MDGx
 WinDOwS Tricks - Part 22

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• 6-3-02 Win9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP Registry ©Trick in REGISTRY.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


FIX COPY TO/MOVE TO/SEND TO


Reports from frustrated users complain about an annoying BUG present in all Windows XP editions, which seems to plague also some early Windows 95/98 releases: one canNOT take advantage of the handy "Copy To", "Move To" and/or "Send To" context menu (shell) right-click functions available in any My Computer, Windows Explorer, Drive and Folder browser window/dialog box.
But this can be FIXed by using the Registration (.REG) file below.

MANDATORY: You MUST log on as Administrator or Power user to be able to make Registry changes!

Copy & Paste the contents between the lines below into Notepad -> save it with the REG file extension (file name doesn't matter) -> merge (register) it into your Registry by double-clicking on it -> answer OK/Yes to all following prompts -> fire up Windows Explorer -> right-click on any file or folder -> look for the "Copy To", "Move To" + "Send To" options -> done. :)

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemEditObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemEditObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemEditObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemEditObjects\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Copy To]
@="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemEditObjects\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Move To]
@="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AllFilesystemEditObjects\shellex\DragDropHandlers\Send To]
@="{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}"

------End cut & paste here------

Similar fixes in VBS (Visual Basic Script) format:

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• 5-8-02 Win3.1x/9x/ME/DOS6 Original ©Trick in MYTIPS95.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE, and in MYTIPS31.TXT, part of W31-11D.ZIP:


EDIT BOOT FILES


How many times have you typed too many characters at the DOS prompt, only to perform common/repetitive tasks over and over, that could actually be automated just by creating simple DOS based BATch (.BAT) files?
I know I have. :(
I'm talking here about editing your MS-DOS mode boot files (if using any!): AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS, located in the root directory of your boot drive/partition (default is C:\).

MEANING:See "MS Windows + MS-DOS = *VITAL* BACKUP ISSUES" in READ1ST.TXT [part of both W95-11D.EXE and W31-11D.ZIP] for more details.

A MUST for ALL Windows ME users:
Microsoft REMOVED COMPLETELY the access to native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode from Windows Millennium Edition (ME) [a.k.a. MS-DOS 8.00]! :(
But you CAN get it back by applying the Unofficial DOS Patch, which modifies COMMAND.COM + IO.SYS (from %windir%\COMMAND\EBD) + REGENV32.EXE (from %windir%\SYSTEM), in order to be able to boot to native MS-DOS and use DOS mode startup files (AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS), Windows 95/98 style, to be able to use your (old) MS-DOS based apps/games that do NOT work from within a Windows DOS session/box, and tweak your CUSTOM AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files to free MAXimum conventional DOS memory. :)

Instead of going through all these annoying, time consuming steps: shell out to a DOS prompt window (if doing this from within Windows GUI), type something like:

EDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

or:

NOTEPAD C:\CONFIG.SYS

then press Enter, and finally type EXIT and hit Enter [again :(] to close the DOS box (if running Windows) when done, you could simply use these 2 DOS style batch files [11 KB, ZIPped; use one of these "Free Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 File Shrinkers" to extract them]: EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT [also part of both W95-11D.EXE + W31-11D.ZIP], for convenience and to save precious time.
Both these BATches bear suggestive names:I strongly recommend to place them in a directory/folder listed in your PATH, to avoid changing directories in order to run them. Type PATH and hit Enter from any DOS prompt to display your current path line.
Alternatively you can create a new dedicated directory/folder (example):

MD C:\BATCHES

but make sure to add it to your "SET PATH=" statement (if any), in CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT, which should look something like this (examples using default install locations; modify if different on your system):

Start by creating a handy MS-DOS shortcut (.PIF = MS-DOS Program Information File) for each of them:

From now on you will be able to edit your boot files from within Windows with a single mouse (double)-click. :)
If running them from native MS-DOS mode (outside Windows), just type EAB (or ECS) and press Enter. That's it.

NOTES: Both EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT are "smart" enough [;)] to...

