Enable XP ClearType

XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. 

It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. 

To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, 

select Properties, Appearance, Effects, 

select ClearType from the second drop-down menu 

and enable the selection. 

Expect best results on laptop displays. 

If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry 

HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.

Kill task from command prompt

You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 

'taskkill /pid' and the task number, 

or 

'tskill' and the process number. 

Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system. 

(Professional Edition only)

Disable uneccessary XP services

WINDOWS XP starts a number of background services automatically, many are unessential and can be disabled or set to start manually to improve performance and security.

The following applies to Home Users; ie who have a stand-alone pc / are not conncted to a Network, but may be having an Internet Connection.

Please note that this list has been collated and compiled from various sources on the net, for ready reference, for those who "dont know about it" !

The following must always be set on AUTOMATIC :

Application Layer Gateway
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
Cryptographic Services
Com+ Event System
DCOM Server Process Launcher
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Event Log
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager
Network Connections
Plug and Play
Print Spooler
Protected Storage
Remote Access Connection Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) (NEVER disable this)
Security Center
Security Accounts Manager
Shell Hardware Detection
System Event Notification
System Restore Service
Task Scheduler (if you dont use Norton or Bootvis,
it can be made into Manual)
Themes
WINDOWS AudioWINDOWSW*NDOW$ Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing
W*NDOW$ Management Instrumentation


The following may be DISABLED (or set to MANUAL as reqd) :

Alerter
ASP.NET State Service
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support (Manual)
HID Input Service
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service
Indexing Service
Infrared Monitor
Machine Debug Manager
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSM
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Performance Logs and Alerts
Portable Media Serial Number Service
QoS RSVP
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Routing and Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Security Center
Smart Card
SSDP Discovery Service
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telnet
Terminal Services
Upload Manager
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Volume Shadow Copy
WebClient
Windows Time
Windows User Mode Driver Framework
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adapter

Hidden feature on Windows Xp

1. Application Secrets.

Defrag
Secret - Hidden Command Line Switch
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Run" and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information. Similar to what BootVis invokes.

Paint
Secret - Image Trails
Instructions - Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret - 10 X zoom
Instructions - Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-click exactly on the line below the 8 X.


2. OS Secrets.

Add/Remove
Secret - Hidden Uninstall Options
Instructions - Warning: Proceed at your own risk.
Browse to C:\Windows\inf\ and make a backup copy of sysoc.inf. Then open the original file C:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf in notepad. Go to "Edit" and select "Replace". In "Find what" type, hide and in "Replace with:" type, then select "Replace All", save and close the file. Go to the control panel, "Add/Remove", select "Add/Remove Windows Components". You will now see many more Windows components to uninstall. Do not remove anything with no label or that you do not recognize or fully understand what it does. Doing so can break certain functionality in Windows.

Control Panel
Secret - Hidden Control Panel Extensions
Instructions - Download and install Tweak UI, launch, go to "Control Panel" and check any item not selected, then "Apply" and "OK". You will now see the hidden control panel extensions.

Device Manager
Secret - Hidden Devices
Instructions - Go to the control panel, "System" icon, "Hardware" tab and select "Device Manager". Select View and Show hidden devices.

Music
Secret - Music from the Installer
Instruction - Browse to C:\Windows\system32\oobe\images\title.wma and play

Shutdown
Secret - Display Hibernate Option on Shut Down dialog.
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Turn Off Computer" and press either Shift key to change "Stand By" button to "Hibernate".


3. Game Secrets

FreeCell
Secret - Instant Win
Instruction - Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort, Retry or Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win.

Secret - Hidden Game Modes
Instruction - In the "Game" menu choose "Select Game". Enter -1 or -2 to activate the hidden game modes.

Minesweeper
Secret - Reveal Mines
Instructions - Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy. Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color other then white or black to see the pixel.

Pinball
Secret - Extra Balls
Instructions - Type lmax at the start of a new ball to get extra balls.

Secret - Gravity Well
Instructions - Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate Gravity Well.

Secret - Instant Promotion
Instructions - Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.

Secret - Skill Shot
Instruction - Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light bar so it falls back down to get 75.000 points. There are six yellow light bars that are worth a varying amount of points :
First: 15.000
Second: 30.000
Third: 75.000
Fourth: 30.000
Fifth: 15.000
Sixth: 7.500

Secret - Test MOde
Instructions - Type hidden test at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse button an drag the ball around.

Secret - Unlimited Balls
Instructions - Type bmax at the start of a new ball. No notificatin will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.

Solitaire
Secret - Instant Win
Instruction - Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.

Secret - Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instruction - Hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.

Increasing the Folder Cache

The default setting for WindowsXP is to cache the Explorer settings for 400 folders.
To increase it:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell NoRoam
3. Change the vaule of BagMRU to whatever size you want (hex)

1000 - 3e8
2000 - 7d0
3000 - bb8
4000 - fa0
5000 - 1388