synchro.net/synchro.net.tar/synchro.net/main/MISC/W95-11D.ZIP/TIPS95.TXT

Text File | 2000-09-26 | 240.7 KB | 5,922 lines

               AXCEL216's MAX Speeed
      Windows 95/98 + DOS 7.xx ⌐Tricks, Secrets, Hacks, Fixes




These topics refer to ALL Microsoft Windows 95 and 98 [a.k.a MS-DOS 7.xx]
final (Gold) releases, unless specified otherwise!

These Win9x/DOS7 ⌐tricks are also available at:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/newtip.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!
     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 Win9x users (and most by me), but
    with NO guarantee they will also work for YOU!

CREDITS: Some of the following tips I stumbled upon while browsing the
     Internet, some have been kindly sent by concerned readers (all
     authors/contributors are acknowledged and reliable sources given
     proper credit), and some I discovered myself. Enjoy the ride!

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

MUST HAVE from SOFTWARE.TXT (included):
- WINDOWS 95/OSR2/98 ESSENTIAL FREE UPGRADES + FIXES:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/web.htm
- MS INTERNET EXPLORER 4/5 ESSENTIAL FREE UPGRADES + FIXES:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/web.htm#BRO
- 300+ Windows 9x Power Toys [99.99% FREE(ware)]:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/toy.htm


TIPS95.TXT Contents (new "⌐tricks" added at the BOTTOM):


95 -> 98 COMPLETE SPECS ->    WINNEWS.TXT
WHICH 9X VERSION/BUILD?    ->    VERSION.TXT
FAT16 -> FAT32        ->    SECRETS.TXT
WIN.COM HIDDEN SWITCHES    ->    SECRETS.TXT
EMM386 HIDDEN SWITCHES    ->    SECRETS.TXT
HIMEM HIDDEN SWITCHES    ->    SECRETS.TXT
BUG REPORTS!
MS PLUS! 95 + UPGRADE 95
POWER LINKS 95
START ME UP!
CONFIGURATION BACKUP
EXPLORER X 2
DELETE NOW!
SEND TO
SEND TO FOLDER
ASSOCIATE
MAKE COMPATIBLE
RENAME
STATIC LINK
QUAD SPEED+
AUDIO CD
EXPLORER MENU
PC SPEAKER
DRAG + DROP
SHIFT 2 RESTART 98/95
OPEN WITH...
HOT KEYS
EXPLORE YOUR ROOTS
SCRAP
EXPAND
DOS CAPTURE
IRQ + DMA LIST
INSTANT REFRESH
DOS LFNS
ERU    [UPDATED!]
WINSET
FOLDER ICON
LFNFOR
GROUP CONVERT
HANG... NO MORE!
PRINT 2 FILE
GUI UPDATE/RECOVER
HELP! [+]
DOS MULTITASKING
MULTIPLE ASSOCIATIONS
MULTIPLE DESKTOPS
MS NATURAL KEYBOARD [+]
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - Part 1
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - Part 2
MINSPS
HTML VIEW
MOVIE FRAME COUNT
FIXED SWAP FILE
ORDERED SHORTCUTS
TROUBLESHOOT PRINTER
NOTEPAD STAMP
EXIT TO DOS
(AFTER) BOOT CHOICES
FIND SHORTCUT
SMART RESTORE
WIN95 CLONES
TCP/IP TOOLS
LOCK IT UP!
MARK THE BOX
REMEMBER ME?
BOOT 2 DOS
WIN31 INSTALL
REMEMBER MY PASSWORD
SUPPORT INFORMATION [+]
SPEEDUP MY DUN! [+]
DON'T DROP BACK!
24 HOUR DISPLAY
MAXMTU USING POLEDIT
NO WIN INSTALL
POWERFUL XCOPY(32)
"STUPID" TRICKS
"HARD" CACHE
FAST GRAPHIC VIEWER
95 UPGRADE INSTALL
WARM BOOT
AUTO ARRANGE
RUN FASTER
CD-ROM CODE - Part 1
CD-ROM CODE - Part 2
EXPLORE FOLDERS
FRESH REGISTRY
CORRUPTED WIN.COM
VFAT ERROR FIX!
START BUTTON ON THE MOVE
AUTOEXEC.BAT X 2
SUPER DEFRAG
MS-DOS PROPERTIES
ALL DRIVES SEARCH
ACCESS DATE +|-
BRING UP THE DESKTOP! [+]
MAP YOUR HOSTS [+]
CHECK DISK
INSTALL DOS 6
LOOK MA, NO CD-ROM
RESTORE INSTALL FUNCTION
WINKEY WITHOUT WIN95 KEYBOARD
IE HOT KEYS [+]
QUICK FIX 95
98/95/NT SETUP SWITCHES [+]
98/95 SYSTEM FOLDERS    [UPDATED 7|13|98] [+]
DEFAULT BROWSER
CAPTAIN SISKO'S QUICK TIPS
BAD MEMORY? [+]
FIND YOUR ISP'S MTU [+]
NETWORKING TIPS [+]
STAC COMPRESSION [+]
IDENTIFY "NO NAME" CARDS [+]
EXTRA ASCII CHARACTERS [+]
NETSCAPE ACTIVEX FOR IE 4/5
MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE MADE EASY [+]
MPEG/DVD HANGUP BUG [+]
BAD ALLOCATION UNIT FIX [+]
THE X.DUN FILES [+]
SYSTEM LIBRARIES UPDATES [+]
REMOVE "SHORTCUT TO" REVISITED [+]
DOSWINKEY BUG [+]
HIDDEN FOLDER [+]
REINSTALL WIN9X [+]
MULTIPLE FILE SEARCH [+]
BLUE (OR ANY OTHER COLOR) SCREEN OF DEATH [+]
SOLVE WIN9X/NT NETWORK CONFLICTS [+]
KILL (EXPLORER) OR BE KILLED [+]
CAB EXTRACT [+]
DETECT WINDOWS [+]
FREE MORE MEMORY [+]
CUSTOM NETSCAPE THROBBER [+]
RENAME START BUTTON [+]
DELETE IE 4/5 UNINSTALL [+]
WININIT BUG [+]
INF UNINSTALL [+]
MULTIMEDIA PREVIEW [+]
MEDIA PLAYER2 BUFFER [+]
4 SPEED TIPS [+]
IE NOHOME [+]
NO ADS THANK YOU! [+]
MODEM/LAN BUFFER SPEEDUP [+]
NETWORK PASSWORD [+]
FREE PROXY [+]
BACKUP MBR WITH DEBUG [+]
LOVE(LY) VIRUS FIX [+]
UNDERCLOCK YOUR CPU [+]
TOGGLE FILE VIEW [+]
NO NETSCAPE AOL AIM [+]
NO NETSCAPE EMAIL ADS [+]
DO NOT PERSIST! [+]


NOTE:    Topics marked with a plus [+] apply also to Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.x,
    Windows 98/98 SE, Windows ME and/or Windows 2000, and are refered to
    in OSR2TIPS.TXT, TIPS98.TXT, TIPSME.TXT and/or TIPS2000.TXT
    respectively (all included).
______________________________________________________________________________



BUG REPORTS!



1. BUG REPORT: Running Windows 95 (retail) or Windows 95a OSR1 (upgraded with
Service Pack 1) applications that use 32-bit Windows sockets for long periods
of time (like web browsers), can gradually deplete Windows 95 of available
memory resources, slow down, or even crash your system!
* BUG FIX: Get Microsoft Windows 95/OSR1 Kernel Update to correct this
problem:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wuadmintools/s_wunetworkingtools/w95kernel32/
W95KRNLUPD.EXE direct download [329 KB, free]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/bin/W95KRNLUPD.EXE
UPDATE:
Microsoft Windows 95 System Updates + Fixes:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/
2. BUG REPORT: Earlier Microsoft RegClean releases did NOT properly "clean"
the Windows 9x Registry of obsolete/orphane entries, sometimes even
corrupting it!
* BUG FIX: Get Microsoft Registry Cleanup v4.1a for Windows 9x/NT/IE:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q147/7/69.asp
RegClean v4.1a direct download [781 KB, free, unsupported]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/REGCLEAN.EXE
UPDATE:
RegClean v4.1a is the ONLY release known to work with ALL Windows 95 (retail,
OSR1 and OSR2.x), Windows 98 (retail, SP1 and SEU) and 2000 releases, and with
MS Internet Explorer (4.0x and 5.xx). [About time! :)]
IMPORTANT: BACKUP your REGISTRY files BEFORE using RegClean!



MS PLUS! 95 + UPGRADE 95



Microsoft issued the Plus! Package for Windows 95 (sells for about 30-40 bucks
at your local computer store, and while you're there, check out MS Plus! for
Kids, for only $20). Among other things, Plus! for 95 comes with a new version
of Scandisk and Drvspace 3, and the famous task scheduler, the System Agent.
Plus you'll get all those fancy "screen entertainment" features, ranging from
high color desktop wallpapers, 256 colors icons for your shortcuts, a bunch of
fun(k)y screen savers, a great variety of sound files, to animated mouse
cursors etc.
The System Agent is something that should have been implemented into Win95,
like many other basic utilities that are still missing from the OS, like a
virus scaning/protection program.
And if one Plus! Package wouldn't be enough, check out MS Plus! for Kids, with
some cool programs, like: Play It!, Talk It!, Paint It!, Picture Picker,
suitable for "kids" of any age, and the [kinda buggy :(] Security Enhancements
designed to deter preying eyes away from your Windows system, but concerned
parents might appreciate them nontheless.



POWER LINKS 95



These MS Windows 95 Software Add-ons + Updates appear courtesy of Mark
Richardson ([e-mail]):

"* Power Toys 95 Set [204 KB, updated 9/17/96, free, unsupported]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/
The Microsoft Power Toys 95 set includes:
1. Desktop Menu: Open items on your desktop from a convenient menu on the
taskbar [updated 7/1/96].
2. CabView: Treat .CAB files like folders, look inside, then drag files in
and out with ease [updated 2/2/96].
3. CD AutoPlay Extender: Make autoplay work on any non-audio CD, get speedy
access to your favorite programs [updated 8/16/95].
4. Contents Menu: Get to your files without even opening their folders
[updated 2/2/96].
5. Explore From Here: Open the Explorer, rooted anywhere you want; this one's
great over networks [updated 8/16/95].
6. FlexiCD: Quick, convenient audio CD control from the taskbar [updated
6/4/95].
7. HTML Printer Driver: This new printer driver allows you to print real HTML
documents (web pages) from your applications [updated 1/17/96].
8. QuickRes: Change the screen's resolution and bit depth right from the
taskbar... without rebooting [updated 10/23/95].
9. Send To X 1.2: Send To Any Folder returns, and he's brought some of his
friends [updated 9/11/96].
10. Round Clock: A round analog clock... with no square window [updated
10/20/94].
11. Shortcut Target Menu 1.1: Get the properties for a shortcut's target just
by right-clicking the shortcut [updated 6/4/96].
12. TweakUI 1.1: Change menu speed, mouse sensitivity, window animation and
sound, document templates, fixed several incompatibilities, including MSN
conflicts, install/uninstall bugs, memory leaks under WinNT [updated
10/11/96].
13. XMouse 1.2: Make the focus follow your mouse without clicking, just like
X Windows [updated 9/11/96].
14. DOS Prompt Here 1.0: Start an MS-DOS prompt in the folder of your choice
with the click of a button [updated 6/4/96].
15. Telephony Location Selector: Mobile computer users can change their
dialing location with ease from this handy icon on the taskbar [updated
1/17/96].
16. Find X: now with more options [updated 9/11/96].
* Kernel Toys: Advanced Utilities + Diagnostics for expert users:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95kerneltoy/
* Windows 95 Software Library:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/
* Improved HyperTerminal for Win95/OSR1 private edition [100 KB, free]:
ftp://ftp.hilgraeve.com/pub/vendor/hilgraeve/htpe3.exe



START ME UP!



To run Win95/98 programs in a batch file, use START with the "/W" switch.
It's a time saver, and this way you can run more than one Win95/98 program
with only a single mouse click. For example, to scan all your fixed
disks/partitions for errors, and then fully defragment them, open Notepad and
type or copy these lines:

@ECHO OFF
START /W "C:\WINDOWS\SCANDSKW.EXE /A /N"
START /W "C:\WINDOWS\DEFRAG.EXE /ALL /F /NOPROMPT"
EXIT

Save this file as DISKTOOL.BAT, and create a shortcut for it on your Desktop,
or place it into your Startup folder, to run the disk maintenance utilities
every time you load Windows, and keep your hard drives "filthy clean".
Just make sure your MS-DOS shortcut Properties -> Program tab (right-click
to access) has the "Close on exit" box checked.
MS Plus! for Win95 and Win98/98 SE users can schedule such runs periodically
using System Agent or Task Scheduler.
These are START.EXE (located in C:\Windows\Command) command line switches,
displayed when running:
START /?
from the Run box:

"Runs a Windows program or an MS-DOS program.
START [options] program [arg...]
START [options] document.ext
/m[inimized]    Run the new program minimized (in the background).
/max[imized]    Run the new program maximized (in the foreground).
/r[estored]    Run the new program restored (in the foreground). [default]
/w[ait]        Does not return until the other program exits."

NOTES:    - The quotes-unquotes on the START lines are necessary for running
    apps with Long File Names (LFNs) with program specific command line
    parameters.
    - Running Win9x apps from the DOS command line using START, allows
    for multiple instances of the same program (if supported).



CONFIGURATION BACKUP



This topic is brought to you by [e-mail]. Thanks a bunch!

"I found a neat little Registry backup utility called CFGBACK.EXE, located
in the \OTHER\MISC\CFGBACK folder on the Win95 install CD-ROM. Using it,
you can backup up to 9 copies of your Registry files (SYSTEM.DAT and
USER.DAT).
You can choose any destination (hard, floppy or tape drive) for the backup
file, and you can restore the Registry from any of the backed up files
anytime. You can even schedule CFGBACK through System Agent (MS Plus! users
only) to do periodical backups of your Registry files.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE CFGBACK. Does NOT work correctly, according to
Microsoft! Read these related MicroSoft Knowledge Base articles:
- MSKB Q142572:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q142/5/72.asp
- MSKB Q139437:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q139/4/37.asp
- MSKB Q132332:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q132/3/32.asp
- MSKB Q132064:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q132/0/64.asp
- MSKB Q141014:"
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q141/0/14.asp



EXPLORER X 2



To get Explorer to show a two directory view (side by side), similar to File
Manager, open two instances of Explorer, right-click on the Task bar, and
select Tile Vertically. Win9x will retain both if you leave them running when
you shut down your computer, and they will be available from now on whenever
you restart Windows.



DELETE NOW!



Hold down SHIFT while dragging items into the Recycle Bin to DELETE them
immediately rather than place them into the bin. But be careful not to
accidently multi-select more files than you want! :)
Same action is performed by pressing Shift and Del at the same time.



SEND TO



You can play with the "Send To" feature in Explorer, which is actually a
hidden subfolder under your Windows 9x folder.
You can add folders and/or files to it, moving things around faster:
right-click on a file/folder -> select the "Send To" item from the drop-down
menu.
Example: place WinZip (or your favorite file compression tool) there to
create ZIP archives fast, and/or any other frequently used tools/documents
for that matter.
Alternatively you can download the Microsoft Power Toys 95 package [204 KB,
free, unsupported]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/
which includes the "Send To X 1.2" toy, that adds extra features to your
SendTo folder.
"Send To X" is one of the few Windows 95/OSR1 Power Toys known to work also
with Windows 98/OSR2/IE.
KNOWN BUG:
Microsoft acknowledged that you canNOT select multiple files/folders to drag
and drop into the SendTo folder, and that whenever you select more than one
file/folder, the Send To option is absent from the right-click drop down menu.
WORKAROUND:
Select only one file/folder at a time and drop it into the SendTo folder.
FIX:
Download this small ZIP file:
http://newlife-win98.server101.com/regfile/SendToDeskFix.zip
unzip it, and then (double)-click on SendToDeskFix.REG in Explorer or File
Manager to make SendToX compatible with ALL Windows 9x AND MS IE releases.



SEND TO FOLDER



Win95's "Send To" righ-click menu shows by default only the floppy drives as
destination. Win98 fixed this, adding some frequently used items, like:
"Desktop (create shortcut)", "Mail Recipient" etc.
But this is still not enough if you're a "Send To freak", like I am. :)
You can add any other disk or folder as "Send To" target by creating
appropriate shortcuts in the SendTo folder: i.e. a shortcut to "Recycle Bin"
bypasses this confirmation prompt dialog box:
"Do you want to send Filename.ext/Foldername to Recycle Bin?"
But you can choose any other directory as your "Send To" target, such as a
temp directory.
Also, if you have different places to send a file to but they are related,
such as:

Docs
 |- Document1
 |- Document2
 |- etc...

you can create an additional subfolder under the SendTo folder (NOT a
shortcut!) called "Docs" (no quotes). Then open this new folder and place
there the shortcuts to all your documents' individual folders and make sure
to name them appropriately. From now on, when you right-click a file icon,
your "Send To" right-click menu will show the new "Docs" submenu (which allows
you to move files to it) and you will see there another submenu containing all
your documents' shortcuts.
Also, you can remove the annoying "Shortcut to" text from your icons in the
SendTo folder by renaming them.



ASSOCIATE



In Explorer you can set up different actions to be performed on a document in
addition to just the standard "Open" command available when you right-click
on your icon. Go to an Explorer window and choose View | Options and then the
tab "File Types".
In the list displayed, find the association for the File type you want to add
an action to, e.g. BMP. Double click on it to bring up the Edit window.
It should be already at least one action there, probably Open, maybe Print
etc. Click on the New... button and type in a new command, like Edit or View
or whatever you want. Then select the application you want to use to Edit
your Bitmap, as opposed to just viewing it. From now on, when you right-click
on a BMP file you'll see your new command there and you can choose to View,
Edit, Open, Print etc, whatever you want with whatever app you desire.



MAKE COMPATIBLE



There is a program automatically installed by Win98/95, used to make Windows
3.xx (16-bit) programs/applications more compatible under Win98/95 (32-bit):
MKCOMPAT.EXE, located in your C:\Windows\System folder (default).
Run MKCOMPAT and select File/Open. Open the EXE (executable) file you are
having problems with. Highlight the things that seem likely to make a
difference. Select File/Advanced for more control options. Select File/Save
to save the new configuration. There is no online help, so some trial and
error is in order until you find the optimal settings to make your "rebel"
program "behave" under Win98/95.
Examples of frequently used MKCOMPAT settings that usually work with most
older Windows 16-bit applications:
- Lie about Windows Version Number
- Delay Comm Handshake
- Increase Stack Size.



RENAME



To rename a file/folder/shortcut/link it's sometimes a hassle to
right-click, select, and then left-click Rename, before you can type in the
new name. Try these steps instead:
1. Left-click on the file/folder/shortcut/link as you normally would to
select (highlight) it.
2. Wait a moment, long enough for Windows to realize you are not
double-clicking, and then left-click again. Your file/folder/shortcut/link
is now ready for the name change.



STATIC LINK



Drag icons into your documents. This creates a static link to that icon.
Example: drag the "My Computer" icon into a new Wordpad .DOC and double-click
it to see the result.



QUAD SPEED+



Would like to make your ol' double speed CD-ROM drive perform like a quad+
speed drive under Win95? Open My Computer, click Properties/Performance/File
System/CDROM, and set the supplemental cache speed to its maximum and the
access pattern to "Quad speed or higher".



AUDIO CD



Windows 95/98 allows you to do kool things with audio CDs:
1. Open Explorer and click on your CD drive with an audio CD in it.
2. In the right panel you will see Track01.cda through Track??.cda.
3. If you right-click on a track, you can play it automatically by choosing
Play from the Quick Menu.
4. If you double-click on a track it plays automatically.
5. Try dragging a track onto your Desktop (you can copy it or create a
shortcut, it doesn't matter). Rename the track's copy/shortcut to the song's
real name. Whenever you have that CD in the drive, you can now double-click
on its Desktop shortcut to play it.
6. You can also drag tracks onto the Start Menu, Desktop, or you can create
a dedicated folder for your favorite CD tracks.



EXPLORER MENU



Right-click in a Win95 application's file Open box for New, Copy, Delete,
Arrange etc. Most of Explorer's functions are there, except half the Toolbar
and no pull down Menus.



PC SPEAKER



To install a PC Speaker on your Windows 9x system if you don't have a sound
card installed on your machine, follow these steps:
1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click "Add New Hardware".
3. Don't let Windows search for new hardware.
4. Click "Sound, Video, Game Controller".
5. Select "Have Disk".
6. Browse to the drive/directory where your PC Speaker file (SPEAKER.DRV) is
located.
7. Click Install.
That's it. Your mute PC is now brought to "life".
To customize the settings for your PC Speaker, open Control Panel, click
Multimedia, and select the Advanced Tab. In the Audio devices list you'll see
the new "PC Speaker" item.
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/3.1x releases.
Windows/WfWG 3.1x users: see "SPEAKER CHALLENGE" in MYTIPS31.TXT, part of
W31-11D.ZIP:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/31.htm



DRAG + DROP



Drag and drop files/desktop objects with the RIGHT mouse button. When you
drop them on the target, you get a little pop-up menu giving you options
like Move, Copy, Create Shortcut etc.
Also, to drag a file from one folder to another, using only one Explorer
window, drag the icon near the top or bottom of a scrolling pane, and
"nudge" to scroll.



SHIFT 2 RESTART 98/95



Click on Start, Shut Down, Restart computer. Hold down Shift and click
Yes/OK.
This ONLY restarts the GUI (Graphical User Interface), NOT your computer
(warm reboot).
This is also valid in some situations when Windows 98/95 prompts you to
restart your computer, after you have made changes to the system (example:
when choosing another video resolution/number of colors in the Display
Settings dialog box).
NOTE:    You have to restart your system when changing display resolutions
    ONLY if you use Win95 or Win95a OSR1, but NOT with OSR2 or Win98!
WARNINGS:
1. This "Windows fast GUI restart" might cause problems on some Windows 9x
systems: system files and/or registry corruption, lockups, or even data loss,
if there are ANY open applications, running Terminate and Stay Resident
programs (TSRs) or loaded Virtual eXtended Drivers (VXDs) at the moment of the
"Shifted reboot"!
A possible solution is to FIRST press Ctrl-Alt-Del the same time (the famous
"three-finger-salute"), and then click "End Task" for ALL programs listed,
EXCEPT Explorer! ONLY AFTER that hold Shift while rebooting Windows.
2. Certain MS-DOS real mode drivers my not be (re)initialized correctly by
using this "fast restart", because ONLY the Windows GUI restarts, NOT the
underlying DOS. Example: if you use a based DOS utility (TSR) to change your
monitor refresh rate upon boot, that particular program may NOT run (since
it's probably loaded from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file). This means that ONLY your
video controller will be reset, NOT your monitor, which in this case might be
using incorrect refresh rate(s).
For an alternative method of restarting Windows 9x WITHOUT using the "Shifted
reboot", read the "FAST EXIT | RESTART!" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT (included).
UPDATES:
1. WIN98 LAPTOP USERS: "Even after disabling "Fast shut down" by running
Msconfig, using SHIFT on Reboot with Win98 still throws WRITE PROTECTION
ERRORS necessitating one or more cold boot-downs and boot-ups on my system.
Possibly this is caused by the laptop's various shut-down power modes. On my
system, there are 3 different shut-off options:
1- full power-off
2- standby
3- hibernation
These are designed to optimize battery use and conserve power as well as save
time for re-starting. In light of the above experience, I think it's wise not
to recommend to laptop owners to try disabling "Fast shut down" in order to
re-enable the SHIFT on RE-BOOT feature."
This update courtesy of Ojatex ([e-mail]).
2. *ALL* WINDOWS 9X USERS:
- READ Microsoft's "Restarting Computer While Holding Down SHIFT Key Hangs
Windows" MSKB page for more details about the "Shifted restart" BUG:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q186/9/25.asp
- Go to Ojatex's "WIN98 TIPS FOR LAPTOPS" page, and read the topic "B -
SHIFT NO MORE:":
http://members.aol.com/ojatex/98tip.htm
NOTE: Ojatex's Win98 Laptop Tips are also included here, in LAPTOP98.TXT.



OPEN WITH...



To open a file/object with a different application than the one it is
associated with and if the right-click menu no longer lets you choose the
"Open With..." dialog, hold down the SHIFT key when you right-click on the
selected object.
The "Open With..." command should appear on the menu list now.
NOTE:    This is only a temporary solution for accessing the "Open with..."
    right-click menu. To learn how make this feature permanent, read
    the "OPEN WITH" topic in REGISTRY.TXT (included).



