Tariq Jaber.. » Windows XP

Transition from Windows XP to Windows 7

Tariq Jaber — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:28:53 +0000

This a great article about how to migrate your Windows XP to Windows 7 :
USMT and OfflineWinOld: Taking XP to Windows 7 in a Hurry

Disabling Num Lock key at windows startup

Tariq Jaber — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:28:05 +0000

If the Num Lock key bothers you when you startup your PC, here is how to disable it.
Notice that you need to edit a registry value, so make sure you take a backup of your registry before changing any value.

Click Start –> Run > regedit :
Locate the key [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard], change the value of
[InitialKeyboardIndicators] from 2 to 0.

2 means that Num lock is turned ON at startup
1 means that Num lock is disabled
0 means that Num lock is turned OFF at startup

Menu Bar and Tabs in Task Manager

Tariq Jaber — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:03:01 +0000

If the menu bar and the tabs in the Task Manager doesn’t appear, simply double click the border of the Task Manager.

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder

Tariq Jaber — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:50:12 +0000

Some times we need to store the My Documents folder on a partition other than C:\, this may help protecting the documents in case we have to format C:\ because of some errors.
To change the default location of the My Documents folder, do the following steps:

Right-click My Documents, and then click Properties. Click the Target tab. In the Target box, you can:

Type the path to the folder location that you want, and then click OK . For example, D:\My Documents. If the folder does not exist, the Create Message dialog box is displayed. Click Yes to create the folder, and then click OK.
Or click Move , select the destination folder, and then click OK twice. If you need to create a new folder, click Make New Folder. Type a name for the folder, and then click OK twice.

In the Move Documents box, click Yes to move your documents to the new location, or click No to leave your documents in the original location.

Windows XP Event Viewer

Tariq Jaber — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:15:55 +0000

Event Viewer records application, security, and system events that can be helpful to identify system or application problems.

Inspecting Event Viewer from time to time can help you predict and improve your system overall performance by monitoring the errors and try to find solutions to the problem that causing these errors.

How to start Event Viewer:
In the Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer
Or from Start menu, click Run, type eventvwr and click OK.

Application log : Here, you find the events logged by programs.
Security log: The events logged in the Security log related to valid and invalid logon attempts and resources (Files and Folders) access.
System log: The system log contains events logged by the system components.

Transferring User Files and Settings to a New Computer

Tariq Jaber — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:01:25 +0000

You can use Files and Settings Transfer (FAST) wizard to transfer your files, folders, and settings to a new computer when you decide to upgrade or perform a new installation of Windows XP Professional on the computer

You can also use the Files and Settings Transfer wizard to create a backup copy of your files and settings, which you can then use to restore your files and configuration data if you ever need to reinstall Windows XP.

How to start the FAST Wizard in Windows XP:
On the Start menu, click Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.

In the first screen click Next.

Choose the Old Computer because we want to transfer the files from this computer to the new one.

In the “Select a Transfer Method” screen choose Other to save the backup in a folder in the computer or in the network to which you are connected (if any). You can then copy it to the new computer.

In the “what do you want to transfer” the default selection is to transfer settings for applications and Windows such as taskbar options and Outlook Express, specific folders such as Desktop, Fonts, My Documents, and My Pictures, and file type associations (what files open with what programs). Click Next.

You may get a warning message about some programs that need to be installed on the new computer. Click Next.

The collection process will begin. When the process done, click Finish.

Related Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles:

(KB 293118) HOW TO: Use Files & Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP
(KB 306186) HOW TO: Use the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard By Using the Windows XP CD-ROM
(KB 283734) Passwords Are Not Migrated by the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard or User State Migration Tool
(KB 302763) Display Resolution Is Not Migrated by the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard or the User State Migration Tool
(KB 301999) “Home or Small Network” Option Is Unavailable in the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard
(KB 312965) How to Troubleshoot Issues with the User State Migration Tool & the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard
(KB 306187) HOW TO: Use the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard with a Wizard Disk in Windows XP
(KB 307869) Files & Settings Are Not Transferred When You Use the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard
(KB 304903) List of Programs Whose Settings Are Migrated When You Use the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard

Unattended Windows XP Professional Installation

Tariq Jaber — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:00:29 +0000

In this post I’ll learn you about how to perform an unattended installation for Windows XP Professional. This installation is a hands-free way to install Windows XP, it supplies the setup with the information needed during the typical setup in a file called “Answer File”.

Browse to your Windows XP CD, open the “Support” folder then the “Tools” folder. Extract the file “DEPLOY.CAB” to a folder in your PC, double click on “setupmgr.exe”, this will open the Windows Setup Manager Wizard, click next.

New or Existing Answer File – select “Create a new answer file” then click next.
Product to install – select the “Windows Unattended Installation” option then click next.
Platform – select “Windows XP Professional” then click next.
User Interaction Level – Now select the “Fully automated” option in which we will fill in the information needed during the setup and click next.
Distribution Folder – select “No” to install windows from Windows XP Professional CD.
License Agreement – Accept.

Now it is your turn to input your information to customize you’re the installation. When you finish, the wizard will ask you to save this answer file, save it on a formatted disk with the name “winnt.sif”.

It is almost done, if you want to install Windows XP again, just insert the floppy disk in your floppy disk drive and Windows XP Professional CD in your CD-ROM drive, let the setup start and go to do whatever you want.

Installing Windows XP Professional – Manually

Tariq Jaber — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:56:42 +0000

In this post I’ll talk about how to install Windows XP Professional manually.

One may wonder what does “manually” here mean?! We are using this word because there is another Automated installation in which you don’t need to set in front of the PC waiting for each dialog that appears during the installation and filling in the data! This, Automated, can be done using something called “Answer File”, I’ll talk about it in the next few posts.

Visit Install Windows XP link to help you learn more about how to install Windows XP Professional .