Windows XP Hints and Tips

Trouble-Shooting

Can't Password Protect Shared Folders

Windows XP home edition only supports 'Simple File Sharing'. There does not appear to be a way of password protecting shared folders or disabling 'Simple File Sharing' in the home edition. You need the professional edition (or Linux ;-) ).

Can't Change Private Folder Settings

The checkbox for private setings is disabled whilst the 'server' service is running. To stop the 'Server' service;

  1. Right-click 'My Computer' and select the 'Manage' option. The 'Computer Management' application is displayed.

  2. Select 'Services and Applications' --> 'Services' in the tree menu.

  3. In the list of services, right-click the 'Server' service and select stop. You may be warned that other services will also be stopped as a consequence.

  4. After changing the private folder settings, restart the services that were stopped.

If you have shared folders within the former private folder, you may also need to un-share and reshare them to reset the file permissions.

Windows Update Fails With 0x80072EE2

The error code appears to mean there has been a network timeout.

It appears that repeated attempts to continue the failed download, fail to continue downloading the partially downloaded file.

  1. Clear the proxy cache:

    > proxycfg -d

  2. Stop the automatic updates service:

    > net stop wuauserv

  3. Use Windows Explorer to delete all files and folders under C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution

  4. Start the automatic update service:

    > net start wuauserv

  5. Repeat the Windows Update process

See also:

-- Frank Dean - 20 Mar 2010

Turn off Beep (System Bell)

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/838671

Disable the Beep Service

The following command will disable the beep service from running when the computer is rebooted.

From the command prompt:

  • sc config beep start= disabled

and to re-enable it:

  • sc config beep start=

Stop the beep service

The following command will stop the running beep service.

  • net stop beep

From the command prompt:

and to re-start it:

  • net start beep

Maximum Partition Size for FAT32

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/184006/en-us

Disabling Autorun

-- Frank Dean - 22 Jan 2009

Recovering Windows MBR

For Windows XP, boot from a Knoppix live cd

Make sure you have good backups as a precaution against mistakes as these process uses a low-level tool.

Identify the device you wish to replace the MBR on, e.g. /dev/hda and issue the following command:

# ms-sys --mbr /dev/hda

Apparently, you can also re-create the MBR from the Windows command prompt:

c:\WINDOWS\> fixboot
c:\WINDOWS\> fixmbr

See the following for more information:

-- Frank Dean - 17 Mar 2009

-- Frank Dean - 11 Dec 2011

Installing XP from USB Flash Drive

See also:

-- Frank Dean - 26 Mar 2010

Editing boot.ini

-- Frank Dean - 26 Mar 2010

Hiding the Recyle Bin

All icons can be hidden from the Desktop view, except the recycle bin.

This article includes describing how to hide the recycle bin in a number of ways.

The simples is with the following registry entries:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu]
"{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"=dword:00000001

Frank Dean - 26 Mar 2010

Related Topics: GprsModem, MsOffice2003, InternetExplorerTips

-- Frank Dean - 30 Oct 2005