Monday, August 20, 2012

Windows Registry Tips

Windows Registry Tips & Tricks

Windows Registry Tips


Comparing Registries

While working with changes to your system, you might want to see what is changing in your Registry.
Since you can export it to a text file, the steps are fairly easy
  1. Start Regedit
  2. With the very top level select - My Computer, on the Toolbar select Registry / Export Registry File
  3. I usually save it to the root of the C: drive with the name before (you don't need to add an extension)
  4. Make the change to your system
  5. Go back to Regedit
  6. Press F5 to update it
  7. Export the Registry like step 2
  8. Name the file after and have it go in the same directory
  9. Open up a DOS window
  10. Go to the directory where the two exported files are
  11. Enter FC before.reg after.reg > diff.txt
  12. Then you can edit diff.txt with your favorite text editor.
Note: I  do the last steps so often I have a simple batch file already set up.

Setting Excel 2000 High-Contrast Cell Selection

If you want to increase the contrast in selected cells:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Excel \ Options 
  3. Add a DWORD value call Options6
  4. Give it a value of 16
  5. Now when you select cells, they will be white on black.
 

Changing Common Icons

You can change many of the common Windows icons.
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons
  3. The default icons are numbered in the right panel from 0-40
  4. Double click on the number of the particular icon you want to change. See the chart below.
  5. Enter the name of the icon file you want to use followed by the number of the icon in that file.
    Note: The numbering starts with zero.
  6. If you use a single .ICO file, it should be followed by a 0.
  7. e.g. - filename.dll,4 - This would actually be the 5th icon since it starts with 0.
  8. Make sure you delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE
0-13 Are the Drive and Application Icons
0 - To change the Unknown Application Icon
2 - To change the Default Application Icon
3 - To change the Closed Folder Icon
4 - To change the Open Folder Icon
5 - To change the 5 1/4" Floppy Icon
6 - To change the 3 1/2" Floppy Icon
7 - To change the Removable Disk Icon
8 - To change the Hard Drive Icon
9 - To change the Network Drive Online Icon
10 - To change the Network Drive Offline Icon
11 - To change the CD Drive Icon
12 - To change the Ramdrive Icon
13 - To change the Entire Network Icon
19-27 Are the Start Menu Icons
19 - To change the Programs Icon
20 - To change the Documents Icon
21 - To change the Settings Icon
22 - To change the Find Icon
23 - To change the Help Icon
24 - To change the Run Icon
27 - To change the Shutdown Icon
Other Icons
33 - To change the DUN Folder Icon
34 - To change the Desktop Icon
35 - To change the Control Panel Icon
37 - To change the Printer Folder Icon
40 - To change the Audio CD Icon
43 - To change the Favorites Icon
44 - To change the Logoff Icon

Prevent Changes to the Start Menu

To prevent any changes to the Start Menu, even a right click:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
  3. Add a DWORD called NoChangeStartMenu
  4. Give it a value of 1

DOS Restrictions

There are restrictions you can make to the ability to execute DOS programs
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
  3. Create a new key under Policies called WinOldApp
  4. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
  5. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
  • Disabled - Disable MS-DOS Prompt
  • NoRealMode - Disables Single-Mode MS-DOS

Networking Restrictions

There are general restrictions you can make in Networking
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
  3. Create a new key under Policies called Network
  4. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
  5. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
  • NoNetSetup - Disable the Network Control Panel
  • NoNetSetupIDPage - Hide Identification Page
  • NoNetSetupSecurityPage - Hide Access Control Page
  • NoFileSharingControl - Disable File Sharing Controls
  • NoPrintSharing - Disable Print Sharing Controls

Control Panel Restrictions

There are many general restrictions you can make to the Control Panel
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
  3. Create a new keys under Policies called System
  4. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
  5. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
  • NoDispCPL - Disable Display Control Panel
  • NoDispBackgroundPage - Hide Background Page
  • NoDispScrSavPage - Hide Screen Saver Page
  • NoDispAppearancePage - Hide Appearance Page
  • NoDispSettingsPage - Hide Settings Page
  • NoSecCPL - Disable Password Control Panel
  • NoPwdPage - Hide Password Change Page
  • NoAdminPage - Hide Remote Administration Page
  • NoProfilePage - Hide User Profiles Page
  • NoDevMgrPage - Hide Device Manager Page
  • NoConfigPage - Hide Hardware Profiles Page
  • NoFileSysPage - Hide File System Button
  • NoVirtMemPage - Hide Virtual Memory Button

Restricting the Start Menu, Explorer and the Desktop

There are many general restrictions you can make to the Start Menu, the Explorer and to the Desktop itself.
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_Current_User / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies
  3. There should already be at least a Explorer section there already
  4. Additional keys that can be created under Policies are WinOldApp
  5. You can then add DWORD values set to 1 in the appropriate keys
  6. To re-enable them, either delete the key or set the value to 0
  • NoDeletePrinter - Disables Deletion of Printers
  • NoAddPrinter - Disables Addition of Printers
  • NoRun - Disables Run Command from the Start Menu
  • NoSetFolders - Removes Control Panel, Printers and My Computers Folders from Settings on Start Menu and in Explorer
  • NoSetTaskbar - Removes Taskbar from Settings on Start Menu
  • NoFind - Removes the Find Command from the Start Menu
  • NoDrives - Hides Drives in My Computers
  • NoNetHood - Hides the Network Neighborhood
  • NoDesktop - Hides all items on the Desktop
  • NoClose - Disables Shutdown
  • NoSaveSettings - Don't save settings on exit
  • DisableRegistryTools - Disable Registry Editing Tools - NOTE: Be Careful of this one
  • NoRecentDocsHistory - Removes Recent Document from Start Menu - Requires IE4
  • ClearRecentDocsOnExit - Clears the Recent Documents when you Exit
  • NoInternetIcon - Removes the Internet Icon from the Desktop

Changing Office 2000's Excel Undo History

By default, Excel has only approximately 16 undo's you can perform.
To increase that number:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 9.0 \ Excel \ Options
  3. Add a dword called UndoHistory
  4. Give it the value you want for the amount you want.

Changing the Title on Windows Media Player

You can change the title bar for the Windows Media Player
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_USERS \ .DEFAULT \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ WindowsMediaPlayer
  3. Create a string value of TitleBar
  4. Give it a value of whatever you want to appear in the title bar

Eliminating the Right Click on the Taskbar

To eliminate the right click on the taskbar:
Start Regedit
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
  3. Add a DWORD and give it a name of NoTrayContextMenu
  4. Give it a value of 1
  5. Reboot 

Eliminating the Right Click on the Desktop

To eliminate the right click on the desktop:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
  3. Add a DWORD and give it a name of NoViewContextMenu
  4. Give it a value of 1
  5. Reboot 

Turning Off the Help on Min, Max, Close Icons

When the mouse goes over the minimize, maximize and close icons on the upper right hand side of a window, you normally get a display telling you want those are for.
To disable that display:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
  3. Create a String Value called MinMaxClose
  4. Give it a value of 1 
  5. Reboot

Adding Open With to the Right Click in the Explorer

To add the option Open With when you right click on a file in the Explorer:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ CLASSES \* \ shell \ openas \ command
  3. If this key isn't there then just create it
  4. Give it the value of C:\WINDOWS\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL %1

Automatically Deleting a Registry Key

Normally you cannot automatically delete registry keys from reg file. But there is a way...
Simply include a minus sign inside the left bracket before the main key.
For example.
If you want to delete the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 8.0 \ Common \ Assistants, your regfile would simply look like:

REGEDIT4
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\Assistants]
This would delete that key and any below it.

Fixing no AutoRun for CDs

If your CDs have stop starting automatically, and you have checked everything else:
  1. Go to HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
  2. The value for NoDriveTypeAutoRun should be set to 95 00 00 00

Locking File Association Changes

If you have your file associations the way you want for a particular file type,
you can remove it from the list that gets displayed in the Folder Options / File Types screen
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
  3. Scroll to the file association you want to lock. 
  4. In the right panel, create a new Binary value
  5. Give it a value of 01 00 00 00
  6. Now when you go to the Folder Options / File Types screen, you won't see that file type listed.

