Archive for September, 2009

This step-by-step article describes how to prevent a user from running or stopping a scheduled process in Windows XP.
There are occasions where is not advisable to run a scheduled process before the intended date and time, or when an administrator doesn’t want a user to add new scheduled processes to the computer. You can use the following procedures to enable maximum control over what can be done with the Scheduler service.

• Click Start > Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
• On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in. On the Standalone tab, click Add.
• In the Available Standalone Snap-ins list, click Group Policy, and then click Add.

In the Select Group Policy object box, click Local Computer to edit the local Group Policy object, or click Browse to find the Group Policy object that you want.

• Click Finish, click Close, and then click OK. The Group Policy snap-in opens the Group Policy object for editing.
• Expand either the User Configuration or Computer Configuration branch, and then expand Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Task Scheduler.
• Double-click Prevent Task Run or End, click Enabled, and then click OK.

This article describes how to quickly lock your computer as well as the other Windows logo shortcut keys that you can use.
Windows XP includes a new Microsoft Natural Keyboard shortcut to lock your computer.
Any other compatible keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key can also perform this task.
To use this shortcut:

• Press the Windows logo key + L.

The following list has different computer lock-up scenarios that are available to you, as well as other ways to lock the computer:
Fast User Switching Enabled
If the Fast User Switching feature is enabled and you lock the computer, you can observe the same behavior as if you switched users: The computer returns to the Welcome screen and other users can log on to the computer.
Fast User Switching Disabled
If the Fast User Switching feature is disabled and you lock the computer, the Unlock Computer dialog box is displayed that requires the current logged-on user to enter a password to unlock the computer.
Welcome Screen Enabled
If the Welcome screen is enabled, the computer can also be locked if you press Ctrl+Alt+Del (to open Task Manager), and then click Lock Computer or click Switch User on the Shut Down menu.
Note: The ability to observe “Lock Computer” or “Switch User” on the Shut Down menu is dependent upon whether or not the Fast User Switching feature is enabled.
Welcome Screen Disabled
If the Welcome screen is disabled, you can lock the computer if you press Ctrl+Alt+Del, and then click Lock Computer in the Windows Security dialog box.
In all of the preceding scenarios, the “Windows logo key + L” shortcut can lock the computer. If you do not have a password that is set for your user account, anyone can unlock your computer. To set a password for your user account: In Control Panel, double-click User accounts, select your user account, and then click Create a password.

USB devices that are using an SCSI-to-USB adapter are displayed as “USB SCSI Storage Device” in the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the taskbar. Finding which device you want to remove may be confusing if your computer has more than one of these devices.

• Open the Safely Remove Hardware dialog box, and then click to select the Display Device Components box.

This article describes how to automatically log on a user account during the Windows startup process.
Note: This process only works if the computer is not joined to a domain.
Requirements

• The Welcome screen must be available.
• Guest account access must be turned off.
• There must be only one user account on the computer.
• The user account must not have a password.

Make the Welcome Screen Available
To make the Welcome screen available:

• Click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts.
• Click Change the way users log on or off.
• Click to select the Use the Welcome screen for fast and easy logon check box.
• Click OK.

Turn Off Guest Account Access
To turn off Guest account access:

• Click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts.
• Click the Guest account.
• Click Turn off Guest access.

Remove the Password from a User Account
To remove the password from a user account:

• Click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts.
• Click the user account.
• Click Remove my password.
• Type the password in the Type your current password box, and then click Remove Password.

• Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer.
• Press and hold down the Ctrl-key while you are clicking files.
• After you select the files, press F2.
• Type the new name, and then press ENTER.

Note: When you complete the preceding steps, the highlighted state of all files except one disappears, so it may appear as if you are only renaming one file. However, after you press ENTER, all of the files are renamed. When you rename multiple files, all of the renamed files have the same name with a number in parentheses appended to the name to make the new file name unique. For example, if you type BUDGET as the new name, the first file is named BUDGET. All of the remaining selected files are named BUDGET(x), where x is a unique number, starting with (1).
Notes
If you make a mistake when you try to rename multiple files, you can press Ctrl+Z, or click Undo Rename on the Edit menu to undo file rename action you just completed, and you can repeat this process as needed.
The Rename function in Windows Explorer does not match the behavior of the REN command you may use at a command prompt. For example, if you had files that are named smitha.doc, smithb.doc, and smithc.doc, you could use the ren smoth*.doc smythe*.doc command. All file names automatically show the new spelling, and are renamed smythea.doc, smytheb.doc, and smythec.doc.
If you use the Windows XP Rename function in Windows Explorer, after you select the three “smith” files, and rename smitha.doc to smythea.doc, all the other files you selected are named smythea(x).doc. To return to the original file name structure (the use of a, b, c, etc), you must rename each file individually.
Restore Icons That Have Been Removed from the Desktop in Windows XP This article describes how to restore the My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places icons after they have been removed from the desktop.
In Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Professional, the new Start menu is enabled by default. When the new Start menu is enabled, the My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places icons are removed from the desktop.· Right-click the Desktop and click Properties.

• Click the Desktop tab.
• Click Customize Desktop.
• Click the General tab, and then click the icons that you want to place on the desktop.
• Click OK.