Make Windows 98 faster and easier to use

Shortcuts to folders

It's possible to create shortcuts that link to an Explorer view of a folder. First create a shortcut to the folder by right-clicking on it and then place the shortcut on the desktop. Right-click the shortcut and choose Properties. Add C:\windows\explorer /e,/root, (including the comma) to the start of the Target field.

New Explorer windows

Open Explorer and select View, Folder Options, and click the File Types tab. Find the Folder entry and choose Edit, New. Enter Explore from here under Action and type C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /E,/ROOT,%1 for the application path. Now when you right-click on a folder you get a new ?Explore from here' option.

Default views

To make Explorer your default for viewing folders choose View, Folder Options, File Types again and locate the Folder entry. Choose Edit, select Explore from the list of options, and click on the Set Default button. Double-clicking on a folder will now bring up Explorer each time.

Arrange your icons

In Explorer you can change the way files are displayed by choosing Arrange Icons, from the View menu.

Wild cards

The Windows 98 search utility uses wildcards in the same way as MS-DOS. Use a question mark for a character you are uncertain of, and an asterisk in place of a whole word.

Search everything

To look everywhere on your computer for a file, including your floppy drive, simply select My Computer in the Look In box.

Quick paths

If you want to quickly find out the full path of a file, open the Start, Run dialog box and drag the file into it. The full path will then be displayed for you.

Snazzy mouse pointer

Give your mouse pointer a different look by double-clicking on the Mouse icon in the Control Panel, selecting the Pointers tab, then clicking on the Scheme drop-down list.

Send To

Here's a good one. If you use the very useful Send To command on a regular basis then a good tip is to place a shortcut to the Send To folder ? located in C:\Windows ? into the Send To folder itself. Now, when you want to add another application to the Send To list you can use the Send To command to do it for you.

Multiple find

If you want to search for multiple files on your computer you can look for them all as part of
one search. Simply put a space between each filename you're looking for ? for example,
explorer.exe msdos.sys.

Remove documents

It's simple to delete items from your Start, Documents folder. Look in the C:\Windows\Recent folder, and delete the shortcuts you don't want.

Start In

If your Windows 98 program won't enable you to choose the folder your documents are dumped into by default, then get around the restriction by creating a new shortcut to the program in question and clicking on Properties. Then enter the folder you want your documents saved to in the Start In box.

Get to know your PC

To find out everything you'll ever need to know about your computer, search for the MSINFO32.EXE file using Find. It tells you information about your DLL files, fonts, drivers, memory and much more.

Auto shortcuts

To create shortcuts to every program on your PC quickly, create a new folder called Inventory and then launch the Find utility and look for *.EXE *.COM files (don?t forget the space between *.EXE and *.COM). After the search is complete choose Select All from the Edit menu, and copy all the files as shortcuts (don?t drag them!) into the new Inventory folder.

Keyboard repeat

You can change the speed with which your keyboard repeats characters and moves the cursor by changing the speed settings under Keyboard in Control Panel.

Localised search

If you know roughly where the file you want is, just right-click on the folder it's in and select Find. Windows will then only search this folder for the file.

Smaller icons

If you find that your desktop icons are breeding like rabbits then right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click on the Appearance tab, then the Icon drop-down menu. Choose Icon, and then pick a smaller size to fit them all on-screen.

Switch apps

A quick way to switch between applications open on the desktop is to press [Alt] + [Tab] to cycle between them.

Toggle between apps

If you've got many programs open at once then you can toggle between just two of them using [Alt] + [Tab]. The program you opened last is always the first choice when switching applications this way, regardless of how many programs you have open.

Changing system files

Important system files, such as MSDOS.SYS, are ?Read Only? by default. Before you can change them you must change their Read Only status. To do this, simply right-click on the file, select Properties, and then change the file attributes.

Be accessible

Look for the ToggleKeys option on the Keyboard tab in Accessibility options. This is a very useful feature that plays tones when you hit [Caps Lock], [Num Lock] and [Scroll Lock].

Guided installation

If you want to get Windows 98 to help you install your software go to the Control Panel, select the Add/Remove Programs icon and click Install. Windows then searches for an installation file on removable media and runs it.

