In the first tip in this series, we introduced Microsoft Backup, a utility that allows you to create backups of important files, such as data files. 

If a number of people use your system (and Microsoft Backup), you'll probably want to protect your important backup jobs from unwanted changes. On the Backup tab, select the job you want to protect, then click the Options button in the lower-right corner of the window. Click the Password tab, select Protect This Backup With A Password, and type a case-sensitive password of up to eight characters. Press Tab, type the password again, then click OK.

One more thing: Don't forget to write the password down somewhere. Now no one can back up files to, or restore files from, this job without the password.

In the first tip in this series, we introduced Microsoft Backup, a utility that allows you to create backups of important files, such as data files. 

As you're selecting files, folders, and drives for a particular backup job, you may wish to see a running total (size-wise) of the items you've selected so far. Select View, Selection Information, and watch the resulting dialog box for file and byte estimates.

(Note: This option is not available from within the Backup Wizard. To bypass the wizard and create a backup job manually, open Microsoft Backup, click Close, and use the options on the Backup tab.)

In the first tip in this series, we introduced Microsoft Backup, a utility that allows you to create backups of important files, such as data files. 

If you find yourself inside the Microsoft Backup window wishing you could use the wizard to create a new backup job or restore files, don't waste time exiting Backup and reopening this utility to make the wizard appear. You can invoke the wizard at any time. Inside Microsoft Backup, pull down the Tools menu and select Backup Wizard or Restore Wizard; or click the Backup Wizard or Restore Wizard icon.

In the first tip in this series, we introduced Microsoft Backup, a utility that allows you to create backups of important files, such as data files.

Now that you've got this backup file (*.qic), how can it help you? Scary thought, but let's suppose your system just crashed and you lost all your data files. Once--or should we say, if -- you get the system up and running again, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Select Restore Backed Up Files, click OK, then select the location of the *.qic file you want to restore (for example, a tape or zip drive). Click Next, and the wizard will walk you through the rest of the restoration process. Now imagine if you hadn't backed up those files...

In the first tip in this series, we introduced Microsoft Backup, a utility that allows you to create backups of important files, such as data files.

Assuming you've followed the steps from the previous tip to create a backup job, you now have a backup job in the form of a *.qic file -- we'll call it MyBackup.qic. As your data files change, or as you create new files, you'll want to update this backup to reflect these changes. (Creating a new job every time is too time consuming.)

Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup; select Open An Existing Backup Job; and click OK. Choose the backup you want to update and click Open. Next to What To Backup, select New And Changed Files, then click Start. Microsoft Backup will now do exactly what you've asked--back up only new or changed information.

In our next tip, restoring files from a backup job...

We frequently receive requests for tips on backing up data files -- you know, all those files that took hours to create and that you'd be devastated to lose? (Two words: Disasters happen.) Back by popular demand, and in the spirit of the New Year (what better time to start good backup habits?), here's our multipart series on Microsoft Backup.

Microsoft Backup has been improved significantly since the less-than-perfect version that was part of Windows 95. First, it's a Seagate Software product; second, it has a wizard to walk you through standard backup procedures; and third, it supports SCSI tape drives. (The old one didn't.) Watch how easy this utility is to use:

Suppose you want to back up your data files (which, of course, are all neatly filed in a main Data Files folder, divided into subfolders). Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Choose Create A New Backup Job and click OK. Select Backup Selected Files..., then click Next. In the left pane, click to place check marks in the boxes next to the folder(s) and/or drive(s) you want to back up -- in this case, the C:\Data Files folder--then click Next. Leave All Selected Files selected, then click Next and set a destination for the backup (such as your tape backup). Click Next two more times, name the backup job, and click Start.

When Microsoft Backup finishes doing its thing, you'll see a message telling you the operation is complete. Click OK twice.

(Note: To bypass the wizard, open Microsoft Backup, click Close, and you'll find all of the options included in the wizard right on the Backup tab.)

In our next tip, updating an existing backup job...

As any Windows user knows, Microsoft is forever releasing downloads for Windows 98 -- bug fixes, patches, add-ons, and so on. There are so many that it can be impossible to keep track of what you do and don't have. Fortunately, there's Windows Update to help you make sense of it all. (Actually, you have no choice -- Windows Update is the only way to download updates to Windows 98.) This "online extension of Windows 98" will check your system and let you know what you need to install.

