A Conflagration of Randomness

So a few weeks ago I was trying to install Windows XP x64, but for some reason I could not get it to run, no matter what I tried.  So I borrowed a friends’ 32 bit as well to test it and I was also getting a Blue Screen of Death right after the installer said “Starting Windows XP.” So I started doing research.  The key factor I found on a random website was that Windows XP does not natively support Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI), ie, the way my computer reads my SATA drives.  The Wikipedia Article on AHCI states:

The Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) is a programming-specification which defines the operation of Serial ATA host-controllers (also known as host bus adapters) in a non implementation-specific manner. The specification describes a system memory structure for computer hardware vendors in order to exchange data between host system memory and the attached storage-devices.

However, since Windows XP only natively supports ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment; such funny names these programmers have), the fact that I was trying to install XP on a AHCI computer meant the Blue Screen of Death was inevitable.  To solve this problem, the Windows XP install disc needs the proper drivers to be able to recognize this Hard Drive specification and below I will show you how to do it for the Dell XPS 630i, which is the computer I own, installing Windows XP 64-bit.  The drivers vary with computer and chipset, but I will show you a semi-general way that you may be able to repeat with other computers, since the original instructions I followed were for not even an XPS computer.  First we will need to find out what kind of chipset we have.

Needed programs and items:

• Windows XP Installation Disc
• CPU-Z
• Drivers for your chipset
• nLite

Getting Chipset

1. Download CPU-Z from here and unzip it.  This program allows you to view information about your computer such as your chipset. 
   
2. Run CPU-Z and look under the Mainboard tab.  There should be a place where it says chipset and to the right of this is the chipset that is running on your computer.  For the Dell XPS 630i this should read “nForce 650i SLI,” however this will be different depending what computer/motherboard you have.  For example, my HP dv9820us Laptop reads “nForce 560.”
   
3. If yours reads “nForce” something then go to http://www.nvidia.com -> Download Drivers.  For product type, select “nForce” and for product series, pick the number of the first digit of your chipset number.  For example in the Dell XPS 630i, the series is 6, and for my HP laptop, the series is 5.  Then under product, find the number of your chipset.  Select your operating system that you want to install.  In this case I chose Windows XP 64-bit.  If it does not have “nForce” try search your computers main drivers website or Google for these drivers.
   
4. Go to the next page and accept the agreement and download the drivers to a location that you can locate.  In this case I chose my desktop.  Extract these files if archived into a folder.  Personally I have Winrar so I can extract the files directly from the exe file, but if you can’t install using the exe then browse to the folder similar to “C:\NVIDIA\nForceWinXP64Int\SOME CUMBER” or remember the path that it extracts the files to.
5. Now we will need to download nLite from here.  Install this program like normal. Then open this program.  Here comes the part where you make your own installation disc.
6. Start the program and click next after selecting your language.
7. On the installation disc page, browse for your installation disc.  You can also select an iso file here. It will then immediately ask where to copy these files to.
   
   
   
   (click to enlarge)
8. Let it copy the files then click next twice until you are at task selection.
9. Click on Drivers and next. You may select more if you know what you are doing.
10. On the next page click Insert and select Multiple Driver Folder.
    
11. Browse to the folder containing the drivers.
12. It will ask you to select the drivers to integrate.  Press All  then OK.  In the next few screens (depending on how many drivers make sure to select all the drivers in menus.
    
13. You should then see the main screen filled like below.
    
14. Click next and click yes to the question.
15. It will take a while to compile the data and output a result.  On the final screen you can select what you want to do with the installation disc, whether make an iso or burn it.

Today I am going to show four ways to make Windows XP do just that little more that you wish it could, while still using less memory and CPU than Windows Vista, while acheiving a much more user friendly system.  We will start off with my favourite, the famous UXTheme Patch.

