supered55@hotmail.com
supered55@hotmail.com
Alter settings and customise your computer in WINDOWS 95/98/ME/XP/Vista
some changes are not applicable to Win XP and Vista
OPENING THE REGISTRY
Click on the START button on the taskbar
Select RUN
Type REGEDIT
Click on OK button
In WinVista
Click on the START globe on the taskbar
Click on ALL PROGRAMS link
Click on ACCESSORIES folder
Click on RUN
Type REGEDIT
INTERNET EXPLORER 7 - SECURITY WARNING IN WIN VISTA
If you alter any default security settings in IE7 in Win Vista, you will see the following page every time you open a web page
HKCU \ SOFTWARE \ POLICIES \ MICROSOFT \ INTERNET EXPLORER \ SECURITY
Note: create the Internet Explorer and Security keys if they don't exist
• DisableFixSecuritySettings
Close and reopen IE
INTERNET EXPLORER 6 - PREVENT THE INFORMATION BAR FROM BEING DISPLAYED
When you visit a site which uses the automatic download prompt, the Information bar appears instead of the download window.
To disable this,
Open Internet Explorer.
In the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section of the list, under Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls, click Enable.
CHANGING THE START BUTTON TEXT IN WINDOWS MILLENNIUM
1. Go to C:\WINDOWS
THERE WAS AN INTERNAL ERROR AND ONE OF THE WINDOWS YOU WERE USING HAS BEEN CLOSED.
This is the correct START text.
5. Alter the text save the changes and exit the Hex editor.
RECYCLE BIN RENAME OPTION
This creates a rename option in the right click menu
In the registry, go to;
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ CLSID \ [645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E] \ ShellFolder
Change the ATTRIBUTES key to 50 01 00 20 - This puts a Rename option in the right click menu
For WIN XP
STOP WINDOWS CHECKING FLOPPY DRIVE ON STARTUP
Right click on My Computer
STOP WINDOWS SCANNING HARD DRIVE AFTER BAD SHUTDOWN
Not applicable to WINXP
Click START / RUN
WINDOWS PRODUCT KEY
In the registry go to;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ MICROSOFT \ WINDOWS \ CURRENT VERSION
The Product Key is in the right hand pane
SYSTEM INFORMATION
Click on START / RUN type msinfo32
HEADPHONES, NO SOUND
If you plug headphones into your CDRW and cannot hear any music, try the following;
Right click on MY COMPUTER
USER DATA PERSISTENCE
User Data Persistence was developed to offer the ability to "persist" information which also lets
Disable User Data Persistence
Open Internet Explorer
TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS, SECURITY tab
Highlight the INTERNET icon (It's the Globe amongst the four icons at the top of the box in WINME)
CHANGE WINDOWS STARTUP SCREEN
Open your paint programme
REMOVE NETWORK NEIGHBOURHOOD ICON
In the registry, go to;
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ SOFTWARE \ MICROSOFT \ WINDOWS \ CURRENT VERSION \ POLICIES \ EXPLORER
Select NEW from the edit option
CREATE A BACKUP REGISTRY FILE
Click Start
METAL BRIEFCASE
This Registry tweak allows you to change the briefcase icon to a metal briefcase,
Start Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ CLSID \ {85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D} \ DefaultIcon
It should show syncui.dll,0 change it to syncui.dll,1
Syncui.dll (located in C:\Windows\System) stores several icons but only 2 of them are briefcases,
WINDOWS PASSWORD
Stop people bypassing WINME password by clicking ok or cancel
Open the registry, go to;
HKEY LOCAL MACHINE \ Network \ Logon
Make Binary Value called mustbevalidated
CHANGE DESKTOP ICON SIZE
Open the Registry; go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ Windows Metrics
Create a new value ( If it doesn't already exist ) named 'Shell Icon Size'
REMOVE DESKTOP SHORTCUT ARROWS
Open the registry, go to;
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Piffile and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ lnkfile
Change the text IsShortcut to IsNotShortcut
FIND YOUR IP / NETWORK CARD ADDRESS
Every machine on the Internet has a unique identifying number, called an IP(Internet Protocol) Address
Most broadband connections have DYNAMIC addresses which means they change each time the computer is rebooted.
