By default, Microsoft includes the /prefetch:1 switch to speed up it's Windows Media Player application start time. This switch can be used for other Windows applications and also many third party programs.

Example #1

You have AOL 8.0 installed on the computer. Complete the steps outlined bewlo to add the /prefetch:1 switch to AOL's Target path.

1. Right click on the AOL shortcut and select properties from the menu.

2. In the Target: Field add the /prefetch:1 switch to the very end of the path, like this: "C:\Program Files\America Online 8.0\aol.exe" /prefetch:1 and then click ok.

Now start AOL. It would load at least 50 times faster than ever before.

Example #2

1, Go to the Start button/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools

2. Right click on System Restore and select properties from the menu that appears. Add the /prefetch:1 to the Target Path entry so it looks like this %ystemRoot%\System32\restore\rstrui.exe /prefetch:1 and click ok.

Now System Restore will start immediately when executed.

Note: This switch will only work with some programs. Others will return a message saying the program in the target box is invalid. Just remove the switch

To disable the stupid feature in WinXP which tries to send a report to microsoft every time a program crashes you will have to do this:

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Open Control Panel

Click on Preformance and Maintenance.

Click on System.

Then click on the Advanced tab

Click on the error reporting button on the bottom of the windows.

Select Disable error reporting.

Click OK

Click OK

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Would you like to use the Windows Update feature without being forced to register with Microsoft? OK then, this is what you can do:

Launch good ol' Regedit.

Go down to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.

Look for a value named RegDone. If it isn't there create a new value with that name.

Right click the new value and choose Modify. Make the value 1.

Microsoft Windows XP won't allow you to uninstall Internet Explorer. How can you fix the browser or even reinstall the program if it becomes corrupt?

If you don't yet have the very latest Internet Explorer, you can fix many problems by visiting

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

and updating to the latest version. If you're already up to date, however, the site won't let you reinstall the program. You need to fool the system into thinking you don't have the latest version.

Launch REGEDIT from the Start menu's Run dialog and navigate to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}. In the right-hand pane, double-click on the DWORD value IsInstalled and change it from 1 to 0 (no matter whether you choose Decimal or Hexadecimal). Close REGEDIT and go to the Windows update site again. Now it should let you "update" IE and, with luck, fix the problems.

By the way, you can do the same thing if you need to repair Outlook Express, but at the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}.

You can add an Internet URL address bar to your Windows XP taskbar. Doing so will let you type in URLs and launch Web pages without first launching a browser. It will also let you launch some native Windows XP applications in much the same way as you would via the Run menu (so you could type in calc to launch the calculator or mspaint to launch Microsoft Paint. Here's how you add the address bar:

1. Right-click on the taskbar, select Toolbars, and then click Address.

2. The word Address will appear on your taskbar.

3. Double click it to access it.

4. If that doesn't work, your taskbar is locked. You can unlock it by right-clicking on the taskbar again and uncheck Lock the Taskbar.

NOTE: You may also need to grab the vertical dotted lines beside the word Address and drag it to the left to make the Address window appear.

Would you like to use the Windows Update feature without being forced to register with Microsoft? OK then, this is what you can do:

Launch good ol' Regedit.

Go down to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.

Look for a value named RegDone. If it isn't there create a new value with that name.

Right click the new value and choose Modify. Make the value 1.