell is by looking at how many icons are in your system tray. If you have a large number, perhaps unnecessary resources are being allocated them as well as increasing your boot time. Typical examples are Microsoft Office, Office FindFast, Real Player, ATI Video setting etc. You can remove them in one of three main ways:

In the Start / Programs / Startup Folder
In the Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS:

Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.
In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.
Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.
NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).

Renaming The Start Button:

To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor.
My preference is UltraEdit

Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
Edit it be any 5 characters or less
Save the file
Boot to DOS
Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.
Note: If the partition is NTFS and you can't access the files from DOS:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe

To Increase the Internet Speed:

Open Notepad and paste the below code in it.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"SackOpts"=dword:00000001
"TcpWindowSize"=dword:0005ae4c
"Tcp1323Opts"=dword:00000003
"DefaultTTL"=dword:00000040
"EnablePMTUBHDetect"=dword:00000000
"EnablePMTUDiscovery"=dword:00000001
"GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:0005ae4c

Now save this file as speed.reg. Execute it and observe the change!

EXTREMELY FAST BOOTUP

The trick is Enabling Hibernation:


Go to diplay properties>screen savers>power>hibernate. Check 'Enable Hibernation'. Press shift button after you click 'Turn Off Computer' in start menu.

Removing Multiple Boot Screens:

If you are getting unwanted multiple boot screen
Then Follow these Steps.
1> Right Click on My Computer
2>Select Properties
3>Select Advanced Tab
4>Select Settings In the Startup & Recovery Section(3rd grp)
5>Select the operating system which u want.
6>And Click OK.
7>Further again press the setting and click on Edit.
8>It will open boot.ini File.
9>Now u can delete those o/s which you don't want to be displayed.

Note: For deleting operating systems from boot.ini file, keep it mind that you can't
delete that o/s which is selected by default there. Before
making any changes make a copy of boot.ini file.

Modify Color Selection of Default Theme:

Open registry by going to Start then Run. Entering regedit, navigate to [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ThemeManager] and locate the key "ColorName".
Right Click on it and select modify its value from "NormalColor" to "Metallic"
Click Ok, and exit regedit and restart your computer.

Disable the Disk performance counter(s)

Windows XP contains a built in performance monitor that is constantly examining various areas of your system. This information can be called up using the performance monitor application found in control panel\administrative tools. Of course, most of us have little interest in this sort of performance statistics monitoring, that being more the territory of systems administrators than individual users.

The thing is, XP is still monitoring away, and some of its observation tools can use a considerable amount of resources. The disk monitoring is an example of this, and it's a good idea to turn the disk monitors off if you are not planning to use the performance monitor application.

To do this: Go to the command prompt ('start\run' then type 'cmd') and type 'diskperf -N'

Alternate Method

Win XP comes with many inbuilt performance monitoring applications that constantly examine various parts of the system. This information can be of real use to a system administrator for collecting performance statistics. However, for a home user, these statistics hold no value and since the monitoring happens all the time, it consumes a good deal of system resources. “Disk monitoring”, for example, happens in the background, and turning it off is advisable if you will not be using the performance monitoring applications. To turn it off, type in “diskperf -N” at a command prompt. To bring up the command prompt: go to Start>Run, type in “cmd” and press [Enter].

Creating The Suspend Shortcut:

Right click on the Desktop .New / Shortcut. Enter in rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState . Give it whatever name you want. Now when you click on that shortcut, your computer will shutdown and suspend.

Using advanced file security settings in Windows

Windows XP is based on the same platform as Windows 2000, and shares that operating system's robust file security options, at least when using the NTFS file system. Unfortunately this security system, which enables an administrator to decide exactly which files and programs any given user will have access to, is not actually implemented by default in Windows XP. This is a concession Microsoft made to avoid confusing basic users of XP Pro, and to cripple XP Home.

The NTFS file security options can be enabled easily enough in XP Pro, but are apparently non-existent in the Home version. Fact is, the tools are there, you just need to look a little bit harder.

To enable NTFS file security in Windows XP Home: First you need to assure that at least your main hard drive is formatted with the NTFS file system. See tip #61 for instructions on this. Restart your system. Just after the memory and BIOS check screen, but before the Windows splash screen comes up, press F8 a few times.

When the Windows boot menu appears, select 'safe mode' from the list of options.

Once Windows has loaded in safe mode, right click the folders and files you would like to change access to. You will notice that the 'security' tab now exists, and thus you are allowed to assign or deny access to individual users for each file, folder and program. Once you are done, restart Windows normally, and your changes will be enforced.

Adding Administrative Tools Icon To The Desktop:

Open Registry Editor. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace . Create the following key: {D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153} (just copy/paste, including the brackets). Close Registry Editor. There is no need to reboot. Just wait a few seconds and see how the icon appears.

Removing the Recycle Bin from the Desktop:

If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files , you can get rid of its desktop icon all together. Run Regedit and go to:



HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/explorer/Desktop/NameSpace

Customize Internet Explorer's Title Bar:

Open Registry by going to Start then Run and Enter regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet. Explorer\Main. In right hand panel look for string "Window Title" and change its value to whatever custom text you want to see.

