Windows XP Tips 'N' Tricks

» Decreasing Boot Time
Microsoft has made available a program to analyze and decrease the time it takes to boot to WindowsXPThe program is called BootVisUncompress the file. Run BOOTVIS.EXE For a starting point, run Trace / Next Boot + Driver Delays This will reboot your computer and provide a benchmark After the reboot, BootVis will take a minute or two to show graphs of your system startup. Note how much time it takes for your system to load (click on the red vertical line) Then run Trace / Optimize System Re-Run the Next Boot + Drive Delays Note how much the time has decreased Mine went from approximately 39 to 30 seconds.

» WindowsXP Command Line Utilities
While there are a lot of command line utilities in WindowsXP, here are some that I have been using lately.bootcfg - Configures, queries, or changes Boot.ini file settings.driverquery - Displays a list of all installed device drivers and their properties.getmac - Returns the media access control (MAC) address and list of network protocols associated with each address for all network cards in each computergpresult - Displays Group Policy settings and Resultant Set of Policy (RSOP) for a user or a computernetsh - You can use commands in the Netsh Interface IP context to configure the TCP/IP protocolschtasks - Schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a specific timesysteminfo - Displays detailed configuration information about a computer and its operating system

» Creating an Automated Install of WindowsXP
On the WindowsXP CP, in the SUPPORT\TOOLS directory,there is a file called DEPLOY.CAB.Extract the programs DEPLOY.CHM (help file) and SETUPMGR.EXE (main program) Run SETUPMGR and answer the prompts. This will create both a unattend.bat and unattend.txt file you can use for automated installs. Note: The batch file might need some minor modification for file locations but it is fairly basic.

» Disabling Hibernation
If you don't want to use up the disk space taken by Hibernation, or don't need to use it at all,you can easily disable it.Open up the Control Panel / Power Options icon Click on the Hibernation icon Uncheck Enable Hibernation

» Increasing System Performance
If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performanceby having the core system kept in memory.Start Regedit Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive Set the value to be 1 Reboot the computer

» Common Command Console Utilities
WindowsXP comes with quite a few console utilities you can easily run from the command line:Computer Management - compmgmt.mscDisk Managment - diskmgmt.mscDevice Manager - devmgmt.mscDisk Defrag - dfrg.mscEvent Viewer - eventvwr.mscShared Folders - fsmgmt.mscGroup Policies - gpedit.mscLocal Users and Groups - lusrmgr.mscPerformance Monitor - perfmon.mscResultant Set of Policies - rsop.mscLocal Security Settings - secpol.mscServices - services.mscComponent Services - comexp.msc

» Automatically Ending Non-Responsive Tasks
Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks Set the value to be 1 In the same section, change the WaitToKillAppTimeout to the number of milliseconds you want.

» Changing the Internet Explorer Title
Start Regedit Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Window Title Enter what you want appear in the title bar

» Changing Programs That Start Automatically
WindowsXP has a similar program, MSCONFIG, that was available in Windows98.This allows you to view and change what programs are automatically started each time you log in.The new version also allows you to view and edit the boot.ini file

(as well as check for errors and use several advanced switches)

Changing Drive Letters

Changing Drive Letters

If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:Right Click on My Computer Select Manage Select Disk Management For a Fixed Disk:Select it Right click Select Change Drive Letter and Path Click on the Edit button Enter in the letter you want to use For a Removable Disk:In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM # Select Change Drive Letter and Path Click on the Edit button Enter in the letter you want to use

Clearing the Page File on Shutdown

Clearing the Page File on Shutdown

Another way to set the computer to clear the pagefile without directly editing the registry is:Click on the Start button Go to the Control Panel Administrative Tools Local Security Policy Local Policies Click on Security Options Right hand menu - right click on "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile" Select "Enable" Reboot If you want to clear the page file on each shutdown:Start Regedit Go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown Set the value to 1

Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG

Corrupted or Missing \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG

If you get the error:Windows could not start because the following files is missing or corrupt\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or

\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE

Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair.Typically this will be #1 Enter in the administrator password when requested cd \windows\system32\config Depending on which section was corrupted:ren software software.bad or ren system system.bad Depending on which section was corruptedcopy \windows\repair\systemcopy \windows\repair\software.

Take out the CD ROM and type exit