tips, simple reshacks, scripts, context menu tweaks and registry tweaks...

miscellaneous:
the find, search panel
simple shortcut start menu
control panel application
customizing the user accounts window
balloon message icons
question dialog icons
the volume control
logonui: the uifile
xp styler: the manifest file
no boot screen
shrink the windows folder
reshacker tips
disable system file checker (Windows file protection)

shell scripts:
startup delay script
custom open with... menu
new folder here
new text file here
empty folder content context menu
empty temp folder (I.e: startup)

registry tweaks:
disabling video thumbnails and media informations
disabling image thumbnails and picture and fax viewer
no shell icons
windows flag, throbber remover
Hide explorer toolbars
controlling the tileinfo, tooltips, infotips, and details
shell new menu text
move to..., copy to...
hide explorer menubar

other:
rundll32 functions
collected registry settings and tweaks 1
collected registry settings and tweaks 2
collected old versions of programs

screenshot: search companion

you can switch to classic search with tweakui ( explorer > use classic search in explorer ) or you can modify it a little bit. ( minor changes )

locate C:\WINDOWS\srchasst\mui\0409 folder. here are the xml files required to the new style search companion. you can edit them with a text editor. you can change the link texts, icons, or remove the icons ( IconId="" ), or the text margins, etc... the search companion title ( on the top of the panel ) is located in the srchui.dll, string table. ( in case if you want to get rid of it )

also, if you want custom animated charachters (.ACS) instead of the original, download Microsoft Agent Character Editor and make your own animation. ( then put your compiled work here: \WINDOWS\msagent\chars )

more help here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms695816.aspx

screenshot: shortcut start menu

use classic start menu. reshack explorer.exe's menu resource 204. just remove all items. or use gpedit.msc to hide most of the menu elements. then go to " C:\Documents and Settings\*your_user_name*\Start Menu " and put your desired shortcuts there. done.

for the hibernate link, you can use this in the shortcut:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState Hibernate
for the logoff, use: C:\Windows\system32\shutdown.exe -l
for the restart, use: C:\Windows\system32\shutdown.exe -r -t 0
and for the shutdown: C:\Windows\system32\shutdown.exe -s -t 0

or alternatively you can use ' nircmd ' and the windows cmd window will not show up.

screenshot: none

download this*, or reshack your own nusrmgr.cpl.

if you choose to download this, do not rename the file!!! and you have to put into the ../windows/system32 folder, else it will not work!

the content of this window is pure html + scripts. the control panel application name/icon* will show up in your control panel list. *( stringtable 101, and icongroup 200). the application window icon is the "0" ' hexdump ' in the html ( 23 in reshacker ) section.

* this is just a ' demo' ( without any functions ) waiting for you to do something creative. see hta help on msdn for the hta attributes/properties.

screenshot: main window | user window

target file is nusrgmgr.cpl. pure html and script based user interface. the main window icon is the ' users.ico '. the main window frame is the nusrmgr.hta. all the contents are html and css* ( see also shellstyle.dll > css ) designed, that means easy to change ...

screenshot: balloon message

most of the people hate balloon notifications, and do everything to get rid of it. i don't. i like it, especially without the original icons.

the yellow exclamation mark, the red x and the information icons in the balloon messages are in the comctl32.dll in system32 folder and more comctl32.dll in windows/winsxs/ subfolders.

screenshot: none

the yellow exclamation mark, the blue question mark, the red x, the ' default ' program icon and the information icons in the question / confirmation dialogs are in the user32.dll in system32 folder. and here are the default cursors too. ( arrow, wait, help, cdrom, ... )

screenshot: small volume control

the volume control tray icon is in stobject.dll and the volume control window is in sndvol32.exe. both, normal and compact* versions. * press ctrl+s and you get compact volume control.

screenshot: screen 1 | screen 2 | screen 3 | screen 4 | screen 5

the logon screen layout and colors are script based like in the shellstyle. the ui file located in the logonui.exe in the windows/system32 folder. so let's see what's in the ui file.

screenshot: acd see 2 options - before and after

this little file enables your applications to use visual styles if you use an old program or programs that dont have this in their resource. put this XML manifest file in the same directory where your application's executable file is placed, then rename it as YourApp.exe.manifest. i.e: cmd.exe.manifest. > MSDN

i also recommend you to put an explorer.exe.manifest file in the windows folder, because there are some dialogs that the windows unable to skin in normal way. these dialogs are: some of the network related dialogs, file deletion dialog (if the file being used and you can't delete), shell folder deletion dialog from my computer, etc... these changes are not conspicuous but surely does some skinning in the system.

download manifest file

screenshot: default boot screen | no gui boot screen

edit boot.ini file ( located in the system drive root ) with notepad and put /noguiboot and/or /sos to the end of the operating system lines. i.e: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /sos /noguiboot. or type msconfig into the run dialog and navigate to boot.ini tab then select noguiboot and sos from the boot options.

