PC Advice

Use the PushD command to create a quick temporary drive map

noreply@blogger.com (ALGEBRA12) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Have you ever been working from a Command Prompt and needed to temporarily map a drive letter to a network location for a quick file operation? Of course, you can switch over to Windows Explorer and use the Map Network Drive command on the Tools menu.

While this is a viable solution, it requires multiple steps to create—and then you have to perform several more steps to disconnect the network drive. This can be a pain, especially if you just want to work from a Command Prompt.

However, there is another way. You can use the PushD command to quickly create a temporary drive map while remaining in the Command Prompt. You can then use PopD to quickly disconnect the network drive. Here’s how:
1. Open a Command Prompt window.
2. Type the following command line:
PUSHD ServerSharepath

where \\Server\Share\path is the network resource to which you want to map a drive letter.

The PUSHD command will instantly map a drive letter to the network resource and then change to that drive right in the Command Prompt window. When you’re finished, just type POPD and the mapped drive letter will be disconnected and you’ll return to your original drive.

Keep in mind that, the PUSHD command allocates drive letters from Z: on down and will use the first unused drive letter it finds.

This tips apllies to both Windows XP Home and Windows Xp Professional

Alter Prefetch Parameters

noreply@blogger.com (ALGEBRA12) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:21:00 +0000

Prefetching (the reading of system boot files into a cache for faster loading) is a commonly overlooked component that can have a significant impact on system boot time. This tweak allows you to select which components will make use of the prefetch parameters. To see which files are gathered using each setting, clear the prefetch cache located at C:\Windows\Prefetch and then enable one of the settings listed in this hack. Clear the cache and repeat for each setting.
Set the Registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher

to 0 to disable prefetching, 1 to prefetch application launch files, 2 to prefetch boot files, or 3 to prefetch as many files as possible.

Place your Kernel Process Into RAM,and get Faster

noreply@blogger.com (ALGEBRA12) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:14:00 +0000

It’s a given that anything that runs in RAM will be faster than an item that has to access the hard drive and virtual memory. Rather than have the kernel that is the foundation of XP using the slower Paging Executive functions, use this hack to create and set the DisablePagingExecutive DWORD to a value of 1 .

Edit the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive to 1 to disable paging and have the kernel run in RAM (set the value to 0 to undo this hack). Exit the Registry and reboot.

CAUTION!!!!:

Perform this hack only if the system has 256MB or more of installed RAM!

Made Your Windows Xp menu Faster

noreply@blogger.com (ALGEBRA12) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:09:00 +0000

When XP first appeared, there was a lot of conversation about the new inter- face, both good and bad. In spite of the initial complaints, most users stick with the default settings rather than reverting to the Classic interface found in previous Windows versions. But you might want to change the delay you notice when you click the Start menu. I see no reason for there to be any delay when I click the Start menu. Effects are pretty, but I wouldn’t click it if I didn’t have business inside, so let’s get it open and get moving. The default speed can be adjusted with a quick Registry hack.

Go to the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ MenuShowDelay . The default value is 400. Set it to 0 to remove the delay completely, but if you do that it will be nearly impossible to move the mouse fast enough not to activate All Programs if you mouse over it en route to your final selection. Pick a number that suits your style, make the change, and then test it until you find a good compromise between speed and usability.