Vishal Gupta

Login screen - %windir%\system32\logonui.exe Boot screen - %windir%\system32\NToskrnl.exe First you'll have to compress the file as you can see in "I386" folder of XP Setup, all EXE, DLL, etc files are compressed having "DL_", "EX_" extensions. Once you have compressed them, you can simply replace existing files in I386 folder with your hacked one. There is a file "makecab.exe". That can do the job. Search for it.

I'm using "Reflection Blue" skin atm and it also have the same problem. I was going to create a thread about it but I found this thread. I think there is an option in ACP to disable it.

Here is another new theme for Windows Vista: Feature List & Instructions Download Link I hope you'll like the theme. Comments are welcome.

Thanks. pls share your feedback here.

Guys! Its a very simple and minimal wallpaper created by me. I hope u guys will like it. Download Here

Hi guys I have created a few themes for Windows XP and lots of ppl liked them. So here I'm sharing with you all and I hope you guys will also like them: VistaVG Ultimate for Windows XP: Download VistaVG Ultimate Theme for Windows XP VistaVG Black for Windows XP: Download VistaVG Black Theme for Windows XP VistaVG Blue for Windows XP: Download VistaVG Blue Theme for Windows XP I hope you guys will like these themes.

Guys Recently I released 2 skins for Sony Ericsson Cell Phones. One for "SE k700i" and other for "SE w810" which will also work for lots of other SE models, like SE k750, etc. Preview: Download Here I hope you guys will like them.

Great.

@Rick Exactly. And I never faced this problem in any forum using IPB except this forum and Joejoe (I have disabled this option long time back there), so that means most of the IPB forums keep this option disabled bcoz there are many members using dial-up connections. @N1k This option records the IP address too and when a user using dial-up gets disconnected, his IP address is also changed bcoz dial-up ISP don't provide static IP addresses.

Thanks buddy. Much appreciated.

I'm on dial up connection and if I got disconnected accidentally, the forum logs me out and I have to re-login. Its a known issue in IPB which occurs due to the option I mentioned.

Hi guys Can you pls disable "Create a stronghold auto-log in cookie?" option in ACP? ACP -> Tools & Settings -> Cookies It creates problems. If you get disconnected, the forum forgets you even you had selected "Remember Me" checkbox and you have to login again.

Get well soon man and use some eye-drops.

Yeah. Actually I made these themes for Vista Basic users who can't use Aero and are limited to the default basic theme. Some ppl wanted Luna like theme and some wanted dark theme. So I made both. I'm going to release a theme only for Aero users very soon.

My Pleasure. :giveheart:

Guys Recently I released 2 themes for Windows Vista: Vista Blue Theme: Vista Black Theme: Both themes will work in Windows Vista. There is also a version included for Vista Basic users in each theme. I hope you guys will like the themes. Download Links: Download Vista Blue Theme Here Download Vista Black Theme Here

Hi guys In this tutorial, I'll tell about various system files in Windows Vista, which can be hacked using Resource Hacker / Resource Tuner to change the look of Windows dialog boxes, menus, login screen, boot screen and many other things. So here we start the tutorial: Above are the new system files/locations in Windows Vista which were not present in earlier versions, like XP. But if you want to change look of various dialog boxes like RUN, Progress, System Properies, Startmenu and Taskbar Properties, etc. Then you'll have to edit the same system files which you used to edit in Windows XP. The difference is, now those files dont contain the resources but their .MUI files do. So if you want to edit RUN dialog box which was present in "%windir%\System32\Shell32.dll" file in XP, is now present in "%windir%\System32\en-US\Shell32.dll.mui" file in Windows Vista. So in following list, I'll tell you where all those files are present in Windows Vista: All those files are present in any of following 2 locations: To know about those various system files containing dialog boxes, menus, etc. resources, please visit following link: TUTORIAL: List of Files to be hacked using Resource Hacker TUTORIAL: List of a few Locations in Windows XP System Files to be Hacked using Resource Hacker All those file names and resource locations are same in XP and Vista. I hope you guys will like it.

^^ Thanks.

Thank you.

Guys! This tutorial is meant for increasing the performance of Windows XP, either it can be a fresh installed windows or an old windows. Actually these r some tips/tricks, which I always apply whenever I do a fresh installation of windows. So here I

Thanks guys.

