HOW TO CHANGE TEXT ON WINDOWS XP START BUTTON

This is a simple Easy to do Introduction on how to change your start button text,image, and hover text. This is a fun way to Spruce up your computer to your special touch!

STEP 1
First of all, make sure you download Resource Hacker. You'll need this software to edit resources inside your Windows shell.
STEP 2
Locate explorer.exe in your c:\Windows directory. Make a copy of the file in the same directory and rename it explorer.bak.
STEP 3
Now launch Resource Hacker. In the File menu, open explorer.exe. You'll now see a bunch of collapsed folders.
STEP 4
Expand the String Table folder and then find folder No. 37 (folder No. 38 if you're in Windows Classic mode).
STEP 5
Click on resource 1033 and locate the text that says "Start." This is your Start button, and now you've got control over what it says! Change the "Start" text to your text of choice. You don't have a character limit, but the text takes up valuable taskbar space, so don't make it too long.
STEP 6
Click on the button labeled Compile Script. This updates the settings for your Start button. But nothing will happen until you complete through step #20, so keep going!
STEP 7
CHANGE YOUR HOVER TEXT
STEP 8
While you're here, why not also change the text that pops up when your mouse hovers over your Start button?
STEP 9
Right now it says "Click here to begin." Well, duh! We already know that's where to begin!
STEP 10
Open folder No. 34 and click on resource 1033.
STEP 11
Find the text that says "Click here to begin" and change it to something cooler.
STEP 12
Click on the Compile Script button to update this resource.
STEP 13
CUSTOMIZE YOUR START ICON
STEP 14
For an added bonus, you can also change the Windows icon to the left of the text, too.
STEP 15
Collapse the String Table folder and expand the Bitmap folder at the top of your folder list.
STEP 16
Click on folder No. 143 and click on resource 1033. You should see that familiar Windows icon.
STEP 17
Go to the Action Menu and select "Replace bitmap." Select "Open file with new bitmap", and locate the replacement image on your machine. Note: The image must have a .bmp extension and a size of 30 pixels by 30 pixels. Then click the Replace button.
STEP 18
Now that you've made your changes, save the file in your Windows folder with another name, such as explorer2.exe. Don't name it Explorer.exe, because that file is already being used by your system. Close all open programs and restart your system.
STEP 19
Boot into Safe Mode With Command Prompt by pressing F8 on startup. Then choose Safe Mode in the command prompt.
STEP 20
Log on as administrator and enter your password.
STEP 21
When the command prompt comes up, make sure you're in the right directory by typing "cd c:\windows" (without the quotes).
STEP 22
Now type "copy c:\windows\explorer2.exe c:\windows\explorer.exe" (no quotes). Type "yes" (no quotes) to overwrite the existing file, then restart your system by typing "shutdown -r" (no quotes).
STEP 23
When Windows relaunches, you'll see your new Start button in all its glory!
STEP 24
An easier way to enable the new settings is to open task manager and end all instances of "explorer.exe" then click "save" in the Resource Hacker menu. At this point you might see a "Windows File Protection" popup. this is just telling you that the file was modified (which it was, by you)just click "cancel" then "ok". the final step is to open up task manager then click on "new task" then enter "c:\windows\explorer2.exe" (all without quotes) and you should see your changes.

Advanced Replacement
Alternativley you could change the default shell that loads at windows startup within the registry.

Using the run dialogue open Command Prompt and enter:

REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v Shell /t REG_SZ /d ^%systemroot^%\explorer2.exe /f

Tips
•Be sure when you are ready to save your new start button to the windows folder in (step 16) that you name it "explorer2.exe" - (without the quotes) as this will be a lot easier to remember and won't require remembering - but write it down on the printed paper of this page if you can't remember it.


Warnings
•Don't forget. You are playing with System Critical files here. So backup important data first in case something goes wrong
•MAKE A COPY OF EXPLORER BEFORE YOU DO THIS! After overwriting the file and have no backup, it's hard to get it back.
•Editing the Registry can have hazardous effects on your computer.

Things You'll Need
•Resource Hacker (to edit system kernel files and edit resources within the system shell)
•Approximately 10 minutes of your time

BYPASSING THE YOUR-FREEDOM SERVER FROM DISCONNECTING YOU AFTER EXCEEDING YOUR DAILY LIMIT.

