Windows 98 Tips #26



*1. Slow (but Sure) Shutdown

Win98 shuts down faster than Win95, but it achieves this dubious
 benefit by pulling the plug on running applications without
 shutting them down first. If you're uncomfortable with that,
 disable it. Launch the System Configuration Utility
 (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information;
 click on the Tools menu). Click on the Advanced button and
 check the Disable Fast Shutdown item.


*2. RESTORE PREVIEW MODE TO WINDOWS EXPLORER         
     
Reader M. Boi writes, "Before installing an Internet Explorer
 upgrade, I was able to view graphic images, such as a jpeg file,
 as a thumbnail view in Windows Explorer. Apparently, something
 got corrupted, because I can no longer see the thumbnail
 display. Any suggestions on how to re-establish it?" 

We receive so many requests for this tip that we'll share the
 technique again. One simple solution, aimed specifically at
 restoring your ability to view *.jpg files, is this: 

Select Start, Run. IE 4 users should type 

regsvr32.exe /i shdocvw.dll 

IE 5 users should type 

regsvr32.exe /i shdoc401.dll 

Then press Enter. 

The much longer alternative--a solution for all file types--is to
 edit the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry
 files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows
 folder--before proceeding.) 

Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing 

regedit 

and clicking OK. Then, navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\,
 where  is the type of file you want to preview, such as .gif.
 With that key selected, press the asterisk key (*) on your
 numeric keypad to expand all keys within it. In order for
 preview mode to work for that file type, the following entries
 need to be there: 

Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx] 
Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ 
type>\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}] 
Value: (Default)="{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC}" 

If any or all of these entries aren't there, you'll need to
 create them, as follows: 

Right-click HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\, select New, Key, type 

ShellEx 

and press Enter. Right-click the new ShellEx key, select New,
 Key, type 

{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1} 

and press Enter. With the newly created key selected, right-click
 (Default) in the right pane and select Modify. On the Value Data
 line of the Edit String dialog box, type 

{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC} 

and click OK.


*3. REMOVE UNWANTED COMMAND FROM CONTEXT MENU         
     
Reader R. Butler asks, "How do you remove an entry that shows up
 in the pop-up menu when you right-click on the Start button? A
 program I had downloaded and then deleted left a Change Icon
 entry there." 

-From inside any Windows Explorer window, select View, Folder
 Options, then click the File Types tab. Scroll down the list of
 Registered file types and select Folder. Click the Edit button,
 and you should see the unwanted action in the white Actions box.
 Select it, click the Remove button, then click Yes to confirm.
 Click OK twice to close the remaining dialog boxes. Right-click
 the Start button (or any other folder or folder shortcut), and
 that command is nowhere in sight.


*4. Explore a Different Folder

The Windows Explorer normally opens to your C: drive, but you can
 make it launch with the contents of any folder you want. Go to
 your Windows Explorer shortcut, right-click and select
 Properties. Open the Shortcut tab. Edit the entry in the Target
 field to read explorer.exe /n , /e , <drive:\path\folder> ,
 where <drive:\path\folder> is whichever folder you want to first
 see when Explorer launches.


*5. ADDRESS TOOLBAR NOT WORKING         
     
Reader R. Surrow writes, "In a previous tip, you suggested adding
 an Address toolbar to the taskbar for instant access to Web
 pages. Great idea, but when I type an address and press Enter,
 nothing happens. Any suggestions?" 

Microsoft confirms this quirky little Internet Explorer 5 "bug"
 in its Knowledge Base. It seems you must have another toolbar
 enabled on the taskbar in order for the Address toolbar to work.
 Right-click the taskbar, select Toolbars, and select Quick
 Launch, Links, or Desktop. The Address toolbar should now work
 as expected.


*6. DITCH WELCOME TO WINDOWS DIALOG BOX         
     
Reader J. writes, "When I installed Windows 98, I accidentally
 typed a password in the Welcome To Windows dialog box. How do I
 delete the password so this dialog box doesn't show up and I
 don't have to log in anymore?" 

