When you pop an audio CD in your CD-ROM drive, the Windows 95 CD Player springs to life and plays the CD by default. However, if you have another player in mind for the job--for example, CD4WIN--feel free to rewrite the rules. In any Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options) and click the File Types tab. Under Registered File Types, select Audio CD, then click the Edit button. Under Actions, select Play, then click Edit. In the Application Used To Perform Action text box, type the path of the program you'd like to use to play audio CDs, followed by a space and then /play. So for example, you might type C:\Program Files\Cd4win\Cd4win.exe /play Click OK, then click Close twice. The next time you insert an audio CD, that old CD Player stays where it belongs--out of the picture!In case you're wondering, CD4WIN is available for download from http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5641,00.html

Can't seem to get in the holiday spirit? There are loads of holiday-related screen savers, desktop themes, clipart, and so on, available for download off the Internet. For example, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under the keyword "Christmas." There must be something there to get you ho-ho-ho-ing! Other sites you may wish to try:
http://www.winfiles.com/apps/98/
http://www.softseek.com/Desktop_Enhancements/
http://www.rad.kumc.edu/win95/themes.htm
(for desktop themes only)

In our last two tips, we pointed you to some Web sites for downloading holiday-related desktop elements such as screen savers, desktop themes, and clipart. For example, you could point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under a keyword such as "Christmas." Without a doubt, you'll download and install some items you don't like--or no longer need. And so, we'd like to offer one quick suggestion: Delete as you go. If you try something you don't like, ditch the *.zip (or *.exe) file it rode in on and any extracted files. Better still, use the uninstall program, if any, that came with the download. If you don't, you'll end up with lots of garbage on your system. And don't kid yourself--you'll never go back and search it out later.

In our last tip, we pointed you to some Web sites for downloading holiday-related desktop elements such as screen savers, desktop themes, and clipart. (For example, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under a keyword such as "Christmas.") Now that you've downloaded what you want, you'll need to know what to do with it. Assuming you end up with a *.zip file (and you will, in most cases), use an unzipping utility to open the resulting ZIP file (or if it's an *.exe file, double-click it to extract its files). Then follow these steps: For wallpaper: Extract or move any *.bmp files to your Windows folder. From now on, you can apply any of the new wallpapers using the Display Properties dialog box: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, select a wallpaper on the Background tab, and click OK. For screen savers: Extract or move the *.scr file(s) inside to your Windows folder. From now on, you can apply the screen saver(s) using the Display Properties dialog box: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Screen Saver tab. Select the screen saver you'd like to use (and adjust the delay, if necessary), then click OK.For startup/shutdown screens: Extract or move the files inside to the appropriate directory: Logo.sys belongs in the root directory; logos.sys and logow.sys belong in the Windows folder. (Tip: Rename the originals first, so you don't overwrite them.) For desktop themes (assuming you have Plus! for Window 95 installed): Extract or move the contents to the Program Files\Plus!\Themes folder. From now on, you can select the theme from the Desktop Themes dialog box: Open the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Control Panel), double-click Desktop Themes, and select the new theme in the Theme list. Assuming you like the preview that appears, click OK to apply it to your desktop. (Note: The above instructions apply to the majority of downloads; however, there will be exceptions. For example, some downloads include a setup program to install the item for you. When in doubt, look for a readme.txt file.)

If you have shortcuts to oft-used applications in your StartUp folder (in the Start menu's Programs folder), then you know that these applications open each time you start Windows 95. But what you may not know is that you can start Windows without these applications on a one-time-only basis (for example, if you want to get right to work on something else without waiting). When you start the boot process, wait until you see the Windows 95 logo on screen, then press and hold the Shift key until Windows finishes loading. Those StartUp apps are nowhere in sight.

We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series. In our last tip, we showed you how to disable user profiles: Restart Windows 95, click Cancel in the logon dialog box, open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, select the User Profiles tab, select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, click OK, and restart Windows 95. The problem is, the logon dialog box still appears every time you start Windows 95. To make it disappear, change the current password to no password. Open the Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icon, and on the Change Passwords tab, click the Change Windows Password button. On the Old Password line, enter your current password. Press Tab to move down to the New Password line, then press Enter. You'll see a dialog box telling you your password has been successfully changed. In the next two tips, we'll discuss removing (as opposed to simply disabling) user profiles from your system.

We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series. To disable user profiles, restart your system and when you see the logon dialog box, click Cancel. Open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, and select the User Profiles tab. Select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, and click OK. Restart Windows 95, and user profiles are officially disabled. (Note: If there's any portion of a user profile you want to keep, such as an address book or a desktop configuration, see the last tip in this series.) In our next tip, we'll show you how to get rid of that annoying logon dialog box.

Do you long for the days when you used a Mac? Reminisce a bit by moving your Taskbar to the top of the screen. Click a blank area of the Taskbar, then drag it up to the top of the screen until a gray, dotted outline appears there. Release the mouse button, and the Taskbar snaps into place. Of course, you can use this same technique to move your Taskbar to any side of the screen, or to move it right back where it started. (While you're at it, you might as well rename your Recycle Bin to Trash and move it to the lower-right corner of the screen! We'll show you how in our next tip...)

We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series: In the first tip in this series, we showed you how to disable user profiles: Restart Windows 95, click Cancel in the logon dialog box, open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, select the User Profiles tab, select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, click OK, and restart Windows 95. Great, user profiles are officially disabled, but all the information stored in each person's user profile is still on the system. To get rid of this information, you'll need to go through two steps, the first of which is editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\ProfileList\(username).To remove an individual profile, go to the left pane and right-click the (username) key that represents the profile you want to remove. Select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. To remove every profile at once, right-click the ProfileList key, select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Close the Registry Editor. In our next tip, we'll show you the other half of removing profiles from your system.

Want to rename your Recycle Bin? Assuming you have the Tweak UI PowerToy, all it takes is a simple F2 operation. (Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can open it using the Tweak UI Control Panel icon.) Open Tweak UI and select the Desktop tab. Right-click Recycle Bin, select Rename, type a new name, and press Enter. Click OK, and you'll see the change on your desktop immediately. A lot easier than that Registry technique, eh?

Do you find that your long filenames get cut off when you're working with Explorer and viewing a folder's contents in Details view (select View, Details)? That's easy enough to fix. Resize the Name column (or any column, for that matter) to fit its widest entry: Hold the mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click.

In our last tip, we mentioned that while viewing the contents of any Explorer window in Details view (select View, Details), you can resize a column to fit its widest entry: Hold the mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click. If you think that's easy, check this out: You can resize every column to fit the widest entry in one fell swoop. With any item selected, hold down the Ctrl key as you press the plus sign (+) on your numeric keypad. (Note: For this trick to work in a two-paned Explorer window, the focus must be on the right pane. Click any item or a blank area inside the right pane, then press Ctrl+.)

In a recent tip, we showed you how to move your Taskbar to another side of the screen: Click on a blank area of the bar, drag it to your side of choice, and it snaps into place. Similarly, you can use the mouse to resize the Taskbar--for example, if you need multiple rows to accommodate many open window items, tray items, and IE 4.x (and beyond) toolbars. Assuming the Taskbar is at the bottom of the screen, hold your mouse pointer over its top edge. When the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag up until the gray, dotted line snaps into place at the desired height of the Taskbar. Release the mouse button, and the Taskbar expands to fill the space. (Note: Follow these same steps to shrink the Taskbar. Just drag the edge back to where you want it.)

Deleted the special properties desktop icon for Internet Explorer and another one who deleted the special properties Microsoft Outlook icon. How do you can get the icons back by reinstalling both programs, don't relish this idea. Is there any other way you can make these icons reappear?" The quickest route is to use the Tweak UI PowerToy. (Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can open it using the Tweak UI Control Panel icon.) Open Tweak UI and click the Desktop tab. Select the special icon(s) you want to restore to the desktop, then click OK. The icons will reappear like magic.

In our last tip, we showed you how to change your window browsing option, so that Windows opens successive folders (when you double-click a folder inside a folder, and so on) in a single window: In any Explorer window, select View, Options; select the Folder tab; choose Browse Folders Using A Single Window That Changes As You Open Each Folder, then click OK. Or, if you have IE 4.x installed, select View, Folder Options; select Custom, Based On Settings You Choose; click the Settings button; select Open Each Folder In The Same Window; and click OK. Whether you've chosen to browse open folders in one window or not, you should know the shortcut that controls this option. Then, you can choose your viewing option on a whim, without going near a dialog box. Hold down Ctrl as you double-click a folder icon (inside a window already opened), and Windows will do the OPPOSITE of what you've asked. For example, if you've selected Open Each Folder In The Same Window, holding down Ctrl will force Windows to open the folder in a separate window, and vice versa.

In our last tip, we told you about Icon Ripper, a freeware program that will sniff out all the icons on your system. In case you missed that tip, Icon Ripper is available for download at http://worldcity.worldcity.nl/~marcoko/delphi/icon.html But wait, there's more. You can use this utility to edit icons, too. Assuming an icon is displayed in the lower-half of the Icon Ripper window, select it, then press F3 on your keyboard (or select Edit, Edit Icon). Use the tools in the resulting IconDraw windows to edit the icon, then click the Save Icon button (the one with the piece of paper, red arrow, and floppy disk on it) and save your changes as an *.ico file in your location of choice.

A shareware program that could identify icons on your system. Do you have this information handy?The program to which you are referring is called Icon Ripper, available for download from http://worldcity.worldcity.nl/~marcoko/delphi/icon.html It's a great time-saver, especially if you frequently dress up your shortcuts with new icons. While identifying and viewing icon files is usually a big pain in the hard drive (right-click a shortcut, select Properties, select the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon, click Browse, select a file, click Open, and so on), Icon Ripper identifies icon files and displays a preview of their contents--all in an Explorer-style window. And it's free.

In a previous tip, we mentioned that you can still use the old Windows 3.x File Manager in Windows 95--select Start, Run, typewinfile and click OK Here are a combination of some things to be pointed out a couple of things to keep in mind if you choose to use this utility.First, File Manager does not recognize long filenames. When you use it to view a file that has a name longer than eight characters, the name will appear truncated (six characters plus a tilde--that little squiggly thing--and then a number, as in "mydocu~1.doc"). And if you use File Manager to copy or move that file, the file will lose its long name altogether (replaced with the truncated name). Second, File Manager does not send deleted files to the Recycle Bin (although it does ask you to confirm your deletion). Therefore, a file deleted using File Manager is gone for good.

You can remove the arrow symbol from shortcuts using the Tweak UIPowerToy. (Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at
http://www.pcworld.com/r/pcw/1%2C2061%2Cpcw-w951208a%2C00.html
and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click tweakui.inf and
select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can open it using the Tweak UI Control Panel icon.)Open Tweak UI and click the Explorer tab. Under Shortcut Overlay, select None, then click OK. (Alternatively, if you'd like to be sure you can tell shortcuts apart from other icons, try the Light Arrow option.)

We frequently receive requests for the steps required to change Windows 95's registered user information--the name and organization that appears in the System Properties dialog box. (You all remember the shortcut to System Properties from a previous tip, right? Hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer.) All it takes is some quick Registry editing. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.)Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft \Windows\CurrentVersion. In the right pane, you'll see RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner in the Name column. Right-click the one you want to change, select Modify, and on the Value Data line of the resulting dialog box, type the correct information. Click OK, repeat these steps for the other value, if desired, and close the Registry Editor.

How about a little Thanksgiving decor, such as a screen saver, to get you in the mood for the big feast? There are plenty available for download off the Internet.Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html
and search under the keyword Thanksgiving. Try the Circles Of Time Thanksgiving Screen Saver on for size. (You'll also find a few desktop themes there for the taking.)

In our last tip, we showed you where to find a few Thanksgiving-related screen savers: Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html
and search under the keyword Thanksgiving. Of course, not every screen saver will float your boat, so you'll need to know how to get rid of the unwanted files. The first place you should look is the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs dialog box. If you see the item in the list of installed programs, select it, click Add/Remove, and click Yes to confirm the deletion. Done deal. If the screen saver does not appear in the Install/Uninstall list (and most won't), look in the Windows/System folder for the corresponding *.scr file and delete it. (Tip-in-a-tip: Switch to Details mode and click the Type column heading, so that all *.scr files appear together.) You can use this same technique to delete any screen saver from your system.

Want to switch your Windows-style MS-DOS Prompt window to the old-fashioned, full-screen view? You have two options: Click the Full Screen button (the one with four arrows on it) or press Alt-Enter on your keyboard. To get back to the window view, press Alt-Enter one more time.

In our last tip, we showed you how to switch your MS-DOS Prompt window to the old-fashioned, full-screen view: Press Alt-Enter or click the Full Screen button (the one with four arrows on it). Don't see any buttons? Either you're already in full-screen mode (press Alt-Enter to return to a window), or you've hidden the toolbar by mistake. To display the toolbar, click the MS-DOS icon in the window's upper-left corner and select Toolbar. (Of course, you can use this same command to hide the toolbar.)

"I have a computer that is never shut down and, for security reasons, needs a password to unlock the keyboard. occasionally, someone will try to get into this computer by rebooting it. Windows then comes up with the Not Shut Down Properly message and wants to run Scandisk. Since the keyboard is locked, no one can press any key to continue, so there it sits. Is there any way to tell Windows 95 not to want to run Scandisk after an improper shutdown, or to have Scandisk run without pressing a key?" "I have discovered the answer to my question. By adding one of the lines below to the hidden, read-only MSDOS.SYS file in C:\, you can change the behavior of Scandisk on Windows boot-up."
AUTOSCAN=0 Shuts off this feature
AUTOSCAN=1 Is the default
AUTOSCAN=2 Does the scan with no prompting

In the recent tip on changing the behavior of ScanDisk at startup, the solution was to add a line to the
MSDOS.SYS file. As MSDOS.SYS is not a text file, how would you edit and add a line to this file?"
Making these edits can be a bit tricky. Inside an Explorer window, locate msdos.sys on the root of your hard drive. Right-click this file, select Properties, deselect Read-only, and click OK. With msdos.sys selected, hold down Shift as you right-click it, then select Open With. In the resulting Open With dialog box, select Notepad and click OK. (Note: you could also launch Notepad and then open msdos.sys
from there.) Inside the Notepad window, under the [Options] section of msdos.sys, type ONE of the following lines, depending on your ScanDisk (at startup) preference:
AUTOSCAN=0 Shuts off this feature
AUTOSCAN=1 Is the default
AUTOSCAN=2 Does the scan with no prompting
Select File, Save to save your changes, then close Notepad. Finally, go back and reattach the Read-only attribute to msdos.sys--right-click it in an Explorer window, select Properties, select Read-only, and click OK.

As you've surely noticed, we frequently discuss the Windows 95 PowerToys--a set of tools that adds a number of new features and settings to Windows 95. And when we do, we tell you how to obtain these tools: Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html
and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop.  Double-click this file to extract its contents, then one at a time, right-click each *.inf file and select Install. Then, we receive at least one or two letters from readers who say that when they attempt to install the PowerToys, they receive a message stating that they need to insert an installation disk (and they want
to know why we didn't mention any disk). Well here's the scoop: The message does mention a disk, but you don't need one. If you see this message, it means that the program can't find the file it needs--most likely because you've moved the extracted PowerToys files to a new location. Click OK, then click the Browse button and select the folder where the extracted PowerToys files are located. Click OK twice, and
the installation will proceed normally.