Of course, you could use the SysEdit tool (%windir%\SYSTEM\SYSEDIT.EXE) bundled with ALL Windows 3.1x/95/98 releases to modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS, but SysEdit canNOT edit boot files other than the ones used by the current OS, or with different file extensions (.DOS or .W40). :(
The only advantage is that SysEdit creates backups of your original system files (BUT ONLY IF you modify them first!) with the .SYD extension: AUTOEXEC.SYD + CONFIG.SYD in C:\ root.
Microsoft removed SYSEDIT.EXE from Windows ME. :(
See "RESTORE SYSEDIT", also in TIPSME.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for details on how to get it back.

You can view and/or further modify EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT if you wish, to adapt them to your particular needs, by opening them in Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS.

IMPORTANT: If you experience any problems/errors/lockups after modifying your boot files, you can always RESTORE your ORIGINAL AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files (if any) from the existent BACKUPS (ONLY IF you have ALREADY used EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT!), by copying the respective *.D6X and/or *.W9X files located in C:\ root back to *.BAT, *.SYS, *.DOS and/or *.W40, respectively. Examples:

In case your PC locks up, you can either:Then restore your original files as described above.
You MUST reboot when done.

A MUST: If you DO use boot files and/or DOS based programs/games, especially certain ones that canNOT run properly from within Windows, see MEMORY.TXT [part of both W95-11D.EXE and W31-11D.ZIP] for detailed guidelines on how to MAXimize your memory resources and speed up the bootup sequence in Windows 9x/ME and MS-DOS 6.xx, by tweaking your MSDOS.SYS [Win9x/ME only], AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files.

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• 1-29-02 Win9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP ©Trick in TIPS95.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


NORTON FIREWALL HIDDEN BAR


Courtesy of Freetone.

"Norton Internet Security and Norton Firewall (all versions) have a hidden ATGuard-like desktop bar function from which you can control almost everything in the firewall. How to activate:

  1. Create a shortcut on desktop for Iamapp.exe, located by default in the C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Internet Security folder. Rename the shortcut to something convenient like Norton Toolbar or whatever you like.

  2. Right-click on this shortcut and click Properties. In the destination box type " -appbar" at the end of the line (without the marks but with the leading space). The line should look like this:

    "C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Internet Security\Iamapp.exe" -appbar

  3. Click OK.
  4. Start the program first (or else an error message will occur) and then double-click the shortcut you've just created. A bar on top of your desktop will open.

You can right-click on it for various options, drag it anywhere on the desktop, enable autohiding, and tweak almost all firewall functions.
As you surf the web you can watch statistics, connections etc. Left-click on every indicator for a summary.
If the bar is disabled, just double-click the shortcut to get it back.

There is also another hidden fuction which starts the firewall in no time and with no graphical interface (Norton menu).
Follow steps 1 to 3 above and use the " -load" parameter instead. Example:

"C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Internet Security\Iamapp.exe" -load

Use " -unload" (same as above) to disable the firewall, and these: " -eventlog", " -trashcan", " -settings", " -statistics" for other functions."

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• 1-29-02 WinNT4/2000/XP/2003 Registry ©Trick in REGISTRY.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


TURN OFF NUMLOCK


Even if your motherboard BIOS Setup doesn't support/include an option to turn off the annoying NumLock key upon (re)boot, you can still do this by hacking your Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 Registry.
Start by copying & pasting the lines below into a blank Notepad window, then save this file as NLOCKOFF.REG and finally (double)-click on it from Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM = %windir%\WINFILE.EXE = NOT available in Win2000/XP/2003!) to turn OFF NumLock:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

; All users:
[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Keyboard]
"InitialKeyboardIndicators"="0"

; Current user only:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard]
"InitialKeyboardIndicators"="0"

------End cut & paste here------

To turn NumLock back ON, replace the "InitialKeyboardIndicators" value of 0 with 2, save the file and run it.

