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Remove those stinkin "help balloons"
I don't know about you, but those little bubbles that Microsoft displays to inform you about 'important' things are starting to drive me crazy.
'You have unused icons on your desktop'
'You have updates waiting to be loaded'
'What the hell you looking down here for?'
etc etc
I am just tired of it, and I know a quick way to fix it. There is a Microsoft KB article dedicated to this subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307729
The short of it is - you can disable these balloons by changing this registry key:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\EnableBalloonTips
To 0
(You might need to create this DWORD value if it does not already exist)
If you don't feel like playing around in the registry, we have written a little
program that will do it for you:
http://www.intelliadmin.com/blog/BalloonRemover.exe (Spyware and adware free)
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Friday, April 14, 2006
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Script XP System restore points
The system restore tool that is bundled within Windows XP is priceless. Numerous times I have helped myself or others get their system back to a working state by restoring to a previous image. To restore to a previous state just click on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore
Clicking on next you will see a calendar. The days that are available will be in bold:
This is the problem. Many times the day you really need is never there.
We have a short and sweet script that you can put into the system scheduler, or in the users login script that will force the creation of a system restore point without anything displayed to the user:
CreateRestorePoint.vbs
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Thursday, April 13, 2006
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Microsoft to require all 64 bit drivers to be signed
Microsoft, in its attempt to battle the rootkit problem in the 64 bit version of windows, is requiring all drivers to be digitally signed.
This single move will destroy the availability of any free device drivers. Individual developers are unlikely to obtain the $500 certificate needed to sign a driver.
It does make things more difficult for root-kit developers, but at the same time it opens the door to Linux and Apple. This will force developers learning their trade to pick either Apple, or Linux for initial driver development. Over time this could give them a significant advantage - especially Apple
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Thursday, April 13, 2006
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Display serial number of your Windows XP, or 2003 install
Sometimes Windows gets so cloged up you just have to call it quits and reformat the entire hard drive. Starting from scratch is nice since you know all of the baddy spyware, trojans, and rootkits are not going to lurk in the background and come back to haunt you a few days later.
The biggest problem I have when I do this is I can never find the OEM sticker on the machine. If you have never seen one, these OEM stickers are required by Microsoft to be put on a machine when windows is installed at the factory - that way you will always have a serial number when you reload the machine. More often than not, the user tears it off or it is a white box special.
There is a great utility with a cool name - The Magic Jelly Bean Key Finder
It works on XP, and 2003. It will quickly find and display the current serial number for the system it is run on.
Just launch the application and it will instantly show you your serial number:
Now, my serial is blured out for obvious reasons.
Just another one of those apps to add to your toolbox
Download it from http://www.magicaljellybean.com/
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Tuesday, April 11, 2006
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Fix the broken search feature in Windows XP & 2003
Quietly, Microsoft changed the way its search feature within windows works. In windows 95, 98, ME, NT and 2000 you could search for text within any file on the system. Without notice XP, and 2003 now only search 'registered' file types. There are only a handful of these types.
Microsoft does not make it clear they are only searching certain file extensions. It can really throw you off the track when you are looking for a certain string within a file.
For example. If I was looking for the string 'purchase' within all files that matched *.* windows would skip all file extensions that it does not recognize.
A simple registry change can be made to bring XP, and 2003 search back the way it was:
Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE:
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex\FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions
Set the above value to 1
It will treat unknown extensions as text files. After a reboot the change will take effect.
Now when you search for a string within the files that match the wildcard of *.* it will actually search all files it finds - Imagine that!
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Tuesday, April 11, 2006
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Updating Windows XP Product Key
Many times when I start working at a new customer I find a few copies of XP that have a pirated serial number, or the same number used over and over.
Right from the start I make sure the customer purchases the proper licensing from Microsoft - It only takes one call from an angry employee to cause the company a world of grief.
In these situations it is nice to change the machine to a valid serial number without having to totally re-install the operating system.
Microsoft has provided two scripts for updating a Windows XP serial number. One for XP with SP1, and one without.
Serial Change script for XP: XPChangeSerial.vbs
Serial Change script for XP w/sp1 or greater: XPChangeSerialSP1.vbs
Simply save the script file to a convient location, and call it from the command line using the new serial number:
XPChangeSerial.vbs xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
You can then check if the serial number has been changed, and is valid by calling this at the command line:
%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
The activation wizard should load and tell you your copy of windows has already been activated.
It pays to have a valid serial number on all of your machines - in more ways than just keeping the BSA happy. It is getting difficult to download anything from Microsoft without a valid serial number.
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Sunday, April 09, 2006
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