| Installation |
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If you want Windows XP to be installed on a hard disk partition of your choice, then during the installation procedure at the Setup Options screen, click on Advanced Options and check the I want to choose the install drive letter and partition during Setup. See screenshot.
For the ideal partition setup, see the Disk Partitions section of 101 Tips And Tricks To PC Performance.
Numerous shortcomings have been discovered in Windows XP since it was released and Microsoft has released several Service Packs to patch these up. These special packs can be downloaded free from the Microsoft's website. Many computer magazines carry the latest special packs on their cover CDs. Get one from a friend and install it if downloading it via the Net is a problem.
Windows XP needs at least 128 MB of system RAM. If your laptop shares the RAM with the onboard video card, then make sure the installed RAM is more than 128 MB.
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| Drivers |
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The first thing you should be doing after installing Windows XP is to install the Windows XP drivers of your motherboard.
Next, check Device Manager to see if there are any hardware that have not been recognised or have a yellow question mark against them. Get the Windows XP drivers for these devices and install them. Start installing your applications only after your hardware and drivers have been properly installed.
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| Logon |
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Sometimes, when you start the PC, Windows will stop loading and freeze even before the logon screen is reached. When you restart the PC in safe mode, you will see that Windows hangs right after MUP.SYS file is loaded, although this file has nothing to do with this particular annoyance. If this problem affects only NT-based OS installations such as Windows XP and 2000 and not FAT-based OSs Windows 95/98/Me installations on your machine, then the problem is due to some error in the BIOS. Just reflash the BIOS with a good copy of the BIOS file. Refer to your motherboard manual for instructions on flashing the BIOS. You can get the latest BIOS file from the motherboard or the BIOS manufacturer's website.
It is always better to have a logon procedure for your sessions. If by default this was disabled, enable it. Go to Control Panel » User Accounts » Change the way users log on and off. Here, uncheck the box at Use Welcome Screen and click on Apply Options.
For security reasons, many people set the logon window to require Ctrl+Alt+Del. On stand-alone machines, there is only a roundabout way to bring this behaviour. Type gpedit.msc in the Run dialog box. Click on
Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options.
On the right-hand pane, double-click on Interactive logon: Do not require CTRL+ALT+DEL and select Disabled.
To change the log-on picture, go to Control Panel » User Accounts » Change an account. Here, click on your user account. Now, click on Change My Picture and then Browse for more pictures. Here, select a picture of your choice and it will appear in the logon window.
If after creating or modifying the user account you are not able to log in, just press the Enter key (You may not have set any password.) Or, change the UserID to Administrator and try with the same password. This will work if the administrator account has not changed. After logging in as Administrator, change the password of your account.
As soon as you log on, Windows Messenger will also start. To prevent this, start Windows Messenger and go to Tools » Options » Preferences and uncheck the checkboxes for Run this program when Windows Starts and Allow this program to run in the background.
Sometimes, the Computers Near Me might be missing from My Network Places. To get it back, create/modify the Last Domain (string) value in the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer to 0,0,Unknown.
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| Boot Menu |
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If you have more than one operating system, then you will see a boot menu after the computer completes the POST (Power On Self Test). After you install Windows XP, Windows XP will become the default choice in the boot menu. To change this, go to Control Panel » System » Advanced » Startup and Recovery » Settings » Default Operating System and select the OS that you want to be made default.
To change the number of seconds that the boot menu is displayed (after which the default OS is loaded), change the Time to display list of operating systems. My suggestion would be 5 seconds.
If you have Linux and some other OS installed in your machine, wouldn't you like to load it from the Windows boot menu? If so, read the How To Multi-Boot Operating Systems.
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| System Settings |
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Windows XP may display an annoying "Low Disk Space" warning in the notification area (system tray) whenever free disk space in any drive goes below a minimum threshold. To disable this behaviour, open REGEDIT, create a DWORD value on the right-side pane for the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and give it a value 0.
In the System Failure section in the Startup and Recovery tab, there is a checkbox for Send an administrative alert. If you have no use for this, uncheck it.
If debugging information is of no value to you, select none from the listbox at Write debugging information.
To save space, turn off System Restore by selecting the checkbox at Turn of System Restore on all drives in the System Restore tab.
