Schedule Your Windows Tasks

Your Scheduled Tasks folder allows you to specify programs to run
automatically at a designated time. This is a handy feature for scheduling
your regular system maintenance and backup programs so they do not
interfere with your work. In Windows Explorer, open the Scheduled Tasks
folder and click Add Scheduled Task. Select the program to run, then the
time of day and frequency with which you want to run it. Select the Open
Advanced Properties For This Task When I Click Finish check box to
fine-tune the task's settings.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Froze in Windows? No response?

If your computer hangs in Win95/98 and Ctrl+Alt+Delete gives no response,
try one more thing before reaching for the power button: Press Ctrl+Esc.
With any luck, this will activate the Start menu, from which you can safely shut
down or restart your system.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Windows Document Scraps Feature

If you are someone always making notes - like me - or need
reminders to attend to important/urgent matters, save your paper
and use the Windows Document Scraps Feature! You may use
any program that supports drag-and-drop (Wordpad, Word,
WordPerfect, Excel, etc.), type out your idea and then select the
text. Drag the selected text to your desktop and drop. Windows
creates a shortcut containing the text and, when double-clicked,
opens the "scrap" in the originating program. Later, you can organize
your scraps by rearranging them on your desktop or by moving them
to other folders.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Closing My Computer Windows

Opening several folders in My Computer can leave a trail of
open windows behind you. Close them all in one quick step
by holding down the Shift key while clicking the Close button
of the last window you opened.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Disable the Password Dialog Box

Are you tired of being asked for your Windows password each
time you boot your computer? Well. let's fix that up for you.
Click the Start button, point to Settings, and select Control
Panel. Double-click the Passwords icon. Select the Change
Passwords tab if necessary,(it might be in front) and click the
Change Windows Password button. In some versions of Windows,
you'll be prompted to select other password-protected services
(such as your screensavers). Do not select anything; just click OK.
In the Old Password text box, type your current password. Leave
the New Password and Confirm Password text boxes blank, and click
OK twice to save the setting. The next time you start Windows, you
won't be prompted for a password.
Back to the top

~~~~~

TidyYour Whole System

The Windows Maintenance Wizard is a Windows 98 utility that
can flush your browser caches and temp folders, check the
hard disk for errors (including bad sectors on the surface
of the disk), and defragment your hard drive thoroughly.
This program takes an exceedingly long time to get the job
done, but fortunately you can schedule the maintenance and
save yourself the wait. To schedule maintenance, select
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Maintenance Wizard.
Choose Express, and follow the prompts to set the time and
frequency. Click OK, and watch as the Task Scheduler icon
appears in the Taskbar's system tray. Remember to leave
your computer running at the scheduled time, and the system
will do the rest. Once you've chosen your options, you can run the
Maintenance Wizard at any time by choosing:
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Maintenance Wizard
and selecting Perform Maintenance Now.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Disk Clean-Up

Windows 98 stores files in the Recycle Bin and in temporary
directories for easier access. However, Windows saves so
many files that eventually the waste can outweigh the ease.
Speed up your computer and free some hard drive space with
Disk Cleanup. From the Start button, select Disk Cleanup
from System Tools in the Accessories menu. A pop-up window
will appear to ask which drive you want to clean. Disk
Cleanup will then quickly scan your hard drive to analyze
the drive's wasted space. Once it finishes, the Disk Cleanup
window will display the amount of wasted space for each file
type that can be cleaned out. Check the boxes next to each file
type you want to erase and press OK. The program will prompt
you for deletion confirmation and clean your machine.
Another way: Start Disk Cleanup With a Command Line.
Disk Cleanup helps free up space on your hard drive by
searching your drive, and then listing the temporary files,
Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files that
you can safely delete. To start the Disk Cleanup tool and
specify the hard disk to clean by using a command line, use
the following steps:
1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the following line and then press
ENTER:
c:\windows\cleanmgr.exe/[drive]
Where [drive] is, type the drive letter of the hard disk
you want to clean.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Why Clean-Up Those Lingering Temp Files?

Temp files are lingering fragments of saved documents or files
that are created and abandoned when you install new programs.
Depending on the problem, removing those files to free up disk
space can indeed be an important part of the solution. Temp files
left by setup programs may be misread by subsequent setup
programs, which could make software installations fail. Also, some
applications can't sift through a buildup of files in the temp folder and
may be unable to locate, read, or write the temp files that they need.
Finally, lingering temp files cause disk fragmentation, and this drags
down the overall performance of the system. Whether it solves system
problems or not, cleaning out excess files is good housekeeping.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Using System File Checker

When you're having trouble with Windows 98 you can try
a little-known utility called the System File Checker. Close
all open programs and go to Run in the Start menu. Type
sfc (small case) and click OK.
Check the Scan For Altered Files radio button and click Start.
SFC will look for files that have been corrupted. If it finds any,
you can use it to extract clean versions of the files directly from
your installation disk.
Back to the top

