TIPS98.TXT Driver File Contents (W95-11D.ZIP)

AXCEL216's MAX Speeed
Windows 98/98 SE + DOS 7.10 ©Tricks, Secrets, BUGs + FIXes

These topics refer STRICTLY to ALL Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SP1 + 98 SE(U)
[a.k.a. MS-DOS 7.10] final (Gold) English releases, unless specified
otherwise!

My Win98 + DOS7 ©tricks are also available at:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/newtip98.htm

WARNING: FIRST BACKUP ALL YOUR HARD DRIVES TO A SAFE LOCATION BEFORE
ATTEMPTING TO MAKE ANY SYSTEM CHANGES!
Take EXTREME CAUTION when modifying your System settings! Faulty
changes may result in computer crashes/lockups/permanent data loss,
or might lead to having you REINSTALL the ENTIRE Operating System(s)!
YOU are the ONLY one responsible for ANY changes YOU make!
ALWAYS HAVE YOUR MOST RECENT SYSTEM BACKUP READY!

BEWARE: These ©tricks have been tried by others (and most by me), but with NO
guarantee they will also work for YOU!

CREDITS: Some of the following tips I stumbled upon while browsing the
Internet, some have been kindly sent by concerned readers (all
authors/contributors are acknowledged and reliable sources given
proper credit), and some I discovered myself. Enjoy the ride!

NOTE: Contributed tips (clearly marked) posted here do not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the author of these files.

Please send me your comments, corrections, tips at:
axcel216@aol.com

MUST HAVE from SOFTWARE.TXT (included):
- WINDOWS 98/98 SP1/98 SE ESSENTIAL FREE UPGRADES + FIXES:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/web.htm#98SE
- INTERNET EXPLORER 4/5/6 ESSENTIAL FREE FIXES + UPDATES:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/ietoy.htm
- 400+ Windows 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP/2003 Power Toys [99.99% FREE(ware)]:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/toy.htm

TIPS98.TXT Contents: [New "©tricks" added at the TOP]

3D PINBALL
KILLER REPLACEMENTS: ME -> 98 SE
PATCHED SHELL32.DLL BUG + FIX [+]
PC RESTORE
FAX 95 TOOLS [+]
REMOVE FIND ITEMS [+]
FIX WIN98 SE USB + SHUTDOWN ERRORS
USE WINME DEFRAG + SCANDSKW WITH WIN98
BRING BACK ATTRIBUTES COLUMN [+]
WIN98 GLOBAL RWIN TCP/IP BUG
KILL SCANDISK LOG
BOOT DISK
BACKUP WITH SCANREG
FIX DEFRAG
HARDWARE INFORMATION [+]
CONSERVATIVE SWAP [+]
ALWAYS UNLOAD DLLS [+]
98 SE + NEW IE5
98 SE ICS BUG FIX
98 SE IE5 COOKIES
CLEAN WIN98 SEU INSTALL
WIN98 LOW DISK SPACE WARNING
MAPPED DISK CACHE
WIN98 ATX SHUT DOWN FIX (My ©trick)
OS UPDATES MADE EASY
MAP THE CACHE [+]
BUGGY TWEAKUI 98 [UPDATED 9-20-2000] [+]
FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 2 (My ©trick)
FASTER APP LOAD [UPDATED 2-23-1999] [+]
WIN98 VXD BUG
CLEAN DEFRAG [+]
PHANTOM DESKBAR
WIN98 PHANTOM DRIVE BUG (My ©trick)
REGISTERED USER? [+]
WIN98: NO INSTALL CODE!
IDE BUS MASTER DMA FIX [+]
STRETCH WALLPAPER (My ©trick)
FREE SPACE BUG!
FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 1 [UPDATED 9-1-1998]
NEW SCANDISK OPTION
SCANREGW, SCANREG + SCANREG.INI [+]
ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON!
98 CD-ROM DRIVER BUG + FIX
3RD PARTY AUTOSCAN
98 SCREEN SETTINGS
STICKY DESKTOP ICONS
DOUBLE PANE EXPLORER
98 ESSENTIALS
98 INSTALL BLUES
WHERE IS LOGO.SYS? [+]
IE4 SEARCH KEYWORDS
GIMME ME BACK MY REGISTRY!
WIN95/98/NT EASY MIGRATION
CAPTAIN'S QUAD OS MACHINE
WIN98 LOGO BUG!
WIN98 CPU INFO
SHOW FULL URL -> REGISTRY.TXT
OPTIMAL VIDEO REFRESH RATE REGISTRY.TXT
FIX COPY/MOVE/SEND TO -> REGISTRY.TXT
KILL IE ABOUT: URLS -> REGISTRY.TXT
FIX TASKBAR BUTTONS -> REGISTRY.TXT
DETONATOR 22.XX BUG+FIX -> REGISTRY.TXT
REAL TIME PRIORITY -> REGISTRY.TXT
NETMEETING ADDRESS LIST -> REGISTRY.TXT
FIX BUTTON SIZE -> REGISTRY.TXT
REENABLE PRINTING -> REGISTRY.TXT
BROWSING SPEEDUP -> REGISTRY.TXT
TIMED SHUT DOWN -> REGISTRY.TXT
CACHE WRITE DELAY -> REGISTRY.TXT
MAXIMIZE NOTEPAD -> REGISTRY.TXT
MORE AIM BUDDIES -> REGISTRY.TXT
DELETE OUTLOOK PASSWORD -> REGISTRY.TXT
CUSTOMIZE YAHOO MESSENGER> REGISTRY.TXT
TWEAK WEB VIEW -> REGISTRY.TXT
ADVANCED OPTIONS GALORE -> REGISTRY.TXT
INCREASE NETBIOS SECURITY> REGISTRY.TXT
CLEAR WM PLAYER HISTORY -> REGISTRY.TXT
UNKNOWN FILE EXTENSION -> REGISTRY.TXT
REMOVE NETSCAPE AIM -> REGISTRY.TXT
REMOVE SYSTEM FOLDERS -> REGISTRY.TXT
96-BIT VIDEO RESOLUTION -> REGISTRY.TXT
CD-ROM/DVD+HD MAX CACHE -> REGISTRY.TXT
TELNET TWEAKS -> REGISTRY.TXT
FASTER INTERNET -> REGISTRY.TXT
ENABLE EDITFLAGS -> REGISTRY.TXT
ENABLE UDMA/RAID HD DMA -> REGISTRY.TXT
DIRECTX TWEAKS -> REGISTRY.TXT
FREE PROXY -> REGISTRY.TXT
DHCP VULNERABILITY FIX -> REGISTRY.TXT
IE CONTENT PASSWORD FIX -> REGISTRY.TXT
TASKBAR TRAY TEXT -> REGISTRY.TXT
TROJAN INFECTED .EXE FIX-> REGISTRY.TXT
DISABLE DEFRAG FILE ORDER> REGISTRY.TXT
DIRECTX FIX: 2 3D CARDS -> REGISTRY.TXT
DISABLE NEW SHORTCUT -> REGISTRY.TXT
SAFE MODE ACTIVE DESKTOP-> REGISTRY.TXT
ALL IN ONE SEARCH -> REGISTRY.TXT
RESTORE IE4 NEW WINDOW -> REGISTRY.TXT
CPU PRIORITY -> REGISTRY.TXT
NEW IE SEARCH BUTTONS -> REGISTRY.TXT
WIN2000 COLOR SCHEME -> REGISTRY.TXT
LEGAL NOTICE -> REGISTRY.TXT
DELETE REG KEY/VALUE -> REGISTRY.TXT
MAX CACHE SPEED -> REGISTRY.TXT
UNATTENDED REGISTRATION -> REGISTRY.TXT
FREE DVD PLAYER -> REGISTRY.TXT
METAL BRIEFCASE -> REGISTRY.TXT
UNCHECK OPEN WITH -> REGISTRY.TXT
TOGGLE MENUS -> REGISTRY.TXT
FORCE ICON VIEW -> REGISTRY.TXT
MANAGE YOUR POWER! -> REGISTRY.TXT
DISPLAY CPL + DLL ICONS -> REGISTRY.TXT
TOOLTIP OFF -> REGISTRY.TXT
FASTER 56K MODEM -> REGISTRY.TXT
IE BLANK PAGE OFF -> REGISTRY.TXT
CHANGE OE5 IDENTITY -> REGISTRY.TXT
TAME IE CACHE FOLDERS -> REGISTRY.TXT
OE5 FOLDERS -> REGISTRY.TXT
SB LIVE! REGISTRY BUG -> REGISTRY.TXT
HTTP SERVER REQUESTS -> REGISTRY.TXT
CLEAR IE CACHE -> REGISTRY.TXT
HIDE YOUR DRIVES! -> REGISTRY.TXT
DISABLE OUTLOOK SPLASH -> REGISTRY.TXT
START MENU COLUMNS -> REGISTRY.TXT
CUSTOM IE TOOLBAR -> REGISTRY.TXT
STARTUP ORDER -> REGISTRY.TXT
WRITE BEHIND CACHE -> REGISTRY.TXT
SCREEN SAVER PASSWORD -> REGISTRY.TXT
BROWSER CACHE IN MEMORY -> REGISTRY.TXT
QUICKVIEW ALL FILES -> REGISTRY.TXT
FILE SYSTEM SYNCHRONIZE -> REGISTRY.TXT
BRANDED MS IE -> REGISTRY.TXT
FORCED EXIT -> REGISTRY.TXT
END TASK TIMEOUT -> REGISTRY.TXT
COOL SWITCH -> REGISTRY.TXT
IBM SCANNER "FIX" -> REGISTRY.TXT
SPEAKER BEEP -> REGISTRY.TXT
MODEM INI STRINGS -> REGISTRY.TXT
MODEM LOG OFF -> REGISTRY.TXT
TURN OFF DMA! -> REGISTRY.TXT
REMOVE PROGRAMS -> REGISTRY.TXT
RUN COMMAND HISTORY -> REGISTRY.TXT
HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? #1 -> REGISTRY.TXT
HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? #2 -> REGISTRY.TXT
CD-ROM/DVD MAX SPEED -> REGISTRY.TXT
MENUSHOWDELAY -> REGISTRY.TXT
ICON BITMAP -> REGISTRY.TXT
NAMENUMERICTAIL -> REGISTRY.TXT
ANIMATED WINDOWS -> REGISTRY.TXT
CLEAR DOCS & MORE... -> REGISTRY.TXT
NO "CLICK HERE TO BEGIN"-> REGISTRY.TXT
IE FONT FANCY -> REGISTRY.TXT
MORE VISIBLE IE4 FONTS -> REGISTRY.TXT
UNCLUTTER START MENU -> REGISTRY.TXT
INSTALL PLUS! OVER IE -> REGISTRY.TXT
CD-ROM KEYS -> REGISTRY.TXT
MOVE PROGRAM FILES -> REGISTRY.TXT
NEW MENU -> REGISTRY.TXT
MOVE WITHOUT REINSTALL -> REGISTRY.TXT
IE AUTOSCAN -> REGISTRY.TXT
REMOVE "SHORTCUT TO" -> REGISTRY.TXT
INSTANT REFRESH -> REGISTRY.TXT
RIGHT-CLICK CAB EXTRACT -> REGISTRY.TXT
SYSTEM RESTRICTIONS -> REGISTRY.TXT
OPEN WITH -> REGISTRY.TXT
URL PREFIX FIX -> REGISTRY.TXT
RENAME MS IE TITLE -> REGISTRY.TXT
RENAME OUTLOOK TITLE -> REGISTRY.TXT
CHANGE TIME ZONE -> REGISTRY.TXT
IE FULL SCREEN BAR -> REGISTRY.TXT
DEFAULT BROWSER - #2 -> REGISTRY.TXT
ACTIVE WINDOW TRACKING -> REGISTRY.TXT
RESTRICT LOGON ACCESS -> REGISTRY.TXT
TAME THE BIN -> REGISTRY.TXT
TRASH THE BIN -> REGISTRY.TXT
KILL DA BIN! -> REGISTRY.TXT
RENAME RECYCLE BIN -> REGISTRY.TXT
DITCH THOSE ARROWS! -> REGISTRY.TXT
CHANGE ARROWS -> REGISTRY.TXT
OPEN NEW WINDOW -> REGISTRY.TXT
PERSONALITY CHANGE -> REGISTRY.TXT
BLINK... NOT! -> REGISTRY.TXT
NUMLOCK ON/OFF -> REGISTRY.TXT
THE REGISTRY -> REGISTRY.TXT [Intro chapter]
REGISTRY STRUCTURE -> REGISTRY.TXT [Intro chapter]
REG FILES -> REGISTRY.TXT [Intro chapter]
REGISTRY EDITING RULES -> REGISTRY.TXT [Intro chapter]
REGISTRY BACKUP+RESTORE -> REGISTRY.TXT [Intro chapter]
REGISTRY LINKS -> REGISTRY.TXT [Intro chapter]
MSDOS.SYS REFERENCE -> MYTIPS95.TXT
MSDOS.SYS EDITING -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
FIRST LOGO -> MYTIPS95.TXT
WIN.COM SWITCHES -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SWITCHES -> MYTIPS95.TXT
LOCALLOADHIGH -> MYTIPS95.TXT
2 DOS OR NOT 2 DOS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
RESTORE DAMAGED REGISTRY-> MYTIPS95.TXT
CLOSE THAT BATCH! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
EXTRACT FROM CAB -> MYTIPS95.TXT
OUTSMART SMARTDRIVE -> MYTIPS95.TXT
LOAD/RUN -> MYTIPS95.TXT
FAST EXIT | RESTART! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
TIME SAVERS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
16-BIT VIDEO FIX -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SPEEDUP BOOT! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
GOOD OL' UNDELETE -> MYTIPS95.TXT
(FLOPPY) DISK ANNOYANCE -> MYTIPS95.TXT
FIND FAST -> MYTIPS95.TXT
FAST, FAST, FAST -> MYTIPS95.TXT
NEW FOLDER ICON -> MYTIPS95.TXT
NEW DRIVE ICON -> MYTIPS95.TXT
CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
TEMP FILES, BE GONE! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SWAP FILE - Part 2 -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SHRINK THE REGISTRY! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
RELEASE MY MODEM! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
DOS NOW! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
OVERRIDE IO.SYS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
BOOTUP FLOPPY -> MYTIPS95.TXT
BLANK WIN.COM -> MYTIPS95.TXT
DOUBLE BUFFER -> MYTIPS95.TXT
EXCLUSIVE GAME PLAY! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
ISPS KNOWN MTU VALUES -> MYTIPS95.TXT
STUBBORN CPL APPLET - #1-> MYTIPS95.TXT
STUBBORN CPL APPLET - #2-> MYTIPS95.TXT
IOS.INI TWEAKS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
PLAY AUDIO CDS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
MORE FONT SPEED -> MYTIPS95.TXT
56K MODEMS @ 56K SPEED! -> MYTIPS95.TXT
MEDIA PLAYER -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SERIAL MOUSE SPEED -> MYTIPS95.TXT
RIGHT-CLICK ANYWHERE -> MYTIPS95.TXT
WRONG PATH -> MYTIPS95.TXT
DUAL-BOOT DLL CONFLICT -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SAFE MODE CLEANUP -> MYTIPS95.TXT
NAMELESS ICON -> MYTIPS95.TXT
REGISTER ACTIVEX CONTROL-> MYTIPS95.TXT
SPEEDUP YOUR GUI STARTUP-> MYTIPS95.TXT
LOCK UP THE DOS BOX -> MYTIPS95.TXT
BYPASS SAVER PASSWORD -> MYTIPS95.TXT
9X/2K/NT/ME/XP/3.1 MULTIBOOT MYTIPS95.TXT
REPLACE SYSTEM FONT -> MYTIPS95.TXT
WINBOOT.INI -> MYTIPS95.TXT
WIN.INI DIRECTX + VIDEO -> MYTIPS95.TXT
UNATTENDED DEFRAG/SCANDISK MYTIPS95.TXT
SCANDSKW HIDDEN SWITCHES-> MYTIPS95.TXT
PLAY DOS GAMES + SB LIVE-> MYTIPS95.TXT
REBOOT WITH DEBUG -> MYTIPS95.TXT
URL PASSWORD -> MYTIPS95.TXT
SETUP + MEMORY MANAGERS -> MYTIPS95.TXT
MS IE 5.5 SP2 + 6.0 FIX -> MYTIPS95.TXT
3D CONTROLS 4 3D EFFECTS-> MYTIPS95.TXT
EDIT BOOT FILES -> MYTIPS95.TXT
THE PLUS! PACKS -> TIPS95.TXT
EXPLORE YOUR ROOTS -> TIPS95.TXT
NORTON FIREWALL HIDDEN BAR TIPS95.TXT
PROXY AD BLOCKER -> TIPS95.TXT
PRODUCT KEY -> TIPS95.TXT
COLORFUL HELP -> TIPS95.TXT
NEW IE/OE BACKGROUND -> TIPS95.TXT
REMOVE AIM ADS -> TIPS95.TXT
UNIVERSAL BATCH CLEANER -> TIPS95.TXT
LOCK DESKTOP ICONS -> TIPS95.TXT
DEBUG BIOS PASSWORD -> TIPS95.TXT
WHEEL BACK + FORTH -> TIPS95.TXT
DO NOT PERSIST! -> TIPS95.TXT
NO NETSCAPE AOL AIM -> TIPS95.TXT
NO NETSCAPE EMAIL ADS -> TIPS95.TXT
TOGGLE FILE VIEW -> TIPS95.TXT
LOVE(LY) VIRUS FIX -> TIPS95.TXT
BACKUP MBR WITH DEBUG -> TIPS95.TXT
NETWORK PASSWORD -> TIPS95.TXT
MODEM/LAN BUFFER SPEEDUP-> TIPS95.TXT
IE NOHOME -> TIPS95.TXT
NO ADS THANK YOU! -> TIPS95.TXT
4 SPEED TIPS -> TIPS95.TXT
MEDIA PLAYER2 BUFFER -> TIPS95.TXT
MULTIMEDIA PREVIEW -> TIPS95.TXT
WININIT BUG -> TIPS95.TXT
INF UNINSTALL -> TIPS95.TXT
DELETE MS IE UNINSTALL -> TIPS95.TXT
RENAME START BUTTON -> TIPS95.TXT
CUSTOM NETSCAPE THROBBER-> TIPS95.TXT
FREE MORE MEMORY -> TIPS95.TXT
DETECT WINDOWS -> TIPS95.TXT
CAB EXTRACT -> TIPS95.TXT
KILL OR BE KILLED -> TIPS95.TXT
SOLVE NETWORK CONFLICTS -> TIPS95.TXT
BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH -> TIPS95.TXT
MULTIPLE FILE SEARCH -> TIPS95.TXT
REINSTALL WIN9X -> TIPS95.TXT
REMOVE "SHORTCUT TO" REV-> TIPS95.TXT
DOSWINKEY BUG -> TIPS95.TXT
HIDDEN FOLDER -> TIPS95.TXT
SYSTEM LIBRARIES UPDATES-> TIPS95.TXT
THE X.DUN FILES -> TIPS95.TXT
FIND YOUR ISP'S MTU -> TIPS95.TXT
MAP YOUR HOSTS -> TIPS95.TXT
SPEEDUP MY DUN! -> TIPS95.TXT
SUPPORT INFORMATION -> TIPS95.TXT
SEND TO -> TIPS95.TXT
SEND TO FOLDER -> TIPS95.TXT
BOOT 2 DOS -> TIPS95.TXT
BAD MEMORY? -> TIPS95.TXT
SYSTEM FOLDERS -> TIPS95.TXT
WINKEY SHORTCUTS -> TIPS95.TXT
HELP! -> TIPS95.TXT
DOS MULTITASKING -> TIPS95.TXT
WINKEY W/O WIN95 KEYBOARD> TIPS95.TXT
QUICK FIX ENGINEERING -> TIPS95.TXT
95/98/ME SETUP SWITCHES -> TIPS95.TXT
BRING UP THE DESKTOP! -> TIPS95.TXT
NETWORKING TIPS -> TIPS95.TXT
STAC COMPRESSION -> TIPS95.TXT
IDENTIFY NO NAME CARDS -> TIPS95.TXT
EXTRA ASCII CHARACTERS -> TIPS95.TXT
MSKB MADE EASY -> TIPS95.TXT
MPEG/DVD HANGUP BUG -> TIPS95.TXT
BAD ALLOCATION UNIT FIX -> TIPS95.TXT
POWERFUL XCOPY(32) -> TIPS95.TXT
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS -> TIPS95.TXT
HOT KEYS -> TIPS95.TXT
MINSPS -> TIPS95.TXT
FIXED SWAP FILE -> TIPS95.TXT
LOCK IT UP! -> TIPS95.TXT
NOTEPAD DATE/TIME STAMP -> TIPS95.TXT
PC SPEAKER -> TIPS95.TXT
BYPASS AUTOSCAN -> OSR2TIPS.TXT
DUAL-BOOT IN OSR2/WIN98 -> OSR2TIPS.TXT
WINDOWS DOS BOX TIPS -> MEMORY.TXT
FAT16 -> FAT32 -> SECRETS.TXT
WIN.COM HIDDEN SWITCHES -> SECRETS.TXT
EMM386 HIDDEN SWITCHES -> SECRETS.TXT
HIMEM HIDDEN SWITCHES -> SECRETS.TXT
MS IE 5/6 EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
98 EASTER EGG - Part 4 -> EGGS.TXT
JSCRIPT RESIZER EASTER EGG EGGS.TXT
OSR2/NT/2K/ME/XP OPENGL EGG EGGS.TXT
WIN98 SE EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
ANOTHER MS IE EASTER EGG-> EGGS.TXT
OE EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
98 EASTER EGG - Part 3 -> EGGS.TXT
98 EASTER EGG - Part 2 -> EGGS.TXT
PLUS! 98 EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
98 "MEMPHIS" EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
SOLITAIRE EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
MINESWEEPER EASTER EGGS+CHEATS EGGS.TXT
3D TEXT EASTER EGGS -> EGGS.TXT
HEARTS EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
FREECELL EASTER EGGS + CHEATS EGGS.TXT
IE 4.0X EASTER EGG -> EGGS.TXT
95->98->ME COMPLETE SPECS> WININFO.TXT
WHICH 9X/ME VERSION/BUILD? VERSION.TXT

NOTE:
[+] = Apply also to Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2, ME, NT4, 2000, XP and/or 2003, and
are referred to in OSR2TIPS.TXT, TIPS98.TXT, TIPSME.TXT, TIPSNT4.TXT,
TIPS2000.TXT and/or TIPSXP.TXT respectively (all included).
______________________________________________________________________________

3D PINBALL

1. Courtesy of Chris (cussmith@prodigy.net).

"Windows 98, 98 SE(U) and MS Plus! for Windows 98 do NOT include the Space
Cadet 3D Pinball game, which is bundled with MS Plus! for Windows 95, Windows
2000, ME and XP.
However, if you don't have Windows 2000, ME or XP, but still have MS Plus! for
Windows 95 Setup CD, and want to install 3D Pinball on your Windows 98/98
SE(U) system after installing MS Plus! for Windows 98, the Windows 98/98 SE(U)
Setup CD includes the necessary INF file that does the trick.
Pre-requisites:
- Windows 98 or 98 SE(U) installed.
- MS Plus! for Windows 98 installed.
- MS Plus! for Windows 95 CD.
- Windows 98 or 98 SE(U) Setup CD.
Here's how to do it:
A. Copy the Pinball.inf file from your Windows 98/98 SE(U) Setup CD located in
the \Tools\Mtsutils subfolder somewhere on your hard disk.
B. Right-click the copied Pinball.inf file, select Properties, uncheck the
Read-only attribute and click OK.
C. Open the copied Pinball.inf file in Notepad (or your favorite text editor)
and note the following line:

layoutfile=d:\pluslayt.inf

If your CD drive isn't D or if installing from floppy, change the drive letter
as needed, then save and exit.
D. Insert the Plus! for 95 Setup CD. Close any dialogs that Autorun pops up.
E. Right-click your modified Pinball.inf file and select Install.
If you get a request to insert the MS Plus! Setup CD or floppy, just click OK,
navigate to the location of your Plus! for 95 Setup CD, and finally click OK
one last time.
Now sit back and watch the files being copied. :-)
When all is done, you'll have a new entry in Start Menu -> Accessories ->
Games called "Space Cadet Table" and a new uninstall entry in Control Panel ->
Add/Remove Programs called "3D Pinball from Plus! for Windows 95".
Thanks to:
http://www.windows-help.net/windows98/troub-09.htm
for the original tip I have expanded here."

2. If you own a Windows ME (Full, Upgrade or OEM) Setup CD-ROM perform these
steps:
A. First make sure your WinME CD is already in your CD/DVD drive.
B. Run these commands from any DOS prompt (assuming D: is your CD/DVD drive
letter, change if necessary) to extract all necessary 3D Pinball files to a
new (empty) folder I called C:\MSPINBAL (example, change if you like):

MD C:\MSPINBAL
C:
CD\MSPINBAL
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_9.CAB FONT.DAT
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_9.CAB PINBALL.*
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_9.CAB TABLE.BMP
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_17.CAB PINBALL.EXE
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_18.CAB PINBALL.HLP
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_18.CAB WAVEMIX.INF
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_19.CAB PINBALL*.*
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_21.CAB SOUND*.WAV

C:\MSPINBAL should now contain a total of 70 files.
C. Move PINBALL.CHM, PINBALL.CNT + PINBALL.HLP to your %windir%\HELP folder
(%windir% is usually C:\WINDOWS) by running these commands from any DOS
prompt:

MOVE/Y C:\MSPINBAL\PINBALL.CNT %windir%\HELP
MOVE/Y C:\MSPINBAL\PINBALL.CHM %windir%\HELP
MOVE/Y C:\MSPINBAL\PINBALL.HLP %windir%\HELP

HINT: Create a DOS style batch file to include all lines above and then run it
to achieve all these tasks in 1 swift move. :)
D. Create a new shortcut: right-click on an empty (raised) Taskbar spot ->
select Properties -> click the Start Menu Programs tab -> click the Add button
-> type C:\MSPINBAL\PINBALL.EXE -> click Next -> highlight your
%windir%\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Games folder (example) -> click Next
-> name it "Space Cadet 3D Pinball" (no quotes) -> click the Finish button.
E. (Double)-click on the new shortcut to play the game.
F. Enjoy. ;)

3. If you don't have the MS Plus! 95/98 or Windows ME Setup CDs, just download
MS Pinball [1.3 MB, compatible with all MS Windows 32-bit OSes]:
http://home.att.net/~alicewyman/files/mspinball.exe
and then run the executable to install the game.

KILLER REPLACEMENTS: ME -> 98 SE

Are you currently using MS Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) Full, Upgrade, OEM
or Updates (SEU)?
Do you have a MS Windows Millennium Edition (ME) Full, Upgrade or OEM Setup
CD-ROM?
Do you want to speed up the Win98 SE(U) GUI, OLE2, DDE, GDI, Dial-Up
Networking (DUN), TCP/IP, Winsock, LAN/WAN, Multimedia/Audio/Video, USB,
FireWire components [and others I don't even recall off of the top of my
head :)], without putting up with the notorious WinME annoyances?
If you answered "Yes" to all these questions, you're in for a *HUGE* treat!
The goal here is building the ultimate Windows 9x OS by "transplanting" the
newer ME system files onto 98 SE, and YES, you too CAN do this at home,
kids... :-)
All you need to do is extract *ALL* files enumerated below from the WinME
Setup CD by running the DOS based EXTRACT command, and then move them to your
Win98 SE folders listed at the bottom of this article.
See "EXTRACT FROM CAB" in MYTIPS95.TXT (included) to learn how to use
%windir%\COMMAND\EXTRACT.EXE. For convenience, you can automate this task
[because there are tons of files you need to extract :)] by using the ECD.BAT
batch file (included), which you can further customize for this purpose by
editing it with Notepad. Just make sure to replace all D: instances from
ECD.BAT with your actual CD/DVD drive letter if different.
Another alternative is to use %windir%\EXTRAC32.EXE (%windir% is your main
Windows folder, usually C:\Windows), as detailed in "RIGHT-CLICK CAB EXTRACT"
from REGISTRY.TXT and "CAB EXTRACT" from TIPS95.TXT (both included).
Yet another alternative (built into Win98/ME GUI =
%windir%\SYSTEM\SHELLEXT\CABVIEW.DLL) is to simply (double)-click on a
particular *.CAB file, select a destination folder and click Extract.
Disadvantage: this way you can get only 1 file at a time, because CABVIEW.DLL
does NOT allow for batch programming to enable extracting of multiple
files. :(

NOTE: I've been testing these replacements for more than a year now, ONLY on
my home built PC [see "MY HOME ASSEMBLED PC HARDWARE SPECS" in MYPC.TXT
(included) for details] [withOUT ANY errors so far! ;-)], but NOT ALL these
files may work properly for you, based on your particular system
settings/updates and/or installed software, because some may depend on and/or
check for the ORIGINAL Win98 SE system files!

