Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part V: Desktop Icons
Once again, it's time to enhance your Windows XP operating system exactly the way you want and without paying a cent on expensive programs that do something so simple that even a kid could handle it.
windows -
comments -
26.11.2008 No More Registry from Vista SP1 and XP SP3 to Windows 7?
Windows 7 is the next iteration of the Windows operating system that will succeed Windows Vista. Following the availability of the latest Windows Client, Windows Vienna was the codename for the next version of Windows.
windows -
comments -
16.1.2008 Symantec tool cleans up Windows XP SP3 registry corruption
Symantec Thursday released a free tool that wipes spurious entries from Windows' registry that had crippled some PCs running the company's security software after they were upgraded to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Vista SP1.
windows -
comments -
9.6.2008 The Growth of the Windows Registry from 16-bit Windows to XP SP3 and Vista SP1
The Windows registry has been around since the 16-bit editions of Windows, and will continue to be a key component of the operating system even after Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Widows XP Service Pack 3, and even after Windows 7.
common -
comments -
18.1.2008 Connect Windows 7 with XP SP3 Vista SP2 via Remote Desktop Connection 7.0
Microsoft is gearing up to release a tool that will permit users of Windows Vista and Windows XP computers to connect to Windows 7 machines, and to take advantage of features that only the latest version of the Windows client brings to the table.
windows -
comments -
12.9.2009 Windows 7 RTM Icons Pack
Here is a complete set of Windows 7 Icons extracted from Windows 7 RTM (Build 7600.16385).
download -
comments -
27.7.2009 Download Windows 7 Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 for XP SP3 and Vista SP1 and SP2
While Windows 7 technologies are, as a general rule, available exclusively with the latest iteration of the Windows client from Microsoft, there also are exceptions.
windows -
comments -
4.11.2009 Windows Vista Official 133 Icons
download -
comments -
Windows Vista 254 Icons Collection
Thanks to odeeee for this download - collection of high-resolution Icons in Vista-style. The icons are .png files.
download -
comments -
13.6.2007 Are Windows Vista icons facing the wrong way?
I know what you’re thinking, “has it really come down to this”. No doubts you’ve all seen the “Computer” icon in Windows Vista.
windows -
comments -
23.6.2008 Download Windows Vista Official 113 Icons
This site will soon offer a large database of free vista icons (.ico) so you can customize your desktop and OS icons. More free Vista Icons coming soon.
download -
comments -
2.1.2006 Download Office 2010 Beta Icons Pack
The latest Office 2010 Beta Build 14.0.4417.1000 which was leaked about a week ago features refreshed icons for all Office applications.
download -
comments -
8.9.2009 Yodm 3D - 3D Desktop for Windows XP and Vista
Thanks to hwh1226 for this download link.
download -
comments -
17.4.2007 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience
You may ask yourselves, why should this article be any different from all those tweaking tutorials around the Internet or, better yet, why should you read this when you can install a program that does it all for you?
windows -
comments -
23.10.2008 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience VI
The moment has come once again to pimp your Windows XP with the skills of a power user and the tool that will always be at your disposal, Notepad. This article, along with the previous ones, will allow you to enhance and customize your operating system with advanced IT knowledge.
windows -
comments -
29.11.2008 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part II
Allow me to start this article by recommending you read (if you haven’t already) the first part of this “tweaking series,” as it sets the ground rules that must be followed in order to get the job done right.
windows -
comments -
24.10.2008 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part III
Welcome back to the registry optimization saga! If you’re just joining us, please start by reading at least our first episode, which describes a few rules that must be followed in order for the optimization process to take place successfully...
windows -
comments -
25.10.2008 Wise Registry Cleaner 1.9
Wise Registry Cleaner is one of the safest Registry cleaning tools available in the market today.
download -
comments -
8.4.2007 Two Vista Registry Hacks
Thanks to rzalonis for this post in our forum. Here are two easy registry hacks for minor performance gains.
windows -
comments -
17.4.2007 Wise Registry Cleaner 2.9.4
Wise Registry Cleaner is one of the safest Registry cleaning tools available in the market today.
download -
comments -
27.10.2007 Windows Registry Editor, Task Manager and Folder Options Disabled by New Infection
January 2008 comes with a new trend when talking about computer security because lots of worms, Trojan horses, viruses or other pieces of malware attempt to disable important Windows functions in order to hide their files.
windows -
comments -
14.1.2008 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part IV: Display Properties
Welcome to yet another episode of our Microsoft Windows XP tweaking saga. If you're not familiar with the procedure, please start by reading the first article in the series, so as to fully understand how exactly you should use the lines below and how to run the tweaks.
