http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op...ivingston.html

No blue screen? No problem

I'll be the first to admit that Microsoft has eliminated in Win2000 many of the problems that crashed NT and led to the Blue Screen of Death.

But reader Michael Berry points out that you may never actually see a blue screen while using Win2000 even if there is a crash. That's because Win2000 is set to automatically reboot! This may, of course, be exactly what you want if you're responsible for an unattended Windows 2000 Server. An automatic reboot in this situation at least allows the server to get back into service instead of remaining hung all night, inconveniencing remote users.Fortunately, Win2000 makes it easy for people who don't want to reboot at random to change the default. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, then open the System applet. Select the Advanced tab, then click the Startup and Recovery button. Turn off "Automatically reboot" and click OK.

Creating shortcuts needn't be a drag

In my April 24 column, I wrote that you can right-click the My Computer icon then click Manage to get to Windows 2000's new Computer Management utility (see "Readers send in their best tips on Internet security, USB mice, floppies, and more").

Reader David Houck recommends placing your frequently used Computer Management tools directly on your Win2000 Desktop. To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1. Use Windows Explorer to view your c:\winnt\system32 folder.

Step 2. Right-click the folder, then click Search. Search for *.msc files.

Step 3. Select the tools you want (or select all by pressing Ctrl+A).

Step 4. Right-click the selected list, then click Create Shortcut. Presto! Your tools now show up as icons on your Desktop.

Houck points out that you can create Desktop icons for regular Control Panel applets. Just change Step 2 to search for *.cpl files. This works in Windows 9x/2000 and Windows NT.

Better file associations in Win2000

Charlie Paschal found a feature of Win2000 that makes it easier than Win9x to change file associations.

Right-click a file with the extension you wish to change the association of (such as.rtf). Click Properties.

The Properties dialog box has a new button labeled Change. Click this and the Open With dialog box appears. Simply select a new application, and files with that extension are automatically associated with that app from then on.

I reassociated .rtf files from Word to WordPad. I send people documents as .rtf attachments. I then recommend that they read them in WordPad or Word Viewer, neither of which can run macros (unlike Word).

This eliminates the fear of macro viruses, and gives people more confidence in opening my attachments.

It's not a feature, it's a benefit

Bruce Kratofil, one of my co-authors of Windows 2000 Secrets, has found a strange quirk in Win2000.

To speed up your Web surfing on a slow modem, you can turn off the display of pictures in Internet Explorer. But later, when you're using Help, you find that pictures don't show up there, either. This is one of the "benefits" of integrating the browser with the operating system.

To turn pictures on in the Help system, you must click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Internet Options, Advanced, Show Pictures.

Calling all Win98 TweakUI users

I wrote on May 1 that you could install TweakUI, a great utility, from the Windows 98 CD's \Tools\Reskit\Powertoy folder (see "Fixing NT slowdowns, sharing your Favorites folders, and tilting against Windmills"). Michael Boyer points out that it's not in Win98 Second Edition, however.

SE users can get it from www.annoyances.org/win98/features/tweakui.html. There's also a version of TweakUI for Win95 and NT users at http://www.microsoft.com/NTWorkstati...ads/PowerToys/ Networking/NTTweakUI.asp.

http://www.winmag.com/library/1997/1102/98tip1.htm
Proceed with Caution

These tips were written during the beta phase of Windows 98. Although they should work well with the finished product, we wonýt know that for sure until there is a finished product.

Come Clean

Admit itýyou donýt know who put all that "stuff" o n your hard drive. Nowýs a good a time to re-format and install a squeaky-clean version of Windows 98. Back up everything first, make (and test!!) a boot diskette, verify that your CD-ROM drive is recognized, then do that re-format before continuing.

Painless Extraction

If you need to extract a fresh copy of a file, the Windows 98 File Checker will do that too. Click the "Extract one file from installation disk" radio button, then specify the name of the file you want. Enter x :\Win98 (where x is your CD-ROM drive letter) in the Restore from box. Then enter the destination in the Save file in box. The utility will search the CAB files in the \Win98 directory for the file and extract it into the desired folder.

CPU Sleuth

The General tab on the My Computer Properties sheet probably reports that your computer is a GenuineIntel (one word) Pentium(r.) Processor (or similar). For more details, open the following Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Hardware\Description\
System\CentralProcessor\0 Double-click on VendorIdentifier and put a space between "Genuine" and "Intel" or make some other edit in this line. Now re-open the Properties sheet. Underneath the Genuine Intel line, youýll see that your CPU comes from the "x86 Family X Model Y Stepping [version] Z," where X, Y, Z are the appropriate values in your system. Close the Properties sheet, reopen the Registry key and the same information will be seen on the Identifier line. Restart Windows 98 and the default information will be restored. (This tip has not been tested on non-Intel systems.)

Helpful Help

For immediate assistance, the Start menuýs Help option isnýt much help. If you havenýt done so already, it will make you run through the Internet Connection Wizard first, just in case you might want to try the Internet instead of your own local help system. To skip the Web and get fast local help, open the C:\Windows\Help folder, high light the WINDOWS.HLP file and drag a shortcut out to the desktop. Then, click on that shortcut when you need help.

Put the Squeeze on Compression

During an upgrade to Windows 98, you may experience an extremely long installation time if youýre upgrading a Win95 machine thatýs using Drivespace3 for disk compression. You should decompress the system after backing it up. Note that you need to have at least half of the uncompressed disk area available to do this successfully with or without Windows 98.

Back Up to Your Network

The new Seagate-based BACKUP.EXE utility included with Windows 98 can back up Win98 drives to network disks faster than any other device or method. You can choose the network location to back up to, and locate the backup data easily. You can choose the verification option for a backup to a network, but it will 50 percent or more time to the process; but because of the reliability of network media, verification shouldnýt be necess ary with disk-based backups. Keep in mind that a backup operation can clog network lines and affect performance for other users.