1. Start Run (Windows Key + R). Type regedit and hit enter to open the registry editor.

NOTE 1: Prior to making any changes in the Windows registry, it is recommended to backup Windows registry settings so you can revert back in case something goes wrong.

2. Now from the left pane, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. Once that is done, look out for the registry key RPEnabled.

3. Now double-click the entry to change the DWORD data value to 0 (zero). Once that is done, close the registry editor and restart Windows (or just log off and log back in) to see the changes in effect.

Windows 8 Start Menu Toggle

Now if you are not comfortable with playing around your registry settings, here is a tool named Windows 8 Start Menu Toggle that can do the job for you. You will need to install .Net 3.5.1 to use this application. Once prompted proceed by accepting changes.

NOTE 2: Once you make a change to the registry settings Windows will throw this message,

Unauthorized use or disclosure in any manner may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment (in case of employees), termination of an assignment or contract (in case of contingent staff), and potential civil and criminal liability.

Disclaimer: We will not be held responsible for any legal actions against you for adopting the above method. This tutorial is covered only for educational purposes.

If you want to revert back to the default settings just follow the steps 1-3 and change the DWORD data value to 1.

Well, what do you think of the new start screen. Are you loving it or do you think it’s a big annoyance in the latest Microsoft offering?

Bring Back That Old Windows 7 Style Start Menu To Windows 8 originally published on Ampercent

Sometime back, I had detailed how I use Feeddemon as my Twitter desktop client. One thing I hated most while sharing stories from Feeddemon was that there were no built-in URL shortener. That meant longer URLs and either I had to compromise on the words to tell about the story or had to use a URL shortening service to shorten the links myself. That was tiring.

Well recently I had found out a way out to auto-shorten links with Bit.ly, while sharing feed entries on Twitter from Feeddemon. Here is how you can do it:

1. Sign up for a free account with Bit.ly or login to the service if you already have an account.

2. Now go to “Settings” and scroll down to the section “APIKey” and copy the API key to a newly opened notepad file. Leave the notepad file opened and (you may) sign out of your Bit.ly account.

3. Open Windows Registry editor and navigate to

4. Create a new String value by right clicking in the editing area and choosing New > String Value. Name the new entry BitlyLogin. Create another string value and name it BitlyApiKey.

5. Double-click the newly created entries one by one and enter the following values (without the angle brackets) as the value data,

6. That’s it, start Feedemon and share anything and the links will get auto-shortened with Bit.ly.

I have always considered that it’s more productive way to combine two (major) tasks into one place. And using Feeddemon to tweet helps me read and share on the same place. With this simple hack the task of sharing has become easier. Thanks @WinObs for notifying and @nbradbury for elaborating the nice trick. Happy tweeting.

Shorten Links With Bit.ly While Sharing on Twitter from Feeddemon originally published on Ampercent

Setup Your BIOS

First of all, you need to setup your BIOS configuration to ensure that the PC starts up automatically in case of an accidental power failure. To do that, go to your BIOS and then to the Power settings and make the relevant changes. Once you have successfully changed the value , please exit saving changes. If you are not sure how to edit BIOS consult somebody who can.

Edit Start-Up and Recovery Settings

Open Start, right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Click Advanced System Settings from the left side. In the System Properties dialog press the Settings button for Startup and Recovery.

1. Choose Default Operating System:

In case you have multiple operating systems installed, choose the operating system you wish to use for the automatic startup. Use the dropdown list to choose the OS.

2. Edit Time Countdown During Boot:

Next thing you have to do is choose the countdown down until the default operating system starts booting automatically. Change the time in the section Time to display the list of operating systems. Choose any time that you prefer.

Edit Registry To Automate The Logon For A Specific Account

Now using registry you have to enter the username and password of the specific user account you wish to boot automatically. Open Run (Windows Key + R), type regedit and hit Return to start Registry Editor.

NOTE: Editing Registry can go wrong if not handled properly, hence its always advised to backup Windows registry before editing it. You can restore the backup if anything goes wrong.

Now in the Registry Editor go to,

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Now follow the steps below to edit the registry keys mentioned there.

1. Choose the Default Username:

Locate the key DefaultUserName. If its not there, create it a new string value and name it DefaultUserName.

Now double click the entry to edit the string. Enter the username you wish to automatically logon.

2. Choose Password for Default Account:

In a similar way create and edit DefaultPassword entry and enter the password for the Windows user account you chose in the previous step.

3. Enable Auto Logon:

Now that you have entered the username and password, activate the auto-logon.  Find the key AutoAdminLogon or create one if its not there. Double click the entry and enter the value 1.

That is all. But if you wish to have an option for logging in using another user account, create another key ForceAutoLogon. Edit its value to 1. To use this press and hold the left SHIFT key when Windows starts. This will allow you to use another user account.

