Windows NT Tips #13


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Proudly presents:
The Windows NT Tip of the Day

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*1. CREATING SETUP DISKS         
  
Windows NT Workstation 4.0  
Here is a question from desperate subscriber Kyle V.:  

"I recently purchased a new computer that came with Windows 98
 installed, but I don't want Windows 98--I want Windows NT
 Workstation 4.0. I immediately formatted the disk drive on the
 new computer, and now I find that my Windows NT Workstation
 4.0 setup floppy disks are bad.   

"I do have the start-up disk and the installation CD for Windows
 98, but I hate to have to reinstall Windows 98 just so I can
 install Windows NT Workstation 4.0. I wanted to make the
 entire disk NTFS.   

"I'm getting desperate. How do I install Windows NT Workstation
 4.0 on a computer that has no operating system when my setup
 floppies won't work?"   

Since you have the Windows 98 start-up disk, you can make some
 new Windows NT Workstation 4.0 floppies. Just start the
 computer using the Windows 98 start-up disk. Make sure you
 elect to add CD-ROM support when asked. As the start-up
 proceeds, watch to see which letter the system assigns your
 CD-ROM drive.   

You'll need three blank, formatted 1.44MB floppy disks. We
 suggest you use new floppy disks for this job.  

Now insert the Windows NT Workstation 4.0 CD into the CD-ROM
 drive and (at the A: prompt) type whatever letter was assigned
 to your CD-ROM drive and press Enter. Next type  

cd\i386  

and press Enter. Finally, type  

winnt /ox  

and press Enter again. Follow the prompts to make a new set of
 Windows NT Workstation 4.0 setup floppy disks.


*2. THE NUMBER OF FILES ALLOWED IN A ROOT FOLDER         
  
In a recent tip, we mentioned that you could store only 512
 entries in a root folder. We failed to specify the drive format.
 As several readers pointed out, 512 files is correct only for a
 FAT 16 drive. A FAT 12 drive can handle only 224 files in the
 root folder. Both FAT 32 and NTFS set no limit on the number of
 files in the root folder. 

Thanks to those who wrote in to pass along this information.


*3. CHANGING LOCALE         
  
If you need to use more than one locale because you sometimes
 send information to other countries, you can easily set up
 multiple locales in Windows NT 4.0 Workstation. Begin by
 clicking Start, Settings, Control Panel. When Control Panel
 opens, double-click Regional Settings. In the Regional Settings
 Properties dialog box, select the Input Locales tab. 

To add a new locale, click Add. When the Add Input Locale dialog
 box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Input Locale
 list box to expand the list. Then, select your new locale from
 the list. Let's say that you need to send material to the United
 Kingdom. In this case, you'd select English (United Kingdom).
 Now, click OK to record your selection and close the dialog box. 

Back in the Regional Settings Properties dialog box, select the
 Enable Indicator On Taskbar check box. Then, click OK to close
 the dialog box and save your selections. You can now close
 Control Panel by clicking its close box (the X in the
 upper-right corner). 

To switch between your locale selections, press Left Alt-Shift.
 To make sure you made the switch, move the mouse pointer over
 the locale icon in the taskbar. The ToolTip will display the
 currently selected locale.


*4. USING THE COMMAND HISTORY IN THE COMMAND PROMPT WINDOW         
  
Here is a note from reader Elliot P.: 

"I have never seen any information in your tips about the command
 prompt's Command History. The Command History is much better for
 repeating commands than DosKey, because you can see all the
 commands at once. All you have to do is select the one you want
 and press Enter." 

To see how Command History operates, open the Command Prompt
 window (click Start, Programs, Command Prompt). Now, type 
 
chkdsk 
 
and press Enter. When Chkdsk finishes, type 
 
mem 
 
and press Enter. Now that you have a history to view, press F7 to
 open the Command History window. You'll see Chkdsk and Mem in
 the list. Let's say you want to run Mem again. Use the arrow
 keys to select it and then press Enter. 

If you decide not to rerun any commands, just press Esc to close
 the Command History window.


*5. CONFIGURING A PCMCIA CARD IN WINDOWS NT 4.0 WORKSTATION         
  
If you use Windows NT 4.0 Workstation on a laptop and need to
 configure a PCMCIA card, click Start, Settings, Control Panel.
 When Control Panel opens, double-click PC Card (PCMCIA). When
 the dialog box opens, select the card you intend to configure
 and click Properties. This will open a dialog box that allows
 you to configure that card. 

Thanks to reader Jerry D. for suggesting this tip.


