Hi ,

You can upgrade a computer that runs Windows 98, 98SE, or Me to Windows XP Home Edition. Those same versions, along with Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 2000 Professional, can be upgraded to Windows XP Professional.

(1).To ensure a smooth upgrade and avoid networking problems, follow these tips before starting the upgrade:

(2)Install all network cards. XP will detect them and automatically install the right drivers.

(3)Have your Internet connection available. The XP setup process will connect to a Microsoft server to download the latest setup files, including changes that have been made since XP was released.

Some programs are incompatible with XP and can cause networking problems. Un-install these programs. After the upgrade is complete and the network is working, re-install XP-compatible versions of these programs: Internet Connection Sharing, NAT, Proxy Server Anti-Virus Firewall.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi all,

This guide describes how to upgrade a Microsoft Microsoft Windows 98-based, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition-based client that has user profiles to a Microsoft Windows XP-based client.

The following steps enable the Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) profiles to be retained throughout the process.

Your best method to retain the profiles is to join the domain during the upgrade installation process.

Otherwise, you must use a workaround method to transfer the profile information over to the Windows XP profile.

During the upgrade installation process, at the networking section, the administrator is offered the choice to join a domain or a workgroup.
If you join the domain at this juncture, you ensure that all the existing profiles are migrated successfully to the Windows XP-based installation.

If you did not join the computer to the domain during the upgrade process, you must use the following workaround method:

Join the upgraded computer to the target domain.

All applicable users must log on and log off (which generates a profile).

Copy the appropriate Application Data folder from the Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me profiles to the newly created user profiles.

Hi all,
Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of Windows XP machines. Its actually a fix to a bug installed as default in Windows 2000 that scans shared files for Scheduled Tasks. And it turns out that you can experience a delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows 2000 is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected, Windows 2000 users will experience that the actual browsing speed of both the Internet & Windows Explorers improve significantly after applying it since it doesn't search for Scheduled Tasks anymore. Here's how :

Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key :

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

and delete it.

This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks. If you like you may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if necessary.

This fix is so effective that it doesn't require a reboot and you can almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing processes.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi all,

Follow this tip to increase the priority of active processes, this will result in prioritisation of processes using the CPU.

CTRL-SHIFT-ESC

1.Go to the second tab called Processes, right click on one of the active processes, you will see the Set Priority option


2.For example, your Run your CDwriter program , set the priority higher, and guess what, no crashed CD’s

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Very good contribution has been made to this thread and so ive made this thread sticky.

Good Luck and continue posting in this thread regularly because our goal must be to get the 1st result in search engines when searched for windows tips or window tips and tricks.

Thanks

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Vinoth Chandar
Creator of Discussweb

Hi all,
The Search companion in Windows XP searches for hidden and system files differently than in earlier versions of Windows. This guide describes how to search for hidden or system files in Windows XP.

Search for Hidden or System Files By default, the Search companion does not search for hidden or system files. Because of this, you may be unable to find files, even though they exist on the drive.

To search for hidden or system files in Windows XP:

Click Start,-> click Search,-> click All files and folders, and then
click More advanced options.

Click to select the Search system folders and Search hidden files and folders check boxes.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi all,

If you work in a multiuser computing environment, and you have full (administrator level) access to your computer, you might want to restrict unauthorized access to your "sensitive" files under Windows 95/98.
One way is to disable the Cancel button in the Logon dialog box.

Just run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Network/Logon

Create the "Logon" subkey if it is not present on your machine: highlight the Network key -> right-click in the left hand Regedit pane -> select New -> Key -> name it "Logon" (no quotes) -> press Enter.

Then add/modify a DWORD value and call it "MustBeValidated" (don't type the quotes). Double-click it, check the Decimal box and type 1 for value.

Now click the Start button -> Shut Down (Log off UserName) -> Log on as a different user, and you'll notice that the Logon Cancel button has been disabled.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi All,

If you don't use the Recycle Bin to store deleted files , you can get rid of its desktop icon all together.

Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/explorer/Desktop/NameSpace


Click on the "Recycle Bin" string in the right hand pane.

Hit Del,

click OK.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi vadivel,

In my friend's IBM laptop, there s no window key. Is there any possibilities for using the above shortcuts there?

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Thanks & Regards,
Jegan CBK
"We will either find a way, or make one!”

