Windows 98 Tips #48


----------------------------------------------

TipWorld - http://www.tipworld.com
The Internet's #1 Source for Computer Tips, News, and Gossip

Proudly presents:
The Windows 98 Tip of the Day

----------------------------------------------

*1. CHANGING DESKTOP ICONS         
     
Shortcut icons aren't the only icons you can change. You can also 
change the icons for specific desktop items--namely, My Computer, My 
Documents, Network Neighborhood, and the Recycle Bin (full or 
empty)--from the Display Properties dialog box. 

Right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Effects tab, 
select the icon you'd like to change, and click the Change Icon 
button. Select a new icon, click OK, then repeat these steps for each 
icon you want to change. When you're done, click OK to apply the 
changes to your desktop. 

Note: If you don't see an icon you like in the Change Icon dialog 
box--for example, you won't see any choices for My Documents--click 
the Browse button, navigate your way to another icon file (such as 
Windows\System\Shell32.dll or Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll), select an 
icon, click Open, then click OK


*2. Universal Command Line

One of Win98's most powerful hidden gems is a universal 
command line. From here you can launch programs, open 
folders, go to Web sites and more. Right-click on the 
taskbar and select Toolbars/Address. When the Address 
box shows up on your toolbar, click and hold on the word 
Address and drag it to the top of your Desktop. Right-click 
on it and select Always on Top. Now, when you maximize 
applications, they'll expand between your Address bar at the 
top and your taskbar at the bottom.


*3. MAKE EXPLORER SHORTCUT FOCUS ON MY COMPUTER         
     
Want to create an Explorer shortcut that gives you the same result as 
right-clicking My Computer and selecting Explore? (We can't tell you 
how many requests we get for this tip.) 

First, create an Explorer shortcut in your location of choice. For 
example, to create one on the desktop, right-click Start, select Open, 
then double-click Programs. Inside the Programs folder, right-click 
and drag the Windows Explorer item out to the desktop, release the 
mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. 

Right-click the Explorer shortcut, select Properties, and click the 
Shortcut tab. Replace the text on the Target line with exactly: 

C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\ 

Click OK, and from now on, double-clicking that shortcut is the same 
as right-clicking My Computer and selecting Explore. 


*4. DELETING ICON FROM QUICK LAUNCH TOOLBAR         
     
Don't have a use for one of the icons on your Quick Launch toolbar? 
Then ditch the icon. (If you aren't familiar with the Quick Launch 
toolbar, it's the set of icons just to the right of your Start 
button.) Right-click any Quick Launch icon--for example, the View 
Channels icon--select Delete, and if necessary, click Yes to confirm. 
Buh-bye. 

(Tip-in-a-tip: To ditch the entire Quick Launch toolbar, right-click a 
blank area of the Taskbar, select Toolbars, and deselect Quick Launch. 
To get the toolbar back, follow the same steps, but select Quick 
Launch.)


*5. ADDING SHORTCUTS TO QUICK LAUNCH TOOLBAR         
     
In our last tip, we showed you how to remove an icon from your Quick 
Launch toolbar: Right-click the icon and select Delete. You can also 
do the opposite, adding any file, folder, or application shortcut to 
this toolbar. 

Locate the item you'd like to add--on the desktop, in the Start menu, 
wherever. Right-click and drag this item to the desired location on 
the Quick Launch toolbar (to the left or right of an existing icon). 
When you see a black line indicating where the icon will end up, let 
it go at its new location and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.


*6. INSTALLING 3D PINBALL         
     
Although we've run this tip before, we continue to receive email from 
people wondering how (or if) you can use 3D Pinball on a Windows 98 
system. The answer is yes, provided you have the Plus! for Windows 95 
CD (or disks), and you follow this exact technique:  

First, copy the pinball.inf file from the Windows 98 installation CD 
to any location on your hard drive, such as the desktop. (Pop the CD 
in your CD-ROM drive, assumed to be D, click Browse This CD, and 
you'll find this file inside the tools\mtsutil folder.) Replace the 
Windows 98 CD with the Plus! for Windows 95 CD, then click Cancel (to 
close the dialog box stating that Plus! cannot be removed). 
Right-click pinball.inf (on your hard drive) and select Install. 

That's it. You can now play the game by selecting Start, Programs, 
Accessories, Games, Space Cadet Table. 

In our next tip, we'll show you how to install 3D Pinball from Plus! 
for Windows 95 floppy disks or from a CD-ROM drive other than D. In 
the tip after that, we'll show you how to install it if you have 
Windows 98 Second Edition.


*7. INSTALL 3D PINBALL ON WINDOWS 98 SECOND EDITIONINSTALL 3D PINBALL ON 
WINDOWS 98 SECOND EDITION         
     
Two tips ago, we showed you how to install 3D Pinball on a Windows 98 
system using the Plus! for Windows 95 CD: Copy pinball.inf from the 
Windows 98 installation CD's tools\mtsutil folder to any location on 
your hard drive; replace the Windows 98 CD with the Plus! for Windows 
95 CD; then right-click pinball.inf and select Install. If you have 
Windows 98 Second Edition installed, the technique is a bit different 
(and easier). 

Pop the Windows 98 SE installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click 
Browse This CD, and navigate your way to the tools\mtsutil folder. 
Double-click Pinball.exe, click Yes to confirm that you want to 
install 3D Pinball, then follow along to complete the installation. 
(You'll need to insert the Plus! for Windows 95 installation CD and 
enter your CD-ROM drive letter.) If you see a Plus! for Windows 95 
message offering to run the setup, close it.


*8. ELIMINATING THE RECYCLE BIN CONFIRMATION         
     
The Recycle Bin provides a nice safeguard against accidental file 
deletions, but having to confirm your deletions might be a bit too 
cautious and could slow down your work. And really, how often does the 
warning message actually prompt you to do anything about what's in 
your Recycle Bin anyway? So, if you want to save yourself a little 
time, turn off the Recycle Bin Confirmation box by right-clicking on 
the Recycle Bin and choosing Properties. Click the Global tab and 
uncheck the box labeled Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box.


*9.  ENCRYPTING BACKUP FILES WITH A PASSWORD         
     
If you back up files using Microsoft Backup (accessible by going to 
Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup), you might want to 
protect your backups with a password to ensure that others can't 
access your information. 

To encrypt a backup file with a password, select the file from the 
Backup Job dropdown list and click the Options button. Click the 
Password tab and check the Protect This Backup With A Password check 
box. Enter and confirm your password and click OK. Be sure to choose a 
password that you'll remember, because there will be no way to access 
this password information without it. You won't need to enter your 
password the next time you back up this same file--you'll only need it 
if and when you want to restore the backup data.


*10. TURNING OFF YOUR CD-ROM'S AUTORUN         
     
If you're tired of CDs starting up automatically every time you insert 
them into your PC's CD-ROM drive, there's an easy way to turn off this 
feature. Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and open the System 
icon. Click the Device Manager tab and click the View Devices By Type 
radio button. Click the plus sign next to the CD-ROM drive, 
right-click your CD-ROM device, choose the Properties button, and then 
the Settings tab. Uncheck the Auto Insert Notification box and click 
OK twice. Your CDs will now load as usual, but your drive won't launch 
them without your say-so.
