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Potpourris: Miscellaneous Tips #8 |
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Readers often ask when they should upgrade their browser. It's an especially pertinent question after announcement of a new release that doesn't boast any major feature improvements.
One good reason to upgrade, though--regardless of whether the new version offers additional features--is that you'll get security updates produced throughout the life of the PREVIOUS version. Internet Explorer is currently at version 5.5, but already Microsoft is planning a security update. You can find more about security updates at the following address:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/default.htm
Of course, if you stay current with security updates, you may have no reason to upgrade. And if you rarely buy goods online or feel confident with your current version, stick with it. Security is important, but don't worry about it unnecessarily. If it ain't broke...
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WHAT IS FORTEZZA
You've probably come across a few unclear options in Internet Explorer 5's Advanced Internet dialog box. Under Security, you'll see one marked Use Fortezza. What's Fortezza? It's a hardware-based method of encoding data for secure transmission of information over a network. Employees of the U.S. Defense Department use this form of encryption via Fortezza crypto cards in their PCs. If you don't work for the feds, feel free to turn this option off (it's on by default). Click OK to finish.
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BRING BACK SECURITY DIALOG BOX
When you begin using Internet Explorer 5 and you enter a site that uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, you'll see a dialog box stating that you're entering a secure site. Most folks turn off this warning by clicking the option marked In The Future, Do Not Show This Warning. But if you would like notification when you go from a secure to an insecure page (or vice versa), here's how to get the dialog box back.
Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Check the box marked Warn If Changing Between Secure And Not Secure Mode. Click the OK button to save your changes.
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SECURITY OPTIONS
If you share your computer, you may want to tell Internet Explorer 5 not to store encrypted files on your hard drive. Since MSIE 5 saves some pages to your disk cache to speed browsing, you can tell the browser to skip secure pages, such as e-commerce sites where you enter a password, your credit card number, or other sensitive information.
To do so, click Tools, Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab. Scroll down and check the box marked Do Not Save Encrypted Pages To Disk. Click OK to finish.
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BROWSE WITH IMAGES OFF
To reduce the data you download and view pages faster, you can tell Internet Explorer 5 to stop displaying image files.
Select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Multimedia area and deselect the box marked Show Pictures. While you're in the multimedia area, select the box marked Show Image Download Placeholders. This may alleviate the jumbling of text on some pages you visit. Click OK to finish.
If you still find the formatting on some pages displaying oddly, open the Advanced Internet Options dialog box again (select Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab). Select the option Always Expand ALT Text For Images, which forces text boxes to take up the same amount of space they would with images displayed.
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DOWNLOAD OLD MSIE VERSIONS
Some folks swear by older of versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape. I know perfectly sane computer professionals who won't upgrade past version 3 of either browser. If you'd like to take a walk down memory lane, here's a site that archives past versions:
http://cws.internet.com/ie.html
The site also reviews the browser versions and add-ons for MSIE.
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FIX LINKS IN MSIE 5
In some cases, if you remove a browser other than Internet Explorer, such as Netscape Navigator or Opera, clicking a link in Outlook Express may not work.
To fix the problem, select Tools, Internet Options. Then click the Programs tab. Select the option Internet Explorer Should Check To See Whether It Is The Default Browser. Click OK, then close and restart MSIE 5. When prompted, click Yes to make it your default browser.
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SHORTCUT ICONS
Ever wonder why a particular favorite has its own icon? Some Web sites add a bit of script to their site that downloads an icon file (*.ico) to your hard drive. If you bookmark the main Yahoo! site, for example, you'll see a red Y! image. Typically the icons disappear when you clear your cache (select Tools, Internet Options, then click Delete Files, OK). However, if you like the icon, you can add it to your Quick Links toolbar. Here's how.
Surf to a site that uses a Favorites icon (for instance, NLSearch.com or MSNBC.com). Then bookmark the site (press Alt-D). Select the Favorites menu. When it opens, right-click the icon for the page you just bookmarked and drag it to the Quick Links toolbar.
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When you save a Web page, all you really save is the HTML; images and other components remain at the original site. But IE5 lets you save an entire Web page, including graphics. Select Save As from the IE5 File menu and choose Web Page/Complete from the Save As Type drop-down menu.
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CREATE FAVORITES ICON
In several tips we've mentioned how Internet Explorer 5 can display custom icons in the Favorites list. This feature allows sites to use their logo or other graphic, which appears when you click the Favorites button on the menu bar. If you run your own site, you can easily create one of these icons. Check out this tutorial at the Microsoft Developer's Network:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/dhtml/howto/ShortcutIcon.asp
You can also find information at
http://www.favicon.com
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REMOVE BRANDING
We often get this request from readers who use cobranded versions of Internet Explorer 5--how do you remove the branding indicators? For instance, if your ISP provides your browser, you may see a logo associated with the ISP instead of the usual spinning globe. You may also see the name of the company in the title bar. Here's how to remove both of these annoyances.
Note: Messing with the Registry can cause all kinds of strange weirdness on your PC. If you don't know what you're doing, it's best to live with these inconveniences.
If you decide to edit the Registry, make sure to back up your system.dat and user.dat files in your Windows folder, preferably to a floppy or to another folder on your hard drive.
Launch the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run. Type
regedit
in the Run dialog box that appears. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar. In the right pane, select BrandBitmap and SmBrandBitmap. Delete these entries.
To get rid of the name in the title bar, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Window Title. Select the name in the right pane and delete the entry. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
Good luck!
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CUSTOMIZE LINKS TOOLBAR
Want to make an item on your Links toolbar more eye-catching? Right-click the shortcut, then click Properties from the menu that appears. Click the Change Icon button. Choose an icon from the list that appears, then click the OK button. You can also click the Browse button to search for icons (.ico files) on your hard drive. Once you find one, double-click the icon file to select it, then click the OK button twice to finish up.
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PRINT A SINGLE FRAME
When you visit a site, often you may want to print just one frame to save paper and to make the printout easier to read. Here's how. Open a page, then click the frame you want to print. Choose Ctrl-P to launch the Print dialog box. Click OK and you're done.
Note: Internet Explorer 5.5 users will see three choices--As Laid Out On Screen (to print all frames as they appear), Only The Selected Frames (usually selected by default), and All Frames Individually (for printing each frame as a separate page).
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ADDRESS BAR IN TASKBAR
For quick surfing, you can add the Address bar to your Taskbar in Windows 95 and Windows 98. (Note: To do this, you must turn on the Active Desktop. This feature is not available for Windows 95 users who installed Internet Explorer 5 from the get-go rather than installing version 4 first, then installing 5.)
