Lock/Hide Your Folder in Windows XP without Any Software

Sometimes you have some data you want to save from your friends, you dont want to use any Folder lock software. Then in that case what will you do?
Well here is a simple solution. Suppose you have a folder “TEST”, and you want to lock it
Follow the instructions below.:
1. First try it out on an empty folder in case something goes wrong. So first create a folder in drive C , for example name it as “secret-files” without the quotes.
2. Next, open your command prompt ( Start > Run > type “cmd” in the Run box without the quotes )
3. Within the command prompt, type “attrib +s +h C:\secret-files” ( without the quotes )

4. This command will make your folder completely invisible and it can not be seen even in hidden files and folders. Try search for the folder, I am sure it returns no result. It’s cool right?
5. To make the folder visible again type “attrib -s -h C:\secret-files”
6. And of course you can lock other folder too, by changing the location C:\secret-files to address of your folder.

Insert your name in Taskbar

Hey its a very cool trick u can amaze u r friends and relatives by inserting your name on the bottom right task-bar. Follow the instructions bellow:

Open Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Customize ->Time
here you can see A.M. and P.M. change it with u r name. Thats it.

Lock your machine on Mouse Click

Feel hard to press CTRL+ALT+DEL to lock your machine ?????? Try this and create the icon to lock the machine.

1. Right click an empty spot on the desktop, point to New and click Shortcut.

2. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, type the following in the 'Type the location' of the item text box:

"rundll32 user32.dll,LockWorkStation" remove quotes while typing.

3. Click Next.

4. In "Type a name for this shortcut", type "" (any name as u wish) and Click Finish

5. Create a shortcut in your shortcut bar & use it

How to add the Print Directory feature for folders in Windows XP

Create the Printdir.bat file
-------------------------------------
To create the Printdir.bat file, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type notepad, and then click OK:
2. Paste the following text into Notepad:
@echo off
dir %1 /-p /o:gn > "%temp%\Listing"
start /w notepad /p "%temp%\Listing"
del "%temp%\Listing"
exit
3. On the File menu, click Exit, and then click Yes to save the changes.
4. In the Save As dialog box, type the following text, and then click Save:
%windir%\Printdir.bat

Create a new action for file folders
1. Click Start, click Control Panel (or, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel), and then click Folder Options.
2. On the File Types tab, click File Folder.
3. Click Advanced, and then click New.
4. In the Action box, type:
Print Directory Listing
5. In the Application used to perform action box, type:
printdir.bat
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK, click OK, and then click Close.

How to Crop an Image for Your Desktop?

a little tutorial to capture image into your desktop to post it to a forum or website

1. make sure the image you want to capture is the active window. Double click in your keyboard (PrtScSysRq) or (Print Screen SrsRq).

2.then go to start ALL PROGRAMS Accessories click Paint. In the paint, upper left side, click EDIT then click paste. If you want to save the image, go to upper side, click FILE and Save as, put the File name of the image and Save as Type JPEG.

3.if you want to choose the image that only others can see, Right click on the image that you save, Hit Edit on your mouse. It will start to launch the paint in the Left upper side of the Paint. Under File and Edit, Click the Square Image then click the Square Image Go to Picture or Image you only want to show. Hold on to your LEFT mouse and by dragging it u could see a square pattern forming. Use that to get the image you would want to show then let go of the mouse. Then Drag the image u want to show to others and let go of your mouse again. Right click on the image you have selected then hit copy. Open new Paint then in the upper side, click Edit, then paste then go to the file option Save put the file Save the image as JPEG.

