A Mystery of the Mystic Lamb

The Ghent Altarpiece, also known as the Mystic Lamb, was completed in 1432 by Flemish Primitive Jan Van Eyck. The painting is surrounded by mysteries concerning, possibly, the Holy Blood(line) of Christ... This also is the reason why the panel of the Just Judges got stolen, the thiefs got killed and the Nazi's were very interested in the mystic masterpiece...

The Ghent Altarpiece, also known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, completed in 1432 by the Van Eyck Brothers (Hubert & Jan), is a large and complex polyptych, originally made for the Joost Vyd Chapel in Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. In the eighties, for security reasons, it was removed to another chapel in the cathedral. The Mystic Lamb is regarded as a true artistic highlight of Christianity and of Western civilisation. It is said - but it's not sure - that Hubert Van Eyck started the work and his brother Jan, the famous Flemish Primitive who was attached to the court of the Duke of Burgundy, finished it.

A Masterwork of Mystery:

The Ghent Altarpiece consists of a complex series of 24 scenes, with two doors and a central piece which is showing some saints and apostles adoring the Mystic Lamb, or the symbol of Jesus Christ. From the panels to the left and to the right, pious hermits and pilgrims, Just Judges and Knights of Christ are approaching the ceremony in the middle. The upper register shows Christ as a King, between the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, Adam and Eve. Inside, there are angels singing and making music.

The oil painting offers intricate details and composition, unrivaled realism, mystical meaning and a translucent use of colour which is responsible for the beautiful light. Over the centuries, the masterpieces has retained its luminous colours.

The polyptych, surrounded by mystery, has always been the main attraction of the impressive cathedral of Saint Bavo. After being kidnapped by the French revolutionary forces, some panels of the Mystic Lamb returned to Ghent. In 1816 however, the panels were sold for 100.000 guilders to an antiquary, while the bishopric knew they had a value of at least four times this sum... and indeed, the panels were sold very soon to a museum in Berlin for 400.000 guilders. At the end of the 19th century, these panels were cut lengthwise. In 1919, thanks to the Treaty of Versailles, they returned to Belgium again. Oh yeah, and what are the Knights Templar doing on this very catholic piece of art? 

Maybe the greatest mystery of the many mysteries surrounding the Mystic Lamb, was caused by the lower left panel, called the Just Judges. The original panel got stolen in 1934, has never been found and was replaced by a copy. It's Belgium's most famous unsolved mystery. Countless amateur and professional sleuths are still tracking clues. In a BBC interview with crime writer Minette Walters, Ghent's former police chief Karel Mortier referred to the theft as "the art crime of the century".

The Theft of the Just Judges:

In the night of April 10, 1934, two panels - the Just Judges and St. John the Baptist - measuring 1.49 x 55.5 centimeter, were stolen from the cathedral. On May 1, the bishop of Ghent received a letter, which said that the sender possessed both panels. The letter was signed "D.U.A.". Provided he would receive 1 million francs for the Judges, he would return St. John without any charge. DUA asked the bishop to answer him through an advertisement in a newspaper, and St. John was delivered at the railroad station Brussels-North. But instead of the requested sum, the authorities only wanted to pay 25.000 francs... and the Just Judges did not return home.

November 25... Arsène Goedertier, aged 57, a broker who lived and worked in the small town of Wetteren, aged 57, collapsed after a speech at a political rally. On his death bed, he informed his friend Georges de Vos in private that he had a file on the crime at his home. Goedertier tried to say more... but finally took the secret in his grave. Later, the police found in his home carbon copies of the messages which had been sent to the bishop by DUA. Only one single cryptic line spoke of the possible whereabouts of the Judges: the panel was "in a place where neither I nor anyone else" could recover it drawing attention.

The wife of Arsène Goedertier revealed that her late husband was an avid reader of detective novels and a true fan of Arsène Lupin, the hero in some of Maurice Leblanc's mystery novels. Arsène, of course, was also Goedertier's first name, and Lupin was a "gentlemen thief". Goedertier had read The Hollow Needle (L'aiguille creuse) several times. The theme of the novel was "art thefts". Arsène Goedertier undoubtedly felt inspired by Arsène Lupin, who always left a trail of coded messages after his thefts. Goedertier used a similar code in his ransom notes.

