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Showing posts with label WindowsXP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WindowsXP. Show all posts

NirCmd - Free command line tool for Windows XP and Vista

NirCmd - Free command line tool for Windows XP and Vista

Are you scared of using the Windows command prompt to accomplish tasks? If so, you’re definitely missing out on some cool stuff you can do on your computer. However, it’s understandable as the syntax can be quite technical and you really don’t want to mess something up if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Luckily, there is a free utility called NirCmd that you can use that extends the functionality of the command prompt and makes it a little bit easier to use DOS commands without having to know DOS.

NirCmd is a small command-line utility that allows you to do some useful tasks without displaying any command prompt user interface.

You can use it to do all kinds of useful stuff for you such as writing and deleting values registry keys, writing values into INI file, dialing your Internet account or connecting to a VPN network, restarting windows or shutting down the computer, creating a shortcut to a file, chaning the created/modified date of a file , changing your display settings, turning off your monitor (this we want ) , opening the door of your CD-ROM drive, and lots more!

The best thing about this program is that you can create a scheduled task to simple run any command you want at a set interval. So you can create a scheduled task to turn off your monitor or turn off your computer every day at midnight or to mute the volume on your computer every morning.




Now you could simply run any of the commands by going to the Windows command prompt and typing something in. For example, go to Start, then Run and then type in CMD. Now type in any command that was listed in the command list.

OR Just Create a Shortcut Like This.



Thats It ... Now You not only Tech Savvy ... Now You are Eco Savvy Too There is another utility called "WizMo" also serves the same purpose both are free, you can get them by (what I can say just ) google .





Here is High Tech Way - Recommended For Power Users only

PROGRAMMATICALLY



Code:

// console application
#include

#define SCREENSAVER_START 1
#define MONITOR_OFF 2

int main( int argc, char** argv )
{
int cmd = SCREENSAVER_START; // default when run
// is to start screensaver.

// if passed command line argument (no matter
// what it is), just turn off the monitor instead.
if( argc > 1 )
{
// could check argv,
cmd = MONITOR_OFF;
}

switch( cmd )
{
case SCREENSAVER_START:
SendMessage( HWND_TOPMOST,
WM_SYSCOMMAND,
SC_SCREENSAVE,
0 ); // send message to top most window
// for screensaver to start. that's just
// how you programmatically start the screensaver
// under windows!
break;

case MONITOR_OFF:
SendMessage( HWND_BROADCAST,
WM_SYSCOMMAND,
SC_MONITORPOWER,
(LPARAM)2 ); // turn off the monitor.
break;
}
}


Compile This and Make MonitorControl.EXE

Keep this Executable in Start Menu (or wherever you want ). And create 2 shortcuts:

One called “Monitor OFF” that has target

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Monitor Control\MonitorControl.exe” off

The other is called “ScreenSaver Start” and has target:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Monitor Control\MonitorControl.exe”

because running the executable with no arguments starts the screensaver.

How can I add a Command Prompt option to the Default Explorer Right Click Context Menu?

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. This option enables you to right-click on a folder within Windows Explorer and choose the Command Prompt - which opens a Command Prompt window with that folder as your active directory.

To add the Command Prompt option to the default right click context menu in Windows Explorer you can do one of the following:

Method #1: Through the Registry

This is the simplest, easiest and most idiot-proof method.

Create a text file, type in the following lines and save it as addprompt.reg.



Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Command]
@="Command Prompt:"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Command\Command]
@="cmd.exe /k cd %1"


Save this out and double click the file. Note this will modify the registry but I promise it is safe. Your anti-virus software might ask you to confirm the registry change and it is safe to allow it.

This adds Command Prompt to the Windows Explorer right click menu. Just right click on a folder, click Command Prompt and you will be at the command prompt in the selected folder. No need to type CD and the full path anymore.


Method #2: Manually add the context menu

  • In explorer, open Tools, Folder Options.


  • Select the File Types tab.


  • For Windows XP: Go to NONE / Folder.


  • For Windows 2000: Press n to scroll to the N/A section.


  • For Windows NT/98/95: Press f to scroll to the Folders section.


  • Select the entry labeled Folder


  • For Windows 2000/XP: Press Advanced button.


