Windows XP Tweaks and Registry Hacks

Here are a few interesting Windows XP Tweaks that may be helpful.

Adding Favorites to Start Menu

1) Click on Start, Run, Type REGEDIT and Click OK
2) Click on the pluses (+) next to the following keys

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
• Software
• Microsoft
• Windows
• Current Version
• Explorer
• Advanced

3) Right-click in the Right Side Panel and choose New > DWORD Value
4) Type StartMenuFavorites as the name of the key
5) Double-click on the StartMenuFavorites Key and Change the value to 1 and click OK
6) Close the Registry Editor and Reboot

What's the WinKey used for on the Windows keyboards?

• WinKey = Displays taskbar and Start Menu
• WinKey + E = Opens Explorer
• WinKey + F = Opens Find
• WinKey + R = Opens Run
• WinKey + D = Maximize/Minimize all windows
• WinKey + M = Minimize all windows
• WinKey + Pause = Opens System Resources
• WinKey + Tab = Flip between open application in the taskbar
• WinKey + CTRL + F = Finds a computer
• WinKey + Shift + M = Maximize all "WinKey + E" minimized windows
• WinKey + Break = Displays the System Properties sheet

WS_FTP Telnet trick

Although this might seem basic, here are three keyboard shortcuts that definitely save time when working in Windows or Windows 95. Almost all Windows programs have an edit menu where the user can CUT, COPY, or PASTE information, but those options are not always available all the time and some programs disable them. So, listed below you will find the keyboard shortcut keys to accomplish these tasks.

1. To COPY an item from a page and place it on the clipboard. Simply highlight the piece of text, graphic, etc. with your mouse and then press CTRL-C. To press CTRL-C simply hold down the CTRL key and press the C key at the same time. This will COPY the item to the clipboard.
2. To CUT an item. Highlight the text, and press CTRL-X. The text or graphic will disappear and be cut to the clipboard.
3. To PASTE an item. Make sure you have something on the clipboard to paste by either copying or cutting an item beforehand. Then, place your cursor where you want the item and press CTRL-V to paste it there.

How can I find sites that have links to my home page

To see a list of all the sites that have links to your home page, do the following:

1. Copy the following text to the clipboard
   +link:http://yoursite.com/ -url:http://yoursite.com/
2. Link to Alta Vista
3. Paste the text into the search box
4. Replace "your.site" with your site's URL
5. Click the Submit button
6. Alta Vista will display a list of sites that have links to your home page

In Google, do this:

1. Go to Google
2. Type in the following (replacing your domain name where appropriate)
   
   link:yoursite.com
   
3. Click on Google Search and it will display sites linking to you.

How to Change your Zip Drive Letter in Windows 95

Iomega Zip Drives are becoming more popular as a storage alternative for files. However, when a Zip Drive is added to a Windows 95 computer system, it often changes the drive letter of the CD ROM. If your Zip drive has a Floppy disk icon in 'My Computer', then try these steps to switch the drive letters between the Zip Drive and CD-ROM drive.

1. Open Device Manager and double click on the Disk Drives line.
2. Highlight the Iomega Zip Drive line and click on Properties.
3. Click on the Settings tab.
4. In the Reserved Drive Letters section, there is a Start Drive Letter and an End Drive Letter setting. Enter the desired drive letter for the Zip Drive in both the Start and End boxes. Be sure to use the same drive letter for both the Start and End sections.
5. Click on OK. Double click on the CD-ROM line.
6. Highlight your CD-ROM drive line and click on Properties.
7. Click on the Settings tab.
8. In the Reserved Drive Letters section, there is a Start Drive Letter and an End Drive Letter setting. Enter the desired drive letter for the CD-ROM in both the Start and End boxes. Be sure to use the same drive letter for both the Start and End sections.
9. Click on Ok, Click on OK to close Device Manager
10. Shutdown and Restart your computer.

    This should change the Zip and CD-ROM drive letters.