OS/2 Shareware BBS: 24 DOS/24-DOS.zip/doswitip.zip/MYTIPS31.TXT

Text File | 2002-05-07 | 239KB | 5,282 lines

                AXCEL216's MAX Speeed
                Windows/WfWG 3.1x + DOS 6.xx
            ⌐Tricks, Secrets, Tweaks, Speed-Ups + Fixes




These topics refer to ALL Microsoft Windows/WfWG 3.1x and MS-DOS 6.xx final
(Gold) releases, unless specified otherwise!

My Win31/DOS6 ⌐tricks are also available at:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/w31.htm

WARNING: FIRST BACKUP ALL YOUR HARD DRIVES TO A SAFE LOCATION BEFORE
     ATTEMPTING TO MAKE ANY SYSTEM CHANGES!
     Take EXTREME CAUTION when modifying your System settings! Faulty
     changes may result in computer crashes/lockups/permanent data loss,
     or might lead to having you REINSTALL the ENTIRE Operating System(s)!
     YOU are the ONLY one responsible for ANY changes YOU make!
     ALWAYS HAVE YOUR MOST RECENT SYSTEM BACKUP READY!

BEWARE: These ⌐tricks have been tried by others (and most by me), but with NO
    guarantee they will also work for YOU!

CREDITS: Some of these tips I stumbled upon while browsing the Internet or
     while helping others with WinDOwS problems, some were kindly sent in
     by concerned readers (all authors/contributors are acknowledged and
     reliable sources given proper credit) and some I discovered myself.
     Enjoy the ride!

NOTE:    Contributors tips (clearly marked) posted here do not necessarily
    reflect the opinion of the author of these files.

Please send me your comments, corrections, tips at:
[e-mail]

MUST HAVE [99.99% FREE(ware)] from SOFTWARE.TXT (included):
- WINDOWS/WFWG 3.1x ESSENTIAL FREE UPGRADES + FIXES:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/w31toy.htm#W3X
- WINDOWS/WFWG 3.1x POWER TOYS:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/w31toy.htm#W31
- MS-DOS 5.00 - 8.00 ESSENTIALS:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/dos.htm
- Speeed-Up + BenchMark Tools:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/speed.htm


MYTIPS31.TXT Contents: [New "⌐tricks" added at the BOTTOM]


WIN31 TIPS SITES ON THE INTERNET
SET TEMP [*]
LOCALLOADHIGH [*]
LASTDRIVE [*]
MEDIA PLAYER
CONTROL PANEL
DITCH DRVSPACE/DBLSPACE
WIN.COM SWITCHES
SWITCHES [*]
SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS [*]
BLINK... NOT!
AUTOMATIC ZIP
RESTORE AFTER INSTALL
WATCH YOUR PROMPT
AVI PLAYBACK
LOAD/RUN
FIND FAST
DATE/TIME FUN
FAST, FAST, FAST
SWAP FILE
HARD DRIVE THRASHING
FIXED SWAP FILE
WRONG PATH
:: OR REM?
ORDER, PLEASE!
SPEAKER CHALLENGE [+]
NOTEPAD STAMP [+]
NO LOGO [+]
SYSTEM DLLS
MODEM COM PORT
HELP!
DOS MULTITASKING
GOOD OL' UNDELETE
BOOTUP FLOPPY
COMMAND.COM
OUTSMART SMARTDRIVE [*]
DOUBLE BUFFER [*]
SHELL ENVIRONMENT SIZE [*]
CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS [UPDATED 3-3-1998]
%WINDIR% VARIABLE
TEMP FILES, BE GONE!
POWERFUL XCOPY
AUTOEXEC.BAT X 2
SERIAL KILLER! [UPDATED 4-24-1998]
CD-ROM NAME
STUBBORN CONTROL PANEL APPLET
PERSONAL MANAGER [+]
DUAL BOOT
Win95/98/NT EASY MIGRATION [+]
RELEASE MY MODEM!
BAD MEMORY?
IDENTIFY "NO NAME" CARDS [+]
EXTRA ASCII CHARACTERS [+]
MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE MADE EASY
RESTRICTED ACCESS
HIDDEN DIRECTORY [+]
BLUE (OR ANY OTHER COLOR) SCREEN OF DEATH
LOCK UP THE DOS BOX
RESTORE CORRUPTED REG.DAT
BYPASS SAVER PASSWORD
9X/2000/NT/ME/XP/3.1X MULTIBOOT SWAP FILE
IE BLANK PAGE OFF
DETECT WINDOWS [+]
CUSTOM NETSCAPE THROBBER
REPLACE SYSTEM FONT
BACKUP MBR WITH DEBUG [+]
REBOOT WITH DEBUG
DEBUG BIOS PASSWORD [+]
URL PASSWORD
COLORFUL HELP
PROXY AD BLOCKER [+]
3D CONTROLS FOR 3D EFFECTS
EDIT BOOT FILES [*][+]


NOTES:    - Topics marked with an asterisk [*] are also memory management tips,
    and they are also detailed in MEMORY.TXT (included).
    - Topics marked with a plus [+] have been submitted by concerned
    readers. MANY THANKS, guys!
    - ALL other UNique/ORIGINAL ⌐tricks in this file were UNcovered by me
    unless stated otherwise, and you canNOT find some of them ANYWHERE
    ELSE!
______________________________________________________________________________



WIN31 TIPS SITES ON THE INTERNET



And if you thought nobody is using Windows 3.1 anymore... think again. :)
Check out these dedicated Windows/WfWG 3.xx Tips + Info web sites:
- Microsoft Windows 1.0 - 3.11 Version History:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q32/9/05.asp
- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1 - 3.11 Version History:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q126/7/46.asp
- MS TechNet Archive => click left side [+] Windows for Workgroups link:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/
- ZDNet: Windows 3.1 Guide:
http://www.zdnet.com/windows/31/
- About.com Windows 3.x Resources:
http://windows.about.com/cs/windows3x/
- Windows 3.1 Tips:
http://www.tipsdr.com/win31tips.html
- Mega 16-bit Windows 3.xx Tips:
http://www.albedo.net/~arvic/fw-tips.html
- Logical Sky Windows 3.1 FAQ:
http://www.logicalsky.com/Windows31_FAQ.htm
- Windows 3.x 16 bit OS:
http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/html/winos.htm
- MS WINDOWS 32-BIT FILE ACCESS FAQ:
http://www.os2site.com/sw/hardware/storage/32bfafaq.txt
- Fix GPFs in Windows 3.1:
http://www.uwo.ca/its/doc/hdi/web/netscape/gpf.html
- PAI YILI'S WINDOWS HELP PAGES:
http://www.windowswarrior.com/wintips2.htm
- Denken Tips for Windows 3.1/3.11:
http://www.denken-digital.com/tips/tips431/tipsfor31_10.htm
- Computer Hope Information about Windows 3.x:
http://www.computerhope.com/win3x.htm
- Centreline 2000 MS Windows 3.1 Tips:
http://www.c2000.com/mswindow/msf_idx1.htm
- Windows 3.1 Support:
http://micro.uoregon.edu/win31/
- PowerLoad Windows 3.x Resources:
http://www.powerload.fsnet.co.uk/win3x.htm
- Connect Windows + DOS:
http://www.kime.net/directcc/



SET TEMP [*]



If for any reason (i.e. increased speed) you decide to choose a different
"temp" (temporary) directory for storing Windows temporary files, let's say
for example a RAM disk, or a different (hard) drive/partition, you will need
to add these 2 lines at the end of your CONFIG.SYS file (found in C:\ root):
SET TMP=C:\TEMP
SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
considering C:\TEMP the new "temp" directory on your boot drive.
To create the new directory C:\TEMP, before rebooting with the new
Config.sys, run this command at a DOS prompt:
MD C:\TEMP
Then delete the Windows default "temp" directory: C:\WINDOWS\TEMP (and if
there are any SET TEMP= or/and SET TMP= lines in your Autoexec.bat you'll
have to remove or REMark them too). Example of REM-ed lines:
REM SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
REM SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
Or try this REMark alternative [the double colon (::) notation below works
ONLY in Autoexec.bat, but you can use the semicolon (;) REMark notation in
Config.sys]:
:: SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
:: SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
Reboot, and you're done.

ADD-ON:
To "clean" your TEMPorary directory of obsolete .TMP files every time upon
boot, add these lines at the end of your Autoexec.bat, AFTER the "SET TEMP="
and "SET TMP=" lines (if you included them in this file):

IF NOT EXIST %TEMP%\*.TMP GOTO NO
ATTRIB +A -H -R -S %TEMP%\*.TMP
DEL %TEMP%\*.TMP
:NO

NOTE: MS-DOS 5.00 or older allows SET <variable> commands ONLY in
AUTOEXEC.BAT, but NOT in CONFIG.SYS.



LOCALLOADHIGH [*]



For maximum DOS memory in a DOS session/box/window under Windows 9x/ME/3.1x,
add/modify this line to read:

LocalLoadHigh=1

under the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file, found in your Windows
directory/folder. This will give you an extra 2-12 KB (or more, depending on
your system configuration) of conventional (low) memory (RAM) in DOS sessions.
This setting determines the way Windows uses the Upper Memory Blocks (UMBs) in
a DOS session. Valid values are disabled (0, off, no or false) and enabled (1,
on, yes or true). Any of these values are recognized. Default is disabled,
equivalent to this SYSTEM.INI line:

LocalLoadHigh=0

If this line is absent (default), Windows uses the entire Upper Memory Area
(UMA) available, leaving no extra UMBs for DOS sessions running in protected
mode, each in its own Virtual Machine (VM).
If this entry is enabled, Windows does not use the entire UMA, thus making
UMBs available to each VM (DOS session).
If you load your DOS mode TSRs/drivers/devices high (in upper memory) in your
CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT files (using "DEVICEHIGH" and "LOADHIGH"
respectively, enabled by the HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE memory managers "combo"
in your Config.sys), and have a memory configuration (on bootup, before
launching Windows) of less than 16 KB of free upper RAM (the Upper Memory
Area is the first 384 KB of memory above the 640 KB boundary), make sure to
remove, or better, remark the following line with a semicolon (;), in the
[386enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

; LocalLoadHigh=1

CAUTION: If this line is enabled, you may NOT be able to start Windows with
less than 16 KB of free upper memory on certain system configurations!
On some systems, you might find necessary to add/modify the following line
under the [386enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file to read:

EMMExclude=A000-FFFF

to provide better compatibility with 3rd party memory managers (i.e. QEMM,
NetRoom, 386MAX, UMBPCI.SYS etc) or TSRs (Terminate and Stay Resident
programs) loaded in your startup files (CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT).
Also, you might want to remove all the WIN= switches from the EMM386.EXE
line in your CONFIG.SYS file (located in the root directory of your boot
drive, usually C:\). Example of EMM386.EXE line with two WIN= switches:

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE WIN=EE00-EFFF WIN=E000-ECFF I=B000-B7FF RAM AUTO

Remark the entire EMM386.EXE DEVICE line (put REM or a semicolon in front
of it), and copy it as the next new line, but this time delete the WIN=
switches. Open CONFIG.SYS with Notepad in Windows, or with EDIT.COM in DOS
(the MS-DOS text/ASCII editor), whichever you're comfortable with.
NOTE: You need to restart Windows every time after making ANY changes to your
SYSTEM.INI.

... And don't forget to BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM.INI BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!



LASTDRIVE [*]



If you don't specify a LASTDRIVE= line in your CONFIG.SYS, Windows/WfWG 3.1x
sets the last drive to Z by default (that's a total of 26 drive letters, what
a waste!), similar to:
LASTDRIVE=Z
If you are not connected to or using a network or a direct cable/peer to peer
link, you lose a few hundred bytes of low or upper DOS memory, because you
probably have a total of 3 to 9 drives (logical partitions and removable
drives included) in your system (about 7 if you use a disk compression
utility, like Drvspace or Dblspace, bundled with Win9x or MS-DOS 6.xx).
Every additional drive letter mentioned on your LASTDRIVE line takes up 96
bytes of conventional memory in MS-DOS 5.00/6.xx, or upper memory in
Windows, but ONLY if using an extended/upper memory manager, i.e.
EMM386.EXE, included by Microsoft with your operating system/environment,
begining with MS-DOS version 4.00.
If you use Drvspace, Dblspace, Stacker, or any other disk compression
utility, change (or add if not present) the LASTDRIVE= line to read:
LASTDRIVE=M
Examples:
If you don't use any disk doubler/compression tool, change it to:
LASTDRIVE=D
if you have 1 hard disk (HD) and 1 CD-ROM drive installed.
If you have 2 HDs and 1 CD-ROM or 1 HD and 2 CD-ROMs, you need:
LASTDRIVE=E
If you have 2 HDs and 2 CD-ROMs or 3 HDs and 1 CD-ROM:
LASTDRIVE=F
You get the idea.
The rule of thumb is to assign an additional drive letter to your system, on
top of the last letter used by your last drive/partition.
Some are using RAM (virtual drives in the system's memory) or removable
(backup) drives. Don't forget to count them in!
Don't bother counting the floppy drive(s) on your machine, they ALWAYS take
the first 2 letters: your first floppy drive is A (usually 3.5", 1.44MB), and
if you have a second (i.e. 5.25" 1.2MB floppy) drive, that would always have
assigned the letter B.
Even if you don't have a secondary floppy drive (B), your first (bootable)
hard drive/partition is always C.
NOTE: ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR STARTUP FILES BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES: AUTOEXEC.BAT
and CONFIG.SYS (located in the root directory of your boot drive, C:\ by
default).
From a DOS prompt, run:
MEM /C /P
and write down the amount of your free conventional/upper memory.
Then edit your CONFIG.SYS with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS, place
LASTDRIVE= as one of the first lines (after the DOS=HIGH,UMB line), save the
changes and reboot.
Go to that DOS prompt one more time, and run:
MEM /C /P
again, to see if you gained any more free upper or/and conventional memory.



CLOSE THAT BATCH!



To have your DOS style batch files close automatically upon completion,
whenever executed from a Windows icon/shortcut or by (double)-clicking the
respective program PIF (Program Information File = MS-DOS Program Properties):

- WinME users: you don't need to do anything. :)
PIF files are set by default to close automatically in Windows ME: the "Close
on Exit" box (see below) is already checked.

- Windows 95/98 users: right-click on the icon/PIF -> click Properties ->
select the Program tab -> check the "Close on Exit" box -> click the Misc tab
-> uncheck the "Warn if still active" box -> click OK/Apply.

- Windows/WfWG 3.1x users: run the PIF Editor (PIFEDIT.EXE = located in your
Windows directory) -> browse to the PIF file of your choice -> double-click on
it -> click Advanced -> check the "Close on Exit" box -> uncheck the "Warn if
still active" box -> click OK to apply changes.

- ALL Windows 9x/ME/3.1x users: add this line:
EXIT
as the LAST line in ALL your DOS batch files that run in a Windows DOS session
(box), to make sure they automatically return control over to the GUI
(Graphical User Interface) upon completion.

Edit your BATch files with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS.



MEDIA PLAYER



Undocumented! You can configure Media Player (MPLAYER.EXE, installed in your
\WINDOWS directory by default) to open, play once, and then close any of the
media clip files found on your hard drive and/or cd-rom (AVI, FLI, FLC, MID,
RMI, WAV, MPG, MPE, MOV, 3D, MMM, DAT etc).
Run REGEDIT /V from Program Manager's Run command line, and scroll down into
the REG.DAT's window until you find the files associated with MPLAYER.EXE.
In the top edit box, type a space after "C:\WINDOWS\Mplayer.exe", and then
type "/play /close" (without quotes).
The text in the box should look like this (don't type the quotes):
C:\WINDOWS\Mplayer.exe /play /close
Save the changes to REG.DAT (you may want to make a backup copy of your
original REG.DAT, just in case something happens along the way!).
You can repeat this operation with all media clip files listed above.
From now on, when you double-click a MID or WAV file etc... Mplayer will
play the file once, and then exit, without prompting you for action, or
waiting for you to manually click all the necessary buttons. This is also
useful for previewing new media files. Enjoy!

UPDATE:
I've come up with an easy way to do all this from a single double-click.
There is a file called MPLAYER.REG (a modified version of the original
MPLAYER.REG that comes with VfW 1.1e files) included in this archive, that
already has all of the above modifications made to allow Mplayer to play
once and then close all your media clip files you might have installed on
your Windows/WfWG 3.1x system.
All you have to do is double-click on it, and Windows registration database
will be updated with these new settings. For this to work, you need to have
OLE 2.0x extensions installed on your Windows/WfWG 3.1x system.
Video for Windows (VfW) 1.1e (newest version) is available (free) from:
http://www.cnunix.com/ftp/win3/WFW311/WV1160.EXE
and contains all OLE 2.02 components, which are installed by the same SETUP
that installs VfW 1.1e on your Windows/WfWG 3.1x system.
MPLAYER.REG is a plain text file and can be viewed/edited with Notepad.
NOTE: You also need to have the proper MCI (Media Control Interface) drivers
properly installed to have media clip files associated with Media Player!
To see a list of all MCI drivers installed, open your SYTEM.INI file
(located in \WINDOWS) with Notepad, and scroll down to the [mci] section.
It should look something like this:

[mci]
waveaudio=mciwave.drv 9
sequencer=mciseq.drv
AVIVideo=mciavi.drv
animation1=mciaap.drv
cdaudio=mcicda.drv
QTWVideo=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MCIQTW.DRV
MpegVideo=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\softpeg.drv
MpegVideoCD=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\softpeg.drv CDI

You might also want to look at your WIN.INI file's [mci extensions] section
(also located in your \WINDOWS directory) to see the list of all file
extensions that are associated with "media clip playback" on your system
(which are not all handled by Mplayer.exe).
On my WfWG 3.11 system, this section looks like this:

[mci extensions]
wav=waveaudio
mid=sequencer
rmi=sequencer
avi=AVIVideo
flc=Animation1
fli=Animation1
aas=Animation1
3d=Animation1
mov=QTWVideo
mvb=QTWVideo
pic=QTWVideo
jpg=QTWVideo
mpg=MPEGVIDEO
m1v=MpegVideo
mpe=MpegVideo
MPA=MPEGVIDEO
MPV=MPEGVIDEO
DAT=MpegVideo

Depending on the MCI devices are installed on your system, you have similar or
different entries.

FYI: See the "DocErr: Media Player Command-Line Switches" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q126/8/69.asp



CONTROL PANEL



Open File Manager (FM = C:\WINDOWS\WINFILE.EXE) and associate the .CPL files
found in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory with CONTROL.EXE, located in
C:\WINDOWS (default setup).
From now on, when you double-click on a .CPL file, it opens that specific
Control Panel applet, without having to open the entire Control Panel to
change a particular system setting.



DITCH DRVSPACE/DBLSPACE



If you don't use [and I strongly recommend NOT TO!] DRVSPACE (the disk
compression utility that comes with MS-DOS 6.22) or DBLSPACE (bundled with
MS-DOS 6.00 - 6.20), it's good to free some disk space (and eventually regain
some upper/conventional memory) and delete all DRVSPACE/DBLSPACE files from
your hard disk(s) and all related references from your startup files.
In File Manager, start a file search, begining with the root directory of your
boot drive (default is C:\) for all DRVSPACE or DBLSPACE files. Type this in
the search box: DRVSPAC*.* or DBLSPAC*.* and then click OK. You will get a
list of all DrvSpace/DblSpace files, with the following extensions: .BIN,
.EXE, .HLP, .INI, SYS etc.
Highlight them all and delete them. Don't worry about making backup copies,
you can always find them on your MS-DOS 6.xx SETUP floppies.
Some of these files might not show in the Find window, because you need to set
File Manager to display ALL FILES INCLUDING HIDDEN AND SYSTEM FILES.
Better, start by upgrading your hard disk(s), because 1 GB (or larger) hard
drives sell now for under $50.
If you ARE using DrvSpace or DblSpace to compress your drive(s), DO NOT DELETE
ANY DRVSPACE/DBLSPACE FILES YET!
To be able to delete these files, UNINSTALL Drvspace/Dblspace first, and ONLY
AFTER THAT delete these files.
You may also need to "clean" your Config.sys file (found in C:\ root) of
obsolete DrvSpace/DblSpace entries (examples):
- MS-DOS 6.00 - 6.20 users:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
- MS-DOS 6.22 users:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DBLSPACE.SYS /MOVE
Note that Microsoft removed DblSpace from MS-DOS 6.21, and DrvSpace was
introduced begining with MS-DOS 6.22.
Same line REMmarked using:
- the REM command:
REM DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
- or a semicolon:
; DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE
Edit Config.sys using EDIT.COM in DOS or Notepad in Windows.
Save your work and reboot.
DrvSpace/DblSpace only slows down your system (and it's not 100% safe anyway),
and of course, it is a temporary solution for getting extra disk space.
You'll end up needing a larger hard drive some day anyway. :)



WIN.COM SWITCHES



When you run WIN /? from a DOS prompt, you get this screen:

"Starts Windows for Workgroups 3.11.  (... or Windows 3.1.)

WIN [/B] [/N] [/D:[C][F][S][V][X]]

/B    Creates a file, BOOTLOG.TXT, that records system messages generated
    during system startup (boot).
/N    Causes Windows not to load network drivers.
/D:    Used in combination with one or more of the following switches for
    troubleshooting when Windows does not start correctly.
   C    Turns off 32-bit file access.
   F    Turns off 32-bit disk access.
    Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: 32BitDiskAccess=FALSE.
   S    Specifies that Windows should not use ROM address space between
    F000:0000 and 1 MB for a break point.
    Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: SystemROMBreakPoint=FALSE.
   V    Specifies that the ROM routine will handle interrupts from the hard
    disk controller.
    Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: VirtualHDIRQ=FALSE.
   X    Excludes all of the adapter area from the range of memory that Windows
    scans to find unused space.
    Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: EMMExclude=A000-FFFF."

These switches are meant to provide you with options for starting Win31 in
special troubleshooting modes if you are having problems running/loading
Windows on your system. Example:
WIN /D:F
to turn off the 32-bit disk access (not recommended in normal conditions).
Hope you never have to use them...

NOTES:
- To MAXimize your Windows performance read "SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS" in
MYTIPS31.TXT (this file).
- To learn about the UNDOCUMENTED WIN.COM switches read "WIN.COM HIDDEN
PARAMETERS" in SECRETS.TXT (included).



SWITCHES [*]



SWITCHES=/F
Use this command ONLY in your CONFIG.SYS file, as the first line.
The /F switch skips the 2 second delay before processing the startup files
(CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT) at bootup. The /F parameter is valid for all
MS-DOS versions begining with 6.00 and including Windows 95/98/ME (a.k.a.
MS-DOS 7.00/7.10/8.00).



SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS [*]



A MUST: See this page for COMPLETE DETAILS using ALL Win9x/ME/3.1x releases:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/lastweek.htm#SYSINI

SYSTEM.INI is a Windows 9x/ME/3.xx INItialization text file and resides in
your Windows directory.
First, let's see the Windows .INI files editing rules:
- You can replace "no" with "0", "off" or "false". Similarly, "yes" has the
same effect as "1", "on" or "true" (but don't type the quotes). This applies
ONLY to <boolean> entries (yes/no, 1/0, on/off, true/false), NOT to numeric
(decimal/hex) or string (text) values (i.e. DMABufferSize = 0 - 64 KB), which
have different measuring units, ranges or characters (exemplified below).
- Windows loads its built-in/default values (shown below) for all .INI
settings that are not present.
- All Windows .INI lines are case insensitive.
- You can comment (remark, disable) any Windows .INI entry (instead of
deleting it) by preceding it with a semicolon (;). Example:
; 32BitDiskAccess=ON
- Windows .INI file maximum allowed size is 64 KB, which is an annoying
limitation. Anything above that is not processed. :(
- You need to restart Windows every time after modifying ANY System.ini
settings!
- CAUTION: BACKUP your .INI files BEFORE making ANY changes!
- If you don't know what these lines do, YOU MUST READ your Windows help
files/documents/manuals BEFORE altering ANY configuration files, and BEWARE
that if you enter invalid values you may experience data loss and/or
unexpected machine lockups !!!
The following are helpful lines to add/modify (using Notepad or Sysedit in
Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS) under the [386enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI,
valid ONLY for Windows/WfWG 3.1x if not specified otherwise.
And now that we've cleared it all up, let's have some fun... :)

32BitDiskAccess=ON    To turn on 32-bit disk access in Windows for maximum
            performance. To disable 32-bit access ONLY for
            troubleshooting purposes (NOT recommended), replace ON
            with OFF. This is equivalent with starting Windows by
            running:
            WIN /D:F

COMBoostTime=1    To speed up keyboard buffered operations (decrease character
        download time) at high speed modem transfers (above 9600 bps),
        using communications/internet applications. Affects the time
        (in milliseconds) the Operating System processes a COM port
        interrupt. Default value is 2. If you notice any loss of
        keyboard characters while using internet/communications apps,
        increase it to 4 or higher. Experimenting may be necessary to
        determine your optimal setting.

COMxBuffer=1024        To increase the buffer size (in Bytes) for characters
            sent/received by your communications device (modem) on
            a specific COM port. Replace x with the COM port
            number used by your modem. Valid COMx values: 1, 2, 3
            and 4. Default Buffer value is 128. High values will
            decrease modem transfer speed slightly, but might
            prevent loss of characters at high baud rates (above
            9600 bps). Experimenting may be necessary to find your
            "sweet spot".
            NOTE: BEFORE increasing the COMx Buffer value, you
            need to add an empty (BLANK) COMxProtocol= line (see
            setting below):

COMxProtocol=    To specify whether Windows should stop simulating characters
        in DOS boxes/sessions after the Virtual Machine (VM) sends an
        XOFF character, if a DOS based communications/internet
        program/game loses characters while performing text transfers
        at high baud rates (above 9600 bps), on a specific COM port.
        Replace x with the COM port number used by your analog modem.
        Valid COMx values: 1, 2, 3 and 4. Valid values: XOFF (to stop)
        or BLANK (to continue).
        Default is any value other than XOFF. Set this line to BLANK
        (leave it empty) when performing binary transfers.

COMIrqSharing=ON    To enable COM port IRQ sharing in Win31, ONLY IF using
            ANY serial I/O communications cards (UART, modem, NIC
            etc) that support IRQ sharing with other hardware
            devices in your computer. Default value is OFF.

DMABufferSize=64    To increase your 16-bit Direct Memory Access (DMA)
            channel buffer to maximum size: 64 (in KiloBytes).
            Affects ALL I/O (Input/Output) DMA operations: sound
            card FM/wavetable, MIDI playback/recording, disk
            buffered reads/writes. Default value is 16.

DualDisplay=ON    Mandatory for compatibility with extended/expanded memory
        managers (EMM386.EXE, QEMM386.SYS, RM386.EXE, 386MAX.SYS etc),
        to allow Windows to use the B000-B7FF Upper Memory Area (UMA)
        on VGA, Super VGA (SVGA) and eXtended VGA (XVGA) color
        monitors, ONLY IF NOT using a secondary display
        adapter/monitor. Default value is OFF.
        You MUST also add/modify your memory manager CONFIG.SYS line
        to include this area (example):
        DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE I=B000-B7FF

EMMExclude=A000-FFFF    To prevent Windows from searching the Upper Memory
            Area (UMA) for unused memory (RAM) upon startup. Safer
            if using any 3rd party memory managers (QEMM, NetRoom,
            386MAX etc), or any real MS-DOS mode
            devices/drivers/TSRs in CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT. This
            is equivalent with starting Windows by running:
            WIN /D:X

FileSysChange=OFF    To prevent updating file changes in DOS
            sessions/boxes, and thus speed up disk operations in
            DOS sessions and File Manager. Default value is ON,
            which decreases system performance on slower
            computers.

HardDiskDMABuffer=32    Memory allocated (in KiloBytes) for the Direct Memory
            Access (DMA) buffer for disk-buffered reads/writes.
            Default value is 0. Maximum allowed value is 32.
            If using SMARTDRV with double-buffering turned on:
            DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER
            this setting is determined automatically.

InitPS2MouseAtExit=OFF    Disables the search for a PS/2 mouse upon Win31 exit,
            thus saving a few milliseconds. Default value is ON.

IRQ9Global=ON    Use this setting if your system hangs when reading from floppy
        drive(s) in Win31. Default value is OFF.

KeyBoostTime=0.1    To increase keyboard response (in seconds) to
            keystrokes with several background Windows programs
            running. Default value is 0.001 (1 millisecond =
            1/1000 of a second).

LocalLoadHigh=1        To increase the amount of conventional (low) DOS
            memory (RAM) available to each DOS session/box to
            maximum. Default value is 0. See "LOCALLOADHIGH" in
            MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for more details.

MaxBPs=1000    To increase the Maximum Break Points memory size (in Bytes)
        used by Windows Virtual Memory Manager (VMM). Default is 200
        (rounded up to 370). Maximum allowed is 1000 (rounded up to
        1200).
        Windows allocates memory space for break points in 4096 Bytes
        (4 KB) blocks. A value of 200 is actually rounded up to 370 to
        fit into the first 4K block. If value raised to 400 Windows
        opens a second 4K block, and if raised to 800, a 3rd block is
        allocated etc.

