Windows 98 Registry Hacks; Part 2


Menu
Maintaining Server List - NT
Hide the Settings Tab on the Control Panel Display Icon
Hide Control Panel Icon - Date/Time
Tell Windows 98 Where to Find Your "SourcePath"
Hide User Profiles Tab under Passwords Control Panel Icon
Turn Off The 'Click Here to Begin' Message
Hide Control Panel Icon - System
Disable The Documents Submenu on Win98's Start Menu
Hide Remote Administration Tab Under Passwords Control Panel Icon
Disable the Display Icon Iin Control Panel
Turning Off Office 97 Assistant Sounds
Logon to NT Automatically (By-pass the logon screen)
Disable Task Manager
Hide All The Items on Your Desktop
Registry Tweak to Keep Your Icons From Acting Funny
Delete All Entries From Address Toolbar
Remove Documents Menu and The C:\WINDOWS\RECENT Folder Atogether
Hide the Settings Tab on the Control Panel Display Icon
Hide Control Panel Icon - Date/Time
Hide User Profiles Tab under Passwords Control Panel Icon
Hide Control Panel Icon - System
Adding an Application to the Right Click on Every Folder
Modifying Default Desktop Icons
How To Rebuild Your Registry

Maintaining Server List - NT Use this setting to determine whether an NT machine will ever maintain the list of network machines (i.e. be a network browser.) With this setting you can ensure that mission critical machines or machines with low resources will not become (or will be less likely to be selected) to maintain the list of current network resources.  The machine that holds the network list is polled by other machines on the network to determine what resources are currently available.  If the machine maintaining the list is not very powerful, the entire network will suffer.  Using this setting you can set machines with appropriate resources to always be the "network browser" and determine which machines will be backup browsers in the event that the most powerful machines are not available. To set this option, go to:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters

Create a value "MaintainServerList" (REG_SZ) and set it equal to one of the following numbers:

1 = Enabled (always be a network browser)
2 = Auto (only be a network browser if needed) 0 = Disabled (never be a network browser)



Hide the Settings Tab on the Control Panel Display Icon

Use this setting to hide the Settings tab under the Display Icon in the Control Panel.  By hiding the Settings tab, you will prevent users from making changes to their video driver and screen resolution settings.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

and edit/create the value "NoDispSettingsPage" (REG_DWORD) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the Setting tab, or "0" to display the Settings tab.

Works with: 95, 98, NT, 2000



Hide Control Panel Icon - Date/Time

Use this setting to hide the Date/Time icon under the Control Panel which will prevent users from changing system date and time, time zone, and daylight savings setting.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Control Panel\Don't Load

and edit/create the value "timedate.cpl" (REG_SZ) and set the value equal to "1"(without quotes) to hide the Date/Time icon, or delete the value to enable the icon.

Works with: 95, 98, NT, 2000



Tell Windows 98 Where to Find Your "SourcePath"

If you have loaded the files from your Windows CD locally or on the network, use this setting to stop the prompt which asks you to put in your Windows CD when loading new options.  This setting will redirect the system to look in the directory where the files are loaded instead of automatically looking to the CD-ROM drive. To set this option, go to:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Edit/create the value "SourcePath" (String Value) and set the value equal to the path where the Windows files are stored.



Hide User Profiles Tab under Passwords Control Panel Icon

Use this setting to hide the User Profiles tab under Start > Settings > Control Panel > Passwords.  By hiding this tab, you will prevent users from turning on/off user profiles for the machine.  Turning profiles on causes each user's preferences to be stored separately and prompts each user for an ID and password when they log into Windows.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

and edit/create the value "NoProfilePage" (REG_DWORD) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the User Profiles tab, or "0" to display the User Profiles tab.

Works with: 95, 98



Turn Off The 'Click Here to Begin' Message

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

Edit/create the value "NoStartBanner" (DWORD value) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to stop displaying the message, or "0" to display the message.



Hide Control Panel Icon - System

Use this setting to hide the System icon under Control Panel which controls machine settings such as user profiles, environment variables and virtual memory.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Control Panel\Don't Load

and edit/create the value "sysdm.cpl" (REG_SZ) and set the value equal to "1" (without quotes) to hide the System icon, or delete the value to enable the icon.

Works with: NT



Disable The Documents Submenu on Win98's Start Menu

A quick Registry edit removes the Documents menu and the C:\WINDOWS\RECENT folder altogether. First, back up your Registry files-C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT-before making any changes. Next, launch RegEdit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.

In the right pane, right-click on the background and select New/Binary Value. Type NoRecentDocsHistory and press Enter. Double-click on the new icon and enter 01000000 in the Edit Binary Value dialog box. (Note: RegEdit automatically inserts three spaces into the value). Click on OK. Add a new NoRecentDocsMenu binary value entry and follow the same steps. Close RegEdit and restart Windows. To reverse this, delete the two new binary values you added, or change both values to 00000000.