  • For Windows NT/98/95: Press Edit button.


  • Select New


  • In the action block type "Command Prompt" without the quotes.


  • In the app block type "cmd.exe" without the quotes.


  • Save and exit Folder Options.



Now right click on Start, you should have a new drop down option. Open explorer and right click on a folder, select Command Prompt and a command window opens in that folder.

Method #3: Through batch file


  • Begin by creating a batch file. For example, you could create a batch file named StartPrompt.cmd. Add the following commands to your batch file:




    Code:

    @echo off
    cd /d %1
    Title %~f1



  • Save this batch file to your Windows NT/2000/XP root directory (which is usually C:\WINNT or C:\WINDOWS for XP).


  • Open Windows Explorer.


  • Choose View | Options to display the Options dialog box.


  • Select the File Types tab.


  • In the list of Registered File Types, select Folder then click Edit.


  • Click New to display the New Action dialog box.


  • In the Action text box, type Command Prompt.


  • In the Application Used To Perform Action text box, type:




    Code:

    cmd.exe /a /k c:\winnt\StartPrompt "%l"




  • Click OK to close the New Action dialog box, then click Close twice.

What is svchost.exe And Why Is It Running?

You are no doubt reading this article because you are wondering why on earth there are nearly a dozen processes running with the name svchost.exe. You can't kill them, and you don't remember starting them… so what are they?

So What Is It?

According to Microsoft: "svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries". Could we have that in english please?

Some time ago, Microsoft started moving all of the functionality from internal Windows services into .dll files instead of .exe files. From a programming perspective this makes more sense for reusability… but the problem is that you can't launch a .dll file directly from Windows, it has to be loaded up from a running executable (.exe). Thus the svchost.exe process was born.

Why Are There So Many svchost.exes Running?

If you've ever taken a look at the Services section in control panel you might notice that there are a Lot of services required by Windows. If every single service ran under a single svchost.exe instance, a failure in one might bring down all of Windows… so they are separated out.

Those services are organized into logical groups, and then a single svchost.exe instance is created for each group. For instance, one svchost.exe instance runs the 3 services related to the firewall. Another svchost.exe instance might run all the services related to the user interface, and so on.

So What Can I Do About It?

You can trim down unneeded services by disabling or stopping the services that don't absolutely need to be running. Additionally, if you are noticing very heavy CPU usage on a single svchost.exe instance you can restart the services running under that instance.


If you are curious what we're talking about, just open up Task Manager and check the "Show processes from all users" box:





Checking From the Command Line (Vista or XP Pro)


If you want to see what services are being hosted by a particular svchost.exe instance, you can use the tasklist command from the command prompt in order to see the list of services.



Code:

tasklist /SVC



XP Apps Secrets

XP Secrets

Easter Eggs (Definition) - A hidden message or feature in an application. This guide covers the undocumented and hidden features in Windows XP. All of the following were tested in Windows XP only.

Notes - This is not a performance related guide.

Application Secrets

Defrag

Secret - Hidden Command Line Switch
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Run" and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information.

Notes - Windows XP will run this automatically every three days or so, during system idle periods. BootVis will evoke this when you run the "Optimize System" function. There is no need to manually run this unless you wish to immediately optimize a newly installed application's load time.

IExpress

Secret - Hidden Install Creator
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type iexpress

Notes - IExpress is a technology designed to simplify creation of a setup program. Using the step-by-step IExpress Wizard, you can create self-extracting files that automatically run the setup program contained inside. The setup program can be an .inf file or an executable program. IExpress technology automatically removes the setup files after installation, saving the user time and frustration.

Netmeeting

Secret - Hidden Internet Conference Application
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type conf

Notes - Windows XP is the last version of Microsoft Windows to include NetMeeting. NetMeeting delivers a complete Internet conferencing solution for all Windows users with multi-point data conferencing, text chat, whiteboard, and file transfer, as well as point-to-point audio and video.


Notepad

Secret - Create a Log File
Instructions - Launch Notepad, Type .LOG on the first line, and then press Enter to move to the next line. On the File menu, click Save As, type a descriptive name for your file in the File name box, and then click OK. When you next open the file, note that the date and time have been appended to the end of the log, immediately preceding the place where new text can be added. You can use this functionality to automatically add the current date and time to each log entry.

