Vista: Tweaked, Tuned, & Hacked

[R3ap3R]

* Vista: Tweaked, Tuned, & Hacked *
Oh hai Infinity / MW players ~ Vinnie V

First, use Ready Boost if you aren't already. Get a high-speed 4GB compact flash card, or thumb drive. There is no use going larger; even though Vista will let you set a size greater than 4GB for Ready Boost, you will only be able to store up to 8GB compressed data using 4GB of storage.


Obviously, begin by cleaning out the crap with add/remove programs. Things like disk defrag and disk cleanup are routine, and will not be elaborated upon. There are many better utilities for this, and I recommend Acronis True Image and Diskeeper. I also suggest using Ccleaner regularly. Use BIOS to change boot device priority to start with your C drive (or wherever your OS is); this can shave as much as 10 seconds, depending on your setup.

MSCONFIG

* Hold down "start" and press "R" to initiate a run command. Now, type "msconfig" and press enter; provide a positive response to security and elevation prompts. Check "No GUI boot". This will disable the glowing vista logo that shows after post, shaving 2 - 5 seconds. Also, check your services tab and start up tab. Use Google to look up process names if you are unsure, but crap like Adobe "anything", Google "anything", HP or Compaq connections, HP Update, HP Advisor, any other PC manufacturer specific items, welcome center, and windows media player or media center stuff, etc. can obviously be disabled if you don't need it to start with the computer (i.e. if you have a TV tuner and record TV on a schedule, like a TiVo, using WMC). This won't disable the program(s); just keep it from starting with Windows. Now, go to tools and select "disable UAC"; hit launch > apply > ok. If something requires elevation, like a CMD prompt, you have to right click it and select run as admin, since windows no longer will prompt for elevation (this will be taken care of later in the guide). This doesn't make you "admin" over everything, but just stops asking you every four seconds if you are sure what you are doing.... trust me, it will get in the way for the rest of this. After you restart, select "run blocked program" > system config from the annoying prompt. Check the box "do not run sys <snip> or start...", and hit ok.

Multi-Core booting via msconfig

* First open up msconfig and go to the boot tab. Then, click on the "advanced options" button, and check the "Number of Processors" box; now, change the setting to select the maximum number of processors to get the best boot speed… it will be all of them, obviously.

SERVICES.MSC ||| *Backup data first if you are not familiar with this*

* Press start and R again and type "services.msc"; this is where we will be working. Now, you can get a comprehensive list of the services, functions, and recommendations here. In case you are unfamiliar with services.msc, simply right click any service and select properties. Change your startup type to indicate that which is suggested under safe or tweaked in the list, and hit apply. You can also use services.msc to start/stop remote desktop connections, windows defender, windows firewall, and other services any time you wish. If you are not sure what to do, just try manual... it will start by itself, just not when windows starts and only as needed (usually when you start a relevant executable). Avoid using the option to disable any services, except on things like Tablet PC Input (pen and touch services), unless your rig has a touch screen or pen screen w/handwriting recognition; like the HP Z series tablets or Microsoft Surface. There are several other worthless services like this, which are outlined in the list from Black Viper. Some services are unable to be configured, at least not by using services.msc; if you know what you are doing, and need the service off, then you are familiar with your registry; there are critical dependencies issues with most of those items, and that is why you can't touch them through here... so you don't brick your computer or corrupt DCOM. If you select to view the properties of a service, you can click on "dependencies" to see what other services the selected one depends on, and what other services depend on the one you selected. There are alternate ways to access services.msc, such as via "administrative tools", but the run line is the quickest.

Page File & Performance Options

* Right click on "computer", select "properties"; from the list on the left choose "advanced system settings." Now, under "advanced", hit the button for settings under "Performance". Now, in "performance options", you can have Windows automatically adjust settings for best appearance, best performance, let Windows choose your settings for you, or you can customize your settings. If you do it manually, each box that you uncheck will add to your performance and reduce your boot time, but will make your GUI look a little crappier. Personally, I let Windows choose automatically (one of the few things it can do right by itself, lol). Under the tab "advanced", leave the "adjust for best performance of” set to programs, unless you are folding or have elaborate background services running. Now, under "virtual memory", which we call VM (not to be confused with virtual machine), hit the button marked "change". Do not let it automatically manage; uncheck the box that says it is doing that. Here is the thing: if you have more than 2GB ram, consider disabling the paging file totally. If you have two or more HDDs, place your page file on the one without the OS if you absolutely must have a page file. As a rule of thumb, take the "recommended" size (from the bottom), round up to the nearest 100MB, and set that number under "custom size" as both the minimum and the maximum. Make sure to hit the button marked "set" before you hit apply > ok. You may need to restart your system if you have lowered the size, but not if you raise it. Allowing dynamic adjustment is good on old off - the - shelf systems, but will slow you down. For best performance, the Initial size and Maximum size should be the same unless you have the RAM to run without it. By settings them as the same, the size of your page file will be constant, which will reduce the distance your r/w heads have to travel. Putting the page file on another drive is a great alternative to disabling the page file, but do not if it is external USB or flash based (i.e. SD cards), except in the case of a SSD (solid state drive, which I doubt anyone here has). Finally, under data execution prevention, make sure to only have it on for essential services and windows only. Remember later that if you ever see a notice about something you are trying to do being stopped by "DEP", you can add it to the “exceptions” list. Rarely, you may get this problem if you are running certain benchmarking programs or if you try to run F@H as a service.

