NT Server/Workstation

Stuff I have found or been sent that might help solve problems, improve performance, enhance security etc...
Many of these tips for NT will work on both NT Server and NT Workstation
Determine a Computer Name or Logged-on UsernameNT Server/Workstation 4.0
Do you support users where the hardest part is trying to determine their computer name or the logged-on username?
Wouldn't it be great if this information were always on the desktop? Here's how:
  1. Start the Registry editor (regedt32.exe)
  2. Move to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}.
  3. Select the value and Delete.
  4. From the Edit menu select Add Value.
  5. Leave the value name blank and set the type to REG_EXPAND_SZ.
  6. Click OK and enter the text "User: %USERNAME% on: %COMPUTERNAME%".
  7. Click OK.
Click the desktop and press F5 (for refresh) and the change takes effect. Now, when each user logs on to the workstation, the My Computer icon on the desktop will have the text "User: xxxxxx on: wwwwww" in place of the text "My Computer." The usual warnings and disclaimers about editing the Registry apply.
Change ACL's from the Command Line (CACLS)NT Server/Workstation 4.0
Command Line ACLs
How do I get rid of what seem to be eternal names in my Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box?NT Server/Workstation 4.0
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type

regedit

and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall. In the left pane, with the Uninstall key expanded, right-click any item and select Delete. Click Yes to confirm, and that item is officially off the list. Repeat these steps for each item you'd like to remove, then close the Registry Editor.
change the color of the Command Prompt window in a batch fileNT Server/Workstation 4.0
How to change colors in a batch file
Safe DeletingNT Server/Workstation 4.0
This macro is designed to replace the DEL command with one that sends the files to a specific folder for safekeeping until you decide whether you want to delete them permanently.
To create and use the following macro, run Notepad and type the code as shown:
doskeydoskey DEL=move $* C:\Trashdoskey DELETE=DEL $*
Choose File, Save As and name the file Del.bat. Save the new file in your start-up folder so it will be available whenever you start Windows NT Workstation 4.0. Now go to the root folder of drive C and type
md Trash
to create the Trash folder.
Using this macro, you don't have to remember to use a new command--just use Del. For example, you could type
del c:\data\myfile.txt
to move myfile.txt to the c:\Trash folder. When you are sure you want to delete a file permanently, use Delete instead of Del--this sends your files directly to the Recycle Bin.
Remove Dial-Up networking from "My Computer"NT Server/Workstation 4.0
This requires a very serious Registry edit.
Here's how to delete the Dial-Up Networking icon in My Computer. Don't do this unless you have a very good reason to delete Dial-Up Networking.
Click Start, Run, type
regedit
and press Enter. When RegEdit opens, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\ {a4d92740-67cd-11cf-96f2-00aa00a11dd9}. Now, since you want to be able to undo what you're about to do, choose Registry, Export Registry File. When the Export Registry File dialog box opens, name the file DialOn and click Save. You can use this file later to reinstall your Dial-Up Networking icon.
With the key exported to a file, click {a4d92740-67cd-11cf-96f2-00aa00a11dd9} and press Delete to delete the key. Choose Registry, Exit to close RegEdit.
At this point, you can double-click My Computer to open it. You should no longer have a Dial-Up Networking icon. If the icon is still visible, restart the computer.
You can still use all your dial-up connections, but without the icon you can't add or delete connections.
If you decide to reinstall the Dial-Up Networking icon, locate your exported Registry file, DialOn.reg, and double-click its icon. This merges the original key back into the Registry, and the Dial-Up Networking icon reappears. Again, you may need to restart the computer.
FAST-MOTION WINDOWSNT Server/Workstation 4.0
Have you ever noticed that when you minimize or restore a window, you actually see the window-shrinking or window-growing process? If you're looking for ways to increase performance, you may want to remove this window animation. That way, your windows will grow and shrink faster than ever.
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type

