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Tips >> Windows 98/SE
SHUTDOWN LOCK-UPS
If you're experiencing
system lock-ups at shutdown, one thing you may want to try is
disabling Windows 98's fast shutdown feature (this feature isn't
compatible with some hardware devices): Select Start,
Run type
msconfig
and click OK; click the
Advanced button, select Disable Fast Shutdown,
click OK twice, and restart your system. According to Microsoft,
another common cause of these shutdown lock-ups is a damaged
Exit Windows sound file. To determine whether or not this file
is causing the problem, disable it.
Inside the Control Panel, double-click
Sounds to open the Sounds Properties dialog box.
In the list under Events, select Exit Windows.
Click the down arrow under Sound, select None, then click
OK. (Alternatively, you could turn your sound scheme off altogether
by selecting No Sounds in the list of Schemes.)
Now try shutting down Windows
98. If the problem is gone, leave the Exit Windows sound disabled,
or use the Sounds dialog box to select a new sound. (A third
option is to try reinstalling the sound that was causing the
problem.
SCANREG TIP
Run from a Windows 98
DOS prompt, SCANREG /FIX and repair your registry
files outside of the Windows operating system. Very effective
and
helpful when your computer will only boot to Safe Mode.
WHERE TO FIND CD-ROM EXTRAS
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.
DISABLING LOGON DIALOG BOX AFTER DISABLING
USER PROFILES
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.
REMOVING USER PROFILES FROM REGISTRY
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.
BRIEFCASE: SETTING IT UP
Do you frequently move files from one system to another--for
example, from your office PC to a home PC or laptop? If you simply
copy the files to a floppy disk and go about your business, you're
not taking advantage of a very useful Windows 95 feature. The
Windows 95 Briefcase will keep multiple copies of the same files
current, so you don't have to spend valuable time trying to figure
out which is the most recent version. In this series of tips,
we'll show you how to create, use, and update a briefcase on
either a desktop or laptop system.
To create a briefcase, right-click
your desktop and select New, Briefcase (If you don't see Briefcase
in the menu, you'll need to install this component. To do so,
open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, click the
Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Briefcase,
click OK twice, and insert your installation disk when asked.)
Select the New Briefcase, press F2 (for Rename), type your name
of choice, and press Enter.
Now just copy into the new briefcase
any files you plan to work on at another location, just as you
would any other folder: Click and drag the file(s) directly over
the briefcase and release the mouse button. The files in the
briefcase, called "sync files," are now linked to the
originals.
In our next tip, we'll show you
how to work on these files at another location without losing
your "links" to the originals. Stay tuned.
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