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It's easy to change shortcut icons. Although this tip applies to Win95, it works better in Win98, because Microsoft added to and refined its icon library. To change the icon for a specific shortcut, right-click on it, choose Properties, then click on the Change Icon button in the Shortcut tab. Enter C:WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL in the File Name box, and select an icon from those in the palette. You can also use the Browse button to search through ICL, DLL, ICO and other files on your hard drive that may contain icons. Click on OK to change to the new icon.

You can map a machine's IP to any hostname you want by editing the HOSTS.SAM file in your WINDOWS directory.
The file must be renamed HOSTS with no extension, and you must reboot for the changes to take effect. Edit the HOSTS file as follows:
10.10.10.11 anyhost.anydomain.com # descriptive comment.

To close a folder and all its open parent folders, hold down the Shift key while clicking on its Close (X) box or press Alt+Shift+F4. (Note: Neither method works with mixed Explorer and single-pane folder windows.)

It's easy to become confused in Windows about what's going to happen when you drag and drop a file from one place to another. That's because the operating system has context-sensitive defaults for copying and moving objects. When you drag and drop a file from one hard drive to another, copying is the default operation. But when you drag between two folders on the same drive, moving is the default operation. Forget all that, and just remember this: Use the right mouse button for drag-and-drop operations. When you do, Windows displays a Context menu that lets you choose whether to Copy, Move or Create a Shortcut in the new location.

Here's an easy way to view the properties for multiple hard drives simultaneously. Open My Computer and select all your hard drives by holding down Ctrl and clicking on each drive in turn. Next, right-click on any of the drives and choose Properties. Windows creates a single dialog box with Properties tabs for each drive. This also works for floppy disk, removable and mapped network drives

Reorganize, add and delete Start menu shortcuts by choosing Start/Settings/Taskbar. Under the tab Start Menu Programs, click on Advanced, and you'll see an Explorer view of the cascading menus within Start. You can manage them like other sets of entries in Explorer. With Win98 or IE4's Desktop Update installed, entries can be reorganized or added by dragging and dropping, and deleted by right-clicking directly from the Start Menu. To rename entries you'll still have to go through Start/Settings/Taskbar, though.

the #1 power user's tool for solving all kinds of problems with Windows. Chances are, you already have this tool, but don't know it! You see, every copy of Windows ships with a version of the Windows Resource Kit right on the CD ROM. The "ResKit" is awesome---for example, the Win98 version is the equivalent of a 1700 page book that can answer a huge range of Windows setup, deployment, troubleshooting, operational and tuning questions. Plus, the Win98 ResKit comes with over two dozen powerful software tools and utilities that can let you do things with Windows you may not have imagined possible. The free ResKit totals over 24MB of tools and information in all! If you're using Win98, the simplest way to use the free ResKit is to navigate to the \tools\reskit\setup directory on the Win98 CD, and run CDSETUP.EXE. Or if you just want to view the online book, click on \tools\reskit\help\rk98book.chm on the CD. If you're running Win95, check out your CD ROM's /admin/ directory. Poke around in the subdirectories there, and you'll find the online version of the Win95 Resource Kit book (\admin\reskit\helpfile\win95wrk.hlp), and a pile of Win95 tools.

Free Tech Support Online There's also a wealth of free info available from Microsoft. Here's a sample of some specific Win98 problems, and the technical articles that Microsoft offers to help troubleshoot them. (Note that you have to register to access some of this info, but it's all free, takes just a minute, and requires only some very basic information from you.) Troubleshooting Windows 98 Startup Problems and Error Messages (Q188867) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/8/67.aspCannot Connect to America Online or Install America Online 4.0 (Q188654) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/6/54.asp Err Msg: There Is No WinModem Found in Your Computer, But... (Q188601) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/6/01.asp Err Msg: Not Enough Memory to Convert to FAT32. To Free Up... (Q188561) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/5/61.asp DVD Support in Windows 98 (Q188513) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/5/13.asp Error Message: Error 745: An Essential File Is Missing (Q174579) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q174/5/79.asp Error Message "Invalid System Disk" After Setup Reboots (Q128730) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q128/7/30.asp "Earlier Version of MSN Detected" Using Inbox Icon (Q189077) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q189/0/77.asp "Call to Undefined Dynalink" Message During Windows 98 Setup(Q188970) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/9/70.asp "Internal Error Occurred" Error Message Using Internet Explorer (Q188952) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/9/52.asp Error Message: Not Enough Memory to Load RamDrive (Q188886) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/8/86.asp Err Msg: This Software Does Not Support Windows 98 and... (Q188865) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/8/65.asp Err Msg: This Version of Windows Does Not Run on MS-DOS 7.0... (Q188795) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/7/95.asp Err Msg: Windows Cannot Find Program.exe, Which Is Needed... (Q188592) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/5/92.asp Cannot Gain Access to Multiple CD-ROM Drives Using Startup Disk (Q188391) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/3/91.asp Err Msg: The Microsoft Dial-Up Adapter Is in Use or Not... (Q188141) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/1/41.asp Minimum Hardware Requirements for Windows 98 Installation (Q182751) http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q182/7/51.asp

