Improving Your Windows NT 4.0 Desktop.

Introduction:

The desktop can quickly become quite cluttered if discipline is not exercised. Furthermore, as supplied, several key features of the Windows NT 4.0 desktop could not be changed to optimise the display. Fortunately add-on tools both from Microsoft and other vendors have solved most of these early "adjustment" problems.

In this section I suggest several "add-on" tools and other adjustments you may want to consider integrating into your NT 4.0 desktop to improve it's appearance and functionality. I have personally tested all these changes, and have found that they do not cause any conflicts or problems on a "normal" NT 4.0 system. Most of these ideas are very much a matter of "personal choice" - implement as many or as few of them as you see fit.

"Active Desktop Update" - A Note of Warning.

See the following Microsoft Knowledgebase articles for more information on the Active Desktop Update.

165695 - How to Add or Remove Windows Desktop Update

254919 - How to Install the Windows Desktop Update with Internet Explorer 5.x

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Obvious Stuff:

Some things to investigate:

1. Display Resolution - Pick a resolution that is optimal for size of display you are working with. Typically a 15 inch display will work well at 800x600 or 1024x768. A 17 inch display usually functions best at 1024x768, 1152x864 or 1280x1024. Larger displays can of course support even higher resolutions. Most display cards made in recent years are supplied with NT 4.0 drivers which enable them to function in all resolutions up to 1600x1200, depending on available video card RAM. Operating a L.C.D. monitor at a resolution other than it's "native" resolution will often result in extremely poor quality images and text. Consult the documentation supplied with your L.C.D. monitor to determine the optimal display resolution to select.
2. Display Refresh Rate - (Note: The following paragraph primarily refers to C.R.T. based display devices. The vertical refresh rate is basically irrelevant if you are using a L.C.D. panel.) Most modern video cards allow fairly extensive adjustment of the vertical refresh rate. Try to use 75Hz or higher whenever possible. I usually use 85Hz or 100Hz if it is available - rates above 100Hz are really "overkill". The faster refresh rates lower viewer eye fatigue, especially in rooms with a high light level and display images with a high average brightness. (eg: a document with a white background - like this one !)
3. Icon Spacing - most people, myself included, like to have shortcut icons located around the periphery of the screen. Unfortunately, if you use the "Line up Icons" option on the desktop, you will notice that the icons don't neatly sit at the edge of the display on the right-hand side. This is easily fixed - use Display Properties > Appearance > Item=Icon Spacing (Horizontal) and increase the value by 1 pixel. Close the "Display Properties" dialogue and repeat the "Line Up Icons" step - the icons on the right will now be closer to the edge of the screen. You may have to "fine tune" the icon spacing by a couple of pixels to optimise the result, but it does look much tidier. The vertical spacing can be similarly tuned. Don't forget you need to do a fresh call of "Line Up Icons" to see the results of your changes on screen after each pixel value change. Be advised that this setting also changes the spacing of icons within all system dialogues, including the "My Computer", "Control Panel" and "Printers" displays. See knowledgebase article 132667 - "Icon Spacing Does Not Take Effect Automatically" for more detail.
4. Icon Text - The default font chosen on an NT 4.0 desktop is MS Sans Serif. Later Microsoft Operating Systems now use Tahoma. I believe this is a better font choice and improves the readability and neatness of the text. I settled on a size setting of 8 point on my desktop - this choice will vary depending upon what screen resolution you have chosen, and again is a matter of personal choice. You will probably find that whatever size you ultimately select, it should be constant for all "text" items to create a cohesive result for the desktop. The items you need to adjust are:
   • Active Title Bar
   • Icon
   • Inactive Title Bar
   • Menu
   • Message Box
   • Palette Title
   • Selected Items
   • Tooltip

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Fixing the Explorer Taskbar:

In March 2007 I was approached by the owner of the site Bear Windows. He has solved this problem, and I am extremely grateful to him for allowing me to republish the details of his patch procedure for Windows NT 4.0 here.

The truly shocking part of this process is the small number of changes that need to be done ! In total, correcting the behaviour of the Taskbar requires the editing of only 2 BYTES in the binary code of Explorer.exe, yet Microsoft have seen fit to leave this issue unresolved all this time, FINALLY addressing it Windows XP !

You can confirm the incorrect behaviour of the Windows NT 4.0 Taskbar by using this test programme supplied by Dr. Hoiby. The instructions for it's use are included in a "readme.txt" file in the .zip archive.

If you unfamiliar with manually editing binary files, using a Command Prompt window and using the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) I suggest you seek out experienced assistance.

What follows is a step-by-step description of what needs to be done to implement this patch. You will require Administrator privileges in order to complete these tasks.

