refresh faster

When a program changes the files or folders that are displayed in Windows Explorer, it can take a little time to react. To make it react faster, try this registry tweak. Make a note of it and if after you restart Windows you notice no change, simply come back and undo this tweak.

Platforms: 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP

In Registry key
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Update,
add or change the value named UpdateMode, changing its current data of 01 to 00.

Automatically defrag drives with a new context menu

Create a new Registry import file named context_defrag.inf in Notepad (be sure to save with it with the Save as type set to All Files and not Text Documents) and place the following text inside:

; context_defrag.INF

; Adds Defrag to the right click context menu in Windows XP

[version]
signature="$CHICAGO$"

[DefaultInstall]
AddReg=AddMe

[AddMe]

HKCR,"Drive\Shell\Defrag\command",,,"DEFRAG.EXE %1"

Then, right-click and choose Install. This will add a context menu to XP that allows you to automatically defrag drives, using the command line version of the built-in defragmentation utility. To use it, navigate to a drive in My Computer, right-click, and choose Defrag. A command line window will appear, and that drive will be defragged. When it's complete, the window just disappears.

UPDATE: To remove this functionality, Open regedit.exe and navigate to the following location:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\

Then delete the Defrag folder and close Regedit.

Tips to make Windows XP faster

Everybody and their dog will tell you they know some great performance tips for Windows XP. The internet is overcrowded with them. How to tell which ones work and which are to be avoided ?

And why on earth is this yet another Windows XP tips and tricks page about performance tips for Windows XP ?

It's because there are some simple techniques that really work without compromising your system stability. And they are simple to implement, so let's get started.

1. Optimize your paging file:

Windows XP uses a paging file on your hard disk to store information when the amount of available RAM memory isn't sufficient to hold all the data that is being processed. For instance, when you are working on a very large Word document that is too big to fit in your computer's RAM, Windows XP starts swapping part of it's data in and out the paging file on your hard disk.

Hard disk access is typically a lot slower than RAM access, that's why you should optimize your paging file.

• Click the Start button, right click "My Computer" and select "Properties"
• Select the "advanced" tab
• Under "Performance" click on the "Settings" button
• Again, select the "advanced" tab
• Under "Virtual Memory" click on the "Change" button

Windows will then show the available hard drives in your computer and the paging file settings for each drive. If you have more than one hard disk, you should place your paging file on another disk than the system disk (where Windows is installed).

That is to avoid contention on the disk controller when Windows is working with system files and the paging file simultaneously.

Usually the system disk is C:, so select any other disk if you have one and then check the "Custom size" radio button. Type in the same value for "Initial size" and "Maximum size", so that Windows doesn't need time to resize the paging file while you are working with your computer. Microsoft recommends about 1.5 times the amount of RAM in your computer. Click the "Set" button to commit the changes you have made.

It is possible to have multiple paging files on multiple disks, but try to avoid having a paging file on your system disk. Just select that disk and select the "No paging file" radio button.

2. Optimize display settings:

A lot of performance tips for Windows XP talk about the overall sexy-ness of Windows XP and the performance price you have to pay for it. If you are working on an older computer and you care more about speed than graphical coolness of the Windows XP interface, you might want to consider toning down the graphics a bit.

• Click the Start button, right click "My Computer" and select "Properties"
• Select the "advanced" tab
• Under "Performance" click on the "Settings" button
• Click the "Visual Effects" tab
• Select the "Adjust for best performance" radio button and click ok

If this change is too radical for you, you can try experimenting with the different individual settings as well.

3. Indexing service:

The indexing service is a program that indexes files on your computer to speed up search results when you perform a search. It usually wakes up and starts doing it's job when your computer is idle. That's the reason why some pc's hard disks often start making a lot of noise when nobody's working on them.

The indexing service is also mentioned in a lot of performance tips for Windows XP, because it can interfere with your work. If you don't perform a lot of file searches on your pc, you might want to disable the indexing service.

