TASK SCHEDULER
The Task Scheduler, a utility that runs the programs you want, according to the schedule you want. To open this utility, double-click the Task Scheduler icon in the tray of your Taskbar. (If you don't see an icon there, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. Then select Advanced, Start Using Scheduled Tasks to activate this utility and place its icon on your Taskbar.)
If there's a task in the list that you prefer to run manually (or not at all), delete it from the list. Right-mouse-click the task, select Delete, and it's gone for good. Just as easily, you can add a new chore to the Task Scheduler's list. Click the Add Scheduled Task item, click Next, and wait as the wizard searches out the programs on your system. When it finishes, select an application in the list, click Next again, and follow along to set up a schedule for the task. Click Finish, and the new task appears in the Scheduled Tasks window.
The schedule of any chore that appears in the Scheduled Tasks window can be modified according to your own work habits. For example, suppose you've set the Disk Defragmenter to run at 12:30 p.m. (during lunch) on the last Friday of every month. But occasionally, you take a late lunch on Fridays. To be sure Defrag doesn't attempt to kick in right in the middle of your work, change its settings.
In the Scheduled Tasks window, right-mouse-click the task you'd like to modify--here, the Disk Defragmenter--and select Properties. Click the Settings tab and under Idle Time, make sure both options are selected. Under Only Start the Scheduled Task, set the number of minutes you'd like your system to be idle before Defrag kicks in. For example, if you frequently work away from your system for five to ten minutes at a time, set this time to at least 15 minutes. Then, set the number of minutes below If the Computer Is Not Idle to the length of time you want Defrag to keep trying to do its thing. For example, if you never leave for lunch past 2:00 p.m., set this time to 90 minutes. Click OK, and you can be sure that the Task Scheduler will obey all your rules.
You can disable any scheduled task, or you can disable the Task Scheduler entirely. To disable a single task, right-mouse-click it inside the Scheduled Tasks window and select Properties. Deselect Enabled at the bottom of the Task tab, click OK, and the Scheduled Tasks list will indicate that the task has been disabled. (To turn it back on, go back and select the Enabled option.)
To disable every scheduled task, simply pause the Task Scheduler. Right-mouse-click its icon in the tray of your Taskbar and select Pause Task Scheduler. Or, inside the Scheduled Tasks window, select Advanced, Pause Task Scheduler. (To turn it back on, follow one of these two steps, but select Continue Task Scheduler.)
To turn the Task Scheduler off completely so that it doesn't run in the background at startup, open the Scheduled Tasks window; select Advanced, Stop Using Task Scheduler; and close the window.
It's not always obvious whether a certain task, such as defragmenting your hard drive, has been completed or not. Fortunately, the Task Scheduler provides a log so you can see what it's been up to lately. To view it, open the Scheduled Tasks window and select Advanced, View Log.
If you wish to be notified whenever Scheduled Tasks is unable to complete a task, select Advanced, Notify Me of Missed Tasks.

A TWO-PANED VIEW
By default, when you double-click a folder icon, the result is a single-paned window displaying its contents. Wish you could open a folder directly to a two-paned view, Explorer-style? Right-mouse-click that folder, select Explore, and Windows Explorer jumps into action.
Did you already open a folder in a single-paned window, and now you'd like to change to two? Don't waste time closing the window and then reopening it. You can make the switch from within the window. Right-mouse-click the icon at the far left edge of its title bar and select Explore. Windows Explorer appears on-screen with a two-paned view of the folder's contents!
If you find yourself opting for this Explorer-style view all the time, now may be a good time to change the default action of your folders, so that folders open to this view automatically.
In any folder window, select View, Folder Options. Click the File Types tab, then scroll down and select Folder in the list of registered file types. Click Edit, and in the white box under Actions, select Explore. Click Set Default. ("Explore" will now appear in bold to indicate that it's the default action.) Click Close twice to make the change stick.

DESKTOP THEMES
Tired of all those boring desktop defaults? A turquoise desktop, an arrow for a pointer, a My Computer icon that looks like a computer--sure, all these things do their job, but they aren't very much fun. If it's fun you're looking for, try a desktop theme. Each theme offers a unique collection of pointers, wallpaper, sounds, colours, and whatnot to spiff up your desktop. Windows 98 includes all of the themes that were part of Microsoft Plus! (for Windows 95) as well as four new Microsoft Kids themes: Jungle, Baseball, Underwater, and Space.
The first thing you'll need to do is install desktop themes, if you haven't already. Open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab, select Desktop Themes under Components, and click Details. Select the box(es) next to the scheme(s) you'd like to install (keeping in mind that all the schemes plus Desktop Theme Support total 28MB), click OK, then insert the installation CD when prompted.
To see these themes in action, inside the Control Panel, double-click Desktop Themes. Click the down arrow next to Theme, select a theme in the list, and wait as Windows 98 builds a preview. If you like what you see, click OK to actually use the theme (and exit the dialog box). Otherwise, keep selecting schemes until you see one you like, then click OK to see it in use.
Wish you could use the pointers and icons from a theme, but not the wallpaper or sounds? Or perhaps you'd prefer to use all of a theme's components EXCEPT the pointers? You can pick and choose the pieces of a theme you'd like to use right in the Desktop Themes dialog box.
After selecting a theme in the Theme list, but before clicking OK, select or deselect items under Settings. (Tip: To preview the pointers, sounds, or visual elements of a theme, click the Pointers, Sounds, etc . . . button.) NOW click OK, and only those components that are selected will be applied to Windows 98.

SYSTEM INFORMATION TOOL
If you've used Microsoft Office 97, you may be familiar with the Microsoft System Information tool and wondered why such a tool didn't come with the operating system. This terrific utility is designed to help you provide pertinent information to technical support people when you're having problems with your system. Fortunately, Microsoft enhanced this utility and included it in Windows 98. The new version includes many helpful system tools, such as the System File Checker, which checks your system files to make sure that they're all correct, the Registry Checker, which scans the Windows 98 Registry for errors and then makes a backup, The System Configuration Utility is an update of the old Windows 3.x SysEdit utility. You'll find the Microsoft System Information tool on the Programs/Accessories/System Tools menu.

CALCULATOR
When you select Start, Programs, Accessories, Calculator, what do you see? A pretty basic calculator, right? But try this: Pull down the View menu and select Scientific. Now THAT'S a calculator! (If you aren't the scientific type, select View, Standard--quick--before you get lost.)

