GTweak News

Ease of implementation versus performance

2012-02-26T20:26:00.000+01:00

I finished doing general code cleanup in GTweak and went back to coding registry backup management code. As of yet, I finished backup information querying code.

Now, back to the merits. It took me few minutes to get it working. This is the older one (DeleteBackup references are TODOs):

@echo off
echo.
echo  1 Query backup info
echo  2 Remove backup
:loop
echo.
set ch=&set/p ch=Ãº  
if "%ch%"=="1" call:QueryBackupInfo
if "%ch%"=="2" call:DeleteBackup
goto loop
:QueryBackupInfo
for /f %%A in ('dir/b %windir%\grestore*.cmd') do (
 call:MakeSemicolonSeparatedVariable %%A scriptlist
)
for %%A in (%scriptlist%) do (
 call:GetBackupInfo %%A
    call:PrintBackupInfo %%A
)
exit/b0
set _>>getbkinfo.var
pause
goto:eof
:MakeSemicolonSeparatedVariable
set var=%% %2 %%
set var=%var: =%
if defined %2 (
 call set %2=%var%;%1
 ) else (
 set %2=%1
)
set var=
exit/b0
:GetBackupInfo
for /f "tokens=6" %%B in ('type "%windir%\%1"^|find "This is auto-generated GTweak"') do (
 set gver=%%B
)
for /f "tokens=3*" %%B in ('type "%windir%\%1"^|find "Generated:"') do (
 set gdatecreated=%%B %%C
)
for /f "tokens=3 delims=\)" %%B in ('type "%windir%\%1"^|find "for %%%%A in (%%drive%%:"') do (
 call:CheckBackupFile %1 %%B
)
for /f "tokens=*" %%G in ('set %bid%') do (
 if "%%G" NEQ "" set/a BackedUpFilesCount+=1
)
for /f "tokens=4 delims=.=" %%G in ('set %bid%') do (
 if "%%G"=="1" (
  set/a _%bid%.SUM_OF_VALID_FILESIZE_MATCHES+=1
 )
)
for /f "tokens=3 delims=.=" %%A in ('set _%bid%.SUM_OF_VALID_FILESIZE_MATCHES') do (
 if "%%A"=="%BackedUpFilesCount%" (
  set _%bid%.BACKUP_VALID=1
 ) else (
  set _%bid%.BACKUP_VALID=0
 )
)
for /f "tokens=2 delims=." %%G in ('set %bid%') do (
 set %bid%.%%G.IsValid=
)
for %%A in ( _%bid%.SUM_OF_VALID_FILESIZE_MATCHES BackedUpFilesCount file SizeGotFromScript SizeNow ) do set %%A=
exit/b0
:PrintBackupInfo
echo.
echo  Backup Id: %bid%
echo.
echo  Restoration script path: %windir%\%1
echo  Program version: %gver%
echo  Possible date created: %gdatecreated%
for /f "tokens=3 delims=.=" %%A in ('set _%bid%.BACKUP_VALID') do (
 if "%%A"=="1" (
  echo  Backup valid ^(supposedly^): yes
 )
 if "%%A"=="0" (
  echo  Backup valid ^(supposedly^): no
 )
 if "%%A" NEQ "1" (
  if "%%A" NEQ "0" (
   echo  EXCEPTION OCCURED: [%%A]
  )
 )
)
echo  /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
set gver=&set gdatecreated=&set bid=
exit/b0
:CheckBackupFile
for /f "tokens=1,3 delims=_" %%C in ('echo %2') do (
 set bid=%%C
 set file=%%D
)
for %%C in (%windir%\%2) do (
 for /f "tokens=8" %%D in ('type "%windir%\%1"^|find "%2)"') do (
  call:CompareSizes "%%~zC" %%D
 )
)
exit/b0
:CompareSizes
set SizeNow=%1
set SizeGotFromScript=%3
if "%SizeNow%"=="%SizeGotFromScript%" (
 set %bid%.%file%.IsValid=1
 ) else (
 set %bid%.%file%.IsValid=0
)
exit/b0

I decided to cease nesting FIND and TYPE commands in FOR loops. It was a bit more time-consuming to get it working, but it paid off.

