How do I enable the NUM LOCK key for the logon screen?

Problem description

The status of the NUM LOCK key is specific for each user, and NUM LOCK is disabled by default. If you want the NUM LOCK key enabled for use before a user presses CTRL+ALT+DEL to log on, you must use Registry Editor to change the default behavior.

RESOLUTION

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article:

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To enable NUM LOCK before a user logs on, follow these steps:

1. Run Registry Editor.Move to HKEY_USERS\.
2. Default\Control Panel\Keyboard.
3. Change the value for InitialKeyboardIndicators from 0 to 2.

Note:

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix this problem link. Next, click Run in the File Download dialog box, and then follow the steps in this wizard. Fix this problem

How can I open a .WDB file?

The problem is not the operating system; the problem is that you don't have the correct application installed to open the file. The .WDB file extension indicates this is a file that was created in Microsoft Works Database.

Where is USB Drive?

This sometimes happens if Windows names the drive letter to something that was already in use by another device. See if you can locate the drive and change its drive letter, using these steps:

1. Right click My Computer and select Manage.
2. In the right pane of the Computer Management console, go down to Storage and expand it if necessary, then click Disk Management.
3. It may take a few minutes to populate the right pane. When the disk information appears, your USB drive should show up in this list.
4. To change the drive letter, right click the drive in the list and select Change Drive Letters and Paths...
5. The currently assigned letter will be displayed in the dialog box. Click the Change button.
6. From the drop down list, pick a drive letter that is not being used by any other device and click OK. You'll get a Confirm dialog box; click Yes.

How to hide a user account on the logon screen?

Maybe you created a user account on your XP computer so your nephew could use it when he was visiting you. Now he's gone home and you really don't want to see that account choice every time you log on to Windows, but you also don't want to just delete the account because he'll probably be back again next year. Here's how to hide an account from the logon screen:

1. Before editing the registry, back it up just to be safe.
2. Open the registry editor and navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \ UserList
3. In the right pane, you'll see a list of items that correspond to the user accounts that exist on the computer but are not shown on the logon screen. You'll probably be surprised at how many there are.
4. Right click an empty space in the right pane, select NEW and DWORD value.
5. Right click the new value and rename it to the exact name of the user account you want to hide.
6. Close the registry editor.

Now the account name won't show up on the logon screen. You can unhide the account at any time by deleting the registry key you created. Your nephew can still log onto the account while it's hidden. Just press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice in a row at the logon screen and you'll get the logon dialog box that allows you to type in the username.

Different wallpapers on multiple monitors

DisplayFusion will make your dual monitor (or triple monitor or more) experience smooth and painless. With DisplayFusion you can add a taskbar to every monitor that works and looks just like the Windows Taskbar. Or take advantage of advanced multi-monitor wallpaper support, Flickr integration for image searching and fully customizable window management hotkeys. These are just a few of the many things that DisplayFusion can do.

1. Advanced Multi-Monitor Taskbar support
2. Use a different desktop wallpaper image on each monitor
3. Use a desktop wallpaper image that spans all monitors
4. Randomly change your desktop wallpaper using local images or images from Flickr
5. Drag or middle-click the taskbar of maximized windows to move them to other screens
6. Auto-snap windows to the edge of your monitor
7. Integrated Flickr.com image search & download
8. Integrated Vladstudio.com image search & download

You can download it here:

http://www.binaryfortress.com/displayfusion/

How to print IE pages without the headers and footers?

By default, when you print a web page from IE, you get those annoying headers and footers giving you information (such as the date it was printed) that you may not want to advertise. You can turn off those headers and footers for a particular print job by clicking File Print Preview and click the icon for "Turn headers and footers on or off" (hover over the icons to find it). If you want to turn them off permanently.

