wow these tips are still getting more useful... Thanks, these are great ways to make the OS more useful

Take your favorite tunes with you transfer music to a portable player

Take your favorite tunes with you when you jog or work out at the gym. Windows Media Player for Windows XP is set up to make the transfer of music to portable players as simple as 1-2-3. And since the music is stored on your computer hard drive, you can keep refilling your portable player as often as you want.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

To transfer music to a portable player

Connect your portable player to your computer, according to the directions supplied with the player.

Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Windows Media Player.

Click Copy to CD or Device. If necessary, click the player to which you want to copy music.

Choose a playlist from the Music to Copy drop-down menu.

Clear the check boxes beside any tracks you do not want to copy.

Click Copy Music.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Shutting Down Windows XP


Although the big argument used to be about saturated and unsaturated fats, today's generation has found a new source of disagreement: Should a computer be left on all the time or turned off at the end of the day? Both camps have decent arguments, and there's no real answer (except that you should always turn off your monitor when you won't be using it for a half hour or so).

However, if you decide to turn off your computer, don't just head for the off switch. First, tell Windows XP about your plans. To do that, click the Start button, choose the Turn Off Computer command, and ponder the choices Windows XP places on-screen.

Click Stand By to temporarily put the computer to sleep, click Turn Off to turn off your computer, or click Restart to make Windows XP shut down and come back to life.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Shutting Down Windows XP

Stand By: Save your work before choosing this option; Windows XP doesn't save your work automatically. Instead, it lets your computer doze for a bit to save power, but the computer wakes up at the touch of a button.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Shutting Down Windows XP



Turn Off: Clicking here tells Windows XP to put away all your programs and to make sure that you've saved all your important files. Then it turns off your computer and most of the newer monitors. Poof! Use this option when you're done computing for the day. (If your monitor doesn't turn off automatically, you'll have to push its power button yourself.)

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Shutting Down Windows XP

Hibernate:

Only offered on some computers, this option works much like Shut Down. It saves your work and turns off your computer. However, when turned on again, your computer presents your desktop just as you left it: Open programs and windows appear in the same place. Putting your computer into hibernation mode is not as safe as shutting it down. (Don't see the Hibernate feature? Hold down Shift, and it will replace the Standby button.)

The Hibernate command takes all of your currently open information and writes it to the hard drive in one big chunk. Then, to re-create your desktop, it reads that big chunk and places it back on your desktop.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Shutting Down Windows XP

Don't ever turn off your computer unless you've chosen the Turn Off command from the Start button. Windows XP needs to prepare itself for the shutdown, or it may accidentally eat some of your important information — as well as the information of anybody else using the computer at the time.

Remember, if you're done with the computer but other people might want to use it, just click Log Off from the Start menu: Windows XP saves your work and brings up the Welcome screen, allowing other people to log on and play video games.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Install Windows XP Professional Quick Upgrade


Once you've gathered the information you need, you are ready to install Windows XP Professional.

To perform a quick upgrade


Turn on your computer.

Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD–ROM drive.

After your computer automatically launches the CD, click Install Windows XP.
IMPORTANT If your computer doesn't automatically launch the CD, start

Setup manually:

Click Start and then click Run.

Type the following command, replacing "d" with the letter assigned to your CD-ROM drive:

d:\setup.exe

Press ENTER.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Install Windows XP Professional Quick Upgrade

When you're asked to choose the type of installation you want, select Upgrade, and then click Next.

You can upgrade to Windows XP if all of the following are true:


You're already using a previous version of Windows that supports upgrading. These include: Windows 98 (including Second Edition); Windows Millennium (Me); Windows NT® 4.0 (Service Pack 6 or later); Windows 2000 Professional; or Windows XP Home Edition. (Windows 95 and earlier versions do not support upgrade to Windows XP Professional.)

You want to replace your previous operating system with Windows XP Professional.

You want to keep your existing files and personalized settings.

If none—or only some—of these are true for you, perform a new installation. For more information, see New Installation.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Install Windows XP Professional Quick Upgrade


Review the license agreement and, if you agree, accept it.

Enter the Product Key from the Windows XP folder.

Review the text for performing Dynamic Update. If you wish to perform Dynamic Update, select Yes, and then click Next.

Windows installation starts.

IMPORTANT

You must have an active Internet connection to perform Dynamic Update.


When the “Welcome to Windows” screen appears, follow the instructions to complete your upgrade.

Go to “Configure Windows XP” for information on setting up user accounts and network connections.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Sharing Your Own Computer's Stuff with the Network

To share a file or folder with your fellow computer users, move the file into your Shared Documents folder, which lives in your My Computer window. (You must move or copy a file into the Shared Documents folder; shortcuts don't always work.)

After you place your file or folder into your Shared Documents folder, it appears in the Shared Documents folder of everybody else using your computer.

Administrators can share folders without having to move them into the Shared Documents folder. The trick is to follow these steps:

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Sharing Your Own Computer's Stuff with the Network


1. Right-click on a folder you'd like to share and choose Sharing and Security from the pop-up menu.

Open My Computer and right-click on the folder you'd like to share. When the menu appears, select Sharing and Security. A window appears, showing the Properties for that folder. It opens to the Sharing tab.

Right-click on a folder and choose Sharing and Security to share the folder on the network.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Sharing Your Own Computer's Stuff with the Network

2. Click the box marked Share This Folder on the Network.

A check mark in that box lets everybody peek at, grab, steal, change, or delete any of the files in that folder. To let visitors look inside the files but not change them, remove the check mark from the box marked Allow Network Users to Change My Files.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Sharing Your Own Computer's Stuff with the Network


3. Click OK.

Now that particular folder and all its contents are available for everybody on the network to share.