TIP: To learn how to turn ON/OFF NumLock in Windows 95/98/ME, see "NUMLOCK ON/OFF", also in REGISTRY.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

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• 1-4-02 Win9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP/IE Registry ©Trick in REGISTRY.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


KILL IE ABOUT: URLS


THE BUG:

In Windows 98/2000/ME/XP [they all install MS IE 4/5/6 upon initial setup :(] and in Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2/NT4 with MS IE 4/5/6 installed, there is an annoying MS Internet Explorer vulnerability. Certain web sites force the opening of a hidden popup tracking minimized window upon your first visit, or when you leave their web site, or when you close your browser while one of their web pages is still displayed.
This is an outrageous invasion of privacy, if you ask me!
They do this by using the little known "about:" browser built-in command into their HTML/DHTML/XML code.
There is not much you can do, except close it by right-clicking on it and selecting Close/Exit, or by highlighting it with a single mouse left-click and then pressing simultaneously Alt + F4. That is if you can detect its small taskbar icon, because it won't allow to be restored or maximized, unlike the other well behaved windows. :(

THE FIX:

You can kill ALL MS IE "about:" URLs permanently with this Registry hack.
Create a REG file in Notepad (save it as NOABOUT.REG for example), with these lines:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\ProtocolDefaults]
"about"=dword:00000004
"about:"=dword:00000004

------End cut & paste here------

Then run NOABOUT.REG from Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM = C:\WINDOWS\WINFILE.EXE) to merge (import) this info into your Registry.
This will place all "about:" URLs into the MS IE Restricted Zone "hell", which means they will not open anymore when using IE to surf the net. :)

UPDATES:
  1. "There is a downside to this fix - namely it will disable the MS IE internet keyword for the www.about.com site, and also, it will kill the use of a blank page as the startup browser page. There's not a lot that can be done for the former, as it seems that IE cannot be made to differentiate between the keyword "about" and one of those annoying about: URLs. However, I've had good success with fixing the latter by adding "about:blank" both under: Control Panel -> Internet Options -> click Security tab -> highlight Trusted sites -> click the Sites... button -> uncheck the "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" box -> highlight "Add this Web site to the zone:" box -> type about:blank -> click the Add button -> click OK twice, and this DWORD Value:
    "about:blank"=dword:00000003
    under the same Registry key above."
    [Thank you PC Mechanic!]

  2. "This also kills Yahoo Messenger scripting, not allowing users to see any outgoing or incoming typed text."
    [Thank you CC!]

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• 12-12-01 Win9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP/2003/IE Registry ©Trick in REGISTRY.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


FIX TASKBAR BUTTONS


Courtesy of Greg.

"I have applied this neat little trick from Virtual Plastic to get rid of the text from the Taskbar buttons, leaving only the icons for all open windows and apps/games.
Works with ALL Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP + 2003 releases.
Open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

In the right-hand pane -> right-click on an empty spot -> select New (if not present) -> String Value -> name it MinWidth -> click OK -> right-click on it (if present) -> select Modify -> give it a value of -255 (which represents Taskbar size in pixels multiplied by 15) if your Taskbar size is 17 pixels -> close the Registry Editor.
You can adjust the "MinWidth" numeric value to match your Taskbar size (trial and error may be necessary):

Taskbar Size    MinWidth Value
------------------------------
15              -225
16              -240
17              -255
18              -270
19              -285
20              -300
21              -315
22              -330
23              -345
24              -360
25              -375

Taskbar size can be changed from: Control Panel -> Display -> Appearance -> Item: -> Active Title Bar -> push the up or down arrows and peek at the Size: box until it looks to your liking -> click OK/Apply.
Default "MinWidth" setting is either -2310 or -2400 depending on your Windows version.
You must restart Windows for this change to take effect.
This can be also done by running this REG file (i.e. name it MINWIDTH.REG), you can create in Notepad (example using -255 for "MinWidth"):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics]
"MinWidth"="-255"

------End cut & paste here------

from Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM = C:\WINDOWS\WINFILE.EXE) to merge (import) this information into your Registry."

Another way to achieve this is to use NanoSkin [40 KB, freeware].

