Internet Broadband

this ones simple:
this is for broad band connections. I didn’t try it on dial up but might work for dial up.
1.make sure your logged on as actually "Administrator". do not log on with any account that just has administrator privileges.
2. start - run - type gpedit.msc
3. expand the "local computer policy" branch
4. expand the "administrative templates" branch
5. expand the "network branch"
6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left window
7. in right window double click the "limit reservable bandwidth" setting
8. on setting tab check the "enabled" item
9. where it says "Bandwidth limit %" change it to read 0
reboot if you want to but not necessary on some systems your all done. Effect is immediate on some systems. some need re-boot. I have one machine that needs to reboot first, the others didn't. Don't know why this is.

This is more of a "counter what XP does" thing. In other words, XP seems to want to reserve 20% of the bandwidth for its self. Even with QoS disabled, even when this item is disabled. So why not use it to your advantage. To demonstrate the problem with this on stand alone machines start up a big download from a server with an FTP client. Try to find a server that doesn't max out your bandwidth. In this case you want a slow to medium speed server to demonstrate this. Let it run for a couple of minutes to get stable. The start up another download from the same server with another instance of your FTP client. You will notice that the available bandwidth is now being fought over and one of the clients download will be very slow or both will slow down when they should both be using the available bandwidth. Using this "tweak" both clients will have a fair share of the bandwidth and will not fight over the bandwidth.

Changing The Internet Time Update Synchronisation

Changing The Internet Time Update Synchronisation

To change the interval that Windows updates the time using the internet time servers via regedit, navigate to:
1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services \W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient
2. Select "SpecialPollInterval"
3. Change decimal value from 604800 to a different value in seconds. i.e.: 172800 (2 Days) or 86400 (1 Day) and so on.

We don't recommend changing this unless you are on a broadband connection.

IP address of your connection

Go to start/run type 'cmd'

then type 'ipconfig'

Add the '/all' switch for more info.

Make Web Pages Available for Offline Viewing

With Internet Explorer 6 in Windows XP, you can make a Web page available offline and view it when your computer is not connected to the Internet—for example on your laptop during a flight. This feature is also handy for viewing Web pages at home without tying up a phone line if you have a dial–up Internet connection.

To make the current Web page available offline

On the Favorites menu, click Add to Favorites.

Select the Make available offline check box.


To specify a schedule for updating that page, and how much content to download, click Customize.

Follow the instructions on your screen.
To make an existing favorite item available offline

On the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites.

Click the page you want to make available offline.

Select the Make available offline check box.

To specify a schedule for updating that page, and how much content to download, click Properties.
To view Web pages without being connected to the Internet

After you mark your favorite pages for viewing offline, you can view them offline by following these steps

Before you disconnect from the Internet, on the Tools menu, click Synchronize.

When you're ready to work offline, on the File menu, click Work Offline. Internet Explorer will always start in Offline mode until you click Work Offline again to clear the check mark.

In your Favorites list, click the item you want to view.
You can also make Web pages available offline without adding them to your Favorites list, by saving the pages on your computer.

Follow these steps

On the File menu, click Save As.

Double–click the folder you want to save the page in.

In the File name box, type a name for the page.

In the Save as type box, select a file type.

Do one of the following:


To save all of the files needed to display this page, including graphics, frames, and style sheets, click Web Page, complete. This option saves each file in its original format.

To save all of the information needed to display this page in a single MIME–encoded file, click Web Archive. This option saves a snapshot of the current Web page. This option is available only if you have installed Outlook Express 5 or later. When you choose Web Page, complete, only the current page is saved. With Web Page, complete and Web Archive, you can view all of the Web page offline, without adding the page to your Favorites list and marking it for offline viewing.

To save just the current HTML page, click Web Page, HTML only. This option saves the information on the Web page, but it does not save the graphics, sounds, or other files.

To save just the text from the current Web page, click Text Only. This option saves the information on the Web page in straight text format.

XP Game Compatibility

You want to know if all your favorite games are still going to run under Windows XP. Remember what happened when we tried to run games on our Windows 2000 machines? Sometimes we were a little disappointed. Windows 2000 was made more for corporate applications than "Quake," but true techno-geeks know they don't have to sacrifice death matches for a robust business environment -- at least not anymore.


