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Modify XP To Your Taste

The holiday season may seem like a strange time to vent our complaints about an operating system, but we say “Scrooge is part of the Christmas tradition too.” The truth is Windows XP is probably the best O/S Microsoft has ever delivered for home or business uses but there are some ‘features’ that we could definitely do without, and in talking to our customers it turns out we are not the only ones. Below are a few of the more common irritants and how you can get rid of them. If your particular pet peeve is not on the list, let us know and maybe we’ll include it in a future tech tip.

1. Yellow Highlights – Every time we install a new program these yellow highlights keep popping up, like virtual post-it notes telling us this or that about the program we’ve just installed. The highlights don’t know or care that we might have been installing and using this program for years, but they certainly do a fine job of obstructing the view and distracting us from our task. To remove the highlights:

Right-click on the START button, and then select PROPERTIES.

Select CUSTOMIZE then the ADVANCED tab.

Remove the check marker on “Highlight Newly Installed Programs.”

2. Reporting XP Crashes – Whenever an application crashes on an XP machine, the OS asks eagerly if it can send a bug report to Microsoft. We don’t know what happens to the millions (maybe even billions) of bugs that probably get reported to them daily. Perhaps someone actually reads each and every one, but personally we are willing to lighten their load a bit. Bug reporting can be turned off as follows:

Right-click on MY COMPUTER

Select the ADVANCED tab

Select the ERROR REPORTING button below

Mark the box DISABLE ERROR REPORTING

3. Windows Update – Considering how often updates and patches come out of Redmond, having a Windows version that can automatically update itself might sound like a really good idea. On the other hand, how would you feel about your computer downloading things over the Internet whenever it ‘felt’ like it, without your knowledge or consent? As is often the case, whether this idea is good or bad just depends on your viewpoint, doesn’t it? It probably also depends on how security conscious you are, and whether you are a power user who likes to be in control or whether you think a certain software company would make a good surrogate parent. Personally, under no circumstances will I allow my computer to download things without my knowledge. Fortunately, automatic updates can be disabled thusly:

Right-click on MY COMPUTER

Click on PROPERTIES

Select the AUTOMTAIC UPDATES tab

There are different options you can choose from based on your preference but you can also unmark KEEP WINDOWS UPDATED.

4. New Improved GUI – You know how toys for toddlers always seem to be made of brightly coloured plastic and vinyl? The first time you saw the GUI for Windows XP, did you wonder whether one of those toymakers had merged with Microsoft? The Windows interface had changed hardly at all for nearly a decade, from Windows NT and 95 through 98, ME and 2000. You start to get comfortable, you think you know what to expect and then WHAM! Frankly, I can look in the window at Toys-R-Us for this kind of experience. In my office I prefer calm and dignified. What’s more, there used to be a MY COMPUTER icon right there in plain sight on the desktop, and with a simple click or right-click we could navigate ourselves to any part of the system. Yes, I know you can still get there through the START menu, but it’s not the same. And for all of us who feel that way, Windows XP offers an option called the Classic View. Classic. I like the sound of that.

Right-click on START

Select PROPERTIES

Then mark CLASSIC START MENU

Disclaimer - The Micro 2000 Tech Tip is a free service providing information only. While we use reasonable care to see that this information is correct, we do not guarantee it for accuracy, completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. Micro 2000, Inc. shall not be liable for damages of any kind in connection with the use or misuse of this information.