Windows will always highlight new installed programs at the start menu. This feature is good to some people, but i believe most of us would like to remove it.
To remove this feature, right click your start menu, and choose properties. Switch to the “Start Menu” tab and press “Customize“. Scroll down until you reach “Highlight newly installed programs“. Uncheck it and press “OK“.
For Windows XP, you will find same option under the Advanced tab.
Windows 7 is the upcoming version of Windows, which is expected to be released in 2010. However, Windows XP users can download Windows 7 desktop themes patch and enjoy before it release.
The Windows 7 desktop theme look similar with Windows Vista. However, there are some differences between them, as you can see from the screenshots below:
Source: MegaLeecher.Net
Thumbnail preview image is a new feature in Windows Vista. But, Windows XP users also can enjoy this feature by installing Visual Task Tips.
Since i switch to Windows Vista, i really like the thumbnail preview feature. Today, i found an interesting application which can enable this feature in Windows XP. It is a freeware (non-commercial usage).
Visual Task Tips is a lightweight shell enhancement utility. Upon install the application, you can start enjoying the thumbnail preview when your mouse hover to any applications in Windows taskbar. The screenshot above shows preview for “My Computer“.
There are some settings that you can done. For example, you can change the thumbnail size and popup delay. You can also change the refresh rate, but higher refresh rate will cause performance issue.
Can i start this application automatically when i launch Windows? Yes, you can start it automatically. Just check “start application automatically when windows start”. Furthermore, you can also start the application without tray icon. For more information, you may visit the FAQ page.
Windows XP service pack 3 has been released for some times. But if you want to install it on your AMD based HP/Compaq computer, you probably will always faced the blue screen problem (BSoD, Blue Screen of Death).
HP had comes out with a solution. There are 5 steps to fix this problem:
The problem should be fixed and you will no longer get the same error message.
BootTimer is a free application which can measures Windows startup times.
BootTimer will not calculate the time taken to go through BIOS, and will start immediately when your PC starts loading Windows. Currently, BootTimer works on Windows NT, Windows XP and Windows XP 64 bit Edition, and yet to support Windows Vista.
To use BootTimer, launch the application and a messagebox will appear and ask you to reboot your Windows. After you click “Yes”, your computer will restarts. After your computer restarts, you will get another messagebox that show you the total time taken to start Windows.
download BootTimer | download from MediaFire
Source: gHacks
Taskbar Repair Tool Plus! is a portable application which can fix a lot of problems relating to your taskbar, notification area, and the quick launch bar.
Taskbar Repair Tool Plus! able to fix a lot of problems, including taskbar missing, minimized programs missing, show missing icons in notification area, restore show desktop icon in quick launch area, and etc. Basically, this program is a collection of registry files or VB script which can modify your windows registry. You can go to the website and look for the VB script for certain features.
When you choose to fix any problems or change the settings on your system, you can always look at the description before click the repair button. After you fix or change the settings, you may need to restart your system. This application is only for Windows XP, as Windows Vista will have different registry settings with XP.
Although this application is free, but you need to purchase a license if you want to use all features.
Vista Drive Icon is an application which can changes the drive icon shown in My Computer, to a nearly Vista style drive icon, which can show the free space of a particular drive, with a smooth colored horizontal bar.
By default, Windows XP will not show the free space of your drive, unless you change the view to Details. But, Windows Vista did show us the free space. Now, Windows XP user also can get this feature by using this application.
The screenshots above show us the drive icon of my C: drive before and after the installation. The tiny horizontal bar show us the particular drive’s free space. When your drive is running on low disk space, the bar’s color will turn red as shown on the screenshot below:
Another insteresting feature is that a small Windows icon will appear on the drive that contains your windows system.
This application can be installed on Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP. I am not sure that will it compatible with Windows Vista or not, but i believe no one will install on Vista, right? The memory usage is quite low and i try to install it on my old PC, it seems like running smoothly.