Device Manager ||| *Only enable advanced performance on STABLE rigs*

* There are only two things to do here. First, open device manager and right click each individual component and select “update driver ". Let Vista do it auto; it seems to be pretty good at it, except for the fact that it often misses a few when you just run Windows Update. Of course, you may wish to skip certain devices such as your graphics card if you are running beta drivers or non-approved drivers; if any such drivers are not signed, see "disable driver signing" later on in the guide. To enable advanced performance, find your HDD, right click > Properties > Policies > and check "enable advanced disk performance". Works with SATA drives only; use only if one of the following apply to you: A, you have a laptop with a good battery or B, you have a UPS device (battery backup) in case of power outage. Rarely, enabling advanced disk caching can result in HDD corruption if subjected to sudden, sharp electrical disconnection. If you have a UPS device, there should be no risk. Be sure to right-click on “battery”, and check for an update to ensure that it will function properly in the case of a power outage. It even mentions under the check box for this tweak that one should be using a UPS device. If you have a decent PSU, you have nothing to worry about even without battery backup, but why risk it? You can do this to removable media too, but must use "safely remove hardware" before pulling it or you will risk data loss. A triple-ran, 10GB transfer of test files showed an increase on a 500GB 7200RPM SATA of nearly 13% in R/W speed (post SP1), so worth it!

Registry Tweaking, Tuning, and Hacking

* Some of the following sections in the guide will discuss a registry tweaks. As a warning, you should always back up your registry before playing around in it! N00bs should use the Microsoft registry backup tool, available here. Note: If you are looking for a particular key, and it is not apparent, you may have to create the key! Some versions of Vista will have particular keys available that others will not. To create a new entry, right-click in the right pane after you navigate to the appropriate tree. Then, select to create a new "Dword" value (32-bit), or "Qword" (64-bit).

Increase the number of simultaneous connections (http)

* This is a good tweak for everyone! Press start & R, then type in "regedit". Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Internetsettings. Right click on "MaxConnectionsPerServer" and click on "modify". Change the d value to any number above 2, in integrals of 2 (2,4,6, xx). "4" is often the best for 3 - 5 Meg dsl/cable, "6" or "8" if you are running a T1 line or have 10Meg or better cable/fiber. If you are running LAN servers, or frequently use torrents, start @ "10". Now, do the same thing to "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server" and set it to the same number as "MaxConnectionsPerServer". Restart your computer. You may have to create the entries if they are not present. To create a new entry, right-click in the right pane after you are in ....CurrentVersion\Internetsettings, and elect to create a new Dword value (“Qword value” for 64-bit).

Change Registered Owner Information (WINVER)

* First, press start and type in "winver" to see the OEM information. This is what this hack will change. Once again, press start and r together to bring up a run box, and type in "regedit"... please tell me that by this point you don't have to respond to UAC, but if you do then click "allow" or "continue". You should know regedit by now, so go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cu rrentVersion. See the string called "registered owner"? Change the string value (REG_SZ) to whatever you want to display; pretty self-explanatory. Now, do the same thing to "RegisteredOwner" and "RegisteredOrganization". No need to restart, the changes will be instant.

Change full Branding OEM Info, XP & Vista

* XP users: In your system32 directory, use notepad to open OEMINFO.INI. Change the values as you see fit, save and close. Now find "OEMLOGO.BMP" in the System32 directory, and replace it with your logo. If it is not there, create it; the image must be smaller than 200x200, and saved in the .bmp format.

* Vista users: Using regedit, find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\OEMInformation. Change the logo path to point at the .bmp you want to use, 120*120 is best. The rest of the values are self-explanatory.

Brand Internet Explorer

* IE4, IE5, & IE6 users:

> Change title, "Microsoft Internet Explorer", @ HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main. Simply change the value of "Window Title" to "xxwhateverxx".

* IE4 toolbar bitmap edit:

> Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar, and change BackBitmap="path of bitmap you want to use". In IE5 and IE6, same deal but it will say "BackBitmapIE5(or IE): "path of .bmp".

* Change the animation in top right:

> Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\InternetExpl orer\Main
- BigBitmap= "C:\pics\big_image|start.bmp" 38*38 pixels
- SmallBitmap= "C:\pics\small_image_start.bmp" 22*22 pixels

> Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\INTERNET EXPLORER\TOOLBAR
- BrandBitmap= "C:\pics\big_image_ani.bmp" 38*1178 (31 stacked vertical images of the 38*38 from bigbitmap).
- SmBrandBitmap= "C:\pics\small_image_ani.bmp:" 22*68 (31 stacked vertical images of the 22*22 from smallbitmap).

* Change the name of Internet Explorer 7:

> Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IEAK7
Organization Name: "xxxxxxxxx". Create it as a new Dword value if it is not there, even if you are running 64-bit (IE 7 is only 32-bit executable, and the value will be missing only if you are missing updates.

* If you have IE7, and reset all settings, it will default the file @ "%ProgramFiles%\InternetExplorer\CUSTOM\install.in s". After you have tweaked everything the way you want, and are sure that IE is stable, merge over the registry settings there. You may have to “take permission” to do so.

* Erase all brandings:
Run this CMD: Rundll32 Iedkcs32.dll,Clear

Set Automatic Administrator Logon

* Again using regedit, go to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\w inlogon. Set "AutoAdminLogon", whereas "1" means on and "0" means off. Now, create a new String Value called "DefaultPassword", and set the value of it as your admin password. Check for a REG_SZ called DefaultUserName; it should be set as the user you wish to auto logon with. If it is not there, right-click in the right pane, create a new string value named "DefaultUserName", and set the string value to your user name. If you are a member of a domain, you need to also create a string value called "defaultdomainname", and set it to the name of your domain. Restart.

