Show All Registered Devices

By default, the Device Manager only displays Plug-and-Play devices that are currently installed and working in the computer.

There is also a way that you can force Device Manager to display the devices that are installed, but not currently present in the system. This is particularly useful with laptops, where it is not uncommon to have devices
pulled out from time to time.


There is an environment variable called devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices that governs whether or not these devices appear in Device manager. Set this variable to 1 to display them, or to 0 to hide them again.

You can set this variable at a command prompt by typing "set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" without the quotes. You can also set it permanently as a variable by right-clicking My Computer and choosing Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and the "Settings" (XP) or Environmental Variables (older Windows) button.

Click the New button, and enter the devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices for the name, and 1 for the value.

Note: You must also employ the tip mentioned above to display all devices in addition to setting the environment variable.

Access Stored User Names and Passwords with rundll32.exe

The Stored User Names and Passwords applet lets you assign user names and passwords to use when needing to authenticate yourself to services in domains other than the one you are currently logged into.

The normal way of running this applet can be difficult to find quickly, so here is a way to launch it using a desktop shortcut using the rundll32.exe program:

Click on START - RUN and type the
following (follwed by ENTER):

rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr

Windows Security

__Eliminate Password-Protection on the Screensaver

It is possible to deactivate password protection in screensaver mode using the registry. To do this, open RegEdit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop, assign a value of 0 (zero) to the key ScreenSaveUsePassword
The password is now but a memory:)

__Lock the desktop

To avoid having too many icons cluttering up the desktop, there's a way to keep them "stuck" to the desktop. With RegEdit go into HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and right-click New/DWORD Value in the right-hand window, name it NoSaveSettings.
Double-click on it and assign it a value of 1.

__Delete/Lock Elements in the Start Menu

Open Regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. You can set options by putting the following character strings after 01:

* Noclose: Stops Windows from shutting down
* Nodesktop: Deletes the Desktop icons
* Nofind: Removes the "Search" option from the Start menu
* Norun: Removes the "Run" option from the Start menu
* NoSetTaskBar: Disables Taskbar settings
* NoStartBanner: Removes the start banner ("Click here to begin") from the Taskbar
* NoStartMenuSubFolders: Deactivate the Start menu's subfolders
* NosaveSettings: Stop settings from being saved when Windows is shut down
* NoSetFolders: Removes folders from Settings (in start menu)
o NoConfigPage: Hides Hardware Profiles
o NoDevMgrPage: Hides Device Manager
o NoFileSysPage: Hides the File System button
o NoVirtMemPage: Hides the Virtual Memory page
o NoDeletePrinter: Keeps printers from being deleted
[Source :en.kioskea.net]

How can I change my user-account password from a Command Prompt?

You can change a Windows User Account password that is on any Windows computer from any other Windows computer regardless of whether the User Account is on a workstation, a stand-alone server, or a Windows domain controller. Additionally, it makes no difference whether the password being changed from a workstation, a stand-alone server, or a Windows domain controller. This is true for any NT 4.0, W2K, XP Pro and Windows Server 2003 computer.

To change a user's password at the command prompt, log on as an administrator and type:

net user danielp * /domain

(This is only an example, use your own username)

When you are prompted to type a password for the user, type the new password, not the existing password. After you type the new password, the system prompts you to retype the password to confirm. The password is now changed.

Alternatively, you can type the following command:

net user danielp 123456 /domain

When you do so, the password changes without prompting you again. This command also enables you to change passwords in a batch file.

Note: If you type these commands on a member server or workstation and you don't add the /domain switch, the command will be performed on the local SAM and NOT on the DC SAM.

For example, to change the administrator's password type:

net user administrator 123456

Note: Non-administrators receive a "System error 5 has occurred. Access is denied" error message when they attempt to change the password.

Pop-up Ads – A Royal Pain

Pop-up ads are spontaneous browser windows that jet out at Web users entering an online site, exiting it or just surfing around. As old as the commercial Web itself, the ad format truly came into vogue when Web publishers got pressed for cash in the dot-com crunch.