Need to reorganize your Start menu's Programs list? If you have the Active Desktop (that's part of IE 4 and beyond) installed, all it takes is a simple click and drag--or two, or three.... Display your Programs list--select Start, Programs--right-click an item you'd like to move, then drag it up or down the list to the desired location. Release the mouse button, and all the other programs shove over to make room. (As you're dragging up or down the list, a horizontal black line will show you where you can drop the item; that is, it will indicate whether you're hovering over a legitimate new location for the item. If you don't see the line, don't release the mouse button.) Follow these steps for every item you'd like to relocate.

Tired of the little ditty that plays (or the silence) when you start Windows 95? Then try starting your day with a MIDI file. Just place a shortcut to any *.mid file on your system in the Startup folder, and it'll play every time you start Windows.
First, silence the sound that's currently set to play at startup. Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click Sounds. Inside the Sounds Properties dialog box, under Events, select Start Windows. Select None in the list of sounds under Name, then click OK.
Now make a shortcut to the *.mid file in your Startup folder. Open any Explorer window and locate the *.mid file you want to use--for example, Windows\Media\Canyon.mid. Then open your Startup folder by right-clicking the Start button, selecting Open, double-clicking Programs, and double-clicking Startup. Right-click and drag the *.mid file into the Startup folder, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.
Finally, a Properties adjustment: Right-click the new shortcut, select Properties, and click the Shortcut tab. Edit the Target line to read exactly:
c:\windows\mplayer.exe /play /close c:\windows\canyon.mid
where c:\windows\canyon.mid is the target of your new shortcut, then click OK.
That's all there is to it. The next time you start Windows 95, the *.mid file starts too!

The next time you need to open the System Properties dialog box, don't waste your time opening the Control Panel and double-clicking System (unless you're already in the Control Panel). Assuming you're staring at your desktop, there's a much faster way. Just hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer. Who knew?

Want to listen to an audio CD as you work without any interference from your sound scheme? Don't mute your system sound (click the yellow speaker on your Taskbar and select Mute); if you do, you won't hear anything, not even music. Instead, before playing the CD, use your master volume control to mute only Wave sounds. (A sound scheme is nothing more than a collection of *.wav files.) Right-click the yellow
speaker on your Taskbar and select Open Volume Controls. Select the Mute box under Wave, then click OK. Now you'll hear the music and nothing but the music! (Note: An alternative is to turn off your sound scheme temporarily: Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds, select No Sounds under Schemes, and click OK.)

In our last tip, we offered you two programs that do so on the tray of your Taskbar or in the title bar of the currently active application window, respectively:
TrayDay: http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3277,00.html
TitleTime: http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6430,00.html
Yet another shareware utility, Chameleon Clock, displays the time and/or date anywhere you want (it floats), decorated with any "skin" you want.
http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5629,00.html
Once you've downloaded and installed this utility, right-click the clock and select Clock Options, Show Date. (Optional: To fit it on your Taskbar, right-click the clock, select Preferences, select the
Ampx skin--or any other that's small--and click OK. Now just drag the clock down to the corner of your Taskbar's tray, where it fits nicely over the old one.)

In Win95, can the date be displayed beside the system clock in the tray area?" We've received numerous requests for this tip, and for good reason. It would be nice to view the date at a glance. Windows 95 doesn't let you display the date, but there are a number of shareware programs that do. TrayDay displays an icon with the current date on it (two digits only--you'll need to know the month by heart!) right on the Taskbar. As an added bonus, you can double-click this icon to insert the current date into the currently active document. (Click the icon once to select a format.) To download TrayDay, go to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3277,00.html
TitleTime, another no-frills (and free) program, adds the time and date to the title bar of the currently active application window.
TitleTime is available at  http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6430,00.html

Throughout these tips, we frequently refer to Windows 95 components that need to be installed off the installation CD--things such as the Character Map, Mouse Pointers, ClipBook, and so on. Don't have the CD? Not a problem. Microsoft has made most of these extra components available for download (the ones on the CD, but not on the floppies). Point your Web browser at http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/PNP178.asp
Select the appropriate category, then select a file to start the download process.

The games that come with Windows 95 are not part of a typical installation. Therefore, you need to install them manually. Open the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Control Panel), double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab. In the list of Components, double-click Accessories. Click the check box next to Games, click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. You can now access Solitaire (as well as Hearts, Minesweeper, and FreeCell) by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, Games, Solitaire. Don't see Games under Accessories? More in our next tip....

In our last tip, we showed you how to install the games that come with Windows 95: Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Games,click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. Don't see Games in the list of Accessories? Believe it or not, administrators can remove this component from the Windows Setup tab altogether. Someone doesn't want you wasting time! If you're an administrator and want the technique, check out http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q203/4/92.ASP
Party pooper.

In a recent tip, we showed you how to install the games that come with Windows 95: Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Games, click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. Wondering what other goodies you might be missing out on? For a one-stop list of all components that are (and aren't) installed during the Typical, Custom, or Portable setup of Windows 95, go to http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q123/8/76.asp It's a lot quicker than searching through all those components on the Windows Setup tab. What's more, if you have installation floppies (not a CD), the same page lists all the components you're missing. (Tip: As we mentioned in a previous tip, most of the CD-ROM Extras can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site at http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/PNP178.asp Select a category, then select a file to start the download process.)

In our last tip, we showed you how to change your hard drive's icon: Open Notepad, type exactly[autorun] icon=PATH,# where PATH is the path of the icon file containing the icon you want to use, and # is its number. Save the file as AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive. Want to change the icon back to its default? Don't worry--you don't have to search out the original icon and type its path and number in the Notepad file. Simply delete Autorun.inf from your system, and that icon will return to its normal, boring self. Oh, and one more hard drive icon tip: You can change the icon of more than one drive. Just create a separate Autorun.inf file for each and store it in the root of the corresponding drive.

If you frequently print documents using different printer settings, such as black and white drafts versus color documents, you're probably getting tired of changing these settings each time you print. You can avoid this busywork by tricking Windows into thinking you have two different printers. "Install" the same printer twice, then set the Properties for each to match your most commonly used settings. From then on, the only setting change you'll have to make is selecting the printer you want to use. To "install" your printer again, select Start Settings, Printers and click Add Printer. Follow along with the installation instructions and, when asked, opt to keep the existing driver. Also, be sure to give this "second" printer an appropriate name, such as Color Docs. When the installation is complete, you'll see two different printer icons in the Printers window. To adjust their Properties, one at a time, right-click an icon, select Properties, then make the changes you'd like. The next time you want to print a document, use the native application's Print command, select a printer in the resulting dialog box, and click OK. (Tip-in-a-tip: You may also wish to place shortcuts to these printers on your desktop. Then, you can drag and drop the document you want to print on your printer of choice.)

"How can I save my dial-up networking password in Windows 95? I failed to save it on the original setup, and now the Save Password check box is gray. "The problem you're having is a common one, and is answered in detail in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. (No point rehashing it all here.) Point your Web browser at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q137/3/61.asp
and with any luck, Microsoft's suggestions will solve your problem. Also, for those of you whose Save Password box is available, but simply doesn't work, check out http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q148/9/25.asp

When you double-click a folder on your desktop (or inside another window), by default, that folder opens in a single-paned view. But if you prefer, you can open any folder in a double-paned Explorer view. Just right-click the folder and select Explore. If you've already opened a single-paned window, but would prefer a double-paned Explorer view, right-click the icon in the window's upper-left corner and select Explore.

Do you frequently view open folder windows in Details mode (select View, Details)? Tired of having to enlarge these windows to see all the information you're after--for example, the far-right Modified column? You can size down any column to make more room for the rest. Hold the cursor over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag left. (Everything to the right of the column you're resizing will scoot over, too.) When everything you want to see fits in the window, let go. (Tip-in-a-tip: Just the opposite, if you find a column too narrow, so that you can't read its contents, you can size that column to fit its widest entry. Hold the cursor over the line to the left of that column, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click.)

Want to start your system at the command prompt, without booting all the way to the Windows 95 desktop? Turn your system on and, during the boot process, watch for the Starting Windows 95... message. When you see this message, does one of two things: press F4, or press F8 and then choose Command Prompt Only. Either way, you'll find yourself at a C:\ prompt.

In our last tip, we showed you two ways to go directly to a command prompt at startup: During the boot process, when you see the Starting Windows 95... message, either press F4 or press F8 and then choose Command Prompt Only. Another shortcut for jumping directly to a DOS prompt at startup: When you see the Starting Windows 95... message, press Alt-F5. Take your pick.

Need a quick way to switch from one open window to the next, without having to reach for that pesky mouse? While holding down the Alt key, press the Tab key to make a box of all open windows appear. (Each open window is represented by an icon.) Still holding the Alt key, press Tab continuously until the window you want is highlighted (with a box around it). Let go, and that window jumps immediately to the top of the open window pile.(Tip-in-a-tip: To move backward through "icon row," still holding down Alt, press Shift-Tab repeatedly.)

If you have Internet Explorer 4 or higher installed on your system, then you have the Quick Launch toolbar next to your Start button (unless you've removed it). This bar of icons includes the Show Desktop icon, which, when clicked, minimizes all windows to display your desktop. Great, everyone knows that, right? But what you may not know is that after clicking this icon once to display your desktop, clicking it AGAIN restores all windows to their original position (before clicking the button). Who knew? (Note: If you do anything on the desktop before clicking the icon again--for example, if you open and close a window--you may have to click the icon twice to restore your windows.)

In its infinite wisdom, Microsoft has issued two versions of CTL3D32.dll, an important shared file on 95/98 systems. One version is for 95/98, and the other is for NT. "The problem crops up when a programmer releases software that has the NT version in it. When the user loads the software, it overwrites the current CTL3D32 file and replaces it with the NT version. From then on, many applications (especially TWAIN operations) will not work. HP products, such as scanners, are very vulnerable. "When this hit us at work (a school), it not only rendered our scanner useless but also our digital camera and an HP laser printer. It also provided enough error messages with other apps to keep a techie busy for weeks! "We finally tracked the problem and a solution on the Net. However, it was a frustrating two days while we tried to figure out what the problem was." One preventive measure: Make a backup copy of CTL3D32.DLL so that you can restore it should trouble arise. And for more info, check outhttp://www.annoyances.org/cgi-bin/ce-showtopic/005_007

Does your desktop wallpaper slow down your Windows 95 startup? (If you aren't sure, try removing it and see if that startup moves along a little faster--chances are it will.) If it's a faster startup you're after, but you can't bear to look at a plain-Jane, solid-color desktop all day, there's a happy medium. Try a pattern. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and on the Background tab, select any pattern. Click OK, and a two-color pattern appears all over the desktop. To change the color of the pattern (not black--the other color), just change your desktop's background. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Appearance tab. With Desktop selected under Item, click the down arrow under Color (on the Item line), select a new color, and then click OK. In our next tip, we'll show you how to make your own pattern (or edit an existing one).

Do you find it a nuisance that every time you attempt to delete an item, you have to click Yes to confirm? If you don't need this second safety net ("second" because deleted items only go to the Recycle Bin anyway, where you can restore them, if need be), turn it off. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and select Properties. In the resulting dialog box, deselect Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box, then click OK. The next time you delete an item, it will go directly to the Recycle Bin--no questions asked. (Note: If the option Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin is selected inside the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, the delete confirmation option will be grayed out. Windows thinks you should have at least one safety net.)

When working in Windows 95, there's nothing more frustrating than having to go through more steps than necessary to get to what you need. So we recommend placing shortcuts to the items you use all the time--the Control Panel and your Floppy Drive--right on the desktop. Open My Computer and, one at a time, click and drag the Control Panel and Floppy Drive icons to the desktop, release the mouse button, and click Yes to confirm that you want to create a shortcut. Close the My Computer window. From now on, accessing the Control Panel or your floppy drive is a one-step operation. Just a simple double-click (or click, depending on your Active Desktop settings), and you're there.

Looking over some of the older tips that were saved and found that the links for the files Print Directory and File Split no longer work. Would it be possible to print the new links?" Links do change quite frequently. We've mentioned a number of third-party utilities that print directories and that split files into smaller pieces. Here is a couple of each, with current links:
Print Directory http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,2290,00.html
Directory Printer http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5188,00.html
File Fission Wizard http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,2286,00.html
Master Splitter http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5132,00.html

If you frequently open files of a particular type in an application other than the one with which it's associated, it's time for a change. An association change, that is. Change the application, with which that file type is associated, so that double-clicking the file opens it in your application of choice. For example, suppose you prefer to open *.txt files in Microsoft Word instead of in Notepad. So you typically open Microsoft Word, select File, Open, and so on. Now watch this: Click once on any *.txt file in order to select it, then hold down Shift as you right-click this file. In the menu that appears, select open with. Select the application you'd like to use to open files of this type--in this case, Winword for Microsoft Word--select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File, and click OK. Double-click any *.txt file and it opens in Word automatically (and will from now on)!

The next time you're tooling around a dialog box and don't understand a particular button or option, remember that help is just a click or two away (and no, not clicking Start, selecting Help, and so on). Right-click the button or option, and if you see a gray What's This? Button, click it. (If no button appears, you're on your own--there's no Help topic associated with that option.) Alternatively, click the question mark caption button in the dialog box's upper-right corner, then click the option or button with which you'd like some help.

Do you have your costume all ready for Halloween? If you really want to get in the Halloween spirit, dress your system up, too. There are loads of Halloween-related screen savers, desktop themes, wallpaper, and so on, all over the Web. If you aren't sure where to start, point your browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under the keyword Halloween.

Do you have a Windows key on your keyboard? You may already know that pressing this key displays the Start menu, but did you also know that you can hold it down and press:
E to open Windows Explorer
R to open the Run dialog box
F to open the Find dialog box
F1 to open Help
M to minimize all open windows (Shift-Windows-M to undo minimize all)
Tab to cycle through the Taskbar buttons
Break to open the System Properties dialog box
Handy little button, eh?

In our last tip, we showed you how to shrink any column in Details view (in an open window, select View, Details), to make room for the rest: Hold your mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag left until the column is the right size. Now, let's take this tip to the extreme. Want to remove the column from view altogether? Follow the steps above, but drag the mouse pointer as far left as possible (to the next column or to the left edge of the window). Poof! The column disappears.Gone for good? No such luck. When you want your column back, click just to the right of where you left it, and when a double-pointed arrow with two black lines appears, drag to the right.

Are WordPad's toolbars getting in your way? (For a simple word processor, this thing sure has a lot of commands and buttons taking up valuable workspace.) You can hide or move them at will. To hide a toolbar completely, pull down the View menu and select (or deselect, really) Toolbar, Format Bar, Ruler or Status Bar. (A check mark means the bar is showing on screen.) Repeat these steps to display the bar again. If you want access to your toolbars, but need as much vertical workspace as possible, try changing the Toolbar or the Format Bar into a floating palette. Then, you can position it anywhere you want. Click a blank area around the edge of the Toolbar of the Format Bar, then drag it to any location on screen--even outside the WordPad window. To return the bar to its original location, drag the palette back to the toolbar area, and when the dotted outline changes to a solid line, let go.

Want to hide some of the items in your Start menu from someone else who is using your system? Just mark the top-secret items hidden. As long as your system is set to hide "hidden" files, those items stay out of sight. Right-click the Start button, select Open, and navigate to an item you want to "remove" from your Start menu. Right-click the item, select Properties, and in the resulting Properties dialog box, select Hidden. Click OK, and then repeat these steps for each item you'd like to hide. Restart Windows 95, click Start, and the hidden items are nowhere in sight. (Note: If the items still appear in the Start menu, in any Explorer window, select View, Options, and on the View tab, select Hide Files Of These Types. If you have Internet Explorer 4 or higher installed, select View, Folder Options, and on the View tab, select Do Not Show Hidden Files.)