Renaming the File System Profiles

In the Control Panel / System / Performance / File System, you can select either Desktop Computer, Mobile or docking system, or Network Server.
You can change these labels to something more descriptive:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / Microsoft / Windows / Current Version / FS Templates
  3. You can change the text that appears under each key

Sticky Menus

Normally when you move the mouse over the Start Menu / Programs, it will automatically cascade and show the submenus.
If you want them to open only when you actually click on them:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
  3. If if it not already there, create a string called MenuShowDelay
  4. Give it a value of 65534

Automatic Shutdown with Windows NT

Most laptops allow the operating system to turn off the hardware after shutdown, instead of displaying the message telling you it's now safe to turn off your system.
You can take advantage of this capability by enabling the Power Down After Shutdown feature.
To enable this feature, simply add a REG_SZ value named HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\PowerdownAfterShutDown and set it to 1.
Next, tell NT to shut down and see if the machine turns itself off after shutting down. If it doesn't, change the value back to 0 to restore normal operation.

Kill Hung Processes When Logging Off in Windows NT

When you tell NT to shut down, it first sends shutdown requests to any running processes.
Most 32-bit applications honor these requests and shut down, but older 16-bit apps running in the Virtual DOS Machine often won't.
When this occurs, the operating system prompts you with a dialog box asking if you want to kill the task, wait for the task to die on its own, or cancel the shutdown.
By modifying the Registry, you can automate this process.
You can force NT to kill all running processes on shutdown by adding a REG_SZ value named HKEY_USER\\ControlPanel\Desktop\AutoEndTasks and set the value to 1. You can also add this value to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT so that all new accounts will shut down the same way.

NT Crash Log File

In addition to the crash log file, you can also enable two other methods of crash notification and logging.
You can enable an administrative alert by changing the value of
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl\SendAlert to 1. The next time the system crashes, an administrative alert will be sent that may provide the first sign of the crash.
You can also make NT log the crash in the event log by changing the value of
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\CrashControl\LogEvent to 1 instead of its default 0. Now, the exact time of the crash will be permanently recorded.

Changing the Location of Outlook Express Data Files

Normally Outlook Express keeps its data files in the C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express directory.
To change this:
  1. First copy those files to the new location
  2. Start RegEdit
  3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express
  4. Change the Store Root key to the directory where you moved the files

Disabling the Blinking Cursor

To stop the cursor from blinking in applications such as Word:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
  3. Add a String Value
  4. Name it CursorBlinkRate
  5. Give it a value of -1
  6. Reboot the computer

Re-Enabling DHCP Error Messages

If you got a DHCP error message, selected to not see DHCP errors, and now want to see them again;
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ DHCP
  3. Change the value of PopupFlag from 00 to 01

Getting Rid of Schemes

  1. A safer way would be is to go to the Control Panel / Display / Appearance tab
  2. Go to the Scheme drop down box
  3. Select the one you don't want and click on the delete button
When you right click on your desktop and pick properties your Display Properties screen appears.
Under Appearance tab / Schemes, determine if you want all those wild schemes.
If not they can be deleted and clear approximately 45K.
Before you delete them, choose or create at least 1 Scheme and "Save As" (in my case Bud 1).
  1. Open Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Appearance \ Schemes
  3. Highlight every String and Value on the right side and delete. DO NOT DELETE "Default"

Hiding Any Combination of Drives

If you want to stop a drive or any combination of drives appearing in Explorer/My Computer
Add the Binary Value of 'NoDrives' in the registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Give it a value from a combination of the table below:
A 1 00 00 00
B 2 00 00 00
C 4 00 00 00
D 8 00 00 00
E 16 00 00 00
F 32 00 00 00
G 64 00 00 00
H 128 00 00 00
I 00 1 00 00
J 00 2 00 00
K 00 4 00 00
L 00 8 00 00
M 00 16 00 00
N 00 32 00 00
O 00 64 00 00
P 00 128 00 00
Q 00 00 1 00
R 00 00 2 00
S 00 00 4 00
T 00 00 8 00
U 00 00 16 00
V 00 00 32 00
W 00 00 64 00
X 00 00 128 00
Y 00 00 00 1
Z 00 00 00 2
Where (for eg) you want to hide Drives {C,E,J,O,R,U,Y,Z} you would give 'NoDrives' the value 14 42 12 03
Where C+E = 14, J+O = 42, R+U=12 and Y+Z = 03
Please NOTE: The Numbers are to be added in HEXadecimal ie: ABCD = 0F, not 15 All Drives Visible is 00 00 00 00 All Drives Hidden is FF FF FF 03

Creating a Legal Text Notice Before Logon

You can create a banner that will come up just before you logon to the computer:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKeyLocalMachine \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ WinLogon
  3. Create a new string value called LegalNoticeCaption and give it a value you want to see in the menu bar
  4. Create a new string value called LegalNoticeText and give it a value you want to see in the in the dialog box
Now before anyone logs into that computer, this banner will come up on the screen.
This can be useful for any legal warnings you want to give regarding the use of the computer.

Removing the Hand Icon from Shared Resources

When you share a local resource, Windows95 normally puts a hand in from of that resources icon.
To remove hand icon from your shared resources:
  1. Start Regedit.
  2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / Network
  3. Open SharingHandler.
  4. Clear it's default value
  5. Restart Windows.
  6. To restore set Default value "msshrui.dll".

Enabling the Middle Mouse Button on Logitech Mouse

To enable the middle mouse button on Logitech Mouses to act as a double-click button by only pressing it once:
Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LOGITECH\MOUSEWARE \CURRENTVERSION\SERIALV\0000
Change DoubleClick to equal 001

Easily Opening a File with Notepad

This will enable you to right click on any file and have the option to open it with notepad.
Also if a file has no association and you try to open it it will open with notepad
  1. Run 'regedit.exe'
  2. Expand "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT"
  3. Inside "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT", expand "*"
  4. Inside "*", create a key called "shell"
  5. Inside "shell" create a key called "open"
  6. Inside "open" edit the string "(default)" to say "open (notepad)"
  7. Inside "open" create a key called "command"
  8. Inside "command" edit the string "(default)" to say C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE "%1"

Displaying Hi-Color Icons without the Plus Pack

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ desktop \ WindowMetrics
  3. Add or edit Shell Icon BPP=16 where the number is the color depth.
  4. The default is 8 (bit or 256 colors). 

Backing Up the Registry

There are many backup programs for the registry but if the computer goes down and you can't fire off Win95 because of the registry problem.
Backup to a directory the following files:
  • SYSTEM.DATA
  • SYSTEM.DA0 (Yes seem to be the same size)
  • USER.DAT
  • USER.DA0 (Same size likely)
  • WIN.INI
  • CONTROL.INI
  • SYSTEM.INI
These files can be copied to the windows directory from Win95 or DOS to help correct problems.

Removing Unwanted Items from the RUN Menu

  1. Start the REGEDIT program
  2. Search for the word RUNMRU
  3. Delete the ones you don't want
  4. Rename so they are all in alphabetical order again
  5. Close and restart windows

Opening a DOS Window to either the Drive or Directory in Explorer

Add or Edit the following Registry Keys
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\opennew]
@="Dos Prompt in that Directory"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\opennew\command]
@="command.com /k cd %1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\opennew]
@="Dos Prompt in that Drive"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\opennew\command]
@="command.com /k cd %1"
These will allow you to right click on either the drive or the directory and the option of starting the dos prompt there will pop up

Compacting the Registry

How to compact the registry?
  1. Got to true DOS, not a DOS window
  2. Run Regedit and then export the entire Registry to COMPACT.REG.
  3. Then exit regedit and run it again with the following switch. REGEDIT /C COMPACT.REG

Changing Exchange's Mailbox Location

When you create a mailbox in Exchange for e-mail, you specify the file where you want to mail to go.
You cannot change this in Exchange afterwards.
If you want to change the file name or location::
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ WindowsMessaging Subsystem \ Profiles
  3. Go to the profile you want to change
  4. Go to the section that has the file location for your mailbox (*.PST) file in the right hand panel
  5. Make the change to file location or name
  6. Restart Exchange

Removing Sound Events from Control Panel / Sounds

When you view what events you can assign sounds to from Control Panel / Sounds,
you cannot delete the events themselves. In order to do that:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / AppEvents / Schemes / Apps
  3. From here you can delete any items you don't want to show or no longer need.

