The "Best Windows Tip You Know" Thread

[ikyouCrow]

And another thing are those very few & boring screensavers Windows have

while Linux have totally awesome screensavers!?

:whistle:

at least they're trying... the Windows Energy (which is kinda cool) and the Windows Aurora (which is admittedly a little disappointing; shouldn't it at least change colours?).

[:: Lyon ::]

Is there any tip on how to remove/cleanup (without using TweakXP or any software)

- The "New" entry (when you right click on desktop and click New)

- Msconfig->Startup lines (when you untick them, they are still there and you can't permanently delete). Sometimes the same entry can appear more than once there!!

These are just for being perfectionist I guess lol

[ikyouCrow]

Is there any tip on how to remove/cleanup (without using TweakXP or any software)

- The "New" entry (when you right click on desktop and click New)

- Msconfig->Startup lines (when you untick them, they are still there and you can't permanently delete). Sometimes the same entry can appear more than once there!!

These are just for being perfectionist I guess lol

well, with AutoPatcher, they have that Startup Control Panel that you can use to disable and delete items from the registry startup keys and the startup folder.

as for the New menu, you could manually remove items from it...

i think the path is \Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\Templates or something like that (in Vista it's \Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates in case that's what you're using)

hope this helps.

Edited August 8, 2006 by ikyouCrow

[ikyouCrow]

wow!! discovered by accident!!

i'm not sure if this works in xp as well, but in Vista you can hit Windows Key+any number to activate an item on your Quick Launch bar.

e.g. if you have Notepad, Command Prompt, Control Panel, Firefox on your QL bar, hitting Win+4 will launch Firefox!

[crackhbob]

Doesn't appear to work in XP

[Swift_Monkey]

Great tips people. (Y)

So many I didn't know about.

[Blazkowicz]

thanks for people thanking me :D.

a thing I quickly found on google, but is good for everyone not using windows media player :

To get rid of "play in windows media player", "add to playlist" etc. which appears on some folders's right-click menu, you can type regsvr32 /u wmpshell.dll in start/run. this unregisters the dll that checks if there are media files in a directory and displays wmp's shell extension.

[oodLes]

Best thread ever. Thankyou all so, so much.

[Swift_Monkey]

Do you have a Media Card Reader in your PC and don't like the generic Windows Icons? :no:

Wishing you could have your own Icons for each Card Reader Slot? :rolleyes:

Well now you can..... :woot:

It's easy with the magnifico All-in-1 Registry hack.

This Registry Hack allows you to choose your favourite Icons and rename the Drive.

Just navigate to...

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons]

For example.. This will allow me to choose an icon and set the name of the Drive labelled "I" under Windows.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\I]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\I\DefaultIcon]

@="C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\Sdmmc.ico"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\I\DefaultLabel]

@="SD/MMC"

Change Items in Red For you PC

Neowin or any of it's Members take no responsibility for any Damage associated with the installation of this file.

Always Backup critical data before doing any changes to you PC.

[kewlceo]

I must be lazy to have this on my desktop, but when you're overclocking and constantly rebooting, it actually is kind of nice to have a quick way to reboot your system.

• Right-click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut
  
• Paste the following into the Wizard: %windir%\system32\shutdown.exe -r -t 0
  
• Click Next then give the shortcut a name such as "Reboot"
  
• Optional: Right-click your new shortcut, choose Properties, and select the Shortcut tab to access the Change Icon button
  

Now you'll have a shortcut which will instantly reboot your PC when you double-click it. :)

[HaxLi]

Middle button click on tab - Close Tab (Like one in Firefox)

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=187739 - also a good idea of getting used to it

[Typhon]

If you have the welcome screen enabled and want a temp classic login (maybe to logon to the administrator account that is hidden) pres CTRL + ALT + DEL twice!

I remember when xp came out I used that to log on to locked computers c+a+d x2 and type in Administrator and enter lol.

[Cptcomet]

Awesome tips everyone, I would add some myself but all mine have been posted. :(

Ooh CTRL C for Copy and CTRL V for Paste. It's handy and it saves time, what more could you want?!

[suicide_pact]

I've been searching for a hack and hope someone can help. I want to add Recycle Bin to My Computer, but can't remember how to do it. Thanks.

Also my tip for easy disk access. Right click the taskbar, select Toolbars, then New Toolbar. Select My Computer, then drag the border to its smallest width. Now you don't need to go to the Start menu or desktop explore hard drives. To add to this, add Control Panel to My Computer.

Great thread. Thanks for all the tips

[FiREFLi]

In explorer using "show in groups" and "order by type" will mean that any directories ("file folders") in the current directory are not always put at the top so you can easily continue to navigate.

This can be fixed by renaming the "file folder" to " file folder" with either a space or an alt+255 character.