WARNING: By replacing Microsoft copyrighted files you will BREAK the EULA,
VOID your software warranty and FORFEIT your right to benefit from tech
support!
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!
MAKE A FULL BACKUP OF YOUR WINDOWS 98 SE SYSTEM BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER!

Prior to replacing ANY system files you MUST delete these 2 Registry keys by
running Regedit:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\SessionManager\CheckVerDLLs
and:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\SessionManager\WarnVerDLLs
To replace ANY system files already in use, you need to exit Windows or reboot
to native MS-DOS mode by holding Shift and pressing F5 while your PC boots,
replace the files you want (eventually by creating dedicated DOS batch files
in Notepad), and then reboot one last time [business as usual :)] to load
Windows GUI.
See "2 DOS OR NOT 2 DOS" + "MS-DOS PROMPT" both in MYTIPS95.TXT (included) for
more details.
There are possibly other files that may be replaced this way, but you need to
exercise EXTREME CAUTION, because some may generate system errors, lockups or
even data loss, because of their eventual INCOMPATIBILITY with Win98 SE.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED:
Even more files can be replaced [the official way :)] with newer (fixed)
versions by installing ALL specific Microsoft Win98 SE, MS DirectX, System
Add-ons, MS IE/OE + MS WMP updates, patches + fixes listed at my "FREE
Software ESSENTIALS" web page [also in SOFTWARE.TXT (included)]:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/web.htm
Files like: HOSTS, NETWORKS, PROTOCOL + SERVICES (residing in %windir%),
LMHOSTS, *.BIN, *.CFG, *.KBD, *.MSG, *.NLS, *.PIF, *.SAM + *.SCR (residing in
%windir%\SYSTEM), *.CNT (residing in %windir%\HELP) and *.ICM (residing in
%windir%\SYSTEM\COLOR) do NOT need to be replaced because they are IDENTICAL.
Do NOT replace ANY of these original Win98 SE files because your OS/programs
WILL STOP WORKING PROPERLY IF YOU DO:
- COMMAND.COM + IO.SYS from C:\ root
- ANY files NOT listed below from C:\Windows\Command
- COMMAND.COM, WIN.COM, ACCWIZ.EXE, CDPLAYER.EXE, EXPLORER.EXE, REGEDIT.EXE,
WININIT.EXE + WINVER.EXE from C:\Windows
A MUST: Get the fixed REGEDIT.EXE from "SHRINK THE REGISTRY!" in MYTIPS95.TXT
(included)!
- VDHCP.386, INFRARED.CPL, INTL.CPL, MMSYS.CPL, AVICAP.DLL, AVICAP32.DLL,
AVIFIL32.DLL, AVIFILE.DLL, BATMETER.DLL, COMDLG32.DLL, DEVMGR32.DLL,
ENABLE3.DLL, ENUMFILE.DLL, HWAGENT.DLL, IOSCLASS.DLL, KERNEL32.DLL, NETDI.DLL,
PIFMGR.DLL, PLUSTAB.DLL, RAPILIB.DLL, RNANP.DLL, RNAUI.DLL, RPCLTC1.DLL,
RPCLTC5.DLL, RPCLTCCM.DLL, RPCLTS5.DLL, RPCLTSPX.DLL, RPCMQCL.DLL,
RPCMQSVR.DLL, RPCNS4.DLL, RPCRT4.DLL, SERIALUI.DLL, SHELL32.DLL, VER.DLL,
VERSION.DLL, WDMAUD.DRV, IESHWIZ.EXE, KRNL386.EXE, MPREXE.EXE, MSGSRV32.EXE,
RPCSS.EXE, RSVP.EXE, WINOA386.MOD, PCIMP.PCI, BIOS.VXD, ENABLE2.VXD,
ENABLE4.VXD, FILESEC.VXD, ISAPNP.VXD, MMDEVLDR.VXD, PCI.VXD, SERIAL.VXD,
VMM32.VXD + VREDIR.VXD from C:\Windows\System
A MUST: See "PATCHED SHELL32.DLL BUG + FIX" in TIPS98.TXT (this file)!
- DMUSIC.SYS, HIDUSB.SYS, SYSAUDIO.SYS + WDMAUD.SYS from
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers
- ANY files from C:\Windows\Inf, C:\Windows\System\Iosubsys (except
NTMAPHLP.PDR) or C:\Windows\System\Vmm32
- MSINFO32.EXE from C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Msinfo .
See "WINME WBEM (WINMGMT) BUG + FIX" + "RESTORE MS INFO", both in TIPSME.TXT
(included), for more MSINFO32.EXE details.
Certain files extracted from the WinME Setup CD-ROM have different names than
the ones used by both Win98 and ME OSes. :( The only 3 I know of are DESK.CPL,
COMMDLG.DLL + SHELL.DLL (all located in C:\Windows\System), and found as
DESKW95.CPL (inside the WinME WIN_9.CAB file), COMMDLG.NEW + SHELL.NEW (both
inside the WinME WIN_19.CAB file), respectively. Rename them to match your
Win98 file names by using Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM =
%windir%\WINFILE.EXE) by (right)-clicking on each file and selecting Rename,
or by running these commands from any DOS prompt (using C:\EXTRACT as base
folder):
REN C:\EXTRACT\DESKW95.CPL DESK.CPL
REN C:\EXTRACT\COMMDLG.NEW COMMDLG.DLL
REN C:\EXTRACT\SHELL.NEW SHELL.DLL
You need to change ALL Hidden (H), Read-Only (R) and/or System (S) files
attributes to Archive (A) in order to be able to replace them. To do this,
open a DOS prompt box and run (example):
ATTRIB -H -R -S +A %winbootdir%\FONTS\*.FON
System files attributes already in use by Windows canNOT be modified from
within the GUI. :( To do this, exit/reboot Windows to native MS-DOS mode (as
detailed further above), and then run ATTRIB (see this example) for ALL such
files BEFORE replacing them.
I recommend using HIMEM.EBD contained in the \WIN9X\BASE2.CAB file from the
WinME Setup CD instead of HIMEM.SYS, because it provides better compatibility
with Win98 SE. To do this, just rename it and then move it to %winbootdir%
(usually C:\WINDOWS) after extraction:
MOVE/Y C:\EXTRACT\HIMEM.EBD %winbootdir%\HIMEM.SYS
Another exception is SMARTDRV.EXE (the native MS-DOS mode fixed/removable disk
cache TSR), which must be copied manually from your WinME Setup CD \WIN9X
folder to %winbootdir%, because it is NOT included in the CAB files. :(

BONUS [:)]:
1. If you would like to play the Microsoft Spider Solitaire card game
installed by MS Plus! 98 Pack and Windows ME, but NOT available with ANY
Windows 98 release, and you don't have the MS Plus! 98 Setup CD-ROM, just
extract these 3 files from the WinME Setup CD-ROM into an empty (temporary)
folder (e.g. C:\EXTRACT), by running these commands from any DOS prompt
(assuming D: is your CD/DVD drive letter, change if necessary):
MD C:\EXTRACT
C:
CD\EXTRACT
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_9.CAB SPIDER.CHM
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_17.CAB SPIDER.EXE
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_18.CAB SPIDER.HLP
Then use Windows Explorer or File Manager to move SPIDER.EXE to your
%windir%\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Games folder and SPIDER.CHM +
SPIDER.HLP to your %windir%\HELP folder.
Finally, run SPIDER.EXE to play the game. Enjoy!
FYI:
Download + install MS Spider Solitaire game [552 KB]:
http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/spider_solitaire/
2. If you would like to play the Microsoft Space Cadet 3D Pinball game
installed by MS Plus! 95 Pack, Windows ME, 2000 and XP, but NOT available with
ANY Windows 98 release, and you don't have the MS Plus! 95, Windows 2000 or XP
Setup CD-ROMs, just follow the steps from "3D PINBALL" (further above in this
file).

BUG:
After replacing USER.EXE + USER32.DLL in C:\Windows\System SETUP.EXE may
refuse to reinstall Windows 98 SE from the Setup CD-ROM from within Windows
GUI.
FIX:
Restore the original Win98 SE USER.EXE + USER32.DLL from the backup copy you
made (as advised at the top of this article) in native MS-DOS, as detailed
above. See "TIMED SHUT DOWN" in REGISTRY.TXT (included) for more info!

BUG:
No matter which system files you replace, you canNOT properly reinstall Win98
SE into the SAME directory IF you already installed ANY release of MS Internet
Explorer 5.5 or 6.0!
FIX:
You MUST uninstall MS IE 5.5/6.0 FIRST! ONLY after that reinstall Win98 SE.
More info:
- MSKB: How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 5.5:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=257234
- MSKB: How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 6:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=293907
- LitePC: IEradicator:
http://www.litepc.com/ieradicator.html

FYI: See "USE WINME DEFRAG + SCANDSKW WITH WIN98" in TIPS98.TXT (this file)
for more details.

UPDATES:
1. "I'm using SFC.EXE (System File Checker) to replace system files one by
one, to see if it works correctly. If it doesn't, I use SFC to restore the
original file, and if Windows won't boot, I use MS-DOS.
This way I didn't have to delete the 2 Registry keys you mention."
[Thank you Tweb!]
BEWARE: Certain system files MUST be replaced together or not at all, because
of .386/.AX/.CPL/.DLL/.DRV/.EXE/.MPD/.MOD/.OCX/.PDR/.SYS/.TLB/.VXD
*INTERDEPENDENCIES*. :(
2. "If you install Win98 SE Fragmented IP Assembly Fix:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/wucritical/q259728/
to replace VIP.386 and TCP/IP Prematurely Transmitted Packets Fix:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=236926
to replace VTCP.386, you can also replace ALL Winsock files (MSWSOCK.DLL,
MSWSOSP.DLL, WINSOCK.DLL, WS2_32.DLL, WS2HELP.DLL, WS2THK.DLL, WSCTHUNK.DLL,
WSOCK32.DLL, WSASRV.EXE, AFVXD.VXD, WSHTCP.VXD, WSIPX.VXD, WSOCK.VXD +
WSOCK2.VXD) with WinME's, which work ONLY IF those 2 files are already
installed. Unfortunately WinME's VIP.386 + VTCP.386 files do NOT work with
Win98 SE. :("
[Thank you ghall4834@netzero.net!]

FINAL NOTE: I found out that WinME files listed below are NEWER and provide
BETTER and/or FASTER performance with Win98 SE than their OFFICIAL Win98 SE
counterparts obtained from Microsoft Windows Update:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
but if you experience [I haven't so far :)] ANY errors/lockups/etc, please
restore the OFFICIAL Win98 SE files from your SAVED BACKUPS!

... And finally, here are the "goods":
This is the complete list of Win98 SE system files I have successfully
replaced with their newer WinME counterparts, classified by target directory,
and using default paths: C:\Windows + C:\Program Files (change if necessary):

* C:\Windows :
INETMIB1.DLL
MSOWS409.DLL
NDDEAPI.DLL
NDDENB.DLL
TWAIN.DLL
TWAIN_32.DLL
WINSOCK.DLL
ACCSTAT.EXE
ARP.EXE
ASD.EXE
CALC.EXE
CHARMAP.EXE
CLEANMGR.EXE
CLIPBRD.EXE
CONTROL.EXE
CVTAPLOG.EXE
DEFRAG.EXE
DIALER.EXE
DRWATSON.EXE
EMM386.EXE
FONTVIEW.EXE
FREECELL.EXE
FTP.EXE
GRPCONV.EXE
IPCONFIG.EXE
KODAKIMG.EXE
KODAKPRV.EXE
MM2ENT.EXE
MPLAYER.EXE
MSHEARTS.EXE
NETSTAT.EXE
NOTEPAD.EXE
PACKAGER.EXE
PING.EXE
PROGMAN.EXE
RG2CATDB.EXE
ROUTE.EXE
RSRCMTR.EXE
RUNDLL.EXE
RUNDLL32.EXE
SCANDSKW.EXE
SMARTDRV.EXE
SNDREC32.EXE
SNDVOL32.EXE
SOL.EXE
SYSMON.EXE
TASKMAN.EXE
TASKMON.EXE
TELNET.EXE
TRACERT.EXE
TUNEUP.EXE
TWUNK_16.EXE
TWUNK_32.EXE
WINFILE.EXE
WINHELP.EXE
WINHLP32.EXE
WINIPCFG.EXE
WINMINE.EXE
HIMEM.SYS
IFSHLP.SYS

* C:\Windows\Command :
EDIT.COM
CVT.EXE
MSCDEX.EXE
SCANDISK.EXE
EDIT.HLP

* C:\Windows\System :
VGAFULL.3GR
IMAADP32.ACM
LHACM.ACM
MSADP32.ACM
MSG711.ACM
MSGSM32.ACM
TSSOFT32.ACM
ACELPDEC.AX
CLRAMD.AX
VOXMSDEC.AX
VOXMVDEC.AX
VVAUDFLT.AX
VVVIDFLT.AX
UNICODE.BIN
ACCESS.CPL
APPWIZ.CPL
DESK.CPL
MAIN.CPL
MODEM.CPL
NETCPL.CPL
PASSWORD.CPL
POWERCFG.CPL
SYSDM.CPL
TELEPHON.CPL
THEMES.CPL
TIMEDATE.CPL
ADVAPI32.DLL
CABINET.DLL
CARDS.DLL
CCFG95.DLL
CDM.DLL
CHOOSUSR.DLL
CLRVIDDC.DLL
CLUSALGO.DLL
COMCAT.DLL
COMMCTRL.DLL
COMMDLG.DLL
COMPOBJ.DLL
COOL.DLL
CRTDLL.DLL
DCIMAN.DLL
DCIMAN32.DLL
DDAO35.DLL
DDEML.DLL
DECVW_32.DLL
DHCPCSVC.DLL
DIBENG.DLL
DIGSIG.DLL
DINDI.DLL
DISPDIB.DLL
DLCAPI.DLL
DLCNDI.DLL
DMCOLOR.DLL
DOCPROP.DLL
DSKAPI16.DLL
DSKAPI32.DLL
DSKMAINT.DLL
FONTEXT.DLL
FTSRCH.DLL
GDI32.DLL
GLU32.DLL
HID.DLL
HIDCI.DLL
ICCVID.DLL
ICM32.DLL
ICMP.DLL
ICMUI.DLL
ICMUPG.DLL
ICONLIB.DLL
IENPSTUB.DLL
ILS.DLL
IMAGEHLP.DLL
IMGCMN.DLL
IMGSHL.DLL
IMM32.DLL
INDICDLL.DLL
IPCFGDLL.DLL
IPHLPAPI.DLL
IPROP.DLL
ISDNUI.DLL
JPEG1X32.DLL
JPEG2X32.DLL
LINKINFO.DLL
LMRTREND.DLL
LZ32.DLL
LZEXPAND.DLL
MAG_HOOK.DLL
MAINCP16.DLL
MAPI32.DLL
MAPISTUB.DLL
MBSLGN32.DLL
MCIOLE.DLL
MF3216.DLL
MFC30.DLL
MFC40.DLL
MFC42.DLL
MFCANS32.DLL
MFCD30.DLL
MFCN30.DLL
MFCO30.DLL
MFCUIA32.DLL
MFCUIW32.DLL
MMCI.DLL
MMSYSTEM.DLL
MODEMUI.DLL
MORICONS.DLL
MPRSERV.DLL
MSAB32.DLL
MSACM.DLL
MSACM32.DLL
MSAFD.DLL
MSASN1.DLL
MSCMS.DLL
MSIMG32.DLL
MSJET35.DLL
MSLOCUSR.DLL
MSMIXMGR.DLL
MSNP32.DLL
MSNSSPC.DLL
MSPRINT.DLL
MSPRINT2.DLL
MSPWL32.DLL
MSREPL35.DLL
MSRLE32.DLL
MSSHRUI.DLL
MSVCIRT.DLL
MSVCP50.DLL
MSVCRT20.DLL
MSVCRT40.DLL
MSVFW32.DLL
MSVIDC32.DLL
MSVIDEO.DLL
MSWSOCK.DLL
MSWSOSP.DLL
NETBIOS.DLL
OIADM400.DLL
OICOM400.DLL
OIDIS400.DLL
OIFIL400.DLL
OIGFS400.DLL
OIPRT400.DLL
OISLB400.DLL
OISSQ400.DLL
OITWA400.DLL
OIUI400.DLL
OLE2.DLL
OLE2CONV.DLL
OLE2DISP.DLL
OLE2NLS.DLL
OLE32.DLL
OLEACC.DLL
OLEACCRC.DLL
OLECLI.DLL
OLECLI32.DLL
OLECNV32.DLL
OLEDLG.DLL
OLESVR.DLL
OLESVR32.DLL
OLETHK32.DLL
OPENGL32.DLL
PANMAP.DLL
PPPNDI.DLL
QCUT.DLL
QOSNAME.DLL
RICHED.DLL
RICHED20.DLL
RICHED32.DLL
RNAPH.DLL
RNASERV.DLL
RNASETUP.DLL
RNASMM.DLL
RNATHUNK.DLL
RNR20.DLL
ROUTETAB.DLL
RPCLTC3.DLL
RPCLTC6.DLL
RPCLTS3.DLL
RPCLTS6.DLL
RSRC16.DLL
RSRC32.DLL
SHELL.DLL
SMMSCRPT.DLL
SMMSETUP.DLL
SNMPAPI.DLL
SPOOLSS.DLL
STORAGE.DLL
SYSCLASS.DLL
SYSDETMG.DLL
SYSTHUNK.DLL
TAPI.DLL
TAPI32.DLL
TAPIUI.DLL
TOOLHELP.DLL
TSD32.DLL
TSP3216S.DLL
TYPELIB.DLL
UMDM16.DLL
UMDM32.DLL
UMDMXFRM.DLL
UNIDRV.DLL
USBUI.DLL
USER32.DLL
VDODEC32.DLL
VLB32.DLL
VMODCTL.DLL
WHLP16T.DLL
WHLP32T.DLL
WILDLB32.DLL
WIN32S16.DLL
WIN87EM.DLL
WINMM.DLL
WINNET16.DLL
WL32DLL.DLL
WOW32.DLL
WS2_32.DLL
WS2HELP.DLL
WS2THK.DLL
WSCTHUNK.DLL
WSOCK32.DLL
XFILEXR.DLL
COMM.DRV
FRAMEBUF.DRV
KEYBOARD.DRV
MCIAVI.DRV
MCICDA.DRV
MCISEQ.DRV
MCIWAVE.DRV
MIDIMAP.DRV
MMSOUND.DRV
MOUSE.DRV
MSACM.DRV
SUPERVGA.DRV
SYSTEM.DRV
VDOWAVE.DRV
VGA.DRV
WINSPL16.DRV
WINSPOOL.DRV
DLLHOST.EXE
FIXMAPI.EXE
FONTREG.EXE
GDI.EXE
ICWSCRPT.EXE
LMSCRIPT.EXE
LOCPROXY.EXE
LOCPRXY2.EXE
MAGNIFY.EXE
MKCOMPAT.EXE
MSCONFIG.EXE
REDIR32.EXE
REGSVR32.EXE
RNAAPP.EXE
SPOOL32.EXE
TAPI16.EXE
TAPIINI.EXE
TAPISRV.EXE
TAPIUPR.EXE
TCMSETUP.EXE
TLOCMGR.EXE
TRCDLC.EXE
USER.EXE
WSASRV.EXE
UNIDRV.HLP
CONLOCK.MOD
REDIRECT.MOD
UNICODE.NLS
AMOVIE.OCX
BR549.OCX
EYEDOG.OCX
IMGADMIN.OCX
IMGEDIT.OCX
IMGSCAN.OCX
IMGTHUMB.OCX
NDISWMI.SYS
NETPPTP.SYS
STDOLE.TLB
STDOLE32.TLB
MMTASK.TSK
REMOTESP.TSP
TSP3216L.TSP
UNIMDM.TSP
THREED.VBX
MVOICED.VWP
AFVXD.VXD
FIOLOG.VXD
LOGGER.VXD
MSGAME.VXD
MSSP.VXD
NDIS.VXD
NDISWAN.VXD
PPPMAC.VXD
SPAP.VXD
SPLITTER.VXD
UNIMODEM.VXD
VGATEWAY.VXD
WSHTCP.VXD
WSOCK.VXD
WSOCK2.VXD

* C:\Windows\System\Iosubsys :
NTMAPHLP.PDR

* C:\Windows\System\Shellext :
CABVIEW.DLL
INETFIND.DLL

C:\Windows\Help :
AMOVIE.CHM
CALC.CHM
FREECELL.CHM
MPLAYER.CHM
MSHEARTS.CHM
NOTEPAD.CHM
PINBALL.CHM
SOL.CHM
TELNET.CHM
WINFILE.CHM
WINMINE.CHM
AMOVIE.HLP
CALC.HLP
FREECELL.HLP
IMGHELP.HLP
IMGOCXD.HLP
MPLAYER.HLP
MSHEARTS.HLP
NOTEPAD.HLP
PINBALL.HLP
SOL.HLP
TELNET.HLP
WINFILE.HLP
WINHLP32.HLP

* C:\Windows\Sysbckup :
COMMCTRL.DLL
COMMDLG.DLL
COMPOBJ.DLL
DCIMAN.DLL
DCIMAN32.DLL
DDEML.DLL
DISPDIB.DLL
LZEXPAND.DLL
MCIOLE.DLL
MSACM.DLL
MSMIXMGR.DLL
MSVCRT20.DLL
MSVIDEO.DLL
OLE2.DLL
OLE2CONV.DLL
OLE2DISP.DLL
OLE2NLS.DLL
OLECLI.DLL
OLESVR.DLL
SHELL.DLL
STORAGE.DLL
TOOLHELP.DLL
TYPELIB.DLL
UNIDRV.DLL
WIN32S16.DLL
MCIAVI.DRV
MIDIMAP.DRV
MSACM.DRV
WINHELP.EXE
STDOLE.TLB

* C:\Windows\System32\Drivers :
1394BUS.SYS
DBCLASS.SYS
DBFILTER.SYS
DRMK.SYS
HIDCLASS.SYS
HIDPARSE.SYS
HIDVKD.SYS
KMIXER.SYS
MSPQM.SYS
NTMAP.SYS
OHCI1394.SYS
OPENHCI.SYS
PORTCLS.SYS
REDBOOK.SYS
RT.SYS
SBEMUL.SYS
SBP2PORT.SYS
SBP2SCAN.SYS
SWMIDI.SYS
TDI.SYS
UHCD.SYS
UPDATE.SYS
USBAUDIO.SYS
USBAUTH.SYS
USBCCGP.SYS
USBD.SYS
USBHUB.SYS
WDMFS.SYS
WMIDRV.SYS
WMILIB.SYS

* C:\Windows\Msapps\Grphflt :
MSJPEG32.DLL
JPEGIM32.FLT

* C:\Windows\Fonts :
8514FIX.FON
8514OEM.FON
8514SYS.FON
COURE.FON
COURF.FON
DOSAPP.FON
MODERN.FON
SERIFE.FON
SERIFF.FON
SMALLE.FON
SMALLF.FON
SSERIFE.FON
SSERIFF.FON
SYMBOLE.FON
SYMBOLF.FON
VGAFIX.FON
VGAOEM.FON
VGASYS.FON
ABALC.TTF
ANTQUAB.TTF
ANTQUABI.TTF
ANTQUAI.TTF
ARIAL.TTF
ARIALBD.TTF
ARIALBI.TTF
ARIALI.TTF
ARIBLK.TTF
BKANT.TTF
CALIST.TTF
COMIC.TTF
COMICBD.TTF
COPRGTB.TTF
COPRGTL.TTF
COUR.TTF
COURBD.TTF
COURBI.TTF
COURI.TTF
GOTHIC.TTF
GOTHICB.TTF
GOTHICBI.TTF
GOTHICI.TTF
IMPACT.TTF
LHANDW.TTF
LSANSI.TTF
LSANSUNI.TTF
LUCON.TTF
MARLETT.TTF
MATISSE_.TTF
NWGTHC.TTF
NWGTHCB.TTF
NWGTHCI.TTF
SYMBOL.TTF
TAHOMA.TTF
TAHOMABD.TTF
TEMPSITC.TTF
TIMES.TTF
TIMESBD.TTF
TIMESBI.TTF
TIMESI.TTF
TREBUC.TTF
TREBUCBD.TTF
TREBUCBI.TTF
TREBUCIT.TTF
VERDANA.TTF
VERDANAB.TTF
VERDANAI.TTF
VERDANAZ.TTF
WEBDINGS.TTF
WESTM.TTF
WINGDING.TTF

* C:\Program Files\Accessories :
MSPCX32.DLL
WORDPAD.EXE

* C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Grphflt :
JPEGIM32.FLT

* C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Msinfo :
MSIAV.OCX
MSICDROM.OCX
MSIOLERG.OCX
MSIPRINT.OCX
MSISYS.OCX
MSUPDATE.OCX
TXTVIEW.OCX

* C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Textconv :
MSWRD632.WPC
MSWRD832.CNV
WRITE32.WPC

* C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Ole Db :
MSDATL2.DLL

* C:\Program Files\Plus! :
PLUS!.DLL
THEMES.EXE

PATCHED SHELL32.DLL BUG + FIX [+]

Normally, in Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME you can get rid of the pesky arrows that
cover the Desktop shortcut icons.
To do this: get MS TweakUI Power Toy for Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME + MS IE 4/5/6
[110 KB, free, unsupported]:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/winme/Install/1.0/WinMe/EN-US/Tweakui.exe
Install TweakUI: run the executable to extract the setup files -> open Windows
Explorer -> right-click on TweakUI.inf -> select Install.
Now open Control Panel -> (double)-click the Tweak UI icon -> jump to the
Explorer tab -> Shortcut overlay area -> check None or Custom -> if Custom ->
click Change button -> browse to the location of TWEAKUI.CPL [%windir%\SYSTEM
(Win9x/ME) or %systemroot%\SYSTEM32 (WinNT4/2000)] -> double-click the
invisible (transparent) TweakUI icon (the one at the bottom) -> click Apply/OK
-> restart Windows.

But if you install this Microsoft Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2/NT4/98/98 SP1/98 SE
Shell Unchecked Buffer Arbitrary Code Execution SHELL32.DLL build
4.72.3812.600 Security Vulnerability Fix:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms02-014.asp
Direct download [834 KB, English]:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/ie4095/actdesk/4.01_sp2/W9XNT4/EN-US/q313829.exe
MANDATORY: Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2/NT4 require MS IE 5.5 SP2 [84.1 MB, English]
WITH Active Desktop installed:
http://downloads.evolt.org.uk/browsers/ie/32bit/5.5_SP2/ie55sp2.exe
More info:
- MSKB: Unchecked Buffer in Windows Shell Could Lead to Code Running:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=313829
- ERPMan: Installing Windows Desktop Update with IE 5.x/6.x Setup:
http://members.tripod.com/erpman1/comptips.html
you'll notice those annoying arrow overlays are BACK!
The TweakUI trick above doesn't help anymore, and no matter what you try, they
won't go away. :(
But have no fear... the FIXes are here. :)

1. The 1st one that comes to mind is to restore the old SHELL32.DLL file.
To do this:

Win98 SE: Pop in your Win98 SE(U) Setup CD-ROM -> open Windows Explorer ->
click the WIN98 folder -> (double)-click the WIN98_41.CAB file -> scroll down
to SHELL32.DLL -> right-click on it -> browse to an empty folder (i.e.
C:\EXTRACT) -> click OK to extract it there.

Win95/OSR1/OSR2/NT4/98/98 SP1: download these files from MS Internet Explorer
v5.01 [right-click to save them!]:
- IE4SHL95.CAB for Win95/OSR1/OSR2/98/98 SP1 [885 KB]:
http://softserv.murdoch.edu.au/pub/mswin/InternetExplorer/IE55SP2/WIN32/EN/IE4SHL95.CAB
- IE4SHLNT.CAB for WinNT4 [1.05 MB]:
http://softserv.murdoch.edu.au/pub/mswin/InternetExplorer/IE55SP2/WIN32/EN/IE4SHLNT.CAB
The version of SHELL32.DLL [build 4.72.3612.1700] bundled with MS IE 5.01 is
newer than the one from WinOSR1/OSR2/98/98 SP1/NT4 Setup CD-ROMs.
More details @ MSKB:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=246073

Win95/OSR1/OSR2/NT4: download MS Power Toys 95 Set [204 KB, free,
unsupported]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/
Install CABVIEW.DLL by right-clicking on CABVIEW.INF and selecting Install
to be able to extract files from CAB archives.

