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There is not necessarily one good way to insert document types to the New menu; it depends on the type of document.

Windows searches for items in the registry at HKCR.XXX where .XXX is the document extension, such as .bmp for Bitmaps, .xlsx for Excel 2007 Workbooks, .txt for Text Files, etc. For each one of these extensions, there is a ShellNew sub-key.

For documents that do not require predefined parameters, the ShellNew subkey contains a String Value named NullFile with no data. Text Files (.txt) and Bitmaps (.bmp) fall into this catagory.

For document types that do require predefined parameters, there must be a blank document of that type located at the %WINDIR%ShellNew folder. The ShellNew subkey for that type must point to that file. Instead of having a String Value of NullFile with no data, it must contain a String Value of FileName that points to that file by name in the contained data. JPEG Files (.jpeg) and Excel Workbooks (.xlsx) fall into this category.

For example, to create a menu item for an Excel 2007 Workbook, there must be a blank workbook in the %WINDIR%ShellNew folder (e.g. %WINDIR%ShellNewexcel2007.xlsx). Then there must be a registry entry that point to this file:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.xlsxShellNew]
“FileName”=”excel2007.xlsx”

Likewise, the conventional way to disable items from the New menu is to rename the sub-key from ShellNew to ShellNew-, or to simply delete the key (with caution, of course).

You used to be able to do this using Microsoft’s TweakUI for legacy versions of Windows, but I don’t think I’ve seen anything similar for later versions.

32524-NewMenu

Without 3rd-party software…

Unlocking the Cap Lock key the same way typewriters have been doing it for decades…

For as long as I can remember, typewriters have been able to unlock the Caps Lock key (i.e. Shift Lock on typewriters) merely by pressing the Shift key. Yet, on modern computers, this feature is disabled by default. How many times have you typed “i’M NOT YELLING AT YOU,” only to have to go back and edit your entry just because you accidentally enabled Caps Lock?

ALL UPPER CASE letters is akin to YELLING at someone, especially in email and text; this makes this especially annoying.

As it turns out, you can make your newfangled computer behave like an old typewriter. You can tell Windows that you want to use Caps Lock to turn on Caps Lock, but use Shift to turn it off. To change it, follow these steps:

[*]Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel and double-click Regional and Language Options.
[*]In the Languages tab, click the Details button.
[*]In the Settings tab, you should see a button called Key Settings. It may be grayed out. If it is, click the Add button and add another keyboard layout (it doesn’t matter which one). Press OK.
[*]Back in the Settings tab, click to make sure your original keyboard is highlighted and press the Key Settings button.
[*]Now under To turn off Caps Lock, click the radio button next to Press the Shift key. Click OK.
[*](You should be able to remove the keyboard layout that you just added. Windows should retain its settings; this is why it didn’t matter which one you added. The Key Settings button will be grayed out again, once you have removed additional keyboard layouts, but Windows should retain your preferences anyway…)
[*]Click OK twice more to exit the other two dialog boxes.

Now, try it out. You should be able to turn off Caps Lock just by pressing the Shift key. If it doesn’t work, you may need to reboot your computer. But eventually, you can make your computer work just like your trusty old typewriter.

The links in the original post don’t work, anyway…

From Mozilla Support, you can also find official release and beta versions here, on Mozilla’s FTP server.

There were three .NET updates released in May 2012 (specifically NDP1.1sp1-KB2656370-X86.exe, NDP20SP2-KB2656369-x86.exe, and NDP40-KB2656368-x86.exe) that would appear on Microsoft Updates or Automatic updates, whether or not they had actually been installed successfully. Microsoft subsequently removed them from Microsoft Updates/Automatic Updates to temporarily solve this problem.

Now, in June 2012, these updates have been modified (to v2: version 2). Even if these updates had been successfully installed (at version 1), it is a good idea to install these v2 updates to avoid nag messages from Microsoft Updates and/or Automatic Updates. These newer installers fix the endless-loop problem.

This should now be the last time these updates are offered.

There were three .NET updates released in May 2012 (specifically NDP1.1sp1-KB2656370-X86.exe, NDP20SP2-KB2656369-x86.exe, and NDP40-KB2656368-x86.exe) that would appear on Microsoft Updates or Automatic updates, whether or not they had actually been installed successfully. Microsoft subsequently removed them from Microsoft Updates/Automatic Updates to temporarily solve this problem.

Now, in June 2012, these updates have been modified (to v2: version 2). Even if these updates had been successfully installed (at version 1), it is a good idea to install these v2 updates to avoid nag messages from Microsoft Updates and/or Automatic Updates. These newer installers fix the endless-loop problem.

This should now be the last time these updates are offered.

That said, I must observe that “time flies when you are getting old” and every minute spent learning a computer skill, secure in the knowledge that soon it will be obsolete because support for the software will cease, it will be vulnerable to hackers, and it is time for you to install the newest software, learn about the joys of ribbons, etc., if, in fact, your hardware is capable of meeting the demands of the ‘upgrade.’ One day soon those who write software will need to appreciate that behind me comes the great wave of ‘boomers’ who will soon develop the same outlook as mine. Like me, they will be more than happy to live with the same OS and productivity software just as long as it is maintainable and maintained. They will find that they prefer to ‘use’ their computers rather than ‘relearn how to use them’ under a new paradigm.