noguiboot switch disables the bitmap that displays the progress bar for windows startup. the sos switch displays the device driver names while they are being loaded.

more boot.ini switch options

screenshot: none

there are a lot of unnecessary things in the windows folder. in my example; the help ( who needs help? - i know everything i have to know. + there is a thing called google. :)), the dllcache, the cursors, the media folder, and so on... and there are unnecessary programs in the program files too. i.e: msn, netmeeting, moviemaker, etc.. the list depends on what you really need or don't need.

i don't list here all the deleteable items because you can find sites where it is already listed. i just gave a tip for you.

shrink windows folder | making your windows folder smaller!

screenshot: control editor | listview icon | listview smallicons | listview report

using resource hacker for ages and don't know what is WS_CAPTION or CLIENTEDGE? no problem. MSDN is your friend.

- Window and Message Box Styles: window styles, Non-client area styles
- Control Styles: buttons, combobox, edit controls, listbox, static, etc
- Dialog styles: Dialog Properties: Styles Tab + more styles
- dialog extended-styles: WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW, WS_EX_APPWINDOW , etc...

or you can use Control Spy 2.0.
Using Control Spy, you can immediately see how different styles affect the behavior and appearance of each control, and also how you can change the state of each control by sending messages.

or winspector
Winspector is a Windows application that allows you to look at the messages being sent in the system. When developing your own applications you can see the messages and you can inspect them, but you can't do the same with other running applications. With Winspector you can.

screenshot: none

a simply way to disable the system file checker (SFC or windows file protection). all you need to do is rename or remove the sfcfiles.dll in system32 and in dllcache folder. done. now you can easily replace system files that are not in use by an another process*. (No more 'Reverting back to original' when replacing system files, because this dll contains the list of protected system files)

*For the files that are being used by a process use the replacer.

note: after replacing the file do not forget to put sfcfiles.dll back or rename the file to its original name. because you might experience malfunction in your system with missing sfcfiles.dll.

Leaving windows files unprotected is a security issue that you might want to reconsider. don't do it if you don't know what you are doing. you have been warned.

screenshot: startup script

it allows you to specify which programs to start first and which ones start later when you log on your computer. you can set the delays (milliseconds) by editing the script. just put this vbs script into your startup folder then edit in notepad.

if you use absolute paths make sure you use like this: "x:/a_folder/somewhere/something.exe"
there is also a startup.js in this archive in case if the vbs doesn't work. (wsh doesn't like the spaces in the path names)

download startup delay vbs

screenshot: open with menu

unfortunately, the open with menu doesn't work with iconless system. the dialog shows up, but there is nothing in the list. ( somehow the icons are required for that dialog to work properly ) but no problem. here is the solution.

download the script, then in contextedit ( or in regedit, but easier to do with contextedit ) navigate to all files type (the first one in contextedit) then create a new menu "open with..." then write into the command line:
wscript.exe "x:\path\to\your\script\openwith.vbs" "%1" ... you are done.

important: if the program that you choose has space character in its path or in its name then you will get script error.

download basic script | download advanced version

screenshot: new folder menu

with this script, you will be able to make a new folder inside a selected folder with the right click ( context ) menu.

usage: extract the zip file, edit the script path in the reg file, and just double click on the reg file. done. to remove the menu item, just navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell in regedit, then you will see what to delete.

download script

screenshot: new text file menu

with this script, you will be able to make a new text file inside a selected folder with the right click ( context ) menu.

usage: extract the zip file, edit the script path in the reg file, and just double click on the reg file. done. to remove the menu item, just navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell in regedit, then you will see what to delete.

download script

screenshot: empty folder menu

with this script, you will be able to delete all* files inside a folder. by using the right click ( context ) menu. * subfolders and subfolder's content will be untouched.

usage: extract the zip file, edit the script path in the reg file, and just double click on the reg file. done. to remove the menu item, just navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell in regedit, then you will see what to delete.

download script

screenshot: none

it does only one thing. deletes the temp* folder contents. you can use the script as logon / startup, or as logoff script. * the temp folder in your user folder. C:\Documents and Settings\*your-user-name*\Local Settings\Temp

there is a line WScript.Sleep(15000) in the script, you can delete this line if you dont want it to be delayed. (15 sec)

download script

screenshot: registered / unregistered

type into the run menu: regsvr32.exe shmedia.dll /u. you are done. to re-enable it, type: regsvr32.exe shmedia.dll. note that, all media type informations ( within mp3, avi, wmv, wav, ...etc) will not be displayed at all in the shellstyle details panel or in the tooltip information!

screenshot: none

type into the run menu: regsvr32.exe shimgvw.dll /u. you are done. to re-enable it, type: regsvr32.exe shimgvw.dll. image dimension ( width, height ) will also not be displayed in the shellstyle details panel or in the tooltip information!

screenshot: no shell icons

for those only who don't like icons and want to get rid of it. this little tweak will remove the main shell icons from the explorer window, the menus, and from the explorer addressbar. the zip contains the default reg entry also.