Sharing a lot of folders isn't a good idea because it gives network visitors too much control over your computer. Even if you trust people, they might accidentally mess something up. To be safe, only share files by placing them in the Shared Document folder.

Inside Shared Documents live two more folders, Shared Music and Shared Pictures. Those two folders are also available to any user. So, if you want to share documents with any user of your computer, store them in the Shared Documents folder. When you make MP3s from your CDs, store them in the Shared Music folder, too, so that everybody can enjoy them.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Playing DVDs in Windows XP

Microsoft raves about how Media Player plays DVDs. But that's a lie. Windows XP can't play DVDs right out of the box. See, even though you've bought a Windows XP computer, a DVD drive, and a DVD, you need something else: special software called a decoder. This bit of software, called a codec because it converts one format to another, enables your computer to translate numbers on a disc into videos of galloping horses on the screen.

Unfortunately, Windows XP doesn't come with a DVD codec, so you must pick up one somewhere else. Where? Well, most computers with DVD drives come with DVD-playing software — a little box with its own little controls. That software installs its own DVD codec in Windows, and Media Player simply borrows that. But if you don't have DVD-playing software, there's nothing to borrow, and Media Player ignores your DVDs.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Playing DVDs in Windows XP

If you choose Windows Media Player instead of your third-party DVD player to watch DVDs, the controls are pretty much the same as they are for playing CDs.


You probably need to update your DVD software so that it will work under Windows XP. Otherwise, your DVD software won't work under Media Player, either. Head for the Web site of your DVD player's manufacturer and look for a Windows XP patch or upgrade. If you're lucky, the manufacturer won't charge you for the upgrade. Some companies, however, make you buy a new version.


DVD stands for Digital Video Disc & Digital Versatile Disc.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Playing DVDs in Windows XP


Bending to pressure, Microsoft made a last-minute deal with three companies to provide software for Windows Media Player to create MP3s and play DVDs. The catch? The complete package costs between $20 and $30, with separate components (the DVD decoder on its own, for instance) costing less.

The three companies, CyberLink, InterVideo, and RAVISENT, each offers a DVD Decoder Pack for Windows XP. After October 25, 2001, Windows XP users may order and download the add-on packs from each company's Web site through links inside Windows Media Player.

If you've upgraded to Windows XP from an earlier version of Windows, and your old DVD software no longer works, using the links to get the add-ons might be your best option.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Make Web Pages Available for Offline Viewing

With Internet Explorer 6 in Windows XP, you can make a Web page available offline and view it when your computer is not connected to the Internet—for example on your laptop during a flight. This feature is also handy for viewing Web pages at home without tying up a phone line if you have a dial–up Internet connection.

To make the current Web page available offline

On the Favorites menu, click Add to Favorites.

Select the Make available offline check box.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Windows Recovery Console Commands - Microsoft Windows Tips

The Windows Recovery Console is used to obtain access to your computer without starting the Windows graphical user interface. With the Windows Recovery Console, you can:

- Use, copy, rename, or replace system files and folders.
- Enable or disable services or device startup for the next time that you boot your computer.
- Repair the file system boot sector or the Master Boot Record.
- Create and format partitions on drives.

Here are the available commands that can be used with the Windows Recovery Console.

ATTRIB
Use the attrib command with one or more of the following parameters to change the attributes of a file or a folder:

BATCH
batch inputfile [outputfile]
Use this command to run commands that are specified in a text file. In the command syntax, inputfile specifies the text file that contains the list of commands to be run, and outputfile specifies the file that contains the output of the specified commands. If you do not specify an output file, the output appears on the screen.

BOOTCFG
Use this command for boot configuration and recovery.

CD and CHDIR
Use the cd and chdir commands to change to a different folder.

CHKDSK
chkdsk drive /p /r
The chkdsk command checks the specified drive and repairs or recovers the drive if the drive requires it.The command also marks any bad sectors and it recovers readable information.

CLS
Use this command to clear the screen.

COPY
copy source destination
Use this command to copy a file.

DEL and DELETE
del drive: path filename
delete drive: path filename
Use this command to delete a file.

DIR
dir drive: path filename
Use this command to display a list of files and subfolders in a folder.

DISABLE
disable servicename
Use this command to disable a Windows system service or driver.

DISKPART
diskpart /add /delete device_name drive_name partition_name size
Use this command to manage the partitions on your hard disk volumes.

ENABLE
enable servicename start_type

You can use the enable command to enable a Windows system service or driver.

EXIT
Use the exit command to quit the Recovery Console.

EXPAND
expand source [/F:filespec] [destination] [/y]
expand source [/F:filespec] /D
Use this command to expand a file

FIXBOOT
fixboot drive name:
Use this command to write the new Windows boot sector code on the system partition.

FIXMBR
fixmbr device name
Use this command to repair the MBR of the boot partition.

FORMAT
format drive: /Q /FS:file-system
Use this command to format the specified drive to the specified file system.

LISTSVC
The listsvc command lists all available services, drivers, and their start types for the current Windows installation.

LOGON
The logon command lists all detected installations of Windows and then requests the local administrator password for the copy of Windows that you want to log on to.

MAP
map arc
Use this command to list drive letters, file system types, partition sizes, and mappings to physical devices.

MD and MKDIR
The md and mkdir commands create new folders.

MORE
more filename
Use this command to display a text file to the screen.

RD and RMDIR
Use rd and rmdir commands to delete a folder.

REN and RENAME
Use the ren and rename commands to rename a file.

SET
You can use the set to display or modify four environment options.

SYSTEMROOT
The systemroot command sets the current working folder to the %SystemRoot% folder of the Windows installation that you are currently logged on to.

TYPE
type filename
Use the type command to display a text file.

Thanks
Sathian.K