MoziLLa "about:config" HacKs

about:config gives you a visual interface where you can find the name of a preference and see or change its current value. You can also add new or hidden preferences via this interface. To open the about:config page, all you have to do is type about:config in the location bar (this is where you would normally type a web address) and press Enter.

1. Adjust the Smart Location Bar’s Number of Suggestions 
In Firefox, when you start typing in the location bar, a drop-down list of suggestion URLs will be shown. That is your History of Previously Opened Websites. Maximum of 12 Links it shows.

• Search in Filter Bar : browser.urlbar.maxRichResults

• Default : 12

• Modified value : Set to your desired number of suggestion. If you want to disable it all together, set it to -1.

2. Disable the session restore function

Firefox automatically saves your session every 10 secs so that whenever it crashes, it can restore all your tabs.

•  Search in Filter Bar : browser.sessionstore.enabled

• Default : True

• Modified value : False if you want to disable the session restore function.

3. Enable Advanced Color Profile Support

Firefox has this advanced color profile features that display higher image quality. It is not enabled by default as it has a negative effect on the performance of the browser.

• Search in Filter Bar : gfx.color_management.enabled

• Default : False

• Modified value : True (if you want to activate the color profile support feature).

4. Disable Antivirus Scanning

This is mainly for Windows users. By default, Firefox  automatically scan the downloaded file with the default anti-virus application to make sure it is free of virus. If you download a big file, it could take a long time for the whole scanning process to complete. To increase the performance of the browser, you might want to consider disabling the anti-virus scanning.

• Search in Filter Bar : browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone

• Default : True

• Modified value : False (if you want to disable it).

5. Show/Disable Close button on Tabs

Some people love to see the Close (the red X) button on every tabs, but some hate it. Whatever is it, you can configure it to your preferences.

• Search in Filter Bar : browser.tabs.closeButtons

• Default : 1

• Modified values :
  • 0 – display a close button on the active tab only.

• 1 - display close buttons on all tabs.

• 2 - don’t display any close buttons.

• 3 - display a single close button at the end of the tab strip.

6. Lower The Physical Memory Used When Minimized

When you minimize Firefox, it will send Firefox to your virtual memory and free up your physical memory for other programs to use. Firefox will reduce its physical memory usage, when minimized, to approximately 10MB (give or take some) and when you maximize Firefox it will take back the memory that it needs.

The preference name does not exist and needs to be created.

• Right click on the background and select New --> Boolean.

• Enter the name when prompted : config.trim_on_minimize

• Enter the values : True

7.  Extend Scripts Execution Time

A script is only given 10 seconds to respond, after which it will issue a unresponsive script warning. If you are hooked on a slow network connection, you might want to increase the script execution time.

• Search in Filter Bar : dom.max_script_run_time

• Default : 10 (in secs)

• Modified value : 20, or any values greater than 10.

8.  Increase/Decrease the Amount of Disk Cache

When a page is loaded, Firefox will cache it into the hard disk so that it doesn’t need to be download again for re-displaying. The bigger the storage size you cater for Firefox, the more pages it can cache.

• Search in Filter Bar : browser.cache.disk.capacity

• Default : 50000 (in KB)

• Modified value : 0 – disable disk caching

• Any value lower than 50000 reduces the disk cache & any value higher than 50000 increases the disk cache.

9. Speed up your Firefox

Several tweaks required for this. You Have to Filter Many Preferences.

• Search in Filter Bar : network.http.pipelining

• Default : False

• Modified value : True

• Search in Filter Bar : network.http.proxy.pipelining

• Default : False

• Modified value : True

• Search in Filter Bar :  network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

• Default : 4

• Modified value : any value higher than 4, but not more than 8.

• Search in Filter Bar :  network.http.max-connections

• Default : 30

• Modified value : 96

• Search in Filter Bar : network.http.max-connections-per-server

• Default : 15

• Modified value : 32

10. Autofill Address in URL Bar

Other than the smart location feature, you can also get your URL bar to auto-fill the address as you type the URL.

• Search in Filter Bar : browser.urlbar.autofill

• Default : True

• Modified value : False (enable same zoom preferences for every sites).