@echo off
echo.
echo  1 Query backup info
echo  2 Remove backup
:loop
echo.
set ch=&set/p ch=Ãº  
if "%ch%"=="1" call:QueryBackupInfo
if "%ch%"=="2" call:DeleteBackup
goto loop
:QueryBackupInfo
for /f %%A in ('dir/b %windir%\grestore*.cmd') do (
 call:MakeSemicolonSeparatedVariable %%A scriptlist
)
for %%A in (%scriptlist%) do (
 call:GetBackupInfo %%A
    call:PrintBackupInfo %%A
)
exit/b0
set _>>getbkinfo.var
pause
goto:eof
:MakeSemicolonSeparatedVariable
set var=%% %2 %%
set var=%var: =%
if defined %2 (
 call set %2=%var%;%1
 ) else (
 set %2=%1
)
set var=
exit/b0
:GetBackupInfo
call:RetrieveVersion %1
call:RetrieveCreationDate %1
for /f "tokens=1-13 delims=\() " %%B in (%windir%\%1) do (if "%%B %%D %%F"=="for in Windows" (call:CompareSizes %%G %%K))
for /f "tokens=*" %%G in ('set %bid%') do (if "%%G" NEQ "" set/a BackedUpFilesCount+=1)
for /f "tokens=4 delims=.=" %%G in ('set %bid%') do (if "%%G"=="1" (set/a _%bid%.SUM_OF_VALID_FILESIZE_MATCHES+=1))
for /f "tokens=3 delims=.=" %%A in ('set _%bid%.SUM_OF_VALID_FILESIZE_MATCHES') do (if "%%A"=="%BackedUpFilesCount%" (set _%bid%.BACKUP_VALID=1) else (set _%bid%.BACKUP_VALID=0))
for /f "tokens=2 delims=." %%G in ('set %bid%') do (set %bid%.%%G.IsValid=)
for %%A in ( _%bid%.SUM_OF_VALID_FILESIZE_MATCHES BackedUpFilesCount hive ) do (set %%A=)
exit/b0
:PrintBackupInfo
echo.
echo  Backup Id: %bid%
echo.
echo  Restoration script path: %windir%\%1
echo  Program version: %gver%
echo  Possible date created: %gdatecreated%
for /f "tokens=3 delims=.=" %%A in ('set _%bid%.BACKUP_VALID') do (
 if "%%A"=="1" (echo  Backup valid ^(supposedly^): yes)
 if "%%A"=="0" (echo  Backup valid ^(supposedly^): no)
 if "%%A" NEQ "1" (if "%%A" NEQ "0" (echo  EXCEPTION OCCURED: [%%A]))
)
echo  /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
set gver=&set gdatecreated=&set bid=
exit/b0
:CompareSizes
for /f "tokens=1,3 delims=_" %%A in ("%1") do (set bid=%%A&set hive=%%B)
set CommitedSize=%3
set CommitedSize=%CommitedSize:"=%
for %%A in (%windir%\%1) do (if "%%~zA"=="%CommitedSize%" (set %bid%.%hive%.IsValid=1) else (set %bid%.%hive%.IsValid=0))
set CommitedSize=
set hive=
exit/b0
:RetrieveVersion
for /f "tokens=1-5,6" %%B in (%windir%\%1) do (if "%%B %%C %%D %%E %%F"=="rem This is auto-generated GTweak" (set gver=%%G&exit/b0))
set gver=UNKNOWN
exit/b0
:RetrieveCreationDate
for /f "tokens=1-2,*" %%B in (%windir%\%1) do (if "%%B %%C"=="rem Generated:" (set gdatecreated=%%D&exit/b0))
set gdatecreated=UNKNOWN
exit/b0

Results? Previous (old) version needed 57 seconds to verify 140 registry backups, newer - only 13 seconds. A bit more work and 4x faster script an award. Give it a try, but it is reasonable only, when you have at least 100 backups, then the effect is truly noticeable. Newer script relies on internals of Command Prompt, not even uses TYPE command.

