Windows 9X Tips #3


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*1.   Don't try to compress your disk after converting to FAT32.
 You have to choose either compression or FAT32-you can't do
 both. Chances are, you'll gain more space with old-fashioned
 FAT16 and disk compression. But you'll gain stability with
 FAT32. Take your pick.


*2.   It's easy to change shortcut icons. Although this tip
 applies to Win95, it works better in Win98, because Microsoft
 added to and refined its icon library. To change the icon for
 a specific shortcut, right-click on it, choose Properties, then
 click on the Change Icon button in the Shortcut tab. Enter
 C:WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL in the File Name box, and select
 an icon from those in the palette. You can also use the Browse
 button to search through ICL, DLL, ICO and other files on your
 hard drive that may contain icons. Click on OK to change to
 the new icon.


*3.   A swap file is a file on your hard disk that Windows uses
 as "fake" RAM when applications use up the available physical
 RAM. Swap files were a big deal in Windows 3.1, because
 changing the size of your permanent swap file was a common way
 to optimize performance. Win9x uses temporary files that are
 supposed to change size according to what your applications need
 and how much disk space you have available. But that's not the
 complete picture: In reality, Win9x temporary swap files only
 grow while the computer is on and never shrink until you reboot.


*4.   Quick View is an underused, under-appreciated feature of
 Windows; it lets you quickly and safely see the contents of
 documents without opening their associated applications. To make
 it even quicker, create a shortcut to it,
 C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VIEWERS\QUIKVIEW.EXE, and then drag and drop
 a file onto the icon to view it.


*5.   If you don't use the number keys on the numeric keypad,
 you can use them as single-click keyboard shortcuts for
 launching your 10 favorite apps. Start by pressing the Num Lock
 key if it isn't already on. Next, right-click on an existing
 program shortcut and choose Properties. Open the Shortcut tab.
 Click once inside the Shortcut Key field, press the number key
 that you want to associate with the program, then click on OK.
 Repeat the steps for each app. For Internet Explorer, you'll
 have to make a shortcut to the Desktop icon first, then follow
 the same steps using the new shortcut. If your Num Lock key
 isn't turned on by default, check your system's BIOS setup for
 a Num Lock default setting.


*6.   To make sounds play in concert with a program event (Open,
 Close and so on), you can add specific program and event names
 to the Sounds Control Panel by modifying the Registry. Launch
 RegEdit and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps
 Right-click on the Apps folder in the left pane and choose
 New/Key. Name the key whatever the program's EXE file is named,
 minus its file extension (for example, WordPad). Double-click on
 the Default icon in the right pane, enter the program name as
 you want it to appear in the Sounds Control Panel and click on
 OK. In the left pane, right-click on the new key you added and
 choose New/Key again. Name the key according to the application
 event you want; use Open to create a launch sound. Events such
 as Close will also work but will be dependent on each
 application. Click on OK and close RegEdit. Now open the Sounds
 Control Panel and scroll down to the name you just added. Click
 on the Open entry and select the specific sound you want to add
 from the Sound drop-down menu.


*7.   Safe Mode is great for troubleshooting system problems,
 but you normally can't access your CD-ROM drive this way. Here's
 the secret: Restart your PC and hold down the Ctrl key to get to
 the Startup menu. Choose Command Prompt Only, type win /d:m at
 the prompt and press Enter; Windows will start in Safe Mode with
 the CD-ROM drivers. If you still can't access your CD-ROM drive,
 it means your real-mode CD-ROM drivers aren't installed.

For installation instructions, send an e-mail message to
 mshelp@microsoft.com with Q190303 in the Subject line and
 nothing in the body of the message. Microsoft's automated help
 system will send back the instructions.


*8.   Here's a secret tip for creating a shortcut to the Device
 Manager: Right-click on the Desktop and choose New/Shortcut.
 Type C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL.EXE SYSDM.CPL,,1 in the Command Line
 box and click on Next. Name it Device Manager (or another name
 of your choice), then click on the Finish button. Assign a new
 icon to the shortcut as you would any other.


*9.   Ever encounter an application that designates itself as the
 default program for a file extension previously owned by another
 program? The quickest way to get out of this jam under Win9x is
 to find an example of an incorrectly associated file. Click on
 the file once to select it, then hold down the Shift key while
 you right-click on it. Choose Open With. Select the correct
 program, check the "Always use this program to open this type of
 file" box and click on OK. Or, if you don't find the program,
 click on the Other button and navigate to the correct program on
 your drive.


*10.   Sometimes you need to get basic BIOS information fast:
 Open the Registry and drill down to
 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\Root\*PNP0C01\0000. Your BIOS name,
 version and date will all be listed.
