Thursday, March 31, 2011

How to turn on automatic logon in Windows

turn on automatic logon, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type Regedt32.exe, and then press ENTER.
  3. Locate the following subkey in the registry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
  4. Double-click the DefaultUserName entry, type your user name, and then click OK.
  5. Double-click the DefaultPassword entry, type your password, and then click OK.NOTE: If the DefaultPassword value does not exist, it must be added. To add the value, follow these steps:

    1. On the Edit menu, click New, and then point to String Value.
    2. Type DefaultPassword, and then press ENTER.
    3. Double-click DefaultPassword.
    4. In the Edit String dialog, type your password and then click OK.
    NOTE: If no DefaultPassword string is specified, Windows automatically changes the value of the AutoAdminLogon key from 1 (true) to 0 (false), disabling the AutoAdminLogon feature

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Windows Registry Tutorial

Overview
The Registry is a database used to store settings and options for the 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows 95, 98, ME and NT/2000. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. Whenever a user makes changes to a Control Panel settings, or File Associations, System Policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the Registry.
The physical files that make up the registry are stored differently depending on your version of Windows; under Windows 95 & 98 it is contained in two hidden files in your Windows directory, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT, for Windows Me there is an additional CLASSES.DAT file, while under Windows NT/2000 the files are contained seperately in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config directory. You can not edit these files directly, you must use a tool commonly known as a "Registry Editor" to make any changes (using registry editors will be discussed later in the article).
The Structure of the Registry
The Registry has a hierarchal structure, although it looks complicated the structure is similar to the directory structure on your hard disk, with Regedit being similar to Windows Explorer.
Each main branch (denoted by a folder icon in the Registry Editor, see left) is called a Hive, and Hives contains Keys. Each key can contain other keys (sometimes referred to as sub-keys), as well as Values. The values contain the actual information stored in the Registry. There are three types of values; String, Binary, and DWORD - the use of these depends upon the context.










There are six main branches, each containing a specific portion of the information stored in the Registry. They are as follows:
  • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT - This branch contains all of your file association mappings to support the drag-and-drop feature, OLE information, Windows shortcuts, and core aspects of the Windows user interface.
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER - This branch links to the section of HKEY_USERS appropriate for the user currently logged onto the PC and contains information such as logon names, desktop settings, and Start menu settings.
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - This branch contains computer specific information about the type of hardware, software, and other preferences on a given PC, this information is used for all users who log onto this computer.
  • HKEY_USERS - This branch contains individual preferences for each user of the computer, each user is represented by a SID sub-key located under the main branch.
  • HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG - This branch links to the section of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE appropriate for the current hardware configuration.
  • HKEY_DYN_DATA - This branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, for use with the Plug-&-Play features of Windows, this section is dymanic and will change as devices are added and removed from the system.
Each registry value is stored as one of five main data types:
  • REG_BINARY - This type stores the value as raw binary data. Most hardware component information is stored as binary data, and can be displayed in an editor in hexadecimal format.
  • REG_DWORD - This type represents the data by a four byte number and is commonly used for boolean values, such as "0" is disabled and "1" is enabled. Additionally many parameters for device driver and services are this type, and can be displayed in REGEDT32 in binary, hexadecimal and decimal format, or in REGEDIT in hexadecimal and decimal format.
  • REG_EXPAND_SZ - This type is an expandable data string that is string containing a variable to be replaced when called by an application. For example, for the following value, the string "%SystemRoot%" will replaced by the actual location of the directory containing the Windows NT system files. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)
  • REG_MULTI_SZ - This type is a multiple string used to represent values that contain lists or multiple values, each entry is separated by a NULL character. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)
  • REG_SZ - This type is a standard string, used to represent human readable text values.
Other data types not available through the standard registry editors include:
  • REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN - A 32-bit number in little-endian format.
  • REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN - A 32-bit number in big-endian format.
  • REG_LINK - A Unicode symbolic link. Used internally; applications should not use this type.
  • REG_NONE - No defined value type.
  • REG_QWORD - A 64-bit number.
  • REG_QWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN - A 64-bit number in little-endian format.
  • REG_RESOURCE_LIST - A device-driver resource list.
Editing the Registry
The Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE) is included with most version of Windows (although you won't find it on the Start Menu) it enables you to view, search and edit the data within the Registry. There are several methods for starting the Registry Editor, the simplest is to click on the Start button, then select Run, and in the Open box type "regedit", and if the Registry Editor is installed it should now open and look like the image below.

Monday, January 31, 2011

dual-boot Vista with XP

How to dual-boot Vista with XP (with XP installed first) - step-by-step

Step-1First install Xp,then during windows Vista/win 7 installation, press "Shift+F10" Key.
            cmd prompt will be open

step2  Then type in DISKPART and press enter to get into the DISKPART utility.



Step 3 Now type in LIST VOLUME


Step 4  Now type SELECT VOLUME 0 (main Windows XP volume).

Step5 Now type in SHRINK.it will reduce the size the selected Volume by around 50%.

Step 6 Now Install Vista.

            





Thursday, January 27, 2011

Change Installation Directory from Registry

To change the default installation path, just follow below steps:
 
1. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.
2. At the right panel, look for ProgramFilesDir.

3. Double click on it to change the value to your desired path. For example, change the value from C:\Program Files to D:\Softwares.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Online data Storage

GMail Drive creates a virtual filesystem on top of your Google GMail account and enables you to save and retrieve files stored on your GMail account directly from inside Windows Explorer. GMail Drive literally adds a new drive to your computer under the My Computer folder, where you can create new folders, copy and drag'n'drop files to.

Download Gmail drive from followin link--
http://www.softpedia.com/dyn-postdownload.php?p=15944&t=4&i=1

some other sites which provides online storage like 4shared.com,ADrive.com,opendrive.com etc.

ADD "Send To" option in right click menu

start run menu---->type sendto

then the followin path will be open-
path=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\SendTo


copy shortcut of any drive or folder then it shows in right click option.

How to Test the Working of your Antivirus – EICAR Test

 

The process is called EICAR test which will work on any antivirus and was developed by European Institute of Computer Antivirus Research. This process can be used by people, companies and antivirus programmers to test the proper functioning of the antivirus/antimalware software without having to deal with the real computer virus which can cause damage to the computer. Here is a step-by-step procedure to test your antivirus.
1. Open a notepad (New Text Document.TXT) and copy the following code exactly onto it, and save the notepad.
2. Rename the file from New Text Document.TXT to myfile.com
3. Now run the antivirus scan on this myfile.com file.
If the antivirus is functioning properly on your computer, then it should generate a warning and immediately delete the file upon scanning. Otherwise you may have to re-install your antivirus.

Virtualization

What is Virtualization? Virtualization is the process of creating a software-based (or virtual) representation of something rather than a...