Reprogramming your keyboard multimedia keys

I found a very easy way to reprogram your keyboard's multimedia keys using a registry edit.
Most of us have some sort of multimedia shortcut keys on top of the keyboard, keys like "My Computer" and "Mail" but what happens when you want them to open something other then your default program? For example: I needed to have a short cut key for starting Media Portal and I wanted "My Computer" multimedia key to do it.
I found out that windows controls these multimedia keys using the registry and with some help from a fellow blogger I found out where it is located (Thanks Ashish)

Windows keeps these entries at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AppKey

You will notice that there are numbered directories and every such directory corresponds with a multimedia shortcut key on your keyboard.
I found out which number corresponds with which key from Ashish's blog and the key I wanted to change was number 17.
Now all you need to do is change the ShellExecute key to point to the program you want to launch, the path needs to be enclosed in "XX".



That's it, you can see check what other keys do and reassign them as you like. Credit goes to Ashish's blog.

Running UltraMon on Windows 7

I started using the Windows 7 RC when it came out and few days ago I installed UltraMon which I use to switch primary displays between my monitor and my TV but I got an error when trying to start the program. The error I got was:

UltraMon encountered a fatal error and will exit.
More information:
Version: 3.0.3 OS: 6.1.6801 x64
Source file: .\ButtonRendererVistaComposited.cpp
Line: 43
Return value: 0
Last error: 1814

After searching trough forums I have come across this post which describes a simple registry edit to fix this problem.

You should always back up your registry before editing

First click Start and then click on Run and type "regedit"
Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtime Soft\UltraMon\3.0.4\Window Buttons]
Now set "Move Window Button" and "Maximize to Desktop Button" to 0 by double clicking on them and chaning it to 0.



That should do the trick and allow you to run UltraMon on Windows 7. I'm using build 7100 myself and it worked for me and I hope it works for you as well.

All credit goes to the guys at Realtime Soft Forum.