Arsène Goedertier was an eccentric, but although he might have typed and mailed the ransom notes, I doubt he was the original thief... and he sure didn't act alone. The broker from Wetteren was in a very healthy financial situation. Maybe he chased some sort of a symbolic revenge. Indeed, Goedertier is said to have been "angry" at the Catholic Church.

Since 1956, former police chief Karel Mortier has dedicated himself to the search for the Lost Judges. Mortier beliefs the panel was hidden somewhere in Saint Bavo Cathedral. X-ray investigations however were fruitless. Another policeman, Chris Noppe, is convinced that the Judges are hiding in the coffin of King Albert I. A few months before the theft, the Belgian King - the hero of the Great War - died in a climbing accident, which was possibly a set up for murder. The body of King Albert I now lies in the crypt of the royal family in the palace of Laeken, near Brussels. Belgium's own Miss Marple, Maria De Roo, is defending a conspiracy theory, claiming the authorities retrieved the panel. And I think Goedertier and two accomplices worked for Himmler's SS and were murdered when they double-crossed a nazi agent.

Van Eyck, neo-Templar and alchemist

I do believe Van Eyck's painting held a "Da Vinci Code", containing information the true whereabouts of the Holy Grail, also known as the Holy Blood(line) of Christ. In the 16th century, Jan Van Eyck already was described by art historian Giorgi Vasari as an alchemist, suggesting he was a member of a secret brotherhood. In his article 666 = Satan's Song? - Part 2: The Just Judges and Otto Rahn, Philip Coppens says that modern freemasons have noted how Van Eyck depicted a working lodge in a drawing of Saint Barbara. 

Jan Van Eyck entered the service of Philip the Good in 1425. The Duke of Burgundy was moving his court between his palaces in Brussels, Lille and Bruges. Van Eyck resided in Lille and mostly in Bruges, where he died in 1440. He performed certain missions for the Duke, but the exact nature of these missions has remained unknown. Both men were very close, the Duke served as godfather to one of Jan's children.

While working on his masterpiece, Jan's patron established the Order of the Golden Fleece. The name has never been fully explained, but it is no secret that Philip was very interested in alchemy. In his palace in Brussels for example, he installed a real "alchemical room". Though Van Eyck was employed by Philip the Good, he took the commission for the Vyd family. He knew he would have to spend a great amount of time on this Ghent Altarpiece. So, even if Jan only completed what Hubert had begun, he needed the consent of his patron. But that seemed to be no problem at all.

The Mystic Lamb clearly depicts Jesus as a King. This was very uncommon in medievalor Gothic paintings. It was also very uncommon in 1432, and even dangerous, to depict a bunch of arch-heretics on your piece of art. Under pressure of King Philip of France, in 1307 many of the Knights Templar were arrested, tortured - so they would give false confessions - and burned at the stake. The Order was disbanded by Pope Clement V in 1312 on the charge of religious heresy and sexual misconduct.

So, here is one of the great Mysteries of the Lamb of God: what are the Templars doing on this "true" catholic masterpiece? The title of the panel is "Milites Christi", Soldiers of Christ, the official name of the Knights Templar. Moreover, they don't look like sinners who are seeking forgiveness, do they? No, this one knight in his shining armour rides with great kings and noblemen, bearing the shield and the banner of the Temple!

On the Ghent Altarpiece, the Mystic Lamb is spilling his blood in the Cup of the Last Supper. This bleeding lamb is common christian iconography, but the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and the Chalice usually doesn't show up together with the Templars, who were regarded as the keepers of the Holy Grail... or the secret of the Holy Blood(line) of Christ.

Unusual Places in India

We all know that Ancient India was very much known for the unusual happenings occurring at many places.When I started searching for such places if they still existed in today's world or not and whether there is any such mis happenings occurring now also,I was overwhelmed to hear about such places and really dug deep to know more about them.

Bhangarh - The most haunted place in ഇന്ത്യ
Bhangarh is a place on way from Jaipur to Alwar city in Rajasthan state of India. Today Bhangarh is known for its ruins where nobody dares to stay after sunset.The local folks say that due to a curse the whole town was vacated overnight. According to the story of the curse, if the town was ever rediscovered the township would not be found, but only temples would show up.True to the story only temples dot the landscape and even far up on the mountains only shrines can be seen. It is said that nobody returns from there who stays after dark.By the Government of India rules there has to be an office of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) beside every historical structure in India. But even government authorities did not dare to open an office there. They opened their office about one kilometer away from the ruins of Bhangarh. Even this office is close to a temple because of this myth. ASI has put a signboard at Bhangarh saying, "Staying after sunset is strictly prohibited in this area."People who visit this place out of tourist interest say that there is a strange feeling in the atmosphere of Bhangarh, which causes sort of anxiety and restlessness.It is said by the local villagers that whenever a house has been built there its roof has collapsed. It seems to be true because inside Bhangarh all the houses are without a roof and even at the closest village where people reside, they still have roofs made of straw but not bricks.

