AClass Reference Area   Microsoft Windows NT Customization! How to edit the Windows NT Registry. The Windows NT Registry Editor is REGEDT32.exe and is located in the %windir%\system32 sub-directory. By default, no icon is placed on your desktop. You can use explorer to drill down to this file, right click, and create a shortcut. (This will be at the bottom of the current window). Cut this shortcut and past it in your %windir%\profiles\UserId\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools. Until you become comfortable with registry navigation and editing, consider setting options/read_only to prevent accidental modification. Click on Window/Cascade to display the 5 panes available. 99% of all your registry activities will use the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE pane and the HKEY_USERS pane. I suggest that you open the registry help and become familiar with the terminology, navigation and editing tools. Spend enough time navigating in read-only mode so you become comfortable. You might want to get into the habit of creating a new ERD (Emergency Repair Disk) by running RDISK.EXE /S before making registry changes. I keep about 5 generations of the ERD. I also use ConfigSafe to make frequent snapshots of the registry before and after making changes. I use this tool to track changes caused by new installs and configuration options (and to restore a snapshot if I or an install mess up) . Heed the Microsoft warning about registry manipulation. DO NOT BECOME CASUAL AS YOU BECOME FAMILIAR. Finding Keys, Values, and Data in the WinNT registry. While the Registry Editor does have search capability, it is rudimentary. A better solution is using REGEDIT.EXE (the Win95 editor) for performing searches using the edit/find menu (do not make changes with this editor). Once in a while, none of the search tools will find your Key/Value/Data! The best way to combat this is to highlight the Key (or Hive) you wish to search (in Regedt32) and from the Registry menu select Save Subtree As ... Browse to the directory you want and save it as YourPreferedName.txt. Now you can search in any text editor or Wordpad. Freeware WinNT tools. About once a quarter, Microsoft releases a SP (Service Pack). Service Packs contain bug fixes and enhancements. Service Packs are version specific; i.e. SP1 for NT 4.0 should not be applied to NT 3.51. Service Packs are cumulative, SP2 for NT 4.0 contains the fixes in SP1 for NT 4.0. Besides the executable for your platform (Intel, Alpha, Power PC, etc..), symbol files are often available. These are intended for developers who use debugging tools and should not be downloaded. From time to time, pre and post Service Pack files called HOTFIXES are posted to correct a problem that can not wait for the next Service Pack. You may download the Service Packs and hot fixes from Microsoft's FTP site. Always read all the README info available! Visit the Microsoft web site for new drivers, patches, and to use the support wizards. While at the Microsoft web site, download the PowerToys listed for Windows NT (NT 4.0 and greater). Make sure you get TweakUI. There are lots a freeware enhancements and additions such as the Distributed File System so spend some time exploring this site. The NT Resource Kits, Training Kit, and MS Press books. An indispensable source of printed and online documentation is the Microsoft Press Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kits (Workstation, Server, Server Supplement One, Server Supplement Two). These kits contain a CD-ROM full of utilities which are required for managing your NT installation. You can learn all about these kits at Microsoft Press as well as other titles such as the NT Training Kit, other training kits, and additional reading. Visit ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/reskit/nt40/ to download Reskit patches, such as the incompatibility between themes and Office 97. Bypassing the WinNT logon prompt. If you want to autolog a user, both TweakUI and the Resource Kit utility AUTOLOG.EXE will do it for you. To configure this using the registry, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Winlogin Set the DefaultDomainName, DefaultPassword (must be non-blank), and DefaultUserName. Set AutoAdminLogon to 1 (all are type REG_SZ). If you ever want to logon as a different user, hold down the shift key as you logoff.   Activating a screensaver from an icon. 1.Edit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows 2. Select the Programs value and then choose String from the Edit menu. 3. Add the 'scr' extension to the string as follows: Programs: REG_SZ: exe com bat pif cmd scr 4. Choose OK, close the Registry editor, and log off. 5. Log back on and from explorer, highlight the screen saver you want and right click to define a shortcut. Example:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\SSBEZIER.SCR /S The /S switch forces the screen saver to start immediately. Remove the /S to display a setup screen. You can not use a screensaver that uses a password. Never use anything other than the blank screen saver (scrnsave.scr) on a "Server" as it will steal needed cycles!   Turn off CD AutoRun. Set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom\Autorun to zero.   Stop CHKDSK from running at boot time. 1.Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager 2.Change the BootExecute entry from: autocheck autochk * /......... To: autocheck autochk * If you have scheduled CHKDSK for multiple volumes, there will be an autocheck entry for each volume. Delete the string from the BootExecute registry value for each volume you do not want checked. If you have NT 4.0, SP2, a new command line utility, CHKNTFS, will assist in preventing repeated CHKDSKs during reboots if the "dirty" bit is set. Type CHKNTFS /? and see KB article Q160416 (not published at the time of this Tip).   Run a Control Panel object without opening the Control Panel. In Explorer, associate .CPL with %windir%\system32\control.exe (View/Options/Type) Then Highlight the .CPL and create a shortcut. Example: Description: Display Command line: c:\winnt\system32\display.cpl Working Directory: c:\winnt\system32 Click on the shortcut to run Display.CPL. If you wish to add Control Panel to your start menu, create a new folder and name it Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} You will need to reboot to see Control Panel on your Start menu. Another way to add Control Panel to your Start menu is to use TweakUI. From the Desktop tab, right click on Control Panel and Create as file. You can do this for Printers also.   Changing the default WinNT install path. If you want to change where NT expects to find the NT CD, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Sourcepath and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\Sourcepath If your CD drive is D: and you are working with an Intel-based machine, the value should be D:\I386 and D:\ respectively. IRPstackSize error. After adding a device (or sometimes a service), you may get a system event indicating insufficient resources. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENT_CONTROL_SET\SERVICES\LanmanServer\Parameters Change or add value: IRPstackSize REG_DWORD The maximum value is C (12). You might want to try 7 but at least 2 more than the current value. If you are going to install Norton NT Utilities, this value should not exceed "A" (10) prior to installing.   Build a NTFS or FAT boot floppy. The KB has an article, Q119467, describing the process of building a boot floppy for an NTFS partition. This is useful if you accidentally replace the boot disk hardware driver or loose your boot manager, and no ERD is available. The procedure in the article did not work in my environment but the enclosed process did allow me to successfully boot. Try the method in Q119467 first. The Process: (Some of these files are hidden/system/read_only so in explorer options/view check "show all files" and uncheck "hide files...." 1. DISKCOPY the first Setup Disk. 2. Delete all files on this new Boot Floppy. 3. Copy NTDETECT.COM and BOOTSECT.DOS*** from your root to the floppy. 4. Copy NTLDR from your root to the floppy, renaming it SETUPLDR.BIN 5. COPY NTBOOTDD.SYS from your root to the floppy.** 6. Create a BOOT.INI as follows (SPACING IS IMPORTANT) * or just copy your C:\BOOT.INI [boot loader] timeout=10 default= scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT [operating systems] scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Server Version 4.0" It is a good idea to have a second instance of NT installed on a different partion( preferably a different disk). This will insure that you can always boot (if it is in this boot.ini). You will also be able to boot to this alternate instance to "repair" your primary instance. * WINNT is my NT directory - no drive letter allowed. "Windows NT .." could be any character string such as "Glad I had this BOOT FLOPPY!" ** This is a copy of your SCSI driver. If you don't have a SCSI NT disk, you don't need this. If you have a SCSI NT disk and the SCSI BIOS is enabled, you don't need this, but it is a good idea to protect against SCSI BIOS failure (which will prevent booting). *** Only if DOS is installed.   Scheduling a Windows NT backup. NT has a built in scheduling service. To use it with network access, define a user account with all the permissions and rights you want the schedule service to have. It must be a member of the Administrators group and have the right to log on as a batch job and as a service (advanced rights). It must have a non-blank, non-expiring password. In control panel/services, locate the scheduler service and change the startup to use this account. Set it to logon automatically. Now stop and restart the service. In a DOS window (Command prompt), type AT /? This is the syntax for scheduling. Here is an example on how to schedule a backup. 1. Using any text editor, such as Notepad, create a command file (MYBACKUP.CMD) to perform the commands to backup the requested files. (You must use full path names for every file and program.) The following example would back up all files on the C: drive, replacing any files currently on the tape, label the backup set "My Backup Files", backup the local registry, and log all backup information to C:\BACKUP.LOG: Drive:\WinNT\system32\ntbackup backup c: /D "My Backup Files" /B /L "c:\backup.log" NOTE: For additional information on available NTBACKUP options, search Windows NT Help for NTBACKUP. 2. Using the AT command, schedule the command file (MYBACKUP.CMD) to run when desired. The following AT command will schedule MYBACKUP.CMD to execute at 11:00 P.M. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: AT 23:00 /interactive /every:M,W,F cmd.exe /c "Drive:\Directory\MYBACKUP.CMD" Check out OpalisRobot from my catalog page for a robust event based scheduler (Click the icon in the Opalis table to learn about OpalisRobot and to download a free eval. Contact us for a temporary key if you wish to conduct a full evaluation).   Windows NT Short File Extensions. There's a registry setting that makes 4+ character extensions look like 3 character extensions. NT 4.0 defaults to ON so that DEL *.htm will also delete *.HTML. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\currentcontrolset\control\filesystem value: Win95TruncatedExtensions: REG_DWORD: 0 = on 1 = off Shutdown button on the Welcome dialog box. To display a shutdown button at Login, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon Value: ShutdownWithoutLogon REG_SZ 0 or 1 When this value is set to 1, you can select Shutdown from the Welcome dialog box. If the value is 0, the Shutdown button does not appear. WinNT runs an unknown job at login. If you can't find it in the startup group, check: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows load REG_SZ and/or run REG_SZ Remove the offending value. Here are other places where a program can be loaded at startup in NT: - In the Startup folder for the current user and all users. - In the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce   Printer PopUp and Event Logging. With NT 4.0, you can modify these entries on the "Print Server" by using Start / Settings / Printers / File / Server Properties / Advanced. To do this via the Registry: To prevent PopUp messages from appearing upon print job completion: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers To prevent PopUp notification: add a value name of NetPopup, set REG_DWORD to 0. To prevent logging: Add VALUE: EventLog set Reg_DWORD to 0. You will have to stop and restart the spooler from services in the Control Panel but you may wish to reboot. Changing the default spool directory. You can change the default printer spool directory for all printers or the printer spool directory for specific printers. To change the default printer spool directory for all printers add the following value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers Value Name: DefaultSpoolDirectory Data Type: REG_SZ String: full path to printer spool directory To change the default printer spool directory for specific printers add the following value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\ Value Name: SpoolDirectory Data Type: REG_SZ String: full path to printer spool directory You must make sure that the path specified actually exists. If it does not exist, Windows NT uses the default spool directory.   Disabling autodisconnect. Windows NT uses two different Autodisconnect parameters; one for disconnecting Remote Access Service (RAS) connections and another for disconnecting LAN connections. The RAS Autodisconnect parameter is well documented in the Windows NT Server Remote Access Service manual on page 82, but the LAN version is undocumented. You can find the LAN Autodisconnect parameter in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters Purpose: The function is to disconnect idle sessions after a set number of minutes. The number of minutes can be set at a command prompt using the Net Config Server command. For example, to set the Autodisconnect value to 30 minutes: Net Config Server /autodisconnect:30 The valid value range is -1 to 65535 minutes at the command line. To disable Autodisconnect set it to: -1 Setting Autodisconnect to 0 does not turn it off and results in very fast disconnects, within a few seconds of idle time. (However, the RAS Autodisconnect parameter is turned off if you set it to a value of 0.) NOTE: It is preferable to modify the LAN Autodisconnect directly in the registry. If you modify it at the command line, Windows NT may turn off its autotuning functions. The valid value range if you edit the LAN Autodisconnect parameter in the registry is 0 to 4294967295 (Oxffffffff). If you configure the Autodisconnect option to -1 at the command prompt, Autodisconnect is set to the upper value in the registry. This is approximately 8,171 years (not tested), which should be long enough to be the equivalent of turning Autodisconnect off. Protect the Documents menu. You can protect the Start / Documents menu by deleting the document shortcuts at %SystemRoot%\Profiles\UserName\recent. Then set the permissions on this folder to Read for the UserName. You can do this for Default User also, setting permissions to Read for everyone. You can use the following two (2) batch files: (With XCACLS from the resource kit) REM Drive:\Directory\RECENT.BAT %SystemDrive% CD %systemroot%\Profiles del %1\Recent\*.* /q xcacls %1\Recent /C /G %1:R;R "Domain Admins":F;F System:F;F /Y >>Drive:\Directory\recent.log REM Drive:\Directory\CALLRECENT.BAT %SystemDrive% CD %systemroot%\Profiles del "Default User\Recent\*.*" /q xcacls "Default User\Recent" /C /G everyone:R;R "Domain Admins":F;F System:F;F /Y >Drive:\Directory\recent.log Call Drive:\Directory\recent.bat "UserName1" Call Drive:\Directory\recent.bat "UserName2" Call Drive:\Directory\recent.bat "UserName3" . . . . . . . . . .snip. . . . . . . . . . Call Drive:\Directory\recent.bat "UserNamen" exit Is the Doctor in? You can control the behavior of Dr. Watson by editing the registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AeDebug\Auto A data value of 0 in this type REG_SZ causes the system to display a message box notifying the user when an application error occurs. A data value of 1 (the default) causes the debugger to start automatically. You can disable the good doctor by deleting the AeDebug subkey. If you wish to re-enable it, type drwtsn -i from a command prompt.   Service Pack 3 did not replace Poledit.exe. Due to an error in the SP3 update.inf file, poledit.exe was not updated by the Service Pack install. To correct this problem, expand the Service Pack manually by typing: ServicePackFileName.exe /x Edit update.inf and move the poledit.exe line from the [MustReplace.System32.files] section to the [SystemRoot.files] section. Then copy the poledit.exe from the expanded Service Pack to %SystemRoot%. If you have to re-apply the Service Pack in the future, Expand it and use your updated update.inf file.   Debugging scheduled jobs. Does your batch job run fine but fails when run from the scheduler? Jobs executed by the scheduler run under the user context of the schedule service (Control Panel / Services /Schedule / Start Up). If the job requires interaction with the desktop, it is preferable to use the built in system account and check Allow service to interact with desktop. Use the /interactive switch when invoking the AT command. Unfortunately, the system account is local and has no network access. You can circumvent this problem with: net use Drive: \\ServerName\ShareName /U:DomainName\UserName password where the account used has the required permissions (and a password that never expires). To debug your job, type: AT hh:mm /interactive cmd.exe /k or soon /interactive cmd.exe /k This will open a command prompt under the schedule service user context. You can now run your batch job in this window and use echo and pause to help pinpoint the problem. It is important to realize that the environment variables available to your scheduled job may differ from the environment variables available when you run a batch. Type SET >Drive:\Directory\SET.LOG in this window to pipe the schedule service environment variables to a log file so you can inspect them. Here are some of mine: COMPUTERNAME=ALRMP ComSpec=C:\WINNT\system32\cmd.exe /X /e:2048 NTResKit=D:\reskit40 NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS=2 OS=Windows_NT Path=C:\WINNT\system32\repl\import\scripts;C:\WINNT\system32;C:\WINNT;C:\Util PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE=x86 SystemDrive=C: SystemRoot=C:\WINNT USERDOMAIN=NT AUTHORITY USERNAME=SYSTEM USERPROFILE=C:\WINNT\Profiles\Default User windir=C:\WINNT   How do I use License Manager remotely? You can install the remote administration tools on your NT Workstation from the \Clients\Srvtools directory of the NT Server CD-ROM, but License Manager is not included. To run License Manager on your NT Workstation, copy: LLSMGR.EXE LLSMGR.HLP LLSRPC.DLL CCFAPI32.DLL from the %systemRoot%\System32 directory of your server to the %systemRoot%\System32 directory of your workstation.   If your printer won't sleep. If your printer is capable of sleeping but won't, it may be because you have bi-directional support enabled (even though NT doesn't use it). Click Start / settings / printers. Select the printer and right click. Choose properties / port and uncheck Enable bi-directional support.   Can't access this folder, path is too long or a blank desktop. This error may occur on your NT 4.0 workstation if you (or your group) does not have at least read permission on the root directory of the local system partition. Logon as a local Administrator and verify/set at least read permissions on the system partition root. Do not select the Apply To Subdirectories check box. If a profile for that user was just created in %SystemRoot%\Profiles, you may wish to delete it. Check for a new profile on the PDC also. How do I start with a new WINS database? If you wish to delete and recreate your WINS database, type the following at a command prompt: net stop WINS ren %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\Wins.mdb %SystemRoot%\System32\WINS\Wins.old net start WINS How do I configure Windows 95 to logon to a domain? In User Manager for Domains, establish an account for the Windows 95 user. In Windows 95, go to Control Panel / Network. 1. If Client for Microsoft Networks is not listed on the Configuration tab, add it. 2. Select Client for Microsoft Networks and click Properties. Check the Logon to Windows NT domain box and enter the domain name. 3. On the Configuration tab, change the Primary Network Logon to Client for Microsoft Networks. 4. On the Identification tab, change the Workgroup to the domain name. 5. On the Identification tab, make sure that the Computer Name is unique on the network. 6. On the Access Control tab, click User-level access control and enter the domain name. 7. On the Configuration tab, I recommend clicking File and Print Sharing and checking both boxes. Shutdown and reboot the Windows 95 machine and logon to the domain.   More on enabling your DOS apps to print to a network printer. NET USE LPTx \\computername\sharename /PERSISTENT:YES to enable a DOS app to print to a network printer. You can also print directly to a printer share by using: print /d:\\<printserver>\<sharename>  <drive>:\<path>\<filename> where <drive>:\<path>\<filename> is the full path to the file you wish to print.   