1. Make a copy of Explorer.exe from your "active" system. I suggest you call this copy Explorer.new
2. Open Explorer.new with a suitable hex editor. There are several possible packages that can be used for this procedure. I recommend and use the XVI32 Freeware Hex Editor.
3. Using the search feature of the Hex Editor, locate the hex sequence:
   • 6A 01 6A 00 6A 01
4. There should be ONLY TWO MATCHES for this sequence in the entire file. If you can't find these exact two matches check your search criteria. If the search criteria is definitely correct, then it is possible that the version of Explorer.exe you are editing is unsuitable for modification - following the remainder of the procedure is NOT recommended under these circumstances !
5. Each of the two hex sequences found above need to be changed to read:
   • 6A 01 6A 00 6A 11
6. Save the amended Explorer.new. If it is not already located in the D:\WinNT\ folder on your system, move Explorer.new to this location. (D:\ is the drive letter which holds your Windows NT 4.0 installation)
7. Now we need to replace the existing Explorer.exe with the "patched" version. (Explorer.new) Unfortunately, you CANNOT simply overwrite your existing copy of Explorer.exe with Explorer.new, because Explorer.exe is in use and the system will refuse permission. If you are able, booting into a "Parallel Installation" of NT 4.0 will allow you to replace Explorer.exe. If you need further information on "Parallel Installation", see Microsoft Knowledgebase Articles 259003 and 244378.
8. A much simpler alternate approach is possible, by temporarily changing the NT 4.0 User Shell. Start Regedit.exe and locate the key:
   • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
9. Find the ValueName "Shell". The ValueData for this entry should currently read as "Explorer.exe". Change this ValueData to read "Cmd.exe". This makes the Command Prompt the default User Shell on the system.
10. Close Regedit.
11. Shutdown and restart Windows NT 4.0.
12. After you log on, you will receive a Command Prompt window on your desktop. The Start Button, Taskbar and your Desktop Icons will NOT be present - they are created by Explorer.exe which is NOT running. Since Explorer.exe is not running, it can now simply be replaced.
13. At the Command Prompt type:
    • cd \Winnt
    • dir explorer.*
14. The system should respond with two files found:
    • Explorer.exe
    • Explorer.new
15. If Explorer.new is not reported, you will need to locate it and move it to the \WinNT folder. (You should have done this at step 6 !)
16. Once the files are correctly positioned, at the Command Prompt type:
    • ren Explorer.exe Explorer.old
    • ren Explorer.new Explorer.exe
17. Confirm for each "ren" (rename) command does NOT result in any error messages. If you do receive an error message, carefully check what you have typed and repeat the commands as required !
18. To confirm that the replacement process has succeeded type:
    • dir explorer.*
19. The system should respond with two files found:
    • Explorer.exe
    • Explorer.old
20. If the directory listing is correct, at the Command Prompt type:
    • regedit
21. This command launches Regedit.exe. Renavigate your way to the key:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
22. Replace the ValueData of the "Shell" ValueName to "Explorer.exe" (ie: as it was originally). This returns the system to normal, and makes Explorer.exe your default User Shell.
23. Close Regedit.
24. Shutdown and restart Windows NT 4.0.
25. After logon the normal desktop should be back.
26. Retest the Taskbar Icon colour depth using the Dr. Hoiby "test programme" as discussed previously - the multi-colour test icon should now be displayed in the Taskbar correctly.
27. If all is well, you can delete the file Explorer.old from your \WinNT folder. You may wish to keep a copy of the "patched" Explorer.exe now in use in a safe place, in case you need to rebuild the NT 4.0 installation at some future date.

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Shell Extensions:

• Font Properties Extension by Microsoft - adds several tabs to the "Properties" display for font files. (eg files of extension type .ttf) Details provided include License and Copyright information, Font original name, Creation Programme and font structure.
• ExifViewer by FoxBat - Adds a "Exif Tags" tab to the "Properties" dialogue for any image taken with a digital camera. The Exif standard records such information as Camera Model, Time/Date of the image and exposure details. See the explanation of the Exif standard here.
• Path Copy by Ninotech - Adds a context menu entry to allow you to copy the current path and / or filename of a selected file to the clipboard. A major time saver, especially for long and complicated paths and filenames. You can then paste this information somewhere without worrying about mistyping it. The format in which the copied pathname is presented is configurable.
• Date/Time Edit by Ninotech - Adds a context menu entry for all files or folders, allowing changes to be made to the date and time of the "Created", "Accessed" and "Modified" time/date stamps to any value. Includes a button to set the stamp to "Now".
• Cryptext by Nick Payne - Adds a context menu entry for drives, folders and files. You can then choose to Encrypt or Decrypt the item using strong file encryption. (160 bit)
• Version Info by Troels Jakobsen - Adds a context menu item to display the FULL file version number. Most executable and .dll files are compiled to include version data. (Obviously no information is displayed if the file right-clicked on doesn't include the data) If multiple files are highlighted and the Version Info context menu is called, all files with version data will have their information displayed in a list. Can be handy if you need to quickly compare files.

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Changing Icon Appearance: