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VARIOUS WIN XP TWEAKS

VISIT SOFTWARE/SUPPORT and get X-SETUP for many of the tweaks mentioned below
XP INSTALL REPAIR
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SPEED UP XP FILE/PRINTER SHARING
SPEED UP XP SHUT DOWN

 

I couldn't have said it better myself as Matt Hartley-writer for Lockergnome.com explains XP issues

By Matt Hartley

One of the ideas behind the Windows XP installation CD was that it was supposed to make installing Windows a whole lot easier. Less errors, simpler choices, and removing installation confusion sound pretty good to most of us, right? Microsoft had hoped for XP to be as pain-free and easy to install as possible. Unfortunately, reality had other plans for some XP users. While it is extremely rare to have major issues installing a fresh copy of XP on a computer, reinstallations can frequently be troublesome even when doing things by the book. Lucky for us Microsoft has provided us with specific tools to help us deal with these situations. While this may seem like very little comfort when compared to XP's many shortcomings, these tips can often keep a bad day from getting a lot worse, if you know what I mean.

Let's start by looking at some tips and utilities for dealing with XP issues before jumping into a XP reinstall.

Last known good config: Always the easiest to try first before settling for a reinstallation of Windows XP. Reboot the PC and tap F8 while you wait for boot options to be displayed for you. Once there, choose "Last known good configuration."

System restore: In some cases, a reinstallation can be avoided by using system restore. If you are unable to get system restore to work from within safe mode, you can try to access it from within a command prompt. You do not need to leave safe mode to do this, just follow these instructions closely:

 

  1. Reboot into safe mode with a command prompt.
  2. Get to an administrator account so that you have the needed permissions to get things done.
  3. At the command prompt, type: %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
  4. Follow the instructions to restore your PC to an earlier state of operation.

 

Recovery console: The XP recovery console can be a very useful utility when employed with care. There are a variety of situations where having access to it can be really handy. In fact, you need to get access to it before we go any further.

 

  1. Reboot from the Windows XP CD. Once you arrive at the welcome screen, choose "R" for recovery.
  2. You will be asked which Windows installation you wish to access. Choose the appropriate number.
  3. Now a prompt for your administrator password will appear. Enter it and continue (if no password, press enter).

 

Now we are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work. While at the console, you can type help for a list of available commands that are at your disposal. For example, you can repair a messed up boot sector by typing FIXBOOT and then typing enter afterward. If you are having difficulty booting up because of a messed up ntldr file, however, then you might need to replace it by typing:

COPY E:\i386\NTLDR C:

(Keep in mind this is assuming that E: is the correct drive letter for your CD ROM drive). Once you have repaired what you have needed to from the recovery console, simply type EXIT at the prompt to leave and restart Windows.

When all else fails, sometimes reinstalling is the best medicine. Below, we will look at two very different methods to accomplish this.

Repair installation: Running a repair install of Windows XP can be a handy way of fixing the installation of XP without having to start totally over and deleting important data from your PC. To do this type of install, simply follow these instructions.

 

  1. Boot from your XP installation CD.
  2. At the welcome screen, choose enter.
  3. Once at the license agreement, press F8.
  4. At the next screen, choose to repair the selected Windows XP installation by pressing R.
  5. The files will begin to install and then your PC will reboot. During the reboot you will be presented with option of booting from the CD again by pressing any key. Don't press anything. Allow it to finish the install without booting from the CD again.

 

Full reinstallation of Windows XP: If all else fails and you are ready to completely delete everything on your hard drive, then you are ready to do a full reinstallation.

You will be erasing everything, so make sure you already have a backup of any important data before you continue. Follow the instructions above 'til you arrive at step 4. At that point, choose to continue installing a fresh copy of XP on your system and NOT the repair option. Black Viper has a great walkthrough that will take you step by step through the nuances of setting up your partitions, formatting, etc.