~~~~~

System Properties

If you have a Windows keyboard with the special "Windows
Key" on it, you can hit the WinKey+Pause/Break to instantly
open the System Properties dialog box.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a diagnostic, bare-bones version of Windows. Safe
Mode bypasses 32-bit device drivers, enhanced graphics modes,
and program features that could cause conflicts. In Safe Mode, you
can remove or replace troublesome device drivers, repair disk errors,
and correct Windows 32-bit configuration problems--changes that
cannot be performed when this OS is running in normal 32-bit mode.
Windows sometimes starts up in Safe Mode if it encounters an error
while loading a device driver on start-up or if the system crashed during
normal operations and was restarted without shutting down Windows
properly. Once the computer restarts successfully, ScanDisk will run
to ensure disk file system integrity and to let Windows boot up in normal
32-bit mode.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Quick Windows Wallpaper

The World Wide Web is a virtual warehouse of clipart,
photos, and other web graphics. If you find one you're
particularly fond of, you can quickly set it as your
Windows desktop wallpaper by right-clicking the image in
Netscape or IE and choosing Set As Wallpaper from the
context menu. (Be sensitive to the designer's copyright,
however. If the owner has posted a note on the site saying
not to use the images, the ethical thing would be to
respect the owner's wishes or request permission.)
Back to the top

~~~~~

Desktop Access

If you need to get at your desktop fast, you can shrink all
your applications onto the Taskbar by clicking the Quick
Launch toolbar's Show Desktop button. (You'll find the
Quick Launch toolbar to the right of the Start Menu;
right-click on it to select Show Desktop.) To restore all
your windows, hold down Shift and click Show Desktop.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Quick Access to Windows Explorer

File management is the key to keeping your documents and
files organized and readily accessible. Windows has several
built-in shortcuts for accessing its file manager, Windows
Explorer. Take advantage of these time-savers by picking
the method that best suits your work habits:
Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop and choose
Explorer from the context menu.
Right-click the Start button and choose Explorer from the
context menu.
Press the WINDOWS+E keystroke combination, if your keyboard
has a WINDOWS key (next to the Alt key).
Back to the top

~~~~~

Eliminate Microphone Feedback

If you're hearing a lot of microphone feedback, your
microphone is probably set to route the sound directly to
the speakers. There is an easy way to fix the problem.
Double-click on the speaker in the Taskbar. Once the window
is open, check to see if the recording and microphone
volume controls are there. If not, go to Options and open
up Properties to check the microphone and recording
monitors. Close that window and mute the recording and
microphone volume controls. This should fix the problem. To
make sure your computer is still recording from the mic,
open up Sound Recorder and do a test record. If no sound
was detected, go back to volume control and remove mute
from the microphone and recording volume controls and bring
the volume for them way down.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Enable Support for Multiple Languages in Windows

To install multiple language support in Windows, follow
these steps:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. Click the Windows Setup tab.
4. Click the Multilanguage Support check box to select it.
5. Click OK.
To enable support for a specific language after doing the
above, follow these steps:
1. In Control Panel, double-click Keyboard.
2. On the Language tab, click Add.
3. Click the language you want to use and then click OK.
4. Click OK.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Change Your Language Settings

