For those of you asking, "My ClearWho what?", ClearType is a Microsoft display technology that dramatically improves font display resolution and readability in Windows XP (and on their PocketPC handhelds). You might not notice much difference with older CRT monitors, but the effect on LCD displays can be fantastic. There are a couple why you might not be aware of it:

• It's turned off by default if you've installed WinXP yourself, whether via an upgrade or a fresh installation. Computer manufacturers are given a choice, though, so if you bought a computer with XP preinstalled, ClearType might already be activated for you.
• It's not even very obvious how you're supposed to know whether it's on or off, much less actually knowing how to configure it.
• Less demand for attractive font displays due to most people these days being barely literate.

Fortunately, Microsoft has a web page set up for those XP users who'd like to give this great technology a try — the ClearType Web Interface. I personally use it on my own computer to tweak the display to my liking — since the whole process takes less than a minute, most of which is spent by the user deciding which paragraph looks the sharpest, there's no reason not to give it a quick try. If your monitor's up to it, you might be amazed at how much sharper the text will look at your favorite web site. And if it isn't, the same ClearType web page easily lets you turn ClearType back off again. Try it out.

Related links:

• Microsoft ClearType
• What is ClearType?
• ClearType FAQ
• Microsoft Typography

So you probably know some keyboard shortcuts using the Ctrl and Alt keys: There's Ctrl + c for copying, Ctrl + v for pasting, and Alt + F4 for closing your current application. And of course you can combine them with the Delete key for the infamous Three Finger Salute: Ctrl + Alt + Del. But how about the Windows key, that key with the flag on it, nestled between its buddies, Ctrl and Alt? Most users aren't really familiar with it, so it tends to get no love, but if you're looking to increase your efficiency with Windows, you might want to give some of these shortcuts a try:

+ E : Open Windows Explorer.
+ R : Open Run box.
+ Break : Displays System properties.
+ F : Open Search dialog.
+ Ctrl + F : Open Find Computer dialog.
+ L : Lock the computer (or shows the Welcome screen, depending on whether or not Fast User Switching is enabled).
+ D : Show the desktop (Repeat to reverse the effect).
+ F1 : Open Windows Help.
+ M : Minimize all windows (Hold Shift down to reverse the effect).

Occasional cartoony graphics aside, I've noticed one very frequent complaint from NT and Win2K power users moving to WinXP: Why doesn't the Administrator account appear on the logon screen?

In case you haven't noticed yet, the XP logon screen "helpfully" hides the Administrator account from view. Umm...thanks, XP!! For those of you who don't find this to be all that helpful, here's how to get around it:

1. Start regedit.exe. If you're not willing to risk messing with your registry, where one wrong move can ruin your entire system, now is the time to close Regedit. At the very least, now would be a great time to backup your registry. You've been warned.
2. Go to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
3. Find an empty space in the right-hand pane and select New | DWORD Value.
4. Give this new entry the name Administrator.
5. Double-click on it, then give it a value of 1. Don't bother with the Hexidecimal/Decimal setting, since it's the same value in either base system.
6. That's it! The next time you start up your computer, this should be one of the logon choice you'll be presented with.

Do you have a problem using machines running older versions of Windows with new XP machines? Xenky's XP tip this month tells you how to connect Windows 95 and Windows 98 machines to Windows XP.

Xenky heard that connecting legacy Windows machines to Windows XP was difficult. The Microsoft Knowledge Base provides a great deal of information about this issue. One useful article http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310310 discusses situations in which Windows legacy machines use NETBEUI, a Microsoft peer-to-peer protocol no longer included in Windows XP.

Some small businesses have peer-to-peer networks using NETBEUI. The owner buys a new PC equipped with XP. How can this machine be networked?

Xenky wants to pass along a simple solution provided to him by a network engineer in the U.K. The trick is to install TCP/IP on the Windows legacy machines.