Hi

You can provide Remote Assistance to a friend who uses a Network Address Translation (NAT) device by modifying the Remote Assistance invitation using XML. Network Address Translation is used to allow multiple computers to share the same outbound Internet connection. To open a Remote Assistance session with a friend who uses a NAT device:

1. Ask your friend to send you a Remote Assistance invitation by e–mail.

2. Save the invitation file to your desktop.

3. Right–click the file, and then click Open With Notepad. You'll see that the file is a simple XML file.

4.Under the RCTICKET attribute is a private IP address, such as 192.168.1.100.

5. Over–write this IP address with your friend's public IP address. Your friend must send you his or her public IP address: they can find out what it is by going to a Web site that will return the public IP address, such as WhatIsMyIP.com - 69.10.142.36

6. Save the file, and then double–click it to open the Remote Assistance session.

Now, you'll be able to connect and provide them with the help they need. So that your inbound IP connection is routed to the correct computer, the NAT must be configured to route that inbound traffic. To do so, make sure your friend forwards port 3389 to the computer they want help from.

Hi all,

1)Open My Computer

2)Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C, unless you have more than one drive on your computer).

3)If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive.

4)Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.

5)Double-click your user folder.

6)Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.

7)On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.



Note

1)•To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.

2)•This option is only available for folders included in your user profile. Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop, Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites. If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses your computer.

3)•When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well. For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders unless you make them private.

4)•You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For information about converting your drive to NTFS

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi ,

Go to start/run type 'cmd'

then type 'ipconfig'

Add the '/all' switch for more info.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

If you want to save your files to your hard drive, so after a format you dont have to download them all again, here's How:

1) Logon to Windows Update

2) Choose Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating systems (right hand pane)

3) Choose Windows Update Catalogue (left hand pane)

4) Choose your version and language then Search

5) Choose one the following:

a) Critical Updates and Service Packs

b)Multi-Language Features (0)

c)Service Packs and Recommended Downloads


6)Once chosen simply click on what you want to download and then back at the top click Review Download

7)You are taken to the next page where at the top you can specify where the downloads are to be saved.

8) Click Download now. Each patch will make a directory under the root of the folder you saved them to.

Once finished you need to go to where you saved the file (s) to and then simply install all your patches.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi,

Go To Start > Run and type `Regedit` and press `ok`

Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Classes/CLSID/{e84fda7c-1d6a-45f6-b725-cb260c236066}/shellex

Deleted the MayChangeDefaultMenu key.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi,

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.

Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.

In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK.

At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.

Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).

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A.Rajesh Khanna

If you have any AVI files that you saved in Windows 9x, which have interference when opened in Windows XP, there is an easy fix to get rid of the interference: Open Windows Movie Maker. Click View and then click Options. Click in the box to remove the check mark beside Automatically create clips. Now, import the movie file that has interference and drag it onto the timeline. Then save the movie, and during the re-rendering, the interference will be removed.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

If you have a piece of software that refuses to install because it says that you are not running Windows 2000 (such as the Win2K drivers for a Mustek scanner!!) you can simply edit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/ProductName

to say Microsoft Windows 2000 instead of XP and it will install. You may also have to edit the version number or build number, depending on how hard the program tries to verify that you are installing on the correct OS. I had to do this for my Mustek 600 CP scanner (compatibility mode didn't help!!!) and it worked great, so I now have my scanner working with XP (and a tech at Mustek can now eat his words). BTW, don't forget to restore any changes you make after you get your software installed.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Open windows explorer then click on Tools->Folder Options

Click on the View Tab.

Scroll to the bottom and deselect (uncheck) the option that reads 'use simple file sharing'

This will allow you to see the security tab when viewing the properties of a file/folder.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Hi all,

You can upgrade a computer that runs Windows 98, 98SE, or Me to Windows XP Home Edition. Those same versions, along with Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 2000 Professional, can be upgraded to Windows XP Professional.

(1).To ensure a smooth upgrade and avoid networking problems, follow these tips before starting the upgrade:

(2)Install all network cards. XP will detect them and automatically install the right drivers.

(3)Have your Internet connection available. The XP setup process will connect to a Microsoft server to download the latest setup files, including changes that have been made since XP was released.

Some programs are incompatible with XP and can cause networking problems. Un-install these programs. After the upgrade is complete and the network is working, re-install XP-compatible versions of these programs: Internet Connection Sharing, NAT, Proxy Server Anti-Virus Firewall.



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