A Windows XP help forum. PCbanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » PCbanter forum » Microsoft Windows XP » General XP issues or comments
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #16  
Old March 19th 19, 05:55 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Bill in Co[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 303
Default Sound schemes (was: Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI)

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , R.Wieser
writes:
[]
Grumble ... Stupid Windows. You cannot even export/import your
preferences. :-( :-)

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


I was irritated by that years ago - I think it might even have been in
'9x, but certainly XP (and almost certainly later) - when I set up a
sound scheme (what sounds go with what events), and "saved" it: it
doesn't ask you where, and of course in practice it doesn't save it as a
file, but in the registry _only_. (Fair enough, has to be in memory
_while running_, but. If nothing else you can't - easily, at least -
copy them from one machine to another.


The trick is to set up the two computers side by side, and then do each one
individually, by looking at the first one and modifying the second one, one
by one. :-) Granted, it still takes a bit of time, however.


Ads
  #17  
Old March 19th 19, 08:43 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
James Davis
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

What you are trying to do is very dangerous!

But, if you have already done it all on one XP, then you should be able to export all your registry changes (into a *.reg file); edit it to remove (with the minus operator)--(* this is the dangerous part) the keys you are changing--(e.g., "[-HK....]" or '"Value-Name"=-' each followed immediately by the NEW Registry HKey or Value-Name); transfer it to the new XP; then merge it into that XP's Windows-Registry. (* The danger is that you might remove too much: something that isn't in your changes, but needs to be there in the new XP.--For this reason, using the Value-Name method is safer than using the Registry HKey method.)
  #18  
Old March 20th 19, 08:33 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

James,

What you are trying to do is very dangerous!


It is ? Why do you think so ? Do you think its more or less
dangerous than randomly changing stuff in configuration dialogs ? :-)

you should be able to export all your registry changes


Not really. Some of the changes are one byte (or even a bit) outof a
series of them (meaning: I do not want to change/overwrite any other setting
in there). Like enableing 'Quick Launch'. Or setting the display-mode
(list, icons, etc) of the filebrowser.

(with the minus operator)


:-) Yep, found out about that a number of years ago.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


  #19  
Old March 20th 19, 04:15 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
JJ[_11_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 744
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

On Tue, 19 Mar 2019 10:41:42 +0100, R.Wieser wrote:
JJ,

Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer
Value Name: ShellState
Data Offset: 0x20
Data Byte: 1 = Classic, 3 = New


Alas, that one only changes the start menu. Also, the value I used is 0x20
(from 0x00).


The classic and new mode is only for the Start Menu. The taskbar doesn't
have this mode.

And that 0x20 is the offset to the data, not the value of the data.

Global default file view:
Key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Exp lorer\Streams
Value Name: Settings

Data Offset: 0x04
Data Byte: 1 = icons, 3 = list, 4 = details, 5 = tiles, 6 = thumbnails


Can you tell me when this setting is used (by the OS I mean) ? I've
changed the value, but when opening folders it still shows the contents in
the old mode (also after rebooting).


Correction: that should be user's default instead of global default.

It's used when a namespace doesn't have any default file view yet.
Basically, if there's no file view setting for the current folder, get it
from the namespace's default file view setting. If the namespace's default
is also absent, get it from the user's default. If the user's default is
also absent, get it from the system's default (i.e. from the SHELL32.DLL).

You can apply the registry settings by forcefully closing the
desktop process, but if you also need those lazy-written settings
to be apllied into the registry, you'll need to gracefully close the
desktop process.


Quite a catch22. To get it to work I would need to apply the "normal"
settings first (and reboot), after which I apply the "abnormal" ones and
make the desktop "crash" (close forcefully). Hmmm ...


It might be wise to forcefully close the desktop process before applying
your settings because the process might have some data in disk write cache.
So, closing it first will make sure that there are no more data queued into
the disk write cache.
  #20  
Old March 22nd 19, 09:26 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

JJ,

The classic and new mode is only for the Start Menu. The taskbar
doesn't have this mode.


You're confusing me there. The taskbar certainly does have a classic mode.
But I agree with you that particular change only gouverns the start menu
(alas...).

And that 0x20 is the offset to the data, not the value of the data.


Its both. And yes, I also marveled at the coincidence of it. :-)

Can you tell me when this setting is used (by the OS I mean) ?

....
It's used when a namespace doesn't have any default file view yet.


Ah. Thats why some tweaks remove all those other "bags" entries from the
registry. Worth a try.

It might be wise to forcefully close the desktop process before
applying your settings


??? I though that doing that would automatically reboot the 'puter ...
(which means that applying changes after doing that would not be a ...
problematic thing to do (reboot during applying changes and all that) ).

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

P.s.
I've mentioned that I would probably try to have AutoIt have a go at it.
Alas, its wrought with its own problems. :-( :-)


  #21  
Old March 22nd 19, 07:10 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
James Davis
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

Why don't you ask woody?

https://www.askwoody.com/
https://www.computerworld.com/blog/woody-on-windows/
  #22  
Old March 22nd 19, 08:02 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

James ,

Why don't you ask woody?


