Windows Shortcuts

Run Commands:

Quote:
compmgmt.msc - Computer management
devmgmt.msc - Device manager
diskmgmt.msc - Disk management
dfrg.msc - Disk defrag
eventvwr.msc - Event viewer
fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders
gpedit.msc - Group policies
lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups
perfmon.msc - Performance monitor
rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies
secpol.msc - Local security settings
services.msc - Various Services
msconfig - System Configuration Utility
regedit - Registry Editor
msinfo32 _ System Information
sysedit _ System Edit
win.ini _ windows loading information(also system.ini)
winver _ Shows current version of windows
mailto: _ Opens default email client
command _ Opens command prompt


Run Commands to access the control panel:

Quote:
Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl
Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl
Display Properties control desk.cpl
FindFast control findfast.cpl
Fonts Folder control fonts
Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl
Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard
Mouse Properties control main.cpl
Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl
Network Properties control netcpl.cpl
Password Properties control password.cpl
Printers Folder control printers
Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds
System Properties control sysdm.cpl



Command Prompt:

Quote:
ANSI.SYS Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.
APPEND Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.
ARP Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.
ASSIGN Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.
ASSOC View the file associations.
AT Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.
ATMADM Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.
ATTRIB Display and change file attributes.
BATCH Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.
BOOTCFG Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini
BREAK Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.
CACLS View and modify file ACL's.
CALL Calls a batch file from another batch file.
CD Changes directories.
CHCP Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.
CHDIR Changes directories.
CHKDSK Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.
CHKNTFS Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.
CHOICE Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.
CLS Clears the screen.
CMD Opens the command interpreter.
COLOR Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.
COMP Compares files.
COMPACT Compresses and uncompress files.
CONTROL Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.
CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS.
COPY Copy one or more files to an alternate location.
CTTY Change the computers input/output devices.
DATE View or change the systems date.
DEBUG Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.
DEFRAG Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.
DEL Deletes one or more files.
DELETE Recovery console command that deletes a file.
DELTREE Deletes one or more files and/or directories.
DIR List the contents of one or more directory.
DISABLE Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.
DISKCOMP Compare a disk with another disk.
DISKCOPY Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.
DOSKEY Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.
DOSSHELL A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.
DRIVPARM Enables overwrite of original device drivers.
ECHO Displays messages and enables and disables echo.
EDIT View and edit files.
EDLIN View and edit files.
EMM386 Load extended Memory Manager.
ENABLE Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.
ENDLOCAL Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.
ERASE Erase files from computer.
EXIT Exit from the command interpreter.
EXPAND Expand a M*cros*ft Windows file back to it's original format.
EXTRACT Extract files from the M*cros*ft Windows cabinets.
FASTHELP Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.
FC Compare files.
FDISK Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.
FIND Search for text within a file.
FINDSTR Searches for a string of text within a file.
FIXBOOT Writes a new boot sector.
FIXMBR Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.
FOR Boolean used in batch files.
FORMAT Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.
FTP Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.
FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.
GOTO Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.
GRAFTABL Show extended characters in graphics mode.
HELP Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.
IF Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.
IFSHLP.SYS 32-bit file manager.
IPCONFIG Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.
KEYB Change layout of keyboard.
LABEL Change the label of a disk drive.
LH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LISTSVC Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.
LOADFIX Load a program above the first 64k.
LOADHIGH Load a device driver in to high memory.
LOCK Lock the hard disk drive.
LOGON Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.
MAP Displays the device name of a drive.
MD Command to create a new directory.
MEM Display memory on system.
MKDIR Command to create a new directory.
MODE Modify the port or display settings.
MORE Display one page at a time.
MOVE Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.
MSAV Early M*cros*ft Virus scanner.
MSD Diagnostics utility.
MSCDEX Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.
NBTSTAT Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT
NET Update, fix, or view the network or network settings
NETSH Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.
NETSTAT Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.
NLSFUNC Load country specific information.
NSLOOKUP Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
PATH View and modify the computers path location.
PATHPING View and locate locations of network latency.
PAUSE Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.
PING Test / send information to another network computer or network device.
POPD Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.
POWER Conserve power with computer portables.
PRINT Prints data to a printer port.
PROMPT View and change the MS-DOS prompt.
PUSHD Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.
QBASIC Open the QBasic.
RD Removes an empty directory.
REN Renames a file or directory.
RENAME Renames a file or directory.
RMDIR Removes an empty directory.
ROUTE View and configure windows network route tables.
RUNAS Enables a user to execute a program on another computer.
SCANDISK Run the scandisk utility.
SCANREG Scan registry and recover registry from errors.
SET Change one variable or string to another.
SETLOCAL Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.
SETVER Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.
SHARE Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.
SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.
SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.
SMARTDRV Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.
SORT Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.
START Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.
SUBST Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.
SWITCHES Remove add functions from MS-DOS.
SYS Transfer system files to disk drive.
TELNET Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.
TIME View or modify the system time.
TITLE Change the title of their MS-DOS window.
TRACERT Visually view a network packets route across a network.
TREE View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.
TYPE Display the contents of a file.
UNDELETE Undelete a file that has been deleted.
UNFORMAT Unformat a hard disk drive.
UNLOCK Unlock a disk drive.
VER Display the version information.
VERIFY Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.
VOL Displays the volume information about the designated drive.
XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another.
TRUENAME When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists
TASKKILL It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications




Windows XP Shortcuts:

Quote:
ALT+- (ALT+hyphen) Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu
ALT+ENTER View properties for the selected item
ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order they were opened
ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program
ALT+SPACEBAR Display the System menu for the active window
ALT+TAB Switch between open items
ALT+Underlined letter Display the corresponding menu
BACKSPACE View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer
CTRL+A Select all
CTRL+B Bold
CTRL+C Copy
CTRL+I Italics
CTRL+O Open an item
CTRL+U Underline
CTRL+V Paste
CTRL+X Cut
CTRL+Z Undo
CTRL+F4 Close the active document
CTRL while dragging Copy selected item
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging Create shortcut to selected iteM
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word
CTRL+LEFT ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word
CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph
CTRL+UP ARROW Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph
SHIFT+DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin
ESC Cancel the current task
F1 Displays Help
F2 Rename selected item
F3 Search for a file or folder
F4 Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer
F5 Refresh the active window
F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 Activate the menu bar in the active program
SHIFT+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item
CTRL+ESC Display the Start menu
SHIFT+CTRL+ESC Launches Task Manager
SHIFT when you insert a CD Prevent the CD from automatically playing
WIN Display or hide the Start menu
WIN+BREAK Display the System Properties dialog box
WIN+D Minimizes all Windows and shows the Desktop
WIN+E Open Windows Explorer
WIN+F Search for a file or folder
WIN+F+CTRL Search for computers
WIN+L Locks the desktop
WIN+M Minimize or restore all windows
WIN+R Open the Run dialog box
WIN+TAB Switch between open items




Windows Explorer Shortcuts:

Quote:
ALT+SPACEBAR - Display the current window’s system menu
SHIFT+F10 - Display the item's context menu
CTRL+ESC - Display the Start menu
ALT+TAB - Switch to the window you last used
ALT+F4 - Close the current window or quit
CTRL+A - Select all items
CTRL+X - Cut selected item(s)
CTRL+C - Copy selected item(s)
CTRL+V - Paste item(s)
CTRL+Z - Undo last action
CTRL+(+) - Automatically resize the columns in the right hand pane
TAB - Move forward through options
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Move forward to a previous view
ALT+LEFT ARROW - Move backward to a previous view
SHIFT+DELETE - Delete an item immediately
BACKSPACE - View the folder one level up
ALT+ENTER - View an item’s properties
F10 - Activate the menu bar in programs
F6 - Switch between left and right panes
F5 - Refresh window contents
F3 - Display Find application
F2 - Rename selected item




