Add Or Stop Programs During Startup

You can start or stop programs from executing at bootup by adding or deleting them to/from the run Keys in the Registry. Windows loads programs to start in the following order; Program listed in the Local Machine hive, then the Current User hive, then theWin.ini Run= and Load = lines. then finally programs in your Start Up folder.

To add or remove programs in the Registry
1.Open RegEdit
2.Go to the desired Key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
3. Add a new String Value and name it anything you like
4. For the value data, enter the path and executable for the program you want to run.

By adding the value to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive instead allows the program to start only when that user is logged on.

If you add the value to the RunOnce key the program will run once and be removed from the key by Windows.

Single Click Shutdown

Did you know that in Windows XP you can shut down your computer from the (eventually DOS prompt) command line box? Moreover, you can do this by clicking your mouse only once.

All you need to do is... right-click on an empty Desktop spot -> select New -> Shortcut -> type shutdown followed by a space, and then enter one or more of the parameters listed below -> click Next -> type a suggestive name for your new shortcut -> finally, click Finish.

This is the Shutdown.exe (located in %systemroot%\System32, usually C:\Windows\System32) syntax:
shutdown [-i|-l|-s|-r|-a] [-f] [-m \\computername] [-t xx] [-c "Text"] [-d[u][p]:xx:yy]>

Valid command line switches:
-a = Abort system shutdown in progress ONLY IF the -t xx timeout option was already set to ANY value other than 0. ALL switches except -l and -m are ignored during abort.

-c "Text" = Text comment (case insensitive) to be displayed in the Message area of the System Shutdown window. MUST be enclosed between quotes. Maximum allowed 127 ASCII characters.

-d [u][p]:xx:yy = Reason code for shutdown:
u = User code.
p = Planned shutdown code.
xx = Major reason code. Positive integer number less than 256.
yy = Minor reason code. Positive integer number less than 65536.

-f = Force running applications to close without warning.

-i = Display the shutdown interface (GUI). MUST be the first option!

-l = Log off the current user of the local computer (default action). Can NOT be used with the -m option unless the current user has Sysadmin rights, in which case the -m switch takes precedence.
-m \\computername = Remote/network computer name (most always case sensitive) to log off/restart/shut down. Current user MUST have Sysadmin rights to be allowed to use this switch!

-s = Shut down the local computer.

-r = Shut down and restart (reboot) the local computer.

-t xx = Set shutdown timer to timeout for xx seconds. IF NOT specified defaults to 20 seconds. Allowed values between 0 and 99 seconds. The -a switch is the ONLY one that CAN be used during the timeout period.

NOTES:
The dash (-) in front of these switches can be replaced by a forward slash (/).

Spaces are NOT required to separate the shutdown command from ANY following switches, but ARE required to separate ANY switch from its following parameter(s), if any.
For example:

shutdown -s -c "Shutting down!" -t 3

tells your computer to shutdown after waiting for 3 seconds while the System Shutdown window will display text above in the Message area.

Optional: after you're done creating your customized shortcut for shutdown -> right-click on it -> select Properties -> enter your desired key "combo" in the Shortcut Key box (e.g. Ctrl + Alt + End) -> click OK/Apply.
From now on just left-click on your shutdown shortcut or hit that key combination to turn off/restart/log off your computer.

Trick to lock your private folder

Suppose you want to lock the folder movies in d: which has the path D:\movies.In the same drive create a text file and type
ren movies movies.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Now save this text file as loc.bat
Create another text file and type in it
ren movies.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} movies
Now save this text file as key.bat
Now you can see 2 batch files loc and key. Press loc and the folder games will change to control panel and you cannot view its contents. Press key and you will get back your original folder.
try it out!!!!!!!

MAKE YOUR MENUS LOAD FASTER

This is one of my favorite tweaks as it makes a huge difference to how fast your machine will 'feel'. What this tweak does is remove the slight delay between clicking on a menu and XP displaying the menu.


Go to Start then Run
Type 'Regedit' then click 'Ok'
Find "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\"
Select "MenuShowDelay"
Right click and select "Modify'
Reduce the number to around "100"
This is the delay time before a menu is opened. You can set it to "0" but it can make windows really hard to use as menus will open if you just look at them - well move your mouse over them anyway. I tend to go for anywhere between 50-150 depending on my mood.

Boot your Computer Faster

Many computers take a lot of time to boot (or start ).This is due to many reasons.

Some slight changes can do wonders for your system:

1.Press start->run then type msconfig and press enter.

Go to the startup tab. Here you will see a list of startup items. These are all the programs that automatically start when you boot your PC. It is these that slow down the boot up process.

So uncheck all the unwanted items like ms-office, messengers other utilities that u may not need at startup). Don't uncheck your antivirus software.

Restart your Pc to and see for yourself, your pc will now boot faster....

2.A great new feature in Microsoft Windows XP is the ability to do a boot defragment. This places all boot files next to each other on the disk to allow for faster booting. By default this option is enabled, but on some systems it is not, so below is the information on how to turn it on:

Go to Start Menu and Click Run
Type in regedit then click ok
Find "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOpt imizeFunction"
Select "Enable" from the list on the right
Right on it and select "Modify"
Change the value to Y .
Reboot your Pc and see the change yourself.

3.SPEED UP BOOT BY DISABLING UNUSED PORTS.!!