UXTheme Patch

The object of this patch is to patch your uxtheme.dll file that resides in this directory: “C:\WINDOWS\system32″

Uxtheme.dll is a file that controls the visual styles that are enabled in Windows XP. From microsoft.com:

New run-time libraries—ComCtl32.dll version 6 and UxTheme.dll—are provided in Windows XP and later operating systems to enable visual styles. UxTheme.dll is used by the common controls to take advantage of system visual styles. ComCtl32.dll queries UxTheme.dll for appropriate dimensions and other pertinent information for a control, and calls UxTheme.dll to render the parts of a control or surface.

Taken from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb773187(VS.85).aspx

There are multiple ways to patch this file including UXTheme Multi-patcher and manually patching it, but there are also programs that will manage skins for you such as Windowblinds.  However, my favourite is the UXTheme Manager because it automatically patches the dll file and it is completely free.  There are two versions, 4 and 6 and sometimes one works and the other does not depending on the system and if you have 32 or 64 bits. Below are both versions for download, however you may need to try both to see which works.  I currently am using version 6.

Version 4

Version 6

To install simply extract the zip file and click the exe.  Follow the directions at this url: http://customize.org/xpthemes/help/How_To_Install_UX_Theme_Multi_Patcher

Once you have finished installing, you can scour the internet for .msstyle based themes.  A site to avoid is http://www.themexp.org/.  They used to have good themes, but now their themes tend to be bloated with spyware, adware etc.  I personally recommend Sentinel as it looks very nice.

An example of my Desktop theme (even though I am currently using a patched uxtheme, but am using a windowblinds theme):

(click to enlarge)

Docking

I have found one of my greatest computer friends in the last few weeks, the dock. Although originally designed for the Mac, the dock has become a great tool across all three major operating systems: MacOS, Windows, and Linux.  For Windows and Linux you must download separate programs in order to take advantage of the great offerings the Dock has to offer.  For the Windows there are multiple programs, but two famous ones are Rocketdock and Objectdock. Between the two there is a lot of competition though many people have found that the Rocketdock tends to run faster with the animations.  I prefer Rocketdock personally, but both have much to offer and are free.  To get Rocketdock go to http://rocketdock.com/ and to get Objectdock go to http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/.  For Linux there are Kiba Dock, Cairo Dock, and Avant Window Navigator.  I use Kiba Dock since it is the only one I have got to work in Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10.

Change Recycling Bin Name

Alright, time for a fun tweak I know it has always been your dream to change the name of your Recycling Bin and as you can see in my desktop picture above, mine is called “Trash Compactor.”   Unlike a folder where you could just right click and hit rename, the Recycling Bin does not have this feature.  Instead if you wish to perform this neat trick follow the instructions below.

1. Open Start Menu and click Run…
2. Type regedit into the input prompt and click OK
3. Now you are presented with the Registry Editor, the database of most settings on the Windows machine. NOTE: Do not stray from my explicit instructions.  The registry is a powerful tool and if you mess up a setting you may damage your computer permanently.  I do not take responsibility for you actions in any way when you mess with the Registry.
4. Navigate through the folder icons in this order: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
5. Once in this folder you should see the key named “LocalizedString” with a really strange data.  Double click on this key and clear the data in the “Value data” field and type whatever you want your Recycling Bin to be called.
6. Click OK when you are done and go to the Desktop then press F5 to refresh the Desktop and you should now have your new Recycling Bin name showing.

Showing Date in Taskbar

As you can also see from my Desktop picture, I have made my taskbar show the Date and Day of week in my Taskbar because I was getting tired of having to constantly put my mouse over the taskbar to see the date when typing letters or whenever.  I also did not feel like making my computer look completely awful by expanding the taskbar vertically.  So instead I turned to Google and discovered the program called TClock.  It can be downloaded from http://homepage1.nifty.com/kazubon/tclocklight/tclocklight-040702-3.zip.  This frees up my time by allowing me to see the date always just like I can do by default in Ubuntu Linux (which is what inspired to find this solution).

Well, that is all for today and good luck with tweaking your system

~roboguyspacedude