Windows NT Tips #3


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Proudly presents:
The Windows NT Tip of the Day

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*1.   WINDOWS BATCH FILES

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Reader George O. comments that it's too bad there isn't a simple
 batch file language for Windows NT--one that would invoke
 windows, dialog boxes, and so forth.

There is a program that can help you with these tasks--and it's
 shareware. Go to

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,
1270,00.html 

and download Visual Dialog Script. This program allows you to
 write relatively simple scripts to create windows, dialog boxes,
 and other items. Give it a try--if you find it useful, you can
 register for $69.

*2.   GET THE DUAL BOOT BACK

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Reader Kevin M. asks this question about dual-booting with
 Windows 98: 

"I recently used a Windows 98 boot disk to install Windows 98 on
 my computer. My hard drive is partitioned, and all partitions
 are FAT16.

"The problem is that my computer automatically starts up in
 Windows 98. The only way I can get into NT is by using a
 Windows NT boot disk. (The disk contains the boot.ini file from
 my computer, which I've set to Windows NT as the default OS.)
 How can I get into Windows NT without this boot disk?"

It sounds like your Windows 98 installation has written over the
 boot loader. Try this: Boot from the NT setup floppies and then
 choose Repair. Elect to repair only the boot records. Follow
 through with the repair, then restart the computer. You should
 now be able to dual-boot again.

If you've installed a service pack, it's a good idea to reinstall
 it to make sure all your files are up to date.

       
*3.   GET THE DETAILS
  
Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Subscriber Dennis W. asks if there's a way to show the size of a
 file in Windows NT Workstation 4.0.

Try this: Run Windows NT Explorer and choose View, Details. The
 file pane displays the size of the file, along with other
 detailed file information.

Reader Joe G. asks if there's a way to set Windows NT Explorer
 to default in the Details view. Once you select View, Details
 as we described, the selected view remains in effect until you
 decide to change it.


*4.   NO MORE FINDFAST
  
Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Reader Harold B. wants to know how to turn off NT's Fast Find.

The Microsft Office installation places FindFast in your system.
 You can remove the shortcut from your Startup menu if you wish,
 but this leaves the index files on your system.

To remove FindFast, click Start, Settings, Control Panel. When
 Control Panel opens, double-click the Find Fast icon. When the
 Find Fast dialog box opens, select an index entry and choose
 Index, Delete Index. Click to the affirmative in any warning
 dialog boxes that open. Repeat this procedure for all the index
 entries. When you've deleted all of them, choose Index, Close
 and Stop to close the dialog box.

Now it's time to get rid of the shortcut in Startup. Right-click
 Start and choose Open. When the Start menu window opens,
 double-click the Programs icon to open it. Next, locate the
 Startup menu and double-click to open it. Click the FindFast
 entry to select it, then press Delete. Click Yes to confirm
 deletion. Close all the open Start Menu windows and restart
 the computer.


*5.   PRINT NOW         
  
Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Reader Samuel D. asks this sticky printing question:

"Is there a way to force a laser printer to print a page? For
 example, if you tell Windows NT Workstation 4.0 you want to
 send an MS-DOS Print Screen directly to the printer, you won't
 get any printer output until the printer gets enough data to
 fill up an entire page. Can you tell the printer to print even
 though the page isn't full?"

This is a problem when you try to send a screen capture directly
 to the printer.

To use Print Screen directly from an MS-DOS application, locate
 the shortcut to the program (if there is no shortcut, create
 one) and right-click it. Choose Properties from the menu, then
 click the Misc tab. Under Windows Shortcut Keys, deselect the
 check box labeled Alt + PrtSc, then click OK to close the
 dialog box and save your selection.

With these changes made, the screen contents go directly to the
 printer when you press PrtSc in the command prompt window.

So now the problem is to get that laser printer to go ahead and
 print your screen. Click Start, Programs, Command Prompt. Type

copy con now.bat

and press Enter. Then type

echo off
echo ;

At this point, make sure NumLock is active and hold down the Alt
 key while you type

012

from the keypad. Now add

>prn

to the end of the line. When finished entering this line,
 you should see

echo ^L >prn

Now press Enter, then F6, and press Enter again.

To force a form feed (which causes the printer to print your
 screen capture), all you have to do is run Now.bat.er
 and locate the file. Use the right mouse button to drag the
 file's icon to your desktop. When you release the mouse button,
 choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from the menu. You can now
 simply double-click the shortcut to force a page feed
 on your printer.


*6.   NO SHORTCUT TO

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Reader Scott J. would like to know if there's a way to get rid
 of the Shortcut To that precedes all shortcut names.

You can eliminate the Shortcut To prefix to shortcut names with
 a Registry edit. However, let's do a REG file to make things
 easier. Remember that running REG files still constitutes
 modifying the Registry. We don't guarantee that a REG file will
 do exactly what you expect, so run them at your own risk.

