Turn off/on system restore

System Restore, a Windows XP feature, is similar to the "Last Known Good Configuration" in Windows NT and Windows 2000. You can use System Restore to restore the computer to a previous state, using the backups that it makes of selected system files and program files. However, "Last Known Good Configuration" restores the computer back to the last state that Windows determines might work, whereas System Restore gives you a choice of previous states to restore the computer back to. That is, System Restore maintains multiple restore points instead of one last restore point.

While this is a desirable feature, in some cases it should be temporarily turned off. For example, If the computer is infected with a virus, it is possible that the virus could be backed up by System Restore. So, if you spend the time to remove the infection from your system, system restore could actually restore the virus to your system the next time it is used.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

You must be logged in as an Administrator to do this. If you are not logged in as an Administrator, the System Restore tab will not be displayed. If you do not know how to log in as Administrator, contact your system administrator (if you are on a network), the computer manufacturer, or installer.
Turning off System Restore will clear out all previous restore points.

To turn off Windows XP System Restore:

NOTE: These instructions assume that you are using the default Windows XP Start Menu and have not changed to the Classic Start menu. To re-enable the default menu, right-click Start, click Properties, click Start menu (not Classic) and then click OK.

1. Click Start.
2. Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.
3. Click the System Restore tab.
4. Check "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn off System Restore on all drives"
5. Click Apply.
6. As noted in the message, this will delete all existing restore points. Click Yes to do this.
7. Click OK.
8. Proceed with what you need to do; for example, virus removal. When you have finished, restart the computer and follow the instructions in the next section to turn on System Restore.

To turn on Windows XP System Restore:

1. Click Start.
2. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
3. Click the System Restore tab.
4. Uncheck "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn off System Restore on all drives."
5. Click Apply, and then click OK.

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Speed up XP Start Menu

Windows XP default speed of the Start Menu is very slow. You can fix that by editing a Registry Key.

Here's how:

1. Go to Start> Run, then type in: regedit Press [Enter] on your keyboard.
2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay
3. By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value (like 0) to speed it up.

Note: If your still experiencing a slow speed of the Start Menu, even after using the above tip, then you might try the following:
4. Navigate to Display Properties> Appearance> Advanced
5. Turn off the option titled Show menu shadow . You will get much better overall performance.

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Add Toolbars on the Windows XP Desktop

For an easy way to create a toolbar for your favorite Windows XP folders such as "My Documents" or "My Pictures", all you have to do it drag the XP folder to the right, left or top of the desktop. The toolbar will then snap into place. Right click an open part of the toolbar to see the customizing options.

You can even add additional toolbars in the existing toolbar by right clicking an empty part and select "Toolbars". Then simply select a new toolbar or browse for a new toolbar to add.

To delete the new toolbar, right click it and select "Close Toolbar".

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Making text transparent on desktop icons

Four criteria must be met to have transparent text on your desktop icon.

1. Go to Start>> Right Click My Computer>> Properties>> Advanced tab>> Performance Settings>> Visual Effects tab.
The entry "use drop shadows for icon labels..." must be checked

2. Right click any blank area of your desktop>> Arrange Icons by...>> The entry "Lock Web Items on Desktop" entry must be unchecked.

3. Having any web content on your desktop will not allow transparency to work.

Here's how to check for web content:

Right click a blank area of your desktop>> Properties>> Desktop tab>> Customize Desktop button>> Web tab>> make sure all checkboxes are unchecked.

4. Wallpaper must be an image file, not HTML.

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Block any website just from Windows

A website can be easily blocked without using any software. Just follow these steps
a). Browse C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc

b). Find and open the file named “hosts” in notepad

c). There you will see a line “127.0.0.1 localhost”

d). Just under this line add “127.0.0.2 www.sitenameuwanttoblock.com” , without quotes.
Save the changes and the mentioned site will no longer be accessible.

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Create invisible titles for your XP desktop icons

In this first step, you will need to make sure that Windows XP is configured to use drop-shadow icon titles. Here's how:

1. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab in the resulting window.
3. Click the Settings button inside the Performance pane
4. Click the Visual Effects tab.
5. Scroll down until you see the entry "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop". If it's not checked, go ahead and check it now.
6. Click OK.

Now Windows will not include a rectangular background around the icon text.

In this next step, we will create our invisible title. Since Windows will not accept a space as a file name, we will need to use a character that is invisible. The ANSI character "0160" is a non-breaking space and is visually indistinguishable from a space. We will need to insert this ANSI character into the icon title box, here's how:

1. Right click an icon and select Rename (or single click the icon and press F2)
2. Hold down the Alt key and type 0160 on your numeric keypad, then release the Alt key.
3. Press Enter.

Note: You will now see a highlighted rectangle that represents the invisible title but a single click on a blank area of your desktop will make this disappear.

To make a second icon have an invisible title, just insert the special ANSI character twice into the icon title box. (eg: ALT + 01600160) This is necessary because Windows will not allow duplicate file names.

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Displaying Windows XP Quick Launch Bar

If you are a frequent multi-tasker, you may want to consider using the Quick Launch bar. The Quick Launch bar resides in your taskbar next to your Start button. It makes it very easy for you to launch frequently used programs with a single click. Another convenient feature of the Quick Launch bar is the "Show Desktop" icon. When you click this icon, it will minimize all active windows and show only your desktop. Click it again and everything will return as it was.

To display the Quick Launch bar:

1. Right click an empty area of your taskbar
2. Select Properties from the resulting menu
3. Place a checkmark in the box titled: "Show Quick Launch" under the "Taskbar appearance" section of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window
4. Click Apply and then click OK to exit the window

To add a program to your Quick Launch bar, simply drag the program from either the desktop or the All Programs menu to the Quick Launch bar. To delete a program from the Quick Launch bar, right click the program and select Delete.

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Change Windows XP Title Bar Colors

The Title Bar is designed to quickly inform you of which program, document or web site you have open windows for. The Active Title Bar will inform you of which window you are currently viewing.

The default colors for the title bars are basic blue with white writing. If you would like to change this to your own color of choice, here's how:

1. Right-click on an empty area of your desktop.
2. Choose Properties.
3. Click the Appearance Tab.
4. Click the Advanced button.
5. Choose Active Title Bar or Inactive Title Bar from the 'Item' drop-down menu.
6. Change Color 1 and Color 2 to your color of choice.
7. Press Apply when you're finished.

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