11. Setting your zoom limit

• Search in Filter Bar : zoom.maxPercent

• Default : 300 (percent)

• Modified value : any value higher than 300. 

• Search in Filter Bar : zoom.minPercent

• Default : 30 (percent)

• value : any value

12. Auto Export Firefox bookmarks to bookmarks.html

Firefox backup the bookmarks file in places.sqlite rather than the usualbookmarks.html. Since bookmarks.html allows us to export and sync our bookmarks with other browser, it will be very useful if Firefox 3 backup the bookmark to the bookmarks.html as well.

• Search in Filter Bar : browser.bookmarks.autoExportHTML

• Default : False

• Modified value : True (auto export bookmarks file to bookmarks.html)

13. Disable Extension Compatibility Checks

This is useful if you want to use an extension that is not supported by your version of Firefox badly. It is not recommended, but you can still do it at your own risk.

• Right click and select New --> Boolean. Enter extensions.checkCompatibility in the field. Enter False in the next field.

• Right click again and select New --> Boolean. Enter extensions.checkUpdateSecurity into the field and enter False into the next field.

14. Disable Delay Time When Installing Add-on

Everytime you wanted to install a Firefox add-on, you will have to wait for several secs before the actual installation starts. If you are tired of waiting, you can turn the function security.dialog_enable_delay off so that the installation will start immediately upon clicking.

• Search in Filter Bar : security.dialog_enable_delay

• Default : 2000 (in msec)

• Modified value : 0 – start installation immediately

15. View Source in Your Favorite Editor

• Search in Filter Bar : view_source.editor.external

• Default : False

• Modified value : True ( enable view source using external text editor).

• Search in Filter Bar : view_source.editor.path

• Default : blank

• Modified value : insert the file path to your editor here.

16. Open Search Results In A New Tab

• Search in Filter Bar : browser.search.openintab

• Default : False

• Modified value : True

Hibernate Mode... You Must be

When you switch your laptop to hibernate mode, you are turning your computer off but saving everything you had up last while the computer was on. So when you turn it back on, the laptop will load up all the last work or whatever windows you had open before you enabled hibernate. As we all know when we restart our system, all the data that was present in RAM get vanished.

So how exactly this hibernate mode loads all the last work you had open before. In hibernate mode the current state of the system is saved in file called hiberfil.sys in your C drive and size of this file is around 1.5 Gb. Bydefault this file is invisible, if you want see this file

Goto folder options >> view >> choose show option and uncheck hide O/S protected files.

But I recommend you should always hide your O/S protected files.

So when you will choose hibernate mode your system will power down. When you will turn the system power back on, the saved information is read from the hiberfil.sys, restoring the last used settings.

What's the difference between sleep, hibernate, and hybrid sleep ? Sleep is a power-saving state that allows a computer to quickly resume full-power operation (typically within several seconds) when you want to start working again. Putting your computer into the sleep state is like pausing a DVD player—the computer immediately stops what it’s doing and is ready to start again when you want to resume working. Hibernation is a power-saving state designed primarily for laptops. While sleep puts your work and settings in memory and draws a small amount of power, hibernation puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk, and then turns off your computer. Of all the power-saving states in Windows, hibernation uses the least amount of power. On a laptop, use hibernation when you know that you won't use your laptop for an extended period and won't have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time. Hybrid sleep is designed primarily for desktop computers. Hybrid sleep is a combination of sleep and hibernate—it puts any open documents and programs in memory and on your hard disk, and then puts your computer into a low-power state so that you can quickly resume your work. That way, if a power failure occurs,Windows can restore your work from your hard disk. When hybrid sleep is turned on, putting your computer into sleep automatically puts your computer into hybrid sleep. Hybrid sleep is typically turned on by default on desktop computers. If sleep or hibernate aren't available, it might be for one or more of the following reasons:

• Your video card might not support sleep. Update the driver for your video card, or check the information that came with your computer about your video card and supported drivers.
• Some settings are managed by your system administrator.
• Sleep and other power-saving states are turned off in your computer's basic input/output system (BIOS). To turn on sleep, restart your computer, and then enter the BIOS setup. As your computer starts, instructions typically appear on the screen that indicate which key or keyboard shortcut you must press to enter the BIOS setup process. Because not all computer manufacturers use the same BIOS, different keys are assigned for this purpose. To learn more, check the information that came with your computer or go to the manufacturer’s website.
• If the hibernate option is missing, you might have hybrid sleep turned on. 
  