Do you think Google will have indexed Woody's articles ? My searches on
Google did not turn up anything in that regard.

Besides, a quick look shows a "popular windows" kind of magazine. Not the
kind of environment I expect yesteryears (make that yester
/decade/-and-a-half + ) info to pop up. :-)

But just to humor myself I threw an "xp preferences registry" into Woody's
"lounge" searchbox. Four results, and none even near to XP. :-| Heck,
just throwing "XP" or "XPsp3" in there doesn't give results anything near to
it back (but again, four results). :-)

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


  #23  
Old March 23rd 19, 05:37 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
JJ[_11_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 744
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

On Fri, 22 Mar 2019 09:26:15 +0100, R.Wieser wrote:
JJ,

The classic and new mode is only for the Start Menu. The taskbar
doesn't have this mode.


You're confusing me there. The taskbar certainly does have a classic mode.


Prehaps you're referring to the Windows visual style which is changeable via
Display control panel. i.e. Classic and XP. AFAIK, that's the only thing
which make the taskbar looks different (functionalities are still the same,
though).

It might be wise to forcefully close the desktop process before
applying your settings


??? I though that doing that would automatically reboot the 'puter ...
(which means that applying changes after doing that would not be a ...
problematic thing to do (reboot during applying changes and all that) ).


I remember that too, but that doesn't apply to Windows XP and newer
versions. It's probably Win9x that may cause the system to reboot/shutdown
if the desktop process is forcefully terminated.

In XP +, you can actually terminate the desktop process, apply your
settings, then run EXPLORER.EXE to start the desktop process again.

P.s.
I've mentioned that I would probably try to have AutoIt have a go at it.
Alas, its wrought with its own problems. :-( :-)


What kind of problems? AutoIt is a pretty good scripting software in
overall, IMO.
  #24  
Old March 23rd 19, 08:51 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

JJ,

Prehaps you're referring to the Windows visual style


:-) You may call it what you want, for me it fits under the header
"switching to classic mode" (together with changing the start menu).

Prehaps you're referring to the Windows visual style which is
changeable via Display control panel. i.e. Classic and XP.


Yep, that one. Funny that the desktop and the taskbar are gouverned by
different registry settings though.

I remember that too, but that doesn't apply to Windows XP and
newer versions.


Ah.

It's probably Win9x that may cause the system to reboot/
shutdown if the desktop process is forcefully terminated.


That is probably what I'm remembering (have been using 98se until just a
couple of years ago).

In XP +, you can actually terminate the desktop process, apply
your settings, then run EXPLORER.EXE to start the desktop
process again.


Shucks. Now you say it I remember having done that before (can't remember
what I was busy with at the time though).

What kind of problems? AutoIt is a pretty good scripting software
in overall, IMO.


It is. Years ago I've even made a multi-group IRC client with it (not that
I really needed it, but just to see if it could be done :-) )

The thing is that I tried to to automate "Folder Options" - "View", and
could not read or alter the checkboxes in the TreeView there. It turns out
what /looks/ like checkboxes (and radio buttons) where in fact not, but
instead re-purposed "filetype" item images.

But before I discovered that I tried to get the mouse to the correct spot
and just MouseClick() the item - which was where I found out that there is
no easy way to get the actual (absolute) position of a TreeView item. When I
than tried to combine the locations of the dialog, the treeview and its item
the resulting (absolute) coordinate did not cause the mouse to move ontop of
the item itself (the combined locations of the dialog and the TreeView
pointed to somewhere quite a bit above the TreeView itself). Not funny.

In short, I've been going thru quite a bit of testing-and-trying before
discovering another, the easier way to do it.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


  #25  
Old March 24th 19, 09:33 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
James Davis
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

On Friday, March 22, 2019 at 12:02:31 PM UTC-7, R.Wieser wrote:
James ,

Why don't you ask woody?


Do you think Google will have indexed Woody's articles ? My searches on
Google did not turn up anything in that regard.

Besides, a quick look shows a "popular windows" kind of magazine. Not the
kind of environment I expect yesteryears (make that yester
/decade/-and-a-half + ) info to pop up. :-)

But just to humor myself I threw an "xp preferences registry" into Woody's
"lounge" searchbox. Four results, and none even near to XP. :-| Heck,
just throwing "XP" or "XPsp3" in there doesn't give results anything near to
it back (but again, four results). :-)

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


I meant that you put your question in one of his forums, too, for all the experts there to help answer it.
  #26  
Old March 24th 19, 09:56 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default Switch to classic mode after installing /without/ using the GUI

James,

I meant that you put your question in one of his forums,
too, for all the experts there to help answer it.


I'll think about it. But I'm not really inclined to register on fora just
to post a single question.

Also, whats the chance that on a "popular windows" site like that there are
still people that still know about XP ? No, I think that the chance that I
will get bombarded with rethorical "why are you still using an obsolete OS
like that ?" replies is much larger. :-(

Thanks for thre suggestion though.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off






All times are GMT +1. The time now is 05:04 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 PCbanter.
The comments are property of their posters.