Long startup time and/or more flaky logon/share problems. If you experience long Windows NT startups or have problems with shares (viewing, creating, mapping) or other logon problems, you may have messed up the default permissions on the LanmanServer registry keys. The default permissions on this key (and it's sub-keys) should be: Administrators   Full Control System             Full Control Everyone          Special Access                                  Query Value                                  Create Subkey                                  Enumerate Subkeys                                  Notify                                  Read Control To set these permissions, use the Windows NT Registry Editor, REGEDT32.EXE, and select: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer From the Security menu, click Permissions. When you select Special Access for Everyone, you may need to double click the Everyone   Special Access line to get the Special Access sub menu. Don't forget to check the Replace Permission on Existing Subkeys box.   Parse/Don't Parse autoexec.bat. Windows NT parses the AUTOEXEC.BAT file during startup by default, which results in the appending of the path statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to the system path created by Windows NT. You can modify the system path and environment variable at Control Panel/System/EnvironmentTab. You can configure parsing of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file at: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ParseAutoexec 1 = autoexec.bat is parsed 0 = autoexec.bat is not parsed This has no effect on the parsing of AUTOEXEC.NT or CONFIG.NT by the MS-DOS or 16-bit Windows environments (VDMs). 3 Button Mouse. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services Double click on either BUSMOUSE, SERMOUSE, or i8042PRT (PS/2 style mouse port). Double click on the PARAMETERS sub-key. On the right side of this window double-click on NumberOfButtons. In the command line change the number '2' to '3' and click on OK. Exit and restart NT for these changes take effect. NUMLOCK at startup. HKEY_Current_User\ControlPanel\Keyboard\InitialKeyboardIndicators REG_SZ: If set to 0, NumLock is disabled for that current user after logging on. If it is 2, NumLock is enabled.   Logon Welcome/Legal Notice. The Registry value entries that control the logon sequence for starting Windows NT are found under the following Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon LegalNoticeCaption REG_SZ Default: (none) Specifies a caption for a message to appear when the user presses CTRL+ALT+DEL during logon. Add this value entry if you want to add a warning to be displayed when a user attempts to log on to a Windows NT system. The user cannot proceed with logging on without acknowledging this message. To specify text for the message, you must also specify a value for LegalNoticeText. Note: You can use the System Policy Editor to change this value. LegalNoticeText REG_SZ Default: (none) Specifies the message to appear when the user presses CTRL+ALT+DEL during logon. Add this value entry if you want to add a warning to be displayed when a user attempts to log on to a Windows NT system. The user cannot proceed with logging on without acknowledging this message. To control presentation, you may insert a lf/cr by copying the contents of lfcr.npd to the clipboard and pasting it as you type. To include a caption for the logon notice, you must also specify a value forLegalNoticeCaption. Note: You can use the System Policy Editor to change this value. LogonPrompt REG_SZ Default: "Enter a user name and password that is valid for this system." The text entered appears in the Logon Information dialog box. This is designed for additional legal warnings to the user before they log on. This value entry does not appear in the Registry unless you add it. Welcome REG_SZ Default: (Title only; no message) The text entered appears in the caption bar beside the title of the Begin Logon, Logon Information, Workstation Locked, and Unlock Workstation dialog boxes. This value entry does not appear in the Registry unless you add it. Don't display Last user in logon dialogue. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon DontDisplayLastUserName REG_SZ Range: 0 or 1 Default: 0 (false) By default, Windows NT displays the name of the last person to log on in the Username space of the Logon Information dialog box. If you add this value entry and set it to 1, the Username space is always blank when the Logon Information dialog box appears.   NTFS - Disable 8.3 Name creation. You can increase NTFS performance if you disable 8.3 name creation. (Some 16bit programs may have trouble finding Long File Names. Don't set this option if you wish to install Norton NT Utilities.) Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem Value:NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation REG_DWORD Default: 0 Range: 0 or 1 Set it to 1 to disable 8.3 name creation. This won't take effect until the next boot.   Deleting device drivers and services. If you have a service or device driver that you want to remove: In Control Panel /Services or /Devices, located the object and STOP it (if it is started). If it won't STOP, configure StartUp as Disabled and reboot. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services Locate the object, highlight it, delete it.   Activate Screen Saver if no one logs on. Edit: HKEY_USERS \DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop Double click ScreenSaveActive and set it to 1. Double click SCRNSAVE.EXE and enter the full path to the screen saver you want to use such as SCRNSAVE.SCR or SSTARS.SCR. Double click ScreenSaveTimeOut and enter the number of seconds of inactivity before activation. You will need to reboot for this to become effective. Never use anything other than the blank screen saver (scrnsave.scr) on a "Server" as it will steal needed cycles!   Displaying Your Company Logo (or other bitmap) during logon. Design an appropriate bitmap and place it in your NT directory as YourLogoName.BMP. Use 8.3 naming convention. Edit: HKEY_USERS \.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop Double click or Add Value REG_SZ of Wallpaper and set it to the full path to YourLogoName.BMP. Double click or Add Value REG_SZ of TileWallpaper. 0 is Don't tile, 1 is tile. Double click or Add Value REG_SZ of WallpaperStyle. 0 is normal, 2 is stretch to fill the screen (which is mutually exclusive with TileWallpaper = 1). If you use a normal, not tiled logo, you can position it by adding the following REG_SZ values: WallpaperOriginX set to the number of pixels from the left hand edge of the screen. WallpaperOriginY set to the number of pixels from the top of the screen Reduce Windows NT 4.0 Start Menu navigation delay. To reduce the time it takes for the Start Menu to display the next tree as the cursor moves over it, edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop Double click on MenuShowDelay and set it to 100. You will need to reboot for this to take effect.   WinNT 4.0 File Name Completion. If you want to be able to depress the TAB key to complete the file name you are typing at a command prompt, edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Command Processor Double Click on CompletionChar or add value of REG_DWORD, set it to 9. You will need to reboot.   Freeware Messenger - Send WinPopUp messages in WinNT. Tired of using "NET SEND" or Server Manager to send network PopUp messages? Download MessenGger, expand the archive, and place the files in \system32. Create a shortcut to messager.exe and place it on your DeskTop or in the Start Menu. Can't shutdown without "killing" an application. When I used to Logoff or ShutDown, WOWEXEC would invariably not respond and I would have to press "End Task". Edit HKEY_USER\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop and add value AutoEndTasks REG_SZ. Set it to 1. Edit HKEY_USER\YourUserId\Control Panel\Desktop and add value AutoEndTasks REG_SZ. Set it to 1. This forces any task, that does not respond to the shutdown, to end. You can also Add Value of WaitToKillAppTimeout with type REG_SZ. The default: is 20000 milliseconds (20 seconds). If the user process does not end by this time, AutoEndTasks is invoked. Uninstall apps without Add/Remove or an uninstall program. If you want to uninstall an application that has no uninstall program and it is not listed in the Add/Remove applet of Control Panel (or that uninstall doesn't work), then just delete the directory/files. Drill down: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE locating the applications entry and delete them. Use Explorer to to remove the entries from the Start Menu in either %windir%\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\ and/or %windir%\Profiles\YourId\Start Menu\Programs\ If there is an entry in the Add/Remove list, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall locate the entry and delete it. If the app has a service, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services and scroll down till you locate it. Then delete it. If this app starts automatically and there is no entry in the StartUp folder(s), then use Regedt32 to edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows load REG_SZ and run REG_SZ Remove the offending value and reboot.   Managing the Mapped Network Drive dropdown list. If you want to remove some the connections in the list, edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Network\PersistentConnections Highlight and delete unwanted entires. Then double click Order and remove the letters that have been deleted. You may rearrange the letters to change the display order.   Ghosted connections. If you want to Ghost/Un-Ghost persistent connections, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\NetworkProvider Value: RestoreConnection REG_DWORD 0 = ghost connection 1 = persistant (not ghosted)   Power Down when you Shut Down. If you are tired of "it is now safe to turn off your computer" when you select Shut Down, Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon Double click on PowerdownAfterShutdown or add it as REG_SZ. Set it to 1.   Adding applications to your Send To folder. When you right click on a file in explorer, you can choose to Open with .. or Send To. You can add applications to your Send To. Create a Shortcut to your application (right click the ProgramName.exe) and copy (or cut) the Shortcut to %windir%\Profiles\YourUserId\SendTo. Now, when you right click on that file with a non-standard extension, you can Send To your application.   Is your Taskbar getting a little crowded?. If you can't read the icon text on your minimized icons because the Taskbar is too crowded, move the cursor to the top edge of the Taskbar. When the cursor changes to a double headed arrow, drag the top edge of the Taskbar so it becomes double height (or triple height).   