Registry Tips #1


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*1. Stop! Back Up First

Don't even think about editing the Windows 95 Registry until 
you've made an extra backup. Windows is supposed to recover 
from Registry mishaps, but why take chances? Copy the hidden 
SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT files into another directory for 
safe-keeping.


*2. Change Your Name

When you install Windows 9x, it asks for your name. From that 
point on, the computer recognizes the entered name as the 
official registered owner. Here's how to change it: Launch the 
Registry Editor (regedit). Drill down to and click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version. 
In the right pane, find the RegisteredOwner entry and 
double-click on it. In the Value Data box of the Edit String 
dialog that pops up, change the name to whatever you wish and 
click on the OK button. To change the company name, repeat the 
procedure for the RegisteredOrganization entry.


*3. Hide Find Command on Start Menu

** This tip provided by http://www.winmd.com **

Use this setting to hide the Find command on the Start Menu. 
(Note that this will not disable a user from pressing F3 to 
get to the Find dialog box.)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer

Edit/create the value NoFind (DWORD value) and set the value to 
1 to hide the Find command, or 0 to display the Find command.

** this tip is for users who are familiar with the 
Registry Editor **


*4. Know Your Computer

Windows 95 comes with a utility called MS-Info that tells you 
more about your computer than you'll ever want to know. It 
lists detailed information on all your DLLs, drivers, fonts, 
memory, hardware and much more. Just launch the Find utility 
(Start/Find/Files or Folders) and search for the executable: 
MSINFO32.EXE.


*5. Hide the Virtual Memory Button

Use this Registry setting to hide the Virtual Memory button on 
the Performance tab under Control Panel > System.  By hiding 
this button, you can prevent users from changing or disabling 
the machine's Virtual Memory setting, which can adversely 
effect the machine's performance.  To set this option, open 
the Registry Editor and go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\System

Edit/create the value "NoVirtMemPage" (String Value) and set 
the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the Virtual Memory 
button, or "0" to display the button.  The setting will take 
effect immediately and does not require a reboot.


*6. Have the Freshest Folder Views

To set Windows 95 to perform a constant refresh of file and 
folder views, launch the Registry Editor (type regedit in the 
Run command line), then drill down the left-hand pane through

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/control/Update.

In the right-hand pane, right-click on UpdateMode and select 
Modify. In the edit window, change the 01 to 00. You'll have 
to exit regedit and reboot your computer before the change 
takes effect.


*7. Hide the Background Tab on the

Use this Registry setting to hide the Background tab under 
Control Panel >Display, to prevent users from changing their 
desktop background andn wallpaper settings.  To set this 
option, open the Registry Editor and go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\System

Edit/create the value "NoDispBackgroundPage" (DWORD value) and 
set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the Background 
tab.  To reenable the tab, set the value to "0".  The setting 
will take effect immediately and does not require a reboot.


*8. Specify Path to Windows 95/98

If you have loaded the files from your Windows CD locally or on 
the network, use this setting to stop the prompt which asks you 
to put in your Windows CD when loading new options.  This 
setting will redirect the system to look in the directory where 
the files are loaded instead of automatically looking to the 
CD-ROM drive. To set this option, go to:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Edit/create the value "SourcePath" (String Value) and set the 
value equal to the path where the Windows files are stored.


*9. Shred the Documents Menu

You can disable the Documents submenu on Win98's Start menu. A 
quick Registry edit removes the Documents menu and the 
C:\WINDOWS\RECENT folder altogether. First, back up your 
Registry files-C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT-before making 
any changes. Next, launch RegEdit and go

toHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer

In the right pane, right-click on the background and select 
New/Binary Value. Type NoRecentDocsHistory and press Enter. 
Double-click on the new icon and enter 01000000 in the Edit 
Binary Value dialog box. (Note: RegEdit automatically inserts 
three spaces into the value). Click on OK. Add a new 
NoRecentDocsMenu binary value entry and follow the same steps. 
Close RegEdit and restart Windows. To reverse the tip, delete 
the two new binary values you added, or change both values 
to 00000000.


*10. Disable the Display Option

Use this Registry setting to disable the Display icon in 
Control Panel, as well as the Properties option when a user 
right-clicks on the desktop.  By disabling these options, you 
will stop the user from changing settings that control monitor 
resolution as well as screen saver and wallpaper options. To 
disable this option for a user, open the Registry Editor and 
go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\System

Edit the value "NoDispCPL" (DWORD value) and set the value 
equal to "1"(without quotes) to disable the Display icon (if 
the value/key does not already exist, create it).  To re-enable 
the option, delete the above value or set the value to "0". The 
setting will take effect immediately and does not require 
a reboot.
