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Windows Tips for the Savvy Computer User

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 Shortcuts for the Windows Key

Use the Windows key to speed up computing.
The Windows icon key located on the bottom of your PC's keyboard is a little-used treasure. Don't ignore it. It is the shortcut anchor for the following commands.

  1. Windows: Display Start menu.                                                                                   
  2. Windows + D: Minimize or restore all Windows.                                                                                   
  3. Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer.                                                                                   
  4. Windows + Tab: Cycle through buttons on taskbar.                                                                                   
  5. Windows + F: Display find: all files.                                                                                   
  6. Windows + Ctrl + F: Display find: computer.                                                                                   
  7. Windows + F1: Display Help.                                                                                   
  8. Windows + R: Display Run command.                                                                                   
  9. Windows + break: Display system properties dialog box.                                                                                   
  10. Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows.                                                                             
  11. Windows + U: Open Utility Manager

 

 

Windows Tip: Defrag Drives
     
Defragment your hard drive to make your system run better.
 
We recommend a Windows application called Disk Defragmenter to increase performance, reliability, and speed.

The more you use your computer, the more scattered files become as they get rewritten to your hard drive. Disk Defragmenter will optimize your hard drive by efficiently reordering the data. Once started, the utility will run by itself for a few hours, so don't plan to compute during this process.

To run Disk Defragmenter, follow these directions:

  1. Single-click the Start button, mouse-over Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then single-click Disk Defragmenter.                      
  2. Select the drive you'd like to defragment and hit the Settings button.                      
  3. On the Disk Defragmenter Settings menu checkmark "Rearrange program files so my programs start faster" and "Check drive for errors."                      
  4. Hit OK to go back to the first screen.                      
  5. Hit OK to begin the process.

For a graphical representation of how it works, hit the Show Details button.
Come back in a few hours after the process is finished.

If you use your computer often, run Disk Defragmenter every three months.

Troubleshooting

If the process keeps starting over (one to five percent progress, then starts over), you need to run Disk Defragmenter in Safe mode.

 

Adding the Command Prompt to your Shortcut Menu  (Win2k/XP)

If you find that you frequently open a Command Prompt window and change to a specific directory, you can add the Command Prompt to your shortcut menu in Windows Explorer. This option enables you to right-click on a folder within
Windows Explorer and choose the Command Prompt option. Windows 2000 will then open a Command Prompt window with that folder as your current directory.

To add a Command Prompt option to your shortcut menu:

  1.  begin by creating a batch file. In our example, we created a batch file named StartPrompt.cmd. Add the
    following commands to your batch file:

    @echo off
    cd /d %1
    Title %~f1                         
  2. Save this batch file to your Windows 2000 directory (usually C:\WINNT).                     
  3. Next, open Windows Explorer.                     
  4. Choose Tools | Folder Options to display the Folder Options dialog box.                     
  5. Select the File Types tab.                     
  6. In the list of Registered File Types, select Folder.                     
  7. Click Edit to edit the file types associated with the folder.                     
  8. Next, click Advanced to display the Edit File Type dialog box                     
  9. Then click New to display the New Action dialog box.                     
  10. In the Action text box, type Command Prompt.                     
  11. In the Application Used To Perform Action text box, type:

    cmd.exe /a /k c:\winnt\StartPrompt "%l"                         
  12. Click OK to close the New Action dialog box                     
  13. Then click OK to close the Edit File dialog box.                     
  14. Finally, click Close to close Folder Options.

    Now you're all set. In Windows Explorer, right-click on a folder. You should now
    see a new option called Command Prompt on the shortcut menu. If you choose this
    option, Windows 2000 opens a new Command Prompt window with the selected folder
    as your current folder.

 

Checking your Operating System files (Win2K)

Windows 2000 includes a command line utility, sfc (which stands for system file
checker), that enables you to check all of Windows 2000's protected operating
system files to determine if they have been damaged or overwritten. If it finds
that a file has a problem, it will copy a backup copy of the file from the
\%system root%\system32\dllcache folder. To run this utility, open a Command
Prompt window and enter sfc /scannow to scan all of your computer's files
immediately. Alternatively, you can enter sfc /scanboot if you want the system
file checker to check your protected system files each time your computer boots.

