Cozy Den Archives
WIN TIP OF THE DAY

These are the WinTips for the weeks of
April 5 through April 16, 1999

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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 5, 1999 * *
Delete Online Services from Program Files

Delete the Online Services folder from the Program Files folder
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 6, 1999 * *
Uninstall Unused Programs

Open Add/Remove Programs and uninstall any program you haven't used in six months.
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 7, 1999 * *
Use FIND FILES to locate Large Files

Use the Find Files or Folders utility on the Start menu to search for the largest files on your PC. Click on the utility's Advanced tab, choose At Least beside the Size Is selector, and type 2000 in the KB field. You can make deletions right in the Find window. But be careful-don't delete anything if you don't know what it is. Be especially wary of files in the Windows folder and its sub-folders or your root directory.
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 8, 1999 * *
View BootLog

If Windows fails to boot properly, press F8 for the Windows StartUp menu, and pick the Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT) option. It attempts a normal boot but records the status of every step Windows takes during the process. You can use this option to log a failed boot. Then, reboot to Safe mode if necessary and use a text editor to open BOOTLOG.TXT (in your root directory). Search for "fail" to find the boot steps Windows had trouble with. Failed steps are often excellent clues to the cause of the problem.
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 9, 1999 * *
Print a List of all your Files

Yes, you can print a list of the files and folders contained in any Windows folder, but you should seek outside help-free help, of course. When we tried several directory-printing freeware and shareware programs, a clear winner emerged: PrintFolder 1.1, from No Nonsense software (http://no-nonsense-software.com/freeware). The small-sized PrintFolder doesn't try to do too many things and works from a Context menu item. The 525KB PrintFolder download includes a README file, Windows setup and uninstall. PrintFolder can print files, subfolders or both, and it includes several other adjustable options. This utility isn't fancy, but it does the job both locally and on networks.
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 12, 1999 * *
Slowing Down Dos Messages

If you suddenly have a DOS line breaking into Windows 9x's blue sky logo screen, you might want to slow it down so you can read what it says. There are two ways to do this. First, you can watch for the lines to appear during boot-up and quickly press the Pause key (on some PCs you may have to press Shift+Pause) to freeze the boot in place. The boot process continues when you press any other key. Or you can restart your computer, and when you see the DOS line that reads "Starting Windows 95," press F8 to summon the Windows StartUp menu. On Windows 98 machines, the surest thing to do is to press Ctrl when you see any DOS text on the screen, and hold it down until the Windows StartUp menu appears. Choose the "Step-by-step confirmation" option, which will pause after each command in CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT and other internal boot steps, so you can verify that they're loading properly.
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 13, 1999 * *
Drag and Drop Files

When you drag and drop a file, it is either moved or copied, depending upon whether or not you're moving it from one drive to another. Unless, that is, the file is a program. Whenever you drag and drop a program file, Windows will create a shortcut in the new location by default.
Note from Margie in *Texas*!: If you want to MOVE the program file (.EXE), Right click and click CUT find the folder where you want it and click on it. Right Click and click PASTE! ******************************************

* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 14, 1999 * *
Win 9X - Quick Restart

Restarting Win9x is normally a four-step process (click on the Start button, select Shut Down, click on the "Restart the computer?" button and then click on OK). You can make it a one-step process by creating an icon on your desktop that restarts Win9x. Open Notepad and type @exit. Close the document and give it a name with a .BAT extension. Now stash the file somewhere on your hard disk. Create a shortcut to the file by using the right mouse button to drag it to the Desktop and then selecting Create Shortcut(s) Here. Right-click on the shortcut and select Properties. Click on the Program tab and select the Close on Exit box. Now click on the Advanced button and make sure "MS-DOS mode" is selected and "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" is not selected. Click on the OK button twice. Give your new shortcut a unique icon and name. From now on, whenever you double-click on the icon, Win9x will restart, no questions asked.
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 15, 1999 * *
System Devices

Right-click on your My Computer icon and select Properties. This tabbed dialog box is your hardware's Rosetta stone. By exploring the various tabs and items, you can get the scoop on all the devices installed on your system, plus memory and port settings.
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* * T I P   O F   T H E   D A Y     April 16, 1999 * *
Setting ICONS

Wish you could make your icons just right? Right-click on the desktop and choose Properties, then the Appearance tab, then the Item menu. Scroll down and select Icon from the list, and then choose the font and size you wish from the pick lists.
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