requires logoff / logon for the changes to take effect.

download no icons

screenshot: throbber remover before / after

tthrobber is the animated graphic that appears in the upper right corner of most web browsers. ( and unortunately in every explorer windows ) ThrobOff is a small collection of Windows registration files that lets you choose to display or not display the animated throbber - without breaking or altering Windows or IE in any way. To use it, unzip the Throboff.zip file in to a folder and double-click the desired Windows registration file.

download throboff

screenshot: no explorer toolbars

simple regtweak to remove the toolbar ( file menu, toolbar buttons, addressbar, etc ) from the explorer window. the zip contains the default settings also.

download no toolbars

screenshot: none

what is tileinfo, tooltips, infotips, and details?
tileinfo: the info used below the file names if explorer's view set to tile view
tooltip, infotip: the small text info if the mouse pointed over a file or folder
details: used in the taskpanel's details section.

in screenshot: if you want to use your custom details on audio files just navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\audio in regedit then edit the details key. the default audio details info is: prop:Name;Size;Type;Artist;Album;Year;Track;Duration, and if you want just name, type and size to be displayed in the details panel, change to: prop:name;size;type. thats' all. (I recommend to change it in the shell32 too, to prevent from reverting back to the default)

for all file types: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*
for image file: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image
for audio file: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\audio
for video file: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\video
for folder: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder

resource: shell32.dll -> reginst

HKCR,Directory,InfoTip,,"prop:DocComments"
HKCR,*,InfoTip,,"prop:Type;DocAuthor;DocTitle;DocSubject;DocComments;Write;Size"
HKCR,*,QuickTip,,"prop:Type;Size;Write"
HKCR,*,AlwaysShowExt
HKCR,*,TileInfo,,"prop:Type;Size"
HKCR,"CLSID\%CLSID_FolderShortcut%",Details,,"prop:Name;LinkTarget"
HKCR,Folder,TileInfo,,"prop:Size"
HKCR,Wordpad.Document.1,TileInfo,,"prop:DocTitle;DocAuthor;DocPageCount"
HKCR,dllfile,TileInfo,,"prop:FileVersion;FileDescription"
HKCR,exefile,TileInfo,,"prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion"
HKCR,exefile,InfoTip,,"prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion;Create;Size"
HKCR,dllfile,InfoTip,,"prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion;Create;Size"
HKCR,sysfile,InfoTip,,"prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion;Create;Size"
HKCR,SystemFileAssociations\audio,TileInfo,,"prop:Artist;Album;Duration"
HKCR,SystemFileAssociations\audio,InfoTip,,"prop:Artist;Album;Year;Track;Duration;Type;Bitrate;Protected;Size"
HKCR,SystemFileAssociations\audio,Details,,"prop:Name;Size;Type;Artist;Album;Year;Track;Duration"
HKCR,SystemFileAssociations\image,TileInfo,,"prop:Dimensions;Type;Size"
HKCR,SystemFileAssociations\image,InfoTip,,"prop:Dimensions;WhenTaken;DocTitle;DocComments;CameraModel;Type;Size"
HKCR,SystemFileAssociations\image,Details,,"prop:Name;Type;Dimensions;Size;Write"
HKCR,SystemFileAssociations\video,InfoTip,,"prop:Type;DocTitle;EpisodeName;ProgramDescription;Duration;Bitrate;Dimensions;Protected;Size"

screenshot: shell new menu 1 | shell new menu 2 | shell new menu 3

although, tweakui has the ability to remove the unnecessary items from the new menu, i think it is better solution. plus i can change the menu text also with this tweak. it only requires some "tex editing", and changing the permission on the specified registry key. if you just want to remove the unnecessary items, just navigate to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Discardable\PostSetup\ShellNew then delete those binary entries you dont want in the new menu. after that, to prevent reverting back to the default values ( or to the deleted ones ), i recommend to manipulate the regkey's permission on the shellnew key ( after you did the changes ) i mean change the permissions on both system and your username to read only. just right click on the key and select permissions... very important, do not use the new menu before you change the permission to read only! if you do that before changing it, all new menu items will be restored.

if you want to change the menu text, well, that is just easy as editing a text file. see shell new menu 2 picture. you can see, the menu text starts at offset line 0008 and the first character is the 7th bit. in the second picture ( it is the file extension ), it starts 0090, the first character is the first bit. the third picture: 0290, first character is 8th bit. picture 4: 0318, FF FF FF FF starting from 5th bit. last picture: 03A0, well, this is the end.

btw, the new menu text is in the shell32.dll stringtable 1896 > 30315, and the new document name prefix is in the same stringtable > 30316. just in case if you want to change it.

screenshot: copy to, move to

you can add copy to... and move to... folder options to the right-click context menu. does the same thing as the menu in the taskpanel.

download regfile

screenshot: explorer with menu | explorer without menu

with this registry tweak you can hide the whole file menubar (File, edit, etc...) in windows explorer.

download regfile