MaxPagingFileSize=xxxxxx    To define the upper (maximum) limit of the
                swap file size in KiloBytes (KB). Default is
                50% of available free space on target drive.
                Maximum allowed has to match total available
                free space on selected hard drive/partition,
                equivalent to deleting this line. See "SWAP
                FILE" and "9X/2000/NT/ME/XP/3.1X MULTIBOOT
                SWAP FILE" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for
                more details.

MinPagingFileSize=xxxxxx    To define the lower (minimum) limit of the
                swap file size in KiloBytes (KB). Default is
                NONE. Minimum allowed is 0 KB, equivalent to
                deleting this line. See "SWAP FILE" and
                "9X/2000/NT/ME/XP/3.1X MULTIBOOT SWAP FILE" in
                MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for more details.

MessageBackColor=8    To specify the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) background
            (screen) color. Default is blue (1). See "BLUE (OR ANY
            OTHER COLOR) SCREEN OF DEATH" in MYTIPS31.TXT
            (this file) for complete details.

MessageTextColor=C    To specify the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) foreground
            (text) color. Default is bright white (F). See "BLUE
            (OR ANY OTHER COLOR) SCREEN OF DEATH" in MYTIPS31.TXT
            (this file) for complete details.

MinTimeSlice=40        To increase the minimum time (in milliseconds) a DOS
            Virtual Machine (VM) is allowed to run before other
            VMs can take over. Default value is 20. Smaller values
            (i.e. 10) make multitasking smoother, but decrease
            overall system performance.

PageBuffers=32    To increase the 4 KB page buffers number (in KiloBytes) for
        storing asynchronous read/write pages, and thus boost Windows
        fixed disk performance. Works ONLY if using 32-bit disk access
        (FBDA) AND a permanent swap file. Default value is 4. Maximum
        allowed is 32.

PagingDrive=X:    To specify the (permanent) swap file fixed disk location
        (substitute X with target drive/partition letter). Default is
        C:. See "SWAP FILE" and "9X/2000/NT/ME/XP/3.1X MULTIBOOT SWAP
        FILE" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for more details.

PagingFile=X:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT        To specify the (permanent) swap file
                    location: fixed disk (substitute X
                    with target drive/partition letter),
                    path (substitute PATH with target
                    directory name) and filename with
                    extension (substitute FILENAME.EXT
                    with WIN386.SWP for Windows 95/98/ME
                    or with 386SPART.PAR for Windows/WfWG
                    3.1x). Default is
                    C:\WINDOWS\WIN386.SWP for Win9x/ME or
                    C:\386SPART.PAR for Win31. See "SWAP
                    FILE" and "9X/2000/NT/ME/XP/3.1X
                    MULTIBOOT SWAP FILE" in MYTIPS31.TXT
                    (this file) for more details.

PerVMFiles=60    To increase the number of private file handles (similar to the
        native MS-DOS mode "FILES=" command in CONFIG.SYS) allocated
        to each Virtual Machine (VM), needed by DOS programs running
        in a DOS session. Default value is 10 for Win/WfWG 3.1x.
        Maximum allowed is 225. The specified number (0 - 225) is
        added to the minimum of 30 VMFiles Windows allocates by
        default to each VM. In this example: 60 + 30 = 90 VMFiles.

SyncTime=ON    You MUST enable this line IF TrapTimerPorts=OFF (see setting
        below), to synchronize Win31's time clock with the computer's
        BIOS clock periodically. Default value is OFF.

TrapTimerPorts=OFF    Helps time sensitive Win31 programs/games that rely on
            the computer timer to run more accurate. Default value
            is ON.

VGAMonoText=OFF        To allow Windows to use the B000-B7FF Upper Memory
            Area (UMA) if not used by other hardware devices
            (monochrome video adapters) or graphics/video
            (VGA/SVGA/XVGA) applications. Default value is ON.
            If a hardware device/peripheral or an
            upper/extended/expanded memory manager using this
            memory range is installed, this area is NOT available
            to Windows.

WindowUpdateTime=200    To decrease the time (in milliseconds) between display
            updates for slower non-Windows (DOS based) programs
            running in DOS sessions. Default value is 50.

Some of these settings can be loaded at Windows startup, as command line
parameters. To see which ones suit your needs, run:
WIN /?
from any DOS prompt. See also "WIN.COM SWITCHES" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file)
and "WIN.COM HIDDEN PARAMETERS" in SECRETS.TXT (included) for more details.

NOTES:
1. See these Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) articles to learn how to tweak
your SYSTEM.INI [386enh] section settings (most are valid for ALL Windows
9x/ME/3.xx releases):
- "Windows 3.1 Resource Kit SYSTEM.INI [386ENH] Section A-L":
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q83/4/35.asp
- "Windows 3.1 Resource Kit SYSTEM.INI [386ENH] Section M-Z":
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q83/4/36.asp
2. Download Microsoft Windows/WfWG 3.1x Resource Kits (RK) with tons of techno
details and extra tweaking + monitoring tools:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q124/4/35.asp
- Windows 3.10 RK [3.4 MB]:
http://intranet.dx21.com/software/win3x/rsk/W31RSK.zip
- WfWG 3.10 RK [594 KB]:
http://intranet.dx21.com/software/win3x/rsk/WFWRSK.zip
A MUST for all Windows/WfWG 3.1x afficionados.



BLINK... NOT!



Undocumented!
To change the cursor blinking rate to NON-BLINKING in Windows/WfWG 3.1x,
effective in Notepad, Write or any other Windows application using the
standard block cursor dialog box, all you need to do is modify the following
line under the [windows] section of your WIN.INI file, located in your
Windows/WfWG directory, to read:
CursorBlinkRate=-1
Alternatively, for a very slow blinking rate, you can give it a value of
65535 (maximum allowed).
Edit WIN.INI with Notepad or Sysedit in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS.
Save your work and restart Windows/WfWG to see the effect.
NOTE: This setting does NOT apply to the MS-DOS mode box cursor.



AUTOMATIC ZIP



This tip applies ONLY to MS-DOS command line users! ;)
You can also perform these backup chores [manually :(], by using Info-ZIP WiZ
16-bit for Windows/WfWG 3.1x [free GNU]:
http://www.info-zip.org/WiZ.html
in GUI mode.
But here's the "easy" way: [:)]
I included here two DOS batch files: ZIPHARD.BAT and ZIPFLOP.BAT. They are
designed to automate the task of backing up files, and compressing them the
same time, to save disk space. These batch files use PKZIP.EXE, part of
PKWare PKZIP + PKUNZIP v2.50 [202 KB, no nag shareware], THE essential DOS
ZIPping/unZIPping tools, Long File Names (LFNs) aware ONLY in a Windows
9x/NT/2000/ME DOS box:
ftp://ftp.pkware.com/PK250DOS.EXE
Install the PKWare files in an easy to remember directory (i.e. C:\ZIP), and
then add it to your path line (generic example):
SET PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\STUFF;C:\ZIP;etc...
by editing your CONFIG.SYS (MS-DOS 6.00 or newer ONLY!) or AUTOEXEC.BAT file
(both located in C:\ root) with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS. Reboot
when done.
For convenience place the 2 batch files mentioned above into the same
directory where PKZIP.EXE resides (C:\ZIP in this example).
Now you're ready to roll...
To zip up (compress) all files in a given directory (and all its
subdirectories for that matter) on your hard disk, run ZIPHARD from a DOS
prompt window, by creating a PIF for it (in Windows), or straight from the
plain (native) DOS command line, outside Windows.
All you have to do is type the name of the zip file (without extension, up to
eight characters), and you'll also have to type the name of the directory that
contains the files you want to zip up, all after the batch file name, leaving
a space between parameters.
That's it. If your zipped directory has subdirectories, the batch will take
care of that too, zipping all subdirectories and the files contained in them
(recursing all subdirectories).
To zip the files from a directory on your hard disk onto a floppy disk (the
default is A:), run ZIPFLOP from a DOS prompt (included). Just make sure to
mention the zip name (again, without extension), and the name of the directory
(subdirectory) where the files you want to compress reside.
ZIPFLOP is designed to make a single zip file which will be placed on multiple
floppies (spanned), if necessary, so make sure you have enough floppy disks
handy, to swap the floppies when prompted by PKZIP's routine!
Example of using ZIPHARD (same principle applies to ZIPFLOP):
ZIPHARD MYBACKUP MYDOCS
to zip all files in your \MYDOCS directory (and subdirectories, if any). The
zip file (MYBACKUP.ZIP) created by running this command line, is located in
the newly created \ZIPTEMP directory, on the same hard drive.
IMPORTANT: The zip filename has to be identical with your wanna-be compressed
directory name on your hard disk!
Make sure to change the drive letters (edit these BAT files with Notepad in
Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS) if different on your system: I presumed C is your
hard drive and A is your 3.5 inch (bootable) floppy.



RESTORE AFTER INSTALL



I realized the most reliable method of restoring your original files after a
Windows program install/setup routine modified/replaced/deleted/added other
files to your original Windows and Windows System files is to create separate
directories for all Windows and respectively Windows System files, and copy
ALL the files there, before installing any new software program/application.
This means you don't have to buy/try/regret any "CleanSweep", "Uninstaller",
"RemoveIt", or other fancy "install watch dog" utility. :)
This method works always, with ONE exception that I know of. When you install
the Quick Time Movies Extensions to play .MOV files (Quick Time Movies) and
view .PIC files on your Windows system, at some point during the setup
process, the installer will ask for your approval to delete all the old
versions of Quick Time Movie files found on your hard drive(s), which means it
will also erase the ones in your BACKUP directories (just created by the batch
file below), if you answer YES to that question. The fix is to answer NO to
the question! Let it delete ONLY the files in your current \WINDOWS and
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directories.
To backup/restore all your Windows and Windows System files use the two DOS
batch files described below.
The first one is BACKUP31.BAT: copies ALL files from your \WINDOWS directory
and all its subdirectories to a new directory called C:\WIN31BAK and your
MS-DOS boot files (AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS) from C:\ root to a new directory
called C:\DOS6BAK.
After finishing installing a new (trial) program, you can restore back your
original Windows configuration (uninstall utilities, that use the Shield
Wizard Install feature, claim to remove all traces of an installed program,
but in reality they still leave files scattered on your hard drive, or/and
phantom entries into your System Files: REG.DAT, SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI,
CONTROL.INI etc) by running the second one: RESTOR31.BAT.
Some uninstallers will sometimes prompt you to manually remove some of the
files created by the install routines, but don't always count on that. :)
I found out this recovery method from a buggy install works better and
painlessly. Give it a try.

IMPORTANT:
- BACKUP31.BAT works ONLY from a DOS box/session/window WITHIN Windows/WfWG
GUI, NOT from native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode OUTSIDE Windows/WfWG GUI!
- RESTOR31.BAT works ONLY from native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode OUTSIDE
Windows/WfWG GUI, NOT from a DOS box/session/window WITHIN Windows/WfWG GUI!

First run BACKUP31 from a Windows/WfWG DOS box/session to backup your entire
Win31 system files + (sub)directories BEFORE installing a new program.
Then setup/install your desired (trial) software, and if you are not satisfied
with it for any reason, or you'd like to remove it entirely from your system,
exit Win31 to native MS-DOS and run RESTOR31, to wipe all current Windows and
Windows System files, and revert to your original configuration, before that
(buggy) install.
Some buggy (older) install routines will replace .386, .DLL, .VBX, .VXD, .DRV,
.EXE or/and other CRUCIAL Windows System files with their own (eventually
OLDER) versions, even if you already have the most recent versions installed!
The conclusion is that you won't be able to run your other programs that
require particular (eventually NEWER) versions of the replaced files after
such an installation!
This is valid mostly for older Windows programs, but I wouldn't count on that!
So beware when you unleash a setup/install program to run freely on your
system!
NOTE: To speed up disk access significantly, install Smartdrv in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT to cache all your disk drives in DOS mode. Example of
AUTOEXEC.BAT Smartdrv line:
SMARTDRV 2048 A+ C+ D /N
I presumed that A is your primary floppy drive, C is your hard drive and D
your CD-ROM/DVD drive.
The /N switch allows Smartdrv to return to the prompt BEFORE finishing the
write operations to the disk! Use it carefully!
Both BACKUP31.BAT and RESTOR31.BAT files are included here.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED:
- Edit RESTOR31.BAT with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS to change ALL
instances (on all command lines except the ECHO lines!) of your main
Windows/WfWG 3.1x directory name to match yours if other than WINDOWS.
- Open BACKUP31.BAT + RESTOR31.BAT with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS
to *READ* ALL instructions on ECHO lines BEFORE running them!
I hope you'll find this backup/restore method as useful as I did.



WATCH YOUR PROMPT



The (SET) PROMPT command can be typed at the DOS prompt, specified in
Autoexec.bat, and begining with MS-DOS version 6.00, it can also be mentioned
in Config.sys (same as SET PATH, SET TEMP, SET TMP, and any other SET lines).
Below are detailed two "bugs" I discovered in MS-DOS 6.00 and above, and
including MS-DOS 7.00, 7.10 and 8.00, bundled with Windows 95, 98 and ME
respectively, two issues that MS-DOS (ANY version) canNOT deal with on PROMPT
lines, or in Config.sys multiboot menus:
1. THE PROMPT BUG:
Don't use ANY equal signs ("=") ANYWHERE inside your PROMPT line!
If you do, MS-DOS will try to interpret ALL the characters after the "=" as a
command (or link to a command), will try to execute it, and you'll get this
error message:
"Syntax error"
Example of buggy "PROMPT" line that uses an equal sign (it's the second "=",
the first one is part of the prompt command line):
SET PROMPT=WINDOWS=My Computer$_$P$G
Same buggy "PROMPT" line example without the "SET" command and without the
"=" notation (which is not necessary, but it MUST be replaced with a space):
PROMPT WINDOWS=My Computer$_$P$G
NOTE: The "SET" prefix is not necessary in front of the "PATH" and "PROMPT"
commands, ONLY IF typed at the DOS prompt or included in your Autoexec.bat,
but it MUST be specified for all SET <STRING>=<VARIABLE> statements in your
Config.sys!
2. THE MULTIMENU BUG:
If you are using a multiconfiguration bootup menu in your CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT [like I do :)], which must have the menu names in square
parenthesis in your CONFIG.SYS {i.e. [MYMENU]}, and GOTO type of colon
preceded menus/labels (i.e. :MYMENU) in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, then DO NOT USE
THE SAME WORDS FOR YOUR MENU NAMES AS THE FIRST WORDS ON YOUR PROMPT LINES!
If you do, you'll see another error message:
"Label not found"
Example of generic multiconfiguration menus in Config.sys using matching
words for menus, using Autoexec.bat matching prompts and also using equal
signs inside the PROMPT lines, to demonstrate both the PROMPT and the
MULTIMENU bugs:

* BUGgy Config.sys:

SWITCHES=/F
[COMMON]
DEVICE=C:\path\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
DOS=HIGH,UMB
[MENU]
MENUITEM=WINDOWS,Boot to Windows    <- MULTIMENU BUG: WINDOWS
MENUITEM=DOS,Boot to Dos        <- MULTIMENU BUG: DOS
[WINDOWS]                <- MULTIMENU BUG: [WINDOWS]
DEVICEHIGH=C:\path\IFSHLP.SYS
SET CONFIG=WINDOWS            <- MULTIMENU BUG: WINDOWS
[DOS]                    <- MULTIMENU BUG: [DOS]
DEVICE=C:\path\EMM386.EXE RAM AUTO
DEVICEHIGH=C:\path\VIDE-CDD.SYS /D:MYCDROM
SET CONFIG=DOS                <- MULTIMENU BUG: DOS

* ... And corresponding (BUGgy) Autoexec.bat:

@ECHO OFF
SET PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\STUFF;etc...
GOTO %CONFIG%
:WINDOWS                <- MULTIMENU BUG: :WINDOWS
SET PROMPT=WINDOWS=My Computer$_$P$G    <- PROMPT + MULTIMENU BUGS: WINDOWS=
WIN %1
GOTO END
:DOS                    <- MULTIMENU BUG: :DOS
LH C:\path\MSCDEX /D:MYCDROM /M:16 /E
LH SMARTDRV 4096 16 A+ B- C+ D /N
SET MOUSE=C:\path
LH C:\path\MOUSE
SET PROMPT=DOS=My Computer$_$P$G        <- PROMPT + MULTIMENU BUGS: DOS=
:END
SET WINPMT=Type EXIT & hit Enter 2 return 2 Windows!$_$P$G

That's it.
Gee, it took me a while to figure out why I was getting weird error messages
at bootup...



AVI PLAYBACK



I found out that the optimal settings to playback AVI movies from my
CD-ROM drive are:
[MCIAVI]
DefaultVideo=Window
AccurateSeek=1
ZoomBy2=1
DisallowSilentPlay=1
DontBufferOffscreen=0
SkipFrames=0
UseAVIFile=0
"[MCIAVI]" is a section in your SYSTEM.INI file, located in your Windows
directory.
I have a 233MHz Pentium MMX, 64MB of EDO DRAM, an ATI Mach64 Graphics Pro
Turbo 4MB VRAM PCI video accelerator and an 8x speed internal IDE CD-ROM, and
I still have to mess with these settings to be able to play AVI files smoothly
on my machine (especially if I set my Windows video driver to 65K colors or
better).
You canNOT change ALL these settings by running MPLAYER.EXE, and then
selecting an AVI file, and trying to reset them through MPLAYER's Device,
Configure... dialog box!
So you'll have to fiddle with these settings yourself, editing the [MCIAVI]
section in your SYSTEM.INI (open it with Notepad in Windows).
Play around with them, playing the biggest AVI movie you can find on a CD-ROM,
after each change, until you find the optimal settings for your system (until
your movies play without interruptions/frame loss).
Use MPLAYER to play .AVI, MOV, .MPG, .MPE etc files. Example: associate the
AVI extension in File Manager with MPLAYER.EXE. Mplayer.exe is located in your
Windows directory.
The changes can be made by replacing the value "1" on each line with "0"
(don't type any quotes), and backwards, by changing "0" to "1".
NOTES:
- To play multimedia files (i.e. AVI movies), you NEED to have Microsoft
Video for Windows (VfW) extensions version 1.1e, installed on your Win31
machine!
Download VfW 1.1e [1.4 MB, free]:
http://www.cnunix.com/ftp/win3/WFW311/WV1160.EXE
After completing the download, run SETUP.EXE to properly install VfW.
- Windows 95/98/ME users do NOT need VfW 1.1e, because these OSes come with
their own built-in version of 32-bit VfW (if you have chosen to install the
Multimedia Accessories at the time of the installation)!



LOAD/RUN



I discovered the following to be limitation in Windows/WfWG 3.1x. Could also
very well be a limitation in Windows 95/98/ME. Till proven otherwise, I'll
keep this as a Windows 9x/ME/3.1x BUG, and this topic as its FIX.
Here we go:
If the "load=" line in your WIN.INI's [windows] section exceeds 128 characters
(the Windows programs/TSRs that load at startup), the executables listed
there beyond the 128 character limit WON'T BE PROCESSED by Windows. It's just
another Windows limitation [more like a BUG... :)]. To have such programs load
anyway, you can load them from the "run=" line, found in the same section of
your WIN.INI, located in your Windows directory.
Example of "load=" line longer than 128 characters:
[windows]
load=c:\windoz\wintsr c:\winstuff\stufftsr c:\virus\virustsr c:\scan\scantsr c:\programs\progtsr c:\blahblah\blahtsr c:\whatever\whattsr
Windows will load only the first 5 programs in this example because the last
2 are beyond Windows capacity of recognizing lines longer than 128
characters. :(
But if you put the last 2 programs in this example on the "run=" line, they
will be processed, but ONLY AFTER Windows reads and processes the "load="
line (using same example):
[windows]
load=c:\windoz\wintsr c:\winstuff\stufftsr c:\virus\virustsr c:\scan\scantsr c:\programs\progtsr
run=c:\blahblah\blahtsr c:\whatever\whattsr
Another solution is to load most (or all) of your Windows startup programs
from the Startup group, which is limited only by the number of items allowed
[maximum 50 items per program group in Win31 :(].
Edit WIN.INI with Notepad or Sysedit in Windows or with EDIT.COM in DOS.
Restart Windows when you're done.
FYI: I personally gave up Program Manager [Progman.exe and its pesky and so
cumbersome program groups :)] in favor of Winbar v1.2 [173 KB, free]:
ftp://ftp.zdnet.com/pcmag/1995/0912/winbar.zip
an excelent Windows/WfWG 3.1x tool from PC Magazine:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/
Winbar brings the Windows 95/98/ME taskbar and buttons style to Windows/WfWG
3.1x users, and makes a cool addition to your Win9x/ME desktop (in which
case you need to drag & drop your Win9x/ME taskbar to the TOP of your
screen, so it doesn't superimpose over Winbar or vice versa). :)
TIP:
If you decide to use Winbar, DO NOT load it from the "shell=" line in your
SYSTEM.INI's [boot] section, load it instead from the "run=" line under
WIN.INI's [windows] section, to be able to load Windows programs from the
MS-DOS command line prompt, BEFORE starting Windows. Example:
WIN WINFILE
Instead leave Progman.exe (if using Windows/WfWG 3.xx) or Explorer.exe (if
using Windows 95/98/ME) on SYSTEM.INI's [boot] section "shell=" line.
SYSTEM.INI is located in your Windows directory. Edit it with Notepad or
Sysedit in Windows or with EDIT.COM in DOS.
Restart Windows when you're done, so the changes can take effect.
And don't forget to BACKUP YOUR ORIGINAL FILES BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!



FIND FAST



To find ANY file location fast, in ANY DOS mode, when you know its file name,
or at least some of its file name characters and/or file extension, I have
created a small DOS style BATch file called FIND!.BAT (included).
To use it, simply type this command from any DOS prompt:

FIND! FILENAME.EXT

and then press Enter.
Here "FILENAME" is the name of the file you want displayed, and "EXT" is the
file extension in MS-DOS 8.3 Short File Names (SFNs) standard.
Don't type the quotes though. :)
You can also find files with Long File Names (LFNs) if using Windows 95, 98 or
ME, if you type a tilde ("~") after the first 6 characters in the file name,
which converts a LFN into its correspondent SFN. Example:

FIND! PROGRA~1.EXE

To locate multiple files, use typical DOS "wildcards" ("*" or "?").
This example:

FIND! *.TXT

locates ALL .TXT (text) files on your current (selected) drive/partition.
If your "SET PROMPT=" line contains the default string "$P$G", displayed by
running the SET command from any DOS prompt:

SET

then you can see your current (selected) drive/partition letter by simply
looking at your DOS prompt (drive C shown in this example):

C:\>

If you have more than 1 hard drive/partition, change to your other
drive/partition letter(s) by running (example):

D:

each followed by your particular FIND! command.
Another example: to locate all files begining with letter "A" on your current
drive/partition, run:

FIND! A*.*

FIND!.BAT uses the "DIR" (stands for "DIRectory") internal MS-DOS command,
built into COMMAND.COM (the default MS-DOS command interpreter which loads in
memory upon bootup).
If your search report is longer than the standard DOS screen (80 lines by 25
columns), listing too many files to be displayed on a single screen, the BATch
file stops at the end of each page [due to the use of the "/P" (Page) switch
for the "DIR" command], and you need to press a key to continue to the next.
To see all available command line parameters for DIR, run:

DIR /?

from any DOS prompt.

NOTE: FIND!.BAT works ONLY with MS-DOS 6.xx or Windows 95/98/ME [a.k.a. MS-DOS
7.xx/8.00], but NOT with ANY MS-DOS release earlier than 6.00, because
Microsoft added the "/S" command line switch to the "DIR" command ONLY in
MS-DOS 6.00 and newer, making possible to search for files/directories an
ENTIRE drive/partition by using "DIR", ONLY IF the search starts in the root
directory.
The only difference is that Win9x/ME version of "DIR" adds the "/V" (extended
View) switch, NOT available in MS-DOS 6.xx.



DATE/TIME FUN



Did you know that you can change the date and time display format to your
liking? The Control Panel icons won't let you mess around with those
settings too much (you're limited to a certain number of characters and
symbols), so you'll have to hack a little.
It's very easy, as almost anything goes. Let me explain. Just open your
WIN.INI file (found in your Windows directory) with Notepad.
NOTE: Before messing around with this file, MAKE A BACKUP COPY JUST TO BE ON
THE SAFE SIDE!... And, if you would like to be entirely on the safe side,
would you read (and eventually do) any of this?! :-)
Back to the business at hand: in WIN.INI, scroll down to the [intl] section
(stands for "International"). It looks something like this:
[intl]
sLanguage=enu
sCountry=United States
iCountry=1
iDate=0
iTime=1
iTLZero=0
iCurrency=0
iCurrDigits=2
iNegCurr=0
iLzero=1
iDigits=2
iMeasure=1
s1159=
s2359=
sCurrency=$
sThousand=,
sDecimal=.
sDate=/
sTime=:
sList=,
sShortDate=M/d/yy
sLongDate=dddd', 'MMMM' 'dd', 'yyyy
And now for the fun changes. As you can see, the "iTime=" line has a value of
1 on my machine. Windows assigns it a value of 0 by default.
It changes actually the looks of the time display in File Manager, and in
whatever application/utility shows the date and the time.
When it is 0, the time looks like this: 12:00:00AM (don't you hate somebody
telling you it's 12, midnight?) I do, so with the value of 1, the date looks
like this: 00:00:00AM (we're doing better already..., just read on).
The line "iDate=" has 1 as default value. That means the date looks like this:
1/1/96. I don't like this look, so I changed it to 0. Now it looks like this:
01/01/96.
Also, the date and time separators, the "sDate=" and respectively "sTime="
lines, can be changed to most any punctuation and/or symbol crosses your mind.
I personally tried these: / (default separator for the date), -, =, +, \, |,
: (default separator for the time), ;, ~, `, ', ", @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ),
[, ], {, }, _, and even the . (period), and the , (coma). You decide which
ones you like best for your own date/"time machine".
You can also change the way the date shows the order: month/day/year, or a bit
bizarre: year/month/day etc. Just modify the "sShortDate=" line to the way
you see today's date.
Same principle applies to the way the long date shows: the "sLongDate="
line (capital M on this line means the name of the month is going to begin
with a capital letter).
You can find infinite combinations, to make the date/time look good on your
screen, so... Make my day... :-)
Have fun.



FAST, FAST, FAST



For those of you who own a 28,800 (or faster) bps modem installed with a fast
16550AF/16550AN UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) on your
system, there is a way to maximize your UART internal transfer speed.
There are actually 2 methods to achieve this:
1. One is to open Control Panel, and then double-click on the Ports icon.
Click the Serial Communications port [COMx] you want to set (the one that
your modem is connected to). In the Port Settings screen, change the number
to show 921600 bps (bits per second). Click OK to save your settings, and
you're on!
2. The other method is to open your WIN.INI file, located in your Windows
directory, with Notepad. Scroll down to the [Ports] section. There you'll
find the COM1:, COM2:, COM3: and COM4: lines, each followed by an equal sign,
and by some numbers and letters. Replace those lines with these:

COM1:=921600,n,8,1,p
COM2:=921600,n,8,1,p
COM3:=921600,n,8,1,p
COM4:=921600,n,8,1,p

MEANING:
- COMx: = physical COMmunications port number: x = 1 - 4 on most PCs
- 921600 = internal COMmunications port speed measured in bits per second
  [bps]. Maximum is 921600, depending on the UART type and speed. Default is
  9600 bps
- n = parity bit: n = none (default is e = even)
- 8 = data bits: 8 (maximum 8, default is 7)
- 1 = stop bits: 1 (maximum 2, default is 2)
- p = hardware shaking (default is x = software shaking)

Save your file and then restart Windows for the changes to take effect.
Or if you like, you can set this way only the COM port that has your
modem/fax card connected to (that's the one that is going to take advantage
of this speed improvement anyway). If you have a serial mouse connected to a
COM port, you may want to leave that COM port settings unchanged, since the
mouse baud rate is limited to 1200-2400 (and only in rare cases goes up to
9600 baud).
From now on, you will experience faster transfers when using your ISP
(TCP/IP protocol), Online Service (i.e AOL), or your Communications/Fax
applications.

TIP: Read "RELEASE MY MODEM!" and "SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this
file) for more COMmunication ports settings.



SWAP FILE



THIS TIP IS INTENDED FOR USERS OF THE WINDOWS 95/98/ME DUAL-BOOT FEATURE, AND
REQUIRES THAT YOU HAVE WINDOWS 95, 98 OR ME, WINDOWS/WFWG 3.1x + MS-DOS 6.xx
PROPERLY INSTALLED ON YOUR SYSTEM!

IMPORTANT:
To properly enable the dual-boot feature under OSR2/Win98, you need to apply
the steps detailed in "DUAL-BOOT IN OSR2/WIN98":
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/osr2.htm#2BOOT
also in OSR2TIPS.TXT, part of W95-11D.ZIP:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm

CAUTION: UNDOCUMENTED AND DANGEROUS IF NOT DONE PROPERLY !

