FIND YOUR WINDOWS CD KEY
Find your Windows CD key You can get the CD Key by
right-clicking My Computer and choosing Properties. When
the System Properties dialog box opens, click the
General tab. You'll find the CD Key under Registered
User.
HOW TO GET RID OF WHAT SEEM TO BE ETERNAL NAMES IN
YOUR ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS PROPERTIES DIALOG BOX?
There are two ways to remove programs from the
Install/Uninstall tab of the Add/Remove Programs
Properties dialog box (the one that appears when you
open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove
Programs).
The first--and easiest--is to use the Tweak UI PowerToy.
(See note below for information on obtaining this
utility.) Open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak UI,
and select the Add/Remove tab. Select the item you'd
like to remove from the Install/Uninstall list, click
the Remove button, then click Yes to confirm. Repeat
these steps for each item you want to remove, then click
OK.
(Note: If you don't have the Tweak UI PowerToy, point
your Web browser to [
Go There! ] and download powertoy.exe to your folder
of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the des ktop.
Double-click this file to extract its contents, then
right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. You can now
open Tweak UI by double-clicking its icon inside your
Control Panel.)
If you don't have Tweak UI you can still clean out the
Install/Uninstall list, but you'll need to do a little
Registry editing. (Note: As always, back up your
Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on
the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.)
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\Uninstall.
In the left pane, with the Uninstall key expanded,
right-click any item and select Delete. Click Yes to
confirm, and that item is officially off the list.
Repeat these steps for each item you'd like to remove,
then close the Registry Editor.
CAN I GET A MENU, PLEASE?
You can use the Shift-F10 keys to open the Microsoft
Internet Explorer menu. This a handy way to work with
Microsoft Internet Explorer without moving away from the
keyboard.
TO CHANGE THE DEFAULT ADDRESS FOR WINDOWS SOURCE FILES
WHEN YOU INSTALL NEW HARDWARE, THE SYSTEM ALWAYS ASKS
FOR WINDOWS CD
You can change it to another location using RegEdit.
With your backup ready, click Start, Run, type in
regedit and press Enter.
For Windows NT:
When RegEdit opens, navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\
CurrentVersion.
In RegEdit's right pane, you'll see a
key named SourcePath. Double-click its icon and enter
into the Edit String dialog box:
d:\i386 (assuming that D: is your CD-ROM drive)
Click OK to save your change and close the dialog box.
Now choose Registry, Exit to close RegEdit. Restart the
computer and the system will now look in d:\i386 for its
files.
For Windows 95 or 98
When RegEdit opens, navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\ SysDM.
In RegEdit's right pane, you'll see a key named
SearchLocation Double-click its icon and enter into the
Edit String dialog boxd:\win95 (or d:\win98) (assuming that D: is your CD-ROM
drive)
Click OK to save your change and close the dialog box.
Now choose Registry, Exit to close RegEdit. Restart the
computer and the system will now look in d:\ win95
for its files.
WINDOWS KEY SHORTCUTS
Do you have a Windows key on your keyboard? You may
already know that pressing this key displays the Start
menu, but did you also know that you can hold it down
and press:
- Windows-E to open Windows Explorer
- Windows-R to open the Run dialog box
- Windows-F to open the Find dialog box
- Windows-F1 to open Windows Help (regardless of
program you're working in)
- F1 by itself to open the current program's Help box
- Windows-M to minimize all open windows
(Shift-Windows-M undo minimize all)
- Windows-Tab to cycle through the Taskbar buttons
- Windows-Pause to open the System Properties dialog
box
- Left and Right Windows keys to open the Start Bar
-
Windows-Break opens the System Properties dialog box
USE OPEN WITH TO CHANGE FILE ASSOCIATION
If you frequently open files of a particular type in an
application other than the one with which it's
associated, it's time for a change. An association
change, that is. Change the application with which that
file type is associated, so that double-clicking the
file opens it in your application of choice.
For example, suppose you prefer to open *.txt files in
Microsoft Word instead of in Notepad. So you typically
open Microsoft Word, select File, Open, and so on. Now
watch this: Click once on any *.txt file in order to
select it, then hold down Shift as you right-click this
file. In the menu that appears, select Open With. Select
the application you'd like to use to open files of this
type--in this case, Winword for Microsoft Word--select
Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File, and
click OK. Double-click any *.txt file, and it opens in
Word automatically (and will from now on)!
ALT-ERNATE SHUTDOWNS
What command can I use to restart or shut down Windows
95 when the Start button is not available?
You may already know that pressing Alt-F4 closes the
currently active window. But what you may not know is
that this command is the equivalent of selecting Start,
Shut Down IF the focus is currently on the desktop (as
opposed to an open window) or IF no windows are open.
