Rent A Geek Traverse City Computer Repair Service and Training
F.A.Q.
XP Tips & Tricks Page 1
Opening Ports or Adding Allowed Programs with SP2's Firewall
1. Click on Start / Run
2. Enter in firewall.cpl
3. Click on the Exceptions tab
Adding a Port for Internet Access:
1. Click on the Add Port button
2. Name it whatever you want
3. Enter in the ports you want to open
Adding a Program for Internet Access
1. Click on Add Program... button
2. A list of all installed programs will be displayed
3. Highlight the one you want to include for Internet access
4. Click on the OK button
Autoexec.nt or Config.nt Errors
If you are getting errors similar to:
The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows
applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.
Try copying the file from \windows\repair directory to the one that is in the
\windows\system32 directory.
Common Control Panel Applets
The follow are some common Control Panel Applets that are located in the
\windows\system32 directory.
If you find yourself using any of these frequently, then you can simply make
shortcuts to them on your desktop.
appwiz.cpl Add/Remove Programs
desk.cpl Display Properties
firewall.cpl Firewall Settings
inetcpl.cpl Internet Options
mmsys.cpl Sound and Audio
ncpa.cpl Network Connections
nusrmgr.cpl User Accounts
powercfg.cpl Power Options
sysdm.cpl System Properties
wscui.cpl Security Center
wuaucpl.cpl Automatic Updates Configuration
Windows Explorer Opens Search Companion Rather than the Folder
If the Windows Explorer opens up the Search Companion rather than opening up the
actual folder, the default setting for opening a folder is changed.
To correct this:
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Drive \
shell]
3. Edit the default value to be explorer or none
Guest Only Network Access
If you try and connect to an XP computer and are shown a logins screen with only
the computername/Guest,
You may need to change one of the Local Security Policies:
1. Got to Control Panel - Administrative Tools
2. Go to Local Policies - Security Options
3. Check teh Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts
4. Set it to Classic - local users authenticate as themselves
Repairing Damaged Winsock2
The symptoms when Winsock2 is damaged show when you try to release and renew the
IP address using IPCONFIG.
And you get the following error message:
An error occurred while renewing interface 'Internet': An operation was
attempted on something that is not a socket.
Also Internet Explorer may give the following error message:
The page cannot be displayed Additionally, you may have no IP address or no
Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, and you may be receiving IP
packets but not sending them.
There are two easy ways to determine if Winsock2 is damaged:
From the XP source files, go to the Support / Tools directory
Winsock Test Method 1
Run netdiag /test:winsock
The end should say Winsock test ..... passed
Winsock Test Method 2
1. Run Msinfo32
2. Click on the + by Components
3. Click on the by Network
4. Click on Protocol
5. There should be 10 sections if the Winsock2 key is ok
MSAFD Tcpip [TCP/IP]
MSAFD Tcpip [UDP/IP]
RSVP UDP Service Provider
RSVP TCP Service Provider
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
If the names are anything different from those in this list, then likely
Winsock2 is corrupted and needs to be repaired.
If you have any 3rd party software installed, the name MSAFD may be changed.
There should be no fewer than 10 sections.
To repair Winsock2
1. Run Regedit
2. Delete the following two registry keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2
3. Restart the computer
4. Go to Network Connections
5. Right click and select Properties
6. Click on the Install button
7. Select Protocol
8. Click on the Add button
9. Click on the Have Disk button
10. Browse to the \Windows\inf directory
11. Click on the Open button
12. Click on the OK button
13. Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
14. Click on the OK button
15. Reboot
Not Displaying Previous Network Share Shortcuts
By default, when you go to Network Places, it will scan and show shortcuts to
previous network shares.
To turn this off and remove any current shortcuts
1. Open up the Windows Explorer
2. Go to Tools / Folder Options / View
3. The top section should be Files and Folders
4. Uncheck Automatically search for network folders and printers
5. Then go into Network Neighborhood Select all the previous netowork
connections Delete them
6. Next time you look at the Network Neighborhood, they should not repopulate
Hiding a XP Computer from Network Neighborhood
If you want to share files from a XP computer,
yet want to remove it from showing up in the Network Neighborhood,
Run net config server /hidden:yes
Easy Way to Share Multiple Folders
If you need to share multiple folders, running the program SHRPUBW.EXE will
bring up a simple dialog box to let you:
1. Browse to the folder you want to share
2. Enter in a Share name
3. Ender in a Share description
4. Set permissions. Several choices are available
5. Restart the process from within the same program
System32 Folder Opens When Logging On
If the System32 folder shows on the desktop, there may be an invalid entry in
the Registry
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to both:
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
4. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
5. Double check that the values do not have incorrect, incomplete, or blank
entries
Not Viewing Zip Files as Folders
If you want to turn of WindowsXP showing Zip files as folders,
just run:
regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll
Setting Capslock, Numlock, Scroll Lock
If you want to set the startup state for any or all of these keys,
you just need to edit the registry.
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Keyboard
3. Open InitialKeyboardIndicators
4. Change the value to one of the following numbers
0 - All Keys off
1 - Caps Lock on
2 - Num Lock on
4 - Scroll Lock on
For multiple keys, add their values:
3 - Caps Lock and Num Lock on
5 - Caps Lock and Scroll Lock on
6 - Num Lock and Scroll Lock on
7 - Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock on
5. Log off and back on again
Running Network Diagnostics
Network Diagnostics scans your system to gather information about your hardware,
software, and network connections.
Start / Run / NETSH DIAG GUI
The following is the type of information that can be displayed:
* Ping
* Connect
* Show
* Verbose
* Save to Desktop
* Mail Service
* News Service
* Internet Proxy Server
* Computer Information
* Operating System
* Windows Version
* Modems
* Network Clients
* Network Adapters
* Domain Name System (DNS)
* Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
* Default Gateways
* Internet Protocol Address
* Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS)
DOS Tips in XP
Submitted 3/4/04
Windows XP cmd tip (DOS isn’t dead... it just smells funny) Some command-line
folder creation examples:
To create multiple folders at once, add them directly to the "md"
command:
C:\> md this is a test
To create a folder several folders deep, use:
C:\> md this\is\a\test
Creating a folder with a long name requires the double-quote at the beginning:
C:\> md "this is a test
Bonus tip: Windows XP supports the forward slash "/" as a folder
divider. Unix/Linux users: don't let the DOS environment get you down. Use a
Unix-style CD command to change your present working directory:
C:\> cd Windows/system32/drivers/etc
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