HOT KEYS



Control object dragging using the SHIFT and CTRL keys. Hold down the
following keys while left-mouse-button-dragging an object for different
actions:

* NO SHIFT + NO CTRL + Drag (default dragging):
- Same Drive = Move
- Different Drive = Copy
The above is valid unless the objects selected have the: .BAT, .COM, .EXE,
.SCR or .PIF extension (and if you installed MS IE 4.0+ on your machine,
there are other executables added to this list: .DLL, .OCX, .VXD, .X32) in
which case:
- Same Drive = Create Link
- Different Drive (Non-Removable Storage) = Create Link
- Different Drive (Removable Storage) = Copy
* SHIFT + NO CTRL + Drag = Always Move
* CTRL + NO SHIFT + Drag = Always Copy
* SHIFT + CTRL + Drag = Same as right-mouse-button Drag

NOTE:    Certain folders don't allow objects to be dropped (i.e. Control
    Panel and Printers), others always Move To regardless of the
    SHIFT/CTRL status (i.e. Recycle Bin).



EXPLORE YOUR ROOTS



To control the drive and/or directory/folder where Explorer opens, create a
shortcut to Explorer with this command line to open it in C:\ root:
"C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /e,root,c:\"
You don't need to type the quotes, as they are automatically included on the
command line when you create a new shortcut.
The path to Explorer doesn't need to be mentioned either, because Explorer.exe
is located in your Windows folder, which is included in the PATH statement
upon bootup.
Explorer.exe command line syntax:
Explorer [/e,/n,][,root,<object>]



SCRAP



To drag scraps from documents to the Desktop or to folders and create
Document Scraps (scraps = bits and pieces of your documents archived for
later use):
1. Open Wordpad, or your favorite word processor.
2. Type a few lines of text.
3. Highlight the text.
Place the cursor over the selected text and drag it on to the Desktop.
This will create a "scrap" with some of the actual text in the scrap name.



EXPAND



To expand the Explorer tree view to show all subfolders for a highlighted
drive or folder, press the asterisk (*) key on the numeric keypad (also valid
for File Manager).



DOS CAPTURE



You can copy any graphics or text from a Windows DOS box (session) into
Windows programs.
For example, while running a DOS VGA/SVGA graphics application/game (i.e.
Duke Nukem 3D), press:
1. Alt-Enter to reduce the full scren DOS session to a window.
2. Click on the upper left hand corner Mark (the square) icon.
3. Select a region in the DOS window with the left mouse button pressed.
4. Click the Edit/Copy icon, and then:
5. Paste it into another Windows application (like MS Paint or WordPad).
UPDATE:
"It's usually easier to press PrintScreen to get the whole screen on the
clipboard and then cut & paste the needed pieces. It doesn't require
switching the program to a window."
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).



IRQ + DMA LIST



Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager. Or
right-click on My Computer -> Properties -> System -> Device Manager. Now
double-click the My Computer icon at the top of the scrollable window. From
there you can view the IRQs, DMA channel usage, I/O assignments and Memory
settings.
On Win95, OSR1 and OSR2 machines (Win98 users can access the Print button
from the Device Manager tab), in this area there is an option to print a
detailed or summary report of your System specs. The detailed report can
take a huge amount of paper when printed (over 30 pages on my computer!).
My summary (short) report is only about 3 pages, and contains a list of all
Interrupt Request Lines (IRQ) currently assigned in the system, the system
devices they are assigned to, the Direct Memory Access (DMA) channel
assignments and the Base I/O Port Addresses (BA).



INSTANT REFRESH



Certain changes to the Registry or system folders take place ONLY after
restarting your computer (or reloading Win95). To refresh the desktop
without restarting Windows, left-click once on any open (empty) area of
your Desktop or any icon on your desktop. Press F5, et voila!



DOS LFNS



You can benefit from Windows 95's long directory/file names feature (LFNs),
but ONLY in a Windows DOS session (box) command line prompt. Enter the Long
File Names (using spaces between words) by enclosing them in quotes (case
insensitive). Example:
COPY C:\DOCS\"My Documents.DOC" D:\BACKUPS
to copy a single LFN file, or:
COPY C:\DOCS\"My Documents.*" D:\BACKUPS
to copy all .DOC files with LFNs in a given folder (using DOS style "wild
cards").
Same applies to folders with LFNs. Example:
COPY "C:\My Old Documents\My Documents.DOC" D:\BACKUPS



ERU    [UPDATED!]



Have you tried Microsoft's ERU (Emergency Recovery Utility)? If you have the
CD-ROM version of Win95 install, look for the \OTHER\MISC\ERU folder.
Run ERU.EXE, and it backs up all system files in your C:\ERD folder (on your
boot drive) along with ERD.EXE, a DOS utility to restore the same files.
A quick and easy way to backup your critical Win95 system files.
ERU.EXE not only makes great backups of Win95 key data files, but also gives
you the ability to add others.
It also allows you to backup Win95 vital files to a floppy or a hard drive.
It's also a great emergency boot disk tool, automatically restoring the
system files in case of a crash.
CREDITS: Tips below appear courtesy of:
- [e-mail]
- Mark Richardson ([e-mail]):
http://www.bluetic.com/
- Alan Phillips ([e-mail]) and
- [e-mail].
CAUTION [[e-mail]]: Running ERU on a Windows 95 system that doesn't
have any of the files listed in Eru.inf (located in the folder where you
installed ERU) can lockup your machine!
WORKAROUND [[e-mail]]: Create "fake" (empty) Autoexec.bat and
Config.sys files with Notepad in the root folder of your boot drive (C:\ is
default), or copy two small plain text (ASCII) files as Autoexec.bat and as
Config.sys, respectively, from any folder to C:\, even if your system doesn't
need them.
WARNING: ERU BUG! [[e-mail]]: "Watch for the date of the Registry
files used for ERU's backup! I assumed it used the current info, but it used
System.1st instead, and NONE of my custom Registry info was saved. I had to
reinstall the hardware under Windows 95, and to rebuild all of my software
entries, even lost my name and product id numbers!"
RELATED TOPICS [[e-mail]]:
- "REGEDIT May Not Be Able to Import Registry with Large Keys" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q132/0/64.asp
- "Emergency Recovery Utility Does Not Back Up Files" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q141/0/14.asp



WINSET



You can forget about loading DOS mode drivers/devices/TSRs (real mode, 16bit)
from Config.sys and Autoexec.bat, under Win98/95.
Actually you can safely delete your Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files (ONLY
after making BACKUP copies) if you won't be using any weird (read memory
hungry) DOS program/game, that would require a custom PIF setup (including
custom Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files, which would provide a dedicated
MS-DOS mode) and enter the real 32-bit computing world :) (running only Win32
applications).
Most newer DOS games can be run from a PIF file under Win98/95 (READ your
game's documentation on the types/amounts of memory required to run properly,
and then modify the game's PIF file to meet those requirements).
If you need to have custom environment variables at bootup, use WINSET.EXE,
a DOS compatibility mode utility, provided with both Win95 and Win98.
Copy the file Winset.exe from the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\ENVVARS folder [Win95 Setup
cd-rom], or the \TOOLS\RESKIT\SCRPTING folder [Win98 Setup cd-rom] to your
Windows 98/95 folder on your hard disk (default is \WINDOWS).
If you run:
WINSET /?
at a DOS prompt, you'll get this help display:

"Sets or removes Windows master environment variables.
WINSET [variable=[string]]
variable    Specifies the environment-variable name.
string        Specifies a series of characters to assign to the variable."

Winset can be run from Win98/95's Run command, from a DOS session, or from a
DOS batch file. You can run the batch file from WIN.INI's run= command line,
found under Win.ini's [windows] section. WINSET must be followed by a SET
<variable>=<string> value/parameter. Examples:
WINSET COPYCMD=/Y
WINSET DIRCMD=/A /O:GEN /P
WINSET PATH=<your_path>
This way you can set/reset/remove the PATH, PROMPT, WINPMT, MOUSE, TEMP,
TMP, MIDI, BLASTER, SOUND, or any other SET <variable>=<string> command.
To remove a SET variable, type:
WINSET <variable>=
with nothing after the equal sign.
To see the complete list of your system's MS-DOS environment variables,
just run this command from any DOS prompt (spaces are optional):
SET | MORE
MORE is an internal MS-DOS command built into IO.SYS.



FOLDER ICON



In Explorer, open a folder, any folder, click View, and select Options.
Select the File Types tab and scroll down the list of Registered File Types
to the Folder item. Select the Folder item, click Edit, and click Change
Icon. Select a new icon from an ICO, ICL, DLL or EXE icon file.
Save your changes.
All your folders will display the newly changed icon from now on!



LFNFOR



Undocumented!
LFNFOR is an internal MS-DOS mode command for those of you who like running
programs/DOS commands by writing DOS style batch files.
LFNFOR, when enabled, allows for IF, FOR, DO, ERRORLEVEL, GOTO batch style
commands to take in consideration the use of Long File Names (LFNs).
Running LFNFOR from a DOS prompt without parameters, will display the status
of LFN DOS batch usage:
LFNFOR is off
Turn it on by running:
LFNFOR ON
By default LFNFOR is off. To turn it on permanently, add this line to your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
LFNFOR ON
To turn it back off, run:
LFNFOR OFF



GROUP CONVERT



You can manually convert (after Setup is finished) all your old Windows 3.xx
program groups to shortcut folders in one of the following two ways:
1. Double-click on any .GRP file to automatically convert the program group to
a new Programs folder, which will be found on the Start button. Win98/95 comes
equipped with a .GRP file conversion utility called GRPCONV.EXE (located in
your Windows folder), which is automatically associated with .GRP files.
2. Another (perhaps better) way: select the Run command from the Start button
and type:
GRPCONV /M
This switch will provide you with a dialog box that searches your Windows
folder for all .GRP files, allowing you to select which program groups to
convert.



HANG... NO MORE!



If your Windows 98/95 system hangs (locks up) and the "three-finger salute"
(Ctrl + Alt + Del keypress "combo") doesn't restore your Desktop by shutting
down the "offending" program, press Ctrl + Esc. It may bring up the Start
menu from which you may be able to shut down Windows.



PRINT 2 FILE



To set up a special "printer" to print documents to a plain text file (with
the .TXT extension) follow these easy steps:
1. Open the Printers applet from Control Panel.
2. Double-click on Add Printer.
3. Select Local Printer and then click on Next.
4. Select Generic from the manufacturer list, and Generic/Text Only from the
printer list, then click on Next.
5. Select File from the available ports list, and click Next a couple times
to add this new printer.
6. Highlight the new icon, right-click on it and select Properties, then the
Paper tab, and change the paper setting to:
"continuous, no page-breaks".
Now you can select this new printer from any Windows 98/95 application,
sending the output in text format to a file (default file format is .PRN,
but you can change that to .TXT for example). You will be prompted to choose
a filename and path when you print.



GUI UPDATE/RECOVER



To update the Windows 98/95 interface, the Registry, or to recover from a GPF
(General Protection Fault) without rebooting Windows, press Ctrl + Alt + Del,
select Explorer and then click End Task.
Answer No to the Shut Down prompt screen, then click End Task again at the
next prompt.
You should see the Start menu and the Taskbar will reappear as Windows
reloads the Explorer shell. Now everything should be (hopefully) OK again.
UPDATES:
1. "Except that the system tray gets cleared, and this can be VERY annoying
sometimes (I have a bunch of system tray icons, and the network chat program,
CoolMouse and QuickRes are among them)."
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).
2. "TraySaver is an excellent tool (freeware) that allows you to retain your
System Tray icons (i.e. after an Explorer crash):
http://www.mlin.net/TraySaver.shtml
TraySaver also has the ability of hiding and unhiding tray icons."
This update courtesy of Andrew Rockwell ([e-mail]).



HELP! [+]



To access any topic of a Windows Help (.HLP) file, 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":

- Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow or Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow = go to next topic
- Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow or Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow = go to previous topic
- Ctrl + Shift + Home = go to top of file
- Ctrl + Shift + End = go to end of file.

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
folder. Use Notepad to edit WIN.INI:

[Windows Help]
SeqTopicKeys=1

Save your work and restart Windows.
NOTE: This tip works with Windows/WfWG 3.xx AND Windows 98/95/OSR2.



DOS MULTITASKING



To quickly resort to the command line and do 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:
START.EXE /M 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, 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 Win9x/ME setup)
to the D:\BACKUPS directory in the background, letting you work on other tasks
in the foreground.



MULTIPLE ASSOCIATIONS



To be able to open text (.TXT) documents in either Notepad or Wordpad, start
Explorer and click View -> Options -> File Types. Find the Text Document type
in the Registered File Types window, click Edit to edit this type, and you'll
see that the Actions list includes Open and Print. Choose New. The New Action
dialog box shows up. Call this new action "Open in WordPad", and click the
Browse button to select Wordpad as the application to perform this action.
From now on when you right-click a text (.TXT) file, you'll see this new
action on the drop-down menu.
You can use this workaorund to reestablish file associations overwritten by
"misbehaved" application installations.
Example: MS Word takes control of .DOC (Document) and .RTF (Rich Text Format)
files after installing it. To have all .RTF files associated with WordPad for
speed reasons, add an "Open in WordPad" action to the Microsoft Word Document
association.
Another way to restore eventual file associations changed by a program you
have installed, is to start File Manager (filename WINFILE.EXE, located in
your Windows folder), highlight the file type you want to modify, click File
-> Associate... and scroll through the registered file types in the
"Associate with..." box. Select the application you want your file type
opened with. Click OK when done.



MULTIPLE DESKTOPS



If you share your Win95/98 system computer with others, or have different
setups for performing different tasks, you may want to have multiple custom
desktops, each with its own Desktop icons, Start menu, and/or Program Groups.
Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Passwords.
To set up Windows 95/98 for multiple configurations, make sure you're in the
User Profiles dialog box, and select the second option. Different users can
customize their own preferences and Desktop settings. Check both boxes under
User Profile Settings.
When you click OK, Windows asks to restart to set up the new configuration.
As it reloads, it prompts you to set up a new user name and password. You can
leave the password field blank if security is not an issue on your computer.
Answer Yes when asked whether to save the settings for that particular user.
Any desktop customizing you do will be unique to the configuration stored
under this name.
To create additional configurations, just reboot Windows and type a different
name when prompted. To change configurations, choose Start -> Shut Down ->
Close all programs, and finally log on as a different user.



MS NATURAL KEYBOARD [+]



Windows 95 and 98 come with built-in support for Microsoft Natural Keyboard
and similars, using the Windows 9x special keys (these are 104-105 or more
touch keyboards).
This is a list of the WinKey shortcut "combos":

- WIN            Open Start menu
- WIN + D        Maximize all open windows
- WIN + E        Start Windows Explorer
- WIN + F        Start Find Files/Folders dialog box
- WIN + M        Minimize all open windows
- WIN + R        Start Run dialog box
- WIN + F1        Start Help
- WIN + Tab        Cycle through Taskbar open apps buttons
- WIN + Pause/Break    Start Systems Properties Panel
- WIN + Ctrl + F    Start Find Computer dialog box
- WIN + Shift + M    Undo Minimize all
- WIN + L + Enter    Log off Windows
- WIN + U + R + Enter    Restart Windows
- WIN + U + S + Enter    Shut down Windows



KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - Part 1



Useful keyboard shortcuts (hot "combos") in Windows 98/95:

1. Taskbar:
Action                    Keys
--------------------------------------------
Open the Start menu            Ctrl + Esc
Choose an option from the Start menu    Ctrl + Esc
Find a file or folder            Ctrl + Esc or Esc + F3
Minimize all windows            Ctrl + Esc or Alt + M

2. Desktop, Explorer, Folder/Drive Windows, Common Dialog Boxes:
Action                            Keys
------------------------------------------------------------
Find a file in Explorer or folder window        F3
Open drop-down folder/drive list            F4 (with no other list box active)
Move up one level in Explorer/folder window        Backspace
Refresh or update a window                F5
Select file or folder                    First letter of desired option
Select all items                    Ctrl + A
Select multiple contiguous items            Hold Shift + cursor keys
Select multiple noncontiguous items            Hold Ctrl + cursor keys or Space
See shortcut menu for selected item            Shift + F10
Delete selected item without sending to Recycle Bin    Shift + Del
Open properties sheet for selected item            Alt + Enter
Rename selected item                    F2 -> rename -> Enter

3. While Windows GUI loads:
Action                        Keys
----------------------------------------------------
Do NOT launch Startup folder executables    Hold CTRL or SHIFT
Do NOT Autorun the cd-rom            Hold SHIFT

UPDATES:
- See the "KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - Part 2" topic in TIPS95.TXT (included).
- See the "Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q126/4/49.asp



KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - Part 2



More useful keyboard shortcuts (hot "combos") in Windows 98/95:

- Hold CTRL = Copy a file when dragging it
- Hold CTRL + SHIFT when dragging a file = Create a shortcut
- Hold SHIFT when closing a folder = Close its parents as well
- CTRL + TAB = Move through pages/tabs in a Properties dialog box
- Hold SHIFT = Do NOT Autorun the cd-rom
- F1 = Help
- F5 = Refresh Desktop settings (with any Desktop icon highlighted)
- F10 = Menu mode
- CTRL + C = Copy
- CTRL + V = Paste
- CTRL + X = Cut
- CTRL + Z = Undo
- DEL = Delete
- SHIFT + DEL = bypass Recycle Bin (permanent DELETE!)
- ALT + ENTER = Properties
- ALT + Double-click = Properties
- SHIFT + Right-click = Show Open With on Context menu
- SHIFT + Double-click = Explore
- SHIFT + Close button (upper right corner X) = Close all open windows
- CTRL + ESC = Display start menu
- ALT + ESC = Cycle forward through ALL open (top level) windows
- ALT + SHIFT + ESC = Cycle backwards through ALL open (top level) windows
- ALT + TAB = Move to next active application/window.

In Explorer:

- CTRL + G = Select Go To command
- CTRL + A = Select all
- BACKSPACE = Go up one level
- SHIFT + F10 = Select Context Menu
- Hold SHIFT = Move a file/folder when dragging it between drives.

UPDATES:
- See the "KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - Part 1" topic in TIPS95.TXT (included).
- See the "Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q126/4/49.asp



MINSPS



At some point in your computing life, while working in Windows 98/95, you may
receive the following message:
"There are no spare stack pages. It may be necessary to increase the setting
of 'MinSPs' in System.ini to prevent possible stack faults.
There are x currently SPs allocated."
NOTE: This has nothing to do with the DOS mode CONFIG.SYS "STACKS=" setting!
Stack overflow indicates errors in [poorly written :(] drivers, and Win9x sets
aside 4 KB of RAM for each stack page used by drivers. But if a driver tries
to use more than 1 page at a time, stack overflow occurs, in which case your
computer may crash. If Win9x can successfully "bypass" a stack overflow
situation, it reclaims this memory and returns it back to the system.
To prevent such errors, add the following line under the [386enh] section of
your SYSTEM.INI file, located in your Windows folder (example):
MinSPs=4
If after doing this you still get those error messages, try increasing the
MinSPs number using multiples of 2: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 etc.
Each stack page requires 4 KB of memory. Default MinSPs value is 2.
To do this edit SYSTEM.INI with Notepad or Sysedit.
Restart Windows when done for this change to take effect.
FYI: More info @ MSKB:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q149/0/83.asp



HTML VIEW



To enable an Explorer Quick View option for web pages (HTML and HTM files):
Open Explorer, choose View, and then Options from the menu. Click the File
Type tab and find the association for web HTML pages. The name for those
files is determined by the default web browser you're currently using, that
created the association and should be something similar to "Internet
Document" (Microsoft Internet Explorer 3/4/5) or "Netscape Hypertext
Document" (Netscape Navigator/Communicator 3/4/5).
Select that association and click Edit. Check the "Enable Quick View" box.
From now on you'll have the option to view HTML/HTM files by right-clicking
on your file and selecting View.



MOVIE FRAME COUNT



Windows 98/95 keeps count of dropped frames during video playback, if using
Mplayer (MPLAYER.EXE, located in your Windows folder), the Windows default
multimedia clip player.
To display this feature, after you have played a video clip, hold Ctrl and
press F5. A box called "Send MCI String Command" appears. Type "Status
Frames Skipped" in the Command box and click Send. Windows will tell you how
many total frames were displayed.
Mplayer.exe can play (among other media file formats): .AVI, .MOV, .MMV,
.MPG, .MPEG, .MPE, .MID, .RMI, .WAV, .FLI, .FLC etc.
To have all your media files (at least the ones listed above) associated
with Mplayer, you need to install the required 3rd party codecs/drivers for
each video/audio format not included with MS Video for Windows 32-bit
drivers bundled with the OS (Windows 98/95 Setup installs them by default).
Example: to play .MOV files (Apple QuickTime movies), you need to install
the Apple QuickTime 32-bit drivers/codecs/player (freeware):
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Then open File Manager (FM = WINFILE.EXE, located in your Windows folder),
highlight any .MOV file, click File -> Associate..., scroll down through the
registered file types in the "Associate with..." box till you find something
like "Media Clip (Mplayer.exe)", and then click OK.



FIXED SWAP FILE



Setting a Win98/95 fixed size swap file will drastically reduce the thrashing
(frequent access) your hard disk takes from Win98/95's Dynapage VXD [Virtual
eXtended (protected mode) Driver].
To do this, open My Computer -> Performance -> Virtual Memory Settings, and
disable Virtual Memory.
Restart Win98/95 (make sure you load a minimal setup, or choose "Safe
Mode"), and then Defrag(ment) all your hard disk(s)/partitions. Then restart
again, and reopen My Computer -> Performance -> Virtual Memory Settings, and
set up your swap file by setting the Minimum and Maximum sizes the SAME.
There will be much less waiting around for your hard disk to decide what it
wants to do from now on.
You can also do this by adding or modifying these two lines (i.e. with
Notepad) under the [386enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file (found in your
Windows folder):
MinPagingFileSize=41280
MaxPagingFileSize=41280
Save the file and restart Windows.
In this example Windows 98/95 swap file fixed size is 40 MB (41,280 KB),
recommended on a 16 MB IBM compatible PC. 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 (using
the example above: 40 MB):
40 MB x 1032 = 41280 KB
Also read both "SWAP FILE - Parts 1 & 2" topics in MYTIPS95.TXT (included).
My recommended optimal fixed swap file settings depending on your installed
memory (RAM) amount:

Installed RAM    Swap file size
------------------------------
4 MB        Definitively get more RAM!
8 MB        Get more RAM!
12 MB        40 MB [and get more RAM!]
16 MB        40 MB [and get more RAM!]
32 MB        60 MB [and get more RAM!]
40 MB        80 MB [and get more RAM!]
64 MB        100 MB
80 MB        120 MB
128 MB        160 MB
192 MB        200 MB
256 MB        240 MB
512 MB        240 MB [You lucky dog! :)]
1 GB        240 MB [You're not human! :)]

These are ONLY MY OWN estimates. 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), to have your system run
smoothly.
FYI: See this swap file optimization guide:
http://www.rojakpot.com/Speed_Demonz/Swapfile_Optimization/Swapfile_Optimization_01.htm



ORDERED SHORTCUTS



By default, all Files/Programs/Shortcuts/Folders are in alphabetical order
(with the Folders on top) structured into Win98/95's Start Menu (accessed when
you push the Start button).
You can change this order by renaming your most frequently used Shortcuts:

Default:    Custom:        Or:
------------------------------------------
Clock        1. Clock    A. Clock
Notepad        2. Notepad    B. Notepad
Paint        3. Paint    C. Paint

You can organize them so the most frequently used Files/Shortcuts/Folders are
together at the top of your list, in the Start Menu, or at the bottom,
depending on your preferences.
UPDATE:
"This approach has one more good point: these labels become shortcut keys!"
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).



TROUBLESHOOT PRINTER



If you ever have printer problems, use the Enhanced Printer TroubleShooter
(EPTS) found on your Windows 95 install CD-ROM, in the \OTHER\MISC folder.
The file is called EPTS.EXE, and is similar to the Printer TroubleShooter
found in Windows Help, but with more horsepower. [... And we can all use a
little extra "power". :-)]



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.
3. When you highlight a Desktop icon or a file/item in Explorer, hold SHIFT
and press F10 (same as right-clicking the mouse) to get the Open With...
menu."