If automatic updates feature bugs you, then turn it off by checking the radio button at the Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually in the Automatic Updates tab. Just make sure you have installed the latest special packs and patches and antivirus updates prior to this.
To prevent Windows XP sending or accepting remote connections uncheck the checkboxes at the Remote tab.
In Windows XP, the Device Manager is buried under a lot of windows. For easy access to it, create a shortcut for devmgmt.msc.
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| Services |
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Windows XP, unlike Windows 9x/Me, has easily configurable background processes. In NT-based systems such as Windows XP, there are so many of them running at the same time that turning off some useless services will help in performance. If you turn the setting for these services to Manual, then they will not hog so much resources and will come up only when asked to. Right-click on My Computer and select Manage. Here, choose Services to look at the list of services that are running. Some of the Automatic services here can be changed to Manual. DO NOT TRY THESE TIPS if you do not understand them properly.
If you have no use for Automatic Updates, then change it manual.
If you do not want to start processes logged in as a different user, change Secondary Logon to manual.
If you do not use Task Scheduler, then turn off Task Scheduler service to manual.
If you do not have a printer, turn the Print Spooler service to manual.
If you are unlikely to use a wireless network or device, then turn off Wireless Zero Configuration service to manual.
If your computer is a standalone machine and is not connected to a LAN/WAN, then set Alerter, Computer Browser, Messenger services to Manual. The Messenger service is not to be confused with MSN Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger. It is used to broadcast messages on a network, then set it to manual. This service is a source of annoyance that is known as "Messenger Spam." If the Messenger service is very important to you but you don't want spam messages, then you have to block the ports 135, 137-139 and 445 in your firewall.
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| Desktop |
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The Windows XP special effects department can take a lot of memory and CPU time. Disabling these can increase performance. For this, go to Control Panel » System » Advanced » Performance » Settings » Visual Effects » Adjust for best performance.
Do you miss the volume control icon in the system tray? Then, go to Control Panel » Sounds and Audio Devices » Device Volume and check the Place Volume icon in the taskbar.
The Quicklaunch toolbar by default may be disabled. Enable it by going to Control Panel » Taskbar and Start Menu » Taskbar Appearance » Show Quick Launch.
You can add icons to the QuickLaunch toolbar for easy access to your favorite programs, folders, websites, etc. For this, create the shortcuts on your desktop and drag them to the QuickLaunch toolbar.
When you add icons in the QuickLaunch toolbar, you will find that the toolbar does not resize itself. To allow this, right-click on the taskbar and click on the Lock the Taskbar option.
If you want to create another toolbar. The create a folder and put your shortcuts in it. Now, right-click on the taskbar and choose New Toolbar from the Toolbar menu. In the dialog box, select the folder that you had just created.
The system tray, by default, hides icons that are not currently active. To change this behaviour, right-click on the taskbar, click on Properties to go to Taskbar and Start Menu Properties and uncheck the Hide Inactive Icons checkbox. Or, you could click on the Customize button to display the Customize Notifications. You can then choose to selectively display or hide system tray icons listed there.
Windows XP's short and fat Start menu can be a pain in your wrist. Your favorite program could be hidden in deep recess under it. For easy access, navigate to the program in the Start menu and right-click on its option and select Pin to Start menu.
In Windows XP, the Active Desktop settings has been hidden away. It is not where it used to be in previous versions of Windows. It is available at Control Panel » Display » Customize Desktop » Web.
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| Explorer |
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People who find the new Windows Explorer windows a bit confusing, should make use of the Favorites menu instead to navigate easily to different locations. Open those folders or locations that you often visit, select the Add to Favorities options in the Favorites menu. Whenever you feel lost, just pull down the Favorites menu and select the folder you want to go to.
Windows XP's Search feature searches inside zip files (compressed folders) too. This can slow down the process. To stop this behaviour, enter regsvr32 \winnt\system32\zipfldr.dll /u in the Run dialog box (Start Menu). You might want to use a program like WinZip to deal with compressed folders. To get that functionality back, use the same line without the /u switch.