Wondering why the computer in the office next door is emitting all these wild and crazy sounds, and yours isn't? Chances are that person is using one of Windows 95's sound schemes (or a scheme he or she downloaded form the Internet--but that's another story). The schemes to which we're referring--Jungle, Musica, Robotz, and Utopia--aren't part of Windows 95's default setup, but as long as you have your installation CD handy, installing them is a snap. Open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs and select the Windows Setup tab. Under Components, double-click Multimedia, and you'll see a list of available schemes. Select any or all of the schemes, depending on which you want, click OK twice, then follow the steps to complete the installation (insert your CD and so on). You can now access these schemes from the Control Panel's Sounds Properties dialog box. Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds, and select a scheme in the dropdown list under Schemes. Click OK, and make sure to turn your system's volume up nice and loud!

Have you ever wished your screen saver would kick in on command--for example, when you walk away from your desk? Set up a shortcut to it, and you can quickly invoke your screen saver at any time. Open an Explorer window and locate your favorite screen saver (*.scr) in the Windows\System folder. Now create a shortcut to it: Right-click and drag the *.scr file onto the desktop or Start menu (or anywhere else you want it), release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. Need to step away from your desk? Double-click the shortcut, and the screen saver kicks in immediately.

In our last tip, we showed you how to set up instant access to your favorite screen saver: Open the Windows\System folder, locate the corresponding *.scr file, and place a shortcut to it in your location of choice, such as the desktop. You can now invoke that screen saver by double-clicking the shortcut. Want even faster access to that screen saver, right from your keyboard? Set up hot key access to the shortcut you just created. Right-click the screen saver shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. Click once in the text box next to Shortcut Key to place the cursor there, then type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to invoke your screen saver. Click OK. Now to try it out: From anywhere on your system, press the shortcut key, and there's your screen saver.

If you're a left-handed mouse user, you probably find it difficult reaching all the way over to the left side of the keyboard to reach the commonly used Cut, Copy, and Paste shortcuts--Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-V, respectively. (It's either that or pick your left hand up off the mouse.) But what would you say if we told you there are equivalents on the right side of your keyboard? Many applications support the following CUA (common user access) commands:
Shift-Delete = Cut
Ctrl-Insert = Copy
Shift-Insert = Paste
Alt-Backspace = Undo
(Tip: Just be sure not to use Shift-Delete outside of an application. Remember, it's the Windows 95 command for deleting an item without sending it to the Recycle Bin.)

In our last tip, we listed the keyboard shortcuts for the Windows key. Don't have one? Before you run out and buy a new keyboard, try making your own Windows key by using the Keyboard Remap Kernel Toy. Point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,746,00.html and download krnltoys.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click the Keyremap.inf file and select Install. Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and select the new Remap tab. Under Right-hand Side, select a key to use for your Windows key--such as Right Alt--on the left; and on the right, select Windows. Click OK and the key you specified will now act like a real, live Windows key!

If you need to free up hard disk space, a good place to start is your Recycle Bin. Remember that when you delete items, they aren't actually removed from your system. Rather, deleting items only moves them to the Recycle Bin, another folder on your system. To remove deleted items from your system once and for all (and regain the space they're wasting), empty the Recycle Bin. To empty the Recycle Bin--after checking inside to make sure there's nothing you want back--right-click its desktop icon and select Empty Recycle Bin. Click Yes to confirm, and those deleted items are really deleted. (Tip-in-a-tip: If you see something in the Recycle Bin that you don't want to send off into oblivion, right-click it and select Restore to send it back where it came from.)

Just delete a file, and now you need it back? Good thing Windows 95 comes with a built-in Recycle Bin. As long as you haven't emptied the Recycle Bin since you deleted the file, you can put that file right back where it came from. Switch to the desktop and double-click the Recycle Bin icon. Locate the item you'd like to un-delete, right-click it and select Restore. Whew! (Note: This tip assumes you have the Recycle Bin set to receive deleted items. To be sure, right-click the Recycle Bin icon, select Properties, and make sure Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin is not selected. Also, if you permanently delete a file the first time around, by pressing Shift-Delete and then clicking Yes, the Recycle Bin can't help you.)

In our last tip, we showed you how to restore a deleted item from your Recycle Bin (as long as you haven't emptied the bin since you deleted the file): Open the Recycle Bin, right-click the file you want to un-delete and select Restore. If you catch your mistake immediately, there's another way to un-delete an item. Assuming you haven't performed any mouse operations since the deletion, right-click the location from which you deleted the item (file, shortcut, whatever) and select Undo Delete. In the same way, you can undo a Move, Copy, or Rename. Just right-click the desktop or window in which you performed the operation and select Undo [whatever command you just used]. (Tip: You can also press Ctrl-Z to undo the most recent operation.)

Do you like doodling in Paint? Ever create a picture that you like so much that you want to look at it every time you turn on your system? (Or better yet, did some little tyke you know just create a great work of art?) Then slap it on your desktop as wallpaper. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, and Paint (unless Paint is already open) and open the picture you'd like to use as desktop wallpaper. Save the file, if you haven't already, then select File, Set As Wallpaper (Centered). Close Paint, then check out your desktop. Now that’s homemade wallpaper! From now on, you can choose this wallpaper by name from the Wallpaper list in the Display Properties dialog box.

"Is it possible to minimize a window using keystrokes? If so, how?" We get lots of requests for this one, so here's the technique again: Press Alt-Spacebar to display the context menu of the currently active window. Then press N for Minimize. So for the quick version, press Alt-Spacebar-N.

Last month, we suggested a number of text-highlighting shortcuts for use in most word processors. Here are two more tricks for highlighting an entire document (other than the two we mentioned previously--place the cursor at the very beginning of the document and press Ctrl-Shift-End; or, with your cursor anywhere, press Ctrl- A): *Triple-click in the left margin *Hold down the Ctrl key as you click anywhere in the left margin.

If you've spent a lot of time using Windows 95, you know that double clicking a file of a particular type (with a certain extension) open that files in a particular application. For example, double-clicking a text file opens that file in Notepad. But what you may not know is that you can open a file in any application you want--without first opening that application. Click once on the file you want to open to select it, then hold down the Shift key as you right-click that file. In the resulting menu, you'll see a brand new menu command, Open With. (Now why couldn't Microsoft has placed that command in the regular right-mouse menu?) Select this new command, and up pops the Open With dialog box. Select the application you'd like to use to open the file and click OK. (Tip-in-a-tip: Make sure the option Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File is NOT selected before clicking OK. Otherwise, you'll change that file association permanently. Just the opposite, if you would like to change an association--for example, you'd like to open all *.txt files with WordPad--follow the steps above, selecting WordPad in the Open With dialog box; but before clicking OK, select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File.)

"My Print Screen key on my keyboard doesn't seem to get any response at all. Any suggestions?" Pressing the Print Screen key sends the current screen to the Clipboard (not to the printer, as one would expect). To print the contents of the Clipboard, you'll need to use a separate application, such as Paint. Open Paint--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint--select Edit, Paste, and if you see a message stating that the image is larger than the current bitmap, click Yes to confirm that you'd like it to enlarge the bitmap. The image on the Clipboard now appears on screen. From there, you can use Paint's Print command to print the screen. (Tip-in-a-tip: If you're printing an entire screen, switch to Landscape mode first--select File, Page Setup, select Landscape, and click OK--so the image will fit on a standard letter-size page.) (Another tip-in-a-tip: Hold down Alt as you press Print Screen to send only the currently active window to the Clipboard.)

Want a printout of all your system settings--a handy resource for troubleshooting hardware problems? Ask the Device Manager to make one for you. Hold down the Alt key as you double-click My Computer. In the resulting System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab. Click the Print button, select the type of report you'd like to print, then click OK.

Need to print a file--fast? There are two ways to do this without manually opening the application in which it was created.The easiest route is to right-click a document icon and select Print. Windows 95 opens the file's native application and prints the file. If you prefer, you can place a printer shortcut on your desktop. (Open My Computer, double-click the Printers folder, right-click and drag your printer icon to the desktop, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.) To print a document, simply drag and drop its icon on the printer icon. (Again, Windows will open the file's native application for you.)

Do you frequently use the Run command to open files or applications (select Start, Run, type a command, and press Enter)? Whatever you do, don't waste time typing the same command over and over. Once you've typed a command on the Open line, it appears in the Run command list. Select Start, Run, and click the down arrow at the right edge of the Open text box. Select any item in this list and press Enter (or click OK). A lot faster than all that extra typing, wouldn't you say?

In our last tip, we showed you how to call up a previously typed command from the Run command list: Select Start, Run, click the down arrow (at the right edge of the Open text box), select an item in this list, and click OK. Is your Run list getting really long, making it hard to find the command you're after? To avoid all that unnecessary scrolling and eyestrain, try this shortcut, After selecting Start, Run, type the first letter(s) of the command you want to use. If a command other than the one you wants to use appears--oftentimes, multiple items in the list start with the same letter(s)--use the up or down cursor key to rotate through the entries. When the command you want to use appears, press Enter. (Tip-in-a-tip: Even if your Run list is short, you can use a variation of this technique. After selecting Start, Run, use the up or down cursor key to rotate through existing entries.)

Want to view a file without taking the time to open the application in which it was created? Try Quick View, an applet that allows you to view the contents of a file in seconds. (Note: The file type must be supported by Quick View.) First, make sure Quick View is installed on your system. Right-click any *.txt or *.doc file and make sure you see a Quick View command in the resulting menu. If not, with the Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab and, in the list of components, double-click Accessories. Select Quick View and click OK twice. Ready to try it out? Right-click the file you want to preview and select Quick View. (If you don't see a Quick View command, that file type isn't supported.) Instantly, Quick View opens with a quick (albeit rough) preview of the file. Click the icon just below the File menu to open that file in its native application. (Tip-in-a-tip: You can preview one file after another in the same Quick View window. Drag a file icon into the open Quick View window, and its contents will replace those of the previous file.)

Do you have a word processor on your system? Of course you do (at a minimum, you have Notepad and WordPad)! And if you're like every other word processing individual we know, you frequently need to highlight text. Before you start all that cumbersome clicking and dragging try these shortcuts on for size:

In our last tip, we showed you three text-highlighting shortcuts for use in any word processor: To highlight a word, double-click it; to highlight a line, click once to its left (in the left margin); and to highlight a paragraph, double-click to its left (again, in the margin). Now let's look at some bigger selections. To highlight a large area of text, click once at the beginning of the text, hold down Shift, and then click at the end of the text; or, while holding down Shift, use the cursor keys to expand the selection. To highlight an entire document, place the cursor at the very beginning of the document and press Ctrl-Shift-End; or, with your cursor anywhere, press Ctrl-A

Would you let your car go more than 3,000 miles without an oil change? Of course not. And just the same, you shouldn't let your system go too long--say, a month or more--without maintenance. On a regular basis, use ScanDisk to check your hard disk for errors (and fix them, in most cases), and use Disk Defragmenter to reunite the data that's scattered all over your system. Together, these routines can help ensure that your system is running clean and strong. To run ScanDisk, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and ScanDisk. Select the drive you want to scan, then choose Standard or Thorough. (Standard checks the files and folders on your hard disk. Thorough does that AND checks the drive itself for damaged or unusable areas.) Assuming you aren't an expert at fixing drive errors, make sure Automatically Fix Errors is selected, then click OK. When ScanDisk finishes (it can take quite a while--especially the Thorough check), you'll see a dialog box detailing the results. In our next tip, we'll discuss the second part of the maintenance routine, Disk Defragmenter. (You should run ScanDisk before you run Disk Defragmenter, because you can't defragment a disk with errors on it.)

In our last tip, we mentioned that you should run ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter on a regular basis in order to keep your system in tip-top shape. We also showed you how to run ScanDisk (which you should run first, before   defragmenting): Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, ScanDisk; select a drive; choose Standard or Thorough; make sure Automatically Fix Errors is selected; then click OK. Now for the second part of the maintenance routine--Disk Defragmenter. Before you begin, disable your screen saver: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Screen Saver tab, select (None) under Screen Saver, then click OK. To start the defragmenting process, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to defragment, click OK, and then click Start. (Often, you'll see a message telling you that only a certain percentage of your disk is defragmented. It's up to you to decide whether you want to proceed.) When the Defragmenter finishes--and just to warn you, it takes a while--restart Windows 95.

"In recent Win95 tips, you covered the dropdown menu for the Run command. My question is, is there any way to delete some of the lines from the list? There are many that I am sure I will not use again." You can delete lines from this list by editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in the Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/ RunMRU. In the right pane, you'll see all the items that currently appear in your Run list. To delete an item, right-click its letter (under Name), select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Repeat these steps for every item you want to delete, making sure not to delete the items named MRUList and (Default). When you've finished, close the Registry Editor; then select Start, Run, and check out the new, shorter command list.

In our last tip, we showed you how to use a pattern on your desktop (a good choice if fancy wallpaper is slowing down your startup, but you still want a snazzy desktop): Right-click the desktop, select Properties, select any pattern (on the Background tab), and click OK. Do you have your own idea for a pattern? Or do you like one of the patterns, but wish it were a bit different? Time for a little pattern editing. Right-click the desktop and select Properties. On the Background tab of the Display Properties dialog box, with None selected under Wallpaper, select the pattern you want to change (or  select a pattern that's close to the one you want to create). Click the Edit Pattern button to open the Pattern Editor. The rest is just a matter of clicking. Click any square within the enlarged pattern to toggle its color between black and your desktop's background color. When the sample matches the look you have in mind, type a name for the pattern, click Add, then click Done. You can now choose your custom pattern by name from the Pattern list.

Did your system just lock up on you? Before you reboot your system entirely, there's one last hope: Try ending the current task.Oftentimes (but not always), you can close only the program that caused the problem, and get back to work. Assuming you just locked up, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to open the Close Program dialog box. Select the task that caused the problem (most likely, it will say Not Responding in parentheses), and click the End Task button. After a few seconds, a separate End Task dialog box will pop up, explaining that the program is not responding. Click End Task again, and with any luck, Windows will proceed to close just that program.(Note: If pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del does absolutely nothing; or if trying to end a task results in a total lock-up, you're flat outta luck. Time to reboot.)

We can't tell you the number of people who ask if there's a way to apply viewing options, such as Large Icons, to every folder. The answer is yes, but only if you have IE 4.x or beyond installed.
(Sorry--them's the breaks.)
Open any folder window and set your ideal viewing options. For example, you might select View, Large Icons, and then View, Arrange Icons, Auto Arrange. In that same window, select View, Folder Options, and click the View tab. Click Like Current Folder, click Yes to confirm, then click OK. From that point forward, any folder window you open will display the same View options. (Note: Toolbars don't apply.)

In our last tip, we showed you how to change the appearance of the text on your Taskbar (and on the title bars of active windows): Right-click the desktop and select Properties; click the Appearance tab and select Active Title Bar under Item; then use the Font and Size options (in the bottom row of settings) to change the appearance of the text. Another desktop change you may not think to make--but which can make a big improvement--is changing the color of highlighted items. When you right-click something and then scroll down the resulting menu, each command appears highlighted in dark blue (that is, assuming you're using the Windows Standard scheme). The same thing happens when you select icons in a window or an e-mail in your mail program. By changing the color of the Selected Items desktop component, you can change the color of all highlighting.Follow the steps above to access the Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box, then click the down arrow under Item and choose Selected Items. To the right of this option, click the down arrow under Color and click your highlighter color of choice. How about fuchsia? Click Apply or OK.