regedit
and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. In the left pane, right-click the WindowMetrics key and select New, String Value. Type
MinAnimate
(to name the new value) and press Enter. In the right pane, right-click MinAnimate and select Modify. In the resulting Edit String dialog box, type
0
on the Data Value line. Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows 95.
(Tip: If you want your window animation back, delete the MinAnimate string [right-click it, select Delete, then click Yes to confirm] or change its data value to 1 [right-click it, select Modify, type
1
on the Data Value line, then click OK].
Ping Options NT Server/Workstation 4.0
-t Pings the specified computer until interrupted.
-a Resolve addresses to computer names.
-n count Sends the number of ECHO packets specified by count. The default is 4.
-l length Sends ECHO packets containing the amount of data specified by length. The defualt is 64 bytes; the maximum is 8192.
-f Sends a Do not Fragment flag in the packet. The packet will not be fragmented by gateways on the route.
-i ttl Sets the Time To Live field to the value specifed by ttl.
-v tos Sets the Type Of Service field to the value specifed by tos.
-r count Records the route of the outgoing packet and the returning packet in the Record Route field. A minimum of 1 and a maximum of 9 computers may be specified by count.
-s count Specifies the timestamp for the number of hops specified by count.
-j computer-list Routes packets via the list of computers specified by computer-list. Consecutive computers may be separated by intermediate gateways (loose source routed). The maximum number allowed by IP is 9.
-k computer-list Routes packets via the list of computers specified by computer-list. Consecutive computers may not be separated by intermediate gateways (strict source routed). The maximum number allowed by IP is 9.
-w timeout Specifies a timeout interval in milliseconds.
Explore with all drives in their collapsed viewNT Server/Workstation 4.0
Right-click My Computer, select Explore, and there you have it--an Explorer view with all drives collapsed.
Also, as you may remember from a previous tip, you can make any Explorer shortcut open to this view. Right-click the shortcut (for example, the one in your Start, Programs menu), select Properties, and click the Shortcut tab. Replace the text on the Target line with:
C:\winnt\Explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\
and click OK.
Create a New Folder With a Batch FileNT Server/Workstation 4.0
The batch file shown here creates a specific folder if the folder doesn't already exist. If the folder does exist, the file simply reports that fact. To generate the batch file, run Notepad and type the code as shown. 
@echo off 
if exist c:\PCWorld\*.* goto message 
if not exist c:\PCWorld goto create 
goto end 

:create 
md c:\PCWorld 
echo Folder created 
goto end 

:message 
echo Folder exists 

:end
After you enter the code, choose File, Save As and name the file whatever you want as long as it has a .bat xtension--Test.bat will do. To run the file at the Command Prompt, just type 
test 
and press Enter.
If you want to type a folder name when you run the file (this is probably more useful), change the code to that shown here. 
@echo off 
if exist %1 goto message 

if not exist %1 goto create 
goto end 

:create  
md %1  
echo Folder %1 created 
goto end 

:message 
echo Folder %1 exists 

:end
Now, let's say you want to create a folder named New on drive C. Type
test c:\New
at the Command Prompt and press Enter. If the folder doesn't already exist, this creates it.
You can also create the same folder on another computer by specifying a UNC path such as:

test \\server\share\folder\New

You must write permission on the target share
XCOPY AND FILE ATTRIBUTES NT Server/Workstation 4.0
When you use Xcopy at the Command Prompt to copy a group of files, NT resets all read-only attributes by default. If you need the files' read-only attribute to stay the same, you can type xcopy files /k and press Enter. The /k parameter copies the files with the attributes already set for those files.
QUICK PRINTINGNT Server/Workstation 4.0
As you may know, you can print a document quickly by putting a shortcut to the printer on your desktop, then dragging a document icon to it. Another quick access method is to put a printer shortcut in the Send To folder. To do this, open Windows NT Explorer and navigate to Winnt\Profiles\Administrator\Send To. Now click Start, Settings, and Printers. When the Printers window opens, hold down Ctrl and drag the printer icon to the Send To folder. Now you can right-click a document icon and choose Send To, then your printer's name.
Relocate the Log Files NT Server/Workstation 4.0
If you've got your swap file located on a different drive or partition than your main directory, you can get an additional performa nce boost by moving NT's log files to the swap file's drive or partition. Run the Registry Editor (regedit) and change the following keys:
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Application
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Security
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\System
    Edit the "File" STRING value in each key to reflect where you want to put the new logs. Reboot for the changes to take effect.
    Consistent SettingsNT Server/Workstation 4.0
    When re-installing NT on a system, you can run Setup with the previous installation's settings by typing WINNT32 /U. You won't be prompted for any more information.
    NumLock On-And Leave It OnNT Server/Workstation 4.0
    By default, every time you log on to Windows NT, it sets the NumLock key to off. You can change this by editing the Registry. Open REGEDIT and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard and in the right-hand pane, double-click on the InitialKeyboardIndicators string and change its value from 0 to 2. The next time you log on to your system, NT will note your preference and automatically turn on the NumLock key.
    Faster NTFS Folders NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    If you've got a large number of directories on an NTFS partition, you can speed up Explorer by hacking the Registry. Launch REGEDIT and drill down to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control \FileSystem and add a new Dword value: NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate. Set the value of that subkey to 1. This keeps Explorer from updating the time a file was last accessed.
    Note: Don't use this trick if you need to consistently audit or keep track of when files were last accessed.
    MS-DOS AND WINDOWS NT 4.0 NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    In a recent tip, we mentioned that you can’t view an NTFS partition when you boot the computer from an MS-DOS floppy. And we were correct. However, subscriber V. points out that you can get some software that will allow you to view that NTFS partition after an MS-DOS boot.
    The software is called NTFSDOS and you’ll find it at
    NTInternals
    After you download and extract the file (it’s a ZIP file), format an MS-DOS floppy with the system (format a: /s using MS-DOS-not Windows NT). Now copy the two extracted files (ntfsdos.exe and ntfshlp.vxd) to the floppy. When you restart with the floppy in Drive A, you’ll be able to view the NTFS partition. You won’t be able to make changes, but you can view it.
    AUTOMATIC MS-DOS? NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    Subscriber C.D. likes the fact that he can press Ctrl-Shift-Esc to launch Task Manager in Windows NT 4.0. He wants to know if there’s a keystroke to launch the command prompt.
    There isn’t, but you can add a keystroke to do the job. Right-click the Start button and choose Open. When the window opens, double-click the Programs icon. Now right-click the Command Prompt icon and choose Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Shortcut tab. Now click in the entry box labeled Shortcut Key and type D (or whatever key you want to assign). When you do, Windows NT will finish the line, making it Ctrl-Alt-D. Click OK to save your change and close the dialog box. Now you can open the command prompt window by simply pressing Ctrl-Alt-D
    RULES FOR SHARE NAMES NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    Share names follow rules that are similar to those for long filenames in Windows 95 and Windows NT, with some noteworthy exceptions. You can use numbers (0-9), letters (A-Z), and these special characters:
  • $ % ‘ - _ @ ~ ‘ ! ( ) ^ # &

