Windows 95 Tips #10



*1.   KEEP THOSE PROGRAMS FROM LOITERING--PART 2 OF 2      
  
T. Laszuk asks, "How do I get rid of what seem to be eternal names in
my Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box?"  

We receive this question often, so although we've discussed this
technique before, we're going through it again. There are two ways to
remove programs from the Install/Uninstall tab (the one that appears
when you open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs).
In our last tip, we showed you how to do it using the Tweak UI
PowerToy: Open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak UI, select the
Add/Remove tab, select an item you'd like to remove, click the Remove
button, then click Yes to confirm.  

Don't have Tweak UI? You can still clean out the Install/Uninstall
list, but you'll need to do a little Registry editing. (Note: As
always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden
files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.)  

Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type  

regedit  

and click OK--and navigate your way to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\Uninstall
In the left pane, with the Uninstall key expanded, right-click any item
and select Delete. Click Yes to confirm, and that item is officially
off the list. Repeat these steps for each item you'd like to remove,
then close the Registry Editor.


*2.   RUN FASTER          
          
April 6th, 1999          
          
If you often use the Windows 95 Run feature to run programs--especially
from CD-ROMs or floppy disks--here's a feature you'll be happy to know
about: The Open drop-down box lists your 4 (or 20) most recent files,
depending on the version of Windows 95 you have. So next time you
install a program, try this: 

1. Put the CD-ROM or floppy containing the program in the appropriate
	disk drive. 
2. Click the Start button and choose Run. 
3. From the Open drop-down list, select one of the following,
	if it appears: 

D:\INSTALL.EXE 
A:\INSTALL.EXE 
D:\SETUP.EXE 
A:\SETUP.EXE 

4. Click OK. 

See that? You installed a software program without typing a thing.


*3.   EVEN FASTER INSTALL          
          
April 7th, 1999          
          
Last time, we showed you how to install a program quickly, using files
that may already be listed in the Run dialog box. If you often install
programs from floppies, you may want to consider another work saver:
Set up desktop icons that let you start the installation with a single
double-click! Just follow along and see what we mean: 

1. Put the installation disk for a program--any program--in your
	floppy disk drive. 
2. Right-click any blank space on the desktop. 
3. Choose New + Shortcut from the shortcut menu. 
4. In the Command Line box, type "A:\install.exe"
	(without the quotation marks). 
5. Click Next. 
6. In the Select a Name for the Shortcut box, type a name (such as
	"Install from Floppy"--without the quotes, of course). 
7. Click Finish. 

Next time you want to install a program from a floppy, just stick the
floppy in your floppy drive, click this icon, and then let the
computer do the rest.


*4.   BOGGED DOWN BY *.BMPS      
  
J. Keever writes, "Not long ago, I got an idea from a tip to show the
real *.bmp image in the file list instead of the standard icon for *.bmp.
My problem is it takes up to 45 minutes for picture-filled folders to
open because of all the pictures. Can you tell me how to reverse this
before my wife finds out? She's sick of me messing with the settings on
her computer!" 

This setting can definitely affect performance on systems without
beefed-up graphics capabilities (45 minutes--wow!). You can reverse this
setting the same way you set it up--by making a simple Registry change.
(Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat,
hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) 

Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type 

regedit 

and click OK--and navigate your way to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Paint.Picture\DefaultIcon. In the right pane,
right-click (Default), select Modify, and in the Edit String dialog box,
change the Value data from %1 back to the default: 

c:\windows\system\cool.dll,41 

Click OK, then close the Registry Editor. 

(Note: In case you missed the original tip back in January, to display
*.bmp icons as their actual bitmaps, just reverse the above technique:
Replace c:\windows\system\cool.dll,41 with %1.)


*5.   SHARPER IMAGES      
  
Want to display your graphics in more or less detail? The number of
colors that Windows 95 can use to display images on your screen is
determined by your color palette setting. 

To change this setting, right-click a blank area of the desktop, select
Properties, and click the Settings tab. Click the down arrow next to
Color palette, and choose from the available palettes. (Note: Your
choices may vary depending on your system's graphics capabilities.) Click
OK, then click Yes to restart Windows. 

Not sure which palette to choose? In our next tip, we'll tell you the
differences among them and make some suggestions as to which setting
might be right for you....