All different MS Windows specific issues are detailed below and all Windows
versions are clearly stated:
1. Windows 95/OSR2/98 (Win9x) AND Windows/WfWG 3.1x (Win31) users:
Windows 9x uses by default a permanent, resizable swap file (WIN386.SWP),
found in your Windows directory (default C:\WINDOWS). If you are a dual-boot
user (still running Win31+DOS6 and Win9x+DOS7 on the same machine), you are
probably using the Win31 permanent swap file (386SPART.PAR), located in the
root directory of your boot drive (usually C:\).
Win31's permanent swap file CAN ALSO BE USED by Win9x as its own!
* FIRST BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM + REGISTRY FILES: BOTH WIN9X + WIN31 VERSIONS !
2. Part for Windows 9x and part for Windows/WfWG 3.1x users:
You need to edit Win9x's SYSTEM.INI file located in your Windows directory
(default C:\WINDOWS), and add/modify these lines under the [386enh] section:

PagingDrive=C:
MinPagingFileSize=10320        Defines the lower limit of the swap file (if
                Win31's permanent swap file size is 10240 KB!)
PagingFile=C:\386spart.par    To use Win31's permanent swap file as Win9x's.

Optionally, you can set this upper limit to your swap file:

MaxPagingFileSize=82560        To have a 80 MB maximum swap file size under
                Win9x.

Specifying the upper limit for the swap file, allows for a less frequent hard
drive thrashing, thus speeding up the reading from/writing to your fixed
drive(s).
Edit SYSTEM.INI with Notepad or Sysedit, save your changes and restart
Windows.
IMPORTANT:
You have to specify the correct size of your Win31 swap file! Example: if you
select a 10240 KB permanent Win31 swap file (from the 386 Enhanced icon in
Control Panel), then the Win9x swap file size MUST be 10320 KB! The principle
is to choose a multiple of 1032 KB in Win9x's SYSTEM.INI to match Win31's
swap file size specified as a multiple of 1024 KB in Win31's SYSTEM.INI.
In this example 386SPART.PAR is 10,567,680 bytes (10 MB) in length.
Win9x provides its own way of (re)sizing the swap file through the Device
Manager. To access it: right-click on "My Computer" -> select Properties ->
click the Performance tab -> click Virtual Memory -> check "Let me specify my
own virtual memory settings". Change the Minimum value to 10 (above example).
BEWARE: Win9x might delete the line "PagingFile=c:\386spart.par" from
SYSTEM.INI's [386enh] section, after you resized the swap file using the
Device Manager. If this happens, add this line yourself (no quotes).
To prevent Win9x from deleting the PagingFile line, add it one more time, but
with a semicolon (;) in front of it. Any line begining with a ";" in any
Windows INI(tialization) file is treated as a comment, and won't be deleted.
You'll have to reboot/restart Windows after clicking OK, to make the changes
take effect [Win9x will prompt you to reboot anyway :)].
3. Windows/WfWG 3.1x users ONLY:
In Win31's SYSTEM.INI file, you MUST have the following lines under the
[386enh] header, to make 32-bit disk access work properly:

device=*pageswap
device=*pagefile
device=*wdctrl        ONLY for (E)IDE/ATA hard drives smaller than 528 MB
            (Win31 default driver).

If you have a hard disk larger than 528 MB (with more than 1024 cylinders),
use one of these 3rd party Windows/WfWG 3.1x 32-bit Fast Disk Access (FBDA)
drivers, compatible with ALL (E)IDE/ATA hard drivesup to 8 GB, with up to 2
GB per logical partition:

device=WDCDRV.386    Western Digital driver.
or:
device=MH32BIT.386    Micro House driver.
or:
device=ONTRACKW.386    OnTrack driver.
or:
device=SEG32BIT.386    Seagate driver.

Your motherboard's BIOS MUST support hard disk LBA (Logical Block Addressing)
and ECHS (Enhanced Cylinder/Head/Sector) standards for these 32-bit drivers to
work properly!
More FBDA info:
http://www.os2site.com/sw/hardware/storage/32bfafaq.txt

Other MANDATORY lines under SYSTEM.INI's [386enh] section:

device=ios.386        Protected mode Win31 386 enhanced device manager.
device=vxdldr.386    Virtual eXtended driver (VXD) for handling 32-bit
            disk access in Win31.
device=vcache.386    Enables 32-bit File Access ONLY in WfWG 3.1x!
32BitDiskAccess=on    Turns on 32-bit Fast Disk Access in Win31 AND Win9x!
PageBuffers=32        Increases the number of paging buffers (optional).
PermSwapDOSDrive=C    Default uncompressed (fastest) swap hard drive.
PermSwapSizeK=10240    Win31 permanent swap file size in KB. Win9x's swap
            file size in this case MUST be 10320 KB!

... And this line, under the [vcache] section of SYSTEM.INI (Win31 AND Win9x):

MinFileCache=2048    If you chose a 32-bit file access size of 2048 KB (2
            MB) through Control Panel -> 386 Enhanced icon ->
            Virtual Memory -> Change Virtual Memory Settings ->
            Use 32-bit File Access -> Change size (Win31). In
            Win9x/ME you'll have to edit SYSTEM.INI manually and
            add/modify this line yourself.

Optionally, you can also set the upper limit for the file cache size, to
reduce hard drive thrashing, in SYSTEM.INI, the [vcache] section (Win31 AND
Win9x):
MaxFileCache=4096
to allow the memory file cache to grow to a maximum of 4 MB.
Choose a MaxFileCache of 4 MB ONLY if your system has at least 16 MB of RAM
installed! A MaxFileCache greater than 4 MB won't increase performance
significantly anyway, especially if you have less than 10,000 files on each
drive/partition.
See "HARD DRIVE THRASHING" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for more details.
Win31 32-bit protected mode Fast Disk drivers (all free):
- Western Digital WDCDRV.386 v2.6 [129 KB]:
http://ftp3.ru.freebsd.org/pub/pc/hardware/wdc/drivers/hdutil/32pack.exe
- Micro House MH32BIT.386 v3.10 [74 KB]:
http://www.maxtor.com/softwaredownload/main/win32bit.exe
- OnTrack ONTRACKW.386 v1.03 [43 KB]:
http://www.maxtor.com/quantum/support/csr/software/disk_binaries/ontrk386.exe
- Seagate SEG32BIT.386 v801176 [71 KB]:
ftp://ftp.seagate.com/techsuppt/windows/seg32176.exe
In Win31's SYSTEM.INI, you can use only ONE of the 2 drivers mentioned above
depending on the size/model of your hard drive. Win31 default is "*wdctrl",
but you'll need one of these custom drivers if your (E)IDE hard drive(s) are
larger than 528 MB (and most newer hard drives are)!
If you have a SCSI hard drive you'll have to get a 32-bit Win31 disk access
driver from your drive manufacturer, only for the SCSI hard drives supported
by Win31's 32-bit disk access feature. :(
4. Windows 9x users ONLY:
Reboot. Now you can safely delete Win9x's default swap file (WIN386.SWP) from
your Windows directory.
5. Windows 9x AND Windows/WfWG 3.1x users:
* MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY, AND CHOOSE YOUR OWN SWAP
FILE SIZE IN WIN31 ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS AND THE AMOUNT OF MEMORY (RAM)
INSTALLED IN YOUR SYSTEM! Otherwise you may get a:
- "Corrupt Windows swap file" message when Win31 loads, and you'll have to
delete it and reassign a new permanent swap file in Control Panel -> 386
Enhanced icon!
- A VFAT error message or a 32-bit disk access error while loading Win9x,
especially if using the dual-boot feature!
6. Windows 9x users ONLY:
After making such modifications, ALWAYS check the Device Manager Performance
tab for any "MS-DOS mode 16-bit access drivers" alert messages, that would
impair disk performance under Win9x! You SHOULDN'T HAVE any such messages to
start with! The File System and Virtual Memory lines should ALL state
"32-bit" and you should see this message at the bottom:
"Your system is configured for optimal performance."
7. ALL Windows 9x AND Windows/WfWG 3.1x users:
Good luck! :)
... And may you have NO Microsoft crashes!

UPDATES:
1. See the "Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility Mode on Hard Disks" MSKB
article [Win9x users]:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q130/1/79.asp
2. See "FIXED SWAP FILE" and "9X/2000/NT/ME/XP/3.1X MULTIBOOT SWAP FILE" in
MYTIPS31.TXT (this file).



HARD DRIVE THRASHING



To reduce your hard drive thrashing (annoying, non-stop spinning) and decrease
potential delays, edit your SYSTEM.INI file's [vcache] section to read
(SYSTEM.INI is located in your Windows directory):

[vcache]
MinFileCache=2048
MaxFileCache=4096
ChunkSize=512

MEANING:

- "MinFileCache" specifies the minimum amount of system memory allocated for
caching files in KiloBytes (KB). Allowed values: minimum 128 KB - maximum
51200 KB [50 MB]. Default value (if not present): varies depending on
installed system RAM.
- "MaxFileCache" specifies the maximum amount of system memory allocated for
caching files in KiloBytes (KB). Allowed values: minimum 256 KB - maximum
56320 KB [55 MB]. Default value (if not present): varies depending on
installed system RAM.
- "ChunkSize" specifies the size of each block of cache memory buffer in
Bytes (B). Allowed values: minimum 8 B - maximum 8192 B [8 KB]. Default value
(if not present): 512 B.
- "AllocPageFixed" specifies whether to allow (if set ot OFF) Windows Vcache
32-bit protected driver to adjust the virtual file cache size to the current
needs, or to disallow (if set to ON) the file cache to be resized (fixed).
Allowed values: ON (fixed file cache) or OFF (resizable file cache). Default
value: OFF. You can replace ON with 1, YES or TRUE, and OFF with 0, NO or
FALSE, respectively (boolean *.INI entries). For maximum performance it is
recommended to leave it OFF, and let Windows manage its own file cache size.

File caching is handled by the dedicated VCACHE.386 driver in Windows for
WorkGroups (WfWG) 3.1x (located in %windir%\SYSTEM).
These are the mandatory entries for file cache to work properly:
- WfWG 3.1x: under the System.ini [386enh] section:

[386enh]
device=vcache.386

Older Windows 3.xx releases canNOT cache files, relying on the MS-DOS mode
SMARTDRV.EXE 16-bit disk cache tool for this purpose [much slower :(].

The lines above are useful on systems with at least 16 MB of RAM installed.
On systems with 8 MB or less, try these conservative System.ini [vcache]
settings:

[vcache]
MinFileCache=1024
MaxFileCache=2048
ChunkSize=512

On machines with 32 MB or more, you may want to adjust the "MinFileCache" to
1/8 of your installed RAM, and "MaxFileCache" to 1/4. Some trial and error
might be necessary, depending on your particular system configuration.
Create the System.ini [vcache] section if not present.
Save your work, and then restart Windows for these changes to take effect.
And don't forget to BACKUP your SYSTEM.INI FIRST!
Here are some recommended "MinFileCache" and "MaxFileCache" values depending
on your installed memory (note that the minimum and maximum cache values are
NOT the same, which helps if you routinely perform tasks dealing with large
files):

Memory (RAM)    MinFileCache    MaxFileCache
--------------------------------------------
  8 MB         1024         2048
 16 MB         2048         4096
 32 MB         4096         8192
 64 MB         8192        16384
128 MB        16384        32768
256 MB        32768        56320
512 MB        51200        56320

On systems with 128 MB RAM or more, you may want to delete these setings from
your SYTEM.INI altogether (if present), and let Windows handle its own file
cache sizes for optimal performance.
I have experimented with these values on 32, 64 and 128 MB systems. You may
find that other values work better on your computer, depending on what kind
of apps/games you're using: business, CAD/graphics rendering, animation/video
editing, development, publishing, 3D gaming, Internet, CD/DVD burning etc.

FYI: See the "32-Bit File Access Maximum Cache Size" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q108/0/79.asp

Also consider running a benchmark utility like Windows Magazine's WinTune
16-bit for Windows/WfWG 3.1x [1.2 MB, free]:
http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/util/wt20.zip
to determine your hard disk(s)' raw I/O performance.



FIXED SWAP FILE



Setting a Windows/WfWG 3.1x fixed size swap file will drastically reduce the
thrashing (frequent access) your hard disk constantly takes from the Windows
Dynapage VXD [Virtual eXtended (protected mode) Driver], thus avoiding the
continuous variable size swap file resizing (default operation), and therefore
spend less time listening to your hard drive churning. :)
Basically the swap file supplements system RAM (real memory) with disk space
(virtual memory). MS Windows manages virtual memory by "swapping" ("dumping")
chunks of data from system RAM (much faster), when physical RAM runs out, to
the fixed disk (much slower), by writing them to the swap file (this is called
"paging"), from where it can be later retrieved and used as needed.
To do this: open Control Panel -> 386 Enhanced -> Virtual Memory -> disable
the swap file completely.
Exit Windows and Defragment all your hard disk(s)/partitions using the MS-DOS
6.xx mode DEFRAG.EXE tool.
If using a dual-boot setup (Win31/DOS6 + Win9x/ME) you MUST use the Win9x/ME
32-bit Defrag tool to preserve Long File Names (LFNs)!
Then restart Windows again -> reopen Control Panel -> 386 Enhanced -> Virtual
Memory -> select a new permanent swap file by setting the Minimum and Maximum
sizes the SAME.
From now on you'll enjoy less time waiting for your hard disk to spin. :)
You can also do this by adding or modifying these two lines (using Notepad)
under the [386enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file (found in your Windows
directory):

[386enh]
MinPagingFileSize=206400
MaxPagingFileSize=206400

Save the file and restart Windows.
In this case the swap file's fixed size is 200 MB (206,400 KB).
The System.ini lines above need to have the size of your swap file specified
in KiloBytes (KB). To convert the size from MegaBytes (MB) into KiloBytes
(KB), use this formula (same example above: 200 MB):
200 MB x 1032 = 206,400 KB
See also "SWAP FILE" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for more tweaks.
Use a Win31 monitoring/benchmark tool like WinMag WinTune 2.0 [1.2 MB, free]:
http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win3/util/wt20.zip
to determine the maximum swap file size used when running the most
disk/memory/CPU intensive apps/games.
Then look at the largest number (in KiloBytes) which represents the maximum
size of the used swap file. Add another 41,280 KB (40 MB) to this value to
make sure your system will never go over this limit, and then type this new
number on both SYSTEM.INI lines above (in KB). Restart Windows when done.
This is ONLY my own estimate. You'll have to figure out yours, taking in
consideration the types of software used (3D games, CD burning, true color
image rendering/editing, desktop publishing etc) and your fixed disk(s) free
space necessary to hold the swap file, to have your system run smoothly.



WRONG PATH



If you try to start an installation/setup program that installs a new
application/game on your Windows 3.1x system from a temporary directory that
is listed in your path (on the Autoexec.bat file PATH line), it may end up
locking your system!
Run any Windows Setup/Install program from a directory or subdirectory NOT
listed on your PATH line, to insure compatibility and "smooth" installation.
NOTE: In MS-DOS 6.xx you can place the PATH line in your Config.sys instead.



:: OR REM?



You can use the "::" (double colon) symbols, instead of using the well known
"REM" command in your Autoexec.bat file, to "remark" or disable the lines
you want. By using "::" (use no quotes), the MS-DOS bootup sequence skips
those lines all together, and does NOT process them, as it would if using
"REM", thus saving a few precious milliseconds (depending on your CPU speed)
at bootup. This command can be used in ANY DOS batch (.BAT) file. Example:
:: LH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE /1
This line is completely ignored by MS-DOS at bootup, and doesn't load your
MS-DOS mode mouse driver.
NOTE: The double colon remark notation canNOT be used in Config.sys. But you
can replace the standard Config.sys REM command with a semicolon (;) for
same effect.



ORDER, PLEASE!



Below I tried to list the detailed correlation between Config.sys and
Autoexec.bat command lines order, the order in which devices (drivers, TSRs)
load in memory (conventional, upper, high, extended, expanded), and the
bootup sequence.
The order of devices in memory is the order in which they are loaded at boot
time, depending on DOS UMBs (Upper Memory Blocks), and the mapping of all
installed RAM above the first meg as extended and/or expanded memory. This
availability is provided by the extended memory manager (MS-DOS's HIMEM.SYS
with or without EMM386.EXE), and the amount of largest contiguous upper RAM
region, available for drivers, known as UMBs (UMBs apply only to the Upper
Memory Area, UMA, and ONLY if an expanded/extended memory manager is loaded,
like EMM386.EXE, using the proper parameters to enable UMA).
Each device driver (TSR) must find a comfy place to load (its initial
loading size is larger than its final loading size).
Some vital (essential) devices load first, independent of size, and all the
others follow (as MS-DOS routine searches for what to load first at bootup
time).
The drivers that load from Config.sys come ALWAYS before the ones from
Autoexec.bat (MS-DOS processes these two files in this specific order:
Config.sys first, Autoexec.bat last).
The order of loading devices/drivers/TSRs from the startup files during
MS-DOS 6.xx bootup sequence:
First, MS-DOS startup routine looks for your IO.SYS and then for MSDOS.SYS,
hidden/system files, located in the root directory of your boot drive
(default is C:\).
MS-DOS 6.xx System/Configuration files in C:\ root (default):
 - MSDOS.SYS        Load MS-DOS operating system defaults
 - IO.SYS        Load the operating system I/O defaults
 - COMMAND.COM        The command line interpreter.
 - CONFIG.SYS        Not necessary for proper operation.
 - AUTOEXEC.BAT        Not necessary for proper operation.
 - MSDOS.W40        MS-DOS 7.00/Win95 System file (if any).
 - WINBOOT.SYS        MS-DOS 7.00/Win95 System file (if any).
 - COMMAND.W40        MS-DOS 7.00/Win95 System file (if any).
 - CONFIG.W40        MS-DOS 7.00/Win95 Configuration file (if any).
 - AUTOEXEC.W40        MS-DOS 7.00/Win95 Configuration file (if any).
NOTE: WINBOOT.SYS and all .W40 extension files above belong to the MS-DOS
7.00/Windows 95/98 version and are present ONLY on Windows 95/98 enabled
dual-boot systems!
 1. IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS (mandatory, load before the startup files are
    processed);
 2. HIMEM.SYS (or a 3rd party memory manager, like: QEMM, Helix NetRoom,
    385MAX etc, mandatory for Windows/WfWG 3.1x GUI to load);
 3. SYSTEM/MSDOS module (mandatory, part in upper memory if available, part
    in conventional memory);
 4. DOS=HIGH,UMB (if present in Config.sys, otherwise defaults to the DOS
    presets: DOS=LOW,NOUMB);
 5. BUFFERS, FCBS, FILES, LASTDRIVE, STACKS (if present in Config.sys,
    otherwise default to DOS presets: BUFFERS=30; FCBS=4,0; FILES=40;
    LASTDRIVE=Z; STACKS=9,256);
 6. EMM386.EXE (or other 3rd party expanded/extended memory manager, if
    any);
 7. DRVSPACE.SYS/DBLSPACE.SYS (loads Drvspace.bin/Dblspace.bin, which is
    mandatory, IF using MS-DOS's disk compression tool, DrvSpace or
    DblSpace);
 8. IFSHLP.SYS (mandatory for Windows/WfWG 3.1x 32-bit disk access
    compatibility with DOS mode);
 9. All other DEVICEHIGH and DEVICE lines in Config.sys (if any);
10. All INSTALL and INSTALLHIGH lines in Config.sys (if any);
11. The SHELL line in Config.sys (if any);
12. The SET COMSPEC line (mandatory, loads as a preset if the SHELL line
    is not found). The bootup routine looks for COMMAND.COM in
    C:\DOS and in C:\ root. If not found, the boot sequence stops,
    prompting the user for action, making necessary to manually type the
    location of Command.com (the command line interpreter);
13. All the SET lines in Config.sys (if any);
14. SETVER.EXE (if found in its default directory, C:\WINDOWS);
15. All LH (LOADHIGH), SET and other loading lines in Autoexec.bat.
(Autoexec.bat lines load in the order in which you have them listed in the
file).
Some programs (like MS Windows) and some drivers (like Smartdrv) need an
extended memory driver (like Himem.sys) loaded in order to be able to load
properly and access the provided extended memory (which is usually set to
the maximum of installed RAM on the respective system).
If HIMEM or another extended memory manager is not present, Windows (or/and
Smartdrv) display an error message and abort the loading sequence.
Most other drivers load low (in conventional memory) if an extended LIM
(Lotus/Intel/Microsoft specifications) compatible memory manager is not
detected.
MS-DOS 6.xx loads HIMEM.SYS, IFSHLP.SYS, SETVER.EXE, and DRVSPACE.SYS or
DBLSPACE.SYS (if disk compression is detected) even if they are not present
in your Config.sys, BUT it needs to find them in their default locations,
specified on the PATH line in your Config.sys or Autoexec.bat.
If you use any DOS mode programs, you may want to load all the Config.sys
drivers with the DEVICEHIGH command, to gain more conventional memory (but
make sure you have an expanded/extended memory manager loaded, like
EMM386.EXE, in your Config.sys, to make this possible).
The only drivers that can ONLY load low (in conventional memory) are the
memory managers themselves (HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE, or similar 3rd party
devices, like QEMM, RM386, 386MAX etc), so their only choice is the
DEVICE command line in Config.sys.
The Autoexec.bat command counterpart for loading TSRs in upper memory is
LOADHIGH (which can be abbreviated to LH).



SPEAKER CHALLENGE [+]



This tip was submitted by a good friend, formerly "computer challenged", but
now well ahead on his way as a Windows 3.1x/9x "tweaking expert". ;)
Thanks a bunch Ted!
This is the Microsoft PC Speaker driver [21 KB, free]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/SPEAK.EXE
This MSKB article explains how to install the PC Speaker Driver:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q138/8/57.asp
This PC Speaker driver works with ALL Windows 9x/ME/3.1x releases.
Windows 9x/ME users: see "PC SPEAKER" in TIPS95.TXT, part of W95-11D.ZIP:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm

"I have upgraded from a 486DX/33 to a Pentium 90.
While I expected faster execution, I did not expect the high pitched squeaks
that had been the "Ta-Dah" sound when Windows launched and Paul Harvey's
"Good Day" (freebies from Windows Magazine). I asked around and was told that
I needed a better driver for my PC Speaker (I don't have a separate audio
card yet).
I searched, but found nothing that seemed to help. Then, I stumbled across a
solution right under my nose:
Go to Control Panel (Windows/WfWG 3.1x) and click on "Drivers". I found a
long list that I'd never heard of, but one sounded right "Sound Driver for PC
Speaker". Highlight that, then click on "Setup" and there to my wondering
eyes were "Controls" for Speed, Volume and Number of seconds (to limit the
time the sound is played). Use your cursor to move the sliding "Switch", then
click on "Test".
"Ta-Dah" and Paul Harvey's "Good Day" have never sounded better.
Happy listening!"



NOTEPAD STAMP [+]



Many thanks ([e-mail]) for your cool tips.

1. "Pressing F5 in Notepad inserts the current date and time stamp at the
location of the cursor.
2. Also, if typing .LOG as the first line in a Notepad document, the date/time
stamp is added automatically every time upon reopening that file.
These tips work with both Windows 9x (32-bit) and 3.1x (16-bit) versions of
Notepad."



NO LOGO [+]



Courtesy of [e-mail].

"There is a better way to create WIN.COM without a logo (default locations
used here):
C:
CD\WINDOWS
COPY /B WIN.CNF WIN.COM
This mothod saves the 112 bytes your blank NOLOGO.RLE file takes up."

WARNING: This may cause sudden lockups with some older video controllers!

FYI:
- To learn about another (safe) method of starting Windows/WfWG 3.1x without a
logo see NEWLOGO.TXT (included).
- You can use WinLogo [160 KB, nag shareware]:
http://www.calmira.org/downloads/files/misc/winlogo.zip
to replace the default RLE picture from WIN.COM with the one of your choice,
which MUST be < 40 KB in size.



SYSTEM DLLS



I don't agree with programs that keep their system DLLs (Dynamic Link
Libraries) into their own directories, especially when they are older
versions duplicates of the ones normally located in \Windows\System.
I found out that the \Windows\System directory sometimes also contains the
same DLLs but usually of different (and if I'm lucky, newer) versions, which
may conflict/interfere with some (poorly written), usually older programs.
So I figured out that whenever I install a new Windows program, I usually
compare the same name duplicate DLLs, starting a search for that particular
filename (present in both the program's directory and in \Windows\System) on
the entire drive, and erase (ONLY AFTER BACKING THEM UP!) all the older
versions, to keep only the newest ones in \Windows\System. The Windows System
directory is accessed by ALL properly installed applications, to find their
needed Dynamic Link Libraries (newest versions are better to keep for
compatibility reasons).
To uninstall a particular application properly, I keep a text file with the
same program executable name (but with the .TXT extension) in its own
directory, and list there all DLLs used by it (that had duplicates at the
time of installation).
This way I know which DLLs to delete from \Windows\System when uninstalling
that particular program, WITHOUT affecting ANY other apps on my machine.
Sounds like a whole lot of work, but it saved me from trouble a few times,
since I don't trust this task to be done by commercial Uninstallers.



MODEM COM PORT



If you have Windows for WorkGroups 3.1x, there are a few modem settings you
can tweak under the [386enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file to maximize your
modem connection speed over the Internet using your ISP/online service.
NOTES:
- BACKUP your SYTEM.INI FIRST!
- Some of these tweaks work also with Windows 3.1x.
Open your SYSTEM.INI (found in your Windows/WfWG directory) with Notepad or
SysEdit, and add/modify the following lines under the [386enh] section:

COMxAutoAssign=1    Number in seconds after an application stops using
            the COM device before another application can take
            control of the same port.

COMxBase=2F8h        Base port for the given serial COM port in hex.

COMxIRQ=3        IRQ assigned to respective COM port.

COMBoostTime=1        To speed up keyboard buffered operations (decrease
            character download time) at high speed modem transfers
            (above 9600 bps), using communications/internet
            applications. Affects the time (in milliseconds) the
            Operating System processes a COM port interrupt.
            Default value is 2. If you notice any loss of keyboard
            characters while using internet/communications apps,
            increase it to 4 or higher. Experimenting may be
            necessary to determine your optimal setting.

COMxBuffer=1024        To increase the buffer size (in Bytes) for characters
            sent/received by your communications device (modem) on
            a specific COM port. Replace x with the COM port
            number used by your modem. Valid COMx values: 1, 2, 3
            and 4. Default Buffer value is 128. High values will
            decrease modem transfer speed slightly, but might
            prevent loss of characters at high baud rates (above
            9600 bps). Experimenting may be necessary to find your
            "sweet spot".
            NOTE: BEFORE increasing the COMx Buffer value, you
            need to add a COMxProtocol= line (see setting below):

COMxProtocol=        To specify whether Windows should stop simulating
            characters in a Virtual Machine (VM) after the VM
            sends an XOFF character, if a communications/internet
            application loses characters while performing text
            transfers at high baud rates (above 9600 bps), on a
            specific COM port. Replace x with the COM port number
            used by your modem. Valid COMx values: 1, 2, 3 and 4.
            Valid values: XOFF (to stop) or blank (to continue).
            Default is any value other than XOFF. Set this line to
            blank when performing binary transfers.

COMxFIFO=1        Toggles the FIFO buffer of a given COM port's 16550
            UART: ON (enabled) or OFF (disabled = default).

COMxTxFIFO=1        Sets transmission FIFO buffer to n bytes.
            Valid ONLY for WfWG 3.1x!

COMxRxTrigger=8        Sets receiver bandwith to n bytes (8 is maximum).
            Valid ONLY for WfWG 3.1x!

Replace COMx above with the actual COM port number (COM1 to COM4) your modem
is connected to.
NOTE: You need to have a buffered 16550 UART chip enabled on your motherboard
COM port or on your modem card to make all this work!
You can further "play" with these settings until you're satisfied with your
modem transfer speed.
INFO: See this 3COM/US Robotics tech support page:
http://www.usr.com/home/online/techinfo/10550.htm



HELP!



To step sequentially through all the topics of a Windows Help (.HLP) file
(including the popups), even the ones unlisted in the contents, press Ctrl +
Shift + J or Ctrl + Alt + J. This way you don't have to return to the contents
(opening help file screen), and you can browse ANY .HLP file, even if there is
no browsing sequence defined or no browse buttons available to that particular
help file.
You can also use these key "combos" to navigate:

- Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow or Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow = go to next topic.
- Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow or Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow or Alt + B (or press
the Back button) = go to previous topic.
- Ctrl + Shift + Home = go to first topic.
- Ctrl + Shift + End = go to last topic.

To make this work, add the following line under the [Windows Help] section
(create it if it doesn't exist) of your WIN.INI file, located in your Windows
directory. Use Notepad or Sysedit to edit WIN.INI:

[Windows Help]
SeqTopicKeys=1

Save your work and restart Windows.
This works with ALL Windows 95/98/ME AND 3.1x releases.

FYI: See "COLORFUL HELP" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) to learn how to customize
your Windows Help files colors.



DOS MULTITASKING



To quickly resort to the command line and perform any tasks in a DOS session
(started from within Windows), create a DOS style batch file with the lines
below, and name it MSDOS.BAT:
COMMAND.COM /C %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
Look up the PATH line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file (the latter
supports the PATH entry ONLY IF using MS-DOS 6.xx), and place MSDOS.BAT in a
directory on your path, to be able to run any DOS/Windows command/program in
the background. For example, running this command line from a DOS box:
MSDOS COPY C:\WINDOWS\*.INI D:\BACKUPS
copies all .INI files from the C:\WINDOWS directory (standard Win31 setup) to
the D:\BACKUPS directory in the background, letting you work on other tasks in
the foreground.