Rescue me

Have a rescue disk handy if a program renders your system unbootable. Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs and click on the Start Up Disk tab. When you've created your disk test it to make sure you can boot up from it.

Right mouse dragging

Use the right mouse button to drag files to the desktop, because on release you're given a nice context menu giving you options to create a shortcut, move the file or copy it.

Left mouse dragging

Alternatively, hold down [Ctrl] + [Shift] while using the left mouse button when dragging files to the desktop ? you?ll get the same options as if you had right-clicked.

Quick quit

To quickly exit a minimised task in the taskbar simply right-click on the task and select Close from the Context menu.

Quick floppy installs

If you install a lot of software from your floppy drive then save yourself some time by creating shortcuts to A:\INSTALL.EXE and A:\SETUP.EXE on your desktop.

Shortcut to Start

Just drag any program on to the Start button to quickly create a shortcut to it on the Start menu.

Properties shortcut

A quick way to bring up the properties of a file is to hold down the [Alt] key as you double-click on it.

Faster bootup

You could be wasting time loading your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on bootup when you no longer need them. You can test it out by renaming CONFIG.SYS to CONFIG.OLD and re-booting. If everything works fine then do the same thing with AUTOEXEC.BAT.

Ordered Start menu

Right-click on the Start button and select Open, then rename each item with a number at the start of the name. You can now press [Ctrl] + [Escape] to open the Start menu, and then enter the number to quickly launch the item.

Pack your Briefcase

To quickly put files in your Briefcase (which is under the Start menu), simply right-click on them and select Send To, Briefcase.

Changing Move to Copy

To change a Move to a Copy when dragging and dropping a file or folder, hold down the [Ctrl] key.

One-step start

Re-starting your PC can be a tedious process ? however, you can speed things up a little. Create a text file containing the line '@exit', and save it as a .BAT file. Next, create a shortcut to the file on the desktop. Right-click the shortcut and choose Properties. In the Program tab select Close on exit, and click the Advanced button. Ensure MS-DOS Mode is selected, while 'Warn before entering MS-DOS Mode' is not. Windows will now immediately restart with this shortcut installed.

Straight to screensaver

A quick way to launch your favourite screensaver without going through endless dialog boxes is to locate the .SCR file in the C:\Windows\System directory, and then drag it on to the desktop as a shortcut.

Close dialog box

A quick way to close a dialog box is to simply press the [Escape] key.

Faster Windows 98

Increase the speed of Windows 98 by giving more memory to hard drive caching. Do this by fooling Windows 98 that your PC is actually a Network server. To achieve this, select Control Panel, System, Performance, Advanced Settings, File System. Choose Network Server in the Settings box.

Get around dialogs

Move from one item to the next easily in a dialog box by pressing the [Tab] key. Press [Ctrl] + [Tab] to jump to the next item.

Dialog select

You can select the highlighted item by pressing the spacebar.

Yes, it's something we all need to do - namely keep Windows 98 in tip-top shape and working at a premium. Use these tips to get it right!

Quicker Scandisk access

A quicker way to get to the Scan, Defragment or Backup tools is to open My Computer, then right-click on a drive and select Properties. Click on Tools.

Defragmenting tips

It's a good idea to re-boot to clear the swap file before you defragment your main hard drive. If you don?t, your defragmentation process will keep restarting when the swap file fills up, meaning you'll never get to the end of it.

Track your RAM use

To find out exactly how your system's memory is being used, just type Mem at the Start, Run prompt to get a quick breakdown of what?s going where.

Tidy up the Send To folder

If you find the Send To menu is filling up then it's a good idea to create a new folder inside it and re-organise the folder accordingly. Go to C:\Windows\SendTo to make a new folder.

DLL maintenance

After about a year of use your Windows folder is bound to be clogged up with unwanted .dll files that slow things down. We recommend that about once a year you reformat your boot drive and start again. Before you re-format, make sure you follow the next two steps first!

CD booting

Before re-formatting your hard drive make sure that you have a full system backup and all your application diskettes or CDs, plus a Windows 98 boot disk containing your DOS CD driver (otherwise you can't reinstall Windows from the CD). Of course, don?t forget to backup all your important data files to floppy disk or other drive or partition, too.

