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will begin to slow considerably when the disk space becomes to full. If
you are short on disk space follow the steps below: Right click the Recycle Bin and choose Properties. By default, the Recycling Bin uses 10% of available space. This can translate into some serious waste of space. Move the slider that controls the maximum size of the Bin to 2%. Go to Start> Find> Files or Folders. Enter the following file names into the "Named" dialog box just as I have them listed. *.tmp, *.gid, *.bak, *.fts Hit Enter on your keyboard. All of these files can be deleted, you don't need them. Empty the Recycle Bin. Trim your browser cache. If you're using Internet Explorer go to Tools> Internet Options then click on the Settings button under Temporary Internet Files. Reduce the amount to 10MB or less. Go to Start> Settings> Control Panel> Add/Remove Programs and get rid of any programs that you're not using. [Top] |
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If your computer came with Windows 98 installed, you may be prompted for a User ID and Password when you start Win98.
This allows separate users to define special desktop configurations. If you are the only user of the system and you don't want to enter a User ID and Password, you can disable the Password Dialog box at Windows startup. 1 - Right-click the Network Neighborhood icon on your desktop and select Properties from the resulting menu. 2 - Click on the Configuration tab and select Windows Login from the Primary Login menu. 3 - Click OK and when prompted to restart your computer, select "NO". 4 - Click Start >Settings >Control Panel and double-click the Passwords icon. 5 - Click the User Profiles tab and select "All users of this computer use the same preferences and desktop. settings." 6- Click the Change Password tab, then the Change Windows Password button. Enter your password into the "Original" password text box but Do NOT enter a new password, click OK to save your settings. Note: If the
"Change Password" tab is not there, you must first log into
Windows at the login prompt. If you cancel or "X" out of the
Login prompt, the "Change Password" tab will not appear. If none of the above works:
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If you would like to view folders side by side, there
is an easy way to do this rather than dragging and dropping the windows
manually. 1 - With the desired windows open, right-click a blank area of the desktop 2 - Choose "Tile Horizontally" or "Tile Vertically" from the resulting menu 3 - Open windows will shrink and line up side by side If you don't like the results, right-click a blank area of the Taskbar, and select "Undo Tile" from the resulting menu. [Top] |
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If you have a Windows key on your
keyboard, you can activate some great shortcuts. Press and hold the Windows key, then press the other key(s) and release to perform the action.
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Map is a Windows accessory that shows you the complete character set of each
font on your system. Use it when you need to type a special character, such
as a copyright or registered trademark symbol, or to generate accented
letters and other characters not available on a standard keyboard. To locate Character Map: 1 - Click the Start button 2 - Move the mouse over Programs 3 - Select Accessories (also look on any sub-menus) 4 - Click on Character Map to run If Character Map is not installed: 1 - Start >Settings >Control Panel >Add/Remove Programs control panel, 2 - Click the Windows Setup tab, highlight Accessories and click Details 3 - Check the Character Map check box and click Apply button. 4 - The application will install or you will need to insert the Win98 CD. To Use Character Map: 1 - Start >Programs >Accessories >Character Map 2 - From the drop-down list select the font you want to see. 3 - Click/hold down the mouse button on a character to see it enlarged 4 - Double-click a character to add it to the Characters To Copy text box. 5 - Click Copy to copy the selected character to the Clipboard. 6 - Switch applications, use its Edit >Paste command to insert the character. There's a quick way to use characters in most Win98 programs. As you click each character, Character Map shows what keys to use to create it. Hold down the ALT key and press 0-1-6-9 on the numeric keypad (not the numbers across the top of your keyboard) and release the ALT key to create the copyright symbol. [Top] |
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Fragmentation occurs when files aren't stored on a drive in
adjoining areas. Windows 98 may need to split files as you work with them and store pieces in different drive sections. This slows your computer's operation, since files must be reassembled before they are displayed again. The same is true of program files; if they're scattered all over the drive, they will load more slowly. Win98's Disk Defragmenter utility contains an option to not only piece together fragmented files, but to arrange program files so that they will launch faster. 1 - Click the "Start" button 2 - Select Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter 3 - Click the "Settings" button 4 - Check the "Rearrange program files so my programs start faster" option 5 - Click OK to start defragmentation NOTE: Defragmentation of large drives may take several hours to complete. [Top] |
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If your monitor seems slow to refresh or exhibits a "choppy" behavior, your graphics card may not be set for maximum acceleration.