Eager to convince reluctant Fortune 500 companies that Web advertising could be as intrusive, and effective, as TV commercials, sites such as USA Today, AOL, MSNBC, Amazon.com and Yahoo began triggering the ads regularly to grab readers' attention. The proliferation of pop-ups also launched obscure goods, such as X-10's surveillance cameras, into Internet infamy.

Though unpopular with consumers, the ads are favored by advertisers because they're generally thought to get a higher response from viewers. Some researchers estimate that they garner three to six times greater click-through rates than standard banners or display ads on the Web.

Over time, pop-up ads are becoming less effective as readers tune them out or avoid sites that host them altogether.

Programs to Stop Pop-ups

Pop-up ads have spawned a crop of programs aimed at minimizing or eliminating this nuisance. If you are sick & tired of these in-your-face ads, try out the following programs:

Popup Stopper - www.panicware.com
AdSubtract - www.adsubtract.com
AdsGone - www.a1tech.com
Guard IE - www.guardwall.com
PopNot - www.hdsoft.com
Pop-up Zero - www.pcssafe.com
Pop-up Cop – www.popupcop.com

Some of these programs are “freeware” which you can download and use at no cost. Others allow you to try them out for thirty days, and charge a small fee for continued use.

Flashdisk dan perangakat baru jika Butuh Driver

Biasanya, pada windows XP, flashdisk kita akan langsung terdeteksi tampa harus minta driver karena Windows XP menggunakan sistem Plug n Play-nya (PnP) yaitu agar perangangkat baru yang ditemukan langsung terdeteksi tampa harus menginstal dulu
Nah bagaimana jika computer kita ganti perangkat baru atau flashdiks kita malah tidak dideteksi oleh windows dan meminta driver, padahal windowsnya sudah XP. Cara mengatasinya adalah:

1.Klik start, pilih Run
2.Ketik Services.msc dan enter
3.Perhatikan jendela sebelah kanan cari Universal Plug n Play Devices Host .
4.Klik kanan di servce tersebut dan pilih Properties
Pada kolom Startup Type pilih Automatic , kemudian klik tombol Start pada Service Status .


.6Pilih Apply dan Ok .
.7Restart computer anda
Dan kalau tetap tidak terdeteksi, mungkin sebaiknya anda pake driver juga atau ganti flashdisk. Atau perangkatnya hehe..

redirect your visitors to the new web location

So you changed your URL and wondering how to automatically redirect your visitors to the new location. Simply put the following HTML tag in-between and tags:

<meta http-equiv="refresh"<br /><br />content="<delay before redirecting>;<br /><br />URL=<URL>">

For example:

<br /><br /><HTML><br /><br /><br /><br /><HEAD><br /><br /><TITLE>I moved!!!</TITLE><br /><br /><META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" CONTENT="10;URL=http://my.newplace.com/"><br /><br /></HEAD><br /><br /><br /><br /><BODY><br /><br /><br /><br />I moved to a new place.<br /><br />Your browser should automatically take you there in 10 seconds. If it doesn't plase go to http://my.newplace.com/<br /><br /><br /><br /></BODY><br /><br /><br /><br /></HTML>

Automatically redirect your visitors to your new home page

So you changed your URL and wondering how to automatically redirect your visitors to the new location. Simply put the following HTML tag in-between and tags:

kemana engkau pergi<br />dirimu sendiri<br />sebagaimana<br />

How to download large files faster and more reliably

rying to download that 30M file for the third time? How many times have you started to pray thinking your dial-up connection might go down when the download is 99% complete? Well, here's a bit complicated, yet effective method that just might reduce your downloading headaches...

Let's say you're connect to the Internet using a 28.8K modem and that your Internet service provider lets you telnet to their server. Of course, your provider's server can download files much faster, so the idea here is to download the file to their server at high speed, split it, and retrieve parts at the highest speed you can to your provider's server. Generally speaking, this method not only is a faster way to download files, but it is also a more reliable method since you'll be downloading many smaller files rather than one large file.

