WINDOWS SECRETS CODES
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Restoring a Lost DesktopIf you ever lose the Desktop but Explorer is still running with the Start Button,
you can do this to bring back your Desktop in a Windows box.
1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type a period " . "
4. Then press Enter
Creating a New E-Mail ShortcutTo create a shortcut that will open your default e-mail program starting a new e-mail,
1. Right click on an open area of the desktop
2. Select New / Shortcut
3. For the Command Line, enter mailto:
4. For the title enter something like New E-Mail
5. When you click on this your default e-mail program should start with a new e-mail form.
Creating 3D Window EffectYou can create a nice 3D effect for your windows
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Colors
3. Make sure the following setting are there:
· ButtonHilight=128 128 128
· ButtonShadow=255 255 255
Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff IconsTo create the icons, create a shortcut on the desktop.
For Shutdown, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindows
For Restart, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe, exit windows exec
For Logoff, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 0
Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort AlphabeticallyIf your Start Menu Program or Favorites are not sorting alphabetically, it is easy to fix this:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/MenuOrder
3. Under here is are Favorites and Start Menu folders
4. In each there is a value called Order
5. Simply delete (or rename this) and restart Windows
6. Your Favorites or Start Menus should now sort alphabetically
Increasing the Icon Cache1. Run Reg edit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer
3. Create a new string called Max Cached Icons
4. Give it a value of 10000
5. This will increase response time in windows and give the Shellicon cache file more elbow room.
Make Icons 256 Color 16-Bit1. Open the Registry
2. Hit Ctrl+F
3. Type Shell Icon BPP
4. When found, right click the Shell Icon BPP icon
5. Click Modify
6. Change the value from 4 to 16
7. Click Ok
8. Close the registry
9. Restart your computer
Removing Shortcut ArrowsAn easy way to remove those irritating arrows from your desktop shortcut icons and not change their properties
1. Right click the Desktop / Properties / Appearance tab
2. Select Item
3. Scroll for Icon
4. The default size is 32
5. Change this to 30
6. Clicking Apply
Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu1. Open up the Explorer
2. Go to \WINDOWS\Start Menu
3. Right click in the right-hand panel
4. Add a new folder
5. Name it Control Panel.{21ec2020-3aea-1069-a2dd-08002b30309d}
6. This makes getting to the Control Panel items a little easier
Making Desktop Changes PermanentTo make changes to the Desktop like window size, positon after rebooting:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
3. Create a New Binary Value
4. Name it NoSaveSettings
5. Give it a value of 01 00 00 00
Easy Shortcuts on the DesktopHere is an easy way to put shortcuts on the Desktop where they can easily be moved to other group icons.
1. Using the Explorer, create a SHORTCUT to the \Windows\Desktop directory in your \Windows\SEND TO directory.
2. Now whenever you want to make a shortcut and move it to the desktop:
3. Just make the shortcut you want using Explorer
4. Right click on that shortcut
5. In the pop up menu select the Send To and Desktop shortcut.
Changing a Folder's IconTo change the icon of a Folder on desktop:
1. Using the Explorer, move the folder from the Desktop directory to another directory on the hard drive
2. Right click on the new folder and select "Create Shortcut"
3. Move the shortcut to the Desktop
4. Right click and select a new icon
Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! )1. Start Regedit
2. Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER /ControlPanel /Desktop /DragFullWindows
3. On "DragFullWindows" properties change 0 to 1
Fixing Corrupted Desktop IconsEasier way to reset icons then deleting SHELLICONCACHE.
There's no need to exit Win95 and delete the SHELLICONCACHE file in order to reset icons that you may have changed (like Network Neighborhood).
1. Go to Control Panel, Display, Appearance Tab.
2. Select Icon from the Item drop down list.
3. Change the Size up or down one and apply.
4. Change the Size back to your original and apply.
If your Start Menu is slow or your icons are black for some reason, it means your Shelliconcache file is corrupt and should be deleted.
Delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE
It will be recreated the next time you start Win95
Getting Screen ShotsIf you need to get a screen shot, and you do not have a screen capture program, try this:
· Hit the Print Screen key. This copies a bitmap of the full screen into the Windows clipboard. Start up a graphics editor and paste it in.
· Alt + Print Screen will capture only the active window.
Increasing the Size of the Scroll BarHow to adjust the width of the scroll bar:
1. Right Click with Mouse on Desktop Area.
2. Select Properties
3. Select the Appearance tab
4. Go to the item list and find scrollbar.
5. Increasing the value in the Size field will increase the scrollbar width.
Unable to Create Shortcuts on the DesktopIf you can't create shortcuts on your Desktop, you might have a corrupted registry.
