In order to address the disorderly way most people catalogue their data, Windows 7 introduced a new system that let's users point a Library to various folders (Pictures or Documents, for example). All of the included folders can then be accessed in one uniformed location. This methodology displaces the older and rigid folder structure, which made it difficult to index files that were scattered throughout your drives.
As handy as the new Libraries functionality is, there's one glaring omission: we can't find an easy built-in way to change the Library icons. Granted, this isn't a major deal for some people because the four default Libraries (Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos) are sufficient for the average person's data and they have nice looking icons. However, if you add a new Library, you're stuck with a generic Windows 7-style documents icon, and that just won't fly with us perfectionists, will it?
Fret not. If you have five minutes and a shred of fortitude, we'll show you how to ditch that lame default icon. For now, decide whether you want to get your hands dirty (method #1) or you'd rather save a couple of minutes by using a utility (method #2). For what it's worth, we recommend going with the second route for the sake of simplicity. The process is much easier and it's not like you're going to impress anyone by dealing with a few script text files (and yet we will still show you).
Method #1 - The hard way:
1. Open a text editor (Notepad will do)
2. Go to the following Windows directory: %appdata%\microsoft\windows\libraries
3. Drag the Library icon you want to change into Notepad
Among the several lines of text that appear should be one that reads something like this: imageres.dll,-1001
Now, all you have to do is swap imageres.dll,-1001 for the directory or file where your icon is located, as well as its place within the file. For instance, the icon in the example below is located at imageres.dll,124 which seems to fit well for a Work-oriented Library.
Naturally, you won't know this information offhand, but the free application IconViewer will let you browse the contents of a DLL file and it will even give you an icon's location number. Once you've found your desired icon, save the changes in Notepad and your new icon will appear.
Method #2 - The easy way:
This method automates the above process with a simple GUI and even includes an icon viewer. All you have to do is download and run this utility, type in one of the DLL files mentioned below (or stick with the default imageres.dll), choose an icon, select the library you'd like to apply it to and click Select icon from dll.
It's worth mentioning that some icons look pretty terrible in the utility's icon browser, but they're actually attractive, high-res images. If you think something might fit your Library well, give it a chance before you dismiss it for being ugly, after all you can roll back any changes with the click of a button (Restore default icon).
Where to find icons within Windows?
For your reference, here are some additional DLLs with icons: ddores.dll (mostly hardware-related), shell32.dll (hundreds of assorted icons), wmp.dll (a few media-related icons), moricons.dll (various low-res, old school Windows icons).
Want more icons? Check these out: compstui.dll, mmcndmgr.dll, netshell.dll, pnidui.dll, wmploc.DLL, iconarchive.com,interfacelift.com, and as always, feel free to share your resources in the comments.
Try this trick to add up your name in place of AM and PM beside time
Its simple
Step-1:
Navigate to Start -> Control Pannel -> Regional and Language Option -> Click on Customize -> Go to TIME Tab -> Change AM symbol and PM symbol from AM and PM to your name ->Apply Ok ...
Did It change? If not, follow step 2.
Step-2 :
Now go to time in taskbar and Double Click it to open "Date and time property" .Look place where time changes in digital form i.e. 02:47:52 AM , click to arrow to change the AM or PM by selecting and press arrow. It will Show your name or name that was entered by you, Apply , OK and be HAPPY
I’ve read a number of articles on the internet about changing the text on the Start button in XP. On more than one occasion I’ve seen references to a five (5) letter limitation when the button is renamed. I always wondered if this was true or just an assumption someone made because the default ‘start’ just happened to fit the button size. So, I decided to run a test and see if there really was a five character limit. First of all just u need to do is download Resource hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT, Win2000 and WinXP operating systems.
The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe
The category we are going to be using is String Table In Resource Hacker. Expand it by clicking the plus sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will display the stringtable as shown in Fig. 02. We’re going to modify item 578, currently showing the word “start” just as it displays on the current Start button.
There is no magic here. Just double click on the word “start” so that it’s highlighted, making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in place, surrounding the new text that you’ll type. Go ahead and type your new entry
Second Step:
Modify the Registry Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it’s necessary to modify the registry so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don’t know how to access the registry I’m not sure this article is for you, but just in case it’s a temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the Open: field. Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon
the Right pane (Fig. 05), double click the Shell entry to open the Edit String dialog box as shown in Fig. 06. In Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file. Click OK.
Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire system if that’s your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start button with the revised text.
Windows 7's headline features naturally get all the attention. If you have read anything about Microsoft's latest operating system, you probably already know that Windows 7 is faster, more compatible, and less annoying than Windows Vista. But Microsoft has also sneaked quite a few less visible but still noteworthy features into Windows 7. Here are a few.
