Three Easy Fixes for Windows Annoyances
Overhauling the stock utilities in Windows can make your system faster, smarter,
and easier to use. But some downloads do more harm than good. Here's how to
resurrect your picture viewer if a third-party one trashed it. Plus, I'll give
you a one-click hibernation hack and two useful speed-boosting tips.
Picture Viewer Gone Missing
The Hassle: I installed a free image viewer, and it was awful. I uninstalled
it, but now the viewer that came with XP has vanished. What can I do to get
it back?
The Fix: You're talking about XP's Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, and it's
handier--and more versatile--than most people think. Check out Scott Dunn's
"Windows
Tips: Windows' Hidden Image Viewer" for cool tricks.
Back to your dilemma: You'll need to re-register the viewer. From the Start
menu, choose Run, type regsvr32 %windir%\system32\shimgvw.dll, and click OK.
If that doesn't do it, open My Computer, select Tools, Folder Options, and
choose the File Types tab. Depending on your programs, you may find a pretty
long list. Scroll to a file association that you want to change, and select
it. (Start with BMP, GIF, JPEG, and JPG; do each one individually.) Click the
Change button, browse to Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, and click OK.
Who's Got the Hibernate Button?
The Hassle: When my buddy wants to turn off his PC, a Hibernate button appears
next to Standby, Turn Off, and Restart in the Turn Off Computer screen. How
did he do it? I want one!
The Fix: Ready to jump through hoops? First read Microsoft's
article KB893056; afterward, request the XP
hot fix, and then fiddle with the Registry (which you've backed up in advance,
of course).
A quicker, cooler way is to stick a Hibernate icon on your desktop, avoiding
the Start menu altogether. First, make sure that Hibernate is enabled: In Control
Panel, click Power Options, choose the Hibernate tab, select Enable hibernate
support, and click OK. Now from the desktop, right-click, choose New, Shortcut,
type %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState in the 'Type
the location of the item:' field, and click Next. Type Hibernate and click Finish.
Finally, right-click your new Hibernate shortcut, select Properties from the
drop-down menu, choose Change icon, and browse to my
Hibernate icon (right-click the icon and choose Save As from the drop-down
menu).
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I want to do something this
I want to do something this article doesn't even mention. I simply want my users to view, nothing else. I mean NOTHING. Our software package is accessing images, and all I want to do is have people view the image, not risk altering it in paint or some other program. How can I lock down the viewer so that the other 'options' are not available???