I know that this works with Windows 95 and 98, and I believe that it also works on Windows XP, but I still need to test it... You need not be limited to five characters, nor do you need to use programs downloaded from the internet. Exit to DOS or open the DOS prompt, get to C:\Windows> (or wherever your windows folder is), then type "edit \70 explorer.exe" (you may want to save a backup copy of explorer first) This will open the DOS text editor. Scroll down a long way (I no longer use Windows 95 or 98, so I have forgotten which line it is...it's at least halfway down). As you scroll (I recommend using page down), watch for readable words in the mess of jumbled characters. You should pass a few large clumps of them. Search these passages for a club (like the card suit) followed by S t a r t. If you look at the value of the club, you'll notice it is five. This corresponds to the number of characters in "Start". Count up the number of characters in your desired start text, then find a character with that value (values appear in the lower-right corner). Replace the club with that character. Then replace the s, t, a, r, and t with the first five desired characters. You'll notice that the spaces between characters have a 0 value. These must stay 0; do not use the spacebar for these spaces! Copy one 0 value space and paste it between each of your characters. I realise that this is a bit hard to understand, but once you get what I'm talking about and find the start text you need, it's really quite easy.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Free, no pain, little utility StartButton will do it for you


On Thursday, January 1, 2004 at 12:51 pm, PlasmaCow wrote:
>I know that this works with Windows 95 and 98, and I believe that it also works on
>Windows XP, but I still need to test it...
>
>You need not be limited to five characters, nor do you need to use programs downloaded
>from the internet. Exit to DOS or open the DOS prompt, get to C:\Windows> (or wherever
>your windows folder is), then type "edit \70 explorer.exe" (you may want to save
>a backup copy of explorer first) This will open the DOS text editor.
>
>Scroll down a long way (I no longer use Windows 95 or 98, so I have forgotten which
>line it is...it's at least halfway down). As you scroll (I recommend using page down),
>watch for readable words in the mess of jumbled characters. You should pass a few
>large clumps of them. Search these passages for a club (like the card suit) followed
>by S t a r t.
>
>If you look at the value of the club, you'll notice it is five. This corresponds
>to the number of characters in "Start". Count up the number of characters in your
>desired start text, then find a character with that value (values appear in the lower-right
>corner). Replace the club with that character. Then replace the s, t, a, r, and t
>with the first five desired characters. You'll notice that the spaces between characters
>have a 0 value. These must stay 0; do not use the spacebar for these spaces! Copy
>one 0 value space and paste it between each of your characters. I realise that this
>is a bit hard to understand, but once you get what I'm talking about and find the
>start text you need, it's really quite easy.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I have been flailing away at this task for a while.
 I've searched the messages here and for everyone who asks 
"Why aren't the instructions published here working?",
 there is someone who replies with
something like  
"download xxxx, it's a no-brainer"

If you are into "no-brainers", what are you doing
here? Speaking strictly for myself,  I want to know
HOW, WHEN, WHERE and of course, WHY!!

I want to thank PlasmaCow for adding something pertinent 
and useful to this discussion. 

I am running Windows 98 and I used UltraEdit32 to
find the "Start" string in Explorer.exe  I changed it
to "Eat Me!", modifying the string-length byte as you outlined. 

It works! I think the stumbling block for most of
the inquisitives here has been that they haven't
been making a copy of explorer.exe and then
modifying the copy. (You can't modify system files
that are open and in use) 

You start up in MS-DOS mode and switch
your  "hacked" copy for the original, then reboot
into Windows to see the changes.

In my case, I didn't "RTFQ", i.e. I didn't catch the part
 about editing TWO DIFFERENT system files,
Explorer.exe and User.exe. 
I couldn't find the string of hex bytes for "Start" in User.exe (duh!).     

Thanks again PlasmaCow, and to everyone else,
If you want to learn something, keep plugging
away until you succeed!






