46. Run command prompt utilities successfully from
shortcuts
If you
have ever tried to create a shortcut to 'IPCONFIG' or any of the other myriads
of useful command prompt utilities included with Windows XP, you have probably
noticed that it does not actually work… Or rather, it does, but the command
prompt window with your data opens and closes in a flash.
Here's a
tip that will allow you to create working shortcuts on your desktop for any
command. We will use the IPCONFIG utility as an example:
Right
click an empty area of the desktop and select 'new.' Choose 'new shortcut' to
open the shortcut wizard. In the 'type the location of the item' box, enter 'cmd
/k' followed by the program you wish to run. In the case of IPCONFIG, you would
enter 'cmd /k ipconfig'.
Name your
shortcut something appropriate and give it an icon from the
'%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll' location. Now you have a fully working, very
convenient desktop shortcut.
47. Remove the XP desktop theme
If you
just can't get used to the appearance of Windows XP as opposed to the more
'sober' appearance of previous versions of Windows, there is a way to restore
that old gray sheen to life, at least cosmetically.
To change
to the 'classic' Windows appearance: Right-click on an empty portion of the
desktop (no icons) and select 'properties.' Choose the 'themes' tab, and in the
theme drop-down box, choose the 'windows classic' theme. Presto. Read on for
more tips on making XP behave like its parents.
48. Change start menu
style
Along the
same theme as the tip above, let's look at how to revert your start menu back to
the classic style seen in pre-XP versions of Windows. After using this tip, you
will find that the menu scrolls downwards instead of expanding to fill your
desktop.
Right-click the start button and hit 'properties'.
Select the 'classic start
menu' option to change the menu style. From here you can also hit the customize
button to select additional items you wish to have present on the start menu.
Note that
changing the start menu to the classic form also puts the 'my computer, 'my
network places' and 'my documents' back on the desktop.
49. Add my computer and other
missing icons to your desktop
If you've
gotten used to working with older versions of Windows, XP's somewhat bare
desktop setup can come as a bit of a shock. Where's 'My computer?' That, plus
'my network places' the link to Internet Explorer and most importantly 'my
documents' are all missing from the desktop by default.
Fortunately, rectifying this is extremely easy:
Right click on an open
area of the desktop and hit 'properties.' Go to the 'desktop' tab, then choose
'customize desktop.' From
this Window you can simply put checkmarks beside these common items to add them
back to the desktop.
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