So, close all open windows (or place the focus on the
desktop), then press Alt-F4 to bring up the Shut Down
Windows dialog box. Select an option--Restart or Shut
Down--then press Enter.
STOP DELETED PROGRAMS AND FILES FROM BEING SENT TO THE
RECYCLE BIN
Right-click the Recycle Bin desktop item, select
Properties, select Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin.
Remove Files Immediately Upon Delete., and click OK. If
you prefer less drastic measures, you can still limit
the number of items that wind up in the Recycle Bin, but
on a case-by-case basis. To delete an item from your
system the first time around (in other words, to bypass
the Recycle Bin), right-click the item, then hold down
Shift as you select Delete.
(Note: As with disabling the Recycle Bin altogether,
you'll still have a small safety net. Even if you have
the Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box option turned
off, using Shift-Delete to delete an item still presents
you with the Confirm File Delete dialog box.)
STOP PROGRAMS FROM STARTING EACH TIME YOU START WINDOWS
Can't figure out how to get a program from loading each
time you start Windows? There are three places where you
can try to stop this annoyance:
The Startup Folder This is the most obvious
location for a program reference. Right mouse click on
Start, select Open, double clik on Programs, then double
click on Startup. If you see a shortcut to the annoying
prgoram inside, delete it.
The WIN.INI file Select Start, Run, type
"sysedit" and click on OK. Inside the System Configuration Editor,
make the WIN.INI window active and look for a "run=" or
"load=" line under the [windows] section. Programs
referred to on these lines load at startup. If you feel
comfortable doing so, remove the reference to the
annoying program, and save your change. (If not, have
your local computer guru help you. WIN.INI is a very
important file and should not be messed with unless you
know what you are doing.
The Registry Select Start, Run, type
"regedit"
and click on OK to open the Registry Editor. Navigate
your wat to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RUN.
In the right pane, you will find programs that load when
Windows starts. Right click on the one giving you grief,
select Delete, and close the Registry Editor. (As
always, before editing the Registry, back it up. One way
is to copy your System.dat and User.dat files to a
floppy disk.
Whichever method you used, restart Windows and (in most
cases) breathe a deep sigh of satisfaction.
TASKBAR OPTIONS
Resize If you run sereral programs at once, the
buttons on the taskbar shrink as new programs are
opened. For larger buttons, so you can fully read their
contents, increase the taskbar size by moving your mouse
to the upper edge of the bar (until it becomes a double
headed arrow) and dragging it upward to increase its
size.
Relocate Move the taskbar to any edge of the
screen by grabbing and moving it with a simple left
button drag and drop.
Close applications To close minimized
applications, without having to open them from the
taskbar and clicking on their X box, just right click on
their taskbar button and select close.
Options A right click on an empty area of the
taskbar provides some useful options - Cascade (of your
open Windows), Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically,
Minimize All Windows, Undo Tile, and Properties Options
such as Auto Hide and others.
USEFUL COPY AND MOVE OPTIONS
Windows always had inconsistencies in copying and moving
files. If you tire of having to watch to see if you have
a "+" icon (copy) or not (move), and worrying whether
you are copying or moving to the same or another
directory - then solve your problems and regain
consistency by use of the right mouse button. Jusk click
your right button on the file, hold it down while
dragging the file to its new location, and then release
the right button. You are then presented with the
selections to Copy, Move, or Create a Shortcut at
the new location. No more confusion! You do your job and
take your pick. Same every time.
PRTSCR DOESN'T PRINT SCREEN ANYMORE
In the old days, pressing the PrtScr key would literally
print your screen, sending the entire on-screen image
off to your printer. Not in Windows 95 or 98. Pressing
PrtScr (sometimes spelled PrtSc) in Windows 95 sends the
screen image to the Clipboard. From there you can paste
it into other programs. Here are a couple of things to
keep in mind:
- If the Clipboard doesn't seem to catch your
image, you may have one of those annoying computers
that requires you to press Shift + PrtScr.
- Press Alt + PrtScr to send the current window--the one
on top--to the Clipboard instead of sending all the
windows on-screen to the Clipboard.
INTRODUCTION TO
TASK SCHEDULER
Ever wonder what that little red, white,
and blue icon in the tray of your Taskbar does (the one
that looks like a window with a red clock on it)? It
means that the Task Scheduler, a utility that runs
maintenance routines such as Disk, is currently
active. To view the routines currently scheduled to run,
double-click this icon.
Don't see the Task Scheduler icon? You
can open Scheduled Tasks by selecting Start, Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. If you wish
to make this utility run whenever Windows 98 starts,
select Advanced, Start Using Scheduled Tasks (inside the
Scheduled Tasks window).
DESKTOP AUTO
ARRANGE OPTION
How do you keep desktop
icons from jumping back into neat little rows every time
they try to move them into a unique formation? By
default, Microsoft made the Auto Arrange option the
default. If you want free-flowing icons, you'll need to
turn this option off.