GOOD OL' UNDELETE



This tip applies to both Windows 95/98/ME AND MS-DOS 6.xx users who take
advantage of the Win9x/ME dual-boot feature, and also kept a copy of MS-DOS
6.xx and eventually Windows/WfWG 3.xx.

NOTES:
- ALL text files below are part of W95-11D.ZIP:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm
- To properly enable the dual-boot feature built into Win95/OSR1 OS, see "DUAL
BOOT" in MYTIPS95.TXT!
- To properly enable the dual-boot feature built into Win98/OSR2 OS, see
"DUAL-BOOT IN OSR2/WIN98" in OSR2TIPS.TXT!
- MUST READ: "LOCK IT UP!" in TIPS95.TXT for more details on PROPERLY using
UNDELETE.EXE with Win9x OS!

If you use File Manager in Windows to take care of your routine file chores or
start programs [like I do, an old Win31 habit :)], you can recover files (even
entire directories) accidentally deleted by the File Manager built-in Delete
tool, or by ANY other 16-bit application, including the MS-DOS DEL and DELTREE
commands.
This workaround saved some of my very important files (text documents) I was
working on, one (very dark) cloudy day. After saving my work, I accidentally
deleted all the files in that particular directory before making any backup
copies (... oops!).
But I remembered THE solution: I immediately shut down Windows, and rebooted
into MS-DOS 6.22. Then I ran the MS-DOS mode UNDELETE tool (in true/native DOS
mode, of course). Et voila, all my "lost" files showed up once again!

NOTE: File Manager (FM for short, filename WINFILE.EXE, located in your
Windows directory) is a 16-bit Windows application, so a file deleted by such
a program CAN BE RECOVERED by UNDELETE.EXE. Files/directories erased by a
Win32 (32-bit) application MAY NOT BE UNDELETED this way, you HAVE to use the
built-in Recycle Bin or some other 3rd party file/directory restoring tool!

UNDELETE.EXE is also found on the Windows 95 install cd-rom (the original
release, NOT Win95 B/C OSR2), in the \OTHER\OLDMSDOS directory. It is not
copied to your C:\Windows\Command directory by Win95's install, so to use it,
you need to do this manually. Run this command at any DOS prompt:
COPY D:\OTHER\OLDMSDOS\UNDELETE.EXE C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
where D is your cd-rom drive letter and C is your boot drive letter (you need
to change them if different on your machine).
When you run:
UNDELETE /?
from a DOS prompt, you get this screen:

"UNDELETE - A delete protection facility
Copyright (C) 1987-1993 Central Point Software, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Restores files previously deleted with the DEL command.
UNDELETE [[drive:][path]filename] [/DT | /DS | /DOS]
UNDELETE [/LIST | /ALL | /PURGE[DRIVE] | /STATUS | /LOAD | /UNLOAD
     /UNLOAD | /S[DRIVE] | /T[DRIVE]-entrys ]]
/LIST            Lists the deleted files available to be recovered.
/ALL            Recovers files without prompting for confirmation.
/DOS            Recovers files listed as deleted by MS-DOS.
/DT            Recovers files protected by Delete Tracker.
/DS            Recovers files protected by Delete Sentry.
/LOAD            Loads Undelete into memory for delete protection.
/UNLOAD            Unloads Undelete from memory.
/PURGE[drive]        Purges all files in the Delete Sentry directory.
/STATUS            Display the protection method in effect for each drive.
/S[drive]        Enables Delete Sentry method of protection.
/T[drive][-entrys]  Enables Delete Tracking method of protection.
UNDELETE, and UNFORMAT Copyright (C) 1987-1993 Central Point Software."

DO NOT TRY to use the TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) part of UNDELETE under
Win9x/ME OS, or you WILL damage the LFNs (Long File Names)! Undelete is only a
8.3 DOS short file name format recovering tool!
Example: if you know the name of the directory you want to recover files into,
just run:
UNDELETE C:\YOUR_DIRECTORY_NAME\*.*
to undelete all files in a given directory (you will be prompted to recover
each file separately, and a successful undelete operation needs a file
"sentry", a stored "image" of the given deleted file on the disk, in order to
restore it).

NOTE: This doesn't seem to work with files deleted using Explorer, or any
other 32-bit Windows application (but that may not be true, it's only a
"trial-and-error" game).

FYI: Drive Rescue (freeware) is a similar FAT16/FAT32 hard drive data recovery
tool:
http://skyscraper.fortunecity.com/amd/887/rescue/



BOOTUP FLOPPY



How many times did you need to boot from a startup/bootup floppy disk just
because your "beloved" Operating System screwed up one way or another? I for
one am used to doing this quite often. [unfortunately :(] So I added some
"new features" to the plain startup files (Config.sys and Autoexec.bat), and
some useful (read *VITAL*) DOS tools to my bootup floppy to make my
[computing] life a little easier. :)
This tip applies to ALL MS-DOS users (begining with version 5.00), and to ALL
MS Windows users (begining with version 3.10), except Windows NT/2000.
NOTES:
1. If you reach the 1.44 MB floppy capacity limit before copying all the files
listed below onto your bootup floppy, you can select to copy only the files
you deem necessary, and skip others not so "vital" (like the Dosshell files).
Or you can copy the rest of these files that didn't fit on your first floppy
to a SECOND startup floppy, in case you don't have a recordable/rewritable
cd-rom or another removable drive (Zip, Orb, Jazz, Sparq, Shark, Syquest,
LS-120 etc) to boot from.
2. In the case you do have such a high capacity boot drive, and if your
motherboard BIOS/CMOS supports booting from a removable/cd-rom, you don't have
the limited (boot floppy) size problem. Just copy all your files on a cd-rom,
and label its jewel case as "Boot CD-ROM" (or if using a removable disk, label
its cartridge). Eventually you can have a full blown (or at least a "bare
bones") operating system running off a cd-rom/removable, by copying there all
your OS related directories and files from your boot hard disk. This is very
useful to access your most important files if you are a Windows 95/98/NT/3.1x
and/or MS-DOS 5.00/6.xx user, and if your (primary) hard drive has gone
"south" unexpectedly.
YOU MUST REMEMBER to stick a self-adhesive paper label on each of these
floppies, and name them let's say "BOOTUP FLOPPY #1" and "BOOTUP FLOPPY #2"
respectively.
From now on you can use the BOOTUP FLOPPY #1 whenever you need to boot from
something else other than your "temporarily impaired" hard disk.
This is my bootup floppy Config.sys file, which includes Microsoft's
upper/expanded memory manager (EMM386.EXE), the CD-ROM driver (VIDE-CDD.SYS)
and Microsoft's 32-bit disk access driver (IFSHLP.SYS):
SWITCHES=/F
DEVICE=A:\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128 /Q
DEVICE=A:\EMM386.EXE I=C800-EFFF I=B000-B7FF AUTO RAM NOTR
DOS=HIGH,UMB
BUFFERS=10,0
FILES=60
FCBS=1,0
STACKS=0,0
DEVICEHIGH /L:1=A:\VIDE-CDD.SYS /D:MYCDROM
DEVICEHIGH=A:\IFSHLP.SYS
SHELL=A:\COMMAND.COM A:\ /E:512 /P
SET PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;A:\;
SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
SET TMP=C:\TEMP
SET PROMPT=EMERGENCY FLOPPY BOOTUP!$_$P$G
SET WINPMT=Type EXIT & Hit Enter 2 return 2 Windows!$_$P$G
The CD-ROM driver above (VIDE-CDD.SYS), freely distributed by Acer
Peripherals [176 KB]:
ftp://ftp.acercm-eu.com/cd-rom/drivers/apicd214.exe
is compatible with most popular internal IDE/ATAPI compatible cd-rom drives
out there: Acer, Creative Labs, NEC, Matsushita/Panasonic, Teac, Toshiba
etc, connected to the standard motherboard IDE controller.
Note that the PATH line above applies ONLY to typical Windows 95/98 systems
installed in C:\WINDOWS (change the drive/directory if different on your
computer).
MS-DOS 5.00 - 6.22 users need this typical DOS/Windows/WfWG PATH line:
SET PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;A:\;
ATTENTION MS-DOS 5.00 users: You NEED to place ALL the SET lines (listed
above in my CONFIG.SYS) into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, because MS-DOS 5.00
does NOT support this feature!
And below is my startup floppy Autoexec.bat file, including Microsoft's
CD-ROM extensions driver (MSCDEX.EXE), Microsoft's floppy/hard/cd-rom disk
cache (SMARTDRV.EXE) and Microsoft's Mouse driver (MOUSE.COM):
@ECHO OFF
LOADHIGH=A:\MSCDEX /D:MYCDROM /M:16 /E
A:\SMARTDRV 2048 16 A+ B+ C+ D+ E+ F /N
SET MOUSE=A:\
LOADHIGH=A:\MOUSE
SET DIRCMD=/A /O:GEN /P
SET COPYCMD=/Y
A:\MODE CON: RATE=32 DELAY=1
I've also added the files listed below to my startup floppies (I find them
VITAL for performing routine maintenance and diagnostics tasks, trying to
determine what might have caused a system lockup):
- COMMAND.COM (Microsoft DOS COMMAND line interpreter)
- HIMEM.SYS (Microsoft DOS HIgh/extended MEMory manager)
- EMM386.EXE (Microsoft DOS Expanded/extended Memory Manager)
- SYS.COM (Microsoft DOS mode SYStem files transfer tool)
- ATTRIB.EXE (Microsoft DOS mode modifying file ATTRIButes tool)
- IFSHLP.SYS (Microsoft Windows 32-bit disk access compatibility driver)
- MSD.EXE (MicroSoft DOS mode Diagnostics tool):
ftp://ftp.sac.sk/pub/sac/utildiag/msd301.zip
- SMARTDRV.EXE (Microsoft DOS mode floppy, hard and cd-rom drive cache
  driver/tool)
- MOUSE.COM (Microsoft DOS mode MOUSE driver), or your own DOS Mouse driver:
http://cutemouse.sourceforge.net/
- MOUSE.INI (INItialization file needed by MOUSE.COM)
- VIDE-CDD.SYS (Acer DOS mode "universal" IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM driver):
ftp://ftp.acercm-eu.com/cd-rom/drivers/apicd214.exe
- MSCDEX.EXE (MicroSoft DOS mode Compact Disk EXtensions driver)
- FORMAT.COM (Microsoft DOS mode floppy/hard disk FORMATting tool)
- FDISK.EXE (Microsoft DOS mode hard disk partitioning tool)
- MEM.EXE (Microsoft DOS mode extended/upper/conventional MEMory specs
  display tool)
- SCANDISK.EXE (Microsoft DOS mode floppy/hard DISK SCANning tool)
- SCANDISK.INI (INItialization file needed by SCANDISK.exe)
- EDIT.COM files (Microsoft DOS mode text file EDITor):
1. MS-DOS 5.00 - 6.22 EDIT.COM files:
    - EDIT.COM
    - EDIT.HLP
    - QBASIC.EXE
    - QBASIC.HLP
    - QBASIC.INI
2. MS-DOS 7.00 - 7.10 [a.k.a. MS Windows 9x] EDIT.COM files:
    - EDIT.COM
    - EDIT.HLP
    - EDIT.INI
- DOSShell files:
  ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/SUP622.EXE
  (Microsoft DOS mode "File Manager", almost as good at performing routine
  file chores as its Windows "cousin"):
    - DOSSHELL.EXE
    - DOSSHELL.GRB
    - DOSSHELL.HLP
    - DOSSHELL.INI
    - DOSSHELL.VID
CRUCIAL: ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR FILES BEFORE MODIFYING THEM!
NOTE: See these included topics for more details and guidelines:
- "OUTSMART SMARTDRIVE" in MYTIPS31.TXT;
- "CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS" in MYTIPS31.TXT;
- "SET TEMP" in MYTIPS31.TXT;
- "LASTDRIVE" in MYTIPS31.TXT;
- "COMMAND.COM" in MYTIPS31.TXT;
- Details on: COMMAND.COM, FDISK.EXE, FORMAT.COM, HIMEM.SYS, EMM386.EXE in
SECRETS.TXT;
- Details on: HIMEM.SYS, EMM386.EXE, SMARTDRV.EXE, MSCDEX.EXE, MOUSE.COM in
MEMORY.TXT;
- "MS DOSSHELL Tips" in DOSTIPS.TXT.
FYI: Boot disks on the Internet: see "FREE WinDOwS CD/DVD DRIVERS + TOOLS"
in SOFTWARE.TXT (included).



COMMAND.COM



For y'all DOS fans out there I decided to list all MS-DOS 6.xx Command.com
parameters, including the ones Microsoft "forgot" to tell us about. :)
When you run:
COMMAND /?
from any MS-DOS prompt (MS-DOS 6.00 - 6.22 ONLY), you get this help screen:

"Starts a new copy of the Windows Command Interpreter:
COMMAND [[drive:]path] [device] [/E:nnnnn] [/L:nnnn] [/U:nnn] [/P] [/MSG]
    [/LOW] [/Y [/[C|K] command]]
[drive:]path    Specifies the directory containing COMMAND.COM.
device        Specifies the device to use for command input and output.
/E:nnnnn    Sets the initial environment size to nnnnn bytes.
        (nnnnn should be between 256 and 32,768).
/P        Makes the new Command Interpreter permanent (can't exit).
/MSG        Stores all error messages in memory (requires /P as well).
/Y        Steps through the batch program specified by /C or /K.
/C command    Executes the specified command and returns.
/K command    Executes the specified command and continues running."

And the help display stops here. But now comes the nice part. :)
The Command.com switches below are NOT DOCUMENTED (so I added them to this
list):

/D        Prevents the execution of AUTOEXEC.BAT at bootup [MS-DOS 5]
        or disables floppy "Fail" response if using /F [MS-DOS 6/7].
/F        Removes the floppy disk "Abort, Retry, Fail" message.
        If the floppy disk is not ready automatically goes to "Fail".

IMPORTANT: To become familiar with COMMAND.COM's documented command line
switches:
1. Windows 9x users: read the text file CONFIG.TXT (the "SHELL" topic),
located in your Windows directory.
2. ALL Windows 9x/3.xx and DOS users: run:
COMMAND /?
at any DOS prompt to display the Command.com help screen above.
2. MS-DOS 6.xx users: run this command from any DOS prompt:
HELP COMMAND
and read the topic.
The following Command.com parameters can be included on the Config.sys SHELL
line (makes the command interpreter permanent until the next reboot): /E, /F,
/MSG and /P.
Example of MS-DOS 6.xx Config.sys SHELL line:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM C:\ /E:512 /F /P
All switches can be run from any DOS prompt command line (except /P and /MSG
if you already mentioned them on the SHELL line in your Config.sys).
NOTE: Read "COMMAND.COM HIDDEN PARAMETERS" in SECRETS.TXT (included) for
complete details on all COMMAND.COM undocumented switches.



OUTSMART SMARTDRIVE [*]



Even now, in the "modern" Windows 9x/3.1x days, it takes a long time to load
the Windows GUI, with all its (too) many virtual/protected mode drivers.
As you well know, Windows/WfWG 3.1x 16-bit Graphical User Interface (GUI) is
still layered (loaded) on top of ol' MS-DOS command line based Operating
System (16-bit OS). :-(
So I found the solution to decrease Win31's loading time. [after all we DO
want more speeed! :)]
I simply load SMARTDRV in my Autoexec.bat, the MS-DOS mode disk cache.
SMARTDRV.EXE v5.0x is provided with MS-DOS 6.xx and with Win9x, found in your
Windows 9x directory, or in your DOS directory if using MS-DOS 6.xx.
But the proper way to do this, AND saving memory the same time can be tricky!
You can customize the SMARTDRV line to your needs, to cache all your floppy,
hard, AND cd-rom/dvd drives in your system; though you need to include a line
for MSCDEX in your Autoexec.bat BEFORE the SMARTDRV line, AND also load your
DOS mode supplied cd-rom/dvd driver from your Config.sys, if you want to have
your cd-rom/dvd available in native MS-DOS mode, AND to have it cached by
Smartdrv. Example:
SMARTDRV 2048 16 A+ C+ D /N /Q
where A is the floppy drive, C is the hard drive, and D is the cd-rom/dvd
drive. Notice the absence of a plus sign after D, because cd-rom/dvd drives
are read-only. :)
I prefer the Acer Peripherals "universal" CD-ROM/DVD driver for DOS
[VIDE-CDD.SYS v2.14, 176 KB, free]:
ftp://ftp.acercm-eu.com/cd-rom/drivers/apicd214.exe
because it is compatible with most internal IDE/ATAPI cd-roms/dvds of ANY
speed, and takes only 5 KB of upper memory.
NOTE: See "CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for complete
details.
Alternatively you can load Smartdrv from Config.sys using INSTALLHIGH, AHEAD
OF ALL OTHER INSTALL/INSTALLHIGH lines, if any (example):
INSTALLHIGH=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 2048 16 A+ C+ D /N /Q
to cache your other devices/TSRs that eventually load later in the sequence
from your Config.sys, thus speeding up disk access.
In this case you need to specify the FULL path and the file extension (.EXE).
I suggest using the /N parameter with CAUTION! It allows the return to the
MS-DOS command prompt BEFORE writing the entire data back to disk (before the
completion of the previous DOS command), which may result in data loss,
especially if a sudden power surge occurs!
The /Q switch (Quiet) tells Smartdrv not to display its status info while
loading.
The first number (in this case 2048) sets the DOS mode cache size (also called
"InitCacheSize") to 2048 KB, and the second number (16), called
"WinCacheSize", "shrinks" the cache size under Windows 3.1x/9x to 16 KB to
preserve memory.
The minimum "WinCacheSize" valid value is said to be 128 KB (per Microsoft
guidelines), but I found out that 16 KB is THE minimum accepted, if using
SMARTDRV.EXE version 5.00 (included with MS-DOS 6.xx) up to 5.02 (bundled with
Windows 9x). Windows 9x loads its own 32-bit disk cache, and if properly
configured doesn't use Smartdrv anyway.
In the above example, the Smartdrv extended memory size (if Microsoft
EMM386.EXE or a similar 3rd party memory manager is loaded in your Config.sys,
and set to provide extended/expanded/upper memory, with the RAM switch) is
2048 KB (2 MB). Also, the default Smartdrv upper memory cache buffer is 16 KB.
[kinda huge, huh...]
But you CAN decrease Smartdrv's upper memory read-ahead BUFFER size by using
the /B:xxxxx switch. Example:
SMARTDRV 2048 16 A+ C+ D /N /Q /B:8192
which takes only 8 KB (8192 Bytes) of upper memory, not 16 KB as in the
previous example (with no /B switch).
Another Smartdrv parameter you may want to adjust is the ELEMENT size (the
/E:xxxxx switch). The default Smartdrv element size is 16384 Bytes (16 KB).
Meaning that Smartdrv moves/copies a 16 KB "chunk" of data at a time. This may
be enough for routine MS-DOS mode operations (copying/moving files around),
but if you do frequent DOS disk maintenance tasks involving huge files, a 16
KB element might not be good enough. You can increase the element size to
32768 Bytes (32 KB).
NOTE: SmartDrive's BUFFER and ELEMENT sizes can be adjusted ONLY in 8 KB (8192
Bytes) increments, from a minimum value of 8 KB up to a maximum of 64 KB
(65536 Bytes), and the ELEMENT size MUST be a multiple or at least equal to
the BUFFER size!
And this is an example of fully optimized Autoexec.bat Smartdrv command:
SMARTDRV 2048 16 A+ C+ D /N /Q /B:8192 /E:32768
Now you're talking! This particular Smartdrv line takes only 22 KB of upper
memory, and only 2 MB of extended memory, while improving disk performance!
To determine if your disk performance has REALLY increased after all this
tweaking, keep in mind that SMARTDRV's cache "hit rate" must stay around
80-85% (ideal value), or at least 70%. To do this, start by running:
SMARTDRV /S
from the native MS-DOS prompt. You'll see a screen similar to this:
"Microsoft SMARTDrive Disk Cache version 5.02
Copyright 1991,1993 Microsoft Corp.

Room for 256 elements of 8,192 bytes each
There have been 2,150 cache hits
    and 350 cache misses

Cache size: 2,097,152 bytes
Cache size while running Windows: 16,384 bytes

        Disk Caching Status
drive      read cache    write cache    buffering
-------------------------------------------------
  A:      yes        yes        no
  C:      yes        yes        no
  D:      yes        no        no
Write behind data will not be committed before command prompt returns."
The Smartdrv settings shown here are the ones used in the example above.
Now calculate Smartdrv's effective cache "hit rate" using this formula:
CH : (CH + CM) x 100 = HR%
where:
- CH = Cache Hits
- CM = Cache Misses
- HR% = Hit Rate percentage
By substituting these parameters with the real values above, you get:
2150 : (2150 + 350) x 100 = 86%
It is best to keep Smartdrv's hit rate between 70 and 85%.
If your hit rate is less than 70%, the cache isn't very effective, and you
should increase the "InitCacheSize" number.
Beyond 85% typically means that you allocated SMARTDRV more RAM than it really
needs. In this case, decrease the "InitCacheSize" number until your "hit rate"
falls around 80-85%, and let other "memory hungry" programs use the extra RAM
(i.e. MS Windows), especially if your computer has only 32 MB or less of
installed memory.
If you prefer to determine your disk cache hit rate "the easy way" [:)],
download one of these DOS utilities:
- SysChk diagnostics + benchmark tool (no time limit shareware):
http://www.syschk.com/beta.htm
- Cache Control (CC.EXE) tool, part of the InkUtils pack (freeware):
http://www.inkland.f9.co.uk/inkutils/
To view all SMARTDRV available parameters from any DOS prompt, run:
SMARTDRV /?
You'll get this screen:

"Installs and configures the SMARTDrive disk-caching utility.

SMARTDRV [/X] [[drive[+|-]]...] [/U] [/C | /R] [/F | /N] [/L] [/V | /Q | /S]
     [InitCacheSize [WinCacheSize]] [/E:ElementSize] [/B:BufferSize]

/X        Disables write-behind caching for all drives.
drive        Sets caching options on specific drive(s). The specified
        drive(s) will have write-caching disabled unless you add +.
+        Enables write-behind caching for the specified drive.
-        Disables all caching for the specified drive.
/U        Do not load CD-ROM caching module.
/C        Writes all information currently in write-cache to hard disk.
/R        Clears the cache and restarts SMARTDrive.
/F        Writes cached data before command prompt returns (default).
/N        Doesn't write cached data before command prompt returns.
/L        Prevents SMARTDrive from loading itself into upper memory.
/V        Displays SMARTDrive status messages when loading.
/Q        Does not display status information.
/S        Displays additional information about SMARTDrive's status.
InitCacheSize    Specifies XMS memory (KB) for the cache.
WinCacheSize    Specifies XMS memory (KB) for the cache with Windows.
/E:ElementSize    Specifies how many bytes of information to move at one time.
/B:BufferSize    Specifies the size of the read-ahead buffer."

Depending on how much memory (RAM) is installed in your system, you can
further tweak the Smartdrv size to cache more (and larger) files. My Pentium
II machine has 128 MB SDRAM, so I set Smartdrv's "InitCacheSize" to 6144 KB (6
MB), and the "WinCacheSize" to 16 KB (minimum allowed). This is my
Autoexec.bat SMARTDRV line:
SMARTDRV 6144 16 A+ C+ D /N /Q /B:8192 /E:32768
There is no need to load Smartdrv with "LOADHIGH" ("LH" for short) in
Autoexec.bat, since it is "smart" enough to find the optimum memory
configuration upon loading, provided you have EMM386.EXE (or a similar upper
memory manager) loaded in your Config.sys.
These are my OWN recommended optimum Smartdrv "InitCacheSize" values based on
your installed RAM amount:
* 4 MB: [shame on you if you "torture" yourself watching your PC "crawl" with
this "much" memory!... :-)] => SMARTDRV size = 128 KB or none!;
* 8 MB: [still waiting for Windows to load, huh... :-)] => SMARTDRV size =
256 - 512 KB;
* 16 MB: [c'mon, you can do better than THAT!] => SMARTDRV size = 1024 - 2048
KB;
* 32 MB: [decent, but still not enough by today's standards. But who am I to
judge your "boring, business-only" desktop PC?... :-)] => SMARTDRV size =
2048 - 4096 KB;
* 40 MB: [a little better, you must a beginner "PC gamer"... :-)] => SMARTDRV
size = 4096 - 6144 KB;
* 64 MB: [now you're talking! Optimum for running Win95/98... But not for
long...] => SMARTDRV size = 6144 - 8192 KB;
* 128 MB: [smart guy, you're slightly ahead of today's requirements. You must
be an WinNT user!] => SMARTDRV size = 8192 KB (beyond 8192 KB Smartdrv's
efficiency doesn't increase by much anyway);
* 256 MB: [your PC must be soaring through Win9x/NT or ANY OS for that matter.
I bet you have a dual Pentium II/III system!] => SMARTDRV size = whatever you
want it to be!;
* 512 MB: [you're a darn lucky dog!... Deep into the CAD/DTP/professional 3D
animation/graphics/video editing business, I presume... But I pity you, that
means you probably don't OWN this mean machine... :-)] => SMARTDRV size = NO
limits (maximum allowed Smartdrv size is 64 MB = 65536 KB)!
As a rule of thumb try to keep Smartdrv's "InitCacheSize" within 1/6 of your
installed RAM, and at 1/8 if you have less than 32 MB.
REQUIRED ADDENDUM:
By loading ONLY the HIMEM.SYS device at startup (which can be further tweaked
in your Config.sys file), your machine provides ONLY EXTENDED memory available
to programs/TSRs, NOT upper or/and expanded!
To enable the use of UMBs (Upper Memory Blocks) and the Upper Memory Area
(UMA) for loading devices/drivers/TSRs high, and/or EXPANDED memory (still
needed by some older DOS programs), you need to add/tweak a Config.sys line
for EMM386.EXE, the default Microsoft upper/expanded memory manager (comes
with MS-DOS 6.xx and Win9x).
Below are EMM386.EXE alternative configurations to properly load Smartdrv in
upper AND extended memory (and AVOID the use of CONVENTIONAL memory), you can
further tweak to match your system needs:
1. Example of EMM386 line in Config.sys to provide ONLY EXTENDED memory AND
UMBs (Upper Memory Blocks) for loading devices/TSRs high:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS I=B000-B7FF D=256
2. Example of EMM386 line in Config.sys to provide extended, EXPANDED memory
and UMBs:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM I=B000-B7FF D=256 AUTO
The expanded memory version above takes an extra 64 KB of UMA to load
EMM386's Page Frame. The "AUTO" switch yields the use of expanded or extended
memory to programs, as needed.
Windows 95/98 users: open the MSDOSDRV.TXT file with Notepad (located in your
Windows directory) to see all available EMM386.EXE parameters.
MS-DOS 6.xx users: run:
HELP EMM386.EXE
from any DOS prompt, to see all available EMM386.EXE switches.
NOTE: Read also the related EMM386.EXE and SMARTDRV.EXE topics in MEMORY.TXT
(included) for more details.
Have a "smart" computing day!
UPDATE:
Check out these Smartdrv related pages:
- The "SMARTDrive and 32-Bit Disk Access" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q83/3/25.asp
- My UMBPCI.SYS page, to learn how to use a better upper memory manager and
specific Smartdrv settings using UMBPCI.SYS:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/umb.htm
- Driving for Performance: SMARTDrive, Part 2:
http://www.tcs.org/ioport/read9711.htm



DOUBLE BUFFER [*]



If you have any:
- any SCSI hard disks;
- any older ESDI/IDE/ATA drives;
- any newer hard EIDE/IDE drives larger than 8 GB,
you might need to load Smartdrv's DOUBLE_BUFFER device driver in your
CONFIG.SYS file, to allow proper operation under the SCSI/ESDI standards.
Double Buffering/Smartdrv advantages:
A. If you don't use any DOS programs, you can speed up the loading of the DOS
portion of your Windows/WfWG GUI.
B. If you DO use ANY MS-DOS based programs/games, you can speed up a bit (in
some cases) ALL disk I/O (Input/Output) reads and writes in native MS-DOS
mode.
To do this:
Add a SMARTDRV line to your Config.sys file, after the command that loads
HIMEM.SYS:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER
Note that this portion of the Smartdrv module canNOT load in upper memory!
This CONFIG.SYS line MUST be present BEFORE ANY other DEVICE(HIGH) or
INSTALL(HIGH) commands!
The double buffer module takes under 3 KB of low (conventional) memory.
Conditions to meet for this to work properly:
1. You need an adequate BUFFERS line in your Config.sys. Example:
BUFFERS=12,6
The second number on this BUFFERS line provides double buffering
capabilities.
The BUFFERS load automatically in the High Memory Area (HMA), if HMA is
properly enabled by these Config.sys lines:
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
NOTE: To learn more about DOS memory layout and how to "squeeze" the last Byte
out of your conventional/upper memory in DOS and Windows, read MEMORY.TXT,
REGIONS.TXT and EMM386.TXT (included).
2. You also need a SMARTDRV line in your Autoexec.bat, to activate the double
buffering feature. Example:
SMARTDRV 2048 16 A+ C+ D /N
NOTE: For Smartdrv complete details and guidelines, read "OUTSMART SMARTDRIVE"
in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file).
Now that you're done, reboot your system, and then run this command:
SMARTDRV /S
from any DOS prompt, to see which drive(s) on your system have double
buffering enabled (only if needed).
TIP: To have SMARTDRV load in upper memory (and save some precious
conventional memory), you need a memory manager loaded in your Config.sys
(like EMM386.EXE, provided by Microsoft with MS-DOS 6.xx).
Example of EMM386.EXE Config.sys line (with expanded memory enabled by the
"RAM" switch):
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE I=B000-B7FF D=256 RAM AUTO
To learn how to use ALL EMM386.EXE parameters, run this command from any
DOS prompt:
HELP EMM386.EXE
Then read MEMORY.TXT (included), to learn how to maximize + optimize your
DOS/Windows memory resources using EMM386.EXE.