*6.   IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START UP          
          
April 8th, 1999          
          
You say you're one of the millions who didn't create a Windows Startup
disk during the Windows 95 installation procedure? Not to worry--you
didn't miss your chance. You can create the Startup disk whenever you
please as follows (unless your system crashes irrevocably first, in which
case you'll wish you had a Startup disk): 

1. Click the Start button. 
2. Choose Settings + Control Panel. 
3. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. 
4. Click the Startup Disk tab. 
5. Put a floppy disk in your floppy drive. 
6. Click Create Disk and follow the instructions.


*7.   ESCAPE FROM HANGUPS          
          
April 9th, 1999          
          
In the old days--the Windows 3.x days--when a program stopped working,
your entire system stopped working, and you had to reboot. Windows 95
takes a less drastic approach to program crashes: In most cases, it lets
you shut down the malfunctioning program but continue working in Windows
without rebooting and without losing unsaved data in any other programs
you may have open. Here's how to use it:  

1. When a program stops working, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete.  
2. In the Close Program dialog box, select the malfunctioning program--it
	should have the words "Not Responding" after it.  
3. Click End Task.  
4. After about 10 or 15 seconds, a second box appears, asking whether you
	still want to end the task. Click End Task again.  

Windows shuts down the malfunctioning program but leaves your other
programs running.


*8.   THERE ARE HOW MANY CRAYONS IN THAT BOX?      
  
In our last tip, we showed you how to change your color palette, the
setting that determines the number of colors Windows 95 uses to display
images on your screen: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, click
the Settings tab, select a palette under Color palette, click OK, then
click Yes to restart Windows. We also promised to explain these settings. 

Most likely, you'll see four settings under Color palette--16 Color, 256
Color, High Color, and True Color. The first two are self-explanatory
(16 and 256 colors, respectively). High Color allows Windows over 65,000
colors, and True Color, around 16.8 million. 

Not sure which palette to choose? That all depends on what's more
important--performance or image quality. The fewer colors Windows uses to
display your graphics, the faster it will display the images on screen.
So if it's performance you're after, you'll want to choose the lowest
setting that you can live with--most likely, 256 Color (for obvious
reasons, 16 Color is pretty limited). 

If, on the other hand, quality of image is important to you (and you have
a system that doesn't get bogged down performance-wise with a higher
setting), you'll want to choose a setting that allows for more colors,
such as High Color. You probably won't ever need True Color, unless
quality is REALLY important to you--for example, if you work with
graphics for a living. 

For our final tip in this series, changing your color palette
on the fly....


*9.   RIGHTY ICONS          
          
April 12th, 1999          
          
Windows 95's AutoArrange command--the one that automatically arranges
your icons on the desktop--is great for neatening things up, but it does
present one drawback: It always puts your icons on the LEFT side of the
desktop. What do you do if you want them on the right side? 

This: 

1. Minimize all your programs so that only your desktop icons are visible
       on the desktop. 
2. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose Arrange Icons from the
       shortcut menu; if AutoArrange is checked, click it to deselect it. 
3. Click any desktop icon; then press Ctrl + A to select all your
       desktop icons. 
4. Drag all the icons to the right side of your screen. 
5. Right-click the desktop and choose Line Up Icons from the
       shortcut menu.


*10.   CHANGE YOUR COLOR PALETTE--QUICK!      
  
In a previous tip, we showed you how to change your color palette
setting, the setting that determines the number of colors Windows 95
uses to display images on your screen: Right-click the desktop, select
Properties, click the Settings tab, select a palette under Color
palette, click OK, then click Yes to restart Windows. Want to change
this setting at the click of a button? Download and install the
QuickRes PowerToy. 

Point your Web browser to 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0412%2C00.html 

and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice. Double-click this
file to extract its contents, then right-click quickres.inf and select
Install. The next time you start Windows 95, you'll find a QuickRes icon
in the tray of your Taskbar (it looks like a computer screen). 

To change your color palette, click the QuickRes icon and select one of
the resolution/color palette combos in the pop-up list. (Note: You'll
probably want to select one that includes your current resolution, unless
you want to change that, too. If you aren't sure what your resolution is,
check the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box.) Restart
Windows 95 to complete the change.