It's easy to set performance parameters for nearly every computer equipped with a built-in CD-ROM. Go to Control Panel/System/ Performance, click on the File System button in the Advanced settings section and open the CD-ROM tab. Here you can increase your cache size and inform Windows 95 of your drive's speed, so it can optimize access to any CDs you use.

You don't have to open every document you want to print. Instead, add your favorite printer to the Send To menu accessed when you highlight a document in Explorer or My Computer. Then printing a document is only a mouse-click away. To list your printer on the menu, go to Windows Explorer and select the SendTo folder in the Windows directory. Create a shortcut for your printer there, and next time you access the Send To command your printer will be one of your options. You also can put a shortcut for the printer right on your desktop and then drag and drop documents onto it to print them.

If you search the Registry for a Desktop object and can't find it, edit the object's icon title and try again. By default, some objects (My Computer and Network Neighborhood, for example) don't write their name into the Registry unless you edit the title. You can even "rename" My Computer back to My Computer to force it into the Registry.

If you're bored with the opening and closing bitmaps Windows 95 displays, you can edit them. The files are bitmaps in the Windows folder, named LOGOS.SYS and LOGOW.SYS. You can edit them with the copy of Microsoft Paint that comes with Windows 95.

SECRET SHORTCUT: If your Start menus in Win95 were too big to fit on the screen, the menus would spill over into adjacent menus, which was ugly, confusing and annoying. The good news is that Win98 cleans that up a bit by hiding excess parts of overgrown Start menus and making the excess available with scrolling arrows. The bad news is that scrolling is slow. You can speed up scrolling dramatically with an undocumented keystroke: Press and hold the Ctrl key while you scroll.

Windows 98 is based on Windows 95, which builds on Windows 3.x, which was a shell for MS DOS. That's why Win98 actually contains lots of native DOS code---version 7.1, in fact. "DOS," which stands for "Disk Operating System" is a modified version of Tim Paterson's "QDOS" which itself was a clone of CP/M---the first popular operating system for the 8088 chip. "QDOS" are the initials for what four words?

Having PC Problems? We've got the latest info on upgrades, patches and warnings for Win98, antivirus software, the Microsoft Mouse and more. http://www.winmag.com/library/1998/0901/FYI0074.htm

the importance of optimizing your HTML code for the major search engines. Today I will bring several ideas together in an attempt to crystallize them for improving search ranking. Between 70 and 80 percent of traffic that is driven to your web site originates from the major search engines. That metric indicates traffic, not sales. If most people share my surfing behaviors, they would type in a keyword at a search engine and then sort through the top ten to twenty results, actually clicking through an even smaller percentage. So, listing near the top and speaking to your target audience in the proper way are very important. There are six components of the web page that you should pay strict attention to when preparing a page for listing in a search engine. The first step toward improved listing is selecting the best keywords to do the job. Keywords are the foundation for your presence in the search engines. Applying the same keywords throughout each component is very important, so converging upon a specific collection of keywords is very important. * How do I choose effective keywords? You should already have some idea of the keywords or keyword combinations (keyword phrases) that you will want to use. To get a comprehensive idea of all of the keywords that could assist you with your optimization, there are two things that you should do. First grab an online or print Thesaurus. Investigate synonyms for your original keywords. Write these words down on a sheet of paper. Next, perform searches at each of the major engines for your original keywords and keyword phrases. Pay close attention to the web sites that rank 1 through 10. You will notice that the sites do not always rank in the same location and some do only appear on one engine. View the source code of these pages, looking for patterns and placement of keywords in the , <META> <BODY><script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-47423994-1', 'fortunecity.ws'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <center> <br> <div> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.broadcaststation.net/ads/show_ad.php?width=728&height=90"></script> </div> </center> and <ALT> tags. Next, search for your known competitor's web sites and view the HTML source code and their site text. Noticing patterns is your key to advanced ranking above them. Rather than visiting each engine and performing a search, you can simply use RankThis! < http://www.rankthis.com >. RankThis! allows URL searching of all of the major search engines by keyword or keyword phrase - all at one location. * Title Tag Since the title tag is the first thing that a user sees if your web site is returned for their keyword query, it is a very important. Place those keywords that are most pertinent to your business in the title tag. When you select title tag keywords, you should be thinking of them like the words on a nameplate on the entrance to a business. Effective title tags include relevant keyword or keyword phrases only. They also avoid non-indexing filler words, such as a, an, the, welcome and home page. Example: <TITLE>WebPromote - Intelligent Internet Marketing. * META keywords tag These tags are HTML code that permit a web site developer to tell search engine algorithms what keywords are relevant to their site. The META keywords tag is your location in the HTML code for the placement of keywords and keyword phrases. Presently, META Tags are supported by AltaVista, Infoseek and HotBot. Example: Find out more about META description, ALT Tags, and Body Text optimization at: < http://www.webpromote.com/wpweekly/aug98vol4/optimize.html > Once your web site is optimized, use WebPromote 200 to get the best for your site in the search engines. Visit < http://www.WebPromote.com/200 > now! The Top Ranking Guide is your leading tool for improving your ranking. Visit < http://www.WebPromote.com/guide > to learn more or to get the guide.

