XP Setup for Ease and Safety
by Mitch and with typing and web help by Goatie.


UPDATED 04/23/2006 back up link for black viper

Note: This is part three in my list series. Before proceeding, please read the other two lists,
IE and OE settings and "Programs & Info for a Newbie or Oldie, V2.1"

The purpose of this list is to make XP user-friendlier, secure, and a little faster.
This list deals with adjustments, tweaks, and setting changes to try to make XP work better, safer, and, maybe, a little faster.

Caution: When making changes I always am offline! I would suggest you print this out, then you can "change back" if you don't like something, and you have a list of what you did.


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How to Set Up or Use a Restore Point

With Windows XP, you can create a restore point. This way, if a software program you install changes your settings or you made changes but are not sure what the original settings were, you can "go back". Before you change the settings below create a restore point. Name it something that clue you in to when it was made, i.e. "Before XP Setup". After making the changes below, make a new restore point and name it something like "After XP Setup".

  1. Click Start
  2. Select All Programs
  3. Select Accessories
  4. Select System tools
  5. Select System Restore


On the right side of the screen are two options:

  1. restore from an earlier date/time (click it and a calender will be displayed on the left side and you can hover your mouse over a highlighted date it will say what the restore was.
  2. create a restore point. That's just what it does, and you can do that before installing software or making major changes and it might save you.
Now that you are at System Restore click SYSTEM RESTORE SETTINGS and you can see disk space allowed. The default is something like 10% of your hard drive so it can be quite large and cover restore points for months way back. Use caution, but if you have a small disk drive, you can decrease it a bit, I have 5% on mine and have a month and ½ of restore points to use, but change at your risk!

Now click the AUTOMATIC UPDATES tab

There are three options for how and what Windows does with the automatic update. On a dialup, I recommend "notify me before downloading updates" or you can find yourself doing an update of several meg at a bad time! That way you can choose what you install.


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Security, Software, Firewalls, Antivirus, etc.

A good list of information for security/software/firewalls/antivirus (all free) and more is at info Newbie & Oldie List Updated.
For setting up IE & OE for maximum security (but not the easiest browsing. but SAFE) see IE & OE settings .

Here is a link for exporting and importing address book, mail, mail accounts, and news accounts from one computer to another or making a SAFE backup
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;270670.

Here is how to export favorites from Internet Explorer: (or make a safe backup) http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/vpults/HowTo/ie-export.html.

How to import Favorites:
  1. From the menu bar select File | Import and Export and click on Next
  2. Select Import Favorites and click on Next.
  3. Place a dot in the radio button in front of Import from a File.
  4. Browse to select bookmark.htm file and click on Save and Next.
  5. Select the Folder where imported favorites will be placed
  6. Click on Next, Finish, and OK



Display and Video Settings

Themes: If you like the "Play School" format display, you can ignore this part. However, if you like the simple "Windows Classic" look, here is how to make the change:

  1. Click: Start, Control Panel, Display.
  2. The tab being displayed should be "Themes".
  3. Click the drop-down box in Theme.
  4. Scroll down and select "Windows Classic".
  5. Click Apply.


Desktop:
I like the default "bliss". To change the image on the desktop:
  1. with Display still open,
  2. click on the Desktop tab.
  3. In Background, scroll to "Bliss" or what you like
  4. and click Apply.

Note: If you change any of the small settings, the display/themes will show "Windows Classic (modified)".


Power Settings:
Does your monitor shut down when not in use? To change this setting, while still in Display, select Screen Saver, Select Power. Under "Turn off Power", change the setting to "Never" and click Apply. At this point, you can go back and select a screen saver, if desired.

Video
Now for a few video tricks for speed and efficiency:
  1. Right click "My Computer" and select Properties.
  2. Select the "Advanced Tab" and click "Performance".
  3. Under Visual Effects, check "custom". The only one on my list checked is "use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop"
.

Also related to performance, click the "advanced tab". Make sure both "programs" are checked. Unless you are an expert don't play with Virtual Memory. Let Windows do it.



Network Settings

Note: I use a dialup and it has more settings so some will not apply to LAN settings, and these settings are based that you already have a dialup ISP
1. Click start, Control Panel, Network Connections.
2. Right click your ISP, select Properties.
3. In the Options tab, Dialing options: check both: "Display progress while connecting" and "Include Windows logon domain".
4. In Redial options: redial attempts 3, time between redial 5 sec, idle time before hanging up NEVER, and redial if line dropped.

With this setting, when you click your ISP, it will dial (no other popup screens showing the number and password) and if the line drops it will auto redial in 5 seconds, three consecutive times to connect.

If your ISP has multiple local numbers available, do the following:

5. In the General tab, Click on Alternates.
6. Select Add
7. Add the additional local dialup numbers.
8. When finished adding the local numbers, check "If number fails, try next number".


You can "reorder" the numbers if one has a faster connection, by moving it to the top of the list.

9. In the Networking Tab, the Type of Dialup Server should indicate: "PPP.Windows 95/98/NT4/2000, Internet:
10. Under "This connection uses the following items", the only one I think you should have checked is Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
11. Click Properties and on the General screen, click Advanced
12. On WINS tab, click Enable LMHOSTS and down at the bottom check "Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP



Index Search

By default, Windows XP indexes and records information on all the files on your system in order to speed up searching speeds. If you do not care about quick searches, this can be disabled to improve general speed.
Directions: Microsoft says the indexing service improves the speed of your searches. Indexing enables you to search for information such as text in the document, or properties, such as creation date, of the document.
The entire contents of the drive are not indexed unless you elect to index files and subfolders when prompted. However, this indexing service adds to overhead and overall decrease in computer speed. If you would like to disable this service, follow the steps below:
1. Left click on My Computer
2. Right click on your hard drive
3. Left click on Properties
4. Click on General tab if not already selected
5. Click on Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching, to deselect this option and disable it.
6. You may need to repeat if you have additional hard drives
Note: If you have an OEM with a network card and you use a dialup you will find a new red X in the task bar. This is the fix.

