Window Xp Tips and Tricks

Add Album art to any Music Folder
Add Remove Optional Windows Components
Add Sound to almost every event in Windows
Burning CDs in Windows XP and the Limitations
Change the location of the My Music or My Pictures
Change The Taskbar Group Size
Classic Look Make XP look just like older versions of Windows
Compatibility Mode Make older programs run in Window XP
Convert a FAT Partition to the NTFS File System
Copy Files and Folders to CDs
Crackling Sound With Soundblaster Cards
Create a Password Reset Disk
Custom User Icons
Disable CD Autorun
Disable Error Reporting
Display the Quick Launch Bar
Don't Ignore the Windows Logo Key
Dual boot XP
Enable Clear Type
Enable / Disable Firewall
Everything You Ever Needed to know about Microsoft Passport
File Sharing without ICS
Fix your Slow XP and 98 Network
Get The Drivers You Need
Group policy for Windows XP
How Do I Install Net Meeting
How to Convert a FAT Partition to NTFS
How to create a boot disk
How To Enable Hibernation
How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent
How to remove the Default Picture and Fax Preview Action
How to Remove Windows XP's Messenger
How to Rename the Recycle Bin
How to Use Qfixapp.exe In Windows XP
How to use Windows Update Properly
How to Write a Windows XP Driver
Install Windows XP Professional - New Installation...
Install Windows XP Professional Quick Upgrade
Internet Broadband
IP address of your connection
Joining a Network
Keeping Windows XP Up-to-Date
Keyboard Shortcuts
Licensing Issues
Logging On to Your computer
Make Web Pages Available for Offline Viewing
Make Windows XP Professional Accessible
Make XP boot even Faster
Make XP display a custom screen saver using your very own pictures
Make your Folders Private
Making Older Programs Run under Windows XP
Mapping Network Drives in Windows XP
Mega Shutdown and Restart Troubleshooting Guide
Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles Relating to the Setup XP
Microsoft Product Activation
Minimum system requirements
Multibooting with Windows XP - Installing Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows XP
Multiuser Features and Advanced Settings
Music and Audio with XP
Never Re-Activate After Installation
New Sound Blaster Drivers
No Java in Windows XP
NTFS vs. FAT
On Screen Keyboard
Password Recovery Disk
Prepare your Hardware
Protect your Identity
Radio and the Windows Media Player
Reduce Temporary Internet File Space
Remove Shared Documents
Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons
Remove the Recycle Bin from the Desktop
Remove Windows Messenger
Rename a Series of Files
Saving Web Pages with Internet Explorer 6
Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders
Set the Search Screen to the Classic Look
Set up and Use Internet Connection Sharing
Setup XP from a Network drive
Sharing Your Own Computer Stuff with the Network
Shutting Down Windows XP
Speed Up Browsing
Speed up viewing shared files across a network
Step-by-Step Guide to Migrating Files and Settings
The Windows XP File Systems
To change drive letters
Troubleshooting and Driver Issues
Turn off Welcome screen
Turning Off the Licensing Feature in Windows XP
Understanding Microsoft .NET Passport
Understanding My Music in Windows XP
Using Remote Assistance in Windows XP
Volume Icon in Taskbar
What are XP powerToys
What is the difference between Home and Professional editions
Where has Scan Disk Gone
Windows XP and DVD
Windows XP and Symmetric Multiprocessing
Windows XP Authentication
Windows XP Step by Step Installation Instructions
Windows XP support OpenGL
XP Animations
XP Game Compatibility

XP Game Compatibility

You want to know if all your favorite games are still going to run under Windows XP. Remember what happened when we tried to run games on our Windows 2000 machines? Sometimes we were a little disappointed. Windows 2000 was made more for corporate applications than "Quake," but true techno-geeks know they don't have to sacrifice death matches for a robust business environment -- at least not anymore.

