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Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Tweak Windows XP or Vista with XdN Tweaker

XdN Tweaker
We're big fans of little applications that let you tweak your Windows system settings without mucking around in the registry. Stardock's TweakVista has a pretty comprehensive set of registry hacks, but only some are available in the free version. And it's kind of nice to have a tiny file that works with no installation required.

While XdN Tweaker doesn't offer as many options as the free Vispa, XdN Tweaker weighs in at just 516KB. It supports Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista and has a handful of tweaks including:
  • Enable or disable the User Account Control for different users
  • Enable or disable right-click Windows Media Player context menus
  • Restore the file menu in Internet Explorer 7
  • Change the default number of folder views (personalized settings for how to view folders) that Windows remembers
  • Add a "take ownership" option to Vista right-click menus that lets you change files that read "you need permission to perform this action."
As with any of these tweaking programs, it's possible to achieve most of the same results with a few registry hacks. But XdN Tweaker is a lot more user-friendly than the Windows registry. And more importantly, most of the hacks can be undone from within the program's interface.

[via gHacks]

Filed under: Windows, Freeware

Tweak Windows Vista with Vispa

Vispa
Want to make a few changes to Windows Vista, but don't feel like mucking around in the Windows Registry? Vispa is a free executable (no installation required) that lets you make a whole slew of modifications to Windows Vista's appearance and behavior.

For example, you can easily convert your start menu and theme to Windows Classic, (which you could also do through the control panel), or you can enable "fast shutdown," which basically changes some windows registry settings to decrease the amount of time Windows will wait for unresponsive services to terminate before shutting down.

Vispa has a strong focus on privacy, allowing you to disable error-reporting, automatic updates, and other communications with Microsoft.

When you start Vispa, it also gives you the option of undoing all of your previous changes. If you've already manually changed some of the settings included in Vispa, you might want to be careful about choosing the restore option, as it might undo those changes as well.

[via CyberNet]

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