4.now if you want to show your image to a site or forum go to http://imageshack.us/. Browse the image or picture u want to share into a forum or site. You can choose how big your image by c$$$$$$$ rezise will show in the site or forum by c$$$$$$$ Host it in imageshack. It will go directly to your image link you and you can choose from the image hosting (Thumbnail for forums) (1) (Thumbnail for forums) (2) for more larger image choose at the URL (Hotlink for forums) (1) or (Hotlink for forums)

frnds their is more host for uploading image or picture like www.tinypic.com , www.image4host.com , www.seobyjoe.com. yoy can upload yor picture or image from here also

lol that's it. i hope you guys understand my little tutorial

How To delete an "undeletable" file in XP

Open a Command Prompt window and leave it open. Close all open programs. Click Start, Run and enter TASKMGR.EXE Go to the Processes tab and End Process on Explorer.exe. Leave Task Manager open. Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory the AVI (or other undeletable file) is located in. At the command prompt type DEL where is the file you wish to delete. Go back to Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the GUI shell. Close Task Manager.

Uninstalling Windows from Command Prompt

One option included in Windows XP is the ability to uninstall XP if you performed an upgrade from Windows 98, 98SE, or Windows Me. The standard method of removing XP is achieved by booting into XP normally and uses the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. If you are unable to start XP normally, the second option is to load XP in Safe Mode then use the same tool. If you are unable to boot normally or boot into Safe Mode, XP can be removed by uninstalling from a Command Prompt. The procedure is as follows:

Important Note: This procedure is available only if a successful image of the previous operating system was created during the XP upgrade.

Start the computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

At the command prompt, type cd\, and then press ENTER.

Type cd\windows\system32, and then press ENTER.

Type osuninst.exe, and then press ENTER.

On screen instructions will guide you through the uninstall process to revert to the previous operating system.

This procedure can only be performed by users logged on as Administrator or a user with administrative rights.

Tips And Tricks For Ur Computer

Tip:Lock Computer

Use Windows key plus L to temporarily lock your Computer when stepping away from it - Use your Windows password to unlock.


Tip:PC deep sleep with Vista

Vista may do a better job at conserving energy when you set your PC to hibernate.

In Windows XP, when you set your PC to hibernate, some applications and hardware devices could override the hibernation command and continue to run (e.g virus scan or DVD burners). However, in Windows Vista, your PC will no longer allow applications and hardware to override your hibernate and "stay up late." They will be warned when the computer is about to catch some zzzs, and will have a second to save their progress. So, when you tell a Vista PC to go to bed, it actually listens.


Tip:Rename your digital photos automatically in Windows XP

Unless you really have a lot of time on your hands, I doubt you want to go through the massive folder that contains your European vacation photos and rename them Europe_1.jpg, Europe_2.jpg, and so on down the line. If you're running Windows XP on your computer, you don't have to do this. Simply apply this hack to quickly apply a meaningful label to every picture in the folder.

* First, open the folder and select View > Thumbnails.
* Click the last picture in the folder you want to rename, hold down the Shift key, and click the first picture; this will select them all.
* Right-click the first photo, and select Rename from the drop-down menu.

Windows XP will highlight the filename for the first photo, enabling you to give it a descriptive name. After you type in the name, click the white space outside of the photo and watch as Windows applies the name with a sequential number to each picture in the folder.


Tip:Make it easy to get to Windows Explorer

It's important to have quick access to Windows Explorer so you can easily look around your hard drive(s) for the things you need. But on a Windows XP machine, Windows Explorer is hidden in the 'Accessories' menu -- that's not very handy. Give yourself quick access to it by doing this:

1) Click the Start menu

2) Click on 'Programs'

3) Go to 'Accessories' and highlight 'Windows Explorer'

4) Right-click on 'Windows Explorer' and choose 'Send to...' -- then select 'Desktop'

Now you'll have a shortcut on your Desktop that makes it easy to access Windows Explorer any time you need it -- which is generally every day!

Fast Shutdown and/or Restart From Quick Launch Buttons

This tip will enable you to create buttons in your quick launch toolbar to quickly and easily shut down and/or restart your computer.

Right click on your desktop, scroll to new..... shortcut
In the location line, for shutdown type; shutdown -s -t 0 ie: shutdown(space)-s(space)-t(space)number zero
Name the shortcut "Shut Down PC" or whatever u want
The new shortcut is now sitting on your desktop, right click on it and go to properties, then click on "change icon". Click OK, then pick a suitable icon, there is a red "off button" icon available, then click apply and ok.
Now drag the icon from your desktop into the quick launch toolbar, resize the toolbar so all the buttons are visible, then delete the shortcut from your desktop.
To create a restart button the location line should read shutdown -r -t 0 name it restart pc and give it a suitable icon for restart.