Once everything is done, close the registry editor and restart your PC for checking. Let us know if the tweak had helped you or not. And please state the reason why you wish to auto start your PC.

More Registry Hacks For Windows:

1. Use Windows 7 and Vista For 1 Year Without Activation

2. How to Change the Location of Internet Explorer Favorites

3. Change Windows 7 Logon Screen Background Without Any 3rd Party Tool

4. Show More Tabs in IE9 New Tabs Page

Auto-Restart Your PC after a Power Failure And Logon To A Specific Windows User Account Automatically originally published on Ampercent

Method 1 : Show Custom Messages Using Windows Logon Notifier

This method involves using a free tool named Windows Logon Notifier. Any user can try this because installing a freeware is perhaps the easiest way to deal with a problem (or to create one). Download Windows Logon Notifier and start it.

As you can see in the screenshot above, there are two places where you can add two custom messages. Enter your message, press the Add Message button and you are done. Do it on your own and reboot PC to see the changes.

[You might also like : Change Windows 7 Logon Screen Background Without Any 3rd Party Tool]

Method 2 : Show Custom Messages by Editing Registry

Now this is a tricky part which can also help you display custom messages on logon screen without the use of any 3rd-party tool. As this process is going to involve editing registry we recommend you to backup Windows registry first.

1. Open Registry Editor. To do that first open Run (press Win Key + R) and then type regedit in it and hit Enter.

2. Now go to

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
HKLM stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

3. In the right pane you will see two entries “legalnoticecaption” and “legalnoticetext“.

4. Double click the each of them and type in your message header and message body. Restart your system to see the changes.

Here is yet another logon screen trick which you can use to change your logon screen to Vista Logon screen in Windows XP.

Display Custom Text On Windows 7 Logon Screen originally published on Ampercent

Reset Windows Vista And Windows 7 Activation for 120 days

1. Start Command Prompt. (Press Winkey+R to start Run, type cmd in it and hit enter).

2. Enter the command slmgr –rearm and hit enter.

3. You will be prompted to restart Windows. After restarting, the trial period will be extended for 30 more days.

NOTE : If you are willing to take full advantage (i.e 120 days) perform this trick every 30 days after installation. This trick will work only three times. So, 30days(default) + extended 90(30X3) days makes the extension of 120 days or 4 months.

Reset Windows 7 or Vista Activation For almost 1 year(360 days)

As I mentioned earlier, the slmgr –rearm trick could be used only 3 times. But a registry trick will make it usable for 8 more times i.e (8X30=240days) of Windows use.

1. Open the registry editor in Windows 7 or Vista.(Press Winkey+R to start Run, and then type regedit in it and hit enter).

NOTE : Backup Windows Registry before making changes to it.

2. Go to the following directory using the left pane,

For Windows Vista

For Windows 7

*HKLM stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

3. Now in the right pane, you will find a DWORD entry named, SkipRearm. Right click on it and press “Modify”. Change the “Value Data” to 1.

4. Restart your computer to apply the changes. That’s all. Now you can perform the previously mentioned(slmgr -rearm) trick 8 more times.

Therefore the total count of the allowed slmgr –rearm trick is 11 which means an extra of 330 days in addition to the default 30 days. So, you get a 360 days of extension for using Windows 7 or Vista without activating it. You may also like to know how to disable or enable the Windows auto-activation feature.

Use Windows 7 and Vista For 1 Year Without Activation originally published on Ampercent

Enable And Disable Auto-Activation in Windows Vista

1. Open Start menu and type regedit in the search box. Now open the regedit.exe to start the registry editor. Or open Run by pressing the key combination Win Key + R and type regedit within it. Hit enter.

2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SL\Activation.

3. Modify the DWORD value Manual. Right click on Manual, press Modify and then change the parameter Value Data to 1(to disable auto-activation) or 0(to enable auto-activation).

4. Exit the editor and restart your computer to apply the changes.

Enable Or Disable Auto-Activation in Windows 7

The registry module in Windows 7 is a bit different.

1. Follow the steps 1 as described in previous section. You may get a User Account Control message for confirming the action. Press Yes to continue.

2. Now go to, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\Activation.

3. Now again follow the steps 3 and 4 as told in the Vista section.

Thats all. From now on, you do not need to worry about the auto-activation feature in Windows.

Enable Or Disable Auto-Activation Feature in Windows 7 And Vista originally published on Ampercent

Backing Up Registry In Windows

STEP 1 :: Go to Run. (Windows Key + R).

STEP 2 :: Type regedit and hit enter. The Registry Editor Window opens.

STEP 3 :: Go to File > Export.

STEP 4 :: Now select a location for the exported (backup) file. Name it and press Save.

(also read – Start up Xp faster with a simple registry tweak)

Restoring Registry In Windows

STEP 1 :: Go to Run. (Windows Key + R).

