5.2 Registry Tweaks

Each of the following tweaks points to a Registry path , and then describes the value (or values) that need to be modified. If any of the keys or values specified don't exist on your system, simply create them as directed. The topics covered include Files, Folders, and File Types ( next ), Performance Tweaks, and User Account and Network Settings.

5.2.1 Files, Folders, and File Types

These next few settings deal with file types, which affect files, folders, Desktop icons, and other objects.

5.2.1.1 Add Delete and Rename to the Recycle Bin's context menu

Location

 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08- 00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder\ 

Directions

Set the Attributes value to 70 01 00 20 for Delete and Rename, or 50 01 00 20 for Rename only (the default is 40 01 00 20). Then, right-click the Recycle Bin and select Rename or Delete.

5.2.1.2 Hide all Desktop icons

Location

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer 

Directions

Create a binary value called NoDesktop and set it to 01 00 00 00 to hide all Desktop icons. Delete the NoDesktop value to restore the Desktop icons.

5.2.1.3 Redirect the My Computer icon

Location

 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE03AEA-1069-A2D8- 08002B30309D}\shell 

Directions

Set the (Default) value to Open . Then, create a key named Open , and then another named Command (inside Open ). Set the (Default) value to the command line to launch (such as \Windows\Explorer.exe ).

5.2.1.4 Get rid of the Shared Documents folder

Location

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\ DelegateFolders 

Directions

Under this branch, you should see several subkeys, each named for a different Class ID. Delete the one named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee} .

5.2.1.5 Remove an entry from Explorer's New menu

Location

 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\   {some file type key}   

Directions

Delete the ShellNew key under any file type key to remove that file type from Explorer's New menu.

5.2.1.6 Allow modification of a file type

Location

 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\   {some file type key}   

Directions

Set the EditFlags value as specified in Table 5-1 to change which aspects of a file type can be modified in the File Types window (Control Panel Folder Options File Types tab). Note that EditFlags values can be added to combine several restrictions ( 01 00 00 00 + 02 00 00 00 = 03 00 00 00 ).

Table 5-1. Some of the possible EditFlags values, and what they mean

EditFlags bit	Meaning
00 00 00 00 (or omitted)	No restrictions
01 00 00 00	Not shown in the File Types window at all
02 00 00 00	Change button disabled in File Types window
08 00 00 00	Advanced button disabled in File Types window
00 01 00 00	Can't change file type description in Edit File Type window
00 02 00 00	Change Icon button disabled in Edit File Type window
40 00 00 00	Edit button disabled in Edit File Type window
80 00 00 00	Remove button disabled in Edit File Type window

5.2.1.7 Turn off the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer

Location

 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\ ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers 

Directions

Delete the ShellImagePreview key to disable the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as the default application for most image file types.

5.2.1.8 Customize the icon used for generic folders and drives

Location

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\DefaultIcon

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\DefaultIcon

Directions

Set the (Default) value to the full path and filename of the file containing the icon to use, followed by a comma, and then a number specifying the index of the icon to use ( being the first icon, 1 being the second, and so on). The file you use can be an icon file ( *.ico ), a bitmap ( *.bmp ), a .dll file, an application executable ( *.exe ), or any other valid icon file. The default for folders is %SystemRoot%\System32\shell32.dll,3 , and the default for drives is %SystemRoot%\System32\shell32.dll,8 .

5.2.1.9 Add Encrypt and Decrypt commands to files' context menus

Location

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced 

Directions

Create a new DWORD value called EncryptionContextMenu , and set it to 1. Then, right-click any file (or group of files) and select Encrypt to turn on NTFS encryption for the file(s) or Decrypt to turn it off.

5.2.1.10 Customize the locations of system folders

Location

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders 

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders 

Directions

Double-click any value and type the full path of the folder you wish to be the new location of the corresponding system folder. Note that you'll have to manually move any existing files from the old location to the new one.

5.2.1.11 Open a command prompt window in any folder

Location

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell

Directions

Create a new key named cmd , and then set its ( Default ) to:

 Open Command &Prompt Here 

Next, create a new key under cmd named command , and set its (Default) value to:

 cmd.exe /k "cd %L && ver" 

Finally, right-click any folder and select Open Command Prompt Here to open a command prompt window rooted in the selected folder.

5.2.2 Performance Tweaks

These next few settings affect the performance of your system.

5.2.2.1 Turn off CD AutoPlay

Location

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Services\Cdrom 

Directions

Set the Autorun DWORD value to to disable CD AutoPlay.

TIP

To selectively choose how AutoPlay handles certain types of media, right-click the drive icon for your CD drive, CD recorder, or DVD drive, select Properties, and choose the AutoPlay tab.

5.2.2.2 Change the responsiveness of drop-down menus

Location

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Directions

Set the MenuShowDelay string value to the number of milliseconds (thousanths of a second) Windows will wait before opening a menu. The default is 400 (a little less than half-a-second); enter (zero) here to eliminate the delay completely or a very large value ( 65534 is the maximum) to disable the automatic opening of menus.

5.2.2.3 Disable programs configured to run at Windows startup

Location

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Run 

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\RunOnce 

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Run 

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\RunOnce 

Directions

Each value in these four keys represents a different program; simply delete the entry corresponding to the startup program you wish to disable. Note that values stored in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER branch are for the currently logged-in user, while entries in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE apply to all users.

5.2.2.4 Choose how long Chkdsk waits before checking a drive during startup

Location

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Control\Session Manager 

Directions

Set the AutoChkTimeOut DWORD value to the number of seconds Chkdsk should wait before scanning your hard disk during Windows startup.

5.2.2.5 Choose how long before Windows considers an application to be hung

Location

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Directions

Set the HungAppTimeout string value to the number of milliseconds (thousanths of a second) Windows will wait before it considers an application to be "Not Responding."

5.2.3 User Account and Network Settings

These next few settings deal with user accounts, security, logging in, and sharing resources over a network.

5.2.3.1 Disable the Unread Messages display on the Welcome screen

Location

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\UnreadMail 

Directions

Set the MessageExpiryDays DWORD value to (zero) to turn off the notification of unread messages for each user on the Welcome screen.

5.2.3.2 Hide the last logged-in username (old-style logon dialog only)

Location

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon 

Directions

Set the DontDisplayLastUserName string value to 1 (one) to stop Windows from filling the username field with the last logged-in user (has no effect when used with the Welcome screen).

5.2.3.3 Customize the logon message (old-style logon dialog only)

Location

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon 

Directions

Set the LogonPrompt string value to whatever text you'd like to appear at the top of the standard Windows logon dialog (has no effect when used with the Welcome screen).

5.2.3.4 Stop sharing the Scheduled Tasks folder

Location

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace 

Directions

Delete the {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} key to stop sharing the Scheduled Tasks folder with other computers on your network, which will dramatically improve network browsing performance.