[...]... patchouli incense, and chant “om mani padme hum” while trying any of the tougher hacks, okay? I was joking about the incense How This Book Is Organized Windows XP Hacks & Mods For Dummies tackles the top Windows XP changes in seven parts Part I: The Nuts & Bolts of Hacks & Mods An overview of the good, the bad, and the ugly of Windows XP: what tools you have at your disposal to change it and, most important,... Settings 342 Removing Negative DNS Cache Entries 344 Really Speed up Windows XP 346 Index .347 xvii xviii Windows XP Hacks & Mods For Dummies Introduction W indows XP deserves to be hacked Hey, it’s your computer, your copy of Windows, your life Why settle for the same old stuff that 250,000,000 Windows XP owners take every day? It’s time to take control of your computing destiny... When to Hack Windows XP — and When to Let It Be 10 Hacks that don’t work 11 Keeping hacks and mods in perspective 12 A Quick Look at Some Cool XP Hacks and Mods 13 Staying Safe and Sound While You Work 14 Chapter 2: Tools of the Hacking Trade 17 Understanding How Windows Hangs Together 17 A world of processes 17 Windows as referee ... If you’re still looking at icons you never use, read this part 3 4 Windows XP Hacks & Mods For Dummies Part II: Controlling the Look and Feel of Windows XP This part takes you through TweakUI, the ultimate hacker’s toy; modifications to the Start menu; using the Windows taskbar effectively; and how to make the Windows desktop look (and behave!) the way you want, not the way some guy in a lab in Redmond... of mediocrity Throw away the training wheels and make Windows work the way you want, not the other way around You can do it I show you how About This Book Windows XP Hacks and Mods For Dummies takes you into the belly of the beast, showing you where and how to bend Windows to your way of working Some of the changes you find in this book use tools built into Windows itself — frequently in ways you might... changes much too fast Don’t even bother Keeping hacks and mods in perspective You aren’t going to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse And with a little luck, you won’t mess things up and turn things the other way around — although I have seen fancy systems that look and run like a sow’s ear Chapter 1: Windows XP: What’s Not to Love? The best hacks and mods make Windows do something that you really like —... ships with Windows XP Service Pack 2, and I feel a whole lot better knowing that I can lock down Windows Firewall with the click of a single icon (Chapter 17) Of course, this book abounds with hundreds of hacks, mods, tweaks, and tips, and I urge you to give them all a once-over to see which ones are right for you Staying Safe and Sound While You Work When you hack and slash at the innards of Windows, ... that, the world’s your oyster, and this book holds the pearls Read it from front to back or hop around to your heart’s content Have fun! 5 6 Windows XP Hacks & Mods For Dummies Part I The Nuts & Bolts of Hacks & Mods In this part “W hy would you want to change Windows? ” I remember the day a visitor to my Web site asked me that question After I finished sputtering and pulled myself off the floor,... wheels and dislodge the advertising, and even more of a challenge to get Windows to work more like the way you do, instead of the other way around Figure 1-1: Start Something New — take Windows by the horns and change it the way you want Hacking and modifying Windows puts you back in the driver’s seat, right where you belong When to Hack Windows XP — and When to Let It Be If you read the books and magazine... articles and rifle through the Internet, you’ll find hundreds — no, thousands — of Windows hacks and mods A large percentage of them don’t do anything worthwhile Some even make your machine unstable Most simply take a lot of effort and accomplish basically nothing Chapter 1: Windows XP: What’s Not to Love? You tell me: Why would you spend half an hour trying to shave five seconds off the time it takes Windows . Woody Leonhard Windows ® XP Hacks & Mods FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_748978 ffirs.qxd 8/31/05 12:06 AM Page iii 01_748978 ffirs.qxd 8/31/05 12:06 AM Page ii Windows ® XP Hacks & Mods FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_748978. 12:06 AM Page ii by Woody Leonhard Windows ® XP Hacks & Mods FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_748978 ffirs.qxd 8/31/05 12:06 AM Page iii Windows ® XP Hacks & Mods For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing,. Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies. com, and related trade dress are