If you don’t want others on the LAN to access your computer, passwords are the first step. But what about hiding the PC completely so that it’s not even visible on the network?

To hide a computer from the network neighborhood you first must load up a command prompt (Start -> Run then type CMD and press enter). From there type ‘net config server /hidden:yes’ and then press the enter key. After that’s done the PC you’re working on should disappear from the browser list (note it can take up to 30 minutes). If you want the computer to show up again, simply replace the ‘yes’ with a ‘no’.

Windows XP Pro has a limited variety of user privileges available to choose from, and at times the default choice of ‘Administrator’ or ‘Limited’ user privileges falls far short of the situation. But whether you know this or not, there are a few more privilege levels hidden away from view; such as ‘Power Users,’ ‘Backup Operators’ and ‘Network Configuration Operators’ to name just a few. To enable these privileges types is a bit trickier, but here’s the low down on how to access all the different accounts available to Windows XP.

First right click on the "My Computer" icon and go to "Manage". The "Computer Management" window will open and follow this path Local Users and Groups -> Users. In the right hand window, right click and select "New User…" Enter the user name and description to remind you of this account’s powers then press the "Create" button, then "Close". Right click on the new account and go to "Properties" then click the "Member Of" tab and the "Add…" button. From here click "Advanced…" and then the "Find Now" button and a list of all different user levels will appear. Select the one you want this account to have, then press the "Ok" button three times. Now that newly created account will have intermediate powers between a full Administrator and the base limited option.

This tip is useful for those times when you want to give someone more capabilities without requiring the administrator to baby-sit everything. For instance ‘Network Configuration Operators’ can adjust the networking properties like assigning IP addresses, configuring the DNS, etc., yet they do not have the ability to install programs (think Spyware). Power Users can install and run non-essential OS affecting programs, but cannot delete or modify someone else’s account or data without permission. Assigning Privileges are also a great way stopping kids from messing up the family computer too.

This tip is applicable for Windows 2000, 2003, Vista & 7.

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.