Turning off all the annoying dialogues

[Guest]

Hi,
I am a recent (forced) convert to XP. There are bits I don't mind and there
are bits I positively dislike. I've managed to stop most of the screens
looking like a kids toy but there are still some things I haven't managed to
sort out yet. Maybe someone can help.

Turn off the nag boxes (Job was sent to printer etc). Why are they telling
me things I already know?
Open Asp files in my text editor without having to click on the security
message every time (I open a lot of ASP pages in my text editor, first couple
of days was acceptable but come on, I have a job to do and don't need the
extra mouse clicks to add to my RSI).
Include system and hidden files in searches.
Turn off the space wasting graphics in Explorer PERMANENTLY IN ALL VIEWS!!
Open explorer on "C:\" not "My Documents"
Get rid of all red boxes that say "Turn on automatic updates". Umm, it's
disabled for a reason guys, just accept it and move on. If I want to enable
it I shall go and find it in control panel and enable it.
Drag and drop files into Winamp without XP re-ordering them when I do (Win
2k never used to do that).

Ok, so the last one isn't work related, but this machine is supposed to be a
tool for me and pretty soon it's gonna be wiped and I'll go back to Win 2k.

 

[Galen]

In Frustrated of UK <Frustrated of (e-mail address removed)> had this to
say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi,
I am a recent (forced) convert to XP. There are bits I don't mind and
there are bits I positively dislike. I've managed to stop most of the
screens looking like a kids toy but there are still some things I
haven't managed to sort out yet. Maybe someone can help.

Turn off the nag boxes (Job was sent to printer etc). Why are they
telling me things I already know?
Open Asp files in my text editor without having to click on the
security message every time (I open a lot of ASP pages in my text
editor, first couple of days was acceptable but come on, I have a job
to do and don't need the extra mouse clicks to add to my RSI).
Include system and hidden files in searches.
Turn off the space wasting graphics in Explorer PERMANENTLY IN ALL
VIEWS!! Open explorer on "C:\" not "My Documents"
Get rid of all red boxes that say "Turn on automatic updates". Umm,
it's disabled for a reason guys, just accept it and move on. If I
want to enable it I shall go and find it in control panel and enable
it.
Drag and drop files into Winamp without XP re-ordering them when I do
(Win 2k never used to do that).

Ok, so the last one isn't work related, but this machine is supposed
to be a tool for me and pretty soon it's gonna be wiped and I'll go
back to Win 2k.

Hmm...

Open IE, click tools, options, advanced... Scroll down a bit, no, keep
going... There you go. <g> Allow active content to run from my computer
might as well say to heck with it and let it run from CD too. The reason
that's there is to let active content run locally means that you're letting
it run with the same level of user rights as you have your account set to.

Anyhow... The printer bit... Throw me a bone, is it the balloon tips OR is
it a function of your printer's software? I'm going to guess it's the
annoying little yellow balloons you see near the notification area... It's
enough to drive you batty really. I think Microsoft should have set it so
that they were on by default in all new accounts for a month or something
and then let them expire. Anyhow...

Disable XP's Balloon Tips:
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/997/

Open Search, click on change preferences... Kill off Rover first... Then
click the Change files and folders search behavior and set it to advanced...

I do NOT like telling you TO do this so I'm NOT... I am just telling you HOW
to do it. But.... <g> Start > Run > type "services.msc" without the quotes >
press enter > find/right click > disable "Security Center" and no more
warnings... Of course this is a bad idea... You can just set Automatic
Updates to tell you and NOT download and NOT install automatically and still
have the security center running and it will stop bleating at you so long as
you at least have it set to that setting.

Next on the list?

Open My Computer... Click on tools, options, and then UNtick the show common
tasks and click okay...

While you're at it, if you haven't found it, right click the start button,
select properties, and set it to classic menu... You might as well open up
the display properties and set it back to the classic style. If you open
system control panel applet (if you haven't already done so then hit classic
view) > click advanced > click performance settings > and adjust for best
performance...

See that? You're back on 2k already... Kinda sorta....

Hmm... Ah yes...

Make a shortcut... Use this: explorer /n, /e, C:\
You could use this: explorer /n, /e, C:\Program Files
or: explorer /n, /e, C:\Windows

You'll find that's what you're probably expecting to see... There's a tweak
to actually make "My Computer" open up there but it's a lot of work if I
recall and you'll find it easier to just put it in the quick launch as the
above shortcut...

You're on your own with the audio player I think?

jetAudio Basic:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/jetaudio.html

Then again I think that one will happily order it for you too. Dunno? Never
actually tried dragging anything?

That's what I use for a lot of stuff though I honestly do my playback in
WMP.