Internet Explorer Shortcuts:

Quote:
CTRL+A - Select all items on the current page
CTRL+D - Add the current page to your Favorites
CTRL+E - Open the Search bar
CTRL+F - Find on this page
CTRL+H - Open the History bar
CTRL+I - Open the Favorites bar
CTRL+N - Open a new window
CTRL+O - Go to a new location
CTRL+P - Print the current page or active frame
CTRL+S - Save the current page
CTRL+W - Close current browser window
CTRL+ENTER - Adds the http://www. (url) .com
SHIFT+CLICK - Open link in new window
BACKSPACE - Go to the previous page
ALT+HOME - Go to your Home page
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
TAB - Move forward through items on a page
END - Move to the end of a document
ESC - Stop downloading a page
F11 - Toggle full-screen view
F5 - Refresh the current page
F4 - Display list of typed addresses
F6 - Change Address bar and page focus
ALT+RIGHT ARROW - Go to the next page
SHIFT+CTRL+TAB - Move back between frames
SHIFT+F10 - Display a shortcut menu for a link
SHIFT+TAB - Move back through the items on a page
CTRL+TAB - Move forward between frames
CTRL+C - Copy selected items to the clipboard
CTRL+V - Insert contents of the clipboard
ENTER - Activate a selected link
HOME - Move to the beginning of a document
END - Move to the end of a document
F1 - Display Internet Explorer Help

Hard drive gone bad

The most common problems originate

from a corruption of the master boot record, FAT, or directory.

Those are soft problems which can usually be taken care of

with a combination of tools like Fdisk /MBR to refresh the

master boot record followed by a reboot and Norton disk doctor

or Spinneret.

The most common hardware problems are a bad controller, a bad

drive motor, or a bad head mechanism.

1. Can the BIOS see and identify the hard drive correctly? If

it can't, then the hard drives onboard controller is bad.

2. Does the drive spin and maintain a constant velocity? If it

does, that's good news. The motor is functioning.

3. If the drive surges and dies, the most likely cause is a

bad controller (assuming the drive is cool). A gate allowing

the current to drive the motor may not be staying open. The

drive needs a new controller.

4. Do you hear a lot of head clatter when the machine is

turned on and initialized (but before the system attempts to

access the hard drive)? Head clatter would indicate that the

spindle bearings are sloppy or worn badly. Maybe even loose and

flopping around inside.

5. There is always the possibility that the controller you are

using in the machine has gone south.

1. If the drive spins, try booting to the A> prompt, run Fdisk

and check to see if Fdisk can see a partition on the hard

drive. If Fdisk can see the partition, that means that it can

access the drive and that the controller electronics are

functioning correctly. If there is no head clatter, it may be

just a matter of disk corruption which commonly occurs when a

surge hits you machine and overwhelms the power supply voltage

regulator. It commonly overwhelms the system electronics

allowing an EM pulse to wipe out the master boot record, file

allocations table, and primary directory. Fdisk can fix the

master boot record and Norton Disk Doctor can restore the FAT

and Directory from the secondaries.

2. The drive spins but Fdisk can't see it. Try the drive in

another system and repeat the test to confirm that Fdisk can't

read through the drives, onboard controller. If it sees it in

another system, then your machines hard drive interface is

bad. You can try an upgraded or replacement controller card

like a Promise or CMD Technologies (there are others) in you

machine after disabling the integrated controller in the BIOS,

but if the integrated controller went south, it may just be

symptomatic of further failures and you'd be wise to replace

the motherboard. Trying the drive in another machine also

eliminates the variable that your machines 12-volt power

output being bad

3. If you get head clatter but a constant velocity of the

drive motor (no surging), you might try sticking the hard

drive in the freezer for about 12 hours. This is an old trick

from back in the days of the MFM/ESDI drives era. This can

cause the drive components to shrink enough to make the track

marker align with the tracks. We don't see that kind of

platter spindle wear much anymore, but back in the old days,

the balancing and bearings weren't as good. Still, under the

right circumstances, it might help. It would depend on how old

the drive is and how many hours of wear have occurred. You

have to be quick to get your info off the drive when it works.