 

Change Out Your Pointer Scheme (Win XP)

Tired of seeing your pointer as an arrow or an hourglass all the time? Windows XP offers a number of alternative pointer schemes, such as Dinosaur, Ocean, and Sports.

  1. Open the Control Panel                    
  2. Double-click Mouse                    
  3. Select the Pointers tab. (If you start in Category view, select Appearance and Themes, then click Mouse Pointers under "See Also.")                    
  4. Next to Schemes, click the down arrow and select a scheme to preview its pointers.                    
  5. Click OK to apply the scheme to your desktop. Simple as that.

 

Want to remove MSN Messenger? (Win XP)

A lot of people  want to know how to remove the MSN Messenger service from XP...here's how:

  1. Locate SYSOC.INF in the \Windows\INF folder (hidden file and folder).                   
  2. Open it in Notepad and locate the line: msmsgs=msgrocm.dll, OcEntry,  msmsgs.inf, hide, 7                   
  3. Remove the word "hide" from the line and save the file. You will now have an entry in add/remove programs. Do what you will.

OR (XP Pro Only) leave it installed, but tell Windows to never let it run. If you're running XP Professional, you can use GPEDIT.MSC to prevent Messenger from loading. Otherwise, even disabling it in startup won't cause it to "always" not run. NOTE: Outlook, Outlook Express and some Microsoft web pages can still make it load.

  1. Start, Run and enter GPEDIT.MSC                                                                            
  2. Computer Configuration>Administrative Templates>Windows Components>Windows Messenger                                                                            
  3. You can now modify whether it starts initially and/or whether it's to run at all.

ALSO: This fix may slow Outlook when starting. This is because Outlook wants to start messenger when it starts. The easiest and fastest way to disable Messenger and still have a quick start time with Outlook is to rename the exe file, located in c:\program files\messenger\msmsgs.exe, to something other than msmsgs.exe, such as msmsgsnew.exe.

 

Group and Ungroup Similar Taskbar Items (Win XP)

Just open 3 or 4 Internet Explorer windows and you won't see them all in a row on your Taskbar, as you did in previous versions of Windows. By default, Windows XP groups similar items on one button. For example, if you have 3 Internet Explorer windows open, you'll see an Explorer item with the number 3 on it. Click it to see a pop-up list of those windows, then select the one you want.

If you would like, Windows XP will display all open windows separately on the Taskbar. Right click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Properties. Under Taskbar Properties, deselect Group Similar Taskbar Buttons, then click OK.

 

Turn Back the Clock (Win XP)

Gray is definitely out. The folks at Microsoft bathed Windows XP in color. Don't like XP's look? To switch back to the Classic look that resembles Windows 2000:

  1. Right-click the desktop                  
  2. Select Properties                  
  3. Click the Themes tab                  
  4. Choose Windows Classic from the drop-down list. Voila! You're back to comfy shades of blue and gray--not to mention having all those familiar icons.

Click "Switch to Classic View" in the upper left corner of the Properties dialog to bring back the familiar Control Panel icons of earlier version of Windows.

To get back to the Start menu that looks more like Windows 2000:

  1. Right-click in an empty portion of the Start menu's left hand column                  
  2. Select Properties                  
  3. Go to the Start Menu tab.                  
  4. Select Classic Start Menu.

To bring the new look back, just reverse these steps.

 

Swap out the Defaults (Win XP)

In XP, your favorite programs are displayed in the top left column of the Start menu.  Microsoft starts you off with Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

Want to display a different set of applications in this spot?

  1. Right-click an empty portion of the Start menu's left column
  2. Select Properties
  3. Select Start Menu
  4. Select Customize. 
  5. At the bottom, deselect the program you no longer want displayed in the "Show on the Start menu" dialog, and, using Windows Explorer or My Computer, navigate to the program you want instead. 
  6. Right-click the program and select "Pin to Start menu". 
  7. To rename the new shortcut, right-click it and select Rename. Note: You can't pin files, just programs.

 

Organize your Desktop (Win XP)

The only default icon on XP's desktop is the Recycle Bin, but we think it's a good idea to add a shortcut to Computer Management, a quick and dirty way to get to such important tools as the Event Viewer, Local Users and Groups, Shared Folder, the Device Manager, and Disk Management. To surface this handy management dialog:

  1. Click Start
  2. Click Control Panel
  3. Click Performance and Maintenance
  4. Click Administrative Tools.
  5. Right-click an empty portion of the desktop
  6. Select Paste Shortcut.

