Windows users need to create a new file in the location they want the search shortcut to appear. This can be the Windows desktop or any other location on the computer system. The file needs to be renamed so that it makes use of the .fnd extension, the file name itself does not matter in this case at all. You can for instance create a text document and rename it to search.fnd.

A click on the newly created file (e.g. search.fnd in this case) will directly open the Windows search interface. This is usually faster than having to use the start menu search option in the operating system.

Related posts

• Windows Search Replacement Fileseek (2)
• Windows Search 4.0 (12)
• Smallest Desktop Search Tool (2)
• Portable Desktop Search Software TheSearchMan (8)
• Windows IFilter Explorer (1)

One of these aces is the following tip. Most users who are searching for a specific file in Windows Explorer are doing it manually. They browse the folders and files until they find the file they are looking for. And since the files are usually sorted alphabetically it is usually not a problem to locate it.

Problems appear if the files are not sorted alphabetically or if there are many files with a similar naming pattern. Windows Explorer thankfully offers a way to quickly jump to files. This can be done if the file name is known to the user. All the user needs to do is to quickly enter the first chars of the filename in the active Windows Explorer window.

This will automatically select the first file matching the pattern. Multiple chars have to be entered in rapid succession so that Windows Explorer recognizes them as part of the same pattern.

Related posts

• Windows Explorer Tip: Show In Groups (4)
• Windows Explorer File Extension Column (8)
• View Saved Windows Explorer Folder Settings (3)
• Create New Folders Quickly (4)
• Windows Tip: Don’t replace any files while copying (10)

What the developer of the software program Capswitch did not know is that the Windows operating system comes with options to switch keyboard locales with keyboard shortcuts. The Windows XP operating system for example provides this option in the Regional and Language options module of the Control Panel. A click on the Details button under the Languages tab will open all installed input languages.

A click on the Key Settings button will open another menu with the option to define keyboard shortcuts to switch instantly to the input language.

Only the keyboard shortcut to switch between all installed keyboard layouts is configured by default. It is however possible to define shortcuts for specific switches, e.g. From English to German and vice verse.

These keyboard shortcuts provide the easiest way to quickly switch between keyboard locales. The additional benefit is that no extra software needs to be running in the background for the functionality.

Related posts

• Custom Keyboard Layouts In Firefox (4)
• XdN Tweaker for Windows (3)
• Windows XP Run Count List and Editor (3)
• Windows XP prompts to activate every time (6)
• Windows Xp Diagnostic Guide (0)

The dialog offers no way of delaying the reminder or letting the operating system know that a manual start will eventually be performed.

There is however a solution to the problem instead of having to click on the Reboot Later button dozens of times. The dialog is fueled by the Automatic Updates service. All that needs to be done to get rid of the Restart Now Restart Later dialog window is to stop the Automatic Update service. This will also stop the restart message boxes from appearing. The Automatic Update service will automatically be started by Windows on the next system start.

Do the following to stop Automatic Updates:

• Press [Windows R], enter [services.msc] and hit enter.
• Locate the Automatic Update service and right-click it.
• Select Stop from the context menu to stop the service.

This procedure will stop the restart now restart later window from appearing on the computer system.

Related posts

• Windows Update Fix (3)
• Microsoft Security Updates October 2009 Online (3)
• Microsoft Security Updates August 2009 (2)
• Create A List Of All Installed Windows Hotfixes (7)
• XdN Tweaker for Windows (3)

Some users might want to skip loading these autostart programs from time to time to save some time to be able to work on the computer. The following solution works only when running Windows XP operating systems. Microsoft seems to have disabled the option in Windows Vista (and most likely kept it that way in Windows 7).

To start Windows XP without any startup programs press the [Shift] key while the computer system is booting. The key has to be pressed as soon as the Windows desktop background appears. This will prevent startup programs from being loaded automatically. It might take a few tries to get it to work.

Related posts

• Open Files Patcher (2)
• Howto Remove the Restart your Computer now dialog box (8)
• How To Quickly Open Folders In Windows (18)
• Get rid of unwanted files, cache and cookies (0)
• Fix Windows Vista Resetting Folder View Settings (4)

It is possible to write a simple batch script that can turn computer hardware off. Might be a handy for users who connect their mobile computer to a power source and use it on the road as well. They would simply turn off the unnecessary computer hardware on the road and turn it on again once it is connected to a power source again.