You may have tried many tweaks like modifying windows XP start-up applications, prefetches, unload DLLs method, etc. And yes those methods do work for me.
I have just accidentally found out another way to give you an extra boost in windows XP's boot performance. This is done by disabling your unused devices in
Device Manager. for example, if you don't have input devices that are connected to one of your USB's or COM ports, disabling them will give you an extra performance boost in booting. Go to Control Panel -> System -> Hardware tab -> device manager Disable devices that you don't use for your PC and then restart.

Hardware Requirements

According to Microsoft corp, computers capable of running Windows Vista are classified as Vista Capable and Vista Premium Ready.

A Vista Capable or equivalent PC needs to have at minimum an 800 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM and a DirectX 9 class graphics card. A computer that meets these requirements will be capable of running all editions of Windows Vista although some of the special features and high end graphics options may require additional or more advanced hardware.

A Vista Premium Ready PC will take advantage of Vista's "high-end" features but will need at least a 1.0 GHz processor, 1 GB main memory, and an Aero-compatible graphics card with at least 128 MB graphics memory and supporting the new Windows Display Driver Model. The company also offers Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor from its website to determine the ability of a PC to run Vista in its various guises. The utility runs on Windows XP (with Service Pack 2) and Windows Vista.

Microsoft lists some Vista capable hardware on their website. The "Windows Vista Premium Ready" laptops they specify have Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 or above CPUs and 1 GB memory.

Windows Vista's "Basic" and "Classic" interfaces will work with virtually any graphics hardware that supports Windows XP or 2000; accordingly, most discussion around Vista's graphics requirements centers on those for the Windows Aero interface. As of Windows Vista Beta 2, the NVIDIA GeForce FX family and later, the ATI Radeon 9500 and later, Intel's GMA 950 integrated graphics, and a handful of VIA chipsets and S3 Graphics discrete chips are supported.Though some XGI Technology Volari chips were DirectX 9 (including the Volari V3XT which was available in PCI cards), with XGI's exit from the graphics card business it appears none of its chips are supported as of Vista Beta 2. A PCI Express (PCIe) video card is not a requirement for Windows Aero, but Microsoft recommends PCIe video over an AGP device due to the interface's greater bandwidth. There are some PCI cards available that are compatible with Windows Vista as well.

Windows Vista system requirements

Vista Capable

Processor 800MHz
Memory 512 MB
Graphics card DirectX 9 capable
HDD capacity 20 GB
HDD free space 15 GB
Other drives DVD-ROM

Vista Premium Ready

Processor 1.0 GMHz
Memory 1 GB
Graphics card DirectX 9 capable GPU with Hardware Pixel Shader v2.0 and WDDM driver support
Graphics memory 28 MB RAM supports up to 2,756,000 total pixels (e.g. 1920 × 1200) or 512 MB+ for greater resolutions such as 560x1600
HDD capacity 40 GB
HDD free space 15 GB
Other drives DVD-RW

Convert FAT- NTFS

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.

Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt. In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd and then click OK.

At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS. Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

NOTE:=
Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command.

Make Your Windows Fast As Never Before

Disable CD Autorun ( WinXP PRO Only)
1) Click Start, Run and enter GPEDIT.MSC

2) Go to Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System.

3) Locate the entry for Turn autoplay off and modify it as you desire.

Speed Up Browsing
When you connect to a web site your computer sends information back and forth. 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 Windows XP and Windows XP have a pretty efficient DNS cache, you can increase its overall performance by increasing its size. You can do this with the registry entries below:

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

Make a new text file and rename it to dnscache.reg. Then copy and paste the above into it and save it. Merge it into the registry.

DISABLE INDEXING SERVICES
Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on your computer. It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don't search your computer often, or even if you do search often, this system service is completely unnecessary. To disable do the following:

1. Go to Start
2. Click Settings
3. Click Control Panel
4. Double-click Add/Remove Programs
5. Click the Add/Remove Window Components
6. Uncheck the Indexing services
7. Click Next

OPTIMISE DISPLAY SETTINGS
Windows XP can look sexy but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. To optimize:

1.Go to Start
2. Click Settings
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click System
5. Click Advanced tab
6. In the Performance tab click Settings
7. Leave only the following ticked:
- Show shadows under menus
- Show shadows under mouse pointer
- Show translucent selection rectangle
- Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
- Use visual styles on windows and buttons

SPEEDUP FOLDER BROWSING
You may have noticed that everytime you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers everytime you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:

1. Open My Computer
2. Click on Tools menu
3. Click on Folder Options
4. Click on the View tab.
5. Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
6. Click Apply
7. Click Ok
8. Reboot your computer

REMOVE THE DESKTOP PICTURE
Your desktop background consumes a fair amount of memory and can slow the loading time of your system. Removing it will improve performance.

