When Windows Task Manager runs a batch file, it will pop up a window even if the batch file settings are set to to 'Run Minimized'. This is really annoying for tasks that are run often (e.g. rsync).

To get this to work correctly, create a shortcut to the batch file in the directory in which it resides. This will create a '.lnk' file. Set the properties of this shortcut to 'Run Minimized'. Then, go to the scheduled task and enter the full path name of the '.lnk' file.

If your Windows system refuses to perform a normal shutdown, you can try using an emergency shutdown. This procedure is less potentially harmful than simply turning off the power, but should only be used in emergency situations. To perform an emergency shutdown:

    If you continue, your machine will reboot and any unsaved data
    may be lost.  Use this only as a last resort.
                

To enable X-Mouse (a.k.a. "focus follows mouse") functionality in Windows 2000 or NT, set the registry value

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse\ActiveWindowTracking
                

to 1. This will allow you to enter data into whatever window the mouse is over, without needing to bring that window to the foreground.

For convenience, you can execute this file which will make the registry change for you.

It is fairly common knowledge among Windows users that you can take a 'picture' of your current desktop by pressing 'Print Scrn'. The screen will be copied to the clipboard, which you can then paste into GIMP or other image creation program. What is not so well known is that you can copy the contents of the current window to the clipboard by pressing 'Alt-Print Scrn'.

If you have spent much time using Solaris on Sparc hardware, you may be interested in swapping the 'Caps Lock' and 'Ctrl' keys on Windows 2000. To do this, you need to add a new binary value named 'Scancode Map' to the following key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
                

The value for the new entry is:

    00000000 00000000 03000000 3A001D00 1D003A00 00000000
                

To clear the local DNS cache on Windows:

        C:\>ipconfig /flushdns

        Windows 2000 IP Configuration

        Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

        C:\>
                

If you spend much time in a Command Prompt environment, you will appreciate filename and path completion. Completion is not enabled by default. To enable it, you need to modify the

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\CompletionChar
                 

value in the registry. (To make the change system-wide rather than just for the current user, make the change under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE instead of HKEY_CURRENT_USER). The completion function has another nice feature in that it deals correctly with file names that contain spaces or other special characters by placing quotes around the matching path.

My personal preference is to have the Tab key act as the completion key. To do this, set CompletionChar to 0x9. You can also assign to another registry value, PathCompletionChar, to enable completion of directory names only--our preference is ^D which translates to 0x4. When you press a completion key, the first matching entry appears. Pressing it again retrieves the next entry in the list. To go backwards, press SHIFT+<completion-key>.

For convenience, you can execute this file which will make the registry changes for you.

To disable Dr. Watson debug dumps, change the following registry key to zero:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AeDebug\Auto
                 

Some sites (including Microsoft's) recommend deleting the AeDebug key altogether, but this makes it much more difficult to re-enable the Dr. Watson functionality if the need ever arises.

To enable more than 2 simultaneous downloads in IE:

  REGEDIT4
  [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
  Internet Settings]
  "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:00000019
  "MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000019
                

If you find the default Windows icon size to be a little on the enormous side, you might want to make them smaller. To do this, Right-click on the desktop, select 'Properties', click on the 'Appearance' tab, and change the "Item:" setting to "Icon". The size can be changed in the "Size:" box to the right. My preference is 16.

You can also do this programmatically, by changing the registry value

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics\Shell Icon Size
                 

(to "yes"). If you make this change, you will probably also want to have small icons in the Start Menu. To do this, select the 'Show small icons in Start menu' option under 'Start/Settings/Taskbar & Start Menu...'.

For convenience, you can execute this file which will make the registry changes for you.