1. Click File Page Setup
2. In the dialog box, under the section labeled "Headers and Footers," remove the text in the boxes.
3. Click OK

Alternatively, you can change the information in the headers and footers. For example, &d or &D is what puts the date in there. Likewise, &t or &T inserts the time. If you want the footer to show the page number only, just put &p in the footer.

Explorer.exe Command-Line Options for Windows XP

The options that you can use with Explorer.exe are /n, /e, /root (plus an object), and /select (plus an object).

Option Function

1. /n Opens a new single-pane window for the default selection. This is usually the root of the drive that Windows is installed on. If the window is already open, a duplicate opens.
2. /e Opens Windows Explorer in its default view.
3. /root, (plus an object) Opens a window view of the specified object.
4. /select, (plus an object) Opens a window view with the specified folder, file, or program selected.

Examples
********************************************************

Example 1: Explorer /select,C:\TestDir\TestProg.exe
Opens a window view with TestProg selected.

Example 2: Explorer /e,/root,C:\TestDir\TestProg.exe
Opens Explorer with drive C expanded and TestProg selected.

Example 3: Explorer /root,\\TestSvr\TestShare
Opens a window view of the specified share.

Example 4: Explorer /root,\\TestSvr\TestShare,select,TestProg.exe
Opens a window view of the specified share with TestProg selected.

System Restore has encountered a problem and needs to close

It sounds as if System Restore may have gotten corrupted. You can try reinstalling the feature. Here's how:

1. In Control Panel or Windows Explorer, click Folder Options and then the View tab.
2. Under Advanced Settings, scroll down and find "Show hidden files and folders." Check the box.
3. Find "Hide extensions for known files types." Uncheck that box.
4. Click Apply, OK.
5. In Windows Explorer, find your Windows folder (usually on the C: drive but not always). Navigate to the inf folder and open it.
6. Find a file named sr.inf
7. Right click the file and select Install.

Important: this creates a new installation of System Restore, but it will delete any restore points that you had created previously.

How to customize the volume controls in XP?

When you double click the Volume icon in the XP system tray, it opens up the Volume Control box, which consists of a number of sliders. It's a large box that takes up a lot of room. If you want to cut it down to size, you can display a smaller version by pressing CTRL+S. And if there are some sliders that you never use, you can remove them. Here's how:

1. In the top menu bar, click Options, then Properties.
2. In the section labeled "Show the following volume controls," scroll down and uncheck the ones you don't want to see. You can also add controls that don't currently display.
3. Click OK

How do I use DreamScene?

QUESTION:

I finally got around to installing the DreamScene moving screensaver on my Vista Ultimate, but it doesn't seem to work. Am I doing something wrong? I used Windows Update to install it and it looked like it installed.

ANSWER:

DreamScene actually gives you animated desktop wallpaper, rather than a screensaver. If you've installed the DreamScene application, you may need to then enable it. Perform these steps:

1. Click Start Control Panel and then Programs, Programs and Features
2. Select "Turn Windows features on or off"
3. Scroll down to Windows Ultimate Extras and put a checkmark in the box labeled "Windows DreamScene"
4. Wait while the progress bar tells you that the feature is being configured
5. Reboot the computer

Now when you right click the desktop and select Personalize, under "Choose a desktop background," you should "Windows DreamScene Content" in the menu, so you can select a video to use for your wallpaper. Be forewarned that DreamScene may take up a lot of resources on low powered computers, but if you have the resources to run it, it is very cool looking.

How to display the hierarchical folder path instead of "breadcrumbs"?

Personally, I like the "breadcrumbs" path view in Vista (Computer --> Maxtor (D:) --> Pictures --> SFTrip) because you can click any point at it and go there - it's quick and efficient. But some readers have complained that they want to see the old style hierarchical path (D:\Pictures\SFTrip) instead. Well, that's easy enough:

1. In Windows Explorer, hold down the ALT key
2. Press and release the D key
3. The path is highlighted, so you can copy it to your keyboard with CTRL+C
4. To get back to the "breadcrumbs" view, press the ESC key.