Use this procedure to add shortcuts to anything else; use Windows Explorer or My Computer to find your target.

 

Turn on your Firewall (Win XP)

Microsoft included a firewall in Windows XP to keep you safe from hackers while you cruise the Internet. How do you know that the Internet Connection Firewall is on?

  1. Go to the Control Panel and double-click the Network Connections icon. 
  2. In the dial-up, DSL, or cable connection dialog that appears, check the Status column. 
  3. If your firewall is on, it should say "Firewalled". You can turn the firewall off with the check box, but unless you are going to add a third-party firewall for heightened security, it's best to leave it on.

Now that you know that your firewall is on, how do you know that it's doing it's job? Test it with ShieldsUP, the free testing service sponsored by Gibson Research. According to test, XP's Internet Connection Firewall kept the computer in full stealth mode. Hackers could not break in and couldn't even see the computer online. But, given the latest security problems with USB 2.0, etc., you should always go to Windows Update to make sure you have the latest patches, not matter what operating system you use.

 

Enable/Disable Firewall (Win XP)

  1. Open Control Panel and double-click on Network Connections. 
  2. In the new box that appears, right-click on the connection
  3. Click on the Advanced tab. 
  4. Check or uncheck the box according to your desire.

 

Microsoft Narrator (Win XP)

Want to hear your computer talk?

  1. Select Start
  2. Select Programs
  3. Select Accessories
  4. Select Accessibility
  5. Select Narrator.

Or press the Windows key on the keyboard plus the letter "U" to open the Utility Manager, Microsoft Narrator, an accessibility option designed to assist reader who are blind or have impaired vision. It starts automatically.

Once you've read through the intro screen (or let the Narrator do it), click OK and you'll see a dialog box of Narrator options. Assuming you want to leave Narrator running, select the desired options, then minimize its dialog box. And if you've opened the Utility Manager, feel free to close it.

To turn Narrator off, click the Exit button or right-click its taskbar item and select Close.

 

Close Multiple Windows (all versions of Windows)

If you just opened a number of separate, related windows ( a folder inside a folder, and so on), there's an easier way to close them all than one at a time. Hold down the Shift key as you click the X caption button in the upper right corner of the last window opened. Doing so closes that window and all windows that came before it.

 

Watch your Cookies (Win XP)

In XP, the Documents and Settings folder holds all user information, including configuration settings, favorites, and cookies. The Documents and Settings\Username\Cookies folder is where XP stashes cookies. How do you control the number of cookies that you allow on your system?

  1. Click Start
  2. Click Control Panel
  3. Click Network and Internet Connections
  4. Click Internet Options. 
  5. Click the Privacy tab, then use the slider bar to modify your cookie settings.

For instance, You can block cookies from sites that use personal identification without your consent. To increase your security, try out the other privacy settings in this dialog. The lowest level is Accept All Cookies while the highest is Block All Cookies, with low, medium, medium-high, and high settings in between. (An explanation of each appears as you move between settings.) Keep in mind that rejecting cookies may limit your actions on some Web sites, and some sites use cookies to track how many times you see a popup. 

 

The Omnipotent Administrator (Win XP)

When you use Windows XP, you belong to one of two groups: Administrators or Users. Administrators are all-powerful. If you have a so-called Admin account, you can make system wide changes and change other users' accounts. While this power is a boon to the ego, it's also dangerous. If, for example, you encounter a virus, a Trojan Horse, or a worm while you're logged on as Administrator, you could wreck all the accounts on your entire system. Log in as User, on the other hand, and any damage you cause will be less extensive, because ordinary users are prevented from making system wide changes. A word to the wise: Do your everyday computing as a regular user and log on as Administrator only when it's absolutely necessary, such as when adding a new user or changing security settings. To sign on as User, use the Run As command: just right-click a shortcut and select Run As. As long as you know the username and password, you can sign on as another user.

