Another Source

Buying A New Car

There are many things that you must consider when buying a new car. Most will have to do with the car itself such as what model to buy- the options you want to add- and the price of the car. However there is one thing that it always pays to check out first- and that is- who are you buying the car from.

CAR INSURANCE FOR LADY DRIVERS

Car insurance companies prefer lady drivers to their gentlemen counterparts because they are considered as much less risky drivers.It is not that the accident rates of ladies are low. They face as many accidents as males do

AUTO LOAN NEW CAR

Is it time to get a new car? Do you want to purchase a new car to replace your current worn down vehicle? If yes is your answer- then you might want to think about your purchase and getting a loan for your new investment

CAR INSURANCE

America has become a culture of cars-SUV's- minivans and sports coupes. With all this traveling in and out- back and forth around the maze that is the United States infrastructure

NEW CAR LEASING TIPS

If you do have an accident with the outside or the inside of the car - you may have to pay for the cost. You will also only be allowed to put on so many miles in your lease period. This is hard for many people that do drive a lot

Minggu, 30 Desember 2012

Myth about WPA ( How it is done ), Windows Product Activation Technique

 Microsoft's plans to stop people pirating the next version of Windows have suffered a setback.

A German computer magazine has found weaknesses in the piracy protection system built into Windows XP.

The weaknesses could mean that in up to 90% of cases users can circumvent the copy protection system.

But Microsoft said that the protection system would be much stronger and harder to defeat when the final version of XP is released later this year.

Component count

In a bid to combat piracy Microsoft is introducing a product activation system into the XP versions of its software. Activating a product involves contacting Microsoft for an identification number that is then combined with the serial numbers of the components inside your computer to create a unique identifier.



it would be possible to 'activate' nearly 90 percent of home-user machines without Microsoft knowing anything about it

Mike Hartmann, Tec Channel
Big changes to the hardware in a machine could mean that users have to contact Microsoft for a new identification number to re-activate their software.

By tying software to individual machines Microsoft hopes to stop its products being run on more machines than they are licensed for.

But now German computer magazine Tec Channel has analysed the product activation system that is being used in the test, or beta, versions of Windows XP and found that, in many cases, it can be compromised by making simple changes.

File fiddling

When Windows XP is first installed and activated it generates a file called wpa.dbl that stores information about the configuration of your machine.

Changes to any one of the ten components or serial numbers that this file watches are logged. When three changes have been made the wpa.dbl file is deleted forcing the user to contact Microsoft to reactivate the software.

But Mike Hartmann, a journalist at Tec Channel, has found that the ability of the wpa file to spot piracy can be easily compromised.

In tests Mr Hartmann installed and activated XP, then saved a version of the wpa file that was generated. He then changed components on the test machine so XP had to be re-activated. However, copying the old version of the wpa file back in the Windows system directory stopped requests for reactivation.

Piracy problems

The activation was also compromised when XP was fooled into thinking that a desktop PC was a laptop in a docking station, rather than a self-contained machine. In this configuration some components that wpa watches would be in the docking station rather than the portable computer. XP dutifully ignored any changes made to these components.

XP activation items
network card address
graphics card ID number
CPU serial number
SCSI host adapter number
IDE controller number
hard disk serial number
CPU type
Ram size
Volume ID
CD-Rom serial number

In total Mr Hartmann found a way to make the Windows XP activation technology ignore six of the ten components that it monitors. Mr Hartmann said another two can vary in only a small number of ways among all machines making it possible to create a "universal" wpa file that should activate XP on most PCs.

"With some smart tools that do automatic matching of hardware and activation-files it would be possible to 'activate' nearly 90 percent of home-user machines without Microsoft knowing anything about it," Mr Hartmann told BBC News Online.

Mr Hartmann expects to see activation file sites springing up on the web that offer wpa files tied to PCs with particular configurations thus ruining Microsoft's chances of cutting piracy.

"Should Microsoft stick with current version of wpa they will have wasted lots of money for call-center-employees, webservers and the technology itself," he said.

But a spokeswoman for Microsoft said that the version of the activation system that is in the pre-release versions of Windows XP is weaker than that which will ship with the finished version.

"The things that have been highlighted as a way of potentially bypassing activation will not be in the final code," said the spokeswoman. "The final code is going to be very different to what we have now."

"Product activation is not completely fixed in place at this time," she added.


Hacking WindowsXP Product Activation

Basic Issues

The file wpa.dbl in the directory system32 contains information on the system at the time of the Activation. If more than three hardware components are changed, Windows XP will notice it and delete wpa.dbl. With that the user shall be forced to activate XP anew. You do not get another 30 days of time, though, to activate again (in RC1 it is a fortnight). Instead XP takes the date of the installation as a basis. That means you have to activate immediately to run XP again, if the installation took place 30 days ago.

Volume serial number of the system volumes (displayed with dir-command)
MAC address of the network card (displayed with netstat -r -n)
Identification string of the CD ROM drive
Identification string of the displays
CPU serial number
Identification string of the system's hard disk
Identification string of the SCSI host adapter
Identification string of the IDE controller
String of the processor model
RAM size
1 = docking station, 0 = without docking station

First Tests

For a beginning we first of all saved the file wpa.dbl and then replaced the graphics card and the network card. As expected Windows XP was cooperative, so we could work without any disturbance. The first surprise showed up as we replaced the Celeron with a Pentium III: Suddenly Windows XP wanted to activate anew although we only changed three components.
The answer to the riddle is to be found in the serial number of the processor. Replacing the processor did not only change one but already changed two pieces of hardware information. For us that means to restart the computer and to switch off the serial number in the BIOS. Nonetheless XP insists on the Activation. A glance at wpa.dbl shows the reason why: Apparently XP put the file back in a non-activated condition. We again restart the computer, boot into DOS and copy the saved wpa.dbl back into the system directory of XP. With the next start of XP, the demand for Activation has disappeared. Evidently, wpa.dbl is the central authority to decide whether or not Activation already took place.

We re-install Windows XP on our computer from the ground up, using the very same product key. Nevertheless, the computer gets another product ID, as the last three digits are generated randomly. Although the product ID changed, Windows can be activated by copying the saved file wpa.dbl into the appropriate directory. Our next try brings an even bigger surprise: The Activation still works although we use a completely new product key for the installation.

Forged Hardware

These results kept in the back of our minds we try to activate Windows XP on another computer by copying the file wpa.dbl. First of all we adapt the volume ID of the new computer by means of freeware tools. The command line volumeid c: 3333-3333 changes the corresponding coefficient of the new system: The first component of Microsoft's protection is canceled.

With some network cards it is possible to adjust the MAC manually by means of the driver. The corresponding option in the register Advanced is called "Network Address" or "Locally administered Network Address".

So meanwhile we succeeded in switching off two components of the Activation by pretending another network address to the new system. The CPU serial number is switched off anyway, both computers do not have a SCSI host adapter and the memory is of the same size with both of them. With that altogether five sections of the hardware ID are identical.
Six actually, for both computers are not "to be docked". The latter gives us a bold plan...
Notebook of Eight Kilogrammes

What would happen if we tell the operating system that the computer is a notebook? This option can be toggled in the hardware profile of the device manager.

Can Microsoft be tricked that easily? Yes it can! After the next restart of the computer the analysis of the installation ID makes clear that suddenly the graphics card and the IDE/SCSI controller are no longer used to calculate the hardware ID.
So only three more differences in the configuration of the hardware remain:

Identification of the hard disk
Identification of the CPU
Identification of the CD-ROM drive

Because these three components are allowed to be different without XP insisting on a new Activation, this should be sufficient. So we copy the file wpa.dbl into the system32 directory of the second computer and start Windows XP. In the start menu it still says "Activate Windows". But when you call it up, you get your just reward though:

Windows XP enlists ten hardware components to calculate the installation ID, but six of them can be canceled without any problems:

Component To be canceled by
Volume ID Adapted by means of tool
MAC address Tuned by means of driver
Graphics card Switch over to docking station
CPU serial number Switch off in BIOS
SCSI host adapter Switch over to docking station
IDE controller Switch over to docking station

Important: A LAN does not tolerate two computers with the same MAC address.

Only four components are working almost effectively:

Component Size of bit field

Hard disk 7
CPU type 3
CD ROM 7
RAM size 3

Two fields are coded with three bits and two with seven bits. Because in each field the coefficient 0 is impossible, 7*7*127*127=790321 possibilities remain for the file wpa.dbl. As only three components are allowed to change from the moment of Activation onwards, you can take the weakest fixed component for a "Universal Activation".

The CPU type or the RAM size present themselves here as the best solution. It is more than sufficient to only once activate a computer with 128 MBytes of RAM at Microsoft's. With its file wpa.dbl you can then "activate" all other computers of the same memory size.

Conclusion

With its technology of Activation Microsoft wants to thwart the user who occasionally copies software. Up to a certain degree this may still work. But by means of the above described steps nearly everybody can activate his own XP merely by getting a corresponding wpa.dbl file. There certainly will exist some web sites in the near future where the user can comfortably download "his"wpa.dbl.

Should the current procedure of Activation remain, then Microsoft will spend a lot of money like water for technology, web servers and call centers without any considerable success. It would be much more lucrative to drop the Activation and to lower the price for XP.

Microsoft did not comment on the weak points of the Activation until now. But probably their statement goes as follows: "In its final version WPA will look completely different. We did not implement these steps in the RC1 for only one reason, that is not to annoy the testers."

But it definitely is a fact that in-between the Release Candidates and the real Release normally only bugs are rectified. May sharp tongues call the WPA itself a bug, in our opinion it is nothing more but an example of bad programming.


Inside Windows Product Activation

A Fully Licensed Paper

July 2001

Fully Licensed GmbH, Rudower Chaussee 29, 12489 Berlin, Germany

ht*p://www.licenturion.com


>> INTRODUCTION

The current public discussion of Windows Product Activation (WPA) is
characterized by uncertainty and speculation. In this paper we supply
the technical details of WPA - as implemented in Windows XP - that
Microsoft should have published long ago.