Right-click the desktop and
select Arrange Icons. In the resulting menu, you'll see
a check mark next to Auto Arrange. Select this option
(to deselect it). Back on the desktop, try to relocate
an icon. Much better.
FLOPPY SHORTCUTS FOR EVERYONE
When you pop a floppy in your floppy drive, how do you
access its contents--by using (A) a My Computer window,
or (B) an Explorer window? How about C, none of the
above. The easiest way to view the contents of a floppy
is by double-clicking the floppy drive shortcut you
should place on your desktop--that is, if you like to do
things the short way.
Open a My Computer or Explorer window, click and drag
your floppy drive icon out to the desktop, and release
the mouse button. Click Yes to confirm that you want to
create a shortcut, and you're done. The next time you
want to view the contents of a floppy, just double-click
your new shortcut, and you're in.
HOW TO OPEN THE SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY
There is a Windows utility
accessible via the Run command that shows you what
programs are running, and gives you the ability to
enable or disable them. It is called the System
Configuration Utility. To open it, select Start, Run,
type msconfig and click OK. From there, you can select
the Startup tab and disable or enable any programs that
start when Windows 98 starts.
PLUG AND PLAY
DOESN’T WORK RIGHT
When Windows 95 or 98 doesn't play well with new
hardware you plug in, you can fiddle with the memory and
configuration and try all sorts of other fancy fixes.
When none of that works, try removing all the devices
from the Device Manager. Follow these steps:
1. Click Start and choose Settings.
2. Select Control Panel.
3. Double-click System.
4. In the System dialog box, select Device Manager.
5. Remove each and every device from the list.
6. Make sure all devices are still plugged in.
7. Reboot the computer.
As Windows starts up, it should recognize all the
devices it knew about before, as well as the new one
that was giving you trouble. If not, try rebooting
again.
VCACHE FOR
RESOURCE VICTORY
If your resources are tight, see if your Vcache
program is too greedy. Do the following:
1. Click Start and choose
Run.
2. Type sysedit and then press Enter.
3. Close all windows except SYS.INI.
4. Find the [vcache] section. (If there isn't one, start
one by typing [vcache] on the next line after the
[nonwindowsapp] section.)
5. Make sure the MaxCacheSize= line ends with a number
that's no larger than half your installed RAM memory,
such as no larger than 32000 for a 64K setup.
6. Make sure the MinCacheSize= line doesn't end with a
number larger than 4096. If it does, change it to 4096.
7. Save your fixes and quit Sysedit.
8. Reboot your PC.
ADD AN ITEM TO THE SENDTO LIST
In the Windows Explorer if you right-click a file, you
can choose Send To from the resulting menu. You can add
an application to that menu.
To add an application to the SendTo folder we will show
an example using Notepad.
Click on My Computer then C-Drive, navigate to
C:\Windows (or C:\Winnt for Windows NT) and locate
notepad.exe. Click on My Computer a second time, then
C-Drive. Navigate to C:\Windows\SendTo (or C:\Winnt\SendTo).
Open this folder and use the right mouse button to drag
the notepad.exe file to the SendTo folder. When you
release the button, choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. Now
Notepad will appear in your Send To menu.
ADD A FOLDER TO
THE SEND TO LIST
Suppose you have a folder called My Pictures that you
use to store all of your scanned photos. Add a shortcut
to this folder to the C:\Windows\SendTo folder, and it
will appear in the Send To list. In one Explorer window,
locate the My Pictures folder. In another, locate the
Windows\SendTo folder. Right-click and drag the My
Pictures folder directly over the SendTo folder, release
the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.
The next time you want to send a picture to your My
Pictures folder, right-click it, select Send To, and
choose My Pictures in the resulting list.
INVOKE
SCREEN SAVER USING KEYBOARD
Open the Windows\System folder, locate the corresponding
*.scr file, and place a shortcut to it in your location
of choice, such as the desktop. You can now invoke that
screen saver by double-clicking the shortcut.
Want even faster access to that screen saver, right from
your keyboard? Set up hot key access to the shortcut you
just created. Right-click the screen saver shortcut,
select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box,
click the Shortcut tab. Click once in the text box next
to Shortcut Key to place the cursor there, then type the
letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to
invoke your screen saver. Click OK.
Now
to try it out: From anywhere on your system, press the
shortcut key, and there's your screen saver.
FILE MANAGER IS STILL AROUND
Do you miss your old friend File Manager (from the days
of Windows 3.x)? Would you believe you can still run it
from within Windows 95 (and even Windows 98)? Select
Start, Run, type "Winfile" and
click OK. Who says you can't view two drives side by
side? Inside File Manager, select Window, New Window,
then select Window, Tile Vertically.
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