EXIT TO DOS



A. To create the "Exit to DOS.pif" (Program Information File) executable:
You will need to shut down Windows and restart in MS-DOS mode, then go back
into Win98/95 in order for the "Exit to DOS.pif" file to be created in your
Windows folder. According to this MicroSoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q138/9/96.asp
to define custom Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files to be processed when you
restart your computer using the "Restart (the computer) in MS-DOS mode" Shut
down... option, follow these steps:
1. Click the Start button -> click Shut Down -> click "Restart (the computer)
in MS-DOS mode" -> click Yes/OK.
2. At the MS-DOS command prompt -> type "EXIT" (without quotation marks) ->
press Enter.
NOTE:    Steps 1-2 are IMPORTANT if you have never used the "Restart (the
    computer) in MS-DOS mode" option before. The "Exit to DOS.pif" file
    is not created until you perform these steps the first time.
3. Start Windows Explorer.
4. Highlight the "Exit to DOS" file in the Windows folder. Right-click on it
-> select Properties.
5. Click the Program tab -> click Advanced -> deselect the "Warn before
entering MS-DOS mode" box.
6. Check the "MS-DOS mode" box -> click the Advanced tab -> check the "Specify
A New MS-DOS Configuration" option.
7. Define the custom Config.sys file in the "Config.sys For MS-DOS Mode" box.
Define the custom Autoexec.bat file in the "Autoexec.bat For MS-DOS Mode" box.
8. Click OK/Apply to close all dialog boxes.
From now on, each time when you'll restart your system using the "Restart (the
computer) in MS-DOS mode" option, your custom Config.sys and Autoexec.bat
files will be processed.
B. To shut down Windows 98/95 to the true/native/real MS-DOS prompt from a
Desktop icon, follow the same steps above, except select the "Use current
MS-DOS configuration" instead of "Specify A New MS-DOS Configuration" at step
#6. Name this new batch file EXIT2DOS.BAT, place it a folder of your choice,
and then create a shortcut to it on the Desktop. Also, you can skip steps 1-2
above when creating EXIT2DOS.BAT.
NOTES:    - Read the "2 DOS OR NOT 2 DOS" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT (included) for
    details on all Windows 98/95 "boot to DOS" options.
    - Read the "General Tips for Using MS-DOS Mode" MSKB article:
    http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q134/4/00.asp
HINT:    This tip is valuable for those who would like to play a VGA/SVGA/3D
    DOS game that won't run from a DOS box/session within the Win9x GUI.
    [Sounds familiar?! :-)]



(AFTER) BOOT CHOICES



The topic below is only valid if you kept the old MS-DOS and Windows/WfWG
versions on your disk, taking advantage of Win98/95's dual-boot feature.
NOTE:    For details on Win98/95/OSR2 dual-boot capabilities, READ the "DUAL
    BOOT" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT (included).
WARNING: BEFORE attempting to boot into a previous MS-DOS version (6.xx) if
     you are using Win95 B/C OSR 2.x or Win98 you MUST READ the "DUAL-BOOT
     IN OSR2/WIN98" topic in OSR2TIPS.TXT (included).
To boot directly to the MS-DOS mode, the MSDOS.SYS file (located in the root
folder of your boot drive, usually C:\) must include these lines under the
[Options] section:

BootMulti=0
BootMenu=0
Logo=0            -> Optional
BootGUI=0
BootMenuDefault=6    -> With Networking/TCP/IP enabled, or:
BootMenuDefault=5    -> Without Networking/TCP/IP enabled

NOTE:    For all MSDOS.SYS parameters/details, read the first topic in
    MYTIPS95.TXT (included): "COMPLETE MSDOS.SYS REFERENCE".
To edit MSDOS.SYS, you'll need to run these DOS commands, from a DOS prompt:

ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\MSDOS.SYS
EDIT C:\MSDOS.SYS
ATTRIB +H +R +S C:\MSDOS.SYS

HINT:    You can use the batch file SYS95.BAT (included) to automate the
    MSDOS.SYS editing/attribute changing.
Save your changes and reboot (change the drive letter if different on your
system).
You can also have different "after-boot" choices to start with: Win98/95,
Win31, or native/true MS-DOS mode. To make this happen, add the following
lines as the last lines into your Autoexec.bat file (located in the root
folder of your boot drive, usually C:\):

CHOICE /N /C123 Boot with: 1=Windows 95; 2=Windows 3.1; 3=MS-DOS Mode
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 SET WIN=C:\WIN95\DOSSTART.BAT
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 SET WIN=C:\WIN31\WIN.COM
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET WIN=C:\WIN95\WIN.COM
%WIN%

You can open Autoexec.bat for editing with Notepad in Windows or with
EDIT.COM in DOS.
You will need to change the directory/folder names where your Windows 98/95
and/or your Windows/WfWG 3.1x reside, if different on your machine.
Save your changes and reboot. From now on, all you have to do is choose a
number to start your favorite Windows version, or to run your favorite
MS-DOS programs/games.
NOTE:    To be able to run Windows/WfWG 3.1x under the Win98 or OSR2 OS, you
    need to disable the 32-bit File Access feature in Windows/WfWG
    3.1x, from: Control Panel -> 386 enhanced icon -> Virtual Memory ->
    uncheck 32-bit File Access box -> Restart Windows/WfWG 3.1x, or
    modify this System.ini line (using Notepad or Sysedit) to read
    32BitDiskAccess=off under the [386enh] section. System.ini is
    located in C:\Windows. Restart Windows/WfWG 3.1x when done.



FIND SHORTCUT



This tip is brought to you by [e-mail]. Many thanks!

"To create a shortcut to the Find function, just highlight the Find folder on
the Start menu, go to File and highlight Save Search. Presto!"



SMART RESTORE



This fancy "backup/restore" tip and included batch file below are brought to
you courtesy of Patricio O. ([e-mail]). Enjoy.

"Installing Win95/98 programs

This is about your "RESTORE AFTER INSTALL" section [from the MYTIPS95.TXT
file]: I thing backing up my complete Windows and System directories is a
little exaggerated thing to do every time I install a new program/game.
It's useful in case of a program that makes the system crash after the
install. However, if you install and try a program for some time, and then you
want to delete it, you should have a backup of the System before every program
installed. Even that wouldn't help you delete the registry entries, .DLL files
and other things concerning ONLY the program you are deleting. I wrote the
batch file below and it helps me know what modifications have been made to my
system after a program is installed. It creates a set of log files which I can
consult when I decide to delete something.
The BATch must be run both BEFORE and AFTER a program/game is installed, using
the Run... item in the Start menu, and typing:
spy xxxxxxx
where xxxxxxx stands for the name of the log file you will obtain (must have a
maximum of 8 characters, case insensitive). It must be the SAME before and
after the installation. Before installing you have to select option 'B', and
after installing you have to select option 'A'.
It is also very useful running it before and after the first time you run
certain shareware programs/games. I know it generates wasteful info, but after
a while you can learn what is useful and what isn't. :)
And it has a BUG: when comparing the Before and After information, it
generates some DOS sharing errors (I don't know the exact English text of the
message because I have the Spanish version of Win95). Pressing (R)etry every
time the error message appears, makes the batch process finalize OK.
I would be very pleased if you make any improvement to the file, especially
adding any file you consider must be compared before and after any
installation. Also, I think the English messages I wrote can be improved.
Although I read a lot in English, especially scientific and computer
articles, this is the very first time I write an English text and I realize
it is not perfect."

BATCH FILE FOLLOWS (copy & paste the batch file contents as SPY.BAT, using
Ctrl+C to Copy and then Ctrl+V to Paste the text into Notepad):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
if "%1"=="" goto Noname
cd\
if not exist \spy\nul md spy
cd spy
if not exist %1.txt goto choic
echo %1.txt already exist
echo D - Delete %1.txt and continue
echo C - Cancel (must run spy with another application name)
choice /c:DC
if errorlevel 2 goto fin
del %1.txt

:choic
echo B - Run spy in 'Before' mode
echo A - Run spy in 'After' mode
choice /c:BA
if errorlevel 2 goto After
if errorlevel 1 goto Before

:Before
if not exist %1\nul goto OK
echo 'Before' information on %1 already exists
echo A - Run spy in 'After' mode
echo O - Overwrite existing information
echo C - Cancel
choice /c:AOC
if errorlevel 3 goto End
if errorlevel 2 goto Over
if errorlevel 1 goto After

:Over
deltree /y %1

:OK
md %1
md %1\Before
cd %1\Before
copy \windows\win.ini
copy \windows\system.ini
copy \windows\control.ini
if exist \autoexec.bat copy \autoexec.bat
if exist \config.sys copy \config.sys
if exist \msdos.sys copy \msdos.sys
dir c:\ /a /o:gen > root.dir
dir c:\windows\ /a /o:gen > windows.dir
dir c:\windows\system\ /a /o:gen > system.dir
regedit /e registry.txt
goto End

:After
if not exist %1\nul goto Noexist
md %1\After
cd %1\After
copy \windows\system.ini
copy \windows\win.ini
copy \windows\control.ini
if exist \autoexec.bat copy \autoexec.bat
if exist \config.sys copy \config.sys
if exist \msdos.sys copy \msdos.sys
dir c:\ /a /o:gen > root.dir
dir c:\windows\ /a /o:gen > windows.dir
dir c:\windows\system\ /a /o:gen > system.dir
regedit /e registry.txt
cd \spy
fc %1\Before\*.* %1\After\*.* > %1.txt
deltree /y %1
goto end

:Noexist
echo Can't find %1 Information
pause
goto end

:Noname
echo Must specify an Application name! Example:
echo spy msoffice
pause

:End
cd\
exit
------End cut & paste here------

MY COMMMENTS:
Patricio is too modest. His English is great. I wish mine was as good as
his. ;)
And SPY.BAT is very good at tracking down most ANY new program/game
installation problems under Win95/98. Thanks a lot Patricio for your
valuable contribution to this delicate matter!

ADD-ON:
If you'd like to compare the changes a program/game has made ONLY to your
Win9x Registry files, follow these steps:
1. Run this command ONLY from native MS-DOS to export the Registry to a REG
(plain text) file (example using C:\ for destination):
REGEDIT /E C:\BEFORE.REG
or from Windows: click the Start button -> select "Run..." -> type Regedit
-> click OK -> click "Registry" from the file menu -> click "Export
Registry file..." -> browse to your desired drive/folder (C:\ used here) ->
type BEFORE.REG in the "File name:" box -> click the "Save" button.
2. Install your program/game.
3. Run this command ONLY from native MS-DOS to export the Registry to a REG
(plain text) file (example using C:\ for destination):
REGEDIT /E C:\AFTER.REG
or from Windows: click the Start button -> select "Run..." -> type Regedit
-> click OK -> click "Registry" from the file menu -> click "Export
Registry file..." -> browse to your desired drive/folder (C:\ used here) ->
type AFTER.REG in the "File name:" box -> click the "Save" button.
4. Run this command from any DOS prompt (example using same path above):
FC C:\BEFORE.REG C:\AFTER.REG > C:\CHANGED.TXT
Then open CHANGED.TXT with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS, and you'll
see EXACTLY what changes have been made to your Win9x Registry by the
"incriminated" program/game.



WIN95 CLONES



These tips appear courtesy of Ed Bernard ([e-mail]). Many thanks
for your clever solutions!

"Multiple Windows 95s on Same Hard Drive

1. I have found that multiple Win95 versions can be installed on same hard
drive. This is useful for restore purposes should an entire hard drive be
lost. The one key file is MSDOS.SYS. Save it in C:\Windows. Backup entire
system! Should you need to restore entire system:
- Install new Windows to a different directory, say C:\W95.
- Install-restore software.
- Restore old system.
- Move old MSDOS.SYS to C:\.
- Reboot under old system.
- Delete new system used for restore.
The above assumes no hardware was changed between backup and restore.

2. Windows 95 will not install on an IOMEGA Zip drive. Nor will a version of
Win95 installed on C: and transferred to Iomega Zip drive run, even if the
Iomega Drive is C:.
Win95 will not install to an extended partition if the primary partition of
the hard disk is unused.
I have made up a version of Win95 on a zip disk with no long file names,
which can be copied to C: and run from there. I have my restored software in
this version. It's not worth making it though, as it takes more time to make
it than to just reinstall as above."



TCP/IP TOOLS



This tip is brought to you by Bengt Swenson
([e-mail]):
http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-12150/
Thanks a bunch!

"Undocumented Programs...

Did you now about these two undocumented programs in Win95?
The first gives you information about TCP/IP and Network configuration.
Run:
WINIPCFG
(found in C:\Windows).
The second is a DOS program that traces your signal over the Internet.
Start a DOS window and run:
TRACERT www.URL.com
Replace the parameter above with a real URL."

UPDATES:
1. WINIPCFG: displays current TCP/IP protocol configuration. Useful for
troubleshooting:
- Adapter Address: These numbers (hexadecimal) show the identification
number of the Network adapter. If you are using a Dial-Up adapter, this
number is of NO use, because it is NOT hardcoded into modems!
- IP Address: The computer's IP address, dynamically assigned or static.
- Subnet Mask: A portion of the IP address for the TCP/IP protocol to
determine whether an IP address is on a local or remote network.
- Default Gateway: The IP address of the host on the local subnet which
provides the physical connection to remote networks.
- DHCP Server: The IP address of the DHCP server. The DHCP server
dynamically assigns an IP address to a computer once connected to the
network. To obtain a new IP address, click the Release and Renew buttons.
- Primary and Secondary WINS Server: The IP address of the Primary and
Secondary WINS servers (if available on the network). The WINS server
translates NetBIOS names (the alphanumeric computer names displayed by the
user interface) to their corresponding IP addresses.
2. WINIPCFG: Read the "How to Use Winipcfg to View TCP/IP Settings" MSKB
article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q141/6/98.asp
3. TRACERT: Read the "ALTERNATE DNS" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT (included).



LOCK IT UP!



*REQUIRED READING* if using UNDELETE.EXE: the "GOOD OL' UNDELETE" topic in
MYTIPS95.TXT (included)!
There is a way to recover deleted files under Windows 9x OS, which works ONLY
in native/true/real MS-DOS mode!
NOTE: This recovery procedure works ONLY on FAT16 drives/partitions!
But you need to have kept your old MS-DOS 6.xx install floppy disks, or to
have kept the old MS-DOS (any version from 6.00 up to 6.22) files on your
hard disk.
UPDATE:
Microsoft Old MS-DOS 6.22 Utilities (includes UNDELETE.EXE) for Windows 9x
Setup floppy release owners:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/LNP192.asp
Direct download [836 KB, free]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/OLDDOS.EXE
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).
If you still have the C:\DOS directory (for those who upgraded from a previous
MS-DOS version to Windows 98/95), look for the UNDELETE.EXE file, also found
on your Win95 retail Setup cd-rom ONLY, NOT Win95 B/C OSR 2.x or Win98, in the
\Other\Oldmsdos folder.
Before properly using it to recover your lost files, there is one more thing
you need to do. In DOS mode [of course :)], run this command line (after you
have exited Windows 98/95 to native MS-DOS, or rebooted to MS-DOS mode, the
equivalent of the "Command prompt only" option from the Windows 98/95 Startup
Menu:
LOCK C:
This internal command built into MS-DOS 7.xx secures the hard drive of your
choice (in this case drive C:), to make it useable by UNDELETE!
You can use multiple drive parameters with the LOCK command (example):
LOCK C: D: E:
Change the drive letter(s) if different in your case.
Now you're ready to get your files back by UNDELETE-ing them.
After recovering your files, run this command to return Windows 98/95 OS to
its normal operation mode, but DO NOT TRY TO RESTART the Win98/95 interface
with the LOCK switch ON:
UNLOCK C:
Of course you also need to be familiar with UNDELETE's command line
parameters, and you also need to know which directories (folders) your lost
files were located into before the "accident".
From the old C:\DOS directory (or from your \Other\Oldmsdos folder on your
Win95 install CD-ROM), run:
HELP UNDELETE
to learn more about this native DOS mode (ONLY) tool, or run:
UNDELETE /?
from any DOS prompt, to display its available switches:

"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."

1 LAST WORD: [or maybe 2... :-)] Stay safe => BACKUP FIRST!



MARK THE BOX



There is a simple method to copy to the Clipboard any text string, or even
graphics for that matter, under the Win95 GUI, when you run a DOS program in
a DOS box/session (windowed, NOT full screen: to switch from a full screen
DOS sesion to a DOS window box, hold down Alt and press Enter). Now you
should have the DOS box status bar visible. The first icon in the upper left
corner is called Mark (represented by a square). Left-click your mouse on it.
Select Edit, click Mark, then left-click and drag to choose a region on your
DOS screen to copy, click Edit and then click Copy (or press Enter), and
voila. Now you can paste the saved Clipboard contents (be it text or
graphics) into a Windows application (MS Paint, WordPad etc).



REMEMBER ME?



This is a common inconsistency in Windows 95:
You may experience the annoying fact that a folder window you've worked in not
long ago, doesn't come up in the same place on your desktop when you open it
again, even if you were keeping the same settings for some time.
The folder window settings include: size, position and sort order.
Win95 is limited to keeping track of only the last 29 open windows (folders).
A workaround is to hold down Ctrl while closing that particular window, which
just might revert to your good ol' window settings. Good luck! :)
UPDATE:
Windows 98 overcomes this limitation, being able to keep track of more open
window settings (99 ?).



BOOT 2 DOS



This is yet another trick for DOS afficionados who would like to boot to
MS-DOS mode instead of going straight to Win95/98's GUI (without modifying
ANY Windows 9x startup/system files). Here it goes:
Open Notepad, or your favorite ASCII/text editor. I for one prefer the
excellent Programmer's File Editor 32-bit for Win9x/NT, freeware:
http://members.aol.com/files4u/pfe101i.zip
Type a space (blank), don't enter any other characters, and save this file as
WIN.BAT in the root directory of your boot drive (default is C:\).
When you reboot into Windows 9x, the OS will "see" the empty WIN.BAT file and
will automatically boot to the native/true MS-DOS mode prompt.
When you're done "playing" in DOS, just type WIN.COM and press Enter to start
the Win9x GUI. It is IMPORTANT to type the WIN.COM file extension for this to
work! Typing only WIN not followed by the .COM extension will automatically
default to WIN.BAT.
UPDATE:
"It just starts WIN.BAT if you are in that folder. Yes, I know that .COM files
are processed first, but the current directory is processed before the %PATH%
by default. To make the %PATH% variable process earlier, one has to add a
semicolon (;) to the end of the PATH line in Autoexec.bat or Config.sys."
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).



WIN31 INSTALL



This trick applies the reversed method of installing a second (older) version
of Windows/WfWG (3.1x) on a Windows 95 machine.
NOTE:    For step by step details on how to install Windows 95 on a MS-DOS
    6.xx + Windows 3.1x system, read the "DUAL BOOT" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT
    (included).
You need to have an old MS-DOS 6.xx (any version starting with 6.00 up to
6.22) bootable floppy disk. It is also prefered to keep your old MS-DOS
install diskettes handy, in case something goes wrong.
You also need your Windows/WfWG 3.1x install floppies.
Fire up your PC and then:
1. Insert the old MS-DOS 6.xx boot disk into your primary floppy drive (A: is
the default bootable floppy drive on most systems).
Exit the Win95 GUI to MS-DOS mode prompt.
Switch to your A: floppy drive, and change the attributes of the IO.SYS file
found on the floppy to read:
ATTRIB -H -R -S +A A:\IO.SYS
Copy IO.SYS from the floppy to the root directory of your boot hard drive
(C:\ is default), renaming it to IO.DOS the same time, using this command:
COPY A:\IO.SYS C:\IO.DOS
2. Repeat the above operations with the floppy COMMAND.COM and MSDOS.SYS
files, and then use COPY again to rename/copy the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
files from your boot floppy to C:\ root:

ATTRIB -H -R -S +A A:\MSDOS.SYS
COPY A:\MSDOS.SYS C:\MSDOS.DOS
ATTRIB -R +A A:\COMMAND.COM
COPY A:\COMMAND.COM C:\COMMAND.DOS
COPY A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT C:\AUTOEXEC.DOS
COPY A:\CONFIG.SYS C:\CONFIG.DOS

3. Copy all drivers/devices/TSRs (and all other important lines) for hardware
devices that you might have on the boot disk (and you want to enable in
MS-DOS mode), such as your DOS mouse driver (example: MOUSE.COM), CD-ROM
driver and Sound Card drivers to a new directory called C:\DRIVERS on your
hard drive. Then edit Config.dos and Autoexec.dos (with Notepad in Windows or
Edit.com in DOS) to modify all the DEVICE (DEVICEHIGH) and LOADHIGH (LH)
lines to point to the new DRIVERS directory on C:\.
4. Now it's time to change the attributes of the C:\MSDOS.SYS file to be able
to edit and modify it (or use the batch file included here, called SYS95.BAT
to ease up this task):
ATTRIB -H -R -S +A C:\MSDOS.SYS
When you're done, edit C:\MSDOS.SYS, the Win95 version (with Notepad in
Windows or Edit.com in DOS) and make sure you have the lines below listed
under the [Options] section:

[Options]
BootGUI=1
BootMulti=1

5. Reboot, and when you see the familiar "Starting Windows 95" message, press
F4 to load your old version of MS-DOS 6.xx. At the DOS command prompt screen,
insert your Windows/WfWG 3.1x Setup floppy disk #1 and type A:\SETUP. Install
the new copy of Windows/WfWG 3.1x to a different directory than Windows 95!
Example: C:\WIN31. From now on, when you press F4, you'll be able to boot
into MS-DOS 6.xx/Win3.1x. To boot normally with Windows 95 OS, just let the
bootup sequence take you to Win95 GUI.
To be able to choose your OS at bootup time for more than a second,
add/modify these lines to C:\MSDOS.SYS (the Win95 version), under the

[Options] section:
[Options]
BootMenu=1
BootMenuDelay=10

to see the Win95 startup scren for 10 seconds (and choose which option to
boot with).
Reboot, and from now on you'll see the Windows 95 Startup Menu displayed on
your screen, so you can choose your favorite OS (you'll have only 7 choices
if you don't have a network or/and a TCP/IP connection enabled):

"Microsoft Windows 95 Startup Menu
==================================
 1. Normal
 2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
 3. Safe mode
 4  Safe mode with network support => This option appears ONLY on networked
                       systems (or/and TCP/IP enabled)
 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]"

The "Normal" option boots to Windows 95, and the "Previous version of MS-DOS"
choice lets you boot into MS-DOS 6.xx (to be able to load your newly
installed Windows/WfWG 3.1x).
Have fun!
HINT:    A similar install method is detailed at:
    http://www.cobb.com/w95/9611/w9596b2.htm
UPDATE:
"Windows 3.1x runs fine under DOS 7.0 (Windows 95 prior to OSR2), and for
OSR2 one needs a patch available at:
http://win95.winware.org/
[Most pages are in German, click on the "English page"!]
It even handles FAT32 drives if not allowed to do 32-bit file access."
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).
NOTE:    The OSR2 dual-boot "BUG" and the respective "FIX" are detailed in the
    "DUAL-BOOT IN OSR2/WIN98" topic in OSR2TIPS.TXT (included).