1. Right click on Desktop and select Properties
2. Select the Desktop tab
3. In the Background window select None
4. Click Ok

DISABLE UNNECESSARY SERVICES
Because Windows XP has to be all things to all people it has many services running that take up system resources that you will never need. Below is a list of services that can be disabled on most machines:

Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Fast User Switching
Help and Support - (If you use Windows Help and Support leave this enabled)
Human Interface Access Devices
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
Remote Registry Service
Secondary Logon
Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
Server
SSDP Discovery Service - (Unplug n' Pray will disable this)
Telnet
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Upload Manager
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (Do not disable if you use a wireless network)
Workstation
To disable these services:

Go to Start and then Run and type "services.msc"
Doubleclick on the service you want to change
Change the startup type to 'Disable"

REMOVE ANNOYING DELETE CONFIRMATION MESSAGES
Although not strictly a performance tweak I love this fix as it makes my machine 'feel' faster. I hate the annoying 'are you sure?' messages that XP displays, especially if I have to use a laptop touchpad to close them. To remove these messages:

1. Right-click on the 'Recycle Bin' on the desktop and then click 'Properties'

2. Clear the 'Display Delete Confirmation Dialog' check box and click 'Ok'

If you do accidently delete a file don't worry as all is not lost. Just go to your Recycle Bin and 'Restore' the file.

SPEED UP UR ACROBAT READER (ALMOST LIKE NOTEPAD)

1. Go to the installation folder of acrobat reader
(C:\program files\adobe\acrobat\reader\.. whatever)

2. Move all the files and folders from the "plugins" directory to the "Optional" directory. (I repeat.. cut and paste the files NOT copy & paste).

Also make sure that acrobat reader is not open else it will lock the files and not allow you to move the files).

Now your acrobat reader will load very fast and almost as good as notepad..

Hacking Windows SEND TO MENU

How often do you copy songs from a CD? Or some photos from a CD?

What do you do? You select the required files and do a CTRL –C. Open the destination folder and do a CTRL-V. Here is something you can benefit time from. Customize your SEND TO MENU.

This sounds simple and you can do it in less than sixty seconds.
You can create your own BASKET.

First you’ll need access to hidden files. So change your view settings to make all hidden files visible.
Tools -> folder options -> view (tab) and select the show hidden files and folders.
go to parent drive:/documents and settings/(user name)/send to

Open up my computer and locate your most used folders.

Create a shortcut of the most used folders in SEND TO FOLDER.You can do this in a number of ways.

Right click -> send to desktop(create shortcut) and move the shortcut from the desktop to the SEND TO FOLDER

Copy the most used folder and go to SEND TO FOLDER and right click -> paste shortcut.

Also remember to rename the shortcuts to send to videos or send to potos. We don’t need confusion when we use the same later.

Top 20 Tips To Keep Your System Faster for window 98

Follow these tips and you will definitely have a much faster and more reliable PC! Most of the below tips works for windows 95/98

1. Wallpapers: They slow your whole system down, so if you're willing to compromise, have a basic plain one instead!

2. Drivers: Update your hardware drivers as frequently as possible. New drivers tend to increase system speed especially in the case of graphics cards, their drivers are updated by the manufacturer very frequently!

3. Minimizing: If you want to use several programs at the same time then minimize those you are not using. This helps reduce the overload on RAM.

4. Boot Faster: The 'starting Windows 95/98' message on startup can delay your booting for a couple of seconds. To get rid of this message go to c:\ and find the file Msdos.sys. Remove the Read-Only option. Next, open it in Notepad or any other text editor. Finally, go to the text 'Options' within the file and make the following changes: Add BootDelay=0. To make your booting even faster, set add Logo=0 to remove the Windows logo at startup.

5. Restart only Windows: When restarting your PC, hold down Shift to only restart Windows rather than the whole system which will only take a fraction of the time.

6. Turn Off Animations: Go to Display Settings from the Control Panel and switch to the Effects Tab. Now turn off Show Windows Content While Dragging and Smooth Edges on Screen Fonts. This tip is also helpful with Windows XP because of the various fade/scroll effects.

7. Faster Start-Menu Access: Go to the Start menu and select Run. Now type Regedit and hit Enter. The Registry Editor will appear on the screen. Now, open the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. You should see a MenuShowDelay value. If you don't then do the following: right click on a blank space in the right pane and select New\String. Change the name in the new value to MenuShowDelay. Now that we have the MenuShowDelay value, double click on it and enter 0 in the value data field. This sets the start menu delay to 0 milliseconds.

8. Resolutions: If you are willing to do anything for faster performance from your PC, then try lowering your display resolution. The lower it is, the faster your PC.

9. Turn off Active Desktop: Go to your Display Properties and switch to the Web tab. Uncheck View My Active Desktop As a Web Page. Since the Active Desktop option under Windows 98 uses a lot of system resources, this option can have a dramatic effect on the speed of the whole system.

10. Defragment Often: Windows 98's Defrag tool uses Application Acceleration from Intel which means that when you defragment your drive, data is physically arranged on the drive so that applications will load faster.

11. Take your PC to Bed: Using the Advanced Power Management feature under Windows 98 gives you the option to use the sleep command. That way, you can send your PC to sleep instead of shutting it down and then restarting it. It's as simple as pressing a button and then pressing the same button to wake it up. You can tell Windows after how many minutes/hours of inactivity to automatically sleep the machine in the Advanced Power Management section of the Control Panel.

12. Faster Internet Access: If you use the internet for reference and the sites you visit are rarely updated then try the following. In IE (the same can be done in Netscape) go to Tools, Internet Options. Next, click on Settings... in the Temporary Internet Files section. Finally, select Never for the first option and double the amount of storage space to use, click OK!

