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WIN 98 tips

Author: DJ(DaniJohn)

Putting text onto your Desktop wallpaper.

If you have important information or reminders that you want to put somewhere where you won't forget them, you can put them in you Desktop wallpaper.

  • To do this click the button.
  • Go to
  • Select
  • Click
  • Now you can type or paste the information that you want to be on your desktop into Paint.
  • Next save the file as a graphics (*.BMP) file.
  • Then you can choose Set As Wallpaper (Centered) in the File menu.

Now you have your information on the desktop. It's a good idea not to use white as a background because it can be hard on your eyes.


Using an HTML document as Desktop wallpaper.

With Windows 98, you can use an HTML document as Desktop wallpaper. To do this:

  • Create the document.
  • Move the document to C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper.
  • Righ-click an empty area on the Desktop.
  • Click Properties.
  • Click the Background tab.
  • Select your HTML document.
  • Click OK to save your settings.

Increasing Desktop space with multiple monitors.

Another new capability included with Windows 98 is the ability to use multiple monitors. This may come in handy when you need extra desktop space. To utilize this feature, all you need is another video card, an open PCI slot and a second monitor.


Reaching your Desktop without minimizing any windows.

You can quickly and easily access the contents of your Desktop by creating a shortcut to C:\Windows\desktop. Every time you open this shortcut, a window with the contents of your Desktop will appear.

ing rid of the Network Neighborhood icon Windows 98.

You may not be on a network and not need the Network Neighborhood icon on your desktop. You can delete this icon easily. Doing this involves editing the registry. We recommend having a backup of the registry before continuing. To make a back up for the registry, see this tip. To get rid of the Network Neighborhood icon do this:

  • Click the button.
  • Click
  • In the Open field type regedit and click OK.
  • Once you are in the Registry Editor, navigate your way to the following folders:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

  • Once you are there, right-click the right side of the screen.
  • Select New and click DWORD Value.
  • Name it "NoNetHood" (without quotes).
  • Now, double click on it and in the Value section type "1" (without quotes).
  • Click OK.
  • Now, exit and restart your computer.

Making all icons on the desktop invisible Windows 98.

You can have all icons on your desktop invisible if you like. Doing this involves editing the registry. We recommend having a backup of the registry before continuing. To make a back up for the registry, see this tip. To make all icons on the desktop invisible do this:

  • Click the button.
  • Click
  • In the Open field type regedit and click OK.
  • Once you are in the Registry Editor, navigate your way to the following folders:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

  • Once there, right-click the right side of the screen.
  • Select New and click DWORD Value.
  • Name it "NoDesktop" (without quotes)
  • Now, double click on it and in the Value section type "1" (without quotes).
  • Click OK.
  • Now, exit and restart your computer.

Quickly creating a shortcut to a web site.

To quickly create a shortcut to a web site on your Desktop, simply right-click a URL and click Copy Shortcut while browsing. Switch to you Desktop, position your mouse where you want the shortcut to appear, right-click your mouse and click Paste Shortcut. The new shortcut will immediately appear!


Having Windows save your Desktop settings in Windows 98.

You may make a change to a Desktop setting such as icon spacing, position, and so on. If you realized that whenever you boot up Windows, the changes that you made were reversed, and put backed to normal again. If this occurs, you can easily tell Windows to remember your desktop settings. Before continuing, please make sure to have a backup of the registry. To make a back up for the registry, see this tip. To have Windows save your Desktop settings:

  • Click the button.
  • Click
  • In the open field, type regedit and click OK.
  • Once you are in the Registry Editor, navigate your way through the following folders:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

  • Once you are there, simply delete the NoSaveSettings key.


Using the Windows Maintenance Wizard

Windows 98 also comes with the Windows Maintenance Wizard. This program performs routine checks on your computer for unneeded files, errors, etc. To use it:

  • Click the 95startbutton.gif (1044 bytes) button.
  • Select 95programs.gif (1271 bytes).
  • Select 95accessories.gif (1163 bytes).
  • Select 95systemtool.gif (1157 bytes).
  • Click Maintenance Wizard.
  • From here, simply follow all on-screen instructions.
Scandisk Tips - Windows 98

Stopping ScanDisk when it autmatically runs.

If your computer is shut down abnormally, ScanDisk will automatically run the next time you start your computer. If you prefer to stop it, go ahead. No problems should occur.

BACK TO TOP

Using ScanDisk to check MS-DOS mode name length errors.

