Networking in Windows XP can be a very tedious task, and frustrating if the PC is denied access to a shared folder even if it’s open to the rest of the network. Luckily there’s a quick and easy registry tweak that will solve this issue once and for good.

Load up the Windows registry editor (Start -> Run then type “regedit” and press the OK button) and follow this path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Control->Lsa. From there in the right hand window, modify or create the “restrictanonymous” DWORD and give it a value of “0“. After that’s done, save reboot and you’re set! No more “You might not have permission to use this network resource” errors when connecting to a public network folder.
The same is applicable for Windows Vista & Windows 7.

Microsoft Windows Vista/7 allows the system administrator to permanently enable or restrict the OS-level installation of specific hardware device families; everything from the videocard to hard drive, monitor or USB keys.

In a corporate environment a single 8GB USB flash drive can surreptitiously cart away significant amounts of confidential or sensitive information in a matter of seconds, without the pixel trail FTP or email leaves behind.

How to permanently disable a USB flash drive from being installed onto a PC running Windows Vista?

To access this feature in Windows Vista, type in ‘gpedit.msc’ in the Start Search box and press the enter key. Click Continue when the UAC prompt appears and the Group Policy editor will show up. Follow this path: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Device Installation Restrictions. Enable the ‘Prevent installation of drivers matching these device setup classes’, click ‘Show’ then ‘Add’. From here you have to type the GUID key (a Globally Unique IDentifier for hardware devices) for the device class you want to prevent Vista from installing. For example, a disk drive would be ‘(4d36e967-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}’ and a flash drive ‘(4d36e970-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318)‘.

To get the whole list of GUID keys, surf on over to this Microsoft page (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/devinst_d/hh/DevInst_d/setup-cls_f7544122-69a3-4b34-85f5-db3714408026.xml.asp).

Once all the GUID device keys you want Vista not to install are inserted, close the ‘Group Policy Editor’ and you’re all set. Windows Vista will no longer allow installation of those devices once it is up and running. To re-enable installation of the banned devices, simply follow the path through the Group Policy Editor, select the GUID string that you want to remove, for example ‘{4d36e967-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}’ for hard drives, and click the ‘Remove’ button.

This tip is applicable for Windows 7 also. But path is Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Device Installation -> Device Installation Restrictions.

With winter approaching in the Northern hemisphere, the sniffly, lime green drippy embrace of cold and flu season is quickly approaching. Keyboards and mice are a haven for bacteria and germs, so now is an excellent time to talk about hygiene, and how what you are doing right now is probably going to get you the sniffles. If you’re an enthusiast or work in an office environment, you probably make things worse by eating at your computer… As you can imagine with all the gunk stuck to those QWERTY keys, it’s only a matter of time before someone catches a cold and passes it on via a computer keyboard, mouse or a phone handset.

Luckily there are steps you can take to prevent the spread of germs.

First and foremost clean your keyboard and mouse with one of the following; a damp soapy sponge (not soaking wet, that may damage the keyboard), mild window cleaner containing ammonia & a soft cloth, or an anti-bacterial wipe. That will do an excellent job at removing the dirt and germs stuck to plastic surfaces like buttons and keys. If there’s a lot of grime, use a soft nylon brush and a can of compressed air to help remove the debris between keys. If your desktop keyboard is really dirty, use a vacuum to get at all that stuff under the keys. Once the keyboard and mouse have been given a good cleaning, carefully go over all surfaces with another clean dry cloth. While you’re at it, give your phone handset a wipe-down too.

This will take less than 3 minutes to do, but if you follow these suggestions once or twice a winter season, it can go along way to preventing colds and the flu – especially in the office.

For those of us faced with too much going on, using multiple computer monitors is common practice to expand the size of one’s desktop. Usually, the addition of a second monitor automatically puts the new display space to the right of the primary display. Yet what if that second monitor can only fit on your desk to the left of the primary monitor? Or, what if one monitor goes above or below the primary display? Luckily for us Windows XP is rather clever at accommodating just about any dual monitor orientation, so you can position a secondary monitor where ever you want without having to use third party software to get the desktop looking correct.

This tip applies to any computer with dual monitors already connected. The first thing you’ll want to do is load up your display properties (click “Start” -> “Control Panel” then double click on the “Display” icon) and click on the “Settings” tab. From there you should see two monitors represented, the one with a “1” on it is the primary display. Click and drag the secondary monitor to wherever you want, ie. click the secondary display and drag it above, below or to the left of the primary monitor icon, then release. If you’re experimenting, click the “Apply” button to see how your new display setup is, when you find the configuration that you like simply press the “OK” button and you’re set. This is a really simple tip, but you’d be surprised how many people never even knew Windows XP has this feature built right into it.

Microsoft deliberately disables ‘hibernation’ in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 systems that have more than 4GB of installed memory. It has done this because performance is affected… however there are cases where you might need hibernation support. Enabling this feature is easy, first load up Windows Explorer (right click on the My Computer icon and go to Explore) and from there click “Tools” then go to “Folder Options“. From there click the “View” tab and in the “Advanced settings:” section find the “Hidden files and folders” options and select the “Show hidden files and folders” radio box. Next find the “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” check box, uncheck it and press the “OK” button.

That will now allow you to see the hidden OS files, go to the root directory of the drive that hosts the OS (most likely C:) and find the “boot.ini” file. Open it up in notepad and add “MAXMEM=XXXX” switch to the bottom, where “XXXX” is the size of your system memory in megabytes. Save the changes, reboot your system and you’re set. You can now hibernate again.

Please note that this degrades system performance, but in case you absolutely need hibernation support (like with a laptop traveling between power sources), this feature allows you to save your work easily. If you no longer need hibernation, remove the MAXMEM line from the boot.ini file.