Hide Remote Administration Tab Under Passwords Control Panel Icon

Use this setting to hide the Remote Administration tab under the Passwords Control Panel icon.  By hiding this tab, you will prevent users from changing the setting which determines whether people can manage files and printers on that computer from remote computers.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

and edit/create the value "NoAdminPage" (REG_DWORD) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the Remote Administration tab, or "0" to display the Remote Administration tab.

Works with: 95, 98



Disable the Display Icon Iin Control Panel

As well as the Properties option when a user right-clicks on the desktop.
By disabling these options, you will stop the user from changing settings that control monitor resolution as well as screen saver and wallpaper options. To disable this option for a user, open the Registry Editor and go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\System

Edit the value "NoDispCPL" (DWORD value) and set the value equal to "1"(without quotes) to disable the Display icon (if the value/key does not already exist, create it).  To re-enable the option, delete the above value or set the value to "0". The setting will take effect immediately and does not require a reboot.



Turning Off Office 97 Assistant Sounds

Use this setting to disable sounds for the Office 97 Assistant. To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\Assistant

and create/edit the value "AsstSounds" (REG_DWORD) and set the value to "1" to disable the sound, or "0" to enable the sound.

Works with: 95, 98, NT



Logon to NT Automatically (By-pass the logon screen)

Use this setting to designate an ID and password to automatically logon to an NT system, thereby bypassing the NT Logon screen.  Note that by enabling this option you will give anyone access to the machine who turns it on and access to any network resources which that ID can access. Additionally, the ID and password are stored in the registry unencrypted, so they can be seen by anyone who views the Registry.  To enable this option, go to:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

There are four values that must be set to do this:

1. Edit value DefaultDomainName (REG_SZ) and enter the name of the domain.

2. Edit value DefaultUserName (REG_SZ) and enter the user name that the machine will use to logon.

3. Edit value DefaultPassword (REG_SZ) and enter the password used by the UserName above.

4. Set value AutoAdminLogon (REG_DWORD) to be 1.

Works with: NT



Disable Task Manager

Use this setting to disable a user's access to the Task Manager on the Windows NT Security Dialog Box or by right-clicking on the task bar.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

and edit/create a value "DisableTaskMgr" (REG_DWORD) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to disable Task Manager, or "0" to enable access to Task Manager.

Works with: NT



Hide All The Items on Your Desktop

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

Edit/create the value NoDesktop (DWORD value) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the desktop icons, or "0" to display the desktop icons.



Registry Tweak to Keep Your Icons From Acting Funny

If the icon cache (ShellIconCache) is "not properly updated," icons in the Quick Launch toolbar (or in My Computer, in Windows Explorer, or on the desktop) may randomly change.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q132/6/68.asp

(Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.)

Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing

regedit

and clicking OK. Next, navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer. Right-click a blank area inside the right pane and select New, String Value. Type the name

Max Cached Icons

then press Enter. Right-click the new value and select Modify. In the Value Data field, type

2048

then click OK. Restart Windows, and your icons should behave normally.

(Another possible solution is to re-create the ShellIconCache file, as described in our last tip: Restart Windows 98 in Safe mode, delete ShellIconCache--a hidden file in the Windows folder--then restart Windows.)



Delete All Entries From Address Toolbar

I've tried everything I know to delete the Web sites I've already typed from the list."

As with the Run command list (select Start, Run), you can delete addresses from the Address toolbar list by editing the Registry. Actually, you go to the same location in the Registry to do it. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.)

Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing

regedit

and clicking OK. Then navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU.

In the right pane, you'll see all the URLs you're trying to delete from the Address list. Select them all--"url1," "url2," and so on--right-click the selection, select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Close the Registry Editor.

To make your changes stick, close and re-open the Address toolbar:

Right-click a blank area of the taskbar and select Toolbars, Address; then follow these same steps to make it reappear.



Remove Documents Menu and The C:\WINDOWS\RECENT Folder Atogether

You can disable the Documents submenu on Win98's Start menu. A quick Registry edit removes the Documents menu and the C:\WINDOWS\RECENT folder altogether. First, back up your Registry files before making any changes. Next, launch RegEdit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.

In the right pane, right-click on the background and select New/Binary Value. Type NoRecentDocsHistory and press Enter. Double-click on the new icon and enter 01000000 in the Edit Binary Value dialog box. (Note: RegEdit automatically inserts three spaces into the value). Click on OK. Add a new NoRecentDocsMenu binary value entry and follow the same steps. Close RegEdit and restart Windows. To reverse the tip, delete the two new binary values you added, or change both values to 00000000.



Hide the Settings Tab on the Control Panel Display Icon 

Use this setting to hide the Settings tab under the Display Icon in the Control Panel.  By hiding the Settings tab, you will prevent users from making changes to their video driver and screen resolution settings.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

and edit/create the value "NoDispSettingsPage" (REG_DWORD) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the Setting tab, or "0" to display the Settings tab.

