Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Windows/Windows95/Windows NT/DOS/Hardware/ Tips

Hi there' this is my technical page. In this area I'll explain a lot of fundemental things you can do with Windows, Windows NT, & DOS environments.
I also an adding several tips for anyone whom likes to work with hardware.
I am A+ Certified Computer-Telecom-LAN Techncian. I am not bosting that I am some great wizard at computers. But I am Certified in Windows/DOS/and as a Core/Service Techncian..


I have been working on an with computers for a long time. And the tips I am sharing here
are from experience. I hope you find this portion of my page informative.


Dual Boot to Windows 3.11 or Windows 95.
How to bypass the Windows 95 logo.
How to restrict your display settings.
How to disable the Find command
How to set your own Virtual Memory settings.
How to rename the recycle bin.
Tips for Windows95

Dual boot from Windows 3.11 or Windows 95

Windows 3.x, Windows 95

Boot to Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
A. Windows 3.1, 3.11, or any version of Windows
for Workgroups runs just fine on top of Windows
95's real-mode operating system core, so you
don't need to reinstall your old version of DOS
or uninstall Windows 95.But you will need to do
three things to run both Windows 3.1 and
Windows95:
1. Make Windows 95 stop loading by default at
boot-up.
2. Edit config.sys and autoexec.bat so that they
let you choose between Windows 3.1 and Windows
95 at boot-up.
3. Reinstall Windows 3.1 to a new directory.
For the first step, select Start*Run, type
attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys in the Open field,
click OK, then open the file in your favorite
text editor. In the '[Options]' section, change
the line BootGUI=1 to BootGUI=0, save and close
the file, and reset its system, hidden, and
read-only attributes with the command attrib +s
+h +r c:\ms dos.sys. The next time you start or
restart your system, Windows will boot to the
command prompt. To start Windows 95, type win,
just like in the good old days.
The second step is to add menus to your
config.sys and autoexec.batfiles that let you
choose between two configurations. FIGURE 1 and
FIGURE 2 show the config.sys and autoexec.bat
multiconfiguration files from one of my systems. The Windows 95 configuration may be quite
minimal; strictly speaking, config.sys and
autoexec.bat aren't even required. Your Windows
3.1configuration should load any real-mode
drivers and TSRs required to support your CD-ROM
drive, mouse, or other hardware, plus memory
managers, disk caching, and environment
variables.
Important: The Windows 3.1 path in your
autoexec.bat must point to the Windows 3.1
directory rather than to the Windows 95
directory. Unfortunately, Windows 95 puts the
Windows 95 directory at the beginning of your
path, no matter what autoexec.bat's path=
statement says. The trick is to have two path
statements--one that triggers Windows 95's
annoying override behavior, and one that points
to the Windows 3.1directory. The strange part of
this trick is that you must disable the first
path statement by preceding it with a semicolon;
the rem statement won't do the job. If you don't
need a path for your Windows 95 configuration,
place the statement ;path= (with no directories)
on the line before your Windows 3.1 path
statement.
The [common] label at the end of config.sys
allows other programs to add statements that
both configurations will see. You may not want
new statements to be shared by both versions,
however. For example, Windows for Workgroups
3.11 will add the 32-bit file access driver
ifshlp.sys and prevent Windows 95 from booting.
In this example, deleting [common] will make new
config.sys statements a part of the win31 block
only.

Once you're satisfied that your
multiple-configuration boot files are loading
properly, boot to your Windows 3.1 configuration
and install Windows 3.1 to the directory in
autoexec.bat's 'set path=' statement (I chose
win31). It won't hurt to dig up installation
disks for all your peripherals, and even a copy
of your old Windows 3.1 config.sys and
autoexec.bat files.
Near the end of installation, the setup utility
in Windows 3.1 may inform you that it couldn't
modify config.sys and autoexec.bat files because
of the multiple configurations. When setup is
complete, go to the Windows 3.1 directory and
peruse the contents of config .win and
autoexec.win. If nothing Windows has added (in
uppercase) looks like a recipe for boot
disaster, make backups of your current
config.sys and autoexec.bat, then copy the new
files to your root directory with the commands
copy config.win c:\config.sys and copy
autoexec.winc:\autoexec.bat.
When you reboot, Windows 95 presents a menu of
the two Windows versions. Select one, and it
starts up.