    • However, six special characters that are legal in long filenames:
  • + , ; = [ ]

    • aren’t permitted in share names. Spaces are allowed in share names. Although NT workstations and servers can create and connect to a share name that’s up to 80 characters long, it’s better to use share names that are much shorter. Windows 95 workstations, for example, can’t see a share name that’s more than 12 characters long, and DOS and Windows for Workgroups clients can connect only to shares that follow the 8.3 DOS file-naming convention.
    DOS DOES WINDOWS NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    If you’re in an MS-DOS Prompt window and you need to view a folder’s contents, you aren’t limited to DOS commands.
  • Type explorer .
    at the command prompt, press Enter, and presto-up pops a single-paned window focused on the current directory. (Note: Simply typing ‘explorer’ without the space and period opens a window focused on the root directory.) If you’d prefer a two-paned, Windows Explorer-style window, type
  • explorer /e
    at the command prompt.
    SHORTCUTTING THE SHORTCUT NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    If you liked the single-pane version of Explorer that we discussed in the last tip, you might like to put a shortcut on the desktop that will open the single-pane version for you.
    Open Windows NT Explorer and navigate to \Winnt and locate Explorer.exe. Use the mouse to drag the Explorer.exe icon to the desktop to create a shortcut. Now right-click the shortcut and choose Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Shortcut tab. Now click the Target text entry box and enter:
  • %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ..

    • (one space and two periods) to open a single-pane Explorer at the root folder of your Windows NT drive.
    PARDON THE INTERRUPTION NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    An interrupt conflict can be a true pain. To help you avoid such conflicts as much as possible (and solve them when you can’t) here’s a list of interrupt assignments.
    0 Timer
    1 Keyboard
    2 Cascade (for interrupts above 8)
    3 COM2, COM4
    4 COM1, COM3
    5 LPT2
    6 Floppy Controller
    7 LPT1
    8 Clock
    9 Sometimes used for ISA in a PCI computer
    12 PS2 Mouse Port
    13 Math Coprocessor
    14 IDE Controller