More on Server Service tuning. When tuning the Server Service in Control Panel / Network /Services / Server / Properties, you can choose among: - Minimize Memory Used - Balance - Maximize Throughput for File Sharing - Maximize Throughput for Network Applications If you do not use the Server Service for file and print sharing, or only by a few clients, set it to Minimize Memory Used or Balance. If you have too little memory allocated, you may experience not enough server memory/storage to process this request, server refused connection, or similar messages. If you have Maximize Throughput for Network Applications enabled, the following applications will benefit: - RAS Server - Services for Macintosh - DHCP Server - WINS Server - Internet Information Server - DNS Server (Windows NT 4.0 only) - Microsoft File and Print Services for NetWare (also has a memory size setting) - Microsoft Directory Service Manager for NetWare - Microsoft Site Server - Other application servers, like SAP R/3 server and Oracle SQL server (uses Sockets) or Lotus Notes server (uses NETBIOS) The following applications will also benefit if clients do not connect using Named Pipes: - Microsoft SNA Server (IPX and TCP sockets available in versions 2.1x) - Microsoft SQL Server - Microsoft Systems Management Server - Microsoft Exchange Server - Microsoft Transaction Server - Microsoft Message Que Server The following will suffer if Maximize Throughput for Network Applications is enabled: - Windows NT File and Print Services for Microsoft Network Clients - Windows NT Primary Domain Controllers - Windows NT Backup Domain Controllers in Resource Domains Lastly, if you are experiencing excess (and seemingly unnecessary) Pagefile activity, you may want to experiment with editing the registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management and setting LargeSystemCache (type REG_DWORD) to zero. An entry of zero favors the process working set and a non-zero entry favors the system cache.   Run 16bit apps in a Separate VDM. When configuring a shortcut or running an executable from explorer, you have the option to run 16bit applications in a separate VDM (Virtual DOS Machine). If you always check run in separate memory space, you can make that the default behavior by editing the registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/WOW Edit or Add Value of type REG_SZ with value name DefaultSeparateVDM and set it to yes. The default behavior is no. Reboot. How can I let Print Operators add a printer? You can allow Print Operators to add a printer port by modify the registry permissions at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors On the Security menu, click Permissions. Click Add, and then select the Print Operators group. Add Print Operators with Full Control, replacing permissions on existing subkeys. Stop and then restart the Spooler service in Control Panel / Services.   How do I convert to NTFS during an unattended install? Make a backup copy of the I386\SYSTEM32\INITIAL.INF on your HardDrive. Edit I386\SYSTEM32\INITIAL.INF and locate the set Convert_Winnt = $($1) in the SetAcls section and change it to set Convert_Winnt = YES.   Allow your WinNT and W95 clients to install applications from a server share. The April 1997 issue of Windows NT Magazine had an article on Installing Applications Across Your Network. Here is a simple translation that actually does work: 1. Create a folder and a share on your server called Installs. 2. Copy the install media to \\ServerName\Installs\AppName\ 3. Create a share called NetInf at %windir%\inf 4. Edit %windir%\inf\apps.inf and add a new section to the botton:   [AppInstallList] 5. Add a statement to the [AppInstallList] section for each app:   AppLabel=\\Server\Installs\AppName\InstallProgram.Extension   Example: Config95=\\Server\Installs\Config95\install.exe                  Opalis=\\Server\Installs\Opalis\setup.exe 6.On each client machine, edit the registry at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion and Add Value AppInstallPath of type REG_SZ. Set it to \\Server\Netinf\apps.inf. 7. At a client workstation, go to Control Panel / add\remove programs / network install tab and select the application you wish to install.   Change that "awful green" logon backround color. You can change the logon backround color by altering the RGB values at: HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Colors\Background If you set it to 0 0 0 you will have a black backround, 255 255 255 is white, and 153 0 0 is this JSI burgundy text.   User gets Installation failed message. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce and give the user Full Control using the Security / Permissions menu.   Find File Shortcut. If you run Windows NT 4.0, you can invoke the Find Folder or Files dialogue without having to open Explorer. Click a blank area of your desktop and then press F3. Do you have font clutter? When reviwing installed fonts, you can reduce the number of displayed fonts by selecting control panel / fonts / view / hide variations. Many fonts have multiple font files for the same font face such as bold, italic, and bold italic. View / hide variations displays one line for each of these font families.   Manage processor affinity. If you have a multi-processor system, it is possible to select which CPU(s) an application uses. Open Task Manager and select your application on the Processes tab. Right click the program name and choose Set Affinity. Uncheck the processors which should not run this application. If you try to select a service, Set Affinity will be ignored. There is currently no way to start an application with a defined affinity. No configuration information for PC-CARD. If you have a new PC-CARD that won't install due to the subject message, even though you have an NT driver, it is because this card is not in the PCMCIA database. To amend the database, you will need the product name, manufacturer name, and driver name (xxxxxxxx.sys). Run <CD-ROM>\SUPPORT\DEBUG\I386\PCMCMD > PCCARD.TXT. The piped output contains the product name and manufacturer name. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PCMCIA\database and select database Add Key from the Edit menu and enter the manufacturer name. Select this key and Add Key again, entering the product name. Select this key and Add Value name Driver as type REG_SZ. Enter the driver name without the extension. Reboot.   How do I install with an unsupported PC-CARD? You actually have to edit the registry of this not yet installed machine. What???? . Boot any NT machine and copy the \i386 directory from the Windows NT CD     to your hard drive or to the network distribution share. . Expand \i386\System._ System . Run <CD-ROM>\SUPPORT\DEBUG\I386\PCMCMD > PCCARD.TXT . Load the expanded System as oldsystem . Edit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\oldsystem\ControlSet001\Services\PCMCIA\database . Highlight database and Add Key from the Edit menu and enter the manufacturer name. . Select the manufacturer name key and Add Key again, entering the product name. . Select the product name key and Add Value name Driver as type REG_SZ..     Enter the driver name without the extension. . Highlight the oldsystem key and Unload Hive from the Registry menu. . Rename the System file to System._ on your hard drive. . Install from the hard drive.   How do I set the IRQ of my PC-CARD? Windows NT has no GUI for setting up a PC-CARD's IRQ. You must edit the registry and enter an IRQ mask. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pcmcia Add Value name InterruptMask of type REG_DWORD and set the RADIX to Binary. Enter the 16 digit mask. The InterruptMask is composed of a series of binary switches, 0 means the IRQ is available and 1 means the IRQ is unavailable. Here is an example for allowing IRQs 10, 9, and 3: 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 When you click Ok, the mask would appear as f9f7 in the right hand pane. Exit regedt32 and reboot.   A tweak for NTFS performance. When Windows NT lists a directory (Explorer, DIR command, etc.) on an NTFS volume, it updates the LastAccess time stamp on each directory it detects. If there are a very large number of directories, this could effect performance. A new registry entry allows you to control this behavior. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem Add Value name NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate of type REG_DWORD. Set it to 1 to prevent the LastAccess time stamp from being updated.   Do your DOS programs run slowly? When you right click a DOS program (or .PIF) in Explorer and choose Properties, you get the NT 4.0 version of the PIF editor. - If the application runs in a window and the video performance is slow, try full-screen mode on the Screen tab. - Disabling the Compatible Timer Hardware feature in the _DEFAULT.PIF or the applications PIF on the Program tab / Windows NT button should only be used if it is required to make the application run. - If the application runs Windowed and pauses periodically, try disabling Idle Detection on the Misc tab. - If the DOS application can be configured for printing, choose LPTx. Most DOS apps use Int17 when configured to print to LPTx and print directly to the port.   Explorer maps network drives by itself. This automapping only occurs if one of the following is true: . You search using the open or advanced find function of an Office 97 application and the search discovers a shortcut that contains a drive letter mapped to a network drive. . FindFast is installed in your startup group and it indexs a drive which contains a sortcut that uses a drive letter mapped to a network drive. These behaviors should not occur if you have SP3 installed. To avoid the problem: . Don't search folders that contain shortcuts with mapped drive letters. . Change your shortcuts to use UNC names (\\Server\Share). . Disable FindFast (a good idea in any case as this application sometimes leaks memory   and only benefits those you have many thousands of documents that require indexing.   Lost MPS support after applying a Service Pack? If you installed Multiprocessor support after installing Windows NT, using Uptomp from the Resource Kit, the Compaq SSD, or similar means to upgrade to MPS, the %SystemRoot%\Repair\Setup.log did not get updated. When you applied the Service Pack, it copied the Uniprocessor Hal.dll that was originally installed when you first setup Windows NT. To correct the problem for Windows NT 4.0, modify the %SystemRoot%\Repair\Setup.log file and re-apply the Service Pack: 1) attrib -r -h %SystemRoot%\Repair\Setup.log 2) Make a backup copy of the %SystemRoot%\Repair\Setup.log. 3) Edit Setup.log, search for these five lines, changing the string after the = sign:     \System32\Ntoskrnl.exe = "NTKRNLMP.EXE","d89e8"     \System32\Kernel32.dll = "KERNEL32.DLL","5b7f8"     \System32\Winsrv.dll ="WINSRV.DLL","37b4e"     \System32\Ntdll.dll = "NTDLL.DLL","59c19"     \System32\win32k.sys = "WIN32K.SYS","132603" 4) Select ONE of the following HAL's and modify the line:     \System32\hal.dll = "HALSP.DLL","0f337"     \System32\hal.dll = "HALMPS.DLL","1a01c"         HALSP.DLL is or Compaq Systempro,Systempro/XL, ProLiant 2000, 4000, and 4500 systems only         HALMPS.DLL = Multiprocessor HAL for APIC support and for the Compaq ProLiant 1500 and 5000 5) Save the modified Setup.log to the %SystemRoot%\Repair directory and attrib +r +h %SystemRoot%\Repair\Setup.log 6) Re-apply the service pack.   