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System Configuration Utility with Win98

There is a program called MSCONFIG.EXE located in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
With it you can configure your

  • Startup Options
  • CONFIG.SYS
  • AUTOEXEC.BAT
  • SYSTEM.INI
  • WIN.INI
  • Programs that are starting from the Registry

You can then easily check or uncheck any of the items in each section

System Information Utility with Win98

To check on various system configurations such as:

  • Hardware Resources and Conflicts
  • System File Checker
  • Registry Checker
  • Version Conflict Manager
  • Hardware Components and more
  • Save System Settings

Run the System Information utility from Start/Accessories/System Tools/System Information

Running the System File Checker

To check the integrity of key system file, you can run SFC.EXE in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory
It can restore corrupted files, check for changed or deleted system files, as well as restore default settings

Configuring for Single Click

One of the configuration changes you can make with Win98 is to have the mouse only need a single click to open programs or shortcuts.
To make this change:

  1. Open any folder, the Explorer or My Computer
  2. Select View / Folder Options
  3. Check Custom, based on settings you choose
  4. Click on the Settings button
  5. The last section, Click items as follows allows you to configure Win98 for single click

Increasing Drive Performance

You can likely increase your Hard Drive or CD ROM performance by:

  1. Opening up the Device Manager
  2. Double click on the CD or Hard Drive
  3. Click on the Settings tab
  4. If you have a DMA box that is not grayed out, check that box
  5. Reboot when prompted
  6. When Win98 starts again, see if that box is still checked.
  7. This is especially beneficial with the newer UDMA drives which are supported by Win98
  8. This will also greatly reduce CPU utilization during hard drive activity.

Installing the Resource Kit

From the CD in the \TOOLS\RESKIT directory, you can install the Windows98 Resource Kit.
The following is an excerpt from a document included on the CD that lists all the programs that can be installed.

  • BATCH.EXE: Microsoft Batch Setup utility. Creates files for automated installation of Windows 98 and components.
  • CHDOSCP.EXE: Code Page Changer. Changes the Code Page used for MS-DOS-based programs to match Windows 98 Regional Settings.
  • CHECKLINKS.EXE: Link Check Wizard. Finds and eliminates dead links and shortcuts.
  • CLIPTRAY.EXE: Clip Tray. Optimizes and manages the Clipboard.
  • FAT32WIN.EXE: Fat32 Conversion Information Tool.
  • INFINST.EXE: Windows 98 Inf installer Utility.
  • LFNBACK.EXE: Long Filename Backup Utility.
  • MINITEL .TTF Files. Minitel font emulation files for HyperTerminal.
  • NETMON: Network Monitor. Service for remote monitoring of network performance on Windows 98 client machines.
  • QUIKTRAY.EXE: Quick Tray. Organizes the icons in the Windows 98 system tray.
  • POLEDIT.EXE: System Policy Editor. Sets administrative policies to define configuration settings for individual users, individual computers, or groups of users.
  • PWLEDIT.EXE: Windows 98 Password List Editor.
  • REMOTREG: Microsoft Remote Registry. Service for remotely viewing and editing the Registry on Windows 98 client machines.
  • RPCPP: Remote Procedure Call Print Provider. Service for administering network printers from Windows 98 machines.
  • SNMP Agent: Windows 98 SNMP network protocol agent.
  • TEXTVIEW.EXE: Text file viewer. Quickly displays the contents of text files.
  • TIMETHIS.EXE: Time This. Scripting tool that times how long it takes for the system to execute a given command.
  • TWEAKUI.EXE: Power Toy. Enhances and customizes the Windows 98 desktop.
  • TZEDIT.EXE: Time Zone Editor. Creates and edits time zone entries for the Date/Time icon in Control Panel.
  • USBVIEW.EXE: USB Viewer. USB Device information and troubleshooting tool.
  • WAITFOR.EXE: Scripting tool that causes the computer to wait for a signal sent over the network.
  • WHERE.EXE: Command-line tool that reports the location of a specified file on the hard disk.
  • WINDIFF.EXE: File and Directory comparison. Compares the contents of files or directories and reports differences.
  • WINSET.EXE. Command-line/scripting tool that sets global environment variables for Windows 98.
  • WSHADMIN.HLP: Windows Scripting Host Administrator's Guide. Guide to running scripts and designing applications for Windows Scripting Host.

ScanReg

Windows98 has a DOS mode registry scanning program
Several switches can be used with this program

/BACKUP - Backup the registry and related system configuration files.
/RESTORE - Choose a backup to restore.
/OPT - Optimizes the Registry by removing wasted space. This will be done automatically by Win98 if there is more than 500K of wasted space
/FIX - Repair the registry.
/COMMENT="<comment>" :- Adds the specified comment to the CAB file while backing up.

Right Mouse Click and the Start Menu Programs

A new way you can use the Right Mouse click with Win98 are with the programs listed in the Start Menu and the menus below it.
You can now Delete, Rename, Cut, Copy, Sort, Drag Shortcuts to the desktop and more.
You can even move them to different parts of the Start Menu.