Click START / RUN and type winipcfg
Click on START / PROGRAMS / ACCESSORIES / MS DOS PROMPT
Type IPCONFIG and press the ENTER key
Click START / RUN type command and then type ipconfig and press enter
REMOVE ACTIVEX WARNING DIALOGUE BOX
If your security settings in Internet Explorer are set to disable ActiveX controls you will keep getting an
On the Internet Explorer toolbar click on;
TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS, SECURITY tab
Set the following radio buttons;
Download Signed ActiveX Controls - ENABLE
Enabling the safe ActiveX controls stops the Dialogue Box appearing.
REMOVE SURPLUS DRIVERS
Boot into safe mode
Start your computer
START / RUN type msconfig (Win98/ME only)
Your computer will boot to the startup menu until the box is unchecked-
When you are in Safe Mode;
On the desktop right click on MY COMPUTER click on PROPERTIES select DEVICE MANAGER tab.(Win95/98/ME)
This will help your computer to boot faster.
REDUCE INTERNET DIAL- UP CONNECTION TIME
For Dial Up connections
Go to the Dial-Up Networking Connection that you use (look in the control panel),
Most ISP's don't use this setting and it can take up to 60 seconds to time out.
BIOS CREATION DATE
To find the date your BIOS (Basic Input Output System) was created
Open the registry and go to;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ ENUM \ ROOT \ PNP0C01 \ 0000
CHANGE TOOLBAR COLOUR
With Internet Explorer 4 or higher installed you can define a bitmap to be displayed behind your toolbars in
Open the registry, go to;
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Toolbar
Highlight TOOLBAR and in the right hand panel right click and add a new string value called BackBitmap
COMPUTER KEEPS ASKING ME TO DIAL UP
After setting up a Broadband connection some PC's may still ask to dial up to the Internet when Outlook Express
Open Outlook Express (cancel any error messages or dialogue boxes that appear)
Open Internet Explorer (cancel any error message or dialogues boxes that appear)
BROWSING PROBLEMS - BROADBAND CONNECTION
Try this option if you are having connection problems
Open Internet Explorer
USB v Network (ethernet) card
A network (ethernet) cards only function is to allow computers to connect to the internet and connect them
System resource availability is dependent upon the number of tasks the computer is being asked to perform at any one time.
Using USB you can expect a greater fluctuation in speed than someone with the same machine using a network card which
Error 403 Forbidden Message relates to what is known as a proxy being set by another Internet provider.
To resolve this,
Open Internet Explorer, click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS, CONNECTIONS tab
Netscape users should click on;
EDIT / PREFERENCES / ADVANCED / PROXIES
Ensure that you have selected a Direct connection to the Internet
CHECK ACTIVE INTERNET CONNECTIONS
To see what connections your computer has to the internet, click on;
START / PROGRAMS / ACCESSORIES / MS DOS PROMPT
Type netstat at the prompt, press ENTER key
CLEAR THE BROWSER CACHE
If you find changes to web pages you've uploaded are taking a long time to show or you want to be
Hold CTRL + F5 (for Internet Explorer) SHIFT + F5 (for Mozilla) to force the latest page to be shown.
BLANK PAGES WITH Internet Explorer 6
I had a problem with IE6 showing a blank page when I tried to view some stats on a secure webpage.
Open Internet Explorer
DESKTOP ICONS KEEP REDRAWING
Increase the size of the Icon cache
Open the registry and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
On the toolbar Click on:
EDIT / NEW / STRING VALUE
Call the string:
Give it a value of 2000 or higher if you like
DVD PLAYER - NO CONTROL PANEL ICON
WIN XP ONLY
PROBLEM
Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device (code 41)
Also the DVD icon doesn't appear in Control Panel
HKLM \ SYSTEM \ CURRENTCONTROLSET \ CONTROL \ CLASS \ {4D36E 965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Locate the UpperFilters, note its value, and then delete it
The following may not be necessary (check Contriol Panel for DVD icon)
MSN MESSENGER SIGNS ME OUT WHEN I OPEN MY HOTMAIL INBOX
If you open your Hotmail inbox and a message pops up saying that you have
Open your Hotmail inbox
Untick the following box:
If I am not already signed into MSN Messenger, automatically sign me into Web Messenger when I sign in to Hotmail
Click OK
ADOBE SHOCKWAVE DOESN'T WORK
If Adobe Shockwave doesn't work (you get a black screen)
Open the registry and go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility
and check if the following Registry file is listed - {166B1BCA-3F9C-11CF-8075-444553540000}
If this file is listed then delete it as this is stopping Shockwave from working.