TIME ZONE
You probably know how to change your system's time zone: Open the Control Panel, double-click Date/Time, select the Time Zone tab, select your time zone, and click OK. Select Automatically Adjust Clock . . ., and Windows 98 will even adjust your clock for daylight saving changes.
But did you also know that you can actually edit a time zone--for example, to change the daylight saving rules? Take a minute to dig through the files on your Windows 98 installation CD, and you'll find the Windows Time Zone Editor. Previously available for download as one of the Windows 95 Kernel Toys, the Time Zone Editor lets you modify existing time zones and even create new ones.
Pop the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive, and if the Windows 98 CD-ROM window doesn't appear on its own, open up My Computer and double-click your CD-ROM drive. Point and click where it says Browse This CD, then navigate your way to the tools\reskit\config folder. Double-click Tzedit.exe, and the Time Zone Editor springs to life.
To edit a time zone, select that zone under Time Zones, click Edit, and adjust any of the settings in the Edit Time Zone dialog box. Click OK, click Close, then--assuming you want to apply the new zone to your system immediately--select the revised zone using the Control Panel's Date/Time dialog box.

IDENTIFYING DYNAMIC IP ADDRESS
When you use Dial-Up Networking in either Windows 98 or Windows 95 to connect to the Internet, the server at your ISP (Internet Service Provider) dynamically assigns you an IP (Internet Protocol) address. If you would like to know what IP address you have been assigned, you can use the undocumented WINIPCFG.EXE utility. To use this program, choose the Run command from the Start Menu and enter WINIPCFG.EXE in the Run dialog box and click OK. The IP Configuration dialog box will appear, displaying your computer's IP address.

REMOVING THE PASSWORD PROMPT
Are you the only person in your house who uses your Windows 98 or Windows 95 system? If so, entering a password each time you turn on your system may seem rather silly. Fortunately, you can remove the default password prompt by making your password blank. When you do, Windows will automatically start up without prompting you for a password.
Windows stores your password in a file that has the extension PWL. The first part of the filename will be the same as your user name. For example, if your user name is Bob, then your password will be stored in a file called BOB.PWL. You'll find this file in the Windows folder.
To remove the password prompt, begin by deleting your PWL file. Next, restart your system, and you'll see the Enter Windows Password dialog box. At this point, simply click OK -- don't type anything in the Password text box. You'll never be prompted for a password again.

RESOURCE KIT
Want to go beyond the basic online help and delve deep into the workings of Windows 98? The Windows 98 Resource Kit includes anything and everything you could ever want to know about Windows 98 (and more). And the best part is it's FREE.
Pop your Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse this CD, and navigate your way to the tools\reskit\help folder. Double-click rk98book.chm and start reading! (It's set up the same as the regular Windows 98 Help--navigate your way through topics in the left pane; read them on the right.)

Some of the tools that are part of the Windows 98 Resource Kit Sampler--such as Quick Tray, are more convenient if they're run right from your hard drive, as opposed to the installation CD. Rather than install each tool individually, why not install the whole kit and kaboodle? (That is, assuming you have an extra 12MB to spare.)
Pop the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse this CD, and navigate your way to the tools\reskit folder. Double-click setup.exe and follow along as the setup program does its thing. The best part is, now you don't have to worry about locating that CD each and every time you want to use a Resource Kit tool. Setup places a Windows 98 Resource Kit folder in your Start menu (after you restart Windows 98).
To access one of the now-resident tools, select Start, Programs, Windows 98 Resource Kit, Tools Management Console. Inside the console, click Close to exit the Tip of the Day, then navigate your way to your tool of choice in the Tools Categories or Tools A to Z folder. Double-click a tool in the right pane, and it springs to life.

By default, ClipTray will display up to 20 entries in its menu. If you have more than 20 entries in the list and don't want to select More every time you need an entry numbered higher than 20, increase ClipTray's menu size.
Right-mouse-click the ClipTray icon and select More. Under Menu Size, move the scrollbar button over until the number of entries matches what you had in mind. If the list won't fit on your screen, click the arrows at the bottom (and top) of the ClipTray's menu to scroll through the out-of-sight entries.
Want to delete a ClipTray entry? Right-mouse-click the ClipTray icon and select More. Select any entry, click Edit, click Delete, then click Yes to confirm. (While you're at it, notice that the ClipTray Editor allows you to edit any entry.)

TEXTVIEWER
Wish you could view multiple text-based files, without having to open each one in a text editor, such as Notepad? Meet TextViewer. This handy utility, located on your Windows 98 installation CD, displays any text-based file--including *.txt, *.ini, *.inf, *.htm, and *.bat files, just to name a few--with a simple double-click. No applications or Open dialog boxes necessary!
Pop your Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse this CD, and navigate your way to the tools\reskit\file folder. Double-click textview.exe, and TextViewer appears on-screen in an Explorer-type window. In the drop-down text box just below the menu commands, select the drive that contains the file(s) you want to view. Then, in the box to the right of that, select the file type you're looking for. In the left pane, navigate your way to (and open) the folder containing the file(s) you want to view. All files of the specified type will appear just below the folder. Double-click any one, and its contents appear in the right pane. Want to see another? Double-click it, and its contents replace those of the first.

AUTO START/STOP
The new Windows 98 System Configuration Utility allows you to turn off any annoying auto-start programs using simple check boxes. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. In the resulting window, pull down the Tools menu and select System Configuration Utility. Select the Startup tab, and you'll see a list of all programs that start whenever Windows 98 starts. Deselect the one(s) giving you grief, click OK, and they won't bother you again (unless you select them again in this dialog box).
here's a much easier way to get there, without all those menu commands. Select Start, Run type msconfig and click OK.

MS SUPPORT LINE
Need help beyond the scope of Windows Help (not an unusual scenario)? Try Microsoft's Support Online. There, you can search the Knowledge Base, a library of technical support documents, with the hopes of finding the answer you need.
You can access Support Online directly from Windows 98 Help. Assuming the Help window is already open (if it isn't, select Start, Help), click the Web Help button at the top of the window, then click the Support Online link at the bottom of the right pane. (Note: If you aren't online, complete any necessary steps to make a connection.)
Complete the Registration information (if this is your first time using the Knowledge Base), then follow the steps to initiate a search--select a product, type in a question or keyword, and click Find. If the Knowledge Base has any articles that match your search criteria, they'll appear in list form. (Or you may get a very annoying 'Server too busy' message, in which case you'll need to try again later.) If an article sounds like it may answer your question, right-click it and select Open in New Window. (That way, if it isn't the right one, you can get back to the list without having to click Back and wait for the page to reload.) Good luck!

FAT32 & COMPRESSION
Have you used Windows 98's Drive Converter to convert your hard drive(s) to the FAT32 file system? Then you have no need for a compression utility--remember, you can't compress a FAT32 drive. So there's no point wasting valuable time and space loading DoubleSpace and DriveSpace drivers into memory at startup. Delete those resource hogs.
Open the Find window by selecting Start, Find, Files or Folders. On the Named line, type d*space.bin then select the drive on which Windows is installed (on the Look in line). Click Find Now, and when the finder stops, delete all the files in the list. (If you prefer, rename these files and then wait a day or two, to be sure that their absence won't affect anything before deleting them.

