XP HIDDEN SECREATES

Defrag

Secret - Hidden Command Line Switch

Instructions - Go to "Start", "Run" and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information. Similar to what BootVis invokes.

Paint

Secret - Image Trails

Instructions - Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret - 10x Zoom

Instructions - Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.

Game Secrets

FreeCell

Secret - Instant Win

Instructions - Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort, Retry or Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win.

Secret - Hidden Game Modes

Instructions - In the "Game" menu choose "Select Game". Enter -1 or -2 to activate the hidden game modes.

Minesweeper

Secret - Reveal Mines

Instructions - Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy. Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color other then white or black to see the pixel.

Pinball

Secret - Extra Balls

Instructions - Type 1max at the start of a new ball to get extra balls.

Secret - Gravity Well

Instructions - Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate the Gravity Well.

Secret - Instant Promotion

Instructions - Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.

Secret - Skill Shot

Instructions - Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light bar so it falls back down to get 75,000 points. There are six yellow light bars that are worth a varying amount of points:

First: 15,000 points

Second: 30,000 points

Third: 75,000 points

Fourth: 30,000 points

Fifth: 15,000 points

Sixth: 7,500 points

Secret - Test Mode

Instructions - Type hidden test at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse button and drag the ball around.

Secret - Unlimited Balls

Instructions - Type bmax at the start of a new ball. No notification will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.

Solitaire

Secret - Instant Win

Instructions - Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.

Secret - Draw single cards in a Draw Three game

Instructions - Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.

OS Secrets

Add/Remove

Secret - Hidden Uninstall Options

Instructions - Warning: Proceed at your own risk! Browse to C:\Windows\inf\ and make a backup copy of sysoc.inf. Then open the original file C:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf in notepad. Go to "Edit" and select "Replace". In "Find what:" type ,hide and in "Replace with:" type , then select "Replace All", save and close the file. Go to the control panel, "Add/Remove", select "Add/Remove Windows Components". You will now see many more Windows components to uninstall. Do not remove anything with no label or that you do not recognize or fully understand what it does. Doing so can break certain functionality in Windows.

Control Panel

Secret - Hidden Control Panel Extensions

Instructions - Download and install TweakUI, launch, go to "Control Panel" and check any item not selected, then "Apply" and "OK". You will now see the hidden control panel extensions.

Device Manager

Secret - Hidden Devices

Instructions - Go to the control panel, "System" icon, "Hardware" tab and select "Device Manager". Select View and Show hidden devices.

Music

Secret - Music from the Installer

Instructions - Browse to C:\Windows\system32\oobe\images\title.wma and play.

Shutdown

Secret - Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog

Instructions - Go to "Start", "Turn Off Computer..." and press either Shift key to change the "Stand By" button to "Hibernate".

Support Tools

Secret - Over 100 Windows XP Support Utilities are on the install CD

Instructions for Pre-SP2 users - If you do not have SP2 installed, put the original Windows XP CD in the CD-ROM Drive, run the D:\Support\Tools\setup.exe