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk\ShellNew\Command
3. Make sure it has a value of:
4. RunDLL32 AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %1 if you don't have IE 4
5. or RunDLL32 AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %2 if you have IE 4.0 or IE 4.01
Removing the InBox from the DesktopA faster way to remove "Inbox" from the Deskop is to
1. Right mouse click on "Inbox"
2. Select delete
3. It will then tell you "you cannot store the inbox in the recycle bin. . .etc"
4. Click "Yes"
5. Wait 2 secs and it's gone.
Customizing Individual Folder IconsTo change a folder's icon:
1. Open Notepad and enter two lines,
[.ShellClassInfo]
IconFile=file name,number
(e.g. IconFile=C:\Icon\CustomFolder.ico,0)
2. Save the file as DESKTOP.INI in the folder you wish to change.
3. Click Start -> Run, type in the command line,
ATTRIB +S "folder name"
(e.g. ATTRIB +S "C:\Custom Folder")
4. Open Explorer or My Computer and refresh (press F5 key).
This tip only work Windows 95/NT 4.0 + IE 4.0 with shell integration, or Windows 98/NT 5.0.
Removing the Recycle BinTo remove Recycle Bin from the desktop:
1. Run REGEDIT.
2. Find NAMESPACE key in left pane (HKEY_Local_Macine \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current Version \ Explorer \ Desktop \ Namespace)
3. Expand NAMESPACE (click '+' box)
4. Delete the value RECYCLE BIN in right pane
Adding Send To the Recycle BinAdd a SHORTCUT TO THE RECYCLE BIN in your SEND TO folder.
That way you can just right click on a file you want to delete, and send it to the recycle bin without having to confirm each time.
Having Icons with No NameNormally you have to have a name for an icon, just spaces are not allowed.
To create an icon with no name attached:
1. Make sure NumLock is on
2. Highlight the Icon you want to change
3. Right-Mouse click and select Rename
4. While holding down the Alt key, type 0160
5. Now the icon will have no name below it.
To Create Multiple Icons with No Name -1. Follow directions detailed above
2. With the second icon simply add one space-bar character AFTER the 0160 number.
3. Each successive icon gets an additional space-bar character at the end (to prevent a duplicate naming error).
Moving the Start ButtonHow to move or close the start button!
1. Click on the Start button
2. Press the Esc key
3. Press the Alt and the - keys together
4. This will give you a menu, you can move or close
5. But if you move it you need to use the arrow keys and not the mouse.
Aligning Drop-Down Menus to the RightAll dropdown menus can be aligned to the right.
This features becomes useful when trying to access
menus with submenus that appear directly to the right.
1. Open the Registory editor (e.g. regedit.exe)
2. Goto \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Create a string entry called "MenuDropAlignment"
4. Set its value to 1
5. Reboot
Note: Will not work under NT 4.0.
Repositioning a Background BitmapNormally, you only options for displaying a background bitmap are tiled, centered, or stretch to fit (with the Plus Pack).
You can edit the registry and have a third option which is to place the bitmap anywhere on your screen by specifying the X and Y coordinates.
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
3. Create new Strings called WallpaperOriginX and WallpaperOriginY
4. Give them values to position them around your desktop
5. The bitmap must be smaller than your desktop size
Changing Drive IconsTo change a drive's icon when you open My Computer
1. Create a file called AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive
2. Enter the lines
[autorun]
ICON=Name of the ICON file
For the name of the icon file you can either specify the path and name (e.g. ICON=C:\WINDOWS\ICONS\MY_ICON.ICO) or
a specific icon in a library (e.g. ICON=ICONFILE.DLL,2)
Adding AnyFolder and Mail to SendToPrevious examples of adding items to the SendTo usually require editing the Registry.
An easy way around this is to use the following methods.
To add ANYFOLDER:
1. Open the Explorer
2. Go to \Windows\SendTo
3. Right click in the right hand panel
4. Select New / Text Document
5. Name it anything with a .otherfolder extension
When you want to send files to another folder:1. Select the files with Explorer
2. Right Click
3. Select Send to and the name you just created
4. You them have the option of copying or moving the file to a folder of your choice
To add Mail:
1. Open the Explorer
2. Go to \Windows\SendTo
3. Right click in the right hand panel
4. Select New / Text Document
5. Name it anything with a .MapiMail extension (ignore any warnings about the file extension)
When you want to Mail files as attachments:
1. Select the files with Explorer
2. Right Click
3. Select Send to and the Mail name you just created
4. This allows you to easily mail multiple files