Roopkund - The Skeleton Lake
Roopkund is a place in Uttarakhand state of India, and it is the location of about three to six hundred skeletons at the edge of a lake-Skeleton Lake in the Himalayas.In 2004 a team of Indian and European scientists set off to the location to gain more information on the skeletons.The team uncovered vital clues including jewellery, skulls, bones and a preserved body. DNA tests on the bodies revealed that there were two groups of people, a short group (probably local porters) and a taller group who were closely related. Though the numbers were not ascertained, it is believed that three to six hundred people perished. Radiocarbon dating of the bones also accurately pinpointed the time period to be in the 9th century predating the earlier inaccurate tests. After studying fractures in the skulls, the scientists in Hyderabad and London determined that the people died not of disease but of a sudden hailstorm.With landslides in the area, some of the bodies made their way into the lake.What is not determined was where the group was headed to. There is no historical evidence of any trade routes to Tibet in the area or any places of pilgrimage.

The Levitating Stone of Shivpur
The story goes that Qamar Ali was born into a family of middle-class Moslems whose men-folk prided themselves on their muscular prowess. Qamar Ali, unlike his aggressive older brothers, was introspective and gentle. When he was scarcely six, he became a disciple of a Sufi Pir (great teacher) who lived nearby, and spent his days in meditation and fasting. Before long, throngs of devotees began to flock to his doorstep drawn by the young Sufi mystic's compassion and miraculous powers of healing.Qamar Ali died in his late teens but as he lay on his deathbed, he requested that a circular stone weighing 200 pounds, be placed near his tomb. According to the legend, he said: "If eleven men place their right index fingers under the stone and then jointly call my name, I will cause it to rise higher than their heads. Otherwise, neither singly nor together will they be able to move it more than two feet off the ground. Let it be a symbol," he said to his brothers, "a reminder of my message that spiritual power is greater than brute strength. As Allah the Merciful, has loved you, so should you love all men of every caste and creed. For we are all brothers on the same journey. Think of this when you call my name and raise the stone."

Magnetic Hill - Leh
The "magnetic hill" is located on the Leh-Kargil-Baltik national highway, about 30 km from Leh, at a height of 14,000 feet above sea level. On its eastern side, flows the Sindhu, which originates in Tibet and goes to Pakistan.A group of journalists, visiting Leh to cover the Sindhu Darshan festival, were surprised when they had a first-hand experience of the hill.The local administration has put up a billboard near the hill, stating that if a vehicle is stopped at a particular spot on the road and the engine is switched off, it will not slide down but move up.When the Swaraj Mazda in which the journalists were travelling reached the particular point with the ignition switched off, the vehicle actually started moving upward at a speed of more than 20 km. Considering it to be a mere fluke, the journalists made the driver take the vehicle back to the same point. The same thing happened again. The exercise was repeated several times with the same result.