First, find out the FTP address of the large (larger than 16M for example) file that you want to download. For example:

ftp://ftp.x.com/bigfile.zip

Telnet to your Internet service provider's server.

telnet x.com

From within the telnet session, download your file to your provider's server. Following is a "screen shout" of a sample file transfer on an UNIX compatible server. Blue/bold text represents your input.
ftp
ftp> open ftp.x.com
Connected to ftp.x.com.
220 ftp x.cpm FTP Service (Version 2.0).
User (ftp.x.com:(none)): anonymous
331 Anonymous access allowed, send identity as
Password: my_address@x.com
ftp> binary
200 Type set to I.
ftp> get bigfile.zip
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for bigfile.zip
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> quit
221 Thank you for using x.com!

Once the file is download to the server, the next step is to divide the file into smaller pieces so that you will not waste too much time downloading should your Internet dial-up connection go down.

split -b 2000b bigfile.zip

You're almost there! Now simply log off from your telnet session and start downloading (from your provider's server to your computer) smaller files (not the bigfile.zip) which the above split command (on most UNIX compatible machines) created.

Once you have all the files, simply merge them and you got a good copy of the original bigfile.zip. If you're using DOS or Windows, you can merge files using the following command (assuming that bigfile.zip (16000 byte file) was divided into 8 2000 byte files named xaa to xah):

copy /b xaa xab xac xad xae xaf xag xah bigfile.zip

Don't forget to log back into your Internet service provider's computers and delete temporary files (bigfile.zip and xaa..xah) once you've made sure that your downloaded copy is in good condition. Doesn't sound like the above steps could make your downloads faster or more reliable? Well, in most cases it does; specially if the file you're downloading is rather large. The reason why this method could possibly be faster is because you can download files from your provider's computer to your computer faster than from most remote sites. Of course, the reason for reliability is that downloading many smaller files makes it possible to resume a download without wasting as much time as resuming a larger file download would.

Don't let call waiting cut into your online connection

If you carry the call waiting feature in your phone line(s), your dial-up connection to the Internet (or any other online service) may be interrupted if you receive a call in the middle of a session. The good news is that it's easy enough to disable this feature every time you dial out by adding *70, in front of your number. Of course, this code depend on the phone company, so make sure that it's the correct code for your calling area/telephone service provider specially if you're not in the USA.

For example, if your current dial-up number is 123-4567 change it to *70,123-4567

*70 actually does the disabling of the call waiting feature, and the comma (,) afterwards simply adds a delay to bypass the acknowledgment of the command. If your dialer doesn't understand commas in the phone number, try using just *70. To re-enable call waiting, simply dial *72.

Ronny: Refs don't protect us

Cristiano Ronaldo feels he is not given enough protection from referees and fears suffering a serious injury.

The winger was denied a clear penalty against Portsmouth in the FA Cup quarter final defeat at Old Trafford. That incident, coupled with persistent fouling throughout the game, highlights an oft-felt view that the Portuguese is not protected by referees.

"It's very frustrating, the referee was unbelievable," he told MUTV. "He didn't want to give the penalty, he didn't want to give yellow cards - I'm very disappointed.

"Refs don't protect skilful players. I think about the Arsenal player (Eduardo) and I'm scared sometimes to do skills because some players do unbelievable fouls and the ref protects the defender, not the skilled player! It's very disappointing and I'm thinking a lot about changing my game. When referees don't give penalties, yellow cards or reds, it's difficult to play."

Sir Alex Ferguson was left aghast that referee Martin Atkinson did not award a penalty for Sylvain Distin's clear bodycheck on Ronaldo in the seventh minute. Ronaldo added: "He (Distin) didn't try to take the ball. It's a joke."

But it wasn't just refereeing decisions that disappointed the 22-year-old. "We lost today and everyone is disappointed because we were the best team," he said. "We created ten chances while Portsmouth created just one. It's frustrating to lose like that.

"We controlled the game, but we didn't score. Carrick had one cleared off the line, Patrice hit the post... we had a great chance to win the FA Cup but we need to think now about the Premier League and the Champions League. These are the priorities."