Despite the number of times we've run a tip on how to make an Explorer shortcut open with its focus on your entire system (the same way it looks when you right-click My Computer and select Explore), you wouldn't believe the number of requests we still get for this technique. So without further ado:Right-click the Explorer shortcut, select the Shortcut tab, and on the Target line, type EXACTLY C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\ (Tip-in-a-tip: To apply this technique to the Explorer shortcut in your Start menu, right-click the Start button, select Open, and double-click Programs. Inside, you'll see a Windows Explorer shortcut. Right-click it, and so on, following the steps above

"I have been trying to change my folder icons and I've had no luck. Is there a way of changing them?" We get so many requests for this tip! Unfortunately, Windows 95 doesn't allow you to change folder icons (unless they're shortcuts), but there's a shareware program that does. Any Folder allows you toassign different icons to each folder. To obtain this program, go to http://www.pcworld.com/r/pcw/1,2061,pcw-wn951112,00.html and download afolderx.zip. Extract the contents of this file to your location of choice, then right-click Folders.inf and select Install. Once AnyFolder is installed, you can change the icon used to represent a folder as follows: Right-click the folder, select Properties, and click the New Icon tab. Select Closed or Open (depending on which one you want to change), click Change Icon, select a new icon, and click OK twice.

Do you find the icons Windows 95 uses for your files utterly plain and boring? You can change the icon used for almost any file type to any icon on your system. Inside an Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options). Click the File Types tab and, under Registered File Types, select the file type for which you'd like to change the icon. Click Edit, then click Change Icon. (Note: If the Change Icon button is grayed out, you can't change the icon for that file type. Sorry.) Select your icon of choice, then click OK (or click Browse, navigate your way to another icon file, such as c:\Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll or c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, click Open, select an icon, and click OK). Click OK two more times, and from now on, Windows will use the icon you've selected to represent every file of that type.

Tired of that boring My Computer icon? Then by all means, change it. If you have Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 installed, all it takes is a few quick clicks. If not, you can make the change by editing the Registry. Plus! Users can right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Plus! tab. Under Desktop Icons, select My Computer, then click the Change Icon button. Select the icon you want to use and click OK (or click Browse, navigate your way to another icon file, such as c:\Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll or c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, click Open, select an icon, and click OK). If you don't have Plus!, you'll need to edit the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry  files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Then navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ DefaultIcon. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the Value Data line, type the path and number of the icon you want to use in the format path, ## For example, if you were using the fourteenth icon in the c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll file, you would type (remembering that the numbering in an icon file starts with zero) c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, 13 Close the Registry Editor, click the desktop, press F5 to refresh, and My Computer has a brand new look!

Want to change the font and size of the text on your Taskbar? All it takes is a quick trip to the Display Properties dialog box. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Click the down arrow  below Item, then scroll up and select Active Title Bar. (Note: As you might guess, this change affects the text of your window title bars, too.) Use the Font and Size options (in the bottom row of settings) to change the appearance of the text, and you'll see the change right on the title bars in the preview area. When you like what you see, click Apply or OK to keep the change.

Want to use some mouse pointers with more personality than those boring arrows? Windows 95 comes with a number of fun options--some are even animated. (Note: If you haven't already, you'll need to install the pointers off the nstallation CD. Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab. In the list of Components, double-click Accessories. Select Mouse Pointers, click OK twice, and insert the installation CD when asked.) To use these pointers, open the Control Panel--select Start, Settings, Control Panel--and double-click Mouse. Click the Pointers tab, and you'll see your current selections. Select the pointer you want to change, click Browse, and a dialog box full of pointers appears. (Tip: To preview an animated pointer, select the corresponding *.ani file and watch the Preview box.) Select your pointer of choice, then click Open. Repeat these steps for each pointer you'd like to change, then click OK.

I remember a while back reading a tip about checking Windows 95 for corrupted files. Could you possibly review this technique?" Insert the Windows 95 installation CD or disk and select Start, Run. Type X:\Setup where X is the drive in which the disk is located, then click OK. Setup will now perform a routine check on your system and start the Setup   Wizard. When you see the Run Setup Again? dialog box, select the first option (Restore Changed Or Corrupted Files), then click Next.

In our last tip, we showed you how to use the Open With dialog box to change a file association: Click once on any file of the type you want to change in order to select the file; hold down Shift as you right-click this file; select Open With; select the application you'd like to use to open files of this type; select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File and click OK. While we're on the subject, many readers have asked how to remove items from the Open With dialog box--for example, programs that have been removed from the system. The answer is to remove the file type from your system altogether. Open any Explorer window and select View, Options (or View, Folder Options). Click the File Types tab and, under Registered File Types, select the type associated with the program you want to remove from the Open With dialog box. Click the Remove button, click Yes to confirm, then click Close. The next time you open the Open With dialog box, that program is nowhere in sight!

Just as you can minimize a window using the keyboard (select Alt-spacebar, then press N for Minimize), there's a similar combination for maximizing a window: Press Alt-spacebar, then press X for Maximize. (Tip: To restore the active window to its less-than-screen-size state, press Alt-spacebar, then press R for Restore.

In our last tip, we showed you how to minimize the currently active window without using the mouse: Press Alt-Spacebar, then press the letter N. You can use a similar technique to close an open window. After pressing Alt-Spacebar, press the letter C for Close. It's even easier than Alt-F4 (another shortcut for closing the currently active window).

In our last tip, we showed you how to change the icon used to represent a file type: In any Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options); click the File Types tab and select a file type; click Edit and then click Change Icon; select a new icon; click OK and then click OK two more times.Worried that you won't remember what file type that icon represents? Assuming you don't have file extensions showing (otherwise, you'd know a file type at a glance!), you can opt to show the extension for just that file type.Follow the steps above to change the icon, but before clicking the last two OKs (while still in the Edit File Type dialog box), select Always Show Extension. Now click OK twice, and regardless of whether you've opted to hide or show extensions, you'll always see the extension for that file type.

In our last tip, we showed you how to expand every branch of a double-paned Explorer window: Select the folder, then press the asterisk key on your numeric keypad. When you're finished, and you'd like all those folders to fall in again, your first instinct might be to click the minus sign next to the top folder. Doing so will seem to collapse the branch, but the next time you click that plus sign, it will appear fully expanded again. To put all those branches back where they belong, permanently, click the minus sign next to the top branch, then press F5.

Want to make an exact copy of a floppy disk--for example, as a backup, or to give to someone else? Windows 95 makes this operation a snap.With a blank, formatted disk close-at-hand, pop the disk you want to copy in your floppy drive. Open My Computer, right-click your floppy drive icon and select Copy Disk. Click Start and wait as Windows reads all the information on the disk. When prompted to do so, insert the destination disk, click OK, and wait again as Windows copies the first disk's information to the second disk. You'll know it's finished when you see a message telling you the operation was a success.

When you select Start, Help, and click the Index tab, you'll find that Windows 95's Help offers a fairly extensive index of topics. But  occasionally, you may be looking for a topic that doesn't appear in the index. In many cases, you simply won't find the topic in Help at all, but sometimes the topic is buried under another name. As a last resort, try searching through Help by keyword, using a feature called Find. Windows can track down all topics that have that word in it. Open Help, as described above, but this time, click the Find tab. Select one of the three setup options (such as Minimized Database), click Next, and wait as Windows sets up the new index. (Don't worry--you'll have to wait only through the setup the first time you use this feature.) When it finishes, just follow the three steps Find gives you and with any luck, you'll find the topic you're looking for.

Do you have an icon on your desktop that speaks for itself? You can remove its label altogether (seemingly) by renaming the icon with non-printing characters. Right-click the icon you want to appear nameless and select Rename. Make sure Num Lock is turned on (above the numeric keypad on your keyboard), then hold down Alt as you type 0160 which just happens to be a non-printing character. Press Enter, and there's your no-name icon! In our next tip, we'll show you a couple more no-name tricks.

Need to create a folder within a folder while working inside a Windows Explorer window? You won't find a Create Directory command, as you did in the old Windows 3.x File Manager (which brings up a good point--if you really miss that command, select Start, Run, type winfile and do your file managing inside File Manager). However, there is an  easy way to create a new folder. In the left pane of your Explorer window, select the folder in which you'd like to create a subfolder. Now right-click a blank area of the right pane and select New, Folder. Type a name and press Enter.

Do you prefer to remain mouseless as much as possible? Here's a keyboard shortcut you may not know about: To move from one tab to the next in a multi-tabbed dialog box, press Ctrl-Tab. (Tip: Hold down Ctrl, press Tab continuously until the tab you want is highlighted, then let go.) Want to cruise tabs in reverse? Try Ctrl-Shift-Tab.

The next time you need to move an item--a folder, file, shortcut, or whatever--don't waste time moving and sizing the originating and destination windows just so. You can move an item from one place to another using a simple cut-and-past operation. Right-click the item(s) you want to move and select Cut. (Note: For multiple items, hold down Ctrl as you click each one, then right-click the selection and select Cut.) Navigate your way to the item's destination, right-click a blank area there--for example, on the white area inside a window--and select Paste.

Is there an item in your Start menu you'd like to get rid of? There are a number of ways to go about it. If you have IE 4.x or beyond installed, deletions are a snap. Click Start, navigate your way to that item, right-click it, and select Delete. If you don't have IE 4.x or later, you have two options. One, right-click the Start button and select Open. Navigate your way to the item you'd like to remove, right-click it, and select Delete. If you prefer dialog boxes to windows, try option two: Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar, select Properties, then click the Start Menu Programs tab. Click the Remove button, locate the Start menu item you want to delete, click Remove, click Close, then click OK.

Have you ever accidentally pressed the Windows key while playing a DOS game and caused your system to freeze up? Disable the Windows key during your DOS session using the Windows Logo Key Control for MS-DOS Programs (one of the Kernel Toys). Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,746,00.html and download krnltoys.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then double-click Diswinky.inf for information on installing and using the program.

Do you frequently work in an MS-DOS Prompt window (select Start, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt, and so on)? Here's a tip, sent in by reader A. Sangha, that will save you some typing: Drag and drop any file or folder into the DOS window, and its path appears at the command prompt.

Are you using the OEM Service Release 2 version of Windows 95 (or any other version of Windows that includes the 3D Text screen saver)?Check out this Easter Egg.Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Screen Saver tab. Under Screen Saver, select 3D Text, then click the Settings button. Type volcano on the Text line and click OK. Watch the preview screen (on the Screen Saver tab) or click Preview, and you'll see the names of famous volcanoes!

In our last tip, we discussed an Easter Egg found in the Windows 95 OSR2 screen saver, 3D Text. What's that? You say you're running an older version of Windows 95, but you want to see the Easter Egg, too? Of course you can! That is, as long as you know someone with the newer version who's willing to share some files. Simply copy the 3D Text.scr file (and, if you want, the files for the other 3D screen savers--3D Flying Objects.scr, 3D Flower Box.scr, 3D Maze.scr, and 3D Pipes.scr) AND two additional files, GLU32.DLL and OPENGL32.DLL, to the Windows\System folder of the older system. Look, Ma--3D!

Did you know you can "right-click" an item without ever lifting your fingers off the keyboard. With that item--folder, file, whatever--selected, hold down the Shift key and press F10. While you're at it, use your keyboard's up and down arrow keys to select the command you want, then press Enter.

Do you need to select a number of contiguous items in a window or on the desktop? If you already have your mouse in hand, try lassoing them in. Click once next to the first item you want to select, then while still holding down the mouse pointer, drag to create a box around all the icons you want to select. Let go, and every icon inside the selected area will appear highlighted. (Note: If you miss an icon, you can always grab it holding down Ctrl as you click it. Just don't forget the Ctrl key, or you'll lose the whole selection.)

Need to get to your favorite Web site--quickly? If you don't have a shortcut or link handy, try this: Select Start, Run, and in the box next to Open, type the URL you want to go to. Click OK, and bada-boom, bada-bing--your browser opens and takes you directly to that site.

In our last tip, we showed you how to jump directly to a Web site using the Run command: Select Start, Run, type the URL you want to go to, and click OK. If you have IE 4.x or beyond installed, you can set up direct Web access right on your Taskbar using the Address toolbar. Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Toolbars, Address. Poof--an Address bar similar to the one you see in your browser window appears right on your Taskbar. (To resize it, hold your mouse pointer over the vertical bar at its left edge, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag in either direction.) Type an address (or the first few letters of it--the rest pops up automatically), press Enter, and off you go.

If you've ever used the Send To list (right-click the desktop, select Send To, and so on) to send items to a floppy disk or other location, then you know how handy this command is. But what you may not know is that this list is customizable. Add your own favorite locations, and you can move files around your system faster than ever.  Suppose you have a folder called My Pictures that you use to store all of your scanned photos. Add a shortcut to this folder to the C:\Windows\SendTo folder, and it will appear in the Send To list. In one Explorer window, locate the My Pictures folder. In another, locate the Windows\SendTo folder. Right-click and drag the My Pictures folder directly over the SendTo folder, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. The next time you want to send a picture to your My Pictures folder, right-click it, select Send To, and choose My Pictures in the resulting list.

In our last tip, we showed you how to add any folder to your Send To list (the list that appears when you right-click any file or folder and select Send To): Just add that folder's shortcut to the C:\Windows\SendTo folder.   But folders aren't the only items the Send To list can handle. Follow these same steps to add an application shortcut to the Send To list and from then on, right-clicking a file, selecting Send To, and choosing the new shortcut opens the file in that application.

Did you just navigate your way through Windows 95 Help to a rather confusing topic? Wish you could paste a note-filled yellow sticky on it, so that it will make more sense the next time you need it? (Let's face it, Help's wording isn't always the most straightforward.) Then do it. You can annotate any Help topic.  Assuming you've already opened the topic to which you'd like to add some notes, right-click a blank area of its window and select Annotate. In the box that appears, type your notes, then click Save The next time you open that topic, just click the little paper clip to read your notes. (To remove a note from a topic, open the note, then click Delete.)

"Somehow, I lost the volume control on my Taskbar. Can you tell me how to recover it?" Microsoft  could have made life simple by placing an option to display this icon (or not) right in the Taskbar Properties dialog box. But they didn't. Instead, you'll need to make your way to the Multimedia Properties dialog box to access this setting. Open the Control Panel, double-click Multimedia, and on the Audio tab of the Multimedia Properties dialog box, select Show volume control on the Taskbar. Click OK, and that little yellow speaker returns to the Taskbar.

On the right side of the Taskbar, there used to be an icon I used for volume control. After having some work done on my computer, the icon disappeared, and I can't figure out how to get it back. Any suggestions?" You'd think you could just right-mouse click the Taskbar, select Properties, and find this setting in the resulting dialog box. No such luck. You'll need to go through the Control Panel to restore the speaker icon. Open the Control Panel, double-click Multimedia, and you'll find yourself on the Audio tab of the resulting dialog box. Select Show Volume Control on the Taskbar, click OK, and that little yellow speaker is back. (Incidentally, to  remove the speaker from the Taskbar, right-mouse click it, select Adjust Audio Properties, and deselect the Show Volume Control option.)

In our last tip, we showed you how to remove the little yellow speaker icon from your Taskbar's tray: Right-click it, select Adjust Audio Properties, deselect Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, and click OK. Want it back? Open your Control Panel and double-click Multimedia. On the Audio tab, select Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, then click OK.

Do you have loads of icons in the tray of your Taskbar (the area on the right, next to the clock, assuming you have the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen)? If you frequently work in silence, you may wish to remove the volume control to regain more Taskbar space. Right-click the little yellow speaker icon and select Adjust Audio Properties. Deselect Show Volume Control on the Taskbar, click OK, and you’ve got one less icon in the tray.