Janjira - The Unconquered Fort

Besides its magnificent beaches, the picturesque Konkan coast from Mumbai to Goa is studded with forts which have survived in their solid majesty for more than three centuries. The forts and fortresses on the coast of western India built between the 14th and 17th century are testimony to the raging battles between the Sultans of Bijapur, Golkonda and Ahmednagar, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the powerful Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar.
Later, these forts were also the sites of wars with foreign powers that had reached Indian shores - first the Portuguese and later the British and the French. A name that stands out is that of the charismatic Maratha warrior-leader Shivaji, who effectively challenged the mighty Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. Most of the forts that Shivaji built or reconstructed were in the interior or on top of hills. The only fortress he built on the coast was that of Sindhudurga near Goa.The Fort of Janjira on the sea is the only one of its kind. Janjira Jal-durg (sea fort) was constructed by Malik Ambar, an Abssinian minister in the service of the Sultan of Ahmednagar, who belonged to the famous Nizamshahi dynasty. The fort, built at the end of the 17th Century, is almost entirely intact even today, despite the ravages of wind and tide, a testimony to the marvels of ancient engineering.According to all accounts, the sea fort of Janjira could not be conquered by any of the kings ruling the neighbouring territories. Surprisingly, not even Shivaji could acquire it despite 13 expeditions to conquer the fort. His son, Sambhaji, tried a unique approach to capture the fort: digging an underwater tunnel to enter. But he too failed in his attempt. Not to be deterred, Sambhaji constructed another fort just across the bay, called Kansa. Most of the earth that was dug up to build the tunnel was used in the making of this second fort, which was to be the base for future attacks on the sea fort of Janjira. This fort took 22 years to build and is constructed on 22 acres of land.In a journey back in history, visitors can gain access to the Janjira fort from Rajapuri, a small village on the coast. After a short ride in a small boat, one can enter the fort through the main entrance. The fort is oval shaped instead of the usual oblong or square shape. The fort wall is about 40 feet high and has 19 rounded porches or arches, some of which still have cannons mounted on them, including the famous cannon 'Katlal Bhankari'. These cannons were largely responsible for repelling oncoming enemies from the sea. Inside the fort walls, the ruins of a mosque, a palace and bath with water channeled from streams, tell of ancient times when royal ladies occupied the quarters. The deep well with cold and sweet water - a wonder of nature in the midst of the saline sea, still provides water to quench the thirst of the weary visitor.Gazing into the horizon from the ramparts of this magnificent fort overlooking the sea, one cannot but acknowledge its great strength that withstood a number of invasions. This invincible fort remained unconquered until it became part of Indian territory after Independence from the British in 1947.Other attractions for history buffs include the Palace of the Nawab. This luxurious cliff-top mansion built by the former Nawab of Janjira commands a panoramic view of the Arabian sea and the Janjira sea fort.Then there are the Janjira Caves, while nature lovers will enjoy Murud, the erstwhile capital of the state of Janjira. Murud is actually a tiny fishing village atop a small hillock with a heart-stopping view of the coast, with mile after mile of soft silvery sand. The beaches of Kashid and Nandgaon with their whispering casuarina, coconut and betel palms are a balm for the weary city dweller. In short, a perfect getaway.

How to Get There Air: Nearest airport is Mumbai, 165 km away.

Rail: The nearest station is Roha on the Konkan railway.Road: About five hours from Mumbai.

Where to stay: There are few private beach resorts and one Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation holiday resort.

Windows Tips & Tricks - Part 21 - 30

21.Hide All Icons in the Notification Area
The system tray, also called the notification area, is the small area on the far right side
of the taskbar, in which utilities and programs that run in the background, such as
antivirus software, show their icons. I don’t find it a particularly intelligent use of
screen real estate, so I prefer not to see the icons there.
To hide them, run the Registry Editor and go to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Ex
plorer. Among other things, this key controls the display of objects throughout XP.
Create a new DWORD called NoTrayItemsDisplay. Assign it a value of 1. (A value
of 0 will keep the icons displayed.) Exit the Registry and reboot.
While you’re at the HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/
CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer key, you can also delete the My Recent Documents
icon on the Start menu. Create a new DWORD called NoRecentDocsMenu. Assign it
a value of 1. (A value of 0 will keep the icon displayed.) Exit the Registry and reboot.

22. Turn Off System Beeps
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound, and find the Beep and
ExtendedSounds String values. Set each value to No. Exit the Registry and reboot.
The beeps will no longer sound. Hey, your XP is no longer noisy!!

23. Add Specific Folders to Open Dialog
Box (XP Home only)
When you use certain Windows applications (such as Notepad) to open a file, on the
left side of the Open dialog box are a group of icons and folders (such as My
Documents, My Recent Documents, Desktop, My Computer, and My Network) to
which you can navigate to open files. A registry hack will let you put just the folders
of your choosing on the left side of the Open dialog box. Note that when you do this,
it will affect XP applications such as Notepad and Paint that use the Open and Save
common dialog boxes. However, it won’t affect Microsoft Office applications and
other applications that don’t use the common dialog boxes. Run the Registry Editor
and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Policies\comdlg32. This is the key that determines how common dialog boxes are
handled.
You’re going to create a subkey that will create a customized location for the folders,
and then give that subkey a series of values, each of which will define a folder
location.To start, create a new subkey underneath EY_CURRENT_USER
\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\comdlg32 called Placesbar,
and create a String value for it named Place0. Give Place0 a value of the topmost
folder that you want to appear on the Open dialog box, for example, C:\Projects. Next,
create another String value for Placesbar called Place1. Give it a value of the second
folder that you want to appear on the Open dialog box. You can put up to five icons
on the Open dialog box, so create new String values up to Place4 and give them
values as outlined in the previous steps. When you’re done, exit the Registry. You
won’t have to reboot for the changes to take effect. If you do not want any folders to
appear in common Open dialog boxes, you can do that as well. In
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\
comdlg32, create a new DWORD value called NoPlacesBar and give it a value of 1.
Exit the Registry. If you want the folders back, either delete NoPlacesBar or give it a
value of 0.