 

Reduce Temporary Internet File Space

The temporary internet files clutter your hard drive with copies of each page visited. These can build up over time and take up disk space. Even more bothersome is that instead of getting new pages each time, IE often takes the page out the temp internet files. This can be a problem if you are viewing a website that is updated all the time. If you are on a slow connection such as a 56K or lower  this can be good, but if you are on a fast broadband connection then you can get away with decreasing the size of your temp internet files to just one meg without any performance decrease.

 

Add Familiar Icons Back to your Desktop (Win XP)

It's the case of the missing icons. Many of you may be wondering where all the icons from your desktop are in Windows XP?  Well, you may like to have at least My Computer, My Documents, or My Network Places on the desktop. To do this:

  1. Right-click on the desktop, and then click Properties
  2. Click the Desktop tab and then click on Customize Desktop
  3. Put a check mark in the box next to My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, or other icons to add those familiar icons to your desktop.

 

Unlock Toolbars to Customize them (Win XP)

Windows XP now features locking toolbars, and you can adjust them. You can customize a lot of the Windows XP features such as the Taskbar, Start Menu, and even toolbar icons in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. Remember your right-click:

  1. Right-click on a toolbar, and then click Lock the Toolbars to remove the check mark.
  2. Right-click on the toolbar again, and then click Customize.
  3. You can add and remove toolbar buttons, change text options and icon options. When you've got the toolbar customized, click Close.
  4. Now right-click on the toolbar and then click Lock the Toolbars to lock them in place.

 

Display your Quick Launch Toolbar

Is your Quick Launch toolbar missing from the taskbar? To display your familiar Quick Launch toolbar:

  1. Right-click an empty area on the taskbar
  2. Click Toolbars
  3. Click Quick Launch
  4. Easy as that your Quick Launch bar appears. To add items to your Quick Launch toolbar, click the icon for the program you want to add, and drag it to the Quick Launch portion of the toolbar.

 

Display the Sharing Tab in Folder Properties (Win XP)

In Windows 2000, getting to the Sharing options for a folder was simple: just right-click, choose Properties, and you'd see a Sharing tab. In Windows XP, this feature is missing by default, but you can make the system display the Sharing tab if desired.

  1. Click on My Computer
  2. Click Tools
  3. Click on Folder Options
  4. Navigate to the View tab. 
  5. In the Advanced Settings section, scroll down to the bottom and uncheck Use Simple file sharing (Recommended), a Mickey Mouse feature if there ever was one. Now share your folders on the LAN as you would in Windows 2000.

 

Speed up the Start Menu 

The default speed of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\MenuShowDelay

By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up. If this doesn't work for some reason, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties, Appearance,Advanced and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow.  You will get much better overall performance.

 

Alphabetize your Start Menu

Don't you hate how Windows adds new programs to the end of the start menu? The fix is quick and simple, right-click on the menu and select Sort by Name. 

 

How to create a password reset disk for computers that are part of a domain [Win XP]

Note that this procedure requires one blank, formatted floppy disk.

To create a password reset disk for your local user account:

  1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. The Windows security dialog box appears.
  2. Click Change Password. The Change Password dialog box appears.
  3. In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer(this computer)
  4. Click Backup. The Forgotten Password Wizard starts.
  5. On the Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard" page, click Next.
  6. Insert a blank, formatted disk in drive A:, and then click Next.
  7. In the Current user account password box, type your password, and then click Next. The Forgotten Password Wizard creates the disk.
  8. When the progress bar reaches 100 percent complete, click Next, and then click Finish. Then Forgotten Password Wizard quits and you return to the Change Password dialog box.
  9. Remove, and then label the password reset disk. Store the disk in a safe place. 
  10. In the Change Password dialog box, click Cancel.
  11. In the Windows Security dialog box, click Cancel.