While we strongly believe that every software vendor has the right to
enforce the licensing terms governing the use of a piece of licensed
software by technical means, we also do believe that each individual
has the right to detailed knowledge about the full implications of the
employed means and possible limitations imposed by it on software
usage.

In this paper we answer what we think are currently the two most
important open questions related to Windows Product Activation.

* Exactly what information is transmitted during activation?

* How do hardware modifications affect an already activated
installation of Windows XP?

Our answers to these questions are based on Windows XP Release
Candidate 1 (build 2505). Later builds as well as the final version of
Windows XP might differ from build 2505, e.g. in the employed
cryptographic keys or the layout of some of the data
structures.

However, beyond such minor modifications we expect Microsoft to cling
to the general architecture of their activation mechanism. Thus, we
are convinced that the answers provided by this paper will still be
useful when the final version of Windows XP ships.

This paper supplies in-depth technical information about the inner
workings of WPA. Still, the discussion is a little vague at some
points in order not to facilitate the task of an attacker attempting
to circumvent the license enforcement supplied by the activation
mechanism.

XPDec, a command line utility suitable for verifying the presented
information, can be obtained from http://www.licenturion.com/xp/. It
implements the algorithms presented in this paper. Reading its source
code, which is available from the same location, is highly
recommended.

We have removed an important cryptographic key from the XPDec source
code. Recompiling the source code will thus fail to produce a working
executable. The XPDec executable on our website, however, contains
this key and is fully functional.

So, download the source code to learn about the inner workings of WPA,
but obtain the executable to experiment with your installation of
Windows XP.

We expect the reader to be familiar with the general procedure of
Windows Product Activation.

>> INSIDE THE INSTALLATION ID

We focused our research on product activation via telephone. We did
so, because we expected this variant of activation to be the most
straight-forward to analyze.

The first step in activating Windows XP via telephone is supplying the
call-center agent with the Installation ID displayed by msoobe.exe,
the application that guides a user through the activation process. The
Installation ID is a number consisting of 50 decimal digits that are
divided into groups of six digits each, as in

002666-077894-484890-114573-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XX

In this authentic Installation ID we have substituted digits that we
prefer not to disclose by 'X' characters.

If msoobe.exe is invoked more than once, it provides a different
Installation ID each time.

In return, the call-center agent provides a Confirmation ID matching
the given Installation ID. Entering the Confirmation ID completes the
activation process.

Since the Installation ID is the only piece of information revealed
during activation, the above question concerning the information
transmitted during the activation process is equivalent to the
question

'How is the Installation ID generated?'

To find an answer to this question, we trace back each digit of the
Installation ID to its origins.

>>> Check digits

The rightmost digit in each of the groups is a check digit to guard
against simple errors such as the call center agent's mistyping of one
of the digits read to him or her. The value of the check digit is
calculated by adding the other five digits in the group, adding the
digits at even positions a second time, and dividing the sum by
seven. The remainder of the division is the value of the check
digit. In the above example the check digit for the first group (6) is
calculated as follows.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 <- position
---+---+---+---+---
0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 <- digits

0 + 0 + 2 + 6 + 6 = 14 (step 1: add all digits)
0 + 6 + 14 = 20 (step 2: add even digits again)

step 3: division
20 / 7 = 2, remainder is 20 - (2 * 7) = 6

=> check digit is 6

Adding the even digits twice is probably intended to guard against the
relatively frequent error of accidentally swapping two digits while
typing, as in 00626 vs. 00266, which yield different check digits.

>>> Decoding

Removing the check digits results in a 41-digit decimal number. A
decimal number of this length roughly corresponds to a 136-bit binary
number. In fact, the 41-digit number is just the decimal encoding of
such a 136-bit multi-precision integer, which is stored in little
endian byte order as a byte array. Hence, the above Installation ID
can also be represented as a sequence of 17 bytes as in

0xXX 0xXX 0xXX 0xXX 0xXX 0xXX 0xXX 0xXX
0x94 0xAA 0x46 0xD6 0x0F 0xBD 0x2C 0xC8
0x00

In this representation of the above Installation ID 'X' characters
again substitute the digits that we prefer not to disclose. The '0x'
prefix denotes hex notation throughout this paper.

>>> Decryption

When decoding arbitrary Installation IDs it can be noticed that the
most significant byte always seems to be 0x00 or 0x01, whereas the
other bytes look random. The reason for this is that the lower 16
bytes of the Installation ID are encrypted, whereas the most
significant byte is kept in plaintext.

The cryptographic algorithm employed to encrypt the Installation ID is
a proprietary four-round Feistel cipher. Since the block of input
bytes passed to a Feistel cipher is divided into two blocks of equal
size, this class of ciphers is typically applied to input blocks
consisting of an even number of bytes - in this case the lower 16 of
the 17 input bytes. The round function of the cipher is the SHA-1
message digest algorithm keyed with a four-byte sequence.

Let + denote the concatenation of two byte sequences, ^ the XOR
operation, L and R the left and right eight-byte input half for one
round, L' and R' the output halves of said round, and First-8() a
function that returns the first eight bytes of an SHA-1 message
digest. Then one round of decryption looks as follows.

L' = R ^ First-8(SHA-1(L + Key))
R' = L

The result of the decryption is 16 bytes of plaintext, which are -
together with the 17th unencrypted byte - from now on interpreted as
four double words in little endian byte order followed by a single
byte as in

name | size | offset
-----+-------------+-------
H1 | double word | 0
H2 | double word | 4
P1 | double word | 8
P2 | double word | 12
P3 | byte | 16

H1 and H2 specify the hardware configuration that the Installation ID
is linked to. P1 and P2 as well as the remaining byte P3 contain the
Product ID associated with the Installation ID.

>>> Product ID

The Product ID consists of five groups of decimal digits, as in

AAAAA-BBB-CCCCCCC-DDEEE

If you search your registry for a value named 'ProductID', you will
discover the ID that applies to your installation. The 'About' window
of Internet Explorer should also yield your Product ID.

>>>> Decoding

The mapping between the Product ID in decimal representation and its
binary encoding in the double words P1 and P2 and the byte P3 is
summarized in the following table.

digits | length | encoding
--------+---------+---------------------------------------
AAAAA | 17 bits | bit 0 to bit 16 of P1
BBB | 10 bits | bit 17 to bit 26 of P1
CCCCCCC | 28 bits | bit 27 to bit 31 of P1 (lower 5 bits)
| | bit 0 to bit 22 of P2 (upper 23 bits)
DDEEE | 17 bits | bit 23 to bit 31 of P2 (lower 9 bits)
| | bit 0 to bit 7 of P3 (upper 8 bits)

The meaning of each of the five groups of digits is documented in the
next table.

digits | meaning
--------+-------------------------------------------------
AAAAA | apparently always 55034 (in Windows XP RC1)
BBB | most significant three digits of Raw Product Key
| (see below)
CCCCCCC | least significant six digits of Raw Product Key
| plus check digit (see below)
DD | index of the public key used to verify the
| Product Key (see below)
EEE | random value

As can be seen, the (Raw) Product Key plays an important role in
generating the Product ID.

>>>> Product Key

The Raw Product Key is buried inside the Product Key that is printed
on the sticker distributed with each Windows XP CD. It consists of
five alphanumeric strings separated by '-' characters, where each
string is composed of five characters, as in

FFFFF-GGGGG-HHHHH-JJJJJ-KKKKK

Each character is one of the following 24 letters and digits:

B C D F G H J K M P Q R T V W X Y 2 3 4 6 7 8 9

Very similar to the decimal encoding of the Installation ID the 25
characters of the Product Key form a base-24 encoding of the binary
representation of the Product Key. Decoding the Product Key yields a
multi-precision integer of roughly 115 bits, which is stored - again
in little endian byte order - in an array of 15 bytes. Decoding the
above Product Key results in the following byte sequence.

0x6F 0xFA 0x95 0x45 0xFC 0x75 0xB5 0x52
0xBB 0xEF 0xB1 0x17 0xDA 0xCD 0x00

Of these 15 bytes the least significant four bytes contain the Raw
Product Key in little endian byte order. The least significant bit is
removed by shifting this 32-bit value (0x4595FA6F - remember the
little endian byte order) to the left by one bit position, resulting
in a Raw Product Key of 0x22CAFD37, or

583728439

in decimal notation.

The eleven remaining bytes form a digital signature, allowing
verification of the authenticity of the Product Key by means of a
hard-coded public key.

>>>> Product Key -> Product ID

The three most significant digits, i.e. 583, of the Raw Product Key's
nine-digit decimal representation directly map to the BBB component of
the Product ID described above.

To obtain the CCCCCCC component, a check digit is appended to the
remaining six digits 728439. The check digit is chosen such that the
sum of all digits - including the check digit - is divisible by
seven. In the given case, the sum of the six digits is

7 + 2 + 8 + 4 + 3 + 9 = 33

which results in a check digit of 2, since

7 + 2 + 8 + 4 + 3 + 9 + 2 = 33 + 2 = 35

which is divisible by seven. The CCCCCCC component of the Product ID
is therefore 7284392.

For verifying a Product Key, more than one public key is available. If
verification with the first public key fails, the second is tried,
etc. The DD component of the Product ID specifies which of the public
keys in this sequence was successfully used to verify the Product Key.

This mechanism might be intended to support several different parties
generating valid Product Keys with different individual private keys.

However, the different private keys might also represent different
versions of a product. A Product Key for the 'professional' release
could then be signed with a different key than a Product Key for the
'server' release. The DD component would then represent the product
version.

Finally, a valid Product ID derived from our example Product Key might
be

55034-583-7284392-00123

which indicates that the first public key (DD = index = 0) matched and
123 was chosen as the random number EEE.

The randomly selected EEE component is the reason for msoobe.exe
presenting a different Installation ID at each invocation. Because of
the applied encryption this small change results in a completely
different Installation ID.

So, the Product ID transmitted during activation will most probably
differ in the last three digits from your Product ID as displayed by
Internet Explorer or as stored in the registry.

>>> Hardware Information

As discussed above, the hardware configuration linked to the
Installation ID is represented by the two double words H1 and H2.

>>>> Bit-fields

For this purpose, the double words are divided into twelve
bit-fields. The relationship between the computer hardware and the
bit-fields is given in the following table.

double word | offset | length | bit-field value based on
------------+--------+--------+----------------------------
H1 | 0 | 10 | volume serial number string
| | | of system volume
H1 | 10 | 10 | network adapter MAC address
| | | string
H1 | 20 | 7 | CD-ROM drive hardware
| | | identification string
H1 | 27 | 5 | graphics adapter hardware
| | | identification string
H2 | 0 | 3 | unused, set to 001
H2 | 3 | 6 | CPU serial number string
H2 | 9 | 7 | harddrive hardware
| | | identification string
H2 | 16 | 5 | SCSI host adapter hardware
| | | identification string
H2 | 21 | 4 | IDE controller hardware
| | | identification string
H2 | 25 | 3 | processor model string
H2 | 28 | 3 | RAM size
H2 | 31 | 1 | 1 = dockable
| | | 0 = not dockable

Bit 31 of H2 specifies, whether the bit-fields represent a notebook
computer that supports a docking station. If docking is possible, the
activation mechanism will be more tolerant with respect to future
hardware modifications. Here, the idea is that plugging a notebook
into its docking station possibly results in changes to its hardware
configuration, e.g. a SCSI host adapter built into the docking station
may become available.

Bits 2 through 0 of H2 are unused and always set to 001.

If the hardware component corresponding to one of the remaining ten
bit-fields is present, the respective bit-field contains a non-zero
value describing the component. A value of zero marks the hardware
component as not present.

All hardware components are identified by a hardware identification
string obtained from the registry. Hashing this string provides the
value for the corresponding bit-field.

>>>> Hashing

The hash result is obtained by feeding the hardware identification
string into the MD5 message digest algorithm and picking the number of
bits required for a bit-field from predetermined locations in the
resulting message digest. Different predetermined locations are used
for different bit-fields. In addition, a hash result of zero is
avoided by calculating

Hash = (Hash % BitFieldMax) + 1

where BitFieldMax is the maximal value that may be stored in the
bit-field in question, e.g. 1023 for a 10-bit bit-field, and 'x % y'
denotes the remainder of the division of x by y. This results in
values between 1 and BitFieldMax. The obtained value is then stored in
the respective bit-field.

>>>> RAM bit-field

The bit-field related to the amount of RAM available to the operating
system is calculated differently. The seven valid values specify the
approximate amount of available RAM as documented in the following
table.

value | amount of RAM available
------+---------------------------
0 | (bit-field unused)
1 | below 32 MB
2 | between 32 MB and 63 MB
3 | between 64 MB and 127 MB
4 | between 128 MB and 255 MB
5 | between 256 MB and 511 MB
6 | between 512 MB and 1023 MB
7 | above 1023 MB

It is important to note that the amount of RAM is retrieved by calling
the GlobalMemoryStatus() function, which reports a few hundred
kilobytes less than the amount of RAM physically installed. So, 128 MB
of RAM would typically be classified as "between 64 MB and 127 MB".

>>>> Real-world example

Let us have a look at a real-world example. On one of our test systems
the hardware information consists of the following eight bytes.

0xC5 0x95 0x12 0xAC 0x01 0x6E 0x2C 0x32

Converting the bytes into H1 and H2, we obtain

H1 = 0xAC1295C5 and H2 = 0x322C6E01

Splitting H1 and H2 yields the next table in which we give the value
of each of the bit-fields and the information from which each value is
derived.

dw & | |
offset | value | derived from
-------+-------+-----------------------------------------------
H1 0 | 0x1C5 | '1234-ABCD'
H1 10 | 0x0A5 | '00C0DF089E44'
H1 20 | 0x37 | 'SCSI\CDROMPLEXTOR_CD-ROM_PX-32TS__1.01'
H1 27 | 0x15 | 'PCI\VEN_102B&DEV_0519&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_01'
H2 0 | 0x1 | (unused, always 0x1)
H2 3 | 0x00 | (CPU serial number not present)
H2 9 | 0x37 | 'SCSI\DISKIBM_____DCAS-34330______S65A'
H2 16 | 0x0C | 'PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7178&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_03'
H2 21 | 0x1 | 'PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7111&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_01'
H2 25 | 0x1 | 'GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 3'
H2 28 | 0x3 | (system has 128 MB of RAM)
H2 31 | 0x0 | (system is not dockable)

>>> Using XPDec

XPDec is a utility to be run from the command prompt. It may be
invoked with one of four command line options to carry out one of four
tasks.

>>>> XPDec -i

This option enables you to access the information hidden in an
Installation ID. It decodes the Installation ID, decrypts it, and
displays the values of the hardware bit-fields as well as the Product
ID of your product. Keep in mind that the last three digits of the
Product ID contained in the Installation ID are randomly selected and
differ from the Product ID displayed by Internet Explorer.

The only argument needed for the '-i' option is the Installation ID,
as in

XPDec -i 002666-077894-484890-114573-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XX

>>>> XPDec -p

To help you trace the origin of your Product ID, this option decodes a
Product Key and displays the Raw Product Key as it would be used in a
Product ID.

The only argument needed for the '-p' option is the Product Key, as in

XPDec -p FFFFF-GGGGG-HHHHH-JJJJJ-KKKKK

Note that this option does not verify the digital signature of the
Product Key.

>>>> XPDec -v

This option calculates the hash of a given volume serial number. It
was implemented to illustrate our description of string hashing. First
use '-i' to display the hardware bit-fields. Then use this option to
verify our claims concerning the volume serial number hash.

The only argument needed for the '-v' option is the volume serial
number of your system volume, as in

XPDec -v 1234-ABCD

(The volume serial number is part of the 'dir' command's output.)

>>>> XPDec -m

This option calculates the network adapter bit-field value
corresponding to the given MAC address. Similar to '-v' this option
was implemented as a proof of concept.

The only argument needed for the '-m' option is the MAC address of
your network adapter, as in

XPDec -m 00-C0-DF-08-9E-44

(Use the 'route print' command to obtain the MAC address of your
network adapter.)

>> HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS

When looking at the effects of hardware modifications on an already
activated installation of Windows XP, the file 'wpa.dbl' in the
'system32' directory plays a central role. It is a simple
RC4-encrypted database that stores, among other things like expiration
information and the Confirmation ID of an activated installation,

a) the bit-field values representing the current hardware
configuration,

and

the bit-field values representing the hardware configuration
at the time of product activation.

While a) is automatically updated each time the hardware configuration
is modified in order to reflect the changes, remains fixed. Hence,
can be thought of as a snapshot of the hardware configuration at
the time of product activation.

This snapshot does not exist in the database before product activation
and if we compare the size of 'wpa.dbl' before and after activation,
we will notice an increased file size. This is because the snapshot is
added to the database.

When judging whether re-activation is necessary, the bit-field values
of a) are compared to the bit-field values of , i.e. the current
hardware configuration is compared to the hardware configuration at
the time of activation.

>>> Non-dockable computer

Typically all bit-fields with the exception of the unused field and
the 'dockable' field are compared. If more than three of these ten
bit-fields have changed in a) since product activation, re-activation
is required.

This means, for example, that in our above real-world example, we
could replace the harddrive and the CD-ROM drive and substantially
upgrade our RAM without having to re-activate our Windows XP
installation.

However, if we completely re-installed Windows XP, the information in
would be lost and we would have to re-activate our installation,
even if we had not changed our hardware.

>>> Dockable computer

If bit 31 of H2 indicates that our computer supports a docking
station, however, only seven of the ten bit-fields mentioned above are
compared. The bit-fields corresponding to the SCSI host adapter, the
IDE controller, and the graphics board are omitted. But again, of
these remaining seven bit-fields, only up to three may change without
requiring re-activation.

>> CONCLUSIONS

In this paper we have given a technical overview of Windows Product
Activation as implemented in Windows XP. We have shown what
information the data transmitted during product activation is derived
from and how hardware upgrades affect an already activated
installation.

Looking at the technical details of WPA, we do not think that it is as
problematic as many people have expected. We think so, because WPA is
tolerant with respect to hardware modifications. In addition, it is
likely that more than one hardware component map to a certain value
for a given bit-field. From the above real-world example we know that
the PX-32TS maps to the value 0x37 = 55. But there are probably many
other CD-ROM drives that map to the same value. Hence, it is
impossible to tell from the bit-field value whether it is a PX-32TS
that we are using or one of the other drives that map to the same
value.

In contrast to many critics of Windows Product Activation, we think
that WPA does not prevent typical hardware modifications and,
moreover, respects the user's right to privacy.

>> ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Fully Licensed GmbH is a start-up company focusing on novel approaches
to online software licensing and distribution. Have a look at their
website at

http://www.licenturion.com

for more information.

Their research branch every now and then analyzes licensing solutions
implemented by other companies.

>> COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2001 Fully Licensed GmbH (www.licenturion.com)
All rights reserved.

You are free to do whatever you want with this paper. However, you
have to supply the URL of its online version

http://www.licenturion.com/xp/

with any work derived from this paper to give credit to its authors.

>>
>> Frequently asked questions and their answers
>> concerning the Fully Licensed WPA paper
>>
>> Fully Licensed GmbH, July 10, 2001
>>

>> 1. Was Microsoft involved in the creation of the paper?

Microsoft was not involved in the creation of the paper in any
way. However, we made a draft version available to Microsoft to give
them a head-start. We consider it to be good etiquette to inform a
vendor of a pending publication related to one his or her products, so
that the vendor is able to prepare an official response.

