Windows 9X Tips #21



*1. Find Missing Windows

Has a folder or program window mysteriously moved off your
screen? It can happen for several reasons-the most common is
that you've recently changed your video resolution. Right-click
on the taskbar, select either the Cascade Windows or Tile
Windows (Horizontally or Vertically) option, and the window
will magically appear (you may need to resize your windows).


*2. One-Minute Life Saver

Prepare for possible PC catastrophes by regularly copying the
following files to a second hard drive, removable hard disk or
diskette-especially if you frequently install and uninstall
applications. From your root directory (you may find only some
of these), back up AUTOEXEC.BAT, AUTOEXEC.DOS, CONFIG.SYS,
CONFIG.DOS and MSDOS.SYS. From your Windows folder, back up
CONTROL.INI, SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI, as well as the SYSTEM.DAT
and USER.DAT Registry files (SYSTEM.DAT probably won't fit on a
floppy disk).


*3. Good Things in Small Packages

Are those icons that are cluttering your desktop getting you
down? Bring them down to size and give yourself more room.
Right-click on the Desktop and select Properties. Click on
the Appearance tab, then the Item drop-down menu. Select Icon,
then pick a size of 16 (the default is 32). Click on OK.
(This works best if you make the words under the icons as
short as possible)


*4. Single-Key Shortcuts

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. -Charles Davis


*5. Bypass the Password

You can disable Windows' log-on password. Open the Passwords
in Control Panel and click on the Change Windows Password
button. Type your old password in the Old Password field.
Then tab to the New Password and Confirm Password fields in
turn, and press only Enter in each one.


*6. Little-Known Keyboard Commands

To expand all the subfolders of a selected drive in Windows
Explorer, press the asterisk (*) key on the numeric keypad
(this could take a while if the directory has lots of folders
in it). But watch out-there's no easy way to collapse them
again.


*7. Little-Known Keyboard Commands

To restore the default column widths in the Details view of
any folder window and many program or applet windows, press
Ctrl and the plus sign (+) key on the numeric keypad.


*8. Reverse Yourself

Sometimes you want to select most, but not all, of the files
in a folder. Here's the easiest way to do it: Select all the
files you don't want to select, then choose Invert Selection
from the Explorer Edit menu.


*9. Try to Remember

Win9x has trouble retaining default folder and Explorer
window settings-such as size, position, sort order, toolbar
status and display type (large icons, details and so on).
Here's a temporary workaround. Open the folder for your C:
drive, and without opening any ot her folders, arrange and
configure it exactly as you'd like all your folders to appear.
When you're ready to set the default, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift
while you click the close box in the upper right-hand corner
of the window. There's a limit to the number of specific folder
instances Win9x can remember, so eventually your setting may
roll off the list. Repeat the steps to restore your settings.


*10. Registry Changes on the Fly

Some of the changes you make in the Windows Registry don't
take effect until you reboot. But if you want to see the
effect of a changed Registry entry, you can refresh the
Desktop and reload Registry defaults without rebooting.
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del. Select Explorer in the Task list and
click the End Task button. When the Shutdown dialog box
appears, choose No. A Program Not Responding dialog box for
Explorer will appear on the Desktop. Click the End Task
button to restart Explorer, reloading system settings from
the current Windows Registry.
