How to set up a network printer in XP?

A few years back, printers that connected to the network via Ethernet (rather than to a computer via USB) were mostly confined to expensive models marketed to businesses. Today you can buy low cost printers for your home that plug directly into the network. Here's how to set up a network printer in XP:

1. Physically connect the printer to a hub or switch on the network with an Ethernet cable and turn it on. 
   
2. In Control Panel, open Printers and Faxes.
3. In the Printer Tasks section, click Add a Printer.
4. On the page labeled "Local or Network Printer," select the local printer option and uncheck the box labeled automatic detection.
5. On the page labeled "Select a Printer Port," click Create a New Port.
6. Select Standard TCP/IP Port.
7. Click Next.
8. On the "Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port" page, click Next.
9. On the "Add Port" page, enter the IP address of the printer, which you can usually obtain by printing out a configuration information report from the printer's Setup menu.
10. Click Next.
11. Click Finish.
    

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 to make your XP desktop look like a Mac?

Prefer the functionality of Windows XP but like the look of Mac OS X? This free download replaces the Windows taskbar with a customizable Mac-like "dock." Read more about it here:

http://www.wxpnews.com/LL10M5/090224-RK-Launcher

How to set your wireless mouse or keyboard not to wake the computer

1. Click Start | Control Panel | Mouse
2. Click the Hardware tab
3. Click the Properties button
4. In the General tab, click the Change Settings button
5. Click the Power Management tab
6. Uncheck the box that says "Allow this device to wake the computer."
7. Click OK in all the dialog boxes to close them

Differences between a Quick format and a regular format during a "clean" installation of Windows XP

During a "clean" installation of Microsoft Windows XP, you are prompted to choose from the following format options: Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)
Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)
Format the partition by using the NTFS file system
Format the partition by using the FAT file system
Leave the current file system intact (no changes)
Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)
Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)
Format the partition by using the NTFS file system
Format the partition by using the FAT file system
Leave the current file system intact (no changes)

This article describes the differences between a Quick format and a regular format.

When you choose to run a regular format on a volume, files are removed from the volume that you are formatting and the hard disk is scanned for bad sectors. The scan for bad sectors is responsible for the majority of the time that it takes to format a volume.

If you choose the Quick format option, format removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad sectors. Only use this option if your hard disk has been previously formatted and you are sure that your hard disk is not damaged.

If you installed Windows XP on a partition that was formatted by using the Quick format option, you can also check your disk by using the chkdsk /r command after the installation of Windows XP is completed.

How to prevent problems when installing XP SP3

f you still haven't gotten around to installing Service Pack 3, you're not alone. I hear from many readers who have heard about problems other had with the SP and want to know if they should risk it. SP3 includes important security updates so it's a good idea to install it. There are steps you can take to help prevent common problems with installing the Service Pack:

1. Make sure you have enough free disk space (1500 to 1800 MB).
2. Remove these updates first if you've installed them: Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit, Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 MUI pack.
3. If you use a wireless network adapter, make sure it is supported (check for XP SP3 drivers)
4. You might need to disable your antivirus software to install the SP. Be sure to re-enable it after the installation.
5. If you're using a laptop, plug it into AC power. Bad things can happen if the battery dies during installation.

It's also a good idea to do a full backup of your data and if you're using XP Pro, create an automated system recovery set so you can repair the computer if the installation fails. Although most Service Pack installations go smoothly, it's better to be safe than sorry.

How to change the time and date on your photos

If your camera's clock was set incorrectly when you took your digital pictures, your photos may have the wrong time and/or date. That's not good if you're trying to find a photo based on when it was taken. But you can change the date and time. Here's how:

To change the date:
1. In Windows Explorer, right click the photo file whose date you want to change and 2. click Properties.
3. Click the Details tab.
Navigate to the Origin section and click in the "Date Taken" field, then type in the correct date. Note that you can't change the time here.

To change the time:
1. Open Windows Photo Gallery (included in Vista) and navigate to the photo whose time you want to change. You can also select multiple photos here.
2. Right click and select Change Time Taken.
3. In the dialog box, use the up and down arrows to change the time in the "New Time" field

Note: if you're using Windows XP or Windows 7, you can download Windows Photo Gallery from the Windows Live web site at
http://www.vistanews.com/XQBLAG/090211-Photo-Gallery

How to delete recently used commands from "Run"

The "Run" box in XP remembers the commands you've typed there recently, and that can be handy - however, for security's sake, you might not want to have them display. Here's how to get rid of them:

1. Open the registry editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ RunMRU

2. In the right pane, you'll see your recently used commands. You can delete any or all of them (right click and select Delete).

If you'd rather not edit the registry, there's another way:
1. Right click the Taskbar and select Properties.
2. On the Start Menu tab, click Classic Start Menu.
3. Click the Customize button.
4. Click the Clear button.

Note that this second method clears all of the commands, as well as recent applications and documents from the Start menu. To do it selective, use the first method.

"Missing or corrupt Ntfs.sys" error message when you restart Windows XP after you convert your hard disk to the NTFS file system

SYMPTOMS

You can use the following command to convert your hard disk from the FAT 32 file system to the NTFS file system:
convert drive: /fs:ntfs

When you use the command, after the computer completes the conversion and you restart Windows XP, you may receive an error message similar to the following error message:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32\Drivers\Ntfs.sys

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the Ntfs.sys file is missing or becomes corrupted when you convert your hard disk to NTFS.

RESOLUTION

o resolve this problem, replace the missing or corrupted Ntfs.sys file:

1. Use the Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD to restart your computer.

2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to select the To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R option.

3. Type the number of the Windows installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console, and then press ENTER.

4. Type the administrator password when you are prompted, and then press ENTER. If no administrator password exists, just press ENTER.

5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER after each command):

cd \windows\system32\drivers

ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old

Note: This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the Ntfs.sys file is not found,the file is missing.

6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers

Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.

7. Remove the Windows XP CD from your CD-ROM drive, type quit at a command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Recovery Console.

8. Restart the computer.

How can I remove Service Pack 3?

QUESTION:
I just installed Service Pack 3 on my XP Pro computer. Before that everything worked fine. Now some of my programs are flaky. I want to get rid of it? Can I and how?

ANSWER:
If you installed the beta of IE 8 before installing SP3, you may not be able to roll back. Otherwise, there are a couple of ways to do it. The easiest is to use the Add/Remove Programs item in Control Panel, but if that doesn't work, try this:

1. Click Start | Run
2. Type : c\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst.exe
3. Click OK
4. This should start the Service Pack 3 Removal Wizard, which walks you through the steps of uninstalling the SP

If these methods don't work, first restart the computer and then use System Restore to roll back to a restore point that was prior to the time you installed the service pack (this will also undo any other changes that you've made since that time).

How to open files and folders with a single click

By default, clicking once on a file or folder in My Computer or Windows Explorer highlights it; you have to double click to open it. But if you're really lazy - er, efficiency-minded - and want to be able to open items with just one click, you can configure XP to do so. Here's how:

1. Click Start | My Computer
2. In the My Computer console, click Tools | Folder Options
3. Under "Click Items as Follows" at the bottom of the General tab, select "Single-click to open an item (point to select)
4. Click OK

Now you can save energy by eliminating dozens or hundreds of clicks per day!