Quick tip on variable nomenclature...

2012-02-26T19:40:00.000+01:00

You can not perform arithmetic operations on variables that begin with a numeral. Just preceed them with an underline character, for example.

Function: TruncateTrailingSpaces

2012-02-26T16:53:00.005+01:00

Receives one parameter - a name of the variable.

:TruncateTrailingSpaces
set var=[%% %1:~-1 %%]
set var=%var: =%
call set var=%var%
if not "%var%"=="[ ]" (set var=&set var1=&exit/b0) else (call:TruncateTrailingSpaces_2 %1&goto TruncateTrailingSpaces)
:TruncateTrailingSpaces_2
set var1=%% %1:~0,-1 %%
set var1=%var1: =%
call set %1=%var1%
exit/b0

You may need to include this between SETLOCAL and ENDLOCAL commands, if you use variables var and var1 globally:

:TruncateTrailingSpaces
setlocal
set var=[%% %1:~-1 %%]
set var=%var: =%
call set var=%var%
if not "%var%"=="[ ]" (endlocal&set %1=%var%&exit/b0) else (call:TruncateTrailingSpaces_2 %1&goto TruncateTrailingSpaces)
:TruncateTrailingSpaces_2
set var1=%% %1:~0,-1 %%
set var1=%var1: =%
call set %1=%var1%
exit/b0

What will happen if we place more than one label of the same name?

2012-02-24T23:01:00.000+01:00

Command Prompt will get the one which is nearest to the beginning of the batch file.

Embarrassing bug in 1.56

2012-02-24T22:56:00.000+01:00

If you are about creating a registry backup and wish to print instructions, restoration script will work strangely. It is due to that its restoration command sequence will be doubled. It will not harm anything, but restoration commands will be executed twice, and this will result in that true previous registry in !old_registry will be overwritten by backed up files. This will be fixed in next version.

Commands that will be unavailable since 1.60

2012-02-19T21:32:00.005+01:00

DESKTOP_VERIFY, DESKTOP_ENABLE, DESKTOP_DISABLE
They have no significant purpose, and their result can be achieved using PolicyCU/PolicyLM commands:

:DESKTOP_DISABLE
PolicyCU Explorer NoDesktop 0x1
PolicyLM Explorer NoDesktop 0x1

:DESKTOP_ENABLE
PolicyCU Explorer NoDesktop 0x0
PolicyLM Explorer NoDesktop 0x0

DESKTOP_RESTORE will be created instead.

PREVIEW_ENABLE, PREVIEW_DISABLE
These commands will also be removed, since they seem to work on XP only.
For those who want to know what these commands were doing:

:PREVIEW_ENABLE
regsvr32 /s "%systemroot%\system32\shimgvw.dll"
:PREVIEW_DISABLE
regsvr32 /u /s "%systemroot%\system32\shimgvw.dll"

CPL_ENABLE, CPL_DISABLE
Their presence necessity is doubtful. Their result can be achieved thus:

:CPLD
PolicyCU Explorer NoControlPanel 0x1
:CPLE
PolicyCU Explorer NoControlPanel 0x0

DPE, DPD
Their presence necessity is doubtful, too. Their result can be achieved thus:

:DPD
PolicyCU Explorer NoDeletePrinter 0x1
:DPE
PolicyCU Explorer NoDeletePrinter 0x0

Wizard Mode to be reorganised

2012-02-18T12:14:00.001+01:00

Less common tweaks will not be available from the Wizard Mode, their usage will require the user to switch to the advanced mode. Wizard Mode will include only most wanted tweaks.

Did you screw up Command Prompt's window settings?