Windows XP has shown an impressive track record of game compatibility. We ran a number of standard games, such as "Tiger Woods Golf," "NHL 2001," "Max Payne," and "Unreal" on our Windows XP Professional machine. Some of these games were specifically slated for Windows 95 and 98, and were shown not to work in Windows 2000. The installation in XP was as smooth as silk. The games ran quickly and beautifully -- not a problem in sight (except for my bad chip shot -- Tiger was hanging his head in shame).


Some less-sophisticated programs may not run as smoothly, and we found that some older applications, such as the Atari 2600 Classic Game Collection, did not appreciate the Windows XP environment. In this case you can use the Application Compatibility Wizard, found in the accessories menu. XP includes integrated compatibility layers to mimic older versions of Windows, so if your program does not work in Windows XP, the compatibility wizard will walk you through the process of getting even your favorite DOS games up and running. In this case, we ran the Atari Classic Game Collection in the Windows 95 environment, at 256 colors and 640x480 screen resolution. Then we set XP to always run our Atari application in this environment, and everything was smooth sailing after that.

One final tip about compatibility: Don't run the compatibility wizard if your program appears to be running well in the normal environment, as the wizard will give you an error message. In general, XP has great program compatibility, so you can upgrade your operating system without giving up all your old favorites.

Protect your Identity

Like many other audio players, Windows Media Player rushes out to the Internet to find information for you when you play a CD. Some of this information, such as song titles and album art, is useful, but Media Player also identifies your copy of Media Player to the site where it's getting data. Why? According to the help file, "The server uses this unique identifier to monitor your connection. By monitoring your connection, the server can make adjustments to increase the playback quality and to alert you about events that occur when receiving streams over the Internet."

If you're disturbed by this exchange of information, here's how to stop it. In Windows Media Player, click Tools > Options and go to the Player tab. Notice the option that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" Turn it off.

Saving Web Pages with Internet Explorer 6

Occasionally, you may want to save an entire Web page on your computer (text, hyperlinks, graphics, and all). To save the Web page that currently appears in Internet Explorer, choose File-->Save As to open the Save Web Page dialog box shown in the following figure. Select the folder in which you want the page saved and then click the Save button.

After saving a Web page on your hard drive, you can open it in Internet Explorer and view the contents even when you're not connected to the Internet. If your motive for saving the Web page, however, is to be able to view the content when you're not connected to the Internet, you're better off saving the page as a Favorite marked for offline viewing. That way, you can decide whether you want to view other pages linked to the one you're saving and you can have Internet Explorer check the site for updated content.

You can also e-mail a Web page or a link to the page to a colleague or friend. To send the current Web page in a new e-mail message, click File-->Send-->Page by E-mail on the Explorer menu bar and then fill out the new e-mail. To send a link to the page instead, click File-->Send-->Link by E-Mail. To create a desktop shortcut to the Web page, click File-->Send-->Shortcut to Desktop.

$AIRTEL --- LIVE---TV$ FOR S60 PHONES

(sure that your airtel live service activated)

Real Player Settings

Text Guide to setting up Live Streaming TV on 6600
AIRTEL INDIA ONLY
From Main Menu-> Settings-> Phone Settings
Phone Settings-> Connection Settings->Access Points
Acess points-> New Access Point-> Fill Form exactly Shown Below
Connection name: airtel iive data Bearer:Gprs AccesspointName: airtelfun.com Username:+91PhoneNO Password: Blank
Authentication: Normal HomePage:www.live.airtelworld.com
Options->Advanced Settings
Phone I.P Primary Server Second Server Are --Blank-
Proxy Server address:100.1.200.99 Proxy Port no 8080
Settings Complete!
Go to Menu-> Real one Player->Settings
Connections->Network Settings.
Set Default Acess Point
ALL Settings Complete
ADDING CHANNELS
Go to Menu->Services->bookmarks
Add Book Mark->Enter Address below
rtsp://100.1.200.213/rtpencoder/zoom.sdp
Set Default ACCESS POINT as Airel live/masala
add more book marks to add channels below

rtsp://100.1.200.213/rtpencoder/aajtak.sdp
rtsp://100.1.200.213/rtpencoder/cnbc.sdp
rtsp://100.1.200.213/rtpencoder/cnbc.sdp
rtsp://100.1.200.213/rtpencoder/jaya.sdp
rtsp://100.1.200.213/rtpencoder/sun.sdp
----------------------------------------------END------------------