Paint

Secret
- Image Trails
Instructions - Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret
- 10x Zoom
Instructions - Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.


Private Character Editor

Secret - Hidden Font Editor
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type eudcedit

Notes - You can use Private Character Editor to create unique letters and logos for your font library.

Windows Media Player 6.4

Secret - Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type mplayer2 - Source

Notes - Windows Media Player 6.4 (Classic) is installed along with Windows Media Player 7. The only update is that it now supports the latest codecs

XP Game Secrets


XP Game Secrets

FreeCell

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort, Retry or Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win.

Secret - Hidden Game Modes
Instructions - In the "Game" menu choose "Select Game". Enter -1 or -2 to activate the hidden game modes.

Hearts

Secret - Show All Cards
Instructions - Edit this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Applets\Hearts and create a new String value named ZB with a Data value of 42. Start Hearts and Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F12 to show all the cards.

Background
- This secret is a reference to Douglas Adams' book the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 'ZB' is the initials of the character Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Galactic President. '42' is the answer to The Ultimate Question Of Life, the Universe and Everything.

Minesweeper

Secret
- Reveal Mines
Instructions - Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy. Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color other then white or black to see the pixel.

Secret
- Stop Timer
Instructions - Launch Minesweeper and start a game so the timer starts counting, then press the Windows Key + D to show the desktop. Now when you select minesweeper from the taskbar you can continue playing with the timer stopped.



Pinball

Secret - Extra Balls
Instructions - Type 1max at the start of a new ball to get extra balls.

Secret - Gravity Well
Instructions - Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate the Gravity Well.

Secret
- Instant Promotion
Instructions - Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.

Secret
- Skill Shot
Instructions - Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light bar so it falls back down to get 75,000 points. There are six yellow light bars that are worth a varying amount of points:

First: 15,000 points
Second: 30,000 points
Third: 75,000 points
Fourth: 30,000 points
Fifth: 15,000 points
Sixth: 7,500 points

Secret - Test Mode
Instructions - Type hidden test at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse button and drag the ball around. While in test mode press the following keys for more secrets:

H - Get a 1,000,000,000 High Score
M - Shows the amount of system memory
R - Increases your rank in game
Y - Shows the Frames/sec rate

Secret
- Unlimited Balls
Instructions - Type bmax at the start of a new ball. No notification will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.



Solitaire

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.

Secret
- Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instructions - Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.

How to Rename the Recycle Bin

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

Search For Hidden Or System Files In Windows XP

The Search companion in Windows XP searches for hidden and system files differently than in earlier versions of Windows. This guide describes how to search for hidden or system files in Windows XP.

Search for Hidden or System Files By default, the Search companion does not search for hidden or system files. Because of this, you may be unable to find files, even though they exist on the drive.

To search for hidden or system files in Windows XP:
Click Start, click Search, click All files and folders, and then click More advanced options.

Click to select the Search system folders and Search hidden files and folders check boxes.

NOTE: You do not need to configure your computer to show hidden files in the Folder Options dialog box in Windows Explorer to find files with either the hidden or system attributes, but you need to configure your computer not to hide protected operating system files to find files with both the hidden and system attributes. Search Companion shares the Hide protected operating system files option (which hides files with both the system and hidden attributes) with the Folder Options dialog box Windows Explorer. 

Make your Folders Private


•Open My Computer
•Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer).
•If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive.
•Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.
•Double-click your user folder.
•Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.
•On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.


Note

•To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
•This option is only available for folders included in your user profile. Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop, Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites. If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses your computer.
•When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well. For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders unless you make them private.
•You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For information about converting your drive to NTFS

3 Ways to Spped Up ur Boot time

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES I

This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and
history folders every time you shutdown so that your PC doesn’t
waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. It’s
quite simple to implement:

1. Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:
RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings\”UserName without quotes”\Local Settings\History”
RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History” RD /S /q “D:\Temp\” <–”Deletes temp folder, type in the location of your temp folder”

2. Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a ‘.bat’ file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat

3. Click ‘Start’ then ‘Run’

4. Type in ‘gpedit.msc’ and hit ‘ok’

5. Click on ‘Computer Configuration’ then ‘Windows Settings’

6. Double-click on ‘Scripts’ and then on ‘Shutdown’

7. Click ‘Add’ and find the batch file that you created and then press ‘Ok’

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES II

When your PC starts it usually looks for any bootable media in any floppy or cd-rom drives you have installed before it gets around to loading the Operating System from the HDD. This can waste valuable time. To fix this we need to make some changes to the Bios.