Changing the Registered Owner
  1. Starting Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion
  3. From there you can edit the name in the Registered Owner key

Adding an Application to the Right Click on Every Folder
Here is how to add any application to the menu when you right click on any Folder.
This could be useful if there is an app you always want available and don't want to go through the Start menu
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell
  3. Add a key Name_of_Your_App
  4. This can really be any label, just use one that makes sense to you
  5. Give it a default value of Name_of_Your_App
  6. Putting a & in front of a character will allow you to use the keyboard
  7. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell \ Name_of_Your_App
  8. Add a key command
  9. Give it a default value of the application you want to run
  10. For example: c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe
  11. Include the full path
Now when you right click on any folder, you can have access to that application
This will work for both Windows95 and NT 4.0

Adding Explore From Here to Every Folder
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell
  3. Add a key rootexplore
  4. Give it a default value of E&xplore From Here
  5. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell \ rootexplore
  6. Add a key command
  7. Give it a default value of Explorer.exe /e,/root,/idlist,%i
Now when you right click on any folder, you can open up an Explorer window of that folder.
This will work for both Windows95 and NT 4.0

Saving Desktop Settings
When I would go to Control Panel or Start Menu Programs, or any other Desktop window setting; meaning size, position, icon arrangement, they would never be as I set them. I found an answer:
At [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
There is a "NoSaveSettings" key. I deleted it and now my all my stuff stays where I tell it.
The same key shows up at:
[HKEY_USERS\bwil\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer](where bwil is your password profile) Just thought I'd share this with you all.

Getting Rid of Tips
Remember those "Tips of the day" that appeared when you first install Win95?
If you don't want them any longer and want to clear yet more Clutter, approximately 5K, you can delete them at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Tips

Changing the Location of Windows95's Installation Files
If you need to change the drive and or path where Windows95 will look for it's installation files:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Setup \ SourcePath
  3. Change the location from there

Creating a Network Logon Banner
If you want to create a Network Logon Banner:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go To HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
  3. Create a new String called LegalNoticeCaption
  4. Enter the text for your banner

Creating a Default File Opener
If you have a un-registered file type and want to view it with Explorer's Right-click
you can add your program to the right-click options by:
  1. Starting Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CLASS_ROOT / Unknown
  3. Highlight the Shell Folder below it
  4. Right click on Shell and create a New Key
  5. Name it anything you want (For example NOTEPAD)
  6. Create a New Key under that named command
  7. Highlight the Command key
  8. Double click on the Default value in the right hand panel
  9. In Value Data, enter the path and filename of the program you want to use to open the file type
  10. For example: C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE %1
  11. Click on OK
In this example, when you right click on a file in Explorer, NOTEPAD will show up as an option.

Deleting Registry Keys from the Command Line

With the OEM Version of Windows95, a new switch, /D, is added to Regedit.
This enables you to delete items from Registry.
The syntax is: REGEDIT /L:system.dat_location /R:user.dat_location /D Reg_Key
where Reg_Key is the key you want to delete
There are two requirements:
1. That you have to boot to the same OEM version of Windows95 as the REGEDIT.EXE file.
2. You cannot be in Win95 at the time you use this switch.

Automatic Screen Refresh
When you make changes to your hard drive and use Explorer, the changes are not usually displayed until you press the F5 key
To make the updates automatic:
  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Control / UpdateMode
  3. Edit the DWORD value to be between 1 and 7
  4. Restart Windows

Disable Password Caching
As in Windows for Workgroups, when logging on to an NT Domain, it is preferable to disable password caching.
This allows for the single NT Domain login and eliminates the secondary Windows logon screen.
It also eliminates the possibility of the respective passwords to get out of sync.
To disable password caching on the workstation, a one-line addition to the registry needs to be made.
To make the change, create a ASCII text file called DISABLE.REG with the following lines:




  • REGEDIT4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network]
    "DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000001

  • Open up a DOS box and type REGEDIT DISABLE.REG
    You can also download the DISABLE.REG file.
    If you need to re-enable password caching, download ENABLE.REG and repeat the process just with the different file name

    Changing the MaxMTU and other Network Settings

    There are four network settings that can be configured so when dialing to an ISP, you should get somewhat greater throughput.
    They are the MaxMTU, MaxMSS and DefaultRcvWindow, and DefaultTTL
    MaxMTU and MaxMSS
    1. Start REGEDIT
    2. Go to Hkey_Local_Machine / System / CurrentControlset / Services / Class / netTrans / 000n
      (where n is your particular network adapter binding.)
    3. Right click on the right panel
    4. Select New / String Value
    5. Type in MaxMTU
    6. Double click on it and enter then the number you want. The usual change is to 576
    7. Similarly, you can add MaxMSS and give it a value of 536
    DefaultRcvWindows and DefaultTTL
    1. Start REGEDIT
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ MSTCP
    3. Add a new string DefaultRcvWindow and give it a value of 2144
    4. Add a new string DefaultTTL and give it a value of 60-64

    Adding Items to the Start Button
    To add items when you right-click on the Start Button:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKey_Classes_Root / Directory / Shell
    3. Right-click on Shell and select New / Key
    4. Type in the name of the key and press the Enter key
    5. In the Default name that shows in the right hand panel, you can add a title with a & character in front of the letter for a shortcut
    6. Right-click on the key you just created and create another key under it called command
    7. For the value of this command, enter the full path and program you want to execute
    8. Now when you right click on the Start Button, your new program will show up. You do not need to reboot first.
    9. For example, if you wanted WinWord, you would add that as the first key, the default in the right panel would be &WinWord so when you right click on the Start Button, the W would be underlined and you could just press that key. The command would be something like C:\MSOFFICE\WINWORD\WINWORD.EXE

    Removing Open, Explore & Find from Start Button
    When you right click on the Start Button, you can select Open, Explore or Find.
    Open shows your Programs folder. Explore starts the Explorer and allows access to all drives.
    Find allows you to search and then run programs. In certain situations you might want to disable this feature.
    To remove them:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Search for Directory
    3. This should bring you to Hkey_Classes_Root \ Directory
    4. Expand this section by clicking on the "+"
    5. Under shell is Find
    6. Delete Find
    7. Scroll down below Directory to Folder
    8. Expand this section under shell
    9. Delete Explore and Open
    Note: - When you remove Open, you cannot open any folders.

    Removing Items from NEW
    When you right-click on the desktop and select New, a list of default templates you can open up are listed.
    To remove items from that list:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Search for the string ShellNew
    3. This should bring you to HKey_Classes_Root
    4. For the items you want to remove, simply rename the ShellNew command
    5. Renaming is safer that deleting it
    6. Continue searching for the items you want to remove
    7. You do not need to reboot for the change to take effect

    Changing the Telnet Scroll-Back Buffer Size
    By default, the Telnet session has a window size of 25 lines. To increase this so you can scroll back
    and look at a larger number on lines:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Telnet
    3. Double-click on the entry Rows in the right hand panel
    4. Increase the decimal value to one that suits your needs.

    Changing the Tips of the Day
    You can edit the Tips of the day in the Registry by going to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Tips

    Disabling Drives in My Computer
    To turn off the display of local or networked drives when you click on My Computer:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
    3. Add a New DWORD item and name it NoDrives
    4. Give it a value of 3FFFFFF
    5. Now when you click on My Computer, none of your drives will show

    Not Saving Setting on Exit
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
    3. Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
    4. Name it NoSaveSettings
    5. Give it a value of 1
    6. Logoff or Reboot the computer

    Not Displaying the Network Neighborhood
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
    3. Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
    4. Name it NoNetHood
    5. Give it a value of 1
    6. Logoff or Reboot the computer

    Disabling Run or Find from the Start Menu
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
    3. Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
    4. Name it NoFile or NoRun
    5. Give it a value of 1
    6. Logoff or Reboot the computer

    Hiding All Icons from the Desktop
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
    3. Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
    4. Name it NoDesktop
    5. Give it a value of 1
    6. Logoff or Reboot the computer
    7. Now all icons are hidden on the desktop.

    Get Your Folders to Open the Way You Want Every Time
    To get your folders to open the way you want every time:
    1. Set up all your folders the way you want (auto arrange, view, etc.),
    2. Start RegEdit
    3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
    4. Go to NoSaveSettings
    5. Modify and change Value to 1

    Modifying Default Desktop Icons
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons
    3. The default icons are numbered in the right panel from 0-40
    4. Double click on the number of the particular icon you want to change. See the chart below.
    5. Enter the name of the icon file you want to use followed by the number of the icon in that file.
      Note: The numbering starts with zero.
    6. If you use a single .ICO file, it should be followed by a 0.
    7. e.g. - filename.dll,4 - This would actually be the 5th icon since it starts with 0.
    8. Make sure you delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE
    Below is a reference for the icons I've been able to figure out:
    0 - Default Icon
    1 - Default Document
    2 - Application
    3 - Closed Folder
    4 - Open Folder
    5 - 5 1/4 Drive
    6 - 3 1/4 Drive
    7 - Removable Drive
    8 - Hard Drive
    9 - Network Folder
    10 - Network Offline
    11 - CD
    12 - RAM Drive
    13 - Entire Nertwork
    15 - My Computer
    16 - Printer
    17 - Network Neighborhood
    18 - Network Workgroup
    19-27 are the Start Menu icons
    19 - Programs
    20 - Desktop
    21 - Settings
    22 - Find
    23 - Help
    24 - Run
    25 - Suspend
    27 - Shutdown
    28 - Share
    29 - Shortcut
    31 - Recycle Bin (Empty)
    32 - Recycle Bin (Full)
    33 - Folder, Dial-Up Networking
    34 - Desktop
    36 - Program Group
    40 - Audio Card
    In addition, you can change:
    • My Computer - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
    • Network Neighborhood - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
    • InBox - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
    • Recycle Bin - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

    Clearing the Documents Menu Automatically
    The Documents Menu displays the last file and programs you used. You can clear item manually but only through editing
    the Registry can you turn this off automatically. This can be useful on computers that are used by multiple people.
    The same settings can be also used in NT 4.0
    1. Set the properties on the Recycle Bin to delete files immediately.
    2. Start Regedit
    3. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ User Shell Folders
    4. Right click on the right panel
    5. Select New / String Value
    6. Rename it to Recent - Only if it is not already there
    7. Give it the value of C:\RECYCLED
    8. Set your Recycle bin to Automatically delete files
    9. Log off and back on again.
    Your Documents Menu should now be blank. This will be for all subsequent users who logon as well.

    Disabling the Right-Click on the Start Button

    Normally, when you right button click on the Start button, it allows you to open your programs folder, the Explorer and run Find.
    In situations where you don't want to allow users to be able to do this in order to secure your computer.
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Search for Desktop
    3. This should bring you to HKey_Classes_Root \ Directory
    4. Expand this section
    5. Under Shell is Find
    6. Delete Find
    7. Move down a little in the Registry to Folder
    8. Expand this section and remove Explore and Open
    Now when you right click on the Start button, nothing should happen.
    You can delete only those items that you need.
    Note: - On Microsoft keyboards, this also disables the Window-E (for Explorer) and Window-F (for Find) keys.

    Disabling My Computer

    In areas where you are trying to restrict what users can do on the computer, it might be beneficial to disable the ability to click on My Computer and have access to the drives, control panel etc.
    To disable this:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Search for 20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D
    3. This should bring you to the HKey_Classes_Root \ CLSID section
    4. Delete the entire section.
    Now when you click on My Computer, nothing will happen.
    You might want to export this section to a registry file before deleting it just in case you want to enable it again..

    Changing Desktop Icons
    You can change many of the icons that are located on your desktop.
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Search for My Computer or 20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D
    3. Expand that key
    4. Highlight Default Icon
    5. Double click on the Default in the right panel
    6. Enter the name of the program with the icon you want to use followed by and command and then the number of the icon (starting with 0)
    Some of the additional items that can be searched for are:
    • Network Neighborhood - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
    • InBox - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
    • Recycle Bin - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
    Additional icons can be found in:
    • \WINDOWS\MORICONS.DLL
    • \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PIFMGR.DLL
    • \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL

    Opening Explorer from My Computer
    By default, when you click on the My Computer icon, you get a display of all your drives, the Control Panel etc. If you would like to have this open the Explorer:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Search for My Computer or 20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D
    3. This should bring you to HKey_Classes_Root \ CLSID
    4. Expand the key {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
    5. Right click on Shell
    6. Select New / Key and type Open and press the Enter key
    7. Right click on Open
    8. Select New / Key and type Command and press the Enter key
    9. Double click on the Default for Command and type Explorer.exe for the value
    10. Now when you click on My Computer, the Explorer will start
    11. If you want to return to normal, simply delete the Open key

    Fixing Corrupt Registry

    If your registry has gotten corrupted, and re-installing Windows95 over your existing version does not fix the problem,
    there is a hidden, read-only, system file on the root of your boot drive called SYSTEM.1ST.
    This is the initial system registry created when you first installed Windows95.
    To use this file:
    1. Go to your Windows directory
    2. Un-Attrib your current SYSTEM.DAT file (attrib -r -s -h system.dat)
    3. Copy your current SYSTEM.DAT to something like SYSTEM.BAD file (just in case)
    4. Move to your root directory
    5. Un-Attrib the SYSTEM.1ST file
    6. Copy SYSTEM.1ST to \WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT
    7. Re-start your system
    You will need to install your 32-bit apps and any other programs or changes that modified your system registry
    but you will not need to go through a new again. Your 16-bit apps should not need to be re-installed since they do
    not modify the registry. You will also retain your current desktop configuration.

    Recycle Bin Edits

    Fooling with the recycle bin. Why not make the icon context menu act like other icon context menu's.
    Add rename to the menu:
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
    "Attributes"=hex:50,01,00,20
    Add delete to the menu:
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
    "Attributes"=hex:60,01,00,20
    Add rename and delete to the menu:
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
    "Attributes"=hex:70,01,00,20
    Restore the recycle bin to win 95 defaults including un-deleting the icon after deletion:
    .. Restore the icon.
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop
    \NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]
    @="Recycle Bin"
    ... reset win 95 defaults
    . [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
    "Attributes"=hex:40,01,00,20
    Other edits to the recycle bin icon:
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
    "Attributes"=hex:40,01,01,20 ... standard shortcut arrow
    "Attributes"=hex:40,01,02,20 ... another shortcut arrow
    "Attributes"=hex:40,01,04,20 ... and another shortcut arrow
    "Attributes"=hex:40,01,08,20 ... make it look disabled (like it's been cut)
    I added the above edits for fun. But it gets you thinking.
    Note: Adding rename and delete to the context menu takes effect instantly. To restore the icon after deletion requires screen refresh (F5).
    Have fun.... Tom

    Setting the Minimum Password Length

    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network
    3. Add a new Binary Value
    4. Rename it to MinPwdLen
    5. Assign it a value equal to your minimum password length
    Also see the Installation Section on doing this automatically during installation.

    Disabling File and Print Sharing

    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network
    3. Add a new DWord Value
    4. Rename it to NoPrintSharing or NoFileSharing
    5. Assign it a value of 1
    Also see the Installation Section on doing this automatically during installation.