On Thursday, January 1, 2004 at 12:51 pm, PlasmaCow wrote:

>I know that this works with Windows 95 and 98, and I believe that it also works 
on 

>Windows XP, but I still need to test it... 

>

>You need not be limited to five characters, nor do you need to use programs downloaded 

>from the internet. Exit to DOS or open the DOS prompt, get to C:\Windows> (or wherever 

>your windows folder is), then type "edit \70 explorer.exe" (you may want to save 

>a backup copy of explorer first) This will open the DOS text editor. 

>

>Scroll down a long way (I no longer use Windows 95 or 98, so I have forgotten which 

>line it is...it's at least halfway down). As you scroll (I recommend using page 
down), 

>watch for readable words in the mess of jumbled characters. You should pass a few 

>large clumps of them. Search these passages for a club (like the card suit) followed 

>by S t a r t. 

>

>If you look at the value of the club, you'll notice it is five. This corresponds 

>to the number of characters in "Start". Count up the number of characters in your 

>desired start text, then find a character with that value (values appear in the 
lower-right 

>corner). Replace the club with that character. Then replace the s, t, a, r, and 
t 

>with the first five desired characters. You'll notice that the spaces between characters 

>have a 0 value. These must stay 0; do not use the spacebar for these spaces! Copy 

>one 0 value space and paste it between each of your characters. I realise that this 

>is a bit hard to understand, but once you get what I'm talking about and find the 

>start text you need, it's really quite easy. 
:) 

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Hey. When I tried the trick, I found the start thing (line: 2390 for anybody who doesn't know). Anyway, I did it all, but I didn't know how to save and exit out of the edit. when i restarted my computer, it didn't save. Could you tell me how to save changes and exit out of the edit? Help is appreciated.


On Sunday, November 28, 2004 at 9:33 pm, dkathrens77 wrote:
>I have been flailing away at this task for a while.
> I've searched the messages here and for everyone who asks
>"Why aren't the instructions published here working?",
> there is someone who replies with
>something like
>"download xxxx, it's a no-brainer"
>
>If you are into "no-brainers", what are you doing
>here? Speaking strictly for myself, I want to know
>HOW, WHEN, WHERE and of course, WHY!!
>
>I want to thank PlasmaCow for adding something pertinent
>and useful to this discussion.
>
>I am running Windows 98 and I used UltraEdit32 to
>find the "Start" string in Explorer.exe I changed it
>to "Eat Me!", modifying the string-length byte as you outlined.
>
>It works! I think the stumbling block for most of
>the inquisitives here has been that they haven't
>been making a copy of explorer.exe and then
>modifying the copy. (You can't modify system files
>that are open and in use)
>
>You start up in MS-DOS mode and switch
>your "hacked" copy for the original, then reboot
>into Windows to see the changes.
>
>In my case, I didn't "RTFQ", i.e. I didn't catch the part
> about editing TWO DIFFERENT system files,
>Explorer.exe and User.exe.
>I couldn't find the string of hex bytes for "Start" in User.exe (duh!).
>
>Thanks again PlasmaCow, and to everyone else,
>If you want to learn something, keep plugging
>away until you succeed!
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

keep on trucking.
i changed my windows me start button to the word go (in a green box)BRIAN, using 
a text editor and the free michangelo.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

OK, you made a copy of user.exe and edited that, right? I used ultraedit32, and if I remember correctly it uses the term "write" instead of "save". Once your changes to the copied file are written to disk, you go back to DOS mode, then rename the original User.exe to User.old (for example) then copy your edited User.exe file to the same directory.


On Tuesday, February 22, 2005 at 3:31 pm, Jimmy wrote:
>Hey. When I tried the trick, I found the start thing (line: 2390 for anybody who
>doesn't know). Anyway, I did it all, but I didn't know how to save and exit out
>of the edit. when i restarted my computer, it didn't save. Could you tell me how
>to save changes and exit out of the edit? Help is appreciated.
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

• Search this forum
• Start a new thread on a different subject

• Report abuse of the forum