There is a simple way to make ScanDisk check for MS-DOS mode name length errors. To do this:

  • Click the 95startbutton.gif (1044 bytes) button.
  • Select 95programs.gif (1271 bytes).
  • Select 95accessories.gif (1163 bytes).
  • Select 98systemtools.gif (1343 bytes).
  • Click ScanDisk.
  • Click the Advanced button.
  • Put a check in the "Report MS-DOS mode name length errors." checkbox.
  • Click OK.

Basic keystrokes for using MouseKeys.

Start Menu Ctrl + Esc
Shift focus to first menu F10
Left Mouse Button Keypad # 5
Right Mouse Button Shift + F10
Minimize a window Alt + Spacebar + N
Close any menu Esc
Minimize all windows Ctrl + Esc, then Esc, then Alt + M

etting around Windows without a mouse.

There is another way of getting around while inside a window other than using the mouse. If you are in Windows Explorer, or any window, on the left side of the screen, you can navigate through folders without the mouse. You can move up and down between folder by using the up and down arrows. You can also expand each folder by pressing the right arrow key once it is selected, or collapse them with the left arrow key. To open a folder once it is selected, simply press Enter.

 

WINDOWS VISTA

Author: DJ(DaniJohn)


· Windows Vista is the name of the latest release of Microsoft Windows , a line of proprietary graphical operating systems used on personal computers , including home and business desktops, notebook computers , and media centers.. After five years and many twists and turns, Microsoft on Wednesday said that development of Windows Vista is complete.. VISTA is the safest os that Microsoft ever build..

http://www.activewin.com/screenshots/vista/nov05ctp/Vista-5259-3.PNG

New or improved features

End-user features

The Windows Vista welcome center shows Vista's focus on an improved graphical interface.

The Windows Vista welcome center shows Vista's focus on an improved graphical interface.

The appearance of Windows Explorer has changed significantly from Windows XP and Windows 2000.

The appearance of Windows Explorer has changed significantly from Windows XP and Windows 2000.

* Windows Aero: The new hardware-based graphical user interface, named Windows Aero – an acronym (possibly a backronym) for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows, including new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons, animations and eye candy.

* Windows Shell: The new Windows shell is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities. Windows Explorer's task panel has been removed, integrating the relevant task options into the toolbar. A "Favorite links" panel has been added, enabling one-click access to common directories. The address bar has been replaced with a breadcrumb navigation system. The preview panel allows you to see thumbnails of all sorts of files and view the contents of documents, similar to the way you can preview email messages in Outlook, without opening the files. The Start menu has changed as well; it no longer uses ever-expanding boxes when navigating through Programs. Even the word "Start" itself has been removed in favor of a blue Windows Orb (also called "Pearl").

* Windows Search (also known as Instant Search or search as you type): significantly faster and more thorough search capabilities. Search boxes have been added to the Start menu, Windows Explorer, and several of the applications included with Vista. By default, Instant Search indexes only a small number of folders such as the start menu, the names of files opened, the Documents folder, and the user's e-mail. Advanced options allow the user to choose what file type, how it should be indexed, the properties alone, or the properties and the file contents. This also doubles as the run command seen in previous versions of windows (simply type in any command such as dxdiag or cmd and it will execute that command), making accessing your computer significantly faster.

* Windows Sidebar: A transparent panel anchored to the side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, which are small applets designed for a specialized purpose (such as displaying the weather or sports scores). Gadgets can also be placed on other parts of the Desktop, if desired.

* Windows Internet Explorer 7: New user interface, tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, improved printing, Page Zoom, Quick Tabs (thumbnails of all open tabs), Anti-Phishing filter, a number of new security protection features, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), and improved web standards support. IE7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system (protected mode); exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.

Windows Media Player 11

Windows Media Player 11

* Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsoft's program for playing and organizing music and video. New features in this version include word wheeling (or "search as you type"), a completely new and highly graphical interface for the media library, photo display and organization, and the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and support for other Media Center Extenders.

* Backup and Restore Center: Includes a backup and restore application that gives users the ability to schedule periodic backups of files on their computer, as well as recovery from previous backups. Backups are incremental, storing only the changes each time, minimizing the disk usage. It also features CompletePC Backup (available only to Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise versions) which backs up an entire computer as an image onto a hard disk or DVD. CompletePC Backup can automatically recreate a machine setup onto new hardware or hard disk in case of any hardware failures. Unlike previous Windows versions however, tape drives are no longer supported.