  
  How can i prevent my Computer from Automatically sleeping or Hibernating ?
  You can adjust how long your computer waits before sleeping or hibernating—or prevent it from turning itself off altogether. But be careful. On a battery powered laptop, inhibiting sleep or hibernation can result in data loss if the battery dies. Here's how to prevent your computer from entering a power-saving state :
  1. Open Power Options by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then clicking Power Options.
  2. On the Select a power plan page, click Change plan settings next to the selected plan.
  3. On the Change settings for the plan page, click Change advanced power settings.
  4. On the Advanced settings tab, double-click Sleep, double-click Sleep after, and then do one of the following:
     • If you're using a laptop, click On battery or Plugged in (or both), click the arrow, and then click Never.
     • If you're using a desktop computer, click Setting, click the arrow, and then click Never.
  5. Double-click Hibernate after, and then do one of the following:
     • If you're using a laptop, click On battery or Plugged in (or both), click the arrow, and then click Never.
     • If you're using a desktop computer, click Setting, click the arrow, and then click Never.
  6. If you also want the display to stay turned on, double-click Display, double-clickTurn off display after, and then do one of the following:
     • If you're using a laptop, click On battery or Plugged in (or both), click the arrow, and then click Never.
     • If you're using a desktop computer, click Setting, click the arrow, and then click Never.
  7. Click OK, and then click Save changes.
     Sleep requires an extremely small amount of power. If your laptop battery charge gets critically low while the computer is asleep, Windows automatically puts the laptop into hibernation mode.
     
     

     What is hiberfil.sys and How Do I Delete It?

     
     
     
     

     There’s a gigantic hiberfil.sys file sitting in the root of your drive, and you want to get rid of it to free up some space… but you can’t!

     Luckily, you actually can delete it.

     

     The more memory you have in your PC, the bigger the file will be.

     What is hiberfil.sys ?

     Windows has two power management modes that you can choose from: one is Sleep Mode, which keeps the PC running in a low power state so you can almost instantly get back to what you were working on. The other is Hibernate mode, which completely writes the memory out to the hard drive, and then powers the PC down entirely, so you can even take the battery out, put it back in, start back up, and be right back where you were.

     Hibernate mode uses the hiberfil.sys file to store the the current state (memory) of the PC, and since it’s managed by Windows, you can’t delete the file.

     

     So if you never use it, and want to disable Hibernate mode, keep reading. Personally I stick with Sleep Mode the vast majority of the time, but I do use Hibernate quite often.

     Disable Hibernate (and Delete hiberfil.sys) in Windows 7 or Vista

     You’ll need to open an administrator mode command prompt by right-clicking on the command prompt in the start menu, and then choosing Run as Administrator. Once you’re there, type in the following command : 

     "powercfg -h off"

     You should immediately notice that the Hibernate option is gone from the Shut down menu.

     

     
     

     Disabling Hibernate Mode in Windows XP

     It’s a lot easier in Windows XP to get rid of Hibernate mode. Just head into Control Panel –> Power Options, and then find the Hibernate tab.

     

     Uncheck the box, reboot your PC, and then you can delete the hiberfil.sys file.

Windows Product Activation (WPA)... Is Dat Genuine???

Windows Product Activation or WPA is a license validation procedure introduced by Microsoft Corporation in all versions of it’s Windows operating system. WPA was first introduced in Windows XP and continues to exist in Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 as well. WPA enforces each end user to activate their copy of Windows so as to prevent unauthorized usage beyond the specific period of time until it is verified as genuine by Microsoft. 

How WPA really works was a closely guarded secret until GmbH analyzed WPA using a copy of Windows XP RC1 and published a paper on their findings.

Why activation?

Microsoft’s intention behind the activation is to limit the usage of it’s Windows operating system to only one machine for which the retail license is issued. Any other computer which runs on the same license must be disallowed from using the software. Thus WPA demands for activation of the product within 30 days of it’s installation so as to ensure that it is genuine.