MICROSOFT FAX?
Just buy a new Windows 98 system? Can't figure out where Microsoft Fax is located (you remember, Start, Programs, Accessories, Fax)? Well stop looking, because it isn't there. If you want to use this utility, you'll need to install it from the Windows 98 installation CD.
Pop the CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, and navigate to the Tools/OldWin95/Message/Us folder. Run awfax.exe to install Microsoft Fax. (Note: According to Microsoft, this utility "requires a Full MAPI Client in order to function, such as: Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging, Microsoft Exchange Server Client or Outlook [the full version, not Express].")
The question then becomes, assuming you want to run Microsoft Fax on Windows Messaging, how do you do it if this program isn't part of Windows 98?
Well, wouldn't you know, Windows Messaging is available on the Windows 98 installation CD, too. To install it, navigate to Tools/OldWin95/Message/Us folder, and run wmw.exe. (Note: We recommend reading wmw-fax.txt, in the same folder, for more detailed information on Microsoft Fax and Windows Messaging.)

CD DRIVERS
Remember all that nonsense about not being able to reinstall Windows 95 from a CD after booting from a startup or boot disk unless you had real-mode CD-ROM drivers on that disk? Not so with Windows 98. Now, the startup disk includes the drivers necessary to communicate with most CD-ROM drives from a command prompt.
If trouble should arise (you can't start Windows 98), and you want to reinstall the operating system, turn off your machine. Pop the startup disk in your floppy drive and turn the system back on. When you see the startup options, select Start Computer with CD-ROM Support, and press Enter. Eventually, you'll see an A:\ prompt. With the Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, type X:\setup where "X" is your CD-ROM drive PLUS one letter, in most cases. So for example, if it's normally D, you would type E:\setup Press Enter and Windows 98 will take you through the setup process.
If you didn't make a startup disk when you were prompted to do so during setup, we highly recommend making one now. To create a startup disk, open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and select the Startup Disk tab. Click the Create Disk button, insert a blank disk when asked, then wait for Windows 98 to finish copying files.
Why does your CD-ROM drive letter change (in most cases) when you boot your system from this disk? After you choose a startup option, config.sys loads a 2MB RAMDrive that contains a number of tools useful in diagnosing common problems. (These files are extracted from Ebd.cab, and wouldn't otherwise fit on a 1.44MB floppy.) Typically, this drive assumes the letter that was used to represent your CD-ROM drive.
To view the contents of the RAMDrive, type dir X: where "X" is the former letter of your CD-ROM drive. (Note: Watch the screen during the startup process to confirm the letter used to represent the RAMDrive.)

Want to know what all these utilities are BEFORE disaster strikes? Pop your Startup disk in your floppy drive and view its contents in an Explorer window. Open Readme.txt and scroll down to the section entitled "EBD.CAB File." There you'll see a list of available utilities. For more information on using some of these diagnostic tools, scroll down even further to the section entitled "Using the Tools Available on the Startup Disk." (Note: In the event that you don't do your reading before you actually need to use these utilities, you can access this same help file while booting from your startup disk. When presented with the three startup options, select the last, View Help File.)

MULTI MONITORS.
One of the more widely touted features of Windows 98 is Multi-monitor--the ability to display your desktop on more than one monitor (up to nine, actually). But before you run out and buy a new monitor and graphics card, remember this: Both (all) graphics cards --your existing card and the new one(s)--must support multiple monitor display. For a listing of compatible PCI and AGP cards, open the Display.txt file in your Windows folder and scroll down to the section entitled "Multiple Display Support." This document is also available online (with a couple of corrections) at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-win981117%2C00.html

MISSING TASKBAR.
Does your Taskbar appear as a tiny line on one edge of your screen, so that when you move your mouse pointer over it, the line only gets a tiny bit wider? Don't panic. Your Taskbar isn't being sucked into the dark abyss behind your monitor's edge. You've just told it to disappear--twice.
Let's assume you like the Taskbar to jump out of the way when you aren't using it, so you've set the auto-hide option (right-click a blank area on the Taskbar, select Properties, select Auto hide, and click OK). Then, in a moment of Taskbar-be-gone passion (or more likely, by mistake), you've also manually clicked and dragged the Taskbar off the screen (hold the mouse pointer over its edge, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag it off screen). Now when you hold the mouse pointer over the Taskbar's edge, Windows 95 attempts to drag the bar back on screen (remember, auto hide is on), BUT it can only get as large as the Taskbar size you've defined (at this point, a tiny line at the edge of the screen).
What's the solution? Hold the mouse pointer over the tiny Taskbar edge, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and haul the Taskbar back up on screen where it belongs.

SHUTDOWN LOCK-UPS.
Some hardware devices are not compatible with the way that 98 just 'yanks the plug' when it shuts down your system and may cause a system lock-up, forcing you to do a cold boot. One work-around for this problem is to disable the fast shutdown mode.
Select Start, Run, type msconfig and click OK. On the General tab, click the Advanced button, select Disable Fast Shutdown, and click OK twice. Restart your system, and the next time you shut down, your troubles may be solved. Disabling the fast shutdown, you really don't lose much speed at all--not even half a second.

According to Microsoft, another common cause of these shutdown lock-ups is a damaged Exit Windows sound file. To determine whether or not this file is causing the problem, disable it.
Inside the Control Panel, double-click Sounds to open the Sounds Properties dialog box. In the list under Events, select Exit Windows. Click the down arrow under Sound, select None, then click OK. (Alternatively, you could turn your sound scheme off altogether by selecting No Sounds in the list of Schemes.)
Now try shutting down Windows 98. If the problem is gone, leave the Exit Windows sound disabled, or use the Sounds dialog box to select a new sound. (A third option is to try reinstalling the sound that was causing the problem.)

ADDRESS BAR.
You may already know that you can get to the Internet by typing a Web address on the Address bar of any Explorer window. But did you also know that with a little tweaking, the Taskbar will perform the same function? Just add the Address toolbar to the Taskbar.
Right-click a blank area on the Taskbar, select Toolbars, and in the pop-out menu, select Address. Presto--there's your Address bar. You now have Internet access on screen at all times. No open windows necessary!
(Tip: As with any toolbar, to resize the Address bar, hold your mouse pointer over the vertical bar at the toolbar's left edge, and when the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag in either direction.)

USB - FASTER HOT-SWAPS.
You've probably heard that USB devices are fully "hot-swappable," meaning that you can attach and remove a USB device without powering off your PC. What is not common knowledge is that the first time you attach a USB device to a port, Windows must go through an "initialisation" phase where it enters the new device information into the Registry. To save time down the road, why not connect your new USB device to all available USB ports? That way, when you hot swap later on, you won't need to go through this process, and you can start using your device more quickly.

MAXIMUM WINDOW CTRL.
Ever click IE 4.x's Full Screen button in order to make that window just as big as it can be (the menus shrink and the title bar disappears)? Well here's a little secret: This trick is available from inside any Explorer window. Assuming the window is not currently maximised--in other words, you can see all of its edges--hold down the Ctrl key as you click the middle caption button in that window's upper-right corner. And watch it grow.
The tricky part is getting the window back to the size you started with. Of course, one way is to close and reopen the window. The other, less obvious route is to move your mouse pointer down to the bottom of the screen (to make the Taskbar appear), right-click the window's Taskbar item and select Restore. (Note: If you minimise the window first, right-clicking the Taskbar item and selecting Restore will only return the window to the full screen view.)