The search pane of Windows Me/2000 was more user friendly than that of Windows XP. So, if you want to return the Windows Me/2000 interface, then open up Regedit and navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CabinetState. On the right-hand side, create a string value Use Search Asst and give it a value no, and ye shall be blessed.
If you like the Explorer's lean-mean look of yesteryears and want to avoid the miserable sidebar, go to Folder Options » Tasks and select Use Windows Classic Folders.
In the Details view of Windows Explorer, if you right-click on a column heading, you will be able to customize the view with other hidden headings.
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| Wireless Access |
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Windows XP offers great support for wireless networks particularly those with WiFi.* Almost all notebook PCs today are based on Intel Centrino (Duo) or AMD Turion platform, which provide wireless support out-of-the-box. When using wireless devices, there is an enevitable tradeoff between security and ease of use. An unsecured wireless network creates the possibility that someone can hack into your network/PC or just someone you stealing your Internet bandwidth. This is because network packets are sent over the air and special software such as Network Stumbler or AirSnort can sniff these packets and break their encryption code. So, what choices do you have?
An accepted industry-practice for securing wireless networks involves the use VPN (Virtual Private Networking) and IP tunneling software.
An easier solution would be to provide network access based on the MAC addresses of the network client computers. A MAC address is unique and cannot be easily changed because it is a hardware-assigned number. Airports, hotels, restaurants and clubs offering free Wi-Fi Internet access to their patrons can ask for the MAC address of the PCs of their clients and add these to the MAC address table on the wireless access point. This prevents freeloaders lurking in the area from illegitimately using the free service. To obtain the MAC address, customers can be asked to type cmd in the Run dialog box on the Start menu and enter the command ipconfig /all, which displays information about the PC's network adaptor including its MAC address.
* - Wi-Fi does not stand for Wireless Fidelity. It is merely a play on the term Hi-Fi (High Fidelity).
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| Miscellaneous |
Subhash VCDPlayer |
Use software such as Rambooster to cope up with the bigger memory requirements of WinXP.
You can create some custom menu options to the context menu of My Computer using Regedit. Create a key at
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell and give it a name like DM_Command. On the right-side pane, change the default value to Device Manager. Create another key under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\DM_Command called Command. On the right-side pane, change its default value to start devmgmt.msc. Now, close Regedit and right-click on My Computer to see the effect. You can create such custom menu options for any other commands. Your choices are limited only by your imagination. But, do remember that meddling with the Registry is not for novices. See screenshot
With the above tip, the order in which your custom menu option appear can be controlled by changing the name of the key that you create under shell. For example, if you name it ZDM_Command, it will appear last in the menu order.
Similarly, you can create custom menu options for My Network Places too. Just create the keys under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\Shell. For Recycle Bin, it should be under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\Shell. The DM_Command stands for Device Manager Command. I chose to name it like that. You can use your imagination when naming these keys, but the Command key is compulsory. You have no freedom on that.
Create a shortcut for Task Manager (taskmgr.exe) on the Start menu for quick access. This will come useful when you have to turn off or kill any processes. You can also press Ctrl+Alt+Del for the same purpose.
If Windows hangs, then open up Task Manager and look for any programs that is shown as Not Responding. Right-click on that program and select End Process. If there are no such processes, then the Windows shell is probably the offending program. Move to the Processes tab and select explorer.exe. Right-click on this and select End Process. When you kill explorer, the desktop and the taskbar will disappear. Now, give the three-button salute and bring up the Task Manager. Select New Task from the File menu and type explorer. This will restore your desktop and taskbar.
If the above tip fails to revive Windows, trying logging off and logging in again. If that fails too, restart.
Outlook Express by default might prevent access to certain attachments that it suspects might contain a virus. This is the reason why you get the OE has removed the unsafe attachment error. To prevent this, go to Tools » Options » Security and uncheck the box for Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus.
Disk Clean Up might seem to hang when it does the "Compress old files" routine. If you wait long enough, it will complete that job, but for most people it seems to "hang." To avoid this, export the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches for safekeeping, just in case you want it back later on. Next, delete the Compress old files key.
Read through 101 Tips And Tricks To PC Performance for tips that are common to all 32-bit Windows operating systems. You will be missing a lot if you did not look into that page.
For hardware issues, see the illustrated guide PC Hardware Explained.
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