Available for: 95, 98, NT, 2000

================================
Hide Control Panel Icon - Date/Time 

Use this setting to hide the Date/Time icon under the Control Panel which will prevent users from changing system date and time, time zone, and daylight savings setting.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Control Panel\Don't Load

and edit/create the value "timedate.cpl" (REG_SZ) and set the value equal to "1"(without quotes) to hide the Date/Time icon, or delete the value to enable the icon.

Available for: 95, 98, NT, 2000

================================
If you have loaded the files from your Windows CD locally or on the network, use this setting to stop the prompt which asks you to put in your Windows CD when loading new options.  This setting will redirect the system to look in the directory where the files are loaded instead of automatically looking to the CD-ROM drive. To set this option, go to:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Edit/create the value "SourcePath" (String Value) and set the value equal to the path where the Windows files are stored.

================================
Hide User Profiles Tab under Passwords Control Panel Icon 

Use this setting to hide the User Profiles tab under Start > Settings > Control Panel > Passwords.  By hiding this tab, you will prevent users from turning on/off user profiles for the machine.  Turning profiles on causes each user's preferences to be stored separately and prompts each user for an ID and password when they log into Windows.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

and edit/create the value "NoProfilePage" (REG_DWORD) and set the value to "1" (without quotes) to hide the User Profiles tab, or "0" to display the User Profiles tab.

Available for: 95, 98

================================
Hide Control Panel Icon - System 

Use this setting to hide the System icon under Control Panel which controls machine settings such as user profiles, environment variables and virtual memory.  To enable this option, go to:

HKCU\Control Panel\Don't Load

and edit/create the value "sysdm.cpl" (REG_SZ) and set the value equal to "1" (without quotes) to hide the System icon, or delete the value to enable the icon.

Available for: NT

================================
Adding an Application to the Right Click on Every Folder 

This hack add any application to the menu when you right click on any Folder. This could be useful if there is an application you always want available and don't want to go through the Start menu each time.

1. Start Regedit

2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell
3. Add a key Name_of_Your_App
4. This can really be any label, just use one that makes sense to you
5. Give it a default value of Name_of_Your_App
5. Putting a & in front of a character will allow you to use the keyboard
7. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Folder \ shell \ Name_of_Your_App
8. Add a key command
9. Give it a default value of the application you want to run
10. For example: c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe  (Include the full path)

Now when you right click on any folder, you can have access to that application
This will work for Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.x
===================================
Modifying Default Desktop Icons

1.Start Regedit

2.Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons

3.The default icons are numbered in the right panel from 0-40

4.Double click on the number of the particular icon you want to change. See the chart below.

5.Enter the name of the icon file you want to use followed by the number of the icon in that file.
Note: The numbering starts with zero.

6.If you use a single .ICO file, it should be followed by a 0.

7.e.g. - filename.dll,4 - This would actually be the 5th icon since it starts with 0.

Below is a reference for the icons I've been able to figure out:

0 - Default Icon
1 - Default Document
2 - Application
3 - Closed Folder
4 - Open Folder
5 - 5 1/4 Drive
6 - 3 1/4 Drive
7 - Removable Drive
8 - Hard Drive
9 - Network Folder
10 - Network Offline
11 - CD
12 - RAM Drive
13 - Entire Nertwork
15 - My Computer
16 - Printer
17 - Network Neighborhood
18 - Network Workgroup
19-27 are the Start Menu icons
19 - Programs
20 - Desktop
21 - Settings
22 - Find
23 - Help
24 - Run
25 - Suspend
27 - Shutdown
28 - Share
29 - Shortcut
31 - Recycle Bin (Empty)
32 - Recycle Bin (Full)
33 - Folder, Dial-Up Networking
34 - Desktop
36 - Program Group
40 - Audio Card

In addition, you can change:

My Computer - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Network Neighborhood - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-10
69-A2D7-08002B30309D}

InBox - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

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



How To Rebuild Your Registry

Win95/98 Registry Rebuild

Rebuild the registry itself with REGEDIT. To do this, restart the computer in MS-DOS mode-REGEDIT will do only what you need it to in DOS mode while the registry is closed.

1. Export the current registry into a text file by running the following from within the Windows directory: REGEDIT /L:SYSTEM.DAT /R:USER.DAT /E FULLBAK.REG This will force REGEDIT to parse the registry and dump its raw
contents to the text file FULLBAK.REG.

2. Make a backup directory and move your USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT into that directory so REGEDIT cannot find them. (This step is just a precation. I've never seen a situation where this trick doesn't work, but there's alway a first, and now you'll have a backup.)

3. Recreate the registry and running the command: REGEDIT /L:SYSTEM.DAT
/R:USER.DAT /C FULLBAK.REG

4. Reboot. A registry free of corruption (but not necessarily free of dead wood).

You can also in Win95 export the entire registry and later double click it to install it. But this only works on an already running machine.

If you are doing this on a network, you can use your NT Server to backup the registry via NET USE, then AT (time) REGEDIT /L:SYSTEM.DAT /R:USER.DAT /E FULLBAK.REG
copy fullbak.reg to a backup directory CD.


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