You've turned off your sound scheme and used that little yellow speaker to turn down the volume on your PC--why on earth are you still hearing error beeps from your system? Because Windows 95 provides plenty of options to silence your speakers (i.e., part of a multimedia sound system), but none to keep your system speaker quiet. If it's absolute silence you're after, you'll need to use the Tweak UI Power Toy to turn off that hard-to-reach speaker.Open Tweak UI and click the General tab. Deselect Beep on Errors, click OK, and from now on, your errors will be seen and not heard. (Note: If you don't have Tweak UI, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1,2061,tw-w951110a,00.html
and download Tweakui.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click Tweakui.inf and select install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can access it by double-clicking the new Tweak UI Control Panel item.)

When you click the Start button and navigate through folders, do you find that the menus pop out too slowly or too quickly? There are two ways to adjust the delay before which a menu pops out, or the menu delay--by using the Tweak UI PowerToy or by editing the Registry. Tweak UI is by far the easiest route. (Note: To obtain the Tweak UI and the remaining Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click tweak.inf and select Install.) Assuming you have this utility installed, open the Control Panel and double-click Tweak UI. On the Mouse tab, move the lever under Menu Speed toward Slow or Fast, depending on whether you want to increase or decrease the menu delay. Before clicking OK, test the new setting by right-clicking the Test icon and selecting an item in the pop-out menu. If it feels right, click OK. If not, adjust the setting again until it does. If you don't have Tweak UI, you'll need to edit the Registry to adjust your menu delay. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Then navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Right-click a blank area in the right pane and select New, String Value. Name the new value MenuShowDelay. Right-click the new value and select Modify. In the Edit String dialog box, type the desired delay in milliseconds. For example, 1000 would be one second. (The default is 400.) Click OK, close the Registry Editor, restart Windows 95, and try out your new menus!

In a previous tip, we pointed out that a quick way to switch among open applications is to use Alt-Tab: Hold down Alt as you continuously press Tab to rotate through all open windows, and when the one yo want appears highlighted, let go. Prefer to stick with the Taskbar you know and love (still without having to use the mouse)? Try Alt-Esc instead. Hold down the Alt key as you press Esc continuously. Each  time you press Esc, another Taskbar item appears highlighted and the corresponding window takes its place on top of the open window pile. When the window you had in mind appears, let go. (Note: Even windows that don't appear on the Taskbar, such as the Display Properties dialog box, are included in the rotation.)

If you enable user profiles on a system, it seems that all of the desktop settings are individual with the
exception of certain desktop icons (My Computer, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin, etc). If one user changes these icons, they are changed for ALL users on that computer. Is there a way around this?"
Microsoft confirms that this "sticky icons" phenomenon (which arises when a user selects one of the Plus! desktop themes) is a bug. The problem is, Windows looks in the wrong place for the desktop icon
information. (The instructions for the desktop icons are located in the System.dat file, but with user profiles enabled, the instructions for each user's desktop settings are stored in his or her User.dat
file--a pointless location, since Windows never looks there for the information!) As a work-around, you may wish to try Microsoft's suggestion for setting up a custom scheme in each user's Startup folder. For more details, check out Microsoft's Knowledge Base Article ID #136898 ("Desktop Icons Do Not Change When Different Users Log on") at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q136/8/98.asp

Looking for some fun icons to spice up your shortcuts? In our last tip, we discussed how to track down the icons on your system: Right-mouse-click any folder shortcut, select Properties, click the
Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button. Inside the Change Icon dialog box, you'll see all the icons in Shell32.dll. To view the contents of another icon file, click the Browse button, locate the file and double-click it. Can't find any icons that suit your fancy? Like everything else these days, there are loads of icons available for download off the Internet. For a large collection of icon collections, point your Web
browser to http://www.pcworld.com/software_lib/data/articles/desktop/index.html   and click Icons. For example, try Icoholics Anonymous for a collection of 1500 icons. Click its link, then click the icohlic3.zip file to proceed with the download. Extract the contents of icohlic3.zip, then  extract the contents of Icons.zip to your location of choice (such as a folder named Icons). Now that's a lotta icons!

"How do I rename my Recycle Bin?"  We receive frequent requests for this tip, so we're happy to run it
again. In order to change the name of your Recycle Bin, you'll need to search and replace all instances of 'Recycle Bin' in the Registry with the name of your choice, such as 'Trash, Please'. (Why Microsoft omitted the Rename command from its context menu is still a mystery.) As always, back up your Registry files--User.dat and System.dat--before following these steps. First, open the Registry Editor: select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK. Next, pull down the Edit menu, select Find, type Recycle Bin on the 'Find what' line, and click the Find Next button. When it finds the first instance of "Recycle Bin," the finder will stop with an item highlighted in the right pane. Right-mouse click this item, select Modify, and in the Edit String dialog box, highlight the words "Recycle Bin" (sometimes they'll appear within a long line of words), and replace them with your name of choice. Click OK, press F3, and repeat these steps to replace each occurrence of "Recycle Bin." About 8 or 9 changes later, a dialog box will appear to indicate that the search is complete. Close the Registry Editor, click the desktop once, press F5 (for refresh), and you'll see a trash bin of a different name.

In our last tip, we showed you how to download an index of Microsoft Knowledge Base articles related to Windows 95. (In case you missed this tip, the Knowledge Base is a library of hundreds of technical support documents. To download the index, point your Web browser to  ftp://ftp.microsoft.com  and navigate your way to Peropsys/Win95/KB and download INDEX.TXT.)    A reader,  points out that you can also request a more general index (Windows 95 plus other Microsoft products) via e-mail. address an e-mail to mshelp@microsoft.com, type Index in the subject line, and send it off. Then keep an eye on your in-box for the index. (Microsoft claims to process all e-mail requests "within minutes of receipt." We received our reply in 11 minutes)

Want some real nerd-level information about Windows 95? Check out the Windows 95 Resource Kit, an intensive help file (designed mainly for administrators) that makes the traditional Windows Help look like baby talk.You could go out and purchase the Resource Kit in book form, but why bother when you can get it for free (assuming you have the Windows 95 installation CD)? Pop the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive, open an Explorer window, and navigate your way to D:\Admin\Reskit\helpfile. To get started, double-click win95rk.hlp and wander through topics just as you would in Windows Help. Feeling smarter already? (Tip: To install the Resource Kit on your hard drive, copy win95rk.hlp and win95rk.cnt to your C:\Windows\Help folder, then create a shortcut to the win95rk.hlp file in a convenient location.)

Want quick access to any folder on your system (or on a network drive)? As long as you know the exact location of the folder (and you're a fast typist), you can open any folder directly from the Run dialog box.   Select Start, Run, and in the resulting dialog box, type the path of the folder you want to open. For example, you might type  c:\mydata\personal   to open the Personal folder (on your own system), or  \\Tipworld\Win95 to open the Win95 folder on a networked computer named Tipworld. Regardless of where the folder is located, click OK, and a window appears on-screen, displaying the folder's contents. No shortcuts or tiresome double-clicks necessary!

A reader, asks, "Is there a way to make Start, Run remember what I have typed in previously? It will remember during a current session, but after having the computer off and booting up, Start, Run is empty. I'd like it to remember everything I have typed in."  This question could mean one of two things, so we'll answer them both. If you mean that the box next to Open is wiped clean every time you start Windows, click the down arrow at its right edge, and you'll find a list of all of the commands you've entered there. Select the one you want, and it appears in the Open box. Under ordinary circumstances previous commands will remain in that list despite reboots.However, if you mean that the list referred to above is wiped clean every time you start Windows, our bet is that you have Tweak UI--one of the Windows 95 PowerToys--set to empty this list every time you start Windows. To undo this setting, open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak UI, and click the Paranoia tab. Under Covering Your Tracks, deselect Clear Run History at Logon, then click OK.Tweak UI and all of the other Windows 95 PowerToys are available for download from  http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/powertoys.htm

Ever wish you had quick access to the screen savers on your system? Placing a folder filled with screen saver shortcuts right on the Start menu. Then, whenever you get up from your desk, you can select any one of them at the press of a button. (Tip: If you use your screen savers' password-protection option, this tip is especially useful for quick security--assuming no one knows how to break through it!) First, create a new folder called Screen Savers in your Start menu: Right-mouse click Start; select Open; right-mouse click a blank area in the open Start Menu window; select New, Folder; type a name for the folder; and press Enter. Leave the Start Menu window open.  Next, locate all the screen saver files on your system. Select Start, Find, Files or Folders, and on the Look in line, click the down arrow and select your hard drive(s). Click the Advanced tab and next to 'Oftype', click the down arrow and select Screen Saver. Click Find Now, and Windows will compile a list of all your screen savers. Now just create shortcuts to all the 'found' screen savers in your new Screen Saver folder. If necessary, move and/or resize the Start Menu folder so that your Screen Saver folder is visible on screen alongside the Find window. Then select all the files in the Find window place the focus on this window, then press Ctrl+A). Right-mouse click and drag the selection directly over your Screen Saver folder, let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. And that's it. Close all open windows.Optional: If you want to use password-protection, make sure this option has been set. Right-mouse click the desktop, select Properties, and select the Screen Saver tab. Select any screen saver that uses a password, select the Password checkbox (and click Change to set a new password, if necessary), and click OK.  Ready to try out all this hard work? Select Start, select your new screen saver folder, and take your pick from the pop-out menu. Instant screen saver, at your service.

"How can I search for hidden files and directories?" Unfortunately, Windows 95's Find feature doesn't include attributes as one of its search criteria. However, there is a work-around IF you have Internet Explorer 4.0 installed (or you've upgraded to Windows 98).  In a previous tip, we showed you how to display file attributes in Details View: In any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options; and on the View tab, select Show File Attributes in Details View. Select this option (as well as the Show All Files option in the same dialog box), then open any Explorer window and navigate your way to the folder in which you'd like to search for hidden files and folders (sorry, only one at a time).  Making sure View, Details is selected, sort the contents of the right pane by Attributes, in reverse order (click the heading of the Attributes column twice). The hidden files will appear grouped together at the top of the list (look for an "H" in the Attributes column; it may or may not be mixed with other letters). To view hidden folders, scroll down a bit to the beginning of the folder section.(Files are listed first, then folders.)

"Is it possible to make a Windows 95 hotkey or a macro that will allow you to insert your name and address into any application by pressing a key, such as F7?" The easiest way to set up this shortcut is to use a shareware program, such as Perfect Keyboard 98 Pro. You can download this utility from  http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/frameset/0,1458,2807,00.html
After downloading and opening pkeybp.zip, double-click Setup.exe and proceed with the installation. (Opt to load the application at Startup--shortcuts created using this program are only available if it's running.) In our next tip, setting up the hotkey mentioned above... "Is it possible to make a Windows 95 hotkey or a macro that will allow you to insert your name and address into any application by pressing a key, such as F7?" The easiest way to set up this shortcut is to use a shareware program, such as Perfect Keyboard 98 Pro. You can download this utility from
http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/frameset/0,1458,2807,00.html After downloading and opening pkeybp.zip, double-click Setup.exe and proceed with the installation. (Opt to load the application at Startup--shortcuts created using this program are only available if it's running.) In our next tip, setting up the hotkey mentioned above...

In our last tip, we mentioned that you can insert blocks of text, such as your name and address, into any application at the press of a key using the shareware program Perfect Keyboard 98 Pro. You can download this utility from
http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/frameset/0,1458,2807,00.ht ml  Assuming you've downloaded and installed this utility, let's walk through adding a new shortcut item to the samples.pkd file--the file that appears when you first open the program. (You may as well; there's a good folder structure already set up for you. If you'd prefer to start a file from scratch, select File, New, and so on.) First, set up a new sub-folder under the Basic folder. Right-mouse click the Basic folder and select Add sub-folder. Right-mouse click the folder, select Properties, and type a name for the folder, such as 'Personal Info', under Label. Click OK. Now to actually create the shortcut item. With the new folder selected, select Insert, Item. In the resulting dialog box, in the box under Macro, type the text you want this shortcut to insert. (For example, your name and address.) In the Text shortcut box, type a period immediately followed by the text you'd like to type to insert this information, such as your initials. If you wish, click inside the box under Key shortcut and type the key you'd like to press to insert this information, such as F7. Click OK, minimize the program window, and from now on, as long as Perfect Keyboard 98 Pro is running in the background, pressing the key shortcut key (or typing the text shortcut--beginning with a period and ending with a space) will insert the specified text.

Always looking for new ways to accomplish mouse-driven tasks using the keyboard? A reader,  suggests one for resizing or moving the Taskbar: Press Ctrl-Esc, Esc to place the focus on the Start button, then press Alt-spacebar to display its context menu. To move the Taskbar to another side of the screen, press M, then use your cursor keys to move your mouse pointer toward the desired location. When the dotted line appears along that side (an indication of where the Taskbar will appear), let go, and the Taskbar slides into place. To resize the Taskbar, press S, then use the up or down cursor keys to move the double-pointed arrow up or down. When the dotted line representing the soon-to-be Taskbar looks good, let go, and the Taskbar enlarges to fill in the empty space (or shrinks down to the space within the dotted line, if you're sizing it down).

In the first two tips in this series, we showed you how to send a directory listing to a TXT file or directly to your printer. Exit to a DOS prompt and type one of following commands, respectively:  dir X:\ /S > Y:\anywhere\anyname.txt dir X:\ /S > prn There are three more variations on these commands that you may find useful. They involve the "/V" switch and the "/AD" switch. (Note: The "/S" switch used above searches all folders and subfolders.) To print a DETAILED file structure (for example, including long file names) of the files in the specified directory, but not including subdirectories, type DIR X:\ /V > RN  To add subdirectories and their files to this detailed listing, type DIR X:\ /V/S {path to directory} > PRN  To print a listing of the specified directory and its subdirectories, but NOT the files within them, type DIR /AD/S (path to directory} > PRN (Note: If you prefer, substitute the "PRN" in any of the above commands with the path and name of a TXT file.)

In previous tips, we've mentioned that when you're trying to change a shortcut's icon (right-click the shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click Change Icon), if you click the Browse button to look for more icon files, it's hard to know which files  contain icons. One option is to obtain some shareware to identify these icon files for you, but if you want a solution that doesn't involve a third-party utility, try this technique for identifying .DLL icon files, suggested by reader B. Garrison: "Change the default icon for dll files to "%1". Then, any dll's that contain icons will display them in the Change Icon window."  Open the Registry: select Start, Run, type  regedit and click OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\DefaultIcon. (Note that there's no dot before 'dllfile' - you'll need to scroll down past all the file extensions to find it.) In the right pane, right-mouse click (Default), select Modify, replace the text on the Value data line with %1 (that's 1, as in numero uno, not L as in last) and click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows 95. The next time you're browsing for icon files in the Change Icon dialog box, look at the icon next to each .dll file. If it's different from the default, it has icons inside. (Note: As always, before following these steps, back up your Registry files, System.dat and User.dat. Both are hidden files located in the Windows folder.)

,I've seen a number of Windows 95 systems with animated pointers. Where can I get these and how do I use them?" Windows 95 comes with a number of extra pointers, including some that are animated. To use them, you'll need to install them off the installation CD. Open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, and on the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories. Select Mouse Pointers, click OK twice, and insert the installation CD when asked.To use the newly installed pointers, open the Control Panel again, only this time, double-click Mouse. Select the Pointers tab and you'll see a list of currently selected pointers. Select the pointer you'd like to change (such as Normal Select), click the Browse button, then you'll see a box full of pointers. (*.ani files are animated--select one to see its preview in the Preview box.) When you find the one you want, select it and click Open. Repeat these steps for each pointer you'd like to change, then click Apply or OK to use them. Don't have the installation CD? You can still use these fancy mouse pointers. Stay tuned for our next tip.

