Registry Hacks to Customize Windows

Registry Hacks to Customize Windows

A few Windows XP registry modifications that can be done to easily customize to act and feel a little more like it was your own: 1. Enable/Disable save settings on shutdown/logoff 2. Remove Delay in Windows start menu display 3. Enable/Disable balloon 'help' 4. Enable/Disable Tool Tip help 5. Enable/Disable Desktop cleanup wizard 6. Modify Desktop cleanup
*NOTE* These modifications change values in your registry (regedit), if you do not know what this is, or do not feel comfortable with doing so, these modifications are not for you.

These will all require regedit to be open:
start\run
type: regedit

Enable/Disable save settings on shutdown/logoff:

open key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
*If the item listed below already exist, simply modify them, otherwise create them:
create a new DWORD value (2 Byte value) and name it "NoSaveSettings" it's type will be REG_DWORD
to enabled this feature set data value to 1, to disable set data value to 0


Remove Delay in Windows start menu display:

open key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
modify the value of MenuShowDelay *Default is 400
***I warn against making this value 0 as it makes it nearly impossible to get your mouse onto the menu before it tries to close, but numbers much smaller than 400 can be used.


Enable/Disable balloon 'help':

open key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
create DWORD: EnableBalloonTips
To disable balloons tips set data value to 0, to enable set data value to 1

Enable/Disable Tool Tip help:

open key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Modify REG_DWORD type, named ShowInfoTip
data value of 0 disables tips, data value of 1 shows these tips.


Enable/Disable Desktop cleanup wizard:

*This one is my favorite, because some of us like to keep our unused icons.
open key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer\Desktop\CleanupWiz
*If the item listed below already exist, simply modify them, otherwise create them:
create a new DWORD value, with name NoRun
a data value of 0 will enable this feature, and a data value of 1 to disable.


Modify Desktop cleanup (if you do not wish to disable, but only modify it's frequency)

open key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer\Desktop\CleanupWiz
Modify REG_DWORD key Days between clean up


the data value in this key is the number of days between it's scan
*Default is 60, but you may put any value you wish, higher or lower.
*More registry 'hacks' coming soon*
*Most of these modifications will require a reboot before they take effect*