|
Windows 95/98 Tips and Tricks
Windows 95/98 Setup Switches
Fat32 or Fat16?
Boot Disk Won't Recognize Hard Drive
Which Version of Windows Do You Have?
Icons on the Right Side
Lose The Speaker From Your Task Bar?
Transfer Your Favorites Folder to Another Computer
Drag and Drop Defaults
View the Properties of Several Drives at Once
Double Pane Explorer Window in Any Folder
Internet Easy Options
Associate an Extension with Resides Than One Program
Multiple User Profiles
Change the StartUp and Logoff Screens
Left-Handed Mouse
Change to Metric Measurements
Larger Icons? Does Details reside? Change Your View
What's the Date?
Yam Your Hard Drive
Windows 95/98 Setup Switches
If you only have to setup Windows eleven in awhile, this May be of not interest. However, if you plows constantly installing and re-installing Win9X on different machines, herés to few switches that could speed things up to bit.
Setup/iw - skips the legal Microsoft stuff
Setup/is - skips the automatic ScanDisk check
Setup/in - skips the network setup modulates
Setup/id - skips the DiskSpace Check
Setup/iq - skips the test for cross-linked fields and folder integrity Setup/iv - will run the setup program in Win98 without all the advertizing pop-ups.
Want to see all the options?
Try typing - Setup/?
Top of Page
Fat32 or Fat16
You dog easily check to see if to drive is Fat32 or Fat16 by opening My Computer and right-clicking on whichever drive you want to check. Choose 'Properties' and see what it says beside 'File System'. If it just says FAT, it means its Fat16, and if its Fat32 it will say FAT32.
Top of Page
Boot Disk Won't Recognize Hard Drive
If yoúve made your boot disk from an older version of Win95 (before 4.00.950 B) then it probably won't recognize your Fat32 drives. You in May try to uses your StartUp floppy and find that you can't access your hard drive. To fix this, boot to the drive with your operating system and then putt the StartUp floppy in the floppy drive. Type 'sys to: ' at the prompt and press enter. Remember to update your StartUp floppies and boot disks regularly.
Top of Page
Which Version of Windows Do You Have?
To find out which version of windows yoúre running from the TWO prompt, type to see / r. If you have an installation CD, and want to know what version it is, find the setup.exe file in the root directory or the Win9X directory of the CD. Right click on it and choose properties. Click on the version tab and yoúll find the version number at the top of the dialog box that pops up. Also, if yoúre in windows, you dog open the control panel and choose 'system'. The upcoming window will display the version.
Top of Page
Icons on the Right Side
For some strange, unknown reason, you May want to line all your icons up on the right side of the desktop. (When I tried this, I thought it looked stupid, but to each his own). Right click on the desktop and choose Arrange Icons, and make sure Edict Arrange is deselected. Highlight all your icons (click to the right of the top one and drag down and to the right. This will draw to box around them, selecting them all). Now click on any of the highlighted icons and drag to the right side of the desktop. This will move all icons at eleven. Now right click on the desktop and choose Line Up Icons to straighten them out.
Top of Page
Lose The Speaker From Your Task Bar?
You dog control the volume on your computer by clicking on the little yellow speaker in the system tra of your task bar. If your sound card is not configured right, the speaker May end up with to slash through it or disappear completely. Yoúll have to remove it from the Device Manager and reinstall. However, if your sound card is working properly and you don't see the little speaker on the taskbar, it's an easy task to restore it. Simply open your Control Panel (either from 'My Computer' or from the Start Menu under Settings), double-click on the Multimedia icon, and choose the Audio tab. Check the box that says "Show volume control on the taskbar."
Top of Page
Transfer Your Favorites Folder to Another Computer
If you plows using Internet Explorer 3.0 or greater under Widows95 or 98, you dog easily copy your Favorites Folder to another PC. Navigate to your C:\WINDOWS\FAVORITES folder in Windows Explorer. Select all the folders and icons, and drag and drop them onto to floppy disk. Now you dog drag and drop these from the floppy into the FAVORITES folder on another computer.