The creation does not require programming skills but you need to know a bit about the computer hardware installed on your system. Not all hardware should be disabled, possibilities include

• Audio Devices
• Network Adapters
• Wireless Networking Adapters
• CD, DVD and Blu-Ray drives
• Floppy drives
• webcams, card readers and other peripherals

You need three commands to work with devcon.

• devcon find
• devcon disable
• devcon enable

Start by downloading devcon from the official Microsoft website. Unpack it to a directory of your choice. It might be a good idea to put it into a directory that is listed in the system path of the operating system, e.g. /system32.

Open the Windows command line with [Windows R], [cmd], [enter].

Enter devcon find * to get a listing of all hardware devices. This can be a long list, you can use the following command to find a specific device (the command is case sensitive):

devcon find * | find "computer hardware identifier"

To find all Creative devices one could enter

devcon find * | find "Creative"

The device in the screenshot above would be the Creative Soundblaster X-FI sound card. To disable that sound card one would use the following command

devcon disable PCI\VEN_1102

It is enough to add the unique identifier for the hardware device. Here are some tips to make the most out of the find command:

Find all PCI devices

devcon find * | find "PCI"

Find all USB devices

devcon find * | find "USB"

All that needs to be done now is to collect the unique identifiers for all computer hardware devices that should be turned off at times.

Create a new text document on the computer, name it disable.bat. Right-click it, select edit and add as many devcon disable lines to it as you want.

devcon disable PCI\VEN_1102
devcon disable PCI\VEN_1317
devcon disable USB\VID_1532

Now create a second batch file, name it enable.bat and use the following code (you basically exchange disable with enable)

devcon enable PCI\VEN_1102
devcon enable PCI\VEN_1317
devcon enable USB\VID_1532

That’s a basic script. You could add echo commands to it, combine the two scripts into one and beatify it further. The basic script on the other hand does what it is supposed to do.

Related posts

• Disney Netpal (8)
• Windows Device Manager Alternative (3)
• What You Should Do After Buying A New Computer System (18)
• Web Browser Have Impact On Battery Life (1)
• Use Favorites to access Folders faster (1)

Administrators can remove services from Windows operating systems using the following means:

1. Command Line

The basic command to delete a service is sc delete followed by the short name of the service. The short name is not the name that is shown in the Services main menu. Administrators need to right-click the service, select properties and use the ServiceName in the general tab instead.

The command to remove the PC Tools Auxiliary Service would be therefor sc delete sdAuxService.

Windows 7 and Windows Vista users need to run the command from an elevated command prompt.

2. Software

Autoruns by Sysinternals can be used to remove most third party services from the Windows operating system. It does however not necessarily list all services. Users need to fallback to the manual service removal procedure if that is the case. Switching to the Services tab in the application will list the services that are recognized by Autoruns.

Selecting a service in that list and pressing delete will remove it from the Services menu.

Related posts

• Windows Cannot Find Msconfig (6)
• svchost Viewer (7)
• Control Services From The System Tray (0)
• Automatically Adjust the Process Priority (4)
• Are you sure you want to delete … ? (6)

Windows Update can cause problems on some computer systems. The first and probably most common problem that is encountered is the error message “The site cannot continue because one or more of these Windows services is not running” (read: Windows Update Error services not running for a detailed explanation). This message is caused by several Windows Services that need to be set to specific parameters for Windows Update to work.

One of these services that are required for Windows Update to function properly is Bits, the Background Intelligent Transfer Service. Bits can cause additional problems on some computer systems especially after uninstalling software programs like antivirus or security programs or after an infection and removal of computer viruses and other malicious software. Most users will experience the following: Bits is not running on the computer system and the attempt to start it will result in an error message. The error messages can vary and it is probably a good idea to perform a search for the error on the Internet.

Another solution is to use the Fix Windows Update program that has been specifically designed to fix problems with Bits and Windows Update. Here are the instructions on how to use the program:

• First click “Open Services Window”.
• After the window has been opened, find a Service called “BITS” and see if it is running.
• If it is, this program cannot help you, and you can exit the program.
• If it is not running, close the Services window and click on “Start BITS”.
• If it is successful, this program has helped you and you can close the program.
• If starting the BITS fails, continue with other 2 buttons.

