HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Settings\MP3Encoding

Value Name: LowRate, MediumRate, MediumHighRate, HighRate
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: Rate in Bits per Second (bps)

Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Troubleshooting Playback in Media Player for Windows XP 
Troubleshooting with Windows Media Player Error Code Page
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_resources.htm

Media Player 8 Reinstall
Windows Media Player: WMP mini FAQ
Windows Media Player FAQs
Windows XP Cannot Enter Standby Mode When Window Media Player Is Paused

Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP

Media Player Library - Delete/Repair

If you have moved your music around on your hard drives, Windows Media Player continues to add new entries into it's library instead of modifying the existing ones. This means that you will now have multiple entries for the same song, half of which will not work now because you have moved the files to their new location. To delete the current library and build a new one, do the following:

1. Close Windows Media Player, wait about 3 seconds for the database to close.
2. Using "My Computer", navigate to the following folder:
    F:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Index
3. Delete the "wmplibrary....db" file here. This is not your actual music, only the database which Windows Media Player uses
    as a listing.
4. Start Windows Media Player.
5. Hit "F3" and enter the location where you have moved your music to. If it is on multiple drives, check "All Drives". Let it
    finish.  All the old listings will now be gone, and you will only have the new accurate ones.

Media Player - Change/Remove 3rd Party Branding

Close Media Player.  Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT  Go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsMediaPlayer

Right click in the right pane and select New, String value.  Name the value TitleBar.  Double click the value you just created and enter the text you want to appear on the Title Bar.  Value Name: TitleBar, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value). Create a new string value called "TitleBar" and set it to the text you would like display in the title. Restart Media Player for the change the take effect. If you want to get rid of the branding entirely, right click on the TitleBar value and select Delete.

Media Player - Disable Update Message

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\PlayerUpgrade. Value Name: AskMeAgain, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: "yes" or "no".

Create a new String value, or modify the existing value, called 'AskMeAgain' and edit the value according to the settings above. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Media Player - DVD

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Settings. Value Name: EnableDVDUI, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: yes or no. Create a new string value called "EnableDVDUI" and set it to "yes" to enable DVD functionality.

Media Player - Play List

Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\RecentFileList.  Delete RecentFileList, or manually remove them in the right pane.  NOTE: This registry key is re-created the next time you open a file in Media Player.

     Tip:  To Keep Media Player from maintaining the Recent Files List.  Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences.  Look in the right pane for the value called: AddToMRU.  Double click this item and set the value to 00 (two zeros).

Clear Media Player Recent Files List
Disable Media Player Recent Files List

Both of these links are to VB Script files.  Download and save the file, then double click the file to run it.  VB Script files can be viewed in Notepad by right clicking them and selecting Edit.

Media Player - Reinstall and CD Burning Issues

Media Player 8 Reinstall Procedure
Windows Media Player: WMP mini FAQ
Windows Media Player FAQs

     Tip:  Although Windows XP comes with the cool-looking Windows Media Player 8.0, the older Windows Media Player
              6.4 is installed, too. It's at C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\mplayer2.exe. Try it when playing movies, it
              usually plays them more smoothly than WMP8.

Troubleshooting Playback in Media Player for Windows XP 
Troubleshooting with Windows Media Player Error Code Page
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_resources.htm

Windows Media Player for Windows XP KB Articles
#xp_video

Media Player - Disable Update Message

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\PlayerUpgrade. Value Name: AskMeAgain, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: "yes" or "no". Create a new String value, or modify the existing value, called 'AskMeAgain' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Media Player - User Identifier

This setting controls whether Windows Media Player will send a globally unique identifier (GUID) when communicating with a remote media source. Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences
Value Name: SendUserGUID
Data Type: REG_BINARY (Binary Value)
Value Data: (00 00 00 00 = disabled, 01 00 00 00 = default)

You may need to create the key if it does not already exist. Create a new Binary value, or modify the existing value, called 'SendUserGUID' and edit the value according to the settings below. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Memory Dump

Log Files, Memory Dump Information and Regedits
Gathering Blue Screen Information After Memory Dump
Blue Screen Preparation Before Contacting Microsoft

Memory Tweaks

Menu Display - Speed Up

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop In the right pane select, "MenuShowDelay". Right click, modify and set the value to 0. Reboot.