To generate the REG file, run Notepad and enter the following
 exactly as shown here. Where you see BLANK LINE GOES HERE,
 press Enter to enter a blank line.

REGEDIT4
BLANK LINE GOES HERE
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"link"=hex:00,00,00,00
BLANK LINE GOES HERE

Now choose File, Save As and name the file ShortOff.reg. Locate
 a folder for your new file and click Save.

To run the REG file, double-click its icon. A dialog box opens,
 informing you that information has been entered into the
 Registry. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box.

After you restart the computer, the Shortcut To prefix no longer
 appears in your new shortcuts. Note that only those shortcuts
 created after the Registry change lack the prefix--those
 created prior to the change retain it.


*7.   START THE SCREEN SAVER

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Subscriber Warren T. asks this screen saver question:

"Is there an easy way to start the screen saver shortly after
 the system starts if nobody logs on? I'd like to start a screen
 saver in about 30 seconds if there's no log-on."

You can set a screen saver using a Registry edit. As usual, be
 very careful when you edit the Registry.

Before you open RegEdit, locate the screen saver you want to use.
 You'll find them in \Winnt\system32. The screen savers have an
 SCR extension. Write down the name of the one you want to
 use--you'll need it later.

Now click Start, Run, then type:

regedit

and press Enter. When RegEdit opens, navigate to
 HKEY_USERS \DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop. In RegEdit's right
 pane, locate SCRNSAVE.EXE and double-click its icon. When the
 Edit String dialog box opens, type in the full path and name of
 your screen saver file. For example, you might select

c:\winnt\system32\ssmaze.scr

to use the Maze screen saver. After you enter the name of the
 screen saver, click OK to close the dialog box and save your
 selection. Next, locate ScreenSaveTimeOut and double-click its
 icon. When the Edit String dialog box opens, enter the delay
 time you want to use in seconds. You mentioned you'd like a
 delay of about 30 seconds, so enter 30 and click OK to close
 the dialog box and record your selection. Now choose Registry,
 Exit to close RegEdit.

The next time you start your computer, the screen saver starts
 after 30 seconds if no one logs on. Note that these changes
 have no effect on your standard screen saver selection.


*8.   I WANT MY DUAL-BOOT MENU BACK

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Reader Don C. has this troublesome dual-boot question:

"A few weeks ago, I decided that I needed to run Windows 98
 exclusively. So I set the delay time to zero. Now I need to use
 Windows NT Workstation 4.0 again, and the dual-boot menu no
 longer appears. Is there any way to recover the menu short of
 reinstalling Windows NT Workstation 4.0?"

You can get your dual-boot menu back quite easily. In Windows
 98, run Windows Explorer and navigate to the root folder.
 Right-click Boot.ini and choose Properties. When the Properties
 dialog box opens, deselect the Read Only check box and click
 OK. Now double-click Boot.ini to open it. Your Timeout value
 is currently set to zero. Set it to a higher value of your
 choice and then choose File, Save to save your changes. With
 Boot.ini saved, right-click its icon again and choose
 Properties. Select the Read Only check box and click OK.

When you restart your computer, you can choose to boot Windows
 NT Workstation 4.0.


*9.   WHEN WAS THE LAST LOG-ON?

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
We recently ran a tip on how to determine the time of the last
 log-on by entering

net statistics workstation

at the Command Prompt. As readers Srikanth S., Erich H., and
 Jason V. correctly point out, you can determine the last log-on
 using the Event Log. To do this, click Start, Programs,
 Administrative Tools (Common), Event Viewer. Look for the first
 occurrence of Source Eventlog and event 6005 at the beginning
 of the System Log.


*10.   PRINT THIS

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Subscriber Cheryll K wants to print several of her unregistered
 files using Notepad:

"I have several unregistered files on my hard disk that I would
 like to be able to print with Notepad. Is there a way to add a
 Print command to the right-click menu for these files? I know I
 could register them to use Notepad, but I'd prefer to leave
 them unregistered."

Let's suppose for the purpose of this example that you have some
 unregistered files with an ASC extension that you'd like to
 print from the right-click menu. Run Windows NT Explorer and
 choose View, Options. When the Options dialog box opens, click
 the File Types tab.

Now click New Type and under Description Of Type enter

ASCII File

Then press Tab to move to Associated Extension and type in

ASC

Now click OK to continue. Back in Options, click Edit. When the
 Edit File Type dialog box opens, click New. Next click the
 Action entry box and enter

Print

Now press Tab to move to Application Used To Perform Action
 and enter 

C:\WINNT\system32\NOTEPAD.EXE /p

assuming this is the correct folder for your installation. If
 not, substitute the path on your system. Click OK to continue.
 When you get back to the Edit File Types dialog box, click
 Close. In Options, click Close again.

Although your ASC file retains the original default icon, and
 will not open in Notepad if you double-click it, you can
 right-click the file and choose Print from the menu.