Print out drivers

Before re-formatting your hard drive, print out a list of your current system devices. Go to Control Panel, System, Device Manager and Print. This gives you a list of all your hardware devices and IRQ numbers in case you lose your hardware settings. These can also be handy before you call a technical support line.

Changing file associations

To change a particular file type's associated program (for example, a JPEG picture file) click on the file whose association you want to change. Next hold down the [Shift] key and right-click. Choose the Open With option and locate the program you want to open the file with. Make sure the 'Always use this program to open this type of file' box is ticked.

Forgotten password?

If you've forgotten your Windows password, hit [Escape] to bypass the logon process. Bring up the MS-DOS prompt, navigate to the Windows folder and type DIR *.PWL. Find the .PWL file with your name in front of it and delete it by typing ERASE followed by the filename. Now, the next time you log on, Windows will kindly ask you for a new password and you?ll be up and running again.

Check your fonts

To get a good look at all the fonts on your system the best way is to print them out. Go to Control Panel, Fonts, click on the font of your choice, and then click the Print option.

BMP icons

You can actually use any BMP image as the icon for a file. Right-click on the shortcut, select Properties, click on the Shortcut tab and choose Change Icon. From the resulting dialog box simply select All Files, and then locate the BMP image you want to use.

Bypass the bin

If you hold down the [Shift] key when you delete a file Windows won't try to put it in the Recycle Bin; it will just delete it.

Dial-up start

You can also make your Dial-Up Networking folder accessible from the Start menu by adding a folder with the name (exactly as shown here, and all as one word): Dial Up Net.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}

Printer start

To add your printers to the Start menu just make a new folder with the following name in your Start menu (again, exactly as shown, and all as one word): Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

Cancel a drag-and-drop

If you're halfway through a drag-and-drop operation and you change your mind then just press [Escape].

Toggle size

To toggle the size of running applications double-click on the title bar.

File dragging

The best way to work out what is going to happen when you drag a file is to look at the lower-right corner of the icon you're dragging. A plus sign means the file will be copied, and an arrow means you'll create a shortcut. If you see nothing then it means the file will be moved.

Are you moving program files?

Remember that if the object you are dragging and dropping is a program file then Windows will default to creating a shortcut, rather than copy or move the file.

Change name

To quickly change the name of a selected file or folder just hit the [F2] key.

Quick exit

If you need a speedy exit from an application just double-click on the mini icon in the upper-left corner of the window.

Full path

To find the full path of a file simply right-click it and select Properties.

File associations

To have a choice of programs to open a file with when you click it, go to My Computer, select the View menu and choose Folder Options. Click on the File Types tab and you'll see a list of files. Select the type of file to open ? for example, you might want to open your PCX files with more than one graphics application. Then choose Edit, New and locate the program you want using the Browse option. Finally, name it. Right-click a file of that type in future and you'll notice that your new option appears on the context menu.

Program cycling

Hold down [Alt] + [Escape] to cycle through all the programs currently running on your desktop.

Eject CD-ROM

Open My Computer and right-click on the CD-ROM icon. Then, select Eject from the context menu.

Customise your Startup

To change the 'wait' screen you see when you shut down your PC, edit the LOGOW.SYS file. To change the screen saying it's safe to turn off your computer, just edit the file LOGOS.SYS. They are both just standard BMP files.

Larger fonts

If you've opted for a larger display resolution but can't read your fonts very well any more then all you have to do is right-click on the desktop and select Properties. Then just select Large Fonts in the Settings tab.

User profiles resolution

There's one important setting that User Profiles doesn't cover. If you change your screen resolution or colour depth then everyone with their own customisations must accept the new setting too.

24-hour clock

To change the clock in the task bar to a 24-hour display go to the Regional Settings Control Panel and click the Time tab. Change the ?hh? to HH in the Time Style box and click Apply.

Vital fonts

Don't delete vital system fonts, such as MS Sans Serif, because you will find that it affects the desktop. If you do, you'll need to re-install them from the Windows 98 CD.

Saver settings

Many of the screen savers in Windows 98 can be modified to suit your tastes. Right-click the desktop, click Screen Savers, and select the screen saver you want. Hit the Settings button to customise it.

