Resetting Windows XP Mode

Recently I had a problem using Windows XP mode simply because the password for Windows XP mode was not working.This can happen when Windows XP mode password was changed in Windows XP Mode or when the Windows XP Mode was created from another user account to the one currently logged into the physical machine.

One way to fix this is by opening Windows XP Mode Windows Virtual PC Settings and deleting saved credentials. But in my case there were no saved credentials so my button was disabled.

Second way to fix this is by uninstalling Windows XP Mode and reinstalling it.

Third way is a quicker way to do this by simply cleaning the virtual machine files in folder “C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines”. Make sure you are only deleting the files relevant to Windows XP Mode.

Then when you relaunch Windows XP mode, it will say that some of the required files are missing and will prompt to create a new environment. When you press “Create New” it will start the wizard to create a brand new Windows XP Mode.

If it generates any errors, you should try deleting the virtual machine file found in “<User Folder>\Virtual Machines”

After finishing the wizard you will get a new Windows XP Mode.

Advertisement

Windows Shortcut Keys

If you are using Windows, following are some handy shortcut keys with their actions to make your life bit easy.

Key Combination	Action
Windows Key + E	Opens Windows Explorer
Windows Key + L	Locks Windows
Windows Key + F	Open Search
Windows Key + R	Open Run Window
Windows Key + D	Minimise / Restore All Applications
Windows Key + Space	Peek to Desktop
Windows Key + Home	Minimise all Applications except the current Application
Shift + F10	Right Click
Windows Key + Number Keys from 1 – 9	Activate / Show Application on Taskbar.
Windows Key + Right Arrow	Switch between different Application Layouts
Windows Key + Down Arrow	Minimize an Application
Windows Key + Up Arrow	Maximize Application
Windows Key + Shift + Up Arrow	Fit Application height to screen height
Windows Key + Shift + Right / Left Arrow	Move Applications among the connected Displays when having multiple displays.
In an Application Alt + F4	Closes the Application
At Desktop Alt + F4	Brings Shutdown Window

 

I did find these in Windows 7, but have not yet tested on other versions of Windows.

 

Lock Windows

If you wanted to lock your Windows using a batch file it can be achieved using the following command.

rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation

This will be handy if you need to lock your computer after a certain scheduled action. Simply place this in a bat file, and schedule the bat file to be run to get the computer locked.

I tried this on Windows 7.