Win 95/98
Desktop Operating Systems page
Tech Tip #1
Windows 98
Stopping Startup Programs
Is there a program that starts whenever Windows starts--one that drives
you crazy because you don't need it, but can't figure out how to turn
it off? The Windows 98 System Configuration Utility allows you to turn
off any auto-start program with the click of a check box. Select Start,
Run. Then type msconfig and click OK. In the resulting System Configuration
Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab to display a list of all programs
that start whenever Windows 98 starts. Deselect the one that's been bugging
you (making certain you know which one it is), then click OK. The next
time you start Windows, that program is nowhere to be found.
Tech Tip #2
Tidy Up Your Temp Folder
Clean up the temporary files in your C:\Windows\Temp
folder that waste space and may slow start-up. Add the line Del C:\Windows\Temp\*.tmp
> nul To your Autoexec.bat file to clean up this file every time you
start your computer. If you're running Windows 98, you can run the System
Configuration Utility, click on the Autoexec.bat file and on New (if you
don't already have an Autoexec) or Edit (if you have this file), add the
line, and then enable it. In Windows 95, you can typically find the Autoexec.bat
file in the root directory of your C: drive. Open it in Windows Notepad
and make the changes there.
Tech Tip #3
Restart Windows without Restarting Your Computer
When you need to restart Windows, here's how to cut short the sometimes-lengthy
reboot process. Launch Notepad and type the following line:
@EXIT
Save the file as C:\Windows\Desktop \Restart.bat. An icon for the file
will show up on your desktop. Right-click on the icon; choose Properties,
then the Program tab. Make sure the "Close on Exit" option is
enabled. Click the Advanced button, and make sure that the MS-DOS mode
option is selected and that the "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode"option
is deselected. Click OK to close both dialog boxes. A second icon (Restart.pif)
will be reated. Double-click on this icon whenever you need to restart
Windows.
Tech Tip #4
Change File Associations
Does it drive you crazy when that image file you just got opens up in
Microsoft Paint or Lview Pro instead of in your preferred image editor?
Here's how you can make sure that never happens again: In Explorer, select
a file of the type you want to change. Hold down the Shift key, right-click
on the selection, and choose Open With. In the dialog box that pops up,
select the program you want to use to open the file type. Check "Always
use this program to open this file,"click OK, and off you go.
Microsoft
Windows 2000 / XP
Tech Tip #1
Log On To Windows Automatically
To create the REG file, run Notepad and enter
the following exactly as shown. Where you see the word BLANK, press Enter
to insert a blank line. Note that the REG file needs these blank lines
to work properly. REGEDIT4 BLANK [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] BLANK "AutoAdminLogon"="1" "DefaultPassword"="Your
Password" BLANK For this to work, you must have a password, and you must
enter the password that you chose for your system log-on. If you enter
a different password, you'll have problems with other programs. Type your
password into the REG file at DefaultPassword. Make sure you retain the
quotes. Now choose File, Save As and name the file Auto.reg. Locate a
folder for the file and click Save.
Tech Tip #2
Windows NT 4.0 CD Key Backup
If you've lost your CD Key and need to reinstall
NT Workstation 4.0 later, you may find you need it. You'll find the CD
Key number in the NT Registry. You don't need to modify the Registry to
recover the Key number, you should still be careful when using RegEdit.
Click Start, Run, type in "regedit" (without the quotes) and press Enter.
When RegEdit opens, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion. The ProductId string contains the CD Key in digits
6 through 15. Note: This may not be the case if you use an OEM version
of Windows NT Workstation 4.0. Some OEM users report that the entire ProductId
string is the CD Key. Desktop Operating Systems page Tech Tip #1 Windows
98 Stopping Startup Programs Is there a program that starts whenever Windows
starts--one that drives you crazy because you don't need it, but can't
figure out how to turn it off? The Windows 98 System Configuration Utility
allows you to turn off any auto-start program with the click of a check
box. Select Start, Run. Then type msconfig and click OK. In the resulting
System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab to display
a list of all programs that start whenever Windows 98 starts. Deselect
the one that's been bugging you (making certain you know which one it
is), then click OK. The next time you start Windows, that program is nowhere
to be found.