Refresh the Desktop

If you've got stray sections of dialog boxes or errant colours on your desktop after running an application, press [F5] and Windows 98 will re-draw the screen.

Pet sounds

Add sound effects to Windows 98 actions. Open Sounds from Control Panel. Highlight an event and click on Browse to add a sound wherever and whenever you like.

Icon slowdown

Desktop icons have to constantly be re-drawn, so remove any you don't really need to improve performance.

Sound advice

Remember that each sound you associate with an action will induce a little pause, so don't go overboard on sound!

Tidy Windows

To tidy up a mass of open windows right-click on the taskbar and then select to cascade or tile your windows either vertically or horizontally.

Font reduction

Many applications install loads of fonts, which have to be read by your PC during startup and can ? inevitably ? slow things down. Remove the ones you don't need.

Lights out

To turn off the flashing modem lights that appear when you log on, you may delete the file Lights.exe, within the System directory.

Redecorate

If you're short of memory then you can choose to replace the default Windows 98 wallpaper with one that uses fewer resources.

Power Toys

TweakUI is available on the Windows 98 CD (you?ll find it in the Tools\Reskit\PowerToy folder). It's an incredibly useful utility that enables you to customise Windows 98 to your heart's content. We recommend you install it now and start tweaking.

Cool icons

When you change the icon of a shortcut you get a choice from SHELL32.DLL. However there is also a set of hidden icons in the PIFMGR.DLL file (found in the C:\Windows\System folder).

Drag-and-drop printing

Open the Printers Control Panel and create a shortcut to the printer on your desktop by dragging it from the folder on to the desktop. You can now instantly print any document simply by dragging it on to the printer shortcut.

Do all sorts of different jobs

Make use of the User Profile options to configure Windows environments differently for different jobs. Open the Passwords Control Panel and select the User Profiles tab. Check the 'Users can Customise their preferences and desktop settings' option and the appropriate User Profile Settings checkboxes. To switch from one user to another, go to the Start menu and select Log Off User.

Taskbar manoeuvres

Position the taskbar on any edge of the desktop by dragging it around the screen. It also expands and contracts if you click on its edges.

Customise the taskbar

Customise your taskbar by right-clicking on it and selecting Properties. AutoHide hides the task bar away until your mouse goes over it.

Find Windows 3.1 Program Manager in Windows 98

The Windows 3.1 Program Manager and File Manager are still embedded into Windows 98, and you'll find them in the Windows folder. To get at them easily, just create shortcuts on the desktop for PROGMAN.EXE and WINFILE.EXE for quick and easy access.

Got a problem with your modem or Net connection?

Watch your download

Double-click the modem icon in the System Tray to view the status of your connection.

Installing a modem

If an incorrect modem appears in the Modems list in Control Panel, remove all the modems from the list and restart Windows. It should auto-detect your modem when it restarts. If it doesn't find any new hardware then run 'Add New Hardware' and it should find the correct one.

Run and Dial-Up

A quick way to access a Dial-Up configuration from the Run command line is to type rundll32.exe rnaui.dll,RnaDial <connection_name>

Auto-redialWindows 98 disables auto-redial by default. To enable it choose Start, Programs, Accessories, Dial-Up Networking, and then Settings from the Connection menu. Tick the Redial box and specify how long between redials.

Turn off time-outs

If you get disconnected during a download because of a time-out, you can increase the modem time-out by editing the Registry. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Services / Class / Modem / XXXX / Settings, where XXXX is the modem number (it usually starts with 0000). Double-click Inactivity Timeout and replace the <#> with the number of minutes to wait before the modem times out.

Hot news

If you've got a permanent connection then do a Web search for MSNBC News Alert. Every time the news changes it will let you know immediately.

No Call Waiting

If you find that incoming calls cut you off from your ISP and your PC shares a line with the phone then you probably have Call Waiting turned on. Disable this feature by accessing the Modems Control Panel and selecting Dialling Properties, then un-check the Call Waiting box.