When you use an application's Cut or Copy command, the item you've selected--usually text or graphics--is sent to the Windows 95 Clipboard. (You don't see it happen, but that's where it goes.) Once it's there, selecting an application's Paste command inserts the cut or copied item at the cursor. If you'd like to be able to paste the same item again, use the Clipboard to save it as a *.clp file (and be sure to do it before cutting or copying another item, which wipes out the Clipboard's previous contents). From then on, you can open the Clipboard Viewer, open your *.clp file, and paste it into you location of choice.  Select the item you want to copy and press Ctrl-C to send it to the Clipboard. Open the Clipboard Viewer by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, Clipboard Viewer. Select File, Save As, type a name for the *.clp file, and click OK. To paste the *.clp file in the future, open the Clipboard Viewer, select File, Open, select the *.clp file, and click Yes to confirm that you want to clear the clipboard's contents. Now switch over to the destination and paste (press Ctrl-V).

"How can I print the current screen? I press the Print Screen key and nothing happens!"  Actually, pressing the Print Screen key only sends the current screen to the Clipboard. From there, the easiest way to print the image is to copy it into Paint, and use Paint's Print command.   After you've pressed the Print Screen key, open Paint by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories. Select Edit, Paste, and if you see a message stating that the image is larger than the current bit map, click Yes to confirm that you'd like it to enlarge the bit map. The screen you're trying to print now appears inside your Paint window.  Before printing, be sure to switch Paint's Page Setup to Landscape mode, so the entire screen will print on a standard letter-size page. Select File, Page Setup, select Landscape, and click OK. Now select File, Print, and you'll see your screen roll off the printer. (Now why can't Windows manage that all by itself?)

In the past, we ran a couple of tips on recovering hidden windows (where at least its title bar has slipped off the edge of the screen). In case you missed them, one was to click anywhere inside the window; press Alt-spacebar, M (for Move); then use the cursor keys to drag the window back on screen. The other was to resize the Taskbar. In response, W. offers this alternative: Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar and select one of the available Window-rearranging options: Tile Windows Horizontally, Tile Windows Vertically, or Cascade Windows. Every open window falls right into place.

Did you install Windows 95 using floppies? Tired of reading about options that are on the CD, but not your disks (for example, our last tip on mouse pointers)? You'll be happy to know that the features that are on the Windows 95 installation CD (but not the disks) are available for download from Microsoft's Web site. For FREE. Point your Web browser to   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/default.asp   Under Select a Product or Feature, choose Windows 95; and under Select a Category, choose Administrative Tools and Accessories. Click Go, and you'll see a list of all available components. Select the one you want, such as Windows 95 Accessories - Mouse Pointers, and follow the download instructions.

"Where can you look to find out the speed of your microprocessor, besides looking at the information on screen during startup? Windows NT has Administration Tools (Common)/WinNT Diagnostics. What about Windows 95?" The easiest solution is shareware. Try Sisoft Sandra, a diagnostics utility valuable from  http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/frameset/0,1458,4005,00.html Once you've downloaded and installed this program, open it (you'll see a box of icons that makes the Control Panel look small) and double-click System Summary.

Recently, my browser [Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.02] stopped rendering .txt files that I clicked, dragged and dropped into the browser window as .htm/.html files. Finally, I discovered this solution: In a My Computer or Explorer window, pull down the View menu, select Options, and click the File Types tab. Under registered types, select Text Document, then click the Edit button. In the Content Type (MIME) text box, type text/plain then click OK twice. Once I made this change, dragging and dropping .txt files into my browser window displayed them as expected.Even if you aren't having this problem, there's a tip here for you: You can drag and drop any .txt file into an open browser window--IE or Netscape--and view it from there.)

Does your Taskbar appear as a tiny line on one edge of your screen, so that when you move your mouse pointer over it, the line only gets a tiny bit wider? Don't panic. Your Taskbar isn't being sucked into the dark abyss behind your monitor's edge. You've just told it to disappear--twice. Let's assume you like the Taskbar to jump out of the way when you aren't using it, so you've set the auto-hide option (right-click a blank area on the Taskbar, select Properties, select Auto hide, and click OK). Then, in a moment of Taskbar-be-gone passion (or more likely, by mistake), you've also manually clicked and dragged the Taskbar off the screen (hold the mouse pointer over its edge, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag it off screen). Now when you hold the mouse pointer over the Taskbar's edge, Windows 95 attempts to drag the bar back on screen (remember, auto hide is on), BUT it can only get as large as the Taskbar size you've defined (at this point, a tiny line at the edge of the screen).  What's the solution? Hold the mouse pointer over the tiny Taskbar edge, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and haul the Taskbar back up on screen where it belongs.

Do you frequently go online during the wee hours of the night? Would you like to make sure you won't send that deafening dial-up screech through the entire house? Then silence your modem speaker.Open the Control Panel and double-click Modems. Select your modem, click Properties, and move the lever under Speaker volume all the way left to None. Click OK twice, and from now on, regardless of how you (or anyone else) has set the volume on the modem itself, that modem won't make a peep.  (Note: Not all modems support this setting.)

Can't seem to grab hold of that middle caption button--the button in the upper right corner of any open window that toggles the current window between the maximized and partial screen view? It is awfully small. Next time, try the title bar. Believe it or not, that huge area across the top of a window performs the exact same function. Double-click it to expand a partial-screen window to maximum size; double-click it again to reshrink the window.  So the question then becomes, why did Microsoft even bother with that tiny little button? Anyone? 

In previous tips, we've discussed various methods for quick desktop access (assuming you don't have an IE 4.0 Show Desktop icon or the DeskMenu PowerToy). In response, Select Start, Run. Type a period then click OK (or press Enter). And there's the Desktop window! (Note: This technique doesn't provide access to such icons as My Computer, Network Neighborhood, Inbox, Recycle Bin, and the Internet.) 

"Is it possible to print a nice picture from a screen saver--for example, in a greeting card?" Interesting idea. A simple solution is to use the Print Screen command. Assuming the screen saver is running, watch the screen for the exact image you want to use in the card. When you see it, press your keyboard's Print Screen key to send the image to the Clipboard.From there, just use Paint to view, save, and edit the image.Assuming you've just pressed the Print Screen key, open Paint by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories. Select Edit, Paste, and if you see a message stating that the image is larger than the current bitmap, click Yes to confirm that you'd like it to enlarge the bitmap. The screen now appears inside your Paint window. Select File, Save, and so on to save the file in the location of your choice, making sure to choose a format that will work for your project. In our next tip, we'll show you some options for shrinking the screen to a more manageable size.

In the first tip in this series, we described how to save a screen saver as a Paint image (for example, if you want to use the image in a greeting card, With your screen saver running, when you see the exact image you want to use on screen, press your keyboard's Print Screen key. Open Paint, select Edit, Paste, and if necessary, click Yes to enlarge the current bitmap. Save the file with the name and format of your choice. You can use this screen-size image of your screen saver as is, or you can crop it as described in the last tip. But if you want to use the entire screen in smaller form, you need to shrink the Paint image down. (Note: The following technique applies to any image you have in a Paint window, whether from a screen saver or not.) First and foremost, save the file under a new name (so you won't lose the original if you mess up). Next, you'll need to decide how large you'd like the image to be in terms of its size now: 50% of its original size? 20%? (Tip: It may help to select Image, Attributes, and then select Inches to view it at actual size.) Once you decide, select Image,   Stretch/Skew, and under Stretch, type the desired percentage in the box next to Horizontal. Click OK, then repeat these steps to change the Vertical stretch (ideally, using the same percentage). If the end result doesn't look right, you have two choices: Select Edit, Undo (or press Ctrl-Z) twice, or start over.  Save the original under a new name, and so on. (Don't try enlarging the image after shrinking it down, or you'll end up with a mess.) When the image looks right, save your changes. Happy card making! (Note: The program in which you want to use the picture may offer better tools than Paint for cropping, cutting and reducing the image. Check there first before you mess around with Paint's somewhat primitive options.)

Windows-E to open Windows Explorer Windows-F to open Find Windows-M to minimize all open windows (or Shift + Windows + M to undo this command) Windows-R to open the Run window Windows-F1 to open Help Windows-Tab to cycle through the Taskbar buttons Windows-Break to open the System Properties dialog box Note: Some keyboards have a Windows key, and some don't. If yours doesn't, you can create one using the Keyboard Remap Kernel Toy, as you may remember from a previous tip. Point your browser to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/contents/powertoys/w95keybdremap/ default.asp and click the Windows 95 Keyboard Remap link. Once you've downloaded and installed this utility, open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard and select the Remap tab. Under Right-Hand Side, select the key you want to transform--such as Right Alt--in the left-hand box. Then, in the right-hand box, select Windows. Click OK, and your Right Alt key now functions as a Windows key.

"I have the latest version of Windows 95, complete with IE 4 and, hence, a Favorites item on my Start menu. I never use this item (the computer is not even configured to access the Internet), so I'd love to get rid of it." You can remove the Favorites item from your Start menu by editing the Registry. (Note: We recommend backing up your Registry files--User.dat and System.dat, both hidden files in the Windows folder--first.) Open the Registry Editor (select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK) and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer. In the right pane, right-mouse-click a blank area, select New, then select Binary Value. Name the new value NoFavoritesMenu then press Enter on your keyboard. Right-mouse-click the new value,select Modify, and type exactly 01 00 00 00 in the Value data box. (Note: You'll see four zeros there already. Just type the above eight numbers, and the spaces will be inserted automatically.) Click OK and close the Registry Editor. Now restart Windows 95 and check your Start menu for that Favorites item. It's nowhere in sight! (Tip: If at any time, you want to put the Favorites folder back into your Start menu, you have two options: Delete the NoFavoritesMenu value you just created, or change its data to 00 00 00 00.)

Tired of that plain-old arrow mouse pointer? And that hourglass--how totally '80s. The Internet offers loads of downloadable cursors, just waiting to take your mouse to a whole new level of coolness. In today's tip, we'll tell you about some great sites for one-stop cursor shopping. Then, in the next two tips, we'll show you how to install, use (and even un-use) these fun desktop add-ons. You could fire up your favorite search engine, type in "Windows 95 cursors" and so on, but we'll save you some of the work. Point your Web browser at any of these URLs for a large selection of downloadable cursors: http://www2.pcworld.com/fileworld/cat_index_sub/frameset/0,1460,desktop+cursors,00.html    http://www.winfiles.com/apps/98/cursors.html   http://www.softseek.com/Desktop_Enhancements/Cursors/
(This site even provides a visual preview of the cursors you select for download.) Wow! Now that's a lot of cursors. Download some sets that sound interesting, then stay tuned for our next tip, when we'll show you how to attach these tiny images to your mouse.

In our last tip, we suggested some Web sites with large selections of downloadable cursors (to replace those old standbys--the arrow, the hourglass, and so on). In case you missed this tip, the URLs we suggested are: 

http://www2.pcworld.com/fileworld/cat_index_sub/frameset/0,1460,desktop+curs ors,00.html

http://www.winfiles.com/apps/98/cursors.html

http://www.softseek.com/Desktop_Enhancements/Cursors/ 

PRESTO, WINDOW

Need to access the System Properties dialog box--for example, to access the Device Manager? Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, double-click System, and . . . hey, wait a minute. There's a much easier way! From your desktop, hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer. Hel-lo, System   Properties.

AN END TO THE KEYBOARD S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Tired of stretching your hands from one end of the keyboard to the other to reach those oft-used keyboard shortcuts (such as Ctrl-Alt-Delete)? Turn on the StickyKeys Accessibility option, and you can press these same combos with a single finger--one key at a time. To turn on StickyKeys, open the Control Panel and double-click Accessibility Options. On the Keyboard tab, select Use StickyKeys. Click the Settings button next to this option, make sure all the options in the resulting dialog box are selected, then click OK twice. Look in the tray of your Taskbar, and you'll see three black boxes to indicate that the StickyKeys feature is on. Now for the big test: Using one finger, press the Ctrl key, then Alt, then Delete. Hey, it works! (Click Cancel to close the End Task dialog box.) You can turn StickyKeys off at any time by pressing Shift five times. To turn it back on, press Shift five times, then press Enter.

Want to explore the contents of a folder? You could right-click the folder, then drag down the context menu and select Explore. Or you could try this alternative: With the folder selected, hold down the Shift key as you double-click the folder. (Tip: If you don't select the folder first, Shift-double-clicking a folder will open gobs of windows--for example, every single desktop item. Not a fun mistake.)

TOGETHER AT LAST

Do you have some open windows whose contents you'd like to view side by side? Instead of taking the time to manually size and position these windows just so, try one of Windows 95's window-arranging options. Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Tile Horizontally or Tile Vertically. Instantly, all open windows shrink down and line up, side by side (minimized windows not included). If you don't like the result, you can always right-click the Taskbar and select Undo Tile. (Tip: If you select both tiling options, one after the other, selecting Undo Tile will only take you back to the first tiling arrangement.)

POW! RIGHT ON THE DESKTOP

Do you frequently move items to your desktop? Add this common destination to your Send To menu, and from then on, you can accomplish the move using the right-mouse button. To add the desktop to your Send To menu, simply place a shortcut to the Windows\Desktop folder inside the Windows\SendTo folder. Open the Windows folder, right-mouse-click and drag the Desktop folder directly over the SendTo folder, let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. You may also wish to rename the new desktop shortcut, now inside the SendTo folder. From now on, moving an item to the desktop is a simple, right-mouse operation. Just right-mouse-click any file, folder, or shortcut; select Send To; and in the resulting list, select Desktop. No clicking or dragging necessary!

TAB-ULATIN' RHYTHMS

When you're in a dialog box that includes multiple tabs of information, how do you move from one to the next? By clicking the one you want. Of course, anyone knows that. But did you also know that there's a mouse-free way? Press Ctrl-Tab to rotate to the next tab (to the right) in the box. If you prefer the other direction, press Ctrl-Shift-Tab to move back one tab. Who knew?   When you're in a dialog box that includes multiple tabs of information, how do you move from one to the next? By clicking the one you want. Of course, anyone knows that. But did you also know that there's a mouse-free way? Press Ctrl-Tab to rotate to the next tab (to the right) in the box. If you prefer the other direction, press Ctrl-Shift-Tab to move back one tab. Who knew? 

Want a quick way to select a file or folder in an open window--particularly one holding gobs of files? Type the first two or three letters of that file or folder. For example, you might type
L-E-T
to get to a file named Letter. If you do pause, Windows will look at each letter you type separately. So in the example above, you'd end up at the first item starting with L, then the first one starting with E, and so on. Basically, this tip's for fast typists only.

In a previous tip, we suggested the following technique for disabling the log-in dialog box: Humor Windows by entering a user name and password if you haven't already. Then change the current password to no password. Open the Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icon, and on the Change Passwords tab, click the Change Windows Password button. On the Old Password line, enter your current password. Then press Tab to move down to the New Password line and press Enter. You'll see a dialog box telling you that your password has been changed and the Welcome to Windows 95 dialog box won't bother you again.  "I have found that an effective method of removing the log-in screen is to use the Microsoft Tweak UI utility. On the Network tab, you can specify a log-in name and password to enter upon log-in. Tweak UI then apparently modifies the Registry so that Windows runs a log-in "script" upon startup and enters this information automatically. The only disadvantage is that, as Tweak UI warns, "Note: The automatic logon password is not encrypted. Any user with access to Regedit can view or modify it."  Assuming you have Tweak UI installed; if not, you can download it for free from Microsoft's Web site at   http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/powertoys.htm   open the Control Panel and double-click Tweak UI. Click the Network tab and select Log on Automatically At System Startup. Type your User  name and Password, then click OK.