1. Shake:
Let's say you have dozens of applications open on your Windows 7 desktop - so many, in fact, that that you have a difficult time sorting through them all, or you have difficulty concentrating on the foreground application because of everything else that's open. Sound familiar?In previous versions of Windows, you'd typically have to close all of those applications in order to get some sanity back into your desktop. Not anymore - thanks to the new feature dubbed "shake." True to its name, the feature is activated by grabbing the title bar of an open application with your mouse cursor and then "shaking" the program back and forth a few times. When you do, everything else that's open on your desktop is minimised automatically. Perform the shake operation again, and the clutter returns to your desktop, exactly as it was before.
2.Problem recorder:
How often have you had to try to describe a problem you are having with your Windows computer, and the person you are describing the problem to acts like you are talking in a foreign language? Or how often have you, as the local computer expert, had to rely on someone's fuzzy description of a problem?In Windows 7, there's help for both scenarios in the form of the new Problem Steps Recorder. In a nutshell, the Problem Steps Recorder, or PRS for short, will record exactly what you are doing on your PC that results in a problem. Optionally, you can use the tool's Add Comment feature to add a note about what issue you are experiencing. When you are finished, PRS packages up the recording in a compressed ZIP file. Open the ZIP file, and out pops an "mht" that can be viewed with Internet Explorer. To start PRS, just open the Windows 7 Start menu, and type "PRS." Click Start Record, and then walk through the steps that result in a problem. Click Stop Record, and you'll be asked to indicate a location on your hard drive where the zipped file will be created.
3.ISO burning:
For quite a while now, the preferred way to copy and store installation CDs and DVDs has been to create "ISO" files of the entire disk. An ISO file is a single image of the contents of the entire disk. To create an ISO file, you must use a third-party ISO creation tool such as UltraISO or the free ImgBurn. Reading ISO files also required a third-party tool, at least until now. Windows 7's new Windows Disc Image Burner, which comes free with all editions of Windows 7, allows the operating system to recognise ISO files and burn their contents to a CD or DVD drive. To activate Disc Image Burner, you merely double-click an ISO file..
4.BitLocker To Go:
USB flash drives are everywhere these days, and with good reason: they hold a lot of data, and they are small and convenient to carry. There's just one problem: anyone who happens upon your unencrypted flash drive can read whatever data you have stored there. And that could be a very big problem if you frequently transport sensitive information. The solution: Windows 7's BitLocker To Go technology, built into the Ultimate and Enterprise editions of the operating system. Using BitLocker To Go couldn't be easier. You simply plug your USB flash drive into a USB port, right-click the resulting drive in Windows Explorer, and select Turn on BitLocker from the pop-up menu. When you do, a BitLocker Drive Encryption dialog box appears, presenting you with the opportunity to password-protect the drive. You will then either save or print the BitLocker recovery key, and then BitLocker goes to work, encrypting your drive so that only someone with the recovery key can access it.
5.Sticky notes:
They might not be as technically sophisticated as BitLocker, but Windows 7's "sticky notes" are a useful little feature that will come in handy for many. Sticky notes will be familiar to many computer users: the stereotypical "geek" generally has these pasted all over the computer monitor. Thanks to Windows 7's implementation of electronic sticky notes, you can throw those paper ones away once and for all. Just open the Windows 7 Start menu, and type "sticky" to call up the shortcut that launches Sticky Notes. There's hardly any learning required to begin using them. Just type your notes onto the yellow sticky that appears. The note will stay stuck to your monitor until you specifically close the application. If you end up with a lot of sticky notes, you can make them different colours by right-clicking a =sticky and choosing a colour other than yellow. Keeping "to do" lists has never been so much fun.
6.Guest accounts:
If you occasionally share your computer but do not want others to be able to alter anything, you'll probably love the new Windows 7 Guest Account feature. If you activate Guest Accounts, you essentially allow anyone to log on to your PC as "guest." A guest will have his or her own desktop and settings - and yours will be kept completely private. Guests are not allowed to install any software or change any system settings. Nor are they allowed to write files to any directory outside of their special guest area. No doubt this concept will be very appealing to families in which kids often request use of a parent's computer.
7.Security Essentials:
While not officially a Windows 7 feature, Microsoft's free Security Essentials add-on (http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/) is a must-have for Windows 7 users who are tired of handing over hard-earned cash for subscriptions to commercial antivirus and anti-spyware packages. Security Essentials is the successor to Microsoft's first foray into the antivirus world, the now-discontinued OneCare product. Security Essentials appears to be every bit as unobtrusive and reliable as OneCare. Plus, with the backing of the Microsoft Malware Protection Centre (MMPC), Microsoft appears to be engaging full-throttle in the competitive antivirus software arena. Given Security Essential's price (free), Microsoft's name, and the product's apparent competence, Security Essentials removes any remaining excuses Windows users might have about not implementing security software.
As indicated by enthusiasts around the Web, there is a simple way to access a hidden "God Mode" in Windows 7. With a name like that, your expectations might be a little high -- and no, Windows is not secretly invincible -- but the trick is awesome nevertheless.
"God Mode" simply provides users with a centralized Control Panel for all of Windows' settings, from changing your desktop background to setting up a VPN or partitioning your hard drive. In all, there are nearly 50 categories and most have several entries.
