Windows Pwnge - RD C:\ /S /Q

[Short Tutorial on Remove Directory Command]

How to Hide a Drive

[Short tutorial on hiding an entire Computer Drive or partition.]






Too fast for you?

Here's my script:

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Hello!

Need to hide a Drive or partition? Follow these steps:


1. Launch the Registry Editor: START > run > Regedit


2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.


3. Right-click the Servers key > New > DWORD value.


4. Name Value 'NoDrives'


5. Open the Edit DWORD Value dialog box.


6. Enter corresponding value in 'Value Data' text box and click OK.

DRIVE DWORD VALUE
A 1
B 2
C 4
D 8
E 16

etc... Keep following the pattern, double the number for
each successive drive letter. e.g. F: would have a value of 32


Note: You must restart the system or log out of Windows XP in order for
the change to take effect.



It is possible to hide multiple drives. For this you would have to add
the values of the "hidden" drives to total the 'Value Data'
e.g. to hide A: and B: the 'Value Data would be '3'



Want to hide ALL drive letters? Hint* 2^26 = 67108864.

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Fun With CMD

[Video contains some pretty cool tricks for Windows Command Line]


Want to really cause Chaos? (Well at least to a Windows PC in a Test Environment)

From command line run the following command: RD C:\ /S /Q

Don't have and idea what this command can do?

Let me explain:

     RD =  Remove Directory

     Syntax:
         RD pathname
         RD /S pathname
         RD /S /Q pathname

   Key
      /S  : Delete all files and subfolders
       in addition to the folder itself.
       Use this to remove an entire folder tree.

      /Q  : Quiet - do not display YN confirmation

Now do you have an idea?

Hello! I’m a PC. . . and I’m slow. . .

Having worked at various helpdesk and desktop support positions I cannot begin to count the amount of calls relating to computer performance that I have handled, especially that of PCs. Ticket after ticket the complaints pile up, statements like “dreadful speeds,” “constantly freezing,” and “the hour glass again” are repeated over and over again as users attempt to express their frustration. I dare not to mention the “really upset” users and the choice of words used to describe their problems, but who can really blame them.

So…what is the best approach to making a computer run like new? Of course a fresh installation of Windows would deal with most issues, but unfortunately it is not always the best tactic. Many users cannot afford the down time associated with a reimage, it’s not the reimaging process itself that is time consuming, but usually the busy IT department schedule. Besides most computer images only contain basic office applications, common system components and peripheral drivers. To add on most users don’t have the same applications installed on their PC and creating an image for every user is quite overwhelming and space consuming, definitely not a very good practice.

With this in mind, I have put together a list of the top 10 things that have helped me in resolving most issues involving slow PC performance. (Note this list is based on Windows XP Pro, however, some of these steps are also helpful in improving the performance of Windows Vista. Also some of my suggestions are not feasible for helpdesk/desktop support, more for personal use.)

Please feel free go give your feedback; I’m sure there are a few things that I might be missing.

1. Freeing up disk space is a great place to start. There are a few places that need constant maintenance. Cleaning these locations will greatly improve system performance:

• Windows Temp Files: %temp%
• Windows Prefetch Files: %systemroot%/prefetch
• IE Temporary Files, Browsing History and Cookies
• Java temporary files from Java Console
• Don’t forget to empty the Windows Recycle bin
• Remove any unused programs and applications.
• Remove any unused browser toolbars or plugins.

(If you need help finding any of these locations feel free to send me an email)

2. After freeing as much disk space as possible it is a good idea to run a disk defrag. However, I would suggest using an application like SmartDefrag (free and downloadable at: http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html). If you prefer to run the default Defragmenter program in Windows note that the program cannot defrag any file that is currently open, which includes all system files, the Windows page file, and the Windows registry.

To truly optimize the speed and performance of your computer, defragging the system files, Windows page files, and Windows registry must also be done. [Windows is constantly accessing these three aspects of the operating system during normal operation.]

It’s a great thing that Microsoft did not leave us in the dark; they do provide a free product that can help us in defragging files that are constantly in use. PageDefrag, which is available through the Microsoft download page, will defrag your computer during the system boot so as to avoid any files being locked up by Windows.

3. By default in Windows operations systems, paging files are controlled by Windows. These files fluctuate in size and can cause plenty of disk fragmentation. I personally like to set the paging files to a location different than the boot location, preferably a different hard disk, but a different partition also works.

When configuring our Virtual Memory make sure to use the “custom” option and keep the initial size and maximum size at the same value.

When deciding the total Amount of Virtual Memory to allocate the rule-of-thumb is: 3X the amount of RAM you have, e.g. a computer with 512MB of RAM would need 1536MB of Virtual Memory.

4. After Uninstalling a program/application in Windows XP, it is easy to see that it has been deleted, after all the shortcut in the desktop no longer works or points to a location that is unavailable, surely it no longer resides within your system. The truth is that most programs even after uninstalling themselves leave a lot of garbage behind, random files or folders, shortcuts, links, and even registry entries.

It is great practice to keep the Windows registry clean. Delete broken shortcuts, missing shared DLLs, invalid paths, and invalid installer references.

A simple way to provide maintenance of the Windows Registry is to use CCleaner (free for download at: www.ccleaner.com). There are a few other programs, feel free to explore. *Never forget to backup your registry before any kind of modifications.

5. A personal favorite of mine is to disable the XP boot logo, this is not a crucial step, but it does help to speed up the Windows boot time.

Here’s how to do it:

1. [Run msconfig] Click Start > Run; type: msconfig
2. Select the BOOT.INI tab
3. From Boot Options check: /NOGUIBOOT
4. Click Apply > close msconfig.
5. Restart your computer for changes to take effect

[To re-enabled the Windows Splash Screen uncheck the /NOGUIBOOT from msconfig.]