SYSTEM FAULTS - DR. WATSON.
Have you been experiencing system faults? Before you call a Windows 98 support technician, call Dr. Watson. Dr. Watson is a troubleshooting utility that takes system snapshots of the present state of your system that may be able to help solve a problem.
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. In the System Information window, select Tools, Dr. Watson. Click the Dr. Watson icon that appears in the tray of your Taskbar, select Dr. Watson, and wait as this utility generates a system snapshot, resulting in (you hope) a diagnosis of the problem.
(Tip: To view nine tabs-worth of details captured by the snapshot, select View, Advanced View.) Name and save the log file. You now have a great resource for that support technician you're about to call.
To be sure that Dr. Watson is running all the time, place a shortcut to Windows\Drwatson.exe in your Startup folder (likely in C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp). From now on, this utility will load whenever Windows 98 starts.

TROUBLESHOOTING USB.
With any new PC technology comes new tips and tricks to help troubleshoot problems. USB technology is no different.
First, if you're running under Windows 98, take advantage of the free utility called USB Viewer that's included on the Windows 98 installation disc. The USB Viewer presents a complete snapshot of your current USB setup--with a listing of all devices and all hubs. It's a great help when you need to debug a problem on the USB bus.
However, the USB Viewer isn't copied to your hard drive with a typical installation of Windows 98. It's part of the Sample Resource Kit that Microsoft included on the Win98 CD. To install the Sample Resource Kit, run the SETUP.EXE program under the TOOLS\RESKIT folder on the CD.
Once you've installed the Sample Resource Kit, you'll have a new option on your Windows Start\Programs menu: Windows 98 Resource Kit. Launch the Tools Management Console from this menu and look for the USB Viewer under the U to Z folder.

START MENU ICONS.
Wish your Start menu icons were in alphabetical order--folders first, then shortcuts? (If you've done any manual rearranging by clicking and dragging items to new locations, you'll notice that Windows 98 doesn't alphabetise them for you.) You could rearrange them all by hand, but there's a much easier way. With one simple Registry change, Windows 98 will restore order to the entire Start menu.
(Warning: As with all Registry-editing techniques, we recommend backing up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before continuing.).
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Menu. In the right pane, right-click Order, select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Close the Registry Editor, restart Windows 98, and check out your newly arranged Start menu!

START UP WITH BOOT OPTIONS.
Remember back in Windows 95, you saw a Starting Windows 95 message during the boot process, at which point you could press F8 to display the Startup menu? Well, watch your Windows 98 system's boot as closely as you want--you won't see any such message.
So how do you get to the Startup menu? After turning on your Windows 98 system, press and hold down the Ctrl key. Eventually, the Startup menu appears.
Would you like the Startup menu to appear automatically every time you start your system? You don't need to edit the msdos.sys file, as you did in Windows 95. Windows 98 made this setting change a whole lot easier.
Select Start, Run, type msconfig and press Enter to open the System Configuration Editor. On the General tab, click Advanced, select Enable Startup Menu, then click OK twice. Click Yes to restart your system (or No, if you'd prefer to do it later).
If you ever decide you don't want this menu at startup, just go back and deselect the same option.

DOS PRINT.
Assuming you want to print a listing of drive C by creating the text file C:\My Documents\DirListing.txt, open an MS-DOS Prompt window, type dir C:\ /S > C:\DirListing.txt and press Enter.
To send a directory listing directly to your printer: Follow the steps above, but use the following command line. dir C:\ /S > prn (the /S switch in the above commands instructs DOS to search all folders and sub-folders.)
(Tip: To print a listing of only one folder, as opposed to an entire drive, type its path after the C:\ in the above command line.)

Want to print a listing of all the directories and subdirectories on the specified drive, without including all the files inside them? Use the /AD switch as follows: dir C:\ /AD/S > prn
To print a detailed listing (for example, including long filenames) of all the files in a specified folder, without including that folder's sub-directories, use the /V switch as follows: dir C:\{path to directory} /V > prn
(Tip: To add sub-directories and their files to this detailed listing, add the /S switch as follows:
dir C:\ {path to directory} /V/S > prn
If you want to send the information to a *.txt file instead of directly to the printer, just substitute the 'prn' in any of the above commands with the path and name of a TXT file, like so: C:\DirListing.txt

CHANGE YOUR NAME.
To change your name, as long as you don't mind editing the Registry. (Note: As always, we recommend backing up your Registry files--User.dat and System.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--first.)
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion. In the right pane, right-click RegisteredOwner and select Modify. Type the correct information on the Value data line of the Edit String dialog box, and then click OK. Close the Registry Editor, and the new information will now appear in the System Properties dialog box.

DELETING DOCUMENTS LIST.
The Registry-based technique for disabling the Documents list entirely is as follows. (As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.)
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. In the right pane, right-click a blank area and select New, Binary Value. Type the name NoRecentDocsHistory and press Enter. Right-click the new value, select Modify, and in the Value Data text box, type exactly 01 00 00 00 (don't worry about the four zeros that are there already. Just type the above eight numbers in sequence, without the spaces.) Click OK.
Repeat the above steps to add a NoRecentDocsMenu value: Right-click a blank area in the right pane; select New, Binary Value; name the value NoRecentDocsMenu; right-click the new value and select Modify; in the Value Data box, type the above numbers; then click OK.
Close the Registry Editor, restart Windows 98, and check out your Start menu. That Documents list is gone! Now open the Windows folder, and you'll see that the Windows\Recent folder (the one that used to hold the contents of the Documents menu) is gone too!
Note: If you change your mind and want your Documents list back, you have two options. You can delete the NoRecentDocsHistory and NoRecentDocsMenu values you just created, or change the data in each to 00 00 00 00.

DELETING FAVORITES LIST.
The Registry-based technique for removing the Favorites list from your Start menu is as follows (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.)
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. In the right pane, right-click a blank area and select New, Binary Value. Type the name NoFavoritesMenu and press Enter. Right-click the new value, select Modify, and in the Value Data box, type exactly 01 00 00 00 (don't worry about the four zeros that are there already. Just type the above eight numbers in sequence, without the spaces.) Click OK.
Close the Registry Editor, restart Windows 98, and check out your Start menu. That Favorites list is gone!
Note: If you change your mind and want your Favorites folder back, you have two options. You can delete the NoFavoritesMenu value you just created, or change its data to 00 00 00 00.