* Windows Mail: A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a new mail store that improves stability, and enables real-time search. It has the Phishing Filter like IE7 and a Junk mail filtering which is enhanced through regular updates via Windows Update.[8]

Windows Update with Windows Ultimate Extras

Windows Update with Windows Ultimate Extras

* Windows Calendar is a new calendar and task application.

* Windows Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. WPG can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows (with pan and fade effects), and burn slideshows to DVD.

* Windows DVD Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker, which provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user's content. Users can design a DVD with title, menu, video, soundtrack, pan and zoom motion effects on pictures or slides, in minutes.

* Windows Contacts was the replacement for Windows Address Book and Cardfile.

* Windows Meeting Space is the replacement for NetMeeting. Users can share applications (or their entire Desktop) with other users on the local network, or over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology (higher versions than Starter and Home Basic can take advantage of hosting capabilities, limiting previous to "join" mode only)

* Windows Media Center, which was previously exclusively bundled as a separate version of Windows XP, known as Windows XP Media Center Edition, has been incorporated into the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista.

* Games and Games Explorer: Games included with Windows have been modified to showcase Vista's graphics capabilities. New games include Chess Titans, InkBall, Mahjong Titans and Purble Place. A new Games Explorer special folder will also hold shortcuts and information to all games on the user's computer.

Previous Versions

Previous Versions

* Shadow Copy automatically creates backup copies of files and folders, with daily frequency. Users can also create "shadow copies" by setting a System Protection Point using the System Protection tab in the System control panel. The user can be presented multiple versions of a file throughout a limited history and be allowed to restore, delete, or copy those versions. This feature is available only in the Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista and is inherited from Windows Server 2003.[9]

* Windows Mobility Center is a new control panel that centralizes the most relevant information related to mobile computing (e.g. brightness, sound, battery level / power scheme selection, wireless network, screen orientation, presentation settings, etc.).

* Windows Update: Software and security updates have been simplified, now operating solely via a control panel instead of as a web application. Windows Mail's spam filter and Windows Defender's definitions are updated automatically via Windows Update. Users that choose the recommended setting for Automatic Updates will have the latest drivers installed and available when they add a new device.

* Parental controls: Allows administrators to control which websites, programs, and games each standard user can use and install.

* Windows SideShow: Enables the auxiliary displays on newer laptops or on supported Windows Mobile devices. It is meant to be used to display Device gadgets while the computer is on or off.

* Speech recognition is fully integrated into Vista. It is an improved version of Microsoft Speech Recognition currently working under Office 2003, with a redesigned interface, a flexible set of commands, and a command-and-control capability to activate the computer by voice. Unlike the Office 2003 version, which works only in Office and WordPad, it works for dictation system-wide. In addition, it currently supports several languages: English US and UK, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Japanese.

* New fonts, including several designed especially for screen reading, and new high-quality Chinese (Yahei, JhengHei), Japanese (Meiryo) and Korean (Malgun) fonts. See Windows Vista typefaces. ClearType has also been enhanced and enabled by default.

* Problem Reports and Solutions, a new control panel which allows users to see previously sent problems and any solutions or additional information that is available.

* Improved audio controls allow the system-wide volume or volume of individual audio devices and even individual applications to be controlled separately. Introduced new audio functionalities such as Room Correction, Bass Management, Speaker Fill and Headphone virtualization.

* System Performance Assessment is a benchmark used by Windows Vista to regulate the system for optimum performance. Games can take advantage of this feature, reading the data produced by this benchmark in order to fine-tune the game details. The benchmark tests CPU, RAM, Graphics acceleration (2D and 3D) and disk access.[10]

* Windows Ultimate Extras: The Ultimate Edition of Windows Vista provides access to extra games and tools, available through Windows Update. This replaces the Microsoft Plus! software bundle that was sold alongside prior versions of Windows.

* Built-in hard drive partition management: A utility to modify hard disk drive partitions, including shrinking, creating and formatting new partitions.

Now you really must be thrilled windows Vista

of using vista well there is bad news for all. Read the

system requirements Vista Capable[26] Vista Premium Ready[26] Processor 800 MHz 1.0 GHz Memory 512 MB RAM 1 GB RAM Graphics card DirectX 9 capable DirectX 9 capable GPU with Hardware Pixel Shader v2.0 and WDDM driver support Graphics memory N/A 128 MB RAM supports up to 2,756,000 total pixels (e.g. 1920 × 1200) or 512 MB+ for greater resolutions such as 2560x1600[33] HDD capacity 20 GB 40 GB HDD free space 15 GB 15 GB Other drives DVD-ROM DVD-RW

it require more ram and more…………………………