WINDOWS 95 TIPS
Please note: Before making any changes to your registry, always back it up.
Add System Folders To Your Start Menu:
To add one of the following to your start menu, go to the start menu folder in windows directory, highlight the folder, create a new folder with one of the following names, and the contents will be created automatically: Type the entire line as the name of the folder.
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Dial-Up Networking.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Inbox.{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Recycle Bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Network Neighborhood.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Desktop.{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Briefcase.{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
Fonts.{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
Make BMP files into thumbnails, like ICO and CUR files: Open "regedit.exe" and go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ PAINT.PICTURE\ DefaultIcon. Double click line in right pane. Delete contents and type "%1" (without quotes). This only works if '.bmp' files are still associated with MS Paint.
Change the registered user info: Name, Company, ect..: Open "regedit.exe" and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion and double click on a property to edit it.
Clear Unwanted Entries from Add/Remove Programs: Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE). Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall,and remove any unwanted keys under "Uninstall."
Note: This setting can also be changed with TweakUI.
Clear Unwanted Entries from Explorer's 'New' Menu: Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE). Select Find from the Edit menu, type ShellNew, and press OK. Every ShellNew that is found will be a branch of a particular file type. If that file type is not wanted in the New menu, delete the entire ShellNew branch. Repeat this for every unwanted tile type, and close the Registry Editor when finished.
Note: New templates can also be removed (and created) with TweakUI
Explore from My Computer: To access Windows Explorer from a My Computer folder window, just right-click on the folder and select 'Explore' from the context menu.
Explorer, Open from any folder: By default, Windows Explorer opens at the root of drive C, but you can change it to open (and expand) any drive and folder you want. For example, if you want Windows Explorer to open at the My Documents folder:
1. Right-click the Start menu and click Open.
2. Double-click the Programs icon.
3. Right-click the Windows Explorer shortcut and click Properties.
4. Click the Shortcut tab.
5. In the Target text box, add My Documents to the end of the default
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e,C:\ leaving no space, and click OK.
Macro to open Access files: This shortcut creates a macro that opens a form, report, query, table, etc.. First, in the Database window, click on the Macros tab and select New. From the Windows menu, choose Tile. Click on the Database window's Reports tab and drag the report you want the macro to open to an Action row in the Macro window. Then close the window, click on Yes to save the macro, and name it.
Manage open windows: When you double-click on a folder in My Computer, you can change the settings that determine whether the folder opens a new window or replaces the contents of the current one. Go to the View|Options menu in any folder. The Options dialog has three tabs. Under 'Folder', you have two choices: "Browse folders using a separate window" (the default) and "Browse folders by using a single window that changes" Select the latter and click on OK.
Move desktop icons as a group: Right-click on the desktop, choose Arrange Icons, and deselect Auto Arrange. Then select each icon while holding down the Ctrl key. Release the Ctrl key and the icons will remain highlighted. Right click on any one to move the group.
Print out a directory listing (all the filenames in a folder): Open a text editor, such as Notepad, and type the following lines into a new document: (assuming the printer is connected to LPT1).
CD %1
DIR >LPT1
Save the two-line file into your Windows\Command folder, and call it PRINTDIR.BAT. Find the file in Explorer, right click on it, and select Properties. Click on the Program tab, turn on the Close on Exit option, choose Minimized from the Run list, and click Ok.
Next, run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE). Open My Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ Directory\ shell. Select New from the Edit menu, and then select Key. Type Print for the name of this new key, and press Enter. Highlight the new Print key, select New from the Edit menu, and then select Key again. Type command for the name of this new key, and press Enter. Double-click on the (default) value in the right pane, and type C:\Windows\Command\PRINTDIR.BAT (assuming that C:\Windows\ is your Windows95 directory). From now on, when you right-click on a folder icon, you can click Print to print its contents.
Print to LPT1 with Win 3.x applications: Some Windows 3.x applications won't print to LPT1 under Windows 95. This usually occurs when the computer's BIOS incorrectly reports that the port is busy or unavailable. To fix this problem, right-click on the problem printer in the Printers folder in My Computer, select Properties from the context menu, and click on the Details tab to make sure that LPT1 is selected. Now click on Port Settings, deselect "Check port state before printing", and click on OK. Windows 95 will now ignore messages regarding that port's status.
Replacing a corrupt Windows 95 system file: There's no simple way to find the distribution *.CAB file that contains the compressed master file. But, you can create a list of master files that you can search easily. First, insert Win 95 CD-ROM, then run these three commands from a prompt:
EXTRACT /D D:\WIN95\MINI.CAB > WINLIST.TXT
EXTRACT /A /D D:\WIN95\PRECOPY1.CAB >> WINLIST.TXT
EXTRACT /A /D D:\WIN95\WIN95_02.CAB >> WINLIST.TXT
Next, open WINLIST.TXT in WordPad and use Edit|Find to locate the corrupt file. When you locate its master file, scroll to the top of the list to find the .CAB file in which it resides. Now use EXTRACT /Y /L {target folder} {.CAB file} {master filename} to overwrite the corrupt file.
Restart Windows without restarting your computer: Hold down the Shift key while pressing OK in the Shut Down box. or
Make an icon on your desktop: Using a text editor (such as Notepad), type the following by itself: @EXIT
Save the file somewhere on your hard disk (call it whatever you like). Make a shortcut to the batch file, and place it on your desktop (or wherever you want). Right-click on the shortcut, select Properties, click the Program tab, and make sure the Close on Exit option is turned on. Then, click Advanced, and make sure MS-DOS mode is selected, and Warn before entering MS-DOS mode is turned off. Click Ok twice, and double-click on the icon to use it.
Restoring and maximizing windows: simply double-click the window's title bar.
Add to your 'Send To' menu:
Use Quick View with Any File: Create a shortcut to QUIKVIEW.EXE (in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VIEWERS folder) and add it to your \WINDOWS\SENDTO folder. This way, Quick Viewer will be accessible from the Send To submenu when you right click on any file.
Turn Off Delete Confirmation: Create a shortcut to the Recycle Bin in your SendTo folder. To delete files, right-click, and choose Recycle Bin from the Send To menu.
Turn off the little speaker in the system tray: Open control panel, and select multimedia. Then click on the audio tab. Under the playback section you will find the option to turn off the show volume control on the taskbar.
Download MS PowerToys and do these with Tweak UI: (see System Tools page)
- Remove File Types From The "New Menu"
- Delete Entries From The Run Command
- Remove The Recycling Bin From The Desktop
- Remove The My Computer Icon
- Clear The Last User To Log On
- Boot In Dos
View multiple files quickly: You can make viewing multiple files, particularly graphics files, easy. First, open the Explorer and select the folder that contains the files you want to view. Then, launch a graphics application such as MS Paint. Right-click on the Taskbar and select Tile Vertically to position the windows side by side. To display a file instantly, simply drag and drop a .BMP file, for instance, from Explorer to MS Paint's title bar. Repeat the process for additional files.
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