To add the Address Bar to the Windows taskbar, right-click the taskbar and choose Toolbars, Address. Now you can quickly open a page without first launching MSIE 5.
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BETTER BACK
You may notice that when you click the Back button on your browser, you may not always see every site you've visited since opening the browser. You could open the History Explorer Bar (Ctrl-H) to get around the problem. But if you only want to see the sites surfed in your latest session, press Alt-V, then O (or select View, Go To) and select the page you want to open.
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HOME AGAIN
You can make the page you're currently viewing the home page just by dragging the page's icon (in the Address bar) to the Home icon on the toolbar. You'll see a confirmation dialog box. Click Yes to save the change. If you use the Active Desktop, you can also drag items such as text files from folders, including the desktop, to your Home button.
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If you're really serious about bookmarks management, the best way to handle it is with a two-paned Favorites Explorer window that opens directly to your \Windows\Favorites folder, shows all your favorites subfolders, and displays what's in each one as you click it in turn. Drag and drop copies and moves of multiple favorites icons are a snap, and it's easy to rename things or check their dates. To set this up, right-click the desktop and choose New, Shortcut. In the command line field, insert this line:
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /e,root,c:\windows\favorites
Name the shortcut "Favorites Explorer." Now right-click the new shortcut and choose Properties. Click the Change Icon button. Click the Browse button, navigate to your \Windows\System folder, locate and highlight the SHELL32.DLL file, and click Open. That will display a large palette of available icons for your new shortcut. Scroll to the right and choose the icon that shows a folder with a blue asterisk or star on it; click OK twice in selection to finish the job. Whenever you launch this shortcut it will open a two-paned Explorer window with folder hierarchy on the left side automatically anchored to your Favorites folder. You should also place this one on your Favorites menu.
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TWEAK MSIE 5
Hey, nobody likes Internet Explorer more than we do--but it can act a little odd sometimes. If you'd like to take a bit more control, check out a handy program called TweakIE at the following address:
http://www.tweakie.com
The software offers a handful of additions to MSIE's features, including tools that make it easy to view the files in your cache (by type), completely clear out your page history even when MSIE 5 can't seem to, and change the text in the title bar--for instance, when you download a cobranded version and want to change the name on your title bar.
You can download and use a trial version for 30 days. If you decide to register the program, the cost is $15.
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CREATE FOLDERS TO ORGANIZE FAVORITES
Folders can really help you clean up your Favorites list. And if you decide you're no longer interested in a particular subject or project, you can delete all related shortcuts at once by deleting the folder. Convenient, no? To create a folder for your favorites, press Alt-A, then O (or choose Favorites, Organize Favorites). Click the Create Folder button and enter a name, then click Enter. You can click and drag individual favorites into your new folder to keep things tidy.
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SEND DESKTOP SHORTCUT
You can e-mail Web pages and other documents without even opening Outlook Express. Right-click the document you want to send. Now select Send To, Mail Recipient. Enter an address for the recipient and click Send. You can also send Web pages from within Internet Explorer 5 by selecting File, Send, Page By E-mail.
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AUTODIAL A CONNECTION
Want to dial your Internet connection each time you open Internet Explorer 5? Choose Tools, Internet Options, then choose the Connections tab to bring it forward. Select Dial Whenever A Network Connection Is Not Present. Click OK to save your changes.
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SHOW PICTURES
While browsing, you may come across a Web page where the images won't load. You right-click the image and choose Show Picture, but nothing happens. What's up? Well, the Show Picture option is meant for folks who browse with images off. They want control over which pictures appear, and they can display individual images by right-clicking their placeholders and choosing Show Picture. Unfortunately, this option won't do you any good when a Web server can't display the picture (likely because of an error on the server, something you can't control).
To browse without images, choose Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down the list of options and deselect Show Pictures.
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Windows is very protective of Control Panel applets, once they're installed. But there are simple ways you can operate on Control Panel to remove them. With Control Panel closed, search for files with the .CPL extension. You'll find them in the \Windows\System folder. Instead of deleting .CPLs, move them to a new subfolder, and restart Windows to see if you picked the right one.
You can also disable specific .CPL files without having to delete or move them. Open the CONTROL.INI file in your Windows folder using Notepad or another text editor. Find this section header:
[Don't Load]
If you don't find the header, add it just as it appears above. Under the [Don't Load] section header, type the name of the .CPL's exact filename followed by "=yes". So it might look something like this:
[Don't Load]
snd.cpl=no
joystick.cpl=no
midimap.drv=no
Save and exit the CONTROL.INI file and restart Windows to double check that you disabled the right Control Panel applet.
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To control who sees what on your browser, go to Tools/Internet Options and open the Content tab. Then click on Enable under Content Advisor. You'll be prompted to create a supervisor password and define sensitivity settings for offensive content types.
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SKIP THE WWW
Often you can save time when entering an address by skipping the www part. While it's a widely used convention, the suffix is often unnecessary. Of course, you'll save more time if you use AutoComplete (choose Tools, Internet Options, Content, click the AutoComplete button, and select Web Addresses). If you begin typing the domain of a Web site you're revisiting (for instance, pcworld.com), Internet Explorer 5 adds www and com for you.
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ADVANCED HELP
As you browse through the Advanced options in Internet Explorer 5 (choose Tools, Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab) you'll find many unfamiliar options. To find out what they do, click the question mark icon in the upper-right area of the dialog box, then click the option you want to investigate. Go ahead, Matlock, we know you want to.
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If you don't find the file, you must find a reference in your Registry or SYSTEM.INI to a program that no longer exists on your system. Use the Registry Editor's search function to find the filename, then use Notepad to open and search SYSTEM.INI for the same file. When you find any references to the file, carefully note where it is and the exact settings in case you have to reinstate it, then delete the references. (Back up your Registry before making any changes.) Also check the WINDOWS\STARTUP folder for any shortcuts that call the file, and delete them
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SAVE A BACKGROUND GRAPHIC
You probably know you can save images you see on a Web page to your hard drive. You can also save background images. Right-click the background, then choose Save Background As. Enter a name and click Save. In addition, you can copy the background image and paste it into another file by choosing Copy Background from the pop-up menu.
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CHANGE HISTORY
If you need to save disk space, try decreasing the number of days Internet Explorer 5 keeps track of pages you've visited. Choose Tools, Internet Options. In the General tab, enter a number in the box marked Days To Keep Pages In History. To clear the history completely, click the Clear History button, then click the OK button.
