10 Tweaks To Make Windows More Comfortable

We all are different. We like different things; we want to be unique and try to
avoid the routine. The same things apply to the user-operating system relationsh
ip. Windows comes in a rough initial shape but not everybody is willing to accept
it. So here are some useful changes to make it more comfortable.
Tip #1
1. Command your Windows Explorer to start in the location of your choice
By default, when you access Windows Explorer it will go directly to the My Docum
ents folder. To change this, right click on the icon and replace the Target fiel
d with: %SystemRoot%explorer.exe /e, c: . You can make it start in your games folde
r or any other location. For example, you can instruct it to start directly on M
y Computer by adding this string: %SystemRoot%explorer.exe /e, .
Tip #2
2. Teach Windows to automatically log on to your account
Many of you may have realized that Windows does no longer log on directly to you
r account when you boot the computer. This happens because of the .NET Framework
Update from Microsoft that creates an extra user account named ASP.NET. Of cour
se, you would think that the easiest method is not to update the .NET Framework
or to delete the newly created account. However, it is better to configure Windo
ws to automatically log on to the user of your choice by using this method:
Go to Start->Run, type control userpasswords2 and click OK. The Users window will ap
pear; select the account you want to automatically log on to then uncheck the Use
rs must enter a user name and password to use this computer option. If you have a
password set, type it to complete the process. Unfortunately, this is available
just for Windows
XP Professional users.
Tip #3
3. Are you in a hurry and your PC doesn t want to Shut Down rapidly? Here are some
tips:
For both Home and Professional edition users go to Start->Run and type regedit to
fire up the Registry Editor. Navigate to the following key:
[HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management] and set the
ClearPageFileAtShutdown value to 0.
XP Professional users can do this via the Group Policy Editor. To start it, go t
o Start->Run and type secpol.msc . Click Local Policies, then Security Options, and
set Shutdown: Clear virtual memory page file to Disabled.
These registry tweaks may solve the problem partially because there may be other
processes, services or malfunctioning installed applications that cause the shu
tdown procedure to take a long time.
Tip #4
4. Being a long time user of Windows, you are now aware of the Show Desktop util
ity function, but back in the past you have removed it from Quick Launch. Don t kn
ow how to restore it?
Go to Start->Run and type the command
pear in Quick Launch.
Tip #5

regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32 . The icon will reap

5. Remove the username and picture from the new Windows XP Start Menu
The Windows XP start menu displays your username and a picture at the top. Many
complain that they don t want this information to be shown but there is no solutio
n for this. Well, there is, of course without disabling the Welcome Screen and W
indows XP Themes.
Go to Cocuments and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataMicrosoftUser Account Pictu
res. Inside the folder there is a BMP picture file named after your username. If
your name is Smith then the picture file should be named Smith.BMP. Rename it t
o Smith2.BMP, then rename the following folder: Cocuments and SettingsAll UsersA
pplication DataMicrosoftUser Account PicturesDefault Pictures to Old_Default Pict
ures .
To remove the user name, go to the Registry Editor (Start->Run->regedit) and loo
k for [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoft WindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer]
. In the right panel, set the NoUserNameInStartMenu value to 1. After a system reb
oot, no username or picture will be shown.
Tip #6
6. Windows forgets your Folder settings?
If you are a meticulous person you might like to customize your folders to look
nice, changing the view mode, position or display options. After restarting, you
realize that everything was in vane, you lost the settings. This is due to the
fact that by default Windows XP remembers the settings for at most 400 folders.
To solve this go to Registry Editor and look after these keys:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsShell] and
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsShellNoRo am]. Set the BagMRU Size to
5 000 (or up to 8 000). Now it's solved!
Tip #7
7. Set the command prompt to a desired path.
When you type CMD in the Start->Run window to access the command prompt, you notic
e that it will go to the user s home directory. To change that, use the Registry E
ditor to navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoft Command Processor].
In the right panel, look for Autorun. If it misses, create a new REG_SZ and set
the folder there, preceded by a CD (as you type in DOS). Example: typing just CD
makes the Command Prompt default to C: drive. You can also type CMD /? in the Com
mand Prompt for detailed information about its parameters.
Tip #8
8. Sometimes you might be unable to preview JPG, GIF and HTM files in the Displa
y Properties dialog. To solve this error type REGSVR32 /i SHIMGVW.DLL and REGSVR32
/i MSHTML.DLL in Start->Run.
Tip #9
9. Clear the "Search for files and folders" history in Windows XP to keep your p
rivacy.
Go to Registry Editor and look for [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoft Internet
Explorer ExplorerBars{C4EE31F3-4768-11D2-BE5C-00A0C9A83DA1}FilesNamedMRU]. There
you can delete the items.
Tip #10
10. Your zip archiver software has expired and after uninstall there is no zip a
ssociated program, although Windows can deal with zip archives.
Go to Start->Run and type
r .

REGSVR32 ZIPFLDR.DLL or

cmd /c assoc .zip=CompressedFolde

Please note that due to the large number of settings and changes that might have
previously been applied to your Windows system, some of the tweaks mentioned ab
ove might not work as they were described.