13. Benchmarking: Benchmarking can be very useful when run frequently. It can tell you how your PC's components are performing and then compare them to other machines like yours. For example, when you overclock your PC, you want to know how much more speed you have and whether it is stable. All this and more can be discovered using benchmarking. An excellent piece of software for doing this job is SiSoft Sandra which can be found in the Downloads File Archive!

14. Refresh the Taskbar without restarting: If you in some way change the taskbar, either in Regedit or elsewhere, you can refresh the task bar without restarting. Hold down Ctrl Alt Del, and double click on Explorer. Say Yes to close Explorer, but no to closing Windows. This will refresh the Taskbar and system tray.

15. Quick CD Eject: Instead of pushing the button on your drive, right-click your CD drive letter in My Computer and click on Eject. This will also remove any icons that have become associated with the CD drive.

16. Start Up Programs: Windows can be slowed down when programs run on start up. To eliminate this, check your Start up folder. You can access it from the start menu: Start, Programs, Start Up. Another way to eliminate programs from loading even before Windows actually starts is by doing the following: Click on Start, then Run. Type msconfig. It will take quite a long time for this program to load, but when you finally see it on your screen, explore the different tabs. They all have to do with how quickly your PC boots, so select what you want, and uncheck what you don't want!

17. Fonts: When Windows starts, it loads every single font in the Fonts folder. Therefore, the more fonts you have, the slower the booting process. To get rid of unwanted fonts, simply go to the Fonts folder under c:\windows and remove whatever you don't want. Fonts that have a red letter 'A' as their icon are system fonts, so don't delete them.

18. Stretching Wallpapers: Don't "stretch" your wallpaper in Windows 98 since it actually slows Windows down when you drag icons around on the desktop.

19. RAM Matters: If you have less than 32MB then you should seriously think of upgrading it to at least 64MB. Windows runs much more smoothly with 64MB or higher and tends to use less hard disk space for virtual memory.

20. Partitioning: A very nice little thing you can do to boost system performance. By partitioning your hard drive, splitting one physical drive into several logical ones, you can gain several advantages. 1. If you get a virus or you accidentally format a drive, not all will be lost. 2. By placing the swap file (Win386.swp) on a separate drive, The swap file will be less fragmented and thus, faster. 3. Place Windows on a separate drive and whenever you need to reinstall it, you rest assured that your data is safe on a separate drive. Partitioning can be done using a few programs such as FDisk which comes with DOS. However, FDisk formats everything on the hard disk before partitioning. Alternatively, you can use Partition Magic from Power Quest to partition your hard disk without losing your data.

View Admin At welcome Screen

By default windows XP doesn't show the Administrator in the user list at the welcome screen. Here's a way to get around it.

Now head up to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\Userlist

create a new DWORD entry and name it as Administrator and change its value to 1.

exit and reboot for the changes to take effect.
To change it back change its value to 0 or simply delete the key.

Batch Programming Tricks --- 1

Alternative ways to get directory listing.
DIR DIR * DIR . DIR. DIR : DIR: DIR , DIR,
The last two also list system and hidden files.

One or more . (dots) can represent a directory.
Sometimes it's easier to use dots to represent directories. For example, if you'd like to move a file from another directory to the current, instead of writing the path to the current directory (which move.exe requires), use a dot: MOVE.EXE Path\anyfile .

This can be demonstrated with the DIR command.
One dot represents the current directory: DIR .
Two dots represent the parent directory: DIR ..
Three dots represent the directory above that: DIR ...
And so on.

Directory listing of extentionless files.
DIR/A *. will list all files without extensions.

Add or remove file extensions (except system or hidden files).
REN *. *.txt will add .txt extension to files without extensions.
REN *.txt *. will remove .txt extension on files that have it.

Rename multiple files (except system or hidden files).
REN *.bat *.txt will rename all .bat files to .txt files.
REN *.txt 1*.txt will rename all .txt files so their first character is 1.

Use %temp%.\ (case is irrelevant) to represent the temp variable.
The temp variable can be set with or without a backslash, ie. c:\temp or c:\temp\, which can be problematic when using the variable in a batch file. Using temp%.\ will refer correctly to the temp directory whether it has been set with a backslash or not. This method can be used with any variable whose value is set to a directory (provided the directory name has no extension!).

Use ..\ as the last directory in your Path statement.
No matter where you are, the parent directory will always be in the Path.

Change Drive and Directory easily.
There can be many reasons for changing drive and directory in a batch file, and this can be difficult if we only have a path and directory to go on. This can be accomplished with startling ease when one knows the secret, however. A drive can be made current just by entering a full path and directory at the prompt, provided a backslash is added at the end, ie. D:\AnyDir\, which entered at the prompt will make the D: drive current, if it is a valid drive. Oddly enough, the directory can be bogus and this will work nonetheless. If our directory is indeed valid, we can after changing drives, change to the directory by adding CD in front and repeating it without the backslash so we have, D:\AnyDir\ followed by CD D:\AnyDir Here's how it looks in a batch file:

@ECHO off
:: cdd.bat (Change Drive and Directory)
:: Where %1 is a full path and directory without backslash.
:: Example usage: CDD D:\ValidDir or CDD D: (for root)
%1\
CD %1

Suppress a command's output.
Works with most commands.
COPY file1 file2 >nul

Suppress a batch file's output.
COMMAND/CTEST.BAT >nul

Batch Programming Tricks --- 2

Temporarily increase environment while running a batch file.
Specify a maximum of 32000 bytes with the /E switch.
COMMAND/E:24000/CTEST.BAT