Start by clicking on the Phase 1 button. A popup will appear if the program was able to fix and start Bits. If this did not work continue by pressing the Phase 2 button. This will take longer and should result in a popup containing the information that Bits started running again. There might be cases where the Fix Windows Update program is not successful in restoring the Windows Update functionality. The only possible solution in this case is research on the Internet to find the cause of the problem.

Users who are desperate to update their Windows operating system can use the following tools to do so even if Bits and Windows Update are not working: Windows Offline Update, Update Windows Without Microsoft or Autopatcher.

Related posts

• Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 Refresh (2)
• Windows Vista SP1 all languages released (3)
• Windows Updates Downloader (6)
• Windows Update Error services not running (16)
• Windows Tip: Don’t replace any files while copying (10)

MSConfig can be accessed from the run command [Windows R] by typing in [msconfig]. It happens in rare cases that Windows cannot start the application displaying the message that “Windows cannot find MSConfig” which can be the cause of a virus infection or corrupt entries in the Windows Registry or file system.

There are basically two possibilities why Windows is displaying the error message. The first is that the file is no longer in the default directory on the hard drive; The second that the file path in the Registry is linking to a wrong location or not existing at all.

Finding MSConfig.exe

The first task is to locate msconfig.exe on the computer system. The default directory where Microsoft is placing the file is
WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\binaries on Windows XP systems and Windows\system32\ on Windows Vista systems.

If the file turns out to be in that directory skip ahead to step 2 which will check the correct file path in the Windows Registry. If the file is not there at all you need to add it back there. The easiest way to do that is by extracting it again from the Windows installation CD or DVD.

To extract it from the Windows CD you need to run a command from the command line. Press [Windows R], enter [cmd] and hit [enter].

Type in the following command if you are running Windows XP: (assuming E is the letter of the drive containing the Windows CD and C:\WINDOWS\ the location of the Windows installation.

EXPAND -R E:\I386\MSCONFIG.EX_ C:\WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\BINARIES

Windows Vista users run the following command instead: (again assuming E is the DVD drive and C:\Windows the Windows installation directory)

EXPAND -R E:\I386\MSCONFIG.EX_ C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32

Correcting the msconfig path

Windows stores path information about selected applications in the Windows Registry. Start the Windows Registry by typing [Windows R], [regedit], [enter]. Then navigate to the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths

Check if an entry named msconfig.exe exists. If it does check the default value which should be the path information pointing right to the location of msconfig.exe in the Windows directory. You can double-click the default entry to change the path if it is the wrong one.

If the msconfig.exe key does not exist in the Windows Registry do the following:

• Right-click the App Paths key and select New > Key from the menu that is appearing.
• Name the new key MSCONFIG.EXE.
• Double-click the default value in the right window and add the full path to msconfig.exe as the value.

The changes are immediately which means it is possible to try to run msconfig again to see if the changes have fixed the problem.

Related posts

• Prevent applications from stealing focus (1)
• How To Remove Third Party Services In Windows (3)
• How to remove past icons from the taskbar (2)
• How To Change The Edit Application In Windows (8)
• Hide all System Tray Icons (6)

The Windows operating system has a Registry setting that can add USB write protection to a computer system. It is like a switch that can be enabled to make use of the write protection or disabled to allow write processes.

Users who experience problems writing to USB devices might want to take a look at this setting as well if they have the proper rights to do so to see if it is the cause for their difficulties.

Start by opening the run dialog box with the keyboard shortcut [Windows R]. Type [regedit] and hit [enter]. This should open the Windows Registry editor.

Navigate to the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\

Look at the sub-keys and see if a key named StorageDevicePolicies is listed. If it is skip this paragraph and read the next. If it is not create the key by right-clicking Control and selecting New > Key

See if there is an entry named WriteProtect. It can be easily created if it is not present by right-clicking in the right window and selecting New > DWord from the menu. The following values are allowed for this entry:

• 0 – This will allow write processes on USB Flash Drives
• 1- This will block write processes on USB Flash Drives.

An alternative would be to delete the Registry key WriteProtect completely to enable both read and write processes. A restart or log off is required before the changes take effect.

Related posts

• How To Change The Edit Application In Windows (8)
• Defrag the Registry with Regdefrag (8)
• Windows Registry Protection (9)
• Prevent Windows Registry from remembering last key viewed (3)
• Prevent applications from stealing focus (1)

Could be fatal for commercial software that has been bought as it will stop working altogether or revert back to a trial version that is most likely expired. You could uninstall and reinstall the software program. Could be trouble for users who do not have the serial number at hand anymore if the software is commercial. Could also be problematic because of custom settings that will most likely be gone unless they are stored globally.

