Windows 98 Tips #32



*1. Play Favorites with Programs

Do you have a few programs that you use far more than any 
others? If so, you can make those programs more quickly 
accessible. The improved Disk Defragmenter in Windows 98 can 
gather the program files you use most often and move them to 
the faster parts of your hard disk. To run Disk Defragmenter, 
click Start and select Programs/Accessories/System Tools and then 
select Disk Defragmenter. Click on the Settings button and 
make sure that the option labeled "Rearrange program files so 
my programs start faster" is selected. Click OK twice to 
begin defragmentation.


*2. TWEAK UI: SET CUSTOM SEARCH ENGINE AS DEFAULT FOR IE         
     
In a previous tip, we showed you where to download Tweak UI if you 
don't have a Windows 98 installation CD--for example, if you have 
Windows 98 SE or if Windows 98 was preloaded on your system. Point 
your Web browser at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w981129a%2C00.html 

and download tui98.zip. (Note: If you do have the CD, Tweak UI is in 
the tools\reskit\powertoy folder. To install it, right-click 
tweakui.inf and select Install. To open Tweak UI, double-click its 
icon inside the Control Panel.) Now that everyone has access to this 
handy utility, we'll discuss some of the things it can do. 

In our last tip, we showed you how to use Tweak UI to set Internet 
Explorer's default search engine, so that typing 

? keyword 

on the address bar invokes your favorite search engine: Open Tweak UI, 
select the General tab, select an option in the dropdown list next to 
Search Engine, then click OK. Don't see your search engine of choice? 
Not a problem. Just select Custom. Then, in the Internet Explorer 
Search Engine dialog box, type the appropriate URL. 

Sounds simple enough, but you'll need to do a little research first. 
Perform a search using your favorite search engine, then look at the 
address bar. For example, if you use Google to search for "Barbie," 
IE's address bar reads: 

http://www.google.com/search?q=barbie&num=10&sa=Google+Search 

The text you type in the Internet Explorer Search Engine dialog box is 
everything up to (but not including) your keyword, plus "%s." So to 
set Google as the default, you'd type 

http://www.google.com/search?q=%s 

Once you've entered the appropriate URL, click OK, then click OK again 
to close Tweak UI.


*3. Increase Registry Backups

Win98 keeps the last five backups Registry Checker creates. 
To save more backups, open \WINDOWS\SCANREG.INI with Notepad 
and change the MaxBackupCopies= value from 5 to a higher number.


*4. TWEAK UI: XMOUSE         
     
In a previous tip, we showed you where to download Tweak UI if you 
don't have a Windows 98 installation CD--for example, if you have 
Windows 98 SE or if Windows 98 was preloaded on your system. Point 
your Web browser at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w981129a%2C00.html 

and download tui98.zip. (Note: If you do have the CD, Tweak UI is in 
the tools\reskit\powertoy folder. To install it, right-click 
tweakui.inf and select Install. To open Tweak UI, double-click its 
icon inside the Control Panel.) Now that everyone has access to this 
handy utility, we'll discuss some of the things it can do. 

Do you wish that Windows' focus would follow your mouse pointer so 
that, for example, moving your mouse over a window automatically 
placed the focus on that window? Open Tweak UI and, on the Mouse tab, 
select Activation Follows Mouse (X-Mouse). Click Apply or OK, then 
move your mouse pointer around the screen. Cool, eh? 

(Tip: If you want your mouse pointer to select the window it's over 
AND move it to the top of the open window pile, select Tweak UI's 
General tab and select Auto-Raise under Effects.)


*5. TWEAK UI: REMOVE ITEMS FROM INSTALL/UNINSTALL LIST         
     
In a previous tip, we showed you where to download Tweak UI if you 
don't have a Windows 98 installation CD--for example, if you have 
Windows 98 SE or if Windows 98 was preloaded on your system. Point 
your Web browser at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w981129a%2C00.html 

and download tui98.zip. (Note: If you do have the CD, Tweak UI is in 
the tools\reskit\powertoy folder. To install it, right-click 
tweakui.inf and select Install. To open Tweak UI, double-click its 
icon inside the Control Panel.) Now that everyone has access to this 
handy utility, we'll discuss some of the things it can do. 

If you open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and 
check out the list of programs on the Install/Uninstall tab, you'll 
probably see some applications you've already removed from your 
system. Use Tweak UI to delete them from this list. (The alternative 
is to edit the Registry.) Inside Tweak UI, select the Add/Remove tab. 
One at a time, select an item you'd like to remove from the list, 
click Remove, then click Yes to confirm.


*6. TWEAK UI: RESTRICT CONTROL PANEL ACCESS         
     
In a previous tip, we showed you where to download Tweak UI if you 
don't have a Windows 98 installation CD--for example, if you have 
Windows 98 SE or if Windows 98 was preloaded on your system. Point 
your Web browser at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w981129a%2C00.html 

and download tui98.zip. (Note: If you do have the CD, Tweak UI is in 
the tools\reskit\powertoy folder. To install it, right-click 
tweakui.inf and select Install. To open Tweak UI, double-click its 
icon inside the Control Panel.) Now that everyone has access to this 
handy utility, we'll discuss some of the things it can do. 