Win95/OSR1/OSR2/NT4/98/98 SP1: open Windows Explorer -> highlight the folder
containing the downloaded CAB files above -> (double)-click on IE4SHL95.CAB
(Win95/OSR1/OSR2/98/98 SP1) or IE4SHLNT.CAB (WinNT4) -> scroll down to
SHELL32.DLL -> right-click on it -> browse to an empty folder (i.e.
C:\EXTRACT) -> click OK to extract it there.

Win95/OSR1/OSR2/98/98 SP1/98 SE: exit or reboot Windows to native MS-DOS ->
hold Shift (or Ctrl) and hit F5 while your PC (re)boots or select the "Command
prompt only" option from Windows 95/98 Startup Menu.

WinNT4: see "MS IE 5.5 SP2 + 6.0 FIX" step 6. SOLUTION in MYTIPS95.TXT
(included) to learn how to replace Windows NT/2000 system files already in
use.

All MS OSes: run these command lines from the C:\> prompt (example using same
C:\EXTRACT folder above):
- Win95/OSR1/OSR2/98/98 SP1/98 SE:
REN %winbootdir%\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL SHELL32.NEW
MOVE C:\EXTRACT\SHELL32.DLL %winbootdir%\SYSTEM
- WinNT4:
REN %systemroot%\SYSTEM32\SHELL32.DLL SHELL32.NEW
COPY C:\EXTRACT\SHELL32.DLL %systemroot%\SYSTEM32
DEL C:\EXTRACT\SHELL32.DLL

All MS OSes: reboot back to Windows GUI [business as usual :)].

Now: remove the Desktop arrows again using TweakUI as detailed above.

DISADVANTAGE: This "rude" fix actually defeats the purpose of installing the
patched SHELL32.DLL, by replacing it with an older (buggy) one. :(

2. Let's move on to the 2nd FIX...
To do this: you need to hack your Registry.

BACKUP your REGISTRY files to a safe location FIRST!

All MS OSes: Start button -> Run... box -> type Regedit -> OK -> Edit ->
Find... -> type IsShortcut -> Find Next -> rename ALL IsShortcut String Values
found to read IsNotShortcut or delete them if you prefer -> close the Registry
Editor -> restart Windows.
See "DITCH THOSE ARROWS!" in REGISTRY.TXT (included) for more details.

Now: remove the Desktop arrows again using TweakUI as detailed above.

DISADVANTAGE: This "hack" breaks the ability of using Alt + Ctrl + Pick-A-Key
"hot combos" (keyboard shortcuts) for running Desktop/Start menu shortcuts. :(

3. Now let's see the 3rd (and last) FIX, my favorite. :)
To do this: you need to "mod" the patched SHELL32.DLL using a hex editor.
Get the newest version of the excellent Resource Hacker tool [542 KB,
freeware]:
http://www.users.on.net/johnson/resourcehacker/

WARNING: By using modified Microsoft copyrighted files you will BREAK the
EULA, VOID your software warranty and FORFEIT your right to benefit from tech
support!

BACKUP your SHELL32.DLL file to a safe location FIRST!

All MS OSes: copy your patched SHELL32.DLL file from %windir%\SYSTEM
(Win95/98) or %systemroot%\SYSTEM32 (WinNT4) to an empty folder (i.e.
C:\EXTRACT) -> run Resource Hacker -> click File -> Open -> browse to the
location of SHELL32.DLL -> (double)-click on it -> click Icon Group -> scroll
down to 30 -> double-click on it -> highlight 1033 -> click Action -> Replace
Icon Group... -> click Replace file with new icon... -> browse to the location
of the invisible (transparent) EMPTY.ICO (included) -> double-click on it ->
click Replace -> repeat these same steps for Icon Group 31 -> click File ->
Save As -> double-click original SHELL32.DLL -> OK to replace -> close
Resource Hacker.

WinNT4: see "MS IE 5.5 SP2 + 6.0 FIX" step 6. SOLUTION in MYTIPS95.TXT
(included) to learn how to replace Windows NT/2000 system files already in
use.

All MS OSes: reboot back to Windows GUI [business as usual :)].

Now: there is no need to remove the Desktop arrows with TweakUI anymore,
because you already did by replacing the SHELL32.DLL icons 30 and 31. :)
This is exactly what TweakUI does when you check Custom -> Change (under
Explorer tab). It replaces the Registry entry for default arrow overlay icon
built into SHELL32.DLL with its own invisible (transparent) icon built into
TWEAKUI.CPL.

DISADVANTAGE: None that I'm aware of. ;) You actually get to remove all those
annoying Desktop shortcut arrows for good, while keeping the updated
SHELL32.DLL, and at the same time being able to enjoy using keyboard "combos"
for starting any of your Desktop/Start menu shortcuts.
The only catch is if in the future Microsoft decides to issue another "buggy"
SHELL32.DLL patch, you'll have to hex edit it all over again [:(], but at
least now you know how. :)

PC RESTORE

Courtesy of Wayne (reddoh@dingoblue.net.au).

"I have discovered that you can restore your Win98/98 SE OS by using the
PCRESTOR.BAT file found in the \Tools\Sysrec subfolder on the Windows 98/98 SE
Setup CD-ROM.
To use it: open Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM = C:\Windows\Winfile.exe)
and (double)-click on Pcrestor.bat. This will copy Msbatch.inf to the newly
created C:\Restore folder, and then it will run Setup.exe unattended, which
will reinstall the OS over your existing copy, thus repairing a possibly
damaged system.
This little puppy works a treat when you're getting corrupted/missing *.VXD
errors, especially if overclocking your PC."

FAX 95 TOOLS [+]

Windows 98, 98 SE and ME do NOT include NOR install the good ol' MS Windows
Fax tools known to Win95/OSR1/OSR2 users. :(
But you can get them back by installing them manually from the original
Windows 98 or 98 SE Setup CD-ROM. :)
Open Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM = C:\Windows\Winfile.exe) and go to
the \Tools\Oldwin95\Message\Us (US English) or \Tools\Oldwin95\Message\Intl
(other languages) subfolder located on your Setup CD.
(Double)-click on WMS-FAX.TXT first to read it in Notepad, and then install
[(double)-click on] the two Win95 Fax tools, in this exact order: WMS.EXE
(Windows Messaging Server + Microsoft Mail Workgroup Postoffice) first, and
only after that AWFAX.EXE (At Work Fax).
WMS is needed ONLY IF using a MAPI (Messaging Application Programming
Interface) client used by these Microsoft programs: Exchange, Exchange Server
(Client), Outlook, Windows Messaging.
NOTE: Do NOT install these tools if using MS Office 2000 or newer!

FYI: If you don't have the Win98/98 SE Setup CD, get MS Fax [2.76 MB,
right-click to save!]:
http://www.geocities.com/joeyr76/message.zip
and then run WMS.EXE + AWFAX.EXE (in this EXACT order!) to install both tools.
More info:
http://www.geocities.com/joeyr76/wms-fax.txt

REMOVE FIND ITEMS [+]

These Registry hacks work with ALL Windows 98, ME and 2000 releases. [Thank
you Dave (exhydra@aol.com)!]

1. Courtesy of Skyler (nemesisera@hotmail.com):
http://pcfaqs.20m.com/

"To remove the "Find: On the Internet..." and/or "Find: People..." items from
the Start menu, run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FindExtensions\Static
Once there, delete the following subkeys: "InetFind" (removes "Find: On the
Internet...") and/or "WabFind" (removes "Find: People...")."

2. Courtesy of Pete (szczesny@prodigy.net):

"To remove these Start menu Find items: "On the Internet..." and/or "In Corel
Media Folder..." [only if you installed Corel Media!], open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FindExtensions\Static
Once there, delete the following subkeys: "MediaFolderFind" (for "In Corel
Media Folder...") and/or "WebSearch" (for "On the Internet..."). If you don't
want any of them, delete the "Static" key altogether.
FIRST: Backup (export) the entire "FindExtensions" key to a REG file from the
Regedit menu, to be able to restore it in the future by double-clicking on
(merging) the REG file back into the Registry."

FIX WIN98 SE USB + SHUTDOWN ERRORS

Are you using any USB (Universal Serial Bus) hardware devices/peripherals,
e.g. a mouse/trackball, joystick/game controller, keyboard, drive, modem,
scanner, printer, network card etc with your Windows 98 SE(U) machine?
If you are, you may have noticed error messages that pop up at random times,
sudden (unexpected!) reboots, "frozen" shutdowns, keyboard and/or mouse
lockups etc.

1. The first step of this fix is to install these Windows 98 SE(U) Patches
[dubbed "critical updates" by Microsoft :)]:
- The USB Patch:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=240075
- The Shutdown Supplement:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/WURecommended/S_WUFeatured/Win98SE/
Reboot when prompted.
Then use the free USBREADY.EXE + USBVIEW.EXE test tools from "WINDOWS 95B/95C
OSR 2.X ESSENTIAL FREE UPGRADES + FIXES" in SOFTWARE.TXT (included) to check
if all your USB devices are properly installed.

2. The second step is to disable the USB error detection function: start
Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Universal Serial Bus controllers
-> "[Intel 82371AB/EB] PCI to USB Universal Host Controller" (using an Intel
440BX Pentium II/III/Celeron motherboard chipset in this example) -> Advanced
tab -> check the "Disable USB error detection" box -> click OK twice.
This can be also achieved by creating this REG file (in Notepad):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Usb]
"ErrorCheckingEnabled"=dword:00000000

------End cut & paste here------

and then merging it into the Registry, by (double)-clicking on it in Explorer
or File Manager.

3. The third step consists in opening: Control Panel -> System -> Device
Manager -> System devices -> PCI bus -> IRQ Steering tab -> check the "Use
IRQ Steering" box -> OK -> OK -> reboot.
This can be also achieved by creating this REG file (in Notepad):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\PCI]
"Options"=hex:02,08,00,00

------End cut & paste here------

and then merging it into the Registry, by (double)-clicking on it in Windows
Explorer or File Manager.
Changing this setting requires restarting Windows to take effect.

4. The fourth step is to check if these settings are activated in your
computer's BIOS (these examples apply to most Abit motherboards, but yours
might be slightly different, depending on your mainboard/BIOS/chipset
type/manufacturer): reboot -> press the BIOS/CMOS Setup access key (Del on
motherboards powered by AWARD BIOSes):
- USB keyboard users ONLY: Open the "Integrated Peripherals" menu -> make
sure the "USB Keyboard Support" option is Enabled.
- ALL USB users: Open the "PnP/PCI Configurations" menu -> make sure the
"Assign IRQ for USB" option is Enabled.
ASUS (and other brands) motherboard owners: open the "Chipset Settings" menu
-> make sure the "OnChip USB" option is Enabled.
- ALL MS Windows 32-bit OS users: Open the "PnP/PCI Configurations" menu ->
turn OFF the "PNP OS Installed" setting. This might save you some trouble,
because it will allow the OS to select the "best fit" [hopefully conflict
free :)] device settings, and "shuffle" them around every time upon bootup,
according with the built-in "Microsoft Specification Table" for hardware
resources: Memory ranges, I/O (Input/Output) address ranges, DMA (Direct
Memory Access) channels, and most importantly... IRQs (Interrupt ReQuest
lines).
Hit F10 and type Y (for "Yes") to save the new BIOS settings, which will
automatically "cold reboot" your PC.

5. The fifth step is to make sure your system is free of hardware resource
conflicts: open Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> double-click on
Computer -> View Resources tab -> check each of the 4 available boxes:
Interrupt Request (IRQ), Direct Memory Access (DMA), Input/output (I/O) and
Memory, and scroll down the list to see if there are ANY yellow
question/exclamation and/or red X marks. If you find any, you may need to
(re)start the Windows Add New Hardware Wizard (from Control Panel) to
redetect ALL your hardware devices/peripherals, and hope that this time
Windows will do it right. :)
Check your hardware resources again for conflicts after the redetection has
successfully completed. [Good luck! :)]
Be sure to BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM BEFOREHAND, and have your installation
CDs/floppies containing vendor specific (3rd party) drivers for ALL your
installed devices ready, to pop them in when prompted.
Restart Windows when done.

6. The sixth [and last :)] step is to make sure you install the
current/updated Windows 98 SE(U) drivers for your particular motherboard
chipset (Intel, FIC VIA, AMD, SiS, ALi etc) and for your USB hardware
device(s), usually found at the developer/manufacturer/OEM/vendor web/ftp
sites.
Finally reboot your PC one last time.

REQUIRED READING:
- MSKB: Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=239887
- MSKB: How to Troubleshoot Windows 98 SE Shutdown Problems:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=238096
- MSKB: Windows 98 Troubleshooters:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/windows/tshoot/
- James' Windows 98 SE Shutdown Troubleshooter:
http://www.aumha.org/a/shtdwnse.htm

USE WINME DEFRAG + SCANDSKW WITH WIN98

If you intend to, or have already upgraded from Windows 98 retail, 98 Service
Pack 1 (SP1), Second Edition (SE) or Second Edition Updates (SEU) to Windows
Millennium Edition (ME), and would like to keep Win98/98 SP1/98 SE/98 SEU for
a while [like I did :)], eventually in a dual-boot setup using a multi-boot
manager [I am using V-Communications System Commander (retail):]
http://www.v-com.com/product/sc7_ind.html
until you have determined that your copy of WinME is stable enough to safely
wipe out Win98 from your hard disk, then it is strongly recommended to use
WinME's NEWER versions [build 4.90.3000] of Defrag.exe (Hard Disk
Defragmenter) and Scandskw.exe (Disk Scanner) on your system.
Just copy these 2 files from your main WinME folder to your main Win98 folder.
In case you don't have Windows ME, you can grab them here:
- Defrag.exe [96 KB]:
http://www.boogiejack.com/software/winmedefrag.zip
More info:
http://www.boogiejack.com/computer018.html
- Scandskw.exe [4 KB]:
http://www5.driverguide.com/files67b/uploads15/3407/SDME.ZIP
In case you haven't installed WinME yet, but you already have the WinME Setup
CD-ROM handy, just pop in the CD, open a DOS box, and run these commands:
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_16.CAB DEFRAG.EXE %winbootdir%
and:
EXTRACT D:\WIN9X\WIN_17.CAB SCANDSKW.EXE %winbootdir%
This presumes your CD/DVD drive letter is D. Change it if necessary.
Type EXIT and hit Enter to close the DOS session.
Done.

ADVANTAGE: The WinME disk tools are a lot faster!

FYI:
My final conclusion is that Windows 98 SE is more stable [almost
error-free! :)] and FASTER than Windows ME on my PC, AFTER applying ALL
Microsoft system patches/fixes/updates listed in SOFTWARE.TXT (included) under
"WINDOWS 98 SECOND EDITION (SE) ESSENTIAL FREE UPGRADES + FIXES", using ALL
current video/audio/communications drivers [see "FREE WinDOwS 3D/VIDEO, AUDIO
+ DISK DRIVERS + TOOLS" in SOFTWARE.TXT (included)], and ONLY AFTER replacing
system files listed in "KILLER REPLACEMENTS: ME -> 98 SE" from TIPS98.TXT
(this file).
My home assembled PC hardware specs are detailed in MYPC.TXT (included).

BRING BACK ATTRIBUTES COLUMN [+]

1. Courtesy of Chris (cgthompson@mailandnews.com):
http://users.bigpond.net.au/thomps/cgmt/

"This works ONLY with Windows 95/NT4 [ONLY IF already installed MS IE 4/5/6
with Active Desktop (Web View) enabled] and Windows 98.
I've noticed that a lot of Win98 users (including myself) are angry about the
missing "Attributes" column in Details mode, Windows Explorer.
Here's how to fix it:
Fire up your text editor (i.e. Notepad) and cut & paste the following text
into a new file (call it ATTRIB.REG):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"ShowAttribCol"=dword:00000001

------End cut & paste here------

Save your file, exit your text editor, (double)-click on ATTRIB.REG, answer
Yes/OK to all prompts, and then close + restart Windows Explorer."

2. Courtesy of Emmanuel (erpmanila3w@hotmail.com):
http://members.tripod.com/erpman1/

"This works ONLY with Windows 2000/ME/XP/2003.
To display the missing "Attributes" column in Windows Explorer: select "Choose
Columns" or "Choose Details" from the View menu -> check the Attributes box ->
click OK.
To make the Attributes column appear in EVERY folder in Windows Explorer,
click on Folder Options from the Tools menu and on the View tab click on "Like
Current Folder" (Win9x/NT4/2000/ME) or "Apply to All Folders" (WinXP/2003) and
finally click OK."

WIN98 GLOBAL RWIN TCP/IP BUG

Do you remember the Windows 95/OSR2 TCP/IP "DefaultRcvWindow" (also called
"RWIN" = Receive WINdow) Registry setting, widely used by most Internet
surfers, necessary to decrease the Windows 9x machine network fill buffer to
4x or 6x the MTU (minus 40) Registry value [called "MaxMTU" for Win95/OSR2 and
"IPMTU" for Win98/98 SE]?
If you don't, please see "HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? - Parts 1" and "HOW FAST CAN
YOU GO? - Part 2" both in REGISTRY.TXT (included), and also "FASTEST INTERNET
98 - Part 1" and "FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 2" both in TIPS98.TXT (this
file), for complete details on all useful TCP/IP (Internet) Registry tweaks.
All these settings apply ONLY to dial-up (phone line) 28 up to 56 kbps analog
modem users. If you have a Cable or xDSL modem, see this page for details:
http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_registry.shtml
Well, guess what, Win98/98 SE added its own "custom" setting to the list. [...
Or is just Microsoft trying to make our computing lives "easier"?! :-))]
It is the so-called "GlobalMaxTCPWindowSize" Registry setting, oops... I meant
"GlobalMaxTCPWindoSize", as it is admittedly misspelled by Microsoft in this
MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=239731
and sets the global RWIN (Receive WINdow) network fill buffer size (in Bytes)
for TCP/IP based (Internet) connections.
To make sure yours is also "properly misspelled" in the Registry [per
Microsoft's guidelines! :))], fire up Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\Parameters
In the right hand pane look for the "GlobalMaxTCPWindoSize" DWORD Value, and
rename it to "GlobalMaxTCPWindoSize" if it reads "GlobalMaxTCPWindowSize"
(note the extra "w" in "Window", which would be the correct spelling, but the
OS does NOT recognize it as such, so you need to "misspell" it to make it work
as intended). Create it if not present: right-click in the right hand pane ->
select New -> DWORD -> name it "GlobalMaxTCPWindoSize" -> click OK ->
double-click on it -> check the Decimal box -> type in 2144 [4x the MSS value
= MTU (in this case 576) - 40 = 536] -> click OK -> restart Windows for the
change to take effect.
You can also try the 6x MSS value for your global RWIN [with a MTU of 576, in
which case MSS (MTU - 40) is 536], calculated with this formula:
RWIN = (MTU - 40) x n
where n can be 2, 4, 6, 8 or 16 (8 is the Win9x default, and in most cases is
too large for dial-up connections).
In this case (typical analog modem over the Internet):
RWIN = (576 - 40) x 6 = 3216
which might allow faster TCP/IP performance in certain cases.
FYI: MTU = Maximum Transmission Unit, and MSS = Maximum Segment Size.
You can also determine your optimal MTU by running the PING tool (from a DOS
box) included with Win9x, depending on the ISP/Online Service used, phone line
conditions, Internet traffic etc (example):
PING -f -l 548 www.your_isp_name.com
See "FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 2" in TIPS98.TXT (this file) for more details
on how to properly use the PING command line switches to determine your actual
MTU.

UPDATE [courtesy of DM]:
Microsoft has fixed the global RWIN key spelling in Windows ME (Millennium
Edition).

KILL SCANDISK LOG

Courtesy of Chris (cgthompson@mailandnews.com).

"Some Win98/98 SE setups (this also applies to Win95B/95C OSR2.x) are
configured to automatically run ScanDisk after Windows has either crashed or
exited incorrectly. This always creates a Scandisk.log file... Until now! :)
In your %windir%\Command folder you will find the Scandisk.ini file. Open it
with Notepad. Scroll down to the [CUSTOM] section. You should see this line:

SaveLog=Append

Change it to read:

SaveLog=Off

Save your file.
That's it!"

NOTE: Read "BYPASS AUTOSCAN" in OSR2TIPS.TXT (included) to see how to
enable/disable Scandisk upon bootup, valid for both OSR2 and Win98 systems.

BOOT DISK

Thanks a mill[ennium :)] Jsjr for your cool tip!

"Everybody knows how to use the Win9x Add/Remove Programs Startup Disk
property page to create a boot floppy, but Windows 98 has two others, more
flexible, but less known ways to create a boot disk(ette), ONLY IF using an
internal [1.44 or 2.88 MB] 3.5 inch floppy drive set as drive A:

1. The first is a simple batch file called BOOTDISK.BAT located in your
%windir%\COMMAND folder (usually C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND). Under that directory is
a subfolder called EDB, which holds all the files the Startup Disk applet uses
to make the traditional Windows 98 boot disk. You can create your own custom
boot floppy by dragging the desired files, i.e. EDIT.COM, MSD.EXE etc, to the
EDB folder, and then executing BOOTDISK.BAT.

2. The second method uses a Windows utility called NOCOMP.EXE found in the
C:\Program Files\Plus!\System folder, which relies on the NOCOMP.INF
configuration file to determine which programs to include or exclude from the
boot disk. Its advantage is that it reads your AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files
(and optionally the AUTOEXEC.DOS + CONFIG.DOS files with REAL MODE MS-DOS
drivers, if still dual-booting into MS-DOS 6.xx) to transfer needed files to
your startup disk.
NOCOMP.EXE can also exclude unnecessary files such as DRVSPACE.BIN, which is
rather large, and DrvSpace is rarely used on most boot disks anyway, because
it works ONLY with FAT16 drives/partitions smaller than 2 GB.
NOCOMP.EXE is also available with MS Plus! for Windows 95 according to this
MSKB article:"
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=138310

BACKUP WITH SCANREG

This Win98/98 SE + AOL Scanreg trick appears thanks to Da Drk Sde@aol.com.

"In order to backup a file with Scanreg, that file must reside in a directory
that has an LDID (Logical Directory ID) defined. To create a user defined
LDID, so we can backup critical (including those created by AOL) files, we
need to fire up Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\VarLDID
There you should see some already user-defined LDIDs. They should be
numerically ordered, so scroll down to the last one. My last one had
"C:\PROGRA~1\Plus!\Themes" defined as LDID "30400". I added 5 to that [30405]
to allow for any future expansion Microsoft may have in mind on Plus! LDIDs.
This was a completely arbitrary call on my part. I haven't checked the MSDN
website yet to see if there are LDID sub-categories and how they're applied to
user-defined LDIDs, but it works for now. Next, create a new String Value
naming it to that entry plus 5 [e.g. since Themes was 30400 I created a
valuename of 30405]. Then set the value to the path you want an LDID defined
for. I set mine to "C:\America Online 4.0\Idb" so I could backup the Main.idx
and Main.ind files in that folder. Now you can open Scanreg.ini in Notepad,
and add the line:
Files=LDID,file1,file2,file3...
Replace "LDID" with the LDID you just created in the Registry, and
"file1,file2,file3..." with the filenames you want to backup.
Now test it by running Scanreg from the Run box on the Start Menu, and
answering Yes when it asks if you want to backup. Then do a Find for "Rb*.cab"
files, which should give a list of the Registry backup files in your System
folder [assuming default directory wasn't changed], and click the date heading
in the Find applet to sort them by date. The first one on the list should be
the one you just made.
Use your Cab Viewer to see the contents of the new Cab file. If everything
worked, you should see the additional files you added in Scanreg.ini.
CAUTION: This is still in experimental phase, since I haven't tested the
effects of replacing an old Main.idx/Main.ind on a configuration that may have
changed. Use at your own risk and please let me know of results."

FIX DEFRAG

Credited to vv (anonymous).

"Many PC users have a hard time defragging their drives. Microsoft recommends
deleting C:\Windows\Applog. However this rarely enables the optimization
portion of the Defrag to be rebuilt properly, if at all. I suggest to follow
these steps:
1. Rename and extract Defrag.exe and Cvtaplog.txt to C:\Windows with SFC.
2. Empty the C:\Windows\Applog folder.
3. Make sure Taskmon.exe runs from Msconfig, Startup or in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Use Regedit to access Registry keys and values.
4. Most importantly of all, remove the "ExcludeApps" value under:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TaskMon
"ExcludeApps"="START\DEFRAG\CVTAPLOG\SETUP\INSTALL\TASKMON\SCANDSKW\SFC"
5. You must make sure there is a "UseProfile"=dword:00000001 under this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag\AppStartParams
Mine looks like this (as REG file):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag\AppStartParams]
"ExcludeFiles"="SYSTEM.DAT\\USER.DAT\\SYSTEM.INI\\WIN.INI"
"UseProfile"=dword:00000001
"MaxNoUseDays"=dword:0000005a
"MaxApps"=dword:00000046
"MinLogSize"=dword:0000002b

------End cut & paste here------

6. Reboot and start Defrag. Subsequent use of applications and reboots
will rebuild the Applog file.
As you can imagine the first time you defrag will be the slowest time. But it
will make steady progress and be appreciably faster than before."

NOTE: See also these related topics in TIPS98.TXT (this file):
- "MAP THE CACHE",
- "FASTER APP LOAD" and
- "CLEAN DEFRAG".

HARDWARE INFORMATION [+]

Remember the cool HwDiag tool that Microsoft bundled with OSR2? If you don't,
see "HARDWARE DIAGNOSTIC" in OSR2TIPS.TXT (included) for details.
Well, guess what? Windows 98/98 SE/ME come with a similar "toy" called HwInfo
(Hardware History Diagnostic Tool). HWINFO.EXE resides in your Windows folder.
But normally (run by itself), HwInfo does NOT display anything, only performs
a full system checkup, and stores the system information in the HWINFO.DAT
binary file, also found in C:\Windows.
To force its User Interface (UI) to become "visible", you need to run it with
this command line parameter:

HWINFO /UI

Just like HwDiag, HwInfo displays loads of hardware related information about
your computer, by reading the Registry.
The list is actually huge, but VERY useful in tracking potential system
errors, lockups, incompatibilities etc.
HwInfo's color coded entries have not changed. Here they are:
- GREEN = Registry keys.
- BROWN = Configuration Manager.
- MAGENTA = File attributes.
- BLUE = Warning messages.
- RED = Error messages.
BTW: HwInfo "clutters" your hard disk with these 3 files:
- HWINFO.DAT: [you need to "strip" it of its Hidden (H) and Read-only (R)
attributes FIRST to allow for deletion] = in C:\Windows and
- HWINFOD.VXD + MSISYS.VXD: [Archive (A) attribute] = in C:\Windows\System,
and they are NOT needed after you're done using it, and you can safely delete
them, they will be recreated to contain your up to date system specs whenever
you run HwInfo anyway. :)

FYI: More info @ MSKB:
- Description of the Microsoft Hardware Diagnostic Tool:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=185956
- Driver Files Created by Microsoft System Information Tools:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188133

CONSERVATIVE SWAP [+]

This Win98/ME (all releases) tip was unearthed thanks to Paul
(paulandcathy@earthlink.net).

"I found this thread at the Windows 98 Annoyances Forum:
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/win98/
I've applied the tweak, but too soon to tell if it causes any problems. Does
seem to add a performance boost:"

Q [Horst Mueller]:

"Having trouble with Win98 swap file, sometimes it indicates 50 MB then it
will soar to over 100, giving me false readings on available disk space. I
have 128 MB RAM. I have reinstalled Win98, all programs and all Win98 updates
which takes me about 12 hours each time."