Get help with the promotion of your site at no charge! WebPromote's FREE Marketing tools are here to stay. Click here! < http://www.WebPromote.com/tools >

Ending a dial-up connection doesn't always mean you're logged off the remote network. The appropriate way to end the session is to click on Start, Shut Down and then select "Close all programs and log on as a different user." Win95 won't reboot, but it will disconnect your Dial-Up Networking connection and log you off correctly.

Change your screen resolution and color depth on the fly (without rebooting) with a free utility called QuickRes. Download it from the WinMag Web site at http://www.winmag.com/win95/software.htm.

Video problems that occur when Windows is started normally-but not in Safe Mode-are usually related to an outdated display driver, especially if you've upgraded from Win3.1. Open SYSTEM.INI from your WINDOWS folder. Under the [boot] heading, find the display.drv= line. If you see anything other than display.drv=pnpdrvr.drv on this line, the driver is probably outdated. Try adding the driver from your Win9x CD in Display Properties; if that doesn't work, check your video card vendor's Web site for a driver update.

TIME TO PICK YOUR OS Choosing your next OS can be a daunting task: Are you ready for Win98? Do you need the power and security of NT4? Should you wait for NT5? Can you stick with Win95? Tough questions, but our Interactive Decision Tree (a.k.a. The Windows Consultant) can help. Just answer a few simple questions, and we'll help you move one step closer to an OS decision. http://www.winmag.com/library/1998/0901/98_decision_tree/default

Year 2000 computing problem licked. If you're not sure, or you don't really understand what all the fuss is about, check out WINDOWS Magazine's Year 2000 Crisis page. Editor Mike Elgan has pulled together a list a resources that are sure to help you se e the light, and get ready if you need to. http://www.winmag.com/people/melgan/year2 000/default.htm

Tune up your system with WinTune98 http://winweb.winmag.com/wintune98 Evaluate your browser with BrowserTune http://winweb.winmag.com/bt98 Get the latest Win95 updates http://winweb.winmag.com/win95 Computing tips to maximize your productivity http://winweb.winmag.com/tips/default.htm

Use the Run command line to get fast access to your Desktop. Select Start/Run, type a period in the command line and hit Enter. Your WINDOWS\DESKTOP folder will open instantly.

*** If you have a Web site, Inc. Online now offers a way to bring more traffic to it--for free. We've partnered with SmartAge's SmartClicks service to offer the Inc. Clicks banner exchange service. You post banners on your site, and your banners get posted on sites in categories of your choice. Reports detail where your ads run and how effective they are. Complete info is in the new Inc. Clicks area: http://www.inc.com/incclicks

Ever wish your Desktop icons lined up on the right side of the Desktop? Right-click on the Desktop, select Arrange Icons and make sure Auto Arrange is turned off. Highlight all the icons you want to move and drag and drop them to the new location. Right-click on the Desktop and select Line Up Icons.

UNDOCUMENTED TIP: All the default Win98 QuickLaunch icons, with the exception of the Show Desktop icon, are specified by a new SCF file format, which is a simple text file that you can edit. To change the icon in a SCF file, launch Notepad, choose File/Open, go to your C:\WINDOWS\APPLICATION DATA\MICROSOFT\INTERNET EXPLORER\QUICK LAUNCH directory and select the SCF file you want to edit. Find the IconFile= line and point it to the path and filename of the icon you want. You can also add new items to the Quick Launch toolbar by dragging and dropping a file or folder icon from an Explorer window onto the toolbar.

