| Check
Your Registry |
September 28, 2001 |
|
|
Windows 98 comes with a handy way to check your Registry for errors. Launch
the Microsoft System Information (MSI) utility from Start/Accessories/System
Tools/System Information, then select the Registry Checker from the Tools
menu.
|
| Creating
A MailTo: Shortcut |
September 27, 2001 |
|
No need to go to Outlook to send a e-mail message. Just create this
shortcut. Just right-click on the desktop and choose New, Shortcut. In
the Command line, type
mailto:
and then give your Shortcut an appropriate name, something like Send
Email.
Whenever you double-click this icon, Outlook will automatically cue up a blank
email for you, waiting to be addressed.
|
| IDE
And UIDE Drives |
September 26, 2001 |
|
|
Ultra DMA drives are capable of burst transfers at more than 33MB per second,
double the rate of a standard IDE drive. Unfortunately, Windows may not be
taking full advantage of this speed. (In Windows 98, this feature is disabled by
default.)
To enable the DMA option, first go to the Control Panel and click the
Systems Icon. Choose the Device Manager tab and click on the [+]
next to Disk Drives. Select the icon for a drive that is UDMA. Click on
the Properties button and then on the Settings tab. Click and
check the box labeled DMA, close all dialog boxes, and restart your
system.
|
| CD-ROM
Problems and Windows 98 |
September 25, 2001 |
|
|
Many people have reported a problem with their CD-ROM drives after installing
Windows 98. Many CD-ROMS are dual channel IDE (Integrated Device Electronics)
devices. Windows has a special setting you need to set in order to accommodate
these devices. Try this fix if you experience the problem.
Select Start, Settings, and Control Panel. Then double-click System.
Select the Device Manager tab,- double-click the Hard Disk
Controllers branch to expand it, select your IDE controller, and then
select Properties. Select the Settings tab. In the Dual IDE
Channel Settings box, select Both IDE Channels Enabled, and then
click OK (2 times), and restart your computer.
|
| A
Dialog for All Drives |
September 24, 2001 |
|
|
Here's an easy way to view the properties for multiple hard drives all at
once. Open My Computer and select all your hard drives by holding down
the Ctrl key and clicking on each drive. Next, right-click on any one of the
drives and choose Properties from the Context menu that appears;
Windows will create a single dialog with tabs for each drive. It also works for
floppy, removable and mapped network drives.
|
| No
More Boring Shortcuts |
September 21, 2001 |
|
|
It's easy to change shortcut icons. Although this tip applies to Win9x, it
works better in Win98, because Microsoft added to and refined its icon library.
To change the icon for a specific shortcut, right-click on it, choose Properties,
then click on the Change Icon button in the Shortcut tab. Enter C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL
in the File Name box, and select an icon from those in the palette. You
can also use the Browse button to search through ICL, DLL, ICO and other files
on your hard drive that may contain icons. Click on OK to change to the
new icon.
|
| My
Computer Locks Up When In Suspend |
September 20, 2001 |
|
|
This is a little known bug in Windows 98 that causes the computer to hang when
it is in suspend. You get this bug, believe it or not, when a drive letter is
lower case in the SYSTEM.INI. There is a fix.
Select Start, Run, type msconfig, then press OK. Select
the System.ini tab - Click the + sign next to the [386Enh]
section to expand it - Select the line PagingFile= and click Edit
- Change the lowercase drive letter to uppercase - Click Apply, then OK.
When prompted, restart your computer.
|
| Windows
Hardware Compatibility List |
September 19, 2001 |
|
|
If you are planning any kind of upgrade of your Windows computer, whether it's a
new video card or upgrading to Windows XP, you should first make sure it is
compatible with Windows. Of course if you are upgrading to Windows XP then your
entire computer needs to be checked.
Click here to access Microsoft's Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp.
Another option is to go to the Web site of the manufacture and verify that
they have software drivers for your version of Windows for the hardware you
want.
|
| Temporarily
Defeat StartUp Folder Programs |
September 18, 2001 |
|
|
During an isolated Win95 boot, it's possible to prevent
the programs in your StartUp folder from automatically launching -- this
is helpful for troubleshooting or fast boot-ups. Start your PC, and when you see
the Windows splash screen, hold down the Shift key until Windows is fully
finished loading. If you're on a network and you're prompted for a password each
time Windows starts, wait to hold down the Shift key until you see the "Enter
Network Password" box. Then, press and hold the Shift button and click
OK. Keep holding down Shift until the disk stops churning. The next time you
restart, all your startup programs will run again. This method doesn't turn off
services run from System Registry.
|
| Changing
Your Windows Password |
September 17, 2001 |
|
|
If you work in an environment where you share your computer with others, you
probably enter a password when Windows starts up to log into your User Profile.
