Microsoft Quick Tips

Below is a method you can use to stop a Windows service, even a stubborn
service which seems to hang.

I have tried this in Windows XP and on Windows Server 2003, and it always
successfully kills the problem service.

- Open command prompt (’Start’ - ‘run’ - ‘cmd’ - ‘Ok’)
- run ’sc query’
- find the service which is causing the problem
— note the Service_Name rather than Display_Name
- run ’sc queryex SERVICE_NAME’
— this will give extended details about the service, including the PID.
- run ‘taskkill /PID *PID* /F’ (where *PID* is the PID Number obtained
in the previous step)

That procedure should allow you to find and kill the problematic service,
getting rid of the stuck/hanging service without the need to reboot.

If you are finding XP a bit slow to navigate (opening and closing folders, start menu etc) then there is a very simple way to  speed it up.

The way to do this is to revert to Windows Classic  mode. This sets XP to look like Windows 98, but also removes all the time consuming transitions and effects that were added to XP.

So…

1. Windows Key + Pause   (windows key = flag with a key on it). If that doesn’t work, right click on ‘My Computer’ and choose ‘Properties’.
2. Click on ‘Advanced’
3. Click on ‘Settings’
4. Choose ‘adjust for best performance’
5. Apply and ok.

That’s it!

If you need to change the security settings for a particular folder, you would right mouse click on it and go to Properties. From here you look for the ‘Security Tab’… wait, it’s not there!

So, how to get the security tab in the folder properties…

For this to work you must have your HD formatted in the NTFS filesystem.

XP Pro Instructions

1. Go to Windows Explorer (windows key + e)
2. Tools
3. Folder Options
4. View
5. Uncheck ‘Use Simple File Sharing’

That’s it done.

XP Home

A bit trickier…

1. You need to download the Security Configuration Manager ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/tools/scm/ (get SCESP4I.exe)
2. Run the file to extract the contents
3. Right click the ‘Setup.inf’ file from the location you extracted to and choose ‘Install’.
4. Reboot

If you are getting annoyed with the @ and ” keys being in the wrong places, this tip is for you.

Reboot and the problem of the misplaced keys is resolved.

We’ve all seen it, we all get annoyed (but put up) with it - the dreaded Automatic Desktop Cleanup wizard.

So, to disable it…

•  Right click on the desktop
• Choose ‘Properties’
• choose ‘Desktop’
• Click on ‘Customize Desktop’
• Untick the ‘Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days’ option
• Click ‘Ok’ and again ‘Ok’.

That’s it, the Automatic Desktop Cleanup wizard should be gone!