What does “Genuine Windows” means?

The copy of Windows is said to be genuine only if the product key used during the installation is genuine. It means that a given product key (retail license) must be used to install Windows only on one computer for which the license was purchased. Thus if the same key is used for the installation on another computer, then it is said to be a pirated copy.

Exactly what information is transmitted during the activation?

When you activate your copy of Windows you are transmitting an Installation ID code to the Microsoft either by phone or Internet depending on the method you choose to activate. Based on this, the Microsoft’s licensing system can determine whether or not the installed OS is genuine. If it is said to be genuine, then the system will receive the Activation ID which completes the activation process. 

If the activation is done via telephone then the Activation ID needs to be entered manually to complete the activation process.

What information does the Installation ID contain?

This Installation ID is a 50-digit number which is derived from the following two data.

1. Product ID – It is actually derived from the 25-digit product key (the alphanumeric value that is printed on the sticker over the Windows CD/DVD case) that is entered during the installation of the operating system. The Product ID is used to uniquely identify your copy of Windows.

2. Hardware ID – This value is derived based on the hardware configuration of your computer.

The WPA system checks the following 10 categories of the computer hardware to derive the Hardware ID:

• Display Adapter
• SCSI Adapter
• IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
• Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address
• RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
• Processor Type
• Processor Serial Number
• Hard Drive Device
• Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
• CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM

Thus the Installation ID which is a combination of Product ID and Hardware ID is finally derived and sent to Microsoft during the activation process.

How is the Installation ID validated ?

The Installation ID needs to be validated to confirm the authenticity of the installed copy of Windows. So after the Installation ID is received by Microsoft, it is decoded back so as to obtain the actual product key and the hardware details of the computer involved in the activation process.

The Microsoft’s system will now look to see if this is the first time the product key is being used for the activation. This happens when the user is trying to activate his Windows for the first time after purchase. If this is the case then the Installation ID is validated and the corresponding Activation ID is issued which completes the activation process.

However Microsoft system will now associate this product key with the hardware ID of the computer and stores this information on their servers. In simple words, during the first use of the product key, it is paired together with the Hardware ID and this information is stored up on the Microsoft servers.

What if a computer running a pirated copy of Windows attempts to activate?

The activation fails whenever the copy of Windows installed is not said to be genuine. This usually happens when the product key used for the installation is said to have been used earlier on a different computer. This is determined during the activation process as follows:

During the validation of the Installation ID, the Microsoft’s system checks to see if the same product key was used in any of the previous activation processes. If yes then it looks to see the Hardware ID associated with it. The computer running a pirated copy of Windows will obviously have a different hardware configuration and hence the Hardware ID will mismatch. In this case the activation process will fail.

Thus for a successful activation, either of the following two cases must be satisfied:

1. The product key must have been used for the first time. ie: The product key should not have been used for earlier activations on any other computer.
2. If the product key is said to have been used earlier, then the Hardware ID should match. This happens only if the same computer for which the license was genuinely purchased is attempting for subsequent activation.

What about formatting the hard disk ?

Each time the hard disk is reformatted and Windows is re-installed, it needs to be re-activated. However the activation process will be completed smoothly since the same computer is attempting for subsequent activation. In this case both the product key and the Hardware ID will match and hence the activation becomes successful.

What is I upgrade or make changes to my hardware ?

In the above mentioned 10 categories of hardware, at least 7 should be the same. Thus you are allowed to make changes to not more than 3 categories of hardware. If you make too many changes then your activation will fail. In this case, it is necessary to contact the customer service representative via phone and explain about your problem. If he is convinced he may re-issue a new product key for your computer using which you can re-activate your Windows.

Some things WPA does not do

• WPA does not send any personal information at all about you to Microsoft. There is still an option to register the product with Microsoft, but that is separate and entirely voluntary.
• If you prefer to activate via phone, you are not required to give any personal information to Microsoft.
• WPA does not provide a means for Microsoft to turn off your machine or damage your data/hardware. (Nor do they even have access to your data). This is a common myth that many people have about Microsoft products.
• WPA is not a “lease” system requiring more payments after two years or any other period. You may use the product as licensed in perpetuity.