If you want to enable SATA Native Mode on your computer AFTER installing Windows XP follow this procedure.

For whatever reason, you may have installed Windows XP on your new laptop with SATA Native Mode disabled in the BIOS. Once XP is installed, enabling it in the BIOS will result in a BSOD upon loading Windows because XP doesn't have the correct drivers.

Enabling SATA native mode will give you a slight performance increase and slightly increased battery life.

• Download the Intel Matrix Storage Manager software for your computer from the manufacturer's web site
• Run it, by default it will save some files to C:\ before it runs setup and tells you that the software is not supported (alternatively you can uncompress the files to a temporary folder with a compression software like 7-Zip)
• Now open up a command prompt, go to the folder where the files were extracted and run the following command to extract the driver files: "setup -A -P"path of the extracted files" (without the quotes and there is no space between -P and the path)
• Accept the license agreement, it extracts some files. The files you're interested in are now in a "Driver" subfolder of the original folder and include the following :iaahci.cat, iaahci.inf, iastor.cat, iastor.inf, iastor.sys, TXTSSETUP.OEM
• Now go to Device Manager, under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers you should see something like : Intel 82801GBM (ICH7-M Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller
• Right-Click on that and select Update Driver
• Say no to connecting to Windows Update to search, hit Next
• Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced), hit Next
• Select "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install", hit Next
• Select Have Disk
• Browse to the Driver folder and highlight the iastor.inf file, hit Open
• Select OK
• Now you should have a list of controllers. **WARNING** Selecting the wrong controller for your computer will prevent it to boot, causing BSOD. Make sure you select the right controller for your particular computer ! See this thread on HP forums for the controller inside some laptops: http://forums.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?threadId=1057792
• You'll get warned that installing the device driver is not recommended, click Yes to continue installing
• Click Finish
• Click Yes to restart your computer
• When your computer boots up, you need to to enter the BIOS. Change SATA Native Mode to Enabled, save changes and exit.
• After you log into Windows, your computer will find the "new" hardware. Wait until you get the popup message to restart your computer, say Yes to restart one last time.

If you set a computer for auto logon, anyone who can physically obtain access to the computer can gain access to all of the computer contents, including any network or networks it is connected to. In addition, if you enable autologon, the password is stored in the registry in plaintext. The specific registry key that stores this value is remotely readable by the Authenticated Users group.

As a result, this setting is only appropriate for cases where the computer is physically secured, and steps have been taken to ensure that untrusted users cannot remotely access the registry.

1. Start/Run/Regedit, and then locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
2. Using your account name and password, double-click the DefaultUserName entry, type your user name, and then click
OK.
3. Double-click the DefaultPassword entry, type your password, and then click OK.

NOTE: The DefaultPassword value may not exist. If it does not:

a. Click Add Value on the Edit menu.
b. In the Value Name box, type DefaultPassword, and then click REG_SZ for the Data Type
c. Type your password in the String box, and then save your changes.

Also, if no DefaultPassword string is specified, Windows automatically changes the value of the AutoAdminLogon key
from 1 (true) to 0 (false), thus disabling the AutoAdminLogon feature.

4. Click Add Value on the Edit menu, enter AutoAdminLogon in the Value Name box, and then click REG_SZ for the Data
Type.
5. Type "1" (without the quotation marks) in the String box, and then save your changes.
6. Quit Regedit.
7. Click Start, click Shutdown, and then click OK to turn off your computer.
8. Restart your computer and Windows. You are now able to log on automatically.

NOTE: To bypass the AutoAdminLogon process, and to log on as a different user, hold down the SHIFT key after you log off or after Windows restarts.

Note that this procedure only applies to the first logon. To enforce this setting for subsequent logoffs, the administrator must set the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Value: ForceAutoLogon
Type: REG_SZ
Data: 1

First things first. type 'about:robots' and 'about:mozilla' in FireFox address bar to get some strange pages. Firefox 3 have these two hidden pages and may be more but yet to be discovered.

