Automatically log into Windows XP
Posted on August 6, 2008 - Filed Under Windows XP | 3 Comments
Logging into Windows every time you restart your PC can be quite annoying. This is especially true if several restarts are required when installing updates or new software applications. One way to achieve this is to use the Windows Power Toy Tweak UI as explained in one of my previous posts. The same can also be setup directly in Windows.
**Keep in mind that this tip will allow anyone to startup your PC and login. You definitely want to take into account your situation and security. If you are in the workplace or in an environment where curious eyes are a concern you probably do not want to set this up. Use your best judgement! **
Make all folders have the same view in Windows XP
Posted on August 1, 2008 - Filed Under Windows XP | 2 Comments
One annoyance I see in XP is the different views in each folder as your navigating through explorer. When looking for that really hard to find specific folder or file, having varying views usually is not all that efficient. We can easily correct this annoyance in XP by making the views in all folder the same.
First open up My Documents and click on the Views button. Here you can see it is in Thumbnails view.
How To Customize The Start Menu In XP
Posted on July 21, 2008 - Filed Under Windows XP | 5 Comments
There are several ways we can customize the start menu in XP to work more efficiently. We can customize it to take up less real estate on the screen, Stop annoying popup messages, customize the look and feel, etc. The first thing I would like to look at is stopping XP from highlighting newly installed programs. Every time you install a new program XP is set to highlight it on the Start menu by default.
6 Windows tools you don’t need to replace
Posted on June 30, 2008 - Filed Under Windows Vista, Windows XP | 3 Comments
If, like me, you’re a bit of a download junkie it’s easy to get into the habit of replacing every bundled Windows application with a freeware alternative. With time however I’ve come to the conclusion that in many cases the benefits of doing this are negligible and it’s possibly more beneficial to reduce the number of third party software running on your computer.
Slipstream Service Pack 3 into Windows XP using nLite
Posted on June 16, 2008 - Filed Under Windows XP | 3 Comments
Want to slipstream the latest Service Pack3 into Windows XP? Windows XP is a mature operating system, it is almost seven years since the official launch in 2001. Like most things, as XP has got older it has put on weight and accumulated baggage. A fresh install of Windows XP will include a whole host of things no longer needed or relevant, such as redundant drivers, old system tools and non-required functionality.
How to get rid of Unread Mail Count in Windows XP
Posted on May 16, 2008 - Filed Under Windows XP | 16 Comments
If you’re using Windows XP, you might have noticed that annoying “X Unread Mail Messages” message that shows up below the user name on the logon screen. It’s actually a pretty useless number considering it never seems to be right, at least for me.
By default, the Unread Mail Count is derived by looking at all accounts that have been checked within the last three days, including Outlook, Outlook Express, Hotmail, and the MSN browser client. The problem is that it includes all the accounts of other people who have checked their email under the same user name.