AIRTEL LIVE SETTINGS

CONNECTION NAME- AIRTEL LIVE

DATA BEARER- GPRS

ACCESS POINT NAME- airtelfun.com

user name- 123456

promt passwords- NO

passwords- 123456

AUTHENTICATION- NORMAL

HOME PAGE- http://www.google.com

PHONE IP ADDRESS- AUTOMATIC

PRIMARY NAME SERVER- 0.0.0.0

SECONDRY NAME SERVER- 0.0.0.0

PROXY SERV. ADDRESS- NONE

PROXY PORT NUMBER- 0

JUST MAIL ME FOR AIRTEL FREE GPRS TRICK.

AIRTEL GPRS SETTING

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

{MOBILE OFFICE}

CONNECTION NAME- Mobile Office

DATA BEARER- GPRS

ACCESS POINT NAME- airtelgprs.com

user name- 123456

promt passwords- NO

passwords- 123456

AUTHENTICATION- NORMAL

HOME PAGE- http://www.google.com

PHONE IP ADDRESS- AUTOMATIC

PRIMARY NAME SERVER- 0.0.0.0

SECONDRY NAME SERVER- 0.0.0.0

PROXY SERV. ADDRESS- NONE

PROXY PORT NUMBER- 0

Configuring Airtel Mobile Office

Here are the settings for Mobile office for mobile,
SMS GPRS to 567 for one day unlimited usage of mobile office, or make a 375 rs recharge for one month unlimited usage.

After recieving settings from Airtel, save the settings. In the mobile, go to,

Menu ->Settings ->Connection ->Packet data -> Access point -> set as "airtelgprs.com"

Then, Menu ->Services -> Settings -> Access Point ->Set as Mobile Office

[NOP users should set the homepage as "www.google.com"]

To use Mobile office in system,
> Connect the mobile to the system via Datacable or bluetoooth.
> Open Network connections and create a new connection
> Select Modem as Phone modem from the shown list
> Set the dialing number as *99***1#
> Leave the username and password fields blank.
> Finish the wizard and connect as if connecting via dialup.

N73 connects to Airtel at 486kbps, but the download speeds of Airtel is just like normal dialup.
But, the download speed in the mobile is reasonable.

Use Infrared Data Transfer to Connect Computers and Devices

You can connect your computer to other nearby computers and devices without wires, using infrared light to transfer data, the same way your TV remote control sends signals. Most new portable computers have built–in infrared transceivers, and Windows XP supports the Infared Data Association (IrDA) standards and protocols, allowing you to connect with such devices as printers, modems, digital pagers, personal digital assistants, electronic cameras, organizers, cellular phones, and hand–held computers.

To establish an infrared link

1. Verify that the devices you want to connect with have infrared functionality enabled and work correctly.

For information about verifying infrared functionality on your computer, see below. For information about verifying infrared functionality on other devices, see the device manufacturer's documentation.

2. Align your devices so that the infrared transceivers are within one meter of each other, and the transceivers are pointing at each other.

When the devices are correctly aligned, the icon appears on the taskbar.

• The infrared transceiver is the small, dark red window on your portable computer, printer, digital camera, adapter, or other device.

• You can choose whether to hide or display the Wireless Link taskbar icon when two infrared devices are aligned. By default, the Wireless Link taskbar icon is displayed.

To verify infrared support on your computer

1. Verify that your computer has an infrared transceiver (the transceiver will appear as a small, dark red window).

If your computer does not have an infrared transceiver, see your manufacturer's documentation to verify whether IrDA functionality is supported. You could also consider adding a IrDA card which can found at most good computer supply shops.

2. Open Device Manager. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Printers and Other Hardware, and then click System in the left panel. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.

