Search For Hidden Or System Files In Windows XP

The Search companion in Windows XP searches for hidden and system files differently than in earlier versions of Windows. This guide describes how to search for hidden or system files in Windows XP.

Search for Hidden or System Files By default, the Search companion does not search for hidden or system files. Because of this, you may be unable to find files, even though they exist on the drive.

To search for hidden or system files in Windows XP:

1. Click Start, click Search, click All files and folders, and then click More advanced options.

2. Click to select the Search system folders and Search hidden files and folders check boxes.

NOTE: You do not need to configure your computer to show hidden files in the Folder Options dialog box in Windows Explorer to find files with either the hidden or system attributes, but you need to configure your computer not to hide protected operating system files to find files with both the hidden and system attributes. Search Companion shares the Hide protected operating system files option (which hides files with both the system and hidden attributes) with the Folder Options dialog box Windows Explorer.

Set Processes Priority

Follow this tip to increase the priority of active processes, this will result in prioritisation of processes using the CPU.

1. Press CTRL-SHIFT-ESC to open the Task Manager.

2.Go to the second tab called Processes, right click on one of the active processes, you will see the Set Priority option

For example, your Run your CDwriter program , set the priority higher, and guess what, no crashed CD's

How to Remove Windows XP's Messenger?

Open Windows Explorer and navigate your way to the C:\windows\ INF folder.
In the INF folder, look for sysoc.inf.
After creating a backup of this file. Open it in the notepad.
Look for the line containing "msmsgs" in it. Near the end of that particular line, you'll notice the word "hide".
Delete the word "hide", leving the quatation marks empty i.e. "".
Save the file and close it.
Open the Add and Remove Programs from the Control Panel.
Click the Add / Remove Windows Components icon. You should see "Windows Messenger" in that list. Remove the checkmark from its box, and you should be set.

Change the Size of Your Mouse and Keyboard Buffer

You sometimes may get an error message telling you that you have an overflow in your mouse buffer or keyboard buffer. When that happens, it means the buffer isn't large enough and you need to increase its size. To increase your mouse buffer, run the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Mouclass\Parameters , and find the MouseDataQueueSize subkey. The default setting is 100 (64 hex). Increase the decimal number to increase the size of the buffer; then exit the Registry and reboot. You may need to try several different settings until you find the right one.

To increase the keyboard buffer, look for the KeyboardDataQueueSize subkey in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Kbdclass\Parameters . The default setting is 100 (64 hex). Increase the number to increase the size of the buffer; then exit the Registry and reboot. Again, you may need to try several different settings until you find the right one.

Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders

Sharing of files and folders can be managed in two ways. If you chose simplified file sharing, your folders can be shared with everyone on your network or workgroup, or you can make your folders private. (This is how folders are shared in Windows 2000.) However, in Windows XP Professional, you can also set folder permissions for specific users or groups. To do this, you must first change the default setting, which is simple file sharing. To change this setting, follow these steps:
• Open Control Panel, click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
• Click the View tab, and scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings list.
• Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
• To manage folder permissions, browse to the folder in Windows Explorer, right–click the folder, and then click Properties.
• Click the Security tab, and assign permissions, such as Full Control, Modify, Read, and/or Write, to specific users.

Note: You can set file and folder permissions only on drives formatted to use NTFS, and you must be the owner or have been granted permission to do so by the owner.