A timed delay (wait/sleep) which can not be interfered with from the keyboard.
:: Substitute 5 with the desired number of seconds, up to 99.
TYPE nul |CHOICE.COM /N /CY /TY,5 >nul

Timed delay w/o pipe.
CHOICE.COM/N/CY/TY,5nul
CHOICE.COM/N/CY/TY,5nul

Timed delay with Ctrl+C and Ctrl+Break disabled.
@ECHO off
CTTY nul
TYPE nul |CHOICE.COM /N /CY /TY,5
CTTY con

Produce a constant alarm (beeping).
CHOICE.COM /N <>nul
CHOICE.COM /N /CY /TY >nul
GOTO start

Create a 0 byte file.
TYPE nul >filename

Exit a batch at a designated place.
This method is used for testing and outputs a "Label not found" message which can be useful as confirmation the batch has quit at the designated place and also as a reminder if you forget to remove the bogus GOTO. Makes no disk writes.
GOTO bogus (non-existent label)

Exit a batch w/o error message using a 0 byte file.
This method writes a temporary 0 byte file which remains on the drive.
TYPE nul >%temp%.\batexit.bat
%temp%.\batexit

Exit a batch file w/o error message or orphaned file.
This method does not leave a 0 byte file behind, but uses pipes so it writes to %temp% or current. This trick courtesy of Laura Fairhead, http://lf.8k.com/.
CTTY NUL |GOTO |CTTY CON |CALL ECHO ON

Batch Programming Tricks --- 3

Exit a batch file w/o error message or orphaned file.
This method does not leave a 0 byte file behind, but uses pipes so it writes to %temp% or current. This trick courtesy of Laura Fairhead, http://lf.8k.com/.
CTTY NUL |GOTO |CTTY CON |CALL ECHO ON

Use FOR to process GOTO's.
FOR does not see the colon as a delimiter, but GOTO does. Therefore, they can be used together.
IF "%1"=="" FOR %%v IN (ECHO GOTO:end) DO %%v parameter required

Suppress screen messages, including error messages.
:: test.bat
@ECHO off
CTTY nul
ECHO this is a test
DIR/AD \..\
CTTY con

Selectively display messages when screen output is suppressed.
:: test2.bat
@ECHO off
CTTY nul
ECHO This message will not be displayed
ECHO This message will be displayed >con
CTTY con

Delete all non-system, hidden or read-only files without confirmation.
DEL c:\dirname\*?.*

Use the pipe to place separate commands on one line.
Commands can sometimes be combined on one line.
SET |FIND.EXE "windir" |IF errorlevel=1 ECHO Windows not running
:: Here are six commands on one line:
D:|CD\|DIR/AD/-P TEMP|FIND "TEMP "|IF not errorlevel=1 CD TEMP

Delete all files in a directory, regardless of attributes.
This example uses the pipe to place separate commands on one line. Be careful with this one, don't do anything rash.
ATTRIB.EXE -R -A -S -H DirName\*.* |ECHO Y |DEL DirName\*.* >nul

Multiple pipes, and an ansi trick.
Ansi.sys required; Esc represents the escape character, created in edit by 'Ctrl+P Esc'
::howmany.bat
@ECHO off
:: display how many files and bytes in current and sub-directories
DIR/A-D/W/S/-P |FIND "file(s)" |SORT/R |FIND/N "file(s)" |FIND "[1]"
IF not errorlevel=1 ECHO Esc[1ATotal:

Place comments on a command line.
ATTRIB.EXE, %1 %removes file attributes - broken in MS-DOS 7.x%

Echo pipes and redirection characters to the screen or to another file.
ECHO @PROMPT a+b $g c+d$_ > %temp%.\spchar1.bat
COMMAND/E:2048/C %temp%.\spchar1.bat |FIND "+" >%temp%.\results.txt
DEL %temp%.\spchar1.bat

Echo pipes and redirection characters with a single command.
Use %v at the prompt and %%v in a batch file.
COMMAND/E:2048/CFOR %v IN (1 2) DO PROMPT a+b $G c+d $_ |FIND/V "PROMPT">results.txt

Batch Programming Tricks --- 4

Limit DIR output to only the file or directory you specify.
In cases where you are looking for an extensionless file or directory, only the name you specify will be in the DIR output, even though there may exist one or more files with the same basename and an extension. It can be used on all files because a dot following a file with an extension is ignored.
DIR/A-D/-P FileName.
DIR/AD/-P DirName.