     Tip:  TweakUI/Mouse/Menu Speed/Move glider to fast/Reboot.

Messenger

Remove Messenger from XP

Start/Run/RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

Stop Windows Messenger from Auto-Starting

Simply delete the following Registry Key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\MSMSGS

Uninstall Messenger

You have to edit sysoc.inf (located in /WINDOWS/inf). Under [Components] you should see the following line: 
msmsgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7.  Take the word 'hide' out of the line, and it should look like this:
msmsgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7.  Exit and save.

Go to Add or Remove Programs, and click on Add/Remove Windows Components. There you should now be able to uncheck the MSN Messenger Service, and by clicking Next it will uninstall.

Remove MSN Messenger from Outlook Express

Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Outlook Express. Value Name: Hide Messenger, Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value), Value Data: (2 = remove messenger). Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called 'Hide Messenger' and set the value to 2.

Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

Hotmail is slow after disabling/removing Messenger

Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Messenger.MsgrObject
Right click on the Messenger.MsgrObject key and select rename. Rename it to Messenger.MsgrObjectold

This will prevent Messenger from loading when you access your account via the Hotmail web page, it will also prevent the delay when Messenger has been removed or disabled.

Tip:  When you sign in to Messenger, it remembers every email address/.net passport that you signed in under. To remove
         an item from the list of remembered names:  Start/Run/control userpasswords2.  Advanced/Manager Passwords.

Tip:  Preventing Messenger from Automatically Signing in:  Start/Run/control userpasswords2/Advanced tab. Manage
        Passwords/Delete (Passport) Entries. Open MSN Messenger (click here to sign in) enter passport e-mail address and
        password and leave the Sign Me In Automatically unchecked.

Tip:  Easiest method to disable Messenger:  C:\Program Files\Messenger and either rename the Messenger folder to
         something like "MessengerOLD" or just move it.

How to Disable, Remove, Issues (OE and Hotmail), Tweaks & Fixes

     Tip:  Change the MSN Messenger Background Image

This tweak allows you to change the background bitmap image in the MSN Messenger service. Locate the installation directory for MSN Messenger on your system (e.g. "C:\Program Files\Messenger"). This location can also be found in the registry in the "InstallationDirectory" value at [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MessengerService].

Rename the "lvback.gif" file in the installation directory to "lvback.old". Then copy and rename the new background GIF file to the same directory as "lvback.gif".  Restart MSN Messenger for the change to take effect.

Tip: Getting rid of ads in MSN messenger

Find its default folder (search for Messenger). Open LINKS.TXT and clear its contents. When finished, save the file and pull up its properties from the Windows Explorer. Place a checkmark in the "Read-only" field.

Error Message in Windows Messenger During an Automatic Upgrade

Messenger Service

If you don't intend using XP on a LAN you can disable the "Server" and "Workstation" services. csrss.exe is associated with the Server process.  The Messenger Service "Transmits net send and Alerter service messages between clients and servers".

To disable the Messenger Service:  Go to Start/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Services. Double click the Messenger Service and change Automatic to Disabled, then click the Stop button.

Or use this automated edit:

Disable Messenger Service (Line 95)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

To Delete the Messenger Service:  Go to Start/Run/CMD and type in: sc delete messenger. Reboot.
Or go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key:  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

It may be wise to disable the Administrative Alerts Service as well.  Specify the Schedule for Alerter Service - This setting is used to specify how often the server checks alert conditions and sends any required alert messages to administrative users.
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/832/

Running ZoneAlarm and/or blocking incoming port 135 should be sufficient to stop things.

