1001 Secrets for Windows NT Registry
(Publisher: 29th Street Press)
Author(s): Tim Daniels
ISBN: 1882419685
Publication Date: 12/01/97

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I-101 Problem: You have deleted the Inbox and now you want it back. Modify this registry entry and everything will be back as it was.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\ Desktop\NameSpace

Add the following key:

Key: {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-0000 00000046}

Under the key you just added, add this value:

Value Name:
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: Inbox

Press F5 to refresh the key, and there’s the Inbox.

I-102 Problem: Users keep accidentally deleting the Internet icon from the desktop. You can fix this problem by removing the Delete option from the icon menu. Modify the following key under ShellFolder.

Hive: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Key: CLSID\{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-
00AA003E56F8}\ShellFolder
Value Name: Attributes
Data Type: REG_BINARY
Value: 40000000

Right-click the Internet icon, and the delete option is removed.

I-103 Problem: You’re tired of looking at those little arrows on shortcuts. This registry modification lets you do away with the arrows, leaving the original icon. Delete the following value from the LNKFILE key.

Hive: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Key: LNKFILE
Value Name: IsShortcut

Restart your machine for these new values to take effect.

I-104 Problem: You have a machine that different people use at different times. You have recently had complaints that people can see what others were working on and that it is a potential security problem. You can manually remove these file entries, but this registry modification automatically deletes the files for you. Modify the following value under User Shell Folders.

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer\User Shell Folders
Value Name: Recent
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: C:\Recycle

Set your recycle bin to automatically delete files. Log off and then log back on. Now the Document menu option always reads empty.

I-105 Problem: The Explorer interface seems a little slow on some of the older computers in your installation. Here is a neat little trick to turn off animated or so-called “exploding” windows. Add the following value under the explorer key:

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key: Control Panel\Desktop\WindowsMetrics
Value Name: MinAnimate
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0

I-106 Problem: When you select an option from the Start menu and that menu option has multiple options, a window displays the additional menu selections — but sometimes these additional menus seem slow or delayed. You can really speed things up with the following registry modification. The lower the number, the faster the menus are displayed. The default value on my system was 400. Change the following value under the Desktop key.

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key: Control Panel\Desktop
Value Name: MenuShowDelay
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: 1

Now choose the Programs option from the Start menu. The submenus are displayed instantly! No delay.

I-107 Problem: You want to restrict access to network drives and local drives from the Explorer interface. This registry modification lets you do just that. To disable all drives, add the following value under the Explorer key:

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer
Value Name: NoDrives
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 03FFFFFF

This value is a bit field, where each bit corresponds to a letter in the alphabet, as shown below.

   3    F    F    F    F    F    F
0011 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111
  zy xwvu tsrq ponm lkji hgfe dcba

If the bit is on (value of 1), access to the drive from Explorer is disabled. If the bit is off (value of 0), access to the drive is enabled. To disable everything but the A, B, C, and D drives, just set this value to 03FFFFF0:

   3    F    F    F    F    F    0
0011 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 0000
  zy xwvu tsrq ponm lkji hgfe dcba

You must log off for these new values to take effect. Note that this change does not disable access to the drives; it just disables their appearance in the Explorer interface.

I-108 Problem: You have a corporate standard for the way users are supposed to configure their systems. Yet you have a pesky user — you know the one — who knows enough to mess up everything, but not quite enough to fix it. To disable users’ ability to save settings on their computers, add the following value under the Explorer key:

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer
Value Name: NoSaveSettings
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

Restart your machine for these new values to take effect.


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