Delete a file with copy
COPY nul filename

Xcopy one file to another without being asked if it's a file or directory.
ECHO F |XCOPY.EXE file1 file2

Xcopy a file to another directory w/o pipe.
XCOPY c:\example1.fil w:\temp\

Xcopy a file to another directory w/o pipe.
XCOPY c:\example1.fil w:\temp\*example1.fil

Use mode.com to truncate a string.
:: truncate one character, or up to and including a delimiter.
MODE name.ext
:: returns: Invalid parameter - name
MODE think/
:: returns: Invalid parameter - thin

Determine if a file is a 0 byte file without deleting it.
:: is0byte.bat
@ECHO off
COPY>nul %1 nul |FIND "1 file(s) copied"
IF not errorlevel=1 ECHO %1 is not a 0 byte file
IF errorlevel=1 ECHO %1 is a 0 byte file

:: is0byte2.bat
COPY %1 nul |FIND " 0 file" >nul
IF not errorlevel=1 ECHO %1 is a 0 byte file
IF errorlevel=1 ECHO %1 is not a 0 byte file

Place a line without a CR/LF (Carriage Return/Line Feed) into a file.
After creating this input file which has an End Of File character as its last character, you can TYPE the input file into a new batch file which will not have a CR/LF. See FAQ 57.
:: setvar.inp
@ECHO off
:: EOF character created in edit by Ctrl+P+Z
SET %1=EOF

Get input from file into variable.
Where result1.dat contains command output or other text. This example places the current directory into a variable.
:: result.bat
@ECHO off
CD > result1.dat ECHO. >> result1.dat
DATE <> result1.bat
ECHO set curdir=%%4> enter.bat
FOR %%C IN (CALL DEL) DO %%C result1.bat
DEL enter.bat
:: %optional% DEL result1.dat
:: %optional% ECHO. current directory is %curdir%

Timestamp and/or datestamp (touch) a file with the current system date and time.
COPY/Y filename /B+,,

Batch Programming Tricks --- 5

Parse a string with the / (slash) character.
ECHO>01/31/2000
results in a file named 01 which contains:
/31/2000

ECHO set var=>01/31/2000
results in a file named 01 which contains:
set var=/31/2000

Remove a leading / (slash) character from a string.
ECHO/31/2000
results in:
31/2000

A pause which requires Ctrl+Break instead of any key.
After Ctrl+Break, there is the usual choice to continue or abort.
COMMAND nul /CECHO ;|CHOICE /C; /N

Display number of files in directory, bytes used and bytes free.
DIR/W c:\bat |find "y"
Includes subdirectories:
DIR/W/S c:\bat |find "y" |more

Edit the %path% at the prompt.
After running edpath.bat, use [F3], or [Up Arrow] (if doskey is installed) to edit the path. With this method, a temporary batch will remain in the %temp% directory. This trick courtesy of Laura Fairhead, http://lf.8k.com/.
:: edpath.bat
@ECHO off
PATH>%temp%.\edpath1.bat
CALL<%temp%.\edpath1.bat

Get current directory into a variable.
This trick courtesy of Laura Fairhead, http://lf.8k.com/.
:: curdir.bat
@SET cd=
@SET promp$=%prompt%
@PROMPT SET cd$Q$P
@CALL>%temp%.\setdir.bat
@
% do not delete this line %
@ECHO off
PROMPT %promp$%
FOR %%c IN (CALL DEL) DO %%c %temp%.\setdir.bat
ECHO. current directory=%cd%

Get current date into a variable.
:: gdate.bat (GetDATE)
@ECHO off
SET gdate1=
ECHO SET date=%%3>%temp%.\%%gdate1%%.bat
DIR/A-D/-W/L/-P %temp% | FIND "%%gdate1%%" >%temp%.\%%gdate2%%.bat
SET gdate1=%temp%.\%%gdate1%%
CALL %temp%.\%%gdate2%%.bat
SET gdate1=
DEL %temp%.\%%gdate?%%.bat
ECHO. todays date is %date%

Get latest (last) file into a variable.
I received a couple of emails about lastfile.bat. Here is a clarification. "Last non hidden/system file" refers to the last file according to physical placement on disk which is not necessarily the last file written to disk.
:: lastfile.bat
@ECHO off
:: Get last non hidden/system file in current directory into
:: variable (last file on disk, but not by date or last modified).
:: Accepts wildcard specification for parameter 1.
SET lastfil=
IF not "%1"=="" FOR %%f in (%1) do set lastfil=%%f
IF "%1"=="" FOR %%f in (*.*) do set lastfil=%%f
IF not "%1"=="" ECHO. last %1 file in directory is %lastfil%
IF "%1"=="" ECHO. last file in directory is %lastfil%

Get oldest (1st) file into a variable.
:: 1stfile.bat
@ECHO off
:: Get first non hidden/system file in current directory into
:: variable (1st file on disk, but not by date).
:: Accepts wildcard specification for parameter 1.
IF "%2"=="ReCuRs" GOTO recurs
SET fspec=%1
IF not "%1"=="" FOR %%f in (%1) do %0 %%f ReCuRs
IF "%1"=="" FOR %%f in (*.*) do %0 %%f ReCuRs

:recurs
SET 1stfile=%1
IF not "%fspec%"=="" ECHO. 1st %fspec% file in directory is %1
IF "%fspec%"=="" ECHO. 1st file in directory is %1
::

Keep a connection alive.

netstat -e 15
Although it cannot be used as a delay function because it must be broken by a CTRL+C, it is not processor intensive and does not send any packets on the network. However, it acts as a great way to hold a connection open, such as when someone uses a Terminal Service connection, rather than a ping or dir loop. This does a check on net card statistics every 15 seconds, and runs in a loop automatically.