>> 2. Why should we believe you?

We do not expect you to believe us. That's why we have provided our
complete knowledge about WPA and the XPDec utility. Combine both to
verify our claims.

>> 3. But Thomas Lopatic, one of your managing directors was born in
Unterschleissheim, Germany, which is the town near Munich in
which Microsoft's European headquarters are located.

This is a nice coincidence. It is in a way understandable - and at the
same time highly amusing to us :-) - that this has given rise to
rumors about the whole paper being a cleverly planned Microsoft
conspiracy.

Thomas was actually born in Karlsruhe, Germany. However, he was living
in Unterschleissheim from the 1970s - i.e. long before Microsoft moved
there - until recently, when he moved to Berlin. That's why some
records still list Unterschleissheim as the place where he
lives. Incorrectly interpreting these records led to the rumor that
Thomas was born in Unterschleissheim.

>> 4. Does Microsoft downplay the paper?

No, most definitely not. The paper really IS harmless. It does not
provide any information that would help a pirate circumvent WPA.

>> 5. Why did you release details on Windows Product Activation?

We felt that there is a need for facts in the debate about Windows
Product Activation. Many people suspected that WPA could be abused to
spy on end-users. Our paper, however, shows that insensitive
information is transmitted during product activation. From this, it
can be seen that the facts that we provide really are a necessary
contribution to the ongoing discussion about WPA.

We think that license enforcement mechanisms will be an important part
of the future of software distribution via the Internet. Thus, we do
think that public discussion of technology of this kind must be free
from bias and it must be based on facts and openness.

We hope that the information that we provide positively affects the
current debate. The debate is necessary, but it should be based on
facts and full disclosure of information relevant to the privacy
question.

>> 6. Do you know how to circumvent Windows Product Activation?

No. We provide insight into which information is transmitted to
Microsoft during activation. Our paper is important to help people
understand the impact of WPA on their work and their privacy. We do
not believe that our paper helps in any way to circumvent the license
enforcement provided by WPA.

>> 7. Your paper says that Microsoft will err on the user's side.

What our paper shows is that a) no sensitive information is
transferred to Microsoft and typical hardware upgrades do not
negatively affect an already activated installation of Windows XP.

But, if you either completely re-install Windows XP or modify your
hardware beyond what is tolerated by product activation, you have to
re-activate Windows XP.

The important question now is: How often will Microsoft let you
re-activate? Erring on the user's side would mean that they allow you
to re-activate as often as you like, which seems to be what Microsoft
says they will do.

It is, however, impossible to confirm this policy by means of a
technical analysis.

>> 8. Why doesn't Microsoft know which hardware I use?

Let us consider the case of IDE controllers. In the installation ID
transmitted to Microsoft they are represented by a 4-bit value. The 4
bits are obtained by applying the MD5 message digest algorithm to a
string that uniquely identifies the vendor and model of the IDE
controller, e.g.

'PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7111&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_01'

and picking 4 bits from fixed locations in the resulting 128-bit
message digest.

With 4 bits, we can represent 16 different values at maximum. However,
there are far more than 16 different models of IDE controllers out
there. So, since there are more models than 4-bit values, the above
hashing procedure must yield the same 4 bits for more than one
model. The more models there are, the more models will map to a given
4-bit value.

In contrast to what Microsoft says, the privacy that WPA provides is
not based on the assumption that it is impossible to invert the
employed message digest algorithm, i.e. MD5. If we used all 128 bits
of the message digest derived from a hardware component's
identification string, this 128-bit value would most probably uniquely
identify the hardware component. If we used 128 bits, each hardware
component on earth would probably map to a different value.

What an attacker would then do is build a list of all hardware
components on this planet and calculate the corresponding 128-bit
values, which are probably all different. Then finding the hardware
component that corresponds to a certain 128-bit value is just a table
lookup away.

Privacy is based on the fact that only a few bits of the resulting
128-bit message digest are considered. Obviously this leads to lots of
collisions, i.e. lots of hardware components mapping to a given
value. If there were 160 different models of IDE controllers, we could
on average expect 160 / 16 = 10 models to map to the same 4-bit value.

Let us, as another example, consider the MAC address of an ethernet
adapter. The discussion is technically not 100% accurate, but it
illustrates the point. The MAC address is a 48-bit value, which means
that it can theoretically be one of 281,474,976,710,656 different
values. However, its 10-bit representation in the Installation ID is
obtained by picking 10 bits from the MD5 hash over an ASCII string
comprised of the 12 hex digits of the 48-bit value. Picking 10 bits
leads to 1,024 different results at maximum.

So, on average, we expect

281,474,976,710,656 / 1,024 = 274,877,906,944

MAC addresses to map to the same 10-bit value. Because of this, nobody
will be able to obtain the actual MAC address from the 10-bit value,
since there are 274,877,906,944 candidate MAC addresses from which the
10-bit value could have been derived.

It is interesting to see that the bit-field that represents the MAC
address is 10 bits in size, while the bit-field representing the IDE
controller only consists of 4 bits. Microsoft probably have assigned a
longer bit-field to a component if they expect more diversity in the
identification string of this component. The number of different IDE
controller models is smaller by orders of magnitude than the number of
different MAC addresses. So, to produce sufficient collisions, they
decided to use a relatively small bit-field for IDE controllers but
could still afford to chose a 10-bit bit-field in the case of MAC
addresses.

>> 9. What are the implications of re-activating after hardware
changes?

This is an interesting issue which is not covered in our paper. We
simply did not think of it. Our mistake. It was brought to our
attention by an article by Greg Falcon <veloso@verylowsodium.com> on
www.slashdot.org: If you have to re-activate your installation of
Windows XP because of hardware modifications, your new hardware
configuration is embedded in the Installation ID in the form discussed
above. While this does not enable anyone to find out which components
you have, it is trivial to find out which components you have
changed. Just examine which bit-fields have changed their value since
the original activation.


--------------------------------------------
"Windows XP enlists ten hardware components to calculate the installation
ID, but six of them can be canceled without any problems:

Volume ID ---------- Adapted by means of tool
MAC address -------- Tuned by means of driver
Graphics card -------Switch over to docking station
CPU serial number - Switch off in BIOS
SCSI host adapter -- Switch over to docking station
IDE controller ------- Switch over to docking station

Important: A LAN does not tolerate two computers with the same MAC address.
"
-----------------------------------------
(Switching to 'Docking Station' in Device Manager / Performance / File
System settings doesn't mean you actually have a docking station of any kind
so can be used for non-notebook computers that cannot even USE a docking
station!)

If you want WindowsXP on a network, you're stuck (until someone finds
another route around Activation - juding by the speed of this one, that
won't be long!) But then why would anyone want more than one copy of Windoze
XP on a LAN anyway!
---------------------------------------------
"It is more than sufficient to only once activate a computer with 128 MBytes
of RAM. With its file wpa.dbl you can then "activate" all other computers of
the same memory size." [no matter what other hardware is installed as long
as it's set as a notebook and the volume tag etc is set to match].

"Can Microsoft be tricked that easily? Yes it can! After the next restart of
the computer [after changing to docking station] the analysis of the
installation ID makes clear that suddenly the graphics card and the IDE/SCSI
controller are no longer used to calculate the hardware ID. In computers
that can be docked, XP ignores the identification of the graphics card, the
SCSI host adapter and the IDE controller.

So only three more differences in the configuration of the hardware remain:

Identification of the hard disk
Identification of the CPU
Identification of the CD-ROM drive

Because these three components are allowed to be different without XP
insisting on a new Activation, this should be sufficient. So we copy the
file wpa.dbl into the system32 directory of the second computer and start
Windows XP. In the start menu it still says "Activate Windows". But when you
call it up, you get your just reward though:
"Windows Product Activation: Windows is already activated. Click OK to
exit."

"So first of all Tecchannel saved the file then started changing hardware.
Two items OK, but replacing a third - the CPU - triggered the deletion.
Although you'd think the CPU is only one component, it's actually tallied up
as two. Switching off the CPU serial number in the bios and therefore
knocking it down to one doesn't get the earlier wpa.dbl back - this has been
restored in a non-activated state.

Copy the saved version back? That surely shouldn't work - but it does. Next,
Tecchannel tried a completely new installation using the same product key.
This produces a new product ID, but nevertheless copying the wpa.dbl file
back again works.

They also use this file on another computer, altering the computer's volume
ID first, which is easily enough done. They can also use forged network
cards MAC addresses, so now they've taken two parts of the hardware ID out
of the picture. Next, use the hardware profile to tell the computer it's a
notebook with a docking station. This works, and tells WPA to stop counting
the IDE/SCSI controller and the graphics card.

That gets the differences counted down to three, hard disk, CPU and CDROM
ID, which is within the limit, so WPA is effectively toast.

What does this mean? Tecchannel's investigation shows that, at the very
least, you can use the same wpa.dbl file to activate as many computers as
you like, provided the RAM size is the same. A 'universal' file that didn't
even require the same RAM might be a possibility, but it's more likely that
people will simply swap files to get one appropriate for their hardware. "


Hope it enlights some of us to create a unique keygen just to get the confirmation ID generated after putting the Installation ID on the same.

Enjoy!!

