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

When you perform a search for a file in Windows XP. The default setting is for XP to ONLY return files in the "Search Results" pane - when they are registered file types to a program on your PC.

In other words if you are looking for a file that is NOT registered with an application on your PC, it will not be found using the default search settings.

However, you can turn off the default by a quick Tweak of the registry!

Open the Registry editor (type regedit from the Run command) and navigate to:

HKEY LOCAL MACHINE\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Control\

ContentIndex

Double-Click the value named:

FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions

..and change the value from 0 to 1

Exit the registry editor and reboot!

By default Windows 2000, Windows XP and WinNT automatically setup hidden admin shares (admin$, c$ and d$), this registry key will disable these hidden shares.

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ LanmanServer\ Parameters]

Value Name: AutoShareWks

Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)

Value Data: (0 = disable shares, 1 = enable)

This registry key actually stops the recreation of the shares, therefore it may be necessary to delete the shares through the drive properties also or you can also remove the shares through the Computer Management Console.

1. In Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

2. Click to expand Shared Folders, and then click Shares.

3. In the Shared Folder column, right-click the share you want to delete, click Stop sharing, and then click OK.

Note : To remove the admin share for only the current session use the second method (Computer Management console), if you want a permanent removal, add the AutoShareWks registry.