REMEMBER MY PASSWORD



This tip applies ONLY to those of you setting up Windows 95 to connect to an
ISP, using your PC at home, not connected to another network, and using a
modem connection.
The 2 components needed for this capability are the Dial-Up Adapter and the
TCP/IP Protocol Settings. When only selecting the above 2 components, you
must reenter the password every time you start dialing, and also whenever you
connect to your ISP. To prevent the above from happening and to save time for
a few other things you might need to type in, follow the steps below:
1. Go to the Network settings in Control Panel.
2. Click the Add button, Click on Client, Click on Microsoft, and choose
Client for Microsoft Networks, and after installing the proper drivers from
the Win95 Setup disk(s), go to the Primary Network Logon and select Windows
Logon.
After you reboot your machine, the next time you dial up to your ISP, you
will be given the option to save your password, and also you will not have to
reenter the password a second time.
UPDATE:
If you updated your Windows 95 original (retail) copy to Win95a OSR1 by
installing the Service Pack 1 (SP1) Upgrade, your password cache file (.PWL)
might get corrupted! To FIX this BUG install the Microsoft Password List
Update ONLY for Win95a OSR1 systems:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q165/4/02.asp



SUPPORT INFORMATION [+]



This trick was suggested by Eddie Yan ([e-mail]):
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/9725/

Frequently, computers built by PC vendors (also called OEMs = Original
Equipment Manufacturers) come with custom (OEM) Windows 95 or 98 releases
preinstalled.
You can tell by opening Control Panel -> System -> General tab -> look at the
picture in the lower left corner, usually displaying the vendor's logo and
their company name, internet address, support e-mail and/or phone number in
the lower right corner. You'll also notice a "Support Information..." button
below the text area, which shows company or system details when left-clicked.
I think this looks cool, but it would look even better if my own logo, name
and computer specs would show up instead. :)
Easy, just create/edit OEMINFO.INI (a plain text file located in
C:\Windows\System) with Notepad, and add/modify your own lines under these
sections:

[General]
Manufacturer=Your text here
Model=Your text here

[OEMSpecific]
SubModel=Your text here
SerialNo=Your text here
OEM1=Your text here
OEM2=Your text here

[Support Information]
Line1=Your text here
Line2=Your text here
Line3=Your text here
.
.
.
LineX=Your text here

Make sure you type some text on the "Manufacturer=" and "Model=" lines after
the equal sign (no quotes), even if you decide to leave the others empty,
otherwise the logo (see further below) will NOT be displayed.
OEMINFO.INI supports more than 200 lines [I have no idea of the maximum limit
allowed :)] under the [Support Information] section, each numbered
correspondingly in ascending sequence, up to a maximum of 254 characters per
line after the equal sign. You can even have blank lines, or the lines can be
empty themselves (after the equal sign), and all (even special ASCII)
characters typed after the first equal sign are displayed (even multiple equal
signs).
Exception: the first tab (which normally adds 8 spaces) is displayed as a
single space, but anything following the second tab is not displayed.
To disable/comment/remark a line (make it invisible) type a semicolon (;) in
front of it (just like in any other Windows INI file), and it won't be
displayed anymore.
The "Support Information" button acts like a "mini" text viewer (no editing
allowed within the box though). :) Click it, and you can use the left mouse
button drag to highlight all lines, and then right-click to Copy the entire
text (including the empty lines, if any) to the Clipboard, which you can Paste
into any text editor.
Then create/edit a custom OEMLOGO.BMP (a bitmap logo, also residing in
C:\Windows\System), which must be maximum 180x114 pixels in size [larger
pictures are automatically cropped (downsized) to "fit" the "window", and
smaller ones are displayed with a background surrounding them (mine is
154x114)], and must have 256 colors [RGB encoded, 24-bit color depth (16
million colors) also allowed], in BMP format (uncompressed Windows BitMaP),
you can use MS Paint (the primitive but free painting program bundled with
Windows 95/98), or a better 3rd party utility.
I recommend IrfanView for Windows 9x/NT/2000, the best and fastest freeware
graphics viewer, editor and conversion tool, with support for ALL popular
graphic, icon, cursor, audio and video file formats:
http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9227474/
Note that you need to fill at least 2 of the corners (1 pixel size) of your
OEMLOGO.BMP file with a "blank" color (white), to have it display properly.
The white color is shown as transparent (useful as background if the bitmap
logo is smaller than 180x114).
Alternatively you can use DS OEM Info Editor & Designer [73 KB, freeware]:
http://members.tripod.com/~double_es/oeminfo.htm
to customize both OEMINFO.INI and OEMLOGO.BMP.
When you're done, just left-click your mouse once on an empty spot on your
Desktop background, and then hit F5 to refresh. Now you can open the System
Properties General tab to admire your "handy" work. :)
See the OEM logo/info in "action":
http://members.aol.com/maxspeeed/ver95.gif



SPEEDUP MY DUN! [+]



This tip applies ONLY IF you are using a phone line and an analog modem to
connect to the Internet through the TCP/IP protocol, using PPP (Point to Point
Protocol), established when you subscribed to your ISP/Online Service, using
Windows 98 or 95.
NOTE:    If you are also connected to a Network (peer-to-peer, LAN, WAN etc),
    some of these settings might impair your networking performance.
To access the Internet as fast as your modem will allow it, you need to tweak
some of the settings in your Dial-Up Networking (DUN), Network and Modem
panels:
1. Right-click on your "My computer" icon, click Open, (double)-click the
Dial-Up Networking applet, right-click on the appropriate connection icon
(usually bears your ISP's domain name, i.e. AT&T Worldnet, Prodigy, EarthLink,
MindSpring etc) and select Properties. Click the "Server Types" tab, and under
"Allowed network protocols:" deselect "NetBEUI" and "IPX/SPX". Make sure
"TCP/IP" is the only option checked, unless you're connected to a network. :)
Then uncheck these items in the "Advanced options:" area: "Log on to network",
"Enable software compression", "Require data encription" and "Record a log
file for this connection". If your ISP allows it, check the "Require encrypted
password" box (optional). Click the "TCP/IP Settings..." button.
Enable both "Server assigned IP address" and "Server assigned name server
addresses" check boxes, to let your ISP pick up the DNS addresses
automatically for you, especially useful for ISPs that change them dynamically
every time you log on.
Deselect "Use IP header compression" and check the "Use default gateway on
remote network" box. Click OK until you exit your connection icon completely.
NOTE:    Experiment with the "Enable software compression" option. Enabling it
    might speed up your file transfers over the internet (on my machine
    disabled is faster).
2. Now open the Control Panel Network applet, select "Dial-Up Adapter",
right-click on it, click Properties and select the "Bindings" tab. Select
"TCP/IP" as the ONLY protocol. Click OK until you get back into the Network
main screen. Select "TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter", click Properties, select the
DNS Configuration tab: click "Disable DNS". Select the WINS Configuration tab:
click "Disable WINS Resolution". Click OK until all applets are closed.
Reboot your computer when prompted, pop in your Win98/95 Setup CD-ROM into the
appropriate drive, and answer Yes to reinstalling the networking drivers.
3. Reopen your Dial-Up Networking folder, right-click your connectoid (same as
above), select your modem from the list, click Properties, and browse to
115200 (or the highest number available from the drop down list) in the
"Maximum speed" area. Click the Connection tab and select these options:
- Data bits = 8
- Parity = none
- Stop bits = 1
In the "Call preferences" area check only the "Wait for dial tone before
dialing" box. Click the "Advanced..." button. Select only: "Use error
control", "Use flow control" and "Hardware (RTS/CTS)", and deselect all
others. Select Standard for "Modulation type". Add any extra settings you know
work better with your particular modem (study the manual or go to your modem
vendor's web site for details). I use S11=50 with my "U.S. Robotics 56K Fax
INT PnP", which will speed up the dialing process from 100 milliseconds
(default) to 50 milliseconds (or even lower: i.e. S11=30).
Click OK once. Click the "Port Settings..." button. Drag both sliders all the
way to the right for both "Receive Buffer" and "Transmit Buffer" settings.
Check the "Use FIFO buffers" box. Click OK until you close the Modems applet.
4. Connect to your ISP using the appropriate Dial-Up Networking icon on your
Desktop, usually bearing your ISP's domain name (most common examples are
listed above).
Enjoy the Internet speeed boost!
A MUST: See this Internet Connection Security guide:
http://grc.com/su-rebinding9x.htm



DON'T DROP BACK! [+]



Just because your modem's manufacturer claims the device is Hayes compatible,
don't assume that you will connect at maximum speed all the time. Today's 56
and 33.6 kbps modems automatically fall back to a lower speed if the line
noise is too intense to maintain a faster connection, but sometimes they fall
back too far or too soon.
Search for these values: S11= and S36= in your modem initialization string
(or create them if they are not present). Check your modem's settings against
your manual, and if your modem will accept, change/add these settings to read
S11=50 and S36=7 respectively. This will force your modem to cut the dialing
delay in half (default is S11=100, measured in milliseconds) and to try
connecting at high speeds in two ways before dropping back to a standard
asynchronous connection with automatic speed buffering (default is S36=0).
These strings can be used with ANY Hayes compatible modem.
To change your modem's initialization string in Windows 9x, open Control
Panel -> Modems -> Your modem name -> Properties -> Connection tab ->
Advanced -> Extra settings box.



24 HOUR DISPLAY



Open Control Panel and select the Regional Settings panel. Click on the Time
tab. In the Time Style field, change the style to read H:mm:ss. If you prefer
a leading zero (so that 7:07am is viewed as 07:07), change the style to read
HH:mm:ss.
Changes take effect as soon as you close the applet.



MAXMTU USING POLEDIT



This interesting MTU tip is brought to you by Rob Vonk ([e-mail]).
Many thanks for the good work!

"Here it is. I changed it because if I didn't use the checkbox option, it
set the MaxMTU setting to "" if it was not entered. So now I use the
checkbox option. It will put 576 in the Registry and if not checked it will
delete the key (default Win95 setting).
Poledit.exe is located on your Win95 CD-ROM in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\POLEDIT\
folder.
MAXMTU.ADM command lines:

----------Copy & Paste Below----------
CLASS MACHINE

CATEGORY MTU
 POLICY "0000"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0000
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0001"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0001
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0002"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0002
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0003"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0003
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0004"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0004
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0005"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0005
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0006"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0006
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  END POLICY
 POLICY "0007"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0007
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0008"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0008
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0009"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0009
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT
 END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY "0010"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\Services\Class\Nettrans\0010
  PART "MaxMTU" TEXT
 END PART
  PART "Check for 576 or uncheck for default" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME MaxMTU
    VALUEON "576"
  END PART
  PART "Don't change setting below!" TEXT END PART
  PART Driverdesc EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME DriverDesc
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
END CATEGORY

CATEGORY RWIN
 POLICY "RWIN"
  KEYNAME System\Currentcontrolset\services\Vxd\MSTCP\DefaultRcvWindows
  PART DefaultRcvWindow TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for 2144 = 4 * (576-40)" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME DefaultRcvWindow
    VALUEON "2144"
  END PART
 END POLICY
END CATEGORY

CATEGORY TTL
 POLICY TTL
  KEYNAME system\Currentcontrolset\services\Vxd\MSTCP
  PART "DefaultTTL" TEXT END PART
  PART "Check for value 64  (win95 default value is 32)" CHECKBOX
    VALUENAME DefaultTTL
    VALUEON "64"
  END PART
 END POLICY
END CATEGORY

CATEGORY NETBEUI
 POLICY netbeui
  KEYNAME system\currentcontrolset\services\vxd\netbeui
  PART "ncbs" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME ncbs
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  PART "sessions" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME sessions
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY ncbs
  KEYNAME system\currentcontrolset\services\vxd\netbeui\ndi\params\ncbs
  PART "default" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME default
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  PART "max" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME max
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  PART "min" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME min
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY sessions
  KEYNAME system\currentcontrolset\services\vxd\netbeui\ndi\params\sessions
  PART "default" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME default
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  PART "max" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME max
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  PART "min" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME min
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
END CATEGORY

CATEGORY NWLink
 POLICY maxconnect
  KEYNAME system\currentcontrolset\services\vxd\NWLink\ndi\params\maxconnect
  PART "max" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME max
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  PART "min" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME min
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
 POLICY maxsockets
  KEYNAME system\currentcontrolset\services\vxd\NWLink\ndi\params\maxsockets
  PART "max" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME max
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
  PART "min" EDITTEXT
    VALUENAME min
    MAXLEN 5
  END PART
 END POLICY
END CATEGORY

CLASS USER
CATEGORY "No settings here"
END CATEGORY
----------End of Maxmtu.adm----------

Copy Maxmtu.adm to the Poledit directory.
Open Poledit.
Choose Options, Template.
Choose Open template.
Choose Maxmtu.adm.
Choose Close.
Choose file, open Registry.
Double click on Local computer.
Choose MTU:
Here you'll see: 0000 ... 0010.
Depending on your protocols there are checkmarks before the numbers.
Begin at 0000 and see if the DriverDesc says TCP/IP.
Don't change the DriverDesc!
If it does, you can check the checkmark to change MaxMTU to 576.
Continue with the other numbers that have a checkmark and say TCP/IP.
Choose RWIN:
If there's no checkmark the RWIN setting is default.
Check RWIN and check the default RcvWindow to change it to 2144.
Choose TTL:
If there's no checkmark the TTL setting is default.
Check TTL and check the DefaultTTL to change it to 64.
You can change the Netbeui and nwlink settings too.
Choose File and Save to store the new settings in the Registry."



NO WIN INSTALL



If you are trying to install Win95 from the upgrade disk(s), and you don't
have at least one copy of MS Windows (3.xx or 95/98) already present on
your machine, the installation will be aborted. The SETUP utility checks for
existing copies of Windows and will NOT install Win95 if it doesn't find any!
So if you don't have a full install CD-ROM or a set of floppies handy, you're
back to DOS! Unless you apply this simple trick.
Though for the CD-ROM installation you'll need the DOS mode CD-ROM drivers
loaded in your Config.sys file.
The floppy version of Win95 install disks doesn't need a CD-ROM driver.
How to do it:
1. Create a text file in the root directory of your boot drive (default on
most machines is C:\). Name this text file INST95.TXT. INST95.TXT must
contain 2 lines of text, exactly as they appear below:
[Setup]
ccp=0
2. Save the file.
3. Install Win95 from the DOS command prompt, by running this command:
A:\SETUP C:\INST95.TXT
in case you run SETUP from the upgrade floppy, or:
D:\WIN95\SETUP C:\INST95.TXT
in case you install Win95 from the upgrade CD-ROM (on systems with only one
hard drive). Change the CD-ROM drive letter if different on your system.
4. Windows 95 is now going to install even if you have NO previous copies
of Windows on your machine.



POWERFUL XCOPY(32)



When you run this command at a DOS prompt box/session from inside Win9x:
XCOPY /?
you get this help screen:

"Copies files and directory trees.
XCOPY source [destination] [/A | /M] [/D[:date]] [/P] [/S [/E]] [/W]
            [/C] [/I] [/Q] [/F] [/L] [/H] [/R] [/T] [/U]
            [/K] [/N]
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.
        If no date is given, copies only those files whose
        source time is newer than the destination time.
/P        Prompts you before creating each destination file.
/S        Copies directories and subdirectories except empty ones.
/E        Copies directories and subdirectories, including empty ones.
        Same as /S /E. May be used to modify /T.
/W        Prompts you to press a key before copying.
/C        Continues copying even if errors occur.
/I        If destination does not exist and copying more than one file,
        assumes that destination must be a directory.
/Q        Does not display file names while copying.
/F        Displays full source and destination file names while copying.
/L        Displays files that would be copied.
/H        Copies hidden and system files also.
/R        Overwrites read-only files.
/T        Creates directory structure, but does not copy files. Does not
        include empty directories or subdirectories. /T /E includes
        empty directories and subdirectories.
/U        Updates the files that already exist in destination.
/K        Copies attributes. Normal Xcopy will reset read-only attributes.
/Y        Overwrites existing files without prompting.
/-Y        Prompts you before overwriting existing files.
/N        Copy using the generated short names."

Xcopy.exe and Xcopy32.exe are located in your \Windows\Command directory.
Xcopy (and its counterpart Xcopy32) are the most powerful "COPY/MAKE DIR"
commands Microsoft came up with this side of Windows 95 (a.k.a. MS-DOS 7.xx).
Use XCOPY32 with a well thought combo of parameters to copy files with ANY
attributes (and preserve them) to ANY destination. Very useful indeed since
XCOPY32 preserves the long file names (LFNs) in the DOS environment, but
ONLY when used in a DOS box/session/window, inside Win9x!
This is the COPYCMD command variable line, you can add to your Autoexec.bat
file, to disable the confirmation prompts when using: XCOPY, XCOPY32, COPY
and MOVE (use it with CAUTION!):
SET COPYCMD=/Y
Example of Xcopy/Xcopy32 command used to preserve the LFNs at a Win9x DOS
prompt, that copies ALL subfolders and files from your Windows folder to
another drive/directory:
XCOPY C:\WINDOWS D:\WINBAK /C /E /H /K
WARNINGS:
1. If you use the "XCOPY /Y" parameter (or the "COPYCMD" command variable),
XCOPY will OVERWRITE ALL existing files WITHOUT prompting you first!
2. By using XCOPY/XCOPY32 in real/native MS-DOS mode outside Win9x GUI, you
will not be able to use ALL the parameters listed above, and most importantly
the Long File Names (LFNs) will NOT be preserved, they WILL BE IRREVERSIBLY
LOST!
3. There is a better XCOPY(32) alternative: XXCOPY for Win9x/NT/2000/DOS
(freeware), which adds more command line switches [besides supporting ALL
Microsoft XCOPY(32) parameters], and complete LFNs support in a DOS box
(Win9x/NT/2000 only):
http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy/



"STUPID" TRICKS



The tricks below have been sent by a good friend ([e-mail]), who's
contribution to the improvement of these files is always welcome and greatly
appreciated.
Ojatex catalogs his tips as "stupid", I'd call them rather clever. Up to you
to decide... :)

"My "Stupid" Tips/Tricks:

Here's a little tip/trick I have been using when deleting files from Floppy &
Zip disks {Power Users need not read this}.
As you know when you delete a file from a floppy, it is gone forever - no
safety net {i.e. Recycle Bin}. Same problem occurs with zip disks.
Poof & it's gone!
To get around this problem, I do the following:
1- Create a folder on the C:\ drive called "Disk Garbage".
2- Create a shortcut to "Disk Garbage" and cut/paste it into the
Windows\Sendto folder.
3- Paste another shortcut to "Disk Garbage" on the Desktop [Optional].
Now whenever one wants to delete files from a floppy or zip disk, send them
to Disk Garbage first. Then delete them. This extra step can pay off if you
change your mind & want the files back.
After downloading the Win95 Registry program I found this advice:

"[5-6] Quickly clearing the Recent Documents Menu

The DOCUMENTS cascading menu off of the Start Menu is always filling itself
up, and is usually 20 miles long. Then, if you want to empty it, you have to
play click-click-click with the Start Menu.
Wouldn't it be easier if you had an icon right on the Desktop that did this?
Well, pull up a chair. And listen carefully...
1. Create a batch file with the following line:
ECHO Y | DEL \WINDOWS\RECENT\*.*
2. Save the file in a convenient directory, such as \Windows\Command.
3. Create a shortcut to this batch file right on the Desktop.
4. Right-Click on the shortcut, and choose Properties.
5. Select the Program tab.
6. Under RUN, choose Minimized.
7. Check the CLOSE ON EXIT checkbox underneath the RUN box.
8. Click on OK, and close the dialog.
Now, to empty the Most Recently Used Documents Folder, all you have to do is
double-click on the shortcut you just created.
This is a really cool undocumented feature, try it!"

This works, but I prefer a "two rabbits with the same bullet" solution:
1- Create a Shortcut to the "Recent" sub-folder in Windows.
2- Cut/Past the shortcut onto the Desktop.
This allows one to access the recently used documents or delete them,
whichever you choose.

Here's a time saver when working with several files from different folders,
especially BMPs or GIFs which are going to be conglomerated into one BMP or
GIF [especially animated GIFs]:
1- Create a folder on the C:\ drive called "Holding".
2- Create a Shortcut to "Holding" & put it into the "Sendto" subfolder in
the Windows folder.
3- When you have to gather a bunch of clipart files from several folders to
make a new picture, instead of working on the clipart directly in its native
folder where you have the danger of destroying the original or saving it
with a new name, or having to copy/paste the pictures to Holding, just use
the "send to" Holding.
You can work in the "Holding" folder to make your new graphic.
When working on gifs/jpgs for a web-page, instead of sending the clipart to
"Holding", make a Shortcut to your web-site folder & put it in the "Sendto"
folder. I find gathering all the "raw materials" together in one place
saves a lot of time & the "Sendto" folder is a fast way of gathering them
without endangering the originals."



"HARD" CACHE



Here is another clever trick from [e-mail].
This one is about managing your MS Internet Explorer temporary files located
in IE's cache folders. Enjoy:

"Here's one little MS IE tip/trick I use:

This is in order to harden [i.e. make permanent] the soft files in the
"Temporary Internet Files" folder}. I use MS IE because AOL uses it & it is
faster to open and the resulting cache files are not #'s but the actual file
names. I use the cache files to read web pages.
Now here is my tip/trick:
1- Create a Shortcut to the Temporary Internet Files.
2- Cut/paste shortcut onto Desktop. [Option: rename it to IE Cache for the
sake of brevity.]
3- When you want to harden a cache file, right click on the shortcut & select
"Explore from Here". This will bring up the 4 cache folders. Open these
folders until you find the file[s] you want. Select those files and "Sendto"
the desired location.
4- If you just want to "read" the file, it can be opened from the cache
sub-folder.
Note-This seems a little awkward, but I can't use "Sendto" directly out of the
"Temporary Internet Files" folder nor "read" the files from that location. The
files are readable from the "hidden" cache sub-folders, but not hardened."

Thanks again for your efforts Ojatex. Oh, and please do send some more of your
"stupid" tricks... :-)



FAST GRAPHIC VIEWER



The cheapest and fastest bitmap viewer comes (surprise!) built right into
Win95's interface (GUI = Graphical User Interface). You can view any BMP or
JPG file this way.
To achieve this, right-click on the Desktop, select Properties, and then
click the Background tab.
Now open Explorer and scroll to the folder where your .BMP and/or .JPG
files are stored. Resize the Explorer window to allow the Display Background
dialog box to be visible at the side, and highlight the desired picture with
your left mouse button. Then drag it (left-click) into the Display monitor
area. You'll notice that the .BMP (.JPG) file will appear instantly as a
thumbnail in the Display preview area (and its name shows up on the Wallpaper
list underneath).
HINT:    Make sure to drag one file at a time, otherwise only the first image
    on your list will be displayed.
You have the choice to select the new file as your Desktop background
(wallpaper) by pressing the OK button (or by clicking Apply), or you can
simply Cancel. The Esc key also closes the Display box without saving.
You can also preview your Logo.sys, Logow.sys and/or Logos.sys files, but
you will have to rename them with the .BMP extension.
Have fun!
UPDATE:
"The Logos CAN be used as is for the wallpaper... just click Browse. Doesn't
work with JPGs :-( (but I think it WILL after installing MS IE 4.0x)."
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).
NOTE:    This procedure also works for JPGs if you install MS Plus! Pack for
    Windows 95 (retail product) on top of Win95 retail, or if you use
    OSR2 or Windows 98.



95 UPGRADE INSTALL



This tip comes to you courtesy of The Captain. Thanks a bunch for reminding
me of this Win95 install/upgrade "bug"!

"Windows 95 Upgrade will not allow you to install it unless it detects a
previous version of Windows on the hard drive (such as Windows 3.1x).
If you've already installed Windows 95 Upgrade but for whatever reason your
computer has become unusable and you must reinstall Windows 95 Upgrade, you
can do it without having to reinstall Windows 3.x, even if you have formatted
your hard drive, or used FDISK.
This will save you a lot of time and worry if you've lost your old Windows
3.1 disks or don't want to have to install Windows 3.1 simply to reupgrade.
Method 1 - Boot from a floppy disk and create a folder called C:\WINDOWS by
typing:
MD C:\WINDOWS
and then type:
COPY COMMAND.COM C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM
and press ENTER.
Run SETUP.EXE from your Windows 95 Upgrade Disk 1 or CD-ROM and it will allow
you to install Windows 95 with no further problems.
Method 2 - Boot from a floppy disk containing EDIT.COM and create a folder
called C:\WINDOWS by typing:
MD C:\WINDOWS
and press enter. Then type in:
CD\WINDOWS
and press Enter. Type in:
EDIT WIN.COM
and press Enter. Then press ALT + F and then press X. It will prompt you to
save before exiting. Press Y to save and it will save and exit the EDIT
program and return you to the command prompt. Run SETUP.EXE from your Windows
95 Upgrade Disk 1 or CD-ROM and it will allow you to install Windows 95 with
no further problems.
As long as Windows 95 Upgrade finds a file named WIN.COM in C:\WINDOWS, it
will allow you to install it."

ADD-ON:    You can also install an upgrade release of Windows 95 on a "clean"
    drive (with no other Windows version present), by creating a new
    file, and name it WIN386.EXE (the contents of this file doesn't
    matter). Just run this command from a DOS prompt:
    ECHO whatever... > WIN386.EXE



WARM BOOT



Enjoy this quick trick courtesy of Fernando Luiz Borges
([e-mail]).

"Trick to warm boot

When you see the screen "It's now safe to turn off your computer", press
Ctrl + Esc, wait 5 seconds, and press Enter. On the screen will appear a
prompt in big fonts. Type WIN and press Enter. You're done. Windows will
reboot."



AUTO ARRANGE



You can have all your open folders keep the "Auto Arrange" icons setting
turned on by default. To do this just follow these steps:
1. Open a folder, any folder.
2. Select View from the menu bar and then click Arrange.
3. Arrange the icons the way you want (by Name, Size, Type or Date).
4. Click on View and Arrange again.
5. Select Auto Arrange.
6. Press and hold Ctrl while closing the folder window.
7. The folder should now have Auto Arrange always selected.
Auto Arrange should be the default selection for all existing folders, and
also for all the ones you are going to create from now on.
To line up a folder's icons (again) by Name, Size etc, all you need to do
is click the respective "Arrange by..." icon setting.



RUN FASTER



This interesting Win9x tip was sent by The Captain.

"If you choose Run under the Start Menu, you can click on the down arrow and
select any item that is already used in the list. But if your Run list is
fairly long, there's a faster way. Type the first letter(s) of the item you
want to use, then press the up or down cursor key to select the last entry
that starts with that letter (or letters)."