Installing the OEM Version Over Win95

Normally you can't install the OEM Version of Windows98 if you have an existing Win95 on your system.
To get around this problem:

  • Boot the PC with the Windows 95 Emergency Startup Disk to the MS-DOS prompt but make sure your CD ROM drivers are loaded on the disk and have access to the CD_ROM drive.
  • Run the MS-DOS editor EDIT and create a dummy file NTLDR (no extension) in the root dir C:\
  • In the Windows95 directory (usually C:\WINDOWS), rename the file WIN.COM.
  • Start the Windows 98 Setup with: SETUP.EXE /NTLDR
  • You will be prompted for the directory to load Windows98 into, by default if you already have Windows95 loaded and are upgrading, it will have c:\windows.000 make sure you change it to c:\windows or it will load Win98 in another directory.

Adding Shortcuts to Menus

If you drag a shortcut to the Start Menu and drop it, you will get a shortcut on your Start Menu.
To add it to a Program group below the Start Menu, hover it there for a second or two and the group will expand.
You can then insert the shortcut into that Program Group.
A divider line will be displayed to let you know where you will be placing the shortcut.

To move a shortcut, left-click on it and move it to the new location.

Adding Shortcuts to the Desktop

An easy way to add a shortcut of a program to the desktop is to:

  • Right click on the icon

  • Select Send To / Desktop as Shortcut

Disabling Automatic Private IP Addressing

A Windows98 computer on a LAN and configured for DHCP will first try to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server.
If that fails they will assign themselves an IP address from the 169.254.x.x range. This range is only for small, private networks.
This is a advantage for those users setting up a small local LAN. They don't need to worry about assigning IP addresses for their computers.
However, there are situations where you might want to disable this feature. For example, a laptop user that has a network adapter installed but is not connected to their local LAN.

If you don't want this feature, you can disable it by:

  • Starting Regedit

  • Go to Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ DHCP

  • Add a DWORD entry with the name IPAutoconfigurationEnabled

  • Give it a value of 0x0

  • Restart the computer

This will disable Automatic Private IP Addressing but not DHCP

Disabling the Active Desktop

  • Start Regedit
  • Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
  • Create a new Binary Value
  • Name it NoActiveDesktop
  • Give it a value of 01 00 00 00

Restoring Your Registry

Has your registry recently been damaged? To determine whether your registry was recently damaged, restore the registry from the previous day's backup.
To restore the registry from the previous day's backup:

  • Hold down the CTRL key as you restart your computer.
  • On the Startup menu, select Safe mode command prompt only.
  • Type C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SCANREG /RESTORE, and then press ENTER.
  • When you are prompted, select Previous Day's Registry.

Note: If you restore a previous registry, you may need to reinstall any programs that were installed after the registry backup was made.

Removing Log Off Username from the Start Menu

To remove the Log Off line on your Start menu

  • Start RegEdit

  • Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer

  • Create a new DWORD Value

  • Name it NoLogOff

  • Give this entry and add the value 1

  • Logoff and back on again to reset the registry

Disabling Web View in the Win98 File Explorer

If you want to disable Web View you can either delete or rename the \Windows\Web directory. Now when you click on Web View in the Explorer, nothing will happen.

Backing Up and Restoring the Registry

You can backup the registry in one of two ways:

From the Command Prompt

  • Boot to Windows98's DOS

  • Go to the \WINDOWS\COMMAND directory

  • Run SCANREG /backup

While within Windows98

  • Run SCANREGW /autoscan

Backups are located in the \Windows\Sysbckup folder in the RB0xx.CAB file. Where xx is replaced by the different backups. The default setting is to keep 5 versions. See the next section, ScanReg.INI Settings, for how to change several of the default settings.

To restore a backup, you need to be in Windows98 DOS.

  • Go to the \Windows\Command directory

  • Run SCANREG /restore

  • From here you can select which one you want to restore

Putting the Desktop Back on the Quick Launch Bar

  • Create a shortcut targeting: C:\Windows\System\Show Desktop.scf
  • Drag it to a toolbar.
  • Then delete the residual shortcut from the desktop.

Adding the URL History to the Start Menu

If you browse the web a lot and want fast access to recent sites you visited, you can put your history list on the Start Menu.

  • Right click on the Start button

  • Choose Explore

  • Right click on the right pane

  • Choose New / Folder

  • Name it URL History.{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}

  • The label isn't critical. The period, braces and CLSID number are.

If you want to search for the string to enter:

  • Start Regedit

  • Search for URL History Folder

  • Right click the CLSID key

  • Choose Rename

  • Press Ctrl-C to Copy

  • In the Explorer window, press Ctrl-V to paste it in.

Restoring the Column Display to the Start Menu

Normally with Win98, the Start Menu keeps added additional programs to the bottom on a long list.
To get it to display in multiple columns:

  • Start Regedit
  • Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\advanced
  • Right-click an unoccupied area in the right pane.
  • Click New / String Value.
  • In the name box that appears, type StartMenuScrollPrograms
  • Double-click this and give it a value of false

Enabling Fast Shutdown

To turn on this feature:

  • Start Regedi

  • Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Shutdown

  • Create a string called FastReboot

  • Give it a value of 1

Hardware Information Utility

There is a hardware diagnostics utility that is installed with Windows98 that lets you view your hardware, registry, conflicts etc.

From the Run box, enter HWINFO /UI

You can view the hardware you have, what portion of the registry is pointing to it, conflicts, drivers used, I/O, IRQ, DMA # usage, and more.

The results are somewhat color coded.

  • File attributes are magenta

  • Registry entries are green

  • Configuration Manger info is  brown

  • Warnings are blue

  • Error messages are red