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Windows 98 Index I
| Windows 98 Index II | Windows Me | Windows XP | Updated 02/21/05
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Windows 98 
Hey, bohunky0, how come you don't have a page search engine? It would make finding
stuff much easier. ----- Tad
You already have one Tad, push CTL+F and type your keyword! Also now we do
have a site search. See the button at the top of this page.
-------- Bohunky0
Try ZDNet's Windows 98 tune-up guide
Are you tempted to try Windows 98 Second addition? Before you take the plunge check out
ZDNet's, "Windows 98 Second
Edition Superguide".
Preface and my reasons for updating my system
I have been wrong for so long that it hurts!
On way too many occasions I have advised against playing Microsoft's continuing update
plan. After a recent Windows 95 crash and a subsequent hard drive reformatting, I decided
to take the plunge and upgrade to Windows 98. All I can say is....WOW!
What an improvement! If you are currently on the fence about upgrading your OS, don't
procrastinate any longer, do it!
Windows 98 is light-years ahead of Windows 95 and the new Windows 98 Second edition is an improvement above that.
Ever the thrifty and conservative computer shopper, I opted to check out
the basement discount bargain bins for my upgrade and because I had to reformat my drive
anyway, I opted for the full version of Windows 98. Now I am sorely tempted to upgrade
that to the second edition. I have come to this conclusion after spending about 12 hours
in updating my current system at Microsoft's update center. You can spare yourself this
torturous endeavor by simply purchasing the second edition. This upgrade will have all the
recent updates and bug fixes for the original version of Windows 98 plus some improved
functionality. There's a ton of stuff under the Windows 98 hood. We will explore some of
these new features in the future. Until then, go ahead and upgrade, you won't be sorry.
Go to Top of Page ~BoHunky0 did a oh oh!~
Lost
Sounds.cpl in Control Panel
Dr. Watson, I
presume?
Now that you know about Dr. Watson,
load him at startup. Here's
how.
Windows 98
has some nifty utilities bundled on the CD here we have just a few.
System
Information, oh and so much more!
Use the taskbar to your advantage
Use the Explorer Quick Launch bar
to store your Apps,
When Windows 98 tries to find your
installation files to load drivers, it cannot locate your CD-ROM. This usually
happens when you add a hard drive or new CD-ROM drive
Also see, Load your setup files on the Hard
Drive Both of these require editing your Registry.
You want to make My Documents the
active location when you first start Windows Explorer.
How do I troubleshoot Windows 98
shutdown problems?
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q202/6/33.asp
The Windows logo key on your
keyboard has some real functionality. Before you grab the sledgehammer to
rearrange the keys check out what it can do for you. You may even find that it is useful.
If not we will show you how to rearrange your keyboard
through Windows. Not as much fun as a sledgehammer I know, but a whole lot neater.
Create your own personalized icons
in Windows 98. Here's how.
Add & REMOVE FOLDER
CUSTOMIZATION in Windows Explorer.
Take control (Ctl) of your Windows.
Use some basic keyboard shortcuts.
Take Control of
Explorer Make Windows Explorer work your way. Command Line Switches are
key. This article link takes you to PC/Magazine's site. For a quick reference see, Figure 1, shows the most common
switches, Figure 2, shows
what the swatch for a single pane window does, and Figure 3, shows the swatch with
a two pane window with the directory tree. The figures 1-3 are taken from PC/Magazine's
own site and are offered for reference purpose only. To get the best benefit you should
review the entire article at their website.
RE-CREATE SHOW DESKTOP SHORTCUT
FROM SCRATCH
"Every time I boot up I
receive a message saying "error starting program
missing DLL file, ECOMWR.DLL " any ideas? Click here to see a
possible answer.
GLOBAL FOLDER VIEWING OPTIONS
Resolving (IRQ) Iinterupt Request
problems in Windows 98
I have a screen saver, but after a couple of
minutes the screen goes blank and is all black get the sound but no picture, why?
FAT32 CONVERSION UTILITY
Create A Shutdown Icon
Dealing
With OS Decay: Rebuilding Your Windows System from Scratch
Get step-by-step instructions on preparing for and rebuilding your
Windows system from scratch.
Hold down your shift key and Click here to
get started.
How to
Troubleshoot Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Problems
~Bohunky0 had an idea, but lost it!~
Go to Top of Page
Dr. Watson
Remember that nice warm comfy feeling you used to get in Windows 3x? Knowing that the
old 
gentleman was watching over your system ready to spout pages of infamous
technobable. Well guess what! Heeeee's Baaaaaaaack! Only this time the long rest that he
has taken have given him some new tricks.