3. Double–click Infrared Devices

If you have an infrared transceiver, but Infrared Devices does not appear in Device Manager, you do not have an infrared device installed.

If no infrared devices are listed, do one or both of the following:

• Enter BIOS setup to verify whether the infrared device is enabled in BIOS, in IrDA, or Fast IrDA (FIR) mode. For information about how to enter BIOS setup, see your computer manufacturer's documentation. If the infrared device is disabled in BIOS, you might be able to use your computer's BIOS setup to enable it.
  
  Warning: Using a BIOS setup utility incorrectly can cause your computer to operate incorrectly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of the BIOS setup can be solved. Use this utility at your own risk. Before you make any changes, make a note of the original settings so that you can reinstate them if necessary.
  

• See your computer manufacturer's documentation to determine whether the BIOS needs to be updated.
  1. Verify that at least one infrared device is listed and that it is enabled.
  
  If infrared devices are listed but they are not enabled, verify that the infrared devices are installed correctly on your computer. Infrared transceivers are now installed in nearly all new portable computers. If your computer does not have an infrared transceiver, but it supports IrDA, and IrDA is enabled in BIOS, you can install an external infrared transceiver.

Use Offline Files When You're off the Network

Offline Files in Windows XP Professional can help you be more productive. You can use this feature on a portable computer, or on a desktop computer that occasionally connects to your workplace network. For example, this feature is useful if you are working at home on a desktop computer, and need to automatically get files off the network whenever you connect.

The files that you select are automatically downloaded from shared folders on the network and stored on your computer. When you disconnect, the files are available to use. When you reconnect to the network, your changes are added to the files on the network in a process called synchronization. If someone else on the network made changes to the same file, you can save your version, keep the other version, or save both.

To set up your computer to use offline files

1. Open My Computer. (Click Start, and then click My Computer.)

2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.

3. On the Offline Files tab, make sure that the Enable Offline Files check box is selected as shown below.

4. Select Synchronize all offline files before logging off to get a full synchronization. Leave it unselected for a quick synchronization. A full synchronization ensures that you have the most current version of every shared network file that you work with offline. A quick synchronization ensures that you have complete versions of your offline files, although they may not be the most current versions. You might select a quick synchronization if you are the only person working on a file or if you do not need the most current version of a file.

If you want to control which offline files are synchronized, when they are synchronized, and whether Windows prompts you before synchronizing your files, you can use Synchronization Manager.

To make a file or folder available to you offline

After you set up your computer to use offline files, you need to make shared network files available to you offline.
1. Open My Computer. (Click Start, and then click My Computer.)

2. Double–click a network drive to view its contents. If My Computer does not contain links to any network drives, you need to assign a drive letter to a shared network resource.

3. Click the shared network file or folder that you want to make available offline.

4. On the File menu, click Make Available Offline. This option appears on the File menu only after you set up your computer to use offline files as described above.

5. To make a network file or folder unavailable offline, right–click the item, and click Make Available Offline again to clear the check mark.

To view a list of all of the shared network files that are available offline

1. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
2. On the Offline Files tab, click View Files.

Use Virtual Private Networks for Secure Internet Data Transfer

Data sent across the public Internet is generally not protected from prying eyes, but you can make your Internet communications secure and extend your private network with a virtual private network (VPN) connection. VPN uses a technique known as tunneling to transfer data securely on the Internet to a remote access server on your workplace network. Using a VPN helps you save money by using the public Internet instead of making long–distance phone calls to connect securely with your private network.

The connection over the Internet is encrypted and secure. New authentication and encryption protocols are enforced by the remote access server. Sensitive data is hidden from the public, but it is securely accessible to appropriate users through a VPN.

There are two ways to create a VPN connection: By dialing an Internet service provider (ISP), or by connecting directly to the Internet.

• If you dial–in to an ISP, your ISP then makes another call to the private network’s remote access server to establish the PPTP or L2TP tunnel. After authentication, you can access the private network.
  
• If you are already connected to the Internet, on a local area network, a cable modem, or a digital subscriber line (DSL), you can make a tunnel through the Internet and connects directly to the remote access server. After authentication, you can access the corporate network.