A [Dan A. Wilson]:

"I've suggested this several times here before, and I use it and swear by it
as a tweak for both speeding up Win98 and controlling the outlandish sizes of
swapfiles when you have a ton of available hard memory (128 MB).
Quoted from this MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=223294

Windows 98 added a new feature, PageFile_Call_Async_Manager, that allows the
Memory Manager to asynchronously write out page file (swap file) buffers
during periods of time when VFAT file system activity is not busy...
You can disable this feature, causing the system to behave as Windows 95
does, at some cost in overall system performance. Add the following entry to
the System.ini file under its [386Enh] section:

[386Enh]
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1

The "cost in overall system performance" never came up on mine. Things just
got better all around.
This tweak will force the notoriously bad Win98 Memory Manager to use your
available chip memory for its functions first, and all uses of chip memory
are *much faster* than any use of read-write HD file memory.
It's worth a try.
My Win98 computer purrs with this tweak, and is much faster than it was
without it, and the swap file, which used to never be less than 40 MB and
was often over 100 MB is now almost always zero or nearly zero.
After you add the new line, save System.ini and reboot.
If there's any reduction in performance or any problem, just edit System.ini
again to remove the line, save the file and reboot...

The ridiculous Memory (mis-)Manager is now USING your 128 MB of RAM, instead
of roaring off to the HD swapfile every time 40% of your available memory has
been tapped, and the result is that your swapfile now sits at zero most of the
time, while your hard memory is serving all of your needs. If, in fact, you
ever push your memory to about 85% usage, a swap file of 10 to 15 MB may be
created, but it will disappear when you close down the (30 memory-hungry)
things you're running at once and shut down the machine. The next time you
boot up, there will be a zero swap file.
If you ever configure a Win98 computer that has 64 MB of RAM or less, this fix
probably won't work. It depends on a massive quantity of available memory to
work."

FYI: See also this "Conservative Swap File Usage" tip:
http://www.aumha.org/a/memmgmt.htm

ALWAYS UNLOAD DLLS [+]

... Suggested by Casper (casperfriispedersen@usa.net).

This Registry hack is valid for all Windows 95, OSR 2.x, 98, 98 SE and ME
releases. Applies also to Windows NT4, 2000 and XP, but ONLY for 32-bit DLLs,
NOT for old(er) 16-bit DLLs.
Windows OS does NOT always unload opened DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries) used
by programs/games from memory (where they are cached for faster execution),
upon closing the respective application (default action), therefore keeping
unused DLLs in the memory buffer much longer than necessary, even after their
programs closed, thus slowing down system performance, because over time the
amount of RAM dedicated to holding them grows gradually as more apps are
opened. :(
To fix this, start Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\AlwaysUnloadDll
In the right hand pane look for the "(Default)" String [REG_SZ] value. Make
sure its value is 1.
If not present, create a new Registry subkey: highlight the "explorer" subkey
(see above) -> right-click in the left hand pane -> select New -> Key -> type
AlwaysUnloadDll -> hit Enter -> highlight the new "AlwaysUnloadDll" subkey ->
double-click on the "(Default)" String Value in the right hand pane -> type 1
-> click OK or hit Enter.
The caveat is that certain (especially older and/or 16-bit) Windows programs
might "complain" by issuing error messages [like Invalid Page Faults (IPFs)],
or even crashing the entire system (Win9x/ME only) when this option is turned
on. :(
But you can turn it off: delete the "AlwaysUnloadDll" Registry subkey.
If you haven't experienced such errors/lockups, you can leave it on, because
this setting speeds up GUI operation a bit, by freeing chunks of unused RAM
and returning it to the system.
Close the Registry Editor when done and restart Windows for the change to
take effect.

More info:
- MSKB:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=196480
- MSDN:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/shellcc/platform/shell/programmersguide/shell_basics/shell_basics_programming/debugging.asp

98 SE + NEW IE5

After installing the current final release of Microsoft Internet Explorer
(v5.5 SP1 as of this writing):
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
when you right-click on Iexplore.exe (MS IE executable) and select the
Properties tab, the downloadable version should display 5.00.3020.2100
[release 5.51], no matter if you downloaded the Microsoft "generic" release
or a "customized" (different logo, home page etc) 3rd party IE5 version
(there are tons of them out there).
The MS IE release installed by Win98 SE identifies itself as 5.00.2614.3500.
BUG: If you installed Win98 SEU ($19.95 Upgrade, Full or Update retail/OEM
releases), and then tried to install the current IE release (which is NEWER
than the one bundled with Win98 SE), you may have noticed that IE5 was NOT
updated to the new version! To FIX this BUG:
1. Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\Migration\100
Right-click on this key and select Delete. Exit the Registry editor.
2. Move Iemigrat.dll from C:\Windows\System to a backup/remote drive/folder.
3. In some cases you may have to reinstall Win98 SE BEFORE installing the most
recent MS IE release.
4. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED:
Check the MS IE home page:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
on a regular basis for NEW releases/updates, and install the CURRENT MS IE
FINAL (GOLD, NOT BETA) VERSION, which usually fixes the latest security holes
and interface bugs, and also updates your Windows OS components with the
current MS patches.
See "INTERNET EXPLORER (IE) 4/5/6 ESSENTIAL FREE FIXES + UPDATES" in
SOFTWARE.TXT (included) for a complete list of MS IE security fixes.
Also note that Win98 SE(U) won't allow you to install an older IE5 build over
the one it comes bundled with or over the newer one you have installed! But
why would you do that anyway? :)
IE5 installed by Win98 SE(U) adds a new Sharing button (for use with ICS =
Internet Connection Sharing) under the Communications tab, when you click the
Tools -> Internet Options from the IE5 menu, or when you right-click on the
IE5 Desktop icon and select Properties.
If you do NOT see the new Sharing button, apply the fix detailed in this MSKB
article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=236152

UPDATE:
"You do NOT have a Sharing button, unless ICS is installed from Add/Remove
Programs in Control Panel. ICS should ONLY be installed on one machine in a
network. Client machines do NOT need it installed as they should use TCP/IP
to access the host machine as if it were a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol) server."
[Thank you Captain (CptSiskoX@hotmail.com)!]

98 SE ICS BUG FIX

Many thanks Gary (gfraz@hotmail.com) for this BUG fix!

"I am using the Internet Connection Service (ICS) from Win98 SE, and find it
quite useful, but I did notice a problem with my connection on my other PC. I
have a cable modem, and I am sharing it with only 1 other PC.

Microsoft released a fix detailed in the "Slow Transfer Rates with ICS and
High-Bandwidth Devices" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=230116

"SYMPTOMS:
If an Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) host is using a high-bandwidth
connection to the Internet, the transfer rate may be slower than the medium's
normal rate.

RESOLUTION:
To resolve this issue, remove the following registry key on the host and then
restart your computer:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\ICSharing\Settings\General\InternetMTU

NOTE:
This key should NOT be removed if you are using a dial-up connection with a
modem over an analog phone line."

I looked at it, and it was set to 512, it does not default to the LAN setting
(1500) like everything else. I guess they had the idea mostly dial-up accounts
would be using it? I manually changed it to 1500."

UPDATE:
"This gives ICS client machines [the ones using the shared connection] more
speed if the MTU is set to the same value as the ISP's, and specifies what MTU
they will use for Internet based MTU value, if connecting through ICS via a
network.
But if using a local stand alone machine's modem, ICS uses Win98 SE's default
or user specified MTU. Remember, the host/server machine will still use its
"stand alone" settings for Internet traffic MTU."
[Thank you Captain SiskoX!]

98 SE IE5 COOKIES

Thank you Michael (mikeyk@megsinet.net)!

"I have Win98 SE that came with IE 5.0. I like having the option of accepting
cookies or not, and with IE 4.0 this was done under the Advanced tab of
Internet Explorer Options. However when I installed Win98 2nd Edition (SE),
this option was gone. But I discovered it now under the Security tab of
Internet Explorer Options: select the custom level button for each zone and
configure the cookies option the way you wish."

CLEAN WIN98 SEU INSTALL

Thank you Michael for your cool tip!

"As you know the Win98 Second Edition (Update version) has the DOS Setup
disabled by default, meaning you can't do a clean install from a newly
formatted hard disk. Actually the Setup program first checks for any
qualifying Win98 original build [4.10.1998] file. What I did:
1. Boot to native MS-DOS using a floppy boot disk with cd-rom support created
by Win98 original build [4.10.1998].
2. Run A:\FDISK to create a new D (hard disk) partition.
3. Copy the Win98 SEU install files from the \WIN98 folder on the Setup cd-rom
to the D partition.
4. Install Win98 original build [4.10.1998] from the cd-rom.
5. Run Win98 SEU Setup, and create a boot disk when prompted.
6. Reboot to native MS-DOS using the Win98 SEU floppy boot disk.
7. Run A:\FORMAT with the /S option to reformat clean the C partition, and
then to copy the system files to C:\ root after formatting is completed.
8. Remove the boot disk and reboot to native MS-DOS.
9. Run the DOS based Setup from the D partition.
This worked, and I was able to save about 50 MB of disk space since the system
files are backed up by default if I install over the original build. Also, my
Windows Update does a more accurate job of analyzing which patch needs to be
installed.
Before I used to run into a lot of redundant patches since the Windows Update
Manager in the original Win98 build doesn't seem to work properly if Win98 SE
is installed on top of it.
Note that I've used Win98 SEU build 4.10.2222 A for this procedure. I don't
know if this works with other custom/OEM builds."

FYI: Check out this page for more details on how to install Win95/98 without
(re)formatting your hard drive(s):
http://powerjoe.tripod.com/noformat.html

WIN98 LOW DISK SPACE WARNING

You can improve Windows 98/98 SE performance by disabling the annoying Low
Disk Space monitoring and warning message that pops up whenever disk space on
your fixed drive(s) falls below the minimum specified by the system. This is
enabled by default, and these are possible warning messages you may get:
"Hard disk is low on disk space."
and/or:
"You are running out of disk space on drive X.
To free space on this drive by deleting old or unnecessary files, run Disk
Cleanup."
The percentage of low disk space monitoring is set depending on the size of
your drive(s). By default a 1 GB drive runs low at 5%, and a 2 GB drive at
2.5%. Look at this MSKB table for more details on low disk space percentages
depending on drive size:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=191824
BEWARE: If you disable this setting, whenever you run out of space without
knowing it, you may experience system/application errors, especially if using
a resizable swap file (default file name is Win386.swp) located on your
primary/master (fixed) drive!
To do this, run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\control\FileSystem
Create a new DWORD value: right-click on an empty spot in the Regedit screen
-> select New -> click DWORD Value -> name it DisableLowDiskSpaceBroadcast.
Or double-click on it if it already exists -> check the Decimal box -> type
67108863 -> click OK or press Enter.
To (re)enable Low Disk Space notification on ALL your fixed, removable,
remote/network, etc drives (A to Z), just delete the
"DisableLowDiskSpaceBroadcast" value.
To enable/disable the Low Disk Space warning on selected drives, follow the
guidelines at this MSKB page:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188074
Windows needs to be restarted after applying these changes.
More info @ MSKB:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=193903

MAPPED DISK CACHE

This is a fragment quoted from the "Windows 98 Mtsutil.txt File" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188480
"Windows 98 supports the mapping of cached pages to increase the amount of
memory available to running applications. The Windows 98 memory manager
architecture divides memory into 2 parts:
- Protected-mode disk cache (VCACHE)
- Memory allocated to run programs and hold data (VMM)
Reading from memory is much faster than reading from the hard disk. VCACHE
improves performance by reducing the number of times the hard disk is
accessed. A process in memory will demand a particular section of code; if
that section of code is in VCACHE, it can be accessed and used much more
quickly than if that section of code needs to be read from a file on disk.
For example, if you were to launch an application, close it, and then shortly
thereafter launch it a second time, the application's launch time would now be
noticeably reduced. This is a result of copying much of the application from
VCACHE instead of the hard disk.
Memory allocated to the disk cache is not available to executing processes.
Reducing the amount of memory available to running applications negatively
impacts performance by increasing the amount of data swapped from memory to
the hard disk."
What does all this "mumbo-jumbo" mean? Basically Win98 will act faster if a
portion of the computer's memory is allocated for the fixed disk "mapped
cache", thus avoiding frequent access to the slower swap file (supplemental
"virtual" memory located on the fixed disk). The disadvantage is (only
obvious on PCs with less than 64 MB of RAM) that this "retained" memory is
not available to applications anymore, thus reducing the amount of memory
Windows 98 can "play" with.
Therefore it is recommended to enable the Win98 "mapped cache" feature on
machines with at least 64 MB RAM (and definitively if you have 128 MB or
more), to improve performance at the expense of little less memory available
to programs.
To do so, start Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VMM
In the right hand pane, make sure the "MapCache" Binary value is not present.
If you see it, delete it: right-click on it and select Delete or highlight it
and press Del, then click Yes or press Enter.
Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows.
To disable the "mapped cache" on Win98 systems with less than 64 MB RAM (and
definitively if you have 32 MB or less), run Regedit, and scroll down to the
Registry key above.
Create a new "MapCache" entry: right-click on an empty spot in the Regedit
screen, select New -> Binary Value -> type in MapCache (its value is of no
importance, according to Microsoft) -> click OK or press Enter.
Exit the Registry Editor and restart Windows.
The information quoted above is also available in the Mtsutil.txt file,
located on the Win98 Setup cd-rom, in the \TOOLS\MTSUTIL subfolder. Open it in
Notepad for reading.
You can also enable "mapped cache" without "messing" with the Registry, by
running MAPC_ON.INF, or disable it by installing MAPC_OFF.INF. These are 2
information (.INF) files, also found in \TOOLS\MTSUTIL.
To do this, right-click on the one you want in Explorer, select Install, and
finally restart Windows.
NOTE: For details on how to configure your "mapped cache" for maximum
performance on your Win98 system, read "MAP THE CACHE" in TIPS98.TXT (this
file).

WIN98 ATX SHUT DOWN FIX (My ©trick)

This kept bugging me since I have installed Win98 retail (Gold) Upgrade on my
Abit BH6 Pentium II/III ATX motherboard, back in December '98:
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/products.php?model=98
To my knowlegde a Windows 98/ME ATX computer canNOT be forced to shut down to
the native/true MS-DOS mode, as we were accustomed to in the good ol'
Win95/OSR1/OSR2 days, due to the inability of the 98/ME kernel of accepting
such redirecting commands. The 98/ME shut-down sequence does not allow to exit
the GUI without performing a complete system power off, independent of the
ACPI (Advanced Configuration Power Interface) status, and even disabling all
ACPI/APM features in the BIOS and in the Control Panel Power Management applet
makes no difference. :(
The standard ATX 2.xx PC power supply unit (PSU) includes a remote ON/OFF
feedback wire, which allows a compatible Operating System (like MS Windows
98/ME/2000/XP/2003) to send a "soft(ware)" signal to the computer's PSU,
literally turning it off. That's why this process is also called "soft
power-off" or "soft-off".
ATX + ACPI/APM standards + specs:
- ATX Form Factor:
http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/atx/atxspecs.htm
- Advanced Configuration + Power Interface:
http://www.acpi.info/
Certain ATX motherboards have the ability to disable the system shut down
feature through a BIOS Setup setting called "AC Back Function" (?), but
unfortunately the Abit BH6 and BE6 series are not among them. :(
As some of you may have noticed, another new "feature" (I'd call it rather an
annoyance) of the new ATX powered motherboards/systems is the single position
electrical power switch (called momentary SPST switch), which can only send an
ON/OFF "hard" signal to the power supply ("hard power-off" or "hard-off"), but
it is not a true ON/OFF switch, and it canNOT physically turn off the system,
because it doesn't have an OFF position, as classic (older) dual position
mechanical ON/OFF switches do on AT and Baby AT form factor motherboards.
I almost went on to rewire my ATX power supply, in order to bypass the ON/OFF
feedback signal wire, and enable the use of a true power switch to be able to
exit Win98/98 SE to native MS-DOS when selecting: Start button -> click Shut
Down... -> check the "Shut down" box -> hit OK.
But until then, I discovered the 2 solutions detailed below.

NOTES:
- Unlike Windows 98/98 SP1/98 SE(U), Windows Millennium Edition (ME) canNOT be
forced to shut down to native MS-DOS, because its "power off" sequence starts
from within the interface (GUI). :( To have WinME go to MS-DOS, you need to
apply the Unofficial Real DOS-Mode Patch [9 KB, freeware]:
http://www.geocities.com/mfd4life_2000/
which modifies COMMAND.COM + IO.SYS (from %windir%\COMMAND\EBD) + REGENV32.EXE
(from %windir%\SYSTEM) in order to be able to use DOS mode startup files
(AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS), then edit your C:\MSDOS.SYS file, add/change the
"BootGUI=" line to read 0 and finally, reboot.
- All batch (plain text) files below can be created/edited with Notepad in
Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS.
- I used here C:\WINDOWS as default Win98/98 SE folder name. You need to
replace it if different on your system.

NECESSARY STEPS:

A. MANDATORY TWEAK:

To properly exit/shut down Windows 9x to the real/native MS-DOS mode, follow
the steps detailed in "DOS NOW!" from MYTIPS95.TXT (included).
Then apply ONLY one of the tweaks below:

B. AUTOMATIC TWEAK: [NEW!]

1. Right-click and select "Save Link [Target] As..." to download the small
NOOFF.COM DOS TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program [279 Bytes, freeware]:
http://www.informatik.fh-muenchen.de/~ifw98223/nooff.com
2. Add this line to your Autoexec.bat (example):
LH C:\ATX\NOOFF
NOOFF takes 336 Bytes of upper RAM if using an upper memory manager like MS
EMM386.EXE [see MEMORY.TXT (included)] or UMBPCI.SYS [see SOFTWARE.TXT
(included)] in your Config.sys.
3. Reboot.
From now on you will be "transported" automatically to the native/true MS-DOS
prompt every time you "shut down" Win98/98 SE.

C. MANUAL TWEAK: [OLD!]

1. Edit (if present) or create (if absent) the AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the root
folder of your boot drive/partition (default is C:\) to include these 2 lines:
SET COPYCMD=/Y
C:\WIN.BAT
The 1st one disables the confirmation prompts before overwriting a file when
using the COPY, MOVE and XCOPY commands.
The 2nd one MUST be the LAST line in your Autoexec.bat, because otherwise
Windows 98/98 SE will start the GUI by running WIN.COM from C:\Windows
(default) IF your MSDOS.SYS system file (also found in C:\ root) contains the
BootGUI=1 line under the [Options] section!
2. Copy the MOVE.EXE file from C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND to C:\ root, because it will
be used further below to rename the Windows 98/98 SE folder. This is necessary
because MOVE won't allow renaming the parent directory or the subdirectory
inside which it resides (in this case C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND).
3. Reboot.
4. Create a shortcut (.PIF = Program Information File) to COMMAND.COM on your
Desktop, and call it Exit98 (or any other suggestive name you wish).
6. Right-click on Exit98 and select Properties.
7. Click the Program tab.
8. Replace COMMAND.COM in the "Cmd line:" box with:
C:\MOVE C:\WINDOWS C:\W98
to have the MOVE command rename your Win98 folder from WINDOWS to W98.
8. Place a check mark in the "Close on exit" box.
9. Click the Advanced button.
10. Place a check mark in the "MS-DOS mode" box, and make sure the only other
checked box is "Use current MS-DOS configuration".
11. Click OK/Apply twice to confirm changes.
Configured this way, the PIF shortcut ends and tries to return to the Win98
GUI, but since the Windows directory is not present anymore (as stated on the
PATH line and by the %windir% environment variable which loaded when Win98 GUI
started), it aborts to the native/true MS-DOS mode, unloading the resident
part of the WIN module and the second COMMAND environment from memory.
12. Create a DOS batch file containing these lines:
@C:\MOVE C:\W98 C:\WINDOWS > NUL
@C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM
and this is VERY IMPORTANT: call it WIN.BAT and place it in C:\ root.
It is also IMPORTANT to mention the .COM extension for the WIN.COM executable.
Otherwise the batch file will be caught into an infinite loop, trying to
restart itself over and over! :(
Why create WIN.BAT, and why place it in C:\ root?
Simple. Because it is known that when Windows 9x starts by running the WIN
command, a batch file with the SAME name as the actual WIN.COM executable and
residing in C:\ root is executed BEFORE WIN.COM (which is valid for ALL MS-DOS
.COM and .EXE executables bearing IDENTICAL names with user created batch
files residing in a directory listed on the PATH statement).
13. You also need to "strip" your Windows folder of its Read-only attribute
(if enabled), otherwise the MOVE command won't be able to rename it. To do
this: run WINFILE [the Win9x 16-bit File Manager (FM) interface] -> highlight
the Win98 main folder -> click File -> select Properties -> uncheck the Read
Only box -> click OK -> exit FM.

From now on you will be "transported" automatically to the native/real MS-DOS
mode every time you "shut down" Windows 98 by running Exit98.
Actually Exit98 simply exits Win98 to MS-DOS mode (with the WIN module loaded
in memory), from which (under normal conditions) you can return to Windows by
typing EXIT and pressing Enter. But not so, since the entire Win98 folder just
"vanished" by being renamed. Ha! :)

IMPORTANT:
In case your Win98 computer locks up unexpectedly, i.e. due to a sudden power
outage (you never know, unless you have a battery powered UPS unit or a
laptop) right after renaming Win98's folder, you want to be able to get back
into Windows after rebooting. To do this, copy: HIMEM.SYS, IFSHLP.SYS,
DBLBUFF.SYS, EMM386.EXE, MSCDEX.EXE, SMARTDRV.EXE (normally residing in your
Windows main directory or the Command subdirectory) etc... and ANY other
devices/TSRs/programs listed in your startup files (Config.sys and
Autoexec.bat), and also used by the Win98 OS bootup routine to C:\ root, or to
a different (new) folder, but NOT to a Windows subdirectory! Then modify their
Config.sys/Autoexec.bat lines to point to this new folder.
You also need to remove the NOAUTO switch from your Config.sys "DOS=" line
(if present), to read:
DOS=HIGH,UMB
This is mandatory because the Win9x boot process (built into IO.SYS) reads the
MSDOS.SYS "WinBootDir=" line to learn the default location of these two DOS
(legacy) devices located in the Windows folder, and loads them automatically
in memory, ONLY IF they are NOT present in Config.sys (located in C:\ root):
- HIMEM.SYS = the default MS-DOS HIgh/upper/extended MEMory SYStem manager (if
not replaced by a similar 3rd party memory manager in Config.sys), which
enables and maps the computer's extended memory (XMS) so that the Win9x GUI
can use it, load and run properly, and
- IFSHLP.SYS = the MS-DOS Installable File System HeLPer support SYStem
driver, which enables Windows 32-bit disk access, thus making the GUI (32-bit)
compatible with the underlying MS-DOS layer (16-bit) on top of which loads, by
initiating file system calls to allow loading of device drivers.
But if these drivers ARE present in Config.sys (proper DEVICE lines) they load
from there, bypassing the default Win9x OS boot sequence.
It is also recommended to add this line to your Config.sys, AFTER the last
DEVICE/DEVICEHIGH line:
INSTALL=C:\MOVE.EXE C:\W98 C:\WINDOWS
to rename your Win98 folder back to C:\WINDOWS, in case your machine crashed,
before you had the chance to do it yourself by running WIN.BAT.

WARNING: If you try to run any DOS based programs residing in your Windows
parent folder or subfolders AFTER renaming your Win98 directory, you will
encounter this error message:
"Bad command of file name"
To prevent this from happening, create a separate batch file I called
REN98.BAT:
@C:\MOVE C:\W98 C:\WINDOWS > NUL
which renames your Win98 folder back to its original name. Place it in a
folder listed on your PATH statement (the "SET PATH=" line should be present
in your Config.sys or Autoexec.bat), and run it immediately after you exit
Win98 to MS-DOS by running the Exit98 shortcut, ONLY IF you don't want to
restart Windows right away by running WIN, that would start WIN.BAT from C:\
root, which has its own line for renaming W98 back to WINDOWS.
Voila!

OS UPDATES MADE EASY

I'm sure you have been watching Microsoft's web site for the (too many)
"latest" system updates, patches, fixes etc, which usually keep your Windows
98/ME copy up to date. I know, because I have. In fact, I've lost track of
all those countless "patches". :) And if you installed the Critical
Notification Update, you are automatically notified when a new update is
issued at the Microsoft Windows Update site:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
I have put together a list with all available ["critical" as Microsoft calls
them, I like to call them "essential" :)] system Upgrades + Fixes:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/web.htm
also found in SOFTWARE.TXT (included).
But the problem is that after completing the downloads, Windows automatically
installs them, tells you when it's done, eventually prompts you to restart
Windows (if needed), and then deletes downloaded files. And there is a big
chance that if you later delete your Internet Explorer temporary cache files
(TIF), and/or "clean" your drives of unneeded junk, they will be gone. And if
you will ever need to (re)install the same updates at a later time (i.e. if
you reinstalled Win98/ME or upgrade another Win98/ME computer), you'll have to
download them all over again. :(
Well, not quite. Follow these steps to save the original installation files
and keep them handy for future upgrades:
1. NEW METHOD: Go to:
https://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/catalog/
and follow this MSKB guide:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=323166
to save ANY updates for ANY available Windows OS to your hard disk for future
install.
2. OLD METHOD: After each update/fix is finished installing, open Windows
Explorer or File Manager (FM = %windir%\WINFILE.EXE), and search for a folder
named Msdownload.tmp (short name is MSDOWN~1), usually located underneath your
main Windows directory, or if you have more than one hard disk/partition, this
folder may reside on your second drive/partition (D).
Some of the automatically installed update files are also found in the MS IE
4/5/6 temporary cache folders. Therefore it is advised to empty your Internet
Explorer cache prior to downloading updates, to find them easier afterwards.
To do this: right-click on the Desktop Internet Explorer icon (or open IE ->
click View -> choose Internet Options) -> select Properties -> click the
General tab -> click the Delete button under Temporary Internet Files.
Consider also removing ALL references to failed installs from your WULog.txt
file, found in your Windows folder. To do this you need to strip it first of
its hidden and read-only attributes: in Windows Explorer, right-click on
Wulog.txt -> select the General tab -> uncheck the Read-only and Hidden boxes
-> click OK/Apply. Now edit Wulog.txt in Notepad and delete all lines that
contain the word "failed".
Some of the newer Win98 system updates/fixes (especially if part of Win98 SP1
Update) are stored in your C:\Program Files\WindowsUpdate folder (short name
is C:\PROGRA~1\WINDOW~1). Look there for the WUHistv3.log text file, you can
view/edit in Notepad.
Download ONE update at a time, and then look for any .CAB and/or .EXE
files in these folders. Move them all to a safe location (i.e. backup disk),
and eventually zip them up to save space, by using one of these free(ware)
"WINDOWS 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP FILE SHRINKERS" from SOFTWARE.TXT (included).
Now you can erase ALL temporary folders mentioned above from your fixed
drives/partitions, which only add to disk space waste. :(
Copy back the files you want from your backups, and (re)install away when
needed.

TIPS:
To only extract individual files from a compressed executable (.EXE),
without installing the respective update, you can run it by using the command
line switches listed at this MSKB page:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=197147
To extract all files from a compressed cabinet (.CAB), (double)-click (or
right-click and select Extract) on a CAB file in Windows Explorer to
decompress its files in the desired folder.
All these .EXE command line parameters and the CabView extraction tool are
valid for ALL Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2/98/ME releases.
Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2 users ONLY: CabView.DLL is NOT available, but you can get
it as part of Microsoft Power Toys 95 Set [204 KB, free, unsupported]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/
Right-click on CabView.INF and select Install.
Windows 98/98 SP1/98 SE(U)/ME users ONLY: CabView.DLL is already installed.
To install updates using files extracted from CABs, one would presume it's
enough to right-click on the respective INF(ormation) file and choose Install.
Wrong!
These are "advanced information files", and need to be executed with a command
line similar to:
RUNDLL32.EXE ADVPACK.DLL,LaunchINFSection FILENAME.INF,Section_Name
You can also create a DOS style batch (.BAT) file (using Notepad), to automate
this process, and also to extract all files from a .CAB to the current folder
before starting the install routine:

@ECHO OFF
MEM.EXE/C | FIND.EXE/I "vmm32">NUL
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO END
IF NOT EXIST *.CAB GOTO END
FOR %%1 IN (*.CAB) DO EXTRAC32.EXE /E %%1
IF NOT EXIST *.INF GOTO END
FOR %%2 IN (*.INF) DO RUNDLL32.EXE ADVPACK.DLL,LaunchINFSection %%2
:END
EXIT

Note that the INFormation filename and extension (.INF) MUST be entered after
the batch filename (separated by a space), but the Section Name is optional
(separated by a comma).
This automation method is recommended STRICTLY for files downloaded from
Microsoft Windows Update!