To (re)order/(re)arrange your Taskbar icons any way you want, get Taskbar Commander for Windows 9x/ME ONLY WITH MS IE 4/5/6 installed [17 KB, freeware].

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• 11-14-01 Win9x/ME Original Registry ©Trick in REGISTRY.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


DETONATOR 22.XX BUG + FIX


This BUG FIX applies to ALL owners of NVidia TNT/TNT2, Vanta, GeForce/2/3/4 or Quadro/2/3/4 PCI/AGP video controllers using Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.x, 98 retail, 98 SP1, 98 SE(U) or ME who installed NVidia Video Drivers v22.xx.

NOTE: Windows 95 retail (original release) and 95a OSR1 (95 retail upgraded with SP1) do NOT support AGP based video adapters! Windows 95B OSR 2.0 must be upgraded to OSR 2.1 with USB Service Update Pack (USBSUP) to add AGP support!

UPDATE:
Tweaked Unofficial NVIDIA Display Driver 82.69 for Windows 98/98 SP1/98 SE/ME:
NV8269.EXE [14.5 MB, multilingual].
Official NVidia Driver 81.98.
List of all NVidia supported GPUs.
NVidia Video drivers for older GPUs.
BOTH BUGs described here are finally FIXED! Therefore if using Drivers 27.xx or ANY other newer ones, you do NOT need to apply these BUG FIXes!

NVidia released on October 26 2001 yet another unofficial beta Detonator driver update, v22.80, or 4.13.01.2280 as displayed in Control Panel -> Display -> Settings tab -> Advanced... button -> GeForce tab -> Driver Version Information box.
According to hardware dedicated web site reviewers 22.80 Detonators speed up DirectX 3D and OpenGL apps and games by 5%. Worthy upgrade, if you ask me. ;)
NVidia Corp. Driver Division is well known for unleashing frequent driver updates, aimed to provide their customers with better features and increased video performance. This is due in part to the increasingly tough competition, especially with ATI's Radeon 8500 64 MB DDR AGPx4 flag chipset catching up to the PC market leader's GeForce3 [code named NV20] "heels". :)
So head on over to Station Drivers and get the newest NVidia Video Drivers [free, unsupported] designed for all 32 + 64 bit Microsoft Windows OSes.

And now you're ready to see...

THE BUG:

If you have upgraded your Detonator set from any 21.xx (or older) release [21.83 seems to be the most stable in these series] to any of the newer 22.xx (22.40, 22.50 or 22.80) or 23.xx (23.10 or 23.11) drivers, you may [or may not] have noticed that NVidia changed [maybe on purpose, but I believe this is a BUG?] these 2 OpenGL settings: Control Panel -> Display icon -> Settings tab -> Advanced button -> GeForce tab -> Additional Properties button -> OpenGL Settings tab -> "Enable anisotropic filtering" (moved to a separate "Anisotropic Filtering" menu in Detonator 22.xx/23.xx) and "Disable support for enhanced CPU instruction sets" check boxes.

I'll explain here my case, running WinXP Pro in dual-boot with Win98 SE + all up-to-date patches/fixes/updates/etc on my ol' "trusty" GeForce 256 AGPx2 32 MB DDR SDRAM Annihilator Pro vid card from Creative Labs: in the Detonator 21.83 Display Properties panel I have cleared the "Disable support for enhanced CPU instruction sets" box (see above) to take advantage of my Pentium III CPU SSE (Streaming SIMD Extensions) instructions, which includes also the older MMX (MultiMedia eXtensions) set, built into all older Intel Pentium, Pentium Pro and Pentium II processors, and upgraded to SSE2 in Pentium IV.
These extra CPU instructions (called 3DNow! if you own an AMD K7/Athlon/Duron/Iron/Thunderbird/etc CPU) allow all capable multimedia applications and games using audio, video and movies to use the computer's hardware (much faster) for processing/rendering the audio/video streams, instead of relying on the software to perform these CPU cycle consuming tasks (much slower).
Later I have upgraded to 22.40, 22.50, 22.80 and finally 23.11 Detonator release, and each time reopened the GeForce Display panel. Guess what? That $#@& [censored! :)] tick box had a check mark in it! :(

