Tech Tips

10 customization tricks for Windows XP

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:34:25 +0000

Create your own Sleep button in Windows XP

Is the Sleep button on your Windows XP machine in an inconvenient location for regular use? If so, follow these simple steps to create your own.

Many computers or keyboards have a Sleep button, which when pressed puts the computer into either Stand By or Hibernate mode depending on how Windows XP's Power Options are configured. However, the Sleep button might not be in convenient location for regular use. For example, it might be on the front of a mid-tower case that's under your desk.

Migrating Shared Folders to Windows 2003

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:42:37 +0000

How can we migrate shared folders from our Windows Server 2000 to Windows Server 2003?

You can download Microsoft's File Server Migration Toolkit (FSMT) to migrate shared folders from a server running Windows NT 4.0/2000 to a server running Windows Server 2003 or Windows Storage Server 2003.

FSMT also helps administrators configure new functionality in a Distributed File System (DFS) to maintain the original UNC path of files after they've been migrated to the new server. Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 829885 discusses this functionality but focuses on manual installation steps for creating DFS consolidation roots.

However, if you use FSMT, there's no need to follow these manual installation steps because FSMT will automatically create the DFS consolidation roots for you.

Get a better view of the Windows XP Tree command with Word

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:40:36 +0000

Using the Tree command to research the folders on your Windows XP hard disk can give you results fast - too fast for your eye to catch. Here's how to use Word to view a Tree you can read in detail and at your own pace.

Removing unused device drivers from Windows XP machines

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:45:38 +0000

When you install a device driver on a Windows XP machine, the operating system loads that driver each time the computer boots regardless of whether the device is present -- unless you specifically uninstall the driver. This means that drivers from devices that you have long since removed from your system may be wasting valuable system resources.

Quickly gather MAC addresses in Windows XP with ARP

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:39:00 +0000

When securing a wireless Windows XP network, in addition to using Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) encryption, you can use Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering.

When you enable MAC address filtering, the wireless access point or wireless router verifies that the network card in the computer requesting access has a MAC address in its filter list before allowing the computer to access the network. This means that you must first obtain the MAC addresses of each client computer. To do so, you might think that you have to manually visit each computer and use the Getmac command.

Automatically generate and assign strong passwords in Windows XP

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:31:50 +0000

Computer users consistently use very simplistic logic when creating passwords. For example, many of us choose meaningful words, personal dates, or a word commonly found in the dictionary because it makes the password easy to remember. These common practices cause us to sacrifice the security that passwords are intended to provide.

Create your own special characters in Windows XP

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:09:08 +0000

Have you ever wanted to create your own font or maybe just a special character -- for example, a character showing your initials for approving documents with your "signature"? You can easily create your own characters using a hidden Windows XP tool called the Private Character Editor. Here's how:

Put your name in the Windows XP notification area

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:02:31 +0000

During those times when the urgent need for high-powered technical intelligence wanes a bit -- especially on a slow Friday afternoon -- try this fun trick and amaze your colleagues. Here's how to make your "own" time by putting your name in the notification area:

Prevent a shutdown of a Windows XP system

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:56:54 +0000

By default, at three o'clock every morning Windows XP's Automatic Updates tool contacts the Windows Update site and automatically downloads and installs updates for your system. However, that can't happen if other people who use the computer shut it down at the end of the day. Fortunately, you can prevent anyone from shutting down Windows XP with a little registry tweak. Here's how:

Change the font Windows XP displays in Windows Explorer

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:50:30 +0000

Note: This tip is for both Windows XP Home and Professional.

Windows Explorer and My Computer display the same font that Windows XP uses for icon titles on your desktop - 8-point Tahoma. If you want to change the font or font size used in Windows Explorer, follow these steps:

Tune Windows XP to speed up boot and shutdown times

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:14:32 +0000

Shorten the time it takes for your desktop to appear when you turn on your PC, and make XP shut down faster as well. No matter how fast your PC boots, it's not fast enough. Here are several hacks to get you right to your desktop as quickly as possible after startup.

Automatically generate and assign strong passwords in Windows XP

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:16:17 +0000

How to: Force Disk Cleanup to delete all temporary files

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:43:30 +0000

If you've ever run the Microsoft Windows XP's Disk Cleanup utility, you probably discovered that your temporary files occupy a significant amount of space. You might select the Temporary Files check box in order to allow the Disk Cleanup utility to delete the files in the Temp folder, but the Disk Cleanup utility will not remove all of the files. The reason for this oddity is that the configuration for the Disk Cleanup utility does not allow deletion of files accessed in the last seven days.

Restoring 'Run as Administrator' for Vista Shortcuts

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:17:55 +0000

Question:
Why is the "Run as Administrator" option no longer available to me?
I've been running Windows Vista as a non-administrator account and have configured some shortcuts on my desktop. Why is the "Run as Administrator" option no longer available to me?

Answer:
You may have turned off the User Account Control (UAC) feature. UAC allows you to log in as a standard user and perform most of the tasks, without requiring the administrative privileges. This enhances security by reducing the attack surface of the operating system.

How to run Windows Update in Firefox

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:13:59 +0000

How can I run Windows Update if I'm using Firefox as my browser?

You can install the Firefox add-on called IE Tab which will allow you to run Windows Update or other Web sites that are designed primarily for Internet Explorer and don't run properly under Firefox.