You can check the settings by performing the following: 1 - Right-click a blank area of the desktop and choose Properties 2 - Click the Settings tab 3 - Click Advanced Properties 4 - Click the Performance tab 5 - Under Hardware Acceleration, move the slider all the way to the right 6 - Click OK. Changing this setting should speed up your display, but if it leads to problems with your mouse pointer or other display elements, return the slider to its previous position. [Top] |
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This tip helps many systems to run faster, individual
performance may vary. 1 - Click Start >Settings >Control Panel. 2 - Double click the System listing. 3 - Click Performance tab. 4 - Click File System button. Look for Typical role of this computer under Settings and you'll probably find your system is set up as a "Desktop computer." Change the setting to "Network server" and reboot your system. This change dedicates more RAM memory to your disk cache, instead of accessing your hard drive as often. Note: Systems with 32+ MB of RAM will benefit more from this change. [Top] |
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To obtain free updates to programs and find some fixes for that
bug infested software, connect to Microsoft's Windows Update Web page. The Windows Update Wizard will show you what is available. 1. Click Start, then choose Windows Update to go to the Windows Update Web page. 2. Click Update Wizard 3. Click Update 4. Select the Update that you want. 5. Read the description and click Install 6. Follow instructions to complete installation. [Top] |
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Without warning and totally unexpectedly, Windows
icons may become corrupt and a generic icon will take the place of the
original. Windows has supplied a way to repair these corrupted icons. See
below for details: Windows 98 stores the information for your desktop icons in a special file called "ShelliconCache." This means that the operating system keeps all the data for all the icons on the desktop in a single file for faster display than if the system would have to search for all the original icon files. ShelliconCache is a hidden file in the C:\Windows folder. To rebuild your icons, you have to delete your ShelliConCache file. Here's how you repair the damage. Unhiding The ShelliconCache File 1 - Open any Windows Explorer Folder view window 2 - Select "Folder Options" from the View menu 3 - Click the View tab 4 - Expand the File And Folders branch of the display 5 - In the Hidden Files branch, check the "Show All Files" option. 6 - Save your changes. Deleting The ShelliconCache File 1 - Click Start/Shutdown 2 - Choose "Restart In MS-DOS mode" 3 - At the command prompt type; del ShelliconCache and press enter 4 - Restart your computer. At reboot, Windows will rebuild all icon files back to their original state. [Top] |
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If your tired of the way some of your Desktop icons
look, Windows 98 makes changing these possible. 1 - Right click on any blank area of the desktop 2 - Choose properties from the drop down menu 3 - Click the "Effects" tab 4 - Highlight an icon you wish to change and click "Change Icon" 5 - Pick an icon from the ones shown and click "Apply" 6 - OR use "Browse" to find icons in most .EXE, .DLL, or .ICO file types. [Top] |
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Windows 98 includes System File Checker, a program which runs quietly in the background and monitors software installations. If System File Checker detects that a program you are installing is attempting to overwrite a system file with a version older than the existing file, it will not allow the install routine to replace the good file. Your new program will function normally using the correct system file.
Click on Start > Run, type SFC and click OK to access the Windows 98 System File Checker. This utility will let you know if you have corrupt files and tells you how to fix them. [Top] |
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The StartUp folder is especially important to Windows because it contains all of the programs that will automatically run each time you start Windows. If you want a program to run automatically when Windows starts, drag its icon into the StartUp Folder. Windows also lets you decide how a program will open when it starts...minimized as a button on the toolbar, normal size or as a full screen. To set this option, right click the menu item and choose Properties. In the Shortcut panel, look for the Run drop down list and choose Minimized, Maximized, or Normal, then click OK. [Top] |
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Windows 98 allows you to associate a file extension with multiple
applications. Files of a specific extension are usually associated with a single application,
but now, you will have the ability to select which application you want to use to open that particular
file with. Follow the listed instructions: 1 - Double-click My Computer, select Options from the View menu and click on the File Types tab. 2 - Look in the Registered File Types list for the file type that you'd like to open in other applications. For example, you may want to open a file type of .TXT with MS Word, Notepad, or Word Perfect. 3 - Click on Edit, then New. Type something like "Open in [your application]" in the Action field. 4 - Click on the Browse button to find the application. 5 - Select the application's .EXE file and click OK. 6 - Click Close, then Close again. Now when you right click on a file of that extension (.TXT in our example) you'll see a drop down menu that lists all the "Open With" options you established in the steps above. [Top] |
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Hold your mouse arrow over the "My Computer"
icon on your desktop. Right click, choose "Properties", then
select "Device Manager". Check to see if any items have a yellow
exclamation mark (!). If so then highlight that device by clicking on
it and select "Properties", it might explain the error. Sometimes
choosing "Refresh" fixes things. If not, choose "Remove"
and then "Refresh". [Top] |
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Right-click the desktop and click on
"properties", select "Screen Saver" tab and the
"change" button. Leave the two password boxes empty and click
"OK" twice. Click the password protected box and "OK". On some systems this
will not work and a registry change is required. Open the registry editor
by going to "Start", "Run" and type in: regedit
click "OK". Navigate to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Click on "Desktop" to open its contents in the right pane. In the right pane, delete the "ScreenSave_Data" entry. Then right click "ScreenSaveUsePassword", select modify and change the value to 0 (zero). I recommend backing up your registry before playing in there. [Top] |
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To disable the floppy
search: Right-click on your Desktop. Choose "Properties". Click
the "Performance" tab. Click the "file system" button
and select the "Floppy Disk" tab. Lastly, uncheck the "Search
for new floppy..." box. Click "Apply". Now when you reboot,
Windows will bypass the floppy search saving boot time.