2012-02-16T18:45:00.000+01:00

Have you accidentally changed font settings or just want true CMD settings reset?
Just remove HKCU\Console registry key, but make a backup of it in case something goes wrong.

Loops are wonderful

2012-02-15T21:14:00.000+01:00

This in GTweak:

if "%mch%"=="A:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyA%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=1
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyA=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="B:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyB%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=2
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyB=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="C:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyC%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=4
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyC=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="D:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyD%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=8
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyD=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="E:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyE%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=16
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyE=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="F:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyF%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=32
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyF=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="G:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyG%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=64
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyG=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="H:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyH%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=128
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyH=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="I:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyI%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=256
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyI=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="J:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyJ%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=512
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyJ=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="K:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyK%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=1024
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyK=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="L:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyL%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=2048
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyL=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="M:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyM%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=4096
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyM=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="N:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyN%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=8192
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyN=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="O:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyO%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=16384
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyO=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="P:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyP%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=32768
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyP=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="Q:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyQ%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=65536
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyQ=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="R:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyR%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=131072
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyR=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="S:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyS%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=262144
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyS=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="T:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyT%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=524288
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyT=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="U:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyU%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=1048576
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyU=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="V:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyV%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=2097152
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyV=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="W:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyW%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=4194304
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyW=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="X:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyX%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=8388608
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyX=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="Y:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyY%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=16777216
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyY=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

if "%mch%"=="Z:" (
 if not "%IsAlreadyZ%"=="1" (
  set/a final+=33554432
  echo.
  echo  The '%mch%' drive added
  set IsAlreadyZ=1
  exit/b0
 )
)

will be replaced by this:

:GenerateDrivePolicyValue
set alphabet=A;B;C;D;E;F;G;H;I;J;K;L;M;N;O;P;Q;R;S;T;U;V;W;X;Y;Z
set init=1
for %%A in (%alphabet%) do (call:LoadArrayProc %%A)
set init=
for %%A in (%*) do (for %%B in (%alphabet%) do (if "%%A"=="%%B:" (call:RaiseValBy %%B||echo  Drive '%%B:' has already been added)))
for %%A in (%alphabet%) do (set Drive%%A=&if defined IsAlready%%A (set IsAlready%%A=))
set alphabet=
call:ThrowErrorLevel %final%
exit/b%errorlevel%
:ThrowErrorLevel
set final=
exit/b%1
:LoadArrayProc
set Drive%1=%init%&set/a init*=2&exit/b0
:RaiseValBy
set var1=%% IsAlready%1 %%
set var1=%var1: =%
for %%A in (%var1%) do (call:RaiseValBy_1 %%A||exit/b1)
set var2=%% Drive%1 %%
set var2=%var2: =%
call set/a final=%final%+%var2%
set IsAlready%1=1
set var2=&set var1=
exit/b0
:RaiseValBy_1
if "%1"=="1" (exit/b1) else (exit/b0)

Above code returns desired NoDrives/NoViewOnDrive/NoDriveAutoRun policy value in ERRORLEVEL, so that you can use it as a function in your scripts:

call:GenerateDrivePolicyValue E: I: L: O: P: R: V:
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer" /v "NoDrives" /t "REG_DWORD" /d "%errorlevel%" /f>nul 2>&1

Here's the result:

Please note that ERRORLEVEL will get overwritten after REG execution, so you need to save it to another variable:

set PolicyValue=%errorlevel%

... or call value generation routine multiple times.

Function: CdRomDevicesEnumerator

2012-01-28T12:17:00.000+01:00

for %%A in ( A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ) do (
 reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices" /v "\DosDevices\%%A:">nul 2>&1&&(
  reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices" /v "\DosDevices\%%A:"|find "4300640052006F006D00">nul 2>&1&&(
   set dev=1&&(
    echo  %%A: is a CD-ROM device
   )
  )
 )
)

if not "%dev%"=="1" (
 echo  No CD-ROM devices found
)

Function: SetWindowHeight

2012-01-27T18:58:00.000+01:00

SetWindowHeight receives signed or unsigned integers.