There are lots of good search engines around, but a new one called Scour Net is devoted to pictures, video and sound files. http://www.scour.net/

Back Up Your Bookmarks Save your IE Favorites or Netscape Navigator Bookmarks to a floppy disk for safekeeping. In IE 4.0, select Favorites/Organize Favorites, then press Ctrl+A to select all of them. Right-click on any selected file, select Send To from the Context menu that appears and choose your A: drive. In Navigator, just copy the BOOKMARK.HTM file from your C:\PROGRAM FILES\ NETSCAPE\USERS\ folder. Or press Ctrl+B in Navigator to open your Bookmarks dialog box, then select File/Save As and save the HTM file to your A: drive.

Make sure IE is using a minimum amount of disk space when caching Internet files. First, select View/Internet Options, click on the Delete Files button under the Temporary Internet Files section to clear your current cache. Then, click on the Settings button and make sure the "Amount of disk space to use" option is set to 1%. (Netscape users stay tuned)

Tweak UI for Win95 (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/contents/PowerToys/W95TweakUI/)(old-look for utility @microsoft.com) lets you automate the Win95 log-on screen. Download and install the utility, then launch it from Control Panel. Under the Network tab, type your log-on name and password (if any), and check the "Log on automatically at system startup" option.

Windows 98 users take a slightly different route for the same results: Tweak UI comes right on the Windows 98 CD, in the \TOOLS\RESKIT\POWERTOY folder. Right-click on TWEAKUI.INF and choose Install from the Context menu that pops up. Then follow the instructions in the previous tip to automate the log-on screen.

Want to copy your Win95 Dial-Up Networking connection icons (also called connectoids) from one PC to another? The Registry makes it easy. Run RegEdit and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\RemoteAccess\Addresses. Select the Addresses folder, choose Registry/Export Registry File, and give the file a descriptive name and an REG extension. Next, copy the file to the new PC via a network or floppy disk. Open RegEdit on the new PC, choose Registry/Import Registry File and select the REG file (you don't have to navigate to the Addresses key). You'll find all the connectoids in the Dial-Up Networking folder on the second PC. Right-click on each in turn, choose Properties and enter the name of your local modem in the Connect Using field. Next, double-click each connectoid in turn, enter your user name and password (optional), select Save Password and dial the connection. Note: This replaces all connectoids with the same name as those on the other PC

Fix the top five things that slow down Start: 1.) Not enough RAM: Upgrade if you have less than 32MB. 2.) The hard disk is highly fragmented: Run Disk Defragmenter. 3.) The hard drive is slow: Consider buying a new one. 4.) Not enough free disk space for Windows' swap file: You should have at least 50MB free disk space, including the size of the swap file (WIN386.SWP) in your WINDOWS folder or root directory. 5.) You have too many fonts installed: Remove some of them in the Fonts control panel.

You can speed up your boot process by telling Windows not to search for your floppy drive. (You'll still be able to use the drive, but Win98 will search for it only when you click on its icon in My Computer.) Go to My Computer/Properties/Performance. Click on File System and the Floppy Disk tab. Deselect "Search for new floppy disk drives each time your computer starts."

The number of switches between the dialing party and receiving party directly relates to the amount of line noise introduced into a call. Line noise forces modems to negotiate lower speeds. If you are dialing to a national ISP while on the road, use a local access number instead of your usual number (even if it's toll-free). Ask your ISP for the telephone number of the closest "point of presence" to your current location. This could significantly speed your connection.

Here is a safe technique that can reduce the size of the Registry up to 10 percent. Make a backup of your system and especially the current Registry. Under Windows 95, use the ERU program located on the Windows 95 CD. Under Windows 98, run ScanReg by entering SCANREGW.EXE in the Start/Run menu. In Windows 95/98, open the Registry Editor and export the current Registry to a REG file, such as C:\MYREG.REG, by selecting the Registry/Export Registry File command with the All button highlighted. Restart Windows in an MS-DOS Mode sessi on. Or reboot, press Ctrl at boot time and select Command Prompt from the Windows 98 Startup menu. Enter SMARTDRV at the C: prompt to load the DOS disk cache. After the successful creation of the MYREG.REG export file, run RegEdit once more from C: as follows: REGEDIT /C MYREG.REG This will recreate a new compact version of the Registry in the \WINDOWS directory.