    Note that interrupts 10 and 11 are generally not used.
    CLEAN UP YOUR DOCUMENTS NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    Several subscribers have asked how to manage the Documents list (Start, Documents). One way to manage the list is to get rid of it:
    Click Start and then choose Settings, Taskbar. When the Taskbar Properties dialog box opens, click Start Menu Programs. Click Clear and then OK to delete the current Documents list.
    If you don’t use the Documents list at all, or if you don’t want the list to carry over from one session to another, you can write a batch file to delete the list contents automatically when you start the computer. This way, you’ll have only the documents that you opened during the current session.
    To write the batch file, open NotePad. Enter the following, keeping in mind that you may need to modify the path for your own system. Also, the "n" in the file shown refers to your Windows NT hard disk letter an username refers to you logon name.
  • del /q n:\winnt\profiles\username\recent\*.*
    After you type in the line shown, choose File, Save As and name the file Cleanup.bat. To make the file run automatically, open Windows NT Explorer and locate your new file. Now use the right mouse button to drag the file to the appropriate Startup folder. In the case of our example, this is:
    C:\Winnt\Profiles\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. When you release the right mouse button, Windows NT will open a menu. Choose Create Shortcut(s) Here.
    With the shortcut to Cleanup.bat in the Startup folder, your Documents list will be deleted each time you start or restart the computer.
    Note that this applies only to the current desktop-other users won’t have their files deleted.
    EXPLORE THE WEB FROM YOUR DESKTOP NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    Did you know that you can use Internet Explorer to create shortcuts on your desktop that link directly to an Internet site? Pull down Internet Explorer’s File menu from the site you want to create a shortcut to and select the Create Shortcut command. You’ll see a message telling you that the shortcut will be placed on your desktop. Click the OK button, and a shortcut to the current URL will appear on your desktop. Now you can launch Internet Explorer and connect to the site simply by double-clicking your shortcut.
    WHAT KIND OF MEMORY? NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    If you need to run an old MS-DOS program, you may find that it needs to have some expanded memory available to work properly. To set up a program of this type, first create a shortcut to the program. To do this, use the right mouse button to drag the file’s icon onto the desktop.
    Once you’ve created a shortcut right-click it and choose Properties. In the dialog box, click Memory. Now you can tell the system what type of memory you need.
    In general, we can’t tell you what settings to use because these settings are very dependent on the specific program you need to run. However, we do suggest that you use Auto in Expanded (EMS) memory. If this won’t work, try some other settings. After you make all your selections, click OK.
    MS-DOS CUT AND PASTE NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    You can paste information from a Windows NT application into a command prompt line. Try this: Select a line of text and press Ctrl-C to copy it. Now open the command prompt and click the control box. This will open a menu from which you should choose Edit, Paste. Note:
    You can’t press Ctrl -V to paste into a command prompt window.
    If you want to copy some text in a command prompt window and paste it into a Windows application, click the control box and choose Edit, Mark from the menu. Now use the mouse to select the text you want to copy, and after you finish the selection, press Enter. This copies the text to the clipboard. Go to the Windows application and click where you want the text to appear. Press Ctrl-V to paste the text.
    HOW MANY DOS PROGRAMS DO YOU WANT TO RUN?
    If you use the command prompt frequently to run MS-DOS programs or batch files, you can run several programs sequentially by typing Program1 && Program2 && Program3 at the prompt and then pressing Enter. The line shown here will run Program1 first and, if all is well, will then run Program2. If Program2 runs successfully, Program3 will run. If you’d like to check this out, you can create a few batch files to work with.
    Open the command prompt and type (at the prompt):
    Now press F6 and press Enter (pressing F6 will insert ^Z into the line).
    Repeat the process for Program2.bat and Program3.bat.
    Now run the programs as shown above and you’ll get
    This is Program 1 This is Program 2 This is Program 3
    MONITORING DISK COUNTERS FOR MEMBERS OF STRIPE SETS
    As you probably know, you can use Windows NT’s Performance Monitor utility (found in the Administrative Tools (Common) group) to monitor your disk drive’s performance. However, if you open Performance Monitor and try to add your drive’s %Disk Time and %Disk Queue Length counters to a chart, you’ll find that the values for these counters will always read zero.
    To get a correct reading, you must run the command "diskperf -y" at the command prompt and restart your system to turn on your system’s disk performance counters. However, if you want to monitor the performance of a disk that is a member of a stripe set or stripe set with parity, you must run the command "diskperf -ye" at the command prompt and restart your system.
    You should always remember that leaving disk performance counters turned on uses valuable system resources. Once you’re done monitoring your drive’s performance, run the command "diskperf -n" at the command prompt and restart your system to turn the disk counters off.
    LIST ALL LISTENING TCP/IP PORTS NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    If you’re running a TCP/IP stack on Windows NT 4.0, you might need to determine which ports are active and listening. This information is useful in many situations, such as troubleshooting a faulty TCP/IP service.
    You no longer need to run a port scanner against a particular NT system’s IP address to obtain this information. If you have installed Service Pack 3 (SP3), NT 4.0 will give you a list of listening ports from the command line. SP3 replaces the old NETSTAT.EXE program with a new version that introduces the "-a" command-line parameter. Issuing the command "netstat -a" will list all listening ports on that particular machine.
