Today I reinstalled XP on a machine and had to activate the Windows license prior to installing updates. At this URL (http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/john-savills-windows-faqs/how-do-i-activate-windows-xp-from-the-command-line-.aspx) I found a quick one-liner to start up the product activation GUI. Click Start, click Run and type “oobe/msoobe /a”. Be prepared to type in the 25-character activation string.
Windows Fixes
10
Mar 10
Missing “My Documents” in “My Computer”
This morning a co-worker’s “My Documents” folder was missing from their “My Computer” folder. It was still on the computer but this link had disappeared. She runs XP and could not recall having modified anything that would cause this. The fix was found at this URL: http://www.tweakxp.com/article36827.aspx and amounts to a simple registry hack. Remember to be careful when editing the registry.
The following new key was entered into the registry using regedit:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
- SOFTWARE\
- Microsoft\
- Windows\
- CurrentVersion\
- Explorer\
- DocFolderPaths\
- User Name\
with the value “C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\My Documents”.
Now the link to the folder “User Name’s Documents” is back in “My Computer”.