SHELL ENVIRONMENT SIZE [*]



This posting answers my good friend's question below, and appears here to
benefit ALL WinDOwS users.
NOTE: This topic applies also to MS-DOS 6.xx and Windows/WfWG 3.1x systems,
with these exceptions: the /L:xxxx and /U:xxx COMMAND.COM parameters, and the
"winbootdir" environment string apply ONLY to Win95/98 [a.k.a. MS-DOS 7.xx]
OSes!

Q [The Captain]:

"What are your recommendations for a Win95 OSR 2.5 system with 32 MB RAM for
a Config.sys "shell=" line parameters? What about a 16 MB system?
I am currently using "SHELL=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM /P /E:1024".
I have no real mode drivers loading, it's all 32-bit."

A [[e-mail]]:

"The SHELL Command.com environment parameter length, set by the /E:xxxx switch
(used in Config.sys), doesn't depend on your installed memory (RAM), but on
how MANY and how LONG are your SET statements in your Config.sys and/or
Autoexec.bat files, including the PATH and the PROMPT lines.
A safe bet is to set the Config.sys SHELL line to read:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM C:\ /E:1024 /L:128 /U:128 /P
Change the path above if your Command.com copy is located somewhere else.
You may want to increase the environment size, let's say to /E:1536 if your
PATH line is pretty long, and/or if you have a bunch of SET lines in your
startup files, like I do.
For details on the /L and /U switches (and for all Win95/98 Command.com
available parameters), run:
COMMAND /?
at any DOS prompt.
If you don't have a SHELL line in your Config.sys, Win95/98 automatically
starts the GUI at the end of processing the startup files (Io.sys, Msdos.sys,
Config.sys and Autoexec.bat), even if you have the "BootGUI=0" line present
in your Msdos.sys file, the [Options] section. At least that's what happens
on my machine, and I noticed this to be valid with both Win95 OSR1 and Win95B
OSR2 releases.
There is a good DOS diagnostics tool called SysChk (no nag shareware):
http://www.syschk.com/
which reports the total, used and free environment memory amounts in bytes
(among many other details about your system), when you select option #7 from
SysChk's main screen menu. If your free environment size is below 100-200
bytes, you might need to increase it, to have at least 400-500 bytes free,
because Windows 3.1x/95/98 and their DOS sessions also add to the length of
the environment size (like the "windir" line, present only with Windows/WfWG
3.1x/95/98 started). Also, Win9x adds the "winbootdir" string to the
environment upon bootup, reading the Msdos.sys file, the [Paths] section,
which contains the "WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS" line.
To see all the SET lines/strings displayed on your screen, just run:
SET | MORE
from any DOS prompt. Adding "| MORE" to the SET command, allows viewing all
SET lines one screen at a time, and you can press a key to move to the next
screen, that is if all your SET lines don't fit into the default DOS screen
of 25 lines.
Run SysChk from a Windows DOS prompt box, and press 7, which displays all
environment variables/strings and sizes (a lot more useful details compared
to using the plain "SET | MORE" command).
Also, when you start a DOS session in Windows 95/98, the Command environment
size defaults to /E:2048 /L:1024 /U:255 (maximum sizes allowed by the OS, in
order to accomodate all your SET/environment strings/lines). This loads a
huge COMMAND module into memory, usually too big for your needs. But you can
restrict/customize the environment size in a Windows DOS session by starting
it from a custom PIF file (MS-DOS application shortcut).
All you have to do is type something like:
COMMAND.COM /E:1024 /L:128 /U:128 /P
in your PIF file's "Cmd line" dialog box, by modifying the "MS-DOS Prompt"
item already present in your Start Menu (Win95/98) or in the Main Program
Group (Win/WfWG 3.1x), or by creating a new one.
In Windows/WfWG 3.1x you need to start PIFEDIT.EXE located in your Windows
directory to modify/create a PIF executable (Program Information File)."

UPDATE:
"To determine exactly the proper size for your environment, open a DOS session
under the Windows GUI, type this line, and hit Enter:

SET > C:\HOWMUCH.TXT

This plain text file is exactly the same size as your environment. You can
open HOWMUCH.TXT (the name is of no importance) using Notepad in Windows or
EDIT.COM in DOS to see what strings your environment currently contains.
Note that the environment size is different in a Windows DOS box from the
native MS-DOS prompt, because Windows adds the "windir=C:\WINDOWS" variable to
the SET list."
[Thank you Early Bird ([e-mail])!]



CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS [UPDATED 3-3-1998]



This topic applies to ALL owners of (E)IDE/ATAPI internal
CD-ROM/CD-R(W)/DVD-ROM/DVD-R(W)/DVD-RAM drives using MS Windows 9x/ME/3.1x
and/or MS-DOS 6.xx.
My 8x speed internal IDE ATAPI CD-ROM drive (Turtle Beach NEC IDE 8000, 256 KB
buffer, 145 msec), loads a smaller DOS device driver (Acer's IDE ATAPI CD-ROM
device driver VIDE-CDD.SYS) in upper memory (5 KB), compared to my ol' 2x
speed Creative Labs/Matsushita OMNI (proprietary 8-bit interface) CD-ROM
drive, using Creative Labs' proprietary SBCD.SYS CD-ROM driver, which was
taking 13 KB of upper RAM (or my newer NEC/Turtle Beach ATAPI CD-ROM driver
that was occupying 22 KB of upper memory).
Download Acer "Universal" CD-ROM/DVD driver for DOS [VIDE-CDD.SYS v2.14, 176
KB, free]:
ftp://ftp.acercm-eu.com/cd-rom/drivers/apicd214.exe
Acer CD-ROM/DVD drivers for DOS:
http://www.acercm.com.tw/global/service/cdr/drivers2.htm#device
Apicd214.exe is a self-extractive zip which contains the VIDE-CDD.SYS cd-rom
driver version 2.14 for MS-DOS, designed for Acer internal IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM
and DVD drives. To my knowledge, VIDE-CDD.SYS works GREAT with ANY internal
IDE 100% ATAPI compliant CD-ROM/DVD drive of ANY speed, that uses the default
16-bit IDE, or 32-bit EIDE motherboard connector (most all Pentium, Pentium
Pro and Pentium II/III/IV motherboards provide the dual EIDE PCI interface,
for all IDE, EIDE or/and ATAPI drives in your system, including CD-ROM/DVD
drives).
Also, one of the most compatible (read "Universal") IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM DOS mode
drivers I have found is made by Teac. It is designed to work with Teac
IDE/ATAPI internal CD-ROMs, but I discovered it does a great job with my
Turtle Beach NEC 8x CD-ROM drive. Download TEAC_CDI.SYS v1.27Q [37 KB, free]:
http://www.teac.com/DSPD/TechSupport/Drivers/atapicd.exe
Teac CD-ROM/DVD drivers for DOS:
http://www.teac.com/DSPD/TechSupport/Drivers/dtide_d.htm
TEAC_CDI.SYS version 1.27Q works with almost ANY IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM/DVD of ANY
speed! Takes only 9-13 KB of upper DOS memory on my machine when loaded with
DEVICEHIGH in Config.sys.

ADDENDUM:
If you have an IDE/ATAPI cd-rom drive connected to a Sound Blaster (SB) card
interface (the IDE interface on some Creative Labs SB cards, like the SB AWE32
PnP, or SB AWE64 PnP), you may NOT be able to use the DOS drivers mentioned
above, because the SB IDE interface (controller) uses a different interrupt
and hex base address.
Example: the standard secondary (E)IDE controller on the motherboard uses
interrupt 15, and base address 170h (hex notation). Sound Blaster IDE
interface uses by default interrupt (IRQ) 5 (same as the sound card chip),
and base address (BA) 220h.
Also, if you have an SB card featuring the older Matsushita/Panasonic
proprietary 8-bit cd-rom interface (like the Sound Blaster 16 CD/16 ASP, NOT
PnP), you canNOT use the cd-rom drivers listed here. In this case you will
have to use the driver(s) provided by Creative Labs (bundled with your sound
card, or cd-rom drive), usually called SBCD.SYS (which takes 13KB of memory).
The Panasonic/Matsushita cd-rom connector uses (to my knowledge) interrupt 5
and base address 220h, and cannot be changed.
The standard (E)IDE motherboard controller interface in most Pentium (and
above) systems uses the following Interrupt ReQuest lines (IRQ) and hex Base
Addresses (BA):
- Primary Master & Slave: IRQ = 14; BA = 1F0h (port 1);
- Secondary Master & Slave: IRQ = 15; BA = 170h (port 2).
Alternative IRQs and BAs used by non-standard (supplemental/add-on) (E)IDE
controllers:
- Tertiary Master & Slave: IRQ = 12; BA = 1E8h (port 3);
- Quaternary Master & Slave: IRQ = 10; BA = 168h (port 4).

NOTES:
* See these pages for detailed info on ATAPI/IDE cd-rom drives:
- Turtle Beach Knowledge Base:
http://www.voyetra-turtle-beach.com/site/kb_ftp/635.asp
- Acer CD-ROM FAQ:
http://www.acercm.com/support/cdrom_faq.html
* All the above standard hardware settings are supported by both VIDE-CDD.SYS
and TEAC_CDI.SYS DOS drivers.
* To my knowledge the following internal IDE/ATAPI cd-roms/dvds work with
VIDE-CDD.SYS and/or TEAC_CDI.SYS, ONLY IF connected to the standard IDE/EIDE
motherboard controller:
- most Acer and Aopen IDE cd-roms;
- some Creative Labs IDE cd-roms (NOT OMNI/Matsushita proprietary);
- some Matsushita/Panasonic IDE cd-roms (if NOT connected to the
sound card IDE or proprietary controller);
- all NEC IDE cd-roms;
- all Teac IDE cd-roms;
- all Turtle Beach IDE cd-roms;
- most Toshiba IDE cd-roms;
- most Pioneer IDE dvd-roms;
- all Imation IDE cd-roms/cd-rs/cd-rws;
- some Memorex IDE cd-roms/cd-rs/cd-rws;
- some Mitsumi IDE cd-roms [Thank you Roberto ([e-mail])!];
- some Waitec IDE cd-roms/cd-rs/cd-rws [Thank you Roberto ([e-mail])!].
Please send me e-mail at [e-mail] if you have knowledge of any other
internal (E)IDE/ATAPI CDs/DVDs that DO or DO NOT work with VIDE-CDD.SYS and/or
TEAC_CDI.SYS.

UPDATES:
1. Older proprietary IDE Matsushita CD-ROM drives (1x-2x speed) manufactured
around 1993 and earlier, and sold under the brand names of Creative Labs, JVC,
Panasonic, Plextor and Reveal do NOT work with the newer CD standards using
more than 640 MB (> 63 minutes audio). This includes 650, 700, 740 and 800 MB
CDs/CD-Rs/CD-RWs. An example is Activision's MechWarrior 2 Mercenaries CD-ROM
game for Windows 9x/ME.
2. Most Pioneer internal (E)IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM drives do NOT work with Acer or
Teac drivers above. Pioneer drive owners need to download:
- ATAPI108.EXE for 4-24x speed CD drives [29 KB, free]:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Files/atapi108.exe
- ATAPI307.EXE for 24x speed and faster CD drives [86 KB, free]:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Files/atapi307.exe
3. Certain Panasonic/Matsushita (Creative Labs) CD-ROMs do NOT support the
Acer or Teac IDE/ATAPI drivers, especially if connected to a Creative Labs
Sound Blaster (MKE/Panasonic) proprietary (non-standard) IDE controller. An
example is the Creative Panasonic CD drive CR563.
[Thank you Michael ([e-mail])!]
4. This update courtesy of The Captain:
"TEAC_CDI.SYS or VIDE-CDD.SYS do NOT work with my Compaq Presario CDTV 510 486
class PC with an IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM drive. The only driver working in DOS mode
is the one included with the computer: CPQIDECD.SYS. See Compaq Support for
more info:"
http://www.compaq.com/support/
5. CD-ROM Drivers on the Internet: see "FREE WinDOwS CD/DVD DRIVERS + TOOLS"
in SOFTWARE.TXT (included).
6. See this help page:
http://www.bootdisk.com/readme.htm#cdromdos



%WINDIR% VARIABLE



%WINDIR% is a variable used by ALL MS-DOS 6.xx, 7.xx and 8.00 commands, both
internal and external.
Internal MS-DOS commands (built into the OS, NOT real files): COPY, DEL, MD,
RD, CD etc.
External MS-DOS commands (actual files on your disk, located by default in
C:\DOS): XCOPY.EXE, MOVE.EXE, ATTRIB.EXE, DELTREE.EXE etc.

BEWARE: The %WINDIR% variable is available ONLY with the Windows/WfWG GUI
started, therefore can ONLY be used in a Windows/WfWG DOS session/box prompt
and in batch files executed ONLY from within Windows/WfWG, it canNOT be used
in native/true MS-DOS mode outside Windows/WfWG!
So if you are running such commands from the native MS-DOS prompt, use the
real name of your Win31 directory.
Example:
C:
XCOPY <parameters> %WINDIR%\*.INI C:\WINBAK

The %WINDIR% variable shows off its usefulness when you have Windows/WfWG
installed in directory other than the default C:\WINDOWS, and/or would like
to use the same batch file(s) on multiple Windows PCs (eventually connected
to a network), without having to customize it/them individually for each
machine.
The Windows/WfWG directory (set <windir>) is an internal MS-DOS variable,
specified in IO.SYS (a system file located in C:\ root), which is processed
first by the MS-DOS bootup routine.
If you run the SET command in a Windows DOS box (session) prompt, using
"| MORE" to display one screen at a time:
SET | MORE
you'll see all MS-DOS variables, including "windir".
Notice that the internal ones ("windir") appear in small characters, and
the external SET variables (specified in Config.sys and/or Autoexec.bat by
the SET <variable> command lines) appear in capitals.
Example of a common SET variables list at a Win31 DOS box prompt:

windir=C:\WINDOWS
COMSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM
TEMP=C:\DOS
TMP=C:\DOS
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\STUFF;... etc
PROMPT=$P$G
WINPMT=Type EXIT & hit Enter 2 return 2 Windows!$_$P$G
SOUND=C:\SB16
MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6 E620
MOUSE=C:\MOUSE
COPYCMD=/Y
DIRCMD=/A/O:GEN/P
etc...

Now notice the difference if you run the same "SET | MORE" command from the
native MS-DOS:

COMSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM
TEMP=C:\DOS
TMP=C:\DOS
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\STUFF;... etc
PROMPT=$P$G
WINPMT=Type EXIT & hit Enter 2 return 2 Windows!$_$P$G
SOUND=C:\SB16
MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
MOUSE=C:\MOUSE
COPYCMD=/Y
DIRCMD=/A/O:GEN/P
etc...



TEMP FILES, BE GONE!



MS Windows 9x/ME/3.1x users are well aware of this annoyance: disk clutter!
One easy way to ditch unneeded temporary/backup files under Windows (which in
time can occupy significant amounts of disk space), is to run a batch file,
which deletes all: *.---, *.000, *.001, *.002, *.B~K, *.BAK, *.BMK, *.CHK,
*.DA1, *.DAT, *.GID, *.INK, *.LHX, *.LOG, *.OUT, *.PAR, *.$$$, *.SYD, *.SYK,
*.SWP, *.TMP, *.~MP, *.TXT, MSCREATE.DIR, *.*$, _*.*, ~*.*, *.~*, *.*_, *.*~,
*.^* etc files from ALL your fixed hard drive(s)/partitions.
Specific programs/tools create specific temporary/backup files (examples):
- *.---, *.B~K, *.BAK, *.LOG, *.TXT = in the root directory of your boot drive
(usually C:\), when you make system changes and/or installed apps;
- *.GID = in your Windows/WfWG 3.1x directory, whenever you clicked a "Help"
button and/or used the Help Search option, ONLY IF you installed MS Win32s
32-bit Extensions Add-on for Windows/WfWG 3.1x [2.4 MB, free]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/PW1118.EXE
- *.SYD = in your boot drive/partition root directory (C:\) and/or your
Windows directory, as backups created by SysEdit.exe, a system file
(Autoexec.bat, Config.sys, System.ini, Win.ini) editing tool, located in
C:\Windows\System;
- *.CHK = in the root directory of the drive checked for
cluster/file/directory errors by using the native MS-DOS mode Microsoft
CHKDSK.EXE tool bundled with MS-DOS 7.xx (a.k.a. MS Windows 9x) and MS-DOS
6.xx, can be safely erased;
- WIN386.SWP = Windows temporary swap file, located by default in your Windows
directory, can be safely erased ONLY from native/real MS-DOS mode!
- MSCREATE.DIR = 0 Byte hidden files created by Microsoft programs at Setup
time in the respective program's folder(s), can be safely erased. More info:
- PC Forrest:
http://www.forrestandassociates.co.uk/pcforrest/mscreate_dir.html
- MSKB:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q132/9/78.asp
Some of these files have the read-only, hidden and/or system attributes.
Therefore you need to "strip" them of their attributes to be able to delete
them.
Example: create a batch file to include the DOS command lines below, to delete
these temp files from C:\ root:

@ECHO OFF
C:
CD\
ATTRIB.EXE -H -R -S +A \*.OLD
ATTRIB.EXE -H -R -S +A \*.PRV
ATTRIB.EXE -H -R -S +A \*.TXT
DEL \*.OLD
DEL \*.PRV
DEL \*.TXT

WARNING:
Do NOT delete ANY *.DAT, *.INI, *.LOG or *.TXT files from your Windows
directory!
A radical approach to getting rid of ALL files that pile up in your temporary
directory (usually C:\Windows\Temp), is to include these DOS commands in a
batch file:

@ECHO OFF
ECHO Y | DELTREE.EXE C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
MD C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

Substitute the Windows directory name with yours if different.
It is recommended to delete your Windows temporary files ONLY from native
MS-DOS, or if you'd like to do this from inside the Windows GUI (a DOS box),
make sure you close ALL open programs FIRST!
ONLY IF using this BATch from within Windows/WfWG 3.1x GUI:

@ECHO OFF
ECHO Y | DELTREE.EXE %windir%\TEMP
MD %windir%\TEMP

Note that DELTREE.EXE is included ONLY with MS-DOS 6.00 and newer!
Open W31.BAT (included) in Notepad, to see how I keep my hard drives "filthy
clean", every time I shut-down Windows to MS-DOS.

UPDATES:
1. "*.000 and *.001 are frequently used by D*Space [Drvspace/Dblspace].
Careful when deleting them, if using one of these disk compression tools!"
[Thank you Yuri ([e-mail])!]
2. "*.LOG files are used by some Uninstall programs to keep a log of what is
installed during the process, essential for a successful uninstall."
[Thank you Raymond ([e-mail])!]



POWERFUL XCOPY



When you run this command at any MS-DOS 6.xx prompt:
XCOPY /?
you get this help screen:

"Copies files (except hidden and system files) and directory trees.
XCOPY source [destination] [/A | /M] [/D:date] [/P] [/S] [/E] [/V] [/W]
source        Specifies the file(s) to copy.
destination    Specifies the location and/or name of new files.
/A        Copies files with the archive attribute set,
        doesn't change the attribute.
/M        Copies files with the archive attribute set,
        turns off the archive attribute.
/D:date        Copies files changed on or after the specified date.
/P        Prompts you before creating each destination file.
/S        Copies directories and subdirectories except empty ones.
/E        Copies any subdirectories, even if empty.
/V        Verifies each new file.
/W        Prompts you to press a key before copying.
/Y        Suppresses prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an
        existing destination file.
/-Y        Causes prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an
        existing destination file.
The switch /Y may be preset in the COPYCMD environment variable.
This may be overridden with /-Y on the command line"

XCOPY.EXE is located by default in your C:\DOS directory.
XCOPY is the most powerful "COPY/MAKE DIR" command Microsoft came up with,
begining with the MS-DOS 6.00 release.
This is the COPYCMD command variable, you can add to your Autoexec.bat file
to disable the XCOPY confirmation prompt (use it with CAUTION!):
SET COPYCMD=/Y
Use XCOPY with a combo of parameters to copy files with the read-only
attributes to ANY destination (you can't copy system or hidden files, and
the read-only attribute is NOT preserved).
Example of XCOPY command used to copy (backup) ALL subdirectories and files
in your Windows/WfWG 3.1x directory to another drive/directory:
XCOPY /A /E /Y C:\WINDOWS D:\WIN31BAK
WARNING:
If you use the "XCOPY /Y" parameter (or the "COPYCMD" command variable),
XCOPY will OVERWRITE ALL existing files WITHOUT prompting you first!
ADD-ON:
There is a better XCOPY(32) alternative: XXCOPY for Win9x/NT/2000/ME/DOS
(freeware):
http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy/
which adds more command line switches [besides supporting ALL Microsoft
XCOPY(32) parameters], and complete LFNs support in a DOS box
(Win9x/NT/2000/ME only).



AUTOEXEC.BAT X 2



This trick was published in PC Magazine Vol. 14, No. 19, page 527:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/
You can run your AUTOEXEC.BAT after the boot process is over, and execute
different command lines depending on whether you're running it during the
bootup routine or afterwards.
The principle is to implement a MS-DOS batch variable to differentiate the
lines you want to run only after bootup from those you like executed only at
startup.
All you have to do is prefix your AUTOEXEC.BAT lines that should run only at
bootup with this line:
IF "%0"==""
MS-DOS plugs a batch file name into the "%0" parameter when you execute it
from the command line, but when AUTOEXEC.BAT is processed at bootup, this
parameter is still blank.
Easier, if you have a group of command lines you'd like executed only at
startup, just insert this on a separate line before them:
IF NOT "%0"=="" GOTO AFTERBOOT
Then insert the label ":AFTERBOOT" (without quotes), on a line of its own,
after the last line in your selected group. And if you have more than one
group of such commands, use a different label for each one, e.g.
":AFTERBOOT1", ":AFTERBOOT2" etc.



SERIAL KILLER! [UPDATED 4-24-1998]



This tip is intended for all PC users who:
- have a serial mouse connected to a COM port (usually COM1 or COM2);
- own an internal ISA modem/fax card that can be configured to be connected
to any of the four COM ports supported by the PC/AT BIOS.

* FIRST CASE:

If you have a serial mouse connected to the COM1 serial port, you need to set
your internal modem for COM4, and if your mouse is on COM2, your modem needs
to be set for COM3.
Why? Simple, because the IBM PC clone has a major limitation: [I wish it
would be the only one... :(] it has only 15 usable IRQs (hardware interrupts),
and a maximum of 4 COM (communication) ports. And it's not used to share (the
hardware resources anyway). This is the complete PC/AT COM ports list of valid
(hardware default) assigned resources:

Interrupt ReQuest line (IRQ) decimal values:

COM1 = IRQ 4
COM2 = IRQ 3
COM3 = IRQ 4
COM4 = IRQ 3

Base Address (BA) hexadecimal (h) values:

COM1 = 3F8h
COM2 = 2F8h
COM3 = 3E8h
COM4 = 2E8h

As you can see, the four COM ports share a total of only 2 (two) IRQs:
- COM1 + COM3 use the same IRQ = 4
- COM2 + COM4 use the same IRQ = 3
So if you hook up your serial mouse to COM1, you can't connect your modem to
COM3, because they share the same interrupt (IRQ 4). You could have your
serial mouse and modem share the same IRQ, but you'll experience conflicts.
Better avoid them. Same is valid with COM2 and COM4 (they share IRQ 3).
EXAMPLE:
Therefore, I had to set my modem (Philips PCM33IA internal PnP modem/fax
33.6/14.4 kbps, jumper adjustable) to use COM3, while my serial mouse is
connected to COM2. In ANY other configuration my modem was unable to properly
access the internet.
I had to assign this particular COM port configuration on 3 different PC/AT
Pentium class motherboards:
- Intel Plato II Premium Intel Pentium 90MHz + Award BIOS;
- Tyan Tomcat 1 S1562 Triton II HX Intel Pentium 200MHz + Award BIOS;
- Megatrends HX83 Triton II HX Intel Pentium 233MHz MMX + AMI BIOS.

* SECOND CASE:

Connect your serial mouse to COM port 1. Then if your motherboard BIOS
supports it, go into SETUP (usually by pressing the Del key while your machine
is stepping through the boot up sequence). In the Peripherals screen
(available on AMI BIOSes) or similar (depending on your BIOS type), disable
Serial/COM Port 2 entirely. Reboot. Now set your internal ISA modem to use COM
port 2 in all your DOS and Windows applications.
EXAMPLE:
I have done this on a Megatrends HX83 Pentium motherboard with AMI BIOS, using
an ISA internal PnP jumperless 3COM/US Robotics 56K V.90 Winmodem.
... I really hope the new USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard will do away
with this annoying limitation once for all.
NOTE: These workarounds don't apply to newer PnP modems that can also use
other IRQs, besides the two standard IRQs (3 and 4) used by the four standard
COM ports (newer 3COM/US Robotics modems can also use IRQ 7 or 9).

PS/2 mice/pointing devices have IRQ 12 assigned by default (usually not used
by other devices on a standard PC), therefore avoiding such compatibility
issues. BUT to my knowledge, the PS/2 mouse interface is slower than a COM
port, IF your motherboard COM ports have a fast UART chip to boot: at least
a 16550A. Therefore if you have both a serial AND a PS/2 mouse adapter (some
mouse vendors will provide both), and both an external serial (COM) port AND
a PS/2 mouse interface on the back of your computer case, then I suggest
using the serial plug to hook up your rodent, and then configure your
BIOS/Operating System properly to accept it, and avoid IRQ/BA conflicts.
IMPORTANT: To learn your hardware specs and supported standards, read your
motherboard/BIOS and modem manuals and help files.
Good luck...



CD-ROM NAME



This BUG fix applies to all Windows/WfWG 95/98/3.1x users who own a
CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-ROM/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM/etc drive and load the MS-DOS
(native/real mode) 16-bit CD/DVD device driver from Config.sys and the CD
Extensions TSR (i.e. MSCDEX.EXE) from Autoexec.bat.
Do NOT create/rename a directory bearing the same name as your MS-DOS CD/DVD
drive name, mentioned on the Config.sys CD-ROM device driver line and on the
Autoexec.bat MSCDEX line!
Generic CONFIG.SYS lines for CD/DVD MS-DOS mode device drivers:
- (E)IDE/ATAPI CD/DVD drive:
DEVICEHIGH=drive:\path\CDROM.SYS /D:MYCDROM
- SCSI CD/DVD drive:
DEVICEHIGH=drive:\path\ASPIDOS.SYS
DEVICEHIGH=drive:\path\ASPIHLP.SYS
DEVICEHIGH=drive:\path\ASPICD.SYS /D:MYCDROM
Replace all "drive", "path" (no quotes) and file names with your actual drive
letter(s), directory name(s) and file name(s).
See "CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for details on DOS
mode CD/DVD drivers and (in)compatibilities.
You also need to load MSCDEX.EXE (MicroSoft Compact Disc EXtensions) or a
similar TSR in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, for your CD/DVD drive to be properly
recognized by the system in native/true MS-DOS mode.
Generic AUTOEXEC.BAT line for MSCDEX:
LOADHIGH=drive:\path\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MYCDROM
In this example MYCDROM is the CD/DVD drive name and MUST be IDENTICAL with
the one on your CD/DVD device driver line in your CONFIG.SYS!
The CD/DVD drive name specified with the /D:XXXXXXXX switch on your MSCDEX
line may NOT exceed 8 characters (case insensitive), and spaces or
punctuation symbols are NOT allowed!
Therefore, do NOT create/rename a directory on ANY of your fixed/local
drives/partitions with the name MYCDROM!
If you do, it won't be recognized, and you'll get an error message like this:
"Unable to run/copy/move/rename/etc XXXXXXXX.YYY file/directory"
whenever you try to access any file(s) or subdirectories located in that
directory, or if you try to delete/rename/move/etc that particular directory.



