Registry Tricks and Tips for Windows

Disable Password Caching

2009-04-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

As in Windows for Workgroups, when logging on to an NT Domain, it is preferable to disable password caching.
This allows for the single NT Domain login and eliminates the secondary Windows logon screen.
It also eliminates the possibility of the respective passwords to get out of sync.
To disable password caching on the workstation, a one-line addition to the registry needs to be made.
To make the change, create a ASCII text file called DISABLE.REG with the following lines:

REGEDIT4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network]
"DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000001

Open up a DOS box and type REGEDIT DISABLE.REG
You can also download the DISABLE.REG file.
If you need to re-enable password caching, download ENABLE.REG and repeat the process just with the different file name

Automatic Screen Refresh

2009-04-25T09:56:00.001-07:00

When you make changes to your hard drive and use Explorer, the changes are not usually displayed until you press the F5 key
To make the updates automatic:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Control / UpdateMode
Edit the DWORD value to be between 1 and 7
Restart Windows

Deleting Registry Keys from the Command Line

2009-04-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

With the OEM Version of Windows95, a new switch, /D, is added to Regedit.
This enables you to delete items from Registry.

The syntax is: REGEDIT /L:system.dat_location /R:user.dat_location /D Reg_Key
where Reg_Key is the key you want to delete

There are two requirements:
1. That you have to boot to the same OEM version of Windows95 as the REGEDIT.EXE file.
2. You cannot be in Win95 at the time you use this switch.

Creating a Default File Opener

2009-04-25T09:45:00.001-07:00

If you have a un-registered file type and want to view it with Explorer's Right-click
you can add your program to the right-click options by:

Starting Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASS_ROOT / Unknown
Highlight the Shell Folder below it
Right click on Shell and create a New Key
Name it anything you want (For example NOTEPAD)
Create a New Key under that named command
Highlight the Command key
Double click on the Default value in the right hand panel
In Value Data, enter the path and filename of the program you want to use to open the file type
For example: C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE %1
Click on OK

In this example, when you right click on a file in Explorer, NOTEPAD will show up as an option.

Creating a Network Logon Banner

2009-04-25T09:43:00.002-07:00

If you want to create a Network Logon Banner:

Start Regedit
Go To HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Create a new String called LegalNoticeCaption
Enter the text for your banner

Changing the Location of Windows95's Installation Files

2009-04-25T09:43:00.001-07:00

If you need to change the drive and or path where Windows95 will look for it's installation files:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Setup \ SourcePath
Change the location from there

Getting Rid of Tips

2009-04-25T09:42:00.001-07:00

Remember those "Tips of the day" that appeared when you first install Win95?
If you don't want them any longer and want to clear yet more Clutter, approximately 5K, you can delete them at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Tips

Saving Desktop Settings

2009-04-25T09:34:00.001-07:00

When I would go to Control Panel or Start Menu Programs, or any other Desktop window setting; meaning size, position, icon arrangement, they would never be as I set them. I found an answer:

At [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
There is a "NoSaveSettings" key. I deleted it and now my all my stuff stays where I tell it.
The same key shows up at:
[HKEY_USERS\bwil\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer](where bwil is your password profile) Just thought I'd share this with you all.

Adding Explore From Here to Every Folder

2009-04-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell
Add a key rootexplore
Give it a default value of E&xplore From Here
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell \ rootexplore
Add a key command
Give it a default value of Explorer.exe /e,/root,/idlist,%i

Now when you right click on any folder, you can open up an Explorer window

of that folder.
This will work for both Windows95 and NT 4.0

2009-04-25T09:32:00.004-07:00

Here is how to add any application to the menu when you right click on any Folder.
This could be useful if there is an app you always want available and don't want to go through the Start menu

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell
Add a key Name_of_Your_App
This can really be any label, just use one that makes sense to you
Give it a default value of Name_of_Your_App
Putting a & in front of a character will allow you to use the keyboard
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell \ Name_of_Your_App
Add a key command
Give it a default value of the application you want to run
For example: c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe
Include the full path

Now when you right click on any folder, you can have access to that application
This will work for both Windows95 and NT 4.0

Adding an Application to the Right Click on Every Folder

2009-04-25T09:32:00.003-07:00

Here is how to add any application to the menu when you right click on any Folder.
This could be useful if there is an app you always want available and don't want to go through the Start menu

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell
Add a key Name_of_Your_App
This can really be any label, just use one that makes sense to you
Give it a default value of Name_of_Your_App
Putting a & in front of a character will allow you to use the keyboard
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell \ Name_of_Your_App
Add a key command
Give it a default value of the application you want to run
For example: c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe
Include the full path

Changing the Registered Owner

2009-04-25T09:32:00.001-07:00

Starting Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion
From there you can edit the name in the Registered Owner key

Removing Sound Events from Control Panel / Sounds

2009-04-25T09:31:00.003-07:00

When you view what events you can assign sounds to from Control Panel / Sounds,
you cannot delete the events themselves. In order to do that:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / AppEvents / Schemes / Apps
From here you can delete any items you don't want to show or no longer need.

Changing Exchange's Mailbox Location

2009-04-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

When you create a mailbox in Exchange for e-mail, you specify the file where you want to mail to go.
You cannot change this in Exchange afterwards.