Bypass the Windows Logo in Windows 95

Go into device manager (right click my computer go to properties then click device
manager) dbl click CD_ROM, write down the make and model number. Then do a net search
for that make and mdl number (IE Sony cd-r345)Locate Dos Drivers for the CD. Then copy
them onto the diskette drive, edit the config.sys and autoexec.bat for the cd and it should
work fine. Also you will need mscdex.exe on the boot disk as well. you should find it in
the C:\Windows\command this is where most of the DOS commands are kept in 95. Good Luck

Restrict Display Settings.
Ever wish you could stop other users of your computer from changing your display settings such
as color scheme, font size, etc?
You can set this restriction (among others) using the
System Policy Editor, a neat little tool found on the Windows 95 installation CD.
If you can't find the CD, you can download the Policy Editor from Microsoft's Web site, at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/admintools.htm

First, put the Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, and use Explorer to locate
the directory X:\Admin\Apptools\Poledit (where "X" is your CD-ROM drive).
Double-click on Poledit.exe to open the System Policy Editor. If prompted, open the
Admin.adm file. Now, in the System Policy Editor window, click on the File menu,
choose Open Registry, and double-click the Local User icon.

To set the restriction, double-click the Control Panel book, then the Display book.
Choose Restrict Display Control Panel, and a list of options will show at the bottom
of the dialog box. To lock the entire Display Properties dialog box, select Disable
Display Control Panel. To lock out only single tabs of the dialog box,
select the appropriate options. (For example, if you don't want anyone messing
with your wallpaper, select Hide Background page.) After making your selections,
click OK and select File, Save.

Now when someone tries to change the Display Properties, they will get an error message
on any item you've chosen to have restricted access. Be sure to keep the Windows 95
installation CD out of sight, or someone else can access the Policy Editor.
Remember, when you want to change things, you'll need to undo any restrictions you've
set by opening the Policy Editor and unchecking any items you've denied access to before
Windows will allow the changes.

Disable Find command on your computer:

Here's the technique for disabling the Find command.

The System Policy Editor is a utility found on the Windows 95
installation CD. If you don't have the CD, you can download the Policy
Editor from Microsoft's Web site, at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/admintools.htm

To open the Policy Editor, with the Windows 95 installation CD in your
CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to X:\Admin\Apptools\Poledit (where
"X" is your CD-ROM drive) and double-click Poledit.exe. In the System
Policy Editor window, pull down the File menu, select Open Registry,
and double-click the Local User icon.

To disable the Start menu's Find item, double-click Shell,
double-click Restrictions, and select the Remove Find Command option.
Click OK, select File, Save, and exit the Policy Editor. When you
restart Windows, Find will no longer appear in the Start menu, and
pressing F3 does nothing!

Set your own virtual mem settings:

The Windows 95 Resource Kit will advise you to let
Windows 95 manage your virtual memory settings
for the best overall performance of your system. This isn't always the case. Windows 95 will
often dynamically adjust the size of the swap file and cause momentary periods of wild disk
activity while you sit and wait for control to be returned to your system before resuming work.
To set the disk cache to a finite size stop this erratic disk activity, do the following:

First, defragment your hard disk by using Windows 95's Disk Defragmentation Utility.
2 Right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties"
3 Select the 'Performance" tab, and click the "Virtual Memory" button
4 Click the "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings" option button
5 Select the disk drive you want your swap file to be located on
6 Specify the same size for both "Minimum'"and '"Maximum" virtual memory settings.
A good starting value is 2.5 times the amount of physical RAM
7 Click "Okay" and restart your computer for the changes to take effect

"How do I rename my Recycle Bin?"

In order to change the name of your Recycle Bin, you'll need to
search and replace all instances of 'Recycle Bin' in the Registry with
the name of your choice, such as 'Trash, Please'. (Why Microsoft
omitted the Rename command from its context menu is still a mystery.)
As always, back up your Registry files--User.dat and
System.dat--before following these steps.

First, open the Registry Editor: select Start, Run, type

regedit

and click OK. Next, pull down the Edit menu, select Find, type Recycle
Bin on the 'Find what' line, and click the Find Next button. When it
finds the first instance of "Recycle Bin," the finder will stop with
an item highlighted in the right pane. Right-mouse click this item,
select Modify, and in the Edit String dialog box, highlight the words
"Recycle Bin" (sometimes they'll appear within a long line of words),
and replace them with your name of choice. Click OK, press F3, and
repeat these steps to replace each occurrence of "Recycle Bin."

About 8 or 9 changes later, a dialog box will appear to indicate that
the search is complete. Close the Registry Editor, click the desktop
once, press F5 (for refresh), and you'll see a trash bin of a
different name.