How can I preserve my DHCP server settings if I have to uninstall and reinstall DHCP? Make a copy of %SystemRoot%\System32\Dhcp\Backup\Dhcpcfg and save it in your favorite safe spot. Uninstall and reinstall DHCP. Before restarting DHCP, reapply your current Service Pack. Restart the DHCP service to allow the installation to finish. Then use Control Panel / Services to stop the DHCP service. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\DHCP Server\Configuration Highlight the Configuration key and click restore from the Registry menu. Type the path of the saved Dhcpcfg file. Restart the DHCP service. Verify your settings using the DHCP Manager.   How do I install DOS after WinNT? DOS must be installed on the boot partition (C:) which must be formated as the FAT file system. Before doing anything, generate a new ERD (Emergency Repair Disk) by running rdisk.exe /s. You will also need your setup floppies. If you lost them, run Winnt32 /ox from the CD-ROM. After installing DOS, the Windows NT boot loader will be disabled. To enable the boot loader, boot from the NT setup floppies and choose Repair (only repair the boot records). After the repair, boot Windows NT. From a command prompt, type attrib -r -s -h c:\boot.ini Edit c:\boot.ini and add c:\="DOS" (or whatever text you want) to the end of the operating system section. Then type attrib +r +s +h c:\boot.ini On you next boot, you will see both the NT and DOS options on the boot menu. If you want to install Windows 95 also, boot to DOS and install Windows 95. Windows 95 is NT-aware and will not destroy the boot loader if installed from a dual boot DOS session.   How can I import a DUN (Rasphone) phonebook? Before we begin:     - Importing a phone book completely replaces your existing phone book, it does not merge them.     - You can not import from different NT versions (4.0 vs 3.51). To import an NT 4.0 phonebook, rename phonebook.pbk on the target machine at %SystemRoot%\System32\Ras. Copy %SystemRoot%\System32\Ras\phonebook.pbk from the source computer to the target computer. If you have NT 3.51, the file name is rasphone.pbk. Rasphone.pbk may also be the name if you upgraded from NT 3.51.   How can I determine what registry changes a new application installed? Prior to installing your new application (or system option), open the registry using Regedt32.exe. For each Root Key that you want to compare, select it and from the Registry / Save Subtree As menu, Save as type Text Files, naming it something like HKLM.old. I would always choose the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, and HKEY_CLASSES Keys. Does SETUP.EXE cause an exception when you logon? Windows NT always calls %SystemRoot%\System32\SETUP.EXE when you logon. If the NT version of SETUP.EXE was replaced by another application, various exceptions will occur. As of 30-Aug-1997, the version of SETUP.EXE that should reside in the %SystemRoot%\System32 is the one from the original release of NT 4.0, 28,848 bytes dated the first few days of August, 1996. If the date or size is different, expand it from the CD-ROM.   How do I map an network drive during Unattended Setup? Since the cmdlines.txt is run after MachineName is posted and the Network is started, we can add our code following the [Commands] statement to perform load balancing (distribution share on one server, application or Service Pack share on another): [Commands] ".\net use s: \\server\share /user:Domainname\Username password /persistent:no" Note: The /persistent parameter is used to ensure that the drive letter is not automatically reconnected when logging on. Note: If you are concerned that the new MachineName may not be validated by your PDC, use the Guest Account (/user:Domainname\Guest).   How do I browse a remote network using only TCP/IP? Configuring RAS so that a DUN client, using only TCP/IP, can browse a remote network, requires:    DUN client's workgroup/Domain name to be the same as the remote network (Control Panel / Networks).    Install WINS on the remote network (not necessarily on the RAS server).    Configure TCP/IP on the RAS server to register with WINS (Control Panel / Networks).    Use the default setting on the DUN client (server-assigned name server addresses).    If it doesn't work, configure name server addresses in the phonebook. When you logon, click the Logon Using Dial-Up Networking check box.   Disable Network Redirector File Caching. If you receive System process-lost delayed write data or redirector has timed out, you may want to try disabling Network Redirector File Caching, even though this will slow up network I/O. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Rdr\Parameters and edit or Add Value name of UseWriteBehind with type REG_DWORD. 0 - Write back caching is not enabled. 1 - Write back caching is enabled, only if UtilizeNTCaching is set to 1. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Lanmanworkstation\parameters and edit or Add Value name of UtilizeNTCaching with type REG_DWORD. 0 - Data is written directly to the redirector, bypassing the cache. 1 - Lazy write (default) - Data is written to the cache and subsequently flushed to the Redirector. Setting this value to 0 will insure that the file data is written to the server immediately. Consider setting UseWriteBehind to a 1 and UtilizeNTCaching to a 1 first. If this doesn't solve your problem, edit or Add Value name of UseAsyncWriteBehind of type REG_DWORD and setting it to 0 to disable the asynchronous variant of write-behind caching. The default, 1, is to use asynchronous write-behind caching. UseAsyncWriteBehind only works when UseWriteBehind and UtilizeNTCaching are set to 1. Lastly, if you still have a problem, set UtilizeNTCaching to a 0. You will need to reboot. NOTE: Write-behind (write-back) caching is an optimizing technique that does not wait for the lazy writer feature of the Cache Manager to flush it to the Redirector. Write-behind caching makes data available to the Redirector sooner, although it increases disk I/O slightly.   What is happening with those . . .dots. . . on the blue screen during boot? After receiveing: Microsoft (R) Windows NT (TM) Version 4.0 (Build 1381) 2 System Processor (128 MB Memory) the dots indicate progress as the Kernel: · Initializes the low-level device drivers that were loaded in the previous phase. · Loads and initializes other device drivers. · Runs programs, such as Chkdsk, that need to be run before any services are loaded. · Loads and initializes services. · Creates the page file. · Starts subsystems that are needed to run Windows NT. What is the relationship between the Recycle Bin and the Recycler folder? When you delete a file in Explorer (or My Computer), the file is stored in the Recycle Bin until you restore the file or empty the bin. Files are also removed when a newer version is deleted or when the Recycle Bin size exceeds the limit you configured in Recycle Bin properties. On NTFS partitions, the Recycler folder contains a Recycle Bin for each user who has logged on.   If your communication device is not supported by Unimodem but it is/was supported by Modem.inf. RAS for Windows NT 4.0 supports Unimodem modems. If your communications device is not supported by Unimodem, it may be supported by Modem.inf (%systemroot%\System32\RAS\). To configure RAS to use Modem.inf, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\RAS\Protocols Add Value name EnableUnimodem as type REG_DWORD and set it to 0. In Control Panel / Networks / Services / Remote Access Service, click Properties. Remove all ports that are defined in the RAS Setup dialog. Now, click Add and add them back. RAS will now use Modem.inf.   Protect the Settings menu but allow users to manage their print jobs. If you set NoSetFolders to 1 per , your users will not be able to manage their print jobs. If you want them to, use the Windows 95 Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) to drill down to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace Select each sub-key until the data in right hand pane is "Printers". From the Registry menu, choose Export Registry File and save it as Printers. Use Notepad to edit the Printers.REG file that was created and change RemoteComputer to MyComputer. Save the file and Import Registry File. Your users will now be able to manage their print jobs.   How do I abort a login script? Windows NT will abort a login script if the SAS (Secure Attention Sequence, better known as CTRL+ALT+DEL) is pressed. If the SAS is pressed during logon but before the logon script process has started, you may receive a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) due to a Winlogon.exe access violation.   Winlogon registry entries. The Winlogon service has numerous registry entries at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon AllocateCDRoms is type REG_SZ 0  (default) Compact discs in the CD-ROM drive can be accessed by all administrators in the domain. 1  Only the user logged on locally can access data on the compact discs in the CD-ROM drive. Note: Since the CD-ROM is a volume, it has an administrative share. Setting this entry to 1 makes the share unavailable while the current user is logged on. AllocateFloppies is type REG_SZ 0  (default) Floppy disks in the floppy disk drive can be accessed by all administrators in the domain. 1  Only the user logged on locally can access data on the floppy disks in the floppy disk drive. Note: Since the Floppy is a volume, it has an administrative share. Setting this entry to 1 makes the share unavailable while the current user is logged on. AutoRestartShell is type REG_DWORD 0  If the Windows NT user interface or one of its components fails, you must restart the interface by logging off and logging on again. 1  (default) If the Windows NT user interface or one of its components fails, the interface is restarted automatically. DcacheMinInterval is type REG_DWORD When you have locked your workstation, the domain list is refreshed when you unlock it, if it has been locked for more than 2 minutes. This causes a noticable delay. The allowable range is 120 - 86,400 seconds. ProfileDlgTimeOut is type REG_DWORD Determins how long the system waits for a user response (default is 30 seconds) to: The system cannot access or update a server-based profile at logon or logoff. The user's local profile is newer than the server-based profile. Note: Enter this value in decimal. RASForce is type REG_SZ 0  (default) Logon Using Dialup Networking check box is cleared. 1  Logon Using Dialup Networking is selected if RAS is installed and the workstation is part of a domain. ReportDC is type REG_DWORD 0  The domain controller can not be reached message is not suppressed. 1  Suppresses "A domain controller for your domain could not be contacted. You have been logged on using cached account information. Changes made to your profile since you last logged on may not be available." SlowLinkDetectEnabled is type REG_DWORD 0  The system does not detect slow links to server-based profiles. 1  (default) Lets a user choose locally cached profile if SlowLinkTimeOut trips. SlowLinkTimeOut is type REG_DWORD If a ping exceeds this value (default 2000 milliseconds, max 120,000 milliseconds), the system considers the link to be a slow link. This value entry is used only when the value of SlowLinkDetectEnabled is 1. System is type REG_SZ Specifies executable files to be run by Winlogon in the system context (default is lsass.exe). Backup misses files and/or restore causes corruption. When you use NTBackup to backup your NT partition (and other partitions), files that are in use may be bypassed. You can backup inuse files by editing the registry at: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Ntbackup\Backup Engine\Backup files inuse and setting the value to 1. The default is 0 - do not backup inuse files. You should also edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Ntbackup\User Interface\ Skip open files     this type REG_SZ has 3 possible settings:     0 = do not skip, wait     1 = skip files that are opened unreadable     2 = wait on open files for Wait time Wait time     this type REG_SZ has a range from 0 to 65535 seconds with a default of 30 seconds. Certain files will not backup because NT has them open. Others will backup but will corrupt upon restore. The proper way to backup is: .  Run RDISK /S-  to backup the registry to the %SystemRoot%\repair directory.    The /S cause the SAM (user accounts) to be backed up, the - prevents an ERD from being created. .  Disconnect users from shares and stop all Services that have databases open    such as WINS, DHCP, Exchange, SQL, etc.. Alter when Windows NT displays the Password expiration warning. By default, Windows NT display the password expiration warning 14 days prior to password expiration. To alter this behavior, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon Add Value PasswordExpiryWarning as a REG_DWORD. Set it to the number of days that the warning is displayed before the password expires. Alter when you recieve a HD full warning. By default, Windows NT posts an alert when the amount of free space remaining on your disk falls below 10 percent. With a 9Gig HD, you still have 900Meg available. To alter this behavior, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services \LanmanServer\Parameters Add Value DiskSpaceThreshold with a type of REG_DWORD and set it to the percentage of free disk space remaining before an alert is sent. The allowable range is 0 - 99 percent. Internet Explorer security. If you're using Internet Explorer (IE), visit http://www.efsl.com/security/ntie/ietest. If you required authorization to view this page, you don't need to finish reading this tip. Otherwise, I am sure that you are properly shocked. To prevent this exposure, disable NTLM authentication by editing: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Security\NTLM and double click on SchemeList in the right hand pane. Change this REG_SZ Value to: Thanks JSI. This will prevent IE from browsing any site that uses NTLM authentication on the net. What is the KB (Knowledge Base) and how do I search it? The Microsoft KB is located at http://www.microsoft.com/kb/default.asp and contains thousands of articles, tips, error fixes, FAQs, links, etc..... When searching the KB for Windows NT articles, choose Any Product and enter a boolean expression in the search phrase such as: ProdNT and 1st word and 2nd Word etc... where ProdNT is the general Windows NT keyword. To search for bypass and logon, enter ProdNT and bypass and logon. This will yield: 1. Limitations of "Run Only Allowed Windows Application" 2. Bypassing Service Provider Banner In SWITCH.INF 3. Bypassing Automatic Logon in Windows NT 4. Macintosh Alias Does Not Use Microsoft UAM 5. Setting MS-DOS Client 3.0 to Automatically Log On to Domain 6. AutoAdminLogon Loses DefaultUserName 7. Windows NT Backup and Security Keyword D e s c r i p t i o n nt16ap 16-Bit Windows Version 3.x-Based Applications nt32ap 32-Bit Windows-Based Applications ntbackup Windows NT Backup (NTBACKUP.EXE) Issues ntboot Boot Process and Startup ntconfig Configuration and Tuning ntdistrib Service Packs/Upgrades and Disk Directories/Content Listings ntdocerr Documentation Errors ntdomain Domain Administration ntdosap MS-DOS-Based Applications ntdriver Device Drivers ntfault Fault Tolerance ntfilesys File Systems ntgeneral General CNS Issues (Miscellaneous Information) nthw Hardware Compatibility nthowto How To (Informational) ntinterop Interoperability (WfWG, LM, OS/2, Novell, UNIX, NFS) ntlicense Windows NT 3.51 License Manager Issues ntmac Macintosh Connectivity ntmp Multiprocessing ntnetserv Network Services ntos2ap OS/2-Based Applications ntposixap POSIX-Based Applications ntprint Printing ntprotocol Network Protocols ntras Remote Access Service (RAS) ntregistry Registry ntreskit Resource Kit ntrouter Routing and Remote Access Service Update ntsecurity Security ntsetup Setup NTSrv NT Server only NTSrvWkst NT Server and Workstation ntstop STOP Message/Blue Screen nttemplate Escalation Templates nttcp TCP/IP ntui User Interface ntutil Tools, Utilities, and Applets NTWkst NT Workstation only prodtcp32 TCP/IP-32 for Windows for Workgroups prodlm LAN Manager prodlm2nt LAN Manager to Windows NT Advanced Server Upgrade prodnt Windows NT - all versions Lastly, if you know the KB article you want, such as Q97597, you can directly retrieve it by composing the URL as http://www.microsoft.com/kb/articles/Q97/5/97.htm . How to adjust your IntelliMouse scroll. Edit the registry at: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WheelScrollLines The valid range is 0 - 0xFFFFFFFF and the default is 3. This entry determines the number of lines scrolled for each rotation of the mouse wheel on a Microsoft IntelliMouse™ when no modifier keys (such as CTRL or SHIFT) are pressed. If the value of this entry is 0, the screen will not scroll when the mouse wheel is turned. If the value of this entry is greater than the number of lines visible in the window, the screen will scroll up or down by one page. To direct Windows NT to interpret all wheel rotations as page-up or page-down commands, set the value of this entry to 0xFFFFFFFF. Error - "User doesn't have enough rights to do this". If an application generates the subject message, it may to be using Null Sessions to access the registry. This is disabled by default starting with SP3 (SP2 and the Security hotfix). To enable Null Sessions access to the registry, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters Double click on NullSessionPipes in the right hand pane and add winreg to the string. You must reboot for this change to take effect. Does the \System32 directory open when you logon? To correct this problem: 1. Edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. If the right hand pane has an entry NoSaveSettings that is a 1, set it to zero until the problem is resolved. This should be a REG_BINARY value. 2. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run For each Value, make sure that the string is valid, i.e., if the Value is ActiveMovie File Extensions, the string of this REG_SZ entry should be ActMovie.exe /Check and not null. The string must always start with an executable file. If it doesn't, fix it or delete the Value. Is your network plagued with Browser elections? A browser election is a normal network occurance. An election provides a means to guarantee there is never more than one master browser present in a domain/workgroup. A master browser is elected in the following priority: NT Server installed as PDC NT Server NT Workstation other A PDC (Primary Domain Controller) is automatically the Domain Master Browser even if "IsDomainMaster=Yes" is set in the Registry on another NT Server in the domain. If you are running workgroup servers (no domain controller) and want to force a specific server to be the preferred master browser, set the following registry entry on that server to Yes: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters\IsDomainMaster To prevent an NT Workstation or Server (non-PDC) from acting as a browser, set the following entry to No: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters\MaintainServerList To prevent a WFWG system from acting as a browser, create and/or set the following statement in the [Network] section of System.ini of the WFWG client: MaintainServerList=No. Other valid entries are Yes and Auto. Windows 95 machines can only participate in a browser election if they are configured for File and/or Print sharing. This is accomplished in Control Panel / Networks. To set or check the browser settings, scroll the network Configuration for File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks. Highlight this entry and click the Properties button. Select Browse Master and choose from Disabled, Enabled, or Automatic. How do I rename a Domain Controller? The steps for renaming a Primary Domain Controller (PDC) vs a Backup Domain Computer (BDC) are different. To rename a PDC: 1. Control Panel / Network / Identification. Click the Change button and type the new computer name. Reboot. 2. Server Manager / Add to Domain, add the new name as a BDC (it will actually be added as a PDC). 3. Server Manager / Remove from Domain, remove the old name and any duplicate new name entry as a BDC. To rename a BDC: 1. Server Manager / Add to Domain, add the new name as a BDC. 2. Control Panel / Network / Identification. Click the Change button and type the new computer name. Reboot. 3. On the PDC, Server Manager, select the new BDC and Sync with Primary. Select old BDC and Remove from Domain Problems with 16bit apps in Windows NT? Here are some reasons for having problems with 16bit applications: 1. The PATH variable is too long or has an entry pointing to the WINDOWS or WINDOW/SYSTEM directories of a Windows 3.x or Windows 95 installation. This would be in either Control Panel / System / Environment or the AUTOEXEC.BAT. 2. The COMMAND.COM used by Windows NT is missing, damaged or replaced by another version. Repair System files and re-apply your latest Service Pack. 3. The VER.DLL file in the %systemroot%\system or %systemroot%\system32 directories is corrupted or replaced by an invalid version. 