My Flash Bookmarks, long list of tutorials

 creating order in the chaos that my bookmarks-list is,
i found these flash actionscript tutorials.
many of them are game design, sound and server side specific.
others are more general.
hope you enjoy them.
and , most important,
hope you share your flash tutorial bookmarks too !!!

h**p://www.flashkit.com
h**p://www.were-here.com
h**p://www.moock.org
h**p://www.flashmove.com
h**p://www.virtual-fx.net
h**p://www.flazoom.com
h**p://www.turtleshell.com/guide/
h**p://www.geocities.com/thefastfiles
h**p://www.macromedia.com/exchange/flash/
h**p://www.macromedia.com/support/flash/
h**p://www.flashjunkie.50megs.com
h**p://www.flashlite.net
h**p://www.flashmagazine.com
h**p://www.action-script.com
h**p://www.flashzone.com
h**p://www.flashbio.com
h**p://www.flashwave.co.uk
h**p://www.gbillustration.nl
h**p://www.ultrashock.com
h**p://www.flashfruit.com
h**p://polar-lights.com/en
h**p://www.flash-up.de
h**p://www.flash-mania.com
h**p://www.flashpro.nl
h**p://www.flash4all.de
h**p://www.flashwizards.com
h**p://www.flashplanet.com
h**p://www.treecity.co.uk
h**p://www.flashplein.nl
h**p://www.extremeflash.com
h**p://www.shockfusion.com
h**p://www.openswf.org
h**p://www.empaty.com
h**p://www.flashscene.org
h**p://www.flashworker.de
h**p://www.flashcentral.com/tech/
h**p://www.flahoo.com
h**p://www.quintus.org
h**p://www.fullasagoog.com/
h**p://www.gotoandplay.it/
h**p://www.actionscript.org
h**p://www.actionscript-toolbox.com
h**p://www.devmx.com
h**p://www.flashdeveloper.nl
h**p://www.kirupa.com
h**p://www.ultrashock.com
h**p://www.flash-mx.com
h**p://www.flashtrix.com
h**p://www.actionscripts.co.uk
h**p://www.flash-forum.co.uk
h**p://www.flashvista.com
h**p://www.flashgoddess.com
h**p://www.internetcross.com
h**p://www.globz.com
h**p://www.yamago.net
h**p://www.titoonic.dk
h**p://www.spikything.com
h**p://www.shockwave.com
h**p://www.hublo.com
h**p://www.rocketsnail.com
h**p://www.electrotank.com
h**p://oos.moxiecode.com
h**p://www.andre-michelle.com
h**p://www.tonypa.pri.ee/tbw
h**p://www.extrajetzt.com
h**p://tag-der-arbeit.extrajetzt.de
h**p://www.illogicz.com
h**p://www.neave.com
h**p://www.melazeta.it
h**p://www.video-animation.com
h**p://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal
h**p://www.dragontowers.com/games
h**p://www.brunel.ac.uk/~ee03mjb/home.htm
h**p://www.kwikgames.com
h**p://www.cowtoon.com
h**p://www.fullasagoog.com
h**p://www.sephiroth.it
h**p://www.quasimondo.com
h**p://www.onrelease.org
h**p://www.flashguru.co.uk
h**p://www.actionscript.com
h**p://www.waxpraxis.org
h**p://www.samuelwan.com
h**p://sonify.org/flashsound/
h**p://www.killersound.com/cgi-bin/killersound.storefront/40aa8519054184e92718c690603d06b1/Catalog/1020
h**p://www.acky.net/tutorials/flash/forms/
h**p://www.asp101.com/articles/flash/
h**p://www.flash-db.com/
h**p://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/physics/
h**p://flashandxml.com/
h**p://www.phpforflash.com/board/
h**p://www.codebox.8m.com/gameprog.htm
h**p://www.webthang.co.uk/

enjoy ,
phozz

Msn Messenger & Gmail

Msn Messenger & Gmail, Msn Messenger & Gmail

For All Thost Gmail Account Holders That Whish To Use A Gmail Account With Msn Messenger & .Net Passport Service

An Introduction

In this tutorial you will learn how to step up your Gmail Accout with . net passport to allow u to login to msn messenger ang any .net passport supported website


What you will need

* A Gmail Account - as thease are only obtainable via invitation i will assume you alredy have one .

* Msn Messenger / Windows Messenger - used to verify your gmail account.


Once you have downloaded / obtained all of thease you are ready to continue.



1. log in to your gmail account via -



http://gmail.com





once you are loged in minimize this internet browser window ( convenient or later on )

2. load up msn messenger and cansel any automatic signe in atempt so that you have it redy to signed in with your gmail account later on .

2. you will need to visit the Microsoft .Net Passport website -


http://www.passport.net




3. now you will need to click on the register for your free .net passport today button that is in the top right hand corner of thepage ya cant mis it its huge

4. that will take you to a registration page fill in the from as you would if you where filling a hotmail account accept when asked for your email account you would enter myaccount@gmail.com

5. once the registration of you .net registerd gmail account has been made , signe in to Msn messenger using this newly registerd account , you will notice that when you signe in to messenger your messenger name will be youraccount@gmail.com (un verified ) and you wont be able to change it , this is solved below.

6. as soon as you have signed in , a message will appere in an information box ( the same as when a contact signes in ) , click on this and you will be taken thugh the process of Verifying your account the reason you have to go thogh this is because at current gmail is not affiliated with .net passport e.g .netpassport dosent regonise the @gmail.com as a valid email provider there for they cannot automatically verify your account ( hotmail and msn auto verify as there .net passport affiliated websites) ,

7.once u have been taken though the verification process you will be asked to log in to your email account and visit the url given in an email form the .net passport verifcation service , maximize the internet browser window that you signed in to gmail on erlier , you will have 2 emails form .net passport the first will be welcomeing you to .netpassport , the second will be the one we are after , the verification email , open this up find the url to finish verifying your email adress ( usually its either the first to thirs url in the email)

8. once you have compleeted thease actions and you have been told that your gmail account is verifed , signe out of msn messenger , then re signe back in ( you dont need to wait for any period of time just signe out then straight back in agane) , you will now notice the (not verifed) had been removed form your msn name , and now you are able to change ther name to , if this is so m, then congratulations you now have a fully functioning .net passport gmail account ( you cannot access your gmail email account via msn messenger you will still have to visit the gmail login page for this )


http://gmail.com




9. if for any reasons this didnot work , and you agane reciece the message asking you to verify , or you havent recieved your verification email from .netpassport , then re-try steps 2 - 7 , un till you get it working correctly .


i hope this helps some of you gmail account users out there that have been wracking your brains over how to get gmail in to msn messenger

Moving and Removing the Start Button

 Operating System = Windows 95 Only
Annoyance level = Medium
Damage Level = 0/5

The Objective
The objective is to move the Start button around on the task bar, or to remove it completely from the taskbar.

The Steps
Click twice on the Start button so it has the dotted line around it.
Then press the "Alt" and the "-" keys simultaneously.
This will bring up the option box that allows you to move or close the Start button. If you choose move, you will have to use the arrow keys to move it around the taskbar.

NOTE: Moving it doesn't stay if you move the entire start bar with your mouse, and ending task on explorer.exe or rebooting will put it back in the corner.

More Xp Tips and tricks make your computer more faster

 Windows XP Tips Collection




Here's how to check if your copy of XP is Activated
Go to the run box and type in oobe/msoobe /a
and hit ok ...theirs your answer

Windows Explorer Tip
When launched in Windows Millennium/Win2k/WinXP,Explorer by default will open the "My Documents" folder. Many people prefer the behavior from previous versions of Windows, where Windows Explorer would open and display "My Computer" instead of the new way. To revert to the old way [My Computer by default rather than My Documents as the default], simply edit the shortcut to Windows Explorer, by right clicking on it, and left clicking "Properties" and changing the "Target" box to: "C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e," [adjust the path/drive letter if needed]. The key is to add the "/n,/e," to the end of the shortcut (don't type the quotes).
Backup your Fresh install
After you complete your clean install and get all your software installed I would recommend that you use something like Drive Image 3 or 4 to do an image of your install partition, then burn the image to CD and keep it. XP is a different creature for some people. If you mess it up when playing around with it, just bring the image back. You can be up and running again in 20 minutes vs. the two to three hours it will take to get the whole thing and all your stuff installed again.
Note the default install of XP is about 1.5gigs and the DI image may be larger that 700 meg. So don't install too much on the OS partition. To help downsize the Image I run the System file checker and reset the cache size to 40 or 50 meg (It's well over 300 by default).
To run it open the command prop and type:
SFC /?
SFC /purgecache
SFC /cachesize=50
and finally rebuild the cache with SFC /scannow (have the CD ready)
I also Delete the Pagefile.sys and hibernate.sys files before running Drive Image..


Section 2 By Ankit
1.When setting up the system with tweaks or making changes to the core OS or hardware always be logged in as administrator. Seems that while XP does create an account upon install that has administrator privileges, its not the same as the administrator account is. Think about it this way - if the account created was the same then why have an administrator account period?

2.It is always better to install winXP clean than to do an upgrade.

3. The files and settings wizard is your friend. However it doesn't save the account passwords for your e-mail and news groups accounts in OE. Export these accounts manually from within OE first before hand and save them in a safe place. This way you will not need to remember what the account info was, just import the account again.

4. If using a SB Live sound card and trying to run Unreal (the game) you may have some problems. This is not the fault of winXP or Unreal. the problem is a bad driver design from creative and the Devloader portion. There is currently no work around for this problem.

5. Many - many games do run in winXP with comparability mode. The easiest way to do this is to simply create a shortcut on the desktop to the game executable and choose the compatibility tab of the shortcut and set up for win98.

6. Do not disable all the services that you find outlined in the win2K tweak guides floating around. Instead set them to manual instead of disabled. This will allow something to start up when it is needed and you'll avoid the BSOD thing that can occur if something gets disabled that wasn't supposed to.

7. The winXP firewall is actually very good. However it is not very configurable. I would recommend tiny personal firewall from www.tinysoftware.com. <http://www.tinysoftware.com.> It free and all you need. It so far is the most compatible with winXP - why you may ask? - because (little known trivia fun fact here) this is where the winXP firewall came from. Both the XP built in firewall and tiny will give complete stealth. However what you can do - which is kind of cool is divide the work between the two and use both. use tiny to just filter the ports you want to filter instead of everything and let the built in XP firewall take care of the rest. The result is a smoother running firewall system that reacts much more quickly. I've used Nortons , zone alarm (which contrary to popular belief is not a real firewall and a joke in the IT community as a whole) and several of the rest, Tiny has been the best so far.