In most cases, Internet Explorer 5 will clear your history automatically. You shouldn't have to clear the history unless you want to. To see your history, choose Ctrl-H.
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ADDRESS BAR SHORTCUT
Want to jump around quickly in the Address Bar? Hold down Ctrl while clicking the left arrow to jump one step back and forth through a Web address. Press Ctrl and the right or left arrow keys to move through the address. If your URL is
http://www.flyswat.com
then pressing Ctrl plus the right arrow key will move you from http:// to www. to flyswat. to .com.
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FAVORITES SHORTCUTS
You can create shortcuts to often-used pages in several ways. Click Alt-D when visiting a page to add it to your Favorites list. You can also drag a link directly from a Web page to a folder on your hard drive to create a shortcut. Or you can create a shortcut for the page you are currently viewing by dragging its icon (from the left side of the Address bar) to any folder on your hard drive.
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SAVE A CLICK OR TWO
In a hurry? You can open Web pages directly from the Start menu. Choose Start, Run, and type the address of the page you want to visit, then click Enter. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 launches with the page already open. Note that if you open pages in this way, AutoComplete can speed the process by guessing the rest of the URL as you type. This tip is especially helpful if you don't want to have to first open the home page you have designated.
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TURN OFF SOUND
If you recently installed Windows 98, you'll find a series of event sounds associated with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, which comes bundled with the operating system. These sounds get annoying fast.
To surf in silence, select Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click the Sounds icon. In the Windows Explorer area of the list that appears, click the sound you want to affect (likely Start Navigation and Complete Navigation). From the Name pop-up menu, select None. Click OK to finish up.
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MSIE 5 REPAIR TOOL MISSING
So you've been reading up on Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, and you hear about this handy tool that will repair MSIE 5. The tool looks for corrupt files and reinstalls them if necessary. Trouble is, if you installed Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), the tool does not appear. You'll only find the tool if you install a version of MSIE 5, 5.01, or 5.5 after installing Windows 98 SE. If you have installed a version of MSIE 5 over Windows 98 SE, you'll find the repair tool by opening the Add/Remove Programs control panel, selecting Internet Explorer 5, then clicking the Add/Remove button. But be careful when you're digging around in there!
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REFRESHING FRAME TIP
If you need to refresh a page with frames, save yourself some time. Just right-click the frame you want to load again and choose Refresh. Now only the frame you want reloads, rather than making you wait for several frames on the page (as would happen when you click the Refresh button or F5). This can be helpful, especially when you're using Web-based mail programs, when you want your in-box to reload, but don't want those new ads.
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RUNNING THE MODEM TROUBLESHOOTER
If you're having trouble connecting to the Internet with your modem, you might try running Windows' Modem Troubleshooter utility as a first step. Though it addresses only a handful of the most common problems, the Troubleshooter just might have the fix you need to get back online. It's worth a try, for the desperate, anyway. To access the Modem Troubleshooter, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, and select Modems. Click the Diagnostics tab and then the Help button. Modem Troubleshooter will launch in an Internet Explorer browser window (though it's accessed from your hard drive and not the Internet, naturally).
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You can manually extract files from your Windows CD or IE setup CAB
files, which can be very useful when your PC tells you KERNEL32.DLL or
another system file has been corrupted.
Win98's System File Checker (SFC.EXE in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder)
can automatically fix some corrupted files for you. But Win95 users can
also make repairs using the DOS EXTRACT.EXE tool (in the \WINDOWS\COMMANDS
folder).
Type EXTRACT /? from a DOS window to view the syntax requirements and
available options for using this tool. For more detailed information, see
Microsoft's Web page "How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files"
at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q129/6/05.asp.
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If Windows fails to boot properly, press F8 while it boots for the Windows StartUp menu, and pick the Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT) option. It attempts a normal boot but records the status of every step Windows takes during the process. You can use this option to log a failed boot. Then, reboot to Safe mode if necessary and use a text editor to open BOOTLOG.TXT (in your root directory). Search for "fail" to find the boot steps Windows had trouble with. Failed steps are often excellent clues to the cause of the problem.
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RAM AND YOUR CLIPBOARD
Whenever you're doing work that involves cutting large files to your Clipboard, remember to purge the Clipboard after you finish your work by copying something small to it. The Clipboard is stored in RAM, and if it's full of a massive file such as an image file, it can make your system behave a bit sluggishly. Type a few letters into a text editor and cut them to the Clipboard to free up that precious memory.
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After installing Windows 98 Second Edition (upgrade or full version) you will find that there is no Attribute column in Explorer. You can add this column to Explorer by by launching RegEdit and going to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced and changing the ShowAttribCol Dword value from 0 to 1 by clicking on it.
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SAVING A FILE SEARCH
If there are certain file-searching parameters you return to again and again, you should know that you don't have to retype your search parameters every time. You can save the search and execute it with a couple of mouse clicks. To save a file search, first execute the search as you would normally (by pressing Windows key-F and entering the search parameters). Then go to File, Save Search. The search is saved as an icon on your desktop; the icon looks like a folder with a computer on top of it. You can open this icon to preload the Find utility with the given search parameters. Instead of pointing to the files found on your original search, this folder saves the search parameters themselves, so that as more files fit the search parameters, they will also be included in the search. And if you already have Find open, you can access your saved searches by selecting them from the Named pull-down menu.
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OPENING DOWNLOADED FILES AUTOMATICALLY
You can configure Windows 98 to open downloaded files automatically when the download is complete, saving you the trouble of opening the file yourself. The trick is to set the file type (see the note below) to open automatically in the Folder Options. Go to Start, Settings, Folder Options, and click the File Types tab. In the list, find the file type you're looking for, click on it once, and click the Edit button. Check the Confirm Open After Download box and click OK. The next time you download a file of this type, Windows will automatically open the file when the download completes.
Note: Be careful about choosing which files to set up for automatic running. Microsoft Word files, for example, can contain macro viruses that could be spread when they are opened. It's best to save document and executable files that could have viruses to disk, and then scan them with your anti-virus software before opening them. But this technique can be a good choice for other file types, such as image or audio.
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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.
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DISPLAYING SPECIFIC FILE EXTENSIONS
File extensions are those three-letter suffixes attached to all files that let your computer know what kind of file it's dealing with. Most users like to keep their extensions hidden, if only for aesthetic purposes, not wanting to clutter their desktop and folders with unnecessary text. But you should know that displaying file extensions is not an either/or proposition; you can choose to display file extensions for only specific kinds of files. If, for example, you always want to know whenever a given file is a text file (with the extension .txt), you can choose to display the extension for that type only.