--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

"A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the
furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the
lumber-room of his library where he can get it if he wants it."

Sherlock Holmes

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Have you considered using the Classic Theme in Windows XP?

HOW TO: Use the Windows Classic Theme in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;294309

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hi,
| I am a recent (forced) convert to XP. There are bits I don't mind and there
| are bits I positively dislike. I've managed to stop most of the screens
| looking like a kids toy but there are still some things I haven't managed to
| sort out yet. Maybe someone can help.
|
| Turn off the nag boxes (Job was sent to printer etc). Why are they telling
| me things I already know?
| Open Asp files in my text editor without having to click on the security
| message every time (I open a lot of ASP pages in my text editor, first couple
| of days was acceptable but come on, I have a job to do and don't need the
| extra mouse clicks to add to my RSI).
| Include system and hidden files in searches.
| Turn off the space wasting graphics in Explorer PERMANENTLY IN ALL VIEWS!!
| Open explorer on "C:\" not "My Documents"
| Get rid of all red boxes that say "Turn on automatic updates". Umm, it's
| disabled for a reason guys, just accept it and move on. If I want to enable
| it I shall go and find it in control panel and enable it.
| Drag and drop files into Winamp without XP re-ordering them when I do (Win
| 2k never used to do that).
|
| Ok, so the last one isn't work related, but this machine is supposed to be a
| tool for me and pretty soon it's gonna be wiped and I'll go back to Win 2k.

 

[Guest]

Thanks everyone so far....

Carey, Yes, one of the first things I did was to opt for the classic theme,
but it is very much an XP "New and Improved" classic (if there can be such a
thing) which still leaves a lot of annoying junk switched on.

Galen, Thank you, the printer warnings are the balloons, I've modified the
registry but it still persists, I will check out more later.
The ASP problem still exists because the files are located on a separate
machine and are therefore not "Local Machine".
FWIW, I had the little dog put down and stuck the paper clip in the mains
socket within about 5 minutes of starting on this machine.

There should be an XP Luddite version to accompany the Home and Pro versions
for the "More Mature" user, which is what I'd consider myself to be. I have
to use my machine as a serious tool, if I had a shovel that kept asking to be
taken to the ironmongers for a sharpening every five minutes, or popped
little messages that said "that dirt looks rather grubby, are you sure you
want me to dig in there", then it'd be time to give up gardening.

Ho Hum, back to work




I really wish the people that developed all the whizz bangs would

 

[Grafis]

I really wish the people that developed all the whizz bangs would

I hear ya, Windows XP "Pro"... my *wife* took one look at it and said
"What's with the Playskool look and why does this thing assume I'm on
Prozac".

Judging by your comments this guy is a kindred soul, a page for
reformatting your machine and setting up XP for "mature" users.
<http://www.virtualdub.org/blog/pivot/entry.php?id=49>

"Do not search for anything. Do not use simple anything. Do not cache
anything. Do not hide anything. Do not use intuitive anything. Yes, I
know I can screw up my system if I randomly delete files."

 

[Guest]

Phew.

The answer was really quite simple, but time consuming.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

TweakUI has tweaks for most of the things I was struggling with. My machine
now has a clean, professional, workmanlike appearance and by adding to the ip
address of the remote machine to my trusted zones (or at least, trying, cos'
I keep being told it is already in another zone, which it isn't) in internet
explorer, I can open asp pages in my text editor without the warning box.

So, in case anyone that can make a difference reads this. The User Interface
has been my main bug bear, the product itself seems good (it does what a
Disk/Network enabled Operating System should do). Please, include an option
in future Os's that allows me to say I am over the age of 12 (particularly
for any "Professional" versions, the home version can stay as is).

 

[Galen]

In Frustrated of UK <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Phew.

The answer was really quite simple, but time consuming.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

TweakUI has tweaks for most of the things I was struggling with. My
machine now has a clean, professional, workmanlike appearance and by
adding to the ip address of the remote machine to my trusted zones
(or at least, trying, cos' I keep being told it is already in another
zone, which it isn't) in internet explorer, I can open asp pages in
my text editor without the warning box.

So, in case anyone that can make a difference reads this. The User
Interface has been my main bug bear, the product itself seems good
(it does what a Disk/Network enabled Operating System should do).
Please, include an option in future Os's that allows me to say I am
over the age of 12 (particularly for any "Professional" versions, the
home version can stay as is).

It's an interesting view point and you're definately not the first person to
suggest such a "feature" though I'm not really sure if it's a lack of
features. Hmm... I'd say read some of the beta blogs on the Microsoft site I
guess. Keep your fingers crossed for the Vista OS.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

"A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the
furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the
lumber-room of his library where he can get it if he wants it."

Sherlock Holmes