NOTE: This will not prevent using an Emergency Recovery Disk. [Top] |
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If Windows came preloaded and has an
existing name. Here is how to change it: NOTE: Always back up your registry before making changes as a safety precaution. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion. Click "CurrentVersion" to open its contents in the right pane. In the right pane, double-click the "RegisteredOrganization" or "RegisteredOwner" (which-ever is fitting) options and type in your name or organization. Exit and restart Windows. [Top] |
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If your Windows
system is continuously acting up, you may need to run the "System File
Checker" to fix what ails it. Go to: Start> Run, type in:
SFC.EXE and click "OK". You can configure it to search for
deleted or missing files, older files, files in certain subdirectories, etc.
Problems can occur from using this utility, so I recommend using it on a
"need to" basis. [Top] |
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Windows has a program
called Dr Watson. This is a System Diagnostic tool used when you're
getting a lot of system errors. It will diagnose problems, intercept
errors from your software, and prescribe a course of action. To run Dr
Watson, go to your Windows System folder and open "drwatson.exe"
program. [Top] |
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Create a shortcut to
Windows help on your desktop. Navigate using Windows explorer. Go to:
C:/Windows/Help In the "Help" folder find a file called
"Windows". Right click the "Windows" file and
choose "create shortcut". This will create a duplicate icon named
"Shortcut to Windows. Now drag and drop this on to your desktop.
You can rename this icon whatever you wish by right clicking the icon,
choose "rename", type in what you want to name it. Click outside
of the icon to set your new name. [Top] |
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You can find out what
your IP (Internet Protocol) Address is, here's how: Got to, Start> Run,
type in: winipcfg Click "OK". You can use this to
create a more direct connection when configuring gaming sites or some online
voice chats. [Top] |
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Right click the Start button and select "Explore"
from the resulting menu. Right click the right pane of the Exploring window and select "New", then "Folder" from the menu. Enter: Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} as the folders name. Press the "Enter" key after naming the folder; it should appear as "Control Panel." Now you can access your Control Panel and all of its contents from the Start Menu. [Top] |
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System freezes occur
for thousands of reasons. Frequently it can be due to a faulty graphics
card. A temporary fix is to disable hardware acceleration for the graphics.
This slows down the computer, but it can buy you some time until you get it
fixed. To disable the acceleration, right click on "My Computer"
at your desktop, then click on "Properties". Once the window
opens, click on the "Performance" tab. Then select the
"Graphics" button to change the acceleration. You can set it to
"None" for more severe problems. Restart your computer to see if
this fixes the problem. If this does not fix it, simply slide the
"Hardware Acceleration" back to the "FULL" position. [Top] |
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Ever notice that you
can't change the name of your Recycle Bin like you can the others on your
desktop? This is because it is a system icon and it is not allowed.
