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1. |
How do you prevent Windows Messenger from loading when XP
starts? |
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There have been a
ton of different methods for addressing this issue since XP was
released. The simplest method is open Outlook Express 6 and
navigate through Tools > Windows Messenger > Options and select
the Preferences tab. Deselect all of the checkboxes and click
OK. Unfortunately, certain actions such as installing new
service packs may reactivate Windows Messenger, but a quick run
through the procedure will eliminate it again. |
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2. |
How do you prevent the popup for Microsoft Error Reporting from
appearing? |
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Navigate through
Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance (may not be
necessary if using Classic View for Control Panel) > System and
select the Advanced tab. At the bottom of the property sheet
select Error Reporting. From here you can elect to disable error
reporting completely or set custom options to allow selected
program errors to be reported or specific error messages appear
to notify you of a problem. |
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3. |
How do you get rid of Notification Area Balloon Tips? |
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Ridding XP of the
balloons requires a registry edit that is available
here. |
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4. |
How do you lock the computer when away from the desk? |
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Two ways. The
method is the same, but Fast User Switching settings determine
the security of the lock. Hold down the Windows key [located
between Ctrl and Alt] and hit the L key. If Fast User Switching
is enabled, the Welcome Screen is displayed where users can log
back into XP. If Fast User Switching is disabled, the Unlock
Computer dialog box is displayed and only the person who locked
the computer or an Administrator can gain access. For either of
the methods to be of any security value, user accounts must be
password protected. |
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5. |
How do you get My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places
on the desktop? |
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Right click
Desktop, select Properties and the Desktop tab. Click Customize
Desktop and set the checkboxes. |
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6. |
How do you change the default operating system that loads on a
dual boot computer? |
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Navigate through
Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System and
select the Advanced tab. In the Startup and Recovery section
click the Settings button. The System Startup section contains a
drop down selector for the default operating system. |
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7. |
How do you eliminate the delay from menus appearing after
clicking the Start button? |
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Two things can help
speed up this situation. My default, XP menus have a built in
lag which can be very annoying. The first step is a registry
edit:
[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Data Type: REG_SZ [String Value] // Value Name:
MenuShowDelay
Modify/Create the Value Name [MenuShowDelay] according to
the Value Data listed below.
Value Data: [Default = 400 / Suggested Change = 100 / Range
is 0 - 400]
Exit Registry and Reboot
This will
eliminate a lot of the lag depending on what value you assign
the MenuShowDelay setting. Obviously a setting of '0' will in
theory remove all the lag.
I've found that
in conjunction with the registry edit, better performance can
be obtained by also navigating through Start > Control Panel >
Performance and Maintenance > System and selecting the
Advanced tab. In the Performance box, select Settings followed
by the Visual Effects tab. Select Custom and remove the mark
from the checkbox next to Fade or Slide Menus Into View. |
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8. |
How do you make the system enter hibernation mode? |
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There seems to be a
lot of confusion about hibernation, primarily because most of
the times I've seen this question answered it leaves out one
critical step. Hibernation mode is not turned on by default. The
first step is to activate it by navigating through Start >
Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Power Options and
selecting the Hibernation tab. Place a check in the box next to
Enable Hibernation. Once that is done, click Start > Turn Off
Computer and Hibernate should be one of the options. If the
Stand By button is visible, press the Shift key and the Stand By
button will change to Hibernate which can be clicked to enter
Hibernation mode. |
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9. |
Why does the computer take so long to boot using Windows XP? |
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One of the
priorities when XP was being designed was to reduce the time it
takes Windows to boot. Compared to previous versions of Windows,
I think XP does boot more quickly but that's not to say there
isn't room for improvement. Microsoft has a utility available as
a
free download called Bootvis that can help optimize the boot
process. It may very well be able to shave a few seconds off
your boot time. |
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10. |
How do you delete entries from Add/Remove Programs when the
application was removed long ago? |
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To prevent the
programs from remaining in the first place, always try and use
the uninstall routine to remove programs, but for those that
remain another registry edit will clean them out. Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Expand the Uninstall tree and
find the listing that matches the program you found in
Add/Remove Programs that needs to be deleted. Right click the
entry in the left pane and select Delete from the context
menu. |