    REGISTER THAT BACKUP NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    The NT Backup utility does a good job of backing up the registry. To do this, simply select the check box labeled Backup Registry. Note that this check box is only available when you’re backing up files on the primary NT disk (Drive C in most cases).
    The NT Backup utility also restores the registry. If you’re running on the same occurrence of NT you’re trying to restore, the registry utility will restore the files and then inform you that you need to restart to make the restored files active.
    HAND ME MY HIGHLIGHTER, PLEASE-PART 1 OF 2
    Want some tips for quick text highlighting in Word Pad (or most any other word processor that runs under Windows 95 or NT)? All that fussy letter-by-letter clicking and dragging is for the birds. Here are three shortcuts you’re sure to love:
    HAND ME MY HIGHLIGHTER, PLEASE-PART 2 OF 2
    To highlight a whole bunch of text: Place the cursor at the beginning of the text, hold down Shift, and click at the end of what you want to select. OR, place the cursor at the beginning of the text you want to select, and then, while holding down Shift, use the arrow keys to expand the selection.
    Of course, we saved the biggest for last: highlighting an entire document. In some word processors, you can choose Edit, Select All. But if your word processor doesn’t have that command or if you’re especially fond of keyboard combinations, hold down Ctrl-Shift and click in the left margin of the document (Note: In some word processors, this method may highlight only text below the cursor.) OR, place the cursor at the very beginning of the document and press Ctrl-Shift-End.
    WHY DRAG? NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    You can print a document quickly if you put a shortcut to the printer on your desktop and drag a document icon to it. You can do the job even quicker if you put a printer shortcut into the Send To folder.
    To do this, open Windows NT Explorer and navigate to Winnt\Profiles\Administrator\Send To (assuming you’re the administrator).
    Now click Start, Settings, Printers. When the Printers window opens, hold down Ctrl and drag the printer icon to the Send To folder.
    Now you can right-click a document icon and choose Send To, YourPrinter (or whatever you called your printer).
    EIGHTY-SIXING THE STARTUP SCREEN NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    You can eliminate the startup screen by renaming winnt.bmp and winnt256.bmp files to winnt.old and winnt256.old. You can also use your own BMP files by naming them winnt.bmp and winnt256.bmp. You can use RegEdit to change the name of the file you want to use as a startup screen.
    As usual, we must warn you that messing with the Registry can cause you some real headaches if you make a mistake. With that in mind, follow the procedure listed here very carefully.
    Click Start, Run and type in
    RegEdit
    Now click OK or press Enter.
    Navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop. In the right pane locate Wallpaper and double-click it to open the Edit String dialog box. The current value is most likely Default. Change it to the BMP file you want to use and click OK. Now choose Registry, Exit to close RegEdit. Restart the computer and your new startup screen will appear.
    If you don’t want a startup screen, just delete Default in the Edit String dialog box and click OK. Now close RegEdit as described.
    DISPLAYING A LEGAL NOTICE AT LOGON NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    In some cases, you might want to display a legal logon notice on your Windows NT systems. This dialog screen appears when users attempt to log on to a system. The notice can inform users that all activity is recorded or that specific use restrictions are in effect. You can add a notice by adjusting or creating the following two Registry keys, but be careful:
    Incorrectly editing the Registry can render an NT system unbootable.
    SOME THINGS LAST FOREVER NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    When you use Windows NT 4.0 along with other operating systems, you can tell the system how long to wait before booting into the default selection. You can set the time to as short or as long as you like (provided you like 0 to 999). If you want, you can even tell the system to take no action until you make a selection and press Enter.
    To do this, run Windows NT Explorer and locate Boot.ini. Right-click Boot.ini and choose Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, deselect the Read-only check box and click Apply. Now click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.
    Now double-click the Boot.ini icon to open it in Notepad. When the file opens, locate Timeout and change it to:
    Timeout = -1
    Then save the file (File, Save) and restart the computer. Now the system will wait for you to make a selection until Miami freezes over.
    AUTOMATIC LOG-ON NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    If you’d like to log-on to your personal workstation without having to enter a password each time, you can set your system to automatically log-on. To do this, click Start, Run and type in RegEdit. Now click OK.
    When RegEdit opens, navigate to
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    Right-click in the right pane of Winlogon and choose New, String Value. Name the new value AutoAdminLogon. Now double-click your new entry and assign it the value of 1. Click OK. Next, you need to tell Windows NT about your password. Right-click the right pane again and choose New, String Value. This time assign the name DefaultPassword. Double-click the new entry and type in your password. Click OK. Now you can close RegEdit (Alt, R, X) and restart your computer.
    Note that this pretty much destroys your security. Anyone can start the computer, and if someone runs RegEdit and checks in Winlogon, he or she can see your password.
    More on Auto Log-On
    Her is a REG file that would allow you to bypass the log-in feature. Is there any way to bypass the log-in screen (which was very nice), but keep alive the Log In Another User feature?"
    here's the REG file to turn on auto log-on
    .
    REGEDIT4
    BLANK LINE GOES HERE
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
    "AutoAdminLogon"="1"
    "DefaultPassword"="YourPasswordGoesHere"
    BLANK LINE GOES HERE