    Specifying programs to run every time Windows95 starts

    If you want to start programs every time Windows95 runs, but would like to hide them from users
    by not having the listed in the Startup folder or the WIN.INI file, you can have them load through the registry.
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run or RunOnce
    3. Right click on the right panel
    4. Select New / String Value
    5. Type in any name
    6. For the value, enter the path and executable for the program you want to run.

    Removing the Shortcut Icon Arrows

    1. Open REGEDIT.EXE
    2. Open the Key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
    3. Open the Key LNKFILE
    4. Delete the value IsShortcut
    5. Open the next Key PIFFILE
    6. Delete the value IsShortcut
    7. Restart the Win95

    Turn Off Window Animation

    You can shut off the animation displayed when you minimize and maximize windows.
    1. Open Regedit
    2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER
    3. Control panel
    4. Desktop
    5. WindowMetrics
    6. Right Mouse Click an empty space in the right pane.
    7. Select new/string value.
    8. Name the new value MinAnimate.
    9. Doubleclick on the new string value (MinAnimate) and click on "Modify"
    10. Enter a value of 0 for Off or 1 for On then hit Enter
    11. Close Regedit and all programs then reboot.

    To speed up the Start Menu
    1. Start the REGEDIT program
    2. Search for the word desktop
    3. This should be in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / CLSID / {00021400...
    4. Right Click on the right panel
    5. Pick NEW / String Value.
    6. Name it MenuShowDelay, all one word.
    7. Select a value from 1-10, 1 being the fastest.
    8. Exit REGEDIT
    9. Restart Windows

    Changing your Modem's Initialization String

    1. Start REGEDIT
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Class \ Modem \ 0000 \ Init
    3. Change the settings to the new values

    Increasing the Modem Timeout
    If your modem it timing out during file transfers or loading Web Pages,
    you might try increasing the timeout period.
    To change it:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Services / Class / Modem / XXXX / Settings
      Where XXXX is the number of your modem
    3. Move to the right panel and double click on Inactivity Timeout
    4. The number of minutes for a timeout should be entered between the brackets.
    5. For example, a US Robotics Sportster could have S19=<30> to set it to 30 minutes.

    Removing Programs listed from the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs Section
    If you remove an installed program and its files by deleting the files,
    it may still show up in the Add/Remove programs list through the control panel.
    In order to remove it from the list (so you don't need to re-install in order to just remove it again).
    1. Start the Registry Editor
    2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Uninstall
    3. Delete any programs here.
    This will only delete them from the list, not delete the actual programs.
    Only programs designed for Windows95 will show up here in the first place.






    Windows Tips

    Windows Miscellaneous Tips




    Creating a Directory That is Not Accessible From Windows

    1. To create the directory, type md, then a space, then holding down your ALT button type on number pad only 255.
    2. To access cd\ALT+255 from DOS
    3. When you try to access this from the Explorer you get an Access Denied error.

    Creating Custom Boot Floppies

    If you have custom drivers or files you want to always have when you create boot disks,
    copy them to the \Windows\Command\EBD directory.
    Then when you want to create a new floppy, run \Windows\Command\Bootdisk.bat
    This will format the floppy and copy all the files in the EBD directory.
    I like this since I usually add a lot more files than the normal StartUp disk Windows creates.

    Deleting the TEMP Directory at Bootup

    Normally your TEMP directory can fill with .tmp files, files left over from installs etc.
    An easy way to delete it each time you boot is to add the following lines to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
    @C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DelTree /Y   C:\WINDOWS\Temp\

    Saving File Searches

    If you want to review the results of a file search at a later time:
    1. While on the Desktop or with the Explorer, press F3 to start the search
    2. Click Options / Save Results
    3. Do the search
    4. After the search select File / Save Search
    5. An icon will be placed on the desktop with the search results.

    Searching for Files In All Drives

    If you want to search for files across all drives, including mapped network drives:
    1. Press F3 to start the search
    2. In the Named box, enter file or folder you want to search for
    3. In Look in select My Computer
    4. This will search all drives including mapped network drives. Easier than using the comma's.

    Renaming CD ROM Drive Letter

    Rename the drive letters of your CD drive(s) from the back of the alphabet, eg, Z, Y. This way, if you add extra hard disks, your CD drives do not get re-lettered.
    Note from Bob:
    1. You can do this from the Device Manager. 
    2. Open up the CD ROM section
    3. Open the CD ROM you want to change
    4. Under Settings, change the Start Drive Letter to higher in the alphabet.

    Changing the Colors of the Blue Screen of Death

    You can change the normal colors of the background and text when you get a Blue Screen of Death.
    Edit the SYSTEM.INI file in the Windows directory
    In the [386Enh] add the entries:
    MessageTextColor=X
    MessageBackColor=X
    Where X is replace by the number for each of the following colors:
    Black = 0
    Blue = 1
    Green = 2
    Cyan = 3
    Red = 4
    Magenta = 5
    Yellow/Brown = 6
    White = 7
    Gray = 8
    Bright Blue = 9
    Bright Green = A
    Bright Cyan = B
    Bright Red = C
    Bright Magenta = D
    Bright Yellow = E
    Bright White = F

    Powering on the Computer With Your Mouse

    If you have ATX Main Board, ATX case Award Bios, or any Bios that supports PS/2 Mouse Power On, then you can power on your computer with a double click.
    To activate this feature:
    1. Restart your computer
    2. Then press Del when the BIOS message appears to enter your CMOS configuration
    3. Select Integrated Peripherals from main menu
    4. If PS/2 mouse power on disabled, activate it by press page up/ page down key it will became Double-Click
    5. Press Esc key to exit
    6. Press F10 to save and exit Power off your PC
    7. Now double-click the left mouse button,.. Your PC will turn on

    Removing Programs from the Control Panel

    Easier way to remove control panel programs.
    1. Edit your control.ini file in your Windows directory.
    2. Under the section [don't load] add the appropriate .cpl file.
    3. For example to get rid of Network add netcpl.cpl=no
    4. This will disable users from accessing the network control panel.
    1. You can remove seected icons in your Control Panel by simply moving, deleting or renaming the *.cpl file in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSETM directory.
    2. The icon or file will still work even if it is not on the control panel screen.
    At list of the CPL files can be found in this section at Control Panel CPL Files

    Not Loading DriveSpace or DoubleSpace Drivers

    1. Even if you never use DriveSpace or DblSpace, Win95 automatically loads the drivers. While the drivers are not huge, they do consume some resources. To keep Win95 from loading them all you need to do is:
    2. Find the MSDOS.SYS file in the root directory of your boot drive.
    3. Right click on the file, clear the read-only attribute then edit the file.
    4. Add these two lines to the Options section.
    5. Dblspace=0
    6. Drvspace=0
    7. Be sure to save the changes, reset the read-only attribute, then reboot.
    This does save a significant amount of memory but more importantly, it will reduce the number of threads running in the background.