@echo off
for %%A in ( higherbits lowerbits ) do if defined %%A set %%A=
set myself=%~n0
title Type 'reset' to restore default
:loop
echo.
set ch=
set/p ch=ÃºIncrease window height by   
call:SetWindowHeight %ch%&&goto RestartMyself
goto loop
:SetWindowHeight
if "%1"=="reset" (
 call:ResetWindowHeight
 goto RestartMyself
)
::title Setting appropriate window height ...
reg query "HKCU\Console"|find "system32">nul 2>&1||goto loaddefault
for /f %%A in ('reg query "HKCU\Console"^|find "system32"') do reg query "%%A" /v "WindowSize">nul 2>&1||goto loaddefault
for /f %%A in ('reg query "HKCU\Console"^|find "system32"') do reg query "%%A" /v "WindowSize">file.tmp
for /f "tokens=3" %%A in ('type file.tmp^|find "WindowSize"') do (
 set tempval=%%A
)
del file.tmp
set wHeight=%tempval:~0,-4%
set tempval=
:increase_height
set/a wHeight*=1
::set/a wHeight=( %wHeight% - ( %wHeight% - %1 ))
set/a wHeight=( %wHeight% + (%1))
if %wHeight% LEQ 0 (
 set higherbits=19
 goto loaddefault
)
reg add "HKCU" /v "remove_me" /t "REG_DWORD" /d "%wHeight%" /f>nul 2>&1
for /f "tokens=3" %%G in ('reg query "HKCU" /v "remove_me"') do (
 set higherbits=%%G
)
reg delete "HKCU" /v "remove_me" /f>nul 2>&1
:loaddefault
for /f "tokens=3" %%G in ('reg query "HKCU\Console" /v "WindowSize"') do (
 set tempval=%%G
)
if not defined higherbits (
 set wHeight=%tempval:~0,-4%
 goto increase_height
)
set lowerbits=%tempval:~-4%
if "%higherbits:~0,2%"=="0x" (
 set higherbits=%higherbits:~2%
)
set tempval=
set regfile=%RANDOM%.reg
echo Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00>%regfile%
echo.>>%regfile%
echo [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%SystemRoot%%_system32_cmd.exe]>>%regfile%
echo "WindowSize"=dword:%higherbits%%lowerbits%>>%regfile%
reg import %regfile%>nul 2>&1&&del %regfile%
if exist %regfile% (
 del %regfile%
 exit/b1
)
exit/b0
:ResetWindowHeight
for /f %%A in ('reg query "HKCU\Console"^|find "system32"') do reg delete "%%A" /v "WindowSize" /f>nul 2>&1
exit/b0
:RestartMyself
::start cmd /k "@echo off&ping -n 2 127.0.0.1>nul 2>&1&start %myself%.cmd /WindowSizeSet&exit"
start cmd /k "@echo off&ping -n 2 127.0.0.1>nul 2>&1&start %myself%.cmd&exit"
exit

New freeware: SuppressDwmPerformancePrompts

2012-01-27T16:36:00.002+01:00

SuppressDwmPerformancePrompts may fix WDM interrupting games as well as resource heavy applications with an annoying message about the Aero color scheme being changed or turned off. Examples:

The bottom line is game start time. This script disables Aero, starts game while a simultaneous Command Prompt's instance is counting down to turn Aero back on, thus (not necessarily) preventing WDM from showing the interrupting message. The reason you may want Aero turned back on is because game recorders such as Fraps require Aero to be running in order to record both your desktop as well as your gameplay if, say, you are doing a video tutorial that needs to include both simultaneously. This script's main purpose though is to prevent WDM from disrupting your gameplay with messages like the ones pictured above.