INTERNET EXPLORER WON'T DISPLAY MULTIPLE WEB PAGES
for example:
On the Internet Explorer tool bar click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS
Reuse windows for launching shortcuts
Click the APPLY and OK buttons
MISSING SYSTEM TRAY ICONS - WIN XP
If some Icons are missing from the System Tray(next to the desktop clock), try this;
Open CONTROL PANEL
For your info this is a list of the items in my Windows Components
Accessories and Utilities - Tick Box
To disable this, In the registry, go to;
Create these two DWORDs in the SECURITY key and set them as 1
• DisableSecuritySettingsCheck
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
On the Security tab, click Custom Level.
In the Downloads section of the list, under Automatic prompting for file downloads, click Enable.
To turn off the Information Bar for ActiveX controls,
2. Copy EXPLORER.EXE to another folder
3. Open EXPLORER. EXE with a Hex editor
4. Find START, if you go to 33DDE (The number on the left side of the editor) it should be there,
but make sure the text following START says;
6. Enter DOS replace EXPLORER.EXE with the altered version and your text will have changed.
Change the ATTRIBUTES key to 70 01 00 20 - This puts a Rename and Delete option in the right click menu
Also change the CALL FOR ATTRIBUTES key to 00
Click properties
Click performance
Click file system
Click Floppy Disc Tab
Untick appropriate box
Type msconfig in dialogue box
Click OK
Click ADVANCED button
Tick appropriate box
Click on PROPERTIES
Click on DEVICE MANAGER Tab
Click the plus sign next to your CDRW entry
Highlight your CDRW
Click on the PROPERTIES BUTTON
Click on the PROPERTIES tab
Untick the ENABLE DIGITAL CD AUDIO box
you retain style and state beyond a single web page.
User Data Persistence appeared in MS IE 5.0 and is not as well known or as easily managed
as cookies but it allows web sites to store information from your system.
From the Toolbar, click on;
Click on CUSTOM LEVEL button
Untick USER DATA PERSISTENCE
Click on FILE / OPEN / LOCAL DRIVE(C:)
Open LOGO.SYS (its a bitmap image not a system file)
Change it to what you like, save it
Don't alter the size of the file
Click DWORD to create a new entry
Name it NoNetHood set the value to 1 and reboot
To restore the icon change the value to 0
Click Run
Type in regedit
Click OK
Highlight My Computer
Click the Registry menu at the top and select Export Registry File
Name the file backup and save it to your Desktop.
Should you encounter problems, locate the "backup" file on your Desktop and double-click it.
Select Yes and your registry will be restored.
Icon 0 represents the brown briefcase (default)
Icon 1 represents the metal (aluminium) briefcase.
Close Regedit and reboot.
Set value to 01
Set the value, or modify the existing value, to equal the size of your icons in pixels.
Smaller values = smaller icons.
The default size=32
Reboot the computer
A typical IP address looks like this: 216.27.61.137
STATIC addresses stay the same.
To find your IP address in WIN 9x/ME;
To find the addresses of any Network Cards on your computer,
To find your IP address in WINXP;
irritating dialogue warning box.
The following instructions will greatly reduce this, you will occasionally get an ActiveX script warning
dialogue box but nothing like as frequently.
Highlight the Internet Icon (globe icon)
Click the Custom Level Button
Download Unsigned ActiveX Controls - DISABLE
Initialise and Script ActiveX Controls Not Marked as Safe - DISABLE
Run ActiveX Controls and Plugins - ENABLE
Script ActiveX Controls Marked Safe for Scripting - DISABLE
Disabling the SCRIPT ACTIVEX CONTROLS MARKED SAFE FOR SCRIPTING box stops them from being
used and drastically
reduces the times the dialogue box appears.