To install TCP/IP in Windows 95 or 98:

1. From the Desktop, double-click on My Computer .
2. Double-click on Control Panel .
3. Double-click on Network .
4. With the Configuration tab selected, look at which network components are installed. TCP/IP should be listed pointing to your Network Interface Card (NIC) or USB cable modem. If TCP/IP is listed, check the configuration in the steps listed in the next section.
5. If TCP/IP is not shown, click on the Add button.
6. Click on Protocol and click on the Add button.
7. Under the Manufacturers list click on Microsoft, then click on TCP/IP.
8. Click on the OK button. If you are prompted for your Windows files, browse to your Windows installation CD or Cab files on your computer.
9. When TCP/IP is listed click on the OK button. You will need to restart computer when prompted.
10. No further configuration should be necessary. Be sure to have your Windows installation CD if needed

When the machines are rebooted, each can be found from the XP machine. To make connections to these machines easy, use the "Search" on the Start menu. Click on "Computers or People" and enter the name of the legacy machine; for example, \\Accounts. XP will find the machine. When it displays the icon, drag it to the XP desktop.

The same approach can be used from each legacy machine. Remember to share the folders or drives. Peer-to-peer networks are somewhat insecure.

Another useful article can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/howto/homenet/default.asp. The article explains how to use the Network Setup Wizard in XP to create a peer-to-peer network.

I've been asked by many former Windows NT and 2000 users why Windows XP Pro seems to have taken a step backwards when it comes to letting users secure their files. When you looked at a file's or folder's properties under one of those older operating systems, there was a "Security" tab where you could set access permissions. The good news is that the functionality is still there. The bad news is that it's been made less accessible by default, under the guise of being more friendly to new users.

The problem is that unless you're part of a domain, WinXP by default enables "Simple file sharing." And when this is enabled, XP removes the "Security" tab from the file/folder properties page. It's not that changing this status is so difficult, it's just unintuitive since it's not something you can change from the properties page. Instead:

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer or Windows Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
3. In the Advanced Settings section, clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
4. Click OK.

I should probably point out (since Windows XP itself doesn't seem to) that these steps will only work if your drive is formatted as NTFS, not FAT32. While a FAT32 Windows XP system will generously let you make change after change to your file permissions, with not an error message in sight, it's laughing at you on the inside because all those changes you just made did absolutely nothing.

For anyone looking for more information on this topic, with nice, simple explanations, there's a series over at Practically Networked that I highly recommend.

Some computer CPUs which support Intel SpeedStep or AMD PowerNow technologies, especially if they're HP Omnibooks, have trouble with random freezes under XP. Also, even though you might've installed an updated CPU driver from Windows Update — and it's always a good idea to check for updated drivers when having stability problems — XP might not have enabled it. In such cases, it can be helpful to change the way that XP manages the CPU. Luckily there's a way to change this via the registry, even if it is pretty well disguised.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Always make a backup first, and don't even try if you don't know what you're doing. Use the Registry Editor at your own risk.

1. Start regedit.exe
2. Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\P3\Parameters. (You may have to create the Parameters key if it doesn't already exist.
3. Edit the value for HackFlags (or create it if it doesn't already exist — it's of type REG_DWORD), setting the value to one of the following:
   • 0 - Disable native XP support
   • 1 - Use settings inherited from Intel software during your XP upgrade
   • 5 - Allow XP to support all modes when running on battery
4. Close regedit.exe and reboot your computer for changes to take effect.

You log on to get your mail and find that Outlook Express on XP asks you for your password.

Annoying. "XP Outlook Express used to remember passwords and now doesn't?" you ask.

Among the many possible causes, users of AT&T's invasive dialer program discover that fouling up Outlook Express' "Remember Password" function is one feature among many. Resetting the "Remember Password" checkbox within the Tools » Accounts menu would only work until the next reboot (Il ne marche plus!).

Our chief scientist here at Xenky found a way to zap this Outlook Express senior moment. According to Microsoft, this is caused by the registry containing "incorrect information for the Protected Storage System Provider registry subkey" for that account. Yokay...

We'll take Microsoft's word for it, but if you'd like to see the steps Dr. Ben took to remedy the problem, check out our tips page.