    Increasing Performance

    This concerns the "Network Server" option ... You already know about the screw up in Win95 release prior to OSR2 but, did you know you can also customize the settings in the registry?
    1. Open Regedit
    2. Go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\FS Templates"
    3. Add a new key called "Custom".
    4. Then add two new binary values under that key with the names "NameCache" and "PathCache", just as with the other entries.
    5. I would recommend using values somewhere in-between what the standard values are for "Desktop" and "Network Server". The values I have found to be the best compromise are "00 08 00 00" and "30 00 00 00" respectively, your milage may vary. (2048 filenames and 48 pathnames)
    6. Close Regedit
    7. Right click on "My Computer"
    8. Select Properties then the Performance tab.
    9. Select "File System" and you will now find the "Custom" option in the drop down box.
    10. Select it and click on OK then be sure to reboot.
    While this doesn't save a lot of memory, at least your name caches aren't using more than they need.
    If you have 24 Megs or more of RAM, you can increase your performance
    1. Right Click on My Computer
    2. Select Properties
    3. Click the Performance tab
    4. Click on File System button
    5. Select Network Server with Full Read-ahead Optimization
    If you do not see a performance increase, occasionally the NameCache and PathCache values
    are written to the registry incorrectly for the Network Server.
    To fix the problem:
    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\FS Templates\Server
    3. Make sure the following values are being used:
    • PathCache=40 00 00 00
    • NameCache=a9 0a 00 00
    To rename the labels Desktop Computer, Mobile or docking system, or Network Server, see Renaming the File System Profiles

    Increasing Disk Performance

    Ever wonder why Windows 3.1 was noticeably faster than Windows 3.11? It has to do with something called Synchonous Buffer Commits, this tells Windows whether or not to lie to an application and tell the application that it's writing data to the drive when Windows is actually caching the data in memory. With Windows '95 they give you the option to disable this, thus increasing disk intensive application performance but there are some caveats to consider. If you lose power the data in cache will NOT be written to disk this will be BAD so I'd only recommend using this on a machine with an UPS. Well, Here how you do it.
    1. Go to Start \ Settings \ Control Panel \ System \ Performance \ File System \ Troubleshooting
    2. Check the box Disable synchronous buffer commits.
    Expect about a 10% speed increase in disk intensive applications.

    Clearing the Documents Folder

    To clear the contents of your Documents Folder
    1. Click the Start menu
    2. Point to Setting
    3. Click Taskbar
    4. Click the Start Menu Programs tab
    5. Click Clear.

    Opening a File with Application that is Different than its Registered One

    To open a file with a different program:
    Right click a folder while holding down the SHIFT key
    This will open the dialog box that includes "Open with" to change what program will open the file

    Fixing VMM32 Memory Leak

    Over time, real-mode drivers which are added to VMM32, might not be releasing memory .
    To see if this is a problem on your system, run MEM /C /P and check the size allocated to VMM32.
    It should not be much more that 2K or at least not growing over time.
    If it is:
    1. Rename both your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file
    2. Reboot
    3. Rename them back again
    4. Reboot again
    5. Run MEM /C /P again to note any change is size.

    Removing One Document File from START / DOCUMENTS

    To remove one document file on START - DOCUMENTS
    1. Run Explorer
    2. Go to Windows directory
    3. Select View and then Options
    4. Select View Tab
    5. Select show all files and then OK
    6. Back to Windows Directory
    7. Select Recent Folder
    8. Delete the File you want to remove or display on Documents Folder

    Finding Files with Specific Text in Them


    To find all associations with any name/word that exists in your computer.
    1. Click on Start button
    2. Select find
    3. Then Files and Folders
    4. Go to the Advanced tab
    5. Type in text in the "Containing text" field
    This is helpful when you get an error message that tells you something can't be run because the file can't be found. You can find the file that is calling the "non-existent" thing.

    Creating a Support Information Button

    1. Create or edit the OEMINFO.INI file in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder
    2. Enter or edit the lines,
    3. [General]
      Manufacturer=your favorite strings
      Model=your favorite strings
      [Support Information]
      Line1="your favorite strings" (require double quotes)
      Line2="your favorite strings>"
      Line3="your favorite strings>"
      etc.
    4. Open System Properties dialog box, you'll see a Support Information button. Click on this will display the information you entered
    Note from Bob: This can be extremely useful if you want to include support personnel and their phone numbers

    Create (or replace) the Manufacture's logo in System Properties

    1. Create a 210x105 pixels (max.) bitmap.
    2. Save the file as OEMLOGO.BMP in Windows\System folder
    3. When you open the System Properties box, you will see "Manufactured and supported by:" with your logo
    Note from Bob: You need to have the OEMINFO.INI file in place noted above.

    Adding printers to the Add Printer Dialog Box

    The details of all printers shown by the add printer dialog when installing a new printer reside in two files, MSPRINT.INF and MSPRINT2.INF.
    These files can be edited so that additional printers are listed. It is rather more complicated than editing CONTROL.INF as with Windows 3.1 but by using the OEM95.INF file provided with new printer drivers as a guide a little experimenting should get you there. Of course any new or updated files must be copied to the correct locations.
    If you want to apply these changes to a NetSetup Windows 95 distribution point you must specify that the MSPRINT files are precopied using CUSTOM.INF, otherwise standard CAB extracted versions will be used and the additions will not be available. Using this method also allows the added printers to be auto installed from MSBATCH.INF.

    Device Problems with Removable Hard Drives

    If you get a yellow exclamation mark in windows 95 device manager under "Hard disk controllers",
    and you are using one hard drive plus a Zip or Syquest drive, try editing the Windows/System.ini file.
    Go to the [386Enh] section and add the following line:
    REMOVABLEIDE=TRUE
    Evidently, if you use a removable drive, Windows 95 does not recognize it as being
    removable, so you have to tell it that it is.

    Deleting Files Without Sending Them to the Recycle Bin

    You can delete your files without sending them to the recycle bin
    Just shift-right click the file icon and choose delete from the menu that comes up.
    The file when deleted will not go to the recycle bin.
    BEWARE: The deleted file can not be restored

    Changing the Recycle Bin Size

    You can change the size of the recycle bin for any drive.
    Just right click the recycle bin icon on the desktop.
    Make sure that the 'configure each drive independently' option is on.
    Then move to the tab for the drive that you want to configure and specify the size as the percentage of the drives space.

    Displaying Last File Searches

    Once inside the "Find|File" dialog box, in order to display the last several searches you tried:
    Hit F4
    (a drop down box will display showing the last several searches you conducted.)

    Associating Several File Extensions to the Same Program

    It's easy in Explorer to create a file type for a give extension.
    But what if you want several extensions to identify the same file type?
    Example- I want BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG to all be passed to the same program when I double-click them.
    You can make a file type for each all using the same program, but then you install some other editing program (for one effect) or worse! a new browser, and it rudely associates each type with itself.
    The trick is to make one file type (Image File) which you configure to set your preferred graphics viewer.
    Then to associate multiple file extensions with that type, run WINFILE.EXE, the old Win 3.1 File manager.
    Use File Associate, and you can quickly associate each extension with that file type.

    Fast Open of the Start Menu

    Fast open of Explorer view of the Start Menu:
    1. Right click on a blank area of the Taskbar
    2. Select options
    3. Select the Start Menu Tab.

    Getting Item Properties

    To get to the properties screen for just about anything, hold the ALT key down while double clicking on it's icon.

    Starting Win95 Without Running Apps in the Startup Folder

    To start Win95 without loading anything in the startup group, just hold down the shift key (either one) when Win95 is loading.
    Keep holding it down until the desktop is complete with a pointer.
    If any application is still loading, it's because it's in registry under
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

    Removing a program from the Control Panel

    Run the Windows Explorer and go to the Windows/System directory. Find the appropriate CPL file (file with the extension CPL) and delete it.
    Note from Bob: If you want them still available but not showing up in the Control Panel itself, you can also move them to another directory.
    To invoke them, type CONTROL \path\cpl_file where path is the full path where they are located and cpl_file is the name of the CPL file.
    For example, if you don't want users to see the Network icon in the control panel but still want to be able to make changes, you could move the NETCPL.CPL
    file to another directory. Then type CONTROL \path\NETCPL.CPL.
    A listing of all the CPL files can be found later in this section at: Control Panel CPL Files

    Using FIND to Search Across Multiple Drives

    When you use Find from the desktop (F3), you can normally only search on one drive.
    To search across multiple drives and directories, separate your searches with a semicolon (;)
    For example, to search from the root of C: and the root of D:, you would enter
    C:\;D:\ as your look in location
    To search from different directories, you can enter them as well

    RUNDLL Error Message

    If when you start your computer you get a RUNDLL error message in a dialog box here is what you do.
    First use RegEdit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / MICROSOFT / WINDOWS / CURRENT VERSION / RUN
    and delete the string that appears in the dialog box this will remove the string and everything will be groovy!!

