Windows Watcher

My first realization of fame ... by Tom S. Bair Jr.

I recently returned a PC item to customer service at a large electronics store. The customer ahead of me at the counter was returning his newly purchased desktop computer. Seems that when he attached the cable from his DVD-ROM decoder card to his VCR so that he could watch movies on his TV, a hazy horizontal bar appeared in the middle of his TV screen.

The customer service representative wanted to replace the cable. The customer wanted the PC replaced (for the second time) since it was defective. I wanted to return my wife's laptop network card and get the right one. It appeared that none of us was getting what we wanted. The line was beginning to grow.

So I stepped up to the customer and introduced myself by name. He immediately knew who I was. He stated I was "that 'how-to' expert who wrote for that computer magazine." Wow! I admit I was distracted for a few moments by my first taste of fame. Then reality came crashing down on my head when I realized my wife was in the store browsing.

Laura is a very patient, loving wife. But fame is something to be ignored or avoided in her presence. Start to act pompous around her and you are liable to quickly become embarrassed. So I forced myself to get back to the matter at hand.

I informed the customer that the problem was not the PC or the cable. I asked him if the DVD movie played clearly and flawlessly on his monitor? He confirmed that it did, and added that the problem must then be his VCR.

"No," I stated. "The problem is a DVD security feature known as 'macrovision' which prevents users from making illegal copies of DVD movies through a VCR." I informed him (with the customer service rep paying close attention) that he could eliminate the hazy horizontal bar appearing on his TV by using an S-Video cable connected to his decoder card and running straight to his television.

So the fellow went off to locate and purchase an S-Video cable while the rep thanked me for my help. I smiled and presented him with the item I wanted to return. No questions asked; the rep gave me an in-store credit voucher, and another pleasant "thank you."

Jump forward to today. I decided to check my e-mail putting this column together. I had a message waiting from Walt, the customer at the store. Seems my solution worked, and he was pleased to be able to watch crisp, clear movies on his television. He thanked me for discussing his dilemma on a "peer-to-peer level instead of talking down to me as if I were stupid." You're welcome, Walt.

Remove the Windows Stripe

[W98] Bob Roberts wants to remove the Windows 98 stripe from his Start menu. His friend managed to do this on his PC, but doesn't remember how he managed it. Can I help? Sure.

1. Right-click on the Taskbar.
2. Click on 'Properties' in the pop-up menu.
3. Click on the box next to "Show small icons in Start Menu."
4. Click on the 'OK' button.

The Windows version stripe bitmap is now gone. To get it back, repeat the above steps, and uncheck the box in Step 3.

Booting To MS-DOS Prompt

[W98] My brother uses a DOS backup utility and a tape drive for backing up his data. He asked me if there was a faster method of booting to MS-DOS besides using a bootable floppy disk. Since there are readers who play MS-DOS based games, I thought I'd include the simple steps for booting your PC to MS-DOS during a system startup.

1. Turn on your computer. When you hear your PC's initial beep, press the F8 key.
2. The Windows 98 Startup menu will appear on your screen. Select option 5 (Command prompt only). This option boots your PC to MS-DOS with all your device drivers installed.

Add History List to Start Menu

[W98] This tip will be useful to those who have cable modems and are permanently connected to the Internet. Each time you visit a Web site, its address is added to a history list. By adding the History list to your Start menu, you can quickly access a cascading History folder from your Start menu.

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. Click on 'Open' from the command menu.
3. Click on 'File' located at the top left of the 'Open' window.
4. Highlight 'New' and click on 'Folder.'
5. An icon will be added to the window with the title "New Folder" highlighted. You need to replace the default name with "History.{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}." There are no spaces in this line, and do not type in the quotes.
6. Press the 'Enter' key.

Quick Launch Icon Properties

[W98] The Quick Launch toolbar is located to the right of your Start button. It contains a row of icons which are really nothing more than shortcuts. By default, these icons will activate into a normal window, covering roughly a quarter of your screen.

But suppose you want to have one or all of these icons run in full-screen mode? You can do so by accessing the icon's Properties dialog. (This tip also works on Desktop icons).

1. Right-click on the desired Quick Launch icon.
2. Left-click on 'Properties' in the pop-up command menu.
3. Toward the bottom of the "Shortcut" menu, click on the down arrow to the right side of the dialog box for "Run."
4. Click on 'Maximized' in the resulting drop down list.
5. Click on the 'OK' button.

Restoring Toolbar Commands

[W98] I've heard complaints about the Quick Launch toolbar vanishing. When you try to get it back, all the options are grayed out, so you cannot add or restore any new toolbar to your taskbar.

The common reason for this dilemma is that Internet Explorer is disabled in TweakUI. You will need to reverse this condition by:

1. Click on the 'Start' button.
2. Highlight 'Settings' and click on 'Control Panel.'
3. Click on the 'TweakUI' icon.
4. Click on the 'IE4' tab.
5. Click on the check box next to "IE4 Enabled" so a check mark appears.
6. Click on the OK button.
7. Restart Windows.

Add New Hardware Bug

[W98] I've had several complaints from readers over the past year concerning the use of Windows 98's Add New Hardware icon in the Control Panel. When clicked on, the Add New Hardware tool would cause their PC to hang and lock up.

After calling Microsoft Technical Support, I was informed that some motherboards experienced these lock ups due to an older BIOS version. Microsoft suggested getting a flash BIOS upgrade from the motherboard manufacturer's Web site and installing it.

Tips Index Request

Several readers have requested that I publish an index showing which issue of Computer Bits each of my tips has appeared in. I do maintain such a document for my personal use to ensure I do not repeat a topic I have already covered. I believe my publisher would prefer to use magazine space to provide readers with more quality articles instead of rehashing material that has already been published.

My solution is this. Send an e-mail to my address listed at the end of this column. Put 'Tips Index Request' in the subject line. In the body of your message, you can also include a message if you like, but that is optional.

I will then reply to your message and file-attach my current Tips Index in Microsoft Word format. The document is in two parts. First, a tips listing with the issue date. Some tips have further explanations in parentheses. A few have 'Correction' in parentheses to explain why the tip header was repeated in a later issue. The second part of the document shows a listing of the article/column, its sub-headers, and which issue it appeared in.

This document will be updated monthly. If there are enough requests, I'll try to convince Paul Harwood that he add it to the Computer Bits Online Web site.