Better Documents menus in Win95
Missing device driver in Windows 3.1
Guilt by lack of association
Windows toolbox: PowerToys
Q I have tried using the Start menu's Documents menu in Windows 95 to open documents that I've recently accessed, but many times the file I wanted was not there. So tell me, what good is this feature?
- Sid Delany
A The Documents menu is limited to the last 15 documents you opened, and even then it works only with apps that can communicate with it, unless you open the file in certain ways (such as double-clicking a file in Explorer). For a more sophisticated menu that allows submenus and imposes no limit on number of files, just create your own.
Start by right-clicking the Start menu and choosing Open. Right-click in the window, choose New-Folder, and give the folder a name. You will use this folder to store your everyday work documents.
If you work with many different documents, you'll want to organise the folder further: double-click your new folder to open its window. Create subfolders here that reflect your own organisation scheme; you might want subfolders based on file type (word processing, graphics, spreadsheets and so on), or you may prefer subfolders for different projects. However you choose to organise your folders, just remember to store all your work here in the future. Now whenever you click the Start menu, you'll see your new folder as a menu and all its subfolders as submenus.
If you still prefer to start your applications using the Programs menu (rather than by opening documents exclusively from your new menu), you can save yourself some time by making one of these work folders the start-up location for your application. To do so, first navigate to the shortcut that launches your program. Right-click it and choose Properties. Click the Create Shortcut tab, and in the Start In box type the path of your new documents folder. Since at least one of your folder names includes spaces ("Start menu"), remember to enclose the entire path in quotation marks (for example, "c:\windows\Start menu\Work\Articles"). Then your application will automatically save your documents in the correct work folder.
Q Help! Every time I boot up my computer, I get the message
Cannot find a device needed to run Windows in 386 enhanced mode. You need to run the setup program again. dva.386 Press a key to continue.
Once I press a key, I get into Windows and everything seems fine. I've tried to run Windows setup a couple of times but I still get this annoying message. Is there any way to get rid of it?
- Laura Fernandez
A By accident or design, your system is missing a virtual device driver it once had, but system.ini wasn't informed of the deletion. To fix it, either restore the file or change system.ini.
The file your system lacks, dva.386, is a virtual device driver used by Video for Windows (the file name stands for direct video access). You may have moved it or deleted it by accident, or you may have been trying to uninstall some program but didn't know how to update the system file references to the program files - a common tale of woe when Windows applications lack uninstall features or documentation.
First make sure you haven't accidentally moved the file somewhere else on your computer where it's taking up space without serving any purpose. In File Manager, choose File-Search, type dva.386 for Search For, select C:\ for Start From, and click OK. If you have multiple drives, repeat the search for each one. If you find the file, simply drag it from the Search Results window to the Windows system directory.
If you don't find the file and are convinced your system is running fine, you can eliminate the reference to this file in system.ini. In either File Manager or Program Manager, choose File-Run, type system.ini, and press <Enter>. Under the [386enh] heading, look for a line that reads 'device=dva.386'. Type a semicolon at the beginning of the line to disable it; this makes it easier for you to restore dva.386 if you should happen to change your mind later.
If you later have problems with animation in your Windows programs, you may wish to restore the line you disabled in system.ini and return dva.386 to Windows' system directory. Since any program that has animation problems probably came with the dva.386 driver, the easiest fix is simply to reinstall that program. Finally, remember that dva.386 is only one piece of a larger puzzle. If you are uninstalling a program that includes video capabilities, you may need to contact its manufacturer to ensure that you remove all the files and system.ini references.
Q I am having a problem with my file associations in Windows 3.x. For example, when I double-click an .ini or .txt file in File Manager, I get a dialogue box telling me that there is no association. When I select File-Associate, no associations are present, and I don't seem to be able to add any.
I have checked my win.ini, and all of the proper file associations are there.
I've noticed that I also have one additional problem: my reg.dat file is corrupted. Could this be the reason for the first problem?
- Hugh Brien
A You guessed it, Hugh. The [Extensions] section of win.ini formerly had the job of storing the associations for Windows 3.0, but in subsequent versions of Windows the section serves only to ensure backward compatibility with older applications.
Newer applications store their file associations and OLE information in reg.dat, Windows' registration database. (Be sure not to confuse this with Windows 95's Registry, which stores even more configuration information.)
The default registration database is not found on your Windows installation disks - but don't worry, you can re-create it pretty easily.
First, since your current reg.dat file is corrupted, locate it in your Windows directory and rename it. Next, in the Windows File Manager choose File-Run and type regedit /u c:\windows\system\setup.reg (adjust the path as necessary). This restores the basic Windows and Windows accessories file associations. A message box confirms that the information has been added to the database. To restore registration entries that were added by other Windows applications, choose File-Search. Type *.reg for Search For, select C:\ for Start From, and click OK.
Then select one of the entries in the Search Results window, and choose File-Associate. Associate the .reg extension with regedit, the registration database (it may already be set up that way). Then click OK. Finally, double-click each .reg file in the Search Results window. You'll receive a similar confirmation for each; if Windows asks whether you want to update the Search Results window, just click No. If any of the .reg files in the window aren't actually intended for the registration database, Windows will detect that, so no harm will be done.
If any of these steps give you difficulty, restart Windows and try again.
- Scott Dunn
PowerToys is a handful of Windows 95 micro-applications that was engineered by the same team that brought you the operating system, although it's not supported by Microsoft. PowerToys includes the traditional Windows Clock utility but with a round face in analog mode (just turn off the title bar). With Quick CD, you can play audio discs on your CD-ROM drive by right-clicking a Taskbar icon. The Fast Folder utility lets you see the contents of any folder as a pop-up menu - just hold down <Shift> as you right-click. And PowerToys adds an Any Folder option to the Send To submenu; Any Folder produces a dialogue box that lets you type the path or browse for a selected object's destination. See page 115 of our November 1995 issue for more information. PowerToys is available free as addon.zip on PC World Online and other on-line services.