    Automatically Delete Files Sent to Recycle Bin
    To automatically delete files sent to the recycle bin, do the following:
    1. Right click on the recycle bin icon
    2. Choose Properties
    3. Choose Global
    4. Check the Remove files immediately upon delete

    The Simplest Multi-Boot
    Forget about "restart in ms-dos mode"
    Use DOS=SINGLE
    In your CONFIG.SYS put:
    [menu]
    menuitem WIN95, Windows 95
    menuitem NORMAL, DOS - Normal
    menudefault WIN95, 3
    [WIN95]
    [NORMAL]
    DOS=SINGLE
    [common]

    Enabling Telephony Controls
    If you are using telephony based modems (unimodem) you can
    enable the telephony controls in control panel by renaming
    TELEPHON.CP$ to TELEPHON.CPL in the SYSTEM directory.
    This will allow you to do diagnostics as well as configure your modem.

    Disabling CDs AutoRun
    If you want to disable Windows95's ability to automatically start CD's when they are inserted:
    1. Open the Device Manager
    2. Open CD ROM
    3. Double-click on your CD Player
    4. Click on the Settings tab
    5. Un-check Auto insert notification

    Control Panel CPL Files
    The following are the files that display icons in the Control Panel.
    The reside in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory
    They can be run individually by typing Control followed by the CPL file.
    If you are missing any icons in the Control Panel, you want to make sure the CPL file is in the SYSTEM directory.
    Access.cpl - Accessibility properties
    Appwiz.cpl - Add/Remove Programs properties
    Desk.cpl - Display properties
    FindFast.cpl - FindFast (included with Microsoft Office for Windows 95)
    Inetcpl.cpl - Internet properties
    Intl.cpl - Regional Settings properties
    Joy.cpl - Joystick properties
    Main.cpl - Mouse properties
    Mlcfg32.cpl - Microsoft Exchange Service properties
    Mmsys.cpl - Multimedia properties
    Modem.cpl - Modem properties
    Netcpl.cpl - Network properties
    Odbccp32.cpl - Data Sources (32-bit ODBC)
    Password.cpl - Password properties
    Sysdm.cpl - System properties
    Themes.cpl - Desktop Themes (available with Microsoft Plus!)
    TimeDate.cpl - Date/Time properties

    Reserving Resources from Plug and Play Devices
    If you want to make sure Windows95 doesn't assign certain resources (IRQ, I/O etc.) to you Plug and Play Devices
    1. Open up the Device Manager
    2. Double click on Computer
    3. Click on the Reserve Resources tab
    4. Click on the Resource you want to reserve
    5. Click on the Add button
    6. Enter the value
    7. Click on the OK button

    Viewing System IRQ, I/O, Memory and DMA Utilization
    To view what resources are currently being used by your system.
    Open up the Device Manager
    • Right click on My Computer
    • Select Properties
    • Click on the Device Manager tab
    Double click on Computer
    You can now see what IRQ, I/O, Memory and DMA addresses are in use.

    Installing with an INF File
    By default, when you double click on an INF file, Windows95 opens it with Notepad.
    To change that so it will install the INF file:
    1. Open any folder
    2. Click on View / Options / File Types
    3. Scroll down the Registered File Types to Setup Information
    4. Pressing the S key will start you off faster
    5. Click on the Edit button
    6. In the Actions box, highlight Install
    7. Click on the Set Default button

    Automatically Deleting Files in the Recycle Bin
    An economical way to use the Recycle Bin is to use it as normal but insert the lines:
    CD\Recycled
    Echo Y | Del *.*
    CD\
    in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
    This way every time you restart your computer your recycling bin is cleaned.

    Easy way to open up DOS prompt in a specific directory
    With the advent of long directory names, it can be difficult to open up a DOS box and CD to the directory you want
    particularly if it is several layers of long names deep.
    An easy way is to:
    1. Open up Explorer and highlight the directory you want to be in
    2. Select Run / Command from the Start Menu
    3. Your DOS prompt will now be in the directory you highlighted in Explorer

    Increasing your Sound Card's Bass and Treble
    If you want to boost your sound card's bass or treble:
    1. Double click on the speaker icon on your task bar
    2. Click on the Advanced button
    3. Move the slider bars to the right

    ATI Video Cards and COM4 Conflicts
    ATI cards use I/O address 02e0 -02ef & 03b0-03bf.
    This is in conflict with the default for COM4.

    System Policies when logging on to an NT Domain
    CONFIG.POL, when copied to winnt35\system32\repl\import\scripts, is
    then offered in the share netlogon. This files is the only file
    needed to establish policies for users in an NT user accounts data
    base or SAM. Set up a default user and default computer plus any
    more restrictive setting for specific users, groups or computers and
    Microsoft 95 system policies will be in place. In addition, if you
    force a logon by the client and disable a DOS session, this will be
    a very tight security scheme.

    Changing to Win 3.x Shell
    Do you miss Program Manager?
    If so, edit the SYSTEM.INI file in the \WINDOWS directory.
    Under [Boot] change:
    shell=c:\windows\explorer.exe
    to
    shell=c:\windows\progman.exe Submitted by Brad Hedlund

    Quickly Opening Text Files
    To speed up opening files, if you know the file contains text, but it
    it has an extension that isn't recognized, here's what you do:
    1. Open up Windows Explorer
    2. Change directories to C:\WINDOWS\SENDTO
    3. Create a shortcut to Notepad or drag its shortcut to this directory.
    Now you'll have an easy way to open documents!
    Another helpful thing to do is to do the same thing with the recycle bin.

    Changing your Modem's Initialization String
    1. Start REGEDIT
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Class \ Modem \ 0000 \ Init
    3. Change the settings to the values for your modem

    Saving Memory by adjusting your CD Cache
    If you don't use your CD player that often, your system might be assigning
    memory for it's cache which you could reclaim.
    1. Right click on My Computer
    2. Select Properties
    3. Select Performance
    4. Select File System
    5. Select CD ROM
    6. Note how much memory you are assigning to the CD cache and adjust as you would like

    Easy File Deletes
    Hate deleting files out of the Recycle Bin in Windows 95.
    Hold the shift key down then drop the file on the icon then its gone.

    Update on DTC 2278 D Controller Card
    They do have a beta driver out now for 95 but it will not work with a CD-ROM on the secondary port.
    The work around is:
    1. Load the new DTC driver for the Primary IDE
    2. But load the original 95 Standard IDE/IO for the secondary port
    3. Then you can play music CD's etc..
    4. Then you can remove the DOS Driver and the old Win3.1 driver from the SYSTEM.INI
    5. The performance does seem a little faster after doing all of this.
    They also have a web site at http://www.datatechnology.com

    Hewlett Packard Printer Failures
    If you attempt to print a document that contains complex graphical images to a non-PostScript Hewlett-Packard Laser Jet 4 or Laser Jet 5 printer,
    the document may not be printed due to lack of memory installed in your printer.
    According to Microsoft, this problem is known to occur with the
    Hewlett Packard Laser Jet 4, 4M, 4 Plus, 4M Plus, 4L, 4ML, 4P, 4MP, 4Si, 4Si MX, 4V, 4MV, 5P, 5MP. The work-around:
    1. In Control Panel, double-click the Printers icon.
    2. Right click on the printer
    3. Select Properties
    4. On the Details tab, click Spool settings, and then select RAW in the Spool Data Format box.
    5. On the Graphics tab, click the Use Raster Graphics option.
    6. On the Fonts tab, click the Print True Type As Graphics option.
    7. On the Device Options tab, move the Printer Memory Tracking slider all the way to the right (to the Aggressive setting).
    8. Verify that the Printer Memory setting matches the amount of memory installed in the printer.
    9. If the Page Protection check box is not unavailable, click the check box to clear it if it is selected, or click the check box to select it if it is cleared. The check box may be unavailable, depending on the printer model you are using and the amount of memory installed in the printer.

