Edit default Recycle Bin name with new name.

Recycle Bin name is the windows default name of Recycle Bin Desktop Icon. Normally there is no option to change the name of Recycle Bin Icon, but you can rename of Recycle Bin icon name using any windows tweak application or with edit the windows Registry. Always be careful to edit windows registry because any mistake can create problem for windows.

Follow the given steps to change the Recycle Bin name:

·         First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.

·         In regedit editor you will open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT folder, In this folder open the CLSID folder then open the {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} folder >ShellFolder folder at last.

• Here simply change the data value from "40 01 00 20" to "70 01 00 20".

• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect. When next time you start your computer then change the Recycle Bin name after right click on Recycle icon.

Turning off the Help on Min, Max, Close Icons

When the mouse goes over the minimize, maximize and close icons on the upper right hand side of a window, you normally get a display telling you want those are for.
To disable that display:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
3. Create a String Value called MinMaxClose
4. Give it a value of 1 
5. Reboot

Turning off System Beeps.

Normally Windows warning beeps are very useful to identify when problem happen. One internal speaker in your system casing creates these beeps. But some time when you are working with your laptop in the library and other quiet areas, then these beeps will be disturbing others. You can turn off all your computer beeps with editing registry keys.

Follow the given steps to turn off system beeps:

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
• Here locate the location to:
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound
• Here in right side panel, double click on Beep and change its value of NO. But next time you can turn on these beeps, simply give its value Yes.
• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Sticky Menus

Normally when you move the mouse over the Start Menu / Programs, it will automatically cascade and show the submenus.
If you want them to open only when you actually click on them:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop
3. If if it not already there, create a string called MenuShowDelay
4. Give it a value of 65534

Setting the Recycle Bin to Always Delete

The Recycle Bin is the special folders of windows on the hard disk to store deleted files and folders. These files or folders can be restored from the Recycle Bin to their original location if required for use. But you can set the Recycle Bin setting that the files and folders are deleted from hard disk are not placed in the Recycle Bin. So with the help of windows registry editor you can set the Recycle Bin to always delete items.

Follow the given steps to edit computer registry for Recycle Bin:

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.

• Here locate the location to:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer\BitBucket
• Here in right side panel, double click on NukeOnDelete and set its value 1.
  Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Power off completely after shut down your Computer.

Normally when you are trying to shut down your windows XP and some time you may receive the message “it's now safe to power off the machine”. Here you should change your system Advanced Power Management setting or edit your system registry to solve this problem and power off completely. 

Follow the given steps to solve this problem with Advanced Power Management. 

• First click on Start button then go to Control Panel. 
• Open the Performance and Maintenance option in control panel then click on Power Options. 
• Here Click on APM tab then select the option Enable Advanced Power Management Support box and press Ok.

Now follow the given steps to solve this problem by editing system registry.

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
• Here locate the location to:

        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

• Here in right side panel, double click on PowerdownAfterShutdown and set its value 1 to power down.
• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Removing Unwanted or selected Items from the RUN Menu

In Windows environment the Run prompt is the shortcut key to access mostly computer programs. You can open the lot of computer programs very quickly using Run command, that is why mostly computer professional love to using Run prompt. But if you want to clear the unwanted or selected search items from Run Menu, you must edit the registry of windows and be careful to work with computer registry.

Follow the given steps to clear the history Menu.

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
• In Registry Editor go to Edit (Shortcut Ctrl+F) then Find to search the word RUNMRU.
• In right panel delete the unwanted items using right click on that item then delete.
• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Removing Open, Explore & Find from Start Button

When you right click on the Start Button, you can select Open, Explore or Find.
Open shows your Programs folder. Explore starts the Explorer and allows access to all drives.
Find allows you to search and then run programs. In certain situations you might want to disable this feature.
To remove them:

1. Start Regedit
2. Search for Directory
3. This should bring you to Hkey_Classes_Root \ Directory
4. Expand this section by clicking on the "+"
5. Under shell is Find
6. Delete Find
7. Scroll down below Directory to Folder
8. Expand this section under shell
9. Delete Explore and Open

Common reasons of Windows failure

You can find out the reasons why there was a sudden crash of your windows. Microsoft criticizes that half of the windows failure due to third party software installed on that computer, but there are some common reasons of windows failure like User behavior, BIOS and Driver Updating, Software Problems (install and uninstall process) and Shared information (Windows shared libraries).

