Restrictions for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and 7 - Part 1

Following is a list of some interesting restrictions, which can be made in Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and 7. Like you can restrict Display properties, taskbar properties, folder options, etc. All tricks are based on Registry editing. So I'll tell the key name and the value, that you have to create for the restriction. If the key is not present, then simply create it.

NOTE: If you want to remove the restriction, then simply delete the DWORD value or set its value to 0

So here we start:

1.) Restrict Display Properties:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\System

Create DWORD value NoDispCPL and set its value to 1

2.) Restrict Taskbar Properties:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer

Create DWORD value NoSetTaskbar and set its value to 1

3.) Restrict Folder Options:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer

Create DWORD value NoFolderOptions and set its value to 1

4.) Restrict Locking/Unlocking the taskbar:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer

Create DWORD value LockTaskbar and set its value to 1

5.) Restrict Active Desktop:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer

Create DWORD value NoActiveDesktop and set its value to 1

Delete an "undeletable" file in Windows XP

Have you ever tried to delete a file in Windows Explorer and received the error message that it could not delete the file because it was in use? This can happen even when you know for a fact that the file is not in use.

You may open a command prompt and try to delete the file with the Delete command. But this method also fails.

Here's how you can delete an "undeletable" file. Follow these steps:

1. Close all open programs.
2. Open a command prompt.
3. Right-click the taskbar, and select Task Manager.
4. On the Processes tab, select Explorer.exe, and click the End Process button.
5. Minimize Task Manager, but don't close it.
6. At the command prompt, use the Delete command to remove the file, and close the command prompt.
7. In Task Manager, go to File | New Task (Run).
8. In the Create New Task dialog box, enter Explorer.exe, and click OK.
9. Close Task Manager.

Create a right-click command prompt option

You can right-click a folder to get a list of actions you can apply to it. Here’s a way to create an action on that right-click menu that opens a command prompt window with that folder as the current directory. In a text editor such as Notepad, type the following:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\Cmd Here]
@=”Command &Prompt Here”
[HKEY_CLASSES-ROOT\Folder\shell\Cmd Here\command]
@=”cmd.exe /k pushd %L”

Save the file with any name you want, with a .reg extension. Then double-click the saved file and choose Yes to merge the file’s information into the Registry. You can delete the file. Right-click any folder and you’ll see the CommandPrompt Here option.

Adjusting System Restore values

The new System Restore feature in Windows XP automatically backs up a snapshot of your system, including your Registry, every 24 hours. It also saves restore points for 90 days. Neither of these values is directly editable in the System Restore program, but you can change them in the Registry. Go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore

You’ll find an assortment of settings here. To change the interval between automatically created restore points, change the RPGlobalInterval setting. To change the number of days that a restore point is retained, change the RPLifeInterval setting.

System Restore time intervals are measured in seconds, not days, so you must convert the number of days you want into seconds. There are 86,400 seconds in a day, so multiply 86,400 by the number of days you want to determine the value. There are 3,600 seconds in an hour.

Change the desktop cleanup frequency

Through Display Properties (Desktop tab, Customize Desktop button, General tab), you can turn on and off a feature that runs the Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days. You don’t have an option to set a different interval there, but you can change the interval in the Registry. To do so, go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\CleanupWiz

Change the Days Between Clean Up Value to some other number of days (in decimal format).