Go to Start, Settings, Folder Options, and click the File Types tab. Select the file type you wish to modify (in our example, Text Document) and click the Edit tab. Check the Always Show Extension box, and then click OK twice.
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Too often desktops get cluttered with shortcuts to applications and documents as well as documents. For the ones you use often and need quick access to, move them to the Quick Launch area located on the taskbar. Right click the icon and drag it to Quick Launch, release and choose the appropriate option (move, copy or create shortcut). Keep your Task Bar on top and now you have quick access to your application and documents.
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CHANGING DESKTOP ICONS
The standard Windows desktop icons are fine, but they may not be just right for the kind of desktop you have in mind. Remember that you can choose from a handful of alternative icons for your My Computer, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin, and My Documents folders. Just right-click on your desktop and select Properties. Click Effects and choose the icon you wish to modify from the box at the top. Click the Change Icon tab and select a new icon from the list (browse to the folder containing the icon files, if necessary), then click OK twice.
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DEFRAGMENTING YOUR HARD DRIVE AUTOMATICALLY
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.
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SOME INTERNET EXPLORER TIPS
If you have a voracious appetite for tips of all kinds, you can view Internet Explorer tips at any time right within your folder window. Just go to View, Explorer Bar, Tip Of The Day, and you'll see an IE tip in a box along the bottom of your folder window.
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Did you know that IE4 and IE5 support multiple undos, just like your favorite applications? If you're entering data in a form and make a mistake, press Ctrl+Z to undo your error. If there's more than one error, press Ctrl+Z repeatedly until you've cleared the mistake.
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Find out exactly what a program does when you install it by using the System File Checker's log feature. After installing a program, open the log by launching the System Information utility (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information), choosing System File Checker from the Tools menu, clicking on the Settings button and then on the View Log button. The log will tell you exactly which files were added to your computer and which were updated with a newer version.
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CHANGING THE STARTUP SOUND
The sound that plays over your computer is a lovely two-second piece of music, and while it is indeed pleasant to hear when your computer boots, you may tire of it and decide that you'd like another sound to play instead. Changing your Startup sound is a relatively simple procedure.
Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Sounds icon. In the Events box, select Start Windows and then click the Browse button under Sound to search for a new sound. You can test the sounds as you select them by clicking the Play button in the Preview section at any time. When you find a sound you like, simply click OK twice and wait to be greeted by the new sound the next time you start your computer.
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USING WILDCARDS TO SEARCH FOR FILES
Eventually, everyone misplaces a file and has to use Windows' Find feature to recover it. Normally, you just press Windows Key-F to open the Find application, type the name of the file you're looking for in the Named box, and click Find Now. Occasionally, you may only remember a small part of the file's name, and in these situations, you need to search for your file using a wildcard.
Wildcards are symbols that stand for unknown characters. There are two types of wildcards used in searching, with the asterisk symbol being the most common. An asterisk stands for any length of text and is constrained only by its position to the other words you're searching for. So, for example, if you're looking for a specific file and you can only remember that it had the word "Report" in its name, you can type
*Report*
as your search criteria to find every filename containing the word "Report." The second kind of wildcard is the question mark, which stands only for a single character. In our previous example, typing
J?ne Report
would search for both "June Report" and "Jane Report."
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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.
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CHANGING YOUR WINDOWS PASSWORD
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.
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STARTING YOUR COMPUTER IN SAFE MODE
If your computer is giving you trouble, and you need to restart it and run some diagnostics programs, you might try starting your computer in Safe Mode in order to minimize any potential hardware or driver conflicts. When you start your computer in Safe Mode, Windows loads only the bare minimum of drivers and hardware devices, so that you can examine and isolate problems with greater accuracy.
To start in Safe Mode, shut down and restart your computer. Then, hold down the Ctrl key as Windows loads. (With some computers, you can hold down the F8 key instead.) You'll be prompted to choose a new startup mode. Select 3 to start in Safe Mode. Safe Mode displays your screen in 640 x 480 resolution, and you'll notice that Windows loads much faster without all those extra drivers.
(Note: If you receive a "stuck key" error message, you've probably pressed the Ctrl key too early in the boot process. Try again with slightly more delay.)
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When you hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete, you'll see a list of what's running on your system. Chances are, you'll discover drivers and programs running that you don't need or want. To find out, launch the Win98 System Configuration utility by typing MSCONFIG in the Run command line and pressing Enter. Click on the StartUp tab and deselect the items you think you might be able to live without. Click on OK and reboot. If you later realize you need one of the items you deselected, go back and reselect it.
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MAPPING A DRIVE
If you use a shared network drive only occasionally, you probably access it by double-clicking Network Neighborhood. If the drive is one you use more frequently, however, you can get to it quicker by mapping the drive so that it appears as a drive letter on your computer. To map a network drive, first find the drive in Network Neighborhood and then right-click and choose Map Network Drive. Choose a drive letter from the drop-down menu and click OK. You can now access the network drive by selecting it on your computer the same way you would your hard drive--that is, by simply double-clicking on My Computer and finding it.
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INSTALLING A PRINTER TWICE FOR SPECIAL PRINT SETTINGS
If you routinely print two kinds of documents, each requiring its own printer settings, you've probably found it cumbersome to have to re-enter all the printer properties every time you change documents. You might find it easier to actually install the same printer twice, but with different names and settings. This way, you can simply select the "printer" (actually the group of print settings) that you like the next time you execute your print job.
To install the printer with new print settings, go to Start, Settings, Printers and click the Add Printer icon. Install the printer as you would normally, inserting the driver disk if you have it. When you come to the screen where you name your printer, name it something that differentiates it from your default printer and lets you know what the printer settings are. When you finish, right-click on your new printer and select Properties. Enter the print settings for your new printer icon and click OK. Now, when you want to print using the new print settings, you can just select the name from your program's Print dialog box.
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PRINTING FONT SAMPLES
These days, most computers come pre-installed with a bounty of printer fonts. Knowing how they will all look when they print can be tough. There's an easy way to print samples of the fonts on your computer. Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Fonts folder. Hold down the Ctrl key and select the fonts you want to print by clicking with your mouse. Next, right-click on one of the selected fonts and choose Print. You'll have to click OK in dialog boxes for each font you selected, but once you do that, your printer will go to work printing sample pages for each font.
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USING THUMBNAIL VIEW
If you're sifting through a folder that contains different kinds of documents, it can be hard to remember exactly what you're looking for just by the name. "If I could just see the first page of the document," you sigh to yourself, "I'd be able to find the exact document I'm looking for." But you don't want to open every document in turn, hoping to chance into finding the correct one. What are you to do? Fortunately, Windows 98 has a View option that turns the first page of a document into the document's icon. It's called Thumbnail.
To enable Thumbnail View for a specific folder, right-click on it and select Properties. Select the General tab and click the check box that says Enable Thumbnail View. Click OK and then double-click the folder. Now, in the View menu, you are given the Thumbnails option. Select it, and the first page of each document becomes that document's icon. Remember, rendering thumbnails is hard work for your computer, so use this view only when you really need it.
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WINDOWS ANIMATION: ON---OFF?
It's not a big deal for many people, but Windows 98's default way of sliding out menus and windows gradually distracts some people. To make menus pop out, as they do under Windows 95, open Control Panel and double-click on the Display item. Click on the Effects tab and under Visual Effects, click to remove the checkmark next to Animate windows, menus, and lists. If you change your mind later, you can return here and click a checkmark back into the box.
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USING THE DVORAK KEYBOARD
Way back when you took your first typing class, you probably heard about something called the Dvorak keyboard. The Dvorak key arrangement was designed for maximum typing speed, while our standard QWERTY arrangement was designed so that the typewriter arms on the original nineteenth-century typewriters wouldn't collide with each other. People who used the unorthodox Dvorak arrangement typically hold world records for typing speed. So, what does all this have to do with Windows 98? Well, you can turn your computer keyboard into a Dvorak keyboard if you like. The actual painted letters on your keyboard won't change, but the way Windows recognizes them will. And if you're so inclined, you, too, can bring your typing speed up to superhuman level. It's a fun thing to try, anyway.
To try out the Dvorak keyboard, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Keyboard icon. Click the Languages tab, select the language you normally use, and click Properties. Under Keyboard Layout, select United States Dvorak, then click OK. It'll take you a while to learn which keys are which (you may want to consult a book or educational software), but once you do, you'll be typing with greater speed.
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SPLITTING A BRIEFCASE DOCUMENT FROM AN ORIGINAL
If you have a laptop that you like to keep synchronized with your desktop computer, you probably use Windows' Briefcase feature to check documents out of your desktop computer and keep your work up-to-date. When you drag a document to your Briefcase and move the Briefcase to your laptop, you'll be given the opportunity to update the original file on your desktop computer with any changes you made to the document on your laptop. Sometimes, though, you may find that you make such drastic changes to the portable version of the document that you want to split it from the original and not synchronize the changes. To split a Briefcase document from the original, open your Briefcase, select the file you wish to split, and go to Briefcase, Split From Original. The files will no longer be synchronized when you make changes.
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CREATING A NEW TOOLBAR
If you have a folder that you access so frequently that it deserves its own Toolbar, you can give it one in Windows 98. Right-click on the Taskbar and select Toolbars, New Toolbar. Navigate to the folder you want as a Toolbar and select it. The contents of the folder are displayed as part of your Taskbar, and you can move your new Toolbar to other edges of the desktop and resize it the same way you can your Taskbar.
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If you use the Find command from the Start menu and you are looking for a file that contains spaces in the name be sure to use "?" as a place holder otherwise Windows will think you're looking for all instances of the individual words. For example, if you're looking for your favorite old time mp3, "Home on the Range," and you use "home on the range" as the search name you will get every instance for the words home, on, the, and range, even if the letters of the search words are buried in another word (i.e on in phone). Enter the search name as "home?on?the?range" and Windows will find the correct file.
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UNINSTALLING DESKTOP THEMES
While they look interesting and break the monotony of the standard Windows 98 interface, Desktop Themes are also a bit of a space hog. If you have no need for quirky Recycling Bins and pointers that look like paintbrushes, you're better off uninstalling the Desktop Themes that you'll never use (you can always add them back later from your Windows 98 installation CD-ROM). To uninstall specific Desktop Themes, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the Desktop Themes icon. You can preview any theme from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. If you see one you'll never use, simply click the Delete button to remove it from your system.
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Microsoft gave us a whole new way to set folder defaults in Windows 98. Open the folder for your C: drive, and without opening any other folders, arrange and configure it exactly as you'd like all your folders to appear. When you've got the C: drive folder the way you like it, choose View, Folder Options, and click the View tab. Next, press the Like Current Folder button to create the new default setting, which will be permanent (unless you hit the Reset All Folders button). You'll notice that when you deviate individual folders from these settings, those folders will retain the changed settings as long as you have "Remember each folder's view settings" checked under Advanced settings. If you want them all to look exactly the same no matter what, remove the check beside Remember Each Folder's View Settings. Note: Some people report that their systems do not retain certain views, such as the Details view. But on my PCs, I have found that following these steps correctly does, in fact, make Details and other settings the default.
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ADDING A BACKGROUND TO A FOLDER
Though everyone knows that you can add backgrounds to your computer desktop, many are unaware that you can also add backgrounds to specific folders. While this is a purely aesthetic endeavor, having your My Documents folder spiffed up with its own background provides peculiar satisfaction. To add a background to a folder, choose View, Customize This Folder from the folder's menu. Then select Choose A Background Picture and click Next. Browse the list of available backgrounds (you can click on any one background once to see a preview of it), and when you find one you like, click Next and then Finish.
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A NOTE ON HIDDEN FOLDERS
You can designate any folder on your computer as Hidden by right-clicking it and selecting Properties, then checking the Hidden box and clicking OK. As long as your computer is not set to display hidden files, your hidden files will remain unseen whenever you or someone else browses your computer. (You set your computer to display hidden files by opening a folder, going to View, Folder Options, clicking the View tab, and selecting Show All Files.) You should keep in mind, however, that hidden files are in no way secure. They show up on Find searches, for example. So, don't rest too easy if you designate a file as Hidden.
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CREATING A PRINTER SHORTCUT
If you frequently print documents from your desktop, the easiest way to expedite the process is to create a desktop shortcut to your printer. This way, whenever you want to print something, you can just drag and drop the document to the printer icon, without having to open it. To create a desktop shortcut for your printer, go to Start, Settings, Printers. Right-click the icon of your default printer and choose Create Shortcut. Windows will tell you that the shortcut has to go on the desktop (which is where you want it anyway), so click OK. The next time you have something that you need to print, just drag it and drop it on your new icon.
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Windows 98's Web View -- which shows a little blue sky, a large font folder name, and on some pages, descriptions, hyperlinks, and even image file previews -- seems great at first. But after a while, the space it displaces on your screen can become annoying. To ditch this pretty feature, open the folder for your C: drive and choose View > Folder Options. With the "Custom, based on settings you choose" radio button selected, click the Settings button. Under "View Web content in folders," choose "Only for folders where I select 'as Web Page.'" This removes the large folder headline and the information/file preview area for a huge savings of on-screen space.
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ADDING A SCRAP TO THE DESKTOP
You can keep the contents of the clipboard on your desktop for later reference by creating what is called a scrap. Though this name implies something cheap, frayed, and disposable, the scraps you create on your desktop could very well be among the most valuable bits of data on your computer. You can recognize a scrap by its icon: It looks like a document file except for a torn edge along the bottom.
You can create a scrap in a couple of ways. If you have material copied to the clipboard, you can right-click on the desktop and select Paste to create a scrap containing the clipboard information. The other way to create a scrap is to select data and drag it to the desktop in any program that supports Microsoft's OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) standard.
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To learn about your complete system configuration and have a hard-copy record, including all of the hardware & device descriptions, memory / IRQ / DMA assignments, and software drivers with version information, right-click My Computer icon, select Properties, then Device Manager tab. Click Print, select All Devices & System Summary, and print to your printer.
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USING THE CHARACTER MAP
While word processing programs have their own procedures for accessing special characters, in Windows 98 you can retrieve characters for use in any program by using the Character Map utility. This little program allows you to copy characters to the clipboard for insertion into any document. Access the Character Map by going to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Character Map. You can browse the various fonts using the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog box. When you find a character you want to copy, select it with the mouse, then click the Select button and the Copy button to copy it to the clipboard. (You can even select a sequence of characters, if you like, before you click Copy.) Then click Close, return to the program you were working in previously, and press Ctrl-V to paste the character (or sequence of characters) into your work.
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USING A MODEM WITH ODD DIAL TONES
Some kinds of dial tones may give your Windows 98 dialers fits. For example, not all computers do well with the irregular dial tone generated by certain kinds of voicemail systems. If your computer has trouble recognizing your phone line's dial tone, you might try telling it to go ahead and dial your Internet service provider without hearing a dial tone. To tell your modem to dial regardless of dial tone, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click Modems. Under the General tab, select your modem and then click the Properties button. Click the Connection tab, uncheck the Wait For Dial Tone Before Dialing box, and then click OK and Close.
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It's not uncommon in Windows to encounter a "File Not Found" Error While Booting Up. The message indicates that a particular file-usually a DLL or VXD-is missing. Chances are, the file was improperly removed when you uninstalled an application. The file may be gone, but one or more lines in your System Registry or SYSTEM.INI could still be trying to load it. To fix the problem, reboot and note the exact name of the errant file. From the Windows taskbar, select Start/Find/Files and Folders to search forthe missing file. If you find it, copy it to your WINDOWS or WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder. If you think you might have moved or renamed a program folder, make a new folder with the old name, and copy the offending file there. Reboot and see if the message goes away.
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SEARCHING IN A FOLDER BY RIGHT-CLICKING
If you're looking for a file and you're certain it's in a specific folder, you can always tell Windows to search in that folder by selecting it from the Look In field in the Find dialog box (open Find by pressing Windows key-F). An even quicker way to look for a file in a specific folder is to right-click the folder and select Find from the pop-up menu. This launches the Find command with the folder you clicked already loaded into the Look In field.
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TURNING OFF AUTO INSERT NOTIFICATION
Have you ever noticed that the CD-ROM light on your computer flashes periodically for no apparent reason? This is because Windows is checking your CD-ROM drive every few seconds to see if a CD has somehow appeared. If you like, you can disable this action. Right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties. Click the Device Manager tab, click the plus sign next to the CD-ROM icon, select your CD-ROM device, and click Properties. Click the Settings tab and uncheck the Auto Insert Notification box, then click OK. The downside to this technique is that when you switch CDs in your CD-ROM drive, the name of the current CD will not appear next to the drive icon.
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To get the very best out of your video card and monitor, you really do need a monitor driver under win98. The correct monitor driver will keep you from damaging your monitor with overly high refresh rates, and also help make you aware of higher refresh rates that could be easier on your eyes. The bad news is that unless you bought your computer with Win98 pre-installed, Win98 Setup almost certainly didn't install the proper driver file for your monitor. The good news is that there's a good chance that it has the right driver on the CD. And even if it doesn't, you can usually visit your monitor maker's Web site and download a tiny file that does the trick.
To add a new monitor driver, right-click the desktop and choose Properties. Click the Settings tab and then the Advanced button. Now click the Monitor tab and the Change button. The resulting wizard will lead you through the process of searching your Windows 98 CD or loading the driver from a downloaded monitor .INF file. Once the new monitor is installed, click the Adapter tab (beside the Monitor tab) and select Optimal on the Refresh rate drop down.
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SAVE A PAGE AS TEXT
If you'd like to save a page, but don't need the graphics or formatting, save the page as text. Choose File, Save As, and the Save Web Page dialog box appears. Then select Text File from the Save As Type menu. Click the Save button. This tip often comes in handy when you plan to use the page's text in a word processing document. Of course, you can always select all the text in a page by pressing Ctrl-A, then copy (Ctrl-C) and paste (Ctrl-V) the text directly into the document of your choice.
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CREATING A CASCADING MENU OF YOUR COMPUTER
Navigating to your desktop to find and open a specific file can be a bit of a pain, but there's a neat little trick that allows you to access any file on your computer from a single menu. To do this, you need only create a Desktop Toolbar on your Taskbar and then resize it. First, right-click on your Taskbar and select Toolbars, Desktop. Then click and hold on the sizing bar on the left edge of your new Toolbar. Drag all the way to the right, so only the word "Desktop" appears. You can now click on the right arrow next to the word "Desktop" to launch a cascading menu. From there, you can navigate to My Computer and proceed to access any file on your computer directly from your Taskbar.
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For a faster display of previously viewed pages, select Tools/Internet Options and click on Settings. To increase drive space for temporary pages, move the slider to the right. To prevent updates to pages in the Temporary Internet Files folder, click on Never.
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ADDING THE FIND COMMAND TO YOUR QUICK LAUNCH TOOLBAR
If you're a mouse kind of person and you use the Find command frequently, you can put Find on your Quick Launch Toolbar. (If you don't have a Quick Launch Toolbar, you can add one by right-clicking on the Taskbar and going to Toolbars, Quick Launch.) First, go to Start, Find, Files Or Folders. Select the place you're most likely to look for files in the Look In field (for example, your C drive) and then go to File, Save Search. This action creates an icon on your desktop with your saved search criteria. Now drag this icon to your Quick Launch Toolbar to create an icon for it, then simply drag the original from the desktop to the Recycle Bin. From now on, the Find command is just one mouse click away.
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If you are you tired of multiple clicks to get to your floppy drive, CD-ROM drive or control panel you can put a shortcut on your desktop for instant access. Open My Computer, right-click on your floppy drive, CD-ROM drive or other item and select 'Create Shortcut' to place an icon on your desktop for instant, one-click access. You can use this technique for any folder you access frequently by putting a shortcut on your desktop. Your desktop becomes your operations center with quick access to any application, folder or file on your computer.
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If your Start menu is getting too long and you never use the Log Off option, just remove it. Select Start/Run, enter Regedit, and press Enter. In the Registry Editor, find HKEY_CURRENT_USER, and click down through Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Select Edit, New, Binary Value, and name the new entry NoLogOff. Press enter, and set the value to 01 00 00 00 before you quit RegEdit and restart Windows.
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RESTARTING WINDOWS WITHOUT REBOOTING
If you make some changes to your computer that require you to restart Windows, you can do so more quickly if you don't restart your computer. To restart Windows without rebooting your computer, go to Start, Shut Down and select Restart. Hold down the Shift key while you click the OK button. Windows restarts, taking only half as much time as rebooting your entire computer.
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A QUICK WAY TO DISPLAY PROPERTIES
Normally, to view the properties of a particular file or folder, you right-click on it and choose Properties. But if you're skilled in using your mouse and keyboard together, there's an even quicker way to get a look at those properties. Just hold down the Alt key with your left hand as you use your right hand to open the file or folder with your mouse (use the left mouse button, as usual). The Properties dialog box springs up, no matter what kind of icon you clicked on.
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ELIMINATING THE PROMPT FOR DIAL-UP INFORMATION
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.
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Hold down the shift key while inserting the CD-ROM disk. Keep holding down the shift key for several seconds. The CD disk will not play.
This tip will stop you from letting the CD automatically run when inserted.
You can also disable the CD-ROM so when you place a CD in the drive it won't automatically play.
Double-click on My Computer and then on Control Panel. Open the System Icon, then click on the Device Manager tab. Make sure there is a dot to the left of "view device by type." Click on the plus sign next to the CD-ROM drive. Right click on your CD-ROM drive and select properties. Click on the settings tab and click on the check mark that appears to the left of "Auto insert notification." This removes that check mark. Click on OK and then again on OK. When you restart the computer, it will no longer start any CD-ROM disk you insert.
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TRANSFERRING DIAL-UP INFORMATION
Entering all your Dial-Up Networking settings for your Internet connection takes a while, and repeating the same information on more than one computer is a waste of time. If you regularly use more than one computer to connect to the Internet, you should know that you don't have to enter all the information twice. You can transfer the Dial-Up Networking (DUN) settings stored in your Dial-Up Networking folder to another computer. (To access the Dial-Up Networking folder, go to Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Dial-Up Networking.)
Simply drag the icon for the setting you wish to transfer to a floppy disk, or, if your computers are networked, drop it onto the other computer's desktop. You'll need to do two things to make sure this works: First, you'll need to re-enter your user name and password information on the other computer. (Make sure you have the opportunity to do this by enabling the prompt for user name and password. Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Dial-Up Networking. Then go to Connections, Settings and check the Prompt For Information Before Dialing box.) Second, you'll need to select the other computer's modem for the connection by right-clicking the connection, selecting Properties, and then selecting the modem from the Connect Using drop-down menu.
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KEEPING TABS ON YOUR DATA
If you have a Windows Me-based 933MHz (or faster) PC that uses an ATA100 hard disk drive with a large physical cache, you may experience mysterious data loss at shut down. Apparently, these systems shut down so fast that there may not be time to write everything to disk, or in simple terms, save your work.
Microsoft insists the problem has nothing to do with Windows Millennium Edition. (It claims the problem could occur on Windows 98 SE as well.) "It's not specific to any operating system but has to do with larger hard drive caches in combination with fast processors," said Microsoft's Greg Sullivan, lead product manager of Windows Me.
If your system does meet the above criteria, Microsoft suggests that you check with your PC vendor about the availability of a patch. Alternatively, turn off Windows Me power management to disable the automatic shutdown feature.
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SPEEDING UP MODEM DIALING
You would have to be a real Type-A personality to complain that your modem dials numbers too slowly, but then again, why not save a few seconds? By using a modem string command, you can accelerate your modem's dialing considerably. Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and open the Modems icon. Select your modem and click Properties. Click the Connection tab and then click the Advanced button. In the Extra Settings box, type
S11=35
Click OK, and then close. The next time you dial in to your ISP, your modem will dial that string lickety-split.
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Recycle Bin has an annoying habit of needlessly prompting users with "are you sure?" each time you attempt to deposit file refuse in it -- even when you've unchecked the "Display delete confirmation dialog" on its properties screen. To workaround it, place a shortcut to the Recycle Bin in your \Windows\SendTo folder. To delete something in blessed, prompt-less silence, just right-click it and choose Send To > Recycle Bin. Don't forget that you can also bypass Recycle Bin's protection entirely by dragging and dropping something to Recycle Bin, or by selecting the object for deletion and holding down the Shift key while your press the Delete button.
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CONFIGURING YOUR COMPUTER'S SPEAKER ARRANGEMENT
Today's computers can render surround sound with all sorts of games and DVD movies. If you have the proper speaker setup, you can experience these multimedia works in all their glory, hearing sounds both in front and behind. You will, however, need to set Windows 98 so that it works with your Surround Sound speakers. Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and open the Multimedia icon. Click the Audio tab and then click Advanced Properties in the Playback section. From the drop-down menu, select the Speaker Setup that corresponds to your system, and then click OK.
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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.
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CHECKING WHICH PROGRAMS LOAD AT STARTUP
Many applications are indiscriminate about where they put files on your computer. Even more distressing is when part of a program loads into RAM without your knowledge during a Windows 98 launch. This waste of memory could continue even after you thought you uninstalled the application. A handy Windows system utility gives you a look at the programs that start up whenever you launch Windows. Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. Then go to Tools, System Configuration Utility and click the Startup tab. From here, you can uncheck any program you do not want to launch at startup. Click OK, and the changes will take effect the next time you launch Windows. As you can probably guess, it's not a good idea to disable a startup program if you aren't sure what it does.