To make a virtual private network (VPN) connection

1. Open Network Connections. (Click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.)
   
2. Under Network Tasks, click Create a new connection, and then click Next.
   
3. Click Connect to the network at my workplace, and then click Next as shown below.
   
4. Click Virtual Private Network connection, click Next, and then follow the instructions in the wizard.

Notes:

• You can create multiple VPN connections by copying them in the Network Connections folder. You can then rename the connections and modify connection settings. By doing so, you can easily create different connections to accommodate multiple hosts, security options, and so on.
  
• If you have an active Winsock Proxy client, you cannot create a VPN. A Winsock Proxy client immediately redirects data to a configured proxy server before the data can be processed in the fashion required by a VPN. To establish a VPN, you should disable the Winsock Proxy client.

Use Windows Update to Keep Your Computer Current

Windows XP takes the chore out of keeping your software updated with the newest and best code for device drivers, security, reliability, and performance.

Windows Update is the online extension of Windows. It’s a Web site where you find the most recent updates for your operating system, software programs, and hardware. Windows Update scans your computer and lists the code updates needed on your system. Then you can choose whether to download and install them.

To find available updates

1. Open Windows Update.
2. Click Scan for updates to find out about recent releases for your system.
3. Click Yes when prompted to install any required software or device drivers.

Notes:

• To open Windows Update, click Start, then click Help and Support. Under “Pick a task,” click Keep your computer up–to–date with Windows Update.
  
• The first time you go to the Windows Update Web site, click Yes when prompted to install any required software or controls.
  
• To use Windows Update, you need to establish a connection to the Internet.
  
• You might need to be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to perform some tasks.

Keyboard Shortcuts

When speed counts, the keyboard is still king. Almost all the actions and commands you can perform with a mouse you can perform faster using combinations of keys on your keyboard. These simple keyboard shortcuts can get you where you want to go faster than several clicks of a mouse. You'll work faster on spreadsheets and similar documents, too, because you won't lose your place switching back and forth between mouse and keys.

Here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts:

Copy. CTRL+C
Cut. CTRL+X
Paste. CTRL+V
Undo. CTRL+Z
Delete. DELETE

Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETE
Copy selected item. CTRL while dragging an item
Create shortcut to selected item. CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item
Rename selected item. F2
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. CTRL+UP ARROW
Highlight a block of text. CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document. SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Select all. CTRL+A
Search for a file or folder. F3
View properties for the selected item. ALT+ENTER
Close the active item, or quit the active program. ALT+F4
Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR
Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. CTRL+F4
Switch between open items. ALT+TAB
Cycle through items in the order they were opened. ALT+ESC
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. F6
Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. F4
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. SHIFT+F10
Display the System menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR
Display the Start menu. CTRL+ESC
Display the corresponding menu. ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name
Carry out the corresponding command. Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu
Activate the menu bar in the active program. F10
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. RIGHT ARROW
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. LEFT ARROW
Refresh the active window. F5
View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. BACKSPACE
Cancel the current task. ESC
SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.

Use these keyboard shortcuts for dialog boxes:

Move forward through tabs. CTRL+TAB
Move backward through tabs. CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
Move forward through options. TAB
Move backward through options. SHIFT+TAB
Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option. ALT+Underlined letter
Carry out the command for the active option or button. ENTER
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box. SPACEBAR
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons. Arrow keys
Display Help. F1
Display the items in the active list. F4
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box. BACKSPACE

If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, or any other compatible keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key , you can use these keyboard shortcuts:

Display or hide the Start menu.
Display the System Properties dialog box. +BREAK
Show the desktop. +D
Minimize all windows. +M
Restores minimized windows. +Shift+M
Open My Computer. +E
Search for a file or folder. +F
Search for computers. CTRL+ +F
Display Windows Help. +F1
Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain. + L
Open the Run dialog box. +R
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.
Open Utility Manager. +U

Helpful accessibility keyboard shortcuts:

Switch FilterKeys on and off. Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Switch High Contrast on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Switch MouseKeys on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch StickyKeys on and off. SHIFT five times
Switch ToggleKeys on and off. NUM LOCK for five seconds
Open Utility Manager. +U

Keyboard shortcuts you can use with Windows Explorer:

Display the bottom of the active window. END
Display the top of the active window. HOME
Display all subfolders under the selected folder. NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)
Display the contents of the selected folder. NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Collapse the selected folder. NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder. LEFT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder. RIGHT ARROW

Use the Internet Connection Firewall to Secure Your Small Network

A firewall is a security system that acts as a protective boundary between a network and the outside world. Windows XP includes Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) software you can use to restrict what information is communicated between the Internet and your home or small office network. ICF also protects a single computer connected to the Internet with a cable modem, a DSL modem, or a dial–up modem.