Back then, the drives were much smaller, so there wasn't so

much to copy. So, go after the important data first.

4. The drive doesn't spin. Either the onboard controller is

bad or the motor is bad (assuming you did try the drive in

another machine). It's time to hit the net and local

independent shops to see if you can locate another drive of

the same make and model that's good. Since the drive is

probably an older drive and no longer in distribution, your

best bet is to find an identical used drive. If you know

someone with the same make and model, you might be wise to try

and persuade them to sell you their drive with an offer of

providing them with a free upgraded drive. If you can locate

an identical drive, start with the controller replacement ...

this is the simplest and least invasive. If swapping the

controller doesn't produce the desired result, you can tear

into the drive and swap the motors. While you have both drives

opened up to accomplish this, scrutinize the platters, heads

, and armatures. You might even hook the drive up and power it

from a system with both drives attached. This way, you could

see anything that deviates between the actions of both drives

when they are initialized. Swapping patters is unlikely to

produce any positive result. They are a balanced system like

the tires on your car and I suspect that the balance will be

different for each drive as will other variables.

5. There's always Ontrack Corp. who will attempt to recoup

your info starting at $500 and going up from there. They don't

fix and return the drive either.

If the info is all that important to you, I would seek some

professional and experience technician in your locality who

makes his living from servicing and building computer systems

... not just selling them. If you have had much experience

salvaging information from bad hard drives, your likelihood of

success is low. In the case of soft corruption, all utilities

have their eccentricities. Often times, Norton Disk Doctor

will go too far (if you let it). It's wise to just let those

utilities small steps and then have a look at the drive and

see if you can copy it off. Norton will go so far as to rename

directories and files, and even delete them or break them up

into fragments which are useless.

How to Rename File Extensions

A lot of people here may ask how to rename a file extension in windows; well it’s very simple and takes little of your time. There are two ways to rename a file extension ‘without’ a stupid program.

Number 1, Folder Options:

Go into your Control Panel, in my case I use Windows XP so I would press [Start then Control Panel]. Now that you figured out how to get in Control Panel open “Folder Options” and click the view tab and make sure ‘Hide file extensions for known files’ is not selected, then press Ok.

Now go into a folder and notice you can see your files extensions, rename them to whatever you'd like, for instance:

Code:

Dildos.exe to Dildos.Anonymous / Etc, Etc, Etc

Number 2, MS-DOS:

The difference between renaming files in DOS is that you can rename multiple files rather than one at a time, therefore making time gracious. Here I’ll provide you a few examples.

Go to your start menu and open run, then type “cmd” without parenthesis. Ok, you’re in MS-DOS right? Geesh, the common man, I know a 5-year old that can do it. Ok good, you're in? Excellent… Ok now find out which directory has your files and type:

Example

cd C:\Files\

In your case “C:\Files\” may not exist, so type in the directory that your have your files in. If everything goes will dos will look kinda like this:

Code:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\User>cd C:\Files\

If all fails, you perhaps didn’t type in the correct folder/name and it will look like this:

Code:

C:\Documents and Settings\User> >cd C:\Filse\

The system cannot find the path specified.

Did you get in the directory yet????? If not I recommend you stick with the first step and hang yourself. Oh, you're in? OK COOL, type: dir and you will be provided with what files are in your folder, including their extensions. In my case:

Code:

C:\Files>dir

 Volume in drive C has no dildo.

 Volume Serial Number is CXXX-XXXX

 Directory of C:\Files

02/01/2005  07:22 PM    <DIR>          .

02/01/2005  07:22 PM    <DIR>          ..

