You can’t manually make the registry tweak yourself using regedit.exe because there’s no way to add a default item of type REG_EXPAND_SZ, but I’ve provided a registry hack download for you.

Please note that this does not work with the Home editions of either Vista or XP because they don’t come with Group Policy Editor.

Windows Vista

After installation, you will find the new item by first choosing Additional Options in Control Panel.

You should now see Group Policy Editor in the list.

Windows XP

You will have to switch to the Classic View in order to see the icon in XP.

And now it will show up in the list of icons.

Installation

Just download and extract and double-click on AddGroupPolicyToControlPanel.reg to add the icon. There is also another registry script that will remove the items.

Download AddGroupPolicyToControlPanel Registry Hack

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Adding this to the menu couldn’t be simpler – there’s only a single registry key to add.

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box, and then find the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

In the right-hand pane, create a new 32-bit DWORD value called EncryptionContextMenu and give it a value of 1.

Now when you right-click on a file, you’ll see a new option called Encrypt.

When you choose this option, you’ll receive the following dialog, asking if you want to encrypt just the file, or also the parent folder. You can also choose just the file as the default.

Once the files are encrypted, you’ll notice that the title of the file is now green, indicating that it’s been encrypted. The right-click option will also now change to Decrypt. 

Definitely much simpler… makes me wonder why this wasn’t a built-in option.

Download AddEncryptionMenu.zip Registry Hack

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After installation, you can simply right-click on a drive and choose “Disk Cleanup” from the menu:

If you are using Windows 7 or Vista, you’ll be asked whether you want to clean up your files or all files…

And then disk cleanup will begin:

Manual Registry Hack

Open up regedit through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell

Create a new key called “diskcleanup” and set the default value to “Disk Cleanup”. Then create another key underneath it called “command” and set the value to the following:

cleanmgr.exe /d %1

The change should be immediate, just right-click on the drive and you should see the new menu item.

Downloadable Registry Hack

Simply download, extract, and double-click on DiskCleanupDriveMenu.reg to enter the information into the registry. You can use the included RemoveDiskCleanupDriveMenu.reg file to reverse the changes.

Download DiskCleanupDriveMenu Registry Hack

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Right-click on a file:

And up pops a nice dialog that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.

Install

Just download, unzip, and double-click on the registry files. You can choose to use the copy to, move to, or both.

Download Copy To / Move To Registry Tweak 

There’s a registry hack for Windows that will let you add a Copy To Folder or Move To Folder to the right-click menu, which can be very useful when you want to move a file but don’t have the other folder open already.

Right-click on a file:

And up pops a nice dialog that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.

Install

Just download, unzip, and double-click on the registry files. You can choose to use the copy to, move to, or both.

Download Copy To / Move To Registry Tweak

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Once you select that item, obviously it will immediately open up Control Panel:

Of course you could use the same technique to add any item into the context menu, or you could even use the same location in the registry to remove things like the NVIDIA Control Panel or ATI Control Center from the menu.

Manual Registry Hack

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell

Once you are there, you’ll want to right-click on “shell” and create a new key called Control Panel.

Under that one, you’ll want to right-click and create a new key called “command”.

Select the “command” key on the left-hand side, and then set the (Default) value on the right-hand side to the following:

rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL

You should immediately see the new item in your context menu, and it should be working. To remove, simply delete the Control Panel key.

Downloadable Registry Hack

Simply download, extract, and double-click on the AddControlPanelToDesktopMenu.reg file to enter the information into the registry. You should immediately see the new item. To remove, use the included remove script.

Download AddControlPanelToDesktopMenu Registry

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If you don’t know what we’re talking about, I mean the menu that shows up when you right-click on the desktop:

For today’s lesson we’ll show you how to add Notepad to the menu, but you could add any applications you want instead.

Step 1: Browse to the Registry Key

The first thing you’ll want to do is open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell

The screen should look similar to this one if you are in the right place.

Step 2: Create the Menu Item Key Name

To complete this step we’ll need to create a new key, the name of which is exactly what is going to show up on the desktop menu.

Right-click on the “shell” key, and then choose New \ Key from the menu.

Give the new key the name that you want to show up on the desktop context menu. For this example we’ll be using Notepad.

Optional Step: If you want to assign an “Alt” key to this menu entry for quicker access, you can change the (Default) value on the right and put an & character in front of the key you want to use. For instance, if you wanted to be able to just use the N key to launch Notepad once the desktop context menu pops up, you can do this:

Personally I don’t find this terribly useful since you have to use the mouse to right-click on the desktop… may as well just use the mouse to click the item. Still, for completeness I’ve included it.