STEP 2 :: Type regedit and hit enter. The Registry Editor Window opens.

STEP 3 :: STEP 3 :: Go to File > Import.

STEP 4 :: Locate the (backed up) registry file and Press Enter.

That is all you have to do to backup or restore your registry. This way you are safe from any fatal crash your system may experience from any improper change in registry values. You may also like to know about a portable backup software for Windows.

How to Backup and Restore Registry In Windows 7, XP and Vista originally published on Ampercent

Follow the steps below:

• I have my Windows installed on my C: & that’s why I’ll be using my E: to create a new folder named Favorites. You do the same in a drive in which windows is not installed.
• Go to START, then click RUN. Type regedit & hit enter. The Registry Editor will open.
• In the left pane of the Registry Editor follow the path as shown below :
• Now in the right hand panel of the Registry Editor window, Find the string name Favorites and double click on it. Change the location of IE Favorites to the new location which is the new folder you created in the first step i.e E:\Favorites(in my case) & then click OK.
• Now again, in the left pane follow the path as shown below :
• Again in the right panel find the Favorites string & double-click on it. As in the previous case edit location to E:\Favorites. And click OK.

NB :

1. Don’t forget to copy the old Favorites from C:\Documents and Settings\your_name\Favorites to the newly assigned folders.
2. Don’t forget to repeat this tweak (avoid 1st step) after you re-install Windows after a format.
3. Well in case, you need to format E: don’t forget to take the backup of Favorites located in it.

So that’s it we are done. Now whenever you favorite a page in IE it will be saved in E:\Favorites & the hassle of losing it, is over.

How to Change the Location of Internet Explorer Favorites originally published on Ampercent

The auto play dialog box in Windows shows you a list of options for actions you can take on the files that are stored in the removable storage device. If it’s an audio DVD, the auto play dialog box will provide an option “Play all media from this DVD”, which is sometimes very useful.

However, a lot of users find the autoplay options really annoying. Whenever you insert a CD, thumb drive or a DVD, Windows starts the auto play options which you may want to permanently turn off.

In this article, we will show you some simple steps using which you can disable autoplay options in Windows7 and Windows XP. After you turn off autoplay in Windows, you have to manually open the removable storage location and use the content thats stored there.

Turn off Autoplay Of CD/DVD and USB Drives in Windows XP

1. From the start Menu go to Run and type “regedit” to open Windows registry editor.

2. Select administrative templates in the left Pane. Under administrative templates, select system.

3. On the right pane, look for an option labelled “Turn off Autoplay”. Double click the option to enable it.

4. You can select only CD ROM drive or all drives.Then click ok.

Disabling autoplay for all drives will turn off autoplay for USB devices, external hard drives and other storage devices – your digital camera for example. If in any case you want to re enable the auto play features for a p[articular drive, follow the above method and choose “Disabled” in “turn off autoplay properties” settings panel.

Disable Autorun Feature In Windows 7

The steps to disable auorun in Windows7 is exactly the same as in Windows XP but in case you need the step by step instructions, we thought it would be wise to post it anyway. Here goes:

1. Click the Windows 7 start menu and type “gpedit.msc” in the search box. Then click gpedit in the search results pane to open the local group policy editor

2. On the left hand pane of local group policy editor, navigate to Administrative templates . Windows components . Autoplay policies and look for the option “Turn off autoplay” in the right pane

3. Click enable and choose OK. That’s it, you have just disabled autoplay option in Windows7. Now Windows wont bother you with the autoplay dialog box whenever you insert a USB thumb drive, a CD or a DVD.

Why You Should Disable Autoplaying CD’s And Pen Drives

Personally I would recommend that you permanently turn off autoplay for all external devices because its always better to have the control in your fingers. Autorun commands are stored in an autorun.inf file which can be used to start an application, run a system command or even a batch file. Generally, these commands do no harm to your system but there are situations when the autorun.inf file can be modified and used otherwise. let me share an example case.

Let’s say one of your friends wants to have some fun with you, so he gave you a movie in a removable drive and told you to copy the video on your computer. Feeling excited, you plug in the USB device on your computer and find that your computer has stopped responding. Thinking that there might be a problem in the USB storage device, you plug it out but find that Windows is not responding as earlier before. You reboot Windows but find that the system fails to boot because an internal system file is missing.

What went wrong here?

The USB drive had a trojan in it and your friend has intentionally modified the autorun.inf file to run the trojan on your system. Hence, the moment you plugged in the USB drive, the autoplay feature was triggered which harmed your computer.

Accidents like these can happen anytime so we suggest you to disable Windows from autoplaying the contents of any removable drive, USB drive, CD or DVD and make your system more secure.

Also read: 3 ways to Prevent USB Drives from Auto running Programs

Turn Off Auto Play on CD/DVD Drives and USB Storage in Windows XP and Windows7 originally published on Ampercent