ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers
The Online Web-azine for Computer Enthusiasts
-- brought to you by

contents page for this issue

Setting Up Windows 98se
~~Vic Ferri, WinTips and Tricks

This represents some of the common procedures I take after a fresh install of Windows 98se on a formatted drive.

1. Very first thing I do after the install is complete is uncheck "Show Welcome" screen.- the file responsible for this screen is welcome.exe which resides in your Windows directory.

2. Under Display Properties>Effects tab, I uncheck "Animate Windows, menus and lists" - this improves overall performance when opening files and folders.

3. I delete the Online Services folder in Program Files and the shortcut to it on the desktop - For whatever reason, during Setup, Microsoft installs Online Services whether you choose to or not. I also delete the MSN Internet Access icon on the desktop.

4. I edit Ms-dos.sys to optimize bootup speed and to disable the startup logo and auto scandisk on boot failures - Specifically, I add these options to ms-dos.sys:

DisableLog=1
AutoScan=0
Dblspace=0
Drvspace=0
Logo=0

5. I delete the Windows shutdown logos (logow.sys and logos.sys, both of which are located in your Windows directory)

6. I set logon to be automatic (without having to enter a password). This can be done by setting Primary Network logon type to "Windows Logon" instead of "Client for Microsoft Networks.

7. I choose the typical computer role to be that of Network Server instead of Desktop Computer. This improves speed a bit.  It uses a little more memory but the amount is insignificant unless you have under 64 mbs or so.

8. I don't usually use Task Manager so after updating IE, I disable the auto loading of Task Manager by clicking "Stop Using Task Manager"

9. I set my folder views - I choose Details view for all folders and I also choose to Show All Files and to not hide extensions of known file types. As well, I use Windows Classic view and choose to open each folder in the same window.

10. I disable the Outlook Express startup splash screen by setting a NoSplash value to 1, in the registry.

11. I disable Windows sounds, as I do a lot of my own audio recording and do not want them interfering with What U Hear recording.

12 I also mute "Line In" in the Volume Playback settings to prevent line feedback as I have my system fully integrated with my stereo system.

13. I place my quick shutdown shortcut on the desktop (using the command "rundll32.exe shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 5")

14. I import my reg file to add Open With to right click menus of all files so there is no need to use the Shift key to bring up the "Open With" option.

15. I place a desktop shortcut to my cab extract bat file which is saved on a backup drive.

16. I also place my own reg backup bat file on the desktop.

17. I replace defrag.exe and fdisk.exe with the Windows Me versions of these files. Both are better than the 98se versions (Me defrag runs faster and Me fdisk handles larger disc sizes)

18. I delete the entire contents of the freshly installed IE Favorites folder and then cut and paste it onto a different drive containing my backed up Favorites folder.

19. I change the My Documents path to match the location of my backed up My Documents folder on another drive.

Some utilities/programs I usually install

1. WinZip and WinRar - the main utilities I use to decompress and compress files. Usually, I associate zip and cab with WinZip and all else to WinRar.

2. Regedt32 - a simple third-party registry editor which was a free utility from PC Magazine back in the mid 90s. It adds an address bar, Favorites, and a few other features.

3. PrcView - a small (132 KB) standalone (just one icon, no install necessary) process viewer that shows all the processes running in the background, along with information about them and the option to kill any one quickly (great for killing some virus or trojan file without having to reboot or use Dos). Works in XP too.

4. Aris Hex Edit - a basic hex editor.

5. CloseAllWindows - a great freebie that allows you to close all open IE windows with a click or close all IE windows except the one you are on with one click (places 2 icons on your IE toolbar and/or your quick launch or desktop - CloseAll and CloseOthers.

6. SPXScreen Capture - what I prefer for screen captures.

7. ACDsee - what I prefer for viewing images.

8. Adobe Photoshop - what I prefer for editing images.'

9. Windows PowerToys - I always install the SendTo Powertoys.

10. UltraEdit - a great text and hex editor with a powerful search-replace feature - in my last use of it, I replaced about 1000 common urls in over 120 html files in different sub folders, in less than two seconds.

Audio Stuff

1. Audio Tools which I use for most of my audio recording

2. Lame codec which I prefer as the default for mp3 encoding but I also install the Fraunhauffer mp3 codec.

3. Polderbits Sound Editor which I prefer for splitting and cutting wav files

4. Mp3 to Wav Converter which I often use to convert mp3 files into CD ready wav files. (I usually prefer doing this rather than having the CD burning software do the converting.) The program can also convert wavs to mp3's or wma files and it can normalize your files as well. And to do the converting is a simple matter of right clicking the audio file (or a selected batch of them) and choosing Convert ... to the format of your choice.

5. Roxio WinOnCd Power Edition - this is my preferred CD burner. Works flawlessly in 98 and XP. Never once had a problem with it. I use it for data, audio, and video CDs. It has one small feature which I love and which none of the other big CD burning programs have and that is the ability to set any file to autorun, simply by right clicking it and choosing "Set as Autorun".  I also sometimes install Nero Burning Rom for tech support purposes and there is never any problem at all having Nero and Roxio installed together on my system.

6. Cool Mp3 Splitter - I use this if I ever need to split a mp3 file.

7. AlbumWrap - This is a utility that can wrap a selected bunch of mp3s into one mp3 file that will play like a regular mp3 when double clicked. This makes it convenient to send an album of songs to someone via email.

8. Mp3Gain - This is what I use to normalize mp3s if ever there is a need to. It is a lossless method.

9. RealPlayer 10 - This is what I prefer to use for listening to streaming or archived audio such as internet radio if there is a choice for it.

10. WinAmp - This is what I prefer as the default for playing mp3s and audio CDs.

11. StreamBox Ripper - This is what I use if I ever need to convert a Real Player file (ra, ram) into mp3 or wav. (Note that to do this you need to have the older version of this utility)

Video Stuff

1. VirtualDub - A main utility I often use to edit or encode avi video files. It can also capture video but usually I prefer to use VideoTools - part of my Matrox Marvel card software - to do the capturing into mjpeg avis and then I use VirtualDub to edit and encode the avis into usually divX or sometimes wmv9 format if the file is meant for emailing.  The Matrox mjpeg hardware encoder produces better image quality that the ATI All In Wonder card which I used to have before.

3. Main Concept Encoder - If I need to create a vcd or dvd out of the captured avi files, this is what I usually use to do encoding of the video files into vcd/svcd/dvd ready format.

4. Video Codecs - I install a variety of codecs to ensure I can decode and/or encode almost any video file. Main ones I install are DivX, Xvid, Wmv9, ffdshow, PicVideo, and few more.

5. Video Players - I usually use Windows own Media Player for playing videos but I also install BSPlayer to handle videos that Media Player might not be able to handle well or at all.

Vic Ferri owns the very popular WinTips and Tricks and Registry Answers.  Subscribe to either and receive free Windows and Registry Tips.  He is also in charge of the Printing Tips  pages at Linda's Computer Stop.  Vic has also created a program which allows you to Lock & Hide desktop folders in Windows 9X/ME.  Read more and get the free demo here.  And, he now offers a service to convert PowerPoint presentations to .exe files which can be viewed on computers which do not have PowerPoint installed.