Boot Windows XP Fast

Boot Windows XP Fast 

Follow the following steps

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\


2. From the Start menu, select "Run..."(Windows key + R)  & type "gpedit.msc".


3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.


4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.


6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"


8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".


10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

posted by Unknown at 2:27 PM 0 Comments

Computer Beep Code Meaning

Beep Code Meaning

  • 1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard.
  • 1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure.
  • 1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error.
  • 1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
  • 1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure.
  • 1-3-1 Memory refresh failure.
  • 1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.
  • 1-4-1 Address line failure.
  • 1-4-2 Parity RAM failure.
  • 1-4-3 Timer failure.
  • 1-4-4 NMI port failure.
  • 2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory.
  • 3-1-1 Master DMA failure.
  • 3-1-2 Slave DMA failure.
  • 3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure.
  • 3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure.
  • 3-3-2 CMOS error.
  • 3-3-4 Video card failure.
  • 3-4-1 Video card failure.
  • 4-2-1 Timer failure.
  • 4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure.
  • 4-2-3 Gate A20 failure.
  • 4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode.
  • 4-3-1 RAM test failure.
  • 4-3-3 Timer failure.
  • 4-3-4 Time of day clock failure.
  • 4-4-1 Serial port failure.
  • 4-4-2 Parallel port failure.
  • 4-4-3 Math coprocessor.

posted by Unknown at 1:54 PM 0 Comments

Change Text On XP Start Button

Step 1 - Modify 'Explorer.exe' File 


In order to make the changes, the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows needs to be edited. Since explorer.exe is a binary file it requires a special editor. For purposes of this article I have used Resource Hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.

Get this from Rest Hack

The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe.


The category we are going to be using is "String Table". Expand it by clicking the plus sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will display the stringtable. We’re going to modify item 578, currently showing the word “start” just as it displays on the current Start button.


There is no magic here. Just double click on the word “start” so that it’s highlighted, making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in place, surrounding the new text that you’ll type. Go ahead and type your new entry. In my case I used Click Me!


You’ll notice that after the new text string has been entered the Compile Script button that was grayed out is now active. I won’t get into what’s involved in compiling a script, but suffice it to say it’s going to make this exercise worthwhile. Click Compile Script and then save the altered file using the Save As command on the File Menu. Do not use the Save command – Make sure to use the Save As command and choose a name for the file. Save the newly named file to C:\Windows.

Step 2 – Modify the Registry

!make a backup of your registry before making changes!
Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it’s necessary to modify the registry so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don’t know how to access the registry I’m not sure this article is for you, but just in case it’s a temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the Open field. Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon
In the right pane, double click the "Shell" entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file. Click OK.


Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire system if that’s your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start button with the revised text.[/b] 

posted by Unknown at 1:39 PM 0 Comments

Windows System Shortcuts

Getting used to using your keyboard exclusively and leaving your mouse behind will make you much more efficient at performing any task on any Windows system. I use the following keyboard shortcuts every day.

  1. Windows key + R = Run menu
  2. Windows key + E = Explorer
  3. ALT + Tab = Switch between windows
  4. ALT, Space, X = Maximize window
  5. CTRL + Shift + Esc = Task Manager
  6. Windows key + Break = System properties
  7. Windows key + F = Search
  8. Windows key + D = Hide/Display all windows
  9. CTRL + C = copy
  10. CTRL + X = cut
  11. CTRL + V = paste

Also don't forget about the "Right-click" key next to the right Windows key on your keyboard. Using the arrows and that key can get just about anything done once you've opened up any program.

  1. [Alt] and [Esc] Switch between running applications
  2. [Alt] and letter Select menu item by underlined letter
  3. [Ctrl] and [Esc] Open Program Menu
  4. [Ctrl] and [F4] Close active document or group windows (does not work with some applications)
  5. [Alt] and [F4] Quit active application or close current window
  6. [Alt] and [-] Open Control menu for active document
  7. Ctrl] Lft., Rt. arrow Move cursor forward or back one word
  8. Ctrl] Up, Down arrow Move cursor forward or back one paragraph
  9. [F1] Open Help for active application


  • Windows+M .......... ........Minimize all open windows
  • Shift+Windows+M .........Undo minimize all open windows
  • Windows+F1 ................ Open Windows Help
  • Windows+Tab ............... Cycle through the Taskbar buttons
  • Windows+Break .............Open the System Properties dialog box

posted by Unknown at 1:21 PM 0 Comments

Windows Explorer shortcuts

Windows Explorer shortcuts

  • END....... Display the bottom of the active window.
  • HOME....... Display the top of the active window.
  • NUM LOCK + * ....... Display all subfolders under the selected folder.
  • NUM LOCK + PLUS SIGN (+) .......  Display the contents of the selected folder.
  • NUM LOCK + MINUS SIGN (-) ....... Collapse the selected folder.
  • LEFT ARROW...... Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.
  • RIGHT ARROW....... Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.

posted by Unknown at 1:15 PM 0 Comments