We frequently receive requests for security-related tips--for example, 
how do I keep people from messing with my Control Panel settings? 
Tweak UI lets you restrict access to your Control Panel by simply 
removing individual controls. 

Inside Tweak UI, select the Control Panel tab and deselect the 
controls you'd like to hide. Click OK. When you open the Control 
Panel, those controls are out of sight.


*7. WINDOWS UPDATE         
     
As any Windows user knows, Microsoft is forever releasing downloads 
for Windows 98--bug fixes, patches, add-ons, and so on. There are so 
many that it can be impossible to keep track of what you do and don't 
have. Fortunately, there's Windows Update to help you make sense of it 
all. (Actually, you have no choice--Windows Update is the only way to 
download updates to Windows 98.) This "online extension of Windows 98" 
will check your system and let you know what you need to install. 

Select Start, Windows Update, and complete the steps necessary to go 
online, if you aren't already. Alternatively, point your Web browser 
at 

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com 

Click the Product Updates link, and after a few minutes, you'll see a 
list of all components not yet installed on your system. (To view 
installed items as well, click the Show Installed Updates button.) 

Look through the list--particularly the Critical updates, which appear 
first. Select those you'd like to install, click the blue download 
arrow at the top or bottom of the screen, then click the Start 
Download button.


*8. WINDOWS UPDATE         
     
As any Windows user knows, Microsoft is forever releasing downloads 
for Windows 98--bug fixes, patches, add-ons, and so on. There are so 
many that it can be impossible to keep track of what you do and don't 
have. Fortunately, there's Windows Update to help you make sense of it 
all. (Actually, you have no choice--Windows Update is the only way to 
download updates to Windows 98.) This "online extension of Windows 98" 
will check your system and let you know what you need to install. 

Select Start, Windows Update, and complete the steps necessary to go 
online, if you aren't already. Alternatively, point your Web browser 
at 

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com 

Click the Product Updates link, and after a few minutes, you'll see a 
list of all components not yet installed on your system. (To view 
installed items as well, click the Show Installed Updates button.) 

Look through the list--particularly the Critical updates, which appear 
first. Select those you'd like to install, click the blue download 
arrow at the top or bottom of the screen, then click the Start 
Download button.


*9. INTRO TO MICROSOFT BACKUP         
     
We frequently receive requests for tips on backing up data files--you 
know, all those files that took hours to create and that you'd be 
devastated to lose? (Two words: Disasters happen.) Back by popular 
demand, and in the spirit of the New Year (what better time to start 
good backup habits?), here's our multipart series on Microsoft Backup. 

Microsoft Backup has been improved significantly since the 
less-than-perfect version that was part of Windows 95. First, it's a 
Seagate Software product; second, it has a wizard to walk you through 
standard backup procedures; and third, it supports SCSI tape drives. 
(The old one didn't.) Watch how easy this utility is to use: 

Suppose you want to back up your data files (which, of course, are all 
neatly filed in a main Data Files folder, divided into subfolders). 
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Choose 
Create A New Backup Job and click OK. Select Backup Selected Files..., 
then click Next. In the left pane, click to place check marks in the 
boxes next to the folder(s) and/or drive(s) you want to back up--in 
this case, the C:\Data Files folder--then click Next. Leave All 
Selected Files selected, then click Next and set a destination for the 
backup (such as your tape backup). Click Next two more times, name the 
backup job, and click Start. 

When Microsoft Backup finishes doing its thing, you'll see a message 
telling you the operation is complete. Click OK twice. 

(Note: To bypass the wizard, open Microsoft Backup, click Close, and 
you'll find all of the options included in the wizard right on the 
Backup tab.) 

In our next tip, updating an existing backup job...


*10. MICROSOFT BACKUP: UPDATING BACKUP JOB         
     
In our last tip, we introduced Microsoft Backup, a utility that allows 
you to create backups of important files, such as data files. To 
create a backup job, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System 
Tools, Backup; then follow along as the wizard walks you through the 
creation process (select Create A New Backup Job, click OK, and so 
on). 

Assuming you've followed the above steps to create a backup job, you 
now have a backup job in the form of a *.qic file--we'll call it 
MyBackup.qic. As your data files change, or as you create new files, 
you'll want to update this backup to reflect these changes. (Creating 
a new job every time is too time consuming.) 

Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup; select Open 
An Existing Backup Job; and click OK. Choose the backup you want to 
update and click Open. Next to What To Backup, select New And Changed 
Files, then click Start. Microsoft Backup will now do exactly what 
you've asked--back up only new or changed information. 

In our next tip, restoring files from a backup job...