WINDOWS ME TIPS + TRICKS (C) 2000 by CptSiskoX@hotmail.com Foreword: Feel free to submit any WinME tips you may have and would like included here, to CptSiskoX@hotmail.com. Please visit my home page: http://members.fortunecity.com/computingx/ These tips are also available for download from AXCEL216's website: http://members.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm Enjoy. ComputingX Discussion Forums: http://www.delphi.com/computingx/ Xteq Systems - the BEST Freeware, home of Xteq X-Setup, the ultimate Windows tweaking and admin utility: http://www.xteq.com/ Xteq X-Setup Support Forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/xsetup/ Search for drivers here: http://members.fortunecity.com/computingx/drivers.html I do welcome your feedback with comments about these tips & tricks, and of course I do benefit greatly from hearing the specifics about tips and tricks you have found. Please do NOT write me asking for specific drivers or other manufacturers' support materials as I have none. If you need a tip not covered in this file, please try AXCEL216's top-notch site: http://members.aol.com/axcel216/ Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for anything that happens as a result of using any of this information which is provided as-is and has no warranties implied or otherwise. Updates: 10-16-00 Configuring MS-DOS VM Based FILES Variable Having Windows Explorer Open "My Computer" Not "My Documents" Customize The Start Menu And The TaskBar Adjust NUMLOCK Status Restoring Ability To Use MS-DOS Real Mode With Windows ME Configuring MS-DOS VM Based FILES Variable Windows Millennium does not process the CONFIG.SYS file as Windows 95/98 and MS-DOS do, therefore a new setting has been added to Windows ME that allows specification of the "FILES" variable previously available only in CONFIG.SYS on older operating systems. Windows ME runs DOS applications in a DOS VM [Virtual Machine], similar to how Web browsers use a Java VM to run Java applets. The "FILES" setting in CONFIG.SYS is used to determine the file handles in the applications Job File Table. In Windows ME, instead of the FILES variable in CONFIG.SYS, the "PerVMFiles" new setting is instead located in SYSTEM.INI, under the [386Enh] section. By default this value is set to 30 file handles. The maximum a DOS VM [DOS session] can have is limited to 255. Because the number of file handles cannot exceed 255, plus the 30 default handles allocated for each DOS VM, the setting can only be set to a maximum of 225. This is because 225 + 30 = 255. For more information see: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=269030 Having Windows Explorer Open "My Computer" Not "My Documents" Windows Explorer, launched in Windows Millennium, by default will open the "My Documents" folder. Many people prefer the behavior from previous versions of Windows, where Windows Explorer would open and display "My Computer" instead of the new way. To revert to the old way [My Computer by default rather than My Documents as the default], simply edit the shortcut to Windows Explorer, by right clicking on it, and left clicking "Properties" and changing the "Target" box to: "C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e," [adjust the path/drive letter if needed]. The key is to add the "/n,/e," to the end of the shortcut (don't type the quotes). Customize The Start Menu And The TaskBar Windows Millennium includes several new options for configuring and customizing the appearance and behavior of the Taskbar and the Start Menu. Simply click Start, Settings, Taskbar. The General and the Advanced tabs allow a great deal of flexibility in making your Start Menu and your Taskbar behave the way you want them to. You can adjust cascading menus, clear the "Documents" menu, enable or disable personalized Start Menu items [enabled makes it so that Windows hides the items you seldom use, and you click the small down arrow to show those items, should you need them at some point in time. Disabled simply behaves the same way Windows 98's Start Menu items do]. Adjust NUMLOCK Status Windows Millennium no longer supports the "NUMLOCK=OFF" / "NUMLOCK=ON" settings that were previously available in CONFIG.SYS on Windows 95/98 systems. You can work around this by using Notepad or any plain text editor to save a .VBS file (Visual Basic Script) that will change NUMLOCK's status to the opposite of the boot-up/power-on status. If NUMLOCK is on when your computer is powered on, this script file will turn it off, and visa versa. I suggest placing it in your C:\Windows\Command folder and creating a shortcut to it in your Start -> Programs -> Startup group. The VBS file should contain these lines exactly as follows: set shell=createobject("WScript.Shell") if WScript.Version="5.1" then shell.SendKeys "{NUMLOCK}" end if Restoring Ability To Use MS-DOS Real Mode With Windows ME Some MS-DOS based applications, especially games, will not run very well with Windows ME's DOS Virtual Machine (VM) system. Windows Millennium also no longer allows you to boot to a "Command Prompt only", as Windows 95/98 do. However, there are some workarounds you can try, which have been effective on many WinME computers. See: http://www.mvps.org/dts/Faq/win-me_faq.htm and also: http://www.geocities.com/mfd4life_2000/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.