    To generate the REG file, run Notepad and type the code as shown. Where you see BLANK LINE GOES HERE, press Enter to enter a blank line. When finished entering the code, choose File, Save As and name the file Auto.reg. Locate a folder for the file and click Save. To run the file, double-click its icon.
    Now, to bypass the automatic log-on and log in as a new user, click Start, Shut Down, select the radio button labeled "Close all [programs and log on as a different user?", and click Yes. Press and hold the Shift key while Windows NT Workstation 4.0 restarts. This time, you'll get the familiar log-on dialog box.
    Here's another suggestion. If you like to use the auto log-on setting while you work, but want to make sure the tech group has the ability to log on as they wish when you're not there, you could generate another REG file to turn auto log-on off. To do this, simply open the Auto.reg file in Notepad and change the line
    "AutoAdminLogon"="1"

    to
    "AutoAdminLogon"="0"

    Choose File, Save As and name the file LogOff.reg. Click Save after you choose a folder for the new file. Now, to turn auto log-on off, just double-click LogOff.reg. Autologon Normal user
    REGEDIT4
    BLANK LINE GOES HERE
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
    NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
    BLANK LINE GOES HERE
    "DefaultUserName"="Public"
    "AutoAdminLogon"="1"
    "DefaultPassword"="public"
    BLANK LINE GOES HERE

    Choose File, Save As, and name the file Public.reg. Locate a folder for the new file and click Save. To use the file, locate it and double-click its icon. You'll get a dialog box saying the file has been merged and so forth. Click OK in this dialog box to continue.

    We're assuming that you already have a user named Public and you've already set all the policies and so forth.

    Now restart the computer. You may get an error message telling you that the password or name is incorrect. If so, the log-on dialog box appears. Enter the name and password--for example:

    Public

    and

    public

    and click OK. Now you're in Public. If you restart the computer, the system automatically logs on to Public with no input from the users. When you need to log on as an administrator, click Start, Shut Down. When the Shut Down Windows dialog box appears, select the 'Close all programs and log on as a different user?' radio button. Click Yes and hold down Shift while the system starts. This time, you'll get the startup dialog box, where you can enter

    Administrator

    and your password. When you're ready to go back to Public, use the same method to restart and change the log-on to the following:

    Public

    and

    public
    DELETING COM PORTS NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    There are times when you might want to get rid of a Com port-at least temporarily. To do this, click Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click Ports. Click the port you want to delete to select it and then click Delete.
    After you delete the port and restart the computer, you may find that you still get an error event associated with the offending port. This can happen because there’s still information about the port in the Registry. If this happens to you, you need to eliminate the port using RegEdit.
    To do this, run RegEdit and navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Serial\Parameters.
    Under Parameters, you’ll find each of your serial ports. Delete the one in question and choose Registry, Exit to close RegEdit. Now restart the computer.
    If the port is active, it could appear again in Control Panel, Ports. If this happens, the only thing you can do is run your BIOS CMOS Setup utility and turn off the port.
    THROUGH THE WINDOWS NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    When you have a number of open folder or application windows that you need to access, you can press Alt-Tab to cycle through windows and programs. But if you’re working in a program and want to see another open (but not currently visible) folder window, you can press Alt-Esc to cycle through the windows. When you use this method, the windows will appear in open view.
    The first time you press Alt-Esc, all the open windows appear. Pressing the combination again will cause the current active window to disappear and activate the next window. This continues until all the windows disappear and you’re back at your application window.
    Note that this only works with windows that are currently open on the desktop; it does not open and display minimized windows.
    ADDING CONTROL PANEL/PRINTERS TO THE START MENU NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    Right-click on Start and choose Open. Right-click on the Start Menu window, and then select New, Folder. When the new folder appears, give it the following name (you must type the name exactly as shown here):
    Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
    Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
    Now click on Start and Control Panel or Printers will be the first item (top of the list). When you move your mouse over the new Control Panel folder, a cascading menu of all your system’s Control Panels will appear.
    ANOTHER WAY
    You add Control Panel to your desktop by opening My Computer and then right clicking the Control Panel. Next you select Create shortcut.
    Memory MgmtNT Server/Workstation 4.0
    Why would you want to reduce your system's memory? Well, suppose you have a large number of computers that you'd like to use with Windows NT 4.0, and you'd like to know if they'll run all the necessary applications with a minimal amount of RAM. But there you are, with your computer all filled with RAM. To see how your applications would run in something like 16 MB, open the Explorer and go to the root folder. Locate Boot.INI and rename it to Boot.TXT so you'll have a backup copy. Now double-click Boot.TXT to open it. The file should resemble the one shown here.

    [Boot Loader]
    Timeout=10
    Default=C:\
    [Operating Systems]
    C:\="Microsoft Windows"
    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation Version 4.00"

    Navigate to the end of the quoted part of the WINNT line and add /MAXMEM=16 as shown below. (Anything below 16 is way too slow).