Control and edit the security prompts (UAC boxes)

* Using Regedit, go to: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WIndows\CurrentVersion\Pol icies\System. The default value of "ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin" is dword:00000002, which means that the windows will pop up. Change the dword value to dword:00000000, and the windows will no longer show up but the administrative tasks will still run without bothering you. Ending in "1" will change the level at which elevation prompts are called for. Changes are applied immediately. You can also turn UAC off using msconfig > tools.

Change the name of your "MY COMPUTER" icon

* First, we need to rename a value. Locate with regedit HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}, and rename "LocalizedString" to "LocalizedString.Old" Now, create a new Expanded String Value, named "LocalizedString". Edit the Value Data and type in whatever you want for username @ computer name as "%Username% at %computername%". Press F5 to refresh your desktop, and the change should take effect. If not, make sure you renamed the first CLSID string as ".old".

Change the name of your "Network" Icon

* Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\LocalSettings\S oftware\Microsoft\Windows\Shell|MuiCache, and double click on the REG_SZ for "C:\Windows\system32\NetworkExplorer.dll, -1". Now, simply change the value data to reflect whatever you want.

Control Panel Disable or Enable

* Navigate to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Pol icies\Explorer, and create a new DWORD (32bit) Value, named "NoControlPanel". Edit the value data to reflect 0x00000001 to disable control, or end it with a "2" to enable it. Disabling it, restarting, and then enabling it can often fix general control panel issues.

Remove or Modify Arrows on Shortcuts

* This is vista-specific, so don't expect to do this on XP. First, add the icon you want to the \Windows folder, named as "noarrow.ico" (should go in your %systemroot% folder). Now, you are ready to modify it in the registry. First, go to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\exp lorer\. Underneath \explorer, right click and create a new Key called "Shell Icons", and in this key create a new “string value” (REG_SZ) called "29". Double click on "29", and give it a value of "%SystemRoot%\\noarrow.ico,0". The "noarrow.ico" must be the name of the file you added to the %systemroot% folder. To make no arrow present, create a translucent, blank icon and place it there; to make a custom arrow, place a custom image at that location.

Fix or Disable Task Manager

* For Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise:

> Start + R, type gpedit.msc. Then go to user config > admin templates > system, and select "ctrl+alt+delete options". In the right pane, right click on "Remove Task Manager" and click properties. To enable, check "disabled" or "not configured" and press ok. To disable, check "enable" and press ok.

* For all Vista versions, alternate for Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise but must do this for Basic and Home Premium:

> Start + R, type regedit, and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\System. If you do not see "system", right click on policies and create it as a new key. Now, in the right pane, right click "DisableTaskMgr" and select "modify". Make the Dword value data equal "0" for enable, "1" for disable. Create this REG_Dword, "DisableTaskMgr" and set it to "0" if it is not there, or if you had to make the "system" key because of its absence.

Get rid of the annoying toolbars

* Run regedit and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntversion\Explorer\Streams\Desktop. Now, find "taskbar", and edit it as you see fit.

Make a "backdoor" logon in Vista

* This back door hack uses the "ease of access" menu which anyone can access from the logon screen. The exploit is to replace the magnifier, "magnify.exe" with "cmd.exe". First, you need to take ownership of the file "magnify.exe", which is in your system32 folder. Next, rename magnify.exe to "magnifyold.exe". Now, create a new folder called "ease", and copy CMD.exe into this folder. Now, rename \Ease\cmd.exe to "magnify.exe", and copy that folder into system32 so that you have the path Windows\systems32\magnify.exe, whereas magnify.exe is really \ease\cmd.exe. Reboot, and at the Vista logon screen click on "ease of access". Check "make items on the screen larger", and you should find yourself at the Cmd prompt. You now have pretty much limitless control from here, and you can then exploit regedit to change your password, in case you ever forget it. Also, because explorer.exe doesn't load, you can use this to help solve explorer.exe corruption or "death loop" problems, as described several sections down.

How to unlock the hidden "super administrator" account!

* This tweak stands out as perhaps one of the single most important in the guide. First, press start and type "CMD"; right-click and select to run it as an administrator, and run the following command (note spacing):

net user administrator /active:yes

When you reboot and the welcome screen loads, assuming you did not run the previous tweak for setting an automatic logon, you will see a new user: "Administrator". WOOT! If you ever want to disable the administrator account, run the command again but change "yes" with "no". That's it

Shell Commands – Send To

* When you right click a file, you can 'send to' a select group of folders. Here is how to add your own "send to" locations. First, click on the start button. In the little search box, type "shell:sendto". From here, you can drag and drop files or paths you wish to add to the list. Other useful shell commands you can manually add are:

Shell:AddNewProgramsFolder
Shell:Administrative Tools
Shell:AppData
Shell:AppUpdatesFolder
Shell:Cache
Shell:CD Burning
Shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder
Shell:Common Administrative Tools
Shell:Common AppData
Shell:Common Desktop
Shell:Common Documents
Shell:Common Programs
Shell:Common Start Menu
Shell:Common Startup
Shell:Common Templates
Shell:CommonDownloads
Shell:CommonMusic
Shell:CommonPictures
Shell:CommonVideo
Shell:ConflictFolder
Shell:ConnectionsFolder
Shell:Contacts
Shell:ControlPanelFolder
Shell:Cookies
Shell:CredentialManager
Shell:CryptoKeys
Shell:CSCFolder
Shellefault Gadgets
Shellesktop
Shellownloads
ShellpapiKeys
Shell:Favorites
Shell:Fonts
Shell:Gadgets
Shell:Games
Shell:GameTasks
Shell:History
Shell:InternetFolder
Shell:Links
Shell:Local AppData
Shell:LocalAppDataLow
Shell:LocalizedResourcesDir
Shell:MAPIFolder
Shell:My Music
Shell:My Pictures
Shell:My Video
Shell:MyComputerFolder
Shell:NetHood
Shell:NetworkPlacesFolder
Shell:OEM Links
Shell:Original Images
Shell:Personal
Shell:PhotoAlbums
Shell:Playlists
Shell:PrintersFolder
Shell:PrintHood
Shell:Profile
Shell:ProgramFiles
Shell:ProgramFilesCommon
Shell:ProgramFilesCommonX86
Shell:ProgramFilesX86
Shell:Programs
Shell:Public
Shell:PublicGameTasks
Shell:Quick Launch
Shell:Recent
Shell:RecycleBinFolder
Shell:ResourceDir
Shell:SampleMusic
Shell:SamplePictures
Shell:SamplePlaylists
Shell:SampleVideos
Shell:SavedGames
Shell:Searches
Shell:SendTo
Shell:Start Menu
Shell:Startup
Shell:SyncCenterFolder
Shell:SyncResultsFolder
Shell:SyncSetupFolder
Shell:System
Shell:SystemCertificates
Shell:SystemX86
Shell:Templates
Shell:TreePropertiesFolder
Shell:UserProfiles
Shell:UsersFilesFolder
Shell:Windows

Be careful and use common sense when editing these shells; they are relatively self-explanatory, so I will only elaborate further upon request. Remember that there are no spaces in a "shellxxx" command. I think I got them all, tested on home premium and ultimate, 32 & 64 bit. If I missed any, let me know and I will add them.

Fix explorer.exe & ieexplore.exe issues

* For Windows Explorer crashes: There is an error in which you could be stuck in a loop where an error appears every 30 seconds, causing your computer to "refresh" constantly, stuck in the loop even in Safe Mode. I call this the death loop, because even a system restore will not always solve the problem. Lucky for you, despite the many causes there are two solutions which work 98% of the time. First, try opening task manager, select system idle process and kill it. You must be quick, before the refresh. Now, start + r and run "explorer.exe". If no dice, RUN > browse > system32 > sort by type > sort by date. Now, find the newest .DLL file, delete it, restart. Repeat one by one until the error stops or you reach back before the error started; it is important to remember to restart after each .dll file delete, and use recycling bin just in case you need to restore it. I know more on this, so if these don't work just post in here and I will help you out.

* For Internet Explorer crashes: if it happens when watching a flash video, it is most likely a messed up video codec. Want to know why resetting “Advanced Settings” works for some people? Because the full security settings will block the error, which is in essence going to block flash.ocx, and thus flash video. Want to know what causes the other crashes, and how to fix it? It depends on which problem you have. For many, the crash occurs at a specific point every time, say on a particular website. This is caused by a scripting error on these sites, which would have been written in a 3GL and the debuggers don't catch it because, like everything else by M$, it isn't Vista compatible. Want proof of my findings? Go to this site {{after you bookmark the one you are on}}. Easiest solution: get Firefox 3. It is hell of a lot better than IE, and you can personalize to look identical to IE 7 down to every detail (even tabbed browsing). Other people are plagued with the same "Internet explorer has blah, blah; internet <snip>" error message, but they only get it every now and then, with no apparent pattern, and only after they have just closed Internet Explorer. This usually happens when you have Office 2007 installed. If both problems are present, press start and r to open a run box, then type dcomcnfg. Browse to: Component services > computers > my comp > dcom config. You may get an error: "The CLSID [9DB6C03C-C511-11D2 ETC], microsoftshared...WKSCAL.EXE, & Works Cal had value AppID, but is not recorded in \\hkey_Classes_root\appId. Do you wish to record it?" If that happens, or something similar, select "yes". This is usually caused by a corrupted file from Flash. Find flash.ocx in your add-ons, remove it, and then download the full install of Flash (not the updater) to your desktop. Then, right click the file and "run as admin". Other causes of the second issue with IE (but not the first): RAM leak. Try to open IE and then close it real quick (while it is still loading) to see if you get the error. If so, congrats. You probably have faulty memory. Run your memory tool, which can be found at %SystemRoot%\system32\MdSched.exe or by hitting start and typing the word "memo...." The other cause, like I mentioned, could be Office. Go to add/remove programs, right click Office if you got it, and select "change". Then, hit "repair". This seems to work for many people. You could also run the Office diagnostic tool, but for some reason it seems to be hit and miss. Also, if you have "OmniPage", uninstall it. This is a well-known cause of the problem, again due to Vista compatibility. Finally, you can find out if an "add-on" is corrupted or malicious by right-clicking Internet Explorer and running without add-ons. This may even help some with the first problem, as certain add-ons interact with certain decompilers and script debuggers. Another possible cause which has only appeared to have solved less than 3% of issues: Under Internet options, advanced tab, toward the bottom, is the option to "enable memory protection to help mitigate online attacks"; uncheck it and reboot. If you just downloaded a fresh codec because some website asked you to watch a video, especially for Windows Media Player, you are a gullible n00b. Can't believe you fell for it, and you got what you deserved. You are on your own; start with virus and malware scans.

Enable detailed status messages for logon/logoff and shutdown (Business & Ultimate only)

* Only Vista Business and Ultimate allow you to edit group policy settings; hence, this tweak only works for these installs. Press start + R, type in "gpedit.msc" and press enter. Go to computer config > admin templates, and expand "system". Find where it says "Verbose vs. normal status messages", right click it and click on "properties"; select "enabled", and press ok.

Creative Software Uninstall Problem

* After many people have came to me after encountering problems while uninstalling creative software or drivers, I decided to post my solution so that it may help anyone else with the same problem. First, disable UAC via msconfig. Next, uninstall anything made by "creative" that you can, by using add/remove programs. Next, remove any start up entries with "creative" as a tag by using MSCONFIG.