If you forget your password, you can log on to the computer with a new password that you create by using the Password Reset Wizard and your password reset disk. To gain access to your local user account on a computer that is a member of a domain, or has been disconnected from a domain:

  1. In the Welcome to Windows dialog box, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
  2. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type an incorrect password in the Password box, and then click OK.
  3. In the Logon Failed dialog box that appears, click Reset. The Password Reset Wizard starts. The Password Reset Wizard lets you create a new password for your local user account.
  4. On the Welcome to the Password Reset Wizard page, click Next.
  5. Insert the password reset disk in drive A:, and then click Next.
  6. On the Reset the User Account Password page, type a new password in the Type a new password box.
  7. Type the same password in the Type the password again to confirm box.
  8. In the Type a new password hint box, type a hint that will help you remember the password if you forget it. NOTE: This hint is visible to anyone who attempts to log on to the computer by using your user account.
  9. Click Next, and then click Finish. The Password Reset Wizard quits and you return to the Log On to Windows dialog box. The password reset disk is automatically updated with the new password information. You do not have to create a new password reset disk.
  10. In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type your new password in the Password box.
  11. In the Log on to box, click the local computer. For example, click Computer(this computer), and then click OK. You are logged on to the local computer with your local account information. 

 

Display your File Extensions

By default, Windows is configured to hide filename extensions, the (usually 3-letter) portion of the filename following the period. Aside from creating a knowledge gap between experienced and inexperienced users, this "feature" can also make it difficult to differentiate files with the same filename prefix. Overall, hiding filename extensions makes Windows more difficult to use. To display filename extensions:

  1. Open My Computer
  2. Select Folder Options from the Tools menu
  3. Click on the View tab
  4. Turn off Hide MS-DOS file extensions for known file types
  5. Press OK

 

Move or Copy Files at Will

Intuitively, when you drag a file from one place to another, it would seem reasonable that the file will be moved, not copied. That is, when you see an object disappear from a location, it shouldn't still be there next time you look.  One of the worst inconsistencies in Windows is what actually happens to files when they're dragged. Dragging from one place to another on the same disk ends up moving the files, while dragging from one disk to another copies them. If you're just dragging EXE files, a shortcut is created, and the file is neither copied nor moved. The only consistency here is that this same design flaw is duplicated on Macintosh and OS/2. To cope with this, follow the following instructions:

  • To copy a file under any situation, hold the Ctrl key while dragging.
  • To move a file under any situation, hold the Shift key while dragging.
  • To choose what happens to dragged files, drag them with the right mouse button, and a menu will appear when the files are dropped.

 

  • Note: Notice that the mouse cursor changes depending on the action being taken. A small plus (+) appears when copying, and a curved arrow appears when creating a shortcut.

 

Add and Remove items from the "Send To" Menu

The Send To menu is simply a directory on your hard disk (\Windows\Send To in Windows 95, 98, & Me - \Documents and Settings\{username}\Send To in Windows 2000 & XP). Just drag-drop any folders, programs, or icons into this folder to add their shortcuts to the Sent To menu.

Hint: If you create a shortcut to the Sent To folder in the Send To folder itself, it makes it easy to add new objects later on.

 

Learn to Explore with Folders

Here are some tips for controlling the way folders and files behave. Although selecting Options from the View menu in My Computer lets you choose whether to open each new folder as a new window or re-use the same window, there is a way to pick & choose behavior on the fly:

  1. Select Options from the View menu in My Computer
  2. Select Custom
  3. Select Settings
  4. From the "Browse folders as follows" section, choose the option that you want.
  5. Even though you've chosen one option, you can hold Ctrl while double-clicking  folder icons to use the other option.

Other keys that work with either setting:

  • Hold Alt while double-clicking on a file or folder to view the Properties window for that object.
  • Hold Shift while double-clicking on a folder to open Explorer at that location (careful when using this as Shift is also used to select multiple files).
  • Press Backspace in an open folder to go to the parent folder.
  • Hold Shift while clicking on the close button (X) to close all open folders.
  • A shortcut for choosing a new program to be used with a certain file type is to hold the Shift key while right-clicking on a file, and choosing Open With..

 

Getting Rid of the Little Yellow Speaker in the Tray

The little yellow speaker in the lower-right of the screen, next to the clock (the clock can be removed by right-clicking and selecting Properties, by the way), lets you display the volume control by clicking on it. For those of us who have volume controls elsewhere, or simply do not need to repeatedly change the volume, there is a way to remove the icon.

  1. Open Control Panel by selecting Settings from the Start menu.
  2. Double-click on the Sounds and Multimedia icon (it's just called Multimedia in Windows 95/98).
  3. Under the Audio tab, in the Playback section, turn off the Show volume control on the taskbar option. 
  4. Click OK.

 

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