Improving the Slow Boot up time:

There are a variety of reasons why your windows XP system would boot slowly. Most of the times it this has to do with the startup applications. If you would like to speed up the bootup sequence, consider removing some of the startup applications that you do not need. Easiest way to remove startup apps is through System Configuration Utility. Go to Start then Run and enter MSCONFIG and go to the Startup tab. Deselect/UnCheck application(s) that you do not want to startup at boot time.

Hiding shared folders with $

If you would like to share a folder so that users on your network can access it easily, but are worried about displaying the folder for anyone to browse through, there is an easy way to render a shared folder invisible but still accessible.

From the shared folder dialog: (right click on desired folder\sharing and security\). You can hide a shared folder by simply adding a '$' to the end of the name you give the folder in the 'sharing and security' window. In this way, you can maintain network access to shared folders, while hiding them from prying eyes.

To browse to a hidden shared folder from another computer, simply click 'start/run' then type \\(name of the computer the share is on)\(sharename$) and press enter.

Removing the Shortcut arrow from Desktop Icons:

Goto Start then Run and Enter regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile. Delete the IsShortcut registry value. You may need to restart Windows XP.

To change Drive Letters:

Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management, Disk Management, then right-click the partition whose name you want to change (click in the white area just below the word "Volume") and select "change drive letter and paths."
From here you can add, remove or change drive letters and paths to the partition

Customize Logon prompt with your Own Words:

Open Registry by going to Start then Run, entering regedit and Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]. In right pane, look for key by the name "LogonPrompt". Set its value to whatever text you want to see displayed at login screen.

Making Google the Default Search Engine in Interne

Open registry editor by going to Start then Run and entering regedit and navigate to following three keys separately and change it as shown below:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Search Page"=" http://www.google.com"
"Search Bar"=" http://www.google.com/ie"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL]
""=" http://www.google.com/keyword/%s"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search]
"SearchAssistant"=" http://www.google.com/ie"

Force windows XP to reboot upon crashing

This registry edit will cause your system to reboot itself automatically upon crashing. This can be useful if you have a reason for keeping your system on 24/7:

Open REGEDIT

Navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl'

Edit the 'AutoReboot' value to '1'

Removing Shared Documents folder From My Computer

Open registry editor by going to Start then Run and entering regedit. Once in registry, navigate to key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders

You must see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this key, you have effectively removed the my shared documents folder.

Locking the desktop

If you are leaving your computer for a while and do not wish to turn it off, but want to assure that no-one else can use the computer while you are away, locking the desktop is the best option.

By pressing WINDOWSKEY+L, you password protect your system just as if you had logged out or restarted the computer. The advantage is that any programs or processes that were running when you locked the desktop will stay open and running in the background, ready for you to resume work or play.

Renaming The Recycle Bin icon:

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, click Start then goto Run, write Regedit and press Enter. It opens Registry Editor. Now in Registry Editor go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

Modify autoplay for different types of CD

Windows XP includes the ability to perform different actions depending on the type of CD you insert into the drive. For example, you could set your system to always respond to CDs containing MP3 files by opening Windows Media Player.

To edit the Autoplay properties: Open 'my computer'. Right click on the drive you wish to set and select 'properties.' Choose the autoplay tab. Use the dropdown box to see the various recognized types of CD and choose appropriate actions for them.

Creating Shutdown Icon or One Click Shutdown:

Navigate to your desktop. On the desktop, right-click and go to New, then to Shortcut (in other words, create a new shortcut). You should now see a pop-up window instructing you to enter a command line path.
Use this path in "Type Location of the Item"
SHUTDOWN -s -t 01
If the C: drive is not your local hard drive, then replace "C" with the correct letter of the hard drive. Click the "Next" button. Name the shortcut and click the "Finish" button. Now whenever you want to shut down, just click on this shortcut and you're done.

Deleting System Softwares

XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

Creating a desktop shortcut for locking your compu

If you use your computer in an area where others may have access to it, and there are things on your system you would rather have kept confidential, locking your desktop when you leave the computer is an essential task. Here's a recipe for a desktop shortcut that will lock your computer in two easy clicks:

Right click on an empty area of the desktop and choose 'new' then 'shortcut.' The create shortcut wizard will open; in the first text box, type '%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' and then give your shortcut an appropriate name on the next page, and hit 'finish.'

You will notice that the shortcut you created has a blank icon. To select a more appropriate one, right click on the shortcut and hit 'properties.' In the 'shortcut' tab, click the 'change icon' button.

In the 'look for icons in this file' box, type '%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll' then click 'ok' to see a range of icons for your new shortcut. Choose an appropriate icon. Your desktop locking shortcut is now ready for use. Test it out.



it is useful if u have an account as it will prompt 4 a password.

MAKING WINDOWS XP GENUINE THE EASY WAY

download jellybean keyfinder from this website
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

Now open keyfinder.exe
Click on options and click "change windows key"
Now enter this key and you're done.
*****************************
V2C47-MK7JD-3R89F-D2KXW-VPK3J
*****************************

P.S: this works on windows xp sp2 only......

ppl u can try this out...
this might sound silly but it works perfectly...

TRY INSTALLING IE7 OR MEDIA PLAYER11.