    Eliminate banner page from printing when running HP 4 & 5printer
    1. Rename file to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\LPT.VXD to LPTOLD.VXD
    2. Go to MS/Dos prompt
    3. Put in Win 95 CD
    4. Go to D:\DRIVERS\PRINTER\LPT and copy lpt.vxd to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
    5. Save it also to a floppy if you have to reload system
    6. Info banner page glitch starts with "%-12345x@PJl and then 5 more lines of info
    The readme file points out that this is typically on Compaq Prolinea or Deskpro models

    Designating Drive letters for CD ROMs and removable media
    If you want to specify the drive letter for your CD ROM, Zip Drive, Bernouli, or Syquest drive:
    1. Right click on My computer
    2. Select Properties
    3. Click on the Device Manager tab
    4. Click on the + by Disk Drives
    5. Double click on the drive you want to set
    6. Click on Settings
    7. Type the Start and End letter you want to use for this drive.
    8. Reboot when requested

    Pro Audio Spectrum Cards
    When upgrading from Win 3.1, remove or rename all .386 and .drv's related to the sound card BEFORE installing Win 95.
    Leaving the drivers in place will prevent he new drivers from running properly.
    The drivers are:
    • vpasd.386
      mvproadu.drv
      mvmixer.drv
      mscdex.exe

    Bypass Windows95 Startup
    To bypass starting Win95 at startup without pressing F8,
    modify the line in the hidden C:\MSDOS.SYS file:
    • BootGUI=0
    The next time the computer is started, You will return to the DOS prompt after the
    CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files load.
    It's useful when you hate waiting for your slow computer to start
    Windows 95 every time you turn on your computer.

    Quick Erase Floppy Disks
    1. Select My Computer
    2. Right click on floppy you wish to use
    3. Select Format
    4. Select Quick Erase or Format

    Creating a Boot Menu
    1. Go to the DOS prompt.
    2. Type: ATTRIB MSDOS.SYS -r -a -h -s
    3. Edit MSDOS.SYS, adding the following lines under [Options]
      • BootGUI=1 (If you have it set to 0)
      • BootMenu=1
      • BootMenuDefault=5 (1=GUI 5or6=DOS Prompt)
      • BootMulti=1 (Allows you to boot to your old Operating System)
      • BootMenuDelay=2 (# of seconds before default is chosen)
    4. Type Alt-F then S to save your file.
    5. Close the editor
    6. Type: ATTRIB MSDOS.SYS +r +a +h +s
    7. Reboot.
    Note: BootGUI needs to be set to 1
    if you have the menu running, otherwise even if you select 1 (Normal), it will not go to the GUI.
    P.S. Supposedly Drvspace=0 nd Dblspace=0 under the Options section saves on RAM, but I haven't been able to confirm this.

    Modem Selection
    When Win95 doesn't recognize your modem
    Don't use "Standard 14400 bps modem" or "Standard 28800 bps modem"
    Why %3F because this doesn't enable hardware data compression and correction.
    (In other words, your modem doesn't work at full speed)
    Solution : choose any other modem in the list that's compatible
    with you modem and has about the same specifications (speed, V32, V34, ...).
    Hayes is very likely to be compatible, as it is used as a standard

    Creating PRN File Type
    Submitted 12/13/95
    If You often print *.PRN files, you can associate it with batch file like this:
    @copy %1 LPT1
    1. Open any directory window
    2. Select View/Options
    3. Select the File Types tab
    4. Define nw file type. In desecration put "Printer file" or something.
    5. In extensions of course PRN with Open as default action.
    6. It will speed up your print jobs

    Refresh SCSI Devices
    If you had any SCSI devices that were powered off during the booting of Win95
    they will not show as available, even after turning them on.
    For example, I often forget to turn on my Zip drive before starting Win95.
    In order to use them, without restarting Win95:
    1. Turn on your SCSI device(s)
    2. Open the Device Manager
    3. Highlight SCSI Controllers
    4. Click on the Refresh button
    The SCSI device(s) should now be available for use.

    DTC 2278E I/O Controller Problems
    When using the DTC 2278E I/O controller card, beware of how it sets up your drives.
    When you install the Win 95 drivers, Win95 will set up all of your drives in a SCSI format.
    This may disable your ability to play music on your IDE CD-ROM drive if you are using it off the secondary port.
    I had multiple problems with my Mitsumi 4X until i discovered this.
    Go to System in the Control Panel, click on your drive type, click on the drive itself and disable the SCSI options in the
    drive settings section.
    This I/O card will not allow me to use my Iomega Zip drive (parallel port interface) with the CD-ROM as well.
    I haven't figured out how to fix this problem yet.

    Removing Programs listed from the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs Section
    If you remove an installed program and its files by deleting the files,
    it may still show up in the Add/Remove programs list through the control panel.
    In order to remove it from the list (so you don't need to re-install in order to just remove it again).
    1. Start the Registry Editor
    2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Uninstall
    3. Delete any programs here.
    This will only delete them from the list, not delete the actual programs.
    Only programs designed for Windows95 will show up here in the first place.

    Using Drivespace
    If you are using Drivespace, check if Windows is wasting 109K of conventional memory.
    In graphical windows, type 'mem/c/p' in a Dos box
    if you see 'drvspace.bin' or dblspace.bin' you are wasting memory.
    That is the *real mode* driver and it is supposed to be unloaded when the GUI starts.
    See MS Knowledge base article #Q134364 for how to fix it.
    Even if you fix the driver unloading in the GUI, if you boot to Dos, it will happen again if you start windows by typing 'WIN'.

    Booting to DOS
    I have a phone controlled switch I use to turn on my computer and have it boot a DOS version of qmodem in host mode.
    The switch shuts the computer off 5 mins after I hang up.
    When I moved into Win95 I need a way to do this without going into Windows.
    Answer, The MSDOS.SYS in Win95 is a text file.
    Change the BootGUI=0 to BootGUI=1 and you boot into DOS.
    You can always type WIN to start Win95 from there.

    Turning off Numlock
    By default, Win95 has the Numlock key turned ON
    To have it be OFF, simply add the line:
    numlock=off
    to the CONFIG.SYS file.

    Quickly Restarting Windows 95

    1. Select Shutdown
    2. Click the Restart Computer option
    3. While holding down the SHIFT key, click YES
    4. Windows 95 will now restart without executing a complete warm boot
    In addition to the tip regarding the ability to avoid a warm boot while restarting windows by shift-clicking the yes button,
    the same method can be used to avoid a warm boot when restart in MS-DOS mode is selected.
    The result is an exit to DOS much like win 3.11. However, regardless of click or shift click. The result is still a DOS Shell, not true DOS.

    S3 Video and COM 4
    If you are using a S3 video accelerator card, I believe the Windows 95 documentation says
    DO NOT INSTALL YOUR MODEM ON COM PORT 4.
    The modem will appear to work fine in DOS mode but will not respond in Windows.
    The only two solutions are to change the COM port and IRQ for the modem or get a new video card.

    Potential problems leaving 16-bit winsock.dll's
    If you re having problems getting some of your winsock applications
    to work under Win95, make sure you delete any old 16-bit winsock.dll's.
    If this file is in the directory were the application resides, it could
    cause problems. Programs that could have problems like this are:
    • Ewan.exe (Telnet app)
    • WSIRC.exe (IRC app)
    • WSGopher.exe (Gopher app)
    • NX.Exe (NewsXpress)
    • Netscape v.1.0
    We found that if the software listed above is in the same directory as the
    Trumpet Winsock.dll file, then they will NOT work under the MS-TCP/IP stack.

    Speed up your Double Speed CD ROM
    1. Go into control panel
    2. Click on System
    3. Go to Performance tab
    4. Under Advanced settings click on the File System button
    5. Click on the CD-ROM tab
    6. Set the Cache to max
    7. Set Optimize Access pattern for Quad-speed or higher
    • Your CD ROM reacts much faster.
    • You can now play the high quality video clips on your Win95 CD-ROM without interruptions in video and sound.
    • Used on 486DX40 Vesa with 8 mb ram and normal IDE hard drive

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