Startup / Shutdown

Allows boot files to be placed optimally on the hard-drive for faster boots.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction]
"Enable"="Y"

Speed up shutdown
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"AutoEndTasks"="1"
"HungAppTimeout"="100"
"WaitToKillAppTimeout"="1000"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000"

Disable Automatic Restart in the event of a BSOD
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl]
"AutoReboot"=dword:00000000

Prefetcher tweak (faster booting) boot and program prefetch use 00000003 or Boot only 00000002
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters]
"EnablePrefetcher"=dword:00000002

Clear the Page File at System Shutdown for security (makes shutdown slower when activated)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001

Disable Hibernate
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power]
"Heuristics"=hex:05,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,3f,42,0f,00

Disable Shutdown Event Tracker
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Reliability]
"ShutdownReasonOn"=dword:00000000
"ShutdownReasonUI"=dword:0000000

START MENU / TASKBAR TWEAKS

Remove Language Bar from Taskbar
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{540D8A8B-1C3F-4E32-8132-530F6A502090}]
@="Language bar"
"MenuTextPUI"="@%SystemRoot%\\System32\\msutb.dll,-325"

Sort Start Menu and Favorites in Alphabetical Order
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder]

Disable Highlighting of New Applications in Start Menu
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"Start_NotifyNewApps"=dword:00000000

Delete programs from startup group
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"NeroFilterCheck"=-
"nwiz"=-
"SunJavaUpdateSched"=-
"Picasa Media Detector"=-
"MsnMsgr"=-

Repairs Filters problem with Nero UA install
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
"UpperFilters"=-
"LowerFilters"=-

SYSTEM PERFORMANCE TWEAKS

Speed up Opening of My Computer and Windows Explorer
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\stisvc]
"Start"=dword:00000004
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoSaveSettings"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"NoNetCrawling"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoRemoteRecursiveEvents"=dword:00000001

Speed up Copying/Moving of .ZIP Files
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.zip\CompressedFolder]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{E88DCCE0-B7B3-11d1-A9F0-00AA0060FA31}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CompressedFolder]

Speed up Shutdown
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"AutoEndTasks"="1"
"HungAppTimeout"="100"
"WaitToKillAppTimeout"="1000"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000"

Speed up Access to .AVI Media Files
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}]]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}\InProcServer32]

Speed Up Browsing Remote Computers
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace\{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace\{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}]

Optimize Core System Performance
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"DisablePagingExecutive"=dword:00000001

DESKTOP TWEAKS

Disable Desktop Cleanup Wizard
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\CleanupWiz]
"NoRun"=dword:00000001

Remove Shotcut To.. Prefix on Desktop Shorcut Names
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"Link"=hex:00,00,00,00

Remove Arrow Overlay from Desktop Shortcuts
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile]
"IsShortcut"=-

Put My Computer Shortcut on Desktop
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000

Put My Network Places Shortcut on Desktop
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000

Put My Documents Shortcut on Desktop
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}"=dword:00000000

APPEARANCE TWEAKS

Remove More Themes Online... from Themes Dropdown Box
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\DownloadSites]

Change Default Desktop Wallpaper
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop\General]
"BackupWallpaper"="%Windir%\\Web\\Wallpaper\\lh_bliss.bmp"
"Wallpaper"="%Windir%\\Web\\Wallpaper\\lh_bliss.bmp"

CONTEXT MENUS TWEAKS

Add Control Panel to Right Click Menu of My Computer
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\Control Panel\command]
@="rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL"

GENERAL WINDOWS TWEAKS

Show File Extensions (.exe/.bmp etc.)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"HideFileExt"=dword:00000000

Disable ALL Balloon Tips
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoSMBalloonTip"=dword:00000000

Disable Windows Tour
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Tour]
"RunCount"=dword:00000000

Force The Control Panel Classic Display Style
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"ForceClassicControlPanel"=dword:00000001

Show Detailed Information in Device Manager
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment]
"DEVMGR_SHOW_DETAILS"=dword:00000001
"DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES"="1"

Remove Windows Alexa Spyware
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions\{c95fe080-8f5d-11d2-a20b-00aa003c157a}]

Remove Search Dog Assistant
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CabinetState]
"Use Search Asst"="no"

Enable Windows 2000 File Sorting Method
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoStrCmpLogical"=dword:00000001

STARTUP / SHUTDOWN TWEAKS

Clear Page File at Shutdown
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001

Disable Hibernation
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power]
"Heuristics"=hex:05,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,3f,42,0f,00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager\Power]
"Heuristics"=hex:05,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,3f,42,0f,00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power]
"Heuristics"=hex:05,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,3f,42,0f,00

Disable MSN Messenger from Startup
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"MsnMsgr"=-

MULTIMEDIA TWEAKS

Disable Preview of Movie File Formats
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.avi\ShellEx]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mpg\ShellEx]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mpe\ShellEx]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mpeg\ShellEx]

Show Volume Icon in the System Tray
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\SysTray]
"Services"=dword:0000001f

Disable Windows Navigation Sounds
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.default]
@=" "
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.current]
@=" "

NETWORK TWEAKS

Store more DNS Entries
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]
"NegativeCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NetFailureCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NegativeSOACacheTime"=dword:00000000
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000fa00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d

Maximize Number of Simultaneous Connections
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings]
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000040
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:00000040

Enable Faster Web Page Loading
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider]
"DnsPriority"=dword:00000001
"HostsPriority"=dword:00000001
"LocalPriority"=dword:00000001
"NetbtPriority"=dword:00000001

Disable Quality of Service (QoS)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Psched]
"NonBestEffortLimit"=dword:00000000

