Windows 9X Tips #24


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*1. Check Your Graphics Card

To find out what type of graphics card you have, right-click
on My Computer, select Properties, click on the Device Manager
tab and double-click on Display Adapters. The card and vendor
will be listed. To check the driver, double-click on the card
name and choose the Driver tab. In Win98, open the Components
section of the System Information utility
(Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information).


*2. Keep Your Hard Drive in

Corrupted sectors and physical errors on your hard drive
will affect performance. You can clean your disk using
Windows 9x's built-in ScanDisk utility. Its default location
is under Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/ScanDisk.
For fastest results, use the Advanced options.


*3. An Ounce of Prevention

Maintain your hard drive by performing these steps at least
monthly, in this order:

1.) Delete all files and folders with dates older than one
week from C:\WINDOWS\TEMP.

2.) Purge your browser's history and Internet cache files.

3.) Run ScanDisk. Select the Standard radio button and enable
Automatically Fix Errors. Click on Advanced and, under Log File,
pick Replace Log; for Cross-Linked Files, select Delete; click
Free under Lost File Fragments; under Check Files For, check
"Invalid dates and times;" and disable "Check host drive first,
" unless you've compressed your hard drive.

4.) Empty the Recycle Bin.


*4. Change the default for REG

If you export a Registry key to disk or create a special RegEdit 
script, double-clicking the file automatically merges its content
with the Registry. You can prevent inadvertent merging of REG 
files by changing the default action to display a REG file in Notepad. 
Select View/Options/Filetypes (Folder Options in Win98). Then select 
Registration Entries from the Registered Filetype list and click Edit. 
Choose Edit and Set Default. When you do want to merge a file into 
the Registry, right-click it and select Merge from the popup menu.


*5. Smart Program Management

You'll increase your chances of getting out of virtually 
any computer problem if you follow this rule of thumb:
Never install a program unless you own it, and have 
the executable setup file and installation CD or installation
floppy disk handy. The same rule goes for programs
you download from the Internet: Always save the installer
files. Create a folder called C:\Setup, C:\Downloads or 
C:\Installers and store the setup files in subfolders named
for each program and version number. Even better, store 
them on a second hard drive or partition. You should also 
copy the Favorite shortcut to the program's Web site to the 
program's folder. If there's a program serial number or license 
file, store that too. If you ever have to reinstall your applications, 
you'll be prepared.


*6. Fast Access to Favorite Files

Here's a great way to get at your most important documents
fast: Move them into your C:\WINDOWS\START MENU folder. If
you have dozens or even hundreds of documents, keep them in
separate subfolders to categorize them. Best of all, the
menu changes as the folder's contents change.


*7. Get System Info On Paper

Right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties
from the context menu. Click on the Device Manager tab, then
the Print button. Select the "All Devices and System Summary"
radio button, then click on OK. This will give you more
information about your hardware, IRQs, ports, memory usage,
devices and drivers than you ever wanted to know. Keep this
printout handy for future reference.


*8. Forget Your Password?

If you forget your Win9x password, just press Escape at the
password box, bring up the MS-DOS Prompt and enter dir *.PWL
at the WINDOWS folder to find your .PWL files. Delete the one
with your name in front of it. Restart your system and enter a
new password when prompted.


*9. Sort Your Recycling

The Recycle Bin lets you view items you've tossed in the same
way as an ordinary Windows folder. If you're looking for
something in the Recycle Bin, select Details from the View
menu and click on the bar of your choice (Name, Original
Location, Date Deleted, Type or Size) to sort by that category.


*10. Put Your Printer on Your

Place a shortcut to your printer right on your Desktop. Right-click
on the printer you want in your Printer folder and drag it to your
Desktop, choosing the Create Shortcut Here option. Then drag 
and drop documents to the shortcut to print them.