*6. USING EDLIN IN THE COMMAND PROMPT WINDOW         
  
Here is a command prompt question from reader Kyle N.: 

"Years ago, I became accustomed to using Edlin to create and edit
 my batch files. I recently installed Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
 and wish I could still use Edlin. Is it possible to copy Edlin
 from the MS-DOS disk to Windows NT 4.0 Workstation?" 

You don't need to copy Edlin--there is already a Windows NT 4.0
 Workstation version present. Click Start, Programs, Command
 Prompt. At the prompt, type 
 
edlin filename 
 
and press Enter. 

Just like the old days.


*7. LOCATING A FILE USING THE COMMAND PROMPT         
  
Here is a question from subscriber Srini G.: 

"I am trying to check for the existence of a file in a Windows NT
 4.0 environment using a batch file, and I don't find any direct
 NT/MS-DOS commands to do it. Is it possible to do this without
 using any freeware tool?" 

We assume that you want to see if the file is present on the hard
 disk. If so, you can use a batch file like the one shown here to
 search for a file in a given folder (directory). To generate the
 batch file, run Notepad and enter the following commands: 
 
@echo off 
if exist %myfile.xxx goto here 
echo Not found 
goto end 
:here 
echo Found it 
:end 
 
Now, choose File, Save As and name the file Look.cmd. Locate a
 folder for your new file, then click Save to save the file and
 close the Save As dialog box. 

To run the file, go to the Command Prompt window (click Start,
 Programs, Command Prompt), type 
 
look 
 
and press Enter. If the file you specified in Look.cmd is in the
 current folder, Look.cmd will display Found It. If the file is
 not in the current folder, Look.cmd will display Not Found. You
 can expand on this routine to locate other files in
 other folders.


*8. ADDITIONAL WINDOWS KEY SHORTCUTS         
  
We recently published a short list of some of the Windows key
 shortcuts that you can use in Windows NT 4.0 Workstation. Reader
 Mike W. sent this list of additional Windows key shortcuts: 

"What about all the other great Windows key shortcuts? For
 example, Windows-E opens Windows NT Explorer, Windows-F opens
 the Find dialog box, and Windows-R opens the Run dialog box." 

Also, Windows-D toggles between active windows and the desktop.
 Thanks for the tip, Mike.


*9. PRINTING THE CONTENTS OF A FOLDER         
  
Here is a question from Zain S.: 

"Is there a way to print from the files and folders from Windows
 NT Explorer or My Computer? I need a hard copy of the file
 listings. Print Screen is not good enough, because it simply
 copies the whole screen." 

This is one of those questions that we get on a regular basis. A
 very easy and quick way to print the folders is to open the
 Command Prompt window and type (at the command prompt) 
 
dir > prn 
 
When you press Enter, this command will send the directory
 contents to your printer. You can print to a folder other than
 the current one. For example, you can type 
 
dir c:\myfolder\ >prn 
 
and press Enter to get a printed list of the files and folders
 in C:\MyFolder.


*10. MODIFYING THE RECYCLE BIN IN WINDOWS NT 4.0 WORKSTATION         
  
Here is a question from reader Gary B.: 

"I have been told that you can modify the Recycle Bin so it won't
 ask if you want to delete the files. Could you discuss this in
 one of your tips?" 

The Recycle Bin will continue to ask if you want to delete the
 files whenever you double-click the Bin and then choose File,
 Delete. However, you can modify some of the Recycle
 Bin's behavior. 

To do this, right-click the Recycle Bin and choose Properties.
 When the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box opens, click the
 Global tab (if necessary). You can see what your options are at
 this point. By default, the Recycle Bin asks if you want to
 delete a file after you've chosen the Delete command. To see how
 this works, click OK to close the Recycle Bin Properties dialog
 box and then run Windows NT Explorer. Locate a file that you can
 delete without causing any problem and select it. Now, choose
 File, Delete. The Recycle Bin will open a dialog box asking if
 you are sure this is what you want. 

If you prefer to do without this dialog box, you can modify this
 action in the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box. Again,
 right-click the Recycle Bin and choose Properties. When the
 Recycle Bin Properties dialog box opens, click the Global tab
 and then deselect the Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box
 check box. Now, click OK to close the dialog box and save your
 new setting. 

Go back to Windows NT Explorer and select a new file to delete
 (make sure you don't need this file). Choose File, Delete and
 you'll get no dialog box. The file will go directly to the
 Recycle Bin without any further ado. (If you don't have any
 files that you can afford to delete, run Notepad and type in a
 few letters. Now, choose File, Save As and type a name for the
 new file. Locate a folder for the file and click Save to save
 your file and close the Save As dialog box.)
