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Network Chico Windows
Tips and Tricks
Windows is the most common personal computer operating system
on Earth. More than 210 million copies of Windows XP have reportedly
been sold and Microsoft reports more than 106 million copies
of Service Pack 2 for XP have been distributed. Below are some
news items for Windows users. Check out the Network
Chico Windows information
page. And don't forget to review the Network
Chico Windows security
page and the Network Chico
Windows resources.
External links on this page will open in a new window.
TIPS: | Safe
mode option | Log on without password
| Suspend mode shortcut | Defrag
tip | Media player |
TIP:
ADD A SAFE MODE OPTION TO THE BOOT MENU
When you're experiencing a problem with Windows XP you may
need to boot the system into Safe Mode more than once. However,
doing so can be a tiresome process. When the Boot menu appears,
you must press [F8], and then you must select Safe Mode from
yet another menu.
Wouldn't it be nice if Safe Mode were available from the Boot
menu? In fact, it's relatively easy to add a Safe Mode option
to the Boot menu.
Follow these steps:
- 1. Press [Windows][Break] to open the System Properties dialog
box
- 2. On the Advanced tab click the Settings button in the Startup
And Recovery section
- 3. In the System Startup section click the Edit button
- 4. When the Boot.ini file opens in Notepad locate the line
that ends with the /fastdetect switch
- 5. Highlight and copy that line and paste it in the line
below
- 6. Change the section on the line that reads WINDOWS="Microsoft
Windows XP Professional" to WINDOWS="Safe Mode"
- 7. Add the following to the end of the line:
/safeboot:minimal /sos /bootlog
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TIP:
USING WINDOWS XP WITHOUT HAVING TO LOG IN USING A PASSWORD
After an update from Microsoft a user account called ASPNET
is created. While this account is harmless it has the effect
of causing windows to ask for a user name and password in order
to log on to Windows. The simplest solution is to delete this
harmless account. However a better solution is to instruct Windows
to stop asking for your password. First you need to log on as
Administrator. Then choose Start > Run >
and enter control userpasswords2 in the run box and click
OK. When the User Accounts dialog box opens select the Users
tab and then deselect or uncheck the "Users must enter a
username and password to use this computer" option. Click
OK and a new window called "Automatically Log On" will
appear. Enter the username and password of the account you would
like to use when you start your computer and then click OK. From
now on Windows will no longer ask you for a username and password
when you start your computer.
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TIP:
CREATE A SUSPEND MODE SHORTCUT
On the Advanced tab of the Power Options dialog box Windows
XP provides you with several built-in shortcuts for putting your
computer in Suspend mode, either Standby or Hibernation. These
shortcuts allow you to reconfigure the operation performed when
pressing either the Power or Sleep buttons. (If you've enabled
the Hibernation feature using these shortcuts will put your computer
into hibernation mode. If you haven't using these shortcuts will
put your computer into Standby mode.) However, if you wish to
expand your alternatives, you can create a standard shortcut
that will put your computer in Suspend mode. You can the put
the shortcut on your desktop or place it on the Quick Launch
bar where you can easily put your computer in a suspended state
with a click of your mouse.
Here's how:
- Right-click the desktop and select New | Shortcut
- When the Create Shortcut wizard’s location text box
appears type:
- rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState
- Give the shortcut a name like 'Suspend Now!'
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TIP:
DELETE HIBERFIL.SYS BEFORE DEFRAGMENTING
If you use Windows XP's hibernation feature on your lap top
you may want to delete the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk
before defragmenting. When you put your computer in hibernation
Windows XP writes all memory content to the Hiberfil.sys file
before shutting the system down. When you power your computer
back on Windows XP uses the Hiberfil.sys file to put everything
back into memory so you can continue from where you left off.
The Hiberfil.sys file can be quite large and is a special system
file the Disk Defragmenter included with Windows XP cannot defragment.
The presence of the Hiberfil.sys file will prevent a thorough
defragmentation and should be removed prior to the defragmenting
operation. Removing the file is simple:
- Access the Control Panel and choose Power Options
- Select the Hibernate tab in the Power Options Properties
dialog box
- Clear the Enable Hibernation check box and click ok
Windows will automatically delete the Hiberfil.sys file from
the hard drive. Once you have completed the defragmentation you
can once again enable the Hibernation feature.
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TIP:
USE MICROSOFT MEDIA PLAYER FOR YOUR WINDOWS XP APPS
Windows XP’s original multimedia player, Microsoft Media
Player 5.1, still remains on the operating system despite various
updates (Windows Media Player 11 is the most current version
of Microsoft’s multimedia player). While Microsoft Media
Player is pretty basic by today’s standards, it still serves
a purpose.
Microsoft Media Player can still play a number of multimedia
file types such as AVI, WMA, WMV, MID, and WAV, so you may want
to be able to use it in situations where you don’t need
the full power of Windows Media Player. To use Microsoft Media
Player add it to the SendTo menu by following these steps:
- Press [Windows]R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type SendTo in the Open box and click OK.
- When the SendTo folder appears, right-click the folder, and
select the New | Shortcut command.
- When the Create Shortcut wizard appears, type C:\Windows\system32\Mplay32.exe
/Play in the text box and click Next.
- Name the shortcut Microsoft Media Player and then click Finish.
Now when you encounter an AVI, WMA, WMV, MID, or WAV file
and you just want to sample it you can right-click the file and
select the SendTo | Microsoft Media Player command.
Note: This tip applies to Windows XP Home and Windows
XP Professional.
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TIPS: | Safe
mode option | Log on without password
| Suspend mode shortcut | Defrag
tip | Media player |
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