8. After you complete your clean install and get all your software installed I would recommend that you use something like drive image 4 to do an image of your install partition, then burn the image to CD and keep it. XP is a different creature for some people. If you mess it up when playing around with it, just bring the image back. You can be up and running again in 20 minutes vs. the two to three hours it will take to get the whole thing and all your stuff installed again.

9. choose winXP pro over the personal version because it has more bells and whistles. However if the bells and whistles do not appeal to you then the home (personal) version is the way to go.

10. Avoid problems with WinXP. Insure that your hardware is on the HCL. Don't be mad because the latest and greatest doesn't work with your hardware. It is not the fault of MS , winXP or anything or one else. Not defending them here, just being practical. Look at it this way - if your dream car costs $100,000 dollars and you don't have $100,000 is it the car manufactures fault? nope because thats the free enterprise system and the way it works. Try to upgrade your hardware if you can. If you can't, wait for drivers from the manufacturer that support winxp. I would highly recommend before installing winXP that you go out and get the win2000 drivers for all your hardware. 99% of the win2000 drivers will work in winXP. This way if winxp doesn't have drivers, you do.

XP will ship with out the Virtual Java Machine.
It will not appear on windows update either. Some sites will prompt you to install it upon visit to their sites. However this might change in the near future due to the problem between SUN and MS so the link you get pointed to might no be there.

You can get the virtual Java machine now and have it ready to use when you install XP.

go to:

<http://www.microsoft.com/java/>

and download the VJM for winNT. If you try to d/l the one for win2000 (which is exactly the same as the one for NT) you will be told to get the service pack. You don't want to do this for XP.

or download it from:

<http://download.microsoft.com/download/vm/Install/3802/W9X2KMe/EN-US/msjavx86.exe>

keep it in a safe place and use it when you install XP.
XP browsing speed up tweak
when you connect to a web site your computer sends information back and forth, this is obvious. Some of this information deals with resolving the site name to an IP address, the stuff that tcp/ip really deals with, not words. This is DNS information and is used so that you will not need to ask for the site location each and every time you visit the site. Although WinXP and win2000 has a pretty efficient DNS cache, you can increase its overall performance by increasing its size.

You can do this with the registry entries below:

************begin copy and paste***********
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

************end copy and paste***********

make a new text file and rename it to dnscache.reg. The copy and paste the above into it and save it. Then merge it into the registry.

Grouping multiple open windows
WinXP will group multiple open windows (IE windows for example) into one group on the task bar to keep the desktop clear. This can be annoying at times - especially when comparing different web pages because you have to go back to the task bar, click on the group and then click on the page you want and then you only get one page because you have to click on each one separately. I think the default for this is 8 windows - any combination of apps or utilities open.

You can modify this behavior by adding this reg key at:

Change number of windows that are open before XP will start
grouping them on the Taskbar

HKEY_CURRRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\
add reg_Dword "TaskbarGroupSize"

modify "TaskbarGroupSize" entry to be the number of windows you want open before XP starts to group them on the task bar.
A value of 2 will cause the Taskbar buttons to always group

Another tweak is to disable or enable recent documents history. This can be done at:

HKEY_CURRRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\
this key should already be present - if it isn't you'll need to add it:
reg_Binary "NoRecentDocsHistory"
modify it so that value reads 01 00 00 00

Wanna network but don't have all the stuff?
If you want to network two winXP machines together you don't have to install a full blown network setup, i.e...switches, hubs, routers, etc...

All you need is two NIC cards (three if you want to share an Internet connection) and a cross over cable.

1. Connect one NIC to your broadband connection device like normal.
2. Install a second NIC in the machine with the broadband connection.
3. install a NIC in the second machine.
4. connect the cross over cable between the second machine NIC and the second NIC in the board band connection machine.
5. re-boot both.
6. Run the networking wizard if necessary.

or:
use a direct connection setup with a parallel port to parallel port connection to the two machines. You will not be able to share a connection with the direct connect.
Help is just a directory away! - Tip
In windows XP pro at C:\Windows\help - you will find many *.chm files. These are the help files. Just start one up and find what your looking for without going thru the main help menu. If for example you are interested in command line tools or command line references start up the ntcmds.chm file. If you use command line a lot for things just create a shortcut on your desktop to this file and it there when you need it.

You could go thru the Help thing to find these but on the home version some are not linked in some of the help. This is shorter.

Speed things up a bit tip
this might help some of you.

1. go to control panel - system.
2. click on the advanced tab
3. under "performance" click on the settings button
4. click on the Advanced tab
5. click on the "Background Services" button
6. Click OK

Section 3

Windows XP Tips 'n' Tricks
==========================
Please note that some of these tips require you to use a Registry Editor (regedit.exe), which could render your system unusable. Thus, none of these tips are supported in any way: Use them at your own risk. Also note that most of these tips will require you to be logged on with Administrative rights.

Unlocking WinXP's setupp.ini
============================


WinXP's setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. IE is it an OEM version or retail? First, find your setupp.ini file in the i386 directory on your WinXP CD. Open it up, it'll look something like this:

ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05
Pid=55034000

The Pid value is what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, oem, or volume license edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits determines how the CD will behave, ie is it a retail CD that lets you clean install or upgrade, or an oem CD that only lets you perform a clean install? The last three digits determines what CD key it will accept. You are able to mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP CD that acted like a retail CD, yet accepted OEM keys.

Now, for the actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangeable, but usually you'd keep them as a pair:

Retail = 51882 335
Volume License = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM

So if you wanted a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your setupp.ini file would read:

Pid=51882335

And if you wanted a retail CD that took OEM keys, you'd use:

Pid=51882OEM



How do I get the "Administrator" name on Welcome Screen?
=======================================================

To get Admin account on the "Welcome Screen" as well as the other usernames, make sure that there are no accounts logged in.

Press "ctrl-alt-del" twice and you should be able to login as administrator!

finally worked for me after I found out that all accounts have to be logged out first



Fix Movie Interference in AVI files
==================================

If you have any AVI files that you saved in Windows 9x, which have interference when opened in Windows XP, there is an easy fix to get rid of the interference:

Open Windows Movie Maker.
Click View and then click Options.
Click in the box to remove the check mark beside Automatically create clips.

Now, import the movie file that has interference and drag it onto the timeline. Then save the movie, and during the re rendering, the interference will be removed.



Create a Password Reset Disk
============================

If you?re running Windows XP Professional as a local user in a workgroup environment, you can create a password reset disk to log onto your computer when you forget your password. To create the disk:

Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
Click your account name.
Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password.

Follow the directions in the Forgotten Password Wizard to create a password reset disk.

Store the disk in a secure location, because anyone using it can access your local user account



Change Web Page Font Size on the Fly
====================================

If your mouse contains a wheel for scrolling, you can change font size on the fly when viewing a Web page. To do so:

Press and hold Ctrl. Scroll down (or towards yourself) to enlarge the font size. Scroll up (or away from yourself) to reduce the font size.

You might find it useful to reduce font size when printing a Web page, so that you can fit more content on the page.


WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown
=================================

WINXPCPS.REG (WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown)

This Registration (.REG) file clears the Page file when you power off the computer.
Restart Windows for these changes to take effect!
ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!

Browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager \ Memory Management

and add the DWORD variable "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001

You can also do this without reg hacking.
Go to Control panel Administrative tools, local security policy. then go to local policies ---> security options.
Then change the option for "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"


Group Policy for Windows XP
===========================

One of the most full featured Windows XP configuration tools available is hidden right there in your system, but most people don't even know it exists. It's called the Local Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short. To invoke this editor, select Start and then Run, then type the following:

gpedit.msc

After you hit ENTER, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify virtually every feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit. Dig around and enjoy!


Forgetting What Your Files Are?
===============================

This procedure works under NTFS.

As times goes along you have a lot files on your computer. You are going to forget what they are. Well here is way to identify them as you scroll through Windows Explorer in the future.

This procedure works under NTFS.

1.. Open up a folder on your system that you want to keep track of the different files you might one to identify in the future.

2.. Under View make certain that you set it to the Details.

3.. Highlight the file you want to keep more information on. Right click the file and you will get a pop up menu. Click on properties.

4.. Click on the Summary Tab (make sure it says simple not advanced on the button in the box), You should now get the following fields,

Title,Subject, Author, Category, Keywords, Comments

You will see advanced also if you have changed it to simple, Here will be other fields you can fill in.

5.. Next you can fill in what ever field you want.

6.. After you finished click the apply button then OK.

7.. Next right click the bar above your files, under the address bar and you should get a drop down menu. Here you can click the fields you want to display.

8.. You should now see a list with the new fields and any comments you have done.

9.. Now if you want to sort these just right click a blank spot and then you sort the information to your liking.


Temporarily Assign Yourself Administrative Permissions
======================================================

Many programs require you to have Administrative permissions to be able to install them. Here is an easy way to temporarily assign yourself Administrative permissions while you remain logged in as a normal user.

Hold down the Shift key as you right-click on the program?s setup file.

Click Run as.

Type in a username and password that have Administrative permissions.

This will also work on applications in the Start menu.


Create a Shortcut to Lock Your Computer
=======================================

Leaving your computer in a hurry but you don?t want to log off? You can double-click a shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screen saver.

To create a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer:

Right-click the desktop.
Point to New, and then click Shortcut.

The Create Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following:
rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

Click Next.

Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it "Lock Workstation" or choose any name you like.

Click Finish.

You can also change the shortcut's icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll).

To change the icon:

Right click the shortcut and then select Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button.

In the Look for icons in this file text box, type:
Shell32.dll.

Click OK.

Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK

You could also give it a shortcut keystroke such CTRL+ALT+L. This would save you only one keystroke from the normal command, but it could be more convenient.