1.Create a new folder.
2.Rename the folder to: CROSSFIRE.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
3.The default folder icon will change to a Control Panel icon, and you can open it to view all of the settings.
A list of other commands that also create special folders.
A virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message, in-joke or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, web page or video game. Easter eggs are messages, videos, graphics, sound effects, or an unusual change in program behavior that sometimes occur in a software program in response to some undocumented set of commands, mouse clicks, keystrokes or other stimuli intended as a joke or to display program credits.
An Easter Egg is found on all Microsoft Windows Operating Systems . In the 3D Text screen saver, entering the text "volcano" will display the names of all the volcanoes in the United States. Microsoft removed this Easter Egg in XP but added others.
Windows XP had a candy cane pipe screensaver. To access it, do the following.
In screensaver menu select 3D Pipes.
1. Go to its settings.
2. In the surface style category bubble in texture by clicking on it.
3. Click choose texture.
4. When choose texture opens click cancel.
5. Click OK in the settings.
6. Then the pipes will be candy cane
Windows XP Pinball game:
Open Pinball program
1. Type "hidden test" (lower case, including space)
2. Left click the ball with cursor and hold the button down.
3. Now you can move the ball with your mouse.
Windows XP- Easter Egg Star Wars ASCII Art on Telnet:
1. Open Windows XP and go to Start, then run.
2. Type in or copy "telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl" without the quotes.
3. Sit back and watch the ASCII movie that someone's made for us.
Some more Windows XP easter eggs and tricks.
1. IExpress
Hidden Install Creator
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type iexpress
2. MS-DOS Editor
Hidden Text Editor
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type edit
3. Netmeeting
Hidden Internet Conference Application
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type conf
4. Private Character Editor
Hidden Font Editor
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type eudcedit
5. Windows Chat
Hidden Windows Chat Program
Instructions - Go to Start, Run, type winchat
6. Windows Media Player 5.1
Hidden Windows Media Player
now save it and scan it by ur antivirus software..
A Notepad Bug!!!
1. Open Notepad
2. Type 'AAAA BBB CCC DDDDD' (or any other 4-3-3-5 letter combination)
3. Save the document, and close notepad
4. Open the saved file
A Notepad with current Time !!!
Sometimes we want to insert current data and time, whenever we open the file in the notepad. If you are a lazy person like me, who don’t like to press F5 whenever you open a notepad. Then here is a trick to avoid this. Just add a .LOG in the first line of your text file and close it.
Whenever you open the file with that text in the first line in the notepad, it will insert the current date and time at the end of the file. You can start entering your text after that.
Print Tree Root
a. Open NOTEPAD and enter {print tree root}
b. After that hit enter and type C:\windows\system
c. After that hit enter and type {print C:\windows\system\winlog
d. Hit enter and type 4*43″$@[455]3hr4~
e. Then save the file as teekids in C:\windows\system.
Check Who's Ips Is Connected To You
- open notepad
- copy the following lines
@echo
@color 09
@netstat -n
@echo.
@pause
And then run it.
NEVER ENDING "OK" MESSAGE
Copy/Paste the Code to your notepad
@ECHO off
:BEGIN
msg * Hi
msg * How are you?
msg * I'm fine!
msg * Thank you!!!!!
GOTO BEGIN
Make your Windows XP talk as you type..
Open a text file in notepad and write:
Dim msg, sapi
msg=InputBox("Enter your text","Talk it")
Set sapi=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
sapi.Speak msg
Save the file with a (*.vbs) extension, it will create a VBScript File.
Then after clicking the .vbs file, it will prompt you for a text, input the text and press ok.
Enjoy..
NotePad to create hidden text files!!!
1. Launch Windows command prompt from Start Menu -> Run -> Type cmd and press Enter.
2. Using DOS commands navigate to the desired folder.
3. Now type in notepad VisibleFile.txt:HiddenFile.txt and hit Enter, you can change VisibleFile.txt and HiddenFile.txt to names of your choice (notice the : between both file-names), You will be prompted to Create a New file click Yes .
4. Now enter data you want to hide, save the file and close notepad.
5. Visit the file-save location, you will see your VisibleFile.txt file (non-hidden) there, you can open the file and enter any text of your choice as any other normal text file.
6. The hidden file HiddenFile.txt will not be visible under Windows Explorer or DOS.
7. To open and read/write your hidden file, type in the command notepad VisibleFile.txt:HiddenFile.txt (change filenames with your own used during Step 3 above) at DOS command prompt and hit Enter. (Do note that if the visible file (VisibleFile.txt) is deleted your hidden file (HiddenFile.txt) will also get deleted.)
1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.
2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.
3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.
4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.
The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.
Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.
Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.
5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.
6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.
7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.
8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.
9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.
10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.
11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.
12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.
13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.
14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.
15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.
16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.
17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.
18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.
19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.
20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.
21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.
22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.
23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.
Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.