windows -
comments -
12.11.2008 Auslogics Registry Defrag 4.1.6.75
Auslogics Registry Defrag is an extremely useful program to keep your registry as compact as possible. As a result of keeping the registry defragmented and as small as possible, your computer performance will be much improved.
download -
comments -
18.1.2008 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part VIII: Add or Remove Programs
In part eight of the our tweaking series we’ll go through a few Control Panel optimizations for Windows XP power users that may not interest most people using their operating system for basic tasks.
windows -
comments -
26.12.2008 Disable and Remove Half-Open TCP Connections Limit (to Unlimited) in Windows 7 and Vista SP2 with EnableConnectionRateLimitin Registry Key
Officially, the incomplete half-open outbound TCP connection attempts allowed at any one time is now unlimited by default in Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP2 (Service Pack 2), and Windows 7. Actually, the ability to limit or restrict number of half-open outgoing TCP connections system can create or establish is built into Windows Vista SP2 and Windows 7, however it’s disabled by default.
windows -
comments -
8.6.2009 The Windows 7 Desktop
Microsoft is laboring to deliver a new level of personalization, choice and control with the Windows 7 desktop, according to Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, Steven Sinofsky.
windows -
comments -
3.11.2008 Windows Desktop Search 3.0 Beta 2
The search engine in WDS 3.0 is a Microsoft Windows service that is also used by programs such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and Microsoft Office OneNote 2007.
download -
comments -
23.8.2006 Windows Desktop Search 3.01
Windows Desktop Search (WDS) 3.01 is a minor update to Windows Desktop Search 3.0 that adds: support for indexing UNC files, additional support for enterprise deployment, and stability improvements.
download -
comments -
20.2.2007 Windows Vista 3D Desktop
Microsoft indicated early that Vista will feature a three-dimensional interface with transparency, moving objects, anti-aliasing and other effects. Thanks to portos for this download.
download -
comments -
10.7.2007 Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios
Via Microsoft Connect, the company is accepting participation requests in a new Beta program for Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios. The software giant aims to streamline the way in which users interact with the desktop in an enterprise environment.
windows -
comments -
27.11.2008Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2 via Windows Update (Public Availability Program)
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 is available to the public. Specific registry settings will allow you to be offered SP3 via Windows
Update.
Download the script and run it on a machine currently running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The script sets a registry key
on your system. The registry key is required for Windows Update to recognize your machine as a valid target for Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2.
Versions of Windows XP Service Pack 3 prior to Release Candidate 2 should be removed before attempting to use the registry key.
Windows Update will not offer Release Candidate 2 to machines with previous versions of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 beta.
It is
recommended that you apply the resulting update package to an activated, genuine copy of Windows XP, in a test environment. As with any pre-release
software, it is also recommended that you back up files and settings on your machine before applying this update package.
winbeta.org -
20.02.2008How to: Create custom wallpaper collections in Windows 7
Do you love customizing your Windows desktop? If you do, you'll love this trick! By default, Windows 7 includes several locations to choose
pictures and desktop backgrounds from, such as Windows Desktop Backgrounds, Pictures Library, Top Rated Photos, and Solid Colors. In this article, I
will walk you through the process of creating your own wallpaper collection through the registry, and how to customize it to your liking. This process
will help you categorize and sort your wallpapers efficiently, and allow you to use a mix of categorized wallpapers with Windows 7's new automatic
background shuffle without the need to lump everything together. Disclaimer: The steps in this article involve modifying the Windows registry.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
28.07.2009Shipping Seven: The Registry
Could the registry be replaced? Sure, in software, pretty much any change is possible.
In practice though...If you were to
replace the registry, you would end up with something that pretty much looks exactly like the registry.
Go take a look at all the
programs on your hard disk that use the registry APIs in
in advapi32.dll...
winbeta.org - 16.01.2008
Symantec tool cleans up Windows XP SP3 registry corruption
Symantec Thursday released a free tool that wipes spurious entries from Windows' registry that had crippled some PCs running the company's
security software after they were upgraded to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Vista SP1. The tool, SymRegFix, had been promised by Symantec two
weeks ago when users reported that upgrading to XP SP3 emptied Windows' Device Manager, deleted network connections and packed the registry with
thousands of bogus entries.
Symantec initially blamed Microsoft for the snafu, but later accepted some responsibility. Last week, the
company said the combination of a Microsoft process and the SymProtect feature of its Norton-branded consumer security software had added the errant
registry entries, and it told users to turn off that feature before upgrading. Symantec's SymRegFix clean-up tool can be downloaded from the company's site.
neowin.net - 09.06.2008
Windows registry forensics guide: Investigating hacker activities
When analysing a compromised Windows system, investigators and system administrators can glean enormously useful information about attackers' actions
by looking through the Windows registry, a hierarchical database storing tens of thousands of settings on a modern Windows box. Whether an outside
attacker compromised the box, an inside employee engaged in nefarious activities, or malware inexplicably infected the machine, the Windows registry
contains wonderful gems of information for investigators. In this tip, we'll look at what information investigators can gather about user activity
via the registry. Next month, we'll focus on how investigators can pull useful registry information associated with the overall operating system.
winbeta.org - 06.06.2008
Microsoft's XP SP3 Patch Fixes Anti-Virus Glitch
Microsoft issued a hotfix for Windows XP Service Pack 3 last week that it says "could resolve" a Windows registry corruption problem associated with
third-party security software. The problem was first discovered just over a month ago, and it notably affected users of Symantec's Norton Antivirus suite of products.
Some users who
installed XP SP3 reported seeing garbled system entries that cluttered the Windows registry. The corruption in the registry led to problems such as
lost Internet and wireless connections, along with uninitiated restarts caused by sporadic registry subkeys.
Microsoft provided an
explanation for the problem in a Knowledgebase posting on Friday. The
issue "occurs when the Fixccs.exe process is called during the Windows XP SP3 installation," the KB article explains. "This process creates some
intermediate registry subkeys, and it later deletes these subkeys. In some cases, some antivirus applications may not let the Fixccs.exe process
delete these intermediate registry subkeys." When the problem occurs, "certain applications" within Windows, such as "Device Manager and Network
Connections" may be unable to function, Redmond added.
neowin.net - 02.07.2008
Symantec pins blame for XP SP3 registry corruption on Microsoft
But some users say Microsoft tech support told them it's Symantec's fault
Symantec Corp. Thursday said it was
Microsoft's code that crippled some PCs after upgrades to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) emptied Device Manager, deleted network connections, and
packed the registry with thousands of bogus entries.
"We finally got to the bottom of this last night," said Dave Cole,
Symantec's senior director for product management of its consumer software. "All of these problems are related to the same thing: a Microsoft file
that created all the garbage entries ."
He also said that some of the same symptoms had been acknowledged by
Microsoft when users updated to Windows XP SP2 several years ago; Cole referenced a pair of Microsoft support documents to back up his claim.
winbeta.org - 23.05.2008
The ultimate tweaker's guide to Windows
But just because the operating system doesn't look and work the way you want doesn't mean that you're stuck with it as is. Windows is extremely
tweakable; if you dig a little, you'll find that you can customize it in almost any way you want.
To help you out, we've put
together this guide to tweaking Windows. It covers both XP and Vista and lets you do all kinds of things you might have thought were impossible --
replacing your boot screen, hacking the Control Panel, speeding up Windows Flip 3D and more. Look for the XP logo and Vista logo icons to see which
tips work in which OS.
The hacks vary in the expertise you'll need. In some cases you'll get down and dirty with the Registry,
so if you're not certain you know how to make a DWORD value, for example, read our story "The tweaker's guide to the
Windows Registry" first. (Be sure to read the instructions for backing up the
Registry before you attempt any Registry edits whatsoever.)
In other cases, you'll just have to dig into hidden corners of
menus and folders. But in all cases, you'll tell Windows exactly how you want it to behave ... and it will bow down to you, the master.
winbeta.org - 18.10.2007
Windows XP Service Pack 3 SP3 RC2 Refresh
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new
functionalities, which do not significantly change customers experience with the operating system.
jcxp.net - 26.03.2008
Symantec tool cleans up XP SP3 registry corruption
Symantec Corp. yesterday released a free tool that wipes spurious entries from Windows' registry that had crippled some PCs running the
company's security software after they were upgraded to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Vista SP1.
The tool, SymRegFix, had
been promised by Symantec two weeks ago when users reported that upgrading to XP SP3 emptied Windows' Device Manager, deleted network connections and
packed the registry with thousands of bogus entries.
Symantec initially blamed Microsoft for the
snafu, but later accepted some responsibility. Last week, the company said the combination of a Microsoft process and the SymProtect feature of its
Norton-branded consumer security software had added the errant registry entries, and it told users to turn off that feature before upgrading.
winbeta.org - 06.06.2008
New Windows Genuine authenticator can blank desktop backgrounds
If in the last week or so you've noticed that your desktop background in Windows XP Professional goes completely black exactly every 60 minutes,
don't worry, it's not a virus...
betanews.com - 28.08.2008
Remote Desktop Client (RDC) 6.1 now available for XP SP2 users
Nathan Mercer: We have received a lot of feedback from customers about the need for the Remote Desktop Connection client 6.1 to be made available as a
standalone install for Windows XP SP2 to ease deployments of Windows 2008 Terminal Services.