[Download]

GTweak v1.56

2011-11-11T11:12:00.001+01:00

Download

A boomerang problem: OS stalls and how to help prevent them

2011-11-07T22:53:00.001+01:00

It is pretty annoying when you have dozens of windows and documents opened, and OS suddenly freezes. I had only one solution: reset the laptop. I knew my hardware was not the cause, so I began to look for software addressing this problem. I have made small research around OS stalls and have found sparingly advertised application called Process Lasso. An article written about problem it addresses was convincing, anyway of that I am distrustful in matter of wonderful healing optimizers. Process Lasso, process priority optimizer is available in both free and paid versions. I was really surprised when I saw how little disk space it occupies (as living in times of monstrously capacious storage devices most programmers do not care about space), and when I saw it using little more RAM. I have tried free version. After week of testing, I almost forgot about it. Reason? No stalls, CPU-hungry-being tendency of processes has gone. That was free option, coping with situations with which Windows CPU scheduler could not deal with. Great value as for free software.

I got a give-away license, allowing for unlimited paid version usage, limited only in matter of product updates. Paid version offers much more functions, but those are not that important for normal users. I am one of those "abnormal", wanting to have yet more control. I felt overwhelmed by numerous process control possibilities. These include (may not be all!): conditional CPU affinity/process (I/O) priority/both changes, default priorities/affinities/power plans, disallowed processes, gaming mode triggers, power plan switcher, no-sleep processes, foreground/thread boosting, multimedia mode triggers, instance limiting, conditional process restart/termination, keep-running process list and much more. I admit, I do not use all of them - ProBalance does its work so great that I do not have to make any adjustments. I love power plan switcher (Energy Saver), which allows me to set my computer to have energy-saving power plan turned on when I am away from my laptop. It was advertised most users need not to change anything - author did not lie.

All in all, Process Lasso is the most valuable program I ever used. This application is the best way to take control over galloping processes, thus helping OS to survive high CPU loads. Pro version comes in lowest price possible, to keep business prospering, so it is worth supporting the author, as you will feel the money were well-spent. I do not bear consequences of OS stalls anymore since I installed Process Lasso.

New freeware: RegXchg

2011-09-02T20:29:00.000+02:00

This utility will allow you to switch specified registry value between 2 given data, for example changing hidden files' showing state (xchg_hidden.cmd inside distribution package). As of yet, it supports DWORD values only; it's meant to alternate *yes/no* system settings. To get detailed info on how to use it, download it, unpack to %windir%\System32 and invoke (from elevated command prompt) with /? switch.

Be sure to download GTweak from prv.pl

2011-08-29T21:42:00.000+02:00

Some software directories still have old primary download server for GTweak, navigating to gtweak.110mb.com/files/gtweak.zip, which is obsolete, and not updated anymore - latest version you can get there is 1.54, which is not as fine as 1.55. Just make sure before downloading that source is gtweak.prv.pl, that's all.

Function: BinToHex

2011-08-24T14:13:00.006+02:00

Input should be a binary string, for instance 100111101110110
Output is in bthfinal, for the above example it will be 4F76

:BinToHex
set tempvar=%1
set tempval=%tempvar%
:BinToHex_lp
set bin=%tempvar:~-4%
call:assign_hex||goto bintohex_end
set bthfinal=%retval%%bthfinal%
set retval=
set bin=
set tempvar=%tempvar:~0,-4%
if defined tempvar goto BinToHex_lp
:bintohex_end
set retval=&set tempvar=&set tempval=&set bin=
exit/b0
:assign_hex
if "%bin%"=="0000" (set retval=0&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0" (set retval=0&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0001" (set retval=1&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1" (set retval=1&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0010" (set retval=2&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="10" (set retval=2&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0011" (set retval=3&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="11" (set retval=3&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0100" (set retval=4&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="100" (set retval=4&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0101" (set retval=5&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="101" (set retval=5&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0110" (set retval=6&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="110" (set retval=6&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="0111" (set retval=7&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="111" (set retval=7&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1000" (set retval=8&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1001" (set retval=9&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1010" (set retval=A&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1011" (set retval=B&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1100" (set retval=C&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1101" (set retval=D&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1110" (set retval=E&exit/b0)
if "%bin%"=="1111" (set retval=F&exit/b0)
exit/b1

Function: IsRunAsAdmin

2011-08-22T16:01:00.012+02:00

:IsRunWithElevatedRights
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WBEM" /v "" /d "" /f>nul 2>&1||exit/b1
exit/b0

New feature in next version

2011-08-21T16:40:00.001+02:00

GTweak v1.55 will be able to hide Show files and folders radiobutton in Folder Options.

