Windows 98 Tips #42


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*1. Automate Disk Maintenance

To put all scheduled tasks on hold without disabling 
the scheduler entirely, right-click on the Task Scheduler 
icon in the system tray and select Pause Task Scheduler. 
This will remain in effect until you reboot or right-click 
and select Continue Task Scheduler.


*2. Removing Online Services In

Though the Online Services folder uses less than 1MB in Win98,
it's still annoying. The best way to remove it in Win98 is to open
Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel and click on the 
Windows Setup tab. Scroll down to the Online Services entry 
and remove the check mark. Click on OK. Then drag the Online 
Services folder from your Desktop to the Recycle Bin.


*3. No More Space Warning

Constant warnings about low disk space on your Win98 PC can
be annoying, especially if they refer to your host drive on a
compressed disk. To get rid of the warning, open Disk Cleanup
(Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools) and click on the
Settings tab. Deselect the check box labeled "If this drive
runs low on disk space, automatically run Disk Cleanup," then
click on OK.


*4. Turn Icons into Toolbars

The two main hard-wired Win98 Desktop icons, My 
Computer and Network Neighborhood, will magically 
transform into toolbars if you drag them to one of the four 
edges of your screen and let go. You can "stack" the two 
on the same edge, drag the new toolbars to the taskbar or
drag them to the center of the Desktop to create floating toolbars.


*5. Undocumented WinAlign Info

Win98's new WinAlign feature speeds up application 
launches by placing key files on the fast part of the disk
during a defrag; it also rewrites programs so they use
memory more efficiently. What you may not know is that only 
applications that have been specifically designed to work 
with WinAlign, such as Microsoft's Office programs, are
supported by the feature.


*6. Undocumented WinAlign Info

You can find out exactly which files are boosted 
by WinAlign by checking your WINALI.INI file
(in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM). You can try adding 
programs, DLLs and other files to this list to tell Win98 
to "WinAlign" them, but they may or may not work. 
If you're going to add unsupported applications, 
first make sure you have a full system backup.


*7. Build a Better Backup

Win98 comes with an improved Backup utility. 
If you want to use it for automatic backups launched 
by the Win98 Task Scheduler, you'll need to make a 
change. Open the Backup utility 
(Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup)
and click on the Open button. Click on the Options 
button at the bottom of the window and open the 
Report tab. Select the "Perform an unattended 
backup" option.


*8. Install the New Tweak UI

Win98 comes with a new version of Tweak UI. 
To install it, insert the Win98 CD; from the opening 
screen, choose Browse This CD. Navigate to the
 \TOOLS\RESKIT\POWERTOY folder. (Some 
computer vendors do not provide TweakUI on their 
CDs; if this is the case you can download it from 
http://www.winmag.com/win98/software.htm.) 
Right-click on the TWEAKUI.INF file and choose 
Install from the pop-up menu. Setup is done when 
a Help screen opens. Click on the X in the 
corner to finish the installation and then launch Tweak UI 
from the Control Panel.


*9. Install the New Tweak UI

Double-click on the Tweak UI icon in Control Panel 
and select the Tweak UI Explorer tab. Check Light
Arrow in the Shortcut Overlay section. Deselect the 
animated "Click here to begin (if room)" and 
"Tip of the Day" items in the Startup area. And get rid 
of the prefix Shortcut To on New Shortcuts items in 
Settings. Click on the Mouse tab and slide the Menu 
speed slider all the way to the left to make menus appear 
instantaneously.Then click the Tips button for more 
Tweak UI tips in Windows Help format. You can make 
windows snap rather than zoom when you minimize, maximize
or restore them. Select the General tab and deselect 
the Window Animation box under Effects.


*10. Disable the Display Option

** This tip provided by http://www.winmd.com **

Use this Registry setting to disable the Display icon in
Control Panel, as well as the Properties option when a user
right-clicks on the desktop.  By disabling these options,
you will stop the user from changing settings that control
monitor resolution as well as screen saver and wallpaper
options. To disable this option for a user, open the
Registry Editor and go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\System

Edit the value "NoDispCPL" (DWORD value) and set the value
equal to "1"(without quotes) to disable the Display icon
(if the value/key does not already exist, create it).  To
re-enable the option, delete the above value or set the
value to "0". The setting will take effect immediately and
does not require a reboot.

** this tip is for users who are familiar with the Registry Editor **