Create a Shortcut to Start Remote Desktop
=========================================

Tip: You can add a shortcut to the desktop of your home computer to quickly start Remote Desktop and connect to your office computer.

To create a shortcut icon to start Remote Desktop

Click Start, point to More Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click on Remote Desktop Connection.

Click Options.

Configure settings for the connection to your office computer.

Click Save As, and enter a name, such as Office Computer. Click Save.

Open the Remote Desktops folder.

Right-click on the file named Office Computer, and then click Create Shortcut.

Drag the shortcut onto the desktop of your home computer.

To start Remote Desktop and connect to your office computer, double-click on the shortcut


Instantly Activate a Screen saver
================================

Turn on a screen saver without having to wait by adding a shortcut to your desktop:

Click the Start button, and then click Search.
In the Search Companion window, click All file types.

In the file name box, type *.scr

In the Look in box, choose Local Hard Drives (C or the drive where you have system files stored on your computer.

Click Search.

You will see a list of screen savers in the results. Pick a screen saver you want. You can preview it by double-clicking it.

Right click on the file, choose Send To, and then click Desktop (create shortcut).

To activate the screen saver, double-click the icon on your desktop


Add a Map Drive Button to the Toolbar
=====================================

Do you want to quickly map a drive, but can?t find the toolbar button? If you map drives often, use one of these options to add a Map Drive button to the folder toolbar.

Option One (Long Term Fix)

Click Start, click My Computer, right-click the toolbar, then unlock the toolbars, if necessary.

Right-click the toolbar again, and then click Customize.

Under Available toolbar buttons, locate Map Drive, and drag it into the position you want on the right under Current toolbar buttons.

Click Close, click OK, and then click OK again.

You now have drive mapping buttons on your toolbar, so you can map drives from any folder window. To unmap drives, follow the above procedure, selecting Disconnect under Available toolbar buttons. To quickly map a drive, try this option.

Option Two (Quick Fix)

Click Start, and right-click My Computer.
Click Map Network Drive.

If you place your My Computer icon directly on the desktop, you can make this move in only two clicks!


Software not installing?
========================

If you have a piece of software that refuses to install because it says that you are not running Windows 2000 (such as the Win2K drivers for a Mustek scanner!!) you can simply edit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/ProductName to say Microsoft Windows 2000 instead of XP and it will install. You may also have to edit the version number or build number, depending on how hard the program tries to verify that you are installing on the correct OS. I had to do this for my Mustek 600 CP scanner (compatibility mode didn't' help!!!) and it worked great, so I now have my scanner working with XP (and a tech at Mustek can now eat his words).

BTW, don't' forget to restore any changes you make after you get your software installed

You do this at your own risk.


Use your Windows Key
====================

The Windows logo key, located in the bottom row of most computer keyboards is a little-used treasure. Don't' ignore it. It is the shortcut anchor for the following commands:

Windows: Display the Start menu
Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock the workstation
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q: Quick switching of users (Powertoys only)
Windows + Q: Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your PC



Change your CD key
==================

You don't need to re-install if you want to try the key out ... just do this:

1. Go to Activate Windows
2. Select the Telephone option
3. Click "Change Product Key"
4. Enter RK7J8-2PGYQ-P47VV-V6PMB-F6XPQ
5. Click "Update"

Now log off and log back in again. It should now show 60 days left, minus the number of days it had already counted down.

Note: If your crack de-activated REGWIZC.DLL and LICDLL.DLL, you are going to have to re-register them.



Remove the Shared Documents folders from My Computer
====================================================

One of the most annoying things about the new Windows XP user interface is that Microsoft saw fit to provide links to all of the Shared Documents folders on your system, right at the top of the My Computer window. I can't imagine why this would be the default, even in a shared PC environment at home, but what's even more annoying is that you cannot change this behavior through the sh*ll
: Those icons are stuck there and you have to live with it.
Until now, that is.

Simply fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ My Computer \ NameSpace \ DelegateFolders

You'll see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this, all of the Shared Documents folders (which are normally under the group called "Other Files Stored on This Computer" will be gone.

You do not need to reboot your system to see the change.


Before: A cluttered mess with icons no one will ever use (especially that orphaned one). After: Simplicity itself, and the way it should be by default.


This tip For older XP builds
===================

Edit or remove the "Comments" link in window title bars

During the Windows XP beta, Microsoft has added a "Comments?" hyperlink to the title bar of each window in the system so that beta testers can more easily send in a problem report about the user interface. But for most of us, this isn't an issue, and the Comments link is simply a visual distraction. And for many programs that alter the title bar, the Comments link renders the Minimize, Maximize, and Close window buttons unusable, so it's actually a problem.
Let's get rid of it. Or, if you're into this kind of thing, you can edit it too.

Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following keys:
My Computer \ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ LameButtonEnabled
My Computer \ HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ LameButtonText

The first key determines whether the link appears at all; change its value to 0 to turn it off. The second key lets you have a little fun with the hyperlink; you can change the text to anything you'd like, such as "Paul Thurrott" or whatever.

Editing either value requires a restart before the changes take effect.


Before: An unnecessary hyperlink. Have some fun with it! Or just remove it entirely. It's up to you.



Rip high-quality MP3s in Windows Media Player 8
================================================

The relationship between Windows Media Player 8 and the MP3 audio format is widely misunderstood. Basically, WMP8 will be able to playback MP3 files, but encoding (or "ripping" CD audio into MP3 format will require an MP3 plug-in. So during the Windows XP beta, Microsoft is supplying a sample MP3 plug-in for testing purposes, but it's limited to 56 Kbps rips, which is pretty useless. However, if you have an externally installed MP3 codec, you can use WMP8 to rip at higher bit rates. But you'll have to edit the Registry to make this work.
Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ MediaPlayer \ Settings \ MP3Encoding

Here, you'll see sub-keys for LowRate and LowRateSample, which of course equates to the single 56 Kbps sample rate you see in WMP8. To get better sampling rates, try adding the following keys (Using New then DWORD value):

"LowRate" = DWORD value of 0000dac0
"MediumRate" = DWORD value of 0000fa00
"MediumHighRate" = DWORD value of 0001f400
"HighRate" = DWORD value of 0002ee00

Now, when you launch WMP8 and go into Tools, then Options, then Copy Music, you will have four encoding choices for MP3: 56 Kbps, 64 Kbps, 128 Kbps, and 192 Kbps. Note that you will not get higher bit rate encoding unless you have installed an MP3 codec separately; the version in Windows Media Player 8 is limited to 56 Kbps only.


Find the appropriate location in the Registry... ...add a few DWORD values... ...And then you'll be ripping CDs in higher-quality MP3 format!



Speed up the Start Menu
=======================

The default speed of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay

By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.



Speed up the Start Menu (Part two)
==================================

If your confounded by the slow speed of the Start Menu, even after using the tip above, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Advanced and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow . You will get much better overall performance.



Speed up Internet Explorer 6 Favorites
======================================

For some reason, the Favorites menu in IE 6 seems to slow down dramatically sometimes--I've noticed this happens when you install Tweak UI 1.33, for example, and when you use the preview tip to speed up the Start menu. But here's a fix for the problem that does work, though it's unclear why:
Just open a command line window (Start button -> Run -> cmd) and type sfc, then hit ENTER. This command line runs the System File Checker, which performs a number of services, all of which are completely unrelated to IE 6. But there you go: It works.


Do an unattended installation
=============================

The Windows XP Setup routine is much nicer than that in Windows 2000 or Windows Me, but it's still an hour-long process that forces you to sit in front of your computer for an hour, answering dialog boxes and typing in product keys. But Windows XP picks up one of the more useful features from Windows 2000, the ability to do an unattended installation, so you can simply prepare a script that will answer all those dialogs for you and let you spend some quality time with your family.
I've written about Windows 2000 unattended installations and the process is pretty much identical on Windows XP, so please read that article carefully before proceeding. And you need to be aware that this feature is designed for a standalone Windows XP system: If you want to dual-boot Windows XP with another OS, you're going to have to go through the interactive Setup just like everyone else: An unattended install will wipe out your hard drive and install only Windows XP, usually.

To perform an unattended installation, you just need to work with the Setup Manager, which is located on the Windows XP CD-ROM in D:\SupportTools\DEPLOY.CAB by default: Extract the contents of this file and you'll find a number of useful tools and help files; the one we're interested in is named setupmgr.exe. This is a very simple wizard application that will walk you through the process of creating an answer file called winnt.sif that can be used to guide Windows XP Setup through the unattended installation.

One final tip: There's one thing that Setup Manager doesn't add: Your product key. However, you can add this to the unattend.txt file manually. Simply open the file in Notepad and add the following line under the [UserData] section:

ProductID=RK7J8-2PGYQ-P47VV-V6PMB-F6XPQ

(This is a 60 day CD key)

Then, just copy winnt.sif to a floppy, put your Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD drive, and reboot: When the CD auto-boots, it will look for the unattend.txt file in A: automatically, and use it to answer the Setup questions if it's there.

Finally, please remember that this will wipe out your system! Back up first, and spend some time with the help files in DEPLOY.CAB before proceeding.


For Older builds or not using setupreg.hiv file
===============================================

Remove the Desktop version text

During the Windows XP beta, you will see text in the lower right corner of the screen that says Windows XP Professional, Evaluation Copy. Build 2462 or similar. A lot of people would like to remove this text for some reason, and while it's possible to do so, the cure is more damaging than the problem, in my opinion. So the following step will remove this text, but you'll lose a lot of the nice graphical effects that come in Windows XP, such as the see-through icon text.

To remove the desktop version text, open Display Properties (right-click the desktop, then choose Properties) and navigate to the Desktop page. Click Customize Desktop and then choose the Web page in the resulting dialog. On this page, check the option titled Lock desktop items. Click OK to close the dialog, and then OK to close Display Properties. The text disappears. But now the rest of your system is really ugly. You can reverse the process by unchecking Lock desktop items.

