Just cuz it works, don't mean you can't tweak it!

Shortcut Arrows

Remove Shortcut Arrow
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile\IsShortcut
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\piffile\IsShortcut

Delete these values if you want to remove the arrow that appears on all shortcuts

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Thumbnail Size

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ThumbnailSize

This DWORD value can be set between 32 and 256. This number represents the size in pixels that the Windows Explorer Thumbnail view will display.

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Remove Uninstall Items from the Add/Remove Programs Applet

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

This registry key contains all of the sub keys for programs that can be uninstalled. When you want to uninstall, always use the uninstall program that came with the program or use the Add/Remove Programs applet of the Control Panel. This registry key can be useful when you have done that, but the program still comes up in the Add/Remove Programs listing. When you click on it it says "Can't find this file." Well, of course it can't, it has been uninstalled. It is just that the registry listing hasn't been removed.
To remove it, just visit this key, and then scroll down until you see the culprit. You might have to click on the sub key once so that the real name shows up in the right hand pane. Sometimes the sub key names don't make a lot of sense.

Check the CLSID keys here, which are a string of confusing numbers and letters while reading the key "DisplayName." Also click through all of the "Installshield_{###" keys looking at the "DisplayName" key.

After uninstalling the invasive and annoying iTunes program, it still showed up in the Add/Remove list. I found two CLSID keys and two Installshield keys in this branch that I had to manually delete. Stupid Apple programmers.

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USB Write Protect

With the release of Windows XP SP2, you can now secure those USB Flash Memory devices. This tip only works with Service Pack 2 installed in Windows XP Pro.

When the USB devices first hit the scene, there were a lot of people who were ready to devices from the corporate environment. Why?   The Flash Memory devices were another chink in the security armor. Users could insert the devices into their USB port, and take company data with them or inadvertently upload viruses they brought from home. Even though the devices have become popular over the last year or so, there still wasn't a way of making sure they were not a security risk.

Windows XP SP2 enables users to make these devices Read-only by adding a specific registry value. Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies, there's now a value called WriteProtect.
If the data value is set to 0 (zero), write-protect is disabled. If the data value is set to 1 (one), then write-protect is enabled, effectively making the USB Flash Memory device Read Only.

So, the bottomline:
Key Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
Value Name (DWORD): WriteProtect
Data Value: 0 = disable, 1 = enable

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