Erase Your Data Trail

Start the Registry Editor by clicking Start, Run, and type “regedit” (without quotes).

Go to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
Session Manager\Memory Management

On the right, locate the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value.
Right-click the value, select modify, and change the data value of the registry key to 1.

If the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value doesn’t exist, add it. Right-click the right side of your specified key and add it as a DWORD value. Then change the data value to 1.

Restart for your changes to take effect.

Note: Your shutdown time may slightly increase.

Easy way to add a link to the start menu

If you’re looking for an easy way to adding your favorite link to the start menu, without editing your registry. Simply copy your favorite link from the ‘Favorite’-menu out of Internet Explorer and paste it into the start menu. Done!

Command Prompt Tip

In a command window you can use the TAB key as “complete” key – like in unix/linux.

Example:
Start a cmd window and go to root (c:\)
type cd – hit TAB key – and you will now scroll the directories, also hidden ones.

Try: cd doc – hit TAB key – You get up “Documents and Settings” – hit enter. in Documents and Settings type cd and hit key several time – and you will scroll through the names of the directories – also the hidden ones.

Change the ports of WinVNC Server

Although Windows XP have remote desktop function, most people still like to use VNC to remote control their machine, however you may need to change the port to bypass the firewall of your office/school. Here’s the way to change the port settings.

- If you want to set port > 5900:
1. Run WinVNC (App Mode)
2. Right click and select “Properties” on the VNC tray icon
3. Check “Accept Socket Connections” but DO NOT check “Auto”
4. Calculate display number: if you want to set to port 6900, then your display number will be: 6900 – 5900 = 1000
5. Enter 1000 in the display number field
6. Done

- If you want to set port < 5900 (e.g. port 2000), this reqire a few more steps:
1. Run WinVNC (App Mode)
2. Right click and select “Properties” on the VNC tray icon
3. Tick “Accept Socket Connections” but DO NOT click “Auto”, enter “0″ to the “Display Number” field.
4. Exit VNC server
5. Start -> Run -> regedit -> OK, Find “\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ORL\WinVNC3″
6. Find value of “PortNumber”
7. edit the value, change the DEC value of 5900 to the port number you want
8. restart VNC Server, Done!

When you connect to your machine by VNCViewer, type “your-ip:PortNumber” to connect (e.g. “192.168.10.51:2000″)

And the web port is the value of PortNumber – 100, so if PortNumber = 5900, http port = 5800, then you can access your desktop in a browser by “http://your-ip:PortNumber”, (e.g. “http://192.168.10.51:1900″)

Hope this can help

Capture a DOS Print

One of the things I have been driven nuts by is all the DOS programs my clients still must use. As I move more of them to XP I find the issue of sharing a networked printer with a DOS program a bigger deal. We came across the solution the other day.

On the client machine first make sure you have the printer shared you want to use. Next tell the client machine to add a new printer. Make sure you tell it the printer is local and hooked to a local LPT. There should be no actual physcial printer here.

When doing this I find a generic text printer works excellent for this. Most DOS programs only do text anyway. But you can use older printers as well.

Once this pretend local printer is installed go back into the printers and go to properties for this pretend printer. Go to the Ports tab, select the Pool Ports check box and now check the port that points to your networked printer.

Now what will happen is when you tell your DOS program to print to the fictious local printer port it will instead be routed to the network printer you have selected.

I have used this tip on 4 different programs in DOS and all have worked perfect.