NT Tips

These tips are most useful if you are have a restricted NT profile, like I have at school, however these can also solve problems for administrators, as they have at my school (see the last tip).

Using the Disk Drive

If a: is not visible in My Computer, just do the following:

1. Click right mouse button on the start button. Then click Explore. (If this is not possible see below)
2. The Windows Explorer will then appear. Click on the tools option on the menu bar and then click on "Go to...".
3. Now type a:\ and press enter.

The contents of a: drive should now appear. If you get an error (and there is a disk in the drive) then it could be that the drive has been disabled in the bios, and I have not discovered how to get round that yet!

You can also use the above method to get to the hard drive or the CD-Rom drive etc.

If nothing happens when you click right button on the start button, then it is not easy to get to Windows Explorer. It is however possible! In the NT help file search for "File Manager" and you will see there is a button that you can press to launch File Manager for you, and then you can view the hard drives to your hearts content!

You can also create a shortcut to get to the disk drive:

1. Click right button on the start button and choose open.
2. In the new window click right button and create a new shortcut.
3. Make the command line a:\ and click next and then Finish

Getting to the Control Panel

Easy, just:

1. Click right button on the start button and choose open
2. Create a new directory in the new window and give it the name:
   Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Now when you click on the start button normally you will see a slide off option that gives you the contents of the control panel.

This can be used for useful purposes also, as if this directory is created on a disk, then the System Administrator can make changes to the control panel options when any one is logged on.

Adding/Removing Printers

At school there was a problem that people were unable to print from their user profile if they were not in the room where they first logged on. It was not possible to just add a new printer as non of the pupils could get to the printers folder. Here however was the solution to the problem (which I discovered!!):

On the desktop create a folder called:
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

Then when this folder is opened the printers folder will appear and printers can be added to a user's profile as usual.

If this folder is created in the "All users" profile in NT, then anyone can get to the printers folder and add the printers they want, when they want.

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