A quick search on the Internet revealed no free software programs that aid the user in the process. The most popular commercial software program seems to be Application Mover by Funduc which costs $15 for a single user license. We like free here at Ghacks which is why the following way to move applications from one location to another should work as well for you.

Symbolic links come to the rescue. They can be used to point from the original folder to a new folder. Windows will recognize this as one folder in the original location although the files are located on another drive. To move c:\program1 to d:\program1 one would move the contents of c:\program1 to the d drive and create a symbolic link in c:\program1 pointing to the new location.

The process would therefor involve the following steps:

• Move (or copy) the files on c:\program1 to d:\program1
• Create a symbolic link from c:\program1 to d:\program1

There are several programs that can be used to create symbolic links, for example Junction by Sysinternals or SHJunction by Bitsum. The first program is command line driven while the second comes with a graphical user interface.

There is also a Windows Shell Extension for those who prefer to create the symbolic links in Windows Explorer.

Related posts

• NTFS Link Windows Shell Extension (11)
• Link Shell Extension (1)
• Use Favorites to access Folders faster (1)
• Turn Off Computer Hardware With A Single Click (6)
• Time for some PC Winter Cleaning (10)

It is quite easy to check if Windows is still listing old device drivers on the computer system. All that needs to be done is to access the Windows Device Manager. The easiest way to do this is to press [Windows Pause] which will open the System Properties. A click on Hardware > Device Manager will open the device manager.

The first step in there is to enable the display of hidden devices. Hidden devices are all devices that are currently not connected to the computer system. This can be old device drivers or hardware devices that are currently not connected. To enable hidden devices click on View > Show Hidden Devices.

Windows will now display those devices in the list of hardware devices. Now it is time to click through all the hardware categories of the device manager to scan for devices that are not longer in use. This can be computer monitors, input devices like keyboards or mice, video cards and practically any computer hardware that can be replaced.

A right-click on such a device will provide the means to uninstall the device driver from the computer system. The uninstallation should remove the device entry from the device manager. Nothing can go wrong if you happen to uninstall working hardware devices from the system. Windows will either automatically install the new drivers at the next startup or prompt for a driver disk to perform the installation.

Cautious users might want to create a device driver backup before starting the process.

Related posts

• Powerful Device Manager Device Remover (12)
• Windows Tip: Don’t replace any files while copying (10)
• Windows Steady State (11)
• Windows shut down takes ages ? Try Profile Hive (5)
• Windows Keyboard shortcuts (0)

Start by opening the Windows Registry with [windows R], typing [regedit] and hitting [enter]. Search for the key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2559a1f6-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}

Double-click on the Default entry in the right window and replace the value with a name of your own. If you want to link to a downloads directory name it downloads.

Create a new key by right-clicking and selecting New > Key from the menu. Name the key DefaultIcon. Double-click on Default again and enter a path to an icon on the computer system. You can for instance use shell icons. To use the generic folder icon you give the key the following value:

%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll,-4

Click here for a full list of possible values.

Open the subkey Instance\InitPropertyBag. Right-click and select New > String from the menu and name it command. Give the string the same name that you have chosen in the first step. We will name it downloads so that it matches the name that we have selected.

Create two additional strings by right-clicking and selecting New > String. Name the strings param1 and param2. Double-click param1 and give it the value explorer.exe. Double-click param2 and enter a path on the computer system, e.g. c:\downloads\.

Navigate to the following Registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Create or edit the DWORD entry Start_ShowOEMLink. Double-click it afterwards and give it the value 1.

Now restart the computer, log off or kill and restart the explorer.exe process. The new entry in the Windows Start Menu should appear.

Related posts

• Windows XP Run Count List and Editor (3)
• Windows Vista Start Button For XP (5)
• USB Flash Drive Write Protection (12)
• Remove Shared Documents And User Documents From My Computer (1)
• Prevent applications from stealing focus (1)

It might be easier to sometimes enter a specific command directly instead of the shell: substitute if a command for that specific function or folder exists. Make sure that there are no spaces in the command unless the name of the folder or app that should be opened contains one or multiple.