FYI: Windows 98 Update troubleshooting FAQs:
- MSKB: "Troubleshooting Windows Update Connection and Download Problems":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=193657
- Problems Accessing Windows Update:
http://www.infinisource.com/techfiles/winup-errors.html

MAP THE CACHE [+]

Windows 98 introduced a new (and very useful I might add) feature I like to
call "Mapped Cache", inherited also by its newer "sibling", Windows ME.
Jointly developed by Intel and Microsoft, the Intel Application Launch
Accelerator (IALA) technology speeds up considerably application loading time,
thus improving storage subsystem performance.
FYI: Read these Intel PDF files for more techno details:
- IALA:
http://cedar.intel.com/media/pdf/iala.pdf
- IALA Loads Software Faster:
http://developer.intel.com/update/archive/psn/psn12972.pdf
You need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) to view PDF content:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

IALA uses the new Windows 98/ME Defrag and Task Monitor (TaskMon) tools, to
speed up the loading of frequently used Win32 applications by "remapping" the
hard drive(s), and relocating the 32-bit program executables that meet the
requirements for "optimization". This is broken down into 4 settings, which
can be tweaked separately, only by editing the Registry:
- specific app profile: default is to use app profile to determine its
"remapping" compatibility,
- minimum app log file size: these files have the .LGC, .LGD, .LGE etc
extensions, depending on the letter (C, D, E etc) assigned to the
drive/partition where the program resides, default size being 1000 Bytes,
after which Defrag starts moving an app on disk,
- maximum number of days an app is not being used: default is 90, after which
an app is not optimized anymore,
- maximum number of apps allowed for optimization: default is 50.
Mapped Cache requires this TaskMon command line as String value (default
Win98/ME installation):
"TaskMonitor"="C:\\Windows\\Taskmon.exe"
under this Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
to run the Task Monitor tool in the background every time Windows loads.
App remapping starts working ONLY AFTER the first time you run the Defrag tool
(C:\Windows\Defrag.exe) with the "Rearrange program files so my programs start
faster" option enabled (default), which actually moves parts of the
executables towards the hard drive/partition ending (outer) cluster, obviously
accessed faster than the starting (inner) clusters.

FYI:
"The fastest accessing part of a hard drive is on the outside where there is
the largest circumference and the most sectors per track. The inside is
slowest. On the inside the heads have to seek over more tracks to span a given
amount of data which makes seeks slower there for a given data span. Also, for
sequential reads a track boundary where a track or cylinder skew is needed (a
slowdown) are more frequent thus the inside is slower. HDs begin their sector
numbering or Cyl-HD-Sect schemes beginning on the outside.
Defrag moves the dirs and app acceleration stuff to the
outside/beginning/front/fastest part."
[Thank you Ron!]

All remapping operations are logged in Optlog.txt, a plain text file located
in the C:\Windows\Applog folder, you can open with Notepad for viewing.
Modifying this file won't make any difference, because it will be overwritten
each time an app is remapped, or after changing the Registry parameters shown
below.
So far we've seen the defaults. But they can be changed by hacking your
Registry. :) Start Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag\AppStartParams
Look in the right hand pane for these DWORD Values: "MaxApps",
"MaxNoUseDays", "MinLogSize" + "UseProfile".
You can modify each of them: double-click on the one you want -> check the
Decimal box -> type a number -> click OK or press Enter.
These are the values I use, exactly as they appear in Regedit (only an
example):
"MaxApps"=0x00000046 (70)
"MaxNoUseDays"=0x00000063 (99)
"MinLogSize"=0x000001f4 (500)
Numbers in parenthesis represent the Decimal values used for optimization.
Try not to increase/decrease these values too much (especially the
"MinLogSize"), because remapping might stop working properly.
The "UseProfile" Value Data MUST be set to 1 in the Decimal box, otherwise
remapping will NOT work! To turn it off [but why would you do that for? :)],
change its Decimal value to 0.
Exit the Registry Editor when done.
Optionally you can delete all app log files: *.LGC, *.LGD, *.LGE etc, from
C:\Windows\Applog. They will be recreated when you first open a program, but
ONLY AFTER running Defrag with the "Rearrange program files so my programs
start faster" option enabled, for ALL your fixed hard drives/partitions.

FYI:
- See also "FASTER APP LOAD" in TIPS98.TXT (this file) for more details.
- Applog directories + files are explained in this MS TechNet article:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/win98/reskit/part2/wrkc10.asp
- Optlog.txt parameters are explained in this MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=186020

... One more thing: BACKUP YOUR FILES BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!

BUGGY TWEAKUI 98 [UPDATED 9-20-2000] [+]

Oh no... not *another* BUG alert!? Yeap!
Unfortunately this affects one of the most popular tools bundled on the
Windows 98 retail (and removed by Microsoft from all subsequent Win98/2000/ME
releases) Setup cd-rom, the (in)famous TweakUI "Power Toy". This so-called
"final" release of TweakUI 98 has a lot of BUGs.
And after receiving lots of e-mail from frustrated users, complaining about a
great variety of problems after using TweakUI 98, I have decided to search for
fixes.
To fix most of the "problems" TweakUI created on your Win9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP
system [some seem to be irrecoverable though :(], first run the "buggy"
TweakUI applet [for the last time :)], and restore ALL settings to their
defaults (if possible).

WARNING: Deleting the TweakUI files does NOT fix ANY errors you may have
experienced after changing any TweakUI default settings, because when you
clicked any Apply/OK buttons in TweakUI, your Registry, System (SYSTEM.INI,
WIN.INI + CONTROL.INI) + Startup (MSDOS.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS)
settings also changed!
The ONLY way your "pre-TweakUI" (original) settings were NOT altered is if you
clicked the TweakUI Cancel button.

Then uninstall (if possible) TweakUI from Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs
-> double-click on "Tweak UI".
Now search ALL your local drives/partitions and delete ALL TweakUI.* files
from:
- %windir%\Help\TWEAKUI.CNT
- %windir%\Help\TWEAKUI.HLP
- %windir%\Help\TWEAKUI.GID [Hidden file]
- %windir%\Inf\TWEAKUI.INF
- %windir%\System\TWEAKUI.CPL [Win9x/ME only]
- %windir%\System32\TWEAKUI.CPL [WinNT4/2000/XP only].

Default %windir% folder is C:\Windows if using Win9x/2000/ME/XP or C:\Winnt if
using WinNT4.
Windows Explorer may not be able to "see" and/or delete TWEAKUI.GID unless you
"strip" it of its Hidden (H) attribute first by running this command from any
DOS prompt:
ATTRIB -H %windir%\HELP\TWEAKUI.GID
Make sure to delete also these 2 Registry String Values (if present) by using
Regedit, Regedt32 or StartUp Control Panel (CPL) applet [freeware]:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
"Tweak UI"="RUNDLL32.EXE TWEAKUI.CPL,TweakMeUp"
and:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
"Tweak UI"="RUNDLL32.EXE TWEAKUI.CPL,TweakLogon"

both pointing to the "phantom" TWEAKUI.CPL file you just removed. :)
If ANY of these Registry Values are still present after deleting TWEAKUI.CPL,
you will be "greeted" with this error dialog box next time you (re)start
Windows:

"RUNDLL
Error loading TWEAKUI.CPL.
The system cannot find the file specified."

This way all TweakUI traces should be permanently erased from your computer.

More info:
- MSKB:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=190643
- MS Expert Zone:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/tips/dougknox/doug89.asp

To identify the "buggy" Win98 TweakUI release: run Windows Explorer ->
highlight your C:\Windows\System subfolder -> scroll down to Tweakui.cpl (file
size 159744 Bytes, date/time stamp 5-11-98, 20:01:00) -> right-click on it ->
select Properties -> click the Version tab -> look at the "File Version:"
number at the top -> must be 1.25.0.

Finally, apply "THE FIXES" at the bottom of this article. But now let's see...

THE BUGS:

The TweakUI applet included on the Win98 Gold (retail/OEM) cd-rom has a few
known, and some less known or undocumented BUGs:

- Some of the tool tips (activated by right-clicking on items/boxes) show the
wrong information.

- Enabling some of the items listed under the New tab may generate error
messages.

- The Stretch wallpaper Display feature is disabled if "IE4 enabled" and/or
"Active Desktop enabled" boxes are NOT checked in TweakUI's IE4 tab. This can
be fixed by running Regedit, and adding the "WallpaperStyle=2" String value
under this Registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop
Refer to "STRETCH WALLPAPER" in TIPS98.TXT (this file) for details.

- The Automatic logon feature does not always supply the required password in
Windows 98/98 SE. This can be fixed by:
1. Uninstall "Client for Microsoft Networks" protocol from Network Control
Panel applet -> reboot -> reinstall "Client for Microsoft Networks" protocol,
or:
2. Install "Microsoft Family Logon" client from Network Control Panel applet
-> select it as "Primary Network Logon" -> reboot.

- The Run/Don't run Scandisk after an improper shutdown prompt options may be
reversed if they have been reset in TweakUI's Boot tab, the "Autorun
Scandisk" option. This corresponds to the wrong values assigned to the
AutoScan= line in MSDOS.SYS, under the [Options] section. This can be fixed
by editing MSDOS.SYS manually, a system file found in C:\ root, using Notepad
(in Windows) or EDIT.COM (in DOS), and changing the AutoScan= line to show
the value you want (valid switches: 0, 1 and 2). But first you need to strip
MSDOS.SYS of its hidden, read-only and system attributes, by running:
ATTRIB C:\MSDOS.SYS -H -R -S
To learn more about this, read "BYPASS AUTOSCAN" in OSR2TIPS.TXT (included).

- In WinNT 4.0 some Desktop icons may become corrupted, reverting to generic
icons even if the user manually changes them back, and some insist on
displaying the shortcut overlay, even after disabling it by running TweakUI.
This BUG seems to affect ALL icon overlays, not only the shortcut one.
This is the Microsoft MSKB fix:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=199152
This can also be fixed by performing the following steps in this EXACT
sequence:
1. Delete the (possibly corrupted) ShellIconCache file from the Windows
folder.
2. Open TweakUI -> select the Repair tab -> activate "Repair Associations" and
then "Repair Icons".
3. Open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe
Make sure the "(Default)" String in the right hand pane displays "exefile".
Modify it correspondingly if different (don't type the quotes).
Then go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\DefaultIcon
Make sure the "(Default)" String in the right hand pane displays "%1".
Modify it correspondingly if different (don't type the quotes).
In case you decide to enable the Desktop icons "Shortcut overlay" in
TweakUI's Explorer tab, make sure to follow these steps:
1. Disable the "Show icons using all possible colors" option from Control
Panel -> Display -> Plus!/Effects tab -> uncheck the box.
2. Delete the ShellIconCache file from the Windows folder.
3. Restart Windows.
4. Reenable the "Show icons using all possible colors" option in the Display
applet.
5. Restart Windows one more time.

- The Notify tunes feature doesn't work in GroupWise 41a on Win98 systems if
TweakUI was installed before GroupWise. This can be fixed by uninstalling
TweakUI before installing GroupWise, and then reinstalling TweakUI.

- TweakUI's Automatic logon (skip password) feature works only on the first
reboot in WinNT 4.0 (only if you have Administrator privileges or own the NT
computer). After that, NT disables it, and it will prompt for password again
on all subsequent reboots. This can be fixed by rechecking TweakUI's Network
tab -> "Log on automatically at system startup" box during every NT session.
Another possible fix [courtesy of Ojatex@aol.com]:
"To permanently get rid of the Login message at bootup, disable (uncheck) the
line "Clear Last User at Logon" from TweakUI's Paranoia tab. Reboot. When the
Login message appears, fill in the User Name and don't type in a Password.
Reboot again. Poof! Login box is gone."

- If the "Activation follows mouse (X-Mouse)" box is checked and then
unchecked in TweakUI's Mouse tab, it still remains active on all subsequent
reboots in Windows 98. This can be fixed if both "X-Mouse AutoRaise" and
"Mouse hot tracking effects" boxes are unchecked in TweakUI's General tab.
If this doesn't work, uninstall the Mouse from Control Panel -> System ->
Device Manager tab -> double-click Mouse -> highlight your Mouse type -> click
the Remove button. Restart Windows and your mouse will be redetected.

- X-Mouse settings do not "stick" [Thank you Joel (z-ray@ebox.tninet.se)!]:
TweakUI's Mouse tab -> "Activation follows mouse (X-Mouse)" box checked, and:
TweakUI's General tab -> "X-Mouse AutoRaise" and "Mouse hot tracking effects"
boxes checked. This can be fixed in some cases (reminiscent from the old
XMouse MS Power Toy 95) by adding/changing these Win.ini entries under the
[XMouse] section:
[XMouse]
BringWindowToTop=1
ConsoleWindowsOnly=1
Delay=1
Edit Win.ini (located in your Windows folder) with Notepad or Sysedit. Change
any of these lines from 1 to 0 or back, and then restart Windows to see if it
works.
See "ACTIVE WINDOW TRACKING" in REGISTRY.TXT (included) to learn how to
properly activate/fix X-Mouse settings used by TweakUI.

- Sometimes the Start menu pops up and "sticks" unexpectedly [Thank you Casper
(casperfriispedersen@usa.net)!], not allowing access to its folders, and/or
shows non-installed features, like "Remove Docking PC".
This can be fixed temporarily by clicking the "Shut Down" (then Cancel),
"Run", or "Help" items. The permanent fix is to uninstall TweakUI.

- TweakUI canNOT be uninstalled in WinNT 4.0 by accessing the Add/Remove
Programs applet from Control Panel. This can be fixed by deleting ALL
TweakUI.* files on the local hard drive(s), and then manually deleting this
Registry key (including all its subkeys), by running Regedit.exe or
Regedt32.exe:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\TweakUI

- On Windows 9x systems with MS Internet Explorer 4/5 installed, selecting a
"Custom" Search engine using TweakUI's General tab, displays the surrounding
signs (?, " etc) in the search bar besides the typed keyword(s).
[Thank you Ferdinand (fhpwouda@globalxs.nl)!]

- The Start, Open and Explore menu items are disabled (grayed out) if ALL
drive letters are unchecked under TweakUI's My Computer tab. This can be fixed
by placing the check marks back into the drive letter boxes. This BUG is
acknowledged by Microsoft in the "Commands Unavailable on Start Button Context
Menu" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188209
[Thank you Ojatex@aol.com!]

- After unchecking the "Display splash screen while booting" box from
TweakUI's Boot tab, the WIN command will be removed from Autoexec.bat upon the
next reboot, and you need to start the Windows 9x GUI manually by running WIN.
[Thank you Jason (Sordphish@aol.com)!]

- After installing TweakUI (either the newer Win98 or the older Win95
release), Windows 98 hangs upon shut down, and requires pushing the computer
power button to restart, ONLY IF logged on to a Network, but shuts down
properly ONLY IF disconnected from the same Network. This can be fixed by
uninstalling TweakUI.
[Thank you Stuart (ssmolkin@laitram.com)!]

- Other TweakUI 98 BUGs and their "fixes", as acknowledged by Microsoft in
these MSKB articles:
* "Web Style and Custom Options Unavailable on General Tab":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=217373
* "No "Users" Icon Visible in Control Panel":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=193913
* "Toolbars Menu Commands Are Unavailable in Windows 98":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=199059
* "The Network Neighborhood Icon No Longer Appears on the Desktop":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=195112
* "Active Desktop Command Is Missing When You Right-Click Desktop":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=192400
* "Missing Drives in My Computer and Windows Explorer":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=191579
* "Zoom In/Out Unavailable After Installing TweakUI":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=190772
* "Log Off Command Missing From Start Menu in Windows 98":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=190644
You get a list of all these articles (and more), when you type TweakUI in the
MicroSoft Knowledge Base page search box:
http://support.microsoft.com/

- Unofficial TweakUI resources:
* John Woram: TweakUI fixes:
http://www.woram.com/REGTIPS.HTM#TWEAKUI
* John Woram: Tweak UI and the Registry:
http://www.woram.com/APPENDIX/APPENDIX.HTM
* James Lile: TweakUI page:
http://www.jlilest.com/tweak.html
* MalekTips: Windows 98 - TweakUI:
http://malektips.envprogramming.com/windows_98_-_tweakuitoc.html
* James Eshelman: Windows PowerToys FAQ:
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/powertoy.htm
* New Life for Windows: Tweakui for Windows 98:
http://www.webtree.ca/newlife/tweakui_info.htm
* House Of Help: Tweak Win2000 UI:
http://www.houseofhelp.com/articles/win2k_guide/win2k_config_guide_13.php

If you have experienced other TweakUI BUGs not listed here (and their eventual
fixes), please e-mail me:
axcel216@aol.com

THE FIXES:

1. Windows XP/2003 users ONLY: Get one of these two Microsoft TweakUI v2.xx
releases for Windows XP/XP SP1/XP Media Center Edition (MCE)/2003 + MS IE 6.xx
[free, unsupported, final official release]:
- Windows XP SP1/XP MCE/2003 users ONLY: TweakUI v2.10 [147 KB]:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/c/a/fca6767b-9ed9-45a6-b352-839afb2a2679/TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe
More info:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp
- Windows XP/XP MCE users ONLY: TweakUI v2.00 [564 KB]:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe
More info:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/downloads/powertoys.asp
CAUTION: TweakUI 2.10 may NOT work with Windows XP original (retail) release,
IF NOT already upgraded with SP1 or SP1a:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/
Power Toys XP review:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_pt.asp

2. Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME users ONLY: Get Microsoft TweakUI v1.33 for Windows
9x/NT4/2000/ME + MS IE 4/5/6 [110 KB, free, unsupported, final official
release, fixed most bugs]:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/winme/Install/1.0/WinMe/EN-US/Tweakui.exe
More info:
http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/downloads/PowerToys/Networking/NTTweakUI.asp
Added more "tweaks" and interface improvements:
- compatible with ALL Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME and MS IE 4/5/6 releases,
- fixed [almost :(] ALL TweakUI 98 bugs described in this article,
- ALL tabs together on the same (main) window [thank you! :)],
- Mouse tab: moved here all mouse related settings, reintroduced X-Mouse Delay
setting, new "Mouse Wheel" settings,
- General tab: more "Effects" settings, new "Prevent application from
stealing focus" setting, new "Flash taskbar button" settings (Windows 2000/ME
ONLY!),
- IE tab: renamed "Active Desktop Enabled" to "Allow Active Desktop to be
turned on/off", renamed "IE4 Enabled" to "Shell Enhancements", new "Show Links
on Favorites menu" setting,
- moved "Special Folders" setting from General tab to My Computer tab,
- renamed Network tab to Logon tab,
- Repair tab: removed "Repair URL History", new "Repair hotkeys" setting.
Extract all TweakUI files into an empty folder. Then right-click on
TweakUI.inf (in Windows Explorer), and select Install. Now you can start
TweakUI from your Control Panel. Have fun.
... But this doesn't mean you shouldn't BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM + REGISTRY FILES
BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!

IMPORTANT: TweakUI 1.33 [still :(] did NOT fix some of the OLD TweakUI 98
BUGs, and introduced a few NEW ones:

* OLD BUGs:

- The Start, Open and Explore menu items are disabled (grayed out) in Windows
95/98 (but NOT in Windows ME/2000!) if ALL drive letters are unchecked under
the My Computer tab. This can be fixed by placing the check marks back into
the drive letter boxes. This BUG is acknowledged by Microsoft in the "Commands
Unavailable on Start Button Context Menu" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188209

- The "Log on automatically at system startup" (skip password) box under the
Logon tab works sometimes only if: Control Panel -> Network -> Primary Network
Logon -> change Client for Microsoft Networks to something else (i.e. Windows
Logon) -> OK -> restart Windows -> reopen Control Panel -> Network -> change
Windows Logon back to original Primary Network Logon (i.e. Client for
Microsoft Networks) -> OK -> restart Windows.

* NEW BUGs:

- "In Windows 98 SE if the Paranoia "Clear run history" box is enabled the DUN
password will not work! I have to start DUN, click on Settings and retype the
password, or reenable the DUN login prompt, or uncheck the "Clear run history"
box and reboot."
[Thank you Henry (hdz@operamail.com)!]

- "Enabling the "Save Explorer window settings" box under the Explorer tab in
Win98/ME writes a new Binary (hex) Value under "(Default)" (incorrect),
instead of creating the new "NoSaveSettings" Binary Value (correct) under this
Registry key:
HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
The checkbox is available, but useless."
[Thank you gmaster@iname.com!]

- "Disabling the "Shell enhancements" box under the IE tab in Windows 2000
removes the "Windows 2000 Professional" graphic from the Start menu, replacing
it with a black box. This can be fixed by reenabling the "Shell enhancements"
box. It seems that older TweakUI releases do NOT exhibit this bug."
[Thank you Skyler (NemesisEra@hotmail.com)!]

- Enabling the "Show Control Panel on Start Menu Settings" box under the IE
tab works ONLY in Windows 2000/ME, but NOT in Windows 95/98!
Unchecking this box in Windows 2000/ME (but NOT in Windows 95/98!) disables
Control Panel and ALL its icons (applets) completely! This can be fixed by:
A. Running Regedit and going to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Look in the right hand pane for the "NoControlPanel" Binary [hex] value.
Delete it or right-click on it -> select Edit -> change it to read
"00 00 00 00" (no quotes). Restart Windows when done.
B. Running File Manager (FM = C:\Windows\Winfile.exe) and associating the
*.CPL files with C:\Windows\Control.exe (the Control Panel executable): File
menu -> Associate... -> Browse... to C:\Windows -> double-click on Control.exe
-> click the OK button. Restarting Windows is not necessary in this case.

- Unchecking the "Search results" box under the Desktop tab in Windows ME may
turn off all file/folder search results. This can be fixed by rechecking the
"Search results" box. This BUG is acknowledged by Microsoft in the "No Search
Results Are Returned After You Disable Search Results" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=274847

- Selecting My Computer as First icon on desktop under the Desktop tab in
Windows ME will display an empty My Network Places folder and generate MS IE
script errors, if the "Web view" option is turned on in Windows Explorer ->
Tools -> Folder Options tab. This can be fixed by turning off "Web view".

3. Ditch (uninstall) TweakUI as described above, and use a better 3rd party
tweaking tool from this "FREE WINDOWS 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP SYSTEM + REGISTRY
TWEAKERS" list, part of SOFTWARE.TXT (included). My personal favorite is Xteq
X-Setup [freeware for personal use]:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/x-award.htm
the BEST and most comprehensive Windows 9x/NT4/2000/ME/XP/2003 system and
registry tweaker ever created.

FYI:
Download John Woram's TweakUI comprehensive guide in HTML format:
http://www.woram.com/INFO.HTM
Direct download [135 KB, free]:
http://www.woram.com/ZIPS/APPENDIX.ZIP
Unzip all files into the same folder, and then open Appendix.htm in your
favorite web browser.

FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 2 (My ©trick)

This topic applies to ALL 28.8 - 56 kbps analog modem owners, using any 56K
protocol for 56K modems (3COM/US Robotics x2, Rockwell/Lucent 56KFlex, or the
newer ITU V.90 PCM standard) to connect to the Internet through the TCP/IP
protocol, and using Dial-Up Networking (DUN) in Windows 98/98 SE, to enable
the fastest Internet transfers supported by these modems.
UPDATE:
These tweaks apply also to Windows 95/OSR1/OSR2 systems ONLY IF upgraded with
the Microsoft DUN Upgrade v1.4 [1.8 MB, free]:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=285189
because this DUN update implements the "IPMTU" Registry value for Internet
Packet size (MTU), besides the well known "MaxMTU" setting.

DEFINITION:
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) or packet size of a Network/ISP is the largest
amount of data that can be transferred in one physical frame on that Network.
Fragmentation will occur if a packet is sent across a Network that has a MTU
smaller than the packet's frame length. This leads to lower performance as
fragments need to be reassembled. The workaround in this case is to decrease
the Winsock's MTU value to match the minimum MTU of ALL intervening Networks.
Since it is virtually impossible to determine the minimum MTU of so many
Networks, trial and error is almost always the best choice. Start by trying to
match your MTU value with your Network/ISP's MTU. Typical cases:
- Ethernet networks: MTU = 1500
- SLIP servers: MTU = 1006
- PPP protocol (Internet TCP/IP): MTU = 576.
See also Microsoft's explanation of (Max)MTU:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=140375

THE BUG:

There is a little known (undocumented) limitation in Windows 98: [more like a
BUG :)] the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit), represented by the "IPMTU" String
value in Win98's Registry, which determines the maximum packet size of data
that can "fit" through the network "pipes", when using the PPP (Point to
Point) protocol to connect to the Internet, is said to be limited to a minimum
of 576, no matter what changes are made to the Registry or to the TCP/IP
settings: Control Panel -> Network -> Dial-Up Adapter -> Advanced tab -> IP
Packet Size -> Small or Custom (if the "Custom" value is created in the
Registry). So even if you assign an IPMTU lower than 576 to the "Small" or
"Custom" Strings under the Registry key below, Windows 98 still uses a packet
size of 576. Example:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000\Ndi\params\IPMTU\enum
"0"="Automatic"
"1500"="Large"
"1000"="Medium"
"576"="Small"
"548"="Custom"

THE WORKAROUND:

BUT I have found a workaround to enable the use of a MTU lower than 576 with
Win98, by applying the Registry changes described below. Another Win98 BUG
squashed! 1 down, 1 zillion to go... Ouch! ;)
Thorough tests performed on 36 different PC clones (that I am aware of so
far), running Windows 98 retail, SP1 or SE(U), demonstrate the validity and
usability of this "fix".
Why use a MTU lower than 576? Because with most ISPs and Online Services (like
AOL), even if they use a MTU of 576 at server end [read "ISPS KNOWN MTU
VALUES" in MYTIPS95.TXT (included) for details], using a MTU lower than 576
might improve modem throughput, thus increase transfer rate, especially when
accessing web pages with huge graphic files and/or when downloading large
compressed files (i.e. ZIP format) from WWW/FTP sites.
WARNING: FIRST BACKUP YOUR WIN98 REGISTRY FILES TO A SAFE LOCATION!
The principle is to MATCH ALL MTU Registry values to the one you want (I used
548 in this example).
NOTE: A MTU lower than 512 becomes ineffective, resulting in too many small
packets, which end up overflowing the network "pipe".
Experiment with different MTU values (i.e. 568, 560, 552, 548, 536, 528, 520,
512) to find your "sweet spot", depending on [too :(] many factors, like: your
ISP's network type/speed, connection quality, phone line conditions etc.

1. TWEAK "IPMTU":

Start Regedit, go to these "Net" keys, and modify ALL String values shown
below to read 548:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000
"IPMTU"="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000\Ndi\params\IPMTU
"default"="548"
@="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000\Ndi\params\IPMTU\enum
"0"="Automatic"
"1500"="Large"
"1000"="Medium"
"548"="Small"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0002
"IPMTU"="548"

The "548"="Small" String above needs to be renamed to show 548.
If any of these Strings are not present, create them (read further below the
paragraph on creating a new MaxMTU String for details on how to do this).
These are ONLY my "Net" keys, and you MUST make these changes ONLY under YOUR
Net keys that display "DriverDesc"="Dial-Up Adapter" and "DriverDesc"="AOL
Adapter" (the second one applies ONLY to AOL users who installed version 3.0,
4.0 or 5.0 of AOL 32-bit software).

2. Select the Small IP Packet size (after renaming the default "576"="Small"
Registry String above to "548") for your TCP/IP connections in Control Panel
-> Network -> Dial-Up Adapter -> Advanced tab -> IP Packet Size -> Small (set
in this case to 548).

3. TWEAK "MaxMTU":

Similarly, with the Registry Editor open, go to these "NetTrans" keys, and
modify ALL String values shown below to read 548, IDENTICAL with the String
values under the "Net" keys above:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0000
"MaxMTU"="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0001
"MaxMTU"="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0002
"MaxMTU"="548"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans\0003
"MaxMTU"="548"

These are ONLY my "NetTrans" keys, and you MUST make these changes ONLY under
YOUR NetTrans keys that display "DriverDesc"="TCP/IP".
The MaxMTU String is not present by default if you have NEVER added it to your
Registry, either manually by using Regedit, or by running a MTU "tweaker",
like EasyMTU [360 KB, freeware]:
http://www.rob.cybercomm.nl/easymtu.zip
To create a new MaxMTU String by using Regedit: right-click on each of your
NetTrans 000n (0000, 0001, 0002, 0003 etc) subkeys that contain the
"DriverDesc"="TCP/IP" parameter -> selectNNew -> String -> right-click on the
new String -> select Rename -> name it MaxMTU -> Click OK or press Enter.
Now double-click on each "MaxMTU" String -> change its value to read 548 ->
Click OK or press Enter.
TIP: If you connect to AOL, try to use MTU=548 with ALL your IPMTU and MaxMTU
Strings for MAXimum performance. [Thank you Ojatex@aol.com!]
Close Regedit when done and restart Windows so all changes can take effect.
Note that you have to restart Windows every time you modify the MTU values!