Step 3: Create the Command Key

Next you’ll need to create the command key that will actually hold the command used to launch the application. Right-click on the new Notepad key, and then choose New \ Key from the menu.

Give this key the name “command” in lowercase.

Step 4: Add in the Full Application Executable Path

To complete this step you’ll need the full path to the application that you want to launch. You can use Shift + Right-Click to get the Copy as Path menu item to find this more quickly.

Now click on “command” on the left side, and then double-click on the (Default) key in the right side to edit the string value.

Paste in the full path to the executable that you got from the “Copy as Path” step above, or you can put in the full path yourself if you’d like.

Once it’s done, it should look like this:

And right-clicking on the desktop will produce the new menu item… naturally, using this menu item should launch Notepad.

You can add as many applications to the desktop context menu as you’d like

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Whatever the cause, there are a lot of ways to help speed up Windows and make your PC work better—even without upgrading your hardware. Here are some tips to help you optimize Windows Vista for faster performance.

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It’s a good idea to uninstall all the programs you don’t plan to use. This should include both manufacturer-installed software and software you installed yourself but don’t want anymore—especially utility programs designed to help manage and tune your computer’s hardware and software. Utility programs such as virus scanners, disk cleaners, and backup tools often run automatically at startup, quietly chugging along in the background where you can’t see them. Many people have no idea they are even running.

Even if your PC is older, it might contain manufacturer-installed programs that you never noticed or have since forgotten about. It’s never too late to remove these and get rid of the clutter and wasted system resources. Maybe you thought you might use the software someday, but never did. Uninstall it and see if your PC runs faster.

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Decide for yourself if you want a program to load at startup.

But how can you tell what programs load automatically at startup? Sometimes this is obvious, because the program will add an icon to the notification area on the taskbar, where you can see it running. Look there and see if there are any programs running that you don’t want to load automatically. Position your mouse over each icon to see the program name. Be sure to click the Show hidden icons button so you don’t miss any icons.

 

The Show hidden icons button in the notification area

 

Even after you check the notification area, you might still have missed some programs that load automatically at startup. You can find and disable them using Windows Defender.

 

The Software Explorer screen in Windows Defender shows which programs automatically start when you launch Windows

 

If you’re unsure about whether a program should open automatically at startup, you can try disabling it, restarting your computer, and then using the program. If that causes any problems with the program, you can go back and re-enable it to start automatically

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Getting pictures from your camera into your computer
Most digital cameras store pictures on a flash memory card, such as a CompactFlash or Secure Digital (SD) card. When you’ve filled a memory card to capacity with pictures, you’ll need to import the pictures to your computer. Then you can erase the memory card and use it to take a new batch of pictures.

There are two main ways to import pictures:

•Connect the camera directly. You can import pictures by connecting the camera directly to your computer using a universal serial bus (USB) cable. With this method, your camera must be turned on, so importing pictures will use up some battery power. You’ll also need to keep the cable handy if you import pictures regularly.

USB cable
•Use a memory card reader. The fastest way to import pictures is to use a memory card reader that you purchase separately. Remove the memory card from your camera, slide it into the card reader, and then plug the card reader into your computer’s USB port. Many computers have built-in card readers, allowing you to slide memory cards directly into the computer.

Memory card reader
Whichever method you choose, Windows should automatically recognize your camera or card reader when you plug it into your computer (if it doesn’t, see Troubleshoot camera connection problems or Tips for solving problems with USB devices). Then, follow these steps:

1.In the Autoplay dialog box, click Import pictures using Windows. Windows will locate the pictures on your memory card.

This dialog box appears when you plug a camera or card reader into your computer
2.After Windows locates your pictures, you’re asked if you want to create a tag (a word or a short phrase that describes the group) for the pictures you’re importing. If you do, type the tag name in the Tag these pictures (optional) box. If the pictures being imported don’t have any single characteristic in common, skip this step. You can always add tags to individual pictures later (see “Organizing and finding your pictures” in this article).

You can add a tag to pictures when you import them
3.As Windows begins importing your pictures, select the Erase after importing check box if you want to delete the pictures from your memory card after importing is finished. That clears space on the card so that you can take a new batch of pictures.

Select the check box to erase the imported pictures from your memory card
After your pictures are imported, they’ll appear in Windows Photo Gallery.

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