In response to this feedback, we
have released the Remote Desktop Connection client (RDC 6.1) for Windows XP SP2 on x86 platforms.
winbeta.org - 26.06.2008
Helping Small Businesses With Windows 7 Professional and Windows XP Mode
Q&A: Scott Woodgate discusses how Windows XP Mode helps customers maximize productivity and manage their technology infrastructure, while migrating to
Windows 7. Woodgate also shares how Windows Virtual PC works with Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V)...
microsoft.com/presspass - 29.04.2009
Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate 2 via Windows Update
Microsoft yesterday made Service Pack 3 RC2 available to both testers and the general public. They have provided a small script to run on your XP SP2
machine that will allow for SP3 to be available through Windows Update.
The build, now at v3311, cannot be installed over previous SP3
betas. Versions of Windows XP Service Pack 3 prior to Release Candidate 2 should be removed before attempting to use the registry key. Windows Update
will not offer Release Candidate 2 to machines with previous versions of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 beta.
neowin.net - 20.02.2008
Windows XP SP3 Yields Performance Gains Over Vista SP1
After a disappointing showing by Windows Vista SP1 (see previous post), we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Windows XP Service Pack 3
(v.3244) delivers a measurable performance boost to this aging desktop OS. Testing with OfficeBench showed an 10% performance boost vs. the same
configuration running under Windows XP w/Service Pack 2.
Since SP3 was supposed to be mostly a bug-fix/patch consolidation release - unlike
w/Vista SP1, Microsoft made no promises of improved performance for XP - the unexpected speed boost comes as a nice bonus. In fact, XP SP3 is
shaping-up to be a "must have" update for the majority of users who are still running Redmond's not-so-latest and greatest desktop
OS.
Of course, none of this bodes well for Vista, which is now more than 2x slower than the most current builds of its older sibling.
Suffice to say that performance-minded users will likely choose to stick with the now even speedier Windows XP - at least until more "Windows
7" information becomes publicly available.
Read full story.....
neowin.net - 24.11.2007
Windows Search 4.0 vs. Google Desktop 5.5
Brad Linder: Microsoft released an updated version of Windows
Search, its free desktop search client the other day. And while there are dozens of excellent desktop search clients, including a few good free
ones, it seems inevitable that people are going to compare Windows Search to Google Desktop. Because you know, any time either company releases
something kind of cool someones assumes that it's just a ripoff of a product offered by the other. Or Apple.
Anyway, we've been
using Windows Search for the past few days and we thought we'd let you know how it stacks up against Google Desktop. Read on for the results.
winbeta.org - 30.03.2008
Dell pushes back desktop XP cutoff date to June 26
Sure, you'll be able to pay out the nose for a Vista machine with a XP Professional "downgrade" soon enough, but Dell just pushed back its cutoff for straight-up XP
machines. They'll be selling select Inspiron and XPS desktop with whatever flavor of XP you choose up until June 26th, at precisely 6:59AM
EST.
winbeta.org - 22.06.2008
Windows XP SP3 Final Available at MajorGeeks
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new
functionalities, which do not significantly change customers experience with the operating system.
Supported Operating Systems:
Windows XP; Windows XP Home Edition ; Windows XP Home Edition N; Windows XP Media Center Edition; Windows XP Professional Edition ; Windows XP
Professional N; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2; Windows XP Starter Edition; Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.
winbeta.org - 23.04.2008
Desktop OS, Hold the Vista
Exclusive eWEEK research indicates that Microsoft's desktop Windows operating system is a rousing success.
Vista?
No, XP.
In a survey conducted by Ziff Davis Enterprise Editorial Research for eWEEK of enterprise IT professionals, just
2 percent of respondents said that Vista was the primary desktop operating system at their companies, while 92 percent indicated that XP was their
primary desktop OS.
The majority of respondents also indicated that the move to Vista will not be driven by any improvements the
new OS offers, but rather by new hardware.
winbeta.org - 14.03.2008
FAQ on the Windows XP Expert
Zone
Columnist Charlie Russel
explains how to use FAQs to
find answers to frequently
asked questions about Windows
XP, Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition, and Windows XP Media
Center Edition...
WindowsXP/expertzone - 04.01.2006