CD-ROM CODE - Part 1



There is a way to install Windows 95 without knowing the install CD-ROM key
(code), if you are installing Win95 on top of Windows/WfWG 3.1x (or without
having a copy of Win95 on your machine).
Start the normal installation routine: run SETUP from the cd-rom, and when
the EULA (End User License Agreement) screen shows up, do NOT press Agree (or
Accept) yet! Hold Alt and press Tab to switch to your current Windows GUI,
and search for a folder (directory) called WININST4.000 on your boot drive
(usually C:).
In this temporary Win95 installation folder you'll find a file named
SETUPPP.INI. Open it with Notepad and scroll down to the [data] section.
Modify/add the lines below to read (under the [data] header):

[data]
OEMUP=1
ProductType=1

Save the file and close Notepad.
Now hold down Alt and press Tab again to switch back to the EULA nag screen
and click Agree or Accept (depending on which version of Win95 you are trying
to install), or press Enter (click OK) to continue the installation.
Win95 will be installed without asking for your cd-rom code anymore, or
without telling you it can't upgrade an existing copy of Windows found on
your machine.



CD-ROM CODE - Part 2



The trick below appears courtesy of The Captain.
It refers to common Windows 95 (OSR1 and OSR2) and Windows applications
install problems, especially useful in case you lost (misplaced) the cd-rom
code (key).

"Most Microsoft CD-ROM keys are very simple. The first three digits before
the hyphen can be absolutely anything you like. The sum of the remaining
seven digits must be a factor of 7. So you can use: 111-1111111, 222-2222222
etc."

UPDATES:
1. "Windows 95, MS Plus! and MS Office 95 (and others that accept 3.7 keys)
will accept 111-1111111, and MS Office 97 accepts 1112-1111111.
Also, it seems that SUPPORT is available for such numbers. I managed to
install Office 97 Service Release 1 after entering such a code. :-)"
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).
2. "This is the generic OEM key for Win95 (works on all versions I believe):
21995-OEM-0003121-88888
If there needs to be another digit in the 0003121 part, add a zero after the
3."
This update courtesy of [e-mail].



EXPLORE FOLDERS



When you double-click on a folder it opens (by default) showing its contents
in a separate window. To have your folders open in an Explorer view instead,
including their directory structure in the left hand pane, follow these easy
steps:
1. Start Explorer.
2. Select View -> Options -> File Types from the menu.
3. In the Registered File Types window scroll to the Folder item.
4. Highlight Folder and click Edit.
5. Highlight Explore from the Actions list.
6. Click the Set Default button.
"Explore" becomes boldfaced, designating it as the new default Action.
From now on all your folders will open in Explorer view with a double-click.



FRESH REGISTRY



If you are having problems starting Windows 95 on your machine, or believe
that your Registry files are corrupted, you can create a new Win95 Registry
without a total Win95 reinstall. All you have to do is run this command at
the real (native) MS-DOS command line (outside Win95):
SETUP /Pf
from your Win95 install cd-rom D:\WIN95 folder (change the cd-rom drive
letter if different on your machine).
This will create a new Registry from scratch (replacing SYSTEM.DAT and
USER.DAT in your Win95 folder with the new ones).
I suggest you BACKUP your old (working) Registry files before doing this!
NOTE:    See the "95/98/NT SETUP SWITCHES" topic in TIPS95.TXT (included)
    for more undocumented SETUP parameters.



CORRUPTED WIN.COM



Microsoft reported several error messages you may encounter when trying to
start Windows 9x:

"The following file is missing or corrupted: Win.com"
or:
"The following file is missing or corrupted: Win.com Program too big to fit
in memory"
or:
"Cannot find Win.com, unable to continue loading Windows",
and you are returned to the MS-DOS prompt, unable to start Windows. :(

This is attributed to a missing or corrupt WIN.COM, the Windows 9x
executable, found in your Windows folder (C:\Windows by default).
First, check for correct file size:
- Windows 95 retail and 95a OSR1 (upgraded with SP1) WIN.COM should be
22679 bytes;
- Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.0 - 2.5 WIN.COM should be 24503 bytes;
- Windows 98 and 98 SE WIN.COM should be 24791 bytes.
From the same DOS prompt screen replace the existing Win.com with a fresh
copy, by running one of these commands from your:
1. Win95, 95a OSR1 or 95 B/C OSR 2.x Setup cd-rom:
EXTRACT D:\WIN95\WIN95_03.CAB WIN.CNF
2. Win95 Setup floppy:
EXTRACT A:\WIN95_03.CAB WIN.CNF
3. Win98 or 98 SE Setup cd-rom:
EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_25.CAB WIN.CNF
Substitute the cd-rom/floppy drive letters with yours if different.
Now run this command from the folder where WIN.CNF resides:
COPY /Y WIN.CNF C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM
Substitute the Windows 9x folder name with yours if different.
And now you're [finally :)] ready to start Windows by running:
WIN

NOTE:    For more info see the "Creating a New Win.com File When You Cannot
    Start Windows" MSKB article:
    http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q136/6/30.asp



VFAT ERROR FIX!



These fixes are brought to you by:

1. Steve Hartland ([e-mail]):

"Sometimes Win95 can fail to boot with a VFAT error message, this error
either halts the system asking the user to reboot or reboots automatically.
But I have found a solution to this problem:
To replace Msdos.sys with the one from your Win95 repair disk. If this is not
available, use a text editor to create one or repair the existing one.
The critical entries are those found under the [Paths] heading. It needs to
include these valid lines (change WINDOWS with your Win95 folder name if
different):

WINDIR=C:\WINDOWS
WINBOOTDIR=C:\WINDOWS
HOSTWINBOOTDRV=C

If these settings are corrupt or missing, VFAT will fail to load, halting the
system in its tracks!"

NOTE: You can use SYS95.BAT (included) to automate Msdos.sys editing.
UPDATE:
"Looks like it can't find IFSHLP.SYS to load."
[Thank you Yuri Khan ([e-mail])!]

2. Dustin Cook ([e-mail]):

"Another fix for this is to add:

DOS=AUTO

to your CONFIG.SYS file. This causes MS-DOS to load SETVER.EXE, IFSHLP.SYS and
(if not specified) HIMEM.SYS on startup. Without IFSHLP.SYS loading at startup
(which adds support for VFAT, by the way), Windows 9x won't know what to do
with itself. :)"



START BUTTON ON THE MOVE



To move the Start button to another position on the Taskbar, follow these
steps:
1. Hold down the Ctrl key and press Esc. This brings up the Start menu.
2. Press Esc to make the Start menu disappear, but to keep it selected.
3. Press Alt + - + and M in this EXACT order: the Alt key, the Plus [+] key,
the Minus [-] key, the Plus [+] key and then the M key.
4. Press any of your 4 arrow keys: Up, Down, Right or Left.
5. Left-click your mouse anywhere on your Taskbar. Poof! The Start button will
suddenly move there.
In case you'd like to move it back to its original location, just left-click
anywhere on your Taskbar once, or drag/resize the Taskbar. That's it.
NOTE:    This trick might not work on some OSR2/Win98 systems, or/and if you
    installed MS Internet Explorer 4/5.
To make the Start button disappear, follow these steps:
1. Left-click on the Start button twice to highlight it.
2. Win95/OSR2 without MS IE 4/5 installed: press Alt and - in this EXACT
order: the Alt key and then the Minus [-] key.
3. Win95/OSR2 with MS IE 4/5 installed and Win98: press Alt and Space in this
EXACT order: the Alt key and then the Spacebar key.
4. All Win98/95 versions: Select Close to make the Start button go away or to
move it to the right.
NOTE: You'll have to restart Windows to make the Start button reappear.



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.



SUPER DEFRAG



Bengt Swenson ([e-mail]) sent me another cool tip.
Thanks a lot Bengt!

"Super Defrag:

1. Right click on "My Computer".
2. Click properties.
3. Click the Performance tab.
4. Then select virtual memory.
5. Inactivate virtual memory.
6. Click OK. Windows won't like this, but go ahead anyway...
7. Reboot the system.
8. Run "Defrag".
9. Go back to "My Computer" virtual memory and uncheck inactivate Virtual
memory.
10. Put back your own virtual memory settings (Perhaps you have done this in
"System.ini").
11. Reboot the system.
With a little luck, you'll have your "swap-file" in one place on the hard
drive, and perhaps a little more space."

ADD-ON:
To deactivate the Win98/95 swap file (virtual memory), you can also modify
your System.ini, found in your Windows folder. This way Windows won't prompt
you to reboot your computer, all you need to do is restart the GUI: Start ->
Shut down -> Restart -> OK/Yes.
But you have to REBOOT if you do this the "normal" way: open Control Panel
-> System -> Performance -> Virtual Memory... etc.
Open System.ini in Notepad, and look under the [386enh] section for these
(similar) lines (the "drive", "folder", "filename.ext" and "xxxxxx" strings
below display actual values):

PagingDrive=drive:
PagingFile=drive:\folder\filename.ext
MinPagingFileSize=xxxxxx
MaxPagingFileSize=xxxxxx

NOTE:    You might NOT have ALL lines above present on your Win98/95 machine,
    depending on your System's Virtual Memory (swap file) settings!
Remark them ALL by placing a semicolon (;) in front of each line.
Then create this new line under the same [386enh] section:
Paging=off
Now just restart Windows (as described above), NO need to reboot.
Defragment ALL your hard drive(s) as explained in Bengt's tip above.
When you're done, open System.ini again in Notepad, and reenable all your
old lines by erasing the semicolons (;) in front of them, and remark or
delete the new created line (Paging=off).
Restart Windows one more time. Done.
TIP for Win98 users: see the "CLEAN DEFRAG" topic in TIPS98.TXT (included).



MS-DOS PROPERTIES



Yet another cool trick from The Capt'n. Enjoy:

"When you open an MS-DOS Prompt window, you get to Properties without using
the mouse, by using a menu that appears when you select the icon in the upper
left corner of the window. Press Alt-Spacebar to show this menu and then type
P for Properties."

UPDATE:
"This is not specific to the DOS Prompt but applies to any window, except that
most windows don't have a Properties item."
This update courtesy of Yuri Khan ([e-mail]).



ALL DRIVES SEARCH



To search all your available drives for files simultaneously, use the Windows
9x "Find Files or Folders" feature, with a twist.
Type the filename to search for in the "Named" field and then type the drive
letters you want to search into in the "Look in" field, each separated by a
semicolon (;). Example:
C:\;D:\;E:\;F:\... etc.



ACCESS DATE +|-



Michel D. ([e-mail]) reminded me about a little known
Config.sys command, ACCDATE, used by default by Win9x in "Safe mode". Many
thanks!
You can disable ACCDATE on all your hard drives (only in your Config.sys), to
speed up disk access a little, especially in MS-DOS modes.
NOTES:    1. For more details read the "ACCDATE" topic in CONFIG.TXT, a text
    file located in your Windows 9x folder.
    2. Read this MSKB article about ACCDATE problems using Windows 95:
    http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q182/4/65.asp
    3. This web page has more details on ACCDATE:
    http://www3.sympatico.ca/rhwatson/dos7/x-accdate.html
    4. There might be certain programs that require ACCDATE enabled, in
    order to run properly (though I haven't found any yet)!

"Accdate enables/disables the recording of the last access date of a file.
The ACCDATE command can only be invoked from Config.sys.
Syntax:
ACCDATE=drive1+|- [drive2+|-] ...
+ Enables last access date recording
- Disables last access date recording
NOTES:
By default, last access dates are recorded for files on hard drive(s) but not
on floppies.
When Windows 9x starts in Safe Mode, last access date recording is turned off
for all drives.
ACCDATE cannot be used to modify the status of last access date recording
when Windows 9x is running.
I am not sure when ACCDATE would be used by normal mortals. Some utility
programs (eg. Cleansweep) record when files were last accessed to provide a
basis for suggestions of files that should be considered for deletion or
archiving. Whether such programs use ACCDATE in some way, I do not know."



BRING UP THE DESKTOP! [+]



I found two fast ways to bring up the Desktop folder from underneath the
layers of all open windows, without minimizing them:
1. The permanent way: Right-click on an empty spot on the Taskbar. Click on
Properties. Select the Start Menu Programs and click the Add button. Enter
"C:\Windows\Desktop" (no quotes) on the command line. Click Next. Place this
shortcut in your Start Menu folder. Click Next and finally click Finish.
From now on you have access to all your Desktop shortcuts from anywhere, any
time: just click the Start button, and your Desktop folder will show up on
the list.
NOTE:    Change the Win98/95 folder name in this example if different on your
    machine.
2. The temporary way: Click the Start button, select Run, type a dot (.) and
press Enter.



MAP YOUR HOSTS [+]



You can map your machine's IP (Internet Protocol) to any valid hostname by
editing the HOSTS file located in your Win98/95 folder, to save a few seconds
every time your browser tries to access a web site.
The HOSTS file acts like a local DNS (Domain Naming System) server, translating
the domain name into an IP address.
This is the search order of Host Name Resolution over TCP/IP in Windows 9x:
1. HOSTS file
2. DNS Server
3. NetBIOS Cache
4. WINS server
5. Broadcast
6. LMHOSTS file
Example: when your browser tries to contact www.att.com, the HOSTS file changes
the URL accessed by using the servername.hostname.com UNC (Universal Naming
Convention), www.att.com in this example, into an IP numeric address
(135.145.9.134) and decreases the time taken to get there.
Generic HOSTS line:
111.222.333.44 servername.hostname.com # Web Site Name
Everything after the pound sign (#) is a comment.
By default the HOSTS file (no extension) is located in your Win98/95 folder.
Edit it with Notepad, to read the usage guidelines and then add your most
frequently visited web sites IP addresses/host names.
To get the IP address of your favorite server, let's say www.att.com, run PING,
a Networking tool, also found in your Win98/95 folder, from a DOS prompt
box/session, while connected to the Internet:
PING www.att.com
These are the IP numbers you need:
Pinging www.att.com [135.145.9.134] etc...
Copy them on a separate line into your HOSTS file:
135.145.9.134 www.att.com # AT&T Worldnet
Repeat this operation for each web site you like to add.
Restart Windows so the changes can take effect.
NOTES:    1. Do NOT rename this file: it MUST be HOSTS with no extension!
    2. Don't map an IP to a name already in use for Dial-Up Networking
    (DUN), i.e. your ISP's (Internet Service Provider) name!
Some web sites use dynamic IP addresses, meaning the numbers change every time
you try to access their sites. Therefore you might want to PING the same site
more than once, and then add ALL IP numbers found for that site, followed by
its host/web site name (see example above) on separate lines into your HOSTS
file.
Here are a few programs dedicated to manage HOSTS files:
- Net Lightning [NetLite is freeware]:
http://mknight.w1.net/netlightening/contents.shtml
- Legion [freeware]:
http://www.actionplus.com/products/legion/
- CIP:
http://www.radsoft.net/Gallery/CIP/
FYI:
- More info @ MSKB: Q172218:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q172/2/18.asp
and Q219843:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q219/8/43.asp
- Gorilla Design Studio: Using The Hosts File:
http://accs-net.com/hosts/



CHECK DISK



This tip comes to you courtesy of The Captain.
NOTE:    Reboot your Win98/95 machine with the "Safe mode command prompt only"
    option, and then run:
    CHKDSK
    Look at the amount shown as "total bytes memory". Should be EXACTLY
    655,360 !
To learn how to detect boot sector viruses read this MSKB article (applies to
MS-DOS 3.xx - 6.xx and MS Windows 9x):
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q82/9/23.asp

"For "Total Bytes Memory" anything other than "655,360" means a 99% chance of
a virus. You might try this from a "Safe Command Prompt Only".
On some Packard Bell systems it will return "655,264" which is normal and is
a known issue on those systems. It's better to do it from a Safe Command
Prompt Only, because real-mode drivers can cause the number to fluctuate.
If you get a number other than "655,360" from a Safe Command Prompt Only, it
means an almost certain virus infection.
This applies to Windows 3.x, DOS 5/6, Windows 95 (Retail, OSR1, OSR2) and
Windows 98."



INSTALL DOS 6



This tip comes to you courtesy of Marc Pelteret ([e-mail]).

"I used your tips to install DOS 6.22. Here is how I did it:

1. Make a Windows 95 boot disk.
2. Either format C:, or if you have a DOS 6.22 boot disk, do the following:
    a. Rename the Windows 95 COMMAND.COM, MSDOS.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, and
       CONFIG.SYS to *.W95 (or whatever).
    b. Boot with the DOS boot disk.
    c. Go on to the boot disk drive and type:
       SYS C:
3. Install DOS 6.22.
4. Rename the above files to *.DOS.
5. Boot the Windows 95 boot disk.
6. Go on to the boot disk drive and type:
    SYS C:
If followed 2 a-c:
7. Rename the Windows 95 files (*.W95) to their original extensions.
Finished!

Now you can do as you suggest in one of your tips and make the boot menu come
up, so that you can choose your OS."



LOOK MA, NO CD-ROM



This tip appears courtesy of The Capt'n.

"Use Win95 CD files without CD-ROM

On many systems, especially OEM systems, (direct from computer manufacturer,
or purchased at a store like Best Buy, CompUSA, or Circuit City), the computer
will come with this configuration. On the hard drive, a folder named
C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS usually exists on these types of computers. This
folder contains all of the files from the Windows 95 CD-ROM from the
"X:\Win95" folder (where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive). You can reboot
to the Command Prompt Only (press F8 when the system displays "Starting
Windows 95..." on the screen, usually it's option 6, type
CD\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS and press ENTER. You can run SETUP.EXE or OEMSETUP.EXE
depending on what you want to do.
SETUP.EXE will install Windows 95 with Microsoft's default settings for a
standard PC.
OEMSETUP.EXE will install Windows 95 according to the settings your OEM
(Original Equipment Manufacturer) originally used when your system was fresh
from the factory. Of course, either way, you will be able to choose individual
components you want to install. OEMSETUP.EXE usually includes the "Support
Information" button and "Supported and Manufactured by" logo in System
Properties (right-click "My Computer" and choose "Properties" to see this on
your system).

Reinstalling Windows 95 will often fix a problem you might be having with the
system, and this way, it would preserve most of your existing Registry
settings, thus, making it so you didn't have to reinstall most of your
programs and re-optomize any settings you have changed.

You can delete the existing Registry files prior to running SETUP.EXE or
OEMSETUP.EXE, (do this by going to the command prompt, typing "CD\WINDOWS"
then typing "ATTRIB USER.DA* -H -S -R" and "ATTRIB SYSTEM.DA* -H -S -R" and
then "DEL SYSTEM.DA*" and "DEL USER.DA*" - caution - THIS WILL DELETE YOUR
EXISTING REGISTRY! Make sure you backup first. This will install a "fresh"
copy of Win95 onto the hard disk and create a completely new Registry, for
those times that Win95 just won't stop having problems even after reinstalling
it using the first method.

If you have OSR2 you will need to delete or rename C:\WINDOWS\WIN.* (all files
named "WIN" ending with ANY extension, such as WIN.INI, WIN.COM etc).
Otherwise you won't be able to install Win95 OSR2 again because it doesn't
like installing over a previous version of Windows.

If you are unfortunate enough NOT to have a system that has the Win95 setup
cab files in C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS, then don't worry, as long as you have a
CD-ROM drive and a Win95 CD-ROM.

Just follow the same steps, except after going to the command prompt, switch
to your CD-ROM drive and type in "CD\WIN95" and run SETUP.EXE or OEMSETUP.EXE
after following the other instructions."



RESTORE INSTALL FUNCTION



If by accident (or after a "buggy" software installation) the Install
command is disabled when you right-click on Setup Information files (.INF),
you can easily restore it.
Start Explorer, click "View", and select "File Types" (click "Folder Options"
first if you have MS IE4 with the Desktop enhancements enabled). Scroll down
to the "Setup Information" item. Click the "Edit" menu (or double-click on
"Setup Information"), and then select "New". In the "Action" box type:
Install
In the "Application used to perform action" type:
Rundll.exe Setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132
Leave the "DDE" box unchecked. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.
From now on you have the "Install" option available again whenever you
right-click on an .INF file.
To alternatively restore the "Open" and "Print" commands for .INF files,
repeat the steps above, typing in the "Action" box: Edit (for the "Open"
function), and: Print (for the "Print" function). In the "Application used
to perform action" box, you need to type:
Notepad.exe
for "Open", and:
Notepad.exe /p
for "Print".
All other steps are identical.



WINKEY WITHOUT WIN95 KEYBOARD



Another good tip from The Captain. Thanks a bunch!

"Add a Windows Key to your keyboard

If you wish you had a Windows Key on your keyboard but you don't, and you
don't want to shell out money for a new keyboard when your existing one is
perfectly fine, then make one. All you must do to complete the operation is
the Keyboard Remap Kernel Toy and your Right Ctrl or Right Alt key.

You can download the Kernel Toy for keyboard remapping at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95kerneltoy/

Just click the Windows 95 Keyboard Remap link. Download the file to any
location of your choice, then open Keyremap.exe to extract its contents.
Right-click the Keyremap.inf file and select install.

Next, open the Control Panel, open Keyboard properties, and select the Remap
tab. Under Right-hand Side, select the key you want to use--such as Right
Alt--in the left-hand box. In the right-hand box (still under Right-hand
Side), select Windows. Click OK, and you now have a Windows key. To test it
press the key you used once and the start menu pops up."

TIP:    Read the "MS NATURAL KEYBOARD" topic in TIPS95.TXT (included) for a
    list of keyboard shortcuts using the Windows key.



IE HOT KEYS [+]



Microsoft Internet Explorer 3/4/5 useful keyboard shortcut "combos":

- F4 = Open URL Address/History command line menu
- F5 = Reload current web page
- F11 = Toggle between full screen and windowed menu screen
- ESC = Stop loading of current web page
- HOME = Go to top of current web page
- END = Go to bottom of current web page
- Page down or SPACE = Scroll down one screen at a time
- Page up or SHIFT = Scroll up one screen at a time
- ALT + Left Arrow = Back to previous web page
- ALT + Right Arrow = Forward to next web page
- CTRL + B = Open Organize Favorites menu
- CTRL + D = Open Add to Favorites menu for current web page
- CTRL + H = Open History folder
- CTRL + L = Open new web page
- CTRL + N = Open new browser window
- CTRL + O = Open new location
- CTRL + P = Print current web page or highlighted text
- CTRL + R = Reload current web page
- CTRL + S = Save current web page to disk
- CTRL + W = Close active browser window.



QUICK FIX 95



With so many Win95 upgrades/patches/fixes/etc Microsoft "blessed" us with,
that you need to download and install over and over in order to keep your
system in tip-top "shape", no wonder if you get confused trying to keep up to
date, and determine which ones you have already applied, and which ones you
still need.
But Microsoft has made our "computing" lifes a little easier [:-)] by posting
the Windows 95 Update Information Tool [94 KB, free]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/QFECHKUP.EXE
QFE = Quick Fix Engineering (filename QFECHECK.EXE). QFECHECK searches
through the entire Win95 Registry and your Windows and Systems folders, and
then reports its findings. If an updated file is missing, or if a mismatch
occurs between the version stored on the disk and the information in the
Registry, the Update Information Tool lets you know, marking the "culprit"
in red.
QFE can also accurately determine your Windows 95 version and core files
version/build (i.e. Kernel32.dll, User.exe), especially if you upgraded by
installing a patch or fix, so you know exactly which Win95/OSRx release
you're currently using.
QFECHECK.EXE is installed in your Win95 folder.
For more details see the "Windows 95 Update Information Tool" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q145/9/90.asp



98/95/NT SETUP SWITCHES [+]



If you try to install Windows 95/98 from a DOS prompt, SETUP allows several
command line switches, also available to their Windows based counterpart.
Run this command for available parameters (Win95 Setup screen shown below):
SETUP /?

"Setup Options: SETUP [/C] [/IL] [batch] [/T:TMP] [/IM] [/ID] [/IS] [/IQ] [/IN]
/C    Instructs Setup not to load the SmartDrive disk cache.
/IL    Loads the Logitech mouse driver instead of the Microsoft mouse
    driver. Use this option if you have a Logitech Series C mouse.
[batch]    Specifies the name and location of the file that contains
    Setup options.
/T:TMP    Specifies the directory where Setup will copy its temporary
    files. If the directory doesn't exist, it will be created.
    WARNING: Any existing files in this directory will be deleted.
/IM    Skips the memory check.
/ID    Skips the disk-space check.
/IS    Doesn't run ScanDisk.
/IQ    Skips the check for cross-linked files.
/IN    Runs Setup without the Network Setup module.
Note: The /a and /n options are no longer valid. Use NETSETUP.EXE instead."

NEW documented SETUP switches added by Windows 98/98 SE:

/IE    Bypasses Startup Disk Wizard. The %windir%\Command\EBD folder and
    the Emergency Boot Disk (EBD) are not created.
/IH    Skips Registry check.
/IV    Skips billboards display during upgrade Setup from within Windows.

