Archive for July, 2004

Changing Thumbnail Options

You can change the size of the Thumbnails view in My Computer by opening up the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigating to the following location:

Current user only:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer

All users:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
Add a new DWORD value called ThumbnailSize and give it a hexidecimal value that is between 32 and 256, inclusive (that is, the lowest possible value is 32 and the highest is 256): A value of 32 will give you the smallest possible thumbnails, and 256 will give you the biggest. Experiment a bit to find your sweet spot.

Microsoft Magnifier

Microsoft Narrator is an accessibility option designed for blind or visually-impaired users. Another tool that assists with on-screen viewing is Microsoft Magnifier. It’s like holding a magnifying glass up to the screen.

To open Microsoft Magnifier, select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Magnifier. Click OK to close the informational dialog box. You’ll now see a magnified area at the top of the screen. What you see here will vary depending on the options selected in the Magnifier Settings dialog box. Don’t like the Magnifier’s behavior? Feel free to change it using the Magnifier Settings dialog box.

For example, If you want the magnified area to follow your mouse, select “Follow mouse cursor.” Or, if you find it confusing to see an exact duplicate of what you’re working on at the top of the screen, try selecting Invert colors.

Want to zoom in on something even closer? Increase the magnification level from the default 2.

To turn off the magnifier, click the Exit button. Or, right-click its Taskbar item and select Close.

Create a Personal Screen Saver

For a great way to put your digital photos to work, try creating a slide show presentation for use as a screensavers.

1. Right click an empty spot on your desktop, and then click Properties.
2. Click the ScreenSaver tab.
3. In the Screensaver list, click My Pictures Slideshow.
4. Click Settings to make any adjustments, such as how often the pictures should change, what size they should be, and whether you’ll use transition effects between pictures, and then click OK.

Now your screensaver is a random display of the pictures taken from your My Pictures folder.

Roll Back to the Previous Version of a Driver

Have you ever installed a device driver that makes your system unstable? I know I have. Well, in Windows XP you can roll back such a change if it causes you problems! To go back to the previous driver for a device:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click Administrative Tools.
3. Double?click Computer Management, and then click Device Manager in the left pane.
4. Right?click the device for which you’d like to roll back the drivers, and then click Properties.
5. On Driver tab of the Properties dialog box, click Roll Back Driver, and follow the wizard’s instructions.

It’s that simple, although you need to be an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to complete this procedure.

Modify Settings to Improve Performance

Windows XP uses processor time to handle system performance according to default settings, which can be adjusted for your computing needs. Also, settings that govern visual effects enhance the appearance of the Windows XP interface, but can slow down performance. You can fine?tune settings in Windows XP Professional to improve performance:

1. Right?click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and in the Performance area, click Settings.
3. On the Visual Effects tab, click the Custom radio button, and then select which UI features to disable to improve performance.
4. Click the Advanced tab, and in the Processor scheduling area, click the Background services radio button. Selecting this option means that background tasks that you want to run while you work, such as backup utilities or print jobs, will share processor time equally with programs.

You may need to be logged on as an Administrator to make these changes. Note that applying these settings may change your current desktop theme.

Windows XP Professional Utility: Setup Disks for floppy boot install

The Windows XP startup disk allows computers without a bootable CD-ROM to perform a new installation of the operating system. The Windows XP startup disk will automatically load the correct drivers to gain access to the CD-ROM drive and start a new installation of Setup. You cannot upgrade from a Windows XP startup disk.

Windows XP Home Edition startup disks will not work for Windows XP Professional installations and vice-versa.

Windows XP Professional floppy boot disk here and Windows XP home edition floppy boot disk here.