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AUTO-COMPLETE
For a Web site you've previously visited, you can type an incomplete URL into Internet Explorer's Address bar, and the browser's AutoComplete feature will fill in the rest. However, it only searches for entries with .com, .org, and .edu extensions by default. You can edit the Registry to make it also search for .gov and .net URL extensions. Run Regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft \Internet Explorer\Main\UrlTemplate. You'll find six strings with these value names and data: 1 "www.%s.com" 2 "www.%s.edu" 3 "www.%s.org" 4 "%s.com" 5 "%s.edu" 6 "%s.org" Select Edit/New/String Value and add the following values and data: 7 "www.%s.net" 8 "www.%s.gov" 9 "%s.net" 10 "%s.gov"
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Don't defrag your hard disk without first emptying the Recycle Bin and removing Windows 2000-specific temp files. These include anything that matches the wildcards *.TMP, *.DMP, and ~*.*. (*.LOG files can also be removed, but if you're running Win2000 Server, it may be better to archive them and move them off-system instead of deleting them entirely.)
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CLOSING INDIVIDUAL WINDOWS FROM THE KEYBOARD
If you want to close specific windows without shutting down entire applications, there's a keyboard shortcut for you: Just press Ctrl-W. This shortcut allows you to close any open folder windows in Windows 98. Certain applications (like Word 2000) let you use this shortcut to close open windows without closing the applications themselves.
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REMOVE WINDOWS 98 INTEGRATION
Microsoft may debate it, but you actually can remove the integration between Windows and Internet Explorer 5. Personally, we find the integration helpful. Others may disagree.
A small file (113KB), called IE-Off Now, will do the trick. You can download it here:
http://www.annoyances.org/win98/features/integration.html
Wisely, the program lets you turn integration back on if you so choose.
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If you regularly surf Web sites written in a different language, make sure Microsoft Internet Explorer supports that language. Select Tools/Internet Options, open the General tab and click on the Languages button. Click on the Add button and choose a language.
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VIEWING THE TASK SCHEDULER LOG
For the most part, you're taking the Task Scheduler's word for it that work is being done. Would you trust an employee to get everything done without at least checking up on him or her every once in a while? No, you wouldn't. And you can check up on Task Scheduler, too, by viewing the Task Scheduler Log. Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. Then go to Advanced, View Log. You'll find a lengthy text file that details every recent action of the Task Scheduler, the time and dates the tasks were run, and whether Task Scheduler was able to complete the actions.
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Do you create shortcuts to Web sites by right-clicking a Web page displayed in your browser window and choosing "Create Shortcut"? This places a Favorite shortcut on your desktop, which is handy for a while, but gets messy soon after. To clean up this mees, make a folder in your Favorites folder (C:\Windows\Favorites) called "Unfiled." Now create a standard shortcut to this new folder (C:\Windows\Favorites\Unfiled) and place it in your Send To folder (C:\Windows\SendTo). To clean up your desktop, just right-click any URL shortcut on your desktop, choose Send To on the context menu, and select Favorites to tuck it away in a place where you can find it again. You can even highlight multiple Favorites and send them off all at once. Next time you're in Favorites, you can file them in the right locations there.
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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.
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SPEED UP BROWSING
If you use a cable modem or DSL, you can quickly speed up your browsing by making changes to two Registry settings called MTU (Maximum Transmission Units). Or you can download a patch that will change the Registry settings for you. You can find the patches to download (for Windows 95/98) here:
http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_patches.shtml
The speedup can be pretty impressive. If you aren't seeing the sort of results you expect from your service, give this a shot.
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CONTROLLING THE CURSOR WITH YOUR KEYBOARD
Have you ever wished that you could control your screen's cursor with the keyboard? Depending on what kind of work you're doing, having the pinpoint control that comes from moving the cursor with the keyboard could be an advantage. As long as you have Microsoft's Accessibility Options installed, you can make it so. Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and open Accessibility Options. Click the Mouse tab and check the Use MouseKeys box. To control the cursor, you'll use the arrows on your number keypad. Go to Settings and decide whether you want MouseKeys to be activated when Num Lock is on or off. You'll also want to play with the speed settings to get the desired cursor movement. When you finish, click OK twice.
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CONVERT NETSCAPE TO MSIE 5 BOOKMARKS
Want to add a few bookmarks from Netscape into Microsoft Internet Explorer 5? You could import the whole lot (choose File, Import And Export to launch the Import/Export Wizard). Or you could just import a few you really want.
First find the bookmark.htm file on your hard drive. You can search for it by selecting Start, Find, Files Or Folders. Open the bookmark.htm file, then right-click each bookmark you want to import. When the pop-up menu appears, choose Add To Favorites.
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ENABLING TOGGLE KEYS
Everyone knows how frustrating it can be when you're typing furiously while looking away from the screen, and you accidentally push the Caps Lock key. Having to back up and retype that sentence or two can be a real time waster. A setting in Microsoft's Accessibility Options lets you know Caps Lock has been engaged by sounding a tone. It's called Toggle Keys.
To enable Toggle Keys, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and open Accessibility Options. Check the Use Toggle Keys box, and Windows will let you know with little beeps whenever you engage or disengage Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock. Once you get used to the sounds, you'll always know your lock settings without having to look at your computer screen.
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When you start Windows 98 does an annoying pop up "User/Password window" always display? Usually this means you've set a password on the PC during initial setup without knowing this User pop up window would then keep reappearing everytime you start your PC. If you don't share your computer with any other Users, do the following to make this window go away.
In the c:\Windows directory, search for a file with the extension of .pwl. Delete this file. Then reboot. This will reset the pop up User window to appear in a different format. The window will now say, "if you don't enter a password, this window will not appear again." The one instruction this User window neglects to give you is to press the Enter Key instead of pressing the OK button. When you reboot, the window will not reappear.
By going to the Control Panel in the future, you can always change to multiple Users by clicking on the User's Icon and following the instructions.
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REMOVING ONLINE SERVICES FROM YOUR COMPUTER
Windows 98 comes preloaded with more online service options than anyone needs. Once you get your Internet connection hooked up, having setup options for all these services does nothing but clutter your hard drive. It's usually best to remove what you're not going to use.
Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and open Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab, scroll down until you see Online Services, and then double-click it. Uncheck the boxes for the online services you don't use, and then click OK.