October 2006 Reader Challenge
Solve this month's Windows Client challenge, and you might win a prize! Email your solution (don't use an attachment) to [email protected] by Oct. 16, 2006. You MUST include your full name, and street mailing address (without that information, we can't send you a prize if you win, so your answer is eliminated, even if it’s correct). I choose winners at random from the pool of correct entries. I’m a sucker for humor and originality, and a cleverly written correct answer gets an extra chance. Because I receive so many entries each month, I can't reply to respondents, and I never respond to a request for a receipt. Look for the solutions to this month's problem at http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=93774 on October 17, 2006.
The October 2006 Challenge:
A reader wrote with the following problem: "I want all the computers in my department to have the same desktop colors and settings because we create company documentation and I want the figures to look the same in every document. With Windows XP, I can copy the Theme file, but we have quite a few Windows 2000 computers, and I designed a complicated scheme that requires a lot of changes to settings. Do I have to go to each computer and change all the settings manually?"
Does he have to do this manually? If you think he doesn’t, reveal the solution.
Answer to October Reader Challenge
When you create the desktop settings in Windows 2000, use Save As to give the scheme a unique name. The settings, along with the name of the scheme, are saved to the registry, at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Appearance\ (within the subkey named Schemes). Export the key to a .reg file, and copy or email it to another Win2K user. Double-clicking a .reg file imports it to the local registry.
September 2006 Reader Challenge Winners
Congratulations to the winners of our September 2006 Reader Challenge. First prize, a copy of "Learning Windows Server 2003, Second Edition," goes to Dale Cook, of Texas. Second prize, a copy of "Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition," goes to Edward Braiter, of Quebec. Both books are from O'Reilly & Associates Publishing.