 

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Speed Up File and Printer Sharing on Home Networks

Here's one for you alpha geeks. Are you interested in speeding up access to file shares and printers on your home network? Try this:

  1. Install the NetBEUI network protocol on all the computers on your network. Instructions for installing NetBEUI are found at:
    http://www.winxpnews.com/index.cfm?id=5&search=netbeui
  2. Click the Start button and then right click on My Network Places. Click the Properties command.
  3. Click the Advanced menu and click the Advanced Settings command.
  4. In the Connections list, click on the Local Area Connection.
  5. In the Bindings for Local Area Connection list, remove the checkmarks from all protocols EXCEPT the NetBEUI protocol. You will still be able to use TCP/IP to connect to the Internet, but you'll use NetBEUI for accessing printers and file shares on your local network.
  6. Repeat the procedure on all computers on the network so that only NetBEUI is used for File and Printer sharing.

Note that you can also move NetBEUI to the top of the protocols list, instead of removing the checkmark, to accomplish pretty much the same thing.

Encourage Windows XP to Power Off at Shutdown

Do you want your computer's power to turn off when you shut it down, so you won't have to manually push the power button? Here's how:

  1. Click Start, then click the Run command. Type REGEDIT in the Open text box and click OK.
  2. Navigate to the following Registry key:
    HKEY CURRENT USER\Control Panel\Desktop
  3. Find the PowerOffActive entry in the right pane of the Registry Editor and double click on it.
  4. In the Edit String dialog box, replace the 0 in the Value data text box with a 1, then click OK.
  5. Restart the computer.

This does not work all the time as it depends on the type of hardware (motherboard) you have in your computer, but it won't hurt anything, so give it a try.

Speed Up Windows XP by Disabling the Indexing Service

The Indexing service can create an index of all the files and the content of many of those files in order to make finding things much faster. While Windows XP's heart is in the right place, this sounds better than it is in practice. The Indexing service is more effective in its ability to slow down your computer than its ability to speed file searches. Do this to disable the Indexing service:

  1. Click Start and click the Run command. In the Open text box, type services.msc and click OK.
  2. In the right pane of the Services console, find the Indexing Service. A quick way to get there is to click on the first entry in the right pane and then press the "I" key on the keyboard.
  3. Double click on the Indexing Service entry. In the Indexing Service Properties dialog box, click the down arrow in the Start type drop down list box and select Manual. If the service is started, you can stop it now by clicking the Stop button.

You don't need to restart the computer. The next time the computer starts, the Indexing service will not run automatically.

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SPEEDING UP THE SHUT DOWN

By Diana Huggins

New systems are wonderful - they are quick and full of action. However, soon enough things get bogged down and next thing you know your shut down may take several minutes. To alleviate some of the delay when shutting down your system, implement some of the tips below.

Some users report a minute or longer for shutdown to visibly start. Generally, this is a consequence of software that is running when shutdown is attempted. It usually has something to do with particular hardware. If you experience this problem, be sure to close all running programs before attempting shutdown and see if this solves your problem. If so, then you can determine, by trial and error, which program or programs are involved.

One specific solution for this problem is to stop the Nvidia Driver Helper service in the Services applet. You can locate the Services applet in the Administrative Tools folder in the Control Panel. You can also get this by launching SERVICES.MSC from a Run box.

An alternative solution in Windows XP Professional is to clear the pagefile at system shutdown. To clear these options, use the Group Policy Editor. The same setting also forces the hibernation file to be wiped at shutdown. These processes take long enough that users may think that shutdown has hung. Since someone actually has to have set this policy, the problem will be pretty rare, but is worth mentioning. To change the setting type GPEDIT.MSC from the Run box and click OK. You will need to browse through the following items to locate the Security Options: Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies and Security Options. In the right pane, find Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile.

To verify that you have accomplished the task at hand, go through the shut down procedure. Well, you have officially retrieved several minutes of your day!

If you have problems, be sure to email me through allexperts.com here.

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