UNDOCUMENTED SETUP SWITCHES:

/ip    Bypasses detection of undocumented plug and play devices.
/ir    Bypasses detection of system CMOS/BIOS and does not update Master
    Boot Record (MBR).
/iw    Bypasses Microsoft EULA licensing screens/dialog boxes.
[EULA = End User License Agreement]
"SETUP /iw" switch courtesy of [e-mail].
/NTLDR    Bypasses existing Operating System detection.
    By default OEM/VAR Win95/NT full releases can be installed ONLY on
    a new PC, without ANY previous OS, but this switch allows SETUP to
    circumvent this "problem".

Also: create a new file in the root directory of your boot drive (size
doesn't matter) and name it NTLDR, with no extension.

/P    Allows usage of additional switches after "/P" to detect/view/log
    eventual errors. Multiple /P switches MUST be separated by a
    semicolon (;). Example:
    /P b;f;g=3;i;p
    Valid values:
    b = enables the "Prompt Before" mode, allowing step-by-step manual
    device detection. Default is disabled.
    f = enables "Clean Registry" mode: creates a NEW Registry from
    scratch before starting hardware detection. Ignored if SETUP runs
    in GUI mode. Default is disabled.

READ the "FRESH REGISTRY" topic (included) for more "SETUP /Pf" details.

    g = 0 - 3 = controls the level of progress bar display. Maximum
    level is 3, showing all detected devices resources. Default is 0.
    i = bypasses detection of plug and play BIOSes/devices not listed
    in MACHINE.INF. Default is disabled.
    j = installs ACPI support. [Windows 98 ONLY!]

HINT: You might need to reconfigure the printer port in your BIOS to make
ACPI work properly on your Win98 system!

    p = enables performance timing logged in DETLOG.TXT. Default is
    disabled.
/N    Runs SETUP without mouse support.
/nm    Bypasses internal processor detection, to allow Win95/98 install on
    systems that do NOT meet Microsoft minimum requirements (i.e. 386,
    486SX etc). Works especially for Windows 98! [Thank you Ojatex
    ([e-mail])!]
/d    Bypasses usage of installed Windows configuration (ignores settings
    in existing SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI etc).

Next 12 Win98/98 SE undocumented SETUP switches courtesy of Melkor
([e-mail]):

/ia    Skips Setup.inf "AfterProvider" section.
/ib    Skips Setup.inf "BeforeProvider" section.
/ic    Win98 boots without 16-bit real mode drivers. If "KeepRMDrivers=1"
    setting absent from the Registry, 16-bit drivers are not run from
    Config.sys or Autoexec.bat.
/if    Performs quick Setup. Uses CacheFindFirst for filenames and speeds
    up DOS Setup. Verify for copied files is off.
/ich    Keeps Scandisk window visible during Setup. Useful if Setup halts
    during Scandisk operation.
/ix    Skips codepage checking. Allows usage of different codepages for
    DOS and Windows.
/iy    Skips language conflicts.
/nr    Skips Registry check.
/S:inffile    Loads custom Setup.inf. Allows unknown drivers to install.
/T:directory    Specifies directory used by temporary setup files.
/nostart    If Setup runs from DOS or Windows/WfWG 3.11 copies only
        needed DLLs. Allows Setup to run on non-working
        Windows/WfWG 3.11 systems.
/domain:DomainName    Automatic notification to NT domain. Win98 asks for
            network notification upon first load. Works only in
            server based networks with NT controlling usernames.
/SrcDir:directory    Creates custom directory for Win98 Setup files.
            New components are installed from this location.
            Correspondent Registry key:
            HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Next 6 Win95/98 undocumented SETUP switches courtesy of The Captain:

/m    Bypasses playing of Setup sounds (.WAV).
/na    Bypasses Windows/MS-DOS program check. Valid values:
    0 = Default.
    1 = Windows programs not checked, MS-DOS programs blocked.
    2 = MS-DOS programs not checked, Windows programs blocked.
    3 = Windows and MS-DOS programs not checked.
/nd    Bypasses MIGRATION.DLL settings and forces Windows 98 to overwrite
    newer files (USE WITH CAUTION!). Files that use .INF file ",,,32"
    flag force Windows 98 SETUP to keep newer versions.
/nf    Bypasses prompt to remove floppy disk from the drive. Used for
    bootable CD-ROMs. Same as:
    1. BOOTCD file present in the cabinet folder.
    2. "BootCD=1" line present in MSBATCH.INF.
/nh    Bypasses running HWINFO.EXE at 0 percent files and RunOnce.
/nx    Bypasses SETUPX version check.

NOTE:    These MSKB articles explain the "official" Win9x SETUP switches:
    1. "Windows 95 Setup Switches":
    http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q128/4/00.asp
    and:
    2. "Description of the Windows 98 Setup Switches":
    http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q186/1/11.asp

Not all these SETUP parameters work with all Windows releases. Try them all
out to see which ones are valid in your case.



98/95 SYSTEM FOLDERS    [UPDATED 7|13|98] [+]



Create a new folder on your Desktop or in the Startup folder with the
following exact name:
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
It should look like the normal Control Panel icon you see when you open My
Computer, not a shortcut! Right-click on the Start button on the Taskbar, and
left-click on Open. Move the new folder you just created to the Start Menu
folder. Close the Start Menu folder.
From now on, when you click on the Start button, you should see the Control
Panel icon.
You can do the same with ALL Win9x System Folders:

Briefcase.{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
Desktop.{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Dial-Up Networking.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Fonts.{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
Inbox.{00020D76-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Network Neighborhood.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Recycle Bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Shortcut.{00021401-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
The Internet.{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}
The Microsoft Network.{00028B00-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Url History Folder.{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}

FUN TIP:
To get the hidden Windows 95 Easter Egg folder on your Desktop,
create a new folder called:
The Microsoft Windows 95 Product Team!.{869DADA0-42A0-1069-A2E7-08002B30309D}

UPDATE: "New MS IE 4/5 + Windows 98 system folders:
ActiveX Cache Folder.{88C6C381-2E85-11D0-94DE-444553540000}
Dial-Up Networking.{A4D92740-67CD-11CF-96F2-00AA00A11DD9}
Internet Cache Folder.{7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}
Internet Mail.{89292102-4755-11CF-9DC2-00AA006C2B84}
Internet News.{89292103-4755-11CF-9DC2-00AA006C2B84}
Microsoft Outlook.{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
My Documents.{450d8fba-ad25-11d0-98a8-0800361b1103}
Scheduled Tasks.{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
Shell Favorite Folder.{1A9BA3A0-143A-11CF-8350-444553540000}
Subscriptions.{F5175861-2688-11D0-9C5E-00AA00A45957}
The Internet.{3DC7A020-0ACD-11CF-A9BB-00AA004AE837}
Url History Folder.{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}
MS IE 4.0x folder:
Internet Explorer.{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}
MS IE 5.0x folder:
Internet Explorer.{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}
It is not recommended to put these shortcuts in the Start menu because of
the long list of files that usually follows. This may/may not work on
Windows 98/NT systems."
This update courtesy of Robert J. Pendell ([e-mail]).



DEFAULT BROWSER



To replace Microsoft Internet Explorer 3/4/5 with Netscape
Navigator/Communicator 4.xx/5.xx:
http://www.netscape.com/download/
as your default web browser, follow the steps below:
1. First EXIT COMPLETELY ALL your Netscape internet browser instances.
2. Right-click on your desktop Internet (Explorer) icon, select Properties,
and click the Programs tab.
3. Uncheck the "Internet Explorer should check to see if it's the default
browser" box.
4. Open the PREFS.JS plain text file with Notepad and change the string:
user_pref("browser.wfe.ignore_def_check", true);
to read:
user_pref("browser.wfe.ignore_def_check", false);
It is set to "true" if you answered "no" to the default browser
confirmation prompt the first time you ran Netscape 4/5.
PREFS.JS is located in the \Program Files\Netscape\Users\Username subfolder
(default Netscape 4/5 installation). \Username has the name of the e-mail
account you typed in when you first installed Navigator/Communicator.
5. Now start Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.xx/5.xx and answer "yes" to
the confirmation prompt asking if you want to select it as default browser.
NOTE:    You may also need to apply the fixes described in these topics:
    "DEFAULT BROWSER - Part 1" and "DEFAULT BROWSER - Part 2" in
    REGISTRY.TXT (included) to make this trick work properly.



CAPTAIN'S QUICK TIPS



Enjoy these three quick tips courtesy of The Captain.

1. "NEW FOLDER VIEW

If your View Options are set to Browse Folders Using a Single Window for Each
Folder, you can open an additional window for the folder by holding CTRL while
you double click.

2. DRAG AND DROP ACTION

Before you "drop" a drag and drop operation, look at the lower left corner of
the icon you're moving. This will tell you what the default action will be: a
plus means copy, an arrow means a shortcut will be made.

3. LIST ALL FILES IN DOS

To find a file in MS-DOS mode, use ATTRIB. Type: ATTRIB FILENAME /S. This
will list the path your file is in. You can use wildcards and redirection.
To find all the jpegs on a PC from MS-DOS mode and to save the result to a
floppy disk type:"
ATTRIB *.JPG /S > A:\JPEGLIST.TXT



BAD MEMORY? [+]



Because of the more aggressive way MS Windows 3.xx, and especially 9x, NT,
2000, ME 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.
See this BIOS/POST bootup error codes/messages list:
http://www.phm.lu/Documentation/Firmwares/BIOS%20Errors.asp
If you got a PC within the last 3 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 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.
This DOS utility also performs a thorough RAM test [6 KB, freeware]:
ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/memutil/nmi.zip

4. A cheap (read "free") and "hands off your PC" troubleshooting method is to
add/modify this line (using Notepad):
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 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,
AMD K6, K6-2 and K7 Athlon 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

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

5. 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://sysopt.earthweb.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", especially if using
Windows 98/NT4/2000/ME, 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).



FIND YOUR ISP'S MTU [+]



This Windows 98/95 Dial-Up Networking (DUN) MTU optimization tip appears
courtesy of Ryan Sutton ([e-mail]). Many thanks!

"MaxMTU - Does your ISP tell you what it is when you log on?

I have discovered that my Internet Provider "tells" me, everytime I log on,
what "their" MaxMTU is, and have discovered that, although it may not be
standard for the entire world net, provides the quickest times for me when
connecting to them.
If your ISP's tech support won't (can't *gasp*) tell you what MTU they use...
To "see" the MTU setting, I perform this once a month, just to make sure my
ISP's MaxMTU hasn't changed.
When I use a Terminal window (instead of PAP) to log onto my ISP, after
choosing the correct menu choice for PPP, I get these three lines...

    Entering PPP mode.
    Your IP address is (my static IP)
    MaxMTU is 1524

As you can see, this tells me what MTU my ISP uses.
I do not know if every ISP has this same feature, but it may help others in
testing to get the fastest speed over a Dial-Up connection.
If you feel this might be useful to your site's visitors, you can add it.
Please feel free to modify it in anyway you wish.
This isn't copyrighted material, just a tip that I thought might help SOME.
Due to the many ways ISPs use login procedures, including only PAP
authentication, it may not work.
I know NETCOM uses instead of just the username at the "Username:" prompt...
something like this (not exactly sure of the middle)...

    Username: protocol,2 letter country code,username

Ie, mine would be...

    Username: ppp,us,rsutton

If YOUR ISP doesn't give you "Shell" access, this procedure WILL NOT work!

* Proper steps for using a Post-Dial Terminal window in Win98/95 DUN.
(There are other ways, this is the most common):

- Double/left-click "My Computer".
- Double/left-click "Dial-Up Networking".
- LEFT click ONCE on the connection icon you wish to monitor.
- RIGHT click ONCE on same icon.
- Choose Properties from the popup menu (shows up after above step).
- Here, a configuration screen will appear, from this screen, click on the
"Configure" button below the "Connect using... (your modem here)" area
towards bottom.
- From next window that pops up for the Modem Properties, there will be an
"Options" tab towards the top, select that tab.
- Select the "Bring up terminal window after dialing" box in the "Connection
control" heading box.
- Click OK twice.
- Either double-click the same icon to dial, or use the software that
normally dials this connection for you.
- After going through your normal connection procedure, and if connected, a
"Black" window will appear.
- A prompt asking for your Username should appear.
- Username: <- type your username, press Enter.
- A prompt asking for your Password should appear.
- Password: <- type your password here. Press Enter.
Most times, NOTHING will be seen when typing it, trust your fingers, watch
them as you type it.
- A menu should appear, from this menu, choose your connection type... ie:

    1. PPP
    2. SLIP
    3. CSLIP

    Choice ? <- Here, I would press 1 and press Enter.

Then I get...

    Entering PPP mode.
    Your IP address is (my static IP)
    MaxMTU is 1524

Voila! My network's (ISP) MTU.
- Press F7 to continue with normal connection if all goes well, OR...
Press the Cancel button, and set your MTU settings using EasyMTU, reboot,
then reverse the procedure to deactivate the terminal window."



NETWORKING TIPS [+]



The following networking tips have been sent by Brian Kemp ([e-mail]).
Many thanks!

"A. If you are setting up an Ethernet network between two or more PCs and find
that you can only "see" your own PC on the network, i.e. in Network
Neighborhood, don't give up.
First:    Make sure that you have the correct protocol installed (as MS nonhelp
    files always mention), I use both NetBEUI and IPX/SPX successfully.
Second:    Check, using a resistance meter, that the terminating resistors are
    of approx 50 ohms resistance, if not, then replace.
Third:    Double-check, using any form of continuity checking device (i.e. an
    ohmmeter), that there are no breaks or shortages in your Ethernet
    cable.

B. On a slightly different note, if you are trying to setup two different
networks on the same PC, don't despair, it can be done using Windows 95.
I have a dual Network running, that comprises 7 PCs: 5 on Ethernet and 3 on
Token Ring (1 PC runs both as a "router", sort of). 2 of the Ethernet PCs are
running Win98, 2 are running Win95, and the last is running Win3.11, while
the Token Ring has 2 Win95 PCs and 1 Win3.11 PC. The PC that is the router is
running Win95a, not Win98 (which I have been informed is pathetic at
networking), with the IPX/SPX protocol installed for the Ethernet adaptor
only, while NetBEUI and TCP/IP are installed for both adaptors.
With this setup the router can see all 7 PCs on the network (which includes
itself), but the Ethernet section can't "see" the Token Ring section and vice
versa."



STAC COMPRESSION [+]



Undocumented!
You must be using a 56 kbps modem to connect to the Internet and Dial-Up
Networking TCP/IP (Point to Point Protocol) in Windows 98/95 for this to work.
Microsoft provides STAC compression for use with analog connections.
This applies to users connected to ISPs that support "STAC for analog",
especially to ISPs using Livingston PM3 units and supporting 56 Kbps access
(but not necessarily valid in all cases).
STAC compression can increase your modem performance.
To enable STAC compression:
1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Modems, and select your modem
from the list. Click Properties -> Connection -> Advanced. Uncheck the
"Compress data" box under "Error control". Click OK until you exit the Control
Panel and restart Windows. Some users may need to disable error control
completely for this to work!
2. Now call your ISP's tech support voice number (usually toll free) and ask
if they support STAC compression. If they do, click the flashing modem lights
icon in the Taskbar, after connecting to the Internet (using Dial-Up
Networking), and then click the Details button. It should display a message
that STAC is currently running. If it's not present, then it is not supported
by your ISP. :(
In this case, reenable modem error compression, by following the steps at
paragraph #1 above, and check the "Use error control" and "Compress data"
boxes, to use your modem's built-in hardware compression (default).



IDENTIFY "NO NAME" CARDS [+]



This useful tip comes to you courtesy of Asrepka ([e-mail]).
Many thanks!

"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 web site:
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:    1. 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.
    2. The standard ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
    Interchange) characters and symbols keyboard code combos are listed in
    MSDOSDRV.TXT (the ANSI.SYS section), a text file located in your
    Windows folder (Windows 98/OSR2/95 users). Similarly, 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.
    3. 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.
UPDATE:
"There is a freeware replacement called Extended Character Map [189 KB]:
http://aritechdev.hypermart.net/ecm.htm
It gives a larger rendering of each character in a particular font and a large
preview of a selected character. It's useful for small screen users, and those
of us who must squint at the Windows version to make out the characters."
This update courtesy of Ojatex ([e-mail]).



NETSCAPE ACTIVEX FOR IE 4/5



Try this kool free Microsoft Internet Explorer 4/5 add-on, courtesy of The
Captain.

"Netscape ActiveX control:
http://home.netscape.com/smartupdate/su_tuneup.html
for MS IE 4.0x/5.0x adds "What's related" feature, better keyword browsing,
and some extra functionality from Netscape 4 to IE. Freeware."



MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE MADE EASY [+]



Windows 98? Windows 95? 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/support/
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 HTM format (for
off-line reading).
This is the Microsoft Software Support WWW server, containing free Windows
95/OSR1/OSR2/98/NT 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://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/

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 98 SE:
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 text file [150 KB].
It lists all Windows 95 - 98 article "Q" numbers and titles (Q100374 -
Q195546) 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 98/95/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... :)



DVD/MPEG HANGUP BUG [+]



This tip appears courtesy of Muhamad Rahim ([e-mail]).

"BUG:

This tip is for those PC users who have an MPEG card and a DVD drive for
watching movies in Windows 98/95.
Sometimes the PC may hang up. May be the DVD (CD) is damaged or dirty, or the
disk format isn't compatible, the thing is the MPEG player cannot return to
the desktop after the movie is over.

SOLUTION:

Just eject the DVD or CD manually and insert a new one (also valid for movie
CDs). You'll be returned to the desktop again by the MPEG player, not to a
blank screen.
If this fails, you'll have to press ALT+TAB once, then press CTRL+ALT+DEL and
ENTER at the blank screen.
ALT+TAB will return the desktop to the active program (MPEG player). And the
CRTL+ALT+DEL and ENTER combination will close the MPEG player. The "buggy"
program should be highlighted in the End Task property box. This procedure
might just get your desktop back.

CAUSE:

MPEG cards take over the monitor from the primary display video card and don't
allow it to return to normal operation."



BAD ALLOCATION UNIT FIX [+]



Here's another kool workaround from a good friend ([e-mail]).

"Here is a quick way to re-enable a program that has a key file residing in
bad sectors. [This happened to an AOL 4.x DLL file on my system.]
1. Copy/Paste the folder which contains the program that isn't working to a
new location. [In this case the AOL folder]
2. The Paste operation will halt with a report that "FILE NAME" can't be
copied.
3. Rename the file residing in the bad sectors.
4. Obtain a fresh copy of the file in the bad sectors from Backup, prior
copies, FTP, the vendor, or a friend.
5. Paste the fresh file into the appropriate location.

This little workaround saves all those AOL Registry Tweaks, favorites, email,
phone numbers, modem setup and re-download/reinstallation of the program."



THE X.DUN FILES [+]



For this tip to work, you need to be subscribed to an Internet Service
Provider (ISP), and connect to the Internet through the Windows 9x built-in
Dial-Up Networking (DUN) tool, using the TCP/IP PPP (Point To Point) protocol.
To avoid accessing your Internet Connection link hidden in your DUN folder, to
log on to your ISP, which usually requires at least 4-5 mouse (double)-clicks,
you can use one of these three methods, to reduce this process to a mere
single (double)-click:
1. Open the DUN folder: right-click on the My Computer icon -> select Open ->
(double)-click on the Dial-Up Networking folder -> highlight your connection
icon (has your ISP's name) -> right-click on it -> select Create shortcut ->
click OK when asked whether to create the shortcut on your Desktop.
This will make a new DUN shortcut (link) with the name "Shortcut to Your
ISP's Name". You can rename it if you want (I hate "Shortcut to..."), or move
it to a different folder (I suggest the Start Menu, for easy access).
You can also change its default icon. Just right-click on it -> click Change
icon -> browse to the icon of your choice, in any of these formats: .DLL,
.EXE, .ICL, .ICO -> click OK twice.
Just (double)-click on it to connect to your ISP.
2. Open the DUN folder: right-click on the My Computer icon -> select Open ->
(double)-click on the Dial-Up Networking folder -> highlight your connection
icon (has your ISP's name) -> left-drag it onto the Desktop or the folder of
your choice.
This will create a new .DUN file (DUN shortcut) with your ISP's name,
containing all your custom TCP/IP settings. It's actually a plain text file,
and can be edited with Notepad to modify your connection preferences.
.DUN files are associated by default with the Dial-Up Networking tool
(Rnaapp.exe, located in C:\Windows\System). Do NOT rename the .DUN file
extension! If you do, you won't be able to use it as DUN shortcut anymore.
The .DUN file acts exactly like the shortcut created at paragraph #1 above:
connects to your ISP when (double)-clicked. You can move the .DUN file to the
folder of your choice, just keep it handy (i.e. in the Start Menu) so you can
run it directly. [Would be redundant and useless to create another shortcut to
it. :)]
The only difference is that a .DUN file does NOT allow changing its default
icon.
3. Create a new Dial-Up Connection shortcut: right-click on an empty spot on
the Desktop -> select New -> Shortcut -> copy this text string in the Command
line box:
C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE RNAUI.DLL,RnaDial Worldnet
Call it whatever you want, and then click Finish to save your shortcut.
In this case I used (AT&T) Worldnet for the connectoid name. You need to
replace it with your actual connectoid name, to match the one you created when
you subscribed to your ISP. And if yours has a long file name (more than one
word, and/or more than 8 characters), type it in between quote marks.
This command line and the one below for Dial-Up Server, are case insensitive.
Modify the path line above to match your Windows 9x folder name if different.
CONCLUSION:
From now on you can run one of these new shortcuts to open the Dial-up
Networking dialog box with a single mouse click, if you are using Windows 98,
or Windows 95/OSR2 with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4/5 installed, and the
single click option enabled for local links.
ADD-ON:
To avoid opening the Dial-Up Server tool hidden deep into your Dial-Up
Networking folder by "mousing" around at least 4-5 times, do this instead:
Create a new Dial-Up Server shortcut: right-click on an empty spot on the
Desktop -> select New -> Shortcut -> copy this text string in the Command line
box:
C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE RNASERV.DLL,CallerAccess
Call it whatever you want, and then click Finish to save your shortcut.
Modify the path line above to match your Windows 9x folder name if different.
From now on you can run this new shortcut directly to open the Dial-up Server
dialog box with a single mouse (double)-click.



SYSTEM LIBRARIES UPDATES [+]



If you are experiencing frequent Invalid Page Faults (IPFs) or Memory Access
Violation error messages like:
"Program.exe caused an invalid page fault in module MSVCRT.DLL at
XXXX:XXXXXXXX."
when trying to open or close 32-bit apps in Windows 9x, like MS Office apps,
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3/4, Netscape Communicator/Navigator 3/4/5,
Microsoft Encarta, AOL 4.0 etc, you may need to update your Microsoft
system libraries (DLLs) to their current versions:
- Msvcrt.dll
- Oleaut32.dll
- Olepro32.dll
- Asycfilt.dll
- Stdole2.tlb
- Mfc42.dll
All these files reside in C:\Windows\System.
Read this MSKB article (and see the related links) for more details:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q197/2/98.asp
To install these OLE Automation, Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) and C
Runtime Libraries Updates on your system:
- Windows 98 retail owners: Install the Microsoft Libraries Updates:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/WURecommended/S_WUFeatured/Libraries/
- All Windows 9x owners: Install Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
MS IE5 upgrades all these libraries during Setup.
- Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2 owners who chose NOT to upgrade to MS IE5 need to
manually download and install the Microsoft MFC Libraries:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wurecommended/s_WUservicepacks/mfclibrary/
UPDATES:
1. If you use any 32-bit Internet application (i.e. web browser), you need to
install the free Microsoft Internet Interoperability APIs (DCOM), which also
update the OLE Automation Libraries for better compatibility:
- Windows 98 owners: download/install DCOM 1.3 for Windows 98:
http://www.microsoft.com/com/dcom/dcom98/dcom1_3.asp
- Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2 owners: download/install DCOM 1.3 for Windows 95:
http://www.microsoft.com/com/dcom/dcom95/dcom1_3.asp
2. If you own Windows 98/98 SE or use ANY Windows applications written in or
using JScript or/and VBScript, like Microsoft or Netscape 32-bit web browsers,
you need to install the free Microsoft Scripting Engines (MSE) v5.5 Updates for
Windows 9x/NT4/2000, which include: VBScript 5.5, JScript 5.5, Windows Script
Components, Windows Script Host 2.0 and Windows Script Runtime 5.1:
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/vbscript/scripting.asp
3. It is also recommended to install the free Microsoft Visual Basic 3.0
(VB3), 4.0 (VB4), 5.0 (VB5) and 6.0 (VB6) Runtime Libraries for Windows
3.xx/9x/NT:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/vbasic/runtime.asp
if using ANY Windows applications written in Visual Basic.
Last update courtesy of The Captain.



REMOVE "SHORTCUT TO" REVISITED [+]



This cool trick was sent by Michael ([e-mail]). Many thanks!