24. Place Windows Kernel into RAM
It’s a given that anything that runs in RAM will be faster than an item that has to
access the hard drive and virtual memory. Rather than have the kernel that is the
foundation of XP using the slower Paging Executive functions, use this hack to create
and set the DisablePagingExecutive DWORD to a value of 1. Perform this hack
only if the system has 256MB or more of installed RAM! Edit the Registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive to 1 to disable paging and have the
kernel run in RAM (set the value to 0 to undo this hack). Exit the Registry and reboot.

25. Alter Prefetch Parameters
Pre-fetching (the reading of system boot files into a cache for faster loading) is a
commonly overlooked component that can have a significant impact on system boot
time. To see which files are gathered using each setting, clear the prefetch cache
located at C:\Windows\Prefetch and then enable one of the settings listed in this hack.
Clear the cache and repeat for each setting. Set the Registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher to 0 to disable
prefetching, 1 to prefetch application launch files, 2 to prefetch boot files, or 3 to
prefetch as many files as possible.

26. Disable 8.3 Name Creation in NTFS
Files that use the 8.3 naming convention can degrade NTFS drive performance.
Unless you have a good reason for keeping the 8.3 naming convention intact (such as
if you’re using 16-bit programs), a performance gain can be achieved by disabling it.
Set the Registry DWORD key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SYSTEM\
CurrentControlSet\Control\ FileSystem\NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation to 1. Exit the
Registry and reboot.

27. Cleaning Recent Docs Menu and the
RUN
The Recent Docs menu can be easily disabled by editing the Registry. To do this go to
the following Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Now in the right pane, create a new DWORD value
by the name: NoRecentDocsMenu and set it's value to 1. Restart Explorer to save the
changes. You can also clear the RUN MRU history. All the listings are stored in the
key:HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer
\ RunMRU. You can delete individual listings or the entire listing. To delete History
of Find listings go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft \ Windows
\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Doc Find Spec MRUand delete.

28. DMA Mode for CD-ROMs
Like Windows 2000, Windows XP still fails to set the DMA mode correctly for the
IDE device designated as the slaves on the primary IDE and secondary IDE channels.
Most CD- ROMS are capable of supporting DMA mode, but the default in XP is still
PIO. Setting it to DMA won't make your CD-ROM faster, but it will consume less
CPU cycles. Here's how: Open the Device Manager. One way to do that is to right
click on "My Computer", select the Hardware tab, and Select Device Manager.
Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel"
.Under the "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. More than likely,
your current transfer mode is set to PIO. Set it to "DMA if available". Repeat the step
for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if you have devices attached to it. Reboot.

29. Speed up IE Start Up
This tweak tells Internet Explorer to simply 'run', without loading any webpages. If
you use a 'blank' page, that is still a page, and slows access. Notice the 'about:blank' in
the address bar. The blank html page must still be loaded. To load IE with 'nothing'
[nothing is different than blank]:
1. Right-click on any shortcut you have to IE
[You should create a shortcut out of your desktop IE icon, and delete the original
icon]
2. Click Properties
3. Add -nohome [with a space before the dash] after the endquotes in the Target field.
4. Click OK

30.Delete INDEX.DAT (Faster Browsing)
First of all open up the command prompt. For that go Start Run cmd. Now press
CTRL + ALT + DELETE to bring up the task manager. In the task manager, go to
processes and click on explorer.exe. End the “explorer.exe” task. All the windows
will be closed down. Don’t panic. You can still see the command prompt. In the
command prompt type the following command exactly as it is:
Del "C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temporary
Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat"
Note is the name that you use to log in to your windows. Some
log in as “administrator” while some with another name eg: Sandeep. Whatever it is,
type that name. This will also help in fixing all the issues related to browser
performance, especially the ones that cause browser to hang frequently.

