windows xp vista powertoys tweakui tweak service pack 3
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The latest service pack for Windows XP is out, well officially you can get it now using the Online Windows Update option. If you rather download the standalone sp3 package
get it directly here.For a list of what Service Pack 3 fixes
read it here. Among the updates a feature called Network Access Protection that's borrowed from the newer Windows Vista operating system. NAP automatically validates a computer's health, ensuring that it's free of bugs and viruses before allowing it access to a network.
Prior to installing SP3,
Microsoft recommends that you do the following:
| Start your computer, and then log on as an administrator.
Note Administrators have complete and unrestricted access to the operating system and to its settings. You can use the Administrator user name to log on, or you can use another account that is a member of the Administrators group. To determine the groups to which you belong, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts. |
| 2. | If your computer is running on battery power, plug it in so that your computer does not lose power during the installation. |
| 3. | If you use Fast User Switching, make sure all other users are logged off. For more information, see "Fast User Switching" in Windows XP Help and Support Center on your computer. |
| 4. | We recommend that you perform a full backup of the files that you have on your computer to an external location, such as an external hard disk, DVD, CD, USB flash drive, or network folder. You can use the Backup and Restore Wizard to back up documents, pictures, and other files. For more information, see "Backing up files and folders" in Help and Support Center. |
| 5. | If your computer is running Windows XP Professional, we recommend that you create an Automated System Recovery (ASR) set before you begin the installation. This will help you repair your setup if the installation fails. For more information, see "To create an Automated System Recovery set using Backup" and "To recover from a system failure using Automated System Recovery" in Help and Support Center.
Note If your computer is running Windows XP Home Edition, ignore this step. ASR is not available for Windows XP Home Edition. |
| 6. | Exit all open programs. |
| 7. | Install Windows XP SP3. For more information about how to obtain Windows XP Service Pack 3, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322389 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389/) How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack NOTE: SP3 will not be shrink-wrapped for store shelves. "Windows XP SP3 is available to OEMs as an option for some of their product lines [and] for Volume License customers to simplify maintenance of their Windows XP machines," Microsoft said. Other Tips Users have watched |
Written by PCWizKid on May 7th, 2008 with no comments.
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For those that are not planning to install Windows Vista anytime soon, and want the styles and feel Vista has to offer when it comes to eyecandy and functionality, there are a few ways you can do this which can change not only the skins to Vista, but also icons, menus and your bootup screens.
The most popular aspect of Vista is its
Aero - Transparency and 3D Flip.
To get opaque windows on Windows XP, you can try out a various software packages. Forget WindowsBlinds, thats not a true enablement of the Vista experience, what you really need is the
BricoPack Vista Inspirat Ultimate 2. This free pack which modifies Windows XP system files in order to change its appearance and make it look like Windows Vista. Before installing this BricoPack, please read the instructions page "about the BricoPacks". You must not install this pack on Windows x64 OS. However I would say this is the easiest and quickest way to change your 32 bit Windows XP OS to Vista Styles.
There is an app called WinFlip which can give you the similar experience of Windows Aero in Vista. It runs in the taskbar and Aero effects (3D flip) can be invoked by pressing the Windows key + Tab. Get it here Download WinFlip
Other applications out there that do similar changes are:
-
SphereSite -
Actual Transparent Window-
WindowFX-
Y'z ShadowIf your a do it yourself type of person and want to teak things individually yourself from scratch, you can modify the Windows XP OS and get the Vista Themes separately following these steps:
1. Get the
Uxtheme Multi-patcher which will allow you to use any 3rd party msstyle theme on Windows XP/SP1/SP2 or Windows Server 2003 (with Themes enabled) just by patching the uxtheme.dll (dynamic link library), then reboot after for the changes to take effect.
2. Get a Windows Vista Theme such as the
VistaVG or
AeroVG Theme, (browse through them here at http://themes.belchfire.net/vista-themes.html) and unzip it and copy it to
C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes directory.3. Get some nice Hi-res wallpaper from
gnome-look.org or check out
my previous article on pimping your desktop with wallpaper.
4. Get a Windows Vista
Sound Pack and put them in the to
C:\WINDOWS\MEDIA folder. Then in the
Control panel > Sounds and change the sound for respective events.
5. For enabling the Aero look you can try the links I specified above for details and options.
Other Tips Users have watched
Written by PCWizKid on February 28th, 2008 with no comments.
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Control remotely over a network connection your Windows Vista or XP computer or the other way around. Get access to your Vista applications or data stored on a remote computer from your XP PC connected on your local network for example. Below is a quick video tutorial I created explaining how.
The steps are easy to follow, however if you prefer written instructions
1. On the Vista computer you want to connect to for example, click Start, right-click
Computer, and then click
Properties.
2. Make note of the Computer name if you do not know the IP address, then, under tasks, click Remote settings.
3. If all your computers are running Vista, click Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication. If you have Windows XP that you want to use to connect to this computer, click Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop.
4. Click Select Users.
5. In the Select Users dialog, click the
Add button. Type the name of the user you want to grant access to, and then click
OK. Repeat this step to add more users.
6. Click OK twice.
Windows Vista will automatically open the necessary exception in Windows Firewall. Now, you are ready to use Remote Desktop to connect to the computer from another computer.
Watch PCWizKid's Video Tutorial
Other Tips Users have watched
Written by PCWizKid on February 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Microsoft released today the
Windows XP Service Pack 3 standalone release candidate for download. The 336 Megabyte download file contains all previously released updates for the operating system says Microsoft.
This update also includes a small number of new functionalities such as:
- supports Bluetooth network equipment
- Windows XP Network Diagnostics components (IE Tools menu) 6.1
- includes Remote Desktop Connection client
- contains network access protection client
- includes Windows Imaging Component
- contain Microsoft Management Console 3.0
- includes Microsoft Core XML Services 6.0&
- includes Windows Installer 3.1 v2
- contain Background Intelligent Transfer Services (BITS) 2.5
- include peer name resolution protocol (PNRP) 2.1
- includes Wi-Fi Protected Access 2
Download the self extracting file from
here directly.
The final version of Windows XP SP3 is said to be targeted for release sometime in the first half of 2008. Be warned, since this is not the final release but a preview beta you cant go crying to Microsoft if something goes wrong with it. However you should expect to see some improvement with this
Service Pack as it is said to have some enhancements.
Written by PCWizKid on December 18th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate has been made available to the general public. Use the Windows Update to access this download. First you have to download a tool from
here . You will also be required to uninstall any previous versions of Windows Vista SP1 preview updates before installing Windows Vista SP1 RC.
Windows Vista SP1 RC requires the installation of either two or three prerequisite updates prior to installing the service pack itself. Also prepare for several reboots before you actually install the SP1 RC update. This entire process could take from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your hardware. Instructions and 2 methods of installation are outlined on the
Microsoft support site.
Microsoft has also released a detailed roster of the contents of its forthcoming service pack for Windows Vista, and the list includes more than 300 hot fixes covering everything from data protection to video performance.
The list, recently posted on Microsoft's Web site, can be downloaded as a 47-page document that the company says is not exhaustive. Microsoft plans to add more fixes and patches to Windows Vista SP1 before a final version is released to the public early next year.
Written by PCWizKid on December 13th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Although you should expect to wait for a few seconds for Windows XP to boot, if you have had it running for a while or just installed a fresh install and it seems to boot rather slowly. Its time for you to apply some old tricks once again making your PC roar to life again. There are several tweaks that help Windows XP get the bootup speed you want.
This tutorial explores how to put these techniques to work.
1. Change the boot device list order
Most computers are set up so that when you first turn on your computer it will check to see if you want to boot from other drives besides your
hard disk
. It will automatically check the CD/DVD Drive for a bootable disk, or a floppy disk (which we dont really use as much if any), some may have it to check boot from LAN or
USB Stick. If all you want is for your primary
hard disk to boot up Windows, make it so in the BIOS first.
The main benefit here is by placing your primary hard disk first as the startup device boot the system does not have to waste time checking other devices for boot records. By doing this you can shave several seconds off of your boot time.
2. Lower the OS Timeout Values
If you have the Microsoft OS Selector that the Microsoft installer configures during installation of another operating system or upgrade. By default, the OS Selector gives you 30 seconds to select an operating system before it reverts to the default operating system. The only way not to wait 30 seconds is to select the operating system you want to use right away. If you use one operating system the majority of your time, you would definitely save time if you set that operating system as the default and lowered the timeout value to 1 or 2 seconds. That way, you would not have to select an operating system every time you turned on your system or wait 30 seconds before doing so.
With Windows changing the timeout value is simple if the operating system that you use primarily is already the default. If it is, just follow these directions:
From the Start menu, select Run and type MSCONFIG and press OK. This will load the System Configuration utility.
Once the System Configuration utility has loaded, click on the tab labeled BOOT.INI
Locate the Timeout text box and replace 30 seconds with 1 or 2 seconds—or any number that gives you enough time to select the other operating systems on your system. The amount of time that you select to be your timeout value is not the amount of time that you have to select the operating system. Rather, it is the amount of time that you have to hit any key and then select the operating system. So don't be afraid of setting this timeout value too low.
Once you have made the change, click the OK button, and you are finished. Repeat these steps if you find the value you entered is too fast for example.
3. Disable your Windows boot logo screen
The process for disabling the system boot screen is similar to the process for modifying the default operating system in the boot file. If you do not have any other operating systems installed on your system, then you will have to create your own boot.ini file to place in your drive root (that is, the c:\ drive).
The boot.ini file that disables the boot screen looks similar like the following for windows XP:
[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /noguiboot
The above boot.ini file is all pretty much standard except for the adition of the /noguiboot to the last line of the file. That is the parameter that tells Windows to start up without using the graphical user interface boot screen. To get started, open up a copy of Notepad found in the Accessories menu of the All Programs entry in the Start Menu and follow the steps below:
- On the first line of the file, type in [boot loader].
- On line 2 of the file, key in timeout=0 so Windows does not show the boot selection screen at all. You don't want this anyways since you only have one operating system installed on your computer.
- On line 3 of the file, type in default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS so that Windows knows where to look on your hard drive to start the operating system.