Windows XP has shown an impressive track record of game compatibility. We ran a number of standard games, such as "Tiger Woods Golf," "NHL 2001," "Max Payne," and "Unreal" on our Windows XP Professional machine. Some of these games were specifically slated for Windows 95 and 98, and were shown not to work in Windows 2000. The installation in XP was as smooth as silk. The games ran quickly and beautifully -- not a problem in sight (except for my bad chip shot -- Tiger was hanging his head in shame).

Some less-sophisticated programs may not run as smoothly, and we found that some older applications, such as the Atari 2600 Classic Game Collection, did not appreciate the Windows XP environment. In this case you can use the Application Compatibility Wizard, found in the accessories menu. XP includes integrated compatibility layers to mimic older versions of Windows, so if your program does not work in Windows XP, the compatibility wizard will walk you through the process of getting even your favorite DOS games up and running. In this case, we ran the Atari Classic Game Collection in the Windows 95 environment, at 256 colors and 640x480 screen resolution. Then we set XP to always run our Atari application in this environment, and everything was smooth sailing after that.

One final tip about compatibility: Don't run the compatibility wizard if your program appears to be running well in the normal environment, as the wizard will give you an error message. In general, XP has great program compatibility, so you can upgrade your operating system without giving up all your old favorites.

Next >> Add Album art to any Music Folder

XP Animations

You can turn off window animation ("exploding" windows), displayed when you play around with minimizing/maximizing open windows. This makes navigating Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP a lot quicker, especially if you don't have a fast video controller, or if you got tired of seeing it all the time (like I did). :)
To do this, run Regedit (or Regedt32) and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Control Panel | Desktop | WindowMetrics
or if you are the only user of your Windows computer go to:

HKEY_USERS | .Default | Control Panel | Desktop | WindowMetrics

Right-click on an empty spot in the right hand pane. Select New -> String [REG_SZ] Value. Name it MinAnimate. Click OK. Double-click on "MinAnimate" and type 0 to turn OFF window animation or 1 to turn it ON. Click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows. Done.

TweakUI, the famous Microsoft Power Toy [110 KB, free, unsupported] can also turn off animated windows.
Just remove the check mark from the "Window Animation" box under the General tab.

Next >> Windows XP support OpenGL

Windows XP support OpenGL

Although the operating system does not have built-in support for the 3D graphics standard, according to Microsoft. However, XP does support the graphics standard OpenGL by way of your video card drivers. If you're getting graphics errors after you upgrade to Windows XP, check your video settings (click Control Panel > Display > Properties > Settings > Advanced > Adapter) for OpenGL controls. If you don't see any, check with your video card's maker to get updated video drivers for Windows XP.

Next >> Windows XP Step by Step Installation Instructions

Windows XP Step by Step Installation Instructions

These steps are for a clean install of XP. Read this article for steps on upgrading your current system to XP.

First, you're going to need to change your BIOS boot order to boot from CD-ROM. Once you do this you'll then be able to boot your computer from the Installation CD.

After changing the boot order in BIOS, save the changes, and then reboot your computer. Make sure your Installation CD is in your CD-ROM. If it is you'll be prompted to press your space bar to directly boot from CD-ROM emulation. Press your space bar as soon as you see this message.

Wait a few minutes while the installation begins to copy the preliminary setup files to your computer. After this completes you'll be ready to start directing the install process.

You will be asked if you want to perform a new installation, repair an existing installation, or quit. In this case, you will be performing a new install. Press the correct key to perform a new installation.

Read the terms of the end user license agreement, and press F8 to agree.

The next phase of the installation is real similar to that of Windows 2000. So, if you're familiar with the Windows 2000 installation process this should be a cinch.
Basically, you need to decide which partition of your hard drive you will install Windows XP on. You will have the opportunity to create and/or delete partitions or just allocate the available disk space to one partition. However, try to keep your partitions within reasonable size.