• Click on the Start button, right click "My Computer" and select "Manage"
• In the navigation tree at the left, go to the bottom and click the little "+" sign next to "services and applications"
• Select "Services"
• In the right Windows pane, scroll to "Indexing service", right click it and select "Properties"
• Make sure that "Manual" is selected from the drop-down list under "Startup type"

4. Use the NTFS file system:

Performance tips for Windows XP often mention the use of the NTFS file system because it works slightly faster than the FAT32 file system. Besides the performance benefit, you will also enjoy improved stability and security in comparison with the FAT32 file system.

You can convert an existing FAT32 file system to NTFS without data loss, but always remember that older operating systems like Windows 98 cannot work with NTFS.

Proceed with care if you have more than one operating system on your pc.

• Click on the Start button, right-click "My Computer" and select "Manage"
• In the navigation pane on the left, expand "storage" and choose "Disk Management"
• The details on the right will reveal the file system details for each of your drives. Also make a note of the drive's volume name.

To convert a drive's file system :

• Click the Start button and select "Run"
• Type "convert d: /fs:ntfs" (without the quotes - replace d: with the drive letter that you want to convert) and click ok
• A dos box will open and ask for the drive's volume name
• Enter the volume name and hit the ENTER key

Windows will start the conversion to NTFS and notifies you when it is finished.

Way to make Windows XP Pro 100% Genuine

OK, so you downloaded that pirated version of WinXP Pro and it keeps nagging you to validate it. I guess many of you are using the WGA-cracks that are released in updated versions every month. I did too, but got tired of it, and simply stopped updating the crack, since it was a big hassle. After a while, I found a new and better solution.

This method will make Windows 100% valid. Even things that don’t work with the WGA-cracks, like IE7-installation works.

Basically it’s just a wonderful keygen that somehow makes serials that work and validate. Heres how you do it:

Make sure all your previous WGA-cracks are deleted and that XP doesn’t validate. This is very important. The problems related to this are all caused by not doing this. It will only work for ordinary XP Pro installations, not for OEM-versions.

1. Visit this to download the file.

2. Open it in WinRar, 7Zip, or something.

3. Open "Windows XP Keygen.exe", select Windows XP Pro VLK and press the "Generate" button. Copy the generated key.

4. Open "keyfinder.exe". There you see the key Windows XP is using right now.

5. In the keyfinder, go to the "Change Windows key" in the Option menu.

6. Copy the key you generated with the keygen into the "CD Key" box in the keyfinder.

7. Open "wga-fix.exe". After, restart your computer.

8. Viola! Genuine Windows! Open MSADiag.exe, press Continue and enjoy the sight!

TROUBLESHOOTING IT:

Here are some common errors associated with it NOT working correctly:

• — Validation Status: "Cryptographic errors detected"
• — Validation status: "Validation Control not Installed"
• — Validation Status: Not Activated

The reason for the message "Validation Control not Installed" is because they have not installed WGA and its tools. Try a validation on microsoft.com (which hopefully should fail) and they will be installed.

To remove any old WGA cracks, go into your /windows folder then into /system32 and delete LegitCheckControl.DLL … then goto windows update.. that should work for you.

You need a regular version of Win XP, Pro edition only. No OEM versions, no MCE (Media Center Edition), no HOME Edition. The ‘Corporate’ Edition may also work, though.

Again, in order for this to work, your WinXP must NOT validate first.

For those of you who can’t validate with MGADiag.exe: Be sure that you’ve deleted LegitCheckControl.DLL and renamed both WgaLogon.dll and WgaTray.exe (adding ".bak" in the end of their filename). Then install the latest WGA check from microsoft update. (a reboot before this shouldn’t be necessary) now, do the procedures again from Step 1.

Your antivirus may report it as a ‘trojan’ even though it is not. NOD32 is notorious for this, and you’ll need to disable it first in order to open/download the file.

ALTERNATE SOLUTION (works for OEM versions):

First download this: WHT.rar

Or WHT.rar

1. extract contents wherever.

2. double click Check if Windows is Genuinel.exe to show you if you are genuine or not. Then close it

3. double click Make Windows Genuine.reg. A registry prompt will pop up. Click yes, and then ok.

4. double click Windows Activation Crack.exe. when window pops up click apply/browse. It will then patch your windows. Close that window when complete.

5. double click Check if Windows is Genuinel.exe once more, and you will notice you are now Genuine.