To enable XP's Internet Connection Firewall
Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement Appears

NOTE: Direct quote from the developers of this software:

"Notice: Please do not use this software for spamming. If you do so, you will take full responsibility for your actions. This software is made to send advertising or system messages to your own network".

To file complaints write to:  http://www.directadvertiser.com/contact.html

Microsoft Platform Support Reporting Tool - (Reference)

Are you having a tough time with Microsoft Windows XP and feel like lost ! If this is the case and you are working with Microsoft Support team, Ask them about MPS reporting tool. This tool can create a LITE or FULL version of a CAB file that could be useful for Microsoft Support person or even you. Learn more about MPSRPT_XP.exe.

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP

They're back! PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after a product has been released to manufacturing. They add fun and functionality to the Windows experience.

Note:  We've taken great care to ensure that PowerToys operate as they should, but they are not part of Windows and are not supported by Microsoft.

http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/home/downloads/powertoys.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Microtek

In keeping with industry developments and ensuring that its scanners remain on the leading edge of technology, Microtek is pleased to announce that its scanners are compatible with the newly released Microsoft Windows (TM) XP operating system. Download the drivers here.

Microsoft Personal Security Advisor

HOW TO: Use the Microsoft Personal Security Advisor Web Site in Windows

Microsoft and Wugnet - Best Choice Shareware Pick of the Week

Power Drawers
Want Windows® to be faster and easier? Get Power Drawers, a unique must-have enhancement to boost Windows productivity! It lets you organize and access files much faster. Includes popup graphics & text previews, allows multiple apps associated with file types, folder printing, eliminates desktop clutter and many other powerful features! Show me the pick!

Directory Toolkit
An award winning utility from Funduc Software, Directory Toolkit is a multi-purpose file manager and path comparison/synchronize utility with archive functions and dozens of extra features. This is an established program that is useful to anyone who needs to compare and synchronize two or more paths. Show me the pick!

ThumbsPlus by Cerious Software
ThumbsPlus is a multi-talented application that will help you organize, view, edit, print, catalog and find all of your graphic files. With ThumbsPlus, you make thumbnails of your graphics files and organize them on your hard disks and in the built-in MS Access database. You can print catalogues, generate contact sheets, make slide shows, build thumbnail web pages, edit multiple files in batch mode, and more. Image editing features include color adjustment, rotating, resampling, digital filtering, histogram stretching, specialized image processes, and others.

Express Assist by AJSystems, Inc.
Express Assist is a very easy to use utility to backup all of your Outlook Express mail folders (including all attachments) as a single compressed, backup file. You can easily restore one, all, or any selection, of the mail folders saved in your backup file. In addition, you may synchronize your current Outlook Express message folders with message folders saved in the Express Assist backup. Express Assist provides full support for Outlook Express 4, 5, 5.5 and 6.0. It operates on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, Windows 2000 and XP.

Backup Plus by AVANTRIX, Inc.
Backup Plus allows you to easily and quickly backup all of your important data. Features include the ability to include files, full folders, wildcards and exclusions in your backup set. Backup to just about any removable device, span multiple disks if required and even write to CDR/CDRW drives with your existing packet writing software. Make backups easy with Backup Plus.

Modem

Windows XP Modem Tweak Guide
Connecting to the Internet via Modem (Windows XP)

Modem

Modem, Com Ports and Dialup Issues:
Resources for Troubleshooting Modem Problems in Windows XP
"Error 692: Hardware Failure in the Modem" Error Message When You Dial an RAS Server
A Computer May Hang During a Heavy Load with an Ericsson HIS Modem

Why does my modem abruptly disconnect sometimes?
What causes modem disconnects ?
Troubleshooting:  Disconnects
How do I troubleshoot modem disconnects?

Q: Why I often get modem disconnects?