You’ll agree with me that it’s very annoying to see these windows below


And statements like ‘Your account’s profile limits your connection time.Our records indicates that you have exceeded this limit. You will be ppermitted to login again at xxxxxxxxxxx AM on Aug, 20XX.
If u’ve seen such messages you don’t have to panick the solution is right here. All you have to do is to sit back and follow the following steps.
1.) Start the Your-freedom by double clicking the Your-freedom icon on your desktop/Start-All Programs-Your-freedom.
2.) Once the application opens, click on the ‘Messages’ tab.
3.) Copy what is highlihted on the diagram below

i.e something like this..
C: \Users\Obinna\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows
Note: don’t copy the ‘ .ems.cfg’ part.
4.) For XP users, click Start-Run, then type in what you have copied e.g
‘C: \Users\Obinna\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows’ into the Run prompt, then press enter.
5.) In the new window that will open, delete the file ‘.ems.cfg’.
Note: Make sure the ‘Your-Freedom’ software is not running while you’re doing this.
6.) After you have deleted the file open the ‘Your-Freedom’ software, You’ll find out that all the settings are gone.
7.) All you have to do now is to re-configure the ‘Your-Freedom’ and continue your-free browsing.

How to Remove a Virus

If you suspect you have a virus (or any other malware), you should take steps immediately. The following procedures work for most viruses or malware (except perhaps for completely new, unknown or unusually malignant strains). It is better to complete all steps, so you can be (reasonably) sure that all traces have been removed.

Signs to look out for (infections may cause one or several of the following):

•Slow computer, and/or slow internet connection.
•Strange pop-ups or web browser redirections (beyond those expected from dodgy websites).
•Program failure, or inexplicable errors (even after a fresh install).
•System functions unavailable (eg: Control Panel, Task Manager, Internet Explorer).
•System giving a "RPC error", giving a window with a 30 second countdown to a restart.
•Excessive internet cap usage, i.e high internet traffic on your computer.

Steps
1.Confirmation and Preliminary Action:
◦Make a list of ways your computer is showing signs of abnormal operation. Satisfy yourself that these signs are not due to hardware failure or problems with attached equipment. Sometimes people misdiagnose software problems (such as bugs in Outlook Express or printer drivers) as virus activity. Also, problems with the Registry can be a source of errors, this happens if you install and uninstall lots of programs.
◦Run your virus-scanner, but beware, many modern viruses can circumvent (or hide from) common anti-virus programs. Norton Antivirus and Mcafee have both been seen to exhibit this weakness, or seem unable to remove certain strains.
2.Check access to System Restore & the Internet.
1.Check computer for system access - Try to disable System Restore - right-click My Computer and select properties. Turn off System Restore on all drives.
2.Download and install new Anti-Virus. Both AVG Free Edition and Avast! are highly acclaimed programs. Install one of them (see External Links). Update the program's virus definitions. Don't scan for viruses yet.
3.Install Spybot Search & Destroy or Webroot Spysweeper (see External Links), and update its definitions. Don't scan for malware yet.
4.Install Adaware Personal Edition (see External Links) and update its definitions. Don't scan for malware yet.
3.Reboot into Safe Mode - Restart your computer and press F8 before Windows loads. Press F8 several times if you need to. Select Safe Mode from the resulting menu. Safe Mode disables much of the startup routine (including some common Malware hiding places).
4.Run your Anti-Virus - Run the freshly installed Anti-Virus. And Heal or Delete any references to Malware.
5.Run your Malware Scanners - Run both the scanners sequentially, deleting any references found.
6.Reboot and turn System Restore back on.
7.Enjoy your sanitised computer.

Tips
•If these steps are difficult to follow or impossible to achieve, please call a computer service professional (such as the one who wrote this HowTo!).
•Disabling System Restore and booting in Safe Mode are especially important if the malware is difficult to remove normally.
•Should you follow these steps and there is still signs of infection. You can take the following advanced steps:
1.Create a boot disk (see External Links).
2.Add scanning tools to the boot disk (see External Links).
3.Boot and scan using the boot disk.
•If all else fails:
1.Connect a USB hard drive to your computer
2.Save onto it your important files, such as documents, emails and favorites.
3.Use your Install disc to format your hard drive and reinstall your operating system.
4.Discover which virus strain it is, this usually is indicated by the anti-virus. Do a search on a reliable search engine like google, for the "virus name", with "removal" followed after it. The specific virus removal tool can be downloaded for free, and used it with ease. Restart the computer, and boot into "safe mode". Run the removal tool in "safe mode", remembering to follow any given instructions to the letters. Note these instructions are on the site where the tool was downloaded from.
•If this cannot help to get rid of the virus from your computer, the last thing you can do is to contact the computer manufacturer or reinstall the system either yourself or an expert.

Warnings
•It is always safer to call on a computer expert to perform procedures that you are not sure about. There is always a chance that you could disable your system and lose valuable data.
•Removing Viruses and Malware often takes several hours. Be sure you have plenty of time available.