1. What is a Theme/Visual Style? Are both same or is there any difference between them? => NO! Visual Style & Theme are not same. But many people use these words in same manner. Actually Visual Style has extension .msstyles, while a theme has extension .theme. You can find Visual Styles in Appearance tab of Display Properties: While Theme are presented in Themes tab: Visual Style is the main file, which skins all parts of windows, like border, titlebar, buttons, etc. And a theme file stores all settings, like icons, wallpaper, etc along with the visual style. 2. When I opened Display Properties, I got only 3 Visual Styles, Blue, Olive Green and silver. How can I get more? => I have released a few good themes for Windows XP and Vista, you can take a look at them here: Windows XP Themes Windows Vista Themes Windows 7 Themes 3. I downloaded some Visual Styles, but none of them working on my computer. Am I missing something? => Windows doesnot allow custom 3rd party themes to be used. So you have to patch a file uxtheme.dll to allow 3rd party themes. You can do it manually as well as automatically. You can use "UXTheme Patcher", which does the job automatically: Download UXTheme Patcher Just run the tool and then copy/paste your downloaded theme into "%windir%\Resources\Themes" folder, now you can enjoy 3rd party themes on your computer. 4. I have also heard about WindowBlinds and Style XP softwares. Why these software are used, Can you explain something about them? => These 2 softwares are also used to customize the windows look. Style XP patches the uxtheme.dll file and loads the visual style, you have selected. Its good software for non-techie persons because you donot have to worry about patching the uxtheme.dll file. This software doest it automatically. But the disadvantage is that its not free. You can download it from here. WindowBlinds uses its own format of visual styles, so you can get better themes, which can have customized borders, special affects, like transparency. But its also not free. WindowBlinds is a program that that enables Windows users to completely change the look and feel of the Windows user interface. Users customize Windows by using visual styles (skins) created for WindowBlinds. With these skins, WindowBlinds can change the look of Title bars, borders, Task bar, Start button, Start menu, Progress animations, Toolbar icons, Explorer Views, and virtually every other part of Windows! WindowBlinds is the only program that can customize the GUI of Windows XP without having to alter system DLLs. You can learn more about WindowBlinds here. 5. From where can I download WindowBlinds themes? => Following is a list of a few other sites, which provide WindowBlinds themes: http://www.wincustomize.com/ http://www.lightstreamdesign.com/ http://browse.deviantart.com/customi...../windowblinds/ 6. Can I edit my downloaded .msstyles file? => YES! You can use StyleBuilder to edit the visual styles. Also you can use Resource Hacker for this purpose, but it requires some expertise. 7. Can I use .msstyles files in WindowBlinds? => YES! You can convert them into WindowBlinds format using SkinStudio software.

lol scary wallpaper and nice smilies.

Thank you.