For some unknown reason Dr. Watson isn't loaded on startup after you install Win 98. You have to elect to do that yourself. Click on your START BUTTON and select RUN from the menu. Now just type DRWATSON. You will notice that a new icon appears in the system tray. Click on the new icon and select DR. WATSON from the menu that pops up. The good ole doctoer does a quick diagnostic of your system and on the first tab that comes up you will find information and a suggestion for solving the problem, if any, that the doctor finds.
On subsequent tabs you will find, SYSTEM..which gives you pertinent information about your machine. The next tab is,
Dr. Watson is the place to start your search for that elusive problem which you just
can not get a handle on.
Go to Top of Page
Return to Index
Windows 98 has some nifty utilities bundled on
the CD here we have just a few.
click on the START BUTTON and then on PROGRAMS. Under PROGRAMS find the ACCESSORIES
section. On this menu follow down to SYSTEM TOOLS. Now click on the file marked DISK
CLEANUP.
Disk Cleanup will search your files and folder of type. Once
scanned you will be given a choice of what action you wish to make. On the first tab, DISK
CLEANUP, you have some decisions to make. What group of files do you wish to delete? If
you are new to Windows 98, use the default selection that Windows gives you. These are
usually safe to delete.
The second tab, MORE OPTIONS does just that, gives you more
options. Microsoft has a flare for the obvious don't they? You can select to have Windows
cleanup
1) rid your system of Windows 98 files or programs you no longer
need or those you no longer use.
2) Cleanup Programs you no longer use will invoke the
Windows 98 uninstall wizard for you to select those programs you want to completely remove
from your system.
3) Drive Conversion will offer to convert your FAT (File
Allocation Table) from 16 to 32. Be warned, this will take some time if you have a large
drive with multiple partitions, and is something you may want to do when the computer
isn't used.
The third tab is the SETTINGS TAB which if checked offers to run
DISK CLEANUP when you get low on disk space. I suggest you leave this box checked if it
isn't by default.
Go to Top of Page
System Information, oh and so much more!
To get to the system information file, click on START, then PROGRAMS
then ACCESSORIES then select SYSTEM TOOLS. Follow the file list down until you come to the
file marked, SYSTEM INFORMATION. Once you select this file you will discover that in this
one innocent looking and unobtrusive file there is a ton of stuff. As you explore the many
features of this file be sure to select the TOOLS TAB. This is the tab that this article
will deal with.
section I
Direct X Diagnostic tool:
This will open Microsoft's Direct X editor. Here you can test your system
for anything
Multimedia. Video, Audio and lots more.
SECTION II
WINDOWS REPORT TOOL:
This tool will open a wizard which will ask you what is wrong and to describe what you
were doing when the problem occurred, and so forth and so on. Fill it out and if you are
connected to the internet, which you must be if you are seeing this article (Ah Duh!) then click to send the report off to Redmond where uncle Bill
and the tech boys will have a good laugh at your expense. Just wanted to see if you were
paying attention. Microsoft's Tech support people will review the contents of the log and
find fixes which will then be posted on their Knowledge
base website for others to find. Once at this site, if you have never used it before,
you may be asked if you want to install a wizard. Click yes and continue.
SECTION III
UPDATE WIZARD UNINSTALL:
This wizard offers to uninstall and update what is currently out of date and if a new
version is available, If you get a message, "No Package available for
Uninstall", you can assume you have all the latest updates or that the updates you do
have have no options to uninstall.
SECTION VI
SYSTEM FILE CHECKER:
This is a vary handy utility. One should not use this to muck about with though. This is a
wizard that you should use only if you are having a problem with your computer. It will
search your system files to discover if any are corrupt or out of date or otherwise
changed and restores them for you. Like I said, a vary handy tool, but it can also cause
some headaches if you are not sure what your system files are all about. If you use it, be
sure to backup your current settings and proceed with caution.
System File Checker will bring up a screen
that will give you many options. If you are certain that a file has been updated through
your system updates, go ahead and check this section. If you are not sure that a file has
been upgraded check the ignore selection. Some programs write new files into your Windows
directory or even into your Window/System directory. Windows 95 accepted these updates to
system files out of hand and lead to many software conflicts. Windows 98 by default locks
it's system files so that they can not be upgraded. Windows 98 will use the correct file
for it's own purposes while allowing some other software program that needs the updated
version to use it's own. It is not wise to select the restore feature either as one file
may have nothing to do with the other. Windows 98 will overwrite the file in favor of it's
own. In this instance your software package that relies on this file may no longer work.
