Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Version 1.0
June 9, 2008
By Greg Shultz
Table of contents
Change the font Windows XP displays in Windows Explorer.................................................................................... 2
Prevent a shutdown of a Windows XP system.......................................................................................................... 2
Off hours: Put your name in the Windows XP notification area ................................................................................ 2
Create your own special characters in Windows XP................................................................................................. 3
Automatically generate and assign strong passwords in Windows XP..................................................................... 3
Quickly gather MAC addresses in Windows XP with ARP........................................................................................ 4
Create an old-time monochrome command prompt in Windows XP ........................................................................ 4
Taking a fresh look at the Windows XP Task pane................................................................................................... 5
Removing unused device drivers from Windows XP machines ................................................................................ 5
Using the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility ............................................................................................................. 6
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Warning: Before you follow these steps, please be sure that you are paying careful attention and are ready to
actually use a password that might not be as memorable as youre accustomed to! Also, you cannot use this tip
on a Windows Server domain.
1. Open a Command Prompt window and type:
net user username /random (username is your login account name)
2. Press Enter. Windows XP will randomly generate a secure password, as well as assign that strong
password to your account. Windows XP will also display the strong password so you can remember it.
At your discretion, you may want to create a Password Reset Disk at this point. This disk will allow you to gain
access to your computer in the event you forget your password. Heres how to create the disk:
1. Open the Control Panel and double-click the User Accounts tool.
2. Click your account icon.
3. Select Prevent A Forgotten Password under Related Tasks.
4. Follow the instructions provided by the wizard.
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color scheme from the Color tab on the Command Prompt Properties dialog box to make the screen more
appealing.
However, if youre ever feeling nostalgic when working from a Command Prompt, you can change the settings on
the Color tab to emulate the old green monochrome or amber monochrome monitors. Heres how:
1. Open a Command Prompt window.
2. Right the title bar and select the Properties command.
3. Select the Colors tab.
4. Select the Screen Background button and select the black box in the color palette.
5. Select the Screen Text button.
6. To emulate an old green monochrome monitor, select the green box in the color palette, and then in the
Selected Color Values panel use the spin button for the Green setting to move the number up to 255.
Make sure that the settings for the Red and Blue remain at 0.
7. To emulate an old amber monochrome monitor, select the green box in the color palette, and then in the
Selected Color Values panel use the spin button for the Red setting to move the number up to 185. Make
sure that the settings for the Green remains at 128 and Blue remains at 0.
5
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Version history
Version: 1.0
Published: June 9, 2008
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Copyright 2008 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
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