4. Now test if the new MTU settings really work, and if it makes any
difference on your system:
A. Connect to your Internet provider as usual, using DUN or AOL 3.0/4.0/5.0
32-bit software (if you use AOL as your primary ISP).
B. Open a DOS box and run this PING command (parameters are case sensitive):
PING -f -l 548 www.your_isp_name.com
or this one (for ISPs that have the "net" suffix instead of "com"):
PING -f -l 548 www.your_isp_name.net
Note that I used here a packet size IDENTICAL with the Registry MTU value
(548 in this example), in order to obtain non-fragmented "pings". Using a
packet size larger than the one specified in the Registry will return ALL
packets as fragmented!
Replace "your_isp_name" (no quotes) with your real ISP name. Example:
PING -f -l 548 www.att.net
if using AT&T WorldNet as your ISP.
For accurate results, you need to run PING BEFORE making ANY Registry
changes, and ONLY IF you have NEVER changed the MTU by editing the Registry
or by using a MTU tweaking tool, like EasyMTU [360 KB, freeware]:
http://www.rob.cybercomm.nl/easymtu.zip
thus using the default Win98 MTU value of 1500. If you DID change the MTU
before, open Regedit, go to the "IPMTU" and "MaxMTU" Strings listed above
under YOUR "Net" and "NetTrans" keys (respecting the conditions stated above
for ALL IPMTU and MaxMTU Registry values!), DELETE ALL "IPMTU" and "MaxMTU"
Strings you find, and then set: Control Panel -> Network -> Dial-Up Adapter
-> Advanced tab -> IP Packet Size -> Large -> click OK twice. Then restart
Windows, and run PING again with a MTU of 1500 (the default).
Only after that apply the MTU changes in the example above (all "IPMTU" and
"MaxMTU" Strings MUST read an IDENTICAL value, in this case 548), restart
Windows again, and run PING one more time using 548 for the Packet Size, as
described above.
Compare the PING times in both cases, and notice any differences.
NOTE: In most cases you need to add 28 to the MTU value returned by pinging
your ISP's server, because they do NOT account for the IP (20 Bytes) or ICMP
(8 Bytes) headers when reporting their MTU!
C. Another good test for confirming an increase in modem transfer speed is
to download the same file from the same site, using the same WWW/FTP
browser, BEFORE and AFTER making the changes to your Registry (using a MTU
of 1500 and 548 respectively), and timing your downloads for comparison.
You can also run these tests with the MTU set to 576, which in some cases
might give you the best transfer rate (depending on your ISP).

5. Check out these other included topics to help you speed up your analog
modem transfers to the MAX:
- "AOL MAXMTU REVISITED" in AOLTIPS.TXT: only Win9x AOL users;
- "AOL 4.0/5.0 MTU FIX" in AOLTIPS.TXT: only Win9x AOL users;
- "HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? - Part 1" in REGISTRY.TXT: only Win95 users;
- "HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? - Part 2" in REGISTRY.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 1" in TIPS98.TXT: only Win98 users;
- "56K MODEMS @ 56K SPEED!" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "ISPS KNOWN MTU VALUES" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "MAP YOUR HOSTS" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "SPEEDUP MY DUN!" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "FAST, FAST, FAST" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users.
... And these MTU/56K/DUN reference links:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/modem.htm

6. Enjoy the speeed boost!

FASTER APP LOAD [UPDATED 2-23-1999] [+]

Microsoft introduced a new "smart" tool with Windows 98/98 SE/ME called
WinAlign [%windir%\SYSTEM\WALIGN.EXE].
Winalign allows a program, when loading in memory, to reuse the physical RAM
to "fit" that particular executable in the same portion of RAM used for disk
sector cache. Therefore less physical memory is used for a program
executable. Program data though still uses the same RAM amount. This is done
by linking a program's executable with a 4 KB (4096 Bytes) memory boundary.
This may result in a major benefit by regaining precious memory on Win98/ME
computers with only 16-32 MB RAM. On the other hand, this is barely noticeable
on systems with 64 MB or more.
Significant memory gain by using Winalign is only observed when launching
large executables.
Winalign DOES NOT decrease application loading time when running a program!
The ONLY way you can speed up the loading times of your programs is by using
Win98/ME's new Defrag and Task Monitor tools together (jointly developed by
Intel and Microsoft), to defragment all your fixed drives/partitions with the
"Rearrange program files so my programs start faster" Defrag box checked, and
by having this TaskMon command line as String value (Windows default):
C:\Windows\Taskmon.exe
under this Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
to run the Task Monitor tool in the background every time Windows loads.
As far as I'm aware, the only programs designed to be "recompiled" by Winalign
are written by Microsoft. :(

You MUST BE AWARE that by "aligning" a 3rd party program executable (NOT
specifically designed to be used with WinAlign) without FIRST checking with
the program's developer/vendor exposes YOU (as licensed/registered user) to a
few RISKS:
- You may break a particular application (usually only slightly).
- You may break a program's ability to update using patching technology.
- You may be violating a license agreement by modifying copyrighted files.

Follow these steps to optimize your system:
1. Delete, but FIRST BACKUP to a safe location using Explorer's right-click
menu Copy function, ALL .LG* files: .LGC, .LGD, .LGE... etc, located in your
%windir%\APPLOG subfolder, depending on how many hard drives/partitions you
have: C, D, E... etc. This will get rid of all .LG* files (including the 0
bytes files) created for "buggy" apps that do not meet the requirements
defined in %windir%\APPLOG\Optlog.txt (you can view its contents in Notepad),
and which are just taking disk space.
Not to worry, these files will be recreated for each app, the first time you
run a particular program, if Task Monitor is running when Windows loads (see
above). :)
2. Defrag your drives with the "Rearrange program files so my programs start
faster" box checked.
Repeat this procedure periodically (at least once a month), eventually
scheduling periodic unattended defrags on all your fixed drives using Task
Scheduler. A good idea is to ScanDisk all your fixed drives prior to
defragging them, to fix eventual lost clusters or disk errors.
On large drives (over 2 GB), especially if partitioned with FAT32, these tasks
can take a long time (sometimes hours) to complete, so it is advised to leave
your computer on at all times, and/or schedule such maintenance chores at
night time (or when your machine is not in use).
3. Follow the guidelines in this comprehensive Windows Magazine WinAlign page:
http://www.techweb.com/winmag/windows/win98/alignfaq.htm
to properly "align" the programs you want, or "unalign" the ones that have
already been modified.
NOTE: See also "MAP THE CACHE" in TIPS98.TXT (this file) for more details.

WARNING:
Users of Quarterdeck MagnaRAM 97, QEMM 9.0, Sincronys Windrenalin, Network
Associates (formerly Helix) Hurricane 98 v1.0x, and/or similar utilities are
advised not to use the application acceleration/faster loading features in
these retail products the same time with the "Intel Application Launch
Accelerator" feature built into the 98/ME Disk Defragmenter tool, because your
computer may LOCK UP unexpectedly!
Also, above 3rd party tools acceleration features may CONFLICT with the DMA
setting enabled for your fixed/removable drives, available from: Control Panel
-> System -> Device Manager tab -> Disk Drives/CDROM -> your drive name
Properties -> Settings tab -> DMA check box!
SOLUTION:
If you own any of these programs or similars, contact the vendor for Windows
98/ME specific upgrades!

UPDATES:

1. "I applied your recommendations on how to optimize load times, as soon as I
saw this on your site. However, over the time I noticed that my fav apps only
loaded slower and slower. I had clocked the times some of my apps would take
to load right after having converted my discs to FAT32, and when I compared
these times with the ones I was getting lately I was shocked.
WordPerfect was down to 13 sec vs 4-5 sec and Netscape took 11-12 sec vs 7-8
in the beginning. To make a long story short: I got this advice from Dr Gokart
at Lockergnome Newsgroups:
"Check out this how-to on everything dealing with Walign:
http://www.techweb.com/winmag/windows/win98/alignfaq.htm
And something else: Walign does not run unless Microsoft Office is installed.
Adding the following Registry key will make it run:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Office8.0
Just an empty default entry is sufficient."
This has worked wonders! Before applying this, neither WordPerfect nor
Netscape were even present in my Optlog.txt, and after creating above
Registry line they immediately swung up on top.
Now after running Walign and Defrag, my apps' load times are almost down to
where they were after switching to FAT32, those times being fractionally
slower than with FAT16."
[Thank you Jan (jan.norberg@mbox302.swipnet.se)!]

2. "When aligning your programs, deleting WinAlign's history doesn't always
work, no matter how much memory you have, or how many times you have defragged
your drives. Fortunately, there are 2 ways to force program "alignment".
First, try WinAlign, part of the Microsoft Windows 98 Resource Kit (RK) [41
KB, free, unsupported]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/technet/samples/ps/win98/reskit/perftool/WINALIGN.EXE
which partially recompiles a given file to optimize it into 4096 Byte (4K)
segments, by matching the program's code with the 4 KB page size used by Intel
Pentium/Pro/II/III/IV CPUs. This allows them to load by using less memory.
Second, try Windows Magazine's:
http://www.techweb.com/winmag/windows/win98/winalign.htm
WMAlign batch file [24 KB, free, unsupported]:
http://members.aol.com/files4u/wmalign.zip
which does the exact same thing, but in a different way, using the
"dumbed-down" version of 98/ME WAlign, which is also used by Disk Defragmenter
when you optimize your files by "making your programs to load faster".
It even makes a backup copy in case the alignment corrupts a program!
WAlign also creates a log of optimized files to prevent a program from being
realigned.
If you have reinstalled a program, changed its file attributes, moved it
around etc, and need to realign it, you need to delete WinAlign's history.
To do this, run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WinAlign\Drives
and delete all entries found there. Then delete the "Files" subkey.
Now you can safely realign your programs."
[Thank you Andrew (PowerPenguin@techie.com)!]

WIN98 VXD BUG

Have you ever got a "VxD error" message while starting Windows 98 or 98 SE?
It's pretty much "fatal", and automatically returns you to the DOS prompt. :(
Especially if you upgraded to Win98 from Win95 or OSR2, since some old 32-bit
protected virtual drivers might have "survived" the upgrade.
The MS Windows 98 Resource Kit Help file (Win98rk.hlp, found in the
\Tools\Reskit\Help folder on the Win98 Setup cd-rom) states that:
"If a virtual device driver (VxD) is missing or damaged, Windows 98 displays
an error message that indicates which VxD is involved. If the VxD is critical
to the operation of Windows 98, then Windows 98 does not start and the screen
displays the command prompt. You might need to run Windows 98 Setup and select
Verify or Safe Recovery to replace the missing VxD."
But there is an easier solution to this problem.
The generic driver Vmm32.vxd (located in C:\Windows\System) was built when
you first installed Win98 on your computer. Depending on your hardware specs,
it may contain some or all of the following VXDs (Virtual eXtended Drivers):
biosxlat.vxd, configmg.vxd, dynapage.vxd, ebios.vxd, enable.vxd, ifsmgr.vxd,
int13.vxd, ios.vxd, parity.vxd, reboot.vxd, vcache.vxd, vcd.vxd, vcomm.vxd,
vcond.vxd, vdd.vxd, vdef.vxd, vfat.vxd, vfbackup.vxd, vflatd.vxd, vkd.vxd,
vmcpd.vxd, vmouse.vxd, vmpoll.vxd, vpd.vxd, vsd.vxd, vtdapi.vxd, vwin32.vxd,
vxdldr.vxd. Vmm32.vxd is not only slow to load (because of its huge size), but
if you have added/changed your hardware devices after installing Win98, this
old driver might not match your system specs anymore.
Certain system errors, like random lockups, error messages at startup, VMM
errors, erratic and/or slow mouse movement etc, might be resolved by
selectively overriding a VXD included within Vmm32.vxd.
Start by manually extracting one or more of these individual drivers from the
.CAB files found in the \Win98 folder on your Win98 Setup cd-rom, and then
copying them to your C:\Windows\System\Vmm32 folder (change the Windows folder
name if different on your machine). Use this command line (example):
EXTRACT /Y /A D:\WIN98\BASE4.CAB VCOMM.VXD
to extract VCOMM.VXD to the current directory. Typing in the first .CAB file
name in a given folder (in this case BASE4.CAB), forces EXTRACT.EXE to search
all CABs in the same directory for the file you specify.
Change the cd-rom drive letter if different on your system.
Now move VCOMM.VXD to C:\Windows\System\Vmm32, and reboot.
From now on Win98 will use the individual VXD instead of the one contained in
Vmm32.vxd, because if the same VXD loads twice, the second instance (in this
case the one in C:\Windows\System\Vmm32) intercepts all the calls to that
particular VXD.
Alternatively you can edit System.ini (located in your Windows folder) using
Notepad, and add an entry for the VXD you know creates "problems", under the
[386enh] section. Example:
device=vcomm.vxd
VXDs known to generate error messages more frequently are: configmg.vxd,
ntkern.vxd, vcomm.vxd, vdd.vxd, vdmad.vxd, vflatd.vxd and vmouse.vxd.
You can also check which VXDs are used in Vmm32.vxd on your Win98 computer by
running Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager tab -> Your device name ->
Driver tab -> Driver File Details button, and look for all drivers that have
VMM32 in parenthesis after their filenames. Example:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VCOMM.VXD (VMM32)
Check all items on your Device Manager list for similar drivers and write down
their names. Extract them to C:\Windows\System\Vmm32 and then reboot.
Now go back into Device Manager, and check again for the same drivers. You'll
notice that all (VMM32) instances after the driver filenames are gone.

WARNING:
If you exceed the maximum number of VXDs allowed by Windows 9x at startup
(80), the GUI may fail to load or display a Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD)!

FYI:
- Run VXD_FIX.BAT [27 KB, free] to copy all necessary VXD files from the
Win98/98 SE(U) Setup CD-ROM to your C:\Windows\System\Vmm32 folder:
http://www.castanet.ca/tech_details.php?a_id=2
- See this guide for recreating VMM32.VXD:
http://www.windows-help.net/techfiles/vmm32.html
- Search MSKB for (keyword) VMM32.VXD:
http://support.microsoft.com/

CLEAN DEFRAG [+]

Defragmenting all your hard drives/partitions with no overhead (background
programs running or TSRs/VXDs loaded), to avoid any interference or potential
lockups, can be done three ways:

1. Change to the \Tools\Mtsutil folder on your Win98 Setup cd-rom, and
right-click on Defrag.inf. Select Install. This will create a one-time entry
(DEFRAG.EXE /ALL) under this Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
Defrag will start automatically next time you boot, before the login prompt,
therefore before any other program loads.

2. This one looks more like a bug fix... :)
"To disable the screen saver automatically every time before Defrag starts,
run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag\Settings
In the right hand pane right-click to create a new String named
DisableScreenSaver. Double-click on it and give it the value YES.
See this MSKB page for details:"
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=229057
Second method courtesy of gpinzone@yahoo.com.

3. "If defrag keeps resetting due to programs running in the background, start
up in MS-DOS Mode (press F8 during the boot sequence), edit System.ini with
Notepad or Sysedit, and change the shell= entry under the [boot] section from
Explorer.exe to Defrag.exe.
This will ensure that Defrag is the only process to load instead of all your
other programs.
You will have to change it back after defragging of course!"
Third method courtesy of Craig Hall (craighall@craighall.screaming.net).
TIP:
You don't need to restart or reboot Windows after modifying the shell= line.
Just press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Del -> highlight Explorer (or the name of your
custom shell executable) -> click End Task -> click No at the Shut down screen
-> click End Task again. The new shell specified in System.ini will reload
presto. :)

4. "In Win98/ME open Regedit and disable (rename its executable) the
TaskMonitor (%windir%\Taskmon.exe) Registry String Value under:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
The programs/tasks usage will not be recorded anymore: no read/write activity
in the %windir%\Applog directory."
Fourth method courtesy of G nought (yy_cc_ll@sinatown.com).

FYI:
- See "SUPER DEFRAG" in TIPS95.TXT (included) for more Defrag tips.
- Get PowerDefrag 2.xx (freeware) to optimize your Win9x/ME Defrag tool:
http://www.powerdefrag.com/download.htm

PHANTOM DESKBAR

When you click the Start button, scroll down to Settings, then hold the Ctrl
key and click "Taskbar & Start Menu...", a new tab shows up in the Taskbar
Properties: "Deskbar Options". If you click on this tab, there are no
functions available and all buttons are grayed out, so I called it the
"phantom Deskbar". Hmmm... Strange...
You can make the "Deskbar" appear also if you hold down the Ctrl key while
right-clicking somewhere on an empty spot on the raised Taskbar, NOT in the
sunken Tray area.
Take a peek at the hidden Deskbar Options tab:
http://members.aol.com/fencepaint/deskbar.htm
UPDATES:
1. "I've known about the Phantom Deskbar for a while now, but it's not widely
known since it is undocumented.
The Deskbar is not going to work regardless of what the user does, because
there is no code for it to use.
A deskbar is where you take a set of icons from the taskbar (such as the
Win98/IE4/IE5 default for Internet Explorer, Outlook Express etc) and you
drag the little vertical line on the left side of the icons on that bar up
onto your desktop or to the side or bottom of your screen, depending on where
the original taskbar is situated on your screen. That's the same thing as a
deskbar, and you'll notice a small window will come up with the icons in it
which you dragged and dropped elsewhere on your desktop from the taskbar.
The Phantom Deskbar appears on Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 as well. It may
also affect Windows 95 if Internet Explorer 4.0 or 5.0 is installed.
Using the Phantom Deskbar trick may sometimes lock up the computer."
This update courtesy of The Captain.
2. "The Deskbar Options tab is generated from SHDOCVW.DLL.
There are a few references to Deskbar in the Registry - mainly "Clsids" in
HKCR and HKLM. But there are strings to it under:
HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Shell Extensions/Approved"
This update courtesy of Ojatex (Ojatex@aol.com).
3. And this one comes directly from the "horse's mouth" (anonymous source):
"I have spoken with the "top of the engineering chain" and here are the
results. The deskbar options tab was a part of the operating system that was
being considered during the beta stages. For unknown reasons, this tab was
not taken out of the final code. However, the tab has no meaning or
functionality..."
Problem solved. :)

WIN98 PHANTOM DRIVE BUG (My ©trick)

What, another Win98 BUG? Yeap! And this one is NOT documented ANYWHERE. At
least not yet. :)
Here we go...
I was reading some info on the Internet about the Config.sys BUFFERS setting.
To learn about the "BUFFERS", what they do, and how to maximize your system's
performance by tweaking your Config.sys BUFFERS line, read:
- the CONFIG.TXT file, installed in your Windows 98 folder,
- the BUFFERS related topics in MEMORY.TXT and EMM386.TXT (both included),
- "DOUBLE BUFFER" in MYTIPS95.TXT (included).

THE BUG:
So one sunny day I tried the double-buffer setting on my Config.sys BUFFERS
line to improve the read-ahead disk cache performance, but WITHOUT adding a
line for the DBLBUFF.SYS driver. I changed it to read:
BUFFERS=12,6
instead of:
BUFFERS=12,0
I also need to mention that I use SMARTDRV (Microsoft MS-DOS mode disk cache
driver) configured to cache reads and writes on ALL my drives (floppy, hard
and CD-RW), to speedup the loading of drivers and TSRs in my startup files
and to decrease Windows GUI loading time. My Autoexec.bat Smartdrv line (note
that Win98 is installed in C:\W95 on my system):
C:\W95\SMARTDRV.EXE 6144 16 A+ B- C+ D+ E+ F+ G /N
And I also use MSCDEX (MicroSoft Compact Disk EXtensions driver) to access my
CD-RW drive in native MS-DOS mode, outside Windows. My Autoexec.bat Mscdex
line:
LOADHIGH=C:\W95\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:CD--RW /M:20 /E
Well, after rebooting in Win98 GUI, I have noticed a new drive icon (H) was
installed in Explorer and File Manager. And this new "phantom" drive was the
identical "twin" of my E drive (which is actually the second FAT16 partition
on my primary boot drive). Also, in the Control Panel -> System -> Performance
tab, a new:
"Drive E is using MS-DOS compatibility mode file system"
alert message appeared. Hmmm...
And in my Windows folder, a new file, IOS.LOG, was generated upon Win98 GUI
startup. When I opened it in Notepad for viewing, guess what? It says:
"Unit number 04 going through real mode drivers."
and further below:

"TSR Name: SMARTDRV
Hardware Interrupt Hook Bit Map: 00000003
Hooks: Int 13
Hooks: unit number: 00 -> Drive A
Hooks: unit number: 01 -> Drive C
Hooks: unit number: 02 -> Drive D
Hooks: unit number: 03 -> Drive E = Unit number 04 !
Hooks: unit number: 04 -> Drive F
Hooks: unit number: 05" -> Drive G

Then if I run:
SMARTDRV /S
from a DOS prompt, it's obvious that "Unit number 04" above corresponds to
drive E (see above) if you count down the list beginning with number 01
(drive A), also shown on Smartdrv's status screen:

Room for 8 elements of 8,192 bytes each
There have been 1,360 cache hits
and 2,340 cache misses

Cache size: 65,536 bytes
Cache size while running Windows: 65,536 bytes

Disk Caching Status
drive read cache write cache buffering
-------------------------------------------------
A: yes yes no
C: yes yes no
D: yes yes no
E: yes yes no = Unit number 04 !
F: yes yes no
G: yes no no
Write behind data will not be committed before command prompt returns."

Also if I enable the DoubleBuffer=2 line under my Msdos.sys's [Options]
section, without adding a line in my Config.sys for double buffering like:
DEVICE=C:\W95\DBLBUFF.SYS
or:
DEVICE=C:\W95\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER
the SMARTDRV /S status screen looks like this:

Room for 8 elements of 8,192 bytes each
There have been 1,360 cache hits
and 2,340 cache misses

Cache size: 65,536 bytes
Cache size while running Windows: 65,536 bytes

Disk Caching Status
drive read cache write cache buffering
-------------------------------------------------
A: yes yes no
C: yes yes yes
D: yes yes yes
E: yes yes yes
F: yes yes yes
G: yes no no
Write behind data will not be committed before command prompt returns."

This means double buffering is enabled at all times for all hard drives
(floppy and CD/DVD drives canNOT be double-buffered).
But if I keep the DoubleBuffer=2 Msdos.sys line, and I also add a double
buffer command in my Config.sys, the SMARTDRV /S display changes as shown
below, similar to having the line DoubleBuffer=1 in my Msdos.sys, with or
without a DBLBUFF.SYS line in Config.sys:

Room for 8 elements of 8,192 bytes each
There have been 1,360 cache hits
and 2,340 cache misses

Cache size: 65,536 bytes
Cache size while running Windows: 65,536 bytes

Disk Caching Status
drive read cache write cache buffering
-------------------------------------------------
A: yes yes no
C: yes yes no
D: yes yes --
E: yes yes no
F: yes yes no
G: yes no no
Write behind data will not be committed before command prompt returns."

This means double buffering is enabled only if needed on the D drive (my only
drive over 8 GB partitioned with FAT32).
It doesn't matter if Smartdrv is loaded or not in Autoxec.bat, all these
"variations" do NOT influence the weird way Windows 98 (noticed also in Win95
B/C OSR2) "reacts" to having the double buffering enabled. Although this
implies that I keep the BUFFERS=12,6 line "active" in my Config.sys throughout
all these tests, without which double buffering is NOT possible, and I also
must have a Config.sys LASTDRIVE=H line, to show at least 1 drive letter above
the number of physical drives/partitions on my system, even if the
DoubleBuffer Msdos.sys line and/or the Config.sys DBLBUFF.SYS command are
present or not.
To my knowledge, Win9x doesn't provide a 32-bit protected mode driver
counterpart for double buffering, which can be enabled ONLY in MS-DOS modes.
The MSDOS.SYS "DoubleBuffer=" line valid parameters:
- 0 = completely disable double buffering on ALL drives;
- 1 = enable double buffering ONLY on selected hard drives (IDE/ATA large,
over 8 GB, especially if partitioned with the FAT32 standard, or
SCSI/non-standard ESDI), ONLY if needed;
- 2 = enable double buffering AT ALL TIMES on ALL hard drives.
To edit MSDOS.SYS (mandatory for Win9x proper operation), a hidden, read-only,
system file located in C:\ root, you can use my DOS batch file (SYS95.BAT)
included here.
Hmmm... Strange, because I don't recall making any changes to my system or
adding any hardware devices lately.
Note that the "phantom drive BUG" is NOT present in native/real/true MS-DOS
mode, outside the Windows GUI!
I have two EIDE UltraDMA 33 MB/sec hard drives installed, both connected to
the motherboard's primary IDE controller (Megatrends HX83 Pentium class main
board):
- a Maxtor DiamondMax 2880 UltraDMA 5.7 GB (master) and
- a Maxtor DiamondMax 2160 UltraDMA 8.4 GB (slave).
My "master" drive has three FAT16 partitions:
- C: 2 GB
- E: 2 GB and
- F: 1.6 GB.
My "slave" drive has a single FAT32 partition: D: 8 GB.
I also have an IDE/ATAPI internal Plextor 16x10x40 CD-RW drive set as drive G,
connected as master to the secondary motherboard IDE interface. My A drive is
a plain Teac 3.5" (1.44 MB) internal floppy drive, and I don't have a
secondary floppy drive installed. Oh, and I have no SCSI devices on my system.
I have checked all my drive cables for proper connection (and even replaced
the hard drives IDE cable with a new one) just to make sure the hardware works
OK.
To see my detailed hardware specs, see MYPC.TXT (included).
All my hard drives are partitioned and formatted using Partition Magic, a
retail program which I recommend as a MUST HAVE to all Win9x users:
http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic/
Nothing out of the ordinary so far.
I have thoroughly checked the entire Device Manager list in Win98's System
applet, available from the Control Panel, to make sure there are NO red or
yellow marks, which might indicate an incompatibility by 2 different devices
using the same IRQ (Interrupt ReQuest line), hex Base Address (BA) or DMA
(Direct Memory Access) channel, which usually results in a hardware conflict,
with unexpected consequences: system crashes, or even data loss. Ouch!
Also, I don't have the Drvspace driver installed, and I deleted all Drvspace
files and DBLBUFF.SYS right after I first installed Win98.
Well, why do you think I got the "new" drive letter after resetting the
BUFFERS to 12,6? Because Win98 automatically "thinks" that a drive in the
system needs double buffering enabled if the second Config.sys BUFFERS number
is above zero, and if the "DoubleBuffer" line in Msdos.sys does not have a
value of 0 (which disables it), Win98 OS tries to load the double buffering
device (default) at bootup (DBLBUFF.SYS). But even if my Msdos.sys
DoubleBuffer line reads 0 (to eliminate the possibility of the OS loading
DBLBUFF.SYS by "accident"), Win98 still "created" a new "phantom" drive (H in
this case).
NOTE: To learn about Msdos.sys parameters and how to tweak them for optimal
performance, read "MSDOS.SYS COMPLETE REFERENCE" in MYTIPS95.TXT (included).

THE FIX:
1. Limit the number of drives (on the LASTDRIVE line) available to your system
to the actual number of physical drives/partitions installed in your computer,
or...
2. Have your BUFFERS line's second number ALWAYS read zero.
You can change/add your LASTDRIVE line in Config.sys to read (in this case):
LASTDRIVE=G
If the LASTDRIVE line is not present in your Config.sys, Win9x sets it to Z,
the maximum number of drives allowed on any PC being 26 (A to Z).
NOTE: For details and optimal Config.sys settings read "LASTDRIVE" in
MYTIPS95.TXT (included).
Because my machine has a total of 4 physical drives (1 floppy, 2 hard and 1
CD-RW), which have assigned a total of 7 drive letters (A to G), any
additional letters on the LASTDRIVE line allow Win98 to add "phantom" drives
IF the BUFFERS line's second number is ANYTHING above zero. :(
Letter B is automatically assigned to the second floppy drive in any IBM PC/AT
compatible BIOS, and cannot be reassigned to ANY other drive, even if such a
floppy drive is not installed!
NOTE: I suspect that this "phantom drive BUG" can also be reproduced on
Win95/OSR2 systems, but I haven't tried yet.