4. SHARE.EXE (or VSHARE) is being loaded in an %systemroot%\system32\AUTOEXEC.NT. 5. Insufficent environment space, see 6. Check %systemroot%\system32\CONFIG.NT, here is mine: dos=high, umb device=%SystemRoot%\system32\himem.sys files=75 shell=%systemroot%\system32\command.com /p /e:4096 ntcmdprompt 7. Corruption of the WOW sub-system files. Repair System files and re-apply your latest Service Pack. No Disk in drive? If you receive a message from NTVDM, when starting an application, or from a service that there is no disk in drive A: or a CD-ROM drive letter, it may be that the path statement contains a reference to this drive. Check Control Panel / System / Environment and AUTOEXEC.BAT. This drive letter may also be referenced in an application shortcut. Lastly, if the drive letter is at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\SETUP\WinntPath, delete it and reboot. "Not enough server storage is available to process this command". If you receive the subject or similar message, you may have a non-zero PagedPoolSize entry in the registry. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management Set PagedPoolSize to 0. Reboot. Printer "timing" hacks. To modify printer timing behavior, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print In the right hand pane, modify or add value from the following list of parameters: FastPrintWaitTimeout type REG_DWORD Range: Milliseconds, Default: 24,000 (4 minutes) When JobPrintsWhilstSpooling is enabled, the port thread must synchronize with the spooling application. This value determines how long the port thread waits before giving up, pausing the current print job, and moving to the next print job. FastPrintThrottleTimeout type REG_DWORD Range: Milliseconds, Default: 2,000 (2 seconds) When JobPrintsWhilstSpooling is enabled, some printers pause if they don't receive data for a timeout period (usually 15 seconds for a Postscript printer). To counteract this, the spooler throttles back on data sent to the printer when FastPrintSlowDownThreshold is reached. At that point, FastPrintThrottleTimeout causes 1 byte per defined period to be sent to the printer until the threshold defined by FastPrintSlowDownTheshold is exceeded. FastPrintSlowDownThreshold type REG_DWORD Range: Milliseconds, Default: FastPrintWaitTimeout divided by FastPrintThrottleTimeout NetPrinterDecayPeriod type REG_DWORD Range: Milliseconds, Default: 3,600,000 (1 hour) Specifies how long to cache a network printer. The cache is used to present the list of printers to the browser. PortThreadPriority type REG_DWORD Default: 0 Allows you to set the priority of the port threads. These are the threads that send the output to the printers. Valid values are: 0 (Normal) 1 (Above normal) 0xFFFFFFFF (Below normal) SchedulerThreadPriority type REG_DWORD Default: 0 The priority of a thread determines the order in which it is scheduled to run on the processor. Valid values are: 0 (Normal) 1 (Above normal) 0xFFFFFFFF (Below normal) SpoolerPriority type REG_DWORD Default: 0 Sets the priority class for the print spooler. Valid values are: 0 (Normal) 1 (Above normal) 0xFFFFFFFF (Below normal) Speed up file system activity. If you have some extra RAM and an active file system, you can speed up file system activity by increasing the IoPageLockLimit from the default 512K bytes to 4096K bytes or more. Edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management IoPageLockLimit type REG_DWORD Default: 512K This entry is the maximum number of bytes that can be locked for I/O operations. When the value is 0, the system defaults to 512K. The largest value is based on the amount of memory in your system. I would limit this entry to: RAM (MB) IoPageLockLimit 32 4096000 64 8192000 128 16384000 256+ 65536000 Before making changes, get a baseline by using performance monitor for a representative period of time. Make your changes in small increments and measure performance after each change. Installing a Service Pack with HOTFIXES. KB article Q166839, updated 15-May-1997, contains some usefull information about installing Hotfixes with Service Pack 3, but it is incorrect and incomplete in the "How to" section. Starting With Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3, Update.exe will update your NT 4.0 install to the service pack and will install any specified HOTFIXes. The steps required to accomplish this are: 1. Copy all service pack files to a directory, i.e. C:\SP3. You can expand a Service Pack by typing: ServicePackFileName.exe /x 2. Create a subdirectory under SP3 called HOTFIX 3. Copy hotfix.inf and hotfix.exe to this directory. I have a zip-file that includes a sample combined hotfix.inf.    You can see from the COMMENT line at the bottom that this custom HOTFIX contains:     Q143478 - oobfix_i     Q168748 - javafixi     Q154087 - lsa-fixi     Q170510 - w32kfixi     Q154174 - icmpfixi     Q146965 - admnsymi     Q154460 - chargeni 4. Copy the actual files that make up the hotfixes into this directory (you may ignore the *.dbg files). You must expand the hotfix exe files in date order, earliest first so that you get the latest version of a duplicate file. Type HotfixFileName.exe /x to expand a hotfix. 5. Open up the sample hotfix.inf file and add the files in the appropriate sections from the expanded hotfix.inf    Download my ZIP and compare it with any single HOTFIX and you will see what I mean. 6. Save your INF file and run update.exe. After SP3 files are copied, you will be prompted to verify that you want to have HOTFIXES installed. Choose Yes. If you are prompted for the location of your Service Pack files, just point to the SP directory, i.e. SP3. If you uninstall the Service Pack, you will be prompted to remove the HOTFIX. How can I let users administer their Workstation? If you need (or want) to allow an ordinary user to administer their Workstation, add their \\Domain\UserId to the Workstations Adminstrators group. This will allow them to be an administrator of the workstation while signed on as an ordinary user in the domain. If you haven't done so already, add the Domain Administrators global group to the Workstation's local Adminstrators group. This will allow Domain Administrators to administer the Workstation. Server based virus detection software can cause problems. Microsoft has received a large number of reports with the following symptoms: - Access denied, even when logged on as Administrator. - Can't change properities or delete files when logged in as Administrator or Owner. - Client disconnected from the network or being unable to connect. - Not enough server storage is available to process your command. - Stop 0x00000050 when attemping to upgrade to NT 4.0. All these events are random, they appear and disappear. The one common thread throughout all of this is that the Server has virus detection software running as a service or services. If you plan to upgrade to NT 4.0, or install a service pack, or configure your machine, disable the virus detection beforehand. I keep a shortcut to a stop and start batch file handy on the start menu: net stop ServiceName and net start ServiceName exit where ServiceName is found by browsing HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services. If there is a space in the name, enclose it in quotes, i.e.; net stop "NAV Auto-Protect" If you experience any of these inexplicable problems, turn off all (or un-install) your virus detection. If the problem goes away, contact the product manufacturer. Thankfully, even though I do a lot of configuration, Norton Anti-Virus 2.0 has not caused me any of these problems. Use a batch file to disconnect user sessions. You can manually disconnect users in Server Manager and you can set logon time restrictions (with forced Logoff) in User Manager for Domains, but I prefer to use a batch file due to the enhanced flexibily it offers and the ability to schedule it. Here is a sample (note - a leading : is the same as REM): :Pausing the Netlogon service prevent this "server" from processing new logons. :If you have other logon servers, they can still process logons. net pause Netlogon :Pausing the Server service prevents new logons and new connections on this "server". net pause Server net send /domain "Your session(s) will be disconnected in 5 minutes, please logoff." :Sleep is a resource kit utility. sleep 300 :net session /delete /y will terminate all sessions/connections with this "server". net session /delete /y : : :Perform other usefull work here like stopping services, backing up, starting the services. : To get the service names, browse the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services : Example: net stop RemoteAccess : : :Enable the Service and/or Netlogon services that you paused. net continue Server net continue Netlogon net send /domain "Logons and connections are now enabled." exit Solve those logon script problems. Kixtart 95 is a freeware logon script processor for Windows NT and Windows 95. It was designed and developed by Rudd Van Velsen of Microsoft Benelux. In conjunction with Winset.exe (from the Windows 95 CD), you can set environment variables into Windows 95 that will allow you to have common environment variables for your Windows NT and Windows 95 clients. In the partial logon script sequence below, I have made the following assumptions: 1. In User Manager for Domains, the logon script in each user's profile is LOGON 2. LOGON.BAT is located in your server's NETLOGON share and contains: @echo off %LOGONSERVER%\NETLOGON\KIX32 LOGON Exit 3. LOGON.SCR is the KixTart 95 script, and along with Winset.exe, is also located in the NETLOGON share 4. The KX16.DLL and KX32.DLL files have been installed in the \SYSTEM sub-directory on your Windows 95 clients. 