Here is a list of all possible shell: commands that should work in the mentioned operating systems:

AddNewProgramsFolder
Administrative Tools
AppData
AppUpdatesFolder
Cache
CD Burning
ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder
Common Administrative Tools
Common AppData
Common Desktop
Common Documents
Common Programs
Common Start Menu
Common Startup
Common Templates
CommonDownloads
CommonMusic
CommonPictures
CommonVideo
ConflictFolder
ConnectionsFolder
Contacts
ControlPanelFolder
Cookies
CredentialManager
CryptoKeys
CSCFolder
Default Gadgets
Desktop
Downloads
DpapiKeys
Favorites
Fonts
Gadgets
Games
GameTasks
History
InternetFolder
Links
Local AppData
LocalAppDataLow
LocalizedResourcesDir
MAPIFolder
My Music
My Pictures
My Video
MyComputerFolder
NetHood
NetworkPlacesFolder
OEM Links
Original Images
Personal
PhotoAlbums
Playlists
PrintersFolder
PrintHood
Profile
ProgramFiles
ProgramFilesCommon
ProgramFilesCommonX86
ProgramFilesX86
Programs
Public
PublicGameTasks
Quick Launch
Recent
RecycleBinFolder
ResourceDir
SampleMusic
SamplePictures
SamplePlaylists
SampleVideos
SavedGames
Searches
SendTo
Start Menu
Startup
SyncCenterFolder
SyncResultsFolder
SyncSetupFolder
System
SystemCertificates
SystemX86
Templates
TreePropertiesFolder
UserProfiles
UsersFilesFolder
Windows

Are there commands missing? Let us know.

Related posts

• Windows 7 to ship in 2009 ? (17)
• Windows 7 OEM Activation Crack Already In The Wild (13)
• Windows 7 Milestone 1 leaked (4)
• Use Windows Vista fonts in Windows XP (22)
• Start Windows Without Autostart Entries (6)

It is actually pretty easy to change the default edit application in Windows to another one providing you got the location in the Registry to do so. Now, to change the default Edit application open the Windows Registry by pressing [Windows R], typing [regedit] and hitting [enter]. Locate the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations

In there you find all the different file types and they association. The order is filetype > shell > edit > command. Not every filetype has that chain but the most common ones do. To edit the default text editor in Windows you need to locate the text subkey and follow the path mentioned above until you reach the command key. There should be only one Default entry in there:

%SystemRoot%\system32\NOTEPAD.EXE %1

To change the program that opens when clicking on the Edit option in the right-click menu simply change the path so that it leads to the application that you want to use, for example

"c:\program files\notepad++\notepad++.exe" "%1"

Related posts

• Defrag the Registry with Regdefrag (8)
• USB Flash Drive Write Protection (12)
• Prevent Windows Registry from remembering last key viewed (3)
• Prevent applications from stealing focus (1)
• How to enhance your registry (0)

You can start the Event Viewer in Windows using the keyboard shortcut [Windows R], typing [eventvwr.msc] and hitting [enter]. Navigate in the Event Manager using the menu on the left side using the following path: Applications and Services Logs => Microsoft => Windows => Diagnostics-Performance => Operational. This will lead directly to the location that contains performance diagnostics not only for the Windows shutdown but also for standby and boot performance issues.

A good way to start is to sort the columns by Task Category. Click on the Task Category title and look for Shutdown Performance Monitoring entries. Each entry will contain information about the application or process that was causing problems during shutdown including the time it took to shutdown that process. A process that takes very long to shutdown is usually the problem for the shutdown problems.

Once the process or application has been identified it is a matter of finding out why it is causing the delay. It could be outdated or incompatible with that version of Windows and to a lesser extent a faulty version or driver. A good way to start is to look for updates for that software and install those if they are available. It might be easier on the other hand to simply deactivate or uninstall the software if that is possible.

Related posts

• Windows shut down takes ages ? Try Profile Hive (5)
• XdN Tweaker for Windows (3)
• Windows XP Run Count List and Editor (3)
• Windows XP prompts to activate every time (6)
• Windows Xp Diagnostic Guide (0)

A right-click on a partition and the selection of Shrink Volume will display the option to shrink the volume of the selected hard drive. It happens quite frequently that the partitioning program is offering the volume by a low amount. Some users reported that they could not shrink the partition at all even through they had lots of free Gigabytes hard drive space on the partition.

This is caused by system files that are located at the end of that Windows partition. These system files are practically blocking the ability to shrink the volume of the Windows partition beyond that point.