Guys! I have seen lots of members starting new threads for already discussed problems. We always ask them to search in forum or post the existing thread links. So I decided to make this thread. I searched the forum and tried my best to cover all frequently asked problems with their solutions. I request all members to go through this thread first and then post their problems. All problems covered in this thread: 1. Task Manager/Registry Editor/Tools -> Folder Options disabled. 2. Search window opens while double-clicking on drives. 3. "Cannot find copy.exe" Error while double-clicking on drives. 4. Folder opens in a new window? 5. A sub-folder with the same name is created under parent folder. 6. My Documents/My Computer opens automatically at windows startup. 7. "NTLDR missing" Error at system startup. 8. "Hal.dll is corrupt or missing" Error at system startup. 9. "Windows\System32\config\system file missing or corrupt" Error at system startup. 10. Not able to boot into Windows 2000/XP/2003 after installing Windows 98. 11. Windows XP Boot loader related problems, like adding/removing entries. 12. ScanDisk starts running at windows startup. 13. "CMOS checksum error. Defaults loaded." Error at system startup. 14. How to reset system BIOS password? 15. "Stand By" option is greyed out in shutdown dialog box and I can't use it. 16. Windows Login Screen has changed to "Classic Logon Box" automatically. 17. A strange process "ctfmon.exe" running in background. 18. How to recover lost Firefox bookmarks? 19. How to reset the corrupted windows icons? 20. How to make Desktop icons text background transparent? 21. How to get Windows XP Common tasks (Left-side pane in explorer) back? 22. "Copy To"/"Move To" dialog box opens automatically while right-clicking on Start -> Open. 23. Can't set "Show Hidden files/folders" option in "Tools -> Folder Options". 24. Accidentally deleted "mspaint.exe"/"notepad.exe"/etc. file, how to get it back? 25. Taskbar is showing only icons in opened application buttons not showing text. 26. Orkut.com, Youtube.com and Firefox is blocked in the system. 27. I have forgotten my Windows Administrator password. How can I reset / recover it? 28. I can't see any message in chat window of Yahoo! Messenger? 29. All User folders are showing default yellow icon instead of Glass icons in Windows Vista. 30. How can I change Power button in Windows Vista to Shutdown Windows instead of Sleep? 31. Hibernate option suddenly disappeared from Startmenu in Windows Vista. 32. Why menus appear on lest side of cursor in my Windows Vista? So here we start: ------------------------- 1. In my windows Task Manager/Registry Editor/Tools -> Folder Options has been disabled. I'm getting warning message that "It has been disabled by Administrator". How can I enable it again? Sol: Pls visit following threads: All Kinds of Restrictions for Windows 2000, XP, 2003 and Vista How to Enable Tools -> Folder Options and Registry Editor in Windows ------------------------- 2. Whenever I double-click on any drive/folder in My Computer, a Search window opens. Sol: Open regedit and goto following keys one by one: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell In right-side pane, delete the "Default" key. If it doesnt work then delete the key "find" under both. ------------------------- 3. Whenever I double-click on any drive in My Computer, I get following error message: Sol: Enable "Show hidden files" option in "Tools -> Folder Options" and then search for "Autorun.inf" file in all drivers and if you get them in root of any drive (e.g. in C:\, D:\ and so on), delete them. ------------------------- 4. Whenever I double-click on any folder in My Computer, it opens in a new window even I have selected the option "Always open folders in same window" in "Tools -> Folder Options". Sol: Copy following code and paste it in Notepad then save the file with name "vishal.reg" (including quotes). After it run the file and confirm the action: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore] "BrowserFlags"=dword:00000022 "ExplorerFlags"=dword:00000021 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,45,00,78,00,70,00,6c,00,6f,00,72,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,\ 65,00,20,00,2f,00,65,00,2c,00,2f,00,69,00,64,00,6c,00,69,00,73,00,74,00,2c,\ 00,25,00,49,00,2c,00,25,00,4c,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\ddeexec] @="[ExploreFolder(\"%l\", %I, %S)]" "NoActivateHandler"="" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\ddeexec\application] @="Folders" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\ddeexec\ifexec] @="[]" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\ddeexec\topic] @="AppProperties" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open] "BrowserFlags"=dword:00000010 "ExplorerFlags"=dword:00000012 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\command] @=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\ 00,5c,00,45,00,78,00,70,00,6c,00,6f,00,72,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,\ 65,00,20,00,2f,00,69,00,64,00,6c,00,69,00,73,00,74,00,2c,00,25,00,49,00,2c,\ 00,25,00,4c,00,00,00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\ddeexec] @="[ViewFolder(\"%l\", %I, %S)]" "NoActivateHandler"="" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\ddeexec\application] @="Folders" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\ddeexec\ifexec] @="[]" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\ddeexec\topic] @="AppProperties" [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\explore] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\open] [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\open] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell] @="none" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell] @="none" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell] @=-------------------------- 5. Whenever I open a folder, another folder with the same name is created under it. Sol: Your system is