REGISTERED USER? [+]

Have you noticed that you HAVE to register your MS Windows 98/2000/ME/XP/2003
copy at the Microsoft Windows Update web site:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
BEFORE you are allowed to download/install ANY system upgrades, patches,
fixes, enhancements etc?
By sending your registration information this way, you are allowing Microsoft
to store your personal data and computer specs, including the 25 digit
Product Key displayed on your Windows Setup CD-ROM sleeve, on its servers for
future reference. Talk about privacy! :(
FYI: If you have ALREADY REGISTERED your copy of Windows with Microsoft you do
NOT need to do ANY of this, because your private info was already sent to
Microsoft the FIRST time you accessed Windows Update!
But if you have NOT registered yet, you CAN still download ANY software from
MS Windows Update WITHOUT being prompted to register, by applying this simple
Registry FIX.
Use Notepad to create a Registration (.REG) file and save it as REGDONE.REG.
Cut & paste REG lines below into Notepad EXACTLY as they appear:

* Windows 98/ME users:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion]
"HWID"="0"
"MSID"="0"
"RegDone"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Welcome\RegWiz]
@="1"
"@"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\User information]
"HWID"="0"
"MSID"="0"
"Product Identification"="Not Used"

------End cut & paste here------

* Windows 2000/XP/2003 users:

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
"RegDone"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Welcome\RegWiz]
@="1"

------End cut & paste here------

Close Notepad. Open Windows Explorer or File Manager (FM =
%windir%\WINFILE.EXE) and (double)-click on REGDONE.REG to merge (register)
this information into your Registry.
Now run the Windows Update tool from the Start button -> Windows Update icon
and start downloading any fixes/patches/etc you wish. You won't be prompted to
register anymore. :)

WIN98: NO INSTALL CODE!

If you have accidentally misplaced or lost your Windows 98 Setup CD-ROM (or
your Win98 Product Key code), there is still a way to (re)install Win98 on
your computer, without knowing the 25 digit Product Key.
This method applies to ALL Windows 98 Gold (final retail) releases: Full, OEM
and Upgrade. It also works with Windows 98 SE(U), but only with the OEM and
Upgrade version, NOT the Full release.

WARNING:
By modifying Microsoft copyrighted files you will BREAK the EULA, VOID your
software warranty and FORFEIT your right to benefit from tech support! Do this
at your own risk!

NECESSARY STEPS:
1. First copy the entire \WIN98 folder from your Windows 98 Setup CD-ROM to a
temporary directory on your hard disk, provided you have enough room (170 MB).
2. Use the DOS based EXTRACT.EXE tool (located on your Setup CD-ROM in \WIN98)
to copy PIDGEN.DLL to a directory on your hard drive, by running this command
from any DOS prompt:
EXTRACT D:\WIN98\PRECOPY1.CAB PIDGEN.DLL
I presumed that D is your cd-rom drive letter. Change if different on your
machine.
3. Run DEBUG (filename DEBUG.EXE, located in C:\Windows\Command) from any DOS
prompt to modify PIDGEN.DLL, by typing the command lines below EXACTLY as
shown (case insensitive), including the SPACES, and then pressing the Enter
key after EACH line:
DEBUG drive:\folder\PIDGEN.DLL
E 1ED7
E 1EDF
W
Q
Typing "E 1ED7" and respectively "E 1EDF" above (no quotes) will generate two
new DEBUG lines:
xxxx:1ED7 39. 8B
and respectively:
xxxx:1EDF 39. 8B
Press Enter after each one.
NOTE: If you have a hex editor, you can patch the offset 1DD7h and 1DDFh from
bytecode 39h to bytecode 8Bh.
No further DEBUG segment adjustments are necessary, because PIDGEN.DLL is less
than 64 KB in size.
The "W" line (no quotes) tells DEBUG to write the changes to the file
(generates a message like: "writing xxxx bytes"), and then "Q" quits (exits)
the command line debugger, returning to the DOS prompt.
4. Now run Setup from the folder where you copied the Win98 installation
files. When prompted to type the serial number of the Product Key, type any
letters or numbers except all zeroes. If everything goes well, your modified
PIDGEN.DLL file will be used instead of the original one from Precopy1.cab.
Also, you will not be asked to insert a "proof of upgrade" disk if you are
installing the Win98 Upgrade release, and if there is no older Windows/WfWG
installation found on any of your hard disks/partitions:
- Windows/WfWG 3.xx Setup floppies, or
- Win95/OSR2.x Setup CD-ROM. Win98 Setup searches specifically for these
Win95 Setup files: WINSETUP.BIN, PRECOPYx.CAB + WIN_95xx.CAB.
This tip should work with Win98 NEW installs and REinstalls as well.
If you are trying to (re)install the Win98 OEM (Full) release, you might need
to perform a few extra steps:
5. When Setup is almost completed, your computer will reboot.
6. When the Win98 GUI comes up, it will ask for the Product ID.
7. Cancel and shut down Windows.
8. Reboot and hit F8 (or Ctrl) at the "Starting Windows 98..." screen.
9. The MS-DOS mode Startup Menu will show up. Select "Safe mode" (option 3).
10. When the Safe mode GUI comes up, click the Start button, click Run, type
Regedit, and press Enter.
11. Highlight the "ProductId" string, found under this Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
12. In the right hand pane, double-click on "ProductId".
13. Typical format of Win98 "ProductId" string:
XXXXX-XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXX
Type in any characters (letters and/or numbers), only don't type 25 zeroes
for the entire serial number. :)
14. Close Regedit.
15. Reboot again in Normal mode to complete the install.
Done.

UPDATE:
"There is an easier way of installing Win98 without a serial number.
All you have to do is start Setup normally, and when it asks to enter the
serial key, shut down (Alt+Ctrl+Del), reboot in Safe mode (hold F5 while your
PC boots), then run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
Create (if not present) or modify (if present) these 4 String Values (do not
type the quote marks):
- "ProductId" [xxxxx-01x-xxxxxxx-xxxxx or xxxxx-OEM-xxxxxxx-xxxxx Data field
format] = replace all "x"-es with any combination of numbers except all
zeroes.
- "ProductKey" [xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx Data field format] = replace
all "x"-es with any mixed combination of letters and numbers.
- "RegisteredOwner" = type anything.
- "RegisteredOrganization" = type anything.
Close the Registry Editor and reboot in Normal mode to complete the install."
[Thank you Toynut!]

FYI:
For more Win98 installation workarounds see:
- "98 INSTALL BLUES" in TIPS98.TXT (this file) and
- "95/98/ME SETUP SWITCHES" in TIPS95.TXT (included).

IDE BUS MASTER DMA FIX [+]

This is an(other) undocumented BUG in Windows OSR2/98/ME, all retail/OEM
releases. In order to FIX it, it requires you to modify these 2 system
information (.INF) files: MSHDC.INF + DISKDRV.INF, located in your
%windir%\Inf folder (default is C:\Windows\Inf).
BACK THEM UP FIRST, as you should also BACKUP your Registry files: SYSTEM.DAT
+ USER.DAT, found in your Windows folder, BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!

FYI:
- MS HWDEV: "Enabling IDE DMA on Windows-based Systems":
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/archive/devdes/idedma.asp
- MSKB: "How to Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA)":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=258757
- MSKB: "DMA Check Box Does Not Remain Checked":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=159560
- MSKB: "Computer with IDE DMA Hard Disk Hangs When Resumed":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=193473
- MSKB: "Drive Does Not Have a DMA Check Box":
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=229085
- PC Guide: "Ultra DMA (UDMA) Modes":
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/modesUDMA-c.html

IMPORTANT:
You need your Pentium/Pro/II/III/IV or AMD K6/K6-2/K7/K7-2 class (or better)
chipset and motherboard built-in Bus Master IDE/EIDE controller to support IDE
drive transfers for (at least!) DMA Mode 1 (PI/O Mode 4 at 16 MB/sec) or
better: DMA Mode 3 (PI/O Mode 5, UltraDMA at 33 MB/sec = known as the
UDMA33/ATA33 IDE standard) or DMA Mode 4 (UltraDMA at 66 MB/sec = known as the
UDMA66/ATA66 IDE standard) or DMA Mode 5 (UltraDMA at 100 MB/sec = known as
the UDMA100/ATA100 IDE standard) or DMA Mode 6 (UltraDMA at 133 MB/sec = known
as the UDMA133/ATA133 IDE standard) for this to work properly!
Check your hardware specs manuals/docs and your motherboard BIOS/CMOS settings
to see which standards are supported by your machine.

THE BUG:

Microsoft added the IDE DMA setting ONLY in Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.xx, 98/98 SE
and ME. It is NOT available if using ANY older Win9x release: Windows 95
(first retail release) or 95a OSR1 (95 retail upgraded with SP1)!
On some Windows OSR2/98/ME computers using:
- older motherboards with built-in IDE/EIDE controllers or/and BIOSes, not
supporting all newer PI/O, DMA and/or UltraDMA standards, or
- add-in IDE/EIDE controller cards (PCI) that use non-standard hardware
Interrupts (IRQs) and/or Base Addresses (BA), or
- older/generic IDE/EIDE hard drives (with firmware problems), which may not
be properly recognized/configured by the BIOS,
when you try to enable the DMA hard drive/cd-rom/dvd setting under: Control
Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Disk drives -> Properties -> Settings tab
-> DMA check box, you may not notice an increase in hard disk/cd-rom/dvd
access speed, or the DMA check box is grayed out (unavailable), unless you
apply the FIX detailed below.

ADVANTAGE:
The DMA/UDMA disk setting makes a difference mainly when you perform certain
tasks on your system, like accessing large (multimedia: video, audio) files,
or create/copy/move/delete large files on the same hard disk/partition or
between different hard drives/partitions.
This means that the DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller on your motherboard
takes over the handling of hard disk reads and writes, relieving the processor
of these time consuming tasks, which would require extra CPU cycles, so your
processor can proceed with other operations at the same time, thus making
multitasking work smoother and speed up disk access noticeably.
This translates typically into a major decrease of CPU usage dedicated to disk
access, from a huge 30-50% (without DMA enabled), all the way down to only
3-15%, when DMA is enabled.

THE FIX:

Edit MSHDC.INF + DISKDRV.INF using Notepad. The \Inf folder is "invisible" to
My Computer and Windows Explorer by default, unless you turn off its Hidden
attribute: open Windows Explorer -> highlight C:\Windows\Inf (default location
used here) -> right-click on it -> select Properties -> uncheck the Hidden box
-> click OK/Apply or hit Enter. Now scroll down to the MSHDC.INF [ESDI_AddReg]
section and modify (or add if not present) these 2 lines below to read:

HKR,,IDEDMADrive0,3,01
HKR,,IDEDMADrive1,3,01

Now edit your DISKDRV.INF file and scroll down to the [DiskReg] section.
Add/change the same 2 lines above.
This applies to systems with 1 up to 4 hard/CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-R(W)/DVD-R(W)
(E)IDE/ATAPI compliant drives installed on the built-in (E)IDE/UDMA/ATA (NOT
add-on/3rd party/proprietary!) motherboard controller, which supports up to a
maximum of 4 drives (up to 2 for each connector interface).
CAUTION: Do NOT modify ANYTHING else in these files!
Now save them both in a folder OTHER than C:\Windows\Inf -> open Control Panel
-> System -> Device Manager -> Disk drives -> remove ALL items under "Hard
disk controllers" AND all local disk drives under "Disk drives" and "CDROM",
ONLY the hard/CD/DVD drives, NOT the floppy/add-in/removable drives!
Reboot your PC ONLY AFTER removing ALL above items.
When you restart Windows, the Hardware Wizard will find the new hardware
devices and prompt you to install the appropriate (in most cases generic
Microsoft) drivers, which are bundled with Windows. Browse to the location of
your modified .INF files, NOT to the C:\Windows\Inf folder, which contains the
original, BUGgy files! The existing disk drive controllers specified in your
modified MSHDC.INF will be reinstalled, and then the Hardware Wizard will
detect your installed (E)IDE hard/CD/DVD drives by looking at your "tweaked"
DISKDRV.INF. Now insert your Windows Setup CD-ROM in your CD/DVD drive, and
then browse to the: \WIN95 (OSR2), \WIN98 (Win98/98 SE) or \WIN9X (WinME)
folder for driver extraction, if prompted to do so. Restart your machine one
last time when prompted, so all changes can take effect.

MEANING:
This workaround forces ESDI_506.PDR (the Microsoft generic IDE driver located
in C:\Windows\System\Iosubsys) to enable the DMA mode on all fixed and
removable local drives, if a standard (E)IDE/ATA drive controller is detected.

IMPORTANT:
Install the updated Microsoft ESDI_506.PDR file for your specific Windows 9x
release:
- Windows 98 + 98 SE IDE driver fix [158 KB]:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/win98SE/Update/5638-6151/W98/EN-US/243450USA8.EXE
More info:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=243450
- Windows 95, OSR1 + OSR2 IDE Driver fix [143 KB]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/REMIDEUP.EXE
More info:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=171353

As final step, you should Defrag(ment) ALL your hard drives/partitions (run
C:\Windows\Defrag.exe) with the "Rearrange program files so my programs start
faster" option enabled, present ONLY in Win98, 98 SE and ME.
Then use a disk benchmark tool to compare results before AND after making
these changes, for reliable disk testing. A good example (ONLY for raw disk
subsystem access testing, NOT real world benchmarking) is WinMag WinTune [1.7
MB, free]:
ftp://ftp.sac.sk/pub/sac/utildiag/wt98_43.zip

A MUST: See also "BUS MASTER DMA - Part 1", "BUS MASTER DMA - Part 2: BUGS +
FIXES!", "BUS MASTER DMA - Part 3: MORE BUGS + FIXES!" + "BUS MASTER DMA -
Part 4", all in OSR2TIPS.TXT (included) for more FIXes!

Windows 98 is meant to improve our computing capabilities, at least that's how
it is advertised. Unfortunately this is not entirely true. :-(
Sadly, Win98 (ALL final retail/OEM releases) lost some of the features built
into Windows 95/OSR2 systems. Here are just a few examples:
1. No more centered dialog boxes/windows, enabled in Win95/OSR2 ONLY by using
3rd party video/desktop drivers/programs, like ATI Technologies Mach/Rage
Win95/OSR2 video drivers/tools, available for free at the ATI tech support web
site, for all ATI PCI/AGP video controllers owners:
http://www.ati.com/support/
2. No more virtual desktops, larger than the selected Desktop size, built-in
the Display Properties applet, also available to Win95/OSR2 users by using 3rd
party video drivers/tools.
And a BUG I have found:
3. The "Stretch wallpaper to fit desktop" feature introduced by MS Plus! Pack
for Win95, and built into OSR2's Display Properties applet, is NOT available
if you uncheck the "IE4 enabled" or/and "Active Desktop enabled" boxes in
TweakUI's IE4 tab [110 KB, free, unsupported]:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/winme/Install/1.0/WinMe/EN-US/Tweakui.exe
To install TweakUI, right-click on Tweakui.inf and select Install. When done,
open Control Panel and (double)-click on TweakUI.
But you CAN have your wallpaper stretched to fit your Desktop size, even if
you're not using TweakUI's "IE4 enabled" feature, by applying the Registry
workaround described below.
The Desktop wallpaper, also called background picture, uses a Windows RGB
(Red-Green-Blue) encoded bitmap (.BMP file), or a jpeg (.JPG file).
Newer 32-bit web browsers, like MS IE 4/5/6 and Netscape
Navigator/Communicator 3/4/6 can also "Set [image] as wallpaper", usually if
you right-click on an picture/image found on a web page, in any of these
formats: GIF (animated GIFs will appear as static if you're not using the
Win98/IE's "Display desktop as a web page" feature), BMP, JPG, PNG etc.
The only way to have your wallpaper/bitmap stretched to the Desktop size in
Win98 (without using TweakUI "IE4 enabled" check box), is to run Regedit, and
then go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop
Right-click in the right hand pane, and look for the "WallpaperStyle" string.
If it is not present, select New, String, and type in "WallpaperStyle" (no
quotes). Then double-click on this new String and give it a value of 2. Close
the Registry Editor.
The next time you will restart Win98, your Desktop wallpaper will be displayed
full screen (at any resolution).
If you want to have your Desktop bitmap back to its original size, just modify
the "WallpaperStyle" String again to read 0 (default value).
On Win98 systems [ONLY IF using TweakUI's "IE4 enabled" feature :(] the
wallpaper can be stretched by running: Control Panel -> Display -> Background
tab -> Wallpaper box -> Display -> Stretch check box.
NOTE: You might also need to CENTER your wallpaper, if your bitmap is meant to
be displayed full screen (large size), by modifying the "TileWallpaper" string
to read 0, under the same Registry key above, or start Control Panel ->
Display -> Background tab -> Wallpaper box -> Display -> Center check box.
To learn how to move your Desktop wallpaper off the center see "WALLPAPER
POSITION" in REGISTRY.TXT (included).
Have fun!

FYI: Use one of these 32-bit freeware tools to center and "remember" any
window/dialog box size and position:
- AutoSizer:
http://www.southbaypc.com/autosizer/
- WinSize:
http://www.daimi.au.dk/~maxx/maxximum-windows.html#WS

FREE SPACE BUG!

To learn about the new File Allocation Table 32-bit (FAT32) standard used in
Windows 95 B/C OSR 2.x and Windows 98, read "FAT16 -> FAT32" in SECRETS.TXT
(included).
Though Microsoft modified the disk utilities bundled with Windows 98 and OSR2
to comply with this new FAT32 standard (Scandisk, Defrag, FDISK, FORMAT etc),
there is still a small "glitch" exhibited by these Operating Systems, known
as the "free space BUG".
Every once in a while, after your Win98/OSR2 machine has crashed or locked
up, Windows may not calculate the amount of free space on a FAT32
drive/logical partition accurately. Example: if your disk/partition capacity
is 1 GB, and the free disk space amounts between 100 - 200 MB, Windows might
actually report that your drive is full.
To get rid of this BUG, you need to repair/recover the eventual lost disk
clusters, by running ScanDisk (Scandskw.exe in Windows or SCANDISK.EXE in
MS-DOS). This will fix the discrepancy, but only temporarily (at least until
your hard disk crashes again), it won't "squash" the "free space BUG"! :(

FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 1 [UPDATED 9-1-1998]

There are a few settings you can change to get the fastest possible Internet
connection under Windows 98, using the TCP/IP protocol (Dial-Up Networking)
and your ISP (Internet Service Provider):

1. Run Control Panel -> Network -> Dial-Up Adapter -> Advanced -> IP Packet
Size. Change the IP Packet Size from "Automatic" (Win98 default: dynamically
adjusts the MTU setting depending on connection type) to "Small" (MTU fixed at
576, ideal for TCP/IP Internet connections).
MTU = Maximum Transmission Unit (IP packet size in bytes).
Make sure the "Client for Microsoft Networks" item is present on your
Network applet list (install it if necessary), to enable the saving of your
ISP logon password!

2. Uncheck the "Log on to Network" box in Dial-Up Networking -> Server
Types.
This will affect only your login time. Beware that in certain cases it is
necessary to leave this box checked!

3. Start Regedit, and go to (default Win98 Registry key):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000
Make sure you modify these values ONLY under the Net keys that display:
"DriverDesc"="Dial-Up Adapter"
or (AOL users ONLY):
"DriverDesc"="AOL Adapter"
in the right hand pane!
A. In the right hand pane, double-click the "SLOWNET" hex value, and change
its number from 01 to 00.
This won't dramatically increase your transfers but will reduce timeouts.
B. Change the "IPMTU" string to read 576. Win98's default is 0,
corresponding to the "Automatic" IP Packet Size setting: Control Panel ->
Network applet -> Dial-Up Adapter -> Advanced -> IP Packet Size (see
above).
Various Win98 TCP/IP configurations may contain the "SLOWNET" and "IPMTU"
values under different Registry subkeys. Double-click on the "Net" key (see
above) to view all its subkeys. Substitute the "00nn" key below with the
appropriate integer number(s) present on your machine (valid values for nn:
from 00 up to 50):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\00nn
Then track down all "SLOWNET" and "IPMTU" instances and modify them as
described above.

4. Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net\0000\Ndi\params\IPMTU
The same "00nn" -> "0000", "0001"... etc substitution principle (see above)
applies here.
Change the "default" string found in the right hand pane from 0 (Win98
default "Automatic" setting) to 576, Win98's "Small" setting: Control Panel
-> Network applet -> Dial-Up Adapter -> Advanced -> IP Packet Size (see
above).
Restart Windows 98 when done so all changes can take effect.
All settings detailed above can be also implemented by using the included
file: IPMTU98.REG (or restored by using IPMTUDEF.REG, also included). But
FIRST open these .REG files in Notepad and compare the Registry keys listed
there with yours. To view/edit your Win98 Registry, run the Registry editor
(REGEDIT.EXE, located in your Win98 folder), and scroll to the keys listed in
IPMTU98.REG and IPMTUDEF.REG. The "DriverDesc"="Dial-Up Adapter" and
"DriverDesc"="AOL Adapter" Net keys: 0000, 0001 etc might have different
values on your system. You may have more than one "00nn" Net keys ("nn" is an
actual number, ranging anywhere from 00 up to 50, depending on your system's
Network/Dial-Up settings). If that is true, you HAVE TO REPLACE THEM with the
ones found in YOUR Registry!
After modifying the IPMTU98.REG and IPMTUDEF.REG keys to match YOURS,
(double)-click on IPMTU98.REG in Explorer or File Manager to merge (register)
the new settings.
Then restart Win98, log on to your ISP as usual, and notice any differences
in access speed.
NOTE: IPMTU is NOT present in your Registry if you have never used a "MTU
tweaker" like EasyMTU, or added it yourself using a Registry editor like
Regedit.
If you are experiencing slower connections or/and longer wait times after
using these new settings, (double)-click on IPMTUDEF.REG (also included) to
RESTORE them to their default values.
WARNING: BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM FILES FIRST!

IMPORTANT: To learn how to modify your MaxMTU values (Win95 users), and many
other important Win95/98 Registry settings (DefaultRcvWindow, DefaultTTL,
cachesize, COMBoostTime etc) to optimize your Internet/AOL connection,
please read these related topics, also included:
- "FASTEST INTERNET 98 - Part 2" in TIPS98.TXT: only Win98 users;
- "HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? - Part 1" in REGISTRY.TXT: only Win95 users;
- "HOW FAST CAN YOU GO? - Part 2" in REGISTRY.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "56K MODEMS @ 56K SPEED!" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "AOL MAXMTU REVISITED" in AOLTIPS.TXT: only Win9x AOL users;
- "MAP YOUR HOSTS" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "SPEEDUP MY DUN!" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "FAST, FAST, FAST" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "DON'T DROP BACK!" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "SYSTEM.INI TWEAKS" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "ISPS KNOWN MTU VALUES" in MYTIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users;
- "FIND YOUR ISP'S MTU" in TIPS95.TXT: all Win9x users.
Also check out these 56K + MTU reference links for more info:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/modem.htm

Max surf speed ahead!

NEW SCANDISK OPTION

If you run ScanDisk (Windows 98's disk error detection/repair tool), you'll
find that a new parameter was added to the "ScanDisk Advanced Options" dialog
box.
ScanDisk's default shortcut is found under Start -> Programs -> Accessories
-> System Tools -> ScanDisk. Run ScanDisk and click the "Advanced..." button.
This new option can be activated by checking the "Report MS-DOS mode name
length errors" box. This refers to the 8.3 DOS filename format, displayed in
MS-DOS true mode outside Windows and in a DOS box/session/window started from
within Windows.
Windows 95/98 have the capability to save/modify/display each file/folder
using both the 256.8 Long File Name (LFN) and the 8.3 short file name format.
ScanDisk's new option above enables the 8.3 format checking for all files.

SCANREGW, SCANREG + SCANREG.INI [+]

Both Windows 98 and ME come with a long awaited tool (%windir%\SCANREGW.EXE,
located in your Windows folder) that performs daily automatic vital backups of
the Registry files: SYSTEM.DAT + USER.DAT (and CLASSES.DAT if using WinME),
and System files: SYSTEM.INI + WIN.INI.
See this MSKB article for more details:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=183887
This is the default mode, enabled by a command line found under the Registry
key below. Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Make sure the "ScanRegistry" String Value is present in the right hand pane:
"ScanRegistry"="C:\Windows\Scanregw.exe /autorun"
This means Scanregw makes a new backup set upon the first Windows startup of
each new day. These backups are compressed into .CAB files (Microsoft
proprietary compression technology) located by default in the
C:\Windows\Sysbckup folder.
These .CAB files are named RB00n.CAB, where n = 0 - 4, respectively =
RB000.CAB - RB004.CAB, because the default Scanregw setting allows for a
maximum of 5 backups. The newest backup .CAB file overwrites the oldest.
You can customize the way Scanregw manages these daily backups, by making
changes to SCANREG.INI, a plain text file located in your Windows folder.
Open Scanreg.ini with Notepad, and scroll down to view all its parameters,
they are all well documented with remarked (;) lines of text.
Changes you can make to Scanreg.ini:
- Do not allow the creation of new backups:
Backup=0
Default is 1 (allows the creation of new backups).
- Skip the Registry automatic optimization:
Optimize=0
Default is 1 (allows the Registry automatic optimization).
If Optimize=1, Scanregw compacts the Registry files automatically (default)
if they contain more than 500 KB of empty space (unused blank gaps).
- Increase/decrease the number of daily backups, by modifying this line:
MaxBackupCopies=10
Default is 5, maximum allowed is 99.
- Change the backup directory/folder where the .CAB files are held:
BackupDirectory=D:\Backups
Default backup folder is C:\Windows\Sysbckup.
- Have Scanregw add other System Files to the daily .CAB backups, by using
the following System Folder codes on separate "Files=" lines:
10 = windir (default is C:\Windows)
11 = system dir (default is C:\Windows\System)
30 = boot dir (default is C:\)
31 = boot host dir (deafult is C:\)
The maximum number of additional files you can add is 16 for a total of 20.
Example: to add your AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, CONTROL.INI + WINFILE.INI to
the daily backups, add/modify these lines to read:
Files=30,AUTOEXEC.BAT,CONFIG.SYS
Files=10,CONTROL.INI,WINFILE.INI
Default is to backup only SYSTEM.DAT, USER.DAT, SYSTEM.INI + WIN.INI.
Directory code and filenames are separated by a comma (,).
Restart Windows when you're done so the new settings can take effect.
If you also use the native/true MS-DOS mode (like I do), you can access most
of these Windows backup features by running the Scanregw DOS counterpart,
filename SCANREG.EXE (located in C:\Windows\Command).
NOTE: To make this work with Windows ME you MUST install the Real DOS-Mode
Patch [9 KB, freeware] first:
http://www.geocities.com/mfd4life_2000/
Run:
SCANREG /?
to display its available command line parameters:

"Windows Registry Checker
Usage: SCANREG [/<option>]
<option>
? : Displays usage.
BACKUP : Backup the registry and related system configuration files.
RESTORE : Choose a backup to restore.
FIX : Repair the registry.
COMMENT="<comment>"
: Adds the specified comment to the CAB file while backing up."

SCANREG command line parameters explained:
- /BACKUP = Creates a new backup .CAB file manually.
The .CAB files created by SCANREG are uncompressed.
To view the last 5 backup CABs, run SCANREG and select "View Backups" from
the summary screen.
- /COMMENT = Adds a comment to the CAB while backing up.
Example: run:
SCANREG /BACKUP "/COMMENT=My 7-27-98 Windows Backup"
If you choose to view your recent backups (see above), the text string after
the equal sign will be displayed as comment.
The maximum text length is 29 characters (text beyond this limit is
truncated).
NOTE: See the "Registry Checker Tool Displays Only Some Backups with Time
Stamp" MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=184043
- /FIX = Rebuilds the Registry.
Used automatically if Scanreg detecs ANY Registry problems or corruption,
that may prevent Windows from functioning properly.
Example: use it if you don't have any valid Registry backups.
This switch checks and rebuilds the Registry structure NOT its contents,
therefore certain invalid Registry entries may NOT be fixed this way!
- /OPT = Compacts (shrinks) the Registry files.
Example: use it after uninstalling an application from Control Panel's
Add/Remove Programs menu, because certain deleted Registry keys, entries or
strings do NOT free unused empty space in the Registry files.
SCANREG /FIX performs a similar job.
SCANREG /OPT is used automatically if there are more than 500 KB of
wasted/blank space within the Registry.
- /RESTORE = Restores the Registry using the most recent backup .CAB.
Example: use it if your Registry becomes corrupted, or if you canNOT start
Windows in normal GUI mode.