"This is yet another way to get rid of the "Shortcut to" text when you create
a new shortcut:
Create 1 shortcut and then remove the "Shortcut to" text (rename it), then
delete that shortcut. Do this 8 times in a row, and Windows will learn that
you don't like it, and will no longer add the "Shortcut to" string to your
shortcuts.
This works with ALL Windows 9x releases."



DOSWINKEY BUG [+]



This DOSWINKEY bug appears courtesy of Robert J. Pendell ([e-mail]):
http://deathray0.webjump.com/
Thanks a bunch!

"If you have the DOSWINKEY MS Kernel Toy add-on for Windows 95 installed, it
will prevent the Windows key on Win9x keyboards from functioning while the
desktop (not the taskbar or any other app) is the active box or part of the
screen."

DOSWINKY can be downloaded as part of Microsoft Kernel Toys for Windows
95/OSR1/OSR2 [57 KB, free, unsupported]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95kerneltoy/
To read DOSWINKY's guidelines, right-click on DOSWINKY.INF, click "Open
with...", and then select Notepad.
To setup DOSWINKY, right-click on DOSWINKY.INF and select "Install".
NOTE: DO NOT install MS Kernel Toys if using Windows 98/98 SE!



HIDDEN FOLDER [+]



This kool trick comes thanks to Anthony Martin ([e-mail]):
http://move.to/port80/

"My tip is how to make a folder that most versions of Windows 9x have trouble
opening (useful for security purposes though).
When creating a folder, 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 "Folder_"
(without quotes). If you (double)-click that new folder, you'll get an error
message.
An added feature is that DOS is able to access this folder with no trouble.
I've found no version of Windows 95 that can address this type of folder, but
there are versions of Windows 98 that can. I have not tried this with WinNT."
UPDATES:
1. "You can hide a folder or file in Win9x ONLY IF you rename the folder/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 (folder) 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 filename/foldername.
Typing Alt+0255 will display as an underscore ( ) in Windows or a space ( ) in
DOS."
This update courtesy of Robert Pendell ([e-mail]):
http://romworld.findhere.com/
4. "You CAN enable Win9x to "see" hidden folders from: Control Panel ->
(double)-click Accessibility Options -> select Mouse tab -> check the "Mouse
keys" box -> click OK/Apply."
This update courtesy of Shivnarayan Soti ([e-mail]).



REINSTALL WIN9X [+]



If some day your Windows 9x system goes "bonkers", stops working, or you start
getting frequent system errors, you might want to consider reinstalling the
OS. There are several ways you can reinstall Windows 9x:
- install "clean" on a freshly formatted drive/partition,
- reinstall "new" in a different directory/folder,
- reinstall ("refresh") over the old copy, in the same directory/folder.
The first two options above require the user to reinstall ALL apps/programs
from scratch (after installing the OS), because that information is NOT
retained in the newly created Registry.
If you opt for just a "refresh" reinstall (method 3 above), to eventually
solve driver/hardware conflicts, replace corrupted system files, or/and system
configuration errors, then ALL custom settings and app info/entries will be
preserved into the Registry.
This also redetects all hardware devices, and installs the appropriate (i.e.
your vendor provided) drivers, but it will NOT dispose of orphaned/corrupted
files in your C:\Windows and C:\Windows\System folders (presuming you have
used the default directory name for your previous Win9x installation). To
replace older/corrupted files, you need to apply the workarounds detailed
below.
Also, this restore procedure may or MAY NOT succeed, depending on too many
factors, mainly hardware settings changes. Therefore if this "refresh" install
fails, you should be prepared to either do a "clean" install (including
reformatting your drive/partition), or make a FULL SYSTEM BACKUP beforehand,
to be able to restore the OS to its previous working state.
The "full system backup" procedure requires that you have enough room on your
drive/partition for another ENTIRE Win9x copy. If you do, open Explorer, and
copy your Windows folder to another destination (preferably another hard
disk/partition, for a quick restore). If you don't:
1. Pop in a new formatted floppy disk (1.4 MB). Create an Emergency Recovery
Diskette (ERD): Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Startup Disk tab ->
"Create disk..." button, but make sure the DOS mode cd-rom drivers are
included on this floppy, and that the proper entries are present in your
startup files: CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, to enable your cd-rom drive in
DOS. Example:
- Config.sys line:
DEVICE=A:\CDROM.SYS /D:MYCDROM
- Autoexec.bat line:
A:\MSCDEX /D:MYCDROM
2. Backup your VITAL System and Registry files: SYSTEM.DAT, USER.DAT,
SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, CONTROL.INI to a safe location.
3. Delete the following Registry keys (in this EXACT ORDER):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum
4. Now exit Windows to the native MS-DOS mode (described in the "MS-DOS
PROMPT" topic in MYTIPS95.TXT, also included). Once at the plain DOS prompt,
rename these Win9x System directories, by running:
MOVE C:\WINDOWS\INF WINDOWS\INFOLD
MOVE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBOLD
MOVE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32 WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32OLD
5. Reboot using the new bootup floppy, and reinstall Windows 9x into the SAME
folder, answering "No" when prompted to overwrite newer files, or "Yes" for
older files.
6. After the OS install is successfully completed, reinstall ALL available
Upgrades, Patches, Fixes etc for your particular Win9x release (ALL of which
can be downloaded from the Microsoft web site).
7. Restart Windows and check if everything works properly.
8. In case of a buggy installation/system lockup, boot again to the native
MS-DOS prompt, and restore your old system (using same folder names as in the
example above):

DELTREE /Y C:\WINDOWS\INF
DELTREE /Y C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS
DELTREE /Y C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32
MOVE C:\WINDOWS\INFOLD WINDOWS\INF
MOVE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBOLD WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS
MOVE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32OLD WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VMM32
ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DA*
ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\WINDOWS\USER.DA*
DEL C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DA*
DEL C:\WINDOWS\USER.DA*
COPY E:\BACKUPS\SYSTEM.DA* C:\WINDOWS
COPY E:\BACKUPS\USER.DA* C:\WINDOWS
COPY E:\BACKUPS\*.INI C:\WINDOWS

9. Type WIN and press Enter to start your old copy of Windows.
NOTE:    To decrease OS installation time, you can (if your disk space allows)
    copy ALL contents of the \WIN95 (if installing Win95/OSR2) or \WIN98
    (if installing Win98/98 SE) folder on your Setup cd-rom to a new
    directory on your hard disk, you can (re)install, and even recover
    files later from.
UPDATE:
"For many old "ini" type apps, reinstall can often be avoided in case #1 & #2,
if the app is run from a portable drive [or its own folder on C:\ in case #2]
-- just save the "ini" file [and any other miscellaneous files belonging to
that app] in the Windows folder before the reinstall, then replace the "ini"
after reinstall. Sometimes there may be an old dll that gets lost; a good [&
Free] source of these older dlls is the DLL Archives at:
http://solo.abac.com/dllarchive/
Also make sure you have a copy of any older "proprietary" driver that doesn't
have a recent substitute."
This update courtesy of [e-mail].



MULTIPLE FILE SEARCH [+]



This tip appears courtesy of D.J. ([e-mail]). Cool!

"Multiple file extension search in Windows 9x/NT:
1. Open up the Find Files box.
2. Select any drive.
3. Select any file extensions (I used .EXE and .COM here) by typing in:
*.exe;*.com
4. Click Find -> hit Enter."

NOTE:    To select multiple drives to search on, type in something like:
    C:\;D:\;E:\
    in the "Look in" box, and make sure the "Include subfolders" box is
    checked.



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!



SOLVE WIN9X/NT NETWORK CONFLICTS [+]



This is 1 kool tip! Way to go Captain:

"Often, Windows 95 machines that are logged onto a Windows NT based network
must have the Browse Master option disabled or they may conflict with the
Windows NT machine over which of the two will be the Browse Master. In Windows
95, the Browse Master's default setting is "Automatic". To work around this
problem, open Network Properties, select "File and printer sharing for
Microsoft Networks," then click the "Properties" box, select "Browse Master",
select "Disabled" from the menu to the right, and click "OK" twice. You must
reboot for the changes to become effective.
Windows 98/98 SE machines usually do not suffer from this problem, but if they
do, applying same steps may help.

If your Windows 95 and/or Windows 98/98 SE machines have problems seeing one
another on a peer-to-peer network then you should do the following:

1. Ensure that both machines have the same networking protocols installed in
"Network Neighborhood" (renamed "My Network Places" in Windows 2000). Windows
95 and Windows 98 install different protocols by default. I recommend using
Microsoft TCP/IP and Microsoft IPX/SPX compatible protocols.
Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) requires TCP/IP to be installed on all machines
if utilizing the new Internet Connection Sharing [ICS] feature. ICS should
only be installed on one computer if you use it. The IPX/SPX protocol is
required to play most multiplayer network-enabled games. Only install the
protocols you need to reduce traffic on the network and speed it up. Remove
any unnecessary protocols.

2. If using Win98/95 and WinNT Workstation 4.0 on a peer-to-peer network, you
should install TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, and enable NetBIOS over IPX as well. This
will allow Win98/95 and WinNT machines to see one another over the network.

3. Disable the Browse Master in Windows 95 and enable it in Windows 98. Do not
set it to "Automatic" in either. If you have multiple Windows 98 machines then
only one should be the Browse Master. Disable the Browse Master on the other
machines on the network. Keep in mind that the Browse Master machine must be
turned on and connected to the network for any of the other machines to see
one another.

4. If you are using a Windows NT 4.0 Server then you should disable the Browse
Master in all the Windows 95 and Windows 98 machines.
Remember - all machines must have at least one common protocol in order to
communicate over the network. You must share drives, folders, files, and/or
other devices [such as printers etc] in order to see them from any other
networked machine.

5. To grant all Win98/95 machines access to the WinNT Workstation
computer(s), open Windows NT Workstation's User Manager program and simply
add an account for the user, which is identical to their Win9x user name. For
example, my Win98 SE user name is Captain - so on Windows NT Workstation, in
User Manager, I added a user named Captain [caps matter] and assigned Full
Control as the user rights. Now I can easily access the Windows NT
Workstation machine from my Windows 98 SE computer and manipulate files and
folders etc.

6. All computers on the same network should be setup with the IP address of
this range [on the Network card, not the Dial-Up Adapter]:
192.168.8.xxx
Substitute whatever you want for the xxx value, just be sure that no two
machines have the same number listed."



KILL (EXPLORER) OR BE KILLED [+]



Just "another" [:)] tip from Ojatex ([e-mail]). Thanks a lot, good
friend!

"The TraySaver [freeware] program:
http://www.mlin.net/TraySaver.shtml
that you recommended, I have passed on to others who suffer similar suicidal
"explorer.exe" problems.
Most of them have had good results; some thought upgrading to Win98 SE was
going to help, but found "explorer.exe" exhibit the same self-destruct
behaviour.
Here are a couple of instances when TraySaver users should actively kill
"explorer.exe" before the latter does itself in:
1. If left clicking on a Desktop or File Icon brings up the Properties Menu
rather than opening the program/file.
2. If, when left clicking on a Desktop or File Icon, the previous item
selected is not released [i.e. deselected].

How to safely kill the current running instance of "explorer.exe": [Only if
TraySaver is open!]
1. Using Ctrl+Alt+Del, highlight "explorer.exe" and select END TASK.
2. After a new Explorer.exe is created, you may have two instances of
TraySaver running. Use Ctrl+Alt+Del to close one instance and leave one
running.

The 3-finger salute has also been found to be an effective workaround to the
Win98 SE shutdown problems on some systems. To use this shutdown method:
1. Use Ctrl+Alt+Del to END TASK all running programs except explorer.exe.
2. Use Ctrl+Alt+Del and select the ShutDown button with explorer.exe running.
3. Often 1 & 2 above will bring up the "Windows is shuttting down" screen and
proceed to the "It is Safe..." screen.
4. Even if the "It is Safe..." screen does not appear, a hard shutdown can be
performed from the Windows shutdown screen and subsequent bootups will be
successful without the imposition of Scandisk or other problems."

NOTES:    1. See the "GUI UPDATE/RECOVER" topic in TIPS95.TXT (included).
    2. This comprehensive Win95, Win98 and Win98 SE Shutdown
    Troubleshooter is a MUST READ:
    http://www.freespeech.org/Khephra/a/shutdown.htm



CAB EXTRACT [+]



Check out Ben's ([e-mail]) CAB Extract tip. Kool!

"To extract files from your Windows 9x Setup CD-ROM cabinet (.CAB) files,
create a small DOS batch (.BAT) file in Notepad or EDIT.COM, say EXTRACT.BAT,
with this line:
EXTRAC32 /A /L C:\TEMP H:\WIN95\WIN95_02.CAB %1 %2 %3
valid for Windows 95/OSR2, or:
EXTRAC32 /A /L C:\TEMP H:\WIN98\WIN98_21.CAB %1 %2 %3
valid for Windows 98/98 SE.
H is your CD-ROM drive letter (change it if necessary). You could also use
EXTRACT.EXE instead of Extrac32.exe, but if the original files have Long File
Names (LFNs), this information will be lost. :( Place this .BAT file anywhere.
Create a shortcut to it. Then right-click on it -> click Properties -> on the
Shortcut tab, add a space after the command line:
drive:\path\EXTRACT.BAT
Put this shortcut into the folder of your choice, eventually on the Desktop.
Now when you need to restore a corrupted or overwritten Win9x system file or
type of files from the installation CD-ROM, just (double)-click the shortcut
and type in the filename (wildcards are accepted). The extracted files will
go to C:\Temp in this case. Voila."

UPDATE:
"Win98/98 SE users can also extract DLL/DRV/OCX/EXE/VBX/etc files this way:
click Start -> Run -> type SFC (System File Checker) -> click OK.
Type in the file name and extension you want to extract. If you copied the CAB
files to your hard disk, you can extract from there, otherwise point to your
Windows Setup CD-ROM."
[Thank you Silimtao ([e-mail])!]



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, i.e. while manipulating
the Registry with REGEDIT.EXE (example):

@ECHO OFF
MEM /C | FIND /I "vmm32" > NUL
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO OK
ECHO Windows detected!
:OK
EXIT

Save these lines as DETWIN.BAT, or place them in batch files before the lines
that depend on Windows presence/absence to run."

NOTES:    - Both MEM.EXE and FIND.EXE need to reside in a directory on your path
    (default is C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND for Win9x and C:\DOS for Win31) for
    this to work.
    - Windows/WfWG 3.1x users: replace the "vmm32" string above with
    "win386".

2. Another batch technique used to detect if Windows is running (single line):
SET | FIND "winbootdir" | 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 Windows detection to run certain DOS
DOS commands or programs (i.e. temporary directory/file "cleaners" using
DELTREE, DEL etc).

NOTES:    - Windows/WfWG 3.1x users: replace the "winbootdir" string above with
    "windir".
    - This works only on MS-DOS 6.xx or newer systems.



FREE MORE MEMORY [+]



You can get back some of the memory available to Windows 9x, which after
working/playing for a while, decreases, even if you have closed all open
apps/games, and is not the same as right after bootup, before you started your
first program/game.
This is due in part to poor programming skills, because a lot of software does
not release ALL the memory it has used back to the system, and in part to the
Win9x GUI inability of managing memory very well. :(
You can test this "annoyance" by running SysMon, a cool tool included with
Win9x, located in your Windows folder. Start System Monitor right after you
loaded Windows, and before opening any program. Configure it this way: click
Edit -> select Add Item... -> click Memory Manager -> select "Unused physical
memory" -> hit OK. Now remember the number it shows before you start your
first program/game, and then after a while, take a peek at SysMon's chart
again, and compare the current value with the initial one.
The latter will be undoubtedly smaller than the former.
But there is something you can do, you can free some of this memory and return
it to the system, two ways:
1. Run a dedicated tool like RAMBooster (freeware):
http://www.saunalahti.fi/~borg/rambooster/
which monitors, defragments and reclaims a selected unused RAM amount,
returning it to Windows at preset intervals, or upon demand.
2. The other (easier and doesn't eat up ANY CPU cycles or "precious" GDI
resources) option is to create a small text file (in Notepad) with this single
line:
FreeMem = Space(24000000)
Save it as FREEMEM.VBS (Visual Basic Script file) and place it on the Desktop.
The filename is of no importance, but the extension must be kept.
But first you need to make sure your Windows 9x system has the newest version
(5.5) of Microsoft Scripting Engines (MSE):
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/vbscript/scripting.asp
properly installed. MSE 5.5 includes: VBScript 5.5, JScript 5.5, Windows
Script Components, Windows Script Host (WSH) 2.0 and Windows Script Runtime
5.1.
If using Windows 98, 98 SE(U) or MS IE 5.0x, you already have all these system
components installed, but an older version (5.1).
If using Windows 95, OSR1 or OSR2 without MS IE 5.0x, you need to download and
install MSE.
For more WSH info read this MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/1/35.asp
Now whenever you want to regain a little more RAM, especially after long
periods of time, when system memory depletion might start impairing overall
Win9x performance, just (double)-click on FREEMEM.VBS, and your system's
available RAM will increase with the amount specified in parenthesis (see
above), in this case 24 Mb. You can adjust this number to match your needs
(even create more VBS files to free different memory amounts), but try not to
go over 1/2 your installed RAM.
If you do exceed the maximum of (re)usable RAM, you'll get a "Windows
Scripting Host - Script Execution Error" message box, like:
"Category: Microsoft VBScript runtime error
Description: Out of string space: 'Space'"
Make sure to close ALL programs you're done with BEFORE running FREEMEM.VBS.
To execute the VBS file unattended, you could use System Agent (Task
Scheduler) to run it at will (i.e. once an hour), but that would consume extra
CPU cycles and Windows GDI memory resources. :(
Have fun.
UPDATE:
"I've written a C program that uses minimal memory, CPU and system/user/GDI
resources to achieve the same results. Check it out [freeware]:
http://www.jfitz.com/software/RAMpage/
One of RAMPage's big advantages (apart from the fact that it makes RAMBooster
look enormous), is that it will still work (provided it was already started),
when there is absolutely no memory available. The VB script will fail to
start.
The display (Tray icon) is also quite useful when performing general system
tweaks. I've been getting very good reports from users who have tried it."
This update courtesy of John Fitzgibbon ([e-mail]) author of RAMPage.



CUSTOM NETSCAPE THROBBER [+]



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. I prefer:
- MindWorkshop GifIcon for Windows 9x/NT [shareware]:
http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/gifcon.html
- Microsoft GIF Animator for Windows 9x/NT [1 MB, free]:
http://download.microsoft.com/msdownload/gifanimator/gifsetup.exe
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:
- IrfanView [freeware]:
http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9227474/
- Paint Shop Pro [shareware]:
http://www.jasc.com/
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/throb-index.html
- Throbbers Web Ring:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~flintc/throb/
NOTES:    - Customize your Netscape 4.xx settings by editing Prefs.js:
    http://www.jedi.be/netscape/mirror/userprefs.html
    - Read the "CUSTOM IE 4/5 TOOLBAR" topic in REGISTRY.TXT (included) to
    learn how to change your Microsoft Internet Explorer spinning logo.



RENAME START BUTTON [+]



There are two ways of changing your Windows 9x Start button title:

1. The 1st one involves altering the Explorer.exe executable [Thank you
Michael ([e-mail])!]:
"Make a backup of Explorer.exe BEFORE doing this.
Boot into native DOS mode and type:
EDIT /70 C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
Now search for "S t a r t". The spaces there MUST be NUL values NOT spaces!
Replace each instance of that text with the new Start button title you want.
The number of characters typed MUST equal the original string length!
Also make sure the size of your new Explorer.exe file does NOT change!
Exit EDIT.COM and start Windows (type WIN and hit Enter) when done."

2. The 2nd one involves downloading a small program:
Get TClock [freeware]:
http://homepage1.nifty.com/kazubon/tclock/
which besides placing a "funky" colored (highly customizable) calendar/clock in
your Taskbar Tray, can also replace your Start button title AND icon with
whatever name/icon you wish.



DELETE IE 4/5 UNINSTALL [+]



This one comes courtesy of Spud ([e-mail]). Enjoy.

"Delete Internet Explorer 4/5 uninstall folders and files to save about 9 MB
of disk space and a hefty chunk of Registry size:
1. Run Msinfo32.
2. Go to Tools.
3. Click on Internet Explorer Repair Tool.
4. Click on Advanced.
5. Click on Remove previous versions of Internet Explorer.
6. Click on OK.
That's it!"
ADD-ONS:
1. The MS IE 4/5 Repair Tool can also be accessed from: Control Panel ->
Add/Remove Programs -> double-click "Microsoft Internet Explorer (your version
number here)" -> check Repair -> select Advanced -> click "Remove previous
versions of Internet Explorer" -> hit OK.
2. Depending on the MS IE 4/5 built, you can also get rid of all its backup
files/folders, by selecting "Delete the backup information", but this won't
allow you to revert back to a previously installed IE release (if any).
3. To reduce your Registry size after doing this, you may need to manually
compact/shrink it, as described in the "SHRINK THE REGISTRY!" topic in
MYTIPS95.TXT (included).



WININIT BUG [+]



This Win9x BUG surfaced courtesy of Daniel Kawakami ([e-mail]).

"All Microsoft Windows 9x installation packages using WININIT.EXE have a bug
which occurs during the uninstall procedure: the uninstallers don't remove
directories. This happens because they add this line to WININIT.INI (example):

[rename]
NUL=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\~SETUP

instead of (correct entry!):

[rename]
DIRNUL=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\~SETUP

NUL can be used only for deleting files, NOT folders.
WARNING: This deletes the respective folder together with all its files and
subfolders!
You can see this bug in "action" by opening WININIT.BAK (located in
C:\Windows) with Notepad, after the installation is completed, and then
checking if the listed directories are still present. Then you can manually
remove them."
NOTE:    This MSKB article describes how to use Wininit.ini:
    http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q140/5/70.asp



INF UNINSTALL [+]



You too can do this at home thanks to Donovan Hargan ([e-mail]):
http://freefinds.cjb.net/

"I've found a way to delete Registry values using .INF files.
For example UNDOIT.INF:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
; Undo CPUPriority

[version]
signature="$CHICAGO$"

[DefaultInstall]
DelReg=Del_undoit.Reg

[SourceDisksNames]
55="Remove CPUPriority","",1

[SourceDisksFiles]
undoit.INF=55

[DestinationDirs]
undoit.Files.Inf=17

[undoit.Files.Inf]
undoit.INF

[Del_undoit.Reg]
HKLM,%Location%,CPUPriority,,

[Strings]
Location="System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\BIOS"
------End cut & paste here------

removes the CPUPriority entry from this Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\BIOS
You can run an .INF file by right-clicking on it and selecting "Install", or
by using this command line:
rundll.exe setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 C:\undoit.inf
Note that the full path is needed to locate the .INF file."



MULTIMEDIA PREVIEW [+]



This cool trick comes to you courtesy of STN ([e-mail]):
http://stnvidnoye.chat.ru/
and applies to Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2 (ONLY with MS IE 4/5 installed), Windows
98/98 SE and MS Internet Explorer 4/5.

"Highlight the file C:\Windows\Web\Folder.htt in Explorer, disable its hidden
attribute, then open it in Notepad, and scroll to this string:
"var wantMedia = false; // cool, but may hinder media file manipulation"
Change "false" to "true" (no quotes) to turn on preview for all multimedia
files! Save your work, close Notepad, and finally reenable its hidden
attribute."



MEDIA PLAYER2 BUFFER [+]



Enjoy Scott Warner's ([e-mail]) Media Player2 tip.

"I have a 28.8 connection and often have trouble with streaming media.
There is a setting that controls the number of seconds buffered by MPlayer2
[free from MS]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/
Install Mplayer2.exe -> click the Start button -> Settings -> Control Panel ->
Multimedia -> Devices -> Media Control Devices -> Wave Audio Device. This is a
slider that can be moved between 2 and 9 seconds (default is 4). I have
changed mine to 2, which allows for more frequent gaps of much less duration
with difficult (slower) connections."



4 SPEED TIPS [+]



... Appear thanks to Andrew Bourdon ([e-mail]):
http://educ8search.tripod.com/hacking.html

"Speedup Internet logon on next visit:

When you are done using the Internet or office intranet, visit the fastest
server you can find before you disconnect.
Since all operating systems (at least Windows) do not reset their server
queues when you disconnect, they will not logon as fast since they have to
reroute to your ISP's server. This tip is also good for LAN access such as
Cox@home, because the same thing happens, just a lot faster.

