Quote: compmgmt.msc - Computer management devmgmt.msc - Device manager diskmgmt.msc - Disk management dfrg.msc - Disk defrag eventvwr.msc - Event viewer fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders gpedit.msc - Group policies lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups perfmon.msc - Performance monitor rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies secpol.msc - Local security settings services.msc - Various Services msconfig - System Configuration Utility regedit - Registry Editor msinfo32 _ System Information sysedit _ System Edit win.ini _ windows loading information(also system.ini) winver _ Shows current version of windows mailto: _ Opens default email client command _ Opens command prompt
Run Commands to access the control panel:
Quote: Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl Display Properties control desk.cpl FindFast control findfast.cpl Fonts Folder control fonts Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard Mouse Properties control main.cpl Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl Network Properties control netcpl.cpl Password Properties control password.cpl Printers Folder control printers Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds System Properties control sysdm.cpl
Command Prompt:
Quote: ANSI.SYS Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys. APPEND Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command. ARP Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices. ASSIGN Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter. ASSOC View the file associations. AT Schedule a time to execute commands or programs. ATMADM Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager. ATTRIB Display and change file attributes. BATCH Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file. BOOTCFG Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini BREAK Enable / disable CTRL + C feature. CACLS View and modify file ACL's. CALL Calls a batch file from another batch file. CD Changes directories. CHCP Supplement the International keyboard and character set information. CHDIR Changes directories. CHKDSK Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors. CHKNTFS Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors. CHOICE Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file. CLS Clears the screen. CMD Opens the command interpreter. COLOR Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window. COMP Compares files. COMPACT Compresses and uncompress files. CONTROL Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt. CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS. COPY Copy one or more files to an alternate location. CTTY Change the computers input/output devices. DATE View or change the systems date. DEBUG Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings. DEFRAG Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs. DEL Deletes one or more files. DELETE Recovery console command that deletes a file. DELTREE Deletes one or more files and/or directories. DIR List the contents of one or more directory. DISABLE Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers. DISKCOMP Compare a disk with another disk. DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk. DOSKEY Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past. DOSSHELL A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users. DRIVPARM Enables overwrite of original device drivers. ECHO Displays messages and enables and disables echo. EDIT View and edit files. EDLIN View and edit files. EMM386 Load extended Memory Manager. ENABLE Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver. ENDLOCAL Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command. ERASE Erase files from computer. EXIT Exit from the command interpreter. EXPAND Expand a M*cros*ft Windows file back to it's original format. EXTRACT Extract files from the M*cros*ft Windows cabinets. FASTHELP Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them. FC Compare files. FDISK Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive. FIND Search for text within a file. FINDSTR Searches for a string of text within a file. FIXBOOT Writes a new boot sector. FIXMBR Writes a new boot record to a disk drive. FOR Boolean used in batch files. FORMAT Command to erase and prepare a disk drive. FTP Command to connect and operate on a FTP server. FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations. GOTO Moves a batch file to a specific label or location. GRAFTABL Show extended characters in graphics mode. HELP Display a listing of commands and brief explanation. IF Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing. IFSHLP.SYS 32-bit file manager. IPCONFIG Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values. KEYB Change layout of keyboard. LABEL Change the label of a disk drive. LH Load a device driver in to high memory. LISTSVC Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers. LOADFIX Load a program above the first 64k. LOADHIGH Load a device driver in to high memory. LOCK Lock the hard disk drive. LOGON Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login. MAP Displays the device name of a drive. MD Command to create a new directory. MEM Display memory on system. MKDIR Command to create a new directory. MODE Modify the port or display settings. MORE Display one page at a time. MOVE Move one or more files from one directory to another directory. MSAV Early M*cros*ft Virus scanner. MSD Diagnostics utility. MSCDEX Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM. NBTSTAT Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT NET Update, fix, or view the network or network settings NETSH Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS. NETSTAT Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information. NLSFUNC Load country specific information. NSLOOKUP Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network. PATH View and modify the computers path location. PATHPING View and locate locations of network latency. PAUSE Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command. PING Test / send information to another network computer or network device. POPD Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command. POWER Conserve power with computer portables. PRINT Prints data to a printer port. PROMPT View and change the MS-DOS prompt. PUSHD Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time. QBASIC Open the QBasic. RD Removes an empty directory. REN Renames a file or directory. RENAME Renames a file or directory. RMDIR Removes