Today is your luck dear my dear friend. I have decided to share a few tricks I know in Windows XP. Are you ready for an adventure? Ok follow me!!

1. Total Uptime
This shows how long XP has been up. Go to the Command Prompt (Start -> Run ->cmd -> type systeminfo ) then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt into the command prompt. This creates a file called info.txt which is saved in local disk C:/ in Notepad.

2. Lock XP
You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right-click button on the mouse, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like "lockme or shutup or anything to help you remember". That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.

3. SAFE MODE
Sometimes when troubleshooting a Windows XP problem, you need to enter Safe Mode. Typically, you would press the F8 key during the boot process to enter Windows XP Safe Mode but that can be very difficult in some cases depending on the problem you're having.
This simple tip will get you into the Windows XP Safe Mode a whole lot easier using the System Configuration Utility, sometimes called "msconfig".

Here's How:

1. Click on Start and then Run.
2. In the text box in the Run window, type msconfig and click OK. This will open the System Configuration Utility program.
3. Click on the BOOT.INI tab located at the top of the System Configuration Utility window.
4. Check the checkbox next to /SAFEBOOT and click OK.
5. You will then be prompted to either Restart, which will restart the PC immediately, or Exit without Restart, which will close the window and allow you to restart the PC manually later.
6. After the restart, the PC will automatically boot into Windows XP Safe Mode.
   Note: Windows XP will continue to boot into Safe Mode until the System Configuration Utility is configured to again boot normally.
7. When your work in Safe Mode is complete, click on Start and then run. Type msconfig -> uncheck /SAFEBOOT option and click OK. Make sure you do the step 7 when done with safe mode, otherwise your computer will always start in safe mode.

4. System Administration
Most cases when your windows operating system is too slow to access the control panel or you have been hit by a virus that keeps you from doing any administrative tasks or you just want a shortcut to perform a system core task at hand. Windows has a system configuration utility that allows editing of your system in a few easy steps
1. Click start and then run
2. In the text box in the Run window, type msconfig and click OK. This will open the System Configuration Utility program.
3. On top of the system configuration utility you have the following tabs
- General
- System
- Win
- Boot
- Services

- Startup
- Tools

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Whatever is listed above can help you to do a lot of systems administration from the way it starts and behaves to shutdown.

5.Common Shortcuts

Windows Key		Opens the Start menu
Windows Key + E		Opens My Computer in Windows Explorer
Windows Key + Pause/Break		Opens the System Properties dialog box
Windows Key + U		Opens the Utility Manager
Windows Key + R		Opens the Run… prompt
Windows Key + F		Opens the Search for Files and Folder window
Windows Key + Ctrl + F		Opens the search for computers on the network
Windows Key + M		Minimize all windows
Windows Key + Shift + M		Maximize all windows (after minimizing them)
Windows Key + D		Minimize all windows to the desktop, and then restore all Windows
Windows Key + L		Lock Computer
Windows Key + Tab		Cycle through the open programs on the Taskbar
Windows Key + B		Selects the first item in the System Tray; use the arrow keys to cycle through the items
Alt + Tab		Switch between open programs
Alt + F4 (in a program)		Closes the program

By LJB
Intrusecurity