01/31/2005  06:40 PM            14,336 stf.bmp

01/31/2005  06:40 PM            14,336 stf02.bmp

               2 File(s)         28,672 bytes

               2 Dir(s)  39,024,766,976 bytes free

C:\Files>

Did you notice how I had two files named stf. Since both of these files have the same extension, *.bmp they can be renamed altogether. If there are other files in there with the same extension and you don't want to rename them, move them to another folder and/or directory.

Last but not least, after listening to my horrific grammar type:

Code:

C:\Files>ren *.bmp *.rar

And your results are:

Code:

C:\Files>dir

 Volume in drive C has no penis.

 Volume Serial Number is CXXX-XXXX

 Directory of C:\Files

02/01/2005  07:37 PM    <DIR>          .

02/01/2005  07:37 PM    <DIR>          ..

01/31/2005  06:40 PM            14,336 stf.rar

01/31/2005  06:40 PM            14,336 stf02.rar

               2 File(s)         28,672 bytes

               2 Dir(s)  39,024,676,864 bytes free

C:\Files>]

Windows uses 20% of your bandwidth Here's how to Get it back

A nice little tweak for XP. Microsoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)
Here's how to get it back:
Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab:
"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO.
This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.
I had tested on XP Pro, and 2000
other o/s not tested.

How To Access Your Folders From Your Taskbar

This is an easy way to get to the folders on your system without having to open a Windows Explorer Window every time you want to access files. I find it very useful to have this feature as it allows me to access my Folders and Drives immediately and saves me a lot of time.

This works in Windows XP:

1. Right, Click an empty spot on your Taskbar (Between your Start Button and your System Tray).
2. Click Toolbars.
3. Click New Toolbar.
4. A Small Window will Open that allows you to pick the folder you wish to make a Toolbar. If you want to access your Desktop Without having to minimize all your windows. Just Pick Desktop. If you want to access ONLY your My Documents Folder, Select that. Any folder will work for this.
5. Click OK.
The New Toolbar will appear at the bottom of your screen next to your System Tray.

If you find this to be not useful, Repeat Steps 1 and 2 and then check click the Toolbar you created that has a check mark next to it. And it will disappear.

How do I over burn a CD with Nero?

Start Nero

From the action-bar select File and select Preferences.

In the Preferences window, select Expert Features(1) and check the Enable overburn disc-at-once(2).

 Choose a Maximum CD Length(3) and click OK(4) (*82:59:59 is the maximum value I suggest, but as you can see from the screen capture above I have set mine significantly higher. The reason is because I frequently use 99min 850 MB CD media).

For a more accurate test, you can use a Nero tool called Nero speed test to see how much a specific CD is capable of being overburned. get it here

From the action-bar select File and select Write CD.

A window will appear when you have exceeded expected length, click OK to start the overburn copy.

 Remember to set the disk to burn Disc at Once, you cannot overburn in Track at Once Mode.

How To Speed Up A Slow Computer

first off in the bottom right-hand corner of your computer if you see a lot of icons start up there when you first start your computer then this is for you if you don’t know already how to get rid of em.

Press your Start Button (bottom left) and go to "run"

now type in: MSConfig

now you will get a box that pops up and will tell you the bunch of stuff doesn't mess with anything else other than what I tell you otherwise you could do something really bad (possible) go to your "startup" tab on the top right of the screen where it usually is and clicks it.

Now you will have a closed in box with the bunch of filenames n addresses and more boxes with checks in them. Now if you’re like me you don’t want anything starting up when you start your computer up or while you’re even doing anything cause it slows you down. Now unless you’re like me right now 1 have 1 thing starting up when my computer starts up and that’s my setting for my overclocked vid card. But other than that uncheck every box and then hit apply and ok. Then window you were just in will now close and ask you if you want to restart or wait till later to restart.

Either way, when you shut it off and then turn it back on the settings will kick in