- On line 4, type in [operating systems].
- On line 5, type in multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /noguiboot to start up Windows with the /noguiboot parameter to disable the boot screen.
- Click on the File menu bar item and select Save As.
- Type in Boot.ini in the File name box and change the Save as type to All Files.
- Then, change the Save in directory to your drive root, which is usually Local Disk (C:).
- Hit the save button and you are now finished.
4. Remove unused Fonts
Only a handful of your installed fonts are most likely used on a regular basis. Windows uses the Tahoma, Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, Trebuchet, and MS Sans Serif fonts. All of the other fonts are installed for secondary use or by your other applications as optional.
To remove the unused fonts, first my a copy/backup of those extra fonts, then follow these steps:
- Open up My Computer through the icon in your Start panel or from the icon on your Desktop. Navigate to the C: drive or whatever drive on which you have Windows installed.
- Next, navigate to the C:\Windows folder (or C:\WINNT folder for some). If along the way you are prompted with a screen telling you that "this folder contains file that keep your system working properly; you should not modify its contents," ignore this message and click the text that says "show the contents of this folder."
- Now that you are inside the Windows root folder, create a folder to store the fonts that you are going to remove from the fonts folder. Right-click on the white space that lists the folder and files and select New and then select Folder. Call your folder Fonts Backup or something similar, so that you will be able to identify that this is the place that your old fonts are.
- Once you have created the new folder, open it.
- Next, go back to the My Computer icon in your Start panel or Desktop and open another window. Navigate to the drive you have Windows installed on and then navigate to the windows folder. Once you are inside the Windows folder, navigate to the Fonts folder.
- Now that you have both the Fonts folder open and your backup folder open
- Now that the two font folders are side by side, to remove a font from the system, all you have to do is click on the icon in the Fonts folder that you do not want installed any more, and drag the icon over to the backup folder. This will automatically uninstall the font and will copy it to your backup folder.
In the event that you was to reinstall a font, all you have to do is drag the font file from the backup folder back to the Fonts folder.
Warning:
When you remove fonts from your computer you will no longer be able to use them in any software application, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
5. Defragment your drives.
Keep the hard drive tidy. Run Disk Cleanup (Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup) and Disk Defragmenter (same location) at least once each month. Defragging a large drive can take a few hours, so you might start the process at the end of your day and let the computer defrag itself while you sleep.
6. Reduce the Overhead
You can get rid of all kinds of programs that run in the background that you may not need. The easiest way to do this is with the System Configuration Utility, otherwise known as Msconfig. Launch it by clicking the Start button and then Run, typing MSCONFIG into the text box, and hitting Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and look at the contents. This is a list of things that start when the computer boots up. All of these little goodies run in the background, eating up memory and resources and slowing your system down.
Uncheck those in the list that are not required such as itunes, quicktime, autoupdate features, and so on, reboot and see if any of your programs or hardware devices lose functionality. If they do, run the System Configuration Utility again and recheck entries that you suspect to be the programs your system needs, rebooting between each attempt until you narrow it down. Leave everything that doesn't affect normal use of your system unchecked. This will speed the Windows boot process and clear up system resources.
Written by PCWizKid on December 2nd, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Microsoft has begun rolling out to testers a near-final Release Candidate build of Windows XP Service Pack 3. Testers said they began pulling down the bits from Microsoft’s private download site on November 18.
A Microsoft spokesman said recently "
Late last week, Windows XP SP3 was made available to about 15,000 beta testers. A broader beta will be available at a later date. We are targeting 1H 2008 for the release of XP SP3 RTM, though our timing will always be based on customer feedback as a first priority.â€
The combined SP3 package is about 340MBytes in size and can currently only be downloaded from Microsoft's connect website by registered beta testers. It updates all the 32-Bit versions of XP from Home to Professional. Apart from the English language version there is also a German and a Japanese version. In addition, the website offers a script which adds a string to the Registry and allows any version of XP to receive the respective RC1 update suitable for this XP via Windows Update (download size for XP Professional: about 91 MBytes). However, an initial trial installation this way proved unsuccessful.
SP3 should contain all the patches and updates released earlier, including those which were part of previous versions. According to Microsoft there is a total of more than 1000. In addition, it provides several add-ons which have been available separately, for example Background Intelligent Transfer Service (Bits) 2.5, Windows Installer 3.1, Management-Console (MMC) 3.0 and Core XML Services 6.0. New features include the integration of Network Access Protection (NAP), a feature which is already familiar from Vista and in a Server 2008 environment, for example, only allows access to the local network if the respective PC is running Windows at the current patch level.
Unlike Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, the SP3 package combined with an XP CD enables users to create an installation package which allows installing both XP and SP3 in one go (Slipstream installation). As in Vista, the installation key no longer appears to be an installation prerequisite in this case.
Microsoft previously said it plans to release the final version of XP SP3 in the first half of 2008 which is
rumored to have windows vista features aswell.
Written by PCWizKid on November 19th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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The latest service pack for Windows XP is out, well officially you can get it now using the Online Windows Update option. If you rather download the standalone sp3 package get it directly here.