If you want to keep the breadcrumbs, but need to copy the path, just right click an empty space in the address bar after the path and you can select "Copy Address" or "Copy Address as Text." Note that these same procedures work in Windows 7, too.

How can I make XP boot automatically?

QUESTION:
I have a problem. I installed Vista on my XP computer, to dual boot. But I don't like Vista and went back to using XP. The problem is that when I reboot, it automatically starts up Vista unless I'm paying attention and choose the "Previous operating system" in the bootup menu. How can I make it automatically go into XP again?

ANSWER:
Luckily that's an easy one to fix, although the answer isn't very intuitive. Here's what you need to do:

1. Click Start Control Panel and open the System applet.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. At the bottom, under "Startup and Recovery," click the Settings button.
4. At the top of the dialog box, under "System Startup," click the down arrow and select the operating system that you want to be the default (the one that starts automatically after a set amount of time).
5. You can also modify the number of seconds the list will display before going into your default OS, if you want.
6. Click OK twice to close out the dialog boxes.

Now when you boot up, the system should automatically load XP unless you select Vista from the boot menu list.

The Registry Keys and Values for the System Restore Utility

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry

In the registry, you can modify many values for System Restore. However, it is recommended that you use the user interface whenever possible to configure System Restore, as you may be unable to reverse the changes you made in the registry, which can place your computer into an unstable condition.

In Windows XP, there are three registry keys that you can use to modify System Restore:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Sr
This key is related to the System Restore filter. This key and its values must not be be modified under any circumstances as any modifications can cause the operating system to malfunction.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Srservice
This key is related to the System Restore service. This key and its values must not be be modified under any circumstances as any modifications can cause the operating system to malfunction.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
In this registry key, you can modify some DWORD values. However, in this key, there are some values that must not be modified under any circumstances.

Values That Can Be Modified Without Risk of Harm to the Computer
CompressionBurst
This value, listed in seconds, specifies the idle time compression: The amount of time to compress data after the computer reaches its idle time. A service can compress data for the amount of time that is specified in this value, and then stop. Then, at the next idle time compression, the computer can repeat the process.

DiskPercent
This value relates to the percentage of disk space that System Restore uses for its data store. The default value is 12 percent. The data store size is always calculated as "max(12 percent, DSMax)," regardless of the size of the hard disk. The maximum (max) size is what is specified in DSMax. For hard disk sizes that are less than 4 gigabytes (GB) in size, 12 percent is less than 400 megabytes (MB), so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 400 MB." For hard disk sizes that are greater than 4 GB, 12 percent is greater than 400 MB, so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 12 percent." This data store size is not a reserved disk space, and the data store size is used only on demand.

DSMax
This value specifies the maximum size for the System Restore data store. The default size of the data store is 400 MB. The data store size is always calculated as "max(12 percent, DSMax)," regardless of the size of the hard disk. The maximum (max) size is what is specified in DSMax. For hard disk sizes that are less than 4 GB, 12 percent is less than 400 MB, so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 400 MB." For hard disk sizes that are greater than 4 GB, 12 percent is greater than 400 MB, so "max(12 percent, DSMax) equals 12 percent." This data store size is not a reserved disk space, and the data store size is used only on demand.

DSMin
This value relates to the minimum amount of free disk space that System Restore needs so that it can function during the installation process. Also, this value relates to the minimum amount of free disk space that is needed for System Restore to reactivate and to resume the creation of restore points after System Restore has been disabled because of low disk space.

RestoreStatus
This value specifies if the last restore operation failed (0), succeeded (1), or had been interrupted (2).

RPGlobalInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that System Restore waits before it creates the automatic computer check points for elapsed time. The default value is 24 hours.

RPLifeInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the restore points Time to Live (TTL). When a restore point reaches this time and it is still on the system, it gets deleted. The default value is (7776000), which will be 90 days.

RPSessionInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that System Restore waits before it creates the automatic computer check points for session time (the amount of time that the computer has been on). The default value is zero (0), which means that this feature is turned off.

ThawInterval
This value specifies, in seconds, the amount of time that System Restore waits before it activates itself from a disabled state (after the conditions for this process to occur have been met). If you start the System Restore user interface, System Restore is activated immediately.

Values That Must Not Be Modified
CreateFirstRunRp
This value instructs the computer to create the first restore point, for example, when System Restore is turned off, and then turned back on, or disabled, and then activated. This value must not be modified under any circumstances as a modification can place the computer in an unrecoverable situation (for example, the computer is unable to create a first restore point in any of the preceding situations).

DisableSR
This value turns System Restore either on or off. If you turn System Restore off in the registry, the existing restore points are not removed. This value must not be modified. System Restore must be turned either on or off only from the user interface.

RestoreDiskSpaceError
This value instructs the computer to produce an error message in case System Restore is unsuccessful because of problems related to disk space. This value functions as an informational value.

RestoreSafeModeStatus
This value specifies if the last restore operation had been performed from the Safe mode.

TimerInterval
This value is the pulling time specified in seconds. This value relates to the time that System Restore "wakes up" and checks for the condition of its disk space. The default value is 120, and it must not be modified as any modifications can affect overall computer performance.

APPLIES TO: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Professional

How to edit the registry to modify System Restore?

There are three registry keys that can be used to make changes to XP's System Restore feature. To make these changes, be sure to first back up the registry, then open your registry editor and navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ WindowsNT \ CurrentVersion \ SystemRestore

Perhaps the most useful modification you can make is to set the maximum time that a restore point exists before it is deleted. The setting is specified in seconds, and the default is 7776000, which translates to 90 days. If you want your restore points to hang around longer or you'd like to see them disappear sooner, do this
1. Navigate to the key shown above and in the right details pane, double click or create the DWORD value RPLifeInterval.
2. In the value data field, enter a number in seconds equal to the time that you want restore points to remain on the system before being deleted (for example, to specify a time to live of 30 days, enter the value 2592000).
3. Close the registry editor. There are other values in this key that can be modified, and some that should never be changed.

To find out more...

Remote access clients that are running Windows Vista cannot access Routing and Remote Access Service servers that use IPv6

SYMPTOMS
Remote access clients that are running Windows Vista cannot access Routing and Remote Access Service servers that use IPv6 or the computers behind the servers.

CAUSE
Assume that you have used remote access policy to add Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection-based IPv6 filters to Routing and Remote Access Service static filters. For example, you configure remote access policy to enable only TCP port 80 to carry traffic. In this scenario, the remote access policy will block all traffic except the traffic that is specified in the policy. The blocked traffic includes Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) v6 neighbor discovery (ND) packets. These packets are required for clients to reach Routing and Remote Access Service servers that use IPv6 or the computers behind these servers.

Note Routing and Remote Access Service servers that use IPv4 do not require ICMPv6 ND packets. Therefore, this issue does not occur if Routing and Remote Access Service servers use IPv4.

RESOLUTION
1. To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
2. Locate and then open the remote access policy.
3. Click the Settings tab, and then click IP Filters.
4. Under IPv6, click Input Filters.
5. Add the following explicit filters to enable ICMPv6 ND packets to be received:
- IPv6 Next header type == 58, ICMP header type = 133
- IPv6 Next header type == 58, ICMP header type = 134
- IPv6 Next header type == 58, ICMP header type = 135
- IPv6 Next header type == 58, ICMP header type = 136
- IPv6 Next header type == 58, ICMP header type = 137

How to make a shortcut to mute the sound in Vista

It's happened to most of us: you're playing a song or watching a video and the phone rings or someone comes into the room and starts talking to you. You need to get the volume down or off quickly, but if you don't have a multimedia keyboard with a Mute key, you have to go through several clicks to silence your computer. It's handy to have a one-click shortcut to mute the sound. Here's how to make one:

1. First download the nircmd.exe tool here: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html
2. Right click an empty spot on the desktop and select New Shortcut
3. Assuming you saved the file to a folder called Tools on the C: drive, type this in the "location of the item" box (substitute the correct path if you saved it in a different location): "C:\ Path \ To \ nircmd.exe" mutesysvolume 2.
4. Give the shortcut a name (e.g., "Mute")
5. Right click the shortcut and select Properties.
6. Here you can assign a key combination, or you can just click the icon on the desktop to quickly mute the sound.

How can I trim down the XP startup process?

You can remove programs from the startup process. Here's how:

1. Click Start Run and type: msconfig.exe
2. In the System Configuration utility, click the Startup tab and uncheck the programs in the list that you don't want to start when you boot the system. If you don't know what some of the listed items are, you may need to look them up in a web search. For example, I have Microsoft Groove installed as part of Office, but I rarely use it. GrooveMonitor starts automatically, but I can uncheck it to speed up the Startup process.

If you have many unnecessary programs starting up, you may see a significant decrease in bootup time when you uncheck several of them.

The processor speed is slower than expected on a notebook computer that is running Windows XP

SYMPTOMS
When you start a laptop computer on battery power, the processor speed may be slower than the processor speed that the manufacturer indicates. To view the processor speed, you can use the System tool in Control Panel.

CAUSE
This behavior occurs because most laptop computers on battery power set the processor speed to a slower speed to conserve battery power and to reduce the temperature of the processor.

RESOLUTION
This behavior depends on the capability of the processor and the BIOS settings for the laptop computer. When the computer starts to use battery power, the processor speed is automatically reduced and written to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\CentralProcessor\0\~MHz

How to get the address bar back after SP3 takes it away?

One of the optional toolbars that you can enable on Windows XP (and Vista) is the address bar, which is handy for typing in a URL without first opening up the browser. You can add it to your taskbar by right clicking and selecting Toolbars Address. Or at least, you could - prior to installing the latest service pack. However, if you've installed SP3, you might notice that you no longer have that option when you right click. Apparently the EU deems this to be a violation of their antitrust ruling. Well, I'm not in the EU and I want that option back. Luckily, there's a way to get it, but you'll need to replace the version of the browserui.dll file installed by SP3 with one from SP2. Copy it from an XP system that doesn't have SP3 and put it on the c: drive, then do the following:


1. Restart the SP3 computer in Safe Mode (press F8 at bootup and select Safe Mode with Command Prompt option.
2. At the command prompt, type this: xcopy c:browserui.dll c:WindowsSystem32
3. Reboot the computer.

How can I work with RAW photo images in XP?

Many digital photographers who are serious about their pictures set their cameras to take photos in RAW format instead of JPG. That's because RAW files preserve much more information recorded by the camera and can be more easily manipulated (for example, you can change the white balance and color settings after the fact). But you may not be able to open RAW files without special software. To work with RAW images in XP, you can download the Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer, which supports the RAW files created by most Canon and Nikon "prosumer" level digital cameras.

How to reduce the size of pictures for emailing?

Picture files are often large, and you may want to reduce the file size before you send them to others as email attachments. There are a number of software programs that will do this, but here's the easiest way and it doesn't require any extra software:

1. Save the pictures you want to send in your My Pictures folder.
2. In the My Pictures folder, select the one(s) you want to email and highlight them.
3. In the File and Folder Tasks pane on the left side, select Email This File or Email The Selected Items.
4. When the Send Pictures via Email dialog box appears, select Make all my pictures smaller and click OK. You can click Show More Options in the bottom left corner of the box if you want to specify the size for the files (small, medium or large).
5. Click OK and XP will create a new message in your default mail client, reduce the size of the pictures and attach them to the message. Type in the recipient's address, subject and a message (the last is optional) and click Send.