We can't begin to tell you how many requests we get for this tip: 

Start Windows and log in using your user name and password. Open
 the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, and on the Change
 Passwords tab, click the Change Windows Password button. On the
 Old Password line, type your password. Press Tab to move down to
 the New Password line, then press Enter (to enter no password).
 A dialog box will appear to tell you your password has been
 successfully changed. Click OK, click Close, and that Welcome To
 Windows dialog box won't bother you again.


*7. ICONS ACTING FUNNY?         
     
Are your Control Panel or desktop icons acting funny (as a number
 of readers have experienced)--they're displayed incorrectly or
 they're just plain black? Don't panic. It just means your
 ShellIconCache file is damaged (not as bad as it sounds). The
 quickest solution? Delete this file. 

First, start Windows in Safe mode--turn on your computer, hold
 down the Ctrl key until the Startup menu appears, select Safe
 Mode, and press Enter. Next, make sure that you can see hidden
 files--open any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options,
 click the View tab, and under Advanced Settings, select Show All
 Files. Now open the Windows folder and locate the ShellIconCache
 file. Right-click this file, select Delete, and if necessary,
 click Yes to confirm. Restart Windows 98 (ShellIconCache will be
 re-created automatically), and your icons should be back to
 their old selves.


*8. REGISTRY TWEAK TO KEEP YOUR ICONS FROM ACTING FUNNY         
     
Reader H. Weitzel writes, "I recently read somewhere about a
 Registry tweak that will cure the problem of erratic icon
 behavior on the Quick Launch toolbar. Can you shed any light?" 

Apparently, if the icon cache (ShellIconCache) is "not properly
 updated," icons in the Quick Launch toolbar (or in My Computer,
 in Windows Explorer, or on the desktop) may randomly change. The
 tweak to which you're referring is one of a number of solutions
 offered by Microsoft at 

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q132/6/68.asp 

(Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat
 and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows
 folder--before proceeding.) 

Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing 

regedit 

and clicking OK. Next, navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer.
 Right-click a blank area inside the right pane and select New,
 String Value. Type the name 

Max Cached Icons 

then press Enter. Right-click the new value and select Modify.
 In the Value Data field, type 

2048 

then click OK. Restart Windows, and your icons should
 behave normally. 

(Another possible solution is to re-create the ShellIconCache
 file, as described in our last tip: Restart Windows 98 in Safe
 mode, delete ShellIconCache--a hidden file in the Windows
 folder--then restart Windows.)


*9. Fast Start Menu Scrolling

If your Start menus in Win95 are too big to fit on the screen,
 the menus spill over into adjacent space and create a real mess.
 The good news is Win98 cleans that up a bit by hiding excess
 parts of overgrown Start menus and making the excess available
 with scrolling arrows. The bad news is scrolling is slow. You
 can speed it up dramatically with an undocumented keystroke:
 Press and hold the Ctrl key while you scroll.


*10. DELETE ALL ENTRIES FROM ADDRESS TOOLBAR         
     
Reader L. Lea writes, "I put the Address toolbar on the taskbar,
 as suggested in a previous tip. Works great. However, I've tried
 everything I know to delete the Web sites I've already typed
 from the list."  

As with the Run command list (select Start, Run), you can delete
 addresses from the Address toolbar list by editing the Registry.
 Actually, you go to the same location in the Registry to do it.
 (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and
 User.dat, hidden files in your Windows
 folder--before proceeding.)  

Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing  

regedit  

and clicking OK. Then navigate your way to 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\RunMRU

In the right pane, you'll see all the URLs you're trying to
 delete from the Address list. Select them all--"url1," "url2,"
 and so on--right-click the selection, select Delete, then click
 Yes to confirm. Close the Registry Editor.  

To make your changes stick, close and re-open the Address
 toolbar: Right-click a blank area of the taskbar and select
 Toolbars, Address; then follow these same steps to make
 it reappear.  

If you want to delete individual entries, it's a bit trickier.
 More on that in the next tip....
