2009-01-08
CHANGE ICON FOR MY COMPUTER, RECYCLE BIN, OTHERS
SUMMARY: Change the My Computer, My Documents, or Recycle Bin icon on your Windows XP system to your liking.
Do you have icons for My Computer, My Documents, My Network Places, and/or Internet Explorer on your Windows XP desktop? And if so, would you like to change how the icons look?
1. Right-click an empty area of the desktop and choose "Properties".
2. When the "Display Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "Desktop" tab.
3. Click the "Customize Desktop" button.
4. A "Desktop Items" dialog box will appear. Make sure the "General" tab is selected.
5. Click on an icon to change:
* My Computer
* My Documents
* My Network Places
* Recycle Bin (full)
* Recycle Bin (empty)
6. Click "Change Icon".
7. If you like one of the available icons, choose one and click "OK". Or, you can browse your system for more icons including those you may have downloaded from the Internet. You can also use the icons embedded in executable files, DLLs, etc.
For a bunch of icons, enter this next to the "Browse" button and press ENTER:
%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll
8. Click "OK" on the dialog boxes to close them.
Note 1: If you want to create your own icons, here is a list of editors for informational purposes only.
2009-01-08
When Windows XP encounters a severe error that has the potential to crash the operating system, it immediately halts the offending program and displays an error message that says the application has encountered a problem and needs to close. Then, the operating system prompts you to send an error report to Microsoft. You can avoid having to click the Don’t Send button by disabling Error Reporting. Here’s how:
1. Press [Windows] [Break] to display the System Properties dialog box.
2. Select the Advanced tab and click the Error Reporting button.
3. When you see the Error Reporting dialog box, select the Disable Error Reporting option. (If you don’t want to see any type of error message, clear the But Notify Me When Critical Errors Occur check box.)
4. Click OK twice — once to close the Error Reporting dialog box and once to close the System Properties dialog box.
2009-01-08
When you run the Tweak UI PowerToy for Windows XP, the following message may be displayed:
Tweak UI has been disabled by your administrator.
Also, the following error message is displayed when you start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe):
Registry Editing has been disabled by your administrator
This error occurs if the DisableRegistryTools Policy is enabled.
IMPORTANT: If this policy was enabled in your system (not connected to a corporate network) without you doing anything or without your knowledge, then it's highly likely that a Virus has blocked the usage of Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) in your system by enabling the DisableRegistryTools policy via the registry. It's highly recommended that you perform a thorough checkup of your system immediately. Steps listed in this article will help you unblock the Registry Editor, but that does not remove the Virus (if any) from your system.
For a Windows Vista version of this article, see "Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator" in Windows Vista
Removing the DisableRegistryTools restriction
For standalone Windows XP systems, perform the steps below to remove the registry editing restrictions.
Method 1: Using the REG.EXE console tool
1. Click Start, Run and type this command:
You should be able to launch Tweak UI, as well as the Registry Editor.
Method 2: Using the Group Policy Editor (Windows XP Professional only)
• Click Start, Run and type gpedit.msc and press ENTER
• Go to the following location:
User Configuration | Administrative Templates | System
• Double-click Disable registry editing tools and set it to Not Configured
• Exit the Group Policy Editor
Note: If the setting already reads Not Configured, set it to Enabled, and click Apply. Then revert it back to Not Configured. This ensures that the DisableRegistryTools registry value is removed successfully.
2009-01-08
Change Internet Explorer Title Bar Text
This tweak allows you to customize Internet Explorer by adding your own window title.
[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Modify/Create the Value Name [Window Title] according to the Value Data listed below.
Data Type: REG_SZ [String Value] // Value Name: Window Title
Value Data: [Enter The Text Desired In Title Bar]
Exit Registry and Reboot.
Enable/Disable Task Manager
This tweak disables user access to Task manager. It must be applied on a user by user basis.
[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.
Data Type: DWORD Value // Value Name: DisableTaskMgr
Setting for Value Data: [0 = Enabled (Default) / 1 = Disabled]
Exit Registry and Reboot
Customize Windows Media Player Title Bar
Allows you to change the title bar to read Windows Media Player provided by , so if I had entered text of [The Elder Geek], it would read: Windows Media Player provided by The Elder Geek
[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft
Create the Key [WindowsMediaPlayer].
Modify/Create the Value Name [TitleBar] according to the Value Data listed below.
Data Type: REG_SZ [String Value] // Value Name: TitleBar
Value Data: [Enter the text to be displayed in the title bar.]
Note: Whatever text you enter as the value data will be preceded by:
Windows Media Player provided by, so if I had entered text of [The Elder Geek], it would read:
Windows Media Player provided by The Elder Geek
Exit Registry and Reboot
