Windows2000 Tips

.

Faster DOS Printing

If you are experiencing slow printing for DOS programs with Windows2000

  1. Go Start | Run | Regedit
  2. Click Hkey_Local_Machine
  3. Click on System
  4. Click CurrentControlSet
  5. Click Control
  6. Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW
  7. Click LPT timeout and change it to a 3

Show Hidden Devices

You can show hidden devices in the Device Manager. One way is by making a simple registry change. The other is through a batch file.

Registry Change:

1.      Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Control \ Session Manager \ Environment

2.      Create a string DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES

3.      Give it a value of 1

Batch File

@Echo Off
Prompt $p$g
set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
start devmgmt.msc
exit

Enable / Disable the Task Manager

1.      Start Regedit

2.      Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\

3.      Create the Dword value DisableTaskMgr

4.      Give it a value of 0 to enable it

5.      Give it a vaule of 1 to disable it

 Problems with 16-Bit Programs After Installing SP2

After the installation of Service Pack 2, (SP2), for Windows 2000 the operating system ceased to execute 16-bit programs. This was due to a program compatibility feature within VDM, (Windows NT Virtual Dos Machine), that prevented the operation of 16-bit applications, and generated the following error code

<Program> caused a general Protection Fault in module KRNL386.EXE at 0001:6382 Choose close. <Program> will close

The resolution is ...

  1. Start - Run - REGEDIT
  2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\SessionManager\AppCompatability\
  3. Delete the NTVDM.EXE subkey
  4. Click YES for confirmation
  5. Restart your computer

 Common Command Console Utilities

Windows2000 comes with quite a few console utilities you can easily run from the command line:

Computer Management - compmgmt.msc
Disk Managment - diskmgmt.msc
Device Manager - devmgmt.msc
Disk Defrag - dfrg.msc
Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc
Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc
Group Policies - gpedit.msc
Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc
Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc
Resultant Set of Policies - rsop.msc
Local Security Settings - secpol.msc
Services - services.msc
Component Services - comexp.msc

 Quick Access to the Device Manager

If you want to quickly access the device manager,
create a shortcut on the desktop that point to:

%systemroot%\system32\devmgmt.msc

Note: See the previous tip for other Command Console utilities you can add as well.

 Enabling NumLock on by Default

To have numlock turned on for each user:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators
  3. Change the value from 0 to 2
  4. Turn Numlock on manually
  5. Log off and back on again.
  6. For all users, make the same change to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators

Using MSCONFIG to Change the Programs Starting Automatically

You can now use the MSCONFIG.EXE that comes with WindowsXP.
 It also lets you change the Services and BOOT.INI file as well.

  1. If you like to use MSCONFIG from Windows98, you can still use it with Windows2000.
  2. Just copy the file to a place in your path (e.g. \WINNT)
  3. You will get an error about a file Regenv32.exe. It will work find without it but I just copied that file as well.

 Increasing File System Caching

To increase the amount of memory Windows will save for locked I/O operations:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
  3. Edit the key IoPageLockLimit

4096 - 32megs of memory or less
8192 - 32+ megs of memory
16384 - 64+ megs of memory
32768 - 128+ megs of memory
65536 - 256+ megs of memory

 Increasing System Performance

If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performance
by having the core system kept in memory.

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
  3. Set the value to be 1
  4. Reboot the computer

Disabling Dr. Watson

If you want to disable Dr. Watson program errors from generating log files:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion\ AeDebug
  3. Set the string Auto=0
  4. To re-enable it, run drwtsn32 -i

Note: If you do want to use Dr. Watson, you can change the default settings by running drwtsn32 

Enabling CD AutoRun

To enable CD's automatically running when you insert them:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ CDRom
  3. Make sure the key reads Autorun=1

Starting Programs Automatically at Each Command Prompt

If you want to start a program (like DOSKEY) or set an environment variable each time you open a command prompt:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor
  3. Create a String key called Autorun
  4. Give it the value of the command you want to run
  5. Multiple commands need to be separated by a double ampersand (&&)

Renaming the My Computer Icon

To rename the My Computer icon to the name of the user that is logged on:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
  3. Change the "My Computer" at end of @C:\WINNT\system32\shell32.dll,-9216@1033,My Computer
  4. Press the F5 key to refresh the desktop and the new name will show up.

Quick Windows2000 Shutdown/Restart

To do a quick shutdown of Windows2000:

Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
Hold the Control key while you click on the Shutdown button

A warning box will come up stating:
"If you continue, your machine will reboot and any unsaved data will be lost. Use only as a last resort."