As admin:

7. Right click "My Computer" on the desktop
8. Select "Properties"
9. Click the "Hardware" tab
10. Click "Device Manager" button in the middle of that screen and look for your network connection on the list
11. Click the "+" to expand the list for network and you will se your adaptor
12. Right-click the adaptor to highlight it
13. Right-click and click "disable" (Note: there wiill give you a warning about it not working, but you don't need it till you go highspeed)
14. After a short delay, POOF, the red X should be gone!



Desktop Cleanup Wizzard

I manage my desktop, not Microsoft, but approximately every 60 days a popup will ask you to clean up your desk top and you have to uncheck things to make it go away, so here is how to KILL IT FOREVER!

  1. Click Start
  2. Control Panel
  3. Double-click Display
  4. Click the Desktop tab
  5. Click Customize Desktop button
  6. UNCHECK run desktop cleanup wizard every 60 days



How to disable ICF (Microsoft's firewall)

NOTE: have a BETTER firewall downloaded before you do this! (See link at the top)
  1. Start
  2. Control Panel
  3. Click Network Connections
  4. Right-click your connection
  5. Select PROPERTIES
  6. Click the ADVANCED tab
  7. Uncheck the box for protect my computer



Advanced Settings

Windows XP PRO has an acceptable backup software, but none in XP HOME. Do this and you can have the heart of the backup for free.
It will NOT back up to more than one CD disk, does not have the ASR ( auto system recovery) but you can backup your system.

To Manually Install the Backup Utility*

  1. Insert the Windows XP CD Rom.
  2. Navigate to CD-ROM Drive:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP *
  3. Double-click the Ntbackup.msi file to start the wizard that installs Backup *
  4. When the wizard is complete, click Finish.



To be able to use it you must have a different drive or partition than just the standard C drive! If drive C really got hosed you would have to install Windows to get to install the program to use the backup! That will back your settings and all up to the time you made it and not have to download updates, find where you got programs/patches or how to set XP to do this or that. It does not support auto system recovery. Here is a how to link:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_backup.htm


Account Types

Here is a write up from Microsoft on the different types of accounts:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/howto/gettingstarted/sharing/default.asp

NOTE.quick switching might not work with some software (Sygate and others) so using that on my system I have:

  1. Admin. with full privileges and seldom used
  2. Surfer.a "limited account" used for playing on the web, and usual activities
  3. On mine (live by myself) I have "ghost" as admin with no password.



You can make a "password recovery disk" and I recommend that you do:
  1. log on to that account
  2. Open user accounts in CONTROL PANEL
  3. In the "related Task " box in the left pane, click the "prevent forgotten Password option" and follow the wizard!


NOTE: store the floppy in a secure area, anyone can use that disk to change the password and access your account.

So with a family, you can have a logon for each person and they can have their own custom settings/desktop/shortcuts. I have GHOST on mine just in case I really mess up things that is my last way into XP.

Now a couple of things --I am writing this as "surfer" but have to go to "admin" for the settings. So I need to have this document accessed by both accounts...No problem. I created a folder on the drive and called it "shared_stuff". I can create this document in Notepad and store it in "shared_stuff. That way, I can access the document from any account.

I want to run Ad-ware, to do an update, but I can't as it requires "admin rights". No problem. I just right-click on the shortcut or right click on the program in "all programs" and select "run as" and enter in the "admin account, and password" now I am in "limited access" but can work the program!

NOTE: that will not work with all programs! I can do "live update" but cannot work Norton as admin for a scan, The program will not allow it If I need to work on something in "surfer" and I can't because of access I can always get into admin, change the account of "surfer" to admin rights" do my work, then change Surfer back to "limited access".


Controlling Services in XP

  1. Read the Newbie/Oldie settings for more info on stopping programs/services that you don't need or don't want to run at startup.
  2. See http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1759. Windows has services running that are not needed on your computer, but they could be running and using system resources, so this is how you do it:, /li>

    a) click "Control Panel
    b) click "administrated tools
    c) click "services" (the gear)
    d) now you see a list of "the services


  3. If you just click to highlight one in the upper part you will see a Windows write-up of what it does. For example, the first service may be "alerter". You will see it is used for admin alerts.
    Now don't get "disable happy" here as some services require other services to work and if you just use "disable" other things might not work, so use BV' list or do your homework first!

    Ok, lets do one

    Scroll down and see "indexing services". Remember I had disabled it another way above, so you see it is disabled. With it highlighted, right-click and select "properties". Under the "general tab" in the middle you will see you can disable, automatic, or manual. disabled...it won't work nor be usable. Automatic...if it is needed it will start. So just make the change and "apply".



Microsoft Powertoys

Ok, we have been working on making the system safe and a little faster. Well here are some toys from Microsoft, Tweak UI for XP Home is good. I do not use the other ones, but you might?

for XP PRO ONLY: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

for XP HOME: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Note. I made these changes to my computer. I did a benchmark before (with a program from NSWP) and afterwards and had about a 7% increase in the numbers, that might be typical, or unusual, but I now have XP the way I like it and I think under controls.