You can, however, change it from the registry. Here's how:
Go to "Start", "Run" type in: regedit click"OK" Navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID. Scroll quite a ways down and find: "645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E". Single click this to show its contents in the right pane. In the right pane, double click "Default". In the resulting text box, change the name from "Recycle Bin" to whatever you wish. Click "OK" and exit the registry editor. NOTE: To see your new name, single click
anywhere on your desktop, then depress the F5 key. To make this change in TweakUI is so much easier: Go to "Control Panel", click on "TweakUI" to launch it. Click on the "Desktop" tab. Double click in the "Recycle Bin" named area, then type in the new name. Click "OK"...Done! [Top] |
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You can enter the BIOS/CMOS many different ways. You can usually enter the BIOS/CMOS by holding down one of the following keys at boot-up: "Delete" or "F1" or "F10" Manufactures BIOS boot options: Acer - Ctrl+Alt+Esc Compaq - F10 Dell - F1 or Del. Gateway 2000 - F1 Hewlett Packard - F1 IBM: For the older models, hold down both mouse buttons to enter CMOS during boot-up. Aptiva - Press F1 NEC - F2 Packard Bell - F1 or F2 Sharp Laptop 9020 - F2 Sony - F3, then F2, or F1 Tandon - Hold down the <Esc> key after turning on power Toshiba Laptops - Toshiba Utility [Top] |
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After you install Windows 98, you may be unable to access your CD-ROM drive. This can occur if you have a dual-channel IDE (Integrated Device Electronics) controller installed in your computer.
Here's how to fix it:
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Open any Explorer window and select "View",
"Options" (or "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 select "Close". The next time you open the "Open With dialog
box", that program will no longer be there. [Top] |
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To add a background to a folder, choose
"View", "Customize This Folder" from the folder's menu. Then select
"Choose A Background Picture" and click "Next". Browse the list of available
backgrounds (click on any one background once to see a preview of it), and when you find one you like, click
"Next" and then "Finish". [Top] |
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If you have no intention of using a Desktop Theme,
then you may be better off just deleting it from your system as these themes
can take up a lot of space on your hard drive. Keep in mind that you can
always recover a deleted theme with your Windows 98 Installation CD. To uninstall specific Desktop Themes, go to
"Start"> "Settings"> "Control Panel" and double-click the
"Desktop Themes" icon. You can preview any theme from the drop-down menu at the top of
the screen. If you see one you'll never use, click the "Delete" button to remove it from your system. [Top] |
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If you're hearing a lot of microphone feedback, your microphone is probably set to route the sound directly to the speakers. There is an easy way to fix the problem. Double-click on the speaker in the Taskbar. Once the window is open, check to see if the recording and microphone volume controls are there. If not, go to
"Options" and open up "Properties" to check the microphone and recording monitors. Close that window and mute the recording and microphone volume controls. This should fix the problem. To make sure your computer is still recording from the
microphone, open up "Sound Recorder" and do a test record. If no sound was detected, go back to volume control and remove mute from the microphone and recording volume controls and bring the volume for them way down. [Top] |
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You can keep the contents of the clipboard on your desktop for later
reference by creating what is called a scrap. Though this name implies something cheap, frayed, and disposable, the scraps you create on your [Top] |
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If you're looking for a file and you're certain it's in a specific
folder, you can always tell Windows to search in that folder by selecting it from the
"Look In" field in the Find dialog box (open Find by pressing Windows key-F). An even quicker way to look for a file in a specific folder is to right-click the folder and select "Find" from the pop-up menu. This launches the Find command with the folder you clicked already loaded into the "Look In" field. [Top] |
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If the computer still is not working properly, restarting the computer will restore most of the icons on the systray. A few of the icons may require that they be re-enabled through the program associated with them. [Top] |
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If you would like to send your deletions to
the recycling bin on the fly and without "are you sure"
prompts to annoy you...here's how to do it:
Open up a Windows Explorer window. In the left pane, scroll to the bottom. Drag the recycle bin to the "Send To" folder under C:Windows. When you get the prompt asking if you want to create a shortcut, choose "Yes". Rename the recycle bin shortcut what you want (I named mine "Quick Can"). Now when you want to delete something, right click it, choose "Send To", and select your recycle bin shortcut. [Top] |
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To make your computer use Dial-up networking to
connect you to the internet every time you boot, go into the dial-up
networking directory in "My Computer." Now click on the file that
you usually use to connect to the internet and drag it to the desktop; it
should appear there WITHOUT asking any questions such as "This file
cannot be placed on the desktop, would you like to create a shortcut
instead?" At this point, you should "cut" the file off of the
desktop and placing it in your startup directory in your start menu. Now
reboot your computer. It should automatically connect you to the internet
without the "enter information" box appearing, forcing you to
click Connect before it continues. If it does come up with the box, do two
things... type in your password in the appropriate box when it appears on
the boot-up and check the box below it that says "Save Password."