STUBBORN CONTROL PANEL APPLET



There is a way to get rid of unwanted/obsolete Control Panel Applets
(.CPL files), located in your C:\Windows\System directory (default).
FIRST: BACKUP your CONTROL.INI file (found in your Windows directory)!
Now make sure your Control Panel is CLOSED, then open Control.ini with
Notepad, and scroll down to the [Don't load] section (or add it if it
is not present).
You might find a few lines under this header (example below shows my
WfWG 3.11 CONTROL.INI lines):

[Don't load]
snd.cpl=no
joystick.cpl=no
midimap.drv=no

This means that the Win31 Sound Applet loads in WfWG's Control Panel
(replacing "no" with "yes" on the "snd.cpl=" line, would disable it,
preventing this applet/icon from showing).
This way you can add/modify/delete/remark these lines to enable/disable
ANY/ALL Control Panel Applets, without moving or deleting them.
Example:

[Don't load]
snd.cpl=yes

This line disables the Sound Properties, preventing it from appearing in
Control Panel. Therefore changing it to:

snd.cpl=no

enables (shows) the Sound Properties in Control Panel.
Note that you can replace "no" with "0", "off" or "false". Similarly, "yes"
has the same effect as "1", "on" or "true" (but don't type the quotes).
Save your Control.ini file and close Notepad when you're done. Changes take
effect next time when you open Control Panel.
This feature is useful to block the access to your system settings if
someone else also shares your PC, and you would like to keep your own
customized Windows/WfWG 3.1x desktop (security purposes).
This is a list of .CPL files installed by Windows/WfWG 3.1x in the
C:\Windows\System directory (depending on your system configuration, and if
you installed 3rd party programs/tools):

.CPL Applet    Purpose            Installed by
----------------------------------------------------
Cpaddin.cpl    Control Panel Add-in    Control Panel Add-in (3rd party
                    shareware)
Cpwin386.cpl    386 Enhanced        MS Windows/WfWG 3.1x
Drivers.cpl    Drivers            MS Windows/WfWG 3.1x
Fax.cpl        Fax            MS Windows/WfWG 3.1x
Joystick.cpl    Joystick        Intel Joystick Driver
Main.cpl    Desktop            MS Windows/WfWG 3.1x
Morecon.cpl    More Control        More Control (3rd party freeware)
Qtw16.cpl    Quick Time Movie    Apple Quick Time Movie 16-bit
                    Player v2.x (3rd party freeware)
Snd.cpl        Sound            MS Windows/WfWG 3.1x
Wfwnetcp.cpl    WfWG 3.1x Network    MS WfWG 3.1x



PERSONAL MANAGER    [+]



"Program Manager to Personal Manager

This tip applies to Microsoft Windows 3.x.

You can personalize Program Manager a little more by performing a few simple
steps. Start Windows 3.x. With your Startup Group selected, click on File,
New. Choose New Item and click OK. In the "Description" field, put in any name
you choose.
Note that this name/description will replace the words "Program Manager" on
Program Manager's title bar. As for the "Command Line", type in PROGMAN.EXE,
and set the "Working Directory" to the drive and path of your Windows
installation.

Do not check the "Run Minimized" option at the bottom. Click on change icon
and click OK twice.

Exit Windows 3.x and then restart it by typing "WIN" at the DOS prompt.

Windows 3.x will load normally, the only difference is that it will now say
the words you entered for "Description" in place of the words "Program
Manager" on the Program Manager title bar. This takes NO extra RAM and alters
no important settings, it just lets you personalize your Windows 3.x a
little more.

The Captain"



DUAL BOOT



This is the step by step installation procedure to enable the dual-boot
feature for MS-DOS 6.xx + Windows/WfWG 3.1x under Windows 95/98/ME + MS-DOS
7.xx/8.00.
A MUST:
To PROPERLY dual-boot between MS-DOS 6.xx and Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.x or
Windows 98/98 SE, YOU *MUST* APPLY the workarounds detailed in "DUAL-BOOT IN
OSR2/WIN98":
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/osr2.htm#2BOOT
also included in OSR2TIPS.TXT, part of W95-11D.ZIP:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm
DrvSpace compressed drives can also be handled with this method, if used to
keep running your old programs under your old DOS6/Win31 OS, while also using
Windows 9x/ME. BEWARE that Win9x/ME do NOT support DblSpace (included only
with MS-DOS 6.00), and that you MUST use the DRVSPACE.* files included with
your Win95/98/ME release if dual-booting!
Make sure your dual-boot disk/partition is formatted using FAT16, because
MS-DOS 6.xx/5.00 do NOT recognize FAT32, NTFS or ANY OTHER File Allocation
Table (FAT) system!
Here we go:

A. Copy (duplicate) your whole Windows/WfWG 3.1x directory and all its
subdirectories to another directory, let's say \WIN3. Copy the \DOS directory
to a new one, let's say \DOS6.

B. Edit all INI files in the new WIN3 directory and change all references
from \WINDOWS to \WIN3 (open them with a plain text editor: Notepad in
Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS).
Start a Search/Replace pattern for all \WINDOWS instances to be replaced with
\WIN3. Also, while running the new copy of Win31, delete the REG.DAT file
(found in \WIN3), and then open File Manager, go to the \WIN3\SYSTEM
subdirectory of the current running Win31 copy, and double-click on all the
.REG files there, to create a new/updated REG.DAT file.
See "RESTORE CORRUPTED REG.DAT" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for MORE info.
You will also have to modify all the program groups (in Program Manager) and
all items in them, to point to the new \WIN3 directory.

C. Open your MS-DOS 6.xx version of AUTOEXEC.BAT in Notepad or EDIT.COM, and
REM the PATH= line. Copy it, and paste it as the next line, and then modify
the Windows directory to point to \WIN3, and \DOS to read \DOS6, respectively.
Change also the IFSHLP.SYS (the Win31 32-bit disk access driver) path in your
DOS6 CONFIG.SYS to point to \WIN3. If you load HIMEM.SYS and/or EMM386.EXE
from your DOS6 directory, you need to modify their paths too, to point to
\DOS6. Repeat this step for ANY other devices/drivers/TSRs that load from
\DOS6 or \WIN3 to point to the new directories, like SMARTDRV, MOUSE etc.

D. Reboot, restart Win31 and run Windows 9x Setup through Win31's Program
Manager's File/Run menu. Win9x install will rename your old CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT files to CONFIG.DOS and AUTOEXEC.DOS respectively. If you choose
to boot with the "Previous version of MS-DOS", from the Win9x Startup Menu:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/msdos.htm#MEN
Win9x renames them back to CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, and backs up their
Win9x/DOS7 versions with the .W40 extension (AUTOEXEC.W40 and CONFIG.W40
respectively).

E. After Win9x install is finished, use the Win9x Notepad to edit CONFIG.DOS
and AUTOEXEC.DOS and change all \WINDOWS references in them to \WIN3, and
all \DOS references to \DOS6.

F. The following lines MUST appear in the [Options] section of your Win9x
MSDOS.SYS file. If you use Drivespace disk compression you MUST change both
MSDOS.SYS files, the one on the boot drive's root directory (C:\) and the
one on the compressed drive's root directory (usually H:\), if using MS
Drvspace disk compression:

[Options]
BootGUI=1
Network=0
BootMulti=1
BootMenu=1
BootMenuDefault=7 => To boot in MS-DOS 6.xx (you have only 7 options if
Networking/TCP/IP is turned off in Win9x OS, by the "Network=0" line in
Msdos.sys). Use option 1 (default) to boot into Win9x OS.
BootMenuDelay=30  => Default number of seconds to select an option.

To add these lines, first open "My Computer" and enable "Show All files"
from View -> Options -> View, and also uncheck "Hide MS-DOS file
extensions". Then open the Win9x MSDOS.SYS file in Notepad, and see if it
contains the lines listed above. If it doesn't, you need to edit it and
put them in. Since MSDOS.SYS is a read-only/hidden/system file, you need
to change its attributes first and then use Notepad to insert the new
lines. When you're done, you need to change Msdos.sys' attributes back to
original to write-protect the file, and make it recognizable by Win9x OS.
To change the attributes, right-click on the MSDOS.SYS icon in Explorer.
Select Properties and uncheck all attribute boxes.
Save your file and exit Notepad. Now change the MSDOS.SYS attributes back to
hidden, read-only, system.

G. Exit Win9x and reboot. Now you should see the dual-boot menu and will be
able to select which OS you want to boot with. The first option: "Normal",
allows you to boot into Win9x, and option 8 (if the line Network=1 is
enabled in MSDOS.SYS), "Previous version of MS-DOS", lets you boot with your
old MS-DOS 6.xx + Windows/WfWG 3.1x.
The boot menu looks like this (you have only 7 choices if you're not
connected to a Network or a TCP/IP provider):

Microsoft Windows 95 (98) Startup Menu
======================================
1. Normal
2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
3. Safe mode
4. Safe mode with network support -> Option 4 appears ONLY on
                     Networked/TCP/IP enabled systems
5. Step-by-step confirmation
6. Command prompt only
7. Safe mode command prompt only
8. Previous version of MS-DOS
    Enter a choice: 5
F5=Safe mode Shift+F5=Command prompt Shift+F8=Step-by-step confirmation[N]

FYI: Microsoft removed the Startup Menu from Windows Millennium Edition (ME),
but you can still access most of these options by hitting the "combo" keys at
bootup!

H. Any Windows programs installed after doing this will ONLY appear in the
system you were running at the Win9x install time!
Example: if you installed MS Word (the old 16-bit version) under Win9x you
have to install it again under Win31 if you want to use it with both.
You can install the applications in the same directory both times, which
overwrites the same files to avoid having 2 sets of the same program on your
drive(s), thus saving disk space. If you have 2 different versions of the
same application, one for Win31 (older, 16-bit) and the other for Win9x (the
32-bit newer version, incompatible with Win31), install them into different
directories: one for Win9x (32-bit), installed from the Win9x GUI, and
another for Win31 (16-bit), installed from the Win31 GUI.

FYI: MSKB: "Multi-Boot Windows 2000/NT, Windows 95/98/ME + MS-DOS":
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q217/2/10.asp



WIN95/98/NT EASY MIGRATION [+]



"Installing Win95/98/NT over(writing) Win 3.x

Some people like the dual-boot features of Windows 95/98 that let you keep
booting to an existing OS such as Windows 3.x and a previous version of DOS,
myself included.

I found a simple way to migrate your current Windows 3.x apps to Windows 95/98
without losing Windows 3.x and you don't have to reinstall any of your
programs.

All you have to do is make an exact duplicate of your Windows 3.x directory
and all the files and subdirectories within it, and that's usually just your
Windows and Windows\System directories and the files contained in them.
Usually it is less than 10 megabytes so this isn't a problem if you're short
on disk space. All you need to do is make a directory named Win95 or Win98
depending on which version you are installing. Go into MS-DOS or use the
Windows File Manager program to copy all your files from C:\Windows
(substitute your drive/directory name in place of C:\Windows) and your
C:\Windows\System (same) to your C:\Win95 or C:\Win98 System directory. You
will need a sub-directory in your DUPLICATE COPY of Windows 3.x named "System"
where you copy the old Windows 3.x system files from the Windows 3.x system
sub-directory.

Then simply run Windows 95 or Windows 98's installation program and tell it to
install to C:\Win95 or C:\Win98, overwriting your "previous" (actually a copy
of your previous) version of Windows. All of your existing programs and
applications will be automatically ported to Windows 95/98 while still being
accessible in your original copy of Windows 3.x.
This will update the Win95/98 registry and even put the programs into the
Start Menu so you don't have to worry about it. This tip should also work for
Windows NT 4.0 and in the future, NT 5.0.

The Captain"



RELEASE MY MODEM!



This applies ONLY to dial-up (phone line based) modems connected to one of
your computer's COM(munication) ports in Windows 9x/ME/3.1x.
If you are using both Windows and MS-DOS based communications/fax programs,
you may experience occasional error messages such as:
"Another program is using the selected Telephony device. Try again after the
other program completes."
or:
"Cannot initialize COMx port"
This means your modem/fax device may not be properly released for further use
upon exiting a DOS based communications/fax application (running in a DOS
box/session/window). But there is a workaround.
The state of a device contention in Windows 9x/ME/3.1x is determined by the
"COMxAutoAssign=n" setting under System.ini's [386Enh] section, where x is the
serial (COM) port number (usually 1 to 4), and n can have any integer value
from -1 up to 1000.
Windows default setting is -1. This causes Windows to NOT release a serial
port previously used by a non-Windows (DOS) based application.
To enable the "hot-swapping" capability between Windows and MS-DOS based
communications/fax programs, open your System.ini file (found in your Windows
directory) with Notepad or Sysedit, and add/modify these entries under the
[386enh] section to read:

COM1AutoAssign=0
COM2AutoAssign=0
COM3AutoAssign=0
COM4AutoAssign=0

Save your work and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.



BAD MEMORY?



Because of the more aggressive way MS Windows 3.xx, and especially 9x, NT,
2000, ME, XP etc access the computer's memory (RAM = Random Access Memory),
your RAM chips might not last as long as expected, especially if you bought
generic, cheap, unmatched and/or unreliable DRAM (Dynamic Random Access
Memory), a while back.
Faulty or unproperly matched RAM can give you a major headache. You can get
intermittent, random or frequent error messages at bootup, or your machine
won't even start, locking up at the BIOS POST (Power On Self Test) screen!
Usually the audible beeps during the BIOS/CMOS bootup POST routine can help in
detecting the problem, but you need to find out from your computer's
documentation what exactly those beeps mean.

BIOS/POST bootup error codes/messages:
http://www.bioscentral.com/
More info @ MSKB:
- Win95/98/ME:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q134/5/03.asp
- Win/WfWG 3.1x:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q93/5/21.asp

If you got a PC within the last 3-5 years, there is a good chance you are
using SIMMs (Single Inline Memory Modules), DIMMs (Dual Inline Memory Modules)
or RIMMs (Rambus Inline Memory Modules). No matter your memory type: EDO, FPM,
ECC, SDRAM, RDRAM etc, power spikes or outages, especially on computers not
protected by surge protectors or backup Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
units, inadequate room temperature (too hot), insufficient
case/CPU/motherboard ventilation/cooling, inproper/long lasting CPU/bus
overcloking (by increasing the voltage over factory preset values), computing
habbits (some leave their machines on 24 hours a day), can all contribute to
shortening your RAM chips life span.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

1. The first step you should take when you suspect bad memory, is to open
your PC case (you need to be a little familiar with your computer's "guts" to
attempt this, so you know how your RAM looks like), pull out ALL memory chips
and clean them with a dry cloth. To do this properly, you MUST FIRST power
off and unplug your PC. Then you MUST "ground" yourself (using an antistatic
grounding cable) to avoid nasty static discharges, that may DAMAGE your
computer's electrical components!
Then reseat them and make sure they "snap" in firmly.

2. If this doesn't work, remove one chip at a time and then reboot each time,
on systems that operate without a minimum or even number (2, 4 etc) of RAM
chips, to see if the error messages are gone.
On systems that take RAM modules only in pairs, remove one pair at a time (if
you have more than 1), and restart your machine.

3. Another way is to use a memory diagnostic software tool. These are usually
expensive, and targeted to computer building/repair/testing businesses.
One of the most comprehensive tools on the market is Ultra-X RAM Stress Test:
http://www.ultra-x.com/rst.html
If you are fortunate to own (or have access to) such a program, run it
continuously for at least 12-24 hours, to get accurate results.
Or try these free(ware) alternatives:
- DocMem for Win9x/NT/2000/ME/XP and DOS:
http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp
- MEMTEST:
http://www.aha.ru/~alegr/download/memtest_en.htm
- NMI for DOS:
http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/msdos/memutil/nmi.zip

4. You can also use Microsoft HIMEM.SYS (loads as default memory manager on
ALL Windows 95/98/ME + MS-DOS 6.xx machines) to test the reliability of your
entire extended memory (XMS) area. The HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:ON command line
parameter performs a more thorough memory test every time your PC boots than
the standard powerup memory test performed by most computers BIOSes, by
writing and reading data to each memory address and checking for differences.
If the data HIMEM.SYS reads from an address differs from the data it just
wrote to that address, then the memory at that address is unreliable, and can
cause system instability or loss of data!
/TESTMEM is ON by default in MS-DOS 6.00 up to 6.22, and doesn't need to be
mentioned on the CONFIG.SYS HIMEM.SYS line.
But if you own Windows 95, OSR2, 98 or ME (any release), you need to turn it
ON (it is OFF by default) by creating (if not present) or editing (using
Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS) your CONFIG.SYS file (located in C:\
root), and add/modify this line to read:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:ON
Change the path name if different on your system.
* Windows 95/98/ME users only:
Add/modify this MSDOS.SYS (found in C:\ root) line to read:
Logo=0
Use SYS95.BAT, part of W95-11D.ZIP:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm
to edit MSDOS.SYS the easy way.
* All MS WinDOwS users:
Reboot when done.
Now watch the OS bootup screen for any messages like:
"ERROR: HIMEM.SYS has detected unreliable extended memory at address
XXXXXXXXh."
If this happens, HIMEM.SYS will abort, and Windows won't even load without
extended memory enabled!
In such cases you should have your computer's RAM stick(s) checked for
hardware defects (and eventually replaced if necessary) by qualified
personnel.
NOTE:
Microsoft REMOVED COMPLETELY the access to native/real MS-DOS mode from
Windows Millennium Edition (ME), a.k.a. MS-DOS 8.00. :(
But you CAN get it back by applying the Unofficial WinME Real DOS-Mode Patch
[9 KB, freeware]:
http://www.geocities.com/mfd4life_2000/
which modifies COMMAND.COM + IO.SYS (from C:\Windows\Command\EBD) +
REGENV32.EXE (from C:\Windows\System) to allow Windows ME to boot to native
MS-DOS and use DOS mode startup files (AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS), the Windows
95/98 style.

5. A cheap (read "free") and "hands off your PC" troubleshooting method is to
add/modify this line (using Notepad or Sysedit):
MaxPhysPage=hexadecimal-page-number
under the [386enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file (located in your Windows
directory), to isolate the amount of memory used by Windows, no matter which
version you have: 9x/ME or 3.xx. Most 80386, 80486 and all Pentium class (and
above) CPUs make use of RAM in 4 KB (4096 Bytes) pages. Newer Pentium
II/III/IV and AMD K6/K6-2/K7/K8 CPUs use 4 MB (4096 KB) pages. That's exactly
what "MaxPhysPage" does: limits the number of RAM pages available to Windows.
This way you can tell EXACTLY how much RAM Windows accesses, and if THAT
particular memory is defective.
Example: to force Windows to use only the first 4 MB (MegaBytes) of RAM, this
line must read (hex value):
MaxPhysPage=400
Save your changes and restart Windows (which is valid every time you make
changes to SYSTEM.INI).
If the GUI (Graphical User Interface) comes back OK, try to perform some
routine tasks. If everything looks good, modify the MaxPhysPage line again to
read:
MaxPhysPage=800
This setting tells Windows to use only the first 8 MB of RAM.
Similarly, this line:
MaxPhysPage=1000
limits Windows to the first 16 MB of RAM.
Repeat the steps above every time you changed the MaxPhysPage line.
These are the most common values for the "MaxPhysPage" setting:

RAM Limit [MB]    MaxPhysPage Hex Value
-------------------------------------
4        400
8        800
12        C00
16        1000
24        1800
32        2000
48        3000
64        4000
80        5000
96        6000
128        8000
160        A000
192        C000
256        10000
384        18000
512        20000
640        28000
768        2C000
960        3C000

Win98/ME users ONLY: you can also decrease the SYSTEM.INI "MaxPhysPage" value
by using MSCONFIG.EXE (System Configuration Utility): click the Start button
-> click Run... -> type MSCONFIG -> click OK or hit Enter -> click the
General tab -> click the Advanced... button -> place a check mark in the
"Limit memory to ??? MB" box -> hold the up arrow or down arrow slider until
the desired value appears -> click OK or hit Enter twice -> restart Windows.

The "Specifying Amount of RAM Available to Windows Using MaxPhysPage" MSKB
article lists all possible values for limiting Windows memory:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q181/8/62.asp

6. The more drastic solution [if everything else fails :)] is to buy more
RAM, again, one chip at a time, and restart your computer each time to test
it.
ALL your RAM chips MUST be of the same type, and you MUST get the RIGHT RAM
type (SIMM, DIMM, RIMM etc) for your specific motherboard/chipset. Read
your system documentation FIRST!

Check out these web sites to learn about RAM types and flavors:
- Tom's Hardware RAM Guide:
http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/98q4/981024/
- System Optimization Memory page:
http://www.sysopt.com/memory.html
- Ars Technica RAM identification page:
http://www.arstechnica.com/paedia/r/ram_id-1.html
- Crucial Technology: identify basic RAM modules:
http://www.crucial.com/library/memorymodid.asp

And while you're at it, I recommend you get MORE memory [no more excuses, they
are so cheap now :-)]. 64 MB of RAM is a good start, 128 MB is even better,
and 256 MB SDRAM (or RDRAM) is today's "sweet spot" [but not for long :)],
especially if using Windows 98/NT4/2000/ME/XP, to give Windows more physical
RAM (faster operation) to "play" with, instead of spinning that hard disk to
access the slower virtual memory (swap file).

WARNING:
Microsoft acknowledged in these MSKB articles:
- Q184447:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q184/4/47.asp
- Q304943:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q304/9/43.asp
that Windows 98, 98 SE and ME may NOT start if you have 1 GB or more RAM
installed! The FIX is to use the "MaxPhysPage" SYSTEM.INI line above to limit
the total memory available to Windows to less than 1 GB. :(



IDENTIFY "NO NAME" CARDS [+]



Courtesy of Asrepka ([e-mail]).

"Here's another way of finding out who made your no name modem or other
add-on cards for your PC. Open up your computer case, and take out the no
name card. Write down the FCC ID number on the card. Plug the card back in
and close up your machine. Go to the following website:
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/
Type in the FCC ID number, and then search their database. You will know now
who made your no name card and then you can search the web for updated
drivers."



EXTRA ASCII CHARACTERS [+]



Another cool tip sent by The Captain. Enjoy.

"You aren't limited to just the number of characters (letters, symbols and
numbers) on your keyboard. In fact, you could have dozens of characters you
never knew about. Example:

üéâäàåçêëèïîæÆôöòùÖÜ.£ƒíóúñѪº⌐¬½¼«»░▓▒│╡╢╣║╗╝╜╛┐┼╞╟╨╤╫╪▐▀≈■

The above is what you get if you hold down ALT and press 3 or 4 numbers on
your numeric keypad.

These are known as ASCII characters, useful for putting in non-standard
keyboard characters and symbols for various purposes. Most of them should work
in Wordpad, MS Word and other text editors as well, such as EDIT.COM (MS-DOS
program)."

NOTES:
- Notepad (and similar plain text editors/viewers, including EDIT.COM, the
MS-DOS mode text editor) cannot display properly some of the extra ASCII
characters above. Therefore I recommend using a better text editor or your
favorite word processor to type/read/print them.
- MS-DOS 6.xx users can run the HELP command from any DOS prompt, and then
read the ANSI.SYS section to access the ASCII codes.
- The Character Map tool (Charmap.exe) included with all Windows/WfWG
releases, and found in the Windows directory, shows the key code equivalent
for each character supported by the installed fonts.



MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE MADE EASY



Windows 98? Windows ME? OSR2? MS-DOS 6.22? Windows 3.11? ... Confused?
Which one are you having trouble with? I know that all Microsoft Operating
Systems I have used so far gave me grief at some point. Why? Simple. They all
exhibit their share of BUGs, glitches, annoyances, quirks, problems,
"issues", incompatibilities, security leaks, or whatever else you want to call
them. :)
But wait! Microsoft is taking important steps towards explaining the most
common problems, answering the most "burning" questions, and eventually fix
some of the BUGs. [... and ignore others :(]
The answer is simple. And it's free. All you need is an e-mail account and/or
Internet access.
It's called the MicroSoft Knowledge Base (MSKB):
http://support.microsoft.com/
the "mother" of all support web sites. A vast area full of articles that cover
most of the unsolved, asked about, annoying issues and BUGs. And some of these
articles include free updates/patches for your "affected" Microsoft
OS/application.

WWW ALTERNATIVE:

You can access any MSKB article by searching the entire MSKB web based site,
and using an article ID number (if you know the 6 digit "Q" number), or by
entering keywords, and the appropriate OS/Environment/application name to
refer to. Example: entering the keywords: "Windows 95", "MSDOS.SYS" (don't
type the quotes), returns a list of matches (related MSKB articles), you can
click on for on-line reading, and eventually save to disk in HTML format (for
off-line reading).
More info on MSKB keywords:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q242/4/50.asp
This is the Microsoft Software Support WWW server, containing free Windows
95/OSR1/OSR2/98/ME/NT/2000/XP upgrades, drivers, patches, utilities etc:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/
To search the entire MSKB for a particular topic of interest go to the MSKB
Search page:
http://support.microsoft.com/
Microsoft (entire web site) Search:
http://search.microsoft.com/
Unofficial MSKB articles list by topic:
http://www.chasms.com/mskb/mskb.htm
Unofficial MSKB Free Email Alerts:
http://www.kbalertz.com/

UPDATE:
"The Google search engine:
http://www.google.com/
can limit searches by domain.
To get the most relevant hits from searching the MSKB customize Google to
include the site main URL after your keyword(s):
keyword site:support.microsoft.com
This way you'll get hits only from support.microsoft.com, which primarily
comprises the MSKB.
If using more than one keyword separate them with spaces.
If looking for exact hits enclose your keywords with quotes."
[Thank you Rick ([e-mail])!]

FTP ALTERNATIVE:

All these MSKB articles are also available as plain text/ASCII files (for
faster access, and for off-line reading convenience) on the MSKB FTP server:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Peropsys/
NOTE: To access the MSKB FTP server you don't need to have your web browser
configured to "Send E-mail Address as Anonymous FTP Password" for FTP log-in.
Here you need to "study" the README and INDEX text files scattered throughout
the MSKB FTP site, usually found at the top of each (sub)directory, for
specific info, and a complete list of article numbers and titles (more time
consuming, but faster, especially if your Internet connection is slower).
The "Peropsys" FTP directories you might be interested in are (their names are
eloquent):
- hardware -> covers OS related hardware issues:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Peropsys/hardware/KB/
- msdos -> covers MS-DOS from 3.0 to 6.22:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Peropsys/msdos/KB/
- WIN95 -> covers Windows 95, OSR1, OSR2, 98 and ME:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Peropsys/WIN95/KB/
- windows -> covers Windows 3.xx and Windows for WorkGroups 3.1x:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Peropsys/windows/KB/
Example: in the WIN95 KB subdirectory, click on the index.txt file [~ 325 KB].
It lists all Windows 95, 98 + ME article "Q" numbers and titles for quick
reference. Then you can click (and eventually save to disk) the particular
text article(s) you're interested in. New articles are added every month, so
you might want to check periodically for updates.
This is the Microsoft Software Support FTP server, containing free MS-DOS and
Windows 95/98/NT/3.xx upgrades, drivers, patches, utilities etc:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/
This index.txt file [~ 200 KB] contains the complete list of files posted in
the Software Library ("SoftLib"):
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/index.txt

E-MAIL ALTERNATIVE:

1. Fire up your e-mail client and send a message to:
[e-mail]
with the word INDEX in the Subject field. This will return an automated list
of all new ("hot") MSKB articles/issues/discovered bugs, in reference to all
current Microsoft OSes/applications. If you type a MSKB article 6 digit ID
number (Qnnnnnn or nnnnnn) in the Subject area, you'll receive an automated
message including that specific article.
This e-mail topic suggested by The Captain.
Example: to get a copy of the MSKB article Q120822 in e-mail, type Q120822 in
the Subject field. You can also find this article online as a web page (MSKB
WWW):
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q120/8/22.asp
or as a text file (MSKB FTP):
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Peropsys/WIN95/KB/Q120/8/22.TXT
The MSHelp support page has all necessary instructions on how to receive MSKB
articles by e-mail:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q183/1/21.asp
2. Point your web browser (requires a cookie enabled browser) to go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/isapi/goregwiz.asp?target=/regwiz/forms/pic.asp
and subscribe (free) to the Microsoft e-mail based Newsletters of your choice.
Done. Gee... so many choices, so little time... :)



RESTRICTED ACCESS



If you work/"play" in a multiuser computing environment, and you are the
owner, system administrator and/or main user of your Windows/WfWG 3.1x
computer, there are a few things you can do to make sure others can't "mess"
with vital (critical) system settings, and/or if you want to keep your custom
configuration intact.
Open PROGMAN.INI (located in your Windows/WfWG directory) with Notepad, and
add/modify the following lines, under the [Restrictions] section (create it
if not present):

[Restrictions]
; Disables the Run command from the File menu:
NoRun=1
; Disables the Close/Exit Windows command from the File menu:
NoClose=1
; Disables the Save Settings command from the Options menu:
NoSaveSettings=1
; Removes the File menu from Program Manager:
NoFileMenu=1
; EditLevel=n prevents users from changing program items/groups/information
; (n = 0 - 4):
; 1 = prevents users from creating, deleting or renaming program groups, and
; disables the Copy, Delete, Move and New commands from the program groups
; File menu (grayed out).
; 2 = additional to EditLevel=1 restrictions prevents users from creating,
; deleting or renaming program items/icons, and disables the Copy, Delete,
; Move and New commands from the File menu (grayed out).
; 3 = additional to EditLevel=2 restrictions prevents users from changing
; command lines for program items, and disables the Command Line box from the
; Properties dialog box (grayed out).
; 4 = additional to EditLevel=3 restrictions prevents users from changing ANY
; program item information, and disables completely the Properties dialog box
; (grayed out).
; Replace n with an integer number from 0 to 4 for desired security level
; (level 0 is Windows default = NO security):
EditLevel=n

All lines preceded by a semicolon (;) are comments.
Save the file and exit Notepad, but make a backup copy of your original
PROGMAN.INI first.
Alternatively, you can modify the attributes of important system files in your
Windows/WfWG directory to read-only, so casual users won't be able to modify
them. Example:
ATTRIB +R C:\WINDOWS\PROGMAN.INI
Other Windows/WfWG system files you can make "read-only" for security purposes
are all other .INI files, all .GRP files and REG.DAT, all residing in your
Windows/WfWG directory.
Save your work when done and restart Windows/WfWG.