If you want to change the file name or location::

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ WindowsMessaging Subsystem \ Profiles
Go to the profile you want to change
Go to the section that has the file location for your mailbox (*.PST) file in the right hand panel
Make the change to file location or name
Restart Exchange

Compacting the Registry

2009-04-25T09:30:00.002-07:00

How to compact the registry?

Got to true DOS, not a DOS window
Run Regedit and then export the entire Registry to COMPACT.REG.
Then exit regedit and run it again with the following switch. REGEDIT /C COMPACT.REG

Opening a DOS Window to either the Drive or Directory in Explorer

2009-04-25T09:30:00.001-07:00

Add or Edit the following Registry Keys

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\opennew]
@="Dos Prompt in that Directory"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\opennew\command]
@="command.com /k cd %1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\opennew]
@="Dos Prompt in that Drive"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\opennew\command]
@="command.com /k cd %1"

These will allow you to right click on either the drive or the directory and the option of starting the dos prompt there will pop up

Removing Unwanted Items from the RUN Menu

2009-04-25T09:29:00.002-07:00

Start the REGEDIT program
Search for the word RUNMRU
Delete the ones you don't want
Rename so they are all in alphabetical order again
Close and restart windows

Backing Up the Registry

2009-04-25T09:29:00.001-07:00

There are many backup programs for the registry but if the computer goes down and you can't fire off Win95 because of the registry problem.

Backup to a directory the following files:

SYSTEM.DATA
SYSTEM.DA0 (Yes seem to be the same size)
USER.DAT
USER.DA0 (Same size likely)
WIN.INI
CONTROL.INI
SYSTEM.INI

These files can be copied to the windows directory from Win95 or DOS to help correct problems.

Displaying Hi-Color Icons without the Plus Pack

2009-04-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ desktop \ WindowMetrics
Add or edit Shell Icon BPP=16 where the number is the color depth.
The default is 8 (bit or 256 colors).

Easily Opening a File with Notepad

2009-04-25T07:27:00.003-07:00

This will enable you to right click on any file and have the option to open it with notepad.
Also if a file has no association and you try to open it it will open with notepad

Run 'regedit.exe'
Expand "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT"
Inside "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT", expand "*"
Inside "*", create a key called "shell"
Inside "shell" create a key called "open"
Inside "open" edit the string "(default)" to say "open (notepad)"
Inside "open" create a key called "command"
Inside "command" edit the string "(default)" to say C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE "%1"

Enabling the Middle Mouse Button on Logitech Mouse

2009-04-25T07:27:00.001-07:00

To enable the middle mouse button on Logitech Mouses to act as a double-click button by only pressing it once:

Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LOGITECH\MOUSEWARE\CURRENTVERSION\SERIALV\0000
Change DoubleClick to equal 001

Removing the Hand Icon from Shared Resources

2009-04-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

When you share a local resource, Windows95 normally puts a hand in from of that resources icon.
To remove hand icon from your shared resources:

Start Regedit.
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / Network
Open SharingHandler.
Clear it's default value
Restart Windows.
To restore set Default value "msshrui.dll".

Creating a Legal Text Notice Before Logon

2009-04-25T07:25:00.002-07:00

You can create a banner that will come up just before you logon to the computer:

Start Regedit
Go to HKeyLocalMachine \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ WinLogon
Create a new string value called LegalNoticeCaption and give it a value you want to see in the menu bar
Create a new string value called LegalNoticeText and give it a value you want to see in the dialog box

Now before anyone logs into that computer, this banner will come up on the screen.
This can be useful for any legal warnings you want to give regarding the use of the computer.

Hiding Any Combination of Drives

2009-04-25T07:25:00.001-07:00

If you want to stop a drive or any combination of drives appearing in Explorer/My Computer

Add the Binary Value of 'NoDrives' in the registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Give it a value from a combination of the table below:

A 1 00 00 00
B 2 00 00 00
C 4 00 00 00
D 8 00 00 00
E 16 00 00 00
F 32 00 00 00
G 64 00 00 00
H 128 00 00 00
I 00 1 00 00
J 00 2 00 00
K 00 4 00 00
L 00 8 00 00
M 00 16 00 00
N 00 32 00 00
O 00 64 00 00
P 00 128 00 00
Q 00 00 1 00
R 00 00 2 00
S 00 00 4 00
T 00 00 8 00
U 00 00 16 00
V 00 00 32 00
W 00 00 64 00
X 00 00 128 00
Y 00 00 00 1
Z 00 00 00 2

Where (for eg) you want to hide Drives {C,E,J,O,R,U,Y,Z} you would give 'NoDrives' the value 14 42 12 03
Where C+E = 14, J+O = 42, R+U=12 and Y+Z = 03
Please NOTE: The Numbers are to be added in HEXadecimal ie: ABCD = 0F, not 15 All Drives Visible is 00 00 00 00 All Drives Hidden is FF FF FF 03

Getting Rid of Schemes

2009-04-25T07:24:00.004-07:00

A safer way would be is to go to the Control Panel / Display / Appearance tab
Go to the Scheme drop down box
Select the one you don't want and click on the delete button

When you right click on your desktop and pick properties your Display Properties screen appears.
Under Appearance tab / Schemes, determine if you want all those wild schemes.
If not they can be deleted and clear approximately 45K.
Before you delete them, choose or create at least 1 Scheme and "Save As" (in my case Bud 1).

Open Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Appearance \ Schemes
Highlight every String and Value on the right side and delete. DO NOT DELETE "Default"