5. Kix32.exe has also be copied to the \SYSTEM sub-directory of Win95 as LMSCRIPT.EXE. Do not use any of the environment variables that you set into Win95 in the Kixtart 95 script, they are for use after logon, unless you also issue a SETL and shell any batch programs that may use them during logon. Here is LOGON.SCR CLS AT (1,1) If @INWIN = 2      ; If Client WS is Windows 95     $L = "@LSERVER" + "\" + "NETLOGON" + "\" + "WINSET.EXE"     shell "$L USERNAME=@USERID"     shell "$L HOMEDRIVE=X:" ; Same drive you configured in User Manager     shell "$L HOMEPATH=@HOMEDIR"     shell "$L HOMESHARE=@HOMESHR"     shell "$L COMPUTERNAME=@WKSTA"     shell "$L USERDOMAIN=@DOMAIN"     shell "$L LOGONSERVER=@LSERVER"     shell "$L USERPROFILE=@HOMESHR"     shell "$L OS=Windows_95"     setl "USERNAME=@USERID"     setl "HOMEDRIVE=X:"     setl "HOMEPATH=@HOMEDIR"     setl "HOMESHARE=@HOMESHR"     setl "COMPUTERNAME=@WKSTA"     setl "USERDOMAIN=@DOMAIN"     setl "LOGONSERVER=@LSERVER"     setl "USERPROFILE=@HOMESHR"     setl "OS=Windows_95" endif If @WKSTA "@LSERVER"      ; If Client WS is not this Server     settime "@LSERVER"      ; Set time on client to Server endif use X: "@HOMESHR"      ;Kix32 version of NET USE $S = "@LSERVER" + "\" + "NETLOGON" + "\" + "sales.txt" IF INGROUP("Sales") and EXIST("$S")     Display "$S"     AT (23,1) "Press any key to continue"     GET $A endif $B = "@LSERVER" + "\" + "NETLOGON" + "\" + "LOGBAT.BAT" shell "$B"      ;Shell to a batch file if you wish ; ...the following code is just for fun CLS BIG $X = 1 DO     COLOR w/n     AT ( $X,$X*2 ) "@USERID"     $X = $X+1     UNTIL $X = 6 COLOR g+/n AT ( $X,$X*2 ) "@USERID" sleep 3 AT (23,0) SMALL ; ...end of "just for fun" cookie1      ; required to tell Win95 that the script is finished when performing LMSCRIPT emulation exit Kixtart 95 supports many commands, functions, and macros including registry and file manipulation, messaging, printer (dis)connection, group membership testing, and more. I highly recommend it. Have W95 Client's DOS Prompt open at their home directory. If you implemented tip 120, you can cause your Windows 95 client's DOS Prompt to open at the %HOMEDRIVE%\ as follows: 1. Logon to a Windows 95 machine and modify the DOS Prompt shortcut in %windir%\Start Menu\Programs to a have Working: of %HOMEDRIVE%\ 2. copy the shortcut to the NETLOGON share as W95 (it will automatically use a .PIF extension). 3. In your logon script, shell a batch file for Windows 95 clients only that copies the W95.PIF to the client. Here is the batch file: del "%windir%\Start Menu\programs\MS-DOS Prompt.pif" del "%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\programs\MS-DOS Prompt.pif" del "%windir%\profiles\%USERNAME%\Start Menu\programs\MS-DOS Prompt.pif" Copy %LOGONSERVER%\NETLOGON\W95.PIF "%windir%\Start Menu\programs\MS-DOS Prompt.pif" Copy %LOGONSERVER%\NETLOGON\W95.PIF "%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\programs\MS-DOS Prompt.pif" Copy %LOGONSERVER%\NETLOGON\W95.PIF "%windir%\profiles\%USERNAME%\Start Menu\programs\MS-DOS Prompt.pif" EXIT Network Neighborhood System Policy Restrictions. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network Add Value of NoEntireNetwork as type REG_DWORD. Set it to 1.         and/or Add Value of NoWorkgroupContents as type REG_DWORD. Set it to 1. Additional security options. Microsoft has released a PostSP2 security hotfix, included from Service Pack 3 forward, that provides 3 methods of encrypting the SAM (Security Account Manager) database. See KB article Q143475 for information. Out of Memory errors when saving to a Win95 share? If you get out of memory errors when saving files to a Windows 95 share, install the updated files at http://www.microsoft.com/visualc/download/mfc42cab.htm. Increase network performance. If you increase the number of buffers that the redirector reservers for network performance, it may increase your network throughput. Each extra execution thread that you configure will take 1k of additional nonpaged pool memory, but only if your applications actually use them. To configure additional buffers and threads, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters Modify or Add Value of type REG_DWORD for: MaxCmds The range is 0 - 255 and the default is 15 MaxThreads Set it to the same value as MaxCmds You may also want to increase the value of MaxCollectionCount. This REG_DWORD is the buffer for character-mode named pipes writes. The default is 16 and the range is 0 - 65535. Adding "open with xyz" to every Explorer right click. You can add an new option to every right click by editing the Registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\* and Adding Value EditFlags of type REG_BINARY. With the Hex button checked, enter 02000000. In Explorer select view/options/File Types. Highlight the * entry and click the Edit button. Click the New button. In the "Action" box, type "open with xyz". In the "Application ..." box, browse to the program you wish to use. OK/Close out of the dialogue boxes. Now, when you right click in explorer, you will always be able to "open with xyz". To restrict this functionality to Unknown file types, perform the Registry edit on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Unknown instead. Is License Manager screwed up? If License Manager does not reflect the truth about your licenses, and you can't amend it properly, start over. First, using Control Panel / Services, scroll to the License Logging Service and Stop it. Then delete %windir%\System32\Cpl.cfg, %windir%\System32\Lls\Llsuser.lls, and %windir%\System32\Lls\Llsmap.lls. Restart the License Logging Service. You should now be able to use License Manager to reflect your purchased licenses. Speed up that first 16-bit Process on your Windows NT Server. The 16-bit sub-systems on your Windows NT Server do not start automatically, causing a delay in the startup of the first 16-bit Windows or Command line application started. You can start the 16-bit sub-system automatically by editing: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon Double click on Userinit and add ,win.com wowexec to the end of the string. You will need to reboot for this change to take effect. Is there a delay when saving documents to a Server Share? If your clients' experience delay when saving a document to a server share, it may be because the client is ignoring the server's oplocks break request. If this is pervasive over many clients, disable opportunistic locking on the server by editing: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/LanmanServer/Parameters Add Value EnableOplocks as a REG_DWORD. Set it to 0. You will need to reboot your server for this change to take effect. Do your desktop icons redraw frequently? If your desktop icons redraw frequently, try editing: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer Add Value of Max Cached Icons with type REG_SZ. Set it to 8000. Note: There is a space after Max and after Cached. Trouble with the AT command?. If you are having trouble with the AT (Schedule Service) command, it might be because the Schedule Service is running under the default System account context, which has no network access. To Access network drives, add net use commands with an appropriate user account as in net use Drive: \\Server\Share password /U:UserId I recommend setting up a user account (ROBOT) that is a member of the Domain Admin group. This account should have a non-blank, non-expiring password. Grant it the permissions required. Give it all the User Rights and Advanced User Rights that you would ever require of a batch job. In Control Panel / Services / Schedule, configure startup to use this account. Stop and Start the schedule service. If the job requires interaction with the desktop, you will need the /Interactive switch. This may require using the System account. Debug your batch job by adding ECHO and Pause commands to the batch. Schedule AT time /interactive "cmd.exe /k" and run the job from the window it opens. This should let you see what is happening within the context of the schedule service account. Get a good scheduler! I sell OpalisRobot, an event based scheduler for Windows NT. Events are: date/time file creation directory size limit event log entry success or failure of a task SQL query ODBC Query State of a service Interactive event Based on one or more linked events, tasks can be triggered: Batch or executable Command execution SQl file or Query Action on an NT Serviice Shutdown Remote execution File Copy or move Directory copy File Print Send Mail or message ODBC query or data xfer RAS connect or hangup Send Event Log message How do I run Win95 games on Windows NT 4.0? I hated to post this, but I get so many requests....... %Windir%\DEBUG\SETWIN95.CMD will fool an application into believing that it is running on Windows 95. Visit http://www.cris.com/~Dstaines/nt40games/ for a list a games that will work on NT 4.0. SETWIN95 will only help if the game aborts itself when checking to see that it is actually running on WIN95, if the game makes an illegal call it will abend.   What does WinNT know about my SCSI devices? In Control Panel / SCSI Adapters / Devices, double click the adapter to get a list of attached devices. Double click a device and a Properties window is displayed. The settings tab contains the Device Manufacturer, Type, SCSI id, fireware revision, and logical unit id (if your device has multiple LUNs). If you have SCSI devices, I suggest you read KB article Q101352 Hiding a server from the browser. To hide a server from the browser, edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters Add value Hidden (REG_DWORD). Set it to 1. Reboot the server. It may take up to ½ hour for the server to disappear from the browse lists. Want to move or recreate your mail PostOffice? The PostOffice is in a directory called WGPO. To move it: Move it (and all the subdirectories) to a new location which is shared with "Full Control". Edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Mail\Microsoft Mail Double click ServerPath and change it to the new WGPO location. If you have WFWG or W95 users, change the ServerPath= in their MSMAIL.INI. To start over(delete it): Delete the WGPO directory Edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Mail and delete the Microsoft Mail Sub Key.   Increasing the environment memory available to DOS programs. For all DOS apps, CONFIG.NT should have shell=%windir%\system32\command.com /p /e:size where "size" is the environment space you want. For 1 DOS app, use a PIF and create a custom autoexec and config file.   Where is that WinNT driver for my printer? Excerpts from KB article Q156082: "Windows NT printer drivers are developed through the cooperation between Microsoft and the independent hardware vendor (IHV) that manufactures the print device. Microsoft's role is to assist IHVs with programming and testing of the printer driver's interaction with Windows NT. The role of the IHV is to assist Microsoft in addressing either the general features or the entire feature set of the print device." See "Freeware tools for Windows NT" earlier on this page for where to download new drivers. If you have an unsupported PostScript printer, see Q142057 for instructions on installing the PPD that came with your printer. If Microsoft does not have the printer driver: 1. Find a printer driver emulation that can provide the correct output. If your printer is a new model, you may want to try the driver for the previous model. 2. Contact the printer manufacturer to see if they have a Windows NT printer driver. Some printer manufacturers do develop dr