Now you can shut down or restart your pc in 1 mouse click without having to go through the startup menu.

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number.
When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is http://www.driverguide.com" target=_blank>www.driverguide.com. If
the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might
be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based
programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS
setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File
System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a
look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve
video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a
DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover
from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and
Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from http://www.jv16.org" target=_blank>www.jv16.org
Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to
restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from http://www.computernerd.com" target=_blank>www.computernerd.com or http://www.coolit.com" target=_blank>www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be
more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

Put Muscle in Your Device Manager!

In WindowsXP and 2000, the Device Manager is an indispensible tool for keeping your system healthy. There are several different ways to access Device Manger, and they all require at least two steps before the console opens. In order to effectively diagnose problems you should always click the 'view' button and select "show hidden devices".

I've written a small batch file I keep handy on the desktop, that opens Device manager with a simple double-click. Just copy and paste this in Notepad:

set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
start devmgmt.msc

Then "Save as type" = "All Files", and name the file "setdev.bat" (without the quotes!).

When the console opens you'll still need to select "show hidden devices", only now you really will be able to see ALL the hidden devices that Windows so dutifully keeps in the registry.

How does that affect performance? Simple; Unless you already are in the habit of keeping things tidied up on a regular basis, every device you've ever installed then later removed will be right there with a greyed-out icon. And every time you boot, Windows has to sort through all that garbage before it can run the devices that actually are installed.

To demonstrate the difference: In the view below is the standard Device Manager on the left, and on the right is the Device Manger opened with the "setdev.bat" file.



On the left you can see nine generic volumes {which represents two hard drives partitioned into four volumes each, and one USB flash drive}. On the right you can see those same nine generic volumes and seven 'hidden' volumes. Those hidden volumes reflect the fact that I recently replaced a hard drive, and repartitioned the remaining drive. This is only one example of what you can clean-up. The same is true for all the rest of the devices.

I'm gonna' get busy and uninstall all this crap!

How to Bypass BIOS Passwords

BIOS passwords can add an extra layer of security for desktop and laptop computers. They are used to either prevent a user from changing the BIOS settings or to prevent the PC from booting without a password. Unfortunately, BIOS passwords can also be a liability if a user forgets their password, or changes the password to intentionally lock out the corporate IT department. Sending the unit back to the manufacturer to have the BIOS reset can be expensive and is usually not covered in the warranty. Never fear, all is not lost. There are a few known backdoors and other tricks of the trade that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS

DISCLAIMER
This article is intended for IT Professionals and systems administrators with experience servicing computer hardware. It is not intended for home users, hackers, or computer thieves attempting to crack the password on a stolen PC. Please do not attempt any of these procedures if you are unfamiliar with computer hardware, and please use this information responsibly. LabMice.net is not responsible for the use or misuse of this material, including loss of data, damage to hardware, or personal injury.


Before attempting to bypass the BIOS password on a computer, please take a minute to contact the hardware manufacturer support staff directly and ask for their recommended methods of bypassing the BIOS security. In the event the manufacturer cannot (or will not) help you, there are a number of methods that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS password yourself. They include:

Using a manufacturers backdoor password to access the BIOS

Use password cracking software

Reset the CMOS using the jumpers or solder beads.

Removing the CMOS battery for at least 10 minutes

Overloading the keyboard buffer

Using a professional service

Please remember that most BIOS passwords do not protect the hard drive, so if you need to recover the data, simply remove the hard drive and install it in an identical system, or configure it as a slave drive in an existing system. The exception to this are laptops, especially IBM Thinkpads, which silently lock the hard drive if the supervisor password is enabled. If the supervisor password is reset without resetting the and hard drive as well, you will be unable to access the data on the drive.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Backdoor passwords

Many BIOS manufacturers have provided backdoor passwords that can be used to access the BIOS setup in the event you have lost your password. These passwords are case sensitive, so you may wish to try a variety of combinations. Keep in mind that the key associated to "_" in the US keyboard corresponds to "?" in some European keyboards. Laptops typically have better BIOS security than desktop systems, and we are not aware of any backdoor passwords that will work with name brand laptops.