If your network uses Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to provide Internet access to multiple computers, you should use ICF on the shared Internet connection. However, ICS and ICF can be enabled separately. You should not enable the firewall on any connection that does not directly connect to the Internet, and ICF is not needed if your network already has a firewall or proxy server.

You must be logged on to your computer with an owner account in order to complete this procedure. You should not enable Internet Connection Firewall on virtual private networking (VPN) connections or on client computers because ICF will interfere with file and printer sharing. ICF cannot be enabled on the private connections of the Internet Connection Sharing host computer.

To enable or disable Internet Connection Firewall

Open Network Connections (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double–click Network Connections.)

Click the Dial–up, LAN or High–Speed Internet connection that you want to protect, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.

On the Advanced tab, under Internet Connection Firewall, select one of the following:

To enable Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), select the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box.

To disable Internet Connection Firewall, clear the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box. This disables the firewall, your computer and network are then vulnerable to intrusions

XP Network Protocols

Im not going to explain everything about Protocols that is way out of scope of this guide.

There are three main Protocols : TCP/IP, IPX/SPX and NETBEUI

TCP/IP : Is automatically installed, can't be un-installed, and is used by default for all networking functions.Windows XP provides one other supported protocol -- IPX/SPX -- and one unsupported protocol, NetBEUI.

By default, XP configures TCP/IP to obtain an IP address automatically. If there's a DHCP server on the network, it will assign the IP address and other TCP/IP settings to the connection. Otherwise, Windows XP will use Automatic Private IP Addressing to assign an IP address to the connection.

By default, XP configures TCP/IP to obtain an IP address automatically. If there's a DHCP server on the network, it will assign the IP address and other TCP/IP settings to the connection. Otherwise, Windows XP will use Automatic Private IP Addressing to assign an IP address to the connection.

This default configuration should work, unchanged, to connect a Windows XP computer to a network that uses TCP/IP for File and Printer Sharing in these common configurations:

Using an Internet sharing program or a hardware router protects the local area network from access by other Internet users, so it's safe to use TCP/IP for File and Printer Sharing on the LAN. The computers have private IP addresses that aren't accessible from the Internet. No other protocol is needed. If your network uses static IP addresses, click Use the following IP address -- 192.168.0.3 and enter the configuration information. For example, here are settings for a network that uses a proxy server at IP address 192.168.0.1 for Internet access.

IPX/SPX If the existing network uses IPX/SPX for File and Printer Sharing, you can add that protocol to the Windows XP computer. IPX/SPX is fully supported in XP. In the connection's Properties, click the Install button to add a network component. XP will ask what type of network component to install.

Click Protocol and Add.

Click NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol and click OK. Two NWLink items are added to the connection's Properties Have your winXP CD handy.

