Windows 9X Tips #15


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*1. Know Your File Types

Power users, it's time to get really familiar with your File
 Types dialog. This is where you can turbocharge Windows and
 customize the way it works for you. Launch My Computer, select
 Options from the View menu and click on the File Types tab.
 Scroll down the list of file types, highlight a file that you
 use a lot (an HTM file, text file or e-mail file, for example)
 and click on the Edit button. In the dialog box that comes up,
 you can change the icon for that file type, add extensions of
 the same file type, put items on the Context menu, enable
 QuickView and much more.


*2. Cache in CDs

You can set performance parameters on practically every computer
 that comes with a built-in CD-ROM. Go to Control
 Panel/System/Performance, click on the File System button under
 Advanced settings and open the CD-ROM tab. You can increase
 your cache size and inform Windows 9x of your CD-ROM's speed so
 it can optimize access to the CDs you use.


*3. Quick! Put It on a Diskette

The quickest way to put a file or folder on a diskette is to
 right-click on it, select Send To from the context menu and
 choose "3 1/2 Floppy (A)."


*4. Boxed In

You can select groups of icons or folders on the desktop or
 within folders by clicking outside the body of icons and, while
 holding the left mouse button, dragging a rectangle to surround
 all the icons you want to select, then letting go. You can then
 move, copy or delete them en masse.


*5. Get with the Program

If the object you're dragging and dropping is a program file,
 Windows will create a shortcut in the new location by default.


*6. More than One Find Is Fine

When you need to search for more than one file, speed up the
 process by running more than one instance of Find at a time.
 This is especially useful for searching for multiple items in
 the background. 


*7. Get Back to Win9x

Have you ever pressed the Full Screen button on the toolbar of an
 MS-DOS Prompt window and then couldn't find your way back to
 Win9x? If so, simply press Alt+Enter to return to Windows.


*8. Text File Trickery

Here's an easy way to always open TXT files in WordPad rather
 than Notepad. Click once on any TXT file, then hold down the
 Shift key and right-click on the file. Choose Open With from the
 pop-up menu, scroll through the list of programs and choose
 WordPad. Check the box labeled "Always use this program to open
 this type of file" before you click on OK.


*9. Oust the Update Folder

When you install Internet Explorer 5 over Win9x, you'll find a
 new folder called Windows Update Setup Files in your root
 directory. This folder is filled with setup files that take up
 between 10MB and 20MB of space on your hard disk. It's a good
 idea to save them for a while after installing IE5 to make sure
 it's running properly. That way, you won't have to download the
 app again if you run into trouble and want to reinstall. After
 using IE5 for a while without encountering any problems, you can
 delete these files to regain the disk space.


*10. Take a CAB to Replace Bad

You can manually extract files from your Windows CD or IE setup
 CAB files, which can be very useful when your PC tells you
 KERNEL32.DLL or another system file has been corrupted. Win98's
 System File Checker (SFC.EXE in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder) can
 automatically fix some corrupted files for you. But Win95 users
 can also make repairs using the DOS EXTRACT.EXE tool (in the
 \WINDOWS\COMMANDS folder). Type EXTRACT /? from a DOS window to
 view the syntax requirements and available options for using
 this tool. For more detailed information, see Microsoft's Web
 page "How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files" at 
 http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q129/6/05.asp