A: Generally, there will probably always be an occasional disconnect. After all, we are dealing with phone lines being pushed to their limits with V.32 and V.34 modems. Phone lines were designed for voice, not for data transmission. But if you're getting a lot more than the occasional disconnect, something is wrong and you should methodically follow the steps below.

Disconnections may be caused by momentary drops of DTR (Data Terminal Ready). By default, most modems respond to a drop of DTR by hanging up. With US Robotics and other modems, add S25=200 to your Modem String. This sets the duration, in hundredths of a second, that DTR must be dropped so that the modem doesn't interpret a random glitch as a DTR loss.

A similar possibility to the one above is that your modem could not distinguish between a line hit, or other disturbances that momentarily break the connection, from a true disconnect by the remote modem. Add S10=100 to the Modem String to set the duration, in tenths of a second, that the modem waits after loss of carrier before hanging up.

If you have call waiting and a call comes in while you are connected, your modem might interpret the second signal as a disconnect by the remote modem. Ask your phone company how to temporarily disable call waiting. Also, keep in mind that many ISP set their sites having an idle timeout. If there is no modem activity on your end for a certain length of time, say 15 minutes, you will be disconnected.

If you're disconnected shortly after logging in, you may be attempting simultaneous logins on the same account. Make sure no one is logged-in to your account such as a family member at home. If this isn't the case, try to add a Modem String to make your connection stronger. Check your modem's instruction manual for specific information about settings.

Troubleshooting Internet Service Provider Logon Problems
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q161986
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314455

Troubleshooting Modem Problems in Windows XP
Troubleshooting TCP/IP Connectivity with Windows
Troubleshooting Problems Communicating on the Internet
Troubleshooting Internet Service Provider Logon Problems
Troubleshooting a Connection to the Internet in Windows XP
Troubleshooting Connection Speeds in Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_resources.htm

Modem - Auto Dials

Network Connections/Advanced/Dial-Up Preferences/Enable Auto-Dial by Location/Uncheck all locations and Always ask me before Auto-Dialing and Always ask me before autodialing.

     Disable Automatic Modem Connections at Startup

If remote connections are enabled in Windows, the system may try to initiate an Internet connection at Windows startup or at the start of many applications. This setting disables that behavior.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole. Value Name: EnableRemoteConnect, Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value), Value Data: "Y" = enable automatic connections, "N" = disabled.

Create a new String value, or modify the existing value, called 'EnableRemoteConnect' and edit the value according to the settings above. Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

     Modify the Internet Auto-Dial Settings

Windows has the option to automatically dial your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to establish an Internet connection. This option can be controlled using this tweak.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Internet Settings
Value Name: EnableAutodial
Data Type: REG_BINARY (Binary Value)
Value Data: (00 00 00 00 = disabled, 01 00 00 00 = enabled)

Create a new binary value named "EnableAutodial", and set the new value to equal "01 00 00 00" to enable autodial or "00 00 00 00" to disable it.

Note: This restriction can be used either on a user by user basis by adding it to HKEY_CURRENT_USER or on a computer wide basis by adding it to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

     To view the list of names and addresses recorded by AutoDial, type the following command at a command
     prompt:  rasautou -s

To delete a name or address entry from the list: Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\RAS Autodial\Addresses

You can delete any TCP/IP addresses that you see under this key. Note that AutoDial can use IP addresses, DNS fully qualified domain names (FQDN), and NetBIOS names.

How to Use the Rasdiag.exe Support Tool in Windows XP
How to View and Remove Information from AutoDial

Modem - Auto Disconnect (Turn Off)

Start/Run/Regedit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RemoteAccess\Parameters

Name: AutoDisconnect
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0-1000 minutes

Sets the time interval after which inactive connections are terminated. Inactivity is measured by lack of NetBIOS session
data transfer, such as copying files, accessing network resources, and sending and receiving electronic mail.

You might want to set this parameter to 0 minutes if clients are running NetBIOS datagram applications. Setting this parameter to 0 turns off AutoDisconnect. Default=20 minutes.