Windows XP Tweaks Info

 

Windows XP Tweaks - We all do it

Lets face it we all love to have a tinker with our PC's. It could be adding better hardware or installing the latest "must have" software. But the biggest thrill most folks get, is changing the way their operating system behaves. Windows XP is no exception. There are MANY Windows XP Tweaks that can be applied to just about every aspect of the operating system, only you won't find Microsoft telling you about them!

A Word of Caution

Before you attempt ANY of the countless Windows XP Tweaks you MUST make a back up of your system. If you do not have any software that can make a complete backup of your system then, as a minimum, you should back up the registry data and any other data you have created and stored on your machine. Failure to do so may mean many problems for you if you need to restore your machine because any of these Windows XP Tweaks causes a problem with your machine.

I firmly believe (as any IT Manager would) that every serious PC user should have a tape drive attached to their machine that can do daily backups of the entire system - and this includes the registry data! I have seen to many PC's have to be rebuilt and the owner did not have any back up of the data on their machine. Heck, some folks I have helped in the past did not even have an operating system CD! Quite how they thought they were going to recover from a serious PC failure I will never know...

My motto is "always expect a system failure when you least expect a system failure - and be prepared for it!"

The Windows XP Registry

ALL Windows XP Tweaks come down to thing, altering the Registry. So what is the registry and why is it so important?

Every time you make a change to a desktop icon, move a setting on your start menu, add software etc... ALL these changes are stored in a central database. The registry is a central store of all the settings of Windows XP. So if you are going to apply any Windows XP Tweaks then you need to understand the XP registry!

However, this central database is not actually all stored in one file. The registry is a collection files on your hard drive. It does however have a single hierarchical structure and can be viewed using a program that is installed on your XP machine. This piece of software is called the "registry editor" and is located on your machine as a program called "regedit.exe". The easiest way to run this program is to go to the "Run" command on the XP start menu and type "regedit" (without the quotes). This will then bring up all the registry information held on your PC.

PLEASE read the help file that comes with this program BEFORE you touch anything...... You need to be familiar with the registry before using any manual Windows XP Tweaks!!!

Types Of Windows XP Tweaks

There are various methods for editing the registry to have Windows XP change its behaviour. I am often asked what Windows XP Tweaks are available. The answer to that question is just about ANY tweak you could imagine...

To give you a an example; suppose you have installed on your PC one of those free CD's that help you get connected to the internet. They usually contain a version of Internet Explorer that has been "branded" with a companies name and logo. So suppose you wanted to get rid of the companies name that appears in the blue bar at the top of the browser. Well, this information is stored in a "subkey" in the Windows XP the registry. So by removing this "subkey" you will remove the companies name from the browser.

Sounds simple eh? But just HOW do you actually perform this and all the other Windows XP Tweaks?

Windows XP Tweaks - The Methods

1) Software

The number one method I recommend to clients is purchase a commercial program that will do the tweaking for you. This way you do not have to go anywhere near the registry data yourself. These programs often allow you to see some sort of preview of the change, or make it a synch to reverse the change should you not like it.

Just type in the search term "windows xp tweaks" at Google, and the search engine will give you links to websites that sell this software.

Or take a look at this great package: http://www.updatexp.com/windows-xp-tweaks.html

2) Manual Editing

If you know your way around the registry it is possible to manually edit the registry using the Registry Editor. There are many specific Windows XP Tweaks available on the Internet. Just use a search engine like www.google.com to locate these manual changes. I even give you tips in my regular newsletter! See below for signup.

3) Registry Patches

When you use the Registry Editor to make any manual change it is possible to save this change as a file and then "apply" it to another Windows XP machine. For example if you have a PC at home and at work and you wish to have the same tweak on each machine. Just create a registry patch by opening Registry Editor and selecting the branch you wish to export. (eg where you just made the changes). Go to the File menu and select Export and type a filename then hit OK. You now have a file ending with the extension .reg that can be applied to another Windows XP machine. To do this open up the registry editor on the target PC and from the file menu select Import and select the patch. Then click OK. The patch will then be applied and a dialog box will pop up telling you the patch was applied successfully. As you can see it is very easy to make registry patches, however making sure you have selected the correct branch and data contained in it, is much more difficult! Always back up you registry first!

A quick search on the Internet will reveal lots of registry patches created by other XP users that you can download and use on your machine. However make sure you trust the source you are getting theses files from...

4) Visual Basic Scripting

Many Windows XP Tweaks are created by programmers using the Windows Visual Basic Scripting language. For the novice user of Windows XP Tweaks making your own Visual Basic files is not an option. However, the reason I mention them here is that if you find a website that offers Windows XP Tweaks and the file format offered is .vbs . Then you will know that this type of the registry change will be performed using this scripting method. Essentially all you do is double click the file and the script will run and make the changes to the registry. Then a dialog box will appear informing you that the changes were made successfully. Again, always be sure you are downloading files from a trusted source! It is worth mentioning here that some Anti Virus programs might perceive this file to be a virus. It is unlikely to be so but better safe than sorry.... try to use one of the other methods described in this article to achieve the same result.

5) Advanced Properties

There are many Windows XP Tweaks that can be performed simply by altering the "advanced settings" for that particular function. An example here would include changing the Windows XP system colours. I would encourage all confident users of Windows XP to delve deeper into their desktop operating system! There are many Windows XP Tweaks that can be performed TWO excellent books on the subject are:

Windows XP in a Nutshell and Windows XP Annoyances by O'Reilly Press

I Personally think these are two of the best books written on the Windows XP operating system. Interesting to note that neither of them were written by Microsoft either!

Conclusion

Hopefully this article will have opened your eyes a little to the world of Windows XP Tweaks. This is a vast subject and for the serious user of Windows XP, a subject that is worthwhile spending a few hours on.

Passionate about Windows XP?
Have YOU experienced the new dvd camcorders yet...?

Kind Regards

Marc Liron
marc@updatexp.com

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This page was last updated 8th July 2003