WARNING: Some BIOS configurations will lock you out of the system completely if you type in an incorrect password more than 3 times. Read your manufacturers documentation for the BIOS setting before you begin typing in passwords

Award BIOS backdoor passwords:

ALFAROME ALLy aLLy aLLY ALLY aPAf _award AWARD_SW AWARD?SW AWARD SW AWARD PW AWKWARD awkward BIOSTAR CONCAT CONDO Condo d8on djonet HLT J64 J256 J262 j332 j322 KDD Lkwpeter LKWPETER PINT pint SER SKY_FOX SYXZ syxz shift + syxz TTPTHA ZAAADA ZBAAACA ZJAAADC 01322222
589589 589721 595595 598598

AMI BIOS backdoor passwords:

AMI AAAMMMIII BIOS PASSWORD HEWITT RAND AMI?SW AMI_SW LKWPETER A.M.I. CONDO

PHOENIX BIOS backdoor passwords:

phoenix, PHOENIX, CMOS, BIOS

MISC. COMMON PASSWORDS

ALFAROME BIOSTAR biostar biosstar CMOS cmos LKWPETER lkwpeter setup SETUP Syxz Wodj

OTHER BIOS PASSWORDS BY MANUFACTURER

Manufacturer Password
VOBIS & IBM merlin
Dell Dell
Biostar Biostar
Compaq Compaq
Enox xo11nE
Epox central
Freetech Posterie
IWill iwill
Jetway spooml
Packard Bell bell9
QDI QDI
Siemens SKY_FOX
TMC BIGO
Toshiba Toshiba

TOSHIBA BIOS

Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass the BIOS password if the left shift key is held down during boot

IBM APTIVA BIOS

Press both mouse buttons repeatedly during the boot


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Password cracking software

The following software can be used to either crack or reset the BIOS on many chipsets. If your PC is locked with a BIOS administrator password that will not allow access to the floppy drive, these utilities may not work. Also, since these utilities do not come from the manufacturer, use them cautiously and at your own risk.

Cmos password recovery tools 3.1
!BIOS (get the how-to article)
RemPass
KILLCMOS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Using the Motherboard "Clear CMOS" Jumper or Dipswitch settings

Many motherboards feature a set of jumpers or dipswitches that will clear the CMOS and wipe all of the custom settings including BIOS passwords. The locations of these jumpers / dipswitches will vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer and ideally you should always refer to the motherboard or computer manufacturers documentation. If the documentation is unavailable, the jumpers/dipswitches can sometimes be found along the edge of the motherboard, next to the CMOS battery, or near the processor. Some manufacturers may label the jumper / dipswitch CLEAR - CLEAR CMOS - CLR - CLRPWD - PASSWD - PASSWORD - PWD. On laptop computers, the dipswitches are usually found under the keyboard or within a compartment at the bottom of the laptop.
Please remember to unplug your PC and use a grounding strip before reaching into your PC and touching the motherboard. Once you locate and rest the jumper switches, turn the computer on and check if the password has been cleared. If it has, turn the computer off and return the jumpers or dipswitches to its original position.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Removing the CMOS Battery