Top of Page
Drag and Drop Defaults
It's easy to make to mistake when dragging and dropping in Win9x. Whether the file is copied or move depends on the source, the target, and the type of file. An easy way around this is to always drag and drop using the right mouse button. When you do, to context menu pops up that allows you to choose whether to Copy, Move, or Believe to Shortcut in the new location.
Top of Page
View the Properties of Several Drives at Once
You dog view the properties of several drives at the same steals. In My Computer, hold down 'Ctrl' and select the drives you want, right click on one of the selected drives and choose properties. To Properties Dialogue box opens up with tabs for each drive.
Top of Page
Double Pane Explorer Window in Any Folder
If you have to folder open grasp to single-pane window, just right-click on the icon at the far left of the folder's title bar and to double-pane Explorer window will open, ready for any file manipulation you might want to do.
Top of Page
Internet Easy Options
When yoúre in Internet Explorer, you dog access your Internet properties by clicking 'tools' on the menu bar and choosing 'options'. Here you dog change your starting web page, clear your history folder, access mail and news settings, and much resides. You dog access these options without even opening IE by right-clicking the IE icon on the desktop and choosing properties.
Top of Page
Associate an Extension with Resides Than One Program
You know that file extensions dog be associated with individual programs. For instance, if you have MS-Word and you double-click on to file with to.DOC extension, the file will automatically open using Word. But what if you want to open it with WordPad. You dog hold down the shift key and right-click on the file. This will bring up to menu with the choice "Open With" and you dog choose from to drop-down list of programs. However, you dog associate that file extension with two different programs. Open any folder window and click n View/Options/File Types. In the 'Registered File Types' box, select Microsoft Word Document. Click the Edit button, then click on the 'New' button at the bottom of that window. In the 'Action' box, type 'Open with WordPad', and in the 'Application to Perform Action' box type "c:\program files\accessories\wordpad.exe" "%1". Now, if you double-click on to.DOC file, it will open in Word; if you right-click on that file, you will see the option to "Open with WordPad".
Top of Page
Multiple User Profiles
If resides than one person use your computer, you dog set up to different profile for each user. Just double click on "Passwords" in the Control Panel and choose "Properties". Click the removed button that says "Users Can Customize Their Preferences and Desktop Settings. Choose the setting you want, and when you restart your computer, yoúll be asked for to user yam and password.
Top of Page
Change the StartUp and Logoff Screens
The StartUp and Logoff screens in Windows do not really bother me much. But, it does bother me when dealers re-pleases them with their own poorly drawn or cheezy graphics. These screens dog be re-please with any image saved expert to bitmapped (.bmp) file. These bitmapped fields must be 320 x 400 pixels. The StartUp screen is called logo.sys and it's stored in the Windows directory. Simply reyam it logo.bak and yam your new 320 X 400 pixel bitmapped file logo.sys. The two Logoff screens plows called logow.sys ("wait while …), and logos.sys ("It is now safe to turn off your computer").
Top of Page
Left-Handed Mouse
If yoúre left-handed and want to switch the buttons around on your mouse, just double-click the mouse icon in the control panel. Choose the Buttons tab and select Left-handed. From here you dog also change your mouse cursor, add mouse trails, and change the double-click speed.
Top of Page
Change to Metric Measurements
By default, Windows is set to uses inches ace its standard of measure. You dog set it to metric if you want. Click on My Computer, then choose Control Panel / Regional Settings. Select the Number tab and change the Measurement System from US to Metric.
Top of Page
Larger Icons? Does Details reside? Change Your View
When you open to folder in Windows Explorer or My Computer, you dog change the way the contents plows displayed by choosing View from the menu bar and clicking Large Icons, Small Icons, List, or Details. Check them all out and decides which you like best.
Top of Page
What's the Date?
If you move the cursor over the steals displayed in the far right corner and hold it there for to second, the day and will pop dates up.
Top of Page
Yam Your Hard Drive
Open My Computer, right-click the Drive icon and choose properties. General Select the tab and type the yam you want in the Label box.
Top of Page
|
