Shell Player

What it is:

This PowerToy plays MP3 files and WMA files from the taskbar.

How to use:

Right click on the taskbar, click toolbars, then click "Audio Player." If the taskbar is locked and you want to resize the player, you will have to unlock it. This will allow you to access the play list editor and view all the buttons.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Task Switcher

What it is:

Replaces the existing Alt + Tab application switching mechanism of Windows XP. It provides a thumbnail preview of windows in the task list and is compliant with the new Windows XP visual style.

How to use:

Use just as you do the existing Alt + Tab mechanism by pressing the Alt key and the Tab key to activate. While holding down the Alt key, press the Tab key to cycle through running applications. To move backwards, press Shift + Alt + Tab. Release all keys when the desired application is highlighted

NOTE: You must log off and then log on again for the changes to take effect

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Open Command Window Here

What it is:
This PowerToy adds an "Open Command Window Here" context menu option on file system folders. This gives users a quick way to open a command window (cmd.exe) pointing at a selected folder in the Explorer UI.


How to use:
After installation, right click on the folder you would like to have a quick launch command window for.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Tweak UI

What it is:

Provides access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface.

How to use:

Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, TweakUI for Windows XP.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Bulk Resize for Photos

What it is:

Allows you to make a new, resized copy of your selected pictures in the same folder they are currently located in. You can opt to resize one or many pictures (as a batch).

How to use:
Right click any image(s) and select Resize Pictures in the context menu.

Slide Show Wizard


What it is:

This wizard helps you create a slide show of your digital pictures. When you're done, you can put your slide show on the Web so that your family and friends can view it.


How to use:

Launch the Wizard from the Start Menu under All ProgramsPowertoys for Windows XPSlide Show Wizard. Follow the steps of the wizard to select and arrange your pictures, choose from a few simple options, and then save a Web-ready HTML slide show to a folder.

Taskbar Magnifier

What it is:

Allows you to magnify part of the screen from the taskbar.

How to use:

Right click on the taskbar, click toolbars, then click "Taskbar Magnifier." If the taskbar is locked and you want to resize the magnifier, you will have to unlock it.

Background Wallpaper switcher

What it is:

Allows you to switch the background image periodically.
How to use:

Access this PowerToy by right clicking the desktop, click properties. It has added a new tab that will allow you to specify the interval as well as the directory to obtain the images from.

Give your fonts a face


How to install fonts

What a difference smoother fonts can make

In the very beginning you had to use H1 - H7 to change font "style." Then you were able to use the FONT SIZE tags followed by FONT COLOR tags. Finally the FONT FACE tags are here.

If you want to use the "Arial" font for a block of text, all you have to do is surround it with FONT FACE tags:

<FONT FACE="Arial">This is in Arial font</FONT>

This is Arial font

Of course, not all the computers are going to have the type of font you want your text to use. FONT FACE tags will let you specify more than one font face, so in case one font face is not available, browser will use the next available font face:

<FONT FACE="Garamond,Helvetica,Times">Hi!</FONT>

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Use the Internet Connection Firewall to Secure Your Small Network


A firewall is a security system that acts as a protective boundary between a network and the outside world. Windows XP includes Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) software you can use to restrict what information is communicated between the Internet and your home or small office network. ICF also protects a single computer connected to the Internet with a cable modem, a DSL modem, or a dial–up modem.

If your network uses Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to provide Internet access to multiple computers, you should use ICF on the shared Internet connection. However, ICS and ICF can be enabled separately. You should not enable the firewall on any connection that does not directly connect to the Internet, and ICF is not needed if your network already has a firewall or proxy server.

You must be logged on to your computer with an owner account in order to complete this procedure. You should not enable Internet Connection Firewall on virtual private networking (VPN) connections or on client computers because ICF will interfere with file and printer sharing. ICF cannot be enabled on the private connections of the Internet Connection Sharing host computer.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

To enable or disable Internet Connection Firewall

Open Network Connections (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double–click Network Connections.)

Click the Dial–up, LAN or High–Speed Internet connection that you want to protect, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.

On the Advanced tab, under Internet Connection Firewall, select one of the following:

To enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), select the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box.

To disable Internet Connection Firewall, clear the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box. This disables the firewall, your computer and network are then vulnerable to intrusions

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Turn off Welcome screen


1)Open User Accounts in Control Panel.

2)Click Change the way users log on or off

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Speed up viewing shared files across a network


Windows 2000 & XP machines delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Here's how to prevent this remote search for Scheduled Tasks:
Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key :

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

and delete it.

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.

__________________
A.Rajesh Khanna

Slide Show Generator
What it is: Generate a slideshow when burning a CD

How to use:

Add only images to a CD-ROM using Windows XP Explorer, then Write these files to disk. A new task is presented in the wizard for generating the autorun for the slideshow.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

B]Virtual Desktop Manager[/b]

What it is: Manage up to 4 desktops from the Windows Shell Taskbar.

How to use:

Right click on the taskbar, click toolbars, then click "Desktop Manager." If the taskbar is locked and you want to resize the manager, you will have to unlock it.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

ISO Image Burner

What it is:

Allows you to burn an ISO Image using a CD-ROM burner that is compatible with Windows XP

How to use:

Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, ISO Burner

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A.Rajesh Khanna

PowerToy Calc

What it is:

Graphing calculator

How to use:

Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, PowerToy Calc

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Setup XP from a Network drive


To you use three switches.

If D: Drive is the target, and G: is the net drive.

G:i386winnt32 /tempdrive /makelocalsource /s:G:i386

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A.Rajesh Khanna

Use a Shortcut to Local Area Network Connection Information


Something new in Windows XP—instead of using the command line program and typing ipconfig to find local area network information, you can use the following shortcut:

1.Click Start, point to Connect to, and then click Show All Connections.

2.Right–click the connection you want information about, and then click Status.

3.In the connection Properties dialog box, click the Support tab.

For even more information, click the Advanced tab. To automatically enable the status monitor each time the connection is active, in the connection Properties dialog box, select the Show icon in taskbar notification area when connected check box.

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A.Rajesh Khanna

"STOP” ERROR MESSAGES AT SHUTDOWN

Some users have gotten an error message similar to the following when attempting either to shutdown or restart Win XP:

STOP 0000009F, DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE
STOP 0x0000001E: KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
STOP 0x000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

TechNet and the Microsoft Knowledge Base have numerous articles discussing this type of error condition; for example, these. As a review of these articles will show, these are commonly device driver problems, but may also be caused by troublesome software (such as the notorious CrashGuard), or a problem in a system service. MSKB article Q262575 discusses a shutdown problem of this type, known to exist in Windows 2000 due to a resource (IRQ) conflict, if you have PACE Interlok anti-piracy software installed. This problem may occur in Windows XP as well.
Microsoft advises the following as one approach to these problems: Restart the computer. Press F8 during the restart and select “Last Known Good Configuration.” If you catch the problem when it first occurs (meaning you likely have installed only one or two drivers or new service), this will return you to a previous working condition. (Would System Restore accomplish the same thing? I don’t know, and don’t have a broken system to test it on.)

Microsoft reported similarly that these STOP code error message occur when Windows XP is trying to shut down devices. He says that he has seen this twice: once with Logitech Quickcam installed (with an unsupported driver), and once with a USB DSL modem that would hang if it wasn’t disconnected before shutdown.

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A.Rajesh Khanna