| June 1999 | Volume 9 • Number 6 |
It would be wise to satisfy the reader's request ... by Tom S. Bair, Jr.
Many people have written to express how this tip or that trick helped them out at the right moment. Some have even said they store their Computer Bits magazines to reference a tip from past issues. (I then inform them of our online edition of Computer Bits, where they can access the article archives at any time day or night).
Some of you have asked if I would begin giving easy-to-read instructions for performing simple and common tasks involving Windows. Although I have tended to avoid such instructions in the past, after much thought I have concluded that it would be wise to satisfy the reader's request. Look for these morsels hidden in the many fine tips and tricks over the next several months.
[W98] Readers have requested instructions on installing TweakUI. For those who don't know, TweakUI is a utility that allows you to change desktop settings beyond the basic. It gives you control over desktop icons that you otherwise wouldn't be able to modify, such as Network Neighborhood and the Recycle Bin, the mouse, animation, Explorer window, and other desktop features. Although it is available on the Windows 98 CD, it is not automatically installed. To install TweakUI:
1.Open the Windows 98 CD in My Computer and locate the Tools|Reskit| Powertoy folder.
2. Right-click tweakui.inf and click install.
3. Once installed, to use the program, open TweakUI from within the Control Panel by clicking on Start|Settings|Control Panel|TweakUI.
[W95][W98] Many have complained about the titles underneath the desktop icon that describe the application or task assigned to the icon. They wanted to remove the text, and keep the icon.
Several months ago, while in a fit of testing, I discovered a solution to this problem. Here goes:
1. Right-click on the desktop icon you wish to alter. (This technique will not work on the Recycle Bin icon).
2. Select Rename from the Shortcut menu.
3. While holding down the ALT key, type 0160 on your keypad. (Do not use the number keys across the top of your keyboard).
4. Release the ALT key and press the ENTER key. An ANSI blank character will appear where the title once was.
5. For additional icons, successively add more spaces after each [Alt] 0160 entry. For example, the second shortcut would be [Alt]0160[Space], the third would be [Alt]0160[Space][Space], and so on. Be sure to release the ALT key before you press the Space bar.
[W98] The Quick Launch toolbar on the Windows 98 taskbar contains the Show Desktop Icon. If you single-click on the icon, all open windows are instantly minimized, and you have access to your desktop and its icons. Click the Show Desktop icon again to restore all open windows, or you can click on a single icon on the taskbar to open only that application or window. If you experiment a bit with this icon, you will quickly learn how much easier it will make your computing experience.
[W95][W98] You're excited whenever you get new hardware for your computer, right? The excitement continues as you install the new hardware. Next you have to install the device drivers for your new hardware. Things begin to turn sour as Windows prompts you to insert your Windows Installation CD into the CD-ROM drive.
Do you remember where you stored your CD? Having to hunt the CD down adds to the amount of time used between installation and using the new hardware. Here is a procedure to eliminate this wasted time:
1. Insure you have at least 32 MB free on your hard drive.
2. Place your Windows 95 or 98 CD into your CD-ROM.
3. Left-click on the Start button, highlight Programs; go down and left-click on MS-DOS Prompt.
4. Type "CD\" (without the quotes) and press the Enter key.
5. Type "MD WIN95" (or "WIN98" if you are running Windows 98), and hit the Enter key.
6. Type "CD WIN95" Enter.
7. Assuming your CD-ROM Drive is D, you would type "COPY D:\WIN95\*.CAB" Enter.
8. Type "EXIT" and hit Enter.
Once the CAB files are copied to your hard drive, you can now install additional components:
9. Left-click on the Start button, highlight Settings; and click on Control Panel.
10. Double-click on Add-Remove Programs, click on the Windows Setup tab, and select the components you wish to install. Now click on the OK button.
11. When Windows asks for you to place the installation CD into the CD-ROM drive, click on the OK button.
12. In the Copying Files dialog box, click on the Browse button and navigate your way to the folder on your hard drive into which you copied the CAB files. Windows will proceed with the installation as normal.
[W95][W98]Back in September 1998 I explained how you could add the Control Panel to the top of your Start menu. Let's use the same technique to add both a Printer and Dial-Up-Networking (DUN) menu to the top of your Start menu.
1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. Left-click on either Open or Explore.
3. Left-click on File, highlight New, and slide your mouse pointer to the right to highlight Folder. Now left-click on Folder.
4. Give your folder the following name. Make sure you type the name exactly as it appears below. You will notice that there is no space between the period "." and the open bracket "{".
For a Printers Menu, name the folder:
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
For a DUN Menu, name the folder:
DUN.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Please note that all the 0s above are zeros, not capital Os.
5. Press the Enter key.
6. Go to File|Exit.
Take a look at your Start Menu by left-clicking on the Start button. See the Printers with the little black arrow to the right at the top of your menu? Highlight it with your mouse and you will get a drop down menu of all the printers (and configurations) installed on your computer. Likewise, if you highlight DUN, you will be shown a listing of all your DUN connections.
[W95][W98] Is it taking longer for your programs to load now, as opposed to a month or two ago? The likeliest reason is your programs have become fragmented on your hard drive. Part of the program is stored here, part there, and the rest elsewhere.
It requires additional time for Windows to hunt down all the parts as it is loading a program. The solution to improve program start-up speed is to defragment the hard drive. Here's how:
1. Left-click the Start button on the Windows taskbar.
2. Highlight Programs | Accessories | System Tools, and left-click on Disk> Defragmenter. A Select Drive dialog box will appear on your screen.
3. Select the drive you wish to defragment in the drop-down list box.
4. Left-click the Settings button to configure the defragmentation process.
5. You will want to left-click on the box to the left of Rearrange program files so my programs start faster check box. It would also be a good idea to checkmark the Check the drive for errors box.
6. Click the OK button.
7. Click the OK button again to begin the defragmentation process.
If you like to watch the process in detail, you can click on the Show Detail button after defragmentation has begun. This will show the defragmentation progress by generating a graphical display.
[W98] A few curious readers have sent e-mail asking where Windows 98 stores the product key number. I became curious enough that I actually went snooping for the answer. Here is how to find the Windows 98 Product Key in the Registry.
1. Click on the Start button.
2. Click on Run. Type in regedit from the keyboard and click on the OK button.
3. In the left pane of the Registry Editor window, click on the box with a plus sign to the left of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
4. Click on the plus box next to Software.
5. Click on the plus box next to Microsoft.
6. Click on the plus box next to Windows.
7. Click on the folder next to CurrentVersion
8. It is listed under the value name ProductKey, in the right panel.
Now you can dazzle your friends with your super sleuth abilities in Windows 98. Just be cautious when you run the Registry editor; one wrong keystroke could crash your computer.
If you installed the critical system notification update from the Windows Update Web site, you will notice Task Scheduler on your taskbar. You can open it and select Stop using from the Tools menu, yet when you reboot it will come back. Want to permanently be rid of it? Do this:
1. Click on the Start button.
2. Click on Run.
3. Type 'msconfig' in the dialog box. Press the enter key, or click on the OK button.
4. Click on the Startup tab on the right end of the System Configuration Utility.
5. Uncheck the box to the left of Critical update.
6. Click on the OK button. MSCONFIG will ask if you want to reboot your computer. Click on the Yes button to have your computer automatically reboot. Task scheduler in the taskbar tray will now be gone.