| Subject | Detail |
| Start Menu Size | To make your Start Menu large and show 'Windows 95/98' up the left hand side, Click Start | Settings | Task bar & Start Menu and turn off 'Show small Icons on Start Menu'. The reverse makes the icons and menu size small, and removes the 'Windows 95/98' writing up the left hand side. |
| Showing Windows while you drag | It is quite pleasing to be able to drag a window out of the way just to see what is written behind it, and then position it as required knowing what your desktop will look like before you release the mouse. To do this, choose Start | Settings | Active Desktop | Customise My Destop, click Effects and turn on 'Show window contents while dragging'. You can also bring up this dialogue box by Right Clicking on the Desktop and choosing Properties. |
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Start Windows 98/95 in Safe Mode
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If you change a setting, or something stops working, and rebooting does not fix the problem, you can run Windows in Safe Mode. To do this, Reboot and hold the Ctrl key down while Windows restarts. This will load Windows with the original settings, and possibly fix something which may have gone wrong. Note: If you run Windows 95, the equivalent key is the F8. You should press this when you see the message “Starting Windows 95…”. While in safe mode, you can fix or put back the change and then reboot normally. |
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Networking requirements for connecting two computers, but still allowing you to log on to the Internet ? |
Some default settings are not necessary, but get set by Windows, and tend to slow down the login procedure. Refer to the Internet section of these Tips and Tricks for customising the Dial-Up Networking. It explains there how turning off the NetBEUI and IPX/SPX will speed up Internet connections. However, for networking two or more, PC's together, you need these protocols. The way this is done, is to allocate NetBEUI and IPX/SPX protocol bindings to your network card, and TCP/IP protocol binding to you Dial-Up adapter. You can check and change these as follows: Double Click "My Computer", "Control Panel", "Network", and then set up the components using the Add and Remove buttons. Note, you should not play with these if you are not comfortable putting things back if it doesn't go right. |
| Shutdown problems in Windows 98 | The first thing you should do is visit the www.microsoft.com web site. There are some patches that fix shutdown problems. If this does not fix your problem, which we have found is still likely to be there intermittently, then try this: Each time you go to shutdown, use the normal Start | Shutdown, but don’t click on Shutdown in the dialogue box. Instead use the “Restart in DOS Mode”. This exits from Windows, and comes up with the DOS Prompt. We have found that with the Microsoft patches, and using this method, all Shutdown problems cease. Another cause of this problem can be drive mappings to non-connected network resources. See below under "Windows Explorer is slow to run or update" for a solution to that problem. |
| Restore the Windows Registry | If
you have made changes to your registry, and have problems
getting windows to run, then you can recover the last Registry
by restarting the PC in DOS mode, and from the DOS prompt use
the command "scanreg /restore". Then restart the computer. This command will restore the Registry to how it was when Windows was last succussfully loaded. |
| Windows Explorer is slow to run or update | If you have two or more computers networked, and one is not turned on, or connected to the network sometimes, then you may experience long delays when running Windows Explorer, or when performing some actions within Windows Exporer. This can be because you have a drive letter mapped to a network resourse that is not connected. Windows is attempting to connect and update it while you are working. As the ease of the connection is the reason for having a drive letter mapped, we have developed a small utility for easily connecting and disconnecting the drive letters for your network connections. This program can be an icon or used in a batch file, making the connection/disconnection of the network resource as automatic as possible. By having the drive disconnected when the network resource is not available, will improve the speed of Windows Explorer. You can purchase this product in New Zealand, for $9-95. Please contact us at winmap@ctas.co.nz |
| Prevent that annoying Windows Logon box | If
you have a home PC, and every time you turn it on, it asks you
for a Logon name and Password, it may surprise you that this is
not necessary, and can be bypassed. The automation is achieved
by making the Password into nothing. Choose Start,
Logon as another User, and
Click OK. When the Logon
dialogue box starts up, enter your name in the User Name, and
leave the Password Blank. If you get prompted for password
confirmations, then leave them blank as well, and click OK.
Windows will not prompt you again, until you change the password
from nothing to something. Note: If you are using the same Logon
name, you may need to rename or delete the *.PWL files that are
on your computer before you start this process. Also, check the
following:
Restart the computer. At the Windows logon screen, click Cancel, Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Passwords, On the User Profiles tab, click All users of this PC use the same preferences and desktop, and then click OK. When you are prompted to restart the computer, do so. |
| Lost DLL Files | If you receive a message of a missing DLL, and can't find the required file, try this web site for a huge list. http://www.dll-files.com |
Computer Training and Support Ltd
Hamilton, NZ
Information at Ctas Ltd