FAT32
Does your hard drive still use the FAT16 file system? (If you aren't sure, keep reading.) That means you aren't taking full advantage of your hard disk space, and you should consider converting the drive to FAT32. This new-and-improved system stores data in smaller clusters, resulting in less wasted space.
To determine exactly how much space you'll regain upon conversion, run the FAT32 Conversion Utility, available on the Windows 98 installation CD.
With the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, then navigate your way to the tools\reskit\config folder. Double-click Fat32win.exe file, and when the utility opens, select a drive and click Scan. (If you see a dialog box telling you the drive is already a FAT32 drive, you're all set.)

WINDOWS 95 PLUS PACK THEMES UNDER NT 4.0
If you're a dual booter, with both Windows 95 and NT running on your system, you may have wondered why your Plus Pack themes aren't readily available to NT as they are to Windows 95. The good news is, with a simple procedure you can make it so. To make your Plus Pack themes available to NT, use Explorer to locate these two files: themes.cpl and themes.exe. You'll find them in your Windows 95 \WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder. Copy them to your \WINNT\SYSTEM32 folder. Restart your system, then take a look at your Control Panel. The Desktop themes are now available to NT.

STOPPING STARTUP PROGRAMS.
Is there a program that starts whenever Windows starts--one that drives you crazy because you don't need it, but can't figure out how to turn it off (such as AOL Instant Messenger)? The Windows 98 System Configuration Utility allows you to turn off any auto-start program with the click of a check box. Select Start, Run. Then type msconfig and click OK. In the resulting System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab to display a list of all programs that start whenever Windows 98 starts. Deselect the one that's been bugging you (making certain you know which one it is), then click OK. The next time you start Windows, that program is nowhere to be found.

PRINT SYSTEM SETTINGS.
Want a printout of all your system settings--a handy resource for troubleshooting hardware problems? Ask the Device Manager to make one for you. Hold down the Alt key as you double-click My Computer. In the resulting System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab. Click the Print button, select the type of report you'd like to print, then click OK.

MULTICOLOR TITLE BARS.
Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. In the dropdown list under Item, select Active Title Bar. To the right of that option, you'll see two settings: Color and Color 2. Use them to select two different colours (or change only one colour), then check out the title bars in the preview area! They fade from one colour to the other. When you find a colour combo you like, click OK to keep the change.
(Note: You can also select two colours for the Inactive Title Bar component.)

DELETING THE DOCUMENTS CONTENT.
Use batch file to clear the Documents content. Run Notepad and enter del /q n:\winnt\profiles\usernamer\recent\*.* where N: is your drive letter and username is the logged on name. Now, choose File, Save As and name your new file CleanIt.bat. Any name will do as long as you use the .bat extension. Locate a folder for your new file (we suggest the Root folder) and click Save.
With CleanIt.bat in place in the root folder, use the right mouse button to drag the icon to the desktop. When you release the button, choose Create Shortcut(s) Here. Now right-click the shortcut and choose Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Shortcut tab. Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Run entry box and select Minimized from the list.
When you double-click the CleanIt icon, the batch file will run invisibly and delete the entire Documents list.

BATCH FIND FILE.
@ECHO OFF
REM ***** WHEREIS.BAT *****
REM This batch file searches for files, giving file sizes and paths.
REM Wildcards may be used.
CLS
ECHO LOOKING FOR %1...
REM In the following FOR line the letters within the parentheses
REM indicate the drives that are searched.
FOR %%D IN (C D E) DO DIR %%D:\%1/S/P

If you want to find myfile.xxx, at the Command Prompt, enter whereis myfile.xxx. If you change the letters within the parentheses, the batch file can search all the drives or just certain ones. These batch file variations could be named wheresc.bat, wheresd.bat, and so on, to look for files in drives C:, D:, and so on.
To generate this batch file, run Notepad and type the code as shown above. After you enter all the code, choose File, Save As, and name the file Whereis.bat. Locate a folder for the new file and click Save.

FLOPPY FILE SIZE.
An empty formatted floppy disk drive reports 1.38MB of capacity when you right-click the drive A: icon and choose Properties. Why doesn't Properties report 1.44MB?
It's a matter of how you calculate the capacity. A kilobyte is 1024, not 1000. So the capacity of a high-density, 3.5-inch floppy disk is 2847 times 512 divided by 1024, which equals 1423.5. Since 1423.5 gets rounded to 1423, you end up with 1423 divided by 1024, which is 1.389648438MB. The system truncates this to 1.38. The number of bytes is 2847 times 512, which is 1,457,664.

USE DESKTOP THEMES ICONS TO DRESS UP SHORTCUTS
Did you know you can use any icon that's part of a desktop theme to represent any shortcut on your system? All it takes is a trip to the Themes folder.
Right-click the shortcut to which you'd like to apply a new icon, and select Properties. On the Shortcut tab, click the Change Icon button, then click Browse. Navigate your way to C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes, and there you'll see all the icons that are part of desktop themes. (Note: Some themes may be contained in separate folders within the Themes folder. If so, open any one to reveal the icons inside.) Select the icon you want to use, click Open, then click OK twice (to close all open dialog boxes).

REMOVE DIAL-UP ICON.
You know that little icon that appears in your Taskbar tray every time you establish a dial-up connection? It doesn't have to be there. If you'd prefer to reserve that space for other, more useful icons, feel free to ditch it.
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Communication, Dial-Up Networking, and in the Dial-Up Networking window, select Connections, Settings. Deselect Show An Icon On Taskbar After Connected and click OK. The next time you go online, that icon is nowhere in sight.
(Note: You can always check the status of the connection from inside the Dial-Up Networking window. Simply right-click your connection and select Status.)

INSTALL RESOURCE KIT SAMPLER.
Do you like to have lots of utilities at your fingertips? The Windows 98 Resource Kit Sampler is brimming with them--12MB worth, to be exact. This plethora of tools is just hanging out on your Windows 98 installation CD, waiting for you to notice. Install the whole kit and caboodle right on your hard drive. From then on, you'll have access to the Sampler's tools from one central location--the Tools Management Console, right in your Start menu.
To install the Windows 98 Resource Kit Sampler, pop the Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive. When the Welcome To Windows 98 dialog box appears, click Browse This CD. Navigate your way to the tools\reskit folder, double-click Setup.exe, then follow along to complete the installation. When it finishes, restart Windows 98.

You can now access any Sampler tool from the Tools Management Console. To open it, select Start, Programs, Windows 98 Resource Kit, Tools Management Console. Click Close (to exit the Tip Of The Day--typically, they're helpful only to network administrators) and in the right pane, double-click the Tools A To Z folder (or the Tools Categories folder, depending on your preference). Still in the right pane, navigate your way to the tool you're after, then double-click it.
Tip: When you close the Tools Management Console window, select No, that you don't want to save changes, unless you are an administrator and know what you're doing.
It's easiest if you just think of the console as a means of getting to the utilities you need.