There's also a shortcut for this process: Just right-click the desktop and choose Arrange by then Lock Web Icons on the Desktop.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enable ClearType on the Welcome Screen!
=======================================

As laptop users and other LCD owners are quickly realizing, Microsoft's ClearType technology in Windows XP really makes a big difference for readability. But the this feature is enabled on a per-user basis in Windows XP, so you can't see the effect on the Welcome screen; it only appears after you logon.

But you can fix that. Fire up the Registry Editor and look for the following keys:

(default user) HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ FontSmoothing (String Value)
HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ FontSmoothingType (Hexadecimal DWORD Value)

Make sure both of these values are set to 2 and you'll have ClearType enabled on the Welcome screen and on each new user by default.



Stop Windows Messenger from Auto-Starting
=========================================

If you're not a big fan of Windows Messenger simply delete the following Registry Key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\MSMSGS


Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
================================================

For some reason, Hibernate may not be available from the default Shut Down dialog. But you can enable it simply enough, by holding down the SHIFT key while the dialog is visible. Now you see it, now you don't!


Add album art to any music folder
=================================

One of the coolest new features in Windows XP is its album thumbnail generator, which automatically places the appropriate album cover art on the folder to which you are copying music (generally in WMA format). But what about those people that have already copied their CDs to the hard drive using MP3 format? You can download album cover art from sites such as cdnow.com or amguide.com, and then use the new Windows XP folder customize feature to display the proper image for each folder. But this takes time--you have to manually edit the folder properties for every single folder--and you will lose customizations if you have to reinstall the OS. There's an excellent fix, however.

When you download the album cover art from the Web, just save the images as folder.jpg each time and place them in the appropriate folder. Then, Windows XP will automatically use that image as the thumbnail for that folder and, best of all, will use that image in Windows Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) if you choose to display album cover art instead of a visualization. And the folder customization is automatic, so it survives an OS reinstallation as well. Your music folders never looked so good!


Album cover art makes music folder thumbnails look better than ever!


Change the location of the My Music or My Pictures folders
======================================================

In Windows 2000, Microsoft added the ability to right-click the My Documents folder and choose a new location for that folder in the shell
. With Windows XP, Microsoft has elevated the My Music and My Pictures folders to the same "special shell folder" status of My Documents, but they never added a similar (and simple) method for changing those folder's locations. However, it is actually pretty easy to change the location of these folders, using the following method.

Open a My Computer window and navigate to the location where you'd like My Music (or My Pictures) to reside. Then, open the My Documents folder in a different window. Drag the My Music (or My Pictures) folder to the other window, and Windows XP will update all of the references to that folder to the new location, including the Start menu.

Or use Tweak UI


Add/Remove optional features of Windows XP
==========================================

To dramatically expand the list of applications you can remove from Windows XP after installation, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open the sysoc.inf file. Under Windows XP Professional Edition RC1, this file will resemble the following by default:

[Version] Signature = "$Windows NT$"
DriverVer=06/26/2001,5.1.2505.0

[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7
smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7
AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7
CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7
MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7
AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7
Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7
MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7
ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7

[Global]
WindowTitle=%WindowTitle%
WindowTitle.StandAlone="*"

The entries that include the text hide or HIDE will not show up in Add/Remove Windows Components by default. To fix this, do a global search and replace for ,hide and change each instance of this to , (a comma). Then, save the file, relaunch Add/Remove Windows Components, and tweak the installed applications to your heart's content.


Cool, eh? There are even more new options now under "Accessories and Utilities" too.


Remove Windows Messenger
========================

It seems that a lot of people are interested in removing Windows Messenger for some reason, though I strongly recommend against this: In Windows XP, Windows Messenger will be the hub of your connection to the .NET world, and now that this feature is part of Windows, I think we're going to see a lot of .NET Passport-enabled Web sites appearing as well. But if you can't stand the little app, there are a couple of ways to get rid of it, and ensure that it doesn't pop up every time you boot into XP. The best way simply utilizes the previous tip:

If you'd like Windows Messenger to show up in the list of programs you can add and remove from Windows, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open sysoc.inf (see the previous tip for more information about this file). You'll see a line that reads:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

Change this to the following and Windows Messenger will appear in Add or Remove Programs, then Add/Remove Windows Components, then , and you can remove it for good:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,7

Autolog On tip for XP
real easy and straight forward.
1. click on "Start" - then click on "Run" - type "control userpasswords2"
2. click OK
3. On the Users tab, clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to
use this computer" check box.
4. A dialog will appear that asks you what user name and password should be used to logon automatically.

Your all set.

Aspi
WinXP does not come with an Aspi layer. So far almost 90% of the problems with winXP and CD burning software are Aspi layer problems. After installing winXP, before installing any CD burning software do a few things first:

1. Open up "My computer" and right click on the CD Recorder. If your CD recorder was detected as a CD recorder there will be a tab called "Recording". On this tab uncheck ALL of the boxes. apply or OK out of it and close my computer.

2. Next install the standard Aspi layer for NT. Reboot when asked.

Thats is. after the reboot you can install any of the currently working CD recording applications with no problems. If using CD Creator do not install direct CD or Take two as they are currently incompatible but Roxio has promised a fix as soon as XP is released.

Print Dir
XP alas does not include a way to print a directory listing aside from using the command prompt. I talking about a right click on the directory and print the files names on the printer type of Dir print. So I guess we will need to add one - start up regedit and add the following

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\print\command]
@="command.com /c dir %1 > PRN"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\print\command]
@="command.com /c dir %1 > dirprnt.txt"

Right click on a folder in windows explorer and choose "print". The contents of the folder will appear in a file called dirprnt.txt in the folder. open the file and print it out. If you want to print directly to the printer remove the second line containing "dirprnt.txt"

Rename Multiple files
A new, small, neat feature for winXP deals with renaming files. I personally have always wanted the OS to include a way to do a mass file renaming on a bunch of files. You can now rename multiple files at once in WinXP. Its real simple:

1. Select several files in Explorer, press F2 and rename one of those files to
something else. All the selected files get renamed to the new file name (plus a number added to the end).

2. thats it. Simple huh.

I would recommend that you only have the files you want to rename in the directory your working in. I would also recommend that until you get used to this neat little trick that you save copies of the files in a safe location while your getting the hang of it.

Handy for renaming those mass amounts of porn pics you d/l from the web
Use Window Blinds XP to add themes
Windows Blinds XP has been integrated into the Windows XP operating system. Microsoft and Stardock have entered into a partnership in which Microsoft will use their technology in the Windows XP operating system. With Windows Blinds XP installed you have additional styles to choose from in display properties.
And the best part is you can download over 1000 different styles and even make your own very easily with the SDK.
To get started you need to download the Windows Blinds XP extension: www.stardock.com/files/wbxp-b5_private.exe to download the latest beta
Note: You must register at http://scripting.stardock.com/customer/wbxp_beta.asp to be able to legally download the Windows Blinds XP beta. Once you register they will even e-mail you when new builds are available for download.
Once downloaded, install the program and you will notice the extra styles in the display properties when you run the program.
To download more styles www.wincustomize.com/index.asp and select windows blinds on the menu on the left.

Show file extensions
Ever wonder where you file extensions went? Working with files when you can not tell what the file extension can be a huge pain in the butt. Thankfully, MS has made it possible for all file names with the extensions to be shown.
In any folder that contains files. Click on the tools menu and select folder options.
Then click on the view tab.
Locate where it lists Hide extensions of known file types and uncheck it.
Click OK.


XP memory tweaks
Below are some Windows XP memory tweaks. They are located in the windows registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
DisablePagingExecutive - When enabled, this setting will prevent the paging of the Win2k Executive files to the hard drive, causing the OS and most programs to be more responsive. However, it is advised that people should only perform this tweak if they have a significant amount of RAM on their system (more than 128 MB), because this setting does use a substantial portion of your system resources. By default, the value of this key is 0. To enable it, set it to 1.
LargeSystemCache - When enabled (the default on Server versions of Windows 2000), this setting tells the OS to devote all but 4 MB of system memory (which is left for disk caching) to the file system cache. The main effect of this is allowing the computer to cache the OS Kernel to memory, making the OS more responsive. The setting is dynamic and if more than 4 MB is needed from the disk cache for some reason, the space will be released to it. By default, 8MB is earmarked for this purpose. This tweak usually makes the OS more responsive. It is a dynamic setting, and the kernel will give up any space deemed necessary for another application (at a performance hit when such changes are needed). As with the previous key, set the value from 0 to 1 to enable. Note that in doing this, you are consuming more of your system RAM than normal. While LargeSystemCache will cut back usage when other apps need more RAM, this process can impede performance in certain intensive situations. According to Microsoft, the "[0] setting is recommended for servers running applications that do their own memory caching, such as Microsoft SQL Server, and for applications that perform best with ample memory, such as Internet Information Services."
IOPageLockLimit - This tweak is of questionable value to people that aren't running some kind of server off of their computer, but we will include it anyway. This tweak boosts the Input/Output performance of your computer when it is doing a large amount of file transfers and other similar operations. This tweak won't do much of anything for a system without a significant amount of RAM (if you don't have more than 128 MB, don't even bother), but systems with more than 128 MB of RAM will generally find a performance boost by setting this to between 8 and 16 MB. The default is 0.5 MB, or 512 KB. This setting requires a value in bytes, so multiply the desired number of megabytes * 1024 * 1024. That's X * 1048576 (where X is the number, in megabytes). Test out several settings and keep the one which seems to work best for your system.




Finished on
Saturday, September 08, 2001
Special thanks to


Links
CODE
http://www.tweakxp.com/default.asp
http://www.wxperience.com/
http://www.xs4all.nl/~binkbv/windowsxp/
http://users.aol.com/axcel216/
http://scripts.wincustomize.com/skins.asp
http://thor.prohosting.com/~1cls/