I have to say that I agree with your remarks. Obviously, I can’t expect to run an ancient computer that boots the OS from a tape drive or 5.25″ floppy and expect it to do the same as a more modern OS on a state-of-the-art machine, but I wouldn’t throw out a toaster because a newer model came along that promises better toast, either. I still use legacy software daily because it does the certain things that I need. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. I have been using Sysinternals programs for years, though; even before Microsoft acquired them…

Adobe Flash Player Distribution (offline installers)

(Download the approriate EXE or MSI offline installer for Windows directly from Adobe without the McAfee junk…) if the standard method (online installer) doesn’t work properly for you.

Flash Player 11.3 (ActiveX 11.3.200.257 and Plugin 11.3.300.262 versions) should run fine with lesser than the recommended system requirements on many machines, as do earlier 11.2 and 10.3 versions…

Microsoft’s Windows Sysinternals has a utility called Autoruns (and many other useful utilities). All of the Sysinternals utilities are free, are supported by Microsoft, are relatively small downloads (Autoruns is only 525 KB), and run on Windows XP and up.

No installation is required for any Windows Sysinternals Utilities; these are standalone programs. Just save each to a directory and run from there. (Upon first run, there will be a license agreement, but that is all…)

Autoruns goes beyond MSCONFIG capabilities…

(CLIP—)
Symptoms: when trying to left-click a file and drag it to a folder, the folder with the focus does not highlight and does not accept the file to be dropped. Instead, the target folder “jumps” out of the way in an endless cat and mouse game.
(—CLIP)

This sounds like the “MAGISTR” virus to me…

Hi all,

Symptoms: when trying to left-click a file and drag it to a folder, the folder with the focus does not highlight and does not accept the file to be dropped. Instead, the target folder “jumps” out of the way in an endless cat and mouse game.

My reading on the net has led me to try numerous repair scripts (Kelly’s Corner) but nothing has worked. I’ve been through everything I can think of, including ticking drag and drop in the Start menu etc

This problem also affects the recycle bin.

There are other ways to save a file in a folder but drag and drop is the fastest and handiest.

Any brilliant (or otherwise) suggestions much appreciated.

Thanks

It sounds like a virus to me…

Told you so…

Way to focus on the last paragraph of a multiple paragraph post.

If you’re really concerned about the 32Mb of the Dell Utility partition and the also relatively small restoration partition, you can delete them easily upon installing Windows; restoring them is difficult to almost impossible, and is required for some CMOS functions.

If you’re really concerned upon harddrive space, you might consider purchasing a new multiple Tb harddrive to replace your current multple Gb harddrive. The new hard drive won’t have the Dell partitions and will allow you the necessary space that you think you need.

There’s no reason to make this hard. There are many solutions to your problem, and your bound to get many bad and good ones from this forum. (I have received so many bad recommendations from this forum that I don’t even consider it as a reliable source anymore…)

This is where other forum members call me CENSORED.

I take you didn’t read or understand “The KB article on files in the wrong place did not apply”
This posting was for a different reason for failure than the one well documented by microsoft that you repeat.

Actually, I did read and understand “The KB article on files in the wrong place did not apply”. The support article from Microsoft contains some erroneous information, especially to file locations (i.e. the location of faultykeyboard.log on some systems) and registry key location (i.e. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layouts, which leaves out CurrentControlSet in the reg key listed at Microsoft support), which is why I tried to document the actual steps I used to fix the problem successfully.

This update should probably have been tested further before public release, given that it has appeared across many forums.

Update: The Microsoft Article MS12-034 has been revised to fix the erroneous information…

Regarding: KB2686509; May 2012 Microsoft Updates
File: WindowsXP-KB2686509-x86-ENU.exe
Description: Security Update for Windows XP

This update will usually fail for many Systems, especially on Windows XP machines (although I haven’t tried it on other machines yet).

To find the possible culprits, you need to find and open:

%WINDIR%faultykeyboard.log

On my machine (i.e. without third party keyboard layouts), the log read as follows:
===Log Contents===
KBDDV.DLL
KBDUSX.DLL
KBDUSL.DLL
KBDUSR.DLL
===Log Contents===

Now you need to open the registry and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layouts

For example, on my system, I had:

===Original Registry Entires===
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layouts0000409]
“Layout File”=”KBDUS.DLL”
“Layout Text”=”US”
“Layout Display Name”=”@%SystemRoot%\system32\input.dll,-5000”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layouts0010409]
“Layout File”=”KBDDV.DLL”
“Layout Id”=”0002”
“Layout Text”=”United States Dvorak”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layouts0020409]
“Layout File”=”KBDUSX.DLL”
“Layout Id”=”0001”
“Layout Text”=”United States International”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layouts0030409]
“Layout File”=”KBDUSL.DLL”
“Layout Id”=”001A”
“Layout Text”=”United States Dvorak for left hand”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlKeyboard Layouts0040409]
“Layout File”=”KBDUSR.DLL”
“Layout Id”=”001B”
“Layout Text”=”United States Dvorak for right hand”
[/I]
===Original Registry Entires===

I backed-up and deleted the faulty keyboard registry keys for this update to install successfully and correctly.

After deleting only the faulty keyboard layouts (as documented in the faultykeyboard.log, in my case all of the international and DVORAK layouts) with non-existent .DLLs, the update installed successfully.

Of course, your system may vary – especially if you have custom keyboard layouts (and/or drivers). I didn’t have any on my test machine (i.e. these are generic standard layouts with a default installation…)

That’s what I am saying.

People at this forum keep referring to Major Geeks and other third-parties instead of the official first-party download sites, and Revo Uninstaller instead of the official MS Windows Uninstaller (with some essential tweaks) and official supported uninstallers via the Control Panel (created by the software developers); then these people complain about problems…

Having over 25 years experience with software installation/uninstallation/usage, I think people are getting exactly for which they’re asking…

Troll this…