Speedup Startup sequence:

1. Unload/delete ALL startup entries from your Registry and Startup folder,
using Startup Control Panel applet [freeware]:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
2. Load them instead using BatchRun [postcardware]:
http://www.outertech.com/english/products/batchrun/batchrun.html
create a script time delay between programs of 5 seconds, and check the "No
load untill previous program is finished" box.
3. Place the script file (.BRS) in C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup or
in C:\Windows\Profiles\Userlogin\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.
4. Restart Windows and watch the fur fly. :)

Speedup program execution:

1. Right-click on the executable you want to access and select "Create
Shortcut".
2. Move the shortcut to your Windows folder.
3. To access the file, all you have to do is go Start -> Run and type in the
program name.
Note: If you want to rename the shortcut, make sure you update the name of the
actual file as well.

Select more than one file/folder in Explorer:

Option 1: While pressing SHIFT, select the first and last files in a row. This
will select all the files in between.
Option 2: While pressing CTRL, select the files you want to open. Unlike the
first option, you can select only the files you want, not an entire range."



IE NOHOME [+]



Enjoy this cool tip courtesy of Bo Andersen ([e-mail]):

"I have found a faster way to start Internet Explorer 4/5. Create a shortcut
with the following switch (quotes are needed):
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -nohome
The "-nohome" parameter is used by IE for opening picfiles like .JPG or .GIF.
It also starts IE without opening the start page (in my case the famous "about
blank").
Note that opening IE like this disables some features until you start browsing
the web."



NO ADS THANK YOU! [+]



This excellent workaround comes thanks to Michael Dankoski ([e-mail]).

"This tip concerns the free programs all over the net which, in exchange for
using them, put ads all over the program, especially screen savers, and
sometimes all over your desktop.
What happens: every time you log on to the Internet, any and all of these
programs immediately begin to search pre-programmed sites for ads. This will
cause your connection to slow down considerably.
Also, within a few months, your entire hard drive(s) will be full of ads,
annoyingly popping up all over the place. This is all done in the background,
so most people, even hackers, have trouble finding out where the slowdown is
coming from.
Some computer bundles (ALL E-Machines do) have at least one of these. They all
create a new directory at C:\Program Files\Timesink. If you expand it, you
will find all sorts of private information about yourself, your preferences,
and probably 300+ ads. Deleting the directory by itself works only until you
log on to the Internet again; then, there it is back, in all its glory, only
this time with 500+ ads.
To cure the problem: run Regedit -> click on "My Computer" -> click "Edit" ->
"Find" -> type in "timesink" (without quotes) -> hit "Find Next". Every time
Regedit finds "timesink", right-click and choose Delete. Hit F3 and delete ALL
instances (there should be about 7) until it says "Finished checking the
Registry". Go back and click on "My Computer" again -> "Edit" -> "Find". This
time choose "tsadbot.exe" (this file is the real culprit: it executes the
stealth command to search the Internet for the most annoying ads it can
find), hit "Find next", and delete all its instances, until you get the
"Finished checking the Registry" message.
Now close Regedit, open Explorer, and go to C:\Program Files\Timesink.
Right-click on Timesink and choose Delete, or drag it to the Recycle bin.
Win 3.1 and 9x sometimes put the reference to the file "tsadbot.exe" in the
Win.ini file under the [windows] section, on the load= or the run= line, so
check there too, and remark this executable with a semicolon (;) in front of
it by placing it on its own line, or delete it altogether.
Reboot your computer, and you will notice an IMMEDIATE improvement upon
startup, ALL of your annoying ads will forever be gone, and your Internet
connection will be at least 5% faster, and downloads about 15%. The only side
effect is that whenever you run again the program which caused the ads to
appear in first place, it may ask you what type of connection you have--go
ahead and tell it something--the problem is gone, it will only ask once
anyway.
Keep these instructions on hand, because there are quite a few "free" (read
"ad-sponsored") programs out there which do this behind your back.
Example: download "Image Carousel II" (freeware) from:
http://www.risoftsystems.com/
and create a simple screen saver, then log on to the web, and you will see
what I mean. Every third picture will be a clickable ad. :("

UPDATES:
1. See Ojatex's Ad MAD page for more adware/spyware fixes:
http://members.aol.com/ojatex/admad.htm
2. "Photocopier v2.01 (free, ad-sponsored) keeps reinstalling Timesink on my
system and into my Registry. After removing it (too bad because it's a useful
utility), Timesink has not come back." [Thank you M.E. Johnson
([e-mail])!]
3. "With Iplay Internet gaming site you get Tsadbot.exe, but after following
the instructions above Iplay no longer works. I found out if finding the
Timesink folder, deleting all the subfolders in the Ads folder, and then
making the Ads folder read only, there are no more ads saved on my computer
and I can still use Iplay.net." [Thank you Roger Perales
([e-mail])!]
4. "In addition to "Timesink" applications there's another annoying type of
AdWare using Cydoor's Ad Loader. The perpetrator is called Cd_load.exe and
is located in C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32 (Windows NT4/2000) or C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
(Windows 95/98). Just do a search on the filename and remove it.
To get rid of its registry entries, find and remove the following:
Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
and delete the "Cydoor" and "Cydoor Services" keys. Then go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
and delete the "Cydoor"="CD_Load.exe" value.
This is the Cydoor home page:
http://www.cydoor.com/
You might want to check out what software uses the Cydoor Technology:
http://www.cydoor.com/Cydoor/Download.htm
BEFORE installing anything 'free'."
[Thank you Casper Friis Pedersen ([e-mail])!]
5. See this ZDNet TSAdBot spyware page for more ad-free solutions:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/solutions/0,8224,2586415,00.html
6. CPR v1.2 for Windows 98/2000 (free adware):
http://www.smartpci.com/
installs these files in C:\Windows\System: Adimage.dll, Amcis2.dll,
Ipccli~1.dll, Tfde.dll, Htmdeng.exe + Msipcsv.exe, and this entry under this
Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
"IPServer"="c:\windows\system\msipcsv.exe"
to run every time Windows starts. They can be removed by completely
uninstalling the program from Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs (deleting
only the Registry value and the files above makes CPR unoperable). Letting
Msipcsv.exe run longer than 10 minutes, drastically reduces system resources!
7. "Here are details on Aureate/Radiate spying/advertising software:
http://home.swipnet.se/~w-17723/spy.html
and these are the Aureate/Radiate members/partners using its software:"
http://www.aureate.com/advertisers/network_members.html
[Thank you Ojatex ([e-mail])!]
8. NetNak, a freeware [actually "adware" :(] internet performance monitoring
tool:
http://www.comsoft.co.nz/products/netnak.htm
uses Aureate/Radiate advertising software, and installs these files in
C:\Windows\System: Advert.dll and Amcis.dll. Uninstalling NetNak should
safely remove the files.
9. Dx21 MS IE Restricted Zones ad-blocking VB Script:
http://www.Dx21.com/TIPS_WINME.HTM
10. Privacy Power!:
http://accs-net.com/smallfish/
11. Ad free Hosts file:
http://www.21stcentury.net/~flan/hosts.html
12. Bust Banner Ads with Proxy Auto Configuration:
http://www.schooner.com/~loverso/no-ads/



MODEM/LAN BUFFER SPEEDUP [+]



... Is brought to you courtesy of Andrew Bourdon ([e-mail]):
http://www.24link.net/ActiveWebMedia/

"Speed up your Windows 9x modem/LAN transfers via buffer increase:

A. Dial-Up modems:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Open the Network applet.
3. Select Properties for Dial-Up Adapter.
4. Click Advanced.
5. Select Yes to "Enable Point to Point IP". Be sure to check with your ISP
first to see if they support this!
6. Select Automatic for "IP Packet Size".
7. Select No for "Record a log file".
8. Select No for "Use IPX header compression".
9. Click "Enhanced mode [32 and 16 bit] NDIS driver".
10. Restart Windows.
11. Watch your modem fly!

B. Cable modems/LAN intranets, specifically using a D-Link 530TX PCI Fast
Ethernet adapter and a standard 1.5 Mbps Cox@home cable modem. Your card may
or may not support these settings, but the chances are low:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Open the Network applet.
3. Select Properties for your Ethernet adapter.
4. Select "Enhanced mode" in the Driver Type tab.
5. Click the Advanced tab.
6. Set Connection Type to "AutoSense", unless you're absolutely sure what
yours is.
7. Set DMA Burst Length to "128 DWORDS". If it works, try 256 next, but do
that only after you've tried 128 first.
8. Set Map Registers to 16 for starters, but you can increase it further if
you want more speed.
9. Set No Cable Indication to "Enabled".
10. Set Receive Threshold to 512 bytes.
11. Set Transmit Buffers to 16.
12. Set Transmit Threshold to 1024 bytes.
13. Restart Windows.
UPDATE:
After a few months of playing around with the settings, I think I've found
the "sweet spot" settings.
In general, higher buffers save data and partially cache data transfers.
However, if the buffers are set too high, too much time will be spent
buffering, thus reducing your download speed:
DMA Burst Length = 256 DWORDS
Map Registers = 16 or 32
Receive Buffers = 16
Receive Threshold = 1024 Bytes
Transmit Buffers = 16
Transmit Treshold = 1024 Bytes
All other settings should remain as they are.
NOTE: While clients should have medium-low buffer values, servers which have
error-correction should have all Ethernet buffers at their lowest values to
increase speed as much as possible, and the send/receive thresholds should be
set to the max."



NETWORK PASSWORD [+]



... Also brought to you thanks to Andrew Bourdon ([e-mail]):
http://www.24link.net/ActiveWebMedia/

"If you are an avid Net user or Sysadmin, you most likely have to deal with
many "asterisked out" login confirmation boxes.
Chances are, you end up entering the password several times, because you can't
see what you're typing. The easy and obvious solution is to type in your
password in the username box, and then cut and paste it into the password
boxes. Then just type in your username and you're set!
Also, if you are setting up a proxy and don't know the username and password
of your ISP login, simply view it with SnadBoy's Revelation (freeware):
http://www.snadboy.com/Revelation.shtml
When you drag the program's cross-hairs over a blocked password, it
automatically displays it in a text box. Then just copy the password to the
other computers in your proxy or LAN system."



FREE PROXY [+]



... Appears courtesy of Andrew Bourdon ([e-mail]):
http://www.educ8search.tripod.com/hacking.html

"Try this if you want to set up a proxy, or are having problems with your
current one.
Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Config\0001\Software\Microsoft\windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
First, set "EnableAutodial" to 1 if you use a dialup proxy service. Next,
double-click "ProxyEnable" and replace the Decimal value of 0 with 1.
Your proxy is now fully enabled!"



BACKUP MBR WITH DEBUG [+]



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

"For those not familiar with DEBUG, here is how to back up your boot hard disk
MBR (Master Boot Record) in case of disaster.
Go to a DOS prompt (real mode or windowed session, doesn't matter).
Type:
DEBUG
From now on hitting the Enter key is understood after each line.
This will place you in debug mode, which has a prompt like a hyphen (-).
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, for
example:
N A:\MBR_C.DAT
*IMPORTANT*: Saving the MBR backup file to the same disk you're backing up for
makes no sense, because that drive becomes inaccessible if its MBR 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.
In the event the MBR (there is one per each physical drive) ever becomes
corrupted, just pop in the diskette with the saved MBR file (good idea to put
DEBUG.EXE on that floppy too).
To restore the saved MBR from the floppy disk, type:
A:
Then:
DEBUG filename
to load DEBUG along with the MBR file.
Then type:
RCX
Then type:
200
to specify the number of bytes.
Lastly type:
WCS:100 2 0 1
to write the MBR to physical disk #1 which contains the C: drive.
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."

NOTES:    - This works only with MS-DOS 6.00 - 6.22 and MS-DOS 7.xx [a.k.a. MS
    Windows 9x].
    - Read "THE WINDOWS 95 MBR REFRESH BUG!" in SECRETS.TXT (included) if
    using Win95 retail or Win95a OSR1 (upgraded with SP1).



LOVE(LY) VIRUS FIX [+]



Two great friends kindly sent in these fixes for the notorious "ILOVEYOU"
e-mail virus and its "lovely" clones:

1. The Captain's FIXes:

"Please read this FAQ I wrote about securing MS Outlook 2000 (against
"ILOVEYOU" and others):
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/ny/413/ol2000.htm

Also, Xteq Systems has released a new add-on plug-in [2.8 KB, free, unzip the
XPL file into your Xsetup\Plugins folder]:
http://members.aol.com/files4u/XQSCRIPT.ZIP
for Xteq X-Setup [2.75 MB, freeware]:
http://www.xteq.com/products/xset/
More Xteq X-Setup plug-ins:
http://members.aol.com/ojatex/plugins/plugins.htm
Essentially this lowers the risk and increases your system security against
potentially dangerous Microsoft Visual Basic (VB) Script files (such as .VBS,
.VBE, .JS, .JSE, .WSH, .WSF), by changing their default action (when these
files are clicked on) to view their contents in Notepad, instead of running
their executable code, which is the default behavior in Microsoft Windows
95/98/NT/2000. And you can still run such script files if you wish:
right-click on the one you want -> select Open.
The plug-in can also be turned off by unchecking its settings in Xteq X-Setup
from: System -> Security -> Script Files.
To uninstall the plug-in: start Xteq X-Setup -> follow the path above ->
highlight Script Files -> right-click on it -> click Delete."

2. Chris' ([e-mail]) FIX:
http://www.onthenet.com.au/~thomo/index.htm

"In the Windows Explorer -> File Association dialog box, move down the list of
"Registered File Types" until you find two entries both titled "VBScript
Script File". Select the first one and click Edit now. In the Actions list
select Edit and then click "Set Default". Now do the same for the second
"VBScript Script File" entry.
From now on each time a VBS or VBE file is executed it will be opened with
Notepad instead of being processed, protecting you from harmful code. To run a
VBS or VBE file, right-click on it and select "Open".
NOTE: Using this tip may have side effects with any software that has its own
VBS files and expects them to execute normally. Maybe Microsoft will release
a patch to fix this?!"

3. UPDATES:
Check out these "ILOVEYOU" anti-virus pages:
- WinMag WatchDog for Win9x/NT/2000:
http://www.winmag.com/fixes/watchdog.htm
- ZDNet - AntiVirus Center:
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/toolkits/antivirus/iloveyou.html
- ILOVEYOU virus fix for Win98:
http://www.hotfiles.com/?00182X
- Cerberus anti-worm tool:
http://www.cerberus-infosec.co.uk/
- WinMag: I Love You--NOT:
http://www.winmag.com/fixes/nolove.htm
- WinMag: Fix Up Outlook Mail Security:
http://www.winmag.com/fixes/mailsec.htm
- LangaList "Love Bug" scripting info:
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-05-11.htm
- AnalogX Script Defender [freeware]:
http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/sdefend.htm



UNDERCLOCK YOUR CPU [+]



Many thanks Devraj Moses ([e-mail]) for your tip!

"Getting Rid of Annoying "This program has performed an illegal operation"
Error Messages

If you suffer from frequent "illegal operation" crashes in ALL versions of
Windows 32-bit (Win9x, NT, 2000, ME), the best solution is to UNDERCLOCK your
CPU. It works wonders for me, and after underclocking my CPU, I have had less
than 5 errors in 6 months (before doing this I was having at least 2 or 3
crashes daily).
Talk about stability! This is because Windows pushes the CPU maximum safe
speed beyond its limits, and this causes CPU OVERHEATING and implicitly
errors. For example, my Pentium 200 MHz measured at 204 MHz under Windows
(using AMI Diagnostics). So I underclocked my CPU to 166 MHz, and the result
is a cooler and more stable CPU, and a much more stable Windows environment.
To underclock your CPU, you should open your computer case and locate the
Clock Multiplier jumper group on the motherboard, and decrease the clock
multiplier (by changing the jumper positions - consult your motherboard manual
for details, or just experiment by changing the jumpers, and turning on your
computer and observing the clock speed). Change the multiplier so the CPU
speed is LESS THAN the standard speed (i.e. 166 for a 200 MHz, or 200 for a
233 MHz). Note that you do not have to change the bus speed. This manual
setting may not be available on some motherboards. In such cases you may have
to set the CPU speed directly from the BIOS (usually under Chipset Settings).
After setting it to the required amount, reboot. Note that OVERCLOCKING your
CPU WILL cause a proliferation of such "illegal operations", particularly if
you have a CPU slower than 350 MHz."

ADD-ON:
Abit motherboard owners can do this by trying different values for the "CPU
Operating Speed" setting in the "CPU Soft Menu II/III" menu. Note that
begining with the Pentium II 350 MHz Intel clock-locked ALL CPUs, rendering
this workaround impossible without modifying the FSB (Front Side Bus)
speed. :(

UPDATE:
"I've been a (real) engineer (electronics, computers, aerospace) for many
years and the problem in this tipster's case is his lack of adequate CPU heat
sinking/cooling.
Underclocking the CPU simply runs the chip slower, and hence, it runs much
cooler. I can explain the physics behind this phenomenon, but simply put, the
faster you run the chip, the hotter it gets.
The chips are designed (in general) to run at their rated speed (and maybe a
little faster, see my next comment). However, to do so, you must keep the chip
cool by clamping on a heatsink large enough to do the job - preferably without
the use of a separate cooling fan. If the cooling fan fails, and it does so
with great regularity, the heatsink alone must be up to the task of
dissipating the heat generated by the chip.
It is/was common practice to overclock Celeron chips etc, to get more speed.
The penalty is more heat. The simplest solution is a "massive" heatsink to
keep it cool. It's also possible to use more esoteric devices like the
thermocouple (Peltier) junctions etc.
Most of the heatsinks one finds at dealers and computer shows are, frankly,
way too small. You should get the biggest, thickest (thickness is important)
block of aluminum you can find to clamp on top of the chip. This presumes
you're building your own computer.
I realize everybody doesn't have the facilities, but I custom make my own
heatsinks if required. The fan on top of the heatsink is a "bonus". The reason
manufacturers use fans is to get away with using a smaller heatsink. The fan
literally moves more air over the heatsink, allowing it to dissipate more heat
than it's small size would normally allow.
Additionally, one needs to CLEAN the TOP of the CPU and bottom of the heatsink
and then apply a thin even coat of silicone grease to the top of the CPU
before clamping down the heatsink. The grease aids in transfering heat between
the CPU and aluminum. I use a little 409/Fantastic and when it's dry, I clean
it again with alcohol. Clean only the top, don't touch the pins/edge
connector. This removes debris and any residue of skin oil from persons who
may have touched the CPU.
So, if the tipster were to:
1. get a larger heatsink, or
2. possibly change the cable routing (Moving them out of the way from the CPU
can make a big difference), or
3. vacuum out the power supply fan and front air inlet (to the computer case
itself), or
4. move the case around on the desktop/floor/etc so it can get a better air
intake/flow,
his original problem would probably go away. I've worked on literally 100s of
different systems and never seen this problem when everything inside the case
was cooled adequately."
[Thank you Bill Pileggi ([e-mail])!]



TOGGLE FILE VIEW [+]



... Brought to you courtesy of G.C. Levy ([e-mail]).

"I prefer to work most of the time with no file extensions displayed in
Explorer, because this makes renaming files much easier.
But there are occasions when you want to change the extension itself.
I was tired of having to get through the Folder Options settings (too many
clicks), so I have written a VBS script that does all with (nearly) a single
click. Moreover it also affects the visibility of Hidden and System files, so
basically it allows toggling between "Normal" and "Advanced" (full) file
visibility.
Here is how: first create a text file using Notepad by copying & pasting these
lines:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
' Simple VBS file that allows toggling between two Explorer states:
' [1] Full visibility of Hidden and System files, as well as file extensions,
'     obtained by setting in the Registry: HideFileExt=1 and Hidden=0.
' [0] No visibility of Hidden and System files, neither file extensions,
'     obtained by setting in the Registry: HideFileExt=0 and Hidden=1.
' You will get this message: "File Visibility becoming... 1 or 0".
'
Dim WSHShell
Set WSHShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Dim oldhide, newhide, msg
Const hk1 = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\HideFileExt"
Const hk2 = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Hidden"
oldhide = WSHShell.RegRead(hk1)
newhide = 1- oldhide
msg = "File Visibility becoming " & oldhide
WSHShell.Popup msg
WSHShell.RegWrite hk1, newhide, "REG_DWORD"
WSHShell.RegWrite hk2, oldhide, "REG_DWORD"
------End cut & paste here------

Name the text file ToggleFileView.VBS. The file name is of no importance, but
the extension must be kept.
You need to make sure your Windows 9x system has Microsoft Scripting Engines
(MSE) newest version (5.5 is current as of this writing) installed:
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/vbscript/scripting.asp
Finally, move the VBS file in a known folder (i.e. C:\Programs\MyScripts), and
then create a link to it in the Start Menu. Done.
Note that you usually need to update the screen (with a right mouse click) to
see the script effect."



NO NETSCAPE AOL AIM [+]



After Netscape Communications was bought by America Online Inc., begining with
version 4.0, both Netscape Communicator and Navigator browser releases have
included AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) as a mandatory component, and normally
there is NO option to remove AIM, even if choosing "Custom" installation,
because the "AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)" check box is NOT available. :(
However it is possible to do this while installing ANY 4.xx Netscape browser
release:
http://www.netscape.com/download/
on all Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME systems (WinNT/2000 users may need to log on as
Administrator for this to work).
First you need to empty your TEMPorary folder (default is C:\Windows\Temp) of
ALL its files and subdirectories, by running these commands from a DOS prompt:
DELTREE /Y C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
MD C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
If this folder contains any protected (read-only, hidden, system)
files/subfolders, you may need to delete them manually: start Explorer or File
Manager -> browse to C:\Windows\Temp -> delete all subfolders and files found
there.
Now run the Communicator Setup executable and stop at the first screen.
Hit Alt + Tab to switch to Explorer or File Manager. Go to C:\Windows\Temp and
find the AIM.INI (installs AIM) and AOD.INI (installs AIM on Desktop) text
files, usually both located in the C:\Windows\Temp and
C:\Windows\Temp\~~~~~~~~.ns folders. Open all these 4 files in Notepad, and
change the line:
Invisible=YES
to read:
Invisible=NO
Deleting this line entirely has the same effect.
Save your work, create a new folder (i.e. C:\NCSetup), and then copy there all
files from C:\Windows\Temp and all its subfolders.
Cancel the current installation, and then run Setup.exe from the new directory
containing the modified files. By selecting "Custom" you'll notice that both
"AIM" and "AOD" check boxes are now "alive". Uncheck them and proceed with the
installation. Done. :)



NO NETSCAPE EMAIL ADS [+]



... Courtesy of Casey Heft ([e-mail]).

"To get rid of annoying advertisements in your Netscape Communicator/Navigator
4.xx/5.xx/6.xx e-mail window do this: click Start -> Find -> type prefs.js.
This file usually resides in the
C:\Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Users\UserName folder (default
installation).
Close all Netscape windows, open Prefs.js with Notepad, and paste this as a
new line:
user_pref("mailnews.start_page.enabled",false);
Save it, and restart Netscape. Voila!"



DO NOT PERSIST! [+]



Courtesy of Terry Blount ([e-mail]), Crack Talk Newsletter editor:
http://newswork.webjump.com/

"MS Internet Explorer 5.5 Advanced Security Privacy Beta manages cookies and
maintains a higher degree of security and privacy never attained before:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/preview/privacy.htm
Now you can configure your browser settings to differentiate between cookies
that originate from a web server you're intentionally visiting, and cookies
that originate from other web sites which provide advertising or services. A
new Help menu item provides an overview section and important links to
information about Internet Explorer's security and privacy features.

It is gracious of Microsoft to improve cookie control, but another process
(used in the past on Microsoft's own Web sites) can track visitors even better
than cookies. The feature called "User Data Persistence" (UDP) appeared in MS
IE 5.0 and is not as well known or as easily managed as cookies, but
unfortunately can accomplish the same thing.
There is no warning flag that can be toggled to tell you when Data Persistence
is being used on a web site to store information from your system, but it can
be turned off: open IE -> from the File menu click Tools -> Internet Options
-> Security -> Custom Level -> Miscellaneous -> disable "User Data
persistence".
The purpose Data Persistence was developed for was to offer the ability to
"persist" information, which also lets you retain style and state beyond a
single web page. Preserving style and state helps make it easy to produce web
applications that use DHTML, such as an expensive report that automatically
configures itself based on a user's personalized settings.
A few lines of client-side script can accomplish what once required
server-side programming and complicated scripts. The user data persistence
behavior makes it easy to save information entered into a text field. Rather
than query a server-side CGI script, the persisted information is saved to the
CLIENT using two JScript-based functions and the persistent object, the data
need never go to the server.
This is an excellent example of how UDP was originally designed to be used:
http://www.bqe.com/Package/tc.html
More info:
- IE 5.0: User Data Persistence:
http://www.webreference.com/js/column24/userdata.html
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0: The Inside Story:"
http://www.microsoft.com/mind/0998/ie5/ie5.htm
- MSN Cookie & GUID tracking techniques:
http://www.pc-help.org/privacy/ms_guid.htm
[Thank you [e-mail] for this last link!]