mtdev

If you are new to the Windows registry please read first the registry tips and tricks which have been moved to their own page. It is also a good one to start if you want some info not just examples.

Some useful registry tweaks

By default Windows does not unload dll files a program has used after it has been closed to speed up a possible restart of the program, by setting this value to 1 you can change this behavior, the default is 0.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoft
-> WindowsCurrentVersionexplorer]
"AlwaysUnloadDLL"="1"

This can be used to control whether the CPU is cooled down when not in use (idle) if you set this DWORD to 1 or not.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSet
-> ControlCPUIdle]
"Idle"=dword:00000001

Here you can find some Windows settings like the Drag Full Windows option or Font Smoothing, also the Mouse Double Click Rectangle size and the Menu Show Delay (animation if greater than zero, time is specified in milliseconds). The next two values specify that when an application wants the focus (for user input for example) it should not take it but rather than that only flash in the taskbar (0x0a = 10 times). The AutoEndTasks corresponds to the behavior of Windows when shutting down or restarting and the next two values (in milliseconds) control the time Windows gives an application to close before displaying the End Task dialog, the first is on a user End Task request and the second when shutting down/restarting.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop]
"DragFullWindows"="0"
"FontSmoothing"="0"
"DoubleClickHeight"="10"
"DoubleClickWidth"="10"
"MenuShowDelay"="0"
"ForegroundLockTimeout"=hex:98,3a,00,00
"ForegroundFlashCount"=hex:0a,00,00,00
"AutoEndTasks"="1"
"HungAppTimeout"="2000"
"WaitToKillAppTimeout"="10000"

NoDriveTypeAutoRun prevents data CDs and audio CDs from autostarting, NoSaveSettings wouldn't allow changing the desktop and NoStartBanner prevents the "Click here to begin" marqueue starting Windows. NoExpandedNewMenu changes the default menu in IE to only a single New which opens a new explorer window. The following settings are basically for the desktop and Start Menu and it should not be a problem to anybody who can understand the difference between a PC and a vacuum cleaner what they do.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows
-> CurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer]
"NoDriveTypeAutoRun"=hex:bd,00,00,00
"NoSaveSettings"=hex:00,00,00,00
"NoStartBanner"=dword:00000001
"NoActiveDesktop"=hex:01,00,00,00
"NoRecentDocsHistory"=hex:01,00,00,00
"NoActiveDesktopChanges"=dword:00000001
"NoRecentDocsMenu"=dword:00000001
"NoFavoritesMenu"=dword:00000001
"NoNetHood"=hex:01,00,00,00
"NoExpandedNewMenu"=dword:00000001
"NoControlPanel"=dword:00000001
"NoInternetIcon"=dword:00000000
"NoDesktop"=dword:00000000
"NoAddPrinter"=dword:00000001
"NoDeletePrinter"=dword:00000001
"NoPrinterTabs"=dword:00000001
"NoNetConnectDisconnect"=dword:00000001
"NoSetFolders"=dword:00000001
"NoSetActiveDesktop"=dword:00000001
"NoWindowsUpdate"=dword:00000001
"NoFolderOptions"=dword:00000000
"NoSetTaskbar"=dword:00000000
"NoFind"=dword:00000001

The DriveWriteBehind specifies the size of the write behind cache I would recommend seting it to the masettingvalues unless you have less than 64MB RAM. NameNumericTail controls the DOS compatible name (8.3) a value of 0 means ProgramF rather than Progra~1, Note: Only files created after setting this are to be affected (this has to be set to hex:01 if you want to install a new copy of Windows and you run setup from within Windows). The NameCache and PathCache are used to determine the number of files and folders to be cached. ReadAheadThreshold sets the read-ahead buffer size, DisableLowDiskSpaceBroadcast denies the Low Space dialog from popping up for drives A,C and D.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSet
-> ControlFileSystem]
"DriveWriteBehind"=hex:ff,ff,ff,ff
"NameNumericTail"=hex:00 (also dword is acceptable)
"NameCache"=hex:ff,ff,00,00
"PathCache"=hex:ff,00,00,00
"ReadAheadThreshold"=hex:00,00,01,00
"DisableLowDiskSpaceBroadcast"=dword:0000001d
"ContigFileAllocSize"=dword:00000800

This setting removes to "Shorcut to " prefix for new shortcuts.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorer]
"link"=hex:00,00,00,00

By setting to 1 the following values you can disable the access to the Passwords & Users Control Panel applets.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoft
-> WindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem]
"NoSecCPL"=dword:00000001
"NoProfilePage"=dword:00000001
"NoPwdPage"=dword:00000001

The next tweaks allow you to disable the automatic codec download which media player tries if it does no find the required for playback, also you can change the window titlebar of media player and internet explorer with the following keys.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREPolicies
-> MicrosoftWindowsMediaPlayer]
"NoCodecDownload"=dword:00000001
"TitleBar"="Media Player"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoft
-> Internet ExplorerMain]
Window Title"="Internet Explorer"