WARNINGS:
1. Beware that you will NOT be able to install, uninstall or even run
applications that write to these files anymore, IF they are write-protected!
2. By restricting access to certain system settings/features you may find
yourself LOCKED OUT of your system!

TIP: For more restriction settings read "STUBBORN CONTROL PANEL APPLET" and
"LOCK UP THE DOS BOX", both in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file).



HIDDEN DIRECTORY [+]



... Thanks to Anthony Martin ([e-mail]):
http://move.to/port80/

"My tip is how to make a directory that most versions of Windows have trouble
opening (useful for security purposes though).
When creating a directory, give it a name, and add 0255 to the name (these are
ASCII characters), by holding down the Alt key and punching those numbers on
the keypad. When you hit Enter, the name will look something like "MYDIR_"
(without quotes). If you (double)-click that new directory, you'll get an
error message.
An added feature is that DOS is able to access this directory with no trouble.
I've found no version of Windows 95 that can address this type of directory,
but there are versions of Windows 98 that can. I have not tried this with
WinNT."
UPDATES:
1. "You can hide a directory or file in Windows ONLY IF you rename the
directory/file at the DOS prompt (not neccessarily in native MS-DOS mode). To
hide a file, modify its extension by pressing Alt and typing 0255."
This update courtesy of Ali Ezzahir ([e-mail]).
2. To create a hidden directory in DOS: type MD (short for MKDIR, which stands
for MaKeDIRectory), type a space, then type the desired name (a maximum of 7
characters if doing this from the native MS-DOS), and then hold down Alt, type
0255 (on the keypad), then release the Alt key. Finally press Enter.
The only way to access/remove such a hidden directory is from DOS!
To remove a hidden directory: type RD (short for REMDIR, which stands for
REMoveDIRectory), type a space, then type your directory name, and then hold
down Alt, type 0255 (on the keypad), then release the Alt key. Finally press
Enter.
To change to a hidden directory: type CD (short for CHDIR, stands for
CHangeDIRectory), type a space, then type your directory name, and then hold
down Alt, type 0255 (on the keypad), then release the Alt key. Finally press
Enter.
3. "This trick doesn't work from within the GUI in Windows 95B OSR 2.1. You
need to do it from DOS (DOS box OK). Works anywhere in a file/directory name.
Typing Alt+0255 will display as an underscore ( ) in Windows or a space ( ) in
DOS."
This update courtesy of Robert Pendell ([e-mail]).



BLUE (OR ANY OTHER COLOR) SCREEN OF DEATH



Have you ever had the "privilege" of "admiring" the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen
Of Death):
http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/b/blue_screen_of_death.html
one of Microsoft Windows' most "treasured features"? :)
Well, if you haven't you're VERY lucky!
But for those who have (and this might include YOU, one dark, cloudy day),
here are a few pointers.
The "birth" of the BSOD goes way back, being introduced in the early days of
Microsoft Windows 3.0 (and possibly even earlier). It has been "spotted" on
ALL incarnations of MS Windows Environment/OS, including MS Windows/WfWG 3.xx,
Windows 9x, NT, and even the newer Windows 2000 (formerly known as Windows NT
5.0) releases.
Whenever the BSOD pops up, it's baaaad news. :(
In most cases, returning to the Operating System (Windows GUI) is not possible
("fatal error"), and a reboot is the only way to "recover" your computer from
an imminent disaster. Usually a classic "three-finger-salute" (Ctrl-Alt-Del)
keypress "combo" (a.k.a. "warm reboot") will save the day, but sometimes a
"cold reboot" (hitting your computer's Reset button) is required.
In the few cases the BSOD indicates a "non-fatal error", you MAY be able to
return to the Windows GUI, but those situations are considered "rara avis"
nowadays. :(
"Lucky" Windows/WfWG 3.xx users can bring up the BSOD "at will" by pressing
Ctrl-Alt-Del simultaneously.
Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME users don't have this "privilege", being able to "enjoy"
the BSOD only if certain system conflicts/errors occur... Or try this one, if
you really, REALLY want to see how the BSOD looks like on your shiny Windows
9x "speed demon":
1. Pop in an empty formatted floppy into your A drive.
2. Copy a non-essential file to disk A.
3. Hit the floppy eject button while the LED is still on.
4. Voila... here comes your "eagerly awaited" BSOD!
5. Enjoy. :) [But do NOT complain IF YOUR COMPUTER JUST CRASHED!]
This other "funny" BSOD pop up method was suggested by Michael Chand
([e-mail]):
"Edit the SYSTEM.INI file, located in your Windows directory. Under the
[boot] section, change the line shell=explorer.exe to read shell= (leave it
blank). Now, when you restart Windows, it will appear to load normally, then
it will display the BSOD, saying some error has occured and that "You MUST
reinstall Windows". Of course, to fix it, just restore the old
shell=explorer.exe line.
Though you will have to boot to MS-DOS to change it: press F8 at the
"Starting Windows 95 (98)" screen. From the C:\> prompt, edit SYSTEM.INI
using EDIT.COM, by running:
EDIT C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI
Save the file, exit the editor, and then start Windows by running WIN."
Besides downloading and installing all the "latest" upgrades, patches, fixes,
drivers etc... for your MS Windows version and particular hardware devices,
there is not much you can do to avoid random system crashes (a.k.a. BSODs).
But there IS something else you can do: you CAN change the BSOD colors! ;-)
Sounds like fun? Then keep reading...
Open SYSTEM.INI (Windows SYSTEM INItialization file), a plain text file
residing in your Windows directory, with Notepad or Sysedit (in Windows), or
EDIT.COM (in DOS), and add/modify the following lines under the [386enh]
section (example):
MessageBackColor=8
MessageTextColor=C
In this case BSOD will display bright red characters on a dark gray
background. You can give them ANY value from the table below.
You need to restart Windows after making ANY changes to your System.ini, so
the new settings can take "charge".
Default BSOD colors are blue (1) for background and bright white (F) for
foreground no matter the Windows version.
There are a total of 16 available colors: 0 to 9, followed by A to F
(hexadecimal values), representing standard VGA color attributes:
0 = black
1 = blue
2 = green
3 = cyan
4 = red
5 = magenta
6 = yellow/brown
7 = white
8 = gray
9 = bright blue
A = bright green
B = bright cyan
C = bright red
D = bright magenta
E = bright yellow
F = bright white
Colors 0 - 8 are usually used for background (screen color), and 9 - F for
foreground (character color). You can use ANY color on this list for either
background or foreground, BUT bright colors will show as dark colors if used
on the background.
UPDATES:
1. If you want to do this the "easy way", get the BSOD Properties tool [230
KB, freeware]:
http://pla-netx.com/linebackn/news/bsod.html
which allows changing BSOD colors from a neat graphic interface.
2. Check out the "Color Values for MessageBackColor and MessageTextColor
Setting" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q90/7/40.asp
Have fun!



LOCK UP THE DOS BOX



If you don't use any MS-DOS based applications or games from within a
Windows/WfWG 9x/3.xx DOS box/session, and/or would like to prevent all other
users that have access to your computer from running such programs for
security reasons, take a look at these simple ways of locking up all DOS
sessions.

1. Add this line at the end of your Autoexec.bat file:
C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM %1 %2 %3 > NUL
if you prefer to start Windows from Autoexec.bat.
In these examples I presumed you have Windows/WfWG installed in C:\Windows.

2. To run all your batch file (.BAT) commands in "stealth" mode (invisible),
by redirecting all standard on-screen messages from the display device (CON)
to NUL, add this command as the first line (this is also recommended for
Autoexec.bat):
@CTTY NUL
Then add this as the last line into your batch files (and in Autoexec.bat) to
restore the output to the CONsole:
CTTY CON
This line is mandatory for making the MS-DOS prompt visible again, and this
affects all DOS based programs that issue on-screen messages during operation.

3. Create a DOS batch file using Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS
containing this single line:
@C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM %1 %2 %3 > NUL
call it WIN.BAT, and place it in the root directory of your boot drive,
usually C:\.
For added security, you can write protect it (make it read-only), so casual
users won't be able to modify it (but this won't stop advanced users who know
their way around), by typing this command and pressing Enter from any DOS
prompt:
ATTRIB +R C:\WIN.BAT
By running WIN.BAT, the entire screen (CONsole = display) output from WIN.COM
will be redirected to the NUL device, which makes it invisible every time one
tries to shell out to a DOS box/session/window, even full screen.
It is known that a batch file with the name WIN.BAT is run BEFORE the Windows
WIN.COM executable if such a file exists in C:\ root, which is valid for ALL
MS-DOS executables: .COM and .EXE.

4. For added protection you can use BAT2EXEC.COM, a PC Magazine DOS tool [34
KB, free]:
http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/msdos/batchutl/bat2ex15.zip
to convert any batch (.BAT) file to a .COM (binary) executable bearing the
same name, for faster execution, and/or to hide the purpose of your converted
batch.
Example: to convert WIN.BAT (see above) to WIN.COM, just run:
BAT2EXEC WIN.BAT
from the same directory. Then place the new WIN.COM into C:\ root.

5. Now modify the PATH line in your Autoexec.bat or Config.sys (the latter is
a feature supported only by MS-DOS 6.00 and newer) to start with C:\; instead
of C:\DOS; (MS-DOS 6.xx and Windows/WfWG 3.xx users) or C:\WINDOWS; (Windows
9x users). Note that you need to type a semicolon (;) at the end of EACH
directory listed on your PATH line, so MS-DOS/MS Win9x can process it
correctly. Examples of modified PATH lines in Config.sys:
- Windows 9x [a.k.a. MS-DOS 7.xx]:
SET PATH=C:\;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;etc...
- Windows/WfWG 3.xx [+ MS-DOS 6.xx]:
SET PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;etc...
Edit your startup files using Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS. Save your
work and reboot when done.
From now on whenever one types WIN and hits Enter from the native MS-DOS this
starts WIN.BAT from C:\ root, instead the Windows/WfWG 9x/3.xx executable
(WIN.COM) located in C:\Windows (default).
LIMITATION:
DOS programs that use a graphical interface can still be run this way, ONLY IF
one knows the executable filename and its location. Therefore keep such
apps/games directories out of your PATH to minimize this risk.

6. Moreover, you can make the entire DOS prompt disappear, both in
real/native/true MS-DOS mode and/or in Windows DOS boxes/sessions.
For this you need to start by adding a line to your Config.sys for the ANSI
console device driver, included with all MS-DOS and MS Windows releases
begining with MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0 (example):
- Windows 9x users:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS /X
- MS-DOS 6.xx users:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS /X
I presumed that you want to load ANSI.SYS in Upper Memory Area (UMA) in order
to preserve conventional RAM for other DOS programs/games (if using any).
This is possible only by loading a memory manager like EMM386.EXE, QEMM,
NetRoom, 386MAX, UMBPCI.SYS etc in your Config.sys file. All DEVICE,
DEVICEHIGH, INSTALL and/or INSTALLHIGH lines (if any) MUST follow the memory
manager line(s) in Config.sys for proper operation.
In this example MS EMM386 provides upper and expanded memory:
- For MS Windows 9x:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE I=B000-B7FF D=256 RAM AUTO
- For MS-DOS 6.xx:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE I=B000-B7FF D=256 RAM AUTO
Change the path if different on your computer.
Now add/modify your SET PROMPT= and SET WINPMT= lines in Autoexec.bat or
Config.sys (the latter supports SET <VARIABLE> commands only in MS-DOS 6.00
and newer) to read something like this (example):
SET PROMPT=Real MS-DOS mode!$_$P$G
SET WINPMT=Windows DOS box!$_$P$G
The first line is what you'll see as prompt message at the plain real/native
MS-DOS mode, and the second takes care of the Windows DOS session/box prompt.
This is possible by using the ANSI.SYS ACSII escape sequencies to force the
background (screen) color to black (30) and the foreground (text) color also
to black (40), thus making all text output unreadable.
The Esc character () can be typed only in EDIT.COM, because Notepad does not
support extended ASCII characters: hold down the Ctrl key and then tap
simultaneously P and Esc until you see a left arrow.
Save your work and reboot when done so the new prompts can take effect.

7. Windows/WfWG 3.xx ONLY: read "RESTRICTED ACCESS" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this
file), to learn how to modify your PROGMAN.INI settings to disable completely
ALL MS-DOS Prompt modes/sessions (and more).
Voila. :)



RESTORE CORRUPTED REG.DAT



The Windows/WfWG 3.1x REGistration DATabase (REG.DAT) is a binary,
write-protected (read-only) file, located in your Windows/WfWG directory
(default is C:\WINDOWS), and contains VITAL information for Windows/WfWG GUI
PROPER operation.
REG.DAT can be edited by running:
REGEDIT /V
but this is NOT recommended, if you don't know EXACTLY what you are doing!
Windows/WfWG looks for CRUCIAL System, Software and User settings in this file
upon GUI (Graphical User Interface) startup.
REG.DAT is updated using current System/Software/User settings every time
Windows/WfWG starts.
At some point REG.DAT may become corrupted, preventing Windows/WfWG from
operating properly, or in certain situations it may even prevent the GUI from
loading!
If Windows loads, you may see one or more of these error messages at startup,
or when trying to run a specific application that stores its information in
the Registration Database:
"Program (File) Manager cannot open/print specified file."
"Start the application used to create this file, and open/print it from
there."
"There is no application associated with this file. Choose Associate from the
File menu to create an association."
"There is a problem with REG.DAT. Delete REG.DAT and restart Windows."
"Setup has a problem with REG.DAT/SHELL.DLL/disk space."
"Windows registration database (program) is not valid."
"OLE server initialization failed."
No need to panic though... :-) There are several ways of rebuilding a
corrupted REG.DAT file.
Here we go:
1. Start by deleting REG.DAT, but ONLY AFTER BACKING IT UP FIRST!
2. Then exit and restart Windows/WfWG. A new REG.DAT will be created (using
built-in default settings), BUT some Software and/or User settings might get
lost. :(
3. In this case, run File Manager -> highlight REG.DAT (found in your
Windows/WfWG directory) -> click the File menu -> select Associate ->
associate it with REGEDIT.EXE. This will associate ALL your .DAT files with
REGEDIT, merging (registering) the information they contain into REG.DAT,
whenever you double-click on them.
Repeat this operation for your .REG files, ONLY IF they are not already
associated with REGEDIT.EXE, which is the Win31 default.
4. Now find ALL .REG files present in your Windows directory and ALL its
subdirectories (including Windows\System), using File Manager's File -> Search
menu. Double-click on ALL of them to restore ALL previous (default) settings,
including default file associations and OLE/DDE information.
5. Click the Program Manager or File Manager File menu -> select the Run box
-> type:
REGEDIT /U C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SETUP.REG
and finally click OK or press Enter.
This works presuming you installed Windows/WfWG in C:\WINDOWS. Change the
drive letter and/or directory name to match yours if different.
6. Windows programs that register themselves only during installation may have
lost their default associations when REG.DAT became corrupted. To restore,
search their directories for existing .REG files, and double-click on them.
Example: if you have previously installed Microsoft Word 16-bit v2.0 for
Windows/WfWG 3.1x, double-click on WW20.REG, located in the MS Word directory.
Other applications may require additional steps to properly register. Refer to
their manuals/documents/help files (.HLP, .DOC, .TXT, .WRI etc) for help.
To have Media Player (C:\Windows\Mplayer.exe) play once and then close any
registered media clip (cd/audio, video/mpeg, animation/3d etc) file, follow
the steps detailed in "MEDIA PLAYER" from MYTIPS31.TXT (this file).
7. Also, make sure your WIN.INI's [Extensions] and [Embedding] sections are
intact, because Windows/WfWG reads that information upon loading and merges it
into REG.DAT. WIN.INI resides also in your Windows/WfWG directory, and can be
viewed/edited with Notepad or Sysedit in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS.
8. Exit Windows/WfWG when done and then restart it.
9. Now everything should be back to "normal". :)
Ultimately, the best bet is to have a RECENT FULL Windows/WfWG BACKUP COPY to
restore your corrupted files from.



BYPASS SAVER PASSWORD



This tip applies ONLY to 16-bit (Win16) Screen Savers written for Windows/WfWG
3.xx, and to 32-bit (Win32) Screen Savers that run on Win31 systems ONLY with
Microsoft Win32s 32-bit Extensions Add-on v1.30c installed [2.4 MB, free]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/PW1118.EXE
but most of them can be used also on Windows 9x systems.
In case you have forgotten one of your Screen Saver (SS) password(s), you can
easily regain control by deleting it (them) from CONTROL.INI.
Edit your CONTROL.INI file (located in your Windows directory) with Notepad
(but back it up first!), and scroll down to the "incriminated" SS section,
displayed in square parenthesis.
A typical SS CONTROL.INI section looks something like this:
[Screen Saver.SSName]
Just substitute the SSName string above with your actual Screen Saver name,
and change one (or both) of these lines (depending on your particular SS
settings) under the SS section of your choice:
Password=#@$%&    [or any other weird characters = encrypted password]
and/or:
PWProtected=1    [password protection ON]
to read:
Password=    [leave it blank = NO password]
and/or:
PWProtected=0    [password protection OFF]
Alternatively, if you'd like to get rid of a particular SS, just open
Explorer (Win9x users) or File Manager (Win31 users) and search for the .SCR
files, located by default in your Windows or Windows\System directories.
Now delete (or move to a safe location) the .SCR file(s) you want.
Some 3rd party Savers install other files in these (see above), and/or other
(separate) directories, so you may want to erase/move them too, to properly
remove them from your system, and keep your hard drive(s) as "clean" as
possible.
If a particular SS allows it, you can also (completely) remove it by:
- Windows 9x users: using your Control Panel "Add/Remove Programs" applet;
- Windows/WfWG 3.xx users: running your provided SS "Uninstall" Program
Manager icon (if available).



9X/2000/NT/ME/XP/3.1X MULTIBOOT SWAP FILE



If you use and multi-boot among different versions of Microsoft Windows, which
include: Windows NT/2000/XP, Windows 95/98/ME and/or Windows/WfWG 3.10/3.11,
you are probably wasting a ton of disk space, because each of these Windows
releases uses different names and locations for their swap file:
- Windows NT/2000/XP uses PAGEFILE.SYS as its permanent page file, located by
default in your WinNT/2000/XP drive/partition root folder.
- Windows 95/98/ME uses WIN386.SWP as its permanent swap file, located by
default in your Win9x/ME folder.
- Windows/WfWG 3.xx uses 386SPART.PAR as its permanent swap file, located by
default in C:\ root, or WIN386.SWP as its temporary swap file, located by
default in your Win31 directory.
But there is a way to overcome this "annoyance", and force ALL MS Windows
versions on your computer to share the SAME FIXED page/swap file.
Just follow these steps:
1. In Windows NT/2000/XP: start Control Panel -> System -> Performance ->
Virtual Memory -> Specify Pagefile settings -> select IDENTICAL Maximum and
Minimum sizes, and change its location to point to your fastest FAT16
drive/partition.
You can also do this by modifying the Registry. Run Regedt32 and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
Look (or create if not present) in the right hand pane for the "PagingFiles"
MultiString Value [REG_MULTI_SZ]. Edit it with a right-click, and give it
these values: 80 80 to match the ones from Windows 9x/ME/3.1x System.ini (see
example below).
2. Reboot into Windows 9x/ME.
3. In Windows 9x/ME: start Control Panel -> System -> Performance -> Virtual
Memory -> check the "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings" box ->
select the SAME IDENTICAL Maximum and Minimum sizes as you did in
WinNT/2000/XP, and change the swap file location to the SAME FAT16
disk/partition you selected for WinNT/2000/XP.
Don't reboot Windows 9x/ME when prompted! Click No or press Esc at the prompt
dialog box.
4. Open the Windows 9x/ME SYSTEM.INI file (located in your Windows folder)
with Notepad -> scroll down to the [386enh] section -> make sure ALL lines
listed below are present:

PagingFile=X:\PAGEFILE.SYS
PagingDrive=X:
MinPagingFileSize=xxxxxx
MaxPagingFileSize=xxxxxx

Where X: is the drive/partition letter you selected for the Win9x/ME swap
file, and xxxxxx represents both the Maximum and Minimum sizes (which should
be IDENTICAL) of PAGEFILE.SYS in KiloBytes.
Modify/add them to show actual values, depending on your system configuration
and preferences. Example using drive E: and an 80 MB fixed swap file:

PagingFile=E:\PAGEFILE.SYS
PagingDrive=E:
MinPagingFileSize=81920
MaxPagingFileSize=81920

Now highlight and copy all these lines to the Clipboard.
5. Then open the Windows/WfWG 3.xx SYSTEM.INI file (located in your Win31
directory) with Notepad -> scroll down to the [386enh] section -> delete ALL
lines listed above (you might not have them all, depending on your particular
Win31 swap file settings) -> paste the lines you copied from the Windows
9x/ME SYSTEM.INI.
6. Reboot one more time into the Windows version of your choice.
7. Delete ALL unused (obsolete) swap files from ALL your drives/partitions:
WIN386.SWP, 386SPART.PAR etc.
8. Done.

NOTES:
- Do NOT place the common swap file on a FAT32 or NTFS drive/partition! It
won't be recognized by Windows releases other than the one you set it up on,
because Win31 doesn't support FAT32/NTFS, Win9x/ME do not support NTFS, and
WinNT doesn't support FAT32! Win2000/XP are the ONLY Microsoft OSes (to date)
that support ALL these file systems.
- Read "SWAP FILE" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for details on dual-booting
Win9x/ME and Win31 using the same swap file.
- Read these topics: "SWAP FILE - Part 2" in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of
W95-11D.ZIP]:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm
and "FIXED SWAP FILE" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) for details on optimizing
your Windows swap file.
- MS Win2000: "Change the size of the virtual memory paging file":
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/en/server/help/sysdm_advancd_perform_change_vmpagefile.htm
- MS Win2000: "Multibooting with Windows 2000 and Windows XP":
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/management/mltiboot.asp
- MSKB: "Multi-Boot Windows 2000/NT, Windows 95/98/ME + MS-DOS":
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q217/2/10.asp



IE BLANK PAGE OFF



If using Microsoft Internet Explorer 16-bit for Windows/WfWG 3.1x to browse
the web, you may want to try this tip.
I got bored with the default Microsoft Internet Explorer blank page that pops
up every time I try to access a web page that doesn't exist anymore due to an
invalid link, or if the connection is broken because of a (temporary)
server/network downtime.
The MS IE default blank page exists as BLANK.HTM in C:\Windows\System.
But you can make it go away, or change it to something else, a little more
pleasurable to the eye.
NOTE: This should work with all MS IE releases.
To make BLANK.HTM disappear automatically, open it with Notepad, and modify
it so it looks like this:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
<html>
<head>
<title>Microsoft Internet Explorer</title>
</head>
<body>
<script language="JavaScript">
window.close("blank.htm", "Microsoft Internet Explorer")
</script>
</body>
</html>
------End cut & paste here------

JavaScript MUST be enabled in IE for this to work.
Or try this one:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
<html>
<head>
<title>1st Pic</title>
</head>
<body>
<center>
<img src="file:///C|/pics/1stpic.jpg" border=0>
</center>
</body>
</html>
------End cut & paste here------

to force MS IE to load a simple web page which displays a cool JPG.
Note that 1stpic.jpg resides in this case in C:\Pics.
You can modify the page title/layout, JPG filename/path to your liking, or
replace it with your favorite GIF.
Save your file, exit Notepad, and then start IE.



DETECT WINDOWS [+]



1. This cool undocumented batch trick appears courtesy of Pawel Stolowski
([e-mail]).

"This technique detects the presence of Windows in a DOS batch (.BAT) file,
useful for preventing crashes, if your batch file needs to run ONLY from
native MS-DOS, or ONLY from a Windows DOS box/session (example):

@ECHO OFF
MEM/C | FIND/I "win386">NUL
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO NO
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 GOTO OK
:OK
:: Your batch command lines go here...

GOTO END
:NO
ECHO Windows detected!
:END
EXIT

Save these lines as DETWIN.BAT, or place them in batch files before the lines
that depend on Windows presence/absence to run.
This batch file example continues to execute only from a DOS
box/prompt/session/window within Windows GUI, and aborts if Windows is not
running.
You can force this BAT example to work only from native/real/true/pure MS-DOS
mode outside Windows, and abort if Windows is running, by replacing all NO
instances above with OK (and vice versa)."

2. Another BATch technique used to detect if Windows is running, also using
FIND.EXE errorlevels (single line):

SET | FIND "windir" | IF ERRORLEVEL 0 ECHO Windows detected!

Save line above as DETWIN.BAT (or any other .BAT name), place it in a
directory in your path (specified in your Autoexec.bat or Config.sys), or
paste it into batch files depending on Win31 GUI detection to run certain DOS
commands/programs selectively (i.e. temporary directory/file "cleaners" using
DELTREE, DEL, COPY, MOVE etc).

NOTES:
- Both MEM.EXE and FIND.EXE need to reside in a directory on your path
(default is C:\MSDOS for Win31 + MS-DOS 6.xx) for this to work.
- Run FIND/? , MEM/? (external DOS commands) and respectively SET/? (internal
DOS command) from any DOS prompt to learn how to use their command line
parameters.
- These techniques work ONLY with MS-DOS 6.00 or newer.
- Open BACKUP31.BAT and RESTOR31.BAT (both included) with Notepad in Windows
or EDIT.COM in DOS to see these and other similar batch techniques at work.



CUSTOM NETSCAPE THROBBER




Do this only if using a Netscape 3.0x/4.xx web browser in Windows/WfWG 3.1x.
Are you tired watching the same old spinning icon (called "throbber" or
"flying logo") in the right upper corner of your Netscape browser window until
a web page stops loading? If your answer is YES, read on...
You can easily replace it with a better looking one you can download from the
pages linked further below, or you can create your own using an animated GIF
editor/creator.
Usually these two files are called 30M.BMP (30x30 pixels) and 48M.BMP (48x48
pixels), and they are just animated GIFs converted to MS Windows bitmaps (.BMP
format). The number of colors can be anything between 256 and 16 million, but
pay attention that they may look ugly if you have set your Windows resolution
to only 256 colors and the logos are rendered for example at 16-bit (65,000
colors).
The frames that make up the animation must be lined up side by side
horizontally without spaces. You can cut & paste them together using any
graphic/image viewer/editor supporting BOTH the BMP and GIF formats. I prefer:
- XNView [freeware]:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pierre.g/indexgb.html
Both logos need to be placed in one of these Netscape subdirectories: \Program
(where you can find Netscape.exe) or \Users\UserID (substitute UserID with
your actual login name/ID, which usually coincides with your e-mail name).
This tweak applies to ALL Netscape Navigator/Communicator 3.0x/4.xx 32 and 16
bit web browser releases.
Necessary steps:
A.  Navigator 3.0x:
1. Close all Netscape browser windows.
2. Make sure to copy the two bitmaps to the proper destination (see above).
3. Restart your browser and have fun.
B.  Navigator/Communicator 4.xx:
1. Close all Netscape browser windows.
2. Make sure the two bitmaps reside in the right place (see above).
3. Open PREFS.JS in Notepad, a configuration text file residing in your
\Users\UserID subdirectory. Just substitute UserID with your real e-mail
name/login ID. Add these lines:

config("toolbar.logo.win_small_file", "30m.bmp");
config("toolbar.logo.win_large_file", "48m.bmp");
config("toolbar.logo.frames", 20);
config("toolbar.logo.url", "http://members.aol.com/axcel216/");

Replace the frames number above (20 in this case) with the actual number of
frames in your throbber, and the URL on line #4 with the Internet address of
your choice, which will load up whenever you click on the flying logo (default
is the Netscape web site). Save your file.
Note that Netscape 4.xx supports any names for its logos ONLY IF you match the
Prefs.js lines with your file names.
4. Change the PREFS.JS file attributes to read-only, by running this command
line from any DOS prompt (example):

ATTRIB +R C:\NETSCAPE\USERS\USERID\PREFS.JS

If you don't do this, your custom throbber lines will be erased from Prefs.js
the next time you open the browser. :(
5. Restart your browser and have fun.

Dedicated Netscape spinning logo pages:
- Leigh's Throbber Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/6774/throbber.htm
- Throbber Automation Object:
http://www.io.com/~mrcoyote/throbbers/
- Throbb-It for Netscape:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Peaks/2733/throbit/throbit.html
- Throbbers Web Ring:
http://N.webring.com/hub?ring=throbbers2

FYI:
- Customize your Netscape 4.xx settings by editing Prefs.js:
http://www.jedi.be/netscape/mirror/userprefs.html
- Netscape Communicator Preferences:
http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/deploymt/jsprefs.htm



REPLACE SYSTEM FONT



There is a way to replace the default MS Sans Serif system font that appears
in text dialog boxes, pop up windows, Program Groups, Windows apps etc, and
that canNOT normally be changed. This is how to do it, step by step:
1. Exit Windows to the native MS-DOS mode -> run the command below to move
the two MS Sans Serif font files (SSERIFE.FON and SSERIFF.FON) to another
directory (NOT in your path: I suggest C:\BACKUPS):
MOVE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SSERIF*.FON C:\BACKUPS
I used here the default Win31 drive letter and directory name: C:\WINDOWS.
Substitute them if different on your computer.
2. Restart Windows by typing WIN and pressing Enter.
3. Edit your WIN.INI file (located in your Windows directory) with Notepad or
Sysedit, but BACK IT UP FIRST!
Scroll down to the [FontSubstitutes] header, and add a new line right
underneath this section name (example):
MS Sans Serif=Arial
You can replace the Arial font here with ANY other font installed on your
system. There are two types of fonts you can use:
- .FON = raster/display/printer/Terminal/DOS box font (not scalable)
- .TTF = True Type Font (scalable)
To see the complete list of installed fonts: open Control Panel ->
(double)-click on the Fonts icon -> scroll down to the one you want ->
remember its name as shown there -> type its name into the new WIN.INI line
you just created above after the equal sign -> save your file.
4. Restart Windows so the change can take effect.
5. Have fun.