By editing the windows registry keys, you can find out the system failure reasons. But always export or backup the whole windows registry keys on backup drive before editing. Because any mistake in Registry can cause serious problem in your computer to run properly.

Follow the given steps to edit computer registry for log file:
• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
• In registry editor panel change the DWORD value shutdownreasonUI to 1 in the given key:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Reliability
• Now after reboot the system, you can check the system log file (Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Logfiles) to find out the reasons of system failure.

Disable showing last user on logon screen

To prevent any changes to the Start Menu, even a right click:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
3. Add a DWORD called NoChangeStartMenu
4. Give it a value of 1

How to stop any particular program to appear in frequently used programs list?

Today tip will help you to manage the list of most often accessed programs in windows XP and 2003. You can stop any specific computer programs which are appearing on most frequent list of start menu. For example if you want, your windows media player is never showing on the most frequent programs list when you play any movie, so  you can hide this entry from others using these settings. Your family members and co-workers can find out your programs browsing activities with clicking on documents list menu. However this tip is very useful for you, if you are sharing your computer with others or you do not want that other persons know about your last visited documents history. To clear the history of any specific program automatically, edit the computer registry keys. 

Follow the given steps for configuration to stop any particular program to appear in frequently used programs list: 

To edit the computer registry, first you should log onto your computer with administrative rights.

Click Start button and type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next. 

Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Program name.exe 

Here are the executable file names for others commonly used programs:

For MS Word        = windword.exe

For MS Excel       = excel.exe

For Explorer         = iexplorer.exe

For Notepad         = notepad.exe

For Media Player  = wmplayer.exe

In this case, we are trying to control windows media player is never showing on the most frequent used program list when we play any movie.

Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\wmplayer.exe

Now in right side panel, click right to create a new String value with the name NoStartPage and close registry editor.

But next time, if you want to disable this functionality then simply delete the NoStartPage string item.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Eliminating the Right Click on the Taskbar

To eliminate the right click on the taskbar:

Start Regedit

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
3. Add a DWORD and give it a name of NoTrayContextMenu
4. Give it a value of 1
5. Reboot 

How to fixing no AutoRun for CDs?

In windows environment you can enjoy a good feature to run CD or DVD automatically when you loaded it into you CD drives on your computer. But if you are not happy with this auto run then you can disable it. In user interface mode there is no option to disable this feature, you must edit the registry of windows and be careful to work registry.

• Click Start button then type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next.
• Here locate the location to:

        HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\

        Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

• Change the value of NoDriveTypeAutoRun to 95 00 00 00 for disable.
•  At the end restart your computer for this change.

Reduce the shutdown time of Windows 2000 and XP.

You can reduce the shutdown time of windows 2000 and XP using some tricks. Actually windows XP take time to close all running programs and applications before shutdown, but you can minimize this time if you have little knowledge about editing windows registry.

Follow the given steps to reduce the shutdown time:

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option. Here locate the location to:
• Go to Hkey_Current_User\Control Panel\Desktop
• Here in right side panel, double click on AutoEndTasks and here its default value is 0. Now change it to 1.
• Now in same side panel double click on value name WaitToKillAppTimeout. Its default value data is 20000; now change this value of WaitToKillAppTimeout to 3500.
• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.
  
  
  

Disabling the Blinking Cursor in Computer Applications

If you are using any computer application, for example MS Word or MS FrontPage and you did not like blinking of cursor. You can stop the cursor from blinking in these applications to edit your computer registry keys, but be careful to work with computer registry.

Follow the given steps to stop cursor from blinking:

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
• Here locate the location to:

        HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

• Here add the string value with name CursorBlink and value -1
• At the end restart your computer for this change.

Disabling Run or Find from the Start Menu

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
3. Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
4. Name it NoFile or NoRun
5. Give it a value of 1
6. Logoff or Reboot the computer

Disabling the ability to click on My Computer

You can restrict any user to access your system drives if you disable the click feature on My Computer. User will get no any changes when he will try to open My Computer.

By editing the windows registry keys, you can disable the click feature on My Computer. But always export or backup the whole windows registry keys on backup drive before editing. Because any mistake in Registry can cause serious problem in your computer to run properly.

Follow the given steps to disable My Computer setting.

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
• In registry editor panel search the value

        20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D

• May be you will find this value on path HKey_Classes_Root \ CLSID section.
• Here delete the entire section of this value.
• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to hide user account from the windows XP welcome screen?