FYI:
- Scanreg.ini editing tool:
http://www.wintrouble.net/discus/messages/53/137.html
SREDIT.EXE [64 KB]:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/technet/samples/ps/win98/reskit/config/SREDIT.EXE
- Backup + Restore Your Registry In Windows 98:
http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/regback1.html
- MSKB: Command Line Switches for Registry Checker Tool:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=184023
- MSKB: How to Customize Registry Checker Tool Settings:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=183603
- MSKB: Registry Checker Continues to Detect Registry Damage:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=186909
- MSKB: Registry Checker Tool Changes in Windows ME:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=273889

ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON!

The Captain kindly sent another cool Win98 tip.

"Elementary, My Dear Watson!

If you frequently get illegal operation or invalid page fault error messages
in Windows 98, there is a great utility that Microsoft included which you
can use to troubleshoot, find the cause of, and correct those errors to
prevent yourself from getting them again. It also logs all errors so you can
report them to Microsoft or your software program's vendor so that they can
fix the problem. To start this program:

Click Start, Run.
Type "DrWatson" and press ENTER.
An icon for Dr. Watson will appear on your taskbar tray.
Double click it. From here on you can view detailed information about your
Win98 system.

I recommend putting a shortcut to Dr. Watson in your Startup group, it will
automatically log all illegal operations and invalid page faults that you
might get."

98 CD-ROM DRIVER BUG + FIX

I have faced yet another "98 BUG": I took two (2) weeks (from the time I
have first installed Win98 on my machine) to figure out how to properly
configure the "Secondary IDE Controller (dual fifo)" on my machine. As a
consequence (before applying this fix), my IDE/ATAPI internal cd-rom drive
was still running in "MS-DOS compatibility mode", with the 32-bit File
System disabled, because of a FALSE hardware IRQ (Interrupt Request Line)
conflict, that was showing IRQ 15 used by both the "Intel 82371SB PCI Bus
Master IDE Controller" and the "Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)" items
in the System Properties Device Manager tab. The default (Pentium and above)
motherboard EIDE hard drive controller DOES use IRQ 15 for normal operation,
as DOES the secondary IDE interface, which is part of the same EIDE drive
controller!
My IDE/ATAPI internal cd-rom drive is connected to my motherboard's
secondary IDE controller interface, and properly configured as master
drive (both my hard drives are connected to the primary IDE interface).
FYI: See the MSKB fix:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=235859
The workaround step-by-step:
1. I have installed Windows 98 over Windows 95B OSR 2.1.
2. I have copied the OSR2 version of the MSHDC.INF file [date-time stamp
8-24-96 11:11:11] to the Windows \Inf hidden subfolder, overwriting
Win98's MSHDC.INF (you can rename it to something like MSHDC98.INF).
3. I have removed the "Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller" item
from the "Hard disk controllers" menu, you can see when you open Control
Panel -> System -> Device Manager tab.
4. When the computer rebooted into Win98, the Hardware Wizard automatically
redetected the new hardware (PCI IDE Controller), prompted me to install
the default Win98 driver (Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller) and
gave me the choice of selecting several drivers from a list (you get this
list if you choose NOT to install the recommended Win98 driver). Among them
was "Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller (Microsoft) 4-28-96" (the
OSR2 version). I selected it, and guess what?
My cd-rom drive was successfully detected (FINALLY!), and is now working
properly, the "CDROM" item is now listed in Device Manager, and ALL the
drives in my system are now using Win98's "File System: 32-bit", as stated
in the System Properties Performance tab.
My "home-made" PC specs are listed in MYPC.TXT (included).

NOTES:
- BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM + REGISTRY FILES FIRST!
- If you believe you have a similar problem, use the OSR2 MSHDC95.INF file
(included).

3RD PARTY AUTOSCAN

This cool Windows 95/98 tip was kindly sent in by The Captain.

"If you have Network Associates (formerly Helix Software) Nuts & Bolts or
Norton (Symantec) Utilities installed, you can force one of their real
DOS mode disk repair tools to run upon bootup after a bad Windows
shutdown, instead of Microsoft's ScanDisk (default).
Copy the executable you want to use: Disk Minder for DOS (DMDOS.EXE) or
Norton Disk Doctor (NDD.EXE), respectively, to your C:\Windows\Command
folder (default setup, change if different), then rename your original
SCANDISK.EXE to SCANDISK.WIN, and finally rename the copied file to
SCANDISK.EXE.
The next time you (re)boot after a bad shutdown, your 3rd party hard disk
scanning program will run from now on.
This can be reversed by deleting or renaming the new SCANDISK.EXE file."

FYI: See "BYPASS AUTOSCAN" in OSR2TIPS.TXT (included) to learn how to
configure the MSDOS.SYS "Autoscan" switch to run SCANDISK at boot time.

98 SCREEN SETTINGS

In Win98 you can change your Desktop screen size and color depth "on the
fly" (without the need for a reboot/restart). Just add a Display Settings
icon to the System Tray. Right-click on an empty spot on your Desktop and
select Properties. In the Display Properties Settings tab, click Advanced
and check the "Show settings icon on the taskbar" box. From now on,
right-click on the new tray icon and select the color resolution/screen
size you'd like to switch to.

STICKY DESKTOP ICONS

To force all your Desktop icons "stick" where you have placed them, and
prevent them from ligning up to the left side of your screen, right-click
on an empty Desktop area, select Arrange Icons, and uncheck Auto arrange.
Press F5 to refresh the Desktop when done.

DOUBLE PANE EXPLORER

Courtesy of The Captain.

1. "Open any folder (i.e. My Computer).
2. Choose View -> Folder options... from the menu.
3. Move to the File Types tab.
4. Locate the Folder entry. To do this fast, click onto the Listview and type
the word "folder" (no quotes).
5. Choose Edit.
6. Select Explorer, and finally...
7. Press Set as default, and leave the dialogs using OK/Close.

Now whenever you open any sort of folder, may it be a drive/directory, the
Control Panel or your Mobile Devices folder, you automatically get the
two-paned Explorer view for easier navigation."

98 ESSENTIALS

One sunny day [a bit after June 25th 1998 :-)], I have finally decided to
install the retail release of Windows 98 Upgrade. It's supposed to "make our
lives easier", right? Wrong! My 98 troubles [and counting :-)] were just
beginning.
First, whenever I was trying to shut down the GUI and go back to the true
(native) MS-DOS mode prompt, my computer was locking up! This meant war!

NOTE: Read "DOS NOW!" in MYTIPS95.TXT to learn how to go to the true MS-DOS
prompt after Win98 shuts down, and also to be able to restart Windows again
as many times as you want, WITHOUT rebooting!

Well, here it is folks, you need to use a small utility hidden in your
\Windows\System folder, that allows the tweaking of most ALL important
bootup/start/shut-down settings: MSCONFIG.EXE. Run Msconfig (System
Configuration Utility) and click away its tabs to see the settings available
on your machine.
You can enable/disable the processing of EACH separate line/section in:
Config.sys, Autoexec.bat, System.ini, Win.ini, Msdos.sys. And that's only
the tip of the iceberg. :) For more tweaks click the Advanced button.
Here is actually where I wanted to get. To restore the proper Win98/98 SE
shut down function I had to check the "Disable fast shutdown" box.

UPDATES:
1. Get the "fixed" Win98 SE MSCONFIG.EXE:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=239887
which also disables the Fast shutdown Registry setting.
2. Microsoft disabled Fast shutdown completely in the Windows Millennium
Edition (ME) Registry and MSCONFIG.EXE.

Another way to achieve this is to edit the Registry. Run Regedit and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Shutdown
Modify the "FastReboot" String value in the right hand pane to read 0
(default value is 1).
NOTE: ANY changes made to these settings require a Windows restart!
My "home-made" PC specs are listed in MYPC.TXT (included):
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/pc.htm#SP
As you may have noticed, my machine components are not that old, and still,
Windows canNOT shut it down properly IF the "fast shutdown" feature is
enabled. :(

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: If you have hardware related problems installing/using
Win98, contact your device manufacturer/vendor for support. Most
OEMs/VARs/vendors have posted specific guidelines/updates/fixes at their
WWW/FTP sites.

Other Windows 98 system tools (some new, some "inherited" from Win95) you
might consider using to keep your system in tip-top shape:
1. In your Windows 98 folder:
- ACCSTAT.EXE = Windows Accessibility Status Indicator
- ASD.EXE = Automatic Skip Driver
- CLEANMGR.EXE = Disk Space Cleanup Manager
- CVT1.EXE = FAT32 Drive Converter tool
- DEFRAG.EXE = Disk Defragmenter (includes Intel application optimizer)
- DRWATSON.EXE = Dr. Watson Windows Diagnostic tool
- HWINFO.EXE = Hardware Information
- REGEDIT.EXE = Registry Editor (16-bit, also available in native MS-DOS)
- RSRCMTR.EXE = Resource Meter
- SCANDSKW.EXE = Scan Disk tool
- SCANREGW.EXE = Registry Checker
- SIGVERIF.EXE = Signature Verification tool
- SNDVOL32.EXE = Volume Control
- SYSMON.EXE = System Monitor
- TASKMAN.EXE = Task Manager
- TASKMON.EXE = Task Monitor (used by DEFRAG.EXE + SCANREGW.EXE)
- TUNEUP.EXE = Maintenance Wizard
- VCMUI.EXE = Version Conflict Manager
- WINFILE.EXE = Windows File Manager (FM) (16-bit, LFNs unaware)
- WINIPCFG.EXE = TCP/IP Configuration tool
- WINPOPUP.EXE = WinPopup network messaging tool
- WINREP.EXE = Problem Report tool (send to Microsoft support)
- WINVER.EXE = Windows Version utility
- WSCRIPT.EXE = Windows Scripting Host
- WUPDMGR.EXE = Windows Update Manager (Internet connection required)
2. In your \Windows\System subfolder:
- ACCWIZ.EXE = Microsoft Accessibility Wizard
- IESHWIZ.EXE = Customize Folder tool
- INTERNAT.EXE = Keyboard Language Indicator monitor
- MAGNIFY.EXE = Magnify tool
- MKCOMPAT.EXE = Make Compatible App tool
- MSCONFIG.EXE = System Configuration tool (use with CAUTION!)
- MSTASK.EXE = Task Scheduler
- SAGE.EXE = Task Scheduler Sage Compatibility
- SFC.EXE = System File Checker
- SRW.EXE = System Recovery Wizard
- SYSEDIT.EXE = System Editor tool (16-bit, edit: Autoexec.bat, Config.sys,
System.ini + Win.ini)
- SYSTRAY.EXE = System Tray Applet (used by MSTASK.EXE/SAGE.EXE,
POWERCFG.CPL + SNDVOL32.EXE)
- WALIGN.EXE = WinAlign tool
3. In the \Program Files folder, in the...
- \Program Files\Accessories\Backup subfolder:
* MSBACKUP.EXE = Backup tool
- \Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Msinfo subfolder:
* MSINFO32.EXE = System Information
4. On your Windows 98 Setup CD-ROM [NOT installed by default!], in the...
- \Tools\Msutil\Fat32ebd subfolder:
* FAT32EBD.EXE = FAT32 Emergency Boot Disk
- \Tools\Reskit\Config subfolder:
* FAT32WIN.EXE = FAT32 Conversion Information
* TZEDIT.EXE = Time Zone Editor
- \Tools\Msutil\Pmtshoot subfolder:
* PMTSHOOT.EXE = Power Management Trouble Shooter
- \Tools\Reskit\Netadmin\Poledit subfolder:
* POLEDIT.EXE = Policy Editor
- \Tools\Reskit\Desktop subfolder:
* CLIPTRAY.EXE = Clipboard Tray (add selected text to the Clipboard)
* CHKLNKS.EXE = Links Check Wizard
* QUIKTRAY.EXE = Quick Tray (add programs to the Tray)
- \Tools\Reskit\File subfolder:
* TEXTVIEW.EXE = Text File Viewer
* WINDIFF.EXE = File Comparison tool
- \Tools\Reskit\File\Lfnback subfolder:
* LFNBK.EXE = Long File Names Backup tool
- \Tools\Reskit\Powertoy subfolder:
* TWEAKUI.INF = TweakUI Power Toy Information file: right-click on it and
select Install. When done, open Control Panel and (double)-click TweakUI.

If some of these tools are not installed on your system, open Control
Panel, and select Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab, and
check the programs you want to install from the list (not all are available
for automatic install). Make sure your Win98 setup cd-rom is in the drive.

See "95/98/ME SETUP SWITCHES" in TIPS95.TXT to learn how to custom-install
Windows 95/98 on your PC.

UPDATE FOR WIN98 LAPTOP USERS: [Thank you Ojatex (Ojatex@aol.com)!]
"Even after disabling "Fast shut down" by running Msconfig, using SHIFT on
Reboot with Win98 still throws WRITE PROTECTION ERRORS necessitating one or
more cold boot-downs and boot-ups on my system. Possibly this is caused by
the laptop's various shut-down power modes. On my system, there are 3
different shut-off options:
1. full power-off
2. standby
3. hibernation
These are designed to optimize battery use and conserve power as well as
save time for re-starting. In light of the above experience, I think it's
wise not to recommend to laptop owners to try disabling "Fast shut down" in
order to re-enable the SHIFT on RE-BOOT feature."
NOTE: See also "SHIFT 2 RESTART 95/98" in TIPS95.TXT (included) for more
details.

98 INSTALL BLUES

This procedure is supposed to work for installing ANY final (Gold) version
of Windows 98 (retail upgrade, retail full release or OEM full release), on
ANY "Wintel" PC or compatible (486DX/66 and above), with or without a
previous version of Windows, without getting error messages like:
"You are trying to setup the OEM release of Windows 98 on a computer that
already has an Operating System installed. Get the upgrade version and try
again."
or:
"A previous installation of Windows was not found. Setup aborted."

Necessary steps:
1. Load your MS-DOS mode CD-ROM driver in your CONFIG.SYS, load MSCDEX.EXE in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT (both these files reside in C:\ root by default) and then
reboot. Create (if not present) or modify them with Notepad/Sysedit in Windows
or EDIT.COM in DOS. Examples:
- CONFIG.SYS cd-rom driver line (replace CDROM.SYS with your MS-DOS mode
CD-ROM/DVD driver):
DEVICE=C:\CDROM\CDROM.SYS /D:MYCDROM
- AUTOEXEC.BAT MSCDEX line:
MSCDEX.EXE /D:MYCDROM
Note that your CD-ROM/DVD drive name ("MYCDROM" in this example) MUST be
IDENTICAL on BOTH lines above!
See "CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS" in MYTIPS95.TXT (included) for more details.
2. IF you are installing the OEM full release of Win98, rename all the
WIN*.* files ("*" is a DOS wildcard to include all files containing the
"WIN" string at the beginning of the filename, no matter the extension):
WIN.COM, WIN.INI, WINVER.EXE etc, found ANYWHERE on your fixed disks to
something like: WINOLD.COM, WINOLD.INI, WINVEROL.EXE etc, or move them
temporarily to a removable disk(ette), into appropriate directories, so you
know which versions of Windows they originated from.
3. This step is necessary ONLY for OEM installations of Win98. Create a new
"dummy" file called NTLDR in C:\ root, using EDIT.COM, the DOS mode text file
editor. Then install Win98 OEM by running:
SETUP /NTLDR
from the native MS-DOS.
4. If you try to install the Win98 Upgrade on an empty disk/partition, you
will be asked to insert the Setup cd-rom or floppies that contain an older
version of Windows/WfWG. Win98 Setup checks for ANY: WINSETUP.BIN,
PRECOPYx.CAB and WIN_95xx.CAB files supposedly located on a Win95/OSR2
install cd-rom, and/or for Windows/WfWG 3.xx install floppies.
If you have any of these cd-roms/floppies, you can copy the installation
files to a directory on your hard disk to speedup the search.
5. Run the Win98 OEM release SETUP from the real (true) MS-DOS mode: change
to your cd-rom drive, type SETUP and press Enter.
6. If you run SETUP from Windows, there is a possibility you might have a
SETUPPP.INF file installed by almost any Win95 version in your \Windows\Inf
subfolder. Open it in Notepad and add/modify these lines under the [data]
section to read:
OEMUP=1
ProductType=1
Now run Setup from the Win98 CD-ROM, and stop at the license agreement (EULA)
screen. Hold CTRL and press ESC to bring up the Start Menu. Run Notepad,
browse to the \Windows.000 or \Wininst0.400 temporary folder, and open
Setuppp.inf. Insert/change the same lines as shown above, under the [data]
header and save the file. Hold ALT and press TAB to return to Setup, and
finally, continue the installation.
Another advantage of having these lines present in ALL your copies of
Setuppp.inf is that you won't be prompted to insert your old Windows 95/3.xx
Setup cd-rom/floppies anymore when installing the Win98 upgrade.

MUST READ:
- "WIN98: NO CODE INSTALL!" in TIPS98.TXT (this file) to learn how to install
Win98 [retail ONLY, NOT Win98 SE(U)!] without a Product Key code.
- "95/98/ME SETUP SWITCHES" in TIPS95.TXT (included), to learn how to
custom-install Windows 9x/ME on your machine, especially if you own an older
PC (i.e. 486SX, 486DX/33).
- "CD-ROM DRIVERS 4 DOS" in MYTIPS95.TXT (included), to learn about using
alternative (smaller memory footprint) CD-ROM DOS mode drivers in your
Autoexec.bat, especially if you are using older CD-ROM based MS-DOS
applications/games that NEED to run from the true/native/real MS-DOS mode.

Good luck!

WHERE IS LOGO.SYS? [+]

If you looked in the root folder of your Win98/98 SE/ME boot drive (C:\), you
may have noticed that the Logo.sys file (known as the bootup or startup logo
to Win95/OSR2 users) is not there anymore. :(
In fact the Win98/ME logo is built into IO.SYS, a read-only, hidden, system
file, located in C:\ root by default.
But you can place your own custom or even animated LOGO.SYS in C:\ root [and
also in the default compressed volume root directory (H:\) if using the
Microsoft disk compression tool: DrvSpace, ONLY IF you have partitioned your
boot drive/partition (C) with FAT16!], and have it displayed next time you
boot into Windows.
LOGO.SYS must be a 320x400 pixels, 256 colors, RGB encoded, uncompressed
Windows BitMaP (.BMP format), with the .SYS extension.
File size doesn't matter. It is minimum 129,078 Bytes for static logos,
animated logos being a little larger, because they contain the scrolling
colors code. Take a look at the size of some of these animated logos [547 KB,
freeware]:
http://members.aol.com/files4u/95LOGOS.ZIP
To have your Win98/ME OS display a logo at startup, just edit MSDOS.SYS
(another C:\ root read-only, hidden, system file, also found on H:\ root if
using DrvSpace) with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS, and add/modify
this line under the [Options] section to read:
Logo=1
To be able to edit Msdos.sys, you need to first "strip" it of its read-only,
hidden and system attributes. This can be done by running this command from
any DOS prompt:
ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\MSDOS.SYS
After you're done editing it, you can restore its original attributes
(optional):
ATTRIB +H +R +S C:\MSDOS.SYS
Better, to perform all above operations with a single mouse (double)-click,
run SYS95.BAT (included).
The only time you'll see a Logo.sys file in C:\ root is before you boot into
Win98/ME for the first time, right after OS installation has completed.
On Win98/98 SE systems it says: "Getting ready to run Windows for the first
time", and is deleted after the second boot: filename Sulogo.sys, located in
\Win98\Win98_46.cab (Win98 retail), \Win98\Win98_52.cab (Win98 SE) or
\Win9x\Win_19.cab (WinME retail) from your Windows Setup CD.
To extract it to C:\ root (and see it next time upon boot) from your cd-rom,
run these DOS commands (replace the CD/DVD drive letter if different on your
computer):
EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_46.CAB SULOGO.SYS
REN C:\SULOGO.SYS LOGO.SYS
Win98 SE owners need to use D:\WIN98\WIN98_52.CAB instead.
WinME owners need to use D:\WIN9X\WIN_19.CAB instead.
If you already have a Logo.sys file in C:\ root, make sure to back it up
first. :)
Reboot when done.
FYI:
- See also NEWLOGO.TXT and "COMPLETE MSDOS.SYS REFERENCE" in MYTIPS95.TXT
(both included) to learn how to create your own Win9x/ME logos and how to
master Msdos.sys parameters to boot into Windows the way you want.
- These pages feature a huge collection of free animated and static Win9x/ME
logos:
http://www.nucleus.com/~kmcmurdo/logos/

IE4 SEARCH KEYWORDS

... Kindly sent in by The Captain.

"Search the Web Using Keywords with Internet Explorer

If you type in "go x" in MS IE 4/5/6 (where "x" is any keyword) you can search
for ANYTHING using IE, it will default to Yahoo [www.yahoo.com] for searching
for that item that you entered for "x".
Don't type the quotes though. :)"

GIMME ME BACK MY REGISTRY!

Yet another cool trick from The Captain...

"Gimme Back My Registry!

To restore the registry in Windows 98 do this:
Restart the computer to MS-DOS mode. This can be done by choosing Command
Prompt Only on boot or by clicking Start, Shut Down, Restart the Computer in
MS-DOS mode and clicking "yes" when prompted.
Type:
scanreg /restore
Press enter.
Restart your computer. These steps will restore your registry to its state
when you last successfully started your computer."

WIN95/98/NT EASY MIGRATION

"Installing Win95/98/NT over(writing) Win 3.x by The Captain

Some people like the dual-boot features of Windows 95/98 that let you keep
booting to an existing OS such as Windows 3.x and a previous version of DOS,
myself included.

I found a simple way to migrate your current Windows 3.x apps to Windows 95/98
without losing Windows 3.x and you don't have to reinstall any of your
programs.

All you have to do is make an exact duplicate of your Windows 3.x folder and
all the files and subdirectories within it, and that's usually just your
Windows and Windows\System folders and the files contained in them. Usually it
is less than 10 megabytes so this isn't a problem if you're short on disk
space. All you need to do is make a folder named Win95 or Win98 depending on
which version you are installing. Go into MS-DOS or use the Windows File
Manager program to copy all your files from C:\Windows (substitute your
drive/folder/directory name in place of C:\Windows) and your C:\Windows\System
(same) to your C:\Win95 or C:\Win98 System folder. You will need a
sub-folder/directory in your DUPLICATE COPY of Windows 3.x named "System"
where you copy the old Windows 3.x system files from the Windows 3.x system
sub-folder.

Then simply run Windows 95 or Windows 98's installation program and tell it to
install to C:\Win95 or C:\Win98, overwriting your "previous" (actually a copy
of your previous) version of Windows. All of your existing programs and
applications will be automatically ported to Windows 95/98 while still being
accessible in your original copy of Windows 3.x.
This will update the Win95/98 registry and even put the programs into the
Start Menu so you don't have to worry about it. This tip should also work for
Windows NT 4.0 and in the future, NT 5.0."

CAPTAIN'S QUAD OS MACHINE

Another great tip sent by The Capt'n!

FYI: Microsoft Multiboot Windows 9x/ME + 2000/XP:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/management/mltiboot.asp

"Quad-booting MS Operating Systems

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for anything that happens as a result of
using this information.

It is possible to quad-boot Windows 95/98, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows
for Workgroups 3.11, and MS-DOS all on one PC with no special utilities or
third party programs.

Make sure you are using a FAT16 partition on your primary hard drive.

First, install Windows 98 or Windows 95 normally.

Click Start, Shut Down, Restart the Computer. Click Yes.

Once the computer reboots and Win98 or Win95 starts loading, press F8. Choose
"Safe Command Prompt Only."

Take an MS-DOS disk (where "A:" is your floppy drive letter) and type:

attrib a:\msdos.sys -h -s -r
attrib a:\io.sys -h -s -r
attrib a:\command.com -h -s -r
copy a:\msdos.sys c:\msdos.dos
copy a:\io.sys c:\io.dos
copy a:\command.com c:\command.dos
attrib msdos.sys -h -s -r
edit msdos.sys

Make sure it has "BootMulti=1" under "[Options]".

Press ALT + F. Press "S" for save. Press ALT + F. Choose "Exit."

Remove the floppy disk. Power off the PC and after 10 seconds power it back
on. (The ten seconds gives it time to spin down to avoid un-necessary wear
and tear).

Press F4 when Win98 or Win95 starts to load. Windows 95 will say "Starting
Windows 95..." but Windows 98 will not, so be careful to press F4 at the
right time.

It will load MS-DOS (in my case 6.22). A "DIR" command will reveal that Win98
or Win95's IO.SYS file has been renamed to WINBOOT.SYS and that the Win98 or
Win95 versions of COMMAND.COM and MSDOS.SYS, and AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
now have the extension ".W40" after them.

Now that you are into MS-DOS, you can install Windows 3.1 or Windows for
Workgroups 3.11 into a folder. Make sure you don't accidentally install it
over Windows 98 or Windows 95!!! I suggest a folder name such as "Win3" or
"Wfw" as location for Windows 3.x.

Usually Win98 or Win95 are installed in C:\Windows by default.

Now, reboot the computer and let Win98 or Win95 load completely.

Once it's loaded, go to Start, Shut Down, Restart the Computer. Click "Yes."
This is an important step so do not skip it!

It will say "It is now safe to turn off your computer."
At this point, put in your Windows NT Workstation 4.0 setup disk #1.
Restart your computer by pressing reset or ALT CTRL DELETE or by turning the
power off and back on again after 10 seconds have passed.

Windows NT Workstation 4.0 setup will load. Follow on screen instructions. It
will automatically detect that Win95 or Win98 is installed. If it asks
permission to overwrite the Windows 3.x installation tell it "NO".

I suggest installing NT Workstation 4.0 it into the folder C:\WINNT.
Once NT setup is done, the next time you reboot you will get a boot menu
asking if you want to load "Microsoft NT Workstation 4.0", "NT Workstation
4.0 [vga mode]" (similar to Win95 and Win98's safe mode) and "Microsoft
Windows". "Microsoft Windows" actually refers to Windows 98 or Windows 95,
not Windows 3.x or Windows for Workgroups.

In System Properties in Windows NT Workstation 4.0, you can easily tell the
PC if you want to boot to NT or 98 or 95 by default and you can even specify
the delay until it automatically loads the default choice (which you can
pick). I set a time of 5 seconds and chose Windows 98 ("Microsoft Windows" as
my default OS).

Now, after rebooting Windows NT Workstation, you can let NT load, OR you can
choose "Microsoft Windows." This sounds a little complicated but is actually
quite simple. If you choose "Microsoft Windows" from the boot menu at startup,
Windows 95 or Windows 98 will start to load normally. You can let it proceed
by not doing anything, OR you can press F8 for the normal Win95/98 boot menu
and make yet another choice there, such as Safe Mode, Command Prompt Only,
Previous Version of MS-DOS (such as 6.22 and Win3.x) etc. Or you can just
press F4 when Win95 or Win98 starts to load and it will take you to MS-DOS
and/or Windows 3.x.

I have found that its okay to use Windows 98's Defrag and Scandisk utilities
on the hard disk as well as NT 4.0's CHKDSK. Try to avoid using MS-DOS and
Windows 3.x based utilities as they don't understand long file names and
other things that are only in 32 bit Windows operating systems. Using Windows
3.x and MS-DOS based utilities can cause problems for Win95/98 and NT 4.

If you can't find drivers for hardware you need to work with any of the
operating systems, visit the manufacturer's website."

WIN98 LOGO BUG!

This is not a tip but a BUG! And you thought Win98 is BUG free?! Think
again... ;-) Courtesy of The Capt'n.

"A minor ("cosmetic") Windows 98 BUG

Right-click on your Desktop -> click New -> select Shortcut. The image
displayed on the left side still says "Windows 95".
Microsoft is aware of this and stated they will not fix it. :("

WIN98 CPU INFO

Many thanks Captain for this cool trick!

"Get More CPU Info from Win98

If you have an Intel Pentium, the General tab on the My Computer screen
probably reports that your computer is a GenuineIntel (one word) Pentium(r)
Processor (or something close to that). For more information, open Regedit and
go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Hardware\Description\System\CentralProcessor\0
Double-click on the "VendorIdentifier" String Value and type a space between
"Genuine" and "Intel" on this line. Now reopen the Properties sheet.
Underneath the Genuine Intel line, you'll see that your CPU is displayed as
coming from the "x86 Family X Model Y Stepping [version] Z", where X, Y + Z
are the correct values for your PC. Close the Properties sheet, reopen that
Registry subkey and the same information will be seen on the Identifier line.
When you restart Windows 98 the default information will be reinstated. :)"

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