How to boot into Safe Mode
Press F8 when STARTING WINDOWS dialogue appears or Manufacturers Logo appears.
A menu will appear, select SAFE MODE
If this doesn't work consult your computer handbook.
If you can't do this, click on;
On the GENERAL tab, click on the ADVANCED button
Tick the box ENABLE STARTUP MENU
Reboot computer
---------------------------------------
Click on START / CONTROL PANEL / SYSTEM / HARDWARE (WinXP)
Click on the plus sign next to each device and remove the drivers for any Device which is not installed on your computer.
You may be able to reduce the time it takes to connect to your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Right click and select Properties.
Then on the Server Types tab, untick the Log On to Network option.
You should then verify that you can still connect.
explorer and internet explorer:
Right click on it and choose MODIFY
Specify the path to your bitmap (for example; C:\WINDOWS\newcolour.bmp) and close.
or Internet Explorer are open.
To stop this happening follow the steps below:
Outlook Express
Click on TOOLS / ACCOUNTS
Select the MAIL tab in the box that appears.
Highlight your Internet Service Provider (ISP) account name and click on PROPERTIES
Click on the CONNECTION tab
Remove the tick from the ALWAYS CONNECT TO THIS ACCOUNT USING box
Click on APPLY and OK buttons
Repeat this step for all e-mail accounts set up on the PC
Internet Explorer
Click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS
Select the CONNECTION tab
Ensure the NEVER DIAL A CONNECTION radio Button is checked
Click on the APPLY and OK buttons
Click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS
On the GENERAL tab click on the DELETE FILES BUTTON (XP Users click on DELETE COOKIES) tick the box and click OK
On the CONNECTION tab click on the LAN Settings button
Ensure there is a tick in the AUTOMATICALLY DETECT SETTINGS box
Remove ticks from any other options currently selected
Click on APPLY and OK
Slow Connection Speeds
together (network) and share files / printers.
USB on the other hand has many functions. If you are using USB to connect your computer to the modem you will require
a minimum of 80% system resources to be able to achieve optimum browsing and download speeds.
Certain non-essential programs load as soon as the PC starts and will consume resources without your knowledge. You can
help this by closing down all unnecessary applications.
is rarely affected by these problems being far less reliant on the system resources previously mentioned.
Error 403 Forbidden Message
Click the LAN settings button and take the tick out of USE PROXY SERVER box
Also, tick the AUTOMATICALLY DETECT SETTINGS box
sure you are seeing the latest version of a web page
Enabling META REFRESH cured this problem.
Click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS
Click on the SECURITY tab
Highlight the INTERNET icon (globe icon)
Click on CUSTOM LEVEL button
Scroll down to META REFRESH and click on the ENABLE radio button
Max Cached Icons
Exit the registry
Your DVD player has a yellow mark next to it in device manager and In the properties is the following message:
ANSWER
Open the registry and go to
Locate the LowerFilters, note its value, and then delete it
NOTE: Only one of the above values may exist
Exit regedit
Go to Device Manager
Right click on the optical drive(s) displaying the error and select Uninstall
After Device Manager has refreshed, select Action - scan for hardware changes
Reboot computer
signed in on another computer, do the following:
Above the toolbar it says Messenger (see picture below)
Click on small black arrow next to messenger
Click on Messenger options in the drop down menu
or nothing happens when you try to download Shockwave, do the following:
You have a web page open and click on a shortcut and Internet Explorer closes your open
web page and opens the shortcut page,
do the following:
Click on the ADVANCED tab
Under the BROWSING heading untick the following box:
Click on ADD / REMOVE PROGRAMMES
On the left side click on ADD / REMOVE WINDOWS COMPONENTS
Highlight NETWORKING SERVICES
Click on the DETAILS button
Untick the box UPnP USER INTERFACE
Click on OK.
Fax Services - Untick Box
Indexing Service - Tick Box
Internet Explorer - Tick Box
Management and Monitoring Tools - Untick Box
MSN Explorer - Tick Box
Networking Services - Tick Box
Other Network File and Print Services - Untick
Outlook Express - Tick
Update Root Certificates - Tick Box
Windows Media Player - Tick Box
Windows Messenger - Tick Box
Last updated - August 22nd 2008