On the other hand, "Anisotropic Filtering" (when enabled) filters out (blends) uneven, non-uniform 3D textures by calculating the shape of a given area (i.e. an ellipse), mapping it onto the required texture, and then taking an average of the colors from up to 32 texels (bilinear textured pixels) within the area, to determine the final color plotted onto the target surface. Such areas can have any height / width ratio, depending on the angle they are tilted at from the viewer standpoint. The sampled texel arrangement is almost always variable (rarely consists of rows or columns of an equal number of texels), and can be calculated only at runtime.
This is actually a sophisticated trilinear filtering "fix" for uneven 3D shapes, and is pretty taxing on the GeForce GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), thus slowing down screen rendering a bit, depending on the 3D chipset processing power, because it requires tons of calculations to plot a single pixel, and until recently was available only on expensive 3D video hardware.

FYI: See anisotropic filtering at work.

Does this mean that 3D anisotropy and my "beloved" P3's SSE extensions have been disabled by simply installing a new video driver?! No way! I can't allow that to happen, so I have "readjusted" those 2 settings once again.
And this bug is present ONLY in Win95, 98 and ME, which leads me to conclude it is an intentional change.

THE FIX:

To avoid this BUG to resurface in the future, whenever I upgrade to a newer Detonator driver version [just in case NVidia decides not to fix it :)], I created a REG file for Win98 SE (also valid for ALL Win95, 98 + ME builds) with these lines, by using Notepad (example):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Display\0001\NVIDIA\OpenGL]
"RenderQualityFlags"=dword:00000011
"ForceGenericCPU"=dword:00000001

------End cut & paste here------

and named it 22XX.REG.
Then I created a shortcut to 22XX.REG with this command line (example):

%windir%\REGEDIT.EXE /S %windir%\CONFIG\22XX.REG

to allow the information in this REG file to be merged (imported) into the Registry completely unattended.
Finally, I placed this shortcut (.LNK) into my C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup folder, to have it run every time Windows GUI loads, and force these buggy settings to revert back to "normal".

See "UNATTENDED REGISTRATION", also in REGISTRY.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more details on how to run your REG files "hands-free".

This actually "translates" into these 2 Win95/98/ME Registry DWORD [REG_DWORD] Values, valid for all newer Detonator releases, and found under the Registry subkey above:

Note that the "0001" Registry subkey above may have different values on different systems, depending on the location in your Registry where NVidia drivers are installed. Generic is "00nn", and nn can take any integer value between 00 and 50.

See "REG Files" [Intro Chapter], also in REGISTRY.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more details on how to create/modify/export/import a REG file.

The good news is Windows NT4, 2000 and XP NVidia Drivers (ALL releases) are NOT affected by these BUGs!

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• 11-7-01 Win3.1x/9x/NT/2000/ME/XP Original ©Trick in MYTIPS95.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE, and in MYTIPS31.TXT, part of W31-11D.ZIP:


3D CONTROLS FOR 3D EFFECTS


Windows (ANY release beginning with Windows 3.10) 16 and 32 bit applications and games written to take advantage of displaying "3D-like" raised/depressed buttons, window borders, dialog boxes, windows etc NEED these DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries), which NEED to reside in these directories (folders):Default locations are:

NECESSARY STEPS:

Get Microsoft 3D Controls [51 KB, ZIPped, free].
Then use your favorite (freeware) ZIPping/unZIPping tool from:to extract all *.DLL files into an empty directory.

Get Windows/WfWG 3.1x modified 3D Controls, the Windows 9x/ME style.

DLLs in 3DCTRLS.ZIP [current releases]:

WinXP installs these XP ONLY newer versions [do NOT replace them!]:

These DLLs are NOT included with, NOR installed by:

ONLY Win98 retail, Win98 SE (Second Edition), WinME (Millennium Edition), Win2000 and WinXP (eXPerience) install (some of) these files properly when you Setup your OS. ALL other Windows releases DO NOT include or DO NOT install (some of) these files!
Therefore you need to place them into proper locations manually.

IMPORTANT: You MUST DELETE ALL your (older, obsolete) 3D Control DLLs, EXCEPT the ones in your Windows System(32) directories/folders, to ensure ALL your programs/games perform properly!
To do this: open Windows Explorer [C:\Windows\Explorer.exe = 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP users] or File Manager [FM = C:\Windows\WINFILE.EXE = 31/NT3 users] -> start a Find/Search operation on ALL your local fixed (hard) drives/partitions for CTL3D*.* -> DELETE ALL FILES you found EXCEPT the ones residing in the default locations (see top).

To display any Windows file version using:

ONLY IF the files you found in default locations (see top):To be able to overwrite (replace) files already in use, you may have to:Restart or reboot Windows when done.

NOTE: To be able to use CTL3D32.DLL + CTL3D32S.DLL under Windows/WfWG 3.1x you need to install Microsoft Win32s 32-bit Extensions Add-on v1.30c [2.41 MB, free], to allow Windows/WfWG 3.1x to run 32-bit (Win32) applications/games supporting this implementation.

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• 7-2-02 Win9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP/2003 ©Trick in TIPS95.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE:


EXPLORE YOUR ROOTS


This works with all Windows 95/98/NT4/2000/ME/XP/2003 Explorer.exe releases.
To control the specific target path (drive/partition/folder) where Windows Explorer opens, create a shortcut to Explorer with this command line to open it (for example) at the host/local root directory of the boot drive/partition, usually C:\ (dual pane view: drives/directories listed in the left hand pane and (sub)directories/files listed in the right hand pane):

%windir%\Explorer.exe /e,/root,C:\

or (single pane view):

%windir%\Explorer.exe /n,C:\

Of course, you can replace C:\ with any other valid drive/partition/folder name (complete path required).
This Explorer shortcut opens in the root directory of any valid drive/partition or in the lower level subdirectory (if any) of any upper level directory this command is run from (dual pane view):

%windir%\Explorer.exe /e,/root,%1

similar to this one (dual pane view):

%windir%\Explorer.exe /e,/idlist,%I,%L

This Explorer shortcut opens at the mydir directory located on the myserver remote server (dual pane view):

%windir%\Explorer.exe /e,/root,\\myserver\mydir

The path to Windows Explorer doesn't need to be mentioned because Explorer.exe is located in your main Windows folder [%windir%, %winbootdir% (Win9x/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003), %homepath% or %systemroot% (WinNT4/2000/XP/2003) = usually C:\WINDOWS (Win9x/ME/2000/XP/2003) or C:\WINNT (WinNT4/2000)], listed on the default PATH statement and winbootdir/windir/systemroot/homepath SET <environment> variables which load in memory upon every bootup.

Command line syntax:

EXPLORER.EXE [/e] [/n] [[(,)/root],<object|servername>] [[(,)/select],<subobject>]

Command line parameters:

    /e = Opens Explorer in dual/multiple (side by side) pane view.

    /n = Opens Explorer in single pane view (default).

    /root,<object|servername> = Opens Explorer using the folder specified by <object> as root level view. Default is My Computer in Win95/98/NT4 and My Documents in Win2000/ME/XP/2003.
    You can use the UNC (Uniform Naming Convention) standard for <servername> to open Explorer at a internet/network/remote/shared path/location/URL/server/directory/file.

    /select,<subobject> = Opens Explorer using the file/folder/application specified by <subobject> as selected (highlighted) view. Default is root/parent drive/partition/folder letter/name or first file/folder/application in root/parent drive/partition/server/directory.

    /idlist,%I,%L = I expects an ID/handle. L expects a valid Long File Name (LFN). In case no parameters specified this opens at Desktop level.

    /inproc = Stops the display of any window altogether.

Defaults are assumed for all switches not enumerated on the command line.
LFN (Long File Name) files/folders and shared/remote/network server/directory/file UNC names are almost always case sensitive.

More info @ MSKB:

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