Fix Browsing Delay to Win98/ME Computers

If you experience a 30 second or so delay when browsing to Windows98 or WindowsME computers,
delete the following registry key on the Windows2000 computer.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Explorer / RemoteComputer / NameSpace {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

Windows 2000 Command Reference

If you want quick access to all the commands you can run with Windows2000,
run the following command line:

hh.exe mk:@MSITStore:C:\WINNT\Help\windows.chm::/ntcmds.htm

This is one I like to keep handy as a quick reference.
Microsoft also has this on their site

Date and Time Environment Variables

You can get the current date and time in a batch file by entering:

echo %date% (this gives the same value as date /t)
or
echo %time% (this gives the same value as time /t)

Changing File Associations from the Command Prompt

Usually you change the file associates from the Explorer.
An easy way to do it from the cmd prompt is by using the assoc and ftype commands

Assoc shows you the extension file type and it's name. 
For example assoc .txt displays .txt=textfile

Ftype lets you change the file assocation
For example ftype txtfile displays txtfile=%SystemRoot%\system32\NOTEPAD.EXE %1

To change the program you want to use for a txtfile, simply type:

ftype txtfile=the location of the other program

Network Bindings

To view or change your network bindings:

  1. Right click on the My Network Places icon on the desktop
  2. Select Properties
  3. On the menu select Advanced / Advanced Settings

From here you can change the bindings for your adapters.

Disable Regedit From Opening to Previous Location

By default, whenever you start Regedit, it starts in the previous location.
To turn off this feature:

  1. Start Regedt32 (not Regedit)
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Applets \ Regedit
  3. Clear the entry in the LastKey
  4. Highlight the Regedit key
  5. From the menu select Security / Permissions
  6. Deny Full Control to the currently logged in user

Not Displaying Last User Logged On

  1. Go to Start / Settings / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Local Security Policy
  2. Open up Local Policies / Security Options
  3. Enable Do not display last user name in login screen

Creating a Logon Banner

To create a logon banner:

  1. Go to Start / Settings / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Local Security Policy
  2. Open up Local Policies / Security Options
  3. Enter in Message Text and Message Title for users attempting to logon

Easy Way to Share Multiple Folders

Running the program SHRPUBW.EXE will bring up a simple dialog box to let you:

  1. Browse to the folder you want to share
  2. Enter in a share name
  3. Ender in a description
  4. Set permissions
  5. Restart the process from within the same program

Access to All Dial-Up Connections

If you have several dial-up connections but don't want to have a shortcut to each one on your desktop,
simply copy a shortcut from the \winnt\system32\rasphone.exe file.

This will allow you to select which dial-up connection you want to use from a pull down menu.

Changing Drive Letters

If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:

  1. Right Click on My Computer
  2. Select Manage
  3. Select Disk Management

For a Fixed Disk:

  1. Select it
  2. Right click
  3. Select Change Drive Letter and Path
  4. Click on the Edit button
  5. Enter in the letter you want to use

For a Removable Disk:

  1. In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM # 
  2. Select Change Drive Letter and Path
  3. Click on the Edit button
  4. Enter in the letter you want to use

Cascading My Computer Folder

Simply drag the My Computer icon from the desktop to the Start Button.
Now you have a cascading menu for My Computer available when you press Ctrl-Esc. 
This gives you easy access to your disks, CD ROMS, mobile devices and network connections

Automatic Creation of Admin Shares

To re-enable automatic creation of the administrative shares, change the value of the following registry key to one (1), or delete the value:

For Server - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters \AutoShareServer

For Workstation -  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters \AutoShareWks

A setting of zero (0) prevents the administrative shares, such as C$, D$, Admin$, and so on, from being created automatically.

Additional Information From the Task Manager

You can customize some of the items you can see in the Task Manager

  1. In Processes, select View / Columns...
  2. From here you can view additional information about each process such as Page Faults, Priority, Threads etc.

Enabling DMA/UDMA

To make sure your IDE Controller is set to use DMA

  1. Right click on the My Computer icon
  2. Select Manage
  3. Click on Device Manager
  4. Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller
  5. Right-click on Primary IDE Channel
  6. Click on Properties
  7. Click on the Advanced Settings tab
  8. In the Transfer Mode section, select DMA if available
  9. Do this for both devices in both the Primary and Secondary Controllers
  10. After you reboot you can go back in and see what the controller is now actually using.

Enabling Hibernation

With Windows2000 Hibernation, when you select it from the Shutdown menu,
all your applications as well as their location on your desktop come up the next time you start up your computer.

To enable it:

  1. Go to the Control Panel / Power Options icon
  2. Click on the Hibernate tab
  3. Check Enable hibernation support
  4. Since hibernation takes what is in memory and writes it to disk,
    the amount of hard drive space needed is the same as the amount of memory you have.
  5. Now when you go to logoff, select the Hibernate option instead.

Unsigned Driver Installation

By default, Windows2000 will allow you to install drivers that have not been signed and approved my Microsoft.
If you want to restrict this so only signed drivers can be installed:

  1. Run the Local Security Policy MMC (Start / Run / Programs / Administrative Tools / Local Security Policy)
  2. Scroll down to Unsigned driver installation behavior (This is second from the bottom)
  3. The default is Not Defined
  4. You have three additional options:

Silently Succeed
Warn but allow installation
Do not allow installation

Changing the Logon Background Color

If you want to change the green logon color:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Colors\Background
  3. Change the three numbers from the default of 58  110  165  to the RGB values you want
  4. For example 110 110 255 is a fairly light blue, 0  0  0  would be black
  5. Log off and log back on again to see the change.