BACKUP MBR WITH DEBUG [+]



Another cool tip from... Da Drk [e-mail]. May Da Force B with U. :)

"BACKUP MBR:

For those not familiar with DEBUG, here is how to backup your boot hard disk
MBR (Master Boot Record) in case of disaster.
The MBR is present once on each physical drive, and is beyond the scope of the
MS-DOS filing system to address. That's why the proper way to backup/restore
the MBR is to use a BIOS int13 call to fetch it.
Go to any DOS prompt (real mode or windowed session, doesn't matter) and type:
DEBUG
This will start the debug mode, which has a prompt like a hyphen (-).
From now on hitting the Enter key is understood after each line.
Type:
N A:\MBR_C.DAT
to give Debug a filename to save data to.
IMPORTANT: Saving the MBR backup file to the same disk you're backing up makes
no sense, because that drive becomes inaccessible if its MBR gets corrupted.
Type:
A
to place Debug in assemble mode.
Type:
MOV DX,9000
to arbitrarily choose a memory segment for the BIOS to put the data we want.
Type:
MOV ES,DX
to move that value to the extra segment register.
Type:
XOR BX,BX
to clear the BX register. ES:BX specifies the full memory address.
Type:
MOV CX,0001
to access track 0 and sector 1.
Type:
MOV DX,0080
1st physical drive is 80, 2nd drive is 81, and so on...
Type:
MOV AX,0201
to read [02]... one sector [01] into memory.
Type:
INT 13
to issue the BIOS int13 call.
Type:
INT 20
to tell the BIOS to terminate the program.
Now press the Enter key without entering anything after that to exit assemble
mode.
Type:
G
to execute the small assembly program you have just created.
Type:
R CX
to show the contents of CX register and to allow editing it.
Type:
200
200 hex = 512 decimal - the size of a sector.
Type:
W 9000:0
to finally write the data fetched by the BIOS to a file.
Type:
Q
to quit Debug.

RESTORE MBR:

In the event the MBR ever becomes corrupted, you can create a batch file (e.g.
RESTRMBR.BAT), which can use DEBUG commands echoed to a temporary file (e.g
DEBUG.TMP) by invoking DEBUG, which uses the temporary file as input file.
Copy/paste the lines below into Notepad or EDIT.COM, and save the file as
RESTRMBR.BAT. Then place RESTRMBR.BAT and DEBUG.EXE on the same floppy that
contains the MBR_C.DAT file created above (example):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
ECHO N A:\MBR_C.DAT > DEBUG.TMP
ECHO L 9000:0 >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO A >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO MOV DX,9000 >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO MOV ES,DX >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO XOR BX,BX >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO MOV CX,0001 >> DEBUG.TMP
REM Replace 80 with 81, 82 or 83... if necessary:
ECHO MOV DX,0080 >> DEBUG.TMP
REM To write one sector [01]... to drive [01]...:
ECHO MOV AX,0301 >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO INT 13 >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO INT 20 >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO G >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO Q >> DEBUG.TMP
ECHO. >> DEBUG.TMP
DEBUG < DEBUG.TMP
DEL DEBUG.TMP
------End cut & paste here------

To restore the saved MBR from the floppy disk, just run RESTRMBR.BAT.
Incidentally DOS assigns drive letters by getting the primary partitions from
each physical drive out of the way first. So if you have two physical hard
disks, then D: would be the primary partition on the second HD, even though
you may have several other partitions on the first HD.

BACKUP DBR:

Use DEBUG to backup your DBR (DOS Boot Record), present at the start of all
logical drives/partitions, in case of disaster.
Go to any DOS prompt and type:
DEBUG
This will start the debug mode, which has a prompt like a hyphen (-).
From now on hitting the Enter key is understood after each line.
Now type:
LCS:100 2 0 1
This loads (reading from right to left) the boot sector starting at sector 0,
located on drive number 2 (your C: drive/partition), respecting this
convention:

Drive number    Drive letter
----------------------------
0        A:
1        B:
2        C:
3        D:
... and so on.

Then type:
N path\filename
to give DEBUG a name to call the file it will write the sector to (example):
N A:\DBR_C.DAT
IMPORTANT: Saving the DBR backup file to the same disk you're backing up makes
no sense, because that drive becomes inaccessible if its DBR gets corrupted.
Type:
RCX
Type:
200
This loads register CX with a hex value of 200 (512 decimal), the exact size
of a standard sector, letting it know that 200h (512 dec) is the number of
bytes to save to file.
Type:
WCS:100
This writes the number of bytes contained in CX starting at current code
segment at offset 100 to the filename specified by the N command.

RESTORE DBR:

In the event the DBR ever becomes corrupted, you can create a batch file (e.g.
RESTRDBR.BAT), which can use DEBUG commands echoed to a temporary file (e.g
DEBUG.TMP) by invoking DEBUG, which uses the temporary file as input file.
Copy/paste the lines listed above under "RESTORE MBR:" (replace them as
necessary with the ones for the DBR file) into Notepad or EDIT.COM, and save
the file as RESTRDBR.BAT. Place RESTRDBR.BAT and DEBUG.EXE on the same floppy
that contains the DBR_C.DAT file created above, and then run RESTRDBR.BAT."

NOTE: This works ONLY with MS-DOS 6.00 - 6.22 and MS-DOS 7.xx/8.00 [a.k.a. MS
Windows 9x/ME].

FYI: Things you can do with DEBUG.EXE:
- DEBUG Assembly Tutorial:
http://www.datainstitute.com/debug1.htm
- Machine Language Programs and Debug:
http://www.ugf.edu/Compsci/Lmarshall/chptrsix.htm
- DEBUG Script to Clear Partition Sector of Hard Drive:
http://www.firmware.com/support/bios/hdclear.htm
- Batch files using DEBUG:
http://www.geocities.com/thestarman3/asm/mbr/BootToolsRefs.htm
- DEBUG Routines:
http://www.computerhope.com/rdebug.htm



REBOOT WITH DEBUG



This tip applies to ALL MS-DOS 6.xx users who want to reboot their PCs at the
touch of a single key, and can be achieved ONLY from the native/true/real
MS-DOS mode prompt, NOT from a Windows/WfWG 3.1x DOS session/box.
Necessary steps:

1. The DEBUG.EXE file must be present somewhere in your path, specified by the
Config.sys "SET PATH=", or by the Autoexec.bat "PATH" statement. Typical
example:
SET PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\STUFF;etc...
Default DEBUG.EXE location: in the C:\DOS directory.
Now create a DOS style BATch file (using Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in
DOS) to contain these lines (the DEBUG script is responsible for rebooting):
@ECHO OFF
C:\DOS\MEM.EXE/C | C:\DOS\FIND.EXE/I "win386">NUL
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO NO
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 GOTO OK
:OK
ECHO G=FFFF:0000 | C:\DOS\DEBUG.EXE
:NO
EXIT
Call it for example REBOOT.BAT, and place it in a directory in your path (see
above).
The other lines are necessary to have REBOOT.BAT detect whether you're in a
Windows DOS box/session (in which case the BATch will abort and return to
Windows GUI), or in native/true MS-DOS (in which case the BATch will proceed
rebooting your PC).

Alternatively you can use DEBUG.EXE to create a small (6 Bytes) COM(mand) file
I named BOOT.COM.
For convenience you can paste the contents of this BATch file into Notepad,
and save it as BOOTCOM.BAT (example):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
@ECHO OFF
C:
CD\
ECHO N BOOT.COM >> BOOT.!
ECHO E 0100 48 50 53 CB 0D 0A >> BOOT.!
ECHO RCX >> BOOT.!
ECHO 0006 >> BOOT.!
ECHO W >> BOOT.!
ECHO Q >> BOOT.!
DEBUG < BOOT.!
DEL BOOT.!
EXIT
------End cut & paste here------

Then just run BOOT (created in this example in C:\ root) from the
native/real/true MS-DOS mode to have your PC perform a "cold" reboot.

No matter which of these rebooting methods you are going to use, if using a
disk caching tool like MS SMARTDRV.EXE, it is VERY IMPORTANT to "flush" (dump)
the memory cache buffer contents to the hard disk before rebooting, otherwise
you may experience data loss! This is the necessary command line:

SMARTDRV/C

Place REBOOT.BAT into a directory listed in your PATH. To display your PATH
line, just run this command from any DOS prompt:

SET | MORE

2. The ANSI.SYS driver (found by default in the same directories as DEBUG.EXE)
must be loaded from Config.sys. These examples use the default Microsoft
extended/upper/expanded memory managers to load the ANSI device "high":
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /Q
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE I=B000-B7FF RAM D=256 AUTO
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS /X
To save extra conventional RAM (up to 629 KB!), and speed up your system's
overall performance, you can use UMBPCI.SYS, the best freeware upper memory
extender, compatible with most Pentium, Pentium Pro/II/III/IV/Celeron/Xeon,
AMD/Cyrix CPUs and motherboard chipsets. See the "Complete UMBPCI.SYS Guide"
for details:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/umb.htm
Examples using UMBPCI.SYS in combination with MS HIMEM.SYS to load the ANSI
device in the Upper Memory Area (UMA):
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /Q
DEVICE=C:\UMBPCI\UMBPCI.SYS
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS /X
The "/X" ANSI.SYS command line parameter enables independent key remapping.

3. Create a plain text file with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS, to
include the ANSI escape sequences (also called ASCII codes) for key remapping.
In this example the F12 key is remapped to reboot the computer by running
REBOOT.BAT:
Esc[0;134;"REBOOT";13p
Name this file let's say REBOOT.TXT, or whatever you want, but keep the TXT
extension.

4. Add this line (example) to your Autoexec.bat, before the WIN command (which
starts the Windows GUI), if any:
TYPE C:\REBOOT.TXT

5. From now on, all you need to do is hit F12, to instantly reboot your
machine from the native MS-DOS prompt.

6. Done. :)

FYI: See "F1-F12 Remapping = MS-DOS Mode + ANSI Driver" in DOSTIPS.TXT
(included) for more details.



DEBUG BIOS PASSWORD [+]



Courtesy of Chris ([e-mail]).

"This DOS trick resets (deletes) your motherboard BIOS (CMOS) password, to
grant access to your computer and/or BIOS Setup once again, IF you have
forgotten or lost it. :)
Exit Windows or reboot to the native MS-DOS mode, using the "Command prompt
only" option from the Windows 95/98 Startup Menu (hold Shift and F5 at the
same time while your PC boots).
At the C:\> prompt, type:
DEBUG
and hit Enter. You'll see a dash (-) at the DEBUG prompt. Now type:
o 70 2e
which will show as -o 70 2e at the DEBUG prompt. Hit Enter. Then type:
o 71 ff
and hit Enter. Finally type:
Q
and hit Enter one last time, to quit DEBUG, back to the C:\> prompt.
Now you're ready to reboot your PC, and press the appropriate key or key combo
(look it up in your motherboard manual if you don't know it) to access your
BIOS Setup. You'll notice that the password is gone. :)"

NOTE: This works only with MS-DOS 6.00 - 6.22 and MS-DOS 7.xx [a.k.a. MS
Windows 9x].



URL PASSWORD



This trick applies to most internet sites that use Java(TM) or JavaScript(TM)
password boxes to allow access to their members/subscribers/users.
This will probably NOT work with sites that use Active Server Page (ASP)
programming or other server based (proprietary) methods for access.
Note that this won't let you view such restricted WWW pages/FTP sites IF
you're NOT an authorized user, but will speed up the typing process.
To bypass these [annoying :)] few extra steps: type in your URL, or go there
using your Bookmarks (Netscape users), your Favorites (MS Internet Explorer
users), or your URL shortcuts splattered all over your Desktop [:)], and only
after that type in your User ID [Name] and Password in the appropriate boxes,
just do this...
Add your User ID [Name] followed by a colon (:) and your Password followed by
an at sign (@) as shown below in front of your URL (Uniform Resource Locator),
after the "http://" or "ftp://" prefix.
This is only a generic example, it won't take you anywhere [:)]:
http://username:[e-mail]/restricted/
opposite to the "normal" URL:
http://www.whateversite.com/restricted/
Remember: passwords are ALWAYS case sensitive!
Have fun.



COLORFUL HELP



You can customize some of the colors used in Windows Help (.HLP) files by
editing WIN.INI (found in your Windows directory) with Notepad or Sysedit.
Create the [Windows Help] section if not present, and then add or modify these
lines (examples):

[Windows Help]
IFJumpColor=000 128 255
IFPopupColor=255 128 000
JumpColor=000 000 255
MacroColor=255 000 128
PopupColor=255 000 000

Save your work and restart Windows when done.
This works with ALL Windows 95/98/ME AND 3.1x releases.
These colors are represented in triple word (hypertext) notation, similar to
the Windows Desktop colors (which can be changed from the Control Panel).
Valid values range from 000 (for black) up to 255 (for white), and they are
ordered as red-green-blue. Examples of color mixes:

- 000 000 000 = Black
- 255 255 255 = White
- 128 128 128 = Gray
- 000 255 000 = Green
- 000 000 255 = Blue
- 255 000 000 = Red
- 000 255 255 = Yellow

Triple nul digits (000) can be abbreviated as single zeroes (0). Example:

- 0 0 0 = Black

For examples of color "combos" in the same format take a look at:
* Windows/WfWG 3.1x users: the values found under the [colors] section of your
WIN.INI file.
* Windows 9x/ME users: the String Values found under this Registry key (as
shown in Regedit):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors

Feel free to use any combinations until you obtain the desired effects.
But BEWARE that certain color mixes may render your Help file background
and/or foreground (text) unreadable, depending on the colors you use for your
Desktop. :)

MEANING:

- IFJumpColor = topic link color
- IFPopupColor = popup link color
- JumpColor = topic color
- MacroColor = macro color
- PopupColor = popup color

NOTE: You can also achieve this by using the More Control v1.1 Control Panel
applet [21 KB, public domain]:
http://members.aol.com/files4u/morecn.zip

FYI: See "HELP!" in MYTIPS31.TXT (this file) to learn how to enable the
sequential topic key "combos" for all available topics in ANY Windows Help
file.



PROXY AD BLOCKER [+]



Unearthed by Trevor Kolesar ([e-mail]).

"Check out this page for details:
http://www.schooner.com/~loverso/no-ads/
Creating a local PAC (Proxy Auto Configuration) file for Netscape
Navigator/Communicator 3.xx/4.xx/6.xx or a remote one (placed somewhere on the
internet) for MS Internet Explorer 3.xx/4.xx/5.xx/6.xx, or for any
JavaScript(TM) capable browser for that matter, can block out unwanted web
sites from collecting information about unsuspecting visitors, while loading
commercial ads/banners.
A custom HOSTS file didn't seem to block popup ads for me, but the PAC file
sure did. 8-)"



3D CONTROLS FOR 3D EFFECTS



MS Windows (ANY release begining with Windows 3.10) 16 and 32 bit applications
and games written to take advantage of displaying "3D-like" raised/depressed
buttons, window borders, dialog boxes, windows etc NEED these DLLs (Dynamic
Link Libraries), which NEED to reside in these directories (folders):
- %windir%\SYSTEM = Win31, Win95, Win98 + WinME.
- %systemroot%\SYSTEM32 = WinNT, Win2000 + WinXP.
Default locations are:
- C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM = Win31, Win95, Win98 + WinME.
- C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32 = WinNT.
- C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 = Win2000 + WinXP.

NECESSARY STEPS:

Get Microsoft 3D Controls [51 KB, ZIPped, free]:
http://members.aol.com/files4u/3DCTRLS.ZIP
Then use your favorite (freeware) ZIPping/unZIPping tool from SOFTWARE.TXT
(included) [see "WINDOWS/WFWG 3.1x POWER TOYS"] to extract all *.DLL files
into an empty directory.

DLLs in 3DCTRLS.ZIP [current releases]:
- CTL3D.DLL = 16-bit 3D Controls Library V1 v2.31.000 [Win31, Win9x + WinME].
- CTL3D32.DLL = 32-bit 3D Controls Library v2.31.000 [WinNT + Win2000].
- CTL3D32S.DLL = 32-bit 3D Controls Library Extensions v2.31.000 [Win31, Win9x
+ WinME].
- CTL3DV2.DLL = 16-bit 3D Controls Library V2 v2.31.001 [WinNT + Win2000].

WinXP installs these XP ONLY newer versions [do NOT replace them!]:
- CTL3D32.DLL v2.31.000.
- CTL3DV2.DLL v2.99.000.

These DLLs are NOT included with, NOR installed by:
- CTL3D.DLL: Win31, Win95/OSR1/OSR2, WinNT3/NT4, Win2000 + WinXP.
- CTL3D32.DLL: Win31, WinNT3, Win9x + WinME.
- CTL3D32S.DLL: ANY Windows release.
- CTL3DV2.DLL: Win31, WinNT3, Win9x + WinME.

ONLY Win98 retail, Win98 SE (Second Edition), WinME (Millennium Edition),
Win2000 and WinXP (eXPerience) install (some of) these files properly when you
Setup your OS. ALL other Windows releases DO NOT include or DO NOT install
(some of) these files!
Therefore you need to place them into proper locations (see above) manually.

IMPORTANT: You MUST DELETE ALL your (older, obsolete) 3D Control DLLs, EXCEPT
the ones in your Windows System(32) directories/folders, to ensure ALL your
programs/games perform properly!
To do this: open Windows Explorer [C:\Windows\Explorer.exe = 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP
users] or File Manager [FM = C:\Windows\Winfile.exe = 31/NT3 users] -> start a
Find/Search operation on ALL your local fixed (hard) drives/partitions for
CTL3D*.* -> DELETE ALL FILES you found EXCEPT the ones residing in the default
locations (see top).

To display any Windows file version using:
* Windows Explorer: highlight a file -> right-click on it -> select Properties
-> click Version tab -> in Item Name: box scroll down to Product Version ->
look at the number shown in the Value: box.
* File Manager: highlight a file -> click File menu -> select Properties ->
look at the number shown in the Value: box.

ONLY IF the files you found in default locations (see top):
- are older versions: overwrite them with the ones included here;
- are missing: move the ones included here to the locations above.
To be able to overwrite (replace) files already in use, you may have to:
- exit or reboot (eventually using an emergency bootup floppy) Win31/9x/ME to
native/real MS-DOS mode and then replace the older files in your
%windir%\System directory;
- reboot (eventually using an emergency bootup floppy) WinNT/2000/XP to Safe
mode or to Command prompt [if the Windows Recovery Console (WRC) tool is
installed in Win2000/XP] and then replace the older files in BOTH your
%systemroot%\System32 and %systemroot%\System32\Dllcache folders: see "MS IE
5.5 SP2 + 6.0 FIX" step 6 (SOLUTION + UPDATE):
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/newtip21.htm#WRC
also in MYTIPS95.TXT [part of W95-11D.ZIP]:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm
to learn how to replace Windows 2000/XP system files already in use.
Restart or reboot Windows when done.

NOTE:
To be able to use CTL3D32.DLL + CTL3D32S.DLL under Windows/WfWG 3.1x you need
to install Microsoft Win32s 32-bit Extensions Add-on v1.30c [2.4 MB, free]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/PW1118.EXE
to allow Windows/WfWG 3.1x to run 32-bit (Win32) applications/games supporting
this implementation.



EDIT BOOT FILES [*][+]



How many times have you typed too many characters at the DOS prompt, only to
perform common/repetitive tasks over and over, that could actually be
automated just by creating simple DOS based BATch (.BAT) files?
I know I have. :(
I'm talking here about editing your DOS mode boot files (if using any!):
AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS, located in the root directory of your boot
drive/partition (default is C:\).

MEANING:
- AUTOEXEC.BAT = AUTOmatically EXECuted BATch file.
- CONFIG.SYS = CONFIGuration SYStem file.
See "MS Windows + MS-DOS = *VITAL* BACKUP ISSUES" in READ1ST.TXT (included)
for more details.

A MUST for ALL Windows ME users:
Microsoft REMOVED COMPLETELY the access to native/real MS-DOS mode from
Windows Millennium Edition (ME) [a.k.a. MS-DOS 8.00]! :(
But you CAN get it back by applying the Unofficial Real DOS-Mode Patch [9 KB,
freeware]:
http://www.geocities.com/mfd4life_2000/
which modifies COMMAND.COM + IO.SYS (from %windir%\COMMAND\EBD) + REGENV32.EXE
(from %windir%\SYSTEM), in order to be able to boot to native MS-DOS and use
DOS mode startup files (AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS), the Windows 95/98 style,
to be able to use your (old) MS-DOS based apps/games that do NOT work from
within a Windows DOS session/box, and tweak your CUSTOM AUTOEXEC.BAT +
CONFIG.SYS files to free MAXimum conventional DOS memory. :)

Instead of going through all these annoying, time consuming steps: shell out
to a DOS prompt window (if doing this from within Windows GUI), type something
like:
EDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
or:
NOTEPAD C:\CONFIG.SYS
then press Enter, and finally type EXIT and hit Enter [again :(] to close the
DOS box (if running Windows) when done, you could simply use these 2 DOS style
batch files (both included): EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT, for convenience and to save
precious time.
Both these BATches bear suggestive names:
- EAB.BAT = Edit Autoexec.Bat.
- ECS.BAT = Edit Config.Sys.
I strongly recommend to place them in a directory/folder listed in your PATH,
to avoid changing directories in order to run them. Type PATH and hit Enter
from any DOS prompt to display your current path line.
Alternatively you can create a new dedicated directory/folder (example):
MD C:\BATCHES
but make sure to add it to your "SET PATH=" statement (if any), in CONFIG.SYS
or AUTOEXEC.BAT, which should look something like this (examples using default
install locations; modify if different on your system):
- Win9x/ME:
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\;C:\STUFF;C:\BATCHES;
- MS-DOS 6.xx:
SET PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\STUFF;C:\BATCHES;

Start by creating a handy MS-DOS shortcut (.PIF = MS-DOS Program Information
File) for each of them:

- Windows 9x/ME users: right-click on an empty Desktop spot -> select New ->
Shortcut -> browse to the directory where you have placed EAB.BAT (and when
done repeat all these steps also for ECS.BAT) -> (double)-click on it -> click
Next -> click Finish -> right-click on your new MS-DOS shortcut -> select
Properties -> Program tab -> check the "Close on exit" box -> Misc tab ->
uncheck the "Warn if still active" box -> click Apply/OK.
I recommend to rename these 2 PIF shortcuts to something more suggestive:
right-click on each one [one at a time :)] -> select Rename -> type "Edit
Autoexec.bat" instead of EAB.BAT, and then "Edit Config.sys" instead of
ECS.BAT (but don't type the quotes) -> hit Enter.
Optional: if you'd like to change the default "ugly" MS-DOS icon (assigned by
default to all PIF files from %windir%\SYSTEM\PIFMGR.DLL): right-click on each
PIF shortcut [one at a time :)] select Properties -> Program tab -> click
Change icon -> browse to your favorite icon file (.ICO) or icon library (.DLL,
.EXE or .ICL) -> scroll through the icons if more than one -> (double)-click
the one you want -> click Apply/OK.
Note that by default the .PIF file extension is hidden in Win9x/ME, unless you
use File Manager (FM = %windir%\WINFILE.EXE) to "see" it.

- Windows/WfWG 3.1x users: open (if not already running) Program Manager
(ProgMan = %windir%\PROGMAN.EXE) -> create/open/select desired Program Group
-> click File -> select New -> check Program Item -> type "Edit Autoexec.bat"
for EAB.BAT, and then "Edit Config.sys" for ECS.BAT in the Description box
(but don't type the quotes) -> browse to the directory where you have placed
EAB.BAT (and when done repeat all these steps also for ECS.BAT) ->
double-click on it -> click Change Icon -> browse to your favorite icon file
(.ICO) or icon library (.DLL, .EXE or .ICL) -> scroll through the icons if
more than one -> double-click the one you want -> click OK.

From now on you will be able to edit your boot files from within Windows with
a single mouse (double)-click. :)
If running them from native MS-DOS mode (outside Windows), just type EAB (or
ECS) and press Enter. That's it.

NOTES: Both EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT are "smart" enough [;)] to...
* Take in consideration if you dual-boot between Win9x/ME and MS-DOS 6.xx, and
open the correspondent boot files (only if present) for editing.
* Use a different text/ASCII editor/viewer depending on current Windows/DOS
mode:
- Notepad (%windir%\NOTEPAD.EXE = MS Windows 9x/ME/3.1x default editor) if
running them from a Windows DOS prompt box/session/window.
- EDIT.COM (%windir%\COMMAND\EDIT.COM in Win9x/ME, or C:\DOS\EDIT.COM or
C:\MSDOS\EDIT.COM in MS-DOS 6.xx = MS-DOS default editor) if running them from
the native/real/pure/true MS-DOS 6.xx/7.xx/8.00 mode C:\> prompt.
* Use the built-in VER command for OS detection to check for running MS-DOS
and/or MS Windows versions, thus editing the proper boot files (only if
present):
- AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS = used by ALL MS Windows 95/98/ME + MS-DOS
6.00/6.20/6.21/6.22 OSes.
- AUTOEXEC.DOS + CONFIG.DOS = MS-DOS 6.xx AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files
renamed by Win9x/ME Startup Manager when booting to MS Windows 9x/ME.
- AUTOEXEC.W40 + CONFIG.W40 = MS Windows 9x/ME AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files
renamed by Win9x/ME Startup Manager when booting to MS-DOS 6.xx.
* Abort and exit if using ANY MS-DOS release older than 6.00, because Win9x/ME
do NOT support dual-booting with MS-DOS 5.0 or ANY other earlier build. :(
* Close automatically upon completion, returning control to the running OS.
* Automatically create BACKUPS of your ORIGINAL files in C:\ root, BEFORE you
start making ANY changes:
- AUTOEXEC.D6X + CONFIG.D6X = if using MS-DOS 6.xx.
- AUTOEXEC.W9X + CONFIG.W9X = if using MS Windows 9x/ME.
* Require ALL these files for proper operation: ATTRIB.EXE, CHOICE.COM,
FIND.EXE, MEM.EXE, START.EXE [Win9x/ME only], NOTEPAD.EXE + EDIT.COM to reside
in their DEFAULT directories/folders, which are normally listed in the system
PATH!

Of course, you could use the SysEdit tool (%windir%\SYSTEM\SYSEDIT.EXE)
bundled with ALL MS Windows 95/98/3.1x releases to modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT +
CONFIG.SYS, but SysEdit canNOT edit boot files other than the ones used by the
current OS, or with different file extensions (.DOS or .W40). :(
The only advantage is that SysEdit creates backups of your original system
files (ONLY IF you modify them first!) with the .SYD extension: AUTOEXEC.SYD +
CONFIG.SYD in C:\ root.
Microsoft removed SYSEDIT.EXE from Windows ME. :(
See "RESTORE SYSEDIT" in TIPSME.TXT, part of W95-11D.ZIP:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm
for details on how to get it back.

You can view and/or further modify EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT if you wish, to adapt
them to your particular needs, by opening them in Notepad in Windows or
EDIT.COM in DOS.

IMPORTANT:
If you experience any problems/errors/lockups after modifying your boot files,
you can always RESTORE your ORIGINAL AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files (if any)
from the existent BACKUPS (ONLY IF you have already run EAB.BAT + ECS.BAT!),
by copying the respective *.D6X and/or *.W9X files located in C:\ root back to
*.BAT, *.SYS, *.DOS and/or *.W40, respectively. Examples:
- Using MS Windows 9x/ME:
COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.W9X C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
- Using MS-DOS 6.xx:
COPY C:\CONFIG.D6X C:\CONFIG.SYS
In case your PC locks up, you can either:
- (Re)boot from a bootup/startup backup floppy diskette or CD-ROM (only if
this feature is supported by your motherboard BIOS) containing the system
files (MSDOS.SYS, IO.SYS + COMMAND.COM) for your specific MS OS, or
- Hold Shift (or Ctrl) and press F5 while (re)booting to bypass the startup
files and boot "clean", without any devices/drivers/TSRs loaded in memory.
Then restore your original files as described above.
You MUST reboot when done.

A MUST: If you DO use boot files and/or DOS based programs/games, especially
certain ones that canNOT run properly from within Windows, see MEMORY.TXT
(included) for detailed guidelines on how to MAXimize your memory resources
and speed up the bootup sequence in Windows 9x/ME and MS-DOS 6.xx, by tweaking
your MSDOS.SYS [Win9x/ME only], AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files.