XP Secrets

XP Secrets


Defrag

Secret - Hidden Command Line Switch
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Run" and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information.

Notes

- Windows XP will run this automatically
every three days or so,during system idle periods.
BootVis will evoke this when you run the "Optimize
System" function. There is no need to manually run
this unless you wish to immediately optimize a
newly installed application's load time.


Notepad

Secret - Create a Log File
Instructions
- Launch Notepad, Type .LOG on the first line, and then press Enter to
move to the next line. On the File menu, click Save As, type a
descriptive name for your file in the File name box, and then click OK.
When you next open the file, note that the date and time have been
appended to the end of the log, immediately preceding the place where
new text can be added. You can use this functionality to automatically
add the current date and time to each log entry.

Paint

Secret - Image Trails
Instructions - Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret - 10x Zoom
Instructions - Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.

FreeCell

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10
during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort, Retry or
Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win.

Secret - Hidden Game Modes
Instructions - In the "Game" menu choose "Select Game". Enter -1 or -2 to activate the hidden game modes.

Hearts

Secret - Show All Cards
Instructions - Edit this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Hearts and create a new String value named ZB with a Data value of 42. Start Hearts and Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F12 to show all the cards.

Background

- This secret is a reference to Douglas Adams' book the Hitch Hiker's

Guide to the Galaxy. 'ZB' is the initials of the character Zaphod
Beeblebrox, the Galactic President. '42' is the answer to The Ultimate
Question Of Life, the Universe and Everything.


Minesweeper

Secret - Reveal Mines
Instructions - Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy.
Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the
mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel
in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change
to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you
desktop background to a solid color other then white or black to see
the pixel.

Secret - Stop Timer
Instructions - Launch Minesweeper and start a game so the timer starts counting, then press the Windows Key + D to show the desktop. Now when you select minesweeper from the taskbar you can continue playing with the timer stopped.


Pinball

Secret - Extra Balls
Instructions - Type 1max at the start of a new ball to get extra balls.

Secret - Gravity Well
Instructions - Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate the Gravity Well.

Secret - Instant Promotion
Instructions - Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.

Secret - Skill Shot
Instructions
- Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light
bar so it falls back down to get 75,000 points. There are six yellow
light bars that are worth a varying amount of points:

First: 15,000 points
Second: 30,000 points
Third: 75,000 points
Fourth: 30,000 points
Fifth: 15,000 points
Sixth: 7,500 points

Secret - Test Mode

Instructions - Type hidden test
at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will
be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse
button and drag the ball around. While in test mode press the following
keys for more secrets:

H - Get a 1,000,000,000 High Score
M - Shows the amount of system memory
R - Increases your rank in game
Y - Shows the Frames/sec rate

Secret - Unlimited Balls

Instructions - Type bmaxat the start of a new ball. No notification will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.


Solitaire

Secret - Instant Win
Instructions - Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.

Secret - Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instructions - Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one. OS Secrets

Add/Remove

Secret - Hidden Uninstall Options
Instructions - Warning: Proceed at your own risk! Browse to C:\Windows\inf\ and make a backup copy of sysoc.inf. Then open the original file C:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf in notepad. Go to "Edit" and select "Replace". In "Find what:" type ,hide and in "Replace with:" type ,
then select "Replace All", save and close the file. Go to the "Control
Panel", "Add/Remove", select "Add/Remove Windows Components". You will
now see many more Windows components to uninstall. Do not remove
anything with no label or that you do not recognize or fully understand
what it does. Doing so can break certain functionality in Windows.


Control Panel

Secret - Hidden Control Panel Extensions
Instructions - Download and install TweakUI, launch,
go to "Control Panel" and check any item not selected, then "Apply" and
"OK". You will now see the hidden control panel extensions.


Device Manager

Secret - Hidden Devices
Instructions - Go to the "Control Panel", "System" icon, "Hardware" tab and select "Device Manager". Select "View" and Show hidden devices.

Secret - Phantom Devices
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Programs", "Accessories" and select "Command Prompt". At the command prompt, type "set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" and press Enter. At the command prompt, type "start devmgmt.msc" and press Enter. Select "View" and Show hidden devices. You can see devices that are not connected to the computer.

Notes
- When you close the command prompt window, Windows clears the
"devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" variable that you set and prevents
phantom devices from being displayed when you select "Show hidden
devices".


Music

Secret - Music from the Installer
Instructions - Browse to C:\Windows\system32\oobe\images\title.wma and play.

Notes - "OOBE" stands for "Out-of-Box Experience".

Shutdown

Secret - Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
Instructions - Go to "Start", "Turn Off Computer..." and press either Shift key to change the "Stand By" button to "Hibernate".


Support Tools

Secret - Over 100 Windows XP Support Utilities are on the install CD

Instructions for Pre-SP2 users - If you do not have SP2 installed, put the original Windows XP CD in the CD-ROM Drive, run the D:\Support\Tools\setup.exe file.

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