Increase Network Throughput
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanworkstation\parameters]
"MaxCmds"=dword:00000001
"MaxThreads"=dword:00000064
"MaxCollectionCount"=dword:00000064

SOFTWARE / OTHER TWEAKS

Disable Adobe Acrobat Reader EULA
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\6.0\AdobeViewer]
"EULA"=dword:00000001

Disable Adobe Acrobat Reader Automatic Updates
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\6.0\Updater]
"iUpdateFrequency"=dword:00000000

Disable Adobe Acrobat Reader Splash Screen
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\6.0\Originals]
"bDisplayAboutDialog"=dword:00000000

Enable StatusBar in Notepad
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad]
"StatusBar"=dword:00000001

Enable Word Wrap in Notepad
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad]
"fWrap"=dword:00000001

Open .nfo Files in Notepad
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.nfo]
"Application"="NOTEPAD.EXE"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.nfo\OpenWithList]
"a"="Explorer.exe"
"MRUList"="ba"
"b"="NOTEPAD.EXE"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.nfo\OpenWithProgids]
"MSInfo.Document"=hex(0):

SOFTWARE / OUTLOOK EXPRESS TWEAKS

Remove Windows Messenger from Outlook Express
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Outlook Express]
"Hide Messenger"=dword:00000002

Block .exe Attachments in Outlook Express
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Outlook Express]
"BlockExeAttachments"=dword:00000001

SOFTWARE / MEDIA PLAYER TWEAKS

Disable Media Player EULA
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsMediaPlayer]
"GroupPrivacyAcceptance"=dword:00000001

Enable DVD Features in Media Player
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Settings]
"EnableDVDUI"="yes"

SOFTWARE / INTERNET EXPLORER TWEAKS

Disable Auto-Complete Prompt
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms]
"AskUser"=dword:00000000

Set HomePage
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Start Page"="www.google.ca"

Empty Temporary Internet Files Folder When Browser Is Closed
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Cache]
"Persistent"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Cache]
"Persistent"=dword:00000000

Max Internet Explorer Simultaneous Downloads To 10
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings]
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:0000000a
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:0000000a

Remove 'Links' Folder From Favorites
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar]
"Locked"=dword:00000001
"LinksFolderName"=""

Disable Auto Re-Size Of Images
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Enable AutoImageResize"="no"

Enable Status Bar
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"StatusBarWeb"=dword:00000001
"StatusBarOther"=dword:00000001

Disable Spying By Websites
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\ProtocolDefaults]
"about"=dword:00000004

Set Google As Default Search Page
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search]
"SearchAssistant"="http://www.google.com/ie"

Misc Application Tweaks

Remove WMP Right Click Options (Queue-it-up, etc.)
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CE3FB1D1-02AE-4a5f-A6E9-D9F1B4073E6C}]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{F1B9284F-E9DC-4e68-9D7E-42362A59F0FD}]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8DD448E6-C188-4aed-AF92-44956194EB1F}]

Removes Sign up with Passport Wizard when trying to sign in MSN Messenger
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Passport]
"RegistrationCompleted"=dword:00000001

Enabling Status Bar in Notepad without affecting word wrap
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad]
"StatusBar"=dword:00000001

Disable Windows Installer Rollback (faster msi installs)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]
"DisableRollback"=dword:00000001

Remove QuickTime Icon from Taskbar
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Apple Computer, Inc.\QuickTime\ActiveX]
"QTTaskRunFlags"=dword:00000002

Disable Messenger integration with Outlook (not OE)
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\InstantMessaging]
"ForceDisableIM"=dword:00000001

Change Windows Media Player Bitrates
Use the following values to use a bitrate of your choice
320 Kbps = 0004e200
256 Kbps = 0003e800
224 Kbps = 00036b00
192 Kbps = 0002ee00
160 Kbps = 00027100
128 Kbps = 0001f400
112 Kbps = 0001b580
64 Kbps = 0000fa00
56 Kbps = 0000dac0

Security / Privacy Related

Disabling Ctrl+Alt+Del
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"DisableCAD"=dword:00000001

Disable Registry Editing Tools
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"DisableRegistryTools"=dword:00000001

;0=default, 1=admin only, 2=disabled
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer]
"DisableMSI"=dword:00000002

Disable the Ability to Right Click on the Desktop
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoViewContextMenu"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoViewContextMenu"=dword:00000001

Change the Logon Window to Classic
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"LogonType"=dword:00000000

Hide the Last User Name
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"DontDisplayLastUserName"=dword:00000001

Legal Notice Dialog Box Before Logon
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"LegalNoticeCaption"="Type the caption for your message here"
"LegalNoticeText"="Type your message here"

Show Administrator on the Welcome Screen
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList]
"Administrator"=dword:00000001

Disable the Auto Logon Shift Override Feature
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"IgnoreShiftOverride"="1"

Hide Usernames from the Logon Screen
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList]
"Name of a user"=dword:00000000
"Name of another user"=dword:00000000
"Name of third user"=dword:00000000

Disable the Windows Key
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,5b,e0,00,00,5c,e0,\
00,00,00,00

Disable Windows Script Host
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows Script Host\Settings]
Enable"=dword:00000000

Disable Windows File Protection (WFP) (to enable, change to 0)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Add]
"SFCDisable"=dword:FFFFFF9D