System File Checker

There is a command-line utility called System File Checker (SFC.EXe), which allows an administrator to scan all protected files to verify their versions. 

The following shows the command-line syntax:

/SCANNOW Scans all protected system files immediately.
/SCANONCE Scans all protected system files once at the next boot.
/SCANBOOT Scans all protected system files at every boot.
/CANCEL Cancels all pending scans of protected system files.
/QUIET Replaces all incorrect file versions without prompting the user.
/ENABLE Enables Windows File Protection for normal operation
/PURGECACHE Purges the file cache and scans all protected system files immediately.
/CACHESIZE=x Sets the file cache size

Starting the Indexing Service to Speed Up File Searches

You can greatly speed up searching for files, particularly files with text in them, if you index your files.
To turn this on:

  1. Start a search by pressing the F3 key from the Explorer on while on the desktop
  2. Click on Search Options
  3. Click on Indexing Service
  4. Check Yes, enable Indexing Service

Searches should now go extremely fast. The index file is relatively small. 
For example I have about 3 gigs of used hard drive space and this created a 20 meg index file.

Automatic File & Directory Name Completion

From the command prompt, you can list files or directories without needing to type in the entire name.

  1. Start a new command session with Start / Run / "cmd  /f :on"
  2. You can scroll through files by pressing the Ctrl-F key
  3. You can scroll through directories by pressing the Ctrl-D key
  4. You can enter the first few letters of the name to make the search more specific
  5. You can search backwards by pressing shift key down at the same time
  6. To make this permanent, you can add it to any command prompt shortcuts you use

Moving My Documents

Normally the My Documents fold is in the Documents and Settings / User_Name directory.

You can change that location by:

  1. Start / Documents
  2. Right click on My Documents
  3. Select Explore
  4. Right click on My Documents
  5. Right click and select Properties
  6. Click on the Move button and select the location you want to move it to.

Displaying More File Information in Explorer

You can easily display more information than the file name, size, type and modified date in Explorer. 

  1. Right click on any one of these headings.
  2. This will bring up some of the additional fields you can display.
  3. Items such as Attribute, Comment, Created Date, Accessed date are available.
  4. You can also click on More for other items as well
  5. Selections such as Comment can be useful for Word and Excel documents. 
  6. You can right click on the file, select Properties / Summary. 
  7. Select the Comment field and enter in a short description for the file. 

Running Applications as Another User

With NT, you have always been able to connect to a network share as another user. 
This allowed you to not have to log off and then back on again with a different user.
The same capability is now available with Windows2000 for running applications.
If you need to run an app as an administrator, you can do it without logging off and back on as the admin.

  1. Select the the application you want to run.
  2. While holding down the shift key, right-click on the icon
  3. You now have the option to Run As
  4. You will then be prompted for the user's name, password and domain.

Opening a Command Prompt to a Particular Directory from Explorer

If you want to open a command prompt to a directory that is selected in the Explorer:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT  \ Directory \ shell
  3. Create a new key called Command
  4. Give it the value of the name you want to appear in the Explorer. Something like Open DOS Box
  5. Under this create a new key called command
  6. Give it a value of " cmd.exe cd %1 " (no quotes)
  7. Now when you are in the Explorer, right click on a folder, select Open DOS Box, and a command prompt will open to  the selected directory.

Removing Personalized Menus

  1. Right-click on the Task Bar
  2. Select Properties
  3. Uncheck Use Personalized Menus

Display Administrative Tools

  1. Right-click on the Task Bar
  2. Select Properties
  3. Click on the Advanced tab
  4. Check Display Administrative Options

Display Logoff

  1. Right-click on the Task Bar
  2. Select Properties
  3. Click on the Advanced tab
  4. Check Display Logoff

Expand Control Panel, My Documents, Network and Dial-Up Connections or Printers

  1. Right-click on the Task Bar
  2. Select Properties
  3. Click on the Advanced tab
  4. Check the ones you want to expand

Displaying Hardware Conflicts

  1. Make sure you display the Administrative tools 
  2. Go to Start / Programs / Administrative Tools / Computer Management
  3. Scroll down to System Tools / System Information / Hardware Resources / Conflicts/Sharing
  4. This will display and IRQ or other conflicts.

Bring Up Task Manager Directly

To start the Task Manager, simply press the Ctrl-Shift-Esc keys

Quickly Changing Directories

If you want to change directories but don't want to type in the entire path name,
you can use the "*" at the end of a partial display.

For example to change to Program Files, you can simply enter cd pro* and it will fill in the rest.

Disk CleanUp

To clean up your drive from Temporary Internet Files, Temp files, the Recycle Bin etc.

  1. Click on the My Computer icon
  2. Right click on the drive you want to clean
  3. Select Properties
  4. Click on the Disk Cleanup button
  5. From here you can select the types of files you want to remove

Back to index