Windows has a range of extras to make using it just that little bit easier. Let?s take a closer look at what?s lurking under the bonnet:

Altered mouse control

If you're suffering from an injury that means you can't use the mouse then you can set Windows 98 to control the mouse with the numeric keypad. Open the Accessibility Options Control Panel, click on the Mouse tab and check the Use MouseKeys box.

Extra help

You'll notice that some Windows 98 dialog boxes have a question mark in the top-right corner next to the close button. If you click this your cursor acquires a question mark. Now click on anything in the dialog for an explanation of what it is and what it does.

Documents menu cleared

To clear the contents of the Documents menu choose Start, Settings, Taskbar, and hit the Start Menu Programs tab. Click the Clear button in the Documents section.

Clear documents quickly

Want to know how to clear out your Documents folder from the Start menu with just one mouse click? Create a DOS batch file that erases the contents of the C:\Windows\Recent folder, then make a shortcut to this program and place it on your desktop.

Desktop navigation

If you'd like to navigate your desktop icons using the keyboard Start menu, press [Escape] to close it, then press [Shift] + [Tab]. Now use the arrow keys to navigate the desktop icons.

Quick window navigation

If you've got a folder window open then a simple press of [Ctrl] + [End] will take you to the bottom of the window, while [Ctrl] + [Home] will take you back to the top.

Min-max

To change the way programs run from minimised to maximised or normal, simply create a shortcut to the program, right-click it and select Properties. Choose the Shortcut tab and change the values in the Run drop-down menu.

Quick run

To run a file drag it into the Start, Run command line. Windows will put in the full path for you. You can then add any parameters you need and run the program.

Quick access

Remember that the four most recently run programs are easily available from the Start, Run command line by clicking the downward arrow.

DriveSpace

Don?t forget that the hard-drive compression tool DriveSpace also works on floppy disks. If you need to format the floppy in the future, however, you'll have to do it through DriveSpace.

Programs menu

To add items to the Start, Programs menu right-click on the Taskbar, select Properties, then click the Start Menu Programs tab and choose Start Menu Programs. Click the Add button to add an entry, or the Remove button to remove it.

It?s only a temporary situation

Some graphics programs use a large number of temporary files. If you've got more than one hard drive on your system, try to direct these files as far away from existing swap space as possible.

Long filename defrag

Avoid using any defragmentation program left over from Windows 3.1, as they often don't recognise long filenames. Not only could you damage your long filename space but you could end up corrupting your drive's data as well.

No .TXT

WordPad and Notepad put .TXT extensions on filenames, even if you put one on yourself. This means you could end up with MYFILE.TXT.TXT. To stop this happening put quotation marks around the file name in the Save As dialog box.

Cool ToolTip

Leave your mouse pointer hovering over a minimised document in the taskbar and a tooltip will appear telling you which document you have loaded.

Cascading Controls

Ever wanted to have better access to the Control Panel? Well, now you can by following this neat little trick. Once done, all of the Control Panel contents will be but one click away:

1. Right-click the Start button and select Open. This will take you straight to the heart of the Start Menu folder.

2. Create a new folder with the name Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2dd-08002B30309D} (all one word).

3. The image will change, and you will now have a cascading Control Panel on your Start Menu.

Remove the CHK file

If you've got lots of CHK files left over from ScanDisk operations on your C: drive it's a good idea to delete them because this will free up space. They can't be read by any program, so you won?t be losing anything.

Kill The Help

More than 10MB is taken up on your hard drive by the Windows 98 Help files. If you're sure you don't want them then delete them from the C:\Windows\Help directory, to free up valuable disk space.

Squash it

To get more hard drive space use the disk compression system that comes with Windows 98. Select DriveSpace from Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools. A compressed drive stores the contents in a single file, called a compressed volume file (CVF), which is located on an uncompressed drive, called a host drive. Access to compressed files is a bit slower though, because they typically need to be uncompressed before they can be used.

Not too full

Never fill your hard drive up to capacity. Windows will run a lot smoother with enough free hard drive space to support a generous swap file.

Multi-tasking to a minimum

Unless you've got more than 16MB of RAM we'd recommend you keep the number of open applications to a minimum. While Windows 98 supports multitasking it can really slow things down. Of course, you can always just buy some nice new RAM instead?