Customize Help Directory.

Access any help file you seem to be going back to many times easy.

1. In any Windows application, such as Program Manager, choose Help +
Contents (or Help + Search for Help On) and navigate your way to any
topic.
2. Choose Bookmark + Define.
3. Type a name for the bookmark in the Bookmark Name box.
4. Click OK.

From now on, you can access this topic directly from any Windows Help
window: Choose Bookmark and, in the resulting menu, select the
bookmark by name.

Now some Window Problems Solutions:

Can't access CD ROM in Win95, only in DOS


Possible solutions.

Go in your device manager and check your cd-rom. Click on the ressource tab to see if your having
a conflict. If so, fix it by making sure your using the proper I/0 and IRQ for your CD-ROM
(check your mother board manual.) If your not having a conflict, remove your cd-rom in your
device manager and restart your computer. Windows will reinstall it. Hopefully it will
work afterwards. If not, send the bitch back to where you bought it and make them fix it!

Can't Shutdown, Computer restarts when try to shutdown.

Can't shutdown


Can't shutdown...restarts when choosing shutdown

Solution

Goto Control Panel / System / Device Manager

Delete your mouse driver.

Restart Windows (it will find your mouse and re-load the driver) and it
will now shut down normally. If I hadn't seen this work
(and I've used it a number of times) I wouldn't believe it either!

"How can I open the Policy Editor in Windows 95?


Solution


can't seem to locate Policy Editor.exe!"

The System Policy Editor is located on the Windows 95 installation CD.
To run this utility, navigate your way to D:\Admin\Apptools\Poledit,
(where "D" is your CD-ROM drive with the installation CD in it) and
double-click Poledit.exe. Select Options, Template. In the Open
Template File dialog box, select Admin.adm and click Open.

To access the Policy Editor's restrictions, select File, Open
Registry, double-click Local User, and navigate your way through the
books (as though they were folders). After selecting any restrictions,
click OK, then select File, Save to save your changes.

If you don't have the Windows 95 installation CD, you can download the
System Policy Editor from

http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/admintools.htm

Computer hangs on "please wait page", and regclean no longer works

Solution

If your system has advanced power management
like shutdown the system when windows shuts down,
just disable the power management from setup or from control pannel.
Another reason some virus scanners make problems if it is not working properly.

[Easy Disk Copy From the Desktop]

Create a shortcut on the desktop with diskcopy a: a: at the command prompt
to copy a disk (substitute b: to use b: drive).

Keyboard Shortcut Keys

[Hot and Other Keys]

*General folder / Windows Explorer shortcuts for a selected object:

Keys Action
-----------------------------------------------------------------
F2 Rename
F3 Find
CTRL+X, C, or V Cut, Copy, or Paste
SHIFT+DELETE Delete immediately without putting the file
in Recycle Bin
ALT+ENTER Properties
ALT+double-click Properties
CTRL+right-click Put alternative verbs on the context menu
(Open With)
SHIFT+double-click Explore the object if it has an Explore
command

CTRL+drag a file to a
folder Copy a file
CTRL+SHIFT+drag a
file to the desktop
or a folder Create a shortcut

CTRL+ESC,ESC,TAB,SHIFT+F10
Open taskbar properties

[General control over folders/Windows Explorer]


F4 (Explorer) Displays the combo box
F5 Refresh
F6 Switches between panes in Windows Explorer
CTRL+G(Windows
Explorer) Goto
CTRL+Z Undo
CTRL+A Select all
BACKSPACE Goes to the parent folder
SHIFT+ Closes this folder and all its parent folders

[In Windows Explorer]

Num* Expands everything under selection
Num- Expands selection
Num+ or Right arrow Collapses selection
Right arrow Expands current selection if it's collapsed;
otherwise goes to the first child.
Left arrow Collapses current selection if it's expanded;
otherwise goes to the parent

[In Properties]

CTRL+TAB or
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB Switches between Properties tabs

[In Open/Save Common Dialog Boxes]

F4 Drop down the location list
F5 Refresh the view
Backspace Go to parent folder if focus is on view window

[General Keyboard-Only Commands]

F1 Help
F10 Goes to menu mode
SHIFT+F10 Context menu for selected item
CTRL+ESC Brings up Start menu
CTRL+ESC, ESC Focus on the Start button
SHIFT+F10 Context menu
ALT+TAB Switch to the running program
SHIFT while
inserting CD Bypasses auto-run
Alt+M when focus
is on taskbar Minimizes all windows