1. To enter the bios you usually press ‘F2′ or ‘delete’ when your PC starts

2. Navigate to the ‘Boot’ menu

3. Select ‘Boot Sequence’

4. Then either move your Hard drive to the top position or set it as the ‘First Device’

5. Press the ‘Escape’ key to leave the bios. Don’t forget to save
your settings before exiting

Note: Once this change has been made, you won’t be able to boot from a floppy disc or a CD-rom. If for some strange reason you need to do this in the future, just go back into your bios, repeat the steps above and put your floppy or CD-rom back as the ‘First Device’

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES III

When your computer boots up it usually has to check with the network to see what IP addresses are free and then it grabs one of these. By configuring a manually assigned IP address your boot time will improve. To do this do the following:

1. Click on ‘Start’ and then ”Connect To/Show All Connections’

2. Right-click your network adapter card and click ‘Properties’.

3. On the ‘General’ tab, select ‘TCP/IP’ in the list of services and click ‘Properties’

4.I n the TCP/IP properties, click ‘Use the following address’ and enter an IP address for your PC. If you are using a router this is usually 192.168.0.xx or 192.168.1.xx. If you are not sure what address you could check with your ISP or go to ‘Start/run’ and type ‘cmd’ and then ‘ipconfig/all’. This will show your current IP settings which you will need to copy.

5. Enter the correct details for ‘Subnet mask’, ‘Default gateway’ and ‘DNS Server’. Again if you are not sure what figures to enter use ‘ipconfig/all’ as in stage 4.

Disable the Windows XP Startup Screen


If you want to see what goes behind the Windows Startup Screen, you have to disable the Windows boot screen.

Right click “My Computer”. Select “Properties”. Select the “Advanced” tab. In the “Startup and Recovery” section, click “Settings”. In the “System Startup” section, click Edit to open the boot.ini file in Notepad. You will see a line that looks similar to the one below:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
/fastdetect

To disable the Startup Screen, change the line as below:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
/fastdetect /sos.

Note that there is a space between 'fastdetect' and '/sos'.
Close Notepad, click Yes when Notepad asks if you want to save your changes. Exit System Properties. Reboot computer and the Startup Screen will be gone.


  

Microsoft Windows XP SP3 RTM Available on Technet and MSDN NOW


Microsoft has made Windows XP SP3 available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers today. Earlier it was announced to be available later on May 02, 2008.

Just login to TechNet/MSDN account and check “Top Subscriber Downloads” section.

The ISO file size is 544.86 MB.

Standalone EXE file size is 316 MB.


 

Object Desktop 2008


Today, Stardock has officially launched Object Desktop 2008 asktop 2008, and Object Desktop 2008 Ultimate. The standard version is set at $49.95, with the
nd Object Desktop 2008 Ultimate. Object Desktop is a suite of utilities that enables users to completely personalize the Windows experience - change how Windows looks, feels, and functions to suit the user’s preference.

The 2008 version of the suite is split into two tiers: Object De Ultimate edition tagged at $69.95. Customers with current Object Desktop subscriptions will be upgraded to the Ultimate edition of the software for free.

Object Desktop 2008 will included the following core components:
  • WindowBlinds
  • IconPackager
  • DeskScapes
  • SoundPackager
  • DesktopX
  • New exclusive skins, wallpapers, gadgets, etc.
Object Desktop 2008 Ultimate will include everything above, plus the following components:
  • TweakVista
  • SkinStudio
  • IconDeveloper
  • 6 other additional applications
More information can be found at www.objectdesktop.com.





Source: WinCustomize



How To Recover Vista After XP Installation

If you have installed, say, XP, on a Vista machine, in the Boot Menu, you may no longer be able to see Vista as an option. This occurs because when a different version of Windows is installed, it rewrites the MBR to call its own boot loader.