NOW DO THIS IN ORDER:

* Launch regedit, and remove any of the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Creative Tech
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Creative Tech
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l l\Creative Tech
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ASIO

* Now, remove these files:

C:\Windows\System32\BMX*.rfx
C:\Windows\System32\Data
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Data (<<< only in 64bit)
C:\Windows\{*.BAK

C:\Windows\{*.CDF (<<<< to remove this file, you must run the following CMD prompts as admin; note spacing, and the use of both / and \):

1: takeown /f C:\Windows\*.CDF
2: cacls C:\Windows\*.CDF /G USER:F ("user" is your logon name)

* Keep removing:

C:\Windows\CTDCRES.DLL
C:\Windows\System32\cttele32.dll
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CTOSS2K.SYS
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CTSFM2K.SYS
C:\Program Files\Creative (<<< delete the entire folder)
C:\Windows\CTXFIRES.DLL
C:\Windows\CTPRES.DLL
C:\Windows\Updreg.exe

* Now, open windows explorer and delete any files similar to:

"{00000005-00000000-00000002-00001102-00000004-20021102}.BAK" or
"{00000005-00000000-00000002-00001102-00000004-20021102}.CDF"

Restart!

Visuals Part One: Change the Welcome Screen Wallpaper

* There are many third-party programs, such as those from Stardock (WinCustomize) which can change your welcome screen wallpaper. Some people, like me, prefer not to install additional software. Perhaps you are concerned about boot time, or perhaps you just don't want a bunch of "junk" on your HDD. Don't misinterpret "junk"; I actually use some Stardock software myself, and it has been found to be spyware and adware free. So, unless you are not using a password, or have used the auto-logon tweak I posted several sections back, you may want to do this manually. Earlier versions of Windows, such as XP, made this easy. With Vista, however, it requires a little more than just a registry hack. First, you need to go to your system32 folder; I assume that everyone already knows where that is. Right click the imageres.dll file, and select "properties". Now, under the "security" tab, click on "advanced" > "owner" > "edit". Select "administrators", and click OK in each of the windows (there should be four). Now, right click the imageres.dll file again, go to properties > security > edit. Choose administrators in the list, and check "allow" for "full control", then click ok. If you still have UAC (user account control), respond positively to all the annoying prompts. Now you have taken ownership of this file; keep in mind that this is how you can "take ownership" of any other files, except certain special .cpl, .dll, and .iso files. Moving on, we need to make two copies of imageres.dll directly in C:\Windows\System32: name one imageres-new.dll and the other one imageres-old.dll. You need an editor to create the image you want to use. If you don't know, you don't have one; you can get XN Resource Editor for free here. We will base the rest as if everyone is using the same editor, XN Resource Editor, from that hyperlink. It is what I used, and it worked great! First, open the program. Select view/options, and choose "XN Resource Editor internal resource parser" from the drop menu under "choose which parser to use". Click ok, then go to file > open > C:\windows\system32\imageres-new.dll. Now, from the left "tree", expand "IMAGE" and open anyone of the numbered folders. Inside each of these folders is an entry which represents a different resolution of the stock welcome screen wallpaper, and you need to choose the one which matches your PC's current resolution. Unfortunately, you will need to redo this step if you switch monitors, such as if you have a laptop that you hook up to your monitor. If you don't know your current resolution, shame on you... find it in control panel > display settings. You can modify/edit the stock photo, but you will probably want to use your own. In order for this to work, you must first make it the same pixel*pixel size as the one it is replacing, which can be figured out by right clicking the image and selecting properties; use any image editor to resize it. If it is too small, use black space. Now, CTRL + C to copy the image, while you have selected the image you are going to use, and CTRL + V to paste it over the current (stock) image in the XN editor. Save the file over the existing one (imageres-new.dll), and close XN. Finally, we need to replace the original imageres.dll file with this new one, which stumped me for a while. Restart your PC, and just before you get to the boot screen start tapping F8 to bring up the "advanced boot options" menu. Select "safe mode with command prompt", and when the CMD prompt loads, switch over to your system32 directory by executing:

CD C:\Windows\system32

Now, enter this command:

copy imageres-new.dll imageres.dll

Note the space between copy and imageres-new.dll, and between ...-new.dll and imageres.dll. You will be asked if this is what you want to to do. Enter y (for yes), type exit and press enter; press CTRL + ALT + DEL, and use the red button on the bottom right to select "restart". You may need to redo this to tweak the appearance if the image is distorted or the aspect ratio was not properly copied over. It took me two tries to get it the first time, but only one each time after. That's it

Visuals Part Two: Change Your Bootscreen

*** NOTICE: Failure to follow these directions explicitly may brick your PC. This should only be performed on stable rigs, and backup your data first. I accept no responsibility, but I have tested it on Vista Basic, HP, ULT, and Business, bricking only Vista Basic. If you are *sad* enough to have Basic, I recommend not trying it. Not for n00bs, @ your own risk! This is only for U.S., English installations of Vista. ***

