1. Create a shorcut of your program such as Notepad, ResHacker, Hex Editor etc and rename to Open with Notepad, Edit in ResHacker and so on as you desired.
2. Type Shell:SendTo in start serach and press enter.
3. Copy the shorcuts "Open with Notepad.lnk", "Edit in ResHacker" in the SendTo folder.
4. Now you can open any file type using Send To context menu.
(34) [For Developers] Run Canonical Names of Vista Control Panel Applets ( A New Syntax for Opening Control Panel Applets)
Windows Vista provides a new syntax for opening Control Panel applets ( Canonical Names of Control panel applets). In Windows XP or later version of Windows , we launch Desktop Properties with the following syntax:
Control.exe desk.cpl
This syntax has changed in Windows Vista. For example, desk.cpl is replaced with the Personalization applet and its also called as shell folder applets.
To access the Personalization applet, We use
Control.exe /name Microsoft.Personalization
Lists all the canonical names of Windows Vista control panel applets.
Microsoft.AddHardware
Microsoft.PenAndInputDevices
Microsoft.AdministrativeTools
Microsoft.PeopleNearMe
Microsoft.AudioDevicesAndSoundThemes
Microsoft.PerformaceInformationAndTools
Microsoft.AutoPlay
Microsoft.Personalization
Microsoft.BackupAndRestoreCenter
Microsoft.PhoneAndModemOptions
Microsoft.BitLockerDriveEncryption
Microsoft.PowerOptions
Microsoft.Bluetooth
Microsoft.Printers
Microsoft.CardSpace
Microsoft.ProblemReportsAndSolutions
Microsoft.ColorManagement
Microsoft.ProgramsAndFeatures
Microsoft.DateAndTime
Microsoft.RegionalAndLanguageOptions
Microsoft.DefaultPrograms
Microsoft.ScannersAndCameras
Microsoft.DeviceManager
Microsoft.SecurityCenter
Microsoft.EaseOfAccessCenter
Microsoft.SpeechRecognitionOptions
Microsoft.FolderOptions
Microsoft.SyncCenter
Microsoft.Fonts
Microsoft.System
Microsoft.GameControllers
Microsoft.TabletPCSettings
Microsoft.GetPrograms
Microsoft.TaskbarAndStartMenu
Microsoft.GetProgramsOnline
Microsoft.TextToSpeech
Microsoft.IndexingOptions
Microsoft.UserAccounts
Microsoft.Infrared
Microsoft.WelcomeCenter
Microsoft.InternetOptions
Microsoft.WindowsAnytimeUpgrade
Microsoft.iSCSIInitiator
Microsoft.WindowsDefender
Microsoft.Keyboard
Microsoft.WindowsFirewall
Microsoft.MobilityCenter
Microsoft.WindowsSideShow
Microsoft.Mouse
Microsoft.WindowsSidebarProperties
Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter
Microsoft.WindowsUpdate
Microsoft.OfflineFiles
Microsoft.ParentalControls
These canonical names are easy to understand and easy to remember.
(35) Disable notification to activate Windows Vista. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
I have found a simple registry tweak to disable Activation Notifications, but it is not recommended because Windows could fall into reduce functionality mode without any prior notice to the user.
Open Regisrty Editor and Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SL\Activation
Create or modify a DWORD value named as NotificationDisabled and set the value data to 1
(36) Disable automatic activation
When we try to activate Windows over the Internet, whether the computer activated successfully or was unable to activate for some reason. Activation failures are usually due to network connectivity. If activation was not successful, the computer will attempt to retry automatically every 2 hours by default. The user does not need to be a single click for automatic activation attempts to continue.
Automatic Activation can be disabled using this registry setting.
Open Regisrty Editor and Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SL\Activation
Create or modify a DWORD value named as Manual and set the value data to 1
(37) Configure amount of space (In percentage) used by System Restore
Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore\cfg
Modify DWORD value named DiskPercent and set the value data from the default setting of 15 to a number you find more reasonable. This percentage applies to all monitored drives and cannot be configured individually.
Run this command to check used space by system restore.
Vssadmin list shadowstorage
(38) Command Line Parameters for Windows Media Player (wmplayer.exe)
Windows Media Player supports a set of command line parameters that specify how the Player behaves when it starts.
Here are some useful commandline parameters and their description.
/Task NowPlaying Open the Player in the Now Playing tab
/Task MediaGuide Open the Player in the Online store tab
/Task CDAudio Open the Player in the Rip tab
/Task CDWrite Open the Player in the Burn tab
/Task Library Open the Player in the Library tab
/Task SkinViewer Open the Player in the Skin Chooser mode
/Task PortableDevice Open the Player in the Sync tab
(39) Fix and startup problems in Windows Vista in Windows Recovery Environment (bootrec.exe)
To use Bootrec.exe tool, you have to start the Windows RE. Follow these step to perform desired troubleshooting.
1) Boot with Windows Vista DVD
2) Select a language, a time, a currency, a keyboard or an input method, and then click Next.
3) Click Repair your computer.
4) Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
5) In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
6) Type Bootrec.exe, and use appropiate option and press enter.
Bootrec.exe supports following options:
/FixMbr -- writes the master boot record of the system partition using the master boot record compatible with Windows Vista. This operation does not overwrite the existing partition table.
/FixBoot -- write a new boot sector onto the system partition using the boot sector compatible with Windows Vista.
/ScanOs -- scan all disks for installations compatible with Windows Vista and display the entries that are currently not in the boot configuration store.
/RebuildBcd -- scan all disks for installations compatible with Windows Vista and allow the user to choose which to add to the boot configuration store.
(40) Customize System Restore intervals
Normally, System Restore automatically creates restore points every 24 hours. To adjust this interval, follow these steps:
1) Open registry editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
2) Change the value RPGlobalInterval from its default setting of 86,400 seconds (24 hours) to desired value in seconds. just half, to 43,200, if you want to save restore two times in 24 hours OR triple it, to 259,200, if you want restore points created every three days.
3) Restart Windows to take effect.