Make Windows speak your language by customizing your
settings to a tongue other than English. To do so, click
the Start button and select Control Panel from the Settings
submenu. Double-click the Keyboard icon and click the
Language tab from the Keyboard Properties window. Next,
click on the Add button and choose the language you want to
use from the pull-down menu. Click the "Set as Default"
button to make the highlighted language your default
language. You can switch languages easily with the keyboard
by selecting one of the hotkey options listed under the
"Switch Languages" heading. Select the radio button of the
hotkey you wish to add and press that key sequence anywhere
in Windows 98 to switch languages.
By checking the box labeled "Enable indicator on the
taskbar," you can access a system tray icon that will
switch your language for you. Once all settings are to your
liking, click the Apply button to effect changes. Click the
OK button to close the Keyboard Properties window.
Back to the top

~~~~~

The "State" of Windows

Do your programs ever starts in a "normal" state but you
want it maximized? Here's a little trick for you so you can
do that (and more) with a quick little bit of shortcut editing.
Note: This does work on most programs, but sometimes you
may run across a stubborn program with a mind of its own.
Here is what you do:
Right-click the shortcut to the program and select Properties.
Under the Shortcut tab, there is a drop box named "Run".
In that box there are options to run the program as either
Normal, Minimized, or Maximized.
Normal is the default size, minimized is when it turns into a
little rectangle box on the taskbar (bottom bar) of your screen
and maximized is full screen.
Select the start up state of choice and you're all set.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Uninstalling Programs

Until you are familiar with this procedure, it can be frustrating
not to know how to do this. Here is what you do:
Click the Start menu, Programs. You will see a list of all the
programs installed on your computer. When the list is too
long for the screen, look at the very bottom and you will see
a little black arrow pointing down. Place your cursor over it
to see the rest of the programs. The list will scroll down for
you. Look for the program you no longer want installed on your
computer. When you find it, highlight it. If a little menu comes
up, check to see if there is an "uninstall" option. If so, highlight
and click on the "uninstall" command. If you do not see the
uninstall command, move on to the next option.
Click the Start button, Settings, Control Panel. When in your
control panel, open the Add/Remove icon by clicking on it.
Again, you will see a list of programs installed on your computer
that Windows can uninstall. Click the one you would like to
remove to highlight it, then click on the "OK" button near the
bottom. If the first option did not work, and this option did not
work, there is one more you can try. Read on.
Try going to the programs folder and deleting it by right-clicking
on it and selecting "delete". Keep in mind however, there may
be more files of the program distributed on your computer. It
will not hurt to leave these on your system; it will only take up a
little memory.
There are programs available on the Internet, such as Clean Sweep
that will watch which program files go where and will remove
unneeded files for you. Another good one - and an easy to use
program, is HD Valet. This program I know you can find at
ZD Net.com
If you would like to check into the Clean Sweep program, put it
in the search box in ZD Net or your own favorite download web
site. You would look for these types of programs in "Utilities".
One more important thing you should be aware of: Some files
placed on your hard drive when you install a program are updates
to some of your existing files. If you are uninstalling a program,
and you get a message telling you not all files were removed, it
may be because other programs use and need them. Also, if,
during the uninstall, you are prompted to say yes or no to removing
any shared programs, to be safe, say "NO!" If you mess up an
existing program by saying "yes", you could be in for a real mess.
Back to the top

~~~~~

Enlarge Your Mouse Cursor

Would you like your mouse cursor a bit larger so you can find
it quickly, or just make it easier to see? Windows gives you
the choice in your Mouse Properties. Here is what you do:
Click Start, Settings, Control Panel.
Click on Mouse icon to open; go to the Pointers tab on top of the
resulting screen.
Once there, look for a drop box called "Scheme". Next, find an
item called either Windows Standard (extra large) (system scheme)
OR
Windows Standard (large) (system scheme)
Either choice will give you a larger-than-regular mouse cursor.
Depending on your computer, there may be many other options
in the Mouse Properties you may wish to play with. Try a few,
you may find some cursor schemes you prefer.
Back to the top