* First and foremost, you will need this or this. So, go grab a free trial of whichever one appeals to you most, unless you already have a Win32 resource editing tool. The two posted are easiest to use, with the most noob-friendly GUI's. Now, you need to make a new working directory. Name it "Z:\bootscreen\", or designate whatever letter you want to. Substitute paths as needed, but for this example I am calling it "Z:\bootscreen\". This directory will eventually hold the winload.exe.mui file that you are going to modify. Also, I assume that your Vista installation is on "C"... again, substitute your paths as needed. First, use your Win32 editing tool (which you may have just grabbed from the hyperlinks) to open C:\Windows\System32\Boot\winload.exe, and then select "resource 1" in the "RCData" resource section (there is only one RCData resource on most rigs, sans certain enterprise configurations). Save the contents of this file to your new directory as "Z:\bootscreen\winload.wim" (last reminder, sub "Z" for your choice as needed). This .wim file is your boot screen bitmaps, which you can modify using any bitmap editor... I use ImageX, but it is not exactly n00b friendly. Now, you need to create a mount directory in the working directory (Z:\bootscreen\mount\). After this path is created, you need to mount the .wim file and enable write access by running the following via CMD:

imagex /mountrw Z:\bootscreen\winload.wim 1 Z:\bootscreen\mount

Note that "imagex" is your bitmap editor... sub as needed if you choose not use imagex. If done right, you will find two bitmap files in your Z:\bootscreen\mount\ folder:
osload800x600.bmp & osload1024x768.bmp. You can now replace these files with any bitmap pic you want, but they must be .bmp and have the same aforementioned names and resolutions. After you have edited the bitmaps to your liking, execute via CMD:

imagex /unmount Z:\bootscreen\mount /commit

Again, note the spacing, the path, and the use of both "\" and "/". At this point, Z:\bootscreen\winload.wim has the images you are going to use for your bootscreen. You need to copy C:\windows\system32\boot\en-US\winload.exe.mui to Z:\bootscreen\winload.exe.mui. If you are denied access, see the previous section of this guide for how to take ownership of the file, C:\windows\system32\boot\en-US\winload.exe.mui. Open Z:\bootscreen\winload.exe.mui with your Win32 resource tool, which is what you downloaded when you started this (unless you already have one your prefer to use). In here, create a new resource named "RCDATA" with the name "1", and the language "1033"; "1033" is English, I don't know about any other language support, so don't ask but please post if you know. Use Z:\bootscreen\winload.wim for the resource's data when prompted to select your import, or do it manually. Save, and exit. Now, this is your last chance to "abort".... copy Z:\bootscreen\winload.exe.mui over C:\Windows\system32\boot\en-US\winload.exe.mui to commit the change, reboot and cross your fingers. Now, let's say you want to change the text in the boot screen. First, you need to have working knowledge of XML editing... if you don't, I am sorry to say that it would be too tedious to teach it here... go learn it (the basics are easy). Open Z:\bootscreen\winload.exe.mui with the Win32 editor, and find the resource "OSLOADER.XSL"... it should be in the "23" resource section. Save the contents as "Z:\bootscreen\osloader.xsl". To modify the text, go to the osload-status template and put your text as the value attribute in the update element. To change where the text is, use the oslaod-graphics template and change the height and width values of the "textarea" attribute. It should be in front of the "textarea", and the attribute of "name" should be "status".

Ave's Vista Apps

* Tweak the size of your taskbar "preview" windows
* Make notification bubbles have Aero-like appearance
* Animate your "user picture"

* So far, most of my writing avoids the use of third party programs. This, however, deserves an exception. Ave's thumbnail sizer will let you increase the size, to your exact liking, of your taskbar preview window; even if there is video running in it, of course. Glass toasts makes the little "notification" bubbles from the bottom right of your taskbar look a lot better, complete with transparency. Also, 3D user picture is pretty pimp; click on start... see the logo in the top right? This app lets you resize it, and add animation to it... plus the other icons in your startmenu too, like when you hover over "documents" or "control panel". Originally, M$ was going to put that there. I guess it got cut during the one of the builds; I didn’t really notice when it went missing. I do not recommend the program called desktop sites, however, as it caused bsod's. The other three, however, I have used over six months with no problems, so I call it safe. Get them here.

Tweaking With CMD Prompts

* Open a Cmd prompt window and right-click on the little icon in the upper left hand corner of the window. Select either defaults or properties. You can now tune the font, layout, and even the color of the command prompt window. Most people aren't even aware of this, lol. You only have a couple of fonts to choose from, but you can add more monospace fonts if you want. To do so, use regedit to find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cu rrentVersion\Console\TrueTypeFont. The Lucida Console is in this key, named as "0". Create a new string value named "00", and set the data to the name of any monospace font from your C:\Windows\Fonts folder. To add another, create a new string value named "000", name the data for the font (i.e. "consolas"); another one would need "0000", then "00000", etc (add one zero for every new string value, or REG_SZ, that you create in order to accommodate the new font). There are a lot of options to tweak, so enjoy playing around; you may want to document the defaults in case you wish to revert back to the original.

I wouldn't suggest this combination:

Enable CTCP (Client to client protocol)

* Have a poker game or other game which randomly disconnects or loses its connection with the server? Do this with a CMD prompt as an administrator:

netsh interface tcp set global congestionprovider=ctcp

To disable:

netsh interface tcp set global congestionprovider=none

Watch a movie in Paint, Photoshop, or as your Desktop Background

* This is cool. Start in movie in any movie player, and take a screenshot (alt + PRT SCRN). Simply paste that screenshot into MS Paint, and you can see it play; but now save that screenshot as a .BMP file, and make it your wallpaper… how pimp is that? Except for DivX & Flash, all the common ones work (mpeg, mp4, avi, wmv, etc). Occasionally, you may run into an odd .avi that won’t work. Just convert it to .wmv, and you should be good to go. Also, there isn’t a set “limit” on the file size, but over ~ 10mb and there may be artifacts and glitches, or it just won’t work. NOTE: Recent update blocks this on 32-bit systems for some reason... (12/08)

Remove the "label" from desktop icons

* No, not the arrows... that was discussed previously. Simply right click an icon, say FireFox. Now, select "rename'. With the text still "highlighted", press and hold ALT, then type "255" with the number pad (not the numbers at the top of your keyboard). Hit enter and release, and there is no label! Unfortunately, to do it again, you have to hold down ALT, and press "255, enter, 255, enter" then release. To do it a third, "255, entr, 255, entr, 255, entr" release.... you get the idea. If you play around with alternate number combinations, you can create odd symbols and whatnot.