NetBEUI

NetBEUI was the default protocol in Windows 95, but Microsoft has been moving away from NetBEUI ever since. Starting with Windows 98, TCP/IP has been the default protocol, and NetBEUI has been available for installation as a supported protocol. Starting with Windows XP, NetBEUI is unsupported. This doesn't mean that NetBEUI won't work! It means that: Microsoft recommends against using it. It doesn't appear in the list of protocols that can be installed. Microsoft's technical support staff won't answer questions about NetBEUI or help solve problems with it. Because it's been around for so long, some people think that NetBEUI is required, and they install it on all Windows networks. Actually, nothing in Windows networking has ever required NetBEUI. You can even un-install NetBEUI in Windows 95 and use a different protocol. If your existing network uses NetBEUI for File and Printer Sharing, consider changing to a different protocol. Most networks can safely use TCP/IP. The main exceptions to this rule are when: All of the networked computers are connected directly to a cable or DSL modem and receive public IP addresses from an Internet service provider. You've separated your LAN from the Internet, but you've opened ports or have placed a computer outside the firewall to use certain applications or services. If, after considering all the options, you decide to install NetBEUI on Windows XP, you can do it using files on the Windows XP CD-ROM. Follow the instructions in the article HOW TO: Install NetBEUI on Windows XP in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. These tips will help with the installation process: If the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen appears when you insert the CD-ROM, click Perform additional tasks followed by Browse this CD. Where the article refers to %SYSTEMROOT%, substitute the name of the Windows XP installation folder, which is typically C:Windows. To see the hidden INF directory, go to My Computer | Tools | Folder Options | View. Scroll down the list of Advanced settings, and un-check Hide protected operating system files. If you have a new computer that didn't come with a Windows XP CD-ROM, see if the computer manufacturer will send you the CD-ROM or the necessary NetBEUI files. If that isn't possible, you'll have to use a different protocol on your network.

Set up and Use Internet Connection Sharing

With Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) in Windows XP, you can connect one computer to the Internet, then share the Internet service with several computers on your home or small office network. The Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Professional will automatically provide all of the network settings you need to share one Internet connection with all the computers in your network. Each computer can use programs such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express as if they were directly connected to the Internet. You should not use this feature in an existing network with Windows 2000 Server domain controllers, DNS servers, gateways, DHCP servers, or systems configured for static IP addresses.

Enabling ICS

The ICS host computer needs two network connections. The local area network connection, automatically created by installing a network adapter, connects to the computers on your home or small office network. The other connection, using a 56k modem, ISDN, DSL, or cable modem, connects the home or small office network to the Internet. You need to ensure that ICS is enabled on the connection that has the Internet connection. By doing this, the shared connection can connect your home or small office network to the Internet, and users outside your network are not at risk of receiving inappropriate addresses from your network. When you enable ICS, the local area network connection to the home or small office network is given a new static IP address and configuration. Consequently, TCP/IP connections established between any home or small office computer and the ICS host computer at the time of enabling ICS are lost and need to be reestablished. For example, if Internet Explorer is connecting to a Web site when Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, refresh the browser to reestablish the connection. You must configure client machines on your home or small office network so TCP/IP on the local area connection obtains an IP address automatically. Home or small office network users must also configure Internet options for Internet Connection Sharing. To enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Discovery and Control on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, run the Network Setup Wizard from the CD or floppy disk on these computers. For ICS Discovery and Control to work on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later must be installed.

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection

You must be logged on to your computer with an owner account in order to complete this procedure. Open Network Connections. (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double–click Network Connections.) Click the dial–up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection. On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box. If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial–up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box. If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box. Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network. The Home networking connection is only present when two or more network adapters are installed on the computer.

To configure Internet options on your client computers for Internet Connection Sharing

Open Internet Explorer. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Internet Explorer.) On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. On the Connections tab, click Never dial a connection, and then click LAN Settings.

In Automatic configuration, clear the Automatically detect settings and Use automatic configuration script check boxes. In Proxy Server, clear the Use a proxy server check box.

Add Album Art to any Music Folder

This is easily my favorite tip! One of the coolest new features in Windows XP is its album thumbnail generator, which automatically places the appropriate album cover art on the folder to which you are copying music (generally in WMA format). But what about those people that have already copied their CDs to the hard drive using MP3 format? You can download album cover art from sites such as cdnow.com or amguide.com, and then use the new Windows XP folder customize feature to display the proper image for each folder. But this takes time--you have to manually edit the folder properties for every single folder--and you will lose customizations if you have to reinstall the OS. There's an excellent fix, however.

When you download the album cover art from the Web, just save the images as folder.jpg each time and place them in the appropriate folder. Then, Windows XP will automatically use that image as the thumbnail for that folder and, best of all, will use that image in Windows Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) if you choose to display album cover art instead of a visualization. And the folder customization is automatic, so it survives an OS reinstallation as well. Your music folders never looked so good!


Album cover art makes music folder thumbnails look better than ever!