Large problems sometimes stem from ridiculously small causes. For example, cables, cards and chips can work themselves loose over time or develop bad connections from oxidation on their contacts. CPU cooling fans can die or malfunction, and dust can block air intakes or exhausts, leading to heat problems and erratic performance. To avoid all this, make sure all cables- inside the case and out-are properly inserted. Ensure that all socketed chips are firmly seated, that your fans are working and that your system case has unobstructed airflow.

To determine which version of Windows you have on an installation CD, pop in the CD and select Browse This CD. In the root folder, or the C:\WIN9x folder, right-click on SETUP.EXE, choose Properties and click on the Version tab. You'll find the version number at the top of that dialog box.

If you're running either Win95 with IE 4.0 or Windows 98, you can drag and drop to rearrange Start, Programs or any of their submenus, as well as the IE 4.0 Favorites menu. Click on and drag any item you want to move, then drop it at its new location on the menu. A horizontal black line indicates the drop point before you release the mouse button. You can also reposition submenus, such as program folders, on the Programs menu. Just wait for them to open fully before you move them

If your display doesn't work as well as before you installed Win98, it's probably a driver problem. The right driver might be on the Win98 CD, but if it isn't, you can probably get it from the monitor vendor's Web site. To install the driver, right-click on the Desktop and choose Properties. Click on the Settings tab and then on Advanced. Select the Monitor tab and click on Change to launch a wizard that guides you through the installation process. Finally, select the Adapter tab and choose Optimal from the Refresh Rate drop-down list.

Win98 shuts down faster than Win95, but it achieves this dubious benefit by pulling the plug on running applications without shutting them down first. If you're uncomfortable with that, disable it. Launch the System Configuration Utility (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information; click on the Tools menu). Click on the Advanced button and check the Disable Fast Shutdown item.

If you've ever wondered which DLLs a program uses, right-click on the executable file and select QuickView. In the QuickView file, find the Import Table category. You'll see each DLL used by the file, with additional details below each DLL's name.

The Task Scheduler is a handy tool, but you can't delete content from its log file unless you first close or disable the utility: Select Advanced/Stop Using Task Scheduler, then launch the log and delete to your heart's content.

One of the cool things about IE 4.0 and Win98 is that when you view open folders as Web pages (My Computer/View/As Web Page), you can see image thumbnails on the left side of the window when you hover the mouse pointer over the files. Unfortunately, some JPEGs don't show up, because JPEGs come in two types - RGB and CMYK - and Win98 can read only RGB. The fix is to use your favorite graphics utility to convert your CMYK JPEGs to RGB.

The "Slow (but Sure) Shutdown" wintip (for Win98) Here's a corrected version: Win98 shuts down faster than Win95, but it achieves this dubious benefit by pulling the plug on running applications without shutting them down first. If you're uncomfortable with that, disable it. Launch the System Configuration Utility (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information). Click on the Tools menu and select System Configuration Utility. Click on the Advanced button and check the Disable Fast Shutdown item.

Prepare for possible PC catastrophes by regularly copying the following files to a second hard drive, removable hard disk or diskette - especially if you frequently install and uninstall applications. From your root directory (you may find only some of these), back up AUTOEXEC.BAT, AUTOEXEC.DOS, CONFIG.SYS, CONFIG.DOS and MSDOS.SYS. From your Windows folder, back up CONTROL.INI, SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI, as well as the SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT Registry files (SYSTEM.DAT probably won't fit on a floppy disk).

If you found the "One-Minute Life Saver" tip useful for backing up important system files, here's how to do it even more easily: First, create a destination folder (such as D:\VAULT) in which to save your backups. It's better-although not essential-to create the folder on a drive other than your boot drive, if possible. Next, create a text file called LIFESAVE.BAT and place it in your root directory. Edit the file and copy the following lines into it, where D:\VAULT is the name of the destination folder you created: copy C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT D:\VAULT copy C:\AUTOEXEC.DOS D:\VAULT copy C:\CONFIG.SYS D:\VAULT copy C:\CONFIG.DOS D:\VAULT copy C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL.INI D:\VAULT copy C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI D:\VAULT copy C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI D:\VAULT attrib -r -h -s C:\MSDOS.SYS attrib -r -h -s C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT attrib -r -h -s C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT copy C:\MSDOS.SYS D:\VAULT copy C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT D:\VAULT copy C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT D:\VAULT attrib +r +h +s C:\MSDOS.SYS attrib +r +h +s C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT attrib +r +h +s C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT Now you can back up the files by double-clicking on LIFESAVE.BAT.

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