A Clear View of Windows 95

More Windows tips and tricks ... by Tom S. Bair Jr.

Windows 95 was created for the masses. So why must it look so generic on computer after computer? This article will attempt to give information that even novice users can use to customize Windows 95 to their personal tastes.

Faster Backup

All computer users have a hard drive and floppy drive -- yet few maintain a backup of their system, due to the length of time involved in performing the backup. A well maintained set up backups, however, is the greatest tool in recovering from a system crash or virus infection.

An easy way to speed up the backup process is to minimize the Windows 95 backup utility -- which typically runs 20 - 35% faster minimized. Here's how:

1. Find and open the backup program on your Windows 95. You can do this by clicking Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Backup.

2. Once you respond to all the questions, and Backup starts the procedure, minimize it by clicking on the left-most of three buttons at the top-right corner of the Backup window. You see those three buttons in almost every window:
   • the first looks like an underline mark (this is the one you want: it minimizes the current window),
   • the second has either a solitary box or two interlocking boxes (this is for switching between full-screen and window), and
   • the third has an X in it (which is for terminating the program running in the window).

Faster Rebooting

Many times when installing programs, or changing settings on existing programs, we are required to reboot Windows 95 for the new settings to take place. I bet you wish you could just reboot Windows, and not the whole computer system, thereby saving half the time.

Fear not, for the secret is now out! Just click on Start | Shut Down, and hold down the Shift key as you click on "Restart the Computer." Windows will shut down, and cycle back up to your desktop -- without the computer being forced into a full reboot.

Manage Virtual Memory

Did you know you could speed up your computer's performance, and eliminate a lot of unnecessary hard drive access? Even a novice can perform this trick easily.

First, let me give you a bit of background history. In the old days of Windows 3.X, a permanent swap file was used on the hard drive to speed up system performance. Today, Windows 95 uses a temporary swap file that will increase and decrease in size each time you do something. Even moving your mouse will cause your hard drive light to flash! If you ever wondered about this, it is just Windows 95 changing the size of the swap file on your hard drive.

You can solve this annoyance by specifying a fixed size for the swap file:

1. Determine how much disk space to allot to the swap file by multiplying the amount of RAM installed on your computer by 2.5. For example: 8 MB RAM x 2.5 = 20 MB swap file, 16 MB RAM x 2.5 = 40 MB swap file.

   If you don't know the amount of RAM in your computer, there is a very easy way to find out. Locate the 'My Computer' icon on your desktop. Place your mouse pointer on it and right-click. A small window will pop up. You need to left-click on 'Properties.' Look at the bottom of the window under the heading "Computer" to discover how much RAM is installed on your computer.

2. OK, we're going to right-click on the 'My Computer' icon on our desktop again. Left-click on 'Properties', and select the 'Performance' tab at the top of the window. A folder opens up in the window showing your performance stats. Look at the three buttons in the 'Advanced settings' section. Left-click on the Virtual Memory button.

3. Left-click on "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings". If you have more than one hard drive installed on your computer, you will be able to select which hard drive to use for your swap file by clicking on the down arrow at the right of the box next to the "Hard disk" entry. The amount of free space on the selected drive appears next to the drive letter. For those of you with more than one hard drive, I suggest you select the drive with the largest amount of free space.

4. Type the result of your multiplication problem from Step 1 in both the Minimum and Maximum boxes. For example, if your computer has 16 MB RAM, you would type 40 into both boxes. It is important that you have followed Step 1 precisely.

5. Now click on the OK button. A warning window will pop up that asks, in part, "Are you sure you want to continue?" Do not be alarmed by this warning, just click on the Yes button, and then on the Close button. Now reboot your computer by selecting Start | Shut Down | Restart the Computer. This will cause the new settings to take affect. Notice the difference?

Explorer: Multiple File Tagging

Did you want to copy, or delete more than one file at a time in Explorer? Well, you can. Just hold down the shift key while pointing and clicking on the files you wish marked. Then you can delete, copy, move, or even open all the marked files.

Want to select all the files in a directory? Just click on one file, and hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the A (Ctrl+A) key. All the files in the displayed directory will be marked.

Removing "Shortcut to" Text

Do you find it annoying to see all your desktop shortcuts start with the words "Shortcut to..."? Did you know that Windows 95 is smart enough to learn that you don't like these shortcuts being named like that? Here's how to educate Windows 95 in your ways:

1. Create a shortcut to your desktop. One way of doing this is to drag a file from Explorer onto your desktop.

2. Immediately edit the name and only remove the "Shortcut to" text. You can do this by right-clicking on the shortcut and choosing 'Rename.'

3. Repeat this procedure over and over, and by the eighth shortcut, Windows 95 will have stopped adding this text to the name! Now you can delete any unwanted shortcuts you may have made, and any future shortcuts you make will be done just the way you like them.

Support Company Logo

After the first article of this series appeared in the September 97 issue of Computer Bits, I received the following e-mail:

I enjoyed your article with the helpful hints about Windows 95. It was a big help with my home computer. My mother has a business at home and wanted to have her logo showing on the desktop wallpaper. I followed your directions and successfully completed my task. Thank you for your help and I am looking forward to more help in future articles. Mary M.

I thought Mary and other home business users may like this trick. First, you need to create a logo bitmap for your company that is 160 x 120 pixels. If nothing else, you can use Paint in Windows 95 to do this. Save it as C:\Windows\System\oemlogo.bmp.

Now, using Notepad, create a text file in the following format:

[general]
Manufacturer=My Company
Model=My Version & Model
[Support Information]
Line1=Subscription line: 1-800-000-0000
Line2=
Line3=Computer Bits subscription hours:
Line4=Monday-Thursday 9 am to 4 pm
Line5=Friday 10 am to 5 pm
Line6=

Now save this file as C:\Windows\System\oeminfo.ini.

Don't forget to change the information after the equal signs (=) to your own information you want displayed. Note that under Support Information you can have up to six lines of text.

Now let's see how your new information looks. click on Start | Settings | Control Panel | System. Your logo appears in the first panel and the information under [General] appears to the right of the logo. The information under [Support Information] appears when you press the Support Information button. If you are unhappy with the way your information appears, then just delete oeminfo.ini and repeat the Notepad step above.

Wrapping It Up

On your journey from novice to power user in Windows 95, you will always have to obey the most important law of computing. That law is proceed with caution. Always read instructions twice, and be sure you understand them before attempting to alter your system. With caution and understanding, you can customize Windows 95 to suit your personality and needs.

About the Author

Please feel free to email the author with your comments about this article: Tom Bair