To do this go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory in your registry and change the value in the "(default)" field to " file folder".

[nevets]

Would be awesome if all this great info can be wiki'ed. I'm just a slow reader :p

Is there a wiki for this stuff?

[ElBobino]

I second this to get wiki'ed.

Here's my contributions:

1. everybody go and get TweakUI right now. Its a Microsoft application you can download it HERE. TweakUI gives you access to a buttload of additional Windows options and mods.

2. You can make any folder anywhere a toolbar. All you have to do is click on the folder and then drag it to the exteme edge of your screen on the left, right or top (anywhere you don't currently have a taskbar or a toolbar). Windows will automatically create a toolbar that references the folder. This is SUPER handy if you have to work with a specific group of files and don't want to bother with switching back and forth between the folder.

3. I keep a blog of Windows shell extensions, utilities and small applications at rebobsitory.blogspot.com. I try to ensure that all the software I post on there is free (although I'm pretty sure I made a post about UltraMon which is commercial). If you're trying to make windows more productive, its worth a look.

4. Got a mouse with Horizontal Scrolling (can you move the scroll wheel left & right)? Finding you don't use Horizontal Scrolling at all? Remap the the buttons to Ctrl+Shift+Tab (left) and Shift+Tab (right) using SetPoint (Logitech) or Intellipoint (Microsoft) or whatever. Now throw open Firefox or IE7 and open a bunch of tabs. Try out Horizontal Scrolling. Pretty nice, eh? I honestly don't know how the hell I browsed the webs without this and tabbed browsing.

5. Use Google Desktop instead of the Windows Search. Unless you're running Vista, there's no real reason to use the built in Windows Search function. Its slow as hell and a real piece of crap in terms of resource usage. Google Search is no lightweight in comparison, but it certainly is a lot friggin' faster.

[Michael1406]

get a gradient on your desktop :

create a tiny image such as a 2x2 BMP (yes, two pixels by two pixels), then set it as your wallpaper in stretch mode.

Unless you mean tile for a scanlines type effect, I dont' get how you do this.

[acido00]

nice

[Enigma776]

save this as a .reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]

[KoYkOy]

save this as a .reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]

WINDOWS XP REPAIR INSTALL MS CONFIG SAFE MODE

boot into Safe Mode.

Then click on Start/Run,type msconfig then press Ok.

Under the 'Startup' tab uncheck everything,press Apply/Ok,reboot at the prompt.

Does it now start up normally or not.

If the pc now starts up normally,start adding entries back under the 'Startup' tab.

Checkmark each box,reboot the pc in between each one until you find the problem.

If still no joy,try doing a Selective Startup,it may narrow it down as to what may be causing the problem.

Click on Start>Run,type msconfig then press Ok.

Under the 'General' tab,click\select 'Selective Startup',then clear all of the subsequent check boxes.

You will not be able to clear the 'Use Original BOOT.INI' check box.

Starting with the first available check box (Process SYSTEM.INI File).

Select each check box one at a time, and restart the machine as prompted until the problem is reproduced.

Once the problem reappears,click the tab that corresponds to the selected file.

For example,if the problem reappears after selecting the Win.ini file,click the WIN.INI tab in System Configuration Utility.

Make sure your AV and Firewall are both running before reconnecting to the internet.

Click on Start>Run,type msconfig then press Ok.

Under the 'General' tab,click\select 'Diagnostic Startup',then press Apply/Ok, reboot when prompted.

Does your pc start up normally now.

Click on Start/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Event Viewer.

Check in the System and Application logs for any serious errors[Red X's].

Double click on each error,the 'Event Properties' box will open.

Look through the info found there for any clues as to what may be causing your problem.

Specially look for any file/driver/

[Glassed Silver]

uninstall it*

Glassed Silver:mac

*just a joke, i like windows :yes:

[Mint]

my favorite trick for hiding pics and other files i dont want anyone to see is i zip them then go to folder options show file extentions for know files then rename the .zip file to .avi and give it some lame name if anyone trys to watch it thinking it is a movie they get comon error message that file is corrupt :)

[TheRPG]

Well, tips and tricks... This maybe not so good and probably everyone knows it, but in Mozilla/firefox, Opera or IE.. Click the Middle mouse button on link and it opens to tab automatically. Click the TAB with middle mouse button and it closes the tab.

Just found out on my closes friends or family none knew this. So here we go.

[myrhymeandreason]

my favorite trick for hiding pics and other files i dont want anyone to see is i zip them then go to folder options show file extentions for know files then rename the .zip file to .avi and give it some lame name if anyone trys to watch it thinking it is a movie they get comon error message that file is corrupt :)

Clever!

Or you could get super paranoid and make the files in the .zip hidden, and make the .zip password protected! :shifty:

***

Great post!