Have you ever double-clicked a shortcut and then watched as a flashlight waved back and forth inside a dialog box? If so, that shortcut's target has been moved or deleted. To avoid these hold-ups, track down all "orphaned" shortcuts using the Link Check Wizard.
Open the Tools Management Console, navigate your way to the Link Check Wizard, which is listed as "Checklink" (double-click the Tools Categories or Tools A To Z folder, and so on), and double-click it. Click Next, wait a few minutes, and the Link Check Wizard will present you with a list of "dead" links. Assuming you want to delete them all, click the Select All button, click Finish, then click OK. (Tip: To delete only some of the links, select each one individually, then click Finish, and so on.)
Note: If you haven't installed the Sampler, you can run the Link Check Wizard off the Windows 98 installation CD: Navigate your way to the tools\reskit\desktop folder and double-click chklnks.exe. Or, to install just this tool on your hard drive, copy chklnks.exe to your folder of choice, then place a shortcut to it in a convenient location, such as your Start menu.)

Want your favourite icons in the Taskbar tray? The answer is Quick Tray, another utility that's part of the Sampler. First, let's look at some set-up. Quick Tray has to be running in order to do its thing--the icons you place in the tray won't appear unless Quick Tray is running. So if you haven't installed the Sampler, you'll definitely want to install at least the Quick Tray utility on your hard drive: Pop the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to tools\reskit\desktop and copy quiktray.exe to your folder of choice.
The other thing you may wish to do is place a shortcut to quicktray.exe in your Startup folder. That way, its icon and hence, all of your custom icons will appear in your Taskbar tray whenever you start Windows 98.

RESOURCE KIT SAMPLER: INTRO TO CLIPTRAY.
In the first tip in this series, we showed you how to install 12MB worth of handy utilities right on your hard drive: Pop the Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to the tools\reskit folder, double-click Setup.exe, then follow along to complete the installation. You can now access any Sampler tool from within the Tools Management Console: Select Start, Programs, Windows 98 Resource Kit, Tools Management Console. As this series continues, we'll show you how to use some of the Sampler's tools.
Remember ClipBook, that old Windows for Workgroups utility that manages items you frequently paste into documents (for example, a block of text)? Windows 98 offers a simpler, more compact version of this utility, ClipTray, as part of the Sampler. Open the Tools Management Console, navigate your way to ClipTray (double-click the Tools Categories or Tools A To Z folder, and so on) and double-click it. You'll now see a ClipTray icon in your Taskbar tray.
To add an item, such as a letter closing, to ClipTray, select it (in its native application), then press Ctrl-C to send the selected text to the clipboard. Right-click the ClipTray icon in your Taskbar, and in the pop-up menu, select Add. In the Name Of ClipTray Entry box, type a name for the item, such as "letter closing." Click the Paste button, then the Add button, and finally click Close. Right-click the ClipTray icon, and you'll see the new entry in the pop-up list.
To insert a ClipTray entry into another document, right-click the ClipTray icon (in your Taskbar tray), and in the pop-up menu, select that entry. Place the cursor in the destination document wherever you want the text, press Ctrl-V, and there it is!

(Note: If you haven't installed the Sampler and plan to use ClipTray, you'll want to install ClipTray on your hard drive: With the Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to tools\reskit\desktop and copy the three ClipTray files--cliptray.cnt, cliptray.exe, and cliptray.hlp--to your folder of choice. Then place a shortcut to cliptray.exe in a convenient location.)
(Tip: Place a copy of cliptray.exe in your Startup folder so that ClipTray starts whenever you start Windows 98.)

To add a text entry to ClipTray, copy it to the clipboard, right-click the ClipTray icon, select Add, type a name for the item, click the Paste button, then click the Add button, followed by Close. To insert a ClipTray entry into another document, right-click the ClipTray icon, select the entry (to copy it to the Windows Clipboard), then paste it wherever you want it.
Can't identify an entry by name? Use preview mode to take a quick peek. Right-click the ClipTray icon and select Options, Preview Mode. Right-click the icon again, select an entry, and a preview appears. Click OK to close the preview. (Tip: The last entry you preview is automatically on the clipboard.)
Wish the entry list were a bit longer, so you didn't have to scroll up or down to see all your entries? Extend it beyond the default 20 entries. Right-click the ClipTray icon and select More. Under Menu Size, move the scrollbar button to the right to set the maximum number of items allowed in the list, then click Close.

Not happy with the order in which ClipTray arranges your entries (which, by default, is the order in which they were added)? Then by all means, rearrange them. Right-click the ClipTray icon and select More. Select an entry you'd like to move, then use the Move Up or Move Down button to adjust the entry's position. When you're finished, click Close.
Remember to delete unused entries in order to keep the ClipTray list down to a manageable size. Right-click the ClipTray icon and select More. Select the unwanted entry, click Edit, click the Delete button, then click Yes to confirm. Click OK, then click Close.

RESTORING GREYED-OUT TOOLBAR COMMANDS.
The commands that appear when you right-click the taskbar and select Toolbars may appear greyed out if you have disabled Internet Explorer using Tweak UI. To regain access to these commands, you'll need to re-enable Internet Explorer. Open the Control Panel (click the Start menu, then choose Settings...), double-click Tweak UI, and click the IE4 tab. Click the box next to IE4 Enabled to select this option, then click OK. Restart Windows, and your toolbar commands should be back in business.

TROUBLE WITH A SHARED FILE.
In its infinite wisdom, Microsoft has issued two versions of CTL3D32.dll, an important shared file on 95/98 systems. One version is for 95/98 and the other is for NT.
The problem crops up when a programmer releases software that has the NT version in it. When the user loads the software, it overwrites the current CTL3D32 file and replaces it with the NT version. From then on, many applications (especially TWAIN operations) will not work. HP products, such as scanners, are very vulnerable.
One preventive measure: Make a backup copy of CTL3D32.DLL, so that you can restore it should trouble arise. And for more info, check out http://www.annoyances.org/cgi-bin/ce-showtopic/005_007

ICONS ACTING FUNNY?
Are your Control Panel or desktop icons acting funny (as a number of readers have experienced)--they're displayed incorrectly or they're just plain black? Don't panic. It just means your ShellIconCache file is damaged (not as bad as it sounds). The quickest solution? Delete this file.
First, start Windows in Safe mode--turn on your computer, hold down the Ctrl key until the Startup menu appears, select Safe Mode, and press Enter. Next, make sure that you can see hidden files--open any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options, click the View tab, and under Advanced Settings, select Show All Files. Now open the Windows folder and locate the ShellIconCache file. Right-click this file, select Delete, and if necessary, click Yes to confirm. Restart Windows 98 (ShellIconCache will be re-created automatically), and your icons should be back to their old selves.

REMOVE LOG OFF... COMMAND FROM START MENU.
You can get rid of that Log Off command using Tweak UI. (Quick review: The Tweak UI PowerToy is on your Windows 98 installation CD, in the tools\reskit\powertoy folder. To install it, right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. To open Tweak UI, double-click its icon inside the Control Panel.)
Open Tweak UI and select the IE4 tab. Deselect Allow Logoff, then click OK. Restart Windows, click Start, and voila! No more Log Off... command.

