Registry Tips #3


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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. For Your INFormation

If a new application is accompanied by an information file
(filename.INF), that file may contain Registry-revision
instructions. If so, search it for lines beginning AddReg=
and DelReg=. These lines point to the sections of the INF
file that contain those instructions. Review the sections
to get an idea of what changes are about to be made to
the Registry.


*3. The AutoComplete Picture

By Ethan Welkes

October 12, 2000

For a Web site you've previously visited, you can type an
incomplete URL into Internet Explorer's Address bar, and the
browser's AutoComplete feature will fill in the rest. However, 
it only searches for entries with .com, .org, and .edu 
extensions by default. You can edit the Registry to make it 
also search for .gov and .net URL extensions. 
Run Regedit and go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
\Main\UrlTemplate. 

You'll find six strings with these value names and data: 

1 "www.%s.com"
2 "www.%s.edu" 
3 "www.%s.org" 
4 "%s.com" 
5 "%s.edu"
6 "%s.org" 

Select Edit/New/String Value and add the following values and 
data: 

7 "www.%s.net" 
8 "www.%s.gov" 
9 "%s.net"
10 "%s.gov"


*4. 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.


*5. Specify Path to Windows 95/98 Source Files

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. 

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


*6. Forge a New Installation Path

When you make modifications to Windows 95 or 98, such as adding 
new programs or hardware, the OS always looks in the original 
source path for the CAB installation files. If you copy the files
to a new location, you can modify the internal pointer to the 
directory that contains all of the CABs. Open RegEdit, and use 
the Edit/Find command to search for the text string Sourcepath, 
or go directly to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Setup

Double-click the Sourcepath entry in the right RegEdit pane and
enter the new location for the Windows 9x installation files.


*7. Win98 SE: Adding Attributes to Windows Explorer

After installing Windows 98 Second Edition (upgrade or full 
version) you will find that there is no Attribute column in 
Explorer.  You can add this column to Explorer by by launching 
RegEdit and going to 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Advanced 

and changing the ShowAttribCol Dword value from 0 to 1 by 
clicking on it. -- submitted by Neal Wood


*8. Take off the Log

By Ethan Welkes

October 4, 2000

If your Start menu is getting too long and you never use the
Log Off option, just remove it. Select Start/Run, enter Regedit,
and press Enter. In the Registry Editor, find 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER,

and click down through

Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Select Edit, New, Binary Value, and name the new entry NoLogOff.
Press enter, and set the value to 01 00 00 00 before you quit
RegEdit and restart Windows.

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


*9. Roving Favorites

By Ethan Welkes

Ocotber 23, 2000

You can change the location of your Favorites folder by editing 
the Registry. Launch RegEdit from the Run command line and go to 
these two entries: 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Explorer\User Shell Folders 

and,

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Explorer\Shell Folders

In each, set the Favorites value to the path of your new 
Favorites folder. You must use a double slash instead of a 
single slash when entering the path  (for example, C:\\MYNEWFAV).


*10. Hide the Background Tab on the Display Window

By Ethan Welkes

December 22, 2000

--- Hide the Background Tab on the Display Window (Win98) ---

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.