So if you install Vista on a PC where XP is already installed, the Vista boot menu incorporates the options from the older OS’s boot menu. But, on the other hand, if you install XP on Vista, it will overwrite the MBR with one that does not recognize the newer Vista’s Boot Loader.

So if you find that Vista is missing as an option in a multi-boot computer, you can resolve this issue, as follows :

Open cmd in XP.
Run :\Boot\ Bootsect.exe –NT60 All
Where
is the Drive letter.
Reboot.

You will now be able to see the Vista menu option/s.

Now To restore the entry for XP, open an elevated command prompt and enter this:

Bcdedit –create {ntldr} –d “Put Description of Menu here”
Restart Computer.

How to remove "Refresh" from desktop right click menu

Open "Shell32.dll" file in Resource Hacker and goto:

Code:
Menu -> 215 -> 1033
In right-side pane, delete the following line:

Code:
MENUITEM "R&efresh", 28931, MFT_STRING, MFS_ENABLED
Click on "Compile Script" button and save the file.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC



Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) contains significant security enhancements, in addition to stability and performance improvements.
This update also includes a small number of new functionalities.

Download Source





How to remove the text from the Desktop icon?

Desktop is the interface of Windows, which contain the icons, taskbar etc. that allow the user to interact with the computer to perform different operations. Usually the picture of icon represents its purpose so if you want your desktop looking very clean then you can remove the title under the desktop icons. May be you are thinking it is so easy, just go to rename option and set blank name or single spacebar entry but the problem is this, windows will not allow you to set blank name or name with single spacebar entry. Here interesting thing is this; window will allow you to use the ASCII code for a space, which is 0160.


First clear all the text from that icon

Now type the ASCII code, simply hold the Alt key, type the number 0160 from the number pad and release the Alt key then press Enter button to finish the process.

Before & After


But if you want to remove the text of multiple icons, then repeat the above process with adding one extra ASCII code for second icon, (for example for second icon you type the 0160 twice and for third icon type 0160 three times with Alt key and so on).

How to prevent users from writing to USB drives?

Today USB drive also known as keychain drive is becoming the most popular removable storage device to move data to different locations. USB drives are available in the market with different features, for example password protected, compatible with all windows versions and extra storage capacity (up to 65 GB).


A common security issue at organizations is how to prevent their workers to write data onto USB drives using their PCs, because a user can easily move confidential data for other location.





If you have windows XP with SP2, then you can disable the writing option to USB drives.

Follow the given steps to disable the USB writing option:-
1. To edit the computer registry, first you should log onto your computer with administrative rights.
First click on Start button and type "Regedit" in Run option.





2. Here locate the location to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l
Here in right side panel, click right to create a key with the name "StorageDevicePolicies".




3. Now in left side panel, select "StorageDevicePolicies" key, again right click to create new DWORD value then label it "WriteProtect".





4. Set its value to "1". But again enable this option set its values "0".





5. Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to Deny other Windows XP Users to Access Your Folders and Files

Sometimes the computer admin, or even the user, would want to protect the content of their folders and the files in it by setting the folder permission to disallow access of other users of that computer. Here’s how;

1. Log-in as an administrator. Then open the windows explorer.
2. Open Tools->Folder Options->View. Then uncheck “Use Simple File Sharing”.
3. Click on the folder that you want to protect. Right click, and then click “Properties”, then click “Security”.
4. Add users that you want to have access or permission and/or remove users that you want to deny access or permissions, and then check “Full Control”.
5. Click “Advanced”.
6. On “Permission” tab, uncheck “Inherit from parent the permission entries that….”
7. Click “Edit”. Uncheck “Apply These Permissions to Objects and …”
8. In the “Owner” tab, change the ownership to the Administrator and to your account.
9. Click “Apply”, then “OK”.

Auto Shutdown your PC

example you wish to shutdown at 11:35am. Type this in
start=>Run
Type Code: at 11:35 shutdown -s
to abort
Code:
shutdown -a

Take Note: All time are in 24hr, example u would like to shutdown at 8:30pm, you should type “at 20:30 shutdown -s” without quote…

Set A Pic As Background In Explorer

If changing of background is not working using desktop.ini then

try this software..

hxxp://www.sodabush.com/products/windowpaperxp/downloads.php

with it u can change background of music folder with some musical theme.





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