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY.
To open it, select Start, Run, type msconfig and click OK. From there, you can select the Startup tab and disable or enable any programs that start when Windows 98 starts.

EDITING THE MSDOS.SYS FILE.
To change the behaviour of ScanDisk at startup, the solution was to add a line to the MSDOS.SYS file. As MSDOS.SYS is not a text file, how would you edit and add a line to this file?
Making these edits can be a bit tricky. Inside an Explorer window, locate msdos.sys on the root of your hard drive. Right-click this file, select Properties, deselect Read-only, and click OK. With msdos.sys selected, hold down Shift as you right-click it, then select Open With. In the resulting Open With dialog box, select Notepad and click OK.
Note: you could also launch Notepad and then open msdos.sys from there.
Inside the Notepad window, under the [Options] section of msdos.sys, type ONE of the following lines, depending on your ScanDisk (at startup) preference:

Select File, Save to save your changes, then close Notepad. Finally, go back and reattach the Read-only attribute to msdos.sys--right-click it in an Explorer window, select Properties, select Read-only, and click OK.

TELL REGISTRY ABOUT THE NEW CAB FILES LOCATION.
You may want to copy the 30 MB or so of Windows 95 CAB files from the Win95 folder on the installation CD to a folder on your local drive. (That way, you can install components or drivers without the CD.) We also mentioned that when you open the Control Panel, click Add/Remove Programs, and so on, to install components, you'll need to point Windows to the correct path of the local *.cab files. With one simple Registry change, you can avoid this extra step.
(Note: As always, back up your Registry files - System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.)
Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup. In the right pane, next to SourcePath, you'll see the path D:\win95 (or the path from which you installed Windows originally). Right-click SourcePath, select Modify, and type the path of the folder to which you copied the CAB files on the Value Data line. Click OK, restart Windows 95, and the next time you attempt to install a component, Windows will know exactly where to look.

CHANGE FOCUS OF START'S FIND COMMAND.
You can change the focus of the Find window universally, so that right-clicking Start (or any other folder) and selecting Find opens Find focused on the folder of your choice. Here's the technique:
(Note: As always, back up your Registry files - System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.)
Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\find\ddeexec. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the Value Data line, replace both instances of "%I" with the path of any folder. For example, this line might now read [FindFolder("c:\MyFiles\TipWorld", c:\MyFiles\TipWorld)] Click OK and close the Registry Editor.

MEET DR. WATSON.
Experiencing system faults? Don't call a Windows 98 support technician--yet. First, call Dr. Watson. This troubleshooting utility takes system snapshots--a "comprehensive picture of the present software environment"--that may be able to solve your problem.
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. In the System Information window, select Tools, Dr. Watson. Click the Dr. Watson icon that appears in the tray of your Taskbar, select Dr. Watson, and wait as this utility generates a system snapshot - with any luck, resulting in a diagnosis of the problem. Name and save the log file.
Now go ahead and call that support technician. You've got a great resource to help him or her solve the problem.

Wouldn't it be nice if Dr. Watson would take a snapshot automatically when a system fault occurred? It will, as long as it's running. If you want to be sure that Dr. Watson is running all the time, place a shortcut to Drwatson.exe (located in your Windows folder) in your Startup folder. Then, it'll start whenever Windows 98 starts.

EDITING REGISTERED USER INFO.
Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion. In the right pane, right-click RegisteredOwner and select Modify. Type the correct information on the Value Data line of the Edit String dialog box, then click OK. Close the Registry Editor, and the new information will appear in the System Properties dialog box.

NOTEPAD LOG FILES.
Notepad is a small, can't-even-really-call-it-a-word-processor program that comes with Windows 98. It isn't fancy, but it does have one unique feature: log files. Type .LOG at the top of a Notepad file, and it becomes a log file, just like a journal. From then on, every time you make an entry in the file, Notepad adds a time and date stamp. You'll see the stamp the next time you open the file.

NOTEPAD'S WORD WRAP OPTION.
If you open Notepad - Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad and start typing, you'll notice the text just keeps going and going to the right. That's because Notepad's Word Wrap option is turned off by default. If you want Notepad to start your text at the beginning of the next line whenever you reach the right edge of the window, select Edit, Word Wrap.
Note: Once the Word Wrap option is on, size your Notepad window up or down as necessary. Notepad adjusts the wrap accordingly.

SHORTCUT FOR RESTARTING WINDOWS.
Select Start, Shut Down (or place the focus on the desktop and press Alt-F4). In the resulting dialog box, select Restart The Computer, then hold down the Shift key while clicking the Yes button. Windows 95 restarts without shutting down and rebooting the entire system.

MISSING PROPERTIES DIALOG BOX.
Have you ever opened a Properties dialog box - for example, by right-clicking the desktop and selecting Properties - switched to another window, and then come back to the desktop, only to discover that the Properties box is gone? Chances are, you clicked the Show Desktop icon (on the Quick Launch toolbar) or pressed Windows-D. Either way, you're asking Windows 98 to reveal the desktop, meaning it sends all open windows to the Taskbar and any open Properties boxes off to oblivion.
Or so it seems. To reveal that hiding Properties box, press Alt-Tab to display all open windows. Still holding Alt, press Tab repeatedly until the icon representing the missing Properties box is highlighted (you'll know by the names at the bottom of the box). Release the keys, and there's that Properties box. 

INTELLIMOUSE TRICK.
If you have a scrolling mouse, you can hold down the Ctrl key and scroll your mouse button to change the size of the text. This is great if you have to print something. Just make the text smaller, then increase it again.
Although this works in Outlook Express 5, it may not work in Outlook.

CREATE POP-OUT FOLDERS.
Want quick access to all the items in your Control Panel? Add a pop-out Control Panel folder to your Start menu.
Right-click the Start button, select Open, and in the resulting Start Menu window, select File, New, Folder. To name the folder, type exactly Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} and then press Enter. (Note that there's no space between the period and the opening bracket.) Click Start, select the new folder, and you'll see a menu of all Control Panel items.

To create a Printers folder, follow the same steps, but name the folder Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} To create a Dial-Up Networking folder, name the folder DUN.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Note: The end result is an empty folder. You'll need to add items to it manually by dragging them from the original folder and dropping them inside the new one on the Start menu.

CHANGE HARD DRIVE ICON.
Want to change the icon used to represent your hard drive? Here's how: Open Notepad (select Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad) and type exactly:
[autorun]
icon=PATH,#

Where PATH is the path of the icon file containing the icon you want to use, and # is its number (see note below for more information). So, for example, if you wanted to use a globe icon, your Notepad file would read:
[autorun]
icon=c:\windows\system\shell32.dll,13 

Save the file as AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive, then close Notepad. Open a My Computer window, press F5 (to refresh), and there's the new icon.
(Note: To view the contents of an icon file, such as Windows\System\shell32.dll, right-click any shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button. From there, you can click Browse, and so on, to open another icon file.)