Today tip is very useful particularly for expert users who want to create hidden or backup user accounts in windows XP. This trick permits an account that is normally displayed on the Welcome screen to be hidden from view. To hide the specific user account from the welcome screen, you need to create a special value under windows registry key.  

Follow the given steps to hide any specific user account on welcome screen:

To use this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.

Click Start button and type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next. 

Here locate the location to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\

Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList

Here in right side panel, right click to create a new DWORD Value with the name of account to be hidden - the name matches the users name exactly.

To modify the "Value data" information as DWORD Value 0 to hide the account and 1  to display the user then click on Ok button.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

But next time, if you want to enable specific user account on welcome then simply change the value of data box to 1 or delete the DWORD Value item.

How to remove the text from the Desktop icon?

Desktop is the interface of Windows, which contain the icons, taskbar etc. that allow the user to interact with the computer to perform different operations. Usually the picture of icon represents its purpose so if you want your desktop looking very clean then you can remove the title under the desktop icons. May be you are thinking it is so easy, just go to rename option and set blank name or single spacebar entry but the problem is this, windows will not allow you to set blank name or name with single spacebar entry. Here interesting thing is this; window will allow you to use the ASCII code for a space, which is 0160.

First clear all the text from that icon

Now type the ASCII code, simply hold the Alt key, type the number 0160 from the number pad and release the Alt key then press Enter button to finish the process.

Before

After

But if you want to remove the text of multiple icons, then repeat the above process with adding one extra ASCII code for second icon, (for example for second icon you type the 0160 twice and for third icon type 0160 three times with Alt key and so on).

Disable drives in My Computer from unknown user.

If you want to prevent any users to access your computer or network shared drives using My Computer then you can hide the all drives for example C:/, D:/ and save your data from any unknown user. But next time you can turn on the display of these drives using registry editor. Now edit the computer registry to turn off the display of drives, but be careful to work with computer registry.

Follow the given steps to hide computer drives:

• First click on Start button then type Regedit in Run option.
• Here locate the location to:

        HKey_Current_User \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows

        \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer

• Here right click on right side of Registry editor panel and add new DWORD then put its value 3FFFFFF.
• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

Displaying a Text Notice before Logon

You can create a funny message or legal warnings for others just before logon to your computer. This is very useful if you want to give a message to new user about the use of computer. Edit the value of registry keys to create a banner message. 

• Click Start button then type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next.
• Here locate the location to:
• HKeyLocalMachine \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Win Logon
• Here in right side panel, right click to create a new string value LegalNoticeCaption and give it a value you want to see in the menu bar
• Now again right click to create a new string value called LegalNoticeText and change the value you want to see in the dialog box
• Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to clear My Documents history automatically on log off?

Today tip will help you to clear your recently opened documents automatically on windows log off.  Your family members and co-workers can find out your documents browsing activities with clicking on documents list menu. However this tip is very useful for you, if you are sharing your computer with others or you do not want that other persons know about your last visited documents history. This trick will work in nearly all of the windows versions like windows 2000, XP and 2003. 

Follow the given steps for configuration to clear recently opened documents automatically: 

To edit the computer registry, first you should log onto your computer with administrative rights.

Click Start button and type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next.

Navigate to HKEY_Current_User \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \Policies\Explorer

Now in right side panel, click right to create a new DWORD value with the name ClearRecentDocsOnExit and then set its value to 1.

But next time, if you want to disable this functionality then simply change the value of data box to 0 or delete the ClearRecentDocsOnExitDWORD item.

Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to hide computer drives to secure data?

Follow the given steps to change the system drives registry value:

• To use this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with

        administrative rights.

• Click Start button and type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next.
  
  
  
  • Here locate the location to:
  ·         HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Policies\Explorer
  
  
  
  
  
  ·         Here in right side panel, right click to create a new DWORD value
       with name NoDrives (it is case sensitive), then assign number
       to its value data box.
  
  
  
  
  
  ·         Now if you want to hide all system drives then modify value data
       to 3FFFFFF .
  
  
  
  
  
  ·         For specific drive use values (For example, for A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
       H drives, the values are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 respectively).
  ·         In this case we are trying to hide F drive, so we modify the value data
       box to 32.
  
  
  
  
  
  ·         Now close the registry editor and restart your computer after any
      changes to go into effect.
  ·         But next time, if you want to unhide this drive then simply change
      the value data box or delete the DWORD item.
  •  Again close the registry editor and restart your computer after any
           changes to go into effect.