This system has saved my bacon on more then one occasion believe me.
You should keep in mind however, that the wrong decision with this file could mean hours
of reinstalling your Windows 98 Package, Please be careful using this one!!!!
SECTION V
SIGNATURE VERIFICATION TOOL
This tool is similar to the FIND FILES OR FOLDERS that you are well accustom to. This
however has one big difference. With it you can find files on your system that are not
signed or files that are. Usually a file is signed by it's author or distributor as part
of the file attributes. You can also check these files by right clicking on them in
EXPLORER and looking at it attributes. This will generally furnish you with much the same
data. Of course this assumes you know what file to check. This tool allows you to find all
non signed file or all signed files or you may select what type of file to check and so on
and so fourth. This is also handy if you know the author of a file, but not the file name.
SECTION VI
REGISTRY CHECKER
This is a very good tool and has enough safety feature so that even a novice can use it
with complete confidence. This checks your registry for errors and offers to fix any
section that is corrupt or out of date. As with all of these tools the simple rule is, "Back it up, Back it up, and Back it up"!
SECTION VII
AUTOMATIC SKIP DRIVE AGENT
This is used only if you keep getting, "ASD (Access Denied) critical
operations failure on your hard drive. This allows you to still access certain parts of a
damaged drive to retrieve some of your critical files, Like grandma's old Molasses Cookie
Recipe."
SECTION VII
DR. WATSON which we have already covered, see Dr. Watson I presume
SECTION VIII
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY
This is another of Windows 98's great utilities. With this you can backup and restore your
current system configuration, make adjustments to it or just muck about to see what is
doing what and why.
As you can see there is a ton of information here and much
functionality as well. Check here if your system is having problems booting or you have
device conflicts, printer problems and the list goes on and on. Muck about to see what
treasures you didn't even know you had! Note the backup and restore
button. Before making any changes to these system files be certain to back it up before
hand.
SECTION IX
SCAN DISK
This one you should be well aware of. If not I suggest you use it imediately and then plan
to use it often. It can and will correct many hard drive errors. Tip:
If you want a quick check of your drives do this, "Click START then
RUN now type CHKDSK /F the /F switch tells check disk to look for errors on your drive. It
is a little faster then scandisk and will alert you to problems it can not solve so you
can then run scandisk.
SECTION X
VERSION CONFLICT MANAGER
Once you click on this button you will notice some disk activity. Conflict manager, by
default, runs in the background. Once it has completed its task you will be given a list
of files and told that it is a list of files that Windows 98 replaced with newer version.
It will offer to restore to it's original version any file which you uselect. There should
be no reason to do so unless a file is acting particularly strange. It would be better to
run the System File Checker to see if this problem could be
resolved without resorting to this arcane metod. Trust me, unless you are an expert
computer user, this is not for you.
Return to Index
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More advise coming soon, so check back often.
Got a problem you want solved? Email
me and lets see what we can do!
Go to my start Page
Follow the links to define a problem, then click on the correct problem to find the
solution,
You
suspect that your system contains a slew of broken or dead links. These are shortcut files
that no longer have a file associated with them. Let Windows 98 find them for you. Click here to
learn how.
Printing different types of
documents from the same printer, and changing the printer settings each time you print,
can be a hassle. Click here
for a better option
I can no longer see the
Volume Control icon in the system tray. How can I get it back?
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q168/9/16.ASP
If you have installed a new soundcard, try this
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q163/8/86.asp?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0
NOTEPAD LOG FILES
You set up Windows 98 SE's Internet
Connection Sharing (ICS) feature, but now whenever you use NetMeeting
you can't share applications, use the whiteboard, chat, or transfer files.
PROBLEM:
You want to replace the default name and organization entries that appear on the
preinstalled programs that came with your computer. (Please note, this tip
requires you to edit your system registry. Errors in editing could result in loss of
information or the inability for your computer to boot properly. Always use extreme
caution when entering anything into or deleting anything from the registry) The Solution!