Select Start, Windows Update, and complete the steps necessary to go online, if you aren't already. Alternatively, point your Web browser at

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Click the Product Updates link, and after a few minutes, you'll see a list of all components not yet installed on your system. (To view installed items as well, click the Show Installed Updates button.)

Look through the list -- particularly the Critical updates, which appear first. Select those you'd like to install, click the blue download arrow at the top or bottom of the screen, then click the Start Download button.

Windows 98 SE CD does not include Tweak UI, a utility we frequently discuss in these tips. Microsoft says, "A version of the program is included on the original Windows 98 CD-ROM." (Roughly translated, borrow the files from a friend?)

An even better solution is to download this utility from the Net. It was recently made available for download at PC World.

(Note: Be sure to download tui98.zip, not tweakui.exe.)

In the first tip in this series, we introduced the Task Scheduler, a utility that runs maintenance routines, such as ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter, according to a specified schedule.

Is there a task in the list you'd like to disable without deleting it entirely -- so you don't have to re-create it if you decide to use it again? Inside the Scheduled Tasks window, right-click the task and select Properties. On the Task tab, deselect Enabled and click OK. Back in the Scheduled Tasks list, you'll see the word Disabled in the Schedule and Next Run Time columns for that task. (To enable the task again, go back and select the Enabled option.)

Want to disable every task in one fell swoop? Right-click the Taskbar's Task Scheduler icon and select Pause Task Scheduler. (To turn it back on, right-click the icon and select Continue Task Scheduler.)

In the first tip in this series, we introduced the Task Scheduler, a utility that runs maintenance routines, such as ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter, according to a specified schedule. 

You can also modify the settings for any task in the list. Right-click the task you'd like to change and select Properties. In the resulting dialog box, use the settings on the Schedule And Settings tab to adjust the task's behavior, then click OK. Repeat these steps for each task you'd like to modify, then close the Scheduled Tasks window.

Our last tip, we introduced the Task Scheduler, a utility that runs maintenance routines, such as ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter, according to a specified schedule. 

Want to customize the task list? To add a new routine to the list, click the Add Scheduled Task item, click Next, and wait as the wizard compiles a list of options. Select an application, such as Disk Defragmenter, click Next again, and follow along to set up a schedule for the task. Click Finish, and the new task appears in the Scheduled Tasks window. Repeat these steps for each task you'd like to add to the list.

To delete a task from the list, right-click it and select Delete. When you're finished adding and deleting tasks, close the Scheduled Tasks window. Then, as long as Windows and the Task Scheduler are running at the time for which tasks are scheduled, this little helper will run them for you.

Ever wonder what that little red, white, and blue icon in the tray of your Taskbar does (the one that looks like a window with a red clock on it)? It means that the Task Scheduler, a utility that runs maintenance routines such as ScanDisk, is currently active. To view the routines currently scheduled to run, double-click this icon.

Don't see the Task Scheduler icon? You can open Scheduled Tasks by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. If you wish to make this utility run whenever Windows 98 starts, select Advanced, Start Using Scheduled Tasks (inside the Scheduled Tasks window).

In our next tip, we'll show you how to add and delete scheduled tasks.

If you frequently use WordPad to do your word processing, you're probably getting tired of formatting every document (changing the font, typing the same heading, and so on). Does this thing come with templates or what? The answer is no, but that doesn't mean you can't make one. Just take a few minutes to do the formatting once, and you'll have an instant time-saver.

Open WordPad and make all the formatting changes you'd like to include in your template -- for example, you might change the font and point size of the text. (Tip: Type at least one character and then assign these settings to it.) When you're finished, save the file in a convenient location using a name such as "template.tpl."

Now instruct Windows to open any file with a .tpl extension in WordPad. Open Windows Explorer and select View, Folder Options. On the File Types tab, click the New Type button. Next to Description Of Type, enter a description, such as "WordPad Template." Next to Associated Extension, type

tpl

Click New, and in the Action box of the New Action dialog box, type

Open

Under Application Used To Perform Action, type WordPad's path, such as

C:\Program Files\Accessories\Wordpad.exe

Finally, click OK three times to close all open dialog boxes.

Ready to try it out? Double-click template.tpl and it opens in WordPad, complete with all your formatting. (Tip: Be sure to save it under a new name before creating a new document from the template.)