Disable driver signing

* There are times when this can come in handy, such as if you are trying to run unsigned drivers for your video or sound card. Here is how to use the BCEdit program to change the way Windows boots, effectively automatically running the F8 -> Disable Driver Signing process during boot. However, for whatever reason Microsoft disabled this functionality via several Windows updates. If those updates are removed, BCEdit will be restored its original functionality, and thus you can still remove mandatory driver signing permanently. First, click Start > Control Panel > Uninstall > View Installed Updates. Once there, find and uninstall these 4 updates:

KB 932596
KB 938979
KB 941649
KB 938194

Now, immediately go and disable Automatic Updates. You can still have it notify you, just be sure you do not install these 4 updates again when you install others. Be sure to use custom installs whenever you install updates. The first time I did this, Vista automatically reinstalled these updates just as it normally installs updates upon boot. However, that will just undo all your hard work so you will need to have automatic updating off. Anyway, Start > Search for CMD, right-click it and run as an administrator. Then run the following commands from that command prompt:

bcdedit /set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
Bcdedit /set nointegritychecks ON

Reboot, making sure you're not set to install any updates. You should now be able to install any program/driver you please. To turn driver signing back on, simply change "ON" with "OFF" and run the second command.

Dual Booting & Tri-Booting

* Easier to see this than having me explain it.

"Overclock" your mouse

* Note: you must first see the section on disabling driver signing in order for this to work; original source for this information was "hereonyourown", over at the OC3D forums.

These files will allow you to tweak your USB polling frequency from the Windows Vista default of 125hz to 500hz or 1000hz making your mouse much more responsive in gaming. If you want the same hack under Windows XP just google for "XP usbport.sys 500hz".

* How to install:

**** First, disable driver signing. I was unable to do this using Vista Basic 32Bit SP1, but all others (including Basic without SP1) worked fine ****

* Run the following commands:

takeown /f "C:WindowsSystem32Driversusbport.sys"
cacls "C:WindowsSystem32Driversusbport.sys" /G username:F (< replace username with your username)

* Now, open C:WindowsSystem32Drivers and locate the existing usbport.sys. Rename usbport.sys to usbport.old, and then copy the usbport.sys from the linked file; be sure to select the one which corresponds with your Vista version and desired usb frequency. Restart Windows, and run mouserate.exe to verify that you now have a 500/1000hz polling rate.

Start applications on specific CPU, priority

* There are actually three ways to do this. First, you could find the process using task manager, right click, and manually adjust the priority or affinity of the process. This is temporary, however, and will not be the same after reboot. To make it permanent, there are two methods. This first way to run with a set priority or affinity, permanently, is to use CMD as an administrator. Let's look at paint, for example. Simply run:

start /affinity 2 /abovenormal mspaint.exe

You can customize the command above and replace the "2" with the processor number that you want the processor to run on. You can also adjust the priority level by using a different flag than "/abovenormal", such as:

/Low
/Normal
/High
/Realtime
/Abovenormal
/Belownormal

* Those flags should be relatively self-explanatory. Now for the fun part: deciding what needs what. As a rule of thumb, main processes such as explorer.exe should be given a flag of high. SVCHOST processes should not be tampered with, unless you know what you are doing. The affinity of an application, which is to say what processor it is running on, is usually by default running on all processors. You would need to monitor task manager to determine the number of active threads running under a normal load, and prioritize those which tend to consume the most system resources. You could also load a script or use the start utility to create a user defined application base priority, or to apply a set of parameters to every instance of an app, say CMD prompt. Using command prompt as an example, you could run this CMD:

cscript modify_bp.vbs cmd.exe HIGH

That would make every instance and thread of cmd.exe run in a high priority, but the script needs to exist first. For using the start command line utility, type start/help for a list of acceptable parameters to create your script, which in this case is "modify_bp.vbs". The parameters you could use include:

* Title: Title to display in window title bar.

* Path: Starting directory

* B: Start application without creating a new window. The application will have ^C handling ignored. Unless the application enables ^C processing, ^Break is the only way to interrupt the application.

* I: The new environment will be the original environment passed to the cmd.exe, and not the current environment.

* MIN: Start window minimized

* MAX: Start window maximized

* SEPARATE: Start a program in separate memory space

* SHARED: Start a program in shared memory space

* LOW: Start the application in the IDLE base priority class

* NORMAL: Start the application in the NORMAL base priority class

* HIGH: Start the application in the HIGH base priority class

* REALTIME: Start the application in the REALTIME base priority class

* ABOVENORMAL: Start the application in the ABOVENORMAL base priority class

* BELOWNORMAL: Start the application in the BELOWNORMAL base priority class

* WAIT: Start the application and wait for it to terminate

* Command/Program: If it is an internal Cmd command or a batch file, then the command processor is run with the /K switch to cmd.exe. This means that the window will remain after the command has been run. If it is not an internal Cmd command or batch file, then it is a program which will run as either a windowed application or a console application.