STOP STARTUP PROGRAMS.
Is there a program that starts whenever Windows starts--one that drives you crazy because you don't need it, but can't figure out how to turn it off? The Windows 98 System Configuration Utility allows you to turn off any auto-start program with the click of a check box.
Select Start, Run, type msconfig and click OK. In the resulting System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab to display a list of all programs that start whenever Windows 98 starts. Deselect the pesky one (making certain you know which one it is), then click OK. The next time you start Windows, that program is nowhere in sight.

ADD NEW SOUND EVENTS TO REGISTRY.
We showed you the first part to making new application events appear in the Sounds dialog box. Inside the Registry Editor, navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. For each application for which you'd like to add events, right-click the Apps key, select New, Key, type the name of a program's *.exe file without the extension or path, and press Enter. Right-click (Default), select Modify, type the application name, and click OK.
Now, under each new application key, create a key for each event with which you'd like to associate sounds. Right-click the application key, select New, Key, type a legitimate event name, and press Enter. (To view a list of these names, double-click the Default key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps.) Repeat these steps for each of the application's events you'd like to see in the Events list, then follow these same steps to add events for other applications.
When you're finished, close the Registry Editor. The next time you open the Sounds Properties dialog box, you'll see your new application and events in the Events list. You can now associate these sounds with events just as you normally would: Select an event, then select a sound under Name. (Note: If the sound you want to use isn't in the list, click Browse, navigate your way to that file, select it, and click OK.)

USE KEYBOARD COMBO TO SWITCH LANGUAGES.
We showed you how to install a new keyboard language and layout: Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, click the Language tab, click Add, select a language, and click OK twice. To switch to any of the installed languages, click the dark blue symbol in the tray of your Taskbar and select a language.
Don't want this icon taking up valuable Taskbar space? Then hide it. You can still switch among installed languages using the keyboard.
Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. Deselect Enable Indicator On Taskbar, then select one of the two keyboard combos under Switch Languages. Click OK and watch as the symbol disappears from your Taskbar. To switch from one installed language to the next, simply press the appropriate keyboard combo.

COLLAPSE FULLY EXPANDED EXPLORER FOLDER.
To fully expand a folder inside a double-paned Explorer window: Select the folder and then press the asterisk key (*) on your numeric keypad.
When you're all done, and you'd like to fully collapse the folder, your first instinct might be to click the minus sign next to the top folder. Doing so will appear to collapse the folder, but the next time you click its plus sign, the folder will appear fully expanded again. To make all those folders slide back into place, click the minus sign next to the top dog, then press F5.

RESTARTING WINDOWS WITHOUT REBOOTING.
If you make some changes to your computer that require you to restart Windows, you can do so more quickly if you don't restart your computer. To restart Windows without rebooting your computer, go to Start, Shut Down and select Restart. Hold down the Shift key while you click the OK button. Windows restarts, taking only half as much time as rebooting your entire computer.

A QUICK WAY TO DISPLAY PROPERTIES.
Normally, to view the properties of a particular file or folder, you right-click on it and choose Properties. But if you're skilled in using your mouse and keyboard together, there's an even quicker way to get a look at those properties. Just hold down the Alt key with your left hand as you use your right hand to open the file or folder with your mouse (use the left mouse button, as usual). The Properties dialog box springs up, no matter what kind of icon you clicked on.

ELIMINATING THE PROMPT FOR DIAL-UP INFORMATION.
If you're tired of having to click Connect after opening your Dial-Up Connection (after all, why go through another click?), you need to change your Connection settings. Go to your Dial-Up Networking folder (by going to Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Dial-Up Networking) and choose Connection, Settings from the menu. Uncheck the Prompt For Information Before Dialing box and click OK. With this setting, Dial-Up Networking will dial your connection automatically whenever you launch your Connection icon.

CHECKING WHICH PROGRAMS LOAD AT STARTUP.
Many applications are indiscriminate about where they put files on your computer. Even more distressing is when part of a program loads into RAM without your knowledge during a Windows 98 launch. This waste of memory could continue even after you thought you uninstalled the application. A handy Windows system utility gives you a look at the programs that start up whenever you launch Windows. Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. Then go to Tools, System Configuration Utility and click the Startup tab. From here, you can uncheck any program you do not want to launch at startup. Click OK, and the changes will take effect the next time you launch Windows. As you can probably guess, it's not a good idea to disable a startup program if you aren't sure what it does.

SPEEDING UP YOUR STARTUP.
Whenever you boot your computer, Windows 98 automatically scans your hardware to see if a new floppy disk drive has been added since the last time it ran. If you know for sure that you're not going to be adding a new floppy drive any time soon, you can disable this action and save yourself a second or two of boot time.
To disable the search for a new floppy drive, right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Click the Performance tab and then click File System. Click the Floppy Disk tab and uncheck the box that says Search For New Floppy Disk Drives Each Time Your Computer Starts. Click OK twice to exit.

DOWNLOADING MICROSOFT REGCLEAN.
Many people have a steady stream of applications coming and going on their computer. Maybe you like to check out the latest shareware and freeware programs, and then you uninstall them when their licenses run out. If you're constantly installing and uninstalling applications, there's a chance that your Windows Registry is a bit bloated, the result of programs not performing their uninstall routines properly. When programs fail to remove all their information from the Registry upon uninstall, the Registry file becomes cluttered with "dead" information, which can slow down access to it. Microsoft makes a program that can look at your Registry and suggest ways to make it leaner. You can get more information about RegClean and download it at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q147/7/69.asp

USING THE OPEN WITH COMMAND.
If you ever want to open a file with an application other than the one assigned to it, just hold down the Shift key while right-clicking on the file and select Open With from the contextual menu. When you choose this option, you'll see a list from which you can select a specific application to open the file, so you're not tied to the application normally associated with it. 

ADDING A DEVICE MANAGER SHORTCUT TO YOUR START MENU.
If you're constantly using your Device Manager, you might speed things up a bit by creating a shortcut to the Device Manager tab on your desktop. First, right-click on your desktop and choose New, Shortcut. In the Command Line field, type C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL.EXE Sysdm.cpl, System,1
(Note the correct spacing--you may just want to paste the correct text from this email into the field.) Click Next, name your shortcut Device Manager, and click Finish.

A FASTER WAY TO SEE WHICH PROGRAMS ARE RUNNING.
The next time you need to access the System Configuration Utility, just go to Start, Run and type Msconfig 

HOW TO DISPLAY SHORTCUT KEYS IN SCREENTIPS.
When you move the mouse pointer over a Word toolbar button, a screen tip will open to inform you of that object's function. You can also get Word to show you any shortcut keys that might apply to a button. To do this, run Word and choose Tools/Customize. When the Customize dialog box opens, click the Options tab. Now, select the check box labeled "Show shortcut keys in ScreenTips" and click OK.
Note that this change will affect Word and PowerPoint, but will not apply to Excel.

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