Works with everything Microsoft downloads, Updates, etc. I’ve used this on my computer for probably close to a year if not more. Tested with Windows XP/Home/Pro/MediaCenter.

ALTERNATE SOLUTION (works for XP SP3):

I’ve just tested this on Windows XP Professional SP3, v.3300 (Build #2600) so I’m pretty sure it’s good for ANY XP service packs.

1. Open notepad and paste the following code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
"CurrentBuild"="1.511.1 () (Obsolete data - do not use)"
"ProductId"="55274-640-1011873-23081"
"DigitalProductId"=hex:a4,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,35,35,32,37,34,2d,36,34,30,2d,\
31,30,31,31,38,37,33,2d,32,33,30,38,31,00,2e,00,00,00,41,32,32,2d,30,30,30,\
30,31,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,86,56,4e,4c,21,1b,2b,6a,a3,78,8e,8f,98,5c,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,dd,da,47,41,cc,6b,06,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,38,31,30,32,36,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,b5,16,\
00,00,83,83,1f,38,f8,01,00,00,f5,1c,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,66,e5,70,f3
"LicenseInfo"=hex:33,b7,21,c1,e5,e7,cd,4b,fd,7c,c6,35,51,fd,52,57,17,86,3e,18,\
d3,f4,8c,8e,35,32,7b,d1,43,8d,61,38,60,a4,ca,55,c9,9a,35,17,46,7a,4f,91,fc,\
4a,d9,db,64,5c,c4,e2,0f,34,f3,ea

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents]
"OOBETimer"=hex:ff,d5,71,d6,8b,6a,8d,6f,d5,33,93,fd

2. Save the *.txt file, and rename it "Filename.reg".

3. Run it. (Or right click, and select "Add to registry").

That’s it! Validation Complete!

Thank you for validating your copy of Microsoft Windows. Thank you for using the Windows Genuine Advantage program. You may now access resources for genuine Windows users.

Go to http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/FAQ.aspx, click Validate Windows - you should be able to apply these updates:

Downloading Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 (update 1 of 5)… done!
Downloading Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - April 2008 (KB890830) (update 2 of 5)… done!
Downloading Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 2.0 (KB928365) (update 3 of 5)… done!
Downloading Root Certificates Update (update 4 of 5)… done!
Downloading Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (update 5 of 5)… done!
Initializing installation… done!
Installing Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 (update 1 of 5)… done!
Installing Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - April 2008 (KB890830) (update 2 of 5)… done!
Installing Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 2.0 (KB928365) (update 3 of 5)… done!
Installing Root Certificates Update (update 4 of 5)… done!
Installing Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (update 5 of 5)…

Regular Updates should work fine as well.

Modify the Driver Signing Options

This tweak determines how the system responds when a user tries to install a device driver that is not digitally signed and has not passed the Windows Logo testing.This tweak can be easily applied using WinGuides Tweak Manager.
Download a free trial now!

Open your registry and find or create the key below.

Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called "Behavior On Failed Verify" and set it according to the value data below.

Exit your registry; you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect

User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Driver Signing]
Value Name: BehaviorOnFailedVerify
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = Ignore, 1 = Warn, 2 = Block)

Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can be solved. Use the information provided at your own risk.

Defrag Multiple Hard Drives at the same time

The Disk Defragment utility in Windows XP does not include a way to defragment all hard drives at the same time, which is inconvienient when you have more than one hard drive in your computer.

The method we are going to use is by creating a batch file to defragment all of the drives, one after the other.

The disk defrag utility in Windows XP can be triggered from the command line with the following syntax:

Windows Disk Defragmenter
Copyright (c) 2001 Microsoft Corp. and Executive Software International, Inc.
Usage:
defrag  [-a] [-f] [-v] [-?]
  volume  drive letter or mount point (d: or d:volmountpoint)
  -a      Analyze only
  -f      Force defragmentation even if free space is low
  -v      Verbose output
  -?      Display this help text

First, we'll create a file named defragall.bat, and place it anywhere you like, as long as you'll remember where it is. If you want to run it from the command line, you could place it in the \windows directory so that it will be available in the system path.