Try typing 'about:robots' and you will discover this funny page.

This page has got title - Gort! klaatu barada nikto! The title is some old science-fiction movie (view more information). This hidden page has some robotics commandments :

• Robots may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
• Robots have seen things you people wouldn’t believe
• Robots are Your Plastic Pal Who’s Fun To Be With.
• Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten.

Interestingly, when you press 'try again' button you get another button saying, "Please do not press this button again."I bet even after this warning message, most of you have clicked that button.

Type "about:mozilla" in FireFox address bar and you get to see some writings from Mozilla book.

Mammon slept. And the beast reborn spread over the earth and its numbers grew legion. And they proclaimed the times and sacrificed crops unto the fire, with the cunning of foxes. And they built a new world in their own image as promised by the sacred words, and spoke of the beast with their children. Mammon awoke, and lo! it was caught but a follower.

from The Book of Mozilla, 11:9
(10th Edition)

Since Firefox is open source browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation, its contributors must have created these pages for fun. Easter eggs are made intentionally to surprise often containing bonus or hidden feature.

9009L3 1|\| |-|4><0r3r> - Can you depict this? The title is written in hacker's tongue often called Leetspeak or Leetzorz. Leet (l33t,1337) is mainly used over the internet, which replaces most English characters by numerals or symbols. This language phenomenon is used by hackers primarily to distinguish themselves from noobs and also to encrypt their tricks. But nowadays it's used for uniqueness over social networks.

The leet speak and their English translations are as follows:

• normal search - n0rM4L s34rCh
• Images - Im4635
• Groups - 6r00pZ
• directory - d1r3c70rY
• Google search - Google s3|2ch
• I am feeling lucky - EyE Am ph33|1n6 |u(ky
• Advanced search - 4DV4NC3D 534RC|-|
• Preferences -PR3F3REN(3Z
• Language tools - L4|\|9U493 700L$
• Its written hackor (H4x0r) below google logo.
  

Interestingly, there are other leet mirrors of google at:

• http://600673.com/
• http://g00g13.com/
• http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/
  

Note :
1) You can convert normal text to leet speak or reverse from here.
2) Your Google home page depends on the country you live and may not be same as shown in this post.
3)You can get more official information from here.

I found out this funny list to annoy telemarketers. I wonder what if someone actually uses them :

1. After the telemarketer finishes speaking, ask him/her to marry you.
2. Tell the telemarketer you are busy at the moment, and ask him/her if he/she will give you his/her home phone number so you can call him/her back.
3. Ask them to repeat everything they say, several times.
4. Tell them it is dinner time, BUT ask if they would please hold. Put them on your speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation.
5. Tell them that all business goes through your agent, and hand the phone to your five year old child.
6.Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up...louder. ..louder. ..louder!
7. Tell them to speak very slowly because you want to write every word down.
8. If they start out with, "How are you today?", say "I'm so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems.... ........"
9. Cry out in surprise, "Helen, is that you? I've been hoping you'd call! How is the family?" When they insist they are not Helen, tell them to stop joking. This works especially well if the telemarketer is really MALE.
10. Tell the HSBC call center guy to call on your office number. - and give him the ICICI call center number.

Microsoft has been working on a new product known as “StartKey” — that will allow users to carry their Windows and Windows settings with them. StartKey isn’t just for USB sticks; it also will work on other flash-storage devices, like SD memory cards.

StartKey has its roots in an agreement Microsoft made with SanDisk in May 2007. Microsoft announced it would be providing software to replace the U3 Smart Technology that was included on SanDisk flash devices.

Microsoft's plan is to provide a complete suite of tools for consumers and developers to help push the portable computing paradigm into the mainstream. In addition to USB flash drives, StartKey technology could work on other flash memory types like SD cards, or any other new storage format of the week. An SDK will be provided to developers so they can enable their own applications to plug into the platform and go portable.

