Mini-Tweaks

As with the last guide, we'll start with the bite-sized tweaks, then move on to bigger and better things...

Tweak #1 - Shared Documents In My Computer

By default, when you open My Computer in Windows XP, you see some folders above your hard drives. These are 'Shared Folders' (see the highlighted section in the above image), and basically provide folders for all users to share things. Personally, having these folders is annoying and unecessary. The solution is to remove these folders from My Computer, and the method is simple; simply navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

in the registry and then delete the key {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. Next time you open My Computer, the folders will not be there.

Tweak #2 - Removing Restore Points For Disk Space

Windows XP has a feature to create 'Restore Points', which are simply files that contain information about the setup of a system, so that if it crashes, all settings, et cetera, are not lost. However, sometimes Windows creates multiple unecessary restore points - gigabytes worth in some cases. To delete all but the most recent restore point, simply go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup.

Select the drive you wish to clean up, then 'Clean Up...', and finally, click Yes. Done!

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