    [Boot Loader]
    Timeout=10
    Default=C:\
    [Operating Systems]
    C:\="Microsoft Windows"
    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation Version 4.00" /MAXMEM=16
    Now save the file as Boot.INI and restart Windows NT

    Mouseless Navigation NT Server/Workstation 4.0
    You can make your way around Windows NT without a mouse, if necessary. Press <CTL> <ESC> to get into the Start menu, then use the arrow keys to move around. Sub-menus will not automatically display; use the right arrow to enter, left arrow to leave. <RETURN> invokes the highlighted application, <ESC> exits the menu. When you are in an application, <ALT> activates the menu bar, <ESC> exits the menu bar.
    Boot Floppy NT Workstation 4.0, 3.51
    There are times when Windows NT won’t start, and you know why it won’t start. Suppose Ntdetect.com is bad. When you try to boot the computer, you get an error message telling you that the system can’t find, or load, Ntdetect. When something like this happens, you can go through the usual procedures to restore the system. But since you know what’s wrong, you can get running again more quickly if you have a boot floppy. To create a boot floppy, insert a floppy disk into Drive A. Right-click on the floppy disk icon and choose Format. Format the disk using Full Format (just to be safe). Now open Windows NT Explorer and click on the root folder (usually C:\).
    Copy the following files to the floppy disk: If you don’t see these files in your root folder, choose View, Options in Windows NT Explorer. Select the radio button labeled Show All Files. Now click on Apply and then OK. Now you should see the files. If you don’t, press F5 and look again. Using the boot floppy, you can boot into your damaged system and make the appropriate repairs.
    TASK MANAGER AT THE READYVersion 4.0
    If you use Task Manger frequently, you can keep it ready for quick use. Open the Task Manger by pressing Ctrl-Shift-Esc. Now choose Options, Hide When Minimized. Task Manager will remain active, but it won’t take up much taskbar space-just a tiny little icon. To use Task Manager, locate its tiny icon (a small bar graph display) in the right side of the taskbar near the time display and double click. You may also notice that you can move the mouse pointer over the icon and the tool tip will report CPU usage.
    AUTO LOG-ONVersion 3.51, 4.0
    If you use Windows NT 4.0, you can set automatic log-on using TweakUI. If you’re still using Windows NT 3.51 (or if you use 4.0 and don’t have TweakUI) you can do the same with some Registry editing. Keeping in mind the usual warnings about making changes to the Registry, run RegEdit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. Look in the right pane for AutoAdminLogon. If it’s there, double-click on it and change the value to 1. If it isn’t there, choose Edit, New, String Value (NT 4.0) or Edit, String Value (NT 3.51). Name the new value AutoAdminLogon and give it the value 1. For the Auto log-on to work, you have to add your password. Look for DefaultPassword in the right pane. If it isn’t there, create it by choosing Edit, New, String Value (4.0) or Edit, Add Value (3.51). Assign your password to it. Now you can close RegEdit and restart the computer. Note that you’ve just destroyed most of your security since anyone can now log on. Only do this if security isn’t a problem for you.
    PAGING FILE TIP Version 3.51 & 4.0
    One way to speed up your Windows NT system is to place the paging file on some disk other than the system disk. The reason this results in faster operation is that the system files are accessed very frequently and so is the paging file. If you place the paging file on a different disk, you split up the work a bit. You’ll see an even greater speed increase if your system has a separate controller for each drive. And you’ll see still more improvement if your controller can perform simultaneous reads and writes.
    PASSWORD EXPIRATION WARNING PERIOD
    You can change the number of days that Windows NT 4.0 displays a warning message reminding users to change their password before the password expires. To make the change, you can use the Registry editor to add a Registry entry that adjusts this value (this value does not appear in the Registry unless you add it). Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon key. Add the value PasswordExpiryWarning of data type REG_DWORD. The range for this value is in number of days, and the default value is 14.
    SYNCHRONIZING YOUR NT DOMAIN FROM THE COMMAND LINE
    As you probably know, changes that you make to your NT Domain’s SAM (Security Accounts Manager) only affect the PDC’s (Primary Domain Controller’s) database until automatic replication occurs. In very large NT Domains, automatic replication of the PDC’s SAM to the Domain’s Backup Domain Controllers can take as long as 45 minutes to an hour after you make changes. To force synchronization of your PDC with all your BDCs, you can open Server Manager and select the PDC and choose Synchronize Entire Domain option from the Computer menu. Or you can use a shortcut. At your PDC, open a command line or Run dialog box and enter the command net accounts /sync to synchronize your PDC’s SAM with all of BDCs’ SAMs.