infected by a variant of Indonesian virus called Brontok/Rontokbro. It creates a sub-folder in a folder with same name. Most of the times it comes from mobile memory cards. Scan with a good anti-virus and remove the virus. Also download HijackThis and scan your system with it in Safe Mode, then fix following entries: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SSVICHOSST.exe F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=Explorer.exe SSVICHOSST.exe O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Yahoo Messengger] C:\WINDOWS\system32\SSVICHOSST.exe O7 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Pol icies\System, DisableRegedit=1 ------------------------- 6. Whenever I start my computer, My Documents/My Computer opens automatically at windows startup. Sol: Open regedit and goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonIn right-side pane, change value of "Userinit" to: C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe, NOTE: If you have windows installed in other drives, then change C:\ to that drive label. Now goto: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AdvancedIn right-side pane, change value of "PersistBrowsers" to 0 Now log off windows and it should solve the problem. ------------------------- 7. When I start my computer, I get error message: or Sol: Boot using Windows Setup CD and enter into "Recovery Console" by pressing "R". Now Log into windows installation and enter admin password. Now give following commands at prompt: copy x:\i386\ntldr c:\ copy x:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\ Where "x" is your CD drive, change it acc. to your system. ------------------------- 8. When I start my computer, I get error message: Sol: Boot using Windows Setup CD and enter into "Recovery Console" by pressing "R". Now Log into windows installation and enter admin password. Now give following commands at prompt: Attrib -H -R -S C:\Boot.ini Del C:\Boot.ini BootCfg /Rebuild Fixboot ------------------------- 9. When I start my computer, I get error message: Sol: Boot using Windows Setup CD and enter into "Recovery Console" by pressing "R". Now Log into windows installation and enter admin password. Now give following commands at prompt: copy %windir%\Repair\system %windir%\System32\Config If it doesnt work, then again boot into "Recovery Console" and give following commands: fixmbr bootcfg /scan bootcfg /rebuild fixboot ------------------------- 10. I have Windows 2000/XP/2003 installed in my system and yesterday I installed Windows 98 over it, after that I'm not able to boot into Windows 2000/XP.2003. I'm not getting option to select the OS. Sol: Windows 98 has overwritten the boot loader. Boot using Windows Setup CD and enter into "Recovery Console" by pressing "R". Now Log into windows installation and enter admin password. Now give following commands at prompt: fixmbr bootcfg /scan bootcfg /rebuild fixboot ------------------------- 11. When I start my system, I'm getting 2 entries for windows XP in the boot loader. How can I remove the duplicate entry? OR How can I change the default OS in windows boot loader? OR How can I change the entry labels in windows boot loader? OR How can I change the boot loader time? Its set to 30 seconds and I want to change it. Sol: There are several way. You can follow any of following: A. Type "sysdm.cpl" in RUN dialog box and press <Enter>. Now goto "Advanced" tab and click on "Settings" button in "Startup & Recovery" section. Now click on "Edit" button and then you can edit the boot loader time, labels, etc. B. Type "msconfig" in RUN dialog box and goto "Boot.ini" tab and then you can change the desired thing. If you want to remove the corrupt/non-working entries, then click on "Check all boot paths" button. C. Enable "Show hidden files/folders" and disable "Hide protected system files" options in "Tools -> Folder Options". Now open C:\ drive and remove the READ-ONLY attribute of "BOOT.INI" file from its Properties. Now open this file and then you can make your desired changes. ------------------------- 12. Whenever I start my computer, Scandisk starts running even I proper shut down the PC last time. Sol: Do as following: A. Open regedit and goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session ManagerIn right-side pane, change the value of BootExecute to: autocheck autochk * B. If the above trick doesnt help then give following commands in Command Prompt: chkntfs /x drive_name for e.g., if ScanDisk runs automatically for C: and D: drives, then give following commands one by one: chkntfs /x C: chkntfs /x D: ------------------------- 13. When I start my computer, I get following error message: Sol: Open the cabinet and look for a coin-sized battery in motherboard. Remove it and attach a new one. The new battery will cost approx. 15-20 Rs. ------------------------- 14. I forgot my system BIOS password. How can I reset it? Sol: Open the cabinet and look for a coin-sized battery in motherboard. Remove it and attach it again after a few minutes. All BIOS settings will set to default and the password will also reset. ------------------------- 15. I re-installed my windows and now "Stand By" option is greyed out in shutdown dialog box and I can't use it. Sol: Install VGA drivers from your motherboard CD and the option will be enabled. If you don't have the motherboard CD, then goto the manufacturer site and downlaod the required drivers. ------------------------- 16. My Windows Login Screen has changed to "Classic Logon Box". I want the new Welcome Screen back. Sol: Type "control userpasswords" in RUN dialog box or Open "User Accounts" in Control Panel. Then click on "Change the way Users log on and off". Now check the option "Use Welcome Screen". If you get following error: Then Open "Network Connections" and open Properties of your Internet Connection. Now goto "Networking" tab and select "Client services on Netware" option and click on the"Uninstall" button. ------------------------- 17. A strange process "ctfmon.exe" always runs in background and if I click on "End Process" button, it restarts automatically. Sol: Open Control Panel and goto Add/Remove Programs list. Now click on the Microsoft Office entry and then click on "Change" button. Now select "Add/Remove Features" and click on "Next". Now expand "Office Shared Features" and click on "Alternative User Input" and then select "Not Available" and finally click on Update. It'll permanently remove that ctfmon.exe and your problem will be solved. You can also use 3rd party utility "CTFMON-Remover" to get rid of ctfmon.exe easily and quickly: CTFMON-Remover ------------------------- 18. I just noticed that all my Firefox Bookmarks have gone. The bookmarks list is empty. How can I get them back? Sol: Type "%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles" in RUN dialog box and then open the "xxxx.default" folder (where xxxx will be random numbers and characters). Now open "bookmarkbackups" folder and you'll get your bookmarks there. Now you can import them in Firefox again. ------------------------- 19. My Windows is showing some wrong icons of files. How can I reset the corrupted icons? Sol: You can use any of following methods: A. Download TweakUI from here and then click on "Repair Icons" in "Repair" section. B. Open My Computer and goto: C:\Documents and Settings\User_Name\Local Settings\Application Data Replace C:\ with your system drive and "user_Name" with your username. Now there'll be a HIDDEN file "iconcache.db", delete it and restart your system. ------------------------- 20. I'm using Windows XP and the desktop icons suddenly started showing an ugly background rectangle behind the text. How can I make the text transparent? Sol: Type "sysdm.cpl" in RUN dialog box and press <Enter>. Now goto "Advanced" tab, click on "Setting" button in "Performance" section and enable the option "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop". ------------------------- 21. I'm using Windows XP and suddenly the Common tasks stopped showing in left-side pane. Sol: Open "Tools -> Folder Options" and enable the option "Show Common Tasks in folders". ------------------------- 22. Whenever I right-click on Start button and select "Open", a "Copy To"/"Move To" dialog box opens automatically. Sol: Open regedit and goto: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Now under this key, delete following 2 keys: Copy To Move To ------------------------- 23. I can't see Hidden files/folders in my computer. Even I enable the option "Show hidden files/folders" in "Tools -> Folder Options", its automtically disabled again. Sol: Open regedit and goto: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AdvancedIn right-side pane, change value of "Hidden" to as following: 1 - To show hidden files 2 - To not show hidden files If it doesnt work, then scan your computer with an anti-virus software. ------------------------- 24. I accidentally deleted my "mspaint.exe"/"notepad.exe"/etc. file, how can I get it back? Sol: You can use any of following methods: A. Goto "%windir%\System32\DLLCache" folder and look for the file, if its there then copy it to "%windir%\System32\" folder. B. Insert your Windows Setup CD and goto "I386" folder. Now look for the same file, it'll present there but the last letter of extension will be "_". e.g., u'll get "mspaint.ex_"/"notepad.ex_"/etc. Now open Command Prompt and goto "I386" folder and give following command: expand mspaint.ex_ mspaint.exe expand notepad.ex_ notepad.exe etc. Now u can copy the file to "%windir%\System32" folder. C. Give following command in Command Prompt: sfc /SCANNOW It'll automatically restore the files. ------------------------- 25. Suddenly my taskbar is showing only icons in all opened application buttons. I can't see any text. How can I get back the full taskbar buttons? Sol: Open regedit and goto: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetricsIn right-side pane, change the value of "MinWidth" to -2300 ------------------------- 26. Whenever I open "www.orkut.com" or any folder with the name "orkut", I get following error with a scary laugh: Sol: Pls visit following thread: [solution] Orkut.com, Youtube.com and Firefox is Banned in System ————————- 27. I have forgotten my Windows Administrator password. How can I reset / recover it? Sol: Pls visit following link: How to Reset / Recover Forgotten Windows NT / 2000 / XP / 2003 Administrator Password? ————————- 28. In Yahoo! Messenger, whenever I send a message or get a message I can't see the contents in chat window. All I can see is a blank window. Sol: Pls download Windows Script from the following link and install it: Download Windows Script ————————- 29. Why all User folders in my Windows Vista show default yellow icon instead of the new glass icons? Sol: Please follow the steps mentioned in following tutorial: How to Fix User Folders Showing Simple Folder Icon in Windows Vista? ————————- 30. Whenever I click on power button in Vista startmenu, it put my system in Sleep state. How can I change it to shut down the system? Sol: In Windows Vista the default action of power button is set to Sleep. But you can change it to shut down like previous Windows versions. Please follow the instructions given in this tutorial: How to Change Power Button in Windows Vista to Shut Down the System instead of Sleep? ————————- 31. Suddenly Hibernate option is missing in my Windows Vista. How can I enable it again? Sol: You must have run "Disk Cleanup". Its a known issue in Vista. There is a solution to re-enable Hibernate option: How to Re-enable Missing Hibernate Option in Windows Vista? ————————- 32. Why in Windows Vista menus appear on left side of mouse cursor? In previous Windows versions, menus used to show on right-side. How can I change it in Vista? Sol: Its a problem which many Vista users are facing. Don't worry, follow the following link: How to Change Menu Position from Left to Right in Windows Vista? A few more problems with their solutions have been covered here.