We recommend using multiple partitions of 4-8GB, preferably on more than one hard drive. This will help you back up your data and optimize system performance later on down the road. Once you have figured out which partition XP will be installed on it's time to format it.

Choose to format the partition to either FAT32 or NTFS (recommended for single OS install). You'll also see two additional choices to perform a quick format of each option. Stick with doing a full format of either option instead. After you've determined which option is right for you, press the correct key to format the partition.

This would be a good time to take a break and come back in a few minutes. The setup program will automatically start copying files after the partition is formatted.
From this point on, you're going to see each and every file name that's being copied over to your hard drive appear in the lower left corner. As the file names go from A to Z, the installation completion percentage will increase.

Choose the region and language.

Type in your name and organization.

Enter your product license key.

Name the computer, and enter an Admin password. Don't forget to write down your Administrator password. After the installation is complete it would be extremely wise to create a password restore disk in the event you forget your Administrator password someday.

Enter the correct date and time.

Choose your network settings. Leave on automatic if you use a dhcp server to assign IP addresses. If you have static IP address for broadband access, enter the settings that your ISP has provided you.

Choose workgroup or domain name.

Register this copy of Windows XP if you've installed all the current hardware on your machine. Otherwise, wait until you've finished installing any additional hardware so you don't have to activate your copy of XP again.

Add users that will sign on to this computer.

Log in, and update drivers.

Driver install

XP found drivers for all of the hardware in our test machines, with the exception of a wireless network adapter that was added. Update all drivers that had updates available for download.

It takes about 30 minutes to perform this installation. After that, you will be a few personalized settings away from getting started on your XP-experience. With a little use, the GUI even starts to grow on you.

Next >> Windows XP Authentication

Windows XP Authentication

It wouldn't be fair to start off without placing a link to Microsoft's article about Windows XP activation. In a nutshell, XP Activation is an anti-piracy technology that links your computer to the CD that installed XP. This way, if someone tries to install XP from the same CD, when XP installation goes out to the internet to activate XP, it will see that the CD that XP is being installed from already has a PC linked with it, and that the PC that it's currently being installed on isn't that same PC that's in the Microsoft database. If this happens, you can use XP for a certain period of time, but after that time (I think it was changed to 30 days), you cannot boot back into XP on that second PC without calling Microsoft and getting a 50-digit activation code.

At first I thought it was a little extreme, and I still think it is. Technically, according to the EULA, you can only install Windows on one PC.

You can find the End User License Agreement (EULA) in c:\windows\system32\eula.txt if you need to refer back to it after installation.

Next >> Windows XP and Symmetric Multiprocessing

Windows XP and Symmetric Multiprocessing

Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) is a technology that allows a computer to use more than one processor. The most common configuration of an SMP computer is one that uses two processors. The two processors are used to complete your computing tasks faster than a single processor. (Two processors aren't necessarily twice as fast as a single processor, though.)

In order for a computer to take advantage of a multiprocessor setup, the software must be written for use with an SMP system. If a program isn't written for SMP, it won't take advantage of SMP. Not every program is written for SMP; SMP applications, such as image-editing programs, video-editing suites, and databases, tend to be processor intensive.

SMP in Windows XP

Operating systems also need to be written for SMP in order to use multiple processors. In the Windows XP family, only XP Professional supports SMP; XP Home does not. If you're a consumer with a dual-processor PC at home, you have to buy XP Professional. Windows XP Advanced Server also supports SMP.

In Microsoft's grand scheme, XP Professional is meant to replace Windows 2000, which supports SMP. In fact, XP Professional uses the same kernel as Windows 2000. XP Home is designed to replace Windows Me as the consumer OS, and Windows Me does not support SMP.

The difference between XP Professional and XP Home is more than just $100 and SMP support. XP Professional has plenty of other features not found in XP Home; some you'll use, others you won't care about. Get more information on the differences by reading this article.

Next >> Windows XP and DVD