Change the location of the My Music or My Pictures folders

In Windows 2000, Microsoft added the ability to right-click the My Documents folder and choose a new location for that folder in the shell. With Windows XP, Microsoft has elevated the My Music and My Pictures folders to the same "special shell folder" status of My Documents, but they never added a similar (and simple) method for changing those folder's locations. However, it is actually pretty easy to change the location of these folders, using the following method.
Open a My Computer window and navigate to the location where you'd like My Music (or My Pictures) to reside. Then, open the My Documents folder in a different window. Drag the My Music (or My Pictures) folder to the other window, and Windows XP will update all of the references to that folder to the new location, including the Start menu.

Add/Remove optional features of Windows XP

I first mentioned this technique in an old Technology Showcase for Windows 2000, but it still works in Windows XP, and can be quite useful: For some reason, Microsoft has removed the ability to specify which Windows components you want to install during interactive Setup, and when you go into Add/Remove Windows Components in the Control Panel, you still don't have the full list of applications and applets you can add and remove. Thankfully, this is easy to fix.
To dramatically expand the list of applications you can remove from Windows XP after installation, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open the sysoc.inf file. Under Windows XP Professional Edition RC1, this file will resemble the following by default:
[Version] Signature = "$Windows NT$"
DriverVer=06/26/2001,5.1.2505.0

[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7
smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7
AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7
CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7
MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7
AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7
Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7
MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7
ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7

[Global]
WindowTitle=%WindowTitle%
WindowTitle.StandAlone="*"

The entries that include the text hide or HIDE will not show up in Add/Remove Windows Components by default. To fix this, do a global search and replace for , hide and change each instance of this to , (a comma). Then, save the file, relaunch Add/Remove Windows Components, and tweak the installed applications to your heart's content.



Cool, eh? There are even more new options now under "Accessories and Utilities" too.

Remove Windows Messenger

It seems that a lot of people are interested in removing Windows Messenger for some reason, though I strongly recommend against this: In Windows XP, Windows Messenger will be the hub of your connection to the .NET world, and now that this feature is part of Windows, I think we're going to see a lot of .NET Passport-enabled Web sites appearing as well. But if you can't stand the little app, there are a couple of ways to get rid of it, and ensure that it doesn't pop up every time you boot into XP. The best way simply utilizes the previous tip:
If you'd like Windows Messenger to show up in the list of programs you can add and remove from Windows, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open sysoc.inf (see the previous tip for more information about this file). You'll see a line that reads:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
Change this to the following and Windows Messenger will appear in Add or Remove Programs, then Add/Remove Windows Components, then , and you can remove it for good:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,7


Kiss Windows Messenger goodbye!

Display the Sharing Tab in Folder Properties NEW!

In Windows 2000, getting to the Sharing options for a folder was simple: Just right-click, choose Properties, and you'd see a Sharing tab. In Windows XP, this seems to be missing, and the Beta 2 trick to displaying it (hold down CTRL as you right-click) no longer works.
But fear not, you can still cause your Windows XP RC1 or RC 2 system to display the Sharing tab if desired. Simply open up Folder Options (My Computer, then Tools, Folder Options) and navigate to the View tab. In the Advanced Settings section, scroll down to the bottom and uncheck Use simple file sharing (Recommended), a Mickey Mouse feature if there ever was one. Now share your folders on the LAN as you would in Windows 2000.

Use the Windows Sound Scheme

Windows XP RC1 and RC2 ship with a nice new sound scheme, but it's not loaded by default for some reason. So once you've installed Windows XP, one of the first things you should do is get that new sound scheme loaded.
To do so, open up Control Panel and navigate to Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Then, choose the task titled Change the sound scheme. In the dialog that appears, choose Windows Default for the sound scheme. Windows will ask you whether you want to save the previous scheme, which is usually a brain-dead questions, since no scheme was previously loaded. So choose No, and then click OK to exit the dialog.

Use the ultimate configuration tool

One of the most full featured Windows XP configuration tools available is hidden right there in your system, but most people don't even know it exists. It's called the Local Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short. To invoke this editor, select Start and then Run, then type the following:
gpedit.msc
After you hit ENTER, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify virtually every feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit. Dig around and enjoy!