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 UPGRADES + FIXES: http://members.aol.com/axcel216/web.htm#BRO - 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 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 and/or XP, 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 (WINMGNT) 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://www.windowsupdate.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 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 or 6.x Setup: http://members.tripod.com/erpman1/wintips.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. 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: 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. :) FYI: - How To Hide Shortcut Arrows After Applying Critical Update Q313829: http://www.forrestandassociates.co.uk/pcforrest/shortcut_arrows.html 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]: 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 [+] ... Brought to you courtesy of Chris (cgthompson@mailandnews.com): http://users.bigpond.net.au/thomps/cgmt/ "This tweak works ONLY with Windows 98, ME and 2000. [Thank you Chris (clord@Dtcc.com)!] 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." NOTE: See also the "ShowAttr" topic @ PC Forrest's Registry Hacks: http://www.forrestandassociates.co.uk/pcforrest/reg_hacks.html#showattr 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" 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://www.windowsupdate.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://v4.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". Please send me your feedback at axcel216@aol.com, if using a MTU lower than 576 makes any difference on your computer. 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). NOTES: - See "SUPER DEFRAG" in TIPS95.TXT (included) for more Defrag tips. - Get PowerDefrag Lite (freeware) to optimize your Win9x/ME Defrag tool: http://www.powerdefrag.com/ - Read this comment about an UNDOCUMENTED Windows 98 Defrag limitation (BUG!) with FAT32 partitions larger than 8 GB: http://www.voodooextreme.com/hw/Features/HardwarePimps/#sept2-1 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: "Microsoft SMARTDrive Disk Cache version 5.02 Copyright 1991,1993 Microsoft Corp. 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: "Microsoft SMARTDrive Disk Cache version 5.02 Copyright 1991,1993 Microsoft Corp. 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: "Microsoft SMARTDrive Disk Cache version 5.02 Copyright 1991,1993 Microsoft Corp. 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://www.windowsupdate.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! STRETCH WALLPAPER (My ©trick) 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] 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 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. More Windows 98/98 SE Setup CD-ROM Resource Kit tools details: http://www.forrestandassociates.co.uk/pcforrest/win98rk.html 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. :)"Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.