For each hard drive, add a line to the batch file. For instance, if we want to defragment drives C: , D: , and F: we will add these three lines:

defrag c: -f
defrag d: -f
defrag f: -f

To run the defrag, just either double-click on the batch file or start it from the command line.

Protect data by disabling writing to USB drives

A common security concern at organizations is allowing users to plug in a usb flash drive, because they could so easily copy corporate data.

Since Windows XP SP2, you can disable writing to USB devices altogether using a simple registry hack. Here it is:

Go to start->run->type "regedit" and press enter. Try to locate the following

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies]
"WriteProtect"=dword:00000001

Once you use the registry hack, you will have to reboot for the changes to take effect. One should also note that if you are using this trick, you should make sure that the users are not administrators on the computer, because they could easily change this setting back.

This works on Windows Vista as well.

Get back your missing cd/dvd drive

Reports have filtered in that CD or DVD drives will suddenly cease to exist in XP systems. Most often this has been reported in conjunction with program installations and Windows upgrades, but it has also happened for no apparent reason. This tweak will restore the missing drives after a reboot.
First go to Start, then Run, then type regedit.
Next try to find out the following :

Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class

Key Name: {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Value Data: [Delete All Value Data from UpperFilters and LowerFilters]

Note: Do not delete the Key or the Multi-String Values. Delete only the data values.

Exit Registry and Reboot.

Enhance the Modem Timeout

If your modem it is timing out during file transfers or loading Web Pages, you might try increasing the timeout period. So that your work is not hampered. So to change the Time Out just follow the procedure. One thing more before doing that please back up your registry. So here is it ::
1.Open Regedit

2.Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Services\ Class\ Modem\ XXXX\ Settings Where XXXX is the number of your modem.

3. In the right panel and double click on Inactivity Timeout

4.The number of minutes for a timeout should be entered between the brackets.

5.For example, a setting could have S19=<10> to set it to 10 minutes.

Clean your path to run program faster

As you install and uninstall programs over a long period of time, you'll notice that some programs starts to run little bit slower. Once of the reasons for this maybe that your program search path is either contains too many directories, or it contains references to some directories that does not exist.

It's a good idea to check if your "PATH" environment variable is "clean," every so often.

1. If you're using Windows 95, look in your "AUTOEXEC.BAT" file for the PATH statement:
   
   PATH=
   
   If you're using Windows NT, go to "My Computer | Properties | Environment," and then look for a PATH statement in both "System" and "User" variables sections.
   
2. Now go through each directory in your PATH and see if they exist; if not, remove them from your PATH.
   
   For example if your PATH contains
   
   C:\WINDOWS;Z:\TEMP;C:\UTILS;
   
   and if Z:\TEMP directory no longer exists (you can find out by running "DIR Z:\TEMP" from the "DOS/Command Prompt") change your PATH to:
   
   C:\WINDOWS;C:\UTILS;

Remove shutdown option from "Turn off computer"

Here is a little trick to play with your friend,which is by removing the shutdown option from start menu in their computer.
Just hack it down !!!.Follow the steps :
Go to start, then run then type "regedit" and press enter. Then try to find out the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
"NoClose"="DWORD:1"


But remember every time to back up registry so that in case of any problem after applying any trick you can return back to the previous form without hampering any system.Sp always backup your registry.

Close unwanted services for Safer & faster XP

To disable unneeded startup services for a safer, faster XP, use the "Services" Admin Tool (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine, you can disable the following items, with no ill effect.

->Alerter
->Clipbook
->Computer Browser
-> Fast User Switching
-> Human Interface Access Devices
-> Indexing Service (Slows the hard drive down)
-> Messenger
->Net Logon (unnecessary unless networked on a Domain)
->Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
-> Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
-> Remote Procedure Call Locator
-> Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
-> Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
-> Server
-> SSDP Discovery Service (this is for the utterly pointless "Universal P'n'P", & leaves TCP Port 5000 wide open)
-> TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
-> Telnet (disabled for extra security)
->Universal Plug and Play Device Host
-> Upload Manager
-> Windows Time
-> Wireless Zero Configuration (for wireless networks)
-> Workstation.
Thus doing this your system performance will boost up.