Windows - Tips & Tricks - Part 11 - 20

11. Automatically Killing Tasks on
Shutdown
You know the drill. You start to shut down the computer, you wait a few moments,
and then you see a dialog box asking if you want to kill an application or service that
is running. Instead of prompting you, you can make Windows XP take care of the kill
task automatically. Here's how:
1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
3. Highlight the value AutoEndTasks and change the value to 1.
4. Close the Registry Editor.

12. Stop Noise
When using 3rd party burning software (eg, Nero Burning Rom) to copy audio
CD,some noise may be heard at the end of each track. To prevent this,try the
following method:
1. Enter System Properties\device manager
2. Select IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
3. Double click on thee CD writer IDE channel
4. Select advance setting
5. Change the transfer mode to 'PIO Only'
6. Restart Computer

13. Disable Unsigned Driver Dialogue
First go to: Start Run
Then type: gpedit.msc and hit enter. Browse the folder tree to the following location
User Configuration Administrative Templates System. Right-click Code
signing for Device drivers and select Properties. On the Settings tab, either select
enable, and then select ignore from the appearing listbox..
or click the disable option. Click apply and Ok and your set!
Alternatively especially for XP Home users:
Open "System" properties (Windows key + pause or Right click 'My Computer' -
properties or Control Panel - System).On the Hardware tab click the "Driver Signing"
button. In the dialogue that comes up choose "Ignore" to install the new driver
anyway.

14. A Flying Start for the Start Menu
A simple Registry tweak can give speed up your start menu and sub-menus. Open the
Registry Editor, and navigate to and select:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop .
Double-click the MenuShowDelay icon on the right, and change 'Value data' from its
default of 400 (milliseconds) to something speedier, like 0. When you have finished,
press Enter.

15. Resize Your Wallpaper
If you just switched to a wide-screen monitor, your desktop wallpaper image may no
longer look right, or maybe you just want to make a small adjustment to it.
For more-granular control of your wallpaper's placement, highlight the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\desktop
Double-click the WallpaperOriginX icon in the right pane. (If you don't see this icon,
right-click in this pane, choose New, String Value, type WallpaperOriginX to name
the value, and press .) Type a number (in pixels) for the starting horizontal
position of your wallpaper's left edge, and press . Now double-click the
WallpaperOriginY icon (create it if necessary as explained above) and enter a number
for the starting vertical position of the image's top edge. If your wallpaper image is
larger than the screen, type a negative number (for example, -200) to push the
picture's top or left edge off the screen.
To test the effect, first minimize the Registry Editor (and any other open window),
right-click the desktop, choose Properties, and click OK or Apply to refresh the
wallpaper placement. Repeat these steps as needed until the wallpaper is positioned
correctly.The settings work whether you've set your wallpaper to be centered, tiled, or
stretched.

16. Unhide the Administrator
Few people are aware of Windows XP's cloaked administrator account (called,
appropriately enough, "Administrator"). This account is invisible unless either your
system has no other accounts or you are booting in Safe Mode. To remove
Administrator's camouflage and add it to XP's Welcome screen, navigate to & select
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winl
ogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList in the Registry Editor, and double-click the
Administrator icon in the right pane. If you don't see this icon, right-click in the pane,
choose New, DWORD Value, name it Administrator, and press Enter. Type 1 in the
'Value data' box, and press . From now on, when you open the User
Accounts window via the Control Panel, you'll see the Administrator account. You
can easily change its picture or give it a password. In addition, the next time you see
the Welcome screen, your Administrator account will be visible, along with the entire
computer's other user accounts.