an empty directory. ROUTE View and configure windows network route tables. RUNAS Enables a user to execute a program on another computer. SCANDISK Run the scandisk utility. SCANREG Scan registry and recover registry from errors. SET Change one variable or string to another. SETLOCAL Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else. SETVER Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs. SHARE Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities. SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program. SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt. SMARTDRV Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory. SORT Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen. START Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt. SUBST Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter. SWITCHES Remove add functions from MS-DOS. SYS Transfer system files to disk drive. TELNET Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt. TIME View or modify the system time. TITLE Change the title of their MS-DOS window. TRACERT Visually view a network packets route across a network. TREE View a visual tree of the hard disk drive. TYPE Display the contents of a file. UNDELETE Undelete a file that has been deleted. UNFORMAT Unformat a hard disk drive. UNLOCK Unlock a disk drive. VER Display the version information. VERIFY Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly. VOL Displays the volume information about the designated drive. XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another. TRUENAME When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists TASKKILL It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications
Windows XP Shortcuts:
Quote: ALT+- (ALT+hyphen) Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu ALT+ENTER View properties for the selected item ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order they were opened ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program ALT+SPACEBAR Display the System menu for the active window ALT+TAB Switch between open items ALT+Underlined letter Display the corresponding menu BACKSPACE View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer CTRL+A Select all CTRL+B Bold CTRL+C Copy CTRL+I Italics CTRL+O Open an item CTRL+U Underline CTRL+V Paste CTRL+X Cut CTRL+Z Undo CTRL+F4 Close the active document CTRL while dragging Copy selected item CTRL+SHIFT while dragging Create shortcut to selected iteM CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word CTRL+LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph CTRL+UP ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph SHIFT+DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin ESC Cancel the current task F1 Displays Help F2 Rename selected item F3 Search for a file or folder F4 Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer F5 Refresh the active window F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop F10 Activate the menu bar in the active program SHIFT+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item CTRL+ESC Display the Start menu SHIFT+CTRL+ESC Launches Task Manager SHIFT when you insert a CD Prevent the CD from automatically playing WIN Display or hide the Start menu WIN+BREAK Display the System Properties dialog box WIN+D Minimizes all Windows and shows the Desktop WIN+E Open Windows Explorer WIN+F Search for a file or folder WIN+F+CTRL Search for computers WIN+L Locks the desktop WIN+M Minimize or restore all windows WIN+R Open the Run dialog box WIN+TAB Switch between open items
Windows Explorer Shortcuts:
Quote: ALT+SPACEBAR - Display the current window’s system menu SHIFT+F10 - Display the item's context menu CTRL+ESC - Display the Start menu ALT+TAB - Switch to the window you last used ALT+F4 - Close the current window or quit CTRL+A - Select all items CTRL+X - Cut selected item(s) CTRL+C - Copy selected item(s) CTRL+V - Paste item(s) CTRL+Z - Undo last action CTRL+(+) - Automatically resize the columns in the right hand pane TAB - Move forward through options ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to a previous view ALT+LEFT ARROW - Move backward to a previous view SHIFT+DELETE - Delete an item immediately BACKSPACE - View the folder one level up ALT+ENTER - View an item’s properties F10 - Activate the menu bar in programs F6 - Switch between left and right panes F5 - Refresh window contents F3 - Display Find application F2 - Rename selected item
Keep Folders Hidden
first create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive
when you name it hold down "Alt" and press "0160" this will create and invisible space so it will apper as if it has no name.
then right click in and select "Properties" select the tab "coustimize" and select "change icon" scroll along and you should a few blanc spaces click on any one and click ok when you hav saved the settings the folder will be invisible to hide all your personal files
Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.
1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.
2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.
3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.
4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.
The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.
Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.
Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.
5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.
6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.
7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.
8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.
9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.
10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.
11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.
12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.
13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.
14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.
15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.
16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.
17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.
18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.
19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.
20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.
21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.
22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.
23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.
23 ways to speed windows XP
Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.