Before:

After:

Next release (and all further) of GTweak will be 100% free

2011-08-10T21:27:00.000+02:00

Both home and business/commercial users can use it freely; either modify it or copy its code, wherein mention of myself while copying code will be strongly appreciated.
Since now, GTweak is

100% free!

Always define ExitCode while using exit/b!

2011-06-25T20:39:00.002+02:00

I encountered very rare (I think) case in which exit/b caused ERRORLEVEL to set to non-zero outside the procedure. I don't know how did it happen, but I know exactly it wasn't caused by SET returning ERRORLEVEL on flushing absent variable:

set var=123
::ERRORLEVEL = 0 - even, if var was previously 123 
set var=
::ERRORLEVEL = 0 - variable terminating successful
set var=
::ERRORLEVEL = 1 variable doesn't exist

Very possible I will never discover the cause of the problem, because exit/b was itself a problem, not overlapping SET commands. My advice is: always use exit/b0 instead of same exit/b. This will save you time, as while working on complex procedure it may cause you a headache, and code may become more readable if you are happy about hard typing.

CD_DVD_AUTORUN_DISABLE will not be available in next version

2011-06-24T14:42:00.002+02:00

I've decided to remove it due to non-sense purpose. Who needs it if it leaves USB Autorun active by default? Most of you would like to get opposite result.

GTweak next version's feature announcement

2011-05-17T20:54:00.000+02:00

I implemented registry backup code, a code which I should include long ago..
I just finished testing registry backup code; handles all Windows' since 2000. It generates Recovery Console registry restoration batch file for <=Server 2003 and error-handling CMD script for Vista and higher to be run from within Setup DVD's Command Prompt. GTweak offers to print restoration instructions for average-skill users, too.

Windows 7: How to fix window transparency problem...

2011-05-05T20:10:00.003+02:00

Maybe DWM bug (I'm running Windows 7 without SP1). Namely, window transparency disabled itself automagically after hard reboot, and enabling attempts caused completely dark windows. I did small research on transparency-problem-related articles, but have not found solution. I decided to show my solution (I didn't know it will work).

Click on Start, type cmd, then right-click cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator.
Type the following commands (note: the space after start=):

net stop uxsms
sc config uxsms start= disabled

First command will stop Desktop Window Manager service, second will prevent it from starting on startup. Reboot. Click on Start and type aero. Then, choose an option Find and fix problems with transparency and other visual effects. Click on Next and wait until transparency goes back!

Next version of GTweak should come very soon

2011-03-28T22:22:00.002+02:00

I'm just finishing version v1.50, so please be look on GTweak's homepage.
The changes are huge, I added simple script support (associates with *.gts files), so it'll be possible to apply tens of tweaks at once.

Second improvement is a Wizard Mode - user uses numeric keypad to choose tweaks in next steps. And, numerous bug fixes, as always. While working on (big) batch file, it's a bit hard to get everything working 100% on 2000 thru Windows 7. Furthermore, I wiped ReadMe out of gtweak.cmd and placed into gtweak.hlp (CAB compressed text).

[final order of items and look of Wizard Mode may be different]

GTweak suggestions here or on my email...

2010-12-07T22:42:00.000+01:00

Place here your propositions/suggestions or just contact me via email.

Welcome to the GTweak News blog!

2010-11-28T08:45:00.000+01:00

Here you can read about GTweak announcements, releases and other news.