XP environment variables manager

There is a very handy, freeware, single exe-file tool to manage the environment variables on your XP. View and edit the variables separately, check the dead folders in your PATH.

http://www.rapidee.com/

Where does Windows XP store the evrironment variables?

In the registry the User environment variables are stored at

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment

and the System environment variables are stored at

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment

Smart PPTP connect/disconnect scripts for XP

When you are using PPTP connection in XP, you get the situation when the connection is established, that XP sets the default routing to your established PPTP connection, that is why some of your local network connectivities can be broken.

The following script establishes the selected PPTP connection and modifies the routing table to preserve your local connectivities:

rasdial PPTP-CONN username password
for /f "skip=3 tokens=3" %%a in ('netsh diag show ip Miniport*') do set VPNIP=%%a
route add 172.19.0.0 mask 255.255.255.0 %VPNIP%
route add 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1

This script assumes that you local network is 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0, your remote network over PPTP VPN is 172.19.0.0/255.255.255.0, and your PPTP connection name is `PPTP-CONN'. You should customize it (including user name and password) for your setting.

Disconnect script:

rasdial OTS-PPTP /disconnect

Getting IP address of any network interface on your XP

Information about all interfaces:

netsh diag show ip

Now, we use the mask to select the requested interface (this example selects the active PPTP connection):

netsh diag show ip Miniport*

Than, we strip unnecessary characters and get the IP address:

for /f "skip=3 tokens=3" %%a in ('netsh diag show ip Miniport*') do set VPNIP=%%a

echo %VPNIP%

Getting your XP identity

for /f "delims={} tokens=1" %%a in ('dir /B "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities"') do SET IDENT=%%a

echo %IDENT%

Getting the file length in the Windows XP/W2K batch-file

for %%I in (c:\autoexec.bat) do set SZ=%%~zI

echo %SZ%

Getting the current folder name in the Windows XP/W2K batch-file

for %%I in (.) do set CWD=%%~fI

echo %CWD

Windows XP Calendar from command line

Traditionally, there is a useful batch file to call the standard Windows XP calendar.

%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL timedate.cpl

Windows XP shortcut keys

Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Centre
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock the workstation
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager

Windows XP volume control from command line

If are bored to search the volume control icon in the tray or navigate through the control panel icons, use sndvol32.exe instead.

Display simple volume control (like via right button click):

%windir%\system32\sndvol32.exe -t -n

Another sndvol32 command line parameters:

sndvol32 [-D audio_device_number] [-Record | -Play] [-Normal | -Small | -Tray]

Eject USB device from command line

Do you still click your mouse when you want to eject USB flashcard or external HDD?

Just create following batch file and eject USB device from command line:

%windir%\system32\RUNDLL32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

Windows XP management from command line

If you prefer to manage your Windows XP fast -- do not drag your mouse and use keyboard instead, there are some useful command line shortcuts.

Computer management - %SystemRoot%\system32\compmgmt.msc /s
Component Service - %SystemRoot%\system32\Com\comexp.msc
Data sources (ODBC) - %SystemRoot%\system32\odbcad32.exe
Local security police - %SystemRoot%\system32\secpol.msc /s
Internet Information Services - %SystemRoot%\system32\inetsrv\iis.msc
Events viewer - %SystemRoot%\system32\eventvwr.msc /s
Services - %SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc /s
Perfomance - %SystemRoot%\system32\perfmon.msc /s