Windows tricks

This little [pointless] trick allows you display your windows version in the lower right corner of your desktop (above the system clock)

Go to Start > Run > regedit
Please note that registry changes can be harmful if you don't know what you're doing, so don't hold it against me if this goes wrong for you

Go tot he registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop in there will be key called PaintDesktopVersion the value of this is currently set to 0 (for false) so what you can do is right click on the key, choose Modify from the context menu and set the Value Data to 1 (for true).

Then close regedit, restart and voila, your windows version is printed on your desktop in the lower right corner.


This next trick allows you to decide whether windows should display the blue screen of death or if it should auto restart when the system crashes.

Go to Start > Run > regedit

In there, navigation to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl

In there will be an option called AutoReboot, right click on this key and choose Modify, set the Value Data to 0 for blue screen, or 1 for auto-restart.

REGISTRY TWEAKS

Add open with for all files

You can add "Open With..." to the Right click context menu of all files.This is great for when you have several programs you want to open the same file types with. I use three different text editors so I added it to the ".txt" key.

1. Open RegEdit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\Shell
3. Add a new Key named "OpenWith" by right clicking the "Shell" Key and selecting new
4. Set the (Default) to "Op&en With..."
5. Add a new Key named "Command" by right clicking the "OpenWith" Key and selecting new
6. Set the (Default) to "C:\Windows\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1", C:\ being your Windows drive. You must enter the "OpenAs_RunDLL %1" exactly this way.

Customize the System Tray

You can add your name or anything you like that consists of 8 characters or less. This will replace the AM or PM next to the system time. But you can corrupt some trial licenses of software that you may have downloaded.

1. Open RegEdit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International
3. Add two new String values, "s1159" and "s2359"
4. Right click the new value name and modify. Enter anything you like up to 8 characters.

If you enter two different values when modifying, you can have the system tray display the two different values in the AM and PM.

Lock Out Unwanted Users

Want to keep people from accessing Windows, even as the default user? If you do not have a domain do not attempt this.

1. Open RegEdit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Network\Logon
3. Create a dword value "MustBeValidated"
4. Set the value to 1
This forced logon can be bypassed in Safe Mode on Windows 9x

Disable the Outlook Express Splash Screen

You can make OutLook Express load quicker by disabling the splash screen:

1. Open RegEdit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OutLook Express
3. Add a string value "NoSplash"
4. Set the value data to 1 as a Dword value

Windows vista speed tweaks

1, Increase external USB hard drive per formance.

By default, USB storage devices have write caching totally disabled primarily so you can unplug them without bothering with the Safety Remove Software icon in the Tray. Al­though this is handy for flash drives, it significantly slows down external USB hard drives. First, plug in your external USB drive, right-click Computer in the Start menu, and choose Properties. Then, click the Device Manager link, expand the Disk Drives entry by clicking the plus (+) sign, and double-click your external USB hard drive. Click the Policies tab and then click Optimize for Performance. This makes two more options appear: Enable Write Caching on the Disk and Enabled Advance Per formance. Enable both options and click OK. Rebooting enables the change.

2, Increase SATA drive performance.

Vista's write caching is fairly conserva tive by default in order to prevent data loss in the event of a power fail ure. It your desktop PC is connected to a UPS (uninterruptable power sup ply), or if you're using a notebook computer with a reliable battery, you can set the write caching to be more aggressive. Right-click Computer in the Start menu, choose Properties, and then click the Device Manager link. Expand the Disk Drives entry by clicking on the plus (+) symbol and then double-click your SATA hard drive. Click the Policies tab, check Enable Advanced Performance, and click OK. Rebooting Vista will enable this change.

3, Disable Network Printer Search.

Vista normally searches for new net work printers when you browse your LAN. But if you aren't regularly ad ding printers to your network, this searching slows things down. To dis­able this feature, click Network from the Start menu, which opens the Network window. Press ALT to make the Menu Bar visible if it isn't already and then choose Polder Options from the Tools menu. Finally, click the View tab. uncheck Automatically Search for Network Printers, and then click OK.

4, Turn unneeded Vista features off.

Windows Vista adds hundreds of fea tures when it is installed. Not all of them arc enabled by default, but you probably don't need many that arc, any way. Disabling those you don't need saves resources and speeds your system up. To find these and disable them, open the Windows Control Panel and switch to Classic View. Next, double click the Programs and Features icon and then click the Turn Windows Features on or off link on the left side or the window. After a moment, a large list appears with checkboxes. Those that are checked are enabled and those that aren't arc disabled. Different versions of Vista have different features enabled, so expand any collapsible entries by click ing the plus (+) sign to see what's turned on and disable what you don't need. For example, if you don't have a Tablet PC, you can safely disable Tablet PC Options Components. Click OK when you're done, and your computer will restart if necessary.