6 Windows XP annoyances fixed

After a fresh installation of Windows XP there are a number of tasks I complete to customize my installation, improve performance, and reduce system resource utilization. The quick tips below show you how to remove balloon notifications and Windows XP Genuine Advantage warnings, fill functionality gaps with Windows PowerToys, and prevent certain actions from happening or applications from starting. If you find some of these tips useful, or have related tips of your own, please share them in the comments.

(1) Remove Balloon pop-ups from the system tray

I find Windows XP pop-ups (balloon notifications) annoying, especially when I am watching a video or viewing a fullscreen slideshow. Microsoft has provided instructions on how to disable these pop-ups in this HOWTO article. A brief version is as follows:

1. launch regedit
2. Browse to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
3. Right-click and add a new DWORD called EnableBalloonTips
4. The default value of 0 means that balloon tips are disabled

This registry edit could be added for all users as well. This registry edit as above covers the current logged-in user only. In my experience I still hear the occasional “pop” but there is no visual indication of notifications. Microsoft is recommending that developers use system tray notifications “more judiciously” in Windows Vista. I haven’t had a chance yet to install Vista and see for myself how they are handling visual alerts.

(2) Remove Windows XP “Genuine Advantage” pop-ups and warnings

Microsoft rolled out a new program (via Windows Update) to notify users when they are using a copy of Windows XP that is not “genuine.” In my case I used the media from a “corporate” version of Windows XP to install it so I could skip the activation section of the installation wizard. Now I get the Genuine Advantage warning even though I own academic and OEM copies of Windows XP because I did not use the correct product keys. For those that install Windows XP frequently (from the media, not from an image) this new warning is annoying. Fortunately the workaround was very simple (though your mileage may vary):

1. Append a character to the end of \WINDOWS\system32\WgaLogon.dll
2. Append a character to the end of \WINDOWS\system32\WgaTray.exe
3. reboot

My Digital Life provides a number of other workarounds. This method may not work for you, it depends on which system updates you have installed with your Windows installation. Coincidentally, Lifehacker covered how to bypass Genuine Advantage today which might provide another way of solving this problem if you are not successful with the method I used. NOTE: This website does not condone any activity that violates the terms of service of any software.

You could also consult this TechRepulic article on changing the Windows product key. That way you could change the product key after your installation and perhaps skip the Genuine Advantage warning had you installed with an invalid product key initially.

Fix your mail-to link popups in Firefox

(3) Prevent Outlook Express from launching when mailto links are clicked

On new Windows XP installations where Outlook is not installed, Outlook Express will be launched as the default action when a <mailto> link is clicked on a web page. My quick tip for how to get around this in Firefox is to type about:config in the location bar, then type “mailto” and toggle the property that ends in ...warn-external so that Firefox prompts you when you click an action that will launch an external application. This is just one way of handling this annoyance. This way I can click “cancel” and “Remember my choice for links of this type” so that Firefox doesn’t launch an external application for <mailto> links. If you want to remove Outlook Express see Tip (5) below. Another method of solving this problem would be to edit the system wide settings for links.

Image Resize will resize a batch of photos, great for Internet auctions and more

(4) Fill functionality gaps with Microsoft PowerToys

Microsoft makes PowerToys available for download that fill some missing functionality gaps in the product or might enhance the experience for “power users.” Some of the PowerToys are worthless, but I have found a few to be useful. The image resizer (ImageResizer.exe) powertoy is useful. This lets you select one or more images, right click and choose “Resize images.” A pop-up dialog will prompt you to select a size. When you press OK, copies of your selected images are created in their new sizes. This is convenient for situations where you need to batch resize your photos due to size restrictions, or where you want to share photos online but do not wish to make the full-size versions available.

To run from command interpreter (cmd.exe) more easily, the Open Command Window here (CmdHere.exe) powertoy allows you to open a command prompt at the specified folder. This is a quick install, and once installed, is immediately available from the right-click context menu.

Powertoy: open a command prompt window from anywhere

There is also a virtual desktop manager PowerToy that creates something similar to multiple desktop management available out of the box in Linux distributions. Explore the PowerToys page for full details. I don’t think multiple desktop support will be native to Windows Vista, but I believe OS X 10.5 “Leopard” will include some multi-desktop support.

Remove unused Windows components

(5) Remove Windows Components (Messenger, Outlook Express)

By default Windows XP is installed with the Windows Messenger chat/IM application and Outlook Express. I don’t use either of these and want to remove them. Removing these Windows Components was quite simple:

1. Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Components (left vertical menu bar)
2. Scroll down in the list and select Windows Messenger and Outlook Express (you may also want to remove Windows Media Player, MSN Explorer)
3. Hit “Next” until the wizard completes then verify that the programs have been uninstalled.

If you want to keep Messenger but not start it when Windows XP boots, see Tip (6) on Startup control panel.

Prevent applications from loading on startup to improve startup time

(6) Prevent useless programs from starting (and improve your startup time)

Mike Lin’s Startup Control Panel is a free program that makes it easy to see what applications are starting up when Windows XP boots and easy for you to decide if you want to prevent certain apps from starting. Access the program by going to Start > Control Panel > Startup. Under the HKLM / Run tab (on my machine) I was able to stop QuickTime Task, NeroFilterCheck, iTunesHelper and some various programs related to automatic updates. Note that some helper programs (in the system tray) may help keep you up-to-date or load applications more quickly. In my case these system tray programs offered me no value. By unchecking various applications I was able to improve my boot-up time and free some system resources. Remember to periodically revisit “Startup Control Panel” as you install new applications.