10 Most useful tips for Microsoft xp

1. Delete Files Immediately

This will allow you to delete files from your system without sending them to the recycle bin first.

Select Start > Run… type gpedit.msc then select User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer then locate the ‘Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin‘ setting and set it.

2. Faster Start Menu Appearance

Ever wondered why it takes the start menu a few seconds to appear when you click on it? To speed it up, go to Start > Run… Type regedit then navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay section and change the value from 400 to 0.

3. Disable Unneeded Startup Services

Disabling these services will not only make your machine a little safer, but will speed things up a bit. To disable services, go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services and disable the following:

a. Alerter

b. Clipbook

c. Human Interface Access Devices

d. Indexing Service

e. Messenger

f. Net Logon

g. Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing

h. Remote Desktop Help Session Manager

i. Remote Procedure Call Locator

j. Remote Registry

k. Routing & Remote Access

l. SSDP Discovery Service

m. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper

n. Telnet

o. Upload Manager

p. Windows Time

q. Wireless Zero Configuration

4. Turning Off The Welcome Screen

Navigate to the Control Panel and select User Accounts then select the option that says Change the way users log on or off.

5. Speed Up Shared File Viewing across Network

Machines have been known to have a bit of a delay when ever trying to view files shared across a network, due to the fact that Windows is taking the extra time to search and see if the networked computer has any Scheduled Tasks. To prevent Windows from searching for scheduled tasks on a remote computer click Start > Run… Type regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace and delete the key {D62277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

6. Speed Up Shutdown Process

Many times, the shutdown process takes a while due to the fact that Windows is trying to clear the Page File. To stop Windows from clearing the Page File on shutdown click Start > Run… type regedit navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown and set the value to 0.

7. Add Your Own Folders To The Send To Menu

Having your own folders in the Send To menu can be a big help. This way, when you right click on something and select Send To you can choose to send it to your very own special folder. To do this navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\username\SendTo\ and simply add your own shortcuts to what ever folders you want to appear.

8. Launch Any Program From The Run Dialog

We’ve been running applications like regedit by going to Start > Run. Now what if we could launch any application by doing this. We can! To do so, we need to once again, go to Start > Run… and type regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\App Paths and 1) Add a subkey of the file name you wish to use. For example, Photoshop.exe. Set the default value’s data to the full path of the application. For example, C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Photoshop.exe. 2) Create a string value named Path that contains only the path. For example, C:\Progarm Files\Adobe\Photoshop\.

9. Working with files

To rename several files at once, select all of them in any folder view, or in the Windows Explorer, rename the FIRST one in the list, and the rest will follow.

To turn off filenames, hold down the Shift key when you click to open a folder in Windows Explorer or when you switch into thumbnail view. This will turn of the file names, giving more space for the thumbnails. Doing it again turns them back on.

Try grouping your files. In the top menu bar select View – Arrange icons by… - Type, and then View – Arrange icons by… - Show in groups.

You can change the size and quality of the shell's thumbnails. Start regedit, expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER (only for you) or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (for all the users in this computer) and in Software – Microsoft – Windows – CurrentVersion – Explorer, add or modify the following entries:

10. keyboard

Break opens the Control Panel System applet.

Tab moves through the taskbar buttons

D shows the Desktop

L shows the Welcome screen, or locks the machine if Fast User Switching is disabled.