The CMOS settings on most systems are buffered by a small battery that is attached to the motherboard. (It looks like a small watch battery). If you unplug the PC and remove the battery for 10-15 minutes, the CMOS may reset itself and the password should be blank. (Along with any other machine specific settings, so be sure you are familiar with manually reconfiguring the BIOS settings before you do this.) Some manufacturers backup the power to the CMOS chipset by using a capacitor, so if your first attempt fails, leave the battery out (with the system unplugged) for at least 24 hours. Some batteries are actually soldered onto the motherboard making this task more difficult. Unsoldering the battery incorrectly may damage your motherboard and other components, so please don't attempt this if you are inexperienced. Another option may be to remove the CMOS chip from the motherboard for a period of time.
Note: Removing the battery to reset the CMOS will not work for all PC's, and almost all of the newer laptops store their BIOS passwords in a manner which does not require continuous power, so removing the CMOS battery may not work at all. IBM Thinkpad laptops lock the hard drive as well as the BIOS when the supervisor password is set. If you reset the BIOS password, but cannot reset the hard drive password, you may not be able to access the drive and it will remain locked, even if you place it in a new laptop. IBM Thinkpads have special jumper switches on the motherboard, and these should be used to reset the system.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overloading the KeyBoard Buffer

On some older computer systems, you can force the CMOS to enter its setup screen on boot by overloading the keyboard buffer. This can be done by booting with the keyboard or mouse unattached to the systems, or on some systems by hitting the ESC key over 100 times in rapid succession.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jumping the Solder Beads on the CMOS

It is also possible to reset the CMOS by connecting or "jumping" specific solder beads on the chipset. There are too many chipsets to do a breakdown of which points to jump on individual chipsets, and the location of these solder beads can vary by manufacturer, so please check your computer and motherboard documentation for details. This technique is not recommended for the inexperienced and should be only be used as a "last ditch" effort.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Using a professional service

If the manufacturer of the laptop or desktop PC can't or won't reset the BIOS password, you still have the option of using a professional service. Password Crackers, Inc., offers a variety of services for desktop and laptop computers for between $100 and $400. For most of these services, you'll need to provide some type of legitimate proof of ownership. This may be difficult if you've acquired the computer second hand or from an online auction.

Lock a folder without any software

Suppose you want to lock the folder games in d: which has the path D:\Games.In the same drive create a text file and type
ren games games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Now save this text file as loc.bat

create another text file and type in it
ren games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} games
Now save this text file as key.bat

Now you can see 2 batch files loc and key.Press loc and the folder games will change to control panel and you cannot view its contents.Press key and you will get back your original folder.

Poweroff at Shutdown

If your computer does not turn off the power when doing a shutdown,
you may need to edit the registry. I have all the correct BIOS and Power settings and still needed to do this.

1.Start Regedit
2.Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3.Edit the key PowerOffActive and give it a value of 1
4.You can do the same in HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTControl PanelDesktop

Disable The Send Error Report

probably most of the computer users know this but it might be use full 2 someone

Disable the stupid feature in WinXP which tries to send a report to microsoft every time a program crashes you will have to do this:

open Control Panel
Click on Preformance and Maintenance.
Click on System.
Then click on the Advanced tab
Click on the error reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
Select Disable error reporting.
Click OK
Click OK

Rename your digital photos automatically in Windows XP

Unless you really have a lot of time on your hands, I doubt you want to go through the massive folder that contains your European vacation photos and rename them Europe_1.jpg, Europe_2.jpg, and so on down the line. If you're running Windows XP on your computer, you don't have to do this. Simply apply this hack to quickly apply a meaningful label to every picture in the folder.

* First, open the folder and select View > Thumbnails.

*Click the last picture in the folder you want to rename, hold down the Shift key, and click the first picture; this will select them all.

*Right-click the first photo, and select Rename from the drop-down menu.

Windows XP will highlight the filename for the first photo, enabling you to give it a descriptive name. After you type in the name, click the white space outside of the photo and watch as Windows applies the name with a sequential number to each picture in the folder.

Disable Picture And Fax Viewer

We all know that WinXP likes to keep itself held together, and how it doesnt like you uninstalling certain components. Well The Picture and Fax Viewer, is one of these programs which can cause problems if removed incorrectly. It can be disabled safely as follows:

[Start] [Run] type regedit and click [OK]

Navigate to :

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/ SystemFileAssociations/ image/ ShellEx/ ContextMenuHandlers

then delete the Folder ShellImagePreview under ContextMenuHandlers

Note: If you want to restore the Picture and Fax Viewer :

Create the ShellImagePreview folder and create the String Value (Default)
Assign it the value {e84fda7c-1d6a-45f6-b725-cb260c236066}

NOTE: This tweak doesnt uninstall the program. It removes the association and therefore it cannot be run.