Windows allows you to make
adjustments for more accessibility. With this in mind, this tips is to the point. INCREASE SCROLLBAR SIZE
PRINT FROM THE DESKTOP
SHORTCUT TO ICON PROPERTIES
ADJUST KEYBOARD REPEAT DELAY
RIGHT-MOUSE KEYBOARD EQUIVALENT
FORCE FILE TO OPEN IN DESIRED PROGRAM
Deleting something twice can be a
pain. Use Shift + Delete to
permanently remove the garbage
I cant seem to get my scanner to
program in
EDITING REGISTERED USER INFO
Using the Lasso Technique to Speed File Management
USE ASTERISK TO FULLY EXPAND FOLDER
For Quick View for other file types, try adding its
shortcut to the Send To menu.
Change MS-DOS file name length to 255 characters
in a DOS box using Windows 98.
You've heard that Windows includes a scientific
calculator, but your attempts to find it have been unsuccessful
Display the drop-down lists that
appear in certain dialog boxes without having to reach for your mouse.
Problem:
You want to be able to launch a
Windows program with a hotkey. If the program is already running, you want the
hotkey to switch to the program.
You want to shut down Windows fast before you go to work. Windows
seems to take forever and your boss isn't going to understand that you were late to work
because Windows wouldn't let you go!
You want to reorganize your cluttered Start Menu.
With
Windows 95 I could start Windows in safe mode by hitting the F8 key when I saw starting
Windows 95. How do I start a Windows 98-based computer in Safe mode?
Hint----You no longer have EZDrive from Western Digital installed
on your system!
Cascading
Control Panel
You use your control panel applets on many occasions. Trouble is double clicking on START-SETTINGS-CONTROL
PANEL is a pain. You want a cascading menu like you receive in the PROGRAMS
menu. Not my tip, but it is a good one. Find out how to do it for yourself by visiting, ZDNET'S
TIP ZONE. While there take a look at the column marked CONTROL CENTER
for an even better solution. Enjoy!
Free up more of your Tool Bar real
estate.
Your system tray is so loaded with icons that it is blocking out the program bar. You have
looked for them in the START-PROGRAMS-STARUP section, but they are not listed
there. Some of the programs you do not use, but don't want to uninstall the associated
programs. You just want to see what you have loaded in Windows. All you want is to free up
more of your tool bar and eliminate the 90 minute wait while Windows loads all that
garbage. This tip requires editing your registry.
PROBLEM: You're tired of scrolling every time
you have to open a program from the Start menu.
More tips
on the way, so check back often.
Got a problem in search of a solution? Found a useful solution on
your own and want to share it? Drop me a line by clicking
here and we will see what we can find.
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Go to my start Page
ZDNet's extensive Windows 98 Administrative
& tune-up guide:
Go to Top of Page
Solution:
Shut Windows Down Fast
When you shut down Windows 98, you have to go through several steps.
There is a better way to shut down Windows 98 in one simple double-click, or single click
if you are running webpage view on your desktop. To implement this technique, launch the
Create Shortcut wizard by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting the New/Shortcut
command from the shortcut menu. Once the Create Shortcut wizard loads, type
c:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows
in the Command Line text box. (Make sure that there isn't a space
between the comma and the exitwindows parameter, or the command won't work.) To continue,
click Next. When the next page appears, type Shut Down Windows 98 NOW! in the Select a
Name for the Shortcut text box, and click Finish. Now, when you're ready to shut down
Windows 98, close all your applications as you normally would and then just double-click
the new Shut Down Windows 98 NOW! icon.
tip added 9/1/99
Go to Top of Page
With Windows 95 you had to alter the Start Menu by a Right-click
on the Start Menu button, and then you had to choose either Explore or Open to display the
Start Menu folder. Now with Windows 98 you can make quick changes by right-clicking on any
entry in the Start Menu and choosing from options such as Cut, Copy, Delete, and Rename.
Much simpler ins't it?
tip added 9/2/99
Go to Top of Page
To start a Windows 98-based computer in
Safe mode, use either of the following methods:
Method 1
Restart your computer.
While your computer restarts, press down and hold the CTRL key
until the Windows 98 Startup menu appears.
NOTE: If you are using the EZDrive tool, substitute the F8 key for
the CTRL key.
Choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu, and then press ENTER.
Method 2
Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to
System Tools, and then click System Information.
1) On the Tools menu, click System
Configuration Utility.
2) Click Advanced, and then click to select the
Enable Startup Menu check box.
3) Click OK, click OK, and then restart your
computer when you are prompted.
4) Choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu, and
then press ENTER.
tip added 9/2/99
More tips coming soon!
Bohunky0 says you should check back often
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