BRIEFCASE BLUNDERS--PART 2 OF 3

In a previous series, we showed you the basics of the Windows 95 Briefcase function. The problem is basic instructions can't address all situations. In this series of tips, we show you three common Briefcase scenarios and how to handle them.Let's suppose you want to rename a file that has sync copies (in a briefcase and on another system). If you do rename the file, then the next time you perform an update operation (right-click the briefcase, select Update All, and so on), Briefcase thinks you've deleted that file. So you'll see a Delete message (called an action) next to the old filename. Yikes! As far as the briefcase is concerned, that newly named file doesn't even exist.The solution? If you rename any copy of a briefcase file, be sure to rename all other sync copies before updating.

BRIEFCASE BLUNDERS--PART 3 OF 3

In a previous series, we showed you the basics of the Windows 95 Briefcase function. The problem is basic instructions can't address all situations. In this series of tips, we show you three common Briefcase scenarios and how to handle them. Let's suppose you mistakenly delete a file from a briefcase. Unfortunately, you can't just right-click the Briefcase, choose Update All, and expect Briefcase to re-create it--at least not without a little help from you. Inside the Update All window, you'll see a Delete message (called an action) next to the sync copy of the file you deleted. Right-click this action and select Create. Click Update, and Briefcase creates a brand new copy of that file to replace the one you deleted. Whew!   (Tip: If the file you deleted was NOT inside a folder on the briefcase, you could also copy the original file into the briefcase, as if you were adding it for the first time.)

A few months ago, we ran a tip on quick desktop access (in case you don't have the DeskMenu Power Toy or IE 4's Show Desktop icon). The technique suggested that you place a shortcut to the desktop folder in your StartUp folder so that this window appears (minimized) on the Taskbar each time you start Windows. In response, a number of readers wrote in with their tips for quick desktop access.There's another way to get to the desktop in a hurry: Minimize all open windows at once. Just right-mouse-click any free space on the Taskbar and select Minimize All Windows. Presto--instant desktop! (To get back to what you were doing, repeat this exercise but select Undo Minimize All.)

Transferring Data from one hard drive to another <upgrading> within windows 95.. You mention xcopy doesn't work? It does, it does! Here's how. Of course properly master and slave the hard drives, then load Windows. Once in windows, disable any screensaver you have, then go to a DOS window, do not re-start in MS-DOS mode...Once there, depending on you hard drive config, type the following, at the root of the old hard...
xcopy *.* d:\ /h/i/c/k/e/r/y
That's it. Once the data has all gone over, then you master the new drive, and whaloa!

Want your old File Manager back? You don't have to switch back to Windows 3.x to access this oldie but goodie. Just click the Start button, select Run, type Winfile and click OK. File management, the old-fashioned way! (Note: This utility is part of Windows 95, so you have it even if you've deleted all your old Windows 3.x files.)

Whereas most Windows 95 sound changes are made from the Sound Properties dialog box, playing a *.mid file is a bit trickier. You'll need to add a shortcut to the file you have in mind to the Startup folder and then adjust its properties.

First, be sure that there isn't already a sound set to play at startup: Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds, select the Start Windows event, select None in the list of sounds under Name, and click OK. Next, in an Explorer window, navigate your way to the *.mid file you have in mind (such as Canyon.mid, which probably resides in your Windows\Media folder). Now open your Startup folder (right-mouse click the Start button, select Open, double-click Programs, then double-click Startup folder) and add a shortcut to the *.mid file: Right-mouse-click and drag the *.mid file into the Startup folder, let go and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.

The last thing you need to do is change the properties of this new shortcut. Right-mouse-click it, select Properties, and click the Shortcut tab. On the target line, type the necessary text so that it
reads exactly:

c:\windows\mplayer.exe /play /close c:\windows\media\canyon.mid

(If necessary, substitute the appropriate drive name for C, the correct path, and file name of the *.mid file you've selected.) Click OK. Now crank up your speakers, restart Windows, and hum along!

For quick access to a screen saver, you'll need to set up a shortcut to it. For example, suppose you want instant access to the Mystery screen saver (part of Microsoft Plus!). In any Explorer window, locate
the Mystery.scr screen saver inside the Windows\System file. Right-mouse-click and drag this item to your location of choice (desktop, Start menu, another folder--wherever), let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. You can now invoke the screen saver at any time by double-clicking this shortcut.

Now if you want REALLY quick access to the screen saver from anywhere on your system, set up a shortcut key to it. (We described this technique a few tips back, but we'll go through it again in case you missed that one). Right-mouse-click the shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. Click once inside the box labeled Shortcut key, then type the letter you'd like
to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to invoke the shortcut (and hence, the screen saver). Click OK, bury yourself inside a window or an application, and press the Shortcut key. How Mystery-ous!

"When I download a screen saver off the Internet, I understand how to unzip the resulting ZIP file, but where do I go from there [to actually use the screen saver]?"

Extract the contents of the ZIP file (or double-click the EXE file), then move the resulting *.scr file(s) to your Windows/System folder. (In some cases, you can accomplish all of this in one step--for example, if you use WinZip, you can extract the files to a specified folder.) Right-mouse-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Screen Saver tab, and you'll find your new screen saver right where it should be--in the Screen Saver list. Select it and click Apply or OK.

(Tip in a tip: For a large collection of downloadable screen savers, point your Web browser to

http://www.pcworld.com/software_lib/data/articles/desktop/index.html   then click Screen Savers.

Want to view the contents of two drives in an Explorer window at the same time? Sorry, no can do. (Although you can do it by using the old File Manager [Windows\Winfile.exe].) However, there is a work-around: You can open each drive's contents in a separate Explorer window.

You call that a tip? Of course not. Here's the tip: If you find yourself viewing these side-by-side Explorer windows frequently, set up shortcuts that provide quick access to each drive's contents. Then you won't have to go through the steps of opening the separate Explorer windows and then navigating your way through each to get to the drive you want. Just configure each shortcut to open with its focus on a particular drive, set up shortcut-key access to it, and from then on, you can pop open these Explorer windows from anywhere on your system with simple keystrokes.

First, create a new Explorer shortcut on your desktop (or in the location of your choice). The easiest way to do this is to right-mouse-click Start, select Open, and double-click Programs; then right-mouse-click and drag the Windows Explorer shortcut from the Programs window to the desktop, let go, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.

Right-mouse-click the new shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. Change the text on the Target line to

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e, X:\

where "X" is the drive you want to view using this shortcut. Click once inside the box labeled Shortcut Key, type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to invoke the shortcut, and click
OK. Finally, change the name of the shortcut to something appropriate, such as Drive D. Repeat these steps for each drive. (You'll save time if you simply copy this shortcut, then change the drive letters and
shortcut keys.)

Ready to view two drives? Minimize all open windows, press the corresponding shortcut keys, right-mouse-click the Taskbar, select Tile Windows Vertically, and there you have the contents of two
drives, side by side. (Note: If your first shortcut key choice doesn't open the window you want, try assigning a new letter to the key combo inside its Properties dialog box.)

Want to know how much hard disk space you could regain if you switched to Windows 98 and converted to the FAT32 file system? (In case you haven't heard the scoop on FAT32, it stores files on your hard disk in smaller clusters than the older FAT16 file system, resulting in less wasted space.) Download the FAT32 utility and find out. Point your Web browser to

http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/info/fat32.htm

and click Download the FAT32 Utility. When the download is complete, extract the contents of Fat32.exe to your location of choice, then double-click the resulting Fat32win.exe file to run the utility. Once
inside, just select a drive and click Scan.

Use Find to locate all Recent folders in your Windows folder. Select Start, Find, Files or Folders and type

recent

in the Named text box. Click the Browse button, navigate your way to the Windows folder--probably C:\Windows--and click OK. With Include Subfolders selected, click the Find Now button, and Windows 95 tracks down the Recent folders of every user on the system. Double-click one to display its contents and start deleting.

(Tip: To clear the entire Documents list of the current user, right-mouse-click a blank area on the Taskbar, select Properties, select the Start Menu Programs tab, click the Clear button, and click OK.)

When naming folders or shortcuts, think twice before you start typing. Remember that by default, when you view the contents of a folder, Windows 95 lists these items in alphabetical order--folders first,
then icons and shortcuts. If you want to be sure that a folder or shortcut tops the list, start it with an "A."

Now let's take this one step further. If you want an item to precede the A's, try the Yellow Pages trick: Start it with "AA" or "AAA."

But wait--there's more. A number at the beginning of the name will top any number of A's. And starting with an underscore, as in "_My Letters" tops 'em all.

You can change the icons that Windows 95 uses to represent My Computer, Inbox, The Internet and the Recycle Bin (full or empty). All it takes is a little Registry editing (to be safe, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat--first). Today, we'll show you how to locate the Registry data that determines the icon used for each  of these desktop items.

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

regedit

and click OK. Next navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID. Now, depending on which icon you're after, select the following key:

For My Computer, select:
{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

For Inbox, select:
{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

For the Recycle Bin icons (full or empty), select:
{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

For The Internet, select:
{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}

Expand the key you just selected (the one with all the numbers and letters in it) and inside, select the DefaultIcon key. You'll see the path of the default icon in the right pane, under Data.

In our next tip, we'll show you how to change the default icon.

In our last tip, we showed you how to find the Registry information that determines which icon is used to represent My Computer, Inbox, The Internet, and the Recycle Bin (full or empty) on your desktop.
Here's a quick review: Open the Registry and navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID; then, depending on the icon you're after, select:

For My Computer:
{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

For Inbox:
{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

For the Recycle Bin icons (full or empty):
{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

For The Internet:
{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}

Expand this key, select the DefaultIcon key, and the path of the default icon appears in the right pane, under Data.

Now let's get to the good part--changing this icon. Under Name in the right column, right-mouse-click (Default) and select Modify. (Note: To change the Recycle Bin icons, right-mouse-click  Empty or Full, depending on the icon you want to change, then select Modify.) On the Value data line, type the path and number of the icon you want to use for that desktop item (see format below). For example, if you were using the tenth icon in the C:\Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll file, you would type:

c:\Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll, 9

(Remember that the numbering in an icon file always starts with 0.) Click OK, repeat these steps for each icon you want to change, and close the Registry Editor. To see your change, click the desktop once
to place the focus there, then press F5 to refresh. It's a whole new  look!

For our final tip in this series, we'll show you how to locate icons on your system.

In our last two tips, we showed you how to change the icons used to represent My Computer, Inbox, The Internet (Internet Explorer, really), and the Recycle Bin (full or empty). Here's a quick review: Open the Registry and navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID; then, depending on the icon you want to change, select:

For My Computer:
{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

For Inbox:
{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

For the Recycle Bin icons (full or empty):
{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

For The Internet:
{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}

Expand this key, and inside, select the DefaultIcon key. In the right  pane, right-mouse-click (Default) and select Modify. (Note: If you're changing the Recycle Bin icons, right-mouse-click Empty or Full,
depending on the icon you want to change, then select Modify.) On the Value data line, type the path and number of the desired icon in the following format:

path, ##

Click OK, close the Registry Editor, click the desktop, and press F5.

Sounds simple enough, right? But as many of you have asked, how do you locate the icon you want to use? And how do you then determine its number (to use in the format above)?

Each of you has different icon files on your system depending on the applications you have installed. However, all Windows 95 users have one icon file in common--Shell32.dll. To view this file's contents
(icons), right-mouse-click any folder shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button. Inside the Change Icon dialog box, you'll see all the icons in Shell32.dll. The
numbering starts at 0 (zero) and moves from left to right. (If you have IE 4.0 installed, the numbering starts in the top-left corner, moves down the first row, then to the top of the second row, and so on.)

To view the contents of another icon file--such as Pifmgr.dll, located in the Windows/System folder--click the Change Icon dialog box's Browse button, navigate your way to the file you have in mind, and double-click it. (Note: If you don't see any DLL files inside the Change Icon dialog box, open any Windows 95 window, select View under Options, and on the View tab, select Show all files.)

Finding other icon files on your system can be a hit-or-miss operation. (The only sure bets are that all EXE files contain their own icon and that a select few DLL files contain icons). Click Browse and start your search. If you select a file with icons in it, they'll appear. If not, you'll get a message saying it doesn't contain any icons. Click the Browse button and try again.

When you click Start, Run and then click the down arrow next to the Open line, you see commands that you have run previously. How do I clear this list?"

You can make this change by editing the Registry. (As always, be sure to back up your Registry files--system.dat and user.dat--first.) To open the Registry Editor, click the Start button, select Run, type regedit and click OK.

Navigate your way to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RunMRU, and in the right pane, you'll see all the items that currently appear in your Run list. To delete an item, right-mouse-click its letter under Name, then select Delete. Click Yes to confirm, and the item disappears. Repeat these same steps for the rest of the items you want to delete (you can select more than one at a time by holding down Ctrl as you click each item), being sure not to delete the items named MRUList and (Default). Close the Registry Editor, restart the computer, check out your Run list, and you'll find that it's clean as a whistle!

How do I delete unwanted screen savers from the list that appears on the Screen Saver tab of the Display Properties dialog box?"

To delete a screen saver from your Screen Saver list (and from your system entirely), you need to do just the opposite: Delete its *.scr file from the Windows/System folder. (Tip: If all you want to do is
remove it from the screen saver list, just move the *.scr file to a location on your system other than the Windows/System folder.)

Want instant access to all the contents of a folder, without having to open that folder? If you have Internet Explorer 4.0 installed, you can turn any folder into a Taskbar toolbar. Simply click and drag a
folder, such as My Computer, to a blank area on the Taskbar. (You'll know it's a "blank" area because the black circle-with-the-line-through-it icon will disappear from your mouse pointer.) Let go, and each item inside the folder now appears as a toolbar item.

Once the folder's contents appear on your Taskbar, you can resize this new toolbar just like any other. Hold the mouse pointer over the vertical line on its left edge, and when the pointer changes to a
double-pointed arrow, click and drag in either direction. To delete the toolbar, right-mouse-click this same vertical line (or any blank area on the Taskbar), select Toolbars, and deselect the folder name
in the pop-out list.

2 tips ago we showed IE 4.0 users how to create a Taskbar toolbar from any folder: Right-mouse-click and drag the folder to a blank area on the toolbar and let go.

If you followed the example we gave in this tip, and created a toolbar from your My Computer folder, you now have a handy list of My Computer icons on your Taskbar. The problem is, the toolbar's so darn long that you have to scroll way over to get to the items that don't fit on the Taskbar. The solution? Cut down on the amount of Taskbar real estate that the toolbar requires by getting rid of all of its text. Right-mouse-click the vertical bar on the left edge of the toolbar and deselect Show Title. Right-mouse click the same bar again, and this time select Show Text (to deselect this option).
You're left with the icons and nothing but the icons--and a much shorter toolbar!

(Tip in a tip: Hold your mouse pointer over any icon on your new toolbar, and a little box pops up with its name--or in some cases, full instructions--inside.)

Right-mouse-click My Computer, select Properties, and on the General tab, you'll see the version
listed under System. The original  version of Windows 95 is 4.00.950; the letter "a" after this number indicates that the original version of Windows 95 was installed and then updated with Service Pack 1 or
OEM Service Release 1; the letter "b" indicates Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2; and a "c" indicates OEM Service Release 2.5.

You can also get the Windows version number by typing   ver

at a DOS prompt. Doing so will return 4.00.950 for the original release of Windows 95, 4.00.1111 (for OSR2), or 4.00.1212 (or higher) for updates to OSR 2, such as OSR 2.1.

"How do I get the items in my Start menu's Programs list to appear in the order I want them to, rather
than alphabetically? The only solution I've found is to put numbers at the beginning of each shortcut name."