17. Retitle Internet Explorer
By default, Internet Explorer's title bar shows the name of the Web site you're
viewing, followed by "Microsoft Internet Explorer"--or in some cases, your
company's name or the name of the ISP that supplied the browser. To change the
repeating text in IE's title bar (or to get rid of it altogether), navigate to and select
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main in the Registry
Editor, and double-click the Window Title icon in the right pane. (If you don't see this
icon, right-click in the pane, choose New, String Value, type Window Title, and press
.) Type what you want to see on IE's title bar, or type nothing to show only
the site name. Note that the hyphen that normally separates the site name from the
page title will remain. When you relaunch Internet Explorer, you will see the change.
Bonus Tip: Hack Your BIOS for Faster
Startups
You can speed up your startup procedures by changing the BIOS with the built-in
setup utility. How you run this utility varies from PC to PC, but you typically get to it
by pressing the Delete, F1, or F10 keys during startup. You'll come to a menu with a
variety of choices. Here are the choices to make for faster system startups:
Quick Power On Self Test (POST)
When you choose this option, your system runs an abbreviated POST rather than the
normal, lengthy one.
Boot Up Floppy Seek
Disable this option. When it's enabled, your system spends a few extra seconds
looking for your floppy drivea relatively pointless procedure, especially considering
how infrequently you use your floppy drive.
Boot Delay
Some systems let you delay booting after you turn on your PC so that your hard drive
gets a chance to start spinning before bootup. Most likely, you don't need to have this
boot delay, so turn it off. If you run into problems, however, you can turn it back on.

18. Find Every File
When you search for a file in Windows Windows searches only for file types it
recognizes. Files that aren't listed in the 'Registered file types' list are ignored.
Fortunately, a simple edit of the Registry will make Windows search for every file,
regardless of its extension. Open the Registry Editor as described above, and then
navigate to and select:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex.
Double-click the FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions icon in the right pane, change
the 0 in the 'Value data' box to 1, and press Enter.
To ensure that Windows XP searches for every possible file, select All Files and
Folders under 'Type of file' in the Search Companion pane. (If you don't see this
option, click More Advanced Options.) Check Search system folders, Search hidden
files and folders, and Search subfolders (as desired). In Windows 2000, click Search
Options, check Type, and make sure that (All Files and Folders) is selected in the
resulting drop-down menu. Check Advanced Options, and make sure Search
Subfolders is checked. Finally, to ensure that Windows 2000 finds system and hidden
files, choose Tools, Folder Options and click the View tab. In the 'Advanced settings'
list, select Show hidden files and folders. Uncheck Hide protected operating system
files (Recommended), click Yes to acknowledge the warning, and finish by clicking
OK.

19. Rework System Restore
The amount of space Windows uses for restore points is a little more complicated than
a single percentage value. The Registry includes its own setting for the maximum disk
space given to System Restore, and Windows uses whichever amount is larger: the
percentage you specify via the System Properties dialog box, or the Registry's
maximum value. Any disk space you free up via System Properties won't instantly be
used by System Restore; it will be available until a new restore point requires more
space than the amount allotted via the percentage value. The percentage and max
values tell Windows only when to stop making new restore points.
To lock in your System Restore allocation, open the Registry Editor and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\S
ystemRestore. Select the SystemRestore icon in the left pane to see several icons
appear in the right pane. Do not experiment with just any of these icons! While you
can safely change the value of some of them, Microsoft warns that others should not
be altered under any circumstances. Fortunately, you can safely edit the values for the
DiskPercent and DSMax icons, which control System Restore's disk-space allotments.
To change the maximum amount of disk space System Restore will use (providing it's
larger than the percentage value), double-click the DSMax icon. In the Edit DWORD
Value dialog box, click Decimal so you can see the specified number of megabytes in
the 'Value data' box (the default on most systems is '400'). Change this to the desired
amount, and click OK.
While you're there, you can also safely edit the DSMin value, which specifies the
minimum space System Restore needs to work at all. Normally, if free space on your
Windows drive gets too low, System Restore shuts down and makes no restore points
until you have at least 200MB of free space. Setting this value determines the amount
of disk space at which System Restore will wake up and attempt to start saving restore
points again. However, just because System Restore will try to do so, it won't
necessarily succeed if the available space is too small. Unfortunately, we know of no
method to determine how much space a single restore point will require, so setting
this amount too low could render the feature useless. Still, you can fit a lot of system
files in 100MB of disk space.
To change this value, double-click the DSMin icon, click Decimal, and enter your
desired amount of free disk space (in megabytes) in the 'Value data' box. Click OK.

20. Pop Up a Message at Start Up
To pop a banner which can contain any message you want to display just before a user
is going to log on, go to the key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Polic
ies\System.
Now create a new string Value in the right pane named LegalNoticeCaption and enter
the value that you want to see in the Menu Bar. Now create yet another new string
value and name it LegalNoticeText. Modify it and insert the message you want to
display each time Windows boots. This can be effectively used to display the
company's private policy each time the user logs on to his NT box.