A Microsoft research presentation from a couple years ago titled Your Desktop on Your Keychain offers a glimpse into Microsoft's ideas behind StartKey. Advantages such as saving and resuming from standby are touted, and the technology behind an early VirtualPC-over-network concept is explained. Pitfalls are also mentioned, such as the loss of the network while using StartKey and the obvious security concerns of placing both sensitive data and other settings on something as steal-able as a flash drive.

Google Talk now allows you to chat with people who may not have signed up for Google Talk or a Google Account.

This is possible through a new Google Talk Chat Badge that bloggers can embed in their web pages to chat live with blog readers and other site visitors.

It really doesn’t matter whether your readers have a Google Talk account or not - they can talk to you through the web page as long as you are signed into your GTalk account.

Another use of Google Talk - If you run a support website where you provide live support to customers via IM, Google Talk could be a wonderful option for you because its free and definitely very reliable.

The Google Talk chat badge on the blog will be automatically disabled if you set your Google Talk status as "Busy". And you chat with more than one person at the same time as each session will open in a separate tab (see screenshot).

This is a very simple & non-geeky trick to help you read the latest issue of popular magazines like PC Magazine, MIT Technology Review, Popular Mechanics, MacWorld, Playboy Penthouse, Lonely Planet, Reader’s Digest, etc without paying any subscription charges.

Best of all, these digital magazines are exact replicas of print and served as high-resolution images that you can also download on to the computer for offline reading.

How to Read Online Magazines for Free

Step 1: If you are on a Windows PC, go to apple.com and download the Safari browser. Mac users already have Safari on their system.

Step 2: Once you install Safari, go to Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced and check the option that says "Show Develop menu in menu bar."

Step 3: Open the "Develop" option in the browser menu bar and choose Mobile Safari 1.1.3 - iPhone as the User Agent.

Step 4: You’re all set. Open zinio.com/iphone inside Safari browser and start reading your favorite magazines for free. Use the navigation arrows at the top to turn pages.

You can do lot of interesting stuff with Google Talk. Such features can be easily integrated into Google Talk through ‘bots’ which, in simple English, are like virtual friends who are online 24×7 and will always respond with a smile to your questions or requests.

Examples:

Translation - This is a free service from Google that helps you translate words from a foreign language into your native language. Just add the relevant bot (e.g. hi2en@bot.talk.google.com for Hindi to English or en2hi@bot.talk.google.com for English to Hindi) as your buddy, send him a message and it will get translated instantly.

Transliteration - If you want to chat in your mother tongue (like Hindi or Tamil) but feel more comfortable using the English keyboard, Google Transliteration bot will come in handy.

For instance, add en2hi.translit@bot.talk.google.com to you friend’s list in GTalk and all messages you type in English will get transliterated in the language of your choice. Available only for a few Indian languages.

Yeah, what would happen if he really was a programmer? Maybe he had programmed the world and compiled it under Windows. Then after a while it broke down, because of some unexpected error He could also be a Linux admin (= root) and seen all our steps and ban us if we did some offence.
Anyway, today I found a great website which looks like a Linux console. The God is sitting before it and typing commands. He is creating the world. Interested? Click at “If God was programmer“.

You've read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it's time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP's secrets.

1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... and type 'gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care -- some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).

3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.

4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

5. For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.

6. XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.

7. You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.

8. XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you've got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing 'regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll' at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing 'regsvr32 zipfldr.dll'.

9. XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.

10. You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who's using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your chum's real IP address -- they can find this out by going to www.whatismyip.com -- and get them to make sure that they've got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.

11. You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.

12. Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might slip the bonds of sanity before that point, run Regedit, go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.

13. You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run... from the start menu and type 'control userpasswords2', which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.

14. Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options... and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temp

15. XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can't see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You'll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.

16. The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.

17. You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other
files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In Groups.

18. Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.

19. Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.

Windows XP uses 20% of your bandwidth !

Microsoft reserves 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)
Here's how to get it back:
Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :
"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.
Works on XP Pro and 2000.