Needless to say, this method requires some basic scripting knowledge. It is too lengthy to explain, so just use either the CMD or task manager method if you are unsure. Here is an example of a properly written script:

MODIFY_BP.VBS
Const REAL_TIME = 128
Const HIGH = 256
Const ABOVE_NORMAL = 32768
Const NORMAL = 32
Const BELOW_NORMAL = 16384
Const LOW = 64
logo
set objArgs = wscript.arguments
If objargs.count < 2 Then
helpmessage
Else
strProcess = objArgs(0)
strBasePriority = UCase(objArgs(1))
end If
Select case strbasepriority
Case "REAL_TIME"
SetBasePriority strProcess,REAL_TIME
Case "HIGH"
SetBasePriority strProcess,HIGH
Case "ABOVE_NORMAL"
SetBasePriority strProcess,ABOVE_NORMAL
Case "NORMAL"
SetBasePriority strProcess,NORMAL
Case "BELOW_NORMAL"
SetBasePriority strProcess,BELOW_NORMAL
Case "LOW"
SetBasePriority strProcess,LOW
Case Else
helpmessage
End select
Sub SetBasePriority(strProc,strBP)
strComputer = "."
Set objWMI = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colProcess = objWMI.ExecQuery _
("Select * from Win32_Process Where Name = '" & strProc & "'")
For Each objProcess in colProcess
objProcess.SetPriority(strBP)
i = i + 1
Next 
WScript.Echo i & " " & strProcess & " found, priority changed to " & strBasePriority & "."
End sub
Sub helpmessage
wscript.echo "Script Usage Instructions." & vbCrLf &
wscript.echo "This script will reset the base priority of a single or multiple processes" 
wscript.echo "based on the parameters provided.This script accepts two parameters:"
wscript.echo VBCRLF & "Usage:" & vbTab & "cscript modify_bp.vbs " & VBCRLF
WScript.Echo " - The is the executable name of the process you want to modify."
WScript.Echo " - The is application priority level that you want to set." &vbCrLf
WScript.Echo "There are six base priority values: "
WScript.Echo vbTab & "- REAL_TIME" & vbCrLf & vbTab & "- HIGH"
WScript.Echo vbTab & "- ABOVE_NORMAL" & vbCrLf & vbTab & "- NORMAL"
WScript.Echo vbTab & "- BELOW_NORMAL" & vbCrLf & vbTab & "- LOW" & vbCrLf
WScript.Echo "EXAMPLE: Modify all running instances of Notepad to run at a base priority of HIGH." & vbCrLf
WScript.Echo vbTab & "cscript modify_bp.vbs notepad.exe high" &vbcrlf
WScript.quit
End sub

* An easier way is to use Sysinternals, which is a Microsoft program. Using sysinternals is easy. Once you have the program downloaded and extracted, run PROCEXP.EXE (the Process Explorer executable). Now, from the View menu, select Columns. Click on the "Process Performance" tab and check "Base priority". Locate the “calc.exe” process (it will be a child process of the explorer.exe process). The base priority column will show a numeric value for the process’s running base priority; right-click on the process and select "Set Base priority".

Sysinternals Screenshot:



* Notice that once the base priority has been selected, the change is made immediately. This can be seen during the Process Explorer change; the calc.exe application base priority changes from 8 (Normal) to 10 (Above Normal). While this change is immediate, it is temporary. You can also use Sysinternals for a variety of tasks, including to manage startup configuration. Neither Task Manager nor Process Explorer allows the user to save the new base priority for the application; when the application exits and restarted, the base priority is reset to its default value. You will therefore need to use either the scripting or command line prompts to make it permanent. For more technical users, you probably have alternate methods which work best for you (there are other third party programs, after all) . For less technical users, temporarily changing settings using Task manager is your best bet; if you mess something up, or something quits working, simply restart your computer. Technically, you can use your registry to make changes as well. This method is difficult to explain, and the paths/values vary based on the application.

We are all tired of paying the outrageous prices that Microsoft has continually imposed on its customers. However, there is an easy exploit that allows you to do a clean install of Vista, with just an upgrade disk; even better, it works on OS X as well! It will be a completely LEGAL install when you are done, able to pass the "Genuine Advantage" crap and get all the updates, etc... Here is how to do it:

Clean HDD

* First, purchase the upgrade disk of your choice. When you boot off of the disk, it will look for a previous installation of Windows. If it finds one, it will automatically compress the core files into a file called "Windows.old". AFTER it does that, it then looks for that file as "proof" that you are performing a legitimate upgrade before it begins the installation; in this case, the install will not find one because there isn't a previous installation. It will tell you that, and ask for your install key. DO NOT enter your key! Instead, select the option to install the 30-day trial. At this point, ensure that you ARE NOT connected to the Internet, so that it can't "call home". When you finish the installation of the trial, pop out the upgrade disc and pop it back in. When it looks for the previous installation, it will find the "trial" installation, but IT WILL NOT recognize it as a trial! Instead, it will compress it into WIndows.old and will continue with the installation. When you are asked to enter your key this time, reconnect your network and enter the key. That's it! Note that this trick will most likely not be viable once all the upgrade disks are shipping with SP1 pre-installed; if you think you might eventually install Vista, go get the disk now, while you can. Props to the first person who can figure out if it works with an upgrade disk that has SP1 preinstalled; I only had a set of standard upgrade disks; tried on Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate... I would assume that it works for Home Basic as well, but who the hell uses Home Basic?? On a side note: you should be able to remove SP1 off of an upgrade disk using vLite.

OS X

* It is basically the same exploit! Load BootCamp, and do the same thing; the only difference: during the initial "trial" installation, you must set it via Boot Camp to load Windows first by default... you can change it back after you are all done

Existing Windows Installations

* Grab KILL DISK (it's free) and erase your hard drive first. It is a known fact that the majority of Vista "sufferers" have issues stemming from performing an in-place upgrade. It is just common sense that a clean install is less likely to cause issues than an upgrade! As always, back up your data first.

A bonus for MW players: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?ui...27&topic=13713