6. Don’t forget to check your RAM! Windows XP runs best on a minimum of 512MB of RAM while Vista requires a minimum of 1 GB.

7. A frequent issue that causes computer performance issue is infections of spyware/malware and/or viruses/trojans. There are many programs to prevent and remove such threats, but not all work as efficient as others.

My favorites are:

• Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoft.com/single/trialpay.php)
• SUPERAntiSpyware (http://www.superantispyware.com/)
• AVG AntiVirus (www.avg.com/free)

*Of course all of these are free versions.

8. Try to replace slower hard drives with faster more efficient disks. Avoid hard drives with speeds slower than 7200 RPM, if your motherboards supports serial hard drives consider replacing your PATA drives with SATA or SAS.

9. There is a risky option; I only recommend this to “technically savvy” – Over Clock your processor. I have done successfully on a few computers, I’m not going to lie, I have damaged a few others in the process. If you are interested in attempting to over clock your processor please email me for more information.

10. Your last option is to drop it all and switch to a MAC :)

Forgot your Windows Admin Account Password? Now what?

This issue has come up twice this week, once with a co-worker and just yesterday with a client.

Here is the best and easiest way to reset a Windows XP or Vista Password.

Your main tool: Trinity Rescue Kit 3.2

Download the latest Trinity Rescue Kit at: http://trinityhome.org/Home/index.php?wpid=5&front_id=12 (you can also click the title of this post)

I am still using the 3.2 Build 279.

The latest version is 3.3 Build 321, but I have not had a chance to play with it yet.

Note: Only download this tool from the TRK site or published mirrors. It is a good practice to validate the TRK ISO image file’s MD5 checksum with the published one to confirm the ISO image is genuine and safe!

After you have downloaded the ISO, burn it to a blank CD.
Note: the file is about 110MB in size.

The next step is to Boot up the troubled XP or Vista machine with the Trinity Rescue Kit CD-ROM. You may have to change your boot options from the bios setup.
After the Linux based tool completely loads into your physical memory you will see something like the image below.

(I’m sorry for the quality, I was in a rush and used my iPhone to snap the pic.)

Now this is the fun part:

At the command prompt next to [root@trk]: type “winpass –u Administrator”

*To reset a different account, just replace “Administrator” from the command above to the account name of your choice. If you notice on the image above, I reset the password for the account “Liz” which is the only administrative account on the Windows Vista Ultimate laptop.

The winpass command will then display something similar to:

Searching and mounting all file system on local machine
Windows NT/2K/XP installation(s) found in:
1: /hda1/Windows
Make your choice or ‘q’ to quit [1]:

In my case there is only 1 bootable disk found. Here you will type the number of the corresponding drive. Make a selection and press ENTER or just hit ENTER key to accept the default value of [1].

Next, it’s time to reset password of the specified Windows Vista or XP account.
You have the options of resetting the password to a new value, resetting it to a blank value or leaving it as it currently is.

Resetting the password to a blank value might work better than setting a new password! For this just type * (asterisk character) and hit the ENTER key. This will reset the password to a blank value for the specified Windows account.

Shortly you will receive a verification prompt: “Do you really wish to change it?” Type Y and press ENTER key at the message prompt.


CONGRATULATIONS, you have now reset a forgotten Windows Account password.

To quit the program and restart in Windows type “init 0”
TRK will automatically eject your CD-ROM Drive, remove the disk and boot into Windows.


ENJOY!

“Fast switching” for Windows XP in a domain environment :)

“Fast switching” for Windows XP in a domain environment :)

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To better understand the process that I am about to explain please become familiar with the Microsoft Article KB294676.

Please note that in no way shape or form am I taking credit for Microsoft’s work, I am just using it as a reference to further educate my friends and colleagues. This article can be found at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294676

Article ID: 294676 - Last Review: January 15, 2006 - Revision: 2.2 How to enable and use the "Run As" command when running programs in Windows
This article was previously published under Q294676
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This short tutorial will show you how to access an administrator account while logged in to a regular user account. This process is great when working on a computer remotely and having the need to run various admin tasks. There is an “exploit” that takes advantage of Microsoft Schedule service “at” and allows you to access an admin account with out a password, but I’ll leave that for another day.


Step 1: Launch a command prompt from a regular user account.

Step 2: Type: runas /user:Administrator “cmd.exe” (Replace Administrator with another account if needed)

Step 3: You will be prompted for the account password

You should be looking at something similar to:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(c) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\esalazar>runas /user:Administrator “cmd.exe”

If this command runs successfully you should be looking at a new command prompt shell similar to:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(c) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>

*note keep this window open; do not run any command from here yet, unless you know what you are doing =)

Step 4: Open task manager, either by using the ctrl + alt + del method or by running tskmgr.

Step 5: From the process tab find and terminated the “explorer.exe” process. FYI this will cause your desktop to disappear so don’t panic.

Step 6: From the new command prompt that we opened, type explorer.exe – e.g. C:\WINDOWS\system32>explorer.exe

Tada! You are now logged in as an administrator.

After you are done doing whatever it is that you needed admin rights to do restart the computer, this will prevent any unauthorized changes by regular users. You can also reverse the process and change the profile back to the original user.

Note: This also works in domain environments if you have a network admin account. However, you need to specify your domain when entering your account. e.g.

C:\Documents and Settings\esalazar>runas /user:domain@Administrator “cmd.exe”

Windows Shutdown Button

[Cool trick to quickly shutdown Windows]