[MS Natural Keyboard]

Win+R Run dialog
Win+M Minimize All
Shift-Win+M Undo Minimize All
Win+F1 Windows Help
Win+E Explorer
Win+F Find Files or Folders
CTRL+Win+F Find Computer
Win+Tab Cycle through taskbar buttons
Win+Break PSS Hotkey... (System properties)

Multimedia and Sound



To remove Auto Run when an audio CD is inserted, hold down the Shift key
when you insert the CD-ROM, or make the following changes:

1. Open a folder (for example, My Computer).
2. On the View menu, click Options, and then click File Types.
3. Click AudioCD, and then click Edit.
4. In the Action list, click Play.
5. Click Set Default to turn off Auto Run.

Note: If the Play command is bold, the CD will play when it is inserted,
if Play is not bold, it will not.

[Opening the Media Player From an AVI]
When an AVI file is playing, you can open Media Player by double-clicking
the title bar of the AVI. Double-click the Media Player title bar to exit.

[Master Volume Icon]


You can put a master volume control on the taskbar by following these
steps:

1. In Control Panel, double-click the Multimedia icon.
2. Click the Audio tab, and then click Show Volume Control on the taskbar.
3. Click the volume (speaker) icon on the taskbar to open the master volume
control. Double-click the volume (speaker) icon to open Volume Control.

[Cache Size for CD-ROMs]


You can set the cache size for CD-ROMs via the System icon in Control Panel.

1. Double click the System icon in Control Panel, and then click the
Performance tab.
2. Click File System to view the CD-ROM optimization control.

[Assigning Sounds to Events]


To assign sounds to events, double-click the Sounds icon in Control Panel.

Network

[Hints]
Instead of connecting a drive letter to a network share, put shortcuts
to those shares on your desktop or Start menu (for example, add a shortcut
to \\documents\user\dave instead of redirecting this share to drive Z).
This way, network shares are only connected when needed.

If you work in a group, you may want to keep a folder on a public server for
shortcuts to useful network locations. Interested individuals can
keep a shortcut to this folder on their desktop for quick access.

[Searching for a File on a Remote Server]

1. Click the Start button, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
2. Enter the file name in the Named box.
3. Enter the path in the Look In box, and then press Enter.
[Easy Access to Network Information]
Add shortcuts to network locations in Network Neighborhood. They'll stay
there when you're logged off the network and will cascade to Dial-Up
Networking features as long as they are installed.
[Easy Connection to a Network Server/Share]


Click the Start button, click Run, and then enter the UNC path. For example,
entering \\server will open a window showing shared resources for the
computer named server. Entering \\server\share\direct opens the folder
named direct on the \\server\share share point.
[Easy Access to Network Properties]


Use the right mouse button to click Network Neighborhood to view network.
properties.
Run Dialog Box


[Via the Keyboard]
Press CTRL+ESC+R to open the Run dialog box.
On a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, press Win+R to open the Run dialog box.
[Opening a Folder Anywhere From the Run Dialog Box]


To open a folder, enter its local path or UNC path. For example, entering
C:\Windows\System will open the System folder.
Entering \\server\share\direct will open a folder pointing to the direct
folder on the \\server\share share point.
Start menu


[Keyboard Shortcuts]

Press CTRL+ESC to display the Start menu.
On a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, press a Win key to display the Start menu.
[Modifying Start Menu Items]


Use the right mouse button to click the Start menu, and then select Open or
Explore to view and modify its contents.
[Quick Access to Start Menu Items]


You can quickly open programs at the top of the Start menu by numbering
the icons (rename them with a number before the name). Then, press
CTRL+ESC followed by the number to start those programs.
Some easy tips you need to know, in System Tools


[System Monitor]
Monitors system resources, threads, processor usage, etc.

[DriveSpace]
You can use DriveSpace to compress hard and floppy disks, which creates
more free space on the disks. You can also use DriveSpace to configure disk
drives that you have already compressed using DoubleSpace or DriveSpace.

[Backup/Restore]
You can use Backup to back up or restore files to tape, floppy, network
shares, etc.

[Disk Defragmenter]
Use to speed up your hard disk by defragmenting the files on your hard drive.

[ScanDisk]
You can use ScanDisk to check your hard drives for both logical and physical
errors. ScanDisk will detect any errors, and then repair damaged areas.
Click here for Home Page:
Click here for my bothers Recipe links Page:
Windows NT Tips page4:
Click here for my links Page:

Email: