Hidden Registry Setting for "Sendto" menu in window 7

The Send To menu in Windows allows you to quickly send a file to different locations including a floppy disk, CD-RW/DVD-RW, or to a third-party application. We’ve covered a few articles on the "Send To" menu before, and here are the three new and undocumented registry edits that can be used in Windows 7.

DelaySendToMenuBuild

By default when you right-click on a file or folder in Windows 7,  it enumerates the items in your Send To folder to build the Send To menu. By setting the DelaySendToMenuBuild DWORD value data to 1 you can change the default behavior, so that Send To menu entries are generated only when you click the "Send To" menu, rather than on every right-click.
Also, you may notice that the context menu pops up little bit faster than before.
DelaySendToMenuBuild (REG_DWORD value) is implemented in the following registry location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer

NoSendTo

The NoSendTo value can be used to hide the "Send To" menu in the right-click menu for a file type. It’s implemented in the file type’s ProgID. For example, to hide the "Send To" menu for text files (.txt), you’ll have to create a NoSendTo (REG_SZ) value in this location:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ txtfile

NoDrivesInSendToMenu

The Send To menu displays removable drives by default, as shown below:

By enabling the NoDrivesInSendToMenu (DWORD) value, you can hide drive-letters from the Send To menu without actually hiding the drives in Windows Explorer environment. This edit works in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and is explained in this article and also here. It’s implemented in this registry location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer

* You’ll need to logoff and login back for this registry edit to take effect.

Error "Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator" when you open the Registry Editor in Windows Vista

Symptom

When you attempt to start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) in your Windows Vista system, you may receive the following message:

Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator

Resolution

If the above error message is shown in a standalone system, then it may be a result of Malware infection. It is also possible that the DisableRegistryTools policy had been enabled by a third-party tweak program which you may be using. It's highly advisable to follow up with a complete system checkup for Virus and Malware, especially when you're unsure about the cause.

Note: If your system is connected to a domain, your network administrator may have enabled the DisableRegistryTools Policy setting. In that case, you'll need to contact the network administrator to relax this restriction, if need be.

Method 1 - Using Group Policy Editor

If you are using an edition of Windows Vista (Windows Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions) which includes the Group Policy Editor, follow these steps:

• Click Start, type gpedit.msc in the Search box, and press ENTER
• Go to the following branch:

User Configuration | Administrative Templates | System

• Double-click Prevent access to registry editing tools
• Set it as Not Configured

Important: If it's already set to Not Configured, set it to Enabled and click Apply. Then repeat the steps and revert the setting back to Not Configured. This removes the registry based policy if set already.

Method 2

This method should work in all editions of Windows Vista.

• Download reg_enable.vbs , and save it to Desktop
• Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
• Switch to your Desktop directory by typing the following command, and then pressing ENTER:

cd /d %userprofile%\desktop

• Then, type the following command and press ENTER 

wscript.exe  reg_enable.vbs

• Type EXIT to close the Command Prompt window.

If everything worked fine, the DisableRegistryTools policy should have been removed by now. See if you're able to launch Regedit.exe now.

How To Renew a Computer's IP Address

In computer networking, each device connected to a network has an assigned number called an IP Address or Internet Protocol Address. This number is used so that devices, especially computers can be located and identified. There are various other network communication protocols. This system of addressing works for networks that use Internet Protocol communication. Some connectivity problems can arise from a computer having the wrong IP Address. This can happen through any number of hardware malfunctions or system configuration issues. One way to restore connectivity is to renew a computer’s IP Address. The following procedures apply to PCs with a Windows operating system.

1. Access the command prompt. Click on the Start menu and then click on the Run option. On this dialog box, type in ‘cmd’ (this stands for ‘command prompt’). Another window will open which looks like the old MS-DOS interface where you have to type in commands. Alternatively you can open this window by clicking on All Programs on the Start menu, hover over the Accessories option, and then clicking on Command Prompt.
2. Check the computer’s IP Address. On the Command Prompt window you’ll see something like this: ‘C:\Documents and Settings\ (computer name)>’ followed by a blinking cursor. Your computer’s name is what you assigned it when you installed Windows. Type ‘ipconfig/all’ on this line and then press Enter. A series of information will be displayed and among them will be your computer’s IP Address. You can then check with your Network Administrator or Internet Service Provider if the number displayed is the correct IP Address for your computer.
3. Release the current IP Address. The same command line with blinking cursor will appear after the displayed information. This time type in ‘ipconfig/release’ and press Enter. This command tells your computer to let go of the currently assigned IP Address.
4. Acquire a new IP Address. Now type in ‘ipconfig/renew’ and press the Enter key. This will tell your computer to acquire a new IP Address. After the procedure, close the Command Prompt window and check if your connectivity issue has been solved.

You can also check for other possible causes of the connectivity problem. Is your modem actually plugged in and turned on? Are all the indicator lights for Power, DSL, Internet and Ethernet green? If the DSL indicator is off, your service provider could possibly be having problems sending a signal.  If the Ethernet indicator is off, your computer’s LAN card could be disabled or malfunctioning. An enabled LAN card should show in the Network Connections folder with its status description stated as ‘connected’. Access this folder by clicking on the Start menu, hover over ‘Connect to’, and then choose ‘Show all connections’.