Use a Super Boot Floppy After an XP Meltdown

Scott Dunn
From the September 2011 issue of PC World magazine

(2K, 98, XP, ME) Yikes! You flipped on the power for your computer, but Windows XP Professional won't load. What to do? If you've prepared for this day, you can lessen the pain. XP Pro contains a special tool--called Automated System Recovery--for just such occasions. Regrettably, ASR isn't switched on by default. Follow these steps to activate it today, before the worst happens.

First, open the backup utility that comes with Windows XP: Choose Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. If you see the Backup or Restore Wizard, click Advanced Mode. On the Welcome tab, click Automated System Recovery Wizard (see FIGURE 1). Follow the prompts to make a backup of your system files. Note that this process backs up only the Registry and other files that are critical to starting Windows--not all of your computer's files. When the backup is finished, you'll be prompted to insert a blank floppy disk in the drive. When the wizard is done, eject the disk and put it in a safe place.

In the future, if disaster strikes and you aren't able to boot your XP Pro machine, you'll be ready to save the day. First, try booting Windows XP using either the Last Known Good Configuration or the Safe Mode option, as described by Lincoln Spector in his Answer Line column from last November, "What to Do When XP or 2000 Won't Boot").

If neither of these two boot-up options does the trick, insert your Windows XP installation CD and reboot your computer. Follow whatever steps are necessary to boot Windows from the CD. When you're prompted in the status line at the bottom of the screen, press F2, insert your ASR floppy disk, and then follow the on-screen prompts to restore your system.

(2K, XP, 98, ME) When I double-click one of my Internet Explorer desktop shortcuts, I want the program to open in a maximized window. Currently it opens small, and as a result I have to click the maximize button every time. But when I close the window and then double-click the shortcut again, it's still not maximized. Please help me make it open big.

Vincent Casolaro, San Jacinto, California

Windows provides several ways to make windows fill the screen: Single-click the maximize button, double-click the title bar, or right-click a taskbar button and choose Maximize. Unfortunately, very few windows are capable of remembering to open in the state you left them in the next time you access them.

To make an application always open in Jumbotron mode, find the shortcut you want to adjust on the Start, Programs or Start, All Programs menu. Right-click the shortcut and click Properties. On the Shortcut tab, choose Maximized from the Run drop-down list. (The 'Normal' setting is the behavior you usually get; 'Minimized' makes the program start as a taskbar button.) From now on, choosing that shortcut will launch the program in a full-size (maximized) window.

This trick works for your application and document shortcuts, but not for document files or for such special desktop icons as My Computer and Internet Explorer. The only workaround for these holdouts is to create shortcuts to the items that you use frequently (by right-dragging an icon, dropping it where you want it, and choosing Create Shortcut(s) Here), and then to set the window size in the Shortcut tab as explained above.

Unfortunately, shortcuts to Internet Explorer Web pages are an exception to the usual arrangement; their Properties dialog boxes have no Shortcut tab. For a solution, see this month's "Windows Toolbox."

(2K, XP, 98, ME) If your PC uses Windows XP Pro and the NTFS file system, you can compress and encrypt your folders and files (read tips 11 and 22 in March's "76 Ways to Get More Out of Windows"). If you would like these files and folders to stand out in Explorer, open any folder window and select Tools, Folder Options, View. In Windows XP, scroll down the 'Advanced settings' list and make sure that Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color is checked. In Windows 2000, check Display compressed files and folders with alternate color (or uncheck this option if you don't want to attract attention to your encrypted files). Finish by clicking OK. In Explorer, all compressed items will now have blue names, and all encrypted items will have green names (see FIGURE 2).

(2K, XP, 98, ME) In last November's column, I described several different things that you can do to get more use out of the Address bar in folder and Internet Explorer windows ("Fast Windows Navigation Is a Command Performance"). Reader Richard Stobart of Putney, London, sent some additional Address bar tips. For example, to get to any Microsoft Outlook folder (including Mail, Calendar, and Contacts, among others), type outlook: followed by the folder name (with no space between). For example, type outlook:tasks and press Enter to launch Outlook displaying your task list. If you're typing the address of a Web page that has a .com extension, you can skip both the 'www.' prefix and the '.com' suffix. Simply type the middle of the Web site's domain name and press Ctrl-Enter. Internet Explorer automatically adds the prefix and the suffix before sending you on your merry way.

(2K, XP, 98, ME) You just couldn't resist downloading and applying that great-looking "skin" for Windows Media Player 9, could you? Unfortunately, the defective skin crashes Media Player every time you start the program. And what's worse, you can't change skins because Media Player won't run long enough to let you make the switch. What to do? Roll up your sleeves and prepare to edit the Registry: Choose Start, Run, type regedit, and press Enter. Scroll in the left pane to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Skins. With the key highlighted, click Registry, Export Registry File. Browse to the folder that stores your backups and click Save.

Now double-click LastViewMode on the right. Change the 1 in the 'Value data' box to 0 and click OK (see FIGURE 3). Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows Media Player. The player should display its normal (skin-free) look. To avoid further problems, delete the problem skin from your Windows Media Player folder altogether. In most cases, you'll find the file in C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\Skins, but your path may vary.

(XP) Have you ever heard your hard disk spinning while you weren't doing anything on your computer? Windows XP might be running its disk defragmenter utility while your system is otherwise idle. At these times, the utility rearranges files on your hard drive to improve performance and shorten boot time. These automatic defrags should happen only when your machine is not being used, and theoretically they should happen only every few days. If you'd rather that your hard drive not work when you aren't around, you can turn the utility off with Tweak UI, which is part of Microsoft's free PowerToys for Windows XP. See "PowerToys for Windows XP" for a description of PowerToys and for a link to the download.

If you don't want to install any of the other PowerToys included in the set, select only the TweakUI.exe option on the Microsoft download page. Once you've installed Tweak UI, select Start, All Programs, Powertoys for Windows XP, Tweak UI. In the tree diagram on the left, click General. Scroll to the bottom of the Settings list on the right, uncheck Optimize hard disk when idle (see FIGURE 4), and click OK. The setting takes effect for all of the PC's user profiles after your next system reboot.

Tired of double-clicking a Web shortcut or opening a new Internet Explorer window only to have it appear less than maximized? The folks at JiiSoft were, too, so they created IE New Window Maximizer. With this handy program running in your desktop tray, every IE window will open maximized or (if you prefer) in full-screen mode, which hides the title bar and other browser elements. The application also lets you designate a hot-key that hides or closes all open IE windows. It's free! It's easy! What more could you want? Browse to JiiSoft to download your copy.

Send Windows-related questions and tips to scott_dunn@pcworld.com. We pay $50 for published items. Visit the link for more Windows Tips. Scott Dunn is a contributing editor for PC World.