Trick to lock your private folder

Suppose you want to lock the folder games in d: which has the path D:\Games In the same drive create a text file and

type:
ren games games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Now save this text file as loc.bat

create another text file and type in it:
ren games.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} games
Now save this text file as key.bat

Now you can see 2 batch files loc and key.Press loc and the folder games will change to control panel and you cannot view its contents.Press key and you will get back your original folder.

*First step: place a picture, in a folder (a small size) > new.jpg
*Second step: place the file you want to hide in the picture > movie.wmv
*Now you have two files in that folder: new.jpg and movie.wmv
*Goto cmd
*Point to the folder
*Then: type COPY /B PICTURE.JPG + MOVIE.WMV NEW.JPG
*The new.jpg when double clicked will open the picture
*But when you will open new.jpg with media player the movie starts.

Using Winrar Its Easier...

1. Gather all the files that you wish to hide in a folder anywhere in your PC (eg: C:\hidden)
2. Now, add those files in a RAR archive (e.g. secret.rar). This file should also be in the same directory (C:\hidden).
3. Now, look for a simple JPEG picture file (e.g. logo.jpg). Copy/Paste that file also in C:\hidden.
4. Now, open Command Prompt (Go to Run and type ‘cmd‘). Make your working directory C:\hidden.
5. Now type: “COPY /b logo.jpg + secret.rar output.jpg” (without quotes) - Now, logo.jpg is the picture you want to show, secret.rar is the file to be hidden, and output.jpg is the file which contains both.
6. Now, after you have done this, you will see a file output.jpg in C:\hidden. Open it (double-click) and it will show the picture you wanted to show. Now try opening the same file with WinRAR, it will show the hidden archive .

Follow the step by step procedure to install windows xp with vista preinstalled:

1. Boot in Vista and go to - right-click My Computer>>Manage>>Disk Management.
2. Right-click on the main Vista partition and select Shrink Volume.
3. Enter the shrink size and it will reduce the volume of the primary partition, leaving the rest of the disk free as unpartitioned space.
4. Now Boot Up with Windows Xp Setup Cd and simply install Windows Xp on the new unallocated partition.
5. Now you need to repair the vista boot loader as the bootloader will get corrupted and you will not need any software to do it.
Why Repair ?
Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration.
6. How to Repair or rewrite vista bootloader
Use Bootsect.exe to restore the Windows Vista MBR and the boot code that transfers control to the Windows Boot Manager program.
To do this, type the following command at a command prompt:
Drive:\boot\Bootsect.exe /NT60 All
In this command, Drive is the drive where the Windows Vista installation media is located.
Note The boot folder for this step is on the DVD drive.
7. Now boot up normally you will see a new entry in the vista bootloader for Xp as “Earlier Versions Of Windows”

It is possible to change the name of the registered owner and registered organisation in Windows XP.For those who dont know how to see the owner and the organisation follow these steps to check.

Right click on My computer,click properties .Under the general tab,there is a line 'Registered to'
The first line has the name of the owner and the next line has the name of the organisation.
To change these,follow the steps given below:

1. Click Start, Run and type regedit and press enter. Go to the following location in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion
2.To change the registered organization, double-click on RegisteredOrganization.Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
3.To change the name of the registered owner, double-click RegisteredOwner.
4.Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
5.Click Exit on the File menu to quit.

You are done.You make check out the changes as described earlier.

An Answer to most of the kinds of spams you get and are emotionally forced to forward(spam again):

"I lost my brand new Natraj HB pencil with a rubber attached.
The pencil costs Rs.3/. If u forward this msg I will get one paisa from orkut. If you have heart and want to
help a poor child in need, plz fwd it to atleast 300 friends. Please don't neglect. Otherwise my mom will scold me.
If you forward it then your life will change for ever (u will get one pack of sketch pens and an apsara non-dust eraser within 3 days).
Do NOT delete this message otherwise greek gods will get angry with you and your life will be pencil-less forever.
Good Luck will come to you for wasting time & forwarding this nonsense message.
May God bless you."

Just reply with this message to your friend who sends you a scrap or an email... now you might have got the contents contained by that email...