Think before what u r doing

Windows XP shortcuts on your keyboard

Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to keep things moving when you're using your computer, and they let you perform tasks without lifting your hands from the keyboard. These are some of the basics that you should know--at least if you want to cut down on the number of times you reach for the mouse every day.

* Ctrl Alt Del is the mother of all keyboard shortcuts, affectionately known as the "three-fingered salute," since it's so useful when your Windows box locks up. Pressing the combo once (simultaneously) opens the Windows Task Manager. (From within the Task Manager, you can force-quit a crashed program, see a list of processes or applications running on your machine, check performance parameters such as how hard your CPU is working, or track your network usage.) Is your machine totally locked up? Reach over, grab the mouse and click Shut Down.

* Ctrl S saves the file you're working on. Ever lost your homework, a spreadsheet at work, or some video you've been editing? Hit Ctrl S (simultaneously) to save. Hit it early and often! (Want to open a file from within the program you're running? Ctrl O universally opens the File/Open window.)

* Ctrl C copies text, files, or icons that you've highlighted, Ctrl V pastes them where you point your mouse (hey, you can't completely eliminate using it), and Ctrl X cuts whatever you've highlighted out of the document (or folder, photo, movie clip, or whatever it is you're working on). Ctrl A highlights the entire file you're working on or everything in a folder or on your desktop.

* Alt Tab lets you switch on the fly between all of your open windows. Press the combination once to switch to your last open window or multiple times to switch to any other open window. Holding down Alt Tab will bring up a system window that shows you what apps are running and which one you're switching to.

* Ever wonder why almost every Windows program has the F in File underlined, not to mention the E in Edit, and so on so forth across the top of the Window? Hit Alt that letter to open that particular menu; you can either use the arrow keys to move around within that window, or keep your eyes peeled for more underlined letters to use more Alt key combinations.

* The Windows key (the one that looks like the Windows logo, or a flag) R opens the Run dialog. From here, you can launch a command-line window by typing cmd, but you can do a lot more. You can, for example, paste in a folder path, such as C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\Expenses, and Windows will open it automatically. You can also use the Run dialog to open Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, or Notepad. Just type winword to launch Word, type excel to launch Excel, and notepad to launch Notepad.

* Windows E launches Windows Explorer, defaulting to My Computer.

* F2 renames a selected file or folder. (This is so much easier than right-clicking!)

* F3 launches Search if you're on the desktop or in a folder.

* Windows M minimizes all open windows, and Windows D shows your desktop. (These results look similar, but they're slightly different; Windows M minimizes all windows that support the command, while Windows D actually raises the desktop to the top.) This is a great one for when the boss pops up in your cubicle. Once the boss gone, hit Shift Windows M to bring up your minimized windows, or Windows D to drop your desktop back down again.<

Install Xp From Dos

If XP will not install from the CD or if you have a new drive with no operating system on
it yet try these:

Install Windows XP from the hard drive with Windows 98 already installed:

Boot Windows 98
Insert the XP CD into your CD reader
Explore Windows XP through My Computer
Copy i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder and double click on winnt32.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive

Install Windows XP from DOS (ie. no OS on a new hard drive):

Boot with a Windows 98 Start Up disk
Insert the Windows 98 CD into the CD reader
Run smartdrv.exe from the Win98 directory on the windows 98 CD (file caching)
Type cd.. to back up to the root directory
Insert Windows XP CD into the CD reader
Copy the i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder on C: and type winnt.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive.

Configure XP for Auto-Logon

If you are the only person using the computer and what to have it automatically log you on,

Start / Run / "control userpasswords2" - no quotes
Uncheck "User must enter a user name and password to use this computer".