You can change this password at any time by going to Start, Settings, Control
Panel and clicking the Passwords icon. Select the Change Passwords
tab and then the Change Windows Password button. Type your existing
password in the Old Password box and then enter a new password in the New
Password and Confirm New Password boxes. Click OK, then close
the Password dialog box. You'll be able to use your new password the next time
you log into Windows.
|
| Getting
A Look At Your TCP/IP Configuration |
September 11, 2001 |
|
Curious to know what your current IP Address is when you're connected to the
Internet? There's a little-known program hidden in Windows 98 that lets you
check your current IP configuration any time you're online. To run it, go to Start,
Run and enter
winipcfg
Click OK and the IP Configuration application runs. Use this to
get a look at some arcane information about your TCP/IP setup -- info that's
sometimes useful if you're trying to debug your setup.
|
| Eliminating
Prompt For Dial-Up Info |
September 10, 2001 |
|
|
If you're tired of having to click Connect after opening your Dial-Up
Connection (after all, why go through another click?), you need to change
your Connection settings. Go to your Dial-Up Networking folder (by going
to Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Dial-Up Networking) and
choose Connection, Settings from the menu. Uncheck the Prompt
For Information Before Dialing box and click OK. With this setting,
Dial-Up Networking will dial your connection automatically whenever you launch
your Connection icon.
|
| Defrag
Drive Automatically |
September 7, 2001 |
|
|
Defragmenting your hard drive is one of the best and easiest ways to keep your
computer running at peak performance, but who has the time? Defragmenting, after
all, takes a while, especially in these days of multi-gig hard drives. And while
the Defragmenter can run in the background while you're working, this slows
performance. Your best bet for defragmenting your hard drive is to perform the
action automatically on a weekly basis using Microsoft's Task Scheduler.
To set up a weekly defrag session, go to Start, Programs, Accessories,
System Tools, and choose Scheduled Tasks (if you have Task
Scheduler running in your System Tray, you can just double-click
that). Double-click Add Scheduled Task and click Next. Choose Disk
Defragmenter from the list of programs, and click Next. Select the
frequency with which you want to run the program, click Next, and then choose
the day and time. As long as you leave your computer on all the time, set the
Defragmenter to operate during the night, while you're sleeping.
|
| Know
Your Resource Limitations |
September 6, 2001 |
|
|
The handy System Resource Meter resides on the
taskbar and tracks System, User and GDI resources. The more
applications you have open and running, the more system resources are gobbled
up. To install Resource Meter, go to the Control Panel and choose Add/Remove
Programs. Under the Windows Setup tab, double-click on Accessories
(System
tools for Win98) you'll find the System Resource Meter there. note:
The System resource only repeats the smaller of the two resources (User
or GDI.)
|
| Wipe
Out Temp Files |
September 5, 2001 |
|
|
Windows 95/98/Me creates a lot of "temporary"
files when it opens documents. It puts these files in the C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
folder and intends to close them when the application is finished with them. But
sometimes, temp files can become permanent files and eat up a lot of hard-disk
space. It's a good idea to open the folder periodically and delete these files.
Make sure no applications are running when you do it.
|
| Before
You Use Defrag |
September 4, 2001 |
|
| When you run Disk Defragmenter, you might find
that the program has trouble completing the task. Ideally, Disk
Defragmenter should run with as few programs running as possible.
It can get "stuck" and have to start over if some kind
of change is made to the hard drive during the defragmenting process.
The biggest nemesis for Disk Defragmenter is Screen
Saver. If Disk Defragmenter has a hard time completing its
task, make sure that both Screen Saver and any Power
Management utilities are disabled before you run the program.
Right-click on the desktop and choose Properties.
Click the Screen Saver tab and choose None from
the drop-down menu. Then click the Settings button in the
Energy Saving Features section and make sure System
Standby, Turn Off Monitor, and Turn Off Hard Disks
are all set to Never. note: Check previous tips
on System Maintenance,
Using Scandisk, and Scandisk
files. |
