How to create your own icon

To create your own ICON follow above steps

>Go to Paint
>Open image
>Resize it to 32*32 as size & pixels
>save as "filename.ico" & use it as icon.

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How to Reduce the Wait Time in windows ?

You can reduce the amount of time that Windows XP waits for those applications and
processes to close before Windows XP kills them.

1. Open registry editor by typing regedit in run.

2. Navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop.
Set the WaitToKillAppTimeout and set the value to 1000. Select the HungAppTimeout
\newline value and set it to 1000 as well.

3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control.
Select the WaitToKillServiceTimeout value and set it to 10000.

4. Close the Registry Editor.

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Automatically Killing Tasks on Shutdown

When You start to shut down the computer, you wait a few moments,
and then you see a dialog box asking if you want to kill an application or service that
is running.

Instead of prompting you, you can make Windows XP take care of the kill
task automatically.

Here's how you do it:

1. Open the Registry Editor by typing regedit in Run.

2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.

3. Highlight the value AutoEndTasks and change the value to 1.

4. Close the Registry Editor.

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How to Use Your Keyboard if Your Mouse Goes Dead or stops working

If your mouse is not functioning, don't panic. You can use your keyboard to move around the Windows XP desktop. The keys to get used to are the Windows key, the arrow keys, and the Enter key.

• Press the Windows key.

• Press the up arrow key one time to highlight Shut Down, and then press Enter.

• Press the up and down arrow key to select Shut Down from the menu, and then press Enter.

• Use your Esc key to cancel.

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How to Show Hidden Program or System Files

Showing hidden files can come in handy when,

for example, say you've tried to delete everything from a floppy disk and the disk properties still indicate 100K of disk space is being used by hidden files.

• On the Tools menu in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options.

• Click the View tab.

• Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.

Note: To access Windows Explorer, click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.

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Protect Your Files During a Power Outage

If the power goes out while your computer is on standby, you lose whatever is in memory. If you have any unsaved documents, for example, they’re gone.

With an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), however, you can prevent data loss during blackouts. Although the blackout might last longer than the battery run time provided by the UPS, you can prevent loss, even if your computer happens to be on standby and you’re away when the power goes out.

• Enable hibernation. (Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click Power Options. On the Hibernate tab, select Enable Hibernate Support.

• Specify a time for the computer to switch to hibernation. This should be less than the battery run time. (On the Power Schemes tab, set a time for System Hibernate under Running On Batteries.)

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New way to Shutdown XP Faster

Like previous versions of windows, it takes long time to restart or shutdown windows XP when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled.

To solve this problem you must disable this useless sound.

• Click Start button.

• Go to settings > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio devices > Sounds and Audio Devices > Sounds.

• Then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and highlight it. Now from sounds you can select, choose "none" and then click Apply and OK.
Now you should see some improvements when shutting down your system.

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Stop Jerky Graphics when connected to LAN

If you are connected to a LAN and have problems with jerky graphics, this might be the solution:

• Right-click "My Computer".

• Select "Manage".

• Click on "Device Manager".

• Double-click on your NIC under "Network Adapters".

• In the new window, select the "Advanced" tab.

• Select "Connection Type" and manually set the value of your NIC. (Not "Auto Sense"
which is default.).

• You should reboot.

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How to Modify Settings to Improve Performance of windows

Windows XP uses processor time to handle system performance according to default settings, which can be adjusted for your computing needs.

Also, settings that govern visual effects enhance the appearance of the Windows XP interface, but can slow down performance.
You can fine–tune settings in Windows XP Professional to improve performance:

• Right–click My Computer, and then click Properties.

• Click the Advanced tab, and in the Performance area, click Settings.

• On the Visual Effects tab, click the Custom radio button, and then select which UI features to disable to improve performance.

• Click the Advanced tab, and in the Processor scheduling area, click the Background services radio button.
Selecting this option means that background tasks that you want to run while you work, such as backup utilities or print jobs, will share processor time equally with programs.

You may need to be logged on as an Administrator to make these changes.
Note that applying these settings may change your current desktop theme.

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How to Stop Password Expiration

After you have run Windows XP for a while, you may receive this message when you log on: "Your password will expire in 14 days!".

By default, Windows XP is set up with passwords which will expire after 42 days. And 14 days in advance, Windows will start warning you of this fact.

• Go to Start > Run > type control userpasswords2

• Select the Advanced tab in the User Accounts window.

• Press the Advanced button below the Advanced user management header.

• Select Users in the Local Users and Groups.

• In the right pane, right-click the user name for which you want to change the setting, and select Properties.

• On the General tab, check Password never expires.

• Click Apply and OK (all the way out).

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