Now you must connect to the internet once by clicking on Connect. The call
must go through or else it will not save your password. Now disconnect from
that call once it has completed verifying you. Go into dial-up networking in
My Computer and click ONCE on the icon that you dragged to the desktop
before. Choose "settings" from the toolbar at the top of the
window. Uncheck the box in this window stating "Display information
box." Now reboot and watch it dial! [Top] |
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If you want to keep your internet connection
alive while your away from your computer, simply open up your email program
and (under options) configure it to check for new mail every 2 minutes or
so. This will keep a flow of information going between your email and
your server. [Top] |
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Top Level Start Menu programs are those that are above
the regular programs in your Start Menu. To quickly access a Top Level
Start Menu program, hit Ctrl> Esc on your keyboard followed by the first
letter of the desired program. [Top] |
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If you would like to change the Registered
Owner and/or Registered Organization Information that appears in
"System Properties", follow the instructions below:
Go to Start> Run> type in "regedit" (without the quotes). Click the (+) symbol next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE opening its contents. Next, open SOFTWARE, then MICROSOFT> WINDOWS> CurrentVersion. Click on the "CurrentVersion" folder, this will open its contents in the right pane. Look for "Registered Owner" or "Registered Organization", right click the one that you would like to change. Select "Modify" and on the Value Data line of the resulting dialog box, type the desired information. Click OK, close the Registry Editor saving the changes. Warning: Make sure you back up your Registry prior to making any changes as a precaution. [Top] |
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You can get help from
your hard drive in Windows 98. Open Windows Explorer and locate the
Windows/Help folder. Inside this folder resides a file named "windows.hlp".
If you would like to create a shortcut on your desktop:
[Top] |
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To access your IP
Address from DOS:
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Instead of using
Explorer to get around, you can use the Run dialog located at, Start>
Run. Just enter a program name and hit enter. You can even create an email
by typing "mailto:" (without the quotes). One thing about
"Run" is that it keeps a history of the items you have been
running, making it possible for all to see. If you would like to cover
your tracks, here's how:
TweakUI way: Select Start> Control Panel and double-click the TweakUI icon. Click the Paranoia tab and select the histories you want to delete. Warning: Always back up your registry prior to making changes as a precaution. [Top] |
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If you keep getting disconnected from
your ISP without warning, try adding this initialization string to extend
the hang-up time. Select Start> Settings> Control Panel, click the
Modems icon, then select Properties. Choose the "Connection" tab,
then click the "Advanced" button. In the Extra settings field,
enter S10=50. [Top] |
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The Windows Maintenance Wizard is a Windows
98 utility that performs Defrags, ScanDisk, removes Temporary files and will
delete your browser cache all automatically. To schedule maintenance, select
Start> Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Maintenance Wizard.
Choose Express, then follow the prompts to set the time and frequency. Click
OK. The Task Scheduler icon will appear in the Taskbar's system tray.
The only thing you will need to remember now is to leave your computer
running at the scheduled time, and the system will do the rest.
Note: Once your options are set, you can run the Maintenance Wizard at any time by choosing Start> Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Maintenance Wizard and selecting "Perform Maintenance Now". [Top] |
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Hiding the Taskbar is an easy way to gain a
little extra viewable screen space. Here's how:
Click on the Start button and choose Settings> Taskbar. In the Taskbar Options dialog, check box labeled "Auto hide". Now the Taskbar will minimize itself until you hover the mouse cursor over the spot where it normally resides. [Top] |
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To start your Resource Meter, go to Start>
Programs> Accessories>System Tools> Resource Meter. Or you
can go to Start> Run and type in RSRCMTR. Once invoked, you
will be able to monitor where your system resources are going right from
your taskbar. [Top] |
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To make a
folder open up in a double pane view, while in Explorer, if you click a
folder once, then hold down the Shift key while you double-click it, you
will open the folder with a two-pane Explorer view. [Top] |
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Some-times when you
have removed a program in the Add/Remove Programs feature, it will stay in
there, although its contents are removed, it still remains. If you
would like to get rid of this file name, here's how:
Go to Start> Run, type in regedit and press OK on your keyboard. Follow the string below: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall. At Uninstall, click it once to show its contents in the right pane. This will give you a list of all the programs in your Add/Remove programs list. Click once to highlight any file you want to remove, and select Delete. [Top] |
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