Windows Watcher

The best bang for your buck ... by Tom S. Bair Jr.

By now you may have heard of Intel's new Pentium 4 chip, which can process data at speeds of 1.4 and 1.5 gigahertz. This means that it can process up to 1.5 billion electrical pulses per second. I'm predicting that by next October Intel will have pushed that speed up to 2 GHz or faster.

Does this mean you should wait to buy a computer? And if so, how long should you wait? Here lies the problem of trying to own the latest, greatest PC. Unless you are extremely wealthy, it is a losing game. Intel and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) realize that only five percent of all PC sales are high performance. The Pentium 4 is going after that 5 percent.

For the rest of us home users, a Pentium III or Celeron in the 750 to 800 MHz range is quickly becoming the best bang for our buck. Whereas P-4 systems will cost an average of two thousand dollars or more, you will be able to pick up a pretty impressive P-3 or Celeron 800 system for six to eight hundred dollars. If a fortune teller had predicted this five years ago, I would have laughed hysterically! Now I no longer have a desire to know about today. Instead, I wonder where I will be tomorrow. Who knows: It might save me a few dollars.

Change Your Password

[98/SE/ME] Do you share your computer at work with others? If so, you probably enter a password to log into your User Profile. Industry experts suggest that you change your password every four to six months. Let me give you the steps to accomplish this:

1. Click on the Start button.
2. Highlight 'Settings' and click on 'Control Panel.'
3. Click the 'Passwords' icon.
4. A window appears, opened to the 'Change Passwords' tab. Click on the 'Change Windows Password' button located in the window.
5. Type in your current password in the 'Old Password' box.
6. Type in your new password in the 'New Password' box.
7. Again, type in your new password in the 'Confirm New Password' box.
8. Click the OK button.

The next time you log into Windows, you will be able to use your brand new password.

Media Player Auto Repeat

[95/98/SE/ME] Most video files tend to be short and fast. Many times I have had to play them several times over to fully enjoy them. You can set your Media Player to automatically repeat video files in a continuous loop until you stop it.

1. Click the Start button.
2. Highlight 'Programs,' 'Accessories,' 'Multimedia,' and click on 'Media Player.' (In Windows ME, just highlight 'Programs' and click on 'Windows Media Player').
3. Click on Files and Open. (In Windows ME, click on Play and Repeat, load a file and enjoy).
4. Navigate to the file you wish to view and click on it.
5. After the file has loaded, click on Edit and Options....
6. Click on 'Auto Repeat.'
7. Click the OK button.

The video will play over and over until you click on the Stop button.

Open Folder from DOS

[95/98/SE/ME] I started my computing experience in the world of DOS. As years passed, I was forced to depend on Windows as my primary operating system. Old habits die slowly, though, and quite often I will troubleshoot an ailing PC in DOS mode.

Yet I have found the Folder Window that comes with Microsoft's Windows very useful in viewing contents in directories. So, for you old DOS codgers like me, here is how to open a Folder Window from the current DOS directory.

1. From the command prompt, type start .. (Note that there is a space between the word "start" and the period).
2. Press the Enter key.

Although Windows Desktop will come up, notice that your DOS command prompt is residing on the taskbar. Click it, and you are back to where you left off in DOS.

Change Focal Point of Explorer

[95/98/SE/ME] By default, the Windows Explorer opens up with "My Documents" folder as the focal point. However, most of us prefer to have our entire PC system as the focal point, so that we may quickly navigate to any desired drive or folder. Having Explorer open with "My Computer" allows us this faster navigation.

1. From your desktop, right-click the Explorer icon.
2. Left-click on Properties.
3. Click on the Shortcut tab.
4. In the dialog box next to "Target:" type: C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\
5. Double-check what you have typed to ensure it is exactly like the bold print in step 4. Note that only one space appears in the line, right after "Explorer.exe" and before "/n,".
6. Click the Apply button.
7. Click the OK button.
8. Right-click the Start button.
9. Click on Open in the command menu.
10. Double-click on 'Programs'.
11. Locate the Windows Explorer shortcut. (You may have to double-click on 'Accessories' in some versions of Windows to find it). When you have located the shortcut, right-click on it.
12. Repeat steps 2-7.

If you wish to change Windows Explorer back to its old self, follow the above steps with the exception of step 4. Instead, type this in the "Target:" dialog box; C:\Windows\Explorer.exe.

Modems with V-mail Systems

[98/SE/ME] I have started to get complaints from voicemail system users that their modems have developed trouble recognizing the phone's dial tone. Certain kinds of voicemail systems generate an irregular dial tone. Aside from getting rid of the voicemail service, the only fix I have come up with is to instruct your modem to dial without first waiting for a dial tone.

1. Click on the Start button.
2. Highlight 'Settings' and click on 'Control Panel.'
3. Double-click on the 'Modems' icon.
4. Under the General tab, highlight your modem in the window by clicking on it.
5. Click on the Properties button.
6. Click on the Connection tab.
7. Under "Call preferences", remove the checkmark (by left-clicking on the box the checkmark appears in) from "Wait for dial tone before dialing."
8. Click on the OK button.
9. Click on the Close button.

I have discovered that some computers such as Compaq laptops have an extra tab in step 5 called Distinctive Ring. By placing a checkmark in the box next to "This phone line has Distinctive Ring services," you are able to assign various ring patterns to each type of call. If you have this feature, and you know or can discover the ring pattern of your voicemail system, then you can enter the settings here.

Taskbar Calendar

[95/98/SE/ME/NT/2K] Here's a beginner's tip for any new users who received a computer for Christmas. On the right side of your taskbar you see a clock displaying the current time. If you put your mouse cursor on top of the display, a yellow box will pop up showing the day and date.

If you right-click on the digital time display on your taskbar and left-click on 'Adjust Date/Time,' a window pops up showing a monthly calendar and an analog clock. Just click the OK button to close this handy window.

Adjust IP Packet Size

[98/SE/ME] The default MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) for IP (Internet Protocol) packets in connection speeds less than 128kbps (kilo-bytes per second) is 576. This is the Internet standard for IP packet sizes using dial-up connections. (If you have cable or ASDL modems, Windows uses the maximum of 1,500 MTU; therefore you can ignore this tip).

If you are using a modem running at or below 56 kbps, you may be able to increase your online performance by setting your MTU to the medium or large packet size setting. Follow these steps to adjust your IP Packet Size.

1. Click on the Start button.
2. Highlight 'Settings' and click on 'Control Panel.'
3. Click on the 'Network' icon.
4. Under the Configuration tab, click on 'Dial-Up Adapter' from the list of "Installed Network Components."
5. Click on the Properties button.
6. Click on the Advanced tab.
7. Click on 'IP Packet Size' in the "Property:" list.
8. Click on the drop-down arrow next to the "Value:" list.
9. Choose your packet size. I suggest you try 'Medium' (1000 MTU). The 'Large' setting is 1,500 MTU, and in most cases does not improve a dial-up connection.
10. Click the OK button twice to close all open windows.
11. Insert your Windows Installation CD when prompted. After a few files have been copied to your hard drive, Windows will prompt you to reboot your system for the new settings to take place.

If you use an online service such as AOL, this tip will not benefit you since AOL uses its own dial-up adapter which cannot be modified. However, if you connect to an ISP as well as AOL, you may notice a performance boost in your ISP connection after trying this tip.