    QUICK BACKUP Version 4.0
    If you commonly use Ntbackup to back up a single folder, you might like to create a simple batch file to handle the job for you. Suppose you’d like to make a daily backup of a folder named Data. Open notepad and enter ntbackup backup c:\data /a /v /d"Data Folder" /hc:on /t daily where /a tells the program to append the data, /v turns on the Verify operation, /d "Data Folder" is the name you want to assign, /hc:on turns on hardware compression (if available), and /t:daily specifies the backup type. Give your new batch file a name back.bat will do and save it. Now you can open Windows NT Explorer and use the right mouse button to drag the icon to the desktop. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. Right-click on the shortcut and choose Properties. Click on the Shortcut tab and then choose Run Minimized. Click on OK to close the dialog box. Now you can double-click on the Back icon (shortcut) to back up your data. Of course, you do have to have a usable tape in the drive before you run Back.
    ADD A MESSAGE To Startup Version 4.0, 3.51
    Would you like to add a message to your Windows NT 4.0 startup? If so, you can do the job with RegEdit. As usual, we must warn you that you can damage your installation using RegEdit. So, you should be very careful when following the steps shown here. Run RegEdit and select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. Look in the right pane for LegalNoticeText. If the string exists, double-click on its icon and then add your text. Click on OK and close RegEdit. Restart to see the changes. If you don’t see LegalNoticeText in the right pane, you’ll have to create it. Click in the right pane and then choose Edit, New, String Value. Name it LegalNoticeText, add your text, and click on OK. Close RegEdit and restart the computer.
    ADD A TITLE Version 4.0, 3.51
    You can use the same procedure to add a title to your message dialog box. Once again, be careful when using RegEdit. Run RegEdit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. This time, look in the right pane for LegalNoticeCaption. If it’s there, double-click on it and add the text you want to appear in the title bar of the legal notice dialog box. If LegalNoticeCaption doesn’t appear in the right pane, click in the right pane and then choose Edit, New, String Value. Name it LegalNoticeCaption and then add your text and click on OK. After you finish, close RegEdit and restart the computer.
    Did you know you can customize the DIR command? You can set the DIR sort options so that when you do a DIR, the files will appear in the order you specify. To do this, type:
    Set dircmd=/o:xxx /a at the command prompt.
    For xxx substitute from the following list: To group the directories first and then sort by name, and then by date, you’d enter:
    Set dircmd=/o:GND /a
    To force a reverse order, use a minus sign before the letter. The command
    Set dircmd=/o:-N /a
    Will tell DIR to sort by name starting with Z moving to A.
    NO STARTUP SCREEN Version 4.0, 3.51
    You can change your Windows NT startup screen. If you’d like to eliminate this screen completely, open Windows NT Explorer and locate the Winnt folder. Find the winnt.bmp and winnt256.bmp files and rename them. You can change the extension and name them winnt.old and winnt256.old. You can also substitute another .BMP file to make your own startup screen. Perhaps you’d like to use the company logo or some personal photographs. To do this, copy your selected file into the Winnt folder and name it Winnt256.bmp. If your system is running at 256 or more colors, then you don’t need to worry about winnt.bmp.
    PRINT THE REGISTRY Version 4.0
    Although you can print all of the Registry from RegEdit, this isn’t a very practical operation. The problem is that the Registry is very likely to consist of several thousand pages. So if you decide you might like to have a hard copy of your entire Registry, our advice is: forget it. It is practical to print a portion of the Registry, however. For example, if you’d like a hard copy of your Desktop settings, you can select HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. With Desktop selected, press Ctrl-P, select Selected Branch and click on OK.
    GET THE HISTORY Version 4.0
    When you enter a command in the Command Prompt window, that command gets saved by the system (up to 50 commands), and you can use it again without having to retype it. All you have to do is press F7 to open the History dialog box. Now you can use the arrow keys to highlight the command you want to use and then press Enter to execute the command. If you need more than the default 50 commands, click in the Command box (upper left corner) and choose Properties. Click on the Options tab and then set Buffer Size to the number of commands you need. Click on OK, and then click on OK again.
    WINDOWS AND DOS SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE Version 4.0 and Win95
    If you’re working in an MS-DOS Prompt window (running under Windows 95), and don’t feel like typing the long path of a file or folder, try this: Drag and drop any file or folder into the DOS window to insert its path at the command prompt.
    MS-DOS PROBLEMS Version 4.0
    If you have a problem running an old DOS application, first check Autoexec.nt and Config.nt to make sure the environment is set properly. If the program still won’t run from the command prompt, try using Forcedos.
    Type at the command prompt Forcedos yourApp where yourApp is the full path and name of the application. You may find this method particularly helpful if you’d like to run some old MS-DOS games.

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