Unless you have IE 4.0 installed, adding numbers to each shortcut name is indeed the best solution. For those of you who aren't familiar with the technique, right-mouse-click the Start button, select Open, then double-click the Programs folder. Inside, rename each item with a number at the beginning of its name. For example, select the item you want to appear at the top of the Programs list and Press F2 for Rename. Click once at the beginning of the highlighted shortcut name, type the number "1" and press Enter.

Repeat these steps for each shortcut, numbering them in the order in which you'd like them to appear in the Programs list. From now on, selecting Start, Programs will display these items in the order you
specified.

In our next tip, we'll show you how to reorganize your Programs list if you DO have IE 4.0 installed.

In our last tip, we showed you how to reorganize the list that appears when you select Start, Programs: Open the Programs folder and rename these shortcuts with a number at the beginning of each (in the
sequence in which you'd like them to appear, of course). But if you have IE 4.0 installed, there's a much easier way to reorganize this list. Simply click and drag each item to a new location on the menu.

Select Start, Programs to display the Programs list. Right-mouse-click an item you'd like to relocate, then drag it up or down the list until the horizontal black line appears in the desired location. Let go, and the item slides right into place. Repeat these steps until the list is ordered exactly as you'd like it. (Of course, you can follow these same steps to reorder any submenu within the Start menu.)

HEY, I WANT A 3D SCREEN SAVER, TOO!

I am running the OEM Service Release 2 version of Windows 95 and have a screen saver called 3D Flying Objects. A friend of mine, who is running the original release of Windows 95, claims he doesn't have this screen saver. Is there a way for him to use it? We tried copying the 3D Flying Objects.scr file to his system, but it didn't work

There are a number of screen savers that are unique to the OSR2 version of Windows 95. In order for them to work on a system running a previous version of Windows 95, you'll need to copy the screen saver file (*.scr) AND two additional files--GLU32.DLL and OPENGL32.DLL--to the older system.

Copy the two DLL files above, along with any or all of the following screen saver files to the Windows\System folder of the system not running OSR2:

3D Flying Objects.scr
3D Flower Box.scr
3D Maze.scr
3D Pipes.scr
3D Text.scr

The new screen savers will now join the ranks of the others on your system. (To use one, right-mouse-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Screen Saver tab, select a screen saver in the drop-down Screen Saver list, and click OK.)

If you just got your hands on a PC that was hooked up to a network in a former lifetime, chances are you still see the Enter Network Password dialog box each time you start Windows 95. You can bypass this dialog box by pressing Esc, but a more satisfying solution is to get rid of it altogether.

Right-mouse-click your desktop's Network Neighborhood icon and select Properties. (Alternatively, open the Control Panel and double-click Networks.) On the Configuration tab, under Primary Network Logon, click the down arrow and select Windows Logon. Click OK, wait while Windows builds its information driver base (zzz . . .), then click Yes to restart your computer (or restart at your convenience). That annoying log-in box will never bother you again.

Are you trying to get rid of TWO log-in dialog boxes--one for networks and one for Windows 95? Don't follow the above tip just yet.  See Below!

In our last tip, we told you how to get rid of the Enter Network Password dialog box: Open the Control Panel, double-click Networks, select Windows Logon under Primary Network Logon, and click OK (then restart Windows 95). Trying to get rid of the Windows 95 log-in dialog box, too? Here's how to ditch both dialog boxes at once:

Follow the steps above, but when Windows asks if you want to restart your system, click No. Back at the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, and on the Change Passwords tab, click the Change Windows Password button. Type the Old password, press Tab to move the cursor to the New password field, then press Enter. You'll see a dialog box telling you that the password has been changed successfully. Click OK, click Close, restart Windows 95 at your convenience, and enjoy your log-in-box-free startups!

(Note: To ditch only the Windows 95 log-in dialog box, just follow the second part of this technique: Double-click the Control Panel's Passwords icon and so on.)

Windows 95 comes with a utility called MS-Info that tells you more about your computer than you'll ever want to know. It lists detailed information on all your DLLs, drivers, fonts, memory, hardware and much more. Just
launch the Find utility (Start/Find/Files or Folders) and search for the executable: MSINFO32.EXE

Here's how to set up a convenient routing system for documents in a small workgroup. Each person in the workgroup should do the following: 1) Create a folder on your desktop and label it "IN" 2) right-click on the IN folder and select Properties, then the Sharing tab. Click on the "Shared As" radio button and put your own name in the "Share Name" box, then click OK. 3) After all in the group have completed step two, open the Network
Neighborhood, find all the "IN" folders your co-workers shared, and create shortcuts to each of them in your C:\WINDOWS\SENDTO folder (use the right mouse button to drag and drop them from Network Neighborhood and select "Create shortcut here" from the context menu). Now, whenever you want to send a document to a member of your workgroup, just right-click on it, select Send To, then the name of the person.

The items on your Documents menu (Start/Documents) are really just shortcuts in your C:\WINDOWS\RECENT folder. You can selectively delete items there by opening the folder and deleting the shortcuts you don't want.

If you need a fresh copy of a Win95 file, you'll find it in one of the CAB files. But which one? To find out, open Explorer and select the Win95 folder on the CD-ROM. Now open the Tools menu, select Find\Files or Folders and type *.CAB in the Named box on the Name & Location tab. Now click on the Advanced tab, type the name of the file you want in the Containing Text box and click on the Find Now button.

While surfing the Internet, you'll run in to many sites that require you to enter a username and password in order to access certain information. A good rule is, never use your NT log-on password to sign on to a Web site. In doing so, you take the chance of someone intercepting it and attempting to log into your system using your information. Just use something simple and completely different from your NT password. It's the safe way to surf! 

When installing OSR 2.5 on your computer, you'll find that Internet Explorer 4.0 is included at the end of the setup process without a way to skip it if you don't want to use it. When you come to that point in the install, just press ctrl+alt+del, click on next, then when end task comes up click on it and IE 4.0 will be skipped.  Kurtis Whynaucht

1 - Open up a text editor
2 - Type "@exit" in a new document window (without quotes)
3 - Save the file as "restart.bat" (batch file) in txt format
4 - Go to Windows explorer and right-click on the file that you just saved and choose properties. Click on the program tab, and the "Advance..." button. Check the box that says, "MS-DOS mode", and uncheck the "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" box, click OK.
5 - Next to the "Advance..." button there is a "Change Icon..." button, click on it and choose an icon. Close window.
6 - There will be a shortcut file by the same name as the one you have created earlier, drag the shortcut to the desktop and you're done.

Another way to restart Windows quickly -- Go into the Start Menu and select --> Shut Down --> Restart the Computer. Hold down the Shift key and click OK.

Open the Registry Editor (select Start, Run, type

regedit

and click OK) and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Right-mouse click a blank area in the right pane, select New, then select String Value. Name the new value "MenuShowDelay." Right-mouse click the new value, select Modify, and in the Edit String dialog box, type a number to indicate the delay in milliseconds. (The default is 400, close to half a second.) Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows 95.

Got a small hard drive and want to install a bigger one as the master partition?  The Data transfer is tricky.  XCOPY or XCOPY32 does NOT work with data transferring within Windows95 properly due to the long file names.   In Windows95 in order to do a data transfer properly, follow these instructions.   First, you must properly install your new drive (master/slave).  Fdisk and format the drive as you normally would.  Now, boot into 95 and right click on My Computer, click on Performance, then click on Virtual Memory.  Click on Let me specify my own Virtual Memory settings, then click on Disable Virtual memory(not recommended).  Click on Apply and reboot.  Now, enter explorer and make sure you view all files(hidden and system).  Drag all files from the existing C Drive to the New D Drive.  Wait as the files are moved over.  It is imperative that the MSDOS.SYS file get transferred properly, so watch and overwrite if necessary.  Once all files are transferred, shutdown the system and reconfigure your drives properly(master/slave).  FDISK the drive and set the new drive partition as active.   Boot into 95.  Go back to My Computer/Virtual Memory as listed above, and select let Windows manage my virtual memory.  Click apply and reboot.  All is transferred and your new drive should be working properly.

Remember the "Welcome" menu that came up with a tip every time you booted Win95? Remember unselecting the box that showed the window every time you started Win95? Now you want the box back...but where is it?

Open your Windows directory from Explorer, and run the program WELCOME.EXE (it may show up just with the name WELCOME). You will once again see the welcome screen in full glory. You can even select it to show itself every time you run Win95.

Tired of seeing the startup logo when you boot Win95? Some people like it, others would rather see the logo gone. It's not hard to remove this screen which people have dubbed "an advertisment for a product you already own." Load the MSDOS.SYS file in your root directory into NOTEPAD. Look under the section labled "[Options]". If a line similar to "Logo=1" is there, change it to "Logo=0". Else, add a line underneath "[Options]" that states "Logo=0". This will cause Win95 to bypass showing the logo at startup.

Click on the file you wish to rename just once, and then press F2. You can then start re-typing the filename, or use the cursor keys to modify just a character or two.

This WILL work on the "My Computer" icon, but it will not work on the "Recycling Bin", the "MSN" icon, the "Network Neighborhood" icon,..etc. These require either editing the Registry, or downloading TweakUI from the Powertools at Microsoft's Web Site.

You can have the current time displayed on the taskbar. Right-click the taskbar (in an empty spot), select "Properties," and click on "Show Clock" to "check" it. Click "OK" to close this dialog box. The time can now be seen on the taskbar in digital format. To remove the clock, just follow the same operations but uncheck "Show Clock."

To turn all your BMP images' icons into miniature versions of themselves, run REGEDIT, then drill down to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/Paint.Picture/DefaultIcon. Now, double-click on (Default) in the right pane and change the value of DefaultIcon to %1. Now all your BMP images will be represented in Explorer by icon versions of themselves.

Have you ever clicked Shutdown and remembered something else you wanted to do on the system? Don't want to wait for the PC to power back up and go through self test? You don't have to - when you get the screen that says "It is now safe for you to turn off you computer" just type "win" and hit enter! Want to be in the DOS mode? Type "mode co80" and there you go. A Windows 95 system shutdown closes the registry, and drops you back to a DOS session, but displays a graphics message for you to turn off your computer. Behind the scenes, your PC is really sitting at the familiar C: prompt!

Now that you can have long directory names, and particularly now that you can have directory names with spaces in them, how do you deal with that at the DOS command line? You can enter long file names, even those with spaces in them, by enclosing them in quotes:

dir "Cool Windows Programs"
or cd "cool windows programs"
case is not sensitive
case is not sensitive

Here's how to update the Registry without rebooting Windows - Press Ctr-Alt-Del, select Explorer, and click End Task. When Windows asks if you want to Shut Down, click no, then click End Task at the next prompt. Soon you should see the Start menu and Task Bar reappear as Windows starts the Explorer shell again. Also, to turn off the Auto-Run feature of CDs, go to Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Manager. Click on the plus sign plus sign of your CD-ROM controller, then double-click it's icon to bring up the Properties. Under Settings, turn off the Auto insert notification box and click OK. You will have to SHIFT+RESTART for this to take effect.

Windows 95 comes with a replacement/supplement for the Taskbar. Look in your \windows directory for TASKMAN.EXE This program works a lot like the taskbar except you can select programs just like you would select files in Explorer. Select the programs you want to close, and select Windows | End Task from the menu and Voila! all those programs go away!

To close Windows left open from browsing through "My Computer," you can take the following steps of action:

1. Hold the shift key when you click on the "X" button of the first window you want to close.

2. This will close any and all windows preceding the one you clicked on.

This helps to clean up your cluttered desktop considerably.

It seems as though everyone hates having to do all that clicking to clear the recent documents menu in the start menu. Here's a quick and dirty way to be able to clear them with a double-click:

1. Create a batch file with the line:
   echo y| del \windows\recent\*.*

2. Save the batch file into a convenient directory.

3. Create a shortcut to the batch file on the desktop.

4. Right-click the shortcut and choose properties.

5. Choose the Program tab.

6. Under Run, choose Minimized.

7. Check the Close on Exit box.

8. Click OK.

Now just double click on the shortcut's icon to clear the document menu.

1. From the 'Start' button choose 'Run' and type 'regedit'.

2. Click on the + to 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER'

3. Click on the + to 'Software'

4. Click on the + to 'Microsoft'

5. Click on the + to 'Windows'

6. Click on the + to 'CurrentVersion'

7. Click on the + to 'Explorer'

8. Click on the 'RunMRU'
   *On the right hand side you'll see a list of the names being used by the 'Run' command.

9. Click on the name you want to erase and press the delete key. (Be sure NOT to delete the first or last entries.)

10. Exit the Registry Editor and restart Windows to make your changes take affect.

1. Run regedit.

2. Find one of the above (example: "Inbox"). You may find multiple occurrences.. The one you want will have long strings of numbers and letters in the left pane.

3. Hit tab to go to the left pane

4. Hit "+" to expand the tree

5. Select "ShellFolder"
   There should be two records: default (value not set) and attributes (a clump of four two digit numbers).

6. Select attributes.

7. Hit delete (or from the edit menu).

8. Hit F5 to refresh, and you are done.

You can now remove or move what you would like. This is very helpful on multi-user machines in which you don't want users to have access to browse the hard drive. It also cleans your desktop of programs you don't use often.

Create a new folder on your desktop.. Rename it - call it:

Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Now it should look like a normal Control Panel icon you see in My Computer (not a shortcut). Now right click on the Start button, click on open. Move the new folder we just created to the start menu folder. Close the Start Menu folder. Now when you click on Start, you should see Control Panel on it. Click on it and it will expand to show all the items, fast! You can do the same thing with Printers and Dial-Up Networking - here's the names you need:

Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Dial Up Net.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}

If you're having compatibility trouble with old Windows 3.1 programs try using mkcompat.exe. Start it using the Run command. Just choose a file in the file menu that you want to fix compatibility with and begin selecting options such as:

Lie about Windows version #
Delay comm handshake
Increase Stack Size

If you want Windows 95 to boot up like a regular MS-DOS session, do the following:

1. Edit your msdos.sys file

2. Add the line "BootGUI=0" to the file.

This will bring a regular DOS session up upon reboot.

Tired of hitting "F8" every time you boot to change your settings?

1. If you edit your msdos.sys file

2. In the "Options" section

3. Add the line "BootMenu=1"

This will always present you with a boot menu, removing the need to hit F8 every time.

To remove the Windows 95 logo on startup, you can do the following:

1. Open file msdos.sys in Notepad.

2. Find the [Options] section.

3. Add this line in the Options section: Logo=0

Reboot your machine and there should be no logo on startup.

Windows 95 automatically plays some CDs as soon as you insert them. If you find this annoying, you can disable the AutoPlay feature. Simply open the Control Panel, double-click on the System icon, then click on the Device Manager tab. Locate your drive in the list and bring up its properties page. Click on the Settings tab, uncheck the Auto Insert Notification box and restart your computer. To override the AutoPlay for a single disc, press the Shift key as you insert the CD, holding it down until the CD indicator light goes out.

It's easy to assign a different letter to your CD-ROM drive. Under Windows 95, go to the Control Panel, double-click on the System icon, then click on the Device Manager tab. Locate your drive in the list, bring up its properties, and click on the Settings tab. In the section at the bottom of the dialog box, enter the desired drive letter in the boxes labeled Start Drive Letter and End Drive Letter (for a single CD-ROM drive, these letters will be identical)

First, locate your Explorer shortcut. (For example, if you use the
one in the Start menu's Programs menu, right-mouse click the Start
button, select Open, and double-click Programs.) Right-mouse click
the Windows Explorer shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut
tab, and type the following on the Target line:

C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\

Click OK, and from now on, selecting that shortcut is identical to
right-mouse clicking My Computer and selecting Explore.  Jeff Reng