Below is an image of the shrink volume option on a Windows Vista notebook. The hard drive had more than 80 Gigabytes of free space but Vista offered to shrink that volume by less than 4 Gigabytes.

The only viable option is to run a hard drive defragmentation software that will move the files at the end of the partition to an earlier position. This is only possible before the operating system is loaded. One software that can do that is Perfect Disk. The software is not free but it can be used as a 30 days trial version which is sufficient for the purpose.

This can be done by clicking on the System Files button in the disk partitioning program. This will schedule the partitioning to start before the next Windows Vista start.

The effect can be seen below:

There are alternatives for the commercial software like Easeus Partition Manager or gParted

Related posts

• Windows Vista Multi-User Language Interface Hacker (8)
• Manage Favorite Links In Windows Vista (0)
• Fix Windows Vista Resetting Folder View Settings (4)
• Enable or disable the Windows Firewall in Vista in one click (4)
• Windows Vista Sidebar Styler (1)

The following article explains how to repair defragment in Windows Vista. It will also mention alternatives in case the repair does not succeed. The following error messages are symptomatic: “The Disk Defragmenter is not installed on your computer” or “Windows cannot connect to the Disk Defragmenter engine”. The suggest help topics do not help in this case.

The first thing that can be done is to register two dynamic link libraries (dlls) again. This can be done by opening a command prompt as an administrator and typing in the following commands:


regsvr32 dfrgsnap.dll
regsvr32 dfrgui.dll


You might need to switch to the system32 directory first in the command line using cd /windows/system32/.

The second option is to reinstall the defragment tool completely. Locate the file dfrg.inf in the /windows/inf/ directory. Right-click it and select Install from the menu.

Alternatives To The Windows Defragmenter:

There are two possible alternatives. You can try and start the Dos defragmenter by typing in defrag.exe or install a third party disk defragmentation tool like disk defrag.

Related posts

• Windows Vista Shrink Volume Problems (5)
• Windows Vista Multi-User Language Interface Hacker (8)
• Vista: Disable UAC for selected applications (3)
• Use Windows Vista fonts in Windows XP (22)
• Speed Up Windows Vista Reinstallation (1)

What many users do not know is that it is possible to change the size of each Windows Taskbar item so that all of the space of the taskbar will be used no matter if one or ten windows are open. This option can be activated in the Windows Registry. To go there press [Windows R], type [regedit] and press [enter].

Locate the Registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

Double-click the entry MinWidth and change the default value of 154 pixel to one reflecting the current monitor resolution. You should always subtract about 300 from the monitor resolution and enter this as the value. Users with a resolution of 1024×768 would pick 724, those with 1280×1024 could select 1000 and those with 1920×1200 could select 1620.

Before:

After:

You can naturally select a different minimum size for each taskbar item depending on your preferences. The setting will have no effect on taskbars that are aligned vertically. The computer has to be rebooted for the changes to take effect. This has been tested on a Windows XP SP3 test system.

Related posts

• Restore Windows Taskbar Auto-hide (12)
• Quick Launch Icon Size (9)
• Enable Address Bar In Windows XP SP3 (6)
• XdN Tweaker for Windows (3)
• Windows XP Run Count List and Editor (3)

The easiest way to remove the Microsoft Groove Folder Synchronization is by uninstalling Microsoft Office Groove. That is the best and most secure way to deal with the entries of that Office module. All you need to do is go into the Windows Control Panel, select Add / Remove programs, click on the Change button in the Microsoft Office 2007 entry, select to add or remove components and to uncheck Groove when the list of components is displayed.

This will uninstall Microsoft Office Groove from the system. Users who simply want to get rid of the context menu entries can do the following instead.

Locate the following Registry keys and delete them to remove the Groove Folder Synchronization entries:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\XXX Groove GFS Context Menu Handler XXX

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\XXX Groove GFS Context Menu Handler XXX

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\XXX Groove GFS Context Menu Handler XXX

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\XXX Groove GFS Context Menu Handler XXX

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\XXX Groove GFS Context Menu Handler XXX

This will remove the entries from the context menu but will not uninstall Microsoft Office Groove.

Related posts

• Microsoft Office Classic Menu Add-on (3)
• Windows Explorer: Quickly Jump To Files (5)
• Windows Explorer Tip: Show In Groups (4)
• Windows Explorer File Extension Column (8)
• Vista Explorer Breadcrumbs for Windows XP (4)